Dominic Toretto’s car!  Pretty much a lot of entries in this blog points to Toretto or anyone from The Fast & The Furious movie series, such as Toretto’s Chevelle, Johnny Tran’s Honda s2000, O’Conner’s Mitsubishi Eclipse, and a handful of others.  The 1993 Mazda RX-7 stood out because the big dawg drove it to win the first street race in the first movie.

Toretto's 1993 Mazda RX-7 Twin Turbo in The Fast & The Furious

Actually, since Dominic Toretto was king of the road, this ‘93 Mazda RX-7 was probably the fastest tuner car at the time.  It was heavily modded.  In a classic scene, Toretto showed how he outmatched the competition by flipping the car’s passenger seat up and revealing a four-tank NOS system.

The car was equipped with a stock 255 hp twin-turbocharged rotary engine.  The exterior was modified with a Veilside body kit, Lexan headlight covers, and aluminum struts. The tires were Toyo ZR18s and the wheels were 18″ Veilsides.  Also, because of Vin Diesel’s bulk, the interior roll cage was removed.

Mazda RX-7 Diecast Models

NEW Jada Toys 1:64 Diecast Metal Yellow Mazda RX-7 FD3S US $0.49 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Feb-09-2010 12:07:22 PST   | Watch this Item

Tomica Mazda Racing Mazda Savanna RX-7 FD Diecast Car US $11.39 Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-11-2010 18:06:48 PST   | Watch this Item

JAPAN 1/43 MAZDA SAVANNA RX7 (1978) DIECAST CAR US $60.00 Auction Ends: Saturday Feb-13-2010 3:30:56 PST   | Watch this Item

Pictures of 1993 Mazda RX-7

See 1993 Mazda RX-7 for sale on eBay.

“Sunday, Monday, Happy Days…” — Happy Days theme song

A very big TV hit in the 70’s.  A show about high school teenagers growing up in the 50’s.  A time when kids were growing drag racing their hot rods.  The cars seen in Happy Days were really old school.  Ralph Malph, one of the main characters, had a yellow 1929 Ford Model A Roadster that he modded for street racing, though he didn’t really race much.  Still the car was very well designed and looked really cool.  It was yellow with spitfires on the engine hood.

Happy Day's Ralph Malph in his custom 1929 Ford Model A Roadster

Ford Model A’s began rolling out of the factory in 1903.  The early Model A had an open-air cab and resembled a horse-drawn buggy.  It was powered by a 2 cylinder 100 cid engine with 8 horsepower.

By the late 20’s, there were considerable improvements.  The 1929 Ford Model A was equipped with a battery-and-coil ignition, nickel-plated headlamps, 4-wheel mechanical brakes, and double action shock absorbers.  It was powered by an inline L-head 4-cylinder 200.5 cid engine with 40 horsepower.

By the time Ralph Malph was driving around in his yellow hot rod, his car would have been 20+ years old.  That would be the equivalent of a high school teenager today modding a car built in 1989.  Wow!

Ford Model A Roadster Diecast Models

1931 Ford Model A Roadster Diecast US $25.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Wednesday Feb-10-2010 11:10:30 PST   | Watch this Item

1931 FORD " MODEL A " ROADSTER DIECAST Hallmark #1 NEW US $3.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-11-2010 13:19:08 PST   | Watch this Item

B8 Liberty Fire Chief Ford Model “A” Roadster Diecast US $7.50 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-11-2010 18:21:33 PST   | Watch this Item

Pictures of Ford Model A Roadster

See Ford Model A Roadster for sale on eBay.

“Every now and then a guy who drive a Dodge likes to close his eyes and imagine it’s a Ferrari.” — Al Bundy

Heh, heh.  I’m a big fan of Married with Children.  It’s just so silly.

Of course, there’s a car involved.  Al Bundy, the grown-up shoe salesman who peaked in life way back when he was a high school football player, drove a Dodge.  A brown, dusty Dodge that had been stolen in one of the episodes and Al went nuts to get it back.

Al Bundy in his Dodge which is actually a Plymouth Duster 340

Though the show often dismissed the Dodge as a loser car, fit for a guy whose prime peaked in high school, in reality, the car that was referred to as the Dodge was 1) not a real Dodge but a 1971 Plymouth Duster 340, and 2) a popular entry level muscle car in its heyday.

Quick Facts: Plymouth Duster 340

Smaller than the Plymouth Barracudas, but derived from the same family of cars (Plymouth Valiants), the Plymouth Dusters soon outsold the ‘Cudas.  They were fast.  Its size gave the Plymouth Duster an excellent power-to-weight ratio.  In fact, Car Life Magazine test ran a stock 1970 Plymouth Duster 340.  The Duster finished the quarter mile in 14.7 seconds at the speed of 94 mph.  It accelerated from 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds.

For its time, the Plymouth Duster was equipped with some of the best interior package such as optional low-back style seats, optional fold-down rear seats, locking glovebox, and optional electrically heated window defogger.

Additionally, the Plymouth Duster 340 had dual exhaust, a 340 cid V-8 engine, heavy-duty suspension, 3-speed manual transmission, and dual snorkel air cleaner.  Again, this was really a neat gem of a muscle car, often overlooked because of the Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros.

Plymouth Duster Diecast Models

ERTL 1971 Plymouth Duster NOS Diecast Metal 1:18 Scale US $32.50 Auction Ends: Tuesday Mar-02-2010 20:34:36 PST   | Watch this Item

Photos of 1971 Plymouth Duster 340

See Plymouth Duster 340 for sale on eBay.