Mercedes-Benz has made the SL for over 60 years, and despite the fact that some of them have been duds, the original is a timeless classic. Some people love the Gullwings, others love the Roadsters. I’m firmly in the latter camp, by virtue of the fact that the first toy car I bought with my own money selling candy as a kid was an ivory-colored 190SL Roadster. I don’t have it anymore, but the memories flood back when I see a 190 droptop in the flesh. This medium blue example drew a lot of attention at Monmouth Park Racetrack this weekend. It succeeded in keeping my attention span occupied for a good amount of time, and was my favorite foreign car at the show. Enjoy the photos of this timeless piece of artwork.
When it comes to the Mazda RX-7, the final generation is the one I seem to gravitate to. I can’t explain why. Perhaps its the “forbidden fruit” aspect of it, since they are not often seen out in the wild. Or, perhaps its the fact that it seems to be right no matter if it still packs its original twin-turbo Wankel powerplant, or some sort of Chevrolet LS engine. Both engines fit this car’s styling almost too well. This one seems to pack an LS1 out of a Corvette and the swap is as clean as they come. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Mazda FD RX-7 with a dirty little secret at the CF Charities Supercar Show→
Roadkill has become my favorite YouTube show over the past few years. The reason is pretty easy to understand–take old cars, two guys who’ve seen everything about old cars for years, and a sense of humor that I can relate to (since I’ve been stuck working on two old cars for two years now), and the formula comes together. In this episode, Finnegan’s beat-up old Datsun 240Z, packing heat from a small block Ford with a turbo off a diesel F-Series HD, takes to the track against a car they built for Mighty Car Mods, a 1969 Chevy Impala with the same engine from the Crusher Camaro, a famous Hot Rod Magazine build–this time, it’s a 427 ci Chevrolet big block topped with a mean-looking supercharger. Who’s going to win this battle? Find out by clicking “Play”! Grab the popcorn (or Hot Pockets, or beer, or whiskey), this is a good one.
A few days ago Nick shared that lovely Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI. Those are fantastic cars. But I’m here to bring us straight back to the Stars and Stripes Forever, folks. Just steps away from the Evo was this blast from the past. This is a Checker Marathon ex-taxicab. Very few of these exist today, as most were ridden hard and put away wet. Large, cavernous, and about as complicated as a grilled T-bone steak, these Checkers were used as taxicabs in most cities across America for generations, until they disappeared from the road between 1990 and 2009. None are left in active service, and this particular sedan appears to have been loved and restored to a remarkably good standard.
By the beginning of September, my life was finally coming back together, ever-so-slowly. With a job offer in hand and numerous leads calling me nonstop, I was finally hitting my stride for the first time since April of 2016. However, while I was improving, the Mark VII was starting to falter. Continue reading The Lincoln Mark VII Chronicles, Part III: One Battle Ends, and Another Begins→
It’s quite a shock to the system to see a real Eighties Aston Martin Lagonda. Unpopular when new and a true curiosity today, these cars were packed with enough technology to make the Pentagon look Philistine in comparison of the era. Of course, that amount of 1980s technology wasn’t the best for reliability, and sales proved it. With a price approaching $90,000 at the time, these were quite a hefty purchase at the time, adn thanks to the below par reliability (even in the later fuel injected models like this one), they were not very popular. Today, they’re a bargain at the auction, but still tough to run thanks to a slow following even to this day. Continue reading Aston Martin Lagonda S3 at the Greenwich Bonhams Auction→
We’ve featured a few of the famous “M-Code” Plymouth Road Runners here at MoM in the past, but it never gets old for me. Plymouth was usually rather subtle when it came to putting big block V8s in their muscle cars for some time. They would put a small “426 Hemi” badge on the fender, keep the color schemes subtle, and let the engine do the talking. However, the new Road Runner attracted younger buyers, so Chrysler decided to up the visual ante by about a million notches. Enter the M-Code 440+6 Road Runner. Continue reading 1969 M-Code Plymouth Road Runner at Lime Rock→
Roadkill, the Hot Rod Magazine YouTube program, has done some insanely fun stuff with their cars. One of their least successful projects since its birth has been this Datsun 240Z, which has blown up two different Vortec V6 engines, a transmission, and nearly killed both Freiburger and Finnegan. This time, they found the world’s most infested Fox body Mustang, and the results? Watch the video to find out.
– Albert S. Davis
It’s kind of a shame that no one pays much attention to the big Navigator. What was once the baddest, most blinged-out SUV on the road was quickly overtaken by the Escalade, and rather than keep up, Lincoln merely turned the Navigator into a Ford Expedition wearing a cheap Mens’ Warehouse tuxedo (that was at least a size too small and smelled funny). Luckily, it looks like Ford has decided to make a change to this. As we see here, the new Navigator takes a much more imposing face to do battle in the always-hot luxury SUV market against the new Infiniti QX80, Cadillac Escalade, and Lexus LX-570. Ford has junked the old 5.4L V8 in favor of the well-regarded EcoBoost twin-turbo 3.5L V6, added much larger wheels, and supplied a sumptuous interior. Continue reading The All-New Lincoln Navigator at the 2017 NYIAS→
Back in October, there was one car at Scarsdale that made everything look like a toy. Even the Ferraris and Jaguar sports cars trembled in its wake. It may not outrun the Corvettes, or the Z28 at teh show, but it will certainly sit in their rear view mirrors, making them tremble and wonder which politician’s palm they forgot to grease. Say hello to this big, mean, imposing 1964 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 four-door hardtop. I did. Then I checked my messages to see if I’d forgotten about a sports book debt I owed.
Where we last left this story, I had taken a few interviews and the Lincoln had barfed coolant all over South Jersey. By the beginning of June, I’d parked the poor thing and taken back to driving the Legacy nearly full-time. I’d hit off on a few good interviews in the beginning of June, and while walking out to take the Lincoln to the center of town to pick up election results with my friend Damon, I got the offer as I started the engine. What started out as another day in the pack, had become a blessing. A blessing that turned into a curse, within due time. Continue reading The Lincoln Mark VII LSC Chronicles, Part 2: June, July, and August -The Plot Thickens→
On April 16, as most of you dear readers know, I purchased this big gray Lincoln Mark VII LSC to replace my Miata, which I’d sold to Nick. What most of you don’t know, is the rest of the story. Through this occasional series, I will work to chronicle the past six months of what I’ve done with this gigantic piece of American history, and how it has fit into the other parts of my life in that time. Continue reading The Lincoln Mark VII LSC Chronicles, Part 1: April and May – Continuing The Story.→
Mind Over Motor 