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Published 8th December 2016

THE CREW EDITOR IN CHIEF

EDITOR Dave Smith editor@americancarmagazine.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT James Ball DESIGN MANAGER Joe Everley DESIGNER

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This guy doesn't need a slip of paper to tell him his car's roadworthy...

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The Government and civil service? Of the 30-odd million vehicles registered in the UK, pre-1960 motors are a drop in the bucket, and besides, storing MoT test details on a database can't take up that many man-hours. The MoT test centres? I know they don't make a great deal on a test fee, but that's taking even more business away. The insurers?

Specialist insurers are being asked to insure vehicles that have absolutely no official measurement of their safety or suitability. The owners? Yes, they'll save £40-50 a year. I'm always happy not to spend money if I don't have to, but while I have built up a fair old tool kit over the years, it doesn't include a four-post lift, brake-testing rollers, headlamp beam checkers and all that jazz. According to their own figures, more than a third of 1978-1987 cars already fail the annual MoT. Taking your car for a test is a pain, and failing is an even bigger pain, but I'd frankly rather pay £40-odd for an official second opinion on my car's condition, and I'd have to question why anybody would want to dodge that. I don't understand why any vehicle is exempt.

Call me cynical, but who does win?

Have you ever known a government or official body give the motorist something for nothing? And why that tiny percentage of classic car owners; you know, the ones that have those inefficient pre-catalyst engines and who are already rewarded with a free tax disc? The consultation is now closed, and if this goes through we'll know about it when it comes into force in May, 2018.

Here's another paragraph to digest: “On June 23rd, the EU referendum took place and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation. The outcome of these negotiations will determine what arrangements apply in relation to EU legislation in the future once the UK has left the EU.” Clear? Jolly good.

“Call me cynical, but who does win?”

Julia Hope julia@americancarmagazine.com

Don MacLachlan

h goody, here we go again.

A few weeks ago, there was a proposal from the Department for Transport to alter the age at which 'Vehicles of Historic Interest' become exempt from annual MoT testing.

Currently, in the UK and EU, any vehicle built prior to 1960 is exempt; the consultation stated that the current European Roadworthiness Directive exempts vehicles over 30 years old, but the authors of the consultation reckoned 40 years old would be a better cut-off as that would tie it in with road tax exemption.

Here's a paragraph to conjure with: “1.3 Under existing GB and EU law all vehicles manufactured before 1960 are exempted from compulsory annual roadworthiness testing. The Directive also exempts vehicles from regular testing, but now vehicles must be manufactured or registered at least 30 years ago, must no longer be in production and must not be substantially changed. This ensures that the vehicles benefiting from MOT exemptions are actually in the original condition they purport to be. This is a useful amendment which aims to ensure that people who drive vehicles which have been significantly changed cannot profit from an exemption.”

That's the bit that gets me – “must not be substantially changed”. The consultations suggest using the DVLA's own eight-points system for radically altered vehicles; if you score the eight points, it's not “substantially changed”. They then fail to state what the situation will be for those cars that don't meet the criteria...

Here's another paragraph to read twice: “1.8 The Directive also refers to VHIs as being ‘hardly used on public roads’, and we wish to consider whether we should restrict the annual mileage for VHIs exempted from testing. Many insurers include a mileage limit in policies for VHIs as a way of reducing premiums.” Restricted use? Now THAT's the thin end of a big wedge.

Here's what puzzles me. What is the point of all this legislation? Who wins?

O

ISSUE #160 - JANUARY 2017

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contents

P20: Dark and dirty - Road Runner is the polar opposite of a trailer queen

01

03

REGULARS

FEATURES

7 12 14 16 18 19 64 90 96 100 113 114

News On Track News Auction News The Big Picture Subscriptions Letters Events Guide Our Yanks New Products Gallery Next Month Finish Line

20 P7: High and mighty - Raptor goes dune-bashing

38 P96: Silver and springy - this may come as a shock

02 OTHER STUFF 66 71 4

REVIEWS Fireside reading for the winter months NEW PROJECTS 'Vette gets pipes and Camaro gets traction ACM

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THE LONG-DISTANCE 'RUNNER A Plymouth visits our shores on its travels TICKING EVERY BOX Blown Chevelle gets everything just right THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Ford's new large SUV from Canada, driven

P30: Black and blown - black, yes; stealthy, no

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04 RACING 53 58 63

ALL TO PLAY FOR Championships decided at Santa Pod's Euro Finals THE DECIDER Britain crowns its best at the National Finals OUTLAW STREET The Outlaws' last round of 2016 at Shakey

P68: Mean and roofless - mid-size Dodge under the spotlight

05 TECHNICAL 68 80 86 88 92

BLUEPRINT Mid-size muscle truck musings with Dodge HOW TO Project 13/30 gets some new rear anchorage JARGONBUSTER Different strokes for different folks ONE-BREW JOB Getting back to your Roots TRIED'N'TESTED Shine a light and clean your screen P51 :

06 SHOWS 43 48

RUNWAY SUCCESS The wings meet the wheels at Sywell's Classic THE FALL MONTY The Yanks run to the hills at Prescott

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28/11/2016 15:22

WhiplashBulletin

In mid-November, the Ministry of Justice launched a consultation on proposals to reduce the “unacceptably high” number of whiplash claims. Insurers have pledged to pass potential savings of up to £1 billion on to drivers, saving up to £40 per policy. Economic Secretary Simon Kirby said “One whiplash claim is I paid out every 60 seconds and it’s unacceptable that responsible motorists have to pick up the tab.”

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ACMnews

THIS MONTH’S PRESSING ISSUES IN THE WORLD OF AMERICAN CARS

Meaty GT

Cone Carving Another of the factory displays at SEMA was the Chevrolet Camaro Turbo AutoX concept.

To give the four-pot turbo a bit more cred among the V8 hordes, this concept has been designed for the popular Stateside sport of Autocross, or AutoX, where lighter weight and nimble handling is key. It uses Chevrolet Performance lowered and tuned suspension upgrades and front brakes, a concept strut tower brace, Chevrolet Accessories 20” alloys with Goodyear tyres, a cold air intake, short-throw shifter and Chevy Performance exhaust. “It’s a great engine for

Ford's biggest headline-grabber at SEMA was the new Mustang GT4, a turn-key, race-ready car, based on the championshipwinning Ford Shelby GT350R-C, and delivered ready to compete in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, the Pirelli World Challenge GTS/ G4 and GT4 European series among others. Built jointly between Ford Performance and

Multimatic Motorsports, you could drive this directly from the showroom to scrutineering at Laguna Seca or Silverstone and line up alongside the Porsches and Aston Martins.

With a 5.2 flat-plane dry-sump V8 built by Roush Yates, and a six-speed Holinger paddle-shift transmission, Brembo brakes and MoTeC dash data-logger, it's sure to be a competitor, too.

Quarter Pounding It’s not all screaming four-pots with Camaro development. Also at SEMA they announced the 2017 COPO Camaro programme alongside the Camaro SS Drag Racing Development programme.

The latter offers concept parts to support 10-second ETs from the 2016-on production-based pony car, and GM engineers have made more than 100 passes down the quarter-mile with the development car, including evaluating DOT-approved racing and slick tyres. Nice work if you can get it... Having tried all combinations of diff ratios, torque converters and other upgrades, some borrowed straight from the ZL1, they’ve managed a 10.685 quarter at 125.73mph, with a best 60ft of 1.425 seconds.

an autocross course because the strong torque production means you can hold a lower gear and just run through the cones without constant shifting,” said Mark Dickens, director of Performance Variants and Parts.

“And with the concept handling package providing amazing handling, this car is simply a blast to drive – and a real surprise for some of the tuner drivers.” The colour is aptly named Shock Yellow with Pearl Nickel hood stripes.

The 2017 COPO Camaro programme was mightily successful in 2016 with seven class wins out of eight NHRA Stock classes, a Super Stock class win at the US Nationals and the Stock Eliminator champion title courtesy of Jeff Lopez. The #1 of 69 2017 models on display in a unique ‘anodised’ concept version of the factory Hyper Blue colour features a blown 350 engine and custom Weld racing wheels. It’ll be sold via the BarrettJackson auction at Scottsdale in January to benefit the United Way charity. If you want to buy

one, you’d best hurry – you need to register at www.chevrolet.com/ COPO before December 15th.

“From sportsman classes to the pro ranks, Camaro has been one of the most popular cars ever to launch down the drag strip,” said Jim Campbell, GM US vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “For 50 years Chevrolet has supported Camaro drag racers and these new vehicles demonstrate our commitment to the sport, with parts development and the advancement of the historic COPO Camaro program.”

Track Testing A little way away from SEMA, at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, Chevrolet were demonstrating the latest performance parts and accessories for Camaro, Colorado, Silverado and Cruze by letting journalists loose in completely stock versions of each, then in the modified versions. My invitation must have been lost in the post or something...

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28/11/2016 14:20

IdiotLightBulletin

According to a survey of 2,000 adults by GoCompare.com, 48% of drivers don’t understand their car’s dashboard lights, 60% have never read their owner’s manual, 31% have no idea whether their car has a spare tyre or not, and 28% don’t know how to switch on their fog lights. Since the last fog, it seems that 50% don’t know how to switch them OFF.

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Score One For Raptor Crate News Ford took their 2017 F-150 Raptor to the 49th running of the gruelling SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race in November.

The truck was piloted by Arizona's Greg Foutz in the Full Stock class, meaning it's straight from the showroom with just a roll cage, race seats and harnesses and a puncture-proof fuel cell added for safety; everything else is stock.

Foutz completed the race in 35

hours, 59 minutes and eight seconds to finish third in class, although that gave them 142nd place overall and they were the last to actually finish of those still running. Small consolation must be that six of the top 10 overall places went to Fords.

Naturally, there was plenty of news coming out of November’s SEMA Show, including the longawaited announcement from Mopar that their new Crate Hemi kits are made for retrofitting into pre-1975 Mopar cars.

The new 345 5.7-litre and 392 6.4-litre Crate Hemi kits include power distribution centre, PCM, engine and chassis harnesses, accelerator pedal and other bits that let you plug a Gen III Hemi crate or 2014-on cut-out motor into anything with almost plug’n’play ease.

Parts Port

At SEMA, Mopar were also keen to highlight the new restoration parts web portal, a ‘consolidated resource’ for restorers to find Mopar-licenced resto parts from more than 45 suppliers.

Built in conjunction with Classic Industries, this portal puts more than 9,000 Mopar parts and accessories at the enthusiast’s fingertips, or available to download as a whopping 550-page PDF catalogue. See www.mopar.com/restoration for details.

Millennium Mustang A Quick Plug In mid-November, Cadillac announced that the firstever CT6 Plug-In Hybrid will go on sale in spring as a 2017 model.

The luxury sedan will have an all-electric range of around 30 miles, but by combining 2.0 turbo engine and battery power they expect a range

of 400 miles, with 0-60mph sprints taking 5.2 seconds, almost exactly the same as the V6-powered competition, and around 65mpge.

If anyone says that a red Mustang is a mid-life crisis car that would imply that Swede Lennart Ribring has some very optimistic hopes for his remaining days on this earth.

His birthday present to himself was a new S550 Mustang GT fastback... his 97th birthday.

Lennart got his driving licence at age 18, back in 1937, and was one of the first in Sweden to have one of the original Mustangs in the Sixties. Now, more than 50 years on, he has another pony on his Stockholm driveway. In a Ford video, he says, “My name is Lennart Ribring. I’m 97 years old. I drive a 5.0-litre V8 Ford Mustang fastback and I’m really happy. I fell in love with the first Mustangs

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that came out and I have hardly thought about another car since.

You felt a bit like king of the road. I don’t have long to live now, maybe.

So, I want to take the opportunities I have to drive and have a little fun in life. This is the real thing.”

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28/11/2016 14:20

WinterBulletin

With harsh winter weather on the way, a survey by Confused.com says that 24% of drivers have had an accident or near-miss due to poor weather conditions, 10% will avoid driving altogether, yet only 56% take time to clear ice from windows and number plates before setting off. No scraper? 21% have used a bank card and 8% have used an old CD case...

Desert Storm

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Anything You Can Do...

Last month we mentioned that the Chevy Silverado had set a Guinness World Record for the largest flag pulled by a moving vehicle.

Well, just four weeks later Ford went out and trumped them, their F-450 Super Duty powered by a 6.7 PowerStroke turbo-diesel pulling a 45x92ft

star spangled banner around Homestead-Miami Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval, eclipsing Chevy’s 40x80ft record. Right, Ram trucks, over to you.

New 2017 models from Ram trucks include a new limited edition 1500 Rebel Mojave Sand and the return of the 1500 Ignition Orange Sport.

The Mojave Sand package includes that unique colour, plus a black-decaled performance bonnet and all-black interior. It’s limited to 1,500 examples, costs $595 over the Rebel sticker price, and is available about now. The Ignition Orange Sport model

The Mains Attraction

features that vivd hue, also with a performance hood and black badging, ‘Copperhead’ accent stitching throughout the cabin, and orange anodised interior trim. This package costs $1,595, will also be limited to 1,500 examples and is available now.

Re-Cording Cord was a super-luxury brand made by Auburn between 1929 and 1937, and was best known for its stunning, Buehrig-designed 810 and 812 models in 1936 and 1937.

The company was known for its technology, pioneering frontwheel drive and the like, way ahead of the mainstream, and now, a supercharged 812 with those amazing side-mounted exhausts, will sell for telephone numbers at auction. The name has reappeared a few times in abortive renaissance

attempts, but now, thanks to the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers' Act 2015 making replica building a viable proposition again, a chap named Craig Corbell has bought the rights to the name and is intending to knock out some 21st century Cords again – see www. cordrevival.com for details.

In mid-November, Motor Trend announced that their Car Of The Year 2017 would be the new Chevrolet Bolt EV. The editors based their selection on the Bolt’s performance in six evaluation categories: advancement in design, engineering excellence, efficiency, safety, value and performance of intended function. The 2016 COTY was the Camaro, with the

Colorado picking up Truck Of The Year in 2015 and ’16, so it’s turning into a bit of a Chevy-fest! The 2017 TOTY prize went to the Ford Super Duty range, SUVOTY went to the Mercedes Benz GLC and Person Of The Year went to Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.

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SmartBulletin

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Data from 12 UK police forces has shown that the number of fixed penalty speeding tickets issued on ‘smart’ motorways jumped from 2,023 in 2010-11 to 52,516 in 2014-15, bringing a revenue of more than £1.1 million. According to Confused.com, 28% of motorists believe speed cameras are just money-making machines.

Christmas Card

Hawks And Heights

If you’re still stuck for Christmas gift ideas for the garage-monkey in your life, you really can’t go wrong with a Machine Mart gift card.

Present them with a gift card, make sure they realise that it’s not a filler spreader or gasket scraper, and watch them light up! You can get them for any value between £20 and £250, and they’re valid at any of Machine

Mart’s 65 UK stores or online; you can also get an E-voucher sent in a personalised email that’ll work just as well. Find out more and order online at www. machinemart.co.uk or call 0115 956 5555.

Debuting at the Los Angeles Auto Show towards the end of November were a couple of new models in the Renegade range – the Deserthawk and the Altitude.

The Deserthawk is based on the capable Trailhawk, but adds unique looks, paint and trim, and features that include rock rails and towing package, all “inspired by the desert’s extreme

conditions”. The Altitude follows the new trend towards ‘blackedout’ looks and … well, that’s about it. The Altitude’s out now in the US; the Deserthawk will follow in January.

photographic collection of US cars in the UK even approaching Steve's comprehensive collection to my knowledge. Steve had a way about him where he did not ever show off his vast knowledge, or put people down who had lesser knowledge and experience – a very rare quality in my experience, both business and pleasure.

“At the time of writing, his funeral arrangements had not been announced and there is

the possibility of an inquest in view of his very sudden demise. which could delay things. But above all, he was an great enthusiast and writer, as well as being an authority on American cars and, in my view, a thoroughly decent individual, whom everyone liked at first sight. He will be greatly missed by me personally, The Packard Club, the American classic car movement in the UK and indeed all who knew him.”

Steve Miles

MARTIN HEPPELL

ALAN BONE

September 1947-November 2016

We were all very shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden passing of author and photographer Steve Miles in early November. The following words are from John Bath of the PAC-GB. “You will have heard by now of the very sad and unexpected death of Steve Miles on November 9th, aged 69, though he had the energy and enthusiasm of a much younger person. Steve is well

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known for his contributions to UK American car magazines over many years and his wonderful series of books, "Over Here", plus of course being both PAC-GB's The Cormorant and CAAC's Hood & Fender Newsletter Editor. His encyclopaedic knowledge of American cars was unsurpassed, gained from an interest going back many years, when these cars were certainly not as fashionable as they are now. There is no

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               

Untitled-2 1

28/11/2016 15:23

RoushBulletin

ontracknews

When Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell (both British, incidentally) put the #67 Chip Ganassi Ford GT on pole for November’s six-hour FIA World Endurance Championship race in Shanghai, it marked Roush Yates Engines’ 250th pole position in NASCAR and road racing since they teamed with Ford Performance in 2004, not to mention 281 wins and 13 championships. The GTs finished first and second in Shanghai.

ontracknews THIS MONTH’S RACING AND TRACK NEWS

Elapsed Times

James Forster shows that Santa Pod’s new year is mapped out already!

So that’s a wrap on another action-packed year here at Santa Pod Raceway, and we’re already looking forward to getting the famous quarter mile up and running again in 2017. The first RWYB of the year falls a little later than usual on Sunday, February 5th, so that gives you some time to get your car or bike ready to hit the track.

The Festival of Power is the first round of the National Championship on April 14th16th, and is taking shape very nicely indeed. In addition to the sportsman classes, MSA Pro Mod are signed up along with Nostalgia Funny Car and you can expect a couple of modern day floppers making exhibition passes with a couple of Top Fuel

Dragsters thrown in for good measure, too. Once again the headline at Easter will be the side by side jet shootout with a multitude of both funny cars and dragsters. The rare occurrence of jet cars blasting up the track side-by-side really is a sight to behold and one you won’t want to miss. The full calendar and event details are now showing at www.santapod.com and of course tickets are available now.

We’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope you get all of the automotive gifts you desire over the festive period. However, if you’re looking to kill some time

away from the garage, we’ve got you covered there, too. Get yourself onto the Santa Pod TV channel at www.youtube.com/ santapodtv to relive all of the 2016 highlights. There’s enough on there to keep you amused for a fair while. Enjoy!

The Sportsman

Shakespeare County’s Jerry Cookson rubs shoulders with the stars.

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Schubeck and the cam father Ed Iskenderian. Also on the panel was Ron Hope, driver of the Rat Trap Fuel Altered and former Blue Max crew chief Waterbed Fred Miller.

Although there was a lot of banter between the panel and audience, the biggest laughs came from Carl, Ed and Steve who told their stories of what they got up to when there was no racing at the drags with fireworks, oil drums, scrap trucks and M-80 explosives!

You can work the rest of the story out, I’m sure. Joe Schubeck recounted his stories of how he obtained nitro as well as his days driving the Hurst Hemi Under Glass, and both stories involved girls. In the case of the Hemi Under Glass story, Miss Hurst Golden Shifter, Linda Vaughan, acted as Joe’s crew chief! There were some other great stories, such as Isky’s cam story with the Golden Greek Chris Karamesines, who sent one of his cams back quoting it was

American racer from the Sixties and captain of the 1965 British Drag Festival team, which raced at Blackbushe and Woodvale, Bob Keith, was honoured and accepted

by Bob’s widow Lee Keith. Next was British engine guru, one half of ICE Engineering and the current Havoc Fuel Altered team, Rob Loaring. Paula Marshall, who in 2013 lost her battle against leukaemia, was honoured for her endless secretarial services to the SPRC as well as becoming a racer.

Paula’s award was accepted by Ian and Holly Marshall. The final award went to Santa Pod Raceway for their 50 years of bringing us the events that make the sport come alive. Former owner and promoter Roy Phelps and current CEO Keith Bartlett came up on stage to accept the award.

All in all another great evening was had by all which, for me and my dad, Gerry Cookson, was welcomed with a few surprises and memory jerkers along the way.

Can’t wait for the next one now!

PHOTO: KEITH LEE

With the drag-racing season now back into its box for another year, November’s highlight was the annual Gala Night for British Drag Racing Hall of Fame which I’m proud to be associated with.

Now in its 11th year, the evening has come a long way since its early years and this year was no exception thanks to the efforts of the BDRHoF management board led by former Chief Starter Stu Bradbury.

A popular feature to start the afternoon festivities was the Bench Race Session introduced by respected US drag racing author, Bob McClurg. This year’s panel of distinguished guests included legendary Funny Car racers Tom Hoover, Paula Murphy, Ed McCulloch and Dennis Priddle.

From the halcyon days of Top Fuel, publisher and racer Harry Hibler, Bob Muravez and Carl Olson, the NHRA’s Eileen Daniels and Steve Gibbs, Super Stock legend Joe

junk. A few days later the Greek needed a cam but all they had left was the old one. So they changed the numbers on the box, sent it back and the Greek set low ET and top speed of the meet they had entered. As you can imagine, the Greek was none too pleased.

With the evening’s Gala Dinner in full swing the main part of the Gala was to make the presentations followed by this year’s Hall of Fame inductees. The NSRA Global Impact Achievement Award went to the Beach Boys and was accepted by one the group’s original members, David Lee Marks. The Lucas Oil Achievement Award was accepted

by Steve Gibbs on behalf of the NHRA, British star Dennis Priddle was re-presented with his career topping International Drag Racing Hall of Fame award, while the Sydney Allard Media Awards were presented to Julian Hunt and Brian Taylor.

Moving on to this year’s BDRHoF inductees, respected

ACM

28/11/2016 15:09

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Alex Peters takes the Black Sun Mustang skating at Silverstone. my tyres had gone completely, so it was like driving on ice.

I accelerated along the start straight trying to keep wheelspin under control and went delicately through the long Hamilton chicane until I could see the exit, but with the ever-present worries about the gearbox I had avoided changing, lost revs, and was way out of the power band on the exit.

On the long entry to Damon’s hairpin I feathered the throttle a couple of times as I could feel the back stepping out, trying to balance grip against letting the revs drop too much in third.

Passing the middle of the hairpin, I allowed the car to go into a four wheel drift with the tail rotating faster than the nose so that it was pointing down the straight before I had even reached the end of the corner, enabling me to get the power down early. I I

This was the first time I had competed at the Silverstone Stowe circuit. The Stowe circuit sits inside the main track, so I imagined it to be little more than a go-kart track; however, it is based on the main runways of the WWII airfield and so is actually the track that was used for the very first Formula One race in 1950. This led me to dream of the great drivers of the era – Farina and Fangio racing at the same location I was now facing.

Appropriately, scrutineering was carried out the old-fashioned way, the night before the event, so I came direct from the Abingdon sprint (see last issue). After waiting in a very long and slow queue, the engine had cooled down and so failed the noise test at 108dB, double the 105dB limit! The scrutineer was very helpful and suggested that I drove around the circuit perimeter track to warm up the exhaust. I took the opportunity to thrash the engine at high revs, sliding around the roundabouts and having a great time.

Fortunately, this did the trick and I passed the test to race the next day.

My biggest problem was that my tyres had completely worn out at Abingdon the day before. I have rarely had so little grip, and to make things worse the day started cold and damp, so I had to drive around on tiptoe. You can watch the Mustang sliding around Silverstone more like a ballet dancer at blacksunracing. co.uk. Amazingly, despite my grip problems, I was fastest in first practice as both Gordon Peters in his Nissan 350Z and Brian Winstone in his Porsche 911 GT3 RS lost it at the chicane, perhaps pushing too hard in the damp conditions.

For my final timed lap, the track had dried considerably, but

was very proud of this particular masterpiece of driving, although much of the rest of the lap was less successful!

I powered through the Mansell chicane, which had been set up so that it could be taken flat and hit the redline in third as I approached the Hunt chicane before braking hard. This chicane was made of tyre bundles and barrels which would do a lot of damage if I hit them, and the exit was much tighter than the entry requiring even more braking.

Fortunately, I stayed in the power band in third as I pulled away and was gentle on the throttle guiding the car round the Stewart curve, but coming into the Surtees esses the car fishtailed wildly!

I used all of the kerbs trying to give the car as much space as possible up the connecting straight to the Clark curve, but it was all I could do to keep the car on the track as I crossed the finish line.

Overall it was a fairly poor result finishing at the back of the class, several seconds adrift, but despite a series of fairly consistent if unspectacular results, I was amazed to find that at the mid-season point I was leading the sprint championship!

I would definitely have to improve my performance to carry this position on to the end of the season and win!

ontracknews

Black Sun Racing

You can see more pictures and video of the lap at www.blacksunracing.co.uk and www.facebook.com/BlackSunRacing

So Close In their debut season, Chip Ganassi’s team of Ford GTs capped a successful visit to the Far East with a slightly disappointing visit to Bahrain, their fourth and sixth place finishes leaving them runners-up in the LMGTE Pro Team trophy.

After their clean sweep in Japan and China, the Ford GTs were forced to carry a weight penalty that left them at the mercy of the Ferraris. Either way, for a team that’s only just over one year old, going from zero to race-winning capability in one season is a mighty achievement.

ACM

track news.indd 13

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28/11/2016 15:09

DallasBulletin

auctionnews

At Mecum’s big $25 million sale in Dallas, Texas in early November, the biggest money went on a ’65 Shelby GT350 at $410,000, followed by a ’68 Yenko Camaro RS/SS at $335,000. A ’70 Hemi Cuda and ’69 440 Daytona from the Jim Fasnacht collection brought half a million between them.

auctionnews THIS MONTH’S AUCTION NEWS IN THE WORLD OF AMERICAN CARS

Christmas Come Early CCA’s December sale of accessible classics, which happened while this magazine was at print, featured more than a handful of Americans – I suppose this says quite a lot about how accessible American classics are – and many without reserve.

First on the no reserve list is a black ’98 Dodge Dakota Sport, with the 5.2 Magnum V8 and auto ’box, in decent usable condition with MoT until Easter, followed by a black ’97 Pontiac Firebird V8 with a long MoT but engine issues, also with no reserve.

Anyone looking for a project might prefer the ’75 Firebird in Formula 400 spec, ripe for restoration with 6.6 V8 and no reserve.

Military fans might be keen on a ’52 Willys M38A1 with all the accessories in good-to-go condition with an estimate of £8,000-10,000, or how about a ’44 Willys MB with a recent body-off resto and in excellent condition with a £20,000-25,000 estimate. Art Deco styling fans might like this unusual ’48 Nash Ambassador Super Slipstream, recently brought over from Ireland and as yet unregistered, needing some work at £12,500-

16,500, while muscle fans will doubtless be drawn to a ’66 Pontiac GTO ragtop, sold new in the UK, restored from the ground up in the Nineties, and that’s been laid up for the last 10 years. It’d need fettling to get it back on the road, which makes me think that the £15,000-20,000 estimate may be a little optimistic. Finally, our favourites are a pair of C3 Corvettes, one recently brought

in from the States in gloss and matt black with red striping and sidepipes that give it a whiff of Batmobile, with a long test and an £11,000-13,000 estimate. The other is a ’78 Pace Car in black and silver (naturally), restored in the early-2000s, with a low mileage and a £16,000-20,000 estimate. Check out how they got on at www. classiccarauctions.co.uk.

Dale Sale

At the corner of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, not far from Richmond, you’ll find Leyburn, home of Tennants Auctioneers where, on November 26th, there’ll be a classic car, bike and automobilia sale with a couple of lots worth watching out for.

There are some newer models, such as a ’98 Camaro ragtop, a Euro-model V6 auto expected to bring £4,000-5,000, and a ’94 Chevrolet Astro Starcraft dayvan with under 50,000 miles and an estimate of £3,000-5,000.

There’s an ’85 four-pot Fiero with a long MoT but a possibly rather optimistic estimate of £3,000-5,000.

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Among the older classics, size appears to be everything, leading with a 1976 Lincoln Continental MkIV Bill Blass edition, supposedly brought over from Saudi Arabia in 1989 and looking smart in blue, that’s hoping for £6,500-8,500. An unusual entry is a ’60 Buick Invicta, this four-door hardtop powered by a 401 Nailhead with

a few minor rust spots and a £7,500-9,500 estimate. There’s a brace of Cadillacs, first a ’66 four-door convertible supposedly built for the ’66 Earl’s Court motor show but imported in 1993 – this car’s entry in the catalogue is rather confusing – that’s expected to fetch £14,000-18,000; secondly a rather handsome silver ’77 Fleetwood, with a long MoT and just 36,000 miles, that’s hoping for £4,500-6,500.

Anyone who’s been on the scene for a while will recognise an Opus, the British kit-build hot rod, and this one was built in 1974 with bits from a 998cc Anglia.

With just one owner since the original builder, and supposedly having covered just 1,000 miles in 40-odd years, this bit of history is the bargain of the day with an £1,800-2,500 estimate. Check it out at www.tennants.co.uk.

The Big Show

We’ll have more about the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at Birmingham’s NEC next issue, but the Silverstone sale at the event was quite the headlinegrabber.

They sold 80% of the 120 cars that went under the hammer, totalling £5.8 million over two days, with many cars venturing into six figures. Star seller among the Americans was the stunning blue ’64 Corvette coupe that came with a hundredweight of trophies at £64,125, the top end of its estimate and, given its condition and history, probably still a bargain. Close behind was the right-hooker Aussie ’67 Mustang fastback at an estimate-busting £60,750, while another ’67 fastback, handsome in gunmetal grey, also went 20% over the top end of its estimate, hammering at £36,563. Smack in the middle of its expected price range was the beautiful ’65 Thunderbird convertible at £34,875, while the Eleanor-a-like ’68 ragtop with the fastback hardtop didn’t sell. Our favourite, the NASCAR-looking Galaxie 500XL, sailed over its £18,00020,000 estimate and hammered at £28,125, which was no surprise.

Silverstone’s next sale is at the Race Retro event at Stoneleigh in February, so check the catalogue at www.silverstoneauctions.com.

ACM

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January Sales In the States, most auction houses are already gearing up for the big mid-January blowout in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is the week where all the houses gather and the really big money changes hands, and one of the first off the blocks to announce their auction catalogue was Worldwide Auctioneers. Among their star players is this 1966 Shelby GT350

Scots Lots

Morris Leslie’s mid-November auction up in Perth brought out a few interesting American lots.

Size-wise, there was a lot of 1970 Plymouth Fury II for your money, a recent Florida import, and even with the base two-barrel 318 this humongous hardtop was a winner. The obligatory Mustangs were out in force, one black and red GT350 lookalike looking very handsome indeed, while a ’65 ragtop in red with a base 200-cube straight six was a tremendous cruiser. A 1981 Oldsmobile Delta 88, which looks very straight and clean but has the unloved diesel engine – does that make it worth more, or less? Top of the unusual stakes was an Italian/American hybrid,

convertible, one of just four ’66 ragtops made, the only red one, and with factory air conditioning.

It was bought new by Bob Shane of the Kingston Trio, and has been awarded the SAAC Division I Gold award. It’s up for sale with no reserve, but Worldwide expect it to bring up to a million dollars.

See www.worldwide-auctioneers. com for more details.

a DeTomaso Longchamp GTS, featuring a 351 Cleveland and C6 auto. Despite being in production for 15 years, only around 400 of these singularly styled 2+2 coupes were ever made, few of which were the wide-arched Series II model, and fewer again were right-hand drive, making this very late model a rare muscle car indeed.

And the strangest thing?

Not one of these amazing vehicles found new homes at that auction. They’ll all be reappearing at Morris Leslie’s next classic sale, at the same venue, on Saturday, February 18th, 2017, so make sure you don’t miss out on the bargains – see www.morrisleslie.com.

• Claremont Corvette have been servicing, repairing and restoring Corvettes for 37 years • Unparalleled experience in all aspects of the Corvette from 1953 to 2015, resonable hourly rates • Snap-on tools and factory backed GM Tech2 Diagnostics for all GM North American thru 2015 • Dedicated body-off facility for safety lifting the body of the chasis on 1953-1982 Corvettes • Claremont Corvette was founded in 1977 and is still run by Tom Falconer, auther of ten Corvette books and a world-recognised Corvette expert.

Corvette C7 Stingray Triple-Black Z51 Z52 3LT 6.2L. Superb low mileage Corvette Sting Ray C7 in Black with Jet Black leather interior. RPO NPP Performance exhaust 460 bhp, 3LT equipment group. FE4 magnetic selective ride, MYC 6-speed auto transmission with paddles and Black Z51 wheels. £55,000

1998 Corvette Euro-spec C5 Coupe LS1 Automatic Chrome Yellow and Black Checker, Custom Metallic yellow leather interior, Supplied new by us with full service history. Custom painted by MechSpray 2007, famous show car, superb to drive.

88,500 miles £12,995

1966 Corvette 427 Big Block Milano Maroon convertible 4-speed Manual Corvette 1966 Convertible 427 Big Block, beautifully re-painted in Milano Maroon with Black interior & convertible top. 4-Speed manual with factory style side-pipes, uprated engine and very powerful. £59,995

Corvette C3 1980 coupe 5.7 litre 350 rare 4-speed manual Very low mileage, 5.7 litre 350, 4-speed manual in Black with Oyster leather interior. Complete history. Option CC1 removable glass roof panels, leather seats, power brakes, power steering, electric windows, Almost every MoT from 1985.

Excellent investment. 31,053 miles £21,995

1963 convertible 4-speed manual 350 5.7 litre PROJECT CAR Barn find 1963 in Riverside Red hoarded by collector since 1990. Needs paint, interior, weather strips, fuel tank and much more . For sale as a project car with no warranty and certified un-roadworthy and must be trailered away. £31,995

1958 Corvette C1 283V8 HardTop Convertible In Triple black, extensively restored by us recently . Correctly numbered and original engine, powerglide automatic, hard top restored by us, new white wall tires, registration pending. Superb example of the desirable 1958 with washboard bonnet and trunk spears. £75,000

1989 Corvette Coupe L 98 6-speed Manual Finished in Bright Red with Saddle leather interior and 6 way power seats, FX3 selective ride, Bose am fm cassette system, Air-conditioning.

Complete history since purchase A superb and collectible ultra-low mileage 6-speed manual C4. £12,995

2001 Corvette RHD Euro Just released from the collection of a leading Hong Kong investor, genuine Euro C5 with right-hand drive in Millennium Yellow with 6-speed manual. Only 21,000 miles from new. just fully serviced and superb to drive. Includes cherished VET number. £23,995

Phone for special offers on all Corvette parts We are open 8:30-5 Monday-Friday and Saturdays by arrangement Please telephone to check if a particular car is available to view

Call us today on 01634 244444 Claremont Corvette Corvette Center, Mailing Road, Snodland, Kent, ME6 5ND, England Email: info@corvette.co.uk Mob: 07836 388888 Fax: 01634 244534

www.corvette.co.uk

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thebigpicture

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THE

BIG PICTURE

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Back in the mid-Sixties, Dodge wanted a sporty coupe car of their own, a step up from Plymouth's Barracuda. This was the result, the Charger II concept that debuted at the Chicago Auto Show, February 1965, showing off the new 'fastback' fad to the extreme.

It succeeded where the Rambler Marlin had failed, and the production Charger debuted late in the '66 model year with toned-down but still radical styling.

GET IN TOUCH The 1968-70 Charger is everyone’s darling, but is there any love for the 1966-67?

Send us a message on Facebook or drop us a tweet on Twitter twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga

facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine

ACM

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thebigpicture

Dodge Charger II concept

WIN! WIN! WIN! Have you checked out Machine Mart’s new 516-page autumn/ winter catalogue, packed with new products, old favourites, and great savings? Grab a copy at any of the 65 stores nationwide, or call 0844 880 1265, or request a copy at www.machinemart.co.uk

Do you want to check the condition of your bores, pistons, valves and combustion chambers without dismantling? Or look inside chassis members, box sections and hard-to-reach panels to check for rust and damage? Or do you need to check plumbing, drains, conduits or cavity walls?

Amateur proctology? Here’s your answer.

Ideal for DIY and trade use, the Clarke CIC2410 Inspection Camera is a versatile tool that can be used for viewing objects in inaccessible areas – common applications include automotive, ceilings, drains, machinery, ventilation shafts etc. This inspection camera features a metre-long, flexible probe with a 9mm lens, which allows the user to gain access to hard-to-reach areas. The Clarke CIC2410 has four LEDs, which have five light

settings to provide the brightness required in a given area, then the image is transmitted to a 61mm TFT-LCD screen with a resolution of 320x240 pixels. The image can be flipped or rotated up to 180 degrees on screen, too. It comes with its own RCA video cable, an inspection mirror, magnetic pickup and hook attachments, and all in a blow-moulded carry case to keep it safe and dry.

HOW TO ENTER So this tool sounds like it’d be just the ticket for all those pesky jobs, and you’d be right. In fact, you could march down to your local Machine Mart shop right now, grab yourself one and have change from £72 all-in. Or you could enter this competition and win one for nothing!

American Car Magazine has teamed up with Machine Mart to

offer one lucky winner a Clarke CIC2410 and all accessories, and entering couldn’t be easier. − Go to www.americancarmagazine. com and follow the Competitions link − Send an email to competitions@ americancarmagazine.com, with Machine Mart Competition in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your name, address and a contact number. Don’t worry, we won’t pass these details on to anyone else. − Put your name, address and contact number on a postcard and send it to Machine Mart Competition at the address on page three.

The competition closes at noon on January 12th, 2017, and the lucky winner will be notified shortly afterwards. Best of luck!

Ts&Cs: Usual competition rules apply – see page three. One entry per person. No cash alternative offered. Closing date 12.01.2017. We will not pass your personal details on to any third party.

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GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? Send us a message on Facebook, drop us a tweet on Twitter or email editor@americancarmagazine.com twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga

facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine

letters WHAT YOU’VE GOT TO SAY ON ALL THINGS AMERICAN CAR

STAR LETTER

Dear ACM, Your recent Editor’s letter (December issue) struck a chord with me, as a life-long T-shirt wearer! I have always found the situation where you are forced to “retire” an old friend difficult to deal with. A small number of my current wardrobe of 99 T-shirts are semi-retired, ie for wearing in the workshop, and have suffered the effects of welding and oil/paint damage, as you do. However, I cannot subject them to life as “shop towels”, so the end-of-life situation is always via the recycling bins. Hopefully they appreciate the sentiment! The last retiree was as a somewhat ventilated shirt, which my wife refused to keep washing, and she issued an edict that she would not be seen with me wearing it, even if I had a pullover on top! A sad moment.

I actually started racing in 1983 until 1985 with the Hammerite black Triumph Herald 'Quarter Pounder'. Thinking back that far is somewhat difficult, but I think that was at the end of the BNDRA era, to be followed by the Shakespeare County Raceway period, so I would guess that this shirt is circa 1981, though I could be wrong. I was a committee member of the Worcester Rod & Custom Club, West Country Roadsters, founded in 1977. The club had around 150 members in its heyday, and a hardcore of us still meet on a regular basis – our Christmas party is already booked for this Christmas! Brian Huxley of Dark Horse Racing is an early member.

John Mulligan, via email

See, this is exactly what I was talking about – every T-shirt tells a story!

Can anyone beat John's BNDRA shirt tale? - DS, ACM

Each month, the Star Letter will receive a New Car Kit of premium car care products courtesy of Meguiar's, with everything you need for a 'new car shine'.

ACM_160_Feature 1_Layout 1 25/11/2016 16:10 Page 1

1973 Plymouth Road Runner

THE LONG-DISTANCE

r e n n u R ' If you ever meet this guy, do try telling him how great your limited-mileage insurance policy is...

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Matt Woods

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1973 Plymouth Road Runner

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1973 Plymouth Road Runner

L

ots of people look forward to doing some travelling when they retire – a Saga holiday, a couple of coach trips to the seaside, perhaps even a nice, gentle cruise ship, yes? Nah, bumnuts to that; here's a guy who's doing the whole road-trip thing exactly right. He's Al Young, from Seattle, Washington State, he's a 70year-old retiree, and Al and his wife Vicki enjoy a spot of sightseeing...

“I've always been with Mopar,” says Al. “I started in 1973, and I've been with Mopar ever since. Back in the day, I started in bracket racing, from Sportsman up to Super Comp, and I ran my '70 Challenger for 30 years – it was basically a Pro Stock car by the time I'd finished. I won the West Coast

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Those wheels (below left) have turned over roads in more countries than most of us will ever see, and thus far without incident. Larger diameter wheels means tyres are easier to find almost anywhere not many places will have 235/60R14s any more. Satin black body (main pic) uses gloss black trim to great effect.

Championship in 1976, the largest championship west of the Mississippi, and went to see Bardahl Oils, who were based locally, with a portfolio.

They began sponsoring me in '76, and by 1978 when I won the AHRA World Finals Championship, they had added more and more backing. I won the AHRA World Finals Championship again in '81 and '83, was AHRA World Champion in '81, and NHRA Division Champion in '78, '79 and '83 – I was totally addicted to drag racing.

“I was a high school teacher, and started in 1971 teaching auto shop, but then the government began moving shop classes out of high schools and into community colleges – don't get me started on that – so I also taught

American Government, Politics and History. I was on a nine-month contract, which meant a three-month summer vacation but also three months without pay, though that also coincided with racing season! Every summer I've managed to eke out at least one major win. I did take a year or so out at one point, but then someone gave me a '68 Satellite and that got me back into it!

“I also started working on other people’s cars. In 2007, I gave my Challenger to the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, where it's on display beneath Boeing's first aeroplane, and in 2008 I retired from teaching. I now have five Mopars, and still race two of them. I have a '69

ACM_160_Feature 1_Layout 1 25/11/2016 16:11 Page 4

1973 Plymouth Road Runner

Barracuda notch with a slant six and the turbo from a Buick Grand National.

It flies, it just doesn't stop pulling, and is probably the most exciting car I own; I have that '68 Satellite with a 400 block, 383 crank and high-compression pistons that I raced for about four years; a '70 GTX that I race now, a beast with a high-compression 440 that runs low-12s in the Sportsman and Pro brackets; and a '73 Charger SE, my daily driver, which is satin black and murdered-out like the Road Runner!

“When I retired eight years ago, I decided that I was going to build a car just for me, a real road car. I've always loved the fuselage-styled Chargers and Road Runners, and this '73 Road Runner belonged to one of my son's ➔

Headlamps have been upgraded, too (right), not only for better light output but because you can find halogen bulbs almost anywhere; try finding a 40year-old sealed beam unit in the middle of nowhere! Rear slam panel (below right) is the car's passport, and shows all the places it's visited!

“I ran my '70 Challenger for 30 years – it was basically a Pro Stock car by the time I'd finished”

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1973 Plymouth Road Runner

friends. It was really hammered, every corner was dented, but it wasn't rusted. I just took it easy, doing one fender at a time, not rushing or stripping the whole car down at once. I love low-gloss black, although it's a really difficult colour to spray, and all the trim is painted gloss black – this was back when 'murdered-out' was still a new term!

“It was a 318 car, but I have so many Mopar engine parts just lying around that I built up a 340-spec block with 340 heads, the Police-spec exhaust manifolds from a 360 and so on. The car's been set up for Autocross using FirmFeel suspension – uprated springs, tubular arms, Bilstein shocks and the biggest sway bar I've ever seen! It needed to be robust and simple for long road trips – the more exotic the set-up, the riskier the trip becomes.

That's why I don't have long-tube headers – they hang too low and I'd be forever welding them up. The wheels look a little like Magnum 500s, and they're 17” up front and 18” at the rear, which is better for tyre selection.

“I built the car for such long journeys because I'd travelled all across the US towing the race car but never actually seen America. It was always dark, or we were hurrying to make tech inspection – we never paused to admire the country. I built it with 'redundant' systems – two of everything. For instance, there are two MSD ignition modules and coils, and I can switch between the two, like in an aircraft. There's a mechanical fuel pump with an electric pump as backup, which can help on long gradients.

There's an engine-driven viscous fan and an electric back-up fan. There's a dual wiring system, too, with a bypass switch that cuts out the whole dashboard so I can keep going even if there's a dash fault. Luckily, apart from the fuel pump, I've never had to use any of the redundant systems, although we did need the electric fan when we got stuck in traffic for 45 minutes in Istanbul. After 30 minutes, we had to turn the air conditioning off, which wasn't pleasant, then after another 10 minutes I had to turn the heater on! Fortunately, we started moving after that. I certainly couldn't have run a big-block in this car.

“In 2011, we took the car on its first long trip. I'd wanted to drive Route 66, which turned into an 8,000-mile journey. The following year we had a wedding to go to in New York, so we drove there and came back all through Canada. We drove all over the place. In 2014, we thought 'Where now? Why not Europe?' It was an expensive idea, but we put it to Bardahl who just said, 'Sure, go ahead.'

Wow, that was easy! We'd never been to Europe before, apart from a brief vacation to Denmark, but we shipped the car out there and spent 40 days covering 8,000 miles, and visited many Bardahl distributors. ➔

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The motor is a 318 block with 340 heads and other 340 spec parts. The short stroke means lower piston speeds, while the slightly smaller bore means better fuel mileage. 9.2:1 compression is happy with most regular petrol. As Al says, "I could not tell the difference between this engine and the high-performance 340s I used to race, except for the gas mileage improvement."

Note the doubledup systems, like the two coils top left. This car has run low 14s, and is built for nitrous although the shippers won't let him ship it in the car!

“I built the car for such long journeys because I'd travelled all across the US towing the race car but never actually seen America”

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1973 Plymouth Road Runner

2016 Trip Itinerary •

June 6th – Fly Seattle to Amsterdam via Reykjavik

• •

7th – Amsterdam

• •

9th – Bletchley Park

•

13th-14th – Liverpool, Beatles Museum

• • • • • • •

15th – Stranraer, Scotland

•

22nd – Pembroke Coast National Park

• •

23rd – Stonehenge

•

25th – Ferry from Folkestone to Calais, drive to Eindhoven, Netherlands

• •

26th – Neumunster, Germany

•

28th – Tyssedal, via Pulpit Rock and Troll Tundra

• • • •

29th – Stryn, Norway

• •

5th – Lillehammer, Norway

• •

10th – Växjö, Sweden

• • •

12th – Cologne, Germany

• •

15th-16th – Paris, France

• • • •

19th – Montreuil-sur-mer, France

8th – Collect car at Rotterdam, ferry Calais to Folkestone

10th-12th – American Speedfest, Brands Hatch

16th – Ferry from Stranraer to Belfast 17th – Belfast, Titanic Museum 18th – Dublin 19th – Meet ROI Bardahl distributor 20th – Rosslare, Port Lodge 21st – Ferry from Rosslare to Pembroke

24th – Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey)

27th – Hirtshals, Denmark, overnight ferry to Stavanger, Norway

30th – July 1st – Storholmen, Norway 2nd – Vikhammer, near Trondheim 3rd-4th – Jotunheimen National Park, Norway

6th-9th – Power Big Meet, Västerås, Sweden

11th – Ferry from Rødby, Denmark to Puttgarden, Germany, on to Travemünde

13th – Luxembourg, WWII memorials 14th – Charleville, France, Ardennes forest and WWII memorials

17th-18th – Ouistreham, France, Normandy beaches and memorials

20th – Drop car in Rotterdam 21st – Amsterdam, Rijks Museum 22nd – Fly from Amsterdam to Seattle

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1973 Plymouth Road Runner

Tech Spec 1973 Plymouth Road Runner 1972 318 cubic inch V8 9.2:1 compression Comp Cams hydraulic 252H cam, 0.425” lift Edelbrock Streetmaster intake Holley 4160 600cfm four-barrel carb Police Pursuit manifolds from a '78 Volare police car Dual 2.5” exhausts Flowmaster 70-Series Delta Flow silencers Torqueflite 904 auto modified by Pat Blais Mopar factory high-stall converter B&M MegaShifter FirmFeel Suspension Stage I steering box FirmFeel heavy-duty 1.06” torsion bars FirmFeel HD street/track leaf springs FirmFeel tubular anti-roll bars, 1.25” front, 0.875” rear FirmFeel tubular upper control arms and tie-rods Bilstein shocks all round Drilled and slotted 11.75” front disc brakes Stock 11” rear drum brakes Factory 8.75” Sure-Grip 3.23:1 differential Ion 625 wheels, 17x8” front, 18x9” rear Hankook V12 Evo tyres, 245/45ZR17 front, 255/45ZR18 rear Kerb weight 3,800lb Touring weight 4,000lb including 100lb of tools and spares Estimated 350bhp 14.27 seconds at 99.3mph Average over six years – 14.6mpg Thanks to: Bardahl Corporation, FirmFeel Suspension (www.firmfeel.com), Doug McNeil at Bardahl Europe, Evelyn & Hugh McNeil

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1973 Plymouth Road Runner

“The interviewer mentioned that this wasn't the first interview he'd done at Brands Hatch, but last time it was Mario Andretti!”

Everything about this car is geared to comfortable and reliable cruising.

Chrysler Crossfire seats (main pic) are amazingly comfortable, and stick with the allMopar theme!

Extra gauges are crucial (above), and add-on cruise control makes life easier. B&M shifter (far left) shifts a 904 'box - the 727 is the normal choice, but why waste fuel turning a heavyduty 'box if you don't have to? We caught Al and Vicki in the middle of their cross-UK leg, and the boot (left) is just big enough for all their gear!

“When we got home, we found that pictures of us in the car at the Power Big Meet had made it into the New York Times supplement. Bardahl thought this was great, and asked us if we'd go again in 2015, so we did. This time, we got interviewed at the Power Big Meet by Reuters, so Bardahl asked if we'd like to go back again in 2016!

“Back in June, we shipped the car to Rotterdam and flew out to meet it, then headed off to catch the ferry to the UK. We had to visit Bletchley Park – my father was in the military – then went to American Speedfest at Brands Hatch.

They treated us really well, gave us a really nice spot for the Bardahl stand, and the organisers invited us to a big dinner. Doug McNeil and I went along, and we felt a bit awkward, being nonpaying guests among all the racers and organisers. I had my phone on the table, and apologised, saying that I'd arranged to do a phone interview with Fox Sports network at 8pm, 'but don't worry, I won't hand the phone to any of you until you've got your mouth full!'

That broke the ice, and later the interviewer mentioned that this wasn't the first interview he'd done at Brands Hatch, but last time it was Mario Andretti! Dinner was great after that.

“Then we drove to Liverpool to visit the Beatles museum, then up to Stranraer, across to Belfast for the Titanic museum, then down to Dublin.

When we were heading for the ferry at Rosslare, we took a wrong turning into a poorly lit dead end in a deserted industrial area, and were trying to do a U-turn when a guy rushed out and flagged us down. It was quite a shock, but I wound down the window and he shouted 'You're Al Young! I've been following you on Facebook!' I couldn't make this up...

“We took in the Welsh beaches, Highclere Castle – Vicki is a big Downton Abbey fan – and Stonehenge, then back to France. We went to Normandy to pay homage. I've never seen more beautiful beaches but there are no hotels, no holiday parks; it's been left just as it was. It was very moving, and the cemeteries and museums are breathtaking. From there we drove up to Sweden, via the national parks and Ole Bardahl's birthplace in Norway, to the Power Big Meet. Kjell made sure everyone knew it was our third visit, and we collected the long-distance award again!

“We covered 7,200 miles this year.

Over the past three years, we've spent 142 days driving through 34 countries, covered 23,300 miles, burned 1,600 gallons of premium unleaded, and never missed a single appointment or hotel reservation. You're a rock star wherever you go – everyone appreciates American muscle, and you get to meet everybody because they all come and talk to you. It's so much fun, and we've never encountered any problems at all except for once, on the border between Hungary and Serbia, where we met some real Iron ➔ ACM

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1973 Plymouth Road Runner

Curtain-era border guards who wouldn't let us through. We were supposed to be meeting up with a car club across the border, and the organiser had told me that if I met any trouble, he was a border guard and we should tell them we were a guest of his. We did, and they handed back our passports and told us to go. Saved by hot rodding!

“In France, there was a car tailing us on the freeway – it happens often, and is no big deal, it's usually someone taking a photo – until he pulled level and we spotted a Seattle Seahawks sticker on his car! We had to pull in at the next service stop and chat, and yes, he was from Seattle! Cruise control is an important accessory for these long trips, as is a good GPS. We found this out in Greece, when we discovered our GPS didn't have Greek maps. We got totally lost outside Athens, all the signs are in Greek and we couldn't find ourselves on a map.

We ended up flagging down a taxi, Vicki got in, told him to take us to our

hotel and I followed him in the Road Runner. This was a great idea until the cab did a sudden U-turn and I followed, causing two motorbikes to brake sharply. They were police bikes, two officers on each, and they pulled me over – they weren't happy. They went through the car, through all our stuff, and were on the radio to HQ when I opened the bonnet. All four rushed over shouting 'V8!', handed our passports back and said 'Burn out!'

“It took more work to prepare this car than any race car I've ever owned.

You can't afford to break down in Bulgaria if you don't speak Bulgarian, or try to find a replacement Harland Sharp roller rocker on the border of Belarus! Europe is so cool, but at the last SEMA Show, a Bardahl distributor offered to ship me to China. That'd be more display than touring, though, and Bardahl want us to cover South America, but I think next year's trip will be around the USA again. I just want to do it all while I'm still capable and still excited about doing it!” ACM

Al (below) has had a long and happy relationship with sponsors Bardahl, and it's still happy!

Previous Bardahlsponsored racers include Fangio, Unser, Gurney and Shelby! Al says that each of his 78,000 mile Euro tours in the Road Runner was done without oil changes during the trip. The engine uses five quarts of Bardahl XTC 10W40 with a can of Bardahl B-1 oil supplement for extra protection oil consumption was less than one pint per 8,000 miles, and there's still no sign of engine wear. Al's planning another 8,000 mile crosscountry trip in 2017 - same car, same motor.

Bardahl Oils was started in 1939 by Ole Bardahl, a Norwegian immigrant. They've developed a huge reputation for quality and innovation, with lubricants, additives and automotive chemicals always being researched and developed at their state-of-the-art laboratories.

They're also keenly involved in motor sports, from champs like Al Young to Indy, CART and NASCAR, to air racers, snowmobiles and offshore powerboats. Ole was inducted into the US Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2014. They're also a massive OEM lubricants provider, yet are still a familyowned company based in Seattle.

Chances are, they're the biggest company you've never heard of...

See www.bardahl.com.

“It took more work to prepare this car than any race car I've ever owned”

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“40 YEARS OF RACING, I NEVER LEFT HOME WITHOUT IT!” AL YOUNG

PREMIUM PERFORMANCE

(

Offical Sponsor

)

BARDAHL EUROPE enquiry@bardahleurope.com | www.bardahl.com

Since 1939 “Racing formulas for todays vehicles” Untitled-2 1

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1966 Chevrolet Chevelle

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1966 Chevrolet Chevelle

TICKING EVERY BOX The fastest car in the valleys has got everything just right, but it wasn't an easy ride.

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Darren Maybury

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1966 Chevrolet Chevelle

S

ome rides almost instantly tick every box in the muscle car checklist. Classic shape? Tick.

Mid-size hardtop coupe? Tick. Black paint? Tick. Big-block V8? Tick. Justright stance? Tick. Polished blower through the bonnet? Tick. And for bonus points, three pedals and a floorshift? Tick and tick. Full marks. While there are plenty of truly brutal '68-72 Chevelles around, there aren't that many of the earlier models. This could change all that.

It belongs to Sean Brown in South Wales, and is doubtless the most vicious car in the valleys. “My first American car was a '69 Firebird,” says Sean. “I bought it from a guy named Troy in Guildford back in 2000, through the classifieds in the back of Street Machine. It had a 355 Chevy small-block, but the bodywork was a bit rough so I fixed it up, ran it a few times at the strip, and ended up selling it to Mark Todd who made it insanely fast and raced it in Street Eliminator. I'd always wanted a Charger – I'm the right age to have grown up with the Dukes Of Hazzard! – and I bought a '68 Charger on eBay. After I'd bought it I was bricking it, and the wife was going mad because I'd bought it blind. When it turned up, the paint was bad because it was a dry state car, but it was a genuine R/T, so I painted it black and ran it for a couple of years.

“I really wanted a supercharged motor, but I didn't want to start cutting up a genuine R/T so I started

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looking around for something else in 2010. Where I live it's all MkI and MkII Escort rally cars or Land Rovers, so I got back on eBay and found this Chevelle at a dealers in Missouri. It was red, and already had the blown motor and manual 'box, and the dealer said it was immaculate. He sent loads of photos, but I can only imagine they'd been taken 10 years

That simple early Chevelle shape, with just a whiff of the Coke-bottle waistline to it, is deliciously understated (main pic). Add some SS badges, deep black paint and a hint of rake, and suddenly you've got the baddest Abody on the block.

Those Centerline Qualifier wheels (right) were custom-made for this car - because this car uses a wider axle from a later model and isn't tubbed, it needed a backspacing that wasn't available off the shelf in this diameter.

previously, and anyway, one man's immaculate is another man's pile of shite. I'd done lots of shows in the Charger, and there were always plenty of other Chargers there, but you don't see many of these Chevelles and that appealed to me, so I got all the information I could about the Chevelle, put a deposit on it, then put the Charger up for sale.

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“It sold within three weeks, but during those three weeks, there'd been the election and the hung parliament, and sterling crashed from $1.70 to $1.30 to the pound – I lost £3,000 overnight! I asked the dealer if he'd return my deposit and he said he'd be prepared to return half, so I bit the bullet, paid the rest of the money and waited with baited breath for it to

arrive. Buying from Missouri was a mistake, as it's smack in the middle of the country so it cost as much to get the car from Missouri to the port in Virginia as it did to get the rest of the way home! I got a call at 3.30am one night, and it was the transporter driver in the States – he said it was hailing golf balls over there, so he'd unloaded the transporter, put the Chevelle right

“He sent loads of photos, but I can only imagine they'd been taken 10 years previously” Twin 850cfm Demon doublepumpers (left) that's a lot of carburettor for a street car! The 8/71 blower is running a very conservative 6psi of boost at the moment - a smaller pulley on the blower could put this engine into four figures of power output, but it's already a handful.

Sean says that whoever cut the bonnet did an amazing job - neatly cut, swaged and wheeled, it's a work of art. Shame they couldn't have been as diligent with the rest of the bodywork!

behind the cab so it was sheltered, and in reverse so the scoop wouldn't fill up with hail, then loaded the other cars back up! Nice guy. While it was on the docks in Virginia I bought lots of bits that it was missing that it'd need to get through an MoT – a screen washer kit, mirrors, various bits of trim, and a Tremec TKO600 five-speed. It was on Corvette Rally wheels, so I went onto the Centerline website where you can configure your car with a choice of wheels. I picked a set of 17” Qualifiers, but they had to be custom-made because the car had a wider back axle from a '70 model fitted – those rear wheels are actually two-piece wheels.

All this stuff went in the container with the car and it got sent to Southampton.

“I went to collect it, and my heart sank. It was stuck in a dark warehouse, and it was barely running on six cylinders – I don't know what had happened to it. I brought it home, took the rocker covers off and found that two of the intake valve rocker studs had unwound themselves far enough to dent the rocker covers, so the valves weren't even opening! The paint was faded, but the interior was perfect and the chassis was rock solid. Then I found that someone had spent longer putting filler into the body than it would have taken them to weld it up properly...

“I started stripping it back to Waxoyl it ready for the British climate, and found rust, lots of rust, under the paint, and lots of filler. The guy who built it ➔

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must have spent all his money on the engine. I was so disheartened, and wanted to tear it apart right away, but friends advised me to drive it and enjoy it for a while first. It wasn't dangerously rusty, because the ladder chassis was sound and that can take a lot of abuse, so I put it on the road and enjoyed it for 18 months, which gave me the love for the car. Then, four years ago, I took it back off the road for all this surgery.

“It was a lot worse than I'd thought – it needed lower front wings, lower A-pillars, door bottoms, rear arches, a boot floor and new floorpans. I took it

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to a local body shop who specialise in vintage Rolls Royces, so they're used to rot. They looked at it and said, 'No problem, we've seen a lot worse!’ It basically had to go back to bare metal for a full restoration. I'm a tractor mechanic, so I rebuilt the 12bolt, putting new clutches in the Posi, fitting the five-speed 'box and so on.

When the body came back, it was immaculate, and I got it back on the road in spring 2015.

“It's not a genuine SS; it's a clone, and I suspect it was originally a six-cylinder or base V8, and it still had the original front suspension. It

Stunning lines (below) and deep black paint - it's come a long way since it was a Bondo sculpture coming in from Missouri. One unexpected expense was a new windscreen, after Sean dropped the old one while removing it... Auto Windscreens actually came up with a replacement, with the correct top-tint and everything. Brakes are vented discs all round, with Baer sngle-piston sliding calipers. Dual-circuit powerassisted master cylinder (above right) is a worthwhile mod. The servo requires an electric vacuum pump thanks to blower.

was shocking on our roads, and scared us to death! I fitted a Hotchkis suspension kit and that was lots better, now it handles like a modern saloon. It already had Baer brakes, and those low profile tyres really help the cornering but break traction very easily in a straight line. The car came with dyno sheets showing 797bhp and 814ft.lb. of torque, and on cold tyres it'll spin from a standstill in third. That's at just 6psi of boost, and I've been told that changing the pulley on the blower would make it nearer 1,000bhp.

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Tech Spec 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle 454 cubic inch Seventies four-bolt truck block Bored to 468cu.in.

Blower cam Edelbrock heads Dual 850cfm Demon doublepumper carbs 8/71 Blower Shop supercharger, 6psi Accel ignition and rev limiter Ceramic coated headers Aluminium radiator and electric fans Evans waterless coolant New tank and sender MSD high-flow fuel pump McLeod clutch Tremec TKO600 five-speed manual Black Diamond quick-shift, Hurst shifter Prop made by local plant company GM 12-bolt Posi axle from 1970 Chevelle Baer vented disc brakes all round, single-piston sliding calipers Hotchkis front springs, shocks and anti-roll bar Rebuilt PAS and all new rod ends Air shocks rear B&M line lock Vacuum pump for servo Halogen headlamp conversion from Triumph Stag Centerline Qualifier wheels, 8x17 front, 9.5x17 rear 245/40R17 tyres front, 285/40R17 rear Vintage Air air conditioning Dakota Digital dash, plus boost gauge and Monster tach Pioneer CD player and speakers Thanks to: “My brother Sam for welding and fabrication – he did the floors and boot and the bits you can't see. Nick at NJ Restorations for the bodywork.

TopSpeed Automotive for top service on parts. My long-suffering wife, Kelly.”

This Chevelle may soon be for sale. If you want to discuss serious offers in the region of £35,000, call Sean on 07813 758184.

“I took it to a local body shop who specialise in vintage Rolls Royces, so they're used to rot. They looked at it and said, 'No problem, we've seen a lot worse!’”

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“It's a scary car to drive, but I'm not scared of using it. Just a few days ago, I took my mate's daughter to her prom and it was chucking it down with rain.

It's not an easy car to drive because you really have to pay attention – it's impossible to see around that blower, and one blip of the throttle and you're at 90 degrees to the hedge.

“Honestly, I enjoy working on these cars more than driving them, and I'm considering moving on. I've done the muscle car and the pony car, now I'm thinking of a pick-up. My friend has just bought a '56 F100 and my brother has a '53 Chevy truck, so perhaps I'll go for a Seventies 4x4. I've enjoyed the Chevelle. I'm not really a car show guy, but I like going occasionally and you just don't see other '66 and '67s. And how many blown, big-block manuals do you see?!” ACM

“One blip of the throttle and you're at 90 degrees to the hedge”

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Interior (right) is a comfortable place to be, especially after a local boat trimmer re-foamed and reupholstered the driver's seat.

Massive Hurst shifter used to stir a Muncie M20 fourspeed; now it shifts a five-speed Tremec TKO600.

Sean fitted the Monster tach and a boost gauge, and also rewired the car front to back.

The car came fitted with a high-tech Pioneer head unit with four speakers and a sub in the boot, but Sean says he never uses it, preferring the sounds made under the bonnet.

Halogen headlamp conversion from a Triumph (below) is a good idea, as not only do they dip to the left, they're also more effective than the originals which Sean describes as being "like a fagend in a jar".

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Ford Edge

Ford has brought a new, large, American SUV to the UK – will it succeed where the Explorer failed?

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Dave Smith, Ford Motor Co

R

ecently launched is Ford’s new large SUV, the Edge. Based on the Mondeo platform, this big Canadian-built world-bruiser comes with Duratorq diesel power and full-time all-wheel drive (over here, at least), and has the likes of the VW Touareg and Volvo XC60 squarely in its crosshairs. There are two powerplants – the 180PS TDCi and the 210PS twinturbo – with a six-speed manual or the PowerShift dual-clutch ‘automated manual’ respectively.

It’s ultra-modern in appearance, from the Ford family fizzog up front to the crisply creased flanks and the tailgate with the full-width signature taillamp (a new feature, even though Buick and Chrysler were doing this 50 years ago), but then it’d have to be if it’s playing in the same paddling pool as the likes of the Evoque. It sits prudently tall on chunky 19” or 20” alloy wheels and soft-roader tyres, as befits a car that’s not pretending to be a monster truck but isn’t afraid to get its treads dirty once in a while. Inside is also modern, the vast expanse of dashboard focused around the dualdial instrument binnacle and the large central touch-screen. There’s plenty of room in there; it’s a full adult-size fiveseater, and the rear seat legroom and boot space are both best in class.

The base model is the Zetec at the £30,000 mark, then the Titanium with a whole list of extra features at £32,245. If you want the Lux Pack, which adds climate controlled leather front seats and heated leather rear seats, plus the panoramic sunroof, that’ll add another £2,000. Top of the range is the Sport at £34,495, and you can add a similar Lux Pack to that, too. Naturally, when taking on the big European brands, not to mention some of the far Easterners, it helps to have a raft of standard features to open with, and most of these are pretty hightech. Adaptive steering changes the 

“As befits a car that’s not pretending to be a monster truck but isn’t afraid to get its treads dirty once in a while” 38

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Ford Edge

THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

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Ford Edge

steering ratio according to speed; active noise control uses microphones in the cabin to recognise road and engine noise and plays an opposing sound through the speakers that cancels it out; the SYNC2 uses voice control for the navigations, music and climate control; adaptive front lighting uses dynamic LEDs to see around corners and such; active park assist parks it for you; a hands-free tailgate opens automatically when you wave your foot near the bumper; and there’s the usual collision avoidance/lane departure/road sign recognition/auto lamps/auto wipers etc etc for people who really don’t want to drive their own car.

On the road, it feels planted and secure, and … capable. It can take what you throw. The twin-turbo only boasts about 30PS extra, but in feel and drivability it’s a world away – the lower-powered motor feels slightly breathless in a car of this size and weight. While an Edge is never going to be a featherweight, the twin-turbo helps give it a bit of nip and zip, while the PowerShift auto has taken all the slush out of the old-fashioned slushbox to give you clean and seamless power delivery. And yes, 40

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“On the road, it feels planted and secure, and … capable.

It can take what you throw. The twin-turbo only boasts about 30PS extra, but in feel and drivability it’s a world away”” you can paddle-shift if you want.

The 210PS and dual-clutch combo is definitely the one I’d go for, and if you have some towing to do, I reckon this lot would be more than a match for it.

To introduce the Edge, Ford let me loose on the cars in the beautiful border countryside where England meets Scotland – right on the edge; see what they did there? Much of the trek was on-road, from fast A-roads to winding lanes next to streams, and all in some glorious sunshine.

Another part also involved driving over the hills, along tracks that sheep would struggle with, and again, it accomplished this with barely a stumble. We aren’t talking the Rubicon trail, here, but let’s face it, if you want to go rock-crawling, you’re not going to buy an Edge; however, if you want to tow your caravan off a muddy site, it’s nice to know that the car’s up to the job. In fact, there was no road that was more than a match for the Edge, it felt at home

pretty much everywhere, and even managed to feel less bulky than it actually is.

All this shows great promise from Ford in a class that hasn’t seen a real blue oval contender since the ill-fated Explorer of the Nineties, another North American expatriate. Where the Explorer fell down 20 years ago was in some questionable styling and not offering a diesel; oddly, we now get a diesel whether we want it or not, while the same Edge in the States doesn’t have a diesel option at all. Ford have been keen to leverage the ‘American icon’ status of their last ex-pat, the Mustang, but it’s not a selling point that they’re leaning on at all with the Edge.

Perhaps it’s a feature that wouldn’t appeal to the demographic; perhaps it’s something that the majority of the demographic couldn’t give two hoots about? The Edge is in Ford showrooms right now, with a Vignale model recently added, and if you can hold on until later in 2017, you’ll get SYNC3. ACM

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TECH SPEC Engine: 1,997cc TDCi Power: 132-154bhp (180-210ps) Max Torque: 400-450Nm Transmission: 6-speed manual or 6-speed PowerShift Combined MPG: 47.948.7mpg Max Speed: 124-131mph 0-60mph: 9.4-9.7 seconds CO2 Emissions: 149-152g/km Kerb Weight: 1,913-1,949kg Gross Train: 4,505-4,555kg Length: 4,808mm Wheelbase: 2,849mm Wheels: 19x8-20x8.5�

Tyres: 235/55R19-255/45R20 See www.ford.co.uk for details or visit your local dealer for a test drive.

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showreport

Runway Success There’s something in the air at the Sywell Classic... and plenty on the ground, too.

Words & photography: John Kennedy With a summer of fantastic weather and little in the way of rain, this year’s Footman James Sywell Classic was an eagerly awaited event. The weather behaved, mostly, although sunshine and showers did appear on the Sunday.

The static displays had grown considerably, with more unique vehicles being shown to the amassed crowds on the very full show field.

There was every conceivable marque, from Italian exotics, historic

kit cars and classic British to some quality American muscle car displays, courtesy of the NSRA, Charnwood Cruisers and others.

A good walk around the show field showed there were plenty of non-clubmember American vehicles dotted around, and some really interesting stuff, too. I loved the bonkers 1946 Chevy 3.6 lorry, owned by Mr Bertie Bertles, and the gorgeous pristine black 1955 Mercury Montclair. Historic bike 

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fans were also well catered for with everything from Harleys and Indians to new bikes from Victory, plus classic British Ariels, Velocettes, BSAs, Nortons, Triumphs, Matchless, Vincents and loads more.

The Sywell Classic motoring festival combines historic racing cars, bikes, hot rods and drag cars balanced with classic planes, aerial stunt displays and vintage music, all coming together to celebrate all that is fuelled, driven or ridden hard. The strip, although

only eighth-mile, was a big draw for the crowd, proving again to be one of the show highlights. Many watching wouldn’t have seen drag cars laying down the rubber like that before. If facial expressions were any indication, drag racing may have gained some new fans this weekend. The strip was later extended into a sprint course ready for the iconic Formula 1 cars, Group B Rally cars, Go-Karts and motorcycles to blast around it… demo runs, of course! 

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Amongst the many static displays you also had the chance to flex the plastic or empty your pockets with all the stuff on sale in the vintage shopping village, from food, clothing or motor parts to original art from the very talented artist Ian Guy with his brilliant automotive paintings. Live music was playing throughout the day with sets from Rockabilly band The Hound Dogs and the vintage sounds of the Glamophones, enhancing the 1920s Art Deco feel to the event, a step into the wonderful Aerodrome Hotel for refreshments only adding to this.

Due to high winds the Battle of Britain

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flight had to be delayed until the Sunday but the Spitfire and Mustang performing their mock dog-fights made up for that on the Saturday. The Twister Aerobatic Team also put on another great show throughout the weekend, too; from the ground you’d swear they were touching wings at times, amazing to watch.

The show covers all types of vintage vehicles but caters really well for the American nuts among us, so next year if you’re looking for a last hurrah before the nights really start drawing in you’d find it hard to find a better event to attend. ACM

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THE ROUGH WITH THE SMOOTH PART ANIMAL PART MACHINE

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New Camaro 2SS 6.2L Auto, White/Black, Sunroof fulled loaded £47,950

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28/11/2016 16:59

showreport

The Fall Monty The season-ending event at Prescott brings American flavour to the most British of venues.

Words & photography: Andy Davis There were a few changes for this year’s Autumn Classic at Prescott; some welcome (different bands), some unwelcome (poor weather on Saturday) and some simply pragmatic (the new layout), but once again the final hill climb competition of the year had a decidedly American flavour.

A period of heavy rain on Saturday morning put a stop to track action, and when this gave way to sunshine and showers, the lunchtime American cavalcade was cancelled as various race classes were rushed through to make up for lost time. With an increased number of American cars, hot rods and race cars invited to display in the pits, a new layout was planned with the free Wall of Death and live stage relocated to the other side of the track. However, apparently the new

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area was deemed not level enough, so both attractions ended up in the far corner at the bottom of the camping area. This actually increased space for viewing the bands and allowed room for a temporary wooden dance floor, but many commented that it killed the usual fun atmosphere in the pits.

Frequent, prolonged showers kept visitor numbers down, but with display cars booked in for the whole weekend there was still plenty to see, the bands gamely played on, and when someone set up speakers in the pits and put on a swing version of “Singin’ in the Rain”, the American vibe gave way to British bulldog spirit as impromptu dancing broke out in the drizzle.

On Sunday morning, bright sun soon burned off the mist on the Gloucestershire hills and it was more 

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also a round of their Car of the Year competition. Look out for the winner, a very nice blue and white ’58 Ford, in their grand final at the NEC Classic Car Show.

During the lunch break we had the traditional cavalcade of Indian and Harley bikes, hot rods, Yanks and steam cars, and a terrific stunt flying display by Rich Goodwin in his Pitts bi-plane. On the live stage were two really good bands, Vincent Flatts Final Drive playing blues and American country rock, and the Ding Dong Daddios offering swing, both of them getting numerous couples jiving on the temporary dancefloor.

So despite the soggy Saturday, the Autumn Classic once again proved a fun way to end the show season.

September 30th and October 1st are the dates for 2017. ACM

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like the Autumn Classic we have come to expect. More American vehicles than ever seemed to roll in, but fortunately the changed layout allowed more space for show parking.

On the hill, the usual Flathead class saw a ’36 Ford Coupe, a 103E Popular and a 1917 Hudson take on the Allards, while a new American invitational class pitched a couple of Corvettes against the famous Ol’ Yeller 2 and John Harrison’s crazy ’58 Dodge Coronet.

There was plenty of other action, too, with pre-72 saloons and sports cars, Big Healeys and, of course, vintage Bugattis, plus a ’69 Camaro bearing the legend “Vote Trump” in tape down one side. Presumably this was a joke; everyone was laughing, anyway!

Apparently there is another American car magazine available, and this year’s busy show and shine was

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Ray’s Classics California Collector Car Sales & Export Specialist

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28/11/2016 10:22

28/11/2016 15:47

racereport

All To Play For

The FIA Euro Finals delivered a stellar season-wrapper of last-ditch runs for championship titles.

Words & photography: Andy Willsheer

The highlight of Santa Pod Raceway’s golden anniversary season culminated in the largest Sunday crowd I can recall since the well-chronicled Easter ’76 meeting, when leading Top Fuel exponent Don Garlits came over from the States to compete at the then 10-year-old strip. Fast forward 40 years and the line of vehicles waiting to get in again snaked more than five miles back from the crossroads on Airfield Road, and it took some people a couple of hours stuck in the queue before reaching the track entrance, frustratingly missing the first round of Pro eliminations. So what was the reason for this scenario? Well, the FIA/ FIM Euro Finals is traditionally the biggest and best meeting of the year, and the 2016 edition was no exception.

It was very unfortunate that Saturday’s action was totally rained out, but this was why the place was rammed on the day following ... most people returning to catch the action they’d missed. Add those punters who come just for the final day and it was small wonder there was a capacity turnout of spectators!

Earlier in the meeting, Sportsman qualifying on the warm, Indian-summer Thursday saw five full cycles for all classes and made for an entertaining prelude to the main-draw Pro sessions that kicked off on Friday. Top Methanol Dragster with six entries was first out, Germany’s Habermann brothers quickly staking their claim for event

(Below) Austria’s Werner Zudrell brought his ’69 Plymouth Barracuda over to contest Super Gas

honours with their blown-methanol rails running out of the Werner Habermann Racing headquarters in Langenselbold. Dave Wilson brought along his perpetually ‘For Sale!’ injected-nitro dragster to maintain the bulldog spirit, though somewhat off the scorching pace set by the Habermanns.

The siblings duly comprised 

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SPORTSMAN WINNERS COMP ELIMINATOR Jens Eklund, Audi A5 8.49/118 SUPER COMP Pete Creswell, Ford Mustang 15.04/75 SUPER GAS Dan Page, Chevy Camaro 9.94/138 SUPER STREET David Withington, Opel Manta, 10.99/120 SUPER PRO ET Brad Jackson, Dragster 7.86/164 PRO ET Will Clark, Junior Comp 10.49/118 STREET ELIMINATOR Mark Todd, Pontiac GTO 7.32/199 JR. DRAGSTER (1/8-MILE) Aaron Fensome, JMA 8.00/80

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racereport

eliminations’ finale pairing, Dennis taking an oh-so-close holeshot victory over his elder brother Timo, 5.32/268 against a quicker and faster 5.30/269.

Jonny Lagg clinched the FIA European Championship and will undoubtedly be back next year to defend the title.

With 18 Pro Mod competitors on hand and all to play for, the final round of the six-race European Championship series offered much in the way of stout numbers and close competition. Only one entrant managed to run in the fives during the Friday qualifying sessions – this being defending champion Micke Gullqvist (5.91/242) – and Swiss racer Marcus Hilt’s Punisher Corvette bookended the 16-car field with a best of 6.77/170.

Running true to form, Micke earned a spot in the Sabbath final round where

(Above) Topspeed Street Eliminator action culminated in a pairing of the turbocharged entries of Mark Todd and Jon Webster.

Mark’s Pontiac GTO won with a 7.32/199 pass that left the Mercury Comet trailing in its wake with a 7.80/183 shot.

(Top left) Comp Eliminator runnerup was Switzerland’s René Ehrismann in this ’55 Chevy Bel Air. (Left) With exhaust flames stabbing the darkness, Stig Neergaard accelerates the Eye of the Storm toward the 1,000ft stripe.

he faced fellow Swede Mats Eriksson.

The pair of blown doorslammers suffered a degree of tyre rattling, but it was the Gullqvist Camaro that crossed the stripe first with Low ET of eliminations, 5.88/243 against Mats’ 6.11/234 chaser in the venerable Crown Victoria.

A quartet of Pro Stockers were on hand, but it was only ever going to be a two-horse race between Jimmy Ålund and new man Bengt Ljungdahl, the two Swedes running US-sourced factory hot rods supplied through top teams KB Racing and Gray Motorsports, respectively. In an all-Camaro final round, Bengt procured event laurels with a 6.53/210 pass over Jimmy’s 6.61/209, consolation for the loser being in the form of an impressive 10th FIA championship title.

The European Funny Car Series has been a bit of a hit-and-miss affair this season, with a maximum of just three entrants contesting the blown Fuel category. It was unimpressive to have just two at the season wrapper, though at least a duo is better than none at all.

Kevin Kent brought over renowned stateside tuner John ‘Bodie’ Smith to ensure the West Ten Motorsport Mustang was on song, and it was, the flopper recording 4.29/287 in the sole pairing of class elims, the only problem being that the car left a cherry on the tree, thereby handing the race win to Gordon Smith in Shockwave. But there was consolation for Kevin insomuch as he again secured the series title. I’m led to believe there should be four Fuel floppers to contest the deal in 2017, so fingers crossed... 

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Friday’s second session of Top Fuel qualifying was a scheduled evening affair, something that attracted a goodly turnout of fans eager to watch the cars come alive when racing in the dark with header flames stabbing the night air. Unfortunately, the perfectly groomed track had cooled to a point where only one competitor, Liam Jones, succeeded in putting down a representative number – 4.11/230 – impressive insofar as the blower belt snapped well before the 1,000ft mark and thereby negating what could have been another three-second shot to go along with his career-first recorded earlier in the day.

As far as T/F eliminations were concerned, FIA championship honours would be decided between either point leader Anita Mäkelä or Denmark’s Stig Neergaard. When

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Anita lost in the semi-finals, Stig was next up, needing to win his semifinal confrontation against Sweden’s Micke Kågered. Unfortunately he didn’t, this untimely loss handing the title to the ecstatic Finnish chicken farmer. Micke went on to secure the race win in an unopposed finale when bottom qualifier Malta’s Duncan Micallef couldn’t make the call due to oil leak problems after carding two outstanding earlier round wins with consecutive ETs of 3.896 seconds.

Billed in the event programme as the “Awesome Foursome”, a trio of Fuel Altereds and a Nostalgia Funny Car put on a nitro exhibition show that was pretty impressive. The two American entries that performed at Dragstalgia were back for further battle, but unfortunately Bradford’s Fiat kicked the rods out on one of

(Below right) Former Top Fuel rivals Andy Carter (left) and Barry Sheavills (middle) joined Dennis Priddle during Saturday’s autograph session in the Nostalgia Marquee.

(Bottom) Anita Mäkelä won the FIA European Top Fuel Championship for a second time, her first being back in 2000.

its runs – “That’s the first time it has happened in all the years I’ve been racing,” said driver Randy Bradford – and with no spares, was disappointingly parked for the rest of the meeting. The King, Loaring & Davies Havoc was the star turn as matters transpired, banging out some great numbers as the I.C.E. Automotive guys thrashed the Yanks and now look forward to the Bantam being shipped across the Atlantic to compete against America’s best in a number of events planned for next year.

It would be fair to say the Euro Finals must have made an indelible impression on participants and spectators alike, with kudos aplenty to everyone who played a part in the noteworthy meeting that brought the track’s 50th birthday commemorations to a positive climax. ACM

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28/11/2016 15:49

racereport

The Decider

After the Euro Finals had decided the European championship titles, there were still the British crowns left to fight for...

Words & photography: Jon Spoard

The National Finals Drag Racing event held at Santa Pod Raceway is the conclusion of the National Drag Racing Championships for MSA Pro Modified and the National Sportsman classes. This year’s MSA Pro Mod Championship has been the most closely fought championship ever, with many teams now running consistently in the low six-second zone. After five very entertaining rounds, all held at Santa Pod, two cars stood a chance of winning the championship – the ’69 Chevy Camaro of Andy Robinson and the BA racing ’38 Ford Coupe driven by Bert Englefield.

Saturday’s qualifying finished tight, with Andy at number two with 6.17/230mph, and Bert just behind at number three with 6.19/230.

Germany’s Marco Maurischat, who was making a very welcomed appearance at the event, was top of

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the ladder with 6.13/227mph. With both cars winning their first round match-ups, the pair met in a very tense semi-final, with Andy needing to take the win to be this year’s champion. In what was a close race, Andy suffered huge tyre shake and Bert just took the win, but with a big bang that could be heard coming from the ’38 as it went through the traps.

That left Bert needing to win the event to take the championship, but unfortunately the big bang turned out to be the fuel tank exploding, which was caused by a spark from the front of the car. This meant the car was beyond repair, sadly ending the team’s 2016 championship hopes. Bert’s opponent in the final, Kev Slyfield, who had himself been running personal bests in the striking T-Bird, had also suffered engine damage in his semi-final and could only manage to stage the car, which was enough to take the event 

BEFORE AFTER

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EVENT WINNERS MSA PRO MODIFIED Kev Slyfield COMP ELIMINATOR Kev Perkins SUPER PRO ET Chris Parker PRO ET Leigh Morris SPORTSMAN ET Clive Dandridge SUPER COMP Paul Watson SUPER GAS Jon Giles LUCAS OIL JUNIOR DRAGSTER Jordan Payne TOPSPEED AUTOMOTIVE STREET ELIMINATOR Matt Smith WILD BUNCH Keith Crampton VW PRO Paul Herbert VW SPORTSMAN Bruce Collins

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OTHER UK NATIONAL CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT THE EVENT SUPER COMP Stu Doignie SUPER GAS Stu Doignie SPORTSMAN ET Andy Dibley SUPER STREET Leigh Morris LUCAS OIL JUNIOR DRAGSTER Jordan Payne TOPSPEED AUTOMOTIVE STREET ELIMINATOR Matt Smith VW PRO Paul Herbert VW SPORTSMAN Paul Day WILD BUNCH SERIES Keith Crampton

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win. So the merited 2016 MSA Pro Mod Champion was Andy Robinson.

Two of the toughest fought sportsman classes in the UK are Super Pro ET and Pro ET. With most rounds having anywhere between 20 and 40 cars entered, the racing is always tight and competitive. After six rounds of racing, at both Santa Pod and Shakespeare County Raceway, the Super Pro crown could have gone to a number of teams at the event.

Ex-double champion Scott Hauser had a chance of becoming a treble champion after beating Billy Gane in round two, but his chances were scuppered when he broke out in round three against Rick Cooke. Like all good fairy tales, the title came down to the final race of the season between the consistent dragsters of Ian Powell and

Chris Parker. Ian tried just a little too hard and pulled a cherry on the tree, handing the title to Chris Parker.

Pro ET was just as hard fought throughout the season. As it stood coming into this event, Lee Huxley had accumulated a points lead over Glenn Pallant, who was still in with a slight chance. As fate would have it, the pair met in round one of eliminations, where Lee was to come out victorious to become the UK National Pro ET Champion.

The meeting closed with an excellent match race between Tim Garlick in the Apache Nitro Nostalgia Funny Car and Martyn Jones in the Another $mall Fortune Blown Alcohol Super Pro ET Dragster. Martyn took the win with 5.89/237.45mph to Tim’s 6.129/236.53mph. ACM

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racereport

Outlaw Street Round OS-8

Words: Mark Wallington Photography: Mike Burrowes

When: October 22nd-23rd Where: Shakespeare County Raceway Halloween Bonfire Burn-Up “Where has this year gone?” was the standard comment from everyone as we went into the final round of this year’s series. It only felt like a few weeks ago we were just dusting the cobwebs off the cars to start racing for the year and already the nights are drawing in and the season’s coming to a close.

Everyone was keen to try and squeeze those last few runs in and chase the sun before it packed up for the winter, and with nearly 30 members out for the weekend it was clear members were in an ‘all or bust’ mood. With this being the last opportunity to score a few more points there were those out with their calculators seeing if they could get closer to winning a trophy or whether their hopes and dreams had been dashed for another year and it would be back to the garage to try and find those lost ponies.

Although it was cold – and it was properly cold – it stayed dry and the winds stayed away making ideal conditions for a weekend’s racing, plus the track wasn’t overly packed, which allowed for quite a lot of hot lapping – I’m not sure if this was to try and improve on PBs or just to stay warm. This paid off for a few people, with OS-69 Gary Semper in his 1969 Pontiac Firebird, OS-6 Stephen Moule in his Chevelle, OS-8 Mark Holmes in his Model A, OS-19 David Mahoney in his LS1 Camaro, OS-42 Nigel Jenkins in his supercharged Ford Mustang and OS-9 Rob Leyman in his C10 pick-up truck all setting themselves new PBs over the weekend. Unfortunately, it wasn’t smiles for everyone, with OS-8 Mark Holmes suffering an oil down, which put an end to his weekend’s racing.

The Top 6 RTs of OS-8 were: 1

OS-10

Troy Attree, 1998 LS1 Camaro

0.025 RT

2

OS-67

Clive Dandridge, 1967 Ford Mustang

0.049

3

OS-18

Vic Fisher, Ford Mustang

0.087

4

OS-66

Steve Newport Hall, 1966 Cobra

0.154

5

OS-68

Debbie Taylor, Ford Mustang

0.164

6

OS-30

Mike Pidgeon, MkII Ford Escort

0.179

The Top 6 Points Scorers of OS-8 were: 222 points

1

OS-19

2

OS-42

Nigel Jenkins, supercharged Ford Mustang

221

3

OS-9

Rob Leyman, C10 pick-up truck

216

David Mahoney, first-gen Camaro

3

OS-16

David Searle, LS1 Monaro

216

5

OS-32

Pete Jackson, 1932 Ford Coupe

215

6

OS-34

Gary Carr, 1971 Chevrolet Nova

214

The Joe & Co sponsored silver tankard and prize money for the Fastest Reaction Time of the weekend had everyone pushing the tree as far as they dare, with only 0.154 of a second separating the top six, but Troy Attree took the win.

The final league table for the 2016 series, including who managed to secure the Fastest ET and RTs of 2016, will be in next month’s edition, along with coverage of the 2016 Outlaw Street Prize Night. If you’d like more information about the series you can find out more at www.outlawstreet.co.uk.

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eventsguide

When? What? Where?

DECEMBER December 26th - Romsey Boxing Day Classic Car & Bike Meet, Romsey, Hampshire, 9am start, check for vehicle eligibility at romseyclassiccarandbikemeet.co.uk 2017 January 12th-15th - Autosport International, NEC, Birmingham, autosportinternational.com February 5th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com February 18th - Stuntfest, Santa Pod, Northants, stuntfest.co.uk February 23rd-26th London Classic Car Show inc Historic Motorsport International, ExCel, London, thelondonclassiccarshow.co.uk February 24th-26th - Race Retro, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, raceretro.com February 26th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com March 4th - Dial-In Day, Santa Pod, Northants, bracket testing, pre-entry only, rwyb.com March 5th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com March 19th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com March 25th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com March 25th-26th - Shakedown @ S-Town season-opening RWYB, Shakespeare County

Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk April 1st - Saturday Night Special RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com April 8th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com April 8th-9th - Spring Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk April 14th-17th - Festival of Power, Santa Pod, santapod.com April 17th - Mustang Stampede, noon-4pm, Ace Cafe NW10 7UD, ace-cafe-clondon.com April 21st - Peak Performance Test’n’Tune, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com April 29th - VHRA Vintage Nationals, Santa Pod, vhra.co.uk April 29th-May 1st - Springspeed National Drag Racing champs, Shakespeare County Raceway, Warwickshire, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk April 30th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com May 7th - Victory Wheelers Hayling Reunion, Funland Amusement Park, Hayling Island PO11 0AG, victorywheelers.co.uk May 7th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com May 13th-14th - Late Spring Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon,

shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk May 13th-14th - RWYB inc Saturday Night Special, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com May 26th-29th - The Main Event FIA European Championship drag racing, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com May 27th-29th - NASC Gary’s Picnic/Yanks Weekend, Shakespeare County Raceway, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk June 3rd - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com June 4th - Classic Ford Show, Santa Pod, Northants, classicfordshow.co.uk June 10th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com June 10th-11th - RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk June 8th-11th - Hot Rods & Hills, Parkfoot Holiday Park, Ullswater, Cumbria, hotrodsandhills.co.uk June 10th-11th - American Speedfest, Brands Hatch, Kent, speedfest.co.uk June 16th-18th - AACI Open Nationals, Kelmarsh Hall, Northants NN9 9LY, aac-int.com June 17th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com June 18th - Retro Show, Santa Pod, Northants, retroshow.co.uk June 22nd-25th - Goodwood Festival of Speed, Chichester

PO18 0PX, goodwood.com June 23rd - All Torque Test Day, race tyres only, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com June 23rd-25th - NSRA Nostalgia Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratfordupon-Avon, nsra.org.uk June 24th-25th - Summer Nationals MSA National Drag Racing championship, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com July 1st - Saturday Night Special RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com July 1st-2nd - Stars & Stripes, Tatton Park, Cheshire WA16 6QN, cheshireautopromotions.co.uk July 6th-8th - Power Big Meet 40, Lidköping, Sweden, bigmeet.com July 8th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com July 9th - Pre-50 AAC Rally of the Giants, Blenheim Palace, details TBC, pre50aac.com July 14th-16th - Dragstalgia, Santa Pod, Northants, dragstalgia.co.uk July 21st-23rd - Silverstone Classic historic racing festival, Silverstone, Northants, silverstoneclassic.com July 21st-23rd - Victory Wheelers’ 40th Anniversary South Coast Internationals, Stansted House, PO9 6DX, victorywheelers.co.uk July 22nd-23rd - Midsummer Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway,

MONTHY MEETS Every Sunday – National Can Am car club, 2pm, The Viewpoint, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, canamcarclub.org.uk 1st Tuesday – Black Country Cruisers, 7.30pm, The Greyhound Inn, Swindon near Wombourne, 01384 287243, blackcountrycruisers.co.uk 1st Wednesday – Hot Rod Night, 6pm on, Ace Café NW10, 0208 961 1000, ace-café-london.com 1st Wednesday & 3rd Wednesday – American Auto Mags Cruise, The Hollow Tree, off A49 Stretton WA4 4LX, 01606 888324, americanautomags.com, during British Summer Time ONLY! 1st & 3rd Wednesday – The Victory Wheelers meet, The Plough, Portsmouth Road, Burlesdon, Southampton SO31 8BT 1st Thursday – Petrolhead meet @ Witham and Blues (AprOct), Boston, Lincs, PE22 7AJ, withamandblues.com 1st Sunday – V8 Mentalists Breakfast Meet, The Coach House, Chelsham Common, Warlingham, Surrey CR6 9PB, 07950 258704 1st Sunday – AACNW Big Meet, 10am on, Krispy Kreme Trafford Park, behind Trafford Centre, 0161 865 7684/01744 609404 1st Sunday – Goodwood Breakfast Meet, Goodwood, W Sussex (NOT July or September) goodwood.com/breakfastclub 1st Sunday – Boneshakers SE, The Barley Mow, Selmeston, E. Sussex BN26 6UF, 07541 524430 or 07738 374905 1st Sunday – MOCGB South Coast Muzzers, Cams Mill, Fareham, Hants PO16 8AA, 10.30am on, tel Keith 07785 577552, Keith@its-ltd.net 2nd Wednesday – UK Street Machines, The George Inn, Main Rd, Wilby, Wellingborough NN8 2UB, ukstreetmachines.com 2nd Saturday – Big Moe’s Diner, A13 Newham, London IG11 0AD, bigmoesdiner.co.uk

EventsNew.indd 1

2nd Sunday – The A602’s Breakfast Club, Old Warden, Biggleswade, Beds SG18 9EP, 10am, a602sstreetandstriprods.com, 07833 387792 3rd Monday – National Can Am Club, 7.30pm, Old Thatch, Wimborne Rd West, Ferndown, Dorset BH21 7NW, canamcarclub.org.uk 3rd Wednesday – The Bowling Green, Lichfield, Staffs, 7pm on 3rd Wednesday – The Head Gas Gits, North Star pub, Iver, Bucks SL0 9AL, facebook.com/groups/headgasgits 3rd Wednesday – A602’s Cruise Night, 7pm, Three Horseshoes, Hooks Cross, Watton at Stone, Herts SG14 3RY, a602sstreetandstriprods.com 3rd Friday – The Pebble Dash, Roedean Cafe, Marine Drive, Brighton BN2 5RL, 7.30pm on, see Facebook 3rd Sunday – Burnout Auto Club, meet 3pm, Wrey Arms, Sticklepath, Barnstaple, Devon, 07973 471125 or see Facebook 3rd Sunday – Fairmile Pub, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1BW, 07802 166957 3rd Sunday – American Auto Mags Lunch Cruise, The Hollow Tree, Cheshire WA4 4LX, 11am on, winter months ONLY! 01606 888324 Last Wednesday – Woody’s Hot Rod & Classic Meet, Woodland Waters, Grantham, Lincs NG32 3RT, Facebook “Hot Rod night at Woody’s Bar” Last Friday – National Can Am car club, 7pm, McDonalds, Wessex Gate Retail Park, Creekmoor, Poole, canamcarclub.org.uk Last Saturday – All American Cruise-In, 4pm on, Ace Café NW10, 0208 961 1000, ace-café-london.com Last Saturday – Chelsea Cruise, Chelsea Bridge SW8 4NG from 8pm, Derek 0208 765 1381 Last Saturday – Knights CC cruise, St James Retail Park, Knaresborough, N Yorks HG5 8PZ, March - September

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Northants, santapod.co.uk August 24th-28th - Americana, Newark Showground, Notts, TBC August 25th-27th - Steel City Cruisers’ 40th Anniversary Rod Run, Hooton Lodge, Rotherham S66 4TE, sccrodrun@btinternet.com August 26th-28th - Open Sport Nationals national championship drag racing, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk September 3rd - Peak Performance Test’n’Tune, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com September 7th-10th - FIA Euro Finals, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com September 8th-10th - Goodwood Revival, Chichester PO18 0PX, goodwood.com September 15th-17th - NSRA Hot Rod Drags, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratfordupon-Avon, nsra.org.uk September 16th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com September 17th - Ford Fest, Santa Pod, Northants,

When: 2017 What: Superb weekends Where: Everywhere!

Unfortunately, the car ferry situation is still bleak, but at least this move saves those driving cross-country 150 miles or so.

If you’re desperate for events to go to in January you won’t be spoiled for choice, although the Autosport International at Birmingham’s NEC is a good bet to give you a new year’s boot up the nipsy and get the petrol slowing through the veins again. Six halls packed with everything to do with motor sport in Britain, from parts suppliers to Formula 1 displays, live interview stages, and even a separate Live Action Arena where you can see these cars and drivers doing what they do best.

And you would not believe the revitalising effect that first whiff of tyre smoke can have on you... The Thursday and Friday are ‘trade days’, with one hall given over to the nuts’n’bolts side of things, and it’s supposedly only open to those in the trade (though this doesn’t seem to stop anyone). The Saturday and Sunday are public days, with more action going on. It’s a damn good day out, not cheap, but if you’ve spent all winter moping around, you’ll find it money well spent. See www. autosportinternational.com and blow those winter cobwebs away.

As you can see, the 2017 calendar is already filling up with some superb events. Even if you’re still in hibernation mode and the summer show season is a mile from your mind, it’s worth snapping out of it sooner rather than later because some of the major events and organisers – Santa Pod, for instance, or American Speedfest – offer earlybird ticket prices that’ll save you a good bundle of cash.

Most of the usual favourites are back on the calendar, as well as a couple of new ones. The AACI has recovered well from the Billing Aquadrome blow and already booked a new venue for two of their three annual bashes – Kelmarsh Hall, just off the A14 about 15 miles north of Billing.

Another big move is the Big Meet, the Swedish event that’s been taking over the town of Vasteras for years, and has now moved to Lidköping, about 60 miles north-east of Gothenburg. They’re expecting the 40th anniversary event to be so massive that it’s outgrown a whole town, which should tell you something.

EventsNew.indd 2

fordfestshow.co.uk September 22nd - All Torque Test Day, race tyres only, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com September 23rd-24th National Finals, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.co.uk September 30th - Saturday Night Special RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com September 30th-October 1st - Late Summer Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk September 30th-October 1st - American Autumn Classic, Prescott hillclimb, Cheltenham GL52 9RD, prescott-hillclimb.com October 7th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com October 14th - Saturday

Night Special RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com October 14th-15th - Late Autumn Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk October 22nd - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com October 28th-29th Halloween Bonfire Burn-up RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk October 28th - Flame & Thunder, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.co.uk October 29th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com November 4th - Fireworks Frenzy, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.co.uk

eventsguide

Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk July 28th-30th - 24th Mopar Euronationals, Santa Pod, mopareuronationals.co.uk August 4th-6th - AACI Late Summer Open Nationals, Kelmarsh Hall, Northants NN9 9LY, aac-int.com August 10th-13th - Bulldog Bash, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk August 11th-13th - NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals, Old Warden Park, Bedfordshire SG18 9EA, nsra.org.uk August 12th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com August 19th-20th - Atomic Festival, Sywell aerodrome, Northants, atomicfestival.co.uk August 19th-20th - RWYB inc Saturday Night Special, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com August 20th - Monster Truck Nationals, Santa Pod, Northants, monstertrucknationals.co.uk August 24th - Junior Drag Racing Fun Day, Santa Pod,

ORGANISERS!

Please send any 2017 event details to us at: American Car Magazine, The Outlook, 6 Sansome Walk, Worcester WR1 1LH or email: editor@americancarmagazine.com Likewise your cruise meets for the Monthly Meetings section.

28/11/2016 14:26

ACM_160_Book Reviews_Layout 1 25/11/2016 16:25 Page 1

bookreviews

AVAILABLE FROM

BookReviews

Titles are available from American Auto Mags; Chaters Wholesale; Bookworld; Foyles, Charing Cross Road; Mustangbooks.com; VW-DIY; and, of course, Amazon or The Book Depository online.

Mopar Small-Block Engines Author: Larry Shepard Published by: CarTech Price: £30 The old Mopar A-series V8s are one of the forgotten smallblocks. They lived in the shadow of the mighty Hemi and B- and RB-series big-blocks in an era when muscle was king, and parts are more expensive and harder to come by than those for the equivalent small-block Chevy or Ford. So who cares?

Maybe you should? They're stout little performers – this month's cover car features a 340-cube small-block, which Al chose for its oversquare, shortstroke design and easy cruising, and that's accomplished itself pretty well I think you'll agree.

This book tells you how to go about extracting the most

The History of AMC Motorsports Author: Bob McClurg Published by: CarTech Price: £30 Here's a real underdog story.

During the Sixties, Detroit's Big Three went speed crazy. It was Ford's 'Total Performance' era that culminated with the GT40; Mopar had the Hemi-led racing department, and GM had a whole arsenal of performance cars. The only other player in the game was Rambler/AMC, since Studebaker's US operations sailed off into the sunset in 1963, but while the Big Three were out playing on any track that'd have 'em, Rambler were still only competing in reliability and economy runs. It wasn't very sexy at all, and, in those days, it wasn't selling so they decided to add some glam, starting with the '65 Marlin fastback.

From there, it was all systems go for AMC motorsport – they had 10 years of mixing it with the big boys. They had factory-backed Super Stockers and Funny Cars, they took their beautiful Javelins out in SCCA's Trans Am series where they really showed their worth, they set land speed records in the hands of the Breedloves, they went off-road in Baja racing, and NASCAR racing with the Javelin and later the Matador. Even the little Gremlin went racing in IMSA's Baby Grand and NHRA Pro Stock! From the 66

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mid-Seventies, factory support for most racing dried up – the AMC racing teams had burned brightly but briefly, and by the end of the Seventies they were in their abortive partnership with Renault which blundered on until Chrysler bought Jeep and cut AMC loose in the mid-Eighties.

This book is a brilliant insight into the way the underdog bit the big boys. You couldn't throw a solid lifter in an automotive bookshop without hitting a book about the 'glory days' of Ford, GM or Chrysler, and yet AMC achieved so much with so little and have been rewarded with an almost total absence of ink. McClurg has really covered as much of the story as he can, and this work is packed with interviews, tales, anecdotes and all the history you could ever want in an enjoyable and entertaining format that you'll really want to sit down and read.

Naturally, it's crammed with photographs – plenty of period racing pictures and a good few 'where are they now' features on ex-racing machines now in enthusiast hands – and enough tech spec to keep any petrolhead happy. If you didn't love AMC's muscle cars before reading this book, you will afterwards. Very highly recommended.

performance from these small wonders, but it's not just a shopping list of shiny things; it tells you how to identify factory parts and what combination can be made to work, too. It's not an easy read – it starts off gently, but quickly gets into some serious territory, and assumes an acceptable baseline of engine-building knowledge. It's not technogibberish, though, and even if you're a novice the excellent photography will help you through. This is definitely the book to buy if you're looking to build a motor that can surprise a few big-blocks on the street or strip.

The most valuable cars are always boxed

carcoon.com ÂŽ

The present to make your investment last

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Thanks Martin Mumford, Ultimate Spares, 01953 601410, www.ultimatespares.co.uk Kev McCarth, American Auto Club International, www.aac-int.com

Dodge Dakota & Durango, 1987-2011 The Dodge Dakota was developed during the Eighties as a more compact alternative to the full-size Rams, and as competition to the influx of Japanese 'mini-trucks'. These N-body trucks began as parts-bin specials, simple and square with K-series four-pot or 3.9 V6 engines and six- or eight-foot beds, and a 4WD option with the V6. It wasn't all dull workhorse material, though – in 1989 they produced a factory hardtop convertible, and Carroll Shelby dropped the corporate small-block V8 into one which led to a factory V8 version being available from the 1991 facelift model year.

The all-new Dakota was introduced in the 1997 model year, and shared the popular 'big rig' looks of the full-size Dodge Ram, not to mention the 250bhp 5.9 Magnum V8 option. It was joined by the Durango, a five-door three-row SUV built on the same chassis and sharing the same sheet metal from the A-pillars forwards. There were more special editions along the way, including the R/T version and a Shelby supercharged version that was a real Lightningbeater. In 2000, the ancient 5.2 Magnum was dropped and replaced by the 4.7 PowerTech, which became the base engine in the Durango as the V6 was phased out. It stayed for the Dakota range, though, becoming the base engine in that range when the equally ancient AMC-based four-pot was itself phased out in 2002. The replacement new Magnum 3.7 V6 came along in 2004.

The new Durango came along as a 2004 model, followed a year later by the new Dakota. Both were larger again, bringing the old mid-size ranges well into full-size territory, the Hemi was available in the Durango, but both had bug-eyed styling that was definitely an acquired taste.

Dakota sales began to slide, and from 2005 to 2011, via the economic crash of 2009, sales plummeted around 90% and it was quietly phased out.

The Durango was discontinued in 2009, but surprisingly the name came straight back as a new three-row SUV based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee from 2010.

So are the Dakotas and Durangos Euro-friendly compact trucks with the option of muscle aplenty, or just half-a-job imitations of their full-size brethren? We asked Martin at Ultimate Spares and Kev at the AACI. “These came with engine options up to 5.9, which made them pretty lively as they're relatively small and light. I've come across a few fuel-injection problems, mostly on the V6s, and mainly with the injectors themselves at high mileage. I always liked the 4.7; I rarely hear of problems with them. From the early Nineties they began switching from the old LA 318 and 360 V8 to the new Magnum 5.2 and 5.9 V8s. Don't be fooled, they're very different engines – different heads, different intakes etc – so always check before interchanging parts.” - MM “EGR systems can develop problems when the hoses get old and crack, which brings a Check Engine light up on the dash. Replacing all the hoses isn't the cheapest option but it's sure to get the job done. The oil pressure sender is a common fault, especially on models that have a gauge rather than an idiot light – the hot oil eats through the diaphragm and gets into the electronics behind, so you'll suddenly register zero oil pressure! There's an upgrade part available, and it costs about $6, but it's a real pain to change.” - KM

“These don't seem to rust horrendously, just a blister or two on the arches, but if a Dakota has worked for a living it may be worse around the pick-up bed. The bumper-to-bumper separate chassis is pretty sturdy, though.” - MM

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“We seem to sell a lot of ball joints for both 2WD and 4WD models, but other than that it's just the usual service items – discs, pads etc – and they're not stupid money.

Also, look for lacquer lifting on the wheels.” - MM “They seem to eat wheel bearings for breakfast. Dodge say you have to replace the whole hub, but my local bearing place had the bearings on the shelf, and we removed the old bearings and pressed new ones in on a 12-ton press. Apparently they're the same bearings as a Mitsubishi Warrior, but the bearing suppliers said don't change the bearings more than three times because by then you'll have wrecked the hub. The ball joints look tiny, too – it all seems a little under-engineered for the size of the truck.” KM

“There are lots of trim variations, with cloth or leather upholstery, and that choice is in the eye of the beholder. The drivers seat can wear quite rapidly, and the dash top can be quite brittle and can crack after a lot of heating and cooling.

When it does crack it'll look like it's exploded! So beware of those dash covers and mats.” - MM

“You can get trapped moisture leading to rust bubbles on the leading edge of the bonnet. Later models had plastic headlamp lenses which can go very cloudy. This can be polished out if they're not too far gone, and new lamps are available.” - MM “If you don't look after them, they can be real rustbuckets. They start rusting on the arches, up behind the front bumper and around the slam panel. Mine was undersealed in the States and I Waxoyled it when it came over, so I've had no problems, but I've spoken to others who've found rust. You just need to take precautions for the UK climate!” - KM

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“If you have a 4x4, beware of any noises coming from the transfer case as they're not cheap to fix. There were three or four auto gearboxes used in the Nineties, and it's always worth giving them a fluid and filter change. Some later models give 100,000 mile service intervals on the auto 'box, but this is far too long, especially if they've been worked hard.” - MM

“People with automatic gearboxes are often lazy and don't use the handbrake, so check that it's still working and not seized up. We've sold a few rear calipers – more than front calipers – but they're easily available and sensible money.

Axles are quite tough, but an oil change will increase longevity.” - MM

Conclusion “These have changed quite a lot over the years, from the square wheelbarrow look of the early models into a nice-looking truck. There aren't many of those earlier ones about, but the post-1997 mini-Rams are far more popular. The Durango was the answer to Chevy's S10 Blazer and they're highly underrated, a nice wagon, and they'll all do a good mileage. The four-pots aren't that common, and there is a diesel version that sounds like a London cab and is equally uncommon.

Most body and trim parts, especially for the '97-on versions, are available, and the running gear and service parts are mostly on the shelf so it's not a problem to keep them on the road.” - MM

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“I've hardly had any trouble from my Dakota. I love it! I originally looked at Navaras, Rangers and all that; I really wanted a Durango but couldn't find one in 2WD and I don't need 4WD, but when I saw this it was a no-brainer. I get 25mpg – and that's in US gallons – at 60mph, which is better than a Navara, and insurance is very reasonable on a limited-mileage policy. I've driven it to the south of France, 16 hours straight, and can say that it's the best long-distance car I've ever owned. I've got a camper top for it, too! It's a joy to drive, and they're already beginning to go up in value.” KM

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New Projects...

Buffy’s Camaro reaches the final stage of its handling transformation – has all the effort been worthwhile?

Words: Elizabeth de Latour Photography: Redline American Muscle

1999 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right so welcome to the final part of my Camaro chassis upgrades, because I am nothing if not thorough when it comes to modifying my cars.

Flashback to three issues ago and I was talking about how awful my Camaro had been to drive when I bought it, with a terrible, wallowy ride, woeful handling, and it was just unpleasant really. A fresh set of Bilsteins meant I could get rid of the tired stock shocks; Eibach springs sorted the wallowing and I also added the company’s girder of a front antiroll bar to keep things nice and flat. All well and good, but you can’t upgrade one anti-roll bar without touching the other as you will unbalance your handling, and if I’d left the rear ARB untouched, the end result would have been a heap more understeer.

Obviously, if you’re trying to quell a car that’s inherently tail-happy, that’s fine, but while the Camaro was a little wayward about the rear end that was more about tyres than anything else so I wanted to keep the more neutral, ever-so-slightly rear-biased handling that the car was designed with, and

my only interest lay with cancelling out any body roll. As an added bonus, I also had a trick up my sleeve to help with traction, though when I say trick I really mean well-known and very popular mod with fourth-gen Camaro owners...

Enter UMI Performance, who had exactly the two products that my Camaro needed: the perfectly sized rear anti-roll bar and a pair of lower control arm relocation brackets.

We’ll get onto those in a bit because I’ll be honest and say that prior to becoming an American car owner I didn’t know that my lower control arms needed relocating but it turns out that when you have a live rear axle, that’s exactly what they need but there’s more to explain so let’s deal with the anti-roll bar first because that’s nice and simple. It’s generally accepted that the perfect front/rear ARB combo for the fourth-gen Camaro is 35/22mm and while Eibach had the right thickness of front bar, its rear bar was too thick and if you go too thick at the rear you end up with excessive understeer which, as I mentioned above, is not something the Camaro

needs assistance with. UMI, however, had exactly the right thickness of ARB and in a tubular design, too, meaning it’s nice and light. It’s CNC bent and formed from a single piece of high carbon steel for maximum strength, which is pretty important when you’re trying to keep a Camaro under control during extreme cornering. You can have it in black, but why would you when it’s available in red? Done.

So, lower control arm relocation brackets, what on earth are those all 

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about? In a word: traction. If you’ve got a Camaro and are having traction problems, LCA relocation brackets are an instant fix and if you’ve lowered your Camaro, like me, then your two essential purchases are an adjustable Panhard bar and a set of LCA brackets.

How do they work? I can’t explain it, but UMI President and CEO, Ryan Kirkwood, can: “The brackets work very similar to a lift bar. By lowering the rear of the control arm you move the instant centre point of the car rearward. If you look at the car from the side and draw a line through the lower control arms and one through the torque arm, where they intersect, this is the instant centre point. By lowering the rear of the control arm this intersection point is moved rearward, this is how we change instant centre. The name lift bar comes from the force the brackets now apply to the rear tyres because of the instant centre change. If you watched a launch in slow motion you would see the rear tyres be pushed into the ground as a result of the

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body lifting; it’s kind of cool to see.

Lowering a car changes the instant centre as well so this is why most lowered cars tend to lose traction, the brackets then help to correct this by adjusting the height of the control arms.”

So, in essence, lower your lower control arms, move your car’s instant centre backwards, get more traction.

The UMI LCA brackets offer three different positions allowing your lower control arms to be lowered by between 2” and 3.25” and, for those going drag racing, UMI says that the LCA brackets can reduce 60 foot times by an average of 0.10 seconds as well as offering an overall improvement in launch consistency and, even if you’re sticking to the street rather than the strip, it’s reassuring to know that you can put your foot down and get the power to the ground when you need to.

Once again, it was up to Redline American Muscle to handle the fitting of these two chassis components.

The anti-roll bar was pretty

straightforward, helped by the fact that it comes with a pair of end links and bushes with clamshells, meaning no stress getting it to fit. The LCA brackets were a little more involved as, on ’98-02 model Camaros, the handbrake cable bracket has to be cut away in order for one of the brackets to be fitted, and then the handbrake cable bracket has to be either welded or bolted onto the relocation bracket, so it’s a bit more work but not too much of a headache.

Once the LCA brackets are mounted in place it’s time to decide which hole to bolt your lower control arm to; Ryan said that for handling the middle hole was best, explaining that you want the control arm parallel to the ground in that instance, but for out and out traction the lowest hole is best, because dropping your lower control arm that extra bit further brings your car’s instant centre further back and that’s what you want for maximum traction, as we learned above. To start with I decided to concentrate on handling, especially as I figured

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THANKS TO

UMI Performance www.umiperformance.com Redline American Muscle www.redlineamericanmuscle.co.uk 01634 250200

it would complement the rest of my chassis mods, so I asked Redline to set my arms up in the middle hole.

With the rear anti-roll bar and LCA relocation brackets fitted, my chassis upgrades were complete and, when I headed over to Redline to collect the Camaro, Mike threw me the keys and told me to take the car out and see what I thought. Usefully, the industrial estate in Kent on which Redline is located is full of roundabouts, perfect for testing out all my suspension upgrades.

Sometimes you have some mods done on your car, or you read about someone else’s mods, and you wonder if there really is a difference, or if it’s all in your head, but let me tell you now that with the combination of springs, dampers, anti-roll bars and LCA brackets, the handling transformation is most definitely real. In fact, all it took was one roundabout for me to realise just how big a difference all those upgrades had made, to the point where the Camaro felt like a completely different car. Heading into a tight roundabout at speed I could feel everything working, and the combination had wiped out body roll.

That first moment of experiencing the Camaro’s new-found handling prowess

was really quite astonishing. Turn-in is so sharp, with no slack in the chassis and there’s no waiting for anything to settle or catch up, the whole car responds instantly and it just sits so flat. It feels like there’s so much more grip now and it feels so much more settled and stable. The way it changes direction now is astonishing, too, it’s instant and those Trans Am seats with their adjustable side bolsters are really earning their keep because I can really throw the Camaro around. It’s crazy, it feels like it’s a third of the size and weight, it’s so agile and to drive it and you want to push it hard it’s so capable now.

The combo of Bilstein HD shocks and Eibach Pro-Kit springs has absolutely transformed the ride, it’s compliant and still comfortable but it’s taut and so controlled, really dealing with undulations effortlessly and where before it would bounce and wallow now it feels like it’s glued to the road, like it’s flowing with the surface, not fighting against it. It really feels like a sports car, drives like one and it’s given me so much more confidence in the Camaro and so much more enjoyment from the driving experience, it’s absolutely like night and day.

As for the LCA bracket, even on the middle setting they’ve made a monumental difference to the amount of traction available and considering that before, even in the dry, the Camaro had really struggled with traction, thanks to both being lowered and having really worn tyres, I could now do full throttle standing starts without a hint of wheelspin or traction control cutting in, which is insane.

Where before I never knew what the rear end was about to do when I wanted to accelerate, now it just gets the power down with no fuss and that means I can be a lot more confident in the car, which is so important when it comes to being able to enjoy it.

It was a big commitment, it was a lot of work and it cost a lot of money but I have absolutely no regrets about doing such a massively comprehensive chassis overhaul.

Doing it in one hit made my eyes water when it came to paying for it, but it worked out cheaper on the labour than doing it all in stages would have and it’s all made such a huge difference. None of these modifications feel frivolous or unnecessary, they all work together so well and they’ve basically given me a new car to enjoy.

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With a full complement of smog gear and factory pipework literally strangling the Corvette’s L82 motor, this month Paul’s been getting a little help from one of the UK’s leading exhaust manufacturers.

Words: Paul Cowland Photography: Paul Cowland, Milltek and Chris Wallbank

1980 Chevrolet Corvette On a 41,000-mile car that hadn’t seen much restoration work, it’s a tricky question whether you stay with all the original parts or tastefully upgrade.

In the case of my ’Vette, this was a conundrum I had wrestled with for a while. For sure, cars like this will always be worth more in the long run if you keep them in factory fresh ‘collector’ condition. The problem is, you’re then keeping everything perfect and pristine for the next owner, and that’s IF you ever sell…

After considering the pros and cons for a while, I realised that a) I don’t really plan on selling this car anyway and b) even if I did, surely, the time to enjoy it is now, and I really should have it the way I want it.

For any GM aficionados out there, you will already be familiar with the factory-sanctioned ‘fiddle’ that is the smog gear on this era of cars. Basically a big air pump, sapping power from the engine and diluting the toxins and guff to come out of the exhaust pipe, it may have appeased legislators back in Eighties America, but it did little for the car’s performance, and therefore,

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many people take it off. In fact, it was something of a surprise to find mine still on there!

As much as I love the ice caps and polar bears, I realised that I love the unbridled woofle of a V8 even more, so I decided to bite the bullet and rip it all out – along with the restrictive, and remarkably quiet, factory

exhaust system. Unlike my Challenger and Trans Am, this car sounds nothing like a full-blown yank, with a paltry whisper from the tailpipes, even on full chat!

If I was going to take the original parts off, I figured that I owed it to the car to at least do the job properly, so I decided to call my mate Steve Pound,

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and how could I say no to that?

Best of all, leading the fabbing would be fellow Yank-fan Kev Hawkins, whose dad even has a bigblock ’Vette that he had previously made a superb system for, all by hand, so it seemed very much like the planets were aligning nicely for me. On the chap’s advice, I also went for a set of tubular headers – and this is where the story gets interesting…

Bearing in mind that they were doing me a huge favour, the Milltek team understandably asked if I could sort the headers out myself, so they could simply fabricate a sexy system behind them. “It will save us a stack of time,” said Steve, sensibly. Bearing in mind they were basically stopping their R&D department for a few days to allow me this small indulgence, I thought it was a pretty darn fair request, so having found a set from a highly respected German eBay

seller, with great feedback, that would ‘definitely fit, no question…’ I got them ordered up and took the car – and headers – over to Milltek’s impressive factory in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

There, it quickly turned out, the headers did not fit at all. Yes, they may have bolted up to the block OK, but they also protruded down about four inches below the floorpan. Bearing in mind that the Corvette isn’t exactly blessed with ground clearance anyway, this was going to be a seriously big issue. They were clearly for another car, despite the seller’s protestations! Amazingly, and given the time constraints of me holding up their entire 2017 research programme, factory boss Dave kindly agreed to let Kev totally cut up and remake the headers from scratch! It’s times like this that you realise who your mates are, definitely! I often bang on about the virtues of British craftsmanship, 

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full-blown petrol head and, luckily for me, the MD of Milltek Sport exhausts in Derbyshire. As well as being the go-to people for many of the leading BTCC teams and motorsport gurus, Milltek has recently entered the US car market with two gorgeous – and effective – new systems for the latest Mustang, in both 2.3 and 5.0 litre guises. Having seen the amazing, hand-finished work on both of those systems, I rather cheekily asked whether Milltek’s accomplished technicians would mind rattling off a hand-finished masterpiece on my own car. I’ll be honest here, it’s not something that they usually do for mere mortals like me, with custom fabrication usually being the reserve of OEM contracts and top-tier motorsport clients, but he must have been feeling magnanimous that day, as he kindly agreed to let me leave the car with his team a few weeks later –

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and the benefits of working with local firms, but here, perhaps more than ever, the benefits were really brought home. As you might expect for a man that knocks up Touring Car exhaust for fun, Kev soon had the old headers in bits and expertly stitched them back together for a truly perfect fit!

No mean feat when you examine the angle and lengths involved, you have to literally do the trigonometry as you cut and weld… not an easy task!

With that issue sorted, Kev was back to the far simpler job of custom fabbing the system – something he does on a daily basis on anything from a Porsche to a Bentley – with the odd GTi or RS thrown in – in his role as development tech. Although my system will probably never get productionised on Milltek’s line, he approached it in the same methodical manner, using all of the same clever tricks that the firm’s latest systems enjoy.

Working expertly in 2.75” aircraft grade stainless steel, Kev quickly measured, bent, tacked and testfitted a superb-looking system that used the factory routing to sit snug up to the floor, and a balance pipe to

truly scavenge the gasses out into the atmosphere. Milltek uses CNC mandrel bending to get a perfect, constant radius in the pipework of all of its systems, and can make silencer boxes to fit literally any shape and size in-house.

Having consulted with me about noise and looks, Kev also brilliantly made an unboltable section, complete with an additional silencer, that I can put in if I ever need to go into ‘full stealth mode’ for any reason, and as for those all important tailpipes, we both agreed that OEM style down-turned trims would look the most tasteful, rather than having the cans hanging under the bumpers, as some systems require. Milltek has a ‘Classic’ range for many popular retro cars, and they like to apply this ‘factory option’ appearance across the board, and I was very happy to agree! I think it looks superb, especially with the smart laseretched logo neatly on show.

Out on the road, the majestic awesomeness of Kev’s design was revealed in full. Somehow – and I literally have no idea how – the car is just as quiet as low speed, but rises to

a simply glorious V8 crescendo when you poke the throttle. It’s bizarre – and totally brilliant! The throttle pedal has now become a volume control potentiometer, allowing me to pootle about at low speeds in great refinement, bringing in the full orchestra whenever I like! It’s all a real testament to Milltek’s vast OEM experience, where manufacturers look for the same traits. Better still, the vastly superior flow of Milltek’s new design, allied to the new headers and loss of smog gear means that the Corvette has gained a serious amount of low- and mid-range torque, something brought home to me as I gently squeezed the accelerator at 55mph for a small overtake only for both rear wheels to light up and the car to step out!

It’s not just a bit quicker now, it feels like a totally different car altogether!

Amazing results really – and it just goes to show what the right exhaust can do. I can’t thank Milltek enough for their amazing talents and hard work, not to mention the generosity in their time. If you have a new Mustang – or a race team – you know where to go! ACM

THANKS TO

MILLTEK SPORT www.millteksport.com

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www.ebcbrakes.com

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THANKS TO Eastwood, c/o Frost Restoration Equipment, 01706 658619, www.frost.co.uk Goodridge hoses, c/o UK distributor The Performance Company, www.theperformance.co WASP Speed Shop, 01354 610333, www.waspspeedshop.com

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With the rear suspension in place, it's time to look at some back brakes for Project 13/30.

Words & Photography: Dave Smith Last time, we left the Project 13/30 Mustang with the rear axle and suspension in place but still up in the air. That's because it's time to fit up some brakes. Almost all four-stud Fox Mustangs use a 9” brake drum at the rear. Some of the earlier Foxes had the option of a 10” 'heavy-duty' rear drum set-up, but this option was discontinued in the early Eighties for some reason. Either way, I happened to have a set.

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When I'd removed the brake hardware from the backplate prior to sending the drums and backplates for sandblasting, I'd tried to keep it all as close to asassembled as possible (1). It also helps to have a photo like this to refer back to, because with springs, clips, cables and adjusters all over the show, it's easy to reassemble them incorrectly. I wire-brushed all the hardware back to bare metal (2)

and gave them a coat of etch and satin black. It's important to do this sort of thing one side at a time, as items such as the handbrake adjusters are handed and can't be mixed up – you can see this lot is marked L for left.

I'd bought a new set of shoes from Mark at WASP (3), but these (like most other aftermarket parts) came without the handbrake actuating lever, which meant I had to undo the strange

horseshoe-shaped clip from the lever on the old shoes (4), give them the same cleaning and painting (5) and refit them to the correct new shoe (6).

The backplates and slave cylinders were already in place, so I arranged all the parts I'd need for the job (7). I'd also bought a pack of new springs and hold-down clips, always a good idea. It's important to note which way round the shoes go as

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and began reassembling the shoes and hardware. It's a tricky job, and having three hands would make it a whole lot easier, the trickiness being compounded by some of those springs being really thick and strong. Also not helping is the fact that there's a lot of handbrake cable inside the drum as there's no handbrake lever on

the other end of the cable to take up the slack.

Eventually, it all went into place. The leading shoe was the easier of the two (10) but the trailing shoe was a real faff (11), that adjuster cable causing much cursing. The adjuster set-up is quite complex (12), and although it should be self-adjusting in use, you need to set it up to begin

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with by flicking the adjuster wheel around with a screwdriver through the hole in the backplate (13). There's no sense in doing this before the handbrake cables are hooked up, though, so I removed the masking tape that was supposed to be keeping the friction surfaces of the drum rustfree as well as paint-free (14) and fitted the drums (15). ➔

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they look symmetrical but they're not – although the metal part of the shoe is the same, the length and position of the friction material differs. I began by poking the handbrake cable through its hole in the backplate (8) and making sure it seated correctly (9). I then hooked the end of the cable into its slot on the end of the actuating lever

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I turned attention to the rear flexi-hose, from the rather lovely set of Goodridge hoses (16). It comes with all the hardware you need, so I put a copper washer on either side of the banjo bolt fitting (17) and screwed it into the union bracket on the body (18).

When I came to attach the other end to the three-way union on the axle though, I found it left the rigid section of pipe touching the upper suspension arm (19). That's not right, probably an MoT failure, and even if it's not I wouldn't be

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happy with that. I suspect the three-way union has turned around on its bracket. Damn.

To prevent me getting mardy with the brake bracket, I decided to use the remaining daylight to remove some more bits from the donor car. I opened the bonnet

and this is what greeted me (20) – there's nothing quite so sorrowful as a disused engine bay. I unfastened the Samco silicone radiator hoses (21) – just check out those cobwebs – and the transmission cooler lines (22) from the radiator, disconnected

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27 the electric fan and removed the temperature sensor probe (23), then lifted the rad out and emptied it. Blimey, that rad has more missing fins than a shark in Chinatown (24), so it can go on the emergency spares shelf and I'll look for a replacement. I just had time to remove the air filter, MAF and intake pipework (25) before it got dark.

By torchlight, I also removed the handbrake lever from the donor car. Fox Mustangs have two cables, one running from each drum to a compensator seesaw device in the transmission tunnel. The compensator is attached to the handbrake lever by a solid, adjustable rod on early cars and a cable on later cars. I soon found out that a late lever

won't fit an early transmission tunnel, but fortunately I found the shell's original handbrake lever – as you can see, the late one (26 left) differs from the early one (right) quite a bit in layout. The problem now lies with the centre console – early cars have the lever central in the console, while on later ones it's offset quite a way towards the

passenger seat – but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I removed the actuating rod from the lever (27), cleaned up the rod and lever, and gave both a good dose of etch primer (28) and rattle-can black. There's a little rubber gaiter where the rod passes through the trans tunnel, and the original one on the shell was ruined; fortunately, the one ➔ ACM

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on the donor car was fine, so I cleaned it up and gave it a good dollop of water-based rubber grease because you have to push the rod through it the wrong way, so to speak (29). That's when I found that the later gaiter won't fit the hole in the early shell – they're very different shapes. Damn, something else to come back to!

In the meantime, I came back to the floorpan plugs, the thin oval pressings that sit in the big holes in the floorpan (30), which I sealed with Tiger Seal before folding over the tabs that hold them in place. I also removed the bracket holding that brake pipe union and found that, yes, the union had swivelled around a bit (31). This was possibly caused by

the left-hand upper suspension arm touching the Classic Tube pipe union that goes to the lefthand rear wheel! Admittedly this is most likely happening because the axle is at maximum droop, so it's not likely to happen under road conditions, but that's still not a happy state of affairs.

Frankly, that damn bracket is a daft shape anyway, and proving to be a lot more trouble than it should warrant, so I think I'll make a new one and mount that union out of harm's way.

I cut a strip of sturdy steel about an inch and a half wide (32) and began bending it using a vice and hammer so I could mount the union an inch rearward, and could attach the

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bracket to the diff cover bolt. This was what I ended up with (33), which moves the rigid pipes out of the way of the suspension arm, does away altogether with the original bracket, which was interfering with the upper arm bolt, and also points the flexi pipe union slightly upwards – not only does this keep it out of the way of the suspension, but the Goodridge braided hoses are a little less flexible than a plain rubber hose, and this removes some of the tension. I'll have to recheck clearance at ride height, but if anything is in the way, I can easily bend that bracket again. In the meantime, it's off for paint.

Talking of paint, now the shell is back the right way up, I

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remembered that I still hadn't treated the inside of the roof panel. The only rust I'd found on this shell was around the very edges of the roof panel, specifically in the rebate for the tailgate. That area is double- and triple-skinned, so I didn't want that rust rearing its ugly head again. Fortunately, I'd saved a little bit in the bottom of an aerosol of Eastwood's Internal Frame Coating (34) so I poked that into as many seams and corners as I could find back there before the can ran out (35).

Next month, with a bit of luck, we'll be looking at front suspension with a view to getting Project 13/30 back on its wheels! ACM

PrestigeBodyShop.pdf 1 25/02/2016 15:24:30

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01226 742064 Untitled-2 1

The Prestige Body Shop, 115 Sheffield Road, Birdwell, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 5TA

28/11/2016 16:06

jargonbuster

jargonbuster Getting stroked around the shaft...

Words & photography: Dave Smith

Block Party II The stroke of the crankshaft determines how far up and down the bore the piston will travel.

This (pic 1) is a simple crankshaft from a four-cylinder Ford Duratec engine. Line A is the centreline, and runs dead centre through all the main bearing journals. Line B runs through the centre of the big-end journal for piston #1; line C runs through the centre of the big-end journal for piston #2. The stroke of the crank is the distance from line A to line B times two. Or, because this is a flat-plane crank, the distance from line B to line C will give you the same answer.

There are two ways of increasing the stroke of the crankshaft. One is offset grinding.

If your crank has minor marks on the journals, you can have your crank ground – this means shaving off a tiny layer of metal from the journals surface until the marks have gone (pic 2).

It’s like T-Cutting your crank, but you can only grind away so much before the strength of the crank is compromised. Taking 60 thousandths of an inch off it is usually the absolute max, and if the marks on the journals are deeper than 60 thou, the crank is scrap. Offset grinding means grinding the journal eccentrically (pic 3), which has the effect of moving the centreline of the big-end journal further from the centreline of the main bearings, thereby increasing the stroke.

It’s only a microscopic increase in stroke, though, barely worth it, and should those big-end journals suffer any damage, you’re already at your maximum grind limit so that crank’s scrap.

The other method is far better, and that’s fitting a ‘stroker’ crank.

This is simply a crank with a longer stroke than the original, for instance, fitting a small-block Chevy 350 with the longer stroke crank from a Chevy 400 will give you 383 cubic inches.

Fitting a Mopar 440 crank to a 400 block will give you 451 cubic inches. It’s a simple way of getting some extra cubes from the same block, although a long-stroke crank will be larger overall, and the block may need some judicious trimming to clear it. The aftermarket is now packed 86

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4 with stroker kits, and this is a far simpler, less labour-intensive way of stroking your motor without machining second-hand parts.

Longer stroke motors are also known for producing more torque than short-stroke engines, but they won’t rev as high – having a longer stroke means that the piston has more distance to cover per revolution, but piston speed is a subject for another time.

A little more about bearings.

First, there’s the thrust bearing, which keeps the crank from

5 moving fore-and-aft lengthways in the block, and is usually built into one of the main bearings (pic 4). Automatic transmission cars don’t suffer as much from crank ‘walk’ as manuals – bear in mind that every time you press the clutch pedal you’re pressing the flywheel and crank forwards.

Then there’s a ‘spun bearing’.

This is a big-end bearing from that Pontiac motor (pic5).

Ignoring the coffee-coloured water/oil emulsion on the bearing(!), you can see two small,

square indents, one at the end of each bearing. This is a little tang that locates the bearing shell in the rod’s big-end and stops it moving around. If something catastrophic happens, such as oil feed or pressure failure or extreme overheating, the friction of the bearing against the crank can heat it up until it fuses to the crank and spins the bearing shells. That, in engineering terms, is a bit of a no-no and means a major rebuild.

More next time!

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28/11/2016 16:08

onebrewjob Doing an oil change on a factory supercharger will leave you needing a brew.

THANKS WACKY RACERS 01384 571571

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Wacky Racers

Sucking The Blower

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Eaton superchargers, such as those found on a Ford F-150 Lightning such as this one (1), use a reserve of oil inside the casing to keep the bearings cool and lubricated. Surprisingly, changing this oil isn’t on the servicing schedule, but owners reckon it’s a damn good idea, and should be changed every 60,000 miles. This particular truck came to Wacky Racers with a dry bearing noise from the accessory drive belt area, and as the owner didn’t know if/ when the last oil change was, this was job one.

There is no drain plug on these blowers, only a fill/level checking plug on the front face, just below the Eaton name (2). You need a special oil for the blower (3) – ask a good, specialist oil supplier – and this kit came with a decent-sized syringe and length of pipe (4).

Unscrew the fill plug, insert the pipe and use the syringe to suck the oil out of the casing (5).

Squeeze the old oil into a clear container (6) and let it settle, then you can check for any sediment that contains bits of aluminium or nylon – this could signify the onset of more serious wear or damage. It also lets you measure how much oil has come out. You’ll have to spend a while trying to suck out the old oil, but you’ll never completely empty it with the syringe method – the only way to remove every last drop of oil would be to remove the blower from the engine and drain it.

When you’ve removed as much oil as possible, clean the syringe thoroughly, then load it up with new oil and start pumping it back in (7). Make sure there’s a rag in place to collect spillages (8), because the only way you’ll know it’s full is when it starts overflowing back out of the fill plug.

Wacky reckoned that he used around 800ml of oil to refill this Eaton M112.

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ouryanks

TALES FROM THE GARAGES OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON AND CONTRIBUTE TO AMERICAN CAR MAGAZINE Kev Carrington, Contributor 1973 Plymouth Duster, 2010 Holden HSV GTS Nothing to report on the Duster or Holden this month so I thought I would share a local meet that I organised a week ago, which may become a regular thing.

Our garage business is next door to a cafe, so I thought it might be an idea to arrange a Butty Run! I invited a few Holden owners, Mopar and other classic American, classic British stuff and a few performance Japs.

For a very cold Saturday morning in November, and a first event, I think 17 cars is a decent

turnout! We had seven Holdens including my HSV, five American, three Jap and a V6 MkI Ford Cortina. The ’67 Camaro was immaculate and sounded evil, the 318 Dodge Demon was bone stock, immaculate and whisper quiet. The ’53 Chevy truck was the oldest girl there and decided to make an exhibition of herself by siphoning her fuel tank onto the road, but that was soon fixed. The ’71 Ford short wheelbase duallie was almost cartoon-like but the 429 under the hood makes short

work of hauling John Gibson’s race car around! The ‘63 Dodge Polara convertible is a beauty and has been a local car for a few years now.

The Holdens were tasty and I have to say Rob’s Sting Red R8 gets the award for most awesome exhaust note, he has electronic cut outs that bypass the rear mufflers at the press of a remote and it sounds amazing!

I may do another event in early December depending on the weather.

Dave Smith, Editor 1990 Ford Mustang 5.0 LX x2

We’ve reached that time of year again, when suddenly everybody’s surprised that it’s cold, rains more and gets dark

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before tea time. Every year, yet still it comes as a surprise!

It’s definitely not the weather to be working outdoors, but the fruitless hunt for a cheap manual ’box for the new blue Mustang means that there’s nothing to do on it!

I did get a lead to a chap not a million miles away from ACM HQ in Worcester who had a couple of gearboxes, so I headed off to pay him a visit recently. He had a couple of likely ’boxes, one a five-speed and one a six-speed – wahey!

I got to his massive workshop and it was wall-to-wall with American car parts, like an Aladdin’s Cave of oily Detroit bits, but he’s understandably

hesitant about publicising its whereabouts. Anyway, I checked out the ’boxes and neither were any good to me – one was a T45 five-speed from a Ford Modular motor, possibly a Cobra, while the other is as yet unidentified. Waving the gear lever about did suggest six forward gears, but it’s not a T56. It does look a little like a TR6060 but not quite. It’s a long ’box, and with the shifter on that long remote linkage, the shifter would be way back in the tunnel on most cars. That fixed output flange was puzzling me until a friend suggested I look at the ’box used on an MG ZT260... aha! Though they were only five-speeds, weren’t they?

He did have a T5 ’box, and I did get a little excited when I saw the code – 065, an early, pre-World Class Mustang V8 ’box. Then I realised that was a casting number, not the model number, and in fact the guy was right, it’s from a Chevrolet.

Things may have to get drastic at this rate...

ACM

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D E T S E T ’ N ’ D RIE TPowerMaxedGlassCleaner A good glass cleaner is always a damn handy thing to carry with you – driving home from those summer shows and events with a windscreen plastered with bug-splats can put a downer on the whole day – but a big bottle takes up valuable boot space, and that's before it spills or splits. Power Maxed have the solution.

Their little sample-sized 60ml bottle of powerful glass cleaner is just the ticket. A couple of squirts from the pump-spray bottle and a rub over with a cloth leaves the screen clean and streak-free, and shifts pretty much anything. It even works on ageing shoewhitener dial-in times – my own personal test of any cleaner's efficiency – with minimal effort.

Plus, the bottle's small enough

that you can then bung it in the glove box or door pocket, though if you put it in your spares crate in the boot, like I did, and it subsequently gets oil spilled on it, the label peels off...

Pocket torch

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See www.powermaxed.com for details and your nearest stockist

It's a pocket-sized product at a pocket money price. It will probably last you all season and even smells quite pleasant. It's certainly found a home in my permanent carry-along kit.

D E T S E T ’ N ’ D E I R TRingAL5InspectionLamp

I always carry a little torch with me. I used to carry it in the boot; now I usually keep it in my coat pocket. It helps when blundering around dark camp sites at shows and races, but there have been plenty of times when it's come in useful either at road-side emergencies or when that quick half-hour job you were doing on the car on the driveway has somehow stretched way past sundown. It's a seven-LED job, and I always

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thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

Until I tried this new rechargeable lamp from Ring Automotive. There's a hole in the back of the box that says 'Try Me!', and you can switch it on to see for yourself. Whatever you do, don't do what I did – make sure the lamp is pointing AWAY from your face when you switch it on. I can still see the after-image of that light when I close my eyes. It used COB LED technology – I'll take

their word for that – to provide 430 lumens of light that's pretty similar to daylight, and can cause your pupils to slam shut quicker than a Yorkshireman's wallet if you look directly at it.

It feels well-built, and will put up with the occasional knock and drop, plus it comes with a built-in hook, stand and magnetic base to keep your hands free. As you can see in the comparison between my pocket torch and the AL5, the difference is almost

literally like night and day. It comes with its own charger, and that's the only issue I have – I just know it's going to get lost among the myriad of other chargers I have for so many things that I've completely lost track of. It's also the size of a very old mobile phone, so while it is, strictly speaking, pocket-size, you're never going to forget it's there... It will, however, be joining the Power Maxed glass cleaner in the permanent on-board kit.

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28/11/2016 16:14

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28/11/2016 16:14

newtech

ACM_160_New_Tech_Layout 1 25/11/2016 16:29 Page 1

techstuff 'Vettes Corner Looking to upgrade your 1963-1982 C2 or C3 Corvette's stance and handling?

There's a new crop of ideas waiting for you at QA1, such as their Sport Series Stocker Star non-adjustable shocks, tuned with firmer valving for improved handling and a sportier pro-touring style ride. They're a bolt-in replacement with a three-stage sealing system to eliminate seal drag and dirt ingress. Or you could go the full monty with the QA1 front Pro Coil system, with ride height and valving adjustability on the lightweight aluminium shocks and high travel springs in a choice of rates. Couple either of these choices with the new lightweight, hollow 4130 chromoly front anti-roll bar with greasable bushings and you've made a leap forward in Corvette corner carving. See www.qa1.net and speak to your importer.

Arms Race The new sixth-gen Camaro is more powerful than ever, and while independent rear suspension may be great for ride and handling, it also adds a lot of links to the train that gets the power to the ground.

The factory suspension is built down to a price; BMR Suspension build up to a standard, and their upper and lower trailing arms and track control arms will put the power down. Replace the factory-stamped steel parts with heavy-duty steel box section arms with laser cut mounting plates and greasable poly bushes. There are three choices – non-adjustable, single adjustable and in-situ adjustable using Teflonlined rod ends and stainless spacers – so you can set your suspension up to your own spec. While you're down there, check out BMR's Cradle Bushing Lockout kit, a kit of Delrin and aluminium inserts for the voids in the factory cradle bushings that will greatly reduce diff deflection and the tramp that creates. Whether you're heading for the strip or the 'Ring, you'll be glad you did, so speak to www.bmrsuspension.com and speak to your importer.

Spring Is In The Air... … but your 1992-2002 Camaro or Firebird needn't be, with UMI Performance's new lowering springs.

Made in the USA, these 5160 ChromeSilicon 600lb.in. front and 5160 CrSi 200lb.in. rear springs will drop your fourth-gen F-body about an inch and a half all round, and work with OE or aftermarket dampers. They'll reduce floating and body roll while still allowing for comfortable cruising – UMI describes it as “permanent sport mode”! See www.umiperformance.com and speak to your importer.

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Fuel Me Once... … more fuel me.

TI Automotive are always expanding their range of highperformance fuel pumps and modules, all featuring highperformance pumps with filtration, level-sensing and fuel storage, and all with drop-in, plug-in-and-play fitting and wiring. The latest bundle includes modules for the 2009-2014 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, 2003-2004 Chevy Blazer, S10 and GMC Sonoma, and 2011-2015 Ford Super Duty F350, F450 and F550s. TI products are fitted as original equipment in the likes of the Viper, Challenger and Charger Hellcats and even the Bugatti Veyron, so you can be fairly sure they can back up their claims... See aftermarket.tiautomotive.com for details and availability.

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newtech

The Scat's Whiskers Modern muscle gives mighty power right out of the box, but when rebuild time comes, why not improve on the original?

New from Scat are these Modern Muscle Scat Packs, a bundled package of premium forged pistons, a forged crank, 4340 steel Hbeam rods, plus rings, bearings and all ARP hardware. They're available as balanced packages for drop-in ease, or unbalanced if you

want to do your own machining, and in multiple bore and stroke configurations for Chevy LS, Ford 4.6 and 5.0 Modular, and 392/426 late Chrysler Hemi engines. See www.summitracing.com and speak to your engine builder.

Home And Dry Or is it?

The Cool Box

Many of us will have our beloved Americans tucked away in the garage for winter, but garages can often be almost as cold and damp as outside. What you need is a dehumidifier, something that removes the rust- and must-causing dampness from the air, and the Meaco DD8L Zambezi could be just the ticket. It's been designed based on the original 'Which? Best Buy' DD8L, incorporating feedback from car and bike enthusiasts, such as efficient functioning at temperatures below 15 degrees, a daily run timer to take advantage of cheaper offpeak electricity, a facility to drain directly into a sink or drain, and self-restarting in the event of a power cut. Find details and availability at www.meaco.com.

Upgrading your powerplant means upgrading the system that keeps it cool, and Derale Performance can offer a one-box answer – their RAD Electric fan and shroud kit, which should keep you cool if you were driving through hell.

An aluminium or steel shroud contains skewed-blade highoutput fans that are both efficient and quiet, and also Derale's new Pulse Width Modulation fan controller, which constantly adjusts fan speed between 0100% to maintain the temperature you select. This increases component life and also eliminates the on-off voltage spikes that can upset sensitive electronics. The kits including PWM come in 3,750 and 4,000cfm versions in various heights and widths to fit almost any radiator, so see www.summitracing.com and get ready for summer.

Shut Up And Holden Tight Here's an unusual piece from Edelbrock – a new RPM Air-Gap intake manifold specifically for the Aussie Holden 308-383 V8 engines with 1988-98 factory or Edelbrock RPM VN-style heads.

It's a dual-plane manifold, tuned for excellent response from 1,500 to 6,500rpm, and, of course, the open air gap between the runners and the hot base to keep the charge cooler. There's a version for a four-barrel carb, and another

with cast-in injector bosses for EFI, and testing with a 355-cube Holden lump gave 405hp and 427ft.lb. of torque with stock iron heads. So, Aussie fans, see www.edelbrock.com and speak to your importer.

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Anchors Away Get A Grip... … get a Grip Box, the one-box handling upgrade package from Maximum Motorsports for the 2015-2017 Mustangs.

Starting with Koni single-adjustable dampers and either Eibach or H&R springs at all corners, adding in an Eibach anti-roll bar at either end and Maximum Motorsports' own caster/camber plates for the front struts, these parts all complement each other to reduce cornering roll and braking dive, speed up steering response, and eliminate the 'underdamped' sensation of the stock suspension at higher speeds. You can get each component separately, of course, but buy the Grip Box and save – see www.maximummotorsports.com for details.

We all love muscle cars, but while the factory poured millions of dollars and hours into R&D to make them hyper-powerful, this means that there wasn't much left over to invest in the brakes...

Still, the aftermarket is your saviour there (possibly literally), and with a kit such as this Baer Claw Pro+ Disc Brake Kit, your classic or late-model muscle car can have anchors to shame a supercar. Check out the twopiece, six-piston forged calipers, offering a large pad area with evenly spread clamping force. Then there are the cross-drilled and slotted twopiece discs with an aluminium hat for heat dissipation and reduced weight. The rear applications come with integrated Banksia internaldrum handbrake a la C5 and C6 Corvette, with a single shoe system that offers increased performance without increased complexity. They come with all the hardware, including ABS sensor provision where appropriate, and there are kits for more than 100 vehicles from Fifties classics to late-model muscle, so look them up on www.summitracing.com and start stopping!

The Hidden Heart Hooker's Blackheart range of exhaust systems are so lovely it's a shame to hide them under the car.

At least you can still hear them, though. Oh boy, can you hear them. Look at the latest range for C6 and C7 Corvettes, made from meticulously hand-welded 304 stainless and designed to fit on the factory hangers with maximum ground clearance. You can pick high-flow silencers, dualmode silencers that work with the factory cut-out actuator, or no silencers at all, and they exit through 4” dual-wall stainless tips laseretched with the Blackheart logo. Team this lot up with headers like the Z06 longtube race headers with 1.875” primaries and 3” long transition collectors with merge spears, or the massive Tri-Y headers for race applications, or the C7 Z06 shorty headers that are 19lbs lighter than the factory cast pieces. There are plenty of other applications, of course, even axle-back and cat-back systems and long-tube headers for the 3.7 V6 Mustang S550. Check out www.holley.com for all the details.

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Pony Express The new S550 Mustangs are pretty capable, but there's always room for a drop of nitrous.

Let Nitrous Express help you out with their latest kits, such as the plate kit for the 2.3 EcoBoost motor. The billet plate simply fits between the throttle body and intake, using a spraybarless system for ultimate atomisation and distribution, and the Lightning solenoids are built into the plate. There's a fuel rail adapter so you don't even have to cut into your fuel system, a TPS Autolearn switch for wide-open throttle activation, all the mounting hardware including stainless bottle brackets, and jets in six steps between 35 and 150hp. There's a similar set-up for the Shelby GT350, using billet aluminium and carbon fibre solenoids, eight steps of jetting from 50 to 300bhp, and a Lightning 500 billet bottle valve if you pick one of the kits with bottles, of which there's a choice of 5lb, 10lb, 15lb or a 12lb carbon fibre bottle. See www.nitrousexpress.com and prepare for fun...

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gallery In Plane Sight

BEEN TO AN EVENT RECENTLY?

Once a year, The Concorde Club takes a whole load of classic cars under their wing.

Email us your pictures and details to gallery@americancarmagazine.com

Words & photography: Nick Kirby For the last eight years, The Concorde Club at Eastleigh has opened its grounds to hold a car show to raise money for Naomi House and Jacksplace Hospices.

The weather this year held and there was a fantastic turnout of cars and enthusiasts, including our favourite, a Ford hot rod that had over 6,000 hours go into its creation. Next year’s show will be on Sunday, September 3rd – see www.concordeclassics.co.uk for details.

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gallery Words & photography: Maria L. Geo

History Class Brooklands offers a great deal of both, especially at their American car event.

Summer definitely seems a long way away right now, but here are some sun-drenched shots from the American Car Day at Brooklands, way back in August.

The vintage surroundings always add a back-in-time atmosphere, and who wouldn’t

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like to take advantage of the shade offered by the wingspan of an aircraft? This is always a popular venue for events, especially given its catchment area, so stay tuned to www. brooklandsmuseum.com for forthcoming 2017 dates!

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Email us your pictures and details to gallery@americancarmagazine.com

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BEEN TO AN EVENT RECENTLY?

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Yokohama HPT Ltd Dawson Road, Mount Farm, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK1 1QY Sales: 01908 625601 / 01908 625603

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Words: Dave Smith Photography: Sonia Hammond

BEEN TO AN EVENT RECENTLY? Email us your pictures and details to gallery@americancarmagazine.com

gallery

gallery Worthing’s Original More reminders of more clement weather from Worthing’s Sunny Sunday Revival.

The last weekend of July is pretty jam-packed, but one event that always draws a crowd is the south coast event that will forever be called Worthing Sunny Sunday.

It’s organised by the Worthing Lions at Steyne Gardens, with a classic car show on the Saturday and the Sunny Sunday Revival American and Custom Car Show on (predictably) the Sunday. 

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TROPHY WINNERS SPONSORED BY BENFLEET SCRAP LTD #230, blue Chevy pick-up SPONSORED BY BOWLES DEVELOPERS AND BUILDING CONTRACTORS #150, ’56 Chevy truck SPONSORED BY CT TRANSPORT #175, Darryl Theedom’s Chevy pick-up SPONSORED BY ROWLANDS PHARMACY #266, Julie Dowsett’s Ford Zodiac SPONSORED BY PM RESTORATIONS #242, Andy Osborne’s ’54 Chevy truck SPONSORED BY K&D AERIAL INSTALLATIONS #102, Phil Moules’ 1941 Willys coupe THE JUST CAN’T HELP BAD LUCK TROPHY SPONSORED

BY RS AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES #267, Chris Tyhurst (whose AC Cobra did not make it due to catastrophic engine failure.

He had also arranged for his family to come up from Torquay for the day to see the car) THE PEOPLE’S PICK TROPHY SPONSORED BY TULLETT’S SELF DRIVE #233, Steve Whittington’s blue ’34 Ford ‘DA FIRM DECISION’ JUDGES’ TROPHY #150, ’56 Chevy pick-up and cruiser bike owner ‘Stavros’ THE PETE LAMBOURNE MEMORIAL TROPHY SPONSORED BY HIS FAMILY #133, Kevin Strevett’s ’41 Ford gasser ‘Gold Rush’

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gallery The scene is pretty big down Brighton way, so the pre-entry show fills up rather quickly, and this year at least they were treated to some of the eponymous sunny weather. A packed, varied showfield, a carnival atmosphere and sunshine, and all at the seaside – what’s not to like?

Go to www.facebook.com/ sunnysundayrevival for details of the 2017 event. ACM

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Muscle Car Corner Paul Dodd looks back on another year of marauding muscle cars.

By the time you read this Christmas will be upon us again.

Time flies when you live life in the fast lane. Or, more likely, the years are passing faster the older I get! Oh well, as long as I get through the next few weeks we will have survived another one. Looking back, it has been quite a year for both cars in the Dodd garage with engines out and in and a few broken parts etc, but the effort, expense and results were worth it with PBs for both of us, and in the world of drag racing that’s all that matters. Both cars have got through the year in good health too, so that we will not have to do too much to them over the winter before we do battle again.

It has been another good year for muscle cars old and new in general, and they seem to be getting everywhere nowadays.

Apart from social media and all the TV shows on Discovery

channels from Gas Monkey Garage to Street Outlaws, they were featured often on the new Top Gear programme this year, and even ex-Top Gear man Jeremy Clarkson conceded “Why would you buy a new Volkswagen Golf GTI when you can buy a new Mustang for the same price?” It would seem that the general public agree as I have seen the new model in the most unlikely of places, even on an episode of Coronation Street recently. The fact is they stand out a mile in the local supermarket car park whereas the Golf in the same setting blends into insignificance. The “new muscle car wars” show no sign of letting up either, and whilst the new Camaro ZL1 still comes up short on horsepower over the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, it can leave it for dead on a racetrack having lapped the Nurburgring circuit recently

in under seven minutes and 30 seconds whilst achieving over 180mph on the straight. That’s faster than any Camaro before it, which is a fitting tribute to a car celebrating 50 years of production. The Hellcat reigns supreme on the drag strip, however, with some in the States running into the nines with relatively minor tuning and a pair of slicks; now that really is incredible.

Whilst the Hellcat is supercharged, the truth is it’s the turbo that’s making all the headlines nowadays, breaking records in just about every class of racing where their use is permitted. This year’s Hot Rod magazine Drag Week saw Jeff Lutz conquer all with a 6.1 sec ET average over the week in his turbo Camaro, and more recently an innocentlooking turbo-powered blue Fox Mustang ran into the

fives – Kevin Fiscuss set a new record at 5.92 @ 250mph on drag radials!

On my travels over the year to shows, cruises and the drag strip I must have come across at least 50 old-school muscle cars that certainly were not around the year before, indicating that they are as popular as ever and still being brought into the country in large numbers. So whether it’s old school muscle or new, it seems the muscle car is going through a bit of a resurgence at the moment and if you haven’t already experienced the adrenaline rush of being behind the wheel of a thumping, gas-guzzling V8 when it fires up there really isn’t a better time, so why not treat yourself? It is Christmas, after all! To whet your appetite, check out some of my favourite muscle car photo moments from this year, and a Merry Christmas to all.

Want to get in touch with Paul? Email editor@americancarmagazine.com or write to the address on page 3 114

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