Comments:
Wouldn't mind the tuned Liberty Walk F40 ....
... wouldn't mind having to wear but my LLD in the F40 (RS has to do for now) .... .
F40-Bum ... errrr .... Bim
Thanks for the kind words, but in total objectivity, I think we may say that it is one of the nicest cars.
Not the most exciting, mechanically speaking, but the lines of he body are heaven on Earth.
Best, my friend.
Nicolas
We all have a 'Grail' watch, the one . . .
. . . that speaks to you, the one you aspire to own. For me, it's the Omega central tourbillon. It resonates so deeply that no other could ever replace it in my affections.
In the same vein, I'll wager we all have a 'Grail' car, too - a four-wheeled wonder that stirs the imagination for reasons you're not entirely sure of, that will make you whip your neck around whenever you see one on the road.
There are a few sports cars I'm enamored of: first generation Porsche 911s and 912s, Lamborghini Miuras, Lotus Elans, Mercedes-Benz 190 and 230/250/280 SLs, C3 and C4 'Vettes. Sedans - gotta love '57 Chevys! And, I'll never forget the occasion when I saw a Duesenberg being driven down a Carmel boulevard back in August of '82 - that was a sight to behold.
Still, of all the marques in motoring, there's only one that inspires personal devotion: the muscle cars of Mopar. Plymouth and Dodge have exerted a grip on my imagination ever since I can remember, when they dominated drag and stock car racing in America during the '60s and early '70s. Chargers, Challengers, and 'Cudas. 340, 413 Max Wedge, 440 Six Pack, and most awesome of all, the legendary 426 Hemi - these were engines that overpowered the competition. There was nothing in Ford or GM's stable that surpassed the Hemi. Chrysler's domination in straight-line performance was a given across the board, from compact small-blocks to two-ton big-block coupes. Yes, Chevy had the ZL-1, and Ford the Boss 429, but when it came to actual competition, Chrysler had the edge.
There were so many models: Charger R/T, Super Bee, Roadrunner, GTX. Special editions, too: AAR 'Cuda, Grand Spaulding 340 Six Pack Demon, Daytona. Every single one of them draws my attention to this day. Yet, there's one that rises above them all.
The Hurst Hemi Dart . . .
. . . offered by Dodge dealers to the general public for the 1968 model year.
What makes this car so special?
Pure straight line performance.
Hurst was given fifty Darts and fifty L023 Hemi engines, and in turn created the most feared street racer of the day. In fact, these were not intended for street use - they were built for racing. No options, no insulation, no radio, not even mats. Every part that could be lightened, either by drilling or replication in another material, was so modified. The seat frames were made of aluminum!
The heart of this beast, though, was the hand-built L023 Hemi engine.
426 cubic inches normally aspirated, fed by twin Holley 4-barrel carbs on a magnesium cross-ram manifold, and fired by the eponymous hemispherical combustion chambers only Chrysler made. 500+ horsepower on high-octane leaded gas, with torque numbers to match.
Listen:
Watch:
What makes this one so special in my eyes, you might ask. Here's the best explanation: all production 426 Hemis could turn either 13 or 14 seconds in the quarter-mile. That's quick - damn quick.
The Hurst Dart: 10 seconds.
As for the Mystery Man in my lead-up thread . . .
. . . the gentleman in the tan jacket is none other than Bill Bagshaw, the Redlight Bandit. Bagshaw was known for running exceptionally well built and finely detailed Dodge Hemis from the late '60s to mid '70s, and one of the most successful drivers of his era. His 1971 Challenger was built for drag racing on the Pro Stock circuit - the body came from a production car, but everything else was built from scratch. That car ran a best time of 9.720 seconds in 1971.
His Hurst Dart posted a 10.090 in 1970.
In other words, all the advanced technology he had access to at the time produced only three tenths of a second better result than the Hurst Dart built two years prior, a car taken off the production line.
Not that long ago, I caught a glimpse of one in my neighborhood. Black. It was only for a few moments, being wheeled into a driveway on a trailer, but there it was.
Whiplash never felt so good.
Please share your grail car, along with the watch . . .
. . . you're wearing today.
Art
In the same vein, I'll wager we all have a 'Grail' car, too - a four-wheeled wonder that stirs the imagination for reasons you're not entirely sure of, that will make you whip your neck around whenever you see one on the road.
There are a few sports cars I'm enamored of: first generation Porsche 911s and 912s, Lamborghini Miuras, Lotus Elans, Mercedes-Benz 190 and 230/250/280 SLs, C3 and C4 'Vettes. Sedans - gotta love '57 Chevys! And, I'll never forget the occasion when I saw a Duesenberg being driven down a Carmel boulevard back in August of '82 - that was a sight to behold.
Still, of all the marques in motoring, there's only one that inspires personal devotion: the muscle cars of Mopar. Plymouth and Dodge have exerted a grip on my imagination ever since I can remember, when they dominated drag and stock car racing in America during the '60s and early '70s. Chargers, Challengers, and 'Cudas. 340, 413 Max Wedge, 440 Six Pack, and most awesome of all, the legendary 426 Hemi - these were engines that overpowered the competition. There was nothing in Ford or GM's stable that surpassed the Hemi. Chrysler's domination in straight-line performance was a given across the board, from compact small-blocks to two-ton big-block coupes. Yes, Chevy had the ZL-1, and Ford the Boss 429, but when it came to actual competition, Chrysler had the edge.
There were so many models: Charger R/T, Super Bee, Roadrunner, GTX. Special editions, too: AAR 'Cuda, Grand Spaulding 340 Six Pack Demon, Daytona. Every single one of them draws my attention to this day. Yet, there's one that rises above them all.
The Hurst Hemi Dart . . .
. . . offered by Dodge dealers to the general public for the 1968 model year.
What makes this car so special?
Pure straight line performance.
Hurst was given fifty Darts and fifty L023 Hemi engines, and in turn created the most feared street racer of the day. In fact, these were not intended for street use - they were built for racing. No options, no insulation, no radio, not even mats. Every part that could be lightened, either by drilling or replication in another material, was so modified. The seat frames were made of aluminum!
The heart of this beast, though, was the hand-built L023 Hemi engine.
426 cubic inches normally aspirated, fed by twin Holley 4-barrel carbs on a magnesium cross-ram manifold, and fired by the eponymous hemispherical combustion chambers only Chrysler made. 500+ horsepower on high-octane leaded gas, with torque numbers to match.
Listen:
Watch:
What makes this one so special in my eyes, you might ask. Here's the best explanation: all production 426 Hemis could turn either 13 or 14 seconds in the quarter-mile. That's quick - damn quick.
The Hurst Dart: 10 seconds.
As for the Mystery Man in my lead-up thread . . .
. . . the gentleman in the tan jacket is none other than Bill Bagshaw, the Redlight Bandit. Bagshaw was known for running exceptionally well built and finely detailed Dodge Hemis from the late '60s to mid '70s, and one of the most successful drivers of his era. His 1971 Challenger was built for drag racing on the Pro Stock circuit - the body came from a production car, but everything else was built from scratch. That car ran a best time of 9.720 seconds in 1971.
His Hurst Dart posted a 10.090 in 1970.
In other words, all the advanced technology he had access to at the time produced only three tenths of a second better result than the Hurst Dart built two years prior, a car taken off the production line.
Not that long ago, I caught a glimpse of one in my neighborhood. Black. It was only for a few moments, being wheeled into a driveway on a trailer, but there it was.
Whiplash never felt so good.
Please share your grail car, along with the watch . . .
. . . you're wearing today.
Art
Turbo Turbo !!!
As much as i love the free breathing of a naturally aspirated high revving engine ... my favorite 'always returning' car is equipped with two Japanese turbo's ..... giving the engine an output of over 500 hp (478 officially) ... too me the F40 is just thé most legendary car of all-time ... and i'm not even a huge Ferrari-fan either 
... at least there are no flappy paddles ... .
... at least there are no flappy paddles ... .Wouldn't mind the tuned Liberty Walk F40 ....
... wouldn't mind having to wear but my LLD in the F40 (RS has to do for now) .... .
F40-Bum ... errrr .... Bim
Oooops .. forggot . my grail watch .... would be ... a nice fifty fathoms ....
This message has been edited by bimbeano on 2013-10-03 13:48:57
No grail watches in this thread, Bim! . . .
. . . just grail cars. The watch du jour is what we're sharing, wrist-wise . . .
Very nice !
But this is the F50 !
The descendent of the F40, which was called the first F1 car for the road, not as epic or as powerfull as an F40 ( Ferrari didnt want to admit it) but the free breathing V12 makes the most amazing sound .
.Did you get a ride in this one ?
Filip
I knew it! . . .
. . . Volvo's P1800 has some of the most beautiful lines ever sculpted in steel, Nico. I'm a fan, too . . .
A big love story, between me and this car, my friend.
Thanks for the kind words, but in total objectivity, I think we may say that it is one of the nicest cars.
Not the most exciting, mechanically speaking, but the lines of he body are heaven on Earth.
Best, my friend.
Nicolas
Then patina doesnät match the car...
You should send the watch to Sweden!
Best
Blomman
It never case to amaze me
how can some people divided
(watch du jour
and it was usually colored red
(4C)
by not only space but time can have so
many common interests/preferences/passions....
always mystery to me....
anyway
Dodge muscle cars was always top for me
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T ...ahhhh stop my fullish hearth
and of course Countach
as I wrote once on Automotive any colour iteration or
edition is my dream
but if I look deep down in my heart
there has always been one grail
(watch du jour
and it was usually colored red
One and only
Alfa Romeo
Most recent grail is this
(4C)
HAGWE all
Best
D
Alfa! . . .
. . . and all this time, I thought your Grail was a '70 Challenger.
Most of us here in the States don't really have as much appreciation as we should for the marque, if only because their distribution here has been spotty for decades.
Best,
Art
One day is Alfa...
another Omega
Been infected with marque very early
Challenger & Charger came later
so deep down is Alfa
but I could live happily ever after with either Charger or Challenger
Yours who you know to well
Damjan
As much as I adore the Dodge version . . .
. . . of Chrysler's celebrated 'E' body platform . . .
. . . my heart belongs to Plymouth's 'Cuda . . .
. . . in this guise, one of Dan Gurney's AAR 340 Six Pack models. I just saw one on the freeway a few months ago, traveling in the opposite direction . . . damn near snapped my head off for a brief glance!
I can easily picture
two of us cruisin' together each in his own dream.....
with purpleheart cues on passengers seat
on the way to Maggie's....
that'll be heaven
Sincerely
D
Porsche-phile here, too . . .
. . . but as much as I admire the current models, it's the originals . . .
. . . that still inspire to this day. I'll never forget watching the opening sequence of Le Mans . . .
. . . in a theater, way back when . . .
Perfect matching for me !
This morning, on my wirst, the watch of my daughter, that I bought for her birth and she will have her 18th birthday.
So I have 17 years and 2 months ahead of me to enjoy
HAGWE
Doug
Hmmm
Shouldn't you buy a watch for your wife to wear until your daughter turns 18 ? Very sneaky dear Caius !
Great watch ! Enjoy it, and don't lose it.
Dean
Mercedes Hands
When i was growing up, my mother owned a 280SL Pagoda in gold. It was fabulous. A few years ago, I decided to find a version for myself.....and here is the one I found....
Regrettably, I sold it in one of those mad moments of trying to simplify life. Why do i have those moments? Life is chaotic....let chaos prevail!! It is not the most expensive car in the world....nor the fastest.....LoL. But, if i was to seek out another classic car in the future, then a perfect version of the 280SL would be my choice.
Obvious...a Rolex with Mercedes hands!!!
Regrettably, I sold it in one of those mad moments of trying to simplify life. Why do i have those moments? Life is chaotic....let chaos prevail!! It is not the most expensive car in the world....nor the fastest.....LoL. But, if i was to seek out another classic car in the future, then a perfect version of the 280SL would be my choice.
Now, what watch do i pair with this? Ahhh.... a clue maybe....
Obvious...a Rolex with Mercedes hands!!!
Good one, Joe. I notice with a lot of interest and hope
That you are referring to the 5512 as your grail Watch, and not the 6200...
Cool, for me!
Best,
Nicolas
Dad was set to buy a 280 SE in '69 . . .
. . . but ended up with a Chevy Caprice instead, mostly because the service costs for Mercedes then were so much higher than for domestics. I vividly recall poring over a '68 M-B catalog, and imploring him to buy a 280 SL.
Indeed, there's something special about '60s SLs . . .
One of the most beautiful Mercedes, ever...
The 280 SL was the pinnacle. As a young Snak in the early 70s, I had a job as locksmith at a shop on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. I often used to go out to pick the locks on the trunks of these when the "ladies who lunch" accidentally locked their keys inside along with their afternoon's shopping. In the 1971, the 280 SL was THE popular car with this group.
Fun days for me. Also got quite good at unlocking the liquor bars in the back of Rolls Royce Corniches...
Its funny....
.....when i had it, it was faultless. It was as reliable as, err, my Golf! I really wished i had not sold it. When driving it, you could feel the love that other drivers had for it. In London, other drivers would actively stop to let you out of junctions. Try that in a 911!
Yes...one day ..........i can see one of these in my future.