Hey 1974 Corvette – Why The 2 Piece Bumper?

Jeremy Nutt 4 Comments

Did you know that the 1974 Corvette’s had a 2 piece rear bumper?  It was the only year that they were like that, which makes them really easy to pick out at car shows.  In my opinion, it looks completely unfinished.  I have to imagine that the Corvette design team got together with all of their Burt Reynolds-esque mustaches, and just said “meh, let’s run with what we have, nobody will ever notice this unfinished bumper.”

If they could mate all of the body panels together to build the corvette body, why on earth couldn’t they do a 1 piece rear bumper? Was the 2 piece bumper really part of the design or was it a engineering limitation that they  sorted out by 1975?  Do any Corvette aficionados out there have the scoop?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Burnout Videos: Twin Turbo Cadillac CTS-V Edition

Jeremy Nutt Leave a comment

Friday is always a day of celebration. Here on the 1A Auto Blog, we usually do something fun like posting up burnout videos.  Well, today will not be any different.  Just when I thought that I couldn’t love Cadillac CTS-V’s any more, people stick twin turbo’s on them, and make burnout videos.  Here are three of them FYE…

Can’t see the video? Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKeKgdpHEYQ

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We Found That Noise Under Your Jimmy.

Jeremy Nutt 2 Comments

The other night, I helped my friend swap out the two universal joints on the rear drive shaft of his 1986 GMC Jimmy (full size).  He said it was getting a little bit scary drive.  That means a lot coming from him because he has been known to blissfully drive vehicles that others fear to sit in, never mind take the helm of.  His last few jaunts to work and back were full of brain numbing vibrations that made the world around him appear to be a blur.

We removed the drive shaft after feeling the sloppiness in it, and we were both confident that there was going to be a serious lack of needle bearings inside.  We were not disappointed.  When we knocked the u-joint out of the yoke, there were no bearings left in one of the caps. Very niiiice. Where the bearings once lived, sat a pile of the finest metal dust that destruction can provide.  A few laughs were had, the new universal joints slid right in, and the big honkin’ GMC Jimmy lives again.

All I Want For My 100th Birthday Is…To Take Out The Pace Car!

Jeremy Nutt 1 Comment

Rachel Gilbert of Laconia NH has been a life long fan of stock car racing. She has been following the sport since 1960, and was hooked on the sport when she attended the  Daytona 500 and watched guys like Richard Petty and Bobby Allison run side by side and battle their way around the track.

So for her 100th birthday her family and Jerry Gappens from New Hampshire Motor Speedway set up a birthday celebration that would surely excite any hardcore race fan.

As part of her birthday celebration package presented by NHMS, Rachel got to drive the tracks pace car around the speedway with Gappens riding shotgun and showing her how to drive around the track.

She was also presented with a race car cake, a Lenox Industrial Tools Hat, and a NHMS jacket along with a birthday card. She said that Carl Edwards was her favorite driver, so Edwards sent her a signed official crew shirt.

Rachel says that she never misses a race on TV.

Picture Borrowed from NHMS.com

Lexus Carbon Fiber Video: “The Hard Way Is The Only Way”

Jeremy Nutt 1 Comment

Lexus claims that “the hard way is the only way” in their latest YouTube video. Apparently they make carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) for the Lexus LFA on a giant circular loom that they invented themselves. It is really quite cool to watch if I do say so myself.  Whoever engineered this thing deserves multiple high five’s. Enjoy the video!

Can’t see the video? Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry9uiP2I6kQ

Originally spotted this cool video on:
http://www.core77.com/

On Ebay: “The Most Famous Film Car In The World!”

Jeremy Nutt 2 Comments

After 40+ years of existence, the time has finally arrived for the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (MGM, 1968) “GEN 11” car to land itself on eBay.  The starting bid is 1 million dollars, and it has a higher reserve price, so if you are expecting to snipe this relic at the last minute for $450 before anybody else notices it, sorry, it just isn’t happening.

This massive car… boat…er…. plane weighs 2 tons, and was hand crafted with old school tools way back in the 1960’s. It runs, drives, and stops, but it doesn’t fly or float.  It’s got an aluminum hood, cedar boat body, a few plane parts here and there, and enough brass to make you want to never polish again.  It also has a fairly famous history that you may have heard about. Read More