Rumors of a "White Lightning" redux....again..

With "Once upon a time in Hollywood"-Quentin Tarantino's much anticipated look at the Manson Murders-being advertised, talk has also resurfaced about him doing a "White Lightning" remake, as he's said it's one of his favorite action flicks. I don't think it's a good idea. I touched on it a couple years
ago in detail, but it's worth re-visiting. The reason I hate remakes is they are rarely as good or better than the original, and they usually don't do justice to the characters or the story. Here's a few classics that they tried to re-do and in my mind, failed miserably on regardless of box-office gross.  # 1. "Cape Fear"  This one starred Gregory Peck as a prosecutor who sent a violent criminal to prison and then is harrassed and stalked by the vengeful ex-con when he gets out. Robert Mitchum delivered a tour de force performance as the evil Max Cady. Mitchum was scary as hell. Robert DeNiro in the remake with his tattoos and phony southern accent paled by comparison. You got the impression that Mitchum flourished in prison. Like the old joke-"Yea though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil." "For I am the meanest motherfucker in the valley." DeNiro's character, who's supposed to be equally badass, whines to Nick Nolte about getting raped in prison, and having to be somebody's bitch!! Like MC Hammer said-"Can't Touch This".  And shouldn't have. Mitchum oozed sexual menace when casually threatening Peck's wife and daughter.  Here's where the remake lost it. Polly Bergen was the dutiful,faithful wife, who stood by her man through thick and thin, and even endured rape stoically to protect her daughter. Lori Martin was the virginal teenage girl who loved her daddy and had no idea the trouble that was awaiting the family. By contrast-Jessica Lange came off as a vengeful cunt who wanted to punish her husband ( Nick Nolte ) for cheating on her in the past. In the original no mention was made of infidelity by the lawyer. The director just wanted to add drama. It didn't. It made the lawyer look like an asshole and his wife look like a bitch.  Juliette Lewis played the daughter and she came off as a rotten little cunt too. Screw-up #2-in the original Mitchum brutally rapes a hooker and walks when she refuses to testify, confounding the police and adding to Peck's angst. In the remake the director again going for more unnecessary drama-the girl DeNiro rapes is the girl Nolte cheated on his wife with. Groan. In the final, fight to the finish on a housbeoat, again-the director screws up Jessica Lange practically begs DeNiro to do her instead of Juliette Lewis, like she's jealous that "Max Cady" would even think of taking the younger girl over her middle-aged "milfness".  Yuck. In the remake Nolte kills DeNiro.  In the original Gregory Peck lays an ass-whippin on Mitchum like any husband and father would in this situation and sends him back to prison, which for Max Cady, is a fate worse than death.  No comparison, Mitchum and Peck hit it out of the park, Nolte and DeNiro failed miserably.  # 2. "The Mechanic."  Charles Bronson is most famous for "Death Wish", but in my opinion this was his best movie followed closely by the Elmore Leonard penned "Mr. Majestyk".  Arthur Bishop is a Hitman who lives in a cool house and get's his assignments by mail and over the phone from a shadowy organization. A friend of his father's asks Bishop to intervene on his behalf in a dispute with the bosses. Bishop does-he kills the guy at the orginization's behest.  He also suffers from anxiety, migraine headaches, and insomnia, and is so lonely that he pays expensive hookers to write him love letters. He also strikes up a friendship with the son of the man he rubbed out, who's an adrenaline junkie played with glee by a young Jan-Micheal Vincent. Bishop teaches him the asassins's trade, and get's his ass chewed for bringing the kid in when a job nearly goes sideways. Bronson defiantly tells the boss "Steve will be working with me from now on." "Someone trained by me should have immense value to you."  The orginization then tries to take Bishop out, and he's saved by Steve. Then Steve and Bishop start a game of cat and mouse, stalking each other, each thinking the other doesn't know. They kill each other in a totally surprise, and badass ending.  In the remake, Jason Statham is your average happy, go-lucky guy. He just kills people for a living. You know, a Quirk, like Leatherface wearing a mask made of human skin and cutting up people with a chainsaw. He's such a nice guy that he buys the hooker a puppy. Steve McKenna is played by Ben Foster, who unlike Jan-Micheal Vincent who hung on Bronson's every word and followed his instructions to the letter while learning from the master, Foster seems intent on doing the exact opposite of what Statham tells him and seems hell-bent on fucking up every assignment. Why Statham puts up with this is unknown. Then when they try to kill each other, they make it look like Arthur Bishop somehow survived, obviously to leave room for a sequel, which sucked even worse. Jessica Alba, barefoot in a bikini almost the whole movie, couldn't save it. Need I say more?   # 3. True Grit. John Wayne won his only Oscar for portraying Rooster Cogburn, a one-eyed, hard drinking, quick tempered,even quicker trigger fingered, ass kicking U.S. Marshal. The tone is set when he's testifying in a trial early in the film. A defense attorney asks him "Marshal Cogburn, how many men have you shot?"  John Wayne responds-"Shot or Killed?"  Kim Darby played the young girl who enlists Marshal Cogburn to hunt down the man who killed her father and stole their prize horses. Country Singer Glen Campbell does a good job as a greedy Texas Ranger who is after the same guy on a Texas murder warrant, who Rooster grudgingly allows to tag along. They eventually get their man. John Wayne snarling "Fill your hand, you sonofabitch!!"  Has to rank up there with Clint Eastwood saying "Go ahead, make my day.".  There's also the race where Rooster rides like the wind to get Kim medical treatment for a snake bite. In the remake Jeff Bridges comes off like a homeless drunk. Scenes of him falling off his horse, and out of bed just irritated me. Kim Darby's part was played by a girl who looked almost black. In 1870-a black girl couldn't have been as headstrong and belligerent as the character was. Blonde-haired, blue eyed Kim Darby could carry it off. Don't give me a politically correct lecture or call me a racist-I'm speaking of the time period the movie was set in. That's why "Wild, Wild West" sucked. Will Smith playing James West? They didn't have black Secret Service Agents in 1865!!!  Anyhow, it was awful. Should never have been attempted.  Anyhow-back to "White Lightning".  With Marijuana now legal, no one's going to care about illegal whiskey. It would have to be set in the '60's. And you'd have to use old cars-as new ones will break, the fuel pumps shut off, airbags trigger etc during the car chase scenes. Casting is going to be hard. "Lightning" was made right after "Deliverance".  This was when Burt Reynolds was at the top of his game, when he still acted, before "Smokey and the Bandit" when he started phoning in his "Good Ole Boy" dipshit persona.  I mean the movie opens with him in prison, for a crime he freely admits doing. No good guy falsely accused, or doing time for a crime he didn't do hollywood bullshit. And it's obvious from the get go that "Gator" plans to kill the corrupt sheriff that killed his brother. That's a badass motherfucker. Hopefully they won't sissify "Gator" by trying to make him likable. Who could do it?  Maybe Brad Pitt. Maybe Matthew McConaughey. Playing a badass southerner is hard. Clint Eastwood was great as "Dirty Harry", but he couldn't have done "Gator Mcluskey" or "Buford Pusser".  See what I'm saying?  So that leaves out Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, Colin Farrel, and a bunch of other "It" guys right now. Who's going to fill Ned Beatty's shoes as the evil, corrupt, J.C. Connors?  Maybe Don Johnson. Maybe Kurt Russel. And the immortal "Shake a Puddin'?"  Her dark brown roots showing in her bleach-blonde hair, barefoot in that skimpy sundress the whole movie, Jennifer Billingsley just oozed sex. She wasn't even mad when "Gator" set her for attempted rape so they could escape "Big Bear" and his henchmen. She drove him to a home for unwed mothers for medical attention.  She nailed the southern slut that men die and kill for. Others have tried-Kim Basinger in "No Mercy", Teri Hatcher in "Heaven's Prisoners", most recently Reese Witherspoon in "Mud"-all valiant efforts by talented actresses, but none can top "Shake a Puddin".  Who can play her?  Maybe Pam Anderson, maybe Charlize Theron. I know Tarantino likes to cast black actors in traditionally white roles-Jaime Foxx in "Django", Pam Grier in "Jackie Brown" ( in the book "Rum Punch"on which the movie is based "Jackie" was a Pam Anderson looking blonde ). and he's had success doing it. Rosario Dawson or Lex Scott Davis, or Halle Berry are certainly sexy enough, no argument there-but could they pull off the southern-ness, shameless flirty way that only southern girls have?  QT is a talented guy, but lately he's been preaching to the choir. If you've seen his other movies you get the inside jokes. If you haven't, your going-"What the hell was that?"  Hopefully he forget "Lightning" or if he doesn't, hopefully it will re-energize him to be the genius film maker we know he can be.  Mastermind   

More "Phantom" cars.....

Here's some more "Phantom" cars that the dreamers just won't let die.  # 1. 1968 428CJ Mustang.  Carroll Shelby was putting Police Interceptor 428s into his GT500 Mustangs in 1967-68, even offering dual quads as an option. Since the 390 was an option and all "FE" engines are externally identical a 428 was a bolt-in swap. Bob Tasca of Tasca Ford had great success drag racing a 428 Mustang and was instrumental in convincing Ford to offer the 428 in the 1969 Mustang. Rumors persist that there were "a few" built for 1968. However I have never seen one or a build sheet or a window sticker for one or a Marti report.  If someone can produce documentation, I will stand corrected, but until then I will say these don't exist.  # 2. 1970 Boss 429 Cougar.  Boss 429 Mustangs were built to homologate the engine for NASCAR racing. They started life as 428 models and were sent to Kar Kraft for the conversion, which required extensive modifications. Only 1359 were built in 1969-70 and Ford lost money on every one. Two Boss-Nine Cougars were built for drag racers "Dyno" Don Nicholsen and "Fast" Eddie Schartmann. Neither had much success. Nicholsen pulled the Boss 429 and replaced it with an SOHC 427 Ford and won some races. Schartmann used his car in tuning clinics for a while. Nicholsen's car turned up a few years ago. The collector has a Boss-nine and a cammer 427, but neither are the original engine or the Nicholsen race motor. Another collector is trying to restore Scharmann's car. Anyhow-these are the only two, there was never a production version.  # 3. 1970 "W31" Cutlass Rallye 350. The Rallye 350 was an "insurance beater " like the Pontiac T37 Tempest. The Rallye package included a super loud Sebring yellow paint job, body colored bumpers, a "Judge" style rear spoiler and special striping. Power was-duh-a 350 V8 rated at 310 hp backed by a 4-speed or a TH350. 3,527 were built. Contrary to rumors these cars were not a 442, and were not "Almost the 1970 Hurst / Olds". Hurst was not involved in any way shape or form. Rumors also persist that 10 or 12 were built with the vaunted "W31" 350 which featured upgraded cylinder heads, an aluminum high-rise intake and a hot 308 degree cam so radical that the engine was only available with a 4-speed and 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears.  However-again-I hate to sound like a broken record-but I have never seen one or a build sheet or window sticker for one, and no magazine or Olds executive or engineer has ever verified one. As far as anyone knows all 3,527 have the standard Olds 350. # 4. 1971 Challenger T/A. This package was listed in early '71 sales literature, and there was even a full-page ad in Motor Trend. However the car in the ad was a '70 model, and a '71 grille was airbrushed in. When Ford pulled out of Trans-Am racing for '71 ( that's why there was no '71 Boss 302 ) Chrysler did too. Without the racing tie-in, the brass decided they didn't need to make a production version. Also the '71 R / T striping looks a lot like the '70 T/A striping.  But there were none built. The 340 Six-Pack T/A package was only offered in 1970.  # 5. 1973 Super Duty Pontiacs. In early 1973 sales literature the SD-455 was listed as optional in the GTO, LeMans, Grand Am and Gran Prix models as well as Trans-Am and Formula Firebirds. In a colossal goof "Cars" magazine made the SD-455 '73 GTO their "Car of the Year".  However-the engine had trouble passing emissions with the hot RAIV cam, so it was swapped for the milder RAIII cam and horsepower was down-rated from 310 to 290. They also had trouble with the connecting rod supplier, and EGR valve function.  Finally, in April 1973 the engine was EPA certified in the Firebird line only. Only 295 were built-252 in T/A's and another 43 in Formulas. Another 943 were sold in '74 T/A's.  So anyone with a 455 powered '73 Grand Prix or Grand Am,LeMans or GTO has the standard 250 hp 455. It may be a tire-fryer, but if they claim it's a Super Duty, their lying.  # 6. 1975 455HO Trans-Am. These cars technically exist. I say technically because of the story behind the car. Catalytic Converters slaughtered performance for everyone. Later on, engineers realized the bottleneck was not the converter itself, but the fact that the exhaust went into one pipe before entering it. 1975 was the low point for everyone. When the '75 models were introduced the only engine in a Trans-Am was a 400 that wheezed out 185 hp. A far cry from the 290hp SD-455 of the year before. The buff magazines howled bloody murder. Pontiac responded by introducing the "455HO" Performance Package. It included a 455 V8, a 4-speed and a 3.23:1 posi rear end. The buff magazines howled again. The motor was not the 455HO of '71-72 that had RAIV heads, intake and exhaust manifolds and the "068" cam that made 335 hp ( 300 net ) and 480 lbs of torque at 2,700 rpm. This was a 7.6:1 compression "station wagon" 455 that wheezed out 200 hp. Of the 23,000 T/A's sold that year, only 857 had this package. At least Pontiac was trying. For '76 it was simply called "455 Performance Package" and the buff magazines were happier that they weren't desecrating a legendary moniker. ( GM was shameless
 at this. The low point was the '79 Hurst / Olds when they hung the "W30" moniker on a 350 V8 that wheezed out 160 hp ).  Of the 46,000 T/A's sold in '76,  7,528 had 455s.  The others were all 400s.  # 7. 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express. In November 1977 Car and Driver had a "Double the Double Nickel" article-i.e. testing cars that could go 110 mph or faster.  The 1/2 ton Dodge Pickup blew the doors off both an L82 Corvette and a WS6 Trans-Am in a drag race. However-the "Prototype" Li'l Red Express had a 360 V8 with Nascar W2 heads, the hot cam out of the old 340 Six-Pack, a Holley Double Pumper carb mounted on an aluminum single-plane Holley "Street Dominator" intake, and catalyst-free dual exhaust. Needless to say-production examples with a standard 360 with stock heads and cam and a Carter Thermo-Quad on an Iron manifold were substantially slower!!  Dodge sold a few thousand "Little Red Trucks" in '78-79, but none of them had the kickass motor of the "Prototype!!"  Mastermind                 

"Phantom" Cars.....Again.....

Got some flap from some people claiming that there "Were So" 4-dr 442s after the post a few days ago that talked about options that never made production.  I stand by my statement. I have never seen one, no Olds executive or engineer has ever verified one, and I have never seen a build sheet or window sticker for one. Sorry guys, all 442s are 2 dr models.  Like I said in the previous post options or packages are often listed as available in sales literature, or in the buff magazines, but then never make production. I've touched on this before, but it's worth re-visiting. Here's a big list of "Phantom" cars that people continue to insist are real, but no magazine or factory rep has ever verified.  # 1. Tri-Power 1967 GTO. When the 3-2bbl option was dropped at the end of 1966, the buff magazines howled bloody murder, ignoring the fact that the new for '67 400 inch engine with totally redesigned cylinder heads actually made MORE power and torque with a 4bbl than  the old Tri-power 389 did. The '65-66 tri-power setup would bolt on to the new engine, and some dealers would install it for you if you paid extra. But there was never a factory built version.  # 2. 1970 LS6 454 Corvette. Initially, the mighty LS6 was slated to be optional in the Camaro SS and the Nova SS as well as the Chevelle. Since the 396 was an option, it would be a bolt-in. Further, Zora-Arkus Duntov, Chief Corvette engineer, fully expected the much more radical 12.25:1 compression LS7 454 to make production as the 'Vette's "top dog", so he felt no need to offer the 11:1 LS6.  At the last minute, the brass decided to cut down on "Model Proliferation"-whatever that means-and the LS6 was only offered in the Chevelle line. Also the LS7 was nixed for production, leaving the 370 hp LT1 350 small-block as the 'Vette's most powerful engine. You could get a 454 in a '70 Corvette, but it was the hydraulic-cammed, quadrajet, LS5 "Station Wagon" 454 rated at 360 hp.  # 3. 1969 Ram Air V GTO. In 1968-69 Herb Adams and others were trying to come up with a "Tunnel Port" 303 inch engine to run in Trans-Am racing, as they knew Ford was developing a "Tunnel Port" 5 liter motor. ( "Boss 302" ring a bell? ) In testing-Adams and crew found that the little 303 ( a de-stroked 400 ) ran better and made more power with production RAIV heads.  However, drag racers Arnie Beswick and Doug Nash found that the big heads, and a hot General Kinetics solid lifter cam made phenomenal power when used on the 400 and 428 inch motors. Phenomenal as in 427 Chevy and 426 Chrysler Hemi power levels. Beswick had great success with his "Super Judge".  Adams, and others pushed to get the engine into production, hoping to make the GTO "King Kong" again as it had been from 1964-66. For some reason Pontiac brass said they would not warranty a solid-lifter engine. Adams and DeLorean argued that Chevrolet had several solid-lifter small and big-block engines that GM warrantied, but the brass wouldn't budge. Adams pointed out that Chrysler sold the limited edition Hemi Darts without a warranty, as Ford had done with the Thunderbolt Fairlanes. He suggested Pontiac do that. No, they wouldn't sell the cars without a warranty either. They had enough parts to build about 600 engines, and DeLorean was pissed over the money spent developing it, and didn't want to scrap 600 special engines. Adams suggested they sell them over the counter to Racers through parts departments. Royal Pontiac mechanic Milt Schornak had great success drag racing an RA V GTO, and Hot Rod did an article on an RA V '69 Judge that Royal built for a customer. As late as 1972 the engineers were trying to get it into production, and the story is that Pontiac built a 455 inch RAV GTO and Buick engineers built a Stage 2 455 inch Skylark and they had a drag race. Both cars ran high 10s, and word is the Buick won by two car lengths. The Buick was destroyed in a fire at the GM proving grounds. No one knows what happened to the Pontiac. Over the years buff magazines have featured various "reader rides" with RA V engines, some built by legendary Pontiac tuner Nunzi Romano, but the fact remains that there was never a factory built version.  # 4. 1971 LS6 Chevelle / Monte Carlo. For some perverse reason-Chevrolet flip-flopped from 1970. The LS6 was listed in early '71 Chevelle literature, but it never made production. However, about 1,100 Corvettes were built with an LS6 rated at 425 hp and 9:01 compression, down from the 11:1 and 450 hp rating of 1970. Some people also claim that there were "a few" LS6 '70-71 Monte Carlo SS's. Not true. The LS5 was available, rated at 365 hp ( up 5 hp from 1970 ). But I have never seen a window sticker or build sheet for a '70-71 LS6 Monte, or '71 SS Chevelle. Further muddling the waters-GM sold the LS6 as a crate engine until 1991. So someone may have a '71 Chevelle or Monte Carlo with an LS6 under the hood, but it's not a factory built model.  # 5. 1972 440 Six-Pack Charger / Road Runner. The Hemi was killed at the end of '71. The 440+6 was listed in early '72 sales literature with 9:1 compression and a 330 hp rating. Down substantially from the 10.3:1 and 385 hp from 1971. However the engines had trouble passing the stiffer '72 emissions standards, particularly backfiring through the carbs, and the option was scrapped, leaving the 280 hp 440 4bbl as the top engine option. Rumors persist that 10 or 12 "slipped out" but I have never seen one, or a build sheet or window sticker for one. Until someone produces documentation-I will say that these cars don't exist. # 6. 1971-72 GTO Wagon. In 1971-72 you could get the scooped hood and "Endura" ( read GTO ) front bumper on any LeMans model, including wagons. The 400 and 455 engines were optional. However these were both rated at 250 hp. The Vaunted 300 hp 455HO was not available in wagons, only in Trans-Am and Formula Firebirds, and GTO and Lemans GT models. So if some clown claims to have a GTO wagon-he's wrong. It's a LeMans Sport.  # 7. 1977-79 5-speed Trans-Ams.  T/A's were wildly popular in the late '70's and tuners were everywhere. Dennis Mecham, creator of the "Macho T/A" is well known, and a Doug Nash 5-speed was an option. Former Pontiac engineer Herb Adams founded VSE ( Very Special Equipment ) and partnered with Cars and Concepts to create the "Fire-Am" which, like the Macho T/A-offered a hopped up engine, tweaked suspension, and yes-a 5-speed manual as an option. I can't remember the guy's name, but there was a guy offering a "Bandit" package that included a 5-speed and a 455 inch motor swapped in.  But these were all tuners upgrading used cars, or cars sold as used. The first T/A with a factory installed 5-speed stick was built in 1983 behind a 305 Chevy.  Mastermind         

Chasing performance enhancing used parts is a lost art.....

Everything you read in the buff magazines today, whether it's a magazine project car or a "Reader's Ride" costs $50,000-$100,000 or more. Granted, they do feature some really cool stuff, but 90% of us could never afford to buy or build a car like that. Even their "Budget" articles can be annoying. Especially when they pull crap like "Hey what about that set of ported and polished Brodix Aluminum heads we almost forgot we had?"  I remember even in the late 90's Super Chevy had a series called "Project Cheap Shot". They bought a Nova for $1,500. Their goal was to get it to run 10 second 1/4s for under $10,000, including the purchase price of the car. They almost made it. The car did run high 10s when they were done, but they went $700 over budget. Still, a 10 second car for under 11 grand is pretty awesome. They serialized the build and it was very interesting. The Nova they had was a 350 / TH350 model. They decided the engine had good enough compression and didn't use oil, so they opted to NOT rebuild it and save money by hopping it up with bolt-on parts. They installed a Comp Cams 270H Magnum cam,lifters and springs and a new timing chain. They went with '81-86 305 heads. Their 58cc combustion chambers ( most 350s are 76cc ) would bump compression from 8.2:1 to about 9.6:1 which is about the limit with iron heads and cheap gas anyway. They bought headers and a used Holley 300-36 intake at a swap meet, along with a 3310 Holley carb. They bought a 2,500 rpm B&M torque converter and a shift kit for the trans, and they also bought a small nitrous system. What I thought was really cool is they did use a 9 inch Ford rear end, but it wasn't a $3,300 custom Currie unit. They bought it out of a junkyard out of a '70 Cougar. They had done some careful measuring, and the Cougar rear was not only the same width as the Nova's, the spring mounts were in the same place!!  It was practically a bolt-in!  They did spend $150 for some new 4.10:1 gears.  When it was all done, the car ran 10.70's on the nitrous and low 12s on the motor.  I'd say they hit it out of the park.  I'd like to see more projects like this. Maybe make the limit $25,000 including the price of the car. A friend if mine has a bitchin' Olds Cutlass built this way. It's a '64 model, but it's a Cutlass, not a 442. He swapped the 330 / ST300 powertrain for a 403 / TH350 combo. 73 more cubes and a 3-speed trans instead of a 2-speed made a stunning improvement in performance and drivability.  He used '70's Camaro / Firebird front spindles and installed front disc brakes along with the booster and master cylinder. He installed the front and rear sway bars from a '75 Gran Prix. He installed a fast-ratio power steering box from an '84 Trans-Am.  These changes gave a spectacular improvement in handling and braking performance.  He's running 16" American Racing Torq-Thrusts and 245 / 50VR16 Comp T/A's.  It's an awesome sleeper. It looks like a stock '64 Cutlass with mag wheels. But in a drag race or the twisties he doesn't have to take crap from little boys in their rice rockets or yuppies in 3 series BMW Turbos.  And it was built almost entirely with junkyard parts. I think that's really cool.  An invaluable tool is the Hollander interchange manual. This is the "Bible" that junkyards nationwide use to determine which parts fit which cars. For example the Trans-Am steering box my friend used will fit any GM "A" or "G" body from 1964-87, any F-body from '67-92, and any "X" body from '68-79.  Some other diamonds- 1975-77 Vegas used a Saginaw 4-speed trans with a 3.11 1st gear and a 2.02 2nd. This trans was also used in Chevy Monzas, Buick Skyhawks, Olds Starfires, and Pontiac Sunbirds from '75-81.  I wouldn't put one behind a big-block, but they'll stand up to a small-block with up to about 350 hp.  1980 Z/28s and '81-82 Z/28s and T/A's used a BW T10 with a 3.44 1st gear and a 2.28 second. Again, I wouldn't put one behind a 600 hp 572, but they'll stand up to about 400 hp. Ford Ranger pickups use the same 8.8 inch axle as the vaunted Mustang. There's all kinds of "Junkyard Jewels" that can make big performance gains for little or no bucks. You just have to look. Mastermind 

Let's go with "Period Correct" as what's right...or "Correct"...

I get really sick of people turning up their noses at awesome cars because some minor option or accessory isn't "Correct".  A case in point-a guy had a gorgeous candy apple red '67 GTO. It had a white interior and it had the 400 / TH400 powertrain. Whether or not it was numbers-matching I don't know. The car was parked at a local "Show-n-Shine" at a popular burger joint. It had tri-power induction and it had fat T/A radials on gorgeous Hurst wheels. I know Tire Rack and Summit both offer reproduction Hurst wheels. Anyhow some self-proclaimed Pontiac "expert" was spouting to his pal how the tri-power was incorrect and how the wheels were wrong because both options were not available after 1966. I think he's wrong on the wheels, but I wasn't going to argue. Murphy's Law-"Never argue with an idiot, because people might not know the difference." The reason it irked me so much is the car was beautiful and it was "Period correct."  Tri-power had been a Pontiac Performance staple since 1959. When the option was not available for 1967-even though the new 400 inch engine with completely redesigned cylinder heads and 4 bbl induction made MORE power than the revered tri-power 389-the buff magazines howled bloody murder to the high heavens. The '65-66 setup would bolt onto the new engine, and all the parts could be purchased in dealer parts departments. There were a lot of people who put tri-power on their '67 GTOs and Firebirds. Ditto for the Hurst wheels. You could buy them through dealerships or you could find them used at swap meets.  Your aware that Don Yenko put Pontiac Rally II wheels a lot of his 427 Camaros. Is a Yenko worth any less because it has Chevy Rally wheels or aftermarket wheels on it instead of Rally II's ?  No!!!  A '68 Camaro with  headers, a 650 Holley on an Edelbrock Tarantula manifold, and Cragar S/S mags is just as "Right" today as it was in 1971.  A '68 Camaro with a Fuel-Injected LS motor backed by a six-speed automatic with 20 inch Center Lines is an aberration.  See what I'm saying?  At the same show-n-shine I saw a '66 Mustang. It was a GT350 clone, but it was way cool. It had a Ford SVT 345 hp 302 crate engine topped by 4 Weber carbs!  You could buy these 4-Weber setups in the '60's, and I'm pretty sure Carroll Shelby offered it as an option on 289 Cobras and early GT350s. I wouldn't have known it wasn't a 289 if the owner hadn't told me.  It had a Top-Loader 4-speed and 17" Torq-Thrust mags with ZR-Rated tires. It looked and sounded badass, and it was "Period Correct". Much better than if it had a Coyote backed by a five or six-speed manual or automatic.  So cut people some slack. a '65 Barracuda with a 360-based 408 stroker disguised as a 273 is totally cool. A '65 Barracuda with an SRT8 Hemi and an 8-speed automatic is not.   Mastermind

"Dealer Installed" is hard to document....

In the 60's and '70's a lot of individual car dealers were performance minded and would upgrade customers cars for a fee.  Royal Pontiac was famous for it's "Bobcat" tune-up which included re-curving the distributor, re-jetting the carb, installing thin head gaskets to raise compression and adjusting the valves looser so the cars could rev higher. They would also swap a 4-barrel for a tri-power setup or dual quads. They'd even do engine swaps. I remember reading an article in Hot Rod about Royal yanking the 400 out of a customer's '68 GTO and replacing it with a 428 HO, and how fast it was, and how the factory should offer this option, blah blah.  Other's like Don Yenko were famous for putting 427s into Camaros and Chevelles. The cars began life as 396  models. Yenko would then have his parts dept order an L72 Corvette 427 short block. Then the service dept would install the heads,carb and intake, distributor, exhaust and all other accessories from the 396. This made the procedure much more cost-effective than changing the whole engine, and he could pass the savings onto his customer. However it makes the cars hard to document as the vin number and the casting number on the heads say the car is a 396 model. So would a reproduction factory window sticker. Only the casting number on the block would say its a 427.  If the seller doesn't have any of Yenko's original paperwork it would be hard to convince a buyer that the car is a for-real Yenko and not one that someone cobbled up.  Nickey Chevrolet in Illinois was doing putting 427s and 454s into Camaros and Chevelles and Novas. I remember Hot Rod tested an L88 powered '73 Nova that ran in the 11s even with traction problems.  Joel Rosen Partnered with Baldwin Chevrolet and created Motion Performance. They built LS6 and LS7 454 Camaros that were guaranteed to run 10 second 1/4 mile times. They also did Mako Shark conversions on Corvettes. They even built a few LS6 powered Firebirds for customers. Mr Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge would supertune Mopar Muscle Cars ala Royal Pontiac style. They also built a few Dodge Demons with Paxton superchargers on the 340s and and a few with Six-pack induction installed.  Tasca Ford was famous for it's drag cars. Their 428 Police Interceptor powered '68 Mustang racer was so successful that Bob Tasca is credited with convincing Ford to offer the 428CJ in the '69 Mustang.  Mecham Pontiac created the "Macho T/A" in the late '70's that all the buff magazines raved about. In addition to recurving the distributor and re-jetting the carb, they opened the hood scoop and installed Hooker Headers and real dual exhausts with 2 catalytic converters. These changes were said to add 50-70 hp.  Hot Rod's test car ran a blistering ( for 1978 ) 14.29 in the 1/4. A huge improvement over the 15.20 that a stocker tested on the same day at the same track ran.  Mecham would also install a Doug Nash 5-speed, Recaro seats, a Turbocharger from H-O Racing, basically if the customer wanted something and was willing to pay for it, they'd do it.  Fortunately for "Macho" freaks Dennis Mecham kept detailed records. If you send him the car's vin number he can tell you if the car is a documented "Macho" or not.  The reason I bring this up is people argue all the time about cars having "Incorrect" options. You have to realize that back in the '60's and '70's a lot of options were in initially listed in early sales brochures and factory literature and then for whatever reason didn't make production. Two famous examples- In early 1964 sales literature the 442 package is listed as optional any F85 model including sedans and wagons. However I have never seen one, no magazine has ever produced a window sticker of build sheet for one, and no Olds engineer or executive has ever verified one. Thus all '64 442s were 2-door models.  In early 1973 sales lit and all over the buff magazines the SD-455 was listed as available in the GTO, Grand Prix and Grand Am as well as Trans-Am and Formula Firebirds. In a colossal goof "Cars" magazine dubbed the SD-455 '73 GTO their "Car of the Year". However the engines had trouble passing emissions and their were production problems with the connecting rods and EGR Valve function. Pontiac considered scrapping the project. Only the tireless efforts of Herb Adams saved it. The engine was finally EPA certified in the Firebird line only in April 1973.  That's why only 295 were built-252 in T/A's and another 43 in Formulas.  The other factor is gearheads have always played with their cars, even when they were brand-new, and sometimes they paid their local dealer to do the work. A friend of my dad's had a 400, 4-speed '67 Firebird that he bought brand-new. It had a coolant leak that turned out to be the intake manifold gaskets. The dealership said they would fix it at no charge under warranty, but the car would be down all day because they had to pull the intake. My dad's buddy went into the parts department and bought a Tri-Power setup for a '66 GTO. The service manager said he had no problem installing it as they were puling the intake anyway. So he got a tri-power setup in his Firebird for the cost of the parts. The labor was covered by the warranty.  My dad worked in a Ford Dealer in the '70's and a rich guy with a Pantera was upset that his buddy's Ferarri Daytona had beaten him in a drag race. He paid the dealership who had my dad-their top hand mechanic-yank the 351C out of the Pantera and install a 429 CJ!!  His plan was to go race his buddy again, and if he won-( Which he probably would-the 8:1 351 had 266 hp; the 11:1 429CJ was grossly under-rated at 375 ) he was going to say he'd had the Pantera "Tuned up".  And understatement of colossal proportions, but that was the guy's personality.  The other thing is back then, unlike now-cars didn't come fully loaded. Almost everything including air conditioning and automatic transmissions were extra cost options. I have seen Monte Carlos with six-cylinder engines and three on the tree manual transmissions. I have seen Grand Prix's and Monte Carlos with 4-speeds. I've seen Camaros with six-cylinder engines and 3-speed manual transmissions.  I've seen some of these guys drop 350s in these cars and then never get around to putting in a 4-speed.  The point I'm making is just because something has an odd combination of parts doesn't mean it's a fake or that the seller is trying to screw someone-he may have bought it that way.  My dad installed an LT-1 Corvette engine in a Nova at a Chevy dealer he worked at one time. The L48 350 had blown up; the engine was being replaced under warranty. The shrewd customer negotiated a deal with the parts and service manager where he would only pay the price difference between an L48 engine assembly and the LT-1.  He got a brand-new fire-breathing 370 hp LT-1 installed for something like 300 bucks.  So don't walk away from something that might be a screaming deal just because it looks a little fishy at first glance. Investigate-the car may have a really interesting history.  Mastermind       

"Gotta Haves" that you don't really need.....

I know magazines need to sell their advertiser's products to stay in business. That's a given. But what kills me is some self-proclaimed "Expert" telling other people how to spend their money on information they've only read in a magazine or on the internet. A lot of these "Experts" have never restored a car or rebuilt an engine, or raced a car on any level-not even a local "Hobby Stock" or "Jalopy" class. Basically their talking out their ass. That's why today I'm going to blow up a bunch of falsehoods.  # 1. You don't have to bore the block .030 or .060 over and buy all-new parts when rebuilding or "freshening" an engine. I know that's how the magazines do it. But I know people who have gotten 250,000 miles out of daily drivers and several seasons on a race motor without spending thousands of dollars.  Where do you think the term "Rings and Bearings" came from?  That's right. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth-you know the '60's, '70's and '80's-if an engine smoked or used oil we would pull it and put new rod and main bearings in it, a new oil pump and new piston rings.  We would put the pistons back in the same hole with the new rings. This is because a wear pattern is already established, and the new rings will "seat" just fine. Now "experts" are going to claim that the rings won't seal and the motor will drink oil. Their wrong. 97 times out of 100 the engine would run like brand-new, not smoke and not use a drop of oil between changes.  Once in a while, you'd get one that would run great, but use a quart of oil every 1,200-1,500 miles. No big deal. If your changing your oil every 3,000 miles you'd have to add one quart between changes. Sometimes you'd tear one down and find that the crank was damaged or one or more rods and pistons were damaged. Guess what? we'd have the crank turned .010 over, get .010 over bearings and have the rods re-sized. If one or two rods or pistons needed replacing, we'd replace them. Not all 8. Some times if you had one hole that wouldn't seat you could have that piston knurled. Knurling would put a rough surface on the piston to help it seal. The car would run like a champ and your "freshening" would still be way cheaper than a total rebuild. Often the car would run another 50,000-100,000 miles. Same for "Valve Jobs".  Often times an engine running on 7 cylinders or having low compression on one cylinder would cause us to pull one or both heads and inspect for damage. Sometimes we'd just grind the one offending valve-an intake or exhaust valve. Sometimes we'd just replace one or two valves or a broken valvespring or pushrod or rocker arm or whatever the problem was. We'd have the heads surfaced and install new head gaskets.  Sort of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And again-often the car's owner would get another 50,000 trouble-free miles of it.  Some of you are scoffing right now and harumphing "That's not the right way to do it." What is the "Right" way?  Replace everything whether you need it or not?  In 1990 we rebuilt the 400 in my brother's GTO. We replaced one piston and two rods and had the crank polished. Didn't turn it, just polished it. We did the heads and replaced the cam and timing chain. Total cost to rebuild was $1,900, which was dirt cheap even in 1990 dollars. The engine dyno'd at 381 hp and 430 lbs of torque.  It will literally spin the tires as long as you want to stay on the throttle. He used it as a daily driver for about 5 years in the '90's. After he got married and had kids it only saw weekend cruises and Hot August Nights.  And guess what? It's still running in 2019!!  It uses a quart of oil every 1,200 miles, but it will still smoke the tires at will. With a "junkyard" engine that we-according to self-proclaimed "experts"- "Half-assed."  ( I'd like to see what we could do if we "Full-assed" something! )  # 2. "Where's the beef?"  I love people telling you how "Gotta have" ultra heavy duty everything. Let's take building the ubiquitous small-block Chevy.  "Experts" will tell you-"You gotta have a 4-bolt main block" "You gotta have "Pink" rods. "You gotta have a forged crank" "You gotta have screw-in studs in the heads."  And a bunch more "Gotta haves" I can't remember off the top of my head.  Their half-right. If your building a NASCAR Nextel Cup 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 daily driver, a street / strip machine or even a short circle track or weekend drag racer, you don't need any of that stuff. I know plenty of racers who use 2-bolt main blocks and cast cranks and have no troubles, especially if rpms don't go over 6,500. Think of it this way. Medium and heavy duty trucks have 4-bolt mains and forged cranks to this day. Yet Corvettes and Z/ 28 Camaros had 2-bolt mains and cast cranks all through the '80's. And you know Camaros and Corvettes were taken to the redline by their enthusiastic owners a lot more than a C60 truck!!  So why did trucks have all that beef?  It's SUSTAINED load that breaks things. The crank in a truck that's pulling 10,000 lbs up Donner pass at 60 mph is a lot more stressed than the crank in a 'Vette that's wide-open for 14 seconds or less in the 1/4 mile!!  See what I'm saying?  I have played with cars for over 40 years and Chevy or anything else-I have NEVER seen a stud pull out of a head. I've seen broken rocker arms, broken pushrods, broken valvesprings, but I have never, ever seen a stud pull out of a head. Cheap insurance when rebuilding an engine for the street or track?  Chrome-moly rod bolts. Any experienced engine builder will tell you that 98% of rod failure occurs AT THE BOLT.  I'm a Pontiac guy, and I love the geniuses saying "Pontiacs aren't high revvers".  No, they won't go 7,500-8,000 rpm reliably like a big-block Chevy or Chrysler Race Hemi!!  But if you limit a 400 to 6,200 rpm and a 455 to 5,700 rpm, you'll have no trouble at all. And-when you've got 500+ lbs ft of torque from idle on up, you don't need to rev to 7 grand.  But these guys act like a Poncho is all done in at 3,500- 4,000 rpm!  This spills onto other parts as well.  I saw in a Summit catalog the other day new Richmond T10 4-speeds for sale. Depending of ratios it showed them having between a 325 lb and 375 lb torque rating.  I was rolling on the floor with laughter. GM used T10s behind 421 Pontiacs that were rated at 376 hp and 459 lbs of torque from the factory, and the buff magazines said that was under-rated. They were used in 409 Impalas that were rated at 425 hp and 425 lbs of torque. The T10 was used in 406 Fords that had over 450 lbs of torque.  And the new T10s have a lot stronger mainshafts and gears than the ones built 50+ years ago!!  Would I put one behind a 720 hp 572?  Probably not. But I wouldn't hesitate to throw one in a 396 Camaro or Chevelle, or a 400 Firebird or Trans-Am, or 427 or 454 Corvette if I couldn't find a Muncie!!  Ditto for T5s. These 5-speeds supposedly have a 300 lb torque rating. Yet I know guys with blowers and nitrous on "5.0" Mustangs that run 10s and have no trouble with these trannys. I know Chevy guys that have swapped 350s and 383s into '80's Camaros in place of the 305s that have no trouble.  I know Grand National racers that run 10s with 200R4s.  Ditto for rear ends. I'm sick of every single magazine project car having a custom 9 inch Ford rear end. I have never, ever seen anyone break a Chrysler 8 3/4 rear. Not even my friend with a nitroused 505 inch Duster that runs 9s!!  I have had 400, 4-speed Trans-Ams that I popped the clutch at 4,000 rpm incessantly on, and I never broke the 10 bolt 8.5 inch rear!!  So don't spend money on some ultra-beefy parts you may not need on some "experts" word. Check around. Mastermind