CLUNKBUCKET

Arriving is good, but driving there is better. Just ask Jose Mendez, who drove this bitchin’ 1975 Datsun 710 ninety miles each way from Modesto to hit a gathering of imports in Santa Clara. Jose says that besides the wheel and tire combination and a lowering treatment, the Datsun is as stock as it was when he found it wearing its original wheels and hubcaps. The SSR MKII hoops are 13×6 in front and 13X7 out back for a classic stagger that gives the rear-drive Datsun the scaled down fastback muscle car stance.

The stock L20B engine passed the sniffer test with flying colors the last time it had to, and is still running strong and stock. “The car is just like it was in 1975″, said Jose. The 710′s near 100hp stock horsepower and 2300-pound curb weight adds up to a more than fun economy driving equation. Jose said he’s got some parts and pieces to squeeze some more horsepower out of the Datsun, but is driving stock until the triple digit Central Valley temperatures cool down enough for comfortable driveway modifications. Less weight and more horsepower make scaled down muscle cars a capital idea.

At the risk of sounding somewhat NorCal-provincial, the Monterey Historics are the one can’t-miss automotive event of the year. And within that cornucopia of delicious machines from bygone days, the IMSA GT-class race that closes out Sunday features machines (Dekon Monzas, Porsche 935s, Ferrari 512BB LMs) the children of the ’70s and ’80s grew up with. What’s more, this year’s featured marque was Porsche. And while every year, the men from Stuttgart are amply represented, this year was Teutonic overload. 917Ks. 917/10s. 917/30s. Carrera 6s. 962s. 956s. The Penske/Donohue Sunoco Turbopanzer was conspicuous in its absence. Beyond the racing machines, basically every vintage 911 of any oddball stripe within a thousand-mile radius showed up for the event. Manna from Porsche-dork heaven, to be sure.

From the sensibly sized station wagon department comes this 1956 Austin Countryman Estate. Kevin Kay picked up the A30 a little over a month ago from eBay and Santa Cruz by way of New Zealand. The Austin was in more or less drivable condition, so Kevin lettered up the sides of the panels with the intention of motoring about in the Austin for entertainment and promotional purposes. The Austin is seen here in downtown Monterey on its maiden voyage under new ownership.

The Estate was purchased already equipped with a 948cc engine out of an Austin A35. This powertrain upgrade bumped up the output to a furious 43 horsepower! Kevin plans on swapping in some disc brakes from a Sprite along with a set of side-draft SU carburetors, so that he and the wagon can motor about with authoritative economy around town and at upcoming events. When he’s not driving the Austin, Kevin spends his days restoring the likes of Aston Martin DB3S race cars for the sort of auction that was occurring in close proximity to where he parked the Countryman after a round trip to Laguna Seca to take in the Monterey Historics. Kevin reports the Countryman performed admirably in its economy and thrift.

“I can’t even buy a set of wheels for the stuff we work on around here for what I paid for that car”, said Kevin.

More: Kevin Kay Restorations

There are few places on earth to see a 1971 Ferrari Dino and a 1973 GMC Canyon Lands Edition 23-foot Motorhome hanging out together in their natural habitat. The Monterey Historics is evidently one of those places. The Oldsmobile Toronado-powered GMC motors out to two race events per year, and serves as mobile living quarters for the motor racing efforts of Tom and Verna Griffiths. The two-tone Pineapple Yellow paint scheme was a standard color choice for 1973. Optional colors included Parrot Green and Bittersweet. The Canyon Lands was a naming convention used by GMC to honor our National Parks and the all new for 1973 motorhomes. The Giallo FLY yellow Dino belongs to pals, and is also an example of an automaker forging ahead with modernity while holding onto tradition. Add a little racing green into the mix and it all makes perfect sense that the Griffiths run a Lotus 23 in the Classic Sports Racing Group.

More: The Classic Sports Racing Group – Since 1968

From the driving a work in progress department comes this 1973 Datsun 510. Dan Carney woke up the coupe from a longish and stationary nap. Over the course of a year he’s enjoyed his lot as builder and test pilot of this poor man’s BMW. On the way to roadworthy Dan stepped up the mechanicals beyond the usual resurrection process of swapping out rotten hydraulic hoses and spongy fuel lines. The suspension underneath the green road patina employs the finest in junkyard engineering and swap meet scores to keep the car on corner line and give it the right stance. The slot mags? All that is known of the mystery brand of 14-inch aluminum magnesium alloy hoops is that they came with the 510 by way of a Datsun Z-car. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to the dissimilar materials edition of Tool of the Week. Specialty sockets to remove oddly shaped oxygen sensors or inner ball joints are less common choices than the oft used spark plug socket. The genius of this specialty socket is the rubber donut that grabs onto the ceramic bit of the spark plug. The donut not only makes fishing the spark plug out of the hole an easy task, but also works in reverse to hold the spark plug in the socket when it comes time to thread the plug back in!

The rule is that the spark plug socket included as a bonus with any socket set will inevitably be the wrong size for the car or truck in the driveway. The extensive spark plug socket collection in the Clunkbucket Arsenal of Tools is the end result of having a few different cars. Modifications make things more fun. Anyone who has ever had a V8 equipped with a set of headers will attest to trying nearly every variety of spark plug socket and wobbler to find something that worked. Turbochargers can present similar problems. Spark plugs can also be fished out and threaded into the hole by pushing a length of leftover fuel and vapors line pushed over the insulator.

The eight cylinder dynasty has long presided over drag racing. A trip to a drag strip reveals lanes full of V8 race cars. There are exceptions to every rule. With two fewer cylinders and a tilt to one side is the mighty slant six engine. Even with all the talk of hemispherical heads and no replacement for displacement, the slant six came as standard equipment under the hood so many Dodge Darts and Plymouth Valiants that it is the far more legendary powerplant by volume and number of people whose lives it propelled. Doug Dutra is one of those people. His 12-second 1962 Dodge Lancer is proof of the leaning tower of power. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the more amazing things about moving to the west coast in the eighties was seeing 20-something year old cars driving around that looked as if they had rolled off the assembly line only a week before. No road salt? No rust! Original hubcaps. Shining paint. Occasional Malibus and Novas were then punctuated by an odd Barracuda or similar economical yet stylish choice from the 1968 model lineup. Fast forward twenty years, and the phenomenon is just as incredible. Case in point is this 1982 Datsun 200SX by Nissan, owned and driven by Maria since she bought the sport coupe brand new.

Read the rest of this entry »