Thursday, October 6, 2016
Lets do some Period Correct hot rods....'60s, '70's and '80's style....
Is everyone as sick as I am of cookie-cutter cars everywhere? It's seems the trend is one of two things-the car is either bone-stock, Concours, "Just as it Left the Factory" down to the hose clamps, or ( depending on if it's a GM, Ford or Chrysler product ) it has an LS motor, a Coyote, or a 5.7 / 6.1 / 6.4 Hemi backed by an six-speed manual or an overdrive automatic, with rack&pinion steering, a DSE or Global West suspension system, 4-wheel disc brakes, and 20 inch wheels. You know what I'd like to see? Some period correct stuff-like a '55 Chevy with no front bumper, a straight front axle, radiused rear wheel wells, and a snarling 327 or 427 backed by a Muncie 4-speed or a TH400. Real badass '60's "Gasser" / Street Racer style. Or a Camaro,Corvette, Firebird, Mustang, Cougar or Challenger done in '70's Trans-Am / IROC style. Flared fenders over huge tires on Minilite wheels, front and rear spoilers,loud side-exit exhausts-Picture Jerry Titus' famous # 8 T/A at Lime Rock, John Greenwoods Corvette at Laguna Seca, or Sam Poseys Challenger,Mark Donohues Javelin, or Parnelli Jones' Mustang. And the power to back it up with snarling 350 Chevys, 351W Fords,340 / 360 Mopars, and 400 Pontiacs and 401 AMC's. What about the late '70's truck and van craze? I'd love to see some 2wd, short bed, Chevy, Ford and Dodge pickups with lowered suspensions, fat tires, wild paint schemes, and thumpin' 454, 440, or 460 V8s under the hood. The Factories even got in on it-remember the Dodge "Adult Toys?" The Li'l Red Express hot rod 2wd pickup, the Warlock, and "Macho" 4wd models? They were cool. The GMC "Street Coupe" pickups and the "Nite" Package Ford pickups and Broncos? Or some cool vans with trick paint, fat tires, and outlandish interiors with TV's, waterbeds, stocked bars. How about some "Pro Street" tributes-an '80's Monte Carlo with a narrowed rear end, monster meats, and a tunnel-rammed 454 jutting out of the hood? I said it once before, but I think sports car guys are smarter. If you go to a sports car show you might see a '70's 240Z with a header and some Weber carbs,Koni struts and shocks and some wider wheels and tires, but you never see one with the engine and tranny out of a 2013 370Z!! You'll never see a 1969 Porsche 911 with the drivetrain out of a 2010 Carerra 4!! You don't see a 1967 Jaguar XKE with the Supercharged V8 out of 2009 XKR!!! You don't see a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 ( The "Goldfinger" car ) with the V12 out of a 2006 Vanquish!! Just had to vent that. Mastermind
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A variation of this idea: building cars that the fatory should have offered.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, a 1971-1972 Pontiac LeMans 4 door no b pillar hardtop with a period correct 455 HO, which Pontac failed to offer in any of its intermediates with more than 2 doors. And of course the GTO style T-41 front end. As far as I know, Pontiac never produced sales literature showing that nose on any 4 door or wagon, and would not even offer such in 1972 upon a non wagon 4 door.
Strangely, Pontiac would fail to offer the 4 door hardtop Le Mans and Le Mans Sport 4 door hardtops, leaving that body style available on their intermediate line only upon then new fender skirted Luxury Le Mans.