Hemmings Muscle Machines December 2017

“Hardcore hot-rodders, and especially racers, think nothing of pulling an engine, and can often get the job done in no time flat.” We’re getting into a project here at Hemmings that we’ve been talking about for a long time — giving the company’s ’69 Chevelle, a long-time member of our car collection, some much-needed attention. It’s an SS 396 convertible that is fully functional, but its 1980s refurbishment is getting a bit tired — it’s time to liven it up a bit. Part of the project involves pulling the stock 396, and anticipating that job got my mind turning. Removing an engine is one of those things that can separate real gearheads from mere tinkerers and other sorts who don’t actually work on their own cars. You can tell who’s…

ICE ICE BABY Cadillac celebrates 115 years with just 115 2018 Glacier Metallic Edition CTS-Vs Anniversaries beyond a century get complicated. Anything recommended for 60 years and beyond trails off with diamonds, and the numbers stop at 80 completely. So what do you do for your 115th anniversary? Cadillac has the answer: the exclusive 2018 Cadillac CTS-V Glacier Metallic Edition. We suppose the smoky light-gray paint looks kinda diamond-y in photos; and only 115 of the special edition will be built. It’s available as you read this. It is packed with all the standard CTS-V stuff, like the 640-hp supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, eight-speed automatic, and two days at the Cadillac V-Performance Academy at Spring Mountain in Nevada. The Glacier Metallic Edition also includes the Carbon Fiber package; polished 19-inch wheels…

IN AN EFFORT TO PROTECT RACERS, BACKERS OF RPM ACT ACCUSED OF CREATING LOOPHOLES Just about everybody present at a September Congressional subcommittee hearing addressing the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act seemed to agree that nobody wants to end amateur racing and other forms of motorsports, but committee members and witnesses described the language of the act as overly broad and full of loopholes that would allow regular street-driven cars to bypass emissions controls. “The concern with the bill isn’t whether racing conversions should be allowed,” said Alexandra Teitz, a lawyer testifying on behalf of the Sierra Club. “The concern is whether the bill removes the EPA’s authority to enforce against defeat devices that are sold to overcome motor vehicle emissions controls.” Steve Page, the president and general…

HELLCAT NEON SIGN California Car Cover • 800-423-5525 www.calcarcover.com • $329.99 Dodge’s modern-day Challenger and Charger are arguably the meanest, best bang-for-the-buck American performance cars that you can buy today, and this automaker’s 707-hp SRT Hellcat variants are wildly popular, if the number of them that show up at our Musclepalooza festivals is anything to go on. The Hellcat’s snarling logo is even more beastly when it’s highlighted in glowing neon, as seen on the officially licensed Dodge SRT Hellcat Neon Sign (item 5HELLC) made by Neonetics and sold through California Car Cover. This sign, which can be hung on the garage or den wall, or displayed on a shelf, features a sturdy metal grid topped with hand-bent red-and-white glass tubing. It operates on standard household 110-volt current, and…

Sometimes, it really is all about who you know. The order sheets of the muscle-car era were full of whispers and back-door deals, and secret codewords and quiet workarounds. Some car companies made it easier than others. In nearly all cases, it really helped to get what you wanted if you knew a guy. So it was in the world of Chevrolet. If you believed the brochure, the hottest ’68 Chevy II or Nova available packed a 295-hp, 350-cube V-8. And while a 375-hp 396 was widely advertised starting in 1969, little was said about it for ’68. But they existed. Willie Carter knew a guy — or rather, a guy knew Willie. They went to school together; they grew up together. One worked at the local Chevy store. The…

Some kids have all the luck. Jim Macione’s stroke of good fortune came in the form of his mother’s cousin, who got work as a photographer for Drag News. That cousin once removed took the 13-year-old Jim along when he was snapping photos at Connecticut Dragway, which operated in East Haddam from 1960 through 1985. “This was in the mid-Sixties,” Jim says. “He’d pick me up, take me to the drag strip with him, he’d be photographing cars all over the place. I got to go everywhere and see all the real-good cars, like from Tasca and all those guys. So, it kind of left an impression.” What also left an impression were the Fords. Between those high-flying specials from Tasca Ford at the strips to…