ORIGINAL ’32 FORD V-8 COUPE!

Posted on December 13, 2021December 13, 2021 by MartynL

No one car celebrates hot-rodding more than the ’32 Ford. And this preserved, not restored, classic Deuce coupe powered by its original Buick V-8 deserves to be the ‘poster’ car for hot rod history. ‘Best Preserved’ is how Rod & Custom historian Pat Ganahl describes this ORIGINAL ’32 FORD V-8 COUPE! There’s no better word for it. I looked in the Thesaurus. Of all the hot rods I’ve seen – and that’s a lot – I’ve never seen any better preserved in its original condition than this one....

REMEMBERING BILL KOLB, JR., 1941-2021

Posted on December 8, 2021December 8, 2021 by MartynL

Longtime friend Bill Kolb is probably best remembered in the enthusiast community as the 1960s poster boy for Ford’s Total Performance and Win On Sunday; Sell On Monday marketing concepts. His close friends often called him, “Mr. Monday! We bonded after I did a story on him and his Lightweight 427 Galaxie in 1963 and we've been friends since. Remembering Bill Kolb, Jr., 1941-2021. Bill Kolb, Jr. passed away quietly at home in Carefree, AZ, on Friday, December 3, 2021, comforted by his ...

Velocity: Invitational Motorsports Festival

Posted on December 2, 2021December 3, 2021 by MartynL

There are times when even a serious car guy needs a little nudge to get up early and head out in the dark to cover a motorsports event. So, we're happy to report that our Jim Palam saw the light, set his alarm and got the story for us! Here's his coverage of the Velocity: Invitational Motorsports Festival, where legendary cars, drivers and fans soaked up the sun and racing fuel at Laguna Seca! Velocity is a vector quantity that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position...

COMPACT MUSCLE COMPARO: ‘69 CHRYSLER VS. GM.

Posted on November 7, 2021November 7, 2021 by MartynL

Musclecar guru, Diego Rosenberg, shows that GM and Mopar high-performance specialty compacts are similar on paper only in COMPACT MUSCLE COMPARO: ‘69 CHRYSLER VS. GM. “There is more than one way to skin a cat.” You’ve probably heard this folksy proverb before, and it holds weight in the automotive world. During the high-performance sweepstakes of the 1960s, manufacturers developed their own approaches to go from Point A to Point B—often 1320 feet at a time. With 375 horsepower, the ...

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: CENTRAL COAST WHEELING WEEKEND

Posted on October 27, 2021October 28, 2021 by MartynL

Who doesn't love a special deal? Perhaps it's CGC’s Jim Palam's years in advertising that was behind his idea to give our readers two-reports-in-one, combining two of the Central Coast's popular car shows – The Solvang Fall Classic & The Montecito Motor Classic – into one feature. It’s a great idea, so here's CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: CENTRAL COAST WHEELING WEEKEND. Covid changed the 2020 Car Show scene significantly – pretty much eliminating many if not all of the popular gatherings not only in...

RARE & WELL-DONE: SHELBY G.T. 500 MUSTANG TRIFECTA!

Posted on October 8, 2021October 8, 2021 by MartynL

For the first time ever, three of the rarest, most significant Shelby G.T. 500 Mustangs will be in the same place at the same time: RARE & WELL-DONE: SHELBY G.T. 500 MUSTANG TRIFECTA! In August 1966, Carroll Shelby placed a special order with Ford for three G.T. 500s, powered by the new dual-quad 428 cubic-inch (7-Liter) Special Interceptor engine. All three were painted Candy Apple Red and fully optioned with air-conditioning, California emissions, AM radio, and “Deluxe” Mag Star w...

’21 RPM NATIONALS: FLATHEAD DRAGS, SHOW & SWAP MEET

Posted on October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 by MartynL

We asked Car Guy Chronicles' Jim Palam to travel back to the Halcyon Days of Flathead hot rods and drag racing. He didn't need a time machine – just a tank of gas, an alarm clock set for 4 am, and directions to Santa Margarita Ranch in Central California for the ’21 RPM NATIONALS: FLATHEAD DRAGS, SHOW & SWAP MEET. I started sticking my head into dimly lit garages and greasy engine compartments when I was 14 years old. My older brother Tommy – AKA Tommy Tuner - who at 16 was already ...

SPORTS RODS: ROAD-RACING V-8 HYBRIDS!

Posted on September 22, 2021September 22, 2021 by MartynL

Rod & Custom historian, Pat Ganahl blogs about the birth of hot-rod-engined Imports, also known as California Specials: SPORTS RODS: ROAD-RACING V-8 HYBRIDS! In the 1950s, imported English Allards, could be ordered with American V-8 engines – Ford Flatheads to Caddys and Chrysler Hemis – while MGs, Austin-Healeys and others required hot rod surgery to replace anemic four-bangers with V-8s. Plus, there were limited-production domestic Kurtis 500-S sports cars available with as much V...

VENTURA NATIONALS: RODS, CUSTOMS, BIKES & GUITARS!

Posted on September 17, 2021September 17, 2021 by MartynL

While he wasn't ready to spike-up his hair and tattoo a car club logo on his chest, Car Guy Chronicle's contributor, Jim Palam, was more than willing to motor South on Highway 101 and immerse himself in the cuffed-denim and octane-fueled culture of the 18th annual VENTURA NATIONALS: RODS, CUSTOMS, BIKES & GUITARS! There are lots of things that go together well – like bows & arrows, macaroni & cheese, Batman & Robin. But for those of us with octane in our veins, the rhyth...

PORSCHE: WERKS REUNION MONTEREY 2021

Posted on September 9, 2021September 9, 2021 by MartynL

Having recently joined the Porsche owner’s ranks with his ‘Poor Man's' 914, Car Guy Chronicles’ Jim Palam took a Friday-the-13th detour from Car Week events in Monterey and headed to Seaside to catch the air-cooled action at the PORSCHE: Werks Reunion Monterey 2021. In the wide-wide-world of sports cars, Porsche is the one enthusiasts call The Perfect Athlete. Built with the promise of perfection, performance and reliability, over two-thirds of all Porsches ever built are still on the r...