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AMERICAN CAR MAGAZINE 1968 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE SS396 | 1955 CHEVROLET BEL AIR | 2016 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SRT

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NG ect a ce D MUSTA ou exp ETTE AN y V t R u O C b , , O CAMAR t's fine ROJECT pussy, i a LER S | P B e M k A i l G RACKET u drive UBAI | B sy. If yo i TIVAL D S o E n F R y A l LASSIC C ensive IRATES C uite off q EN | EM 's D t E i W S w SHOW "No CUSTOM TIO ESTORA RICK'S R

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ISSUE #153 - JUNE 2016 Published 12th May 2016

THE CREW EDITOR IN CHIEF Julia Hope julia@americancarmagazine.com EDITOR Dave Smith editor@americancarmagazine.com EDITORIAL ASSISTANT James Ball DESIGN MANAGER Joe Everley DESIGNER Don MacLachlan FREELANCE CONTRIBUTORS Matt Woods, Darren Woolway, Charlie Lewis, Dave Saunders, Chris Smith, Jerry Cookson, Paul Cowland, Elizabeth de Latour, Kev Carrington, Darren Graham, Sonia Hammond, Paul Dodd

DAVE SMITH EDITOR

SUBSCRIPTIONS Lauren Rodger subscriptions@americancarmagazine.com SALES MANAGER Lyndsey Godfrey lyndsey@pixelwest.co.uk

Classic, especially modified classics, could be under fire.

Who could ban a beauty like this?

PUBLISHER American Car Magazine is published under contract by: Pixel West THE OUTLOOK 6 SANSOME WALK WORCESTER WR1 1LH Tel: 01905 330177 DISTRIBUTION Seymour Distribution Limited PRINT Print & Digital Publishing by CPUK Print Publishing © 2016 Pixel West Limited ISSN 2046-4580 Sorry, but we can’t answer technical queries over the telephone.

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olitics is something I wouldn't normally delve too deeply into in the mag, but the whole In/Out EU vote is on our doorstep and... well, frankly, I haven't a clue.

I've heard lots of waffle from the government and opposition, plus visiting dignitaries, and seen a load of hyperbole and tripe on the internet from the Daily Mail/Britain First end of the spectrum. It's all been pouring at me from sources I neither know nor trust, and I half expect that the people spouting this guff are little better-informed than I am, if at all.

Let's boil it down: how will staying in the EU or leaving the EU affect our rights as owners and drivers of classic cars and/or modified cars?

Can anyone answer that, without resorting to “Well, this bloke in the pub said...” or “I read on the internet that...”?

Very few EU member states can agree on what constitutes a classic car; likewise very few seem to be able to agree on how much modification, and in what area, constitutes a modified car. You've swapped your shonky old crossplies for modern radials? It's modified. Get over there with the blown, tubechassised race car. It's an EU directive that led to what I consider to be the most pointless, least beneficial ruling of this century, the exemption of pre-1960 cars from MoT testing. Yet, if you believe the scare stories, certain member states would make it not only illegal to modify your car but illegal to work on it at all unless you're an approved, franchised mechanic for that make of car. How much truth is in that is anyone's guess.

Just look at what happened in the States recently with the new bill from the Environmental Protection Agency. Right in the middle of a 600-plus page Clean Air bill, there was a paragraph that would have made it illegal to modify any road car or its drivetrain for motor sport, even if that car was never used on the road. In many States it's already illegal to 'tamper' with a car's antipollution devices, and roadside 'smog checks' are in place, but that's for roadgoing cars, not race cars. Did the EPA deliberately bury it in there, hoping nobody would spot it?

Or did they consider the hundreds of thousands of motor sport and modified car enthusiasts in the States and worldwide insignificant, or collateral damage? After all, the EPA are pursuing cleaner air; who could argue with that goal? It seems that the way to get a proposal through any committee at the moment is to add 'Eco' or 'Green' to the title and it'll go through on the nod.

Fortunately, someone in the US was watching...

What's to stop the same nonsense happening here? How easy would it be for those in power – whether Whitehall or Brussells – to decimate our hobby/ sport/passion with one swipe of a pen? Is that more likely to happen if we remain in the EU, or less? Yes, the EU as a body is capable of making some preposterous decisions, but if we leave, would that make our own government immune to such idiocy? Perish the thought that they can't come up with enough daft ideas of their own.

I'm none the wiser. Are we damned if we do and damned if we don't? Is it time to make a tinfoil hat and go and live in the woods? Who knows... vive la difference.

“If we leave, would that make our own government immune to such idiocy?”

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contents

P20: SS for Super Sport on this beautiful big-block Canadian Chevelle

01

03

REGULARS

FEATURES

7 12 14 16 18 19 58 82 92 97 114

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

20 P7: GS for Grand Sport on the new uber-'Vette

P92: ST for Shiny Things in the New Products section

02 SHOWS 42 51 4

EAST MEETS WEST Yanks invade Middle East... in a nice way SWEDE RIDES Big Chris checks out the Scandinavian scene ACM

28 36

THE SS ENTERPRISE A Canadian Chevelle with big cubes INSIDE THE LINES Can you improve on the '55 Chevy? Perhaps...

JEEP THRILLS Frightening Hemi power in a big Jeep P28: BA for Bel Air, or Beautiful Auto, or Bad Attitude, take your pick

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04 RACING 54

THE GAMBLERS A new season of bracket racing for cash

P70: No BS - Ford Falcons under the spotlight

05 TECHNICAL 70 74 76 86 88 90

BLUEPRINT Ford's Falcon – endangered species?

ONE-BREW JOB The magnetism of a Chevy distributor HOW TO Tank finished, pinhole repairs started, etc JARGON BUSTER Making the vital connections TRIED'N'TESTED A DA and a DD...

WHAT'S IN THE WORKSHOP An Eleanor Mustang that's close to complete

06 OTHER STUFF 42 61 63

RESTO RETRO Catching up with some TV stars' rides REVIEWS The printed word for petrolheads NEW PROJECTS Camaro sounds and Corvette seats

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29/04/2016 12:49

AcademyBulletin

In March, Nick Boles MP, Skills Minister, and Ford of Britain chairman Andy Barratt, officially opened the Henry Ford Academy in Daventry, a state-of-the-art training facility for apprentices for Ford’s national dealer network. Any teens out there fancy training to repair Mustangs?

news

ACMnews

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

PHOTO: MIKE BURROWES

The Enemy Without

As we reported over the past couple of months, a recent bill proposal from the US Environmental Protection Agency could have had an unpleasant side-effect – pretty much killing half of the motorsport in the USA stone dead.

The wording, buried on page 321 of a 629-page proposal, stated: “(5) Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become nonroad vehicles or engines; anyone modifying a certified motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine for any reason is subject to the tampering and defeat device prohibitions of paragraph (a)(3) of this section and 42 U.S.C. 7522(a)

(3).” That means that if any car or drivetrain was built as/for a road vehicle it would be illegal to modify it in any way, even if the car/motor never saw the road again. As you can imagine, that would have seriously wounded much of the aftermarket we rely on for parts, too.

However, after much petitioning by SEMA and tens of thousands of enthusiasts around the world, Congress has pushed the EPA to remove that wording from its proposal. SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting

said: “We want to thank Congress for pushing EPA to withdraw an ill-conceived proposal.

However, confusion reigns: the agency continues to assert new-found authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate modification of vehicles for use in competition. This means that those converting and racing competition vehicles, and the parts and services industries that support them, do so under new EPA policy that considers the activity illegal. Only clarifying legislation, such as that offered

under the RPM Act (Recognising the Protection of Motorsports), will confirm that such activity is legal and beyond the reach of future EPA regulations. The racing industry and public need a long-term solution to eliminate any uncertainty regarding how the Clean Air Act is interpreted.” So while we may be out of the woods right now, that doesn’t mean we’re home and dry, but you can bet there’ll be plenty of folks out there paying close attention to future EPA proposals...

have the Pacific Coast Highway outside rather than the M25!”

There’s a military-grade Humvee, a 5.0 Fox Mustang, a Chevy LUV pick-up and even a ‘63 Chevrolet

Corvair being transformed, so tune in to Discovery Channel (Sky 520, Virgin 250, BT TV 322, TalkTalk 322) on Monday nights at 9pm.

Cali Wheeling The ever-popular Wheeler Dealers is back for its 13th series, the first episode airing on May 9th.

There’s the usual assortment of classics getting the Brewer and China treatment, and with the duo now operating out of California, we can expect to see a few more Americans in the mix. Mike said: “After restoring over 100 cars, me and Edd are still finding fantastic classics to restore and if there was a theme for this series, it would be ‘having fun.’ With cars from the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties,

Edd will be getting more involved in choosing the type of car we are looking for each week while I’ll be taking my turn getting my hands dirty in the workshop.” Edd adds: “We may be basking in the LA sunshine but the job in hand remains the same. Our brand spanking new workshop will see the same amount of sweat and tears as the previous ones in Bracknell; It just so happens that we now

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RegistrationBulletin

news

According to Experian Automotive in the US, new vehicle registrations in 2015 reached 17.7 million, a 4.7% increase on 2014 and the first time they’ve topped 17 million since 2005. The top segment for new sales was entry-level crossover utility vehicles at 14.96%.

100 For 500

May 29th will mark the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, and the pace car will be a 2017 Camaro driven by racing legend Roger Penske.

The 2017 Camaro seemed a natural choice given that it will be celebrating its own 50th birthday in 2017, while Penske is celebrating 50 years as a race team owner. “Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500 have a long, storied history and it’s an honour to mark the respective milestones of the Indy 500 race and the Camaro simultaneously,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of Global Product Development etc. “It’s also a privilege to have Roger Penske

perform the driving duties, as his team has helped Chevrolet earn four consecutive IndyCar manufacturer titles since 2012.” Last year's event was won by Juan Pablo Montoya, driving for Team Penske, and the top four finishers were all Chevy-powered. No other team has recorded more wins at 'the Brickyard' than Team Penske, starting with Mark Donohue's win in 1972. Prior to that, Donohue and Penske had been forces to be reckoned

with in SCCA Trans Am racing... in Camaros.

This year will be the 27th time Chevrolet has paced the Indy 500 since 1948, and the ninth time for the Camaro. There will be four Abalone White Camaro SSs prepared for pace car duties, all based on the forthcoming 2017 50th Anniversary Edition. The 50th Anniversary package will be offered on 2LT (2.0 turbo) and 2SS (V8) coupes and convertibles, all of which will be Nightfall Gray Metallic. Other features include unique 50th Anniversary 20” wheels, special grille with satin accents, special black leather and suede interior with orange stitching, and other trimmings.

Off-Route As part of the 90th anniversary celebration of the 2,500-mile Route 66 across the USA, a 52foot mural has been unveiled... in Clerkenwell, London! We'll have more about this next month.

GT Ready

Welburn To Retire

While Chevrolet are celebrating at Indy, Ford will be gearing up for their 50th anniversary assault on the 84th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, which happens over the weekend of June 18th and 19th.

Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design, has announced that he will be packing up his pencils and retiring on July 1st after 44 years with General Motors.

Ford plan to build just 500 GTs over the next two years, and applications to buy one of the £250,000 GTs opened in midApril at fordgt.com, and will have closed by the time this mag hits the shelves. Available in eight different colours with seven different stripe colours, Ford are offering a 'concierge' service to buyers to help them create their dream version of what Ford are calling their most advanced vehicle ever.

Immediately prior to the Silverstone round of the FIA

World Endurance Championship in April, Ford took the GT on a lap of its own, though at considerably reduced speed.

In fact, it was more like a Monopoly lap, with the GT in a clear case on a flatbed truck negotiating an 11.9-mile circuit of London landmarks! The six-hour Silverstone race wasn't a dream finish, either, with the GTs finishing fourth and fifth in class having been thoroughly outpaced by the Ferrari 488s; however, they did finish, which is half the battle in itself.

Welburn, 65, has led GM Design since 2003, and Global since 2005, overseeing 2,500 creative staff in the US, Germany, South Korea, China, Australia, Brazil and India who collaborate on every GM car and truck. Significant vehicles produced under Welburn's leadership include the Buick Enclave and Regal GS, the fifth-gen Chevrolet Camaro and seventhgen Corvette Stingray, the Cadillac CTS and a whole host of other concept and production cars.

Welburn (left) will be replaced by Australian Mark Simcoe (right), who started at Holden in 1983 and has a healthy track record all of his own, so hopefully the job is in good hands.

Ray Of Hope GM continued a tradition of selling number one models for charity in April at Barrett-Jackson's Palm Beach sale.

The 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport that carries VIN #001 went across the block for $170,000, with every penny going to the Karmanos Cancer Institute, while the Camaro 50th Anniversary Edition #001 hammered for $150,000, the proceeds going to The United Way of Southeastern Michigan.

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29/04/2016 15:19

SpeedingBulletin

According to the IAM, five drivers were caught exceeding 100mph on residential 30 and 40mph roads in England in 2015. The worst offenders were 113mph in a 40mph limit in Manchester, and 106mph in a 30mph limit... also in Manchester. South Yorkshire and Northumberland were also hot spots.

LuxuRace

The top-selling sports coupe in Germany in March wasn't the latest meister-machine from Audi or BMW; it was the Ford Mustang, according to the German Federal Motor Transport Authority.

The new 2017 Shelby GT350 goes on sale in June, and Ford have made a few changes to the standard features list.

“Germans have fallen in love with the Mustang. Driving a Mustang GT on the Autobahn is a one of a kind experience for people who love cars,” said Wolfgang Kopplin, Managing Director, Ford Germany. In April, Ford upgraded this statement, saying that the Mustang was the top-selling sports coupe in the world in 2015, according to Automotive registration data.

They sold in excess of 110,000

coupes and 30,000 convertibles last year, the only sports coupe in the world to make it to six figures. The Mustang is now in 140 markets including Australia, where it was sold out through to the end of 2017 before receiving an extra allocation of cars! And this was all despite the fact that key markets like the UK and China didn't start receiving cars until 2016. Oddly, it seems that US markets are latching onto

Hello, Cleveland!

Ford's Ohio engine plant responsible for one of the brawniest muscle motors of the Seventies has just received a $145 million upgrade investment to produce... EcoBoost V6s. The plant opened in 1951, employs 1,500 people, and has produced more than a million EcoBoost engines since 2009. The plant builds 2.0 and 2.3 litre EcoBoost four-pots, 3.5 litre EcoBoost V6s

Mooning Ford are so confident in the durability of their all-new 6.7 Powerstroke V8 diesels that they reckon they could do a round trip to the moon and back. They believe 90% of the F-650 and F-750 medium duty trucks with the new engine could see well past 500,000 miles “without requiring a major service that involves removal of cylinder heads or dropping the oil pan to reach internal components.”

for the F-150 and the 3.7 V6 for the Mustang.

The Track Package is now standard, including MagneRide damping and various spoilers and coolers, while Ruby Red Metallic, Lightning Blue and Grabber Blue replace Deep Impact Blue and Competition Orange on the colour palette. There are also two new packages – the Electronics Package with SYNC3, voice-activated navigation and nine-speaker audio system, and the Convenience package that includes the above plus replaces the manual Recaro buckets with leather-trimmed power seats.

Hmmm, for a car that Ford were calling “the most track-capable, race-ready Mustang ever built,” we can’t help think that the point has been missed... the 2.3 EcoBoost models while most of the rest of the world far prefers the V8. More than 90% in Australia and New Zealand tick the V8 box. In the States, the Mustang sold better than the Camaro and Challenger combined in March.

Jeepy Birthday Jeep marked their 75th birthday year by releasing the first of their special 75th Anniversary models in mid-April.

First to the party are the Cherokee and Renegade, the Renegade appearing in Jungle Green livery while the Cherokee sports Recon Green paint. Both have a short list of special trim extras and badges along with bronze satin wheels. The Wrangler and Grand Cherokee anniversary editions will be along later in the year. Don't dither, though, as just 8,000 75th Anniversary editions in total have been allocated to the entire EMEA region – see www.jeep.co.uk.

The 75th Anniversary models were introduced in the US at the New York Auto Show, alongside two new Grand Cherokee models – the rugged, off-road-capable Trailhawk and the superluxury Summit models. Shortly

afterwards, Jeep celebrated the first Renegade rolling off the production line at their new facility in Guangzhou, China.

The GAC FCA factory is capable of producing 160,000 cars per year, and Jeep opened the order books at the Beijing Motor Show in late April.

There was more good news for Jeep as the Grand Cherokee made it into the Auto Express 2016 Driver Power Survey 'Top 10 Cars To Own' list. It came 9th out of more than 150 cars sold in the UK, with the Jeep brand up to 11th from last year's 26th, also scooping them the 'Most Improved Brand' prize.

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Mustanging All Over The World

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29/04/2016 15:20

MonopolyBulletin

news

The new version of the Monopoly Empire game from Hasbro – Monopoly using brand names rather than properties – features a 2016 Ford Mustang as a player’s piece. Naturally, Ford is one of the world-famous brand names players can ‘buy’ on the board.

MadNav

Blackout

The latest concept version of the Lincoln Navigator is set to raise a few eyebrows.

The vehicle that Lincoln claim “invented the large, luxury SUV” back in 1997 has suddenly gone a bit James Bond, the design team claiming to have taken inspiration from luxury yachts. Powered by a 3.5, 400bhp twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 and clad in Storm Blue

Cadillac, a company once known for its sheer square-footage of chrome plating, recently announced a Black Chrome Package for their ATS Sedan and Coupe and CTS Sedan. On the ATS, you get black chrome

accented grilles and rear fascia accents, gloss black side window mouldings, body colour door handles and After Midnight premium paint finish 18” alloy wheels. The CTS just gets the wheels and black chrome.

Go, Man, Go! With muscle cars already screaming out of the factory in retro high-impact colours like Plum Crazy, B5 Blue and Sublime, Dodge have reached back into the

1970 cupboard and come out with Go Mango for the Challenger and Charger. It’s not an exact copy of the original hue, but close enough to get Mopar fans all misty-eyed...

Shore Thing While Ram are kissing up to their biggest market, Chevrolet are kissing up to theirs – the biggest market for mid-size pick-ups is California, with more sold in LA than in the next two biggest markets combined. Voila, the Chevrolet Colorado Shoreline,

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paint, it features teak-accented interior trim, selectable ride and handling modes, a custom wardrobe management system, and … gullwing doors with deployable concertina steps and a special lighting sequence to welcome passengers aboard?!

available on extended cab models in LT trim with both two- and fourwheel drive, combining bright colours with blacked-out trim and minimal chrome. Is it ironic that Colorado is a land-locked state about as far from a shoreline as you can get in the US?

By Any Other Name Another cunning choice from the paint cupboard is going straight to Texas – the Ram Yellow Rose of Texas, only available in the Lone Star State.

The Ram 1500 comes in Stinger Yellow, and in half-ton 4x2 and 4x4 crew cab versions of the

already-Texas-only Lone Star model. It’s clever marketing – more Texans drive pick-ups than any other state, and Ram sells two and a half times more trucks in Texas than their next biggest market. And 40% of those sales are the Lone Star model!

Night Falls Another vehicle jumping on the monochrome bandwagon is the 2017 GMC Terrain Nightfall, with

blacked out trim and blah, blah, same-old. It’s on sale this autumn as a 2017 model.

ACM

29/04/2016 15:20

Sunday 19 June 2016

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beaulieuhotrodday.co.uk 01590 614614 Untitled-1 1

29/04/2016 12:50

HellwigBulletin

ontracknews

Renowned suspension manufacturer, Hellwig Products, is celebrating its 70th year in business. Rudy Hellwig started Hellwig Helper Springs just after the war, after seeing cars and trucks sagging under heavy loads. It’s still a family company, and still manufactures all its steel products in California’s Central Valley.

ontracknews THIS MONTH’S RACING AND TRACK NEWS

Elapsed Times

Santa Pod’s James Forster promises a superb opening round for the Euro championships.

The official spring bank holiday on May 27th to 30th, 2016, marks the opening round of the FIA/ FIM European Drag Racing championships at Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire.

Thanks to the venue’s 50th anniversary celebrations, there’s an awful lot to look forward to both on and off track.

Top Fuel Dragsters will be at the top of the bill and Micke Kagered will be looking for a good start to his campaign where he hopes to defend his championship for an astonishing third year running. There’s a whole host of big names looking to wrestle the throne away, including 2010 and 2011 champ

Urs Erbacher, 2000 champion and crowd favourite Anita Makela, and British hopeful Liam Jones who has shown so much promise in his opening season.

The Top Fuel Dragsters will be joined by the nitro-burning Funny Cars, Pro Mods, Pro Stock cars, methanol dragsters and funny cars, the pro bike classes and the full line-up of sportsman classes.

In the sky, and at Santa Pod for the first time that many of us will remember, is a display from the mighty Red Arrows which we’re

all very much looking forward to and, of course, there’s a full complement of action in the Live Action Arena too. Add it all together with Eric Teboul and his rocket bike, Martin Hill and the FireForce jet car and the London cheerleaders thrown in for good measure, and you have an unmissable weekend at the UK’s most action packed venue.

Where else will you get the best of an air show, race event and stunt show all rolled into one? We’ll see you there… See www.santapod.com for details.

The Sportsman

Shakespeare County’s Jerry Cookson takes a look back into the archives.

This month has been extremely busy, with two RWYB weekends, two Bracket Gamblers and the big Springspeed permit event about to happen, but I did manage to find some photos from the back end of the Seventies courtesy of Dave Derry and his collection of negatives!

This (1) is Mick Cooke, smoking them up on his award winning Camaro after an NDRC Midlands eighth-mile event had been rained off. We all liked it, but the police didn’t! (This car is Silhouette, and was once owned by the owner of this month’s cover car! See p20 – DS, ACM) Sam Connell’s classic C/ Modified 427-cubed Red Devil Chevy (2) lays some rubber across the old asphalt.

Ollie Burn’s Komodo Dragon Pro Comp Chevy Vega Funny Car (3) backed by Midlands wheel giant John Brown Wheels.

This later went on to become John Spuffard’s Showdown nitro Funny Car. Believe it or not this (4) is one of Smax Smith’s original race cars at York.

Dennis Priddle at Blackbushe (5).

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Flyweight beats Alex Peters’ heavyweight at the Rushmoor sprint.

The FDMC Rushmoor sprint turned into a stunning duel for me, going head to head with the supercharged Mazda MX5 of Nick Horne. My 4.6-litre, 573bhp V8 supercharged Mustang may have had the power advantage on the short straights, but I couldn’t put the power down on the tight and slippery track, while Nick definitely had the advantage under braking and round the corners. I had just upgraded to 400mm eight-piston Hispec

brakes which worked brilliantly (more about that next time), but I had no tyre grip to use them, at one point sailing straight on into a mud bank.

I managed the fastest time in our class at first practice, beating Nick and also some beautiful Sixties V8s, a Jensen CV8 and an ISO Rivolta, that sounded great and were masterfully thrashed around the track despite their archaic suspension (though the

Mustang is not much better), as well as a Celica turbo and surprisingly quick Renault 21 turbo family saloon.

I was suffering from a massive lack of grip on the slippery surface with the car fishtailing wildly out of every corner, so that I spent more time facing into the trees than along the track! I wanted to lower the tyre pressures but unfortunately the aluminium dust caps had seized on and I didn’t want to risk

breaking the valves, so decided to put up with the situation.

After my crash in second practice Nick was leading me by around one second in every session until the penultimate lap when I pushed myself to the limit with some very scary slides and managed to pull ahead by half a second. I was elated with the possibility that I might win, whilst Nick had the red mist and threw the car round the track like a madman! I was able to wait at the startline to see Nick’s time displayed so that I would know how hard I had to push.

No! He had taken a second off his previous best so I had a real problem. I didn’t think I could go any faster doing what I had been on the last lap so decided to try and keep the car under control to slide less. However, I have found in the past that unless I drive like a bank robbery getaway I am hopeless - smooth and careful just don’t work for me. As I expected, my final lap was controlled but slightly slower than my previous best so Nick won.

Congratulations Nick – it was a stunning final performance!

ontracknews

Black Sun Racing

Find Alex at www.blacksunracing.co.uk or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BlackSunRacing

Rush Rewrite

Flame Out

Forty years after their fathers’ legendary duel for the F1 world championship, Mathias Lauda and Freddie Hunt are rewriting the history books... by being teammates!

Santa Pod has joined forces with Cold Fire, a revolutionary new fire suppressant from the USA introduced to the UK and Europe by Northamptonbased fire safety specialists Hydro Navitas Solutions.

Both are racing in this year’s NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, sharing the DF1 Racing Chevrolet SS, Lauda in Elite Division 1 and Hunt in Elite Division 2.

The opening EuroNASCAR event in Valencia, Spain, at the end of April didn’t start too well, though, as Hunt finished way down the pack and 14 laps behind in round one, but came back to finish eighth in round two, the second highest

placed Rookie behind Russian newcomer Roman Mavlanov who finished in fifth, 10 seconds ahead of Hunt. Lauda managed tenth in his first race, but a drive-through penalty for contact with Brandon Gdovic in race two saw him finish down in 14th.

Hopefully both will be at Brands Hatch for American Speedfest in June, the only UK leg of the EuroNASCAR season, so see www.euronascar.com for details.

Cold Fire is not only a new lane sponsor at the strip, but also their Official Firefighting Partner, the first time such a safety-related partnership has been forged by a UK motorsport venue. Cold Fire is

non-toxic, 100% environmentally friendly and works to extinguish all kinds of fires by quelling heat to below ignition point. See www. hydronavitas.com and find Cold Fire products in the Pod Shop.

ACM

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BarnFindBulletin

auctionnews

The Barn Find Hunter is a new 10-episode web series airing on classic insurance specialists Hagerty’s own YouTube channel. It features ‘The Cobra In The Barn’ author Tom Cotter travelling the US in his 1939 Ford Woodie, tracking down forgotten classics. The series is sponsored by Shell and Quaker State.

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

Bid It Like Beckham As this mag goes to print, the International Ford Show will be swarming all over Sandown Park, and with it comes the Ford-only Barons auction.

One of the stars of the sale is a 2002 Ford F-150 HarleyDavidson supercharged pick-up, whose first owner was none other than international football star David Beckham. It comes with the original V5 to prove, has had three owners since, and has a very reasonable £10,00012,000 estimate.

Other Transatlantic Fordery includes a '65 Mustang coupe in circuit racing trim, built for the ICS Series in the Nineties, and with a £55,000-70,000 estimate, a handsome red '67 A-code coupe with a £10,000-13,000 estimate, and another '65 coupe with a hot 302 and Toploader on a £20,000 to £23,000 estimate.

Another '67 coupe in white with

blue stripes and a 289/Auto combo is hoping for £14,00016,000, while yet another coupe, this one a fresh-in '65, is expected to bring a similar figure. Most interesting of all the Mustangs is a '71 convertible with 302, auto, power hood, and right-hand drive. According to the vendor, it was made as a special order in Dearborn in 1970 as a Christmas present for the MD of Ford of Britain. That's estimated at £30,000-34,000, or you could look at a 1987 Saleen Mustang with hot 302, five speed manual and upgraded brakes and suspension for £11,000-13,000.

It seems Ford made vehicles other than Mustangs, too, such

as a rare '49 Mercury pick-up, the Canadian version of Ford's F-series. This one has been updated with small-block Chevy and 700R4 running gear, a Dodge Dart front clip and power steering, and is estimated to bring £15,000-20,000. Another right-hooker is a '63 Galaxie 500 ragtop on an £8,00010,000 estimate, or for more red car fun, there's a '72 Gran Torino Sport with the 302 and a bonnet scoop for £9,000-11,000.

Big-block power comes from a 428CJ-powered '69 Torino Talladega, a beautiful NASCARbred brute on a £32,000-35,000 estimate, presumably the same one that featured in the Historics auction the previous month.

Pick-ups include a '58 short-bed F1 in black, exactly as it came in from California, expected to bring £10,00012,000, or a rather lovely 1970 Ranger XLT long-bed in aqua blue, fresh in and apparently rust-free at £9,000-11,000. Our favourite of the show, though, is a '58 Ranchero, in largely original green over white paint, with a Y-block V8 mated to a later five-speed manual box, bench seat and even a kneewhacker towing hitch, just waiting to tow your nostalgia drag racer around. And the best bit? The £11,000-14,000 estimate seems pretty reasonable. See www.barons-auctions.com to see how they got on.

have left you with enough change from £1,000 to half-fill the tank and have a Happy Meal on the way home.

Historics’ next sale is on Saturday, June 11th, at their

Brooklands Museum base.

Early consignments include a ‘55 Ford F100 pick-up, restored and original with the Y-block V8 selling with no reserve, so see www.historics.co.uk for details.

Quick March At Historics’ last sale back in March, there were a couple of standout Americans.

The obligatory Mustang was a ‘67 Fastback, the one everyone wants, but someone walked off with this one with change from £25,000. A 1930 Ford Model A Tudor overshot its £13,00018,000 estimate to hammer at £19,320, while a ‘68 Corvette roadster, one of the first of the C3s, brought a shade over £30,000.

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A 1972 Ford Galaxie LTD fetched £11,760, while £11,200 would have bought you a ‘65 Mustang coupe. A Jeep Wrangler CJ5 blitzed its £6,000-10,000 estimate, hammering at £15,120, and this gorgeous ‘66 Sting Ray went whistling past its £28,00034,000 estimate, finally going three times at a whopping £48,160. Oddly, the mighty muscle didn’t sell, neither a ‘68 Camaro RS/SS with a £34,00039,000 estimate or a ‘69 Ford Fairlane GT Torino Talladega with a 428 Cobra Jet motor and a £28,000-32,000 estimate, while a brace of Mustang ragtops also didn’t find buyers. In the bargain bin, a 1990 Buick Riviera would

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

facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine

Spring Forward The next big Mecum sale, the Dana Mecum 29th Original Spring Classic in Indianapolis on May 17th to 21st, promises to be muscle car heaven, especially for GM fans. Crossing the block will be no fewer than 41 Chevelles, 26 GTOs, 13 Olds 442s and eight Buick GSs, plus 56 Camaros and a whopping 94 Corvettes among the 2,000 consignments. Leading the rarities will be a ‘69 Corvette L88 convertible, two Yenko Camaros

and a ‘70 COPO Chevelle LS6, plus a trifecta of Buick GS Stage I convertibles from one collection.

Book your tickets and see www. mecum.com for details.

May: The Force Please note that Silverstone Auctions’ May sale date has been changed to Friday, May 20th. On that day, you’ll be able to watch beauties like this ‘65 Mustang A-code fastback, original and unrestored with under 24,000 miles on the clock and an estimate of £32,000-

36,000, going over the block. Or, if size really does matter, how about a monster 1999 Hummer H1 six-door wagon, expected to bring between £30,00040,000? There are always more lots being added, so watch www.silverstoneauctions.com for details.

Western Promise Back in March, Brightwells’ classic sale featured a rather handsome black ‘70 Charger that hammered for an equally handsome £33,500, plus a 1983 Camaro Z28 that got up to £4,100. There’s even more American machinery in their next sale on May 11th, starting with a real oddity, a 1934 Chrysler Airflow. This one was built in Kew, but has all those cartoonish looks and an estimate

auction news.indd 15

of £12,000-15,000. There’s a red, ready rodded ‘40 Ford pick-up, too, with small-block Chevy, fivespeed, rack and pinion steering and an estimate of £30,00035,000, while the obligatory Mustang is a treat, a 1972 Mach I 351 Cobra Jet with the four-barrel 351, four-speed and a groundup restoration, expecting to fetch £26,000-30,000. See www.brightwells.com for details.

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THE

BIG PICTURE

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Chevrolet Camaro 1LE The 1LE performance package is a handling package designed to make your 2017 Camaro as handy on the circuit or autocross track as its siblings are on the strip. Aggressive suspension tuning, Brembo brakes and Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres keep it planted, and that satin black bonnet, splitter and spoiler package highlight just how sculpted these cars are. For 2017, though, the 1LE package is also available on the LT coupe with the 335bhp V6 engine, to open 1LE handling to the lower price bracket.

GET IN TOUCH The 1LE V6 – budget track star, or a bit of a cop-out?

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

facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine

ACM

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WIN! WIN! WIN! 2ND 3RD

1

ST

A good quality, professional tool chest is something that every garage should have, but when it comes in a retro style with a Shelby-esque blue-with-whitestripes colour scheme, there’s nothing not to like. I think we could all find room for that in our garages, couldn’t we?

Well, one of you will have to because American Car Magazine has teamed up with Sealey to offer this magnificent set-up to one lucky reader. That’s 10 drawers of loveliness, comprising a fourdrawer top chest, a two-drawer mid-box and four-drawer rollcab.

All the stamped steel drawers come with rubber liners, run on ball bearings and have ‘lift & latch’ pulls to prevent inadvertent opening, while the rollcab sits on four heavy-duty castors, two with brakes. The trim is chrome or stainless, just like your favourite car, and it all locks up to keep your

precious tools safe from thieving (or even borrowing) fingers. Is your tool kit looking a bit underdressed for such a beautiful toolbox? Don’t worry, we’ll even throw in some new tools from Sealey’s Siegen range, such as a 52-piece socket set, an 11-piece spanner set and 23-piece screwdriver set, and more besides.

It’s not winner-takes-all, though.

Second prize is one of Sealey’s new ElectroStart batteryless power starters, a jump-start pack that can be charged in a couple of minutes, can be stored indefinitely, will start most motors and all without the usual bulk associated with the old lead-acid jump start packs. This one could fit in your glovebox. It’s the future...

Third prize is something so handy you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it – it’s a utility seat on casters with a three-drawer toolbox built in. There’s a thick, padded

vinyl cushion for your delicate tushie, a foldaway tray on either side for those bits you normally lose on the floor, and even a little rack on the back for screwdrivers.

HOW TO ENTER It couldn’t be easier. You can enter one of three ways:- By mail. Just put your name, address and phone number on a postcard and send it to Sealey Competition at the address on page three.

- By email. Put your name, address and phone number in an email, put Sealey Competition in the subject line and send it to competitions@ americancarmagazine.com - Online. Go to www. americancarmagazine.com and follow the Competitions link.

It couldn’t be easier, so go on, treat your garage this summer!

Closing date June 9th.

Ts&Cs: All entries must be received by noon on Thursday June 9th, 2016, and the winners will be contacted thereafter. The first prize winner will be asked to confirm that he/she is over 18 as there is a utility knife among the tools supplied – if you’re under 18, we can’t give you the knife, sorry.

The competition is open to UK residents only. One entry per person. ACM will not pass any of 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, Following on from our last contact concerning classic vehicle theft, I have found and fitted a Grant Steering quick release and attach photos for your information. I already had a Grant Challenger wheel installed, therefore the adapter boss had previously been fitted. The quick release hub was ÂŁ140 including tax and shipping from Summit Racing and a reasonably easy job to install, though it does push the wheel nearer to the driver by approximately 40mm. The ability to remove the wheel from the vehicle and fit the cover makes a good visual deterrent (I hope).

Alan Saunders, via email

You may recall Alan's letter on this page in the March issue, highlighting the recent rise in classic vehicle thefts, especially in the South East which is Alan's part of the world. It looks like you've found a good solution there, Alan, especially if the vehicle is parked up at home, but if you're out in town or doing your shopping, it means you have to carry a steering wheel around with you! Still, I suppose you could put the Grant wheel on your shopping trolley and have the coolest grocery-getter in Tesco. It's still unlikely to go where you want it to, though. 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_153_Feature 1_Layout 1 29/04/2016 09:32 Page 1

1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

THE ENTERPRISE One guy has been around the London muscle scene for many years, and has ended up with one of the ultimate muscle machines.

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Matt Woods

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1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

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1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

T

he list of archetypal muscle cars is pretty flexible, but there'll always be some that live at the top - a bundle of Mopars, a handful of Fords, and plenty of GMs – but a Chevelle with SS badges and a big-block motor can never be outside the top three. This gorgeous '68 is pretty unusual in that it was built and sold new in Canada in late '67, one of just over 1,000 built there, but it's a rather special car all round.

It belongs to Nigel Clarkson from Wimbledon, and is the pinnacle of a long and storied muscle car career.

“I've had Yanks since 1981, and this is my 27th,” says Nigel. “Sometimes I've had two or three at a time, and there have been some times when I've had

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Factory muscle cars didn't get much more "right" than this (below). A mid-size car with beautiful two-door pillarless styling and a thumping great big-block under the bonnet.

Of course you'd need a period aftermarket Sun tacho (below left) mounted to the steering column to get it truly right.

Those wheels (right) are, strictly speaking, 1969 SS wheels, but ask us if we give two hoots...

none. That first one was a 1970 GTO convertible, and I loved it – it was white with a black hood, and I bought it for next to nothing considering it was only 10 years old at the time. I'd gone along to an American car dealer in Wembley to look at a 1970 Challenger. It was a sixcylinder with lacework paint down the sides and the interior was all red, every single thing was red. It was awful. I told the dealer, Ivan, that it wasn't for me and he threw me the keys to the GTO and said, 'Try that'. I told him I'd never driven a left-hand drive car before but he told me I'd be fine. I put the hood down, took it for a drive, and I felt like a film star! I'd seen Two Lane Blacktop, so the '70

GTO gave me instant cred. I bought it, part-exchanging my Triumph 2500PI. “While I owned that, I met a guy in Sutton who said he had a Chevelle that he just wanted gone; he wanted £300

“I told the dealer, Ivan, that it wasn't for me and he threw me the keys to the GTO and said, 'Try that'”

ACM_153_Feature 1_Layout 1 29/04/2016 09:33 Page 4

1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

for it. I saw it and loved the shape, but it was a 307 with a Powerglide and bench seats and it needed work. I bought it, parked it, kept it for a while and never really got around to doing the work on it, so I sold it on to a friend who painted it, swapped the motor and so on. It took another 30 years before I got the Chevelle I really wanted back then!

After the GTO I bought a Belgian-built Le Mans with a manual transmission, and loved it once I got used to the fourspeed. I'd been going to the Chelsea Cruise since the mid-Seventies, and the early Eighties was a brilliant period for the cruise. I met a guy there who was a lorry driver and told me of a Chevy Nova he'd seen on a lot, and reckoned I could do a deal. It was a 350 SS with a

four-speed, mental fast – I had a couple more Novas after that.

“Over the years I've had a '73 Chevelle SS, a Corvette, a '55 Chevy, a 440 Charger, a few station wagons – I've been spoilt! I've never been that keen on Fords, though I did have a Cougar once. It was viable back then, and I never had anything too vast, nothing too big for London.

All have been a lot of car for not a lot of money, and the only other cars you could get with similar performance were Jaguars, and they were out of my price range. I had a MkII Jag once, the first car I did 100mph in on its skinny crossplies. I bought it for £25 and sold it for £25 within three weeks. ➔

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1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

“The previous car I had was a full custom 1967 Camaro called Silhouette.

The original owner had died, and this guy bought it off his widow because he wanted the blown small-block for a Model T, so when I got it, it just had a 283 in it. That was in 2002, but I remembered seeing it at Earls Court in the Seventies. It was absolutely mint, top and bottom, and I knew I'd never find another 35-year-old car so well looked after. I thought I'd strip all the custom stuff off it and put it back to original, but friends said it'd be a shame to do that because it was a big part of the UK's custom history, so I thought I'd sell it as it was – I didn't want to take the story away from the vehicle. I sold it to a good home, to a guy who wanted to keep it exactly as it was, but then I had money burning holes in my pocket...

“I'd spent years going to shows and hearing people say, 'Oh, that's so-and-so's old car,' so I wanted a car that was mine” “I started scanning the internet, Craigslist and other sites. I'd never imported a car, but I'd spent years going to shows and hearing people say, 'Oh, that's so-and-so's old car,' so I wanted a car that was mine, and was enjoying the excitement of trying to find it. I wouldn't recommend anyone buying a car on the strength of photographs, like I did – a flight out there to view and a few days in the States might cost £1,000, but that's a grand well spent. The seller was a classic car dealer in Iowa, and he sent me 100 photos of every part of the car from all angles. I loved the shape, loved the colour, and all it really needed was the interior. I sold the Camaro in March, 2011; by April I'd found what I wanted, by the end of April it was on a boat and

by June it was on my doorstep. I spoke to a local car delivery guy, who picked it up from the docks and delivered it to me, so I never saw the car until the day it arrived. I put it in the garage, and it didn't leave for six months.

“I did the jobs for the MoT, like fitting proper belts in place of the lap belts, and fitting new left-dipping headlamps with sidelight bulbs built in. Only the wipers didn't work, so I fixed those, got it MoT’d on the chassis number, then went to the DVLA office in Wimbledon to register it and get my free tax disc.

“It's an SS396 that was built in Canada at the Oshawa plant and sold new by a dealership in Saskatchewan.

GM Canada keep all records, and for $70 I got all the information I needed, 24

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all the details and all the options. I needed to know that it was a genuine car, and the VIN confirmed this as SS cars had a special VIN in 1968. It's a genuine big-block, four-speed and Positraction car, but the original 396 has been replaced with a 454 at some point.

“It needed interior work, and I needed to do something to it! I'd done the interior on my Corvette and my Charger, but I'd never done a headlining before. I bought some parts like PUI seat covers from Ausley's Chevelle, and some matching vinyl in Pearl White and covered the door panels myself. The carpet, kick panels and dash were black, and the headlining and sun visors were cream. I found a Sixties Audi colour that was bloody close to the original Pearl White, and sprayed and lacquered the hard plastics, then made up my own window felts using some felt and some chrome trim strip. The floors were sound but thin, so I treated them with epoxy, then sound deadening pads, then underlay, then a moulded black carpet set. The lid on the centre console was rough, so I covered it in black vinyl and put the chrome trim down the centre, then made a brushed stainless trim around the shifter. I had to be quite strict with myself and not go crazy – I couldn't do that to this car, it was too original; if it had been a six-pot basket case I wouldn't have minded so much. ➔

The original motor is long gone, being replaced at some point with this 'cooking' 454 (right).

Nigel doesn't know too much about it neither, it seems, did the vendor - but it does have some rather juicy parts in and the cam is lumpier than service station gravy. Those Baldwin Motion rocker boxes were found right here in the UK! Those exhausts (above) make the car "quite offensively noisy", although the level of offence caused surely depends upon your point of view. Nigel retrimmed most of that gorgeous interior (below right), including those bucket seats, in Pearl White. The original colour was supposedly Parchment, but this is prety close. And three pedals! Count 'em! Four if you include the parking brake! You can't beat a manual...

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1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

Tech Spec 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Built November 14th, 1967 Original spec: 396cu.in. 325bhp four-barrel Turbo Jet V8 M20 wide-ratio four-speed transmission G80 Positraction limited slip dierential PW8 red stripe F70 tyres F40 heavy-duty front and rear suspension A02 tinted windscreen A51 front bucket seats D55 centre console U63 AM push-button radio K05 engine block heater Z49 mandatory Canadian equipment modifications

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1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396

“The car was advertised as having a 'built 454', and I've noticed it has roller rockers and the cam is big, for sure. All I've done is change the carburettor to a Barry Grant Demon and fit a polished manifold and a set of Motion valve covers, which I found for sale over here. Most of the hoses were braided, but not all, so I finished the job, and the block was orange but rough, so I repainted it. The exhausts were pretty loud and finished in front of the axle, but I like to see a nice big pair of tailpipes under the back bumper. I got some 3.25” stainless tube to make some tailpipe trims, and thought I'd like them oval, so I made some wooden platforms, put the pipe sections between them and drove the car over them. They didn't flatten! They didn't change shape at all! I fitted Flowmaster silencers and over-axle pipes, and now it's quite offensively noisy. If you drive like a pussy, they're fine, but you expect a certain sound from these cars...

“It came in on 18” five-spokes, but I found a set of 14” Super Sport wheels.

They're not quite correct, as they didn't come out until 1969, but I think I'd

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rather have the 18s back on! I also refitted the original steering wheel with the tiny SS396 script. The rim had shrunk and cracked, so I restored it with Chemical Metal, then painted it with epoxy primer and epoxy black.

Before, it had a 13” wheel which looked lovely, but with no power steering and the bigger wheels and tyres... no wonder they're called muscle cars! I've since bought a lovely Grant wood rim wheel that may go on yet.

“I've changed the radiator for an aluminium one with an electric fan and the fan cowl from a Range Rover, but I've kept the original parts. The body's showing a few signs of repairs, but I've had it for five years now and I've no idea how long that paint's been on there. I consider myself fortunate, as of all the colours GM used in 1968, I don't think I could have picked a better one than Tripoli Turquoise. It's a six-footer now, but I don't know if I want to tackle it. The brakes are power drums all round, and they do well enough so I'll leave them. I'd like to keep it as original as possible – if it still had the original 396, I'd definitely have kept that and

With its original looks (below), original-style wheels, even original drum brakes, this could be the local street race champ's car from somewhere circa 1970. It still wears its original SS396 badges (below left), but has a secret 58-cube boost under the bonnet, more than enough to overpower those little tyres. This would fit right in at the drive-in in Dazed And Confused... and Nigel's right, that colour suits the car so beautifully it hurts. Does it really need the 18" rims?

What do you reckon?

not swapped a 454 in. I just want to enjoy owning it as much as I can.

“It's quite nice on the street, very well-mannered, and the clutch and gears help you control it. I've just bought some anti-hop bars for it, as the axle tramps like you wouldn't believe. I found these old Edelbrock bars in the States, which cost a fortune, but they should help when I nail it. It has 4.10:1 gears, so 60mph is cruising speed. Any more than that and you're just using up petrol and upsetting your passengers!” ACM

“Of all the colours GM used in 1968, I don't think I could have picked a better one than Tripoli Turquoise”

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1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

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1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

In terms of a classic with just the right amount of modification, we reckon this '55 is close to spot-on.

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Darren Woolway

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1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

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ost cars will stand a little modifying. A trim here, a snip there, the odd bolt-on to bring the styling up to date. Some cars, that merry band of very few, needed nothing. They got it right first time. And most of the time, modifications will actually detract from it. The '55 Chevy was one such car. It's a lily that doesn't need gilding, and if you bring the underpinnings a little closer to the 21st century, the bodywork can stay just as it is, thank you very much, and look all the better for it. The end result is a 'resto-mod', and this '55 could be the perfect example.

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Few cars can have stood the test of time as well as the 1955 Chevrolet. A million-seller when new, it still commands a huge army of fans and is still top of most American car enthusiasts' bucket list of must-owns.

In a scene where the mantra is 'dare to be different', this is the car everyone wants. And of all the variants available, I reckon most would plump for the twodoor hardtop, the 'sports coupe'.

So, here we have the pinnacle of the '55 line. This Bel Air sports coupe belongs to Colin Cross, from Higham, Kent, and ticks pretty much every box there is. “A couple of years ago, I'd just

In the years just before manufacturers began slapping on chrome by the square yard, Chevy got it just right with the Bel Air (below left). Beautiful bumpers feature add-on overlap gravel guards (below), and those dainty V8 badges are plenty of adornment, thanks.

Incidentally, if you see this car at a show, you’ll spot it has a very age-related private plate now!

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1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

Colin (left) brought this '55 in from California. It's the most soughtafter shape, too, the Sports Coupe pillarless hardtop, and it's easy to see why it's so popular.

That colour scheme shows it off to best effect, too. Front bumper gets the overlap gravelguards, too (right).

finished my '53 pick-up and was on the lookout for a new project,” says Colin. “I quite fancied a MkI Zodiac to put a small-block in, but then I remembered the '55 I had in my late Twenties, so started looking for a '55. I found this one on eBay in Santa Rosa, California, so I waited until the end of the auction and put a bid in, and bought it blind.

That was in May, 2014.

“Schumacher Cargo brought it to the UK for me, but some problem at the docks at this end saw it sitting in storage for a month, so I finally got to pick it up from Felixstowe in the July.

That's when I got to see it for the first

time. I checked it out and it looked good, then I opened it up and the interior was all in tired beige velour! It had a water leak because the thermostat housing had corroded through, and the starter motor was dead so I had to bring it home on a lowloader. ➔

“I checked it out and it looked good, then I opened it up and the interior was all in tired beige velour!”

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1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

“It was a really solid car; the paint was a little orange-peeled in places, but there was no rot. The paint job was supposedly 10 years old, and I spent many hours with the G3, flatting and polishing to bring it all back up nice.

One wing had some stone chips and needed touching in, but it blended in beautifully. The Gypsy Red and Shoreline Beige paint is the car's original colour scheme.

“I replaced the starter and thermostat housing to get it running, and she ran beautifully. It has a very lumpy cam, though, and the carburettor was a massive doublepumper which was over-fuelling so I replaced it with an Edelbrock Thunder 650. I stripped all the ancillaries off the engine and replaced them with chrome and billet, and painted the inner wings black. It also came with an ugly radiator from an eighties Camaro, which I replaced with an aluminium Griffin radiator that's supposedly good for cooling 1,000bhp. The exhaust is a dual three-inch stainless system built

by Pipecraft in Essex.

“Then I ripped the whole interior out and took it to Keith at Burnham Autos. I took him the door cards and

seats, and he stripped them back to the frames and recovered everything in matching red and white tuck'n'roll vinyl. The headliner is the one it came with, though, because that was still in good order. The steering wheel is a reproduction of the original but three inches smaller in diameter, and the column is an ididit tilt column sprayed body colour. The radio looks like the original, but it's a modern unit you can plug your iPod into. The car came with the air conditioning already installed, with the control panel shaped to fit the dash around where the ignition switch would have been originally.

“It's on two-inch dropped spindles at the front and two-inch lowering blocks at the rear, with tubular A-arms, anti-roll bars front and rear and poly bushes all round. The rear is stock drums but the front end's been upgraded to discs with matching dual circuit master cylinder and servo. Over winter, I went all through the suspension and replaced every single ball joint and bush. My mate was helping me and he asked why I was replacing them when they were all good; I replied 'So I know it's been done.' ➔

“It has a very lumpy cam, though, and the carburettor was a massive double-pumper”

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350 small-block wears fuellie heads and plenty of dress-up. That radiator (below) is more than up to a stock-ish smallblock. Chromed alternator and air con compressor use clever turnbuckle rods for belt tensioning (right). Dual-circuit master cylinder and servo (bottom left) feed the uprated front discs, and a splash of chrome adds shine.

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1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

Tech Spec 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 350cu.in. Chevrolet small-block Edelbrock Performer manifold Edelbrock Thunder carburettor Double-hump 'fuellie' heads Polished stainless headers Dual custom stainless 3” exhaust Griffin aluminium radiator TH350 auto transmission Front power disc conversion 2” dropped spindles Tubular A-arms Polyurethane bushes all round Anti-roll bars front and rear Custom tuck'n'roll interior ididit tilt column ARE Torq Thrust II wheels, 18x8 front, 20x8 rear Pirelli tyres, 225/40R18 front, 245/45R20 rear Thanks to: “My mate Mark and his son Michael for all their help, and Knowle Country House, Higham, for the location.”

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1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

“I wanted it to drive as good as it looks, and that's just what it does”

“The car came on 15” American Racing Torq Thrust II wheels all round, but I replaced them with 20x8s on the rear and 18x8s on the front, and Pirelli tyres. The grille bars and bumper guards were period options which I bought in the States and had rechromed. Every bit of chrome on the car has been done by Butterworth's Plating in Ramsgate, and all the stainless trim on the sides is new reproduction, including the gravel shields behind the wheelarches, 34

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everything coming from Classic Chevy in the States. I fitted the tri-bar headlamps, and while the side windows were already tinted, I had to do the rear screen.

“I don't get to use it much – I tend to use the truck more – and it hasn't been out at all yet this year! It's a fair weather driver, I only use it 10 or 20 times a year. Last year I took it out to a couple of shows and came home with a couple of trophies. There are still a few jobs I'd like to do. I'd like to paint

the underside body-colour, but that won't happen this year, and I'd like to box the battery in the boot, but then I just shut the boot and forget about it!

It's spot-on to drive, really smooth. I wanted it to drive as good as it looks, and that's just what it does. It's lowered, and on low-profile tyres, but it's still the best-driving '55 I've ever been in. I don't know what's in the engine, but it flies - I've had the truck dynoed at 420bhp, and this will give it a run for its money.” ACM

The interior (top) has been completely redone - the beige velour it came with would have really let the side down. Beautiful tuck'n'roll benches are period perfect, and you'd have to look hard to spot the tilt column and smallerdiameter steering wheel - with later power steering, you really don't need a wheel the same diameter as the one on The Black Pearl. The wheels on each corner have gone up in diameter, though - those 18and 20-inchers wouldn't look out of place on a brand-new Corvette, yet don't look out of place here, either!

Ray’s Classics California Collector Car Sales & Export Specialist

1955 Chevy Nomad 350Ci/Auto ,P/S, Very Nice Condition Throughout $42,500

1967 Chevy C-10, 350Ci/4Spd Muncie, P/S, Full Custom Airbagged Truck $16,750

1968 Ranchero, 302/3Spd, One Ca Owner , Original Title ,Owners Manual & Service Card, Rustfree Unrestored Example $9,650

San Carlos CA since 1980

1969 Galaxie Convert, 390Ci/Auto, P/S, P/Top, Ca Car Since New Good Condition Throughout , Summer Ready $14,750

Prices include shipping from Oakland CA to UK Mainland

Check the website for the complete inventory list

WE CAN LOCATE THE CAR OF YOUR DREAMS

1950 Chevy 2Dr Fastback, 6Cyl/3Spd, Bone Stock, Rustfree Unrestored Diamond, On The Button $13,750

1934 Chevy 3 Window Coupe,350Ci/Auto, P/S, Pdb, Mustang Two, 9” Rear $38,500

Vehicle shipping to TEL: the UK inspection services available in the Western States e: raysclassics@earthlink.net

650-361-8083

www.raysclassics.com

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JEEP

THRILLS

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2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi SRT

Take a market-leading SUV, give it the mighty motor from a muscle car, and what do you get?

Words & photography: Dave Smith

W

hen Fiat moved in on the Chrysler empire, I think everyone was worried that the Chrysler brands would lose their identity and we’d just end up with a global amalgam of a few different cars with a choice of half a dozen different brand badges on them. It seems that those fears were unfounded, though, because since Fiat took the reins, you could argue that the muscle coming out of Detroit is loopier than it’s ever been.

Yes, the Dodge Dart shares a lot with an Alfa Romeo, and the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X are half-sisters, but then look at the Challenger and Charger. Mental! The Viper. Insane! And then there’s this – the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. It’s completely hatstand.

In terms of a luxury SUV, Jeep arguably created the niche. The Wagoneer came out in 1963, long before the term SUV had been coined, and when ‘luxury’ in an off-roader meant it had a roof. The Range Rover came out in 1970, and that was hardly leather-bound luxury then, either, with its rubber floor mats, but Jeep were already way ahead of them with the Cherokee and the rather lovely Cherokee Chief soon after. Now, everyone and his dog makes a luxury SUV and/or a luxury “crossover”. Go back 40 years and tell BMW, Porsche or Cadillac that they’ll be making their own versions of the Jeep Wagoneer by the turn of the century and they’d probably have laughed you out of the boardroom.

The SRT version of the Grand Cherokee is not a new idea. Back in 1998, at the tail-end of the old ZJ model, Jeep introduced a 245bhp 

“There’s not much on the exterior to boast of the car’s ludicrous power output” ACM

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2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi SRT

Limited powered by the old 360cube V8 which they claimed was the world’s fastest SUV. The 1999-2004 WJ version and 2005-2010 WK versions could be had with the 4.7 Magnum V8, though this was beginning to show its age by now, so the WK also introduced the 5.7 Hemi engine. Don’t forget, this was in the era of the Cadillac Escalade, the Hummer H2, the Lincoln Navigator and so on – it seemed to be a race to build the most ostentatiously luxurious and powerful SUV. Jeep stepped it up in 2007 with the 420bhp 6.1 Hemi, and badged it the SRT-8, which carried on up until the WK2 Grand Cherokee came along in 2011.

Then along came the 6.4-litre Hemi...

FCA UK were foolhardy enough to lend me a Grand Cherokee SRT (note, no longer an SRT-8) to test recently, bless them. This has never been a big seller here in the UK, possibly due to high fuel prices, although this hasn’t stopped rivals selling fleets of similarly equipped (and thirsty) SUVs, so this could mean that the SRT is a very well kept secret.

The car that turned up was very handsome in Deep Cherry Red, looking purposeful on its big, darkgloss alloys and performance road

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“The millisecond you release the brake you get maximum forward thrust. No wheelspin, no drama, just pure go” tyres. There’s not much on the exterior to boast of the car’s ludicrous power output, and it might take a trained eye to tell it apart from its standard diesel brethren, although you could hardly call it a sleeper. Climbing in, you find yourself in a firm but comfortable sports seat, facing drilled alloy pedals, a dog-bone shaped instrument cluster, and a chunky, perforated leather steering wheel with a bewildering array of controls built in. There’s the now-ubiquitous touch-screen in the centre, the climate controls underneath, then a broad centre console with the stubby little shifter and a couple of cup holders.

Stand on the brake, press the start button, and the big V8 grumbles into life though it’s fairly subdued, and even now there’s not much to hint at the power within. Drop it into D and you’re away. It’s a bulky thing, but the huge engine doesn’t have to work too hard to shift it, and it mutters its way through traffic and around town

with the eight-speed box changing so seamlessly up and down that the revs barely change at all. Once you get to a clear stretch you can open it up a little, and it responds... boy, does it respond.

And yet it’s still not making yummy V8 noises. You have to really floor it to get the soundtrack, but doing that can see you well into licence-losing territory within seconds. Boot it, and it takes off in a way that nothing this bulky has any right to do.

I took it down to London during the time I had it. The boot is quite capacious, although a fair chunk of it is lost to the superb sound system, but my one case wasn’t going to trouble its capacity. On the way down, I drove as gently as I possibly could, barely tickling the throttle, with the cruise control set to 70mph – 60mph in places – and the laughably optimistic ECO button switched on to give me cylinder deactivation. I managed to average 21mpg. That ECO button also left the engine feeling

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2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi SRT

strangled should you actually need to press the throttle. On the way back, I was a good deal less cautious, and I shan’t tell you my average fuel economy because it still hurts. It was dark, and the SRT has those ultra-HID headlamps which are wonderful to be behind but utterly irksome to be in front of, but do help you feel like king of the road. Those massive brakes also help you forget that you’re driving a tall, heavy box.

There’s also a button on the console with a pictogram of a drag racing Christmas tree and the word ‘Launch’.

This has got to be good. Find a clear stretch (by which I mean a drag strip or other private road...), press the launch button, then step on the brake, then floor the throttle. The revs will rise to the optimum spot so that the millisecond you release the brake you get maximum forward thrust. No wheelspin, no drama, just pure go.

Yeah, I can get with that.

On the road, as you’d expect from a Jeep with such a clever 4WD system and active suspension, the grip and roadholding is never in question. I never went on a quest in search of the limits of adhesion because a) it’s not my car and b) I’m not mental, 

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2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi SRT

TECH SPEC 2016 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE HEMI SRT 6,417cc/392ci 461bhp @ 6,250rpm 460ft.lb. @ 4,100rpm Eight-speed auto transmission Quadra-Drive II 4WD system SLA coil-spring front suspension Multi-link IRS

“The Grand Cherokee doesn’t have the same ‘footballer/drug-dealer’ stigma as most top-of-therange luxury SUVs” but I know that during my tenure at the wheel I never even came close. I wouldn’t say it’s a comfortable ride; to keep that bulk in check under the power and torque the engine can provide, soft suspension isn’t an option, but the payoff is reassuring grip.

Would I choose one over its rivals?

Well, the pricing puts it firmly in BMW X6 territory, and you’d get a lot of change by choosing this over a Range Rover Sport, plus the Grand Cherokee doesn’t have the same “footballer/ drug-dealer” stigma as most top-ofthe-range luxury SUVs. Plus you have a Hemi under the bonnet, which has a specialist cachet all of its own, so I believe I would, yes.

Would I choose one at all?

Probably not, because it’s a massive compromise. If I wanted a Hemi muscle car, I’d choose a muscle car – at this price, you aren’t that far off a Hellcat. If I wanted a working, towing 40

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SUV with off-road ability, I’d pick a Grand Cherokee with the big V6 diesel.

The SRT isn’t the sort of car you’d go mud-plugging through bogs in, but while its clever 4WD system and active suspension may make it pretty handy in the mud, I expect that those highperformance, low-profile road tyres have traded off a lot of that ability. It’s rated to tow almost three tons, but I wince to think what that’d do to the fuel consumption.

However, if you really want a muscle-bound luxury SUV that’s king of the road without the snobbery and brand one-upmanship associated with Range Rovers and the German brands, then this is the car for you. It’s got go, it’s got whoa, it can tow and it’ll get you through the snow. And when you floor it, it sounds gorgeous. If that’s what you need, then here it is – the best-kept secret in the high-powered SUV market. ACM

Bilstein adaptive damping all round Quadra-Lift air suspension 380mm vented discs all round Six-piston aluminium block brake calipers all round Rack and pinion steering with electric hydraulic PAS pump 20” polished alloys with 265/50R20 performance tyres 0-60mph 5.0 seconds Top speed 160mph Kerb weight 2,418kg/5,330lb Towable weight (braked) 2,949kg/6,500lb Wheelbase 2,915mm/114.7in.

Overall length 4,846mm/190in.

Combined MPG 20.2 CO2 emissions 315g/km VED band M OTR RRP £65,995 See www.jeep.co.uk

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28/04/2016 17:10

THE BIGGEST CELEBRATION OF AMERICAN-FUELLED MOTORING, MUSIC AND RACING THIS SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC EURO NASCAR RACING CLASSIC AMERICAN RACING 1000+ AMERICAN SHOW VEHICLES HOT ROD & CUSTOM DISPLAY LIVE MUSIC GREAT FOOD FAMILY FUN ADULT WEEKEND ONLINE - £29 ADULT SUNDAY (MAIN DAY) ONLINE - £23 UNDER 13S GO FREE GRANDSTAND SEATS – FROM £5

WWW.SPEEDFEST.CO.UK - 0843 453 9000 *Advance tickets available until midday Wednesday 8 June. Postage fee applies. Calls will cost 7p per minute plus your telephone company’s access charge.

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restoretro

Resto Retro Time to revisit some TV stars and check their car park Words & photography: Charlie Lewis

Way back in the July 2014 issue, our Stateside contributor, Charlie Lewis, visited the shop/set of Rick Dale, who, along with his family, stars in American Restoration where everything from antiques to muscle cars get restored.

Naturally, these guys have some eclectic tastes when it comes to wheels, so Charlie took a look at what they’re cruising around the streets of Las Vegas in these days.

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1941 Willys Coupe

This 1941 Willys coupe can almost be called a celebrity. It belongs to Las Vegas native Rick Dale, the main power player in the family business Rick’s Restorations as featured in American Restoration, one of the highest rating reality TV shows around. Rick has transformed his Willys into one heck of an American street rod.

If you know Rick from the TV show you will also know he loves his history and always adds it into each episode by building and restoring historic household or industrial items. We asked Rick if he can describe what it is like to be on TV. Rick said, “It’s just a job. I don’t notice a difference, maybe the first week it was very weird and I was nervous. Everyone gets used to it and it’s not a big deal. I like that people love what we do and can relate to what we do.”

Moving forward to Rick’s car and a little history about the make and model. These Willys were produced by Willys Overland Motors from 1937 to 1942, either as a sedan, coupe, station wagon or pick-up truck. The coupe version is a very popular choice for a custom hot rod, and became such a favourite with rodders that today, 100% stock Willys Americars are a very rare find. Only the later models were called Americars, a very patriotic name, but of course in 1942 production stopped because Willys had something even more patriotic to produce...

This 1941 Willys coupe has actually been around for quite some time now and has gone through a few different owners. Rick had a 1941 Willys when he was 22 years old, so he had been on the search for another all steel ‘41 Willys for some time. When he found one, the asking price was steep at $87,000, but Rick was not going to let this car slip through the cracks so he swooped it up.

The best place to start here is inside the cockpit of the muscle machine.

There is a completely handmade

custom centre console wrapped in tan cream silk ultra leather with chrome trim to match the bucket seats, and even the same leather wrap on the subwoofer box for beats while you cruise. The custom roll cage is bright orange.

Rick’s Willys has a 498 big-block Chevy engine crammed into the engine bay, supplying an enormous 980hp courtesy of the 8/71 blower built by The Blower Shop. The chassis is a custom, handmade piece, painted bright red with a set of chromed wheelie bars hanging out of the back. The rails are narrow enough, and the body tubbed enough, to clear a mighty set of 15x15 Weld wheels with

33x18.50x15 Hoosier bead-lock tyres which will leave tread on the asphalt when you mash the pedal.

Outside, you’ll notice the show quality PPG orange pearl over tangerine with a hint of white pearl, with traditional custom flames over the top of that. So it has all the show and all the go, but it’s no garage queen – it’s Rick’s daily. If you’re in Vegas, you can even visit the Rick’s Restorations shop at 800 W Mesquite Avenue, and you might catch a glimpse of it. The shop opened last October, and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman turned up to cut the ribbon! 

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Rick’s 1941 Willys Coupe

Blown 498 big-block Chevy The Blower Shop 8/71 supercharger Edelbrock chrome valve covers Edelbrock dual carburettors Chrome brake booster Chrome and stainless steel lines Turbo 400 three-speed auto Weld racing wheels 15x6” front, 15x15” rear Michelin 195/60R15 front, 33x18.50-15LT Hoosier bead lock rear Custom pearl orange with pearl white and flames Custom oval dual side exhaust Chrome wipers Custom mirrors Tan leather interior Custom seats Custom feathered door panels B&M shifter Auto Meter speedo, tacho, temp, fuel, volts, clock and boost gauges Custom roll cage Pyrot five-point harnesses Suicide doors Kenwood CD Player Niche Subwoofers Rockford Fosgate amplifier

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restoretro

1992 Ford Ranger

Tyler’s 1992 Ford Ranger Have you ever had that feeling while you’re out in public that everyone is staring at you? This truck belongs to Tyler Dale, Rick’s son, and one of the main stars of the show. Tyler’s really big in the mini-truck scene and gets involved as much as he possibly can when his already busy schedule allows him to do so. Fortunately, I caught him on a spare weekend to check out his radical Ranger.

Starting with the paint, you can see the custom airbrushed styles of evil creatures and skulls throughout the main bottom half of the Ranger rig, with a skulled bandit in shooter style on the custom cowl-induction hood.

Up top is a silver tribal liner layer and House of Kolor maroon top coat.

The door handles have been shaved and the rear tailgate and bumper have been welded in and moulded to the bed for a smooth clean transition - even the stock taillights

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1990 Ford V6 engine Custom 2x3” box frame Airbags Dual Viair compressors 10 gallon air tank Shaved windscreen wipers Shaved door handles Electric sunroof Suicide doors Flush mounted taillights Raised bed Custom fuel tank Tinted windows House of Kolor Maroon with custom airbrushing Custom steering wheel Custom gauges Custom black suede interior with red stitching Custom centre console Long shifter Pioneer CD player Pioneer audio speakers 205/40R17 Firestone tyres

got eliminated. The gloss black 17” wheels have a polished lip, which you can only just see as they tuck so far up into the body – this Ranger will lay its custom 2x3” box section frame on the ground thanks to two Viair compressors and a 10-gallon tank, and the bed floor had to be raised to allow maximum drop.

Under the bonnet is a 1990 Ford V6 with a few simple bolt-on upgrades between custom smooth inner arches. The cab doors open suicidestyle to show off an interior done by The Interior Shop in Arizona in black suede, double diamond pleated with red French stitching, plus that tall-boy shifter topped with a sombrerowearing skull. Tyler upgraded the audio with a Pioneer head unit and door speakers. This mini-truck is always ready to hit the streets of Vegas and show off all its goodies, and Tyler doesn’t mind doing so at all.

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1964 Ford Fairlane 500

restoretro

Ford 289 V8 Proform HEI-style distributor Edelbrock air filter Air conditioning Automatic transmission Blue interior Digital stereo system Kenwood speakers Stock gauges Stock frame Stock wheels Whitewall tyres

Ally’s 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Ally Vezeaus is showroom manager at Rick’s Restorations, daughter of Kelly Dale, and another star of the show. She also models under the name Ally Kat and is a widely published pin-up model – you can see her modeling skills at www.allykatsmodeling.com.

One of Ally’s favourite cars is a new addition to the collection, a ‘64 Fairlane.

It was in rough shape when Rick found it for his daughter years ago; Ally was a lot younger then, but fell in love with the car and began helping Rick restore it, picking up lots of tips and tricks from Rick along the way. The goal was to restore the car back to its 1964 spec, and with its rechromed bumpers and trim, and a fresh coat of its original blue, it certainly looks the part. The painted steel wheels with hubcaps and new whitewall tyres set the look off perfectly. The interior was also torn out and replaced with the blue cloth you see now, while the stereo looks period but is actually an upgraded digital system. The engine is a Ford 289 V8, painted Ford blue, with a chromed Edelbrock air filter to set it off. We can all agree that the car looks great and that Ally Kat in her polka dot pin-up style dress matches the car perfectly for a vintage combo package. ACM

American Restoration is now into Series 8 here in the UK, and can be found on the History Channel, Thursdays at 9pm – that’s Sky channels 529 and 530, Virgin 270 and 271, and BT 327 and 379.

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East Meets West

Back at the end of March, the American classics gathered in a city that’s no stranger to gas-guzzlers.

Words & photography: Dave Saunders

In March, the grand boulevard around the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world - in downtown Dubai was embellished with the sleekest, coolest and most desirable sets of wheels on the planet. The eighth edition of the Emirates Classic Car Festival attracted more than 400 vehicles from Model Ts and Thirties art deco to Seventies supercars. Emaar Properties organises the event in association with the Automobile Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), a member of The Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA). FIVA president Patrick Rollet was one of

the judges. “Dubai is one of the good shows on the world stage,” says Patrick. “I’ve seen cars I haven’t seen anywhere else. Though often rare in Europe, American cars are part of the heritage of the United Arab Emirates.

There’s an interesting 1957 De Soto Firesweep Sportsman and some lovely Buicks and Cadillacs.”

New this year was an on-site BuildOff where a 1923 Ford Model T was delivered to the boulevard in pieces and assembled during festival.

The 14 times FIA Middle East rally champion, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the ATCUAE,

opened the show and presented the awards. “There’s a trend here to collect classic cars and I’m helping to promote it,” he says. “Each year this event grows in number and quality of cars, and the festival encourages people to aim for the standard of the best cars on display.”

From the mid-20th century, many of those educated in America returned to the Middle East with some of the finest marques in tow. Cadillacs and Lincolns began to dominate the desert roads.

Soon impressive fleets of cars were amassed by those with no reason to sell their trusted old friends.  ACM

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Then their sons and grandsons complemented the family collections with low-riders and muscle cars.

Ben Sulayem saw a car that reminded him of his time at university in Washington DC. “It was a 1976 Cadillac convertible. I bought it, then I saw different models and felt I had to have them. Soon things got completely out of control. I bought so many American classics they were coming out of my ears! Driving a rally car is amazing, but a classic car feels very peaceful. My preferred daily driver is a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. It relieves a lot of the daily stress and tension.”

An exclusive Concours d’Elegance was staged within the festival itself to highlight exceptional cars and featured the 1957 De Soto Firesweep Sportsman. At the awards ceremony the next day, a very smart 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, owned by Khalil Gerges, took to the red carpet to receive the American Car Award, and Wayne Stewart’s senatorial 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Talisman drove off with the Modern Classic Award.

Typical of the better models at the festival, a 1966 Lincoln Continental was shipped to Dubai from the States in 2014. Etihad pilot, Noah Akram, purchased it three months before this year’s classic car show and had it restored by Elite Car Maintenance in Dubai, including a new alternator, battery, tyres and spark plugs. “I like my cars in perfect condition,” says 48

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Akram. “I paid around £19,000 for the car and was soon offered nearly £50,000. Quite an investment! I plan to drive it only here on the boulevard – it’s the place to be seen!”

Many younger owners relish making monstrous modifications.

Josh Stemm, who works for General Motors in Dubai, heavily customised his 1941 Chevrolet Master Deluxe, originally from California. “I stripped it back and pulled everything out,” he explains. “I put in A/C, power steering, electric windows, cruise control, remote start, six speakers and 32 inch TV in the trunk. It turns heads everywhere it goes.”

Clayton Simmons of TT Custom Dubai imported the Rover Raiders Tomahauk Wrangler Unlimited, inspired by the vintage World War II warbird. It takes the military/Zombie Apocalypse concept to a new level, with mock missiles and a realistic gun turret. “Other cool things are the grenade mounted shifter, rear seat gun rack, guns mounted on the hood, bombs on the rear and the ‘airplane fuel only’ sign.” Perhaps not such a cool move for a civilian vehicle in the Middle East.

“Originality is not so important here at the moment. That level of sophistication will come,” says Florian Zimmermann, one-time head of Mercedes-Benz Classics Centre in Stuttgart. “This show has been a major catalyst in the rise of interest in classic cars.” ACM ACM

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to Sweden

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showreport

Swede Rides

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Big Chris joins Richard Rawlings at Scandinavia’s answer to the SEMA Show.

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Words: Chris Smith Photography: c/o Bilsport Magazine

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6 April

old tiMer s Muscle cArs hot rods

sweden 2016, 25

www.bilspo

– Jönk öping – elmia - 28 March – every easter 2017, 14 - 17 April 2018, 30 March - 2

rtperforma

March 25th to 28th this year was the Bilsport Performance & Custom Car Show, held at the Elmia convention centre in Jonkoping, Sweden. Over the years I have heard many stories about the amount of muscle cars the Swedes have, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Richard Rawlings had called me the week before the event and asked if I was free to attend as he would be making an appearance at the show.

He didn’t have to ask twice; ticket booked, and off I went to the land of Volvos. After hearing how expensive the country was from various friends, I thought a first-hand insight would

be more beneficial, and the stories of beer being £10 a pint were confirmed to my horror!

The Swedish people we met were super friendly and welcoming; a real sense of hospitality is felt from them as they want to show you how they do it in their country. We entered the Elmia Hall on the Saturday morning, past the drift car demonstrations that were being held out the front of the centre - if you shut your eyes it was like being at Santa Pod with the sound of V8s and the smell of burning rubber. As we walked in we were greeted by a beautiful 1970 Dodge 

nceshow.se

www.custo

April

2019, 18

April – 22

w.se

(Top) Outside Show with Fredrik Berggren flying with a motocross FMX. (Above) 1968 Dodge Charger on Corvette C6 chassis with V10 Viper Engine.

Owner: Johan Eriksson, Mora.

(Above left) Yasmine Bengtson from EDRS (European Drag Racing Series).

(Left) Lazy Joe drove an Indian Scout in the “Wall of Death”.

ACM

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April

mmotorsho

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showreport

(Bottom left) 1932 Ford 3W. Owner (left) Lasse Eriksson, builder (right) Sven Billred. Took many awards.

(Above) Tomi Kangas 1930 A-Ford hot rod from Finland.

(Above middle) Bernt Karlsson from USA (moved from Sweden 1986).

Painter at Boyd Coddington for many years.

52

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showreport

Challenger owned by Viktor Sandin, a quality build with a resto-mod look.

There were four halls centred around street/performance/motorcycles and custom vehicles, but this wasn’t a show where you just entered your car; you had to be picked by the organisers. Basically if your car met the stringent criteria of being show quality then you may stand a chance at being picked, these guys only wanted the best.

To keep the public entertained there was a Wall of Death set up in a hall by two crazy Swedes, they were nuts – Lazy Joe and Dirty D put on a great show for everyone. Bernt Karlsson from Boyd’s show, American Hot Rod, was also there, making appearances and giving live shows in a booth painting a ‘32 Ford rod. Trans Ams, Cudas, ‘32s, the best of the best was on hand here albeit a little further in travel time than attending the old Doncaster Custom Car Show.

It’s always hard to give someone your favourite choice being amongst so many top quality cars but for some reason it wasn’t that hard for this event. Johan Eriksson was the owner of the red ‘68 Charger you see before you; he has undertaken the work himself and spent literally years making this car what it is today, trick paint, suspension, and the biggest rims I have seen on a charger – 26s.

You would think this would be a cruiser with a stock motor under the hood, right? Wrong! This car was backed by a twin-turbo V10 Viper and finished to SEMA Show standards. It just goes to show what you can find outside of the States.

The event was home to a fashion show as well; the Fifties theme for clothing was a huge hit with models taking to the catwalk and strutting their stuff, clothing for men, women and children all being demonstrated by professionals and enthusiasts alike give you an idea of the scene in Sweden.

After showing close attention to the cars over a 48 hour period it was time for Richard to give his Gas Monkey Award for best of show, and in his eyes this had to be the ‘68 Charger. Johan Eriksson deserved it.

Flights to Gothenburg are reasonably priced with the show being held an hour and half from the airport.

If you fancy a change from the norm then please take a long weekend and see what the Swedes have to offer; it will be worth every minute of your time, I guarantee it. A big thanks goes out to Magnus Karlsson and the rest of the Bilsport crew for making us feel so welcome and taking care of us. I for one hope to be back next year as this show, which has been running since 1976, just keeps getting bigger! See www. bilsportperformanceshow.se. ACM

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DamnYankees_Poster_2016_A5_Flyer 28/04/2016 15:45 Page 1

summEr sLAm CAr show CELEBrATE wiTh us ‘30 YEArs of DAmn YAnKEEs shows’

AmEriCAn CArs, hoT roDs, CusTom CArs & hArLEYs 24th July 2016 Gates Open at 9am to 3pm

Entrance Fees Yanks, Rods, Customs & Harleys £5 per Adult.

General Public £10 per Adult.

All accompanied children under 14 FREE

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Principal Insurance Ltd, Dalton House, Dane Rd, Sale, Manchester M33 7AR.

Untitled-1 1

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racereport

The Gamblers

First blood to The Eliminator as Shakespeare County kicks off a new season of Bracket Gamblers.

Words: Jerry Cookson Photography: Mike Burrowes

The first Shakedown Bracket Gambler of the season not only brought out the sunshine but also 15 eager drivers ready to race in a variety of American, Japanese and British saloons.

With two qualifiers held in quick succession, last year’s Mid Summer Madness winner, Neil L’Allouette, behind the wheel of his faithful Chevy C10 pick-up, led the field after the first session with an 11.486 on an 11.45 dial. However, he was quickly bumped down two places to number three after John Mulligan’s copper coloured Buick Skylark soared to a near perfect 16.016 on a 16.00 dial.

Making the early morning journey from Halifax count, following a rain affected weekend at York over the Easter festivities, was Lee Chiles. A previous Gambler winner with a very distinctive Dodge truck, Lee cruised quite easily to an 11.057 on an 11.03 dial but this time at the wheel of his 440ci ’69 Chrysler Valiant Super Stocker called the Eliminator!

With Neil’s truck filling the number three slot, Ian Wild’s 289-cubed Vauxhall Viva HC took fourth with a first session 14.601 on a 14.55 dial.

Completing the top five and making a return to the drag strips after building

and crewing for daughter Holly’s Sportsman ET class racing VW Beetle was dad Dave who took his Audi A4 to a 19.724 ET on a 19.67 dial.

As fastest qualifier, John Mulligan opened the round with a ‘competition single’ into the next round to meet Dave Baldwin, who arrived in round two after Curtis Fisher pulled a ‘hands up in despair’ -0.023 red light. Ian Wild took out Rob Lee’s Tiger Cat. Although he didn’t make rounds the Coventry racer still had a smile on his face having run a PB of 16.029. Neil’s C10 drove round Ozzie Summerhill’s General Lee Dodge Charger  ACM

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racereport

SCR Bracket Gamblers Instant Qualifiers 1

John Mulligan (Buick Skylark)

16.016 (16.00)

2

Lee Chiles (’69 Chrysler Valiant)

11.057 (11.03)

3

Neil L’Allouette (Chevrolet C10)

11.486 (11.45)

4

Ian Wild (’71 Vauxhall Viva HC)

14.601 (14.55)

5

Dave Baldwin (Audi A4)

19.724 (19.67)

6

Dave Coomes (Lexus LS400)

15.557 (15.50)

7

David Onken (’10 Ford Mustang GT)

13.862 (13.80)

8

Brian Huxley (’65 Ford Falcon)

16.481 (16.40)

9

Adrian Jones (Nissan GTR)

11.602 (11.50)

10

Edmund Summerhill (’69 Dodge Charger)

15.732 (15.56) 16.445 (16.20)

11

Robert Lee (’04 Tiger Cat)

12

Curtis Fisher (’98 Nissan Almera)

16.023 (15.65)

13

Pete Lane (’69 Plymouth Barracuda)

16.445 (16.20)

14

Richard Prydden (’94 Toyota Celica GT4)

14.653 (11.80)

15

Vic Parsons (’65 Plymouth Belvedere)

11.425 (11.44)

at the top end. The popular ‘Bert and Ernie’ show came to an end in favour of Pete ‘Ernie’ Lane’s Barracuda after taking out the Lexus of Dave Coomes.

Lee Chiles was heard coming off the loud pedal at the top end in his duel against the V6 Nissan GTR of Adrian Jones, but the surprise of the round was Vic Parsons’ win over Brian Huxley’s Ford Falcon as the big red Plymouth shot past with a nose hugging 11.675 on an 11.44 dial.

Closing the round was an all rookie shootout between David Onken’s

4.6 Mustang GT and the yellow GT4 Celica of Richard Prydden. As they crossed the line almost together the Mustang had just enough of an edge in front to take the win; 14.319 on a 13.8 dial.

In the second round, John’s Buick ran out of real estate in his attempt at catching Dave Baldwin’s Audi. The same fate fell at the wheels of Vic’s Plymouth as Ian Wild took the win; 14.853 on a 14.6 dial. Even though Pete Lane was already at the eighth mile by the time Lee’s Valiant was

released from the start line, Pete could still hear the 440 coming up behind him and tearing past to squeak the win by a fender (six inches)! Running on an 11.05 dial the Chrysler ran within five thousandths of a second at 11.055. Last to get a place in the semis was Neil’s 502 cubic inch truck as he whipped past David’s Mustang in the lights.

In the semis Lee was still banging out quick RTs; this time a .079 to take out Ian’s Viva. Then we had high drama with Neil’s truck and Dave’s Audi which a few minutes later had to be re-run as it was judged by the start line crew and the electronics that Neil never moved but still pulled a red. The final outcome was a win and a place in an all-American shootout after Dave broke out; 19.639 on a 19.65 dial.

Before the final, track announcer Jerry Cookson came down from the tower and displayed the winner’s trophy and the big money envelopes to each driver on the start line.

However, it was all to no avail. Neil knew what he had to do but instead pulled a -0.094 red, handing the win over to Lee. But, in true sportsmanlike fashion, both drivers still made a race of it to the finish with Lee crossing the line in 11.082/123.31 mph (11.05 dial) against Neil’s 11.544/115.04 on an 11.48 dial. ACM 56

ACM

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THE HOME OF RAM TRUCKS IN THE UK Untitled-1 1

04/04/2016 17:28

eventsguide

When? What? Where?

Organisers!

Please send any 2016 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.

May

May 14th-15th - Late Spring Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk May 15th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com May 20th-22nd - Proper Cornish Cruisers Hot Rod & American Weekend, Magor Farm, Cornwall TR14 0JF, 01209 719920, 07789 763977 or find them on Facebook

May 28th-29th - National Hot Rod & Custom Show, Peterborough Showground, hotrodandcustomshow.co.uk May 28th-30th - Yanks Weekend & NASC Gary’s Picnic, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk

June

June 3rd-5th - NSRA Billing Fun Run, Billing Aquadrome, Northants, nsra.org.uk

May 21st - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com

June 4th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com

May 22nd - Herts Auto Show, Stanborough Park, Welwyn Garden City AL8 6DQ, hertsuatoshow.co.uk

June 5th - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com

May 27th-30th - FIA Main Event, European Drag Racing Championships Round 1, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com May 27th-30th - PowerFest, RWYB & classes Sun-Mon inc A/SS Round 4 & 5, York, yorkraceway.org.uk

June 5th - Classic Ford Show, Santa Pod, Northants, classicfordshow.co.uk June 5th - Can Am Lazy Sunday, St Edwards School, Poole BH15 3HY, canamcarclub.org.uk June 9th-12th - Hot Rods & Hills, Pooley Bridge, Cumbria, search Facebook Hotrods And Hills

Monthly 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 and 3rd Wednesday – The Victory Wheelers meet, The Plough, Portsmouth Road, Burlesdon, Southampton SO31 8BT 1st Thursday – Petrolhead meet @ Witham and Blues (Apr-Oct), 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

Events.indd 1

June 10th-12th - Cholmondeley Power & Speed, Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, cpop.co.uk June 11th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com June 11th-12th - RWYB inc Bracket Gamblers, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk June 12th - American Speedfest IV, Brands Hatch, Kent, speedfest.co.uk June 17th-19th - AACI Summer Open Nationals, Billing Aquadrome, Northants, aac-int.com June 18th - Saturday Night Special RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com

July 2nd - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com July 2nd-3rd - Cars & Stripes, Rockingham, Northants, carsand-stripes.co.uk CANCELLED July 2nd-3rd - Flywheel Classic Car & Aircraft Show, Bicester Heritage, flywheelfestival.com July 2nd-3rd - Sportsman Nationals, RWYB, A/SS Round 6 Sat, 39th Street Racer Championship Sun, York, yorkraceway.org.uk July 2nd-3rd - Corvette Summer National Show, Wood Green Animal Sanctuary, Cambs PE29 2NH, corvetteclub.org.uk July 3rd - Retro Show, Santa Pod, Northants, retroshow.co.uk

June 19th - Hot Rod & Custom Drive-In, Beaulieu, Hampshire, beaulieu.co.uk

July 7th-11th - Americana International, Loughborough, americana-international.co.uk

June 24th-26th - NSRA Nostalgia Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, nsra.org.uk

July 9th - Saturday Night Special RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com

June 24th-26th - AACUK Summer Nationals, Hatton Country World, Warwick CV35 7JJ, americanautoclubuk.com June 25th-26th - MSA Summer Nationals, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com

July

July 1st-3rd - Can-Am Independence Day Weekend, Cofton Country Holidays, nr Dawlish, Devon, canamcarclub.org.uk

July 10th - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com July 15th-17th - Phantoms Hot Rod Hootenanny, Stirling Rugby Club, FK9 5AP, 07789 280600, phantomscc@outlook.com July 15th-17th - Dragstalgia, Santa Pod, Northants, dragstalgia.co.uk July 17th - Kent’s Kit, Custom & American Car Show, Aylesford Priory ME20 7BX, kentskitcustomandamericancarshow.co.uk

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

29/04/2016 11:42

July 24th - Damn Yankees Summer Slam #30, North Weald, Essex, damnyankees.uk.com July 29th-31st - Mopar Euronationals, Santa Pod, Northants, 01234 782828, moparnats.co.uk July 29th-31st - Silverstone Classic, Silverstone, Northants, silverstoneclassic.com July 29th-31st - YANCS Bridlington American & Custom Car Show & Gala, Sewerby YO15 1EU, show day Sunday, 01709 542555, yancs1@yahoo.co.uk

September

September 23rd-25th - YANCS American Rod & Custom Show, Fort Paull, near Hull HU12 8FP, show day Sunday, 01709 542555, yancs1@ yahoo.co.uk

August 13th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com

September 3rd-4th - Kustom Kulture Blast-Off, Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln LN2 2NA, kustomkultureblastoff.com

August 19th-21st - AACI Late Summer Open Nationals, Billing Aquadrome, Northants, aac-int.com

September 8th-11th - FIA European Drag Racing Championship Finals, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com

September 24th-25th - Late Summer Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk

August 20th - Saturday Night Special RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com

September 9th-11th - NSRA Hot Rod Drags, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, nsra.org.uk

August 11th-14th - Bulldog Bash, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk August 13th - Buster Lang’s Show, Sandown Park, Surrey KT10 9AJ, busterlang.com

August 21st - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com

July 29th-31st - Hot Rod Hayride, Bisley, Surrey, hotrodhayride.com

August 21st - Victory Wheelers Hot Rod & Custom Show, Stansted House, Hampshire PO9 6DX, victorywheelers.co.uk

July 30th-31st - AACUK MidSummer Show, Wicksteed Park, Northants NN15 6NJ, americanautoclubuk.com

August 21st - Monster Truck Nationals & RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, monstertrucknationals.co.uk

July 31st - Test’n’Tune, North Weald, Essex, maitlandracing.com

August 26th-28th NASC Street Rod Nationals, Trinity Park, Ipswich IP3 8UH, rodandcustom.co.uk

July 31st - Shaftesbury Carnival Classic Car & Bike Show, Barton Hill Rec Ground SP7 8QA, tel Ray 01747 852922, humphrieshouse@ btinternet.com

August

August 27th-29th - MSA/ ACU APIRA Open Sport Nationals, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk

August 5th-7th - Doncaster Road Runners, Parklands Sports Club DN2 4LT, 07833 114635, doncasterroadrunner.co.uk

August 28th-29th - 6th Hot Rod Reunion, RWYB & classes inc A/SS Round 7 & 8, York, yorkraceway.org.uk

August 5th-7th - Ignition Festival of Motoring, SECC Glasgow, ignitionfestival.co.uk

August 28th - CanAmania, Julians Road, Wimborne, Dorset, canamcarclub.org.uk

August 11th-14th - NSRA Hot Rod Supernationals, Old Warden, Bedfordshire, nsra.org.uk

August 31st - Junior Drag Racing Fun Day, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com

September 3rd-4th Beaulieu International Autojumble, Beaulieu, Hampshire, beaulieu.co.uk

September 9th-11th - The Trip Out Festival, Scald End Farm, Thurleigh, Beds MK44 2DP, thetripout.co.uk September 11th - Kent’s Classic Car Show, Aylesford Priory ME20 7BX, kentsclassiccarshow.co.uk September 16th-18th - AACUK Autumn Nationals, Drayton Manor Park, Tamworth B78 3TW, americanautoclubuk.com September 17th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com September 17th-18th - Isle of Wight Classic Car Show, Newport Saturday, Ryde Sunday, tel 0208 439 7871 September 18th - FordFest, Santa Pod, Northants, fordfestshow.co.uk September 18th - UK Northern Finals, RWYB & classes inc A/SS Finals, York, yorkraceway.org.uk September 18th - The A602’s Autorama, Fairlands Valley Country Park, Stevenage SG2 8RH, 07833 387792, a602sstreetandstriprods.com

September 24th-25th - National Finals, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com

October

eventsguide

July 23rd-24th - Midsummer Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk

October 1st - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com October 2nd - The P-15 Picnic for 1946-48 Chrysler group cars, Sywell Aerodrome, Northants NN6 0BN, robn@rockthejoint.com October 8th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com October 8th-9th Mid-Autumn Madness RWYB, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.com October 9th - Judgement Day, RWYB, York, yorkraceway.org.uk October 22nd-23rd - Halloween Bonfire Burn-Up, Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon, shakespearecountyraceway.com October 22nd-23rd - RWYB inc Saturday Night Special, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com October 29th - Flame & Thunder, Santa Pod, Northants, santapod.com October 30th - RWYB, Santa Pod, Northants, rwyb.com

November

November 10th-14th - Rhythm Riot, Pontins Holiday Centre, Camber, Sussex, rhythmriot.com

When: June What: Superb weekends Where: Everywhere!

It’s June, flaming June, which means summer’s definitely here... we hope. It starts well, with the NSRA’s annual Billing Fun Run, one of the longest-running events on the calendar, RWYBs at Santa Pod and North Weald, or Can-Am’s chilled Lazy Sunday in Poole. The following weekend is a busy one, with Cumbria’s increasingly popular Hot Rod & Hills now expanded to four days and plenty of miles. Further south there’s Cholmondeley Power and Speed, a Goodwood rival in the making, a big RWYB including Bracket Gamblers at Shakespeare County, or the massive American Speedfest at Brands Hatch. This is the fourth running of Speedfest, and it just keeps getting bigger and better - there’s a full race card and action all over, so if you’ve never been and the sun’s out, don’t miss it.

The subsequent weekend is the AACI’s flagship event, the Summer Open Nationals at Billing Aquadrome, always a firm favourite on the calendar, or down on the south coast there’s Beaulieu’s Hot Rod & Custom Drive-In day, a big day out for any fan - it also happens to be Father’s Day, so get the kids to take you along. The last weekend in June sees some National-class drag racing at Santa Pod, the AACUK’s Summer Nationals at Hatton Country World in Warwickshire, or the NSRA’s longrunning Nostalgia Nationals festival of drag racing from the good ol’ days at Shakespeare County. Yes, June’s going to be a busy one, with no excuse to be sitting at home on Sundays, so pray for sunshine, fire up the motor and get out there!

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ACM_153_Book Reviews_Layout 1 29/04/2016 14:55 Page 2

AVAILABLE FROM

Ford GT Author: Preston Lerner Published by: Motorbooks Price: £45 This is the June issue, and 50 years ago, in June 1966, Ford scored its magnificent hat-trick 1-2-3 finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours, so it seemed an apposite moment to include this tremendous title. It's a wellknown fairy tale story of how Henry Ford II wanted to buy Ferrari, was rebuffed by Enzo and, to get his own back, commissioned a car that would beat Ferrari's best on their home turf. And they did, with the Ford GT. That's a wonderful ideal, but it barely hints at the story behind it. The subtitle for this book is 'How Ford silenced the critics, humbled Ferrari and conquered Le Mans'; how Ford did that was thanks to (or, often, in spite of) years of trial, error, successes, failures, politics, disasters and, unfortunately, death, not to mention a blank cheque from Henry Deuce. The GT was far from the overnight success the fairy tale might have you believe.

This marvellous book tells the tale of how the car came to be, from concept, to AngloAmerican project, to the track. It begins with the breakdown of

negotiations with Ferrari in 1963 and ends with the second Le Mans victory for the factorybacked cars in 1967. In the middle you'll find a beautifully told story of men driven to succeed, driven to show the world that America could produce a sports car that could compete and win on the world stage, not to mention some in-house politics to rival anything on Dallas or Dynasty. Among all this is photography so evocative that the only thing missing is Steve McQueen flicking the Vs – this truly was the golden age of the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Photographer Dave Friedman, who worked for Shelby American at the time, has raided his own archives and those of many other sources to create an epic selection of photographs suitable for such an epic book. Thankfully, Motorbooks saw fit to print this title on lovely paper stock, and in such large format.

A well-researched and beautifully-related tale of just how many years of slog and how many millions of corporate dollars it took to become an overnight success. A wonderful title, highly recommended.

The Over Here Collection – Buick and Cadillac Author: Steve Miles Published by: SGM Publishing Price: £9.99 each inc P&P Available from: www.sgmpublishing.co.uk Here are another two instalments from the vast and fascinating archive of Steve Miles, this time concerning the luxury end of GM's spectrum. Steve's hobby as a lad was snapping American cars on the streets of London and his home town of Oxford, plus the annual visit to Earls Court for the motor show. After five compendiums (compendia?) of assorted photos, there are now marque-specific titles comprising previously unpublished photos, and they're just as superb as the published ones.

Although Oxford, with its nearby American air bases, was a

happy hunting ground for a car snapper, not many US squaddies were flush enough to afford Cadillacs and Buicks, so most of these are shot in the Smoke, and quite a few are on diplomatic plates. As ever, it's the setting that makes these shots so outstanding – seeing a Buick Electra parked in a side street between a Hillman Imp and an Austin A40, or a stately Cadillac limousine serenely gliding through dull, grimy London traffic is what really sets these photos apart. They're not just a 'roadscape' of the Sixties; they're a social history archive. Go, buy, enjoy.

ACM

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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.

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projectcars

New Projects...

Elizabeth’s Camaro gets maximum sounds per pound with a straight-swap speaker upgrade Words & photography: Elizabeth de Latour

1999 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Take a look at these two different responses to the same scenario, because whichever one you identify with more will determine what sort of person you are: A) That speaker appears to be crackling; guess I’d better get hold of a replacement.

B) That speaker appears to be crackling; guess I’d better replace all my speakers with an uprated set-up!

If you identify more with A, then you are A Normal Person; if you identify more with B, then you are A Modified Car Person. That’s not a fictitious scenario dreamt up for the purpose of this intro, oh no, this is based on my own personal experience with the Camaro, and can you guess which solution I opted for?

Before buying the Camaro I spent far too long reading through various fourth-gen Camaro brochures that I found online in great detail and, as someone who enjoys a good quality in-car audio, was impressed by the exotically-named Monsoon system, which was optional but which GM

decided to fit as standard in Euro Camaros. Eight speakers, 200 watts, “Drench yourself in sound” said the ‘99 brochure. What’s not to like? Well... On paper, and especially in the brochure, it all sounds very impressive, with two-way coaxial speakers in the front doors, full-range speakers in the hatch area plus a pair of 6.5” subs in the sail panel, behind the front seats and it certainly looks like there’s plenty of power on tap; however, the speakers have a habit of blowing and the head unit is generally considered to be of pretty poor quality. Also, interestingly, the Euro head unit is visually different to its American counterpart, lacking the separate fade, balance, bass and treble knobs and making do without the Camaro’s speed sensitive volume adjustment, which Firebirds lacked but made up for with a manual graphic equaliser. So now you know.

Anyway, back to my Camaro and its Monsoon system which, like much of the car I am now coming to realise, was not particularly healthy. The passenger side door speaker was

rattling and buzzing when listening to anything and even once I’d figured out what the pop-out knobs on the head unit adjusted (thanks to their strange symbol labelling) it didn’t do me any good and the crackling was driving me crazy. I chose to drive in silence, though when you’ve got a V8 under the bonnet that’s no hardship. Still, I wanted to fix the speaker and as the Camaro has now become a full-blown project I knew that I also wanted to upgrade all the speakers while I was at it, because why not? 

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It became apparent very quickly that for anyone looking to upgrade their F-body speakers the go-to choice is a company called Kee Audio. Owner, Ian Kee, has been specialising in F-body audio upgrades for more than 10 years and works closely with American audio specialist CDT Audio in order to put together a number of packages that have been specifically tailored for the Camaro and Firebird, with high quality components and in a range of prices to suit every pocket. The speakers in each package are the right size and correct type to replace all the standard items and it seemed silly not to opt for one of the Kee Audio packages seeing as Ian had done all the legwork and research.

All the reviews I’d read were incredibly positive and not only are the packages very keenly priced, it’s cheaper to buy the CDT speakers as a bundle. It was a very easy decision to make.

The hardest part was deciding which of the five packages to go for; I had initially been planning on buying the cheapest one, the $299.99 Level 1 package, but after speaking to Ian he suggested I go for the Level 3 package, his most popular and which costs $429.97 or about £310 at the current exchange rate. While it shares the same hatch speakers as the three packages below it (there’s a Level 2.5 between 2 and 3), it comes with higher quality front speakers and subs. I decided to push the boat out and treat myself, or rather the Camaro.

The speakers arrived well packed, their individual boxes fitting snugly into one larger box and I couldn’t resist unpacking them all to get acquainted.

The fronts are 6.5” KA-61CV.2s, rated at 90W and with what is described as a convertible design; basically, the tweeters are packaged separately and can be mounted in a different location to the woofers or you can remove the

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speaker’s centre cap and mount the tweeter on a post which then screws into the centre of the woofer. The rear speakers are 4” CL-4EXs, rated at 60W and whereas the standard hatch speakers just use a woofer, the CDTs are coaxial and add a .75” silk dome tweeter in the middle of the speaker, essentially adding an extra pair of speakers to the lineup. Finally, we come to the 6.5” HD-6MSUB SVC subwoofers, rated at 80W and with a frequency response that reaches all the way down to 38Hz; these are beautifully built and seriously hefty, and all of the CDT speakers have a real sense of quality about them that makes the standard items look pretty atrocious, really.

I decided that, as I am spending so much money on various other areas of the Camaro, I would have a crack at fitting the speakers myself; no big deal, you may be thinking but, firstly, I have absolutely zero experience with fitting car speakers and, secondly, the CDT speakers don’t just plug straight into the Camaro, there’s much wire stripping and crimping to be done, and that’s a little bit scary for a novice. Still, with the fourth-gen F-body community being so large and so active, there was a wealth of information available at my fingertips regarding fitting, along with an excellent installation guide on the Kee Audio site. Ian himself says on his website that installation is straightforward and can be done by a novice without any specialised tools, which sounds a lot like me so I decided to give it a go. I borrowed wire strippers and crimpers from a car audio savvy colleague and bought some crimp-on female speaker terminals and wire butt connectors.

The install took me three days across two weekends, a total time of approximately nine hours, though

having done it once I reckon I could do the whole lot in about four hours now. I did my best to prep everything beforehand, mounting the tweeters on their posts in the centre of the front speakers and sizing up the speaker connectors; usefully, the ones I bought from Halfords don’t actually have any sizes marked on the boxes, but you need the smallest ones for the negative terminals on the CDT speakers and the mid-sized ones for the positive terminals.

The most daunting part of the whole job was, without doubt, having to remove the front door cards. I’ve never done anything like that before and, even after having studied the excellent in-depth pictorial guide that the Kee Audio site links to, I was still very nervous. However, having now had to remove the door cards three times during this install, I can get one off in about 10 minutes; all you need is a long Philips-head screwdriver. There are a total of six screws to undo and once you’ve removed these, popped off and unplugged the panel with the door switch buttons, removed the section surrounding the door handle and the triangular panel that covers the door mirror mounting bolts, you’re ready to remove the door card, which is best done with the window down. You can use the door pull to simply lift the door card up, releasing the hooks from their holes in the door, and then wiggling it free at the top, which is where my passenger door card was sticking a bit.

Four bolts hold the speaker in place and with these removed you can pull it out. Rather than disconnecting it from the car’s wiring, I just snipped the wires off right at the speaker, first having marked which pair was connected to the tweeter so as not to get them confused. The wires that attach to the speaker are red and red with a black stripe, while the Camaro speaker wiring guides I found listed all sorts of weird and wonderful colours so I removed the three larger bolts that hold the speaker surround in place, which allowed me to see the colours of the wires running to the connector. While they were indeed all sorts of colours, on both doors the positive wires connected up to the reds and the negative wires matched up with the red and black wires. The CDT tweeter wires are extremely long so, as per Kee Audio’s suggestion, I cut them in half, saving the section I’d removed for the subs, before using the butt connectors to connect up the tweeter wires, the CDTs using a white-striped wire for positive and solid grey for negative. I then crimped the speaker terminals onto the woofer wires, plugged them onto the speaker and mounted it back in the door, the holes on the metal surround lining up perfectly with the holes on the door.

The final step was to aim the tweeter upwards slightly, as it has a little bit of room for adjustment sitting in its basket on top of the post, before putting the door card back on and screwing

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THANKS TO

projectcars

everything back together. Success!

Spurred on by this, I attempted to change the driver’s door speaker and hit my first major hurdle: I simply could not remove the door switch panel and unable to get that off I had no idea how to proceed and gave up, feeling suitably deflated. However, whilst visiting Redline American Muscle the following week when the Camaro was in for some work, I mentioned it to the guys and Kevin helped me to see what could be done. We worked out that it was possible to remove the door handle surround without first popping off the door switch panel and, when we did so, we saw that someone had decided to glue the door switch panel in place, presumably because they’d broken off the clips that normally hold it in place. I was not impressed, but at least I knew how to proceed and, while working with the switch panel in place made removing the door handle surround a little trickier, it was the only difficult part of changing the speaker on my side.

Moving on to the subs, these seemed, on paper at least, to be much easier to remove and change. The plastic grilles in the sail panels are clipped in and are flexible, making removing them a breeze, at which point you’re faced with the sub, held in by four bolts; one of these is a pain to get to as the interior panel is in the way but luckily Nineties GM plastics aren’t particularly solid and, with a bit of effort and gentle persuasion, I was able to get to the bolt. With the sub removed, the wires need to be cut right at the cone and the stock connector had to be removed from the speaker; I couldn’t find a clear guide how to do this, but there’s a small tab beneath the connector that can be pressed in with a flat blade screwdriver, which makes wiggling the connector free much easier. The stock wires are uncovered, so I chose to crimp on a pair of butt connectors to add a bit of insulation before connecting these to the tweeter wire I’d cut off earlier; the subs themselves use spring connectors, so all I had to do here was strip the ends of the wires and feed them into the connectors.

Everything looked good, so I plugged the connector back onto the car’s harness and went to mount the new subs in place, which is where I ran into my next major hurdle. No matter what I did, I could not get holes on the new sub to line up with the holes on the car, which was immensely frustrating as everything I’d read suggested this should be a simple operation. Only after extensive Googling did I discover that the stock speed nuts that are mounted over the much larger holes on the car put the holes too far out for them to line up with the holes on the CDT subs and that the best thing to do was to try using a set of smaller speed nuts to bring the holes in slightly. A Dorman number 6 speed nut would do the trick, but of course getting hold

Kee Audio www.keeaudio.com

of one would be the hard part in the UK; luckily, whilst speaking to Mike down at Redline, I mentioned my speed nut problem, at which point he led me over to a cabinet and pulled out a box containing all manner of different speed nuts. But which ones to use?

They weren’t labelled so I removed one of the sub mounting bolts and chose the speed nut into which the bolt screwed in most easily, after which Mike very kindly gave me the eight I needed. Armed with what I hoped would be the right size speed nuts, I attacked the old ones with a pair of pliers before clipping the new ones on and offering up the sub... Success once more! The new speed nuts had brought the holes into near perfect alignment with the holes on the subs and, with the aid of a small screwdriver, I was able to jiggle them into position and bolt the sub in place. As one of the bolts had been such a pain to get to I opted to only use three to mount the new subs in place, making sure they were screwed in really tight to prevent any movement or possibility of vibration when hitting those low notes. Fitting the other sub went without a hitch.

The final part was replacing the hatch speakers, and getting to these is a breeze - the large plastic panels they are mounted in come away from the car with barely any effort and then the grilles can be popped off using the tabs at the back. Having unplugged the first speaker from the car, I set about attempting to remove it from its panel; the hatch speakers are held in place by rivets, which need to be drilled out.

The driver’s side rivets pretty much fell out the minute I showed them my drill, but the passenger side ones proved to be far more stubborn and for a while I worried that my little old Bosch cordless drill wasn’t up to the task, but eventually, with a bit of frustrated rage, I persuaded them to come out.

The old speakers then simply twist

out of the panel and once I’d cut the connectors off, the new ones can be inserted; the rivet holes don’t quite line up with the holes on the speaker surround so what I decided to do was line them up as best I could and use a selection of screws to help keep the speakers in place. It’s not pretty, but it does the job and the speakers aren’t going anywhere so that’s fine by me; all that was left to do was crimp some speaker terminals onto the factory connectors, connect them onto the new speakers and plug them back into the car’s harness before refitting the plastic panels and re-attaching the grilles. Job done!

So, after all that stress and frustration, was it worth it? The answer is a massive yes, because the CDT speakers are absolutely awesome. The clarity is incredible, the coaxial hatch speakers add an extra dimension to the sound and the CDTs go loud while the subs go low. Turning the radio on for the first time after completing the install a particularly bass-heavy track came on, which instantly made me crank up the bass and turn up the volume and when a mega low note detonated midway through the track and dropped like a stone it made me laugh out loud as the twin subs massaged my ribcage. The CDTs are amazing and they sound so good that I just want to stuff my favourite CDs into the changer and go for a drive, always a good sign; what’s especially impressive is how good they sound considering how inexpensive they are, the value for money in terms of cost relative to sound quality is off the scale and I just can’t get over how good they are, I’m genuinely blown away. If you’ve got a Camaro or Firebird and are looking to upgrade your speakers, Kee Audio’s packages will give you everything you want and so much more and the Level 3 package gets a massive thumbs-up from me.

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With summer approaching and the promise of T-top free motoring ahead, our man Cowland has been making sure that the interior of the ‘Vette is ready to bear close scrutiny.

Words & photography: Paul Cowland

1980 Chevrolet Corvette I love the originality of my 1980 L82 Corvette – every little mark and scrape tells a story, and all that, but deep down I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to cars, and there are only so many times I can look at a panel of chipped paint or glance at a section of scuffed leather without wincing just a little.

Regular readers may remember that when I first acquired the car, it had a few little scuffs on the hard plastic seat backs, a few marks and mis-coloured sections of leather on the interior and a weird set of serrations on the steering wheel, which not only looked terrible, but felt awful in the hand, too.

Although the interior will be properly sorted at a later date, in the short term, I at least wanted to give it a little freshen up, ready for the roofless season ahead. The man I always call in these instances is a true motor trade veteran mate and artist, in the very truest sense of the word; Dave Hedges. Dave and his Leicestershire-based Auto Trim firm are the go-to people for all of the prestige car dealerships in the

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East Midlands. Got a scuff in your Scuderia? A rip in your Reventon?

Or maybe just a mark in your Maybach? Dave will magically appear to make it all just a distant memory, using his uncanny skill and colour matching ability. He’s also never short of an entertaining story whilst he’s working too, so it’s a thoroughly pleasant way to spend a few hours, all told.

The three main areas of concern for this visit would be the seat

facings and backs – and the wheel.

With the roof off, and some helpful sunshine in the mix, Dave revealed where a previous colour repair had been poorly done, with the end result having turned almost blue after years of wear and UV. After being extensively cleaned, the whole thing looked even worse! The hard seat backs of the car had also come in for a severe battering as items had been slid through to the rear cargo section, with the end result being a plethora

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suppliers over time – and not all ‘identical’ production interiors are precisely that.

To achieve this, Dave started with a rough guess base-line, which he dabbed onto the seat side, before drying it to ensure that the colour would be a true interpretation of the cured hue. Naturally, his first guess was a few shades out, so over the next few minutes, as we chatted in the sunshine, he skilfully honed it to precisely match the factory shade.

Like any real artist, Dave added a splash of red, a little thinner, a touch of brown, a dash of black - and as the colour swabs inched closer and closer to perfection, it became a

hugely interesting spectacle.

In no time at all, Dave had the colour he needed, so began the prep work of sanding both the leather and plastic in order to provide a good key for the new paint. It’s quite disconcerting the first time you watch somebody sand down relatively pristine leather in order to carry out a repair, but I have seen him do this for many years now, and I always know that it will end well!

Masking came next. Although Dave can be almost surgically precise with his airbrush, a few seconds spent masking off ensured that he could get the sharp edges and ‘day one’ demeanour that we both wanted. 

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of scars and scuffs that really became accentuated in sunlight.

The first task would be to fastidiously scrub the offending areas to be operated upon, before Dave could set about the serious business of mixing a colour for both the leather and plastic that would blend in seamlessly. Although Auto Trim has many new car colour combinations pre-logged to make life easy, on an older car like the Corvette, Dave always takes the time to mix the colour up by hand. This not only allows him to adjust for any factors like UV fading or degradation, but also just for the simple fact that even the factory changed trim

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Thanks to skilful prep work, the seat was completed in just a few passes, with the sun curing the work in a very short space of time. With the seat now in flawless uniform colour, I was delighted. Dave however, was not! A tiny imperfection on the leather was troubling him, having been revealed by the new uniform surface. This was fixed with flexible leather filler, before being sanded and re-passed for a perfect result. Amazing how leather is so like bodywork in its prep and care really, isn’t it?

With a few deft passes of the airbrush the seat was completely finished, allowing Dave to turn his attention to the wheel. Being a highwear area, and also being subjected to the constant sweat and pressure of your hands, this was only ever going to be a ‘tidy-up’ rather than a permanent fix, but Dave was still confident that

he could take away the ruched effect and repair the discolouration that had occurred. Once again, it was a simple case of cleaning, sanding, smoothing and masking before another pass or two with the airbrush. As the pictures show, it was a pretty effective job!

So, that’s me looking a lot more cruise-ready for the summer, and I can now park the ‘Vette with the T-tops off, knowing that my interior isn’t a disgrace anymore. There are still a few other jobs to sort, and like all old American cars, the interior pretty much tries to disassemble itself every time I drive the thing, but it’s a step in the right direction, at least!

Massive thanks and a huge hat-tip to Dave for his hard work and talent, yet again. So, if your Yank needs a little interior love, as you can see, he’s definitely the guy you need on speeddial! ACM

THANKS TO Auto Trim (East Midlands) 0116 216 9920 www.auto-trim.co.uk

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                



                  

 

 

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 



      

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 

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 

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

 

 

 

 

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

         

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  

  

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           

 



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

        

      

 

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 



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

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Gary Morgan and the members of the Falcons UK Facebook page Adam Longmore, Mustang Maniac, 01920 822556, www.mustangmaniac.co.uk

Ford Falcon, 1960-1970 The late Fifties were the high-water years for outrageous excess in car styling.

Sky-high fins, acres of chrome, jet-age and space-age adornments were common, but the tide was turning, and a short recession put a few things into perspective.

Plus, with the automobile now an indelible part of American life, there was room on the driveway for a second car, something compact for the li'l lady, perhaps? The Big Three came out with the Chevrolet Corvair, a little too left-field for many, the Plymouth Valiant, whose styling was... an acquired taste, and the Ford Falcon.

The Falcon was the most conventional of the three, although it was a unibody construction. It was simplicity itself, with a plodding six-pot and bench seats, and came in two- and four-door sedans and wagons, and the Ranchero pick-up. Mercury dealers sold a similar version badged Comet. As the years went on, there were more luxury options and a larger six boasting a whole 101bhp, but they were still very basic. A hardtop coupe and convertible came along, then late in 1963, the Sprint model boasted the new 260-cube V8, and this formed the basis of the new Mustang.

A major and handsome redesign for 1964 didn't help the fact that the Mustang was stealing thousands of Falcon sales. The '64 is the model much beloved of historic saloon racers. Yet another redesign for 1966 saw a larger, squarer Falcon based on a shortened Fairlane platform, and this model continued until 1970 when it was dropped in favour of the all-new compact Maverick. There was a very limited production Fairlane-based Falcon in 1970, but this barely lasted half a year.

The Falcon was a bargain-basement car to begin with, and spent the rest of its years in the shadow of the Mustang. Is it just a basic, boring, three-box sedan, or a little gem that's spent too long with its light under the Mustang's bushel? We asked Gary at Falcons UK and Adam at Mustang Maniac.

“Falcons share a great deal with the Mustang, so can benefit from all the same performance upgrades for a really sweet handling car. The Shelby Drop can transform the handling, too. A larger diameter anti-roll bar is available from Falcon Parts, and polyurethane bushes are a great idea. I got my front disc brake conversion from Summit, which was a great fit and very good price. Owners in the UK have even come up with great mods to help with the notoriously bad stock brakes – 3.0 Capri and Sierra master cylinder and servo setups have both been used to great effect. A Suzuki Swift servo is a good swap for the '60-63 cars, plus you can buy disc brake kits for these years now. The later cars can use any of the Mustang brake upgrades.” - GM “Disc brake conversions are always popular, but if the original components on the car are in good order, then it'll be fine as it is. Too many people make too many modifications that make the cars worse. A good, uprated front anti-roll bar and good shocks all round is all you need. I've never been 100% happy with the rack and pinion conversions. A Borgeson power steering box, fitted and with the geometry set up properly, is as good as it gets.” - AL

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“1964-65 cars can have a rust problem in the cowl fresh air vent area on the bulkhead due to condensation and a build-up of leaves and debris that prevents them from draining properly, then rusting from the inside out. Look for signs of pepper holes on the upper bulkhead corners to tell if it's going through. Under the battery tray is also a common rot spot.” - GM “The early 144 cubic inch six is gutless, but the 170 is a good motor and the later 200 cubic inch six will swap in. You can't go wrong with the small-block V8, and Hedman make headers that actually fit!” - GM “Your choice of engine depends entirely on what you want from it. We have a little shop truck with a 144, and it's fine.

The 170 is better and the 200 six is very good. I like the 200, they're reliable, they rev well and it's rare we get one needing a rebuild. You can get quite a few tuning parts for the straight sixes now, and a later 250 can be tuned to perform just as well as a stock V8. Everyone loves the V8, but you pay a lot extra for it.” - AL “Front floorpans can rust from the inside due to windscreen rubbers cracking and perishing, especially on cars from hot climates. Rain gets in and soaks the carpets. Really well galvanised sills from the factory have saved a whole heap of Falcons.” - GM “They rust in much the same places as a Mustang rusts – floors, rear quarters etc. They have floor pans and torque boxes that are similar but not identical to the Mustang, but Falcon-specific panels are becoming available now.” - AL

“Lowered rear leaf springs help handling and looks – Summit Racing sell them for $95 apiece. The biggest rear wheels that can be fitted without major surgery are 15x7s. Note that six-cylinder cars came with four-stud hubs, while V8s used five-stud hubs in standard Ford pattern.” - GM “Mechanically, they're almost the same as the Mustang, only little parts like the handbrake cables are different.

Most six-cylinder parts such as brakes, track rod ends and such, are slightly dearer than the same parts for a V8 – it's just a case of supply and demand. The sixes also had a 7.5” axle with four-stud hubs while the V8 had an 8” axle with five-stud hubs. The four-stud PCD is not the same as later and European Fords, though. The original wheels would have been 13”, but 14” wheels were an option and we rarely see a car on 13” wheels any more. We now supply lovely Drake Mag400 6x15” period-looking alloys for the four-stud.” - AL

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“'Roundbodies', as the 1960-63 models are generally known, tend to rust on the bottom of the rear wing behind the wheel, and check all around the boot floor for rust due to water getting in around cracked rear window seals.” - GM

“A 144 with the two-speed auto will be really sluggish! A Sierra-type five-speed can be mated to the six-pot to make them a great little driver.” - GM

Conclusion “Obviously one of the strong reasons for buying a Falcon, apart from killer good looks, is the massive resource of new spare parts, especially for '60-65 models. It's worth mentioning that Mercury models from '60-65 are Falcon based. Finally, on the go front, they have plenty of free horsepower in the form of being light. A '64-65 coupe is about 1,260kg, and early cars are even lighter. To put that in context, we have an original Aston DB4GT factory lightweight in at work at the moment tipping the scales at 1,270kg! We have a very informal owners group, Falcons UK, with our own FB page, and try to organise meets at rod run/drag meets etc.” - GM “The 1964-65 models are the most popular, the later ones not so much and there are far fewer parts available for them. The earlier ones have a following, but they're not as popular and they're harder to

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get hold of. Mechanical parts are no problem for any of them, but suppliers are now making new steel wings, bonnets etc for the '6465 cars. The prices of these cars has doubled over the past three or four years, and the price of Sprint models is four or five times that of a standard model because this is the one that's homologated for FIA historic saloon racing. With similar era Mustangs, there are four on the road for every one on the track; with Falcons it's the other way around! The cheapest way into a Falcon will probably be a four-door sedan, but there aren't so many over here so you could still be looking at up to £10,000 for anything decent. With any project, if the there are trim pieces missing this will ratchet the price of restoration up. The Ranchero pick-up versions aren't too badly priced, but if you want a Sprint with FIA papers be prepared to pay up to £70,000!” - AL

NATIONAL STREET ROD ASSOCIATION Billing Aquadrome Crow Lane Great Billing Northampton NN3 9DA www.nsra.org.uk Tel: 01604 408 181 Trade enquiries: Andy Sawyer nsra.trade@nsra.org.uk

LIVE MUSIC

Friday A Special Kind of Madness Saturday

Miss DEE and the MustangZ Weekend activities and entertainment trade stalls, Saturday cruise, Sunday huge show ‘n’ shine car show for pre-1972 Hot Rods, Street Rods and Customs open to the public on Sunday

3-5 June 2016 NSRA Billing ad A4 CCM.indd 1 Untitled-1 1

21/03/2016 17:23 29/04/2016 16:19

onebrewjob Changing the distributor trigger in something like a Chevy Astro needn’t take all day...

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Mick Wilkes

Easy Pick-Up Back in the April issue, we were down at Wacky Racers looking at a Chevy Astro with no spark.

With no ‘fire’ signal being sent to the coil, the trouble was traced to the distributor, which in this case is a standard dizzy with an external coil and a Hall-effect electronic switching mechanism.

The trouble could only be with the electronic module or the pick-up coil inside, and in this case, it seemed to be the pick-up causing the problem.

With the cap and rotor off, you need to unplug and remove the electronic module (1). Take care here, as the screws are thin steel and the body is aluminium, so dissimilar metal corrosion over the years is likely to leave you with two sheared screws and a big headache if you’re not gentle. Then you need to mark the body of the distributor and make a corresponding mark on the manifold so you can put it back exactly where it came from (2), and note which way the rotor arm would be pointing.

Remove the distributor clamp and lift the whole distributor assembly straight up and out.

Once on the bench, mark each component so they can be put back in the same positions (3) then carefully drift out the roll pin holding the drive gear to the bottom of the shaft (4). Then you can withdraw the whole dizzy drive shaft out from above (5), gently prize off the locking washer (6) and remove the cover to reveal the pick-up coil (7). This just pops out, then, after a good clean-up, the new one pops in (8), and then you have to carefully put it all back together exactly the way it came apart, and refit it in exactly the same position.

Take extra care as you’re putting the assembly back into the engine, as while the skew gear is locating with the skew drive on the cam, the oil pump drive is also locating into the base of the shaft. Get that

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1

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5

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wrong and you’re in trouble. If you’ve put it all back as close as possible to how it came out, your ignition timing should be close enough for you to get the engine idling and set the ignition

timing properly. Problem solved, and you could have it done with just one brew. Take it for a test drive, and you can stop at a roadside cafe for a fresh cup of tea!

THANKS Wacky Racers 01384 571571

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O T W O H

THANKS TO National Parts Depot – www.npdlink.com TI Automotive – www.tiautomotive.com and UK distributor Glencoe Ltd – www.glencoeltd.co.uk

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Fuelling around and roof repairs this month for Project 13/30.

Words & Photography: Dave Smith Last time, I mentioned that I wanted to replace the little brake union bracket above the back axle. Well, I've failed to find one – the part has long been obsolete, and nobody seems to know what it's called anyway, so I've decided to try my best to rescue the one from the donor car. This is the piece (1), riveted to the underside of a box section above the rear 76

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axle. Lying on my back in a shower of swarf while the drill spun those bloody rivets in their holes didn't endear me to the process, but eventually it came off. Another part that needed rescuing was the pinion snubber bracket (2), but there were no drilled holes to mount this on Project 13/30 – like many other things, there were design

changes made between it and the donor car's manufacture.

I decided to use masking tape to help me replicate the mounting holes, so I covered the area in masking tape and marked out where the holes were (3), then transferred the tape to the Project 13/30 shell (4). This showed me where to drill for the pinion snubber (5), although the

holes for the brake pipe bracket were already there – I marked them with a crayon (6). It's clear that the holes in the pressing are way too big for a standard self-tapping screw, which is presumably why the factory used rivets.

Next I turned my attention to the axle casing – there were some ridges at the edge of the

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I started by cleaning the area back to bare metal (10) and using a punch to make each pinhole slightly concave (11).

This (12) would allow the filler to sit at the bottom of a bowl. The filling was a two-stage process, the first of which was a two-part filler (13), the sort you mix together, and then you only have minutes to use it before it sets.

It's not pleasant to work with – you know when you're sat at traffic lights, absent-mindedly investigating a nostril, and suddenly the lights change and you're left with something unpleasant stuck to your fingertip? That's what this stuff is like, and also precludes the use of gloves while you're using it. I used a snap-off craft knife blade to stuff in just enough to block the bottom of each little hole (14), but hadn't even got halfway before the remaining filler had set unworkably hard. I had to mix up another batch to carry on. ➔

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castings which were sharp and unsightly (7), but a few moments with a sanding disc in the grinder saw them flushed off (8).

Then I turned to the only rust I'd found on the car – the little pinholes in the rear edge of the roof, where it returns to form the lip for the tailgate (9). This car is so rust-free that I was looking forward to being a filler snob and smugly announcing that there was no filler on the whole car; this would not be the case. I'd taken advice from Wacky Mick Wilkes about this issue, and he said that the only way to do it properly would be to cut the whole width of the return lip out and weld in a new strip. However, the metal is so thin that this would be extremely tricky and you'd constantly run the risk of warping the roof with the heat. The roof is a really thin pressing, and would distort under a hard stare. I'd hoped it could be brazed or leadloaded, but that requires heat, too, so filling was the only answer.

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While that was setting, I thought I'd set about the fuel pump assembly. National Parts Depot are well known for their huge catalogues of parts for classics, muscle cars and trucks, but they're definitely worth looking at for later models too – they have a hell of an inventory for Fox Mustangs, and there's a catalogue for SN95 Mustangs on the horizon, too. My fuel pump hanger had seen a better day, a wiring meltdown causing much bodgery, and bodged wiring in a tank of flammable fluid isn't to be encouraged. NPD managed to supply not only a new fuel pump hanger but a kit of all the parts needed for the

installation, including the wiring harness to the pump and the fuel level sender (15). You need to speak to NPD – not only do they have massive stocks, but they're very clued up about exporting to the UK. The fuel pump itself, meanwhile, is a Walbro part. TI Automotive is a massive company in the US, and supply OE and aftermarket fuel transfer products. For many years, Walbro has been the most popular supplier for OE-spec and upgraded in-tank pumps, and they're part of TI Automotive. The factory stock fuel pump for the fuel injected Mustang is an 88 litre per hour pump. That's plenty

for a stock street cruiser, but for anything uprated it helps to have a bit more volume in reserve.

This TI/Walbro GSS307 pump (16) flows a mighty 255 litres per hour – way more than I'm ever likely to need, but at least I know that fuel starvation is unlikely to ever be an issue...

To begin with, you need to open up the hanger arrangement (17), then fit the rubber fuel pipe to the pump (18) – both the fuel pump and the hanger kit came with a full complement of fitting hardware, so I was able to choose the parts I liked best from each!

There's a rubber isolating pad that needs to sit between the pump and the bottom of the

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hanger (19), then I connected the power and earth leads to the pump (20). The negative terminal was too small to fit the terminal on the pump, so I had to cut it off and replace it with a larger one, but carefully, because I don't want to have to be removing the tank to fix a dodgy connection any time soon...

With the pump connected up, I installed it in the hanger, screwed it all back together, and admired my handiwork (21). The hanger is in bare metal, so I covered up the lower half with a bag and the electric terminal with masking tape (22) and gave it, and its locking ring, a couple of coats of clearcoat to keep the rust away.

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While that was drying, I went back to the roof edge where the filler had set solid and sanded it back until I was left with some slightly concave pockmarks (23), ready for stage two. When I'd been asking Wacky about filling the roof, he told me not to use regular doughy accessory-shop filler, because it's porous. He told me what I needed, then said, “Hang on,” ran off and came back with a plastic pint pot half-full of green goo, and the top sealed with masking tape! This (24) is a fibrous filler that looks and acts even more snotty than the last

lot, but I mixed some up (25) with a larger than standard measure of hardener. I used a thin skim in the return lip (26), then while that was setting, I used a little brush and some seam sealer to seal up the moisture-trap seams inside the hatch rebate.

While that was setting, I returned to the fuel tank. I cleaned up the rubber grommet that seals the fuel filler to the tank using Autoglym Bumper Care, which is great for plastic and rubber parts (27), then fitted the new filter sock to the bottom of the fuel pump (28). ➔ ACM

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Then you have to feed the whole assembly into the tank, which is a complicated and serpentine aair (29) that must result in the filter and the bottom of the pump sitting inside a sort of bund in the bottom of the tank (30), presumably to prevent the fuel sloshing away from the pump during cornering.

Then, with a new O-ring fitted between hanger and tank, I levered the pump hanger assembly into place with a screwdriver covered in tape (31) and fitted the new locking ring. Then I used some dielectric

grease (32) on the terminal plugs of the new NPD wiring harness and fitted it, pleased with a job well done (33).

I was so pleased with myself that I started on a job I wasn't sure I actually wanted to do – welding up the holes in the engine bay. All engine bays have various little holes drilled for wires, pipes and clips, but the Fox Mustang bay looks like someone got in there with a shotgun and just let fly. I decided to weld them up, so I cleaned the areas around the

holes with a tulip wire brush in the drill (34) and began welding.

Within the first five minutes, I wished I hadn't bothered, especially given how thin the inner arches are forward of the strut towers, but I got all the redundant holes welded and set about grinding them flush (35).

The bit between the strut towers and the bulkhead was tricky, though, and to get the grinder in there I had to remove the guard and the side handle. Things were going great until I had brain-fade,

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went to grab a side handle that wasn't there any longer, and took a big slice out of the knuckle of my left index finger.

Crikey, ouch, that smarts, I said to myself... Fortunately, the guy in the unit opposite had a fullystocked first aid kit, and he helped me bandage it up (36).

After that, I wasn't in the mood to do much with Project 13/30, apart from perhaps putting a match to it, so I went home.

Hopefully, more work and less blood next month! ACM

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29/04/2016 14:14

ouryanks

ouryanks

TALES FROM THE GARAGES OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK ON, AND CONTRIBUTE TO, AMERICAN CAR MAGAZINE Kev Carrington, Contributor 1973 Plymouth Duster

Hi everyone. Well, I managed to get the window roller replaced on the passenger door and the exterior handle on the driver’s door. On the latter, I asked my son, Matt, to do it because I thought he could get into the tight space to remove the nuts to get the old handle off, but after leaving him alone for five minutes, I came back to find the whole window was out, leaving the nuts more than easily

accessible, and I didn’t even think about going that route! What’s more, the replaced door glass is now adjusted properly and a much better seal against the frame, so I could then install my re-trimmed front door cards and I must say I am very pleased with the end result.

We went to our first show in mid-April, the AACI show at Billing, and this was a good test for my new exhaust, which was

not too loud after all and got a few complimentary comments at the show. I do have a pair of Flowmaster Super 44s on the way over from the States though, and I still will be compelled to try them! Then I will get on with the B&M shifter!

“repurposed” from a skip, and a cacky flatpack bookcase that belonged to my grandmother.

So why all the War On Want rejects? Because I’ve found that there’s no such thing as enough storage space in the workshop, and never enough flat surfaces to work on. I now have lots of both, but I should start a book on how long it’s likely to stay that way... I give it until spring bank holiday weekend.

You may remember that last month I was trying to unbolt the rear seatbelt mounts from

the donor Mustang. These bolts require a T50 Torx bit, and I’d already broken two. I then tried a normal L-shaped Torx key and instantly snapped it. I went to a well-known tool suppliers and bagged a bargain – a rail of assorted Bluepoint threeeighth drive Torx bits for under a tenner. Great! I put the T50 bit on a ratchet, leaned into it... and snapped the tip clean off. Damn, I’d expected better from Bluepoint. Oh, hang on, these are Blue SPOT! Not such a bargain – just utter guff. I got

Thanks this month: Matt at MVS Auto Service & Repair, 0115 9308551, and Barry/Mick at Regal Furnishings, 0115 9329988.

Dave Smith, Editor 1990 Ford Mustang 5.0LX my money back, though.

I thought I’d be left with one option – grinding the bolt heads off, though doing that without damaging the belts seemed unlikely, so I got serious, got a Sealey impact Torx bit and a blowtorch, and while I lay underneath heating the captive plate to red hot, my assistant Sam gave the bolt a regular burst from the air impact gun. It took five or 10 minutes each side, but eventually they let go.

Persistance...

There’s been a bit of a workshop shake-up happening recently, after the addition of a halfdecent tool chest required some movement of furniture. On one side of the unit is a whole row of professional steel shelving, found on eBay from a small warehouse that was closing down. On the other, however, is any old furniture that I could drum up, including another couple of shelving units, an ancient kitchen worktop unit, a trolley on wheels that I

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For lead acid batteries

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INDUSTRIAL AIR COMPRESSORS

Offers the durability & reliability demanded by professionals.

• Cast iron pumps on SE16 and SE19 • Twin cylinder pumps • Motor overload protection • Petrol models in stock H/DUTY

CFM MOTOR RCVR MODEL (HP) (LTR) EXC.VAT INC.VAT SEV11C* 9 SEV11C 2 100 £369.98 £443.98 SE16C100 SE16C100* 14 3 100 £399.00 £478.80 SE16C150 SE16C150+ 14 3 150 £429.00 £514.80 SE16C200 SE16C200+ 14 3 200 £499.00 £598.80 SE18ǂ 18 4 200 £549.00 £658.80 SE26^ 23 5.5 200 £679.00 £814.80 SE29+◊† 28 2x3 270 £969.00 £1162.80 SE36^● 30 7.5 270 £979.00 £1174.80 SE37+◊† 36 2x4 270 £1099.00 £1318.80 SE46#^ 40 10 270 £1449.00 £1738.80 *230V Supply +Run From 30 Amp Supply ‡Run From 40 Amp Supply ^400V 3 Phase •Supplied With Direct On-Line Starter ◊Supplied With Sequential Direct On-Line Starter †V-Twin #Supplied With Pre-Wired Star Delta Starter

3HP V TWIN AIR COMPRESSORS

HYDRAULIC

SPRAY GUNS

KIT1100

HUGE CHOICE £FROM ONLY .98 IN-STORE/ EX.VAT £ .98 ONLINE

19 23INC.VAT

• Gravity Fed Spray Gun • Air Wash Gun • Tyre Inflator • Air Blow Gun PRO12C • 5 Metre Air Recoil Hose

.98 19EX.VAT .98 23INC.VAT

£ £

CTJ3000G SADDLE HEIGHT EXC. INC. MODEL TYPE MIN-MAX MM VAT VAT CTJ3000QL Quick Lift 195-520 £44.99 £53.99 CTJ3QLG Pro Instant Lift 145-500 £83.99 £100.79 CTJ3000G Pro Garage 120-520 £84.99 £101.99

FROM ONLY

.98 149EX.VAT £ .98 179INC.VAT

EXC.VAT INC.VAT £149.98 £179.98 £154.99 £185.99 £199.98 £239.98

• Folding and fixed frames available • Robust, rugged construction Fully tested to proof load CFC100 • Overload safety valve

PRICE CUT NOW FROM

• Suitable for powering all common air tools & spray equipment TIGER 16/510 AIR AIR EXC. INC. MODEL RECEIVER DISPLACEMENT VAT VAT Tiger 16/510+ 50 litre 14.5 cfm £209.00 £250.80 Tiger 16/1010* 100 litre 14.5 cfm £259.98 £311.98 + was £263.98 inc.VAT * was £323.98 inc.VAT

5 PIECE AIR TOOL KIT

44EX.VAT .99 53INC.VAT

JACKS ALSO IN STOCK UP TO 5 TONNE

NOW INC.VAT £95.98 £107.98 £131.98 £143.98 £167.98

PRESSES High quality tungsten steel Supplied in metal storage PROFESSIONAL QUALITY case (except 16pce) Built for tough daily use in automotive/industrial workshops FROM ONLY • All models include gauge £ .99 14EX.VAT MODEL EXC.VAT INC.VAT £ .99 17INC.VAT 4 ton bench‡ £129.98 £155.98 TYPE EXC.VAT INC.VAT 10 ton bench* £187.00 £224.40 CHT203 16pce Metric £14.99 £17.99 12 ton floor*† £239.00 £286.80 CHT302 24pce UNC/UNF/NPT £19.98 £23.98 20 ton floor* £399.00 £478.80 CHT303 28pce Metric £23.99 £28.79 50 ton floor‡# £1499.00 £1798.80 was £227.98 inc.VAT CHT304 33pce Metric/UNF/BSP £31.99 £38.39 FROM ONLY CHT774 37pce Metric NEW £34.99 £41.99 † was £287.98 inc.VAT £ .98 CHT527 32pce Metric £41.99 £50.39 # was £1917.60 inc.VAT 129EX.VAT .98 CHT776 76pce Metric NEW £59.98 £71.98 * Available with/without 7 pce pin, £ bracket & pressing plate ‡Without kit 155INC.VAT

£

MODEL DESC. CFC500F 1/2 ton fold CFC100 1 ton fold CFC1000LR 1 ton long reach

WAS EXC.VAT INC.VAT £79.98 – £89.98 – £109.98 £143.98 £119.98 £155.98 £139.98 £179.98

.00 209EXC.VAT .80 £ 250 INC.VAT WAS £263.98 inc.VAT

12V BATTERY CHARGERS

.99

.98

vanadium sockets HEAVY • 2x 24V Ni-Cd DUTY Batteries & 1 hour fast charger OTHER MODELS Corded CEW1000 Cordless CIR450C

.98 369EX.VAT .98 443INC.VAT

£

TAP & DIE SETS

STANDS FROM ONLY £47.98 INC.VAT

CIR220 ONLY

CIR220

24877LH

6" & 8" AVAILABLE WITH LIGHT

£

89EX.VAT .98 • Inc. 17, 19, 21 £107INC.VAT & 23mm chrome

CTJ1800A NEW 1.8T CTJ2000A 2T CTJ2500QLG* 2.5T

INC.VAT £74.39 £107.98 £113.99 £143.98 £155.98 £203.98 £191.98 £238.80

GRINDERS & STANDS

£

*steel chassis LOW LIFTING ENTRY ONLY MODEL CAP. EXC.VAT INC.VAT 85MM CTJ1250AB 1.25T £84.99 £101.99

Keep batteries in top condition over a long period

CFM TANK 7.5 24ltr 7 24ltr 9.5 24ltr 7.5 50ltr 9.5 50ltr

HUGE CHOICE OF SPRAY GUNS & AIRTOOLS

£

CRANES

FROM ONLY £

.99

£

£

£

INC 2 BATTERIES £

£

FROM ONLY

19EX.VAT .98 23INC.VAT

NEW

.98 29EX.VAT .98 35INC.VAT

£

.98 29EX.VAT .98 35INC.VAT

£

INTELLIGENT AUTOMATIC NEW CHARGER / MAINTAINERS

FROM ONLY

3 TONNE JACKS

FROM ONLY

£

• Heavy-Duty, lightweight design perfect for garage, on site or home use 450Nm Max Torque • 1/2" Square Drive £ .98 • 3.0Ah Li-ion battery 149EXC.VAT

Quick lift Non-marking nylon wheels Rubber contact pad - helps protect vehicle undersides CTJ250AB

HYDRAULIC BOTTLE JACKS

FROM ONLY

CB09-12 MODEL STAGES BATTERY EXC.VAT INC.VAT CB03-12 3 6Ah-40Ah 12V lead acid £29.98 £35.98 CB09-6/12 9 Up to 80Ah 6V / 12V lead acid £39.98 £47.98 CB09-12 9 Up to 160Ah £59.98 £71.98 12V lead acid & calcium

BATTERY CHARGERS/ENGINE STARTERS FROM ONLY

£

CP185 • Includes hook & loop backing pad and hook & loop wool polishing bonnet. • 1200W motor

PER PAIR

Four non-marking castors for easy movement in confined spaces Heavy duty steel construction - load rating 500kg per dolly

PRICE CUT NOW FROM

• Ratchet action for quick height adjustment • Sold in pairs

.99

£

3" CASTORS

FROM ONLY

FROM ONLY • Lift cars £ .99 safely and 26EX.VAT quickly • Tough £ .39 32INC.VAT angled steel PER PAIR construction MODEL CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT CR2 2000kg £26.99 £32.39 CRW25 2500kg £36.99 £44.39

44EXC.VAT .99 53INC.VAT

£

BIG

CWH7

.99 44EXC.VAT .99 53INC.VAT

CAR RAMPS

AWD1

• Energy efficient inverter, protects battery from high current HFBC12/24 damage • Microprocessor provides appropriate charging rate • Variable current output for quick, FROM ONLY .98 medium £39EX.VAT or trickle £ .98 47INC.VAT charge MAX MAX MODEL CHARGE BATTERY EXC.VAT INC.VAT HFBC12 6 Amps 100Ah £39.98 £47.98 HFBC12/24 20 Amps 200Ah £69.98 £83.98

GWH4

£

INC.VAT £59.98 £77.99 £77.99 £105.59 £81.59 £113.99 £167.98 £179.98

INC.VAT £155.98 £191.98 £238.80

AUTOMOTIVE WHEEL DOLLY SET

£

£

AMPS EXC.VAT 40-100 £49.98 65-160 £64.99 30-110 £64.99 60-200 £87.99 40-150 £67.99 50-185 £94.99 35-180 £139.98 40-210 £149.98

.98

£

£

For home user, automotive and industrial applications.

MODEL SEE THE EA110 FULL EA165 RANGE ONLINE & 115N IN-STORE EA200 160N #Turbo fan 190N 190TEN# cooled 235TEN#

FROM ONLY

ARC ACTIVATED HEADSHIELDS

FROM ONLY

ARC WELDERS

EXC.VAT £169.98 £184.99 £209.98 £224.99 £259.98

HIGH FREQUENCY BATTERY CHARGERS

AT161

79EX.VAT .98 95INC.VAT .98

£

MODEL MOTOR 8/250 2HP 7/250 2 HP 11/250 2.5HP 8/510 2HP 11/510 2.5HP

ARC/TIG INVERTERS £

£

£

FROM ONLY

£

QUALITY COSTS LESS

£

• Uses flux cored steel wire, which creates own gas shroud as it burns FROM ONLY 151EN £ .98

MIG145

SUPERSTORES NATIONWIDE

.98 179EX.VAT .98 WHERE 215INC.VAT

£

NO GAS/GAS MIG WELDERS

• Professional type torch with on/off control • Thermal overload protection • Turbo fan cooled • Easy conversion to gas with optional accessories

BIG 2HP 7.5CFM

65

135TE

Superb range ideal for DIY, hobby & semi-professional use

E PACKALG EA CHT624 D TOOL CHEST AND TOOLS

SAVE OVER £61

OFF OUR NORMAL PRICE

VIDEO

ON-LINE

MODEL DESC EXC.VAT INC.VAT PRO12C/ 1.2mm, £19.98 £23.98 14C/18C 1.4mm, 1.8mm PGF14 Pro, Gravity £24.99 £29.99 HVLP‡ AP15, 2.2mm £24.99 £29.99 SP14/18C 1.4mm/ 1.8mm £27.99 £33.59 ‡ was £33.59 inc.VAT

6 SPEED METAL LATHE WITH 12 SPEED MILL DRILL - CL500M

PRICE CUT ALL THIS ONLY

.98 249EXC.VAT .98 299 INC.VAT WAS £311.98 inc.VAT

£ £

329 HAND TOOLS

• This great value set includes CTC900B 9 drawer chest & CTC500B 5 drawer cabinet • Includes the most popular sockets, spanners, pliers, drivers, wrenches etc

FULL RANGE OF ACCESSORIES IN STOCK

£ .00 849EXC.VAT .80 1018INC.VAT

£

430mm between centres Compound slide with 4 way tool post Power fed screw cutting facility Forward/reverse lathe operation Clutch for independent mill/drill operation ALSO AVAILABLE: CL430 - As above but without the Mill/Drill head £699.00 exc.VAT £838.80 inc.VAT

01/02/2016 16:29 29/04/2016 14:23

GREAT NEW WEBSITE

JUMP STARTS

VER NOW O

Provides essential home, garage and roadside assistance Integral work light FROM ONLY 910 includes air £ .99 compressor 52EX.VAT .59 Long life battery £

63INC.VAT

MODEL CIG1015 CIG1216 CIG1020 CIG1220 CIG1224

Offering low cost, efficient heating

INC.VAT £274.80 £310.80 £334.80 £358.80 £454.80

TURBO FAN GAS HEATERS PROPANE GAS FIRED FROM ONLY

.99 64EXC.VAT .99 77INC.VAT

£ £

*stainless steel #Dual Volt 110V/230V MODEL MAX EXC. WAS NOW OUTPUT KW VAT INC.VAT INC.VAT Little Devil 10 £64.99 — £77.99 Little Devil SSII* 10.3 £79.98 — £95.98 Devil 650 15 £74.99 — £89.99 Devil 660 SS SS* 15 £99.98 £131.98 £119.98 Devil 900 NEW 24.9 £129.98 — £155.98 Devil 860SS*# 31 £149.98 — £179.98 Devil 1600 NEW 36.6 £159.98 — £191.98 Devil 2100 NEW 49.8 £249.98 — £299.98 Devil 4000 70–131 £379.00 £479.98 £454.80 Devil 3150# 46 – 100 £469.98 — £563.98

FROM ONLY

.99 14EXC.VAT £ .99 17INC.VAT £

HOME/ WORKSHOP AIR TOOLS CAT117

HUGE CHOICE IN-STORE/ONLINE

CAT113 MODEL DESCRIPTION EXC.VAT INC.VAT CAT110 ½" Impact Wrench £24.99 £29.99 CAT111‡ Air Orbital Sander £19.98 £23.98 CAT113 3" Cut Off Tool £16.99 £20.39 CAT114 Air Hammer £14.99 £17.99 with Chisel Set CAT115# ½" Reversible £19.98 £23.98 Ratchet CAT117 13 piece ½" £32.99 £39.59 Impact Wrench Kit CAT120 43 Piece Air Tool Kit £89.98 £107.98 CAT121 Dual Action Sander £22.99 £27.59 CAT123½" Reversible Air Drill £29.98 £35.98 ‡ was £27.59 inc.VAT # was £29.99 inc.VAT

NEW RANGE FROM ONLY

49EX.VAT .98 59INC.VAT

£

CES680F MODEL CES340 CES450 CES560 CES680F* V

£

.98

ENGINE STANDS • Rotates through 360˚

Fully tested to proof load *Folds for storage

CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT 340kg £49.98 £59.98 450kg £69.98 £83.98 560kg £84.99 £101.99 680kg £119.98 £143.98

NEW RANGE

ELECTRIC HEATERS

Honda & Diesel engine models in stock PRESSURE ENGINE EXC. INC. MODEL BAR/PSI HP VAT VAT Tiger1800 110/1595 2.6 £199.00 £238.80 Tiger2600 170/2465 4 £259.98 £311.98 Tiger3000 200/2900 6.5 £329.98 £395.98 PLS195 260/3771 6.5 £399.00 £478.80 PLS265 260/3770 13 £599.00 £718.80

INVERTER GENERATORS

Huge range of quality electric models – From DIY, trade to Industrial

229.98 EXC.VAT 275.98 INC.VAT

49EXC.VAT .98 59INC.VAT

£

DEVIL7003 MODEL VOLTAGE HEAT EXC. INC. OUTPUT KW VAT VAT DEVIL 6003 230V 1.5-3 £49.98 £59.98 PRICE CUT DEVIL 7003 230V 3 £54.99 £65.99 IG1000 £ .98 DEVIL 6005 400V 2.5-5 £74.99 £89.99 359EXC.VAT £ .98 DEVIL 7005 400V 5 £79.98 £95.98 431 INC.VAT DEVIL 6009 400V 4.5-9 £119.00 £142.80 WAS £467.98 inc.VAT IG2200 DEVIL 7009 400V 9 £137.99 £165.59 Produces pure sine wave & stable power, DEVIL 6015 400V 5-10-15 £179.00 £214.80 essential for computers & sensitive equipment Max output: IG1000, 1000w Max output: IG2200, 2200w 4 stroke engine Super quiet running PRICE CUT NOW FROM (only 64dBA at 7M 1/4 load) Low oil shut down

34EXC.VAT 41.99

£

INC.VAT WAS £47.98 inc.VAT

MODEL EXC.VAT INC.VAT EOBD Fault Code Reader £34.99 £41.99 Engine EOBD/OBD2 £54.99 £65.99 Fault code reader Engine Diagnostic & £99.98 £119.98 EOBD/OBD 2 Fault Code Reader

DIESEL/PARAFFIN HEATERS

Ideal for fast efficient heating Extra-long run fuel tanks – up to 53 litres Variable heat output with thermostat control FROM ONLY

179EXC.VAT .98 215INC.VAT .98

XR80

£

MODEL MAX OUTPUT XR60 14.7kW XR80 20.5kW XR110 29.3kW XR160 46.9kW XR210 61.5kW

EXC.VAT £179.98 £229.98 £279.98 £329.98 £369.98

24877RH

MOTOR MAX. PRESSURE EXC.VAT 1600w 1522psi £54.99 2000w 1957psi £79.98 2400w 2610psi £139.98 2600w 2900psi £159.98

INC.VAT £215.98 £275.98 £335.98 £395.98 £443.98

INC.VAT £65.99 £95.98 £167.98 £191.98

GENERATORS

89EX.VAT .98 107INC.VAT .98

Honda engine models available CHECK FRAME TYPE WHEN ORDERING

MODEL G720 G1200 FG2500 FG3005 FG3050 FG4050ES FG5100ES

KVA 0.7 1.1 2.4 2.8 3 4.5 5.5

EXC.VAT £89.98 £149.98 £189.98 £239.98 £369.00 £479.00 £569.00

INC.VAT £107.98 £179.98 £227.98 £287.98 £442.80 £574.80 £682.80

• Foot operated hydraulic powered • Adjustable for springs up to 350mm dia. & 254mm in length • Yoke travel: 340mm • Weight 31.5kg SSC1000 £

FROM ONLY

.98 139EX.VAT .98 167INC.VAT CPSB100

£ EX.VAT 99.98 INC.VAT 119.98

£

MODEL

TANK FLOW RATE EX. VAT INC.VAT VOLUME REQ. CPSB100 32 litre 6-19 cfm £139.98 £167.98 CPSB200 63 litre 12-20 cfm £169.98 £203.98

ANGLE GRINDERS FROM ONLY

22EX.VAT .59 27INC.VAT

£

.99

CAG800B

£

INC. DISC & HANDLE

NEW

MODEL DISC (MM)MOTOR EXC.VAT CAG800B NEW 115 800w £22.99 CON1050B NEW 115 1050w £27.99 CON115* 115 1010W £31.99 CAG2350C NEW 230 2350w £49.98 CON2600 230 2600W £69.98 * was £41.99inc.VAT

INC.VAT £27.59 £33.59 £38.39 £59.98 £83.98

CAR TRANSPORTER LASHING ELECTRIC FROM ONLY £ POWER EX.VAT 79.98 £ HOISTS INC.VAT 95.98

FROM ONLY

59EXC.VAT .98 71INC.VAT

£

.98

£

FROM ONLY

.99 47EX.VAT £ .59 57INC.VAT

Compact, high performance wet & dry vacuum cleaners for use around the home, workshop, garage etc.

MODEL MOTOR CAPACITY EXC. WET/DRY VAT CVAC20P 1250W 16/12ltr £47.99 CVAC20SS* 1400W 16/12ltr £59.98 CVAC25SS* 1400W 19/17ltr £64.99 CVAC30SSR*1400W 24/21ltr £86.99

* SS = Stainless Steel

FROM ONLY

.98 79EX.VAT .98 95INC.VAT

£

99 16EX.VAT .39 20INC.VAT

5000KG CAPACITY

£

INCLUDES • Includes remote REMOTE control • 230v motor CONTROL MODEL CABLE MAX LOAD LIFT (KG) HEIGHT EXC.VAT INC.VAT CH2500B Single 125 12M £79.98 £95.98 Double 250 6M CH4000B Single 200 12M £99.98 £119.98 Double 400 6M

£

EXETER 16 Trusham Rd. EX2 8QG 01392 256 744 GATESHEAD 50 Lobley Hill Rd. NE8 4YJ 0191 493 2520 GLASGOW 280 Gt Western Rd. G4 9EJ 0141 332 9231 GLOUCESTER 221A Barton St. GL1 4HY 01452 417 948 GRIMSBY ELLIS WAY, DN32 9BD 01472 354435 HULL 8-10 Holderness Rd. HU9 1EG 01482 223161 ILFORD 746-748 Eastern Ave. IG2 7HU 0208 518 4286 IPSWICH Unit 1 Ipswich Trade Centre, Commercial Road 01473 221253 LEEDS 227-229 Kirkstall Rd. LS4 2AS 0113 231 0400 LEICESTER 69 Melton Rd. LE4 6PN 0116 261 0688 LINCOLN Unit 5. The Pelham Centre. LN5 8HG 01522 543 036 LIVERPOOL 80-88 London Rd. L3 5NF 0151 709 4484 LONDON CATFORD 289/291 Southend Lane SE6 3RS 0208 695 5684 LONDON 6 Kendal Parade, Edmonton N18 020 8803 0861 LONDON 503-507 Lea Bridge Rd. Leyton, E10 020 8558 8284 LONDON 100 The Highway, Docklands 020 7488 2129 LUTON Unit 1, 326 Dunstable Rd, Luton LU4 8JS 01582 728 063 MAIDSTONE 57 Upper Stone St. ME15 6HE 01622 769 572 MANCHESTER ALTRINCHAM 71 Manchester Rd. Altrincham 0161 9412 666 MANCHESTER CENTRAL 209 Bury New Road M8 8DU 0161 241 1851 MANCHESTER OPENSHAW Unit 5, Tower Mill, Ashton Old Rd 0161 223 8376 MANSFIELD 169 Chesterfield Rd. South 01623 622160

INC.VAT £47.98 £119.98 £173.99 £191.98

Heavy duty steel construction sandblasters for the quick removal of surface rust, paint, dirt/grease etc.

RANGE

WET & DRY VACUUM CLEANERS

TYPE EXC.VAT Bench £39.98 Floor £99.98 Floor £144.99 Floor £159.98

PRESSURISED SANDBLASTERS

£

HP 6.5 7 8 11 13

STRUT SPRING COMPRESSOR

• Range of precision bench & floor presses for enthusiast, engineering & industrial NEW applications

MODEL TANK CAP. CW2D 10Ltrs CW1D 45Ltrs CWM20 22.5Ltrs CW40 75Ltrs

INCLUDES SANDBLASTING GUN, DELIVERY HOSE, 4 CERAMIC NOZZLES AND SAFETY HOOD

£

CDP152B

VISIT YOUR LOCAL SUPERSTORE

BARNSLEY Pontefract Rd, Barnsley, S71 1EZ 01226 732297 B’HAM GREAT BARR 4 Birmingham Rd. 0121 358 7977 B’HAM HAY MILLS 1152 Coventry Rd, Hay Mills 0121 7713433 BOLTON 1 Thynne St. BL3 6BD 01204 365799 BRADFORD 105-107 Manningham Lane. BD1 3BN 01274 390962 BRIGHTON 123 Lewes Rd, BN2 3QB 01273 915999 BRISTOL 1-3 Church Rd, Lawrence Hill. BS5 9JJ 0117 935 1060 BURTON UPON TRENT 12a Lichfield St. DE14 3QZ 01283 564 708 CAMBRIDGE 181-183 Histon Road, Cambridge. CB4 3HL 01223 322675 CARDIFF 44-46 City Rd. CF24 3DN 029 2046 5424 CARLISLE 85 London Rd. CA1 2LG 01228 591666 CHELTENHAM 84 Fairview Road. GL52 2EH 01242 514 402 CHESTER 43-45 St. James Street. CH1 3EY 01244 311258 COLCHESTER 4 North Station Rd. CO1 1RE 01206 762831 COVENTRY Bishop St. CV1 1HT 024 7622 4227 CROYDON 423-427 Brighton Rd, Sth Croydon 020 8763 0640 DARLINGTON 214 Northgate. DL1 1RB 01325 380 841 DEAL (KENT) 182-186 High St. CT14 6BQ 01304 373 434 DERBY Derwent St. DE1 2ED 01332 290 931 DONCASTER Wheatley Hall Road 01302 245 999 DUNDEE 24-26 Trades Lane. DD1 3ET 01382 225 140 EDINBURGH 163-171 Piersfield Terrace 0131 659 5919

MODEL JS1750 JS1900 Jet8000 Jet9000

DRILL PRESSES

B = Bench mounted CAR CREEPERS F = Floor standing • Oil resistant vinyl covered padded V = Variable speed backs & headrests • Swivel castors MOTOR (W) EXC. INC. for easy manoeuvrability MODEL SPEEDS VAT VAT FROM ONLY CDP5EB 350 / 5 £59.98 £71.98 £ .99 21EX.VAT CDP102B 350 / 5 £69.98 £83.98 £ .39 CDP152B 450 / 12 £119.98 £143.98 26INC.VAT MODEL DESCRIPTION EXC.VAT INC.VAT CDP202B 450 / 16 £159.98 £191.98 CMC36 Car creeper £21.99 £26.39 CDP10B 370 / 12 £169.98 £203.98 CMC45 With adjustable headrest£28.99 £34.79 CDP352F 550 / 16 £199.98 £239.98 CMC40 With tool storage £36.99 £44.39 CDP350V 550 / V £219.00 £262.80 CMC50 Folding car creeper £44.99 £53.99 CDP502F1100 / 12£449.00 £538.80

£

7 PIECE KIT ONLY £47.98 INC VAT

.99

£

ENGINE DIAGNOSTICS

PARTS WASHER FLUID FROM £4.99 EX.VAT £5.99 INC .VAT

reel Detergent applicator for extra cleaning power

£

£

.98

FROM ONLY

£ .98 PARTS 39EX.VAT .98 WASHERS £47INC.VAT

FROM ONLY

£

FROM ONLY

£

.00

£

PLS195

LENGTH UP TO 24'

FROM ONLY

199EXC.VAT .80 238INC.VAT

£

10' RANGE NARROWER WIDTH GREAT WHERE SPACE IS TIGHT

0844 880 1265

HEAVY JET9000 DUTY FROM ONLY JETSTAR £ .99 PETROL PRESSURE £54EX.VAT .99 POWER 65 INC.VAT WASHERS WASHERS JET8000 & 9000 include hose

FROM ONLY

EXC.VAT £229.00 £259.00 £279.00 £299.00 £379.00

• IN-STORE • ONLINE • PHONE

PRICE CUTS & NEW PRODUCTS

IDEAL ALL-WEATHER PROTECTION

.00 229EXC.VAT £ .80 274INC.VAT

SIZE (LxWxH) 4.6 x 3 x 2.4M 4.9 x 3.7 x 2.6M 6.1 x 3 x 2.4M 6.1 x 3.7 x 2.5M 7.3 x 3.7 x 2.5M

1250

section on

HEAVY DUTY INSTANT GARAGES/WORKSHOPS

ZIP CLOSE DOOR

CATALOGUE

machinemart.co.uk

• Ideal for use as a garage/workshop • Extra tough triple layer weatherproof fabric • Heavy duty powder coated steel tubing • Ratchet tight tensioning

PAGE

Over

For hard-to-find, specialist items visit the

MODEL START PEAK BOOST AMPS EXC.VAT INC.VAT EXTRA LONG 900 400A 900A £52.99 £63.59 1m LEADS 910 400A 900A £59.98 £71.98 4000 700A 1500A £114.99 £137.99 HEAVY 12/24 1000A@12v 2000A@12v £129.98 £155.98 DUTY 17KG 500A@24v 1000A@24v

£

NEW

17,000

PRODUCTS ONLINE!

GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW!

500

BODY REPAIR KITS

£

SOCKET SETS ONLY

Top quality chrome £ .99 22EX.VAT vanadium steel. £ .59 18 Sockets 8-32mm 27INC.VAT Reversible ratchet LIFETIME Comfort grip handle GUARANTEE HUGE RANGE OF RATCHETS, SPANNERS PRO155 AND SOCKET SETS

£

ONLY

.98 69EX.VAT PRO234 £ .98 62 PIECE 83INC.VAT £

1/2"&1/4"

INC. VAT £57.59 £71.98 £77.99 £104.39

CS10BRK • Fast snap connector attachments for quick & easy assembly • Hydraulic pump, ram & hose with various tubes, pieces & connectors • Includes metal case * Fast action pump MODEL CAPACITY EXC.VAT INC.VAT CS4BRK 4 tonne £79.98 £95.98 CS10BRK 10 tonne £139.98 £167.98 CS10SBRK* 10 tonne £149.98 £179.98

OPEN MON-FRI 8.30-6.00, SAT 8.30-5.30, SUN 10.00-4.00

MIDDLESBROUGH Mandale Triangle, Thornaby NORWICH 282a Heigham St. NR2 4LZ NOTTINGHAM 211 Lower Parliament St. PETERBOROUGH 417 Lincoln Rd. Millfield PLYMOUTH 58-64 Embankment Rd. PL4 9HY POOLE 137-139 Bournemouth Rd. Parkstone PORTSMOUTH 277-283 Copnor Rd. Copnor PRESTON 53 Blackpool Rd. PR2 6BU SHEFFIELD 453 London Rd. Heeley. S2 4HJ SIDCUP 13 Blackfen Parade, Blackfen Rd SOUTHAMPTON 516-518 Portswood Rd. SOUTHEND 1139-1141 London Rd. Leigh on Sea STOKE-ON-TRENT 382-396 Waterloo Rd. Hanley SUNDERLAND 13-15 Ryhope Rd. Grangetown SWANSEA 7 Samlet Rd. Llansamlet. SA7 9AG SWINDON 21 Victoria Rd. SN1 3AW TWICKENHAM 83-85 Heath Rd.TW1 4AW WARRINGTON Unit 3, Hawley’s Trade Pk. WIGAN 2 Harrison Street, WN5 9AU WOLVERHAMPTON Parkfield Rd. Bilston WORCESTER 48a Upper Tything. WR1 1JZ

01642 677881 01603 766402 0115 956 1811 01733 311770 01752 254050 01202 717913 023 9265 4777 01772 703263 0114 258 0831 0208 3042069 023 8055 7788 01702 483 742 01782 287321 0191 510 8773 01792 792969 01793 491717 020 8892 9117 01925 630 937 01942 323 785 01902 494186 01905 723451

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24877 (56) CAR 3 (full) RH.indd 1 Untitled-1 1

01/02/2016 16:30 29/04/2016 14:24

jargonbuster

jargonbuster There’s no excuse for terminal ignorance...

Words & photography: Dave Smith

Watts The Story III Terminals. They’re the bits at the end of each length of wire that connect it to another.

Theoretically very simple, they are usually also the cause of most electrical woes in the car.

Let’s have a look at some of the most common.

At the top of pic 1 are two pairs of bullet connectors (a), male on the left, female on the right.

It should be fairly obvious why they’re called bullet connectors, and if you can’t work out why the male is on the left and the female on the right then you need to have a word with your Mum. Below those are two ring terminals (b), the uninsulated one on the left being fairly heavy duty while the pre-insulated one is light-duty. Then comes the most common sort of connector, the spade connector. These ones (c) require you to slip the insulating boot onto the wire first, then crimp the terminal on, then slip the boot over the terminal. These are my favourite kind, because you can see that you’ve made a good connection, then, if the connector is exposed to weather, you can pack the boot with Vaseline to keep the damp out.

Below that is a pre-insulated male spade on the left (d), with a trio of pre-insulated females on the right – one with a flexible, clear insulating boot, a fully-insulated one and a partially insulated one.

Then there’s a pre-insulated butt connector (e) for permanently joining wires. Below that is a male spade connector for earthing, or for a terminal such as you might find on an ignition coil (f), and a piggyback connector for joining two wires to one terminal.

Below that is a gold-plated ring terminal (g) and a block spade connector for joining multiple wires. Gold plating is commonly found on high-end audio wiring – is it a triumph of marketing over necessity? You decide.

Pre-insulated terminals usually come in three colours – red for small wire sizes up to 1.5mm square, blue for most automotive wires up to 2.5mm and yellow for larger cables up to 6mm. The most common size for spade terminals is 6.4mm across, or about a quarter of an inch.

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A

B C D E F G

1

2

3

4

Some terminals, notably on speakers, use smaller ones, about 4.8mm across. Higher current draws use larger.

Here are some other connectors (2). First is the household screw-terminal or ‘chocolate block’ connector. Then the blue and red Scotchlok-type connector that allows a second wire to be tapped into a main wire without cutting it. The larger blue item is an add-in blade fuse holder. There’s one word to be used for all of these – no. Don’t.

Scotchloks are often used to tap towbar wiring into the main loom.

That’s all they should be used for.

You put the Scotchlok around the wire, add in the extra wire, then crimp this blade (3) down with pliers. The blade cuts through the insulation and contacts the wire within. Apart from perhaps that

towbar wiring, they have no place in your car. They can provide a get-you-home fix, but that’s it. It’s the same with chocolate blocks.

They corrode, they shake loose, and they’re far from perfectly insulated in an auto environment.

Fuses are extremely important.

Here (4) we have some common fuses. At the top is a household plug fuse (left) and an automotive glass tube fuse (right). As you can see, they’re a similar diameter, but the household fuse is shorter – don’t mix them. The blue fuse is a ceramic-type fuse, most common on European cars but, like the glass tube fuse, they went out of common use decades ago.

The two plastic fuses are blade fuses, now used on just about everything. The green one is standard size; the red one is a mini-fuse. They’re colour-coded,

too – red is 10 amps, green is 30 amps, and there are plenty more.

Fuses are the built-in weak link that, in the event of a short circuit, will overheat and melt, breaking the circuit before the wiring overheats and melts. If you blow a fuse, replace it, and it blows again straight away, it means there’s a short down the line somewhere.

Sometimes a component can cause the problem, for instance, if the water in your screenwash bottle has frozen and you activate the screenwash pump, the pump can draw that much power fighting against the ice that the fuse pops. Simple. Always replace the fuse with one of the correct current rating. If your 10 amp fuse keeps popping, replacing it with a 30 amp fuse might stop it blowing but the 15 amp wiring in that circuit won’t thank you for it...

ACM

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tried’n’tested

ACM_153_Tried_&_Tested_Layout 1 29/04/2016 12:18 Page 1

D E T S E T ’ N ’ D RIE TMeguiar'sDAPowerPack–Compound Last year, we tested Meguiar's drill-powered dual-action polisher. It was lovely. Once you have the DA, you can buy these Power Packs, and this is the first of three – the compounding part.

It simply comes with a small bottle of compound and a foam polishing head to stick to the hook-and-loop pad on the DA. I tried this out on the old Jap, which is an excellent guinea pig for such things because, strangely, the paint on the horizontal surfaces like the boot, bonnet and roof, is excellent while the paint on the sides is scratched, crazed and abraded to hell. I started on the bonnet, and the effects were immediate.

It brought the tired, post-winter clearcoat up to a pleasant shine. I then tried it on the bootlid and roof, and the results were the same. I then tried it on the rear quarters... you know that phrase about something that you just can't polish? The paint on my rear quarters comes into that category. It

buffed out the lightest marks, but couldn't touch the crazing, key-scratches and other battle scars.

I get the impression that this Meguiar's compound is a lightduty product for people who cut their car regularly as part of a paint-care regime, despite the fact that the paintwork is excellent. It is not heavy-duty turd polish, which is what I need, but it goes on easy and buffs off easy (unless you've found a drip of water hiding in

a seam...). The results on good paint were excellent; the results on poor paint were poor, which is almost to be expected. The DA attachment is still very good, although the foam head is only about four inches across so I wouldn't want to do a van with it; however, access to tricky areas is pretty good. It's slightly cumbersome with the drill attached, but on the other hand, a cordless drill would mean you could compound your paint at the top of Everest if you so

D E T S E T ’ N ’ D TRIE

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the brink of ruin by silicone contamination – but used sparingly and sensibly it can be very useful to have around.

I found this out first-hand when trying to remove the exhausts from the donor Mustang recently.

After heaving and levering on the rubber exhaust mounts for ages, and achieving nothing other than a faceful of dirt and rust flakes plus a strong urge to remove the

Stockists nationwide, see www.meguiars.co.uk to find your nearest.

wished. The whole kit would doubtless work out quite pricey, but would take up a lot less shelf space than a 'pro' polisher, would make a lovely gift for a detailing perfectionist, and once you have it you'll wonder how you did without it.

AVAILABLE FROM: Hardware and motoring accessory stores everywhere.

See www.carplan.co.uk

SiliconeDD

Yet another dose of Carry On Up The Garage humour from CarPlan's Workshop Wonders, this Silicone DD is a simple aerosol lubricant for plastic and rubber parts. Ask anyone who works in a bodyshop for their opinion of products that contain silicone and they'll probably tell you to kill it with fire – a good friend of mine has a bodyshop, and was brought to

AVAILABLE FROM:

pipe from the car with a grenade, I tried giving the mounts a squirt of this stuff. A minute later and whoosh, they levered off with the minimum of mither. Of course, there are many other spray-lubes that may have achieved the same result, but oil-based ones will start softening and eating into rubber parts while silicone-based ones won't. Handy to have around, if used with care!

All Sealey Hand Tools come with a Lifetime Guarantee* *No quibble guarantee covers individual items within sets. Excludes TRX-Star** T40 bits, breaker bar knuckles, drill bits, cutting blades and taps & dies. Repair kits will be sent out for most ratchet wrenches. **TRX-STAR, TRX-TS and TRX-P tools are suitable for driving TORX速 and TORX PLUS速 fasteners respectively. TORX速 and TORX PLUS速 are registered trademarks of Acument Intellectual Properties, LLC.

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workshop

ACM_153_WITW_Layout 1 29/04/2016 11:57 Page 1

What’s In The Workshop It Never Raines...

This Eleanor rep is nearing completion up in Lincolnshire.

Words & Photography : Dave Smith

A recent visit to north Lincolnshire led me to Louth, and the premises of Woldside Classic & Sports Car where there's an Eleanor that's almost ready for her Memphis. Starting out as a '68 fastback, this Mustang has undergone some serious work in the pursuit of Eleanorification in conjunction with East Coast Muscle Cars.

Of course, there's the body kit, but any body that's wearing inchdeep liquid-looking black paint like this has to be perfect, and wobbly panel gaps aren't an option. Under the bonnet is a John Sleath-built 351 Cleveland, backed by a T5 five-speed manual, and the rear end is fourlinked. When I visited, the whole interior had been coated in 90

ACM

sound deadening and a roll hoop supporting three-inch harnesses, and the Woldside guys were waiting for the car audio specialist to arrive and sort out the DAB sounds and speaker wiring. Once that interior is sorted, and the guys solve the issues in getting the exhausts to sit perfectly in those side-pipe sill trims, this will be one serious star car to be reckoned with.

Incidentally, elsewhere in the showroom was a rather stunning blue '69 Camaro with a definite Pro Touring flavour, running low on air over big-inch rims and a healthy small-block powerplant.

Honestly, how could anyone look at the Ferraris or Mercedes when they're parked next to cars like this? ACM

THANKS: Woldside Classic & Sports Car, Louth, 01507 606725, www.woldsideclassics.co.uk

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www.ThackrayCarSales.co.uk Untitled-1 1

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newtech

ACM_153_New_Tech_Layout 1 29/04/2016 09:39 Page 1

techstuff Renegade Master Chevrolet's Crossfire twin-throttle body EFI system was installed on 1982-1984 Camaros and Corvettes, but has a reputation for being temperamental and difficult to tune, to the extent that there aren't many left.

They can still make decent power with the right parts, though, and step one should be to replace the OE manifold with an Eddie Motorsports Renegade, the only true high performance manifold for the Crossfire with advanced runner design, increased plenum area, and flow enhancements to improve power, torque and even economy. Eddie Motorsports dynoed their 383 stroker Crossfire and got an extra 30rwhp over the OE manifold. The Renegade can take throttle bodies up to 2.25”, accept all stock factory accessories including PCV and EGR, comes with stainless fasteners and all fits under a stock bonnet. The two-piece design even allows port-matching, so see www.summitracing.com and speak to your engine builder.

Box Of Tricks DIYAutoTune have just announced that their new LSX Series Direct Plug-n-Play Harness for MS3-Pro engine management system is now on sale.

Speak Up! New at Summit Racing Equipment are the ultimate in tweakable sounds from BBK – VariTune mufflers and exhaust systems.

The chambered silencer technology is based on internal adjustable valves controlled by a screw adjuster – when closed, the gas is forced through all the chambers for a classic, mellow sound; open the valve and it's a straight-through design for maximum flow and a deep note, ideal for a street car that does track duty. They're available in aluminised steel or stainless with various sized offset inlets and outlets, or get them as part of axle-back kits for S195 Mustangs or fifth-gen Camaros. See www.summitracing.com and get ready to rumble.

Switchcraft Want to plumb your late-model muscle car for nitrous but don't want a load of add-on switches cluttering your dash?

Check out the custom-made switch panels from Nitrous Express.

The latest crop includes a panel that replaces the dash-mounted pop-up lighter plug in your C7 Corvette with a discreet panel of switches for the bottle heater, the remote opener, the purge valve and the system arming. It requires no permanent mods, and retains the factory open and close function so it's out of sight when not needed. There's a similar panel for the Pontiac G8 that mounts right in front of the shifter, and loads more too, so see www.nitrousexpress.com for details.

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It debuted at the PRI Show at the end of last year, and the introduction at the end of March saw them immediately back-ordered, but now they're ready to rock'n'roll. They're calling it the highest quality, best value option for LS motors in the industry today, and combines the virtually limitless feature set of MS3-Pro engine management with easy installation that should have you firing the motor up on day one – you literally unplug the factory harness and plug in the new one. The LSX24x harness wiring is TechFlex woven, self-extinguishing high-temp TXL and GXL wire with OEM Delphi connectors, all fuses and relays live in a single waterproof fusebox, and the fuel pump relay and wiring are specced for pumps that can handle 1,000rwhp or more. Add the plug-in MicroSquirt transmission controller for 4L60E or 4L80E and you're ready to control your auto 'box at the same time! See www.diyautotune.com for details.

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newtech

ACM_153_New_Tech_Layout 1 29/04/2016 09:39 Page 3

G-Force For years, the G-body GMs were never really considered muscle cars, but over recent years, these 'downsizers' have become increasingly popular, not just with the drag racers but with those whose idea of racing involves handling, steering and stopping – the Autocrossers.

The aftermarket has reacted accordingly, and now you can really make your 1978-1988 G-body dance. Check out the latest from UMI Performance, such as this lightweight, three-quarter inch solid rear antiroll bar aimed specifically at road racers and autocrossers. It's a lower rate to prevent inside wheel lift, and the housing reduces the binding that factory ARBs suffer from. There are three adjustment positions, and it'll clear GM 10- and 12-bolt and Ford 9” axles. Also, check out the bolt-on front chassis brace that spans the front frame horns and ties into the front crossmember, replacing stock and 'Grand Prix bar' reinforcements.

See www.umiperformance.com and get some Gs in your G-body.

EcoBoost Boost Manley celebrated their 50th anniversary at the tail end of last year, but don't think they're resting on their laurels.

Their latest new crop in the Platinum Series includes a range of pistons for Ford EcoBoost engines, including the 2.0 and 2.3 four-pots and 3.5 V6. Forged from 2618 aluminium, the lightweight design incorporates a thicker deck for dealing with boosted boost, have perfect ring groove-to-skirt squareness, will work with larger valves and have moly-coated skirts for durability. Premium chrome-moly wrist pins are included, so see www.manleyperformace.com, and download their big 50th anniversary catalogue.

EcoBoost Boost II The advantage to 'world engines' like Ford's EcoBoost range is that you get specialists everywhere, like Gloucestershire's Forge Motorsport who have taken quite an interest in the new Mustang's 2.3 four-pot.

That's why they're coming up with new stuff like this all-aluminium black anodised atmospheric dump valve that replaces the stock (and occasionally troublesome) electronic solenoid type with a durable piston design that can be fitted with different springs for tuning. There's no diaphragm to fail, it's a straight-swap fit, it won't cause the ECU to throw a fit, but you do get that 'whoosh' on the overrun... if that's your bag. Why not team it up with a Forge Motorsport race-quality boost hose kit, modelled on the OE hose yet able to withstand much higher boost pressures and temperatures. Check out www.forgemotorsport.co.uk or call 01452 380999 for details.

Meaty GT The 2016 Mustang GT350 with the flat-plane 5.2 V8 really howls, and to make sure nobody misses it, Magnaflow have launched a valved cat-back system to not so much share the love as broadcast it.

The full 3” stainless system with 4” polished or carbon fibre tips adds a smooth, deep tone that has dynoed at an extra 15bhp – not that the GT350 was shy in that department anyway – without that drone at cruising speeds. Magnaflow are forever expanding their range of pipes, and additions to the catalogue already this year include a monster 5” system for Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra diesels, a similar system for Dodge Rams with Cummins diesels, and sweet systems for the 2015 Dodge Challengers from the V6 to the Hellcat. See www.magnaflow.com for details, and speak to UK distributors www.nemesisuk.com about a set for your car.

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newtech

Clock-Watching Auto Meter are now providing American Muscle gauge kits for a variety of classic cars and trucks.

Taking The Fifth Although the sixth-gen Camaro is the new hot property, the old fifth gen is still a force to be reckoned with.

BMR Suspension certainly haven't forgotten that, and their catalogue is still crammed with goodies for it, such as these poly-bushed adjustable rear lower control arms for the 2010-on Camaro and Pontiac G8. This new design reduces suspension deflection and offers increased rear camber adjustability and cornering stability via their massive 1.125” CNC-machined double adjusters. While you're down there, team the new arms up with a set of adjustable anti-roll bar end links, another new redesign for earlier fifth-gens. Built from billet aluminium and heavy-duty steel hex bar stock, they use Proforged ball-joint ends that offer better articulation than Rose joints and are fully greasable. See www.bmrsuspension.com and speak to your importer.

Each easy-to-install kit comes with a durable replacement dash panel, six iconic American Muscle gauges, a universal wiring harness, sending units, an LED lighting dimmer and all the mounting hardware you need.

No butchering, no fabrication, it's all there, and the period-looking gauges will look superb, like a professional fit. You get a tacho, speedo, oil pressure, water temperature, fuel level and voltmeter, and there are kits to suit Camaros and Firebirds up to 1981, Chevy trucks from 1967 to 1983, GM A-bodies from 1970 to 1972, Novas from 1969 to 1976, Mopar A-bodies from 1970 to 1976, B-bodies from 1971 to 1974, and E-bodies from 1970 to 1974. See www.autometer.com and speak to your dealer.

While you're there, ask about the latest updates to the selection of Auto Meter GPS-based speedometers – they're now available in carbon fibre, traditional chrome and Z-series.

Hot Property After all the effort you've gone to with that hot motor, nothing will drive you crazy quicker than the tick-tick-tick of a leaking header or collector gasket.

The heat batters the gaskets, causing them to shrink or burn, and the constant heat cycling of the components causes them to warp over time. No problem – try Remflex gaskets, made from 100% flexible graphite that won't shrink or burn. They're one-eighth of an inch thick and will crush by 50%, so they can absorb a little warpage, and they can withstand up to 3,000 degrees F. They're available for big- and small-block Chevy, LS, and small-block Ford, as well as collector gaskets, turbo gaskets and donut gaskets, so see www.summitracing.com and stop those leaks.

Boom For Improvement When it comes to getting every last hundredth out of a race car, the sound deadening is usually the first to go; when it comes to a street cruiser, decent sound deadening can be the difference between reaching for the car keys and reaching for the Anadin.

New from Boom Mat comes their XL damping material, 4mm thick, 166% thicker than standard products so you only get the noise you want to hear. A thin aluminium skin and odourless butyl noise barrier make it tough on noise, but still flexible and easy to trim to shape, and you'll notice the difference in noise and heat. Boom Mat have also improved their peel-and-stick 2mm damping material to effectively reduce low frequency noise with less coverage, saving time, weight and materials. Check them both out at www.boommat.com and speak to your UK DEI distributor.

ACM

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29/04/2016 14:36

Cars At The Spa

The genteel spa towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough get invaded by Knights.

gallery

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

Words: Rich Newman Photography: Nick Holmes “The Knights CC cruise is now into its sixth season. Held on the last Saturday of the month from March through to September at McDonald’s, St James Retail Park, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, we start around 5.30pm then at around 8pm we head out into Harrogate town centre for a cruise around the one-way system – it’s the cruise that really cruises. We then end up back at a local pub for a chat and a soft drink.

“As a club, Knights CC is a laidback affair and there are no rules regarding what members drive, meaning we have everything from street rod show winners to muscle cars and Seventies classics among our ranks. This attitude is the same on cruise night... Yanks and rods are welcome, as are all retro cars. We look forward to seeing cruisers old and new! Find Knights CC on Facebook.” ACM

ACM

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No More Flat Batteries With Battery Brain

The ingenious Battery Brain unit: • Gives you confidence that you can always start your vehicle

Prices start from

£69.99

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Never be stranded again with Battery Brain For more information

on Battery Brain and the various models please visit:

www.batterybrain.co.uk

Untitled-1 1

29/04/2016 14:43

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

Words: Adrian Cowdry Photography: Darren Graham

gallery

gallery Buster’s Breakfast A cool cruise and a monster breakfast – what better way to spend your Sunday morning?

October 25th, 2015, saw the first breakfast meet at Britannia Cafe (aka Buster’s Roadhouse) at Lyon Road, London SW19 2RL. More than 30 cars attended, spanning American muscle and British classics, and as many Harley Davidsons and scooters. It was the morning after the clocks went back so the early start at 8.00am was somewhat ignored. The first car turned up at 7.55am, the last at noon.

The meeting spot is within the Lombard Industrial Estate with a turning circle outside of the Cafe that is perfect for the odd donut 

ACM

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and was filled very quickly with a myriad of beautiful Detroit metal - Mustangs, Chargers, Corvettes, Falcons and more. And then around 10.00am the air was filled with the roar of Milwaukee Iron - Harley Davidsons of all types impressively rolled up.

The Cafe did a roaring trade serving up an excellent breakfast at great value and the weather stayed kind so the chat was flowing. The approach to the turning circle is a long stretch of straight road - so when the time came for the meet to break up, first all the Harleys lined up in fan fashion for a great photo opportunity and then took off for a ride out, then it became the turn of the various cars - well, it was beyond temptation and the odd burnout was let loose... Everyone enjoyed the meet and venue.

The meets now happen on the last Sunday of every month, see www.busterlang.co.uk/breakfastmeets/. ACM 100

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Protect yourself from the Asteroid Belt Second Generation “Self Healing” paint protection film has arrived.

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

Words: Dave Smith Photography: Sonia Hammond

gallery

gallery Better Friday Making Good Friday better, NAMCO are hosting the unofficial after-party for Wheels Day. ďƒ¨

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Last month we reported on the big season-opening Surrey Street Rodders’ Wheels Day show that’s called Good Friday home for decades. Well, for the last couple of years there’s been an unofficial after-party at American car and hot rod specialists NAMCO, just 

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27th March (Easter Sunday) 28th-30th May (Bank Holiday) - Modified Action - Volkspower’s Powerfest

28th/29th August (Bank Holiday) - National Hot Rod Reunion

Saturday: - VW show (dragstrip closed) - Live Music - Trade Stands 28th March (Easter Monday) Sunday: Sund - Easter Nationals - PDRC Championship Drag Racing - PDRC Championship Drag Race Classes include: Racing American Superstock, NSCC, Race Classes include: JDM-DRC & Pro FWD American Superstock, Pro ET - Live Music Sportsman ET, Super Cup, - Ultimate RWYB Ultim Volks Stock, NSCC, JDM-DRC Monday: & Pro FWD - PDRC Championship Drag - RWYB Racing (classes as Easter Nats) VW Show ‘n’ Shine 1st/2nd May (Bank Holiday) - RWYB

Sunday: - Robin Read’s Nitro-burning Daimler Hemi Dragster - PDRC Championship Drag Racing Race Classes include: American Superstock, NSCC, JDM-DRC & Pro FWD - Ultimate RWYB - Hot Rods and Classics Show ‘n’ Shine - Live Li Music

- Racers’ Test and Tune - Mini Showdown - Ultimate RWYB

- Super Street Shootout

Sunday: - PDRC Championship Drag Racing Race Classes include: American Superstock, NSCC, JDM-DRC & Pro FWD - Straightliners - Ultimate RWYB Monday: PD Championship Drag - PDRC Racing (classes as Easter Nats) - Straightliners - RWYB

2nd July (Saturday) - Sportsman Spo Nationals - PDRC Championship Drag Racing (classes as Easter Nats) - Utimate RWYB

3rd July (Sunday) - Street Racer Championship - 39th Annual Street Racer Championship - The Big Bracket - Straightliners - RWYB

2016

EVENT

CALENDAR

Monday: - Robin Read’s Nitro-burning Daimler Hemi Dragster - PDRC Championship Drag Racing (classes as Easter Nats) - RWYB

18th September (Sunday) - UK Northern Finals - PDRC Championship Drag Racing (classes as Easter Nats) - Ultimate RWYB

9th October (Sunday) - Judgement Day - The Big Bracket - Straightliners - Ultimate RWYB

Dates or event content may be subject to change without prior notice. MOTORSPORT IS DANGEROUS. York Raceway recommends the use of ear protection for some events.

Helmet required for RWYB. Scrutineering opens 9:00AM, Track action from 9:30AM

Admission - Adults: £15.00 RWYB: £30 Teens (13-16): £7.50 PDRC Entry: £40 Under 12’s: FREE!

Weekend discounts may apply(see website for details)

for more info �nd us on the web at:

www.yorkraceway.org.uk

York Raceway, Melbourne Airfield, Ash Lane, Seaton Ross, York YO42 4SS Untitled-1 1

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down the road in Farnborough, in the evening after Wheels Day. It’s an informal gathering with music, a barbecue, live band, easter eggs for the kids and beer for the grown-ups.

Well, when you’ve waited all winter for Wheels Day to roll around, it seems silly for it to end at teatime. Check out www. namcoamerican.com, and next year perhaps you could stretch your Good Friday festivities out a little longer...? ACM

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Muscle Car Corner Paul Dodd and son get into some very big numbers indeed.

At last, Jason’s Trans Am, “Smokey”, is back on the road!

Not that there was anything wrong with it in the first place; in fact, we ended last season with a new personal best of 11.60@116 on the motor and 10.51@126mph with nitrous. But, once you’ve got the drag racing bug you’re hooked, and for this year we decided to go for aluminium cylinder heads with the nine second zone in our sights. Over the Christmas break I started to research the various types on offer and soon came to the conclusion that, matched with the cam we had, they all produced around 600 horsepower give or take 20hp.

As impressive as 600 horses sounds I calculated that this may only just get us into the 10s on the motor and the nines would be even harder to achieve, so I kept on researching until I stumbled on a 496 Chevy build up in Super Chevy magazine that featured AFR 300 heads that they describe

as the “Ultimate street race weapon”, matched to a solid roller cam. Skipping all the blurb and technical jargon I scrolled down to the important bit, the dyno test. And there it was, this combo made a whopping 729hp at 6,500rpm. Now that’s more like it.

I then sent the link to Jason, for a bit of a laugh more than anything, but the next day he was on the phone and saying he wanted to go for it! So here we are, four months later, with virtually that exact combo in the engine and all back in the car and raring to go.

Whether it produces the power remains to be seen, we shall soon find out!

I wish it all happened as easily as that was to write, but in this game you always come up against unforeseen problems. For starters the engine had to come out to be done properly and was shipped down to our man, Roger Luty. Then, when the heads arrived, Roger checked them

over and found that the springs had an open pressure of 800lbs which would have snapped the new cam in half as the max recommended pressure for it was 500lbs. So it would seem this 496 build up did not exactly tell the full story. Apart from that he did concede that they were indeed awesome heads but then mentioned that with the chosen cam duration we would have no vacuum at low revs – in other words, no brakes!

I got on to Wilwood technical and they recommended a manual master cylinder with built-in pushrod that would suit the Trans Am and I promptly ordered one. So did it fit? No chance, the pushrod was not long enough and had the wrong end. Luckily our mechanic John Blay knows how to get around such problems but it did take him a full day to make up rods and brackets. On to the fuel system and Roger reckoned the new

combo at full throttle would need every bit of the 140 gallons per hour that the Holley Black at 9lbs psi can muster and that we would need a separate pump and line dedicated to the NOS system, so we took his advice and did just that. At the back of the car we also decided that the stock 10 bolt posi was not going to be able to take the abuse we are going to throw at it so in went a Detroit Locker and special Moser shafts.

I could go on but you get the point. Even now there is no guarantee that it will all hold together when the full 900+ horses with nitrous is unleashed, but we shall have fun trying.

Anyway, the initial target is to try and beat last year’s PB, 10.51 with nitrous, just on the engine alone!

As Smokey rumbled out of John Blay’s workshop in Chertsey, so my Oldsmobile rolled in. Oh yes, my old faithful but battleweary engine is coming out and about to go in is Roger Luty’s 455 that propelled his 442 to 9.75@136mph! Admittedly that was with the assistance of its 300hp nitrous fogger system but the motor alone produced high 10 second quarters so it should theoretically do the same in mine; well, that’s the target anyway.

Man, that’s as quick as my old engine was with nitrous, so excuse me if this month’s column is a bit indulgent but these are exciting times indeed.

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

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28/04/2016 17:16

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