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August 17, 2010
August 16, 2010
What Did You Do This Weekend?
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
I had a great night at the Valley 6 Drive In with Chris and the Impala. Though The Expendables and The Killers turned out to be two of the most forgettable pieces of fluff in Hollywood history, it was awesome to get the convertible out under the stars on an uncharacteristically warm Seattle night.
How about you? What did you do this weekend?
July 16, 2010
Was it Cool Then? Is it Cool Now?
Bick66
Thinking back, most of us have a particular car that was the starting point for becoming a gearhead in the first place. For me, there were actually several–but it definitely started with my grandparents’ ’66 Impala convertible that they bought used in the early ’80′s, and that proudly sits in my garage today. My grandfather also had a blue 4-door 396 big-block Caprice with a white vinyl top, and a gold 2-door ’69 Caprice with a 427, not to mention the several full-sized Pontiac wagons that he used for work. I also spent countless road trips up and down the West coast in the back seat of my great aunt’s 1971 4-door Caprice, and later remember my dad busting his knuckles on its small block 400 in the driveway after he bought the car in the late 80′s. With such exposure to late ’60′s and early ’70′s GMs in my childhood, it’s no surprise that today my garage is home to an ’05 Corvette, a ’66 Impala and a ’96 Blazer. My family bought these cars not because they were stylish or particularly desirable at the time–they were just reliable, inexpensive used cars. Like the convertible Impala: Grandma liked it because it was yellow and Grandpa liked it because of the price. It would be like if I were to go buy a reasonably well maintained early ’90′s Cavalier convertible today. It’s only been in the years since they regularly ran those cars that this era of GMs have become sought-after, so I guess you could say that my chosen cars are cooler now than they were when they first got me into the hobby. How about you? What car or cars caught your eye at a young age and how old were you? Were these cars cool then? Are they cool now?
June 28, 2010
What Did You Do This Weekend?
Bick66
Early Saturday morning I drove the Impala into North Seattle to enjoy the 18th annual Greenwood Car Show–stay tuned for the full photo gallery later on. While at the show, I finally managed to diagnose the Impala’s unintended acceleration problem: it turned out the powerful 383 had sheared off the left-hand motor mount during some spirited driving, and the motor was then able to torque far enough to sporadically stick the throttle mechanism. I stopped by the parts store on my way home from the show then spent Sunday afternoon leveling the motor and replacing both mounts.
How about you? What did you do this weekend?
June 24, 2010
18th Annual Greenwood Car Show on Saturday!
Bick66
Yesterday I registered my ’66 Impala for this Saturday’s 18th Annual Greenwood Car Show in North Seattle. Greenwood is hands-down our best community-style car show, where city streets are shut down and cars parked on the diagonal over a long stretch of the main drag. After a sold-out event in 2009, they’ve now expanded the show to encompass over 20 city blocks of Greenwood Avenue. With room for more than 1000 hot rods, customs, classics, muscle cars and stockers of all makes, there’s bound to be something for everyone. As if that wasn’t enough, they’re also going to have have vintage hydro planes, city buses, Seattle police cars, steamers, electrics, motorcycles and more all together with live music, beer gardens and a variety of local merchants making the Greenwood Car Show one of my favorite days of the year. If you’re anywhere near Seattle, this is a show you won’t want to miss. You can see a few pictures from last year’s show after the jump and more under the CarDomain Events section.
More information at www.greenwoodcarshow.com
Continue reading "18th Annual Greenwood Car Show on Saturday!" »
June 15, 2010
1965 Impala with NASCAR Racing History on eBay
By Brian Lohnes
BangShift.com
We were tipped off to this totally awesome 1965 Chevy Impala stock car by BangShift.com forum member Blazerteam (who lives in Norway!) and immediately fell in lust with this cruddy hulk of a former NASCAR racer. Located in Georgia, the car supposedly saw racing action back in 1965 and 1966. The seller claims that it was run at “all the major NASCAR tracks.”
Details are a bit light, but the photos really seem to show a car that was raced and put away in a barn, not to see the light of day for 30 years. Going back to the seller’s ad, he claims that the car was run with a 409 engine, which is certainly cool all in itself.
Rolling on huge meats, packing a rudimentary roll cage, window tabs, tape wrapped steering wheel, and simply perfect hand lettering, hopefully the buyer takes it back to the original shape it was in when the car raced.
According to some online research, the car’s driver Roy Mayne finished 4th at Darlington in 1965. Did he do it in this car?
Source — eBay Motors.com — 1965 Impala former NASCAR racer
June 14, 2010
What Did You Do This Weekend?
Bick66
This weekend I finally took the time to tune my ’66 Impala’s carburetor. After swapping the primary and secondary jets, metering rods and piston springs, the stroker motor that Jen and I built last year finally seems to be running better than ever. There’s still a lot to do before the 2010 Greenwood Car Show in Seattle on Saturday June 26th but I’m glad to have gotten a jump start on it.
How about you? What did you do this weekend?
May 11, 2010
Are You Serious…?
By David Clarke
highspeedhijinks
One thing I’ve seen time and time again in my 15 years going to regular car shows is that people have no concept of money or what things are worth, and the car corral at the recent Rhinebeck show was proof-positive of that once again. Like many years before it, the corral was filled with clone cars asking real car prices, Grandmas’ low miles daily drivers, and rotted-out hulks of metal that used to be cars. The latter category is what I would call highway robbery to anyone even thinking of making a purchase. How someone can slap a multi-thousand dollar price on something I can see through is beyond me. Take this 1970 Impala convertible–it’s a mess. The seller’s statement of “Doesn’t run, Needs work” is an understatement if I’ve ever heard one. With a broken right front spring and flat tire on the same wheel, almost worn-through paint, no actual metal left behind the rear wheel and a top that hasn’t come up since the Regan administration, it looks like a wounded junk yark dog. What may you ask is this car worth to someone like me? About 200 dollars as a parts car. What the seller wants is a far cry from that–follow the jump to see his well-placed ad. Continue reading "Are You Serious…?" »
May 10, 2010
Trailer Queen < Driver?
By David Clarke
highspeedhijinks
On May 2nd, I attended Rhinebeck, one of the bigger car shows we have here in the Northeast, and happened upon one of the cleanest cars I’ve ever seen. It was a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS. 396, 4 speed, bucket seats, and color-matched wheels with dog dish caps. Checking off this car’s option list would be like checking off your own Christmas wish list. This car looked to have been freshly restored the previous winter and had “better than factory” written all over it. With things like factory-correct hose clamps, a vintage looking Delco battery, and factory chalk markings on the firewall, I knew this car was built for concours judging. I poured over this car for at least 15 minutes, trying to find a flaw in the paint or something that was a little less than immaculate. Its one flaw I found though turned out to be a pretty big one in my book. While crawling amongst the grass to look underneath, I overheard a gentleman say, “I was here early and got to see this one roll off the trailer.” Right then I stopped looking, crushed by what I’d heard. Can’t say I was surprised–it was the cleanest car I’d ever seen at a show. But I can’t help but feel that being a trailer queen diminishes any car that was built to be driven. What do you think–does a trailered car deserve as much respect as a car that drives in? More pictures after the jump.
April 9, 2010
Power Disc Brake Conversion Install
Bick66
Last summer I installed a power disc brake conversion on my ’66 Impala convertible–it just made sense, considering I was putting a 400+ hp stroker motor in it, and the non-boosted single-chamber master cylinder putting juice to four smallish drums made it kind of a death trap. There was a ton of aftermarket conversion kits available for my ride, and I finally settled on one from Matt’s Classic Bowties. After laying out all of the parts and reading through the few short pages of rudimentary installation instructions, I was a little worried about the outcome of this project–it was my first attempt converting manual 4-wheel drums to power front disc brakes, and it basically entailed tearing out the whole braking system. So once I started, I was kind of committed. But now with the install complete, I’m amazed by how well it turned out. Other than a few simple modifications, the entire system bolted up smoothly. Wanna learn how to make your big-boat classic stop on a dime? Read on below the jump.
