Saturday, December 29, 2018



Pro Vintage 1956 Ford Victoria  

For the 1931, the Ford Motor Company introduced an all-new body style, a two-door sedan with extra wide doors and a unique rear "bustle" known as the "Victoria," The body style continued through the 1934 model year. 

In 1955 Ford Motor Company renewed the Victoria nameplate for it's premium hardtop coupe in the Ford Fairlane model range. Ford had last used the Victoria nameplate in 1932, but after disappointing sales the Victoria was dropped at the end of 1956 model year.   

The Victoria name returned to the Ford lineup in 1982 through 2011 as the top of the Ford LTD range, but these were four-door sedans.



Wes Allison’s Wild Wes Paintworks and Hot Rod Factory debuted their Pro Vintage 1956 Ford Victoria at the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. This beauty rides on a custom Wild Wes Signature Series frame fitted with Detroit X Gen 595 front suspension and Summit racing 9-inch rear end suspended with a Wild Wes Signature Series triangulated 4-link rear suspension.


The 305-cubic inch Ford Y-Block is fitted with Holley Sniper fuel injection and twin Vintage Torquestorm superchargers connected to a Cyclone F2 Automatic overdrive transmission.


The body is painted with custom-mixed Axalta paint – Mandarin Twist Pearl over Victorian White Pearl - over Schott Magnitude wheels fitted with Mickey Thompson tires.


The gorgeous interior with stitched by Jeff Elwood.

All photos by the author.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018


WoO and All Stars announce 2019 schedules

The two major nationwide 410-cubic inch winged dirt-track sprint car series announced their 2019 event schedules at the 2018 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show in Indianapolis Indiana. 

The World of Outlaws Craftsman sprint car series will stage 92 races across 25 states. 



The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will present 56 events across 12 states.





Monday, December 24, 2018


Trent Stephens’ ISMA supermodified



The Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants booth at the 208 PRI (Performance Racing Industry) show in Indianapolis Indiana featured the ISMA (International Supermodified Association) race car driven by Trent Stephens of Talmadge Ohio to an eighth-place finish in the 2018 ISMA points.


During the 2018 11-race season, Trent who has three career ISMA victories, scored two fifth place finishes, with four other top ten finishes.     





The #19 car, owned by Steve Stout’s ACME Racing team, in addition to the typical supermodfied details such as extreme offset engine location, push-rod front suspension and air cylinders which allow the top wing to “plane” on the straightaways, also sports a very unusual cantilevered rear suspension.

During the PRI show, Steve Stout announced that the ACME Racing team will expand to a two-car program for the 2019 season with 2015 and 2016 ISMA champion Dave Shullick Jr. joining to drive the #49 supermodfied.  




In 2019, ISMA’s forty-third season of operation, the supermodified racers have a 13-race schedule with two visits each at Oswego Speedway, Delaware (Ontario) Speedway, and Sandusky (Ohio) Speedway.

Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants founded in 1839 in St. Louis Missouri offers engine oils, greases, hydraulic and transmission fluids, gear lubes and fuel additives for the agriculture, trucking, heavy construction and racing industries. Check them out at  https://www.schaefferoil.com/


Sunday, December 23, 2018

Toyota Supra display 
at SEMA 2018 traced 
the history of 
the Toyota Supra in America



At the 2018 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas, Toyota USA showed off the 2019 NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Racing) Xfinity Series Toyota Supra which will debut at Daytona International Speedway in February, although the street version will be sold by Toyota as a 2020 model after 22 years away from the market.  



The fifth-generation Supra Xfinity race car developed by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and Calty Design Research (a Toyota subsidiary based in Southern California) was shown alongside the four Toyota Supra passenger cars and presented an interesting history of the development of the Supra from 1979 through 1998.





 The original Supra debuted in 1978 and was introduced in the United States in 1979. The first Supra featured a longer wheelbase and was wider than the Celica it was based upon and was equipped with a 4ME inline six-cylinder 2.6-liter (158 cubic inches). Fitted with fuel-injection and a single overhead camshaft the 4ME engine developed 110 horsepower transmitted to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. By the time the first-generation Supra left production in 1982, it was equipped with the 2.8-liter (170 cubic inch) 5ME engine that developed 116 horsepower. 



The second-generation Celica-based Supra debuted in 1982 powered by a 145- horsepower 5M-GE DOHC (double overhead camshaft) 2-valve per cylinder inline 6-cylinder engine that displaces 170 cubic inches. The Supra featured MacPherson strut front suspension and independent rear suspension and the P-level Supra featured Recaro seats.   For the final model years of the Supra from 1984 to 1986, the engine power had increased to 160 horsepower transmitted to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.



The third generation Supra introduced in 1986 was stand-alone design powered by the 183-cubic inch 7M-GE six-cylinder engine which developed 200 horsepower, while the turbocharged version, the 7M-GTE produced 276 horsepower. Sold until 1992, this was the first Supra available with electronically controlled suspension dampening.



The fourth-generation Supra was powered by the 183-cubic inch 2JZ straight six-cylinder engine with Sequential Electronic Fuel Injection and an aluminum 4 valves per cylinder head that produced 220 horsepower or 320 horsepower in the twin turbocharged version mated to an optional six-speed manual transmission. The turbocharged version could reach 60 miles per hour (MPH) in 4.6 seconds and run the 1/4-mile in 13.1 seconds with a top speed of close to 180 MPH.  While it was an awesome performer, sales in the United States were never strong, and after 1996 the turbocharged Supra was only sold in the United States with a 4-speed automatic transmission until Toyota ended sales in the United States in 1998.
   
All photos by the author 



Friday, November 23, 2018


A pair of Volvo 122Ss at SEMA 2018

The 2018 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas featured two very different takes on the same canvas – the early-nineteen sixties Volvo "Amazon" 122S two-door sedan. The Volvo Amazon, named after the legendary female mythological warriors for the world market, was sold as the Volvo 122S in the United States. 

Over 300,000 two-door Volvo 122S coupes were built during the marque’s twelve-year production run, but with 14.4 second 0-60 MPH performance, American hot rodders never considered the 122S a basis for a build - until this year.




The outdoor Shell Oil/Pennzoil display featured a 1963 Volvo 122S modified by Jeff Allen’s Flat Twelve Gallery. Allen and his team substituted the chassis from a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport equipped with a 630-horsepower Lingenfelter Performance Corvette Z06 crate engine for the Volvo’s original running gear and 85-horsepower overhead valve four-cylinder engine. Known as the “V06,” Allen will use it on a cross-country tour of Optima Ultimate Street Car Autocross competitions then the car that Allen affectionately calls “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund.





The 1964 Amazon 122S shown in the Cummins Diesel booth built by Heritage Driven went a different direction, using a Mustang II front clip stiffened factory frame and custom-built four link rear suspended 9-inch Ford rear end powered by a Cummins turbocharged 2.8 liter (171 cubic inch) four-cylinder crate engine connected to a Tremec 6-spped transmission. The diesel crate engine provides 161 horsepower and 310 foot-pounds feet of torque to the rear Method 17-inch rally wheels.   


All photos by the author

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Haas Moto Museum Dallas Texas

On November 9 2018, the author had the opportunity to tour the new Haas Moto Museum located in the Arts District of Dallas Texas, so for this post only this site becomes  "Triplett's Eye on Motorcycles."

The main museum at 1201 Oak Lawn Avenue is divided into several areas but the author focused on two areas - the history hall and the race track hall.




Indian board track racer 

This artwork based on the Indian board track racer 
with each piece individually cast in bronze 

Modern Speedway bike 


The Haas has an annex known as the 'Motorcycle Gallery at Dragon' with 50 more motorcycles on display. 

In the nineteen thirties, the sport of "Moto Ball" was all the rage in Europe
the sport was polo played on motorcycles such as this 1936 Koehler-Escoffier  

The "Moto Ball" display included this poster, ball and helmet


The Haas Moto Museum is definitely worth a visit if you're in the Dallas area, as it is close to Love Field, open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM   



All photos by the author 


Saturday, November 10, 2018


1973 Datsun 240Z tribute resto-mod racer



The Shell Oil Company outdoor display at the 2018 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas featured an interesting 1973 Datsun 240Z “resto-mod” race car built as a homage to the Bob Sharp Racing 240Z racers of the nineteen seventies.

Bob Sharp began racing in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) events with a series of Datsun racers that carried the #33 to help promote his Datsun dealership, and he eventually convinced the Nissan Motor Company Limited to provide factory backing for his racing efforts.   

After he retired as an active driver in 1976 with six SCCA national championships to his credit, Bob became even more famous as Bob Sharp Racing (BSR) built and fielded winning Datsun race cars for his son Scott, Sam Posey, Jim Fitzgerald, Elliott Forbes-Robinson and part-time amateur racer and actor Paul Newman.



Canadian road racer commissioned Cyrious Garageworks of Oakville Ontario to restore and update an original 240Z race car which had been raced sparingly in period and then sat unused for twenty years.  


After the crew at Cyrious repaired several poorly fabricated period modifications, they built a modern style touring car roll cage before they dropped in a 1990’s era Nissan RB25 turbocharged twin-overhead camshaft inline six-cylinder engine and transmission.



This car makes extensive use of Japanese aftermarket parts, notably the TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny Pandem body kit which includes wheel flares at all four corners, a front air dam and rear spoiler, and 6666 custom wheels which are reminiscent in appearance of nineteen seventies BBS wheels. Of course, for lubricants the Datsun 240 Z uses nothing but Quaker State products a division of Shell Oil Products.   

All photos by the author    

Tuesday, November 6, 2018


1949 Frazer Manhattan convertible


In the years that followed the Second World War, automotive consumers In the United States were starved for new cars, as the last cars off the assembly lines had been 1942 models. Many drivers held onto their old cars through the war and survived scrap drives and the rationing of gasoline and tires and now that the war was over, they were more than ready for something new. Enter Henry J. Kaiser.



Kaiser had amassed a fortune as a contractor as his firm had built the Hoover, the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams and he had built an empire of construction material companies. With the onset of the war with Japan and Germany, Kaiser with no prior shipbuilding experience established seven shipyards on the West Coast that produced ships faster than previously imagined using faster construction techniques such as welding instead of riveting and the use of sub-assemblies. 

Long-time automobile executive Joseph Frazer, a young college graduate, started his career in the auto industry as a mechanic’s assistant in a Packard dealership before he moved into sales. Frazer then jumped to General Motors (GM) where he helped establish General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) that pioneered automotive financing. 

While at GM he met Walter P Chrysler, and followed Walter to Willys-Overland then to Maxwell, which later became Chrysler Motors. While at Chrysler, Frazer convinced Walter P. to start a lower-priced line of cars called Plymouth.

Frazer eventually got his own chance to turn around a struggling automaker at Graham-Paige Motors, and he planned to change the name to Frazer, but he needed financing. Frazer met Henry J. Kaiser, a larger than life super-successful businessman well known to the public who had an interest in the auto industry as well as a $10 million line of credit from Bank of America.

It seemed to be a marriage made in heaven – Henry Kaiser had ideas on how to streamline automobile manufacturing but needed an industry insider knowledgeable about sales and marketing, and Joseph Frazer needed financing and the notoriety of a respected public figure. The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was born in July 1945, obtained the assets of Graham-Paige in a stock deal and set up shop in the massive Willow Run Michigan B-24 bomber factory, then the largest building in the world. An initial stock offering raised $54 million for the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation.

In early 1946, the company debuted two prototypes at the New York Auto Show, a front-wheel drive Kaiser and the conventional Frazer sedan. The front-wheel drive design never went into production due to engineering hurtles, and the 1947 production Kaiser and Frazer sedans were all but identical. 



The new cars styled by Howard “Dutch” Darrin were conventional with two new concepts – all-welded construction, a wider rear seat that was between the wheels as the result of moving the rear wheels behind the passenger compartment. a large luggage compartment, curved wraparound bumpers, dual horns, twin sun visors, automatic dome lights, and large, hydraulic self-centering brakes.   

Mechanically the new Kaiser and Frazer cars were quite conventional for its time, with a pre-war design L-head 6-cylinder 226-cubic inch Continental ‘Red Seal’ engine which developed just 100 horsepower with a single Carter carburetor, while dual Carter carburetors boosted output to 112 horsepower at 3600 revolutions per minute (RPM).  The slow-turning Continental engine was prone to overheating and failing head gaskets, and coupled to a manual three-speed transmission with overdrive, a Frazer sedan typically accelerated from 0 to 60 miles per hour (MPH) in 19 seconds with a top speed of 85 mph.

Due to production delays, the first production Kaiser and Frazer automobiles did not roll out of the Willow Run factory until May 29, 1946, and were shipped to dealers in mid-June, registered as 1947 models. In a hot market, Kaiser-Frazer ultimately sold 70,474 Kaisers and 68,775 Frazers during the 1947 model year, giving the company the best market share (4%) of any of the American independent manufacturers.

The Frazer line which was billed as “America’s Largest-Selling Fine car” was led by the luxurious Manhattan, in addition to the Standard and Deluxe models. Kaiser-Frazer sales remained strong through in 1948 despite relatively high prices, for example, a Frazer Manhattan had a manufacturer’s list price for $27 higher than a Cadillac Series 62 sedan.

In late 1948 at a Kaiser-Frazer board meeting, Henry Kaiser pushed for an increase in production for 1949, which was opposed by Joseph Frazer. Although sales had increased slightly and the company maintained 4% of the market in 1948, profits had dropped. The board voted with Kaiser and Frazer resigned his presidency, but remained with company for more three years a sales consultant.




In 1949, Kaiser introduced the “Virginian,” a faux convertible built on the 123-inch wheelbase sedan chassis which featured a nylon top over a steel roof.  Frazer on the other hand that year introduced a hand-built convertible based on the Manhattan sedan body, but not without some problems. Edgar Kaiser, son of the founder, who took over the Frazer presidency after Frazer’s resignation ordered engineers to not add reinforcement after they cut the roof off the sedan. Edgar eventually had to admit his error, and the production car’s boxed frame was reinforced with a giant X-brace. 




The additional bracing took the car’s curb weight up to over 3700 pounds, and the anemic Continental engine was no match for the car’s bulk.  To add more rigidity, the Manhattan’s window frames and the “B” pillar between the front and rear doors remained fix in place and were not retractable, so this car cannot be considered a true “convertible.” Experts differ on production numbers, as some of the unsold Manhattan convertibles were re-badged as 1950 models, but this car’s owner states that only 62 1949 Manhattan convertibles were sold.  




Joseph Frazer’s instincts were proved correct, as the “Big Three” brought their new models to market which fed the public’s appetite for new cars. Kaiser-Frazer’s original body style looked dated, and the lack of performance and durability of the Continental engine did not help. Kaiser-Frazer sales dropped to just over 100,000 units (2% market share) and at the end of the 1949 model year, there were 20,000 leftover cars which the company was forced to re-brand as 1950 models. For 1949 the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation posted a loss of nearly $30 million dollars. 




After Joseph Frazer’s departure, the Frazer nameplate was soon dropped, and the 10,000 1951 Frazers sold that were leftover actually 1950 models that used up the company’s remaining stock of bodies and high-end upholstery materials. In 1952, the company changed its name to the Kaiser Corporation and began selling Manhattans as a luxurious  member of the Kaiser line. 

In 1953 Kaiser bought Willys-Overland and its Jeep brand. Although Kaiser stopped building its eponymous nameplate in the United States in 1955 after total 1954 sales of only 7,000 units, it continued to build Jeeps until it sold the brand to the American Motors Corporation in 1970. 

The 1949 Frazer Manhattan as displayed at the Automotive Driving Museum in El Segundo California is one of the few examples remaining and is resplendent finished in Indian Ceramic with a black top and interior set off by the gleaming chrome trim.
    
All photographs by the author