Car pics too cool not to share
- Thread starter Squatch
- Start date
That is a great article about a great car but there's no mention of what I'd call a late 70s-early 80s steering wheel cover. Or if we'd like a bad joke, maybe that's what inspired the steering wheel covers of the late 70s-early 80s.
After producing biplanes and launching a sucessful aviation company, the Farman brothers entered the car business as a manufacturer in 1919. The first Farman was introduced in 1919 and was called the A6 and focused on luxury as well as the high standards set for aircraft manufacturing. This meant the finish was kept to very high grade and included high quality materials such as aluminum. By 1921, Farman upgraded the A6 into the A6B which had improvements such as power-assisted brakes on all four wheels.
As originally conceived, the Judge was to be a low-cost GTO, stripped of features to make it competitive with the Plymouth Road Runner. The package was US$332.00 more expensive than a standard GTO, and included the Ram Air III engine, Rally II wheels without trim rings, Hurst shifter (with a unique T-shaped handle), wider tires, various decals, and a rear spoiler. Pontiac claimed that the spoiler had some functional effect at higher speeds, producing a small but measurable downforce, but it was of little value at legal speeds. The Judge was initially offered only in Carousel Red, but midway into the model year a variety of other colors became available.
OP
Hit the Monroe Swap Meet this weekend with some old buddies of mine. Sold my Toyota Tacoma within two hours, almost doubling my money (gotta love that!). While there, this little jewel showed up. It's a '69 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler "longnose". It differs from the Ford Talladega in that the 18" nose extension is sloped 5 degrees steeper than the Talladega, and the rocker panels are rolled and tucked in an inch more than the Talladega (this is according to the owner. I haven't verified that information). He also said that these cars were 2 mph faster on the oval track as a result of these differences. His is a factory 351 Windsor, but is running an old ProCharger supercharger on it, and is making a tick over 600hp. He also is running 4-wheel discs, and some wide 315 tires on the rear. Love the stance on this thing!
There was a project '69 Cyclone Spoiler that popped up for sale around here about 10 years ago, and I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what it was, so I learned a little about them. The cars you're talking about/looked at are Cyclone Spolier II, which were built for NASCAR homologation/competition, so they had some rules to
, and like any good factory racer they had little tweaks looking to push limits. I found a few sources talking about the Cyclone Spoiler II having rolled (raised) rockers because NASCAR measured ride height from ground to rocker at that time. Raising the rockers 1" allowed the whole car to be lowered 1", which generally makes a car just a little bit more slippery.
OP
There was a project '69 Cyclone Spoiler that popped up for sale around here about 10 years ago, and I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what it was, so I learned a little about them. The cars you're talking about/looked at are Cyclone Spolier II, which were built for NASCAR homologation/competition, so they had some rules toskirtfollow
Everything you just said is pretty much what the owner told me. It is a Cyclone Spoiler II. As such, it only came with a 351 Windsor (no 428 available, like the Cyclone did). Also, only column shift, bench seat, open diff with a 3.0:1 gear ratio, and an FMX transmission. Like you said, it was all done in the name of homologation. Regardless, it's a rare ride, and this one was a little sweetie. Loved the sound of that blower whining!
Very rare cars. Actually, that one you posted having a supercharger and aftermarket brake booster/master cylinder is kind of shocking to me. I don't know all the details of these cars, but if I remember right, buyers had two engine options, street or race, and two color options, the Dan Gurney (white & blue) or Cale Yarborough (white & red). Interesting cars. I love factory racers and all of their little tweaks.
OP
1961 Ford Thunderbird bubbletop - THUNDERFLITE
The year 1923 was the final model year for the 43-A, which was offered by Oldsmobile starting in 1921. The 1923 Model 43-A was available in three different touring models, a roadster, and four separate closed versions. Of the 19,114 examples produced that year, 926 of those were the four-passenger Brougham or Opera Coupe. It had seating for four occupants with the rear seats accessed via a folding front seat.
This was at the Overland Expo.
A little old & new blending together.
A little old & new blending together.
Seen at a local cruise night-— father and son Series 3 Land Rovers, a 1964 and 1974. That's me on the left modelling a T shirt my daughter bought me !
