A Photo Shoot – Studebakers – Coup and GT Hawk!

It’s monsoon season in Tucson and hence we are in a drought as far as car shows go.  So today was a great day – clear blue skies, with thunder storm beginning to pop up over the mountains (yes we have mountains in Az).

My son is a photographer and I’m a want too be.  So wanting to de-stress for a day I choose to check in with him and see if he had time to drag the old man around for a photo shoot.  He often takes a weekend day and tools around with his camera, which is fun and  with no specific agenda, just what the doctor ordered.

I picked him up and we headed to a park, that normally has an abundance of water.  Yes we have lakes in Arizona (although many are man-made or at least get a lot of help from managed care).  This place normally is home to fish, turtles and various water fowl (YES  we have ducks here too!!!).

As we approached the entrance a car turned out of the park and I didn’t immediately recognize and as we entered the park a see a 1920’s 4 door sedan, looking mostly original.  I was still not sure the maker.  As we entered the park and drove the round to the parking in back I spotted a rare hawk and it’s companion.

Yes that is a Golden Hawk... GT by Studebaker.

Yes that is a Golden Hawk GT… by Studebaker. (Right)

1937 Coup - split rear window.

1937 Coup – split rear window.

Just our luck, during the Arizona car show drought season, we ran into the tail-end of a local Studebaker Club breakfast!!!!  And just my luck – only two cars were left, out of the 30 that showed up earlier and I missed maybe one of the oldest Studebakers I may every see in person.  A 1933 Sedan!!!

I got to speak to one of the members and inquired as to how many were in their club.  He believed that there were 30-40 with a total of just under 1oo exampled of the Studebaker legacy.  He himself owned these two car plus two more.

We’ll take a closer look at these two cars in the next couple posts.

Stay tuned!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

Just A Car Geek: 1963 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk

This car is a nicely preserved / restored Studebaker GT Hawk. This is not the type of car I would buy, but it’s a car that makes me think… If Studebaker had been in better financial shape and remained a player in the US auto 

Nick Lyons-Young Gun-SM 300th issue Ford Falcons – crcooperphotography

I love the Fords Down-Under.  Check these two out!!!

Nick Lyons-Young Gun-SM 300th issue | crcooperphotography.

Check out the Fords.

Check out the Fords.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Good ole Herby | come to explore

photography (2); prada (1); rebel (1); road trip (3); skirt (1); sky (1); steve madden (1); stress (1); summer (3); van (2); Van bus travel explore restoring restored ford falcon roadtrip (1); vans (1); vintage (2); volkswagon bus (1) 

 

Spotted: Jaguar F-Type in the Wild

I saw my first F-Type on the streets the other day.  It wasn’t just a sighting, it was a drive along.

The convertible as white and I think it looked great in motions.  We drove side by side for about 10 blocks and it seemed quick (not as quick as my C6 – had to prove that – without breaking any laws or freaking out the cars around us) and had a snappy take off.

However, with my windows down and my stereo off (that almost never happens) I got a ear full of how it sounded.  Sorry to say I was not impressed.

I expected to have been, with power specs like this:

3.0 liter V6 Supercharged 3.0 liter V6 Supercharged 5.0 liter V8 Supercharged
340 @ 6,500 380 @ 6,500 495 @ 6,500
3.33 x 3.50 in.
(84.5 x 89.0 mm)
3.33 x 3.50 in.
(84.5 x 89.0 mm)
3.64 x 3.66 in.

I don’t know which model I was driving along with, it didn’t like the sound.

We’ve all seen/heard the Hondas and Nissans with the “enhanced” sound effects mufflers.  The F-Type sounds like the Jaguar was trying too hard to create the “muscle” car sound and missed by several octaves (at least).   A baffling problem given such a good looking sports car.

Great looking coupe

Great looking coupe

 

The Convertible.

Really?!?!?!?!

Thank for reading.

Tim

 

 

 

 

Goodguys Congratulates Street Rod/Street Machine Of The Year Winners – RodAuthority.com

Goodguys Congratulates Street Rod/Street Machine Of The Year Winners – RodAuthority.com.

These are two beautiful cars.  But I’ve been to a couple Goodguy events and I will tell you I just don’t know how they’d pick just one or two as winners…I’d only be able to pair it down to 20 or so!!!!   I’d enclose these two as well.

Troino Custom...great looking.

Troino Custom…great looking.

This should get ya from point A to point B

This should get ya from point A to point B


Love this Ford Coup!!

gg_ppg_nats_6-640x423

What do you put in a beautiful Ford Coup like this for power? Well…

1953 Mercury Flathead topped with a 4.71 GMC blower,

1953 Mercury Flathead topped with a 4.71 GMC blower,

Got a favorite rod?  Let us know.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Maddie_Light22

Oh my god Hot Rod is on Netflix!!!!
Jobs We Want: Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Tester

Our friend Evan Smith, editor of Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords, has a pretty neat job this year. He’s working with Ford Racing, doing his best to put the 2014 Cobra Jet prototype through the ultimate automotive test–being driven by an automotive
2013 Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout – Pro-Line

These big events include events such as the Cactus Classic, The Reedy Race, ROAR Nats, and the one that just passed this weekend in Saugus, CA; The Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout. This year marked the 16th year of this 
1930 Ford Pickup Hot Rod – Pure Fun

There are a lot of reasons to build a hot rod and never just one reason. Here are a couple guys enjoying one of the reason. http://youtu.be/XsFBSksOjHU Thanks for reading. Tim

Rally News – articles Fiesta ST Sweeps Top 5 At Loudon GRC Racing.Ford.com

Rally News – articles | VIDEO: Fiesta ST Sweeps Top 5 At Loudon GRC | The Official Site of Ford Racing | Racing.Ford.com.

This looks like most fun you could have n a Fiesta.  Tanner Foust again?   Yup.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Brittish TVR Sports Car Second Chance – Maybe.

A bit ago I did a 3 part article entitled “Cars  You Never Heard Of!”   In part three (http://wp.me/p2YxYx-Gb) I touched on the Brittish TVR sports car.  TVR engineering started back in England in 1947 with the first TVR being produced in 1949.   The company was sold to a Russian buyer in 2004 and after a not so great start the company halted production.

Now a multimillionaire Les Edgar (Bullfrog Productions – gaming development company – associated with Electronic Arts (EA)) has taken a liking to the  TVR and purchased it from Nikolai Smolenski (the Russian owner) along with the name rights from Blackpool Engineering.

Mr. Edgar wants the car to be a powerful front wheel drive sports cars and is shooting for production with two models priced between $50k – $80K.

Pictured here is the 2015 Sagaris.

TRV 2015

TRV 2015tvr_20-0606

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can’t wait until we find out the engine choices.  I’ll keep one ear on the pavement and bring updates when they are revealed.

Thanks for reading

Timtvr sports carstvr sports cars

Arlen Vanke’s “Tin Indian” GTO to attend Hemmings Motor News Conc | Hemmings Daily

Love this car!!!

Arlen Vanke’s “Tin Indian” GTO to attend Hemmings Motor News Conc | Hemmings Daily.

 

1966 Pontiac "Tin Indian" GTO; Image courtesy of Merle Green, Jr.

 

Thanks for reading.  Drop a note if you have a great drag race story!!!

Tim

pontiac gto drag racing

1969 Pontiac GTO 1/4 mile Drag Racing timeslip specs 0-60 …

Fast 1969 Pontiac GTO 1/4 mile drag racing videos and timeslips.
Jungle Jim and Jungle Pam – Drag Racing Legends | Fast Car TV …

Dodge Neon SRT4 vs Pontiac GTO – drag racing – 1/4 mile race. Added by admin 3 days ago. 2 Views0 Comments0 Likes. Facebook: http://on.fb.me/RHPage Twitter: http://bit.ly/RHTweets (MORE…) Neon SRT-4 vs. Pontiac 

GTS Racing

I was talking with a “new to the car world” friend the other day and he had watched a recent road race on the Speed Channel and was a bit confused with the classes and “what make them think you can run a Ford Focus against a Corvette…that’s a no brainer….” he says.   So I walked him through the classes and I think he understood that they may be on the same course at the same time but they are only competing  against others in the  same class, although they do have to contend with the others.

Last post covered the GT class with the likes of the Corvette and the Aston Martin DB9.  The GTS class is it much more stock and closer to the what you and I will drive around town….well…sort of…!

With cars like the Kia Optima and the Pontiac Solstice (well what’s left of them) you might be thinking yeah…I’ve see those in the ‘hood’.  Well….sort of….

The Kia has 370 hps – yeah…all that from a 4 cylinder aluminum engine.  That’s only 70 MORE!!! horse power less than the Lotus Exige that runs in the GTS class as well.

Optima - in racing colors

Optima – in racing colors

 

 

 

 

Exige

Exige

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This class also has the Ford Boss 302 Mustang (420 hp), Dodge Challenger (420 hp) and the Camaro (422 hp) along with Maseerati Trofeo Gransport (385 hp) and the Scion FR-S (330 hp).

Maserati Trofeo

Maserati Trofeo

Boss 302S

Boss 302S

There are six classes for GTS: GTS1, GTS2, GTS3, GTS4, GTS5, and GTSU. All cars will be classed
on a power to weight ratio. A vehicle’s classification and minimum allowable weight (as the car
would exit the track with the driver) will be determined by multiplying the appropriate class
weight ratios by the vehicle’s power. “Power,” as used here, will be determined from a minimum
of three consecutive dyno pulls, and shall be defined as:
a) the horsepower value (WHP) from the single run with the highest horsepower reading (for
cars with higher horsepower than torque);
Weight
———————————-
WHP
or,
b) the average of horsepower and torque from the single run with the highest average of those
values (for cars with higher torque than horsepower):
Weight
———————————-
(WHP+WTQ)*.5
The following table shall be used to determine each car’s class based on the calculations
determined using the above methods.
Minimum ratio for                                          D.O.T. Approved Tires                                               Non-D.O.T Tires
GTSU                                                                             No limit                                                                  No limit
GTS5                                                                                  6.6                                                                            7.2
GTS4                                                                                 8.5                                                                             9.0
GTS3                                                                                  11.0                                                                         12.0
GTS2                                                                                  14.5                                                                          16.0
GTS1                                                                                  18.5                                                                         20.0


This all seem a bit formal, because it’s pulled from the SCCA guide for classes.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

GT Racing

I love road racing.  I’d much rather race on a road course. It’s not as intense as the short burst on a drag strip and or as predictable as an oval course.  It challenges all of your driving skills, shifting, braking, acceleration and cornering.

Watching on T.V. I rather enjoy a good road race.  I was lucky enough to live in Riverside, Ca.  when Riverside Raceway was still  running and I attended one of the last road races there.  It was great.

But what about those classes?  I’ve learned a bit more since racing SCCA, but still I’m not 100%.  So let’s start with a the GT Class.

These are limited in body style to coupe, sedan and convertible.  They have to be models that are sold in the real world market as a sports car, sport touring cars for performance version off luxury cars.  Those are cars like:

Audi R8

Audi R8

Corvette_C6_01

My Fav the C6 Corvette

chevrolet-corvette-c6.r-02

C6R

 

DB9

DB9

Forced induction is allowed, if the car came that way in production.  SCCA has a provision to allow better competition for car to add forced induction so help meet the horse power range.

The horsepower range is 425 (15 over stock base model C6) to 525.  Your car has to be rear real or all wheel drive.  Weight a varied  depending on wheel/tire size but average 2900 – 3800 lbs.

Coming up next is the GTS, TC and TCB.

Done any racing – oval, strip, road?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding Vintage: The Harley-Davidson Package Truck

Riding Vintage: The Harley-Davidson Package Truck.

This is a great site.  Harley’s are big in the bike collecting crowd, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these at a show.

Very Cool!!!