The Automotive lesson today is:
When you drop your cut off wheel on the ground, or step on it, the wheel is going to break and leave you standing there surprised…. again. No matter how many times you try, you can’t just fold it back and use the broken blade because you know it flies off dangerously every time. Seriously? You gotta stop trying that.
Between 1993 and 1998, Lincoln made two generations of the Mark VIII. The first gen was 1993-96 and the second was 1997-98. I always thought that they were a very underrated car, because there was much greatness hiding under their skin.
Being a rear wheel drive was the most obvious great quality, but they also had an all aluminum, 32 valve 4.6L that pushed out 280 ish horsepower and about the same amount of torque. The power went through an automatic (hey, no car is without faults, Lincoln wasn’t doing manuals at the time.), and sent the power through its independent rear suspension. It had enough electronics to make Kitt feel inadequate, and a massive futuristic curved dashboard that flowed into the doors. They all had 4 wheel disc brakes, and they even ran 15 second quarter mile times in stock form. Not too bad for a relatively heavy car right? Read More
Some people are really great at building things out of metal, like Beck Mechanical for example. See, waaaay back in 2006 “Nine Ball” on LS1Tech wanted the most awesome intake manifold ever (my words, not his) for his 427ci LS7. Beck Mechanical made it happen. Read More
Back in the 1950’s, car stereos were a luxury that not just anybody could afford. In the 1960’s, they became a cool thing to “delete” on your new car order to keep the weight and 1/4 mile times as low as possible. In the 1970’s, stereos were much more common, and if you were a big deal, you may have even had an 8-track player. Dig it? The 1980’s happened and tape players were the pinnacle of automotive sound. You could rewind your favorite song and listen to it over and over again. 1990’s brought compact discs, which made rewinding a laughable idea, until you scratched your $17 CD and it became only usable for hanging from your rear view mirror. Hey, if you got it, flaunt it. We all survived the ominous Y2K, and stereos are now standard equipment…….or are they?
VDub2625 over on VWVortex spotted this new 2011 Jetta in a local dealer. It is the meaning of a base model, like no radio sort of “base”. Why you ask? Well, because they are selling it brand new for $13K, and viola, it is posted all over the interwebs for being a strange bird. Win? Lose? I don’t even know? Read More
This weekend the Nascar Sprint Cup series will be racing at Bristol. Bristol traditionally is one of those tracks where cages get rattled, and the old bump and run used to be the only way to pass a guy and get by him.
Since they have changed the track banking, it has opened up from a one groove track to two and even sometimes three lanes of racing. Even with the changes, the atmosphere at Bristol is incredible. It’s a half mile of short track racing with steep seating completely around the track that reminds you of a roman coliseum.
It’s also the loudest track on the circuit, because of the way its designed there’s no way for the noise to escape. Pit crews aren’t able to talk to one another like they do at other tracks, so they use hand signals and pass pieces of paper with instructions to one another to get the job done. Read More
In 1929 Los Angeles had opened an amusement park with an automotive roller coaster. The roller coaster was constructed of wooden planks, banked turns, 5-10 foot hills, and stretched for 2243 feet. Basically you would pay for a one trip ticket that allowed you to drive your 1920’s automobile around the track, following guidelines that were placed on the wood for cars to follow.
A railing was erected around the edges of the track to keep cars on course, and there was room to pass another vehicle if you had to. There was also a speed limit on the track as to how fast you were suppose to be able to drive around the course. Once you were done with your driving experience, you could then park in the middle of the automotive roller coaster if you wanted to for an additional fee.
I have seen some old footage of this on TV before, and couldn’t help but think of all of the modern day safety devices that those cars lacked.
Image Borrowed From: yourfridayafternoondistraction.com
If you are a car enthusiast, there are a few videos that you are obligated to view at some point in life. “C’était un rendez-vous” is one of them. Like many good things, it is surrounded in lies and controversy, but fake or not, it gets your adrenaline pumping and the sound is music to the ears.
The story goes…… that in 1976, a guy named Claude Lelouch raced through Paris at high speeds in the early morning hours driving his Ferrari 275 GTB. He scattered birds, endangered the public, and generally ignored all rules of the road. You can distinctly hear the heel-toe shifting and the revving V12 as the car flies through narrow intersections and sharp corners. It is 9 minutes of ear candy……as strange as that sounds. Much like yesterday, crank your volume up!
Can’t see the video? Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Vo8iGLMwk
The truth is unfortunately far less thrilling than the video. Apparently the camera is actually attached to a Claude’s Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL (yawn..) and the sound was dubbed in after. The sound is likely from his V12 Ferrari 275 GTB though, just not the one flying through the streets of Paris, because that one never existed. Regardless of reality, it is a fun video to watch, and a great topic to bring up when you’re bench racing with your buddy’s in the garage.