1958 Jaguar – at Cars & Coffee Upstate
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1952 Mercedes-Benz 220 Cabriolet
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This weekend I visited my friend Cator’s fabrication shop where he keeps his 1952 Mercedes-Benz 220 Cabriolet. We were done working on one of his other hot rods trying to wire up a Hemi with fuel injection when I asked to uncover the Merc and take a few pictures
According to Cator, these are very rare cars to begin with – only about 1200 of these two door, two-seater, convertibles were sold. Cator went through great lengths to make this awesome ride a reality and boy does it pack some serious heat! Given it’s rarity, I am sure many folks reading this post will have something to say since this car is far from stock. Then again just like me, Cator built this car for his personal use and enjoyment.
The black paint is flawless and shows the amount of work that went in the bodywork to make it look this smooth…
Yes, this 1952 Mercedes-Benz 220 Cabriolet is powered by a seriously hot Chevy 350 with triple carburetors. Cator built this car before we had a chance to convert him to fuel injection! That is why his current hot rod will be powered by that late-model fuel injected Hemi. But I digress…
The spring loaded star was a little off center because I bumped it when I took the car cover off…
The grill and bumpers are all original to the car. There is some serious bling going on here!
My iPhone did not do this amount of chrome justice – the smooth black firewall and all that chrome is stunning…
The engine is mated to a GM transmission and this runs to a 9″ Ford rear end with a solid axle.
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- Air ride suspension…
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- Suicide doors…
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- Fully operational canvas top…
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- Special trick Mercedes star…
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- In the weeds…
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- Fully lined canvas top…
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- Rear of the top…
This Merc is fully decked out with an air ride suspension. Check out how low to the ground it can be lowered! It is also equipped with a nice AC system that blows very cold air! The interior is outfitted with plenty of leather. And, the canvas top is fully lined – the top’s frame is completely hidden from view and according to Cator, makes the ride very quiet.
I need to get Cator to bring this bad boy to Cars & Coffee. I’ll have another set of pictures soon…
LSx in a Honda S2000
I found today’s picture while randomly surfing the web: an LSx in a Honda S2000. Holy crap on a Ritz cracker. Damn! This is what I am talking about.
Don’t take me wrong, Honda’s S2000 is a mighty special machine it its own right. I know; I own a pristine example. The F20C engine is – in my opinion – the only “true” engine on the S2K revving all the way to an astonishing 9000 RPM’s. As good at the F20C is however, torque is not exactly what I would call one of the S2K’s stellar features. Instead, one has to keep the engine high in the rev range to enjoy a spirited ride. And when I say “spirited” I mean this as a kick-in-the-ass kinda ride. It is awesome.
But… What would make this ride even better? Turbo? Supercharger? Meh. Boring…
If you are going to do it, do it right. Just like the photo above. Now we are talking! I have no idea if handling would go to hell with the extra weight of the LSx lump but note that even with an LSx the majority of the engine is still behind the front axle plane. The dude that owns this blue S2K certainly did a top-notch job. Note how incredibly clean that installation is. Very hard to do.
No. I am not proposing cutting up my very special S2K. She stays stock. But… Who knows. Finding a high mileage, decent body would be an excellent platform for something like this. Wow. Possibilities are endless!!
Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner
Fifty some years ago, the Ford Motor Company decided to build the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner. This beauty had a fully retractable hard top (eat your heart out BMW!) that folded itself in a very complicated way into the trunk.
Well, turns out tonight I was watching the six o’clock local news and they ran a story on the retractable top Fairlane. The story talked about how the International Ford Retractable Club had its 2013 National Convention here in Greenville, South Carolina. As expected, the inept reporter from Channel 4’s staff conveniently talked about everything but where the cars were on display. A little Googling solved the problem: the cars were on display at the local Hilton.
Since today was the last day of the meet, I decided to jump in the S2K and head out to the Hilton’s parking lot. Sure enough, a few of these timeless beauties were still on display. Oh man! What a treat. I took a few photos which I have added to the following gallery. If you are on my mailing list you might want to visit the site: the photo gallery does not transfer to the email. Take a look and make sure to click on the photos – they will open to their full size!
Some priceless gems, don’t you think? The turquoise 1959 is very impressive, with the entire top mechanism in full display. The trailer queens were equally amazing. Several others were safely stowed in fully covered trailers. Some parting notes:
- I thought the “Air Conditioned by Ford Select Aire” emblem was pretty awesome. Most intriguing, the emblem only appeared on the passenger’s side.
- How about the “Continental” kit affixed to the rear of the car with the spare tire mount. I bet it took some getting used to the fact that an extra 2 or 3 feet worth of chrome is behind the trunk.
- The paint colors on these cars is just so awesome! Just imagine what these beauties looked like back in the day with their bright paintwork and gleaming chrome.
- Fender skirts… Chrome… Body colour dashes… Fender Fins… All centerfolds in their own right – classic automotive porn at its finest!
2013 Walter Mitty Paddock at Road Atlanta
This past Friday, I attended the 2013 Walter Mitty at Road Atlanta. The weather was just perfect (although Saturday and Sunday is another story) and the cars were just amazing. As usual, the first thing to do after arriving is to go through the paddock and see all the awesome cars.
The picture above shows a very hot Mini owned by John Finger. John comes by the shop from time to time, and last summer he brought the mini to show it to us. He offered to take me out for a short spin in it and I can say this car is seriously fast. Matter of fact, it is scary fast. 
All the power comes from a front mounted, twin-rotor Mazda rotary engine. This is a seriously fast car and it is for sale.
I took a huge number of photos. The following gallery (for those of you on the mailing list, it might not show up so you might want to fire up the browser and see them the old-fashioned way) shows some of the more significant machines in the paddock. I wish I had more, but the camera operator (that would be me) was shooting in full RAW format and I had the wrong memory chip in. I’ll have more pictures of the action, but I need to sift through them and pick the best. I promise I’ll have another photo gallery soon. In the meantime, enjoy…
If you have never been to the Mitty, you need to go. Friday is the best day – the crowd is small and you can walk up to the cars in the paddock and take your time looking at them. There is plenty of action on the track too, and there are some excellent vantage points throughout Road Atlanta. It is very much worth the trip.