Friday, February 28, 2025

1932 Ford Woody Wagon Maisto 1:64











The term 1932 Ford may refer to three models of automobile produced by Ford Motors between 1932 and 1934: the Model B, the Model 18, and the Model 40. These succeeded the Model A. The Model B had an updated four-cylinder engine and was available from 1932 to 1934. The V8 was available in the Model 18 in 1932, and in the Model 40 in 1933 & 1934. The 18 was the first Ford fitted with the flathead V-8. The company also replaced the Model AA truck with the Model BB, available with either the four- or eight-cylinder engine.
The three car models were replaced by the streamlined Model 48 in 1935 which used the same chassis as its predecessor. The 1937 Ford would be the last to use the old 1932 chassis until 1940 when the car line of Ford was completely redesigned.
Rather than just updating the Model A, Ford launched a completely new vehicle for 1932. The V8 was marketed as the Model 18 in its initial year, but was commonly known as the Ford V‑8. It had the new flathead V8 engine. The Model 18 was the first low-priced, mass-marketed car to have a V8 engine, an important milestone in the American automotive industry. The 221 cu in (3.6 L) V8 was rated at 65 horsepower (48 kW; 66 PS), but power increased significantly with improvements to the carburetor and ignition in succeeding years. The V8 was more popular than the four-cylinder, which was essentially a variant of the Model A engine with improvements to balancing and lubrication.

Friday, February 21, 2025

1980 Chevrolet El Camino SS Hot Wheels 1:64











The Chevrolet El Camino is a coupé utility vehicle that was produced by Chevrolet between 1959–60 and 1964–1987. Unlike a standard pickup truck, the El Camino was adapted from the standard two-door Chevrolet station wagon platform and integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body.
Introduced in the 1959 model year in response to the success of the Ford Ranchero coupé utility, its first run, based on the Biscayne's B-body, lasted only two years. Production resumed for the 1964–1977 model years based on the Chevelle platform, and continued for the 1978–1987 model years based on the GM G-body platform.
Although based on corresponding General Motors car lines, the vehicle is classified in the United States as a pickup. GMC's badge engineered El Camino variant, the Sprint, was introduced for the 1971 model year. Renamed Caballero in 1978, it was also produced through the 1987 model year.
The concept of a two-door vehicle based on a passenger car chassis with a tray at the rear began in the United States in the 1920s with the roadster utility (also called "roadster pickup" or "light delivery") models.
Ford Australia was the first company to produce a coupé utility as a result of a 1932 letter from the wife of a farmer in Victoria, Australia, asking for "a vehicle to go to church in on a Sunday and which can carry our pigs to market on Mondays". Ford designer Lew Bandt developed a suitable solution, and the first coupé utility model was released in 1934. Bandt went on to manage Ford's Advanced Design Department, being responsible for the body engineering of the XP, XT, XW, and XA series Ford Falcon utilities. General Motors’ Australian subsidiary Holden also produced a Chevrolet coupé utility in 1935, and Studebaker produced the Coupé Express from 1937 to 1939. The body style did not reappear on the American market until the release of the 1957 Ford Ranchero.
Both the coupé utility and the similar open-topped roadster utility continued in production, but the improving economy of the mid- to late-1930s and the desire for improved comfort saw coupé utility sales climb at the expense of the roadster utility until, by 1939, the latter was all but a fading memory.
In 1957, Ford introduced the Ranchero, and established a new market segment in the U.S. of an automobile platform based coupé utility. In 1959, Chevrolet responded with the El Camino to compete with Ford's full-sized Ranchero. The original El Camino and Ranchero would compete directly only in the 1959 model year.

Friday, February 14, 2025

1993 Volvo 240 Drift Wagon Hot Wheels 1:64











From Fandom:
The Volvo 200 Series is a series of mid-sized automobiles produced by Volvo from 1974 to 1993, split into the 240 and 260 Series. Designed by Jan Wilsgaard, the 240s were immensely popular, remaining in production for a decade longer than the 260s. Many features from the Volvo VESC concept car were implemented in this design. Despite its non-sporting image, the car successfully competed in various touring car series.
This casting depicts a Volvo 240 station wagon modified for drifting. Dogs can be seen in the rear.
From the back of the 2022 card:
Born: 1990, Sweden
Designer: Volvo
You'll be rolling the kids to school or the supermarket in style in this highly tuned Volvo. With a lowered stance and extreme fenders, it's a car the family can be proud of.

Friday, February 7, 2025

Morris Minor Saloon Matchbox 1:64











El Morris Minor fue un automóvil británico fabricado entre 1948 y 1971 en tres series sucesivas: el MM entre 1948 y 1953, la Serie II de 1952 a 1956 y finalmente el Minor-1000 de 1956 a 1971. Fue diseñado por Sir Alec Issigonis y muchas de sus características se consideraron revolucionarias. Se produjeron más de 1.3 millones de unidades.
En 1941, pese al esfuerzo de guerra en el que estaba involucrada la Nuffield Organization y a estar de hecho prohibida la producción de vehículos civiles de uso privado, el vicepresidente de Morris, Miles Thomas quiso preparar el terreno para los nuevos productos que habrían de lanzarse al finalizar la guerra. El ingeniero jefe Vic Oak ya había atraído la atención de Thomas hacia las avanzadas ideas del joven ingeniero Alec Issigonis, especializado en diseño de suspensiones pero interesado en el diseño general de los productos. Esta preocupación se había mostrado en particular durante el desarrollo del Morris Ten que contaba con carrocería monocasco y para el que había diseñado una suspensión delantera independiente por triángulos superpuestos y muelles como resorte junto con una dirección de cremallera, desechadas por cuestión de costes pero tan avanzadas que luego serían reutilizadas en el MG Y-type.
Con prácticamente todos los recursos dedicados al esfuerzo de guerra, Thomas aprobó el desarrollo de una familia de automóviles que sustituyeran al Morris Eight. Aunque nominalmente Oak estaba a cargo del proyecto, Issigonis fue el responsable final del diseño junto con únicamente dos proyectistas más, de modo que el proyecto bautizado 'Mosquito' por Thomas se mantuvo lo más en secreto posible tanto para Ministerio de Abastos como para el fundador Lord Nuffield, poco entusiasta de las ideas radicales del joven Issigonis.
La idea general de Issigonis era producir un coche práctico y económico que la población general pudiera permitirse y que igualara, cuando no superara el confort y diseño de los vehículos caros. Como el propio Issigonis resumiría en años posteriores respecto a su aproximación al nuevo modelo, él quería diseñar un automóvil económico que "al ciudadano medio le gustase poseer, en lugar de considerarlo una condena" y "la gente que conduce coches pequeños es del mismo tamaño que la que conduce los grandes y no cabe esperar que aguante los interiores claustrofóbicos". Issigonis quería un coche tan espacioso como fuera posible para su tamaño y que fuese agradable de conducir para conductores inexpertos. Igual que sucedería con el Mini años después, diseñó el Mosquito con un excelente comportamiento y una dirección rápida y precisa, sin ningún ánimo deportivo sino para hacer el coche seguro y fácil de conducir para cualquier conductor.