People don't know what's under their hood.

[Number_35]

I don't think I have that book, but I do have a book which is a collection of short stories, and this one is in it. Good read, I should go find that book and read it again.

"52 Miles To Terror" was a mass-market paperback, I think issued by TAB or SBS.

It also included a car-related time-travel story by Jack Finney. It intrigued me enough that I bought Finney's "The Third Level and other stories", which turned out to be a really good read.

Coincidentally enough, I'm slowly skimming through the old LIFE magazines which Google has scanned and uploaded. One issue from mid-1954 featured Bill Mauldin's account of becoming a private pilot and flying recreationally around the country.

 

[Duffyjr]

Why is the gas handle green?
I could see that happening. Every pump I have see has the diesel as a green handle.

My question is why aren't they red and yellow to follow the jerry can colors/laws?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

You're not a tru car nut until you can rattle off an engine code. Guys even did this in the 60s and 70s. It's neat when you can say yes it's a 2jzgte Toyota Supra mkIV) or an sr20det (JDM Nissan 2or a vk38ddtt ( R35 Nissan GT-R)

No that is Millennial and or Yuppie garbage! Blow up that JDM junk

 

[97prizm]

Didn't people go by Chevy RPO codes? LS6 comes to mind.

Yeah. Ls3 LS4 LT5 (C7 ZR1)

 

[andyd]

My Camrys are I-4s IIRC 2.5L. I think it has electric steering. By the time I get the rassen frassen oil filter changed, my curiosity has passed. I knew all sorts of minutiae about my E-28s. I have no passion for the Camrys whatsoever. No more than the washing machine which I use on cold water and use a rack to dry.

 

[hank2]

This reminds me ...

When I was a car-crazy 17-year-old who knew nothing about how cars worked, I had this old used paperback book of short car stories called "52 Miles To Terror".

One of the stories was by Bill Mauldin, the famous WW2 cartoonist, whose Willie and Joe cartoons were featured in Stars and Stripes.

The story was set in Korea, during the Korean war. A young soldier is assigned to the motor pool. He was a hot-rodder in civilian life, and a crackerjack mechanic, and is assigned to be the General's driver.

He finds a wrecked Packard, and working after hours transplants it into the General's Jeep.

A stuffy officer, perhaps the General's aide, suspects something is up and asks the young mechanic to lift the hood.

With fear and trepidation, the young mechanic does so, thinking he'll be found out and thrown into lock-up.

The stuffy aide turns out to be mechanically challenged; he looks at the shiny V8, and declares all to appear to be in order.

The general of course loves his Jeep after the "tune-up", and insists on driving it himself, so the enterprising young mechanic doesn't get to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

Anyway, the point is that with embarrassment I realized that nor would I have had a clue about how to tell a V8 from an inline 4.

Decades later I've picked up a bit of mechanical skill and a lot of tools, and can usually figure out what's under the hood.

Great story. I read a very similar tale, likely back in the 60's. It was in a compilation of hot rodding tales. The Korean war tale that I read had the guy who was a staff officer's driver, remove a V8 from war damaged staff car and install it the General's jeep. To be picky, it wouldn't have been a Packard V8, which didn't exist until 1955 I believe. Likely a Caddy ohv. At some point he and the General are travelling in the hot-rodded Jeep and come under mortar fire from several points. The enemy is said to know the max speed of the Jeep, but this Jeep can hit a much higher top end. So, the mortar rounds are falling behind them. Hot rodding saves the day. I'm not so sure how much higher the V8 engine would spin compared to the 4-cylinder flathead? Maybe 1k higher rpm with the very low gearing of the Jeep. Perhaps he used the Caddy trans and made it a RWD only?

 

[hank2]

From back when engine geeking was almost a given commodity. I had the pleasure of winning a beer bet or three by challenging Chevy fans to name every displacement that the original small block Chevy V8 had been produced in. I believe there were ten. A couple of neophytes would miss the original production 265 or the 302. But nearly all would miss the fairly short lived 262 and/or 267.

 

[Number_35]

Great story. I read a very similar tale, likely back in the 60's. It was in a compilation of hot rodding tales. The Korean war tale that I read had the guy who was a staff officer's driver, remove a V8 from war damaged staff car and install it the General's jeep. To be picky, it wouldn't have been a Packard V8, which didn't exist until 1955 I believe. Likely a Caddy ohv. At some point he and the General are travelling in the hot-rodded Jeep and come under mortar fire from several points. The enemy is said to know the max speed of the Jeep, but this Jeep can hit a much higher top end. So, the mortar rounds are falling behind them. Hot rodding saves the day. I'm not so sure how much higher the V8 engine would spin compared to the 4-cylinder flathead? Maybe 1k higher rpm with the very low gearing of the Jeep. Perhaps he used the Caddy trans and made it a RWD only?

It's almost certainly the same story - my memory of it is a bit fuzzy. I had Packard in my mind, but it certainly could have been a Caddy.

Now I need to find that book!

 

[alarmguy]

I suspect many dont care what is under the hood on the higher end automobiles simply because its less critical than when you buy a mid to lower end vehicle.
More or less, someone not in "tune" with engine types and designs doesnt think about what power is under the hood because the higher end car is going to perform very well no matter what and most likely exceed anything they need.
The mid to lower price tiers not so much so.

WIth that said automobiles are becoming a disposable and EVs will make that even more so. People buy what they like, use it, then get rid of it. Not as much pride in ownership or working hard for something material like a car except for the first 6 months of owning a new one.

 

[Number_35]

From back when engine geeking was almost a given commodity. I had the pleasure of winning a beer bet or three by challenging Chevy fans to name every displacement that the original small block Chevy V8 had been produced in. I believe there were ten. A couple of neophytes would miss the original production 265 or the 302. But nearly all would miss the fairly short lived 262 and/or 267.

Let's see how I do without cheating (and thanks for naming the 262 and 267 - they're easy to forget).

262
267
265
283
302
305*
307
327
350**
400

* Basis for the 3.8 V6

** Basis for the 4.3 V6

As I recall, the 262 and 267 were used for a short time in the mid-'70s. Was one of them used in the Monza?

The 302 was high-compression (11:1?) and offered in the '69 Camaro, right? Its bore and stroke (4.000 x 3.000) are the same as Ford's original 302.

Although it wasn't a factory small block, the 383 stroker was a 350 bored 0.030" over and fitted with a 400 crank. Not to be confused with the Mopar 383.

There's one more odd one that may or may not have ever been built. I saw an article about a weird GM concept car of the late '50s - sort of a spaceship minivan thing. It was to have been equipped with a 287 V8.

I think that would have been the result of using the 265 block (3.75" bore) and 327 crank (3.25" stroke). But did they ever actually build one?

 

[Astro14]

This reminds me ...

When I was a car-crazy 17-year-old who knew nothing about how cars worked, I had this old used paperback book of short car stories called "52 Miles To Terror".

One of the stories was by Bill Mauldin, the famous WW2 cartoonist, whose Willie and Joe cartoons were featured in Stars and Stripes.

The story was set in Korea, during the Korean war. A young soldier is assigned to the motor pool. He was a hot-rodder in civilian life, and a crackerjack mechanic, and is assigned to be the General's driver.

He finds a wrecked Packard, and working after hours transplants it into the General's Jeep.

A stuffy officer, perhaps the General's aide, suspects something is up and asks the young mechanic to lift the hood.

With fear and trepidation, the young mechanic does so, thinking he'll be found out and thrown into lock-up.

The stuffy aide turns out to be mechanically challenged; he looks at the shiny V8, and declares all to appear to be in order.

The general of course loves his Jeep after the "tune-up", and insists on driving it himself, so the enterprising young mechanic doesn't get to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

Anyway, the point is that with embarrassment I realized that nor would I have had a clue about how to tell a V8 from an inline 4.

Decades later I've picked up a bit of mechanical skill and a lot of tools, and can usually figure out what's under the hood.

Great story. Can’t be true as told.

Packard‘s first V-8 was built in 1955, long after the war.

During the war, Packard eights were in line engines, no chance, and I mean no chance, of a straight eight fitting in a Jeep.

A Packard six, from the late 30s, to early 40s, would have about double the power of the original Jeep engine, so, perhaps that happened but it would still be a tight fit, and I wonder about the bell housing compatibility. He would have to be one genius of a shade tree mechanic…

 

[supton]

Great story. Can’t be true as told.

Packard‘s first V-8 was built in 1955, long after the war.

During the war, Packard eights were in line engines, no chance, and I mean no chance, of a straight eight fitting in a Jeep.

A Packard six, from the late 30s, to early 40s, would have about double the power of the original Jeep engine, so, perhaps that happened but it would still be a tight fit, and I wonder about the bell housing compatibility. He would have to be one genius of a shade tree mechanic…

I’m still trying to find my copy. But I remember it as a Ford flathead.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Didn't people go by Chevy RPO codes? LS6 comes to mind.

The LS6 was a 450 hp 454 Chevy BB that debuted in the 1970 Chevelle. It was an option for the Corvette, but I believe none were actually sold that year.
I had a red 70 Corvette Coupe with a transplanted LS6, engine pad stamp was CRR which was the LS6 with Turbo 400 transmission.
Rectangular port heads, Holley vacuum secondary carb, aluminum intake. The car had Hedman headers. 4 mpg.

 

[ZeeOSix]

LS6 was also the RPO for the 5.7L V8 in the C5 Z06.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gm-engines/gm-5-7-liter-v8-small-block-ls6-engine/

 

[Owen Lucas]

How can you know what's under your hood when everything is covered in plastic cladding that takes 10 minutes to remove so you can change a battery or see a single engine component beside an oil cap?

 

[supton]

How can you know what's under your hood when everything is covered in plastic cladding that takes 10 minutes to remove so you can change a battery or see a single engine component beside an oil cap?

Well, it is often written in the manual, or bantered about on the web.

Plus I’m not sure I have seen an engine that had its model printed on it… maybe some performance mills? but I think many have engine code on a sticker on the hood.

 

[Number_35]

Great story. Can’t be true as told.

Packard‘s first V-8 was built in 1955, long after the war.

During the war, Packard eights were in line engines, no chance, and I mean no chance, of a straight eight fitting in a Jeep.

A Packard six, from the late 30s, to early 40s, would have about double the power of the original Jeep engine, so, perhaps that happened but it would still be a tight fit, and I wonder about the bell housing compatibility. He would have to be one genius of a shade tree mechanic…

It was presented as humorous fiction - I hope it was at least based on a true story, but who knows? Unfortunately Bill Mauldin is long gone.

I shouldn't have said Packard as fact - it was some sort of exotic (to the young me) V8, and would have been around in the early '50s.

Now I really need to find that book again!

Per the first review here, Mauldin's story was called "The Affair of the Wayward Jeep".

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4924397-52-miles-to-terror

Here's a discussion about the topic -

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rodded-ww2-jeeps-or-staff-cars.387474/

And here's the first page only of the story -

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/1953_06_27-035/

Unfortunately, the donor car is not identified as to make here, although it may be the "enemy staff car" mentioned.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Well, do you know what kind of chip is in your computer (Ryzen 7 5800X), laptop (people still bother with laptops?), smartphone (Apple a13)? Or what kind of memory it uses (DDR4 3600mHz for desktop, and stuff Apple charges about 8x the going rate for )?
Do you know what type of rubber your shoes soles are made of (yes, shoe rubber lol)?

Couldn’t resist.

 

[callbay]

I sold used cars for about six months years ago and not one single person ever opened the hood to look at anything or even check to see if anyone had ever changed the oil. I sold five or so a week so it was quite a few cars.

I once looked at a used chevy coupe and when I opened the hood to check the oil etc. it looked like it had never been changed. The owner though I was nuts for checking.

 

[hank2]

Let's see how I do without cheating (and thanks for naming the 262 and 267 - they're easy to forget).

262
267
265
283
302
305*
307
327
350**
400

* Basis for the 3.8 V6

** Basis for the 4.3 V6

As I recall, the 262 and 267 were used for a short time in the mid-'70s. Was one of them used in the Monza?

The 302 was high-compression (11:1?) and offered in the '69 Camaro, right? Its bore and stroke (4.000 x 3.000) are the same as Ford's original 302.

Although it wasn't a factory small block, the 383 stroker was a 350 bored 0.030" over and fitted with a 400 crank. Not to be confused with the Mopar 383.

There's one more odd one that may or may not have ever been built. I saw an article about a weird GM concept car of the late '50s - sort of a spaceship minivan thing. It was to have been equipped with a 287 V8.

I think that would have been the result of using the 265 block (3.75" bore) and 327 crank (3.25" stroke). But did they ever actually build one?

I'm not a Chevy guy, but the I think that the 262 lasted a few years in the late 70's. I believe that appeared in the Monza. The 267 came shortly afterwards and was used in Camaro's and some others. Smallest bore of any version with a 350 crankshaft. I believe emissions troubles killed both of them.

Yes, the 302 was the engine of the Z-28 Camaro. I seem to recall that it was a homologation engine to allow GM to compete in the very popular Trans Am racing of the time. Perhaps a 305 ci. displacement limit? Chrysler cooked up a 305 ci. version of their 340 six-pack engine for the same purpose. I'm not sure if Chrysler ever sold any of them to the public, however. The common BS of the time was that Chevrolet had so many unused 327 crankshafts and 283 blocks that they created the 307 for base V8 applications.