A never ending search for a survivor first-gen Dodge D50-Plymouth Arrow Sport pickup truck combined with creative keywording of a local classified advertisements has unearthed another sort of captive import. Like the Dodge and Plymouth pickups, this 1974 Jeep is actually a Mitsubishi. Technically a Mitsubishi H-J58, the Mitsu-Jeep is a very near clone of its Willys cousin Jeep … [Read more...]
Slicing into a Sixties Charger
Most folks think of automobiles comprised of parts that are fitted together with no imperfections or miscarved lines to ruin the illusion of perfection. While this may be somewhat true of a car or truck made in the last ten years or so, it is certainly not the case of an automobile manufactured as recently as the eighties. Dip back into the sixties and things get even more … [Read more...]
Starions for Everybody
Even though there is most certainly a guy wearing a Members Only jacket and acid washed jeans that might disagree, 1982 was a long time ago. In that same year was the first production run for a car closer to the heart around here - the Mitsubishi Starion. This month's Santa Clara gathering brought a collection of newer and older players along with an impressive number of … [Read more...]
Slant Six Power
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 … [Read more...]
Dodge Fire Wagon
Anyone who has biked or hoofed up and down California's fire roads has probably asked themselves what sort of vehicle is capable of negotiating the narrow motorways. One answer to that question is this 1952 Dodge M37 3/4 ton 4X4. The Dodge M37 was the fifties postwar descendant of Dodge WC-series of World War II-era military vehicles. This restored M37 evidently found its way … [Read more...]