In February 1964 at the Daytona 500, Chrysler unleashed a new engine for teams running Dodge and Plymouth cars in NASCAR’s Grand National series. Though the Chrysler-powered racers had previously been uncompetitive on superspeedways, the new 426-cu.in. Hemi V-8 was a game-changer, and the 1964 Daytona 500 saw 426 Hemi-powered cars cross the finish line in first, second and third position, as well as claim two more spots in the top 10. Though few spectators realized it at the time, they witnessed the birth of an engine that would become a performance legend on racetracks, drag strips and back streets across America, and would inspire a year-long celebration of the engine half a century later.

The hemispherical-head engine didn’t originate with Chrysler, and the 426 Hemi was not the brand’s first engine of this design. Hemispherical heads had been in use in European race engines back to the turn of the century, while Chrysler’s first generation hemi-head engine lasted from 1951 through 1958, ultimately dropped in favor of wedge-head V-8s that were comparable in power but lighter, easier and less expensive to build. By 1962, however, Chrysler was looking for a way to gain the upper hand in NASCAR Grand National competition, and a directive came down from new Chrysler president Lynn Townshend after Pontiacs Fords dominated the 1963 Daytona 500: Chrysler would have an engine that would win the 1964 Daytona 500.
- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/?s=426+hemi#sthash.QVD2fRkt.dpuf


Now to find one of these in a shed would be okay!

I am sure you all aware that the latest update to the Fantastic HistoriX mod has been released and once again allowing us all to enjoy an eclectic range of classic, historic vehicles that have always been a core for sim racing.

With this in mind and also with the fact that many of the vehicles in the HistoriX have yet to be used to their full potential...

• One Month: February
• The Nights: Thursday
• The Cars: Choice of 4
• The Setups: Choice of 0
• The Track: The "known"
• The Times: XGN times
• Races: 1 * Warm up sprint + 1 * 30 minute, arm wrenching, sweaty, tyre smoking, V8 roaring sideways night of FUN racing.
• Server Password: Please PM Flattop or Mr Fox if you are not familiar with the server password.

Practice: Live Race is available: http://rfactor.liveracers.com/Live/?server=!%20XGN%20!%20Muscle%20Month
Race Night Practice: 19:00 HRS Daylight Saving Time
Qual: 20:00 HRS
Race 1: 20:30HRS
Race 2: At a civilised rest period from Race 1.

The server is set to:

• Mechanical Failures : off
• Damage: 10%
• Tyre Wear: Normal
• Fuel: X2

We want to ensure all finish, unless you take it over a fence!

The Tracks... Download Link https://www.dropbox.com/s/rbyzhddpthg8oxp/XGN_Historix1_9Season_Muscle_Month.7z You may have these already?

• Feb  06 Watkins Glen NASCAR
• Feb 13 Riverside
• Feb 20 Elkhurst Lake
• Feb 27 Mid Ohio (No Chicane).

They don't handle like a factory Porsche with a tricked setup, they handle like the car you get from the show room floor, the car you learn to drive and love!

This will follow on with the "March Mercedes Month", which was put together earlier last year, but we didn't have the opportunity to run and celebrate the 60th Anniversary of these giants of racing...
More to come as we run through the "least used classics" in our garages.

Record-setting, championship-winning “Rebel Corvette” heads to auction -

In the late 1960s, it was possible to walk into a local Chevrolet dealership, write a (substantial) check, and order up a factory lightweight Corvette, purpose-built for racing. In the early 1970s, perhaps the most famous of these Corvettes were the American-flag liveried cars of the John Greenwood team, but serving as a counterpoint was a Corvette owned by Floridian Orlando Costanzo, painted in a daring Confederate flag motif. This underdog “Rebel Corvette” would set speed records, capture the IMSA GTO Championship and be immortalized in plastic by model maker Revell; and on January 18, it will be offered to the public by Barrett-Jackson as part of its Scottsdale, Arizona, sale.

Available as a Regular Production Option (RPO) since the 1967 model year, the L88 engine option for the Corvette also required checking a few more boxes. To get the 430-horsepower, aluminum-head V-8, buyers also needed to order the C48 heater and defroster delete (which saved weight); the M22 heavy-duty transmission with close-ratio gearing; the K66 transistorized ignition (minus shielding, because radio interference wasn’t an issue); the J50 power-boosted brake system; the J56 heavy-duty brake calipers with semi-metallic pads and a proportioning valve; the F41 suspension (which came with stiffer springs, larger shock absorbers, a larger front anti-roll bar and a rear anti-roll bar); and a G81 Positraction rear end with 3.70:1 standard gearing (though other final drive ratios could be ordered).
- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/12/18/record-setting-championship-winning-rebel-corvette-heads-to-auction/#sthash.zJ4JtJaG.dpuf

I have the chance to get to 2 events here in California.  My wife is re-living her youth being dragged around swap meets.. HAHA
I haven't got to indexing these individually yet, you know how it is being a "kept man", time just seems to disappear, suddenly time to hit the pool again, no time to keep you in touch 

Hopefully this will work...
https://plus.google.com/photos/117143509584122557025/albums/5952258021929353937?authkey=CP_Apo-pq-WZKQ
Bo Huff's Car Show, featured some good rockabilly bands at one end of the event and some good blues at the other end.  Vintage air craft rides around the Riverside airstrip, yep the Riverside that you have run races in in GTLegends and rFactor. (the main car track is now ashopping mall).
These were some of the cars in the "Corral" for sale, we got that section late.
Got a desperately needed "flattop haircut" from one of the vendors, came home with some good NOS old clothes and happy.
Part 2 coming, Longbeach Performance Swap meet.


Hey who's cruisin' in a Chrysler Challenger R/T? 

Noted an update is available, will get all the details together and then review for possible update for our series.

Guys, sorry for the late posting, I had trouble getting on to the site today.

I have taken an executive decision, (see give me  a little power...) and changed tonight to:

2 * 10 laps.

Download and did a couple of laps on the Riverside Track.  if only someone would create the ultimate mod of circa 1960-4 NASCAR!   
 Still has the unrealistic solid tyres embedded in the curves' edges, but I think we need to fund need to run it next year. 
Go check Nogrip fir updates.

Interesting looking at the live racer stats..

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