mod@tech

If you’re a regular reader, you may recall I am the announcer at the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race. After spending more than two decades up in a booth, I have seen folks come and go, but there are some that choose to linger—both racers and spectators. I’ve made many friends over the years.

Plenty of them are from Canada, which is a reasonable distance from Mid-Michigan Motorplex. In fact, metro Toronto is closer to the drag strip than the homes of many American participants. One of those Canadians is Bruno Beltrame, who’s been racing at PSMCDR for the better part of 20 years. His trusty Ram Air IV GTO would often upstage cars with more cubes, and eventually he roped in his son and daughter to race their RAIV Firebird and Camaro SS/RS.

Bruno now can consider himself a snowbird, spending the winter months in Florida while enjoying the solid-lifter tapping of this 1969 Camaro SS. Solid lifters, you ask? That means it’s an L78 rated at 375 horsepower, the top Super Sport engine. Additionally, owner number two added L89 aluminum heads—a nice bonus. This Camaro features most of its original paint plus the interior. Factory gears are 4.56 too, helping this Hugger dip into the low-12s on street tires thanks to maxing out many of the stock components.

Join Muscle Car Campy as he meets my Canadian friend at Hemmings’ Musclepalooza Southeast last week in Orlando. And if you dig this video, you’re really gonna dig Campy’s others.

I consider myself a stock kind of guy. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally daydream about certain engine swaps (however impossible they may be). Here are a few that have crossed my mind.

Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon: Duramax 3.0-liter I6

Believe it or not, one of my dream vehicles is a Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon. As a guy that largely grew up in the 1990s, I have a soft spot for its dad-in-a-family-friendly-movie aesthetics (especially now that I’m a father myself). The cushy interior with a column shifter is an appealing combination of comfort and yesteryear. The 260-horsepower LT1 V8 that joined the options list in 1994 makes the big-body longroof even more appealing.

If I were to ever get one of these and swap out its engine, it would be a 1991-1993 pre-LT1 model. Power would, of course, be a consideration, but I wouldn’t care about quarter mile times or raw performance. I’d want a balance of potency and cruising range because family hauling was one of the things the Roadmaster Estate Wagon was made for, after all. I think a Duramax 3.0-liter turbodiesel I6 with 305 horsepower and 495 lb-ft of torque paired with a 10-speed automatic would provide plenty of both. Disneyland, here we come – on less than one tank!

2003-2004 Mercury Marauder: Supercharged 4.6-liter V8

Boy, did these look cool, especially in black. The Mercury Marauder combined the handsome looks and full-size presence of the Grand Marquis with the visual menace of high-performance car. It also had a DOHC 4.6-liter V8 with four-valve heads under the hood. While it was more powerful than the Grand Marquis, it barely crested the 300-horsepower mark. Some extra grunt would make the Marauder as badass as it looks.

Initially, I thought a Gen 4 Coyote 5.0-liter V8 would be the way to go. It would certainly be a huge boost in output to 480 horsepower and 415 lb-ft of torque and would pair well with a modern 10-speed auto, but then I got another idea. How about keep the upgraded engine within the Marauder’s time period while still increasing the bruiser cruiser’s stats? Find an ’03-’04 “Terminator” Mustang SVT Cobra that was hit from behind, pull out the supercharged 4.6, and boom – 390 horsepower and 390 lb-ft.

2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake S: Supercharged 5.0-liter V8

Several years ago, I reviewed one of these sleek wagons. Aside from being easy on the eyes, it was nicely equipped and comfortable. You may think this is where I’m going to say its engine was a letdown, but it wasn’t. Routed through all-wheel drive, the supercharged 3.0-liter V6’s 380 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque were more than satisfying. My problem was with the engine’s sound – actually, the lack of it. As I put it back in 2018, “The little sound that made its way from the dual rear pipes into the cabin was faint and made me imagine a moon colonizer’s vacuum cleaner in the year 3046.”

Fortunately, Jaguar made its own solution to that problem: a 5.0-liter V8. Any of the supercharged engines from the Jaguar F-Type – whether it pumps out 495, 550, or 575 horsepower – would make the Jag wagon more ferocious and give it one hell of a roar.

If you have a dream engine swap in mind or one that you’ve made already, tell us about it in the Comments section below.

I really love the 1971-1973 Mustang Sportsroof. With the right engine, it was a strong performance car with crazy styling mixed with increased comfort. I like to think of these as true GT cars that offer comfort, cool styling, and performance that would make a high-speed cross-country trip easy and fun. As a result, when one of these comes up on AutoHunter, I try to jump on it to promote it. If it is one of the more rare versions of the Sportsroof, then I am even more inclined to feature it. That’s why today’s AutoHunter Spotlight car is a 1972 Ford Mustang Sportsroof Sprint.

The keyword is Sprint. To commemorate the 1972 Olympics, Ford created a special option for the Mustang called the Sprint edition. The A option group included special red, white, and blue exterior paint, USA graphics on the rear quarter panels, accent stripes, a color-keyed front bumper, a color-keyed tail panel with accent stripe, color-keyed wheel covers with trim rings, hood stripes, vinyl bucket seats with white bolsters and blue cloth inserts, color-keyed racing mirrors, and E70x14 whitewall bias-ply tires. Option B added everything from group A plus a competition suspension, F60x15 raised-white-letter tires, and Magnum 500 wheels.

Yes, this 1972 Mustang Sportsroof Sprint is now wearing white paint with black stripes. That being said, it is a real 1972 Sprint, according to the included Marti Report. The document also states that this car is a real A-code Mustang Sportsroof Sprint that was equipped with a 351ci V8 with a two-barrel carb and an automatic transmission.

The exterior of this Mustang appears to be in good shape, although it is missing its blue stripes and accents. If I bought this car, I might consider bringing it back to its correct exterior color scheme.

The interior has also been changed. The vinyl bucket seats now have standard black vinyl seat covers. I would definitely replace those with the correct Sprint covers, as they are available for less than $1,000. The white door cards are correct (and I am guessing original). The black armrests are not, but they are easily replaceable. I would also replace the black carpeting with the correct blue carpeting because it looks really cool.

Under the hood is a Ford 351ci V8 with a Holley four-barrel carburetor, an aftermarket aluminum intake manifold, an aftermarket air cleaner, MSD ignition, and Ford Racing aluminum valve covers. I would probably leave this alone, with the exception of the air cleaner. I would also ask the seller if the engine is original to this car to properly set my high bid number. If it is the original engine block, then the value goes up.

These Mustang Sprints are really neat cars and stand out in their original livery. I remember seeing them in dealers as a kid and thinking they looked cool. I saw another one (a convertible) about 15 years ago at a Barrett-Jackson auction and loved the color scheme.

Yes, this car is not in its original color scheme and it has had some modifications done over the years. This is pretty normal for a car as old as this Mustang. Also, it is good to remember that for several years, 1971-1973 Mustangs were not seen as top collector cars. That has changed over the past five years or so. These cars are also rare, with a total of only 9,383 Mustang Sprint cars built. Of those, only 1,908 were Sportsroof option A cars. Among all SportsRoof Sprint cars, only 1,471 were equipped with the two-barrel 351 V8 like this one was. To me, this car is worth a bid or two to get a cool and rare Mustang that you can enjoy as you gradually bring it back to what it looked like originally. If you feel the same way, I would advise you to place your bid soon because the auction for this 1972 Ford Mustang Sportsroof Sprint ends on Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:15 a.m. (PDT).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

When you have the money to buy a new vehicle you’re interested in, there are two basic ways you can go: go out and purchase it or, depending on where it is in its product lifecycle, wait until the updated version or a completely new generation. In the 1980s, those who waited to pull the trigger on a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo were rewarded with the Turbo R. One of those from later in the model run, a 1990 Bentley Turbo R posted on ClassicCars.com by a New York dealership, just happens to be our Pick of the Day.

According to The Spirit, the official magazine of the Roll-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club SZ Register, “The Mulsanne Turbo was a quick, comfortable car and the model would herald the start of the Bentley revival. The main objection customers (and the press) had to the Mulsanne Turbo concerned its soft ride and road holding, which were not considered a match for its performance. The factory decided to overcome this problem by offering a handling package.”

Bentley’s response was the 1985 Turbo R. Although some say the “R” stood for “Roadholding,” Bentley states “this was never officially confirmed.” It kept the same 298-horsepower turbocharged 6.75-liter V8 its predecessor had, but paired that with a significantly altered suspension. Engineering Director Mike Dunn and his team gave the Turbo R 50 percent greater roll stiffness by fitting it with 100 percent stiffer front and 60 percent stiffer rear anti-roll bars, firmer shocks, and a rear Panhard rod. A deeper front air dam that provided seven percent less drag and 15 percent less lift helped keep the big Bentley stable at high speeds. Bentley updated the Turbo R with anti-lock brakes and fuel injection in 1987. By 1994, it was time for the Turbo R to evolve into yet another model.

As a 1990 model, the Turbo R you see here has those enhancements as well as an undeniable flair. Bentleys of this time period were essentially a three-box design. Yes, they were handsome, but because they had so few curves, they were also visually conservative, especially in low-key colors such as black or dark blue. Whoever originally configured this particular Turbo R in St. James Red didn’t want it to fly under the radar – he or she wanted people to see their British ultra-luxury sedan and know who was driving it.

There’s more red inside the cabin, which is full of leather, wood, and metal, but that’s tempered by the cream hides used on the seats and door panels. Luxury amenities include power windows, cruise control, upper and lower climate zones, and a Pioneer head unit with a retractable touchscreen. The column-mounted shifter for the GM THM400 three-speed automatic leaves room on the center console for the power, memory, and heating controls for the front seats.

If you wanted to buy a Bentley Turbo R back in the day but missed your chance for some reason, why wait any longer? You don’t have to. You can buy this 1990 Bentley Turbo R right now for $33,900.

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

How many farewell tours has Ozzy Osbourne had? It’s like the boy who cried wolf—at some point, this legacy grandstanding ends up being an eyeroll. Yet Dodge is rumored to bring back the V8 for Ram trucks. Are we supposed to think it’ll end up in the Charger?

If you recall, Dodge made a big fuss about “Last Call” models as the Hemi V8’s swan song, culminating with the Challenger SRT Demon 170. That car was touted as the quickest, fastest, most powerful mass-produced vehicle in the world. But why would Dodge toss away so much equity in its performance marketing?

The truth is the Hemi never left–it’s still available on the Durango. Nonethelesss, blame it on the Europeans and the government. Let’s start off with the former: the erstwhile Chrysler Corporation is known today as Stellantis North America, which is a subsidiary of Stellantis, the company formed with the merger of FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) and PSA Group (Peugeot Société Anonyme). Merging the most precarious of American automobile companies with Fiat and the French—what could go wrong?

Combine a Euro-leaning multinational with strong Biden-era EPA pollution standards (that would nudge manufacturers to forge a stronger mix of EV and hybrid vehicles) and you have the makings of a quick, painful death for V8 aficionados—certainly any evolution towards that goal would have been slower with an American behind the wheel. “Communists!” said someone from the nosebleeds.

Hasn’t the former Chrysler Corporation been through enough already? Before FCA, it was DaimlerChrysler, what ended up being a soul-gutting “merger of equals” that ended up producing more acrimony than anything else . . . but we also got the Challenger and Charger, so it wasn’t all bad.

Nonetheless, as the lineup aged out of contemporary status, marketing and engineering took over, helping these outdated cars sell better and better than before. Plus, the true believers within Dodge had a their collective fingers on the pulse of Dodge’s heritage so that now every lazy entitled Gen Zer has a grasp what B5 Blue is.

And then, the baby was thrown out with the bathwater. The Challenger is currently history, replaced by a two-door Charger joining a redesigned four-door Charger. The new car is currently at dealerships, and Dodge designers have created a car with fantastic, classic proportions while mining Dodge’s heritage. What’s driving the Charger? Electricity or turbo-six power.

Choice is good. And I am sure both versions will satisfy the needs for modern living, but they are not V8s. There’s something special about a V8, the same way there’s something special about Girl Scout Cookies, Atari, and Yankee Doodle.

So, last week, Dodge announced the Hemi V8 will be returning to the Ram lineup, which will include the 5.7, 392, and supercharged 6.2 Hellcat. Rumor has it that this is due to a good ol’ American—Tim Kuniskis—returning to the ranks of Ram CEO several months ago. Does that create hope for the Charger?

Sure, leaving that question hanging is a lame attempt to get clicks on social media. I cannot profess to know how the new Charger was engineered, especially considering it’s on a platform designed for EVs, but it’s also on a platform designed for ICE.

So, start holding your breath, folks!

America has a thing for performance vehicles. The United States is known for cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Corvette, but its love for horsepower and speed isn’t bound by body style. That’s why the 682-horsepower Cadillac Escalade-V and 720-horsepower Ford F-150 Raptor R exist. We’ve even gotten tire-scorching wagons here before, such as the Dodge Magnum SRT8. One longroof that eluded U.S. speed fiends for decades was the BMW M5 Touring, but that changed last year when the automaker announced it would be selling the fast wagon here for the first time. So far, M5 sales numbers reflect a worldwide desire for its wagon variant.

In an interview with BMWBlog, Sylvia Neubauer, the head of Customer, Brand, and Sales for BMW M, said, “Originally, our plan was to have two-thirds of the production over the entire [M5] lifecycle as a sedan and one-third as a Touring. We now see that there’s more demand for the sedan, so we’ve increased production there. But there’s even more demand for the Touring. So the increase on the Touring is much higher.” Currently, the reported split between the two M5 models is exactly 50/50.

The existence of a new M5 Touring isn’t just good news for people here in the States. Even the markets in which M5 Tourings were previously sold didn’t get them very often. There was the straight-six-powered E34 version launched in 1992 and the E60 M5 Touring introduced in 2007 with a 5.0-liter V10. Of course, those regions will also be getting the newest M5 Touring, which has an M Hybrid powertrain that combines a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 with an eight-speed automatic equipped with an integrated electric motor and a 14.8-kWh high-voltage battery. By itself, the gas engine generates 577 horsepower from 5,600 to 6,500 rpm and 553 lb-ft of torque between 1,800 and 5,400 rpm. The M Hybrid setup produces a total of 717 horsepower and 738 lb-ft, which means the M5 Touring not only can haul 57.6 cubic feet of luggage, but can also haul ass. Flat out, the wagon can lunge to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 155 mph, which goes up to 190 with the optional M Driver’s Package. When commuting is more important than setting a new Cannonball Run record, the M5 Touring can drive up to 25 miles on full electric power and reach speeds as high as 87 mph.

Now that the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S is gone, the only wagon in the Mercedes lineup is the E-Class All Terrain, a car more focused on the outdoors than outright performance. Audi’s A4 and A6 allroad quattro models have a similar objective. The $126,600 Audi RS 6 Avant performance is an aggressive combination of pace and space, but even with a 621-horsepower twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 under the hood, it’s not nearly as potent as the $121,500 M5 Touring (although the Audi does have a lower 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds).

We’re glad BMW has finally made the M5 Touring available here. We’ll be even happier if Andy Reid can get his hands on one and review it.

In a brief moment in time, many American cars featured a styling feature where a grille was placed in the area called the a “catwalk,” the contoured area between the hood and fender. The word is derived from the passageway above the deck of of a ship. The below AutoHunter and ClassicCars.com vehicles have this styling feature. Can you tell us the year, make, and model of each?

Post your answers in the Comments section. Click on an image if you need a hint!

Click on a photo to reveal each car

Every Tuesday The ClassicCars.com Journal will bring you a new automotive puzzle. For past car games, simply click here!

Is there a nicer Chevy from the 1960s than the ’61? Especially in two-door hardtop form—available as an Impala and Bel Air—the 1961 Chevrolet looked trim and light thanks to finless flanks and a large amount of glass. Plus, 1961 was the first year for the Super Sport package and the big-block 409. It’s like everything converged for the model year, no? For those reasons, it’s a pleasure to introduce the AutoHunter Spotlight for today, a Seafoam Green 1961 Chevrolet Impala “Bubbletop” Sport Coupe with a tri-carb 409 transplant, four-wheel disc brakes, and more.

The Seafoam Green hue is complemented by longitudinal white accents. Other exterior features include dual chrome side mirrors, twin exhaust pipes poking from underneath the rear valence, and 18-inch Ridler wheels wrapped in staggered-width Otani radials—235/40 (front) and 255/45 (rear).

The interior features green cloth and vinyl upholstery that nicely matches the exterior. The bench seat is split in the back to facilitate ingress and egress. Other features include column-mounted automatic shifter and factory AM radio.

Instrumentation includes a 120-mph speedometer, clock, and gauges for the coolant temperature and fuel. An aftermarket 8,000-rpm tachometer is mounted on the left side of the column, and auxiliary gauges for the oil pressure, coolant, and ammeter reside under the instrument panel. The odometer currently reads 36,683, though the title reads mileage-exempt.

The engine currently resting in this Chevy is a vintage 409, though this one features three two-barrel carburetors. That’s somewhat interesting because this induction system was never offered for the 409, but it was available for the 348. It’s backed by a three-speed Turbo Hydra-matic 400 transmission, something that an original 409 never had available. An aluminum radiator helps keep things cool on this hot engine.

The undercarriage features Wilwood four-wheel power disc brakes for stopping power that the factory was incapable of imagining. Additions to aid in handling include short coils and sway bars.

So how about it? A 1961 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe sporting a multi-carb 409 and several modern modifications to make driving a pleasure. Bid now because the auction for this AutoHunter Spotlight ends on Friday, March 28, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. (PDT).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery