SAAC Forum

Mr. S

Thanks for the fyi.

Hadn't considered the aspect of shipping painted cars versus painting them here.

As usual great historical sleuthing Mr. Szabo.

Besides car details and positions, I enjoy imagining what it was like at the time the photos were taken. Back then, SA was a business to sell cars and run race teams. So no one considered the aura these cars would have 50 + years later. So employees were moving/working on cars as part of their daily duties.

I also discovered something I hadn't really noticed in a photo, reply #63, of all the Cobras in the back ground. First, some are on blocks. Further more there appears to be two cinder blocks to the right of one car. They used cinder blocks to support expensive cars instead jack stands?!

So some SA employees were instructed to remove the wheels. "What do we support the cars on?" "There isn't enough jack stands. . .so lets try cinder blocks. . ."

Plus, please validate or not as needed: the Cobras appear to be bare metal. Where were they painted?

Great update.

Thankful I'm not the only one who has let a project car sit way, way to long.

Factoid stumbled upon at IMDB

Film is listed in pre-production status.

Screen writer is listed as Troy Kennedy-Martin. He wrote the Italian Job.

What's interesting is this script is being produced now. Kennedy-Martin passed away in 2009, so the script has been kicking around Hollywood for sometime, no doubt in the seventh circle of rewite hell. Hope producer Michael Mann or someone read Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races by Brock Yates before hand.

"Still plans" on restoring "them" - two cars.

Famous last words?

QuoteThose specifications always puzzled me. The cam is smaller than the original K code cam. This may have been one made for a 260 which did not have valve reliefs in the piston and that would limit duration and lift to eliminate valve contact. By my calculations that cam would not need a valve relief. The lobe profile might be the original 390 Police Interceptor lobe design Ford used.

Interesting. I am also wondering if the original cams in the limited production GT350R were "limited" production Engle cams. Since the catalog listing is a year later, cam specs may have been revised because the cams would be used in a wider selection of Windsor engines.

FWIW Catalog discription includes:  "The grind is particularly suitable for use with a hi-riser manifold (#S1MK-9423-A) and the 715 C.F.M carburetor (#S1MK-9510-A) from Shelby-American."

"USED ON: 221, 260 and 289 CID engines. . . . ."

Per the Shelby American Performance Catalog - August 1966

GT 350 Racing Camshaft Kit

Specifications: (Figures reflect actual valve movements, not cam lobe readings. Timing is measured at the valve with .001" lift.)

Intake opens 29 degrees BTDC

Intake closes 75 degrees ABDC

Intake duration 284 degrees

Exhaust opens 75 degrees BBDC

Exhaust closes 29 degrees ATDC

Exhaust duration 284 degrees

Valve lift .445"

Intake tappet clearance (hot) 0.018"

Exhaust tappet clearance (hot) 0.020"

Part number: S1CR-6250-2

Shipping Weight: 14 lbs.

Curt Hooker passed away recently. Auto editors, not to mention the aftermarket,  will instantly know the name, but it wasn't wide spread among enthusiasts. If you purchased an Edelbrock product, it had Curt's influence.

Starting as a shop janitor, it's no surprise he was fascinated by engines, which led him to investigate the dyno room whenever he could. In his 50 year Edelbrock career, he became the head of engine testing and dyno room operations. He had hands-on experince developing and testing Edelbrock products, not to mention scores of engine projects from street to race. It's a testament to his character that he had a sterling reputation for being genuinely nice to work with.

He was one of the greatest names in hot rodding.

Here we go again with a classic film remake which never match the original. Remakes of McQueen's Thomas Crown Affair and Spielberg's current bomb, West Side Story come to mind. 

As for utilizing an original story what shall it be? Bullitt involved in sex trafficking while reconnecting with his first divorced wife? Or will it involve revenge for his partner killed by a secret cabal of crooked cops? And how will he be "more" cool?

And the elephant in the theater (or streaming) is the car chase, a classic unequaled in over half a century. Is Spielberg thinking one with a few Dukes of Hazzard car jumps will be the way to go?

IMHO Spielberg doesn't have the cops and robbers story instinct like Michael Mann. Think Heat and Collateral.

PS: Per IMDB, Mann is in pre-production for the film Enzo Ferrari. Heaven help us if it turns out to be Ford v Ferrari with an Italian accent.

PPS: In the It's a Small World Afterall department, Mann was Ford v Ferrari executive producer

Huh?!??

A million two for a race car? An Indycar doesn't even cost that much. And a buyer (see brains, more money than) is going to drive it an track and maybe ding the bodywork, or worse? Reminds me of the old racer dictum regarding racing costs of not spending more money than  you're willing to leave on the track.

Plus I've never been a fan of the carbon fiber look. Is paint optional?

QuoteWe are unfortunate in Detroit to have the FORD family to own the team for the last 60 years. They have been on a whole level by themselves to associate the name FORD with LOSERS. Like other billionaires they will never sell the team because of the tax hit from owning since the early 60s. ONE PLAYOFF win since 1957! Stafford has more this year with his new team. Fan base is still here even with the losing culture. Gary

Ford family ownership has always made me wonder about their commiment to winning. Supposedly, William Clay Ford was bitter about closing the Continental Divison, even though it wasn't profitable. I suspect cost cutter Robert McNamara had alot to do with that. Then, from what I understand, WCF bought the Lions to have his own personal domain. 

According to sports reports, he was too nice of an owner to fire GM's and head coaches when it was evident they couldn't win.

A couple of years ago I had written William Clay Ford Jr., aka Bill Ford Jr., praising some Ford vehicle. In addition, I mentioned my disappointment that his father never, that I ever saw, addressed the Lion's losing seasons with the press and how it was his determination to give fans a winning team, sort of in the  Jerrry Jones mold. Since then, I have yet to see any family member or front office official come out and state that the losing mentality is over. We will do what ever it takes to achieve a play off contender.

PS: Hope Cincinnati wins.

In case it hasn't been mentioned, I offer sad news on the passing of THE Hot Rod technical editor, Marlan Davis due to pancreatic cancer. He was read by millions of HR readers and probably more that a few SAAC forum readers.

IMHO, there were two Marlans. One was socially awkward. There was never a Mrs. and in conversation he could express non-PC opinions. Never in malice, but just his opinion.

The other Marlan was the automotive technical editor, which was his raison dˈ être. In almost 40 years of monthly output, he covered cars from the tire contact patches to the roof and from stock to full on race cars.

He wasn't a know it all. His MO was research, research, and research with technical sources he trusted ranging from small shops to OEM sources. People in the aftermarket no doubt have stories about his information gathering intensity.

He was intense with his own projects. Back in the '90s, he had a body-off C3 Corvette project where he powder coated the frame and safety wired all the aircraft grade fasteners. All of them. One source recalled him calling in search of a 20-foot length of aircraft grade stainless steel tubing. Why 20 instead of two 10-foot sections? He didn't want a splice in it.

Readers were rewarded with  concise, informative, well written (with a pinch of wit) tech stories and columns. That was reinforced by his excellent tech photography and charts summarizing details.

Not too long ago, he did We're Gonna Fix It stories, where he would choose a reader's car that had engine or brake or drivetrain issues that went unsolved. Employing trusted sources,  they worked through the issues, correcting problems other mechanics had missed.

Want to know about valve springs? He wrote a multi-part story on their design characteristics from stock to performance applications. He even included spring details for class 8 diesel truck engines.

He may be gone but thank goodness for the tech content he created. 

Ugh.

Begin with EVs are an answer to a misunderstood question.

In profile, the Mach-E could be a Telsa, Honda, or Buick. IMHO car has no styling identity other than a generic CUV.

The video was borderline lame-o. There could have been more drive-by scenes, not to mention longer tracking shots to show the car exterior. Plus I would be curious to see interior features. Instead, it mainly consists of two old guys talking about it while puttering down the road. Not only that, but the driver sure liked to leave his hands off the wheel while on the road. Can a autonomous driving Shelby be far behind?

Ditto on the outstanding reporting in Coralsnake's Updates.

In the 1966 Dub Richardson Ford Ranch small ad touting them as being the HP Ford dealer, there's a list of the usual models. I find it curious that also listed are Police Interceptors. I wonder if they were a source for police vehicle sales and whether or not a few civilians ordered them, you know, to drive a competent family car. 

QuoteHmmm... I seem to be a bit cynical 

Maybe not cynical enough.

In the recent I95/ Washington DC snow closure, it occurred to me, that if a gas powered car ran out, pour in 2 gallons and you're on your way.

If a EV is dead on the road, then you. . .? Plus when someone stops at a charging station, say traveling to Las Vegas when it's a 100 or 35 out, are you just going to sit in your car texting for 10-15 minutes sweating or bundled up?

As for companies switching to sell only EVs (which apparently Chrysler is planning) will they no longer sell cars in central/ south America / Africa / middle east? Because I don't see any of those nations remotley equipped with an electrical grid (save maybe the middle east) that could handle mass EV charging, let alone having the funds to revamp grids to begin with.

PS: Don't even get started on solar and wind power.