Difference between revisions of "Template:FeaturedWiki"

From MoparWiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 143: Line 143:
 
-->
 
-->
 
<!-- Feature #7 - Move Comment end to change -->
 
<!-- Feature #7 - Move Comment end to change -->
 +
<!--
 
{| style="background:#024B78;color:black;width:100%;" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" align="center"
 
{| style="background:#024B78;color:black;width:100%;" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" align="center"
 
|-
 
|-
Line 163: Line 164:
 
Dave died of lung cancer on December 16, 2005.[[Dave Duell|'''Read More''']]  
 
Dave died of lung cancer on December 16, 2005.[[Dave Duell|'''Read More''']]  
 
|}
 
|}
 +
-->
 
<!-- Feature #8 - Move Comment end to change -->
 
<!-- Feature #8 - Move Comment end to change -->
<!--
 
 
{| style="background:#024B78;color:black;width:100%;" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" align="center"
 
{| style="background:#024B78;color:black;width:100%;" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="2" align="center"
 
|-
 
|-
Line 172: Line 173:
 
| '''Featured Wiki'''
 
| '''Featured Wiki'''
 
|}
 
|}
[[Image:Bigdaddywiki.png|thumb|350px|Right|border|Big Daddy Don Garlits]]
+
[[Image:Norseman1.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Chrysler Norseman Dream Car]]
;[[Big Daddy]]
+
;[[Chrysler Norseman]]
 
:
 
:
Donald Glenn Garlits (born January 14, 1932, Tampa, Florida) is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer, with the help of [[TC Lemmons]], and after he lost a portion of his foot in a drag racing accident, he perfected the design rear-engine "top fuel" dragster (notable because it put the most explosive parts of the dragster behind the driver) and was an early endorser of a full-body, fire-resistant suit. In 1964, he became the first drag racer to officially surpass 200 miles per hour; he has broken a number of other speed records, surpassing 270 miles per hour in 1986.
+
In 1956, [[Virgil Exner]] the head designer of the [[Chrysler Corporation]] contracted with [[Ghia]] of Turin, Italy to build (at a cost of $150,000) a concept car without an [[A-Pillar]] for the 1957 show circuit. The car's [[fastback]] roof was made of a special glass by PPG for strength in a rollover. There were 1/4" steel rods in place of the A-Pillars -- which in theory were to break and cause the roof to snap back in the event of a roll over. [[Body panels]] were hand formed aluminum over wooden bucks. The leather interior of four [[bucket seats]] and futuristic gauge pods -- with some type of luminescent paint on the back of the front seats for a lighting experiment. Power came from a 331 CI [[Hemi]] rated at 235hp, with a 2-speed [[Powerflite]] [[transmission]], and shifted by push-buttons.
  
[[Drag Racing]] was a California based sport. Don Garlits being from Florida was the outsider who came in and beat them at their own game. He was sometimes referred to as the Floridian, such was his uniqueness.
+
The car was carefully packed into a wooden crate and loaded on the Italian Luxury Liner ''SS Andrea Doria'' for shipment to New York. 40 Miles off the coast of Nantucket, the ship collided with the ''Stockholm''. It sank 11 hours later and now rests 235 feet below the surface on its starboard side. Virgil Exner was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack at the time.  
  
Garlits was the first driver to win three [[National Hot Rod Association]] national titles and three world championships, the last coming at the age of 54.
+
The ''SS Andrea Doria'' is the "Mt. Everest" of underwater divers -- and many divers have lost their lives diving to it. Only one diver, David Bright, has seen the car (while searching for a lost diver) -- in 1994. He described it as a rusted hulk. Due to the way the ship lies -- he said that he doubts that he or anyone else will ever see the car again. He died in 2006, of cardiac arrest from decompression sickness after a 50th anniversary dive to the ship.
  
Garlits won the first NHRA Drag race he entered with the first racecar he built. It was 1955, and the [[NHRA Safety Safari]] had come to Lake City, Fla. A short three years later, the garage and body shop owner was racing professionally with the first of 34 race cars he would later tag Swamp Rat. He didn't stop until 1992, when eye trouble, the result of deceleration G forces of nearly 7 G’s, forced him from the seat at age 60. In the four-decade interim, Garlits took on all comers on any racetrack in the country and sometimes abroad. Driving chassis he fabricated that were powered by engines he built, Garlits won 144 major open events and 17 national championships in the sport's three major hot rod associations. [[Big Daddy|'''Read More''']]  
+
There is a dispute on the colors -- and precious few photos (none in color) exist of the car prior to loading on the Doria. Exner said he ordered the car in Silver paint. [[Chrysler]] says that it was to be dark green with green and gray interior. Reporters who saw the car prior to crating, say it was tu-tone blue with red leather and black accents.
 +
 
 +
Associated Press' coverage of the Norseman was short, simple, and to the point:
 +
 
 +
''The experimental car was built for Chrysler in Turin, Italy, and was being shipped to the United States for public showing. A Chrysler spokesman said Friday the Norseman cost about $150,000, including a year's engineering work. It was insured.''[[Chrysler Norseman|'''Read More''']]  
 
|}
 
|}
-->
+
 
 
[[Category:Main Page Templates]]
 
[[Category:Main Page Templates]]

Revision as of 18:06, 28 September 2013

Featured Wiki
Chrysler Norseman Dream Car
Chrysler Norseman

In 1956, Virgil Exner the head designer of the Chrysler Corporation contracted with Ghia of Turin, Italy to build (at a cost of $150,000) a concept car without an A-Pillar for the 1957 show circuit. The car's fastback roof was made of a special glass by PPG for strength in a rollover. There were 1/4" steel rods in place of the A-Pillars -- which in theory were to break and cause the roof to snap back in the event of a roll over. Body panels were hand formed aluminum over wooden bucks. The leather interior of four bucket seats and futuristic gauge pods -- with some type of luminescent paint on the back of the front seats for a lighting experiment. Power came from a 331 CI Hemi rated at 235hp, with a 2-speed Powerflite transmission, and shifted by push-buttons.

The car was carefully packed into a wooden crate and loaded on the Italian Luxury Liner SS Andrea Doria for shipment to New York. 40 Miles off the coast of Nantucket, the ship collided with the Stockholm. It sank 11 hours later and now rests 235 feet below the surface on its starboard side. Virgil Exner was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack at the time.

The SS Andrea Doria is the "Mt. Everest" of underwater divers -- and many divers have lost their lives diving to it. Only one diver, David Bright, has seen the car (while searching for a lost diver) -- in 1994. He described it as a rusted hulk. Due to the way the ship lies -- he said that he doubts that he or anyone else will ever see the car again. He died in 2006, of cardiac arrest from decompression sickness after a 50th anniversary dive to the ship.

There is a dispute on the colors -- and precious few photos (none in color) exist of the car prior to loading on the Doria. Exner said he ordered the car in Silver paint. Chrysler says that it was to be dark green with green and gray interior. Reporters who saw the car prior to crating, say it was tu-tone blue with red leather and black accents.

Associated Press' coverage of the Norseman was short, simple, and to the point:

The experimental car was built for Chrysler in Turin, Italy, and was being shipped to the United States for public showing. A Chrysler spokesman said Friday the Norseman cost about $150,000, including a year's engineering work. It was insured.Read More