Johan van der Unde Jr. from Xpresslon Autobody repainted her In one of the most eye catching paint schemes seen on Tartton. Yes that Is paint and not a wrap as a lot of people expect and the quality Is show car good. Under that long blue bonnet lies the heart of the beast, a 581 cu In Merlin big block Chevrolet engine featuring a Hillbom fuel Injection system, yep this baby Is normally aspirated, unbelievable as It might seem looking at the times she sets. A lot of race teams are secretive about what setups they run but not the Forever Young team.

The big block engine Is fitted with 8 Venolla pistons connected to an Ohio “4340″ Billet crankshaft with Venolla Aluminium conrods. Bearings are speed pro race bearings and on top are 2 Dart aluminium cylinder heads fitted with Manley severe duty valves controlled by a crane cams mechanical roller camshaft. Closed up the block is filled with Fuchs drag Titan SAE 50 engine oil and the compression ratio is set at 16:1. Ignition is handled by a Vertex magneto and spark is delivered with NGK sparkplugs but the really scary part of this setup comes next. The fuel pump is an Enderle mechanical fuel pump force feeding the engine its high octane diet of methanol racing fuel at a rate of 65 meters per litre which works out at 2 litres for a burnout and 6 litres for a 1/4 mile run. And you thought a Hot Rod had bad fuel consumption but ail that amounts to approximately 1000hp (746kW).

All that power gets managed by a Chevy turbo 400 3 speed auto gearbox with a trans brake (something like a launch control for really talented drivers) and a 6000 RPM stall 9.5“ TCI converter. Sending power to the Strange engineering differential out back. Stopping power is also supplied by Strange in the form of 4 pot disc brakes and getting that amount of power onto the ground is the job of a set of Hoosier 32×14-15 rear tyres and keeping it pointed in the right direction is the job of the two Mickey Thompson 26×7.5-15 front tyres.

So what does all this mean in terms of performance? A1/4 mile in 9.15 seconds running at 245.5 km/h. 0-100 km/h comes up in1.8 seconds and 60ft in 1.23 seconds. That’s fast in anyone’s book and keeping mind that this is a normally aspirated car. Putting ft into perspective, the Bugatti Veyron does 0 -100 in 2.5 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 10.175 seconds at 223.6 km/h but that’s with a price way north of 10 million rand.

HAKE: Chevrolet
BODY FABRICATION: Corvette C4
COLOUR: Custom
PAINTER: Johan van der Linde Jr from Xpression Autobody
GRAPHICS: Johan van der Linde Jr CHASSIS: Full Chromo-moty
FRONT AXLE: Strange engineering custom
ENGINE: Merlin block 581 cu in Chevrolet
TRANNY: 400 turbo auto with trans brake
EXHAUST: Custom headers
INTAKE/CARB: Hillbom fuel injection
REAR END: 4.58:1 Strange Engineering differential
SUSPENSION: Custom BRAKES: Strange Engineering 4 pot disc
TYRE/SIZE: Rear Hoosier 32x14-15 front Mickey Thompson 26x7.5-15
SEATS: Fibreglass racing seat
UPHOLSTERY: None
DASHBOARD: Aluminium basic - oil pressure gauge and temp gauge
INTERIOR EXTRAS: Chrome-moly roll cage, 5 point harness, fire extinguisher
STEERING: Custom WMDOWS: Plexiglass
HEAD LIGHTS: None TAIL UGHTS: stock
FUEL TANK: 15 litre
OWNER: Mick van Rensburg
DRIVER: Johan van Zyl
TUNER: Jody Scheckter LOCATION: Tartton YEAR: 19

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This might be the oldest surviving unmolested Hot Rod in South Africa sporting a red and blue custom metal flake paint scheme. This little Rod was started in 1969 and first saw the light of day in 1974. The standard Pick-up was bought by a piston ring member as a parts mule for his own car that was kept standard, she was complete but all the detailing parts were stripped when Ben first saw her. The bare shell called out to him to get her down the road again and he complied by making his dream car a reality. It wasn’t just a chance encounter as Ben’s wife bought him a model of a 1930 Roadster Pick-up as a gift and the car crept into his heart as he fitted the small plastic parts together. When the 1/24 scale model was completed he showed it to her and matter of factly said now for a bit bigger scale. We don’t know if she believed him but 40 years on and the proof is still parked in his garage.

So how did they build Hot Rods in the good of days? You start by boxing the original chassis and then you get a 327 Chevy V8 from a 1966 Chevrolet Impala just lying around at Tarlton. Today a car like that would be a prize find to restore but those days it was just an easy source of parts. The next part of the story might leave some Classic car fans with nightmares. Ben heard about a 1955 Chevy Belair that had some minor damage after a traffic accident, he bought the car and cut it up to get the rear diff and running train, the rest was scrapped. The original front suspension was dropped 4я but the rear was left as is. Stopping power was never a highlight in the ‘30 Pickup but with the new engine and some vigorous driving, it would never be enough. A Volvo B20 donated its stopping power to the cause and it was all kept on the road with 14″ rims sourced by Tiger wheels from a Johannesburg builder called Jimmy Janelle. The 327 was fitted and breathes easy with the help of a Holley 600cfm carburettor and a custom stainless steel exhaust system safely expelled the used gasses out the back. The power is transferred to the rear wheels via a turbo 350 auto gearbox.

The body was massaged back into shape by Ben himself and after countless hours with a dolly and hammer the body was ready for a paint job like only the late 60’s can provide. Dark red and blue paint was applied by his brother-in-law who also went overboard with the metal flake. This car glitters like a diamond in the sunlight and will definitely not be missed by other drivers. The bed was re-done in true South African style with railway sleepers cut down and planed to fit. In my opinion, a much better use for them rather than another homebuilt bar. The bed posts were handmade with Me-ranti wood and varnished to a luster. In front the hood was removed and after-market head lights were fitted. The only other body modification was the removal of the spare wheel and some period engraving on the front windscreen.

The interior is sparse to say the least with a red and black leather bench seat and door panels which are set off by a red carpet and wood rim steering wheel. On the floor the shortest gearlever ever seen is topped by a grinning skull knob, daring you to put this time capsule into drive and head on down the road to a drive-in theatre for an unforgettable evening. Drag racing and car shows? According to Ben she’s made to drive and was never meant to be a racecar or a trailer queen, I can’t agree more.

What’s next for this old school survivor you may ask, somewhat sadly Ben tells me he plans on tearing her down and doing a complete re-build. When I asked him why, all he said was she drives like a truck, an 80 year old truck so maybe it is a good idea, as long as it’s unique and looking at his pride and joy, I’ve got a suspicion it will be.

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With reviews like that and sharing double billing with the hit BONNIE AND CLYDE, BULLITT devastated audiences with incredible scenes of leaping, screaming automobiles that seemed to fly off the screen. Among all of Hollywood’s road movies, BULLITT unquestionably made film history with its original car chase sequences. There may have been chase scenes before but nothing has since or before equaled the intensity and impact of BULLITT. The scenes, which were novelty then but classic now, were brilliantly executed. Over the years fans have asked questions about the two cars used in the movie, a 1968 Dodge Charger and a 1968 Mustang GT. Of all the Muscle cars offered in the late sixties, why were these two cars chosen and how were they modified to survive the torturous driving?

It’s been 45 years since BULLITT was filmed however, the magic of this special movie has not diminished. We questioned some of the crew who participated in the filming and asked them how the chase was co-ordinated and shot, who was involved in the chase scenes and what happened during the
filming. Steve McQueen and director Peter Yates brought in some of the best names in the business in preparation for the filming of BULLITT’S chase scenes and we were able to track some of them down. We interviewed Carey Lofb’n, stunt co-ordinator for BULLITT and occasional driver of the BULLITT Mustang, Bud Elkins, the main stunt driver of the Mustang aside from McQueen and Loren Janes, who had doubled for McQueen for nearly 20 years and stunted for McQueen during the airport sequence at the end of the film. We also interviewed Max Balchowsky, the man responsible for maintaining the Mustang GT and the Charger throughout the filming. Finally we spoke with Ron Riner, who acted as transportation co-ordinator for Warner Brothers on the BULLITT set.

We set out to learn what the recipe is for such a successful chase sequence. What we found out was that there is none; it was pretty much a hit and miss thing and as Ron Riner put it, “Other people have tried to put the same combination together to get the same results and haven’t really done it. Before we’d shoot a scene, everyone including the location people, the police department, the stuntmen, the director and Steve, would get into discussions. We realized we didn’t know what to do because no-one had ever done this before.” What hadn’t been done before was a chase scene, “at speed”(up to 110 miles per hour) through the city streets and not on a movie studio back lot. Bud Elkins said, “I think it was the first time they did a complete car chase at normal camera speed. What you saw is what really happened. It was real!” McQueen
was determined to have “the best car chase ever done,” recalls Carey Loftin. “I told Steve I knew a lot about camera angles and speeds to make it look fast. You can under crank the camera so you can control everything in the scene. Then when it’s run, it’ll look like high speed and the car will appear to be handling real well.” McQueen refused to hear of it and advised Loftin that money was no object. “Fine,” Loftin replied. “Until you run out of money, you’ve got to stop me!”

In an interview with Motor Trend magazine, Steve McQueen related his desire to bring a high speed chase to the screen. “I always felt a motor racing sequence, a chase in the street, could be very exciting because you have the reality objects to work with like bouncing off a parked car. An audience digs sitting there watching somebody do something that I’m sure almost all of them would like to do.”

BULLITT was also the first picture done with live sound (some of which was added later as needed). For example, additional sound was needed because on occasion a tyre squeal was not picked up by the microphones. Bud Elkins remembers blowing the rear end of the Mustang at Willow Springs, winding the gears for engine noise to be added to the soundtrack.

To prepare himself, his crew and the cars for the movie sequence, McQueen and company went to the Cotati race course near San Francisco. “Steve handled the Mustang real well and he flowed well with the car,” recalled Riner. “. Also on hand was the late Bill Hickman, the fantastic As for the cars, Max Balchowsky tells us, “I suggested they get a 390 GT. I had suggested using a Mustang, and a Dodge Charger or else there would be too many Fords in the picture. I thought we’d mix up the cars.” The two 1968, four-speed Mustang GT fastbacks were purchased primarily because, promotion ally, they were the best deal at the time. As far as Bud Elkins can recall, he feels the reason they used the Mustang was because “They wanted it to look like a cop car. This was his personal car and he wasn’t a rich guy, he didn’t have a real nice car and it was Steve’s idea to put the big dent in the fender to show that it got banged up and he didn’t have enough money or the time to fix it.”

Warner Brothers purchased two four-speed Dodge Chargers “at a Chrysler dealership in Glendale California,” recalls Ron Riner. He also said the Dodge Chargers had to be purchased without promotional consideration but after the success of the movie and the increase in Charger sales, Chrysler was more than willing to be generous with their vehicles to Warner Brothers for future projects. Mr. Riner posed an interesting premise, “Did you realize that there wouldn’t be a 01 car (the General Lee in Dukes of Hazzard) if we hadn’t done BULLITT and Dodge hadn’t sold so many Chargers?”

Before the filming could be done, the Charger and the Mustang required preparation. One of the best wrench men in the movie business, Max Balchowsky, recalls the Mustang in particular needed considerable modifications so it could hold up during the relentless beatings it
would take during the filming. “Carey said they were ‘going to’ do a lot of jumping with it and he said it had to be strong. So I was a little hesitant as I didn’t know if they wanted to go over 50 foot cliffs. I had no idea what they wanted to do until I got there.” To beef up the Mustang, Balchowsky started with the suspension, reinforcing the shock towers, adding crossmembers and re-inforcements, exchanging the springs for replacements with higher deflection rates and replacing the stock shocks with Konis. All suspension parts were magnafluxed and replaced where necessary. The engine also came in for some modifications including milling the heads, adding an aftermarket high performance ignition system, re-working the carburettor and adding headers.

On the Mustang, Mr. Balchowsky recalls, “Everybody suggested I put a Holley on the Mustang as it was better than the Ford carburettor. I’ve always had good luck with Fords and didn’t want to spend money putting a Holley on if I didn’t have to. It ran good and needed just a few little adjustments. I changed the distributor and all but basically never had the engine apart on the Ford.” Ron Riner remembers, “The stock Mustang had undercarriage modifications not only for the movie but for Steve McQueen. Steve liked the sound of the car and he wanted mags. We hopped it up because Steve wanted the car hopped up. He was still a kid.”

Balchowsky remembers, “I hardly had to do anything to the Dodge’s engine but what I was worried about was the strength of the front end.” To shore up the front, Balchowsky revised the torsion bars,
beefed up the control arms and added heavy duty shocks. As with the Mustang, all parts were fluxed. For the rear end Balchowsky told us, “I got some special rear springs, what you call a high spring rate, a flat without any arch in it and using that spring, the car would stay low. It’s similar to the springs they use in police cars which makes a good combination. When the police specify a package, they have more spring here, a little bigger brake there, a little bit more happening in the shocks, and it makes a good car. But the director of BULLITT wanted a brand new car instead of an ex-police car so I got the springs from a friend at Chrysler. We had to weld re-inforcements under the arms and stuff on the Dodge and we did lose a lot of hubcaps on the Charger. We’d put the hubcaps back on but I suppose it probably would have been better if we had left them off.”

“I’ll tell you this,” said Max Balchowsky, “I was really impressed with the Mustang after I got done with it as I didn’t think it would make that much difference beefing it up. Later we took both cars out and went playing around with them over by Griffith Park (near Los Angeles). The Dodge, which was practically stock, just left the Mustang like you wouldn’t believe.” Ron Riner has similar recollections. “The Charger ran rings around the Mustang. We trimmed the tyres down (on the Charger), we practically made them down to bicycle tyres to try and handicap Hickman and Bill just run them.” Carey Loftin also recalls, “We test ran the car at Griffith Park near the Observatory up a long hill and if you can run a car real hard up and down that hill, its working pretty good.”

The post Steve McQueen: The Greatest Chase Of All appeared first on Cars One Love.

Body
After the body received its final polish and wax, using my favourite model wax called “The Last Detail”, I fitted the one piece window assembly to the headliner using Sellotape brand double sided tape. This method allows you to fit the glass accurately and securely while still giving you the option of removing it at a later stage without breaking anything. The assembled interior was also secured to the inside of the body using the locating pin on the inside of the body shell and small squares of double sided tape. At this stage, the brake booster, radiator and battery were also fitted to the engine bay using 5 minute epoxy and put aside to harden. Finally, I added the rear lights and light surround and bumper as well as the front bumper using epoxy as well.

Chassis
As the wheels were a bit of a loose fit inside the tyres, I put a few drops of 5 minute epoxy on the inside surface of the tyre where it mates with the wheel, in order to have a secure fitting tyre. After the epoxy hardened, I fitted the wheels to the axles using 5 minute epoxy as well. This method allows you time to position the wheels so as to perfectly align them before the glue hardens. I used little steel blocks positioned against the outsides of the wheels to keep them in alignment while the epoxy hardened.

Getting it all together
Following the kit instructions, I slipped the completed chassis into the body. Due to the curvature of the
body sides, this process was not just as simple as just “slipping” in the chassis as the inner fenders jammed against the body sides, preventing an easy insertion. By slipping a small steel ruler in-between the body and chassis sides, I pried the body open ever so gently while pushing on the sides of the chassis and the chassis securely snapped into place.

Once this was accomplished, I fitted the reverse lights into the rear valance, after painting the chrome lenses in Tamiya pearl white to simulate the semi translucent items on the rear car. I also fitted the chrome filler cap in the black panel between the rear lights after giving it a thin black wash to accent the moulded-in detail. At the front, I glued in the grill and light assembly and I detailed the moulded-in indicator lights in the front valance by first painting them with a pearl white base coat and then applying a few coats of clear orange.

After hooking up the battery cables to the body (earth) and starter (positive), the heater hoses to the firewall and the vacuum hose to the brake booster, I glued the fender to firewall brace into place using superglue. I fitted the bonnet and lastly I stripped the chrome from the front and rear number plate holders and painted them satin black. After the paint had dried, I applied some Illinois “BOSS 302” vanity number plate decals. I gave the number plates a coat of satin varnish to tone down the high gloss finish of the decals and fitted them to the body, again using double sided tape.

As you read this article, the SANNL was held 2 months ago. At the NNL my work on the Mustang paid off as I won the award for best early factory stock car! I want to take the opportunity to wish all the readers of my column a happy festive season and December holidays. I will see you all in the February 2014 issue again where I will be reviewing some new plastic from the USA as well as the first in a series of articles featuring the models of some of the hottest model builders in the country!

The post Muscle Car Toy Build appeared first on Cars One Love.

Wei, our vehicle was in running condition, the Chevy was not Although the engine and gearbox came with the Chevy with the promise that the engine had just been overhauled, we thought this would be an easy fixer-upper

My husband has a *58 Apache so I had always leaned towards a Pick-up, something that can be used every day. The silent money eater that would nearly cripple us, but that was only the beginning of the dbcoverles! It had the worst paint job that I’ve ever seen, an Interior to match and parts in a thousand pieces on the Ып; but the energy was high as I had a Chevy and she had loads of potential! I googled HI I was blue in the face as I had to make sure that my Chevy would tel her story, her way (with a bit of my personalty). Being an artist, It has always been important for me to tel a story with a project, a bit of history.

The horrid green got sanded and primed within the first week and I was lucky to get away with minor body work. The cab and Ып was Rftad off the chassis and while my husband sorted the engine, mysetf and a helper started on the body 0 did more supervising than anything else, I admit). There was a bit of work to be done on the engine compartment еересаейу the firewel as some or other sealant had been put on the panel for reasons sfil unknown. Once the engine was assembled, in true van der Merwe style, a 21 petrokjoke bottle and a pipe made its appearance and smoke belowed from a roaring engine. That was motivation and the body work carried on. To put this Chevy together was going to be something. I had seen photos taken by Evano Gucdardo of a *48 and I knew that was M Old rustic original with air ride suspension, no M*s, ready to go, and some hotee In the fender but oh, It was beautiful.

Now there was no way I had time to strip paint to the metal so I improvised. It was the biggest gamble that I would ever make artistically, with the biggest pay-off. Sorry to say but with a workshop full of men and their years of experience, my idea was laughed at. No way would this ever work. Ja reg! Ek is so hardkoppig soos n buffel! So I started a paint technique that I have not seen before and the men went quiet. My Chevy started telling her amazing story of age and survival. Enough coats of red etching primer went on to hide that horrid green, a bit of black etching here and there with a mid tone mixed and applied where needed. It looked like a disaster waiting to happen but that was the easy part.

The sanding started by hand, 600grit/ 1000grit, hard sweating manual labour! Slowly she came to life and I was ecstatic! It worked, a couple of serious knuckle blisters and we were on a roll. There was no great plan, only an idea that formed more as I worked every day with a lot of compromise as the build got momentum but the true identity is evident, that is what I wanted.

Ladies, if your husband has old scrap cars laying in the yard that make you cringe, believe him when he says “one day we will use this” Well, thank goodness for that as we had an old Jaguar XJ6 laying in the yard and a lot was salvaged off that Jag. My husband got the 350 Chevy engine going and fitted as well as a Jag suspension from the XJ6. The shocks were wire brushed to metal, clear coated and fitted and they have the most amazing patina. We salvaged the Jag’s dials and that was built into the dash.

The steering wheel, which has a beautiful walnut finish, was supplied by Marius Raaths and the original dash panels/inlays and cubby were cleaned and fitted. All the wiring was done by my McGyver, all from scratch with no donor wires, he is a genius. He maps the routes of the wires and then he creates a whole wire loom. The seat is being J custom made, from one door to the next and upholstered in my old jeans. The rims that I had dreamt of would give the bank manager sleepless nights so my son has sanded the 17″ ones I currently have and painted them satin black. They look amazing!

I did not want any silencers as there is a certain thunder from that engine that is pure music to my ears. Straight pipes right through to the back, that’s it for me. Now because of all this, there was not a big gap for the fuel tank. There was no way that that fuel tank was coming behind my seat or on the back of the bin; some things you just don’t need to see! So we salvaged again, a Nissan 1400 tank which was perfect size (forces me to stop in every town for some shopping!)

So the countdown begins to Cars In The Park PMB 2013, we will be burning the midnight oil. Oh but how nice would It be to take a trip, put Eric Clapton in my ears and take on our winding roads in my Angel Rust. Five months down the line, the words are few, the experiences …    plenty as I visited Cars In The Park on a roll back. I did not get all the things done but on my first unofficial road trip, (very much undercover from anything with a blue light, red sirens and so forth), I hit the road to Matatiele. No windows (waiting for the rubbers to arrive), mid autumn, winds howling at an unnatural rate (there was enough com husks on my seat to fuel a small bio plant). We slogged on until the unthinkable happened, the engine overheated to an extent of no repair, we drove it home by grace alone and found two cracked sleeves, I was done. Now that is a blow to the bank that I just could not afford and I had already skimped on so many other things. I think the reality of ft all is that you never really know what you are getting yourself into with a build or that the money should be endless and the resources nearby. There the Chevy sat, on the ramp, heads off, waiting for a miracle as finances were non-existent; I could not ask for any more money as there just wasn’t any. I am sure plenty of builders have felt like this, jy is teen die vloer, die balke kraak bo jou but as the clich6 goes “every cloud has a silver lining”.

Time was ticking to go to Scottburgh for the Classic Car Show 2013 and my Superman came to the rescue I am one of the privileged few to be married to a 3-ln-1; Superman, McGyver- van der Merwe (genuine!), and no Job Is too Ыд or small. Our piggy bank came to a crash on the floor, coins spilled everywhere and my eyes shone like dlamondsl So the V8 upgrade project came 4 days before the show, there were so many conversions and wires with the new engine that I Just sat pretty and made coffee, loads and loads of It and overtime on the dock. (Luckily I don’t pay my husband overtime, I do the cooking and deanlng and Ironing and whatever else).

The night before the trip (the first offl-dal road trip where you are allowed to wave at the blue lights, pull over for the red ones) as we pull the Chevy out the workshop, the gear selector cable snaps and tension was at breaking point My 3-ln-1 calmly took off the cable and started brazing It together again while I rushed to the kettle (coffee Is always a good Idea). The next moment the cable caught alight and would not stop flaming and In his haste, my 3-Jn-1 used his fingers to stop the fire crackling any further and burnt his fingerprints off, (so no more overseas holidays for us, passports and all). I stood and stared as this cable flared like a turkey on Christmas lunch and I Just started giggling hysterically. That was It as there Is no way this cable would ever work and no way was this trip going to happen.

Patiently my 3-ln-1

But the best bit of all is the people we have met along the way, the friendships forged, the camaraderie, few lifestyles have the privilege to share what we have found. Our eyes are on the horizon, ready to hit the road.


OWNER: Izolda van der Merwe LOCATION: Kokstad KZN BUILDER: FM van der Merwe (my 3-in-1)
YEAR: 1948
MAKE: Chevrolet Pick-up COLOUR: Burnt red PAINT TYPE: Etching primers PAINTER: Izolda van der Merwe GRAPHICS: Izolda van der Merwe SUSPENSION: Jag front and rear ENGINE: Chevy V8 Vortex EXHAUST: Free like a bird, no silencer, straight pipes out the back
CARB: Holley 4barrel sup-
plied by our friend Marius Raaths WHEEL: 17”American racing wheels Seats and upholstery: Collaboration between Izolda (design) and Omesh (sewing)
WIRING: Done from scratch FM van der Merwe (my 3-in-1)
DASHBOARD: Dials from a Jaguar built-in by FM van der Merwe STEERING: Was one of my highlights, walnut wood and stainless steel spokes FUEL TANK: Nissan 1400, only had space for that (and maybe some jerry cans)
GARAGE BUILT: We have a big one REBUILD TIME: 5 months (and going)


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