Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

IF YOU GAVE STANTON, MICHIGAN, A CURSORY GLANCE, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s nothing more than a tiny town smack-dab in the middle of the state’s agricultural heart, crisscrossed with miles of straight roads and a skyline in which the tallest structures are grain silos. A few miles north of this peaceful scenery, however, exists a quarter-mile of well-prepped, family-owned pavement that is Mid-Michigan Motorplex. Surrounded by farm fields, this island of speed is the playground for one of the events we are anxious to attend each year: The Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags. Held on September 17-18, the 2021 edition of the Pure Stock Drags, as it’s commonly called, marked the 27th running of the event in 28 years, a streak broken only by 2010’s total washout.…

PRICE Base price (for Cutlass S coupe)..............................................................................$3,550 Options on car profiled................................Hurst/Olds trim; L75 455-cu.in. 230-hp V-8; limited-slip differential; swivel bucket seats; Hurst dual-gate shifter in console; Hurst digital tachometer; Indy Pace Car stripe kit; Hurst locking lugs; Hurst mud flaps. ENGINE Type...............................................................Oldsmobile Rocket 455 90-degree OHV V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement.........................................................................................................455-cu.in. Bore x stroke...................................................................................................4.126 x 4.25 in Compressionratio...........................................................................................................8.5:1 Horsepower@rpm...........................................................................................230 @ 4,000 Torque @ rpm............................................................................................370 lb-ft @ 2,800 Mainbearings...................................................................................................................Five Lubrication..................................................................................Pressure;gear-typepump Camshaft ............................. Hydraulic flat tappet; 0.435/0.435-in lift (intake/exhaust);258/272-deg duration (intake/exhaust, as advertised) Valvetrain.....................................................................................................Hydrauliclifters Fuel system ...........Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor; mechanical fuel pump Electricalsystem..............................................................................................................12-V Exhaustsystem..............................................................Cast-ironmanifolds;dualexhaust TRANSMISSION Type...............................................................................GMTH400three-speedautomatic Ratios.............................................. 1st/2.48:1 … 2nd/1.48:1 … 3rd/1.00:1 … Reverse/2.00:1 DIFFERENTIAL Type..............................................................................GM 10-bolt hypoid; 8.5-in ring gear; limited-slip differential; semi-floating axles Ratio.................................................................................................................................3.31:1 STEERING Type......................................................................Saginaw recirculating ball, power assist Ratio..........................................................................................................Variable (16:1 avg.) Turns,lock-to-lock..........................................................................................................3.08 Turningcircle................................................................................................................46.6 ft BRAKES…

The only real way to measure the success (or lack thereof) of any engine package is to strap it to the dyno and make some noise.The 408 responded with some pretty amazing numbers, not the least of which was a flat-as-a-tabletop torque curve of 450-500-plus lb-ft from 3,000-6,000 rpm. Equally impressive were the horsepower numbers that peaked out at more than 520 hp at a very realistic 6,000 rpm. As anticipated, the big ports compromised our low-end output.…

IN 2021, THE MONTEREY Peninsula — hugging the idyllic coast of California — once again became a hotbed of vintage vehicle festivals. The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the original and is well into its seventh decade of renowned existence. A plethora of other collector car events and auctions have been founded over the years and occupy the days prior to “Pebble.” One of the more prominent and exclusive is The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, held on the sprawling grounds of the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in neighboring Carmel, California. The same manicured grounds play host to Bonhams’ annual Quail Lodge Auction, the subject of this month’s report. Bonhams upheld its traditional pre-pandemic schedule by resuming the sale as a one-day event, held on August 13, following a couple…

RETURN OF THE CALIFORNIA SPECIAL A GT/CS THAT LIVES UP TO THE “GT” PART OF ITS NAME Mustang’s popular California Special versions were generally appearance packages — twist-lock-fastened hood, fog lamps, side scoops behind the door opening, trunk spoiler, ’65 Thunderbird taillights, special stripes, pop-open gas cap, and the like; oddly, its GT/CS name had nothing to do with the Mustang GT package. Finally, Ford makes good on the promise of the GT/CS name with the new 2022 Mustang GT California Special, which adds the GT Performance Package. That gets you six-piston Brembo front brake calipers, heavy-duty front springs, larger rear anti-sway bar, overall lower ride height, K-brace, strut-tower brace, front subframe V-brace, Torsen limited-slip differential, unique stability control and electric power steering tuning, and staggered-size (19 x 9-inch front,…

WHEN YOUNG, up-and-coming Ford Motor Company test-track electrical technician and Detroit drag racer Milo Coleman kept an extra dollar bill in his pocket, little did he realize that it would buy him one of the world’s most sought-after factory racers. But thanks to his high-profile success with a stocker Fairlane a year before, 27-year-old Milo was the lucky racer chosen for the 13th 1964 Thunderbolt off the production line, one of 100 427-cu.in., dual-quad, lightweight Fairlane 500s put into the hands of straight-line racers. He piloted the 425-horsepower land rocket to the NHRA Southeast Super Stock championship in the summer of 1964. In 1958, Milo was a newbie at Ford, but he kept his eyes peeled for performance, especially after 1961, when he recalled seeing high-performance testing ramping up at…

IF THERE IS A SINGLE RACE KNOWN TO MOST American drivers, it’s the Indianapolis 500. When it started in 1911, it was a laboratory where automobile manufacturers developed their products. After World War II, though the race cars had long since diverged from road cars, the Memorial Day pageantry of Indy was still America’s national showcase of automotive prowess. That nationwide familiarity with the 500 long meant that an invitation to provide a pace car for the race was the best free advertising available to any manufacturer that wanted to promote a performance image. From 1949 to 1970, the list is loaded with Detroit’s sportiest machines: Oldsmobile 88 (with the brand-new Rocket V-8), Mercury Eight, Chrysler New Yorker (with the first-year FirePower hemi V-8), Ford Crestline, Studebaker Commander (with its…

IF YOU PAY UNDER $100,000 FOR AN authentic 1967 Shelby G.T. 500 these days, you’re doing pretty well. It’s not at all uncommon for nice examples to tickle the quarter-million mark at auction. Rare and exclusive to begin with, Shelbys have only gone up in value as the young men and women who wanted one when they were new have now reached the peak of their disposable income and free time. A Shelby like this was the dream of every Fordophile teen in the late ’60s, but they only built 2,050 of them, so they’ve always been an exclusive car. Not every 17-year-old in 1967 could own a new Shelby G.T. 500, either, but John Briggs could. That’s because his mother, Mitzi Stauffer Briggs, was an heir to the Stauffer…

MECUM’S CHICAGO RESULTS Mecum Auctions returned to the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumberg, Illinois, on October 21-23, with an event that generated $21.7 million in sales and a sell-through rate of 83 percent. That sell-through rate was identical for 1964-’72 American muscle cars, and lots from this high-performance era brought in $4.9 million. Among the 100-plus muscle cars sold was a 1969 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 convertible with a matching-numbers drivetrain that had been a feature car at the 2019 SEMA Convention in Las Vegas. The original Ram Rod 400 engine was preserved and the 4-4-2 was restored as a W-32 replica. Having undergone a body-off rotisserie restoration, it was adorned with factory-correct stickers and tags, and minute details were correct down to the teal paint on the body bushings. The Muscle…

HEMMINGS AUCTIONS IS OUR LIVE, ONLINE AUCTION site staffed by customer service professionals ready to help bidders and sellers with any questions. A wide variety of classic and specialty vehicles from all eras are up for bid. Auctions run for two weeks, and qualified bidders place their bids electronically. Once a vehicle is accepted into the auction, the seller pays only a $99.95 listing fee. The winning bidder is responsible for a 5-percent fee on all completed auctions. The following are examples of auctions that transpired during the month leading up to press time. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, email Director of Auction Operations Terry Shea: terryshea@hemmings.com. 1970 AMC AMX RESERVE: $40,000 SELLING PRICE: $55,650 RECENT MARKET RANGE: $32,150-$45,540 AMXes have long been favored underdogs in the muscle…

Send your letters, photos and opinions to tmcgean@hemmings.com ORIGINALITY COMPLEX Terry McGean asked an excellent question in his column “Parallel Pursuits” ( HMM #220, December 2021). A few years ago, I was lucky enough to acquire a very straight 1970 Olds 4-4-2. It was rust-free except for some bubbling on the bottom of the front fenders. It was also confirmed to have all matching numbers, was very straight, and had never been cut up. I took it to the next level: I had it resprayed in its original Twilight Blue, had the correct non-W-30 stripes applied, and added an OAI (Outside Air Induction) hood and the one-year-only sport mirrors. The purists bemoaned, “Why does every 1970-’72 Olds A-body have to get the OAI hood?” Because it’s one of the coolest…

ENGINE Type.....................................................Ford FE series; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement..........................................................................................................427-cu.in. Bore x stroke.....................................................................................................4.23 x 3.78 in Compressionratio..............................................................................................................13:1 Horsepower@rpm...........................................................................................425 @ 6,000 Torque @ rpm............................................................................................480 lb-ft @ 3,700 Mainbearings...................................................................................................................Five Lubricationsystem..........................................................Fullpressure;rotary-typepump, modified steel oil pan to a deep sump Camshaft..............................................................................................................Mechanical Valvetrain....................................................................Solidlifters;adjustablerockerarms Fuel system .................Twin Holley 715-cfm carburetors; Stewart Warner 240a electric fuel pump, 3/8-inch fuel line, engine-driven Carter high-volume mechanical fuel pump; Ford aluminum 2 x 4 “High Riser” intake manifold Ignition............................................................................................Ford dual breaker points Electrical system ............................................. 12-V; tractor battery mounted in the trunk Exhaust system...........................Tuned tubular headers with a complete single exhaust with a rear mounted muffler to compete in Super Stock class TRANSMISSION Type.....................................................................................Lincolnthree-speedautomatic Ratios...........................................................................1st/2.40:1 … 2nd/ 1.47:1 … 3rd/1.00:1 DIFFERENTIAL Type........................................................................Ford 9-inch; Detroit Locker differential Ratio...............................................................................................................................4.57:1 STEERING Type................................................................................................Manualrecirculatingball Ratio.................................................................................................................................27.8:1 BRAKES Type.......................................................Hydraulicdrum;single-reservoirmastercylinder Front/Rear.....................................................................................................10 x 2.5-in drum SUSPENSION Front............................Independent; unequal-length upper…

GIVE OR TAKE A PERCENT, CHRYSLER CORPORATION (between middle-class Dodge and working-class Plymouth) had about 15 percent of the market in the 1960s, but its A-body compacts regularly punched above their weight. Regardless of marque, nameplate, body style, or model year, these cars consistently owned nearly a third of the compact-car market. Compacts were a big deal for Chrysler and Plymouth’s new-for-1970 Duster capitalized on that success. ENGINE Starting in 1968, the top small-block performance option for Plymouth was the 340-cubic-inch LA-family V-8. Featuring big-port high-flow X-code heads, big valves, a Carter AVS four-barrel carb, and a 275-horsepower gross rating for 1970, the rev-friendly 340 is a popular, but ever-more-expensive, engine. Check the trim tag for code E55, which indicates an original 340-equipped Duster. Make sure that your 340 is…

Determining which head you’re looking at is much easier if you know what you’re looking for. In the corner of each 351C head is a clue that makes the hunt simple: The “4” cast there signifies a large-port, four-barrel head. Some claim that the dot next to it defines the combustion chamber as being “open,” but there are plenty of examples that disprove that assertion.The only irrefutable method to make that determination is a visual inspection of the chambers.…

INTERIOR MINISTRY TMI AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS, INC. • 888-460-0640 • TMIPRODUCTS.COM • CALL FOR PRICING A new host of products are available to put your own personal stamp on any 1966-’67 Chevelle’s cabin. The new expanded product line offers limitless options in updating your Chevelle’s faded interior. Parts now available include molded door panels, quarter panels, kick panels, molded rear seats, dash pads, carpet kits, floor mats, consoles, package trays, headliners with sail panels, and multipiece trunk kits. Whether you want to replace just one component or the entire interior, the new lineup of products offers an increased selection of options for renewing your Chevelle’s cockpit. Shown is the Double Diamond Stitch with Stripe on the insert of the door panels (customized for power windows). Each interior part uses existing…