Like Tom Petty says- "Stand me up at the gates of hell, and I won't back down."

Got a lot of debate on the last post on both sides, but in my opinion there's no debate. Like I said, there's enough junk out there to play with, that we don't have to cut up classics. For example-my own 1973 Hurst / Olds. It's one of 1,097 ever made. It has the H/O only custom vynil top/opera windows, white and gold two-tone paint, Hurst Dual/Gate ratchet shifter, digital tach, swivel bucket seats, F41 suspension, and the 455 / TH400 powertrain. Now, if I wanted to copy Popular Hot Rodding's "Project Talledga" Nascar tribute Laguna with a Cutlass, instead of gutting the interior on my car and installing an 8-point roll cage,and Corbeau racing buckets, painting it like Richard Petty's late '70's NASCAR racer, and installing a solid-roller Rat motor and a Tremec six-speed manual-why wouldn't I just buy one of the 3 million or so 1973-77 Cutlasses that are out there that AREN'T worth anything and butcher it? Why would I destroy a for-real, numbers-matching,excellent condition Hurst /Olds to turn it into a hot rod that no one but me thinks is cool? There's no excuse for this genocide. Yet, Hot Rod magazine did it and bragged about it!! In their October 2008 issue they had a "Crate motor shootout" where they installed 8 different GMPP engines in the same car and drag-tested them. The "test mule" in their own words was-"A for-real,numbers-matching,four-speed SS396 model in great condition." They proceeded to gut the interior and install fiberglass buckets and a 10-point cage, a custom 9-inch Ford rear ( I guess the stock 12-bolt posi wasn't up to snuff) Wildwood disc brakes all around-( Again-the stock disc/drum setup can't stop the car safely on a weekend trip to the drags? ) and a TCI built TH400 with a 4 grand converter and a transbrake. Then they swapped in each engine and drag-tested them. What their going to do with the car now, remains to be seen, but for the life of me I don't understand why they couldn't get one of the millions of beater 68-72 GM "A" bodys out there and use that. Why did it have to be a numbers-matching SS396?!  Another magazine featured a guy putting an LS7 and a six-speed in a numbers-matching GTO Judge!!  He couldn't buy a beater Tempest or LeMans that there's millions of rotting everywhere, and even put the Endura front end and Judge trim on it if he had to have the look?  No, you have to desecrate one of 3,797 classics ever made that someone else would sell their soul to have. This tells me that there's too many people out there with more money than brains. I will argue this issue until Hell Freezes over. Chevy sold over 200,000 Camaros in 1967, so you don't have to cut up one the very few remaining 602 Z/28's!!!  Play with junk you want, but please stop butchering rare classics!!  Mastermind