Having turned the big 5-0 earlier this year, I suppose that I shouldn't be terribly surprised that the transformation into wistful geezer has begun. For some, that means pining away for the old days, a late-onset interest in beautiful flowers and paying attention to the pill ads in Reader's Digest.
You know, I just don't think I can do conventional geezerdom. But at the risk of sounding like I'm stuck in a decade long gone, I'm going on a bit of a rant about how great something was in "my day."
Muscle car engines had a visual flair that has been lost. For starters, they were painted bright colors: orange (Chevy/Mopar), turquoise (Mopar 383 and early 440), blue (Ford, Pontiac, AMC), red (Buick 455, Mopar small-blocks) and gold (Olds 350 and 455). Valve covers were at least embossed with a cool slogan like "Power by Ford" or a brand like "Chevrolet." Some, like those on a 428 Cobra Jet, 426 race Hemis and a lot of big-block Chevys, were chrome, a decorative touch when nothing else under the hood was chrome. Other engines—many Corvettes, most Boss Mustangs, Pontiac OHC 6 and LT-1 Camaros—got even better treatment: cast-aluminum valve covers, highlighted by fins, logos or slogans. Departing from all other manufacturing practice was the 426 Hemi's black wrinkle-finish paint, which was consistent with the Hemi's practice of doing its own thing.
Engine artistry also extended to the breather, the engine's primary focal point. I think we'd have to credit Ford with leading the way here. Brian Stefina's knock-your-socks-off 1958 Marauder sports the virtually extinct 400hp tri-carb 430 V-8. Its factory air cleaner is an artful cast-aluminum piece designed by a SoCal hot rodder. Ribbed, polished and painted, it looks like an elaborate custom breather, but it is the factory FoMoCo part. And everybody loves the open-element oval breathers with the cast aluminum tops used on the 427 Galaxies.
Other nominees for the breather hall of fame would be the big chrome Hemi breather, the trio of small Pontiac AC filters used on Tri-power 389s, all Mopar Air Grabber setups, Olds W-30 Force Air, and the 1970 Chevelle cowl induction.
Later development brought the Ford and Mopar Shakers—high art with a functional purpose—that climaxed breather design.
Seen anything remotely as artistic under the hood of a late model?
We can't have a discussion about beauty under the hood without touching on multi carbs. Whether you like three Holleys or two, three Rochesters or a pair of AFBs, there is a magic to multi carbs that has never been equaled. Computerized fuel injection is functionally superior, but it will never approach the wow factor of multiple carbs.
Perhaps the wildest multi-carb engine ever was the Chrysler long-ram 413. It mounted a pair of Carter four-barrels over each inner fender, and the carb on the driver's side fed the cylinder bank on the opposite side via long intake runners. You've gotta love Mopar's fearless extremism.
Making sure the engine lives up to its factory appearance is critical if you want your muscle car to reach its full value. It can't have a funky engine compartment and bring top dollar. My friend Frank Badalson, an ardent Mopar researcher and restorer, is on the cutting edge of engine restoration. He spends a lot of hours perfecting just the engine down to the smallest detail, recreating the paint runs, skips, overspray patterns, plating, including stuff you'll never see.
Contrast that with how the factory painted an engine. Keith Rohm, another bud who's an OEM Certified judge for the Mopar Nationals, worked at Ford's Lima engine plant as an engine painter in the early 1970s. He told me that the engine would arrive in front of him horizontally mounted on a frame. Keith had a nearly-impossibly short time, a matter of seconds, to paint one side, grab it and flip it around, then spray the other side. Now, we spend hours to recreate what was done in seconds. Ironic, huh?
Once it's done, a flawlessly restored engine is to a mechanically minded muscle car lover a thing of supreme beauty. Hot Rod magazine used to put engines on the cover from time to time. The January 1965 issue showed the Ford 427 SOHC in a dyno pull with the exhaust manifolds glowing cherry red. Sweet!
Today's cars enjoy the most efficient, powerful engines ever. But other than the Viper V-10, they're all a dud when it comes to appearance. For all their technology and power, they have the charisma of a washing machine. Some hide beneath a plastic cover. OK, bravo. I know it's all about cutting manufacturing costs, but I'd gladly trade off an electric trunk pull-down, auto-switch day-night mirror or heated steering wheel for a little beautification of the engine's upper end. —Originally published Nov. 2008
Source: www.bing.com
