#autoevolution

[automotiveamerican]

Too Quirky for a C1 Corvette? This LeGene Californian is Your White Whale - Benny Kirk @autoevolution

[biglisbonnews]

Scientist Shares That Climate Change Hysteria is Damaging More than ICE Ban Discussions I follow the news as much as possible for professional duties and also because I like to know what's happening. After all, curiosity is essential for anyone willing to become a journalist. Despite that, I have to say I feel less and less inclined to do that because of how biased news seems to be. One thing that we even mock at home is how everything is climate change's fault. Don't get me wrong: I know how important it is that we lower human impact on nature, but c... (continue reading...) https://www.autoevolution.com/news/scientist-shares-that-climate-change-hysteria-is-damaging-more-than-ice-ban-discussions-221132.html

[whereifindsanity]

Via autoevolution

[usafphantom2]

Did you know two Buick Nailhead V8 engines were used to start the SR-71 Mach 3+ plane because the Blackbird didn’t have a starter?

The Blackbird

The SR-71, unofficially known as the “Blackbird,” was a long-range, Mach 3+, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft.

The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966.

The Blackbird was in a different category from anything that had come before. “Everything had to be invented. Everything,” Skunk Works legendary aircraft designer Kelly Johnson recalled in an interesting article appeared on Lockheed Martin website.

Cool Video Explains how SR-71 Blackbird’s J58 Turbo-Ramjet Engine Works

The speed of the SR-71 exceeded 2,000 mph. Other planes of the era could, in theory, approximate that speed but only in short, after-burner-driven bursts. The Blackbird maintained a record-setting speed for hours at a time. At such velocity, friction with the atmosphere generates temperatures that would melt the conventional airframe.

Two Buick Nailhead V8 engines to start the SR-71 Mach 3+ plane

When Kelly Johnson was designing the A-12/YF-12 /M-21 and SR-71 he didn’t want the weight to be added for a starter on the airplane. He said the more it weights the more fuel it will need. It was decided that two Buick Nailhead V8 engines would be able to do the job.

Did you know two Buick Nailhead V8 engines were used to start the SR-71 Mach 3+ plane because the Blackbird didn’t have a starter?

SR-71 Blackbird AG330 start cart

Not only starting the Blackbird, the fastest airplane in the world, was exciting, but also sounded like the Indianapolis 500 was getting the SR-71 ready to fly thanks to the two V8 engines as you can hear in the following video.

According to Autoevolution, for this purpose alone, two of either above-mentioned Nailhead V8s were fused together via a common transmission and drive shaft to work in tandem, then placed inside a metal housing mounted on four wheels with a trailer hitch and dubbed the AG330 “start cart.” The resulting Chimera was attached directly to the Blackbird’s two engines. Using the combined drive shaft, the two V8s spun the turbines to the point they could sustain compression by themselves. Nailhead V8s served as impromptu starter motors for the SR-71 and its cousins, the A-12 Archangel and the YF-12 fighter, until at least 1970, when the bulk of them were replaced with Chevy 454 V8s.

Did you know two Buick Nailhead V8 engines were used to start the SR-71 Mach 3+ plane because the Blackbird didn’t have a starter?

Phased out

These were also phased out when a new, quieter pneumatic system was implemented to do the same job as the start cart at most airbases on US soil the Blackbird and company operated from. Some remained for longer at auxiliary bases abroad, including a handful with the original Buick Nailheads, until the Blackbird and all its variants was retired in 1999.

@Habubrats71 via X

[transport-methodology-101]

M I D ‘ 6 0 ‘s M. U. S C L E C A R E R A

Galaxie ‘500’ the numerical addition to the name reportedly was to more closely associate the car with NASCAR’s 500-mile races. https://heacockclassic.com/articles/1967-ford-galaxie-500/ 1967 Ford Galaxie 500 – Heacock Classic

BUICK WILDCAT:- https://roarington.com/media-house/directories/cars/buick_wildcat_1967 Directories

PLYMOUTH SPORT FURY:- https://www.curbsideclassic.com/trackside-classic/trackside-classic-1967-plymouth-sport-fury-cognitive-dissonance/ Trackside Classic: 1967 Plymouth Sport Fury - Cognitive Dissonance - Curbside Classic

CHEVROLET IMPALA SS 427 - just don’t call it an Impala!:- https://radish-herring-rnyw.squarespace.com/blog/pick-of-the-day-1967-chevrolet-ss-427 Pick of the Day: 1967 Chevrolet SS 427 — Petersen Automotive Museum

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/1967-chevrolet-impala-ss-427-rocks-rare-z24-package-stunning-condition-246998.html 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 Rocks Rare Z24 Package, Stunning Condition - autoevolution

[darth-puma-vader]

Car Enthusiast Pays $759,000 for a 1969 Chevy Corvette L88. What's So Special About It? - autoevolution

All-original. Unrestored. And 56 years old. This is the long-story-short version of this 1969 Chevy Corvette Stingray L88's life. It is an ultra-rare model that has recently sold for $759,000 at the 2025 Mecum Auction in Kissimmee, Florida. It is one the most expensive of its kind ever sold at a public auction. But what is so special about it?

This C3 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible is painted in CanAm White and sports a black top over a black leather interior. A car of contrasts, the model features the so-desired L88 spec that brought the race-bred big-block 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8, officially rated at 430 horsepower. However, it was believed the V8 pumped out over 550 horsepower. A four-speed manual transmission puts the power down in a rear-wheel-drive setup.

That 427 was the closest thing to a full-blown racing engine that customers could buy from General Motors. That big block made the model a street-going car just as much as it was a track weapon at the time.

Chevrolet rolled out only 216 units with the L88 spec, and just 116 saw the light of day in 1969 when this C3 Corvette was made. The exclusivity made it a collector's car, one of the rarest and most sought-after models in the lineup. Chevrolet rolled out the first L88s in 1967. For the racing DNA of the 427 V8 power plant, legendary Zora Arkus-Duntsov is to blame. He was the man who transplanted track capabilities in street cars.

This car has only 6,465 original miles (10,404 kilometers) on the clock, which means it traveled an average of 115.4 miles (185,7 kilometers) per year.

[trainer0084]

U.S. to Deploy Thousands of Autonomous Anti-Armor Suicide Drones Against Potential Enemies - autoevolution

[mcvinco]

Citroen 2CV Gets Rat Rod Conversion with V8 Engine, Looks Monstrous - autoevolution

The Citroen 2CV is obviously an automotive icon, but the status of the little French car is certainly now owed to aggression. In fact, this puppy is anything but mean. Well, all that is about to change, as a customization shop is working to turn the 2CV into a rat rod.

[sunnyvicky]

Image ID:

Image 1: An article by AutoEvolution titled "FAA Changes Astronaut Definition, Disqualifying Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson".

Image 2: Text reading "Jeff Bezos is a lot of things. A tax-dodging megalomaniac. A Dr. Evil look-alike. A weirdly horny cowboy hat enthusiast. The one thing he isn't - at least as far as the Federal Aviation Administration is concerned - is an astronaut."

End ID

Ngl this is kinda hilarious

[hollywood-beverly-hills]

Source: autoevolution

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[nityarawal]

Tesla Cybertruck Gets Totaled After Flipping Over in Insane Road Rage Incident - autoevolution

[automotiveamerican]

Highly-Modified Ford Flathead V8 Sports Ultra-Rare Ardun Heads and Over 700 Horsepower - Benny Kirk @Autoevolution

Even if you’re not all that familiar with pre-war American engines, most modern American gearheads have at least heard of the Ford flathead V8. If you have heard of it, you’re probably conditioned to think it wasn’t special performance-wise. In fact, the first 221-cubic inch (3.6-liter) iterations of this engine made less than 70 horsepower stock back in the early 1930s, and it’d never make more…

[biglisbonnews]

Not-an-SUV Purosangue Wears Bizzare Livery, Ferrari Won't Take Legal Action Against Owner It first looks like a leopard print. But when you take a closer look at it, it looks more like a Tetris print. Or a military camouflage. Or a little bit of all of them and more. This is the tailor-made Ferrari Purosangue, which reportedly belongs to the brother of Ferrari's chairman. The car was spotted in Portugal, and it instantly drew attention like a magnet. It is not every day that you get to see a (continue reading...) https://www.autoevolution.com/news/not-an-suv-purosangue-wears-bizzare-livery-ferrari-won-t-take-legal-action-against-owner-221172.html

[whereifindsanity]

Source: Autoevolution. Image: Khyzyl Saleem.

[joeyvintage]

Dealer Uncovers Pontiac Trans Am Time Capsule, Still Flawless After All These Years - autoevolution

[blackholerobots]

Robot Dog Spot Can Run With All Four Legs in the Air, Three Times Faster Than It Should - autoevolution