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Barn Find! 1969 RS/SS 396 Big-Block Chevy Camaro Found After Almost 40 Years!
Barn finds are something we all dream about discovering, but few of us actually do. Today the term “barn find” refers to any really cool classic car that’s found stuffed away in some dusty corner, old field, or the like, so it doesn’t actually have to be a barn (although that is a pretty cool bonus). See all 19 photos This time around, the find in question is a pretty iconic ride, namely a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS big-block 396 (325 hp). This one was built at the Van Nuys, California, plant and originally sold by Bob Coyle Chevrolet in San Jose, California. The great news is this classic Camaro came with a ton of original documents, including the original Protect-o-Plate (a small metal or plastic plaque GM started including with cars in the ’60s to help tra...
The Bells Were Ringing Out for Kirsty MacColl
Once upon a time—hard times, as it were—in an unrelenting, kick-you-when-you’re-down New York City, a real-life couple were struggling and fighting and having a thoroughly shit time. According to “Fairytale of New York” co-writer Jem Finer, this relatable and timeless dynamic became the basis for what some might consider one of the most fantastic and few-and-far-between-year-round holiday hits of all time. Pogues lead-singer Shane MacGowan went to work on the lyrics, and a twisted, rollicking as-only-the-Pogues-could-do-it gorgeous-in-spite-of-itself fairytale was born. [embedded content] A band like the Pogues have managed to both define and defy tradition with insatiable poetry that includes: You’re an old slut on junk/ Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed/ You scumbag, yo...
Give the Gift of the Ultimate Japanese Project Car: A Barn-Find 1973 Nissan Skyline GT-R
Surprising your significant other with a new car payment on a Lexus this holiday season? Not cool, bud. If you’re going to make rash, irresponsible financial decisions, you gotta think bigger than some lame ES350 in Moonbeam Beige Metallic from a December to Remember—we suggest hopping on this heaping scoop of “rotisserie restoration” and “dealing with trans-Pacific international customs” and scooping up this barn-find 1973 Nissan Skyline GT-R currently for sale in Hokkaido, Japan. The sale was recently reported by The Drive and resurfaced a few months ago on Reddit. Look, I know you were all jazzed up about presenting your guy or gal with an anodyne mid-grade crossover lease complete with the big ol’ red bow, but don’t forget you can buy...
Five Cool Alternatives to the Iconic LS V-8 Engine Swap
The Chevy LS V-8 engine has become the de facto engine swap suggestion for anyone seeking to add power to their existing platform, regardless of where the original vehicle might have been built or how many cylinders it left the factory with. It’s easy enough to understand why: the LS V-8 is relatively compact thanks to its OHV design, aluminum construction helps keep the weight down, and so many people have done this swap that a vast wealth of experience is available to draw from when planning your own engine surgery. Still, the LS doesn’t have to be the go-to drop-in whenever you’re looking for more power. There are a number of other very popular swaps out there that have consistently crossed company lines to deliver reliable and fairly affordable horses, each ...
Why Fidelity…
Considering the hyperactive mind of the modern music listener, the 50 million songs in Spotify’s catalog and Amazon’s universe of subpar listening devices, can anyone tell which music medium sounds best anymore? What does “sounds best” even mean? While we’re at it, what the hell is sound? Glad you asked because there’s a whole lotta science in sound quality that may go in one ear and out the other, so to speak. Sound, as studious readers may know, is a vibration of the air particles around us, an energy which travels in waves that cause our eardrums to vibrate and us to experience noise, some of which we call music. Tape recorders preserve sound waves physically, using components that realign magnetic particles on tape to represent the wave’s loudness and rate of frequency vibration....
The Mercedes-Benz SL73 AMG and Its Huge V-12 Were Peak ’90s Excess
Mercedes-Benz’s V-12 engine isn’t dead yet despite regulatory predation and increasingly power-dense V-8 engines painting a bleak future. As the lights dim on the big 12, it is now built only by AMG’s technicians and is only available stateside in a single non-AMG model, the Mercedes-Maybach S650. Back in the 1990s, though, Benz’s V-12 was the new thing in town, and graced the priciest, most dignified versions of the S-Class sedan and coupe, as well as the SL convertible. See all 10 photos The 6.0-liter V-12—the same size as the current unit but lacking today’s pair of turbochargers and 2o-plus years of technological advancement—announced itself with a long, airplane-style starter whirring noise, a sophisticated exhaust thrum, and a set of bumper-sticker-sized...
Remember Isuzu? Its History Is *Much* Wilder Than You Think
When was the last time you thought about Isuzu? If you live in the U.S.A., it’s probably been quite a while since that Japanese automaker has crossed your mind given the last Isuzu passenger vehicle sold in America got its tags in 2009. Don’t worry, though—Isuzu is doing fine without us, as one of the largest suppliers of commercial diesel engines, trucks, and buses globally. Isuzu also still sells passenger trucks and SUVs in other markets. Even when it was still selling cars here, Isuzu wasn’t exactly the most exciting or evocative automaker—at least, not toward the end of its U.S. presence. While other Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Nissan made huge inroads in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Isuzu didn’t really start to pick up until the 1980s...
Radio Days
I had a conventional small town, Arkansas upbringing. My dad was a full-time poultry technician and part-time rancher who herded cattle on a motorcycle. It wasn’t even a dirt bike; he thought a bigger bike had a smoother ride. He felt the same way about cars – the bigger the better – and when I turned sixteen, he wrapped me in five thousand pounds of shiny, black metal, a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado, with a bullet-hole in the driver’s side door. He says he bought it that way, but I suspect he put it there as a warning for any reckless boys who thought about trying to hitch a ride. Summer afternoons, careening down the red dirt road to the lake, music blasting, bikini air-drying from the rearview mirror, in the Batmobile, I was invincible. For an old car, it sure had a great radio. It was ...
This 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Was Rescued from a Rusty Fate
There were no shortage of history-making events in 1971. The Apollo 14 astronauts landed on the moon, the war in Vietnam continued to rage on, Intel released the world’s first microprocessor, and Dirty Harry made his big screen debut. But none of it mattered all that much to Frank Kassel at the time. His attention was focused squarely on one thing: scoring his very first set of wheels, which turned out to be a 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T. “In the summer of ’71 I had just graduated high school,” Frank remembers, “and was working full time as a mechanic in a Cities Service gas station. My goal was to save enough money to buy my first car.” After working at the service station for a few months, Frank met a friend of his boss who happened to be a dealer of used, ...
27 Musicians Predict the 2020-21 NBA Season
If it feels like the most-recent NBA season just ended, well, it did. The strangeness of 2020 engulfed the association, but it led to one of the more innovative ideas of the COVID-era: the bubble. (Mostly) quarantined, teams competed with nary a hitch at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. The season ended in the fall instead of its customary June, but nevertheless, the NBA is back on Dec. 22. As usual, we enlisted our expert musician panel to preview what’s shaping up to be yet another unpredictable NBA season. Mark Lanegan Los Angeles Clippers CREDIT: Travis Keller What’s your prognosis for the season? Will they ever get over the hump?At this point, I’m slightly jaded as far as the Clips are concerned. I always go into the season optimistic and the same when they hit...
28 Musicians Predict the 2020-21 NBA Season
If it feels like the most-recent NBA season just ended, well, it did. The strangeness of 2020 engulfed the association, but it led to one of the more innovative ideas of the COVID-era: the bubble. (Mostly) quarantined, teams competed with nary a hitch at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. The season ended in the fall instead of its customary June, but nevertheless, the NBA is back on Dec. 22. As usual, we enlisted our expert musician panel to preview what’s shaping up to be yet another unpredictable NBA season. Mark Lanegan Los Angeles Clippers CREDIT: Travis Keller What’s your prognosis for the season? Will they ever get over the hump?At this point, I’m slightly jaded as far as the Clips are concerned. I always go into the season optimistic and the same when they hit...
Brad Nowell’s Family Keeps Hope Alive for Sublime Frontman’s Rehab Facility
Being the younger sibling of Sublime frontman Brad Nowell can be hard sometimes for Kellie Nowell, who never grew up wanting the spotlight. On his birthday and the anniversary of his death from an overdose in 1996, generations of fans mourn the loss of Long Beach’s influential frontman, but Kellie says she would opt to stay inside and keep her pain and sorrow to herself. “I think for about 15 years after he died, I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I didn’t want to hear music I didn’t want to, you know, just, I just couldn’t handle it,” she tells SPIN. As years went by, the love shown by fans allowed her to open up little by little as emails, Facebook messages and the desire for a tangible connection to Brad showed Kellie the importance of allowing herself to let people in for the sake of hon...
