"Stock" should mean "Stock"...Not heavily modified.....

"There's nothing stock about a stock car".  Robert Duvall's Harry Hogge uttered this immortal line to Rookie driver Cole Trickle ( Tom Cruise ) in the NASCAR classic "Days of Thunder". Truer word were never spoken. I had an argument with a guy the other day who was quoting the blistering 1/4 mile times laid down by participants in the Pure Stock Drags. Some of these cars were running a full 2 seconds faster than magazine road tests back in the day when the cars were new. "Of course those cars are going to go way faster" I said. "Their heavily modified." "Then how come they call it the "Pure Stock" drags?" he sneered. "Call it anything you want" "Those cars are far from "Pure Stock". I said. "Here's why". The rulebook is based heavily on the NHRA Stock and Super Stock class rules, which allow quite a bit of leeway. For example-one of the stronger Pontiacs that was running in the mid 11s is a picture-perfect sample of building a car to the LETTER of the rules. This was a 1970 RAIV Firebird. The RAIV had 10.75:1 compression, special round-port heads and exhaust manifolds,a hot cam and an aluminum intake and was grossly under-rated at 345 hp. ( 370 in the GTO-F-Bodies had a more restrictive exhaust system ) All that stuff only adds up to 15 hp over the base model? Right.  Anyhow-here's the list of definitely "non-stock" features on this car. Engines have to be within 15 inches of their original size. Since a 400 Pontiac is actually 401 cubic inches this car was 416. This was accomplished with a .030 overbore and using a crank with a 3.79 inch stroke instead of the stock 3.75. The builder also used 6.800 inch connecting rods and special pistons instead of the stock 6.675. ( NASCAR engine builders know longer rods give an engine more torque. This is why Nextel cup Small-Block Chevy engines run 6 inch rods when stock size is 5.7 ) The rulebook said that combustion chamber volume had to be at least 62cc. Stock RAIV heads have 72cc chambers. By milling the heads to get the 62cc chamber size this raises compression from 10.75:1 to over 12:1. Rules on camshafts say the cam has to be the original "type". In other words if a car came from the factory with a hydraulic cam then you have to run a hydraulic cam-you can't switch to a solid lifter cam. If the car came stock with a solid-lifter cam then you can run a solid-lifter cam, but you can't switch to a roller. However-there's no limitation on duration or lift. A stock RAIV has a cam with 308 / 320 advertised duration ( 231 / 240 @ .050 ) and .520 lift when used with 1.65:1 rockers. This Firebird was running a cam with 253 duration @ .050 and .632 lift with 1.65:1 rockers. The intake had to be a stock "type"-but the only limit on spacers was the hood coudln't be modified. So this guys NPD Repro RAIV / 455HO aluminum intake was port matched to the gasket and was running a two inch spacer. The carb had to be the original "Type" meaning a Q-jet-but this was a custom one that flowed 1000 cfm. The tranny was a TH400 with a 4,800 rpm converter and the guy was running 5.14:1 gears. ( You can run any axle ratio you want as long as the rear end is the stock "Type"-in this case an 8.5 inch 10 bolt ) Now you can see how this car with a stroker crank, longer connecting rods, 12:1 compression, a cam with .632 lift, a 4,800 rpm converter and 5.14:1 gears-could run mid 11s when a true stocker with 10.75 compression, stock bottom end, a cam with .520 lift, a 2,500 rpm converter and 3.90:1 gears could only run mid-13s!  This isn't an isolated example. The grand champion-an L88 Corvette that ran a blistering 11.43 and was almost disqualified-most tracks require anything quicker than 11.50 to have an 8-point roll cage and a driveshaft safety loop-had 13.5:1 compression-( up substantially from the stock 12:1 ) a cam with nearly .700 lift, a custom 850 Holley that flowed 1000 cfm, a 4,300 rpm converter and 4.88:1 gears. The fastest Ford was a '69 Mach 1 Mustang that had a 443 inch "FE" ( within 15 inches of 428 ) which was accomplished by boring out a 390 truck block,using a stroker crank, longer rods and custom pistons, a hot Lunati cam, a custom 735 Holley that flowed nearly 900 cfm, a C6 with a 3,800 rpm converter and 4.56:1 gears.  So these cars may have iron exhaust manifolds-but they are far from "Stock". Which is why their usually 2 full seconds quicker than any magazine road test you might read of your favorites. The cars wouldn't be nearly as fast but if you limited them to truly stock parts-i.e.-the exact duration and lift on the cams,stock compression ratios,stock drivtetrain parts-no musclecar I know of ever came from the factory with a 4,800 rpm converter and 5.14:1 gears-you'd have better racing and the times would be more indicative of what a truly "Pure Stock" car could achieve with an experienced driver. Anyhow before you start spewing about a "Stock" car make sure it's actually "Stock". Mastermind    

More on cross-breeding or "Running What You Brung".....

Largely because of emission laws back in the late '70's GM started playing musical engines. Since some engines couldn't pass EPA High-Altitude or California emissions standards they started stuffing any certified engine they had into any body. For example in 1977-79 it was possible to get a Pontiac Firebird with a 231 Buick V6, a 301 Pontiac V8,a 305 Chevy V8,a 350 Chevy V8, a 350 Pontiac V8,a 350 Olds V8, and a 350 Buick V8,a 400 Pontiac V8 and a 403 Olds V8 depending on which model-                                         ( base,Esprit,Formula,Trans-Am ) and what part of the country you lived in. This continued for different models through the '80's. You could also get a Buick Regal with a 301 Pontiac, an Olds Cutlass with a 305 Chevy,a Pontiac Gran Prix with a 305 Chevy, a Buick Regal with a 307 Olds V8, and in 1980-81-if you didn't want the awful 301 Turbo-you got a 305 Chevy in a Pontiac Trans-am. This caused big changes in NASCAR. In 1980 Richard Petty switched from Dodge to GM, mainly because his iconic '74 Charger that had won dozens of races over the years would be outlawed for the 1980 season. NASCAR rules said that bodies could only be 5 years old-thus '79 was the last year the mighty Charger was legal. Petty and crew figured out that the slope-nosed,fastback '77 Cutlass was much more aerodynamic than the flat-nose, notchback rear windowed Monte Carlos that a lot other teams were running. They could go faster with the same amount of power. They won several races in dominant fashion. The other teams protested-saying the car was illegal because it was running the Ubuiqitous Small-Block Chevy Race engine-they said it should have a 350 Olds engine-which obviously would not have been as comptetive. Petty pointed out that GM was playing musical engines with production cars-that it was possible to buy a Cutlass off the showroom floor with a Chevrolet engine under the hood, or a Buick with a Pontiac engine, or a Monte Carlo with a Buick V6.  NASCAR sided with Petty-saying that since GM was doing it with production cars it would be legal to run any GM engine in any GM body. The other teams quickly switched to Cutlasses to keep up. Anyhow-the point I'm making is-if you have or want to buy for example-an '81 Trans-Am or an '84 Gran Prix with a 305 Chevy in it and want to go real fast-it's much easier and cheaper to swap in a strong 350 or 383 Chevy than it would be to try to convert it back to "real" Pontiac power. If you have an '81-87 Buick Regal with a 307 Olds V8-it's much easier to swap in a 350 or 403 Olds V8 ( a bolt-in ) for an instant power infusion than it would be to try to swap in a 455 Buick. If you have a Regal or Cutlass with a 301 Pontiac it would be easier to swap in a 400 Pontiac V8 than it would be to convert it back to "real" Buick or Olds power. If you have a pre-'85 Buick Regal T-Type with a carburated Turbo V6 or an '80-'81 Turbo Formula or Trans-Am with a carburated 301-I'd either go the 400 Pontiac route-or if you must have forced induction look for a wrecked late '90's Bonneville SSEI or Buick Riviera with the Supercharged,fuel-injected 3.8 V6. They have a Roots-type belt driven blower from the factory. They make 240 hp stock-and that could be easily upped by 100 or more with a pulley change and some bigger injectors. Now on the other hand-let's say you have a 4-cylinder '86 Mustang. Nothing against Fords-but they don't have anywhere near the parts interchangeability of GM and Chrysler stuff. You'd be much better off in lack of grief and financial investment by selling the car and just buying another Mustang that already had a Turbo 4-cylinder or "5.0" V8 in it rather than trying to convert it. The point is it's often better to take the path of least resistance when it comes to performance. And were talking about low-budget sleepers here-not Concours Shelby Mustangs or LS6 Chevelles-does anyone really give a shit that a '77 Firebird or an '84 Gran Prix has a Chevy engine in it? Mastermind         

Cross-breeding is alright if it's "Period Correct"......And not desecrating a rare classic!!..

Saw an article in Hot Rod Deluxe magazine about a guy who got a great "barn find" in the midwest. He bought a '57 Chevy Gasser that had always been a drag racer and had always been Pontiac powered. The second owner had bought it used about 1962, and installed a straight front axle,moved then engine back several inches for better traction,radiused the fenderwells for big slicks and installed a blown 389 Pontiac engine and a B&M Hydro tranny.  The car won many races for several years and when the engine blew the owner upgraded to a 421 Pontiac with a GMC blower on it. He eventually sold the car in 1978 to a guy who raced it until 1985-when the B&M hydro finally let go. He installed a 400 Pontiac engine and a TH400 out of a wrecked GTO and raced it some more. He sold the car to someone else who put it his barn and never really did anything with it. Fast-forward to 2015-and the guy advertised the car for sale. A bunch of purists turned up their noses because of the modified body and the Pontiac powertrain. The guy who did buy it remembered the car as an absolute terror on the strip and realized he had a piece of history. He's going to freshen up the paint-and try to get a replacement blower for the Pontiac engine-he's going to keep it as it was raced it's entire life. I think that's really cool rather than spending 100k plus trying to put it back to "original". A lot of people are screaming blasphemy right now-but hot rodding at it's core involved cross-breeding. If your old enough-or have a dad or uncle old enough-you know that a lot of guys put small-block Chevys into '32 Fords. I mentioned in an earlier post that a popular swap was putting a Cadillac V8 into a Studebaker Coupe. I knew a guy back in the '70's who had a badass '55 Ford F100. He'd put a Chevelle front clip on it which allowed him to have front disc brakes and power steering, and allowed him to install a snarling 427 Chevy Rat motor and a B&M prepped TH400. This monster knocked down high 11s and low 12s regularly depending on whether he smoked the tires halfway down the strip or all the way down the strip. Ford guys would cheer him at the drags until they came into the pits and saw that it was powered by a-gasp! Chevy!. I've seen El Caminos with 400 Pontiacs in them, a Tempest with a 425 Olds V8, a Cutlass with a 454 Chevy, and a Buick Skylark with a 400 Chevy Small-block. Sometimes you have a car laying around and an engine laying around, and you think-"Hey-this thing could really run for almost no investment other than time." There's nothing wrong with that-except like I cited the Hot Rod article where both musclecar guys and import tuners wanted to storm the guys house with torches-this schmuck put the engine and tranny out of a 1998 Turbo Toyota Supra into a '67 Camaro!-effectively butchering not one, but two classics. Like I've said before if you want to put an LS engine in a beater Tempest or Cutlass go ahead and enjoy it-just don't do it to a numbers-matching GTO or 442!! Put a Coyote into any beater Mustang of your choosing-just don't do it to a Boss 302!!  I have a 428 Pontiac engine in my garage. I'd love to find a '71-77 Pontiac Ventura to put it in and make a stompin' drag racer-( a Ventura is about 600 lbs lighter than a '70's Firebird ). But....that engine would just as easily go into a Nova or Olds Omega or Buick Apollo of the same vintage and go just as fast. And it wouldn't offend anybody-you don't hear of people fighting with machetes for pristine '73 Omegas too often!  Just a thought. Mastermind

A hot rod truck can be both cool and low-budget.....

Whether your a GM, Ford or Mopar guy you can build a really fast truck pretty easily. Think about it-a 454 V8 in a 3900 lb machine is a hot ride regardless of sheetmetal- does it really matter whether it's a '71 Chevelle or a '78 C10?  No it doesn't. Anyway-up until the early '60's trucks were strictly utilitarian-they were used for hauling heavy loads and towing trailers. In the late '60's the manufacturers started offering luxury items like air conditioning and upgraded interiors and they became more car-like and thus had performance potential. Here's the ones to look for. # 1. 1967-79 Chevy / GMC 1/2 ton. 1967-72 models are highly sought after-and for good reason. The bodystyle is great looking and they offered V8's from a 283 to a 396 depending on model year. '71-72 models even had front disc brakes as standard equipment. Obviously a small or big-block Chevy will be the first choice for power-but I know guys who have put 472 / 500 Cadillac V8s in these trucks as well as 455 Olds and Pontiac engines that made them awfully quick for very low-bucks. In 1973 they were completely re-designed and this style soldiered on with minor changes until 1987. I listed the '73-79 models as the most desirable because they had 350 or 454 V8s available. The engine bay will swallow any GM engine-including the 720 hp 572 crate motor.  The largest engine you could get in later 1/2 ton models was a 305. Yuck. There is a ton of aftermarket parts available for these trucks including front and rear sway bars, traction bars-you could build a drag racer or a corner-carver if you wanted to.  # 2. 1967-79 Ford F100 / F150. Just like GM, Ford drastically improved their pickups with a major re-design in 1967. In fact-a '68 Ford pickup was used in the big chase scene in the Charles Bronson action flick "Mr Majestyk" and the "Built Ford Tough" TV ads for years. '67-72 models will have V8s from 302 to 390 cubes. The 390s are the ones to look for-there's a ton of speed equipment for "FE" engines including Edelbrock aluminum heads. Like GM-another big re-design hit in 1973. The interiors got upgraded and V8s up to 460 inches were available. The 390 soldiered on until 1976. A lot of '75 and later models will have 351 / 400M motivation. What made them dogs was 2bbl carburation, single exhaust and a lazy cam. Edelbrock makes heads and intakes and cams for these engines that make them really rock. Anything 400 cubes will run pretty damn good with the right parts. And the "M" engines share the same bellhousing bolt-pattern as the 429 / 460-so swapping in a bigger motor is not too much trouble. Avoid the 360 V8 like the plague. They are an "FE" engine-but they have the triple attributes of no power, not much torque and crappy gas mileage. And their not worth hopping up-you get way more bang for the buck from a 351 / 400 or swapping in a 390.  # 3. 1972-78 Dodge D100 / D150. This bodystyle soldiered on until 1993. However after '78-with the exception of the '79 "Li'l Red Express" the largest engine you could get was a 318 or 360 with 2bbl. From '72-78 you could get anything from a 318 to a 440. 360s can be made to really run and there's stroker kits to turn them into a 408. A 400 is just a bored-out 383-so there's tons of speed equipment for them including stroker kits to make a 451, and of course the mighty 440. If you wanted to build a totally badass truck and had the bucks-they start at about 15 grand-you could put in a 426 or 472 or 528 inch Mopar Performance Hemi crate engine!!  Now that would give new meaning to the term "Monster Truck".... Mastermind     

Small-block musclecars can really run if their done right......

Everyone wants the big-block musclecars and this is why they command such high prices. However-for the enthusiast on a budget all is not lost. There are a lot more base model Chevelles, Cutlass and LeMans models out there with 350 cubes under the hood than there are SS396 / 454s, 442s, or GTOs with 400 or 455s in the engine bays. Ditto for Camaros and Firebirds. The same applies to Fords and Mopars. There are way more Mustangs,Torinos,Cougars and Montegos out there with 302 or 351 cubes under the hood than there are with 390, 428,429 or 460. There's way more Duster / Darts, Cuda / Challengers,and Road Runner / Satellite / Coronet / Charger models with 318 cubes under the bonnet than there are with 383s or 440s. Here's how to get the most "Bang for the Buck" from each line. # 1. Small-Block Chevy. This is a no-brainer. There's more speed equipment on the market for Small-Block Chevys than anything else on the planet. I mentioned before that Super Chevy built a 400 hp 350 with all new parts for $2,600. Magazine writers spout numbers flippantly-but believe me-400 honest hp will turn any street car into an absolute rocket. And that's just for starters-with a SBC your limited only by your wallet and imagination. For example-Edelbrock is selling a supercharged SBC crate engine with over 700 hp. For most of us-were either going to have to use the engine that came in the car-or find a used core to start with. Either way your ok. Two-bolt main blocks and cast cranks and cast pistons are find for this kind of use as long as rpm's don't go over 6,500. Scoggin-Dickey Chevrolet offers brand-new Iron "Vortec" heads for $650 a pair. Their 64cc chambers will bump compression on the average 350 from 8.2:1 to about 9.5:1-that'll give you a nice power and torque boost in addition to the 30-40 hp the improved breathing will give-testing has shown that these heads breathe better than any factory head and many aftermarket ones. This one simple bolt-on could be worth as much as 50 hp. That's a screaming deal-many machine shops charge that much to re-do your old heads and they don't breathe nearly as well as the Vortecs. You'll have to buy a "Vortec" style intake-but Edelbrock,Weiand and Holley all offer performance Vortec intakes for about $200. The main thing is go for a cam that builds maximum torque. Crane,Edelbrock,Lunati, and Comp Cams all offer excellent street cams that will make mega-hp and still have 12-15 inches of vacuum at idle. Their catalogs will give you recommendations on axle ratios, converter stall speed etc. The reason I recommend these cams over the factory performance cams-the old standbys-350 hp 327 cam, the L46 / L82 350 cam, the LT1 cam  etc-is you have to realize those "classic" cams are based on 1964 camshaft profiles and are not computer optimized. The modern cams will make more power,idle better and get better gas mileage. # 2. Small-Block Mopar. If you have a really light car-i.e.-Duster / Dart-318s can really run. They respond well to basic hot rod tricks-cam, intake, headers, etc. But the reality is in a heavy car-like a Road Runner or Charger-their just too small for serious performance work. Just like the Chevys-a 350 makes Waaayyy more power than a 305, yet costs no more to buy or build. Same here-a 360 makes way more power and torque with the same equipment. If you have a 360 in your car-by all means use it. If you don't-I would hit the boneyards and look for a '92-2003 360 "Magnum" V8 out of a Dodge Pickup or van or a Jeep Grand Cherokee. There are millions of them around. The good thing is besides being cheap and plentiful- like the Chevy "Vortecs"-the "Magnum" heads breathe better than any factory head and many aftermarket ones. And again-Edelbrock makes Performer and Performer "RPM" intakes that bolt-up to the "Magnum" heads. And they have roller cams from the factory. Edelbrock and Comp Cams offer excellent replacement roller cams for these engines. Eagle and other companys offer stroker crank,rod and piston kits to turn a 360 into a 408 if you so desire. Blueprint Engines offers a 408 crate engine that has 375 hp and 460 lbs of torque-you could duplicate that build pretty easily. Edelbrock claims 417 hp from their "Performer RPM" package on a 360-so the potential is there. # 3. Small-Block Ford. Again-if you have a light car-a Falcon / Maverick / Comet or Mustang / Cougar a 302 can really rock. In a heavier car like a Fairlane, Torino,Montego etc-a 351W / 351C offers a lot more "bang" for the buck. If your car has a 302-there is a ton of speed equipment available-almost as much as there is for Small-Block Chevys. There are stroker crank kits to turn a 302 into a 347 or a 363. If your car has a 351C-by all means use it. There is still a ton of speed equipment available for these engines including aftermarket heads. The downside is they were only built from 1970-74-so unless the car you have or are buying has one in it-their pretty scarce. If you have to buy an engine-I'd get a 351W. They were used in various Ford car and truck models from 1969-1997. Ford SVT sells high-performance 351W based crate engines to this day-even 392 and 427 inch strokers. Your limited only by your wallet and imagination. Edelbrock and Trick Flow offer "Cleveland" style aluminum heads that will bolt up to Windsor blocks and Edelbrock offers "E-Boss" intakes-so you could build a "Boss 302" or "Boss 351" on your own. # 4. Small-Block Oldsmobile. Of GM's "other"-i.e.-non Chevrolet 350 V8s-these have the most potential. The Factory "W31s" were grossly Under-rated at 325 hp. Think about this-the generic, "station wagon" 350 4bbl engine made 310 hp. The "W31"-with high-performance heads,special exhaust manifolds,an aluminum high-rise intake, and cam so hot it was only available with a 4-speed and 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears-only made 15 more hp???  Riiiiggghhht.  Anyhow they were available in virtually every Olds model from 1968-1980. Edelbrock claims 397 hp and 400 lbs of torque from their "Performer Rpm" package. Like I said-400 hp will make any street car a rocket. Another alternative is to use a 403. They were used in millions of Buick, Olds and Pontiac "Big" cars in the late '70's as well as hundreds of thousands of Pontiac Firebirds and Trans-Ams so their fairly plentiful. Anything that fits a 350 will fit a 403-and 53 extra cubes would definitely put you at about 425 hp and 450 lbs of torque with the Edelbrock "RPM" package-not too shabby for a "Smog Dog!!"  # 5. 350 Pontiac. "Rodney Dangerfield" here gets no respect from enthusiasts-mainly because Pontiac engines are externally identical from a 326 to a 455. If you want a big power infusion-you simply swap in a 400, 428 or 455. And-because of their small-bore / long stroke design-the big-valve heads from the larger engines-that you would need to make SERIOUS power-can't be used-the valves will hit the block. However-if you have a Firebird, LeMans or Ventura with a 350 under the hood, don't despair. They respond well to basic hot rod tricks. You just accentuate what the factory did-make big torque at low rpm. With a '68-74 factory Iron 4bbl intake or an Edelbrock Performer and matching cam or the Crane "Blueprint" "068" cam and a set of headers you can make 325-350 hp and 400 lbs of torque pretty easy and still have 15 inches of vacuum at idle, and pull hard to 5,500 rpm. With 350+ lbs of torque from idle on up-you don't need to rev to 7 grand. Scoff if you want-but that power level with an axle ratio between 3.23 and 3.73 would put any LeMans or Firebird solidly in the 13s on street tires with a glass-smooth idle. If you need to go faster than that-then you have to step up to a 400 or 455. People talk about notching the blocks to make the big heads work-but why? You still only have 350 cubes-and a 400 or 455 is going to make substantially more power and torque with the same equipment and no more cost. Places like Butler Performance advertise 550 hp Pontiac engines that run on 89 octane gas-but they aren't 350s!!!  You might notice that the 350 Buick V8 is conspicuously absent. The reason is unlike Chevy, Olds and Pontiac there was never a factory high-performance version, and aftermarket support is non-existant. I mean Edelbrock doesn't even make an intake manifold for them-and Edelbrock makes intakes for EVERYTHING from Flathead Fords, 348 / 409 Chevys,215 inch BOP / Rover V8s,472 / 500 Cadillacs and 2.8 GM V6s, and Honda / Acura 4-bangers!  No one makes cams or headers or anything for them. Sadly-if you want to hot rod your Century / Skylark / Regal-you'll have to get a 400 / 430 / 455 out of a big car and swap that in-there IS speed parts available for those-or-blasphemy, I know-swap in a Chevy, Pontiac or Olds V8. Buick guys don't like it-but that's the lay of the land-if there's no parts available there's no parts available. Anyhow-that's what I'd do to save money AND go fast with a small-block musclecar. Hope this helps out. Mastermind           .            

"Purists" Get Over Yourselves!!!.....Hot Rodding has always been thinking outside the box....

Had a few drinppingly sarcastic emails from Purists over the last few posts-saying that I shouldn't have included the Kit Cars like the '33 Ford, the '50 Ford, the 'Vette and 240Z based Ferarri replicas as those aren't "real" musclecars. Puhleeze. Long before Pontiac introduced the GTO in 1964 there were Hot Rods. Guys were playing with Flathead Fords-how do you think Vic Edelbrock got started? By building high-performance Flathead V8's for his and his customers race cars! A popular swap was the "Studillac"-guys would would stuff the big Cadillac V8 into a light, sleek Studebaker Coupe body to try and go 200 mph at Bonneville. And what about the almighty Shelby Cobra that everyone worships? The original Cobra was a British sports car called the AC Ace that Carroll Shelby stuffed a 260 ( and later 289 ) Ford V8 into!!  So many guys were putting small-block Chevys into Austin Healeys that the buff magazines of the day affectionately called them the "Poor Man's Cobra".  Ditto for the 289 Ford powered Sunbeam Tiger. Are these guys saying that a Pantera isn't a performance car because it has an Italian body and a Ford V8? These guys must have Donald Trump's bank account-you seriously turn up your nose at the Idea of a blisteringly fast, great handling '33 "California Kid" tribute-because it's not "Original??"  I hate to break this to you-'34 Fords didn't have 302 V8's and C4 automatics!!!  So Pete Chapouris' classic isn't "Original" either asshole!!!  Ditto for the American Graffiti / Two-Lane Blacktop '55-'55 Chevys didn't have 454's and tilt front ends from the factory!!!  Arrrrrgghhhh!!!  I will not "apologize" for giving good advice on how to copy a movie / TV car and save money. Just what is it I said that's so offensive and requires an apology? Mastermind    

Still more Movie and TV cars that you can build....

Had a reader write in with some more good ideas on cool movie cars that you can replicate. Some will be cheap, some not so cheap, but they were all great ideas. # 1. "Death Proof" Nova. I don't how this one slipped my mind-but the flat black,menacing Nova driven by Kurt Russel in Tarantino's Grindhouse classic would be easy to do. Find a '68-72 Nova, paint it flat black with a skull on the hood, some loud exhausts,some Rally Wheels,and some longer shackles or even air shocks to give it the jacked up rear-end look and your there. A snarling small-block would help too, and if you want to go all the way-Summitt offers bolt-in roll cages for X-bodies. # 2. "American Graffiti" '32 Ford. I make the same recommendation here that I did for the "California Kid". Get a Factory Five Racing '33 Ford Hot Rod Kit-the base kit is $11,995 and the turn-key one with everything but the engine and tranny is $19,995. Hot Rod magazine built one with a wicked 347 that ran low 11s in the 1/4 for under 25K. Paint it yellow,pay extra for a vanity plate that reads THX1138 and you've got Milner's ride. Or close enough. # 3. "Nash Bridges" 'Cuda. Several years after Miami Vice ended Don Johnson had another hit playing a Sonny Crockett type San Francisco detective who had a '71 Hemi 'Cuda convertible. ( Ok, they said it was a Hemi-but the close-up camera car-and Johnsons's favorite was a 340 / 4-speed model. The other stunt cars were 318 models with the scooped hood. ) The problem is finding any 'Cuda convertible is going to be hard-they were only built in 1970 and 71 and even 318 models are rare and thus a little pricey-people want 15k for rough 318 models that need a lot of work. However-if you "Gotta Have" Nash Bridges' ride-you could buy a 318 Barracuda drop-top and put the scooped hood on it and paint it orange. You could put in a Mopar Performance 380 hp 360 crate motor or go whole hog and spend 15K for a 465hp 426 Hemi crate motor. Probably cost you 50k to build, but that's way less than the $250,000 on up a that a "real" Hemi 'Cuda convertible would cost. # 4. "Mission Impossible" Sport Fury. Your mission,should you choose to accept it-is to find a clean 1970-72 Plymouth Sport Fury. With cool hidden headlight, fuselage styling and 383,400 or 440 cubes under the hood Mr Phelps ( Peter Graves ) did have a cool ride. # 5. "Boss Hogg" Caddy. The Iconic Charger wasn't the only cool ride on the "Dukes of Hazzard". Sorrell Booke ( "Boss Hogg" ) was driven around in a triple-white 1969-70 Cadillac Deville convertible. I personally wouldn't put the big bull horns on the hood-but I'd love to have a classic Caddy drop-top with 472 cubes under that long hood....Or......# 6. "Daisy Duke" GTX. Most people remember Catherine Bach in the short-shorts and the Jeep CJ5 with no top. ( The Jeep, not Catherine, damn it ) But in the first season Daisy had a '71 GTX. You could get by with a '71-72 Satellite or Road Runner...# 7. "Dynasty / Colbys 1963 Ferarri GTO. Miles Colby ( Maxwell Caulfield ) drove a '63 Ferarri GTO. But it was really a Datsun 240Z with a fiberglass body kit and a snarling small-block Chevy under the bonnet. Check Kit Car magazine-I'm pretty sure the company that sold the bodies is still in business-it was a front-end and rear valance kit-most of the 240Z body was used. 1970-78 240 / 260 / 280Z's are plentiful-and even if you don't want to swap in a Chevy V8-there are headers, cams, and Weber carb kits that really wake up the 6 cylinder Z motors. Mastermind      

More Iconic movie and TV cars....

Had some people ask about some other movie and TV cars and how to get them cheaply. These may not be cheap, but they won't cost you fifty or a hundred grand.  # 1. "The Dark Half". George Stark-the fictional killer in the Stephen King thriller drove a jet-black '67 Toronado with a bumper sticker that read "A High Toned Son of a Bitch".  Any Toro from '66-70 would do-and honestly-any Buick Riviera from '66-69 has the same bodystyle and has the advantage of being rear-wheel drive. ( Toros are all front-drive.) A blacked out Riv with a snarling big-block Chevy, and 17" Torq-Thrusts would be a high-toned son of a bitch indeed.  Just Saying. # 2.  "Road House" Patrick Swayze drove two '63-65 Rivieras in this action flick-ironically-because he didn't want his 380SEC Mercedes trashed. It's a running joke through the film-like "I thought you'd be bigger."  These Rivs have kind of a cult following of their own-so you might have to spend 10 grand on up for a decent one-but that's better than 25. # 3. "The Transporter". I know-it's an Import, not a musclecar, but a lot of people asked and I aim to please. The badass BMW that Jason Statham drove in the original ( and best ) "Transporter" was a one-off European-spec 733i that BMW built special for the movie with a manual transmission. So no, you can't buy one at any price. But you can buy a 1995-2000 540i with a V8, a six-speed manual, and sport suspension that looks very close to Statham's ride and has the performance to match-5-second 0-60 times. And I have seen them on used car lots for less than $8,000.    # 4. "Miami Vice". The Ferarri Daytona Spider that Don Johnson drove on "Vice" was actually a kit car built by Tom McBurnie on a '68-82 Corvette chassis. McBurnie and several other companies sold the kits for years until Ferarri filed a lawsuit. You can probably find one either finished or unfinished in Hemmings Motor News, Kit Car magazine or on the internet. The beauty is the Corvette chassis and drivetrain. Replacement parts are readily available at your local Autozone store. I'd put four Webers on a snarling 383 to really have the look....Dynamite if you could find one.  # 5. "Goodfellas". Ray Liotta drove a '68 Gran Prix in this gangster classic. 400 or 428 cubes under that long hood and Cadillac-like luxury-you can't go wrong. # 6. "Hard to Kill". Steven Seagal's 2nd-and I think best action flick. Early on he drove a cool black '63 T-Bird with wire wheels. '61-63 "Bullet Birds" aren't cheap- you'll probably need at least 15K to find a decent one-but that's still less than any decent '60's Mustang will cost. # 7. "American Beauty". Kevin Spacey's classic line in response to Annette Benning sneering-"What is that thing in the driveway?"  "1970 Pontiac Firebird". "The car I always wanted, and now I have it." "I rule!".  Actually any '70-73 model will be the same bodystyle, but the Formula 400 models offer the most "Bang for the buck".  Mastermind