One or two year wonders that are way cool.....and not priced in the stratosphere

There are a lot of very cool cars out there that for whatever reason, only lasted a model year or two. Sometimes poor sales, or pricing, or EPA regulations, or whatever killed them. There's nothing wrong with them, they just didn't turn out to be the sales leaders the manufacturers thought they would. Fortunately, for the discerning buyer-these are great bargains today. Anyhow, here's a "Baker's Dozen" of cool rides that many people don't consider. #1 1970-71 Mercury Cyclone. David Pearson had great NASCAR success in the Wood Brother's Mercurys through the '70's and these sleek, fastback models were the first. 428 and 429 versions command a King's ransom, but 351C versions are still reasonable, and there is a ton of aftermarket performance parts available for these engines to this day.  # 2. 1970-71 Pontiac Tempest T37. The buff magazines of the day called them the "Poor man's GTO." You got a strippy Tempest coupe with a 350 V8 and a three-speed stick. However, options included both 400 and 455 V8s, and either a 4-speed or an automatic if you so desired. The same basic package was offered in 1972 as the "LeMans GT".  You'll pay more for one of these than you will for a garden-variety Tempest / LeMans, but their still thousands cheaper than people want for a beater GTO, and their unique.  # 3. 1970 Olds Rallye 350 Cutlass. These cars featured a super loud Sebring Yellow monochromatic paint job, a "Judge / Hurst / Olds" style rear spoiler,body colored Rally wheels and a 350 V8 backed by a 4-speed or a TH350. 3,527 were built, so there a little rare, but you can still buy one way cheaper than a '68-71 442. Rumor has it that 10 or 12 were built with the vaunted "W31" 350 V8, but I have never seen one, or a build sheet or window sticker for one, and none has ever been verified by any Olds engineer or a magazine like Hot Rod or Musclecar Review. # 4. 1971 Dodge Super Bee. For this one year only, the Super Bee package was offered on the Charger instead of the Coronet.  Of course,440, Six-Pack and Hemi versions are the price of a nice house, but of the 6,000+ that were built, nearly 5,000 of those were 383 versions, and they are still reasonably priced, especially when compared to other year Charger / Super Bee / Road Runner models. # 5. 1973-75 Pontiac Grand Am. Based on the LeMans chassis, these were touted to have the performance of a Trans-Am, and the luxury of a Gran Prix. 400 cubes standard, with 455 optional. Standard front disc brakes, and front and rear sway bars make them great handlers too. # 6. 1978-79 Dodge Li'l Red Express truck. These were a 1/2 ton 2wd pickup with a 360 V8, chrome wheels, Semi-style vertical exhaust stacks, and a trick red and gold paint job. Except for an L82 Corvette or a WS6 Trans-Am, this was the fastest American production vehicle built in those years. They have kind of a "cult" following among Mopar enthusiasts, but you can still buy one for less than the price of a basket-case Charger or Road Runner. # 7. 1984-86 Ford Mustang SVO. These cars featured Recaro Seats, 16" wheels, a trick suspension and a Turboharged 4 cylinder engine that put out ( depending on year ) between 175 and 205 hp. They didn't sell well because the "5.0" V8 models were both faster and several thousand dollars cheaper. However, you can buy them today at reasonable prices-about the same as a same condition "5.0".  # 8. 1984 Chevrolet Corvette. The first year of the C4 body that lasted until 1996. These are snubbed by 'Vette collectors because they have the "Cross-Fire" injected 350 V8. 'Vette snobs want the '85-91 "Tuned Port" injected models or the '92-96 LT1 / LT4 models. However-that makes them great buys. I have seen nice ones on used car lots as low as $2995, and rough-but-running ones for as low as $1,500. For those on a tight budget-this may be the only way you'll ever own a Corvette. # 9. 1990-93 Chevrolet SS454 Pickup. A 454, a TH400 / 700R4, and a 3.73 or 4.10 rear end in a 4,000 lb body? Sounds like a musclecar to me. # 10. 1992-95 Ford Lightning pickup. These had a trick suspension, 17" wheels and a hotted up 351 V8. They'd run a 15 flat 1/4 which was pretty good for the time. # 11. 1998-2002 Dodge Dakota R/T. Mopar engineers took the lightweight Dakota mid-size pickup, and stuffed in a 250 hp 360 V8, a slick-shifting 4-speed automatic and a 3.92 posi rear end. They dressed it in a cool body, lowered the suspension and put fat 255/55ZR17 tires on it. They looked mean, and with 6 second zero-60 times, they were mean.  # 12. 2003-2004 Mercury Marauder. For some insane reason, Ford never promoted this awesome car, and then wondered why they didn't sell in big numbers. SVT engineers took the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor chassis, added fat 18" wheels and tires, and swapped the 239 hp 4.6 liter V8 for the snarling, 300+ hp version out of the Mustang Cobra, and backed it up with a 4-speed automatic with a shift kit and a high-stall converter. The interior featured Auto Meter guages and special seats. Dynamite if you can find one. #13. 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO. The best car nobody bought. Car and Driver summed it up best-"It runs like a Corvette, handles like a BMW, and looks like a rental car." The Grand Am on steroids styling is what killed it. If Pontiac went retro and made it look like a '60s GTO ( Like Ford did with the Mustang, Dodge did with the Challenger, and Chevrolet with the Camaro, all top-sellers ) they'd have had people line up around the block fighting with machetes to buy them. Alas, they didn't. However if you want one-they have the heart of a Corvette- either a 350 hp LS1 5.7 V8 ( 2004 models ) or a 400 hp LS2 6.0 V8 ( 2005-06 models ) backed up by a six-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic. They ran blistering 5-second 0-60 and 13 second 1/4 mile times off the showroom floor. And the subdued styling may keep the men in blue from harassing you if you can keep foot out of it. I have seen these as low as $6,500 on used car lots. Mastermind                

Some alternative bodystyles that might be fun, cheap and fast....

Here's some ideas for badass rides based on alternative bodystyles. # 1. Nascar themed Mercury Montegos and Cougars. "Project Talledega" a 1975 Chevelle Laguna done up like Darrel Waltrip's late '70's stocker is one of Popular Hot Rodding's most loved project cars. We've seen Monte Carlo's done like Junior Johnson's early '70's champion, and we've seen numerous '71-74 Chargers done like Richard Petty's most famous racer. How about a 1970-76 Montego or Cougar done in Wood Brothers style? Radiused fenderwells to clear monster tires, de-chromed bodywork and two-tone red and white race paint with no 21 on it? While 460 versions are kind of rare, there's a ton of them out there with 351C, or 351 / 400M power under the hood that could be hopped up easily. I think a "Wood Brothers" Cougar or Montego would be way cool, and unique. # 2. Trans-Am style Dodge Dart / Plynouth Duster. We've seen Novas done like '60's Trans Am racers, and tons of Firebirds, Camaros, and Challengers and 'Cudas. How about a Duster? Radiused and flared fenders, front and rear spoilers, loud side-exit exhaust, and a stout 360 under the hood to back up the image. # 3. "Baby Grand" style compacts. Back in the day when 427 Monte Carlos, and 426 Hemi Chargers and Boss 429 Torinos were dominating the Nascar Grand National circuit, Bill France and company came up with the "Baby Grand" series. Most people ran small-block powered Firebirds, Camaros, and Mustangs. A few people ran AMC Javelins or "Cuda / Challengers. It never really took off, because everyone wanted to watch the big dogs-i.e. Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, etc fight it out in the big engined, big cars. However a Maverick / Comet set up in Nascar style with a high-winding 302 under the hood could be a serious sleeper. Other candidates would be '75-79 Ford Granada / Mercury Monarch 2 drs, Ford Fairmonts / Mercury Zephyrs, 75-79 Plymouth Volares and Dodge Aspen 2 drs, as well as AMC Hornets, and GM "X" bodies-Nova, Ventura, Omega, and Apollo. # 4. '50s and '60s "Gasser" style '70's full-size sedans. Impalas, Catalinas, Plymouth Sport Furys, Dodge Polaras, and Ford LTDs,-with radiused wheelwells, heavy front bumper removed, gutted interiors,monochromatic paint, and snarling big-blocks under the hood. Or protruding through the hood, if you wanted to run a tunnel ram or a blower. How cool would that be?  Bottom line is you don't have to spend a mint, and you don't have to have a Road Runner or Chevelle or GTO to be cool.  Mastermind  

Can't find the Chevy of your dreams? Consider a Pontiac!

If your having trouble finding the Bow-Tie of your dreams at a reasonable price, it might behoove you to consider a Pontiac. Yes, I know GTOs command as much or more money than SS Chevelles, but all the other Pontiac models can be bought for way less than their Chevrolet counterparts. # 1. 1967-79 Firebird. 455HO and Super Duty Trans-Ams aside, you can get a better condition Firebird for way less than a same-year Camaro. At last year's Hot August nights auction a 1969 Camaro SS 396 sold for the princely sum of $32,000. At the same auction a 1968 400 Firebird in similar condition sold for $18,000. The other factor is the fact that you could only get a big-block in a Camaro until 1972, and they were sold in limited numbers. By contrast you could get a 400 in a Firebird Esprit, Formula or Trans-Am right up until 1979, and the 455 was available until 1976. If you can't find a good deal on a 400 Firebird, you aren't looking past the end of your nose. # 2. 1969-76 Gran Prix. Same deal-Rat-Motored Monte Carlos are rare and command a King's Ransom. 95% of Monte Carlos built from 1970-75 were 350 motivated. By contrast-Gran Prix's had 400 power standard all years, and quite a few 1970-76 "SJ" models had 455s. # 3. 1960-68 Full-size. While 99% of  Biscaynes, Bel Airs, and Impalas of this vintage have six-cylinder or 283 / 327 small-block motivation, ( 396, 409, and 427 models are priced in the stratosphere ) every Catalina, Bonneville or Gran Prix built in this era had at least 389 cubes under the hood, and depending on year, some had 400,421 or 428s. And the Pontiacs usually had upgraded interiors and factory air, and other cool options. # 4. 1970-77 Tempest / LeMans. With the exception of a few '71-72 "Heavy Chevy" models and '73-75 "Lagunas if you want a factory-built Rat-Motored Chevelle, you have to step up to a SS model. However you don't have to buy a GTO to get a big-block Pontiac "A" body. There are a lot of  LeMans "Sport" and "Luxury LeMans" models  out there with 400 or 455 cubes under the hood. Although the GTO was discontinued after 1974, you could still get a 400 in a 2 dr LeMans until 1977,and the 455 was optional until 1976. And don't forget the 50,000 plus "Grand Am" models sold from 1973-75. They all had 400 cubes standard, with 455 optional. # 5. 1971-77 Pontiac Ventura. The ones to look for are the 350 Pontiac powered models. With very little work-4bbl carb and intake, dual exhaust and axle ratio change-and they will give any small-block Nova a run for the money they'd never forget. The real trick is to swap in a 400 or 455. Since Pontiac V8's are externally identical from a 326 to a 455, this is a bolt in swap if the car originally had a 350. You could do that way cheaper than it would cost for even a basket-case 396 Nova.  Mastermind        

"Personal Luxury Coupes" are a great alternative......

We all know that everyone fights with machetes for '64-72 GTOs, SS Chevelles, 442s, and Camaros, and Firebirds. Ditto for '68-70 Chargers, Road Runners, and Super Bees, and '64-'70 Mustangs. A lot of these cars are grossly overpried. The stunt coordinator on the "Fast&Furious" movies said for "Fast Five"-he paid $16,000 for a rust-bucket, engineless basket-case '69 Charger since they were going to put a fiberglas front end and small-block Chevy / TH400 powertrain in it anyway. But he was aghast and paid the price because while shopping he found-any decent Charger of this vintage-and he said decent-not pristine was priced over 30K. Steep for a car they were going to wreck anyway. Anyhow even if you don't have 30 or 40 grand to spend you can still have a cool, unique muscle machine. In the late '60's and early '70's "Personal Luxury / Performance cars were all the rage. Here's some of the best bargains out there. # 1. 1969-76 Pontiac Gran Prix. I've said it before, but these cars are the deal of the century. 400 4bbl power standard all years, and a good number of '70-76 "SJ" models had 455s!  My sister had a '72 GP in high school. It had power everything, and when you drove it, it felt like a GTO. She showed her taillights to many a shocked Camaro, Firebird and Mustang driver. Any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Chevelle or Monte Carlo will also fit these cars. Special note-some 1969 models may have 428s-which is great-they were rated at 370 or 390 hp depending on model, a nice bump from the standard 400s 350 hp rating. # 2. 1967-71 Ford Thunderbird. I love these cars. 1967-69 models have the cool hidden headlight front end, and although I prefer the 2 dr models, the 4 dr models with "Suicide" doors have a following too. 390 Cubes standard, and some have 428s, or 429s. The 1970-71s are the best in my opiuion. Gorgeous styling, and 429 cubes standard. This was the time when automakers started to care about handling, so these cars are awesome drivers-for a big car they handle surprisingly well. Especially if you do some minor upgrades like KYB shocks and radial tires. 1972 and later models had 460s, but they were low-compression "Smog Dogs", and they were based on the much heavier and uglier Lincoln MKIV platform. # 3. 1966-69 Buick Riviera. These cars had the sexy, fastback body of the Olds Toronado but were still rear-wheel drive. With 430 cubes under that long hood, they moved pretty good too. I personally think the '66-67 models are one of the best-looking cars GM ever put out. # 4. 1971-73 Buick Riviera. The famous "Boat-tail" design. 455 cubes standard all years. Cadillac-like luxury, and GTO-like performance. For some reason Buick engineers really dropped the ball with the ugly one-year-only 1970 model sandwiched between these two now-classic designs. Strange-because Olds stuck with the classic '66-69 design on the '70 Toronado. They weren't changed until '71. # 5. 1967-73 Mercury Cougar. The Cougar is to the Mustang what the Gran Prix is to the Monte Carlo-the better buy of the two. 428 Eliminator versions are priced in the stratosphere and 390 models are getting there, but you can still get a good deal on a 289 / 302 or 351W / 351C model. Cougars are cool because while most non Mach 1 mustangs of this vintage are strippys, most Cougars have upgraded interiors, front disc brakes, factory a/c and many other cool options. 1974 and later models were based on the heavier and uglier Lincoln MKIV platform. # 6. 1973-75 Pontiac Grand Am, 1977 Can-Am. These were supposed to have the "Performance of a Trans-Am, and the luxury of a Grand Prix."  However, performance buyers bought T/A's, and luxury buyers bought G/P's. If you can find one, they are an awesome car. 400 cubes standard all years, with 455 optional. Wrist-thick front and rear sway bars ( Radial Tuned Suspension ) make them great handlers. Pontiac supposedly discontinued them because of poor sales. I don't know why-they only sold  27,000 GTOs from 1971-74 ( including the down-sized for '74 X-body Nova platform ). By contrast they sold 34,000 Grand Ams in 1973 alone. I think that showed promise. After killing the Grand Am for 1976, I guess because of the Trans-Am's immense popularity they tried again in 1977 with the "Can-Am." It was a peformance package on the LeMans that included a 400 V8 ( or 403 Olds in California ) a TH400 with a shift kit, a Trans-Am style "Shaker" hood scoop, and a rear spoiler, and a white paint job with Judge style stripes. Because it's a one-year only deal ( the "A" bodies were all down-sized for '78 ) Pontiac collectors have driven the price way up on the '77 "Can-Ams", but you can still steal a '73-75 Grand Am if you look hard enough. # 7. 1970-77 Chevy Monte Carlo. Chevy fans are grumbling and wondering why the Monte is so far down on the list. Especially since this bodystyle was the scourge of NASCAR in the '70's.  The reason is all the others ( except the smaller, lighter Cougar ) all had big-block V8s standard. Yes, you could get a 396 or 454 in a Monte, but they are extemely rare, and command a King's Ransom. 95% of Montes in these years are small-block 350 powered. That's not a bad thing-but by contrast a Gran Prix had 400 power standard all years, and there's way more 455 G/P's out there than there are 454 Montes. Ditto for the Rivieras, Grand Ams, and T-birds. They all had big-blocks as standard equipment. That aside, small-block Montes make nice drivers, or you could swap in a Rat pretty easily if you wanted to. Any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Chevelle, fit these too. #8 1971-74 Dodge Charger. Although the Hemi and 440 6-pak had a last hurrah in '71, Chrysler in these years was promoting the Charger as more of a luxury car than a performance car. They saw the hot-selling Pontiac Gran Prix as it's competitior not the GTO, whose sales dropped every year.. On the upside the 400 ( a bored out 383 ) and the 440 4bbl were still available. If you can live with a 360-you can find some real bargains. 318 models are nice drivers, but just don't have the torque to move a 4,000 lb car along briskly enough. Ironically Richard Petty won more races in this body than any other in his career. Food for thought for bargain-hunters. Mastermind          

More on low-budget cross-breeding.....

Because of emissions laws GM played musical engines in the late '70's and early to mid '80's. Some of these cars can make very viable hot rods with very little work. And you could argue-"It's just as it left the factory".  Any how here's some good ones to consider. # 1. 1977-81 Pontiac Firebird. If you have a Firebird with a 350 Chevy or a 350 or 403 Olds engine, don't despair. There's plenty of aftermarket speed equipment out there to make these cars really rock. If you have a 305 Chevy or a 301 Pontiac I'd recommend an easy swap. Yank the 305 and drop in a stout 350 or 383. If you have a 301-your in luck-a 350, 400 or 455 Pontiac will drop right in. The motor mounts, oil pan and accessory brackets interchange with the larger engines built after 1970. # 2. 1978-88 "G" body. This includes Monte Carlos, Malibus, Gran Prix's, Cutlasses, and Buick Regals. From 1978-81 a lot of Regals and G/P's had 301 Pontiacs. Drop in a 400, instant street cred. Quite a few Olds Cutlasses from 1978-81 had 305 Chevys. Ditto-swap in a stout 350 or 383. As for later models-a lot of Regals from '83-87 had 307 Olds V8s. They are only suitable for a boat anchor, but the upside is a 350 or 403 Olds V8 would be a bolt-in.   From '83-88 most Pontiac Gran Prix;s had 305 Chevy motivation. Wouldn't a G/P with a ZZ4 350 or ZZ383 crate engine be a cool sleeper?  # 3. 1975-81 Chevy Camaro 6 cylinder model. There not super plentiful, but there not exactly rare either. I personally know three people that had these. The standard engine in a Camaro up until '77 was a 250 inch straight six. The upside is these strippy models usually had three-speed sticks. So you've got the bellhousing and the clutch linkage and the pedals already in the car. If you want to swap in a stout 350 and a 4-speed or a 5-speed, it's pretty easy. '78 and later models had a 3.8 liter ( 229 Cubic Inches ) V6 which was basically a 350 with 2 cylinders hacked off. Same deal-the bellhousing and clutch linkage is the same for the V8s. So you could drop in a 4-speed and a V8 easily. If you have an automatic one, same deal. If it's got a TH350-your in luck-they'll stand up to 450 hp easily. If it's got the 'Metric" TH200 or TH250, your going to need to change it. These won't stand up to any real power. That's why they were limited to the anemic V6 models that wheezed out 130 hp. The upside is a TH350 is a bolt-in. They use the same rear trans mount and driveshaft yoke as the smaller brothers. # 4. You don't see too many, but every once in a while you run across a '77-81 Pontiac Firebird, or an '81-85 Buick Regal, Pontiac Gran Prix or Olds Cutlass with a 231 inch Buick V6 in it. Now converting these to any kind of V8 power is a major pain in the ass. If you wanted a Chevy engine you'd have to change the tranny too, and even if you went BOP-pratically nothing interchanges with the V6. But all is not lost. There's two ways to go. # 1. Find a wrecked 1990-97 Buick Century, Riviera, or Pontiac Bonneville SSEI or Grand Am GTP with the Supercharged 3.8 V6 in it. These are fairly plentiful in junkyards and the engines have 250 hp stock, and you could increase that by 100 or 150 just by changing pulleys on the Roots-type blower. Get the wiring harness, fuel pump and all the electronics from the donor car, or Painless sell harnesses too. How cool that be-a blown V6 in a Firebird or "G" body?  #2. This is harder because they have a "Cult" following-but every once in a while I see a totalled Grand National or Regal T-Type in a boneyard. If you can, get the engine, the wiring harness, and the 200R4 tranny. GN enthusiasts run in the 11s with this combo with a little tweaking. I think that would be a totally cool ride. You could even drop either of these engines into the anemic '80-81 Turbo Trans-Am or Turbo Formulas. People would scoff at you-until you hit the loud pedal. What a sleeper that would be!  Any of these in my opinion would be cooler and more cost effective than spending 12 grand for an LS motor. Mastermind.  

Cross-Breeding is ok if it's period correct, and not a classic......

Hot Rodders have been cross-breeding for decades. Ever since the late '50's when someone swapped a small-block Chevy into a '32 Ford or a Cadillac V8 into a Studebaker coupe and instantly doubled their power output. A popular swap in the late'60's and '70's was guys with '53-56 Ford F100 pickups would put a Chevelle or Camaro front clip under them. This gave them modern disc brakes and power steering and allowed the installation of a small-block Chevy V8. These mods drastically improved performance and handling for low bucks. Purists griped, but it was easier to do than swapping in a Mustang II front clip and a 302. That's why it was so popular. GM guys have been doing it for 40 years. I know a guy that had an 11 second Pontiac Tempest powered by a STRONG 425 Olds engine. Another guy had an Olds Cutlass with a 454 Chevy in it. A friend in high school had a '66 El Camino with a 400 Pontiac under the hood that was a terror. A friend of my brother's put a 472 Cadillac V8 in a Firebird. These were all low-budget, "Backyard" swaps, but the cars were brutally quick and didn't cost a lot to build. A lot of times guys just transplanted a motor they had laying around into a body that needed a powertrain. Now some people are going to call me a hypocrite and say that I'm always railing about people putting LS engines into vintage iron, but I think this stuff is ok. I'm ok with these low-budget "Cross-breeds" because the Tempest with the Olds engine, was exactly that-a beater '66 Tempest that the guy stuffed a big motor in, not a numbers-matching Tri-Power. 4-speed GTO convertible, or a '69 Judge. The Pontiac powered Elky was a strippy, rough-but-running base model El Camino, not a pristine SS396. The Firebird was a 301 powered '79 model, not a 455 HO Trans-Am. That's the point I've tried to make until I'm blue in the face-I don't care if somebody slaps an LS3 into a beater Malibu or Camaro or Firebird. What drives me up the wall is it's always a numbers-matching, 4-speed, SS396, or a pristine '73 Trans-Am, or a numbers-matching Judge!!  I wouldn't throw a GMPP 454 or 572 crate motor into a one of the 678 1970 Buick GSX's. Anyone who even thinks that should be summarily executed. But if somebody wants to drop a snarling Rat motor and a TH400 into a beater '68-'72 Skylark who cares?  Super Chevy recently had an offensive one. A guy bought a pristine '71 Z/28 Camaro, yanked out the numbers-matching 4-bolt main, steel-cranked, forged pistoned, "202" headed, aluminum intaked,780 Holley carbed, solid-lifter cammed LT-1 and put in the LS!!!  Now why couldn't this guy have bought one of the literally millions of beater '70-81 Camaros or Firebirds out there? No it had to be a for-real, rare, Z/28 that he had to butcher. The most offensive one was a guy who'd put a 389 Pontiac into a '57 T-Bird!!  What I'm saying is, use some common sense. You like Pontiac bodystyles and Chevy engines? No problem. No one cares if you throw a 454 into a '69 LeMans, or a 383 into a '77 Firebird. Just don't do it to a Ram Air III Judge or a 400, 4-speed, T-topped "Smokey and the Bandit" Black and Gold SE T/A. So if you want to buy a "cross-breed" it might be a good deal, especially if it's a base model. If you buy a Pontiac Ventura with a 350 Chevy in it, then figure you have a Nova. Or if you have to have "Real" Pontiac power, playing musical engines with GM stuff is cake. You might to have chase some parts, but it won't cost you a mint. So that '58 Olds with the Chevy in it might be a good "Gasser" tribute project....Mastermind      

In praise of "Beater" hot rods.....They may be ugly....But their fast!!

Not everyone has 20 or 30 or 50 grand to put into a classic musclecar. There's a lot of people out there who'd still like to have a fast car to play with, even if they only had 4 or 5 thousand to play with, including the purchase price of the car. Here's some beaters with great potential. # 1. 1969-76 Pontiac Gran Prix. 400 4bbl power standard all years and a fair number of  '70-76 models had 455s. They all had front disc brakes and "Radial Tuned Suspension"-wrist-thick front and rear sway bars as well. Don't sell your soul trying to get ten grand together for a big-block Chevelle or Monte Carlo that needs work-you can buy a nice GP for half that or less.  # 2. 1973-79 GM "X" body. This includes Chevy Novas, Pontiac Venturas, Olds Omegas, and Buick Apollos. A lot of '75 and later models might have 305 small-block Chevys in them which is, if anything a plus factor. A stout 350 or 383 stroker would drop right in. The real bargains are the Venturas with 350 Pontiacs and the Omegas with 350 Olds engines. Since they weigh about 600 lbs less than the average '70's Camaro or Firebird, with very little work-intake, exhaust, and an axle-ratio change these cars can really rock. Or for a stormin' sleeper a 400 or 455 Pontiac is a literal bolt-in swap for a Ventura. A 403 Olds V8 will drop right in an Omega. Whether your building a drag racer or a great-handling "G" machine-your in luck-just about any suspension or brake upgrades that fit the Camaro / Firebird will fit these cars. # 3. 1971-77 Ford Maverick / Mercury Comet. Weighing in about 2,900 lbs, these make great sleepers. Forget the six-cylinder models; swapping engines in Fords is a nightmare. Look for the 302 V8 versions. 2bbl carburation, single exhausts and salt-flats gearing got them a rep as a "Dog". Some dual exhausts, a 4bbl carb and intake, and swapping the 2.80:1 gears for some 3.55:1 or 3.73:1s will have you showing your taillights to those smug Mustang owners quickly. A friend with a 440 Road Runner got his doors blown off by a warmed-over ugly green Maverick one night. # 4. 1975-79 Chevy Monza. This also includes Buick Skyhawks, Olds Starfires, and Pontiac Sunbirds. Forget the V6 models, the ones to look for are the 305 V8 Chevy versions. Again-2 bbl carburation, single exhausts, and 2.41:1 gears made them slugs. Add a 4bbl and some gears and you can torture '80's and '90's "5.0" Mustang owners at will. Or drop in a 350 or 383 and be a real badass. Special note: For some perverse reason, the 305 wasn't certified for California or High-Altitude emissions. Therefore if you ordered a V8, quite a few 1975 and 76 models sold in California or Rocky mountain states had 350s from the factory!!  Dynamite. # 5. 1970-76 Dodge Dart / Plymouth Duster. 340 versions command a king's ransom, but you can still find good deals on 318 models. With very little work these can really rock, or you could go to a junkyard and find a '92 and later Dodge Truck, van or Jeep Cherokee and yank the 318 or 360 "Magnum" V8 out and bolt it into your Dart / Duster. The Magnum heads breathe better than any factory head and many aftermarket ones, and Edelbrock makes 4bbl intakes for them. # 6. 1971-78 AMC Gremlin / Hornet / Spirit. Don't laugh. A friend of mine in high school had a 304 V8 Gremlin that he swapped a 401 into out of a Matador Police car. He smoked many an unsuspecting Camaro, Firebird and Mustang owner. Their light weight and short wheelbase actually makes them good drag racers-they have excellent weight distribution. Forget the 6-cylinder models look for the 304 V8 models. Some Hornets might have 360s stock. Or there are zillions of Grand Wagoneers in junkyards that you could pirate a 360 from. Edelbrock makes performance aluminum heads for these engines. # 7. 1975-79 Ford Granada / Mercury Monarch. Forget the 4-door versions and 6-cylinder models. The ones to look for are the 2-door V8 models. Most have the 302 / C4 for power, but there are quite a few with 351Ws!! Either way you can't go wrong. There are a million ways to build power into a small-block Ford, and a lot of these have 9 inch rear ends, with rear disc brakes!  Most people don't think of these cars as a performance platform, but they've got all the basics. I'd like to gut one, put a cage in it and a blower on the 302!!  Paint it monochromatic flat black and radius the fenderwells for big tires. Now that would be a modern-day Rat Rod!  Mastermind        

Why the "Old School" guys are tougher.....

The recent posts have sparked some debate about me not embracing the "New Breed" of Hollywood tough guys. I have nothing against some of the modern actors. But when you talk "Larger Than Life" heroes-Say comparing today in 2013 to 1973.  Do you really, honestly believe that Mark Wahlberg, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Russel Crowe, Colin Farrel, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, Daniel Craig, Will Smith, Shemar Moore, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jeremy Renner and Channing Tatum stack up against John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds,Sean Connery, James Garner,Telly Savalas, Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree,Ernest Borgnine, Joe Don Baker, Charlton Heston, Gene Hackman, Ryan O' Neal, Lee Majors, Bo Svenson, Donald Sutherland, Lee Marvin, Clint Walker, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and James Caan?.  Not even close. And here's the reasons why. # 1. To play an ass-kicker you have to look like you could kick somebody's ass. Now analysts are always saying that because of better pre-natal care, better nutrition, and steroids in food that people are naturally getting bigger-just compare the size of the average NFL or NBA player to the players of 30 years ago.  If that's the case, why are action heroes getting smaller? Check these facts- Of the "Old School" tough guys I listed nearly all of them were over 6 ft tall, and most were at least 6' 3'. Only Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Caan, Telly Savalas, and Ernest Borgnine were under 6 ft tall, and they were all at least 5' 10". Conversely, of the modern heroes, Dwayne Johnson, Hugh Jackman, Ben Affleck and Will Smith are the only ones OVER 6 ft tall. The rest are all 5'11" or less, and a few, Tom Cruise, Matt Damon.Mark Wahlberg, and Shemar Moore, are 5' 8" or under!!  I wouldn't want to meet Dwayne Johnson in a dark alley. But your going to tell me that John Wayne or Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson would be intimidated by Mark Wahlberg, Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves? I liked "Gladiator"- but Russel Crowe is not as threatening as Charlton Heston ( Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes ) or Kirk Douglas ( Spartacus, Champion ). Even '80's tough guys like Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Dolph Lundgren have it all over the new guys in just looking tough. Like "Fonzie" said to Richie on "Happy Days" many years ago "You have to have a look in your eye that says at least once in your life you've hit somebody besides your little sister."  # 2. Fans like to believe that action heroes actually are tough. Steve McQueen was a legendary auto and motorcycle racer, and a martial-arts expert. He was one of Bruce Lee's first students when Lee came to America. He did almost all of his own stunts. Jim Brown held nearly every NFL rushing record for years until O.J. Simpson and Walter Payton broke them. He defiantly went to prison several years ago-well past age 60- instead of taking anger management classes over a fight between him, his ex-wife, and her new boyfriend. He told the judge he did not feel remorse and would kick their ass again if the situation arose again.  Clint Eastwood did all of his own stunts well into his 60's. He jumped off the bridge onto the bus in "Dirty Harry" and rarely used a double in the mountain-climbing scenes of "The Eiger Sanction". John Wayne was 65 when he did all the riding and roping stunts, and had the brutal fight scene with 30 years younger Bruce Dern in "The Cowboys".  Sean Connery was Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Wales, and famously beat the crap out of Gangster Johnny Stompanato who pulled a gun on Connery over Lana Turner. I already stated that Robert Mitchum beat up a heavyweight boxer in a street fight who was one of very few people to go the distance with Rocky Marciano. Sylvester Stallone actually did the jump off the cliff into the tree in "First Blood", and suffered several broken ribs and a punctured lung while sparring with professionsl boxers Earnie Shavers and Matthew Saad Muhammed for the "Rocky Movies". Dolph Lundgren was a professional kick-boxer before he was cast in "Rocky IV". In the Martial-arts flicks, whether it was Van Damme, or Norris, or even Jackie Chan, it might have looked inelegant, but at least you knew they were really doing it. I'm glad these modern guys live in the gym to look ripped, but 90% of the action is all CGI. If I wanted to play or watch one of my son's video games, I would. # 3. The Old-school guys kept their private lives private, and weren't media whores wanting constant attention. We know John Wayne had Cancer, as did Steve McQueen and Bronson's wife, Jill Ireland. We know that Mitchum and Connery were legendary drinkers. McQueen ruined two marriages when he stole Ali McGraw from producer Robert Towne while filing the "Getaway". Burt Reynolds had affairs with Dinah Shore, Country singer Tammy Wynette, and Sally Field before he married Loni Anderson. But he nor McQueen never publicly bashed their exes like Brad Pitt does to Jennifer Aniston, or Ben Affleck does about Jennifer Lopez.  We all know Clint Eastwood was a legendary man-whore who left his wife for Sondra Locke, then dumped her for someone else and fathered children with like 6 different women. But unlike Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Hugh Jackman and others they didn't whine about their marriages or stints in rehab on talk shows ( We didn't have "Oprah" or "The View", but there was Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Don Ho and others ). or in women's magazines like Redbook!!  They damn sure didn't talk about their sex lives.-Affleck and Smith make me want to gag. Jennifer Garner and Jada Pinkett are hot-we can see that. But Pam Anderson, Kim Kardashian and Eva Longoria are hotter and you never heard Kid Rock, Reggie Bush or Tony Parker giving a sickengly sweet testimonial about how wonderful their partner was. They at least had old-school class-"A gentleman never talks about his lady." I'm sorry, these whiny "metrosexuals" of today are not the he-men the old-school guys were. Just like the modern cars with their traction control nannies, clutchless sequential trannys, heated seats, moonroofs, and navigation systems are not the lean, mean badasses like a Six-Pack Super Bee or an L88 'Vette.  Mastermind                          

More Car Chase tough guys....And why "Dominic Toretto" isn't on the list!!

As I thought, several people griped that I didn't include Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, or "The Rock" from the Fast&Furious movies in the last post. That's like asking why wasn't the Johnny Depp Voiced sheriff / lizard "Rango" included with Alan Ladd  ( "Shane" ) Gary Cooper ( "High Noon" ) John Wayne ("True Grit" ) or Clint Eastwood ( "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" ) on a list of classic badass western movie heroes. Does anybody really think that Paul Walker with his "I know I'm a cute, blonde, surfer dude" smirk is as tough as Steve McQueen?  Puhleeze. I like Vin Diesel as an actor-when he's acting ( "Boiler Room," "Saving Private Ryan", "A Man Apart" ) but he phones in the "F&F performances. And yes, I read about him being a bouncer and that's where he came up with the famous "500 fights" speech from "Knockaround Guys". However when Robert Mitchum came to Hollywood he had a 50 inch chest and a 30 inch waist on his 6' 4" frame that was forged working on a southern prison chain-gang. In the '40's and '50's. After "Thunder Road" came out Mitchum got in a bar fight with and kicked the shit out of a Heavyweight contender who had gone 10 rounds with Rocky Marciano. Diesel is playing a character that's been to prison. Mitchum had ACTUALLY BEEN to prison, and the worst kind. As for "The Rock"- again I personally like him as an actor when he's acting seriously-( "Faster", "Snitch" "Be Cool" ) but "The tooth Fairy? and all those Disney movies? He want's to be taken seriously-Would Al Pacino or Bruce Willis have donned that tu-tu for ANY amount of money? He may match up to Mitchum size-wise, and is a gifted athlete for a big man, but winning scripted WWF matches isn't really isn't the same as surviving several years in a southern prison or beating the # 1 Heavyweight contender in a bare-knuckle street fight is it?  I don't care how many college boys Diesel threw out of yuppie bars or how many badasses the Rock PLAYS on screen,  a young Robert Mitchum would have left either of them "Looking like a jig-saw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone."  Tyrese Gibson with his "I"m intinidating because I'm black, bald and buff" swagger?  He wouldn't even have been "Gator's" bitch. Gator would have sold him to other white boys. Don't think so?  Burt Reynolds was a star football player at the University of Florida and was on his way to the NFL when he blew his knee out. He went to hollywood and worked as a stunt man for several years before he became a star. Like Steve McQueen, he did a lot of his own stunts. And he killed Sara Miles' husband in a fist-fight on the set of "The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing" in Mexico. If you watch "Deliverance" closely-that's him taking that flying leap over the rapids not a double. And him and Hal Needham did most of the stunt-driving in "Smokey and the Bandit" not CGI like Gibson's stunts in the F&F movies.  Any how a couple we missed- "Popeye Doyle"-Gene Hackman did the stunt driving in the famous chase in "The French Connection".  And we forgot "Buddy" played by Roy Schieder in the "Seven-ups". He pilots the Pontiac Ventura in the best chase filmed since "Bullitt", kicks a bunch of ass, and hangs his childhood friend who's been setting cops up out to dry. Mastermind          

Car Chase movie tough guy rankings......

After the last post I had some people ask if Robert Mitchum was the number one car-chase movie tough guy. I gave all the famous car-chase movie tough guys some thought, and I have to say, as much as I personally like Mitchum, he came in number 2. Here's my rankings of the baddest musclecar movie leading men. # 1. "Gator McCluskey"  "White Lightning", "Gator." Brilliantly played by Burt Reynolds, "Gator" was the quintessential southern-fried badass. The song in the opening credits of "Gator" by Jerry Reed-"Some say he was born in the swamp, and some say he come straight out of hell." Says it all. He's in prison when we meet him because he's been running moonshine since he was 13. He cons prison officials and the ATF into letting him out so he can get the crooked sheriff who murdered his brother on income tax evasion charges. But right from the start, we know Gator is going to kill the sheriff. Anyone with balls enough to kill a cop, even a corrupt one, while out on probation, has to be Numero Uno on the tough guy list. In the second movie he's let out of prison again to take down a drug dealer-"Bama McCall" played by Jerry Reed. Since they were grade-school buddies, Gator and "Bama both give each other several chances to walk away. But we know an epic showdown is coming. Two of the best scenes-in a southern whorehouse when a 16 year old hooker asks Gator-"Where have you been all my life?" Burt responds-"All your life?" "In prison."  And when "Bama finds out Gator is working with the feds, he drugs his whiskey. After Gator passes out, he tells his 6 foot 8 inch "Enforcer" "Bones" to "Put him in his car over the county line heading north." "And Bones-" "Don't you hurt him none." "I've known him since I'se a kid." "So don't you hurt him none." But Gator doesn't go north, and the showdown between him and "Bama's gang is epic.  # 2. "Luke Doolin"  "Thunder Road." Robert Mitchum was already 32 years old when he hit it big with this flick. Like I said in the earlier post he sold it to the studio because Elvis Presley was going to be the star. When Elvis pulled out they went ahead anyway. Little-known facts-Luke's little brother was played by Mitchum's 16 year old son James, who along with his younger brother Chistopher- obviously because of the family name-both became huge action movie stars in Europe in the '60's and '70's. Mitchum not only starred and wrote the screenplay, he also sang the song "Thunder Road" that was a big radio hit after the movie came out. It was a smash hit, and like "Shane" it was one of the first movies to feature an "Anti-Hero" in other words, the star wasn't a "Good Guy".  For 1958, this was heady, ground breaking stuff.  # 3. "Chance" "To LIve and Die in L.A." William Peterson ( "Manhunter", "CSI" ) was totally badass as a Secret Service agent out for vengenance for his murdered partner. He let's a counterfiter out of prison and loses him and has to find him, commits a robbery to get front money to trap the guy who murdered his partner, and gets a DEA agent killed. He also sexually abuses Darlanne Fluegel, his hooker / informant / drug mule / girlfriend and threatens to revoke her parole when she threatens to leave him and stop sending him busts. He also leads the DEA and the LAPD on a terrific chase in a stolen cop car, the WRONG way down  the LA freeway. He dies in a blaze of glory at the end, but it's a fiery performance from a classically trained stage actor that rivals anything Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson ever did.  # 4. "Carter "Doc" McCoy" "The Getaway". Steve McQueen was never cooler. Like "Gator" we meet "Doc" in prison. He tells his wife ( a gorgeous then 24 year old Ali McGraw ) to tell a prominent Texas criminal-"Jack Benyon" that "I'm for Sale". He gets out, unaware how Ali has bought his freedom. The job he's supposed to do goes wrong, and him and Ali have to elude not only the law, but Benyon's henchman as well. Directed by Sam Peckinpah ( "The Wild Bunch" "The Osterman Weekend" ) the action is still cool even 40 years later. Best line in the flick-When Benyon asks what went wrong-Doc cooly replies "Hanson got stupid and killed a guard. "Rudy got ambitious and killed Hanson." "Then he completely lost his mind and tried to killed to me."     # 5. "Kowalski"  "Vanishing Point". Ex-Viet Nam Vet, Ex-cop, Ex-car and motorcycle racer "Kowalski" bets a drug dealer the tab for his speed that he can make it from Denver to San Francisco in 15 hours in a 440, 4-speed 1970 Challenger R/T.. He misses the time frame, and dies in a blaze of glory, but along the way he's guided by a blind, clairvoiant DJ "Super Soul" ( brilliantly played by a young Cleavon Little) and meets some evangelists, a snake-charmer and a naked motorcycle rider who help him along his way. He also beats up some gays who try to car-jack him, and wrecks the Jaguar of someone trying to race him. Barry Newman had a long TV and Movie career, but he never topped this role. # 6. "Frank Bullitt" "Bullitt"  Steve McQueen again-this time playing a cop. The chase is legendary, and the movie poster blurb-"There are good cops and there are bad cops". "And then there's Bullitt." is true. When the star witness he's protecting is murdered, Bullitt cons a doctor into helping him hide the body, lies to his superiors that the guy's still alive, and kicks a lot of ass leading up to the final shoot-out in the San Francisco airport. # 7. "Driver"  "The Driver" Ryan O' Neal at his tough-guy best playing a criminal getaway driver for hire. The two best scenes in the flick-. O'Neal destroys a Mercedes in a parking garage while his Russian mob passengers scream like schoolgirls, and in the 2nd one when a Thug pointing a gun at him sneers "A man with your attitude should really carry a gun." O Neal shoots him through the window of the Firebird he's driving, and says calmly "I do."  Sorry, F&F fans-the characters played by Vin Diesel and Paul Walker can't top these classics. Not even close. Mastermind

Why doesn't Hollywood Do "Thunder Road?"

In the last several years we've lost several legendary Hollywood tough guys. One loss that made the world a slightly less cool place was when Robert Mitchum passed away. Jan-Micheal Vincent-who starred with Mitchum in "The Winds of War" called him "Daddy Badass." He's most famous for his chilling portrayal of vengeful ex-con Max Cady in "Cape Fear" and playing Phillip Marlowe in "The Big Sleep". However the one that launched his career was "Thunder Road."  Mitchum wrote the screenplay, and actually sold it to the studio because he had a verbal commitment from Elvis Presley to play Moonshiner Luke Doolin. Already sick of Hal Wallis' campy singing movies, he wanted to be taken seriously as an actor and thought playing a gangster in a non-singing role would do it. However-Preley's manager Col. Tom Parker talked him out of it-saying that him playing a criminal would tarnish his nice-guy image. After Elvis pulled out, Mitchum convinced the studio brass to make the film anyway with him playing Luke Doolin. It had some cool ( for the 1950s ) car chase action with Mitchum eluding the police first in a hopped up '50 Ford and later in a '57 Chevy. The best scene was when He goes to a rival moonshiner's garage and they say-"Were takin' over your territory, Doolin, and there's no way you can stop us." Mitchum stands in the doorway casually, with two .45s in his belt. In that "Voice of God" ( only James Earl Jones or Sam Elliott come close ) that he had-he says simply-"I'm here." "You done been stopped." He dies in a blaze of glory at the end. The film was a smash-hit and made Mitchum a big star. Elvis Presley loved the film and said in later years he wished he hadn't let the Colonel talk him out of it.  Anyhow-instead of  "Fast&Furious 7" maybe they could do an update of "Thunder Road." I'd  set in the early '60's -you could use cool stuff like 409 Impalas or 421 Catalinas as the "Whiskey Runners". Or set it in like '67 or '68 ( 1962-70 were the years Buford Pusser waged his legendary battles with hillbilly gangsters in Tennessee ) and instead of a Korean War Vet Doolin could be a disillusioned Vietnam Vet, and you could use Chevelles, GTOs and Road Runners. He could still go out in a blaze of glory ala' "Vanishing Point" but the dialogue and the action could be really ramped up. They could get Rhona Mitra and Pam Anderson to play his long-suffereing blonde and brunette hotties. But hopefully they get someone like Viggo Mortensen ( "Eastern Promises", "A history of Violence" ) or Stone Cold Steve Austin to fill Mitchum's shoes. I can't see midgets like Mark Wahlberg or Matt Damon or Tom Cruise ( Don't get me started on "Jack Reacher" ) to play the hulking, badass, ex-special forces hero Luke Doolin.  You listening, Quentin Tarantino?  Mastermind    

Finish the damn thing right....Especially if you want Megabucks for it!!

To stay up on prices and other trends I follow Hemmings Motor News, the Barrett-Jackson Auctions, and some websites that specialize in Musclecars. One thing that always amazes me is people will spend umpteen thousands of dollars "Restifying" something, and then leave one glaring flaw. A few examples- #1. I saw a 1970 Charger for sale. The seller admitted it was a clone. It was originally a 318 car, but the owner had transplanted a 426 Mopar Performance crate Hemi, a 4-speed, and a Dana 60 rear end into it. It had a "Pistol-Grip" Hurst shifter and was done up like an R/T. It was very nicely done, and he was asking $79,000 for it. Now that may seem overpriced, but when you factor in that a "Real" 1970 Hemi Charger in excellent shape will sell for double or even triple that, it's actually not a bad deal if you can afford it and want a Hemi Charger. However-what stood out like a sore thumb to me was it had 4-wheel manual drum brakes!!!  Would you pay 80 grand for a 4,000 lb car with a 465 hp engine that didn't have disc brakes? The killer thing is-a "Real" Hemi R/T would almost certainly have front disc brakes from the factory. And Just Brakes, and other companies sell drum to disc conversion kits for Mopar "B" bodies that include the spindles, rotors, calipers, master cylinder and booster, and the brake lines, for about $800 bucks!!!  On an $80,000 car that's 1 percent of the cost. I mean-did the builder get near the end of the project and go-"Damn!" "I've got 15 grand in the base car, 15 grand in the crate Hemi, another 5 in the tranny and rear end, and another 5 in bodywork and paint." "That's 40 grand and a ton of man hours in this thing and I think I can sell it for 80k and double my money." "Or worst-case scenario give it away for 60K and still make a 20 grand profit." "But  I'll be damned if I'll spend another $800 for a disc brake conversion." "Screw the brakes."  Is that logical thinking?  # 2. Was a 1968 SS396 Chevelle. It was nice, and it had a GMPP 454HO crate engine in it, a Muncie 4-speed, a 12 bolt posi rear end, and front disc brakes. It was red with black interior, and it was nicely done. And the asking price was $39,000.  Except it didn't have power steering. Huh? If you've ever tried to park a Chevrolet vehicle with a heavy Rat motor on the front end and NO power steering, you'll know what I'm talking about. Again- Summit Racing sells brand new GM power steering boxes for about $350 and brand new pumps for about $150. So it would have cost $500 to put power steering on this car and make it right. Or if he wanted to he probably could have found any '68-77 GM "A" body-in a junkyard  ( which includes Chevelles, Monte Carlos, Cutlasses, LeMans, Centurys, and all mid-size wagons ) and got the whole shebang for $200!!  Again-I wouldn't pay 40 grand for a Rat-motored Chevelle with no power steering and a non-original engine. Especially when on the very same website there were two other pristine 1968 SS396s-one a 4-speed and the other an automatic that both had power steering and NUMBERS-MATCHING engines and were priced at $43,000 and $47,000 repectively. Whatever the guy spent restoring it, he couldn't spend another 3-400 bucks putting power steering on it and making it nicer to drive and easier to sell? Especially when your asking numbers-matching prices for a car with a bastard engine!!     #3. Was a 1968 Pontiac GTO. It was a 400 / TH400 model, red with red interior, and it had front disc brakes, the hood tach, and the Hurst Dual / Gate shifter in the console and factory air. The asking price was $29,995. Except not only was the A/C not functional, it was missing the compressor and all the hoses!! Hello?!!  Your asking 30 grand for a car that the air doesn't work on, and is missing the compressor?!  Are you kidding me??  Here's where I have to quote comedian Ron White-"You can't fix stupid."  A couple weeks later I see the car is still for sale-except the price has dropped to $24,995!!  I know that even paying a professional A/C shop 100 bucks an hour labor and retail for the parts, that he could have got the A/C fixed for less than a grand.  Even if the condenser and reciever dryer had to be replaced as well and the system converted to R134, it couldn't have cost more than $1,500 to do, parts and labor. I think that would have been a much smarter move than lowering the price 5 grand.  Because even at 25K-people are going to bitch- and rightly so-You want me to pay $25,000 for a car that needs a major repair?  And again-on the same website there dozens of other '68-70 GTOs for sale in the $20-30K range that were in the same or better condition and didn't need any work. And you wonder why yours isn't selling?  What are these people thinking?  Depending on what it is, you can sell a musclecar for 5, 10 or even 15 grand that "Needs Work". But anything your trying to sell for 25 or 35 or 50 grand better be excellent, because buyers can find 50 more just like it, priced lower simply by going on the internet. On the other hand that's where the term "Buyer Beware" came from. Mastermind              

Like Cheech and Chong said if it looks, smells and tastes like dog#%^......Must be dog$%&!! .

I saw a '57 Chevy for sale the other day that perplexed me. It was a 210 post coupe and it was a very nicely done frame-off resto. The asking price was $59,000 which I thought was reasonable-if you bought a "restorable" '57 and made it as nice as this one was it would have easily cost you 50K. It wasn't the price that bothered me, it was the guys choice of parts. For example the engine was a 327 that supposedly came out of a '63 Corvette. But the tranny was a Saginaw 3 speed that had the original column shifter. If he was going concours and the car had a numbers-matching 283 I could understand that. But the seller said it was built as a tribute to an early '60's style hot rod. Thus-the non-original 327. If a guy had this car in say 1965-yes he'd have swapped in a hot 327-but he also surely would have backed it with a BW T10 or Muncie 4-speed. At the very least he'd have added a floor-mounted Hurst shifter so he could shift the 3-speed a lot quicker than you could with the column unit!  The other things that bothered me were the rolling stock and the induction and exhaust systems. It had modern radial tires which is no biggie-especially if your going to drive the car at all-you want decent ride and handling. But they were mounted on body-coler painted steel wheels with dog-dish hubacps. As I remember my dad's and his friends rides in the mid-60's-including my mom's '58 Impala- it would have either Cragar S / S mags, or American Racing Torq-Thrusts, or at the very least "Chrome Reverse" rims like the '55 in "American Graffiti". If it was a really low budget hot rod it would have had plain black steel wheels. Body colored wheels didn't become popular until the mid-70's. The induction system vexed me as well-it was a dual-quad intake with two Carter WCFB 4-bbls. This was an option on the 283 V8s offered in the '57 Corvette and on the 210s, Impalas and Bel Airs. The 327 was supposedly out of a 1963 Corvette. As I remember there were 3 327s offered in 1963 Corvettes. The standard 300 hp version which had a hydraulic cam, and a higher compression solid-lifter cammed 340 hp version-both with single 4bbls. The top option was the 360 hp version with Rochester Fuel-Injection. As far as I know-Chevrolet never offered a dual-quad 327 in any model. Think about this-even in the mid-'60s no one would have spent the time or money to transplant a fuelie engine out of a wrecked 'Vette-even then they were extremely rare. If you did buy a carburated 327 out of a wrecked Corvette you'd have used the induction system that was on it. Depending on whether it was a 300 or 340 hp version you'd have had a Carter AFB mounted on a factory iron or aluminum intake. Nothing less than stellar to begin with. Or if you wanted even more power-Edelbrock offered the C355B three-two-barrel manifold, and the C4B 4bbl intake developed by Bob Joehnck and Vic Edelbrock Jr. You'd have used three Rochester 2GC 2bbls like on the Pontiac GTO or you'd have used a Holley or Carter AFB 4bbl. I seriously doubt that you would have searched out an old 2X4 283 setup with the even then-obsolete WCFB carbs-the AFB flowed more cfm and had better throttle response and drivability, as did the Holley 4bbls. If you wanted to be a total badass and HAD to have dual-quads, Offenhauser made an excellent low-rise dual quad intake that used two AFBs or two Holleys that was light-years ahead of the old 283 factory unit in terms of power and torque production. Finally-it had iron exhaust manifolds, but a stainless steel Flowmaster dual setup. Huh?  A mid-'60's hot rodder would definitely have used headers, and some loud glasspacks. If your going to go period correct, then let's do it right. What I deduced from all this was some mechanic found a clean 2 dr '57 body, built it up with a bunch of parts he had laying around, put a nice paint job on it and was planning on making big bucks off the sale. Which he will. Some one will pay his asking price or close to it. But it's not a "Tribute" to anything, it's just a nice car that someone slapped together very well with junk they had laying around. Like I said-why doesn't it at least have a 4-speed and chrome wheels? On a "Hot Rod Tribute" car your asking 60 grand for? Like Ditka says-"Come on, Man!"  I personally liked the car and if I had an extra 50 grand laying around I might even buy it-but that would be in spite of it's "attributes" not because of them. You don't find a good restored '55-57 for under 60K very often, so it's still a screamin' deal-and it's still something that some one cobbled up with crap they had laying around. It was very well done, but that's what it was, not a pristine numbers-matching concours resto like the '56 offered on the same website for about the same price that was a numbers-matching Bel Air!!  Mastermind                          

More "Junkyard Jewels" for your musclecar project.....

Yesterday I spoke about some late-model engines that are plentiful in junkyards and would be a low-buck power infusion-especially if you didn't have or need a numbers-matching engine. All of these were small-blocks however-the largest was 360 cid. For those of you searching for big-block power on a tight budget you might have to search a little harder, and pay a little more, but there's still stuff available that could make your car really rock if your willing to compromise a little. I'll list them in no particular order. # 1. 390 Ford. These were used in millions of cars and trucks from 1961-76. If you can't find a good deal on a 390 then you aren't looking past the end of your nose. There is great aftermarket support-Edelbrock offers performance aluminum heads and single and dual quad intakes for these engines. and Lunati, Crane, Comp cams, etc, all offer cams from mild to wild. They look externally identical to a 428 so if you were cloning a GT500 or Cougar Eliminator no one would be the wiser. Edelbrock claims 418 hp and 434 lbs of torque for their "Performer RPM" 390 package. Magazine writers spout hp numbers flippantly-but trust me 418 honest hp will make any street car into a rocket. # 2. 430 Buick V8. These were only produced from 1966-69, but there are millions out there in old Rivieras, Electras, Park Avenues, Centurions, and wagons. Buick enthusiasts fight with machetes for 455s, but these are largely overlooked. Anything 430 cubes is going to have some serious low-end torque, and Edelbrock offers performance aluminum heads and intakes that fit these engines, and their are cams, headers, etc available from various manufacturers. Even bone-stock dropping 430 cubes into a Chevelle-size Skylark or Century is going to give you a serious power infusion.  Even if your building a GSX clone-they look identical to a 455 and have just as much grunt. # 3. 428 Pontiac. Same thing-Poncho builders will give blood and a first-born child for a 455, or spend a ton of money on a custom aftermarket 455 rotating assembly to stuff in a 400 block, but 428s are largely overlooked. They were only produced from 1967-69 but there were millions sold in Catalinas, Bonnevilles, Grand Villes, Gran Prixs, and station wagons. I personally love 428 Pontiacs. They rev up like a 400, and they have as much torque as a 455. If you have one, or can buy one at a reasonable price they would definitely give any Firebird, LeMans, Gran Prix or Ventura some serious street cred.  # 4. 403 Olds V8. Again-these were only offered from 1977-79 but there are millions out there in Pontiac Firebirds and Trans-Ams, Catalinas, and Bonnevilles, Olds 88s and 98s, Buick Rivieras, Electras, and Park Avenues, and all of the BOP full and mid-size wagons. They are externally identical to a 350 Olds. This means you'd get an instant 53-73 more cubes for your '60's or 70's Cutlass ( over the 330-350 motors ) and any speed equipment that fits a 350 fits these engines. Don't scoff at these "smog" motors. Because they were in heavy cars, saddled with a lazy cam, single exhaust and salt-flats gearing-2.41:1 or 2.56:1 was standard on most GM offerings in this period-they got unfairly labelled as a "dog". Trust me- if you had a 403 in a '70s Cutlass, Omega or Firebird and gave it an Edelbrock Performer intake and matching cam, some headers and an axle ratio between 3.23:1 and 3.73:1, you'd give those smug 400 Pontiac GTO and T/A owners a lesson they'd never forget. I had a '77 T/A with a 403, and after adding headers, a Holley Street Dominator intake, re-curving the distributor and re-jetting the carb, and adding a TransGo shift kit-I showed my taillights to many an aghast Z/28 Camaro, 5.0 Mustang, ,400 Pontiac T/As, and '70's and '80s small-block 'Vette drivers. Hope this gives you some ideas or saves you some money.  Mastermind            

Some "Junkyard Jewels" that could power your Muscle Machine....

People are always looking for a bargain, and there are quite a few out there if you know where to look. I'll list these screamin' deals in no particular order. # 1. 1992 and later Chrysler "Magnum" V8. There are zillions of these out there in Dodge trucks and vans and Jeep Cherokees. The "Magnum" heads breathe better than any other factory head and many aftermarket ones. Edelbrock offers Performer and Performer RPM 4bbl intakes that are compatible with them. The 318s are ok for a light car-i.e. Dart, Duster-but the real bargains are the 360s-they can make serious power and be stroked to 410 inches pretty easily. # 2. 360 AMC V8. These were used in Grand Wagoneers until 1992 so their fairly plentiful in junkyards. Edelbrock makes performance aluminum heads for them. If you can't find a 390 or 401 for your Javelin / AMX project this may be the way to go. # 3. 351W Ford. These were introduced in 1969 and were used in various Ford cars, trucks and vans until 1997. An easy swap into a vintage Mustang or Cougar or to get more grunt for a Fox Mustang. Except for a small-block Chevy, there is probably more speed equipment available for these engines than anything else on the planet. # 4. 1996-2000 Small-Block Chevy There's are gazillions of pickups, vans, Tahoes, and Suburbans out there with these "Vortec" V8s.  Forget the 305s; the 350s are plentiful. The Vortec heads breathe better than any factory head and many aftermarket ones. Edelbrock and Weiand make intake manifolds for them, and their set up for roller cams from the factory. And they can be stroked to 383 inches easily. Any of these are plentiful in boneyards, and offer tremendous "Bang for the Buck". Mastermind