Do your research BEFORE you spend your money on a "Movie Car" !!

I always get a kick out of people who think their "stealing" something special or getting an incredible deal on something ultra-rare, and then it bites them in the ass. And it serves the greedy bastards right. Here's a few examples. # 1. "Vanishing Point" Challenger. Several people over the years have claimed to have bought and sold or owned one of the cars featured in the cult classic. Their all liars. Here's why. Chrysler supplied five Alpine White Challenger R/T's for the movie. Four were 440 / 4-speeds, and one was a 383 / Automatic. Although they were pretty trashed,a few members of the stunt crew wanted to buy the cars after filming wrapped. However-the Chrysler brass didn't like the movie. They thought it glorified drug use and running from the police, and demanded the cars be shipped back to Hammtrack and crushed. So any asshole who claims he has one of the "Vanishing Point" cars is lying through his teeth, because they were all destroyed in 1971!!   # 2. "Bullitt" Mustang. Tons of people over the years have claimed to have one of these. Ford supplied five cars for the movie, all 390 / 4-speeds. Ford guys don't like to hear it-but in early practice runs for the chase-the 440 / 4-speed Charger would leave the Mustangs so badly that it was unfilmable. It wasn't even a race. Steve McQueen was furious. Stunt Coordinator Carey Loftin ( who also worked on "Vanishing Point" ) and head mechanic Max Balchowski hopped up one of the Mustangs with headers, an Edelbrock intake and Holley carb, and a Mallory distributor. That's why it sounds sooo badass when McQueen is winding it up. The Charger would still win a drag race,by a car length or two, but now they could film it. Bounding over the streets of San Francisco at speeds up to 115 mph-the Charger kept throwing hubcaps. If you watch the film closely the Charger loses 8 hubcaps in the chase!  However-the Mustang was literally falling apart. The shock towers ripping out, suspension parts bending, door handles falling off. Loftin and Balchowski worked overtime every night taking parts off the other cars to keep the camera car running!! By the time filming was over, only two of the five were left standing. The other three were crushed. One was bought by some guy in New York and has been stored in his garage for nearly 50 years. Chad McQueen-Steve's son and an accomplished racer and car buff himself tried to buy it several years ago and was rebuffed. I'm not sure if the same guy still owns it now. The other one seeming ly was lost to the sands of time until a few months ago someone found it in a junkyard in Mexico. "Basket Case" would be an understatement. It's basically a rusted out body and a vin plate. However the vin number does match one of the five Ford sent for the movie. The current owner has vowed to restore it to it's former glory. How? With a new Dynacorn body and all new and old parts? Even if he finds 390 and a Top-Loader 4-speed with 1968 date codes how much of the original car is left?  Does a vin plate constitute a car?  Also-if you watch the film-the cars have all the chrome and all emblems removed. I don't know how many "Bullitt" cars I've seen with all the emblems and chrome intact!  And given all the facts I just stated-all these people are lying!!  # 3. "Smokey and the Bandit" Trans-Am. Pontiac supplied 10 T/A's for this film and they were all destroyed. Some were 4-speeds-in some scenes you see the clutch pedal or they show Burt Reynolds shifting it, or you can hear him rev the engine and pop the clutch before doing a smoky burnout.. In other scenes you see the automatic shifter on the console!  Rumor has it that Sally Field couldn't drive a stick, and director / stunt coordinator Hal Needham gave up trying to edit the shifters out of the dailies, figuring no one would notice or care. Anyhow all 10 were damaged badly and crushed after filming. Since over 15,000 of the 68,000 T/A's Pontiac sold that year were black and gold SE models-a lot of assholes have claimed to have a "Bandit" car. They don't, they don't exist. Trans-Am Specialties of Florida has the 1976 455 / 4-speed 50th Anniversary SE that Pontiac put a '77 front end on for an early ad campaign, that caused Reynolds and Needham to decide-"That's the car we need".  They also have a black and gold T/A that was owned and driven by Burt Reynolds, but it was not used in the movie. So again-any dolt who claims to have a for-real "Bandit" car is full of shit. # 4. Steve McQueen Porsche 911. This one got a high-end car dealer and Hemmings Motor News and other publications in hot water. They claimed to have Steve McQueen's "personal" 911S for sale. Steve McQueen did in fact buy a 911 brand-new in 1969. Seeing the ad-Chad McQueen sent them a letter that basically said-"Gentlemen-I know without a doubt that you do NOT have Steve McQueen's 911S, because it's my garage."  "My father bought it new in 1969 and drove it for several years." "Before he passed away in 1980 he gave the car to my sister who enjoyed it and maintained it for many years."  "When she died of breast cancer a few year ago her husband gave the car back to me."  "It has never left the family."  "So please stop advertising that you have my father's car, because you don't!!"  Upon hearing about this, the poor slob who doubtless paid way more than the car was worth-sued the dealer and the publications wanting some or all of his money back. Some research was done and hears what happened. While filming the racing movie "LeMans" in France in 1970-Steve McQueen drove a real Porsche 917 race car in the film, and because the Porsche factory was heavily involved in the film he formed a friendship with Ferdinand Porsche-the CEO. One day on the set-they were talking and McQueen commented on the great curvy country roads and said "I wish I had my 911 over here."  Wanting to make his friend happy-Ferdinand Porsche called Stuttgart and had a 1970 911S shipped to France and said McQueen could play with it on his days off. McQueen wrecked it playing grab-ass on a country road. He wasn't injured, but the car was nearly totalled. McQueen offered to pay for it, but Ferdinand Porsche said not to worry, they'd write it off as an expense of doing the the movie since they were supplying the race cars as well. The car was repaired and sold as a used car later on, obviously with this interesting story attatched. Somehow in the intervening years someone either innocently or intentionally embellished the story and the car's status changed from "Driven by Steve McQueen" to "Owned by Steve McQueen". The car buyer was compensated and apologies issued all around, but it embarrased a lot of people. # 5. "Fast&Furious" Charger. They wrecked a 1970 Charger at the end of the 1st movie. The second one and third one didn't have Vin Diesel in them. Paul Walker was in the 2nd one. The 4th one had the original cast re-united. The stunt crew paid $30,000 for a decent '70 Charger and $16,000 for a junk one and other figures in between on '68-70 models to make cars for F&F 4. The "Promotional" Charger that went to movie premieres and now is in a musclecar museum was pretty trick and had a supercharged 528 inch Mopar Performance crate Hemi. The stunt cars used in the movie had fiberglass front ends and Mopar guys are cringing-350 Chevy engines and Turbo 400 trannys!!  The blowers were bolt-on fakes. And they were all wrecked in filming. Even if they weren't, who in the hell wants a cobbled up Charger with a fake front clip and a Chevy engine anyway??   Anyhow be very careful when some clown assures you that this is "The car used in the movie". Because it more than likely isn't!!  Mastermind            

More Road test Ringers....

In the last post I promised some more Road Test "Ringers". I aim to please, so here they are. # 1. 1987 Buick Grand National. The Grand National was a big hit with the buff magazines in the late '80's. The '84 and earlier versions of the GN and Regal T-Type which had an electronically controlled Rochester Quadrajet Carburator on the Turbo 3.8 were erratic performers at best. Like the ill-fated Turbo Trans-Am of 1980-81-they just couldn't make the cars run and pass emissions with a Turbo and a Carburator. That all changed in 1985 with the debut of Multi-Port Fuel Injection. With MPFI the engineers could program the fuel curve precisely and set the ECM to back up the timing if detonation was detected. An intercooler also helped greatly. Now instead of stumbling and chugging and running high 15 or low 16 second 1/4 mile times, the Fuelie models ripped off blistering low to mid 14 second times. Car and Driver ran a 14.41, Hot Rod ran a 14.30. Since most L98 Corvettes ran 14.50's Buick could lay claim to building the fastest American production car. One tester however-at Englishtown New Jersey ripped off a blistering 13.85. Other magazines and Buick engineers wanted to examine the car and test it themselves. On the first pass it laid down a 13.95. Subsequent passes were a string of 14.01s, 14.03s and the slowest a 14.05. Still a good 3 or 4 tenths quicker ( 3 or 4 car lengths ) than the other magazines, but except for the first pass-no 13 second runs. It was finally ascertained that the car was running a 160 degree thermostat instead of a 195, and had a modified electric fan switch that turned the fan on at 180 degrees instead of 220. Do you think the engine running 40 degrees cooler would net a much cooler, denser fuel charge-which would help the Turbo's performance greatly? Further the car was filled with 104 octane racing gas-which would ensure that the ECM would deliver full timing all the time, rather than retarding it to run on 87 or 91 octane pump gas!!  Think this made a difference?  Lastly-the original tester also admitted that he put wet towels on the intake manifold between runs!! This all explains how this "stock" GN could break into the 13s when all others could only manage mid 14s!!  # 2. 1991 Ford Mustang LX "5.0".  Car Craft boasted about their "Basically Stock" "5.0" Mustang that ripped of a blistering 14.04 second 1/4. Since other magazines ran between 14.72 ( Hot Rod ) and 15.29 ( Road and Track ). This merited investigation. Yes CC's Mustang was "basically stock". Except for a K&N airbox and filter,a Flowmaster "Cat-Back" exhaust system, swapping the 3.08 gears for some 3.73:1s, and swapping the 225/60VR15 Goodyear Gatorbacks for 235/60R15 M&H Drag Radials. So come on guys-the car's stock-except for the intake and exhaust, stiffer gears, and stickier tires!!  I mean if your going to nit-pick.... # 3. 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4. These swoopy Japanese exotics featured a twin-turbo V6 and all-wheel drive. Their "Controlled Conditons with a professional driver" is almost as audacious as Pontiac swapping the engines in 1964. Most of the buff magazines ran 14.50s with these cars. Mitsubishi claimed a blistering 13.75. This was accomplished by disconnecting the rev limiter, disconnecting the knock sensor, filling the tank with 104 octane gas, and lowering tire pressure to 15 psi. The "professional driver" then dropped the clutch at 6,300 rpm and powershifted at 7,000 ( 500 rpm over the redline ) which grenaded the $5,749 transaxle after 3 runs!!  My neighbor had one of these cars and was totally shocked when my Hurst / Olds blew his doors off.  Not so much when I showed him the "Contolled Conditions".  Like the old saying goes only believe half of what you read and none of what you hear... Mastermind  

Road Test "Ringers" revisited....

Someone asked me the other day why production examples can almost never match the blistering 0-60 and 1/4 mile times of magazine test cars. This guy was upset because two people he knew had new cars and the performance was nowhere near what the magazines claimed. One was a Turbocharged 4-cylinder Mustang. Car and Driver's test mule ripped off a blistering 13.9 second 1/4.  The best his friend's could do was a 14.5. Definitely quick for a 4-banger, but more than 1/2 a second ( about 5 car lengths ) slower than the "Prototype". The other was a Dodge Demon Challenger. The one that has 840 hp and comes from the factory with a trans-brake and drag radials. Chrysler claims a 9.65 second 1/4 mile time. The fastest ever for a production car. This guy's buddy took his to the drags and ran 10.60's. Now that's still ungodly fast-but it's a full second off the manufacturer's claims. Are the manufacturers cheating?  Yes and no. Magazine test mules are tuned flawlessly to "The top of specifiactions". In other words they run as good as they possibly can. Production examples are hit and miss. I worked for Pontiac back in 1983. I remember we had two Trans-Am's on the lot-a black one and a white one. Both had "Cross-Fire" Injected 305 V8s and TH700R4 automatics. The white one would lay 30 feet of rubber on take-off, and lay another 8-10 feet on the 1-2 shift. The black one couldn't spin the wheels at all. Why? I don't know. Anyhow my answer to this guy was this-besides being perfectly tuned, test mules are usually filled with 100 octane gas. This insures that the engine doesn't "ping" under load, and ensures that the ECM doesn't back up the timing to avoid this. Especially on Turbocharged or Supercharged cars-this alone makes a HUGE difference. The car is going to run way better on 100 octane race gas than it will on 87 or 91 octane pump gas!!  The other thing is the test is performed "under controlled conditions with a professional driver."  That means they play with tire pressure, launch technique and shift points. Sometimes it takes them 30 passes to get the best result. A recent example was one of the magazines tested a new Subaru WRX. They listed a blistering 5.4 second 0-60 time and a 13.8 second 1/4. They did disclose that they got this by lowering tire pressure to 25 psi-( factory recommendation is 36 psi, and the tires max is 44 psi ) and popping the clutch at 5,500 rpm!!  Now who drives around in their new $40,000 WRX with 25 psi in the tires ( and low tire pressure light on ) and drops the clutch at 5,500 rpm to jump someone from a light?!  They conceded that with 36 psi in the tires and a reasonable launch-say 3,000 rpm-that the 0-60 time was closer to 6 seconds and the 1/4 mile took 14.3. Still really quick for a 3,800 lb car with a 4-cylinder engine-but not what the readers are led to believe. And sometimes in the interest of selling the cars the manufacturers do cheat. Here's some of my personal favorites. # 1. 1964 Pontiac GTO. After 50 years-Jim Wangers finally admitted what we already knew. Car and Driver's May 1964 test car that ran a blistering 4.6 second 0-60 time and a 13.1 second 1/4 was a ringer. Royal Pontiac had pulled the stock 389 and replaced it with a Blueprinted 421. In addition to the extra cubes it had thin head gaskets to raise compression, loosely adjusted valves with rocker arm lock nuts to rev higher, a mechanical throttle linkage on the Tri-Power ( instead of vacuum ) custom-jetted carbs, and a re-curved distributor. Small wonder that production examples with an assembly line built 389-could only run 14.50s.  # 2. 1969 Plymouth Road Runner 440+6. Chrysler advertised the 440 Six-Pack Road Runner as a 12 second car right off the showroom floor. The ad had a list of mid-high 12 second times they had run during testing. The test mule had a blueprinted 440 with custom-jetted carbs, a custom curved distributor, a 4-speed, a 4.30 geared posi rear end with a pinion snubber, and 28 inch drag slicks. And the "Professional Driver" was Pro Stock Champion Ronnie Sox of "Sox&Martin" fame. Shocker-Hot Rod's production example with a stock engine, 3.54 gears and street tires and a writer driving could only manage a 13.56. That's damn quick-but still nearly a full second off of the advertisements claims!!  # 3. 1973 SD-455 Trans-Am. The "Prototype" Buccaneer Red T/A that ran a blistering 13.54 for Hot Rod and 13.75 for Car and Driver was a ringer. If you look closely at the pictures you'll see the numbers on the Michigan liscence plates. It's the same car. Further-although the Road tests were published in the May and June issues-the tests were done in January. This is relevant because the SD-455 was initially going to be offered in the GTO, the Grand Prix and the Grand Am as well as Trans-Am and Formula Firebirds. "High Performance Cars" magazine made a collossal goof. They named the SD-455 1973 GTO their "Car of the Year". However-the engineers had trouble with connecting rod failure, EGR valve function,and trouble passing emissions with the hot RAIV cam. The cam was swapped for the much milder RAIII cam and hp was down-rated from 310 to 290. The project was almost scrapped. Only the tireless efforts of Herb Adams saved it, and in April 1973 the engine was finally EPA certified in the Firebird line only. That's why only 295 were built-252 T/A's and another 43 Formulas. Another 943 were built in 1974. Anyway-the prototype had the hotter RAIV cam,  an EGR-less 1972 aluminum 455HO / RAIV intake and an open "Shaker" hood scoop. Production examples had the milder RAIII cam, an iron intake with an EGR valve, and the hood scoops were bolted closed because of noise regulations. Other SD-455 cars tested by other magazines in the '73-74 period ran low 14s. Awesome performance for a 3,800 lb car with only 8.4:1 compression; but nowhere near the blistering 13.50s of the "Prototype". No one knows what happened to the prototype. Some people say it was sold to a Pontiac executive, other people say it was crushed. # 4. 1973 Olds 442. Motor Trend had a "1973 Performance Car Preview". The red and silver Cutlass 442 blew the doors off all comers including an SD-455 Trans-Am, a 454 Corvette, a 440 Dodge Charger, a 401 /4-speed AMC Javelin AMX, and a 351CJ Mustang. Olds engineers admitted that "Just for Kicks" they had re-curved the distributor, re-jetted the carb and swapped the stock cam in the 455 for the hot "W30" cam out of the 1970 442. They also put a Hurst shift kit and 2,800 rpm "Shotgun" Torque converter in the TH400 and were running 3.42:1 gears. Shocker-production examples with a stock engine and tranny and 2.73:1 or 3.08:1 gears were substantially slower!!  # 5. 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express Pickup. I touched on this one in a recent post about one or two year wonders. Car and Driver's "Prototype" blew the doors off both an L82 / 4-speed Corvette and a W72 Trans-Am. However the 360 V8 in the "Prototype" had NASCAR-style "W2" heads,a single-plane aluminum Holley "Street Dominator" intake with a 650 Double-Pumper Holley on it, a hot cam out of the old high-performance 340 V8 and catalyst-free exhaust. Needless to say-production examples with stock heads, a stock cam,an iron intake with an EGR valve and a Carter Thermo-Quad were substantially slower, and their owners shocked when a Corvette or T/A owner showed them their taillights!!  # 6. 1978 Z/28 Camaro. Popular Hot Rodding gushed over their test car that ran blistering ( for 1978 ) 1/4 mile times in the 14.30s. Since Hot Rod' magazine's Z/28  tester ran a 15.21, and Car and Driver's ran a 15.60-this merited further investigation. Dennis and Kyle Mecham of DKM inc had great success with the "Macho T/A". Pontiac Trans-Ams that they hopped up with recurved distributors, re-jetted carbs, Hooker Headers and real dual exhausts. They also had custom graphics. The buff magazines raved, and they couldn't build them fast enough to meet demand. Since they were working out of their dad's Chevrolet / Pontiac dealership in Glendale, Arizona, they got the idea to give the "Macho" treatment to a Z/28 Camaro. Well-PHR's badass test car was the "Macho Z" prototype-it had Hooker headers and dual exhausts, the custom jetted carb, re-curved distributor, open hood scoop-the full "Macho T/A" treatment. That's why it was so much faster than a stocker. The Mecham brothers also did an L82 Corvette that had a Doug Nash 5-speed that was tested by Car Craft that got rave reviews. However-for some reason Chevy dealers weren't as enthusiastic as Pontiac dealers for selling hot-rodded cars, and the "Macho Z" and the L82S never took off like the "Macho T/A's" did. The Macho Z prototype is the only one built. It's in a musclecar museum. No one knows what happened to the L82S prototype. Maybe Dennis Mecham does. There's other cases in the '80's and '90's, but that's another post for another time.....Mastermind

R.I.P. Burt Reynolds....

I was saddened to hear that Burt Reynolds died today at age 82. He was most famous for "Smokey & the Bandit". However before he got piegenholed in dipshit comedies he had done some serious acting. He was excellent in "Deliverance" as the macho leader of a group of businessmen that run afoul of nasty hillbillies. He also played a "Dirty Harry" type detective opposite Catherine Denevue in "Hustle". And who can forget "Gator" McLuskey-the booze runnin, motor gunnin' convict who goes after the corrupt sheriff who killed his brother. Of course "Smokey and the Bandit" out-grossed everything but "Star Wars" in 1977. Somehow he got piegenholed in that "Good Ole Boy" persona-and it served him well-"Hooper" and the Cannonball Run movies were hits. It seemed like anytime he tried to do anything serious-the critics would gripe and say he should stick to lightweight comedies. I thought he did some great work in the '80's-"Sharky's Machine"-him and Clint Eastwood joked-"Dirty Harry" goes to Atlanta".  I loved "Malone" where he played an ex-CIA operative who runs afoul of white supremacists in a small Oregon town. "Heat" where he played a Vegas bodyguard with a gambling problem that has trouble with a mobster's son who brutally beat a hooker friend of his. This was re-made and re-named "Wild Card" with Jason Statham and it was awful. Burt's version is much better. I liked Physical Evidence where he was a cop accused of murdering a suspect. The uber-sexy Theresa Russel was his attorney who lived with spoiled yuppie stockbroker Ted Mc Ginley. Best line ever-Theresa and Burt are arguing about the case and McGinley comes in and interrupts them. Burt asks-"Is this His Gucciness?" Sadly-none of those were big hits and he was stuck doing dumb stuff like "The best little whorehouse in Texas" and "Stroker Ace".  In the '90's he had a hit TV show playing a football coach on the comedy "Evening Shade".  He had a renaissance of sorts playing a Porn Director in "Boogie Nights" and the owner of a Formula 1 team opposite Sylvester Stallone in "Driven". Anyhow-he was a good actor and a nice person and he will be sorely missed. May he rest in Valhalla!!  Mastermind

More on desecrating classics.....

I spoke yesterday about how I'm fine with putting an LS motor and a six-speed into one of the 400,000 Malibus Chevrolet built in 1968 alone. Just don't do it to a numbers-matching SS396 or worse yet-a Yenko!!  But I see it constantly and that's what drives me up the wall. I saw a 1965 GTO with an LS engine and a six-speed automatic in a magazine. ARRRGGGHHH!!!!  This guy couldn't buy a Tempest or LeMans and do that?  I know gearheads like to modify things in the search for extra performance. I'd be fine if this '65 GTO owner had swapped in a Tremec 5-speed to replace the Muncie 4-speed, or a TH350 to replace the 2-speed ST300. I'd be fine if he  swapped the 389 for a 421 or a 455. At least it's still basically a vintage Pontiac hot rod. If you want a new Camaro-go buy one. But don't screw  up a classic that someone else would want to preserve in original, or semi-original condition!!  Some other horrific examples I may have brought up before, but I think are worth re-visiting. # 1. This guy put a 389 Pontiac into a '57 T-Bird. What the hell was he thinking? This offended Ford and GM guys both. I know the old 292 and 312 "Y-Block" V8s are heavy dogs that have the dual attributes of no power and crappy gas mileage. He couldn't swap in a later model 289 / 302 or 351W for an instant power and drivability infusion? Or a if he had to have a big-block-a 390? At least then it would still be all Ford, and people wouldn't be storming his house with torches. # 2. This guy bought a pristine, frame-off restored 1963 Fuel-Injected,Split-Window Corvette Sting Ray and proceeded to gut the interior for a roll cage, replace the IRS with a narrowed Ford 9 Inch, and cut up the body and floor pan for wheel tubs. He then installed a tunnel-rammed 454 backed by a Powerglide with a trans-brake. Because he loved the "Pro Street" look. If you've lived in a cave the last 30 years-back in the late '80's and early 90's building cars that looked like Pro Stock drag racers was all the rage. He couldn't buy one of the millions of '68-82 C3 'Vettes out there and butcher that?  No, it had to be a for real Fuel-Injected Split-Window!!!  # 3. This guy angered both musclecar guys and Import Tuners by destroying not one, but two classics. This genius put the engine and tranny out of a 1998 Toyota Supra Turbo into a 1967 Camaro. He couldn't understand why everyone thought he should be drawn and quartered and have his entrails cut out and burned. # 4. This guy took a 1990 Mustang GT and put a Chevy LS engine in it. Why? Do you know how much trouble that is? And what did he gain?  Not performance. I know guys with "5.0" Mustangs that run in the 10s with 302s. How can he ever sell it? GM guys don't want it; Ford guys damn sure don't want it. This one really left me scratching my head. # 5. This one falls under the more money than brains category. This guy took the drivetrain out of a 1987 Buick Grand National and put it in a 1984 Pontiac Gran Prix. Huh?  Think about it. Even if the GN was totalled-if he rebuilt it and had a salvage title a nice, running '87 Grand National is always worth WAY more than any '84 Gran Prix!!! Further-transferring not only the engine and tranny-but the gas tank and fuel pump and all the wiring to run the electronics on the fuel injected, turbocharged, intercooled GN motor ( Most '84 GP's had  carburated 305 Chevy V8s ) had to be a nightmare. If a badass, ultra-quick '84 GP is your dream car-swapping in a 350 or 383 small-block Chevy would be both cheaper and a lot easier-essentially a bolt-in. The only word I can think of for this one is "Why?"  # 6. The all-time more money than brains champ-except for Jay Leno's rear drive Toronado-is this one. This clown spent $250,000-that's not a typo-I didn't mean 25 grand, I meant a quarter million. That's right-the price of a nice 3-bedroom house anywhere except New York or California-putting the engine and tranny out of 2013 GMC 2500 Turbo Diesel pickup into a 1970 Chevelle!!!  Even if he spent 50K on a pristine restored Chevelle, and 50K on the brand-new diesel pickup, how did he rack up another 100 grand in the cost of the conversion?  And again I ask "Why?"  Who in the hell wants a '70 Chevelle with a diesel truck engine?  It was fast-but he could have easily built a '70 Chevelle with a 720 hp GMPP 572 Rat motor that would have been cooler and faster for a lot less than 250K!!  I've said it before but I think sports car guys and motorcycle guys are smarter. You never see a 1969 Porsche 911S with the engine and tranny out of a 2012 Cayman. You never see a 1967 Jaguar XKE with the drivetrain out of a 2009 XK8, or a 1972 Datsun 240Z with the engine and tranny out of a 2014 370Z!!  You don't see a 1965 Harley Sportster with the engine and tranny out of a 2015 Softail!!  You don't see a 1973 Kawasaki Z1 with the engine and tranny out of 2009 Ninja!!  If you want to bastardize something do it with a base-model no one cares about not something like a '63 Split-Window, Fuel-Injected Sting Ray!!  Or a '57 T-Bird....Mastermind              

Go ahead and do a modern fuelie swap.....On certain cars...

I saw an awesome Mustang for sale on the internet the other day. It was a '68 model and the bodywork was done like the "Eleanor" Mustang that Nicolas Cage drove in the "Gone in 60 Seconds" remake. It had a 5.0 liter Coyote engine with 379 hp and 375 lbs ft of torque backed by a T56 6-speed manual. It had a full Chassisworks suspension,power Rack&Pinion steering and Wildwood 4-wheel disc brakes. It had 17" Shelby Cobra style wheels and fat, ZR-rated tires. The interior was custom with Auto Meter guages, modern a/c, and 2006 GTO seats. It looked and sounded totally badass. If I could swing a home-equity loan, I'd try to buy it. It was that cool. Now people are going to immediately call me a hypocrite and quote many past posts where I howled to the heavens about people doing modern fuelie swaps. I did-but only because  people would do shit like put an LS Chevy motor and a 4L80E into a numbers-matching 1970 Judge!! One of 3,797 ever built. I saw that exact swap in a magazine. Now-this guy couldn't buy a beater Tempest or LeMans and do that? It had to be a numbers-matching RAIII Judge!!!  Even if he "had" to have the Judge "look"-Year One, Ames, the Goat Farm, and other places can easily hook you up with a GTO hood and front bumper, spoilers, stripes etc. Another asshole did that to a one of 1,286 ( actually one of 458 4-speed models ) 455HO '72 Trans-Am!!  Again-he couldn't buy any one of millions of 1970-81 Camaros and Firebirds and use that? If he "Had" to have a Trans-Am-Pontiac built nearly 350,000 T/A's from 1975-79-he couldn't buy one of those and fuck that up?  That's my gripe. It's always a "For-Real L78 / 4-speed SS396 Chevelle". It's not just GM-guys the Mopar and Ford guys are just as bad. It's always a 440 Charger R/T or a Six-Pack Challenger that some asshole stuffs a 6.1 or 6.4 SRT8 Hemi into. You can't buy a 318 model and fuck that up, it's got to be a for-real 383 or 440 Super Bee or GTX!!  I saw a '68 Shelby that someone had desecrated with a Mod Motor and a six-speed!! You couldn't buy one of the 300,000+ 289 models sold that year-it had to be a rare, Shelby GT350!!  That's what I'm saying. If you want to put an LS Motor in a '69 LeMans or a '70 Cutlass-go ahead. No one gives a shit. But don't do it to a numbers-matching Judge, or a W30 442!!  Put a Coyote into a '69 Mustang if you want-just don't use a Boss 302, or a 428 CJ Mach 1!!  Put a 6.4 SRT8 Hemi into a 318 powered '71 Charger if you want. Just don't use a 440 / Six Pack Super Bee!!!  ( For one year only-1971-the Super Bee was based on the Charger instead of the Coronet. 6,000 or so were built. )  So-are we clear on my position now? Take a fuel-injected 302 and the 5-speed out of a '92 "5.0" and stuff it into one of the 559,000 '66 Mustangs built. As long as it's not a Shelby GT350H!!  Anyhow-I just wanted to vent that. Mastermind