Full Circle

Once upon a time the neighborhood gearhead gave me a big box of car magazines. Among the titles were Super Stock & Drag Illustrated, Popular Hotrodding, HOT ROD and Car Craft. Inspired by the images that graced those glossy pages, I dreamed of someday building a righteous ride of my own. The '69 GTX I've enjoyed for more than 25 years has evolved to it's current state in pursuit of that dream. Though the GTX is far from perfect, it's fun and people seem to dig it! Last summer at the Car Craft Summer Nationals a young man approached me and struck up a conversation. Shortly into the conversation he asked if I'd be interested in a photo shoot, introducing himself as Car Craft magazine's John McGann. To make a long story short, he had photographer Wes Allison shoot it that evening. The result of his efforts are on display in the July '09 issue of Car Craft. I think his work is amazing, especially the motion shots. I hope the images inspire a young enthusiast to dream and provide them with a lifetime of enjoyment in the hobby. Then things will have truly gone full circle...

Check out the GTX feature at CarCraft.com

Havin' some fun!

L to R: Ben (UF), Benny, Monk, Chris, Ron

Ben, Ron and I rolled out for the 20 minute drive to the Buick Club Show at 6:30 this morning. The GTX sure ran good in the 45° air, if Snelling Avenue wasn't so full of ruts and potholes I could have easily got into a little trouble. Once there, we figured out where to park. I cleaned a few bugs off the windshield then headed off to the swap meet area. On the way we conned a passer-by into snapping a group shot of us in our snappy new IBM Car Club bowling shirts. Billy, Warren and JR wandered off and managed to avoid having their mugs posted on the 'net.

All in all it was a great day! We caught up with old friends, soaked up some sunshine and enjoyed some cool cars. Exactly what we look forward to all winter...


She still cleans up pretty good...

1st Show of 2009

Gopher State Chapter of the Buick club of America will be hosting their annual car show and swap meet at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Sunday May 3. A bunch if the IBM Car Club guys are planning to attend if the weather is decent. Hopefully, we'll see you there...

Spring has Sprung...

Finally, it's time to get the toys out of the garage.

Ron updated some stuff on his '69 340 Swinger over the winter. Among the changes is a set of Caltracs, 3.91 489 Sure-Grip differential, tranny tailhousing, billet shifter mounting bracket, motor mounts and line-lock. Once Ron puts the ET Street drag radials back on his Dart it should be pretty quick. I think I can still take him though...

Crane Cams says it plans to reopen

I found this at another site, Doug's 1320 garage at HubGarage .com

Crane Cams says it plans to reopen after restructuring

By GREG MIGLIORE

A picture of Crane Cams says it could reopen in 30 days. Crane Cams says it could reopen in 30 days. Well-known cam shafts company Crane Cams shut down Feb. 24 for restructuring but says it plans to reopen, likely sometime in March. All of the company’s 280 workers were laid off, though about 25 remain to work on military contracts. The closure was in response to the global economic problems, said vice president Steve Leva. He said the Daytona Beach, Fla., company planned to reopen in as soon as a week, or it may take up to 30 days. Crane’s parts have become synonymous with performance and have been used by A. J. Foyt, the Wood Brothers, Bill Elliott, Richard Petty and many other well-known drivers. The 56-year-old company first made a splash at the 1961 NHRA nationals, when a dragster using Crane roller cams was piloted by “Sneaky” Pete Robinson to the Top Eliminator award, breaking records and upsetting more-established competitors in the process. Robinson’s success helped the company gain recognition throughout the 1960s as racing grew and the Detroit automakers thrived. In late 2006, Crane was acquired by Mikronite Technologies Group Inc., and Leva said $18 million has been invested in equipment since the acquisition. Earlier this week, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that Crane was closing, though more details were not available at that time.

Get a Rope v2.0

Stolen car - 1967 Barracuda 6.1 Hemi

Another high profile Mopar has been stolen! This time it's the "Mo-Powered Tour" '67 Barracuda owned and built by Dave Ferro, proprieter of Totally Auto. He posted about the theft on the Moparts.com Mopar forum and I'm putting the info on the blog in an attempt to help. Details are sketchy, like the theft of Nick Suckow's Charger, noboby saw or heard anything.

In case you missed the Mopar Collectors Guide feature, the car is a 1967 Barracuda with a 6.1 Hemi , white exterior, blue stripe, white leather interior and RMS suspension. The graphics, flames, decals etc were removed after the tour and an AAR fiberglass 6-bbl hood was installed. Be on the lookout for an all white 67 with a big scoop and blue stripe. A reward is being offered for information leading to the recovery...

Detailed pictures can be found on the Totally Auto website.

Dave Ferro - Totally Auto Inc.
http://www.totallyautoinc.com/ 215-322-2277

Cool Stuff

Redline Gauge Work's B-Body Non-Rallye Tach

The factory tachometer in my '69 GTX was about as reliable as a $2 watch. It's registered on the high side of 7 grand on more than one occasion, despite having a 6,000 rpm module in my MSD 6AL. Not wanting a bulky 5" tach cluttering up an otherwise stock interior, I began looking for an accurate replacement tach. Several options were available and I settled on a reproduction from Redline Gauge Works. It uses modern VDO internals that are compatible with most any ignition system and the appearance closely replicates the original. Installation from under the dash took less than an hour so no major disassembly was required. Now I can run 'er through the gears with the utmost confidence! Cool...

Check out Redline's website to see their product and service offerings.

Pure Vision

Nascar '68 Charger

I've long admired Pure Vision's Mopar creations like the Charger pictured above. It was built for well known car enthusiast George Poteet. The "Brand X" stuff on their website is pretty cool too. Their build style is best described as clean, well executed and painstakingly detailed. Check out the Pure Vision website and see for yourself...

Hot Rods in Paradise?

Just when you least expect it...

Our recent Caribbean cruise included a stop in Aruba. It was our first time on the island so we took a 3 hour tour to see some of the highlights. While seeing the sights I managed to catch a glimpse of some good ol' American muscle, there was a FC7 Dodge Demon languishing under a carport and a nice looking first generation Camaro on the lift in an exhaust shop. Right before the end of the tour we passed a small shop with a handful of "Rat Rods" parked out front. After being dropped off we walked back to the shop to check them out more closely, unfortunately nobody was around to talk shop with. I snapped a few photos before wandering off to locate some fine Cuban cigars...