Crazy – The Unmuffled Auto News

April 29, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Evolution of Crazy

Pro Street is a popular form of hot rodding nowadays. It’s also incredibly easy to define, unlike rat rods or Pro Touring. Pro Street is classic cars with the rear wheeltubs dramatically enlarged for insanely wide tires. However, defining Pro Street gets a bit more difficult from there. Is it a fairgrounds car with big dirt tires? A street-optimized race car? A race-optimized street car? Or is it a full-on race car? It can be any and all of those. Pro Street has evolved throughout the years from essentially fairgrounds cars to street-optimized race cars. I’ve taken the pleasure of outlining important years and cars in the evolution of Pro Street. While your idea of Pro Street might differ, or not be there, I hope this helps.

1972: Grumpy Jenkins Pro Stock Vega: Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins essentially ushered in Pro Street with the advent of his groundbreaking NHRA Pro Stock tube-chassis Chevy Vega in 1972. Nobody had ever seen massive tires tucked under a production body before. Yes, the extreme Funny Cars had been using the look for a few years prior, but they had fiberglass body shells, so let’s not count those. Grumpy went all-out groundbreaking by using a completely tubular frame, which allowed him to run those massive 14-inch-wide and 32-inch-tall drag slicks previously reserved for Top Fuel. Every single Pro Stock car borrows heavily from that groundbreaking Vega in 1972.

1979: Scott Sullivan’s 1967 Chevy Nova: No, this beautiful 1967 Chevy Nova was not the first Pro Street car. Not by a long shot. However, it was the first car to get massive attention past a small magazine feature on it. It thundered onto the scene in 1979, just a year after the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals were launched to tire-burning success. It created the perfect test-and-tune environment for Pro Street. Sullivan has been known for setting hot rodding trends with just about every car that he builds. His 1967 Nova was no exception. It may not have been as innovative as his other cars, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful, thanks to it’s highlight stripe and color-matched bumpers. It even had the perfect stance. Sullivan sold the car in 1984 to Pro Mod racer Ron Iannotti.

1980: Some Tubbed Street Machines: Many street rod builders of the late 1970s became brainwashed by Scott Sullivan’s beautiful 1967 Chevy Nova (see above), and completely redid their cars. Just about every car from this era had the back half of their chassis tubbed, and many builders simply moved the leaf springs far inside the chassis to fit the massive drag slicks. Seeing a car with a Roots blower sticking out of the hood was a must well into the 1990s.

1985: Fully Tubbed Street Rods: The cover of the July 1985 ‘Hot Rod’ magazine announced the “Fat Attack” of fully tubbed street rods. One of the cars on the cover was “Fat Jack” Robinson’s 1946 Ford coupe, painted in a vivid Coast Guard orange. The car was tubbed like a true Pro Street car, but it was intended to thunder down the drag strips of America. His car was the result of the first round of the nostalgia drag racing scene of the time. His car inspired several other pre-1948 fully-tubbed cars. Those cars on the cover of ‘Hot Rod’ showed how the Pro Street look merging into the vast world of street rods. It wasn’t long before you’d look around at a hot rod show and see a bunch of 1940s Ford coupes sporting massive rubber. Unfortunately for Fat Jack Robinson, his car ended up being totaled in a crash at Fremont Drag Strip.

1992: Trailer/Fairgrounds Queens: Dick Dobbertin’s nutso Pontiac J2000 Pro Street car arrived on the scene in 1986. You’re probably wondering why I said 1992. That’s because the trend of taking a lowly late-model FWD car being converted to a fully-tubbed, RWD car started then. It made it OK to build an over-the-top Pro Street car that only looked good, which have now been dubbed Pro Fairgrounds. Why Pro Fairgrounds? The show venue was the only place where these cars could really shine. I mean, who would really want to drive a car with more than 1,000 horsepower and a short wheelbase down a dragstrip? If you want that kind of crazy, buy a vintage Fuel Altered car. This radical Pontiac J2000 started the Dare to be Different movement in the automotive world, by starting battles to see who was able to build a bonkers Pro Fairgrounds car that nobody else had built yet. Soon thereafter, builders came to their senses and started the Dare to be the Same movement, which leads us to our next section.

1992: C.A.R.S. Camaro: Many of the builders of Pro Fairgrounds resented building cars they couldn’t drive. They wanted truly functional rides, not simple street rods with a big block, but cars that had gigantic rubber, big wheelies, and low drag strip times. Detroit and Ohio even started a large movement to build cars that were all-steel-bodied, fully tubbed, go eight seconds in the quarter mile, dress them up with bumpers and various trim pieces, cruise them up and down the iconic Woodward Avenue in Detroit with license plates, and then race them head-to-head all weekend. One of the first cars featured in magazines was the C.A.R.S. Inc.-sponsored Chevy Camaro of Rick Dyer and Danny Scott. That iconic Camaro served as the main inspiration for the ‘Hot Rod’ 1992 Fastest Street Car Shootout.

1993: Mark Tate’s Chevy Camaro: That little Fastest Street Car Shootout gained so much popularity so quickly that it couldn’t sustain itself. The heavyweight champs, the Pro Street cars, were losing to flat-out Pro Stock-chassis cars. Those Pro Stock chassis cars were never meant to be driven on the street, unlike the Pro Street cars. Mark Tate joined the fray in 1993 with his stock-bodied Pro Stock-chassis 1967 Chevy Camaro. Then it was Tony Christian’s 1957 Chevy 210. After Christian, it was Bob Reiger and his radical Pro Stock Chevy S-10. Appeal for Pro Stock/Pro Street cars started to wane. These weren’t cars you could build in the garage for $10,000 anymore. These were cars racking up bills well over $100,000. People wanted fast cars that they could drive on the street for not much money.

2011: “Modern Pro Street:” This is a total niche created in the Pro Street world by those wanting a fast car with all of the modern mechanicals. Cars of this look have a Pro Fairgrounds look, street machine behavior, and sometimes a late-model body. These cars usually have the newest engines, turbos, EFI, and the wheels are usually gigantic with incredible tread. The beautiful Mustang shown here is the 2007 Ford Mustang from Fastlane Motorsports. It has a 2010 5.4-liter V-8 with an old-school Weiand 6-71 blower showing out of the hood.

2012: Larry Larson’s Chevy Nova: This is where Pro Street is now. Larry Larson owns a stunning 1966 Chevrolet Nova that has truly incredible performance. He’s run 6.90 seconds at well over 200 mph in the quarter mile after driving 80 mph on the highway all day. How does he do it? Modern technology. He’s got a bored and stroked Chevy big-block motor with twin turbochargers, EFI, and lots of other amazing technology. He’s able to drive it all day to a drag strip, run incredible times, turn around and go home without killing his car. He’s had a LOT of experience in the drag racing world, so he only uses the best parts. If Grumpy Jenkins were alive today, his mind would be absolutely blown. Mine is.

That’s where Pro Street is, and where it’s come from. These cars have state-of-the-art technology, and they are actually quite streetable cars.

March 24, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random, World News

A Real Life Mario Kart Crash!

This crash is the definition of insane. It happened fairly recently too.

The Derek Bell Cup at the 73rd Goodwood Member’s Meeting, which is essentially a place where really rich car guys get together and race their vintage race cars for a trophy. It sounds like a whole lot of fun. There was one moment that I still can’t get over. It was one of those “Oh my G-d HOW the hell did that happen?” moments.

For the record, the Derek Bell Cup is for Formula 3 cars. It is not for every other class of car!

This bonkers crash happened on the second flat-out lap of the qualifying session. Paul Waine’s beautiful red De Sanctis-Ford hit Michael Scott’s equally beautiful 1969 Brabham-Ford BT28 at the legendary Madwick corner.

Waine’s airborne #10 Ford was credited with a still-impressive 17th place for qualifying, but had to retire from the rest of the event. Scott’s Ford somehow got through another six laps before qualifying in 20th place. Scott then went on to finish 13th in the actual race.

The De Sanctis-Ford was an Italian effort that took much inspiration from the Brabham cars of the late 1960s, and was powered by a Ford engine. What seems illogical to me is the fact that the De Sanctis family ran a Fiat dealership. Nonetheless, 1969 was a disappointing year for them.

The Brabham-Ford cars were extremely successful F3 (Formula 3) cars throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Here’s a link to the video of the crash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWVPL8oEFJs

Another saddening crash was Jochen Mass, who slammed a priceless Mercedes-Benz 300 SLS into a Lister. Both cars were racing in the Salvadori Cup, and from footage I’ve seen, it looked like the Lister wanted to enter the pits when Mass tried to help. It looks like Mass locked up the brakes in the 300 SLS, and by the time he let up on the brakes, it was simply too late. Cars of that era aren’t known for their braking prowess (they were in the day), so it is a sad surprise. Like any race car worth it’s racing slicks, I’m sure that both cars will be repaired and racing again in no time at all.

Jochen Mass Took Out A Lister With A Mercedes 300 SLS

Here’s an action shot:

November 28, 2014April 30, 2020 zoomvroom Car Culture, Humor, Random

Why Supercars Aren’t Cheap to Maintain

Supercars are constantly redefining how crazy cars can be. Think about the 1990s. The McLaren F1 was the fastest car in the world until the Bugatti Veyron. The Lamborghini Diablo wasn’t nearly as fast, but it was just as raw and pure of a driver’s car. However, the car that one can argue defined the 1990s supercar wars was the Ferrari Testarossa. It wasn’t the fastest, the most terrifying, or most exhilarating. What it did do, however, was pave the way for supercars as we know them now. Yes, that means being completely unaffordable to the general population and outrageous repair costs.

This blog post is by no means meant to make supercars from the 1990s and first decade of the 2000s seem like horrible messes of cars that are best left to be stared at in museums. Drive these cars. It’s what they’re meant for. Grab they keys and floor it if you get the chance. Just remember to set aside a LOT of money to repair them. Oh, and find a really good mechanic. Just because they say that they service European cars does NOT mean that they will service your Lamborghini Diablo. They will, but they will likely do it badly and cause further damage to something that is expensive. Ask them if they service your supercar. They can usually point you to somebody who will if they can’t.

Many jobs require special tools for that car and that car only. Your Craftsman toolset will do irreversible damage to your car. Doing a simple task such as changing the oil, which might take an afternoon in your mom’s Toyota Camry, can turn into a five-day knuckle-bashing fest on a McLaren F1. Let’s not even start on the Ferrari Enzo.

Yes, that’s a stock McLaren F1 engine bay! The gold throughout the engine bay is actual gold leaf. The exhaust is titanium, and no, the blue connectors are not for nitrous. They are for fuel delivery. That engine bay looks like a lot of fun to access! No wonder it takes five days to change the oil…

McLaren estimates annual repair costs to be about $30,000, which doesn’t seem too bad until you find out that an oil change is $8,000. You can even ship your F1 to McLaren’s factory in Woking, UK for repairs, where McLaren employs two full-time F1 technicians for F1 repairs alone! That’s what Ralph Lauren does for his THREE F1’s. Yeah, that blazer you bought is going to good use. McLaren suggests replacing the tires in pairs ($3,000 per tire!). McLaren scrubs in every set sold, for free. That means that they custom-make the tires for free! Service can take up to 6 weeks – not including transit to the UK. It’s ten days door-to-door by air, seven weeks by boat. The bright side? The car is appreciating so quickly that repair costs will never catch up to their now-astronomical price. Chumps.

This is the floor of the customer service department of McLaren’s Woking factory. It might not be so bad to come here after all…

That being said, the McLaren F1 is one of the most amazing cars to ever come out of a factory. It was the fastest car in the world for almost 20 years, and the driving experience is supposedly second to none. It’s also going up in price really quickly. Get one now if you want. Yeah, your kids only need a semester at Stanford anyways!

This is a Ferrari Enzo engine bay. Not exactly pretty, but it gets the job done! I’m a fan of the massive intake manifold and massive shocks. Those two gold tanks are gas reservoirs. An astute commenter corrected me – they are not fuel pumps, as I originally thought! They are gas-filled reservoirs that keep the fluid in the shocks, called damping fluid, under constant pressure. Given the massive speeds the Enzo can easily hit, a single small bump in the road could prove catastrophic, so these reservoirs are necessary.

When you buy an Enzo, you’d better have every single piece of paper detailing EVERYTHING that was done to it! If you don’t, be sure to spend far more than the service cost off of the asking price! When something goes wrong, it goes from a relatively inexpensive fix to a SNAFU in seconds.

Oil or shop fluids will irreversibly damage at least one $6,000 carbon-ceramic brake rotor, so a set of factory covers protects them during service. I’m not joking!

Each authorized dealer must buy a $10,000 special tool kit and this scissor lift to work on an Enzo. The massive V12 takes 12 quarts of oil. That’s a lot. Most cars take around 7.

Oh, and a word for the wise – warm up the Enzo’s big V12 with the $60,000 carbon fiber engine lid open, and the carbon fiber intake body will expand enough that the lid won’t close until the engine cools off.

This is a Porsche Carrera GT engine bay. This car has long been the source of heated controversy, which only heated up after the tragic deaths of Paul Walker and Roger Rodas almost a year ago (they died on November 30. I will do a one-year memorium post on that day).

Like every other Porsche, the Carrera GT gets an oil change every 15,000 miles. No, it’s not based off of a semi truck engine, but good guess! The entire car was a shelved endurance racing project from the 1990s, so it was built to be reliable.

An oil change is $3,000 because:

A set of four ramps ($1,100) is required to get the car over the hoist arms on the lift. Yes, it’s that low.
The rear-heavy car has to be attached to the lift so it doesn’t tip or fall off of the lift. A $550 set of 3/4 inch aluminum plates bolt onto the car for that purpose. Most owners leave them installed.
Two engine-oil filters – one replaceable and one reusable screen. Strip the drain plug in the aluminum cover, and you’re down $6,800.

Replacing the ceramic clutch is $25,000, including labor. By comparison, a $30,000 full brake job is a steal by comparison. You can see how these mechanics live well. When the Carrera GT was new, dealers had to buy a special $10,000 table and $8,000 jig to hold the car’s engine during service.

Overall, maintaining a supercar isn’t easy or cheap. Should you buy one of these cars, make sure that there is a piece of paper detailing everything done to the car. You’ll thank me later.