More on budget customizing.....

In the last post I talked about customizing your car with junkyard parts. The other thing my friends and I did back in the '70's and '80's was adapt cool stuff-even if it came from another manufacturer. Some examples a guy I knew had a Firebird that had a "Pistol Grip" Hurst shifter ala "Vanishing Point". The stick would bolt up to any Hurst linkage, so it was pretty easy. It looked cool in the Firebird interior. Another guy had a Pontiac GTO / Firebird style Hood Tach on his Nova, and inside had a '70's T/A style console with a Hurst Dual / Gate shifter in it, and the T/A's "Formula" steering wheel. A guy I went to school with had swivel bucket seats out of a Cutlass in his '74 Challenger. Another guy bought a wrecked '72 El Camino and put a LeMans / GTO "Endura" front end on it, and dropped in the 400 Pontiac and TH400 out of the donor LeMans. He even transplanted the Pontiac dash and bucket seats and had a "GTO" Elky. It was unique, and cool and fast. And cheap to build. A Ford guy did the same thing with a '68 Ranchero. He put a '68 Cougar front clip on it with the hidden headlights and everything. It looked mean, and with a warmed-over 390 under the hood it was mean. I knew two guys-one had a '64 LeMans with a stompin' 425 Olds V8 under the hood-which had a Thunderbolt-style teardrop scoop on it-and a sinister black paint job and Cragar SST wheels, while the other guy had a '65 Cutlass with a tunnel-rammed 454 in it that was definitely Jules' wallet from Pulp Fiction!  A neighbor had a '61 Impala that was originally a 283 / 3-speed car. He swapped in a 396 and a 4-speed. It was seriously quick. Then there was the kid that had a 304 V8 Gremlin X. Since AMC engines are like Pontiacs-their all externally identical-putting in a 401 V8 out of a wrecked Matador Police car was a bolt-in swap. With it's short wheelbase and good weight distribution, it made a great drag racer. He shocked many supposedly badass Camaro,Chevelle, Firebird, Charger and Mustang drivers!! One guy built the slickest Ford Torino I've ever seen. It was a '70 or '71 model with the hidden headlights. He removed all the chrome trim and filled the holes in, and blacked out the bumpers and window moldings. He removed the chrome door handles and installed flush-fitting, body-colored Honda Accord door handles. They looked like they grew there. He installed a Pontiac Fiero GT rear wing-which was exactly the right width and looked like it belonged. It was jet-black and had black modular wheels and fat tires and a 'Cuda AAR-style side-exit exhaust that sounded wicked. With a pumped up 351C under that long hood-it could back up the image. The car was subtle, yet totally badass. I thought it was cooler looking than Mel Gibsons Falcon XB Interceptor from "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior". The point I'm making is something doesn't have to cost a gazillion dollars to be cool. I groan every time I read a magazine and they say the guy's invested a 100 grand in the car their featuring. If you can afford that-good for you. But a lot of us dont' have an extra 30 grand on up to spend on a toy-that is probably a 3rd or 4th or 5th car in a household-especially if you have teenagers or college-age kids. Let's work to keep low-budget hot rodding going for the next generation. Mastermind