Consummate hot rodder Dave Wallace, Jr. blogs about an 80,000-mile Survivor brought back to life by a do-it-yourselfer who has been watching it since 1981!
Dave Wallace usually writes about ferocious fuelers and kick-ass hot rods, but when he met up with hands-on car guy Scott Edwards and his ’61 Fury, he was impressed. They bonded almost immediately as Dave’s driver is a 70,000-mile ’61 Belvedere and both Plymouths were in the same place at the same time! Unlike Scott’s 360 V8-powered Fury,...
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FLASHBACK
’70 PLYMOUTH SUPERBIRD: VITAMIN C!
Ron Charity’s Dad bought this winged Road Runner Superbird new and
it’s still in the family!
The story of Ron Charity’s ‘70 Plymouth began in August 1969, when the 440 four-speed Superbird rolled off the line at Chrysler’s Hamtramck plant in Michigan for delivery to Sorenson’s Plymouth/Dodge in Toronto, Canada. Ron and his Dad were going car shopping, driving a small-block ‘67 Chevelle 327 on Sheppard Avenue. Their first stop was Hudson’s Chevrolet to check out an orange ‘70 Pontiac GT...
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BUICK SKYLARK GS 400: PERFORMANCE & LUXURY!
Best known for its luxury cars, Buick refined its midsize Skylark in 1967
boosting output to 340 horsepower.
When the 1967 Riviera and Skylark Gran Sports were announced, Buick was not shy in its advertising, calling attention to their performance capabilities: Your Father Never Told You There’d Be Buicks Like This!
The GS 400 Skylark offered a 340-horsepower 400-inch engine, while the Riviera GS packed a 430-inch load rated at 360 horsepower. Buick was a unique player in the 1960s S...
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429 COBRA JET TORINO GT: RARE RAGTOP!
Powered by a 429/370 big-block, this air-conditioned droptop delivers
max power plus luxury.
Back in the day, the most popular factory performance models were coupes with four-speed and minimal convenience and luxury options. The mission was clear: More cubes, less luxury less weight, maximum performance. It was that simple.
Clearly the original owner of this Torino didn’t get that message when he went shopping for
a Ford muscle machine. This 429 CJ Torino, one of one according ...
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’67 OLDS W-30 4-4-2: SERIOUS SUPERCAR!
Our friends at Wild About Cars blog about Gene Horn’s Ram-Air Oldsmobile that has all the goodies available from the factory.
In 1967, Oldsmobile built 24,833 Cutlass models with 4-4-2 badging, including approximately 500 with race-engineered W-30 Ram-Air induction. (NHRA data for 1967 W-30 Olds shows 502 units.) The Ram-Air cars are immediately recognizable by the front-end headlight area intake scoops, connected to hoses in the engine compartment that bring cool fresh air to the single Qua...
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SUPERCHARGED WAR WAGON: ’42 DODGE RADIO CAR!
If you see this Oldwick, NJ Café Racer’s WW II truck in your rear view mirror, either nail it or get out of its way.
Paul Fiedler has been afflicted by Car Guy Disease for longer than he cares to remember, and his building, right, chock full of unique hot-rodded vehicles, bares this out. His specialty is vintage retro-looking vehicles with modern power and engineering. The one we are focusing on here is a real World War II four-wheel-drive Dodge Radio Car, above, that has b...
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MERCURY CYCLONE: UPSCALE MUSCLE!
As under-appreciated muscle cars go, the enigmatic Mercury Cyclone is about as obscure as they come. ‘But I still love them,’ blogs Stephen Cox
First of all, Cyclone, '69 CJ, above, was a cool name. Most modern car names are garbage. The Intrigue wasn’t. The Hummer didn’t. The Citation couldn’t go fast enough to earn one. The Probe… well… insert your own joke here. And every Prizm, Tempo and Aztec ever built should be loaded aboard the Enterprise, launched into space and used for photon torp...
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NORM GRABOWSKI’S CORVAIR BIKE: SIX-PACK INDIAN!
The man who turned a T-Bucket hot rod into an icon, built & rode this incredible Corvair-powered ‘Six Pack.’
Norm Grabowski, who passed away last year, was a legendary hot rod builder best known for the hot rod known as Kookie’s Kar in the TV series, 77 Sunset Strip. It was driven by Edd Byrnes, who played Kookie in the enormously successful series. He was also an actor who appeared in minor roles in many films produced by Walt Disney Studios and Albert Zugsmith.
He appeared in many m...
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1970-’71 FORD TORINO: STEPHEN COX Q & A!
Stephen Cox blogs about Ford’s vintage midsize muscle machine, answering
questions that have come in by email (Stephen@sopwithmotorsports.com)
and Twitter (@SopwithTV).
As most of our Mecum auction viewers know, I’m a big Ford Torino fan and have been fortunate to own a few. But please don’t call me an “expert.” I’m an enthusiast just like most of you and I welcome any corrections or additions. So here goes.
Q: How do I tell if my Torino has a C4 or a C6 transmission?
A: I...
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MOTION PHASE III CORVETTE: STINGRAY THAT SCREAMS!
Built on a new ’69 Corvette for a returning Vietnam vet in 1969, this 482-inch Motion Stingray cruises at 120 mph and tops out at 160.
After serving in Vietnam in 1968, David McCaughey returned home to Southampton, PA. He had read about Phase III Corvettes in magazines and Baldwin-Motion catalogs while in Vietnam and wanted a Motion-powered Phase III Corvette. Had he not found a great deal on a new one in stock at nearby Reedman Chevrolet in Langhorne, he would have ordered his Corvette alon...
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