What The Heck Is Engine Tuning? Benefits vs. Risks Explored
Issue 10 • Engine & Transmission Tips First, What exactly is Engine Tuning? Engine tuning adjusts the performance of your vehicle’s engine and drivetrain by
Is it a Bedford CF, a Chevy, a Ford Econoline, or a Dodge? Opinions vary.
The incredible Mystery Machine, almost as much of a star in Scooby-Doo as Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scoob, has many faces.
Owned by Neckerchief-stylin’ Fred Jones, the Mystery Machine was an ocean-blue van with orange flowers and groovy green fluid accents painted all over it. Even the wheel covers were painted with yellow and orange flowers.
Originally thought to be a mid-600s Chevy panel van or a Dodge A100, the “cartoon” vehicle sported a spare-tire housing on the front of the blunt nose of the van. (This ruled out a lot of van styles.) Inside you could find various ladders, equipment for sleuthing, benches, pop-up tables for caper-planning, and a myriad of other monster-hunting tools.
Through the decades of cartoons and direct-to-video animated movies, the Mystery Machine enjoyed moderate revisions, including being turned into a monster. LOL In the 90s, though, a totally-revamped Mystery Machine appeared in the animated movie release “Scooby Doo on Zombie Land”.
Thankfully, the van would transition back to the iconic look we all know and love.
For the live-action movies Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo – Monsters Unleashed, Freddie (Fred) Prinze Jr. presents the Mystery Machine in all its glory as a 1972 BedfordCF van, manufactured by Vauxhall, an Australian company. However, did the production company select an off-brand vehicle that looks so little like the original cartoon version? Well, most of the film was shot in Australia, and, well, those Vauxhalls practically fall from the eucalyptus trees there.
So, we decided to find some “Fan Replicas” to ooogle over.
Most notable is a rework of a 1967 Dodge van a car customizer named Jerry Patrick did. It’s an exact replica of the original Mystery Machine, complete with a front tire compartment. It took his team 90 solid work days to complete the transformation, and the van was entirely rebuilt from the wheels up.
Another fan replica was designed around a 1968 Ford Econoline with a 302 cubic inch V-8 and a three-speed automatic transmission. This project included a tricked-out interior and a “ghost finder” dashboard. It recently sold at auction for $60,000. We assume, if the original movie vehicle, currently owned by the Volo Auto Museum, in Volo IL, ever went up for sale, it would go for closer to $100,000.
On a side note, we feel the live-action movie production company failed miserably in portraying the Mystery Machine as it was in 50 years of cartoons, so here are a few photos of our favorite fan van.
(We think it’s a spot-on replica.)
Issue 10 • Engine & Transmission Tips First, What exactly is Engine Tuning? Engine tuning adjusts the performance of your vehicle’s engine and drivetrain by
Issue 25 • Engine & Transmission Tips Watch for these signs your tires are nearing their end of life There isn’t a lot of mystery
Top Five Cars Dads Will Drool Over There isn’t one type of dad, so we’ve covered all your bases… Father’s Day is just around the
From 1978 thru 1983 saw Chevy sell over 1,310,000 models of this very popular, comfortable, and rugged truck. Engine options in 1978 for Chevy trucks
Issue 21 • Engine & Transmission Tips Yes, there is more than one kind of strut in your car! Here’s another great Fraser Engine Co.
From Anime To The Big Screen, This Incredible Race Car Came Alive The Real Mach 5, is actually a real Mach 5, right down to