In 40+ years of experience you learn some things....

A lot of people ask me why I often contradict articles written in the buff magazines, or that I blithely poo-poo some "Experts" advice on what you "Gotta Have".  Here's why. My dad was a gearhead and restored and raced cars for many years. My mother says-not joking-that I could swap valvesprings in a small-block Chevy cylinder head before I could ride a two-wheel bike!  I worked in car dealers and independent shops for 38 years, and my friends and I drag-raced cars, ran "Street Stock", "Hobby Stock" and "Super Stock" cars on circle tracks for 20+ years. You learn quite a bit from your own experiences, and from talking to other people about theirs. That's why I'm confident, and yes I'll admit-sometimes even arrogant about my opinions. Anyhow-today I'll play "Mythbuster", and tell you why you don't need many of the "Gotta Haves" that you read about in the buff magazines.  # 1. Drivetrain and Suspension / Brake Upgrades. Have you noticed that every single magazine project car of late has a custom Currie-built 9 inch Ford rear end, a Richmond or Tremec 5 or 6-speed stick, or a beefed up 700R4 or 4L80E overdrive automatic and a Wildwood 4-wheel disc brake setup worthy of a NASCAR Nextel Cup car?  I'm all for safety and reliability, but honestly-let's take a look at Hot Rod's "Project Disco"-a 1978 Z/28 Camaro. First off the name implies that they were going to do a late '70's style project. Which would have been cool, with flared fenders, Minilite Wheels, and a snarling small or big-block Chevy. No-like all the mags-they should change their name to "Modern Fuelie Swap Monthly"-they put an LS3 and a six-speed in it!!  That's not very "Disco-era" at all!!  However-even choosing the modern LS motor-they spent a ton of money they didn't need to. '78 Z/28's had either a BW T10 4-speed manual or a TH350 automatic as standard equipment. Either one would have bolted up to the LS engine, and worked just fine. They didn't need to spend an extra 3 grand on the six-speed conversion. For what? To reduce freeway crusing rpm by 500 rpm?  Ditto for the rear axle. '78 Z/28's have an 8.5 inch ring gear positraction rear end with either 3.42:1 or 3.73:1 gears. Perfect for a street / strip machine. And their tough. I've had 400 and 455, 4-speed Trans-Ams with this rear end, and popped the clutch at 4,000 rpm many times drag racing or just screwing around and never broke the rear end. As for the brakes-are they saying that the factory front disc / rear drum setup isn't adequate to stop the car safely in daily driving or on a weekend trip to the drags? I have a friend who Autocrossed a '76 T/A ( They use the same braking system as the Camaro ) very successfully with the stock brakes. He figured out that if he used Bendix or Ferodo Police-Spec Semi-Metallic D52 pads and Dot 5 fluid, that the brakes would not fade, even after back to back to back runs!!  In fact-the main problem was the Dot 3 fluid boiling and causing a mushy pedal. With the Dot 5 fluid-everything was peachy. Same thing for a Circle-Track racer who had a '70's Camaro front clip on his "Super Stock" champion car that ran on 1/4 mile and 1/2 mile tracks. Even on a 50 lap main event on a 1/4 mile track-his stock braking system never faded-if he used Dot 5 fluid and the Police-Spec pads!!  So this project car in no way "needed" the additonal 10 grand that they spent on the Currie 9 inch rear,Wildwood 4-wheel disc setup and six-speed conversion!! They do that stuff to sell their advertisers products. They have to to stay in business. But honestly-I have never seen anyone break a Chrysler 8 3/4 inch rear, ( Even with a 505 stroker with nitrous in a 9 second Duster! ) or an 8.5 Gm 10 Bolt. Does that extra 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch on the ring gear really make that much difference?  I guess if you were running a 720 hp GMPP 572 with a stick or a TH400 with a 5,000 rpm converter and a trans-brake and wrinklewall slicks bolted to the rims, it might. But for the other 99% of you-you probably don't NEED a Dana 60 or a custom 9 inch rear!!!  Same thing for transmissions. Unless you have over 500 hp-a TH350 or a C4 will work fine with a shift kit and the proper cooler. You don't "Gotta Have" a TH400 or a C6. Some of the newer T10s advertised in Summitt may only show a 375 lb torque rating. Puhleeze. GM used the T10 ( the design has never changed, only the metallurgy of the gears and the modern ones are a lot stronger than the old ones ) behind Super Duty 421 Pontiacs and 409 Chevys-that easily had over 500 lbs ft of torque!!  The T5 BW 5-speeds used in '80's Camaros and Mustangs supposedly only have a 300 lb torque rating. I know a guy that swapped in a STRONG 350, and it lasted 13 months with him going to the drags every weekend and powershifting through probably 30 hard passes a week! If he'd drove the car normally ir probably would have lasted 5 years!  I know Mustang racers with nitrous that run 10s and have never blown their T5. I wouldn't put one behind a 454 or a 392 stroker, but you get the gist. You don't need to upgrade your tranny on your 302 'Stang or 305 IROC-Z because you installed an Edelbrock intake and matching cam!!  # 2. Bottom-end and Valvetrain Beef.  "You gotta have a 4-bolt main block" "You gotta have a forged crank." "You gotta have screw-in studs" "You gotta have forged pistons" and so on. These "Experts" are half-right. If your building a NASCAR engine that has to go 7,800 rpm for 500 miles at Daytona, yes you need all the beef you can get. But for a STREET engine, that will never see the high side of 6,500 rpm, and only maybe get the occasional weekend trip to the drags-you don't need all that stuff. Save your money for cams, headers, carb and intake, gears, etc-stuff that really gives you "bang for the buck". Here's why. People don't know-it's not load or rpm that breaks things. It's SUSTAINED load. That's why through the '70's and '80's GM medium and heavy-duty trucks with 350 Chevys in them always had 4-bolt mains and steel cranks, even though Camaros and Corvettes often had 2-bolt main blocks and cast cranks. Huh? The reason is the trucks were going to be constantly loaded and or towing heavy loads which put much more strain on the crank than the occasional full-throttle blast of the Camaro and Corvette owner. Ford NEVER had a forged crank for 351 Cleveland engines. And neither did the aftermarket. Yet drag racers like "Dyno Don" Nicholson and Bob Glidden ran 9 second 1/4s in Pro Stock, often shifitng at 8,000 rpm with stock 351C cranks!! Bud Moore and Bobby Isaac campaigned a 351C Torino in NASCAR with a stock crank. They were that tough. As for rods-most people don't know it-about 97% of rod failure-even in racing engines occurs AT THE BOLT. So if your rebuilding an engine-you don't need an ultra-expensive set of Eagle or Milodon forged rods. A set of chrome-moly rod bolts is good insurance. Even on supposedly "weak" factory rods. Pontiac rods ( Except for forged Super Duty's ) have a reputation for being "weak". However my friends and relatives have had numerous GTOs and Firebirds and Ventura project cars over the years-many which ran in the 11s or 12s-so they had SERIOUS power-and as long rpms were limited to 6,400 on a 400 or 5,800 on a 455-we never had a rod failure!!  Ditto for forged pistons. Their noisy, and they require loose clearances ( they expand when hot ) so they use some oil. Cast pistons run quiet and are dead-reliable. I'd recommend forged pistons only if you going to run a blower or nitrous. And to that I'd ask-if you have that much money and need to go that fast-then why aren't you building a 454 instead of a 350? Or a 440 instead of a 360? Or whatever-you get the point. As for valvetrain-people will tell you you have to have screw-in studs, or roller rockers, or chrome-moly pushrods, or a stud girdle, or whatever. Again-if your buidling that NASCAR engine, yes. A street / strip machine or even a short-track racer?  No. I know guys who have ran small-block Chevy and Ford engines in circle-track racing classes for years with two-bolt main blocks, cast cranks and pistons and stock heads and have run the engines two whole seasons without a problem. And these engines are under much more sustained load than your street car will ever be. As for failures-I've seen broken valve springs, broken pushrods, broken rocker arms, and jumped timing chains. But in 40 years I have NEVER seen a stud pull out of a head!!  So before you spend your hard-earned money on a bunch of beef and machine work that you don't really need, talk to some of us old guys. We might be able to save you big bucks. Mastermind
           

Make sure everything's right before you start throwing parts at it....

A lot of people ask me how to get the most performance out of a certain car for a certain budget,and they always ask-what should I buy first? Gears? Headers? A carb and intake? One thing they forget is to make sure the car is in top operating condition BEFORE you start modifying it. Here's a list of important things that many people don't check. # 1. Do a simple compression test. Even an 8:1 "smog" motor will have 120-130 psi of compression. Higher performance engines will have 150 psi or more. The main thing is the readings should be uniform for all 8 cylinders-within 5-10 psi of each other. If one or more cylinders only has 80 or 90 psi-you could have a serious problem like burned valves, bad rings or a blown head gasket. You'd be amazed at the number of cars I see 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 valvetrain or bottom-end for that. But a 318 Dodge with a 2bbl and 150,000 miles on it will rev to 5,000 rpm or so. If the car starts missing or popping above 3,500-4,000 rpm, you could have a flat cam or excessive timing chain slop. You'd be amazed at the number of cars 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 Ignition. This one is probably the most prevalant. I see cars all the time where the vacuum advance is unplugged or inoperable, the timing is way too slow or way too advanced, the points are closing up, it has one or more bad wires, a cracked distributor cap, etc. Again-you see cars with $5,000 paint jobs sputtering around and the owner can't tell you the last time-if ever-he changed the points,plugs, and cap, rotor and wires!!  # 4. Bad or improperly adjusted carb(s). I see cars all the time where the throttle linkage doesn't open fully, the kickdown cable isn't hooked up,the throttle shafts are warped, the float is sinking, their jetted way too rich or way too lean, theirs vacuum leaks everywhere. It's worse on Tri-Power Pontiacs, Six-Pack Mopars, 409 Impalas, Hemi Chryslers, and other multi-carb vehicles I may have missed. Their so afraid of blowing it up that they drive it like grandma on Prozac. It never sees the high side of 3,000 rpm, and usually is only driven on and off the trailer. Then, the second it fouls a spark plug, the owner starts screwing around with the carburators. Pretty soon it won't even start. Here's how to avoid this. Put your 50 year old, numbers-matching carb in a box in case you ever want to sell the car or re-install it for a Concours show. New Holley or Edelbrock 4bbls work pretty damn good out of the box on 99% of applications. If you have a multi-carb setup-take it to a shop that has an infrared anaylyzer and a carb synchronizer and have them re-jet or adjust the carbs properly and then leave them alone!!  If your going to drive it like grandma, then go a range or two hotter on the plugs. If you decide to take a road trip or go to the drags, changing back to the colder heat range plugs for high-speed driving is pretty easy. And like the GTO song-once in a while you need to "Turn it on, wind it up, blow it out". I'm not saying run your Hemi 'Cuda to 7 grand and risk putting a picture window in the side of the block; But running it up to say 4,500 rpm through the gears occasionally or a full-throttle blast up a freeway on-ramp once in a while will go a long way towards keeping it running properly for when you DO want to put the hammer down. # 5. Bad transmissions. You'd be amazed at the number of cars I see with slipping or chattering clutches, shift linkages that bind up, automatics that are 2 qts low on fluid, or the fluid looks like mud, the vacuum modulator is unplugged or inoperable, etc. If you have a stick make sure the linkage works properly and that the clutch isn't slipping and is adjusted properly. Hurst has a rebuild program where you can send in your factory shifter and they'll re-furbish it with new bushings, shift rods, etc. If you have an automatic-make sure the fluid is clean and full. Make sure the vacuum modulator is working properly and that the kickdown linkage is hooked up properly. A B&M or TransGo shift improver kit is pretty simple to install and will greatly improve shift quality and performance. Making sure these simple things are right can make a huge difference in preformance. A shop I worked at had a dyno and we offered performance dyno tuning. Even on a bone-stock engine, bad tuning can cost you as much as 50 hp!  So before you go plunk down your credit card for a cam kit, or headers or a carb / intake combo or a high-stall converter or whatever-make sure the car is in top running condition to begin with. A hot cam isn't going to help if you've got a blown head gasket!  Mastermind    

You may not always like what I say....But it'll be the truth!!

Had some people upset with my review of  "John Wick Chapter 2" and my bagging on "Gator"-the "White Lightning" follow-up. What did you want me to do, lie and say I liked them?  Both the "John Wick" movies had plot holes you could drive a semi through. And I am sick of CGI. Guy jumps six feet in the air, rotates his body clockwise, kicks 3 guys in the face, does a backflip and lands on his feet. It can't be done, we know it can't be done, we know the actor isn't doing it, so why put it on screen?  Is the target audience 13 year old boys?  At least if Chuck Norris or Jean-Claude Van Damme, or Jackie Chan, did something even if it looked inelegant-you knew you had an actor / athlete doing something 99% of the rest of the population couldn't do. Classics like "Bullitt" and the "Seven-Ups" and the "French Connection" are still watchable today because you had brave stuntmen and actors- ( Steve McQueen and Gene Hackman did some of the stunt driving in "Bullitt" and the "French Connection" ) doing great things with great cars. Unlike the CGI dreck of the "Transporter" movies and the later "F&F" movies. ( The 4th one was the last one that had any remotely believable or do-able stunts. Like putting lead in the rear bumper of Vin Diesel's Chevelle to make it wheelie )  Anyhow-"White Lightning" was a good movie. "Gator" wasn't.  "Smokey and the Bandit" was a cute and funny, light-hearted car-chase comedy.  The second "Bandit" was awful-with the pregnant elephant and Jackie Gleason's Buford T. Justice having triplett brothers,-ugh!!  The Original "Death Wish" was a compelling commentary on crime in society, and one man's 180 degree reversal of his beliefs after his family's tragic attack. Bronson should have got an Oscar.  Bronson was also great in the original "Mechanic" and in the Elmore Leonard penned "Mr. Majestyk". The multiple "Death Wish" sequels that he phoned in in the '80's and '90's were terrible, even by mindless action-movie standards. If something's good I'll say it, and If something's bad, I'll say it. And you can have good and bad things in the same film. For example I liked "The Driver" with Ryan O' Neal and Bruce Dern for the most part. Except for the finale. O' Neal is driving a 2wd, stick-shift ( those '70's trucks were so awful to shift with those "granny" transmissions ) '76 Chevy Pickup. The guy he's chasing is driving a '76 Trans-Am. If the truck was a 454 / TH400 a drag race would have been competitive, but going around corners over city streets?  The T /A would leave him in 2 blocks!!  Ironically-earlier in the film, O 'Neal was driving a '77 Firebird!!  Now if he was chasing the T/A in that, it would have been believable!!  And as for the women in "White Lightning" and "Gator"-like I said-Jennifer Billingsley was sexy as hell and played her part perfectly. Lauren Hutton was as wooden as she always was, and at the time the movie was made-Burt Reynolds was 40 and she was 33. Both too old for the '70's "meet cute" "I hate you, now I love you" bullshit that was popular in the late '70's / early '80's. And her "Plucky Girl Reporter" schtick made me think-"Nancy Fuckin' Drew"-at 35!!  ( If you don't know Nancy Drew was a teenage-girl detective in several young adult books and a TV series starring a pre-Dynasty Pamela Sue Martin ). Anyhow-her New York TV Station bound city girl would have thought Gator was coarse and a hick, and Gator would have thought her stuck-up and longed for another roll in the hay with the barefoot "Shake a Puddin"!!  I just couldn't care if they had sex or not!!  And they could have really dug into "Bama McCall's" character-which they didn't. And the crazy lady with the cats?  Whose Idea was that?  Anyhow-hopefully the next flick with musclecars in it will be better written and directed. And I'll tell you honestly if it is, or if it isn't!!  Mastermind  

"Gator" just doesn't cut the mustard...

There's talk of Quentin Tarantino doing a remake of "White Lightning." I gave my opinion on that in a previous post, and a lot of people consider "White Lighning" not only a great action film and a "cult classic" but perhaps Burt Reynolds' best work besides "Deliverance."  I agree. "Lightning" was a lean, mean revenge thriller with a great cast and great action. It opens with "Gator" being visited in prison by his cousin, telling him that his college-student younger brother has been murdered in Bogen county and that they think the corrupt sheriff was involved. After a botched escape attempt, Gator cuts a deal with the feds to get the Sheriiff on income-tax evasion and bribery charges in exchange for getting out of prison. Burt was at the top of his game-this was when he still acted-before "The Longest Yard" and "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Cannonball Run" where he began phoning in his "Good Ol' Boy" persona in lighweight comedies. Ned Beatty-was awesome as the Corrupt Sheriff Connors-his scary performance rivaling Strother Martin's in "Cool Hand Luke". ( "What we have here is a failure to communicate." ) Since he was the meek businessman raped in "Deliverance" his portrayal of an evil, sadistic southern badass shows exceptional range as an actor. Bo Hopkins and R.G. Armstrong were excellent as corrupt moonshiner's, as was Matt Clark as a tragic government informant who reluctantly helps Gator. Jennifer Billingsley just oozed sex as "Shake a Puddin'"-her dark brown roots showing in her bleach-blond hair, barefoot in that skimpy mini-sundress for most of the movie, nailing the southern slut that men die and kill for. Others have tried it-Kim Basinger in "No Mercy", Teri Hatcher in "Heaven's Prisoner's" and most recently Reese Witherspoon in "Mud", but none come close to Jennifer's performance. Anyhow-Matt Clark's advice to Gator early on plays out. "If you want to get that Sheriff, your gonna have to kill him." "Gator" opens after the events of "White Lighning", with Gator out of prison and living in a Swamp with his father and teenage daughter. Ok-here's a cutesy twist- and a big plot hole that just doesn't fly. In the first film, there's no mention of Gator having any kids. He visited his mother and father on a large family farm. His dad-who had apprently retired from making illegal moonshine and was living happily on this farm, was angry at Gator for working for the Feds and refused to speak to him further after finding out he was turning "liquor people" over to the Feds. His mother was sad, and didn't want him to get killed like his brother. So what happened to his mother? There's no mention of her dying or leaving the old man. And what happened to the family farm? There's no mention of it being lost to foreclosure or back taxes. And where did this teenage kid come from? There's no mention of her mother, ever. So the Feds tell Gator they'll throw him back in Jail and take his kid away unless he helps nail "Bama Mc Call"-a gangster who runs drugs and prostitution and extortion all over the State of Georgia. Why Georgia? "Gator" was set in Arkansas. Jerry Reed does a fair job as a sawed-off shotgun toting crimelord. The rest of the movie is a wreck. It's like the director-Reynolds in his directing debut-couldn't decide if he wanted to make a badass southern fried revenge tale-ala-"A Small Town in Texas" or a dipshit comedy. There's the lard-ass, bumbling New Yorker Fed "Irving Greenfield" and the crazy cat lady, who get involved in the investigation. There's also model Lauren Hutton-who's best work was spending a lot of time naked in "Little Fauss and Big Halsy" as a TV reporter who senses a big story-but comes off as a too-old and too feminist Nancy Drew. Her and Burt have no chemistry whatsoever-unlike the white heat he and Billingsly had in "Lightning"-you really can't care about their by-the-numbers romance that can't go anywhere. Even the fight-to the finish between Bama and Gator on a beach isn't that good. It's just a mess. They tried to do too much very late '70's social issues laced with inane comedy. They should have delved into Gator and "Bama's relationship more. Did they go to high school together?  Serve in the Army together? Do time in prison together? Why do they have this great mutual respect even though their on opposite sides of the law?  Anyway-people ask often why there wasn't a "Lightning" sequel. There was, it just wasn't very good!  Mastermind          

John Wick Chapter 2 is just as bad as the first....

Back in 2014 Keanu Reeves had a surprise hit playing a retired hitman who goes on a rampage of vengance after his wife dies and the puppy she left him is killed and his 1969 Boss 429 Mustang is stolen by Russian mobsters. It had plot holes you could drive a semi-truck through-( Why did this supposedly healthy, gorgeous, maybe 35 year old woman played by-Bridget Moniyhan-Tom Brady's ex and Tom Selleck's daughter on "Blue Bloods"-suddenly drop dead? And how did she know the exact moment of her demise so she could send him the puppy the day of her funeral? )  Why and how did he have such a unique car as a Boss 429, that's probably worth $250,000?  Besides the plot holes, it also had a bunch of over-the-top action sequences and the kill-ratio of an arcade game. Anyhow it made a pile of money, which of course spawned a sequel.  Chapter 2 opens with a pretty good chase scene between a motorcycle and a 1970 SS396 Chevelle-which chop-shop owner John Leguizamo had loaned Wick in the first one after the theft of the "Boss". You don't see the driver's face, until he's searching the dead motorcyclist for something. He finds the lead, and goes to a taxi company / chop shop, Where the brother of the Russian gangster he killed in part one has the Boss 429 and other hot premium high-end cars stored. Here I start to cringe. The Russian mobster's underling has the right idea. "If this man is so lethal,why don't we just give the car back and apologize and avoid further bloodshed?"  Of course that reasonable idea is nixed. Now I start to cringe. The Boss gets basically destroyed in a demolition derby / chase with gangsters in taxis and on motorcycles. As I watch it I hope the stunt crew bought a beater '69 Mach 1 and dressed it in Boss regalia-spoilers,scoops,louvers etc. Even if the original movie grossed hundreds of millions I hope that no one would actually destroy a "real" Boss 429!!!  It was sickening to watch if you like musclecars. Anyway he kills everyone, has a drink and declares a truce with the gangster and limps the totalled Boss home. He buries his weapons again and decides to retire again. Leguizamo shows up with a tow truck and promises to restore the Boss to it's former glory. Again were treated to small cell-phone camera glimpses of the smokin' hot Bridget Moniyhan, but no "flashback" back story of how this wonderful woman got involved with a mob hitman, no clue to what killed her-heart attack, brain tumor? Poison by his enemies?  Nothing. That's maddening in itself.  They could have had just a few minutes of scenes of them together explaining their relationship that would have went a long way to making it a better film, and explaining the first one. Nope. We've got explosions and video-game violence to get back to. Can't waste time on stuff like dialogue or character development!!  This other gangster who supposedly helped Wick retire the first time is calling in the favor wanting Wick to kill his sister who has a seat on the high commission of gangsters. Of course the commission won't disallow this prick from inheriting her position after he has her murdered, right? Another UPS truck-size plot hole. Wick refuses so the guy blows up his house. Wick then goes to the "Continental" a chain of luxury hotels / safehouses ( this was introduced in the first one ) where hitmen and other intelligence types can find sanctuary and no killing is allowed on the premises. Ian McShane returns as the proprietor of the place and tells Wick that he has to do the job for the guy, that all contracts must be honored. So Wick goes to Rome where the sister is having a big party. Upon meeting Wick they have a polite conversation about her brother's plot, and she takes her clothes off, slashes her wrists and bleeds to death while Wick holds her hand and apologises. Now the fact that she killed herself, I would think might go a long way to getting Wick off the hook with the powers that be, and screwing the brother. No he puts a bullet in her head anyway. Why? She was already dead, so why "Sign" your work?  He almost escapes when he runs into the Rapper "Common"-who was excellent on the western series "Hell on Wheels" as Anson Mount's sometime friend / nemesis. Common was the woman's bodyguard. Him and Reeves shoot each other-but they both have bulletproof suits on. So now Common and a bunch of other thugs go after Reeves who has to mow them all down in more arcade game style violence. Common and Reeves have a big fight that ends in the lobby of the Rome "Continental" where manager Franco Nero reminds them of the "no-kill" rule and offers to buy them both a drink. They have a drink and agree to kill each other another time. The brother of the slain woman then double-crosses Wick, instead of declaring his debt paid, he puts out an open contract for $7 million to avenge his sister. Now professional hitmen ( and women ) come out of the woodwork at every turn causing Reeves to show a good bit of athleticism and martial-arts training as well as much gunplay and knife-fighting. There's also a hitwoman / bodyguard of the crooked brother that for some unexplained reason is a mute that commuicates in sign language, but apparantly has the training of a Navy Seal. There's also Laurence Fishburne who apparently is some kind of intelligence operative that has an army of people also with Navy Seal type training and state of the art weaponry that masquerade as homeless people. This is never explained either. Reeves has to kill Common on a train, and about fifty other people including the mute girl before catching up with the guy who betrayed him in the bar of the "Continental". Ian McShane begs him not to do it, but Wick blows the guys brains out in the bar, violating the Cardinal Rule. Why? The guy can't live in the safehouse forever. You wait until he comes out and get him on the street. Or since Ian McShane knew the whole story, and thought Wick was totally being screwed-they could have went  to the "Commission" and had the other guy "excommunicated".  No the director wanted to rip off Charles Bronson ,Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, and every other '70's action star for one moment. Which paints him into a corner. Mc Shane has no choice but to "excommunicate" Wick from the "Continental's" services. This of course will set up "Chapter 3" with more video-game mayhem. Too bad. If they'd spent a little more on story and character development, and a little less on blood and bullets and mayhem, they might have really had something. Instead you got two hours of "Grand Theft Auto". When is Hollywood going to learn?  Not until people stop paying good money for dreck like this and the "Fast&Furious". That sequel is coming out too. How did "Dominic Toretto" go from street-racing thug to James Bond? That's another rant for another time...Mastermind      

More "Factory Freaks" that people think are valuable....But Aren't!!

Some people were offended by me saying that certain cars aren't valuable, just weird. Sorry if the truth hurts, people. Here's some more people who think they have a diamond that's really a chunk of coal. # 1. 1972 Chevelle SS. From 1966-1970 the "SS" moniker on a Chevelle meant a Rat motor-usually a 396, for 1970 a 402 ( marketed as a 396, but actually 402 inches ) or a 454. For some reason in 1971 Chevrolet made the SS option available on any V8 Malibu. Which meant you could have a badass looking ride with a 2bbl 307 V8 that wheezed out 130 hp. This clown had the L65 350 with a 2bbl that had 165 hp. Of course because it's "rare" he thinks it's worth major bucks. Sorry, pal "rare" doesn't always mean "valuable".  # 2. 1972 Olds 442. Same thing here. From 1965-71 the 442 was it's own model and had either 400 ( 1965-69 ) or 455 ( 1970-71 ) cubes as standard equipment. In '72 the 442 package became an "Appearance and Handling" package on any 2 dr Cutlass model. So this guys 442 that has a 160 hp 2bbl 350, bench seats, and a column-shifted automatic is NOT worth as much as a 455, 4-speed W30 1970 model, even though there were fewer 350 2bbl models produced!!  Like I said about the "Turnpike Special" GTO-no one wants a Chevelle SS or 442 that can't outrun a 4-cylinder Honda Accord from a light!!  # 3. 1979 Trans-Am. For some insane reason in 1979 if you wanted to knock $150 off a ten grand sticker-in place of the 400 Pontiac and 403 Olds engines you got a 301 Pontiac V8 that wheezed out 150 hp. This guy is proud of his-it's black and gold-full "Bandit" regalia-T-Tops, 8 inch snowflake wheels, 4-wheel disc brakes, WS6 suspension, etc. It's a great looking car. That again-will gets it's ass handed to him by a soccer mom in a Camry. He doesn't understand why he can't sell it for $30,000!! Because hey-a buddy of his got 40k for his '79 T/A.  A 400, 4-speed,WS6, 10th Anniversary model with 8,000 original miles!!  Does the term "Apples and Oranges" come to mind?  # 4. 1971 T-37 Tempest. This guy was mortally offended when I suggested that he swap the 2bbl 350 / 3-speed manual for a 400 or 455 and a 4-speed, and put some front disc brakes on it from another A-body-( Chevelle, Monte Carlo, Cutlass, Buick Skylark, LeMans ) or get a conversion kit from Summit. "And ruin it's value?" he sneered incredulously. Tell me, what value does a 2bbl 350, 3-speed manual,4-wheel drum braked, strippy Tempest have?  If it had a 455HO ( which was an option ) and a Rock-Crusher 4-speed or a TH400 ( which were mandatory with the 455HO ) it would be worth major bucks. But If anyone actually wants a 350 Tempest or LeMans-who ISN'T planning on making a GTO clone-you can buy them for a lot less than this guy thinks his is worth. You can buy a Ram Air III Judge for less than what this guy THINKS the Tempest is worth!!  # 5. 1981 Z/28 Camaro. For some insane reason in 1981 if you bought a Z/28 with an automatic you got a 190 hp 350 backed by a TH350 and a 3.42:1 posi rear. If you wanted a 4-speed-you got a 305 that wheezed out 145 hp. I say insane reason because 1981 emission standards were not noticably stricter than 1980. And you could get a 350 / 4-speed combo in the Corvette. ( In 1980 Z/28's you could get a 4-speed with the 350. You got a 3.08:1 rear axle, but the tranny had a 3.44 1st and a 2.28 second. A great combo-harder acceleration than previous years 2.64 low and 3.73:1 rear, and much better fuel economy and top-speed on the highway! )  Anyhow-this guy is proud of his 305 model that even has the "Cowl Induction" hood. Sounds badass while you run 17 second 1/4's and get your lunch eaten by little boys in Honda Civics and soccer moms in non-turbo Subaru Foresters!!  He too was aghast when I suggested he swap in a healthy 350 or 383. If you want to buy and love some oddball car that's fine. I've always been a "Whatever Floats your Boat" kind of guy. But don't be offended and deride others who may not think it's the cat's meow, and might innocently point out that the same model with different options would be more valuable to the general public!!  Again-"Rare" doesn't always compute into "Valuable". There's a good reason why certain combinations didn't sell a lot!  Mastermind                

"Factory Freaks" aren't collectible....Their just weird!

I've had several people email me telling me about their ultra-rare cars, and some lamenting that they don't understand why they can't sell the car for the insane asking price-I mean after all it is 1 of 1 right?  A buddy of mine used to say "A Rare Turd, is still a Turd." Truer word were never spoken. Here's some of the more entertaining ones. # 1. 1966 427 Corvette. This guy is perplexed that even though he's asking $100,000 for the car-no one's even offered him 50. Why? you ask-427 Stingrays go for 50-100k all the time in Hemmings, right? What's wrong with this one?  It's a 390 hp 427 backed by a Powerglide!!  Why GM was doing this I don't know. The excellent 3-speed TH400 that was used well into the '90's was introduced in the "big" cars-i.e Chevy Impala, Pontiac Catalina, etc in 1965. Yet if you bought a musclecar-a 396 Chevelle, a GTO or 442-and wanted an automatic you got the awful 2-speed Powerglide / ST300. The TH400 wasn't used in GTO's or Chevelles until 1967! And why in God's name did they offer a Rat-motored 'Vette with one? You couldn't get a TH400 in a 'Vette until 1968!!  With a 1.76:1 low gear and a 1:1 second-anything with a Powerglide was a dog. ( TH400s have a 2.48:1 1st, a 1.48 2nd and a 1:1 third. TH350s have similar gearing-2.52,1.52,1:1.)  So even a 427 powered 'Vette is going to be a slug with a "Powerslide" and 3.08:1 or 3.36:1 gears, when others had a 4-speed and 3.70s or 4.11s!! On the upside-a TH350 is an exact bolt-in for a Powerglide-their the exact same length and use the same rear trans mount and driveshaft yoke. So the owner or a prospective buyer could swap in a TH350 and get a huge performance boost. But the exorbitant price he's asking-I mean let's be honest-I've seen documented L88's for 100 grand! And I've seen Tri-Power 435 hp, 4-speed models for 50-75!! People just go-okay that's unique, but not interested. # 2. 1967 GTO. This guy is proud of the fact that his GTO has 265 hp 2bbl engine-( The "Turnpike" special ) backed by a TH400 and 2.93:1 gears. Oh, and it has a Hurst Dual / Gate shifter. Why some dumb-ass sales manager ordered a GTO with a step-down engine and a ratchet shifter, I don't know. Maybe it was "price leader" come on gimmick. Anyway, this guy doesn't know why people aren't in awe of his pristine GTO that can't outrun a Honda Accord from a stoplight!  When I suggested he invest in a factory or aftermarket 4bbl carb and intake and some 3.55:1 gears to get a huge performance boost, he was aghast. "Modify a rare classic?" he said incredulously. Couldn't convince him that his car wasn't worth anything other than being a clean GTO body; he thinks it's worth more than a Ram Air IV Judge-because there's less of his model! Good luck with that. Which brings up Idiot # 3. 1980 Corvette. For a short time in 1980 Chevrolet had no 350 V8s cerified with California emissions. So while the other 49 states could buy 1980 Corvettes with a 190 hp L48 350 with either a 4-speed or a TH350, or the 230 hp L82 with a TH350-in California you could only get a 305 that wheezed out 145 hp backed by a slushbox. Enthusiasts and the buff magazines howled bloody murder. Chevrolet reacted quickly and got the 350s EPA Certified for California, and the great disturbance in the force was quelled. However, every once in a while you see some idiot advertsing his "Ultra-rare" 305 'Vette for sale for some outrageous price-usually more than what people ask for late '70's L82 / 4-speed Silver Anniversary or Indy Pace Car models. And their shocked that they have no offers. Anyhow-cars like this aren't collectible, their just weird. I've seen Mach 1 Mustangs with stripes,spoilers,hood scoops,rear window louvers, and Magnum 500 wheels-full badass regalia-with 2bbl 351s under the hood. I've seen Dodge Chargers with 2bbl 383s and 400s under the hood. Three-speed sticks, two-speed automatics, cars with no power steering, etc-are just odd. I've seen Pontiac Gran Prixs with 4-speed manuals behind 400s and 428s, I've seen Monte Carlos with 4-speed sticks, and with a three on the tree! Back in the '60's and '70's if something was standard equipment or optional-you can bet some idiot wanted it-no matter how odd it was. But I wouldn't pay big bucks for one. Here's a perfect example a guy is asking $70,000-that's righ I said seventy grand not seven-for a 1971 Dodge Demon. He say he can document that it's the only one sold by Mr Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge. It has a 340 V8 that Mr Norms supposedly put a "Six-Pack" induction system on as a dealer-installed option. The car also has ugly plaid vynil bench seats, no power steering, no guages, four-wheel drum brakes, and it's a 3-speed stick. And it has a vynil top. On the same website their selling a pristine 1973 340 Duster that has a Torqeflite,bucket seats and a console, power steering, power front disc brakes, and factory a/c. And a factory sunroof. And it was priced at $29,000. I say priced because it sold in less than a week. Gee, wonder why the "1 of 1" Demon hasn't sold for 70K??  70 K? That's 440 / Six-Pack Charger or Challenger money pal, not for a strippy 340 Demon with ugly upholstery!!  Anyhow-unless their dirt-cheap, I'd avoid these "rare" turds. I mean birds. Mastermind