Saturday Hornets Nest AACA show . . .
Read MoreThe body tag attached to the firewall confirms that it is, indeed, an F-Code car. The VIN in the upper left corner of the tag breaks down as follows:
F = Engine code: Supercharged 312 CID V8 with one 4-bbl carburetor, 300 hp.
7 = Model year: 1957.
F = Assembly plant: Dearborn, Michigan.
H = Body style: Thunderbird.
338047 = Production sequence.The rest of the body tag codes break down as follows:
40 = Body type code: Thunderbird.
FF = Exterior paint: Starmist Blue with a matching hardtop.
XL = Interior trim: Dresden (med. Blue) & Starmist (lt. Blue) vinyl.
22G = Date code: July 22, 1957.
2 = Transmission code: Overdrive.
3 = Rear axle code: 3:70.Any 1971 and newer Mustang falls into Class 34C, (Ford Mustang, 1971 - 97), including all of the Mustang IIs seen in the photo above.
The Mustang II has always had a polarizing reputation. Mustang purists and enthusiasts have hated the car since it was new based on the styling and engineering. But the response from the car buying public was much more positive. The introductory Mustang II year of 1974 saw almost 386,000 produced, which makes it the fourth best sales year in Mustang history. More than 1.1 million were sold over its five year run.By 1972, Mustang sales had fallen to its lowest number ever, (not counting the shortened 1964 1/2 model year). In an effort to boost sales, Ford came up with a patriotic red, white, and blue themed "Sprint" package and timed its introduction with the 1972 Summer Olympics.
The Mustang Sprint "A" package featured a Wimbledon white body with red and blue accents, dual sport mirrors, a honeycomb grill, and white front bumper. A Sprint "B" package was also available that added an upgraded suspension and Magnum 500 wheels with upgraded tires.
A special "USA" emblem, (seen in the photo above), was added to each rear quarter panel unless the car was being sold in Canada. In that case, a “Maple Leaf” decal & Canadian colors were applied. A similar Sprint package was also available on the Pinto and Maverick.The Sprint interior featured a special a red, white, and blue theme that used blue carpet and dash, white door panels, and white seats with blue cloth inserts and red piping.
These cars are relatively rare with a total of 9,383 sold in three body styles. This car is a standard Sprint hardtop. A Sportsroof, (i.e. fastback), and convertible were also available with the convertible being the rarest of the three, (only 50 produced).The 1977 - 1981 generation is my favorite Z28 from a styling standpoint. I almost bought a 1980 back in the early '90s. That car was a low mileage automatic with a/c, power windows and power locks. This car trades the power windows and locks for a 4-speed manual transmission, which I would have gladly done back in the day.
Class 34I: Chevrolet Camaro, except High Performance, 1982 - 97.
This 1992 25th Anniversary 5.7L Z28 marked the last year for the third generation Camaro. It's also another one of my favorites. I had a 1991 Z28 in the mid-'90s and loved it. Unfortunately, it was the wrong car to have in Pennsylvania during the winter.Even though it looks like an old car, this Toyota is actually a 1996 model. The common term for this is a "Neo-Classic" car and is applied to vehicles such as Excalibur, Zimmer, Spartan, Tiffany and any other factory assembled vehicles that were designed to resemble an older classic.
For AACA judging, Class 35 is reserved for what is defined as classic, prestige, limited production, prototype, and experimental vehicles. But they have to be factory assembled, (i.e. no kit cars). This Toyota falls into Class 35C, which is for, "factory assembled, manufactured vehicles that replicate the look and style of a previous make or model."The "previous make or model" in this case is the Model AA from 1936, the first car from the Automotive Division of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, which would, after changing the spelling, become Toyota Motor Company in 1937.
This right-hand drive JDM car utilizes the Hilux rear wheel drive platform and is powered by a modern 2.0L inline 4-cylinder that makes 96 hp. Only 100 were produced.The Judge was created for 1969 thanks to Pontiac Boss John DeLorean wanting to boost the GTO's image. The result was a $337.02 "Judge" option package. The name comes from the catchphrase "Here come 'Da Judge," from the comedy sketch of the same name from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In TV show, (which, itself, was adapted from an earlier Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham comedy routine). Pontiac's 400 CID "Ram Air III" V8 that makes 366 hp, which was normally an option, was standard equipment with the Judge package, and denoted by the "Ram Air" decal seen in the photo above.
If the 366 hp Ram Air III V8 just didn't cut it, the very underrated 370 hp "Ram Air IV" V8 was also available as an option. But of the 72,287 GTOs produced in 1969, only 759 were fitted with the RA IV. Most Judges came with the RA III seen in the photo above. A total of 6,833 Judges were produced that year, 6,725 hardtops and 108 convertibles.
Four engine options were available for the 1967 GTO, all of them being a variation of Pontiac's new for 1967 400 CID V8. The base 400 (RPO L78) made 335 hp with a single 4-bbl carburetor. A no-cost option was an economy 400 (RPO L65) that made 255 hp with a 2-bbl carburetor.
A 400 "HO" (RPO L74) that made 360 hp was available for $76.89. The king of the hill was the 400 "Ram Air" (RPO L67) that listed the same 360 hp power output as the HO, but was widely considered to be very underrated.
The "Ram Air" license plate seen on this car would indicate that this is a very rare Ram Air car. A total of 751 Ram Air GTOs were produced for 1967.Buick's Gran Sport was created in 1965 as a result of the success of the 1964 Pontiac GTO. The name "Gran Sport" reflects Buick's position in the GM hierarchy, (immediately behind Cadillac), and its design objectives that were oriented more toward luxury. But in 1965, Buick added "Sport" to the name when it dropped its 325 hp 401 CID "Nailhead" V8 into the intermediate-sized Skylark.
The 1961 model year was extremely significant for the Chevrolet Impala. This was the introductory year of both the Supersport option package, and the new 409 CID V8 engine.
The Supersport package, (RPO 240), itself, only added $53.80 to the cost of the car. However, RPO 240 also required several "mandatory" options also be ordered, (heavy duty springs and shocks, power brakes with heavy duty metallic linings, power steering and others), which added at least another $260. On top of that, the SS package required an optional engine of at least 305 hp. The 305 hp 348 CID V8 added another $209.85 to the price of the car.The It's also interesting to mention that the 409 CID V8, by itself, cost $484, which was a significant sum compared to the $2,700 Impala base price. All of these factors contributed to the fact that Impala SS production for 1961 was only 453 cars, with a mere 142 being equipped with the 409 CID V8, thanks to the engine's mid-year introduction.
The oil dipstick can be seen in the photo above on the passenger's side of the engine, which (according to the 348-409.com website), identifies it as a 409. For its introductory year of 1961, the 409 came with one 4-bbl carburetor, solid lifters, and made 360 hp.