EE- Jeep History Part 2

The successor to the CJ is the Wrangler. It has been in production from 1987 to now. There were three different names that the Wranglers go by. From 1987 to 1995, they were known as the “YJ”, from 1997 to 2006 they were called the “TJ”, and from 2007 to now they are called the “JK”. The YJ’s and TJ’s had two body options: a 2 door convertible or as a regular 2 door SUV. The YJ had three engine options, two 6 cylinder engines or one 4 cylinder engine. They came with options two three speed automatic or three five speed manual transmissions. There were two different editions of the YJ: the Renegade and the Islander. The TJ had the opposite engine options. It came with the option of two four cylinder engines or one six cylinder option. There were also three new transmissions added to the lineup to give the TJ eight different options. These three new additions include a four speed automatic, another five speed manual and a six speed manual. The TJ came with several different trim levels. A few of these include the SE, X, Sahara, and Rubicon. The TJ had one special edition. This was called the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. The Jeep JK is the current vehicle on the market. The JK come with three different engine options. These include a four cylinder diesel engine and two v6 engines. Also there is an electric model out on the market. The JK also comes with four different transmissions. These include a four speed automatic, two five speed automatics, and a six speed manual. The JK has four body options: a 2 door convertible, 2 door SUV, 4 door convertible, or as a 4 door SUV. The 2door body styles come in three model options: X, Sahara, and Rubicon. The 4 door body style comes in Unlimited, X, Sahara, and Rubicon. The Jeep is just one those vehicles that most people can be happy and have fun with.

EE- Jeep History Part 1

When I think of a vehicle that can go anywhere, a vehicle that has its own class. One that just screams fun, I think of the Jeep. The Jeep is one of those vehicles that you can modify to your liking. You can do small things to it like taking the top and doors off. You can do major modifications to it like a lift kit, bigger tires and you can even add a small 4bt engine, a four cylinder diesel engine produced by Cummins, to it and turn it into an awesome swamp buggy. It originated from the World War 2 military vehicle the “Willy’s Jeep”. The modern era Jeep is the Jeep Wrangler. The predecessor to the Wrangler is the CJ or “Civilian Jeep”. These were produced from 1944 to 1986. There were thirteen different types of CJ’s. Up until the CJ 5, 1944-1954, the Jeeps had a 4 cylinder engine and a 3 speed manual transmission. When the CJ 5 came out, it had the option of 3 4 cylinder engines, 3 6 cylinder engines, and a v8 engine option. It also had the choice of a 3 speed or a 4 speed manual transmission. When the CJ 7 came out in 1976, one of the 6 cylinder engines was dropped from the lineup. A new transmission option was added. This was a three speed. In 1981 the CJ 8 was out on the market. It was known as the Jeep “Scrambler”. It had a pickup truck styled body. The CJ 10 came out it in 1981 also. It only had the choice of a 4 cylinder engine or 2 6 cylinder engines. It only had two transmission options: a 3 speed automatic or a 4 speed manual. The CJ 10 like the CJ 8 had a pickup truck styled body. The CJ’s are the classic Jeeps that many people want to collect.

CC-El Camino

One of the weirdest vehicles that came in to production has got to be Chevy’s El Camino. It came in to production in 1959. The El Camino is a car and truck mix. Its front end was a car while the rear end was a truck bed. It was based off of Chevy’s Impala platform. The El Camino was in production from 1959 to 1960. Then Chevy discontinued it for four years. Then in 1964, it was put back in production. This time it was based off of one of Chevy’s well known muscle cars, the Chevelle. Even though it was based off of the Chevelle, it didn’t have the high performance engine options that the Chevelle had. The 1964 El Camino had three engine options. The first two were 283 v8’s. One produced 195 horsepower while the other produced 220 horsepower. The third was a 327 v8 that produced 250 horsepower. The 1965 model had two new engines added to the lineup. They both were 327 v8’s. One made 300 horsepower while the other pumped out 350 horsepower. In 1967 the El Camino only had two engines in the lineup. They were both the new 396 v8’s. One made 325 horsepower while the other made 350 horsepower. In 1968, a 375 horsepower version of the 396 v8 was added to the lineup. The lineup of these three engines lasted until 1970. In 1970 there were completely new engine options. These options were the 350 v8 that made 300 horsepower, two 402 v8’s that made 350 horsepower and 375 horsepower, and two 454 v8’s that made 360 horsepower and 450 horsepower. In 1971 the 1970 engine options dropped in horsepower, but still produced a decent amount. Then they were decreased again. Only the 454 v8’s produced a decent enough amount of horsepower. By 1973, the El Camino was on the decline and would eventually end. The El Camino was one of the weirdest vehicles created and lasted an impression on the people of the muscle car age.

CC-Chevy Camaro

Due to the Ford Mustang, Chevy decided release its own muscle car. In 1967, the Chevy Camaro’s first generation was released until 1969. It had eight engine options. Two of which were 6 cylinders. There are four engines in the lineup that are worth mentioning. They include the Z-28, the 350 and the 396. The Z-28 was a special option that came with the Camaro. It made a racing model pretty much. It’s one of Chevy’s most famous Camaro option. The Z-28 engine was a modified 302 v8 that produced 290 horsepower. The next engine is the 350 v8. There were actually two produced, a base model and the SS (Super Sport) model. The base model produced 250 horsepower. The SS model produced 295 horsepower. The final engine is the 396 v8. There were two different options. Both were SS models. One produced 325 horsepower and the other produced 375 horsepower. In 1968 a third 396 v8 was added. It produced 350 horsepower. In 1969 two new engines were added to the lineup. Both of them were 427 v8’s. One produced 425 horsepower and the other produced 430 horsepower. The second generation Camaro lasted from 1970 to 1981. One of the biggest changes happened in the beginning of the second generation. The Z-28 size was bumped up to a 350 v8 that made 350 horsepower. Also the first Z-28 that had an automatic transmission was offered in the beginning of the second generation. From 1971 to 1973, the amount of horsepower was decreased on all of the Camaro’s engine options. In 1973, the Z28 was the only engine that was built for performance that the Camaro had. In 1975 the Z28 was dropped from the lineup and all the Camaro had was underpowered engines. The engines included a 250 6 cylinder that made 105 horsepower, and two 350 v8’s that ranged in power from 145 horsepower to 155 horsepower. The Z28 came back in 1977. It only made 185 horsepower. The Camaros remained underpowered until the third generation. The horsepower started to pick up in 1988/1989. Eventually the Camaro would be dropped from production in 2002. Then it would comeback in 2010 with more power and better equipped than the original cars. The Camaro is one of Chevy’s most recognizable sports cars alongside the Corvette.

AA- Ford Thunderbird

I’m more of a truck guy. When I look at Fords, I look mainly at their trucks. When I look at the history of Ford, I look at the history of their truck lineups. But there is one Ford vehicle that is not a truck, but sticks out in my mind. It is the Ford Thunderbird or “T-Bird”. It sticks out in my mind because it was one of my uncle’s favorite cars. The T-Bird began in production in 1955. Ford wanted to compete with Chevy and its Corvette. The 1955 and 1956 T-Birds were only available in a two seat option convertible option. The 1955 T-Birds came with two engine options. Both were 292 cubic inch v8’s. One produced 193 horsepower. The other produced 212 horsepower. The 1956 year model received a third option to go with the 292 v8’s. It was 312 cubic inch v8 that produced 215 horsepower. The 1957 T-Bird was the last to be offered as a two seat vehicle. Ford added three new engines to its lineup. All three of them were new variations of the 312 cubic inch v8. One produced 270 horsepower, one produced 300 horsepower and one produced 340 horsepower. The 1958 T-Birds marked the beginning of the second generation of T-Birds and the beginning of T-Birds with four seats. Ford offered one engine. This was the new 352 cubic inch v8 which produced 300 horsepower. In 1959 Ford offered a new engine option to the lineup. It was the Lincoln 430 cubic inch v8 that produced 350 horsepower. Nothing much was added in 1960. Just a version called the “Golden Edition”. It was a golden colored hard top. Also, the U.S.’s first powered sliding sunroof was offered with these vehicles.1961 marked the beginning of the third generation of T-Birds. There was only one engine option in the 1961 model. It was a 390 cubic inch v8 that made 300 horsepower. In 1962, there was a “Roadster” model. This was a reintroduction of the two seat T-Birds. There was a second engine option. It was a high performance version of the 390. It produced 340 horsepower. The T-Bird was 1963 had no new options or upgrades to it. The T-Birds from 1967 to 1976 were built to be large. It would stay in production for another 29 years. The T-Bird is one of the few Ford cars that sticks out in my mind. It is also my favorite Ford car.

AA- Pontiac GTO

One of America’s original muscle cars is the Pontiac GTO. Pontiac is owned by GM. The Pontiac GTO emerged when they decided to take a car named the Tempest and drop a powerful engine in it, put on a dual exhaust and gave it sportier tires. The GTO first game out in 1964. The engine options included a 389 v8 which produced 325 horsepower and a 389 v8 with three two barrel carburetors that made 348 horsepower. In 1965 Pontiac came out with a Ram Air 389 v8 that made 360 horsepower. What this did was bring more air in to engine to create more horsepower. The headlight design was changed to. The design was changed from the two lights on each side being side by side to being on top of each other. In 1966 Pontiac reached a record high in sales when they sold close to 97,000 GTO’s. This is the highest for a muscle car. Due to emission standards, GM banned the three two barrel carburetor 389. In 1967, Pontiac got rid of the 389 engines and came out with 3 versions of the v8 400 engine. Each produced a different amount of horsepower. These amounts included 255 horsepower, 335 horsepower, and 360 horsepower. These engine options stayed the same until 1971.The 1968 GTO’s had a few new designs on them. The front bumpers were pretty much rubber and indestructible. The headlights design was changed again. This time they were given a hidden look, which were the same as all of the other muscle cars. In 1969 Pontiac came out with a second version of the GTO known as “The Judge”. The Judge had a v8 400 Ram air engine that made 366 horsepower. In 1970 the headlight design changed again. There were four lights that were wrapped in the front bumper. A new engine was introduced and it replaced the lowest power 400 engine. This new engine was the 455 v8 that made 360 horsepower. Due to government regulations, the 455 v8 was in its last year in 1971. This is also when the power of the GTO and its sales were starting to decline. In 1972 the Judge model was discontinued. 1973 and 1974 marked the end of one of the original muscle cars. The GTO’s last engine was an underpowered 350 v8 that made 200 horsepower. This is one of America’s original muscle cars. The GTO was also one of Pontiac’s most famous alongside the Firebird and the Trans Am.

Y- History of the Corvette

One of America’s most iconic cars is the Chevy Corvette. It is over 60 years old and still in production. In 1953 the first generation of Corvettes was produced until 1962. They are known as the C1. They were originally just a six cylinder car made for cruising. This changed in the second generation, also known as the C2. They were offered with high performance engines. These engines included a 327 cubic inch v8, a 396 cubic inch v8, and 427 cubic inch v8. The 396 was produced for one year. The horsepower produced by the engines ranged from 250 horsepower to 560 horsepower. The C3 generation is one of the recognizable Corvette. It is the Stingray Corvette. Along with the 427 and the 327, this generation also had two new engine options: the 454 cubic inch v8 and the 350 cubic inch v8. The power generated from the engines 300 horsepower to 465 horsepower before 1972. From 1972 till 1982, these engines produced from 180 horsepower to 230 horsepower due to the conservation of energy and the environment. The C4 generation Corvettes rank low in how collectible they are. The engine offered with these Corvettes was the 350 cubic inch v8. Horsepower ranged from 205 to 405. This generation lasted from 1984 to 1996. The C5 generation took the title for high performance vehicles. The engine offered was a 346 cubic inch v8 that produced horsepower ranging from 345 horsepower to 405 horsepower. The C5 generation is considered a modern sports car. This generation lasted from 1997 to 2004. The C6 generation lasted from 2005 to present. The C6 is the most upgraded from the past generations of Corvettes. The C6 Corvettes were offered with a 6.0 liter v8 and a 427 cubic inch v8. Horsepower from these engines ranged from 400 horsepower to 638 horsepower. The C7 Corvette is still under production. It is projected that this generation of Corvettes or suppose to be nothing like the previous Corvettes and they are supposed to be very modernized. One of America’s most iconic cars is still going strong today.