THE VINTAGE WARRIOR

 1968 Plymouth Road Runner The original muscle cars  were moving away from their roots as relatively cheap, fast cars as they gained features and increased in price. Plymouth developed the Road Runner to market a lower priced, basic trim model to its upscale  GTX .  The earliest of the 1968 models were available only as 2-door pillared coupes (with a  B-pillar  between the front and rear windows), but later in the model year a 2-door " hardtop " model (sans pillar) was offered. The Road Runner of 1968-1970 was based on the Belvedere, while the GTX was based on the Sport Satellite, a car with higher level trim and slight differences in the grilles and taillights.            Engine  1968 Plymouth Road Runner The standard engine was an exclusive 383 cu in (6.3 L) " Roadrunner "  V8 engine  rated at 335 bhp (250 kW) and 425 lb·ft (576 N·m) of  torque . Its extra 5 hp (4 kW) rating was the result of using the radical cam from the 440 Super

1967 Pontiac Firebird The first generation Firebird had characteristic  Coke bottle styling  shared with its cousin, the  Chevrolet Camaro . Unlike the Camaro, the Firebird's bumpers were integrated into the design of the front end.  The Firebird's rear "slit" taillights were inspired by the 1966–1967  Pontiac GTO . Both a two-door  hardtop  and a  convertible  were offered through the 1969 model year. Originally, the car was a "consolation prize" for Pontiac, which had desired to produce a two-seat sports car based on its original  Banshee  concept car. However, GM feared this would cut into Chevrolet  Corvette  sales, and gave Pontiac a piece of the " pony car " market through sharing the   F-body  platform with   Chevrolet . Pontiac Firebird Engine  230 cu in (3.8 L) Pontiac OHC I6 The 1967 base model Firebird came equipped with the  Chevrolet 230 cu in (3.8 L) SOHC inline-six . The 230 CID engines were subsequently replaced in

Marmon-Herrington  CTLS tank   (a CTLS-4TAC in the foreground and a CTLS-4TAY in the background) in Alaska, summer of 1942. The  Marmon-Herrington  Combat Tank Light Series were a series of  U.S.   light tanks/tankettes  that were produced for the export market at the start of the  Second World War . The CTL-3 had a crew of two and was armed with two .30 cal (7.62 mm) M1919 machine guns and one .50 cal (12.7 mm)  M2 Browning machine gun . They were originally designed to be amphibious light tanks. They were rejected by the  Marines  in 1939, but after the  attack on Pearl Harbor  they were exported and used as an emergency light tank. It primarily served in  Alaska  and the  Dutch East Indies , while small numbers were used in the U.S. as guard tanks stationed along the U.S. coast. A total of about 700 examples were produced, and although it was declared obsolete by the Allies in 1943, it was used by the newly created Indonesian Army after the end of the Second World W

1958 Chevrolet Impala  The Impala was introduced for the 1958 model year as top of the line  hardtops and convertibles. From the windshield pillar rearward, the 1958 Impala differed structurally from the lower-priced Chevrolet models. Hardtops had a slightly shorter  greenhouse  and longer rear deck. The wheelbase of the Impala was longer than the lower priced models, although the overall length was identical. Interiors held a two-spoke steering wheel and color-keyed door panels with brushed aluminum trim. No other series included a convertible. The Chevrolet Impala is often credited with starting the muscle car era .   Three Taillight in 1958 Impala The 1958 models were longer, lower, and wider than its predecessors.  The  tail fins of the 1957 were replaced by deeply sculptured rear fenders. Impalas had three taillights each side, while lesser models had two and wagons just one. Crossed-flag insignia's were attached above the side moldings, as well as bright ro

1954 Mercury Monterey XM-800 This experimental Mercury (XM) was developed to showcase a new design direction for the firm. In their press release, the Lincoln-Mercury News Bureau said it was “ The most advanced design in a car capable of going into volume production .” Unfortunately, this never happened, but the XM-800’s radical details were included on later models like the Lincoln Premier.     The press release released by Lincoln-Mercury News                      Bureau February, 16 1954             This car was designed by John Najjar. Mr. Najjar was the most famous designer of the Ford Motor Company and was responsible for not only the 1954 Mercury XM-800 but was also responsible for the 1955 Lincoln Futura show car and the mid-engine Ford Mustang I experimental sports car of 1962. Much of the car's appearance were used on the Lincoln Premiere, Lincoln Capri, Mercury Montclair , Ford Crown Victoria , and other Ford and Mercury products du

1954  Chevrolet Corvette (C1) The Chevrolet Corvette (C1) is the first generation of the Corvette sports car produced by Chevrolet. It was introduced late in the 1953 model year, and produced through 1962. It is commonly referred to as the "solid-axle" generation, as the independent rear suspension did not appear until the 1963 Sting Ray. The Corvette was rushed into production for its debut model year to capitalize on the enthusiastic public reaction to the concept vehicle, but expectations for the new model were largely unfulfilled. Reviews were mixed and sales fell far short of expectations through the car's early years. The program was nearly canceled, but Chevrolet would ultimately stay the course. To keep costs down, GM executive Robert F. McLean mandated off-the-shelf mechanical components, and used the chassis and suspension design from the 1949–1954 Chevrolet passenger vehicles. The drivetrain and passenger compartment

Howitzer Motor Carriage M43   The  203 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M43  was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a widened and lengthened Medium Tank M4A3 chassis, but with a Continental engine and HVSS that was introduced at the end of the  Second World War . The M43 shared the same chassis as the more widely produced  M 40 Gun Motor Carriage , which instead mounted a 155mm gun, and were designed by the  Pressed Steel Car Company . A production run of 576 was planned originally, but in the end only 24 were produced and another 24 were converted from M40 hulls. The M43 went on to serve in the  Korean War .

                                  Mustang Boss 429 The Boss 429 (also known as the "Boss 9" by enthusiasts) is arguably one of the rarest and most valued muscle cars to date. In total there were 1358 original Boss 429 s made. The origin of the Boss 429 came about as a result of NASCAR . Ford was seeking to develop a Hemi engine that could compete with the famed 426 Hemi from Chrysler in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series (then known as " Grand National Division "). NASCAR's homologation rules required that at least 500 cars be fitted with this motor and sold to the general public. After much consideration, it was decided by Ford that the Mustang would be the car that would house this new engine. Boss 429 engine The Boss 429 engine was derived from the Ford 385 engine . It used four-bolt mains, a forged steel crank and forged steel connecting rods. The engine featured aluminum cylinder heads, with a modified Hemi type combustion chamber w

1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz The nameplate Eldorado is a contraction of two Spanish words that translate as " the gilded (i.e., golden ) one" — and also refers to El Dorado , the mythical South American " Lost City of Gold " that fascinated Spanish explorers. Chosen in an internal competition for a 1952 concept vehicle celebrating the company's golden anniversary, the name Eldorado was proposed by Mary-Ann Marini (née Zukosky), a secretary in Cadillac's merchandising department— and was subsequently adopted for a limited-edition convertible for model year 1953. Palm Springs Life magazine incorrectly attributes the name to the Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells , California, a favorite resort of General Motors executives in the Coachella Valley — though the resort opened in 1957, five years after Cadillac's own naming competition. Cadillac began using the nameplates 'Eldorado Seville' and ' Eldorado Biarritz &

1964 Ford Galaxie T oday’s Fords , while competent and popular, just don’t have that “certain something” that their forebears had in spades. Witness: The classic round Ford taillights. Were they sharp? You bet they were. Ford was pretty smart to make a taillight so distinctive; even at night, when the rest of the car was hidden from view, you could definitely tell that the car in front of you was a Dearborn dreamboat. Sadly, this most excellent tail lamp would appear on full-size Fords for the last time in 1964. 1964 Ford Galaxie Taillight 1964 was a big year for Ford . All their car lines, from Falcon to Fairlane to T-Bird, were completely redesigned. The full-size Ford was particularly attractive, although the family resemblance shared by the 1961-63 Fords was gone with the ’64– except for those trademark taillights. All two-door hardtops featured the semi-fastback styling that had been introduced on the “1963 1/2” Galaxie hardtop with an eye toward NASCAR

  Assault Tank T14 he Assault Tank T14 was a joint project between the  United States  and the  United Kingdom . The T14 tank was supposed to be a design that was to be shared by both countries to give a heavy  infantry tank  for both countries. A pilot model was not delivered to the UK by 1944 by which time the British  Churchill tank  had been in service for two years and greatly improved over its initial model. The T14 project never came to fruition. US efforts working on a similarly well-armoured tank but with a higher speed for use other than in infantry support led to the  T20 Medium Tank .