Just a Car Guy: 3/8/09

Saturday, March 14, 2009

One among the rarest 1969 Z28 Camaros

February 26, 1969, 18 year old Lyle Mader went into Rapp Chevrolet in Marion South Dakota, and employed the little known HA Special Paint code. He ordered baby blue. This 18 yr old was the only one to ever do that.

He also went for 24 other options and had his Camaro outfitted with chambered exhaust, special factory headers, and the cross ram intake.

Muscle Car Review, March 2009, page 53

and http://motorcities.com/vehicle/05CFM485901461.html has the following;

The car was also ordered with the JL8 4 wheel disc breaks, and the car was sent to a special Chevy warehouse where it sat for weeks waiting for the parts for the 4 wheel disc brakes.

Unfortunately it did not receive the rear disc breaks, they discontinued 4 wheel disc in May of 69 and this is a June car, so the car was delivered without them.

Lyle also ordered the special Z/28 SCCA off-road cam with heavy-duty valve springs installed by the factory - usually found only on the real SCCA cars. Rounding out the high-performance special-order items, Lyle also checked the box for the M22 close-ratio gear box, the low-restriction chambered exhaust, 4.56 gears in a Posi-traction rear end, factory cowl-induction hood and Firestone 200 Sports car tires.

Lyle wasn't finished with his dream car yet. Unlike the SCCA drivers, he was going to ride in comfort, so he ordered just about every convenience option available from GM he could, including the Z87 custom interior, black vinyl trim, tinted glass, fold-down rear seat, head-light washers, rear window defroster, remote control rearview mirror, center console with factory installed 8-track tape player, AM/FM radio, speed warning indicator, Comfortilt steering wheel and full cockpit instrumentation.

To save weight, Lyle left out the electric windows, power steering and hide-away headlights. The baby blue paint was ordered with the white racing stripes wrapping all the way around the rear bumper - just like the Trans-Am cars he had seen on TV and is the only one ever produced from the factory with the strips running all the way down. A set of optional front bumper guards competed the exterior appearance.

The effect of a UAW and teamsters strikes on GM

In 1972 the UAW strike lasted 174 days, stopping production at the Ohio plant. The result was 1100 Camaro's failing to meet 1973 Federal bumper safety standards. http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z169/Chevrolet-Camaro-RS.aspx

GM went on strike due to the Vietnam War. Some cars were finished with Buick interiors to go around. http://www.chevellesrus.com/parts/1968.html

Chevelles had Buick interiors possibly due to race riots in Baltimore & KC in early April associated with MLK assasination, and not a strike http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229304

Rather than stop production, assembly plants in Baltimore, Fremont, and Kansas City went to Buick and Oldsmobile for door panels and seat covers. A large number of '68 Chevelles from March to june of '68 had Buick and Olds interiors. Muscle Car Review, March 2009 issue, page 36

April 1oth was the start of a strike that lasted until June 9th. This stopped production of Corvettes, forcing Delorean to continue the production of 1969 Corvettes past the ordinary Sept time of a new model year... causing a all time high production of Corvettes of 38762 units. This also was a cause of low quality control in the 1969 model Corvette. A 1970 Road and Track survey had quality as the worst feature of the Corvette

The April 6 1970 to May 6 strike of the Teamsters and the late start of the '70 vette caused a low production number of just 17316

Pontiac service manual specifications and maintenance information, 1926 -1980

PontiacRegistry.com has begun the largest compilation of Pontiac maintenance information ever.

http://www.pontiacregistry.com/

Througha special licensing agreement with General Motors, the website has been given permission to reproduce and post all Pontiac service manuals from '26 to '80.

It'll be $12.99 a year to access the information, or a donation of materials they are in need of: the 1926-34, 37-39, 54-59.. that'll get you a free lifetime membership. Pay the money, you'll never use the website very much after the first year anyway is my guess.

The new El Camino by Pontiac is cancelled

The birth of the new Chevrolet El Camino has recently been taken away by Pontiac. This means that the next generation of El Camino will never be.

GM decided to junk the plans for the ST sport truck version of the G8, since the current focus is on smaller, more economical cars.

http://www.360blog.org/2009/03/2010-pontiac-g8-st-sport-truck-cancelled/

Anything might show up to the racetrack

http://www.arthomobiles.fr/LMC08/LMC08D1/LMC08d1.htm

LeMans Classic 2008 big wallpaper size photos

http://www.arthomobiles.fr/LMC08/LMC08D1/LMC08d1.htm

Dean Martin and a Facel Vega

Facel Vega was a French builder of luxury cars. Their advertising slogan was "For the Few Who Own the Finest". French design with American drivetrains that peaked at 392 cu in hemi engines and a 727 Torqueflite in the Facel Vega II of 1961.

Owners include Pablo Picasso, Ava Gardner, Ringo Starr, Joan Fontaine, Stirling Moss, Tony Curtis, and several Saudi princes. Race-car driver Stirling Moss would drive his HK500 from event to event rather than fly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facel_Vega

"In the annals of all that is car, certain vehicles stand out. Others tend to leap. A very select group however, reaches right into your chest, squeezes you around the heart and won't ever let go." Jalopnik

Bonneville Salt Flats... the Fastest Place on Earth

The plane Steve Fossett was piloting disappeared while he was preparing for his latest record attempt, a shot at the land speed record of 763.035 mph. His crew plans to try to break the record anyway in the jet-powered car built for that purpose. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/12/08/GR2007120801879.html

Photo by Louise "LandSpeed" Ann Noeth... I found it on page 14 of Goodguys April 2009 issue, and at http://www.automobilemag.com/features/0809_bonneville_salt_flats_fastest_place_on_earth/index.html
Where Louise wrote a good essay / documentary about the salt flats... lots of facts and info. About Louise; http://www.sae.org/globalsections/sections/localactivities/noethbio.html

It was the 90's... and anything was possible. If subscriptions can become 50% off, anything is possible

Kool Tools by Doug Dorr, very damn cool!

http://www.dorrskustomkreations.com/

www.myspace.com/dougdorr (714) 269-8652

Featured in Hot Rod Deluxe, Street Rodder, Rodders Journal, Custom Rodder, Street Rodder, and dozens of others!

Via http://customsickles.blogspot.com/

beautiful engines

How crazy is that.... two photographers loved the look of this engine, and found their own example to photograph

http://customsickles.blogspot.com/ and Via: http://churchofchoppers.blogspot.com/ or http://motorizedmagazine.blogspot.com/

Custom Sickles, from Italy. They have it all, the beautiful ...

http://customsickles.blogspot.com/

... the cool

Nothing cooler.

That is cool and rocking, I hope to use it someday

Two Terraplane nosed rods... is that a trend?

Sweet trailer combo

An Airflow for a shop car? Cool!

http://customsickles.blogspot.com/

... and the funny

it says "Wanted Rockabilly - pinup girlfriend future wife ... take a card"

Warning: if you value your life as much as I value this motorcycle, don't f**k with it

Looks a little like a cartoon...

Kiosk in Munich

The above photo was on ebay! Look at the lower right corner

Hello Jack!

http://customsickles.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 13, 2009

Just do it

and here is why: http://trawler-rider.blogspot.com/2009/02/hes-very-very-nice-man.html via:

http://customsickles.blogspot.com/

Jerry doesn't get it, neither does anonymous

jerry said...
jesse your a piece of s**t "anonymous" is a friend of mine, he spent his time his money the customize the car the way he wants it, not for you but for him. next time your thinking about insulting someones car don't!

Ok. Jerry... "your" should be spelled "you're" and try "to" instead of "the"
If you are correct and he only customized his car for himself, he wouldn't care what anyone else said, but his feeling are hurt, ergo (that means therefore)... he customized his car to impress strangers.

You won't name your friend either? What is he... afraid to be associated with his car?

Jerry... and all other Stangpede members... I didn't insult the anonymous car or its owner in the first post, I did once his feelings were hurt that I compared the design of the SN95 to that of the 1990's Tempos, Taurus, and T-birds. To get his feelings hurt by that, is to have lower than normal testosterone levels for a car guy. But he'll grow out of that when puberty arrives. Or when he wrenches on something oily, rusty, and needing repairs.

I have repeatedly complimented Stangpede for showing up in greater numbers than any other club to many events and car shows, and have posted many photos of Stangpede Mustangs that I find cool (http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/02/mustangs-show-up-in-greater-numbers-to.html)

I pointedly gave my opinion that the SN95 design is a cookie cutter design, similar to the Taurus, Tempo, and Thunderbird.

The opinion is not a fact, just my view. It isn't a insult to have an opinion about car designs, to insult something is to make fun of them. Like I did to an anonymous person who may be ashamed of his car, since others find it cookie cutter.. and said "Mustangs sometimes compensate for low testosterone levels. I'm not saying you should be careful that your dress doesn't get caught in the door... but are high heels rough on Mustang carpet?"

But I haven't insulted the car. I have only given the production figures to demonstrate the vast number of identical Mustangs, and then pointed out how many Fords look so similar to non-Mustang owners, that Mustangs be mistaken for Tempos, t-birds, and Taurus.

I happen to admire the Mustang, the S197 in particular, and the photos I took of the Stangpede Mustangs newer than 2004 are posted http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/02/mustangs-show-up-in-greater-numbers-to.html and complimented clearly. Even for Jerry who doesn't spell "you're" correctly.

Have a coke and a smile, chill out, and stop giving a damn what people think of your car "anonymous"... enjoy your car, if no one else does-it shouldn't ruin your day. If you need me to appreciate the stripes, hood scoop, and head lights... that's sad. You enjoy them, you paid for them and if you only did that to impress others... sad. If you are happier, cool. Either way, stop looking for other peoples admiration, it won't last.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Compelling Art from Found Objects

http://sleetapawang.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!BD09644C5F6E196D!399.entry

For those of us who enjoy seeing the progression of a build you are in luck. Michael was kind enough to allow Motorfoot to publish some images by photographer Justin Craig Roth showing the stages of fabrication.

http://www.motorfoot.com/blog/post/2009/01/28/Gone-Postal-One-Insane-Hot-Rod-Coupe.aspx

http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com/2008/03/art-of-michael-ulman.html

Let me clarify for the "anonymous" Stangpede Mustang owning commentor

I took these two shots to demonstrate the different look from the last design, to the new retro design. I like the bottom photos/ design far more. It gives a distinct look instead of the cookie cutter look applied to the Ford Tempo, Taurus, Thunderbird... etc etc

The comment:

Wow my car gets some recognition on the net and it turns out to be an insult....Im the owner of the Silver Mustang GT with black stripes and hardly think my car is cookie cutter seeing as I have put thousands into customizing and it doesnt look like a stock stang at all. Ouch! :( Anonymous

Response to comment:

anonymous? really? forgot your name?

Weak.

Beef up your game anonymous. You really got your feelings hurt?

So, it's true. Mustangs sometimes compensate for low testosterone levels. I'm not saying you should be careful that your dress doesn't get caught in the door... but are high heels rough on Mustang carpet?

On to your mustang... with about 140 thousand Mustangs a year made from 94-2004 (the SN-95 design) that look about the same, that comes to about a million and a half Mustangs that most people can't tell apart. http://www.yellowmustangregistry.com/Production04.html

But that wasn't what I wrote in the original post http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/11/breakfast-at-balboa-or-cars-and-coffee.html about Mustangs in general, not singling yours out in particular.

I compared the last design of the SN-95 Mustang to all the rest of Fords 1990's designs. They have common design traits that make the Tempo, the Mustang, the Thunderbird, and the Taurus all look similar. That has to be 4 models, and millions of cars... that are similar. Hence, the design is cookie cutter. Especially compared to the "retro" 2005-09 S197 model. Which has the looks I prefer, it's less jellybean, and isn't mistaken for the other Fords... ever. And that is why the SN-95 is a cookie cutter.

Follow up post: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/03/jerry-doesnt-get-it-neither-does.html

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Car insurance from a different viewpoint

"Car insurance companies will offer somewhat lower rates to their customers simply by driving a car that will cost less to fix if it gets in an accident." http://www.cheapcarinsurance.net/car-insurance-rates-and-damage-susceptibility/

Makes sense! I never thought of it that way, since so much of my insurance is based on age, and location... I wonder how much of my 65 a month is based on what the car stats are for repairs?

"In setting insurance premiums, insurance companies mainly rely on factors that are not directly related to the vehicle itself (except for its value). They mainly consider driver characteristics (such as age, gender, marital status, and driving record), the geographic area in which the vehicle is driven, how many miles are traveled, and how the vehicle is used."
http://www.cheapcarinsurance.net/car-insurance-rates-and-damage-susceptibility-alt/

Ok, those two excerpts seem to conflict a little...

"However, some companies adjust their premiums for personal injury protection and medical payment coverage if the insured vehicle has features that are likely to improve its crashworthiness, or ability to protect occupants from injury or death, such as air bags. " http://www.cheapcarinsurance.net/car-insurance-rates-and-damage-susceptibility-alt/

Ah HA! I was right

For the stats on vehicles, so you can base a car purchase on what your insurance company is likely to charge relative to other purchases...
The luxury "large", and "very large" have the highest "Relative Average Loss Payment Per Insured Vehicle Year" usually twice to three times the ordinary cars

Lotus Elize : 435
Maserati Quattroporte 4dr : 429
BMW M5 4dr : 317
Nissan 350Z : 217

Dodge Caravan : 68
Saturn Outlook 4dr : 33
Jeep Wrangler 4dr : 33
GMC Acadia 4dr 4WD : 30

So boring cars are less paid out than exciting cars... logically.
Thanks to Scott at http://www.cheapcarinsurance.net/

burnouts compared by country

burning the rubber til its a ring of fire

http://ziza.ru/2006/04/05/uchimsya-zhech-rezinu.html

Barracuda

http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/50

The Miller Golden Submarine, raced by Barney Oldfield

Mounting tires without the usual machines, sudden release of compressed air and explosive use of aerosols

From http://badcopnodonuts.com/2009/03/ via: http://stipistop.com/

Fast & Furious.. . . .. New model. Original parts

For the above preview, at 3 times the size (awesome sound) click the link, and then click on "Watch Trailer" (right most option, bottom middle of screen)

http://www.fastandfuriousmovie.net/?dst=ushewidgetFast%20&%20Furious%20-%20Theatrical%20Trailer&__source=ushewidgetFast%20&%20Furious%20-%20Theatrical%

For a really good post about all of the movie, a lot about the cars, and so on... http://justacargal.blogspot.com/2009/03/fast-furious-4-cars-and-trailer.html

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

1938 Phantom Corsair

Custom chassis from the AJ. Bayer Company that used a donor Cord 812 drive train, body by Bohman & Schwartz. Design by Rust Heinz

The prototype cost upwards of $24,000 USD to build.

Promotion included a full page ad issued in Esquire magazine, a display named it ‘The Car of Tomorrow’ at the World’s Fair and it played the role of ‘The Flying Wombat’ in David O. Selznick’s film The Young in Heart (1938). Furthermore it was featured in a Popular Science film series in 1938. Despite all the attention, no orders came in for the eccentric design, reducing the Phantom Corsair to a very expensive one-of.
Heinz used the car until his death at the age of 25 .

The car was sold at auction and purchased by Bill Harrah.
Since then, the Phantom Corsair has remained in the National Automobile Museum, formerly known as The Harrah Collection, in Reno, Nevada.

http://www.supercars.net/cars/4422.html via:

This is just so cool

http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/50

1971 Bob Perry's "Fugitive 2"

Wow, words almost don't describe the over the top effort to make a dragster from a Corvette.. the big tires, the dragboat-like engine and headers... wow.
http://www.gilchristbnw.com/GPC/WS-Gallery242.html via: http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/43

Gravity was not as strong in 1969, at Nürburgring, and the term "Supercar" was born

McClaren

Ferrari

Porsche

1955 Lincoln Futura concept

Looks realllly wide. Imagine trying to park this in a modern parking lot, and not hitting something with the distant front bumper corners

684 photos of drag racing cars, 5 decades, and none of them seem to be uploadable to show examples

(where there's a will, there's a way sometimes)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-margie/sets/72157601082871673/ via: http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/38

Holman Moody '62 Falcon Futura Challenger

a stock bodied 62 Futura with 221 V-8 and ran at Sebring, Nassau while in H-M's ownership http://www.ford-forums.com/ford-falcon/14280-any-interest-holman-moddy-challengers.html via: http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/32

Records are obsolete now, but in the 50's and 60's there were records of everything

http://customsickles.blogspot.com/2008/05/records.html

From the LP Cover Lover blog... love that title
http://lpcoverlover.com/category/hot-rods/

The Belka

http://minutia-microcarsminicars.blogspot.com/2008/11/ukrainian-nami_12.html

DesignIt's photostream

exotic car store, Fantasy Junction in Emeryville, CA

Ol Yaller, raced by Max Bulchowsky in 61

Lone Star Roundup

Check the little "eyes" on the far left back lower corner of the car

Tom Beatty's bellytanker

Chica's bikes

Flint was a derivative of the Durant Motor Co. This was a '24 Flint truck with a 59AB Ford flathead

Go all the way, or go home

From http://www.flickr.com/photos/designit/collections/72157604919224653/ Via: http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/24

Holman Moody Torino Talladega #17

http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=50a1ddd511b78a0a&q=Auto+Racing+source:life&ei=uFQkSfjyM4e4sAOi25jBCA&sig2=8NvdMH46Hyz9rfb61NSesQ&usg=__RF8-PKh2ElcHLHUBXqLkXBC3Zeo=&prev=/images%3Fq%3DAuto%2BRacing%2Bsource:life%26start%3D105%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN Via: http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/23

VW prototype

http://www.ltv-vwc.org.uk/wheelspin/ws_mar_2003/Beetle-early-history03.htm

Motorcycle art, made from watch parts

Via Pixdaus

train crash due to negligent semi driver

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=274215 Cattle truck got hung up in the ditch swinging a right turn and with the cab stranded in the path of a loaded rock train.

More train photos

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=274215

One of these race cars is not like the other... I bet he wins, drifting sideways to a win hasn't worked in Nascar yet that I've heard

blogmulsanne.blogspot.com & www.mulsanne.com.br Automobilismo, Antigomobilismo & Conversa Fiada !!!

Mulsanne.com.br Great photos and fellow Mopar man!

blogmulsanne.blogspot.com

& http://www.mulsanne.com.br/

Automobilismo, Antigomobilismo & Conversa Fiada !!!

Monday, March 09, 2009

Sprites, cute ain't they?!

Bill Hartman's King Cobra at the Coronado Speed Festival 2006 I think

The crowd has such great looks on their faces, the wheel standing competition

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/02/wheelstanding-competition-its-first.html

Via: http://blogmulsanne.blogspot.com/

Apollo 12 - Astronauts ... 1969

http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/

Steve McQueen, and a couple of toys... man that is cool

http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/

Once in a lifetime photo

The weekly train photo gallery

Via Pixdaus

Chop it, you'll know its right when you can barely see out

http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/

Cool photography

Via http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/

Playmates of the year were awarded a pink car among other things

To quote Gustavo, the beauty is in the details

http://northstargallery.com/cars/

1974 Spirit of America Vega, Nova, and Impala

Photos via: http://hotwheels.tumblr.com/page/19

GM tried a smattering of patriotism in hopes of using the upcoming bicentennial to boost sagging sales. The sales package was known as the "Spirit of America."
Chevrolet didn't even bother putting it in their sales brochures. For the Vega and Nova, it was essentially a white exterior applique trimmed in red and blue stripes, with an eagle banner proclaiming the historical logo. The interior was as tasteful as the exterior, bright red carpeting, white vinyl upholstery.

On the '74 Vega, the "Spirit' package actually cost more than either an automatic transmission or air conditioner.

Two exist in near showroom condition: http://www.sparky.on.ca/cvoa/vegas/spirit.htm

I haven't yet found a good photo of the Impala (Apr 7 09)