INDYCAR clutch
Monday, July 29, 2019
Monday, July 15, 2019
An award-winning 1949 Hudson
The Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes booth at the 2018
SEMA show featured a 1949 Hudson Commodore Custom Coupe built by Dave Eckert’s Eckert’s
Rod and Custom Inc. shop in Mollala, Oregon.
Every panel on the Hudson “Step-Down” body was reworked
except the roof line and only the roof and the glass remain in its factory configuration.
The car’s hood was “pancaked” and reshaped and the front grill redesigned.
The back of the Hudson was completely redesigned
- it now has a tailgate and a removable trunk lid. Eckert and his team reviewed
original color specs a selected a nostalgic maroon and cream color scheme,
which was completed with Sherwin-Williams’ new Ultra 9k™ Waterborne Basecoat
System.
The custom chassis uses C6 Chevrolet Corvette running gear
and suspension with Baer 6-piston brakes fitted all around, and under the hood
rests a 2008 Chevrolet LS3 engine fitted with a Magnuson supercharger which is
accessorized with hand-built sheet metal components to resemble the factory
look that included the valve covers and air cleaner.
The wheels are by Schott Wheels custom designed with the hub
caps designed and machined by Speed Metal Fab to resemble the original Hudson design.
The custom interior features custom gauges and a cut down 1952 Hudson steering
wheel.
Eckert’s 1949 Hudson won the Sam Barris Memorial Award at
the 2019 Sacramento Autorama for the all-metal vehicle with the best metal
work, alignment of body panels, and paint.
Photos by the author
Photos by the author
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Kia Forte drift car
The writer is not a fan of the motorsports niche of drifting,
but one has to appreciate the quality of the build of the Red Bull-sponsored
2019 Kia Forte drift car shown at the Kia corporate booth at the 2018 SEMA
show.
The car is powered by a twin-turbocharged engine out of a
Kia Stinger with a custom intake manifold sequential six-speed transmission as
part of a conversion to rear-wheel drive with a quick change rear differential.
Check out the total transformation of the body with all the aerodynamic add-ons.
Check out the total transformation of the body with all the aerodynamic add-ons.
Photos by the author
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Guerrini III sweeps Lakeport (and Ukiah) back to back
The POWRi Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) midgets and
the vintage division continued the celebration of the club's 80th year of
existence with a visit on July 5th to the familiar confines of the
¼-mile Lakeport Speedway on the grounds of the Lake County fairgrounds.
Mark Maliepaard winner earlier this season at Stockton 99
Speedway was unable to diagnosis and apparent ignition problem with the
Esslinger engine in his Fit & Finish Hot Rod Interiors Special and withdrew
before time trials.
David Goodwill in his #3 DDS Racing machine edged out
Frankie Guerrini in the Bob Rosen #4 midget by only .001 seconds as he posted
the quick time of 12.253 seconds on his second timed lap around the Lakeport
oval.
Nine-time POWRi BCRA champion Floyd Alvis was the third fastest qualifier
at 12.575 seconds, with JR Williams fourth at 13.725 seconds and current POWRi
BCRA points leader and Rookie-of-the-Year contender Robert Carson fifth at
14.240 seconds.
Time trials proved to be the last time anyone topped
Guerrini and the potent #4 Mr. Espresso wrenched by Frankie’s dad, Frank.
Frankie captured the trophy dash as he executed a nifty outside pass in turn
three of leader Alvis on lap two, and streaked to victory over Goodwill, Alvis
and Williams.
The heat race featured a fully inverted start, and the drop
of the green flag, front row starter JR Williams surged into the lead for the
first lap until Guerrini and Goodwill got past JR in turn four on the second of
ten laps. Frankie won the race by five car lengths over Goodwill trailed by
Williams, Alvis and Carson.
The starting field for the 30-lap feature was set as an invert of the heat race finish. The near capacity crowd watched as Floyd Alvis
charged into the lead on lap one as Guerrini and Goodwill maneuvered through
the field. The speedy pair charged past the green #18 in turn four on the
second lap, with Guerrini on the outside and Goodwill on the inside.
Frankie
quickly built a five-car lead until he reached lapped traffic, and after he and
Goodwill emerged free of the traffic, Guerrini held a ten-car length advantage.
Goodwill steadily reeled in the leader over the last half of the race and
closed to a five-car length deficit at the checkered flag.
Floyd Alvis finished strong in third place, as Guerrini only
lapped the #18 on the race’s final circuit. Robert Carson is the Segur #99
finished fourth two laps behind the leader with JR Williams’ #74 fifth, only
two car lengths behind Robert at the finish.
The POWRi BCRA midgets will be in action on July 13th
for Gerhardt Classic at Madera Speedway in a program that will be taped to air at
a later date on the MAV television network. The racing program will also
include a 100-lap race for the California Challenge Cup stock cars, Focus
Midgets, NCMA Sprint cars, Legends of Kearney Bowl, and the CVMS Mini Stock
Invasion.
Author’s note: thanks to the efforts of Bob Roza, we also
can share the results of the POWRi BCRA races at Ukiah Speedway on July 6.
David Goodwill again topped Guerrini in qualifying, but Frankie once again
swept the racing program as he won the trophy dash, the heat race and the
feature. The Ukiah feature finish order was Guerrini, Goodwill, Floyd Alvis, JR Williams and
Robert Carson.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Life sized
Hot Wheels™
at SEMA 2018
Hot Wheels™
at SEMA 2018
Mattel had several of its full-size Hot Wheels™ cars on
display at the 2018 SEMA show in Las Vegas as art of their promotion of the Hot
Wheels™ line of car care products.
Deora II
The original Deora was a real custom built by the Alexander Brothers from a Harry Bradley design that used a Dodge D-100 pickup and the back hatch of a 1960 Ford station wagon. The 1/64th scale Hot Wheels™ Deora was one of the original 16 cars in the 1968 Hot Wheels™ collection
The original Deora was a real custom built by the Alexander Brothers from a Harry Bradley design that used a Dodge D-100 pickup and the back hatch of a 1960 Ford station wagon. The 1/64th scale Hot Wheels™ Deora was one of the original 16 cars in the 1968 Hot Wheels™ collection
The Deora II was first produced as a Hot Wheels™ die-cast in
2000 from a design by Nathan Proch which used styling cues from - continuing the concept of the original - the rear window of the 1996 Ford Taurus
station wagon. This full-size version of Deora II debuted at the 2003 SEMA show.
The Bone Shaker
The Bone Shaker which debuted as a Hot Wheels™ die-cast in
2006. The legendary Mattel designer
Larry Woods at first threw out his original drawing. Thank goodness, as the
Bone Shaker is one of the most popular Hot Wheels™ cars.
All photos by the author
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