E N D L E S S R O A D
Road Chatter XL
Shop: 301-497-0369
FAX: 301-497-3690
endlssroad@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
IN THIS ISSUE
* Car Trivia Questions
* Give Away
* Formula 1
* Bits and Pieces
* Car Trivia Answers
* 10% Off Purchases For Your Trivia Questions
==================== ** ====================
Car Trivia (answers are later in this email)
1) James Bond is going through some changes; first, they downsize his
Aston
Martin, then they make him a blond, next thing you know, his martinis will
be shaken and stirred. This international spy, hero, lover of all
beautiful
women, could not drive around in just any old car. He has to have
something
as smooth, powerful, and as good looking as himself. But what was James
Bond's
first car?
2) Who are Emanuel Rosenfeld, Maurice Strause, and Graham Jackson better
known as?
3) What manufacturer patented the H shift pattern?
A- Buick
B- Hurst
C- Mercedes Benz
D- Packard
4) One of the big three was coming out with a hot new car to compete with
their number one smash hit of their competitor. But, they still did not
have
a name. Being considered were Hep Cat, Beaver, Detroiter, Runabout,
Arctrus,
Saville, El Tigre and Coronado. What car in production today was almost
called the Beaver?
5) All Baltimoreans know Fells Point, the area east of the famed Inner
Harbor Baltimore, on the edge of its Little Italy, interesting and
charming,
a few nice restaurants, and plenty of not-so-pristine bars and pubs. It
also
has a claim to fame for us Car Guys. What would that be?
--- Retreads ---
These next three questions are from over two years ago. If you remember
them
from before, consider this a memory test.
6) Previously, we asked where BMW got its M3 name. This month, how about
Aston Martins DB1, DB2, DB2/4, DB4, up to the DB7? They have been using
the
DB designation since the DB1 in 1948.
7) The first Chrysler Corporation cop car was the 1956 Dodge 230 Pursuit.
Care to take a guess what engine it had?
8) The first Cobra had a Ford Fairlane 260 cubic inch engine; this soon
grew
to the 289. In 1963, it was called the Cobra Mark II by the AC designers.
This had the 289 engine and rack and pinion steering. What engine was in
the
Cobra Mark III?
==================== ** ====================
* Give Away
Our regulars know that last month, we were giving away a $25 Gift
Certificate from Endless Road. We are happy to say the winner was our
friend
and customer, Chris J.
For Christmas, we are upping the ante. For every purchase our regular Road
Chatter recipients make, we will put their names in our drawing, and the
person whose name is drawn will receive a $30 Gift Certificate from
Endless
Road.
Good Luck.
==================== ** ====================
Formula 1
There MAY be a new F1 team this year. Aguri Suzuki has put together a team
running Honda engines. The name will be Super Aguri Formula One. Aguri has
been racing since age 12, starting with Karts and continuing with touring
cars and Le Mans. He ran in F1 with Larrousse, Footwork/Arrows and Ligier.
He now owns a team in IRL.
You may have heard that when Takuma Sato was dropped, Honda got a lot of
flak from Takuma fans. Honda then said they would supply engines to any
team
that picked him up. This works out great for both team and driver:
Japanese
team, Honda engine supplier, available experienced F1 driver. And it is
especially good for Takuma; if the team looks good, than Takuma's a hero.
It
the team doesn't do so well, it's the inexperienced teams fault. Takuma
Sato
can be a good driver if and when he sheds some of his cowboy driving
style.
And, there MAY NOT be a new F1 team. Super Aguri still has not submitted
acceptable FIA registration documents. And, when they do, the other teams
have to vote them in. That means the teams would have to split the money
from television 11 ways, rather than 10. Hmm, more competition, less money
coming in. Someone is going to have a lot of convincing to do.
2005 Schedule
March 12 Bahrain
March 19 Malaysia
April 2 Australia
April 23 San Marino
May 7 Nurburgring
May 14 Barcelona
May 28 Monaco
June 11 Great Britain
June 25 Montreal
July 2 Indianapolis
July 16 France
July 30 Germany
August 6 Hungary
August 27 Turkey
Sept. 10 Italy
Sept. 17 Belgium
Oct. 1 Japan
Oct. 8 China
Oct. 22 Brazil
==================== ** ====================
* Bits and Pieces
MY FAVORITE CAR This month is from our friend, Rodger D, a true Car Guy.
In 1968, my wife Karen and I ordered a car to replace our 'used up' 1965
Plymouth Satellite. That car had been subjected to two years of hard drag
racing, many Road Trips, and the last year as a tow car.
The end result was a 1968 Charger R/T in Turbine Bronze with black
interior.
It had the 375 bhp 440 cid engine, a Torqueflite transmission and
Sure-Grip
rear, no power steering (to minimize front-end weight), and G70x15
Polyglass
Goodyear tires (standard for the Hemi cars).
The Charger arrived in mid April, so we broke it in. I had a set of 4.30
gears installed, and we went to my favorite drag-strip, a small strip
called
Kings Dragway near Savannah, NY. Running time-trials in drive, I was
rewarded with a 14.12 ET. Considering that the best I would ever run with
my
Satellite (383, Torqueflite, headers, 3.91:1 rear) was 14.22 ET. I was
very
pleased. Later runs, shifting manually, were better. I lost to a 1967
Plymouth GTX convertible; not used to the 4.30s, I ended up floating the
valves.
I then put in street hemi outer valve springs (6-pack valve springs),
Cloyes
roller-timing chain, a Mallory full-mechanical distributor and coil, and
full-metal distributor wires. Back to the track in July, I got my revenge
on
the GTX.
I added Hooker under-chassis headers and 24-inch long header collector
extensions. Time trials revealed that the extensions were good for 0.3 to
0.5 seconds ET reduction. I ended up running a best of 13.12, but
apparently
staged too deep in competition and red-lighted against a good-running GTO.
One Christmas, my wife gave me a B&M valve body and deep sump tranny pan.
Really made the shifts crisper; I could hear the slicks chirp in second.
After an aborted shot at serious racing, I eventually detuned the car, but
I
did continue racing in pure stock. One Sunday at Kings Dragway, I beat a
427
Chevy Impala through the traps by a bumper. Pure stock hemis were never a
real problem to beat, since they generally were not geared properly. One
Sunday, there must have been 30 cars in the class: a mix of Mopars, a
couple
of GTOs and 442s, and even a Z-28. My fellow racer in the GTX was there,
as
well. Obviously, the top of the class, we "conspired" not to race each
other
until the final round. I ran the Z-28 and simply blew his doors off. I
then
beat the GTX in the final round.
In 1973, I had the Charger repainted, all the R/T emblems removed, and a
6-pack hood scoop added. Looked pretty neat. In 1974, we moved to
California. One evening on Route 280 (a beautiful highway), a 1968 or so
Corvette came up behind, indicating he wanted to play. I hit the pedal and
pulled away from him. When I felt the front end starting to get a bit
light,
I noticed we were doing 120 mph, and the speed was still rising. By then,
the Corvette was quite a ways behind. So, I came back down to more
reasonable speeds, and we proceeded on home.
In 1977, when gas prices were at the unheard-of level of $0.75/gallon, I
decided it was time to sell the car. I bought a 1969 Jaguar E-type coupe,
which I had for the next 22 years. But, that is another story.
Rodger D.
Thanks to Rodger for bringing back so many memories of my own 1964 MOPAR,
with a Chrysler 440 engine that we picked up at a junk yard.
Let us know about your favorite car, and, if we use it, you get 10% off
all
of your next purchases.
***
65th Greater Washington, D.C. Soap Box Derby
June 17, 2006: Area youth 8 to 17 will be racing their gravity-powered
cars
down Capitol Hill from 9 am til 5pm (setup begins at 6am).
The three DC SBD division winners go on to race in the July international
event in Akron Ohio. Over 500 champs from 150 US and a few international
cities will be competing for limited college scholarship funding. Parents
of
the winners will receive funding to help lower there expenses while
attending the 69th All American Soap Box Derby.
The SBD organization is looking for new entrants to participate in this
great family sport. They also need SBD car sponsors. A great way to get
involved with some very enthusiastic kids, pure Car Guys in the making.
And
you do not even have to leave town.
Stop by the SBD display at the 2006 Washington, DC New Car Show or come
see
their float in the DC Saint Patrick's Day parade.
Contact: Mike Harrigan
Director, Greater Washington Soap Box Derby Association
Web http://dcsoapboxderby.org
email mph@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
** ====================
Car Trivia Answers
1) James Bond has driven many great cars. Look at the machines he has
manhandled in his movies:
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish Die Another Day
BMW Z8 The World Is Not Enough
BMW Z3 Golden Eye
BMW 750iL Tomorrow Never Dies
Aston Martin DB5 Thunderball and Goldfinger
Citroen 2CV For Your Eyes Only
Aston Martin V8 The Living Daylights
Lotus Esprit The Spy Who Loved Me
Alfa Romeo GTV-6 Octopussy
Ford Mustang Mach I Diamonds Are Forever
Toyota 2000GT Convertible You Only Live Twice
AMC Hornet The Man with the Golden Gun
Aston Martin DBS On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Bentley 4 1/4 litre VDP Tourer From Russia With Love
Sunbeam Alpine Dr. No
Author, Ian Fleming, first had his man, James Bond, driving a Blower
Bentley. It was a monster of a car of mythic status, with its huge
supercharger protruding out of the front. A tall imposing brute of a car,
it
looked like a stripped down MG TC on steroids. It dominated Le Mans with
five wins in seven years.
2) Emanuel Rosenfeld, Maurice Strause, and Graham Jackson are better known
as Manny, Moe, and Jack - The Pep Boys!
(Thanks to our friend, Tim P, the Webmaster for Maryland Automobile
Modelers
Association, MAMA www.mamasboyz.org.)
3) The H pattern was patented by Packard in 1902.
(Thanks to Car Crazy on Speed TV.)
4) After Ford considered Hep Cat, Beaver, Detroiter, Runabout, Arctrus,
Saville, El Tigre, and Coronado, the name Thunderbird was finally
suggested
by a company employee, Alden Giberson. He got a new suit worth $250 in
today's
dollars for his inspiration.
(Thanks to Car and Driver's 'Car a Day' calendar.)
5) Fells Point's bygone shipyards, famous for building the 'clipper
ships',
is also believed to have built the very first car ferry in the US,
according
to the menu of Slainte Irish Pub & Restaurant in Fells Point, MD. (I'll
tell
you, you don't know the trouble I go through gathering all this stuff.)
--- Retreads ---
6) Aston Martin had struggled since their inception in 1914, not selling
their first car till 1921. But in 1947, the company was bought by
industrialist David Brown. They immediately renamed their car on the
drawing
boards DB1 in his honor, and the series was begun. The company still was
not
profitable, but that didn't matter, David Brown admitted later he bought
it
just to "have a bit of fun".
7) The 1956 Dodge 230 Pursuit cop car had Chrysler's hot 315 ci Hemi
engine.
To quote Car and Driver's Pat Bedard: "Cops have all the fun. Not only do
they get to write tickets, they ride around all day in trick cars."
(From Dodge, Plymouth & Chrysler Police Cars by Edwin Sanow and John
Bellah.)
8) The familiar Cobra Mark III with the wide wheel arches, alloy wheels,
and
revised nose for better breathing had Ford's most powerful 390 BHP 427
engine, a close relation to Ford's NASCAR and GT40 engines.
-But they also came with Ford's more tame 355 BHP 428 engine, as used in
the
Galaxies and Thunderbirds of the time.
-And the Mark III's sold in Europe retained the original 289 cubic inch
engine.
===================== ** ====================
10% Off Purchases For Your Trivia Questions
To Tim P of MAMA, thanks for the trivia question. Remember, you will all
receive a 10% discount on your next order.
Send us an interesting fact on just about anything on wheels: cars,
trucks,
F1, Drags, Muscle Cars, weird obsolete car thingies, whatever, and if we
use
it, then you get 10% off all purchases on everything on your next order.
Thanks,
Dave Payne
|
