zoomvroom Car Reviews, New car info

Lots of Cute, Tons of Fun, and a Gigantic Smile in the New Morgan 3 Wheeler!

It has two cylinders.  No doors.  No frills.  A curb weight about 1200 pounds.  Lots of zoom, and some vroom.  But, is three wheels taking weight reduction a bit too far?  Nope.  From 1919 to 1950, the British automaker, Morgan produced over 9 MILLION units.  About ten or eleven years ago, Pete Larsen, who works at Liberty Motors in Seattle, basically designed a three wheeler by himself.  Charles Morgan, who is the grandson of Morgan’s founder, HFS Morgan, heard of Pete’s creation, bought one, and took it to the factory.  Ten years later, the iconic Morgan 3 Wheeler is back.

This car is not meant to be a track day warrior.  Nay, it is meant to be a car where the driver is involved, mesmerized, and captured (dare I say it, captivated) by the charm of the car at sane speeds on normal roads.  The 80 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque are sent to the rear wheel by a five-speed manual transmission taken from a Mazda Miata.

Getting into the car itself deserves a paragraph of its own, so read up…To get into the car while it is running, I recommend the driver enter the car by getting into the passenger seat (on the left side), climbing over the unnaturally high center console (while avoiding the gearshift lever – ouch), and plunking oneself into the drivers seat.  It’s as simple as that…

The one thing that may surprise you is the lack of electronic nannies.  This car is old school.  And proud of it.  Going down a road at 60 mph will feel like you are going 100.  With the smell of hot oil, rubber screeching on pavement (the back end LOVES to swing out), and the wind in your face, life couldn’t be better.  The steering is rack-and-pinion, and to turn the wheel, you must keep your right elbow hanging out of the car.  However, it is a lot of fun!

The car only costs a mere $50,000.  Can I buy one, Mom?…

zoomvroom World News

Is This a Hint of What Will Come?

I’m not sure if you’ve seen the latest batches of pictures that Porsche recently released of the 918 prototype, you were likely scratching your head.  Why?  Because Porsche initially painted this forthcoming supercar in a bland black-and-white paint pattern based upon the historic Martini Racing colors.  Well that color experiment went belly up.  Porsche repainted.  Check out the Martini Racing inspired color choice.  Here is a sneak peek, and you’re in some very good luck…

Porsche 918 Spyder in Martini Racing Colors

This photo was taken by a Porsche photographer at the Nürburgring racetrack, where it was doing many grueling laps.  Porsche has been pretty much mum about releasing technical information about the 918 recently. Us car enthusiasts can only wait until September 18, 2013 (9/18!), when Porsche will release this lovely car.  Here’s to hoping that Porsche will do what Ford did with the GT:  Replicate the old factory racing livery colors on the production 918.

P.S.  Is it just me, or does this possibly herald a new era of Porsche competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?  I encourage you to watch the Steve McQueen movie, Le Mans.  I also encourage you to remember the following thought; I’d LOVE for my loyal subscribers to buy me one when it comes out (it is expected to go for approximately $1.4)…   I don’t want to disappoint you by not showing you a picture of one of the historic Porsche 917’s:   Fonds d'ecran: Martini Porsche 917K Le Mans 1971

zoomvroom Uncategorized, Vehicle repair

A Slight Correction

“Uh, this 4.3 liter engine isn’t stock for 1982.  This engine was stock from 1988 on, though.”  Those were the somewhat dismaying words that I  heard from the local O’Reilly auto parts guy.  Yesterday, as I was calling various car parts stores to see if they had an A/C belt for a 1982 Chevrolet S10 with the 4.3 liter V6, everybody said that it wasn’t a stock engine (’82 engines were a 1.9 liter four cylinder and a 2.8 liter V6).  After trying to convince the Pepboys people that the 4.3 liter WAS a stock engine for almost five minutes, I hung up with an exasperated “Thank You.”  I then sent a text to my dad.  When I got back that evening, we checked the VIN of My Baby, and we found out that My Baby was actually manufactured in July of 1989!  Oops!  So, she DOES have a stock engine (sorry O’Reilly, you were right!).

My Baby is a stock 1989 Chevrolet S10 with the high-performance 4.3 liter engine pumping out 180 horsepower and about 220 lb-ft of torque.  She has air conditioning, a four-speed automatic transmission, a short bed, rear-wheel-drive, a cloth interior, and the optional sliding rear window.  Stay tuned as I go about repairing ‘My Baby’!  If you haven’t read my first post about My Baby, enjoy. https://unmuffled.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/391/

zoomvroom Gifts for the Car Enthusiast, World News

The 2013 Pagani Huayra is Finally Coming to the U.S. by Year’s End!

For those fans of the Pagani Huayra, (namely me), I am very, very, very happy to report that the $1.66 Million Pagani Huayra is FINALLY coming to the U.S. (legally!).  The first U.S. spec car for the very first U.S. customer in the should be in my driveway by May 2013 at the latest 🙂  I’ve heard that nailing it in the Huayra is like going full-power in an SR-71 (Motor Trend Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie compared it to putting the afterburners on in an F-15 [I’m all for speed and handling…]).

Huayra’s are meant to be driven.  Fast.  Very fast.  The Huayra is such a safe car that it makes a Volvo S60 with every single safety option checked, look about as safe as a unicycle!  Pagani has spent nearly $900,00 (NOT $90,000!) in developing a unique fuel system that helps eliminate the scary threat of fires in the rare event of a crash.  Plus, Pagani is currently developing a sport + mode that will lower the car 10mm, switch off ABS, stability control, AND eliminate the Auto Upshift that currently happens when you are in Comfort Mode or Sport Mode.  This will allow the driver more traction/control at higher speeds.  🙂

The primary reason the Huayra wasn’t imported  in to the U.S. had to do with airbags. The car had the wrong type of one-stage airbags (now it’s got two-stage airbags).  That meant that in the event of a crash, the airbags wouldn’t completely deploy.  Oops.  Well, all the kinks are being ironed out and I can’t wait to start driving mine!

If you haven’t read my previous post on Huayra’s, Horacio Pagani, and other interesting Pagani vehicles, I strongly recommend your reading my post on Horacio Pagani:  https://unmuffled.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/horacio-pagani-yet-another-great-car-guy/

Oh, and the video for the Pagani Huayra on their website is extraordinary and deserves it’s own Grammy award!  The cinematography is enough to make you sell all your personal belongings and drive your brand-new Huayra throughout Argentina!  If you wait a couple of years, I’ll do it with you!…http://www.pagani.com/huayra/default.aspx

Note: Please note this momentous event is being categorized by me under ‘world news’, and ‘gifts for the car enthusiast’.  Note my shameless hints…..

zoomvroom Car Culture, Field Trips

The 2012 American Graffiti Salute Coverage!

Remember my post last year on the 2011 American Graffiti Salute?  Well, the 2012 Salute topped the 2011 in just about every way!  I know that you’ll DEFINITELY agree with me when you see all the pictures…!  For many of the pictures, I will provide what information I know…

This 1966 Chevy Corvette Sting Ray has some nice candy-apple-red paint that would make a cherry jealous.  I have no idea what engine and transmission are under the hood, but I’d like to take it for a “test drive…”

What I DO know about this even MORE amazing 1963 Corvette Sting Ray with the hallmark split windows is that the original owner bought it new with the high-performance 427 V8 and the Muncie “Rock-Crusher” M21 four-speed manual.  Lovely.  Even better at 125 mph…

My cover photo of “Nashty Habit” is higher-resolution than this picture, but here’s the info:  Nashty Habit has a 454 engine from a souped-up Chevelle and a five-speed manual from G-d knows where.  The wheels are custom-forged, and the body and chassis are from a 1931 Nash.

This 1950s Ford step-van looks and sounds to be original.  But then again, who knows what secrets it might have under the hood…

This 1992 Shelby Cobra replicar has a Chevy Corvette Z06 engine and a Mustang five speed manual.  I know this because I was walking by and saw the sign for the car (hence the information on all the cars).

Remember this E-Type/60’s Ferrari replicar from last year?  If you don’t, it’s got a new Ford 5.0 liter Coyote crate engine that pumps out somewhere in the general vicinity of 500 horsepower.  VROOM!

This 1938 Graham Town Car was bought new by the owner’s grandfather, and has been passed down generation by generation.  The car was frame-off restored in 2003 by the current owner.  Apparently, it’s more comfortable than a 1960’s Cadillac or Lincoln.  It’s got a full leather interior, seats five comfortably, and gets 21 mpg.  And I almost forgot to mention that it’s got close to 240,000 miles on the odometer!

Please DON’T ask me WHY this 1995 Plymouth Prowler was in the parade!  My guess is that it is NOT a delivery vehicle, but simply an advertising piece for the pizza parlor!  I don’t know HOW “Pinky” got the car into the parade!

This other ’63 Chevy Corvette Sting Ray Split Window Coupe was bought in 1993 in very dilapidated condition.  It needed a lot of work, but it IS a rare fuel-injected ’63 that they bought for something ridiculous like $6,500!

This 1962 Ford Thunderbird has the high-performance 390 cubic inch V8 that slurps fuel at the ridiculous rate of 8 miles per gallon!  But, it IS very fun to drive and only has 23,000 miles on the clock.  It must be really hard to not use all 480 lb-ft of torque when passing a Prius!

This lovely 1957 Ford Ranchero pick-up has almost 100,000 miles on the clock and has been owned since new by a local Ford fanatic!  It has the easy-to-drive 390/automatic combo, and most of those have been used towing old Fords around!

This 1949 Mercury Club Coupe has a large 8.1 liter engine from a  2002 GMC Sierra pickup.  It may not have a lot of horsepower, but it’s got enough torque to make a bulldozer jealous!  VROOOM come literally!

This amazing 1970 Ford Torino Talladega has a numbers-matching 428 Cobra Jet engine and Muncie M21 transmission that send power to the rear wheels via yet another numbers-matching Ford 9-Inch rear end.  The tires are Goodyears that have better traction than a Formula 1 race-car!  VROOM should come in epic doses on THIS car!

This rare forest-green/black Dodge Challenger T/A could look better in my opinion, but it’s fast, so that’s all that matters…With the historic 426 Hemi engine mated to a four-speed-manual, this car can go up to 140 mph!  But it probably comes at the expense of comfort and fuel economy.

This quite amazing Pontiac Tempest was built just two months before the GTO came out in 1962.  Bought new with the high-power 326 V8, this car DEFINES the phrase “fun in the sun!”  It’s been a daily driver since the day the owner received the pink slip.  It’s had not one, but TWO restorations (1981, 2009) in it’s 180,000 mile career!  I would LOVE to drive this car if I could!

This 1946 Willys JEEP was bought just a few years ago from the original owner, and the owners enjoy every single mile that they rack up on the odometer!  These old JEEPs are some of the toughest vehicles in the world, often going up to 400,000 miles before they are made into cheap toaster ovens.  I hope that THIS JEEP doesn’t follow the same route as it’s siblings – civilian-issue JEEP’s from the 40’s are very hard to find, always fetching up to $20,000 for the better ones.

This lovely 1953 Mercury Club Coupe is all-original, and has been owned since new by the original owner.  It’s got the extremely rare “Skyroof” glass roof and the even rarer “Aquamarine Blue” paint.  It may not be fast, but you’ll get there in style!

It’s nice to know that the owners of these late ’60s-early ’70s Cadillac “Land Yachts” take pride in their cars, and take them to parades.  They are nice cars, but they are big, hard to drive, and slow.  But, they are very comfortable, and effortless cruisers on the Interstates.

This chopped Chevy half-ton pickup has a Chevy 350 c.i. engine that pumps out way too much horsepower and torque for something this old!  One could call it a street racer, but I prefer to call it a random creation!

This 1934 Ford Tudor sedan has been thoroughly souped-up, but it has Ford 460 C.I. V8 and a leveling kit that makes a smooth ride when racing a GTO!  Plus, it’s got a Rockland Standard Gear Tranzilla T71 six-speed manual that can handle too much torque!

This 1966 Plymouth Roadrunner is all-original except for the brand-new Cragar rims and B.F. Goodrich tires.  It sounds simply amazing, and I’m sure that just about anybody would like to drive it!  I would…

This faithful 2004 Shelby Cobra 427 replicar has just about everything (and then some) on it!  To the untrained eye (which I’m sure that none of you have!), one might assume that it actually IS a ’64 Cobra, but they would be so wrong that it would be bordering on stupidity!

This 1967 Mercury Cyclone convertible has the 390 C.I. V8 pumping out enough horsepower to make a semi jealous!  Those optional “Dog-Dish” rims help with the aerodynamics and timeless looks of the 1967 Mercury Cyclone!

Remember this classic Studebaker Hawk sedan from last year?  If you don’t it’s got the small six-cylinder that has only 120 horsepower, but everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) was giving these people the thumbs up!  They were cool (literally) because of the cool old air conditioner that sucks air in and cools it before it blows into the cabin!

This is the last amazing picture that I will show you, so I’ll give you all the tough specs on this 1950 Ford F100 pickup.  It has the powerful old six-cylinder engine and goes about 40 mph, but is pretty cool!  I wish that I could have seen some awesome readers of the Unmuffled Auto News there!  Well, see you next year!