Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2017 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

Looking at the image attached to the letter I’d just finished reading, I tried to imagine the feelings the writer must have had on the day that old photo was taken. The shot was of a ’66 Chevelle SS 396, resplendent in gleaming Marina Blue highlighted by chrome mags and redline tires. The photo was taken on a sunny day when the car was about a year old, though it could have passed for brand new. The story behind the car appears in our Muscle Car Scrapbook on page 76 of this issue, and the image that really got me was the one we used as the lead. On that day, the car was new to the writer — he’d just brought it home after picking it up as a…

JAHNS RACING PISTONS SIGN Garage Art • www.garageart.com • 800-708-5051 • $49.95 (24 x 14), $69.95 (36 x 21) Although this venerable brand dated back to 1912, Jahns Quality Pistons, Inc. had its heyday in the postwar era of high performance. By the mid-1960s, this Los Angeles-based firm claimed to be the world’s largest piston manufacturer, and made both cast- and forged-aluminum alloy pistons for contemporary street and racing applications, as well as for antique cars, imports, and industrial and experimental engines. For a time, Garage Art was able to offer an extremely limited amount of numbered porcelain reproductions of a 1960s-era Jahns Racing Pistons sign, and this firm is happy to now sell a popular-priced, “Authorized Service” version made from 22-gauge steel. It’s available in 24 x 14-…

For domestic auto manufacturers, fallout from Plymouth’s new-for-1968 Road Runner was swift and predictable. After all, not only did the Road Runner establish a new segment in the market —the budget muscle car — it simultaneously proved an immediate sales success, with over 44,000 sold, followed in 1969 with nearly twice that number of units. Other makes quickly followed suit to include the likes of ’68 Super Bees and ’69 Fairlane Cobras, but Pontiac’s entry in the psychedelic supercar market, the ’69 Judge, instead became an upscale option on the GTO, receiving its mid-grade engine as its standard bearer — the 366-horse Ram Air III. Atop the heap of 400s available that year was the 370-horse Ram Air IV — albeit at a budget-busting premium of $390 over and above…

ENGINE The Galaxie 500 was available with everything from the thrifty Mileage Maker Six to the 427-cu.in. Q- and R-code monsters. The upscale 500/XL started with the Challenger 289-2V. Many came equipped with 352- and 390-cu.in. FE-series big blocks. BRAKES Eleven-inch drum brakes, with optional power assist, were the only choice in 1964, with wider, three-inch front drums found in high-performance and severe-duty applications. A rarely seen option are aluminum “taxi” brake drums. TRANSMISSION Ford’s Toploader manual transmissions came out during the 1964 model year. They are strong and remain popular. Earlier Borg-Warner units, including overdrive, are also respectable boxes. Ford automatics, still evolving in 1964, also gave good service. INTERIOR The space-age styling of the 500/XL interior — starring bucket seats and floor shift — is a focal point…

“ John … took much of the guilt upon his own shoulders and carried it with him from that day on ”. As many readers of this column know, this past April, my son John Muldowney passed away suddenly at the age of 59. John was my only child. He grew up in the sport of drag racing, not so much by choice, but because long before he came along, his mother had already begun to pursue her relentless quest for drag-racing success. John certainly didn’t mind being so closely connected to a mother and father, my first husband, Jack Muldowney, who raced cool cars every weekend, and it wasn’t a big surprise that he would ultimately become a hard-working member of our team. Trying to be as good a…

HOLLEY 350 Q: Love your column. I don’t have a problem — on the contrary. The Auto-lite 2V on my 1968 Fairlane 289 was seeping fuel and I was looking for a rebuild. A friend suggested the Holley 350 with manual choke sold by Summit. A direct replacement, the Holley was advertised as “Pre-Tuned.” They weren’t kidding. I had it installed in 30 minutes and it immediately picked up a perfect idle. At cruise speed you barely breathe on the throttle and you hear the exhaust note change. It would be great to be packing a hot 351, but getting 20 mpg is also fun, so I’ll just love my 289 2V. Butch Gordo Winnemucca, Nevada A: Many new carburetors today, if ordered properly for the engine combination, work extremely…

It is an understatement to suggest that grassroots auto racing exploded in popularity after World War II. Auto races had always been popular spectator draws, but up through the 1930s, most formulas required special equipment — sure, the engines and driveline components might be based on production stuff, but the chassis and body were almost always custom built. This left the average Joe with some mechanical knowhow but little fabrication talent out in the cold as far as race-track glory. In the 1930s, the closest most amateur drivers got to the race track was maybe with a midget racer, the affordable alternative to the Indy-type “big cars” of the day. Racing for stripped stockers existed periodically, most notably with professional events held on public roads near Elgin, Illinois, and on…

390 FOR A ’65 THUNDERBIRD Q:I am in France, and I would like to change the engine of my 1965 Thunderbird to a new crate engine or a reconditioned unit so that I can continue to drive this car without any problems while still keeping the original horsepower (390-cubic inch, 300 hp, with a compression ratio of 10.8:1). Could you help me find a supplier to provide this type of engine? Jean-Pierre Tessiereau Via email A: Your 390 is part of Ford’s FE-series of V-8s, and though this engine has not been built by Ford since the mid-1970s, there are still quite a few suppliers offering remanufactured FE-series performance engines today; several of them will ship overseas as well. Phoenix Engine has several different versions of the 390 engine available…

Chrysler’s B-body Max Wedge- powered twins are occasionally referred to as the first muscle cars, fitting the traditional definition of a full-size-car engine stuffed into an intermediate-line body. We ain’t buying it. Let us momentarily set aside the existence of the 1949 Olds 88, which matches the definition of a muscle car and arrived a baker’s-dozen years before. In 1962, the new B-body was Mopar’s idea of a full-size car. That the full-size Dodge and Plymouth should come within a couple of inches of Ford’s midsize Fairlane was entirely by accident. A Chrysler exec had overheard Chevy boss Ed Cole at a party talking about his new downsized car for 1962. Cole had been discussing the Chevy II, but the Chrysler exec was convinced Cole was talking about the Impala…

Known early on for motor mounts for engine swaps and stout floor shifters, by the mid-1960s, Hurst was partnering with automakers on various promotions and building exhibition drag cars. Next came Hemi-powered Mopar A-body super stockers as well as plush high-performance specialty street cars like the Hurst/Olds. Hurst’s creations have since become highly collectable and have contributed to a legacy of incorporating performance, luxury, and style in its offerings that continues to flourish. All Hurst-branded vehicles were welcome to participate in the first-ever Hurst Nationals on July 14 and 15, 2017, at the Carlisle Expo Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and about 100 of them, spanning 49 years, were displayed. According to Carlisle Events, “The Hurst Nationals is not intended to be a competition, but rather a celebration of all things…

RE: SEEING BOTH SIDES I subscribe to HMM and love the magazine! I also loved Terry McGean’s “Buyer’s Market” column. I just retired from the Postal Service and had four years Army time, so I was lucky enough to retire at 56 with 36-and-a-half years government service. I don’t have the 35-mile commute anymore, so I sold my 2011 Suzuki Kizashi to a friend. I found a 2014 Dodge Challenger Redline R/T with 1,862 miles at Colby Chrysler. Yes, 1,862 miles! It is the 5.7 Hemi with automatic trans and the paddle shifters, 20-inch tires, and it is loaded; I got it on June 27th for $27,495! When I saw that column I knew I made the right choice. It is so much more fun to drive than a new…

There’s one thing to be certain of when it comes to muscle cars: There are no absolutes. From mid-year parts changes on the assembly line to specs and production numbers that don’t quite match the published data held as gospel, the facts about many vehicles aren’t so much chiseled in stone and handed down from above, but written in the sand, waiting to be washed over with new information. After talking about more Oldsmobile 4-4-2s than anyone we know, Inline Tube cofounder James Kryta has seen firsthand the running, unpublished changes that turn experts on their ears. “I’ve seen many cars that have a mix of, say, 1970 and ’71 parts, as the factory was clearly using up the leftover inventory,” he says. “It’s always a source of argument, but…

HMM PRODUCT TEST: TUFF STUFF MULTI-PURPOSE FOAM CLEANER Some of us around here have been using Tuff Stuff, an aerosol foam cleaner, since the 1980s. It’s one of those products that seems to have always been around, right there on the shelf of any store that sold automotive cleaning items. Turns out, Tuff Stuff was first introduced in 1969, which somehow makes it seem even more appropriate as a muscle-car detailing product. I’ve been sold on it since a friend showed me how well it worked on his ’60s white vinyl seats, sometime circa 1984. I was also impressed with how effective it was on carpets: spray some foam, brush it around a bit, and then wipe with a damp towel; sometimes I’ll vacuum it up first. The foam seems…

THE NUMBERS TOTAL SALES: $20 million TOP MUSCLE CAR SALE: 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird: $415,000 UPCOMING AUCTIONS BY MECUM AUCTIONS DATE: October 5-7, 2017 LOCATION: Schaumburg Convention Center; Schaumburg, Illinois CONTACT: 262-275-5050; www.mecum.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 Just four years ago, Mecum auctions looked at south-central Pennsylvania and gambled that, despite the high number of automotive events held in the Harrisburg region, it was a portion of America that was ripe for a mid-summer auction. Consider that from April to October…

CHALLENGER 2 RETURNS TO BONNEVILLE FOR FINAL RECORD ATTEMPT On August 12, Danny Thompson drove the Challenger 2 streamliner to a potentially record-setting pass of 435.735 mph at Bonneville during this year’s Speed Week. On the return, the front Hemi snapped a connecting rod, forcing Danny to abort the run, ending his quest for another SCTA record. On September 20, at Mike Cook’s Shootout, he returns to the salt in Challenger 2 for one final attempt at a new FIA land speed class record. Last year’s attempts were meant to be Danny’s farewell to Bonneville, and his SCTA record run of 406.769 mph in August seemed to predict that his career would end on a high note. He’d beaten his dad’s top speed in the car, originally built as the…

By the early 1970s, Ron McHugh had returned from a tour-of-duty in Vietnam and was a graduate student working toward his Ph.D. in economics at Penn State. He was also a drag racer who was fostering a growing affinity for Oldsmobiles. In 1973, an ad placed by fellow racer and friend Paul Mayo in National Dragster to sell his 1970 4-4-2 W-30 convertible caught Ron’s attention, as it stated the Olds would run on the National Record. Mayo had specifically chosen the 4-4-2 convertible instead of the hardtop or post coupe and optioned it to fit into certain NHRA drag racing classes where he felt it would be most competitive. However, having recently bought the 1971 Vista Cruiser Vista Bruiser built by factory-backed racer John “Jack”…

In a rut? Feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over? Don’t look to Red Lion, Pennsylvania’s, Doug Yoder for sympathy. Doug retired from restoring Chevelles for other people several years ago, so that he could restore a fleet of them for himself. The car on these pages is his sixth — seventh if you count his El Camino. Of those, five (including the El Camino) are 1967s and two are 1966s. They’re all 396 powered, but three of the ’67s, including this month’s feature car, were ordered with the L78 375-hp 396 engine option — of which just 612 were built. If now you feel like you’re reading the same thing over and over, it might be because we’ve been documenting Doug’s obsession with these cars over…

In the annals of Mod Muscle, we have seen everything from the sublime to the outrageous, mild to wild, but what about a four-door sedan turned into a two-door coupe, with the appropriate hot-rod tricks thrown in for good measure? Chuck Schoendorf, the owner of the 1952 Chrysler Saratoga pictured here, has been a fan of Hemi cars since the 1950s, when Chrysler marketed the first-gen powerplant as the FirePower V-8, stamping the name into the extremely wide rocker covers. While Chrysler generally reserved the Hemi for the higher-line and longer-wheelbase New Yorker and Imperial models, it created a bit of a performance car in the Saratoga. Built on the same chassis as the normally flathead-six-powered Windsor, the Saratoga featured the same 180-horsepower FirePower engine found in the heavier New…

In August of 1967, I returned home from a 13-month deployment to South Korea near the Demilitarized Zone. I had just turned 21 and spent much of my free time over there reading every available car magazine. Back home, my Dad kept my ’55 Chevy in the garage and even started it a few times for me. He had to scrape icy windows a lot on his car that winter. On my second day back, I went over to Jack Douglass Chevrolet, Hinsdale, Illinois, to take a look around the lot. This dealership was the “Nickey” of the Western suburbs of Chicago. They sold a lot of Corvettes, Chevelles, and other high-performance cars. I lived only three blocks away, and as a kid, my best friend, Bill Deal, and I…

MUSCLE ON THE PENINSULA Monterey car week wrapped up with another blockbuster series of sales. The Pebble Beach Concours meant not just a host of car shows and vintage racing for a week on the Monterey Peninsula; it also meant a bevy of auction action from no fewer than six major auction houses and more than $330,000,000 in total sales of cars, motorcycles and memorabilia this year. While European sports and racing cars typically make the biggest headlines (and draw the big eight-figure paydays), there was still plenty of muscle to be found in Monterey. What was hot this August? Just about anything with the Shelby name, and select Corvettes. While prices have softened in some quarters, Cobras and Shelby Mustangs seem to be bucking that trend somewhat. For instance,…

“ It was like there was nothing else around me except that original car and gauges, transporting me back to my first drive on that night.” A few months ago, at the beginning of the nice fall weather, I fired up my ’65 GTO convertible to take a little cruise around town. As a precaution before driving, I usually spend a few minutes warming the engine, checking gauges, getting the oil up to the valves, and so on. After you’ve owned a car for over three decades, it seems like nothing new or out of the ordinary could occur. Or so I thought. As I glanced down at the optional Rally gauges, I had a weird flashback — a déjà vu moment, if you will. My mind wandered back to…