Some more cool one or two year models........

Here's some more one or two year models that you can still gt a bargain on.  # 1. 1967 Pontiac GTO. For some reason everyone wants a '64-66 model, or a '68-72 model. These are overlooked and I don't know why. They have the best of both worlds. The bodystyle is very similar to the '66, yet they have many cool features that the later models had. For example if you get an automatic in a '64-66 model it's a 2-speed ST300 ( read BOP bolt-pattern Powerglide ). The '67 models had the excellent 3-speed TH400. The new 400 inch V8 had much better breathing cylinder heads than the '66 and earlier 389. Front disc brakes were an option for the first time. 81,000 were built, so you ought to be able to find one for a decent price. # 2. 1971 Dodge Super Bee. For this one year only the Super Bee was based on the Charger body instead of the Coronet. Hemi and 440 Six-pack versions are priced in the startosphere, but you can still get a good deal on 383 models. 6,500 or so were built so their not a moon rock.  # 3. 1973 Chevrolet Corvette. For this one year only you got the ducktail rear end of the '68-72 models and the urethane front bumper of the '74-79 models. The L48 and L82 350 V8s were rated at 190 and 250 hp respectively, and the LS4 454 was rated at 275 hp. For some reason 'Vette collectors snub these cars in favor of the earlier or later models-but I think their cool and that keeps prices reasonable. And the catalyst-free dual exhausts make them much more powerful than the later ones. # 4. 1974 Pontiac GTO. Often called the "Best Nova ever Built." This was the year that Pontiac switched the GTO nameplate from the "A" body LeMans chassis to the "X" body ( read Nova ) platform. The buff magazines howled to the high heavens and derided the car which probably hurt sales. The Trans-Am was now the flagship, and the engineers were trying to jump-start sales with a new, fresh package. The buff magazines were wrong-it was a good performance package-they had wrist-thick front and rear sway bars,a Trans-Am style shaker hood scoop,front disc brakes, and a 350 V8 backed by a 4-speed or a TH350. They were good performers for the time-15 second 1/4 mile times. 7,058 were sold-and think about this-a 400 or a 455 is a bolt-in swap, and a Ventura weighs about 3,200 lbs-600 lbs less than a same-year Firebird, and any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Camaro / Firebird fit these cars. A dynamite sleeper if you can find one. #5. 1977-78 AMC AMX. AMC tried to resurrect the AMX nameplate on the compact Hornet chassis. They actually gave it some cool graphics and a great handling suspension. The bummer was the biggest engine available was a 304 V8 with a 2bbl that wheezed out 120 hp. The upside is AMC V8's are like Pontiacs-they are externally identical from a 290 to a 401. So a stompin' 360 or 401 would be a bolt-in swap. With a curb weight of 2,900 lbs-a 360 or 401 in one of these would give those smug disco-era T/A owners ( and some 5.0 Mustang and other musclecar owners for that matter ) a surprise they'd never forget. Maybe one of these can be your dream ride....Mastermind    

Some one or two year "less than premium" models that can be cool and unique...

Every manufacturer had some "budget" hot rods that were pretty cool and priced less than the top of the line models. These can be fun rides not- "cookie-cutter" rods that you see at every "Show-n-Shine" every weekend. Here's some of my personal favorites in no particular order. # 1. 1970-71 Pontiac Tempest T37, 1972 LeMans GT.  The buff magazines called these the "Poor Man's GTO". You got a 2 door Tempest coupe with a 350 V8 and a 3-speed stick, although you could also get a 4-speed or an automatic, and a 400 or a 455. In 1972 the "T37" moniker was dropped, but the "LeMans GT" was the same basic package. Cool because their NOT a GTO that someone gussied up like a Judge.  #2. 1971-72 "Heavy Chevy". These were a 2 dr Malibu with an SS style domed hood,a blacked out grille, hood pins,slotted 14" Rally Wheels and "Heavy Chevy" badging. Most have 350 small-block motivation which certainly isn't a bad thing, and some have 402 Rat motors. 6,727 were built in '71 and another 3,000 or so in '72, so their not a moon rock. I wouldn't pay "SS" money for one-but they are cooler than a garden-variety Malibu. #3. 1971-72 "Rally Nova". These were a 2 dr Nova with slotted 14" Rally Wheels, a blacked out grille, and a Black Stripe down the side that said- duh-"Rally Nova". Most have the ubuiquitous 350 for power. I personally think they have cleaner styling than the SS model-with it's fake hood scoops and side louvers.  # 4. 1971-72 Satellite Sebring. These look just like a Road Runner, and a lot of them have 383 or 400 cubes under the hood. 318 models are dirt cheap, and you could swap in a stompin' 360 or 360 based stroker pretty easily. # 5. 1971-72 Dodge Demon. These were the Dodge Boys response to the 340 Duster that was wildly successful in 1970. Besides the potent 340 V8, these cool rides had a scooped hood, a Go-Wing spoiler, special stripes, and cool little "Demon" holding a Pitchfork emblems. Even in the '70's Political correctness ruined things. A bunch of Christian groups complained and Chrysler caved in to the pressure, so the "Demon" moniker was dropped and the name changed to "Dart Sport" for 1973. Much Cooler than a Duster in my book. Mr Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge even put Paxton Superchargers on a few and called them "Demon GSS". # 6. 1972-73 Mercury Montego GT. David Pearson had great success in NASCAR in one of these fastback coupes. I think their better looking than their more sought after Torino cousins. Most will have 351C power which is if anything, a plus factor. A few were built with 429s, but they may be pricey-and Ironically-the 351C was rated at 266 hp and the 429 was only rated at 205. I'd paint one like the Pearson's "Wood Brothers" racer-ala-Popular Hot Rodding's "Project Talledega".  All of these cars offer a lot of bang for the buck and are something you don't see everyday.  Mastermind    

Base models and different model years can be big fun for low bucks.......

I get a lot of mail from people lamenting how they can't afford their dream car. And I'm not talking about Hemi 'Cudas or LS6 Chevelles. Even 396 Chevelles or 383 Road Runners will bring 40 grand if their nicely restored and people want 15 grand for stuff that needs 20 grand worth of work. However-you can still find screaming deals if you look in the right place. For example-if your a Mopar fan even 340 Dusters are getting pricey. But you can still buy a 318 powered 2 door Duster or Dart dirt cheap. Mopar performance and Blueprint engines sell 400 hp 360 crate engines-which would be a bolt-in swap. ( You'd have to get a small-block bolt-pattern 727 Torqueflite; a 904 won't stand up to that kind of power-but B&M and TCI can hook you up. ) If the car was a three-speed stick-I'd swap it for a 4-speed. Yes, people want between 50 and 100 grand for a '69-70 Boss 302 Mustang or a 428 Mach 1.  However, Ford built over 70,000 fastback Mustangs in 1969 alone, and most of them have 351W power. I have seen these in great condition for 12-20K. Ford SVT sells stompin' 351W crate motors-you could keep the numbers-matching one in your garage in case you ever want to sell the car. Yes, 455HO and SD Trans-Ams bring 50 grand all day-but I saw a 1978 WS6, 400, 4-speed T/A with 44,000 original miles for $19,900 on the Trans-Am Specialties website!! I saw a 1979 WS6,400, 4-speed, 10th Anniversary model with 66,000 original miles for $14,900!!!  Chevrolet only built 58,000 SS396's in 1968-but they built over 400,000 Malibus that same year. Buy a 2 door Malibu and slap a GMPP 454 or 502 crate engine in it and rock-n-roll!!  Think outside the box a little and you may find a gem you love for a low price. Mastermind

Special Editions that aren't really Special.....But you may be able to buy reasonably....

There's a lot of cars out there that people advertise as rare, special editions. Their nice, and they have cool features-but their not ultra rare or ultra valuable. For example-in 1967-68 you could buy a Mustang coupe with Shelby-style side scoops and T-Bird taillights. Most had 289 motivation, but a few had 390s. Most are called "California Specials" because the majority of them were sold in Duh-California. There are a few called "High Country Specials" that are the same package that was sold in the Denver, Colorado area. I think four or five thousand were built. I would pay more for one of these than I would for a garden-variety Mustang coupe, but they aren't worth Shelby GT350 money-which sellers will try to get. In fact-you could buy a generic Mustang and add the taillights and scoops yourself if you really dig the look. Here's some others to look for. # 2. 1970 Olds Cutlass Rallye 350. These cars had a super loud Sebring Yellow paint job,body-colored bumpers, and "Judge" type rear spoiler. The engine was a 350 V8 rated at 310 hp backed by a 4-speed or a TH350. 3,527 were built. Rumors persist thst 10 or 12 got the vaunted "W31" 350, but I have never seen a build sheet or window sticker for one. Again-people will try to get 442 or Hurst / Olds money-but other than the paint job-their just a 350 Cutlass coupe. # 3. 1977 Trans-Am SE. Of the 68,000 or so T/A's sold in 1977 over 15,000 were black and gold SE's. Other than the striping and the gold dash panel-their just a garden variety T/A. Because of "Smokey and the Bandit" even more were sold in '78-79. # 4. 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette. All 1978 Corvettes had the 50th Anniversary badging, and nearly 10,000 had the two-tone silver / charcoal grey paint job. An L82 4-speed might be worth a few extra bucks, but other wise their a garden-variety Corvette. All these cars are cool if you can get a deal on one, but don't pay extra for one. Mastermind  

Some '70's cars that could be great sleepers.......

For those on a tight budget often you have to think outside the box to find a cool ride at a decent price. Here's some that most people don't think of that offer a lot of bang for the buck.  #1. 1969-76 Pontiac Gran Prix. 400 V8 power standard all years, and a fair number of '70-76 "SJ" models have 455s! My sister had a '72 GP in high school and she showed her taillights to quite a few Camaros and Mustangs. Any suspension or brake upgrades that fit all GM "A" bodies ( i.e.-Chevelle, LeMans, Cutlass, Monte Carlo ) will fit these cars. Dynamite. # 2. 1975-78 Plymouth Sport Fury. Remember the "Blues Brothers?" "Its got Cop tires, Cop shocks...."  Seriously-the 2 dr models are actually pretty good looking, and a lot of them have 400 or 440 cubes under the hood.  # 3. 1977-79 Pontiac Catalina / Bonneville. 1977 was the year all the "big" GM cars were downsized and they weigh about 700 lbs less than the 1976 and earlier models. While the Caprice/Impala line was limited to a 350 small-block,most of the Pontiacs had either a 400 Pontiac V8 or a 403 Olds V8 for motivation. The 2dr models are actually kind of racy looking, and since they were the top of the line, they usually have cool options like power windows and seats,cruise control, etc. # 4. 1978-79 Chevy Malibu,Monte Carlo and El Camino. In 1978 GM downsized all the mid-sizes,and changed the coding from "A" body to "G" body. The newer cars were 600 lbs lighter than the '77 and earlier models. 1980 and later models were limited to 305 cubes, but in '78 and '79 you could still get a 350 with a 4bbl! There's more speed parts for a small-block Chevy than anything else on the planet-so these cars can be made to really run relatively cheap. # 5. 1977-79 Ford Ranchero. These were based on the LTD II platform instead of the Fairlane / Torino chassis that the '68-76 models were based on. They had a roomier and more luxurious interior which makes them nice drivers, and a lot of them had 400 or 460 cubes under that long hood. Cool if you can find one.  Mastermind

The hottest women in Car-Chase Movies....Redux by requests........

About a year ago I ran a post about the hottest women in car chase movies. It was popular and got a lot of good-natured debate going. Recently I had a few requests to re-run it-especially since F&F 7 is coming out-shot around Paul Walker's death and since they killed Gal Gadot and Gina Carano in "F&F" 6,- People have asked me to do it again and I aim to please-so here's my rankings of the hottest women in Muslcecar / Car Chase movies.  # 1. Jennifer Billingsley "White Lightning". With her dark-brown roots showing in her bleach-blonde hair, barefoot in that tight, flowery mini-sundress almost the whole movie, "Shake a Puddin" just oozed sex. When she runs her bare foot up and down his biceps in the front seat of his famous brown LTD and tells Burt Reynolds-"Gator if you want it, just ask." "If you don't that's ok too." I about shit. Burt replies-"What about Roy?" ( Bo Hopkins-her evil moonshiner boyfriend ) She says-"He's not gonna be standing there watching us is he?" "I hope not." Gator says. Later, she has sex with Burt in the river-while Bo Hopkins sleeps in the house up the road. When Burt sets her up for rape so they can escape Big Bear and Sheriif Connors henchman-she doesn't even hold it against him. They kick ass and she drives Burt to a home for unwed mothers for medical attention for his gunshot wounds. She epitomized the southern slut that men die and kill for. Others have tried to do it-Kim Basinger in "No Mercy", Teri Hatcher in "Heaven's Prisoners" and most recently Reese Witherspoon in "Mud"-but none have ever been able to top "Shake a Puddin."  #2. Darlanne Fluegel  "To Live and Die in L.A." This under-rated thriller was directed by William Freidkin ( "The French Connection" "The Exorcist") and starred a young, pre-"CSI" William Peterson as a Secret Service agent after a young Willem Dafoe, who was a master counterfieter that killed Peterson's partner. A classically trained stage actress who'd been wasted in Horror-"Eyes of Laura Mars" and Sci-Fi-"Battlestar Galactica"-she got to show her chops here as Ruth-"Chance's" informant / hooker / girlfriend. And she was naked a lot. When she asks him what would you do if I stopped feeding you information? and he replies "I'd violate your parole and send you back to prison" You know she's going to set him up. And she does. What was great about her performance was she wasn't the cliche' hard-luck girl with a heart of gold. She's a bitch and a whore and she uses men to get what she wants and doesn't care; she knows it and we know it, that makes it unanimous. # 3. Jacqueline Bisset "Bullitt". At 33, in 1977, millions of teenage boys thought she was so smokin hot in bikini panties and a wet-t-shirt that the "Deep" poster outsold everything, inclucing Farrah Fawcett in the red bathing suit that was the 1976 champ. You need to watch "Bullitt" and catch her at 24. The british accent, naked and barefoot under Steve McQueen's wrinkled shirt, offering him breakfast-Like Waynes world-"Schwing!" Only her vomiting after seeing a corpse and reading Steve off for being jaded kept her out of the top spots. # 4. Susan George "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry", "A Small Town in Texas." I upped her ranking because she's in not one, but two cult classics. Three, actually if you count "Mandingo" where her sexy inter-racial love scenes with Boxer Ken Norton got her some Sharon Stone style "Basic Instinct" noteriety for a few years.  "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" actually had a good story about a kidnapping / robbery gone wrong and some good automotive action. She's largely wasted as Peter Fonda and his co-hort make fun of her for most of the film. However she gets honorable mention for spending the whole picture barefoot in hip-hugger jeans and a straining denim halter top. She plays basically the same character-an ignorant slut-as Dan Ackroyd would say- in "A Small Town in Texas". Her football hero boyfriend gets railroaded to prison by the corrupt sheriff on drug charges. So while he's serving time,she of course has no choice but to start sleeping with the sheriff!! Then he comes home, and as they said in Johnny Dangerously-it's Fargin War. Good action and a fight to the finish finale. #5 Isabelle Adjani "The Driver" Adjani is great at playing tortured chanteuses-she stole "Diabolique" from Sharon Stone. As getaway driver Ryan O'Neal's contact and sometime lover-it's her murder that sends him on a path of vengenance and sets up the films excellent final hour. # 6. I'll have to go on the 'net and get her name-but the naked motorcycle rider from "Vanishing Point" has got to be on the list. I loved the '70's. This was before political correctness, and before "PG13" ratings. When I say naked-I don't mean tasteful camera angles, back shots, I mean totally nude and barefoot, full-frontal tit and bush shots and I mean long, lingering shots-not like "Playboy" videos where you think the camera is mounted on an Indy car circling the model!! When Kowalski declines both a joint and sex-she just gets back on the bike and conintues riding! So bad.  #7. Lynda Carter "Bobbi Jo and The Outlaw." She actually made this before she got the "Wonder Woman" gig-but it was released after. It's main attribute is she gets naked a lot. Evangelist turned action star Marjoe Gortner was sexy and menacing as her car-thief boyfriend who kills someone in self-defense, causing them to go on the run. Some decent car-chase action in a Mustang and other cars that Gortner steals. Did I mention that Lynda gets naked a lot?  There's going to be some griping about a few omissions-but I don't care. Sally Field in "Smokey and the Bandit?" Sorry. Can't get a woodie for the "Flying Nun" in a Trans-Am. Jordana Brewster spent all her time in the F&F movies mediating the "Bromance" fights between Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. No sex, and not even a gratuitous bikini scene when they went to Brazil ( Gal Gadot provided that ). The smokin hot Eva Mendes spent about 30 seconds in a bikini in F&F 2, but that doesn't count in my book. Any how let the Ginger vs Mary Ann type debates begin....Mastermind              

Get off this "Brand Loyalty" of "This rules and everything else sucks......You might be pleasantly surprised!!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again-If I see one more Dodge Pickup with "Calvin"-( of the Comic strip " Calvin&Hobbes" ) pissing on a Chevy Bow-Tie emblem or a Camaro with a "Friends don't let friends drive Fords" bumper sticker, I'm going to ram the driver with my old Buick. My dad was a Pontiac guy and so am I. Yes,- If I had an unlimited bankroll-I'd have a Ram Air IV Judge or an SD-455 Trans-Am. In reality-I'll probably buy another Disco-era T/A ( '77-79 ) and put Edelbrock heads and other goodies on it that's more in line with my current finances. Or maybe buy a '69-77 Gran Prix or a '71-74 Ventura and play with that. But I'm not limited to Pontiacs. I'd love to have a '67-68 Cougar. I think that's one of the coolest cars Ford ever put out. Or a '71-73 Mustang Mach 1. Buddies of mine had those in high school and I have fond memeories of them both. I'd also love to have a '70 "Vanishing Point" Challenger. I can't afford an original Hemi or 440 car-but I bet I could find a 318 version fairly cheap and swap in a snarling 360 or 360 based 408 stroker!!  I'd like to have a '71-74 AMC Javelin AMX. That body still looks cool even today-there are millions of Jeep Grand Wagonneers in junkyards with 360 V8s-and Edelbrock even offers aluminum heads for them. I'd do one red,white and blue with Minilite wheels and sidepipes like Mark Donohue's Championship car. I also like some imports. I'd love to restore a '70-78 Datsun 240 or 280Z. I'd love to have a '70-76 Porsche 914. A new Subaru WRX will blow the doors off 90% of the Musclecars out there-they do 0-60 in just over 5 seconds and the 1/4 in the high 13s. Ditto for a Nissan 370Z. Like Vin Diesel said to Gal Gadot-in "F&F 4" when she caught him looking under the hood of the bad guys Torino-"You like that car?" "I like a fine body no matter what brand it is."  Were all gearheads and were all fighting the good fight against the government and the EPA that want to crush all cars built before 1981. Which includes a friend's 1958 Ferarri Testa Rossa!!  So open your mind and you may be surprised at your next "Dream Car!" Mastermind  

A clone can save you many thousands....If your reasonable....

There's a finite number of premium musclecars, and even if you have an unlimited bankroll-depending on what you want-often the problem is just finding one for sale at any price. As long as you don't try to re-sell it as an original I don't see a problem with clones, although a lot of purists do. Tell me-how does some guy dressing up a '66 Mustang fastback like a GT350H "diminish" the value of your "real" one? Everyone knows his is a fake, and yours is numbers-matching, and the "Real" Shelby will always be worth more than a fake. Get over yourselves. Pontiac only made 697 1969 Trans-Ams. If some guy wants to take one of the other 113,000 V8 Firebirds built in 1969 and contact Year One and dress it up like a T/A-so he has a cool car for say $25,000 instead of the $100,000 plus that a "Real" '69 T/A would bring what harm is there in that? If a guy spends 15 grand on a Mopar Performance 426 crate Hemi and puts it in a nice '69 383 Coronet 2 dr he paid 8 grand for and paints it like a Super Bee,and has 30K in a Hemi Super Bee clone-does that really diminish the value of a real Hemi Super Bee that's worth 150k?  I have a friend who back in the '80's bought a six-cylinder, 3-speed '69 Camaro for $1,000. He dropped in a mild 350, a Saginaw 4-speed, and bought a "Cowl Induction" hood, some Rally wheels from Wheel Vintiques, and painted it like a Z/28. Total cost-$3,500. Everywhere he went people "oohed" and "aahhed" over his "Z/28". He loved it, and eventually put a snarling Rat motor in it, which people at "Show-n-Shines" derided him for for "Ruining" a classic!! These assholes who insulted a stranger for modifying his own car had no Idea that it wasn't a "Real" Z/28!!! He got many laughs out of that!!  So if you wan to buy a '69 LeMans and fake a "Judge" by all means do it! As long as you don't try to sell it as an original, who cares?  Mastermind    

The history of the Z/28.....

Musclecar Review is featuring Z/28's this month so I thought I'd touch on how the "Z" came into being. In the mid '60's the SCCA had a road racing series called Trans-American Sedan Racing-"Trans-Am" for short that was very popular. Oddly-at the height of the musclecar era-the displacement limit was 5 liters-or 305 cubic inches. The 289 V8 Ford Mustang and 273 V8 Plymouth Barracuda did nicely. Ford won the championship in 1966. When the Camaro was introduced Chevrolet pulled out all the stops. Instead of running the little 283 V8 that powered countless Novas, Malibus and Pickups-they took the 327 Corvette block and put a 283 crank in it making it 302 inches. It also had 11:1 compression, a hot solid-lifter cam, Corvette "Fuelie" heads, an aluminum intake and a 780 Holley carb. It was rated at a ridiculously low 290 hp. The buff magazines figured its true output was closer to 350 hp, and that race versions were putting out 460-470 hp. SCCA rules said you had to sell at least 500 to the public to race them. Exactly 602 were sold in 1967 making them legal. The brass couldn't think of a catchy name so they just used the option code-rpo Z/28. Roger Penske and Mark Donohue kicked ass. Winning a lot of races in '67 and the championship in '68. Ford fired back with the "Boss 302" a Mustang with Tunnel-Port 351 "Cleveland" heads on a 302 block. Parnelli Jones and others gave Donohue a helluva run. The competition was fierce and the races were more popular than ever. 1969 was the best sales year to date-of the 200,000+ Camaros sold that year nearly 20,000 were Z/28s. The F-bodies were completely redesigned for 1970-this bodystyle would last until 1981. Since the SCCA changed the rules and now allowed destroking-Chrysler got back into the fray with the new Challenger and 'Cuda by destroking the 340 V8 and Pontiac de-stroked a 400 to build a 303. Roger Penske and Mark Donohue were now racing AMC Javelins with a 304 inch V8. The 1970 production Z/28 now had a 350 V8 with all the 'Vette goodies on it and it was rated at 360 hp in the Z/28 and 370 in the Corvette.  The extra cubes really improved torque and drivability. For the first time an automatic transmission and air conditioning were offered. In 1971 GM lowered compression ratios across the board so cars could run on low-lead gas. This lowered hp to 330. Donohue and AMC won the Championship in a Javelin-but by '71 Ford and GM both had pulled the major factory support so it was kind of a hollow victory-a factory backed team beating a bunch of privateers. In '72 nothing really changed-except a UAW strike at the Norwood, Ohio plant that built Camaros and Firebirds nearly killed the breed. Very few were sold, and 1100 cars that couldn't meet the stiffer 1973 5-mph bumper standards had to be scrapped. GM actually considered killing the F-body line. Only the efforts of Herb Adams and others at Pontiac kept them alive. It was a good decision Trans Ams sales quadrupled that year and Chevy sold nearly 12,000 Z/28's in '73-the best year since 1969. However-the solid-lifter cam was replaced with a hydraulic one, and the aluminum manifold ad 780 Holley was replaced by an iron one with a Quadrajet. For some insane reason-in late 1974 Chevrolet killed the Z/28 option. AMC Killed the Javelin, Ford turned the Mustang into a re-badged Pinto / Capri and Chrysler killed the 'Cuda and Challenger, and Road Runner and Charger for '75. The 454 was longer available in a Corvette-a 350 was the biggest motor you could get and you couldn't even get a 4-speed in California!  Gee, wonder why Pontiac Trans-Am  sales were skyrocketing-they sold nearly 50,000 in 1976-and that was before "Smokey and the Bandit"-that film was released in June 1977. Realizing the error of their ways Chevy brought back the Z/28 in March 1977 after a 2 1/2 year hiatus. Power was an L48 350, but you got a 4-speed with 3.73:1 gears or an automatic with 3.42:1s and sport suspension and graphics that copied the T/A. They were good performers for the time-0-60 times in the 7 second range and 1/4 mile times in the mid 15s. I know a V6 Honda Accord is faster than that now-but these were the darkest days-The advent of Catalytic converters and ever-tightening emission standards killed everyone's performance for several years. '78 and '79 were record sales years. Obviously-if youw wanted a musclecar then-you had two choices-a Trans-Am or a Z/28. "Cowl Induction" was brought back for 1980-a vacuum-operated hood scoop that opened under full-throttle acceleration. It didn't really help performance, but man did it sound cool. In '81-things got worse-you could only get a 350 with an automatic. If you wanted a 4-speed-you got a 305 that wheezed out 145 hp. In 1982 the F-bodies were completely redesigned and this body would last until 1992. The top engine option was a "Cross-Fire" injected 305 with 165 hp,that was only available with a 3-speed automatic. If you wanted a 4-speed you got the 145 hp carburated 305. Yuk. In 1983 things started to get better. The L69 305 "H.O." was introduced that had 190 hp and you could get a 5-speed stick or a 4-speed automatic with it. In 1985 "Tuned Port Injection was introduced and bumped power to 215 hp. As a homage to the "International Race of Champions" race series the "IROC-Z" was introduced.  However-Ford had put the 302 back in the Mustang-with real tube headers and a 600 Holley on an aluminum manifold. The Mustang was not only faster-but several thousand dollars cheaper. In late '86-Chevy stuffed the L98 'Vette 350 into the IROC-Z-but only with an automatic-and they still weren't as fast as a Mustang-that now had even more power with their fuelie 302. The line soldiered on until the big redesign of 1993, that lasted until the demise in 2002. The LT1 and LS1 engines brought great performance in the '90's-but GM priced them into oblivion. A loaded Z/28 was $37,000 in 2002 dollars!!  More than a BMW 3 series, more than a Mercedes C-class, and more than a Lexus IS300!! For a car with a ten year old body, a laughable rear seat, poor visiblity, high insurance rates and 15 mpg fuel economy. Why were 40 year olds-who could afford them buying the luxury / Sport sedans I mentioned instead of Camaros? Because they weren't 17 anymore, and needed to accomodate their wife and kids!  Car and Driver said it best-"This car is absolutely coveted by people who can't afford it." ( Young males under 25.). Ford was selling twice as many Mustangs as GM was Camaros and Firebirds combined. For a good reason-a well-equipped V8 Mustang GT stickered for about 25K-a full ten grand less than a Z/28 or T/A. That's about 300 bucks a month difference in the payment!! Gee, you think that might have made people buy Mustangs??  GM killed them at the end of 2002. The Camaro was resurrected in 2009-with a 300 hp V6 model priced at 22K a screaming bargain. For some reason the "Vette motored LS3 with 400 hp was called the "SS" and not "Z/28". They started about 30K. But again-GM has priced them out of the realm of people who want them. A loaded 400 hp 2014 SS is well over 40K. And guess what? A Subaru WRX that costs 27 grand will give it a helluva run in a drag race or the twisties. So will a Nissan 370Z that starts at 32k.  Yeah-the top dog with the 580 hp blower motor is a rocket and is called the ZL1. I think for 2015 there going to call it "Z/28" again.  But they cost $75,0000!!!  Does GM ever learn?  Apparently not. If I'm going to spend 75K on a sports car-I'll buy a Jaguar F-type or a Porsche Cayman or  a two or three-year old Nissan GtR or Porsche 911 or Aston Martin Vantage or a six year old Ferarri F430 or a '90's Lamborghini Countach!! Not a freakin' Camaro!  Mastermind      

Thanks for being a gearhead,Dad....Happy Father's Day!!

Father's day is Sunday and I thought I'd pay a little tribute to my Dad and all the others that caused us to love musclecars. Except for maybe Shirley Muldowney or Linda Vaughn's kids-It's almost always Dad who turns us on to cars. When I was really little my dad had a 1959 Pontiac Catalina with the Tri-Power 389. That car hooked him on Pontiacs and set the path for me and my brother. He later had a 1964 GTO. It was a 4bbl model, but it had a 4-speed and 4.33:1 gears. It was lightning fast in a drag race, but a little buzzy on the freeway!!  Then we got a 1965 Catalina Ventura. It was red with black interior and had American Racing Torq-Thrust mags on it. My mom was furious-because he traded in her beloved '58 Chevy Impala without telling her. Dad was a mechanic by trade-and he was always working on the side in our garage when he wasn't working at a car dealer. He got really good at tuning and sychronizing multi-carb setups. Word got around the local speed shops and race tracks-so he had quite a fan club. Our street was always packed with GTOs, 'Vettes,Road Runners and Super Bees, 409 Impalas, Hemi Chargers,-anything with a 3-2bbl or 2-4bbl induction system. Street Racers and Bracket Racers alike all wanted an edge-and if my old man jetted your carbs and adjusted your linkage-you definitely had an edge over someone who's car was stock or tuned by themselves or a run-of-the-mill mechanic. He also had the sports-car crowd-Porsche 911s, Datsun 240Z's, MG's and Triumphs,Austin-Healeys-even a couple of Shelby Cobra owners. Dad was good at tuning snd syncronizing SU's and Webers too. He also did motorcycle carbs too. That's how he met Dave Aldana-who was a factory-backed Honda motorcycle racer. Dave's battles at the San Jose mile with Gary Scott and Kenny Roberts were legendary. The neighbors must have hated us. Any weekend it looked like a car show was going on on our street. Like I said in an earlier post-I didn't think it was odd that people like Dave and Gary or Dino Fry or some other racing celebrity was hanging in our garage. I read magazine tech articles religiously-and helped my dad work. My mom always says I could swap valve springs in a small-block Chevy cylinder head before I could ride a two-wheel bike. My little brother's first words weren't "Mama" or "Dada" I think they were "Wace Caw". ( "Race Car" ). I got to hang with these guys-and "The Kid" ( me ) carried a repected opinion. When I was about 11 a neighbor who was always screwing with his car, messing it up and wanting my dad to fix it-asked dad to set the firing order on his Chevy Impala one day. Dad tells me to go do it. I knew all GM V8's were 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2, so I went and got the car started in about ten minutes. I guess it embarrased him, because the guy never asked my dad for help again!!  Dad got another '65 Pontiac-this one a 2+2 with a Tri-power 421 and the 8-lug wheels. By the time I was in junior high I was getting letters and articles published in Popular Hot Rodding, Hot Rod and Car Craft. By high school my dad had bought a service station and we had moved to Nevada. Nevada was adopting California's smog standard's and My dad had gotten one of the first smog liscences in Nevada. We had ever car dealer beating down our door to get cars ready for sale.  I had a smog liscence before I had a driver's liscence. My first car was a Ram Air III, 4-speed, 4.33:1 geared '69 GTO Judge. Who buys that for a 16 year old?  My awesome dad-who over-rode my mom and my uncle who was a cop. The Judge was King Kong. I smote all challengers in biblical fashion. I also lost my liscence in less than a year. About this time dad also had a 1978 400, 4-speed, WS6 Trans-Am. My mom has a great picture of the Judge, the 2+2, and the The Trans-Am all parked side by side in front of our house. Because of me-my brother's first car was a '69 GTO-although his wasn't a judge. He also carried on the fine tradition of losing his liscence in less than a year. In my 20's I also had an SS396 El Camino, a couple of Disco-era T/A's and a '71 Ventura that I swapped a 400 into after totaling one of the T/A's. My brother got into circle track racing. Through it all, dad was always there to burn the midnight oil with us fixing a motor or a clutch, or whatever, and he was usually good for bail money when we needed it!!  His big gripe when me and my brother would screw up was-"Now I have to listen to your mother about this."  Like he didn't give a shit that we'd led the police on a "Smokey and the Bandit" chase, or had a "RoadHouse" fight in a bar-no he didn't want to hear the "Wrath of Mom" which in his mind would somehow be directed at him, not us-Because-"Who raises people that do shit like that??""  I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He couldn't lecture us too much because his brothers- good old uncle Herbert and uncle Bobby would tell us storys of his antics in the '59 and how they had to come and tow him in or back him up in a fight...Good times.  Were citizens now with kids of our own. My brother's an executive with a liquor supply company that supplys all the casinos in Nevada, and I'm a Service Writer in a car dealership. My son's 20 now-and he always marvelled at how I knew when he pulling shit like I was psychic or something. Dude-do you think I lived in a monastery before I married your mother and had kids?  Anyhow-Dad just celebrated his 75th birthday and him and my brother were talking about turning my brother's old GTO into a "Judge" clone and maybe building a faux RAIV with Edelbrock heads and putting in a Richmond 5-speed. Much to mom's dismay, because that would mean the garage would be occupied for about 6 months!!  Anyhow-Happy Father's day dad-and thanks for all the things you taught me. Some of which we don't talk about or don't mom to know to this day....But I've passed the lead foot, hard fists and hard head on to your grandson-much to his mother's dismay. DNA is a wonderful thing.....Mastermind              

Some cars that never were.....That you can build from junk.....

I have a friend that owns a junkyard and we were talking about how an enterprising hot rodder could build some cool things that the factories never did, and do it relatively chaply. Here's my personal favorites. # 1. Muscle Wagons. Because of their long wheelbase and excellent weight distribution-a wagon actually makes a good drag racer. The obvious front-runners here are the 1968-72 Pontiac LeMans Wagons. Most have 400 cubes and a TH400 standard. Some 1970 and later models may have 455s. Some 1971-72 models will have the "Endura" ( Read GTO ) front bumper and scooped hood. Even if it had the chrome front end-it wouldn't be hard to put a GTO front bumper and hood onto one. How about a "Judge" wagon? # 2. A close second would be '68-72 Olds Cutlass Vista Cruiser wagons, for the same reason-a lot of them have 400 or 455 cubes standard. With the help of Year One and Phoenix Graphics it wouldn't be hard to build a "442" or even a "Hurst / Olds" wagon. You could build an SS Chevelle wagon-but it would take a greater investment-because unlike their Pontiac and Olds cousins-95% of Malibu wagons were small-block powered. You'd have to swap in a Rat. # 3. Dodge Super Bee / Plymouth Road Runner wagon. Take a 1968-70 Dodge Coronet or Plymouth Satellite wagon-if you find one it will have 383 or 440 cubes under the hood. The graphics are easy.  #2. "Off-Brand" El Caminos. Buy a basket case '68-72 El Camino,put a GTO, Cutlass, or Skylark front clip on it. GM engines are easy to swap around. How cool would a "Judge" El Camino with a 400 and a 4-speed be? Or a White and Gold 455 Olds powered "Hurst / Olds" trucklet? Or a 455 Buick powered "GSX" El Camino?   # 3. Thunderbird / Lincoln Rancheros. Same deal here. The 1977-79 Ranchero was based on the LTD II platform, which is the same as the T-Bird / MK V platform. It would be pretty easy to put a Thunderbird or Lincoln Mark V front clip onto a Ranchero. # 4. Cyclone / Cougar wagons. It would be pretty easy to put a Cyclone or Cougar front clip onto a '70-76 Mercury Montego wagon. With a 351C or a 429 / 460-these could be good sleepers.  Something to think about. Mastermind

Don't be a "Big Block" snob... Small Block Musclecars can be fun, fast and way cheaper to build or restore....

Everyone gets caught up in "Big Block" Fever-and will only consider the premium models-especially if your on a tight budget-this really limits you. A small-block car may be the only way some of us can enjoy a classic muscle machine. Here's some examples. # 1. GM "A" body. There are way more Cutlasses, Le Mans, Chevelles, and Skylarks out there from 1968-77 with 350 cubes under the hood than there are with 396, 400 or 454 or 455. The upside is they can usually be bought way cheaper than their big-block cousins, and with a little help from the aftermarket can be made to really run without a huge investment. # 2. GM "F" body. Disco-era T/A's aside-there are way more 1968-81 350 Firebirds and Camaros than there are 396, 400 and 455 versions. In fact-many '77-79 base model, Esprit and Formula Firebirds might have 350 Chevy or 350 Olds engines as well as Pontiacs. The potential of the small-block Chevy is unlimited. We all know that. You can buy or build SBC's with anywhere from 260-550 hp.  With the 350 Olds and Pontiac motors-with intakes, cams, headers, etc-you just accentuate what the factory did-made big torque at low rpm. You can make 350 hp and 400 lbs of torque with these engines pretty easily. That should put a 3,600 lb "F" body solidly in the 13 s.  Beyond that-you need to swap in a 400 or 455 or get nitrous. # 3. Ford Mid-Size. There are WAY more Torinos and Montegos and Mustangs and Cougars built from 1969-76 with 351W, 351C, or 351M motivation than there are 429 or 460 versions. The upside is-351W's and 351C's both have huge aftermarket support and can be made to really run without a huge investment. The 351/400M motors respond ok to basic hot rod tricks-intakes, cams, headers- but their anemic 8:1 compression and huge head ports limit them. Some guys in the "Engine Masters Challenge" have made 500+ hp with 400M's-but their so big and heavy-and the bellhousing bolt-pattern is the same-and they cost no more to buy or build-that you might as well swap in a 429 / 460. # 4.  Chrysler "B" Body. There is a bunch of 318 powered Satellites,Chargers and Coronets, as well as Plymouth Sport Furys and Dodge Monacos-which are techincally "C" bodies-but similar-built from 1968-78. 318 models make nice drivers and get decent gas mileage-but are really underpowered for serious performance work in these big cars. A 360 is a bolt in swap-and Mopar Performance and other people make stroker kits to turn a 360 into a 408. Blueprint engines sells a "Turn-Key" 408 stroker with 375 hp and 460 lbs of torque and a 3 year / 30,000 mile warranty. That should help live out your "Elwood Blues" fantasies pretty good.  # 5. Chrysler "E" body. We all know there are way more 318 Barracudas and Challengers built from 1970-74 than there were big-block models. 318 models can run surprisingly well with basic hot rod tricks-intakes, headers,cams etc- or the 360 or 360 based strokers are a bolt-in. Junkyards are full of Dodge Trucks and Jeep Cherokees with 1992 and later "Magnum" engines-both 318 and 360 cubes-obviously the 360s are more desirable-but "Magnum" heads breathe better than many aftermarket ones, and Edelbrock sells Performer and Performer "RPM" intakes with a "Magnum" bolt pattern. More than enough power to live out your "Kowalski" fantasies. # 6. Short bed 1/2 ton pickups. Millions of short-bed, 1/2 ton, 2wd pickups were built during the late '70's and because of loopholes about GVW-"Gross Vehicle Weight" nearly all of them ( Except California models ) had Catalyst-free pipes until 1978. 350 Chevys and 360 Dodges have great potential. 360 and 390 Fords have the double-whammy of no power and crappy gas mileage-as do the 351 / 400M versions. But their all cheaper than the 440, 454 or 460 relatives. And with aftermarket help-heads,cams,intakes, etc-a "Muscle Truck" can be a fun sleeper. # 7. 1968-79 Chevy El Camino / Ford Ranchero. These Car / Truck hybrids have their own "cult" following. Again-there's way more more 350 and 351W, 351C and 351M versions out there than there are 390,396,429,454 or 460 versions. With any kind of power infusion-your main problem is wheelspin.  Mastermind        

STOP!!!! With what's "Correct" or Original!!...For the common good....

I hate to be such a cynical, miserable, sarcastic bastard all the time, but people drive me to it. Got an email from a guy who wants to buy one of the five 1970-71 BFG "Tirebirds". If you don't know-when B.F. Goodrich introduced the Radial T/A-they also sponsored some Pontiac Trans-Ams to run in the SCCA Trans-Am series. Jerry Titus and Milt Minter won a few races in them. I've touched on it before-the cubic inch limit in T/A racing was 305 inches. When it started in the mid '60s-Ford ran Mustangs and Chrysler ran Barracudas-the 289 Ford V8 and 273 Mopar did nicely. Then Chevrolet upped the ante with the Z/28. They took a 327 block and put a 283 crank in it and made a 302-with all the goodies-Corvette "Fuelie" heads,11:1 compression solid-lifter cam, etc-Mark Donohue and Roger Penske won the title in a Camaro. Which caused Ford to counter with the "Boss 302". Herb Adams and other Pontiac engineers wanted to play-and since SCCA rules allowed de-stroking-they built a 303 inch Pontiac engine with "Tunnel-Port" heads like Ford was working on. In testing they found the small engine ran better with production heads, so that's the way they went. But the 303 Pontiacs had a lot of expensive one-off parts in them, and they blew up a lot. And after DeLorean got promoted-( He allowed Adams and others a lot of slack when it came to racing and "back-door" stuff ) the factory support dried up. The SCCA ruled that since Canadian Firebirds had Chevy engines, it was legal for privateers and others to run the much more plentiful and more reliable 302 Chevy engines in Firebirds. So the races that Titus and Minter won were done with Chevy engines!  Anyhow-this guys question was what would be more "Correct"-should he try to find a 303 Pontiac-which would be IMPOSSIBLE. The last "Real" Pontiac V8 was produced in November 1977. They stockpiled a bunch of 400's for '78 and 79 Trans-Ams. The 303 program was killed in 1969 when Delorean left. That's 45 years ago. Herb Adams and the other engineers are long retired-and the tooling is long gone. And 45 years ago they had a lot of one-off, custom parts-they de-stroked a 400 Pontiac to 303 inches. Moldex and Hank the Crank made custom 2.84 inch stroke cranks to go into the 400 blocks and they had custom connecting rods that were longer than 7 inches and custom pistons-standard Pontiac Rods are 6.625 inches. They had RAIV heads-which are exceptionally rare and prized-Edelbrocks are exact replicas-but their not "original". So even if he had Donald Trumps bank account-the chance of getting a running, 303 Pontiac at any price-is nil. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning. Then he asks-should he try to find a "DZ" code 302 Chevy?  My response-and I don't think I'm being an asshole here-was put a crate 350 Chevy in it and have fun at track days or vintage car races. Or if your super-anal and "Gotta Have" a 302 Chevy-GMPP sells "Bowtie" Blocks with a 4 inch bore and 3 inch storke cranks, so you could build a 302 Chevy if you wanted to. But it's not going to have 1969 date codes!!  How do you restore a non-production race car to absolute "Originality?" Think about it-this car started life as a 1970 Trans-Am. The original engine was an RAIII 400. However-the cubic inch limit in the racing class was 305. So the "Original" "Just as it left the factory" shit is out.  How do we know with absolute certainty-what this 44 year old race car-was originally equipped with? Was it initially built with a 303 Pontiac and had a Chevy engine swapped in it later? Or was it built with a Chevy from the start?  Who gives a f%$k? No one keeps records of vin numbers or how many engines a race car has had!!!  Enjoy it or don't, but stop agonizing over this non-issue!!!  For example-Richard Pettys legendary '74 Charger initially had a 426 Hemi in it. Then when the big-blocks were outlawed-they went to a 360. However-the last "Factory" Hemi Charger was built in 1971. So if someone wanted to restore Petty's Charger-should it have a 426 Hemi in it or should it have a 360 in it?  The same with Fords. Ford built two Boss 429 Cougars-one for "Dyno Don Nicholson" and one for "Fast Eddie" Schartmann. Like with the Boss 429 Mustangs- they started life as 428 models and were sent to Kar Kraft for the "Boss" conversion. However- since these cars were never sold to the public-they were race cars from the start-if someone bought it and wanted to restore it-should he put a 428 in it or a Boss 429?  Dyno Don Nicholson ran a Boss 429 Maverick in Pro Stock in the early '70's. We all know Ford never made a Boss Nine Maverick. So how would one restore that?  First off-Old race cars are money pits!!  Secondly-they were RACE CARS!!!  There's nothing "Original" on them from day one!!  If you can afford to play with one, enjoy it, but don't agonize on it not being "Original".  Mastermind      

Some alternative bodystyles for the Silver State Classic......

A while back I wrote about a guy asking what combination would be best for running in the unlimited-200 mph class in The Silver State Classic. I suggested that the most cost-effective would be 1982-90 Trans Am with a big-block Chevy. I said this because aerodynamics are as important as power and these T/A's had a drag coeffiecient as low as .028-.032. An aerodynamic car can go faster with less power than a non-aerodynamic one with more power. That's just physics. I suggested a Big-block Chevy because, like it or not-nothing makes more power for less money than a Rat. A Chrysler Hemi or Boss-Nine Ford can make as much or more power-but at double or triple the cost. That aside-I keep getting inqurirys from people asking about other body / engine combos that could do it. People don't realize-it's pretty easy to make just about anything go 150. A boxy little Subaru WRX Turbo goes over 140 with only 265 hp. The 380 hp Supercharged F150 Lightning went something like 143 a few years ago, and a boxy Ford pickup doesn't exactly slice through the wind. It's that 50 mph from 150-200 that's hard. Hot Rod featured a couple of guys trying it in a '68 Charger a few years ago-and even with a 650 hp 440 they "only" averaged about 185. Which is a helluva acheivement in a boxy '60s Charger. That's why I recommended the combo that I did. So without further adieu-here's som alternative bodys that you could do it in. # 1. 1976-77 Olds Cutlass. Richard Petty won a bunch of NASCAR races in this body after his legendary 1974 Charger was outlawed for 1980. ( Bodys couldn't be more than 5 years old, so '79 was the last years it was legal ) The Petty Team figured out that the fastback, slope nosed Cutlass was more aerodynamic and thus much faster on the Superspeedways-( Daytona, Darlington and Talledega ) with the same amount of power than the square nose, notchback windowed Monte Carlos that a lot of other GM teams were running. The other teams protested because Petty was running the ubiquitous Chevy engine and not a 350 Olds. NASCAR ruled that since GM was playing musical engines with their production cars-that it was perfectly legal for racers to run any GM engine in any GM body. Several other teams quickly switched to Cutlasses after the ruling. If they were going 200 in 1980 with a 366 cubic inch limit-one should be able to do it today with a big-block. Again-I'd use a 454 Chevy. If you want a "Real" Olds engine then you'll need a 455. And you'll need Edelbrock Aluminum heads and a serious cam, and some serious bottom end work. Mondello Performance would be your best source. Yes, it's POSSIBLE to build a 700 hp Olds engine, but it's going to cost way more than a 700 hp Chevy.  # 2. 1974-77 AMC Matador Coupe. These fastback coupes had moderate success in NASCAR in the late '70's winning a few big races. Since AMCs use Chrysler bolt pattern bellhousings ( The "Torque-Command" automatic is a Torqueflite ) I'd recommend a Mopar Performance crate Hemi or a stompin' 440 or 440 based 505 stroker. Again, bang for the buck-it's a lot easier to get 600+ hp out of a 426 Hemi or 440 Mopar than it is a 360 or 401 AMC. You could do it-Edelbrock offers aluminum heads and guys have competed in the 'Engine Masters Challenge" with AMCs and made 550+ hp reliably-but the Mopar path would be the one of least resisitance. # 3. 1979-93 Fox Mustang. The last "5.0" tested by Hot Rod in 1993 hit 144 mph with only 225 hp; 200 should be attainable with 500+, which should be easily attainable with a 347 SVT crate motor and a blower. SVT makes a kit to swap in a 429 / 460-but thats a lot of money-and probably not much more power than the blown 302/ 347. These are your best chances-dollar-versus-performance wise. Fantasies of 429 Torinos, or 440 Road Runners are just that-fantasies. Mastermind.          

A "Thunder Road" redux would really fly.....You listening QT?.....

A while back I discussed the proposed "White Lightning" remake that Quentin Tarantino was thinking about. I haven't heard any more buzz on any movie sites, so maybe it fell through or is just on the back burner. If QT wants to make a blockbuster gangsters and car-chase flick he should consider "Thunder Road." If you don't know-"Thunder Road" was written by Robert Mitchum who'd been in a few westerns in the '50's. Like "White Lightning"-"Thunder Road" was about Luke Doolin- a "Gator" type-who ran moonshine whiskey in the south. Mitchum got the studio to buy it because he had talked to Elvis Presley. We all know Elvis was a huge rock star-and had made a few movies-but they were all low-budget camp that had him sing a lot. He wanted to be taken seriously as an actor-and he thought playing the evil Luke Doolin would get him the respect he deserved and maybe even an Oscar. Presley verbally committed to do it with Mitchum and the studio brass. With Elvis as the star-the studio virtually gave Mitchum a blank check. Like Steve McQueen years later in "Bullitt"-Mitchum wanted total realism-he contacted actual ATF agents and actual Moonshiners that were on probation. The cars, and the gangster pecking order, the corruption, police procedures were all to the letter real. Then Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager-threw a monkey wrench in. He wanted massive changes to the script. He felt that playing a criminal would tarnish Presley's good-guy image. The studio had already started pre-production-buying the cars, building the sets, and paying consulting fees to the Justice Department, the ATF, and Dept of Corrections. The studio said no-Presley played the part as it was written. Elvis wanted to and sided with the studio brass and Mitchum. Ultimately, Parker convinced him that it would be a bad career move, and he pulled out. The studio went ahead with Mitchum as the star and the rest is history. It made Mitchum a huge star and was a blockbuster hit-the second highest grossing movie of 1958.  Anyhow-you could do a totally badass remake today. Here's how I'd do it. # 1. Time period. A no-brainer-Late 1960's. Doolin is an Ex-Green Beret Viet Nam Vet who comes back to the family business, which is Moonshine. This allows you to use '60's cars-which with their heavy frames and suspensions can do the stunts without falling apart like modern cars would. # 2. Social issues-and "Old School" businessmen vs "New School" businessmen. Having been to Viet Nam and seen the corruption and vice there-Doolin sees room for expansion and unlimited income. Instead of just booze-with his asian military connections-he sees the drug trade-heroin and cocaine, and prostitution as the wave of the future. He wants to orgainize the drug, booze and pussy trade in his state and own it. And having fought alongside many different people-he wants to hire a bunch of other Vets as his security and salesman. Obviously him hiring blacks and other minorities will outrage the hillbilly gangsters and Law Enforcement alike. Which sets up....# 3. Like Micheal Corleone standing alone against Barzini and Tattaglia and the other five families-besides the ATF and the DEA, Doolin will have to fight the "Old School" other moonrunners who don't like him thinking he can just take over and hire niggers and gooks, and tell everyone how to do business different than they have for the last 40 years since Prohibition put them in business. # 4. This will give you plenty of opportunity for kick-ass fights, gunfights and car chases. As long it;s done "Old School" and real-no CGI or physically impossible shit like in Transporter 3. # 5. Casting. Doolin has to be a Hillbilly. No Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck or Matt Damon. My choice would be-after his back to back, stunning performances as evil Texas hustlers in "Mud" and "Dallas Buyers Club"-Matthew Mconaghey. Brad Pitt would be good-Who can forget the Utterly Evil and remorseless "Early Grace" from "Kalifornia", or the Colonel in "Inglorious Bastards?" ( "This Nazi wants to die for the Fatherland" "Oblige him". ) Edward Norton could do it-remember his stunning portrayal of a Nazi Skinhead in "American History X?"  Cameron Diaz,Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron,Tricia Helfer, Pam Anderson, Scarlett Johansen-one or more of them could all be great as Doolin's-southern fried bleach-blonde,barefoot, trailer-park Barbie Coke whores. Don Johnson would be great as the corrupt sheriff who likes the profit and the perks of allowing Doolin to do business, but also has to throw the Feds a bone once in a while to keep his job. I think it could really fly. Now if we could get Troublemaker Studios on board....Mastermind          

Not collectible....Just Weird.....

I talk to a lot of people that are very proud of some ultra-weird combination of options. The sad thing is- these people think their cars are worth a ton of money and they aren't. Their not collectible, their just weird. In the why in the hell would GM, Ford or Chrysler build such a thing, even if someone wanted to special order it kind of way??  Here's a few of my personal favorites that I've seen over the years. # 1. 1966 427 / Powerglide Corvette. Other than the fact that it is a 427 Stingray, this one is just freakin' weird. The performance is way less than a same-year 4-speed model and way less than a '68 and later TH400 model. Who in the hell wants a Rat-motored 'Vette with a "Powerslide?" No one. But the idiot that owns this thinks it's worth 100K like an L88 model!!! And he wonders why he hasn't got any offers on it!!!  # 2. 1967 "Turnpike Special" GTO. This car has a 2bbl 265 hp 400, a TH400, and 2.93:1 gears. In other words, it won't outrun my wifes V6 Honda Accord in a drag race!! The clown that owns it thinks it's "Special" because the retarded dealer that originally ordered it equipped it with a Hurst Dual / Gate shifter, ( On a 2bbl step-down car??) and A/C and Power windows!!  He wonders why he can't get the same money as people selling RAIII, 4-speed, 4.33:1 geared cars!! Because his is "RARE!!"  # 3. 1968 Firebird. Yes it's rare. No, no one wants it or thinks it's cool but you. This is a pristine 1968, six-cylinder OHC, 4-speed Firebird. They had a 4bbl carb and were rated at 215 hp. This clown can't understand why people won't pay MORE for this than they do for a 400, 4-speed RAII Convertible. After all it's more rare, right? There's less of them? Right?  # 4. 1972 SS Chevelle. This guy is perplexed that he can't sell his bench seat, column-shifted automatic,165 hp 2bbl carbed 350 model for the same money that people get for 454, 4-speed bucket seat / console models. Because his is "More Rare"-i.e. there's less of them. There's a reason for that!!! # 5 1972 Duster 340. This guy doesn't understand why his 3-speed stick Duster doesn't command WAY MORE money than a 4-speed or Torqueflite model in the same condition, 'cause it's RARE!!!  What's wrong with people?  Mastermind              

Cars that aren't "Factory Freaks"...Do the terms "Dealer Installed" or "Day Two" modifications ring a bell??

I talk to so many idiots that claim to own or that a friend or relative of theirs owns or used to own some "Moon Rock" of a car with options that never existed. When you point that out, they get spittingly hysterical and start hurling profanities and personal insults. I'm here to dispel these myths once and for all. Here's a list of cars that were NEVER FACTORY BUILT. Note-I didn't say they didn't exist-I said they were not built that way from the factory. # 1. Tri-Power 1967 GTO. When Pontiac discontinued the 3-2bbl 389 option-which had been a performance staple since 1959, enthusiasts and the buff magazines howled to the high heavens. All the components were available through dealership parts departments and the '65-66 setup would bolt up to the new for '67 400 V8s. Many dealers like Royal Pontiac would even install them if you wanted to pay extra. But there was never a factory built version. # 2. Ram Air V GTOs and Firebirds. Herb Adams and company were originally working on "Tunnel-Port" heads for the Trans-Am racing series. They knew Ford had one-( "Boss 302" ring a bell ) and they wanted to compete. They found that the little 303 incher actually made MORE power with the smaller,production RAIV heads. However, Adams and Arnie Beswick and some drag racers tried them on the larger 400 and 428 inch engines and were astounded by the results. They were now making power levels equal to the mighty 426 Hemi and 427 Chevy!! If they could get the bottom ends to hold up-they could even race them in NASCAR. When DeLorean left Pontiac to be upper GM management-his successor killed the racing program which had been kind of back-door anyway since 1963 and tolerated by DeLorean who was a gearhead at heart. Now the engineers had all these expensive one off parts-enough to build about 600 engines. Genius that he was-while the brass wrung their hands on what to do with them-Herb Adams suggested they sell them to the public. So you could buy a Ram Air V 400 through some dealer parts departments. Doug Nash, Arnie Beswick, and Royal Pontiac tech Milt Schornak had great success campainging RA V drag racers. Doug Nash even built single and dual quad intakes for the RA V. Royal Pontiac swapped one into a '69 Judge for a customer,and that car was featured in Hot Rod magazine-but their was never a factory built version. # 3. Non-Corvettes or Chevelles with L72 / L88 / LS6 427 and 454s. I'm not talking about Yenkos or COPO cars. There were many dealers who would put 427s and 454s into Camaros and Novas for a price. Since the 396 was an option on those cars-it was a bolt-in swap. The two most famous were Baldwin Chevrolet in New York who partnered with Joel Rosen and Motion Performance to create the famous Phase III Camaros that were guaranteed to run 10.60s in the 1/4!! These cars had pumped up LS6s,race-prepped M22 4-speeds or TH400s,4.88:1 gears with a Hone overdrive, traction bars, and many other features. They were definitely Jules' Wallet from Pulp Fiction. Rosen even built a few Phase III LS6 Firebirds for customers. The other was Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago. In 1973 Hot Rod did a road test on a Nickey Built L88 427 powered '73 Nova SS. It ran something like 11.88 in the 1/4. Further, the LS6 was sold as a crate engine through dealers until 1991. So it's very possible that someone could have an LS6 454 in a '72 Chevelle or '74 Camaro that they bought from a dealer. But there was never any factory versions. # 4. Non-Trans-Am Super Duty 455 Pontiacs. In very early 1973 sales literature the SD 455 was listed as an option in the LeMans,Grand Am and Gran Prix lines as well as the Firebird. CARS magazine even voted the '73 GTO "Performance Car of the Year". OOPS!!  However the SD455 had trouble passing emissions with the RAIV cam. It was swapped for the milder RAIII grind and horsepower was down-rated from 310 to 290. Then they trouble with the EGR valve function, and trouble with connecting rod failure. Finally, the engine was certified in the Firebird line only in March or April of 1973. That's why only 295 were sold-252 in Trans-Ams and another 43 in Formulas. Another 943 were sold in 1974 Trans-Ams. Parts were so scarce for them that in order to buy say a set of SD 455 heads or rods or pistons from a dealer you had to produce your registration or title with the VIN number of the car!! So no matter your wallet size-you couldn't even buy one over the counter. So any one who claims to have an SD 455 Gran Prix, etc is a liar. It's a 250hp "Station Wagon" 455. # 5. 1972 440 "Six Pack" Chargers and Road Runners. Same thing-the 440 / 6 option was listed in very early 1972 sales literature, with 9:1 compression and rated at 330 hp. Down substantially from the 10.3:1 and 385 hp rating of 1971. However, they had trouble passing the stiffer 1972 emissions standards and the option was scrapped, leaving the 280 hp 440 4bbl as the top option. Rumors persist that "10 or 12" "slipped out", but I have never seen one, or seen a window sticker or build sheet for one,and no magazine has ever verified one. However-Edelbrock sells the Manifold to this day,Holley still sells the carbs and Mopar Performance has always sold the throttle linkage and air cleaners. So it would have been very easy for someone to install one on a car,but again, there was never a factory built version to my knowledge. # 6. 5-speed Disco-Era Trans-Ams. In the late '70's the Mecham Brothers had great success with the "Macho T/A". Besides the pumped up engines you could get Recaro seats, Koni shocks and a "Doug Nash" 5 speed if you wanted. Former Pontiac engineer and "Father of the Trans-Am" Herb Adams teamed up with Cars and Concepts and offered the "Fire Am"-a hotted up Trans Am-and they also offered the Doug Nash 5-speed as an option. But there was never a factory built 5-speed T/A until 1983 when the T5 was put behind the 305 Chevys.  Hope this clears some things up. Mastermind      

Some Forgotten one or two year wonders from the '70's that might be cool...

There's a lot of cars that only had a model year or two for whatever reason, but some of them can be great bargains today. Some of these from the '70's are largely overlooked, but are great performers. # 1. 1973-75 Pontiac Grand Am. Based on the "A" body LeMans chassis these were touted to have the performance of a Trans Am and the luxury of a Gran Prix. Unfortuneately-luxury buyers bought GPs and performance buyers bought T/As. However-their a great deal if you can find one, front disc brakes, wrist-thick front and rear sway bars, and 400 cubes standard with 455 optional. And any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Chevelle fit these cars. # 2. 1972-73 Mercury Montego GT. Based on the Ford Torino platform these fastback coupes are great looking-David Pearson won a  bunch of Nascar races in one. Most will have 351C motivation, but there are a few 429 models. Dynamite if you can find one. # 3. 1974-76 AMC Matador coupe. These swoopy fastbacks had moderate success in Nascar-and most had 360 or 401 cubes under the hood. Not as sexy as a Javelin, but way cheaper. # 4. 1974 Pontiac GTO. Based on the "X" body Ventura-these are often called the best Nova ever built. Front disc brakes, front and rear sway bars, a Trans-Am style "Shaker" hood scoop and a 350 Pontiac backed by a 4-speed or a TH350. A 400 or 455 is a bolt-in swap. 7,058 were built, so there's some around. #5. 1975 Plymouth Road Runner. Plymouth put a "Beep-Beep" horn and Road Runner emblems on a 2 dr Sport Fury. 318 models are dogs, but the 400 versions can be made to really run. Rougly 6,000 were built, and Mopar Freaks snub them like the plague so you should be able to buy one cheap. Mastermind

The history of the Nova....A "Star" is born.....

People may think of the '60's as freewheeling-Musclecars,Beach Party movies, sex drugs and rock-n-roll. But even in the early '60's-long before Toyota, Datsun, and Subaru came ashore-the automakers were trying to cover every niche-and their was a market for compact cars that got good gas mileage. The Ford Falcon and the Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Dart were all top sellers in 1960 and 61, and all 3 were compact sedans with fuel-efficient 6-cylinder engines. Chevrolet wanted a piece of this market. The Chevy II Nova as it was initially called was introduced in 1962. Powertrain options included a 153 cubic inch 4-cylinder, and a 194 inch six-cylinder. Not may 4-cylinder versions were sold; and they aren't collectible. The six-cylinder models were the most popular. Because of it's light weight-about 2,700 lbs-hot rodders began swapping in small-block Chevy V8s and discovered that Novas made fierce drag racers. My cousin had a '63 Nova in high school with a 283 V8 ( bored out to 301 and pumped up ) and a 4-speed that was a rocket. He showed his taillights to many a GTO, Road Runner and Mustang. In 1964 the old "Stovebolt" 194 inch six was replaced with more modern and more powerful 230 inch version. The 195 hp and 220 hp 283 V8 became a factory option. Transmission choices were 3 and 4-speed manuals, and the two-speed Powerglide automatic. In 1965 the 275 hp 327 V8 was offered as well-giving the lightweight Nova GTO like performance, at least in a drag race.  For 1966 the body was changed becoming slightly larger, and the interiors more luxurious. The vaunted L79 350 hp 327 V8 from the Corvette was offered in the Nova SS-making it a genuine muscle car. 1967 models were basically identical. For 1968 the car was completely re-designed and this platform would last, with minor changes, through 1974. Although the 4 and six cylinder engines were still available-it was the V8 models that were the most popular. The 283 was replaced with a 307 inch version, and a new 350 inch V8 was introduced. Since the Nova shared the same basic subframe as the Camaro / Firebird, for the first time the 396 Big-Block was offered in the Nova for the first time. These cars were terrors on the street. In 1969 the 4-cylinder option breathed its last. A new 3-speed TH350 automatic replaced the two-speed powerglide behind most six-cylinder and V8 models. In 1970, Chevrolet briefly considered offering the mighty LS6 450 hp 454 in the Camaro and Nova as well as the Chevelle. Since the 396 was already an option-it would have been a no-brainer bolt in. An LS6 454 Nova? Guess what-the Hemi 'Cuda and Boss 429 Mustang would have had a new "Boss". As we know, the brass changed their mind and the mighty LS6 was only offered in the Chevelle line. 1971-72 brought no real changes except that compression ratios were lowered to run on low-lead gas, and the 396 was dropped. A 350 V8 was now the largest engine you could get. It didn't seem to hurt, as 1972 was a record sales year, as was 1974. Other GM divisions got Nova clones. In 1971 Pontiac introduced the Ventura II which was available with the 250 inch Chevy six, or a 350 inch Pontiac V8.  In 1973 5 mph bumpers debuted, and a hatchback model was offered as well. 1973 also introduced the Olds Omega and the Buick Apollo, which were Novas with minor trim differences and either 250 inch Chevy sixes or 350 inch Buick and Olds V8s. All the names of the X-bodys spelled out NOVA. ( Nova, Omega, Ventura, Apollo. I don't know if that's a coincidence or not. ) In 1975 the body was changed again and this would be the last one that would soldier on until 1979. A new 305 inch V8 was introduced in 1976, that had nothing in common with the old 307 that had been discontinued in 1973. ( The 307 was a 283 block with a 327 crank. 3.87x3.25 inch bore and stroke. The 305 was 3.74x3.48 using a 350 crank. The engineers were thinking the longer stroke would give the little motor more low-end torque. They were wrong, we all learned through the '80's and '90's- that a 350 has way more power,and the 305 doesn't really get any better mileage. ) Although the 250 inch straight six was still available,the 231 inch Buick built V6 was also an option, as was the 350 Chevy. Sales were dropping badly, as this was clearly a car with out a market. Musclecar buyers were buying Pontiac Trans-Ams and Z/28 Camaros in record numbers. The downsized G-bodies- Malibu, Monte Carlo, Cutlass, Gran Prix outsold the X-bodies by a wide margin to people who wanted mid-size sedans. Economy buyers were buying imports like Toyotas and Datsuns in record numbers. In reality-these last X bodies were pretty bad. They had ugly styling, they had no power, and they got crappy gas mileage. Gee, who wouldn't want that?  In 1980 the front-drive X-bodies were introduced. Today Novas have almost a "Cult" following among the gearhead crowd-especially the '68-72 models ( pre-5mph bumpers). If you want one-the '68-79 models make great hot rods. The engine bays will swallow any GM engine-( a 455 Pontiac Ventura is a great sleeper ) and any suspension or brake upgrades that fit a Camaro or Firebird fit these cars so their easy to set uo for drag racing or autocrossing. Sadly-it will not pass this way again-a car that's economical, fast, fun and cheap. Mastermind          

Happy 50th Birthday to the Mighty Mustang......

2014 Marks 50 years of Mustangs. The Mustang debuted on April 19th 1964 and set the auto world on it's ear. From an engineering and marketing standpoint it was genius. It was based on the humble compact Falcon platform, but had a sexy body and a good looking interior. Standard power was a 170 inch straight six, with a 200 inch six optional, but the fun ones were the 289 V8 models. Since the car was light ( about 2,800 lbs) the little V8s could make them really haul. Especially the High-Performance, solid-lifter, 271 hp version. It sold like hotcakes and was an unprecedented hit. In 1965 a fastback version was also introduced, and Carroll Shelby ( Father of the 289 and 427 Cobra ) tricked some up with suspension tuning, Tri-Y headers, and an aluminum intake and 715 cfm Holley carb which drastically increased performance over the awful, 470 cfm Autolite 4100 4bbls that stockers had. The "Ponycar" was born. Other automakers scrambled to build a Mustang fighter. GM countered with the Camaro and Firebird, but not until 1967. Chrysler-with less of a budget, had delay after delay and the E-bodies-The "Cuda and Challenger wern't introduced until 1969 as '70 models. GM's counterpunch, however was almost deadly. The Z/28 Camaro-which was specifically designed to win the Trans-Am Championship-which Ford had done in '65 and '66-to make the 305 inch limit used a 283 crank in a 327 block to create a high-revving beast. It also used Corvette heads, and a hot solid lifter cam, 11:1 compression and a 780 Holley on an aluminum intake. Advertised horsepower was 290,but the buff magazines put the output at at least 350 for production versions, and 450 for race versions. Plus-you could also get the 396 Big-Block in a Camaro, and 400 inch Pontiac in a Firebird. Even the hot-rodded Shelby GT350-with a 289 V8-had little chance in a drag race on the street or track against a big 396 or 400 inch Camaro or Firebird. Ford lazily-dropped the "Truck Motor" 390 into the Mustang-but they handled badly and weren't good performers. It's a well known fact that when filming the classic "Bullitt" chase-early on-Steve McQueen was furious- the 440 Charger piloted by Bill Hickman would leave the 390 Mustang so bad that they couldn't even film it. Stunt coordinators Carey Loftin and Max Balchowsky hopped up one of the Mustangs with a Mallory Distributor, headers, and an Edelbrock intake and Holley carb. At that point-the Charger could still out run it-but McQueen and sometime drivers Bud Elkins and Loftin could stay close enough to film it!!  Mark Donohue and Roger Penske wont the Trans-Am Championship in 1968 with a Camaro. Ford countered with a vengenance. The "Boss 302" had 4-bolt mains, a steel crank, forged rods and pistons,11:1 compression, a hot solid-lifter cam, and "Tunnel Port" heads-that had ports and valves the size of a big-block Chevy. It didn't have much bottom end torque, but from 3,000 rpm on up it was a rocket. ( That's why they were only available with a 4-speed and 3.90:1 or 4.30:1 gears! ) The SCCA said they had to sell 500 units to the public to race them. 1,603 were sold in 1969 and another 7,113 in 1970. Obviously these are highly prized today. Racing success was fine, but in the late '60's and early '70's you also needed "Street Cred". To combat the 396 and 400 inch Camaros and Firebirds, and the 383 and 440 inch Mopars-Ford dropped the "Police Interceptor" 428 big block into the Mustang. The 428 Mach 1s were rockets. They could give a 426 Hemi Road Runner a run for the money the driver would not soon forget.  The "Boss 429" also debuted this year. Ford was trying to homologate the engine for NASCAR. Same rule-you had to sell at least 500 to the public to race them. Ironically-the cars raced in NASCAR weren't Mustangs but Torinos and Mercury Cyclones. The Mustang got longer,lower and wider in 1971-but very few had the mighty 429-95% of them had 302s or 351Cs. Which was weird-because in 1970 GM lifted their 400 inch limit on intermediates, and Chrysler never had one. So how was a 351 inch Mustang-even the vaunted "Boss 351" ( of which only 1,806 were built ) going to compete with a 454 inch Chevelle, 455 inch Pontiac Trans-Am, a 401 inch AMC Javelin, or a 383, 426 Hemi or 440 inch Dodge Challenger or Plymouth Barracuda? It's like the Blue oval boys just gave up on Performance. The 351C soldiered on until 1973-but then Ford really stepped on their Dick. In 1974 the Pinto based "Mustang II" was introduced with 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine and the 2.8 liter V6 out of the German Capri optional. Like with "New Coke"-the public was not amused. They dropped in a 302 V8 in '75-but it had a 2bbl carb and wheezed out 140 hp. In 1979 the famous "Fox" platform debuted-but they didn't get a real performance model until 1983-when the 302 got tube headers, and aluminum manifold, a 600 Holley carb and a new 5-speed transmission. Through the '80's until 1993-the "5.0" was King Kong". They were both faster and several thousand dollars cheaper than Z/28 Camaros and Trans-Am Firebirds-that were so invincible in the late '70's. 1994 Brought the body that would last until 2004. 1996 brought the 4.6 liter "Mod Motor" which the current "5.0" and 5.4s are based on. 2005 brought a '60's style body back and sales skyrocketed, even the V6 models outselling the V8s. "Bullitt" "Boss 302" and other special editions came in the years 2006-2010 when the body was slightly changed. The GT with 412 hp for under 30 grand, is still a screaming bargain. You don't have to take shit from little boys in rice rockets or yuppies in BMW M3s. The new 2015 version was featured in the action flick "Need for Speed".  Long live the Mustang!! Mastermind