More on crazy "Correctness"....

Kind of in the same vein as the last post I see some utter insanity in musclecar restorations. I read an article where a guy paid $4,000 for a carburator for a Boss 351 Mustang. To me that's insane. Mainly because my dad and I worked for Ford in the early '70's and the Autolite 4300 is the WORST carb ever made, bar none. They didn't work when they were brand-new. If you had a 351CJ  Mustang or a T-Bird or Lincoln MKIV with a 460-they would be hard to start, stumble under acceleration, get crappy gas mileage-I mean like 5-8 mpg-they were just awful. If you bitched hard enough Ford dealers would replace it with a 600 Holley 4bbl and warranty it. That's how bad they were, brand-new. I can't imagine trying to make one work 40+ years later. So if I was buying a for-real Boss 351 I'd be happy to see an Edelbrock or Holley carb sitting on top of the engine. Especially if I wanted to drive the car at all. Be honest-if your looking for a one of 1,806 1971 Boss 351s ever built, and you find one perfectly restored, with a numbers-matching engine and tranny, the color you want, the interior color you want, with a Marti report. Are you going to not buy it because it has a 750 Edelbrock or Holley on it instead of that awful Autolite 4300? I don't think anyone in their right mind would pass up an otherwise flawless car over a carburator. I read of another person restoring a COPO 427 Camaro who paid $14,000 for a "Correct" 12-bolt rear end. That's not a typo-I didn't mean $1,400-I meant Fourteen Thousand!!  For an axle housing??  Assuming the car is otherwise all there, it's still going to be worth 6 figures even with an "incorrect" rear axle-whether it's a 12 bolt with the wrong date codes, or a 10 bolt, or a Ford 9-inch or a Dana 60!!  That's just insane-especially when you can buy a brand-new Moser 12-bolt posi, or a Currie 9 inch with GM mounting points for about $3,000!!  This fetishization of "numbers" has got to stop. I mean-let's say you had $150,000 to spare and you found a for-real, numbers-matching 1963 Fuel-Injected Split-Window Corvette Stingray with the knock-off wheels, everything. Except the T10 4-speed in it doesn't have 1962 or 63 date codes, because the case on the original trans was cracked, and the guy who did the restoration installed a new Richmond unit. Or a rebuilt T10 out of a '79 Z/28 Camaro. Are you really going to not buy the car because the trans-which is technically "correct"-it's a T10-has the wrong manufacturing date stamped on it?  Really? Personally I think the restorer did the right thing. A later T10 is much more correct for the car than if he slapped a Muncie in it. Especially since a lot of Concours show organizations are allowing parts to be the "Original Type"-i.e.-a '69 Z/ 28 won't lose points because the 3310 Holley carb on it doesn't have 1969 date codes. Or should the restorer have scoured the galaxy and spent umpteen more dollars searching for a 1963 vintage T10?  Come on. A pristine, '68 GTX with a 440 is not ruined because the owner put a new Edelbrock AVS carb on it in place of the warped, leaking, bleeding over, 50 year old original Carter!!  An SS396 Chevelle is not "bastardized" if it has a Hurst shifter in place of the awful Muncie unit. At some point the voice of reason and sanity has to kick in. Mastermind          

What part of "Clone" of "Faux" i.e.-"Fake" are you not grasping?

I talk to so many people who want to build clones of ultra-cool cars, who gripe that it will be too hard or expensive to do. The way their thinking-yes it would be. I'll explain. One guy wanted to do a 427 Cobra Replica. I suggested the Factory Five kits which come complete with everything but the engine and tranny for like $19,995. You can have the frame drilled to accept a small-block Chevy, a small-block Ford, or a 4.6 / 5.4 Ford mod motor at no extra charge. I suggested the easiest way would be find a rough but running '83-'95 "5.0" Mustang and get the engine and 5-speed trans. Or call Summitt and get a 345 hp 302 Ford SVT crate engine and Tremec 5-speed. For under 25K he'd have a kickass Cobra to play with. Since they only weigh about 2,300 lbs-even with a stock "5.0" powertrain they run 12s in the 1/4!  No this guy wanted it close to "real" as possible. I told him the chance of finding a side-oiler 427 Ford for sale at any price would be chasing a moon rock. However all "FE" engines are externally identical and 390s were used in almost every Ford model from 1961-76. With some aluminum Edelbrock Heads and a dual-quad intake, he'd have the look, the sound and the feel. "But it wouldn't be correct". he sneered. I almost got coffee up my nose laughing. "Nothing about the car is correct." I said. "It's a replica!!" "A tribute". "You don't understand." He's right. I don't. Crazy guy # 2. wanted to clone a Yenko Camaro. Easy enough-find a '67-69 Camaro, Phoenix Graphics sells the emblems and stripes / stencils. Harwood sells the hood scoop. Go to a junkyard and get a 454 out of an '80's truck, and rebuild it. A TH400 or Muncie 4-speed is easy enough to find if you scour the want ads or swap meets. No he wants a for-real 427. "Fine". I said-"GMPP, Eagle, Lunati and other companies sell 3.76 stroke big-block Chevy crank, rod and piston kits." Get an internally balanced flywheel / flexplate and damper ( If you don't know 396 /402 /427s are internally balanced and 454s are externally balanced ) and voila'-instant 427. No he wants a 427 with 1967,68 or '69 date codes. Good luck with that-as "Vette restorers hog them with ferocity and want blood and a first-born child when they do sell one. Then he starts griping about not being able to find a date-correct 12 bolt posi rear end!!  Are you kidding me?  Again-I said "It's not a numbers-matching Yenko!!"  "The 10-bolt that's in the car will do fine." "In 40+ years of hot-rodding GM cars I've never broken a 10-bolt, although I know people who have." "If your going to build a killer motor and really lean on it with slicks or drag radials-Currie sells 9 inch Ford rears with GM mounting points already installed." "Or Moser sells brand-new 12 bolts if you want to keep it all GM". I showed him pictures of a friend's triple-white 1971 GTO "Judge" convertible. It's actually a LeMans Sport convertible with the "Endura" ( read GTO front bumper and scooped hood ). He added a hood tach, the "Judge" stripes and spoiler and a set of "Honeycomb" wheels. Everywhere he goes people "ooh" and "aah" over this "Judge" drop-top. The 400 / TH400 powertrain moves it down the road nicely. Mr. Would-be Yenko cloner turned up his nose. "Piece of crap". he sneered. "No." I said " It's a really cool car built for a fraction of what one of the 17 for-real '71 Judge convertibles would go for." "It's built for a fraction of what your trying to do." "All 357 '71 Judge models had 455HO engines." Where would he find a complete, running 1971 date-coded 455HO 47 years later, and for what price?" "And if he did by some miracle-the car is still a gussied-up LeMans!!!"  Who cares if it's "Correct??!!"  A Mopar guy was absolutely aghast when I suggested a 360 for his proposed Challenger T/A clone. "It has to be a 340!" When I pointed out that 340s were only used from 1968-73 and are pretty rare and usually expensive, while 360s were used in virtually every Chrysler model and Dodge trucks from 1971-1991, and are fairly cheap, he wailed the mantra-"It wouldn't be correct". When I suggested a 360 Magnum-based 408 stroker to make it really badass-he got really pissed. "Edelbrock doesn't make a Six-Pack manifold for "Magnum" heads!! When I pointed out that a 408 inch Magnum V8 with a Performer RPM intake, 800 cfm Thunder AVS carb, and matching cam would suck up and spit out a "real" 340 Six-Pack in a drag race, I got a cloud of obsenities that the kid in Christmas Story would marvel at.  I just don't get it. The car's a fake!!  If you want a  '68 Hemi Charger-and have the cash to lay out 15 grand for a Mopar Performance 426 crate Hemi and another 25-30 for a decent 383 Charger to stuff it in, more power to you!!!  45 grand is a lot less than the 100K plus that "real" ones bring. I get that. And I'd put a Tremec 5-speed behind that crate Hemi, rather than chase a 1968 date-coded A883 4-speed!!  Does this drive anyone else bonkers?  Mastermind          

It's okay to "Run what you brung" if your budget is tight....

I talk to a lot of people who lament that their car isn't a premium model and that they don't really have the money to swap engines or do a full boat restoration. You don't have to. Every car doesn't have to be a frame-off resto with every nut and bolt replaced whether it needs it or not. Have you heard the term "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  I've touched on it before but I'll say it again. I see people spending thousands of dollars replacing parts that don't need to be replaced, which drives the cost of the project way up, but doesn't get you any more money at re-sale time. I've seen people replace the radiator when it didn't leak and the car wasn't overheating. I've seen them replace the power steering pump when it wasn't leaking and wasn't making noise, and worked perfectly. I've seen them replace the alternator and starter when the car started perfectly and the battery charged perfectly. I've seen them replace rotors, drums, pads,shoes, hardware,calipers, wheel cylinders, master cylinders and boosters needlessly. I'm all for safety-but if you drive the car and it stops perfectly with no pedal vibration,doesn't pull left or right, the condition of the pads etc, is good and the hoses aren't leaking, then leave it alone! I've seen people strip an entire interior, when all the car needed was the driver's bucket seat recovered. That's insane. Don't do it. As for other mods-again-I've said it before-every car doesn't have to have a 500 hp fire-breathing monster. If you've got a Firebird with a 350 Pontiac, don't despair that you can't find or afford to swap in a 400 or 455. 350s respond well to basic hot-rod tricks-4bbl carb and intake, headers and / or dual exhausts, mild cam upgrade,etc. You can make 325-350 hp and 400 lbs of torque pretty easy and cheaply. That's enough to give you some exciting street performance and put you solidly in the 13s with proper gearing and traction. Chargers and Satellites with 318s can be nice drivers, but their too heavy for serious performance with the small engine. They really do need a 383 / 400 / 440 to really rock. However if you have a light car-i.e.-Duster, Dart, or Challenger / Barracuda-318 Mopars car really rock with a 4bbl carb and intake, headers, and a mild cam. Remember-"Magnum" heads will bolt up to earlier blocks, you just need a "Magnum" compatible intake, which Edelbrock makes. Ditto for Fords-if you have a light car like an early Mustang or Cougar, a Falcon or a Maverick-a 289 / 302 can make some serious power for low bucks.  If you have a '60's or '70's Cutlass with a 350 don't despair and search the galaxy for a 455. As anyone who's ever seen or driven a W31 will tell you, a 350 Cutlass can kick ass with the right equipment. Edelbrock claims 397 hp and 400 lbs of torque from their "Performer RPM" package on a 350 Olds. Writers spout numbers flippantly-but 400 honest hp will make any street car an absolute rocket.  GM played musical engines in the late '70's because of smog laws. If you have a Firebird with a 350 Chevy-then you basically have a Camaro. There's more speed equipment for a small-block Chevy than anything else on the planet. If you have a T/A or Formula with a 403 Olds-anything that fits a 350 Olds will fit a 403. If you have an '80's Camaro / Firebird and can't afford to swap in a 350-305s respond well to intake, exhaust and mild cam upgrades. My cousin had a 305 Camaro that was pretty damn quick with the Edelbrock Performer intake, matching cam and Hedman shorty headers. And don't forget mechanical advantage. Most '70's cars have salt-flats gearing. Replacing the 2.41:1 or 2.80:1 gears with something in the 3.23-3.73 range will give you a stunning improvement in acceleration without hurting drivability or freeway cruising rpm too much. So don't despair-you can make your base-model a fun ride for low bucks.  Mastermind    

Can we stop with the "It's not original"? Especially on minor options!!!

I see a disturbing trend in car restoration these days. I've touched on it before but I think it's worth re-visiting. I talked to a guy who was restoring a 1970 Plymouth GTX. It was a for-real 440 / 4-speed model. The only downside was it was green with green interior. Yuk. The car was pretty solid-he was going to replace the trunk floor and the rear quarters but that's common on late '60's and early '70's Mopars. Since he was going to have to re-do the interior anyway-I suggested he contact Legendary and do it in either black or white and then paint the car red with black GTX stripes. I also suggested he contact Summitt and Mopar Performance and get a "Six-Pack" setup for it. The answer-Wait for it-"But then it wouldn't be completely original." "Ok." I said. "Let me get this straight". "Your going to spend thousands of dollars restoring the body and interior of this car in a color you can't stand." "Why not paint it a color you like?" "I like red, but if you don't like red, then go blue, or Alpine white, or Plum Crazy or whatever you want." Here comes stupid defensive statement  # 2-wait for it-"But what if I want to sell it?" "What if you do?"  "Let's say you take my advice and go red and black with a six-pack induction." "Do you honestly think a prospective buyer is going to check the serial numbers and say-"Gee, a red 4-speed 440 / Six-Pack GTX has always been my dream car,and this one is beautiful and runs like a scalded cat and the price is reasonable." "But the VIN tag says it was originally a green 4bbl car." "I'm going to have to pass." "Puhleeze." "And if he did, he's an idiot." "I'm sure you'd find another buyer who could overlook the color change and the intake change." "I'm always amazed at how much people care about what some asshole who might want to buy the car down the road will think."  "I've joked about it before but did you marry your wife because you thought she'd give you an easier divorce than other women you dated?" Like talking to the wall. The response? "I'll think about it." I guarantee he'll think about it, and then paint the car fuckin' green, which he hates, because "What if he wants to sell it?"  Some other asshole might say something negative about his restoration!  Oh, Horrors!  I see this all the time, and it always drives me up the wall. Another guy I knew who had a '79 Trans-Am commented on a High-Performance Pontiac article about Dennis Mecham and the "Macho T/A's". "I remember those cars." he said. "A guy I knew in college had one." "It was so badass."  I commented that Mecham had allowed Phoenix Graphics to make the stencils so anyone who was restoring a "Macho" or just liked the look could paint their car in "Macho" Style. I suggested he do his car that way. You know the response. Now if his car was a 10th Anniversary model, I could certainly understand wanting to stay with the factory paint and graphics scheme. But it wasn't. It was a generic one of 117,000 '79 T/A's built, with a 403 Olds engine and a TH350!! I like Pontiacs-so I talk to a lot of Pontiac owners-and it kills me to see people with '70s Firebirds and T/As who like "Honeycomb" or "Snowflake" wheels, but won't put them on their car because the build sheet or the repro window sticker they got from PHS says the car originally had Rally IIs!! Really??  Another guy who had a nice '73 Formula 400 with white interior was distressed because he wanted to remove the vinyl top and paint the car Buccaneer Red, but the window sticker said the car was originally blue with a white vinyl top. Again-"What if he wanted to sell it down the road?" "What would a prospective buyer think?" "A Buccaneer Red Firebird will sell ten times faster than a blue one with a vinyl top". I said. "Trust me." "I spent 30+ years in the used car business". "In fact-not only will it sell quicker red, you'll get more money for it."  Remember my post that said "There's No Used Car Factory" to order from? Well there isn't. So I guarantee you'll get more money for a '69 Malibu with a 350 and a TH350, than you would a 307 and a Powerglide!!  Or a '67 Nova with a 327 and a 4-speed instead of a 283 and a 3-speed!!   Even if it's not "Original".  You'll get way more money for a '68 Road Runner if it's painted "Vitamin C" orange with Ansen or American Racing slot mags than you will if it's brown with "Dog Dish" hubcaps!! Even if it's not "Original."  Would you rather have a sinister triple black 400 or 440 '73 Charger with Cragars on it, or a light tan one with drab brown seats, a white vinyl top and dog-dish hubcaps?"  See what I'm saying? These minor add-ons or color changes increase a car's value, instead of hurting it. So if you want to paint the car a different color, do it!!  Or add or remove a vinyl top, or change wheels. Putting a tri-power setup on a '66 GTO or a '70 Charger will add value, not take it away. Ditto for minor upgrades. If you add later model Monte Carlo spindles, booster and front disc brakes to your '68 SS396 Chevelle that had 4-wheel 9.5 inch drums-any prospective buyer will thank you, not cuss you!!  So go ahead and paint that 383 powered '68 Coronet like a Super Bee!  Call Tony Branda and make that '66 Mustang look like a Shelby if you want. Mastermind

Some "Junkyard Jewels" that can really rock...

I talk to a lot of people that would like to have a powerful, reliable engine in their project car but don't have the big bucks for a 500+hp crate engine and don't want to scour the galaxy looking for a date-correct one. There are some engines out there that you can buy dirt-cheap and with very little work will make big hp and torque.  Here's a few in no particular order. # 1. "Vortec" 350 Chevy. Used from 1996-2003 in millions of Chevy / GMC trucks, vans and suv's these are a screaming bargain. The "Vortec" heads breathe better than any factory head and most aftermarket ones. Vortec heads will bolt up to earlier blocks, as long as you use a Vortec bolt-pattern intake. Edelbrock and Weiand both make Vortec bolt-pattern intakes that use a carburator. They have roller cams from the factory, and Edelbrock, Crane, Lunati and Comp Cams sell cams for them that can re-use the stock lifters if their in good shape, or of course they sell new roller lifters if you need them. Super Chevy did a budget buildup on a junkyard Vortec motor and with machine work and all the new parts they used it only cost $2,600 to build, and made 400 hp and 415 lbs of torque. There's also stroker crank kits to make a 350 into a 383.  # 2. "Magnum" 318 / 360 Chrysler. Their are millions of  "Magnum" engines in junkyards in Dodge Trucks,vans and suv's as well as Jeep Grand Cherokees from 1992-2003. The 318s run damn strong, but the 360's really rock. Like 15 second 1/4s in a loaded 4WD Grand Cherokee. What you think one would do in a Duster or Dart or 'Cuda?  Like the Chevy Vortecs, the "Magnum" heads breathe better than any other factory head and many aftermarket ones. Edelbrock makes "Magnum" compatible intakes. They use roller cams from the factory as well. Like the Vortecs, the Magnum heads will bolt up to earlier blocks as long as you use a Magnum intake. Eagle and other companies make stroker crank kits to turn a 360 into a 408.   # 3. 1986-97 302 / 351W Ford. Used in millions of trucks,vans, and suv's through 1997 these are plentiful in junkyards. The 302s are the same roller-cammed model used in "5.0" Mustangs. The only reason the trucks were rated at 205 hp-20 less than the Mustangs is the trucks used single exhaust and the Mustangs had duals. 5.0 "Explorer" heads breathe as good as the factory "GT-40" heads and better than many aftermarket ones. If you don't want to run fuel-injection-Edelbrock and Weiand make intakes that run a carburator. The same for the 351W's. Eagle and other companys make stroker crank kits to turn a 302 into a 347 or a 351 into a 392.  # 4. 360 AMC. These were used in millions of Jeep Grand Wagoneers through 1993 so they are plentiful in junkyards. Edelbrock makes aluminum heads for them and claims 433 hp from their "Performer RPM" package. If your restoring a Javelin / AMX and can't find a 390 / 401-this may be the way to go. Since AMC engines are like Pontiacs-their all externally identical from a 290-401-think how blisteringly fast a 360 Gremlin or Hornet would be?  Mastermind    

The biggest baddest, isn't always the best...

Sometimes the thing that makes the most horsepower is not always the best. If your building a race car then the sky's the limit-you don't care about idle quality, or fuel economy or drivability. All that matters is speed. Back in the '60's when Trans-Am racing was popular-a lot of their races were run on road courses like Lime Rock. When Ford was developing the "Boss 302" the feedback they got from racers, both factory backed and privateer-that had been previously running 289s-( The displacement limit was 5 liters or 305 inches ) was they needed peak power between 5,000 and 8,000 rpm. So that's how they designed the engine. They didn't care about anything below 5 or above 8. That's why production examples were disappointing performers. They had very little low-end torque-especially below 3,000 rpm. If you had 3.90:1 or 4.30:1 gears that helped keep the engine on boil-but if you had 3.50:1 gears they were a little sluggish. Further-to cut down on warranty claims- unbeknownst to the public Ford put rev limiters on them that killed the ignition at 5,800 rpm. That's just when it was starting to really roll. Now race examples with out rev limiters and proper gearing would totally rock from about 4,000-8,000 rpm. But the street versions felt sluggish because of the lack of low-end torque and and the rev limiter kicking in just when it was starting to really rock. In fact the 351W that was standard in the Mach 1 was actually quicker in the 1/4 mile and had great drivability. The reason being-the 2bbl 351W had 355 lbs of torque at 2,600 rpm. ( 4bbl versions had 385 lbs @ 3,200 ) This made the 351W a much better STREET engine, while the "Boss" 302 was undoubtedly the better RACING engine. The same thing with the Chrysler 426 Hemi. It was designed to do one thing-go 200 mph at Daytona. It dominated NASCAR and some people like Dick Landy or Sox&Martin had great success drag racing them. If you had headers, and a 4-speed and 4.30:1 gears, or a Torqueflite with a 2,500+ rpm converter and 4.10:1 or stiffer gears-yes your Hemi-powered street car could rock-n-roll with the best of them. But most of them had stock exhausts and 3.23:1 or 3.54:1 gearing. Popular Hot Rodding tested a 1969 Charger with a Hemi and a Torqueflite and 3.23:1 gears. They were very disappointed. They said it was like running with one flat tire. It couldn't break out of the 14s and went through the traps in 2nd gear. The PHR writers said it needed a stall converter and 4.10:1 gears. The 440 GTX and the 383 Super Bee they tested were both quicker in the 1/4 mile. The '69 GTO they tested in the same issue was quicker in the 1/4 mile. Does that mean that a 383 Mopar or a 400 Pontiac is a better race engine than a Hemi?  No!! The Hemi's superiority in any kind of competition is legendary. But the 383 Mopar and 400 Pontiac are much better STREET engines! Their massive low-end torque gives them great drivability. When you've got 400+ lbs ft of torque from idle on up- you don't need to rev to 7 or 8 grand. What I'm saying is-if your going to drive the car on the street at all-it's better to err on the side of caution. Sure you can write a check for 15 grand and put a mega-inch 600+ hp 12:1 compression, solid-roller beast in your car. It's choppy 1,500 rpm idle will sound badass, and if you've got a stick or an auto with the proper converter and gearing, it'll certainly rip ass on the strip. And off the strip-if it's only driven on and off the trailer or a few blocks to "Cruise Night" once a week you may not give a shit how nasty it is.  But again-if your going to drive the car on the street or the freeway at all-9.5:1 compression, ( to run on pump gas ) and a cam that idles at 800 rpm  makes a lot more sense. Like I said once before when discussing induction systems-"If a Super Stock Firebird can run 11.30s with a Quadrajet on an iron manifold, why do you need a Tunnel-Ram and dual 660 Holleys?"  Here's a perfect example. A guy I know was looking for a '68-'70 Olds 442. He ran across a 1970 W31 Cutlass. If you don't know-the "W31" was a factory-built high-performance 350 V8. They had special heads, an aluminum high-rise intake, special exhaust manifolds and a hot 308 degree cam. They were so nasty that they were only available with a 4-speed-no automatic was offered-and 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears, and you couldn't get power brakes, because the engine didn't make enough vacuum at idle to operate them! To fool the insurance Nazis they were rated at a ridiculously low 325 hp. The standard "station wagon" 350 in the Cutlass was rated at 310 hp!!  GM wants you to believe that all those go-fast goodies-intake, exhaust, heads and cam-are only worth 15 hp?  Puhleeze.  They were blisteringly fast, as was the one my friend test drove. He didn't like it. He said with the 4.33:1 gears he was always shifting it around town, and the motor was buzzing at 3,800 rpm on the freeway. He passed it up and later bought a 400 inch '69 442. He loved it. The 400 inch motor had so much torque that around town if he was in any gear but 4th-acceleration was just step on the gas, and the 3.36:1 gearing was a good compromise between jackrabbit starts and easy cruising rpm on the freeway. He told me he thought the W31 was quicker in a drag race, but the 442 was much more fun to drive all-around. Here's a couple more good illustrations. Edelbrock claims 387 hp and 439 lbs of torque for the "Performer" Package on a 400 Pontiac with 15 inches of vacuum at idle. The "Performer RPM" Package claims 422 hp and 441 lbs of torque, with 10 inches of vacuum at idle. You know what those specs tell me? That by using the "RPM" package your giving up quite a bit of low-end and mid-range torque for top-end rush. And that's if you have optimum gearing,traction, etc. In a typical street / strip machine is a car with 422 hp going to be THAT much faster than a car with 387 hp?  Probably not. Another example-when Edelbrock introduced the "Air Gap" line of manifolds-they raised the plenum so air could flow under it- cooling the fuel charge substantially-the buff magazines raved because they made 15-20 more hp on the dyno than the "regular" Performer / Performer RPM / Torker II / Victor manifolds. In sunny California this worked great. However many people in the mid-west and Rocky mountain states who ran out and bought these manifolds were furious-writing to the buff magazines and Edelbrock and demanding refunds because now their cars wouldn't start in cold weather!! Or even if they'd start-they'd experience carburator icing-or have to idle for 15 minutes or more to not die and cough and spit when trying to drive!!  That extra 15-20 hp wasn't so wonderful now!!  Many of them angrily said they were going to re-install their old intake so they could drive the car!!  So be careful-yes swapping your 2.73:1 gears for some 3.42:1s will give you a stunning improvement in acceleration without hurting drivability or freeway cruising rpm too much. If 3.42:1s are great-wouldn't 4.56:1s be totally badass?  No-because chances are you don't have the motor or the valvetrain and would run out of rpm before the end of the 1/4, and you definitely don't want the motor buzzing at 4,000 rpm on the freeway! So err on the side of caution. The biggest and baddest thing isn't always the best. Mastermind          

It's the whole package, not just horsepower...

It's funny how the internet works. I guess "cookies" or "web crawlers" bring up random stuff depending on what type of google search the user is doing.  Because of this I get hate mail for stuff I posted 5 years ago. A recent one was regarding a post I made about lowering your sights a little-i.e.-You may not be able to find or afford an LS6 SS454 Chevelle, but you could get an SS396, or a Boss 302 might be beyond your means, but a 351W Mach 1 would do nicely. I stated that way back in 1994-( That was when I bought the H / O ) I was frustrated looking for a GTO when I ran across my 1973 Hurst / Olds 442. I said I loved the car because it was really nice to drive, looked badass and was quick enough to back up the image, that I didn't have to take crap from "5.0" Mustang drivers. I got all kinds of profanity laced emails saying I was delusional and offers to race for thousands of dollars or "Pink Slips" from assholes who owned "5.0" Mustangs. I'll duplicate my response here. Everyone knows that the fuel-injected 1987-93 Mustangs were quicker than the 1983-86 Carburated models. I stated before that various buff magazines had tested "5.0" Mustangs and that the 1/4 mile times varied-the slowest being a 15.29 and the quickest being a 14.72.  I couldn't find a road test of a '73 Hurst / Olds, but I did find two for a "regular" Cutlass 442 with the 455 / TH400 powertrain. One ran a 14.65, the other a 14.90. I'd say that pretty much cleared the air about me "not taking crap" from "5.0" Mustang drivers. I then got a bunch of hate mail from "5.0" owners saying "Big deal you beat a stock Mustang" "But I have-( Pick one ) a blower or nitrous or an Edelbrock or Trick Flow Top-end kit ( heads, cam and intake ) challenging me to drag races. Ironically, shortly after buying the H / O-it spun a crank bearing. Having to rebuild the 455 anyway-I decided to spice it up with headers, a Lunati cam with 224 / 234 duration ( @ .050 ) and 496 / .520 lift, an Edelbrock Torker intake and 750 Carb, and an MSD HEI distributor. I also decided to replace the stock 3.08:1 gears with 4.10:1s to really put all that newfound power to the ground. I gleefully accepted the challenges saying that these assholes should come find me at Hot August Nights events and that I would gladly race their modified Mustangs with my modified 442. Now, as it did back then, it made me shake my head at how people who have never been on a racetrack perceive how drag races go. I remember a muscle car drag event I went to several years ago. A guy with a 1970 W30 455 Olds 442 was matched up against a 1966 Nova SS with an L79 327. The announcer joked about what a mismatch it was-saying "Come on guys, a small-block Nova tugging on Superman's cape? " The announcer, the crowd, the 442 owner and everyone but me was shocked when the Nova won easily. I knew the Nova was going to win. Here's why: A 1970 442 weighs 4,070 lbs. The 455 was rated at 370 hp. A 1966 Nova weighs 3,100 lbs. The L79 327 is rated at 350 hp. Guess what? 20 hp wasn't enough to overcome 1,000 lbs of extra weight!!  Further-the 442 was an automatic with 3.42:1 gears, and the Nova was a 4-speed with 4.10:1s.  So in addition to a huge power to weight advantage, the Nova also had the mechanical advantage of stiffer gearing.  It amazes me that people can't grasp this. A friend of my brothers has a late-model Dodge Ram Crew-Cab 4WD pickup with the 5.7 liter Hemi rated at 390 hp. It moves pretty good for a big truck-but this guy who's parents drove VW's and who's last car was a Honda Civic thinks it's a rocket. He challenged my brother to race him with his GTO. My brother and I were rolling on the floor laughing. My brother's '69 GTO has a 400 that we built from a junkyard engine for less than $2,000. I've stated before that it dyno'd at 381 hp and 430 lbs of torque. Not bad for a cheap rebuild on a junkyard engine. Anyhow the guy with the truck would not shut up until my brother agreed to race him, and was utterly flabbergasted when the GTO blew his doors off by about 10 car lengths. "How can that be?" "My truck has 390 hp, 9 more than your car." he said-dead serious. When my brother stopped laughing again he explained. "It's power to weight ratio." "Yeah, we both have roughly 400 hp." "My GTO weighs 3,730 lbs." "According to Car and Driver, a crew-cab Dodge Ram like yours weighs 5,790 lbs".  "Of course I blew your doors off." "I'm pulling 2,000 lbs LESS weight!!"  A couple of car salesmen I know learned this. One had a 400, 4-speed '77 Trans-Am, the other had a 350 / Automatic '74 Ventura GTO. Both were rated at 200 hp. The T/A had 3.23:1 gears, the GTO had 3.08:1s. So power and gearing were roughly the same. The GTO won by about a car length and a half. How? Power to weight ratio. A '77 T/A weighs 3,890 lbs. A '74 Ventura weighs 3,278 lbs. 600 less pounds gave it the win. You have to remember the rule of thumb-which is "All other things being equal, a 3,000 lb car with a 300 hp engine will run just as fast as a 4,000 lb car with a 400 hp engine."  The key words here are "All other things being equal". The monkey wrench is mechanical advantage-like a 4-speed, or a high stall converter,a shift kit or stiff gears. Here's a perfect example. I got a ton of hate mail when I said I beat my friend's 427 powered '67 Impala in a drag race with my dad's '65 Pontiac Tri-Power 421 Catalina 2+2. Because there's no way a 421 Pontiac can outrun a 427 Chevy, right?  Here's the facts. Both cars weighed about 4,400 lbs. Both had TH400 transmissions. The Tri-Power 421 was rated at 376 hp. The 4bbl 427 was rated at 390 hp. We all know that 14 hp on paper is not going to make an ounce of difference in a real-world drag race. So weight, cubic inches, and hp are all dead even. The Impala had 3.31:1 gears and an open rear end, the 2+2 had 3.90:1s a posi, and a TransGo shift kit. That was enough to let me get about  1/2 a car length off the line. That was it. Neither car could gain an inch. We did it 3 times and the results were exactly the same. I'd jump him by half a car length and hold onto it until we let off at 90 or 100 mph. Now if the 2+2 had 3.23:1 gears or the Impala had 3.90:1s the outcome might have different. Traction makes a huge difference. Besides the pumped-up RAIII 400 and 4.33:1 gears, one thing that made my Judge so brutally quick was the fact that it had Lakewood coil-spring traction bars, and I was running N50X15 Mickey Thompson "Hot-n-Sticky" tires on the rear. They were about 12 inches wide, and as advertised when they got hot, they were very sticky. I could pop the clutch at 4,300 rpm and rocket off the line with very little wheelspin. Now what poor bastard with regular street tires-who can launch at maybe 2,500-3,000 rpm if his car is a stick before he frys the tires-or the same if he's got a stall converter on an auto-is going to compete with that?  And once I get a car length or two or three lead-the RAIII on steroids is going to hold on to it, or maybe even open it up more. To catch me you'd need a SERIOUS package-like L88 or LS6 with 4.56:1 gears, or Hemi with 4.90:1s serious-to have a prayer. And never under-estimate a light small-block car. Back in the day-my cousin had a '63 Nova with a 283 that he bored to 301 inches and pumped up backed by a 4-speed and 4.88:1 gears. It was brutally quick, because it only weighed about 2,700 lbs. Another friend that had a 340 Dart that stunned a lot of big-block cars,and his brother had a pumped up 273 powered '65 Barracuda that was awful fast. A buddy of mine with a 440 Road Runner was shocked one night when a 302 Maverick showed him it's taillights. Remember the Chevy Monza? A light little coupe that could be had with a 4 cylinder, a 231 V6, or a V8. The buff mags called them the "Factory V8 Vega". Most had a 305 with a 2bbl that wheezed out 145 hp. But for a couple years-1975 and '76 I think-the 305's weren't California emissions certified. So if you ordered a V8 Monza in California you got a 350! Their pretty rare, but a guy I knew had one back in high school and it was damn quick. Especially after he put a 4bbl carb, some dual exhausts and a shift kit in it.  My dad and I put a 350 Chevy in a Datsun 240Z for a guy and it was so fast that he got kicked off the track for not having an 8 point cage and a driveshaft safety loop! Which you need if you run quicker than 12 flat-or 11.50 on some tracks!!  It only weighed about 2,300 lbs-and the warmed-over 350 didn't weigh any more than the Nissan 6 it replaced. But it had more than double the power. So don't summarily dismiss someone because of a horsepower rating you read in a magazine. They may surprise you and blow your doors off.  Mastermind          

More advice for first-time restorers......

Everyone wants something cool and unique, but often in this pursuit we get sidetracked and allow emotion to over-rule common sense. When restoring a classic car this can be a disaster, both emotionally and financially. Here's some more good advice to keep people from making costly mistakes.  A rare or special car missing major components is not a deal at any price. Obvious examples would be a Hemi powered Chrysler vehicle without the Hemi engine or a Boss 302 or 429 Mustang sans the "Boss" engine. You find an engineless Road Runner or Charger and check the VIN and discover it was originally a Hemi car. OK-now what do you do? You could slap a Mopar Perfromance 426 crate Hemi into it, but they cost 15 grand, just for the engine. You'd still have to chase down all the accessories-alternator,water pump,power steering pump, fuel pump, exhaust manifolds or headers, all the brackets. And after that-the car's still not numbers-matching, which will decrease it's resale value. You could try to chase down a date-correct Hemi engine-but good luck with that. Even if you can find a running or at least rebuildable 426 Hemi with 1968 or whatever year you need date codes-the seller is going to want blood and a first-born child for it. By the time it's in the car and running you'll have more in it than you would if you went the new crate Hemi route. Sure now, if you sell the car you can say the motor is "Correct" but that's still not numbers-matching. And do you want to invest 50 grand+ and countless man hours building this car just so you can sell it and make a small profit? I say small because someone may be willing to pay 60K for a non-numbers-matching Hemi Challenger or whatever, but their not going to pay 100K+ like "Real" Hemi cars bring. The same goes for the Boss Mustangs. Pristine Boss 302s usually bring around 80K. Sure you can build a "Mock Boss" 302 engine with Edelbrock or Trick Flow heads and Intake, but it's still not the real deal. As for a Boss 429, with only 1359 ever built you'll never, ever find a Boss-Nine motor for sale at any price. I saw a '70 Mustang on the internet that someone had stuffed a Jon Kaase built 600 inch Boss Nine into. The ad said the car dyno'd at 912 hp and 826 lbs ft of torque. I believe it. Especially since they admitted that the engine alone cost 36K!!  These are obvious "DUH!" examples but I hope they drive the point home for other stuff. For example a fuel-injected '57 Bonneville or Corvette without the fuel-injection system is not a bargain. A Thunderbolt Fairlane without the side-oiler 427 is not a deal. Those too, bring the "DUH!" response. Ok, let's say you find an engineless '67 Plymouth GTX-not a Hemi, or a '67 Impala SS. Where are you going to find a 440 Mopar or 427 Chevy with 1967 date codes? If your not trying to sell it for a zillion dollars and you just want to drive it, and maybe race it at classic drag events, sure you could grab a 440 out of a '74 Imperial or '78 Sport Fury or a 454 out of an '80's truck and build a badass engine that looks correct. I'm saying you'll play hell finding a Chevy or Mopar engine that was plentiful back in the day. What if your trying to find a 390 AMC for an AMX?  You might get a 360 out of an '80's Grand Waggoneer and have the look-but actually finding a 390?  Good luck. Or a 428 CJ Ford for that engineless Fairlane or Cougar Eliminator that's "such" a deal?  Again-390 Fords are plentiful and look the same-but 428's are scarce. See the point I'm making?  So think hard before you lay out hard-earned cash for some screaming "deal" that's missing a major component. Mastermind  

Some building guidelines for first-time restorers.....

Some of the cable networks have TV shows called "House Hunters" or "Property Virgins", etc-that chronicle experienced Real Estate agents helping first-time home buyers get a good deal on a house. I think we need one for novice classic car restorers.  Most of the time when you talk to someone who bought a car, didn't finish it, and usually sold it at a loss, it's because they "Bit off more than they can chew." In other words the car needed more work than they were mechanically and financially able to do. Here's how to avoid this pitfall. # 1.  Avoid "Basket Cases" like the plague. Any car that is just a body and frame or is missing major components is a money pit. 99% of the time your way better off just spending more money and getting a better car to start with. Also-do some research-a missing component may not be available at any price. For example no one makes a replacement grille for a 1972 Ford Gran Torino, or a rear glass for a 1971-73 "Boat Tail" Buick Riviera. This brings up...  # 2. No matter how cool or unique you think the finished product might be, some projects should not be attempted by anyone, much less someone who is not a mechanic or bodyman by profession. Everyone loves '55-57 Chevys. So much so that you can now buy or build a complete, brand-new one. That's awesome, if you want one. Let's say you think a '55 Buick Roadmaster would be cool, with a 455 / TH400 powertain, modern disc brakes,  killer suspension etc. Good Idea, in theory. In reality-unlike '55 Chevys that have a modern, open driveline and rear axle-'55 Buicks have the old "Torque Tube" driveline with a huge Pumpkin rear end and a "Dynaflow" automatic that slipped, and couldn't handle the power of the 322 inch nailhead V8 that was stock. Trying to install a modern powertrain would be an absolute nightmare. Motor mounts, crossmembers, trans mounts would have to be custom fabricated, holes driiled in the frame to mount this stuff, the rear suspension would have to be custom fabricated. You'd have to find which GM or 9 inch Ford rear end is the proper width, you'd have to decide if you were using leaf or coil springs, and fabricate the mounts, and you'd have to have a driveshaft and yokes custom-built. The front suspension is the old "Kingpin" style. As far as I know no one makes aftermarket control arms and ball joints, or spindles that mount disc brakes for '55 Buicks. It's almost impossible, no matter how much money you have. Now some of you will say-"Nothing is impossible". Manned space flight is possible-but it isn't cheap or easy!!  By contrast-if you want a killer '55 Chevy-the engine bay will accept any engine from a 283 to a 454. A TH350 is the exact same length and uses the same driveshaft yoke and rear trans mount as a 1955 Powerglide!!  The stock rear axle will hold up to anything short of a 600 hp monster, and if you want that-Currie makes 9" Ford rears with GM mounting points and spring locations pre-installed!!  The front end has control arm suspension stock, and CPP and other companies offer aftermarket ones,and front and 4-wheel disc brake conversions. You can see-building a killer "Pro Touring" '55 Chevy with a modern drivetrain and suspension would be a piece of cake. Doing the same with a '55 Buick would be practically impossible and mega-expensive. See the point I'm making?  # 3. Avoid oddball cars that have body damage. Again-where are you going to get the parts, regardless of cost?  You can get anything you want for a '57 Chevy. Where are you going to find a front fender or rear 1/4 panel for a '56 Oldsmobile 88?  You can get anything you need if you have a late '60's or '70's Camaro / Firebird, Chevelle / GTO / 442, Road Runner, Charger, 'Cuda or Challenger. But what if you have something else. Where are you going to find a hood for a 1974 Ventura GTO?  Sure dozens' of T/A resto shops sell the "Shaker" scoop. I'm talking about the actual hood panel, with the hole for the scoop cut out of it, for a Ventura, not a Firebird!!  Guess what? No one makes it. Now you can get a flat hood off a '71-74 Ventura-but even that's going to be a moonrock in a junkyard-and have the hole custom-cut by a body or metalworking shop, but how much hassle is that going to be? You can get anything you want for a Mustang or a T-Bird. What if you've got a Cougar? Or a Mercury Montego like David Pearson raced for the Wood Brothers?  Sure some suspension parts from a Mustang or Torino will interchange, but what if you need body parts or interior trim?  Where are you going to find headlight doors for a '70 Sport Fury GT?  I'm not saying you have to build a "Cookie Cutter" car-I'm just saying the reality is it's a lot easier and cheaper to restore a '69 Camaro than it is a '69 AMC Rebel Machine. It's a lot easier and cheaper to restore a '65 GTO than it is a '65 Barracuda. ( Where would you find that huge rear glass? )  Even between car lines-You can get anything you want for a '68 Mustang. What about a '68 Fairlane? Or Ranchero?  # 4. Get the engine / transmission / suspension combo you want. If you want say-a '68 SS396 Chevelle and you really don't care if it's a stick or an automatic, or if it has disc brakes or not, then that opens up a lot more possibilities of finding a good deal on the base car. If you "Gotta Have" a 4-speed, and front disc brakes that's going to narrow it down quite a bit. If it's got to be a solid-lifter L78 car instead of the hydraulic-lifter L34 / L35 models-your choices get way fewer and the price goes way up. Don't buy an automatic car and think you'll convert it to a stick, or vice-versa. Yes, it can be done, but it's a pain in the ass and expensive. Same with engines. If you want a big-block Challenger or 'Cuda then step up to the pay line and get one that has a 383 or 440 from the factory. Don't buy a 318 model and think you'll convert it. Besides the new engine and accessories- You'll need a new front k-member,big-block torsion bars, a new radiator, a 727 Torqueflite to replace the 904, and an 8 3/4 rear end to replace the 8.25 stocker and big-block leaf springs. That would be a MoFo of a job in a state of the art shop; Your going to attempt it in your driveway with hand tools?  Here's where you may have to compromise a little-If you want a big-block Camaro-the 396 / 402 was only available in the Camaro from 1967 until 1972 and those are pretty rare. By contrast-400 Firebirds are everywhere-and you could get a 400 in a Trans-Am or Formula Firebird until 1979 and the 455 was available until 1976. The Gran Prix is to the Monte Carlo what the Firebird is to the Camaro-the better buy of the two. Rat-Powered Monte Carlos from 1970-74 are rare and pricey. The Pontiac Gran Prix? 400 power standard all years from 1969-76, and a fair number of '70-76 "SJ" models had 455s!!  My sister had a '72 GP in high school. It had power everything, and it felt like a GTO. She showed her taillights to many a shocked Camaro and Mustang driver. Take the path of least resistance the first time, and don't be a dumb ass. I know a guy who wanted a '68-70 Charger. He passed up a one-owner little-old-lady pristine "time capsule" '68 model because it had bench seats, stock hupcaps and skinny tires and a 2-barrel carb on the 383!!  And then paid nearly as much for a '69 that had Cragar Mags and fat tires, a non-numbers matching 440 and bucket seats. And needed a new trunk floor and 1/4 panels and, had a leaky radiator and and a leaky power steering pump!!  Moron!!  # 5. Remember the KISS principle. ( Keep it simple, stupid ). Don't go crazy on your first project. If your doing say a '55 Chevy let's go with a 350 and a 4-speed or TH350.  Don't attempt an LS motor and a 4L80E, or a 454 and a Tremec 6-speed.  If your doing a '65 Mustang-the 289 / C4 combo will work just fine. Don't try to swap in fuel-injected 4.6 Mod motor and a 5-speed. Like I used to tell people back in the '90's when "Pro Street" was all the rage-if a Super Stock Firebird can run 11.30s with a Quadrajet on an iron manifold, why do you need a tunnel-ram and dual 660 Holleys?   Mastermind