Tag Archives: Chevrolet Corvette

Barrett-Jackson Auction Scottdale, Az

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Let me start of by saying, WOW!!!   Of course that’s what I say every year I attend.

There is a lot of things to do (oh, not just car stuff but one of my better-half’s favorite  — shopping — everything from jewelry to purses to beds) , people to talk to and cars, cars and cars.  Car people are at their best when they are around their cars.

This year was a bit different for me, yes, I sat a watched the auction a bit, I really wanted to talk to some of the vendors (I have a project to work on) and wander around the various staging areas.

Some of my favorite vendors were the Karl Kustom Corvettes.  These are re-bodied C6/Z06 underpinnings/platforms and put some of the most popular Corvette bodies the ’63 split window coupe and the 67 Roadster.  These are outstanding looking cars and if they perform like the Z06 and I understand the auction price. Oh and it is not just the bodies, they’ll take your old LS3 and knock it up to 599hp and your lame LS7 to 650hp…I’m just saying!!!    Check them out at:   http://www.karlkustomcorvettes.com/

Normally they have some sort of racing event or car demo, last time I attended -2009 they had 4 wheel drive area to the lasted models of Jeep and Hummer, and drifting demo.  This year if you registered with Ford and Chevy (they walk you up to a computer and you punch your information) you were allowed to drive two of their latest models offerings.  Since I’ve driving the Mustang and the Corvette before, I opted to drive the SHO Ford Taurus and the 2011 Camaro convertible.

 

2011 Ford Taurus...Oh..don't laugh..this ain't your daddy's Taurus

2011 Camaro Convertible

 

Let me say this about the Taurus SHO …Surprising!!!!   It doesn’t look like much…but get behind the wheel and you’ll feel the kick.  I managed to get the  rear end to slide around (much to the Ford reps surprise) on the short track they had set up.  That car says “sleeper” all over it, but you’ll shock the guy next to you taking off from that red light on your way to work. (Come..ON!!!  You know you do that red light mini drag thing…yeah..ya do!!!)

The Camaro was awesome as well.  I pick up one if I had room to park it.

Additionally they had the Bondurant guys there and they’d give you a spinning the their Z06 as well as a racing school out of Utah, that made it known to me that they were a “real” racing school and used real race set Mustangs unlike the Bondurant’s “street’ cars.  They had a couple of cars there’s as well.

Here’s a few more pics and I’ll finish up a bit later.

 

 

Bagged Restro Mustang

Entry on to the Stage. A beautiful DeSoto on it's way to the block.

Factory Race ready Camaro

 

 

More to come.  Thanks for reading.

Tim

 

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, AZ

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Headed there this weekend.  Look for pics and posts coming up.

 

Tim

Engine Mini Series – Chevy’s 283 Part 3

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This is the part of the engine series where I list the uses for the power plant.  The 283, as I mentioned, carried Chevy engines to the next level, by being the first engine that car manufacturers were able to coax out the same horsepower as the displacement.

From 1957 (its inception) to 1959 the 283 was the base model V8 for nearly all Chevys, coming in a 2 and 4 barrel versions with the 4 barrel being the main power plant for the Corvette.  In 1958 the 4 barrel version was dubbed the Super Turbo Fire with 220-230 hp with 9.5:1 heads.   (Toss that name in with other versions like the 348 Turbo Thrust and the Super Turbo Thrust which sported 3 two barrel carbs.)  The other premier engine during that period was of course the FI used in the Corvette with 9.5:1 and 10.0:1 compression.

The 283 Super Turbo Fire

1960-1961 saw the base 283 drop to a 2 barrel and muster just 185 hp.  The bright spots were engines used only in the Corvette, the dual quad and the FI engines.  1961 also saw the 283 go MARINE – nope not joining that elite military branch but rather Chris-Craft the boat builder, sealed it tight and give a duty on their Cavalier Cruiser vessel.

Marine 283 for Chris Craft Cavalier Cruiser

Not much changed in 1962-1963, at least nothing very exciting.  Chevy dropped the dual quad as an option (although I bet you could still get it done) and the 283 dropped in hp to 170 and as was no longer an option for the Corvette, but was added to the Impala.

As perhaps a last chance to breathe some life into 283 Chevy gave it a bump in hp to 195 and it found a new home in the new Chevy II in 1964 and 1965 a 4V was added give the iron 220 hp and another new home the ’65 Chevelle.

But that couldn’t save the 283, it was time for Chevy to move on and 1966 was its final year.  It served as the base V8 that year as an option for the Chevy II and Chevelle and the other Chevy sedan’s, like my 1966 Impala.

Although it seems like I give this a quick pass (not a long list of models) the 283 served nearly all models of Chevy from 1957 to 1966, listing them all would be, well ..repetitive . Interesting enough it never crossed over to the other GM brands.  But it did make it into the Canada made Studebaker cars  in 1965 and 1966.

During the it’s life span the 283 was offered with every transmission available for that year. From the torque glide to the power glide automatic transmissions and even a few 3 and 4 speed manuals.  Additionally, I was surprised to find that it was offered with air suspension with some automatic.

Did the 283 really die? Nope it received the cam from the 327 and became Chevy’s 307!!

Notable:

–          The 327 followed the 283 and although it was an entirely hunk of iron, to keep cost down Chevy used some 283 components initially.

–          GM’s RPO 579E option on the 283.  579E was called the Air Box.  It was perhaps the first production cold air induction system(at least for Chevy). It consisted of a plenum box mounted on the fender well of the driver’s side.  The box was fitted to an opening in the bulkhead next to the radiator with an air filter inside.  The duck work ran to the fuelies injection unit. Records indicate that there were only 43 produced in 1957.

1957 Corvette AirBox

–          Corvette Fuelies had a reputation for hard starts and finicky operation and many were replaced with the standard carburetor  (1957)…Flash Forward the 1984 Corvette Crossfire (fuel injected) (Of which I was a previous owner) suffered from finicky operating and some were replaced with carburetor set ups.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of engine history and as always, thanks for reading.

The correct should be – the 283 received the “crank” from the 327 (not the cam) and became the 307.

Thanks.

Tim

Tim

Auto Factoid 2011-2 Chevy Engines

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1965 – 1966  Chevy’s mainstay V8 the 283 was used in several Studebaker models build in Canada.

 

1966 Studebaker Cruiser

1966 Studebaker with Chevy’s 283

Chris-Craft boat manufacturer used the 283 in their water boats.

 

 

Marine 283 for Chris Craft Cavalier Cruiser

Chris-Craft Used Chevy’s 283

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Auto Factoids 2011-1 Corvette Fuelies RPO 5789E

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1957 – 1958  saw the use of the New 283 engine in Chevy‘s including the Corvette.

The Corvette was fitted with the Rochester RamJet and RAM’s horn intake as the RPO Code 579D.  But recently during some research I read that there was another modification.

It was called the Air Box Option, RPO 579E and it was perhaps the first production cold air induction system(at least for Chevy).

It consisted of a plenum box mounted on the fender well of the driver’s side.  The box was fitted to an opening in the bulkhead next to the radiator with an air filter inside.  The duck work ran to the fuelies injection unit.

Records indicate that there were only 43 produced in 1957.

 

1957 Corvette AirBox

Thanks for Reading.

Tim

 

Engine Mini Series – Chevy’s 283 Prt 2

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Oh yes, believe it or not, the 283 put the Corvette at the cutting edge of performance in 1957, fitted with the RamJet FI (fuel injection) system (“fuelie” was the gearhead term for that).  In 1958 the 283 was the base engine for the Corvette, but the 283 that use to put on 283 hp was tuned to create an even 290 hp. If that wasn’t enough for you (of course it wasn’t enough, two words that should never be heard together ‘enough’ and ‘horsepower’…unless…the word ‘not’ precedes them).  The RamJet FI was an available option RPO 579D.

Additional configurations were dual four barrel carbs that produced 270 hp, they were either Rochester or Carter AFB.  The cam was changed in 1958 to give 0.398 inches of lift, improvements made to get more oil to the lifters and the exhaust manifold was reworked, called the Ram Horn’s manifold.  There was a change in how the 283 was mounted.  Chevy used the 3 point system with a mount on each side and one at the rear of the engine at the transmission.

Intake manifold for the 283 Double Quad

Dual Quad set up on a 283

In 1961 the FI jumped the engines’ horsepower to 315.  (Hey, the base corvette in 2007 was 400 hp.) The FI wasn’t the only improvement for the 283 in 1961.  It was treated with a set of solid lifter, improved heads and hydraulic cam which helped the block rich 315 hp, easily.  This would be as far as the 283 would go in horsepower – in production.  1961 was also the last time the dual four barrel carbs were available as an optional configuration.

By 1962 the 283 was replaces by an entirely new engine the 327 (that’s another mini series) as the premier Chevy small block.  The 283 was dropped from the a power plant for the Corvette to a base engine for Chevy’s passenger and used from 1963 to 1964.  Its horsepower dropped to 170 and 195 for two configurations.  A small bright was a four barrel configuration for 1965-67 that produced 220 hp. (That was the configuration of my 1966 Impala convertible.)

Of note is the use of the 283 in Chevy’s light trucks with a two barrel configuration for most of the models in 1958 to 1962.  It produced only 160 horsepower.  For the 1963 to 1967 light truck models the hp was increased to 175.

1967 was the last year for the historic 283.

 

1966 Chevy Impala

 

Coming up next a recap of the uses of the 283.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Happy Anniversary, New Year and Thank You.

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As we close out the year that was 2010, I celebrate the first year anniversary of Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing.

Over the past year, I’ve enjoyed jotting down my thoughts and experiences.  Mostly, I’ve enjoyed hearing back from readers here on my Word Press main site and in other social media.

This past year I’ve seen the page views on this “one man” blog go from just a couple per week, to nearly 1500 a month.  Not bad for a non-commercial blog, with no paid advertising.  So THANK YOU.   I hope to hear from and read your comments and views in 2011.

What’s coming up in 2011?  Mods on the ’70 Mustang, tweaking of the LS2 on the 07 Corvette and I’ll continue with the Auto Factoids in their new format.  You will see more mini engine series,  kicking off the New Year one of my favorites Chevy’s 283  and there will be more racing events, test ‘n’ tunes and Mom and Pop racing teams highlighted.  There will be more contests and DVDs to give away and  project updates from readers. Oh…I’m coming out with the Average Guy’s 2011 Calendar look for that on-line.

It’s going to be a fun new year.

To you and yours – may 2011 bringing nothing but happiness and joy.

Happy New Year.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

More Car Art – Who says the Average Car Guy doesn’t like art??

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Well, I don’t know about every car guy, but I do know what I like.

Some of my favorites are abandon car art, but I enjoy a lot of other subject matters as well.

If you look  to the right of this post you’ll see one of my favorites.  My old 1984 C4  red Corvette, closely following what would be my future car(unbeknownst to me at the time) a black C6 Corvette.  I have one other favorite and that’s a rendering of the interior of my 1970 Mustang.

My 1970 Mustang

I’ve known this starving artist (he’s not really starving, my wife won’t allow that) his entire life.  Ryan has a great eye for car art. (Shameless plug.  This image and the image of the Corvettes, nicely framed, make great gifts, tis the season.)

While tooling a round a little town in Southern Arizona this past Black Friday (Nov 26), I happened to meet an artist named Scott Taft and had to purchase  a picture of 1959 Chevy that he had transferred to metal.  You can see his work at http://www.fanartreview.com/sctaft.

One other web site I ran across was this one, it’s got a little more bling, but some very nicely done pieces. It’s called Car Art Work and you can see their offerings @ www.carartwork.biz.

Car Art Work

Just for the record I don’t receive any money, free stuff or benefit in any way (other than a big thank from my son if one of his images sell) for mentioning these artists or companies. This just stuff I like.

Thanks for reading.

Tim