Street Car Tapestries
Description: What is now known as "STP" was invented by German scientists during WWII as a response to Germany's need for lubrication of the German war-machine vehicles. WWII US Army divisions in Africa that overtook German Afrika Korps vehicles alleged that the Germans employed an engine oil that is now known as STP formulation full-strength in their air-cooled 4-cylinder engines, which successfully traveled through the hot African Desert war-front without seizing due to friction and extreme heat. How the Germans' original chemical synthesis formulation found its way to the U.S. after WWII is not known, but most likely it made that journey along with many of the other German innovations through the distribution of technology through the spoils of war.
Description: Among the dealership-based supercar builders of the 1960s and ’70s — including Yenko, Nickey, Grand Spaulding Dodge, and Royal Pontiac, most of these dealerships of the muscle era offered what was known as a 'supercar' service, which essentially provided a brand new, stock-bodied vehicle with plenty of extra horses, using either a highly tuned factory power plant or a high-performance crate engine. Baldwin Chevrolet took a slightly different approach, taking new Chevys sold through is dealership in Baldwin, New York (Long Island), and then delivered them to Joel Rosen’s Motion Performance speed shop (also in Baldwin), where they became street-legal, turn-key drag cars. many of which had optional wild custom body kits
Description: Ed Iskenderian was a Southern California hot rodder in the years leading up to WWII, working to make his roadster go faster. Post war, a high demand for parts from returning GIs eager to get back to hot rodding was so great that Iskenderian was faced with a long wait for a cam he wanted for his own car. Figuring he could do just as well himself, he bought a surplus cylindrical grinder, converted it into a cam-grinding machine, and went to work. He wasn’t just making a similar cam to those available at the time – he made them better. His cams made big power, and a business grew on the strength of that reputation that would succeed for decades to come, rightfully earning the title of America's fastest racing cams.
Description: Plymouth’s boxy Belvedere GTX may have been late to the party in '67, but the division cleaned house on everybody else in '68 with the Road Runner. Unlike the GTX, this time Plymouth got it right; dropping in a 335 bhp 383 cid V-8 with 440 Super Commando heads and cam in a bare bones 3,000-lb, two-door hardtop with a 4-speed synchro transmission. Base price was $2,870.00, skinned down to a rubber floor mat and non-pleat taxicab interior. If you wanted carpet and bright work, you had to drop another $79.20 for the décor group. More power by way of a 425 bhp, 426 cid Hemi would cost you $714.30, but the base car was quick and simple, and that's exactly how most buyers liked it.
Description: The Aurora Plastics Corporation introduced the A/FX (Aurora Factory Experimentals, later simply "AFX") line of slot cars, track sets, and related accessories in 1971. Aurora designed the AFX cars with an interchangeable car body, allowing users to use a single chassis for multiple models. The original '71 A/FX chassis utilized an updated version of Aurora's "Thunderjet 500" line, popular in the '60s. AFX introduced the innovative "G-Plus" in-line motor chassis in 1976. This design allowed the use of narrow, open-wheel Formula 1 style bodies, something not previously possible with traditional slot car chassis designs. AFX continued production, releasing multiple innovative products until the company was forced into receivership in 1983.
Description: Super Stock & Drag Illustrated was founded by John "Monk" Reynolds, publisher of Eastern Drag News and owner of Pennsylvania's US30 drag strip. The first issue was November 1964 and the magazine published continuously until June 1996 when it was re-titled 'Drag Racing' and only made it a few more years until a final issue in March 1999. The magazine was a thoughtful mix of drag racing coverage, tech articles, and street machines, which gave it pretty diverse appeal to gear heads of all sorts.
