All posts by Route 66 Pub Co

Power Wagon 1949 Four Wheel Drive Beast

January 2, 2016 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Power Wagon’s were produced by Dodge and were popular heavy duty, four wheel drives, before every truck line was offered as a 4X4. They were popular after WWII, as our GI’s came back and wanted a domestic version of their military masters. So Dodge “civilized’ their military monsters and offered up the Power Wagon.

Jay Leno’s Garage recently took a look at a 1942 Dodge Power Wagon that was modified into a six wheel drive monster. That reminded us of a similar FOUR wheel drive Power Wagon that we saw last year at the SEMA Show.

1949 Power Wagon

It’s a 1949 Dodge Power Wagon Four Door or Crew Cab. This baby was heavily modified and pounded on to make it look this beautiful.

Chevy Powered for the Power Wagon

It is powered by a reliable Chevy LS3 engine with a 6.2 liter displacement, producing 430 horses and 424 foot pounds of torque for this bad boy. It also kept it in the family with a GM transmission; a 4L85E along with an Atlas transfer case.

They used a Dana 60 front axle, a Corp 14 bolt rear end with locking differentials and Warn locking hubs. They are using Bilstein shocks to smooth out the ride. Creature comforts included not only power windows and door locks, but power running boards plus Vintage Air Conditioning.

Can’t expect either ride to get any “Arizona pin striping” soon, but they are sure beautiful brutes.

What do you think?

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Car show, Uncategorized

Engraved Paint on Silver 2013 Nissan GTR

December 27, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Okay so perhaps you get jaded at the SEMA Show with all the rides on display. After a while you might say, “enough” but then you turn the corner and spot this 2013 Nissan GTR. Yes, ignore the eye candy and focus on the car. Sure a Nissan GTR may not be super rare, but it is different, right? But then check out the exterior finish.

Nissan GTR

That my friend may look like somebody silversmithed and engraved into the metal; but it is actually layers upon layers of paint! The artists from Japan slaved over this Nissan and with extensive taping added on layer after layer of paint to end up with this engraved look. They even used a buffer and tapered tool to grind into the paint and create some of those images.

Engraved paint

One of the workers was present at the show and mentioned they were then working on a different model for the upcoming Japan Car Show but in gold tones.

Forget the car, the artistry to make the paint act as engraved metal is outstanding. What do you think?

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Car show

Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) Shows Off at SEMA

December 20, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

The Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA) holds an evening reception during the SEMA Show. And while I enjoy meeting up with old buddies and making new friends, I also enjoy checking out the cars that were handpicked to be displayed at the reception.

A total of six cars and trucks were highlighted this year, so let’s take a look at these beauties.

HRIA – 55 T-Bird

From NASCAR’s” hometown” Mooresville, NC came this 55 Thunderbird in silver hues. A tube chassis mated up to a stock floor pan. It has a Ford Coyote 5.0 L 302 under the hood and Tremec six speed, with Vintage Air Conditioning and nice Halibrand knock off wheels.

HRIA – 63 Corvette

This convertible Corvette is powered by a Chevy small block 355 with a five speed Tremec. A slick set of Inglese side draft carburetors looked mean and it borrowed some C4 chassis components and a C5’s brake set up. The blue color was an added touch.

HRIA – 55 Ford

Another Texas build, this one used an Art Morrison chassis and a 528 Boss engine with a TKO 600 transmission. Knock of wheels looked nice with that stance and Gabe’s Interiors did the upholstery.

HRIA – 59 Rambler

I never get tired looking at this beauty. It was a Great Eight finalist for the Ridler Award in Detroit. The 2 door wagon features a LS small block with Hemi heads and a supercharger. Gabe’s did this interior as well and a Mesa, AZ shop did the work, including over 30 body modifications.

HRIA – 70 Challenger

This blue beauty hailed from Mooresville, NC as well and used a 4L60E transmission with an Edelbrock EFI set up. Lots of custom work went into shaping those bumpers and changing the rocker panels by lowering them.

HRIA- 69 Chevy C-10

In acknowledgement that trucks can be hot rods and the C-10 is a hot model, out rolled this nice 1969 Chevy. It has a LSX engine (461 ci) with a supercharger and a Tremec six speed. The Roadster Shop supplied the chassis and the owner claims 1000 horsepower with this set up.

So a nice collection of vehicles helped make for a great evening with the Hot Rodders. They gave out some nice awards and acknowledgements. Can’t wait to meet up with them next year.

So what vehicle struck your heart?

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Car show, Manufacturer news, Uncategorized

Laid Back Hauler

November 19, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

When I first saw this COE set up as a hauler at SEMA at the Laid Back USA clothing booth I was blown away. And the more I looked and drooled, the more I liked!

Laid Back Hauler

The 47 GMC COE is a real deal patina featured hauler. The owner of Laid Back USA has a couple of woodies he uses as part of the promotional display but felt like he needed something authentic to haul the classics around in.

Enter this GMC truck that was converted into a car hauler in five short months, just ready for a premiere at our friends at Hot Rod’s Power Tour. I especially likedthe innards were modified to be reliable but the exterior was kept “as is” essentially.

Laid Back Clothing

And since Laid Back USA makes a line of classic car themed shirts, you just knew they had to make a shirt for their hauler right?

Here’s a link to the full article from eBay Motors.

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Car show, Manufacturer news, Uncategorized

Krypton Green 2016 Camaro Is Hypnotic

November 14, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

SEMA Show has plenty of amazing new and improved products. But the one display that kept the crowds baffled was Chevrolet’s floor display of a 2016 Camaro – labeled Krypton Green. What kept the crowds mystified was a pulsating display of bow ties on the front quarters.

The display was hypnotic as the bow ties came on and off. Crowds kept looking for a light source or a projector beam but could not find one. Lots of smart guys put their hand in front of the body panel thinking they would block the “light”.

Lumilor Paint

But the bow ties were actually layers of paint – LumiLor paint to be specific that glowed as an electric current was applied to the body panel.

This is a neat look but at $80,000 for the effect, might be out of the budget for most folks. But a great display of undying American ingenuity from Darkside Scientific.

Click here for more details from the eBay Motors blog.

What do you think? Would you do it if you could afford it?

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Car show, Uncategorized

Jimmie Johnson’s 1971 Corvette

October 30, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Jimmie Johnson’s resto-modded 1971 Corvette was featured in the first episode of Jay Leno’s Garage series. The Corvette is awesome and features some modern technology to back up those classic styling lines of a 71 Corvette. But we had a chance to see it first at last year’s SEMA Show and the Chevy Media Preview Show.

Jimmie Johnson at SEMA

Jimmie Johnson was present to discuss his modified Corvette in person and it spent the balance of the week as a highlight of the Chevy display at SEMA.

Corvette LT1 Engine

The engine is a stock crate LT1 engine that puts out 460 horsepower and an even more astounding 465 foot pounds of torque. It was backed up to a 6 speed Super magnum transmission.

The 71 Corvette rides on 18″ rally wheels and is slowed down by C6 Z06 brakes; six pistons up front and four pistons in the rear. The interior included black leather and gray suede bucket seats and a three spoke steering wheel.

Enjoy the pictures! Wonder what the folks from Chevy will bring out to the SEMA show this week/ Look for an update here after SEMA.

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Uncategorized

9-11 A Day We Will Always Remember

September 11, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Patriot Day falls on September 11th (also commonly known as ‘Nine-Eleven’) and remembered globally as the anniversary of the catastrophic terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001. All of us will remember where we were when we first heard of these crashes. In later days I reached out to my friends in DC to check on them.

9-11

Embedded in the memories of everyone who lived through it, this was the day four jet planes were hijacked and crashed into the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, causing the deaths of 2,977 people. The fourth plane (United Airlines Flight 93) was directed at Washington DC, but its passengers bravely attempted to take back control and it crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In the wake of the World Trade Center collisions, many brave men and women from the emergency services risked their lives to try to help rescue victims of the attacks, and of them 411 lost their own lives attempting to fight fires and rescue people.

Patriot Day

Patriot Day is recognized by US law as the official day of remembrance for these tragic events, and has been observed every year since. Each year on this day, American flags are flown at half-staff to honor and commemorate those lives lost. The US President asks fellow Americans to observe a moment of silence at 8:46am (Eastern Daylight Time), the time of the first plane collision into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

While the events took place within the USA, the shock and grief experienced in response to the attacks was shared across the globe.

We will never forget that awful day!

Manufacturer news, Uncategorized

Lingenfelter Car Collection

September 9, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

The Lingenfelter Company is known for hopping up the Corvettes to boost their power and handling. As if a C7 Corvette needed anything more?

Next week on the Velocity Channel starting on Monday September 14, 2015 the car show Car Crazy hosted by Barry Meguiar of the car care business fame will look at the Lingenfelter Collection with Ken Lingfelter.

As a recent press release noted, the show will feature an in-depth look at one of the most outstanding car collections in the world and explore the unique story of the man responsible for this dream garage.

Lingenfelter Collection

The Lingenfelter Collection, assembled and curated by Ken Lingenfelter, owner of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, is a 40,000-square-foot building filled with over 200 unique and historically significant American muscle cars, Corvettes and late-model exotics, including a Bugatti Veyron, a Lamborghini Reventon and eight Ferraris, including a 2015 LaFerrari.

The Collection’s diversity comes from Lingenfelter’s wide-ranging automotive interests and cars he likes. Corvettes, both old and new, are of course featured in the Collection which includes a ’53 Supercharged Corvette, the first supercharged Corvette, (one of two ever produced and the only one believed to still be in existence); the ’54 Duntov Test Mule, which is considered the first true high performance Corvette as well as Lingenfelter Performance Engineering’s new Level One and Level Two tuned C7 Z06s.

This amazing private collection is not only a showcase of some of the coolest cars ever, but it is also serves a noble purpose – helping others. Lingenfelter uses the Collection as a unique venue for public tours and special events to generate financial support for charitable organizations through The Lingenfelter Foundation. Over the years, Collection events have raised funds for breast cancer, juvenile diabetes, youth organizations and other worthwhile causes.

As a quintessential “car guy”, Lingenfelter has a deep appreciation for stylish, high-performance automobiles, and he puts that passion into his work as the owner of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, a leading automotive performance engineering brand with a worldwide reputation for creating performance-tuned GM vehicles, engines and aftermarket components.

Velocity Channel

As usual check your Velocity cable listings for dates and times in your location. Let us know what you think and if you set up the DVR!

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Uncategorized

New sweet low for lowriders

June 15, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

Now I’ve seen my share of lowriders. I love the look and the friendship that these groups have. The craftsmanship in their cars is remarkable.

Lowrider

Usually I expect to see Chevy’s done up; especially a Monte Carlo or an Impala. So imagine my surprise when I ran across this baby in San Diego

Whoever sees a 49 Hudson out and about? Let alone it being a lowrider!

Sweet ride

Here’s the full story from eBay Motors.

Uncategorized

World War Two Memorial – Too Many Stars

May 25, 2015 Route 66 Pub Co Leave a comment

World War Two Memorial

The Washington DC area has plenty of memorials and monuments but for me, the World War Two Memorial is most striking. Daily you see elderly men and women coming to pay their respects for their friends and comrades. It is quite touching to see these people coming to honor others. They truly are part of the greatest generation.

We take a detour from the general automotive theme of this blog to honor all those who fought in conflicts, to allow us to live in freedom.

Too many stars

On the back wall of the memorial is a sea of gold stars. Each star represents 100 Americans who died during World War Two. There are four thousand and forty-eight stars for the 405,399 casualties from the war.

Thank you all !

1949 Power Wagon

Chevy Powered for the Power Wagon

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Nissan GTR

Engraved paint

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HRIA – 55 T-Bird

HRIA – 63 Corvette

HRIA – 55 Ford

HRIA – 59 Rambler

HRIA – 70 Challenger

HRIA- 69 Chevy C-10

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Laid Back Hauler

Laid Back Clothing

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Lumilor Paint

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Jimmie Johnson at SEMA

Corvette LT1 Engine

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9-11

Patriot Day

Lingenfelter Collection

Velocity Channel

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Lowrider

World War Two Memorial

Too many stars

From classics to muscle cars – everything automotive