More on what upgrades are ok....

Had some more debates about modifications to musclecars. Here's my take-everybody did something to their cars back in the day. Just like now. If you bought a new 5.0 Mustang or Hemi Challenger today would you leave it bone-stock for the next 20 years?  Probably not-chances are you'd add a Cat-Back Flowmaster exhaust, a Hurst shifter, a K&N air filter. Maybe some aftermarket wheels. More hardcore guys might add a Magnussen blower. So a '68 Camaro with a 327 that has an Edelbrock "Tarantula" manifold, a 650 Holley, headers, and some Cragar S/S mags is just as "Right" today as it was in 1971. Now a '68 Camaro with an LS3, a 4L80E, and 20 inch Center Lines is not cool. See what I'm saying? As long as the mods are "Period Correct" and don't irreversibly damage the value of the car-like cutting up the trunk for wheel tubs-I'd say it's ok. This includes changing engines and transmissions. A guy I know bought a six-cylinder, 3-speed Camaro at an auction. He dropped in a mild 350, a Saginaw 4-speed, added some rally wheels, spoilers and stripes, and now everyone "oohs" and "aahs" over his "Z/28".  Another guy bought a gorgeous '64 Cutlass convertible. He chucked the 330 V8 / ST300 2-speed, and dropped in a 403 / TH350 combo. He also added front disc brakes and front and rear sway bars pirated from a '75 Gran Prix. The improvement in performance and handling was stunning. And to the casual observer-they wouldn't notice an HEI distributor-the car looks stock. Now again-if he'd stuffed an LS motor and a 6-speed in it, I'd be griping about him messing up a nice car. I'd even say a little cross-breeding is ok if it's "Period Correct". A few examples I've seen-a guy had a '71 Pontiac Ventura-Pontiac's version of the Nova. A lot of them had 250 inch Chevy Sixes, or 307 Chevy V8s. Some had 350 Pontiacs. His was a 307 version. He chucked the 307 and dropped in a stompin' 383 inch Small-block Chevy. Now for him to put "Real" Pontiac power in it-he'd not only have to change the engine-but the transmission as well-Chevys and BOP engines have different bellhousing bolt-patterns. Further-all the accessories-power steering, alternator, water pump, fuel pump. belt pulleys-are all different. So dropping in the Chevy motor was the path of least resistance. And who cares if a 307 Ventura now has a 383 in it? Another guy had a '64 Tempest with a stompin' 425 Olds V8 in it. He had 11 second time slips for it. Now if it was a numbers-matching Tri-Power GTO with an Olds engine in it, I would take issue. But a 326 Tempest? What? There's one less Fake GTO running around?  Thank god for that. Another guy had a '66 El Camino with a 389 Pontiac in it, that was a rocket. And no, it was not an SS396. I read an article in a magazine-I think it was "Street Rodder"-about a guy that bought a '57 Chevy that had been a race car since 1962, and had always been campaigned with a Pontiac engine. I thought it was really cool that instead of spending a gazillion dolars returning it to "Just as it left the Factory" he was restoring it as a race car-complete with "incorrect" Pontiac engine and he was going to run it at vintage drag events. In the same issue a guy had a beautiful 1961 Impala-that had a 500 Cadillac / TH400 powertrain. Moved the big car way quicker than the 283 / Powerglide combo it replaced. Chevy purists will gripe-but again-it's an Impala-not a Split-Window Fuel-Injected Stingray!! And at least it doesn't have F%^&in' LS motor in it!!!  Like everything in every magazine.  Mastermind 

Within reason, upgrades help value, not hurt it.....

Had a debate with another "Just as it left the factory" fanatic the other day. A friend of mine has a '66 GTO. It had the awful 2-speed ST300 ( read Powerglide ) automatic behind the 389. A TH350 is a bolt-in swap. Not only are they the same length, they use the same rear trans mount and driveshaft yoke. You can even use the stock shifter. You won't be able to manually engage low gear-but with a good shift kit from B&M or TransGo you won't need to. You'll have automatic kickdown to 1st gear at low speeds. The improvement in performance with the 3-speed auto compared to the 2-speed is unbelievable. He also put on front disc brakes using '70's Firebird spindles, rotors, calipers, and power booster and master cylinder. Now the car stops safely from high speeds, way better than it did with 9.5 inch drums. It's a beautiful car with period-correct Torq-Thrust mags on it. Mr "Just as it left the factory" commented on how he's "ruined" the car with these minor upgrades. "Ruined" it by cutting more than 1/2 second off it's 0-60 and 1/4 mile time without hurting gas mileage and drivability?  "Ruined" it by reducing it's 70 mph-0 braking distance from 230 feet to 140? How did that "Ruin" the car?   And it's a really nice driver. It rides good, handles, good, the seats are comfortable and the suspension doesn't rattle your fillings loose. And it's fast enough to back up the image. When leaving a stoplight or entering or exiting a freeway he doesn't have to take crap from little boys in WRX's or soccer moms in Hemi Cherokees. Another guy I know has an SS396 Chevelle. It had power steering an disc brakes from the factory, but it also had a bench seat and that awful Muncie shifter on the 4-speed. He put in some bucket seats and a Hurst shifter. Now if you've ever driven a Camaro or Chevelle with that awful body mounted Muncie shifter-you know why a Competition Plus is / was a "Day Two" modification. With the Muncie-forget powershifting-if you've got your foot in it above 3,500 rpm-you won't be able to shift it. No way, no how. Why Chevy did that is a mystery-because GTO's, Firebirds, and 442's had Hurst shifters from the factory that worked great. Anyhow-the Hurst shifter is a much needed upgrade. The bucket seats look cool and are more comfotable. Oh no, this Chevelle was "Ruined". "Ruined" How?  If my friend wanted to sell it-do you Really think a potential buyer is going to say "Gee, it's got a numbers-matching 396 and M20 4-speed, it runs like a scalded cat and the price is reasonable." "But I hate the bucket seats and Hurst shifter."  "If it had a bench and the Muncie shifter it'd be perfect". "Sorry, I'm going to pass." "This car is ruined."  Really???!!!  No, not in a million years would anyone say that and if one moron did, there would be 50 people in line behind him with cash wanting the car!!  Ditto if you put a "Six-Pack" setup on a Mopar-or Tri-Power on a Corvette or GTO-the car will be worth more, not less. I talked to a guy with a 78 T/A who wanted to put "Snowflake" wheels on it-but was hesitant because his PHS sticker said the car had Rally II's originally!!!  Really??  Like Ditka says on Monday Night Football- "Come on, Man! "   Mastermind         

"White Lightning" redux.....again.....

After "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" won Oscars buzz has come around again to Quentin Tarantino possibly doing a remake of "White Lightning" which is one of his favorite action flicks.  I've touched on this before, but it's worth re-visiting. It's always risky to redo a "Cult Classic". I hated the "Cape Fear" remake. Fake Tattoos and bad fake southern accent, Robert DeNiro was not 1/10 as scary as Robert Mitchum. DeNiro's Max Cady even admitted to being someone's bitch in prison to Nick Nolte's Sam Bowden. Mitchum's Cady ran the prison.  Ditto for the True Grit redux. You can't top John Wayne. I thought Jeff Bridges portrayal made Rooster Cogburn look like a homeless drunk. And the girl looked half-black or Latino. In the 1880's She couldn't have gotten away with the crap that blue-eyed Kim Darby did in the original.  I hated the "Mechanic" remake with Jason Statham. Again-you can't top Charles Bronson playing a badass.  In the original Steve McKenna and Arthur Bishop kill each other. Of course in the remake they make it look like Arthur Bishop survived-of course to leave room for a sequel. And they did make a sequel which was awful. Even Jessica Alba barefoot in a bikini most of the movie couldn't save it. Anyhow-back to "Lightning". If anyone can pull it off, QT can. 2 things he needs to be careful on. # 1. Time Period. With Marijuana now legal in most states, no one's going to care about untaxed liquor. It's going to have to be set in the 1960's. Which is ok, then he can use classic musclecars in the chase scenes-necessarry because modern cars banged around like that-the airbags would trigger, the fuel pumps shut off, etc. Further-he could touch on the civil rights movement in the south, Gator's brother could have been killed at a civil rights protest or an anti-Viet Nam war protest. Sheriff J.C. Connors and "Big Bear" could also have been into drugs, illegal gambling and prostitution, as well as whisky running. Gator could be a Viet Nam vet.  # 2. Casting. Gator has to be a country boy. That leaves out Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman. I'd vote for Brad Pitt. His portrayal of evil cracker "Early Grace" in "Kalifornia" was masterful. He'd be excellent as "Gator". Matthew McConaughey could do it as well. His evil cracker "Mud" was masterful, and so was "Killer Joe" where he played a corrupt Texas lawman / hitman. And I know QT has had success casting black actors in traditionally white roles-"Jackie Brown"-Pam Grier did great-but in the Elmore Leonard novel "Rum Punch" on which the movie was based-"Jackie Burke" was a glorious California blonde. That didn't matter. But in the '60's in Arkansas-Gator has to be a white man. A black man pulling the shit that Gator pulls-wouldn't fly. So that leaves out Sam Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, etc.  Don Johnson would be awesome as J.C. Connors. Sam Elliot would be great as "Big Bear". So would Bruce Willis-and QT likes him.  For the immortal "Shake-a-Puddin"- Jennifer Billingsley's bravura performance is going to be hard to match. Barefoot in that skimpy sundress the whole movie, her brown roots showing in her bleach-blond hair she just oozed sex. When she runs her bare foot up Gator's bicep and says "What you thinking about?" and he says "Shake a Puddin" and she says "You want to try some?" Like Wayne's World-"Schwing!!" And doubtless QT will love the scene on the dock where she feeds Gator breakfast and we get an extreme close-up of her very dirty soles. She doesn't even get mad when Gator sets her for rape to excape "Big Bear's" henchmen. She drives the wounded Gator to safety at the home for unwed mothers -I'd go with Pam Anderson. She's got the smokin bod, gorgeous feet, and the attitude to pull it off.  Margot Robbie who was excellent in "Hollywood" I'm sure would be on QT's list. Jeri Ryan-"Seven of Nine" on Star Trek would be awesome-her body is more amazing than Pam's or Margot's.  Elizabeth Banks could do it. But again "Shake a Puddin" has to be a blonde, "Trailer Park Barbie". That leaves out ethnic beauties like Salma Hayek, Eva Longoria, Rosario Dawson, etc. The girl with the baby at the home-could be Gator's brother's girlfriend, and the baby Gator's nephew. She could have witnessed the killing-spurring Gator to avenge his brother by killing the sheriff. It could fly-I'd like to see it. Let's hope there's enough "buzz" that he gets motivated. Mastermind