Tag Archives: Moore

FI = 1 H.P. per CU. IN. x 283 – Chevrolet Corvette C1

With the arrival of the enthusiastic Zora Arkus-Duntov in GM’s engineering department, the famous Chevrolet small block in the engine bay and some competition in the form of the Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet ramped up it’s commitment to building and American sports car in 1956 by replacing the first iteration of the Corvette which was considered low on performance, high on water leaks into the cockpit and less than a true sports car.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

Banished for ever in 1956 was the 155 hp triple carburetor Blue Flame six cylinder engine, the Corvette from 1956 on was strictly a V8 powered vehicle.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

For ’56 there was all new bodywork, replacing the first generations body that was close to the original concept Corvette first seen in 1953.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

The bold sculpted sides behind the front wheels really helped the second iteration two tone Corvette stand out from the crowd.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

As did the faux air scoops on the front wing/fender.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

There was a hard top hood option and the much improved soft top had a power assisted option as did the roll up glass window’s.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

The three speed manual transmission became standard but the, inferior performance wise, Powerglide automatic remained an option. The cockpit controls fittings and instrumentation of the ’56 and ’57 ‘vettes remained similar to the original Corvette cockpit.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

Following in the footsteps of 1953 Gutbrod and the 1954 Mercedes Benz 300SL in 1957 the GM Rochester constant flow fuel injection was an option for the Corvettes small block V8. This innovation while not widely taken up, 1040 FI units were sold, took the power up to 290 hp, however for marketing purposes the car was said to have 1 hp for every one of of the small block V8’s 283 cubic inches.

Chevrolet Corvette, Avenue Drivers Club, Bristol

Thanks to Zora Arkus-Duntov ’57 Corvettes could be ordered with ready to race options including the fuel injection, heavy duty suspension and if the advertising is to be believed even the power windows were said to be lighter than the manual window mechanisms.

Among the race outright Corvette winners in 1956 were Bob Stonedale, Mansfield, Bark Henry, Road America, Bill Pollack, Buchanan Field, Robert Bennet, Mansfield and most successful of all in ’56 was Dick Thompson who won at Beverly, Seafair, Thompson CT, and Palm Springs.

In 1957 Corvette drivers winning outright are known to have included Ruben Ciriacks and Peter Talbot at Hawaii, Ned Yarter at Willow Springs and Bakersfield, Jerry Parsons at Smartt Field, Bob Drake, Santa Barbra, Dick Thompson, Cumberland, Eagle Mountain, Marlboro, Viginia, Road America, Bob Byrd, John Masterson and Lloyd Gray at Cotati, Jim Jeffords, Milwaukee, Lloyd Porter at Bakersfield, Bark Henry, Lime Rock and Montgomery, Dean McCarthy, Watkins Glen, Jerry Austin, Pomona, Santa Barbra, Riverside, Palm Springs and Paramount Ranch, Bob Bent Cotati and Arcata, Leonard Butscher, Thompson CT, Fred Windridge, Watkins Glen and Bridgehampton, Dan Gurney at Riverside, John Wood, Willow Springs, H. C. Hoppe (Ladies Races) Bakersfield, Willow Springs and Orange County, Hugh Woods and Cal Bailey at Hourglass Field, Jack Bates and Frank Cairns at Pomona, John Voevodsky and Bill Moore at Phoenix and finally Elgin Holmes who won at Willow Springs and Orange County.

With Duntov’s vision the American sports car had finally arrived.

Thanks for joining me on this “FI = 1 H.P. per CU. IN. x 283” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me tomorrow for Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Trans Am Golden Era – Carmel by the Sea Concours d’Elegance

Thanks once more to Geoffrey Horton today’s Americana Thursday blog features some of the highlights from the Trans Am cars on display at the recent Carmel by the Sea Concours d’Elegance. I can’t say for certain if all of these cars are the originals that raced in the series or faithful tribute cars built since, if you know for certain one way on the other about the details of any of these cars please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Penske Chevrolet Camaro, Carmel by the Sea Concours d'Elegance

The Trans Am Series ran uninterrupted from 1966 to 2006 and was revived in 2009. The golden era of the series is generally considered to have been from 1968 to 1972 when the 302 cui / 5 litre muscle cars from AMC, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Plymouth a duked it out for overall wins. Above is a #15 Penske Chevrolet Camaro which appears to be the car that came 3rd overall and 1st in class at the 1968 Sebring 12 hours driven by Mark Donohue and Canadian Craig Fisher.

Bud Moore Ford Mustang Boss 302, Carmel by the Sea Concours d'Elegance

The drivers Trans Am championship was not instated until 1972, it was won by George Folmer driving an AMC Javelin, above is a Boss 302 Mustang of the type George used in 1970 when he was driving for the Bud Moore team.

Bud Moore Ford Mustang Boss 302, Carmel by the Sea Concours d'Elegance

Parnelli Jones also drove in Bud Moore’s Trans Am team in 1970, he drove a #15 similar to the one above, linked here is an excellent clip of Parnelli which show’s just why the Trans Am series was so popular.

Chaparral Chevrolet Camaro, Carmel by the Sea Concours d'Elegance

Texan Jim Hall built three Chaparral Camaro’s in 1970 for the Trans Am Series, they were raced by Hall himself along with Vic Elford, Ed Leslie and Joe Leonard, this car may well be the one that Vic Elford drove to a win at Watkins Glen in 1970.

Classic Wax Dodge Challenger, Carmel by the Sea Concours d'Elegance

Finally I featured the Classic Wax Dodge Challenger driven by Sam Posey in the 1970 Trans Am series some time ago. Being my all time favourite car from the series I hope you’ll forgive my indulgence by showing it again.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing his photo’s from the Carmel by the Sea Concours d’Elegance.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Trans Am Golden Era’ edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again when I’ll be featuring some of the Ferrari’s that were present at Carmel by The Sea on August 14th. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Full Throttle – Enzo Ferrari

Before commencing production of the Enzo in 2003, Ferrari contacted a select list of previous F40 and F50 owners inviting them to purchase one of the 349 limited production run vehicles. All of the cars costing US $659,330 were thus sold in advance.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Designed by former lead designer at Pininfarina Ken Okuyama the Enzo can generate 775 kgs / 1709 lbs of downforce at 186 mph to aid handling. The design seems to have split opinion as to it’s attractiveness between those who believe form should follow function and those who believe in higher aesthetic values.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Dripping with technology from it’s Formula One programme the Enzo carries a carbon fiber body and technologies banned from Formula One like active aerodynamics, which have recently been reinstated to the top echelon of the sport, and traction control.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Before it’s launch at the Paris Motor Show a bikini clad Demi Moore stepped into the show car on a California beech for a scene in “Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle“.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The brakes all round are manufactured from a Carbon fiber reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite, another carry over from the Ferrari racing programme.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Such was the demand from customers not originally invited to own an Enzo that a further 50 were made for sale and a 400th was donated to the Vatican for a charity auction at Sotherby’s where it fetched a cool US$1.1 million, which is the kind of price one would expect to pay for one today if one became available.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Inside the cockpit gears are shifted using an electrohydraulic shift transmission operated by paddles on the steering wheel with LED lights advising drivers when to shift, another transfer of technology from Ferrari’s racing programme.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Enzo’s front to rear weight distribution was designed to be 43.9 / 56.1 % again to optimise the handling at speed.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Capable of reaching 60 mph in a lightening 3.14 secs and 100 mph in 6.6 secs and covering the quartermile in 11 seconds the Enzo highest speed ever recorded in an Enzo is 221 mph and has been timed around the Nurburgring Nordschliefe at 7m 25.21 secs with a broken electronic damper. Interestingly the F430 Scuderia has since equalled the Enzo’s lap times at Fiorano, Ferrari’s in house test circuit.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The jewel in the crown of the Enzo is the 651 hp 65 degree V12 which shares the same basic architecture as the contemporary V8’s used by both Ferrari and Maserati.

Ferrari Enzo, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Three pre production Enzo’s were disguised as to look like Ferrari 348’s, the third of which raised $195,500 in the same auction as the 400th Enzo. The Enzo was used as the basis for a number of other models including the FXX, FXX Evoluzione and one off P4/5 by Pinninfarina carrying Ferrari badges, along with the Maserati MC 12, MC 12 Corsa and one off Maserati Birdcage 75th concept car.

Thanks for joining me on this “Full Throttle” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at a Lotus 47. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Goodwood Revival #3 – Volvo P1800S

The Volvo P1800 designed by Pelle Peterson, is celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary along with the E-Type Jaguar this year, surprisingly in the UK the Volvo was the more expensive of the two models.

Volvo P1800S, Goodwood Revival

Like the E-Type the P1800 was launched at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, with a 4 cylinder 115hp B18 motor this 1967 model is capable of 109 mph.

Volvo P1800S, Goodwood Revival

The producers of the thriller TV series The Saint initially approached Jaguar to see if they would supply a couple of, the much in demand, E-Types for the show, after they were turned down they asked Volvo for a couple of P1800’s who obliged by supplying two British bodied, built by Jensen, P1800’s for the first series and a Swedish built P1800S for a later series.

Volvo P1800S, Goodwood Revival

The actor Roger Moore star of The Saint, which immortalised the P1800, liked the P1800 so much he bought one.

Volvo P1800S, Goodwood Revival

In the late 80’s I came very close to taking on a P1800S as an investment, a second look at the car in daylight revealed I’d need to double my investment just to stay ahead of the rust, the following year the economy tanked. Wonderful cars full of character that the P1800’s are, I’m glad I played it safe on that particular occasion.

Thanks for joining me on this Simon Templar edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you join me again for some Goodwood Americana tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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1962 DNQ – John Zink Trackburner

The other day I caught a bit of a radio programme about interview questions asked of potential Oxbridge (Oxford & Cambridge) university students, one of which was “If you are not in California how do you know it exists ?”

This got me thinking about if one was not at a particular race how could one know what happened ?

Looking into the story behind today’s photograph by Ed Arnaudin several ‘beliefs’ I have long held were ‘corrected’, namely that after the appearance of Jack Brabham’s Cooper Coventry Climax T54 the next car with an engine in the back to appear at Indianapolis was Jim Clark’s #92 Lotus Ford 29 in 1963.

Much to my surprise I found out that there were two rear engine vehicle types at Indianapolis in 1962 !

John Zink Trackburner, Indianapolis

The John Zink Trackburner, above, and Mickey Thompson’s Harvey Aluminium Special, remarkably they were both driven by Dan Gurney who invited Colin Chapman of Lotus over, all expenses paid, for the 1962 Indy 500 in an attempt to secure a deal with Lotus & Ford to have a winning shot at the race in 1963 !

The history of running turbines in Indy cars goes back to 1955 when a Kurtis Kraft 3000 chassis was fitted with a 175 hp Gas Turbine with the support of USAF General Curtis Le May. This vehicle known as the SAC Fireboid, see images at the bottom of this link, was used for testing by Firestone and for a demonstration at Indy in 1955.

In 1958 a Mr Williams of the Boeing Aircraft Company approached Frank Kurtis in 1958 to design a purpose made turbine powered vehicle, allegedly Frank drew up plans for a vehicle with the engine at the rear, primarily do deal with the 1000º F plus exhaust gas temperatures. However the powers that be at USAC were not sufficiently timely or co-operative to get the project up and running.

For 1962 the 1955 and ’56 winning owner John Zink had his Chief Mechanic Denny Moore build a rear engine chassis to take a Boeing Turbine.

Prior to the Indy 500 the car was tested and crashed by John ‘Jack’ Zink at his own private 5/8ths mile circuit which included 11º banking ! After repairs the car was taken to Indianapolis where the rookie road racer Dan Gurney tried it after passing his Rookie test in a front engine Roadster.

Gurney managed to run at 143 mph not fast enough to qualify in the gas turbine Trackburner and felt that though more speed was achievable throttle lag in traffic would present insurmountable problems during the race. Dan ended up qualifying and racing Thompson’s Buick stock block, under, powered Harvey Aluminium Special instead.

Indy veteran Duane Carter was next to run in the Gas Turbine Trackburner, Carter ran slower in the corners but faster on the straights than Gurney recording a best time of 142 mph.

John Zink Trackburner, Indianapolis

Duane qualified for the ’62 Indy 500 in a conventional roadster belonging to Zink and Bill Cheesebourg, most likely the driver seen in the car here, had a shot at running in the turbine Trackburner he managed a best time of 145 mph but like Gurney fancied his chances in a Buick stock block powered Thompson, unlike Gurney he could not get up to qualifying speed before crashing.

Finally Duane Carter in danger of being bumped off the grid had one more shot at qualifying in the turbine Trackburner but he could not record a time faster than 143 mph. It was concluded that despite running nearly a full race distance during qualification for the 500 the combination of throttle lag, high track side temperatures, and inconsistencies born out of the three different drivers who spent time in the cockpit led to the cars failure to qualify.

My thanks to Steve Arnadin for scanning his Dad’s photograph, to Tom, E.B, Michael, Tim, at The Nostalgia Forum, for filling a large gap in my knowledge.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s belief changing edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Patina with well travelled history – Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Super Sport, #0312961

My thanks to every one at the Alfabb forum who made today’s post on this 1929 Alfa Romeo possible.

The 6C 1750 was in production from 1929 to 1933 with 369 examples built. The Super Sport came in normally aspirated 64 hp or supercharged 85 hp variants.

The 1929 chassis number #0312961 seen here was originally supplied as a double overhead cam normally aspirated model, after it was successfully used in competition it was returned to the Alfa Romeo factory in 1932 and upgraded with a supercharger and replacement crank case.

The body is unusual for the type having an ash frame with steel panels rather than the steel frame with aluminium panels preferred by Zagato.

After it’s initial foray in competition this vehicles adventures continued with a fire department in Ivera, Aosta near Turin. Somewhere around 1939 the vehicle turned up in Eritrea, then an Italian colony where many other vintage Alfa Romeo’s including this one are known to have been used for racing, there is a possibility that during one race #0312961 may have been in collision with a donkey while leading a handicap race in Asmara, Eritrea in 1943.

In 1947 the car was acquired by a British Captain serving with the victorious occupying forces in the former Italian African colony and he imported it to the UK in 1950.

After several more changes of ownership being painted blue, then red again and an engine rebuild the car was sold to an American in Zurich in 1959 who returned with #03122961 to Ohio in 1962. The car was sold to it’s present owner Nick Benwell in 2009 who then set about completing a rebuild that had started in Ohio in the 1960’s.

Nick is a great fan of original patina and as can be seen he has left the bodywork more or less as he found it. With the restoration complete Nick took his car on a 2,100 mile round trip to the Alfa Centenary celebrations last year where the car was waved past 400 other Alfa’s and honoured with being the first to pass through the Arese Factory gates as the oldest vehicle present.

My thanks to everyone at Alfabb.com ‘Help Identifying Vintage Alfa’s at Prescott ?’ thread who provided clues as to which car KYR 564 is including, Odin, Orouge and Duncan Macnab who kindly showed me a copy of Simon Moore’s excellent 2 part feature on this vehicle which appeared in ‘The Automobile‘ August 2010.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s journey across 5 countries on three continents and that you will join me for a look at an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Killer Bull – Lamborghini Islero

The Lamborghini Islero was a 2 + 2 built from 1968 to 1969, with just 225 examples built.

Powered by a 325 hp 3929 cc / 239.7 CUI 60 degree V12 capable of taking the Islero from 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 154 mph.

Named after a Muira Bull that killed Manuel Rodriguez ‘Manilete’ on August 28, 1947. The design was by Carrozzeria Marazzi.

Ferruccio & Edmondo Lamborghini used such vehicles as there ‘daily drivers’. Any one who has seen ‘The Man Who Haunted Himself’ may have noticed Roger Moore driving one.

Hope you enjoyed today’s post and will join me again tomorrow, don’t forget to come back now !

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