Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

Prerace warm-ups had begun as I ambled through the pits. While drivers began their “get ready”rituals, an unusual exhaust note caught my attention. Wait a minute — drag cars don’t sound like that. Or do they? The cacophony had me curious, and I immediately headed in the direction of its source. What I found was an orange Corvette with an open hood and a big aluminum lump nestled between its fiberglass fenders. As my inquisitive eyes scanned the engine bay, “Whadya think?”came the question from somewhere behind me. I turned and met the friendly gaze of Dave Miller, who claimed ownership of this crazy-sounding pumpkin on wheels and was the keeper of its secrets. I wanted to hear its story, and he wanted to tell it. It turns out the…

ALTHOUGH IT WAS FIRST INTRODUCED IN 1958 at 348 cubic inches, Chevy’s “W” engine grew to 409 cu.in. by ’61 and debuted in the first-year Impala Super Sport. Before long it achieved considerable motorsport success, but its quarter-mile accomplishments were most notable. Then, in June ’64, the Beach Boys immortalized Chevy’s first big-block when they sang “She’s real fine, my 409…”and forever secured its legacy in American motoring history. Nearly 60 years later, the 409 is still popular with those who love Chevy’s performance legacy and the look of this engine’s unique, scalloped rocker covers. But anyone who has searched for a 409 knows they’re getting difficult to find, and equally difficult to afford. There is a solution, however. With the tariff for a buildable-but-basic 409 easily topping $5,000 (even…

STUPENDOUS SNOWFLAKES YEAR ONE MUSCLE CAR PARTS • 800-932-7663 YEARONE.COM • $324.93/EACH New 19-inch “Snowflake” wheels are now available for the 1978-’81 Pontiac Trans Am. The original 15-inch wheels were a popular identifying feature for T/As with the WS6 option package. Updated for a modern look, the latest versions of the cast aluminum wheels are available with either gold or black centers and machined spokes. The wheels measure 19 x 9.5 inches with a backspace of 55/ 8 -inch, or a +9.4›mm offset, and are compatible with original-style center caps. Each carries a load rating of 1,900›pounds and requires the use of specific lug nuts, p/n QJ39BS ($64.93 set of 20). The wheels are non-returnable once tires have been mounted. Inquire about p/n›SFW199GLD (gold) and p/n›SFW199BLK (black) for more…

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. 2010 DODGE CHALLENGER SRT8 RESERVE: $63,000 SELLING PRICE: $84,000 RECENT MARKET RANGE: $59,140-$79,450 While the original 1970s Challenger came in sof›-roof…

DRIVEN: 2022 CADILLAC CT4-V BLACKWING COME FOR THE POWER; STAY FOR THE CHASSIS Two decades ago, the idea of a Cadillac appearing in HMM made no sense; today, Cadillac builds a pair of sedans called Blackwing that are the talk of the sport-sedan world. Seen here is the CT4-V Blackwing, an unwieldy name to read and type. Beneath the Blackwing’s hood is a twin-turbo, 3.6-liter direct-injection V-6. All 472 horsepower are easily accessible; you feel like you could touch 500 horsepower if you were allowed to rev beyond the 6,500-rpm redline. Yet at idle, you’d barely know it was running, such is its smoothness. A Tremec six-speed stick is standard issue here. It not only suggests serious intent — even if it’s usually a tick slower than the optional 10-speed…

THE ROAR OF HEAVY-BREATHING V-8 ENGINES and screaming tires searching for traction broke central Michigan’s rural silence like a fast-moving summer thunderstorm. Billowing clouds of tire smoke cast temporary shadows, carried east by prevailing winds. For a moment, the cacophony settled before the V-8s awoke again with an unbridled fury of speed. Mere seconds of peace returned, only to have the cycle repeat. And repeat. And repeat yet again. So much for a quiet Friday morning on the farm fields surrounding a quarter-mile stretch of pavement known as Mid-Michigan Motorplex. Then again, it was hardly a surprise to locals, who have become used to the annual September gathering of the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags faithful at the storied Stanton facility. It’s been happening for nearly three decades. And while…

PRICE Baseprice...............................................................................................................$2,768.00 Options on car profiled.............................................Cruise-O-Matictransmission,$226; air conditioning, $361; Traction-Lok rear, $64; power steering, $95; power front disc brakes, $42; styled steel wheels, $18; AM radio, $59 ENGINE Type................. Ford FE series 90-degree OHV V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement............................................................................390-cu.in.(now410-cu.in.) Bore x stroke................................................................................................4.232 x 3.784 in Compressionratio..........................................................................................................10.6:1 Horsepower@rpm............................................................................................265 @ 4,400 Torque @ rpm............................................................................................390 lb-ft @ 2,800 Mainbearings...................................................................................................................Five Lubricationsystem.........................................................Full-pressure, gear-type oil pump Valvetrain.........................................................................Overhead, hydraulic valve lifters Fuel system ........Single 700-cfm Holley four-barrel carburetor; mechanical fuel pump Electricalsystem..............................................................................................................12-V Exhaustsystem................................................................................................Dualexhausts TRANSMISSION Type.......................................................Ford “Merc-O-Matic” C-6 three-speed automatic Ratios ................................................ 1st/2:46:1 … 2nd/1.46:1 … 3rd/1.00:1 … Reverse/2.18:1 DIFFERENTIAL Type...................................................................Ford 9-inch with Traction-Lok limited-slip Ratio................................................................................................................................3.00:1 STEERING Type.....................................................................................Recirculating ball, power assist Ratio.....................................................................................................................................16:1 Turns,lock-to-lock.............................................................................................................4.0 Turningcircle...................................................................................................................38 ft BRAKES Type...............................................................................Four-wheel hydraulic, power assist Front: 11.3-in ventilated disc Rear: 10 x 2.25-in expanding drum SUSPENSION Front..............................Independent; upper wishbones, lower control…

WHAT MAKES for a good road car is not always what makes for a great race car, and vice versa. Since most of us spend our time on the roads, logic would suggest that we opt for the easiest-driving combination. Of course, we aren’t necessarily logical creatures most of the time, and the emotional appeal of the sheer capability of a high-performance car is undeniable. That said, just because you can buy the very hottest piece equipment doesn’t mean you should. Case in point: This 1965 Sting Ray coupe belonging to Ward Gappa of Scottsdale, Arizona. You probably recognize Ward’s name as the proprietor of Quality Muscle Car Restorations. His work has graced our pages many times, but this car isn’t his work at all. It’s GM’s. That’s right, Ward…

The only real way to consummate any marriage of parts and potential is to put them to the test, and we did that on the SuperFlow 901 dyno at Tommy’s Auto Machine. This was a fairly conservative build, designed to run reliably on pump gas while delivering a decent punch to the backside, and it cranked out a very respectable 442 horsepower at only 5,400 rpm. Additionally, the 519 lb-ft of torque peaked at just 3,700 rpm and only tapered off to 450 at 5,100 rpm. For a heavy street car, that’s plenty of grunt to get things moving and also maintain effortless cruising at highway speeds.…

ENGINE Some Chevrolet dealerships, when faced with a problematic early ZR-1 engine and no technician trained to service it, would sometimes install a new crate LT5 V-8, trading it for the original; this has led to engine numbers and date codes not aligning. If you’re more interested in power than purity, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (lingenfelter.com), Doug Rippie Motorsports (dougrippie.com), and Haibeck Automotive Technology (zr1specialist.com) can build you a stroker LT5. TRANSMISSION While an automatic could be had in lesser Corvettes, the ZR-1 exclusively used the German-designed ZF six-speed manual, the top two gears of which were overdrive ratios. It was fitted with Computer Aided Gear Selection, more commonly known as the “skip-shift” function that blocked off second and third gears in low-speed, low-rpm driving. This benefitted fuel consumption, which was…

AFTER THE SLEW OF MULTI- million-dollar results recorded at the mid-August 2021 sales in Monterey, California, the vintage vehicle community turned its attention to another storied tradition: the annual Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg festival in historic Auburn, Indiana. The Labor Day weekend gathering was originally conceived to celebrate the trio of legendary automobile marques that had ties to the city, but since that time, the scope of the event has evolved and expanded. One aspect of the celebration that has remained consistent are the auctions held in conjunction with it. This month, we’re looking at the action from the 14th annual Auburn Auction hosted by Worldwide Auctioneers on September 3-4, 2021. The Auburn-based auction house was literally right at home, and delivered a catalog brimming with a stunning array of Full Classics, postwar…

WHEN Victorian-era British mathematician John Venn developed his eponymous diagrams, consisting of “inclusive and exclusive circles… so obviously representative of the way in which any one… would attempt to visualise propositions,” as he wrote, it seems unlikely that he would ever have placed a 1968 Mercury Cyclone at the center of that overlap. (Not least of which because Venn died in 1923.) Yet the factors behind Steve Husnan’s late-1972 automotive choice, the very 1968 Mercury Cyclone you see before you, can be easily contained within the intersecting circles of a Venn diagram. The first circle was Steve’s location: stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, attending Technical Training School a long way from his Red Hook, New York, home. That necessarily limited the scope of where he could…

THERE’S PROBABLY NO BETTER PLACE IN THE COUNTRY for a gathering of classic muscle machines than Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The track layout, tree-shaded pits, and the tin-roof-covered stands provide just the right amount of nostalgia for vintage drag events, while the impeccably maintained track surface and the latest electronics assure racers that each run will be safe and swift. It’s a perfect place for a weekend of fast fun, so choosing a site for the annual Super Car Reunion was a no brainer! Both competition and camaraderie are what keep the reunion faithful returning year after year, bringing with them such rarities as COPOs, Cobra Jets, and Hemi ’Cudas. Word has gotten out about this event, which is just as much a reunion of kindred spirits…

PRICE Base price (Sting Ray coupe).....................................................................................$2,947 Options on car profiled......................L79 327 V-8; four-speed manual transmission; air conditioning; knock-off wheels; power steering; power brakes; Positraction limited-slip differential ENGINE Type.... Chevrolet small-block 90-degree OHV V-8; cast-iron block and cylinder heads Displacement..........................................................................................................327-cu.in. Bore x stroke....................................................................................................4.00 x 3.25 in Compressionratio...........................................................................................................11.0:1 Horsepower@rpm...........................................................................................350 @ 5,800 Torque @ rpm............................................................................................360 lb-ft @ 4,400 Mainbearings...................................................................................................................Five Lubrication..................................................................................Pressure;gear-typepump Camshaft .................................Hydraulic flat tappet; GM/Chevrolet #3863151 hydraulic; 342 degrees duration; .447-in lift Valvetrain.....................................................................................................Hydrauliclifters Fuel system ...........................Holley 4150 four-barrel carburetor; mechanical fuel pump Electricalsystem..............................................................................................................12-V Exhaustsystem............................................................Cast-ironmanifolds;dualexhausts TRANSMISSION Type........................................................GM Muncie M-20, wide-ratio four-speed manual Ratios ................................. 1st/2.56:1 … 2nd/1.91:1 … 3rd/1.48:1 … 4th/1:1 … Reverse/2.46:1 DIFFERENTIAL Type ..................................................GM Corvette-style 10-bolt hypoid; 8.2-in. ring gear; limited-slip differential; independent axles Ratio................................................................................................................................3.08:1 STEERING Type......................................................................Saginaw recirculating ball, power assist Ratio.....................................................................................................................................17:1 Turns,lock-to-lock.............................................................................................................3.4 Turningcircle.................................................................................................................41.6ft BRAKES Type...................................Delco-MoraineSport-Masterhydraulic;power-assisteddisc Front/Rear: 11.75-in rotor SUSPENSION Front...................................Independentwithunequal-lengthcontrolarms,coilsprings, a…

MECUM KISSIMMEE For those who don’t make their way out to the Scottsdale area during the annual January sale spectacle, Kissimmee, Florida, has proven to be an impressive substitute that has its own auction exclusives. At the 2022 sale, one of the stars of the show was a 1970 Hemi ’Cuda convertible, thought to be one of 14 built and one of only nine with an automatic transmission. Its meticulous restoration included the body being stripped down to the bare metal, with all components refinished to OEM specs. The chrome was triple plated and polished, while the paint was done in the correct High Impact FY1 Lemon Twist. The ’Cuda’s powerplant was the E74 426 Hemi option, mated to an A-727 TorqueFlite transmission, operated with a console mounted Slap-Stik shifter.…

Though COVID-19 forced the cancellation of Barrett-Jackson’s 2020 and 2021 Palm Beach, Florida, auctions, the 2022 auction is still a go as of this writing.The 2019 event was a big success, with $30.18 million in total sales and a 98.9 percent sell through. When all results were tabulated, 632 cars changed hands at the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach. “Last year we postponed our Palm Beach Auction as a precaution for the health and safety of our guests,”said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson.“We can’t express how excited we are to bring the Barrett-Jackson experience back to the Sunshine State with the incredible collector car community in South Florida.” Expect to see larger numbers at this year’s auction, which will take place April 7-9. Advance tickets are…