Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2022 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

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,…

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…

SPOTLIGHT: Weekend Projects AFTER SWAPPING A CHEVELLE’S FACTORY front discs with aftermarket spindles and 12-inch rotors derived from an early ’90s Camaro with the 1LE option, we benefitted from improved handling and shortened stopping distances. But we felt we were still leaving something on the table, and not taking full advantage of the increased rotor diameter. The aftermarket spindles retained the Chevelle’s original cast-iron D52 brake calipers, which are adequate in most situations and have been deployed in countless GM applications since 1969. To their credit they are rock-solid reliable, and in the unlikely event of failure, are an inexpensive, easy-to-replace, parts-store item. But optimum performance has never been the goal of any OEM design, especially when the bean counters get involved. Our goal now was to further improve the…

SPOTLIGHT: Weekend Projects AERODYNAMIC ACCOUTREMENTS WERE nothing new to the early muscle cars, and splitting the air for effect actually became a part of the design goals. But even as rudimentary as the applications were back then, they were intended to help manage and direct the air over, under, and around the fuselage in hopes of gaining an aerodynamic advantage. Some of the most obvious examples that come to mind are the outrageous wings and prominent proboscises found on the ’69 Dodge Daytona and ’70 Plymouth Superbird. Other notable appendages were found on the GTO Judge, Buick GSX, Camaro Z28, Mustang Mach 1 and Boss 302/429, and even certain AMC AMX and Javelin models. Whether they were effective or mostly aesthetic is a topic for debate and seems to depend…

THE GAP BE TOLD! Q: I sent a question sometime back about having trouble getting torque from a 1997 350 Chevy Vortec engine that had been converted from factory GM computer-controlled engine management to an Edelbrock four-barrel carburetor and intake manifold. You gave me excellent information even though I failed to mention which manifold and cfm carb I used. After still failing to get this engine to perform in my modified 1956 Willys, it sat for quite some time. Getting back to it, I started with the basics and checked the spark plugs. All of a sudden, I realized the plug gap of .060-inch was possibly wrong for this conversion. The Vortec heads use Autolite 605 spark plugs that have a long reach. I gapped these at .040-inch and the…

PRECISION COMPRESSION AUTOMOTIVE RACING PRODUCTS, INC. • 800-826-3045 • ARP-BOLTS.COM • $65.99 Make sure you have everything you need for your engine assembly process, including these tapered 4.300-inch piston ring compressors, the newest size available from ARP. Each compressor is machined from 6061 T-6 billet tubing material and then type 3 anodized for a long-lasting finish. They are relieved for wire O-rings on the bottom and are engraved in ¾-inch raised numbers for easy identification. The 4.300-inch ring compressors are now available at various automotive stores; inquire about p/n 900-3000 for more details. WHEEL CARE SUMMIT RACING • 800-230-3030 • SUMMITRACING.COM • $86.93 Restore the luster and shine to your aluminum wheels with this new wheel cleaning combo kit. The kit has products that will remove and protect your wheels…

PONTIAC 8-LUG TO 5-LUG DISC SWAP Q: I have a 1963 Grand Prix that I want to convert to front and rear disc brakes. The rear seems to be no problem, but the front spindles are an issue. There has to be a GM spindle that will work on this swap. I don’t want the eight-lug wheels anymore but will hang on to them because they are original, and I could someday put them back on. I would like the stopping power of disc brakes over drum, with the 461-cu.in. beast I have under the hood. Any help would be great. Jeff Edgeman Via hemmings.com A: The spindles from 1959-’64 Pontiacs did not interchange with any other GM models that used factory disc brakes; we are unaware of a direct…

I’m looking forward to a much more mellow 2023… Here we are at the end of another year, which for me seemed to take twice as long as usual to get through. I think it just might be what I consider to be the longest year of my life, not counting two years saluting Uncle Sam, of course! I’m sure many of you feel the same way. The complications of disease, war, economic upheavals, and more made it seem miserably longer than normal. Hopefully most of that is finally over; I’m looking forward to a much more mellow 2023 and getting back to using my ’65 GTO again on a regular basis. Around the time I started looking ahead to the new year, a local muscle car collector I know…

IT’S PROBABLY SAFE TO SAY THAT ANYONE over the age of 50 is a prime candidate for classic muscle ownership… and declining visual acuity. Regardless of age, however, we all benefit significantly from improved nighttime illumination. Compared to modern vehicles, the headlamps in our classic muscle cars don’t seem much better than a candle reflected in a pie tin, so who wouldn’t be interested in upgrading the factory lighting systems? Years ago, installing halogen headlamps offered improved night vision, but they still emitted a dull, yellowish beam and lacked true brilliance. The current trend is to replace them with LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs that operate about 90 percent more efficiently than incandescent bulbs and offer more output. Here’s the difference: halogens typically produce around 3,200 lumens of brightness while…

1966 SHELBY 427 COBRA ART PRINT 800-227-4373 X79550 • HEMMINGS.COM/STORE • $40 An exciting new addition to Hemmings’ online store is a selection of quality art prints coming from the drawing board of talented automotive and product designer Jim Gerdom (designfactoryart.com). We’re highlighting his red 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra (item AP00324), one of nearly 20 pieces available through our store that celebrates historic performance cars. The Cobra illustration is a limited edition (one of 2,000) reproduction of Jim’s original artwork, printed on archival paper, each hand-signed and numbered. Like the other prints in this series, it’s sized 12 x 24 inches and would look amazing framed and displayed in your den or garage. Shipping costs within the U.S. are included in the price. CORVETTE 70 YEARS: THE ONE AND ONLY…