E N D L E S S R O A D
Road Chatter XLIII
Shop: 304-274-5074
FAX: 304-274-5076
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IN THIS ISSUE
* Grammar Problems
* Car Trivia Questions
* Grand Prix in DVD
* Give Away
* Formula 1
* Bits and Pieces
* Car Trivia Answers
* 10% Off Purchases For Your Trivia Questions
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Grammar Problems
Because of how various browsers treat special characters such as
apostrophes
and quote marks, dots, we use as few special characters as possible. We
apologize for the grammatical errors this causes.
==================== ** ====================
Car Trivia (answers are later in this email)
1) Think Small was the 60s era slogan for what automaker?
2) The designers had finished the next model to be produced, when word
came
down that the engineers could not have it ready for production in time;
the
current model would have to be freshened up and used for one more year.
The
American giant knew their biggest competitor would have a completely new
model of their own, but it was nothing they could do. The designers
reluctantly dragged out the current model and worked it over. The
headlights
were hooded to give the impression of jet engine intakes, and holes were
punched in the hood. The expensive model also got a slab of ribbed chrome
on
the side. To make the car look bigger, the headlights were pushed as far
apart as possible. The grille was stretched to the edges of the car. Rear
fenders were pulled back and tapered along the top to become low stylish
fins, then stretched back as far as they dared. So, how did this poor
tarted-up re-do fare in the market place?
3) Sam Hornish just won the Indy 500 at the age of 26. He beat out Marco
Andretti by .0635 seconds. Who is the youngest winner of the Indianapolis
500?
4) The Big Three manufacturer had their new little sporty car all ready
for
production. It was sure to have every car lovers attention; it was
under-powered, but sure a looker. They had named it EX 122. But, by the
time
it was introduced the name had been changed to . . . what?
5) STP, that omnipresent red, white and blue sticker, it does wonderful
things in engines. I am sure it does; all those famous guys say it does.
But, just what does STP mean?
--- Retreads ---
These next three questions are from over two years ago. If you remember
them
from before, consider this a memory test.
6) In the 60s, everyone was cramming large engines in smaller cars, and
this
corporate mid-price arm had done the same. They knew Ford and Chevrolet
were
coming out with new versions of their own muscle cars, and they felt their
entry was getting long in the tooth. They needed to do something. The
solution was to use their existing car, add graphics and extra horsepower.
It was decided the name would be ET, for Elapsed Time. But, at the last
minute, the boss changed it. We all know it now as . . . what?
7) It was two buggy springs tied down with a freight chain for a shock
absorber, a rough, crude thing. I never liked to drive em myself. Who said
it, and what car was he talking about?
8) When Pontiac built a faster, more aggressive version of their Firebird,
they named it the Trans Am. But, that was not their first choice. What was
the Trans Am originally going to be named?
And the last two are from four years ago.
9) One of the best modifications for the Ford Model T was a Frontenac
head;
one variation had twin overhead chain-driven cams and four valves per
cylinder. Frontenac is not a familiar name in racing now, but we all know
the family name of the three brothers who created it. What is it?
10) How about an easy one? What GM automobile name translated from Spanish
as Floating Bull?
==================== ** ====================
* Grand Prix in DVD
At last, Grand Prix is being released on DVD! This film was shot the right
way. A crew followed the Grand Prix teams for an entire season, filming at
every track. The story is good, the scenery is fantastic, and the racing
is
a mixture of realistic and real. John Frankenheimer directed; James
Garner,
Eva Marie Saint and Yves Montand are the main characters, with many
driving
greats also in the cast. The three hour film was so long that when it ran
in
theatres, there was an intermission.
This is real international racing in the mid-60s, just before wings and
aerodynamics arrived. The enthusiast will recognize some of the best names
in Formula 1 in the scenes, including Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Dan
Gurney,
Phil Hill, even Fangio himself. You will taste real racing, the closest
Hollywood has ever achieved. There are 22 real Formula 1 cars in action
and
in the pits, including Ferraris, BRMs, Lotuses, McLarens, Brabhams and an
Eagle. A Ford GT40 and a 427 Cobra were modified for use as camera cars.
If
you know this movie, you know you want it on DVD. It is a Two-Disk set
with
many extras. Time: 2 Hours 59 Minutes.
It will retail at $20.95, but any pre-orders we receive before its release
date of July 11th will be at $14.95. Order now and we will ship it to you
the morning of July 11th.
==================== ** ====================
* Give Away
Our regulars know that last month, we were giving away a $30 Gift
Certificate from Endless Road. We are happy to say the winner this month
was
Kris from Fort Worth.
Again this month, 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
The new qualifying procedure in F1 forces the cars to start the race with
the same amount of fuel as they qualified with. To meet this rule, the
teams
start the last qualifying session with up to full tanks, then, to lower
the
weight, they will run laps to burn off almost all of the fuel before
putting
in their hottest qualifying laps. Does anyone else see the irony in this?
During the world fuel crisis, with the cost of oil at its highest, the
most
expensive cars in the world are forced to cruise around burning off
gallons
of very expensive fuel.
2006 Schedule
June 11 Great Britain, CBS taped
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 China
Oct. 8 Japan
Oct. 22 Brazil
==================== ** ====================
* Bits and Pieces
Do not get rid of your VHS machines; there are many great racing videos
that
are available on VHS tape and not scheduled to be put on DVD.
***
"There are only three true sports: mountain climbing, bull fighting and
auto
racing; the rest are just games."
Ernest Hemingway
Apparently, Ernest never watched a motorcycle race.
***
The last few months, we have had a MY FAVORITE CAR story here. This month,
our story is by our friend, Rodger. You may remember his story of racing
his
Dodge Charger 440. This month, Rodger recalls his Jaguar E-Type coupe.
In late winter of 1977, when gas was at the unheard-of price of about
$0.70/gallon, I began looking for a Toy Car to replace my 7-mpg 1968 Dodge
Charger R/T. I sold the Charger to a brother-in-law (who within two months
resold it for $1000 more than it had cost him), and I went looking for
another car.
I began looking for "classic" Sting-Ray 1963-1967 Corvettes. One evening,
as
my wife and I were driving, we spied an E-Type Jaguar cruising along. That
started me looking for an E-Type.
A friend, Dave Best, had recently purchased an E-Type, a dark-green 1969
coupe with 4.2 liter DOHC (dual overhead cam) hemi (who knew?) six
cylinder.
Dave, being a very practical person, soon decided that he was not the
Sportscar Type and asked if I wanted the car. That seemed like an
excellent
opportunity, and I was soon the owner of the E-Type.
Problems set in immediately. At a traffic light on the way home, a
camper-truck backed into me. I took the car to a shop that did all the
bodywork for the local Jag dealer. The original paint was stripped, and
the
body was redone in a dark green. At the time, I was too naïve in things
Jaguar to know this was not British Racing Green (BRG), but some odd
dark-green metallic paint.
Time passed, and, in 1978, we moved back to Rochester, NY. The Jag was
shipped on the van, and arrived almost undamaged. We enjoyed the car
during
the spring, summer, and fall and put it to bed in the winters. You do not
want to get salt into the boxwork of that body. Since we had always put
the
Charger to bed in the winter, that was not an issue.
The years went by, and driving the Jaguar to work began to take its toll.
Eventually, I took the Jag to Dennys Coachwork in Macedon, NY, to see
about
a doll-up. I then learned that the paint was not BRG, and there was not
any
way that Denny could match the paint. We decided to go with a red paint
from
an early 70s Chevelle, richer looking than Jaguars red.
The car was finished just in time for a car show in Victor, NY, at that
time
the largest one-day show in the Northeast, and I was delighted with the
job.
An E-Type is a neat looking car to begin with, but the red car was so much
more eye-catching than the green version; it was absolutely stunning.
The car-show bug bit hard very soon. Anyone who has ever tried to clean
the
engine compartment of an E-type Jag knows that the space-frame
construction
surrounding the engine is a major effort to clean and keep clean. The
underhood area had been blasted with a rust-resistant black coating, which
I
ended up removing. Lots of work.
The stock E-Type exhaust manifold porcelain coating burns off relatively
quickly. But, for shows, it needs to look NEW. Keeping the new look took
quite a bit of time and money for a number of years. I eventually replaced
the entire system with a stock-looking stainless steel system. Yearly, I
would power polish it with Simichrome. That really made the system shine.
Over the years, we put the Jag in several shows in upstate NY: the Victor
Classic Car show, Buffalo Jaguar club, Hilton Apple Festival show,
Brockport
show, and others. The car collected a variety of trophies, ranging from
first place to third place, depending on the competition. I even judged a
number of the shows, including the Victor show.
In 1994, my job sent us to Columbia, MD. Once again, we loaded the car
onto
the moving van. Getting the E-type back off the van was a challenge; they
ended up bringing in a tilt-bed tow truck, transferring the Jag onto the
bed
of the tow truck, and then lowering the Jag onto the street.
Once in MD, I joined the local Jaguar club, the Nations Capital Jaguar
Owners Club.
I regularly attended their meetings and concours, as well as a number of
other shows (especially enjoying British Car Day in Bowie, MD).
And, that is where I finally put the Jag up for sale. It went to a
gentleman
whose wife wanted to give him an E-type for their wedding anniversary. I
shed several tears on the way to the bank with that check. At the present
time, the only Jaguars I own are diecast models in several scales. Some of
those models I even bought at Endless Road.
......
If you have fond memories of one of your fine machines and would like to
tell us about it, send us your story, and, when we use it, you will have
your pick of any one item we have on our web.
***
Michael Turner is known by many auto-racing enthusiasts for his exciting
automotive art. We had the honor of selling some of his Watkins Glen
Formula
1 posters. Sadly, ours are all sold out. We have received this note from
one
of our readers:
....
I have 1969-1977 Watkins Glen Posters. Nine in all. These were given to us
about 15 years ago. We were told they were suppose to have been used for
promotional purposes, yet were never given out. Each poster has a written
description of what is going on in the poster. They are in mint condition.
I
believe 20"x28" in size.
....
If you are interested, send us an email and we will forward your note to
him.
***
Last issue, Jeff H sent this note:
I remember a movie way back in the early 70s that was almost all
car-chase.
I cannot remember the name, and I have been looking for years. I have
asked
several movie buffs and several motor heads and no one has been able to
help. Your section in your latest newsletter sparked the interest again,
and
maybe you can tell me. As I remember, there was a white 70-73 Camaro, a 69
Road Runner with the vacuum hood scoop, and a wicked little Gremlin. I
thought Steve McQueen was in it, but his web site mentions nothing of it.
I
really dont think it is a figment of my imagination, but who knows. Can
You
Help?
Within half an hour, two of our friends and customers, Brenda and Edwin,
sent us notes telling us that the film is Brewster McCloud. Jeff, I am
afraid that I can not find Brewster McCloud on the wholesale market.
Hopefully, you can find it on Ebay. And Brenda and Edwin, remember the
next
time you order, you both will receive 10% off your complete order.
Thanks to both of you, and thanks to Jeff for asking.
***
This month, Bob sent this note about a movie he is looking for. Does
anyone
remember the name of this?
...
Do you know the movie that was about a guy who had a Formula one car
hidden
under the floor because cars were forbidden? The story took place in the
future. He had a pump, so that when he would go to an abandoned gas
station,
he would pump the gas out of the main tank. The movie came out in the 70s.
Please help me identify this movie.
...
And, here is a note from another reader looking for a movie:
There is a movie I am trying to figure out. I want to get it. In the
beginning of the movie, a guy builds a race car in his basement, bringing
it
up piece by piece. I think it was early 80s or late 70s; please let me
know.
If you let us know the name of either movie, you will receive 10% off your
next complete order.
***
On June 17, an unprecedented number of unlicensed, underage drivers will
race down Capitol Hill. The Washington Soap Box Derby, with the largest
field in decades, will celebrate its 65th run on Saturday, June 17,
beginning at 8:30 a.m.
More than 60 area racers between the ages of eight and 17 years of age, a
50
percent increase over last years field, will put their motorless machines
to
the test in one of Americas most enduring summer pastimes.
***
Two of our favorite license tags this month:
A driver that wanted people behind him to know what they were following:
VOLVO
And a driver that wanted people in front of him to know what was following
them:
ATOYOT
==================== ** ====================
Car Trivia Answers
1) Think Small was the 60s era slogan for Volkswagen.
2) The cobbled-up rush-job car did pretty well. What the designers
produced
was the 1957 Chevrolet; it has become an icon of the 50s, often selling
for
twice as much as its sister 1955 - 1956 models. This explains why the 1958
Chevy body style only lasted one year.
(Thanks to Robert Cumberford, July Automobile Magazine.)
3) Troy Ruttman was 22 years and 80 days old when he won the 36th Indy 500
on May 30, 1952.
4) GM changed their little cruiser from EX 122 to Corvette, and the rest
is
history.
(Thanks to Car and Drivers Car a Day calendar. Hey, I gotta get these
questions where-ever I can find them!)
5) STP was originally a Studebaker product. When Studebaker folded in
1963,
their product, Studebaker Top Performance went out on its own as STP.
(Thanks to my brother, Don, for this one.)
--- Retreads ---
6) In 1969, at the last minute, John Delorean decided to change the name
on
his updated GTO, not to ET, but to The Judge. Naming it after a popular
phrase from TVs Laugh In.
(From Speed Channels Dream Car Garage.)
7) In 1985, when Carroll Shelby told Road & Track magazine: It was two
buggy
springs tied down with a freight chain for a shock absorber, a rough,
crude
thing. I never liked to drive em myself. he was speaking of the Cobra. Of
course, he was working for Chrysler when he said it. Now that he is tight
with Ford again, he may not remember that statement.
8) The Firebird Trans Am was originally going to be called Sebring, but
Chrysler / Plymouth already owned the rights to that name. However, they
were not the first to name a car after the famous Florida track; Maserati
had a beautiful coupe sporting the name Sebring from 1962 to 1966.
(Thanks to our friend, Patrick.)
9) The Frontenac heads that made Fords so fast were designed by Louis
Chevrolet and his two brothers. This was the same Louis Chevrolet who was
the namesake of one of Fords biggest competitors.
10) What GM automobile name translated from Spanish as Floating Bull? The
Toronado. I don't think GM did that on purpose, but it is not as bad as
their Chevy's model Nova, that can be loosely translated to mean
will-not-go.
(I found the Olds part in a Trivial Pursuit game.)
===================== ** ====================
10% Off Purchases For Your Trivia Questions
To Patrick, thanks for the trivia question. Remember, you will 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
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