A rare turd is still a turd!!

I had a friend that owned an import specialty performance store-I even worked there several years. We sold Weber Carbs, headers and cams for 240Z's, MG's and Triumphs, Toyota Land Cruiser parts, as well as Volkswagen and Porsche speed parts. He was quite a character-and would insult stupid, annoying people even if they were spending money. You gotta love that. One time when some geek was extolling the virtues of his Porsche 924-my pal said "I thought all the real Porsches were air cooled."  Meaning of course-"Real men drive 911s."  Instead of responding "F-you buddy" this guy goes into a dissertation on the history of the 924-how it was supposed to originally be an Audi model, yada,yada,yada. Me and the other parts guys were just rolling on the floor, because this guy wasn't insulted, he thought he was educating our sarcastic pal, and telling him something he didn't know. Anyhow, my friends pet saying whenever someone was restoring a Renault Caravelle or a Morris Minor or something equally weird was "A rare turd is still just a turd." This applies to musclecars too. I've been pricing cars lately-especially '70's Trans-Ams-and this one was a doozy-a guy wants $37,500 for a 1979 Black SE T/A with a 301. Excuse me?  I narrowly missed out on a 400, 4-speed, 10th anniversary model with 66,000 original miles for $14,900!!  I also narrowly missed a nice 400, 4-speed 1976 model for $12,000. I saw another 400, 4-speed '79 for sale for $18,900 the other day. I've also seen Black and Gold "SE" models for $25K, and for the 35K range I've seen pristine 455 4-speed 1973 models, and Ram Air III and 455HO 1970-72 models. Does this idiot really think that anyone is going to pay 37 grand for his car that wheezes out 145 hp ( it's not even a Turbo-they were rated at 200-210hp ) just because it's one of 37 or whatever built that year, when the same or less money will get you a documented W72 or RAIII 400, or a numbers-matching 455 model? There's a few people that are queer for the ill-fated 80-81 Turbo Pace Car models with Recaro seats and T-tops, but I don't know ANYONE who's ever said-"My dream car is a 301 Trans-Am that can't outrun a Prius." Come on guys- everyone made fun of them and lamented how they weren't nearly as fast as the 400 cube models-( They weren't ) but even with all the running problems they had brand-new, the 301 Turbo T/A was capable of enough acceleration from a light to annoy a traffic cop. In a normally aspirated 301 model you'll annoy exactly two people-yourself and the person behind you. And the guy wants 37K for this turd? The same goes for 1981 California emissioned Corvettes. For some insane reason-maybe just laziness-in the other 49 states you got a 350 in a 'Vette with either a T10 4-speed or a TH350, but in California you could only get a 305, and only with an automatic. This is strange because you could get a 305 with a 4-speed in a Z/28 Camaro, or a 350 with an automatic in all 50 states. The clutch pedal in these Camaros kept the word "brodie" from disapperaing from the street-punks lexicon forever. But no stick in the 'Vette for the first time since 1954? Needless to say these 305 / auto Corvettes were total dogs and they didn't sell many of them, which is why the 350 was re-certified quickly. Anyhow- I saw one for sale in Hemmings and the guy wanted $15,000 for it. Again-for a late-'70's C3 'Vette-I've seen L82 / 4-speed models for less than 15K, and in the same issue I saw an L48 350 / Automatic 1978 Pace Car edition for $8500 that was in pretty good shape!! And this clown wondered why this 305 model wasn't selling for top dollar-it said in the ad-"Ultra-Rare" why weren't people fighting with machetes for this diamond?  Would you want a Corvette that couldn't outrun a Toyota Corrolla? The same goes for Mustangs-I've been looking at 1971-73 models-you see a few 429 '71 models for sale but the majority are 351C powered. However, every once in a while you see a 302 model listed-and they want just as much or more money than the 351 models!  You might think, ok, then don't buy that one. But the gall of the asking prices on the lesser models is what irks me-your not getting the same bang for the buck.  The problem is simple power-to-weight ratio-these Mustangs weigh as much a second-generation Firebird-about 3,700 lbs. The torquey 351C's move them along quite briskly even with an automatic and 3.00:1 or 3.25:1 gears. But the little 302 with a 2bbl  just can't pull the weight. Their slugs. Yes your '83-93 Fox body "5.0" hauls ass-but it only weighs about 3 grand and has 200-225 hp-a '73 302 is rated at 139 horsepower and is pulling about 3,700 lbs. Do the math. Small engine+heavy car= sluggish acceleration. Yet I have seen 351CJ / 4-speed Mach 1s in good shape for as low as $12,000, and 302 / automatic models for sale for 25K.  Go figure. I guess the uninitiated just think  "Old Mustang equals big dollars regardless of equipment or condition."  The other thing I'm seeing is grossly overpriced six-cylinder Camaros and Firebirds and Challengers. If they were bargain-priced and you were planning an engine swap anyway these might be a deal for someone. But no-I've seen people asking 15 grand for an admittedly pristine, low-mileage six-cylinder Camaro-and on the same page in Hemmings is a 350 / 4-speed model that looks equally nice for 10 grand!!  But even the engine swap angle won't really fly-Why would I pay top dollar for a six-cylinder Camaro or Firebird and then put another 10 grand in it when 350 Camaros and 400 Firebirds are abundant at reasonable prices? If I'm paying a premium price, I want to drive it, not work on it. Also in the "rare turd" category-is 4-doors. I don't care that a BMW M3 sedan or a Lexus ISF can run 12 second 1/4s.  And you modern Charger / 300 owners can keep quiet too-a musclecar is, always has been and always should be a 2 dr coupe, end of story. Your 4-dr LeMans or Malibu still looks like a nerdy granpa car no matter how fast it is. 460 or not-a Torino 4-door is an ok driver but it's still not as cool as the Gran Torino coupe in the Clint Eastwood movie or the one that "Starsky and Hutch" drove, period. Didn't you see "American Graffiti" or "Hollywood Knights?" Falfa's badass black '55 was a 2 dr, and it was also used in "Two-Lane Blacktop". Tony Danza-already a star from "Taxi" drove "Project X"-Popular Hot Rodding's longtime test mule '57 Chevy that had a blower on it at the time-in "Hollywood Knights." It was a 2 dr.  Every once in a while I see a ca that someone's trying to sell or restore-and I hear my friends words-"A rare turd is still a turd." Mastermind