Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

Letter of the Month: Money for Muscle “In the early ’80s, muscle cars from the ’60s and ’70s were plentiful. My brothers and buddies and I all had high-test running through our veins, but our wallets were pretty thin, as the economy in rural Maine back then was dismal. My oldest brother ventured out to Wyoming on a break from college to work at a hotel in Jackson Hole, but soon found that the oil field was the place where you could make some serious cash. Upon graduation from high school and not quite ready to continue my education, I, along with my two brothers and a handful of my buds, ventured west and soon found jobs in the oil patch. With our new-found “wealth,” we quickly snapped up a…

1977 HURST/OLDS PROPOSAL PRICE Base price ..........................................................................................................................N/A Options on car profiled...................Hurst Package; SS-III wheels; 403-cu.in. V-8 engine; Cutlass Salon reclining bucket seats; Custom Sport steering wheel; gauges; A/C; tilt-wheel; cruise control; AM/FM stereo with 8-track; Anti-Spin rear end; deluxe seatbelts; tinted windows; power trunk lid release; luggage compartment floor mat; litter container; console; GR70 x 15 WW tires; clock; convenience group; power door locks; front floor mats; sport styled mirrors; bumper guards Items replaced per Hurst Package .........FE2 Rallye suspension; TH350; 2.41 rear gear; GR70 x 15 WW tires ENGINE Type...........................Oldsmobile “small-block” V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement.........................................................................................................403-cu.in. Bore x stroke............................................................................................4.351-in x 3.385 in Compression ratio...........................................................................................................8.0:1 Horsepower @ rpm............................................................................................................N/A Torque @ rpm.....................................................................................................................N/A Camshaft.........................................286/287 degrees duration (adv.), .474/.472-inch lift Valvetrain.....................................................................Hydraulic lifters; pushrods; valves; valve springs; 1.60:1 ratio rocker arms Main…

PRICE Base price......................................................................................................................$2,551 Options on car profiled....................................426 Hemi V-8, dual four-barrel ($907.60) ENGINE Type......................... Chrysler Street Hemi OHV V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement.........................................................................................................426-cu.in. Bore x stroke.....................................................................................................4.25 x 3.75 in Compression ratio........................................................................................................10.25:1 Horsepower @ rpm...........................................................................................425 @ 5,000 Torque @ rpm............................................................................................490 lb-ft @ 4,000 Camshaft.........................................................................460-in lift; 276 degrees duration Valvetrain...............................................................................Solid mechanical valve lifters Main bearings...................................................................................................................Five Fuel......................................................................Two Carter AFB four-barrel carburetors, aluminum dual-plane intake manifold Ignition.......................................................Dual-breaker mechanical-advance distributor Lubrication..................................................................................Pressure; gear-type pump Electrical........................................................................................................................12-volt Exhaust...........................................................................Cast-iron manifolds, dual exhaust TRANSMISSION Type........................................................Chrysler TorqueFlite 727 three-speed automatic Ratios.............................................. 1st/2.45:1 … 2nd/1.45:1 … 3rd/1.00:1 … Reverse/2.20:1 DIFFERENTIAL Type .........................................................Hypoid; Chrysler 8.75-in, Sure-Grip limited slip Ratio...................................................................................3.23:1 (factory); 3.91:1 (current) STEERING Type...................................... Manual; recirculating ball (factory); power assist (current) Turns, lock-to-lock....................................................................5.4 (factory); 3.5 (current) Turning circle.................................................................................................................41.5 ft BRAKES Type..................................................................................................Hydraulic; power-assist Front.................................................................................................................11 x 3-in drums Rear...............................................................................................................11 x 2.5-in drums SUSPENSION…

Given the amount of fire-related damage to Chuck Donaldson’s 1970 Cougar Eliminator, we had to know where it ranked among KTL’s numerous other projects. “It was challenging just to locate the parts to put this one back together,” Kurt said. “Typically, metalwork on the floor, cowl, and firewall is pretty normal for these cars—I expect stuff like that to be rusted. The sad part with this was that there was so much that needed to be replaced because of the fire.” Crystal said she enjoys seeing a car like this, that many would’ve seen as a complete loss, roll out of KTL’s shop looking better than new again. “We see a lot of bad cars, and either we’re going to save them or they’re going to the scrap yard,” she…

REVIEW: CLOSING OUT THE YEAR WITH SALES IN KANSAS CITY AND LOS ANGELES Mecum returned to the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, for three days in December, selling 308 of 478 cars on offer, for a sell-through rate of 64 percent and a sales volume reported at $8.7 million. Headlining the high-volume auction house’s top 10 was a 2006 Ford GT with 870 miles on the odometer, which sold for $308,000. The lineup was chock-full of muscle cars, modded and original alike. Lots 2-10 ranged from $77,000 to $66,000, with a couple of modified first-gen Camaros, two small-block, four-speed C2 Corvettes, and a ’62 four-speed ’Vette all changing hands. With so many cars for sale, Mecum was also able to continue its tradition of having something for…

MARCH FEB. 28-MARCH 2 GAA CLASSIC CAR AUCTION Greensboro, North Carolina 855-862-2257 3 POMONA SWAP MEET Pomona, California 714-538-7091 3 SUMTER SWAP MEET Bushnell, Florida 727-848-7171 7-10 HOLLYWOOD WHEELS AUCTION Amelia Island, Florida 800-237-8954 8 GOODING & COMPANY AUCTION Amelia Island, Florida 310-899-1960 9 RM SOTHEBY’S AUCTION Amelia Island, Florida 519-352-4575 9-10 CORVETTE CHEVY EXPO Galveston, Texas 386-775-2512 9-10 KYANA SWAP MEET Louisville, Kentucky 502-619-2917 14-16 MECUM AUCTIONS Phoenix, Arizona 262-275-5050 14-16 NORMAN SWAP MEET Norman, Oklahoma 405-651-7927 22-23 AACA INDOOR/OUTDOOR SWAP MEET Westminster, Maryland 301-674-5431 22-24 DAYTONA TURKEY RUN Daytona Beach, Florida 386-255-7355 23 ALL OLDSMOBILE SWAP MEET Scottsdale, Arizona 480-632-1843 24 FREEMAN’S SUPER SUNDAY SWAP MEET Indianapolis, Indiana 317-296-0336 29-30 RM SOTHEBY’S AUCTION Fort Lauderdale, Florida 519-352-4575…

A NEW STEVE McQUEEN BARN FIND SURFACES: THE ’79 PONTIAC TRANS AM FROM THE HUNTER Steve McQueen’s final movie, The Hunter, featured a chase scene in which a 1979 Pontiac Trans Am was destroyed. Two were wrecked in filming and, when production wrapped, one went to an Indiana junkyard, while the other was gifted to an Illinois farmer. After 39 years, the latter Trans Am has emerged from hiding, with its new owner seeking information from cast and crew members. There seems to be little doubt about the car’s authenticity. Paperwork shows the car was gifted by Paramount Pictures to the former owner, who sold the wreck through a local collector to Calvin Riggs, owner of Carlyle Motors in Katy, Texas. Documentation supplied from PHS Automotive Services further supports this…

THE HURST/OLDS WAS POISED to be one of the hottest performance cars of 1977, yet the promising program was quashed. After many months of development, the “1977 Hurst/Olds Prototype Proposal Car Fact Sheet” was released and it stated, “Hurst Performance, Special Vehicles Division, regretfully announces that there will not be a production Hurst/Olds for 1977. It would seem that the outstanding sales success of the Cutlass model this year has left the production facilities at Olds Division building Cutlasses to capacity and has no room for the requested 2,000 car build of special H/O Cutlass ‘S’ vehicles.” Nevertheless, this well-sorted black proposal car is evidence of how incredible the 1977 model would have been. Current owner Glen Katterson of Pittsburgh provided copies of multiple Hurst and Oldsmobile documents. Though we…

THE BLACK PAINT IS ALL BUT WORN through on the top of the fenders now. The seat, well, it looks like a 50-year-old seat. Under the hood sits the original Hemi that first filled the spot, but it, too, has been through the ringer, pulled out when it got a bit tired, replaced by another Hemi for a bunch of years before going back in. It’s an honest old car, one that wears its history — warts and all — with a sense of pride, a car — and its owner — that really don’t care what you think about it. And there is nothing that Richard Wiley would change about the 1966 Dodge Coronet 440 he has owned since 1974, when he bought it for his father. He’s heard…

BACK IN 2009 a select gathering of rare muscle cars converged on the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center outside of Chicago as part of a show that seemed like it could be a one-off. “How could they ever top this?” was frequently heard during that first event, lending to the idea that such a spectacle would not be repeated. Yet, even as we recount the highlights of the 10th running of the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN), there are those who are still asking that question. But regular attendees no longer wonder—they know Bob Ashton and his tight circle of coconspirators who make up the board for the show will continue to assemble outstanding arrays of the cars that made the muscle era great. They also know they won’t…

Before the advent of factory-built muscle cars, most dragstrip heroes had to build their own asphalt assault vehicles. The result was staging lanes full of nose-high, straight-axled Gassers that later included blown and injected big-blocks and even altered wheelbases. Eventually the concept morphed into what were early funny cars, and today the old Gasser phenomenon is experiencing a rebirth. Chicago-based Nickey Chevrolet even offered a mail-order kit to convert early Novas back in the mid-Sixties and has reintroduced it today to meet the demand for old-school appearances and performance.The Gasser display reflected the increased interest with more than a dozen examples, and plenty of nostalgic hardware.…

ENGINE Type ........................AMC “second design” OHV V-8; cast iron with two-bolt main caps; 360-cu.in. casting, overbored 0.060 in Cylinder heads........................................................................................AMC 390 cast iron Displacement.........................................................................................................370-cu.in. Bore x stroke......................................................................................................4.14 x 3.44 in Compression ratio.................................................................................................11.0:1 (est.) Pistons...............................................................................................................Custom TRW Connecting rods..........................................................................AMC steel (5.885-in long) Crankshaft........................................................................................................AMC cast iron Horsepower @ rpm.................................................................500 @ 4,500 (builder’s est.) Torque @ rpm .......................................................................... 450 @ 3,500 (builder’s est.) Camshaft type....................................................................Hydraulic-type (mfg. unknown) Duration....................................................................................................................Unknown Lift.............................................................................................................................Unknown Valvetrain.................................................................................................................Unknown Fuel..........................................................................................Holley mechanical fuel pump Induction....................................................Edelbrock Torker II aluminum intake manifold, Holley Avenger four-barrel carburetor Lubrication..................................................................................Pressure; gear-type pump Ignition...............................................................Mallory Unilite electronic ignition system Exhaust.................................................................Headers with 1.875-inch primary tubes; custom 2.5-in exhaust system with Borla mufflers Original engine......................................................................................AMC 360-cu.in. V-8 TRANSMISSION Type...........................................................General Motors 700-R4 four-speed automatic Ratios....................... 1st/3.06:1 … 2nd/1.63:1 … 3rd/1.00:1 … 4th/0.76:1 … Reverse/2.90:1 Torque converter...........................................................................................................Stock DIFFERENTIAL Type.....................................................Custom DTS Dana 60 with limited-slip differential…

IF YOU’RE DRAWN TO OLD cars, you’re almost certainly going to find yourself working on them. Whether out of necessity or desire, turning wrenches on vintage vehicles is part and parcel of ownership. Even those among us who can afford to have professionals handle restorations and rebuilds very often still want to have a space to maintain those hobby cars. But most of us won’t have access to commercial-style buildings in which to work—instead, we have to create suitable workshops from whatever garages came with our homes. If you’re a little more fortunate, you may have been able to erect a dedicated garage on your property just for old-car projects. In any case, the space is just the start—outfitting it is what turns it into a functional place to get…

V. RARE: PEDESTAL EDITION CADILLAC SAYS GOODBYE TO THE THIRD GENERATION OF HI-PO V-SERIES We know that the current ATS and CTS are disappearing soon, but not before Cadillac says goodbye in style: The 2019 Pedestal Edition models are available as the 464-hp ATS-V Coupe and 640-hp CTS-V Super Sedan. Just 300 of the third generation of high-performance V-series Pedestal Edition Cadillacs will be built for sale in the U.S., Canada, and the Middle East. Both feature the all-new exterior color Bronze Sand Metallic, accented with Black Chrome trim and grille surround, V-series forged light-alloy wheels in After Midnight finish over red Brembo brake calipers. The Carbon Fiber Package, standard on every 2019 ATS-V Coupe, is also featured in the Pedestal Edition list of content for the CTS-V Super Sedan.…

When it comes to most car shows, top honors usually go to exceptionally restored and modified vehicles. But with the Vintage Certification (VC) program at MCACN, original, unrestored cars are finally getting their due. According to Steve Shauger,VC administrator,“The program was created specifically to provide status, recognition, and value to factory original vehicles that retain historical significance in terms of assembly line originality.”With a knowledgeable team of experts in specific areas of expertise, hobbyists are able to have their cars objectively and accurately inspected and accredited to certain levels of achievement.The process is arduous, requiring many man-hours and special equipment to complete.“With such an amazing cross-section of cars coming through the program,”Shauger continued,“we’ve amassed information in our database to help ensure factory-correct standards can be employed by hobbyists and restorers…

YOUTH IS ALL ABOUT LEARNING FROM your mistakes. And when it comes to mistakes, few compare with nearly burning your car to the ground while trying to restore it. In that regard, Joe Charbonneau got a crash course in trial and error about 40 years ago, when tackling rust repair on his 1972 Javelin. “The heat from welding ignited some of the car’s undercoating and it spread quickly,” he says. “We ran outside, gathered some snow and threw it on the fire, but all that seemed to do was spread the fire around. It was a mess.” Joe eventually extinguished the AMC flambé, but not before the wiring harness melted into a charred lump of plastic, adding another “to do” item to the car’s project list. “You learn from those…

I have been a car nut since I was about 11 years old. I loved all neat cars and trucks, but my favorites were hot rods and Corvettes. I grew up in the small town of Lamar, Missouri, but unfortunately, never had a car in high school (1961-’65). I graduated from Lamar High and went to Joplin Junior College in Joplin, Missouri. It wasn’t until my junior year that I had a car to drive: the old family car, a pink 1957 Pontiac station wagon — a four-door with 125,000 miles. The summer before my senior year in college, in 1969, Dad bought a brand-new metallic-silver 1969 Rambler four-door sedan with a six-banger/automatic and air conditioning for me to drive. At college, I made friends with a guy who was…

EVERY YEAR, ON JUNE 10, A REMINDER pops up on Chuck Donaldson’s Outlook calendar: “Check your fire extinguishers.” It was on that day, in 2014, that Chuck aimed a fire extinguisher at the flames engulfing the engine compartment of his 1970 Cougar Eliminator and squeezed the trigger. But instead of saving the day, Chuck’s extinguisher wheezed and puked out about a cup of dry chemical. Meanwhile, the blaze, ignited by a backfire from the Cougar’s numbers-matching 428 Cobra Jet, was getting angrier by the second. “I had been cranking the engine, which was unusual because it typically started pretty easily,” Chuck said. “The battery was starting to run down a little bit, but I pumped the gas pedal a couple more times and cranked it again. Suddenly it went: Boom!…

NOTHING EXCEEDS LIKE EXCESS. When the Olds 4-4-2 first arrived in 1964 it was hailed (by those who got to know it) as a balanced performer, combining horsepower with weight distribution, handling, and braking. The 4-4-2 continued to offer that balance as it evolved but, let’s be honest, there was a big section of the market who weren’t interested in balance — they were interested in acceleration. Oldsmobile knew it. Witness this ad copy: “You roll up to the light next to the cocky-looking guy in the supercar. He gives it a couple blips…then looks you over.” That’s not the start of two gentlemen about to take a spirited drive down a twisty road. That’s two teenagers, or 20-somethings, or older guys who still think like young guys, about to…

MOSO NATURAL • WWW.MOSONATURAL.COM • 877-322-6911 • $8.95-$22.95, WITH FREE U.S. SHIPPING Barns, cinder-block structures, and even home garages are all prone to being damp, and, coupled with the extreme temperatures that winters can bring, the interiors of cars stored in these spaces can get punky. We recently discovered one product — Moso Natural Air Purifying Bags — that promised to both reduce moisture and stop odors using only natural ingredients, and at a relatively reasonable cost. We decided to see how it worked in our own winter-stored cars. Moso Natural created the Moso Bag to neutralize odors without the use of toxic chemicals, and it does so with a single ingredient: Chinese Moso bamboo charcoal.This burned wood is said to be four times more porous than regular charcoal,…

OF THE SIX MAJOR SALES that occur during Pebble Beach meet week, four offer a carefully curated catalog of automotive gems drawn from all genres of the four-wheeled world. This includes a select number of high-horsepower, domestic-brand muscle cars. Due to this arrangement, we’ve opted to combine coverage from these sales in two installments. We’ll begin with Bonhams’ 21st-annual Quail Lodge Auction, held at the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California, on August 24. The San Fransisco-based auction house offered 135 vehicles, of which 109 sold, led by a 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione that attained $3,525,000; the next nine lots also achieved $1 million-plus. Topping the muscle car segment was a 2006 Ford GT that sold for $335,000, contributing to a total take of $37.7 million.…