Before you do anything.....Make it driveable!!

You'd think the title to this post is a no-brainer, but you'd be amazed at the number of musclecars I see that have $2000 worth of tires and wheels on them and a $5,000 paint job, that you can't hold in the road at freeway speed, or are hard to start, or won't idle or overheat if it idles more than two minutes. Here's some simple advice to avoid this problem. # 1. Driveability / Performance. Even if the engine is bone-stock, you need to make sure the radiator is (A) big enough to cool the engine- ( I see this all the time-a 440 swapped into a 318 Challenger, or a Rat motor swapped into a small-block Chevelle, and the radiator can't cool the engine even if your not in traffic ) and (B) Not clogged up with corrosion. Once you've ascertained the radiator is big enough, have it professionally cleaned. And change the water pump and the thermostat and the hoses. Make sure that you have good plug wires and that the timing is set properly, and that the carburator isn't too rich or too lean. If the car has an automatic transmission, have it flushed including the torque converter. Sounds simple-but you won't believe the number of good-looking cars I see that run like absolute crap, or are 2 qts low on oil or tranny fluid. # 2. Driveability / Safety. Make sure the brakes are working properly. I've seen this on test-drives from used car lots. You pull out, hit the throttle-the engine roars, the car leaps forward, and then you try to stop. There's nothing more sickening than the brake pedal going to the floor or the whole car shuddering under braking. Brakes don't cost that much to fix, and are a vital part of a safe car. I've also driven good-looking cars that you can't hold in the road at highway speed. Make sure that the steering linkage parts-idler arm,ball joints, tie rod ends etc are in good shape and that the alignment is right. I've let go of the wheel in some musclecars and almost hit a parked car or went in a circle. Before you start spending money on paint and bodywork or trick rolling stock,or a killer crate engine, at least make it safe to drive. And if it's driveable and pleasant to drive, you'll be more motivated to finish it. Nothing deflates a gearheads ego like a car that won't run around the block. Mastermind

Run what you brung......Part 2

We talked in the last post about how in a lot of instances it's more cost-effective to use the engine that's already in the car, rather than spending big dollars buying and building something else. Here's where you need to do some further thinking about what gives the most "Bang for the Buck" when your "Restifying" your musclecar. Here's some guidelines to help you maximize your car's performance regardless of brand. # 1. Gears make it go!! Let's say you have a disco-era Trans-Am. Whether you have a 400 Pontiac or a 403 Olds engine under the hood, before you start buying intakes, cams, headers etc, the first thing I would do is change the axle ratio. Most T/A's from 1975-79 with automatic transmissions have a 2.56:1 rear axle ratio. Switching to a 3.23:1 or 3.42:1 cog will drastically increase performance even with a bone-stock engine. This salt-flats gearing is common on '70's cars because of emissions. Most Chevelles, Camaros, and Monte Carlos have 2.73:1 gears from the factory. Most Mustangs, Cougars and Torinos have 2.80:1 or 3.00:1 gears. Stick with something in the 3.23:1 to 3.73:1 range. This will give good acceleration and still have reasonable crusing rpm on the freeway, and will work better with a hotter cam, bigger heads etc that you add down the road. # 2. Buy bolt-on power before you start taking the engine apart. For example-before you decide to buy a stroker crank kit to make that 302 Ford a 347, or that 350 Chevy a 383, or a 400 Pontiac into a 455, a set of headers and good dual exhaust, an Edelbrock intake, and maybe a cam will give you a SERIOUS hp boost-without tearing the engine down. The same goes for aftermarket aluminum heads. Don't get me wrong, their great, and make tons of hp on the right engine combo. However since, they cost nearly 2 grand a pair for most engines-think about it-2K will buy you a cam kit, intake and carb, headers and dual exhaust and maybe even a gearset and a high-stall converter. # 3. In the early '60's, Chrysler found more performance not in the engine, but in the transmission. The Torqueflite automatic introduced in 1962 was leaps and bounds ahead of the old GM Hydra-Matic, and Ford-O-Matics that were designed in the late '40's. The 383. 413, and 426 Max Wedge drag cars dominated, and GM and Ford scrambled to catch up.  However, most '60's and '70's musclecars have excellent automatic transmissions. GM TH350 / 400, the Ford C4 / C6, and the 904 / 727 Torqueflites will all stand up to mega-hp engines with minor modifications-i.e.- shift improver kits, adjustable modulators, and aftermarket converters.  If you have a stick, make sure the clutch linkage is adjusted properly and that the shifter is working properly. If the shift linkage is binding up, replace it with a new Hurst unit. They start at like $149.95 and are well worth it.  # 4. Make sure the engine is tuned properly. Even on a bone-stock engine, bad tuning can cost you as much as 30-40 hp. You'd be amazed at the number of musclecars running around on 7 cylinders, with bad plug wires, timing too slow or way advanced, vacuum advance unplugged or inoperative, or the carburator too rich or too lean.  These tips should help you get maximum performance for minimum bucks. Mastermind        

"Run what you brung!!"

Magazine writers, myself included- often pontificate on what gives the most "Bang for the Buck". When were giving this advice we have the best of intentions and are thinking that the average joe is going to have to buy the parts. If that's the case and you want to build a Rat-motored Camaro or Chevelle- then-yes a 454 Chevy is the way to go. However-if you already have a 396 in the car, wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to just build that?  And-yes if you build apples to apples-same cam carb, etc-a 454 will have more power because of the extra cubes-but not THAT much more. Certainly not enough to justify the extra expense of buying, building and swapping in a different engine!!  If your a Mopar fan don't throw away a perfectly good 383 and then spend an additional 5 grand buying and rebuilding a junk 440!!  On the other hand-I wouldn't spend a nickel on a 305 Chevy-a 350 makes way more power stock or modified and costs no more to buy or build. Ditto for an AMC fan-don't waste money trying to hop up a 304-a 360 or 401 will make twice the power and costs no more to buy or build. You have to use common sense. Anyway-here's a list of engines that I would keep if it came in the car, and some that I wouldn't mess with under any circumstances. # 1. Chevrolet. Unless you are restoring a 1955-57 Chevy to the nth degree for Concours showing, a 265 or 283 is only useful as a doorstop. My dad's friends talk about high-winding 301s ( a 283 bored 1/8 over, '58 and later blocks are thick enough ) that kicked butt in the '50's and early '60's, but they are just too small for serious performance work. A 350 or 383 stroker with the same equipment will make tons more power and torque. The same goes for a 307-( an economy motor built by putting a 327 crank in a 283 block ) used from 1968-73 and the 305 ( which uses a small bore and a 350 crank ) used from 1976-1995. Their just too small to make any serious power-you can't even put "2.02" heads on them-the valves will hit the block. The only small-block Chevy to use other than a 350 or 400 is a 327. They were used in millions of cars and trucks from 1962-69.  If you have a 327 or can buy one cheap by all means use it. With the right cam heads, etc they can really rock. A 350 or 383 might make a little more power with the same equipment-but again not enough to justify not using a perfectly good engine and spending thousands more to gain 30 hp. See what I'm saying?  As for big-blocks-If you have a 396 or a 402 or 427, by all means use it!!  If you have to go buy one cold-turkey, then 454's are more plentiful and easier to find. But again-all other things being equal-a 454 will make about 25 hp more than a 427, and maybe 40 more than a 396.  # 2. Pontiac. If you have or want to buy any Pontiac model built from 1959-66, chances are it has a 389 V8. And there's nothing wrong with that. 389s make tons of low-end torque, and as we know powered the early, legendary GTOs. The major reason 400s and 455s make more power ( besides the cubes ) is that Pontiac drastically improved their head design in 1967. !967 and later heads flow way more than the '59-66 "bathtub" chamber style. If you have or want to build a car with a 389, by all means use it. If you want one to really rock, you can use later factory heads or aftermarket Edelbrocks, and Butler performance offers a stroker crank kit to turn a 389 / 400 into a 455.  As for the other Pontiac V8s-the 400 and 455s are the most desirable. However-if you have or can buy one cheap-usually in a "big" car-i.e.- Catalina, Bonneville, etc-the 421 and 428s are strong performers too. As for the smaller engines-don't waste your time on a 326 or 350. A 389 / 400 costs no more to buy or build and will make way more power for the same money. The one exception is if you have a 1968-77 Firebird or LeMans, or a 1971-77 Ventura that has a 350 Poncho in it. The car will really "Wake up" with minor mods like a 4bbl carb and intake, dual exhaust and a shift kit in the trans. It will also give you a nice "driver" engine while you build that killer 400 or 455. As for the 301 that was used from 77-81-it's a useless "economy" motor that has virtually nothing in common with it's bigger brothers. # 3. Mopar. Forget a 273, their just too small for serious performance work. The same goes for a 318, unless it's in a Duster or a Dart. These cars are light enough, that they can really haul with minor mods. In the heavier B and E bodies you need a 340 or a 360. As for B / RB engines-if you have a 383 or a 413 or non-Hemi 426-by all means use it. Otherwise the 400 and 440 are much easier to find. # 4. Oldsmobile. Unless your restoring a 1964 442 to the nth degree, forget a 330. A 350 or 403 will make way more power for the same money. If your car has a 400 or 425, you should definitely use it. Otherwise the 455 is the most desirable. The 260 and 307 V8s are "economy" motors and have nothing in common with the 330 / 350 / 403.  # 5. Ford. A 289 is fine if you have a Mustang , Comet, or Fairlane, but they are really too small for performance work in the heavier models. If you have a 60's Ford with a 390 in it, there's plenty of aftermarket support, including Edelbrock aluminum heads. For '70's models on up-a 302 is great for a Mustang, or Maverick or other light car. If you have a Torino or Cougar, Mustang etc with a 351W or 351C, there's a ton of speed equipment available. I wouldn't search for one, but If your '70's Ford has a 351 / 400M, they can be hopped up-theres cams, intakes, etc. Obviously the 429 / 460 is desirable. Forget the 255 V8 that was used from 1980-82 it has nothing in common with the 289 / 302.  Forget a 352, or the 360 truck motor-they are an "FE" design like a 390 / 428-but they are just as big and heavy and don't make near as much power as the bigger motors, and still get crappy gas mileage and leak oil.  Anyhow, these guidelines will help keep you from throwing good money  away on an engine that would better serve as a boat anchor than the heart of a musclecar.  Mastermind              

A "Step Down" can be a steal

Every manufacturer made step down models trying to increase sales. These can be a screaming deal for the smart shopper. By smart-I mean realizing that these models aren't worth anything other than the fact that it is a GTO or a 442 or whatever. Most of the step-down models had less powerful engines. For example in 1967-69 Olds and Pontiac offered step-down engines on the GTO and 442. Instead of a 400 inch V8 with a 4bbl that was rated at 350 hp you got a 400 with a 2bbl that was rated at 290. A lot of Dodge Chargers and Plymouth Satellites had 2bbl 383 V8s. A lot of Mach 1 Mustangs built from 1969-73 have 351W or 351C engines with a two-barrel carb.  It's funny-I've seen people pass on these cars and pay 5 grand more for one with a "Factory" 4bbl that isn't as nice. Hello?? You can't spend $600 on a factory or Edelbrock intake and 4bbl carb and 4 hrs to install it? You'd rather spend 5k more for an "original" 4bbl model?  Use your head. In 1971-72 you could get an SS Chevelle with a small-block for the first time. These cars make nice drivers, and there's more speed equipment available for a small-block Chevy than anything else on the planet. Or you could swap in a big block pretty easily if that is your desire. Pontiac made a fair number of  "Formula 350" Firebirds from 1970-77. 350 Pontiacs really "Wake Up" with a 4bbl carb and intake, dual exhaust and other minor mods. Or a 400 or 455 is a bolt-in swap. 1977-81 Formulas and T/A's had the 301 V8 as a step-down from the 400 Pontiac and 403 Olds engines ( 77-79 ) and as standard in 80-81. ( The ill-fated 301 Turbo or a 305 Chevy were the other options ). These cars are snubbed by Pontiac collectors and can be bought dirt-cheap. And a 400 or 455 will drop right in, unless you have a 305, then I'd just go with a hotter SBC. 442s after 1971 had a 350 2bbl as std equipment. Of the "Other" 350s-i.e. non-small-block Chevy-the Olds is the best one. It's a big-bore / small stroke design, and there is a good amount of speed equipment available for them. A 403 will bolt in place of a 350, and all the same equipment fits, except you have 53 more cubes. 1968-72 350 heads will give later 350 / 403s a full one point compression boost, but you'll have to retap the bolt holes. You can use 455 Edelbrock heads on these engines too, but you'll need custom pistons and a ported Performer RPM manifold.  Or a 455 can be swapped in without too much hassle. LT1, L82 and big-block '70's 'Vettes bring a king's ransom, but the "standard" L48 350 is no slouch, and you can buy these for thousands less than their more desirable brothers, and as we know-there's no shortage of SBC speed equipment. If you want to buy a 'Vette dirt cheap-three words that usually aren't in the same sentence-look for a 1980-81 "California" model. These have a 305 and are vehemently snubbed by Corvette collectors. But a 350 or 383 would bolt right in, and if you want a C3 'Vette at a low price, this might be the way to go.  318 powered Challengers, Barracudas, Satellites and Coronets can be bought way cheaper than their big-block brethren, and a 360 or a 360 based 408 stroker is a bolt in. Or the "B / RB" engines can be swapped in. One of these "lesser" models might be just the ticket for you bargain-hunters. Mastermind 

Rejoice Ford Fans! You can have a "Boss" Hoss!

The aftermarket has responded enough that you could build a "Boss" Mustang for a reasonable price. By reasonable, I mean a lot less than it would cost to buy an original. Edelbrock sells heads and intake manifolds so you can build a "Clevor" Boss 302 or Boss 351 engine out of a generic 302 or 351W. Trick Flow also has aluminum performance heads for Cleveland engines. The real news is Jon Kaase racing now sells Boss 429 Cylinder heads that will fit a "regular" 429 / 460 block, and they also sell complete Boss 429 engines. Their not cheap-a Boss 9 crate motor starts at $19,900-but do the math. If you buy a nice 1969 or 70 Mustang Fastback for 15 or 20 grand, and spend another 20 or 25 on the Boss 9 conversion-you've got a Boss 429 Mustang for less than 50K. Not chump change, but considering that the last "Real" Boss 429 I saw go through Barrett-Jackson went for $185,000 it's quite a deal. Kaase offers engines from 429 to 600 cubes and from 500 to 1,500 hp ( with a blower ). If you "Gotta Have" a Boss Mustang, this might be the only way to get one. Mastermind

The "California Kid" rides again.....

Here's a blast from the past-someone asked me had I ever heard of a car named "The California Kid." The fact is The "California Kid" is both a car and a movie. The movie was made in 1974 and Starred Martin Sheen, Michelle Phillips, Nick Nolte and Vic Morrow. The movie was set in 1958. Vic Morrow's character was a sadistic sheriff who ran hot-rodders off the road to their deaths in his hopped-up, Hemi powered 300C Police Car. His latest victim was a decorated Korean war hero in a '50 Ford, that turns out to be Martin Sheen's younger brother. Charlie and Emilio Estevez Jr-wish they were as cool as their dad when he was young-( before Apocolypse Now-which established him as an A-list talent.)  Martin Sheen was so badass in this role, that Charles Bronson said he couldn't have done it better himself-Bronson was offered the role-but was busy with "Mr. Majestyk" and "Death Wish"-which catapulted Bronson to superstardom-but he watched the movie when it came out and lauded Sheen's performance. The other star was of course the '34 Ford driven by Sheen. Pete Chapouris built it for the movie to the producer's specs. They wanted a '50's hot rod that was more badass and evil-looking than the '32 Ford from "American Graffiti" which was a smash hit the year before. The car had a great black paint job with red, yellow and orange flames. To this day-everyone knows what a "California Kid" paint job is. It's even sold under that name if you want your new Harley Softail painted that style. Any way, Sheen figures out that the sherrif killed his brother on purpose, and sets out for revenge. He challenges the sheriif to a race down the dangerous road outside the town, and runs the evil bastard to his much-deserved death. As for the car-it's still around at various car shows-Pete Chapouris still has it-and except for Halibrand wheels-( it had steel wheels and hubcaps in the film ) it's exactly as it was in 1974. It's powered by a hopped up 302 Ford V8 with a C4 automatic behind it-simple, powerful and bulletproof. This car inspired countless others including ZZ Top's famous 34 Ford "Eliminator".  Anyhow, if Amazon.com or someone can get you a copy of the film on VHS or DVD it's a worthy addition to anyone's car movie collection. And it is realistic-a Hemi-powered 1957 300C was about the fastest production car around in 1958-which is when the movie is set.  Mastermind    

RIP Bill Jenkins

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins. When I was 11 I got to see "Grumpy's Toy" the 327 powered Pro Stock Vega in which he won the 1972 championship in, beating the Hemi 'Cuda of Sox&Martin.. Jenkins was in town going to a Pro Stock Race, and dropped by to see Dino Fry who worked in the same Chevy Dealership as my dad. Dad called home, and mom drove me over there post haste. "Da Grump" talked to my dad and all the other mechanics there and signed autographs for everyone. He was a very nice guy-He got the nickname "Grumpy" because he was short, and when he drove he always scowled, and some magazine writer said he looked like "Grumpy" of the Snow White and the 7 dwarves fame in a racing helmet-and it stuck. Jenkins started drag racing in the late 1950's. He's most famous for winning the 1963 Winternationals Stock class in the Z11 Impala-a 427 inch prototype of the future "Rat" motor., and the 1970 Pro Stock championship in a stock-bodied Camaro-the last time the title wasn't won by a tube-framed plastic monster. In 1972 he blew everyone away with the V8 Vega. He won more championships in the '70's some- legendary Chevy vs Ford battles with the 351C  powered Pinto of "Dyno Don Nicholson."  After he retired from driving he wrote many articles for magazines like Hot Rod and Car Craft, and built engines for other racers and retail customers. One of his last ventures was building mega-horsepower small and big block Chevy crate engines with Smeding Performance. What made him special to so many racing fans is what made him special to me-no matter how busy he was-he had time to talk to a little boy and his dad and wish us well.  Grumpy, we'll miss you.  Mastermind  

Realize the difference between what sells magazines and what works in the real world!!

As hot rod enthusiasts we are constantly bombarded every month with new products, and more and more expensive, radical project cars. This doesn't mean were behind the times, or inadequate, that's what they have to do to sell magazines. Look at it this way-You bought a "Maxim" magazine because they had a layout of Eva Longoria ( "Desperate Housewives" ) barefoot in a bikini and talking about how she likes being tied up in bed!  If the photo shoot had been her in a down jacket, jeans, and ski boots, and the interview about her recipe for Christmas cookies you wouldn't have bought it!!  "Guns & Ammo" has former Police officers Evan Marshall and Masaad Ayoob writing about their gunfights with drug dealers, not how to reload .22 ammunition and save five bucks.  It's the same with the Car magazines. They have to feature radical, blown, nitroused, slammed cars on the cover to get your attention, and they have to run articles about fuel injection systems and six-speed transmissions and aftermarket rack&pinions and their wonderful benefits. If the writer actually said-"Yeah, it's cool but I wouldn't spend $3,500 to drop 600 rpm in freeway cruising speed." or "The 850 Holley / Edelbrock Performer RPM combo actually made 15 MORE hp on the dyno and cost $650 compared to $2,995 for the injection"  Their advertisers would want to kill them and they'd be out of business pretty quick. So you need to keep this in mind when you start laying out a project. Do you want to go really fast or be state of the art?  You can do both, but it's very expensive. Most of us would rather go really fast and save all that extra money to use on paint and bodywork, or a truck and trailer to tow it with or maybe even a boat or a motorcycle. That's where today's advice comes in. Here's a few good examples of how to save tons of money and grief, and still go really fast. # 1. Just because it's possible doesn't mean you have to do it. Yes, you can put a 460 into a Fox-bodied Mustang but why would you want to? I know plenty of people that run in the 11s, or even the 10s with the 302 that came in the car, or a 347 inch 302 based stroker. The 460 conversion is an SOB to do, costs big bucks, and ruins the handling of the car by by making it way nose-heavy, and honestly doesn't go any faster than you can with a 302. Yes, I've seen the 460 / 514 conversions in the 9s at drag meets. I've also seen 302 / 347 'Stangs in the 9s as well, so that dog won't hunt. There's personality types that have to have the biggest of everything no matter what, even if it costs more and doesn't perform as well as something less obnoxious or ostentatious.  # 2. Sometimes "Low Tech" is better. Edelbrock, Holley and Accel all sell aftermarket fuel-injection systems for most popular musclecar engines. Yes, once you get them dialed-in, they work great. Except most of them cost between $1995 and $3895 depending on application and accessories, and don't make any more power than a simple $600 carb and intake combo. Personally I'd rather have the extra 2 or 3 grand to spend on heads, cam, gears, exhaust, tires and wheels, etc. This also applies to aftermarket aluminum heads and roller cams. Yes, Edelbrock and Trick Flow and Dart all make high-performance heads for most popular engines. The downside is for anything other than a small-block Chevy they cost nearly 2 grand a pair or more. If your restoring a 400 Trans-Am, your going to get a lot more performance gain from spending that 2K on a cam, carb and intake, exhaust, and maybe some stiffer gears than you will from the heads alone. Even for small-block Chevy builders-you can buy a pair of brand-new iron Vortec heads ( which breathe better than any factory head and many aftermarket ones ) from GMPP for $650. You can't hardly get your old ones refinished at a machine shop for that, and that's way less than the $1000 on up that everyone wants for SBC aluminum heads. If your building a 1987-up small-block Chevy or Ford that had a roller cam from the factory, your in business. But roller cam conversions for anything else run up to $1,800. That's a lot more than the $300 that the average flat-tappet hydraulic cam kit costs from Crane, Comp Cams, Isky, etc. And again-the power gain-if any-doesn't justify the extra expense. But it sounds cool to say you have a roller cam.  # 3. Unless you have Donald Trump's bank account, stay away from Nitrous. And even if you do, then just build a bigger motor.  Forget the "Fast&Furious" movies, unless you spend a ton of money-all nitrous does is turn your engine into a grenade. Here's why: When you force nitrous oxide into the combutstion chambers you lean out the fuel mixture drastically which raises the tempurature of the combustion chamber, causes detonation, and can turn the spark into a laser-beam that can melt your piston crowns in seconds. To run nitrous properly you have to have an auxilary fuel system-i.e.-separate fuel pump and lines, and solenoids to kick it on at the proper time, and manage the extra fuel flow properly. You'll need an upgraded ignition like a Jacobs or MSD, and an adjustable control box. that lets you change the timing from inside the car. Why? For every 50 hp of nitrous you need to retard your timing 2 degrees. That means a 200 hp shot needs the timing backed up 8 degrees. You can't drive around like that off the bottle, the car will run like shit. And you can't pull over and open the hood, and adjust your distributor every time you want to jump some fool from a light. You'll also need to have it set up electronically to delay nitrous delivery for a few seconds. If you get full-throttle and full nitrous right off the bat, all you'll do is blow the tires off.  That's a lot of money and engineering and honestly-how often are you really going to make a run with nitrous? I said it best in an article I wrote about building a hot small-block Chevy a few years ago. I recommended cast pistons for almost any application. I said I would only recommend forged pistons if you were planning to run a blower or nitrous. My question then is-If you have that much money and need to go THAT fast-"Why aren't you building a 454 instead of a 350?"  # 4. If your not running the car in a Nextel cup race at 8,000 rpm for 500 miles at Daytona, then it doesn't need to be built like you are. Why does every car in a magazine regardless of make need a custom 9 inch Ford rearend?  In 35 years of driving and racing, I've never broken a GM 10 bolt rear end and that includes 400, 4-speed Trans-Ams that I popped the clutch incessantly on. I have friends with 440 4-speed Chargers, and one with a 505 inch Duster that have never, ever broken an 83/4 Chrysler rear. I know Mustang racers that run in the 10s with drag radials and never had an ounce of trouble with the stock 8.8 diff. Ditto for brakes-Why does every car HAVE to have a Wildwood or Baer 4-wheel disc setup worthy of a Formula 1 car? The stock front disc / rear drum or 4-wheel disc system on most '70's and '80's cars isn't adequate to stop the car safely in daily driving or on a weekend trip to the drags? Like Ditka says-"Come on, Man!!"  Think about the "Bang for the Buck" your getting and you'll save thousands of dollars, and have a more reliable, better driving car. Mastermind      

Know what your selling!!!

There's nothing more frustrating than talking to someone who not only doesn't know anything about the car their trying to sell, but has a flippant and arrogant attitude. This seems to be rampant among the general public. Some of my customers ask me to verify vin information or options on cars they potentially want to buy, and I try to help, because my dad and I will usually get some restoration work out of it. Here's some conversations I've had with people wanting BIG dollars for a car.  "I was calling about the 1968 Chevelle Malibu." "Which engine does it have?"  "A small-block Chevy."  "Is it a 307, a 327 or a 350?"  "How would I know?"  "There's usually a sticker on the radiator support or the valve covers." "The valve covers say Target Master 350." "So it doesn't have the original engine."  "How do you know?" "The target master was a service replacement engine sold by dealers in the '80's and '90's." "They didn't have target masters in 1968."  "Which transmission does it have?" "An automatic." "Do you know if it's a Powerglide or a Turbo 350?" "How do you tell that?" "One's a two-speed transmission and the other's a three-speed." "I SAID it's an automatic!" "The Powerglide and the TH350 are both automatics, one's a two-speed and one's a three speed." "The three speed is better." "WELL, You obviously know more than I do."  "Obviously."  Click.  This next one is like a Saturday night live skit. The ad said  "All original, numbers-matching 1965 Corvette Sting Ray." "Do you still have the Corvette for sale?"  "Yes." "Which engine is it?"  "A 427." "Oh., so someone swapped in a 427?" "No, it's the original engine." "The 427 wasn't available until 1966." "If it's a '65 and a big-block and original, it would have to be a 396." "Are your sure?" "I'm sure." "Maybe it's a 327."  "That would be a small-block." "Then it's a 327. It's a small-block." " Do you know which 327?" "There's more than one?" "There's actually 4. "  "There's a 300 hp, a 350 hp, a 365 hp, and a 375 hp with fuel injection." "They had fuel injection in 1965?" "You could get fuel injection on a Corvette as early as 1957, but their rare." "This one's got a carburator." "Great. Is it a Rochester or a Holley." "The carburator?" "Yes." "The carburator's an Edelbrock." "Then it's not original." "Edelbrock carbs weren't introduced until the mid-1980's." "No shit?" "No shit." "What about the trans, is it a Muncie or a Borg-Warner?"  "It's a 4-speed stick." "I know that, but GM used Borg-Warner T10s from 1957-'65, and they used Muncies from 1963-74, so it could have either one." "How could you tell?"  "Do me a favor, look under the hood, and let me know if the head casting number is either 186, 462 or 492."  "Look under the car and tell me if theirs the letters M20, or M21 or T10 on the transmission." "You want me to go out get numbers off the engine and transmission?" "Your asking $42,000 for the car, I don't think that's unreasonable." "Especially since you advertised it as numbers-matching, all original, and we've already ascertained that it doesn't have the original carb."  "Fine. Give me your number. I'll call you back."  He never called back.  This is what you get more often than not. They want thousands of dollars for an old car, and they act all exasperated when you ask them to verify if it's actually worth what their asking!!  The balls of some people-wanting to know if a car that's priced in the stratosphere is right or not!  Mastermind      

Some "Cross-breeding" is ok......Within Reason!!

There's been a lot of heated debate in the buff magazines lately about cross-breeding-i.e. Chevy engines in Pontiacs, Chrysler Hemis in '32 Fords, etc. Some are good ideas, some are bad ideas, some are just this person has more money than brains stupid. I'll address the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly here, and you can draw your own conclusions about whether a certain swap is a good idea financially and performance-wise. # 1. The Good. If you drastically improve the performance of the vehicle for very low-cost or can get twice the power for the same amount of money-this is a good idea. Here's a couple of classic examples- # 1. For years guys have bought 1953-56 Ford pickups-everyone knows what an iconic classic they are-and installed a Chevelle or Camaro front clip. This gives them modern power steering, and modern front disc brakes for very low cost. It also allows the easy installation of a small or big-block Chevy which makes big power for low bucks. The truck rides, handles, stops, and certainly goes 10 times better than stock, for a low price, and minimal cutting and engineering.  Ford purists scream blasphemy, but the bottom line is this conversion costs thousands less than trying to use all Ford parts and swap in a 351C or a 390 or a 460. That's why guys have been doing it for 40 years.  # 2. Let's say you buy a nice 1964 Buick Skylark that you want to make a street / strip machine out of. It has a 300 inch Buick V8 and a two-speed Super Turbine 300-( read Powerglide ).  There are exactly zero speed parts available for the old 300 inch Buick V8, and a TH350 will bolt in place of the ST300 without even changing the trans mount or the u-joint. So if a guy wanted a lot of performance for low bucks, swapping in a 350 Chevy and a TH350 trans makes a lot of sense. An argument could be made that swapping in a later Buick 350 / TH350 powertrain would be just as easy, and that would fly if you just wanted a nice daily driver.  But for hot-rod purposes-a 350 Chevy is going to make twice the power for half the cost compared to a 350 Buick engine. The other instances where this is smart is if you buy a 403 Olds powered Firebird. It's a lot easier and a lot more cost-effective to hop up the 403 Olds engine that's already in the car than it would be to convert it back to "Real" Pontiac power. Ditto for the late '70's X-bodies and G-bodies- GM played musical engines because of smog laws, so if you have a Chevy powered Cutlass, or a Pontiac powered Regal, again it's much easier and cheaper to play with the drivetrain that's in the car than it is to convert it back to "Brand Matching" power. Even if your swapping for more power-say your Cutlass has a 305 Chevy in it-it's a lot easier to swap in a stout 350 or 383 sbc than it would be to put a 455 Olds in it. ( For one thing, you'd also need a BOP bolt-pattern tranny-Chevys are different. ) It would be a lot easier and cheaper to drop a 400 / 455 Pontiac into a 301 Regal than it would be to change to a 455 Buick. See what I'm saying?  # 2. The Bad. No one cares if you slap a snarling Rat motor into a beater '67 Tempest, but when you do it to a numbers-matching Judge, it's not cool. The same for modern fuelie swaps-you want to buy an LS3 and a six-speed automatic out of a wrecked 2010 Camaro in a junkyard or from a dealer and put it in a '72 Monte Carlo or a '68 Malibu, no one cares. But it's always-a "For real, numbers-matching, four-speed SS396" that some yahoo does this to, and wonders why the townspeople are storming his house with torches. The one guy who did this to a pristine, 1972 Trans-Am couldn't understand why everyone was being so hateful about his car. Well, you could have butchered one of the 10 million or so beater 1970-81 Camaros and Firebirds out there, instead of a numbers-matching, one of 458,  455HO, 4-speed T/A !!!!  Their's enough junk out there to play with, you don't have to cut up a classic that someone else would sell their soul for.  # 3. The Ugly. These can be chalked up to inbred hillbillies or to people with more money than brains.  The 1957 T-Bird with a 389 Pontiac in it and the 1990 Mustang GT with the Chevy LS motor can be attributed to the first category, while the Pantera with the blown Chrysler Hemi in it has to go to the latter. When you see these cars you ask "Why on earth would anyone do that?"  It all comes down to common sense. Mastermind   

A "Sister Donk" might be a fun ride

The low-rider crowd calls the 1971-76 Chevy Impala "Donks". There's even a magazine devoted soley to these cars. Because of that, prices on these land yahcts are rising steadily. Whether your a lowrider enthusiast or not, if you want a full-size GM car of this vintage, a good alternative are the BOP versions. #1. 1971-76 Pontiac. I'm surprised that the Chevys are more prized than these, for 2 reasons-one-be it a Catalina, Bonneville, or Grand Ville- 400 cubes were standard all years, and a fair number had 455s. By contrast about 99% of Impalas of this vintage have small-block motivation, and 454 versions bring a King's Ransom. Secondly-the Pontiacs usually had upgraded interiors and lots of factory options-a/c, power windows, locks, cruise control, tilt, etc. The Chevys are more likely to be "strippy" or "taxicab" types. # 2. 1971-76 Oldsmobile. Whether it's an 88 or a 98, the Olds version is in my opinion a better deal than a Chevy, for the same reason as the Pontiacs. Nearly all of these cars have 455 cubes under the hood, and are loaded. And like the Pontiacs, there is a ton of speed equipment available-Edelbrock heads, cams, etc. # 3. 1971-76 Buick-LeSabre or Centurion, or Electra-almost all have 455 cubes under the long hoods, and like their Pontiac and Olds cousins, any suspension or brake upgrades that fit the Chevy will fit these. Might be a good way to save some money if your looking for some full-size muscle. Mastermind

RIP Carroll Shelby

The hot-rodding world lost another legend this week when Carroll Shelby died at age 89. If you've lived in a cave for the past 50 years-Carroll Shelby was a Texas born auto racer that had great success in the 1950's. When a heart condition forced him to retire from driving race cars, he started building cars for racing and for enthusiasts. In 1962 he took the the AC Ace, a British sports car with a gorgeous body and a great suspension, and stuffed a 260 inch Ford V8 under it's "Bonnet" as the Brits would say-basically tripling it's power while adding virtually no weight. Dubbed the "Shelby Cobra" it got a hotter and more powerful 289 inch Ford V8 for 1963, and won tons of SCCA races-beating Ferarris, Jaguars, Corvettes, and Aston-Martins. Enzo Ferrari and Zora-Arkus Duntov-chief Corvette engineer-did not like to lose and developed much more powerful Ferarris and Corvettes for 1965. What did Shelby do? Like Burt Reynolds said in the "Longest Yard"-"If it worked once, it'll work twice." His team made the Ace larger and more muscular-although the wheelbase was still only 90 inches-and used the old hotrod trick- a big engine in a light car. He stuffed Ford's legendary 427 Nascar motor into this beast and called it simply the "427 Cobra". To this day only certain Porsches and Z06 Corvettes and Dodge Vipers ( Which Shelby helped develop ) have even come close to equalling the 427 Cobra's performance on the street or track, and an argument can be made that if the old Cobras had modern 12 inch wide ZR-rated radials instead of skinny, bias-ply Goodyear Blue Streaks, that it would still be the undisputed heavyweight champion, nearly 50 years after it's release. Shelby is probably most famous for his Mustangs-a collaboration with Ford that propelled the Mustang from a Falcon-based cheap sports coupe- to a feared contender on the world's racetracks. The GT350 used a hopped up 289 and a race-bred suspension, and slick bodywork. As the musclecar wars heated up-A big 396 Camaro or 400 inch Firebird had little to fear from a hotted up 289 Mustang-Shelby dropped the 428 Police interceptor engine into a Mustang and called it the GT500. He took it easy for most of the '70's, but in the 1980's he worked with Chrysler developing several front-drive hot rods-the Omni GLHS-for one, and then the Dodge Viper-basically an updated "Chrysler Cobra."  He also did some more work for Ford-witness their current-540hp supercharged GT500 that only a Ferrari F430 or Corvette ZR1 can challenge. There are companies that sell 427 Cobra replica kit cars to this day. It would take several encyclopedia-sized vloumes to list all his accomplishements, but just like when Robert Mitchum and Evel Knieval passed, the world is a slightly less cool place without Carrol Shelby. May he rest in Valhalla!!  Mastermind        

Happy Mother's Day

A lot of us talk about the influence of our dads and our big brothers, or cousins and uncles-someone who had a cool car that they raced and let you ride in and got you hooked on cars before you were even interested in bicycles. I have to say that my mom had as much influence as any of the men in my life did in causing me to be a lifelong gearhead. She only went out with my dad in the first place because he was over 6 ft tall and had a badass, Royal Pontiac style supertuned, black Tri-Power 389 '59 Pontiac Catalina that won a lot of street races on the great highway by the beach in San Francisco. Not a quaint "Meet Cute" that people tell their kids, but that's what happened. As I grew up, my dad worked on his friends cars at home when he wasn't working. My street looked like Woodward Avenue on any given day-Split-window Corvettes, GTOs, Mustangs, Road Runners, you name it. Thus, all the boys in the neighborhood thought my house was the coolest place to hang. And it was. Someone was always springing for Pizza or Ice cream, and the kids were always included. After my dad traded off her '58 Impala without telling her-which did not go over very well-and traded the pickup for a 1964 GTO, he had to get her something she really liked. A 1967 Olds Delta 88 Convertible. It was bright blue with white interior and American Racing Torq-Thrust mags, and an awesome AM/FM Stereo system. All the kids in the neighborhood loved that car, and mom would always oblige any of the "boys" a ride home from school or to baseball practice or whatever. And she'd always run us to McDonalds or Dairy Queen after school, even if ruined our dinner. We always had the top down, the radio blasting either Credence Clearwater or the one-hit wonder "Me and You and a dog named Boo". She didn't even get that mad when I set the top on fire with a bottle rocket on the 4th of July. ( Of all the cars on the block, it lands on the only one with a fabric top. It wasn't my fault. Really.)  I got a go-kart for my seventh birthday, and me and my friends raced up and down the street incessantly, much to the chagrin of the neighbors. I got to see Evel Kneival in person twice, once when he still rode a Triumph and once at the Cow Palace. I went to drag races at Fremont and Nascar and SCCA Can-Am races at Laguna Seca, simply because mom and dad wanted to go. Grandma won't babysit? No problem, bring him along! I got to hang out in the pits with legends like Dino Fry and Dave Aldana, simply because they knew mom and dad. I saw Elvis in person, and I had Muhammad Ali's autograph-one of the last that he signed "Cassius Clay"-that one of my mom's friends got in Las Vegas.  I had the coolest childhood anyone could ever have. As I got older there were racing go-karts, stock cars, football games, wrestling matches, boxing and kickboxing matches ( I actually got to be pretty good friends with Ray Mancini, Dennis Alexio, and "Macho Camacho") Good enough that my friends and I could get into VIP only pre-and post fight parties at casinos. I even wanted to go stuntman school and professional wrestler's school at one time. Mom supported me through all these endeavors. One of the greatest laughs she ever had was at one of my son's Pop Warner Football games when a young mommy who I guess didn't realize she was a grandma-said-dead serious-" Do you ever get where you can watch them play football without cringing?"  "Football?" "Football?" Mom said incredulous- "Try boxing, kickboxing, and car racing."  "Football's nothing."  The young mommy was aghast. When my younger brother came up, he actually broke my records for tickets in his GTO. My mom hung in there with all of us and it paid off for her. My sister is a Bank President, my brother is a District Manager for a major restaraunt chain, and besides being a writer, I'm Assistant Service Manager at a GM dealership.  Were all citizens now. And my brother and I swear that he'll get his GTO and I'll get my 442 out of your driveway. Soon. But if I sell the 442, I am going to buy that "Macho T/A" I showed you on the internet.......and probably park it in your driveway!! Mastermind   

"The King's" Muscle Machines

We all know Elvis and the "Memphis Mafia" liked their Cadillacs, but he had a few musclecars too. One of his favorites was a 1967 Ford Ranchero 500 that he bought new to use on his ranch in Mississippi. This car now belongs to the Museum of Automobiles in Morrilton, Arkansas. A gentleman in Ohio is the proud owner of a "Sub-Lime" 1971 340 'Cuda that Elvis and Red West bought on a whim after performing a concert there in late 1970. The guy who sold him the car handed him a stack of papers, and in going through them, the new owner found the original dealer's report of sale that said the car was to be titled in Tennessee to Elvis Aron Presley. Apparently Elvis and the entourage only kept it a couple months, and sold it to a teenager in Memphis. The car bounced around the midwest through several owners and eventually ended up back in ohio painted Plum Crazy. The current owner was amazed that with all the paperwork that was passed around for years, no one noticed the one that he did-that said Elvis once briefly owned the car. He verified the vin with the states of Ohio and Tennessee, and it was registered to Elvis at the Graceland address in 1971. He has since turned down multiple offers of $150,000 or more. In 1968 The Stutz Motor company was revived by New York banker James O' Donnel and retired Chrysler styylist Virgil Exner. They marketed a new Stutz Blackhawk beginning in 1970. It had a gorgeous Ghia body and was based on a Pontiac Gran Prix chassis. With 455 cubes and 370 hp under it's long hood, it had the muscle to back up it's in-your-face style. Exner showed the prototype to Elvis and Frank Sinatra, wanting them to order cars,  knowing other rich people would want them just because Elvis and Frank had them. Of course they both wanted to buy the prototype. Exner said he would sell it, only if it could be shown at the huge L.A. auto show coming up, before they could take delivery. Sinatra declined, and Elvis agreed, and bought the car on Oct 9, 1970 for $26,500. Exner displayed the car at the show with pictures of him and Presley together in the car, and shaking hands. He sold several more to other celebrities including Sammy Davis Jr, Evel Kneival, and Robert Goulet. Sinatra got the 2nd one and was pissed that Elvis had gotten # 001. This car was wrecked by one of the entourage and stored at Graceland for many years. It was restored after his death and is in the Graceland auto museum. Elvis loved this car, and bought several more, including a 1971, a 1973, and a 1974 model. The 1973 model is also on display at the Graceland museum. Elvis loved the massive low-end torque, and the way the GP chassised Stutz handled so much that he also bought a Gold 1976 Gran Prix SJ with a 455 and T-tops. This GP was given to a fan by The King, who was very generous and bought many people, some complete strangers cars throughout his career. No one knows where this GP is today. What a "Barn Find" that would be huh? If I see a rusty gold t-topped mid-'70's GP in a junkyard or someone's yard next time I'm in Tennessee, you can bet I'll check the numbers with DMV for past owners!!!!  Mastermind

You can have an Ultra-rare early '60's dream machine! If you build it!

There's a lot of renewed interest in the full-size musclecars of the ealy '60's-probably because the conventional ones-Road Runner, GTO, SS Chevelle etc-are getting way overpriced.  However, the really cool ones-SD 421 Pontiacs, 427 Ford Galaxies and Thunderbolts, 409 Impalas, and 413 Mopars are also priced in the stratosphere. The solution is to build one. The aftermarket has stepped up to the point that you could build a replica of one of these rare birds for a fraction of what it would cost to buy a "Real" one that needed work. Here's a list of my favorites. # 1. 1960-64 Pontiac. Whether it's a Catalina, Gran Prix, or a Bonneville, every one of these cars has at least 389 cubes under the hood. And, Pontiac V8s are externally identical from a 326 to a 455. You could easily swap in a later model 400, 428 or 455, or you could put a stroker crank in a 389 or 400 and make it a 455. Edelbrock sells a dual-quad manifold that's an exact replica of the factory SD design, as well as D-port and RAIV style aluminum heads, and there are cams, headers, etc galore to build as much power as you want. 4-speed conversion kits are plentiful, and you can use a Muncie or a BW T10, or if you want an automatic a TH400 is an easy swap.  # 2. Ford Galaxie 427 / Fairlane Thunderbolt clone. A Ford ahead of a Chevy on the easy to build list?  How did that happen? Well-forget finding a 427-their moon rocks. However Ford made millions of 390s between 1963-76, and they are from the same "FE" family and look identical, and they are much more plentiful in junkyards than the Chevy 348 /409 "W" engines. Edelbrock makes performance aluminum heads, and there are stroker crank kits to turn a 390 into a 427, 428, or even a 447. A T10 4-speed or a Tremec 5-speed is cool or a C6 automatic works great too.  # 3. "Super Stock" Dodge or Plymouth.  Same reason-383, 400 and 440 Mopars are relatively easy to find. There are aluminum heads, cams, intakes, etc, and stroker cranks to build a 451 out of a 383 / 400, or a 505 out of a 440. A Torqueflite 727 is bulletproof.   # 4. The Beach Boys sang about the "409" and they are still cool. 1961-65 Impalas are plentiful, but the trouble is going to be finding a running, or at least rebuildable engine. One source is medium-duty trucks from 1958-1965 also used the 348 / 409 series. Scour truck boneyards and you may find a candidate sitting there in an old dump truck, garbage truck, fire truck, etc. Once you do, Edelbrock sells aluminum heads for them, as well single and dual 4bbl intakes. There are companies that offer cranks, rods and pistons to make almost any combination up to 470 ci. These motors can make big power, but be aware, they don't make anywhere near the power of the 1965 and later MKIV-i.e. the traditional 396 / 427 / 454 "Rat" motor, or even the Pontiacs, Fords and Mopars.  And, because they are an obsolete design-they are going to cost more to build than the Pontiacs, or the FE Fords, or the B / RB Mopars, or a traditional Rat. But if you want one, it's the only way to go, and still cheaper than trying to buy an original one.  Regardless of make, I'd go full-on '60's Gasser look- radiused fenderwells, straight front axle, the full monty.  But you can do what you want, and save tens of thousands with these "fakes". And if you wreck it, it's easy to build another one, and you want want to committ hari-kari like you would if you wrecked an original one.  Mastermind      

How bad do you want that "Movie Car" ?

With our recent discussions of movie chases and the cars involved, I've gotten quite a few emails from people wanting to build replicas of these cars. They ask what should they look for and how original does the car have to be to be "Right."  Well, that's up to you, the owner and driver of the car in question. A lot of people want a Mustang like the one in "Bullitt."  Some are happy to find a decent 1967-68 Mustang fastback, paint it Dark Highland Green, add American Racing Torq-Thrust mags and call it good. They don't care that the powertain is a 289 2bbl with an automatic, it LOOKs the way they want. I have seen others spend umpteen thousands of dollars chasing down a 390, a Top-Loader 4-speed, and even old Goodyear Blue Streak tires, and a Shelby-style steering wheel, to make it "Exactly" like the one McQueen drove in the movie. The same goes for people that want "Vanishing Point" Challengers. I have seen the gamut from a guy that bought a 318 / automatic 1971 Barracuda and painted it Alpine white and added Rallye wheels and was escatically happy because it was "close enough". On the other end is the guy that spent nearly 50 grand buying and building a 1970 440 / 4-speed R/T that exactly matched Kowalski's ride down to the Coker tire Goodyear Polyglas GT repro tires and "OA5599" liscence plate, or the guy that spent nearly 100K building a 1970 R/T clone with a 472 inch Mopar Performance crate Hemi, a Tremec 5-speed, and an XV motorsports suspension with laser-cut subframe connectors, Koni shocks, custom front and rear sway bars and 275/40ZR17 BFG Comp T/A's on Minilite wheels. Somewhere in the middle was the guy with the nice 340 / automatic 1973 model that had Cragar mags on it. People are crazy when it comes to movie cars. At a recent Barrett-Jackson auction I watched on the Speed channel an "Eleanor" clone-one of the Mustangs that Nicholas Cage drove in the "Gone in 60 Seconds" remake-that was a Shelby GT500 clone and had a 351W / C6 automatic powertrain sold for 100 grand. At the same auction, a for-real, numbers matching, 428, 4-speed Shelby GT500 only brought 75K!!!  Say what???  Some idiot paid 25 grand more for a copy of the real deal-that wasn't even a good copy-it was a 351 automatic, not a 428 / 4-speed-just because it had been in a movie? Are people crazy or what?  That's a rhetorical question, we know they are. Anyway, right behind the Bullitt Mustang and the Vanishing Point Challenger is the 1972 LTD that Burt Reynolds drove in "White Lightning".  A lot of people have asked for advice on how to build a copy of that car. Again, you could just go buy a 1971-72 Ford LTD 4-dr sedan, paint it Chestefield Brown and put some black wheels with chrome lug nuts and white-letter tires on it, and you'd have the look. If you want a 4-speed in it, like Burt had there's three ways to go. The easiest and probably most cost-effective way, if the car has a 351C in it, is to chase down Mustang / Cougar / Torino clutch linkage parts and pedals and then buy a Lakewood bellhousing and a Hurst Competition Plus shifter. If it has to be a 429 / 460 with a 4-speed, I would chase down F150 clutch linkage parts. Or you could go hog-wild and install a custom tremec 5-speed and hydraulic clutch linkage. The easiest and most cost-effective way to have the performance you want is to hop up a 351C / automatic version or try to find a police interceptor that already has a 429 /460 in it. This is a hard one because there no factory built big-block / 4-speed LTDs made. Not like building a Rat-motored 4-speed Monte Carlo-there were some factory built, and Chevelle,GTO, Gran Prix and Cutlass clutch parts would all interchange. See what I'm saying? The best advice I can offer is to copy them to the best of your mechanical ability and the limits of your bank account and be happy with it. Mastermind      

Sometimes being "Leroy Brown" isn't cool!!

We've all heard the Jim Croce classic-"Bad,Bad Leroy Brown."  "He was badder than old King Kong, and Meaner than a Junkyard dog."  A lot of people think they want cars like that, and then are disappointed and don't drive them, or end up selling them for less than they paid for it. I recently got an email from a guy who paid an astronomical amount of money for an original Baldwin-Motion Camaro, and was severely disappointed. For those of you that don't know-in the early '70's a guy named Joel Rosen was building MakoShark Corvette conversions and was swapping L88 427s and LS6 and LS7 454s into Camaros, Chevelles, Firebirds and Novas. His shop was called Motion Performance. He was partnered with Baldwin Chevrolet that supplied him with cars and parts. Much like the Meacham brothers of DKM did with Meacham Pontiac and the "Macho T/A's" -Baldwin would sell him the cars, he'd trick them out and then re-sell them to Baldwin or other dealers as used cars. The buff magazines raved, and came up with the moniker-"Baldwin-Motion" and it kind of stuck. Anyhow, if you bought a new Baldwin- Motion Camaro,Firebird,Nova, or Corvette, you could order anything you wanted, mild or wild. The top of the line was the Phase III conversion. This included your choice of an L88 427 Chevy or an LS6 or LS7 454 crate engine. Back then these were sold through dealership parts departments as service replacements. It also included an M22 "Rock-Crusher" 4-speed with a Hurst Competition plus linkage, or a TH400 with a high-stall converter and a shift kit, a 12-bolt posi rear end with 4.88:1 or 5.14:1 gears, and a hone overdrive that would reduce your gear ratio on the freeway to a more livable 3.42:1. Also included were 90/10 front shocks and 70/30 rear ones that were longer that stock, and custom Lakewood traction bars. The cars were guaranteed to run 10.60's in the 1/4 with slicks, or you got your money back. Rosen never refunded anyone's money. Anyhow, the guy that emailed me said- "This thing is a monster"  "It idles about 2,000 rpm, the clutch is incredibly stiff, it gets 5-8 mpg, it pings on premium with 2 cans of octane booster-I have to buy race gas to make it run properly, the suspension bangs constantly, and when you get on it even a little, it squats down and trys to pull the front wheels." He says that driving his buddys restored 1980 350 / 4-speed Z/28 is a lot more pleasant.  Hello???  You bought a Car with a 12.25:1 compression, Solid-lifter cammed 427 Chevy Rat motor that's putting out 600+ hp,has 4.88 gears, and a full drag-race suspension, and your complaining that it idles rough, gets lousy mileage, and pings on 89 octane pump gas?  Say it isn't so!!!  I wrote back and said that the Phase III Camaros were basically race cars with liscence plates, and that if he wanted an F-body to drive on a daily basis that idled smooth and would run on pump gas and get good mileage and still have some attitude and the performance to back it up that he should consider a 1987-92 L98 TPI 350 Z/28, or Firebird Trans-Am or Formula, or a 1993-2002 LT1 / LS1 version. He responded- "That's a viable idea, but I don't want an '80's or '90's model, I want a '60's or '70's model." When I suggeted that he look for a Disco-era T/A / Formula or Z/28 / Rally Sport with a 4-speed- to put a GMPP ZZ4 350 crate motor in or maybe even look for a restored or well-maintained "Macho T/A"- He says- "The Machos look cool and their rare, but for what people want for those I could get a Ram Air IV T/A or a Firebird with a 600hp Nunzi or Jim Butler built 455."  Dude, your not getting the point here. You didn't like the 600 hp 427 Motion Camaro, but you'll like a 600 hp Butler engined Firebird?  As for an original RAIV, hes way be off on the pricing-I've seen really nice "Machos" for 12-15K-while a documented RAIV usually brings 30K on up-he'd still be disappointed. Do you really think a car with a 10.75:1 compression, 400 inch V8 with a 308 / 320 duration / .520 lift cam and 4.33:1 gears is going to be THAT much better a driver than one with a 12:1 427, with a 337 duration / .580 lift cam and 4.88s?   Like Ditka says-"Come on, Man!"  Anyhow here's some advice for people who think they want "King Kong".  # 1. Unless your only going to race it at the Pure Stock drags, and trailer it to shows otherwise, stay away from "King Kong".  # 2. If your going to drive the car at all-be brutally honest about what you really want-for example if you want a classic '60's or '70's Corvette convertible to cruise mountain roads with your wife on sunny days,do you think perhaps a 300 hp hydraulic cammed 327 or 350 small-block version is a much better choice than a solid-lifter 427?   # 3 If you live in a city with a lot of traffic, a peaky engine with a stick and stiff gears is not going to be much fun. For example a 351W powered, automatic, 3.25:1 geared 1969 Mach 1 Mustang is going to be much easier to drive in San Francisco than a solid-lifter, 4-speed, 4.33:1 geared Boss 302. # 4.  While old musclecars don't have moonroof and heated and cooled seats, and Nav, etc, It might behoove you to get one with some luxury options if your going to drive the car a lot. A 1970 GTO with power steering, disc brakes, and air conditioning is going to be a lot more pleasant to drive than a 1968 model with drum brakes, no P/S and no Air. Especially in a city where it gets hot in the summer. Keep this in mind, and you won't end up like the guy with the Motion Camaro, whose probably going to make the same mistake again. Mastermind                   

A real-life "Deadman's Curve"......That I came back from!

We've all heard the "Jan & Dean" Classic-"Deadman's Curve". "I was cruisin' in my Stingray late one night, when an XKE pulled up at the light." "He rolled down the window of his shiny new Jag, and challenged me then and there to a drag." "I said your on buddy, but if you got the nerve, let's race all the way to Deadman's Curve."  The next verse is the 'Vette driver talking to the emergency room doctor, and the Chorus-"Deadman's Curve is no place to play, you won't come back from deadman's curve." We all know a dangerous country road where a lot of people have lost their lives in car wrecks, so we can all relate to this song. I know I can. My grandmother lived her whole life in Lynchburg, Missouri which is about 30 miles from Fort Leonard Wood, and about 90 miles from Springfield. The only road through there is highway 32 which was built back in the thirties when Roosevelt unveiled the new deal and built many highways to stimulate jobs. I don't think 32 has ever been updated. If you want to play Ricky Roadracer, it's Disneyland with it's sweeping curves, rolling hills and whoop-de-doos. Except when some old farmer pulls his tractor out of a blind spot in front of someone in a sports car going 90, or you get an old lady doing 30 on the wrong side of the road. Anyhow, the town Doctor whose last name was Tilley killed himself one night when his Model A-not exactly a g-machine for cornering went off the road on the last sweeping turn into Lynchburg about 1937. Until she died in 1991, every single time we rounded that curve, my grandmother would have to comment-"That's where Doc Tilley got killed." "You better slow down." It became quite a running joke in the family. However, This "Deadman's Curve" had quite a history. I remember my uncle's car sliding off the road and ending up in the ditch when I was about 8 years old, and my dad and my uncle pushing my uncle's 1970 Charger R/T out of the ditch and making me swear that I would never, ever, tell grandma, Aunt Rosalie or my mother that they had been hot-rodding and went off the road on that particular curve, because they didn't want to hear about it for the rest of their lives. I also remember the awesome traction that a 1966 Olds Toronado has with it's front-drive transaxle. The Toro didn't have enough grip to keep my dad and his cousin on the road and out of the ditch, but it had enough traction to pull itself out under it's own power. Once again, I was sworn to secrecy about "Deadman's Curve". I had cheated the reaper twice, and I didn't even have a driver's liscence yet. 30 miles the other way is the town of Lebanon where I lived for a while. The high-school driver's ed teacher used to drag the class to a junkyard in Lebanon to see what was left of a 1969 Trans-Am whose driver joined Doc Tilley in the afterlife. Numerous MGs, Triumphs and Porsches also graced this junkyard as vitims of this notorious turn. My cousin even totalled his '71 Mach 1 Mustang there, although he wouldn't admit that to our grandmother, or my aunt. However, in the summer of 1978, my cousins and I beat this legendary curve. We figured out that over the years, hot-rodders from the '40's to the '70's had been hauling ass either from Lebanon, or coming the other way from Fort Leonard Wood. That's 29 miles in either direction. Whether bias-plys, or later radials, their tires were way overheated by the time they hit this legendary hairpin, and no matter how good a driver they were, they'd lose it because the tires would act like they were on ice. We resolved to try it on cold tires. My one cousin got his 1970 "Plum Crazy" 383 Challenger R/T and the other one got his 1970 Firebird Formula 400, and with me riding shotgun in the Firebird first and then the Challenger to watch the speedos, decided to see just how fast we could go around this curve on tires that weren't overheated. Sorry, Mopar guys the Firebird went faster, although both went through 3 times at high speed solid as a rock. The 4th time our tires started to let loose. So we went home and got my aunt's brand-new 1978 WS6 Trans-Am, and it went faster than both of them, obviously because of the excellent WS6 suspension and brand-new tires. As esctatic as we were about this scientific victory, we couldn't tell anyone because we'd have to admit that ( A ) We stole my aunt's T/A without permission and ( B ) were screwing around on the deadliest piece of road in the state. My cousins and I still talk occasionally, and we want to try this experiment again in a Z06 'Vette, or a Mustang GT or a Mazda RX8 or some other sports car with modern, ZR-rated performance tires. I know my one cousin has a Porsche 911. If we ever have this re-union, I'll bet as we burn through there at triple-digit speeds, I bet we see old Doc Tilley giving us a thumbs up. And hear our grandmother screaming at us to slow down. Mastermind              

Great musclecar scenes that don't make the transition from book to screen....

Besides being a gearhead I am an avid reader and a published author-( "Men of Steel"- available through Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble ) and a movie buff. As such I see a lot of movies and read a lot of books that movies are based on. In reading some of these books, a lot of the colorful characters drive musclecars, and for whatever reason, the characters or the cars never make it to the screen, and I think the film makers are making a mistake not bringing these scenes or characters to life. Here's some notable instances where I think directors really dropped the ball. # 1. "Hannibal" In this sequel to "Silence of the Lambs" Author Thomas Harris re-introduces us to a now ten-years older, much tougher and much cuntier Clarice Starling, who is an FBI combat pistol champion that packs a cocked and locked .45 and drives a thundering Roush-Racing prepped 5.0 Mustang. She's still chasing Hannibal Lecter, in addition to her other cases. In the book, she smokes the tires a lot, and challenges a suspect with a Porsche to a drag race. Hannibal also breaks into the car and smells the seats and the steering wheel to get her scent while she's jogging in the park, and he drives the big 'Stang "5,800 rpm in every gear" as he leads the police, the FBI, and Mason Verger's mercenary's on a chase through D.C with the wounded, and drugged Starling passed out and bleeding in the passenger seat. If you saw the overlong movie, you know these unfilmed scenes would have added to the film's tension immensely. There's also an unfilmed scene where Dr. Lecter gives a tattooed, leather-clad biker $100 to haul him away from a murder he just committed. Hannibal the Cannibal pretending to be gay and riding bitch on a Ducati V-twin through the very cops that are looking for him?  How cool is that?  # 2. "The Dark Half". Steven King's twisted tale of a Dead twin come back to life to wreak havoc on the living brother is chilling and exciting. I see where king wanted to go, but he didn't have the automotive knowledge, and no one helped him. The killer drives a jet-black 1966 Olds Toronado, which is badass and unique enough. When he says it has a lot of "Blasting power" under the hood-he's right-425 cubes of Olds muscle. But then he screws up twice and talks about "Macho Man "Stark" smoking the rear tires ( All Toronados are front-wheel drive ) and popping the clutch and powershifting the Hurst 4-speed. ( All Toronados are automatics ). He should have went with a Pontiac Gran Prix-any year from 1963-69 would have been ok-but 1967-68 with the hidden headlights and fastback body would have fit almost verbatim his poetic descripion of the Toro's bodacious bod, and you could get a 428 inch V8 in a GP with 390 hp, and a Hurst-shifted 4-speed, and GP's are of course, rear-wheel drive. Sadly, the producers stuck with a Toronado, and it's only seen parked in a dream sequence-no tire-smoke or automotive shenanigans at all. From the mind that brought us "Christine" I was disappointed.  # 3. "Mr. Majestyk" this Elmore Leonard penned story starred a pre-"Death Wish" Charles Bronson- ( when he still actually acted and wasn't just Bronson playing Bronson.)  The chase made our list of best movie chases, and the early "Built Ford Tough" TV pickup ads. As usual with Leonard's stories-his original and badass characters get watered-down. For example Cowboy Bobby Copas-the thug that starts a fight with Majestyk to open the film drives a 1970 440 Charger in the book, and is much more sinister and connected than the pussy wanna-be they portray in the film . And "Wiley"- Hitman Frank Renda's girlfriend / partner in crime-in the book she's an ex-Vegas hooker with big tits, big hair,and a genius I.Q. that books hits for him and handles his money and doesn't mind being kept barefoot in a bikini at all times at his hotels or hunting lodges and likes her hair pulled and being spanked when she's not in public, and drives a Pearl-White Thunderbird and carries a pearl handled Colt Diamondback in her purse. In the movie she's played by anorexic Lee Purcell who wears her hair in a bun, no makeup, and pants, boots, and about 10 sweaters most of the time. And she's not a criminal, and drives a 4-banger Mustang II, and doesn't carry a gun, and apparently likes no sex at all. Big difference. And Vince Majestyk- Bronson's Charachter-was way more "Rambo" with PTSD than farmer in the book, kicked a lot more ass,-including Renda's more than once- and forces Wiley-right under Renda and his heavily armed henchmen's noses to walk through the woods barefoot in the bikini with her hands tied behind her back and a fat gag in her mouth so his his smokin' hot Mexican Union Rep / Girlfriend ( Played by Linda Cristal ) can stuff her in the truck ( still bound, gagged, and barefoot ) and turn her over to the police and delay the cops so he can kill Renda and his men without interference.  In the movie Bronson let's the fully dressed and un-bound Purcell walk about 50 feet to the truck and trusts her to drive herself to the nearest police station, and gets a bigger attack of nice, and doesn't kill Cowboy Bobby Copas who started it all. What a guy. I like Elmore Leonard's vision better.      # 4. "The Warriors"  Sol Yurick's 1965 classic about warring New York street gangs was actually made into a pretty good 1978 movie and launched the careers of Micheal Beck, James Remar and director Walter Hill. However the movie throws in a cutesy romance for Micheal Becks character and there's the obligatory happy ending. In the book, there's a spectacular (even reading it, it's exciting ) chase between the Warriors in a stolen Oldsmobile and another gang in a stolen Cadillac, and all but three of the Warriors die in a blaze of glory. Not the same. Except for "Rosemary's Baby" I've never seen Hollywood stick to the book, and the films almost always fall short for anyone who's read the books. Let me know if I missed any that should be mentioned. Mastermind