From the Mopar Lightwieght Vehicles Division comes this 1976 Spirit of ‘76 Dodge Dart Lite. Less than a thousand of these special edition Dodge Darts were ever made, with the lightweight Plymouth Division version known as the Feather Duster. As 1976 coincided nicely with the Bicentennial of the USA, the Spirit of ‘76 Dart Lite was built with 200 years of awesome into the red, white, and blue piped bucket seats alone. While the patriotic appearance package is itself genius, more amazing is that thanks to less wieght and creative engineering, the Spirit of 76 Dart achieved an impressive 36 mpg highway! Use of aluminum internal bracing, bumper structures, and an aluminum intake manifold lightened up the entire coupe. A specially prepared carburetor and distributor were mated to the leaning tower of power slant six engine under the hood. With a four-speed manual transmission linked up to some tall highway rear gears, the Dart made for 36 mpg. The Dart Lite came in just over the 4000 dollar mark with a few sweet options from your Dodge Dealer in 1976. Make mine a Dart Lite.
While new cars are not what Clunkbucket is about, there is legislation afoot that could well destroy the future of American automotive history before it even gets a chance to happen. There’s not much that gets me teeth grinding tire gnashing mad anymore, except things like this so-called Cash for Clunkers program.
Tools that have specific or singular purpose are useful tools indeed. The one that does just about everything is a requirement. Sitting on the bottom shelf of the rolling tool cart for over five years now is an well-used spool of baling wire. From a roadside repair made to hold up a teetering muffler and tailpipe, to more driveway-based uses such as suspending brake calipers out of the way the while hammering on ball joints, the trusty spool of baling wire is unparalleled in its utility. While the warm days of summer may bring with them the revelation the only thing holding that old jalopy together was baling wire and large chunks of ice, a tool collection without baling wire is simply incomplete. It won’t solve all problems, but can eliminate quite a few. The best feature of baling wire is that it’s a tool of a thousand purposes as yet undiscovered! Think of all those eureka moments that have yet to come.
The answer to what happens when a Citroën 2CV gets crossed up with a Nissan K10 Supermini is the Pao. French automobile and Japanese motorcycle obsessed Andy Takakjian sent along these shots of a Nissan Pao in the wilds of Los Angeles. While you were probably hoping for some Jacques Cousteau style narration to go along with the photos, the best we can do is ask you to read along in a Jacques Cousteu or Inspector Clouseau sotto voice on this thrice-retro minicar. The 1989-90 Nissan Pao was one part of a trio of Nissan specials built on the K10 Supermini car platform, itself the successor to the Datsun Cherry. Retro styling wrapped up around a proven and reliable mechanical package proved to be a hit, and the Pao sold out during its short production run. At average urban speeds of around 40 mph the Pao acheieved an astonishing near 70 mile per gallon rating. The 1000cc engine used one-barrel carburetor to produce 51 horsepower at 6000 rpm. This Pao appears to have the desirable factory canvas-roof option. The Pao (say pow) could also be optioned with a two surfboard carrier! All Paos came equipped with a retro styled two-speaker AM/FM audio system with tape player for cassette-enhanced retro motoring as standard equipments.
From the upside down valve department comes Model A Dave and his 1930 Ford Model A pickup truck. Intake and exhaust valves are the key to the operation of the modern four-cycle internal combustion engine. Early on, these steel shafts with tulip-like extension were referrred to as poppets, or poppet valves. Dave and his Model A were seen and heard popping around at the Dragfest in what he refereed to as his “drag racing tractor”. The four-pot flathead mill in between the rails is original but modified Ford equipment. Dave dropped out he coffee can diameter pistons for an engine refresh, and the truck is likely good for another 79 years. With the 3:27 rear gearset Dave says a top speed of near 60 miles per hour in the quarter mile is possible. Some highway gears can squeeze out more velocity, but handling gets a little spooky approaching land record speeds.
One had best be prepared for motoring over snow when crossing the frozen expanse of Mother Russia. Arriving at this realization a little too late was the German army, who in World War II ordered an occupied Tatra to construct a machine designed specifically for traveling over flat snow-covered plains. In 1942 Tatra produced the V855 Aeroluge Snowmobile. While only one was built, there is now another. The Lane Motor Museum commisioned Eccora to build this replica Snowmobile. The Aeroluge is a hand built reproduction of the original 
The 2nd annual Rod and Kulture Dragfest played host to a healthy number of vintage drag racing heavyweights and freshly rustified kontraptions alike on the hallowed grove of Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield. Any event that combines nitromethane burning t-buckets, jet cars, altered wheelbase stockers, and twin-engine dragsters like the Six-Session just has to be fun. Throw in a few bands and a drive-in movie screen and you have something that was a wicked good time for everyone involved – even if it did rain buckets on Friday. This photo bonanza is a preview of more good stuff to come from the Dragfest. Tune in. Tank up. Hit the loud pedal.
Seen here is what happens when one 1976 Kalamazoo airplane tug, a Wisconsin two-banger engine, and the widest set of slot mags around are forged into awesome. Russ and Lisa Hudson picked up this machine a few years back to serve as support not for an airplane, but as a pit side vehicle for their Got Nuts nine-second 1941 Willys coupe. Russ bought the genuine US Indy slot mags at the scrap yard for the princely sum of 40 bucks! Additional cutting and fabrication brought the wheels in line with the rest of things. Some rear disc brakes along with dual bench seating, and the Kalamazoo was ready for action. Russ guestimates the Wisconsin air-cooled two-cylinder packs an estimated 20 horsepower, but says there’s more than enough torque to keep things moving at legal pit speeds while providing maximum entertainment.
