Summer is over, fall is here.
Duh! (Tell us something we don’t
know Pete)
OK,
the point I am trying to make is that things are set to wind down. Are you sad?
Well, here is some good news about a cool classic you can watch every day! The
General Lee is back! The Duke’s of Hazzard are riding again!
If
you didn’t know, or hadn’t seen it yet, the show is airing weeknights at 7PM on
the CMT channel. Cable and Verizon both carry the show. It is repeated again at
11PM – so no excuse to miss it!
My
two sons, ages 6 and 8, are loving it! They watch it every night, know the
characters inside and out, the cool Mopars they drive, even the cop cars’ makes
and models! They are car-loving boys to begin with – and this show just
reinforces everything that guys like. Cool cars, good looking women, fast fun,
and freedom! My kids play with their little 1/64th scale cars and
set up a town and roads while pretending that Bo, Luke, Daisy, Cooter, and
Uncle Jessie are driving around with Rosco and Enos chasing them.
Don’t
you wish we could still have the joy that comes with that simplicity of play
and lack of concerns? Ahh youth.
Well my friends, as the Balladeer might say… “That there’s Heaven on Earth.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
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On another note: we have been
trying for quite a while now to get someone to redesign the Long Island Classic
Cars.com website with no luck. Anyone know of someone capable, creative, and
interested? Please let us know. We want to make this the best automotive
website on the internet to serve the needs of the thousands of car enthusiasts
on Long Island!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And last but not least… HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
__________________________________________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1
Editor’s Introduction
2 Automotive Quiz Contest
3 Cruise Night Information
4 Guest Writers’ Columns
Tom Sebastian
Lou Refano
Rich’s Tech Tips
5
My Car Story
6
The Archive
7 Editor’s Closing
___________________________________________________
Long
Island Classic Cars’
Submit your entry along with your name and e-mail
address to: newsletter@liclassiccars.com
This contest is open to everyone! (LI Classic Cars.com
paid personnel, regular column writers, and business advertisers are not
eligible.)
Winners will be notified by e-mail and/or phone.
Please submit all entries by the end of the month.
No substitutions of prizes will be allowed.
In the event of prize choices, winner will be given
the opportunity to select the one they want.
All decisions are final and are made by the paid
personnel of Long Island Classic Cars.com
Winners must claim their prizes within 30 days of
contest end or forfeit the prize to the runner up.
If there are multiple correct entries on puzzle,
matching, fill-in, or Q&A contests - winner will be randomly selected from
all correct entries.
A few simple rules:
1) Answer clearly.
2) Winner will be chosen randomly from all correct entries
if multiples are received. (name pulled out of a hat)
Here is
last month’s Picture Caption Contest winning entry from James Fernlay
“Can
15 minutes save you 15% on your car insurance?”
“Does
dropping a huge tree on your truck ruin your whole afternoon?”
James
wins a Mr. Clean Car Care Kit! Congratulations!
Here is
this month’s Quiz Contest …..
1) What is the full name of the NASCAR Sprint Cup track in Arizona?
2) In what year was the Pocono raceway track built (finished)?
3) In what year (of the car, not the calendar) did Pontiac offer the first Trans AM to the public?
4) What does the GTO in Pontiac’s GTO name stand for? (The true meaning, not peoples’ made up
ones)
5) What was the first name of Mr. Porsche? (The first guy who started the company)
Go to it! Send in your answers by 11/28/10
and be in the running to win the prize!
___________________________________________________
“EXTRA EXTRA!
READ ALL ABOUT IT!!”
Cruise nights are winding down
and some listed below are done for the year.
Any others in Queens or Brooklyn that we don’t know
about??? TELL US!
2010 Cruise Night location updates:
TUESDAYS: McDonald's. Metropolitan Ave. & 69th Road, Forest Hills, NY.
Sponsored by East Coast Car Association/Toys For Tots. $? to charity
TUESDAYS: Tri-County Flea Market. Hempstead Turnpike, Levittown, NY
Public Gathering. FREE
WEDNESDAYS: Nathan’s. Long Beach Rd, Oceanside, NY
Public Gathering. FREE
THURSDAYS: Wendy’s Shopping Center. Montauk Hwy and Locust Ave, Oakdale, NY
Sponsored by Still Cruisin’ Car Club. FREE
THURSDAYS: Stop & Shop. Union Blvd, West Islip, NY
Sponsored by Long Island Road Gents. FREE
THURSDAYS: Kings Park Plaza-Located on Indian Head Rd & Meadow Rd. Kings Park, NY
Sponsored by Kings Park Chamber of Commerce and Professor’s Diner. FREE
THURSDAYS: Bridge, Glen, & School Streets. Glen Cove, NY
Sponsored by the Glen Cove Fire Dept. & The Downtown Business District. $5
THURSDAYS: Atlantic Avenue between Merrick Rd and Sunrise Hwy. Lynbrook, NY (June-August)
Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce for “Community Chest” soup kitchen. $? to charity.
THURSDAYS: Cradle of Aviation Museum. Chas Lindbergh Blvd, Garden City, NY
Sponsored by The Cradle & The Autoseum. FREE (July-August)
FRIDAYS: Stop & Shop Center. Cypress Hills
St & Myrtle Ave. Glendale, NY
Sponsored by East Coast Car Association/Toys for Tots. $? to charity
FRIDAYS: Bellmore Train Station. Sunrise Highway. Bellmore, NY
Public Gathering. FREE
FRIDAYS: Massapequa Train Station. Sunrise Highway. Massapequa, NY
Sponsored by Massapequa Chamber of Commerce. Two cans or more of food – to charity. (July - August)
SATURDAYS: Bob’s/McDonalds Shopping Center. Sunrise Highway, West Islip, NY
Sponsored by the Long Island Road Gents. FREE
SATURDAYS: Pep Boys Shopping Center. Waverly Ave & Sunrise Highway, Patchogue, NY
Sponsored by the Impressive & Aggressive Motor Club. FREE
SATURDAYS: Cedar Beach. Ocean Parkway, Cedar Beach, NY
Public Gathering. FREE
SUNDAYS: *AM Cruise* Ocean Pkwy, Captree Beach thru May, then at OBI. Babylon, NY
Public Gathering. FREE
SUNDAYS: *AM Cruise* Bob’s/McDonalds Shopping Center. Sunrise Highway, West Islip, NY
Sponsored by the Long Island
Road Gents. FREE
SUNDAYS: *Afternoon Cruise* KC O’Malley’s. Gardiner’s Avenue, Levittown, NY
Public Gathering. FREE
___________________________________________________
Ghostly Writers’ Columns
Tom Sebastian
has “slowed down” lately. No, not his physical condition, nor his
driving, but, his choice of classic machinery. Tom as you long-time
readers know, is a well-traveled fellow whose automotive penchant has always
been of a spirited nature.
But as of late, he has chosen more subdued modes of
conveyance. Subdued yes, but still nice.
Lou
Refano laments the passing of
another great historical American automotive marquee. There have been too many that
have disappeared over the last decade. Add another to the list. They gave us
one heck of a cat too!
Rich’s Tech Tips reminds
us that with winter coming there are some important things to consider before
putting your car into hibernation! A little prep and prevention now can save
headaches next spring!
In the My
Car Story section we have a neato
Plymouth from way back in the day. Robert
Spadevecchia is the proud owner of
this restored beauty. He drives it often and everywhere. It has some nice
custom touches too! Subtle – some you
have to be up very close to even see them. An all-around nice car!
Enjoy…
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Old Folks Dream Boat:
The Mercedes 300 SD Turbo Diesel – The Classic Mercedes
By Tom Sebastian
“A Boring Kick in the Pants”
I heard older Mercedes cars
referred to as that, but didn’t quite get it. Until I owned one.
"I DON'T
WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME
AS A MEMBER."
- Groucho Marx
My drive to Upstate NY from
central Virginia where I made the purchase was smooth, fast and -- what usually
is the most boring drive in the Universe – as luxurious a trip as I’ve ever
had. I had to check my watch when I saw
the sign for my hometown. How’d I get
here… so fast and smoothly?!
Actually, the same amount of time had passed as before with my
skin-and-bones sports cars… But, wow, so this is the patented, MB
secret!
High-speed, highway driving,
then, was the “Kick in the Pants”. But, for someone who took that same trip in
much sportier machines, the ride was almost too comfortable – I got
bored with it after one hour… (Thus the “boring” word in that phrase and the
real reason the time flew: I was almost
asleep!). I even had time to set all
the parameters of the sound system.
(That’s a sure sign you are not in a ‘Driver’s Car’; in a true
rider, you don’t even look at the radio until your third trip…)
It looked much heavier than
it was. The silly, lack-luster handling aside -- with steering play closer to
my Corvair than a car with the Mercedes nameplate should have – overall
performance still impressed for a car that big. And anyway, my memory of driving great racing & sports cars
is receding -- along with the hair-line.
But, say what you will, the
mother of all road-going status symbols, apparently, is still the Mercedes
Tri-Star.
Athletes who know little
about anything other than knowing what to do with an air-filled leather ball of
some kind, always spend the first 150 thousand or more out of their bottomless
millions on one of these. People who do
not know a drum brake from rear axle want one.
Kids are raised with a special regard for the marquee because they saw
the way their parents looked at one. It
is almost a moot point to try and explain such good branding -- or, and I’m
sorry for this -- to expect one of these to carry you to the social class you
weren’t born to inhabit.
But social climbing aside, this is a pretty impressive
vehicle just based on its own technical merits.
A friend of mine told me that
in Germany, because of the diesel’s incredible longevity (500,000 to
600, 0000 K! - haven’t heard these
numbers since I spoke with a Greyhound mechanic), The family will use the car
until 2.5 k shows up on the odometer, then sell it to cab companies; they, in
turn, use it for another 1.5 k -- and then sell it to third world countries –
with hardly any service required in the interim!!
The SD 5-cylinder 3.0 liter
engine was another of the many engineering marvels that helped
secure the company's reputation. The 617OM engine is built 'like a bank
vault'. Plus, it is able to run
bio-diesel or Waste Vegetable Oil (!!)
Talk about being ahead of its time! As mentioned above, it looks
much heavier than it really is and is actually close in weight to the new,
Porsche turbo, believe it or not. The steel uni-body construction, the
independent rear suspension with center mounted trans-axle, and the T3 Garret
Turbocharger plus Bosch injection make it surprisingly nimble. I’ve even diced it up with an older Porsche
on the back roads around here. Of
course he won. But I think he was a bit
surprised anyway. He couldn’t pull away like he thought he could -- and
should have!
So, from all this and more, a
great legend grows.
The issue for me is: Can this status last?
It’s no Lamborghini.
You may like the Tri-Star
cars, but I doubt you would ever lust
for one. Nor is it a Bentley. There are too many Tri-Stars floating about
to match up well with that category. How
many times have you creaked your neck to look back at a silver Mercedes (is
that the only paint color they
sell!?) that just passed you? Not many,
I would say – they’re all over the place!
Ah, but a Bentley…
And as for driving, it’s
definitely not as much fun as a Porsche.
Compared with their other in-country rivals, Mercedes has been less
successful in modern racing than BMW, and they have been surpassed by Audi in
almost every way possible. Everyone “in
the know” realizes that reliability, quality, and innovation are on the
downswing with this company. Their
experience with Chrysler did them no good at all. Actually, since the time of the 300 SD Turbo and cars of that
era, the company suffered on the reliability front most of all. Or, to put it in another way, that era – the
mid-80s – is when that reliability was at an all-time high. (And, oddly enough,
this was exactly when their sporting/racing heritage was mostly entirely
forgotten. Their thumping 5.6 liter SL
was nothing but a woman’s boulevardier keeping up with nothing else
besides the Jaguars of that era - another company that had forgotten its
identity by trying to make fat, insouciant, non-sporting types feel rich and
secure.)
And what’s with those puny
grills they use today?! Without that
huge, in-your-face Mercedes front grill of old, the Tri-Star doesn’t and cannot
convey much pizzazz at all.
But still, for the moment at
least, most folks want to sit behind their own Tri-Star going down the highway
at least once in their lifetime.
(Indeed, I was one of them.) And, let’s face it, with its matchless
history and status, you just know that Mercedes isn’t going to let itself slide
too far.
Thanks to their great, AMG
in-house performance division, they are only now -- after an impressive, total
immersion into racing at all levels -- beginning to match BMW with their newer
cars. (Of course, while they are
fighting it out between themselves, Audi is quickly surpassing both of them!)
It was my first diesel. And it
won’t be my last.
If
you want to get in on the action, several companies are already pulling away
from Mercedes with diesel technology. Audi and VW are making vast improvements
on what Mercedes started. Only
trouble is… they aren’t a Mercedes! (I’ll get over this ‘status’ nonsense. I have too!
No $$!)
Now for the “Made in Germany
vs. Made in Japan” issue.
Lexus has been here since
1989 – almost a decade after my car came on the scene. Seen many of those lately??
NEXT TIME: ROLL-UP WINDOWS, CARBS AND NO
COMPUTERS! BRING IT ALL BACK, LORD!
(So true Tom how the company has changed over the
decades. Are you itching for the sportier side again?!) Pete
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THE GIRLS LOSE THEIR
WINGED HERO
By
Lou Refano
What’s really bothering me these days? The bad
economy? The price of gas? The war in Afghanistan? All those…um…fine people in
Washington, DC? Not at all. My concerns are only of the serious kind. What haunts
me night and day, what gives me great pause and robs me of sleep at night is…what’s
Jill Wagner gonna do?
Yeah that’s right, Jill Wagner. Never heard of
her? Hardly anyone has. But you’ve seen her. She looks bright and perky (and
sometimes downright sexy) on TV and she’s the one who says…”You’ve got to put
Mercury on your list!”
Ohhhh…THAT Jill Wagner. The one who showed you the
new Mountaineer, Mariner, Milan, and other Mercury cars the last few years. Now
that Ford has clipped the wings of the winged messenger automotive line known
as Mercury, what’s she gonna do? You don’t care, you say? She’ll do some other
advertising? Of course…she’ll land on her non-winged feet. But the point is,
we’ve lost another American car brand. One that was started by Edsel Ford in
1939. The mid-priced Ford Motor Company product that was meant to compete with
mid-priced GM’s. Sadly, with all the cost-cutting that has gone in Detroit the
last few years, Mercurys were reduced to “badge-engineered” Fords, and the
public increasingly could not justify the extra expense, just to have the
Mercury logo on the car. And so the news came down from Dearborne: Mercury
would fly away after the 2010 model year.
But there was a time not too long ago when Mercury
wasn’t just a badge-engineered car, when it DID get it right. It was the
mid-60s when American carmakers were at their absolute peak in terms of
providing the right car for the market, and producing them in droves. In April
of 1964 the Ford Mustang was introduced to tremendous fanfare. This was the
perfect car for the times…sporty and fun, with great styling, yet compact,
economical and easy to drive. This was one of Lee Iacocca’s greatest success
stories and gave Ford its first 2 million unit model year production in its
history. Meanwhile at the Mercury division, the big full-size Mercs were doing
fairly well, but its compact Comet was slipping a bit. Total Mercury sales for
‘65 tallied 346,751, enough to put it ahead of Rambler in the sales race, but
nowhere close to its corporate sibling. The big cars were handsome, and the
optional “Breezeway” rear window was a clever identifier. But they just didn’t
speak the language of the young driver who was making his mark on the broader
car market.
This changed in 1967, when Ford created another
showroom winner. They took the Mustang, added 3 inches of wheelbase and plushed
it up a bit while retaining the sporty looks, and called it Cougar. Not only
did this car catch on with the public, it gave the whole Mercury Division a new
identity…“The Sign of the Cat.” It created a memorable ad campaign that lasted
for years, and gave Mercury the youthful flair it had been lacking. Advertising
photos showed models standing with a cougar on a leash. Standard engine was the
289 CID V-8 with 195 hp. A 390 V-8 with up to 335 hp was available, which gave
you 0-60 in a cool 8.1 seconds (this was standard on the GT model). The XR-7
model added cosmetic touches like wood grained steering wheel and dash, and
leather/vinyl bucket seats. All Cougars had hidden headlamps and another new
Ford Motor Company identifier, sequential taillights (which after a long hiatus
have been reintroduced on the 2010 Mustang). It was named 1967’s Motor Trend
Car of the Year.
For ‘68 Mercury jumped into the muscle car era more
seriously with the introduction of the GT-E. It initially came with a 390 bhp
“E” version of the 427 cid V8 with SelectShift Merc-O-Matic, the performance
handling package, styled steel wheels, power disc brakes, a power dome, and
non-functional hood scoop. This 427-equipped Cougar was nose heavy and thus
suffered in acceleration runs, but later in the model year, the 427 was
replaced with the new corporate 428 engine. To keep insurance agents happy, the
428 was rated at 335 bhp, although most experts believed it was closer to the
same 390 bhp as the 427-E. The longer stroke 428 engine had an easier time with
emission requirements and would carry the Mercury performance banner.
Also new for 1968 was a new model option, the
XR-7G. The "G" stood for American racing hero, Dan Gurney, who raced
for Mercury at the time. This was a one year model as Gurney left for Plymouth
in 1969. The "G" package was available on any Cougar and included a
fiber glass hood scoop, road lamps, a racing mirror, hood pins, and the new
optional sun roof. Four exhaust tips exited through the rear valance panel and
new spoke pattern styled wheels held radial FR70-14 tires. A special emblem
graced the instrument panel, roof pillar, deck lid, and grille. The
"G" Cougars were not widely promoted; as a result, few were made and
even fewer exist today.
For ‘69 the styling was made a little sleeker and
the car itself was made a little longer and wider. A new convertible joined the
lineup, in base and XR-7 versions. The Cougar received another serious
performance boost mid year with the introduction of the Eliminator package. The
Eliminator came standard with the four barrel version of the Windsor 351 cid
V8, rated at 290 bhp, which could be optioned up to the aforementioned 428 V8,
which gave the car a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds. “High impact” blue, orange and
yellow paint colors were available. Now the cat was growling big time and
clawing at its competition.
I’m jumping off at this point, because subsequent
iterations of the Cougar saw the car become larger and more plush, to the point
that by ‘74 it was a full-size coupe with a huge hood and a luxury feel
that rivaled Lincoln. In the late ‘70s Mercury exploited the Cougar name by
putting it on sedans and wagons. The lean, growling cat had become a
comfortable, stylish house cat. And that’s leads me back to this article's
theme. Through the miracle of YouTube I discovered an old Mercury Cougar
commercial for the ‘75 model…the XR-7 Coupe. And who did they use as the model
in that fancy ad? The 1970’s female icon, Farrah Fawcett. Driving her
sparkling, shiny-chromed Cougar from the mansion to the beach. The division
loved Farrah as their spokesbabe so much, that in ‘77, Lincoln-Mercury ad
manager John Vanderzee was photographed putting a necklace on her that had a
Cougar medallion. GRRROWWLLLL! So what would Farrah have thought about the end
of Mercury? I think she would have been very disappointed. After all, this
beauty icon contributed to making an automotive icon. Who knew that the automotive
landscape would change so much in the three decades hence?
After several platform changes in the ‘80s and
‘90s, the Cougar name was affixed to a European-styled sport compact in 1999.
This 
generation of Cougar had a far more contemporary package, with modern DOHC
24-valve 6 cylinder Duratec engines, a fully independent multilink suspension,
and front wheel drive. This was also the first hatchback Cougar, and the first
to have its own exclusive body, unshared by any Ford (except its twin the Ford
Cougar, which was sold in Europe and Australia). Taking a look at this car my
impression is that they told the styling department, “Make the car look like a
cat.” With its multitude of triangular shapes, it looks like they came pretty
darn close. Unfortunately, it did not catch the public’s “cat fancy” and after
2003, the Cougar name was retired for good.
Ironically the last real Mercury, the 2010 Milan,
is quite handsome, particularly in silver with its alloy rims and vertical
grille. Unfortunately, not enough to save the nameplate…or Jill Wagner’s job.
Where did those girls go with the cougars on their leashes? In a few
years, put Mercury on your list…of collectibles.
Sources: Cars of the Sizzling ‘60s by James
Flammang and the auto editors of Consumer Guide, Cars of the Sensational ‘70s
by James Flamming and the auto editors of Consumers Guide, wikipedia.org,
musclecarclub.com, youtube.com
(Sad to see another iconic
marquee go by the wayside.) Pete
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RICH’S TECH TIPS
By Rich Fiore
PREPARING
OUR RIDES FOR HIBERNATION.... UGH !!!
For many of us
in the northeast, I'm sad to say it's that time of year again. It’s almost time
to set the clock back, and the leaves are coming down. Personally, I still like
to cruise with my rides through the winter when there are no traces
of salt on the road. I always hope for a late indian summer and I get a
small thrill looking at Christmas lights ...with the convertible top
down.
So if you don't plan on driving the beast, lets
first talk tires. It's always a good idea to jack the car off of the
ground to prevent the tires from getting flat spots. Some of the cars with bias
ply tires can be prone to developing them. It was a big problem years ago
with Rayon.
Next would be moisture
control. Some will buy a desicant type of thingy. It can be a bag or a
plastic container. They can be placed in the interior or trunk to absorb
moisture. Moving on to the serious stuff - would be the fuel system. It a great idea to top off the fuel tank,
but prior to that, add a good fuel stabilizer and run the car a bit to get the
stabilizer into the carb and fuel lines. Some will even remove the carb.. Ugh.
Checking the condition of the
antifreeze is critical. Use a tester and get an idea of the ratio. If its more
than 2 years old its a good idea to change it.... saying its not of the
extended life variety. If changing it out, you may as well flush the system,
change the thermostat and check for water pump bearing play while the system is
open.
Next is storage. It’s usually
academic. Either you do or don't have a garage. If in a garage, its great to
keep the concrete sealed to eliminate moisture problems. Outdoors,
you would not want water to puddle underneath. Either way its a good
idea to have a coat of wax and a high quality car cover which repels water but
at the same time breathes and allows trapped moisture to escape. Tie down that
cover! A flapping cover can ruin paint! Take all measures to keep anything from
bumping/falling on the car.
A critical item is the
vehicle's battery. I highly recommend bringing the battery in to a warmer area
like the garage or maybe a basement. Check the electrolyte level and put a
maintainer on the bad boy. Do not use a trickle charge. A maintainer
will shut off when the battery reaches around 12 volts. If left outside even
with a maintainer, you will constantly charge and eventually burn off all of
the electrolyte ... take it from someone who has had first hand experience with
that.
Finally rodents can be a problem. Seal
off all potential openings and place mothballs or dryer sheets if possible
around the car. Some will put their sunvisors down so the mice will not have a
place to sit and munch on that headliner. Put the dryer sheets inside the
car as well – on the floor and under the seats. It will discourage those pesky
critters from taking up residence!
Hibernation can be a
little work, but if possible, run that puppy to keep the gaskets
moist and the fluids where they should be. Before you know it spring will be
here !!!!
Smoke Em if you got em!
Rich
Quick and Dirty: When was the last time
you flushed out your brake fluid?
( Rich – great tips- I too have experience ruined batteries and
resident rodents.) Pete
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Robert Spadavecchia: 1936 Plymouth Coupe
I
started this project after a visit to Don Garlits’ Drag Racing Museum in
Florida 2002; I saw a lot of hemis along with his swamp rats and it really
brought me back to the 60’s. I came home with the Idea
to get a Hemi and do something with it. As luck would have it, I found one in East
Meadow, NY that was a basket case and stored in a cellar. The block was lying
next to the water heater and must have been there for some time, there was
about an inch of dust on top of it. The person was the father of the guy who
had this hemi and he said it had been down there for years. Negotiating a price
- we agreed on $100.00. ( That doesn’t happen too often in your lifetime!
) I bought the engine and it stayed in my garage for about a year. (I was a
fisherman at the time) Finally I assembled it and found that the cam was a
brand new crane hydraulic with new lifters. Also, it had a Weiand dual quad
manifold with two carter AFB’s.
.
I mounted it on a steel table that I had
fabricated, and fired it up - no headers just the exhaust port dumping into the
garage. Man it sounded good! Then I looked around for a body. I had a deal on a
Willys that fell through, then I came across this
I
installed the hemi engine with a 727 torqueflight and converted the brake pedal
to the floor, the olds rear was outdated so I purchased 9 inch ford, and I
narrowed it and put in a
I drove it for about a month, the thing handled like crap, so I
bought a Mustang II suspension for it and that solved my handling problems.
I
didn’t like the performance, so I hooked up with Gary Fontana who talked me
into a blower motor. I hunted around and found two hemis upstate lying in the
mud. I disassembled both and was able to save the block, crank, and heads. Mr.
Fontana did his thing with the motor; the block was cleaned, had the mains
splayed, was bored .060 over, decked, and o-ringed. We installed Ross forged
pistons, h-beam rods, the heads had 2 1/8” intakes and 1.94” exhaust valves installed.
A mild porting job was done as well. Clay Smith flat tappet cam was
utilized and the mill was balanced. A Dyers 6-71 blower topped off with
two 800cfm Edelbrocks handled the intake efforts. The headers are from Hot Heads.
There is also an MSD ignition with adjustable timing and a rev limiter. (To
keep me from lunching the engine).
I
drove the car with that setup that for about a year - getting all the bugs and
welding worked out, before I fully completed the car.
The
body was stripped and all panels were corrected and painted. The frame was
painted a gloss black. Most of the work
was performed by Folan Collision and myself. Paint is a PPG color - Emerald City,
and the flames were from the same color family but shaded differently. The
paints alone were $1,400.00 My Interior was done by Don Fischer in Bayshore.
I drove this incarnation around for about a
year, didn’t like the cam, so I had Mr. Fontana spec out a new roller which I purchased from Schneider. It features
a .608 lift, 323 duration and 107 degree lobe separation. I found a gear drive,
and I degreed the cam in, as per Schneider’s specs. What a difference
performance-wise! However, with the blower running about 8% underdrive and running
gasoline, it made a detonation prone motor. I converted it to E- 85 fuel usage about
a half year ago, and all my detonation problems ended. I got so confident with
the fuel, I stepped up the blower to 2% underdrive with the rev limiter set at
7000 rpm. Now and when I jump on the loud pedal – it runs right up to the rev
limiter. I had the rev limiter disconnected for a few weeks and it has no
problem to go beyond 7000. Not bad for a 1957 Chrysler “boat anchor hemi.” My
plans are to step it up to 8% overdrive just to see how it behaves. If its too
radical - I will try 2% overdrive.
The power steering bracket and pump are
from a 1985 Chrysler K –car. By the way, all brackets mounts have been hand
fabricated! The exhaust is 3 inch with electric cut outs going through a pair
of flow masters. The radiator is a 7 core brass with an electric fan. The
transmission is a 727 torqueflite with a B&M shift kit with a 3000 rpm
stall converter. The rear was out of a 1985 Ford van but it has been shortened
5 inches, 
centered, and fitted with 3:70:1
gears. It uses rear leaf springs with adjustable 44 inch ladder bars. Tires are
Hoosier 11.50x29x15 cheater slicks. The front end is a Fat Man Mustang II with
coil-overs. It also has Borgenson Steering components with a GM tilt wheel. Brakes
are MP power disc up front with stock Ford rear drums.
The body was stripped to bare metal and
painted with PPG Emerald city colors. Ghost flames and pin striping were also added.
The gas door is out of a Mazda Miata and the tube it is piped to a hand
fabricated, 22 gallon Aluminum Fuel tank
The
interior was done in black tuck and roll and the front bench seat is out of a
2003 KIA SUV!
The car is a good runner and people love to
see the nostalgic hemi doing its thing.
I
guess this would be a pre-muscle car Hemi “road runner”, BEEP-BEEP!
(Bob – nice touches! Let
this baby keep doing its thing!) Pete
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Here is where
you can access previous editions of the Long Island Classic Cars Online Newsletter.
http://www.liclassiccars.com/Newsletter/
You
can also access the previous Newsletters through a link on the main page of the website.
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Hey boils and ghouls - thanks for scaring up some time to
read this edition of the Newsletter.
Have a creepy Halloween and enjoy the nice fall car
season! See you out there!
Pete Giordano
Editor
Long Island Classic Cars.com