Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. I’m finishing the re-positioned shifting rod above the transmission’s cross member.
Next I’ll need to go top side and give the selector a try. If that is working properly, hitting the proper gears I can spin the torque converter and properly torque its connection to the flex plate.
If you look back at #ProjectSportsRoof post you’ll see the condition engine bay. During those videos I mentioned that I was going to clean it up and hit it with a rattle can. Again this isn’t going to be a concours restoration, it’s going to look nice and it’s going …
I’ve done all the clean up and all the adjustments necessary to get a good reading on the health of the ’72 351C engine in my 1973 Mustang. The next step is to check the compression. First up was to warm the car a bit and then pull the plugs. Here’s what the …
This is the wrap up on the compression testing for the 1973 Mustang w/ a 1972 351 Cleveland power plant. You’ll might have notices that I referred to the remote tester, which is my code for remote starter…yeah…that’s it!!! All of these tests were dry test and I should have done a …
It always cool to stumble upon a car show regardless of size.
TMC (Tucson Medical Center) opened up a new office just down the road. My wife is a commercial interior designer and does a lot of work through her company for at the TMC facilities.
We were aware of the Grand Opening for this new building but we weren’t there’d be a car show. Here a few of the cars that showed.
You just could walk past this 1959 GMC 100 Pickup. So nicely restored.
Love the steel painted rims!!!
Lots of Chrome on that front end!!
Still being powered by the straight six! The golf club hood prop is a custom touch!
Sparse interior but 100% effective.
Here is a great looking 1962 Ford pickup – still sporting its original V8.
Are you kidding me? Look at this beautiful 66 Malibu!!!
327 Engine (245hp) with Factory Air!!!
Back end jacked up just right!!
There is a lot of tire on that back axle!
That’s all original interior folks!!!
Here are a few more Chevy’s
Beautiful Super Sport w/vinyl top
Wow…is that a BLOWER on top of that power plant?
And another BLOWER!!
56 Chevy Sporting a huge radiator
1980 El Camino – In great shape.
Beautiful Impala…OH…YES..that a Corvette LS3 engine!!!
If you are going to have only one Mopar show up, you want it to be the GTX!! Take a look:
Plymouth Belvedere GTX.
Yes that is a 426 Hemi….going to find two carbs under that air cleaner.
Clean and original interior.
Here a few more of the cars that showed up.
Thanks to my wonderful wife who didn’t mind an interruption in our errands to spend a few minutes at this show.
Coming up more on #ProjectSportsRoof and #ProjectBeepBeep and keep an eye out for our first Facebook Live event.
If you follow this blog you’ve no doubt seen my posts on this past January’s Barrett Jackson event in Scottsdale, Az, you might even had caught my Facebook Live videos.
Of course I have to say it’s well worth the price of admission for all that there is to see and do.
One event is the Ride and Drive where you are allowed to drive some of the new cars. They also have a few of the more powerful cars that they only allow you to ride along with a driver, cars like the Hell Cat and Viper and some of the Mustangs. This year I chose to drive the SS and RS Camaro.
The key is to get there early because the line get long and the track gets crowded. We arrived at the right time and got a more personal touch. New for this year was the Breathalyzer test conducted by the Sheriff’s department, a smart idea, considering all the adult beverages available. But it was a bit early for that.
Here’s quick little slide show of my trip in one of the Camaro’s.
The auto cross course they had set up was pretty tight and for the novice this would a challenge and I think it was meant to keep the speeds down. When you attend these you are accompanied by a local drive either supplied by the dealership or by the car company for this event.
I drove the SS V8 LT Camaro first. I found the seat comfortable and driving position was really good. The car had quick response and the V8 really pulled great with hitting the gas. Not as good as my 2007 C6 Corvette but I was impressed. As an SCCA auto cross driver I found this course to be a bit tighter the standard down here at the regional I’ve driven often. The SS proved to be a bit sloppy in the corners at speed and it felt like a bigger car – of course it’s it a bit larger than my Vette. Although I made it round the course with out killing any cones, it would be understandable given how it handled.
Immediately after parking the SS, they had an V6 RS ready and I jumped in. I really appreciated that, having the SS drive still fresh in the never endign, it would make the comparison, a bit more visceral rather than homogenized by the thought process.
These days you know they can get a lot of power out of V6 engine and even 4 cylinders so I was curious to see how the RS’s V6 felt with my foot pressed to the floor. I didn’t have any specific expectations, but I was hoping to feel “WOW – this is a only a V6?!?!”, but I have to say it felt like V6. It was clear the power wasn’t there at the start line. However, it did get up to speed fairly quickly and by the first real corner you could feel it. The corner? Well, let’s say it was impressive. While driving SS the ride-a-long driver bet that I’d find the RS a much better handling car in the tight corners, due to the fact that the engine was set back a bit that changed up how the car made it though the corners. I have to say it was correct.
It’s true that in auto cross that horse power isn’t all you need, in fact, too much can make for rough runs. The key for any auto cross car is being able to handle the corner as the fastest speed possible. The RS made it through the course with much sharper corners and it felt really good coming out of them with not a lot of body roll, it was surprising.
So the V8 SS felt powerful (relatively speaking) – more what I’m use to with my Corvette. The RS felt like a V6 when getting off the line, but had the better cornering than the RS, basically verifying what the ride-a-long driver told me I would find.
It’s not often the average blogger, SCCA racer and car restorer, gets to take ride in or drive the newest cars which I think is a huge gap in what you see in the big time blogs and car magaiznes, so it’s always fun to poke them with the Average Guy’s thoughts when a chance for that experience can be documented.
I love this time of year here in Arizona. Not just because you can work on your classic/muscle car in the garage without feeling like a Christmas turkey in the oven. I love this time of year because it’s Car Auction Season! For the next 3-4 weeks classic cars …
It’s always cool to catch a car show when you are traveling.
This past week (Super Bowl Sunday) while visiting family in Alpharetta, Ga, (just outside of Atlanta) I got the chance to ride into the ‘big’ city and take in the event – Thanks Brian!!
There often more than 1500 cars on the first Sunday of every month and even though it was cold and damp (and it being Super Bowl Sunday and the home town team was playing) there were a lot of cars!!!
We got there as it was starting to break up but there were still a lot of cars. Here’s a few pics.
Take a look at this awesome creation. Built on a C4 Corvette body to best look like a 1957 Chevy!
Check out this Nissan!!! It’s power plant is in the next pic.
Nice straight six!!!!
Nice custom ride!!
Here is a great look for a Road Runner.
No one standing around new anything about the car.
I wasn’t even able to scratch the surface. There were rows of Mustangs and Corvettes, long with 100’s of European and Japanese high-end rides and not all of them ‘stock’.
Welcome back to our recent trip to Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction 2017 in Scottsdale, AZ. Keep in mind these videos were part of the our Facebook Live event and I’m sharing them here on our blog. Quality is ‘iffy’ in spots but if you’ve never been to some this huge it’s cool to see some of the areas that the TV coverage doesn’t always show.
This next video is more of the staging area and a look at a few of the cars coming up. You’ll see the ’69 Road Runner that appeared in Hemming Muscle Machines publication, it is as nice in persons as it was on pages of the magazine.
This video is at the Hillbank display. These are beautiful cars and the all aluminum bodies are awesome to see. The Daytona coups are built on CSX 9000 chassis (the originals were built on CSX 2000 chassis). They have the 427 Cobra engine and the 427 S/C. You can find out more at WWW.HILLBANKUSA.COM .
Thanks for reading. A few more videos coming that include an impromptu conversation with one of the sellers and one of the guys working to get the cars up on the stage.
Jan 16, 2017 … Not All Cars Are Created Equal at Barrett-Jackson 2017. January 16 at 10:56 a.m. | by Jim Louvau · Justin Bieber Made a Ton of Cash at …
Welcome back to our recent trip to Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction 2017 in Scottsdale, AZ. Keep in mind these videos were part of the our Facebook Live event and I’m sharing them here on our blog. Quality is ‘iffy’ in spots but if you’ve never been to some this huge it’s cool to see some of the areas that the TV coverage doesn’t always show.
These next two videos give you a little look at the auction area.
In this video I’ll take outside and into the staging areas. Now we mere mortals aren’t allowed to be in these areas but if you are cool about you can often get up close and personal with some of the cars.
Nice Road Runner waiting in the staging area at the auction.
More coming including some discussion with the stage crew and one of the sellers – and my experiences driving the New Camaro SS and RS.
Jan 16, 2017 … Not All Cars Are Created Equal at Barrett-Jackson 2017. January 16 at 10:56 a.m. | by Jim Louvau · Justin Bieber Made a Ton of Cash at …
3 days ago … This my version of the 2017 Barrett Jackson out here in Scottsdale Arizona. Its a mind blowing experience if you’ve never been before! There’s …
Here are a couple more videos. Quality is not great in spots but it was the live feed through Facebook.
These videos take place at the entrance. I imagine that Ford pays good money to have their offering right up front. In these you’ll see the new Mustang and the Focus RS….both nice looking cars.
In this video you’ll also see the Eco-Boost Ford GT race car and the GT 350!!
There are more videos coming up including a discussion with one of the sellers as his car heads to the stage, a good look at a rear all aluminum Cobra and a clarification on what the stage works kept throwing to the side when the cars came up on stage.
2 days ago … This my version of the 2017 Barrett Jackson out here in Scottsdale Arizona. Its a mind blowing experience if you’ve never been before! There’s …
It’s every muscle/antique/collector car owner’s dream that their car is “Rare”. However, determining that your car is rare can be tough. So, there is nothing cooler then having the numbers/statics that help prove that your car is special. Take such as the Marti Reports for Ford products. They provide those numbers for the Ford collector.
There are other similar services for other brands like PHS (Pontiac Historic Services) which has similar documentation. Whatever your favorite car maker – go check out forums that are related to that brand and ask around. Now that I have a 1973 Mustang, I hang out at 7173Mustangs.com a wealth of knowledge exist here as well great looking cars and enthusiastic owners from all over the world.
The Marti Report #ProjectSportsRoof show that is is 1 of 76 with that paint and trim codes. No doubt it is ‘rare’ if you boil the data down far enough and that’s great. I as mentioned in the posting above that’s great to boast at the local car club hangout. But what does it mean for value?
Logically someone, who has been exposed to car values through the web or the online car auctions like Mecum and Barrett-Jackson, can equate rarity to value. Just count the number of times the auctioneer says the word “rare”. But really what equates to value is ‘desirability’ and rarity is a component of desirability. There are a lot more Boss 302 Mustang produced in 1969 or 1970 then 76 in 1973, but the body style of my Sports Roof isn’t as desirable as the 1970 or 1969 Boss. So during this Classic Car Auction season in Arizona, keep that in mind when you are attending an event live or virtually.
But value isn’t everything….you have to enjoy your ride!!!
Jul 31, 2016 … Getting closer to pulling out the engine for #ProjectSportsRoof. The 1973 Mustang (last of the big ‘Stangs) 351C will be pulled part and rebuilt.
Tim Sweet. 1973 Mustang #ProjectSportsRoof · Looking for similar pins? Follow me! pinterest.com/kevinohlsson | kevinohlsson. Save Learn more at reddit.com.
I haven’t done one of these in a while, but I was reading an article from the ” Worlds Most Excellent” automotive publishing enterprise – Hemmings. An article in the January 2017 issue of Classic Cars publication is a piece written by Jeff Koch (who is their – West Coast/Southwest guy) on GM’s Flattop designed cars of the 1959-1960 era. These were massive cars with huge trunks and tons of wrap around glass.
This a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville Flattop 4 door- ain’t it huge?
According to the article these were just a two-year deal – ’59-’60. So that got me to thinking how many were made?
Over all car production for 1959, which still saw the likes of DeSoto, Edsel (its last gasp of breath), Studebaker, Imperial (as a separate brand…again) and even the Metropolitan, as producer of cars. The leader for that year was Chevrolet in first place with just over 1.46 million cars produced followed by Ford in close range with 1.45 million cars produced. The rest of the field looked like this:
Plymouth with 458, 261 (in third place which gives you an idea how the rest fared) followed by Pontiac with 383k, then Oldsmobile with 382K and Rambler with 374k. Buick managed 285K and Dodge produced 156k, which was just slightly than Mercury with 15ok and Cadillac with 142K cars produced. The field rounded out with Studebaker driving 126k out of the factory and a substantial for Chrysler with just 69, followed by Desoto with 45k, Edsel with 44k and Lincoln/Continental with just 26k. At the bottom stood Metropolitan and Imperial 22k and 17k respectively.
So an estimated 2,655,686 cars were produced by GM in that year. That’s a lot of flattops this include Cadillacs that didn’t escape the design.
Nor did the Corvair!!
So where are the now? I just don’t see that many around and I’m sure it’s due to the 2 year only style and finding all that wrap around glass.
Have you seen one of these cool designed GM Flattops? Drop me a note and pic and I’ll publish it up.
This is it. The beginning of it all. What were they making in 1901? The top producer was the Locomobile car company with a total out put for the year 1,500 cars. Winton was second with 700 cars. Oldsmobile (ahh one we’ve heard of!!) was third with 425. White came in fourth with 193. Autocar was next …
1911 oh… that was a great year! Well I don’t actually have any proof of that, but there sure were a lot of new car makes that year. Here the list: Alpena; ArBenz; Atterbury; Carhartt, Case, Chevrolet; Colby, Crow-Elkhart, Dalton, Gaylord, Havers, Hupp-Yeats; King; Lenox; Mighty Michigan; Motorette; Nyberg: Penn; Rayfield; …
It is 1922 and the car industry is moving right along. Small start-up car companies pop up here and there in the 1920’s. Here is how they stacked up for 1922. Top spot was Ford producing 1,147,028 cars. Dodge was a very distant second with 152,653 car rolling off their assembly line. Chevrolet ran …
The Roaring Twentys – a great time in US social and economic history. 1928 things still looked pretty good and no indication of the tough economic times that would lead to the terrible 30’s. 1928 saw 8 car companies fighting it out for market shares. Chevy lead the way with just over a million …
Well we are finally at the next to last post for the tear down of my 1973 Mustang SportsRoof 351 Cleveland. Everything has been removed and we can not get a look at the last piece of the puzzle in figuring out what needs to be done to make this thing run again.
Take a look at the cylinders.
All the indications are that this engine was oil starved at some point. I’m sure it was a result of the valve supporting the #2 cylinder being fired shut, but that is still just a guess.
If you look back at earlier posts, I waffled between guessing if this Cleveland had been apart and worked on. Well by the sight of the cross-hatching it’s clear that the cylinders have been worked before and I’m guessing the rings are well.
Next the block, crank and cam are headed off to a machine shop and things become very clear after the experts look at this 351C.
The 351 Cleveland is out of #ProjectSportsRoof. Yeah…I know!! It seemed like to took … Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. I’m getting ready to pull the 351C …
Thanks checking back in with the 1973 Mustang (#ProjectSportsRoof). … the knocking in the bottom end and if the 351 Cleveland in #ProjectSportsRoof is going …
