mod@tech

The year 1956 marked a huge milestone for the automotive industry.

Made effective on June 29 of that year was the “Federal-Aid Highway Act,” also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act. It was the basis upon which about 41,000 miles of interstate would be constructed (with a $25 billion budget) over a decade-long period. At the time, it was the largest public works project in American history. Motoring would never be the same. And perhaps one of the first cars to benefit from the use of those new roadways was this Pontiac.

Featured on AutoHunter is this 1956 Pontiac Safari Custom Wagon. The car is being sold by a private seller in Madera, California, and the auction will end Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 12:15 p.m. (PDT).

Finished in Shadow Gray and Cream White, the car is dressed to the gills with lots of brightwork, including twin “silver streaks” (a Pontiac trademark for the era) running down the hood. The listing says that it has been owned by the seller since 2006. Features include upgraded headlights, dual side mirrors, and chrome exhaust outlets. Footwork is provided by a set of 17-inch chrome Ridler wheels wrapped in 215/55 Toyo Extensa A/S tires.

For model years 1955 through 1957, the Safari served as a General Motors A-body platform counterpart to the Chevrolet Nomad. It was a two-door (plus the rear door) hardtop station wagon with standard two-tone paint. According to sales data, there were 4,042 units sold for 1956. And, speaking of facts and figures, data tag decoding for this car reveals the following details:

• Style 56-2764: 1956 Model Year Chieftain Station Wagon
• Body CL 3544: Serialized Production Number
• Trim 278: Ivory and Dark Blue Upholstery
• Paint KV: Nimbus Gray and Avalon Blue Paint

The Safari’s versatile interior was perhaps its strongest selling point. One advertisement said, “Pontiac creates an entirely different type of car combining Catalina smartness and station wagon utility.” The rear seat was able to fold down to maximize cargo area space. The interior of this custom Safari has some special options like a custom center console up front, auxiliary gauges, and an ice chest located in the rear spare tire compartment.

Under the hood is a 350ci small-block V8 connected to a 700R4 four-speed automatic transmission. Features include a 650-cfm four-barrel carburetor, an aluminum intake manifold, polished aluminum valve covers, a chrome air cleaner housing, and an electric fan. An oil change was performed in March 2024.

Today, the original 41,000-mile planned United States interstate highway system spans a total of 48,890 miles. What better way to get out and explore the country than from behind the wheel of a classic Pontiac?

The auction for this 1956 Pontiac Safari Custom Wagon ends Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 12:15 p.m. (PDT).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

After spending a week in Monterey for Car Week, I felt like getting back to basics with my Pick of the Day. I have owned a few Camaros over the year with my personal favorite being the all-original 1974 model I bought in 1997 for the princely sum of only $2,500. Yes, that is a car I definitely should have kept, but who knew what people would pay now one of those cars back then. I will say that the facelift of the second generation Camaros makes them great cars for their era, offering performance, great looks, decent handling, and a comfortable passenger compartment. They are also fun to drive, reliable, and both easy and inexpensive to maintain.

My Pick of the Day is one of these cars, a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro offered on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Ramsey, Minnesota.

The seller describes this car as a 1977 Camaro equipped with a 350ci V8 backed by a 4-speed manual transmission, something that became more rare in the mid to late 1970s. They call it a super fun car to drive and add that this car has only covered 32,841 miles from new.

They state that the body is very solid and straight, and I saw no evidence of rust in the provided photos. They add that the paint has a nice shine to it, but also disclose that you can see some flaws (light paint, small dings) in places. Overall it looks like a really nice example. I personally like the look of these cars, especially the small taillights as well as the bumper and grill treatment. It has a bit of a European flair.

The listing adds that the tires and rims are in good shape. The wheels are aftermarket and the one thing I would do is swap for some Cragar wheels, which I feel look better on these cars.

The interior looks to be original and in truly excellent condition. The seller adds that the wipers, headlamps, and the blower motor all work, however the radio does not. The stock radio is pretty awful anyway and fixing it is not expensive if you want to stay with the stock.

Under the hood looks to be correct and reasonably clean. Overall this looks like a Camaro that has been cared for but also driven. The underside is the same and probably as clean as my 1974 was when I got it.

No it’s not a show car for a big national GM event, but instead a really nice driver that with some pointless dent removal, is a car you would be proud to take to a local show. The asking price of $17,980 is reasonable and at that price this car delivers a lot of value for the dollar.

What I would do is get the car, replace the wheels and radio, slide in an Ozzy CD, and take it for a 150 mile drive. This Camaro is the perfect time machine back to the 70s and 80s.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com

Nissan recently announced that prices for its 2026 Frontier will start at $32,150. The various updates in store for the midsize truck are largely mild: a Dark Armor trim package for the SV model, an available All-Weather package, a new drive mode selector, LED headlights for S and SV trucks, and more standard equipment for the Pro-X and Pro-4X. But there was also a major surprise in the press release: Roush Performance and Nissan teamed up to make a Frontier Pro-4X R.

This comes as a shock (no pun intended) for two reasons. The first is that Nismo usually handles making faster and more capable Nissans (the in-house performance division even made a more powerful and athletic version of the full-size Armada). The second is that Roush typically enhances Ford vehicles. In fact, this is the first time Roush and Nissan have ever collaborated on a build.

So what exactly did Roush add to Nissan’s most rugged Frontier model? It depends on where you look. The majority of the cosmetic changes are on the outside and include titanium-painted grille inserts and a matching skid plate and lower front fascia. “R” badges on the grille, fenders, and tailgate tell other people at the OHV park they’re not watching just any regular Pro-4X try to reach the top of a difficult trail.

There are also “R” logos on the center caps of the titanium-finished 17-inch wheels, which come with black lug nuts and 265/70 all-terrain tires. Inside the cabin, the only evidence of Roush’s involvement is the “R” embroidery on the front headrests.

Aside from the Roush Performance x Öhlins two-inch suspension lift, the major functional improvements are harder to spot. If you look closely at the Frontier Pro-4X R, you might see the Roush Red front upper control arms, which the company says enhance “ground clearance, suspension travel, and overall off-road capability.” All four corners are equipped with Roush Performance x Öhlins 2.0 aluminum-bodied off-road shocks with 18mm steel shafts, remote reservoirs, and rear cooling fins to keep them from fading over rough terrain. The most difficult thing to see is Roush’s 3-year, 36,000-mile limited warranty, but it is there.

A standard 2026 Frontier Pro-4X with a five-foot bed has an MSRP of $41,870; opting for the six-foot bed bumps that price up to $42,370. Adding that “R” to the end and all the Roush upgrades that come with it increases the starting price to $47,960.

The batch of 1970 ‘Cudas we recently wrote about in a Muscle Car Campy video featured the A22 bumper package. There’s some interesting quirks about them, so let’s explore them a little more.

The 1968 Pontiac GTO was the first car from Detroit to feature a monochromatic scheme, in this case an Endura front bumper blended nicely with the body. For 1969, the Chevrolet Camaro featured a body-colored bumper as an option. Plymouth certainly took notice of these when preparing the redesigned Barracuda for 1970.

Code A21 was the Elastomeric front bumper option, which included a body-colored front bumper, body-colored remote mirrors, and belt moldings (which were standard on the ‘Cuda and Gran Coupe). While colored racing mirrors were available in all colors available at the start of production, A21-equipped cars were only available in “EB5” Blue Fire metallic, “FC7” In Violet metallic, “FE5” Rallye Red, “EF8” Ivy Green metallic, “FJ5” Limelight, “FK5” Deep Burnt Orange metallic, “EW1” Alpine White, “TX9” Black Velvet, and “FY1” Lemon Twist. (Apparently, it seems there’s a run of AAR’Cudas with just one racing mirror, so this doesn’t appear to be cast in stone.)

Code A22 was the same package but included an Elastomeric rear bumper plus extra trim: lower deck lid moldings with black paint fill. Both are distinctive feature of ‘Cudas but were added to Barracudas and Gran Coupes built with A22. Interestingly, at the start of production, Plymouth only offered the A22 package in Rallye Red. According to a December 15, 1969 Product Information Bulletin, the A22 package was expanded to include eight additional rear-colored bumpers, bringing the total to nine—in line with the available colors for A21. This was to be effective with January 5, 1970 production.

This may explain why most A22 Barracudas you see are Rallye Red.

Certain cars face hurdles without documentation—why spend mucho dinero without proof of provenance? Our AutoHunter Spotlight doesn’t have this problem as it comes with documentation that verifies its pedigree. Note the build sheet of this 1970 AMC Javelin SST Mark Donohue Edition, which shows a 4 in the ASC (Automatic Speed Control) box—that confirms this car to be an honest-to-goodness Mark Donohue Edition, one of approximately 2,501 built. Aside from the homologation rear spoiler, Donohues also came either with a 360 plus Go Package or 390 plus Go Package—this one is powered by the latter and is backed by a four-speed. Other features include ram-air induction, five-spoke mags, and more. Painted red with matching corduroy cloth and vinyl interior, this Trans-Am homologation special is offered by the selling dealer with the aforementioned build sheet, restoration receipts, original carburetor and speedometer, car cover, and clear title.

The Matador Red hue is complemented by a white pinstripe. Other features include chrome rocker moldings, ram-air hood (which was part of the Go Package), Mark Donohue rear spoiler, chrome driver-side mirror, and chrome exhaust tips. A set of 14-inch five-spoke mags is wrapped in E70 Goodyear radials.

The interior is furnished in red, with the front buckets and rear bench featuring corduroy cloth and vinyl. Between the buckets you’ll find a “buddy seat” with armrest. Other interior features include woodgrain trim, special steering wheel, power steering, floor-mounted Hurst shifter, and AM radio with 8-track tape player.

Instrumentation includes a 120-mph speedometer (the original was 140) with gauges for the temperature and fuel. Additional aftermarket gauges are integrated into the center portion of the instrument panel and feature readouts for oil, amps, and temperature. There also is a clock to the left of the speedometer. The odometer currently reads 38,634 miles, though the title says this vehicle is mileage-exempt.

The 325-horsepower 390 features a four-barrel carburetor and has an open air cleaner tray to mount to the hood plenum. The engine is paired with a four-speed manual transmission.

The undercarriage features a rear-end with 3.91 gears and Twin-Grip differential. Other features include front power disc brakes and a dual exhaust system.

Javelins this nice are not the most common cars out there, and documented Mark Donohue Edition 1970 AMC Javelin SSTs are much rarer than that. With the nifty corduroy interior, four-speed, ram air 390, 3.91 gears, and Mark Donohue spoiler, this Javelin has the right mix of options to hype its desirability. So, what’s next? You bidding on it, of course! So you don’t let this one slip by, you should bid before Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. (PDT).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

Straightforward, simple designs were the name of the game when it came to trucks of the late 20th century. As I’ve observed with my 1994 Ford F-Series, it seems like the 1990s marked the last era of a truly analog driving experience – without the computer-aided tech features we see commonly today. Many modern pickups have power tailgates, trailer-backing aids, self-driving gear, and electronic side steps. While those are handy to have, as my dad would always say, “Sounds like just one more thing that can break.”

If you tend to like your trucks old-school like I do, you’ll appreciate this Arctic White gem. The Pick of the Day is a 1991 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4×4 pickup listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Deep River, Connecticut.

“Completely original except for the addition of back rack, bedliner, and running boards,” the listing says. “Exterior and interior are nearly perfect.”

General Motors’ “GMT 400” chassis underpinned the company’s Chevrolet and GMC full-sized pickup trucks beginning in 1988 with the C/K Series. The platform had a nearly 14-year production run – a testament to both its durability and its popularity. The rivalry between Ford and Chevrolet was brewing in full force during the 1990s: Chevy had one ad in particular that said, “Kickin’ Dirt and Takin’ Names.” It went on to say, “When you’re charging down trails with your lug nuts to the wall, who wants to settle for second best? Get the 4×4 power, fuel economy and Insta-Trac to keep you winning.”

This clean, original example is optioned in “Z71 Off-Road” equipment, which means it came with an upgraded Rancho suspension, skid plates, an automatic locking rear differential, and, of course, the obligatory decals on the bed sides. The burgundy interior is perfectly ’90s, complete with a patterned cloth bench seat for three-abreast seating. Controls for the transfer case are floor-mounted, and the cab is rounded out by a set of bowtie-embroidered floor mats and a period-correct AM/FM cassette audio system.

Some GMT 400 trucks came with a 4.6-liter Vortec V6, but this one was ordered with a larger engine. Power comes from a 350ci small-block V8 mated to an automatic transmission and a dual-range transfer case. The odometer shows just 81,750 miles.

Most people don’t buy a pickup with the intent of preserving it like a future collectible, but in this case, we’re glad they did. “Perfect starting point for a beautiful 4×4 mod, or keep stock for car shows,” the listing concludes. “This truck turns heads and is a joy to drive.”

The asking price is $22,500.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com