RoadNoize :: Index

Farewell Billy the Kid

xm-hardtop — 2008-10-22T22:51:43+20:00

Category: Events
Title: Farewell Billy the Kid
Summary: Hot Rodders gather to mark the passing of Bill Musset
Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/article/view.article.php/21/c7 xm-hardtop

2008 Chopped rod & Custom Show

xm-hardtop — 2008-10-08T21:20:16+20:00

Category: Events
Title: 2008 Chopped rod & Custom Show
Summary: A good first time show ,
with a variety of traditional style Rods & Customs,
Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/article/view.article.php/20/c7 xm-hardtop

Sequential manual transmission

2008-10-03T16:18:00+20:00

A sequential manual transmission (or sequential manual gearbox) is a type of manual transmission used on motorcycles and high-performance cars or auto racing, where gears are selected in order, and direct access to specific gears is not possible.

With traditional manual transmissions, the driver can move from any gear, to any gear, by moving the shifter to the appropriate position. This type of transmission is often referred to as a H-pattern because of the path that the shift lever takes as it selects the various gears. A clutch must be disengaged before the new gear is selected, to disengage the running engine from the transmission, thus stopping all torque transfer. In auto racing, this process is slow and prone to human error; hence the development of the sequential transmission. A true sequential transmission will very often use dog clutch engagement rather than the more usual syncromesh as fitted to a normal H-pattern road car gearbox. Engagement using dogs only requires a very brief interruption of engine torque to complete a shift into any adjacent gear. This allows shifting between gears without the use of the clutch. The clutch would normally be used only for standing starts.
Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=9

Automatic transmission

2008-10-03T16:19:00+20:00

An automatic transmission (commonly "AT" or "Auto") is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually. Similar but larger devices are also used for heavy-duty commercial and industrial vehicles and equipment.

Most automatic transmissions have a set selection of possible gear ranges, often with a parking pawl feature that will lock the output shaft of the transmission. Continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) can change the ratios over a range rather than between set gear ratios. CVTs have been used for decades in two-wheeled scooters but have seen limited use in a few automobile models. Recently, however, CVT technology has gained greater acceptance among manufacturers and customers.

Some machines with limited speed ranges or fixed engine speeds, such as some forklift trucks and lawn mowers, only use a torque converter to provide a variable gearing of the engine to the wheels.
Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=8

Harley-Davidson

2008-10-04T15:42:00+20:00

In 1901, William S. Harley, age 21, drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 7.07 cubic inches (116 cc) and four-inch (102 mm) flywheels. The engine was designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame.

Over the next two years Harley and his boyhood friend Arthur Davidson labored on their motor-bicycle using the northside machine shop at the home of their friend, Henry Melk. It was finished in 1903 with the help of Arthur's brother, Walter Davidson. Upon completion the boys found their power-cycle unable to conquer Milwaukee's modest hills without pedal assistance. Will Harley and the Davidsons quickly wrote off their first motor-bicycle as a valuable learning experiment.[11]

Work immediately began on a new and improved second-generation machine. This first "real" Harley-Davidson motorcycle had a bigger engine of 24.74 cubic inches (405 cc) with 9-3/4 inch flywheels weighing 28 pounds. The machine's advanced loop-frame pattern was similar to the 1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle (designed by Joseph Merkel, later of Flying Merkel fame.) The bigger engine and loop-frame design took it out of the motorized-bicycle category and would help define what a modern motorcycle should contain in the years to come. The boys also received help with their bigger engine from outboard motor pioneer Ole Evinrude, who was then building gas engines of his own design for automotive use on Milwaukee's Lake Street.

The prototype of the new loop-frame Harley-Davidson was assembled in a 10- by 15-foot (3 by 5 meter) shed in the Davidson family backyard. Most of the major parts, however, were made elsewhere, including some probably fabricated at the West Milwaukee railshops where oldest brother William A. Davidson was then toolroom foreman. This prototype machine was functional by 8 September 1904 when it competed in a Milwaukee motorcycle race held at State Fair Park. It was ridden by Edward Hildebrand and placed fourth. This is the first documented appearance of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the historical record.[12]

In January 1905, small advertisements were placed in the "Automobile and Cycle Trade Journal" that offered bare Harley-Davidson engines to the do-it-yourself trade. By April, complete motorcycles were in production on a very limited basis. That year the first Harley-Davidson dealer, Carl H. Lang of Chicago, sold three bikes from the dozen or so built in the Davidson backyard shed. (Some years later the original shed was taken to the Juneau Avenue factory where it would stand for many decades as a tribute to the Motor Company's humble origins. Unfortunately, the first shed was accidentally destroyed by contractors in the early 1970s during a clean-up of the factory yard.)

In 1906, Harley and the Davidsons built their first factory on Chestnut Street (later Juneau Avenue). This location remains the Motor Company's corporate headquarters today. The first Juneau Avenue plant was a 40 by 60-foot (18 m) single-story wooden structure. That year around 50 motorcycles were produced.
Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=30

Leyland P76

2008-10-04T15:43:00+20:00

The Leyland P76 was a large car produced by Leyland Australia, the Australian subsidiary of British Leyland. It was intended to provide the company with a genuine rival to large local models like the Ford Falcon, the Holden Kingswood, and the Chrysler Valiant.

Prior to P76, Leyland Australia and its antecedent BMC (Australia) had not fielded a direct competitor in this market sector, which dominated the Australian car market. P76 was intended to provide that competitor.

Previously, BMC and Leyland had tried to compete in this market segment with a variety of cars: the 1958 Morris Marshall (a rebadged Austin A95); the 1962 Austin Freeway and Wolseley 24/80 (the Freeway was an Austin A60 with Riley 4/72 tail lights, a unique full width grille and a 2.4 litre 6-cylinder version of the 1622 cc B-series engine; the Wolseley was a 6-cylinder version of the Wolseley 16/60); and the 1971 Austin "X6" Tasman and Kimberley (facelifted Austin 1800s with the 6-cylinder 2.2 litre E-series engine.)

Each of these cars was a compromise, and the motoring public ignored these cars as challengers to the dominant local models. Nonetheless, the Freeway, 24/80 and the X6s each developed a loyal following.

Launched in 1973, it was nicknamed "the wedge", on account of its shape, with a large boot (trunk), able to easily hold a 44 gallon drum. Although station wagon and "Force 7" coupÃ© versions were designed, these never went into mass production.

Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=29

Chevrolet Camaro

2008-10-04T15:26:00+20:00

The Chevrolet Camaro is a "pony car" made in North America by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors. It was introduced on 26 September 1966 as a 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang. The car shared the platform and major components with the Pontiac Firebird, also introduced in 1967. Four distinct generations of the car were produced before production ended in 2002. A new fifth-generation Camaro will roll off assembly lines in spring of 2009.
Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=28

Ford Model A (1927)

2008-10-04T15:27:00+20:00

The Ford Model A (1927 - 1931) was the second huge success for the Ford Motor Company, after its predecessor, the Model T. First produced on October 20, 1927, but not sold until December 2, it replaced the venerable Model T, which had been produced for 18 years. This new Model A (a previous model had used the Model A name back in 1903) was designated as a 1927 model and was available in four standard colors, but not black.

The successor to the Model A was the Model B which featured an updated 4-cylinder engine, followed by the Model 18 which introduced Ford's new V8 engine.

Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=27

Ford Model B (1932)

2008-10-04T15:27:00+20:00

The Model B was a new Ford automobile produced in model year 1932. It was a much updated version of the Model A and was replaced by the 1935 Ford Model 48. Strictly speaking the Model B was a four-cylinder car with a Ford Model A engine, but it was at this time that Ford began producing a very similar car with Ford's new Flathead V8 engine. The V8 car was marketed as a Model 18, though it is commonly called the Ford V-8 today, and was virtually indistinguishable from the Model B. Until this time, Ford had always produced only one basic car at a time.

There were two versions of the â32 â a four-cylinder and the V8 flathead. They came in two body styles, the "5-window" (two door windows, two quarter panel windows and the rear window), and the rare "3-window" Deluxe Coupe that featured front opening doors, also known as Suicide Doors. The Deuce was called Model 18, the â1â standing for âfirstâ and the â8â for V-8. The less popular Model B was the four-cylinder model, a refined version of the four-cylinder Model A.

The â32 Model 18 was the first successful V-8 in a low-priced car. The 65-hp engine was used in some models costing $460. There were 14 different body styles â like the roadster, coupe, sport coupe, two-door and four-door sedans, cabriolet and phaeton. Prices ranged from $460 for the roadster and the coupe's $490 to the $650 convertible sedan. Production totals numbered only 520 for the roadster and 28,904 for the two-door coupe. Nowadays, the roadster and coupe are notable, as these body styles are more used in making the models into streetrods.

Today, the 1930s Model B is a highly collectible car that people will pay thousands of dollars to restore to exact original style. During the WWII period, when they were first getting old, the Model Bs and V8s were frequently altered into hot rods. This continued into the 1960s on a large scale. Since the 1970s, 1932 bodies and frames have been expensive, which has reduced the number of "rods" being created. Those that are made, however, are quite evolved and often very expensive. A typical auto-show hot rod is a $60,000 proposition or much more, in a few cases.
Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=26

Vincent

2008-10-04T15:08:00+20:00

Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles in the United Kingdom from 1928 to 1955. Their Black Shadow is one of the best known high performance motorcycles of the 1950s. In 1955 the company discontinued motorcycle production due to heavy financial losses.

Vincent Motorcycles, "the makers of the world's fastest motorcycles", began with the purchase of HRD Motorcycles, less the factory premises, by Phil Vincent in 1928.

HRD was founded by the British (RFC) pilot, Howard Raymond Davies, who was shot down and captured by the Germans in 1917. Legend has it that it was while a prisoner of war that he conceived the idea of building his own motorcycle, and contemplated how he might achieve that. It was not until 1924 that Davies entered into partnership with E J Massey, trading as HRD Motors. Various models were produced, generally powered by JAP (J A Prestwich) engines.

Unfortunately, even though HRD motorcycles won races the company ran at a loss, and in January 1928 it went into voluntary liquidation. The company was initially bought by Ernest Humphries of OK-Supreme Motors for the factory space, and the HRD name, jigs, tools, patterns, and remaining components were subsequently offered for sale again.

Source: http://www.roadnoize.com/modules/lexikon/entry.php?entryID=25