Your other Auto obsessions

[badsix]

youngest boys vw project

I want all the details on this. It's awesome. Will it be fendered or rodded? I assume it's an IRS rear? But then it's got wide fives on it. Raised tranny maybe?

yep, its going to have fenders and yes its irs with air bags all around. We converted to the wide 5 so he could run the empi 5 spokes. we're going to run it then we might go with the raised tranny, its a real possibility. The engine is a 2276 with a 4 barrel 600 edelbrock carb. It seams to run real smooth with lots of tork, dyno said a little over 140 hp
Jay D

[JTR70]

Jay, That is one beautiful street rod! The fit and finish is far better than when it left the factory in '54. The hood and door gaps look amazing! Any more shots of it? You guys have a lot of fun toys going on there! A favorite hangout for friends and family I'm sure! Thanks for posting!

WOW Jim! That is really some high dollar stuff!! Do you actually run these old racecars or are they museum pieces? The Studie is awesome! Are you running an art Morrison type chassis with late running gear? Is that an LS2,3 or 7?? Really cool stuff you guys! Thanks for sharing your other passions! Justin

[badsix]

it a 270 jimmy or gmc with a reworked 302 head forged pistons and a blower cam. It runs about 14 psi at full throttle. trans is a 700r4 the rear is a 9" ford. Its a driver, we just got back from a 900 mi trip averaged about 15-16 mpg that's if you can stay off the gas

[JTR70]

Beautiful, so cool that you actually drive and enjoy this baby! WOW, a 270 inline 6! I wasn't expecting that. I'm sure this catches most guys by surprise at the shows. With the bigger head and blower this must produce gobs of torque? I've always heard that inline's produce more torque than a V8 per cubic inch.. 15MPG is surprisingly good, the overdrive 700R4 is a big part of that number I'm sure. This motor is Carburated too, right? That's not a throttle body sitting on that blower? Really nice car!! Thanks for posting these shots! Justin

[jim nelson]

Hi Justin--the cars do run, but there are limited race venues. Current historic racing series have little knowledge of all the cars they throw into a class, so the tech guy would have to be up on post-'83 Formula One (3 liters to 1.5 turbos, to 3.5 liters, back to 3 liters, then to 2.4 liter V8's only) , Indycars, F3000, etc. It turns into a run-what-ya-brung, and I know of an Indycar without a blow-off valve (think 1100 hp), a 4-liter F1 car, and a "stock block" Indycar that doesn't come remotely within the rules. So we don't race with those guys, and Monterey still thinks Formula One ended in 1983, which is really irritating. But here we are putting a little temperature into the 1988 car...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HaYCqTrEQs

Jim

[jim nelson]

Hi Justin--
The chassis for the Stude is indeed from Art Morrison, with 6-pot Wilwoods in the front and 4-pot in the rear. It's powered by a Lingenfelter ASA motor, which we've put LS6 heads and intake on; with LS1 heads and intake it dyno'ed at 440 hp and 427 lbs/ft, but the LS6 top end should be worth 10-15% over the LS1, so we're thinking it's somewhere close to 500hp. A built 4L60E with a four link rear suspension, Vintage Air air conditioning, Painless wiring (it wasn't), and a modern audio system. Period Mercedes seats, Classic Instruments adapted to the Stude 4-pod dash, etc. It has been a long time coming, and has been held up by the 356's recent complete restoration, which I'm quite pleased with. The car weighs 2675, without carpet but with everything else in it; when I'm done, which is pretty close, it'll probably weigh 50-75 lbs. more, but I still like the power-to-weight ratio.

Bare chassis:



Instruments:



A different look:




Jim

[bbspdstr]

Speaking of obsession about an auto....anyone know the make of car in this photo?

It was found in old family pictures. It is my maternal grandfather and on the back is penciled "first car.....1910."

Any leads would be gratefully appreciated, thanks.

Bruce Baker

[AMP]

Bruce, where was the picture taken? I searched for pictures of 1910 and earlier cars but did not see anything looking like that one. Is it in the USA?

I will say Grand Dad was a smart looking young man and also looks proud of his new car and driving attire!

[JTR70]

Really great old photo Bruce! Your Grandfather must have done very well for himself to afford an auto in 1910??

[JTR70]

Thank you Jim! You are building a dream restomod out that Studie. Your doing all the upgrades that I want for my '62 Vette one day. Art Morrison G-force chassis with C-6 Corvette front suspension and brakes. An LS7 motor with a Borg-warner T-56 6 speed tranny. Your car is really going to be slick! Thanks for Indy-car details. That is just a whole other world unto itself! Justin

[bbspdstr]

Yes, agreed, nice work, Jim. That made my mind snap out of 356/Porsche mode and realize I had that recently found picture of my grandfather and had no clue as to what he was driving.
Ashley wrote: "where was the picture taken? I searched for pictures of 1910 and earlier cars but did not see anything looking like that one. Is it in the USA?
I will say Grand Dad was a smart looking young man and also looks proud of his new car and driving attire!
That picture had to have been taken somewhere in or near Philadelphia, PA. Some time ago, also 'downsizing' my mother's boxes and boxes of her family's memorabilia, I found a picture of Earl Lewis Meadowcroft and my grandmother Estella posing in front of a 1917 Cadillac open car, looking as if it's painted white, dressed in the full regalia of 'dusters,' crazy full-coverage hats, gauntlet gloves and goggles...also looking in the B&W picture to be matching the auto. I'll eventually find that again and post it.
E. Lew was a successful salesman, a manufacturers rep who had territories like "east of the Mississippi" or "Europe" and he rep'd primarily locks...sold quantities and got commissions on each padlock sold to the military, railroads, governments, etc.
He told me that he was making over $50k/year about the time he and my grandmother married in 1915, but lost almost all they had in the Great Depression, starting over with what was left in a 'Sunday School account.' While my grandfather was a 'car guy,' I wish I had my uncle Charlie's cars now. Starting in the '20s,in the San Francisco area he had a jazz club and restaurant and did well. When I first met him as a teen-ager, he picked me up at the airport in a new Porsche. He thought he'd get a different answer, I'm sure, when he asked if I had a car of my own. He was surprised when I answered, "Sure, a Porsche, but it's just an old Speedster." He told me he had used another car to go from CA to New Orleans to book jazz talent in the '20s, as he could do that trip faster than airplanes of those days, and safer, too. That car was a Deusenberg SJ! What are treasured today were "just cars" when they were made, used and driven hard.

[badsix]

could be an 08 - 10 Autocar runabout. check it out on Google. Back in the late 50s at the age of 10 or so I use to collect models and most of the models back then were cars in the early 1900. My dad would help build them we had quite a collection before long. I was always interested in early cars, back then there were hundreds of auto makers. Anyway my dads gone and I'm still building cars with my boys. I have a 2 year old grand son I can't wait to build some models with him. Has anyone checked the price of models lately I can remember .69 for a good model Jay D

[JTR70]

Its funny you should bring up models Jay. I was an absolute obsessed modeler from about 8-12 years old. I always had to try and beg for a new one every time we went to the store. My Dad always said no but Mom was the soft touch. Never got into planes or boats it was just cars and maybe a diesel rig or two since it was the late 1970's and that was sort of the rage back then as I'm sure you'll remember. Depending on where you're shopping, I think an average price is 10-15 bucks.. That's how much Michael's was selling them for last time I looked. Speaking of which while I was looking there I was absolutely blown away that the General Lee model kit is still very much available. Same box, same photo details. I must have built that kit at least 4 times literally over 30 years ago! It was so cool to see it still being offered.

I don't have time anymore but for some nostalgia I did buy this vintage kit still wrapped in its original plastic for about 25 bucks on Ebay a while back. I must have built this one at least 3 times as well back in the day.

This is how much Kmart wanted for it in the 80's Its an early one; the box doesn't even have a bar-code. Thanks for stirring up some old memories!! Justin

[Rad-Ride]

I was always building model cars when I was younger. Haven't bought one lately but have a huge box of them waiting for when I retire... lol