Saturday, September 1, 2018
Go ahead and do a modern fuelie swap.....On certain cars...
I saw an awesome Mustang for sale on the internet the other day. It was a '68 model and the bodywork was done like the "Eleanor" Mustang that Nicolas Cage drove in the "Gone in 60 Seconds" remake. It had a 5.0 liter Coyote engine with 379 hp and 375 lbs ft of torque backed by a T56 6-speed manual. It had a full Chassisworks suspension,power Rack&Pinion steering and Wildwood 4-wheel disc brakes. It had 17" Shelby Cobra style wheels and fat, ZR-rated tires. The interior was custom with Auto Meter guages, modern a/c, and 2006 GTO seats. It looked and sounded totally badass. If I could swing a home-equity loan, I'd try to buy it. It was that cool. Now people are going to immediately call me a hypocrite and quote many past posts where I howled to the heavens about people doing modern fuelie swaps. I did-but only because people would do shit like put an LS Chevy motor and a 4L80E into a numbers-matching 1970 Judge!! One of 3,797 ever built. I saw that exact swap in a magazine. Now-this guy couldn't buy a beater Tempest or LeMans and do that? It had to be a numbers-matching RAIII Judge!!! Even if he "had" to have the Judge "look"-Year One, Ames, the Goat Farm, and other places can easily hook you up with a GTO hood and front bumper, spoilers, stripes etc. Another asshole did that to a one of 1,286 ( actually one of 458 4-speed models ) 455HO '72 Trans-Am!! Again-he couldn't buy any one of millions of 1970-81 Camaros and Firebirds and use that? If he "Had" to have a Trans-Am-Pontiac built nearly 350,000 T/A's from 1975-79-he couldn't buy one of those and fuck that up? That's my gripe. It's always a "For-Real L78 / 4-speed SS396 Chevelle". It's not just GM-guys the Mopar and Ford guys are just as bad. It's always a 440 Charger R/T or a Six-Pack Challenger that some asshole stuffs a 6.1 or 6.4 SRT8 Hemi into. You can't buy a 318 model and fuck that up, it's got to be a for-real 383 or 440 Super Bee or GTX!! I saw a '68 Shelby that someone had desecrated with a Mod Motor and a six-speed!! You couldn't buy one of the 300,000+ 289 models sold that year-it had to be a rare, Shelby GT350!! That's what I'm saying. If you want to put an LS Motor in a '69 LeMans or a '70 Cutlass-go ahead. No one gives a shit. But don't do it to a numbers-matching Judge, or a W30 442!! Put a Coyote into a '69 Mustang if you want-just don't use a Boss 302, or a 428 CJ Mach 1!! Put a 6.4 SRT8 Hemi into a 318 powered '71 Charger if you want. Just don't use a 440 / Six Pack Super Bee!!! ( For one year only-1971-the Super Bee was based on the Charger instead of the Coronet. 6,000 or so were built. ) So-are we clear on my position now? Take a fuel-injected 302 and the 5-speed out of a '92 "5.0" and stuff it into one of the 559,000 '66 Mustangs built. As long as it's not a Shelby GT350H!! Anyhow-I just wanted to vent that. Mastermind
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I'm learning that there's a generation with $$$$$$ following those of us who embrace automotive history and significance. Wealthy "tech" types who have no understanding of what these things mean. I have a lifetime of automotive restoration behind me spanning over 4 decades. I have finally seen the worst of the worst. Even if you take the "don't believe the 'net" approach this one makes a soup out of disrespect and stupidity that smells worse than 3 week old lawn clippings on a hot summer day (may you NEVER smell that again!). Do a search, preferably an auction results search, on 1932 Packard Custom Dietrich. They were individual custom cars with a 147" W.B. and either Super 8 or 12 (Twin Six in 32) engines. They're 7 figure cars all day. None ever sell under $1,000,000, many well over that. In FL there's a 1932 Packard conv Victoria "Individual Custom by Dietrich"...wait for it...here it comes...STREET ROD!!! How does a guy spend what had to be $250K making a million dollar car worth less than 1/2 it's normal value? Taking into account that once it's yours you can do as you please it's still the most stupid exercise I've witnessed in all my years. Even a "new coachwork" version (new body construction to OEM prints) are worth $500K plus depending on style. A conv Victoria is difficult to make and takes mad discipline to pull off. I'm told by a friend who's a snowbird in that community that this is a real car. Insane is charitable, and a 34 Conv Victoria Custom Dietrich in stellar condition just sold at Monterey this year for a bit over $4,000,000 including commission. These numbers are easy to verify in a simple search. Madness. I understand EXACTLY where you're coming from.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! It's nice to know that some folks feel the same way. Feel free to chime in anytime!
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