The car for today is Nelson Staycy's Racing Collectable's 1964 Ford Galaxy.

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Stacy was originally from Kentucky. He was a veteran of World War II serving as a Tank Driver in the U.S. Third Army under the command of General George S. Patton.

After a decade in the MARC series, Stacy decided give Grand National racing another try. In 1961 Stacy entered back into NASCAR competition at age 40 competing in 15 of the 52 scheduled races. Stacy won 1961 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway beating Fireball Roberts and leading 72 laps. He also accumulated eight Top Ten finishes and 4 Top Five finishes as well.



In 1962, Stacy won the Rebel 300 at Darlington Raceway beating Marvin Panch, the final convertible race in NASCAR history, as well as the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway coming from 18th place to beat Joe Weatherly[12] and the 1962 Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway beating out Richard Petty by over three laps.[13] He accumulated three wins, seven Top Tens, and five Top Five finishes for the 1962 season. He also won the NASCAR Convertible Division race that year at the Darlington Rebel 300.

Stacy failed to win any races in 1963; he accumulating nine Top Ten and four Top Five finishes. Stacy Finished a career-high 14th in the final points standing this year. In 1964, at age 43, Stacy's health began to become a factor and he went on to compete in two more Grand National races. He achieved a 24th-place finish in his final start at the Firecracker 400 in 1965.[4] Stacey ended his NASCAR career after competing in 45 races. In his career, he had 24 Top Ten and 13 Top Five Finishes along with 4 wins.




Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Stacy to learn more on Nelson Stacy.







Scored this old iron Ford at a flea market for a couple of bucks. I love any full size '57-'68 Fords and even in NASCAR form, I can't pass up a Galaxie

The car for today is CF's 1979 Porsche Turbo 911.







The original Porsche 911 (pronounced as nine eleven, German: Neunelfer) was a sports car made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. The famous, distinctive, and durable design was introduced in autumn 1963[1] and built until 1989. It was succeeded by a modified version, internally referred to as Porsche 964 but still sold as Porsche 911, as are current models.

Mechanically, the 911 was notable for being rear engined and air-cooled. From its inception the 911 was modified both by private teams and the factory itself for racing, rallying and other types of automotive competition. The original 911 series is often cited as the most successful competition car ever, especially when its variations are included, mainly the powerful 911-derived 935 which won 24 Hours of Le Mans and other major sports cars races outright against prototypes.




In 1974 Porsche introduced the first production turbocharged 911. Although called simply Porsche 911 Turbo in Europe, it was marketed as Porsche 930 (930 being its internal type number) in North America. The body shape is distinctive thanks to wide wheel-arches to accommodate the wide tires, and a large rear spoiler often known as a "whale tail" on the early cars, and "tea-tray" on the later ones. Starting out with a 3.0 L engine 260 PS (190 kW; 260 hp), it rose to 3.3 L 300 PS (220 kW; 300 hp) for 1978. The early cars are known for their exhilarating acceleration coupled with challenging handling characteristics and extreme turbo lag.

Production figures of the car soon qualified its racing version for FIA Group 4 competition as the Porsche 934 of 1976. Many participated at Le Mans and other races including some epic battles with the BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile". The wilder Porsche 935, a finer tuned car in FIA Group 5 and evolved from the 2.1 L RSR Turbo of 1974, was campaigned in 1976 by the factory and won Le Mans in 1979. Private teams continued to compete successfully with the car until well into the 1980s.

Due to ever more draconian emissions regulations, the 930 was withheld from the important US and Japanese markets from 1981 through 1985. In the same time period, Porsche was involved in several wrongful death lawsuits in California related to the 930, even involving privately imported European market 930's. It was finally re-introduced into the United States in 1986.

As demand for the Turbo soared in the late 1980s, Porsche introduced novelty variants including a slant-nose version (option M505/M506), while not significantly improving the range mechanically. Although these cars could be sold for extraordinary premiums over the standard models, the company's reluctance to invest in research and development of the entire 911 line at that time turned out to be an almost fatal decision not only for the 911, but for the company.

Only in 1989, its last year of production, was the 930 equipped with a five-speed gearbox. The 930 was replaced in 1990 with a 964 version featuring the same 3.3 L engine




Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_911_classic#Turbo_.28Type_930.29_.281974.E2.80.931989.29 to learn more.




This is a long time survivor from my middle adolescent toy collection. Think I bought this one when I was either in 6th or 7th grade from a dollar store near where my mom worked at. A few weeks back I was at my grandma's house and she gave me a bag full of old cars I had that were sealed away inside a larger bag. This CF was among those and I hadn't seen it for about ten years.

Truck of the Day:September 29, 2011

The truck for today is the Motormax '04 Ford F-250 Harley-Davidson Edition.




The Ford Super Duty is a line of commercial trucks (over 8,500 lb (3,900 kg) GVWR) introduced in 1998 for the 1999 model year. The F-250 to F-550 Super Duties are assembled at the Kentucky Truck Assembly in Louisville, Kentucky. The F-650 & F-750 Super Duties are assembled at the Blue Diamond Truck plant in Mexico. For Mercosur (Brazil (F-250,F-350 AND F-4000)and Argentina (F-100)) are assembled at the Brazil, Engine 3.9 TurboDiesel, alvailable 4x2, 4x4, single cab w/short bed, crew cab w/short bed, single cab/ crew cab chasis.

The Super Duty trucks are larger, heavier built commercial/industrial series pickup trucks with heavier-duty body-on-frame steel ladder frames, axles, springs, brakes, transmissions, more powerful engines, and all other heavier/bigger components (with much higher payload and towing capacities) than the older traditional equivalent F-250, F-250HD (Heavy Duty), & F-350 Ford truck lines. In appearance, the Super Duty line might look a little similar to but does not share any of the design or build characteristics of the F-150. A F-250 Super Duty would surpass the older traditional F-350 in most categories.



Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Super_Duty to learn more.











Like many on the Garage, I'm indebted to James for finding this Motormax Ford. The quality is outstanding and thus far unsurpassed in smal scale for a modern heavy duty truck. Motormax outdid themselves as details abound.

SUV of the Day:September 28, 2011

The SUV for today is Hot Wheels' Land Rover MK II.



The Land Rover Series I, II, and III (commonly referred to as "Series" Land Rovers, to distinguish them from later models) are off-road vehicles produced by the British manufacturer Land Rover that were inspired by the US-built Willys Jeep. In 1992 Land Rover claimed that 70% of all the vehicles they had ever built were still in use.
Series models feature leaf-sprung suspension with selectable two or four-wheel drive, the Stage 1 featured permanent 4WD. All 3 models could be started with a front hand crank and had the option of a rear power takeoff for accessories.



The successor to the successful Series I was the Series II, which saw a production run from 1958 to 1961. It came in 88 in (2,200 mm) and 109 in (2,800 mm) wheelbases (normally referred to as the 'SWB' and 'LWB'). This was the first Land Rover to receive the attention of Rover's styling department- Chief Stylist David Bache produced the familiar 'barrel side' waistline to cover the vehicle's wider track and the improved design of the truck cab variant, introducing the curved side windows and rounded roof still used on current Land Rovers. The Series II was the first vehicle to use the well-known 2.25 litre petrol engine, although early short wheelbase (SWB) models retained the 52 hp (39 kW) 2.0 litre petrol engine from the Series I for the first 1,500 or so vehicles. This larger petrol engine produced 72 hp (54 kW) and was closely related to the 2.0 litre diesel unit still in use. This engine became the standard Land Rover unit until the mid-1980s when diesel engines became more popular.



Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover_Series#Series_II to learn more.



Yet another sweet flea market find for under a dollar! How about that! I knew by looking at past posts and from South Texas Diecast that this was an older Corgi casting. It was only used once in the HW line and that's it. Looks nice with five spokes and the electric company theme. Shame this one didn't see more releases through the years.

Truck of the Day:September 27, 2011

The truck for today is Summer's 1980 Isuzu Elf.

The Isuzu Elf (いすゞ・エルフ Isuzu Erufu?) is a light duty truck produced by Isuzu. Outside Japan it is known as N-series.

Isuzu Elf first generation
The range was primarily available in Japan, Hong Kong and some other Asian countries, and since the late 1980s, also in the United States, Chile, Colombia (under the Chevrolet brand with the use in it trucks the legend "Tecnología Isuzu"/ with Isuzu Technology), and Peru (under the Chevrolet brand), besides others.




Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isuzu_Elf for more info.







This is yet another recent flea market find. A vendor had a bunch of off brand stuff still on blisters in a bin of death marked for 50 cents. The blister was dated 1980 and I can't resist off brand stuff that was till new on the card

Car of the Day:September 26, 2011

The car for today is Welly's 1993 Pontiac Firebird.




The fourth-generation F-body continued the aerodynamic formula initiated by the previous generation, but saw declining sales. As before, the Camaro kept the exposed headlights and the Firebird its pop-up units, with some minor changes. The overall styling of the Firebird more strongly reflected the "Banshee IV" concept car than the 1991 "face lift" received by the Third Generation model.




From 1993 until 1995 (1995 non-California cars), Firebirds received a 3.4 L V6 with 160 hp (120 kW), or the 5.7 L 275 hp (205 kW) LT1 V8. The 1993 Firehawk (only available in Formula trim for 1993–1997) received the SLP package with a functional hood scoop and other performance enhancements that increased power to 300 hp (220 kW). Only 201 were built for 1993, with the same engine as in the 1993 Corvettes. The LT1 in the Formula and Trans Am was very similar to the one in the Corvette C4, except with 2-bolt mains and a more restrictive intake/exhaust system. The 1993 model year V6 models had angular cable driven throttle body units that later changed in 1994 to multi-port fuel injection.







This was a recent flea market score that a vendor had in the cheap bin of death. Welly did a nice job with the overall lines and the glass is good. A bit of touch up paint for the headlight/tailights on a non black colored version and this would be a super nice model.

Car of the Day:September 25, 2011

The car for today is the ERTL 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator.




The Mercury Cougar is an automobile which was sold under the Mercury brand of the Ford Motor Company's Lincoln-Mercury Division from 1967 to 2002. The name was first used in 1967 and was carried by a diverse series of cars over the next three decades. As is common with Mercury vehicles, the Cougar shared basic platforms with Ford models. Originally this was the Mustang, but later versions of the Cougar were based on the Thunderbird, and the last was a version of the Contour/Mondeo. The Cougar was important to Mercury's image for many years, and advertising often identified its dealers as being "at the sign of the cat."[1] Female models holding big cats on leashes were used on Cougar ads in the early 1970s.[2] The car was assembled at the Dearborn Assembly Plant (DAP) (one of six plants within the Ford Rouge Center) in Dearborn, Michigan from 1967–73, at the San Jose Assembly Plant in Milpitas, California from 1968 into early 1969 and at the Lorain Assembly Plant (LAP) in Lorain, Ohio from 1974-97.






The third year of production, 1969, brought several new additions to the Cougar lineup. A convertible model was now available in either standard and XR-7 trim. These highly anticipated soft tops proved quite popular and today are considered, by many, among the most desirable of the '67-'70 production run. On the exterior, the grille switched from vertical bars to horizontal bars, and a spoiler and a Ram Air induction hood scoop were added as options. A new performance package appeared and several disappeared.

The Eliminator performance package appeared for the first time. A 351 in3 4-barrel V8 was standard under the hood, with the 390 4-barrel V8, the 428CJ and the Boss 302 available as an option. The Eliminator was the new top of the line performance model of the Cougar lineup. It also featured a blacked-out grille, special side stripes, front and rear spoilers, an optional Ram Air induction system, and a more performance-tuned suspension and handling package. It also came in a variety of vibrant colors like White, Bright Blue Metallic, Competition Orange, and Bright Yellow.




To learn more check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Cougar#First_generation_.281967.E2.80.931970.29 for additional info.







Scored this ERTL model for a couple of bucks during room trading of this year's Lightning Fest. It was still new in the blister and was too much of a value to pass up. Great to see opening hood and trunk and the detail on this one by even today's standards rocks.

Car Of The Day: September 24, 2011

Today's car of the day is Johnny Lightning's 1969 Dodge Charger.

The General Lee is the modified Dodge Charger driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. It is known for the chases and stunts, especially high jumps, in almost every episode, and for having the doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out through the windows. The car appears in every episode but one ("Mary Kaye's Baby"). The car's name is a reference to the Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and indeed the vehicle embodies the Southern United States, bearing as it does a Confederate naval jack on its roof and a horn which plays the melody from the first line of the song "Dixie".

The idea for the General Lee was developed from the famous bootlegger Jerry Rushing's car, which was named for Lee's favorite horse, Traveller. Traveller was also the name of the car in Moonrunners, the 1975 movie precursor to The Dukes of Hazzard.

For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: The General Lee

Perhaps the most iconic television/movie car of all time, it's hard to believe this is the first General Lee we've featured as Car Of The Day.

Although the estimated number of General Lees used varies from different sources, according to Ben Jones ("Cooter" in the show), as well as builders involved with the show, 256 General Lees were used to film the series. Others claim about 321 were used in the series. Approximately seventeen still exist in various states of repair. On average, more than one General Lee was used up per show. When filming a jump, anywhere from 500 to 1,000 pounds of sand bags or concrete ballast was placed in the trunk to prevent the car from nosing over. Later in the series the mechanics would raise the front end of the car to keep it from scraping against the ramp causing it to lose speed, thereby providing a cushion for the driver upon landing. Stunt drivers report enjoying the flights but hating the landings. Despite the ballast, the landing attitude of the car was somewhat unpredictable, resulting in moderate to extremely violent forces, depending on how it landed. On many of the jumps the cars bent upon impact. All cars used in large jumps were immediately retired due to structural damage.

From 1979 to 1985, 1968 and 1969 model-year Chargers were sourced and converted to General Lee specifications. Despite popular belief, no 1970 models were used, according to all builders involved over the years. Obtaining cars was not a problem until later years. By that time, the car was the star of the show and Warner Brothers moved building of the cars in house to keep the cars consistent in appearance. Later in the show's run, when it got too hard and/or expensive to continue procuring more Chargers, the producers started using more 'jump footage' from previous episodes. In the final season radio-controlled miniatures were occasionally used to the chagrin of several cast members.

Episodes 1 to 5 were filmed in the Georgia towns of Covington and Conyers in November and December 1978. Georgia episode cars consisted of 6 Dodge Chargers. The first General Lees were built by Warner Brothers (WB) and shipped to Georgia where John Marendi (picture car coordinator) labeled the first 3 cars LEE 1, LEE 2, and LEE 3 in no particular order for film editing purposes. LEE 1 was a 2nd unit car with a full roll cage. It is a 383 V8-powered 1969 Charger equipped with air conditioning (A/C). It was originally code T3 Light Bronze Metallic with tan interior, 3 speaker dash, and chrome rocker trim. After the now-famous jump over Rosco P. Coltrane's police cruiser by stuntman Craig Baxley, it was stripped of its front seats and 1969-specific grill and taillight panel. LEE 1 was used once more as the "Richard Petty" tire test car in the fourth episode Repo Men and afterwards was retired to a junkyard in Georgia, but later bought and restored. LEE 2 was also a 2nd unit car with a full roll cage and tan interior. It was used for the opening scene in One Armed Bandits. In this scene, Bo and Luke were chasing Rosco's police cruiser with the General after Cooter stole it; during this chase, LEE 2 is shown making a jump (the second that Baxley performed). LEE 3 was the first unit 1 close-up car and the first General Lee built by Warner Brothers; it's seen in the first publicity photos. It was originally a F5 Medium Green Metallic R/T SE (Special Edition) model. It was powered by a 440 Magnum V8,375hp(horsepower)3671 lb,and also had A/C with power windows and a wood grain dash. This car had a tan interior and a removable roll bar that allowed installation of a camera for in-car shots. This car was painted 1975 Corvette Flame Red with a special basecoat; the basecoat was used after they found LEE 1's paint appeared to be blotchy due to the direct application over factory paint. Eventually the first 3 General Lees started to show visible damage, so the crew had to start making more. The first General Lee built in Georgia was a 1968 Charger converted to look like a 1969; the tail light panel, front grill, and front seats taken from LEE 1 were used. The paint used on these cars was Chrysler code EV2 or "Hemi Orange". Interiors not originally tan were sprayed with SEM brand "Saddle tan" Vinyl dye. The first 3 Georgia Lees had a set of crossed flags (a Confederate flag and checkered flag) on the panel between the rear window and trunk lid. Although 4 sets were created, only 3 were used. They were discontinued due to the continuity of the General Lee graphics, making it one less thing to be used. The 3 surviving cars went back to California and had the crossed flags removed upon reconditioning. The wheels were generally 14X7 inch American Racing brand "Vectors" throughout the show and were mainly mounted on P235/70R14 B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires with the blackwall side facing out.