Love For Zephyrs. The Old Ones. The Ones With V12’s.

If there is one thing in life that everybody in the world can agree on, it’s Lincoln Zephyr’s.  Everybody on this giant, soaking wet planet loves an old Zephyr. That’s is a fact! This one? It was in…credible! Say this next part out loud slowly so that you really feel it – Running V12. Solid original steel. 1955 window sticker. Original spare tire. “Hoover for president” license plate. And, never ending class that post Y2K humans don’t even know about. Yes, this car was mint-colored automotive lovin’ for sure. Why didn’t I buy it? I don’t have any idea. Dumbest move ever. Thanks for reminding me.

Worth noting: Someday, I’m going to learn how to use a camera.

 

1972 Nova Project: Repairing The New Roof… Still.

Two weeks ago, I repaired the rear section of the “new” roof on the 1972 Nova project. This past weekend, I focused on the front passenger A-pillar, because like the rear, it was also trash. I began by cutting the rotted metal out with the cut off wheel.  I then bent a piece of steel at a 90 degree angle with a hammer & vice.  From there, I shrank the metal, which caused it to beautifully curve.  Then it was just a matter of MIG welding it to the existing roof and a-pillar, and grinding it smooth.  Once I am totally happy with it, I’ll soak the inside of it with some type of coating to prevent rust. After all, that’s what got us here in the first place.

Also – If you are enjoying this build, hating this build, have a question, or want to just shoot the breeze with us, leave a comment below. Without comments, we never know if this sort of topic is loved or hated!

Thanks,

-Jeremy

Deceleration: This is it.

The X-Games is awesome to watch, but not so awesome when people crash and get injured.  That was the case with Toomas Heikkinen a few days ago. It was rumored that he broke his ankle and got a few other bumps and bruises.  Considering the speed and the extremely abrupt deceleration, I’d say he did fairly well if that was his worst injury.

1972 Nova Project: Repairing The New Roof Edition

The last time that we had talked about the 1972 Nova project was when I had cut off the old roof skin, and rested the “new” one in its place.  Since then, I welded the skin into its new home, and began repairing the sections of it that were rotted.  Now, before I go any further, you might be saying “You replaced a rotted roof skin with a rotted roof skin? What the what?!”  And the answer is yes. Yes I did. See, people in New England can’t have nice things because of rust. The “new” roof was “very solid” (for New England metal) except for the whole rear section where the glass sits.  Water had clearly pooled there for quite a while and destroyed all the metal in that area.  BUT. Replacing that section was about one thousand times easier than replacing the entire middle of the old roof.  So that’s what I did.

Once the back of the roof was somewhat together, I decided to see how terrible the front sheetmetal was going to fit.  That process would have gone really well if the mounts for the lower fender bolts still existed. Sadly they did not.  So, I now I have to make those.  Great.

 

On Any Given Sunday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins the Quicken Loans 400

On any given Sunday Dale Earnhardt Jr. was due to end his winless streak, and end it he did during Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

He is to date the only driver to have completed every lap so far in the 2012 season, and has six top fives and twelve top ten finishes so far this year. It’s that kind of consistency that put Dale Earnhardt Jr. in victory lane on Sunday.

With 70 laps to go, junior’s car was hooked up and drove as if it were on rails. He was just flat-out fast on the restarts and was able to pull away from the pack on the high line.

With around 20 to go Tony Stewart was running second and said to his crew chief “Don’t worry, he ain’t going nowhere”. That statement proved to be wrong as Dale put a hurtin to the rest of the field with a five second lead on the second place car which was Stewart.

Dale crossed the finish line and all of Junior Nation rose to their feet in the grandstand to show support for Dale Earnhardt Jr.; It brought cheers and tears to many fans wearing green that day as their driver did a nice smokey burnout past the grandstand.

When he crossed the finish line in true Dale fashion, he radioed into crew chief Steve Letarte and said “I don’t know what to say”, Steve replied “You Really won it, Dale!”.

On his way to victory lane he was meet win high fives and praise from his follow competitors, and also got on his cell phone to call team owner Rick Hendrick. Dale thanked him for standing by him and not giving up hope during the tough times. He was also greeted by president of NASCAR Mike Helton who congratulated Dale.

Dale’s win on Sunday wasn’t just a win, it was just a great “feel good moment” for NASCAR in which many fans banded together to celebrate with NASCAR’S most popular driver.

Photo Credit Hendrick Motorsports

Half Ton Transformer – Style Wine Rack Made From Transmission Parts


Over the years, the 1A Auto Blog has seen some outrageous automotive-related creations.  Remember that awesome bench seat made from a truck bed? And the incredible table made of wrenches ? Both were game changers no doubt, but today your world is about to be flipped over and shaken up. Yes, today we have a 6 foot tall transformer-like wine rack that would frighten an army of cyborgs away from Sarah Connor. Without. Question. The best part you ask?  It’s for sale on Craigslist. So you can own it.

In the seller’s own words:

“For the discerning individual who appreciates artwork and wine – you now have a great opportunity to meld those together into one piece of artwork that will display your bottle collection like no other wine rack. This will make you the talk of your wine club, HOA, alcoholics anonymous support group, etc…

There are only several times in one’s life when one has the opportunity to purchase something that is RIDICULOUSLY COOL. This is one of those moments.

Need something unique? Sure, you could certainly go to the local Mercedes dealership and pick up a G55 or wait until next year’s G63 comes out and yes, it would be unique, you’d be the talk of your friends, and ride around in style but it wouldn’t be any different than the next G55 or G63 rolling around. Nooooo waaaaaaay man! Those suckers are mass produced!! You see those all over the place in Scottsdale!

What ya need is a one-off piece of artwork that you will not find anywhere else in the metropolitan area and likely – the entire state.

SPECIFICATIONS

Height: 6 feet
Weight: Approx 1,000lbs
Material contents: Used transmission parts from automobiles and motorcycles. There are even parts on the statue that are stamped with the “Ford” logo
Bottle capacity: 32 bottles depending on size of bottle.

All parts used to artistically weld together this stunning piece of artwork have been dipped into a solution to neutralize and remove any oil, grime, or chemicals to ensure there are no corrosive chemicals left. The entire piece was then painted gun metal grey and then clear coated. It has blue LED lights that have been carefully wired into the body all along the leg and up into the torso to the top of the shoulder. There are also LED lights mounted in the “calf” of the leg.

Interested in buying this ridiculously awesome wine rack that will push you into celebrity status amongst your peers/neighborhood/human race?”

 

Transformer Wine Rack Craiglist Ad

Transformer Wine Rack Screen Capture