More Alternative bodystyle projects that could be way cool......

If your not restoring some "Icon" i.e.-409 Impala, Tri-Power GTO, Six-Pack Road Runner, etc-it might be fun to hot rod something out of the ordinary. Since doctrine doesn't dictate that it be all-original you could really do it up cool,while still staying basically "Period-Correct"-No one really wants a '62 Impala with an LS Motor, a 4L80E, and rack&pinion steering. Here's what I'm talking about. # 1.'60's style "Gasser" tribute cars. No one wants to cut up a '55-57 Chevy; I get that. But how about a '66 Tempest ( TEMPEST-not GTO ) with a straight front axle,radiused wheelwells  and a snarling 455 Pontiac with dual-quads on it? Or a '68 Chevelle-not an SS396-one of the 400,000 plus base-model Malibus produced that year alone-with a small-block with a blower sticking out of the hood or a Rat with a Tunnel-Ram? What about a '68 Farilane with a dual-quad 390, or even a 429 or 460 with a Tunnel-Ram?  # 2. Full-size NASCAR tribute cars. Before the GTO started the musclecar craze-the factories raced the big cars. Fireball Roberts and Smokey Yunick dominated with their fire-breathing Pontiac Catalinas; in 1961-62 they won 22 races. The famous '63 Galaxie fastback came when Ford engineers made a steel copy of the "convertible" roofline to make the car more aerodynamic for NASCAR racing! The famous "Daytona Mystery 427 Chevy" that later became the famous "Rat" motor was prototyped in a '63 Impala. High Performance Pontiac featured a replica of Fireball Roberts' 1962 Catalina and it was badass looking. I have also seen a '64 Plymouth Savoy done to look like Richard Petty's early racer-complete with a Mopar Performance crate Hemi. "Mustangs and "Fast Fords" featured a 1965 Galaxie that looked totally badass-with the radiused wheelwells, huge tires at all four corners, and a 390 with Edelbrock aluminum heads and dual-quads. These would be relatively inexpensive to build and would be unique. The later models-after 1965 would be even easier-a lot them had big motors and front disc brakes standard. A Rat-Motored, Nascar-themed '69 Impala would be way cool, as would a 429 / 460 powered '69 LTD, or a 440 Pymouth Sport Fury. # 3. Trans-Am tribute cars. The SCCA series started out a "sedan" racing. Here's what would be cool-no Camaros, Firebirds, Mustangs, or Challengers. How about a 1965 Valiant / Barracuda ( the one with the flat front end and huge fastback window ) with a snarling 408 inch 360 based stroker and radiused wheelwells? Or a '68 Dart with a 360 and a "Six-Pack induction setup?  What about a Ford Falcon with a 347 crate engine and a T5 5-speed? How about a '68 Cougar with a "Mock Boss" 302? ( Edelbrock "Cleveland" heads and "E-Boss" intake )  A Nova would be an awsome Trans-Am tribute candidate-any factory or aftermarket suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Camaro / Firebird fit them so you could really make a "g" machine out of one. How about a '71 Pontiac Ventura with radiused and flared fenders,a T/A style "shaker" hood scoop, T/A front and rear sway bars and fire-breathing 467 inch Pontiac for motivation?  # 4. '70's Pro Stock tribute cars. I know the "Pro Street" movement in the '80's and '90s got old-but I'm not talking about cars like Rick Dobbertins' J2000-tube chassised- monsters that cost over 100 grand to build. I'm talking low-budget. Like getting an early '70's Maverick,putting in a roll cage, radius the rear fenderwells to clear big tires and build a 302 or 351 with a Tunnel-ram and paint it like "Dyno Don Nicholsons'" famous racer. Or build a V8 Vega like "Grumpy's Toy" or a Mustang II like Bob Glidden used to campaign. There's enough of them built from '75-78 that have 302s stock, so they could be really low-budget. What about '75-79 Chevy Monzas and their cousins-Buick Skyhawks,Olds Starfires and Pontiac Sunbirds? Forget the V6 models; that's too much work. Get a 305 Chevy version and swap in a snarling 383. Any of these could be low-budget, cool-looking and wicked fast. Mastermind      

An "Alternative" Project Heavy Metal might be cool......

Back in the '90's Car Craft had a project car called "Project Heavy Metal". It was a 1965 Impala with a 502 inch Rat Motor,4-wheel disc brakes, a Hotchkiss suspension with front and rear sway bays, tubular control arms etc. It ran something like 12 second 1/4 mile times and pulled something like .080g on the skidpad. Awesome performance and handling for a 4,400 lb car. Sadly-the car was stolen and the Los Angeles Police never recovered it. Anyway-I'd like to do a similar project with a Buick, Olds or Pontiac, or even a Ford. Here's my choices. Let me know what you think, or if you have any other ideas. # 1. 1965-66 Pontiac Catalina, Bonneville or Gran Prix. These cars have great styling-the semi-fastback roof and "Coke Bottle" flanks still look good today. 389 cubes standard, and most have the bulletproof TH400 behind that. Or you could drop in a 455 and a 4 or 5-speed if you wanted to. Any suspension or brake upgrades that fit an Impala will fit these cars. These probably offer the most bang for the buck. # 2. 1966-69 Buick Riviera. These cars had the swoopy styling of the Olds Toronado but were still rear wheel drive. With 430 cubes and a TH400 for power, they moved pretty good too. Edelbrock offers aluminum heads and intakes,and Crane and Lunati offer cams. Or you could swap in a 572 inch Chevy Rat if you wanted to. How cool would that be?  # 3. 1967-69 Olds Delta 88 coupe. Swoopy fastback styling, and 425 cubes and a TH400 for power. Edelbrock offers aluminum heads and intakes and cams. Like it's Pontiac cousins-anything that fits an Impala will fit these cars-suspension and brake upgrades.  # 4. 1965-67 Ford Galaxie. These cars have styling very similar to the Pontiacs,luxurious interiors, and most have 390 cubes under the hood. There's a ton of speed equipment for "FE" Ford engines-aluminum heads etc-and theres a fair amount of aftermarket suspension and brake upgrades available. I think any of these cars would make a way cool project, and be a fun, fast, luxurious driver. Mastermind

Hollywood fails again...I have a "Need" for realism......

Took my nephew to see "Need for Speed" this past weekend. He loved it, which sums up the current state of affairs. He's 11. Apparently Hollywood has decided that the most valuable movie-going consumer is 12 year old boys. This was obvious during the previews. Yet another "Transformers" movie. How does Micheal Bay continue to "Fail Upward?" I thought "Pearl Harbor" sucked  15 years ago, and yet he continues to make megabuck blockbusters that make old episodes of Mission: Impossible or Lost in Space seem like "The Godfather" or "Gone with the Wind". And then there's "Brick Mansions" with the now deceased Paul Walker of "Fast and Furious" fame, some unknown european guy and Rapper RZA. I personally thought Paul Walker was a decent guy-he gave millions to charities worldwide helping abused and and underpriviliged children. However-he wasn't Al Pacino or Robert DeNiro, and he certainly wasn't a young Clint Eastwood or Sean Connery which is what the film makers have been trying to do with him since "F&F 1". 1st off- Clint Eastwood is 6'4" and is very beleivable as a tough guy for 50 years since "A Fistful of Dollars". Sean Connery is 6'3" and was Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Wales before he became an actor-and took a gun away from Gangster Johnny Stompanato and kicked his ass in a fight over Lana Turner. Walker was what 5'9" and 160 at his buffest? And 40 or not, like Ralph Macchio who was like 32 in the last "Karate Kid"- he looked 19. He's just not believable as a badass. Guys like John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Sylvester Stallone, Liam Neeson ( Another Wales boxing champion-turned-actor ) Russel Crowe, Christian Bale-all at least LOOK like at least once in their life they've hit somebody besides their little sister. Anyhow-"Brick Mansions" preview-yeah that's plausible-the cops would let a gangster take over an entire apartment complex and then wall it off and not let anyone in or out-and send in one man to bring it down. And Walker and the Euro-male-model looking guy fly through the air and do incredible stunts and kick a lot of ass. Except their putting a video game on screen. Why? Guy jumps six feet in the air, rotates his body clockwise, kicks three guys in the face,does a backflip and lands on his feet. Jumps a 100 feet off a roof, crashes through a window into an adjacant building and doesn't get a scratch. Riiigghhht. It can't be done, we know it can't be done,we know the actor isn't doing it, so why put it onscreen? Because your target audience is 7th graders who play "World of Warcraft".  At least in the old days if Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee or Jean Claude Van Damme or even Jackie Chan did something, it may not have looked pretty, but we at least knew that you had an actor / athlete doing something that 99% of the population couldn't do. Anyhow back to "Need for Speed". Aaron Paul- who was only ok in a supporting role on the critically acclaimed AMC series-"Breaking Bad"-gives a leaden performance as a race-car driver / ace mechanic who's unjustly sent to prison after his pal dies in a street race. His James Dean-"Angry Young Man" act gets old after about five minutes. And I know it's PG13-but with women who look like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models doing everything but pull their pants down and bend over-his "Dragnet" style "Just the Facts" Ma'am" atttitude is maddening beyond belief. Even in the Disney G-rated "Little Mermaid" the fish even sang a song coaching the dumb-ass prince-"Kiss the Girl!!!" And the plot holes- First off-barring felony DUI- no one goes to prison for a car wreck. Especially if you weren't driving the car in which the death took place!!!  And-with all the "CSI" techno shit-the cops can't measure skid marks etc-and figure out who was doing what? Puhleeezze. And the car-chase action-Hal Needham ( director of Smokey and the Bandit ) Peter Yates-( Bullitt ) and Richard Sarafian- ( Vanishing Point ) are all rolling over in their graves. William Freidkin-"The French Connection", "To Live and Die in L.A." is vomiting day-glo. It's all CGI and mostly physically impossible. Especially when Paul does a "Dukes of Hazzard" style jump over rush-hour traffic in a 2014 Shelby Mustang. The struts would have come through the front fenders,the engine cradle would have dropped out, the airbags would have triggered,the fuel pump would have shut off-even if the driver and passenger survived the impact-the car would have been wrecked and undrivable. But they just motor on. Their's another scene where a helicopter lowers a cable that Paul hooks to the car-and the helicopter carries the 3,800 lb car across a "Grand Canyon" type abyss without crashing or damaging the car. Like I said- it's a mess with plot holes that you could drive a fleet of UPS trucks through. Anyhow-can we do a car-chase movie old-school-with beleivable action? It will fly-trust me. Especially if you give the audience credit enough to have the sense to not want "Grand Theft Auto" on screen!!!  Mastermind          

What part of "Clone" or "Tribute" are people not grasping?.....

I'm amazed when I talk to some people who want to buy or build a clone of something ultra-rare. I understand the reasoning-and I have no problem with it. I don't have $100k or more to buy one of the few 697 "Real" 1969 Trans-Ams that still exist. However-since Pontiac sold almost 120,000 Firebirds in 1969, it would be pretty easy to buy a base model and with the help of Year One and NPD-buy the hood,scoops and spoilers and graphics. Even if I had to pay 15 grand for a decent base car, and then put another 10 into it converting it to T/A status-25 grand is a lot more affordable to most peoples wallet than 100+. And when your driving it-people will still "ooh" and aah"-no one knows it's a fake unless you tell them. And when your banging through the gears and smoking the tires-are you going to be thinking about serial numbers? Probably not. And since it's not numbers-matching anyway-it doesn't have to original to the "nth" degree. If I built a '69 T/A clone-I might use the 350 V8 that came in some base models. Or I might use the 428 I have in my garage or stroke a 400 to 461 inches. Or I could do it up like a Trans-Am SCCA racer- flared fenders, roll cage and put a snarling, high-winding small-block Chevy in it as a Tribute to the cars that Milt Minter and Jerry Titus campaigned. The 303 Pontiacs weren't super reliable-and because some Canadian Firebirds had Chevy engines-the SCCA allowed teams to run 302 Chevys in Firebirds if they couldn't get parts for the 303 Pontiacs.  I don't need to search the galaxy and spend a mint looking for a 1969 RAIII or RAIV 400-because the car's a fake anyway!!  But 99% of the guys I talk to that are thinking of doing a "clone" or "tribute" car don't think that way. I spoke to a guy who was building a Cobra Replica-and was lamenting that he couldn't find a side-oiler 427 Ford for sale at ANY price!!! Are you kidding me? I asked him what he was thinking-Factory Five has a complete kit that sells for $19,995. It has the seats, guages,suspension, everything. All you have to do is add the engine and tranny-and the frame is set up to use a small-block Chevy, or a small-block Ford, or a 4.6 / 5.4 Ford Mod Motor. Just specify which motor mounts you need. Even if you spent 7 grand-say 5 grand for a 385 hp SVT 351W or a 400 hp 383 Chevy and another 2k for a Richmond 5-speed-you'd only have 26 grand in the whole thing, assuming you could do the labor yourself. Anyone who has a complete 60's vintage 427 Ford that isn't restoring a Galaxie or a Thunderbolt or a "Real" Cobra and is willing to sell it is going to want 15 or 20 grand for it, and then you may have to rebuild it!! You'd have more in just the engine than you would in the whole car if you did it with a 302 / 351W!!! And it's not real anyway. 427 or not, no ones going to pay you a hundred grand for a kit car if you try to sell it, especially when Factory Five will sell you a turn-key model for like 40!! I talked to another guy who wanted to build an AAR 'Cuda clone. He was whining that he couldn't find a 340. I told him-buy a Blueprint Engines 360 based 408 stroker from Summit Racing they have 375 hp and 460 lbs of torque and have a 3 yr/ 30,000 mile warranty-or if he wanted to build it himself go to the junkyard and get a 360. There's millions of them out there in Dodge and Plymouth cars, trucks and vans from 1971-1991. ( '92 and later "Magnum" engines use a different intake manifold ). Edelbrock still sells the "Six-Pack" manifold and Holley still sells the carbs. "But it wouldn't be correct without a 340." he said. "Duh!!" I replied-"It's a 318 base model that your tricking up!! "Nothing about it is CORRECT!!!"  "If you put a Mopar Performance 426 Hemi crate motor in it-it's cool, but it's still not an original Hemi car!!!  Anyhow-here's some good advice for you folks considering building clones. # 1. Any similar engine will do. For example if your building a Ford Thunderbolt clone, or GT500 Shelby clone-it doesn't have to be a 427 or a 428. A 390 looks the same externally and there were millions sold in various Ford cars and trucks from 1961-76. You don't have search the galaxy for a 389 Pontiac to put in that '66 Tempest that your making into a GTO. Something like 15 million 400s were produced between 1967-78. One of those will do. You don't have to mortgage your house to get a real "DZ" 302 Chevy for your '69 Z/28 clone. A 350 will do. Or GMPP will sell you a 4-inch bore 4-bolt main block and a 3.00 inch stroke crank, rods and pistons if you have to have an "actual" 302. #2. The same goes for transmissions. Don't search the galaxy for a Muncie rock-crusher for your Yenko Deuce Nova clone. A new Richmond Super T10 from Summitt will  do just fine. If your building a '64 Impala SS clone-you can use a 350 and a TH350. It doesn't have to be a 327 and a Powerglide with 1963 or 64 date codes. It's not "REAL" anyway!!!  So take the path of least resistance and less dollars spent. You'll be happier and have more money in your pocket, and if you ever decide to sell the car you might get all or most of your investment back. Which you won't if you go crazy making a clone "Correct". That's all I'm saying. Mastermind            

The "Good Old Days" were really good....There's no way you could do that now....

I lived in the golden age of musclecars and racing-the late '60s and '70's. Back then a lot of the "Stars" were still "Grass-roots" "Hometown" guys." Not like now. My dad worked in the same Chevrolet Dealership as Dino Fry-who is a legendary racing engine builder. My dad and I and Dino used to have lunch at a small deli across the street from the dealership that made awesome Pastrami sandwiches. Dino was quoted several times in HP books classic-"How to Hotrod Small-Block Chevys" which was published in 1972 and has had several updates since. He got me and dad to meet Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins when he came to town with his famous "Grumpy's Toy" Pro Stock Vega, and he introduced us to John Greenwood-the famous SCCA Corvette racer.  But he wasn't a celebrity-he was just one of my dad's pals. In my mind. The same for Dave Aldana. He was a factory backed Honda Flat-track motorcycle racer that fought Gary Scott-a Harley backed rider fiercely for the championship. Their duels at San Jose Speedway- the famous "San Jose Mile" were legendary-they became three-way duels when Kenny Roberts riding for Yamaha came into the fray. Dave had a Honda Motorcycle shop on Mission street, and my dad and I used to buy parts there for our dirt bikes. Since my old man was a master mechanic-he was a legend at tuning multiple- carb setups-people with Tri-Power Pontiacs and Six-Pack Mopars, and sports car guys with Porsche 911s and Datsun 240Z's sought my dad out to synchronize their Webers or SUs for track days. Dave Aldana had a Pantera and a friend of his had a Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB. ( The coupe version of what Don Johnson had on "Miami Vice" ). They wanted to race each other for big bucks on one track day at Laguna Seca. Not wanting a tuning problem-i.e. points, bad wires, bad carb jetting etc- to decide the matter-they had my dad tune both cars the weekend before the race. The guy in the Ferrari won, but just barely, and a great time was had by all. Thankful to my dad for tuning the cars-Dave got us pit passes to his next race-we not only got to hang with him, but we got to meet Gary Scott and Kenny Roberts and Dick Mann. When I got older and my family moved to Nevada my dad went to work in Bill Harrah's dealership that sold Ferraris and Mercedes and other exotic cars. I too, went into the car business and guy I worked with was Wendy Foreman's son. Wendy Foreman was Bill Pennington's cheif mechanic-if you don't know Bill Pennington owned the Circus Circus casino-and raced hydroplanes and boats and Lamborghinis. I got to visit Pennington's shop several times when they were prepping a Countach or a 'Vette. Besides Lamborghinis-Bill had a thing for Rat-Motored 'Vettes too. Me and Tim were just other gearheads that were allowed to play-partly because we knew the boss and partly because we loved the cars and the crew guys liked us. But nowadays racing is such big business-there's no way average guys could hang out with Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr, or Micheal Andretti-and be allowed to hang in the pits or the shop and eat lunch with them and have a few beers. Some Nascar or Indy league official would have to cite "Liability issues" and kick you out, or the race teams would be so paranoid that you were going to steal a secret or say something about tuning to a magazine or put it on Facebook that theres no way a "Average Joe" would be allowed into the inner circle like that. And that's sad. For example-Colin Kapernick-the quarterback for the 49ers went to UNR- and when he's in Reno he goes to my sister's church. He's a great guy. Always nice to people, willing to chat or sign an autograph for kids. My nephew think's hes the greatest. Which is cool-I liked Joe Namath when I was a kid and never got to meet him. But the way things are-even if he offered-which he hasn't-I'm just saying if he did-there's no freaking way the NFL or the 49er organization would let him take my nephew onto the field or into the locker room to meet the rest of the team. "Liability issues" again. It's sad-because when I was my nephew's age-I was in the pits at the San Jose Mile-screaming my lungs out for Dave Aldana-who'd been to my house many times-and when "Grumpy" ran at Fremont-I was there with my dad and Dino-while Dino helped Jenkins jet the center-squirter Holleys for sea level!! That's things from a bygone era that aren't going to pass this way again. That's what I'm mourning. Mastermind  

Cars that could have saved the day for manufacturers....That the Bean counters didn't believe in...

It's funny how automakers make the same mistakes over and over. As the phenomenal success of the Pontiac Trans-Am in the late '70's proved, and the Fox Mustang in the '80's and 90's, the "Experts" are almost always wrong. Performance car buyers didn't magically fall off the earth after 1972-the car companies stopped making cars that they wanted to buy. You can't say that "Smokey and the Bandit" did it for Pontiac. T/A sales doubled or tripled every year from 1973-1976. In 1976 alone nearly 50,000 Trans-Ams were sold. "Smokey and the Bandit" wasn't released until June 1977. Almost the end of the production year. Yet they sold 68,000 T/A's that year, a huge increase from the record year of '76, with very little help from the "Bandit's" box-office success. In 1978-the first year "Bandit's" influence could be felt-sales increased to 93,000 units, and and 117,000 in 1979. But only a fraction of those were sheep who wanted a car just like the movie. The reason the T/A was selling in record numbers was it literally had no competition. Like a judge or politician who keeps getting re-elected because he's running un-opposed. I personally love '70's T/A's I had two of them in the '80's, and I'm looking for another one. But the fact is-by 1975-the Challenger and 'Cuda were gone, the Road Runner was gone, the Charger was a re-badged Chrysler Cordoba, the GTO was no more, the Javelin / AMX was no more, the Z/28 took a 2 1/2 year hiatus ( from late 1974 to April 1977 ) the Mustang was more Pinto / Capri than Mustang, the 442 was little more than a tape stripe package that could be ordered on any 2 dr Cutlass,( even with a 260 inch V8 that wheezed out 120 hp. Great in a 4,000 lb car. And there was no manual transmission option. Even if you ordered a 350 or 403 you got a slushbox and 2.41:1 gears. Snooze.) The Chevelle SS was gone, and you couldn't get a Rat motor in a 'Vette after 1974. Only the T/A-like Buford Pusser standing up to corruption in the South-"Walked Tall". You could get a 455 with a 4-speed until 1976 and the 400 was available until 1979. If you wanted a sporty car with a big V8  you had one choice. Scoff now at their sub 7 second and 0-60 times and 15 second 1/4 mile times-yes I know a 2014 V6 Mustang is faster than that-but they were the fastest cars available at the time, and if it weren't for them standing Janus-faced-selling in record numbers while everyone espoused fuel-economy and front-wheel drive-we wouldn't have 400 hp Challengers, Mustangs and Camaros today. Ditto for the Fox Mustang. Ford realized they stepped on their dick with the Pinto-based Mustang II. In 1982 they brought back the 302, and the rest is history. Same thing-while it was rumored that the Mazda built front-drive Ford Probe was going to be the new Mustang- the nose-heavy, tail happy, under-braked "5.0" sold millions-outselling Camaros and Firebirds combined almost every year-because they were not only faster but several thousand dollars cheaper. Anyhow here's why certain divisions are out of business. # 1. Chrysler pulled the plug on the E-bodies at exactly the wrong time. GM used basically the same body for the Camaro / Firebird from 1970-81 and sold millions of them. If they had kept the Challenger / 'Cuda line beyond 1974-they could have competed with Pontiac and got a big slice of musclecar sales. The 440 was available in big cars and trucks through 1978-so they were smog-legal. Do you think a 440 / 4-speed Challenger would have competed with a '77 Trans-Am? Does a bear crap in the woods? And Like GM did in 1982-the F-bodies were downsized-but they were still V8, rear-wheel drive, and through the '80s you couldn't get a 400 Pontiac anymore, but the 305 and 350 Chevys moved them along pretty good, and they sold a ton of them. They could still used a 318. What did Mopar guys have?-the 4-cylinder, front drive Chrysler Laser and Dodge Daytona. Yeah, a guy who once had a 440 / Six Pack Super Bee is gonna lust after that!!  # 2. AMC stepped on their dick twice. First when they dropped the Javelin after 1974. Like the Camaro / Firebird they could have continued it until the end of the decade with minor changes, but they didn't. By '77 everyone realized they needed a Trans-Am fighter. That's why Chevrolet resurrected the Z/28, with great sales success. 1978 was the best Camaro sales year ever. The AMC engineers came up with an AMX package for the compact Hornet. It had special graphics and front and rear stabilizers bars-they handled good. Since AMC V8s are all externally identical and a 304 was an option in the Hornet-they wanted to take the 401 out of the big cars and put it in the AMX- a bolt-in swap-like a 350 Chevy for a 305. Since the Hornet only weighed about 2,900 lbs- a 401 powered AMX would have smote a 3,800 lb 400 Pontiac T/A in biblical fashion in a drag race. It may not have been sexy-but like the '68 Road Runner-it would have been lean and mean,and sold like hot cakes. The brass ok'd the suspension and graphics package, but nixed the engine swap-they thought people only cared about looks, not performance. ( Sure. That's why GM was selling Camaros, Firebirds, and Corvettes in record numbers ) The only engines were a 258 inch six or a 304 V8 with a 2-barrel that wheezed out 120 hp. And they wondered why they didn't sell. # 3. Pontiac did the same thing in 2004. The GTO didn't sell because it looked like a Grand Am with a spoiler. Car and Driver said it best- when they called it the "Best car nobody's buying". "It runs like a Corvette, handles like a BMW, and looks like a rental car." Now if they'd done what Ford did with the Mustang, Dodge did with the Challenger and Chevy did with the Camaro-make it look like a '60's or '70's model-they'd have had people lined up around the block. I guess they never learn. Mastermind      

More on the Mad Max Muscle Machines.....

There's a company called Aussie Coupes that will build you a Mad Max Interceptor. They'll locate a 1973-76 Ford Falcon XB coupe-( Ford sold 211,000 in Australia in those years so there's a good supply). They'll put the spoilers, flares, nose cone, and wheels and tires on it along with the "Zoomie" exhaust pipes. They'll paint it black and rebuild the engine, transmission, brakes, etc. They'll even put a fake blower on it driven by an electric water pump that you can turn on and off with a switch just like the movie car. The real exciting part is-if you want to pay extra-you can get a 4, 5, or 6 speed manual, or a 3 or 4 speed automatic, behind  any Ford engine you want-the 351C that came with the car or a 385 hp SVO 351W crate engine,a 351W based 427 stroker, a 302 with a REAL Roots-type blower rated at 470 hp, or even a 460 based 514 SVO 600 hp monster. They'll also beef up the suspension if you want-you can use a 8 inch, 8.8 or 9 inch Ford rear, depending on how much power you want and they even put Wildwood or Brembo 4-wheel disc brakes on it if you want. Your level of performance is only limited by your wallet and imagination. And they'll ship it to America and make sure it gets through customs legally. The base model is about 30 grand, and a fully loaded one-depending on how hog-wild you go with options can get up to 45-80 grand. But when you consider that a new Toyota Camry or Honda Accord costs over 30 grand, and that a Toyota Tundra pickup or Chevy Tahoe can top 50k loaded, I'd much rather drive around in the Mad Max car with 400+ hp and torture yuppies in Porsches, little boys in their Rice-Rockets and middle aged men in Hemi Chargers,Corvettes, Mustangs,etc. And look totally cool doing it. Far cooler than the cookie-cutter Pro Touring, LS engined old GM Iron that every buff mag has page after page after page of!!  And that's not all-they also offer the "Nightrider" car-the one Max and Goose were chasing all over the land at the beginning of the film. Same deal-they'll find you a late '70's Holden Monaro and put any GM engine in it you want-small or big-block Chevy, LS motor, backed by a TH400 or a 4,5 or 6 speed manual. They'll also build you one of the Yellow Police car replicas if you want, and they offer replicas of other famous movie cars-they'll build you a "General Lee" Dodge Charger, a "Starsky&Hutch" Torino, even a "Batmobile" clone if you want. They have a cool website that's very informative. Just type in Aussie Coupes, or Mad Max Interceptor on google and you'll find their site. Now if if I can get the H/O sold and maybe get a small home equity loan.....I can prowl Nevada's rural highways in a 500 hp interceptor hunting down 'Vettes, and Vipers,.....Mastermind  

Some "Rodney Dangerfields" that could make wicked fast "Rat Rods" for low bucks.....

Comedian Rodney Dangerfield always joked about getting no respect. There's cars out there that people treat the same way, but have great potential to be a hot rod if you can overlook their un-sexy exterior. Here's a few that I think have great potential. # 1. 1975-79 GM "X" body. This includes Novas, Pontiac Venturas, Olds Omegas, and Buick Apollos.  Everyone wants the 1968-74 models-especially the '68-72 Novas but these are actually a better deal. They-have power front disc brakes standard, and any suspension upgrades that fit a Camaro / Firebird fit these cars-so you could build an evil drag racer-or a corner carver that could torture 'Vettes and Porsches. This is the era when GM was playing musical engines-so a lot of them will have small-block Chevy engines which is if anything a plus factor. And with the right motor mounts the engine bays will accept just about any GM engine-so you could build a 455 Pontiac Ventura or a 403 or 455 Olds Omega or a 455 Buick Apollo. And like I said a small or big block Chevy would fit in any of them as well. Major Bang for low bucks. # 2. 1971-77 AMC Hornet / Gremlin. Don't laugh. With their short wheelbase and a curb weight of about 2,700 lbs these cars make dynamite drag racers. Forget the 6 cylinder models; find a 304 version. The 304 V8s can be made to run-but the real beauty of these cars is like Pontiacs-AMC V8s are all externally identical. That means a 360 or 401 is a bolt-in swap. 401s are a little scarce, but 360s were used in Jeep Grand Waggoneers until 1992 so there's tons of them in junkyards, and thers' good speed equipment available Edelbrock offers aluminum heads and intakes, cams etc. A buddy of mine built a 401 Gremlin in high school and he stunned a lot of supposedly "faster" cars-Camaros, Mustangs, Road Runners etc. # 3. 1970-76 Plymouth Duster / Dodge Dart. 340 versions are getting pretty high priced, but 318 versions are still cheap. These can really rock with the right equipment, or a 360 is a bolt-in swap. Mopar Performance even offers a crossmember and motor mounts to install the "B / RB" engines-i.e.-383 / 440s. I know a guy that has a Duster with a 505 stroker that runs 10s.  # 4. 1975-79 Ford Granada / Mercury Monarch. A lot of these cars have 9 inch Ford rear ends and 4-wheel disc brakes. Most have 302 V8 power, but a few have 351Ws from the factory. 2bbl carburation and salt-flats gearing made them slow in stock trim, but the possibilitys are endless. There's a ton of speed equipment for small-block Fords-you could build a 347 stroker with a blower if you wanted, or you could make a 427 out of a 351W. Their not sexy, but they have great potential and can be bought dirt-cheap. If you want a low-budget sleeper one of these might be the way to go. Mastermind        

If your going to drive the car at all.....Think carefully about what you really want....

For most of us a Musclecar is a toy. A 2nd or 3rd or 4th vehicle in the household that we take out on nice days to "Show-n-Shines" and the occasional weekend trip to the drags. Very rarely is a musclecar a daily driver-but some people like me-I put about 5,000 miles a year on mine. I don't drive it in the rain or the snow, but I'll take it out for a weekend cruise or maybe a day trip to grandma's with the kids in "Dad's Cool Ride"  (as opposed to the "uncool" Buick LeSabre I drive to work and back ). Anyhow-here's what I'm saying. If you want a $20,000 or 30 or 50,000 dollar piece of garage jewelry that's only driven on and off the trailer or to Concours shows, then buy whatever you want. But if your going to drive the car at all-even if it's only 3,000 miles a year-you might want to make some allowances to drivability. # 1. Transmission. If you live in a big city like San Francisco or Los Angeles, etc-that has a lot of stop and go traffic-an automatic transmission might be a better choice than a 4-speed and a heavy duty clutch. Yes, banging through the gears is fun. But constantly shifting in 25 mph rush-hour traffic is not. # 2. Axle ratio. Same thing-if you live in a rural area-like me-I'm 29 miles from Reno, 35 miles from Carson City and 25 miles from Fallon. 4.11:1 gears may give you great acceleration-but the motor buzzing at 3,500 rpm on the freeway gets old real quick. You might want to give up a couple of tenths on you 0-60 or 1/4 mile time to make the car more pleasant to drive on the highway-something in the 3.08:1-3.55:1 range will give you a good compromise between "jackrabbit" starts and highway cruise rpm. # 3. Comfort. If you live in an area where it's 90 or 100 degrees all summer it might behoove you to find a car with working or at least repairable air conditioning. Conversely-if you live somewhere that has harsh winters-unless the car is going to be stored inside from October to April-I would stay away from convertibles and T-Top cars. These tend to leak the elements into the interior and the heaters can't seem to keep the windows clear or the car even halfway warm. # 4. Don't get the biggest and baddest model-unless your primary goal is to show it, or race it at the pure stock drags or MusclePalooza. Let me explain-An older gentleman than came into the shop was disappointed in his Corvette. He and his wife wanted a C3 'Vette to cruise the wine country in and maybe to Lake Tahoe and back. In my opinion all he needed was a '68-79 model with an L48 350 and an automatic.He could have bought one of those in good shape for less than 10 grand easily, and it would have been dead-reliable, ran fine on 89 octane pump gas and gave him and his wife many hours of trouble-free cruising. No, he spends $60,000 on an 11:1 compression,solid-lifter L89 435 hp, tri-power 427 stingray with a 4-speed and 4.11:1 gears. He complains that it pings even on premium, gets 5-8 mpg, the motor is buzzing almost 3,800 rpm at 70 mph,it fouls spark plugs constantly and overheats in traffic, and his wife burns her legs on the sidepipes getting in and out of it. Well, Duh!!!  I'd love to have that car-because I'd put "KNGKONG" on the liscence plate, fill it with 104 octane race gas and go around every weekend giving the finger to Dodge Vipers and Porsche 911s, until I got my driver's liscence revoked. But that's me. This fella who was in his 70's-needed like I explained-a low-compression small-block model-or if he HAD to have a Rat motor-a hydraulic-cammed LS5 or LS4 454 with a Q-jet and 3.36:1 gears ( Plenty of those built from 1970-74 ). That would have been a powerful, easy cruiser that he wanted. Another guy did the same thing-he bought a 1969 W31 Cutlass, that the original owner had ordered as a stripped-down street fighter. Then he griped that although it was blisteringly fast- it was impossible to park and hard to drive at low speeds ( because it had no power steering ) and it was hard to stop from freeway speed ( it had 4-wheel manual drum brakes ) and the motor was buzzing at 4,000 rpm on the freeway. ( It had 4.33:1 gears.) He traded it to someone at a 442 / Hurst Olds convention and was much happier. The car he traded for was a 1970 Rallye 350 Cutlass-that had the "standard" 350 V8, a Muncie 4-speed, power steering,power front disc brakes, and 3.31:1 gears. He raved how this car was so much easier to drive and was still fast enough to be a lot of fun. Yeah!! That's what he should have bought in the first place. Which brings up # 5. If your going to buy a hot machine-like the GTO song-once in a while you have to "Turn it on, wind it up, and blow it out." I'm not saying run your car to 7,000 rpm constantly and risk throwing a rod out the side of a rare, numbers-matching block. I'm not saying that at all. But it won't hurt it to run it at full-throttle up a freeway on-ramp or down a country road once in a while-even say just up to 4,500 or 5,000 rpm. I see this all the time-especially with Hemi 'Cudas, Six-Pack Road Runners,Tri-Power Pontiacs and Corvettes,409 Impalas,427 Galaxies, etc. Their so goddamnded afraid of blowing it up or putting too many miles on it that they drive like my grandmother on prozac. The car never sees the high side of 3,000 rpm, or drives more than 5 miles at a time and never even really gets up to proper operating temprature. Then, the second it fouls a spark plug, they start screwing around with the carburators. Pretty soon it won't even start, much less run properly. If your going to drive like you have eggshells under your feet-go a range or two hotter on the plugs. If you do decide to take a road trip or go to the drags and hammer it-changing to the proper heat range of plugs is easy. But it's really much easier-to at least once a month drive it ten miles or more, and put your foot in it once in a while-that'll keep the valves clear and carbon out of the combustion chambers and the plugs from fouling. Mastermind          

Choose the right car to begin with....And you won't get disgusted and give up later...

I see so many half-finished or not even started projects that are often sold at a loss because their owners bit off more than they could chew. Here's some good advice on how to avoid this problem and make your project a success that you can enjoy. # 1. Be honest about your own abilties. Unless you are a bodyman or  mechanic by trade-It might behoove you to buy an already finished car-or one that only requires minimal work. Here's why- most professional restoration shops charge upwards of $100 per hour. And it's real easy to rack up 100 or 200 hours-especially if a car needs major body work or the engine or transmission rebuilt. Instead of spending 10-20 grand or more on a clunker that needs a major overhaul-you could have used that money to just buy a better car to begin with. # 2. Avoid "Problem Children". Even if you are a mechanic or bodyman by trade-I would avoid cars with major rust issues, frame damage, or fire or flood damage. It's a lot harder to restore a "basket case" than people think. Again-even if your an Ace Mechanic 99% of the time your better off just looking for a better car to start with. Which brings up the next point. # 3. The cheapest car isn't always the best deal. This should be a no-brainer, but people fall into this trap all the time. Here's a couple of examples-# 1. This guy wanted a 1970-73 Firebird to build a Trans-Am clone out of. I went with him to look at two candidates. The first one was 1970 Formula 400 that the guy was asking only $500 for. My friend was very excited. However-although the body was straight and rust-free-that's all it was-a body. I mean this was an engineless, transmissionless,radiatorless, gas tankless, interiorless hulk. The second one was a 1973 Firebird Esprit that the guy was asking $2,500 for. The vinyl top was peeling off, and the front seats needed to be re-covered, but the headliner and the rest of the interior was intact, the body was straight and rust-free, and it had a 400 with a 2bbl carb, backed by a TH400 trans. It started and ran like a champ,didn't smoke or leak oil, the tranny shifted good,the brakes didn't squeak, it was a solid car. I told him to buy it. He started in about the $500 one. "Look-I said." It'll cost you $10,000 to get other one in the shape that this one is for $2,500." This one is a screaming deal." How do you figure? he asked, dead serious. "Okay." I said. "This is a complete running car." "It already has a 400 V8 and a TH400." "All you really need to do is buy the spoilers and scoops, and the aluminum dash panel". And a 4bbl carb and intake." "The other one-you'd have find an engine and transmission, and crossmember and driveshaft,plus a radiator, a gas tank,the starter, alternator, fuel pump,power steering pump, all the brackets, the brake booster and master cylinder,the wiring harness,all the lights and bulbs, all the upholstery and little attatching clips etc. Just to get it in "driver" condition-which this one already is." "I guarantee it'll cost you $25,000 to build that other car the way you want-when you could do this one for 10, including the $2,500 purchase price." Don't be a moron. Luckily, he agreed-even though the '73 was five times the initial cost of the '70, in the long run it was the much better deal-going to save him thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work. # 2. This guy wanted a "Vanishing Point" Challenger. He knew he couldn't afford an original 1970 440 R/T model-but he figured maybe he could get a 318 version and swap in a 360 or maybe even a big-block. Not a bad idea, entirely feasible. Except he gor fixated on his neighbor's car. The neighbor had a pristine 1970 Challenger-it was even Alpine white-but it was a slant-six model with an automatic, and 4-wheel drum brakes. I located a '73 model with a 340 and Torqueflite, that had front disc brakes,an 8/34 rear end and the Rallye suspension-i.e.-front and rear sway bars-and full guages. It had a little rust in the trunk-( What '70's Mopar doesn't? ) but nothing major and the body was in good shape-and the 340 ran STRONG. It would spin the tires as long as you wanted to stay on the throttle. It was red with white interior and a white vinyl top. The vinyl top was peeling off, but that's and easy fix-and the seats needed to be re-done. The guy was asking about the same amount of money as the neighbor was for the '70 model. Of course my pal was leaning toward the '70 model. I convinced him to buy the '73. I told him-"First off-the '70 is a six-cylinder model." Your going to need a V8 crossmember." "You going to need a new radiator-the slant-six radiator won't cool a 318, much less a 440." "Whether you use a small-block or a big block-you have to find an engine and all the brackets and accessories." "You'll need a new tranny-if you want to convert it to a four-speed you'll need the clutch linkage and pedals, the bellhousing, the shifter, everything." "Even if you want to leave it an automatic-the six-cylinder 904 tranny won't hold up to a hot 340,360,383 or 440." "The 8 1/4 rear end that came with the six won't hold up either." "The 4-wheel drum brakes won't stop it worth a shit either." "Not more than once." "Now-the '73 model already has a 340 and a 727-if you decide to drop in a 408 stroker-you've already got all the tin, all the brackets, and the proper tranny." It's already got an 8 3/4 rear-bulletproof." It's already got front disc brakes." "For god's sake, remove the vinyl top, fix the seats, paint it white and live out your Kowalski fantasies." It'll save you a ton of money and hassle in the long run." Luckily-he came to his senses and bought the '73. # 4. An ultra-rare car missing a key component is not a deal at any price. The obvious examples-a Chrysler Hemi car missing the Hemi engine, or a Boss 302 or Boss 429 Mustang missing the "Boss" engine. The cost of finding a numbers-matching or even-same-year engine and purchasing it and chasing all the parts would be so prohibitive that even if you had Donald Trump's bank account-you'd be ahead of the game and save many thousands by just anteing up for a complete car. # 5. Don't be a dumb-ass and fixate on one piece of equipment or go to insane lengths to get it. A couple examples-A Mustang enthusiast-who dreamed of a red-and-black '71-73 Mach 1 with the red-and-black interior passed on a pristine example because it had a two-barrel carb on the 351C!! I literally wanted to kill him. This car was beautiful and priced exceptionally low at $5995!! He kept looking, and paid $8995 for another one that a 4bbl on it!!!  "Are you insane??" I asked. You can buy an Edelbrock intake and 4bbl carb or like $600!!." "You just payed another 3 grand for the same car, because of a carb and intake??" "At least this one's original" "Yeah but an Autolite 4300 is the worst carb in existence, bar none!!" "The freaking two-barrel would ran better and been more reliable!" Another idiot passed up a prsitine, rust-free, one-owner '68 Charger because it had a two-barrel carb on the 383. He payed $5,000 more for one that wasn't nearly as nice-and here's the real kicker-this one had a non-original 440 in it with a Thermo-Quad!!! ( 1968-70 383 and 440 4bbl engines used Carter AVS carbs from the factory). The one that takes the cake was the two idiots who both had 1970 Firebirds. One was a Formula 400 with a 4-speed, the other one was an Esprit with a 400 and a TH400. They were both blue with blue interiors-the same color!!. These geniuses decided to swap transmissions. All of their friends said-"For god"s sake, just trade cars!!" "Their even the same color!!  No, these idiots spent two whole weekends swapping the trannys. Now neither car is original. How dumb is that? # 6. Don't be a moron about "Originality". Especially if the car isn't worth anything in the first place. If your restoring a Hemi 'Cuda-yes you want everything right. But a friend of mine who bought a '64 Buick Skylark convertible is much happier with his "restification" than he would be it it was "Just as it left the factory". He swapped the obsolete with no parts availablity 300 inch V8 and two-speed ST300 ( Read Powerglide ) tranny for a later model 350 V8 and TH350 tranny. This was a bolt-in swap, and the car has way more power and get's better gas mileage and has better drivability. He also put the spindles, front disc brakes,calipers, and master cylinder and booster out of a '72 Monte Carlo. ( '64-72 GM "A" body stuff is very interchangeable.) Now it's a helluva nice car that his wife loves as a unique daily driver. And honestly-he "compromised" the value of the car how? It's not a Z16 Chevelle that he swapped an LS motor into! Think rationally and you'll avoid these pitfalls. Mastermind        

Some late model "Oddballs" that can be way cool and lightning fast....

If you want a cool driver / hot rod and don't want to spend 30 grand or more on a restored Chevelle, Road Runner, GTO etc-there are some gems from the '80's and '90's that a lot of people overlook that offer major bang for low bucks. # 1. 1979,1983-86 Mercury Capri. In 1979 you could get a 302 V8 in a Capri, which was basically a re-badged Fox Mustang. It wasn't offered in '81-82, but the "5.0" package returned with a vengenance in 1983-these had the T5 five-speed stick, and a 600 Holley 4bbl on an aluminum manifold, and steel tube headers from the factory. The option was continued until 1986. Many Mustang enthusiasts say these carburated versions run better than the more sought-after Fuel injected '87-93 models. Regardless, they are a great deal and there's probably more speed equipment out there for Fox Mustangs than anything else on the planet. # 2. 1983 Z/28 Camaro / Pontiac Trans-Am. This is the first year the five-speed stick and the 4-speed automatic were available. LG4 base models are ok if you want to swap in a 350 or 383 stroker. The ones to look for are the L69 5.0 liter "H.O." models. These had a higher compression ratio-9.5:1 as opposed to 8.5:1, a hotter cam,and a better aluminum intake. This pumped up power by 40 hp-190 hp as opposed to the LG4's 150. With either the 5-speed or the automatic and 3.73:1 gears,these cars were surprisingly quick-Car&Driver's June 1983 test car laid down a 15.0 1/4 mile time-3 tenths quicker than the Mustang GT they were comparing it against. This package was offered through 1985-but was then overshadowed by the LB9 and L98 TPI engines. The other one to look for is the "Cross-Fire Injected" models. They were only offered with the 4-speed automatic; however with the 3.42:1 or 3.73:1 gears-these cars would smoke the tires easily in low gear and lay 8-10 feet of rubber on the 1-2 shift. A cheap way to have a great sleeper would be to buy a 350 short block from GMPP or Blueprint engines, or just rebuild one you have. Putting the 305 heads on the 350 block will raise the compression from 8.2:1 to about 9.6:1. The induction system can feed a 350 or even a 383-just use replacement 454 truck throttle bodies and Hypertech Corvette 350 Prom chip. This would easily be high-torque, fun cruiser that could surprise a lot of supposedly "faster" cars. # 3. 1984-86 Ford Mustang SVO. These cars had 4-wheel disc brakes,16" wheels with 50 series VR rated tires, Recaro seats,and turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that made between 175 and 205 hp depending on year. They didn't sell a lot of them because the "5.0" V8 models were both faster and several thousand dollars cheaper. However-they can be bought quite reasonably today, and the 2.3 liter Ford 4-cyl bottem end is bulletproof-you could turn the boost up and add nitrous and really rock. # 4. 1988-92 Pontiac Firebird Formula. For some reason in these years-if you wanted a Tuned-Port injected 305 or 350 in a Camaro you had to buy a Z/28 or an IROC-Z. Base model and RS Camaros got the carburated LG4 or a throttle body injected 305 that wheezed out 165 hp. Conversely-Pontiac was just the opposite-you didn't have to spring for a Trans-Am to get the high performance engines. You could get the TPI LB9 305 or L98 350 ( basically the 'Vette motor ) in a Formula. LB9 models have either a 5-speed stick or a 4-speed automatic, 350s are only available with the automatic. However-these are the ones to have-they ran sub 6-second 0-60 times and 1/4 mile times in the high 14s bone-stock. They were rated at 240 hp; you can increase that by 100 hp easily and stay emissions legal with simple bolt-on parts. Dynamite if you can find one. # 5. 1994-95 Ford Mustang GT. For these two years only-the Mustang had the "New" bodystyle that was used from 1994-2004; and the "Old" 302 V8 from the '93 and earlier models. 1996 and later models with the 4.6 mod motor were rated at the same 215 hp-but they didn't have nearly as much bottom-end torque and weren't as quick. Magazine road tests of the day bore this out. The upside for today's buyer is there is a ton of speed equipment for small-block Fords,and it's way cheaper than the stuff for the later 4.6's that don't run as good as the "5.0" stock or modified. # 6. 1989 20th Anniversary Trans-Am. You'll have to pay a King's Ransom for one of these-but their worth it. GM took the great handling WS6 Trans-Am chassis and yanked out the 305 Chevy V8 and replaced it with the awesome Turbocharged V6 from the Buick Grand National. The car was not only way faster with the badass GN powerplant-they handled even better becuase the V6 was much lighter than the V8. Awesome if you can find one and afford the pricetag. Mastermind