2. DOMINATE THE TRACK. RULE THE STREET.
PRO-ALIGNMENT
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SPORTLINE
ANTI-ROLL-KIT
PRO-KIT
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Project1_Layout 1 14/03/2014 09:56 Page 1
4. contents
4 ACM
contents
02
RACING
P20: Turning whitewalls into
white smoke, LS turbo style
63 AMERICAN SUPER STOCK
Round one of the all-Yank bracket series
7 News
12 Auction News
14 On Track News
16 The Big Picture
18 Competition
19 Letters
66 Events Guide
80 Subscriptions
82 Our Yanks
92 New Products
97 Gallery
114 Finish Line
01
REGULARS
P7: Why is something so
violent called Pacific?
P92: Spokin' hot
20 THE LOW STAR STATE
The street truck that really is the best of
all worlds
28 INTERNATIONAL RESCUE
Born in the USA, born again in Northamptonshire
37 JEEP THRILLS
Jeep's new owners have a lot riding on the
new Cherokee
43 BIG BOYS' TOYS
Back to Statfold Barn for the smaller part of
the collection
03
FEATURES
P28: Thunderbird in a
Nissen dealership?
ACM_130_Contents_Layout 1 19/05/2014 15:47 Page 1
5. 52 RUNWAY SUCCESS?
Everyone's had something to say about
Wheels Day
60 THE POWER OF 10
The London Motor Museum celebrates its
first decade
05
SHOWS
06
OTHERSTUFF
47 ROLLING STOCK
We talk wheels and tyres with North Hants
56 REVIEWS
The latest reading material for petrolheads
58 DAD ALL OVER
Father's Day gift ideas for Yank-fan dads
70 BLUEPRINT
GM's Astro and Safari - the only “cool” minivan?
74 ONE-BREW JOBS
Jobs you can do before your tea goes cold
76 HOW-TO
Flipping an axle on a leaf-sprung van
86 JARGON BUSTER
Fun with electricity
88 TRIED'N'TESTED
Fun things in cans and bottles. Not beer.
90 WHAT'S IN THE WORKSHOP
The bats had best watch out – Aussie's about!
04
TECHNICAL
P70: Safari, so good
NO PRESSURE
NO OVERHEATING
NO CORROSION
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6. Modern Multi-vehicle Replica
Classic
Motorcycle Household
FP1445
WHy CHoose RH?
No broker admin fees
No upper age limit*
Cover available for 18-25 year olds*
Agreed value cover available
(subject to club or independent valuation)
Salvage return – free and automatic for all vehicles
over 20 years of age
UK & European breakdown recovery (over 1 mile from home
or nominated garage address) included at no extra cost
Multi vehicle insurance - combine your specialist vehicle collection
and modern cars onto one policy (providing the majority are classic)
We can tailor the cover required to meet your needs*
Insurance Quotation Hotline
01277 206911www.rhclassicinsurance.co.uk
Cherished by you
Insured by us
* subject to underwriting criteria
RH Specialist Insurance is a trading name of Willis Limited, a Lloyd’s broker. Registered office: 51 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7DQ. Registered number
181116 England and Wales. Willis Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This RH Specialist Insurance is arranged and
administered on behalf of Willis Limited by Equity Red Star Services Limited, an appointed representative of Equity Syndicate Management Limited.
Equity Syndicate Management Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and
Prudential Regulation Authority.
s P e C I A L I s T V e H I C L e I N s U R A N C e
Car [210x297] FP1445.indd 1 27/02/2014 16:11:33
Untitled-2 1 19/05/2014 15:28:10
7. ACM
news
ACMnews
7
THIS MONTH’S PRESSING ISSUES IN THE WORLD OF AMERICAN CARS
FordBulletin
Alan Mulally, the CEO who, it is generally agreed, saved Ford from disaster in the late 2000s, will be retiring and handing over the
reins to current COO Mark Fields on July 1st this year. Fields is seen here on the right, with Mulally (left) and Bill Ford (centre).
Only 1,964 special edition
fastbacks will be built, each being
loaded with all the options, so
the lucky customers only have to
choose whether they want it with
auto or manual transmission,
and in Wimbledon White or Kona
HalfCenturyOfPony High
Horse
The Mustang has been a
global sensation for Ford,
but now it’s gone even
further.
On May 2nd, a couple of
Californian Ford dealers sent one
into space. They attached one of
Ford’s special promotional Revell
kits of the new Mustang to a high
altitude weather balloon, along
with instruments and cameras,
and let fly. In 74 minutes, it had
reached 110,000 feet, or 21 miles,
before coming back to earth and
landing in a field. OK, officially
that’s not quite ‘space’, but it’s
higher than any other Mustang’s
been!
Immediately prior to the great celebrations of
Mustang’s 50th birthday back in April, Ford announced
a special 50 Year limited edition of the all-new 2015
Mustang 5.0 GT.
Blue. They’ll be offered for sale
later this year.
On April 17th, as part of the
celebrations, Ford execs brought
the all-new Mustang to meet up
with local Mustang fans under
the iconic Unisphere, site of
the 1964 World’s Fair where the
original Mustang debuted. David
Davidson’s 1967 Shelby GT500
was picked as best of show by
Moray Callum, Ford’s VP
of design.
Back in 2009, Detroit's
Big Three were
staring into the abyss.
As part of its $12.5
billion government-
sponsored bankruptcy
reorganisation process,
Chrysler Group
terminated 789 of its
dealers with just three
weeks notice to cease all
business operations.
Many had been Chrysler dealers
for generations, and many were
left with mortgages, leases and
debts that they suddenly couldn't
pay. Nearly two hundred of these
dealers got together and filed
a lawsuit claiming that the US
government violated the Takings
Disenfranchised
Clause of the 5th Amendment
by conditioning the receipt of
TARP (Troubled Asset Relief
Programme) funds on Chrysler
cutting the dealers loose. The
government responded by
claiming that it was Chrysler
who had terminated the dealers,
that a franchise is not 'property'
that can be taken, and that the
terminations were instigated
by the bankruptcy court, not
the government. The trial judge
rejected these arguments,
leading to an appeal at the
US Court of Appeal, where,
on April 7th, in a unanimous
opinion, the Court agreed that
these events could be a 5th
Amendment violation, adding
that "the facts of this case are
unique and raise issues that
have not been decided before."
The case now goes back to trial
court. "There can be nothing
more un-American than the
government orchestrating the
taking of your livelihood on 22
days' notice, and then disavowing
any responsibility for having
done so," said Jonathan Michaels,
attorney for one of the dealers.
Sign
OfThe
Times
At the beginning of May, this new
sign was mounted and unveiled
RenegadeMaster
Aiming for “youthful and
adventurous” customers, the little
Jeep is based on “small-wide 4x4
architecture” so it can maintain
Jeep’s off-road bona-fides. Using
Chrysler/Fiat’s 2.4 Tigershark or
1.4 MultiAir turbo four-pots with
six-speed manual or nine-speed
automatic transmissions, it also
comes with a host of 4x4 features
very similar to its larger brother,
the Cherokee, featured elsewhere
in this mag. Jeep are definitely
aiming for the global market
with this one, so watch out for it
very soon.
After being unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, Jeep
are really pushing their new small SUV, the Renegade.
at Chrysler Group LLC's Auburn
Hills HQ. Whatever next...
news.indd 1 19/05/2014 15:03:11
8. ACM
news
8
FuelBulletin
VP Racing Fuels have picked Wayne Ovation pumps for their forecourts across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and southern US, so
customers can watch VP-sponsored motor sports like USCC, Off-Road Championship and World of Outlaws Sprint cars while they fill up.
SwitchedOn
Saleen Automotive, a company best known for what
it’s been doing to Mustangs for years, recently released
renderings of its next project – the Saleen Tesla Model S.
Yes, an all-electric Saleen.
“We stand on the shoulders
of greatness for sure, as we
modify the truly inspired design
of the Tesla Model S, yet I
believe firmly that these images
convey my expectation for a
vehicle that expands on that
heritage and creates something
remarkable,” stated Steve
Saleen, CEO. The first example
should be completed this
summer, but keep up to date at
www.saleenautomotive.com.
TurnAndBurn
There’s no shortage of US “reality” TV shows on our
satellite channels right now, and petrolheads don’t
have to channel-hop that far to find something about
rescuing, repairing, customising or ‘flipping’ old cars.
AForEffort
“Vintage Adventurer” Rod Wade set a record last
November for driving his 1930 Model A Ford across
America in just over 50 hours.
The latest to throw its hat in the
ring is Turn And Burn, following
custom-car craftsman Brother
JD as he scours the underbelly
of Los Angeles to find cool cars
and custom parts for his El Rey’s
garage. Each programme sees
them trying to create a cool
and unique ride on a budget of
$5000 and against the clock.
Sounds like it could be a winner,
so check out Discovery Channel,
Wednesday nights at 9pm, from
June 11th.
Now he’s back for more, and on
June 3rd, 71-year-old Rod and
fellow Queenslander Austen
Ritchie will set off from Surfers
Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast
on the Ocean to Ocean Australia
Challenge. They’ll fill a bottle
with South Pacific seawater, drive
4,500km (2,800 miles) non-stop
to Fremantle, Western Australia,
tip the water into the Indian
Ocean, then turn around and head
back. They’re aiming to be back
by June 7th, making the 9,000km
round trip in just 100 hours, and
all to raise money for Kidney
Health Australia. Follow Rod on
www.vintageadventurer.com.
SeaToShiningSea
At the end of April, Chevrolet
announced that the 2015 Stingray
will be available in two new
Design Packages – the Atlantic
luxury convertible and the Pacific
performance coupe. Designed
to highlight the versatility of the
Stingray as a luxury GT or street/
track performer, the designs were
first shown at SEMA last year.
news.indd 2 19/05/2014 15:03:23
9. ACM
news
9
PotholeBulletin
A recent survey by the IAM says that 65% of female and 69% of male drivers think that the government does a ‘bad’ or ‘very
bad’ job of maintaining Britain’s roads. Is that all? And does that mean that the remaining 30-odd per cent think they’re doing
a GOOD job?!
Death‘Ray
Late Model Racecraft haven’t wasted any time with the
new Corvette C7 Stingray.
Their Laguna Blue beast runs
a 416 cubic inch LT1 with LMR’s
own cylinder head and cam
package, American Racing long
tube headers and a Vortech
V-7 YSi supercharger system
blowing at 15psi to give 990hp
and 942ft.lb. of torque at the
rear wheels. Because that’s a
bit girly, they added 125hp of
nitrous for a record breaking
result of 1,121rwhp, making this
currently the most powerful C7
in the world.
Goal!
Ford will make 500 Mustang
models – either fastbacks in Race
Red or convertibles in Magnetic
Silver - available for pre-order
as soon as Real Madrid and Club
Atlético de Madrid kick off on
May 24th. Of these, 130 will be
available to the UK in right-hand
drive, but don't expect delivery
before about this time next year.
Evenifyoudon'tsufferfromfootball,thisyear's UEFA
ChampionsLeaguewillbeabitspecialasFord willopen
theorderbooksfortheall-newMustangat the start ofthe
game(whichhappensjustbeforethismag goes onsale).
BigRedWagon
Check out the latest Ram Power Wagon, that Chrysler
Group are touting as “the most off-road-capable pick-
up” on the market.
Power comes from a 410bhp
6.4-litre Hemi, unique Ram
Articulink front suspension and
five-link coil-spring rear offer
plenty of suspension travel,
it'll tow more than 10,800lb
and comes with a built-in Warn
12,000lb winch on the front
bumper. Named after the first
mass-produced 4x4 pick-up,
the Dodge Power Wagon,
introduced in 1945, this version
is based on the Ram 2500 HD
4x4 Crewcab.
HighPlainsDrifter
With a choice of petrol, diesel
or compressed natural gas
power, in two or four wheel
drive, and in single or dual rear
wheel models, the 3500HD is
designed for those who cover
high mileages with a trailer.
Towing capability is 19,600lb on
a tow hitch or 22,900lb on a fifth-
wheel, so it’s no lightweight in
that department, while premium
interior fitments, upholstery and
entertainment will make long
hauls easier.
Another new pick-up on the market is the Chevrolet
Silverado 3500HD High Country, a heavy-duty truck
designed for towing that doesn’t skimp on the luxury.
Another special edition Silverado going on sale to a
select group of customers this summer is the Special
Service Vehicle, or SSV, part of GM’s growing Police
vehicle portfolio.
Based on the 1500 crewcab, it
has a 5.3 EcoTec3 V8 and the
option of a standard 6’6” or
short 5’8” bed. It also has various
heavy duty cooling and electrical
upgrades, a vinyl rear seat and
large rear doors “for easy entry
when transporting passengers.”
PickedUpByTheCops
news.indd 3 19/05/2014 15:03:30
10. ACM
news
10
ChryslerBulletin
On April 16th, Chrysler Group LLC filed for the trademark “Rebel”, a nameplate it acquired with their purchase of
American Motors back in 1987. Could there be a new Dodge Rebel in the offing? Or, more likely, a Jeep?
Key
Witnesses
After GM’s PR nightmare
involving faulty ignition
switches, they’re adding
a belt to the braces
and changing the lock
cylinders too on up to 2.2
million smaller cars made
between 2003 and 2011.
It seems that a heavy key ring
or fob can cause the ignition to
switch itself off while driving,
leading to loss of power
assistance to steering and brakes,
and preventing the airbags from
deploying. GM are expecting a bill
that’s already passed the $1 billion
mark. One of many lawsuits
launched following the recall is
from a young lady who suffered
severe injuries – including losing
both legs – after her Pontiac
Solstice lost power and crashed
into a tree.
FloatLikeAButterfly
Those drift boys are mental. When Falken supplied
tyres for Mel Smith’s 1961 Morris milk float – powered
by a mid-mounted Rover V8, they sent Team Falken
champion drifter Matt Carter along to test it.
“Compared to my 600+bhp
Nissan competition car, this was
still more of a pig than a cow to
drift,” says Carter. “With no seat
belts or doors, it was a case of
hanging on rather than hanging
the tail out!” Falken used this as
an opportunity to point out that
they can supply tyres for just
about anything.
StingLikeABee
Transformers: Age Of Extinction hits cinemas in late
June, and once again, Bumblebee the Camaro will be
taking centre stage.
Bumblebee is now a 2014 model,
and is joined by other Autobots
based on Chevrolet’s Corvette,
Sonic and Trax, plus a heavily
modified ‘67 Camaro. The film,
the fourth in the Transformers
franchise, is released in the US on
June 27th.
Grand
Finale
Cadillac have announced
a limited run of 500 CTS-V
Coupes to round off the
current run of the CTS
before the new model
debuts next year.
Just 500 special editions will
be built, with Magnetic Ride
Control, Brembo anchors, satin
graphite wheels and the 556bhp
supercharged V8 plus various
exclusive interior enhancements.
They’ll be on sale later this year
as 2015 models and are certain to
be future collectibles.
Grand
Opening
It all looks good for
Chrysler’s new 200
sedan, with 10,000 orders
being placed on the day
the books were opened,
May 8th.
Another 7,000 followed on
the 9th, which accounts for
pretty much the whole of July’s
production capacity at the
Sterling Heights Assembly Plant.
PowerBuilding
At the end of April, GM announced that they had begun construction of a new state-
of-the-art facility in Pontiac, Michigan, for race engine design and development as
well as an electric motor laboratory and gear centre.
“The GM Performance and Racing
Center, or GMPRC, will continue
to develop some of the world’s
winningest race engines for
Chevrolet and Cadillac,” said
Steve Kiefer, vice president of GM
Global Powertrain. The GMPRC
will include about 100 employees
who work on powertrain racing
development, and is expected
to be opened and in use by mid-
2015 and completed by early
2016.
Two weeks later, Ford announced
a new Technical Support Center
in Concord, North Carolina,
to serve as a base for racing
teams to develop and test their
cars. It will eventually support
development of future Ford
performance vehicles. The centre
should be operational by late
Summer.
news.indd 4 19/05/2014 15:03:41
11. Tel: 01702 820 033
This is only a tiny selection of our huge stocks. Visit our website for the full range of 1965-73 Mustang Parts. Prices correct at time of going to press but subject to alteration without notice E&OE. Terms and Conditions available on request
Shown with
options.
www.essexmustang.com
g+ Follow us on Google+ Essex Mustang Centre
Essex Mustang Centre, 18 Faraday Road, Leigh-On-Sea, Essex SS9 5JU United Kingdom
The One Stop Mustang Shop
MoT Preparation
and testing
Servicing - : basic service for
1965-70 from £195
Restoration work - no resto job too large or small
Cars for sale (6 car available at any one time)
Custom exhausts made in house
In-house crash repairs and full paint shop facilities
Cars sourced for customers - not just Mustangs!
Re-trimming interiors - original or custom
Just part of our extensive workshops
Parts Supply Service
Everything to keep your Mustang on
the road!
European
Distributors
http://parts.essexmustang.com
Essex Mustang Centre ad.qxp_Layout 1 09/12/2013 17:43 Page 1
Untitled-2 1 19/05/2014 13:45:31
12. ACM
auctionnews
12
auctionnewsTHIS MONTH’S AUCTION NEWS IN THE WORLD OF AMERICAN CARS
BigMoneyBulletin
At Mecum’s Houston auction back in April, a 1964 Ford GT40 prototype fetched a whopping $7 million. The
prototype, chassis number GT/104, was the first of two prepared by Shelby American for the 1965 season.
Our roving ex-pat, Kev Carrington, managed to catch
the $25 million Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction.
BeachParty
Hello, everyone. On Sunday,
April 13th, I headed up
Interstate 95 from Miami to
West Palm Beach. I had pre-
booked a ticket to the Barratt-
Jackson auctions, which I
had seen so often on TV but
never had the chance to go
for real! I wasn’t sure what to
expect, but the auction was
less important to me than the
cars. I bought what I thought
was a programme for $14 and
it was actually a full colour
book detailing every car that
went through the auction over
these three days – it was thicker
than a phone book (remember
those?). All the cars were lined
up in huge tents outside and
there was some amazing stuff
here. There were also quite a
few vendors, including Mothers’
Polish with a huge truck and
vast inflatables promoting their
stuff. Enjoy the pics!
auction news.indd 1 19/05/2014 13:56:18
13. GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
Send us a message on Facebook or drop us a tweet on Twitter
twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine
SilverBelles
Back in mid-April, the inaugural Practical Classics
Restoration Show burst onto the scene at Birmingham's
NEC. Taking centre stage was the Silverstone Auctions
hammerfest, which concentrated on projects and, the
current buzzword, barn-finds.
QueenOfLaSarthe
At the last Classic, the Artcurial
auction brought in €8.7 million,
so don’t expect many bargains,
especially when the star turn is a
1964 AC Cobra 289 that was last
seen at Le Mans 50 years ago.
It was driven by Count Jean de
Mortemart and Régis Fraissinet to
18th overall in the 1964 Le Mans
24 Hour, and with that kind of
pedigree, even the auctioneers
are being tight-lipped about the
estimate. See www.artcurial.com
for details.
Artcurial have again been picked to host the collector
car auction at this year’s Le Mans Classic on July 5th, a
massive event for the historic race crowd, so expect to
see some prime racing material.
And it worked, too, with over
£1 million changing hands, top
seller being a 1962 Facel Vega at
£64,400. Some interesting Yanks
changed hands, including a 1959
Cadillac limousine at no reserve
that brought £6,900, a dormant
gold '78 Trans Am that fetched
just £5,060, and a '65 Mustang
fastback that went over estimate
to £20,700. A 1939 McLaughlin
Buick didn't sell.
Silverstone's next sale happens
just as this mag comes out, and
includes a couple of interesting
candidates not least of which
is an early Mustang coupe. A
matching numbers 260 V8
and Cruise-O-Matic car, it has a
June 26th, 1964, build date plus
original power brakes and power
steering. At the same sale will be
a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Sunliner
convertible, a trophy-winner
with power everything and a
390 V8, for sale at no reserve.
The following Silverstone sale
will be at the Silverstone Classic
at the end of July, and it's sure
to be a stunner. See www.
silverstoneauctions.com
for details.
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SEALEY
STOCKIST
FINDER
2014
Storage
&Workshop
See back page for pricing
& details on our range of coloured
Rollcabs
Stacks above the Rest.
Storage & Workshop
Promotion
Coming Soon . . .
Promotion valid until
31st
July 2014
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• Level adjustment
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• Model No. IR1000
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Hand-Held Infrared Panel Dryer
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auction news.indd 2 19/05/2014 13:56:18
14. ACM
ontracknews
ontracknews
14
THIS MONTH’S RACING AND TRACK NEWS
ProStockBulletin
At the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte on April 13th, Jimmy Alund, sitting in for Greg Anderson, won the
Pro Stock class. Alund, from Sweden, ran a 6.562 at 211.59mph to become the first European winner in the series.
Elapsed Times
Santa Pod has come over all Retro for the big step back in time in June
The Retro Show is the classic car
show with a difference. There’s
non-stop old-skool action, both
on and off the track, all day
long so Sunday 22nd June is a
date that should take pride of
place in your diary! Variety is
the word of the day, not only
can you display your original
mint condition show car but
you can also race your track
warrior, or daily driver, on our
world famous quarter-mile strip.
All pre-1990 makes and models
are welcome so you can expect
to see Mustangs lining up with
Minis, Bel Airs alongside Beetles
or even Mercuries with Minors.
It’s an action packed day from
start to finish with Santa Pod’s
resident Jet car hurtling down the
track and accelerating to 100mph
in under a second along with
drag demos from some of the
top retro race cars from around
the country. Club displays are
set to be better than ever with a
£250 cash prize for the best club
stand sponsored by Performance
Direct.
The Autoglym Show & Shine
paddock will be packed with
pristine condition vehicles from
years gone by with trophies and
Autoglym prizes on offer to the
winners of each class. Other
entertainment includes Run What
Ya Brung competitions, displays
from the BMX Demons, the
Autotest and a round of the Retro
Drift Challenge. Why not make
a weekend of it with local band
‘Infuzion’ who will be playing
ballads from the Seventies and
Eighties on the Saturday night
too? Camping is included with
all weekend tickets which are
available from just £20. To find
out more please visit www.
retroshow.co.uk. The complete
show for all things Retro, this is
one not to be missed!
WheelerLeader
The Silverstone Classic is set to host the big Mustang
50th Anniversary celebration this year, and it looks
like this massive event is going to do it proud.
Aside from special historic races
featuring grids jammed with
Mustangs, there’s going to be a
special on-track parade for all
years of Mustang on the Saturday.
Leading the field will be TV
celebrity and owner of a freshly-
restored 1967 Mustang fastback,
Wheeler Dealer Mike Brewer.
“This year is going to be a BIG one
for Mustang enthusiasts and the
biggest party of all happens to
be in the UK, so I was delighted
to be asked to be involved with
this year’s event and to bring my
car along for everyone to enjoy,”
enthused Brewer. “It’s always a
pleasure meeting fans of classic
cars and I cant wait to get to the
Silverstone Classic in July to meet
them all and start soaking up the
amazing atmosphere.” As well as
leading the parade, Brewer will
also be hosting live classic car
clinics on the Sunday. The biggest
festival of historic racing is shaping
up to be even bigger this year, but
don’t forget that tickets are only
available in advance. See www.
silverstoneclassic.com for details.
ClutchPurse
Got a stick shift? Go for gold. The Quick Shift is the all
new drag racing competition held across all RWYB
and Peak Performance days at Santa Pod throughout
2014 until Saturday, October 11th.
They’re looking to find the
quickest manually shifted racer in
the UK and that racer will receive
a £2000 cash prize thanks to
I.C.E Automotive and Webster
Race Engineering. All cars are
welcome to take part regardless
of their road legality, so whether
you have something American,
European, Japanese or anything
else, why not give it a go? All you
need to do to enter is submit
your quickest three timing slips
of the year from the eligible dates
with your name, car and contact
details and they’ll take your
average time from those three
runs. The quickest four drivers
on average after the final date
of October 11th will be invited to
take part in the Flame & Thunder
event on Saturday, October 25th,
where the slate will be wiped
clean and the quickest time of
the day will take the bounty. If
you’d like to enter, send copies of
your timing slips to quickshift@
rwyb.com or submit them in the
sign-on office. The leader boards
will be posted online once entries
have been received.
For more information please
visit www.rwyb.co.uk/quickshift.
Good luck! (All participants must
depress the clutch for every
gear change and must have a
H-pattern gearbox; sequential
gearboxes are not eligible)
track news.indd 1 19/05/2014 16:19:12
15. The Sportsman
Forget the internet chatter; Shakespeare County is takin’ care of
business, says Jerry Cookson
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
Send us a message on Facebook or drop us a tweet on Twitter
twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine
Despite all the recent speculation regarding
the future of the raceway and Long Marston
Airfield, it’s still business as usual as our two
early season Public Track Weekends have
proved with new faces and cars joining in
the fun as well as our pages on Facebook.
The season opener saw an influx of new cars
supporting the SANDS Charity Race Day,
raising over £800 for the Stillbirth & Neonatal
Death Charity. A second charity day has been
set up for July to coincide with the fifth annual
Ladies That Launch race weekend.
By the time this issue has dropped on your
doormat the Springspeed Nationals - stop
two on the National event trail - and the much
talked-about Yanks Weekend will have passed
us by successfully!
June is looking extremely busy with yet
another fully subscribed Public Track
Weekend. This is followed up by the 21st
anniversary Nostalgia Nationals presented
by the NSRA. Since April 1993 this event has
certainly complemented its bigger brother;
the original Hot Rod Drags gives hot rodders
and American car enthusiasts a chance to
meet up, swap road war stories and generally
‘pig out’ in front of the old camp fire listening
to a good band.
Besides the old time drag bikes taking to the
strip, the Heritage Stock Car Group, which
populates such legendary tarmac and shale
ovals as Hednesford and Coventry, will be
racing head-to-head in a special Stock Car
Shootout; the first time this has happened at
any UK drag strip so we’re told! In this issue
we have put up two pairs of tickets for this
event in a simple one-shot question. We hope
you win! See you at the strip!
‘57Varieties
The 57th anniversary of the iconic ’57 Chevrolet is so historically significant
in our American car culture that some of the UK’s Chevy enthusiasts have
teamed up with Long Marston Airfield’s Shakespeare County Raceway to
bring you 57@57 – a celebration of an American classic.
With the date now set as September 20th-
21st at Shakespeare County Raceway, it is
anticipated that this one of a kind event will
gather the largest collection of Tri-Chevys
outside of the good ol’ US of A. Everyone
is welcome to come along and soak up the
celebrations, and you don’t have to own a
Chevy either! All brands, all models, hot rods
and customs will be equally welcome to come
along and participate.
There will be daytime entertainment,
show’n’shine, trade village, band Ricky
Cool & The In Crowd at Kenny’s Bar, photo
opportunities at local attractions as well as
the drag strip (but no racing), food stalls and
so much more. The weekend will culminate
in a Farewell Cruise around the raceway
on Sunday afternoon. Weekend camping
is available, and booking forms are now
available to download from the official
Facebook page or the Shakespeare County
Raceway web site. Further info can be found
at the 57@57 Facebook page (www.facebook.
com/groups/1419839054922833/) or by
calling Wendy on 07883 091339. See you at
the biggest celebration outside of the USA
since the ’55!
EVERYTHINGYOUENJOY
ABOUTAMERICANCAR
MAGAZINEONYOURSMART
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theAmerican
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ACM App 1/3 Page Advert_Layout 1 19/05/2014 16:13 Page 1
track news.indd 2 19/05/2014 16:19:16
17. 17ACM
thebigpicture
IndyHemi
Chrysler Group will be making plenty of fuss this year at the 50th
anniversary of their Elephant motor, the 426 Hemi. But let's not forget
that Chrylser engineers were faffing with hemispherical combustion
chambers for plane and tank engines during the war, and the first
Chrysler car sporting a 'FirePower' Hemi came out in 1950! This is a
331-cube FirePower Hemi, an early A311, with a one-off fuel injection
manifold, on the dyno in 1952, being prepared for the 1953 Indianapolis
500. It ran over 140mph in testing in a Kurtis-built Wolcott Special but a
last-minute rule change meant that it didn't see Indy competition.
GET IN TOUCH
Will you be celebrating the Hemi's birthday?
Send us a message on Facebook or drop us a tweet on Twitter
twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine
ACM_130_Big_Picture_Layout 1 14/05/2014 09:27 Page 2
18. WIN!
18 ACM
competition
TWO TiCkeTS fOR NSRA NOSTAlgiA NATiONAlS
Competition entrants – your details will be treated in confidence and will not be passed on to any third party.
TOENTER...
To win these two tickets all you have to do is tell us the year the first NSRA Nostalgia Nationals took place! Was it:
A) 1989
B) 1993
C) 1990
Couldn't be easier, but you'll have to be quick! The competition closes on Monday, June 16th, at noon. To be in with a chance of winning, jot
your name, address and the answer to the pitifully simple question above on a postcard and send it to NSRA Nostalgia Nationals
Competition at the address on page 3. Or, put that information in an email with NSRA Nostalgia Nationals Competition as the subject line
and send it to competitions@americancarmagazine.com. Or go to www.americancarmagazine.com and follow the Competitions link.
Simple. Usual rules apply, see page three for details.
The NSRA Nostalgia Nationals has been one of the
biggest nostalgia events on the street/strip
calendar for more than two decades, and this year
is shaping up to be no different. Once again
American Car have teamed up with the guys from
Shakespeare County Raceway to bring you
another ticket giveaway prize of two weekend
passes for the forthcoming 21st NSRA Nostalgia
Nationals over the weekend of June 20th to 22nd.
Way back in the day, 21 years ago, the first Nostalgia Nationals
under the NSRA banner took place at the raceway to
complement the firmly established Original Hot Rod Drags. In
addition to the hot rods and race cars which populated the
pits, hot rodding stalwart Mike Kason arranged a nostalgia
race car display ranging from cool slingshots to mind-boggling
altereds and wild doorslammers.
Tot Rods also made their public debut on the strip providing
that much-needed incentive for the ‘racers of the future’ to go
racing in their own diminutive hot rods before Junior
Dragsters had even been thought of!
Traditional rods such as Merv Barnett’s Tri-powered '32
Roadster, Roger Grundy’s '39 Ford Coupe and the wild blown
'41 Willys belonging to Jon ‘Doc’ Claydon all made passes
down the quarter mile alongside regular Outlaw Anglia racers
Dan Cockerill, Tony Baker and the tree surgeon Brett
Featherston. Mickey Moore also provided some guardrail-to-
guardrail exhibition runs in The Mob Fuel Altered.
And 21 years later the Nationals is still going strong with even
more on- and off-track entertainment than ever before. The
altered action will still be the same but there will be more in
the shape of the Supercharged Outlaws alongside the current
posse of Outlaw Anglias.
Ever wondered how they started the drags before the
invention of the Christmas tree? Well it was with flags, and
we’ll have our own Shakey ‘Flagstalgia’ girl, Claudia, out on the
starting line flagging a few hot rods and drag bikes down the
quarter mile. Mention the word “cackle” and you’ve got your
own mini Ring of Fire Cackle Spectacular on Saturday night.
There is so much more taking place at the Nationals this year
including, for the first time on any drag strip in the UK, a
Heritage Stock Car Shootout!
For more event details, see
www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk or
www.nsra.org.uk. Or enter our competition to win the tickets!
ACM_130_Competition_Layout 1 19/05/2014 15:19 Page 1
19. lettersWHAT YOU’VE GOT TO SAY ON ALL THINGS AMERICAN CAR
twitter.com/AmericanCarMaga facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine
GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
Send us a message on Facebook, drop us a tweet on
Twitter or email editor@americancarmagazine.com
STAR
LETTER
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'.
I think we've all had great ideas like that, but your Pontiac's come out of
it pretty well! At least you won't have to worry about stone chips
anywhere. I'm not sure what you'll be needing the Meguiar's polishing
kit for, though... ACM
Dear ACM,
What a bitter disappointment Wheels Day was this year. It's always the first
meet of the year for me and my family, and we set off really looking
forward to a good day out. Unfortunately, after over an hour of sitting in
almost stationary traffic, the battery in the truck decided it had had enough
of running the fan and went flat. A very kind passer-by (although nobody
was passing by that quickly) in a Vauxhall gave me a jump start, at which
point we decided to turn around and head for home. We only live 30-odd
miles from Dunsfold, but I felt really sorry for anyone who'd come from
further afield. I later heard from people who'd made it into the show that it
was a really good event, but I was gutted to miss it. I don't want to blame
the organisers but I hope they get it into shape for next year, and I hope
everyone else like me is prepared to go back.
Tony Hopkins, via email
Tony, I think it was just a combination of a new venue and an overwhelming
number of visitors, plus the fact that the organisers are just a handful of
volunteers. I'm sure this was just a bump in the road, and I sincerely hope
that the SSR will bounce back for next year. DS, ACM
Dear ACM,
I don't know if you remember me, I've got a '77 Trans Am that
was orange, then I painted it green with black stripes and now, well, you
know when you do
something that seems a
good idea at the time? And
then it gets to a point where
it's too late to turn back? I've
been doing some welding
around the car, patching it
up here and there, and I
sprayed the sills with
Hammerite stone chip
smooth. Wow, what good
coverage. Well 15 cans later
I've done the whole car! As
you can see it's now stone chip black. I've also cut the springs – I took a half
a turn then another half and she now sits nice! Great mag, as always.
Andy Grady, via email
facebook.com/AmericanCarMagazine
ACM_130_Letters_Layout 1 19/05/2014 10:43 Page 2
20. 20 ACM
1965 Ford F100
Low Star
ACM_130_Feature 1_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:00 Page 1
21. 21ACM
1965 Ford F100
StateThis Texan pick-up has pretty much everything you could
ever want from a street truck, and it's here in the UK!
Words: Dave Smith Photography: Matt Woods
ACM_130_Feature 1_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:00 Page 2
22. ick-up trucks have been huge
over here for some time, and of
those that are here, they
usually fall nicely into a pigeon hole –
smooth, clean street custom; balls-out
street/strip quarter-mile pounder;
straight-up original spec restoration or
original patina-look or rat rod. I
suppose it's not fair to class original
patina in the same pigeon hole as rat
rod, but you know what I mean.
Very few fall effectively into more than
one category, but we reckon this one
manages to fall with a wheel in each
camp. Sounds painful, but give this
1965 Ford F100 a good coat of looking-
at and you might see where we're
coming from. It's low, low stance makes
it a smooth street cruiser, while the fact
that it's never been rusty means that
it's still largely original, bodywise. All
that conceals the fact that it has the
power to upset a supercar, yet it's still a
working vehicle, more likely to be
carrying a load than getting washed
and polished. Could this be the best of
all worlds? Let's find out.
Owner, Nick Davies and business
partner Rob run ICE Automotive.
Based at Silverstone, ICE are pretty
well known for building V8 engines for
many branches of motorsport,
including some high profile racers.
“ICE has been building drag and fast
street engines since the late Eighties,
so we've seen a few,” says Nick. “I've
been interested in hot rods since I was
15 or 16, and got into drag racing
through the hot rod scene. I've been
drag racing competitively for 20 years,
and graduated to American muscle
and V8s from early British Fords. I've
raced a steel '37 Ford in Super Gas, and
was Pro Mod champion back in the
Nineties. More recently I have been
driving the Chaos Fuel Altered.”
P Nowthat'slow!
Largelyoriginal
bodywork(right)
hadnever
experiencedthe
delightsofrust...
atleastuntilit
reachedtheUK.
We'vebeen
predictingtherise
ofthefleetsidefor
years,andwith
stepsidesfinally
saturatingthe
market,wereckon
theirdayhas
finallycome.
There'snothing
pretentiousabout
theinteriorofthis
workingtruck
(below).Black
vinylbench,a
columnshifterfor
thefour-speed
auto,andsome
verynice
aftermarket
gauges.What
moredoesitneed?
22 ACM
1965 Ford F100
ACM_130_Feature 1_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:00 Page 3
23. So that's established Nick's credentials –
they're pretty unbeatable! So, surely, for
someone who spends all day putting
hot motors together, building a rod
must be a bit of a busman's holiday?
Ah... this one came ready built! “I've got
a young family, and time is at a
premium,” Nick continues. “Periodically
I'll buy something in from the States just
for fun. I get exposed to a lot of different
people in the US, and some you build
up a really good relationship with.
Some of them are into their trucks, and
I like the truck scene as they're not too
precious about their rides.
“One guy in Texas sold me a 1959
Ford F100, sight unseen. It was a roll
of the dice for me, but I was
impressed by how perfectly honest
he'd been about it. It started up a
really good friendship. He takes cars
and trucks and fits GM LS V8s into
them, and this '59 had an LQ9 iron-
block LS in it. I kicked around in it for a
while, and a friend of mine was
interested in buying it but I didn't want
to sell! I went back to my friend in
Texas and told him the story, saying
I'd only sell if I had something to
replace it with.
23ACM
1957 Chevy
➔
Notmuchoftheoriginal
stylinghasbeenchanged-
whywouldyouwantto?-
butthisamberindicator
lens(farleft)isaboutlevel
withthetopofthetyreon
fulldrop!Whitewallsand
chromerims(centreleft)
couldbequitemisleading
aboutwhatthistruck's
capableof.Nick'sthinking
ofchangingthewheels,
buteitherwaythat
chromewon'tlookgood
forlonginourweather.
Exhaustissotucked-up
thatitexitsthroughthe
rearquarter(left).Neatjob.
V8?Youdon'tknowthe
halfofit.
ACM_130_Feature 1_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:00 Page 4
24. 24 ACM
“He told me he'd consider selling his
own F100, this truck, which had been
in the family since his grandmother
had bought it brand new back in 1965.
He'd had it back to a bare frame, boxed
the chassis, and fitted his own two-link
rear suspension – like a ladder bar set
up – to the Ford 9” with a Panhard rod.
The axle had 3.70:1 gears and a locker
diff. The engine was an LQ9 from a
60,000-mile Silverado SS pick-up, with
an iron block and aluminium heads. It's
a 366 cubic inch Vortec 6000 HO
engine with completely stock internals
apart from an LS3 intake manifold, and
he'd fitted a 72mm turbo to it. The
transmission is the matching 4L65E
automatic.
“You'd be surprised how durable
these engines are. This one's boost is
limited to 8psi. Last year I took it to
the NSRA Hot Rod Drags at
Shakespeare County Raceway. I drove
it there, didn't touch a thing or even
let air out of the tyres, and straight off
the street it ran 12.2 with the tyres
spinning. Then I drove it home.
1957 Chevy
“You'dbesurprisedhowdurable
theseenginesare”
Massiveclamshell
bonnetandno
innerwingshelp
thetruckachieveits
chassis-dragging
proximitytothe
road(above).Look
howfarthosefront
wheelscancome
upintothebay!
MustangII-style
frontsuspension
andtubularA-arms
withairbagsin
placeofthecoil
springhelp
articulateits
intentions(right),
butNickreckons
thatitreallyneeds
someinnerwings.I
supposeonegood
Britishpuddle
woulddrenchthe
wholeenginebay,
andacoldshower
onatoastyturbois
likelytocause
issues...Youcan
drivearoundon
maximumdrop
(bottomleft)andit
won'tground,
unlessyoumeeta
goodoldsleeping
policeman.Ifyou
did,he'dbe
impressedathow
cleanandwell
tuckedeverything
isunderneath,and
howthisFordisn't
draggingitsexhaust
orsumpacrosshis
mushasitpasses.
ACM_130_Feature 1_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:00 Page 5
25. 25ACM
“It has the stock ECU, which was all
mapped before I got it. All I had to do
when it arrived was go through it and
make it more English to pass the MoT!
There was no handbrake, no screen
washers and the lights needed
changing for the MoT, but that's
pretty much it. It has power steering,
air conditioning and a Mustang II-
based front end with tubular A-arms,
rack and pinion steering and disc
brakes, and it starts, runs and drives
like a new car.
“It came over with the air suspension
already done, a system that my mate
in Texas builds using an AccuAir
compressor and Firestone bags.
Everything is tucked tight up
underneath the truck – the exhaust,
the fuel tank, everything – so you can
run really low and it won't ground out.
It will 'lay frame' and doesn't even
need a sump guard. At its lowest
point, on full steering lock the wheels
don't foul the arches. It's been really
well put together. ➔
“Atitslowest
point,onfull
steeringlockthe
wheelsdon'tfoul
thearches”
TheLSV8seriesof
enginesisproving
tobethegolden
childofthe
custom,rodand
raceworld.And
whynot?Theycan
doprettymuch
anything.Lookat
thisone(below)-
it'sasix-litreV8,
anditlookslikeit
grewthere.Itgives
over300bhpas
standard,butbolta
turboontoallbut
stockinternalsand
it'sa500-horse
mill.Andthat's
withaPASpump
andair-constill
attached.What's
nottolike?Truck
enginebaygives
theturboplentyof
roomtostand
proud(right),
althoughlow-
profileLS3intake
manifoldhelps.
Andevenon3.7
gears,Nickreckons
he'sgettingwell
over20mpg.It's
thewayforward...
1965 Ford F100
ACM_130_Feature 1_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:00 Page 6
26. 26 ACM
“Everyone from kids to pensioners
seem to love it! People hang out of
their cars taking pictures and movies
on their phones. I was on my way to
Santa Pod to help a customer with an
engine that we'd built, and stopped for
petrol. Some old guy came up and
started talking to me about it and
wouldn't let me go! It really pushes
peoples buttons.
“It's definitely a user, though. You can
throw stuff in the back, take it places
and leave it parked up, I'm not precious
about it. At the end of the day, it's a
truck. That's what it's for.
“I've got another friend interested in
buying it at the moment so I may end
up selling it, but if I keep it I may
repaint it and change the wheels. It's
still wearing the chrome smoothies
and whitewalls it came in with. All it
really needs is a towbar for hauling the
race car around with, and definitely
inner wings! Our weather's not the
same as Texas.
“I've scarcely had to touch it since
doing the MoT work. It hasn't really
needed anything. I have brought in
another truck since, a never-painted
'69 C10, but I'd sold that one before it
reached the docks! It's getting hard to
find good trucks and they are
becoming ever more popular. Some
people say it's sacrilege putting a
Chevy engine in a Ford, but the LS is so
cheap and easily understandable, and
they do everything you need them to
do. They're so staggeringly robust, I
struggle to understand how anyone
would need anything more. If only the
next generation would get into rear
wheel drive stuff, they're already
teaching us old chaps not to be afraid
of the electronics!
“The truck doesn't really weigh that
much, and has all the torque and
horsepower you'd need. I'd estimate
about 500bhp, and it doesn't need
more. To be honest, it doesn't really
need the turbo until you get to the
track. I get 23mpg out of it, and it's
exactly what a modern-day hot rod
should be. In fact, I don't know why I'm
even considering selling it – I doubt I'd
find another as good.” ACM
1965 Ford F100
GM LQ9 366cu.in. V8
Iron block, aluminium heads
10:1 compression, stock internals
GM LS3 intake manifold
72mm Master Power turbocharger
4L65E four-speed auto transmission
Ford 9” rear axle, 3.7:1 locker diff
Fat Man Mustang II front clip
Accu air compressor, Firestone air bags
Estimated 500bhp
12.22 @ 118mph
ICE Automotive can be found on the end
of 01327 858992 or at
www.iceautomotive.co.uk
TechSpec
That'stheonly
problemwitha
droplikethis-you
endupwithabed
thesamedepthas
akiddies'
paddlingpool
(right).Evenso,
thistruckcanstill
workforaliving.
Andplay,asyou
cansee(below).
Withafew
minutesofprep,
thiswouldbean
11-secondwagon.
Nomessing.
1965 Ford F100
ACM_130_Feature 1_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:00 Page 7
27. 01590 612888 www.beaulieucustomfestival.co.uk
The Biggest and Best
Custom & Hot Rod Show
in the South!
SUNDAY
DRIVE-INHundreds of vehicles on display
LIVE MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT
WEEKEND TICKETS AVAILABLE
See website for details
Entry Includes:
National Motor Museum
Palace House & Gardens
Beaulieu Abbey
and World of Top Gear
BBi gesstssteeesesgggeggggiigB
aandnndndaan esttsssteeesesBB ttst
TheThThe B
CustottotsstuusCCu
B gggestssteesggegggggiiigigB
a
omoom & ootootHH
in the ooSShhetthiin
andnndaan BestssteesB
t oddooododRRoot hhSSShSh
ou h!!hhttththuutoou
tst
howoowowhhoho
SUSUUNNDAAYAAYDSUUUNND
DDRRIVIVHHuunnddrreedds oof
LLIVIVVE M
WWEEEEKKE
AYYAAYDD
VVEE-I-IINeehhiicllees oon ddiissppllaacvv
MUMUUSSICIC & EEN
EENND TTICICCKKE
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EETTS A AAAIILAAVVAILABLEVAILABLEAAVAV
MMEENNT
AABBLLEWWEEEEKKE
SSeee eebbssiitte fww
EENND TTICICCKKE
ffoor ddeettaaiills
ETETTS VVAAIILALAVVAILABLEVAILABLEAAVAV AABBLLE
Project1_Layout 1 10/04/2014 12:39 Page 2
29. 29ACM
1955 Ford Thunderbird
Nope, the title isn’t an excuse to throw a clichéd
Thunderbirds pun in the mix, it’s actually the truth. Built for
export, this ’55 T-Bird has seen half the globe, but now it’s
here in the UK and thanks to one man, it’s better than ever.
Words: Chris Pollitt Photography: Bruce Holder
I N T E R N AT I O N A L
RESCUE
ACM_130_Feature 2_Layout 1 19/05/2014 10:48 Page 2
30. t was probably a bit confused
when a moustachioed factory
worker – no doubt called Mitch or
Stan – bolted a VIN plate to it unlike
those being affixed to the rest of the
Thunderbirds on the assembly line in
Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn,
Michigan plant back in 1955. Its
confusion would have come from the
fact this new VIN plate seemed to
contain the letters ‘EX’. None of the
other cars on the line had that, so why
did this one?
What the little Thunderbird didn’t
understand is that the EX on its VIN
singled it out as an export model.
Something there weren’t very many of
for Ford’s new two-door convertible.
There would be no weekend blasts
down the Pacific Coast Highway, no
slow crawls down the brightly lit Las
Vegas strip, no weekend drives to the
Hamptons. Instead, it was loaded on a
boat and then shipped to, erm, Jersey.
Now you’d think a person so
determined to own a brand new 1955
Thunderbird that they’d have it shipped
to Jersey, would perhaps love it, cherish
it and leave it wanting for nothing. Well,
not quite. Once in Jersey, the T-Bird’s
charms quickly wore thin, or the owner
spent all his money importing it so had
none left to drive it, we don’t really
know. All we do know is that it was sold
for the second time in 1957, again to a
resident of Jersey, who this time stayed
on the logbook for 45 years.
Over those 45 years the T-Bird
amassed a grand total of 31,000 miles,
but that’s understandable as Jersey
isn’t a particularly big place. So when
the second owner decided to part with
it via Dream Cars of London, you’d
expect the salesman’s phone to be a
non-stop hive of activity, and you’d be
right. So much so that the T-Bird very
quickly found itself in Essex in the
garage of its third owner.
I
30 ACM
Dodgetaillights
andpin-striping
reallysetoffthe
mildcustom
theme,alongwith
there-routed
exhaustand
vacantDagmars
1955 Ford Thunderbird
“Whatthelittle
Thunderbird
didn’t
understandis
thattheEXonits
VINsingleditout
asanexport
model”
ACM_130_Feature 2_Layout 1 19/05/2014 10:48 Page 3
31. Plans were formed, a restoration was
mapped out, time was set aside and
then… then the new owner realised
that 45 years on a salty, hot, isolated
chunk of land does not make for a well
preserved car. The Thunderbird was
rotten in places, running rough and
generally feeling sorry for itself.
That’s when Mark stepped in; he’s the
current owner and the one-man talent
show that has brought this icon of
Americana back to life. In his garage.
On his own. Clever bugger.
During the summer of 2003, Mark
found himself idly flicking through the
classifieds. He’d saved a couple of quid,
he had an empty garage sitting
outside and he fancied another project
car. It had been, quite literally, decades
since he last had a toy. But as we all
know, work, relationships and a child,
they all have the ability to put project
cars on a very distant back burner.
In the past Mark’s owned Capris
(including a ’63 Consul Capri) and a
1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu along
with other bits and bobs like a Morris
Traveller and a Ford Popular, so a
stranger to tinkering with old metal he
is not.
Anyway, we digress. So, he was
looking at the classifieds when he
spotted the T-Bird. It looked good, or
at least as good as a thumbnail image
in the back of a magazine can look.
Then when he went to look at it in
person, it still looked good – a bit frilly
in places, granted, but on the whole,
not too bad at all. Money quickly
changed hands in return for keys and
then a local MOT tester provided a
‘sympathetic’ MOT for UK registration
purposes, the V5 was filled out and
just like that, Mark had another
project car. A bit of a service, some
new tyres, a lick of paint and he’d be
out cruising. Or, err, not.
31ACM
➔
1955 Ford Thunderbird
“Moneyquicklychangedhandsin
returnforkeysandthenalocalMOT
testerprovideda‘sympathetic’MOT
forUKregistrationpurposes”
ACM_130_Feature 2_Layout 1 19/05/2014 10:49 Page 4
32. 32 ACM
To quote Mark, “It was a 31,000 mile
car but might as well have been
231,000! The engine didn’t look like it
had ever had an oil change and the
body was starting to show its age.”
And the body wasn’t just showing its
years, it was also hiding a multitude of
sins. Old sins too, as the screwed up
newspaper behind the filler proved – it
was from 1976!
Not one to be deterred, Mark got busy
with the spanners and stripped the old
girl down, revealing more cringe-
worthy ‘repairs’ along the way. Hope
wasn’t lost though, because at its core
the car was still solid and above all,
well worth saving. In fact it was
nothing a few rolls of welding wire and
new metal couldn’t sort out, so all
Mark had to do was fire the
Thunderbird off to a bodyshop and
await the return of a fully repaired
shell. Or, he could buy a MIG welder,
get stuck in and in the process teach
himself a skill. Okay, so most of us start
our welding journey by tacking bits of
scrap metal to other bits of scrap
metal, but hey, a Thunderbird is metal,
so what’s the issue?
The welding was the start of an
annoying trend, at least from the point
of view of an onlooker. You see, Mark’s
one of those deeply enviable blokes.
You know, the kind who can turn his
hand to anything and then very quickly
master it. Yeah, so he has a moan every
now and then because one job was
more difficult than expected, but the
end result is almost always of a near
professional standard. Clever git.
1955 Ford Thunderbird
“Mark’soneofthosedeeply
enviableblokes.Youknow,
thekindwhocanturnhis
handtoanythingandthen
veryquicklymasterit”
ACM_130_Feature 2_Layout 1 19/05/2014 10:49 Page 5
33. 33ACM
It’s that ability that saw him take on
the engine. Not just a freshen up, but a
full rebuild. It’s only nuts and bolts, so
in theory it can only go back together
one way. Plus, the oil that had a
suspected residency within the
engine of nearly 50 years was
removed it was more akin to treacle
than any kind of lubricant.
Mark reduced the 292 Y-block V8
down to a workbench full of
component parts. Service parts were
duly replaced and new parts were
bought in by the boxful from
California. A new cam, new rockers,
new valve guides, new oil, water and
fuel pumps all made their way onto or
into the engine. The crank was
reground and new shells were fitted.
The block was re-bored which meant
new pistons were needed (so
technically it’s a 295 now, not a 292)
and the list goes on. It’s basically a
new engine.
How do you make it stand out though,
the engine that is. The ribbed
‘Thunderbird’ rocker covers are
glorious, but lots of T-Birds have them,
so what could Mark add into the mix
to make this car really stand out? Ah,
an Edelbrock inlet with three Holley
94s via Vintage Speed in Florida, that’s
what. Though the keen eyed among
you will notice the Edmunds filters are
a little different to stock, having been
modified to ensure they don’t clout
the hood. ➔
1955 Ford Thunderbird
1955 Ford Thunderbird
292ci Y Block V8, fully rebuilt including re-
bore, pistons, reground crank, new shells,
new rockers, Mallory distributor, 12v
conversion, Edelbrock tri-carb setup.
Transmission: Standard three-speed
manual with overdrive with new clutch
Suspension: Factory (with rear air
shocks)
Brakes: Fully rebuilt factory drums all
round with stainless steel brake lines
fitted throughout.
Wheels and tyres: Radir Tri-rib alloy
wheels with 215/75R15 rear tyres and
205/75R15 fronts.
Body: Fully re-sprayed in Raven Black,
front bumper re-chromed, rear bumper
new old stock, front and rear bumper
Dagmars removed, custom pin striping
on trunk lid.
Interior: Fully re-trimmed in black and
white vinyl as per factory specification
TechSpec
ACM_130_Feature 2_Layout 1 19/05/2014 10:49 Page 6
34. 34 ACM
The modifications didn’t stop there.
Mark never planned this car to be a
perfect, standard ’55 T-Bird – he
wanted it to stand out. With that in
mind, the boot-lid was treated to some
beautiful pin-striping, the Dagmars
were removed from the bumpers both
front and back, a pair of ’60 Dodge tail
lights were shipped in from the States
and housed in the fins, and most
recently of all, the wheels have been
changed to those rather splendid Radir
Tri-rib jobbies – the same as what was
on the original George Barris
Batmobile don’tcha know?
There’s a lot more work gone into this
car, too, which again has all been
done by Mark in his garage. The seats
have been re-trimmed using a kit
from America, the front bumper has
been re-chromed while the rear one is
a NOS item from the States – probably
the last one out there! A new soft top
has been fitted to the original frame
and, well, as Mark says, “Several
hundred other jobs I’ve probably
forgotten about!”
So what’s next for the Thunderbird?
By Mark’s own admission it’s not
finished yet, though will it ever be?
“Probably not!” exclaims Mark. Still,
that’s not stopped him cracking on
with his next project – a beautiful,
hand-built teardrop trailer crafted
from scratch in the same garage in
which the Thunderbird came to life
again. Finished in hand-polished
aluminium and boasting a whole
host of personal touches like the
handmade fenders, it promises to be
the perfect trailer to compliment
what has to be one of the finest
1955 Thunderbirds in existence,
let alone in the UK. There’s simply
nothing this man can’t do when he
locks himself in the garage with
the tunes playing and the home-
brew flowing!
If the car is ever ‘finished’ (though
trust us when we say we wouldn’t
change a thing), would Mark do
it again? “Not in this lifetime,
they’re a bit like children – one’s
enough!” ACM
1955 Ford Thunderbird
“Markneverplannedthiscarto
beaperfect,standard’55T-Bird–
hewantedittostandout”
ACM_130_Feature 2_Layout 1 19/05/2014 10:50 Page 7
35. Footman James is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Registered in England No. 4043759. Registered Address: Towergate House, Eclipse Park, Sittingbourne Road, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3EN. Authorised
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**All cover is subject to insurers terms and conditions. Full details are available upon request. FP ADCC001.12.13
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37. Jeep was 100% function and 0%
form; this Cherokee is radically
styled. It's like comparing the
latest iPhone with two cans and a
piece of string. And I say
'radically styled' because, while
it's doubtlessly radical, I haven't
decided yet whether I like it. It
seems to be following the same
bold, outlandish precedent set by
the likes of the Evoque, but to me,
that's not Jeep. It looks like the
car that Darth Vader's mum
dropped him off at school in.
The first part of the driving
involved the off-road course, a
specially-built course of
obstacles of such devious
spitefulness it makes the Spanish
Inquisition look like a friendly
game of Kerplunk. This was to
show the capabilities of the more
serious Trailhawk model, and
while there was an opportunity
to tackle it myself, this tarmac-
lover pussied out and left it to the
professionals. The pro in this
instance was Paulo, who made it
all look very easy. In fact, the car
made it very easy for Paulo, in
most cases. For instance, when
faced with a 70% slope, he
stopped at the bottom, pressed a
couple of buttons on the centre
console, and the Trailhawk set off
at a crawl, straight up the slope. I
don't think Paulo had to put his
feet on the pedals. Likewise, at
the top, he pressed the same
buttons again and the car
crawled down the other side.
Paulo did all this while looking
cool to the point of boredom;
I was sweating like a whore in
a church.
Words: Dave Smith
37ACM
Drive
drive
It's the mid-size crossover that's
carrying the Jeep tradition on its
shoulders: the all-new Cherokee.
JEEP THRILLS
➔
choices start
with two 2.0
Multijet turbo-diesels
giving 140 or 170bhp,
and the 272bhp 3.2-litre
Pentastar petrol V6, though of
course the diesel is going to be
the big seller in Europe. The base
model is front-wheel drive,
though there's a choice of four-
wheel drive systems including
Active Drive I, Active Drive II and
Active Drive Lock with locking
rear diff found on the Trailhawk.
Transmission choices include a
six-speed manual for the 140bhp
diesel, and the new nine-speed
automatic for the rest.
When Jeep got in touch and
asked if we'd like to join them for
the new Cherokee's launch, we of
course said yes, where? Italy,
naturally, at Fiat's testing
grounds in Balocco, in the
foothills of the Alps. Sounds like
a Jeep's natural territory.
We began the test with Jeep
designers, flown over from the
States, to point out how the new
Cherokee incorporated design
cues first used on the original
WWII Willys Jeeps, and how it
was thoroughly modern
underneath. The second part we
had no problem believing; the
first part less so. Yes, it has a
seven-slot grille, but after that it
all got a bit tenuous. The original
Jeep, one of the best-known and
most widely recognised brands in
the world, and a very shrewd
purchase for Fiat. Cherokee, the
model that grew from the
Wagoneer, which was roving the
range long before the Range
Rover came along. Yes, the Jeep
Cherokee arguably created the
mid-size SUV market segment.
Since then, it has seen numerous
pretenders to its throne,
especially from the far East, but
has always managed to retain its
own identity, its own niche of the
niche. Its own Jeep-ness.
While we've always had the
Cherokee over here, the name
disappeared for a while in the
States; their Cherokee has been
called the Liberty for a few years.
Now it's back, the new global
Cherokee, the KL series. The Jeep
Liberty and Jeep Compass are
winding up and the KL is ready to
take over.
It shares much of its
underpinnings with the Dodge
Dart, Chrysler 200 and various
Alfa Romeos, but Jeep's new
owners, Fiat, are keen to point
out that this new Cherokee is
every bit as serious and every bit
as capable as the name Jeep
implies. It'll be available in three
different trim levels: the base
Longitude, the Limited, and the
'trail-rated' Trailhawk. Engine
ACM_130_Drive_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:11 Page 2
38. 38 ACM
drive
Still, this isn't that sort of car. It
has the turn of speed when you
really, really need it, but
otherwise it plods on feeling all
unstoppable and Jeep-like.
There's plenty of space around
you, but it doesn't feel as vast as
the separate-chassis Jeeps and
Blazers of old. I'd draw the line at
calling it nimble, but decent
design, modern tyres and a
whole host of electrickery like
ESC means that it doesn't feel
anything like as bulky as it is. Out
on the motorway, it whistles
along at tickover – in the nine-
speed auto, fifth gear is 1:1, and
sixth upwards are overdrives up
to ninth, which is 0.48:1.
I also found out why the previous
driver had left the air
conditioning on. At anything
above town speeds with the
windows open, the wind pulses
and buffets you in a way that
makes your ears ache. But when
you close the windows, the whole
thing goes eerily silent. It was like
watching a documentary about
northern Italy with the sound
turned off. If you listen hard, you
can hear the tyres on the tarmac,
and that's about it.
These Cherokees have plenty of
high-tech built in, and I'm really
no tech-head. I did fall foul of the
Lanesense lane departure
I needn't have worried. Every
form of torture was thrown at the
Cherokee, and it took them all in
its stride. Some tests designed to
twist the car into a corkscrew did
manage to prompt a discreet
squeak from the bodyshell, but
this was a test that would have
seen my Mustang's windscreen
pop out so hard it would have
landed in Austria while the rest of
the car sprung apart like a clown
car. Once or twice I heard the
exhaust scrape the concrete, but
in a manner more like a butler
than an offroader. “Ahem. Excuse
me, sir, but are you aware that
the tailpipe is touching the
ground? Yes? I do beg your
pardon.” The whole off-road
course was completed with only
me showing the slightest hint of
panic. It's an odd feeling, sitting in
leather-clad, air-conditioned
comfort at a 45-degree angle
while one front wheel is hanging
in fresh air and your door handle
is dragging in the dandelions.
Anyway, nuts to Paulo and his
unflappable off-road skills, let's
get on the asphalt. For the first
trip, I took a Limited with the
Pentastar V6. Yes, it's very
comfortable indeed, but the
previous drivers had set the air
conditioning at full chat. Why? It
was a glorious spring day in the
Italian Alps! You don't want to
shut that out! So, with the
windows down, I set off on a
route encompassing everything
from backroads through
charming little villages to
motorways. The nine-speed auto
silently does its job, and while the
motor does have some poke to it,
it wasn't particularly enthusiastic
– you really had to clog it to get it
to pick up its skirts and run, but
when it did, boy did it run.
warning more than once,
though. It was fun to begin with
– if you take your hands off the
wheel, the car will drift gradually
towards the kerb where it will
sense the white lines and steer
you back into your lane.
However, after the third time, a
message flashed up on the dash
saying “Please put your hands
on the wheel”! Then, when
pulling across the central white
line to pass some cyclists, the
car read the line and suddenly
steered itself back towards
them! My car nearly skittled a
group of cyclists without any
input from me. Also, start-stop
technology puzzles me. The first
time, I was waiting at traffic
lights and thought, “Bugger, it's
stalled.” Take your foot off the
brake and it starts back up. As a
mature student of
bangernomics, I've driven
enough old nails with deathbed
batteries to see how this might
cause issues a few years down
the line.
After having driven the V6
without major international
incident or death, I took out one
of the 2.0 turbo diesel Limiteds.
After the smoothness of the
Pentastar, the turbo diesel is not
exactly a rude awakening, but
you're definitely aware that it's a
diesel. Also, while it's hardly
straining to lug the Cherokee
around, it's certainly not as
effortless as the petrol.
Otherwise, it's just as capable as
the range-topping 3.2.
ACM_130_Drive_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:11 Page 3
39. 39ACM
drive
The route I took this time led me
further into the foothills, with
lots of lovely, twisting roads,
climbing and falling through
towns and trees. I switched the
Selec-Terrain traction control
system to Sport which limits the
effects of the ESC, though
couldn't feel a lot of difference.
Either way, I could launch the
thing into a hairpin bend and it
felt completely lashed down,
little body roll and barely a
squeak from the tyres. You could
bring it in on the brakes, turn in
sharply then throttle it, wait that
split second for the kickdown
and pull cleanly out of the bend.
The auto transmission had a
manual shift position, but the
novelty soon wore off – it
seemed to know what it was
doing so I left it to it. Steep
gradients made the turbo-diesel
sound a little frenetic at times,
but it never lost its composure.
After a few dozen miles of that, it
was nice to find that there is a
cooling facility built into the
Nappa leather seats.
Overall? It was a really pleasant
drive. Comfortable and capable,
it felt like a sound place to put
yourself and your family on a
road trip. No, it's not as
engaging to drive as a more
enthusiast-oriented car, but you
shouldn't expect a Cherokee to
be a thrill-ride on the road, any
more than you'd expect a Viper
to tow your caravan across a
muddy field. Modern cars seem
designed to insulate the driver
from the driving experience
and this Cherokee's no different;
it's cosseting but stops just
short of being dull, although you
can liven things up if you really
want to.
Jeep are throwing their hat into
the extremely competitive mid-
size SUV ring, with the likes of
the Freelander and Q5, and
they're leading the assault with
the Jeep's actual off-road
credentials and 'lifestyle'
association. The promo and
advertising will doubtless show
a smiling outdoorsy couple in
the Moab desert or some
rainforest somewhere, with their
special Mopar tent on the back
of their Cherokee, enjoying
nature's bounty. The reality, of
course, is that the Cherokee will
be bought by 'the horse-box
brigade', as one of the other
journos put it.
Still, the weekend country set are
the sort who might properly
appreciate a car with genuine
off-tarmac prowess and decent
towing ability – up to 2500kg for
the 170bhp TD automatic. For the
rest of their sales, they're
pitching a vehicle on its mud-
plugging abilities to urbanites
whose idea of off-road is parking
on the kerb near Waitrose. Is
'excellent off-road-capability'
really the top of their buying
criteria? If the only reason they
want a 4x4 is as some sort of
passive-aggressive statement
about urban jungles (or, more
likely, because Clarissa likes the
high driving position) then
probably not. ➔
Steel unibody construction
Transverse front engine, FWD or
4WD
Wheelbase 2,719mm max (107”)
Track 1626mm max (64”)
Length 4626mm (182”)
Width 1904mm max (74”)
Height 1722mm max (68”)
Ground clearance 221mm max
(8.7”)
Kerb weight 2,036kg max
(4488lbs)
Trailer towing 2,475kg max
(5456lbs)
2.0 170bhp
1956cc
DOHC 16v
1600bar CRD
170bhp @ 4000rpm
258lb.ft @ 1750rpm
948TE 9-speed auto
3.734:1 final drive
0-60mph: 10.3 sec
Top Speed: 119mph
Fuel Consumption (combined):
48.7mpg
CO2 (combined cycle): 154g/km
Emissions class: Euro 5+
3.2 Petrol
3239cc
DOHC 24v
SEFI
272bhp @ 6500rpm
232lb.ft @ 4300rpm
948TE 9-speed auto
3.251:1 final drive
0-60mph: 8.1 sec
Top Speed: 128mph
Fuel Consumption (combined):
28.2mpg
CO2 (combined cycle): 232g/km
Emissions class: Euro 6
2014 JEEP CHEROKEE
ACM_130_Drive_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:11 Page 4
40. 40 ACM
drive
Would I buy one? If I had towing
to do, or lived in a very rural area
(by which I mean anywhere that
ends in 'Dales' or 'Moor'; not
Footballerville, Cheshire) then it'd
definitely be at the top of my test-
drive list. Yes, the Pentastar is
smoother and faster than the
turbo-diesel, but enough to justify
the higher sticker price, tax
bracket and running costs? No.
Go for the 170bhp turbo-diesel
and enjoy more torque and close
to double the fuel mileage. This
Italian-influenced but American-
made Jeep is about to carry the
Jeep standard across the world.
But I still haven't decided whether
or not I like the styling. ACM
Also, Jeep are still trading hard
on their WWII Willys image. This
Cherokee might be very capable
under harsh conditions, but
that's where the similarity ends.
Take a look at a WWII Jeep and
then look at the new Cherokee
with its clearcoat metallic paint,
its wireless iGubbins charging
pad and 8.4-inch Uconnect
screen, and imagine some
1940s squaddies in the motor
pool asking “What the HELL is a
diesel particulate filter?” Yes,
the Cherokee is about as far as
you can get from the old Willys
in terms of refinement. This
must be that 'progress' I keep
hearing about.
The Jeep Cherokee is made in Toledo,
Ohio, by Jeep. Prices will start around
the £25,000 OTR mark, and the new
Jeep Cherokee will be in UK Jeep
showrooms right about the time
you're reading this. See
www.jeep.co.uk
ACM_130_Drive_Layout 1 19/05/2014 11:12 Page 5
41. Project1_Layout 1 08/10/2013 16:18 Page 1
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Call the team today on
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www.aplan.co.uk/specialist
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by experts.
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Untitled-2 1 19/05/2014 14:18:43
42. classicline*
INSURANCE
Our policies are formulated to provide great benefits as standard. We offer agreed values (for vehicles over 5
years old). Limited mileage discounts; the less you use your car, the less you pay. Multi-vehicle policies; we
can insure additional cars at an extra discount. Free club arranged track days; with all other track days on a
referable basis. There is also UK roadside and assistance breakdown cover included as standard on all our
policies. With an added discount for being a member of an American car club.
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Classic American
Untitled-2 1 19/05/2014 14:05:16
43. ACM
statfoldbarn
43
Last month, we looked at some of the big rigs that live at
Statfold Barn Farm. This month, it’s the turn of just some of
the cars.
Words & Photography: Dave Smith
BigBoys’
Toys
Last month, we were lucky enough
to have Graham Lee show us his
collection of big American trucks. So
big were they that we couldn't squeeze
in his almost equally impressive car
collection! So here goes.
The red '67 Mustang is a 289 coupe,
bought from eBay with blown head
gaskets and a dead radiator. “The
quarters have been replaced with
those from a '68 at some point,”
says Graham. “I rebuilt the motor,
recovered the seats, fitted new wheels
and tyres and gave it a coat of paint. I
haven't gone to town on it as it's just
my runaround. I wanted a nice, tidy,
reliable car just for running around in.
It's got no power steering or power
brakes, and it's drums all round.”
There was another Mustang there,
too, a distinctly sinister-looking '13
model. “I was at Atlantic Sports Cars
statford barn.indd 43 16/05/2014 15:36:34
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statfoldbarn
44
looking at a GT, and I ended up buying
this!” Graham continues. “It's an ASC
Dominator. It started out as a GT with
a 5.0 Coyote V8, but Atlantic fitted the
supercharger, the bodykit, the wheels,
Roush suspension, Brembo brakes
and side-exit exhaust. It has around
675bhp, and the six-speed manual
'box.” It sounds like quite a handful,
but while we were checking it over,
another black Ford turned up.
This one was slightly less menacing.
In fact, it was Mr Lee senior in his 1926
Model T, a completely stock sedan that
came in from Florida just a few months
previously. He was just taking it out for
a spin, so we had a look around it and
then off he chugged. Lovely!
The tangerine '77 Corvette belongs to
a good friend of the Lees', Paul Smith,
who is often to be found at Statfold
Barn weaving some mechanical magic
on something interesting. “This came
in just under two years ago,” says Paul.
“It had had one owner from new, and
just 43,000 miles on the clock. I've
done a bit of engine work, such as
removing the old catalytic converters
and fitting headers and Magnaflow
silencers, and given it a blow-over
because the paint was sun-bleached.
Other than that it's completely original,
including the tyres which have gone
rock-hard and are frankly scary! The
outer part of the harmonic damper
had sheared from the inner, as I found
when I tried to set the timing, so that's
new. It still has the original eight-track
player, and when I looked in the boot
behind the seats, it was absolutely full
of eight-track tapes!”
statford barn.indd 44 16/05/2014 15:36:46
45. ACM 45
statfoldbarn
Statfold Barn Railway, near
Tamworth, Staffordshire, isn’t open
to the public but a few times a year
they host big open days, where all
the locomotives are brought out
and trundle around the extensive
grounds. The trucks and cars are
also brought out for the day! The
money raised all goes to charity, so
look for the next open day at
www.statfoldbarnrailway.co.uk
After that, we headed off to a different
barn to see yet more cars, all part
of a fleet that had not long come
into the UK from Canada as one
whole collection, courtesy of the
late Nate Salter. Nate was very much
a Mopar guy, and we'll have more
about some of Nate's old motors in a
future issue, but others include this
Chrysler New Yorker, complete and
original, and looking like a circa 1981
vintage. Nearby, there's a Fargo in
farm-found condition, with the head
off its sidevalve six engine, awaiting
restoration. It's a tough call on what
year it might be, as these Fargos –
essentially Canadian market Dodge
pick-ups – didn't change a great deal
between 1939 and 1947, but it's a
beauty anyway. Next to it is a 1938
International pick-up, which, believe it
or not, was laid up in a shed in Canada
with ignition trouble over 40 years
ago. The Lees dragged it out, fixed the
ignition, and cleaned it up. That's right,
it's not been restored; just cleaned!
Back at Statfold Barn, there was one
last treat in store – a beautiful custom
1954 Dodge C-series, another from the
Salter collection. It's undergone some
serious hot rodding, including a later-
model Mopar small-block, but, aside
from the fresh coat of candy paint
courtesy of Graham, this is exactly as
it left Mr Salter's garage. It's still a work
in progress but won't be far away from
the road by now.
As mentioned earlier, we'll be back for
a look at some of the Salter cars in the
near future, but in the meantime, many
thanks to the Lee family for sharing
their extensive and arcane collection
of classics with us! ACM
statford barn.indd 45 16/05/2014 15:36:57
46. SANTA POD RACEWAY, ENGLAND
25 / 26 / 27th
July 2014
The biggest muscle car door slammer
event in Europe. All American classics,
Modified & muscle cars and trucks
+ American car clubs welcome
NO open wheel dragsters & NO fwd hot hatches. NO animals will be admitted to Raceway. NO glass bottles.
ABSOLUTELY NO powered off road bikes, go-peds, quads or similar for getting about raceway!
No filming for commercial purposes unless agreed with the organisers. Advertised events may be subject to change beyond the organisers’ control.
21st
Untitled-2 1 19/05/2014 14:12:59
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47
RollingStock
Wheels and tyres. They’re on the business end of all of your vehicle’s handling, steering, stopping and power
delivery matters, and your choices could make or break that new build or restoration. Arming yourself with
some prior knowledge could help you a great deal, and North Hants Tyres should be top of your list when
you’re exploring those choices. They’ve been specialising in tyres for American vehicles since 1948, and know a
thing or two, so we went down to their Aldershot HQ to have a word.
Words & photography: Dave Smith
Wheels
Generally, we select the wheels for
our project using form over function
– we pick the wheels we like best (1).
However, not all wheels are available
in all sizes, offsets and stud patterns,
and buying second hand can be a bit
of a minefield. If the wheels are new
and boxed, the label tells you almost
everything you need to know (2)
such as the size of the wheel, the stud
pattern and hub centre it's drilled for,
and the backspacing or offset.
The first thing you need to determine
is the dimensions of the wheel. The
diameter is measured across the wheel
from the inside of the rim, where the
tyre bead seats. Many Fifties cars
used 13” wheels, which are tiny by
today's standards, but they made up
for it with huge crossply tyres. Most
American cars only had 14” wheels
as standard, with possibly 15” on the
muscle cars or on the options list.
Nowadays, a 17” wheel on a modern
1
2
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muscle car is considered small and 20”
is commonplace, but super low-profile
tyres have kept diameters in check.
The next thing to examine is the width.
James at NHT is using a polished
Rocket Injector wheel to demonstrate.
The width of the wheel is also
measured from the inner lip where the
tyre bead seats (3), which in this case
is 10”. Measuring to the outer edge
usually gives you the rim width plus
one inch (4), or 11” as you see here,
which gives you a ballpark figure.
Next is the offset and backspacing,
which are crucial, although they're
effectively different measurements
of the same thing. To measure
backspacing, lay a straight edge
across the inside rim of your wheel,
and measure straight down to the
machined face that sits against the
hub (5). In this case, the backspacing is
about 3.75” (6). The lower this number
is, the more the wheel will stick OUT
of the arch, and the deeper the dish on
the wheel.
Offset essentially determines the same
thing, but it works from the centreline
of the wheel. As an example, this wheel
is 11” wide (to the outer edge of the
rim), so the centreline of the wheel
would be 5.5” from the lip. The hub
face is 3.75” from the lip, 5.5 minus 3.75
is 1.75, so the offset is -1.75” or about
-45mm. This is great as a guideline,
but the stamping on the inside of
the wheel (7) says that the offset is
-50.7mm, or as near as dammit 2”, so
we were 5mm out. Negative offset
means that the hub face is between
the centreline and the INSIDE lip of
the wheel; positive offset means the
hub face is between the centreline
and the OUTSIDE edge of the wheel,
like many front-wheel drive cars. More
backspacing = greater negative offset
= a greater dish on the outside face of
the wheel.
The remaining measurements are the
centre hub hole and the pitch circle
diameter. The centre hub hole is the
part that sits on the raised lip around
the centre of the hub. The hole in
the wheel usually seats securely on
this lip and helps to keep the wheel
concentric with the hub. This wheel
has a centre hole of about 3” (8) – the
usual size in this fitment is 3.07”. If the
lip on your hub is greater than 3.07”,
this wheel will never fit on your hub.
You can sleeve the hole down to fit a
smaller hub lip using spigot rings, but
obviously not vice versa.
The pitch circle diameter, or PCD or
bolt pattern, is the diameter of an
imaginary circle drawn through the
centre of the tips of your wheel studs.
Most American cars use a five-stud
pattern, a few use four and larger vans
and pick-ups might use six. To measure
the PCD of a four- or six-stud hub,
measure from the centre of one stud
to the centre of the opposite stud. On
a five-stud hub, the easiest way is to
measure from the centre of the first
stud to the farthest edge of the third
stud (9). In this case you can see it's
about 4.75”, so that's a five-stud, 4.75”
PCD, often expressed as “five on four-
and-three-quarters”.
So, in order to select your wheels, you
need to know the PCD and centre hub
lip diameter of your car's hubs. From
there you can work out the diameter
and width of the wheel/tyre combo
you're hoping to run, and how much
backspacing you need before that
combo either touches the wheelarches
or the suspension, either of which is an
MoT failure straight away. Don't forget
to check the clearances on maximum
suspension compression, as well as
on full steering lock on the front. Once
you've worked this out it's always
worth checking availability before you
go any further. Certain wheel styles will
only be available in certain PCDs and
backspacing – for instance, you won't
find many mag-style five-spokes drilled
for four-stud hubs. Likewise if you've
worked out that you'll need to run a
215/40R14 tyre – I don't think such a
size has ever been produced.
You'll also need to pick a wheel that
fits your brakes. If you've just fitted
whopping 13” grooved discs and six-
pot callipers, your 14” Rallye wheels
ain't going to fit over them. “Brake
clearance is a real issue,” says James.
“Many 'vintage style' wheels are only
made to go over drums, but some
wheels, like these Torq Thrust Ds (10)
have spokes specially shaped to give
3 4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11
12 13
14
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extra clearance to brake callipers.”
With a specialist like North Hants Tyres,
you can always get the advice you
need before buying. Call them or see
the website for more advice.
Tyres
Right, you've got your wheel choice
in mind; now you need the tyres
to go with them, and there are
plenty of choices (11). James used
this BF Goodrich Radial T/A tyre to
demonstrate, and its raised white letter
style will be familiar to most of us.
Decoding the sidewall is fairly simple
(12). P245/60R15 is the important bit
there. P stands for passenger car,
as opposed to LT for light truck, for
example. 245 means that the tyre
is 245mm wide at the widest point,
original or particularly specialist,
there's no reason to choose anything
else. The 15 means it fits a 15” wheel
(15). It's odd that wheel diameters
are always measured in imperial, but
radial tyre sizes are always metric.
There was a fad for wheels in metric
diameters in the Eighties, but it didn't
last long and tyres for them are now
rare and bloody expensive.
The next part, 100S, is the load index
and speed rating. This is the load the
tyre is capable of carrying at its normal
maximum inflation. In this case, 100
equates to 800kgs, so a set of four
will be okay on a car up to 3200kgs or
about 7000lbs. Sounds like a lot, but
don't forget that's gross vehicle weight.
A big old station wagon carrying a full
complement of passengers, a load of
luggage and possibly a trailer could
easily be that. There's a load index
reference chart on North Hants Tyres'
website, but elsewhere on the tyre it's
explained more simply (16) - “Max load
795kg (1753lbs) at 240Kpa (35psi)”. The
S is the speed rating, which equates
to 112mph – again there's a chart on
the website. Always pick tyres with a
load index and speed rating suitable
for your vehicle. In the event of an
accident, an insurance assessor will be
looking at your tyres first.
M+S is nothing to do with a posh
supermarket chain; it stands for mud
and snow, meaning the tyre is not
going to be useless in these conditions.
Then there's the important bit – the
E in a circle, meaning the tyre is EU
approved for Europe. This is a can
of worms at the best of times, but
there are ways around it. “A 2001 Ford
F-150 Lightning left the factory with
295/45R18 tyres as standard,” says
James. “You can use non-E-marked
tyres for these as that's original
equipment for that truck.” Or this
Auburn whitewall (17) is a radial tyre
for superior handling but looks just
like an old crossply. It has a caveat on
the sidewall, “Use only on vehicles
manufactured before 1976”, which is a
cunning way around E-marking.
Back to the BFG radial, the last bit that's
important is the DOT stamp (18). It's
usually found opposite the size code,
and is mainly for the manufacturers,
though the last four digits indicate the
date the tyre was manufactured – in
this case it's 3013, or the 30th week of
2013. Tyres don't have a 'best before'
date, but as James says, “A tyre's
condition is more dependent upon
its storage than its age. If they're kept
cool, away from UV light and racked
properly, they're fine. If they're kept
outside or in the sunlight, they will go
hard and glassy.”
Should you specifically want a
crossply like this Firestone (19), they're
measured simply as width by rim
diameter – this one's a 7.50x16, so
it's 7.5” wide at the shoulder of the
usually the shoulder of the tread (13).
60 is the section height of the sidewall
as a percentage of the tread, so the
sidewall of the tyre is 60 per cent of
the tread width. Sixty percent of 245
is 147, so the distance between the
bead of the tyre and the surface of the
tread when inflated is 147mm (14). The
lower the section height, the lower the
'profile' of the tyre. In the days of the
muscle car, a 60-profile tyre would
have been state of the art; now, of
course, even the most mundane family
hatchbacks routinely use lower profile
tyres than that.
The R stands for radial, which refers to
the way the belts or cords are laid in
the body of the tyre. The vast majority
of today's tyres are radials, and unless
you're wanting something completely
15
16 17
18 19
20 21
22 23
24 25
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