International Car Shows

Event: Eye on Design Car Show

Date: Fathers Day 21st June 09

Venue: Edsel & Eleanor Ford house, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan
Theme: Provide support and raise awareness for aid and research to the visually impaired through the work of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology
For more info, galleries and tickets sales log on to www.eyesondesigncarshow.com

Event: Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex

The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex is an annual driving event that delights entrants and spectators alike. 
nitiated to showcase the elegance of the automobile in motion, the Tour also underscores the early history of the place that is Pebble Beach. Decades before golf links were laid out along the edge of the Pacific Ocean, this area was known for its scenic drive, winding for miles through pine and cypress forest, dancing alongside dramatic cliffs and leading, ultimately, to a beautiful cresent-shaped bay.

Date: August 13, 2009
7 – 8 a.m. Cars line up near Collins Field in Pebble Beach 
8:30 a.m. Tour departs, tracing portions of 17-Mile Drive and Highway One
11:30 – 12 noon Tour arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea 
12 noon – 2 p.m. Cars are displayed on Ocean Avenue
2 – 2:30 p.m. Tour returns to Pebble Beach
3:00 p.m. Concluding Champagne toast for participants
For galleries and loads of other info log onto www.pebblebeachconcours.net

Event: Moscow International Motor Show

Date: 26-30th August 09
For more info log on to http://www.mims.ru/en
Event: 41st Tokyo Motor Show
Dates: Oct. 23 (Fri.) – Nov. 4 (Wed.), 2009
Log onto http://www.tokyo-motorshow.com  for more info

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Formula 1 Collision Pics

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The Air Force Pimps Its Rides

Fighter jets and stealth bombers aren’t the only things in the Air Force fleet that fly.

The Air Force enlisted Galpin Auto Sports to radically rework a Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger to impress the kids. The cars are the stars of the “2009 Super Car Tour,” a recruiting initiative that will hit high schools across the country to highlight career opportunities in the Air Force. Galpin is best known for the crazy customization antics on MTV’s “Pimp My Ride,” building KITT in the short-lived “Knight Rider” remake and creating that crazy Scythe scarab car awhile back.

This time around they’ve built a pair of wild machines that look more suited to aerial combat than dragstrip runs.
Beau Boeckmann’s boys at Galpin collaborated with technical and mechanical airmen to ensure the cars have an authentic Air Force aesthetic. From a mix and match standpoint, the end result works well – something akin to AM General debuting a line of matchbox cars.

“For Galpin Auto Sports to be commissioned by themost technologically advanced organization on earth is truly an honor” Boeckmann said in a statement. “This is one of the most extraordinary and important projects that we have ever done.”

First up is the matte-pearlescent white Mustang dubbed X-1.The name is a nod to theBell X-1, the firstaircraft to exceed the speed of sound in level,controlled flight.

This car won’t approach that kind of speed, but with a 500-horsepower V8 under the hood, it’s quick enough to keep you entertained. Lift those scissor doors and prepare to drop your jaw – either in awe or dismay, depending upon your point of view. The interior looks like it was lifted from an F-15. Design details include a single-driver ejection seat, flight stick and, of course, night and thermal vision and GPS.

And then there’s the matte-black Challenger codenamed “Vapor.” Stealth could not be a more appropriate descriptor for this menacing car, which Galpin says uses radar-absorbing paint and a “stealth mode” exhaust that lets the car run silently. We swear we’re not making this up.

Cool exterior details include biometric latches on the scissor doors, proximity sensors and a roof-mounted camera with a range of 1/4 mile. The exterior was wrapped in a custom body kit and carbon fiber trim. Even the wheel covers are carbon. Like the Mustang, the Challenger got an fighter-inspired interior with aircraft-style controls, a passenger steering wheel and night and thermal vision and GPS gear. We love the shift lever, but we’re curious to know why Galpin didn’t say anything about what’s under the hood.It also didn’t say how much it charged Uncle Sam to build these wild rides.
Sourced from: www.wired.com

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PIMP YOUR RIDE

1949 Ford Coupe – Ford-Ified

Many custom cars are built as a means for re-creating the past. Others conjure up a past that never existed, and create a fresh new reality for the present.

“My choice of a ’49 Ford was mainly by happenstance, but then became a nostalgic trip to the past,” says Seth Wagner, the owner of this Chicago-area business coupe. “That past was 1952, when I was just 13 and my sister’s boyfriend had a ’49 Ford coupe. His was smoothed and, as we said in those days, ‘souped up.’ I loved it, and never forgot the rides we took with the ‘big guys’ in a ‘souped up’ ’49 Ford.

“In July 1998,” Seth continues, “I was out for a ride on my custom motorcycle and spied an original black coupe in a parking lot. The car had a ‘For Sale’ sign on it, and after crawling all over it, under it, and in it, I called a knowledgeable friend who happens to be a licensed appraiser. We decided the car was in excellent shape and worth the effort of making an offer.”

After parting with $4,500, Seth drove the Flathead-powered Ford home, quickly realizing it needed updating to meet his desired driving standards. Before long, customs like the Troy Trepanier-built Sniper and Ford’s Forty-Nine concept car inspired Seth to commission design renderings from Gary Constable at Mutant Art. The modest initial plans soon snowballed into “an obsession to design a ’49 custom rod like no one else had ever designed,” Seth says. “Don’t we all think of that?”

Coming up with a plan was one thing; executing it was another. “We had to do a lot of things to the steel components to get them to meet the challenges dictated by Gary’s design,” Seth says. “Kerry Hopperstad chewed 2 1/2 inches out of the top, tilted the B-pillars just enough to give it some class, and left us with the capability to use the original glass in the back and sides.”

Frenching the headlights and taillights, filling the hood, building a custom grille, and recessing the license housing are all relatively standard Shoebox mods. What really sets this Ford apart is the custom trim gracing its slab-sided flanks.

“The side trim was an airbrushed concept in the renderings,” Seth says, “but our heads-together stubbornness insisted on something more trick and difficult. Most people ask, ‘What is that trim off of?’ It is not off of anything. It is solid aluminum, CAD-designed and CNC-machined, welded, polished, and painted. Studs threaded into the trim are used to affix it to the body; no small feat, as every dip and rise in the body had to be filled accordingly.” Hopperstad helped engineer and build the trim, while the crew at Nardi’s Rod and Custom fine-tuned it after applying the car’s custom-mixed Sikkens orange and champagne metallic paint

The Ford’s bold streak is more than skin deep. Under the hood thumps a stroked, 392ci Ford Windsor small-block fed by a Holley blower and Demon 850-cfm carb, all dressed up in body-color paint and topped by a Tony Nardi-crafted air cleaner. Fed by a stainless Rock Valley tank, the engine churns out a dyno-proven 490 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, channeling it through a Tremec five-speed.Cradling the potent drivetrain is a modified frame with a Mustang II-style IFS, Air Ride Technologies air springs, an Addco sway bar, and 13.5-inch Wilwood brakes. Out back, the current air spring/leaf spring combo will soon be replaced with a four-link setup, although the narrowed 9-inch rearend, 4.10:1 gears, and Wilwood discs should stay put. Rolling stock consists of 17- and 18-inch Billet Specialties Stiletto wheels and BFGoodrich rubber.

A Hopperstad-modified dash filled with Auto Meter dials keeps Seth informed in the cabin,

while Cougar bucket seats wrapped in brown and beige leather keep him comfortable. Steve and Marilyn Rolfs, of Durant, Iowa, get credit for the fine upholstery design and craftsmanship. Their handiwork is complemented by amenities such as an ididit tilt column, Billet Specialties wheel, Alpine tunes, and Vintage Air climate controls.

Ken Barnhart and his crew at Ken’s Street Rod Repair ably handled much of the Ford’s mechanical work and final assembly, finishing it up in time to hit the Goodguys 2005 Heartland Nationals in Des Moines, and the PPG Nationals in Columbus, where we bestowed it with a Custom Rodder Top Ten award.

“The car has been a long time coming,” Seth says, “but it was a journey well worth the effort, and a lot of friends were made along the way. I am sure I have missed a lot of names, but all the people that contributed to this work of art and function will be fondly remembered and greatly appreciated. Thanks to you all for making my dream car come true!”

Sourced from: http://www.customrodder.com/features/0605cr_1949_ford_coupe/specifications.html

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