Hemmings Muscle Machines April 2018

“ Nobody knew the end of the 2017 season would be it, so there was no last night to make one last pass. It’s just over.” When the news broke in January that Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown, New Jersey, would be closing, the laments of countless former patrons echoed throughout the web. Plenty of dragstrips have closed over the years since the sport’s heyday in the ’60s and ’70s, but this one provided a particularly sharp sting. I think most of us thought that as long as there was drag racing, it would be happening at E-town. Most of the internet mourners followed their expressions of regret over the closing with anecdotes of their personal histories with the track, and for those of us who’ve spent any…

2019 BULLITT Ford’s never been one to miss out on an anniversary, so it should surprise no one that the 50th anniversary of Bullitt, the Steve McQueen cop drama with the single-most drooled-over and analyzed car chase in cinema history, will see a special-edition Mustang in its honor. Painted in your choice of Highland Green or Shadow Black (in case you saw the first Bullitt on a Sunday afternoon on the B&W Philco in your grandma’s front parlor, we guess), Bullitt will be de-badged and feature a unique grille and some token chrome exterior accents (including the faux gas cap, between the taillamps, with the Bullitt logo). Performance-wise, the 5-liter engine will receive a GT350 intake manifold, 87-mm throttle body, and special computer tweaking to deliver “at least” (says Ford)…

AFTER 52 YEARS, DRAG RACING AT OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK COMES TO AN END In July 1965, the Napp family opened the Raceway Park drag strip on the site of a former ranch in central New Jersey. Since then, the Old Bridge institution has seen both triumph and tragedy, and has played host to NHRA national events since 1968. On January 17, the track announced that it would no longer be holding drag-racing events, forcing the NHRA to relocate the 2018 Summernationals. In a press release, the Napps described the closure as “a reorganization of the company’s business operations,” adding, “…Raceway Park will no longer conduct quarter-mile or eighth-mile drag racing events effective immediately.” Other portions of the facility, including three motocross tracks, a 1.35-mile road course, a go-kart…

DUSTER 340 DÉCOR Summit Racing • 800-230-3030 • www.summitracing.com • $24.99 Cheap speed was the name of Plymouth’s game when it introduced the Duster 340 for 1970. That power-packed, small-block V-8 compact sold well and made many fans through 1973. Early examples of this capable two-door bore the cheeky twister cartoon logo that quickly became a Mopar signature, alongside the contemporary cartoon-clad Road Runner and amusingly controversial Dodge Dart-based Demon. Summit Racing offers a fun and inexpensive way to show your love for the Duster 340 in this LED marquee sign (item SDF-158870). It’s sized 16-inches wide, 10-inches high, and 1 3/4-inches deep, and is easy to hang, thanks to keyhole slots behind its durable plastic frame. Making the colorful image pop is a rope of color-coordinated, energy-efficient red…

Building a fast car is easy. Building a fast car that will be profitable is another story altogether. Before World War II, factory performance largely came from big, expensive cars: Mercer Raceabouts, Duesenbergs, the Buick Century. Speed and acceleration were considered luxuries and marketed accordingly. Performance for its own sake was something certain poorer folk sought out when tinkering beneath the shade tree, but it wasn’t deemed a worthy avenue for advertisement. After the war, like a lot of prewar luxuries, performance became an increasingly more democratic pursuit. Installing the powerful V-8 from an Oldsmobile 98 into the engine bay of a 76 model to produce the legendary Rocket 88 was a step in the right direction, but around that same time—when Chrysler Corporation decided to replace its venerable flathead…

I have loved ’67 Plymouth B-bodies since September 1966, when I ordered my first ’67 GTX. I didn’t believe [a 1967 Belvedere with a Hemi] existed, since in 1967 the Hemi was not an option in a two-door sedan Belvedere. In 1966, yes, but in 1967 it wasn’t supposed to be available. I saw there was a link to a video showing the car being pulled out of the barn. To my amazement, it was in fact a real ’67 Belvedere I Hemi four-speed survivor! I decided to email the person who posted the info to see if the car was for sale. I received a reply with a phone number to call. We discussed the car at length. Now I was hooked on getting the car. I asked him…