anybody watching? its car week on history channel thankful shark week is over,im enjoying every episode but i keep falling asleep before the shows end not the shows fault......
Very good series but I missed the end of the first show too. Then watched the early show for other two. Must be those boring commercials. I believe they are rerunning the series Sunday.
__________________
'68 Parisienne 2+2 Convertible Matador Red (Resale Red but not for sale).
Did anyone notice the background flaws? Like the carb they had for the Model T. Looked like a '60's Rochester. And Ford introducing the '28 Model A with a '31. And I'm not positive but was that a Buick John Delorean was street racing instead of a Pontiac. Still cool show.
__________________
'68 Parisienne 2+2 Convertible Matador Red (Resale Red but not for sale).
I have been watching it and i have also caught so many flaws. The biggest flaw being that none of the main players (Henry Ford, Louis Chevrolet, Dodge Brothers and Walter Chrysler) look, talk or act like the real men they are suppose to be. I enjoy the original film footage from back then and the comments from the "experts" though. The carb scene that was mentioned here had me laughing my head off when i saw it in the show, i mean really! I enjoy the cost comparison of the dollars then and now. I will keep on watching it and i enjoy catching mistakes.
__________________
1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six
1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
We don't have TV in the summer so I'm missing this. One of the guys at work said last night they showed where a GM employee showed up at work with a Ford flathead in his 55 Chevy to convince GM to put a V8 in their cars? However, we all know 55 Chevy already offered a small block, so did the show have it wrong, or did my co-worker get it wrong?
__________________
1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
We don't have TV in the summer so I'm missing this. One of the guys at work said last night they showed where a GM employee showed up at work with a Ford flathead in his 55 Chevy to convince GM to put a V8 in their cars? However, we all know 55 Chevy already offered a small block, so did the show have it wrong, or did my co-worker get it wrong?
Carl, i think your co worker had it very wrong. By 1953 the Chevy small block V-8 was already very worked out and it was to be released in the fall of 1954. Plus Chevrolet never had any interest in flat head design engines. Chevrolet along with Buick earlier were pioneers in the "valve in head" design. The flat head design was a pre historic dead design that many kept going for a while but GM showed the industry the way to modern engine thinking. It is interesting that Chevrolet as a low cost car was many miles ahead of other cars as far as the head design philosophy, as was Buick.
__________________
1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six
1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
I agree 100% with you George but did someone watch the show and see what they said? Did they actually present it this way? I can't imagine they got the history of the small block Chevrolet wrong. Clearly THE engine in North American automotive history.
__________________
1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
I watched all 3 episodes. I spent a good deal of my career in television, so watch through different eyes than the regular "Joe 6 Pack". The series gives the general idea of the evolution of the Big 3 and the going's on through the 20th century. Not sure how the present young NASCAR drivers qualify to make any comment, but certainly Mario Andretti would have had some access to how things were in the 60's etc. Production quality was a bit poor and had many technical miscue's, but they weren't making a big screen epic.
the car they showed with the ford flathead ...from the gm guy.....what the hell was that car looked like a desoto to me and deloreans car was a buick lesabre 63 or 4 great show educational for sure exploding pintos and shootin employees and ralf enjoying it
George , Chevrolet was having problems in the development of their small block in the valve train area and went to the Pontiac division and borrowed their rocker arm design to correct their problem. The Pontiac division did want Chevrolet using their design but the corporate leaders made Pontiac share it with Chevrolet and thus the small block was complete with a light weight independant rocker arm system. The original small block design had a rocker arm assembly similar to the ones used on our 261 six cylinders and was just too heavy for the high rpm the small engineers wanted .
We don't have TV in the summer so I'm missing this. One of the guys at work said last night they showed where a GM employee showed up at work with a Ford flathead in his 55 Chevy to convince GM to put a V8 in their cars? However, we all know 55 Chevy already offered a small block, so did the show have it wrong, or did my co-worker get it wrong?
I caught a bit of the show and historically it was terrible, History it was not.
While it was called a Chevy, I think the car your co worker saw was a 1955 Mercury Montclair with some custom touches.
It even had an OHV Engine with some kind of valve covers to make it look like a flathead!!
DeLoreans "GTO" was a Buick 4 dr H.T. complete with Nailhead.
I hope to record the episodes on Sunday to torture myself.
We don't have TV in the summer so I'm missing this. One of the guys at work said last night they showed where a GM employee showed up at work with a Ford flathead in his 55 Chevy to convince GM to put a V8 in their cars? However, we all know 55 Chevy already offered a small block, so did the show have it wrong, or did my co-worker get it wrong?
haha like ghl60 says that car was no gm good entertainment for car buffs
I'd give this series a 5 out of 10. Lots of crappy drama, info., and continuity problems.
I never knew to such an extent that Henry Ford the 1st. was an a-hole. No wonder I hate F**ds.
__________________
Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Not sure how the present young NASCAR drivers qualify to make any comment, but certainly Mario Andretti would have had some access to how things were in the 60's etc.
Yes, there are plenty of older racers and Big 3 corporate people still around. For the hot rodding sequence, they should of had a few of the old living customizers speaking.
I was also disappointed that it was pretty well all about the Big 3. It would have been nice to see Studes, Hudsons, etc. etc.
For a better history read a book.
__________________
Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
I had to laugh last night, when they credited the "Grand" Cherokee as the first sport utility.
The whole series seemed like it was as if Mc Donalds was doing the history of the potato.
Processed, salted and half backed
However it did have some good flavour to it
Great synopsis! The fast food of American car history.
I didn't know that Nissans were among the first wave of Japanese imports in the 1970's ... could of swore my older brother drove a Datsun.
__________________
Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Not sure how the present young NASCAR drivers qualify to make any comment, but certainly Mario Andretti would have had some access to how things were in the 60's etc.
Yes, there are plenty of older racers and Big 3 corporate people still around. For the hot rodding sequence, they should of had a few of the old living customizers speaking.
I was also disappointed that it was pretty well all about the Big 3. It would have been nice to see Studes, Hudsons, etc. etc.
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Henry Ford did give his people a 100% raise back in 1914, so they could afford to buy a Ford. I wonder if he would have moved his manufacturing to China so he could pocket more money?
__________________
63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
For the hot rodding sequence, they should of had a few of the old living customizers speaking.