Saturday, February 11, 2012

Are you as sick as I am of "Sissy" hotrods?

I get tired of reading about musclecars not only with modern fuelie engines, but with leather seats, and a/c and their owners talking about good gas mileage and idle quality and drivability. Huh? First off, research has shown that a restored musclecar is usually the fourth or fifth car in a household. So nobody's using these cars as daily transportation. Sorry to be sexist, but Idle quality and gas mileage and "drivability" shouldn't be a factor in a musclecar unless your building it for your wife or daughter as a daily driver! I can't believe how sissified the sport has become. Competition Cams actually makes a series of camshafts called "Thumper" that idle like the car has a big cam, but doesn't have reduced vacuum at idle. Companies make hydraulic clutch linkages because one wouldn't want to have to use a stiff clutch!!  Come on guys!!!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about a daily driver. If I was buying a new daily driver, I'd get a Dodge Charger with the Hemi and an automatic and all the toys. If I actually wanted a classic as a daily driver-say a '70's Corvette-yes I'd use a mild 350 with a hydraulic cam and a quiet exhaust system and a TH350 or maybe even a 700R4. And It would have nice stock or aftermarket seats, and a/c and a nice CD player.  However, if I wanted a '70's Corvette as a hot rod-that I only drove on sunny weekends-It would have to be a four-speed, and the engine would either be an ultra high-revving solid-roller 372 inch Dart small-block with 11:1 compression and either a Victor Jr intake with one 800 Edelbrock carb or a Tunnel Ram with two 450 Holleys, or an earth-shaking 12:1 454 with a solid lifter cam, aluminum Dart or Brodix rectangular-port heads, a Brodix or Dart or Super Victor intake with a Demon or Dominator carb, and either engine would have Hooker headers and barely muffled chrome sidepipes. The rear axle ratio would be 4.56 or 4.88, and I'd have a Gear Vendors overdrive not for gas mileage, but for top-end speed when I'm giving Dodge Vipers and Turbo Porsches the finger!!  I wouldn't care if it only got 5-8 mpg on 104 octane race gas, idled at 2000 rpm and had a stiff  clutch!!  It would be the meanest mother in the valley, with all motor, no sissy-ass nitrous, and not for the faint of heart to drive!! That may sound extreme, but a hot rod that's strictly a hot rod should be extreme. It's not what mom drives the girls to soccer practice in, it's Jule's Wallet from "Pulp Fiction".  Drivabilty,schmrivabilty!  I want to see a 6-71 blower and two 660 Holleys sticking out the hood of a primered Chevelle, that has big meats and ladder bars, and a gutted interior and an 8 point cage, not a Vortech centrifigully blown LS fuel-injected wonder that fits under the stock hood and purrs quietly as it motors down the road ( albeit rapidly ) coddling the driver in a climate controlled, leather filled, concert hall!!  If you want a Toyota Camry, go buy one. You want a fast car with a smooth idle and heated seats and a moonroof, that's rides like a Cadillac then buy a new Chrysler 300 or a Lexus Is350, or a Cadillac CTS-V, or a BMW 5 series.  But a hot rod that's not also a daily driver should be a nasty bastard.  At least in my book. Mastermind        

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