The "Blue Oval" El Camino.....

Had some people asking me why I didn't mention the Ranchero in the post about the "Other" El Camino. First off-Here's your sign. The post's title said "GM's other El Camino". Last time I checked GM and Ford were separate companies. Anyhow the blue oval boys did market a similar car / truck hybrid for many years. It debuted in 1957 on the Fairlane chassis. From 1960-65 it was on the compact Falcon chassis. These have the endearing quality of being "cute". Other than that-as a utility vehicle you can't really haul much in the tiny bed, and the compact sedan suspension won't carry anything much over 800 lbs so actually using it like a truck-like you would a 1/2 ton pickup say-is pretty much out. And since they were only available with a 200 inch six-cylinder or a 260 or 289 V8 with a 2bbl they don't make much of a musclecar either. They are very light-about 2,500 lbs-and with some traction aids and maybe a 345 hp SVT 302 crate motor-you could build a cool cruiser with some balls-but their really just too small to make into a major-league badass. In 1966 Ford went back to mid-size Farlaine chasiss, which would allow it to compete with the hated Chevys. Since you could get a 396 in an El Camino Ford made sure you could get a 390 in the Ranchero. 1967 was pretty much unchanged. In '68 they went to the Torino bodystyle which was still based on the Fairlane chassis. The 289 was discontinued, but the 302 was an option, as were the 351W and the 390. In 1970 the engine lineup was expanded to include the 351 Cleveland and the 429 CJ. They stayed with the Torino body through 1976. In 1972 the high-compression,375 hp 429 CJ was dropped. You could still get a 429-but it was a "station wagon" engine that only made 205 hp. In fact-the 351CJ that was rated at 266 hp was the most powerful engine available in the Torino line that year. In 1973 the 429 was dropped but the 460 was added. In 1975 catalytic converters threw a monkey wrench into everyone's performance. The 351C was dropped in favor of the 351 / 400M line. 1976 was the last Torino-based model and they were pretty much the same as the '75 models. In 1977 they went to the longer,lower,wider LTD II chassis which actually made them a nicer car. The interiors were much more roomy and sumptuous and the car handled and rode smoother, and the bed was big enough to actually haul something. Most had the 351 / 400M for power but the 460 was available. '78 was pretty much unchanged, as was '79. However for some reason-the 460 was dropped in '79. I guess sales weren't up to Ford's expectations-because like I said in the earlier post the Chevy El Camino soldiered on until 1988. '79 was the last year for the Ranchero. I would have thought they might have revived the name in the '90's during the SUV craze-maybe putting a Mustang or T-Bird front clip on it-or making a larger version on the Crown Vic platform, but they never did. Anyhow-if your a Ford guy and want one-or if you just want a car that can haul some sheetrock or an engine block-a Ranchero may be just the ticket for you.  Mastermind  

I still love the old Iron.....But the golden age of musclecars is now.....Here's why....

I still love the old musclecars. Although I sold my Hurst / Olds ( I needed the money and I found someone who wanted it more than I did ) I'll probably buy another 70's T/A or '60's Mustang to play with in the near future. However, sometimes I get tired of listening to people say how this or that old musclecar would smoke this or that new musclecar in a drag race. Especially when 99.9% of the time their dead wrong. Here's why. Very few of us have ever owned or knew anyone who owned stuff like a Thunderbolt Fairlane, or a Hemi Dart or a 427 Cobra or an L88 Corvette. Ditto for Hemi 'Cudas, LS6 Chevelles,W30 442s, RAIV GTOs,428CJ Mustangs, SCJ 429 Torinos etc. 95% of our "Musclecar Memories" whether their from our own car or our father's or big brother's or a high school buddies-come from "Entry Level" musclecars. I.E.-340 Dusters, 351 Mustangs, 350 Camaros, 389 GTOs, 383 Road Runners, 396 Chevelles etc. Tales of being pushed back in the seat and third-gear rubber seem silly when someone pulls out a yellowed, dog-eared copy of Car Life or Hot Rod and we find that the machine in question ran in the 14.60s. A new V6 Mustang runs the 1/4 quicker than that. Ditto for a new V6 Camaro. Step up to the 435 hp Mustang GT or the 426 hp Camaro SS or the 465 hp SRT8 Charger and the times drop into the 12s. That's good enough to compete with the heavyweights I listed. If you go to the next level-the ZL1 Camaro, the Shelby GT500, or the Hellcat Mopars and it's not even close. And these new cars will do it all day in 90 degree heat with the A/C on. And they corner like slot cars and stop on a dime. Yes, I'd like to have say-a solid-lifter, 4-speed L78 396 '69 Camaro. I love the way they look, the way they sound and the way they feel. But the fact is a 2015 Camaro SS would blow its doors off in a drag race or the twisties. Ditto for a 2015 Mustang GT against a '69 428CJ Mach 1. But you know what? For my forty grand-I'd rather have one of  the '69 models. No they do not have a glass-smooth idle, and the shifters are more like racking the slide on a 12-guage shotgun than putting a hot knife through butter, and the leaf-spring, solid-axle rears will wheel hop and shred the tires under hard acceleration or hard braking. Like an old Porsche 911 they do not suffer fools lightly. That's why Porsche guys still cherish the 1967-73 911S models-even though a new Cayman or 911 will toast it in a drag race or on the skidpad.  That's why you buy an old car-because it's different from what's new and has a totally different personality. A new Nissan 370Z is way faster and better handling than the original 240Z. Yet there's guys that prefer the old 240's. So go ahead and love the old cars-but stop claiming that that your 440 GTX would smoke a new SRT8 Charger, or that your 390 hp 427 'Vette would eat a new Stingray if you had drag radials, because it just isn't true. Mastermind      

GM's other El Camino.....

We all know the Chevy El Camino debuted in 1959, was built for two seasons ( '59-60 ) on the Impala chassis,then took a hiatus and was re-introduced in 1964 on the Chevelle chassis. It was very popular and production ran from 1964-1988 when the rear-drive "G" bodies were discontinued. Like their Chevelle brothers, the 1968-72 models are the most popular. Anyhow-I had someone ask me what a GMC Sprint was. Again-we all know Chevy and GMC trucks are identical except for badging and minor trim differences. In 1971 GM started selling re-badged El Caminos through Pontiac /  GMC dealers under the "Sprint" nameplate. I always thought they'd have way been cooler if they had GTO / Lemans front clips and Pontiac engines, but GM just sold the Chevy version with minor trim changes. All the El Camino options were available including the 402 and 454 V8s. They were basically unchanged in 1972. In 1973 GM redesigned the "A" body intermediates and the Elky / Sprint bodystyle was changed as well. The 402 was dropped, but the 350 and 454 V8s were still available. They also added new options like swivel bucket seats. '74 was pretty much the same as '73. 1975 was when everyone went to catalytic converters and unleaded gas. This killed everyone's performance. The 454 was dropped,leaving the only engines a 350 and the added 400 small-block. Things were pretty much the same through '77.   In 1978 GM downsized the intermediates and for some reason started calling them "G" bodies instead of "A" bodies. These new models were much sleeker and better looking, and were 600 lbs lighter than the '73-77 models they replaced. And since you could still get a 350 4bbl V8 with either a 4-speed or a TH350, performance was actually noticeably improved. '78 was the year they changed the name from "Sprint" to "Caballero."  1979 and 1980 models were virtually unchanged. In 1981 the 350 was dropped, so now the biggest engine you could get was a 305 V8 that wheezed out 150 hp. Yuk. The 4-speed automatic was introduced this year and was supposed to help performance and fuel economy but it really didn't. We all know-stock or modified a 350 makes way more power and torque than a 305, and doesn't really use any more gas. In 1984 Chevy models got a sales boost when they put the Monte Carlo SS front end and badging on the El Camino and called it-duh-El Camino SS, but the GMC guys didn't get this option. Things went basically unchanged until the demise of both lines in 1988. Here's where I think GM screwed the pooch and missed a huge sales opportunity. They could have very easily put the Buick Regal front clip on the GMC model and installed the badass Turbo V6 from the Grand National and called it Grand National Sprint. It would have sold like hot cakes. Anyway if you want a Sprint / Caballero there out there. They seem to have been bought mostly by older people so they will be better maintained and less abused than their El Camino cousins. Other than paying more for something being in better condition-I wouldn't spend any more money on one-than I would an Elky-there's really nothing special about them other than the GMC badging. But they make nice drivers and good hot rods. There's more speed equipment for small and big-block Chevys than there is for anything else on the planet, and any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Chevelle / Malibu / Monte Carlo fit these.  Mastermind        

Some major badasses that never got to production.....Too bad they'd be worth a mint today!!

Even in the musclecar era there was cool stuff that for whatever reason-infighting among the brass, not enough profit for the bean counters, whatever-never made production. Here's some that I really wish would have come to production. # 1. 1969 Pontiac Ram Air V. In 1968- Herb Adams and crew knew about Ford's "Tunnel-Port" Trans-Am engine-( "Boss 302" ring a bell? ) and were working furiously to build one of their own. However-they found out that the little 303 inch engines ran better with production RAIV heads. However-Arnie Beswick and Doug Nash and other Pontiac Racers discovered that the big heads-they had ports and valves like a big block Chevy- coupled with a HOT General Kinetics solid-lifter cam-REALLY woke up the 400 and 428 inch engines. They were making the same power and torque levels as the vaunted 427 Chevy and 426 Chrysler Hemi. They were making power to 7,000 rpm and beyond.  The only thing was they needed more bottom-end strength if they were going to live at those high rpms. We all know Pontiacs blow up if their run much over 5,800 rpm. In the early 60's Smokey Yunick had dominated Nascar with a 421 Catalina. He got them to live for 500 miles at Daytona by cutting down a 421 crank to 389 size. ( 389's had 3 inch journals, 421's had 3.25 inch journals ). Smokey and Fireball Roberts won 22 races in 1961-62 alone by doing this. Herb Adams and crew figured that same process would work on 428's and the upcoming 455. It would have-but for some insane reason Pontiac wouldn't warranty solid-lifter engines. Adams and crew pointed out that Chevrolet had several solid-lifter small and big-block engines that GM warratied-so why not a Pontiac? DeLorean nixed the project because of this. However-they had enough parts to build about 600 engines. Adams suggested they sell them to the public. Arnie Beswick and Milt Schornak had great success drag racing RA V GTO's and Royal Pontiac swapped one into a '69 Judge that nade the cover of Hot Rod-but there was never a production version. # 2. 1970 LS6 Nova SS and Camaro SS. The mighty 450 hp LS6 454 was slated to be optional in the Camaro SS and the Nova SS as well as the Chevelle line. Since a 396 was already an option in those cars-it would have been a drop in. And since a Camaro is 400 lbs lighter than a Chevelle and a Nova is 800 lbs lighter-they'd have been totally badass. For whatever reason-the brass decided the LS6 was only going in the Chevelle line. Which brings up....# 3. 1970 LS7 Corvette. Zora-Arkus Duntov-chief Corvette engineer fully expected the even more radical LS7 to make production as the 'Vette's top engine-so he didn't offer the LS6. The brass killed the LS7 at the last minute. That left the 370 hp LT1 350 as the most powerful Corvette engine that year. The LS5 454 was a "Station Wagon" engine rated at 360 hp-but it had a mild hydraulic cam and an iron intake and a Quadrajet. Everyone reveres the LS6 450 hp 454 with it's 11:1 compression and L78 396 cam. The LS7 454 had 12.25:1 compression and the legendary L88 427 cam. It would have easily topped 550 hp. Duntov was right-that Corvette would have been untouchable.  # 4. 1970 Pontiac 455 RAIV. In 1970 GM lifted their ban on intermediates having engines over 400 cubes. Chevrolet responded with the LS6 454 Chevelle, Olds unleashed the legendary "W30" 455 and Buick got into the act with the Stage 1 455 GSX. Pontiac however, stuck with the RAIII and RAIV 400 engines as the GTO's top performance options. You could get a 455 in a GTO-but it was a generic "Station Wagon" engine. If they'd put the RAIV heads, intake and cam on a 455 block-well-people might be hailing the 1970 GTO as the pinnacle musclecar instead of the LS6 Chevelle or Hemi 'Cuda. Why they didn't is a mystery. The 455 Pontiac never reached its full performance potential-imagine one with 10.75:1 compression, the free-breathing round-port heads,aluminum intake, and the hot 308 / 320 duration RAIV cam. Can you say 500 hp and 550 lbs of torque? In 1971 they introduced the 455HO which was a great street engine but it only had 8.4:1 compression and the very mild "068" cam. The vaunted "SD" 455 in '73-74 still only had 8.4:1 compression and the mild RAIII cam. Too bad. # 5. 1971 Boss 429 Mustang. The '69-70 models started out as 428 FE models and were sent to Kar Kraft for the Boss Nine conversion and Ford lost money on every one. The longer,lower,wider '71 Mustang was designed to accomodate a 429 from the start. They could have been built on an assembly line in Dearborn, which would made them profitable. But the Boss 429 only existed so they could race them in NASCAR-and in '71 Ford cut their racing program. People like the Wood Brothers and Bud Moore were still using them-but If the factory wasn't racing them-they didn't need a production model. Too bad-they'd have been badass. If only-the brass were gearheads.....Mastermind        

Some "Rare Birds" that are not so rare.....Just overlooked.....

There are some very cool cars out there that can be had for reasonable prices-if you look hard enough. Some of these are just overlooked by enthusiasts, but that makes them a bargain for the rest of us.  #1.1967-68 Chevrolet Impala SS. ( Small Block models ). These cars have cool fastback styling, sumptuous bucket seat interiors and make really nice drivers. 427 models are rare and priced in the stratosphere, but 327 and 350 models can be bought reasonably and made to really run-there's more speed equipment for the small-block Chevy than anything else on the planet. 75,600 were built in 1967 and 38,200 were built in '68-so it's not like their a Moon Rock. And they have cool options like power steering, front disc brakes and the excellent TH400 automatic. Much better than the Powerglide and 4-wheel drum brakes of earlier models. # 2. 1966-69 Buick Riviera. These cars have the cool hidden headlight, fastback styling of the Olds Toronado, but are still rear-wheel drive. And with 430 cubes under the hood, they move pretty good. too. However- I see one Jet-Black with 17" Torq-Thrusts and fat tires and a nasty, thundering Rat motor under the hood. All you'd need is a Chevy bolt pattern TH400 and some Impala motor mounts. I know it's cross-breeding, but it's one of hundreds of thousands of Rivieras that no one cares about not one of 678 1970 GSX's.....So cut me a break..... # 3. 1967 Pontiac GTO. These cars have the best of all the GTO features. I love the stacked headlight styling that's like the '66 and their still relatively light. Front disc brakes were available for the first time ( and sorely needed-the 9.5 inch 4-wheel drum setup of the '64-66 models would put the fear of god into you after only one or two high-speed stops ) and the horrible 2-speed ST300 ( read Powerglide ) automatic was replaced with the excellent 3-speed TH400.  And the new 400 V8 had a vastly improved, better breathing head design that made way more power and torque than the '59-66 389. For some reason these cars are snubbed by Pontiac collectors in favor of the '64-66 and '68-70 models, and I don't know why-their great performers. 81,000 were sold so you shouldn't have much trouble finding one.  # 4. 1971-73 Buick Riviera. 1970 Rivs were a one-year "ugly duckling" sandwiched between the two more popular styles. The '71-'73 is the famous "Boat-Tail" design. 455 cubes standard all years, GTO like acceleration, Cadillac like luxury. Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?  # 5. 1973-75 Pontiac Grand Am. In the mid '70's Pontiac tried to build a BMW. They touted the Grand Am as having Trans-Am like performance, and Gran Prix like luxury. And they did-these cars had 400 cubes standard with 455 optional, and you could get a 4-speed or a TH400 with a 400,and the 455 was only available with an automatic. They had front disc brakes, and wrist-thick front and rear sway bars- ("Radial Tuned Suspension" ) so they were amazing handlers for a big car.  However-American car buyers were still years away from appreciating a high-performance sedan-Performance buyers bought T/A's, and luxury buyers bought G/P's. However-34,000 were sold in 1973 alone-so you should be able to find one. #6. 1974-76 Mercury Cougar. Ford's greatest ad ever-this one even eclipsing the chase from "Mr Majestyk" in the "Built Ford Tough" ad, and the holographic Steve McQueen in the Mustang ad .  A pre-Charlie's Angels Farrah Fawcett-Majors is driving up to the beach parking lot in a triple white Cougar, wearing a white low-cut evening gown, her awesome hair flowing in the breeze, with a big white live Cougar in the seat beside her, getting out of the car,showing a luscious bare, tanned left leg through the slit in the gown, demurely slipping off her high heels,putting a leash on the big cat and walking barefoot down to the sand where she then slipped off the white evening gown revealing her smokin' tanned body in a white bikini before taking the leash off the Cougar and both of them running down the beach made me want to.... be led around on a leash at Farrah's feet....No wait-I meant it made me want to buy a Cougar!! Well maybe both.... Anyway-these cars were aerodynamic enough that David Pearson won a bunch of Nascar races in one for the Wood Brothers. They had sumptuous interiors,cool instrumentation,a good handling suspension and you could get up to a 460 V8 in them, although most will have the 351C or 351 / 400M. These can be hopped up easily-there's tons of aftermarket parts-even aluminum heads for these engines, and they share the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the 429 / 460 if you just gotta have mega cubes. A Wood Brothers Tribute with radiused fenderwells,huge meats all around,a loud side-exit exhaust and a red and white paint job would be major league cool.  # 7. 1980-81 Turbo Trans-Am / Turbo Formula Firebird. These cars have the awesome handling WS6 suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes. Unfortunately, they also have the anemic, underpowered ill-fated 301 Turbo V8, which is why their snubbed by Pontiac collectors in favor of the 400 inch '79 and earlier models. 33,000 were sold in 1980 alone so their not a Moon rock.  However-you can buy them cheap and there's 3 ways I'd go for a massive power infusion. The first and cheapest and easiest is to find a 400 or 455 Pontiac V8 and put that in. It's a bolt-in swap. The second way would be to find wrecked Bonneville or Gran Prix SSEI or Buick Riviera from the late '90s and get the Supercharged 3.8 V6 out of that. They had 240 hp stock-more than the 301-and with a pulley change on the blower could up that by another 100 hp easy.  The final and probably most expensive way would be find a wrecked '85-87 Buick Grand National and get the Turbo V6 / 200R4 powertrain and swap that in. These cars have a reputation as major dogs-so they'd make an awesome sleeper. Mastermind            

Didn't know "Captain Obvious" wrote for Hot Rod.....I think I can do better...

Have you seen the funny hotel ads with "Captain Obvious?" He's invaded Peterson Publishing. In the current issue of Hot Rod theres an article on the different ways you can build a "Hellcat" killer. If you live in a cave-Dodge sells Charger and Challenger "Hellcat" models that have a 707 hp supercharged Hemi in them from the factory. Anyhow-in this article-they recommend buying a 2010 on up used Camaro for 15 grand on up and then specnding between 20-30K more for either a 638 hp GMPP LS9 or a Mast Motorsports 800 hp supercharged LS7. Their alternatives are to buy a 2007-2014 Mustang for 10 grand on up and then invest another 25 in a supercharged 700 hp 5.4 mod motor or 5.0 Coyote from either Ford SVT or Edelbrock. They also recommend buying a used 2009-14 Challenger and putting a $30,000 Blown Hemi in it. Well, DUH!!!!  That's a great Idea-I'll buy a $15,000 car and then spend another 30 on it and for like 45 grand I'll be real fast. Thanks for pointing that out! Let me take out a 2nd mortgage on my house, and get right on that!!  Can anyone write a check for 45 grand right now? If you can, more power to you. However, for the other 90% of us gearheads that's the most ridiculous "How to" article I've ever seen.  How would I build a "Hellcat" beater?  Couple different ways. The first and probably most cost-effective would be to find a good condition '87-93 "5.0" Mustang. I have seen rough, but running examples as low as $1,500 and anything over $2,500 is usually pretty nice. Swap the 2.73:1 or 3.08:1 rear end gears for some 3.73:1s. Rebuild the short block with rings.bearings, oil pump etc. If you want, put in a 347 stroker kit, but it's not necessary. Trick Flow sells and upper end kit-heads,cam set and intake manifold, fuel injectors etc for about $2,000 that will gurantee 360 hp out of a 306 inch motor. That will put any "5.0" solidly in the 12s with some decent drag radials and a good driver. Now install a well thought out Nitrous system with a 2nd fuel pump and a 2nd fuel delivery system and solenoids to richen the fuel mixture when the Nitrous kicks in. MSD, Jacobs, and Edelbrock all offer state of the art nitrous controls-where you can back up the timing by turning a knob on the dash. A solid 300 hp nitrous system would put you easily in the low 11s or high 10s. Hellcats don't run any faster than that because they fry even slicks and drag radials-I've read the road tests. The Mustang I just described could be built for under 10 grand, including the purchase price of the car. A lot better than 45K-and the smug Hellcat driver who spent $70k plus for his ride- would be much more pissed that he got beat by a 25 year old Mustang than he would by a late-model Muscle machine that he knew the guy had major bucks in!!  If you wanted to spend a couple grand more and not mess with nitrous-you could build the car the same way and add a Ford Racing,Paxton, or Magnussen Blower and run low 11s or high 10s. I know people who have done it. The other way to go would be to buy an '82-92 Camaro or Firebird. Again-I have seen rough but running examples as low as $800 and anything over 2 grand is usually pretty decent. Go to a junkyard and get 454 out of a truck built before 1991. ( You want a MKIV, the parts are cheaper and more plentiful than they are for the MKV and MKVI's ). Rebuild it with forged 12:1 pistons and chrome-moly rod bolts and have a reputable shop balance the rotating assenbly. Get some World Products or Merlin Iron rectagular port heads. ( Way cheaper than aluminum ) Crane and Lunati sell reprodutcions of the L88 solid-lifter cams and the attending springs, roller rockers etc. Get an Edelbrock Dual-Quad intake, progressive linkage, and two 750 cfm Performer carbs. Hooker sells motor mounts and headers to make this swap work. You'll also need a different crossmember and trans mount-Summit Racing sells these to install a TH400. You'll need a custom driveshaft and Currie 9 inch Ford rear with some 4.11:1 or 4.56:1 gears with the GM mounting points ( no way will the stock 7.5 rear hold up to a 600 hp Rat ). With a 3,500 rpm converter and a good TransGo shift kit set it to shift at 6,500,-depending on engine vacuum it may shift between 6,800-7,100 rpm-but that's ok-you;ve got the bottom end and valvetrain strength for it, and the breathing. Add some drag radials-you'll be solidly in the low 11s or high 10s with this combo. Assuming you had 3 grand in the car, 3 grand for the Currie rear end, a grand in a B&M or TCI TH400,and 8 grand in the 454-you've still built the car for only fifteen grand. And believe me-nothing Sounds as badass as a solid-lifter, high-compression Rat Motor at full wail-as you pass Mr Hellcat-his eyes will be as wide as silver dollars and his mouth will gape open-he didn't expect to get stomped by a 30 year old Camaro that sounds like a Top Fuel dragster!!  Now in some states you wouldn't get it smogged or registered-but what the hell-even if you trailered it to your local track-it would still be satisfying to stomp on some arrogant rich SOB who's beating 99% of his opponents with his $100,000 car- ( Dodge Dealers are getting WAY more than the 70K sticker price ). With your $15,000 hot rod. The third and probably most satisfying way-This is a real "Rat Rod"-is this. I know a guy who did exactly this. Get a '70-76 Dodge Dart or Plymouth Duster with a 318. Upgrade the rear end to an 8 3/4-there plentiful.Put some 4.30:1 gears in it. Yank the 904 Torqueflite and get a 727. Go to a Junkyard and get a 360 "Magnum" V8 out of a wrecked Dodge Truck,Durango, or Jeep Grand Cherokee. Theirs millions of them around. You can even use Magnum 318 in a pinch. Get an Edelbrock Performer RPM manifold designed to work with "Magnum" heads and an 800 cfm AVS carb. Now go to Jacobs, MSD or Edelbrock or any combination of the 3 and build a killer 400 hp nitrous system. The guy I know that did this blows everyone away with low 11 or high 10 second times in his beat-up Duster. He doesn't have 5 grand in the whole car. He runs it until he blows the motor. Then he goes to the junkyard and for 3 or 4 or 5 hundred bucks, buys another used "Magnum" V8-puts his induction and nitrous system on it and runs some more!!  Some times they last 3 months, sometimes they blow in one weekend. If he has to swap in 4-$400 engines in a year-he's only spent $1,600!!  Not 25K-like the magazine was recommending on the modern muscle machines. Now how chagrined would a Hellcat owner be if he got his ass handed to him by a beater '73 Duster??!!!   Any how that's how I'd torture a Hellcat owner and it would be way more fun and wouldn't cost 40 grand!!  Mastermind                  

Another year of "Cold" August Nights.....

Hot August Nights-the annual musclecar festival is here again. And once again it's disappointing. I hate to sound like a nay-sayer, but it's nowhere near as cool as it used to be. For one thing-You don't see any really cool cars anymore, and nothing rare. The GM section is all Chevelles and Camaros with a few GTOs and Firebirds mixed in. You might see an Olds 442 here and there,or a Nova SS here and there but that's it. No 409 or 427 Impalas, no 421 Pontiac Catalinas, no Buick GSX's, no Hurst / Olds, no W31 Cutlass / F85's, no Rallye 350s, no T37 Tempests and certainly no COPO or Yenko or Baldwin-Motion cars. The Ford section is almost all Mustangs. Generic Mustangs. I haven't seen any Boss 302's or Boss 429's this year. I haven't seen any Shelbys. And definitely no Cobras, no Thunderbolt Fairlanes,no 406 or 427 Galaxies, no 428 Fairlanes. Very few Torinos. A few 67-73 Cougars, but no Mercury Marauders or Cyclones. Very few Thunderbirds. The Mopar camp is all 68-70 Chargers and '70-'74 "E" bodies-"Cudas and Challengers. I haven't seen any Super Bees, no GTX's, very few Road Runners. No Hemi Belvederes or Hemi Coronets,no winged cars-I haven't seen a Superbird or a Charger Daytona at HAN in 5 years. Hell-this year I haven't even seen any 340 Dusters!!!  And the entertainment is an all-time low. We used to get the Beach Boys, and Jan and Dean, Jerry Lee Lewis, Credence Clearwater Revisited ( the band without John Fogerty ), The Guess Who, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Paul Revere and the Raiders, John Kay of Steppenwolf. You know-people who actually had hits on the radio in the '60's and '70's!!!  Now we get local garage bands. Doing oldies badly.  They used to have real 1/4 mile drag races at the old Stead airport or at Fernley Raceway. No more. Now they have 1/16 mile drag races in the Nugget parket lot. Are you kidding me???  1/16 of a mile???  A 1/4 mile is 1320 feet.  An 1/8 mile is 660 feet. A 1/16 is 330 feet.  I could win top dog in my 4wd Subaru Forester for 330 feet!!! How fast do you go? 35 mph?? Really???  The badass, big block cars spin their tires for that duration.!!!!   The stupid Barrett-Jackson Auction? You want me to pay $50 to watch a bunch of rich people bid on other rich people's trophys? Last year a bunch of shit went through. I mean no RAIV Judges, no LS6 Chevelles, no L88 Corvettes, no Boss 429s, no Thunderbolt Fairlanes. I really don't give a shit that some fool paid $30,000 for a 403 Olds / Th350 10 th Anniversary T/A or $25,000 for a 2bbl 351C '72 Mach 1.  And the hotels are full, and the restaraunts are full, and these assholes have the "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" attitude. Except your not in Vegas- and Fuck you your not a high roller your an out of town asshole acting like a prick that you'd never do in your own city and your lucky that the hotel or restaraunt worker doesn't want to lose their job, because if they had an alternative, they'd kick your ass into next week, which is what you deserve.  It's sad-but what used to be a cool thing is now an annoyance. "Oh shit, all those assholes are coming to town next week." When that's the sentiment of the locals, you've got a problem. But our local government doesn't care. They just want to raise the motel rates, and write tickets. Yeah, that's the way to promote tourism!!  Sad, because once upon a time-in 1986 when it started-it was a cool thing. Mastermind          

Some obscure Mopars I'd like to have.....

Had a few people aske me after the last post if there was any Mopars I'd like to have. Again-I'm going to stay away from the cliche's-'68-70 Chargers, Hemi 'Cudas etc. I like stuff that not everyone else does. Here's my list. # 1. 1966-67 Charger. I like these a lot. The fastback, hidden headlight styling is still cool as is the 4-bucket seat interior. I'd like a 383 model, but I'd settle for an "old" 318 V8 ( not like the '67-91 "LA" engines ). Of course I'd have to swap in a 360 based 410 stroker, but that's not a problem.  #2. 1969-72 Plymouth Sport Fury. Peter Graves drove one on "Mission: Impossible". Ultra-cool styling and 383 or 440 cubes under the hood. Doesn't get much better than that. # 3. 1971-72 Dodge Demon. Much cooler than a Duster with the Go-Wing,and the little grinning Devil holding a pitchfork emblems. And the high-winding 340 V8 helps too. # 4. 1975 Plymouth Road Runner. For this one year only the Road Runner nameplate was on the Sport Fury platform. Hey-like the Bluesmobile-it's got cop tires, cop shocks, a 400 V8 and the famous "Beep-Beep" Horn. Now if I swapped in a 472 crate Hemi..... # 5. 1977-78 D150 "Macho" Pickup. These 1/2 ton 4x4 pickups had cool two-tone graphics, a roll bar in the bed,15X8 wheels with 32" inch tires and up to 440 cubes under the hood. A Macho ride indeed-the biggest engine you could get in a Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 was a 350 or 400 small-block and the biggest engine you get in a Ford was the anemic 2bbl 351 / 400M.  # 5. 1978-79 Lil Red Express pickup. These 1/2 ton 2wd stepside pickups had a 360 V8, a trick Red and Gold paint job,vertical diesel style exhaust stacks and LR60-15 tires on chrome wheels. Except for an L82 Corvette or a WS6 Trans-Am-this was the fastest American production vehicle in those years. Mastermind  

Some Fords I'd like to have.....

I've said many times that I'm primarily a Pontiac guy-I've had GTOs, Trans-Ams, LeMans, Gran Prix's and Venturas. I've also had my Hurst / Olds and an SS396 El Camino over the years. The only Fords I ever owned were a 1966 Mustang GT and a 1982 Mustang GT that I bought and then re-sold for a quick, tidy profit. I never really owned any for a driver ( Other than a couple of '90's Ford F150 pickups, but I'm talking Musclecars.). Not that I had anything against Fords-my dad was a GM guy, and so was I. However-there's a few Fords that I'd like to have-that are actually attainable-I'm not going to waste my time or yours musing about a 427 Cobra or Boss 429-without a Megabucks or Powerball win that's not happening. Anyhow here's some Fords that I think are really cool-and that I may be able to buy someday on my middle-class income. # 1. 1965-66 Galaxie 2dr. These have cool semi-fastback styling very similar to a '65 Pontiac which I always loved. They also have great interiors-buckets seats, an awesome chrome console and most have 390 cubes under the hood. My mom had one when I was a little kid-it was green with Torq-Thrust mags. I always thought it was a cool ride.  # 2. 1967-68 Mercury Cougar. These cars classic styling still turns heads today 47 years later. I personally think these are the best-looking cars Ford ever built. And the good thing about Cougars-is they usually have upgraded interiors and cool options like factory air and front disc brakes-as opposed to most Mustangs being strippys. I'd even take a 289 model. I'd be torn between restoring it factory stock as a nice driver-or putting a snarling 347 stroker in it, with some Mini-Lite wheels  and making it a badass Trans-Am tribute car. Maybe I should get two....# 3. 1967-69 Thunderbird. These have cool hidden headlight styling, luxurious interiors, and 390 or 428 cubes under their long hoods. Dynamite cruisers in my book.  # 4. 1970-71 Thunderbird. These had cool Nascar-inspired fastback styling, and 429 cubes under the hood. This was about the time that American car builders started to care about handling-so for a big car they actually handled pretty good. And did I mention a 375 hp 429?  # 5. 1972-73 Mercury Montego GT. These were based on the new for '72 Gran Torino chassis. I think their way better looking than their Torino cousins. David Pearson won a bunch of Nascar races in one for the Wood Brothers. I could dream of one with a 429, and settle for one with a 351C.  # 6. 1977-79 Ranchero. These were based on the new for '77 LTD II chassis-which made them longer, lower,wider, and much roomier than the '70-76 Torino based model. Most had 351 / 400M motivation, but I'd look for a 460 model to warm over and torture all those smug big-block El Camino owners with. Maybe my next project will be a blue oval....Mastermind

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

If your having trouble finding the Chevrolet Musclecar of your dreams, you might want to consider a Pontiac. Yes, I know a GTO brings every bit the King's Ransom that a big-block Chevelle does. But that aside the entire rest of the line-the Pontiac models are much better buys than the Chevys. Here's why. #1. Full-size models. While 99% of Impalas built from 1960-69 have six-cylinder or 283 or 327 small-block motivation-that's why 396 / 409 / 427 models are priced in the stratosphere-every single Pontiac Catalina, Bonneville, or Gran Prix built from 1960-68 had at least 389 cubes under the hood. Depending on year some had 400, 421 or 428s under those long hoods! And the Pontiacs usually had upgraded interiors with bucket seats and consoles and cool options like factory air, and 8-lug wheels. There's a million ways to build power into a Pontiac V8, and any suspension or brake upgrades that fit an Impala will fit these cars. #2. 1969-76 Pontiac Gran Prix. The GP is to the Monte Carlo what the Firebird is to the Camaro. The better buy of the two. While 99% of Monte Carlos built from 1970-75 have 350 small-blocks for power, GPs had 400 cubes standard all years and their are quite a few 455 powered "SJ" models out there. My sister had a '72 GP in high school. It had power everything, and it felt like a GTO. She showed her taillights to many a shocked Camaro and Mustang driver. # 3. Firebirds. You could only get a Rat motor in a Camaro until 1972-and those are rare. By contrast you could get a 455 in a Trans-Am until 1976 and a 400 in a T/A or Formula until 1979.  If you can't find a good deal on a 400 Firebird, you aren't looking past the end of your nose. And you don't have to get a Trans-Am. There's thousands of Esprit and Formula Firebirds built from 1970-78 with 400 cubes under the hood.   # 4. Mid-size models. Again 99% of non-SS Chevelles are small-block models. By contrast-their are quite a few Tempest, LeMans, LeMans Sport and Luxury LeMans models built from 1968-77 with 400 or even 455 cubes under the hood. And don't forget the '73-75 Grand Am models. 400 cubes standard all years with 455 optional. Any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Chevelle fit these cars. So if you can't find a Rat-powered Chevy for a reasonable price-consider a Pontiac. You may be pleasantly surprised. Mastermind