Tag Archives: Auto Racing

Auto Factoids for the Week of Feb 8, 2015 – N.Y. To Pairs 1908 – Ford Flatty

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As we run through the middle of the 2nd month of the year, here are your Auto Factoids (#AutoFactoids).   A light week this week.

 

 Feb 10, 1942 – Pontiac stops car production for WWII

– As you know WWII took a lot of sacrifice on many countries and their citizen and even corporations.  A lot of resources were used in producing automobiles, in particular metals that could be used to produce planes and Liberty ships and ammo.   That is why the U.S. government asked the car industry to halt production and assist in producing just about anything to support the war effort.  Pontiac was one of the last to comply with the request.  Pontiac’s main contribution?  It was the 20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons.   Check out what they could do!!!

Feb 11, 1932 – Ford announces new V8 engine

The Model A was history and the Model 18 ruled – with Ford’s new FlatHead V8 in 1932 (also referred to as the Ford Flathead or Flathead Ford or just Flatty).  It lived on in the Model 40 in 1933 and 1934. It continued on the 1950’s.

1932 Flatty

1932 Flatty

 

Feb 12, 1908 – Start of the New York to Paris car race.

– The race route was from NYC, Albany, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Valdez Alaska, Japan, Vladivostok, Omsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin and finally Paris. It was sponsored by the New York Times and the LA MATIN   (Paris news paper) and finished 169 days later.

Asia Europe Route - 1908

Asia Europe Route – 1908

 

US Route 1908

US Route 1908

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#AutoFactoid

Trajka z silnikiem Ford Flathead V8

Oczywiście, trójkołowe motocykle są świetnym rozwiązaniem dla wszystkich tych, którzy z jakiś powodów nie posiadają już pełnej swojej sprawności i nie mogą jeździć konwencjonalnym motocyklem. Skoro to stwierdzenie mamy z głowy, to co musi wydarzyć …
Porsches, hot rods featured at Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

“The East Coast rod is a blood relation of the sports car,” the chairman said, “while the West Coast rod has the style of the dry-lakes roadster, of Bonneville and the whole Ford ‘flathead’ V8 scene, probably what most people envision when they hear …
Video: Jay Leno Takes a 1932 Ford Highboy Roadster for a Spin

Jay’s latest adventure takes a deep dive into hot-rodding history with this beautiful 1932 Ford Highboy roadster . But don’t pass this off as just another deuce coupe . No, this car is the deuce coupe. Jay has with him Bruce Meyer, the car’s restorer …

Los Angeles street racers aim to bring drag racing back to Terminal Island | Hemmings Daily

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The old drag strips are disappearing.  I have an article coming out about an abandon drag strip right in my backyard.

 

Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles didn’t play by the typical drag strip operations manual. Intermodal shipping containers surrounded the strip and served as the basis for some of its structures. It had no national drag racing organization affiliation, and everybody pretty much run what they brung. It opened and closed nearly a dozen times over the course of three decades, and now, in the midst of an LAPD crackdown on street racing in the city, fans of the drag strip are working to bring it back.

“Our main goal is to keep everybody off the streets,” said Donald Galaz, a lieutenant with the International Brotherhood of Street Racers and the founder of Project Street Legal, an initiative to return racing to Terminal Island. “But you know the way politics is – the wheels go very very slowly.”

Read the rest via Los Angeles street racers aim to bring drag racing back to Terminal Island | Hemmings Daily.

 

Vette at Terminal Island

Vette at Terminal Island

 

I remember my first drag strip experience, it was in the middle of a corn field in the middle of Texas (just outside of San Angelo).  I recall thinking how awesome it was to have a place to test your skills – legally!!  I wonder if it’s still there?

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Police: Pair Caught Drag Racing Friday

Two men were charged late Friday with drag racing on East Andrew Johnson Highway, Greeneville police Officer Joe Prokop said in a report. Charged were Justin E. Aiken, 21, of 127 Sam Aiken Road; and Kieffer L. Keller, 20, of 1500 John Graham Road.
West Chester’s Nikki Bennett has passion for drag racing

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The dragster is all black, and its driver is dressed in all black, too, from the top of the helmet right on down to the shoes. For a long time, no name was displayed on the sides like there are on other machines. It goes to the line …

Rumor: GT350 Pricing To Start At $52,995 Before Tech or Track Pack – StangTV

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Ford has said very little about the upcoming 2016 GT350, aside from telling us a few of the specifications. One of the key things they’ve neglected to mention so far has been pricing for the latest collaboration between SVT and Shelby.Horsepower Kings, is saying that they were able to get the inside scoop on much of the pricing plans for the upcoming flat plane crank powered Mustang. According to Horsepower Kings, the GT350 will have a base MSRP of $52,995. This would put the car under the price of its key competitor, Chevy’s Z/28, as well as below the previous generation GT500.

via Rumor: GT350 Pricing To Start At $52,995 Before Tech or Track Pack – StangTV.

GT350 - $50K

GT350 – $50K

Great pricing – compared to just about any American sports car!!

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

2016 Ford Mustang GT350

Ford just unveiled the new Mustang Shelby GT350, a ferocious-looking, track-focused thing with all-new adaptive dampers, giant brakes, and Ford’s first-ever flat-crank V-8 engine. The company isn’t spilling details on things like horsepower, torque, or …
Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang to cost $52995?

The 2015 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang was one of the shining stars of this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. And the Blue Oval’s latest muscle car might even have reason to burn a little brighter if a recent rumor about its price proves true. Best of all are …
Shelby GT350 throws left-hook at BMW M4

The original GT350 was Carroll Shelby’s first kick at the street-legal high(er) volume performance car can. Shelby’s mandate with the GT350 was clear from the beginning, but the lump of clay that Ford continually handed him was, well… lumpy. Even …

 

Auto Factoid for Week of Nov. 30, 2014

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Hope you all had a great Turkey Day!!

Here is the line up of Auto Factoids for the first week in December!!!

 

Nov 30 1960  De Soto ceases production.  The last De Soto produced were really the Chrysler Windsor, most did not sale, even though dealerships continued to received cars after the brand was terminated.

1961 Windsor

1961 Windsor

1961 DeSoto

1961 DeSoto

 

Way before that on Nov 30, 1900 Germany patented an automobile front wheel drive.  Although this is a common historic fact, there is some evidence that the first production car with front wheel drive was a French car.  There exists a French Patent around 1898 or 1899.  The manufacturer was Société Parisienne and the car was the Victoria Combination.

It was a lightweight two-seater trailer,known as a ‘Victoria’, combined with the back axle and mechanical components of a motor tricycle, but this axle was placed in front of the trailer and steered by a long tiller on which the controls were located. The first examples were powered by 1.75 or 2.5 horsepower De Dion Bouton engines geared directly to the differential, but larger engines of this make were fitted as they became available.

1900 Victoria Combination

1900 Victoria Combination

 

December 1, 1925 GM purchased Vauxhall.  Vauxhall started out as engine manufacturer mainly for pumps and marine use (1857 – Alex Wilson).  They began making cars in 1903.  Here is a video of a 1903 Vauxhall.  They are still producing cars using the Opel name under GM.

One more of it on a road test.

Back 1913 (just over 100 years ago) on Dec 1, Ford fired up the first continuous assembly line.

Ford's Production Line

Ford’s Production Line

And just one day and 14 years later (Dec 2, 1927) Ford began selling Models A off this assembly line.

1927 Model A

1927 Model A

 

Dec 3, 1951 is Rick Mears birthday – one of only three drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 3 times.

Rick Mears in his Formula 1 car

Rick Mears in his Formula 1 car

 

That round out the week.  Thanks for reading Auto Factoids.

Tim

 

If you’d like to sponsor a week of Auto Factoids contact me directly.

#AutoFactoids

Hennessey’s Twin Turbo C7 Corvette Stingray Burnout | CorvetteVideos.TV

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Hennessey HPE700 708 horsepower @ 6,300 RPM Twin Turbo C7 Corvette doing a burnout at Lonestar Motorsports Park in Sealy, Texas.

Awesome!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

hennessy

 

 

 

Hennessey Mustang GT 2015, sal y pimienta para el icono

El preparador y marca independiente estadounidense Hennessey Cars ha facilitado los detalles principales de los dos kits de mejora para el Ford Mustang GT 2015. Fruto de la incorporación de dos compresores diferentes y de diversos cambios en el motor …

 

Road Trippin’ in AZ Wine Country – Porsches

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What do you when you’ve been married to a wonderful woman for 29 years?  Take a road trip!!  We both have busy schedules so we decided to take a day trip though AZ wine country – which is a pretty drive on any day, but with all the tropical rain we’ve had here in the southern part of Arizona it is lush in the desert!!!!    It was a beautiful ride and we ran into this group of folks enjoying the day as well.

They were from all over AZ and headed to Tombstone for lunch.

Porches at play

Porches at play

Love this 1960!!!!

Love this 1960!!!!

IMG_20141011_104908611 IMG_20141011_104917854 IMG_20141011_104932396

 

They were having a lot of fun and I got to talk to John who was co-piloted this beautiful 1960.

Here is a short video of their gathering place.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#AGCarRestoration

ebaytwhistory2

1960 Porsche 356 B T5 CABRIOLET http://t.co/kmeOHt5siw http://t.co/EU9Rpvmgnn

ebaytwhistory2

1960 Porsche 356 B T5 CABRIOLET http://t.co/kmeOHt5siw http://t.co/EU9Rpvmgnn
SirSupercar

2008 Porsche Boxster RS 60 Spyder & 1960 Porsche Type 718 RS 60 Spyder. http://t.co/UYJk285k0f

Dearborn Steel Tubing celebrates Thunderbolt’s 50th anniversary by building a | Hemmings Daily

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'64 Thunderbolt

’64 Thunderbolt

It’s been 50 years since Ford took the drag racing world by storm with its lightweight Thunderbolt, and to celebrate, Dearborn Steel Tubing, the original manufacturer of the Thunderbolt in 1964, has just produced a new Thunderbolt.

via Dearborn Steel Tubing celebrates Thunderbolt’s 50th anniversary by building a | Hemmings Daily.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

The Dynamat AMSOIL/Street Rodder Road Tour – Part 2

We were able to see the very first Ford Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt #100 which was the last one made. There were also three other Thunderbolts, two factory Pontiac “Swiss cheese” race cars and significant race cars from the 60’s and 70’s. We were able …

First 2015 Mustang Rolls off the Assembly Line!!

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2015 Mustang starts production at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant; car to be exported globally for the first time in its 50-year history New Mustang goes on sale this fall in the United States, and in more than 120 countries next year Mustang sets new performance and dynamics benchmarks for the brand with world-class handling, more precise steering control and enhanced ride comfort.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

2015 mustang

First 2015 Mustang rolls off line

FLAT ROCK, Mich. — Ford began production of the all-new 2015 Mustang on Thursday at its assembly plant here. The first 2015 Mustang off the assembly line was a red GT coupe that has been sold to Texas dealer Sam Pack for $300,000. He is donating the …

This is the 707bhp SRT Charger Hellcat – BBC Top Gear

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Rowan Horncastle14 August 2014

This is the 707bhp SRT Charger Hellcat

Dodge’s tuning wing unveils the fastest and most powerful production four-door in the world. Run for the hills

via This is the 707bhp SRT Charger Hellcat – BBC Top Gear.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

hellcat charger

Why Dodge Is Building a 707-Horsepower Hellcat Charger

Fiat Chrysler unveiled the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat on Wednesday. Like its Challenger sibling, the Hellcat Charger is being positioned as an extreme high-performance car that is also a practical daily driver. Source: Fiat Chrysler. To the …

Father of fallen driver lashes out at NASCAR racer Stewart: Commentary

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Father of fallen driver lashes out at NASCAR racer Stewart.

 

The headline above is from http://www.momomotorsport.com and the link is above so you can read the story.   Below is my commentary.  I invite your comments.

I have to say this is very sad. A young racer lost his life and a veteran driver will forever have to live with that incident. There is no judgement here as I’m able to know what actually transpired other than what a couple of video clips may or may not show.

Moving forward, I think racing organizations should take a look at two aspects of racing – the pit maneuver (the bump) and the conduct while on the racing surface (track and pit row). Suspension and banning maybe appropriate when a driver intentionally bumps another and/or a driver leaves his car after an accident and approaches cars in motion either on the track or pit row. (For example.. throwing your helmet at a moving car!!)

I understand the intensity of the moment. As a police officer and a racer I’ve felt the same type of emotions under specific conditions. i

If you lack the internal tools to be able to avoid a physical confrontation, then yourself grab a camera crew (so the world can see you defend your honor – or lack of it) and take it back into the pits or the winners circle and punch it out there!!

Intentionally hitting another car or otherwise needless endangeringyourself and other drivers or track crew, should get you banned…someone will come along and fill the void….there are lots of hungry drivers out there.

Racing organizations, racing teams and race track officials…get some backbone and stop this behavoir or pack it in!!!

 

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Thanks for reading.

Tim

What Tony Stewart must do in wake of fatal accident

Tony Stewart has overcome some big obstacles and conquered some enormous challenges throughout his career to become one of NASCAR’s biggest stars and most accomplished drivers. But the three-time Cup champion has never faced a challenge like …