Monday, August 18, 2014

Automotif XLVI...

Seen at lunch today:
1958 Chevrolet Corvette

'58 Vette, with Porsche 944 Turbo and Lotus Eclat in the background.

1972 MG Midget

Bentley Continental GTC

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15 comments:

OldTexan said...

58-59 Vettes have to be the most gorgeous cars ever made. Every part flows together to create a work of art. A very spoiled girl was sent to our little town, to live with relatives and to stay out of trouble in 1962 and she drove her little 59 Vette and made us drool over her and the car. Wow, she could lay rubber for over a block with that car.

6:20 PM, August 18, 2014
Don M said...

A beautiful troika!

6:50 PM, August 18, 2014
Ed Jones said...

And none of them had 24" wheels.

7:31 PM, August 18, 2014
Old NFO said...

I'd take the Vette over ALL the others!

8:35 PM, August 18, 2014
Skip said...

Yep, washboard hood.
Got a '62 after I mustered out.
Drove it 'til she got too pregnant to fit behind the wheel.
Miss them both.

8:47 PM, August 18, 2014
BillCa said...

Having had the privilege to drive an original 53½ Corvette and a much improved 58 model I have to say these were really boulevard cruisers and straight-line sports cars. But give me a '63 split-window Stingray any day for style.

For Euro cars, the Lotus Europa was about as nimble and fun as they come. As long as you never got tagged by a '68 Bonneville (yup, got the T-shirt). The later twin-cam specials could whip up to 120 mph with their little Renault derived four bangers and corner at 0.9g on street tires.

9:31 PM, August 18, 2014
Will said...

Around '69-70, a brother of a friend traded his 327ci '58 'Vette to a Honda dealer for a new 450 twin. I think he had to toss some money in with it.
The car was in good shape. He didn't tell anyone he was doing it until after the fact.
IIRC, he also bought one of those little AMC red/white/blue factory hotrods. The one with the air scoop logos that said -AIR- This one had the little v8 engine, 290ci?

10:20 PM, August 18, 2014
BillCa said...

There was nothing little about AMC's AMX 390 cid V8 engine. It was a good workhorse and could churn out 420 bhp (most delivered 325). For a car with a wheelbase of only 97 inches (1-inch shorter than the Corvette) it made for a quick two-seater. The R/W/B AMX-SS featured a 4-speed gearbox mated to the 390 with a Hurst shifter and clutch. It would lift its nose if you dumped the clutch at 3300 rpm.

Common, lower end AMX's had the AMC 290 cid power plant (225 bhp). A 343 was available as an option (280 bhp) before the 390. Even with the 290 cid engine it was a sporty little car.

My best friend's roomie bought one when he separated from the Marines (Recon) in '69. His was a standard-paint SS, 390, 4-speed Hurst gearbox. He added a slightly larger 4-bbl carb and new cam. It would eat Corvettes for lunch. He put 30 lbs of sand bags in the trunk to minimize wheel spin.

Sadly, like almost all AMC cars of that era, it tended to loosen up with the miles (screws, nuts, bolts) and collected squeaks, rattles and other noises.

1:09 AM, August 19, 2014
Paul said...

Yeah, those old amx's where quick, just rattle apart.

Love me some 58 vette. Would love to get a 55, not that they made many of those.

8:40 AM, August 19, 2014
Cookie said...

I'll take the midget, like riding a motorcycle with a box around it. Oh the memories.

8:50 AM, August 19, 2014
RollsCanardly said...

That Midget is in good company...

8:56 AM, August 19, 2014
Scott said...

I worked on an Eclat once upon a time, had to take my boots off to test drive it the footwell was so small. Sort of slow to get going like all cars of that vintage but wow did it go around corners with a quickness.

10:42 AM, August 19, 2014
Will said...

Not the AMX, it was the boxy little sedan. Still, it was a Hurst setup.

Ah, found it: Hurst SC/Rambler. May have only been a one year model, 1969.

1:41 PM, August 19, 2014
BillCa said...

Oh lawdy, I forgot about that one. The Rambler line was never considered a "muscle car" line at all, but AMC made a low-cost "street rod" out of the Rambler American using the AMX's 390cid engine. They only made 500 to qualify it for stock class auto racing.

While we're talking sports cars, my ex-father in law had a Sunbeam Tiger with the Ford 289 engine. Quite a sprite little car!

2:43 PM, August 19, 2014
Unknown said...

I want to live in that neighborhood.

Artwork on 4 wheels everywhere!

10:23 PM, August 19, 2014

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