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St. Patrick’s Day Classics in Connecticut

March 18, 2012 by

On an unseasonably warm Saint Patrick’s Day I drove my wife and son up to the small town of Portland, Connecticut in our current test car, a 2012 Honda Civic Si coupe. Sure, we enjoyed fine Irish fare at a local pub, but what I really wanted to see was the classic car dealership just down the road, F40 Motorsports. While F40 has a national reputation for buying and selling antique, classic and exotic cars, it has also gained recognition for being the center of the TV series ‘Chasing Classic Cars’.

Sure, I love admiring the shiny exotic cars parked in the showroom-it’s not often I can drive 45 minutes and look at a pair of Ferrari Dino’s, a Lamborghini 400GT and a ’58 Corvette without even moving. While that’s all good fun, I also get great enjoyment on viewing cars that are in a slow state of decomposition, but more on that in a moment. You’ll see pictured above a 1950 Jaguar XK120 fixed head coupe. On returning home that evening and seeing Chasing Classic Car’s Facebook page, it appears the Jag was a barn find that had just been pulled out that day, seeing daylight for the first time in years. The appeared straight, but missing a lot of trim. It should be interesting to follow the car on the show to see its future.

There is an irresistible lure to seek out the abandoned, forgotten cars that are left to the elements at shops like these, and it was with delight I was able to get up close. Check the image gallery below, but what we found varied from the eclectic Lancia and VW Transporter, the classics, including a Rambler and Mustang, and the sad Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Triumph TR-4, the latter seemingly tethered to the earth with weeds. Finally, I did find the shot of a Mercedes-Benz 300E whose roof appears to be getting chewed by the hood of a Jaguar XJ-6 amusing.

I hope all of you had a fun and safe Saint Patrick’s Day. It was a pleasure admiring these cars, and I am thrilled to share them with you. Enjoy.

Filed Under: Chasing Classic Cars, Commentary, F40 Motorsports, Featured Stories, ford mustang, In The Garage, jaguar, Jaguar XK120, lancia, Photography, Rambler, triumph, Triumph TR-4, Vintage, VW Transporter

Mustang + wet road = #driftfail

March 18, 2012 by

It might be the first day of Formula 1 season, but some folks need to see some stupidity to get their day off to a good start. What better to watch when recovering from St Paddy’s Day than a Russian dash cam video.

There is a reason that recent years of Ford‘s pony car have traction control. Big horsepower and a solid rear axle can be a tad unwieldy when mishandled. This driver found that out the hard way when the ‘Stang got loose on a wet road, jumped an island and punted an unsuspecting Peugeot.

Check it after the break.

Source: Carscoop via Youtube

Filed Under: dash cam, drift fail, Featured Stories, ford, ford mustang, go pro, peugeot, traction control, Video, wet road

When Mustangs and 7-Up Mixed

November 1, 2011 by

I subscribe to a fun little site called Bring a Trailer, which features classic, unique, rare, and plain odd cars for sale. I was especially intrigued at a recent post about a highly original 7-Up Mustang. Um, a what? It’s no secret that Ford is famous for trotting out limited, or special edition Mustangs on a regular basis, but there was some mystique to this, so some exploration was needed, since a little notoriety always adds interest.

Apparently, in 1990 7-Up teamed up with Ford in a promotion to give away 30 7-Up Edition Ford Mustangs for the 1990 NCAA Basketball finals. Audience members would have to sink a shot from center court, and win the car. At the last minute, the promotion was scrapped, but the car was essentially ready for production. Ford went ahead and built the car, which is essentially a 1990 Mustang LX 5.0 Convertible, and sold it as a limited edition model, with no mention of 7-Up. But the looks of the car make the relationship clear, with Deep Emerald Green Clearcoat paint, white leather interior, and white canvas top (trademark 7-Up colors) and Mustang GT alloys.

Ford had intended to build a total of 5,000 of the ’7-Up’ cars, but stopped at 4,103. Of those, 1,360 were 5-speed manuals, the remaining 2,743 were equipped with an automatic. Interestingly, 261 cars were exported. While little more than an appearance package, the 7-Up Mustang is a fun and interesting little factoid from the history book of one of America’s most beloved cars.

The Garage thanks a dedicated 7-Up Edition Mustang site for the useful information cited here.

Filed Under: 7-Up, Asides, Featured Stories, ford, ford mustang, Ford Mustang 7-Up, mustang, Mustang 7-Up Edition