Absence of Color

MG TF, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A gorgeous black MG TF, in the rain. I took this at a car show that saw a perfectly sunny forecast turn damp. To the entrants' credit, they all just rolled up the windows and stayed out there. Shooting cars in the rain is one of my favorite things, and shooting classics even more so. The interplay of water and chrome, the patterns flowing along bodywork, add an extra, and often rare, dimension.

This is almost in black and white-the only colors seem to be in the taillight and window. Yet, in black and white this doesn't look right.

The Great One

GTO, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Considered to be the first real muscle car, Pontiac's GTO started out as an option package on the midsized Tempest, and was available in coupe, hardtop, and convertibles. But, instead of a fancy stereo or two tone paint, the GTO delivered a 389 cubic inch mill and a stick shift, and a useful bump in performance. Further options included a Hurst shifter, a three-carb induction system, and a heavy duty ride and handling package.

The big engine/smaller car recipe is a classic one, but one that almost didn't get made. Since the fifties, there had been a "gentlemen's agreement" among the big three to not formally go automobile racing, and to further this, General Motors had a corporate policy limiting engine sizes in their mid-sized cars. Shoehorning the big 389 into the Tempest was against this policy, but Pontiac executives okayed a limited run of cars, fearing it wouldn't find a market.

They were wrong-the GTO went on to sell 10,000 units in it's introductory year, and went on further success on the sales floor as well as on the drag strip.

The Camaro From Canonsburg

Yenko Camaro, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Among the famous muscle car dealerships of the sixties, Yenko Chevrolet, from Canonsburg, PA, looms large. Racing driver and Chevy dealer Don Yenko started his car modifying career in the early sixties, after having been impressed enough with the Corvair to get it approved for SCCA road racing. He marketed the final product as the Yenko Stinger, and customers could order one up in different states of tune, from mild to wild.

This was merely a tune-up for the main event, though. When GM introduced it's Camaro pony car, the biggest engine available was the 396. Since there's no substitute for cubic inches, Yenko and his crew developed a transplant, shoehorning in the 427 in Corvette L-72 spec, along with suspension and drivetrain modifications to handle the Camaro's newfound power.

The new Yenko Super Car was a success, to the point that Yenko was eventually able to order new Camaros with the 427 already installed. Using GM's Central Office Production Order (COPO) system, Yenko was able to perform the same trick with the Chevelle and Nova as well-legendary hot rods all.

Don Yenko eventually got out of the modification business, increasingly stringent EPA regulations making it harder to sell such heavily modified cars. By the early 80's he'd sold the dealership as well, but not before selling one last scorcher, the Turbo Z Camaro.

This one's a '68, I believe.

Storm a-brewin'

Not bad, for having been shot from a car window at about sixty.