Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

Letter of the Month: Goat Rescue “It’s funny how things end up sometimes. This story starts with a car accident and ends up with a 1968 GTO convertible saved from the scrapyard. In the late 1970s in New York, you could get muscle cars for next to nothing. Sometimes my friend Billy T. and I would see one without license plates in someone’s yard, and when we would inquire about the car the owner would be glad to get rid of it. One day, as I was heading home in my 1967 Chevelle Malibu, I was struck in the side and technically the car was totaled. I found a green 1968 Pontiac Le Mans hardtop with a blown engine for 50 bucks. My friend John R. had just hit a…

PRICE Base price......................................................................................................................$3,271 Options on car profiled...................................... Air conditioning ($380); Cruise-O-Matic FMX three-speed automatic transmission ($222) ENGINE Type.........................................................................Ford 335-series “Cleveland” OHV V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement..........................................................................................................351-cu.in. Bore x stroke..........................................................4.00 x 3.50 in (currently 4.03-in bore) Compression ratio...........................................................................................................9.5:1 Horsepower @ rpm ....................................................... 250 @ 5,400 (currently 300+ est) Torque @ rpm............................................................................................355 lb-ft @ 3,400 Valvetrain...........................................................................................Hydraulic valve lifters Main bearings...................................................................................................................Five Fuel................................................Two-barrel Autolite/Motorcraft 2100/2150 carburetor (currently Holley 4150 650-cfm four-barrel carburetor) Lubrication..................................................................................Pressure; gear-type pump Electrical............................................................................................................................12 V Ignition..................................................................................Ford breaker-point distributor (currently fitted with Pertronix electronic conversion) Exhaust............................................................................................................Single exhaust (currently dual 2 1/2 -inch exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers) TRANSMISSION Type..................................................................................Ford FMX three-speed automatic Ratios.............................................................................1st/2.40:1 … 2nd/1.47:1 … 3rd/1.00:1 DIFFERENTIAL Type..........................................................................Ford 9-inch housing, open differential Ratio................................................................................................................................3.00:1 STEERING Type.............................................................................................................Recirculating ballRatio..............................................................................................................................25.45:1Turning circle................................................................................................................37.6 ft BRAKES Type.....................................................................Hydraulic; four-wheel manual 10-in drum SUSPENSION Front..........................................Independent, unequal-length control arms; anti-roll bar,…

When the discussion turns to tuner-built muscle machines, Motion Performance holds a solid place in the conversation.This ’71 Phase III Camaro is the proud possession of Ohio resident Mark Hassett and features the legendary LS7 454 as its centerpiece. Maintained in immaculate condition, the Camaro still sports its original paint, interior, and performance hardware.…

Besides luggage, there are a few crucial items that should find their way into your trunk. While a Mustang or Camaro might be a bit tight on trunk space, smaller pieces of luggage can certainly reside in the back seat, which was never seriously intended for human habitation anyway. Larger machines like our Chevelle have fairly prodigious trunks and can haul an amazing assortment of personal belongings and other items that will make life easier should they be called into action.…

MOST FANS OF FAC- tory muscle are also fans of motorsports, so why do so few of us use our cars to emulate our racing heroes? Probably because auto racing often seems like the exclusive province of pros — not a place for weekend wannabees to play. But that’s changed quite a bit over the past couple decades. Now amateur drivers can get out on real race tracks with their own cars and, with a little instruction, push their machines to levels not allowed on public roads. Drag racing is the motorsport most closely associated with muscle-type cars, and for obvious reasons — it’s what many of them were built for. And drag racing has long been one of the most accessible forms of on-track competitive driving an enthusiast can…

CREATED IN 1966, CAN-AM was the ultimate challenge for man and machine, using a hot rodder’s recipe of unrestricted power, minimal weight, and few rules, which quickly elevated the series to legendary status before its brief golden era ended. During that time, a multitude of chassis were crafted to take advantage of the scant rules, including Dan Gurney’s 1967 Lola T70 Mark IIIB Spyder pictured here. Its story began in 1962 when Europe’s racing governing body, the FIA, announced its World Sports Car Championship was being replaced by the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. Mid-engine Grand Tourers could only compete if production cars were publicly available, “at a minimum rate of one hundred identical units as far as mechanical parts and coachwork are concerned in 12 consecutive months.” Yet a…

THIS MONTH, we’re wrapping up our coverage from the sales smorgasbord during Monterey Meet Week, and what finer way to do so than with muscle car highlights from what turned out to be the headline makers: RM Sotheby’s and Gooding & Company. We’ll break things down on an individual sale basis momentarily, but as we go into those details, keep this in mind: The combined take from these two auctions alone produced a mind-blowing $274.4-million-plus result. Let’s start with Gooding & Company. The California-based firm has the distinction of being the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours, and therefore sets up at the resort’s prestigious Equestrian Center. This year’s event was held on August 24-25 and bidders were greeted by a catalog brimming with 147 vehicles, of which…

APRIL 4-6 GREENVILLE SWAP MEET & CAR SHOW Greenville, Texas 903-454-8575 4-6 MECUM AUCTION Houston, Texas 262-275-5050 4-7 CHARLOTTEAUTOFAIR Concord, North Carolina 704-841-1990 5-7 PORTLAND SWAPMEET Portland, Oregon 503-678-2100 6-7 COLUMBUSSWAP MEET Columbus, Ohio 614-235-5833 7 AUTOMOTIVE SWAPMEET Burnt Hills, New York 518-384-5431 7 LONG BEACHHIPERFORMANCE SWAP MEET Long Beach, California 800-762-9785 7 SUMTER SWAPMEET Bushnell, Florida 727-848-7171 11-13 BARRETT-JACKSON AUCTION Palm Beach, Florida 480-421-6694 12-13 BRANSON AUCTION Branson, Missouri 800-335-3063 14 ALL-AUTOMOTIVE SWAPMEET Stafford Springs, Connecticut 860-649-3697 14 POMONA SWAPMEET & CAR SHOW Pomona, California 714-538-7091 19-21 NEW BRAUNFELS SWAP MEET New Braunfels, Texas 830-708-1372 20 HOOLEYCLASSICCARAUCTION Goshen, Indiana 574-825-2115 20-28 KOOL APRIL NITES Redding, California 530-226-0844 24-28 SPRING CARLISLE Carlisle, Pennsylvania 717-243-7855 25-27 PATE SWAP MEET Fort Worth, Texas 713-516-0087 26-27 BONHAMS AUCTION Tupelo, Mississippi 415-391-4000 26-28 ANNUAL…

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES 2019 NOMINEES Each year, voting members of the IMS Hall of Fame cut a list of four candidates down to two inductees, to be announced on March 20. For 2019, candidates are Wally Dallenbach Sr., Dale Earnhardt Sr. (picture left), Dale Jarrett (picture right), and Jacques Villeneuve. Earnhardt competed in seven Brickyard 400s, including the first in ’94. He won in ’95, one of his 76 NASCAR Cup wins over a 25-plus-year career. He was series champion seven times (tying Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson) before his death in a 2001 Daytona 500 crash. Before Dallenbach served as competition director and chief steward of CART, he earned his stripes as a racer. Dallenbach began his pro career in stock cars, but soon switched…

THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE SAYS, “You can’t go home again,” make sure you properly tell them off. And by properly tell them off, may we suggest not a one-fingered salute, but a smoking, screeching burnout that leaves twin strips of rubber bits all over their driveway? Before Don Miller enjoyed an extraordinarily successful career as the head of Penske Racing — yes, that Penske Racing — he was a racer and hot-rodder in his own right, though his preferred form of racing didn’t involve any turning whatsoever. “I grew up in Chicago and I was always around cars,” Don recalls. “My dad started me off real early, building a ’36 Ford roadster. It kind of evolved from there. And then I prepared my first race car, which was a Model…

IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING RIGHT, either do it yourself or keep laser focus on those who are doing it for you. Leave it entirely to someone else, and they’ll goof it all up. It’s been a shade-tree mechanic’s credo for decades, but it applies to other realms as well. Case in point: this Calypso Coral ’70 Ford Mustang Mach 1. Peter Lumia always had cool cars: “His first car was a ’51 Hudson Hornet, the one that was winning all the NASCAR races in the early ’50s,” son Jim tells us as evidence. A Country Squire was employed for family related hauling and drudgery, but his own personal car was always a little more fun. In the fall of 1969, Peter traded in his first daily driven Mustang…

IT WAS A QUIET, TRANQUIL MORNING when we cruised the tree-covered lane that leads to Beech Bend Raceway. On a beautiful Friday in mid-July, the peaceful surroundings belied the explosiveness that would soon assault every one of our senses. As soon as we entered the gates to the track, the visceral barrage began. The unfettered roar of high-powered engines was the first to reach us, accompanied by the sweet perfume of combusted high-octane race fuel. As we made the last turn into the pit area, we finally saw the source of all the commotion, and the objects of our affections. We had arrived at Supercar Reunion 21 thinking we were early enough to get a jump on things, but several of the participants already had their hoods up to prepare…

It had been more than 40 years since David Griffith last saw his orange ’69 COPO Camaro. In the interim, the Camaro passed through numerous owners before Kasey Alford laid claim to it. Alford promptly set about restoring it to its original glory, and invited Griffith to attend its debut at SCR21.“I didn’t know what to expect,”David says after making the drive from southern Georgia.“But once I met Kasey, I knew my ol’ Camaro was in good hands. Seeing it and riding in it again sure brought back a lot of good memories, and it was like seeing an old friend again.” What better way to celebrate a reunion at a reunion than by seeing an old friend in the possession of a new friend? David Griffith (right) and Kasey…

“WHAT YEAR MODEL is that ol’ Chevelle?” came the query from somewhere behind me. I looked up from topping off my tank to see a bewhiskered guy, a bit older than me, but obviously interested in having a conversation. “It’s a ’70 Malibu,” I replied, giving the nozzle handle one last squeeze as I turned around to face him. “Well, I had one just like it back in the day,” he continued. “Except mine was a ’72, and it was blue. And, it wasn’t a convertible, either. But man, I sure have a lot of good memories from that car!” That brief conversation was an icebreaker that I’d heard innumerable times while out exercising the garage inventory. It seems everyone has fond recollections of times spent in an old muscle…

THE CANADIAN-AMERICAN CHALLENGE Cup, better known as Can-Am, was the automotive equivalent of Fight Club, but with fewer rules. In the heat of this bare-knuckle competition, the legendary all-aluminum Chevrolet ZL-1 427 engine was born, and dealer Fred Gibb worked the system to get 50 of those howling race engines installed in ’69 Camaros. Nineteen more followed for a total of 69. But you already knew all of that. What you might not have known was that Oldsmobile, GM’s engineering division, eagerly eyed Can-Am’s no-holds-barred environment as a place to experiment a little too. The most radical of those experiments appeared on the cover of the July 1969 issue of Hot Rod magazine. This definitely wasn’t your father’s Rocket: twin turbos, stack fuel injection, aluminum block with four-bolt mains, forged…

SUPER BEE LED MARQUEE SUMMIT RACING • 800-230-3030 • WWW.SUMMITRACING.COM • $24.99 Does your marque affiliation run in the Mopar direction? Then you’ll appreciate this tribute to Dodge’s Scat Pack, and the member that contributed its cartoon logo to “The Hive”: the Super Bee. This stylish, inexpensive LED marquee sign (item SDF-158864) celebrates that B-body with a neon-like glow provided by energy-efficient LED lights powered by four AA batteries (not included) or an 18-inch mini-USB cord. The lightweight plastic frame has keyhole slots for easy hanging, and it’s sized 17 x 9 inches. It can be delivered to your home or picked up in a Summit Racing store in Georgia, Nevada, Ohio, or Texas. COPO CAMARO, CHEVELLE & NOVA CARTECH PUBLISHING • 800-551-4754 • www.cartechbooks.com/COPO$44.95 (HARDCOVER); $39.95 (PDF E-BOOK)…

REVIEW: THE NEW YEAR ROLLS IN WITH MUSCLE CARS TAKING CENTER STAGE Monterey in August, with its high-end collector-car sales, often makes mainstream news headlines that go well beyond the people and businesses that make up our hobby. Last year, for instance, when RM Sotheby’s sold a Ferrari for more than $48,000,000, it was front-page fodder. Other highzoot sports cars and vintage classics also drew attention. As 2019 got under way, even though there were a handful of European sports cars that ventured into the seven-figure territory, the meat and potatoes of the auctions came in the form of muscle cars, from factory-original, numbers-matching, concours-worthy examples to wild customs that combined classic styles with modern American V-8 running gear of one sort or another. Mecum Auctions rang in the new…

GT500: 700+ HORSEPOWER, 0-60 MID-3S, COMING FALL 2019 The second-worst-kept secret in Detroit, the new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, has officially been announced at the North American International Auto Show. At the moment, Ford is quoting “700-plus” horsepower from its supercharged 5.2-liter all-aluminum DOHC V-8. The company is also promising mid-3-second 0-60-mph times and “sub-11-second quarter-mile” timeslips for the quickest acceleration ever in a road-going Mustang. An 11-quart aluminum oil pan will feature active baffles for extreme performance maneuvers. No stick transmission will be available: GT500’s only transmission is a new seven-speed TREMEC dual-clutch transmission that can go fully automatic, semi-automatic with paddle shifters, or fully manual with paddle shifters. The GT500’s 5.2-liter version of the DOHC Coyote V-8 adds a Roots-type Eaton supercharger that also allows for a bigger…

Kennedy Patrick was practically born with a 9/16 wrench in her hand.The 21-year-old Kentucky marketing major had accompanied her dad to the drag strip for as long as she could remember. So, when he replaced the wheezy small-block in her ’69 Chevelle two-door “post” with a 454 big-block, it was only a matter of time before she put it to the test on the drag strip. SCR21 was the time and place for her to transfer all she’d learned by watching into practical application. She recorded a best of 15.90 before good ol’ dad took her to school with a hole shot that ended her studies for the day.…

ENGINE The base engine in the 1969 Dodge Dart GTS was the 340-cu.in. LA-series small-block V-8. Dodge literature bragged that this engine “cuts 2 seconds off the 0-60 time, and 5.6 seconds off the 50-70 time of the old 273 4-barrel.” It featured a forged crankshaft, four-barrel carb, and 10.5:1 compression. The 340 was rated at 275 hp. The optional engine, available only in the GTS, was a 10:1-compression-ratio, 330-hp 383 B-series big-block. Those “in the know” could go beyond the factory literature and obtain one of the limited number of 440-powered GTSes, which resulted in the installation of a 375-hp engine, also with 10:1 compression. Opting for the 440 meant power brakes, disc brakes, and a four-speed were all off the table. Only 340 cars could get air conditioning.…

Regardless of whether you’re planning a short cruise or a cross-country haul, preparation is mandatory. The guiding theory is that if everything is tended to before the trip, there’s a significant reduction in the possibility that an unfortunate incident will occur while you’re on the road. No matter how near or far you are from home, mechanical mayhem is never any fun.…

IT’S INGRAINED IN US, THAT need for speed — it’s one of the factors that draws us to the high-performance cars that we celebrate in this magazine. We’re conditioned to seek the quickest reaction and elapsed times, to reach for the highest numbers on the speedometer. While this is great fun, it’s safest and smartest to indulge those pedal-to-the-metal urges on the drag strip, rather than on the street. If you’re looking for something you can do on the street — and you thrive on competition, are a disciplined driver, have a willing accomplice, and enjoy road tripping in your 1960s-1970s muscle caryou’re an ideal candidate to participate in a Time-Speed-Distance rally. “TSD,” as this style of rallying is called for short, is interesting because it takes place on traffic-filled…

D AN COOK HAS BUILT MORE MOPAR ENGINES in his lifetime than there are Florida restaurants with “early bird” dinner specials. One of his specialties is a big-torque RB-based stroker combination that’s surprisingly simple in concept and execution, and even more amazing in its relatively low cost. Using a carefully selected mix of new and used components, the 440-based 512-cu.in. engine highlighted in this assembly overview was put together for $5,865 — and it dyno’ed at a very healthy 585 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque. “I’ve built a number of these engines, because the combination works so well for street and track use,” Dan says. “It’s a real torque monster, too, which makes your car really feel alive on the street.” It’s no slouch on the strip, either. The…

STRAPPED MAC’S CUSTOM TIE-DOWNS • 800-666-1586 WWW.MACSCUSTOMTIEDOWNS.COM • STARTING AT $249.95 Tie-down straps are essential when transporting your car with a trailer, and it’s important to have something durable that won’t damage the vehicle. This new Pro Pack kit from Mac’s (p/n 511616) comes with straps, rachet assemblies, wraps, and sleeves. Each of these straps will protect your vehicle’s finish, yet each can handle 10,000-pound capacities. Featuring an easy-release ratchet handle that you can move as far away from the vehicle as possible, the straps are designed to be easily secured and released. Sleeve protectors are also provided to give each strap extended life. The straps themselves are said to be made of the highest stitch count available, double some of the other straps on the market. They’re available…

With spring in full bloom (or a muddy thaw up here in Vermont), April will see a fair number of auctions, from big-name events in Houston, Texas, and Palm Beach, Florida, presented by Mecum and Barrett-Jackson, respectively, to other sales in the heart of the country: the Branson Auction in Missouri; Hooley Collector Car Auction in Goshen, Indiana; Carlisle Auctions in Pennsylvania; and the Bonhams sale of the Tupelo Automobile Museum Collection in Mississippi. While most of the auctions are still taking consignments, look to their websites for listings of available lots as the auctions draw closer. Already, we’ve spotted a few cars to be on the lookout for, such as a Cardinal Red with black top 1970 Pontiac GTO equipped with a documented, numbers-matching Ram Air III 400-cu.in. V-8,…