The Supercar Registry - You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

The Supercar Registry (https://www.yenko.net/forum/index.php)

- Lounge (https://www.yenko.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=87)

- - You Can't Make This Stuff Up! (https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=145134)

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Lincoln called them "counterbalanced center-opening doors." I guess back in 1961 it wasn't so important to attach a moniker on a feature as it was to describe it for how it operated.

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Quote:

According to Noland Adams in The Complete Corvette Restoration & Technical Guide, Vol. 2, requests began pouring in for 327s to be optioned with the big-block hood. All of these requests were turned down, but a select few 327s did make it off the assembly line with the big-block hood. They just weren't ordered that way.

So how did the big-block hoods make it onto the 327ci-engined Corvettes in the first place? According to Adams, in either late February or early March, a worker accidentally dropped "a screwdriver-like tool" into the small-block hood mold, ruining the mold and halting production. At first, it seemed as if Corvette production would have to be stopped altogether until the costly mold could be replaced. When the people in charge realized they had enough of a big-block hood inventory to keep the Corvettes rolling off the line, however, they simply decided to put the big-block hoods, which were more popular anyway, onto the small-blocks. These hoods were also distinguishable by the fact that there was no emblem or stripe added to the bulge as there was on other big-block hoods.

Within three to five days, the problem was solved and the hood crossover ended. Although we were unable to find exact numbers on how many 327ci '67s were produced with the big-block hood, we can estimate there were no more than 540. Based on Adams' claim that the factory averaged six Corvettes per hour, frequently ran nine hours per shift, and had two-shift days, it's possible that 108 Corvettes could have been made in a day. This would make 540 for the five-day period.

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Judging by the '70 Boss 302 Mustangs we see at car shows these days, it would be easy to assume that nearly every one of them came with the optional Magnum 500 wheels. Actually, according to Kevin Marti's Ford production database, only 38 percent of the 7,014 '70 Boss 302s came from the factory with the chrome-plated Magnums; most had standard 15-inch steel wheels with "corporate" hub caps, which were rather plain-looking covers with trim rings. Over the years, many owners have replaced the hub caps with Magnum 500s.

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1971 GTX - Rarest Options:

A36: Perf Axle Package 426 - 3
C14: Shoulder Belts Rear - 3
A28: Noise Reduction Package - 8
V02: Two-Tone Paint - 16
A35: Trailer Towing Package - 16
S62: Steering Wheel Tilt - 19
F11: Alternator 50 Amp - 22
N25: Engine Block Heater - 22
L42: Headlamp Time Delay - 30
J68: Backlight Louvers - 30
E74: 426 Hemi Engine - 32
M51: Powered Sunroof - 32
W12: Wheel Trim Rings w/Hub Caps - 38
M73: Painted Bumpers - 51
N88: Auto Speed Control - 54
M91: Luggage Rack - 57
A02: Driver Aid Package - 59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart (Post 1461064)

Probably better than the usual moniker (ie "suicide doors").

K

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore (Post 1461074)

Probably better than the usual moniker (ie "suicide doors").

K

Suicide doors were common on cars manufactured in the first half of the 20th century. The nickname is mainly due to the design's propensity to seriously injure anyone exiting or entering the offside of the car if the door is hit by a passing vehicle. Also, in the era before seat belts, the accidental opening of such doors meant that there was a greater risk of falling out of the vehicle compared to front-hinged doors, where airflow pushed the doors closed rather than opening them further. Suicide doors were especially popular with mobsters in the gangster era of the 1930s, supposedly owing to the ease of pushing passengers out of moving vehicles, according to Dave Brownell, the former editor of Hemmings Motor News.

In Sweden they were nicknamed "kidnapper doors".