Hemmings Muscle Machines December 2022

tmcgean@hemmings.com • Instagram @tmcgean "So, three guys to handle the video and another four to get the car apart…" Cars and Cameras Converge Seems like it wasn’t long ago that I shared some of my thoughts on spending time in the garage, and the value of doing it with other people, in this column. A couple weeks ago, I got the chance to do just that here at Hemmings HQ as a group of us tackled a project that had been in the planning stages for some time. The situation surrounding the project carried a few challenges, chief among them was that this was to be a video-based effort, which meant having a crew (and their own schedules) on hand to capture the work while we also explained the what,…

Wondering what Ford was going to do to refresh the iconic Mustang? Well, here ya go. They’re calling the S650-chassis Mustang “all new,” and while we’re sure that none of the panels will interchange, that’s a little like saying the 1987 Mustang was all-new. Revised substantially, sure. But all-new? No. Ford’s upcoming Mustang will hew closely to its current, successful run: choice of turbo-four or deep-breathing cammer V-8 power, choice of fastback coupe or convertible, choice of automatic or stick(!); choice of 11 exterior colors and three Brembo brake caliper color options; and surely will be followed by innumerable niche models (California Special! Bullitt! Shelby! Mach 1!) in the seasons to come. The new grille fronts a bigger radiator, plus engine air inlets; two on the GT for oil, transmission,…

Letter of the Month: Big, Black Pontiacs I was floored by the absolutely gorgeous ’67 Catalina 2+2 featured in the October issue (“Spellbinding Survivor,” HMM #230). My attempt at such a machine, a ’68, is pictured here. I converted from the factory TH-400 automatic to a four-speed manual, and then “breathed on” the stock 400 for a little more power. I also installed the interior from a Bonneville and added factory spinner-style wheel covers, along with rear wheel skirts. My ’68 Pontiac is long gone, but I have great memories of that car. The featured ’67 2+2 is beyond words. I hope owner Paul Alexander occasionally puts his foot in it to hear the powerful sound coming from the three twos. Fred Cummings Hilton Head, South Carolina FAN MAIL I…

DAN LYON’S INFATUATION WITH MOPARS and muscle cars started innocently enough while the young car aficionado was still livin’ life in his single digits. “I was a nine-year-old kid from the Bronx, who was just crazy about cars. I had a radio-controlled car that needed help. That’s when I started hanging out with family friend John Quinn and the rest of the Bronx Mopar crew. The rest, as they say, is just history.” Turns out Quinn had a garage in the Bronx that specialized in bringing old and tired Mopars back to life and returning them back to the streets where they belonged. Quinn and his buddies, all diehard Chrysler fanatics, hung out together and wrenched on their own rides in his modest workplace in Throggs Neck, New York. This…

FOR ANY ASPIRING CAR GUY in the early Sixties, hearing the Beach Boys’ “409” on the radio induced dreams of owning one of the big Chevys. Nineteen-year-old Bob Vencevich was one of those young motorheads. Growing up in North Chicago, Illinois, Bob worked at a gas station in 1963. He owned a 1957 Chevy convertible at the time but, inspired by the Beach Boys classic, he and a friend decided one Saturday to stop by the local Chevy dealer to see a 409 in person. “I looked around, talked to a salesman, and said ‘I want a 409,’” Bob recounts. “Everyone had a red or white one, but the book had the color chip for a metallic brown. I said that’s the color I’m gonna get.” He decided to order…

SPECIAL FEATURE WORK CONTINUES APACE ON Project Rampart, our ultimate track-support vehicle using a 2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat as a 700-hp base. Last month, we showed you some of the parts and pieces to make it live up to its claims. This month, we’re adding exhaust, push bars lighting and more. Though the intention of this rig is race support, its debut will be at this year’s SEMA Convention in Las Vegas. Can the revamped Durango make it to the Dodge booth at SEMA on time? (Spoiler warning: yes, it can.)…