Hot Rods
“Carroll Shelby has pulled the trick of the year. He’s combined Ford’s new drag champion 428 Cobra Jet engine with his complete road car, the Cobra G.T.500. Result? Cobra G.T.500KR…King of the Road.” Those words accompanied the full-page advertisements for the mid-year introduction of the ’68 Shelby Cobra G.T.500KR. The new model replaced the early ’68 G.T.500 and its more docile 428 V-8 engine.
Most car guys know all about rare cars, and this certainly is one of the rarest Ford Mustangs on the road. In what some may consider an odd collaboration, Carroll Shelby International Inc. and celebrity customizer West Coast Customs (WCC) have teamed up to produce a line of limited-edition high-end 2006 Ford Mustangs. Starting with only 25 stock 2006 Ford Mustang GTs, the Shelby/West Coast Customs team has a solid foundation on which to build, and build it did.
Decades ago, Ford made the jump from four-speed manual transmissions to five-speeds. Newer Cobras even feature six-speeds, so it’s natural that those who own earlier Mustangs with four-speed manuals now feel a little gear envy. Many people love the feel of having a manual transmission, but if you’re still using a four-speed, you’re missing out on a lot of performance and economy potential. Adding a transmission with additional gears places your gears closer together for better acceleration and gives you more gears to choose from for easier cruising. But which transmission is right for your Mustang? You need one that’s strong, smooth and capable of bolting to your engine, and it’s not easy to find all three attributes in the same gearbox.
There are a lot of reasons why people choose to build and drive the cars they do. Most of the time, it is because a particular car was one that they wanted or liked when they were young, and such is the case with Allen Bernd and this ’62 Chevy Impala SS.
On Friday, May 9, the streets of downtown Dayton filled with the rumble of engines, the shine of polished chrome, and the unmistakable buzz of community. As part of the 78th Annual Tennessee Strawberry Festival, the Cruise-In Car Show once again proved to be more than a car show — it was a meeting place for car lovers, families, and locals who know small towns shine brightest when they come together.
A look back at the 2006 Strawberry Festival in Dayton, Tennessee, where The Auto Builder hosted the first Rods on the River car show, drawing crowds, classic cars, and community spirit.
When we look back over the past decades and all the cars that have benefited from the creative mastery of super rodding, we should consider ourselves lucky. After all, just about every car we’ve ever dreamed about has found new life through the vision of today’s enthusiastic owners and builders. It’s like being a kid in a candy store and having a pocketful of money—it’s all within reach and we just can’t get enough. Still, there are a few favorites that are often overlooked, which has many of us asking—why?
If you were to check your rearview mirror and find this hunkered-down Camaro behind you, there’s no question it would get your attention. And when it pulled alongside you, the brilliant red paint would certainly require a double-take, although there would be little time for anything more as it speeds toward the horizon. This is what a well-built super rod does to people.
In the world of high-performance builds, attention to detail sets great cars apart from the rest. That’s why Factory Performance™ Parts, a division of PROFORM® Parts, has taken a fresh approach to a time-tested workhorse with the launch of the new Slant-Edge 100 Amp Alternators—a stylish, high-output evolution of the iconic GM 10SI. Designed for those who care as much about what’s under the hood as how it looks when the hood is up, the Slant-Edge delivers form and function in equal measure.
Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago became known as the world headquarters for great deals on new Dodge performance cars. This dealership fully dyno-tuned the performance cars it sold and often equipped them, as requested by the customer, with headers, bigger carburetion and other go-fast engine modifications—all right from the dealer.
