CARS - Dave and Will Davis

MUSCLE CARS and other vehicles. Like lots of other guys, Dave and I were really into cars years ago but, as time passed and we (and everyone else) got married, kind of got out of the hobby. Luckily, we were thoughtful enough to take pictures during these years, and they have survived in a remarkable Automotive Photo Album we keep here. I've scanned some shots from it and they're presented here.

The "halcyon days" really took place while I was in the Navy; Dave was here in Ohio, while I was based out of Charleston, South Carolina. We thus had two 'bases of operation' with Dave and a bunch of friends with cars up here, and myself and my best friend Shawn Rogers and a number of others down south (we had a car club for crew members!) Here are three photos from Dave's garage during that time. In the shot to the left, I'm standing behind Dave, between (on the left) my recently-bought 1970 Chevelle Malibu and his 1969 Impala.

Below, a shot of me in the front corner of Dave's well-equipped and heated garage. He had a 50,000 BTU/hr torpedo heater in there, making it an all-weather facility.

The shot on the left was taken later, perhaps right when I got out of the Navy -- it's hard to say. Anyway, he's on the left and I'm on the right. We're holding a pair of Chevrolet small-block cylinder heads. These are "461X" casting heads, which were originally made for circle-track racing as aftermarket parts by Chevrolet but which mostly went unsold and found their way out of the factory in trucks. They're for the 350 in the Chevelle. They're special 1.90 inch intake and 1.60 inch exhaust valves on this head -- the heads with 2.02 inch intakes were cracking between intake and exhaust valve seats at the time, and this head reduced intake valve diameter to get more metal there and avoid cracking.

Let's look in on the "southern base of operations" at the time. Here is my 1973 AMC Javelin. That's right -- American Motors. There are so many myths about AMC cars, I can't tell you -- all wrong. The facts are that for a brief time from the mid-late 1960's through the mid-1970's AMC spent millions and millions on new cars, engines, and advertising to attempt to improve its market position and image. Ultimately it didn't work but it did give us some great cars. My Javelin is seen here soon after purchase, with some body work already done courtesy Shawn Lee Rogers.

Javelin again, rear view. This car has a 304 cubic inch V-8, with a two-barrel setup. It was more than enough to dust off a few Camaros and Mustangs, too. One myth is that AMC used Ford blocks -- not true. AMC came out with its own thin-wall-casting block in the mid 60's, originally in displacements of 290, 343 and 390. In 1970 the 290 was replaced by the 304 and the 343 was replaced by a 360; in 1971 the 390 was replaced by the 401 -- all in the same block! By the time my car was made, the engine had been adapted to use, for example, Ford carburetors (two-barrel models) and stock Chrysler small-block lifters, but the rest is all AMC inside the motor. 1973 also saw the introduction of new high-flow cylinder heads. By the time I bought this car, the originally fitted Air Injection Reactor System (smog pump) was LONG gone, and the seat belt starter interlock jumpered out.

Shot showing the fabulous Javelin interior. The glove box is actually to the left of the passenger; you can see the silver lock knob for it right below the chrome JAVELIN emblem.

Note the "oh my gosh" handle on the dashboard. Some people use another name for these, but this is a family oriented website.

This car had air conditioning when I bought it, but upon getting it here to Ohio after I got out of the Navy we removed it. Saved a few horsepower and a whole lot of weight.

Shot of the hot seat in the Javelin. Note the shift lever, which is referred to sometimes as a "staple shifter" or else a "stirrup shifter." This car is new enough to have, as original factory equipment, the Torque Command automatic transmission (which is a Chrysler A-998 Torqueflite in reality, supplied to AMC by contract.) This was a much better transmission than the old Borg-Warner "Shift Command" in every way. The shifter on this car is interesting -- on most automatics, you can move the lever freely between Drive and Neutral, for stopping on ice, etc. On THIS car, the shifter moves freely between Drive and 2 to allow forced downshifts! Completing the driveline is the stock Dana 60-series axle, known in AMC parlance as a Twin-Grip axle. This axle uses an 8-7/8 inch ring gear, larger than the Chevrolet 12-bolt axle.

More "glory days" shots to come, so keep looking back.

Javelin on the left; Shawn and the Dart we each half-owned on the right. That was a Dart Sport 360, and one time Shawn dusted a Ford Galaxie with this car -- and the Galaxie was running a 390 with dual quads! (Note -- TOO MUCH CARB.)

Halcyon Days Revisited? You can't relive your youth, but sometimes you can start over. That's what I did this last Monday -- May 5, 2007 -- when I traded in my 2003 Chevrolet Tracker for the vehicle you see below.

My new toy; a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. This is the retro-styled vehicle that is generally considered as something of a competitor to Chrysler's PT Cruiser; in my mind there's little comparison. The HHR is simply a better vehicle, with more style and more STUFF.

This one is an HHR with the lLT package; the exterior color is Sunburst Orange Metallic, with Ebony interior. It has 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive, ABS brakes with Traction Control and the 2.2 liter Ecotec II engine (149 SAE net horsepower and 152 ft-lbs torque.) The vehicle also has the Chrome Appearance Package, including solid aluminum 16 inch wheels.

Styling for the HHR was derived from that of the 1949 Chevrolet Suburban, which was a vehicle well ahead of its time. However, you won't find simplistic or archaic interior features in the HHR -- it has an eight-way power driver's seat, for example. The car LOOKS like a Hot Rod, but in fact is a very pleasant-driving boulevard cruiser. We can't wait for the summertime to go cruising in it, either!

Click here for my review of this much-debated vehicle!