Thursday, February 28, 2013

For Rent



So many things going through my mind when I saw this, hoping its a joke.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Rally 'Cuda Front End

I'm very picky about the look of my car and take my time with any custom changes I do to it to make sure they keep true to the era and don't come off looking cheesy or "bolted on". I Want it to look smooth and refined almost like the factory could have done it.

Over the years its evolved into what I'm calling a 1966 Rallye 'Cuda. The Hood started the look, the rims continued it as well as the side stripes and Formula S badges on the lower front fenders.

Now, I'm thinking about continuing the look with adding dual exhaust dumping out in front of the rear tires. I'm also considering another front end change. I like the 1966 grill so I wont mess with that, but what about swapping the bumper for a 1965 Barracuda bumper and the lower valance like a 72, 73 'Cuda? That might be taking it too far and lose too much of the 1966 look.

I would make a custom valance from fiberglass and could incorporate brake cooling ducts or round driving lights instead of the rectangle ones.

I (badly) Photo shopped my car to get an idea of what it might look like. I'd like to hear your thoughts or if you have any suggestions please leave a comment below.

BEFORE

AFTER


Monday, February 4, 2013

True Tales - A Valiant Race




=========================================================
"A Valiant Race" Copyright 2007-2012 by: E.C. "Stan" Field by:    E.C. "Stan" Field
=========================================================

My buddy Jay and I loved to race cars. All kinds of cars. Big ones like Cadillacs, medium ones like Valiants and Ramblers and small ones... Like Fiat-Abarths and Volkswagens.

Due to lack of money, we did almost all our own work. The only things that ever got farmed out were transmission and machine shop tasks.

Since I had been raised on road racing in Mexico, during high school, I naturally paid a lot more attention to my suspension and handling than raw horsepower. This proved very handy one winter night.

Now my two door 1964 Plymouth Valiant was a cheery sight back in those days. It was running a 225 slant six with an automatic and anyone standing outside normally considered it a family car. Underneath, I had Monroe Load Leveler shocks all around, with coil-overs and a sway bar in the back. The tires were Firestone wide ovals and a custom exhaust that let it breath just a bit better. My previous best top end was about 95 mph, but it handled very well indeed.