Running this Shelby GT500 Super Snake first on 91 octane pump gas and then on 98 octane Sunoco racing fuel confirmed what we saw two weeks ago with the GT350 that these cars will greatly benefit from higher octane fuels. The Super Snake saw an increase of 46 hp giving it around 740 gross horsepower.
The engine for the 1966 Volkswagen Beetle has finally arrived from GEX International and this extra power from the dual port heads should be a huge improvement. GEX offers a 36 month warranty on this engine and claim they have run them all on the bench before shipping.
Fifty years after the original Shelby GT350 a new one is now available in dealerships. Ford rates this 2016 Shelby GT350 at 526 hp but it wasn’t until we drained out the premium pump gas and put 98 octane Sunoco race fuel through it that we were able to see those numbers. To our surprise switching fuels netted a gain of 25.5 horsepower with this car.
The Lotus engine is rebuilt and sitting again now in the 1973 Jensen-Healey. Without the intake manifold and carburetors mounted the Lotus 907 engine looks tilted 45 degrees. This early Jensen-Healey is only a few hundred before they made the first big revisions to the model. The later Series II and JH-5 models seem more common at shows.
Thanks to LMC Truck for sending us these big beautiful boxes of panels to fix the 1952 Chevrolet truck project. After unpacking it looks like the panels fit as well as if they were made by the factory.
Before: 1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Ran when parked but that was 30 years ago! Although rust has taken hold of this car it is complete and has the very rare dealer installed air conditioning. Look for faster than normal progress on this one as we have a deadline.
You may have already seen the 1955 International Metro around Iowa State the last two weeks and if this food truck Makes You Wanna some Macubana then you can find it on the Iowa State campus and around the Ames area throughout the week.
Originally brown this Stag came to us in red. The engine is in assembly and will soon be returning to the engine bay. Over the seven years of production the Triumph Stag was available in 25 different colors. Everyone agrees that brown looks great on this one.
Jensen used Chrysler V8 engines for the Interceptor with a 4-barrel carburetor 440 c.i. engine they produced 305 hp SAE net. Mated to an automatic transmission this car was a true GT that could cross continents effortlessly.
This International Metro went from a smashed up rust bucket when it arrived to a classic looking food truck with modern amenities. Running on propane and electricity from a generator this truck also includes a digitally controlled hood fan system and full Ansul fire protection system.
We have had the DynoJet for just shy of a year now and by the end of the year it will have seen a fair share of interesting makes and models. The DynoJet is great for much more than just finding out how much power or torque a car makes. You can analyze the fuel to air mixture, ignition condition, finding leaks, engine break-in, and even aero dynamic effects on gearing.
With the fab shop shut down for the holiday it is a good time to share a glimpse of what we are doing in there. Media blasting, powder coating, metal forming, and welding all happen in this room. We stock around fifty colors of powder and will do from a single part for a walk-in customer to supply production parts for machine shops and manufacturers.
Our new state of the art semi-downdraft paint booth is up and running. With better light from the 64 color corrected lamps no spot will go unseen.
The parts have been rolling in for the Beetle and it is easy to see changes day by day now. The new black cloth interior is going to compliment the orange paint job completing the great look on this Volkswagen.
Porsche had the early cars built by various coach companies for them. In this picture Porsches built by Reutter Karosserie, Drauz Karosserie, Karmann, and Porsche AG in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen are all represented.
Trucks like this C30 with grain bed used to a common sight in Iowa. Most were completely used up and very few would ever be restored to this level. Another forgotten sight is back on the road with this low mileage example farm truck.
Three days ago we bought pumpkins and this morning everyone brought in their creations. Which one is your favorite from the possibly first annual Skunk River Restorations pumpkin carving contest?
Built by Drauz in Heilbronn this car is the rarest of the production Porsche 356 models ever manufactured for a full year. The Convertible D was meant to be a “weekend racer” and was built with a removable windshield among other significant differences from the Speedster.
This bugeye Sprite arrived yesterday from Arizona as a rolling shell. It doesn’t look like much yet but this might be one of the most exciting builds we have done. FIA Homologation is guiding the specifications and period construction.
175 CD-2 Stromberg Carburetors will usually be finicky especially when your engine has four of them. Although this Jaguar ran pretty good it was leaking fuel, oil and leaving its aroma on the passengers after a drive. The leaking fuel had stained the jaguars front frame members which needed a repaint and general cleanup. With everything polished, cleaned and rebuilt the passengers can enjoy the smells of the scenery and not of the car.
