[lesmore49]

More memories Les.

Another from the cloudy, cold and rainy day at the 40th Annual Cobra Motors Barbecue in Oso, Washington.

Pentax K5IIs, Sigma 28mm f2.8 Mini Wide.



A 1951 Chevy Kustom. Built in 2 weeks for the 1993 KKOA Street Custom Spectacular by a number of famous greats in the custom car scene, including Bill Hines.



Bill Hines built kustom kars for over 70 years. His work was legendary.









I also saw this car at the Arlington car show last July.

The headlights were grafted on from a 1955 Chevy Bel Air.

Beautiful custom touches on that old Chevy. Like the paint too...sort of monochromatic. Looking at the picture of Mr. Bill Hines reminds me of famous customiser Gene Winfield...who I don't think ever really retired from building custom jobs. I enjoy seeing or looking at pictures of custom cars/trucks. I'm impressed with the imagination, skill and craftsmanship that car customisers put into their work.

---------- Post added 09-16-18 at 09:40 PM ----------

Some guys refer to very radical camshafts as "tree climbers".

Probably because they help make so much power the car wants to climb trees every time you mash the loud pedal.

Reminds me of a buddy who lives out on a farm and his prize vehicle was a late '60's Torino with a built 460 cube Ford V8, drag gearing and BF Goodrich drag radials. He punched it hard when I was in the shotgun seat and I thought that Ford was going to pop a wheelie...

[paulh]

A couple carshow Chevys - a '56 210 and some kind of Corvette concept car:

[Ratmagiclady]

Performance cams back in the 1940's and 1950's were described by some old hot rodders back then...as full race, semi race, 3/4 race, track cams, etc. It was the vintage hot rodder slang that my old American retired mechanic buddy used and it came from his era.

He had been involved in rodding or as he would say...'souping up' engines all the way back to the early teens of the last century. If I recall he was from the state of Indiana and was also on some early racing pit crews . I recall him showing me some scrapbooks with newspaper articles of his involvement in early auto racing in the states.

I'm an old guy, but in the 1960's our terminology had changed somewhat and I also don't recall the old 3/4 race, etc. used to describe performance cams in that era.

I think for my generation a number of terms filtered down from *various* previous generations, depending who taught who and such things. My friend got those particular words apparently from his father, who was about that generation, and well, the landlord I had at least knew the terms when I was doing my Duster's engine swap. (Pretty cool landlord that way, car-people family, really didn't mind me keeping a donor car and my own around for a summer. I helped his sons do similar for this Chevy they had, ...actually often miss that place, despite just-about-no-actual garage. )

It's how I learned a lot about a lot of things, photography included, I'd just listen to a bunch of old dudes, probably picked up some dusty old photo archaisms along the way.

---------- Post added 09-19-18 at 12:53 PM ----------

A couple carshow Chevys - a '56 210 and some kind of Corvette concept car:
r

Heh. That looks like maybe they took one of those Jags from maybe ten or twelve years ago and redid the bodywork like that. I kinda like it, actually.

[wtlwdwgn]

A couple carshow Chevys - a '56 210 and some kind of Corvette concept car:

That's a retro Corvette conversion. Take a new Corvette and make it look like an updated classic from the 50s or 60s.

[paulh]

Heh. That looks like maybe they took one of those Jags from maybe ten or twelve years ago and redid the bodywork like that. I kinda like it, actually.

That's a retro Corvette conversion. Take a new Corvette and make it look like an updated classic from the 50s or 60s.

I like it too - and prefer it over the current style Corvettes - but that's just me.

[Racer X 69]

A couple carshow Chevys - a '56 210 and some kind of Corvette concept car:

That's a retro Corvette conversion. Take a new Corvette and make it look like an updated classic from the 50s or 60s.

I like it too - and prefer it over the current style Corvettes - but that's just me.

How about a Corvette Nomad?









Some guy took a 1957 Nomad and fitted it with newer Corvette running gear, and the instrument panel.

Not something I would have done.

[paulh]

How about a Corvette Nomad?

[Racer X 69]

I know.

Me too.

[Ratmagiclady]

How about a Corvette Nomad?


Some guy took a 1957 Nomad and fitted it with newer Corvette running gear, and the instrument panel.

Not something I would have done.

Ugh, abominable. Especially the face-treatment and destruction of the interior best-parts.

One of my dream cars would be a '56 Nomad. I'd resto-mod the suspension, probably even LS- swap it, definitely put a Hurst on the floor, but I would *not* slam it or put ridiculously-oversized rims on it, (maybe go to 17's or possibly 19s if the tires didn't have to be too low-profile to look right, but I'd probably have a split bench seat in it. One thing my limited experiences behind the wheel of the tri-five Chevies (that I wasn't really very interested in before,) ...is just how surprisingly-well I and the interior just *fit together.*

As for Vette-treatments leaning toward that vintage of Vette, I've been thinking 'how bout that Pontiac Solstice/whatever they called the Saturn version?' (They actually look pretty cool already, but the late-50's vettes always had that 'little roadster' vibe to me.)

[wtlwdwgn]

How about a Corvette Nomad?









Some guy took a 1957 Nomad and fitted it with newer Corvette running gear, and the instrument panel.

Not something I would have done.

Hork! Not my idea either especially that nose.

Back to retro Vettes; I saw one in AZ last spring that was made to look like a '63 split window. Really cool.

[Ratmagiclady]

Hork! Not my idea either especially that nose.

Back to retro Vettes; I saw one in AZ last spring that was made to look like a '63 split window. Really cool.

Man, they've been letting out these spy shots of the C8 mid-engine Vette, (not sure how I feel about that, but they look pretty cool of themselves) but now I'm kinda wondering about split-window treatments to show off the engine bay back there.

[wtlwdwgn]

Man, they've been letting out these spy shots of the C8 mid-engine Vette, (not sure how I feel about that, but they look pretty cool of themselves) but now I'm kinda wondering about split-window treatments to show off the engine bay back there.

That's a great idea!

[monochrome]

Admittedly, front wheel drive just plain tends to disinterest me in cars, anyway, it just seems there's styling potential there. I suppose if they put the TT's all wheel drive in a more-retro 356 car, it'd be cool.

Anyway, 'sports car' can be a heavy term, especially if you're going for 'affordable and practical.' ' For any given genre of car, I usually just want it to be 'More GT' in various respects, so I love the shooting brakes and hatchbacks and fastbacks (especially swoopy ones) and all that. Small's small, but that's why I don't actually *have* a little car, given my practical needs. It's not as if a Miata, for instance, is uncomfortable for me at my size, (unless it comes to electrical work under the dash, etc: I had a neighbor with one who just plain needed me just to be able to get in a few places, but that was contortions even for me. ) ....I just wish they made an MGBGT like version, and I'd even prefer the very pretty Japan-only coupe.

As Beetles go, it's kind of like, if they got away from the frumpy-cutesy-looking version I was thinking 'why not go a bit further.'

My thought for a sporty project will be somewhere around a 76 Celica GT liftback build, even. (I had one once but ended up buying a donor car for my Duster instead of what that needed for the road, but wished I could have stuffed that in a time bubble for later even at the time.) And that would *be* there to be little, even if I do most of my actual driving cause I need to go get something or bring some tools.

That is, really, depending what else might come along. It could be the Ratmobile that ends up getting that attention, too, like if she doesn't have to be a daily she could get an engine swap and a few other things, maybe a bit more performance-minded now that there's a truck here that I actually should be ordering parts for.

Fall 2019 / 2020 model year Toyota Supra Coupe / BMW Z4 Roadster co-designed small sports car coming

:.

[Just1MoreDave]

Fall 2019 / 2020 model year Toyota Supra Coupe / BMW Z4 Roadster co-designed small sports car coming

:.

Excellent idea!

After squinting at the camouflage photos, the Supra looks better too.

[Ratmagiclady]

Fall 2019 / 2020 model year Toyota Supra Coupe / BMW Z4 Roadster co-designed small sports car coming

:.

Gods, I hope the new Supra isn't based on anything as tiny as a z4. I don't *want* a 'sports car.' I want a freaking *hatchback I can embarrass people who can't drive their sports cars with.* That's what a Supra is supposed to be.

That's where I think the Scubayotion FRSBRZ86 went a bit wrong. Tried to be a 'sports car' instead of a 'Daily hatchback you can have fun with.' They actually made it a car I'd probably love driving around here but isn't a damn hatchback so I would have to bring my wagon or the work truck for most reasons I'd actually have an excuse to drive any distance. A Supra isn't supposed to be a sports car, never mind a little z4 thing, (Which, if I wanted a *little* car, well, they did make a shooting brake version. ) A Supra, it's supposed to be a GT hatchback you can make ridiculous if you choose.


Kinda why I would really like to do up like a 77 Celica GT Liftback, which I once had when no one wanted them. I'd blown the engine on my beloved Duster, but one of the other local shadetree types *gave* me that car, basically beautiful but it needed a windshield. In the process of looking, we found the donor car for said Duster for about the same price we expected to pay for said windscreen, though. I really wanted to shove that Celica into a pocket in spacetime for later, though, at the time and ever since. It was like a '67 Boss Mustang and a JDM Skyline had an illegitimate child and painted it chocolate brown hoping no one would notice.

I mean, that's kind of exactly my style to put some spunky wheels on and probably, at this point, eh, why not put 200 or so modern horsepower in there. That'd do. for scooting around. Frankly, I can embarrass kids in Mustangs with m yold Volvo if turns are involved. (And I still really haven't done up my suspension, also will be in maybe 110-HP-land-on-a good-day till I get to build a whole other engine to drop in at this point. ) I mean, I got lumber/ladder racks on said Ratmobile that were made for work vans till I cut them down, and a set of load-bearing tuned springs and used Bilsteins I really ought to spare a day or two to put in, but kinda don't want to just cause I know basically exaclty how this car handles and changing that is weirdly iffy to me. (Someone nag me to freaking do this anyway, by the way. I know it'll be better. Well, pretty sure. )

Anyway, I guess I think a Supra ought to be the most kickarse *Celica* Toyota can make, not a 'sports car' or 'supercar' or whatever. I think they forgot that even with the '86' Subasciota thing. The original AE86 was just an SR5 Corolla, it was a hatchback for people that love to drive: you know, decent engine, nice gearbox, nice throttle response, rear drive, and maybe aren't that's all you could justify buying for your daily life and never mind latter day 'Drift Tax.'

I remember walking past one of those poshimport dealerships in Allston/Brighton near Kenmore when actually barely-not-homeless and looking the part to some significant degree. They'd just gotten in an Alfa GTV/6 in trade that was parked on the street. This is one of my favorite cars ever. I think it's the most beautiful hatchhback ever devised by humanity, in fact. Advertised, not on power, but *balance.* Still remember there was kind of this young car guy salesman apparently spotted the love in my eyes and *insisted* on treating me like a fine customer of distinction.

Anyway, sometimes you just love a certain kind of thing and who cares if something else is 'better.' I guess a lot of Pentaxians can relate, there.