Detroit AutoRama: Dragsters and Race Cars

To be clear, there are lots of speedy cars tucked in all these AutoRama posts, many of them cars that have been converted to various classes of street-legal dragsters. But among the many purpose-built drag racers, these were a few that especially caught my eye:

A "Big Car" a 1937 forerunner to today's sprint cars. It is owned and was restored by Bob DeVine and Doug Oland. It has an Essex chassis, a Ford Model B engine, and is believed to have been originally built in Fremont, Ohio, by Karl Behlmer. What particularly struck me about this car is the utter lack of any safety equipment whatsoever. It's no wonder car racing was so horrifyingly dangerous back then.

I can't deny it. I took this photo of this 1969 Camaro SS pro-modified dragster owned by Tony Lasky of Fort Gratiot, Michigan, because I knew Monique would be appalled by the giant air scoop above the engine. I was rewarded with a scrunchy face and an, "Ugh!" for my troubles.

Personally, I thought it looked awesome. The badging on the side of this car claims 632 cubic inches. Having taken a closer look at the engine, I believe it.

You might say this is a custom 1970 Mustang GT owned by Scott Wahlstrom of Watervliet, Michigan. What I say is that every eight year old boy in America wanted his Hot Wheels car to be real.

This one is!

This is Slam'n Sammy Miller's Spirit of '76 rocket car, restored and owned by Steve Atwell of Walled Lake, Michigan. It's purportedly a 1976 Mustang II.  I've seen a lot of Mustang II's in my day, and ain't none of 'em looked like this.

This is a truly historic drag racer. I remember seeing pictures of Sammy Miller racing it when I was a kid. It was the first car to record a pass in five-plus seconds for the 1/4-mile and then in four-plus seconds for the 1/4-mile. It was also the first car to finish a 1/4-mile above 250 mph, then the first above 300 mph. It's best pass ever was in 4.47 seconds with a speed of 330 mph.

How does it do this crazy thing?  A hydrogen-peroxide rocket:

Okay, so that's a hydrogen-peroxide tank. Trust me, there's a rocket sticking out the back. The hydrogen peroxide passes over a silver-mesh screen which causes it to explode at 1200 degrees F into water and oxygen. The hot gasses rush out the back, and the car rushes forward at more than 11 G's, which supposedly then causes the driver to often bleed from the nose and ears.

I shan't be driving a rocket car any time soon.

But I would like to extend my thanks to Steve Atwater for his informative boards showing the history and science behind the Spirit of '76 rocket car:

And finally, I present to you a stock car:

I know this is a stock car because if you had asked young me to draw a picture of a stock car, it would've been blue with red trim and a big "43" on the side. For those of you who don't know, that means this is Richard Petty's stock car -- in this case a Pontiac from the 1988 season near the end of a career in which "The King" won an amazing 200 races.

I once beat my little brother down a hill in a thrilling Big Wheel vs. Big Wheel matchup.

Look out, King. I'm just 199 more victories short of your record!

Tomorrow? Station wagons.

Detroit AutoRama: Corvettes

If yesterday's collection of smooth and swoopy cars was for Monique, I reckon my Dad will be the most avid reader of today's batch -- Corvettes! 

This 1968 Corvette is the Saturday Night Special, a drag-racing prototype built by Chevrolet Engineering for testing at the Milford, Michigan, proving grounds and later featured in several magazine articles. It's currently owned by Dave Miller of Madison Heights, Michigan.

Lingenfelter Corvettes, for when 400 or 500 hp just isn't enough.

What I like best about this 1961 Corvette owned by Jerry Morello of Woodhaven, Michigan -- aside from the beautiful Vette itself, duh! -- is the matching scooter. They're a wonderful pair.

Mmmn ... 1963 split-window Corvette Coupe goodness from John Bierkamp of Macomb, Michigan.

1969 Chevy Corvette Convertible owned by Scott and Denise Smith of Brownsberg, Michigan.

Meet 50Eight, a luscious 1958 Corvette restomod built by Legacy Innovations LLC and owned by Steve Smith of Machester, Maryland.

Speaking of famous drag-racing Vettes, this1957 Corvette was a Hot Rod Magazine featured project car from 1970 to 1971. It won the Supernationals in Ontario, California, in August 1970. It was originally owned by John Dianna and Marv Ripes, was restored in 2012-13, and is currently owned by Craig and Marene Wood of Coldwater, Michigan.

And finally we have this '77 Vette owned by Steve Jesse. Twelve-year-old me would have been just giddy about a black Corvette Stingray with a big, honkin' engine and awesome flames painted on its hood. Mature, adult, current-age me, however, is ... yeah, I'm still giddy. This thing is just great.

Tomorrow? Dragsters and Race Cars, non-Corvette division.

Detroit AutoRama: Smoooooooth and Swoopy

Really, the best title for this category of cars is "Things I saw at AutoRama that I thought Monique would dig." She likes her cars smooth and swoopy. She also doesn't like "their innards exposed" as she puts it. Usually this tends to mean beatiful art-deco classics of the late 1920s and 1930s. But as I looked over the photos I realized that "lead sleds" -- smoothed and lowered sedans from the 40s and 50s -- tended to fit that description, so there are a few nice ones in here, too:

Indeed, quite a few cars at AutoRama were Monique's cup of tea:

1949 Chevy Fastback owned by Paul White of Portland, Maine.

This 1951 Mercury Coupe is owned by Bill Bella of Romulus, Michigan. It's for sale! Give Bill a call if you want a great looking Mercury

This 1949 Mercury Convertible owned by Andy and Diane Vandzuh of Clinton Township, Michigan had one of the best "chameleon" paint jobs in the show. It shifts beautifully between green and blue.

This 1962 Chrysler 300 Sport was built by Anne Armstrong and friends in memory of her husband Jack Armstrong. The great color paint is called "Bermuda Turquoise."

1937 Ford Coupe owned by Eddie Denkenberger of Frederica, Delaware.

And finally we have my nominee for the car I thought would be Monique's favorite of the show. It was one of my favorites, too, a 1937 Cord "Alti" convertible -- owned and designed by Bill Kingwell of West Homestead, Pennsylvania. Cords are almost certainly my favorite cars of the 30s, and this is one of the nicest Cords I've ever seen.

Tomorrow? Corvettes!

Detroit AutoRama: Gremlins!

A confession: I've always had a soft spot for AMC Gremlins. This isn't my fault, you understand. When I was just a young impressionable lad my father bought us a red and black AMC Gremlin X with a V8 engine that my Mom hauled me, my brother, and my sister around in for years.

"What's a Gremlin X?" asks the gentle reader (because the gentle readers of the Patio Boat blog have never been exposed to such raucous compact cars.) A Gremlin X looks like a meaner version of the regular Gremlin, with more stripes and black bits, and usually a bigger engine.  In the case of our Gremlin that meant a big, honkin' 304 ci V8 engine. That's a bigger engine than the V8 in my 2000 Dodge Dakota pickup truck.  

Eight-year-old me spent many an hour zipping around the Adirondacks in the passenger seat of a tiny AMC car with an inexplicably enormous V8, sure that it must be one of the coolest cars in all the world. So, when a ridiculous Gremlin with a big, honkin' V8 shows up in our driveway one day, I hope that Monique remembers that I'm the victim here. It isn't my fault.

There wasn't just one Gremlin at the 2014 AutoRama. There were two!

Melanie Monagon of Amherst, Ohio, brought this 1972 AMC Gremlin dragster to the show. With their light weight and big engine bay Gremlins made popular dragsters for a while. With its blown alcohol-burning engine this one has a bit of giddyap off the line.

Melanie brought a photo in case you had any doubts:

I also got to see the single nicest Gremlin I have ever seen or ever expect to see:

I have no idea what inspired Ray Lewis, Jr., to make this 1973 Gremlin so much nicer than any Gremlin that left the factory. But it was truly splendid. Jaguars and Cadillacs would look at that leather-trimmed interior and slink away feeling just a bit shabby by comparison.

And finally, a bonus car that fits well here: Carol DeBeaussaert brought this beautifully restored 1976 AMC Pacer to the party!

Truly discerning Patio Boat readers may think this car a familiar sight. And they'd be right! It also made an appearance at the 2013 Orphan Car Show in Ypsilanti, Michigan! Apparently I am your source for all breaking AMC Pacer news in Michigan.

The funny thing about the Pacer is that the more I look at them, the more I start to think they're really well designed. I suppose one day I'll have to get one and find out if it's so.

After I acquire a Gremlin, of course!

Tomorrow? Smoooooooth and Swoopy.

[Edit: This post was corrected to show that Ray Lewis, Jr., was the actual owner/creator of the burgundy Gremlin. My apologies to Mr. Lewis and his inexplicably awesome Gremlin for the misattribution.]

Detroit AutoRama: Trucks

Let me begin by saying that it is not always a good idea to customize a truck.

Indeed, tragedy can ensue.

Still, despite this unfortunate start to my AutoRama truck adventures, there were lots and lots of cool trucks. Some of them we'll meet later during our visit to the rat rods, but there were lots of sharp custom trucks, too.

Kosmic outcast: a 1940 Ford pickup with a stroked and blown 1959 Oldsmobile V-8 371 Rocket engine.

1978 Jeep dump truck, owned by Dan Claus of Fraser, Michigan. I'm pretty sure this thing could get you through this winter's snow.

This 1948 Chevy 3100 pickup had one of the cleanest, smoothest engine bays I saw all weekend.

And finally, down in the basement with the rat rods I found this truck and boat combination. Unfortunately, I forgot to shoot a photo of the sign, so I have no idea whose Chevy pickup this is. But of all the shiny trucks on the main floor and the rat rod trucks in the basement, this just seemed like the truckiest truck of them all.

Tomorrow? Gremlins!