Third Generation Camaro RS Convertible

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Cameron Tunstall

I don’t really care for convertibles. Soft-top, hard-top or anything in between. I guess my one exception might be the 1995 Mustang Hardtop, but that’s still not very practical. After riding in one all day, it feels like a day spent at Lake Pleasant in a boat. I guess Phoenix just wasn’t designed for convertibles. All that aside, I love every single third generation Camaro, and with the exception of the “notchback” and the swoopy, 91-92 body treatment, I love every third generation Firebird as well. Continue reading →

1989 Pontiac TTA

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Cameron Tunstall

We all know about the GNX’s, T-type Buicks and Grand Nationals. They “brake for Corvettes”, right? The 3.8L Buick mill is a well known OHV V6, that starting in the 1980s, decided to pack heat wherever it went. Well, what you may not know (unless you’re a third generation f-body or Buick T-type buff) is that in 1989 you could have yourself a turbocharged 3.8L Buick-powered Pontiac Trans Am. Continue reading →

1989 Dodge Shelby CSX-VNT

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Mike Ross

When you hear the name “Shelby”, you probably think of either a Mustang or an AC Cobra (or a replica of one, anyways), but that’s because your brain is probably blocking out that bizarre time period in the 80’s when sporting a car with a Shelby logo on it meant driving a Chrysler product.

Continue reading →

1982 Ford Granada Wagon

Posted on January 24, 2013 by bryan lusk

I spotted this car a few weeks ago during a trip to San Francisco. I didn’t think much of it, just another old Ford wagon from the 80’s. I completely forgot that I had taken the picture until recently when I was sorting through them all. After spending a bit more time researching than I expected I finally figured out what I was looking at.

This is the 1982 Ford Granada wagon and, as I have learned, there are a handful of interesting things to note about this car. For one, it was only made for a single year. It’s part of the second generation of the Ford Granada, which only saw two production years before being tweaked with a new front end and sold as the LTD. The first year had only coupe or sedan options, the wagon came about for the final year. Continue reading →

Imperial Palace Car Collection: 1988-89 SCCA Corvette Challenge

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Cameron Tunstall

I love C4 Corvettes.

They’re last unrefined burp of automotive machismo to wear the Fleur-de-lis/Checkered flags. They ran every bizarre type of small block that Chevy could cram into them: Crossfire, TPI, the DOHC LT-5, and even twin-turbo models (RPO B2K) from the factory.

In it’s time, the C4 handily beat many of it’s “super car” contemporaries in performance comparisons. It was the fastest, meanest, plastic-fantastic-piece-of-shit on the road. It liked to metaphorically hold it’s competitors down like an evil bully and make them smell it’s nasty, overhead valved farts and then shove them into a trashcan. On the road, where there was no authority other than the local police department, the super cars had to take their lumps and move on. On the track however, they complained to the SCCA about the C4’s utter domination. The blue-bloods of racing were sick of being pushed around like the antagonist of some Pantera song, and by 1988 they had gotten their way. Continue reading →

1983-86 Honda City Turbo II

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Trevor Freeman

There is a basic principle of engineering that affects all cars: in order to make an engine produce more power, you need to add more fuel and more air. Adding more fuel is the easy part, but adding more air can be challenging. That’s why automakers use turbochargers to boost the incoming air, which in turn boosts the power output of an engine. This is particularly effective on smaller engines.

Turbochargers have been standard fare on Saabs, Volvos, and high-end Nissans for decades. One car manufacturer that has kept their distance from forced induction is Honda. However, they did experiment with it during the “turbo craze” of the 1980s.