Autoblog

Click above for a gallery of Hot Rods on Woodward

Cruising amongst the various cars down Woodward this weekend were quite a few machines that fit into the Hot Rod genre. Starting with a classic old-school vehicle platform, adding power and lowering it to the ground, the Hot Rod ethos still manages to attract its fair share of gawkers, including those of us wielding cameras. Take a look at the gallery we assembled below for the coolest 'rods and customs we could find.

Sadly, just a few days after the passing of Boyd Coddington, the world has lost another veteran hot rod builder. Former Coddington colleague, John Buttera, lost his battle with brain cancer on March 2nd. He was 67. 'Lil John Buttera was one of the pioneers of the Southern California performance scene. He initially moved to the West Coast from Wisconsin in order to work with Mickey Thompson on his famed Land Speed Record streamliner. Buttera then moved onto producing legendary dragsters and Funny Cars out of his own chassis shop in Cerritos, California. He even entered his own creation into the 1987 Indianapolis 500, which qualified eighth and earned him the Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award.

Our sincere condolences go out to his friends and family.

[Source: Inside Line]

Monster motors were the order of the day in the late 1960s, and GM's 427 was a part of that class. The drawback to a big-block's burly output was, and still is, the increased weight of the engine. While big blocks are a hoot for straight line shenanigans, a small block car is often a better all-around performer. That goes out the window for most of us upon tapping that vast well of torque, and there was a solution direct from GM. The ZL1 was a 427 rendered in aluminum to save weight and carried a 430 horsepower rating. The ZL1 is the stuff of legend, commanding the sharp intake of breath when mentioned with the Corvette, and reverent silence should the COPO Camaro be cited.

GM Performance Parts is whipping up a limited run of all new ZL1s, built from the same tooling as the original. A total of 427 of the Anniversary 427 Big Block engines will be produced, creating a new piece of automotive unobtanium while leaving the ZL1 mystique intact. You might even argue that the new engine run will add to the lore. We'll get to see just how much of a clamor there might be for these new engines when the very first Anniversary 427 Big Block crate engine, serial number 001, goes up for bid at the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction. The remaining 426 engines will be available soon from GM Performance Parts dealers, and will likely be snapped up like rabid moms going after Hannah Montana tickets.

[Source: GM via Winding Road]

Click the image above for updated gallery of this sweet '34 Chevrolet Coupe E85.

We stumbled upon Chevy's popcorn hotrod at the Wynn tonight and we liked what we saw. While calling this thing green is indeed a bit of a stretch to many observers, in person it at least fits the hot rod tag to a T. With its 2.0L, E85-fueled, Ecotec four prominently displayed, it managed to attract some curious looks. Knowing that little four-banger uses GM's Performance Parts Stage III package and a giant turbo to pump out 500 HP, it seems to have the stones to back up the hot rod looks. Definitely a looker inside and out with a menacing stance and a purely functional cockpit, it could be Chevy's Prowler if they decide to get whacky.

Take a look at the full press release after the jump for all the details.

Click the image above for more pics of the '34 Chevrolet Coupe E85.

Two things that are diametrically opposed – hot rods and going green – have been fused into one open wheel custom for the throngs of SEMA-goers this week. The General is bringing a '34 Chevy hot rod to the show, outfitted with a 2.0-liter Ecotec four tuned to run on E85, and equipped with GM's Performance Parts Stage III package plus a larger turbo. 35-inch Excelsior rear tires partnered with 29-inch gumballs up front assure that presence will not be lacking when it's on display in Vegas tomorrow. Other notable tidbits include a custom front suspension with lightening holes drilled into the hardware, a reversed Corvair steering box mated to custom fabricated linkage and what GM is calling "earth-friendly" interior materials.

Take a look at the full press release after the jump for all the details.

In our own little subsection of society, few men have had as much influence on our pistonhead way of life than Wally Parks. Over 94 years, he was a test driver for GM, founded the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), had a hand in starting Motor Trend in 1948, co-founded Hot Rod magazine and deemed a quarter-mile as the length of a drag race. Far better scribes have eulogized him after his death on Friday, and we'd ask you to check out the NHRA's website for every detail and facet of his life, rendered in heartfelt words and historic pictures. Godspeed.

It's not so easy to say Ferrari owners are kindred spirits to hot rodders. The stereotypical Ferrari owner enjoys speed, luxury and refinement, while the stereotypical hot rodder prides himself on do-it-yourself ingenuity, raw muscle and sometimes cobbled-together bodywork. But Ryan Cochran at Jalopy Journal manages to bring the two sides together as car people, arguing Enzo Ferrari was, at heart, a hot rodder.

To illustrate his points Ryan shot a series of beautiful black and white photos of a Ferrari 550 Maranello, an Olds-powered, flat-black '36 Ford Coupe and a flathead '30 Deuce, also in primer black. The differences in the three cars are as stark as the old Austin airport in the background. It takes Ryan's uniting of Ferrari and hot rodding history to really make the photos work, but they do.

An interesting read for fans of both modern and antique hot rods.

[Source: Jalopy Journal]

click the pic above to see a gallery

Studebaker mash-ups with later Ford vehicles aren't an entirely new idea, but we've never seen something quite like this. The seller of this car should be beaten with a sand-filled hose for attempted robbery. $7500 for a Stude-nosed Taurus wagon with a ratty interior? Wait, now, before we get all indignant, this is powered by the potent powertrain combination of the 2.3 liter four backed up by one of the world's vaguest-shifting five speeds. There's nothing wrong with the Pinto-derived cammer four - it's one hell of an engine, in fact. The manual transaxle, well, it gets the job done. But really, a car being advertised as a "one of a Kind Kustom!" may be more enticing were it to have, say, an SHO powertrain. Not that it would soften the blow of the weird visage, but there would at least be something redeeming here. The bodywork is claimed to be all steel, but the pictures don't make it easy to tell whether that's a prevarication or not. We do question the merit of all that time and effort (and expense, if the body man was working for more than MGD) of grafting 1950s sheetmetal on a 1980s car. The ensuing clash never looks right, not even on those Thunderbird-based abominations.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

[Source: eBay]

click above image for 22 new high-res pics of the Holden Efijy Concept

A couple of weeks ago, when GM was trotting the Camaro Convertible Concept around the country, there was another throwback hotrod along for the ride: the Soprano Purple Holden Efijy. The car was created two years ago, in 2005, by Richard Ferlazzo, a designer at Holden (otherwise known as GM Down Under). When Autoblog wasn't busy ogling the Camaro, we were checking out the Efijy in all its future retro splendor. Follow the jump for the story, and be sure to check out the gallery of hi-res pics.

Its amazing what a brush with fame will do for the most ordinary objects. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was certainly an integral part of the hot-rodding scene, and he went from pinstriping to building full-on custom cars and back to striping as his career progressed. This little Honda was the perfect transportation, t-shirt sales shop, workbench and advertisment for a journeyman striper with a name that preceeded him. The history of this car is fascinating, though we have trouble thinking that it's $8,000 worth of interesting. The current owner apparently thinks the past of this vehicle is worthy of making it a museum piece, and the eBay post has a long-winded manifesto about how he'd like to see the car utilized after the sale. We love hotrodding and the history of the hobby, but we still find the valuation a little dubious. At least it stands a better chance of getting its final bid than the General Lee.

Thanks to Mike for the tip.