Here is another row. I’ve never seen this many Avanti. One of the owners heard me say to my wife, “I don’t know there were this many Avanti left!” He tossed me a disapproving look and then laughed.
So enjoy Avanti row.
And some more!!!!
Avanti Engines
Thanks for reading. More coming up.
Tim
Here’s another Parking Lot Spotlight.
I love just about any car in a 2 door configuration older than 1975. This two door Monterey is no exception.
1963 Monterey – you can see my newer than 1975 two door in the pic.
Tail light configuration. Love the over hang on the rear electric window.
The Monterey was a large heavy car, even the two door configuration, nearly 4000 lbs. It came in 4 door and 2 door body styles with only about 8000 combined production between the 2 door sedan and the 2 door coup. (The Monterey Custom had 3 separate 2 door models – the Mar fsback coup, hard top coup and convertible.)
Engines were V8’s, mainly the 390 with a bore and stroke of 4.05 x 2.94. Compression was 8.9:1 and managed about 101 hp with a ford C3OF-9510 two barrel. (1963 Mercury used the 427 in their NASCAR offerings, grabbing 1 Grand National win. It was the first appearance of the 427 in a Merc.)
This one will need a little work before it’s ready for the track!!!!
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Dom Romney is an internationally award winning automotive and motor sport photographer working out of London, England. At only seventeen Dom started as work as a press photographer before decided to set up his own business – Dom Romney Photography was born in the spring of 2010, and has grown quickly in to a brand with clients across the globe.
Working solely with editorial and commercial clients, Dom’s high contrast vibrant work has already won him numerous awards and recognition from his peers. Along with his success as a photographer, Dom also provides lectures at the world renowned Citylit centre in london, teaching on a mix of techniques and technologies.
Dom writes “I got the call from Fast Car magazine to shoot this awesome aircooled for their wild card section, however to do justice to its American barn-find heritage, it needed to be shot in barn! Typical English barns are normally of concrete and corrugated steel construction, a far cry from the traditional timber barns you get in the States and hardly a nice photographic backdrop. After locating a plausible wooden barn in middle england (a task that was harder than you’d expect) we set about shooting it. To add to the vintage, weathered feel and to give the image the same feel as that satin, suede patina, we processed the images with some warm muted textures which I think really make the feature. Here is a small selection of my favourite images from the shoot.”
You can view more of Dom’s photography at domromney.com
We have a couple of debuts’ this week and a couple of Birthdays.
First up on Sept. 23 in 1969 the iconic and now recreated Dodge Challenger.
From this:
1969 Challenger
And this:
The Iconic General Lee
To this:
The 2012 version.
Virgil Exner was born on the 24th of Sept in 1909. Who was “Ex”? A car designer. Oh…ok…of what? Just a couple of designs, like all of these:
Studebaker Champion
Studebaker Starlight
Chrysler C-200
Chrysler 300 letter series
Chrysler 300 non-letter series
Chrysler New Yorker
Imperial 1955-1961
Chrysler Diablo Concept with Ghia
Plymouth Savoy
Plymouth Belvedere
Plymouth Fury
Plymouth Suburban
Plymouth Valiant
Dodge Coronet
Dodge Firearrow Concept
Desoto 1961
Desoto Adventurer
Bugatti 1965 concept with Ghia
Mercer-Cobra 1965 concept
Duesenberg 1966 prototype with Ghia
Stutz Blackhawk
Bill France was born on the 26th in 1909 in our nations capital. Mr. France was an American race car driver. He is best known for co-founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of United States-based stock car racing.
The final debuts was on Sept. 26, 1967 when AMC released the Javelin.
1967 Javelin
Thanks for reading
Tim
Here are your auto factoids for the week of Aug 26.
Aug 27, 1902 the Cadillac company was founded and on the same day in 1877 Charles Rolls was born in London, England.
1902 Caddy The Runabout
Rolls Royce 1904
On the 29th in 1898 Goodyear was incorporated and on the same day Charles Kettering was born in Dayton, Ohio…who? Well so you don’t have to GOOGLE it ….. He was a founder of Delco, and was head of research at General Motors from 1920 to 1947. Among his most widely used automotive inventions were the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline.
English: Charles F. Kettering, pictured with his first electric starter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
And that finishes up the month of August.
Last chance this month to Win the 1/32 scale of the 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee. Add a comment and you’ll be entered to win our monthly drawing.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Posted: July 29, 2012 in Uncategorized
I decided the time had come to get the front clip taken off the Wagon. I wanted to get the front frame cleaned up, and do the front end by the end of summer. I am shocked at how few bolts actually hold the whole front clip onto the ’58. 11 bolts, disconnect some wiring, and you can lift the whole front Clip (Dog house) off in one piece. It’s taken me longer to change the oil on a car than to remove the front clip on this car!
First I had to remove the front bumper with brackets attached. That was fine, except for the one chrome bumper bolt on each end of the bumper. They fought back pretty good. I had to sawzall them off.
I was without any help to lift the front clip off, so I had to tilt the front forward onto some large Foam cushions I had saved out of an old travel trailer I had gotten rid of years ago. They are a perfect for laying under vehicles to work on, and for cushioning large loads like this.
Next I will be removing the wiring from the front clip and saving it for future use. This front clip needs work. The front fender bottoms are rusty, and the hood is so badly rusted it is of no use. So either I will sell this old clip to someone who has nothing, or dismantle it, save parts and scrap it.
Back by popular demand (Ok, not really, I just like doing them.)
But I’m going to add a give-away on the end of each one.
On Aug 14 in 1877, Nicholas Otto gets a patented for his 4 cycle combustion engine.
From the ZweiRad Museum Otto’s 4 cycle engine.
On the same day Paris, France creates the first every license plate in 1893. Or was it? Sources agree that it in fact Paris, France but the date isn’t clear as some sources say it was Leon Serpollet of Paris, France, who obtained the first license plate in 1889.
License plates were first required in the United States by New York State in 1901.
There ya go.
A sad note on the very next day (Aug 15) in 1956 an early car manufacture ceased production. Packard closed its doors.
It was a Packard Caribbean
In 1984 on Aug 16, John DeLorean was acquitted of cocaine charges stemming from an alleged deal to help raise funds for the car company. He worked at Chrysler, Packard, GM (responsible for the GTO) and then his company producing the now famous Delorean DMC-12.
Back to the Future.The company still exist – original parts were purchased and now lives in Humble, Tx. Find them here on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/deloreanmotorcompany
Finally, in 1905 on Aug 18, Cadillac got it’s crest trademarked.
Caddy Crest Chart from http://www.cartype.com/pages/1051/cadillac
GIVE-AWAY:
Add a relevant comment to this Auto Factoid and you be entered in the monthly Auto Factoid Give Away.
This month:
1/32 scale 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee (new in the box)
1/32 Scale 69 Super Bee.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Went back to visit my family in Louisiana this past weekend; I always have a good time when I’m back there. There’s always something new with the family that we’re able to catch up on, or a new eatery that just opened up to check out. Never Trust A Skinny Food Critic blog has the scoop on the places we ate out at. My blog is mostly about cars/photography however and if you’ll remember, I’ve done a post in the past on my brothers ZR1. I had the pleasure of shooting the ZR1 again, but this time the car is vastly more improved and with updated modifications. I’m really impressed by the looks of the car and how the subtle changes really changed the previous stock ZR1. I didn’t get to drive the car this time; my brother was always in a hurry hence the quick photo shoot in the driveway. It’s too bad too because I had a sweet spot picked out in my mind for the shoot. But these things happen and there just wasn’t enough time. I did the best I could though to show the beauty of this ZR1. Hope you guys enjoy.
-RSP-
One of the reason we were in a hurry…see the rain clouds? I thought it would have been kinda cool to do a photo shoot in the rain but my brother wasn’t having it.
I give that ASS 4 thumbs up!!
The door sill reminds you that you’re stepping into a ZR1
Custom logo wheels for the ZR1
What’s a car without a stereo system.
Posted By John Katz, June 25, 2012 in E-News, Engine & Drivetrain
Part 1 http://wp.me/pKHNM-1cL
Part 2 http://wp.me/pKHNM-1cL
From www.hotrodandrestoration.com
Switch Shifters 
With manual transmissions in demand, it isn’t surprising to find that a fair number of vehicles—particularly muscle-era vehicles—that left the factory with an automatic transmission are being rebuilt with a manual. Frederick estimated that about 60 percent of American Powertrain’s classic muscle car customers are replacing an automatic transmission with a manual.
“[The conversion] is time-consuming, but not terribly complicated,” Frederick said. “Most of the parts bolt in.”
“It isn’t for the faint-of-heart or for anyone short on patience, but it’s do-able,” Hill added. “It’s just a matter of working through the process.”
Obviously you’ll need a pedal assembly; fortunately, according to Hill, there are a lot of aftermarket units that work quite well.
“That also gives you the option of using a hydraulic release bearing instead of a mechanical clutch linkage, which, depending on the application, can have some advantages,” Hill said. “It’s going to take a longer or shorter drive shaft. It’s going to take a different yoke on that driveshaft. The power bushing in the motor for the transmission input shaft may have to be changed. The starter could be affected by the diameter of the flywheel you put into the vehicle.
“You start at the back of the crankshaft and start matching componentry as well as possible—and if you can’t match it, then you have to compensate for it,” Hill continued. “I don’t think we’ve ever run into something we couldn’t convert, as long as we’re talking about American muscle.”
Many of the same issues crop up even when swapping one manual for another—for example, the customer who has a 454 and a Muncie and wants to put a modern six-speed in it.
Like many other projects, it’s significantly easier with older (i.e., pre-computer) hardware. If either the engine or the transmission came with computer controls, it gets a little more involved. And keep in mind that even some modern manuals now have computer controls—the GM transmission that comes with the LS engine, for example, with its skip-shift function.
Of course, some customers will want to go the other way and replace a factory manual with a new, high-tech automatic.
“It’s most important to make sure you have all the correct components—and that you make the finished job look appealing to the customer,” said Poff of TCI. “It’s the mounting that’s most likely to give you trouble.”
According to the experts, you’ll need to ensure that you have the right crossmembers and that there’s enough room inside the tunnel.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution; every application is unique,” added Poff. “But once the physical installation is accomplished, it’s pretty straightforward to make everything operational.”
Either way, Nichols suggested finding out from the customer how critical it is to keep the car looking original, versus the cost to locate and install all of the correct original components.
As with so much else in hot rodding, the best results generally come from purchasing and installing complete systems.
“That goes for any product from any company in this business,” Frederick said. “We say, ‘Look, we have a turnkey kit. We figured it all out, and all you to do it plug and play.’ Buy it all from one source and you know all the parts are going to work together.”
Thanks for reading.
Tim
Fresh out of WWII the America car industry was facing the challenge of converting back to peace time auto production. This as a huge task and the pressure was on, because if the average American owned a car there was a good change (50%) that it was 9 years old or older and needed replacing. Materials were still in short supply, money wasn’t and to ensure that stayed the case most of the car company merely refreshed their 1942 cars. Toss in labor issue and you can understand how tough the situations was.
Ford lead the 17 manufacturers that year with 468,022 units produced. Chevy followed second with 398,028 cars. The others followed as such:
Plymouth – 264,660 Dodge – 163,490
Buick – 153, 627 Pontiac – 137,640
Olds – 117,623 Nash – 94, 000
Hudson – 91,029 Mercury – 86,608
Chrysler – 83,310 DeSoto – 66,900
Packard – 30, 793 Caddy – 29,214
Studebaker – 19,275 Lincoln – 16,465
Corsley – 4, 99
1946 Crosely….not much to look at for sure but it did sport a 4 cylinder power plant.
I’m betting they meant to build this:
Thanks for reading.
Tim
