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A classic car restoration forum for folks that like to show off their car skills (Ford, Chevy, Mopar, AMC). Trucks, vans & bikes (even ricers) are also welcome here.
Posts : 125 Join date : 2010-03-09 Age : 60 Location : Out There
Subject: Some Boat Pics from the Car Show I Went To Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:33 pm
The wooden cigarette boat that is hooked up to the F-100 is the "Miss America IX". It was built in 1931 and originally had twin Packard V-12 engines in it. It was driven by Gar Wood in March, 1931, to become the first powerboat to be officially clocked at over 100 MPH.
It was just a shell when the current owner bought it. He installed twin Chevy 454s and one actually spins the opposite direction to control the torque on the boat. The exhaust manifolds were custom built to lower the pitch of the exhaust to give the engines a sound closer to the original Packards.
The darker wood is the original Phillipine mahogany, but the lighter wood is replacement Michigan pine. Everything is covered by 15 coats of varnish. I talked to the owner for about 20 minutes and he had just as much pride in it as we do about our cars. Really nice guy. I think he may have done most of the work himself.
Unfortunately the boats were packed in together pretty tightly and I couldn't get a decent side shot.