Hot Rods & Hobbies’ Scott Bonowski takes Jay for a ride in the woodie he restored for Eric Johnson.
Tag: Jay Leno’s Garage
1971 De Tomaso Pantera – Jay Leno’s Garage
1971 De Tomaso Pantera: Pantera expert Michael Drew visits the garage to go through what may be the most unappreciated and misunderstood supercar of the 1970s.
Of all the cars that have driven through Jay Leno’s Garage, the most recent episode of the show has an ominous start when he calls his 1971 De Tomaso Pantera the most misunderstood, undervalued supercars of the 1970s. To give us more insight behind this Italian-American supercar, Jay welcomes the editor for Pantera Club Magazine, Mike Drew.
Jay calls the Pantera undervalued since most supercars from the 1970s are selling well into the six-figure price range, while he says that you can still buy a decent Pantera for around $25,000. As for owning a Pantera, it is quite surprising to learn some of the intricacies of this car, including the fact that stock, unmolested examples are less desirable than those that have had “sensible modifications.” There also seems to be a plentiful ownership community for the Pantera along the same lines as Porsche and Corvette.
In talking with Drew, Leno points out that the Pantera was the first mid-engine street car by an American automaker, which of course doesn’t take into account the Pantera was made in Italy or that the Ford GT40 was produced in street-legal versions in extremely limited numbers. The Pantera was definitely an odd mix even for today with 5,244 Panteras imported to the U.S. from 1971 to 1974, and all were powered by a Ford 351 Cleveland V-8 and sold at Lincoln-Mercury dealers.
After a fairly extensive walk around and discussion about the Pantera with Drew, Leno finally takes his car out for a spin where its true beauty is revealed. The powerful V-8 rumbles to life behind the passenger compartment, and Drew says that the car featured special tuning that combined some of the best exhaust notes the U.S. and Italy offered at the time.
It doesn’t look especially comfortable to drive a De Tomaso Pantera, but it is hard to ignore the car’s beauty or the place it holds in automotive history. Check out the full episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, whcih gives plenty of information on both.
Tim Allen’s 1968 Camaro 427 COPO – Jay Leno’s Garage
In this video, Jay Leno welcomes Tim Allen to his garage, and Tim revisits old memories and shares what inspired him to choose his 1968 COPO Camaro.
Enjoy!
As huge fans of first-generation F-bodies, it should come as no surprise that we’re ecstatic to hear Tim Allen is the owner of a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 427ci COPO. We reported a few months back about Classic Industries’ project car for Allen, which displayed at the 2013 SEMA show. Today, we’re here telling you just how impressive the end result turned out. On an episode of “Jay’s Garage,” we get the opportunity to see the COPO in action on the winding roads of Southern California with Allen and Leno. With the windows down, rowing gears, on a typical So Cal day, we see the car in action.
Of course, Allen is no stranger to the automotive world and carries a serious list of currently and previously owned vehicles that would make any aficionado green with envy. His vision for this particular 1968 Camaro was influenced by days racing on Woodward Ave. in Detroit, Michigan and so it was vitally important to get the look just right. Thankfully, with the help of OER restoration parts, the Classic Industries team along with Allen prepped this Camaro with period correct bumpers, window glass, and ever the rear lamp lenses and bezels to solidify the look. What’s more, the fenders were flared and the drip rails were even shaved for that clean and neat appeal with an aggressive stance.
1972 Mercedes-Benz 600 Kompressor – Jay Leno’s Garage
Jay takes you for a ride in his very favorite car, a three-ton bespoke beauty meticulously restored by Karl Middelhauve.
Of all the cars in his garage, you’d think Jay Leno would struggle to choose a favorite – not quite. On this episode, Jay takes us for a ride in his #1: the 1972 Mercedes-Benz 600 Kompressor. Restored by Karl Middelhauve, it’s no surprise that this Kompressor has a little something extra.
1932 Ford Highboy Roadster – Jay Leno’s Garage
Bruce Meyer’s Highboy was the first actual hot rod to grace the cover of Hot Rod Magazine – and now it’s immortalized on a Forever Postal Stamp!
At the turn of the century, it was arguably the Honda Civic that best defined inexpensive performance tuning, and in the ’50s it was the Tri-5 Chevys. One of the earliest platforms to gain a huge following among young people looking for a cheap way to go fast was the classic ’32 Ford Highboy Roadster. This week, Jay Leno’s Garage looks at one of the very first vehicles that defined the look of the hot rod heyday.
This ’32 Ford was built in the ’40s and graced the cover of the fourth issue of Hot Rod Magazine back in 1948. All of the hot rods that you see shining at car shows today owe a serious debt of gratitude to this roadster. It bears all of the cues that define the look, including a notched frame and hidden door hinges. Under the three-piece hood is a flathead V8 boasting all sorts of period modifications, including copper cylinder heads. It was seriously fast in its era too, and proved it by reaching 112.21 miles per hour on a dry lakebed in 1947.
These days, this hot rod is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Although, if you can’t make it to California to see it, the United States Postal Service is celebrating this Ford with one of its two hot rod Forever stamps. Like Jay says in the video, in terms of hot rodding, “it all comes back to this.” Check out the video to learn more about this rolling piece of tuning history.
Load More