1970 PLYMOUTH HEMI SUPERBIRD PASSES HALF A MILLION DOLLARS AT BARRET-JACKSON SCOTTSDALE AUCTION

When I mention the name Plymouth Superbird, also known as the Pymouth Road Runner, what is the first thing that crosses your mind ?

For me I close my eyes and step back in time and childhood memories of an eleven year old young guy immediately kick in. Sitting on the front porch of the house I grew up in from the time I was six, spending endless hours watching countless really cool cars going up and down N. Enola Dr.

One of a hand full of cars that are etched in my mind Is the 1970 Plymoyth Superbird and it's corporate cousin, the Dodge Datona. My heat would race every time one of the rolling pieces of future automotive history flew by.

These cars were different from anything else on the street. It had a draconian rear wing that was taller than the roof. How did this car make it to  street ? NASCAR wanted to race this car, it had immense down force, and tremendous house power, thanks going to it's 426 cubic inch Hemi engine.

 So, Plymouth had to put a certain amount of these cars into production, In order to meet NASCAR's rules to get a car on the track, and it did just that. It built the mandatory number of street legal versions of this car, the rest is history.

 Buddy Baker, an acclaimed NASCAR driver, broke a speed record at Talladega with  this car, quite impressive in it's own right.

I have posted a Press Release that was available at the Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale last week

 

Details

 Authenticated and visually inspected by Mopar authority and expert, Galen Govier. Verified original matching numbers engine and transmission with original VIN Tag, Fender Tag and secondary body codes. Currently listed in Galen's Registry as #25 of 78 HEMI Superbirds registered and accounted for in the USA. Documented rotisserie restoration with photos included. 2013 First in Class winner at the 41st Annual Concours d'Elegance held in Forest Grove, OR. Features include the original 426/425hp HEMI engine with dual four carburetion, original 727 TorqueFlite automatic, original A36 performance axle package, power disc brakes, power steering, "Tic-Toc" tachometer, factory gauge package, AM radio, remote left mirror, black vinyl top, Rally wheels with Goodyear Polyglas tires, matching spare with both jacks and outstanding original body including nose cone. Beautifully refinished in the original Alpine White exterior color. Galen Govier's visual report is included along with Fender Tag decoding, Registry Certificate, original owner's manual and owner history plus an additional visual report by Mopar authority, Dave Wise at MMC Detroit. This is one of the finest and rarest HEMI Superbirds anywhere.

A CAR AHEAD OF IT'S TIME, THE 1948 TUCKER 48 SEDAN

Having a dream and achieving it, is a challenging task.  No example was more evident of that than Preston Tuckers dream of building a car and a car company. The Tucker 48 (named after its model year) was an advanced automobile conceived by Preston Tucker, . The Tucker 48's original proposed price was said to be $2,450, but the actual price was closer to $4,000.

Four things brought the inevitable demise of Preston Tucker's dream. The news media, an SEC (securities and exchange committee) investigation, a corrupt politician (Homer S. Ferguson) and the "Big Three" auto makers managed to destroy Preston Tucker's dream of building a car company.

Preston Tucker set out  to raise enough money to build his dream car. Tucker raised $17,000,000 in a stock issue. Tucker needed more money to continue development of the car. He came up with the idea to sell dealerships and distributorships throughout the country. 

Future buyers could purchase accessories, like seat covers, radio, and luggage, before their car was built, to secure a spot on the car's waiting list, Tucker's idea brought an additional $2,000,000 (equal to $20,909,091 today) into the company.

 In the summer of 1944, he hired noted car designer George S. Lawson to style his new automobile. Lawson was named the Tucker Corporation's "chief stylist." Preston Tucker began working on plans for his new automobile.

 His specifications called for a water-cooled aluminum block flat-6 rear engine, disc brakes, four-wheel independent suspension, fuel injection, the location of all instruments within reach of the steering wheel, seat belts, and a padded dashboard. 

 Lawson worked on the project for over a year-and-a-half before his design debuted publicly. Beginning about February of 1946 and found as late as a year later in March of 1947,

 Preston Tucker took the pre-production cars on the road to show them in towns across the country. With the final design in place, The cars were an instant success. Tucker told the story of being pulled over by a police officer intent on getting a better look at the
car.
 Briefly produced in Chicago in 1948, Only 51 cars were made before the company folded on March 3, 1949.

 

 

 

 

 





 

1967 CHEVROLET CORVETTE L88 SELLS FOR $3.85 MILLION @ BARRETT-JACKSON SCOTTSDALE 2014 AUCTION

OK, I all ready picked a dream car in a previous blog, problem was, It wasn't street legal. So if I want a dream car that I could cruise down the street and make all the ladies heads turn, I just found it.

I'm going to have to have deep pockets for this one, $3.85 million ! Best I can tell, this is a new record for a Corvette at auction, with a '67 L88 convertible selling in late 2013 for $3.2 million holding that title before.

The car is a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette with the L88 engine package. You are probably asking, why so much ? Well truth be told, Chevrolet only produced and sold 20 1967 Corvettes with theL88 engine, making it a very rare car. Add together The Red on Red color combination, and you have an extremely rare car.

Anybody that knows me and knows me well, knows I love Corvettes and I am very partial to red automobiles. Put together a Red Corvette with an L88 engine and a red interior, and make it a 1967, there's only one word to describe it, DREAM CAR !

Here you will find a Press Release on the vehicle. :

Details The 1967 L88 is extremely rare, 20 were produced. 20 of the most desirable Corvettes ever built. The true intent of the L88 was all-out performance on the racetrack. L88s were delivered without fan shrouds, they did not have chokes and were a bear to keep running until they came up to operating temperature, there was no radio and no heater. The L88 with 12.5:1 compression, hi-lift cam, 850cfm 4 barrel carburetor and aluminum heads was intentionally under-rated by GM at 430hp. Stock, as delivered L88s actually have been dyno-tested at 560hp. This vehicle is the only known 1967 red/red L88 produced, it has GM documentation in the form of a legible Tank Sheet (Order Copy) that has been validated by the GM/NCRS Document Validation Service. A L88 427 HD, M22 4-speed, J56 heavy duty brakes, J50 power brakes, F41 suspension, K66 transistor ignition, G81 4.56 posi-traction and shoulder harness. This is the only 1967 L88 to have attained an NCRS 98.2 Regional Top Flight 2001, 98.4 National Top Flight 2001, a Regional Performance Verification Award and the Ultimate award for Corvette restoration or preservation the NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence Award 2001. Equipped just as the documentation indicates, this L88 is the best of the best.

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1959 CHEVROLET EL CAMINO....1/2 CAR, 1/2 TRUCK

A friend of mine in high school had one of these creatures, talk about good times. He actually broke the speedometer on it on a back road in the town we lived in, Yes I was with him. It was a road where 50 m.p.h. was pushing it. the speedometer pegged at 120, and he broke it.

I'm not sure what Chevrolet's end game was with tis vehicle. I believe the were trying to offer customers a truck that felt like a car, or was it a car that could work like a truck ? Chevrolet coined it as a coupe utility. Either way, Ford Motor company beat then to the punch with the 1957 Ford Ranchero. The Ford Ranchero was produced between 1957-1979, with 7 generations of body styles.

The Chevrolet El Camino was produced between 1959-1987, with 5 generations of body styles. There were no El Camino's built between 1961-1963. Chevrolet

***  It was based on an existing and modified platform, namely the new-for-1959 Brookwood two-door station wagon and corresponding sedan delivery variant; unlike those models, the El Camino was available any drivetrain option corresponding to the car line, but used a single trim level; the exterior used Bel-Air trim while the inside was trimmed like a low-end Biscayne.

*** No other trim options were available from the factory, although 1959-60 El Caminos are often restored with Impala body mouldings and interiors. The El Camino was built on Chevy's 1959 passenger-car chassis that featured a "Safety-Girder" X-frame design and full-coil suspension, both of which had debuted on the 1958s.

*** The 1959 El Camino was promoted as the first Chevrolet pickup built with a steel bed floor instead of wood. The floor was a corrugated sheet metal insert, secured with 26 recessed bolts. Concealed beneath it was the floor pan from the Brookwood two-door wagon, complete with foot wells. Box capacity was almost 33 cubic feet.

(*** Credit Wikipedia)

AMERICAS NEWEST HAND BUILT MUSCLE CAR.........$250,000

OK, right off the bat this pricey gem is not going to win any prizes for originality. At first blush, from the side view you have what appears to be a Mustang Fastback. Upon further review, from the front of the car you get styling cues from the Dodge Challenger, from the back, the jury is still out on this one, maybe a take away from the Shelby GT500 ?

The people at Equus Automotive found the correct power train, and I'm not going to hold that against them. They took the now not available 6.2 L V-8 Supercharged Chevrolet ZR1 engine and coupled it with six-speed dual-clutch manual transmission (yes, a twin-disc manual) at the rear.

Presto !, you have the Equus Bass770. According to Equus Automotive's Facebook page, the vehicle has already been out for almost a year, Detroit-based Equus Automotive developed the car for six years to arrive.

The combination of strong, lightweight materials is sure to keep body flex to a minimum and, crucially, the weight down on this 3,640-pound muscle car. Its body is made out of aluminum lined with carbon fiber. The Bass 770 a claimed 0-60 miles-per-hour time of 3.4 seconds and top speed of 200 mph.

1995 CHEVROLET CAMARO..........FUTURE CLASSIC

A Chevrolet guy at heart, Camaro's have always been special to me. I had owned a Third Generation 1989  Camaro RS with the 2.8 V-6. Plan was to hand this over to my daughter when she turned 16. As it played out, we shared it. Enough about me.

My focus on this post is the '95 Camaro, fourth generation, (1993-2002.) This generation Camaro had to grow on me, which it eventually did. It was so futuristic in looks, and that's what restyling a vehicle is all about.
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This  sporty Camaro was available with either a 3.4 L V-6 (49 states), a 3.8 L V-6 (California) or a 5.7 L V-8, LT1. If you bought a Z/28, you received the LT1 (V-8), a poor man's Corvette, as they called it.

1995 was also the first year the fourth-generation Camaro had the option of painted side bars and mirrors. Traction control became available as an option on LT1 Camaros, but was installed on the base Camaros.

 Z28 rooftops, door handles, and mirrors, which were previously only available in black, now had the option to be painted the same as the body color.

At the end of the 2002 model run, Camaro lovers would have to wait until 2010 & the introduction of the fifth generation Camaro to get a new one.

It was well worth the wait,

TELSA MOTORS.........A STORY THAT GOES BACK TO 1882

I have to admit, until I did my research, I didn't know a lot about this car company.  Telsa Motors is named after Nikola Telsa, a physicist and electrical engineer. The Telsa Roadster uses an AC motor modeled after a Telsa design from 1882.

The Roadster, the first vehicle for Telsa, uses a lithium-ion battery. The vehicle has a range greater than 200 miles, the first production vehicle to make that claim. The Roadster was marketed in 31 countries between 2008-2012. Sales for that time period were 2,250 units. In 2011 Telsa stopped marketing the Roadster in the United States.

Telsa Motors is an American car company which headquarters are in  Palo Alto, California. They have been in business for 10 years and for the first time posted profits in the first quarter of 2013.

On March 26, 2009 Telsa  introduced the Telsa Model S, an all electric sedan. Base price for the Model S was $57,400, the

base price for the Roadster was $109,000 and there is word that the company later planned to launch a vehicle dubbed as "BlueStar" for around $30,000.

One of the major goals of Telsa's business model is to widen the choice of electric vehicles available to the average consumer. They also planned to open a network of company-owned showrooms and also market the vehicles heavily on the internet.

Serving as a positive example to other automakers and selling powertrain components to other automakers is also part of their business model.

Telsa employed almost 3,000 people as of March,2013.