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Happy 75th Anniversary to Edelbrock !

edelbrock_logoThis year Edelbrock,LLC is commemorating their 75th year in business.  Quite  a deal for any company and especially great for one that focuses so much of their effort in staying “Made in America.”

Edelbrock, under Vic Sr.’s control, first started by making intake manifolds. The Slingshot was a 180° manifold for a Ford flathead using two Stromberg 97 carburetors. This was the first product to feature the famous “EDELBROCK” name.

After World War II, Vic Sr. could focus again on improving the cars and designed his first aluminum racing heads for flathead Fords. Like the Slingshot, these heads were well received. The business was on the way to becoming more of a performance parts shop.  Their first paper catalog was printed in 1946 with the name “Edelbrock Power and Speed Equipment” across the front cover. This catalog included not only Edelbrock heads and intakes but pistons, steering wheels and crankshafts too.

Edelbrock’s gear was in high demand as racers took to the salt flats surrounding the Los Angeles area.  Vic Edelbrock Sr. left us way too early in 1962, but the company prospered under the guidance of Vic Jr. and others.

In the 1960s and 1970s. Edelbrock brought about the Tunnel Ram, Tarantula and Streetmaster manifolds. These were killer parts and in demand across the country.

For the ’80s and ’90s, Edelbrock Corporation expanded into carburetors, camshaft kits, valve train parts, exhaust systems, engine accessories, fuel system parts, and cylinder heads.

Edelbrock has seven California locations totaling over 500,000 square feet: four in Torrance, California  and three close by in San Jacinto, where the aluminum foundries are located.  In 2008 they built  a new Permanent Mold and Heat Treat facility next to their existing sand cast foundry, which has been called “the most state-of-the-art sand cast foundry west of the Mississippi.”.

They are always a strong presence at the SEMA show in Vegas and can’t wait to see their exhibit this year!

 

All images © Edelbrock, LLC

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Justice League Kia Sorento at Comic Con in San Diego

This past week Kia Motors America revealed at San Diego’s Comic Con the last of eight Justice League-themed vehicles – a  Kia Sorento. The Sorento’s design was created by legendary comic book artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee, who finalized the customization of the car before a live audience.  The colorful airbrush artwork and interior customization was done by West Coast Customs.   All eight Justice League inspired Kia vehicles were on display throughout Comic-Con at the Interactive Zone at Petco Park.  Each of the first seven custom cars featured one of the heroes – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg while the final car showed all of the Justice League characters.

Four of the Kia’s were originally displayed at the 2012 SEMA –Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association show in Las Vegas and can be seen here

This last Sorento is being auctioned off now on eBay to benefit DC Entertainment’s charity, the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign.

 

USPS Muscle Cars

1970-plymouth-hemi-cudaUS Postal Service has a slick set of stamps available for all you diehard muscle car fans.  This is the third set of stamps that feature a set of classic cars.  In 2005 they first had five “sporty cars” including the 53 Corvette, a 54 Kaiser Darin with its sliding door, a 52 Nash Healey convertible, a Studebaker Starliner from 1953 and a black 55 Ford T-Bird.

In 2008 they added again five ”fin and chrome” cars from the 50’s; 1 57 Chrysler 300C, a 57 Lincoln Premiere, a 57 Pontiac Safari (often mistaken for the Chevy Nomad), a 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk and a 59 Cadillac Eldorado convertible.

Now they released a set of “Muscle” cars as “forever” stamps.  The five are a 1966 Pontiac GTO, the 1967 Shelby GT-500, an orange 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, the 1970 Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda sporting Lime Light colors and a red 1970 Chevelle SS convertible.

The kick off for the release of the stamps was held in Daytona Beach, Florida and included NASCAR’s Richard Petty and his son Kyle.  The art work was done for this series by Tom Fritz and looks great.  Tom’s portfolio shows that he nails the look of these cars.

The 66 GTO marked the first year it was offered by Pontiac as a standalone model.  Most of you gearheads probably already know that GTO stood for the Italian phrase, Gran Turismo Omologato. 

The 67 Shelby GT-500 drawn with the white LeMans strip was a sharp, if rare, look.

Rare also characterizes the winged Daytona Charger as only 503 were sold, to appease NASCAR rules.  These winged monsters dominated the left turn circuit until outlawed by the bosses at NASCAR.  There are now more clones of the winged cars in existence than ever made by Dodge.

At least the 70 ‘Cuda was slightly more available, but still less than 700 were sold and on the auction circuit; they are now million dollar cars.  The last one offered for sale at Barrett-Jackson went for $ 88,000  2013 Palm Beach Auction

The 70 Chevelle in regular SS trim had one of two available 454 big blocks.  One model also went for $88,000 recently at the Palm Beach Auction for Barrett-Jackson

What a speedy way to grace your envelopes when you send out a letter!  People do send out letters, right?

Illustrations courtesy of USPS © 2013

Hug a tree and buy a Corvette Stingray

 

I can hear it now, “But honey buying a new Corvette will save us money and help the environment!”

As if anybody needed any more inducements to buy the new 2014 Corvette, the first year for the seventh generation of the iconic American sports car, now you can add great gas mileage!

General Motors recently announced that the 2 seater Stingray, with a powerful 455 horsepower V8 LT1 engine mated with a manual transmission, will have an EPA sticker estimate for gas mileage of 29 miles per gallon on the highway, and 17 miles in the city.  And yet the car will still go 0-60 MPH in under 4 seconds.  All this with a LT1 engine that is delivering 6% more horsepower than the 2013 model.

Now surprisingly Corvettes have been saddled with the misconception that muscle cars are gas hogs.  Even today some current offerings from Detroit are not known as miserly fuel users.  But Corvettes for years have been able to provide their happy owners with some great gas mileage.

General Motors was able to obtain the highway estimate by two tricks; the standard test was in “tour” mode and improved upon by using the “eco” mode – Active Fuel Management.  Under ideal situations, with eco mode the engine turns off fuel to four of the cylinders without significant changes in performance.  I have that same system on a six banger Impala and when it switches off three cylinders, I wouldn’t notice it without the dashboard indicator.

The second trick is the manual transmission involves SEVEN gears.  This allows drivers to get a big right bicep while swapping gears and optimizing performance.

It’ll be interesting to see how the automatic fares under the EPA rules.  The automatic will also use Active Fuel management to conserve fuel.

So now you can have a car with both performance and economy!  Thanks GM

 

 

Happy 60th Birthday – Corvette

Unveiling of the 60th Anniversary Corvette at Barrett-Jackson Auction
Unveiling of the 60th Anniversary Corvette at Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, AZ

America’s longest lasting sports car icon, the Corvette, first went into production in Flint, Michigan. on June 30, 1953. Since then, Corvette has become an American icon that continues to offer the arguably best in today’s technology and performance for the price.

Over 1.5 million cars have been produced over the past sixty years.

All 300 of the 1953 models were Polo White with a red interior and listed at $3,498.

Since 1956, the sport scar has only been powered by V8 engines. Corvette was available solely as a convertible for its first 10 years.

Since 1981 Bowling Green, KY has been the birthplace for all Corvettes offering both a factory tour and a Corvette museum on the premises.

Chevy’s Suburban is the only nameplate that has been in production longer in America.

 

Dean Jeffries – car customizer – rest in peace

Car customizer, engineer and stunt driver Dean Jeffries died in his sleep recently at the age of 80.

Die hards will recognize both his name and his cars.  Dean might not have had the greatest publicist,  but he was a renaissance man when it came to cars.

Of course his customs done for Hollywood are instantly recognizable.  The Monkeemobile, the Green Hornet and the Beach Boy’s cover car from their Little Deuce Coupe album were all his handiwork.

He started out as a painter- striper and worked with Von Dutch.  He added the script to James Dean’s Porsche Spyder – Little Bastard.  He moved over to George Barris’s shop and honed his metal working skills.  He painted the first Shelby Cobra for Carroll Shelby.

You can lean more at www.deanjeffries.com

 

Rest in Peace

2014 Corvette Stingray will be shod with Michelin’s

For the recent past, Corvettes came out of Detroit with Goodyear Run Flats.  The stiff sidewall helped carry the tire in the event of no air pressure but also contributed to a stiff ride.  many owners derisively referred to them as run craps.

Many owners actually used regular speed rated tires and risked a flat tire or carried a small portable compressor and a patch kit.  Some switched to Michelin’s version of the run flats – the ZP – Zero Pressure

For 2014 the Corvette Stingray (the C7 generation) will sport Michelin’s Pilot Super Sport ZP.  These tires will have the same size but should offer a smoother ride.  It’ll be interesting to see what the new owners say, and why Goodyear was dropped.

 

As seen at SEMA, Bryan Fuller’s Thunder Taker now in Hot Rod Magazine

We first saw this stretched out hearse at the SEMA show in 2012.  It was done by Bryan Fuller of Fuller Hot Rods in Atlanta.  At the 2011 SEMA show Bryan was the spokesperson/celebrity for Gear  Wrench.

Now Hot Rod Magazine’s April, 2013 issue features it with a great story and pictorial.  http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_1305_thundertaker_1960_cadillac_superior_coachworks_hearse/viewall.html

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This car took THREE years to build and is just an awesome 8,000 pounds of Detroit metal.  Great paint job and a nicely executed custom ride.

 

NHRA at Phoenix, AZ – End of an era or a new begining?

Drag racing
Erica Enders-Stevens NHRA Pro Stock driver

This weekend marked the 29th annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) meet at Phoenix’s Firebird Raceway.  But is it the end?  The dragstrip is on leased land owned by the Gila River Indian Community and was once out in the middle of nowhere on the southeast edge of the Phoenix area.  The 30 year lease expires at the end of March, 2013 and while the president of NHRA is optimistic, one can only hope that a new management team can keep NHRA coming back in 2014.

Phoenix is blessed with not only being the site of all four major sports – baseball, football, basketball and hockey – but also hosts two NASACR races and the Arizona Nationals for the NHRA.

Hopefully we’ll see NHRA back for more action like Erica Enders-Stevens’ win this past week.  What do you think?