The BN7 model is a two seat six cylinder version of the 3000 as apposed to the BT7 which has four seats. This car has been painted at least once before and is currently in a non-original green color.
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Paint Progress: 1965 MG Midget
The original Tartan Red color came out beautifully on the Midget. The wire wheels have been media blasted and powder coated the correct color with fresh set of Vredestein tires.
The Big Drums
The rear drum brakes on this 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta are the famous Alfin style copied later by Datsun. The front however use these very wide aluminum drums with cooler fins that make it appear as if it is a large helical gear.
Two Great Ponies
After a tune up consisting of new wires, plugs, rewire of the ignition, and a new Holley carb float the blue 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback is ready to hit the streets with a smoother better running engine. The red 1968 Ford Mustang Sprint, a package that gets the GT appearance without the performance, waits it’s turn to get the same treatment.
The Italian Austins
The Italian manufacturer Innocenti whom started producing cars in 1920 but is most famous for it’s Lambretta scooters of the 1940s to 70s started making their own versions of Austin’s best cars in the 1960s. Each of the cars on the right is the Innocenti version of the Austin car on the left. The Minis were still called Minis but the Sprites were called Spiders.
1966 Marcos 1500GT
The GT body style was first introduced in 1964 with a Volvo B18 unit with overdrive gearbox and De Dion rear axle. In 1966 they switched to the Ford Kent “Formula Ford” engine. The plywood chassis was glued together from 386 separate pieces and was not only light and strong. Although most people have never heard of Marcos which ceased production in 2007 you have heard of the drivers who raced them. Among the drivers were Jackie Stewart, Bill Moss, John Sutton, Jack Gates, John Mitchell and Jackie Oliver, as well as Jem Marsh.
Before: 1959 Austin Healey Sprite
This Sprite arrived in typical fashion exactly as you see pictured here. The owner has decided to put on hold the 1958 Sprite we started and move the racing engine and suspension over to this car instead and then restore the other car to a more factory condition. This car has signs of being an old race car with the roll bar cut off near the mounts and when finished will be faster than ever.
Might Be Adequate
Rolls Royce has famously advertised the horsepower of their cars as either “adequate” or “sufficient” instead of printing an actual number. Today we find out if the power made by the 6.25 Liter Rolls Royce V8 in this 1961 Silver Cloud is actually adequate.
Progress: 1965 MG Midget
With the metal work finished, including new floors, rear quarters, battery tray, trunk floor and one new front fender this car has come a long way in the last month. After the suspension is done we can start the prep for paint.
Most with the Least
The DynoJet is a great tool for more than just seeing horsepower and torque numbers especially on a car with a small engine. Using the DynoJet on this 1953 Ford Anglia we can scientifically check how the carburetor is functioning, ignition health, top speeds in each gear, and accuracy of the speedometer.
Expats at Guard
Both of these Land Rovers are 1972 model Series III 88s but one is an original right hand drive and the other is a US spec with added reflectors and slightly different lighting configuration. After some testing on the dyno the advantage of the add-on overdrive units is clear and with the overdrive the trucks could travel at 80 mph if you were brave enough to do so.
1966 Austin-Healey 3000
This non-original Chevrolet color works beautifully on this Big Healey. With a small amount of work on the brakes and carburetors this car is ready for another year cruising the backroads.
Progress: 1952 Chevrolet 3100
With only a final sanding left on the five window truck cab the color will be put on this week. They style of these Chevrolet Advance Design trucks, which ran from 1947 through 1955, are among the most popular for Chevy enthusiasts and it is great to see another one saved.
Tale of Two Octanes
Running this Shelby GT500 Super Snake first on 91 octane pump gas and then on 98 octane Sunoco racing fuel confirmed what we saw two weeks ago with the GT350 that these cars will greatly benefit from higher octane fuels. The Super Snake saw an increase of 46 hp giving it around 740 gross horsepower.
1641cc Crate
The engine for the 1966 Volkswagen Beetle has finally arrived from GEX International and this extra power from the dual port heads should be a huge improvement. GEX offers a 36 month warranty on this engine and claim they have run them all on the bench before shipping.
50 Years Coming
Fifty years after the original Shelby GT350 a new one is now available in dealerships. Ford rates this 2016 Shelby GT350 at 526 hp but it wasn’t until we drained out the premium pump gas and put 98 octane Sunoco race fuel through it that we were able to see those numbers. To our surprise switching fuels netted a gain of 25.5 horsepower with this car.
Twin Cam Healey
The Lotus engine is rebuilt and sitting again now in the 1973 Jensen-Healey. Without the intake manifold and carburetors mounted the Lotus 907 engine looks tilted 45 degrees. This early Jensen-Healey is only a few hundred before they made the first big revisions to the model. The later Series II and JH-5 models seem more common at shows.
Truck in a Box
Thanks to LMC Truck for sending us these big beautiful boxes of panels to fix the 1952 Chevrolet truck project. After unpacking it looks like the panels fit as well as if they were made by the factory.
Before: 1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
Before: 1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Ran when parked but that was 30 years ago! Although rust has taken hold of this car it is complete and has the very rare dealer installed air conditioning. Look for faster than normal progress on this one as we have a deadline.
MKUWANA Macubana
You may have already seen the 1955 International Metro around Iowa State the last two weeks and if this food truck Makes You Wanna some Macubana then you can find it on the Iowa State campus and around the Ames area throughout the week.
