Funny, all this talk of the "Buick/Rover"-powered British cars and someone left out Buick's nemesis, the Aluminum Oldsmobile V8 used in the Lotus 19 and the Ford-powered Cooper Monte Carlo, known affectionately as the "King Cobra", driven by Bob Holbert, father of the late champion, Al Holbert. ... View more

I thought the GT40 was an American car. ... View more

Oops, The Chrysler Hemi-powered cars were built by Briggs Cunningham. ... View more

Yes ... View more

When I was just a kid, my dad took me to the Pebble Beach Road Races, where Bill Pollack's Cad-Allard was the car to beat. Another Detroit-powered car was Old Yellar, a Buick V8 powered "special". Interestingly, the Allard used a 1940's-era Ford I-Beam front axle, cut in half and hinged in the middle, providing independent front suspension. When Pollack got on the throttle, the front ebd lifted enough to make the front tires appear to be tucking under...very interesting, but effective. The Chrysler Hemi V8 powered roadsters were too heavy to be competitive against the Allards... ... View more

My all-time Cadillac favorites, in the Model 75 class, are the 1956 (as shown) and the 1938 in the V-8 version. I once had a 1937 Fleetwood that made quite a hit at my high school graduation, many decades ago. I wish I still had that beast: 4 Miles Per Gallon, going downhill. It was equipped with the famous, '37 Caddy 3-speed on the floor, and shifted like a dream...sigh... ... View more

Interestingly, the Olds 215 was used in sports car racing, such as the Lotus 19, but the Buick 215 never made the cut... ... View more

Interesting that the Oldsmobile 215 V-8 was not even mentioned in the article, nor was the Buick 231 V-6 or the 229. In addition, 1977 was not the first turbocharged GM engine; it was the 215 Oldsmobile "Jetfire", aluminum V-8 with 215 HP out of 215 cubic inches. Buick and Olds were 'holding hands" with their little aluminum V-8s; so, it's hard to figure why you left Oldsmobile out of the article, save for the much heavier 330. ... View more

It is interesting to note that Jaguar did not use the term, Roadster, to describe their "Open Two Seater", but actually called it an Open Two Seater. Back in the day, I owned a 1950 OTS, a 1951 OTS, a 1953 OTS, a 1956 Coupe and a 1964 Coupe. Yes, I still have the brass "dash plaque" from one of the roadsters, plus many memories... ... View more

That should hold about 2-3 gallons! ... View more

The Model T Roadster track car is not a 1927, but either a 1924 or 1925. Either way, I would ruin it by removing the FoMoCo flathead and replacing it with a period, modified 394 Oldsmobile V8. Then the car would be perfect! ... View more

In high school, I drove a 1937 Cadillac "Fleetwood" 65 sedan. When Hagerty listed a 1937 Cadillac Fleetwood 75, I was ecstatic to see the similarity to my old rig. Please note that the Fleetwoods of the good old days were "custom" Cadillacs, likely no two were totally alike. For instance, My '37 had a rear window screen that rolled up (or down, I cannot remember). It had a radio antenna, made of Bakelite-covered steel, that ran the underside length of the driver's side running board. It had a flop-down foot rest for the rear passengers and it had three-raised, chrome plated metal ridges at the front of each running board, allowing one to wash the windshield without touching the running board, while standing on these ridges. These are just a few of the items that my '37 had that the Hagerty '37 did not. Mine was black, also, but had huge Appleton Fog Lights attached to the front bumper. I sold my Fleetwood in about 1964. I wnder where it is today... ... View more

Comparing Leno's Model J Coupe to a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado is pretty silly, since the Cadillac is around TWENTY FEET LONG, but has about SIX FEET of overhang. The Leno car certainly has a long wheelbase (about 12.8-inch wheelbase), but has very little overhang. I would venture a guess that the Cadillac is much longer overall. Incidentally, many classic cars had bodies built by "other" manufacturers; so, the Leno car is not so fake after all. ... View more

It is interesting that the 194 CI Pontiac Tempest 4 cyl was actually a 389 cut down the middle. Mickey Thompson became quite famous, running Pontiac-powered dragsters, first with 389s, then 194s, then a 2 Cylinder Tempest engine cut in half, front to back! ... View more

In about 1964 Buick put a cast iron, 250ci block under aluminum 215 heads. Buick folks can let me know if I am correct. ... View more

Make that "powered by a 302..." ... View more

It really does work; in the late fifties/early sixties, my father drag raced a '27 Model T Roadster by a 302ci GMC inline six. The bore/stroke was 4"x4"... ... View more

We went to Ireland, many years ago and gasoline was about 57.9 "pence per liter". When on the road, it was really tricky tying to compute their old fuel costs to $US per gallon. Let's see, "946 ccs per quart and 4 quarts per gallon, then $1.61 to One Irish Punt (Pound)".. Try to figure that one out while driving on the Left side of the road with a right-hand drive Nissan Micra! ... View more

If you REALLY want to get technical, a worn out engine contains a greater displacement than when it was new, owing to bigger cylinders! ... View more

I bought a brand new, 325cc "350" when I got out of the Army in 1968. It was a CB350 and an absolute rocket! I think ir had a redline of 10,600RPM, but I often shifted it at 12 grand. For its day, it was a fast little motorcycle. ... View more

You mentioned the "370" Pontiac block used in the GMC. My recollection is that the larger GMCs used the 1957-1958 Oldsmobile 371 engine, relabeled a "370" for the truck. I don't know of a 370 Pontiac. They had a 287, 317, 347, a 389 and the 421 in the earlier years as I recall. No 370.engine. ... View more

Planting a 4.3 GM V-6 in the back of the Samba and "Cor-Van" could resurrect those icons of bygone days. Forget the AC-DC lack luster, buzz bombs of the 21st century. ... View more

Tony T is correct; the early P-51 had an Allison V12-1710 cubic inch engine that was similar to the type used in the P-38 Lightning, P-39 Aircobra, the P-40 Warhawk, P-63 King Cobra and P-82 Twin Mustang. Except for the P-38 Lightning, which was also turbo-charged, the other aircraft used single-stage, single speed centrifugal superchargers, England's Rolls Royce Merlin was a 1650 cubic inch V-12 with a s-stage, 2-speed supercharger, better suited to chasing high altitude, German Fighters. Through the lend-lease program, England acquired sever P-51s and found that the Aiison just couldn't make the grade, so they inserted some Merlins into the Mustang and found out that the "improved" Mustang was a "rocket"! It could outperform ANY other fighter at low and high altitude. Packard received a license to build Packard Merlins for the U.S. built Mustangs and the rest is history. By the way, the American PT boats did not use the Merlin, but rather used three Allison V-12s in each boat. They were extremely fast on the water... ... View more

Our local (California) county fair has an antique farm display and a local gentleman brings a 1927 Model T Roadster Pickup with the "tractor" conversion. The front fenders are left on and there are no front "skis", just the rear tractor cleats. It is very cool! ... View more

I once had a MOMO Aluminum steering wheel on my old Porsche. The custom hub was made of aluminum and the six inhex (Allen) screws that fastened the wheel were steel. Over time the leather wheel covering wore out and I decided to replace the wheel. I tried to remove the wheel from the hub, but the steel screws had "bonded" to the aluminum hub and stripped out, permanently attaching the wheel to the hub. A larger "Torx" screw may have eliminate the problem. ... View more

Early 911s used a 12-point "star drive" on their CV joints. ... View more

Ugly hubcaps, funky grill, stupid headlights and stuck-on tail lights, altogether, do not make a Cadillac Corvette, just an East LA Custom... ... View more

The headlights would have been illegal in California. I know because I built a "Bucket T Roadster" while in high school and the lights had to 24 inches about the ground... ... View more

I had been told that the twisted hulk of the body/chassis was hauled around to schools in California by the California Highway Patrol.  The touring wreck was allegedly displayed to graphically show the perils of high speed driving on public highways. ... View more

What a piece of CRAP!  Why would you sully your image putting such a travesty on your website? ... View more

An RX-2 race car "idled" past me in the pits at Laguna Seca, many years ago.  Even at idle the hideous splattering sound of a thousand chainsaws ripped the otherwise, modest sounds around the pits.  I could not even imagine how loud that car would be under full power on the track...luckily for me and others, the car's track time came the next day, after I was in the comfort of my own home. ... View more

The bent front bumper support lends credence that this frame is very possibly that of the author.  Be that as it may, my story is about a 1965 Spitfire 4 (AKA Mk1).  The little red sports roadster was actually my wife's car; she loved it till the "end".  The beginning of the end came when the Spitfire was rear-ended at an intersection by a 1970 Pontiac LeMans.  That pointy grill/bumper was jammed directly into the center of the Spitfire's rear end.  Damage was substantial, but the driver of the other car worked for the Pontiac dealer and made an arrangement with his employer to have the TR repaired and resprayed at the dealer's body shop.  They did a great job and we had the car back in no time.  After a while, we noticed something wasn't quite right about the little roadster.  We passed it off as a "British Car Quirk" and drove the car for a couple more years.  Later, during a routine car service, the technician told us that the car had a bent rear axle.  We thought he was kidding until he showed us that the right rear tire "wobbled" when it rotated, however very slightly.  It had been a couple of years since the collision, but the bent axle likely was a result of that fender bender.  We decided to keep driving the car until it started using oil.  The Spitfire's engine breather was insufficient to support the "blow-by" created by the aging engine; so, oil began to dribble out of the dip stick tube.  Unfortunately, the dipstick tube was directly above the exhaust pipe and oill started dripping onto the hot exhaust pipe.  Living in California, it was just a matter of time before a CHP Officer "wrote us up" for a smoky vehicle.  We were given the choice of repairing the aging engine or parking the car.  Personal finances prohibited rebuilding the engine; so; we sold the car, as-is, to a gentleman who would repair the engine and keep the car on the road.  The body and interior were perfect, the near-new tires were mounted on Lotus Elan wheels and everything else on the car was perfect.  We accepted $100 cash for the car and watched it drive off into the sunset.  Oh, if we only still had that cute, little car... ... View more

Make that "known"... ... View more

Air cleaners are not just for cleaning air, but also for "silencing" the noisy flow of air into the engine.  The larger air cleaner housing muffles the sound, as does a large exhaust muffler.  Cadillac and Oldsmobile were know for their quiet-running engines, back in the day. ... View more

I think so  Hubcaps falling off???  I lost a hubcap once when I was driving on a rough road!  I think this article was written by a high school kid who was dreaming of getting his driver license... ... View more

Make that McDonnell-Douglas; they didn't sell hamburgers, nor did they own a farm! ... View more

My favorite is the 54-55 Oldmobile... CHROME CITY!  They lost their impact when they started going to ovals from circular instruments.  Just my opinion.  I gave up my '54 Super 88 "post" when I was drafted in 1966.  Really miss that car AND the times we had, back then. ... View more

Ah yes, the wonderful Allison V-1710.  It had a 5.25-inch bore and a 6.0-stroke, displacing 1710 cubic inches.  After World War Two, they could be had for pennies on the dollar.  A few adventurous long-haulers put them in semi trucks, but the fuel consumption made them prohibitive to operate.  They excelled, however, in unlimited hydroplanes and were used until quite recently in those speedboats.  A young, Art Arfons, built his original "Green Monsters" using Allison engines.  The WW2 P-38 Lightning used two contra rotating, TURBOCHARGED Allison V-12s in the enigmatic fighter.  The first aerial "kill" of the Korean War was made flying a Twin Mustang P-82, which was powered by an Allison V-12 in each of its two fuselages.  In addition, WW2 "PT Boats" used three Allison V-12 engines, housed in a lightweight, plywood hull...VERY FAST!  Eventually, Detroit Diesel (GMC) built truck and marine versions of the 12V71 and -91 series of engines.  So, General Motors has a ton of experience with building V-12 engines. ... View more

It's noteworthy that my 1937 Fleetwood sedan also had 135 horsepower out of 346 cubic inches... ... View more

My first Cadillac V8 was a big, black 1937 Model 65 Fleetwood, four-door sedan.  I bought it for $150 when I was a junior in high school.  Innovations were AM radio with hidden antenna, hydraulic (silent) valve lifters, traditional grey wool gabardine interior (felt like cashmere), triple-beam headlights and more.  The engine was loaded with torque and the car drove quietly and smoothly.  Gas mileage was lousy, but gas was cheap back then, in the early sixties.  Cadillac kept that same engine through the 1948 model, then went to the 331 overhead valve engine.  By the way, the Cadillac V12 and V16 were overhead valve also.  Wonderful automobiles. ... View more

Unfortunately, we have about 1000 miles of Pacific Coastline.  Cars that call home to that coast are likely suffering from some body rot...like my '86 Caballero... ... View more

Notice the California license plates, where rust does not rule! ... View more

From 1959 through 1963, the Cadillac was powered by a 390.  The final nailhead Buick was a 425, not a 401. ... View more