Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

“The tool lust has been with me for a long time—even before I could drive”. I snuck off to the basement again last night. It’s been a favored refuge of mine lately, but not as a means of escaping the happenings upstairs. The basement is where the tools are. They’ve been down there for a long time, but for the past several years, it’s all been largely neglected, the aftereffects of making a couple moves and having a couple kids. Only having the time to get everything from one place to another has left the onetime organization of my evolving tool set a shambles, drawers strewn randomly with items that may or may not belong there, and many more bits and pieces in boxes and bags in the garage. It’s…

HISTORIC NASCAR DIE-CAST REPLICAS University of Racing • www.hmn.com/racing • 800-227-4373, ext 79550 $84.99-$124.99 We’ve been familiar with the die-cast models of NASCAR stock cars created by Charlotte-based University of Racing for quite a while. You may have seen a few of them reviewed in this space. These are 1/24th-scale replicas of specific cars from NASCAR’s past, with gorgeous, fully accurate livery and an impressive attention to detail in the design and assembly process. If you’re into NASCAR’s yesterdays, these models have a place on your shelf. Now, for the first time, Hemmings has reached a cooperative agreement with University of Racing, and its entire line will be available for purchase through our catalog and online. University of Racing chooses landmark race cars and releases them in a variety…

In the 1960s, Canada’s population was roughly one-tenth of that of the United States. In fact, the state of New York had nearly as many residents as all of Canada—with more than a third of our northern neighbor’s equivalent population squeezed into New York City, alone. It was curious, then, that Detroit’s Big Three spent considerable resources to develop exclusive brands and products for the Canadian market. From an economy of scale perspective, it didn’t make a lot of sense, but cultural nuances and trade policies drove the decisions. Tariffs made it economically impractical to send most American-built cars to Canada and vice versa, so Chrysler, Ford and General Motors all had plants up north cranking out cars exclusively for Canadian customers. Developing unique models for them was inevitable. Each…

This is in regards to Terry McGean’s “Total, Recalled” in the March issue (#163) This hit close to home, as in 1965 I ordered a 1966 Coronet 500 two-door hardtop with a 383 and four-speed, and took delivery in January of 1966. This was my first new car and a daily driver, as most were back then. It was my only car, and used year-round. It was a great car and I had no trouble with it at all. In 1976, with my wife, daughter, mom and dad in the car, we were heading to my parents’ home after visiting relatives in Minneapolis on Christmas Eve, when a car made a left turn in front of me. It was snowing and slippery — I managed to slow down, but we…

It’s difficult to deny the significance of electronics in our lives; the technology is generally more efficient, compact and reliable than what it’s replacing. But even with those obvious attributes, there are still times when old-tech is preferred. Anyone who has correctly restored a muscle car will tell you that there are circumstances when appearances just can’t be compromised, especially if you’re attempting to garner maximum points at a car show. But what if we told you about an ignition upgrade that lets you have your cake and eat it too? The Breakerless SE kit from M&H Electrical Fabricators allows you to convert any 1957-’74 GM/AMC/Jeep “window-style,” breaker-point-type V-8 distributor to modern electronics while still retaining the original single-wire connection and appearance. It also works with your original equipment (OEM)…

MISSING ELECTRONS Q: I have a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport fastback that has been in the family since new. The car has been stored every year for winter, and over the years has obviously used many batteries. This past spring when I took the car out of storage, I had no issues with the battery, initially. Then, about a month or two afterwards, I took the car for a drive but had to make a quick stop only a mile or two down the road. When I got back in the car it was dead. I tried to trickle-charge the battery, but it wouldn’t take a charge. This battery was only about five years old and still had a prorated warranty, so I ended up getting a new one…

Pity the poor Ford Y-block. Debuting for 1954, the OHV V-8 beat Chevrolet’s vaunted “small-block” out of the gate by a whole model year and seemed poised to continue the legacy of the flathead well into the future. Like its older brother from Lincoln, the Ford Y is a rugged design with a crankshaft supported by extra-deep skirting—giving it a head-on profile much like a capital “Y,” and thus its name. The clever boys from marketing even called its six-cylinder companion the “I-block” for a few years. Although Ford made much of the potential longevity of the Y-block, the design itself was fairly short lived, quickly superseded as a top passenger-car engine by the FE-series in 1958 and phased out entirely after the debut of the Windsor-style small-block in 1962.…

$40 GRAND AND 485 HORSEPOWER: THE BEST PERFORMANCE-SEDAN BUY IN AMERICA? Last year, the cost of an average new car in America was just north of $34,000. You can get relatively well-equipped Camrys, Accords, Malibus, Impalas and Fusions for that kind of money — some even approach $40 grand once they’re leathered up, Bluetoothed, Ziebarted and Scotchgarded to the service department’s liking. But they won’t pay for someone to wake you up when the payment book is empty. And so, to the Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack. As you see it here, with TorRed paint and 20-inch wheels and cloth bucket seats and satellite radio and 485 naturally-aspirated horses from 6.4 liters of Hemi under that NACA-ducted hood, it stickers for $39,990. Forty grand out the door. For a near-two-and-a-half-ton…

Raise your hand if you’re still driving the car you took your driver’s license test with. We’d imagine were we in the same room with all of you that we’d be lucky to see just a few hands shoot up. But if Zach Merrill were in that hypothetical room, you can bet he would have his hand held high. The owner of this gorgeously clean, and oh-so-stock-looking 1965 Mustang fastback, Zach has been driving it since even before he got his license in 1972, clandestinely doing laps in his father’s 25-acre salvage yard. But his desire for this Ivy Green classic goes back to 1965, when his sister ordered it new. Zach’s father had always been in the motor vehicle business one way or another in the family’s home state…

To varying degrees, we’re all obsessed with collecting things. It’s a natural condition in our world. Stuff flies in and out of our lives with sometimes-dizzying speed. Some of the things that get away you know, sadly, you’re unlikely to ever see again. And then, something valuable — treasured — can unexpectedly find its way back under your roof again. No guarantees, but it can happen. That’s what makes the story of this 1970 Oldsmobile, an insanely rare example with the W-31 package, so pleasingly compelling. Yes, it got away from its original owner and stayed out of sight for two decades and then some. But when it miraculously found its way back into Bill Baggett’s hands, it was a fully restored car that needed absolutely nothing except the warmth…

Attention, anyone who pooh-poohs the idea that cars from the ’80s will never be worth anything: Low production and high performance will always have enthusiast and collector interest, no matter the era in which the car was built. Whenever someone pulls out the hoary old trope about how nothing built after 1972 matters, this is the car that pops to mind as evidence to the contrary. This is the limited-production, turbocharged 1989 Pontiac Fire-bird Trans Am 20th Anniversary Edition, all examples of which also served as Indy Pace Car replicas. With this iteration of the Turbo Trans Am (TTA), Pontiac started with its high-zoot GTA model: All were white, with camel interior. The vast majority of TTAs came equipped with both available options—T-tops and leather seats. Solid-roof and cloth-seat variants…

ENGINE Both the 440 and 426 Street Hemi originate from Chrysler’s RB-series and were unveiled for 1966. The 440 was fitted with a forged-steel crankshaft, a long-duration hydraulic camshaft, and an 800-cfm Carter AVS four-barrel carburetor. As to the Hemi, internals consisted of forged-aluminum pistons, a forged-steel crank, and a solid-lifter camshaft. Completing the engine was a pair of 625-cfm Carter AFB four-barrel carbs. Both engines mandated dual exhaust. TRANSMISSION The standard TorqueFlite automatic was the durable and heavy-duty A727 three-speed unit that, without a center console, would have been column-shifted. The gearbox would have been accompanied by a four-disc front clutch pack against the 440 and a five-disc front clutch pack in conjunction with the 426 Hemi, though internal gear ratios were identical. A no-cost option was the heavy-duty…

“…the lights on the Muscle-Car Midway were growing dim and the dyno cells had all gone cold.” Even in the muscle car twilight, inter-factory rivalry was always on Condition Red. Nobody ever wanted to look bad in front of the other guy. It was standard procedure for a manufacturer to shuttle its high-performance flagships to a black-ops cell, a tacit factory arm that would perform one or more of the three desired modifications, depending on the severity of the shoot-out and the number of jobs at stake: 1. sharp tune-up, linkage adjustment; 2. equalized combustion chamber volume, valve spring heights, revamped spark curve, most advantageous carb jetting, super valve job, valve lash adjustment; 3. and finally, the burrito grande, which included all of the above plus a short-block brought to…

When Buick restorer Nick Serwo purchased this GS 400 in the early 2000s with the intent of harvesting its rust-free sheetmetal for another project, at first glance he saw, “a poor old race car.” It had tow tabs up front, a roll bar inside, manual steering and brakes, and aside from one bucket seat and the stock dashboard, no interior to speak of. Under its hood was a transplanted 430-cu.in. short-block backed by the A-body’s original Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 transmission and 3.64-geared Positive Traction rear end. The seller, Bill Lagna of Maryland, removed and kept the top-end engine components, as any Buick aficionado worth his salt would, since the heads, intake, carburetor and headers were all legendary Stage 2 items. He had bought the GS knowing they were on it,…

HMM PRODUCT TEST: CUSTOM FENDER COVERS There might have been a time when those scratches and grease stains along the tops of your car’s fenders were badges of honor—evidence of your efforts under the hood. But that ended the day you either got that car painted or acquired a nicer one with a good finish. The traditional solution has been vinyl fender covers, but Bob Baker may have devised a better mouse trap. Bob created a fender cover that encircles the engine compartment, without the tendency to fall off. Made to order for specific applications, the quilted covers are similar to furniture moving blankets. Using soft polyester with recycled cotton fill, the standard model is 3/8-inch thick, while the premium version employs a type of microfiber cloth and recycled cotton…

THE NUMBERS TOTAL SALES: $10.25 million (unaudited) including $2.5 million in automobilia TOP MUSCLE CAR SALE: 1965 Shelby G.T. 350, $445,500 UPCOMING AUCTION BY BARRETT-JACKSON DATE: June 21-24, 2017 LOCATION: Uncasville, Connecticut CONTACT: www.barrett-jackson.com LEGEND CONDITION: 1 = Excellent; 2 = Very Good; 3 = Average; 4 = Poor; 5 = Major Project RESERVE: Minimum price owner will accept TOP BID: The highest offer made (but vehicle did not sell) SELLING PRICE: What the vehicle sold for AVERAGE SELLING PRICE: Average market value of vehicles in similar condition January’s auction week in and around Scottsdale, Arizona, is always good for market news, and this time around, Barrett-Jackson declared that 40 sales records were broken at its 46th annual Scottsdale Auction, held the 14th through the 22nd, 2017, at WestWorld. Though…

WATER INJECTION, HOLLEY ECONOMASTER CARBURETORS STILL AVAILABLE? Q: I have a 1974 Pontiac Ventura with a 250-cubic-inch six-cylinder engine that gets good gas mileage, but I am looking for better mileage yet. Am I all wet, or can I still purchase a water-injection kit and Holley Economaster carburetor to install on this Pontiac? William Fenzel A: Edelbrock used to manufacture a complete electronically controlled water-injection kit called Vara-Jet. The company no longer lists that kit, but at the time of this writing, there were two original boxed units from the early ’80s for sale on eBay. Holley also produced a water-injection kit for carburetors; however, the current water injection kit the company still offers (part #557-101) is tailored for fuel-injection systems, and is pressure-fed instead of the old-style vacuum-feed. There…

May 4-6 Vicari Auction Nocona, Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . 504-264-2277 May 5-7 Rhinebeck Swap Meet & Car Show Rhinebeck, New York . . . . . . . 845-876-3554 May 6 Annual Spring Car Show Wells, Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207-985-9287 May 7 Annual Moon City Swap Meet Wapakoneta, Ohio . . . . . . . . . 419-394-6484 May 7 Annual Spring Auto Parts Swap Meet Monticello, Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . 319-465-5119 May 7 Sumter Swap Meet Bushnell, Florida . . . . . . . . . . . 727-848-7171 May 10 Silver Auctions Spokane, Washington . . .…

OREGON’S $1,000 IMPACT TAX ON VEHICLES THAT ARE 20+ SPIKED AFTER INTRODUCTION Days after a bill that would levy a $1,000 impact tax on any vehicle older than 20 years was introduced, Oregon state legislators said they would not allow it to become law. Presented by the state’s House Committee on Revenue on February 9, H.B. 2877 rationalized that older vehicles cause disproportionate wear on Oregon roads, and would have imposed the tax every five years on vehicles registered in the state that are two decades old or older. The only exemption the bill made was for those registered as antiques. Revenue from the impact tax would have gone toward repairing and maintaining the state’s roads and bridges, reportedly a priority for the Oregon legislature. Under Oregon law, only vehicles…

I met and dated my wife of 38 years in this car when we were both college students. We went to the mountains on our honeymoon in this car and brought our first child home from the hospital in it. I drive the car probably 1,000, 1,500 miles a year, because I’m a member of the Memory Lane Cruisers in Clarksville. If I had to do anything over again, I would buy the car back sooner than I actually did. Not everyone gets the chance to buy back the exact car that they owned in their youth. I consider myself lucky that I had this chance given to me and that I followed through with it. It’s a decision that I will never regret. Go for it while you have…

Back in 1971, our intrepid roaming photographer, Bob McClurg, was handling PR for the Dayton, Ohio-based Pro Stock team that had Bobby Yowell as its driver. He did a lot of traveling around to divisional and national events. In doing so, he got to encounter members of other teams, especially those who raced Mopars, as Yowell did. And one of the toughest was a team of Chrysler engineers who were tasked, Ramchargers-style, with developing new technologies for drag racing. This was the Missile crew, so named for the various Dodges and Plymouths they raced under the Motown Missile and Mopar Missile monikers. Starting out with a Dodge Challenger, the team was tasked by Chrysler Performance Development with developing engine and drivetrain components for use in Pro Stock, and then sharing…

At best, repairing or restoring the original windshield washer system on a classic GM product is a crapshoot. These components utilize a diaphragm-design pump to pressurize the fluid that is extracted from the reservoir, and shoot it through the nozzles that are usually mounted in the hood or cowl vent and directed towards the windshield. Virtually every restoration parts purveyor offers a washer pump repair kit, but for some reason, installing the kit has always been marginally successful… at least for us. And even if the pump works once it’s installed, it seems that it’s just a matter of time before it gives out again. And, it usually happens at the most inopportune time. Thanks to the good folks at Trico, we now have a fix that will revive our…

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Block Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buick 455 V-8; cast-iron Cylinder Heads . . . . . . . . . . Buick prototype Stage 2, cast-iron, ported Displacement . . . . . . . . . . . 455 cu.in. Bore x Stroke. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3125 inches x 3.900 inches Compression Ratio . . . . . . . 13.8:1 Pistons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buick Stage 2 TRW; forged-aluminum Connecting Rods . . . . . . . . . Stock refurbished rods Horsepower @ RPM . . . . . . 595 @…

In the early ’60s, I was living at Lake Tahoe, California, with my parents, going to high school and college and working for Safeway during the summer as a checker. I could also be found watching all the pretty girls as they walked along the shore of that beautiful lake. My parents allowed me to put all the money I earned toward buying a car, so in June of 1962, at the age of 19, I went to the Chevrolet dealer in St. Helena, California, near the college I attended, and ordered a 1962 Impala with the 409-hp 409 with two four-barrels, close-ratio four-speed, 4.11 Positraction, cast-iron exhaust headers and 6,000-RPM tach on the steering column. It was not an SS car, just a regular Impala with a Coronna Cream…

A LOOK BACK AT SCOTTSDALE The various Scottsdale, Arizona, auctions in the latter half of January each year are always a welcome break from the post-holiday doldrums and put us in mind of warmer days ahead. Now that the results are in, it’s a great time to look at the muscle machines that found new owners and to contemplate the increased wrenching and pleasure-driving opportunities that are right around the corner. RUSSO AND STEELE Concurrent with Barrett-Jackson was Russo and Steele’s Scottsdale sale, which ran January 19-22. Among the higher-priced lots of the sale was a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 that found a new owner at $335,500. Another hot Ford was a 1962 Galaxie with G-code 406, which sold for $56,500. Mopar aficionados were treated to two Hemi cars…

“ If you are familiar with buying a muscle machine in the mid-Sixties, you are probably smiling now ”. How many of you remember building those cool AMT plastic muscle car models way back in the semi-dark ages? As a preteen, I was a plastic-model builder, fascinated by ships, planes and cars. As a result, it was very easy for my relatives to buy me birthday and Christmas presents. They all knew it could conveniently be a model, plastic model paint, glue or brushes, and so on, which I always needed. My father built a shelf along one wall of my attic room, which I filled with assembled models. Little did I know then that I would eventually be building my first muscle car in a very similar fashion! The…