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D'S FUN PAGE |
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| PD'S TEN COMMANDMENT'S FOR CAR GUYS: | |
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1. Thou shalt not store thy cars out of
doors except for thy wife's modern iron. 2. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's car, nor his garage, nor his battery charger. 3. Thou shalt not love thy cars more than thy wife and children--as much but not more. 4. Thou shalt not read thy Hemmings on company time, lest thy employer make it impossible to continue car payments. 5. Thou shalt not despise thy neighbor's Edsel, nor his DeSoto, or even his '47 Plymouth. 6. Thou shalt not allow thy daughters nor thy sons to get married during the holy days of Woodward. 7. Thou shalt not deceive thy wife into thinking that thee is taking her out for a romantic Sunday drive when, indeed, thou art going out to look at another car. 8. Thou shalt not tell thy spouse the entire cost of thy latest restoration--at least not all at the same time. 9. Thou shalt not promise thy wife a new addition on the house and then use it to store cars, thou shalt not store cars in the attic. 10. Thou shalt not buy thy wife a floor jack for Christmas.
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| PD SEZ: Did you know? | |
 Studebaker Avanti By the early part of 1961, Studebaker was
in financial peril. Things hadn't gone well for the since the end of world
War II and the sales of the little Lark were about the only things keeping
them afloat. The board of directors hired Sherwood Egbert, formerly head of
McCulloch Corporation to take over the struggling Studebaker-Packard company
to bring them in competition with the Big Three.Egbert loved fast cars and even though the Studebaker name was synonymous with value and tradition he was able to convince the board that a sleek performance car would save the company. A set of drawings were produced in two weeks! Now for the challenge--no money for the new Avanti so the entire car was built on a slightly modified Lark chassis. The body would have to be fiberglass, since metal stamping tooling was so expensive it was financially out of the question. The first bodies were made by the Molded Fiberglass Products Company in Ashtabula, Ohio, but the fit and finish problems (as well as the fact Corvette bodies were made there) forced Studebaker to move the body production to its South Bend Indiana headquarters. Meanwhile, orders were already being taken, but, because of the move and a host of technical problems, most of the orders were cancelled because of the long delays. Egbert wanted the Avanti to have the best performance in the industry, but, because of lack of money, a new engine couldn't developed. The engine that was introduced in 1951 was warmed over with a hotter cam, higher compression, and a Paxton supercharger. It became a 289 cid, 289 horsepower designated as the R2. The handling was enhanced with a rear sway bar, radius rods and Dunlop front disc brakes. Due to the relatively light weight and aerodynamic slippery body, a well tuned Avanti could do over 150 mph, earning it the reputation as the "world's fastest production car" by Cat and Driver in 1962. The Avanti was a daring and innovative car for it's time. |
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