At the start of the United States' participation in World War II, a squadron of two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and six Lockheed P-38 Lighting fighters were forced to make an emergency landing in the ice fields of Greenland due to bad weather. The crews were rescued nine days after the incident, however, the eight planes were entombed in the ice and snow that accumulated in the ensuing decades.
In 1992, the Greenland Expedition Society extracted from the ice the Glacier Girl, one of the P-38s. Pat Epps and Richard Taylor led seven expeditions over 11 years to Greenland. They took all kinds of aircraft just to get to Greenland. They found the Glacier Girl 260 feet under the solid ice. Surviving snowstorms and the arctic wind, they were able to bring the plane up piece by piece.
The Glacier Girl was transported to Middlesboro, Kentucky, in sections. There, it was reassembled and restored to flying condition. Glacier Girl took to the skies once again in October 2002. Now, the plane appears in various shows around the country.
The Charger is one of the most recognized classic muscle cars ever, thanks to a bright orange 1969 Charger from the 1980's TV show The Dukes of Hazzard. This Charger is on top of everyone's list of best Classic American Muscle Cars. This classic car inspires many emotions when people see it passing by. The Charger is a midsize rear-wheel-drive 2 door hardtop. The RT models hit the showrooms in 1968. However, the golden year was 1969 for the Chargers. This rise was caused by the introduction of the Charger 500 and the Charger Daytona.
Dodge wanted to compete with the Ford Torino and Ford Talladega models in the NASCAR circuits, so Dodge produced the Charger 500, a limited-edition. The first prototype Charger 500 was a 1968 Charger R/T, with a 426 Hemi under the hood. 89,200 standard 1969 Charger were made, of which only 500 were the special Charger 500. Most of the Chargers came standard with the 440 Magnum engine with the 426 Hemi engine as an upgrade option.
1971 was the end of the Charger 500. Government regulations about emissions and the beginning of the declining sales for the muscle cars industry contributed to the Charger 500 being dropped.
The 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona was the first to break the 200 mph barrier making it one of the most essential cars in NASCAR history. Goodyear and Firestone were NASCAR tire suppliers and both announced, at the time, they could not supply tires capable of safely withstanding the speeds of the Dodge Charger Daytona. This model had a wild look. This, combined with its race-dominating speed, made the car one of the most controversial NASCAR competitors of its age. Nevertheless, either loving the car's look or hating it, many people agree on the car's look being entirely unique.
Today, some 1969 Chargers have been modified. Some may not have the same engine as the car initially had. An example is this R/T SE, it has all these specs:
Real ’69 Charger R/T SE (see the car’s factory build sheet in the gallery below)
440 Magnum V8 bored and stroked to over 500ci
500+ horsepower at the crank
FiTech electronic fuel injection
Indy aluminum cylinder heads
MSD Ignition
TTI ceramic coated headers
Dual 3 inch exhaust with x-pipe and electric cutouts
Dynomax mufflers
Eddie Motorsports billet polished front accessory drive
Eddie Motorsports billet polished hood hinges
Silver Sport Transmissions (SST) Tremec TKO 5 speed transmission and hydraulic clutch
Pistol Grip Shifter
Aluminum Driveshaft
Mopar 8 3/4 rear end w/ 3.73 gears
Dakota Digital gauges
Classic Air A/C
Leather/suede interior with custom console
Alpine stereo with Kicker speakers, amp, and subwoofer
Power tinted windows
3-inch rear wheel well tub
American Racing Torque Thrust Wheels
Wilwood 4 wheel disc brakes and master cylinder
Magnumforce front K-member suspension with coil-overs
4 link coil-over rear suspension and rack and pinion steering
A problem a person may come across is finding the parts for a car or a motorcycle. There are many rebuild services or engine reconditioning services. However, these are just agents who will take a person's parts in, deliver the part to a reconditioning service, collect the parts or have them delivered back, and then charge for their service. They are just a go-between. It is preferable to save money, time, and headaches.
For anyone's assistance, announcing the essential Automotive Restorers Guide. A guide for every veteran, vintage, classic, and custom car and motorcycle restorer, amateur or professional. This guide lists many quality proven companies to help with carrying out parts restoration and rebuilding services. The guide has a description of each company along with the address, telephone number, and website address.
