Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

“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…

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…

“Day Two” has become a popular way to describe muscle cars with additions of period-correct parts and accessories, especially those designed to increase performance. The “Day Two” concept sets apart those cars whose owners have gone the extra mile with research and era-specific parts. It’s a kind of historical thought experiment. This stands in opposition to the generic concept of hot rodding, which is just concerned with going fast and looking cool. There’s another camp, however, that goes far beyond the day after a car came home from the dealer, but remains fanatical about getting the period details right. “Day 730” or “Year Two” don’t exactly roll off the tongue, and “period correct” doesn’t really do justice to the imagination that goes into these creations—some of which may be unlike…

Plymouth built this Street Hemi- powered 1966 Satellite to run circles around Detroit’s fastest intermediates (and of course, to homologate the Hemi engine for competition). We hope that in the car’s heyday its original owner — a 19-year-old guy who lived near Caribou, Maine — piloted it to some quarter-mile wins over SS 396s, 4-4-2s, GTOs, Fairlane GT/As and the like. What we know for certain is that sometime in the 1970s, this Satellite’s orbit began to decay. Its second Hemi failed at 35,000 miles (the first was replaced under warranty by the dealer at around 3,400 miles) and a 383 was installed in the wounded elephant’s place. If the K-member (or “K-frame”) that cradled the 426 had been changed, that would’ve been a bolt-in operation. But disco-era muscle-car engine…

“The gathered members of the automotive press were invited to drive one of the most unusual muscle-car combinations of all time...” So, 2017 was “The Year of the Cat,” it being the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Mercury Cougar to the marketplace (see the July 2017 issue, HMM #167). Reading the history article in that issue had me thinking back to Mercury Cougars I had driven and tested. Quite frankly, there weren’t that many of them. I missed entirely the first model year of 1967. But my biggest regret was that I never got to drive one of those great one-year-only ’68 GT-E models with the FE-series 427 engine. I did drive on the road and test a really strong ’71 Cougar GT 429 CJ (HMM #123, November…

November 30-December 2 Mecum Auctions Kansas City, Missouri . . . . . . . 262-275-5050 December 1-2 Premier Auction Gulf Coast Classic Punta Gorda, Florida . . . . . . . . 844-593-7355 December 3 Pomona Swap Meet Pomona, California . . . . . . . . . 714-538-7091 December 3 Sumter Swap Meet Bushnell, Florida . . . . . . . . . . . 727-848-7171 December 8-9 Raleigh Classic Car Auctions Raleigh, North Carolina . . . . . . 919-269-5271 December 10 Hi Performance Swap Meet Long Beach, California . . . . . . 800-762-9785 January 12-13 Tom Mack Swap Meet & Car Corral Concord, North Carolina . . . . . 803-364-3322 January 13-21 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, Arizona . . . .…

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…

They said it couldn’t be done — that you just can’t have a successful car show event once you move it to the rain date. But, with a forecast that showed a nearly 100 percent chance of rain for the Sunday of our Labor Day gathering of show cars and drag racers, we had little choice but to give it a try. The resulting turnout on Monday looked just like plenty of Sundays we’ve had at Lebanon Valley Raceway, and the show went on as it has for the previous 25 runnings of Musclepalooza. For the car show, the field filled in nicely, with a great mix of traditional muscle cars, late-model performers, and a smattering of hot rods and period-style racers. Our regular awards program includes nearly 30…

Model year 1965 was significant for Pontiac. With 32,450 GTOs sold for 1964, the successful combination of styling, performance, image, price, and available options forced Divisional siblings and other automakers to play catchup. PMD recognized from the start that it would have a jump on the competition, so it wasn’t about to relinquish its lead by easing up on development. Consequently, the revised 1965 GTO captivated potential buyers with a modernized appearance front and rear, and additional power under the hood. While the Division was basking in mostly positive press, such as having the Motor Trend Car of the Year award bestowed upon the entire Pontiac lineup for 1965, there were far-reaching executive decisions afoot at GM, as well. General Manager “Pete” Estes was promoted to Chevrolet’s big chair in…

I was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1946 and turned 16 in 1962. That meant that I received my driver’s license in November of that year. Most of my friends already had their licenses, and now it was my turn. The year prior, I convinced my parents to allow me to purchase a 1954 Ford convertible that I passed on my walk to school. The car didn’t run, and I told them that I just wanted to work on it and get it running. I was 15 at that time and had a grand total of $17 to my name. I walked up to the door and knocked. The kid answered, and I asked if he wanted to sell the car. It turned out that he had the engine rebuilt,…

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…

As a metaphor for the meteoric rise and heartbreaking fall of the auto industry in Detroit, you couldn’t get much bigger than the Dodge Hamtramck assembly plant at the dawn of the Eighties. Known simply as Dodge Main, its first bricks were laid in 1910 when the Dodge brothers, Horace and John, ramped up their supplier support of Henry Ford’s rapid expansion. In fact, one of two rail lines built at Dodge Main headed straight to Ford’s massive Highland Park complex, as the Dodge brothers’ primary business at the time was supplying subassemblies for the Model T. They weren’t building their own car yet. That would change after the brothers’ famous falling out with Ford a couple years later. They had already considered building their own automobile, and that helped…

I have been a big fan of your magazine since the first time my dad showed me one many years ago. I am currently a subscriber, since my dad’s subscription lapsed. My favorite part is the tech sheet at the end of each of the featured cars. We started in 1990 with a ’67 GTO that we bought from a friend of the family. The paint was beautiful, but the car needed everything else. The paint is a custom candied root beer with rally stripes and pinstripes for the fender wells. All of the side chrome was removed. The paint is from the early ’70s, and despite the flaws of the years, we loved it and rebuilt the car around the paint. Dad was the mechanical one and I was…

CHEVROLET PROBLEMS Q: I have a ’70 Chevelle SS 396 with a four-speed close-ratio transmission (2.20:1 first gear) and a 3.31:1 rear axle. It is not numbers-matching. In 2013, I had problems with the cylinder heads (bent valves, etc.). I sent them to be rebuilt, and the machinist recommended roller rockers and a mild cam—something that works well from 1,500-5,000 rpm. He said when the engine was rebuilt at .030-inch over, it increased the bore to 402 cubic inches, and that the hotter cam would help the engine run better. I put an Edelbrock Performer II intake manifold on with a Quadrajet carb. The problems: The idle is set at 750 rpm. It shuts off with no warning. It will start again and will then shut off as soon as…

You’ve seen the Southeast Gasser Association in this space before, most recently with Rusty Sampsel’s ’55 Chevy back in HMM #166. That car was an original gasser resurrected to take part in Quain Stott’s idealized 1967 throwback racing series. This 1965 Plymouth Barracuda, which belongs to Robert and Rita Frazier, of Bristol, Tennessee, is a different kind of car — not only because of its unusual basis as Chrysler’s early pony car, but because it was created from the kind of rusty field car many of us have probably seen and written off as unsaveable. But, true to the concept about “one man’s trash,” the work of the tinworm proved a boon to Robert and Rita, as it provided a stripped shell from which to craft a bare-bones brawler —…

1963 FORD GALAXIE PEDAL ASSEMBLIES Q: I was hoping you could possibly suggest a source where I can find some brake and clutch pedals for my 1963 1/2 Galaxie 500. This is a two-door, four-speed car. I have recently acquired the car but the sellers removed the clutch/brake pedal assembly. Also, the linkage too! Now they don’t know what they did with it. Any ideas where to look for this? Thanks a lot! Brad in Vermont Via email A: The equalizer bar, fork adjusting rod, fork, spring, etc. are available from Bud’s Classic Car, an early Galaxie specialist in Connecticut who purchased the inventory from Greg Donahue in Florida. Donahue’s catalog is still available for viewing online, but the parts orders are fulfilled by Bud’s Classic Car. For the pedal…

“...many of you reading this are now thinking, wow, gain useable space, make money, and keep the wife happy! It’s a win-win-win!” Due to the naturally dry, warm weather of Southern California, rusting of car parts is, by and large, not an issue. Leaving fenders, doors, and such outside for several years is normally not going to result in anything more serious than light surface oxidation. So, thankfully, original factory parts from the Sixties and Seventies can be found in almost pristine condition. Back then, there were several “junk yards,” now referred to as “salvage yards” here in LA, where you could bring in your own tools and strip parts from vehicles that were sitting up on heavy-duty jack stands. These yards were a gold mine of almost any factory…