Classic car guys / hot rods

[Mark W]

@afret I love those old Mustangs. I grew up around an uncle that had a Mustang addiction when he got came home from Vietnam. I can remember him having a 69 Shelby GT 500, a 68 GT 350, a 70 Mach 1, and another yellow 69 fastback with a big block and 4 speed. The first time that dumped the clutch on the GT 500 on a set of 10” slicks with me on board changed my life.....lol.

 

[dburkart]

Originally a 390 S Code, but that engine was repalced witha 428CJ and a TCI Trans.

 

[snert]

Just turning 50 this year....but now sporting a buzz cut...well as buzz cut as I can get with the covid crap.

Ya, that 80's hair only lasted to 93 for me. Since then genetics and job led to a buzz cut. It was flat on top for a while, then it went chrome....

 

[EWaugh]

I used to like playing with my '69 Mustangs but it's not really much fun anymore. It's too much work for an old fart like me. Messing with guns is more my speed now. I need to get rid of them soon to make room in my garage.

Afret, I might be able to help you with that. if one of your Mustangs ever becomes a burden I have room in my stable

 

[Twicepop]

View attachment 1187608 72 dart 440

View attachment 1187608 72 dart 440

Back when I was a senior in high school (class of 72) I got picked up Christmas Eve for driving 85 in a 50 zone (Ohio had a 50 mph speed limit after dark back then). On top of the fine and court costs, I was forced to attend Drivers Improvement Clinic. When I got to the "clinic" one of the other "students" was going around showing everyone in the class the ticket that landed him in there. He was a mechanic at the local Dodge/Chrysler dealership. The car that got him there was a chartreuse 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger with a black vinyl top with black interior. It was originally a 340 with an automatic transmission. Before he drove it out of the dealership he swapped in a 440 6 pack with a 727 t-flite and the stock rear gears. The ticket was for 159 miles per hour, he said they got him on the interstate, clocked him with an airplane and set up a road block to get him stopped.
The fastest car I ever rode in was a 1971 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler with a 429 SCJ Ram Air engine backed up with a 4 speed. An older buddy of mine (Charlie) had this and picked me up one evening at the local gas station we hung out at. He pulled up and said "get yer ass in" and away we went. He went about 5 miles from the little town I grew up in, did a U-turn at an intersection and stopped. He said put your seat belt on, revved it up to about 4 grand and side stepped the clutch. It fished tailed while he was rowing the gears and at about 80 he said pay attention to what the car is doing. You could actually feel the car being pulled lower to the ground because of the ground effects. Then he said, want to see what it'll do, I said go for it or something along that line. He stuck his foot into it, at 6 grand the speedo said 140 mph, he kept his foot into it and buried the tach, the needle hung straight down and just wobbled back and forth. What Commander Cody said about the telephone poles looked like a picket fence became a reality that night. The only other car that I rode in that came close to doing that was another Mercury, a 1970 Marquis that belonged to another friend (that's another story).

 

[Outrider27]

My fastest drive was a brief blast a bit after 11pm on highway 11w going north from Knoxville, TN, between Blaine and Rutledge, for those that know the road. The car was a kit car called a Kellison Coupe, built by a late 20s friend of mine with lots of hard earned money and a love of fast cars. It had 4 wheel independent suspension, a Halibrand quick change rear and mag wheels, and a built to the gills Chev 348 engine (became the legendary 409) with Hilborn fuel injection. It was built to be a (barely) street legal car for SCCA road racing. Calculated from the rpm, using the rear gear ratio in it that night and no allowance for tire growth in the rear tires (that was our way of making sure no one questioned the speed), I hit 171 mph on a public road. I was 16 and thrilled; it was 1961 and the police didn't even notice. A similar car is pictured below - my friend's was white with twin dark blue stripes instead of the single wide stripe pictured. Some times you get very lucky; that night was such a night.

 

[diego-ted]

Here are a couple of mine,

Bad to the Bone, MOPAR or NO CAR Baby!

 

[rjtfroggy]

In 69 I bought my first car a 1964 Fury 383 with 4bbl and dual point distributer, I think 323 rear car could go forever in 1st gear. Wish I still had it.
Next up in 1971 I got a 69 Chevelle SS 396, auto, car was fast but never went by a gas station and I spent more time under the hood fixing things than I did enjoying it. Worse junk ever.
Then in 73 I bought a brand new F100 and have been buying FORD pick-ups ever since. Never a bad one (6 so far). Looking at the new Rangers right now only problem is they only come with a 4 cylinder turbo, I have only had full size with small eights in them with no headaches yet.

 

[ebb]

Outrider 27 My dad was born in union county and its been 30 years since ive spent much time in that neck of the woods. Is 11W the road that goes from Maynardville to Knoxville?

 

[Outrider27]

Outrider 27 My dad was born in union county and its been 30 years since ive spent much time in that neck of the woods. Is 11W the road that goes from Maynardville to Knoxville?

Close; haven't visited in East TN for years myself, either, but if memory serves, you're thinking of Rte 33, which goes up through Maynardville to New Tazewell, I think, from Knoxville, heading somewhat closer to due north than 11W. 11W goes from Knoxville up through Blaine, Rutledge, Bean station, past Rogersville (not through it) and on to Kingsport, heading closer to North East than Rte 33. If you have a set of switchable Lucas Flame Throwers for extra night vision when nothing is coming at you (we did), 33, 11W and 11E were all good candidates for our little escapade when my friend let me test drive the beast.

 

[jonbearman]

My '65.

What are the specs on the roller cam in that 65 of yours which is bitchin to say the least?

 

[jonbearman]

Will be getting rid of these pieces of junk soon. Let me know your prices when you do sell them or should I say if you sell them.

 

[ebb]

I do remember going to Knoxville with my dad and it must have been RT33 but do not remember a piece of that road that was straight enough to go that fast. If you know what I mean. I still have cousins in Maynardville. They owned a body shop that was known for doing excellent work. Union county was my dads side and Jonesborough/Erwin was my moms folks. I flew in to Knoxville about a year and a half ago to bring home a car that my cousin in Johnson City left when she past. A really nice one owner garage kept 1989 caprice, it has original paint and is going in to get painted Monday.

 

[Outrider27]

Hey, that Caprice sounds great - have fun with that project.

I have always missed that Kellison; the kit manufacturer said the finished car would be from 41 to 43 or 44 inches (can't remember which) from the ground to the highest point on the roof, depending on a number of variables, and I do remember that one was 42 and 3/4 inches total height. It eventually got converted for the street for my buddy's wife to drive; the fuel injection was the 2nd generation Hilborn, which added really good low speed mixture control. It has long since been lost in multiple moves over the years, but for many years I had a file with my notes on the car that included a letter from Stu Hilborn explaining tuning the injection for street use, his reply to a letter I wrote to the company asking for advice on that subject.

 

[ebb]

I had a friend that passed from a heart condition that hung around where I did back in the middle 70s. I rented a Quonset hut from a guy that built several national champion race cars, and a multitude of local race track cars. He helped my friend Larry who blew up the motor in his TR4. the chassis builders solution was a 327 and a power glide from a 1972 impala. We never knew how fast it was cause the speedo drive from the power glide never hooked up to the TR4 speedometer, Larry didn't think he needed a tach. The TR4 came with vacuum powered windshield wipers and once when we went for a top end drive and pushed it faster than we ever had the wipers were going by themselves. The car was black and had a black top and nearly no trim so it was almost invisible at night. We really pushed the limit with the PO but never got in too much trouble.

 

[Tempest]

What are the specs on the roller cam in that 65 of yours which is bitchin to say the least?

If I recall it's 260/268 @.050",

What are the specs on the roller cam in that 65 of yours which is bitchin to say the least?

I'll have to check cam card. If I recall it's 264/268 @ .050", mid .600's lift hyd roller.