Sexy cars,sexy girls:
Elvis’s lAsT
sellingthe
Cadillac
1967 Buicks
1977 Seville
super! The UK’s Number 1 for 27 years
www.classic-american.com
Ken BlocK’ BlocK s Gymkhana 7 Mustang
It’s not a bird,but bird, but it is
1970 Plymouth Superbird
frEE
wAllplAnnEr
This issuE
lifE wiTh a ’58 Cadillac
289 MAy 2015
2001 corvette ★ 1963 olds ★ NsrA sWAP Meet
39
32 29
57
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Contents May 2015
Regulars
Features
06 12 14 16 18 20 62 76 93 98 100 102 109 113 117 121 130
23 Ken Block Mustang 29 2001 C5 Corvette 32 1969 Plymouth Superbird 39 1963 Oldsmobile 88 44 Buick’s 1967 Brochure Story 51 Elvis Presley’s 1977 Cadillac Seville 57 1958 Cadillac 65 Discoveries Road Trip Part Two 71 NSRA Swap Meet 74 Reader Survey 79 Vintage Style 83 Behind the Wheel 87 Project Pony
News Letters Muscle Car Files Across the Pond From Here to Obscurity Subscription Offer Classic American Shop Reviews Readers Rides Back Issues Club & Events News Events & Cruises Discoveries Drive Buy Service Directory Private Classifieds Next Month & Credits
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44 classic-american.com 5
Tony Oksien
Muscle car files
1969 Corvette
Stingray
This month Tony Oksien waxes lyrical on the ’69 Corvette and its many different guises, including some rather impressive big block performance V8s...
A
friend of mine over the Christmas holidays decided to make a change in his American car owning habits, so out went his Buick and in came a 1969 Corvette. The new acquisition was a big block, tri-power, 427cu in, four-speed manual Stingray, complete with side-pipe exhausts, finished in black. It’s a very sinister looking car, with a stance to die for and lots of attitude. With this in mind, I thought that my monthly column should look at the ’69 Corvette, or as it had been officially named that year, the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (C3), with the new one-word script positioned over the fender-gills. Aesthetically speaking, the ’69s did not look too different from the new shaped C3 design of the previous year; however, the engine changes were quite noticeable. The 327cu in made way for the new 350cu in V8, which was a stroked version of the small block (and would go on to be one of the most important power plants in muscle car history). It was rated at 300 horses and became the base engine for the model. The entry Corvette Stingray came equipped with a three-speed manual transmission, vinyl trim, a T-Top and retailed at $4781 with a rear axle ratio of 3.36.1.The hottest small block available was the L46 350cu in Turbo Fire, rated at 350bhp. As with other year models from 1965 onwards, the Stingray had power-assisted steering and 11.75in disc-brakes all round. The big block Turbo Jet engines were still around as well, with the 427cu in V8 in its various guises giving exceptional performance for the two-seat sports car. These were listed as L36, 427 giving 390
horsepower, the 400bhp L68, the 435bhp L71 and 430bhp L88. The L88, with its special closed chamber aluminium heads and 12.5:1 compression, created many more horses than Chevrolet cared to advertise and with a huge extra price tag of over $1000, it attracted only 116 buyers. The 427 engines could also be had with fourbarrel carbs and even with a six-barrel induction system, comprising three double barrel (aka Tri power) Holley or Rochester carbs, which gave incredible seat-of-the-pants performance. For 1969, a special ZL1, all aluminium block, with open chamber alloy heads, high lift camshaft and upgraded L88 parts giving out 430 horsepower and small block weight distribution deemed suitable for racing purposes only, saw only two production Stingrays built with the option. In the looks department, as previously stated, only minor changes occurred, such as the hidden door catch on the two exterior doors; this modification saw the old push button entry move into a neat concealed door handle conversion. A one year only option for the ’69 Stingray was that it could be ordered with side mounted exhausts (code N14) which ran along the bottom of the door and exited just before the rear wheel. This has to be one of the coolest options ever offered on a muscle car and was the result of designer Zora Arkus-Duntov making a $120,000 tooling change, so the inner door panels opened with an extra half inch gap. The dashboard operated ignition switch moved to the steering column and included a column lock for the steering (which was a mandatory Federal Vehicle ruling to increase
vehicle security); the ’69 model also could be ordered with an optional alarm system, but only 400 Corvettes had this fitted. The steering wheel diameter was reduced by an inch to 15in for extra thigh comfort... and those who chose the McDonald’s diet plan! The ’Vette also had mandatory head rests as standard issue. At the rear of the car the reversing lights were incorporated into the middle tail-lights and at the front a new headlight washer system was added. Wheel sizes changed and increased to 8 x 15in with trim rings which helped the handling capabilities of the car. The 1969 build sequence happened to be one of the longest in American car history due to a very damaging autoworkers’ strike in May 1968, which artificially prolonged the model run and therefore gave misleading production totals. The model run lasted from September 1968 through to December 1969, thus holding up the introduction of the 1970 cars. A total of 38,762 Corvettes rolled off the St Louis, MO assembly line: 22,129 coupes and a whopping 16,633 convertibles. So how do the ’69 Corvettes sit within the old car collector hobby? The high number built reflects the large number of base models; however, the ZL1 and the big block rarities, such as the L88, command high dollar prices. This is a good year to go for a convertible as well. The real winners are the 1968 models, as they are an almost one-off year and very difficult to restore. On the whole any C3 is a good investment. What are you waiting for?
Tony Oksien – CA’s resident muscle car guru.
14 classic-american.com
Huw Evans
Across
pond
the
The ones
that care
1988 Chevrolet Caprice Brougham LS
Evans looks at why underrated cars today could be the superstars of tomorrow thanks to the dedication of enthusiasts who take a different path.
C
ars are arguably some of the most fascinating things humanity has created. More than any consumer product, save perhaps for music, a car tends to define the era in which it was designed, engineered and built. And I think that’s part of the reason why classic and particularly older American cars are so fascinating. They truly are symbols of their time. Even when we look at popular stuff like 1932 Fords, 1949 Mercurys; 1959 Cadillacs and first generation Mustangs, each of them has come to define their respective eras. This fact causes me to wonder why people on this side of the Atlantic still bleat on about how bad American cars of the Seventies and Eighties were – and that machines like the Mustang II will never warrant classic status. In many cases, American cars from this era were introduced during a period of time when the US auto industry was facing multiple challenges simultaneously like never before. And yet Detroit automakers, contrary to popular belief, (and despite suffering at the hands of imported brands,) actually enjoyed some of their best sales years ever. General Motors sold millions of Cutlasses, Grand Prixs, Monte Carlos, LeSabres, Delta 88s, Impalas and Caprices during this period. In fact GM sold a record 15.3 million cars in the US for 1978. If American cars of the period were as bad as is often thought, would so many people have bought them in the first place? Furthermore, the
16 classic-american.com
Mustang II sold very respectably during its fivecreated an entire multi-million dollar industry year lifespan, never dipping below 161,000 units that supports them? annually. So when I see somebody who has taken the Okay, so a lot of these cars might not be to time to lovingly preserve and maintain a car that everybody’s taste, but spare a thought for those tends to be shunned by the mainstream, I can’t that own and enjoy them. In many cases these help but wonder if their time will come. We’ve cars are neither popular nor old enough today to slowly seen it happen with cars like the 1972-76 warrant extensive aftermarket support, which Ford Torino, which thanks to the enduring means in many cases, keeping them on the road appeal of Starsky & Hutch and, more recently the is much more challenging than your archetypal film Gran Torino, have found a fan base scarcely 1955 Chevrolet, 1969 Camaro or 1965 Mustang. imaginable when these things languished on Which is why I think the enthusiasts who own, used lots. enjoy and maintain these types of cars today The same goes for 1977-81 Chevrolet Camaro deserve a great deal of credit, for taking a Z28s and Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams. For years different road and preserving something for these cars suffered an image problem stateside, future generations to enjoy. much like Ford Capris did in the UK. Today If we think back, the popular American classics however, the survivors are starting to appreciate of today all went through their own dark periods in value. No longer are they seen as the bastion too. In the Forties and Fifties, if it hadn’t been for of shade tree mechanics, but increasingly those fledgling early hot rodders, it’s likely the celebrated for what they represent, cars that kept ‘Deuce’ would have faded into obscurity. During the American performance flame alive during the Sixties and Seventies, you couldn’t give away that tumultuous period in US history. Good ones 1959 Cadillacs, but there were those that kept today readily sell for $15,000-$20,000 stateside them, maintained them and restored them. and values are expected only to increase. Even when the Mustang Owners Club of So the next time you’re at a car show and see America first got together in the Seventies, the something that perhaps doesn’t enjoy the very idea of the early Mustang as a bona fide celebrated status of a classic Camaro, Mustang or collectible was still in question and people were Corvette, but is lovingly preserved or even trading in 428 Mach 1s and Boss 429s for Pintos. restored, spare a thought for the dedication of its Imagine if those dedicated enthusiasts had not owner. For although their pride and joy might decided to embrace these cars when nobody not enjoy the spotlight today, there’s every wanted them; would they be trading hands at chance it could tomorrow. big money auctions for six figures and have Huw Evans – news & views from North America.
WILD
HORSES
Words: Brandan Gillogly Photography: Jorge Nunez
Ken Block Mustang
Classic American meets the all-wheel-drive burn-out machine built to break YouTube: Gymkhana 7
K
en Block, co-founder of the DC Shoes company, rallycross driver and all-round action-sports junkie, altered the world of YouTube forever when he released Gymkhana Practice in 2008. The four minute, 26 second display of driver skill, tyre smoke and speed – shot at the Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro in California – featured Block in the driver seat of a 500bhp, all-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza. Gymkhana Practice was shared around the world faster than Block killed the Subaru’s BF Goodrich tyres, and it launched a 007-esque online video franchise that’s now on its seventh film. We were tipped off by Block’s Hoonigan Racing team that Gymkhana 7 (released last November, see it on our Facebook page) would feature a carbon fibre-bodied 1965 Mustang built by ASD Motorsports (ASDMotor sports.com) in Charlotte, using rally car race chassis parts and powered by a stompy Roush-Yates V8. ❯❯
1
1: The Ford small-block uses a Barnes dry-sump oiling system, critical in keeping the bearings supplied with oil when the car is experiencing extreme lateral acceleration.
This new car, known as the ‘Hoonicorn’, was to mix the rally-car hardware Block races with the powerband and exhaust note performance car fans love in a 12-minute film shot on the streets of Los Angeles. Four months before ASD even had a Mustang, design was under way using SolidWorks. Shop owner Ian Stewart knew packaging an AWD V8 drivetrain in a compact Mustang would be tough, so he bought a side view line drawing of a 1965 Mustang and measured a Mustang parked on the road to double-check the drawing’s hood height, rocker height and length and cowl location. Using those reference points, a fully working 3D model with suspension of the car was built in SolidWorks. The suspension was especially tricky, as the Hoonicorn was designed around a set of Tarmac R40 wheels that have quite a bit of offset in the front. The brake system had to fit inside the wheel and the suspension had to cycle within the fender fares while keeping torque steer to a minimum and allowing plenty of steering angle. Starting from scratch, Stewart designed a suspension using billet aluminium spindles and upper and lower control arms that fit the packaging and manages only .85in scrub radius. The car that became the Hoonicorn was born as a 1965, six-cylinder, three-on-the-tree, four-lug base Mustang. It wasn’t in pristine shape, but it was relatively rust-free and wouldn’t require an inordinate amount of patch panels that could slow down the build. The firewall and floor were cut out, leaving the rockers. Because Block is tall and the Mustang is so small, the floor was lowered 3in to keep his helmet away from the roof. For the cage and chassis fabrication, the car was built on ASD’s 15in thick honeycomb chassis plate. The plate is 12x5ft and has a bonded steel top that is drilled and tapped with ¼-20 holes on a 1in grid. The plate allows ASD to build CAD fixtures that bolt to the plate and fabricate the suspension and chassis points exactly where they need to be. ❯❯
2
2: A set of three-piece forged Tarmac R40 wheels from Fifteen52 were given a matte-gold powder-coat before being fitted with 295/30R18 Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres. 3: Using one off billet upper and lower control arms and heavy-duty joints, the front suspension is rallycross-inspired and looks like a hybrid between road-race car and a desert truck, although few of either have AWD 4: Massive billet aluminium arms transfer suspension movement from the lower control arm to cantilevered centre-mounted coil-overs front and rear.
3
4
InsIde the V8 tyre annIhIlator ASD has worked with Roush-Yates on many late-model Mustangs built for competition, so its go-to engine was a 410cu in Roush-Yates Ford small-block topped with D3 cylinder heads for a proven reliable powerplant. The heads are a previous-generation NASCAR design and are incredibly efficient at removing heat from the combustion chamber, even with restricted airflow. Stewart told us: “The engine can run at 240-250 degrees and not care.” The heads are topped with a Kinsler stack injection that’s controlled by MoTeC EFI. A two-piece bellhousing milled from 6061 aluminium mates the Ford small-block to the Sadev (Sadev-TM.com/en) transmission. Stewart said it took around 70 hours to design, due in part to relocating the starter to clear the front drive shaft. The two-piece bellhousing allows for quick clutch inspection. Handling the V8’s power and torque was also a challenge. Frank Rehak at The Driveshaft Shop in Salisbury, North Carolina, told us that his shop made custom CV joints for drive shafts and each axle in the car, including three for the two-piece front driver-side half shaft. Starting with GKN CV-joints, tighter tolerances were machined in the races and cages to reduce the tendency that any spinning drive shaft component has to pick up harmonic vibrations. Because even the drive shafts of the Hoonicorn see up to 8000rpm.
24 classic-american.com
on the
1970 Plymouth Superbird
Words: Mike Renaut Photography: Matt Richardson
There was a brief period in American car history where even the most excessive of the Fifties tailfins were overshadowed – the Chrysler wing cars. Elliott Norris’ 1970 Plymouth Superbird is one of the best…
E
lliott Norris grew up adoring cars. “I’m 35 now, but when I was seven I loved the tailfins on the Cadillacs,” he explains, “by the age of 12 I was more into muscle cars. I saw the adverts showing the attractive women and the bad guys who drove muscle cars and I loved that the principle brief was to make a $3000 car that turned 14second quarter miles and sell it to high-school kids. They were encouraging street racing. I started buying Classic American with my pocket money. I got every issue, it was the first magazine I ever took out a subscription for. That’s where I learned about the Plymouth Superbird and the Dodge Charger Daytona. They were a boyhood dream along with owning a Plymouth road runner. I started buying cars, some would call it collecting, but it’s fairer to say I’m a hoarder.”
Elliott’s garage became home to classic BMW M3s, a CSL, an M635, a Coombs replica 1964 Jaguar Mk.2 and a 1967 Mini Cooper S. He still owns them all. I realise this is an American car magazine, but if you glance through that list again there is one common denominator, “they are all road-going versions of race cars,” explains Elliott. “I also have a 1964 Mercedes 220SEb because I love the styling of pillarless coupes.” ❯❯
classic-american.com 33
1958 Cadillac Sedan De Ville
Words: Mike Renaut Photography: Paul Trunfull
It was the colour scheme that first drew Roger Nicholson towards this 1958 Cadillac Sedan De Ville, but its fantastic condition was what convinced him to drive it home.
R
oger Nicholson clearly knows a good car when he finds one. “I’ve had it six years,” says Roger, “usually I’ve sold a car long before that – I get bored after three years and buy something else.” ‘It’ is this magnificent 1958 Cadillac series 62 Sedan De Ville and one of the first things that attracted Roger was the fact that it wasn’t a 1959. “There are too many of those around,” jokes Roger, “everyone has got one.” The other aspect of the ’58 that Roger immediately warmed to was its colour scheme. “It’s code 42 Alamo Beige Metallic and code 44 Buckskin,” explains Roger, “with an interior of Tahitian Coral leather and black cloth. I was gearing up to buy a 1958 Cadillac I’d seen advertised in the November 2008 Classic American by Gary Derby over in Essex, but it had already sold. ❯❯
classic-american.com 57
Interior is Tahitian Coral.
“Gary also had a pink ’58 but I didn’t want a pink Cadillac, then he told me he had an ivory coloured one coming over, so I said to call me when it arrived. Later I went over to look at it and because it was in such clean condition I made him an offer. He thought about it and two weeks later he accepted.” The Cadillac certainly was ‘clean’. “It’s never been welded,” says Roger, “you often hear that about cars, but it’s true in this case. I have never known one to be this good. I don’t know much about its history beyond that it was imported by a company near Canterbury and had apparently belonged to a priest in Iowa, though I don’t think he was the original owner – I think he drove it as a classic car. “It’s been resprayed, you can see the original paint on the bulkhead, but these are the original colours. The dashboard has been repadded – it looks too good to be
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310bhp 365cu in V8.
“I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT ITS HISTORY BEYOND THAT IT WAS OWNED BY A PRIEST IN IOWA...”
original – and the engine must have been rebuilt since I did a compression test and it’s extremely good pressure. It’s a nice tight engine.” Could it in fact be an all-original, low mileage car? “There’s 36,000 showing on the clock but I’m sure it’s been round once,” says Roger, “you get a feel for originality with cars, the front seat is showing a little wear, although the rear one looks perfect. I think it’s got a six figure mileage but has just been really cared for.” Since buying, Roger has made a couple of small changes to the interior: “I put in extra gauges under the dashboard for amps, oil and water temperature. I like to know how a car is running and by the time the light on the dashboard comes on the damage can be done. The engine is recommended to run at 30 to 35psi, mine runs at 35 so that’s perfect. You wouldn’t want more in a big lazy V8.
1967 Pontiac Bonneville
1964 Chevrolet Corvair
On sale: May 21
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Month 1956 Ford F1 Restomod
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