1969 Cougar 428SCJ - All Business

This is Joe Valenti's 1969 Cougar with a 428SCJ and fabled Drag Pak.  The original buyer of this car clearly had their priorities right with the mighty Super Cobra Jet, C-6 auto, 4:30 gears and the plain jane hubcaps.  If you needed further proof of this car's intent, the original buyer even ordered it with manual steering!  We love the car Joe, thanks for sharing the pictures and specs with us!

1967 Cougar GT390 - Retro Groove

Thanks to Chris Aho of Oregon for sharing this picture and details on his lime frost metallic 1967 Cougar GT.  Factory equipped with the S-code 390 4 barrel, Chris upped the ante with headers, Cobra-Jet head work, an original 735 CFM Holley 4150 (also CJ issue), vintage Edelbrock Streetmaster intake, 2500 stall converter and a 3.89 9" locker.  It's all good for a mid 13 second quarter (and likely enough torque to boil the tires at will)  He also had custom styled steel wheels built to his own width and offset specs.  The net result is a subtle custom with a decided "how we rolled in the 1970's" groove.  These 390 Cougars were a ball to drive, and Chris's car evokes fond memories of a friend's 1968 390 Cougar in the early 1980s.  Well done Chris!

In Appreciation of Bridges

If you spend a lot of time on the road, you have the opportunity to see a lot of things -  some lovely and some positively atrocious.  Driving the New Jersey Turnpike near Newark,  I crossed under the splendid Pulaski Skyway and had an epiphany.  Of mankind's many achievements, few are as aesthetically and functionally pleasing as a bridge.

Growing up on the Massachusetts coastline, water was a constant presence.  A thing of great beauty, water is also a major nuisance when it stands between "here" and "there".  There was one muddy tidal creek halfway along the route to our buddy Bob's place.  Going around the creek added at least a mile to the trip on busy Route 28.  Not a great idea when you're 13 years old, unlicensed and driving an unregistered dirtbike.  That extra mile was hazardous indeed - and heavily patrolled by Wareham cops.  We ran that gauntlet for years until one summer weekend we finally decided to build a bridge.  With lumber scraps "rescued" from house construction sites, we built a rickety, narrow bridge over the creek. While up to no reasonable DOT safety code,  our bridge was a huge achievement - saving us both valuable time and future court appearances.  That bridge ultimately endured for nearly two decades, until finally swept away by a September hurricane so common to the region.

At the genesis of any bridge is inconvenience.  Ultimately a society (be it Romans or a gang of scrawny 13 year olds) grows weary of the defeatist "just go around it" mindset - and decides on a bold course of action to change nature's topography.  So,  bridges foremost reflect mankind's audacity to challenge the inconveniences of geography.  This alone does not lend nobility to a bridge, as the same motivation also applies to strip mines too - and there's positively nothing pleasing about a strip mine.  Great bridges share a unique blend of respect for nature, utility, symmetry, engineering prowess, and economy of line and material. It is this balance and harmony that makes bridges truly unique among mankind's creations.   

Over the centuries, bridges have evolved with advances in science, materials and construction technique.  Consider the Romans, arguably among the the finest engineers in history.  Their bridges were of durable stone and designed around the elegant and heroically strong arch design. Thousands of years later, many of these Roman bridges still stand and many remain in current use. Here in New England,  the granite arch bridge is a common and pleasing sight.

The industrial revolution introduced steel to bridge building,  and the 1922 "span through truss" Pulaski Skyway in New Jersey well represents the riveted iron design that typified bridge building in the early to mid-1900s. Massively strong,  yet open and wispy - few structures are as pleasing to the eye as an iron truss bridge spanning a powerful body of water.   A lasting childhood memory is driving over the original Jamestown, Rhode Island bridge in our 1965 Chevy Belair.  The metal trusses soared high overhead,  and the tires sang over the open mesh steel road deck which revealed the massive rolling waves of Narragansett Bay hundreds of feet below.  It was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying - but always a highlight of the road trip.  The original Jamestown bridge is gone now, but it will never be forgotten.  

40 years later,  and I still feel that same rush of excitement and anticipation whenever approaching a major bridge,  whether it's the Tappan Zee in New York,  the French King in Gill, Massachusetts or the Bay Bridge in Maryland.  The bridge builders art has continued to evolve worldwide, and there have been some impressive accomplishments,  such as the Millau Viaduct over the Tarn Valley in France.  

A concrete cable stay design, its road deck soars over 1,000 feet above the valley floor.  It is both incredibly beautiful and beneficial to the region it serves - cutting hours from the previously congested route across the valley, and eliminating countless tons of greenhouse gasses.  Beauty, utility, design and societal benefit - Millau Viaduct represents achievement of the dream behind all great bridges.

What's Up With Toyota?

How could a company as legendary for quality and value as Toyota have come to such a painful state of affairs? Harvard Business School case studies will someday be written about the recent troubles at Toyota, and no doubt they'll focus on the complex issues of corporate culture and the challenges associated with maintaining longterm market dominance.  But,  I strongly doubt that Harvard will ever grasp another key reason for the disasterous downturn in Toyota's image - an issue that's been brewing for quite some time.  

Put simply, Toyota has won the minds, not the hearts of it's customers.  And the mind is fickle.

For the last 20 years, Toyota products have been squarely targeted at automotive consumers, not drivers.  There is a big difference between the two.  Consumers buy primarily on the basis of value and reliability while drivers buy for passion. Since the eras of the 1967 2000 GT, twin turbo Supra or the AE86 rear drive Corolla, Toyota has completely surrendered the passion hill in favor of mundane consumer appliances like the Camry and Highlander.  Theres no doubt that Toyota makes a dammed fine automobile - but from an enthusiast's perspective, they aren't on the radar screen.  

Our business requires frequent car trips throughout the northeast.  Where a New York-to-Boston run along the Hutchinson and Merritt Parkways in a 2010 V6 Ford Fusion was a memorable drive, the same trip in a Camry was an abominable bore.

The Prius is the closest thing that Toyota currently offers to an enthusiast vehicle, but its target audience is Greenies and Technocrats, not passionate drivers.  That's why you see so many Prius being driven at 10 MPH under the posted speed limit by self-centered "hyper-milers" (can we call them Prius-Pisms?) oblivious to the traffic jam behind their rolling roadblock.  

By exclusively targeting the consumer and foregoing the enthusiast mindset, Toyota has staked its entire reputation on reliability, safety and value.  When these bedrock principles are challenged, consumers head for the exits with all of the sentimentality that you'd experience when changing dishwashing detergent brands.

Passion on the other hand,  is a powerfully sticky stuff.  It generates strong loyalty to an object, even if that object is profoundly flawed.  Have you ever wondered why people remain so incredibly dedicated to 1960's Detroit Muscle cars more than 40 years since their extinction?  Despite build quality, handling and braking that could best be characterized as "maybe",   it only takes a single 7,000 RPM blast in a 427 solid lifter `67 Corvette to burn a deep imprint on the soul. It's why we still lust for the gorgeous lines of a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda or a `65 GT-350 Shelby Mustang.  Were these great cars?  In some ways positively yes, but in other ways they were actually quite terrible.  But they lit the pleasure center of the brain,  and by doing so created owners who are fanatical and staunch supporters of the brands.  Companies like Ferrari, Porsche, Honda (and lately GM, Ford and MoPar) understand this primal connection - and have continued to target the passionate side of the buying equation.  Walk around any vehicular event, and you'll actually see people with the Harley logo, Ford Mustang emblem or Chrysler Pentastar tattooed on their bodies.  I don't recall EVER seeing a Toyota tattoo.

So, Toyota has lived and is now wounded by the cold and purely rational consumer sword.  As the media continues to pile on hype and condemnation of the brand, there few people vocally taking up Toyota's defense.   There's little doubt that Toyota will find a workable remedy to the technical and public relations issues now plaguing it, and eventually they'll recapture the confidence of consumers.  But, had they also worked a little harder to capture the hearts of customers and automotive opinion makers, there might be fewer people enjoying shadenfreude  at their current misfortunes.

© Gyrhead & Sons Restoration Parts 2010.  Article may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the author.

Buick Lucerne CXL V-8.  A Buick You Can Love, Even If You Don't Own a Pair of White Shoes

Grampy was fond of saying that the true judge of a person was the things he did when no one was looking.  Grampy also happened to be a die-hard Buick guy, partial to Nimitz class Electra “Deuce-and-a-Quarters”.

What do these two arcane facts have to do with one another?  More than you think. 

Perhaps the truest measure of a company is the car they build when no one’s looking.  “Halo” vehicles like Corvette, Mustang and 300C garner tremendous scrutiny from critics and enthusiasts.  Our expectation of these iconic models is incredibly high, and penalties for failing to meet expected standards of performance, quality, engineering and value will be harsh indeed.  The Mustang II, late Corvette C3 or Nissan 280Z provide ample proof of this hypothesis.  All cherished marques – these cars lacked real performance, suffered from indifferent engineering and low quality that tarnished their hard-won reputations.  30 years later, these cars are still roundly (and rightly) ridiculed.

Manufacturers learned from this, and on their image and concept cars, they sweat every detail to ensure such cars meet with maximum market enthusiasm and buzz that carries over to the entire line.  Corvette C5 and C6 are a perfect example of this corporate learning in action.  But, Honda, Toyota (and to a surprising extent lately, Hyundai) applied these lessons early to even their lowest priced cars.  These companies prospered by delivering far more features, quality and value than buyers had come to expect on cars of modest pretension.

It seems like the good General has taken lessons from Grampy and the Pacific Rim, because they are turning out some pretty terrific iron – and gaining credibility by lavishing considerable energies on models that are anything but halo-cars.

On a recent Miami trip, the National rental agency was out of mid-sized cars so I was upgraded to a premium car at no extra charge.  I glanced around the lot and grimaced at the lame selection of Camrys, base Jeep Cherokees and PT Cruisers (these are premium cars?)  until my eyes settled on a burgundy Buick Lucerne.  Approaching the car, I immediately noticed the clean lines, lustrous metallic paint and tight, uniform panel gaps.   Initially impressive yes, but my expectations were quite low.

You see, I’ve done this GM dance before with Beretta Z-26’s that turned out to be little more than tarted up Corsicas.  I’d suffered the crushing disappointment of sweetly styled Camaros with wheezy “Iron Dukes” under the hood that ran like one-legged hamsters on a squeaky exercise wheel.  Yes, the Lucerne sure looked swell - but I expected to find it little more than a snazzed up Impala.

The smooth action of the Buick’s chrome handle and door hinges was a surprise, as was the solidity of the door which closed with a decidedly Germanic “fwump”.  The dash was super clean and smooth – with tight gaps, stylish analog gauges and matte finish materials.  Switchgear that didn’t look like refugees from 1984 also caught my eye.  Not bad.

Settling into the leather seat I set the mirrors and twisted the key - fully expecting the telltale exhaust note of GM’s 3.8 OHV six - which dates back to the early Cretaceous period. “Phwumm…burble…burble…burble.” A sharp few blips of the throttle “Phawumm..bubba..bubba…burble…burble” and the gyrations of the 6,500 RPM redline tachometer heightened my suspicion.  Fumbling for the hood latch, I jumped out and flung open the hood.

The National rental agent approached looking concerned, as if I was planning to steal the battery.  “Is everything alright sir?”

In the late afternoon light, a DOHC 32V Northstar V8 met my gaze.  “Holy cow, it’s got a Caddy Northstar!”

“If you don’t like this car sir, we can get you something else – maybe a nice Avalon or a Camry"

“No, this is just fine miss” as I shut the hood.  Deeply perplexed, she strolled off.  “OK Sssiiirr” but her obvious sarcasm clearly meant “Whatevvvver”

I’m a big fan of the Cadillac Northstar.   I like the modern, no compromise 32V DOHC architecture, and the ease by which it pulls big power all the way to the 7,000 RPM fuel cutoff.  I like the locomotive like pull in the midrange when it comes on the cams.  I like the burble of its dual exhaust, and the mellifluous note as the revs climb.  I like that Cadillac once again claims title to GM’s most sophisticated engine.  But I LOVE that Cadillac engineers cared enough about their creation to give it a really cool name.  All great engines need a cool name.  This was true in the days of the Boss 429, 428 Cobrajet, 396 Turbojet and 413 Max Wedge and its still true today.

In the fairly light Buick chassis, the Northstar is a stormer – with incredible mid-range.  On the open highway, passing maneuvers are effortless.   And that heavenly exhaust note will just bring out the hooligan in near everyone.

Critics continue to lambaste GM for their aging 4 speed transaxle, and while the stone reliable 4 speed does shift with characteristic GM smoothness, the critics are right.  GM has the technology to provide a 5 or six speeder – so they ought to do the right thing and deploy it in everything.  Why give the critics any more opportunity for gratuitous complaints?

The handling of the big Buick is decent, but less convincing than the drivetrain.  Admittedly, aside from the 1984-87 Grand National and good-for-the-day 1970-72 GS455, Buicks have never really been known for their dance moves.  And, it’s evident that Buick can’t quite make up its mind about which direction to turn with the Lucerne.    Steering feel is good and straight ahead tracking exemplary.  The body integrity is excellent, with absolutely no squeaks, rattles or wind noise despite the (unlikely gentle) 24,000 rental miles on the odometer.

Despite a big marketing push on their “quiet tuned” chassis – Buick slapped a massive set of 245-18 rollers on the car that clop loudly over pavement imperfections.  The dampers are excessively soft on rebound and do little to control the unsprung weight of the big wheels and tires.  The car will pull decent G’s once the chassis has taken a set, but the overall experience is a bit confused.  Kind of like Kate Moss wearing an unlaced pair of Timberland boots.

The ergonomics are outstanding, as is the Harmon-Kardon sound system with XM radio.   Cruising down Florida’s Turnpike I was pleased to tune into Rush’s “Working Man”, and think I’ve now got a new favorite road tune…Good road music has an uncanny way of encouraging fast driving, and suffice to say I’m lucky there were no tan and black Trooper cars out that afternoon!

Everywhere you look on this Buick, you see effort and attention to detail. From the Buick embossed aluminum door sills to the die cast portholes on the fender.  In sharp contrast to the last generation Chevy Impala – that sported a most laughably wrong Belair/Biscayne 4 tail light rear panel - Buick gives the V8 cars an extra fender Porthole to distinguish it from the V6.  Hey, if you’re going to play the icon card, you ought to at least know the rules – particularly if you invented the game.  Chevy gets an “F” with the Impala tailights, while Buick scores an “A” with those groovy portholes.

Ford and MoPar loyalists have recently accused me of being a paid shill for GM.  It isn’t so – and I’ll be the first to admit that many of GM’s products from 1974-1990 were barely worth their weight in dog-log.  But, across the product line, GM is turning out some pretty nice cars and trucks, and currently has a leading product in many market segments.  Yes, we expect cars like the Corvette, CTS, GMT900 SUVs and Camaro to be incredible.  But like finding an original Renoir at a yard sale, it’s especially nice to find a generous serving of excellence where we did didn’t expect it.

In that sense, Grampy the devout Buick man seems to have taught GM a thing or two.

America's Peculiar Love Affair With Pickups

The Gyrhead boys are prone to pondering the most arcane matters.  Would a lobster win a fight with a crab?  Why do people watch reality TV?   Recently the beer fueled question arose of why Americans love pickup trucks.  This same question has tortured European intellectuals for decades, though they've handily concluded the whole matter with the declaration that we're all idiots. 

Americans love pickup trucks, and that's a matter of fact.  In the 2005 model year, the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra and Dodge Ram garnered the top 3 spots in new vehicle sales.  This sales performance in a year when hurricane Katrina and the Iraqi war caused fuel prices to rise and fall as much as Kirstie Alley’s weight.  Incredible.  What is it that Americans find so appealing about trucks?  After much toe kickin’ and ponderin', we have an opinion on the matter.  Since it’s our website – you’re gonna hear it.  Ahh, the wonder of the Internet.

40 years ago you could walk into any car dealership and spec out the car that perfectly suited BOTH your priorities and realities.  Wanted a 426 Hemi Coronet post coupe with dog dish hubcaps, column shifter and rubber floor mats?  Mother MoPar would be happy to build you one.  Needed a full size Impala wagon to haul the Cub Scouts but not ready to give up the drive-through holeshot?  Chevrolet had you covered, with FACTORY built L-72 wagons complete with woodgrain, 12 bolt, positraction and a Muncie 4 speed.  Man, those were wild times, and they left a dizzying legacy of one-off musclecars that still fascinate us.

Deep down we knew the good times couldn’t last.  Any manufacturing executive worth a darn understands the supply chain nightmares associated with giving consumers infinite product choices.  So limitless choice gave way to pre-engineered option packages, and serious car enthusiasts have been suffering ever since.

Buying a new car today is as much fun as buying a dishwasher.  Pick your color, pick your sound system and that’s about it.  No more ala-carte engine options, no more big blocks, seldom any transmission choices, and certainly no option box for a 4.10 posi.

But, there's good news.  Pickup trucks represent the last bastion of fun and freedom of choice with the vehicular order form.  GM offers no less than SEVEN engine picks in the Silverado, and they aren’t bashful about whooping about the horsepower ratings either.  Pick the entry-level 4.8 liter V8 and get 285 horses.  Go with the 5.3 liter and get 10 more ponies but about 35 more Lb/Ft of torque.   Get the 5.3 liter Vortec “Max” and 345 horses are yours – along with the confidence that Oakland Raider great Howie Long approves of your engine selection.  There's also a 6.0 small block complete with a lumpy, bonafide Z06 cam.   Go really nuts and GM’s happy to supply the 496 cube big block with 455 Lb/Ft of torque.  You’d better believe they proudly call it the Big Block too.   Before pooh-poohing these horsepower figures, remember that they are stingy SAE net ratings – so these engines are easily putting out 300-400 gross horsepower.   Despite the pushrod design, they are smooth, refined and make great power all the way through 6,000 RPM.    Ford offers no fewer than 3 V8 options and a monster 6.8 liter V10.  In terms of performance, the Fords seem to make a lot more bottom end grunt than the GMs, but we find the 4.6 and 5.4 Triton to be painfully thrashy – with terrible NVH characteristics.   The exhaust note of the 6.8 V10 is just plain weird, but many of our commercial customers are racking up well over 500,000 miles on the V10, so we know it's stout.    MoPar offers up 2 V8s, including the now media over saturated 5.7 Hemi. (Must Mopar put the Hemi in everything they make?  And those little Joey-with-the Hemi Durango ads make us feel like puking)  All the same, the new MoPar Hemi is awesome, but there just isn’t the variety of selection in the Pentastar truck engine lineup.   Yes, the SRT-10 is the undisputed brawn king, but most of us will never get seat time in such a limited production super truck.  Most SRT-10s seem to spend their days stored in climate controlled collector garages anyway.  In terms of diesel power, all 3 manufacturers have mondo offerings.  The Duramax, Power Stroke and Cummins units are each kinetic monuments to Archimedes himself.

Want to bang gears?  Then order the manual transmission – it’s available with most every engine in the big 3’s pickup line.  Pick from 3.55, 3.73 or 4.10 axle ratios and make it a locker – just like the old days.  A word to the wise though:  with the deep overdrives and tall tires on today’s trucks, skip directly to the 4.10’s with a limited slip. You’ll thank us and the gas mileage penalty with the digger gears isn’t nearly as bad as you’d think.   Make no mistake, all full sized trucks are astonishing gas hogs - they'll burn through your budget faster than a Nigerian internet scam.  We strongly suggest owning one only if you really need one,  because the cost of being a pickup dilettante is simply too great. 

The incorrigible PJ O’Rourke wrote the greatest treatise EVER on the joys of performance pickup truck driving:

 “Driving a pickup at high speed is a difficult skill to master. The first step is to assume the proper driving position: Use one hand to firmly grasp the drip rail on the roof. This takes the place of shoulder harness, lap belt, and air bag and lets you give the finger to people with anti-handgun bumper stickers on their cars. Then place your other hand on the gearshift knob so you'll always know what gear you're in (which is second, as I pointed out before). Now take your third hand...Perhaps some picture of the difficulty is beginning to emerge. Anyway, be sure to balance your beer can carefully in your lap.


The second step is to drive over to the 7-Eleven and get more beer. Use your down vest to mop up the one you spilled all over your crotch as you backed out the driveway.


The third step is cornering technique. There are three ways to take a high-speed curve in a pickup. The first way is to use the traditional racecar driver's "late apex": Go deep into the curve at full speed doing all your downshifting and useless brake-pedal pumping in a straight line. Then, in one smooth motion, turn the wheel to the full extent necessary for the curve. Aim for an apex slightly past the geometrical apex of the inside edge of the curve and slowly bring the steering wheel back to straight ahead as you reapply the throttle. This will put your truck into the woods. The second way to take a fast curve is to come into the curve slightly slower, dial in a greater amount of steering, and stay on the throttle so as to propel the truck into a "power slide." This will put your truck in the woods too. The third method is to come to a full stop before entering the curve and have a beer. While you're doing that someone else will come along in another pickup truck and knock you into the woods anyway.”

Anyone raised on old-school trucks knows this is true, and we launched Dad’s stovebolt powered C-10 into the puckerbrush more than once in our younger years.  But my, pickups have come a long, LONG way in the past two decades.

How the engineers did it is a mystery – but the new breed of pickup trucks actually handle.  Unlike our old Chevy, where any connection between the tiller and the front wheels was strictly coincidental, the new trucks all boast rack and pinion steering, impossibly stiff hydroformed frames that make for an incredible driving experience.

Years ago, buying a truck entailed some seriously Solomon-like sacrifices.   Creature comforts were few, so a hard working truck necessitated some considerable  suffering.   We'd guess that the real reason most cowboys look so grizzled and flinty is a chronic pain condition from too much seat time in old truck.  Happily, that's not the case anymore – in fact today’s trucks come incredibly well equipped with comfort and convenience features. So much so that trucks represent much better value for the dollar than cars.

In terms of quality, there’s been a quantum leap too.  Our last 1980 Chevrolet went to the scrap heap with a mere 48,000 miles on the clock.  It’s mechanical heart was still willing, but the body just rusted away – shedding parts faster than Lindsay Lohan sheds clothing at the Kids Choice Awards.  By contrast, our current fleet of trucks are all well over 120,000 hard miles, and they still run perfectly and look nice too.

What about the latest truck offerings from Toyota, Nissan and Honda?  We say the jury’s still out on whether these vehicles can rightly be considered “trucks”.  These vehicles are squarely marketed to suburban pickup “fashionistas” and very few seem to do any real work. When’s the last time you saw a Tundra sporting a snowplow?  When’s the last time you saw a Ridgeline towing a 5th wheel car trailer?   How many Titans do you see working rough on the jobsite?   While we’re certain that these are nice vehicles, owning one is a lot like listening to Nickelback.  You think its cool, but it isn’t.   However, all 3 of these vehicles are American made, and their manufacturers do have an enviable record of good corporate citizenship in America, something that Ford and GM can’t honestly say of late.

So, the answer to the perplexing question of pickup truck popularity seems obvious.  Pickups still provide maximum consumer choice, big league performance and value.  These are 3 attributes that Americans find incredibly appealing, and it's probably why trucks won’t relinquish their market lead anytime soon -  fuel price trends and European sensibilities be dammed.

©Tom Fisher  - Gyrhead & Sons Restoration Parts 2006.  Article may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the author.

Cadillac – The Swagger is Back

Our former Operations Manager drives a Cadillac STS.  “Big deal” you say, but it’s a very big deal. Chris is a 40-something automotive connoisseur,  and his past rides have typically originated from Sweden, with a long line of super sanitary restored Musclecars.  He hails from a family of RISD trained, cutting edge product design types, and again, they tend to favor the tidy offerings from Saab and Volvo.  So, for Chris to risk ridicule at the Thanksgiving table for owning a Cadillac is a tantamount to an automotive sea change.  But, no one in the family finds fault with Chris’ recent choice of steed.  Make no mistake, we are witnessing a minor miracle in the making.  A total about face in Cadillac’s corporate zeitgeist, market perception and product line – and that’s a wonderful thing 

Fifty years ago, Cadillac proudly proclaimed itself “Standard of the World” and that claim was not idle boast.  In 1912, Cadillac won the prestigious Dewar Trophy for manufacturing excellence.  At a time when most automobiles were painstakingly hand assembled with considerable custom fitment and component rework – several production Cadillacs were completely dismantled, their parts co-mingled and the cars reassembled with no rework allowed to any of the components.  These cars were then driven 500 miles each with no mechanical failures of any kind.   A stunning achievement - It spoke to Cadillac’s impressive levels of production accuracy, manufacturing process control and standardization. Mind you, this achievement coming long before the era of advanced metallurgy, CNC machining and Demming inspired total quality management.

For 50 years hence, Cadillac was known as an engineering, quality and design leader, with innovative features such as electric starting, automatic transmissions and some of the most exuberant Harley Earl inspired styling the world has ever known.  In those days, a Cadillac in the driveway signified financial wherewithal, social standing and prestige.  A Cadillac was truly something special.

The party came to an abrupt end in the 1970s and 80s, as a succession of Middle East oil embargoes catalyzed a precipitous rise in fuel prices.  Cadillac responded with a series of engineering fiascoes such as the V8-6-4, Diesel Seville, and the Cavalier based Cimarron.  Cadillac compensated for the poor engineering with over the top baroque styling intended to evoke the past glory days.  Again, they missed the mark – so that by the 1980’s the only people voluntarily driving Caddies were the white belt/white shoe Florida crowd and the, ahem, “urban adult entertainment managers” with names like Huggy Bear and Sweet Lou. We actually owned a 1982 Coupe DeVille, and it was, speaking bluntly, a piece of utter vehicular excrement.  Grim times indeed.

A decade later, automotive sophisticates like Chris are returning to the Cadillac marque. In this hyper competitive global economy, very few companies get the mulligan – and Cadillac is determined to stay in the game this time.

Whether or not Caddy has regained the title of “standard of the world” is debatable, but there’s no denying that the swagger is back.  13 years after it’s introduction, the world class Northstar DOHC 32v V8 remains fresh, potent and competitive.  We recently enjoyed some extended seat time in a Northstar powered DeVille and the car positively ate up the midwestern miles at a refined, leisurely and feloniously illegal 125 MPH plus.  The V Series of performance cars is boisterous and pretty darned exciting - all boasting a sub 5 second dash to 60.   While the flagship XLR has yet to achieve sales projections, the CTS is selling briskly and the SRX and Escalade SUVs are market leaders.  The “Art and Science” design motif is a polarizing, like-it-or-hate-it look, but certainly less controversial than Chris Bangle’s “flame surfacing” styling at BMW.  Heck, we even get a Led Zeppelin flavored ad campaign to remind us that Caddy is sincere about wooing the 40 year old market.

We are serious car people – and our peer group is largely comprised of serious car people too. Cadillac has begun to get our attention, our interest and our dollars.   The management team at GM has been pummeled recently by the press, but they deserve some props for the about face at Cadillac.  Once again, Cadillac is an aspirational brand for car lovers – a sure sign that all is right in the automotive world.

©Tom Fisher  - Gyrhead & Sons Restoration Parts 2006.  Article may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the author.

2005 Dodge SRT-4: Tommy C. Your Car Has Arrived

Tommy C. was the unlikeliest tough guy we ever knew.  No more than 150 lbs, he was a real Irish charmer and a big play maker with the ladies.  He was also the dude you wanted on your six when it came time for brawling.  His haymaker was a thing of legend, and he had an a unblemished record of victories - vast majority by one punch knockout.  With Tommy around, you feared little - for he was the ultimate pugilistic Q-Ship.  Often underestimated, never defeated.

Tommy C., your car has arrived.  The 2005 Dodge SRT-4.  It's the cutest, cuddliest little butt-kicker on 4 wheels, and words of wisdom to the big block crowd:  Watch out - because it might just clean your clock.

There has always been something of a jihad (holy war) between the owners of traditional rear drive Musclecars, and the import tuner crowd.  Both groups cling tightly to their beliefs, and each refuses to acknowlege the merits of the other's position.  We've always been Musclecar traditionalists, but we strive to stay open minded about all things automotive.

When MoPar introduced the Neon in 1995, there wasn't much to interest hardcore enthusiasts.  Despite a high-winding twin cam engine, above average handling (especially with the SCCA homologation ACR package) and a giveaway price - it was the rare enthusiast who embraced the platform.  Nevertheless, pioneers like Len Ayala and others suceeded in turbocharging, nitrous-injecting and tuning the little Neon into a serious 10 second platform.  Evidently, the engineers at Daimler-Chrysler noticed these grass-roots efforts, because they quietly built a little Neon hotrod all their own.  It's called the SRT-4 and it's the real thing.

With the 2005 Dodge SRT-4, the 2.0 twin cam is jettisoned in favor of the PT Cruiser's 2.4 litre DOHC stroker motor.  A Garrett turbo, gigantic front mount intercooler and dual exhaust are added, resulting in 230 horsepower and a whopping 250 Lb/ft of torque.  To contain and put down the power, MoPar also fits a heavy duty New Venture transaxle fitted with a Quaife limited slip differential.

The exterior is treated to a ducted hood, unique bumper fascia, huge "easter basket" rear wing and an aggressive set of 205/50/17 rolling stock.   The interior gets a supportive set of leather bolstered buckets, a handsome SRT-4 specific dash cluster and aluminum pedal pads.  Despite the large wing, the overall look of our flame red tester is quite striking and handsome.  If the car belonged to me, I'd ditch the wing and install a flat trunk lid.  Or, you could sell the wing on eBay to defray the purchase cost..

Our test car was fitted with the American Club Racer (ACR) option - which includes adjustable Tokico Alumina shocks/struts, 16" BBS CH wheels, aluminum hubs, larger anti-roll bars and quick ratio steering rack.  The smaller rolling stock of the ACR package reduce the exaggerated tail-up stance of the base SRT-4 and ostensibly reduce unsprung rotational weight for both better handling and acceleration.

Considering the pedestrian Neon roots of the SRT-4, Daimler-Chrysler has achieved nothing short of a miracle.  The SRT-4 is a very serious driver's car, and in all respects except price equal to cars costing tens of thousands more.  It is ballistically fast,  handles and brakes with tenacity and is a very practical car to live with on a daily basis.

The 2.4 Turbo motor has very minimal turbo lag and is acceptably smooth and refined even approaching the 6,500 RPM fuel shutoff.  From a standing stop, our G-Meter showed a 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds.  Magazine tests have pegged the quarter mile times in the 13.7-13.8 range but on a cool day with dense air the SRT-4 ought to be good for a 13.5.  Top end  is in the neighborhood of 145 MPH.  Absolutely no qualifiers are warranted regarding the SRT-4's speed.  By any objective yardstick - V8 or inline 4 - this is a seriously fast car.  On more than one occasion we found aggressive Camaro Z/28 or Mustang 5.0 drivers crawling up our tailpipes, but we had no trouble dispatching them.  In fact, the SRT-4 is capable of running with just about anything outside of a C5/C6 Corvette, M3 BMW, Mitsubishi Evolution, or Porsche 911.  It was hilarious to watch the BMW 330i driver in the next lane - he was probably thinking the lowly Neon alongside would be an easy kill.  However, on the greenlight we gave him an easy seven course meal of SRT-4 tailpipes.  At the next light we watched the manhood slowly ebb from his body.  He just got SMOKED by a Dodge Neon.  If there's anything more amusing than humbling cocky BMW drivers we haven't yet discovered it.  

The handling is also quite excellent, with good feedback and just the right amount of push at the limit.  In the lower gears - torque steer is a concern - but we minimized it with 40 lbs of air in the front tires.  As with all Neons, there is considerable oversteer during trail braking.  Novices will certainly get in trouble here, but skilled drivers will enjoy the ability to rotate the tail.  Like the ill-fated chambered exhaust option on 1969 Chevrolet Camaros, The SRT-4 exhaust note is pretty darned loud and it grows tiresome quickly as the pipes pop and spit with changing engine RPM.  In some areas we can see police issuing citations for excess noise.

Compared with earlier Neons, build quality and interior fit and finish is good.  Most of the high gloss hard plastic is gone, and there were absolutely no squeaks or rattles at all.  NVH is drastically improved as well. The shifter is a notchy, flimsy piece of crap - so replace it with an aftermarket unit as quickly as possible.  Fuel mileage on our tester was pretty poor - about 20 MPG in mixed driving.  The SRT-4 requires premium fuel, as is customary with turbo cars.

On the balance, the little SRT-4 is a winner.  Like the original 1968 Plymouth Road Runner, you get massive performance in an very affordable and practical package.  You also get the confidence of knowing that you can truly run with the big dogs.  The styling of the SRT-4 is a bit boisterous - but like the Charger Daytona and Superbirds of 1970 this may add to the market appeal down the road.

The SRT-4 proves that MoPar hasn't lost its chops when it comes to performance.  Despite the front drive configuration, this car is close in spirit, value, attitude and performance to the legendary Musclecars that proceeded it.  As an added bonus you get to embarrass every yuppie that underestimates the SRT-4.  Tommy C. would certainly approve.

©Tom Fisher  - Gyrhead & Sons Restoration Parts 2005.  Article may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the author.

2005 Pontiac GTO - Impressive Numbers, But Is It Worthy Of The GTO Name?

Pontiac is guilty of revisionist history in the 2005 GTO sales literature. The 1964 model leads off a timeline of significant milestones in the 41 year history of the GTO. After all, this car flagrantly violated GM’s anti-racing edict of 1957 and single handedly defined an entirely new category of automobiles. The 1966 earns mention as the first of the Ram-Air models, followed by the 400 cubic inch 1967 and then the fabled Judge in 1969. However, from 1969 until the 2004 rebirth - the timeline is blank. It’s as if Pontiac has excised all memory of the potent-but-porcine 1971-72 GTO, or the underachieving Nova derived 1973-74 models. And, of course there is zero mention of the puerile Grand-Am based GTO concept that GM paraded around the show circuit in the early nineties.

With the missteps that sullied the reputation of the most famous icon in musclecar history, we can appreciate Pontiac’s selective corporate memory. They do however raise legitimate questions about the 2005 GTO. Is this car worthy of the GTO name? Will the new GTO be remembered 20 years hence as one of the “great ones” or will its memory be the victim of a Stalinist purge from the record?

In our opinion, the 2005 GTO is the real article – and in many ways a perfect modern interpretation of the legendary 1964 GTO. We urge you to drive one, because to drive this car is to love this car.

We had the honor of driving an Impulse Blue 2005 GTO six speed at Josephs Pontiac in Norwell, Massachusetts. Josephs has been selling and servicing Pontiacs since 1928 and to this day it’s an honored and loved south shore landmark with some of the friendliest people you’re likely to meet. This family knows Pontiac, and talk about classic and future Pontiacs with obvious passion. It’s a place where neighbors drop by to chat over coffee and you’re just as likely to see Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler stop in for a tank of fuel. Compared to the soulless auto mega malls, Josephs Pontiac is a direct link back to a better time – and no finer place exists to test drive a legendary Pontiac marque.

Let’s start with styling – arguably the most contentious issue surrounding the 2005 GTO. The car magazines have roundly criticized Pontiac for ultra conservative styling that belies the performance capabilities of the car. We say the critics are idiots – or at the least totally ignorant of the original GTO design philosophy. The 1964-67 GTO was NEVER about visual flash. John DeLorean and Jim Wangers started with the spare and unadorned Tempest body. They added a tasteful scooped hood, attractive wheelcovers and subtle sophisticated badges on the grille, fender and decklid. You had to look closely to pick up the visual clues, and we’d bet a good many people walked right by those early GTO’s with nary a second glance. The GTO wasn’t marketed to drive-thru posers. It was a serious performance machine that kept a low visual profile and did it’s talking at the stoplight and dragstrip.

Economic and political considerations also played a part in the GTOs initial styling restraint. The market for the GTO was uncertain, so to minimize capital investments Pontiac needed to make due with the sleekest mid-sized coupe in the existing product portfolio. Pontiac division chief John DeLorean also had to tread lightly for fear of attracting unfavorable attention from the horsepower-phobic GM Executive team. Whatever the reasons, the 1964-67 GTO stands as one of the most tasteful and timelessly styled musclecars of the era.

The 2005 GTO is a perfect stylistic and economic interpretation of the original. To keep costs low and time to market short, Pontiac raided it’s worldwide parts bin to come up with the most handsome rear drive coupe in the stable, the Australian Holden Monaro. Its lines are tight, clean and tasteful. The GTO badging is subtle as are the twin non-functional hood bulges. As in 1964, you have look for the subtle visual clues as to the true nature of this car. Back in the day, gearheads learned to quickly differentiate the heavyweights from the palookas. It seldom was about shiny paint, garish graphics and chrome wheels. The most serious cars were often the most visually unremarkable – and you learned to look for the tiny “426 Hemi” fender emblems, or the steel wheels with DOT legal Mickey Thompsons. You learned to listen for or the choppy idle of a 305 degree solid cam. And so it is with the 2005 GTO. You’ve got to know what to look for.

Automotive posers won’t get it and they likely won’t recognize it. And that’s fine with us. The 2005 GTO is for people confident in their own skin – people who prefer to kick ass and take names under the radar screen. People like you and me.

In 2005, Pontiac responded to styling criticisms by adding the aforementioned hood scoops and an optional Sport Appearance Package. Our test car was thankfully absent this option. We urge you to boycott the Sport Appearance package as it represents an ominous return of Pontiac's worst styling excesses in the 1980s. The front fascia is blocky and ham-handed, as are the vestigial “gills” over the quad outlet exhaust tips. Our concern is that if enough people purchase this silly option, GM will interpret this as market approval of flash over substance and we’ll be back to the days of the “Screaming Chicken” and the Mustang Cobra II. Just say NO!

So what’s the 2005 GTO like to drive? Mana baby, pure mana! The full frame doors open and close with a solid thunk – and the upper window frame promises wind, rattle and leak proof glass. The interior is quite simply GM’s best. Ever. The full instrument cluster is legible - rimmed in brushed nickel and color keyed to the exterior paint. On our Impulse Blue tester this was an unexpected and elegant touch. The interior panels are finished in matte gloss soft touch padding - a dramatic improvement from GM’s traditional glossy hard plastic interior trimming. Interior space is good, seat comfort excellent and visual sightlines good. About the only criticism we could levy at the interior is the steering wheel. While it feels good in your hand, the center pad looks like a giant goofy Shriners hat. This car needs a steering wheel that better emulates the gorgeous GM rosewood wheels from the 1960s.

Twist the key and the starter engages with a satisfying and substantial whirr – like it’s spinning over a high compression big block. The 6.0 LS2 V8 roars to life and the exhaust note is intoxicating. Deep, mellow and throaty with not a hint of tinniness. Blip the throttle and the the pipes pop and spit as the revs fall. Think big block power boat and you’d be close to the effect. Close your eyes and it’s 1969 all over again!

Clutch takeup is smooth and dead precise. With 400 Lb/ft of torque (SAE net!!) the GTO steps off cleanly and crisply with little driveline lash. The six speed Tremec trans shifts easily, with just the right amount of mechanical notchiness to remind you what’s happening on the other end of the lever. An especially nice touch is the slight shifter vibration you feel while accelerating hard in third gear. Anyone who’s ever rowed a Muncie M22, Ford Toploader or MoPar A833 through a Hurst shifter knows that feeling. There’s a generation of drivers raised on cable shifted, rubber insulated transaxles that have no clue what this feels like!

The ride is firm and precise with no impact harshness over sharp bumps. The steering is satisfyingly sharp with excellent turn in and good road feel. The GTO tracks straight and true with little dartiness on rough pavement. There are no squeaks and rattles and the GTO exudes a hefty solidity and stiffness reminiscent of the Porsche 928. This is a car you could easily live with on a daily basis – equally adept at ferrying Grandma to Bingo as ripping up the back roads.

The GTO LS2 makes a true 400 horsepower. In pre-1972 SAE gross ratings the number is likely around 470 BHP at the flywheel. Compression is a stratospheric 10.9 and the lightweight valvetrain, efficient cylinder head port design and 90mm throttle body make this motor a smooth, torquey and rev happy screamer. Think about that for a moment. 400 horsepower for $33,000 - or about $82.50 per pony. And, you can service it at any of thousands of GM outlets nationwide for pocket change. And it gets 25 MPG per the EPA highway cycle. Given the monumental strides in GM product quality in the past decade, it’s a reasonable expectation that the GTO will require only routine maintenance in the course of prudent, conscientious ownership.

The 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo made 400 horsepower and stickered for about $120,000 ($300 per). The 2000 BMW M5 made 400 horses and stickered at about $80,000 ($200 per). And the sticker price of these Teutonic supercars was just the minimum ante. Think $200 oil changes, $1,000 routine maintenance bills and you get idea. These aren’t cars for you and me. These are cars for the trust fund kids you knew and hated in college. The GTO is a car for normal people, just like in 1964.

This car flat cranks – and the LS2 pulls cleanly in every gear from idle to the 6,500 redline. The LS2 really comes alive at over 3,000 RPM, and when you stand on the pedal in first or second you ought to have the wheel pointing straight ahead – because the tires are going to break loose. Under more gentle throttle inputs the GTO accelerates without histrionics – just a liquid, seemingly limitless rush to the upper limits of the speedometer. Modern engine management ensures that there are no flat spots in the fuel and spark delivery. Think well tuned LS-6 Chevelle and you’ll be in the low-end ballpark of just how effortlessly the GTO accelerates. The shifter is direct with well-defined gates and shift effort appropriate for a supercar. The exhaust note is heavenly, but no so loud as to cause your wife to shrink in her seat from embarrassment.

This is a very serious performance car, and we’d be surprised if the GTO wasn’t good for a sub-5 second dash to 60. The quarter mile times ought to be around 13.30 at 108 MPH. These are huge numbers, and vastly superior to ANY stock GTO from the past – including the fabled 1969-70 Ram-Air IV. It’s merely a matter of time before companies like Lingenfelter begin marketing supercharger kits and stroker LS2 motors – so if stock isn’t fast enough the days of 500 HP GTOs can’t be far off.

So, what’s the conclusion? We believe that the 2005 GTO is for real and in most ways a true spiritual successor to the original. The styling is handsome, interior exceptional and the driving experience is simultaneously comfortable and thrilling. This is NOT a car for the “bling bling” crowd who live to be seen and endlessly chase the approval of their peer group. It’s a car for self confident performance enthusiasts who value substance over style. It’s a car for GTO people.

We want this car to succeed because it will presage the permanent return of such cars not only by GM but Ford and Daimler-Chrysler. We urge you to drive it - because you'll likely buy it!

©Tom Fisher  - Gyrhead & Sons Restoration Parts 2005.  Article may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the author.  

1926 Locomobile Junior 8 "Crate Engine"

Last winter, we fielded a phone call from a gentleman in Salem, Massachusetts who needed help identifying and disposing of an "old engine" that had been stored in the basement of his parent's house since at least the early thirties. According to the caller, this engine had come from an old racing car, and naturally our minds raced at the possibilities. What could it be? A Miller Indy motor? Twincam Maserati? Bugatti? We headed over the following day, and he lead us down into a dusty basement. In the corner, buried under scrap wood and an ancient oilcloth sat a massive straight 8 OHV engine on an oak cradle. Complete except for the valve covers and in absolutely new condition. The 1926 date code, unique split head OHV design, Stromberg OX-V carb, and DeJon generator confirmed this to be a Miller design Locomobile Junior 8 engine. This engine enjoyed an Indy pedestal finish in the late 20's and was in spectacular condition - with almost zero ridge, no carbon deposits and no binding. Could this motor be a 1920's predecessor to the modern "crate motor"?

Removing the engine from the basement proved a challenging, all day task. The intake, carburetor, exhaust manifold, water pump, generator, distributor and cylinder heads were removed and packed into padded crates. The shortblock was then hoisted onto a hand truck and carefully brought up the stairs. For the first time in over 60 years, this engine was seeing the light of day.

What was most striking about this engine was the high standards of craftsmanship. The castings were flawless, with zero mold flash and very clean mold parting lines. The machined parts were similarly well executed - and this is hardly surprising given the Bridgeport, Connecticut origins of the Locomobile.

Word of this interesting find soon spread, and before long we were getting calls from Locomobile enthusiasts the world over. Could we be in possession of the finest and most complete example of a Junior 8 engine on the planet? It seemed increasingly likely

After a few months, we received word that Jay Leno of "Tonight Show" fame was interested in the motor. In a matter of days, arrangements were made and the rare engine was loaded onto an enclosed transporter for the long journey to Jay's shop. Jay also purchased a mint, unrestored Gilbarco wall mount air pump that we had rescued from a defunct Oldsmobile dealership in western Massachusetts. Gyrhead & Sons is proud to have placed these great finds among Jay's collection of rare engines, antique cars and vintage motorcycles. We recently spied the Locomobile engine during a recent episode of Discovery Channel's "American Chopper" and you'll also see it among Jay's engine collection in "Autoweek" All in all - a fine ending to a fascinating saga!

NASCAR Aero Warriors!

©Tom Fisher  - Gyrhead & Sons Restoration Parts 2003.  Article may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the author.  

If Honda Accords ruled the world, there would be no need for automotive hyperbole. We’d drive our grey metallic appliances to work and play, and not a drop of ink would be wasted on writing of their merits. There just isn’t very much about these workaday cars to elicit much emotion. “It starts every morning” or “it gets 39 MPG” are not the attributes that cause grown men to lose their composure and well, get all goofy.

We recently had the incredible fortune to sample two cars for which hyperbole is not only essential but perhaps invented in the first place. These cars defy our ability to describe them in purely rational and sanguine terms.

Stuart Weeman is a noted MoPar collector and a fine customer of Gyrhead & Sons. Today, we would have the opportunity to visit his home and see his collection in person. We’d chatted a few times before, and the collection sure sounded impressive on the phone. The reality far outstripped my expectation.

Stepping into his garage, the 29,000 mile `70 LS-6 Chevelle initially caught my eye – but not for long. There in the shop were two of the rarest, cleanest and most sought after aero warriors to ever roll from the factory. A `70 426 Hemi Plymouth Superbird and drum roll please – one of the three Holman Moody built `70 Torino King Cobras. One of three, and I was gazing upon 33.3% of total production. In terms of rarity, there is no compare. Ferrari 250 SWB GTO? Not even close. L-88 Corvette? Please. Boss 429? Spare me.

A meteor could have landed on my head at that moment and I would have died happy – but then it gets much better. “Got some time?” asked Stuart – “wanna go for a cruise?”

So, here I am buckling into a pristine 42,000 mile Hemi Superbird. Stuart twists the key and the Hemi comes to life immediately. A brief moment of valvetrain clatter followed by a steady big cam idle. I try acting cool, but this car is flat freaking me out. “Lookitmelookitme I’m in a Hemi, I’m in a Hemi” Stuart must think I’m mentally unbalanced. It isn’t me – it’s the dammed car and those 3 little numbers: 4-2-6. Four hundred and twenty six cubic reasons why this is the coolest conveyance ever. This isn’t a “limited edition” stripe package dreamed up by jaded marketers to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Gutenberg printing press. This is a no holds barred expression of engineering might and corporate resolve. It is the four- wheeled .30-06 that Chrysler brought to the 1969 Torino Talladega knife fight. Practically every rule in NASCAR racing since 1970 can be tied somehow to this car and I’m going for a ride!!

Immediately I’m struck by how civilized this MoPar Supercar feels over the road. Aside from park bench seating, high stall converter, undeniable exhaust note and a slight loading up of the dual quads at stoplights – the Superbird moves down the road in modern fashion. Even light throttle 1-2 upshifts bark the tires. With tall gearing and very well developed aero package 60 MPH cruising is remarkably quiet – even with the windows down. Then Stuart legs the throttle. There’s a small hole in the fuel delivery as eight venturis of Carter AFB transition to WOT. The 727 Torqueflite immediately kicks down to second and the tires spin. This thing broke traction at 50 miles per hour! I watch the speedo needle and it’s spinning like a bathroom scale. We’re nearly at triple digits before Stuart backs out. At speed, I notice how stable and composed the chassis feels. Credit the radial tires, Mopar’s innovative torsion bar suspension and that big ginsu knife wing out back. With the 426 and 3.23 gears I no longer dismiss the 150 MPH speedometer as pure marketing fluff. Incredibly, Stuart pulls over and asks if I want to drive. Like most gearheads – driving a Hemi car is on my short list of things to do before I die – but a voice in my head interferes with the dream. “This car is worth more than your house Tom - what if you ball it up?” Amazingly, I hear myself decline the offer. No big, because a ride is already more than I could have asked for!

We return to the garage for a photo shoot. I’m dying to see the Calypso Coral King Cobra in the fall sunlight, although I’m not hopeful that Stuart will want to expose it to the elements. Wrong. “Wanna take a ride in the Boss?” He asks. Why yes, yes I do and thank you for asking.

As soon as he fires up the 494 inch Boss motor I know we’re in for trouble. This is a serious weapon – developed by Holman-Moody to combat Chevrolet’s Mark IV rat motor on the Can-Am circuits. As a race motor it was only marginally successful, but on the street this blue crescent wonder promises to be lethal. With a big Holley 4150, manual choke and 735 lbs of cold cast iron – this engine is reluctant to idle and balky until the temperature rises. The exhaust note is evil. Deep and purposeful, with a hard metallic edge not unlike a Pantera.

The styling is purposeful, but not classically beautiful. The fiberglass nose takes some time to warm up to – but the concealed headlamps look much nicer than the exposed lamps on the other 2 King Cobras. The Calypso Coral paint is sensational, an absolutely perfect complement to the sharp lines of the Torino. I suddenly want to paint everything I own in this color.

Aside from a lonely COBRA emblem on the dash and Ford’s sexy 3 spoke rim-blow wheel the interior of the King is plain and unremarkable. 120 MPH sweep speedo, fuel / temp gauges and an AM radio. The interior of the car is exactly like the one in my mom’s ’70 Torino wagon and brings back great memories.

However, no Torino EVER drove like this! At 30 MPH in second gear Stuart feathers into the throttle. The Cobra immediately lifts up on the leaf springs, the 60 series Polyglas tires begin to howl, and the bench seat slams backwards so hard I’m afraid it’ll tear off its mounts. I’m laughing like a fool and Stuart calmly says, “that was nothing, I was barely on it” Stuart claims over 700 horsepower from the Holman-Moody powerplant, and I believe it. On an empty stretch of highway, Stuart comes to a full stop and then hammers the throttle. First gear is 125 feet of positraction opposite lock and billowing tire smoke. Second gear is more of the same, and even with 3.50 gears is good for nearly 90 MPH. We’re hard into third and it’s still pulling past triple digits. I cannot comprehend how anything this large can accelerate this strongly. My educated seat of the pants says 4.5 seconds to sixty, and mid 12’s in the quarter on bia ply tires.

What’s surprising about the Boss is the way it piles on the revs. I expected this long arm stroker motor to be a lazy revver – but it twists like a Boss 302 with a howling exhaust note that is pure 1970 NASCAR. Throttle response is right here, right NOW and there simply isn’t a hole anywhere in the power delivery. This car is a Calypso Coral avalanche with a bench seat and it makes the Hemi seem positively tame.

The handling is unremarkable, with a good bit of body roll, dartiness and steering correction over rough pavement. Part of the blame surely goes to the Polyglas bias ply tires, but in abrupt lane change maneuvers you are well aware of the weight extending far past both axles. It gives the car a slightly unsettled pendulum feeling – but this is not felt in normal driving. With such power and torque multiplication from the 2.78 toploader, there is a bit of leaf spring windup and resulting shudder in street starts – but wood the throttle and the tires surrender faster than France. I suspect there isn’t a gumball on the planet that can withstand the torque wallop delivered by this heroically powerful Boss 494.

Perhaps the most amusing aspect of these aero cars is their effect on other drivers. Despite the bright paint, extroverted graphics and eye-popping sheetmetal some drivers motor past without reaction. Those in the know stare in jaw drop wonder, while others point and silently mouth something that looks like “WTF?” or “Holy crap!” And I notice a socio-economic pattern too. The suburban Range Rover/BMW/Mercedes crowd could care less. To them, we’re just greasy nailed punks in loud cars. But the working guys go bananas. These cars are automotive royalty, and they respond accordingly. Tools get dropped, ball caps get placed reverently to the chest and work all but stops when these cars go by. I honestly don’t think that a parade of naked supermodels would have greater effect.

So the day ends. Perhaps one of the most unexpected and enjoyable days of my life. Sharing the gracious company of a true enthusiast like Stuart was refreshing. Here’s a guy that knows exactly why he collects musclecars. Not for double digit ROI, but because he loves these fine cars and most importantly loves driving them in the manner for which they were designed. The next morning I took the cover off of our CJ Cougar and drove it to breakfast with my 4 year old son. Hey, these cars were meant for driving!