The Manitoba Kid

Once in a long while, you run across a car that has one feature so unique, you begin to forget about the rest of the car.  The vehicle, in its entirety, may be an amazing work of art, a marvel of engineering, or just freakin’ awesome.  But for some reason, you just can’t get past that one thing.

 

Enter “The Manitoba Kid,” the pride and joy of Dave Tiechrow of Brandon, Manitoba.  It’s a 1947 Lincoln Zephyr V12, hooked to the original 3-speed+overdrive standard transmission.  Oh, and it’s attached to a ’39 Ford Deluxe coupe.  Or something.

The motor itself sat unused for 28 years, and practically untouched for much longer.  Despite the fact that similar Lincoln engines had to be rebuilt every 30,000 miles, this one has yet to feel the cold metal of a wrench on the inside.  Considering the fact that this motor is about to celebrate its 62nd birthday, that’s not bad.

The development of this engine was ordered by Henry Ford himself for the entry-level 1940 Lincoln Zephyr.  It actually replaced two previous V12 engines, the first one being released in 1932.  The main reason for this redesign was size;  the new Lincoln Zephyr was meant to be a smaller, more reasonable car to bridge the gap between the Ford Deluxe and the full-size Lincoln K-series.  It is credited by some for single-handedly increasing Lincoln’s sales in the late 30’s, when market conditions didn’t exactly favour luxury cars.

Zephyrs sold briskly until 1942, when all passenger car production was halted because the Nazis picked a fight known as WW2, essentially ending the auto industry’s golden era.  F***ing Nazis.  There’s only one thing that gearheads should hate more than Nazis:  Illinois Nazis.

Of course, not all of these unique marvels were as sturdy as this one.  Lincoln first conceived their V12 engines in 1932, before the auto industry had a chance to make mistakes and/or learn from them.  Mistakes like cylinders banked at a 75-degree angle to each other, allowing less space for heat dissipation between the two rows.  Gasses would somehow build up between the two rows, making it harder to ventilate the crankcase and easier for sludge to form.

However, once our forefathers finished sending the Nazis back to hell (which was still too good for them) passenger car production resumed and a new & improved V12 hit the scene.  This one had improvements like a bigger oil pump and better ventilation for the crankcase.  Small things, but still enough to redeem certain lucky specimens such as the one behind the radiator in The Manitoba Kid.

The rest of the car is equally awesome, although easy to overlook with that conversation piece up front.  The front cowl, grill and headlights are from a ’37 Chevy 1-ton truck, while the rest of the car is pure ’39 Ford–except for the beer can radiator hoses (look closely).  

Dave and his helpful friends wanted something cool, but simple.  In other words, they wanted to do just enough to make it pass the safety inspection, and no more-like a true rat rod.  And even if the car was covered in fancy paint and shiny rims, that would just take away from the true star-the big, bad V12 motor.

’29 Model A, Done Your Grand-Pappy’s Way!

Anyone who thinks that wheelchair-bound folks are less capable than the rest of us should take a good, hard look at this car:

This ’29 Model A is a bitchin’ piece of steel, built from parts of other cars ranging from the 30’s to the 80’s.  It follows all the traditional rules of what a hot rod should be, down to the vintage Flathead motor and front drums.  “And the funny part about this car,” according to its builder, “Hot Rod” Bill Chartier, “is that I finished it in a wheelchair.”

That’s right-Bill had to take time out from his hectic build schedule to have surgery, taking him off his feet for the last leg of the build.

The body was found in Kelowna, BC, where the previous owner had lost interest in the project.  Bill took the orphaned project car in, chopped the roof by 3.5″ and filled in the space where the factory Leatherback roof used to be.  Although the fenders and running boards were deep-six’d, spare tire covers from a ’37 Cadillac were cut up and re-welded over the front tire to appease The Man (and his provincial safety regulations).

Underneath that slick bodywork is a 4″ channel frame, custom built just for this hot rod.  A dropped Superbuild axle keeps the front wheels attached, and a 4-link rear suspension keeps while a 3.11-equipped Lincoln Zephyr rear axle gets the power to the ground.

Speaking of power, the little coupe couldn’t get away with another plain Jane mill-at least, not without a hood.  And since hoods are sooo 1986, a few modifications were in order.  At the top sits three Strouberg carbs on a big intake manifold.  A bigger cam gets enough juice where it counts, and Offenhauser heads holds the big explosion inside (while keeping things pretty on the outside).

The fact that this car was finished by a guy in a wheelchair (temporarily) isn’t the only surprise.  For all the oldschool styling and tradition, the car sports a modern fuel cell and modern 4-link rear suspension.  The rear bumpers are actually door handles from a commercial aluminum door.  Most of the roof is actually from an 80’s econo-box, although Bill swore me to secrecy over which donor car was sacrificed to the hot rod gods.  However, the biggest shock is that Bill sold the car-before it was even done!

It makes more sense when you find out that Bill’s car went to his very good friends, Ernie & Laraine Benjamin.  And it’s not the first time that Bill has sold one of his custom-built beauties-we’ve already seen the 1951 Ford Custom that he gave up, so it’s almost par for the course.  Then again, if surgery and wheelchairs can’t keep Hot Rod Bill from our hobby, not having this finished hot rod in his garage won’t stop him.

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Don Crosbie’s 1954 Mercury Sun Valley

The average person today keeps a car for three to five years.  It’s to the point that most vehicles today are designed for easy recycling as much as they are for easy assembly, knowing full well that after one or two owners, the car will be melted down and turned into souvenir ashtrays.

Of course, there’s always an exception, such as Don Crosbie’s 1954 Ford Sun Valley coupe.  Don aquired his Sun Valley in April of 1964, in a straight trade for his ’53 Ford coupe.  

Bailout Blunders, Part 3: Demons of Detroit

Finding the tiny European nation of Luxembourg on a map can be difficult.  Finding a way to lose more money than everyone in Luxembourg earned last year is apparently quite easy.

According to General Motor’s annual report, the automaking giant lost $38.7 billion dollars in 2007.  By contrast, the gross domestic product of Luxembourg-that is, the value of everything produced by every person in that country-was only $38.1 billion dollars.

More Bailout Blunders

Most people get tired of playing “Where’s Waldo?” after grade eight.  Of course, “most people” aren’t involved in the current auto industry rescue package, the bailout seen as the last stand for North America’s Big Three automakers.

For those that are involved, they now have their own version called “Where’s the Blame?”  And while Where’s Waldo provided hours of fun on the schoolbus, this game is a bit more serious.  

The Bailout Blunder

First off:  my apologies if you’re an American politician from the deep south.

No, wait, I take that back.  If you’re an American politican from the deep south, Fuck You.

This was supposed to be an article on the history of the Hemi engine.  But to be honest, I will have the attention of at least 700 people this week.  It’s only fair to the corporations who made our hobby possible that I give my resources over to their survival.

Unfortunately, this means the article will have to wait until tomorrow.  Until then, check out these photos of some of the great vehicles that GM, Ford and Chrysler-the three companies who need our help-have produced.  Maybe it will remind us of what we stand to lose should the government turn their backs on the millions of workers who stand to lose everything.

Come back tomorrow for more dirt on the union leaders, the managers, and the politicians behind the bailout.

It’s finally here!  Click Here to get your copy of “Class of 2009,” the first book from Sunday Cruise Fever today!

Free Wallpaper Friday #10

Wanna hear a joke?  The Toronto Maple Leafs.

OK, fine, I’ll keep my day job:

1080×768, for regular-sized monitors

1280×768, for widescreen monitors

 

See you next week!

’57 Ford Skyliner

You probably thought the Chevy SSR’s folding hardtop was a nifty little piece of technology when it first came out in 2004.  You maybe even thought it was a great idea stolen from those wacky Germans over at Mercedes-Benz, whose 1998 retractable-hardtop SLK coupe rocked our idea of what a convertible was supposed to be.

And you’d be way off the target.  Almost seventy-five years off the target, to be exact.  The first time someone thought of folding up the roof and tucking it away in the trunk was in 1922 for the Hudson coupe.  

It’s all about “Class of 2009”

So after all of my excessive bitching and bragging about writing a book for our cruising scene, “Class of 2009” is finally available to purchase online.  Seventy-six pages, all full-colour, and (almost) all featuring sweet machines from across the province of Manitoba (and one from Ontario).

Now, there’s a lot of great hot rodding books out there.  Speed Kings by Dirk Belhau is the first one that pops into my mind.  There’s also big, impressive glossy productions from Discovery Channel superstars like Chip Foose, Biker Billy Lane, Orange County Choppers, and the late Boyd Coddington.  They all have beautiful photography, great essays and articles, and lots of insights into the cars, trucks, and bikes that you’ll never get to drive.

That’s the big difference between Class of 2009 and your typical hot rodding books.  The cars featured on the pages of Sunday Cruise Fever’s first book has cars that you can drive, because they are the cars that you drive.  They’re your rat rods, your roadsters, your muscle cars, and even (gasp!) your Honda Civics*.  They’re what you drive to work, drive to school, and drive to cruise nights and car shows in.  They’re the cars that you found in back yards and scrap metal piles, turning them into heavenly (or hellish) machines.

The point is, this isn’t a book about Duane the asshole shop foreman, or Mikey the funny slacker.  We don’t need to pay for a book about these people, we’re already paid to put up with them at work.  What you deserve is a book about the car that’s within your grasp, just a few more weekends away from being turned into the bitchin’ rides that you want to be seen in.

So what about the book, then?

Like I said, 76 pages, full colour, and available in paperback or hardcover.  There’s pictures of every kind of car and truck, from an all-original Model T to a prototype ’09 Dodge Charger.  And there’s more than just the cars-the entire first chapter looks at the people and the community that’s been built up around the local hot rodding scene.  Even the bikes are covered, with images of Uncle D’s airbrushed wonders to Rolly’s VolkSuzukiWagen.  Hell, if you’re reading this, there’s a 1 in 5 chance that your ride is in the book.

It’s available now on the publisher’s website, for a measly $29.99 (yes, that’s US dollars) plus shipping.  If you want it by Christmas, order soon-the final deadline to get it by courier isn’t far away.  And if you don’t get it by Santa Day, let me know and I’ll send you something to unwrap on Christmas morning. 

*Yes, there’s one picture of a Honda Civic.  But just one.  Seriously.  I promise.

There’s Bad, There’s Badass, and there’s Paulo’s ’65 Mustang

Full Disclosure:  Aside from blogging about cars every week, I also write professionally-or at least as professional as I get-for Canadian Hot Rods & Classics, a Victoria, BC magazine that covers every aspect of the hot rodding scene in Canada.  Being that CHRC is one of a very few print magazines that’s thriving in Canada right now, it’s really an honour to be a freelance contributor to them.  Today’s post is an extension of an article I wrote for the current issue, available on news stands across the great white north.

Being bad-ass in today’s day and age is something of a misnomer.  From crappy action movies like the XXX franchise, to extreme gardening, it seems like anything that was boring last week is now marketed as being for the righteous motherf*****rs of the world.  It seems like being a badass just isn’t what it used to be.

That’s what makes Paulo Callisto’s ’65 Mustang fastback so truly badass.  To look at it just makes you think that someone really did a great restoration and threw a reasonable body kit on it.  Sure, it sits a lot lower, but that’s an easy enough fix on any car.  Besides that, it’s a grey car for crying out loud.  No, not dark silver-it’s definitely grey.

At least, that’s what you think before Paulo cranks up the motor.  All peace and quiet is lost as the rumble of a V8 motor turns to a roar, along with the high-pitched scream of a centrifugical supercharger.  It’s enough to scare the hedge clippers right off of an extreme gardener.

The sound you’re hearing is that of a 331 cubic inch Iron Horse V8 engine, which Paulo built from the ground up.  The block, a cast-iron version of the Ford Aluminator advertised in magazines, was brought into Canada at a cost of $20,000.  Yes, just for the block.  Add to that a Holley Systemax fuel injection setup, fed by a Vortech supercharger.  All that fuel/air mixture is sparked off by an MSD ignition setup, and vented by as little muffler as possible.  In total, the motor spits fire to the tune of 750-825 horsepower, depending on the amount of boost.

Nothing else is what it seems, either.  To someone who doesn’t know Mustangs, the interior looks stock.  To anyone who knows how sparse an original 60’s interior should be, it’s a hospitality suite at the Hilton.  Not only are there comfy leather seats all around, the new console (and all the gauges) take up every inch of space not used for legs.  The B&M shifter controlling a C4 automatic is tucked into this console so perfect that it looks factory, much like the stereo and the billet inserts around the speedo and tach.  In fact, the only thing that didn’t look factory-Ford built this day was Paulo’s cellphone, which he left on the seat.

There isn’t an inch of this ride that doesn’t scream “Bad Ass MoFo” in one way or another.  Even the grey paint is a shade from Aston-Martin’s colour book, recently seen on James Bond’s DBS in Casino Royale.  Even the big stereo (to compete with the big motor) hides its huge subwoofers in the trunk.

Cars that scream “look at me!” are easy to find in parking lots, and easier to find in rear-view mirrors.  It’s cars like Paulo’s-hard to find and impossible to catch-that give our passion a positive direction for the future.  Because if we aren’t building’em like this, the extreme gardeners win.

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Canadian Hot Rods & Classics before they’re sold out.  Or better yet, visit their website to order your subscription.  And if you still have room on your bookshelf, get yourself a copy of the first SundayCruiseFever.com book, “Class of 2008.”  It’s jammed full of amazing cars, trucks, and bikes, including pictures of this bitchin’ Mustang.  Available online from December 1st!

Want this unique content in your magazine, newspaper, newsletter or website?  Contact Jordan Morningstar at (204) 997.8827, or jordan.morningstar-at-gmail.com to find out about licensing images and text for your media outlet.