There is no "Used Car Factory" to order from....

I get so much mail of people whining that they can't find their dream car, that I want to vomit day-glo. Here's the reality-regardless of your bank account, the chance of you finding a 40 or 50 year old car with the exact engine, transmission, axle ratio, interior and exterior color, and other options is almost nil. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery. Here's how to find a car you can love and live with at a reasonable price.  # 1. Lower your sights a little. Yes, we'd all love to have a Hemi ' Cuda, LS6 Chevelle, Boss 302 Mustang-etc, etc. For example- Chevrolet only built 4478 LS6 Chevelles in 1970-so the real problem is finding one for sale at any price. However-Chevrolet built 49,826 SS396 Chevelles that same year. Except for the engine, they are the exact same car. And honestly-do really "need" more punch than a 396 has to offer? This is not an isolated example. Boss 302 is your dream car? Good luck as Ford only built 1,603 in 1969 and another 7,113 in 1970. By constrast-Ford built over 70,000 fastback Mustangs in 1969 alone, and most of them have 351W motivation, which is a much better street engine, if your going to drive the car at all. '69 GTO Judge lights your fire? Of the 72,225 GTOs sold in 1969, only 6,833 were Judge models. Of the 243,000 Camaros sold in 1969, only 19,000 were Z/28 models. By considering the less-than ultimate model you just increased your chances of finding a car tenfold, and that's if you "Gotta" have a one-year model. Which brings up the next point. # 2. Consider different model years of the same car. If the Chevelle enthusiast could live with a '68-69 SS396 he just increased his chances by 58,000 '68 models and 86,000 '69 models. Our GTO buyer could choose from 87,000 '68 models and 40,149 '70 models. Pontiac only built a little over 10,000 Trans-Ams in 1970-73. However they built nearly 330,000 T/A's from 1974-79, nearly all of them with 400 Pontiac power which with very little work-intake, exhaust and an axle-ratio change-could easily equal or surpass the performance of the much higher-priced earlier models. # 3. Consider different options. For example-if you want a "Vanishing Point" Challenger would you pass up a 383 model because Kowalski's was a 440? Or if you want a "Bullitt" Mustang-would you turn your nose up at an automatic '67 390 GTA, because Steve McQueen drove a '68, 4-speed model? Could you live with a black "Smokey& The Bandit" '77-78 T/A if it didn't have T-Tops?  # 4. Consider a lesser model. Wouldn't a Formula 400 be as much fun as a T/A? Would a "regular" TPI '85 Z/28 be as good as an "IROC-Z?"  Almost all 1971-73 Mustangs have 351C motivation, so do you really "need" a Mach 1? There's a lot more small-block Novas out there than there are SS396 models. See what I'm saying?  So stop whining and find a car to play with. Mastermind        

Buy the Damn car you want....Regardless of insane "Brand Loyalty" your dad or older brother had!!....

I've said many times how sick I am of seeing a jacked-up Ford or Dodge pickup with a sticker of "Calvin" of the comic strip-"Calvin and Hobbes" fame-pissing on a Chevy emblem. It's ridiculous. And I'm not talking about 20 year old morons just out of high school. I've talked to 50 year old men with the attitude that an SS396 Chevelle is awesome, but a 400 GTO, or 442, or 383 Road Runner "sucks".  Or a 351C Mustang Mach 1 is way cool, but an LT1 powered Z/28 Camaro "sucks".  Really? Are you 12? Are we still in junior high? Are you still pissed that the Steelers beat the Cowboys in Super Bowl X??  I've said many times that my dad was ( and still is ) a die-hard Pontiac guy. His first car was a 345 hp Tri-Power 389 1959 Pontiac Catalina. Over the years he had a '64 GTO, a '65 Catalina, a '65 2+2, and a '78 Trans-Am. My first car was a Ram Air III, 4-speed, 4.33:1 geared '69 GTO Judge. I think he wanted it as much for himself as he did for me. My brother's first car was another '69 GTO. Because of dad-we loved Pontiacs too. But I remember-I even posted the story of the legendary "American Graffiti" Drag Race that I was privy to in Missouri at the age of 10 in 1971 or 72. My dad-by then already a legend at tuning multi-carbs was tasked with tuning both a 440, 4-speed, Six-Pack '70 GTX and a 426 Hemi / Torqueflite '68 Road Runner that were vying for the title of "King Kong" in our town. The driver's agreed that having the same mechanic tune both cars would ensure absolute fairness. They didn't have to worry about losing because of pointa closing up or an over-rich carb(s)-they'd only lose to the other driver. Like the Johhny Cash / Waylon Jennings song-"The Devil's Right Hand"-that was talking about guns-when I saw that 1970 GTX-Red with black stripes, and a white interior and that "Pistol-Grip" Hurst shifter, and "Air Grabber" hood, "I thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen." The fact that the Hemi Road Runner beat him by half the length of the front fender-almost a "Photo finish" didn't diminish it's appeal. Until I saw "Vanishing Point."  Kowalski's Alpine White '70 Challenger R/T that led the Police on a cross-country chase was burned indelibly in my imagination. I wanted a Challenger. Then I saw "Bullitt." I couldn't care less about the hero's Mustang. The ominous black Charger that the bad guys drove got my attention. Even though I was born and raised a GM guy-I liked Mopars. When I grew up-besides the GTO, I had an SS396 El Camino, a couple of disco-era T/A's, a couple of Pontiac Venturas, but I also had a couple of '68-70 Chargers, a V8 Vega, a couple of Mustangs, a Toyota pickup and a couple of Ford pickups. I like what I like. If I hit Megabucks tomorrow I'm just as likely to buy a pristine '70 440 / Six-Pack GTX as I am a 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang, or a restored RAIV '69 Judge. Or a '66 Toronado or a '65 Galaxie coupe with a 390. Like Vin Diesel told Gal Gadot in "F&F 4"-I appreciate a fine body no matter who builds it." And that's the way adults should be when spending megabucks on a restored car!!!  My dad is still a hardcore GM guy. But you know what? If I found a good-condition '79 Dodge Li'l Red Express truck-my dream car before we found the "Judge"-he'd be happy for me-he wouldn't deride it!!  Everyone should be the same way. Mastermind    

You can go fast on a tight budget...If the old "But the numbers don't match" whine can be overlooked...

A lot of people gripe about how expensive it is to build a high-performance engine. Their half-right. If you copy magazine buildups and have to have the best of everything, yes it's going to be pricey. But you can make serious power with stock or even junkyard parts by picking the right combination of parts. In order to do that-you may not be able to keep everything numbers-matching. And on some cars it doesn't matter. A Boss 302, or Six-Pack Road Runner, it matters. Other stuff not so much.  Does anyone really care that a '74 Camaro has a 1980's GM "Targetmaster" replacement 350 under the hood?  Or that a '68 LeMans has a 400 out of a '73 Catalina in it?  Anyhow here's some tips to get big power for low bucks. The easiest way to big power for low bucks is increased breathing and compression. On many engines this is accomplished by swapping cylinder heads. Not Edelbrock or Brodix or Trick Flow aluminum heads. Low-budget, remember?  Here's a few great examples. # 1 Small-block Chevy. A lot of people don't know that the '81-86 305 "smog" heads have 58cc combustion chambers. ( Much smaller than the 76cc chambers on most 350s.) Putting a set of these on a 350 will bump the compression ratio from 8.2:1 to about 9.6:1 which is about the limit with iron heads on cheap gas. The 305 heads have smaller 1.72 intake valves, but the slight loss of airflow is more than offset by the big power and torque gain of the added compression. And any competent machine shop can put the 1.94 valves in the 305 heads for a nominal fee. Their are millions of these engines in junkyards so they will be cheap. The other way is a set of "Vortec" heads. Scoggin-Dickey will sell you a brand-new pair for $650. Many machine shops want $500 or more to re-furbish your old heads, so this is a deal. These breathe better than any stock head and many aftermarket ones. These have 64cc chambers which will still give you about 9.2:1 compression when replacing 76cc heads, and the improved breathing is worth 30-40 hp. You'll have to get a "Vortec" bolt pattern intake, but GMPP, Edelbrock, and Weiand sell performance "Vortec" intakes for about $200. # 2. Small-Block Mopar. '92 and later "Magnum" heads breathe better than any factory head and many aftermarket ones. There are millions of these engines in junkyards in Dodge Trucks and Vans and Jeep Cherokees. They will bolt up to '91 and earlier blocks, but you'll need a "magnum" style intake. Edelbrock sells Performer and Performer RPM "Magnum" intakes. # 3. 350 / 403 Olds. '73 and later small-block Olds engines have 83cc combustion chambers which gives them 8.0:1 compression. '68-'72 350 heads have 70cc chambers that will bump that up to about 9.2:1. On '75 and later models you'll have to re-tap the bolt holes for 1/2 inch bolts. ( '74 and earlier used 7/16 ) but that's relatively easy.  # 4 Pontiacs. '76-79 "6X" heads breathe better than any factory head except the vaunted RAIV's. Their 90cc chambers will give you about 9.2:1 compression on a 455 which is great. On a 400 you'll need to mill them .060 to bump the c.r. from 8.0:1 to 9.0:1. Don't forget to surface the intake sides too-so the manifold will fit. The other one is '68-69 #46 heads. These came on a lot of 350 V8s and 428s in the "big" cars. Their 72cc chambers will bump the compression on a '71-79 400 from 8.0:1 to about 9.7:1. They have 1.96 / 1.66 valves as opposed to the 6x's 2.11 / 1.77, but the slight loss of airflow will be more than offset by the big power and torque boost of the increased compression. And since stock Pontiac heads don't really breathe with valve lifts much over .480 inch and the bottom-ends should be redlined at 5,800 rpm-I wouldn't waste the time or money putting the bigger valves in. Spend that on a cam, gears, etc. You may have to change alternator brackets on '70 and later engines, but that's not a crisis. The other big power maker is more cubes. Eagle and other companies offer stroker crank kits to turn a 350 Chevy into a 383, a 302 Ford into a 347, a 360 Mopar into a 408, a 400 Pontiac into a 455 and a 400 Mopar into a 451. If your rebuilding the engine anyway-often these stroker crank, rod and piston kits aren't very much more than stock replacement stuff. And all other things being equal-a larger engine will always make more power and torque with the same equipment. Something to consider....Mastermind  

Why The "Latest&Greatest" isn't always great....

A lot of gearheads, in the never-ending search for more power invest a lot of money in the latest and greatest thing that the buff magazines are testing and are often severely disappointed. I'm not bashing the buff mags-they stay in business by testing and promoting their advertisers products. And they accurately report their findings. The problem is the readers either don't read the whole article or don't understand what the writer is saying. All they think is "Wow! This new part is worth 40hp!!" "I gotta have that!" Here's a few exmples of this gone terribly wrong. # 1. "ZZ4 Crate motor Hop-up". If you don't know-the ZZ4 was an awesome street engine sold by GMPP for many years. ( The ZZ5 that replaced it now has "Fast Burn" Vortec heads ). I had one and loved it. They had 10:1 compression, a roller cam, aluminum L98 Corvette heads and an original Z/28 / LT1 style intake with a 770 Holley on it. They were rated at 355 hp and 418 lbs of torque. What made them such an awesome street engine is it made more than 350 lbs ft of torque from 2,000-5,200 rpm! That broad torque range is what makes for exciting street performance and wins races. Anyhow-Hot Rod decided to see if they could get another 100 hp out one-get it up to 450 hp or more with bolt-on parts. The first two things they did was install a bigger carb and intake and a hotter cam. This netted them like 80 more hp. About 30 with the carb and intake and about 50 with the cam. To me-this would have been enough-they were well over 400 hp-and even though the torque peak was higher in the powerband, they hadn't really hurt real-world drivability that much. However, they were determined to hit the magic 100+ hp gain. They installed a set of Trick Flow aluminum heads and gained another 40 hp. Mission accomplished. Or was it? 1st off-the Trick Flow heads cost $1,400 for the pair. And here's the real kicker-the "Antiquated" L98 stock heads were actually better below 3,200 rpm, and above that sometimes the gain was only 1 or 2 hp!! In fact-the L98's were within 5 hp and 5 lbs ft of torque at every rpm level up to 4,700 rpm!! The 40 hp gain was at 6,100 rpm!!  Now in a Nascar racer or a drag racer that's run wide-open all the time that 40 peak hp might be a good investment. But in a daily driver or street / strip machine that maybe goes to the drags once a month-how often are you going to be between 4,800 and 6,100 rpm??!!  And for $1,400 you could get a great nitrous system that would add 250-300 hp all through the range-not just 25-40 hp in a 1,300 rpm window from 4,800-6,100 rpm. In my opinion-the head swap was a waste of $1,400 that could have been spent on a nitrous system, a higher stall-speed converter, stiffer gears, tracition bars, bigger tires-all kinds of stuff that would give you more speed and more "bang" for the buck.  # 2. Edelbrock Performer RPM "Air Gap" manifold test. This one pissed off thousands of people. Hot Rod tested the "Air Gap" Performer RPM intake that keeps the plenum cool and ( at least in sunny southern California ) is worth 15-20 hp over the regular Performer RPM. However a bunch of people in Northern and Rocky mountain states that rushed out and bought these intakes discovered that in cold-weather this latest and greatest power enhancer caused severe cold-starting problems and carburator icing!! Several people wrote in and said that they had to let their car run for 15-20 minutes to get it to not die and sputter-if it would start at all!!  Several demanded ( to no avail obviously ) that the magazine re-imburse them for the cost of the intake and the labor to pull it and re-install their old intake that worked fine!! That 20 hp was definitely not worth it to these people. # 3. Roller Cams. These are all the rage right now. If you have a 1987 and later Chevy, Ford, or Mopar engine that had a roller cam from the factory then yes-these are the only way to fly. But if you have a 1986 and earlier engine that has a flat-tappet cam, they are not the cat's meow. The simple reason is cost. High Performance Pontiac magazine tested one on a hot 455. Yes, the roller setup made more power. But the cost to convert it was $1,800!! Whether Melling, or Crane or Lunati etc-most flat-tappet cam kits cost around $200-300!!  For that extra $1,500 you could buy a carb and intake, a set of headers, a higher-stall converter and some stiffer gears to put all that newfound power to the ground!!  Even for a small-block Chevy which is generally the cheapest thing to buy parts for-An Edelbrock Performer RPM flat-tappet cam kit is $209.71 in the Currnet Summitt Racing Catalog. The Edelbrock Rollin'Thunder cam kit for the same SBC is $1,023.48!!  That extra $800 could buy you a lot more than the 30 hp or so that the cam will make!!    # 4. Fuel-injection systems. Again-if you have a 1985 or later Chevy, Ford or Mopar V8 that was fuel-injected from the factory-the manifolds,throttle bodys,injectors etc sold by Edelbrock,Accel, Trick Flow and others that work in conjunction WITH the factory system are good investments. They offer great power and torque gains for relatively low bucks. What is a waste of money is the aftermarket systems offered by these same companies to convert a carburated engine to EFI. Again-even for a small-Block Chevy these systems start at $2,000. For anything other than a small-block Chevy most are over $3,500!!  As opposed to a simple, $600 carb and intake combo that often makes the same or MORE power than the EFI setup??  Honestly-$3,500 for an induction system?? For $3,500 GMPP, Ford SVT or Blueprint engines will sell you a high-performance crate engine complete from carb to oil pan!!!  So think hard before you run out and buy the "latest and greatest" thing!! Mastermind                

Some "Stealth" modifications that can make big performance gains...

A lot of people ask me how they can keep their musclecar stock looking but still really run. There's several things you can do that will net big performance gains that no one can see.  # 1. Ignition. Petronix and other companies offer electronic ignition conversions that fit under a points-type cap. You can also hide an MSD,Mallory or Jacobs box in the glove box or other places.  # 2. Gears make it go! Especially on mid-70's cars switching from a 2.56:1 or 2.80:1 axle ratio to something in the 3.23:1-3.73:1 range can cut as much as a full second off your 0-60 and 1/4 mile times without hurting gas mileage or drivability too much.  # 3. Higher Stall-speed torque converter / shift improver kit. When they introduced the Torqueflite in 1962 Chrysler found a great performance boost not in the engine, but the transmission. It took GM and Ford years to catch up. Anyhow-swapping a stock converter ( most have 1,200-1,700 rpm stall speeds ) for one with a 2,000-2,500 rpm stall speed will give you a huge boost in off-the-line acceleration without hurting drivability. Don't go overboard-one with 3,000 rpm or more stall speed won't really work well with a basically stock engine-( on big-block cars with street tires you may actually go slower because of excessive wheelspin ) and unless you have 3.90:1 or stiffer gears your 60 mph cruise rpm will be less than the converter's stall speed which will cause the trans to overheat and maybe burn up. So err on the side of caution when picking a converter-but the right one can really help you launch like a rocket. B&M and TransGo offer shift improver kits that really firm up full-throttle shifts without being too harsh at part-throttle. # 4. Camshaft. A hotter cam can make a huge difference in a car's performance, and except for maybe a nasty idle-no one knows your not running a stock cam. Be careful not to go overboard in cars with automatic transmissions. ( Sticks can tolerate more "cam" as idle speed isn't as important, and the driver can launch at any rpm he wants by manipulating the clutch ). Bigger engines can tolerate more cam without ill effects-a Factory RAIV cam-for example would kill a 350 Pontiac, but would work fine in a 400 with a 4-speed and 3.42:1 or stiffer gears,and would be really sweet in a 455 even with an automatic. Read the cam makers recommendations-their catalogs will tell you-works well with stock converter, needs at least 3.55 gears, etc, etc. # 5. More cubes. This is kind of a deal-breaker for some people as they may not want to modify a numbers-matching engine. The solution is to put the numbers-matching one in the garage and buy or build another one. GMPP, Mopar Performance, and Ford SVT all offer mega-inch high performance crate motors. If you can afford one they are a great way to go. Even if you have to build up an engine from a junkyard core-no one can tell a 396 Chevy from a 454 or a 400 Pontiac from a 455 just by looking at it. And there are stroker crank kits to turn a 302 Ford into a 347, a 350 Chevy into a 383, a 360 Mopar into a 408 and dozens of other combinations I can't name off the top of my head. All other things being equal a bigger engine will always make more horsepower and torque than a smaller one. Anyhow-these "hidden" mods can offer a big boost in performance to an otherwise stock-looking car. Mastermind  

How to get a cool musclecar and NOT spend 50 or 100K.....

I talk to a lot of people who lament how you can't get a decent musclecar for under 50 grand, or that people want $10,000 or more for junk. That's not true-I recently saw on the Internet a nice 1978 400 , 4-speed, WS6 Trans-Am with 44,000 original miles that sold for $17,900!!  I saw a 1973 Mustang Mach 1 with a Q-code 351CJ for $12,000. I saw a 1970 4-speed, SS396 Nova for $25,000. These were all great-looking, numbers-matching cars in great condition, at reasonable prices. There's plenty of deals out there-you just have to look. Anyhow-here's some good advice on how to find your dream car and not have to mortgage your house to fund the project. # 1. A "Basket Case" is not a deal at any price. A car with major body or frame damage, rust issues, or is missing the engine and transmission or the interior is a money pit that you should avoid like the plague. I'll give you a perfect example-a few years ago a friend wanted to build a Firebird or Trans-Am project car. We looked at two cars. One was a T/A that had been a roundy-round race car. It had no engine or trans, and the interior was gutted and had an 8-point roll cage. The guy was selling it for $500. The other one was an Esprit with a 350 / TH350 drivetrain. It was a decent car-it ran good and all it really needed was a paint job, a new vynil top and the front bucket seats recovered. Otherwise it was all there. The asking price was $2,500. I told him to buy that one-that even at 5 times the price-a complete, running car was a much better deal than the engineless, transmissionless,radiatorless,headlightless, taillightless, interiorless hulk. Forget the cover of Hot Rod magazine-By the time he chased down even a junkyard engine & tranny, all the accessories and all the interior parts, lights, trim pieces, etc to get it in at least street-legal, drivable condition-which the other one already was-he'd have WAY more than $2,500 invested-and the car would still need a lot of work. 99% of the time when your looking at a basket case-your just better off both financially and in terms of less grief-by just spending more money and getting a better car to start with.  # 2. A rare or special car missing key components is not a deal at any price. Obvious examples would be any Chrysler Hemi vehicle missing the Hemi engine, A Boss 302 or 429 Mustang missing the "Boss" engine, a fuel-injected '57 'Vette missing the  fuel-injection system / engine-even if you had an unlimited bankroll-the cost of finding a replacement original engine would be so prohibitive that you'd probably be better off just looking for another, finished car. Right now your going-"Well duh, everyone knows that"-because those are such obvious examples. But people attempt it on less-obvious stuff and get bogged down. They either can't find what they need or can't afford it and usually end up abandoning the project unfinished and selling it for a huge loss. Think about it-where are you going to find a complete, numbers-matching W30 455 or W31 350 Olds engine for any price? Or a 421 SD Pontiac?  Scoff if you want-"Well those are pretty much moon rocks too" "I know better than that." Really-do you think it's going to be either cheap or easy to find a K-Code, solid-lifter 271 Hp 289 and a Top-Loader 4-speed with 1965 date codes for that Mustang GT, or a 327 V8 and a Powerglide or T10 with 1962 or '63 date codes for that "engineless & transmissionless" Mustang or Impala SS that you "Stole?"  Sure you can go the junkyard 302 / C4 or 350 / TH350 route-but then it's not worth nearly as much when your done is it?  # 3. A friend of mine used to say "A rare turd is still a turd." Truer words were never spoken. Two-speed automatics, 3-speed sticks,column-shifted bucket seat cars, floor shift bench seat cars, two-barrel step-down engines, radio and heater-delete cars,cars with no power steering or power brakes etc, aren't valuable or collectible, their just weird. And just because the idiot that's selling it thinks it's worth major bucks, doesn't mean it's worth squat. In 1967-68 some GM marketing genius thought that by replacing the standard 350 hp 400 4bbl engines in the Olds 442 and Pontiac GTO with a 265 hp 2bbl version and calling them "Turnpike Specials" would really sell. The public was not amused. Their not worth anything today other than the fact that you may find a nicely preserved GTO or 442 body. But does anybody really want a GTO or 442 that can't outrun a Honda Accord from a light?  In early 1980 Chevrolet had trouble certifying the L48 and L82 350 engines for California. For a short time the only engine available in a Corvette in the sunshine state that year was a 305 that wheezed out 145 hp backed by a TH350!! No manual trans was offered either!!  Customers and the Buff mags howled to the high heavens about the great disturbance in the Force-and GM quickly responded certifying the L48 with a 4-speed or a TH350 and the L82 with the TH350 only-and order was restored. However-every once in a while on the Internet or in Hemmings I see some moron advertising an "Ultra-Rare" 1980 305 'Vette for a ridiculous price-and he's genuinely shocked when he gets no offers. # 4. Nothing with a Salvage title is a deal. That means at some point, some insurance company totalled the car, and some idiot thought he was getting a deal buying this wrecked car from a junkyard and rebuilding it. They almost never have a numbers-matching powertrain, they usually have problems like rust issues, or water or fire damage, or major electrical gremlins etc. 99% of the time their more trouble than their worth. And even if a first-class rebuild was done-their still not worth as much at resale time because everyone knows that a salvage title means it was totalled at some point in it's lifetime-and that scares away 99% of potential buyers. # 5. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Here's where most people screw themselves. They replace every nut and bolt on the car whether it needs it or not. This drives your restoration cost WAY up and you rarely recoup the money at resale time. I'm not talking about bodywork or paint or rebuilding the engine. I'm talking about replacing things that don't need to be replaced. I know a guy who was restoring a Road Runner that did this. He replaced the radiator even though the car ran fine and didn't overheat, and the radiator wasn't leaking. He replaced the power steering pump even though the one on the car worked perfectly,didn't make any noise and wasn't leaking. He replaced the alternator and starter even though the car started perfectly and the battery was always charged. Even though the car stopped perfectly fine and the condition of the pads and shoes were good, and it had good pedal and no vacuum or fluid leaks, he replaced the calipers, rotors,pads, drums, shoes, hardware, wheel cylinders, and master cylinder and booster. Why??  When he was done he had almost 40 grand in the car and had almost a brand-new old car-but when he had to sell it a few years later he got less than 25K for it. If he hadn't replaced every nut and bolt whether it needed it or not-he probably would have broke even or maybe made a few bucks instead of taking a $15,000 bath. Hope these tips help save somebody from making a big mistake. Mastermind                  

How to get all the performance out of your musclecar......Have a pro check it if you need to!!...

I talk to so many people that spend umpteen thousands of dollars on a musclecar and then are disappointed in the cars performance. Part of this problem is a lot of these people aren't mechanics and don't know what to look for. If your buying a restored car that someone wants $10,000 or more dollars for-they shouldn't object to you wanting a mechanic to look at it before forking over big dollars. If they refuse-look for another car. It's worth $100-most competent shops charge anywhere from $95-120 per hr depending on where you live-to have the car looked over by a third-party and maybe avoid buying something that looks good-but could be a money pit in need of major repairs. Here's the things to do-or ask the mechanic your paying for the inspection to do.  # 1. Do a compression test. Even an 8:1 "smog" motor will have 120-130 psi of compression. Higher performance engines will have 150 or more. Ultra high-compression engines-i.e.-L88 427s, Boss 351s etc can have 175-200+. The main thing is the readings should be uniform-within about 10 psi for all 8 cylinders. If one cylinder has only 80 or 90 psi-the car could have bad rings or a blown head gasket. You'd be amazed at the number of musclecars limping around on 6 or 7 cylinders. # 2. No high rpm power. I'm not talking about 7,000 or 8,000 rpm-many cars don't have the bottom-end or the valvetrain strength for that. But even a 318 Dodge with a 2bbl and 150,000 miles on it will rev to 5,000 rpm or so if nothing's wrong with it. If the car backfires or starts popping or loses power above 3,500-4,000 rpm-you could have a flat cam, broken valvesprings, or excessive timing chain slop. You'd be amazed at the number of musclecars I see with $5,000 paint jobs and $2,000 worth of tires and wheels that can't pull 5,000 rpm in low gear.  # 3. Bad / Neglected Ignition systems. This is probably the number one problem I see. The vacuum advance is inoperative or unplugged, the timing is way too slow or way too advanced, the points are closing up, one or more plug wires is bad, the rotor is burned up, etc. You'd be amazed at the cars I see with $5,000 paint jobs and the owner can't tell you the last time-if ever-that he changed the plugs,points, or cap, rotor and wires!!  # 4. Bad / Improperly tuned carburators. I see so many musclecars that have sinking floats,are set way too rich or way too lean, have throttle linkages that don't open all the way, warped baseplates or throttle shafts,major vacuum leaks, etc. It's worse for multi-carb applications like Tri-Power Pontiacs and Corvettes, Six-Pack Mopars, 409 Chevys, 426 Hemis etc. They drive it like grandma because their afraid of blowing it up. Many of these cars are only driven on and off the trailer. Then, the second it fouls a spark plug the owner starts screwing around with the carburator(s). Pretty soon it won't even start. If your buying a new carb-unless you've got a full-on race engine-most Holley or Edelbrock carbs work pretty good out of the box. If your working with an original carb-go to a shop that has an infrared analyzer and can actually measure how rich or lean the car is at idle and at speed. If it's a dual-quad or Tri-power setup find someone who's well versed in synchronizing multi-carb setups and pay them to do it right. Some hillbilly with a loud pickup that he tuned "by ear" is not the guy you want working on your prized car!!!   # 5. Transmissions. I see so many musclecars running around 1 or 2 qts low on transmission fluid, the kickdown linkage is inoperable or missing altogether, the vacuum modulator is unplugged or covered in grease and not working, and the fluid is brown or black and the owner can't tell you when, if ever-it was last changed. Even if you don't drive the car a lot-I'd change the fluid at least once a year. Make sure the kickdown is hooked up and working properly. Make sure the modulator is working properly. Invest in a B&M or TransGo shift kit. GM, Ford or Mopar-you can lose a ton of performance with a malfunctioning automatic trans. Ditto for sticks. I see so many cars with slipping clutches,chattering release bearings, shift linkages that bind up, etc. And these are easy fixes-a clutch replacement is not that hard to do, and not overly expensive even if you have a shop do it. Hurst has a rebuild program-you can send them your original shifter assembly and they'll put new bushings, shift rods, etc on it. # 6. Exhaust. How many musclecars do you see with rusted out or crushed exhaust systems, leaking manifolds or headers, that sound like sputtering dump truck?  Even if your running stock manifolds making sure the gaskets are seated properly and having good pipes and mufflers go a long way toward getting optimum performance. If you are running headers you'll need to replace the gaskets once in a while and re-torque the bolts often. If you can hear an exhaust leak-your losing a substantial amount of power. These simple tips will help you get the most bang for the buck even if the car is bone-stock. Mastermind            

Some '60's full-sizes that can be cool cruisers.....

Prior to 1964 most high-performance cars were full sizes-348 / 409 Impalas, 352 / 390 /406 Galaxies, 383 / 413 Belvederes, 389 / 421 Catalinas etc. Drag racing in the stock classes was hot and heavy, and NASCAR had great influence. That's where the term "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" came from. After the introduction of the Mustang and the GTO, followed quickly by the Olds 442 and SS396 Chevelle-manufacturers started concentrating on lighter cars as the performance leaders. However-there's a lot of full-sizes that make cool drivers-since they were usually the top of the line-they usually have upgraded interiors and other desirable factory options. Here's my favorites that offer the most "Bang" for the buck.  #1 1965-68 Pontiac. Be it a Catalina, Bonneville, or Gran Prix-'60's big Pontiacs offer a lot of value. While 99% of Chevy Impalas,Biscaynes, or Caprices had 283 or 327 small-block motivation-every Pontiac built since 1959 had at least 389 cubes under the hood, and some had 400, 421, or 428!  I like the '65 and later models mainly because they had the excellent TH400 automatic transmission. ( '64 and earlier models had the awful "Slim Jim" that wouldn't upshift above about half-throttle. That's how B&M got started; making them shift at full-throttle ). I really like the '65-66 models with their "Coke bottle" flanks-Chrysler actually copied this in designing the legendary '68-70 Charger. The '67-68 models are cool too-Arnold Schwarzenegger drove a '67 Catalina convertible in "The Last Action Hero" and Ray Liotta drove a '68 Gran Prix in "Goodfellas".  # 2. 1965-69 Ford Galaxie / XL. These have luxurious interiors and most have 390 cubes under the hood. The '65-66 models have styling very close to the '65 Pontiac which is, if anything a plus factor-their both great looking cars. # 3. 1967-68 Chevy Impala SS. These have cool interiors,racy fastback styling, and most have the 327 / TH400 drivetrain which is bulletproof. 396 and 427 versions command a King's Ransom, but the small-block versions are still reasonable. 75,600 were built in '67 and 38,200 were built in '68-so their not a moon rock. Dynamite if you can find one in decent shape.  # 4. 1967-69 Ford Thunderbird. I personally think these are one of the best looking cars Ford ever produced. Racy styling with hidden headlights and 390, 428 or 429 cubes under the hood. Some people like the 4-door models with their "Suicide Doors" but I like the 2 dr coupes. You can't go wrong either way. # 5. 1966-69 Buick Riviera. These had the racy, futuristic fastback, hidden headlight styling of the Olds Toronado but were rear-wheel drive. I think the Rivs had cleaner styling-even today they are still a great looking car. And with 430 cubes under the hood they move pretty good too. #6. 1965-69 Olds Delta 88. Great styling and 400,425 or 455 cubes under the hood. My mother had a '67 Delta 88 convertible that we loved. Even after I inadvertantly set the top on fire with a bottle rocket on the 4th of July....It was a cool ride-it had an AM/FM Stereo with an 8-track player and American Racing Torq-Thrust mags. Any of these cars would be a great driver / summer cruiser. Mastermind