Musclecars in movies that were wasted.......

In a lot of action movies the hero drives a musclecar, yet there's no chase scene, or even gratuitous tire-smoking. Why feature the car if your not going to show how badass it is? In some of them, they not only don't have a chase, but the cars get wrecked by the bad guys to spite the hero. Disgusting. Anyway here's a list of movies and ultra-cool cars that weren't used at all, or were much under-used. # 1. "McQ"  John Wayne played a "Dirty Harry" type Seattle detective investigating police corruption. His ride was a Brewster Green 1973 Trans-Am that got smashed between two dump trucks. What a Waste. # 2. Another '73 T/A, this one in Buccaneer Red, driven by Chuck Norris in "An Eye for an Eye."  Lots of Martial-Arts action, but no chase. Norris had a pretty good chase driving a beater 1975 Firebird Formula 400 in "Code of Silence."  # 3. "Marked for Death." A Steven Seagal martial-arts flick in which he drives a sinister black 1973 Mach 1 Mustang that does nothing but get smashed between two dump trucks like the "Duke's" T/A in "McQ." There is a chase, involving a Dodge Ramcharger and a BMW. Yeah, like a 4wd 318 Ramcharger is going to catch a BMW 635CSI. Yuk.  # 4. "I, The Jury." The best Mike Hammer adaptation ever done. Armand Assante is totally badass as Hammer, who has sex with former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Barbara Carrera, Voluptuous redhead Laurene Landon, and various other hotties while killing his way to the finale. His ride is a Chesterfield Brown 1979 Z/28 Camaro, but the only chase involves a Jeep Cherokee and two Ford Fairmonts!!  Whose Idea was that?  # 5. "Malone." Burt Reynolds does a decent job as an-ex-CIA agent on the company's hit list. He drives a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 which breaks down and strands him in an Oregon town where he kicks the crap out of the white supremacists who run the town, while the only nice-guy in town and his daughter fix the Mustang. But no car action, which is weird in a Burt Reynolds flick. # 6. "The Punisher". This one starts out good with the massacre of the hero's family at a family re-uinion. He barely survives and plots revenge, and even builds an armored, badass 1968 GTO. The car gets wrecked lamely, there's no chase, and it goes off weirdly featuring his quirky neighbors for a long time in the middle. With Roy Scheider, John Travolta, Thomas Jane, Will Patton, and Rebeeca Romjin-who doesn't even get naked-you'd expect something cool, but this one drags and drags, and basically sucks. # 7. Any of the "Blade" movies. Vampire Hunter Wesley Snipes drives a sinister primered '68 Charger in all 3 flicks, but there's not much automotive action. It's all martial-arts and swordplay bertween Snipes and his undead enemies. # 8 "Final Destination" Horror flick about teens cheating death, but not for long. One of the cool dudes drives an awesome black 1969 SS396 Nova. Sadly, it gets hit by a train, and there's no chase.  # 9. "52 Pick-Up." Excellent adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel, with Roy Scheider, Ann-Margaret, Clarence Willimas III, Vanity, a young Kelly Preston, and John Glover as the ringleader of the baddies. He drives a 1969 Plymouth GTX, and Vanity has a '69 Mustang Mach 1, but again, no chase scene. Vanity and Kelly Preston both getting naked ease the pain of no chase, and Clarence Williams trying to smother Vanity with a Teddy Bear, and John Glover shooting Ann-Margeret full of heroin are both chilling scenes showing how deranged and serious the bad guys are. Let me know if I missed any.  Mastermind 

Great Ideas that were killed by bean counters.....

Like I said in an earlier post-Musclecar buyers didn't magically disappear off the earth after 1974-the Automakers stopped making cars that these people wanted to buy. Thus the meteoric popularity of the Pontiac Trans-Am in the late '70's-"The Last Man Standing".  Engineers and other auto executives knew there was still a market for performance cars, and tried to bring out cool stuff, but a lot was killed by the brass, who thought they knew the buying public better. They didn't-these cars would have sold as fast as they could make them. # 1. 1974 Ventura GTO 400. Since the new-for 1973 Collonnade A-bodies were heavier and uglier than the beloved 68-72 style, Pontiac got the idea to take the GTO back to basics-a big engine in a light car. Even with 5 mph bumpers the Ventura only weighed about 3,200 lbs. This was about 600 lbs less than a Firebird and about 1,000 lbs less than a LeMans. Since the 350 was already an option on the Ventura and Pontiac engines are externally identical from a 326 to a 455, dropping in a 400 would have been cake. Think how badass that would have been-600 lbs lighter than a Trans-Am with the same horsepower? But the T/A was now the flagship, not the GTO, and the brass thought that would steal the T/A's thunder. It would have-a 400 Ventura would have outrun even an SD-455 Firebird! So the downsized Goat got a 350 with barely 200 hp and the only axle ratio was a 3.08.  And they wonder why they only sold 7,000 of them?  # 2. 1973-74 Big-block Nova SS. Chevy was thinking the same thing-the Chevelle line was getting big and heavy, and the Laguna was more of a luxury trim group than a performance package. They figured the Nova could be the performance leader like the Chevelle was only a couple years before. Dealers like Baldwin-Motion and Nickey were selling big-block Nova conversions with great success.  Since the 396 had been available in the Nova from 1968-70, it wouldn't require any new tooling. And if Pontiac did build a Ventura-based GTO-which had been talked about as early as 1971-with 400 or 455 cubes under the hood-The GTO would be King of the Street again and Chevy wouldn't have anything comparable. Even with only 8.25:1 compression, how cool would a factory built 454 Nova SS have been? But again-the brass worried-this hot-rod would easily outrun a Z/28 Camaro or a Corvette, and we couldn't have that. When the 400 Ventura / GTO idea was scrapped, so was the revived Rat-engined Nova.  # 3. 1977 "Nascar Edition" Olds 442. The aerodynamic Cutlass was dominating Nascar-and the Pontiac Trans-Am was selling in record numbers. The 455 Olds engine that was dropped at the end of 1976 could have been continued until at least 1979, just like its's 400 Pontiac cousins. Olds engineers decided to build a 455 powered Nascar styled 442 with a special handling package. With front and rear spoliers and 15X8 wheels shod with 255/60R15 Goodyear GT radials, and a two-tone black and silver paint job, It looked mean. And with a 455, TH400, and 3.42 gears it WAS mean. Especially when compared to the "Normal" 442 which featured a 165 hp 350 or a 180 hp 403 with 2.41:1 gears! The brass decided that performance packages were now "Appearance based" and that it probably wouldn't sell!  Hello? Pontiac sold 50,000 T/A's the year BEFORE "Smokey and the Bandit" came out, and 68,000, 93,000 and 117,000 the years after!!  Performance didn't sell?  # 4. 1977 360 / 401 AMC AMX. With the Javelin now 3 years dead,  AMC decided to build a performance car based on the compact Hornet. They came up with a handling suspension and a graphics package. Since AMC V8's, like Pontiacs, are externally identical, the engineers could swap a 304 for a 360 or 401 in about five minutes. Guess how freaking fast a 360 / 401, 4-speed, powered 2,900 lb Hornet would have been? A lot faster than the Vaunted Trans-Am, and even quicker than a Corvette. The bean counters bought the graphics package and suspension, but felt the car didn't need a big motor, that it would do just fine with it's 258 inch 6-cylinder or the 2bbl 304 V8 that wheezed out about 120 hp, and the only transmission was a 3-speed automatic. They were wrong, and the car didn't sell. It's decisions like this that bankrupted AMC.    # 5. 1977-79 460 LTD II Sport. With the Mustang now Pinto-based, and the Torino now a memory, Ford was keenly aware of missing out on the performance car market. The downsized 2 dr LTD II was a good -looking car, and with the sport package which included trick paint jobs and tape stripes, and chrome wheels and white-letter tires, it could look tough. If the engineers had followed through on their plan and installed a 460 and the Police Interceptor suspension-to Quote Dan Akroyd-"A Cop motor,Cop tires, Cop shocks" it would have been. Ultimately, the biggest engine you could get was a 351 / 400M with a 2bbl, which made them dogs. Like everyone else, Ford decided to just give up and let Chevrolet and Pontiac have the performance market in the late '70's and sell Camaros, Firebirds, and Corvettes in record numbers. Anyhow, these cars would have been way cool in my book, and fun to restore and have today. Mastermind  

Restoration advice for first-timers!

There's a show on Cable Tv called "Property Virgins." It's about realtors helping first-time homebuyers avoid costly mistakes when buying a house. Well no one does that for first-time car restorers. Everyone has different abilities, but here's some good general advice for anyone who's never done a major restoration before. #1. This should be a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how many people make this mistake. Make sure the car has a clear title. You don't want to put thousands of dollars into a car that you can't register or re-sell if your circumstances change. # 2. Avoid cars with major rust issues or major body damage. These can be so expensive to fix, that most of the time your better off spending more money and getting a better car to start with. # 3. An super-premium, ultra rare car missing a key component-i.e. a Hemi car missing the Hemi engine, or a Boss 302 missing the Boss engine is not a deal no matter how cheap it is, because the cost of finding a replacment is so prohibitive, that even if you had Donald Trump's bank account, you'd be better off buying another more complete car. # 4. "Run what you brung"  At least the first time. Gearheads talk all the time about how "Easy" it is to swap engines, transmissions, etc but it's really not. Maximize the performance of the 350 small-block and TH350 trans that's in your first Camaro project before you attempt to swap in a 454 and a Tremec five-speed. # 5. Beware of people selling "Rare" cars with weird option packages. Two-speed automatics, three-speed sticks, two-barrel step-down engines, heater or radio delete cars, column-shifted bucket seat cars, etc aren't collectible, their just weird, and no one but the guy selling it thinks it's cool. # 6. KISS!! The old rule-Keep it simple, stupid! On your first attenpt don't try to wire up a blown, Z06 'Vette motor and 4L80E into a 1965 Nova. A carburated 350 with a 4-speed or a simple TH350 would be a better choice for a first-timer. Use a little common sense and you'll stay out of trouble. Mastermind    

A Trans-Am sedan racer tribute.....Way cool!!

A lot of musclecars sprang from the SCCA Trans-Am series-the Z/28 and Boss 302 are the most notable, as well as the Firebird that carries the series name. A lot of people don't realize that it was initailly called the Trans-American Sedan Racing series-"Trans-Am" for short. Obviously, 64-66 Mustangs did well, which prompted GM to develop the Camaro / Firebird line. But before that, Chrysler had great success with the ugly, but light Valiant / Barracuda and the sister Dodge Dart. The high-winding 273 Mopars could give the 289 Mustangs all they could handle. A lot of privateers ran 260 or 289 Ford Falcons or 283 Chevy Novas. It was actually really cool-Regular guys racing cheap cars on big tracks with small ( for the '60's ) production economy car engines to keep costs down. The competition was fierce. Then, when Chevrolet introduced the fire-breathing Z/28 302-this was designed to be a racing engine specifically to dominate this series ( T/A racing had a 5-liter limit or 305 cubes, NASCAR was running 426 Hemis and 427 Chevys and Fords )  the war was on. Ford fired back with the Boss 302, and when they tweaked the rules to allow de-stroking, Pontiac built a 303 from it's RAIV 400, and Mopar destroked the mighty 340. Roger Penske and Mark Donohue left Chevy for AMC.  Chrysler was even thinking of developing a 305 inch Hemi, but it was cancelled.  Anyhow, seeing pictures of the old racers gave me a briliant idea for a way cool, low-cost musclecar project : A street machine styled like a Trans-Am racer with enough motor and handling to back up the image. And here's the 3 simple rules # 1.-NO Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs,or 'Cuda / Challengers. That would have been too passe' and too easy. # 2. "Old-School" engines only- Normally-aspirated, carburated-traditional small-block Chevy, Ford , Mopar, Pontiac and Olds engines. No modern  Fuelie Chevy LS motors, no Ford Coyotes, no modern 5.7 / 6.1 / 6.4 Hemis. No blowers, no turbos, no nitrous. # 3. Stock chassis only. No Z06 'Vette frames with a Nova body grafted on, or custom aftermarket subframes and independent 3 or 4-link suspensions.  Here's my list of candidates. # 1. 1968-79 GM "X" body. This includes Chevy Novas, Pontiac Venturas, Olds Omegas, and Buick Apollos. I think these cars would look badass with radiused and flared fenders, monster tires,  and blacked -out or body-colored bumpers and trim. You could also adapt a "Cowl Induction" hood scoop or even a Trans-Am style "Shaker" hood.  Mechanically,these cars have two major plus factors going for them-One, just about any suspension or brake upgrade that fits a Camaro or Firebird will also fit these cars, so they can easily be built for razor-sharp handling. Two-a lot of them had Cheverolet engines from the factory to begin with. This means dropping in a powerful Small-Block Chevy is a no-brainer. No fabrication required. Like I said-major performance for minor bucks. If you wanted to be really unique-find a Ventura with a 350 Pontiac or an Omega with a 350 Olds engine. A 400 or 455 Pontiac would be a bolt-in, major infusion of power and torque. As for the Omegas-of the "Other" 350s-i.e.-non Chevy-the Olds is the best one. It has a big-bore / small stroke design, there was a factory high-performace version ( "W31" ring any bells? ) and there is a good amount of aftermarket speed equipment-cams, intakes, headers, etc. You can even put Edelbrock 455 heads on these engines ( with a ported Performer RPM intake and custom pistons ) and build a real fire breather. A 403 Olds will bolt right in place of a 350, and all the 350 hop-up parts will fit, except you'd have 53 more cubes!!  # 2. 1967-73 Mercury Cougar .  I thought the Cougars looked badass in the pictures from back in the day. You don't see that many hot-rodded Cougars. I'm thinking radiused fenderwells, sort of a Wood Brothers Nascar look. Two good things about these cars-any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a same-year Mustang will fit them, and there are a million ways to build power into a small-block Ford. Most have 289 / 302, 351W, or 351C power. # 3. 1970-76 Plymouth Duster / Dodge Dart. A lot have slant-sixes, but a lot have 318 V8s as well. The 318 versions would be the best buy, as a 340, 360, or 360-based 408 stroker would be a bolt-in swap. Hotchkiss, XV motorsports and other companies make upgraded Torsion bars, front and rear sway bars and subframe connectors for these cars so making them handle should be relatively simple. Maybe someone can even start a club circuit at places like Laguna Seca, Sears Point, Reno-Fernley Raceway, and other west coast venues for people to actually see what they can do on the track. And who cares if you put a Duster or Omega into the wall?  You can build another one cheap. Mastermind            

Cars I've loved before ......Part 2!

In the last post I talked about some great cars that I didn't buy. Here's the list of ones that I DID buy, and had a lot of fun with or sold and made a tidy profit on. # 1. After my Judge, my absolute favorite was my '77 Trans-Am. I gave it the Herb Adams "Fire-Am" treatment which went beyond DKM's "Macho" treatment and incuded headers and real dual exhausts, a Holley Street Dominator aluminum intake, a re-curved distributor, and and re-jetted carb with the "Shaker" scoop opened, and a Trans-go shift kit. If I was going less than 25 mph and punched it, the trans would kick into low gear, and lay about 8-10 ft of rubber. For having a 2.56:1 axle ratio, it was pretty damn fast, and got about 18 mpg on the highway. I drove that car five years, and only lost about 3 or 4  "Stoplight Gran Prixs". # 2. I had two Venturas, but my favorite was the 1973 model I had that looked just like the one in the movie "The Seven-Ups". It had the hatchback rear, baby moon hubcaps and chrome wheels, and a strong 350 Pontiac. I blew the doors off my friend's 1970 350 Malibu, and another buddys 327 / 4-speed '66 Chevelle. And that was before I added the Edelbrock P4B intake manifold, dual exhaust, and TransGo shift kit. I always intended to swap in a 455, but the 350 ran so damded good, that I never got motivated enough to tear it down. # 3. I had two El Caminos-a '68 and a '70. The '68 was an SS396, but the Rat spun a bearing shortly after I got it. However, my cousin hooked me up with the 275 hp 327 out of his wrecked Impala, and that actually made it a nicer car. It had roughly the same amount of power-( The 396 was a 325 hp version ) but it took off way better-less wheelspin, got better gas mileage, and handled better with less weight on the front end. I regret selling this one to this day-as it had bucket seats, full guages and tach, tilt wheel, power windows, and factory Air. The '70 model was a 350 base model, but like a lot of people, I like that front end the best. I planned to turn it into an SS454 clone, but someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse and I sold it. # 4 My girlfriend at the time had a nice '68 Charger with a 383 that she wanted me to restore, so I bought two Chargers-one '68, the other a '69- from a guy that must have had 100 old Mopars on his land. I got the '69 running, and sold it for a huge profit. Before I could start stripping the '68 parts car, a guy who was restoring his own "Dukes of Hazzard" Charger offered me about 5 times what I paid for it. This was over 20 years ago, and these Chargers were that much in demand. On the upside, I did use the money to help my girlfriend fix hers. # 5. I've never been much of a Ford guy but I did buy two Mustangs and made money on both of them. One was a 1982 4-speed / 5.0 GT. The one with a two-barrel carb. Although the later 4bbl / 5-speed models are more in demand, I sold this to a kid who loved it for more than double what I paid for it. The other I've mentioned before- was a 1966 GT with the Rally-Pac guages, factory a/c, Pony interior, and "California Megaphone" exhaust with date-coded mufflers intact. I bought it for my wife who said she always wanted a '65-'66 Mustang, but she refused to drive it for some insane reason, and I sold it to a Mustang freak who spent about 10 grand on it even thought it was practically mint when I bought it. # 6.  I bought a 1976 Gran Prix with T-tops and a 400 that I was going to hot rod. Before I could really get that project going, I bought my 1973 Hurst / Olds. I sold the GP to my brother who drove it for a while, and then used the 400 as the basis for his stormin' GTO engine. He threw a 350 we had laying around into the GP and sold it for more than I charged him. # 7. The 2nd Ventura I had was a '71 that was originally a six-cylinder model. Small bumpers, no p/s, no P/b, it was very light-and when I stuffed the 400 out of my wrecked '77 T/A in it, it was very fast. But it didn't stop real good with 4-wheel drum brakes, and with monoleaf springs, you could hear the driveline hit the floorboards under acceleration, as it wheelhopped and smoked the the tires forever. I planned to swap in the multi-leaf posi, and front disc brakes off the T/A, but I wrecked it before that plan came to fruition. Bottom line, I've always enjoyed playing with musclecars and probably always will. My dad still does, and he's 73. Hopefully my son will carry the torch for the next generation. Mastermind  

To all the cars I've loved before.....

Back in the 1980's the unlikely duo of Country Music legend Willie Nelson and opera singer Placido Domingo had a huge hit with a duet of  " To All the girls I've loved before."  Gearheads sometimes think about cars we had and wish we hadn't sold or wrecked, or some that we wish we'd bought. Younger enthusiasts must really hate listening to guys like me who was a teenager and a young man when all these great musclecars were just gas-guzzlers that nobody but us wanted. Some of the cars we junked or passed up because they weren't good enough at the time would bring the price of a decent house now. And I'm not talking about split-window Stingrays, or Hemi Road Runners. I'm talking about base-models, or mid-level models that someone would sell their soul for now, but we turned our nose up at. Some examples of my stupidity-In one year-1980 I could have bought and passed up a pristine 1970 Malibu Convertible for $3000, a decent 400, 4-speed 1970 Formula 400 Firebird for $1,500, a decent 400, 4-speed, 1970 GTO for $1,700, and a 1972 351C, 4-speed, Gran Torino Sport for $900.  "What the hell was I thinking?" you ask. Having just moved across the country and sold my RAIII Judge, and my SS396 El Camino, I was looking for something "Really Cool."  I know, it's sounds dumb now. But that's all those cars were worth at the time. I didn't learn. In 1984 when I was selling cars at a Pontiac dealer I could have bought a nice, clean, 350, 4-speed 1969 Firebird with Center Line wheels and new tires on it for $700. Why didn't I buy it? "It wasn't a 400." Same year, I could have bought an immaculate one-owner, 69,000 mile original, one of 7,058 built-1974 Ventura GTO, for $1,700, and I could have bought a rough-but running 383 4-speed 1970 Challenger for $500. I still didn't learn, because in 1987 I passed up a nice, in need of a paint job, 1970 Monte Carlo with a 350 and the ultra-rare factory 4-speed, for $2,000. I also sold a 1973 Firebird Esprit with a perfect body that needed the seats redone for $500 to a friend. As late as 1992 I passed up a running, fairly straight, pretty much all there 1979 400, 4-speed 10th anniversary Trans-Am that needed restoration for $2,800, a 1973 Q-code 351CJ Mustang Mach 1 for $1700, and a 1978 Indy Pace Car Corvette for $5,500. I also passed up a 440, 4-speed 1972 Charger for $2500 that year. Even in 1992, the craziness hadn't started yet. I know a guy that bought a numbers-matching LS6 Chevelle for $12,000 that year, and another guy that bought a pristine 1969 Shelby GT350 with a 351 and a 4-speed for 19 grand. Another acquaintance bought a 440, 4-speed, Hemi Orange 1971 Road Runner for $2,800 off a used car lot!! Now, I watch the Barret-Jackson auction and I want to throw up. 80 grand for a 340 'Cuda? 200K for a 427 Corvette?  So, if your looking for a project, before you turn your nose up at something that you know is a screamin' deal, think twice before you brush it off because it's not a 4-speed, or doesn't have bucket seats or whatever. A few years from now when one sells for some astronomical sum-your going to beat your head against the wall,-saying "I could have bought one of those for a measly 5 grand!"  AAAuuugggghhhh!!  And your friends will want to slap you and say-"Why didn't you dumb ass?"  Mastermind     

T.V Musclecar Mayhem......

With the talk of movie chases people have also asked about some TV shows. I gave it some thought, and here's the one's I came up with. Feel free to write in with any good ones I might have missed. # 1. This is a no-brainer-silly or not-you gotta go with the "Dukes of Hazzard". I think they wrecked 50 1968-70 Chargers during it's run as well as numerous cop cars, Daisy's Road Runner, and Deputy Enos' '69 Chevelle. The action was pretty well done considering the limited time constraints and budget of a TV series as compared to a feature film. For sheer speed and carnage per episode-no one delivers like "Dukes". # 2. "Nash Bridges." Any show in which the hero supposedly drives-Quoting the ad in TV Guide "A 425 hp  1970 Barracuda Convertible" "And he doesn't brake for criminals".  Has a place in my heart. We all know they were mistakenly done up with '71 style grilles, and were mostly 360 automatics, except for Don Johnson's favorite which was a 340-4 speed model. No matter, lots of tire smoke, and pursuing the bad guys around San Francisco, and they even crashed them a couple times. # 3. "Miami Vice". Long before he was "Nash Bridges", Don Johnson was famous as "Sonny Crockett". The Ferrari Daytona Spider he drove was actually a kit car built on a 1981 Corvette chassis by Tom McBurnie and had, of course Small-block Chevy motivation. Johnson and partner Phillip-Micheal Thomas chased a lot of baddies, in Camaros, Mustangs, and Porsches, and in one episode the baddies actually drove a 1969 GTX convertible. #4. Who could forget "Starsky and Hutch" and the famous red and white Gran Torino? Paul Micheal Glaser and David Soul chased their share of bad guys, and usually caught them. # 5. "Vegas" Robert Urich was a cool private eye, but I don't know how many bad guys you'd ACTUALLY catch in a '57 T-Bird. They look cool, but the 292 and 312 Y-blocks are underpowered, and their ill-handling, and have 4-wheel drum brakes. But it did have some action, and ultra-sexy Phyllis Davis as his secretary. # 6. "Hunter" Ex-LA Rams defensive lineman Fred Dryer found stardom for 7 seasons as "Dirty Harry" style detective Rick Hunter. Not a lot of musclecars, but they wrecked a lot of Mopar and Chevy cop cars chasing the baddies, and a young Stepfanie Kramer was smokin' hot as his partner. # 7 "Stingray". This show only lasted a couple of seasons but when the hero drives a black 396 1965 Corvette and kicks a lot of butt, you've got to love it. Nick Mancuso was understated cool as the Caine-like "Stingray" who wandered around and helped strangers and stomped on the bad guys. # 8. "The Fall Guy".  Six million dollar man Lee Majors had another hit as Colt Seavers-hollywood stuntman / bounty hunter. This set up allowed more fights and automotive mayhem than usual. The producers adeptly saved money by sometimes using clips from movies and other shows-The train wreck from "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" is in the opening credits-and implying that Majors' character and crew performed the stunt.  I know a bunch of geeks are going to gripe about two omissions-but I feel I'm justified. Omission # 1. "Knight Rider" .  I just can't wrap my head around a talking car, that actually has a bitchy british butler type personality, and can drive itself.  David Hasselhoff's acting was at it's wooden worst, ( I'm guessing because he didn't have Pam Anderson, Nicole Eggert, and Alexandra Paul all constantly in swimsuits to motivate him like he did on "Baywatch" ) and the action was terrible-the camera is so obviously speeded up that a nine-year old would get bored.  Omission # 2. "Hardcastle&McCormick".  This show had a lot of car chases in it, but the hero drove a VW-powered Manta kit car. That alone kicks it from the list. If you think of any that I missed, please let me know. Mastermind            

More on movie chases........

Everyone loved the post about car-chase films and the ladies in them, and I got a lot of inquirys about the best chase scenes. I figured I'd write about my favorites, and welcome any that I missed. However, since this site is devoted to American Musclecars-please-although the scenes may have been excellently choreographed and realistic-don't write in about "Ronin" with the nitrous-fed Audi, "The Transporter" with the one-off manual trans 7 series BMW, or "The Italian Job" with the Mini-Coopers. # 1. "Bullitt". Still the king after all these years, because of Steve McQueens committment to realism. No speeding up the camera, no tricks. Just McQueen, and stuntmen Carey Loftin and Bill Hickman going up to 115 mph through the streets of San Francisco. It still looks good more than 40 years later, regardless of how many times they pass that same VW.  # 2. "Vanishing Point". The 1971 original with Barry Newman, not the sissified made for TV 1997 remake with Viggo Mortensen. Here's the difference: In the Badass original-Kowalski bets a drug dealer his bill for the speed he bought that he can make it from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours. That's why he's going so fast across Utah and Nevada. He meets a snake-charmer that helps him out and the famous totally naked dirt-bike rider. And he hits the bulldozers with a big smile on his face, thinking he can drive between them. In the politically correct remake Kowalski's charachter is racing home because his pregnant wife went into premature labor. And Peta Wilson rides the dirtbike wearing a halter top, shorts and hiking boots, not totally nude and barefoot like the 1971 heroine. And there's no drugs involved, and they imply at the end that he somehow bailed out of the car and survived to raise his kid. Ok, let me vomit, before I write anymore. See what I'm saying?  # 3 & # 4. Since the same guy-William Freidkin- directed both films, their kind of intechangeable depending on your personal taste. I'm talking about the "French Connection" and "To Live and Die in LA". Both feature spectacular wrong-way chases. I think veteran stuntman Carey Loftin did the driving in "LA", actor Gene Hackman actually piloted the Pontiac Tempest through New York's busy streets, ranking him with Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone as the badasses that did their own stunts. Watch both films and you decide which chase is better. # 5. "The Seven-Ups"  Two Pontiacs in this chase-a Grand Ville and a Ventura. Trivia note-Stuntman Bill Hickman-who drives the Grand Ville, also drove the Charger in "Bullitt." Surprise ending to the chase- I won't say it for those who haven't seen the movie-it's a shocker. # 6. "White Lightning"  There's actually several small-chases in this flick imvolving Burt Reynolds, Bo Hopkins, Ned Beatty, and Matt Clark instead of one big one, but their all very well-done. The only downside is the cars are all Fords.  Nothing against Fords-But honestly-they could have sprang for at least one Mopar or Chevy.  # 7. "The Driver". This one also has several small chases rather than one big one. The best scene in the movie is Ryan O' Neal's "job application" with some Russian gangsters. He destroys a Mercedes in a parking garage while they scream like schoolgirls from the backseat. # 8. "Mr Majestyk"  This one involves a Ford pickup, a few '70's Mopars, and a '72 LTD convertible. It's noteworthy because hero Charles Bronson is ridng in the BACK of the truck while girlfriend Linda Cristal does all kinds of "Dukes of Hazzard" stunts trying to elude the bad guys. This chase was actually used in the early "Built Ford Tough" ads.   # 9  "Death Proof". Quentin Tarantino trying to be Bill Freidkin and Carey Loftin combined. Entertaining, but I feel it ultimately falls short, especially considering the huge budget he had.  A crazed Kurt Russel, driving a '69 Charger, chases Rosario Dawson and friends who are test-driving a white '70 Challenger R/T- A "Vanishing Point" clone-with stuntwoman Zoe Bell strapped to the hood. Good action and filming-but take away the girl strapped to the hood and it's a lot of been-there-done-that-got the T-shirt stuff as far as car chases go. And that's why its ranked lower than the others that didn't have 1/10th the budget. If you have a differing opinion feel free to send yours in. Mastermind          

The hottest women in Musclecar movies......

Got a lot of comments after I mentioned Burt Reynolds' female co-star of "White Lightning" in the post about full-size musclecars. A lot of people wrote in with their personal favorites of the hot women in car-chase movies and asked me to rank mine. It's a little off-topic, but I aim to please, and it might be fun. Feel free to send in your lists. Here's my list and why their ranked the way they are. # 1. Jennifer Billingsley-"White Lightning." Like I said the other day-with her dark brown roots showing in her bleach-blonde hair, barefoot almost the whole movie in that tight mini-sundress, "Shake-A-Puddin'" was the quintessential southern trailer-park tramp. She just oozed sex, and her telling Burt-"If you want it, Gator just say so." "If you don't, it's ok." Had me wondering why I never met girls that free and easy. And when Burt got shot, she could drive the 429 / 4-speed "Brown SEE-Dan" to safety.  # 2. Darlanne Fluegel-"To Live and Die in LA".  Bill Freidkin ( The Director of  "The French Connection" ) actually topped that legendary chase with a young William Peterson ( Of "CSI" fame ) driving a Chevy Impala cop car the WRONG way down an L.A. freeway. Peterson's hooker / convict / informant / girlfriend was brilliantly played by classicly trained stage actress Darlanne Fluegel, who had no qualms about getting naked on several occasions. She knew she was a whore, Petersen's character knew it; that made it uninamous. When she says- "Some bastard I set up for you is going to figure it out and come over here and kill me someday." "What would you do if I stopped sending you busts?" And he replied "I'd violate your parole." You knew she was going to set him up. And she did. # 3. Jacqueline Bisset- "Bullitt".  If 3 million teenage boy poster buyers thought she was hot in that wet t-shirt at age 33 ( "The Deep") in 1977-( Only Farrah Fawcett outsold her that year ). They should have seen her at 24 in "Bullitt".  Her flowing hair, smokin' bod, and British accent turned many guys on, but her characters whiny personality-she actually pukes after seeing a corpse and has a hissy fit at Steve McQueen AFTER he's been in a high-speed chase, totalled his Mustang, and been shot at. These high-maintenance antics kept her out of the top spot.  # 4. Isabelle Adjani- "The Driver". Adjani is great at playing tortured chanteuses-she stole "Diabolique" from Sharon Stone. Here she plays Mysterious Getaway driver Ryan O' Neal's sometime love interest who also books jobs for him. When she gets caught between a crazed cop and a crazed gangster who both want to off O' Neal, she refuses to rat him out and meets a bad end. But her murder sends O ' Neal's character on his quest for vengenance, which sets up the films excellent final hour, and climactic chase.  # 5 Susan George-"Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry ". Susan was a good actress and smokin' hot-her sexy inter-racial love scene with boxer Ken Norton in "Mandingo" the following year would give her some Sharon Stone / Basic Instinct style noteriety for a few years, but she's largely wasted here. There's some good car-chase action in a '66 Chevy Impala and later in a '69 Charger, and an excellent kidnapping / extortion plot gone wrong, but she spends most of her time pouting while Peter Fonda and his sidekick make fun of her. However, since she spends almost the entire movie barefoot in hip-hugger jeans and a skimpy halter-top, she made the list anyway. # 6. Maureen McMormick-"Moonshine County Express".  John Saxon had the male lead and a badass '71 Challenger was the automotive star, but Maureen made this R-rated crime saga on hiatus from "The Brady Bunch" to toughen up her image and maybe get better roles. You actually hope Saxon can save her from the baddies who kidnap her and wire her to a bomb in a barn. If Marcia Brady bound and gagged in denim shorts and a halter top won't get your freak on, then you obviously weren't a teenage boy in the '70's. Sadly, she never did anything else after "Brady Bunch" was cancelled. But she played a southern tramp with a no-good boyfriend as good as anyone ever has. #7 I'll have to watch the movie to get her name, but who could forget the naked motorcycle rider that tempts Kowalski in "Vanishing Point" . That's how smokin hot she was. I couldn't find her name on a quick search of the 'net, but she deserves a spot.  I know some people are going to gripe about the absence of two big hits- "Smokey and the Bandit"  and the "Fast and Furious" franchise. While the car action was excellent-come on guys-Sally Field is a nice person and an Oscar-winning actress, but the object of late-night fantasies? I don't think so. Even degenerate ex-Catholic school boys can't get worked up over the Flying Nun. Eww.  As for the "Fast and Furious", Jordana Brewster is smokin' hot, but she spends all of her screen time mediating the "bromance" fights between stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. I mean we don't even get a gratutious bikini scene ( Eva Mendes had one in F&F 2 ) when they supposedly went to Brazil. If you can't even act sexy and you don't show any skin, then you don't belong on this list. Sorry. Can't wait to hear the arguments over this one. Mastermind                   

The Forgotten Z/28!

For some inexplicable reason, in late 1974, out of the blue, Chevrolet cancelled the Z/28 option on the Camaro. This got about as good a reception from enthusiasts and the buff magazines as a turd in a swimming pool. The bean counters at Chevy then watched helplessly as Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am sales doubled every year-from 4,802 in '73 to 10,255 in '74, to 23,000 in '75, and a whopping 46,701 in 1976. And this was before "Smokey and the Bandit" was released. ( Which really helped skyrocket T/A sales for the rest of the decade.)  So, in March 1977, after a 2 1/2 year hiatus, they brought back the Z/28 by shamelessly copying the T/As scoops, spoilers and graphics. However, it also had wrist-thick front and rear sway bars, and a T10 4-speed or TH350 backing up the L48 350 4bbl, and you got a 10 bolt posi rear with either 3.42 or 3.73 gears. They were great handlers, and with very minor work-intake and exhaust, or maybe a mild cam-they could run just as good as the legendary high compression models of the late '60's and early '70's. 1977 models still had the big ugly steel bumpers in use since 1974. In 1978 they went to the much cleaner looking and more attractive urethane body-colored bumpers that Firebirds had used since '76. 1979 brought a more T/A-like front air dam, redesigned aluminum wheels and a 10 hp power boost from 180 to 190. In 1980 "Cowl Induction" returned-a vacuum-operated hood scoop that opened under acceleration and sounded cool. Automatics still got a 3.42 cog, but 4-speeds got a 3.08 ratio. However, because the the ratios were lowered in the tranny-1st was a 3.44 ratio and 2nd a 2.28-accleration was actually improved from the earlier models having a 2.64 1st gear, a 1.75 2nd, and 3.73 cogs. For some perverse reason, in 1981 you could get the 190 hp 350 with an automatic, but if you wanted a 4-speed, you got a 305 that wheezed out about 145 hp. However, you could get the 350 / 4-speed combo in Canada. Thus, there may be a few around. On the upside, if you bought a 305 model, swapping in a 350 would be a bolt-in.  The bottom line is-the 77-81 models are overlooked, but offer the best suspension and transmissions you could ask for, and building power into a small-block Chevy is a no-brainer. If you want a muscular Camaro, this might be the way to go. Mastermind  

Compact beater fun

Long before the Arab oil embargo of 1973 American automakers made compact, fuel efficient cars. Since they were also light weight, they also made good drag racers. The Chevy Nova has a "Cult" following of its own, with even a magazine devoted solely to the restoration / hot rodding of them. My cousin had a '63 Nova with a 283 ( bored to 301 ) and a 4-speed that absolutely screamed.  Although not as desired as Camaros and Chevelles, they can be a little overpriced. If you find a good deal on a 62-67, or 68-74 Nova by all means buy it. Otherwise here's some other great choices for a "Mini-Musclecar". #1 1962-68 Ford Falcon / Mercury Comet. A lot have six-cylinder power, and a some have 289 V8 motivation. These short-wheelbase, light cars can go really fast with a mild 289 / 302. With a wilder 302 / 347, or 351W, or 351W-based stroker, you've got a real finger in the socket, load and cock it, pocket rocket. # 2. 1961-63 Pontiac Tempest. The downside is the rear-mounted independent transaxle won't stand up to any real horsepower, which means you have to install a solid 10 or 12 bolt rear and driveline out of a later GM car which will require some fabrication. The big UPSIDE is many of them have 326 V8s. Pontiac engines are all externally identical, so this means a stompin' 400 or 455 would sit in the engine bay like it grew there. With a curb weight of about 2,800 lbs, this would be a total rocket. Take the fastest GTO you ever drove or rode in, and imagine what it would run like with 1,000 less lbs!! Yeah!  # 3. 1971-77 AMC Hornet. Their, ugly, but boy can they go fast. 304 versions can make a budget screamer, but like Pontiacs, AMC V8s are all externally identical. A 360 or 401 powered, under 3,000 lb Hornet would really rock. With their short wheelbase, they actually launch extremely well, and make good drag racers. # 4. 1964-69 Dodge Dart / Plymouth Valiant / Barracuda. 273 V8 versions are nice performers, but swap in a 340 or 360 ( Or a 408 inch 360-based stroker ) and you can really scream. I've seen people put B / RB engines ( i.e.-383 / 440 ) in these cars, but it makes them really nose-heavy and ill-handling, which kind of negates the fun of any extra speed you'd get from the big-block. Trust me, with a properly prepped 340 / 360 you'll go as fast as anyone needs to. # 5. 1970-77 Ford Maverick / Mercury Comet. 302 Versions can really rock, and you can also install a 351W or 351C pretty easily. A buddy with a pretty quick 440 Road Runner got his doors blown off by a ratty-looking Maverick one night. Never under-estimate an ugly car. '70's Dusters and the "other" Novas-( Ventura, Omega ) are rising in popularity and are getting quite expensive to buy. If you find a good deal one one, by all means buy it, but I omitted them  because the other cars on this list are dirt-cheap. Build one of these and have major speed for low bucks. Mastermind      

Full-size Summer fun!

While any musclecar convertible-be it a Mustang, Camaro, Chevelle, Road Runner,etc-they bring a kings ransom, even more than their hardtop brothers because a lot less of them were built. For example-Pontiac sold almost 90,000 GTOs in 1968, but only 8800 or so were convertibles-about 10% of total production. Most of the other makes sales figures are about the same, percentage wise. Figuring in attrition over the years-some were wrecked, some just junked back when they weren't worth anything-and it's hard to find your dream machine regardless of your bankroll. However, you can still have some heavy metal open air fun. You'll just have to look for a full-size car instead of an intermediate or ponycar. # 1. Would have to be any 1965-75 full-size Buick, Olds or Pontiac drop-top. The reason is they all had TH400s for trannys,and the Pontiacs had 389,400,428 or 455 cubes under the hood. The Olds models had 425s or 455s, and the Buicks had 430 or 455 cubes, depending on the year. I have nothing against Chevys, and if you find a good deal on an Impala drop-top by all means buy it; however most of the Impalas you run across are going to be small-block powered. Any 396, 427 or 454 Impala convertible is going to be high-priced, while the BOP models all have the big-blocks as standard equipment.  # 2. 1965-72 Ford Galaxie / LTD. Most had 390 cubes under the hood, some 1970 and later models may have 351 / 400Cs, or 429s which certainly isn't a bad thing. Clint Eastwood drove a cool blue&white 1972 LTD convertible in "Magnum Force." The other cool factor is these cars were the top of the line; they usually have upgraded interiors, disc brakes, and factory air. # 3. 1965-70 Cadillac DeVille. That's not a typo, I said Cadillac. Cool styling, luxurious interiors, and 429,472 or 500 cubes of American muscle under the hood. These may be a little pricier than the others; but look at it this way-10 grand will buy you a pretty decent vintage Caddy that looks, runs, and drives great. 10 grand won't buy you a rusted, not running, basket case Challenger or Chevelle convertible. # 4. 1965-72 Chrysler C-body. Be it a Fury,Newport or Monaco, most of these had 383 or 440 cubes under the hood, and like their GM and Ford counterparts-lots of luxury options. I'd much rather cruise country roads on nice days in a big, comfortable car with 400+ cubes under the hood than I would cramped up in a 4-banger, buzzy little Mazda Miata or Honda S2000. I'll bet you agree. Mastermind      

Full-Size fun!

We all know about the Impala SS, the Pontiac 2+2, and the Mercury Marauder. However, there are a great many other full-size cars that offer great performance in stock trim, and have huge potential for anyone who wants to "Restify" them. # 1. This is a no-brainer. 1960-68 Pontiacs. While 99% of Impalas, Biscaynes and Bel Airs built during this period have small-block motivation, (Causing the 396, 409, and 427 models to be priced in the stratosphere ) Every Pontiac built from 1960-66, be it a Catalina, Bonneville, or Gran Prix, had the venerable 389 as standard equipment! A few had 421s. All 1967-68 models had 400 cubes under the long hoods, and a fair number had 428s. Manual trannys include the BW T85 3-speed, the BW T10 4-speed, and the Muncie M20 and M21 4-speeds, depending on year. As for automatics, 1965 and later models have the excellent TH400. For 1960-64 models, this is the car's only weak point-these had the old "Slim-Jim" Hydromatic. They won't upshift above about half-throttle, and no one makes shift kits or performance converters for them. The trick is to swap in a TH350 or TH400. You'll have to change the driveshaft yoke and maybe shorten it, but any competent driveline shop can do that cheaply-usually less than $100. You'll have to change the rear trans mount as well. You can use the stock shift linkage as it has the same number of detents, you just have to remember that reverse is now low. The other small problem is Slim-Jims have the starter mounted on the bellhousing, and TH350 / 400s have it mounted on the block. This isn't a big deal.  Most 1963 and later models will have the block tapped for a starter. Earlier ones can be tapped by any decent machine shop cheaply. The great thing about these cars is there are a million ways to build power into a Pontiac V8, and any aftermarket suspension or brake upgrades that fit an Impala will fit these as well. # 2. 1965-69 Olds Delta "88". These are great-looking, luxurious cars, and with 425 or 455 inches under the hood, they move pretty good too. The tranny is the bulletproof TH400, and like their Pontiac cousins, any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a full-size Chevy will work here.  # 3. 1966-69 Buick Riviera. I personally think the 1966-67 Riviera is one of the best-looking cars of all time. They had the swoopy, fastback, hidden headlight styling of the revolutionary Olds Toronado, but were still rear-wheel drive. And with 430 cubes under the hood, they could back up the image. Call me a blasphemer, but I see one jet-black with a snarling 572 inch Rat motor under that long hood. ( All you'd need is a Chevy bolt-pattern TH400 and some Chevy motor mounts.) Hey-It's not like I'm suggesting cutting up a Hemi Cuda, so chill. # 4. 1967-71 Ford Thunderbird. This is the car that caused Pontiac to down-size the Gran Prix, and Chevrolet to invent the Monte Carlo. The 1st, and in my mind still the king of the "Personal Luxury / Performance" coupes. 390, 428 or 429 cubes, cool styling-it's hard to decide which is cooler-the '67-69 with the hidden headlights or the Nascar-inspired fastback '70-71. This is the last of the muscular T-birds until the Supercharged 1989 model. 1972 and later models had 460s, but they were based on the much heavier and uglier Lincoln MKIV platform.  # 5. 1965-72 Ford Galaxie / LTD. Cool styling, luxurious interiors, and 352,390 or 428 cubes of old-fashioned Ford "FE" muscle under the hood. Some 1971-72 models may have 351 / 400C engines or 429s, but that's not a bad thing. I still think the 1972 LTD with Super Bee style black wheels, chrome lug nuts, white letter tires, and a 429 with a Hurst-shifted 4-speed driven by Burt Reynolds in "White Lightning" is one of the coolest movie cars ever. And the mini-skirted, barefoot, "Shake-a-puddin'" played by Jennifer Billingsley was the hottest leading lady Burt ever had too. At least until Rachel Ward in "Sharky's Machine" but that one had no musclecars, or car chases, so "Lightning" wins. #6.  1966-67 Dodge Charger. I know, from "Bullitt" to the "Dukes of Hazzard" to "Fast and Furious" everyone loves the 1968-70 model. Which is why their scarce and overpriced. The stunt coordinator of "F&F 4" said he paid $16,000 for a rusty beater that didn't run that they were going to wreck in the film. However, the '66-67 models are still way cool with the fastback, hidden headlight styling and 4-bucket seat interior. Hemi models are priced in the stratosphere obviously, but you can still find a good deal on a 383 model. And a Mopar Performance 505 wedge or 472 Hemi crate motor will fit in that engine bay like it was born there.  Before everyone starts griping that there's no Chevys on this list, remember what I said when I was talking about '60's Pontiacs. All of these cars have big-blocks as standard equipment, and can be bought relatively cheap. Rat-powered Impalas, etc are rare and pricey.  Mastermind            

Common Sense vs Originality......Common sense loses!

Here's some more stupidity of the "Just as it left the factory" crowd.  Idiot #1. I sold a 1966 Mustang GT a few years ago. This car had the 225 hp 289, Rally-Pac guages, factory a/c, the pony interior, and the original "California Megaphone" exhaust system with date-coded mufflers intact. It also ran terrible becuase the original Holley carb had warped throttle shafts and was bleeding over badly and the distributor had so much slop in it, that you couldn't set the points or the timing for more than five minutes. After installing an Accel aftermarket distributor and a 500 cfm Edelbrock carb with an electric choke, it started easily, and would literally spin the tires as long as you wanted to stay on the throttle. I also took off the ugly black without hubcap steel wheels and skinny tires and put on some 14X7 Chrome Reverse wheels and "Baby Moon" hubcaps and white-letter 205/70/14 tires. The guy I sold it to removed the vinyl top and painted it a gorgeous Bright Blue metallic. He sold it for an exorbitant amount of money (even for a great numbers-matching car, it was exorbitant ). The guy who bought it proceeded to chase me down, buy the original carb and distributor back, spent nearly 2 grand getting them refurbished and removed the Edelbrock carb and accel distributor and re-installed the old parts. He also stripped the gorgeous blue paint job, put another vinyl top on it, painted it the uglier, lighter original blue, and took off the cool chrome wheels and fat ties put on skinny whitewalls with hubcaps. People literally asked him what he did with the "Cool Blue Mustang". When he said that was it, and that he'd "Made it Right" they shook their head in disbelief. He could have bought a beater '65-66 Mustang for a helluva lot less and done a complete resto on that and still had less money in it, than he had in mine, but It "Wouldn't be Original".  Like the Valley girls used to say- "Gag me with a spoon."  Idiot # 2. Bought a 1969 SS396 Chevelle. This one was "Period Correct"-it had Cragar Mags on it and a set of headers, an Isky cam of undetermined specs, and an original Edelbrock Torker intake-( The one where the carb sat at an angle ) and a 780 Holley. This thing ran like the proverbial scalded cat, and just sounded badass. If you wanted to record what a musclecar idle should sound like, this was it. He removed the headers and Edelbrock intake / Holley combo and put on stock exhaust manifolds, an iron intake and a quadrajet, and pulled the Isky cam and installed a factory L34 cam to make it "Completely Original".  Then he bitched and moaned that the car wasn't nearly as fast as it was before, and didn't sound as good!!  Gee, You think?!!  Idiot # 3 Didn't buy a way underpriced 1979 Trans-Am that was not only immaculately painted like a "Macho T/A" ( although it wasn't an original DKM Macho ) that also had a killer Traco-built 500 hp 350 Chevy, a Doug Nash 5-speed, and Recaro seats, because the serial numbers said it was orignally a 301 / 4-speed car, "And it would cost too much to put it back to original".  Huh? Why would you want a non-Turbo 301 T/A at all unless you could buy it dirt-cheap and were planning to swap in a 400 / 455 Pontiac or a small or big-block Chevy for an instant, massive power infusion? If you want a 77-81 301 Firebird there's plenty of those slugs around for low prices because no one wants them. This one really puzzled me, and if I'd had the money at the time I'd have bought this car. Like Comedian Ron White says- "You can't fix stupid."  Mastermind        

What happened to common sense?

Saw a joke obituary on the internet about the death of "Common Sense". It was hilarious, but I think common sense left car restoration behind years ago. People even advertise their stupidity. Saw an ad in Hemmings for a 1971 Boss 351 Mustang, one of 1,806 built. The asking price was 59K, which I thought was a little high, since the same issue had two other pristine examples priced at $39,000 and $42,000. The guy asking 59K said in the ad that he'd paid 4 grand for a "correct" carburator. Hello? First off, the Autolite 4300 was about the worst carb ever made. They didn't work properly brand-new. The cars wouldn't start, they got horrible gas mileage, and wouldn't run worth a damn. My dad was a master Ford Tech in the '70's and if you had a new car or truck with a 351C or a 429 / 460 4bbl, and you bitched hard enough, the dealer would install a 600 Holley and the factory would warranty it. Now, wouldn't a freshly rebuilt Boss 351 run a lot better with a vacuum-secondary 780 Holley or a 750 Edelbrock carb? And, if you really, really wanted a documented, blue&silver Boss 351, is it worth 4 grand less because it had a non-original carb on it? Of course not!!  I told you about the guy that paid 3 grand for a Shelby steering wheel. The worst one was a guy that paid $14,000-that's not a typo-I said fourteen thousand, for a "Correct" rear end for a Yenko Camaro that he was selling for six figures. Are you kidding me? First off, it wasn't THE original rear end out of THAT car. So if it's a replacement anyway, would this pristine 427 / 4-speed Yenko Camaro be worth any less if it had a new Moser 12 bolt in it, or one out of say a '68 Firebird? Is a rich guy honestly going to say-"Well, the car is immaculate, and your asking price of 150K is certainly reasonable, but my mechanic says that's an "Incorrect" 12-bolt posi rear end, so I'm only offering you $136,000."  Puhleeezzze.  A friend has a pristine SS396 Chevelle. It's a 4-speed model, and it has a Hurst Competition Plus shifter. This is what we call a "Day two" modification. I.E,- so many people did it immediately after buying the car, that some people think it's standard equipment. GTO's and 442s had Hurst shifters from the factory, but Chevelles had the horrible Muncie shifter. The difference was the Hurst shifters were mounted on the trans, and had positive stops. GTO and 442 owners could powershift to their heart's content. The Muncie shifters were mounted on the body, and when the engine was under load, they would bind up. Forget  powershifting, you couldn't even shift them at all above about 4000 rpm!!  So just about everyone trashed the Muncie shifters and replaced them with a Hurst or Mr. Gasket unit. If you want a 1968-72 4-speed, big-block SS Chevelle, are you really going to pass on one ( or several ) with a Hurst shifter, and pay more for one with the crappy Muncie unit?  Of course not! Apparently, you have common sense!!  I have a 390 hp 428 HO Pontiac in my garage. My brother bought it several years ago for his GTO, but never did anything with it, instead he built a killer 400. I was recently negotiating, ( unsuccessfully, unfortunately ) to buy a 1969 Gran Prix SJ with a blown engine, but a factory 4-speed. If I had bought the GP and put that engine in it, and decided to later sell it, is it worth less because the Quadrajet carb I bought from Summit doesn't have the right serial numbers on it?  Or the Rally II wheels actually came off a '72 GP and not a '69? Get real. A hardcore Pontiac fan would give blood and a first-born child for that car, regardless of where the carb or the wheels came from!!  Think about the total package before you fall into the "It's not original" trap. Mastermind       

Bring back the Trans-Am and the Road Runner!

I've seen a few concept cars based on the new Camaro and they all look disjointed. The reason is people are trying to make them look like a "Smokey and the Bandit" '70's T/A. Forget that. The body closely resembles a 1969 Camaro, so make it look like a 1969 Trans-Am. Offer a hood tach and some 18 or 19 inch Rally II style wheels. Make the LS3 the base engine and the supercharged LS9 an option. Think that would sell like hotcakes? I do. Chrysler could do the same thing. They could put a urethane front bumper on the Challenger that resembled a '71-72 Road Runner, and even add a Superbird style rear wing. Paint it Petty blue and put some NASCAR style 20 inch wheels on it and a loud flowmaster exhaust. Make the 5.7 Hemi the base model and the 6.4 the upgrade. Or make a "Bullet" nose with hidden headlamps for the Charger, add the Daytona wing and call it the Superbird or Charger Daytona.  Like that baseball movie- "Build it, and they will come." Start e-mailing GM and Chrysler and all the buff magazines and see if public opinion means anything.  Mastermind  

No you didn't!!......Race one "Just like that"

In relation to the last post, almost as annoying are the idiots that swear they beat an ultra fast car in a drag race with either a four-cylinder import  ( and I don't mean a Subaru WRX STI ) or something else equally slow-i.e. their mother's station wagon or their dad's pickup. Apparently, "Just Like that" means either the same bodystyle or the same color to these fools. A few cases in point. Moron  #1. This clown had a 1965 Impala 4-door sedan. It had a 327 / Powerglide drivetrain. It moved ok for a big car, but not exactly a rocket. He swore up and down that he had given a "Helluva Race" to a Firebird Formula "Just like" a friend of mine's. He was aghast when my pal's car blew him away by about 15 or 20 car lengths. The difference?  The one he had the "helluva race" with belonged to a girl in his office and was a "California" model with a 2bbl 305 Chevy engine, a TH350, and a 2.56:1 axle ratio. How shocking that my pal's 400 4bbl Pontiac engined, 4-speed, 3.42 geared Formula smote him in biblical fashion!  Moron # 2. This buster claimed his 390 powered, 4-wheel drive F250 pickup outran a Dodge Challenger T/A.  Again-the same color-his victim was a "Hemi Orange" Challenger-but it was a 1973 318 2bbl model owned by a teenager in his apartment complex, and I know that the car hadn't had a tune-up or even an oil change in god-knows-when, and was probably running on 7 cylinders, because his mother was a good customer of mine, and asked me to help the brat keep it running, even though he never had any money for even the slightest repair. "Supertruck" was astounded when an acquaintances 360 / Automatic '74 Challenger blew him away by about 10 car lengths.  Moron # 3. I have personal experience with this clown not once, but twice. ( Apparently he didn't learn the first time.)  He had a 1973 Mustang Mach 1 with a 351C and an automatic and 3.25:1 gears.  He swore he blew the doors off a 442 "Just Like" my Hurst / Olds.  The one he beat was a 442, and it was white and gold, but it was a 1976 model with a 350,TH350, catilyst-choked single exhaust, and a 2.41:1 axle ratio.  He was utterly stunned when my 455 powered, real dual exhaust, 3.23:1 geared 1973 Hurst / Olds ate his lunch.  A couple weeks later he challenges my brother's 400 / built-to-RAIV / Edelbrock Performer RPM spec '69 GTO.  Huh? A heavy,7.9:1 compression 351 Mustang tugging on Superman's cape?  After little bro blew his doors off  so badly that it wasn't funny, this guy actually says-"I don't understand it-I beat a convertible like that this weekend." "Did it have the chrome front bumper and Cragar mags on it?" My brother asked "Yeah it did." We started laughing. My brother knows the guy from his GTO club, and the car is you-guessed it-a LeMans with a 350, a 2bbl, and a Powerglide!!  I swear, the next time some clown claims that his wood-sided LTD wagon out ran an LS6 Chevelle, I'm going to tazer him. Mastermind