Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i Hemmings Muscle Machines

STOCK HOW MANY OF US who identify as, ahem, middle-aged, can say we still have the car we owned in high school? The answer of course is, not many. If you’re squarely middle-aged now, you would have been in high school sometime in the ’80s, and such is the case for Danny Truitt. To the point, Danny still owns the ’68 Mustang GT fastback he drove in high school, which is now restored to concours trailered standards. Danny would know, as he’s a Mustang Club of America gold card judge and restored his fastback himself. “All well and good,” you say, “but the car featured on these pages isn’t a ’68 GT fastback, it’s a ’68 GT coupe.” And you’d be right. What we are doing here is setting the…

SOME OF THE BEST IDEAS for a budget-based small-block Chevy are not new and often get lost in the continuous cycle of hype around the latest ideas and new products. Buried among these solid performance plans is the now often-overlooked iron Vortec small-block head. Since any knowledgeable performance engine builder will tell you that the best money you can spend on an engine to improve power should be aimed at good cylinder heads, that’s exactly where we’re going to focus, and with budget in mind. The underappreciated fact that tends to be lost amidst the throng of aftermarket aluminum small-block cylinder-head offerings is that Chevy’s own cast-iron head used on the 1996-2000 Vortec truck engines is the best-flowing design that GM ever produced for the original small-block V-8. This goes…

1969 AMC AMX HEMMINGS • 800-227-4373 x 79550 HEMMINGS.COM/STORE • $114.99 American Motors’ “Big Bad” colors were serious head-turners for 1969, and the blue, orange, and green hues available for an additional $34 on AMXs and Javelins weren’t suitable for those who prefer to blend into the crowd. AutoWorld has recreated a special Big Bad Green ’69 AMX with a 390-cu.in. V-8 and four-speed manual in 1:18 scale (item AMM1313). The full-size version of this car was a 2014 MCACN Leading Lady Award winner that also received a Gold Level Score at the American Motors Owners National Convention. The collectible diecast features a realistic undercarriage with body-color overspray, as well as a detailed engine bay with chromed air cleaner and rocker covers and legible decals. The trunk lid opens, and…

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 the Hemmings Auctions team directly: auctions@hemmings.com. 1971 DODGE CHALLENGER RESERVE: $55,000SELLING PRICE: $57,750RECENT MARKET RANGE: $52,000-$79,500 The popularity of today’s reborn Dodge Challenger has inspired fresh love for…

Letter of the Month: It’s Contagious I just read Terry McGean’s column “Tales of Tenacity,” and now I want to bore you with my story. I was born in 1959 in a small community in the “thumb” of Michigan. My brother was eight years older than me and graduated from high school in 1969, and many of his friends had Chevelles, GTOs, Plymouths, Torinos, and so on — it was a great time to be a kid. My neighbor’s son-in-law worked for Chrysler at the time, and he purchased a brand-new blue 1970 Superbird. My mother would wonder what was wrong with me as I would sit in our garden picking raspberries and beans while just staring at that car — I thought it was the most beautiful thing I’d…

MODIFIED BEING TALL AIN’T ALL it’s cracked up to be. Sure, when you’ve got some extra elevation on your side, there are some benefits, like being able to grab stuff off the top shelf with ease, or to dunk a basketball right on cue. But being vertically gifted can be a hassle, too, especially when trying to slide behind the wheel. As a self-proclaimed “big guy,” Rob Magliano of Thorton, Pennsylvania had to be picky about the cars he chose to drive over the years. “I’m 6 feet 7 inches tall, so yeah, there are some rides that just don’t fit me.” Those challenges have led Rob to pilot a string of full-size SUVs, but when it came time for him to choose a classic muscle car to enjoy on…

NOISY CHEVELLE REAR Q: I’ve written to you before and received a published response to my question about the over-boosted steering feel on my nut-and-bolt, rotisserie-restored, 1968 Chevelle SS with the original L34 396 engine and M21 four-speed transmission. Your answer satisfied my concern and I thank you for the expertise you provided! Because of the grim overall weather in Canada, I only have a five-to-six-month window to drive this car, therefore it is garaged for the balance of the year. I’ve driven the car approximately 400 miles since it was completed. The entire drivetrain was fully rebuilt, however the rear end groans and makes an “onk, onk, onk” noise when turning slowly at right-angle intersections and in tight, slow, turning conditions. No noise is observed when driving down a…

AUCTION ACTION IF YOU’VE BEEN TO Barrett-Jackson’s market-defining January event in Scottsdale, and you think you know what to expect, a visit to the summertime Sin City version may raise an eyebrow or two. If you’re there to buy and/or sell a car (or three), the ability to get to the cars without fighting through hordes of jewelers, jet-airplane salespeople, and artists of varying quality is delightful. What’s more, everything fits in a single room at the Las Vegas Convention Center; there’s no wandering around between buildings and outdoors into larger tents. You wouldn’t have wanted to be outside in Las Vegas June 22-24, 2023, anyway, with its triple-digit temps during the event. The numbers over three days look impressive on their face. Thirty million bucks after charity and automobilia…

BIG EASY BARRETT-JACKSON The inaugural Barrett-Jackson auction in New Orleans, September 28-30, saw 356 cars change hands, raking in a total of $21.6 million. The no-reserve auction featured high-performance American cars representing all the major marques. Among them was a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass W-31, which was thought to be one of 1,352 made. The W-31 Cutlass featured its numbers-matching 350 V-8 paired with its numbers-matching three-speed automatic transmission. The air-induction system was complete, and the body was finished in bright red complemented by a white bucket-seat interior. Inside, the Cutlass also featured a Hurst “his and hers” shifter, AM/FM radio, and 8-track player. When the bidding ended, the W-31 rode off to its new owner on its Super Stock II wheels for $47,300. One of the finer Mopars at this…