It’s my birthday today so I’m going to celebrate it right – by rocking out to some good old fashioned Southern Swamp Rock.

First beer popping…now.

Saturday, May 12th marked the 2nd annual George Mason University Car Show in Fairfax, Virginia. Proceeds from the show go toward the Mason athletic department, and as an avid Patriots basketball fan I was more than happy to drop a little cash. Last year I received a best in show award for my motorcycle “The Duchess”, so I was extra excited to enter my 1966 Ford F100 “Big Billy” this go round. Unfortunately I lost to a 1963 Chevy C10, but what the hell…it was a gorgeous day and I met a lot of really good folk.

As an aside – the show took place just a day removed from the death of automotive legend, Carroll Shelby, and as a result we were graced with the presence of three beautiful Cobras on the concourse.

I’ve been in talks with a guy about purchasing his twin motorcycle ramps that he’s offering for sale, although I’m more interested in his 1968 BSA 441 Shooting Star.

But, I’ll settle for this great vintage advertisement.

The Collings Foundation posted this absolutely stunning photo to their Facebook group page last night, and I just had to repost here. This was taken from the cockpit of their P-51 Mustang fighter escort with their B-24 Liberator off in the distance. The group is winging over Long Beach, California on their Wings of Freedom Tour 2012.

If you live in the US they just might be coming to an airport near you.

“The reason I moved to California the first time was to build the Cobra. I thought it was stupid to have a 1918 taxicab engine in what Europeans like to call a performance car when a little American V-8 could do the job better.”
-Carroll Shelby. Via.

“There is nothing particularly treacherous about the car’s basic handling qualities, because it is a strictly neutral machine as far as oversteer and understeer are concerned. However, the whole question is somewhat academic because if you are feathering it through an 80-mph bend and start sticking your foot in it, you know what happens when 480 lb.-ft. or a multiple thereof hits the rear wheels.”
—R&T Classic Road Test, July 1974. Via.

“…Its raw power, the great brakes and the advanced suspension create a vehicle with such unabashed appeal and excitement that the owner plain won’t give a damn about creature comfort. He might object if he knew that at any moment an automobile could invade his chill, wind-buffeted world and blow his Cobra into the nearest ditch. But that just simply ain’t going to happen.”
-Car and Driver Road Test. November 1965. Via.

“Alright, you say, if 25 seconds from 0-100-0 isn’t so hot anymore, what the hell is? Twenty seconds?
Forget twenty seconds.
How about 18 seconds?
Not too bad, but the Cobra can do better.
How much better, wise guy?
How about maybe 14.5 seconds? Get that, 14.5 seconds to accelerate to 100 miles an hour and then stop again…That figure, mind you, is obtainable by the average Cobra driver with the regular…street tires.”
-Car and Driver Road Test. November 1965. Via.

“For a car that lays valid claim to being the fastest production machine in history, the 427 Cobra is amazingly simple. Its powerplant is the standard big Ford of the type that be purchased in any Galaxie at any local dealership. “It’s a big cooking engine, with a rather peaky torque curve that produces a great horsepower reading for the customer and is ideal for flexible road driving. But we tune the competition 427s much differently, with a flatter curve,” says Ken Miles.”
-Car and Driver Road Test. November 1965. Via.

“The new Cobra is a reality and only approximately $7000 {not in 2012} cash and the insatiable desire to own the fastest car in four counties stands between you and owning one. If you can scrape up the dough, we recommend that you take the plunge. Like they say, it’ll never hurt you. Or at least it shouldn’t.”
-Car and Driver Road Test. November 1965. Via.

“Next year, Ferrari’s ass is mine.”
–Carroll Shelby (after losing to Ferrari in the 1964 World Sports Car Championship) Via.

1965 Shelby Cobra 427 Specs. Via.

You can have your fancy Cinqo de Mayo meals. I’ll stick to my very am(lazy)ing Taco Bell. I win.

Photos after the jump.

Retro Pop Planet now has a Facebook page. Get on over and “like” us there.

I’ve spent the last week burning my ears on Jack White’s solo debut album, Blunderbuss. White has garnered global acclaim for his work in The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather, and has also been credited with resurrecting the careers of the Rockabilly Queen, Wanda Jackson, to the Coal-Miners’s Daughter herself, Loretta Lynn. Recognized for his onstage guitar rips to his offstage eccentricities, White has been on the top of the charts for the better part of a decade now.

And I’ll be honest here. I didn’t get his “schtick” when he first burst onto the pop scene. I thought it was campy and a bit overplayed. I might be one of the only people that can’t stand Seven Nation Army and I’m cool with that. But, when The Raconteurs released their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers, I threw in my chips – all in.

How do I describe this new album without sounding like a complete fanboy? From the first lick to the end note we are taken on a musical journey that bubbles and swells with old-timey elegance. The album comes off like a smoke-filled speakeasy on acid. Picture yourself drinking Rob Roys with a heavily tattooed and one-armed burlesque dancer named Lucky, while Tiny and Little Jim are dropping molten lead into table dice in the back room. Crank up the Wurlitzer and tip your fedora to the man at the mic, because you’re about to go for a ride.

Fans of the guitar mashing White will not be dissapointed, but if you came for the rock then at least stay for the soul.

A step-by-step guide for changing the oil on a Royal Enfield Bullet. This is for a complete oil change. The manufacturer recommends at least once every 2,000 miles, and I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that this is the first oil change the bike has ever had. When I purchased it in 2010 it only had 237 miles on the odometer, but was six years old. Now I’m hovering around the 2,100 mile mark and we’re way past due.

This is an easy project if you have the time and the parts, but I highly recommend you throw on a little rockabilly to get you into the proper spirit.

Instructions and pictures after the jump.

1) The Enfield actually has four oil plugs. Three underneath the motorcycle (two sump plugs and one primary) and a plug on the side of the bike above the filter. Locate the primary tank plug underneath the motorcycle.

2) With your oil catch canister in place beneath the oil tank remove the primary plug. My canister wasn’t large enough to pull all three plugs, so I had to let one drain, and reposition to drain again. The primary tank took about five minutes to empty. The other two took a little longer.

3) Here are the two sump plugs with their filter screens.

4) With the primary tank draining I then opened up the side plug. I fabricated a makeshift funnel using a piece from a cereal box.

5) Wait, wait, wait for it to drain.

6) It’s against the law to dispose of used motor oil, so make sure you save it and take it to a local service station for it to be recycled.

7) Next you want to remove the nut holding on the oil filter cover. A little oil may drain out so use caution when removing the cap.

8) Once you remove the cap you’ll reach this spring assembly. The main tank is still emptying at this point. You can see the stream in the right of frame.

9) The filter is located behind the spring. It can be a little tricky to get out. Someone suggested I use a coat hanger wire, but I was able to get a grip on the piece using a tool from my kit.

10) This thing is disgusting. Throw the used filter in the g.a.r.b.a.g.e.

11) Try to soak the new filter for as long as possible in fresh motor oil.

12) My oil change kit came with enough filters for several oil changes, and all of the replacement gaskets. Work in reverse to button up the oil filter assembly. I find it useful to take photos of each step in the process to remind me how the pieces fit. I also recommend rubbing fresh oil around the rubber gaskets in order to make a seal.

13) We’re using Morris Lubricants 20W 50 motor oil for this project. I get my oil through a local importer as this ships from the UK.

14) I used about a liter and 1/2 to fill the tank up to the halfway point (the recommended fill for all RE Bullets). It’s hard to see because the oil is so fresh, but we’re at the halway point here.

And voila, project done!