In celebration and hope that most of America made it through the Independence Day weekend without starting a conflagration or losing a finger, we bring you this last in long line of American longroof family chariots. This 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park station wagon represents the beginning of the end for purebred full-size American wagons. As hard as it is to believe … [Read more...]
Skid Plate Racing Rules the Oval
Skid Plate racing rules are straightforward. Any 1980 or newer four or six-banger front wheel drive car with a 90-inch or longer wheelbase is OK. No secret reinforcements or buttressing allowed. No added weight. Hitting the buffet a few times to add weight to the driver before the race is OK. A Skid Plate Race car must be stock at its core. If you are going to run a V6, two of … [Read more...]
Merkur XR4Ti: The Inside Story
Ford of Europe, from about 1975 on, was considered a training ground for Ford Motor Company’s highest-potential executives, engineers and designers. Succeed over there, in that cauldron of competition against Fiat, VW, Renault, Peugeot-Citroen and GM, and you MUST be smart! Or willing to work 20 hours a day, and seven days a week. That was the thinking. Over the long haul, … [Read more...]
What, Me Worry?
Early hot rodders squeezed the best out of the junk they had. Fenders and running boards came off to save weight. Hop-up parts scored second hand from circle track racers made their way onto flathead eights for more horsepower. Keeping with this pioneering spirit but using modern technology and parts is the Truckster, seen here on display at the Painless Performance Products … [Read more...]
Mercuric Luxury
Rolling the definition of American-style executive level customs out of the late seventies into the new century is Kevin Wood and his ultra-luxurious 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis. This purple and gold beauty looked at much at home on the lawn at the recent Goodguys Rod & Custom gathering in Pleasanton, California as it would on the boulevards of Brooklyn - driven by guys that … [Read more...]