Vintage cars

[Pistolero]

More vintage racing shots....
They had reinactors, military vehicle collectors and vintage aircraft, too. Gen. Patton made a visit. A little
research indicates that this is a Dodge WC57 Command Car, a favorite of Patton, and he often had a M2 50 cal
pintle mounted at the right corner at the windshield of his personal vehicle.



Rosie the Riveter was seen near one of the aircraft she helped to build....



Two American cars were the fastest qualifier in the Saturday saloon race.



Rosie and her gentleman....getting into the spirit of the event.



We had fighter cover to protect the C-47s getting ready for the D-Day jump....





And Mr. Bean was out wailing with his 1926 Bentley Parkwood Saloon in the Bentley race.


And Jackie Stewart drove a D-type Jag.....




A good time was had on and off the track, I would estimate.

Bill

 

[462]

General Patton has been eating well.

 

[Pistolero]

Yeah, well the hard times are over.....

 

[RicinYakima]

How I spent my Senior year, except it had a 308 Hornet engine, in I gas class.

 

[oscarflytyer]

you guys are killin' me with the vintage (non-gun) stuff!

 

[Pistolero]

Is that a complaint?

Tell me more about "I Gas" class. I assume "gas" means it runs on gasoline-- maybe instead of
nitro or alcohol? I don't recognize the car....Ford, maybe 53 or 54? Would that have been
a flathead V8?

 

[RicinYakima]

It is a '53/54 Hudson Jet. Little uni-body design that weighted only 2400 pounds. "I" gas class was gasoline power and inline engine. The original Jet was a 202 cid flathead six, 4.52 rear end with overdrive was quite spunky. But if you put the radiator on the front side of the bulkhead, you could get one of the Hornet 308 cid flathead sixes in it. What they had was torque; from 1200 to 3600 rpm acceleration was just about constant, not all at the top end like V-8's. The 4 1/2 stroke limited rpm, but they would do in the low 14's if you were a good mechanic (and enough money), but most were in the mid-15's.

 

[Pistolero]

Cool. I didn't think it quite looked like a Ford, never saw many Hudsons, and it seemed smaller tahn any
Fords I am familiar with. 2400 lbs was pretty light at that time.

Bill

 

[RicinYakima]

It was a small car, 105 wheel base and 180 long. It was Hudson's first car with a "wrap around" windshield. To do that, they bought 1952 Ford windshields and styled the car around that. Its problem was price, it had the best of everything. Swedish chrome-vanadium cast iron blocks, GM hydromatic transmissions, Borg-Warner brakes, no chrome but brightwork of stainless steel and best interior materials. It cost the same new as a Buick Century. It was marketed as a high quality around town car with fast 0 to 45, easy to maneuver and park and painted in the flashiest early '50's two and three colors combos.

 

[Pistolero]

Interesting marketing concept. Must not have worked, since Hudson didn't last a lot longer than that.
A foot shorter than the current Honda Accord.

Bill

 

[oscarflytyer]

Bill - no complaints at all!

Regarding the Hornet - I always heard they were the bees knees. Never new quite why. Thanx for the info Ric! And yeah, a big inline 6 is a cool motor all the way around, and flatheads are even cooler!

 

[Pistolero]

IIRC, Aldo and Mario Andretti started out in racing with a Hudson Hornet. They were teens, maybe it was
just something that they could afford.
Ok, I didn't know how to process that "your killing me" comment properly.

 

[RicinYakima]

Interesting marketing concept. Must not have worked, since Hudson didn't last a lot longer than that.
A foot shorter than the current Honda Accord.

Bill

Didn't work is right! Why buy small when you can get big for the same money. Americans have always been "bigger is better".

Hudson Hornets won more NASCAR races in 1952 through 1954 than all the others put together. It was hard to beat a car that had a center of gravity that was 9 inches lower around corners.

 

[462]

Aldo and Mario grew up in a displaced persons camp, in Trieste, Italy, after WW II, so I imagine the family arrived in America with very little money.

 

[JWFilips]

My Son is a Buick man....here is another one he had for a number of years!
1961 Invicta


Talk about a wide wheelbase! The trunk was the size of a small compact car!

It was featured in his last Music CD. Of course Dad did the photography and the photoshop work for him!

 

[Pistolero]

Is that paint job from the factory? I never saw a two tone paint job like that before.
Big cars in those days.....we were free to buy what we wanted and the car makers were free
to build what we wanted, too. Neither is true today.

Bill

 

[Intheshop]

Famous Mario quote that I no doubt am messing up but here's a pretty close gist.

>It's amazing how many drivers think the brakes are "just" for slowing down.<

Squaring the suspension,setting up for turn in is one application. And anywhere you need a change in weight bios. And several other reasons.

 

[popper]

The little studes ran in F gas class. She always won as the only entry at KC strip. We ran in D gas class, basically 283 v8.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Ok, I didn't know how to process that "your killing me" comment properly.

Bill - DEF ALL GOOD! I am an old car nut too!

 

[Bret4207]

Bill, "Pattons" WC was the forerunner to that Power Wagon I like so much. Back when a truck was a TRUCK and not a one ton rated sissified carrier for a bag of golf clubs!