Goin’ to the Chapel in Style

When Doug Arbuthnot’s daughter announced her wedding, he wanted to contribute something special.  If his daughter and her future husband were like most kids these days, they would have at least a couple of years before the big day.  In this case, Doug only had nine months to make this contribution to the wedding effort:

What used to be a ‘34 Plymouth sedan became the stretch limo that escorted the lucky couple to the chapel on the wedding day.  Doug did all the work himself, including stretching the frame and splicing the body with sheetmetal and plate glass.  Power comes from a four-bolt Chevy 350 small block, mated to a Turbo 400 4-speed automatic and a Nova rearend.

Of course, limos are all about comfort, and this thing is no exception.  The fully-finished interior is covered in grey velour, with a bench seat for the newlyweds and buckets for the best man and maid of honour.  As a finishing touch, every bit of trim is brass-plated for that extra-classy touch.

Although nearly every car from the 30’s has a certain degree of elegance, Dodges allegedly have one advantage over the competitors, albeit a notorious one.  ”It’s an Al Capone special” Doug exclaimed, as he waited to pick up his passengers after a Pony Corral cruise night.  ”They used to say Al Capone’s men used Dodges or Plymouths because all four doors are suicide (doors).  You know, so they could shoot out of them.”

Like what you see?  All the images on this site are available as prints, T-shirts, coffee mugs, and more!  Click Here to find out more!

Required Reading for this week:

BBC Television’s Top Gear Limo Challenge on YouTube

Limo King Enterprises: Builders of the world’s largest limosine (and some of the weirdest, too)

‘38 Limo Service:  A 1938 Plymouth stretch limo for your big days

The history of Al Capone’s personal Cadillac

‘49 Panel Delivery, ’90s style

The late 80’s and early 90’s were a unique time for hot rodding.  The “smoothed, billet” look exploded on the scene, after cars like the California Kid and Billy Gibbon’s ‘32 Deuce Coupe (of ZZ Top fame) started gracing movies and record covers with their unique style.  Adding fuel to the fire was a young Disney Imagineer named Boyd Coddington who escaped from Mickey Mouse Land to set up his own shop.  Stamped metal hardware from the scrapyard and leftover bathroom carpeting was quickly replaced by sparkly clean paint and polished aluminum works of art masquerading as door hinges and steering wheels.

It was from this world of smooth and shiny that Tom Hutchison’s 1949 Ford Panel Delivery wagon was born.  Although it started life as a dairy truck near Inwood, Manitoba, the wicked street rod is certainly far from its country roots.  Starting up front, the bodywork was swapped with a ‘51 Ford, and the hood was taken from the elusive, Canadian-built Mercury pickup.  Behind the toothy grille, the delivery wagon is powered by a built Chevy 350 small-block, mated to a TH700-R4 transmission.  Even though the classic drivetrain setup purrs like a kitten, Tom still takes a lot of flack over it.  You see, Tom is a member of the Fabulous 50’s Ford Club of Manitoba.  “They give me a hard time, but I tell them it’s to go behind and pick up all the parts that fall off their Fords.”

Tom purchased the truck in 1990, with its current spearmint green & magenta on black paint theme.  He’s also still rolling on the same 15″ Weld Racing wheels, another popular 90’s hot rodding touch.  However, it’s the inside that has received the Hutchinson touch, with a completely finished interior in the rear and electronic updates like a DVD player and rear-view camera mounted on the bumper.

Now, the fact that Tom owns a beautiful truck might not be news.  He’s been a regular at cruise nights and car shows for nearly twenty years with his trusty wheels.  What’s news is that Tom is currently recovering from a major stroke.  According to his doctors, Mr. Hutchinson wasn’t expected to get out of a wheelchair again.  But less than a year later, he’s back up to his old tricks and making his appearances across the city.    Tom is proof that car guys are as tough as the vintage steel they drive.

Just a friendly reminder that every picture on this site is available as a print, t-shirt, mug, or more.  Click here to find out more!

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This week’s Reccomended Reading:

Short history of Ford Trucks in the 1940’s

Fabulous 50’s Ford Club of Manitoba

Wheels and Rubber:  A look at the world through a fellow car blogger’s eyes

Suede & Chrome:  A hip, happenin’ counter-culture hot rod guy who knows where it’s at, Daddio.

GM’s Greatest Contribution-the 1955 V8-Powered Chevy

In 1955, the Ford Flathead was king of the hot rodding world.  Sure, Chrysler had rolled out the first Hemi engines two years earlier, but their drag-racing supremacy wouldn’t be realized for another decade.  If you were a gearhead, speed demon, bootlegger, or Bonnie & Clyde, you had a flathead under the hood of whatever jalopy you called your own.

That is, until Chevrolet released their first V8 engine in the 1955 model.

That groundbreaking powerplant wasn’t much by today’s standards, but in 1955 it was the future.  Overhead valves, high compression, and a short stroke were considered high-tech for passenger cars at the time.  The performance was pretty mind-blowing at the time, with 162 horsepower raging from the engine’s 265 cubic inches (The optional 4-barrel carb kicked it up to 185 h.p.).  It was impressive enough that the Indianapolis 500 that year featured a ‘55 Chevy as its pace car.

We all know what happened next.  The little “Mouse” engine that could powered everything from Grandma’s Caprice Classic to high-performance speedboats to commercial trucks.  Naturally, what came to be known as the “Small Block” also became the epicentre of the hot rodding world.  In a weird twist of fate, they not only powered every ’suped up Chevrolet chassis, they also became the engine of choice in pre-war Fords, Studes, and anything else on wheels.  Even today, that first generation of Chevy small-blocks is still being tinkered and toyed with, just to see how far it can be pushed.  Case in point:  World Performance’s 600 horse 454 cubic inch small-block, dubbed the “Hardcore 454.”  And yes, it comes with a complete warranty.

However, great engines don’t happen on their own.  Every idiot in Texas knows that GMC’s 702 cubic inch V-12 was a cool engine.  That’s why they’re all bolted to irrigation pumps across the lone star state.  The problem was, the engine was only available in big honkin’ trucks, driven by big hairy truckers who probably didn’t talk to kids who drove too fast, especially about the awesome mill in their big rig.  No one found out until they were all melted down for scrap metal, and it was too late.

On the other hand, anyone could get a good look under the hood of a Chevrolet.  Everyone had a friend or a neighbor with one and a large percentage of those had that shiny new engine under the hood, taunting gearheads with infinite potential.  To make it even better, having that motor in a car as timeless as the ‘55-6-7’s meant you didn’t even need to swap the motor into a better looking vehicle.  It was a perfect storm that brought the General’s most popular invention to the forefront of North America’s car culture.

Even without its landmark engine under the hood, the ‘55 Chevy has retained a special place in hot rodding history.  The simple lines make it a favourite for little kids to draw at school, while adults like Jimmy Shine and the late Boyd Coddington have worked their magic on the famed car.  It has even taken starring roles in major motion pictures, such as American Graffiti and Two Lane Blacktop.  And the deep, throaty engine sounds you heard in Smokey & The Bandit?  They were actually recorded on a big-block powered ‘55.

(cool ‘55 Chevy trivia:  The same three, identical 1955 Chevy Hardtops were used in American Graffiti and Two Lane Blacktop.  And the engine noise for Smokey & The Bandit?  One of those three cars was borrowed to make the recordings.)

If reading this hasn’t satisfied your lust for this mid-50’s wunderkar, there’s good news: this burgundy beast is for sale!  The Chevy 350 is new, along with the wiring, paint, and billet dashboard & guages.  Leave a message below, and I’ll pass on the owner’s contact info.

Like what you see?  Prints, t-shirts, and mugs can be made from any image on this site.  Click Here to order or find out more!

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Have you got a sweet ride that deserves to be seen here?  This site is looking for new cars to feature this winter.  If you’re in the Winnipeg area (or can get your vehicle here) leave a comment below with your email address and maybe your bitchin’ wheels will be seen in an upcoming article!

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For more information, check out the following links:

Wikipedia’s entry on the Chevy Bel-Aire

Wikipedia’s entry on the Chevy Small-Block Engine

The Unofficial American Graffiti Home Page

2008 Dodge Charger Prototype

The beautiful orange beast that you see here is a pre-production 2008 Dodge Charger SRT.  More specifically, it’s the one being driven from coast to coast to promote A&W’s Cruisin’ the Dub.  The prototype Dodge started its journey in Vancouver BC, when Chrysler handed the keys over to Roger Barnes, the national manager for Cruisin’ the Dub.

The car originally started out in 2005 as a concept drawing by Chrysler designer Michael Castiglione.  How it came to market in such a short time (the first production models were delivered last week) is a complicated answer.  However, it probably had something to do with the number of shared components.  The car itself is built on the LX platform, which had first been used on the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum in 2005.  The engine, a 6.1-litre Hemi V8 with 5-speed Auto/Stick transmission is already available in other cars bearing the SRT stickers (like the Charger SRT Daytona).  And the looks?  Well, they’ve stolen that from the 1970 Charger.

From any more than twenty feet away, it’s hard to tell if the car is really the new one or a very clean 1970 hardtop.  Important details like the (non-functioning) hood scoops, full-width taillights, and correct orange paint give even the hardest of the hardcore car buffs something to scratch their heads at.  The folks at the Brampton, Ontario plant where the Challenger is built even saw fit to attach a retro-style filler cap.

As mentioned, this is a pre-production model, meaning that Chrysler engineers partially built it by hand.  That said, Roger hasn’t had a single problem in the 18,000+ kilometres he’s put on the car this summer.  Even the oodles of electronic goodies–GPS, bluetooth, CD/MP3 stereo with 20-gigabyte hard drive et al–funtion perfectly, like you would expect from a $50,000 luxury car.  In fact, it’s just as drive-able as the regular production Dodge Challenger that A&W will be giving away at the end of summer.

Of course, this car’s journey would not be made possible if it weren’t for A&W reaching out to the automotive community through “Cruisin’ the Dub.”  Every week in most major cities across Canada, the fast food giant opens up their parking lots to cruisers and gearheads, creating a safe and welcoming environment for those of us dealing with severe cases of “octane-itis.”  A&W is serious enough about the event that they’ve hired on a national manager (Roger Barnes) whose sole job is to keep the classic wheels rolling into their restaurants.  Well, not literally into the restaurants, just the parking lots. Ricky Bobby has that taken care of.

Left to Right: Roger Barnes, manager of Cruisin’ the Dub, and Craig Falconer, franchisee of the A&W located at 1520 Portage Avenue in Winnipeg.

That’s it for this week, but don’t forget to stop by next Tuesday for a clean ‘55 Chevy that’s looking for a new home.  Until then, keep it shiny side up!

Like what you see here?  All the great images on this site are available as prints, shirts, mugs and more!  Click Here to order or more information.

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A&W’s web page

Cruisin’ the Dub-official site

Official Dodge website

Wikipedia’s article on the history of the Dodge Challenger

Willy’s Garage/Winnipeg Free Press on Manitoba’s first Dodge Challenger

Autoclubs.ca gallery: First time the A&W Challenger came to Winnipeg

New format starting on Tuesday

To all my loyal readers,

I’d like to start by thanking everyone for continuing to visit this site on a regular basis.  It’s really an honour when each and every person comes to this site, to read the commentary, look at the pictures, or whatever else you come here for.  I appreciate and respect the fact that you guys seem to come back week after week to read this little blog.

However, coming up with content that’s worthy of your time and loyalty is getting harder and harder, especially with a demanding day job and my wedding coming up in less than a month.  With that in mind, I’m rolling out a whole new once-a-week format on Tuesday, which will hopefully be more manageable for me and (most importantly) more meaningful for you.

How do you find out more?  Come back Tuesday for a complete rundown of how it’s going to work, along with the first “Car of the Week”–a 2008 Dodge Challenger prototype, courtesy of the folks at A&W.

Thanks again for sticking with me through this past year, and I look forward to keeping you entertained and informed for a long time to come.  In the meantime, check out the 70,000+ pictures at Autoclubs.ca for great photography and event coverage from across Manitoba.  Or, check out Willy’s Garage at the Winnipeg Free Press Autos site for a good read.  And if that’s not enough, pick up a copy of Canadian Hot Rods & Classics Magazine at your local Chapters to see what the rest of the country is up to.  They’ve all got great pictures, stories, and info on the automotive community here at home and across the country.

So until Tuesday, keep it safe, and keep it rubber-side down!

Starting this tuesday, you can see and read more about local cars such as the 92.1 Citi-FM classic cruiser