Before I start ‘publicly’ documenting my work on the 1966 Dual Twin Bridgestone motorcycle, I want to cover a bit about how I handle the administrative part of a project.
Let me start out by letting you know that I admire the guy that can take a car or motorcycle a part, toss everything in a box and then put it all back together. Oh how I wish that were me, but I don’t even pretend to have that super power. Nope, I need to help.
So I take images and videos to make sure I know how the cabling, tubing and electrical were laid out and where the parts came from and (hopefully) where they go back on. It also serves the secondary purpose of making these blog entries a but more informative/helpful and entertaining. “Entertaining?” you might ask. Yes, I’m not a cinematography and I don’t do retakes and I don’t edit videos, so what you see is what get.
I wasn’t lying about not being a video editor….but I assure that wasn’t sideways when I took it. (I don’t think….LOL)
Here are your Auto Factoids for this week in automotive history.
A very light week, but a couple of biggies.
First up is the debut of AMC’s AMX that happened back in 1968 on Feb 24th. Born to be muscle and destined to be a classic from the start.
They were sharp-looking and a curb weight of only about 3,000 lbs they weren’t heavy weights. Impressive engine configurations of 290, 383, 360, and 390 with nothing but a 4 barrel carb (and one twin 4 barrel) you got horse power from 225 (the 290) to 420 (390 with twin 4 barrel carbs). Impressive! Sadly only a two-year run.
1969 Hurst version…NICE!!!
Had to dig for this one. Found it on http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org. Back in 1905 a Cadillac was the first car to cross the Andes (the mountain range not Andes, New York) that happened on Feb 25th, but I don’t know why, nor does anyone else seem to know. I can tell you the Andes are in South American and average about 14,000 feet in altitude. The ’05 (that’s 1905 not 2005) Caddy was, well let’s say “airy”. That ‘brave’ (pronounced ‘Crazy’) soul was Jose Piquero. But wait, some sources say it wasn’t a Caddy at all, but a Oldsmobile.
So I would imagine either in either ride the trip was a tad bit chilly.
1905 Olds
1905 Caddy
Less we forget that Ralph Nader has a birthday this month, you can celebrate that (anyone? Bueller, Bueller…) if you absolutely can’t find another reason to have an adult beverage. That day was Feb 27 back in 1934. I wonder if he fell out of a car seat when he was young?
1962 Lakewood
As luck would have it Mother Nature tends to even the playing field, so a few years later Mario Andretti was born in February on the 28 back in 1940 in Montona, Italy.
This a beautiful car, especially if you like station wagons.
These were huge cars. Weighing well over 4K pounds. There were two stations wagons produced that year for Buick the 49 and the 49D. Total production for both was 13,020 units.
The engines in the Buick Special Estate Wagons were a V8 Overhead valve, cast iron block. The power plant displaced 364 cubic inches. The bore was 4.125″ and the stroke was 3.4″ giving the car 9.5:1 compression ratio. Top that will a 2 barrel Stromberg (model 7-106) or a Carter (2529 or 2536 model) carb and it could produce get about 250 hps.
Sorry let this slip a couple of days. Here are your Auto Factoids for this week.
2/16/1951 – Nash Healey debuts in US
This was a totally by change partnership. Healey was on his way back to England for the US after GM refused to sell him Cadillac engines for his cars, when he met George Mason of Nash-Kelvinator on the ship. For 1951 Nash-Kelvinator supplied the engines and drivetrain, specifically an inline six-cylinder OHV 234.8 cu in (3.85 L) engine and three-speed manual transmission with Borg-Warneroverdrive, plus torque tube and differential. Healey made a few mods to the engine like higher-compression aluminum cylinder head (replacing the cast-iron stock item) with twin 1.75-inch (44 mm) SU carburetors that were popular on British sports cars. This increased power from the stock 112 hp (84 kW; 114 PS) version to 125 hp (93 kW; 127 PS). The car was longer and heavier than most European cars and although the 125 hp helped, it fell short of the original expectations that included Cadillac’s 331 cu in (5.4 L).
This what we here in the US were able to purchase for the first time in 1951.
1951 Nash Healey
2/18/1952 – Studebaker 100 years
Studebaker turned 100-year-old this date in 1952 and it offered up a few beauties for their customers.
Like the Star Light, Land Cruiser and 1/2 ton Pickup.
52 Star Light – Love the ‘split 4 piece’ rear window.
This huge ’52 Land Cruiser would get across country with room for luggage!!
Workhorse 1/2 ton pickup. Hard to find one now that hasn’t been customized.
2/18/1898 – Enso Ferrari born in Modena, Italy
Would you by a car from this face?
What if they looked like this?
Hell Yeah!!!!
2/20/1954 – Detroit – Chicago Auto show saw Dodge’s Fire Arrow
Ghia Dodge Firearrow II Sports Coupe 1954
That is a nice looking car!!! If you visually mess around it a bit, you might see some resemblance to the Crossfire. Yes? No?
Maybe?? A little?
Or something from a different manufacture.
’64_Pininfarina Corvette
2/21/1948 – NASCAR’s first race – held in Daytona, FL
Historic First – a bit dusty…but awesome (no I wasn’t actually there!!).
And let’s go waaaaay back 2/22/1732 – George Washington was born in Virgina.
Well George didn’t actually own a car…but if he did, ask yourself “What would George Drive?” Post up what you think the father of our country would drive today.
The Countach lived on your wall as a kid, and you probably knew that the Miura was the original supercar, but did you know there’s a direct link between the Miura and modern IndyCars, that there was a Dodge sedan based on a Lamborghini concept, or that Ferruccio Lamborghini started out making tractors? To honor the man who died on February 20th, 1993, we hit the books and came up with 18 things you probably didn’t know about Lamborghini.
1. Ferruccio Lamborghini was the original Tony Stark.
During WWII, he was stationed on the isolated island of Rhodes as a vehicle maintenance supervisor for the Italian Royal Air Force. Needless to say being stuck on an island in the middle of a war makes it pretty tricky to secure spare parts, forcing Lamborghini to cobble together scraps to keep his machines running. He quickly earned the reputation of being a master mechanic, and an even more prolific tinkerer. Kind of like that time Tony Stark built a nuclear reactor in a cave. But real.
2. The first Lamborghinis were tractors, and they’re still made today.
Because of that WWII experience, when he got home he started piecing together tractors out of spare parts. People loved them, and his tractor business took off overnight. They’re no longer part of the same company, but Lamborghini Trattori are still designed by the same firm that created the Gallardo and the Maserati MC12. They range in price from $30,000 to over $300,000 – the only question is, will your neighbor still give you credit for owning a Lambo?
3. Lamborghini was founded because Ferrari used tractor clutches and had crummy customer service.
Ferruccio famously owned a Ferrari 250GT, which he took in to be serviced at the Maranello headquarters after realizing that the clutch was identical to the one being used on his production line. He politely asked Enzo Ferrari for a replacement part, who replied “You’re just a silly tractor manufacturer, how could you possibly know anything about sports cars?” Like any red blooded Italian, he spit on the floor, walked out and started designing his own sports car. Four months later he unveiled the Lamborghini 350GTV. Boss.
4. The first Lamborghini Miura didn’t even have an engine when they unveiled it.
The Miura may have been the world’s first mid-engined V12 supercar, and the car most often credited with kickstarting the genre, but when it was first unveiled at the Turin Auto Show it wasn’t even finished. So they put a bunch of bricks where the engine should be and kept the hood shut the entire time.
5. And it was designed by the guy who builds IndyCars now.
Gian Paolo Dallara did much of the Miura’s chassis and engineering work, then went on to work in F1, before starting his own race engineering firm, which happens to build every single IndyCar chassis you see today.
6. In the late 1960s, if you didn’t own a Miura, you were nobody.
Today, they’re owned by people like Nicholas Cage and Jay Leno, but in the sixties Miuras were driven by people like Saudi King Fahd and Prince Faisal, Rod Stewart, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra, who famously said about his orange Miura with orange shag and wild boar skin seats: “You buy a Ferrari when you want to be somebody. You buy a Lamborghini when you are somebody.”
This one was really interesting:
18. They built the very first Viper engine.
The Dodge Viper was developed in the late eighties, while Chrysler owned Lamborghini. Rather than simply dropping a truck motor into the car, Dodge had Lamborghini cast an aluminum version of it for the prototype. It wasn’t the one used in production, but somewhere, locked away in Detroit, is a Lamborghini powered Viper.
It seems as though the Lamborghini Huracan has been around for quite a while now, yet only Lamborghini customers have been able to take a close up look at it in the flesh. These pictures from outside the factory show the car going out, presumably on a …
This Lamborghini Jalpa P350 was originally purchased by a man named Nick who while impressed with its driving characteristics, was somewhat disappointed with the 25 5hp produced by its V8 engine. As a result, Nick decided to completely replace that …
Though Dave Bridgewater already had three big block 1969 Camaros and an LS1 Swapped 1969 Firebird that he and his team maintain and race regularly at drag racing events around the country, he still wanted something more to add to his already awesome collection. That something more would most certainly be a Camaro of some sort, being that Bridgewater seems to have an undying love for the pony cars.
When the factory drag race COPO Camaro was first announced, “I signed up for it right away,” Bridgewater recalls. “But I got a call later on letting me know that they were all sold out.” After seeing videos on the internet of Dave Connelly testing the Cagnazzi COPO Camaro, he knew he needed to have one in his stable. With all of them being spoken for already, Bridgewater wasn’t going to let that get in the way of him owning a 2012 COPO Camaro.
Two of the most enthralling auctions witnessed at the recent Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale, Arizona were those of the very first 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 and COPO Camaro. Tgether, they brought in over $1.3 million, and the best part is that all …
To refresh you on the origins and hardware on the COPO Camaro, the original COPO Camaro originated with the Pennsylvania dealer Yekno Chevrolet, founded and owned by Don Yenko. In order to have a unique product not available at other dealers, …
Keeping the proper prospective, (no humans were harmed) but it’s a shame to lose those beautiful one of a kind, historic cars.
So what’s next?
Apparently they believe the rest of the National Corvette Museum building it’s self is sound as is the rest of the grounds under the 184-acre Motorsports Park, which is opening in August.
But what should happened to the cars?
Should they be restored?
Should they stay as they are and preserved?
Let me know what you think.
Give me some feedback and I’ll send it on the Museum folks.
Having been there multiple times I’ve see each of these beautiful machines. Hope they are salvageable.
BOWLING GREEN, KY (WAVE) – Eight cars were swallowed by a sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Wednesday morning, according to the museum’s executive director.
A statement released by the museum said their security company alerted them at 5:45 a.m. that motion detectors were going off in the Skydome area. When officials arrived, they discovered the sinkhole.
Crap!!!
Wendell Strode, the executive director, said the hole is approximately 25 to 30 feet deep and about 40 feet wide. The Bowling Green Fire Department secured the area for the time being.
Strode said the one millionth Corvette, which was donated to the museum by Chevrolet, was among the cars that fell into the sinkhole.
The statement went on to say “it is with heavy hearts that we report that eight Corvettes were affected by this incident.”
Those cars include:
1993 ZR-1 Spyder on loan from General Motors
2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” on loan from General Motors
Blue Devil
The other six vehicles were owned by the National Corvette Museum including:
1962 Black Corvette
1984 PPG Pace Car
1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette
1 Millionth Corvette
1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette
2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette
The Hammer
2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette
1 and Half Millionth Corvette
No one was injured as no one was in or around the museum at the time of the collapse.
None of the cars affected were on loan from individuals. The museum remains open, but the Skydome section will be closed until further notice.
Strode said structural engineers would assess the stability of the surrounding areas later today.
2014 is the museum’s 20th Anniversary and officials said they “look forward to re-opening the Skydome exhibit area very soon.”
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Sinkhole swallow eight cars in National Corvette Museum: Sinkhole collapses part of domed section of museum; d… http://t.co/bsPByrsnfy
(CNN) — Eight Corvettes fell into a sinkhole that opened up beneath a section of the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky on Wednesday. The sinkhole, about 40 feet wide and about 25 to 30 feet deep, appeared before dawn under the skydome section of …
UPDATED 7:40 AM — It has been confirmed that 8 vehicles were swallowed by a sinkhole at the Sky Dome at the National Corvette Museum. The sinkhole is estimated to be around 40 feet wide and 20-30 feet deep. The Museum is open for the day, although …
UPDATED 7:40 AM — It has been confirmed that 8 vehicles were swallowed by a sinkhole at the Sky Dome at the National Corvette Museum. The sinkhole is estimated to be around 40 feet wide and 20-30 feet deep. The Museum is open for the day, although …
A couple posts back I wrote on my chance meeting with the Maserati – Chrysler TC Club….no it’s fine go back and look…we’ll wait. (Insert whistling sound.) One response mentioned that the Maserati/ Chrysler TC was …”two years late to market.” (Bill February 10, 2014 at 12:00 PM).
That didn’t occur to me about the TC but I had just finished reading an article in Hemmings Motor News the Muscle Car Profile section – 1969 Plymouth Baracuda 383. It was written by Terry McGean.
The article chats about the 383 and the Formula S package. But the article starts out by saying That Chrysler peeps are pretty sure they started the “pony” car craze by revamping the Valiant line of cars to come up with the Baracuda just before Ford released the Mustang. And that is the case but unfortunately the A-body wasn’t up to par with the Mustang and the Camaro in the performance department and both cars left the Valiant platform in the dust or as Terry wrote “…Ford mastered the art of re-skinning an economy model as a sporting coup, or else these cars would have been called ‘Fish cars’…(I’m inserting a chuckle here.)…From there Plymouth seemed to be chasing the Mustang and not long after the Camaro and Firebird twins.”
This ties in to what I thought about when Mother Mopar came out with the Charger. It was a horrible attempt at recapturing the ‘pony’ car era. Ford had already re-invented the Mustang buy then and Chevy gave the C6 Corvette a retro ’60’s style shape and then came the Camaro and still Chrysler didn’t have the answer, until the Challenger. That was nicely done and I love it, but it was still late to the party again.
I thought they might make a hit with the ‘Dodge Dart’, I considered that a pony car of sorts, but instead we got a Dodge Neon.
’65 Cuda
’65 Mustang
’65 Camaro
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Rare 65 Plymouth Baracuda (East Bend ) $4000 http://t.co/yi6ZSjs7Fb http://t.co/qW3XHkYLLY
Make: Plymouth Model: Baracuda Year: 1965 Body Style: Sedan Exterior Color: Red Interior Color: Red Doors: Four Doors Vehicle Condition:… Collectible – Classic Cars Plano.
