MY FEEDLY

12A Rotary-Powered Sleeper: A 1969 Mazda 1200 Coupe With A Secret Under The Hood

This 1969 Mazda 1200 Coupe is considerably faster than it was when it originally left Japan, an enterprising Australian owner has bolted in a Mazda 12A rotary engine and paired it with a 5-speed manual transmission from an RX-7 Series 5.

Fresh from the factory the Mazda 1200 Coupe tipped the scales at 865 kgs (1,907 lbs) depending on final specification, and so the original 58 hp / 69 lb ft 1,169cc inline-four was considered powerful enough.

Mazda did offer a 982cc 10A rotary engine in this model from 1968 onwards, so in way, transplanting a 12A into it is really just adding a factory upgrade that the factory never offered.

Australians have a unique relationship with Japanese cars, there’s a sizable market in the country for vintage and collectible Japanese cars and motorcycles. Clubs exist to celebrate even the oft forgotten vehicles from the Land of the Rising Sun – like four-door Corollas from the 1970s and the trusty little Honda CT110.

Mazda released the 1200 Coupe in 1967 as part of the second generation of the Mazda Familia model family. Export models were typically just named for their engine capacity, so there was an 800, a 1000, a 1200, and a 1300 offered as part of these early model lines.

Above Image: The Mazda 12A Wankel rotary engine adds considerable power to the lightweight Mazda 1200, turning it into a sleeper that’ll embarrass far more modern sports cars at the lights.

The Mazda Familia model line was designed to be affordable, both to buy and operate, so cars were kept small and economical. This formula proved wildly popular, and it would be cars like the Familia that would help launch Japan from obscurity into a globally dominant position as a nation of automakers.

Mazda will likely always be remembered for their rotary engines, they took the original creation by Felix Wankel and refined it into a 24 Hours of Le Mans winning masterpiece.

It was believed until recently that the Wankel rotary engine’s days were likely over due to the emissions caused by needing to inject fuel into the combustion chamber for lubrication. Mazda surprised many by bringing the rotary back as a range extender/generator for a new line of electric cars.

The car you see here was built by one of those Australians with a penchant for Japanese iron, but rather than keeping it stock or restoring it back to factory-original condition, he opted to transform it into a discrete sports car.

In order to do this he sourced a Mazda 12A rotary engine, there were no concerns about having enough room in the engine bay as rotary engines are famously small, and the 1200 belonged to a model family designed to accommodate a Wankel engine from the factory.

Above Image: The tastefully understated lines of the 1200 Coupe have been winning it fans for decades.

The original four speed manual transmission was obviously not going to manage dealing with over double the horsepower and torque, so the aforementioned 5-speed gearbox from a Series 5 RX-7 replaced it in the transmission tunnel.

Suspension was tastefully lowered and tightened up a little to offer better handling, but the original 13″ steel wheels and hub caps were kept in place to keep the car looking as original as possible.

Externally the car received a new coat of red paint and the classic Japanese fender mirrors were kept in place. Inside the car the interior is close to factory original condition, it has new upholstery, and no hint of the considerably increased power under the hood.

The car is currently being offered on Collecting Cars out of Australia, bidding is underway and the seller is active in the comments answering questions.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

The post 12A Rotary-Powered Sleeper: A 1969 Mazda 1200 Coupe With A Secret Under The Hood appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/mazda-1200-coupe/
via gqrds

Documentary: The Racers that Stopped the World – Featuring Sir Stirling Moss

The Racers that Stopped the World is a new documentary from the team at Outrun Films. It includes a slew of interviews with some of the most important motoring and motor racing characters in history including Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Norman Dewis, Derek Bell, Martin Brundle, Murray Walker, and Andrew Frankel.

The film was created to tell the story of the humble disc brake, a relatively simple mechanical braking solution that Jaguar put to good use in the 1950s – helping to popularize it and doubtless saving innumerable lives over the intervening decades as the technology became commonplace in road cars.

Click to subscribe to Outrun Films on YouTube.

Official Film Description

The extraordinary story of Stirling Moss and Norman Dewis. How many lives do you think the disc brake has saved since its introduction to the car in 1952? Arguably more than the seat belt itself, or even Penicillin.

Join Sir Stirling Moss, Norman Dewis and an extraordinary lineup of motorsport legends including Murray Walker, Sir Jackie Stewart, Martin Brundle, Derek Bell, and Andrew Frankel as they drive us down memory lane telling an incredible story that really stopped the world with unseen footage and interviews.

Stirling – already on his way to becoming one of the greatest racing drivers of all time – took a new brake concept that Norman Dewis, legendary Jaguar test driver and engineer, had been working on alongside Jaguar and Dunlops engineering team to revolutionise the braking ability of cars – which at the time were falling behind dramatically compared to how fast cars of the ’50s were starting to go.

This documentary was filmed 8 years ago but never released. When Sir Stirling sadly passed away at Easter 2020, I took the original footage I’d shot and started again to produce this film, and with the significant aid of friends, this brand new reworking of the project is released so that the story can be told once and for all.

The post Documentary: The Racers that Stopped the World – Featuring Sir Stirling Moss appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/the-racers-that-stopped-the-world/
via gqrds

A Completely Restored 1951 Willys 4×4 Pickup Truck

In the years immediately after WW2 the Willys Jeep had become arguably the most famous vehicle in America. Anyone could recognize one on sight and many young American men had driven them or ridden in them during their military service.

Willys capitalized on this popularity in the same year the war ended by releasing the Willys-Overland CJ-2A (or Universal Jeep) in 1945. The name “CJ” stands for “Civilian Jeep” and in this case it was little more than a lightly civilianized version of the somewhat spartan military Jeep that had performed so well in the conflict.

It was clear that there was a lot more potential for the Jeep, and so a pickup truck version was developed alongside the Willys Wagon, featuring an enclosed cab and it could be ordered as a pickup truck, a platform stake truck, a chassis cab, or a bare chassis.

Both two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions were offered in the first few years of production but it soon became clear that the four-wheel drive model is what people really wanted.

Although these trucks were slightly better equipped than the original Jeep they were still designed as working vehicles – they could carry up to 1 ton and they were initially powered by the same 2.2 litre Go-Devil inline-four engine as the military Jeep.

Above Image: This Willys Pickup is fitted with the more powerful Hurricane F-head engine producing 72 hp and 114 lb ft of torque.

Sales of all Jeeps were strong in the 1940s and 1950s, as a result the pace of innovation was fast. Willys were releasing new versions of the CJ series Jeeps every few years and the pickup trucks were getting updated too. By 1950 the Willys F4-134 Hurricane engine had become available as an option and in 1953 it became the standard engine.

The Hurricane was much the same as the outgoing Go Devil engine but it was fitted with a new head, whereas the Go Devil had a side valve head the new Hurricane engine had an F-head design, this allowed the use of larger valves and a smaller combustion chamber – the compression ratio increased from 6.5:1 to 7.5:1 and thanks to this, plus the head’s better flow characteristics, engine power increased from 63 hp to 72 hp.

Willys Overland would keep their first generation pickup truck in production from 1947 until 1965, it would prove to be one of the most influential vehicles of the era establishing pickups as one of America’s favorite vehicles and resulting in an arms race to build bigger and better civilian trucks by the major automakers.

This arms race that carries on today close to a century later with futuristic vehicles like the Tesla Cybertruck, the Rivian R1T, the Hummer EV, and the Bollinger Motors B2.

Today the surviving examples of the early Willys Pickup Trucks are in high demand with collectors, particularly the four-wheel drive variants. Sadly due to much less advanced rust protection many of them simply rusted away or were scrapped, so examples like the truck you see here have been much sought after.

Above Image: The interior is quite luxurious when compared to the CJ series Willys, this Pickup has a sprung bench seat, upholstered door cards, winding windows, and a heater.

This truck is a 1951 model fitted with the desirable 72 hp Hurricane F-head engine producing 114 lb ft of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels via 3-speed Borg-Warner T-90 manual transmission and it has both high and low range available.

Inside the cab you’ll find a sprung bench seat with upholstered door cards and wind down windows, relatively luxurious items for a Willys of this era – it even has a heater.

The reason the truck looks so immaculate is because it’s fresh off a complete mechanical and cosmetic restoration which was completed in early 2018, and it had been given an earlier engine rebuild and balancing completed 2013. The vehicle now has a new wiring harness, upholstery, and window glass, and it features new-old stock front and rear bumpers.

If you’d like to read more about this truck or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s. It’s due to cross the auction block in late February and it’s located in Chatham, Ontario.

The post A Completely Restored 1951 Willys 4×4 Pickup Truck appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/willys-4x4-pickup-truck/
via gqrds

There’s A McLaren Senna Development Engine For Sale – 789 HP Twin Turbo V8

This is one of the original engines used by McLaren during the development of the McLaren Senna, the most recent member of the company’s “Ultimate Series“, alongside the F1 and the P1.

McLaren engineers and designers developed the car using the 720S as a starting point, though the car was significantly redesigned with one goal in mind – all out lap time supremacy. The car was named for Formula 1 legend and former McLaren driver Ayrton Senna, with the full blessing of the Instituto Ayrton Senna of course.

Underneath the wind tunnel developed carbon fibre bodywork of the Senna you’ll find a 3994 cc (4.0 litre, 243.7 cubic inch) all-alloy 90º V8 with twin electrically-actuated twin scroll turbochargers, double overhead cams per bank, and four valves per cylinder (with variable valve timing) producing 789 hp at 7,250 rpm and 590 lb ft of torque at 5,500 rpm.

Above Image: The engine is installed in a two-piece glass display housing, and the right valve cover has been removed to show the cams.

Unlike the earlier McLaren P1, the Senna doesn’t use a hybrid powertrain in order to keep weight down, it’s meant as more of a stripped back track car than a daily driver.

As one of the original development engines, this unit will have no small amount of value to collectors. The current asking price is £25,494.99 which works out to $35,966.93 USD at the time of writing.

It’s displayed suspended between two sheets of glass, and it’s on wheels so it can be moved around easily when needed – although this is an alloy engine it’s still not for one person to move without the aid of wheels.

If you’d like to read more about this engine or buy it you an click here to visit the listing, it’s for sale through F1 Authentics and shipping freight is listed as £315.00 though international shipping will likely be more.

Visit The Store

Images courtesy of F1 Authentics

The post There’s A McLaren Senna Development Engine For Sale – 789 HP Twin Turbo V8 appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/mclaren-senna-engine/
via gqrds

For Sale: Packard Twin Six 7.0 Litre V12 – A 104 Year Old Open-Wheeled Racer

When Packard unveiled its all-new V12 engined Twin Six model in 1916 it must have caused significant distress over at the Cadillac offices, as they had just one year earlier released their own range-topping V8 model to much fanfare.

Cadillac had much to be proud of with their still-new V8, it was the first American production car to use a V8, and when it was released in 1915 it must have seemed like some sort of elegant overkill – as most cars on the road had just four cylinders.

Packard’s Chief Engineer Jesse Vincent began developing V12s in 1913, developing both aircraft and automobile V12s – with the aircraft engines being put to use during WW1. When the Twin Six Packard debuted it caused a sensation, the engine was a beautifully designed 60º V12 with two cast-iron blocks of six cylinders – hence the model name.

This new 424 cubic inch L-head V12 produced 88 hp at 3,000 rpm, it could propel a vehicle up to a comfortable 60 mph cruising speed, and it was famous for its incredible torque. Actually finding reliable torque figures for the engine has proven all but impossible, however period reviewers remarked that the car could pull away from stationary in top gear with no signs of struggling.

Above Image: The 424 cubic inch V12 is an L-head engine with two cast-iron blocks of six cylinders each.

Although 88 hp may not sound like much now it was a remarkable figure for the era, competition versions of these engines were built and used for land speed racing and racing in the Indianapolis 500, as well as countless other less famous events.

In street trim the Packard Twin Six sent power back through a three-speed manual transmission into a live axle rear end. It was fitted with a solid front axle as well which was common at the time, it used rear drum brakes, and buyers could choose to order either a road-ready car or a powered rolling chassis which they would then send to their preferred coachbuilder.

In the early to mid 20th century South America was the motor racing world’s version of the wild west, some of the most challenging and dangerous races took part on the continent, and there was no shortage of home grown talent like Juan Manuel Fangio – one of the greatest drivers of all time if not the greatest outright.

Back in 1917 when Fangio was still wearing short pants the Packard you see here was sent new to Argentina to be converted into a race car. Its low slung roadster body was ideal for racing, after arriving in South America it was also fitted with a special radiator, a custom intake manifold, a side-exit exhaust, and a gearshift mechanism relocated to the right side of the driver.

Above Image: As a 104 year old car, the driving experience is entirely unique.

The original Twin Six was only fitted with rear drum brakes at the time, so the enterprising team fitted this one with the front end from a Hispano-Suiza, and in so doing gave it four wheel drum brakes.

Twenty-inch Buffalo Wire Wheels were found at each corner, as well as similar dual side-mounted spares—vital for long-distance events.

As with many South American race cars of this era, this car’s history is largely a mystery. It is known that racing drivers like Mariano de la Fuente, Alejandro Schoega, and Raúl Riganti raced Packards across Argentina from 1918 to 1922 – so it’s entirely possible that some or all of them piloted the car you see here.

The car would be shipped, with no small amount of subterfuge, to Houston in 1964. It remained in the United States in its original, non-running condition for decades until it was restored by new owners in the early 2000s.

Since returning to the road the car has been displayed at the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio as part of a “Packards at Speed” exhibit. It has also made appearances at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and it participated in the Pebble Beach Motoring Classic.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s. It’s due to cross the auction block in late February and the estimate is $140,000 to $160,000 USD.

[contact-form]

The post For Sale: Packard Twin Six 7.0 Litre V12 – A 104 Year Old Open-Wheeled Racer appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/packard-twin-six-v12-racer/
via gqrds

CCM Spitfire Scrambler – A Rare British Production Motorcycle – 1 Of 250 Built

This is the CCM Spitfire Scrambler, just 250 of these were made and the model is now no longer in production, so low mileage examples like this represent the closest thing to buying one new.

Clews Competition Machines

“CCM” stands for “Clews Competition Machines”, A British company founded in 1971 by Alan Clews that became well-known for building race winning motocross motorcycles, often using BSA engines and transmissions.

CCM motorcycles have competed and won in multiple forms of top flight motorcycle competition over the decades, including motocross, flat-track, trials, supermoto, and road racing.

In 2016 CCM unveiled the Spitfire, an all new machine designed to both reference the heritage of CCM and to appeal to a 21st century buyer.

This model family is characterized by its hand-welded tubular T45 carbon steel trellis frame that’s finished with a clear powder coat to showcase the welds. Power is provided by a BMW-designed Husqvarna power unit – a 600cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled four-stroke engine with 55 bhp and 58 Nm of torque (43 lb ft).

Above Image: The Spitfire Scrambler was developed with dual sport duties in mind, with higher ground clearance and a slew of other modifications to give it some off-road chops.

Though these power figures aren’t earth shattering it’s important to note that the bike only weighs in at 139 kilograms (306.4 lbs). The team at CCM developed it to be nimble, light, and to offer excellent handling – just like the company’s legendary competition bikes from years gone by.

Long before the release of the Spitfire model family, CCM motorcycles had already featured prominently in the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider back in 2001. This Hollywood connection has continued with the new bikes, the Spitfire features in the upcoming Marvel movie Black Widow starring Scarlett Johansson.

CCM build each of their model series by hand in their workshops in Bolton, a town not far from Manchester in Northern England.

Interestingly the company doesn’t have dealerships – instead people order directly from the factory. This results in a more personal connection between the company and its clients, and it helps to keep costs down by cutting out the middle man.

The CCM Spitfire Scrambler

The CCM Spitfire Scrambler was released in 2017 as the new semi-off-road variant of the Spitfire model family.

Above Image: The bike makes use of chunky Heidenau K60 Scout tires and twin high-exit exhausts.

Due the low weight and punchy single-cylinder engine the Spitfire has always looked like it might make a good little dual sport bike. Rather than just slapping on some knobby tires the team at CMM took the Spitfire and added longer-travel fully-adjustable suspension front and back, as well as new wheels – with a 19 inch in the front and a 17 inch in the rear.

The model is also fitted with a bash plate under the engine to protect the sump, and a new twin exhaust that exits up high – both to protect it from damage and to reduce the chance of water getting into the tail pipe.

The Spitfire Scrambler has the same T45 carbon steel trellis frame as the other bikes in its model family, and it shares their Brembo brakes, Husqvarna-derived engine, and six-speed transmission.

Additional upgrades include higher handlebars, a leather seat, a higher front fender, off-road foot pegs, and Heidenau K60 Scout tires front and rear.

Click here to visit the listing and read more, at the time of writing there are three days left to bid and it’s listed on Collecting Cars.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

The post CCM Spitfire Scrambler – A Rare British Production Motorcycle – 1 Of 250 Built appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/ccm-spitfire-scrambler/
via gqrds

Rally Car For Sale: Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5 Autodelta

This is an original Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5 Autodelta, a rare high-performance version of the already highly capable Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5.

When Alfa Romeo first introduced the Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT family in 1974 they based it on the standard four-door Alfetta. Whereas some sports cars that share a platform with a saloon car can be a disappointment, the Alfetta GT (later named the Alfa Romeo GTV) was a runaway success.

The Alfetta GT was penned by the great Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign, he was no stranger to designing Alfa Romeos of course, and his design for the GT would stay in production with minor updates from 1974 until 1987.

Generally speaking the two most desirable iterations of the Alfetta GT are the Turbodelta and the GTV6 variants.

The Turbodelta was a special run of 400 turbocharged cars that were built to homologate the model for FIA Group 4 competition – interestingly these would also be the first Italian production car with a turbocharger.

Above Image: The Giorgetto Giugiaro styling of the car has won it many fans over the years, and they’ve been slowly gaining in popularity more recently.

The GTV6 was a version of the GT fitted with the V6 engine that had originally been used in the Alfa Romeo Alfa 6 luxury sedan. Originally the car used the 2.5 litre version of this engine, a SOHC 60º V6 with 12 valves (two per cylinder) that had been designed by Giuseppe Busso.

Whereas the original carburetor-fed V6 had perhaps struggled a little powering the much heavier Alfa Romeo Alfa 6, it thrived in the GTV6 – in part thanks to the addition of Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection which vastly improved starting, emissions, and overall performance.

The Alfa Romeo GTV6 was released in 1980, it proved popular with the buying public over the course of its production run, possibly in part due to its remarkable successes on the race track.

Race-prepared versions of the Alfa Romeo GTV6 won the European Touring Car Championship four years in succession from 1982 to 1985, they also won the British Touring Car Championship in 1983, they won the 1987 Australian Rally Championship, and the Tour de Corse round of the World Rally Championship from 1983 to 1986, not to mention a slew of other victories.

From a motorsport perspective the GTV6 proved itself to be a thoroughbred, and this was largely due to the work done on the car by the team at Autodelta. Autodelta is Alfa Romeo’s competition department, much like AMG is to Mercedes or M is to BMW.

Above Image: The 2.5 litre Alfa Romeo V6 was reworked by Autodelta for racing, turning it into both a multi-championship winning car.

The engineers at Autodelta considerably modified the GTV6 for racing, different versions were created for rally or tarmac events as you would expect, and oftentimes proved too much for the competition.

The 1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5 Autodelta Shown Here

This car is a 1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5 Autodelta, it’s an original survivor that was raced extensively in-period by Italian racing driver Maurizio Iacoangeli in Group A rallying between the years of 1984 and 1986.

Iacoangeli was no stranger to racing Alfas, he competed in them from 1971 until 1990. In the car you see here he took a trio of second in class finishes at the 1984 Coppa Bruno Carotti, the 1985 XVIII Cronoscalata Cefalu – Gilbimanna, and the 1986 Cesana Sestrieres.

The car has been exceptionally well-cared for over its life as is evidenced by the images of the undercarriage, and it now presents as an ideal candidate for vintage motorsport competition.

IIf you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s. It’s due to roll across the auction block in February.