How can you be offended by a fake??!!

I was talking with a guy the other day at work, just bench racing and talking about cars we'd owned in the past or would like to own in the future. I mentioned that Factory Five Racing makes an excellent Shelby 427 Cobra replica kit car that's a screaming bargain. For $19,995 you get everything except an engine and transmission. Even if you bought a $4,000 crate motor and a $2,000 transmission, you could build one for around 25K very easily.  Their designed to use 1986-2004 V8 Mustang parts, but you can also ask that they drill the frame to accept small-block Chevy motor mounts, and GM trannys like a T10, Muncie or TH350, and they'll accomodate that option at no charge. To me this is just good business sense, because millions of hot-rodders have SBC's laying around their garage, and many just prefer it for any project they build. They'll sell a lot more cars by accomodating the Chevy AND Ford small-blocks than they would if it only fit Fords. Anyhow, when I off-handedly commented that a Cobra kit car would be ungodly fast with the ZZ4 350 crate motor that I have, since the quoted five second 0-60 times were with a stock 225 hp 302 out of an '89 Mustang, and the ZZ4 is rated at 355 hp by GMPP. That extra 130 hp should cut quite a bit off the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. This guy went ballistic,-shouting that no one should ever build such a "Bastard" car, and that Cobras should be all Ford. When I pointed out that there were other companies besides Factory Five that have been building them for 30 years, and that there were thousands of Cobra replicas on the road and that a lot of them did in fact have small-block Chevys under the bonnet, he became even more spittingly hysterical. "How can you desecrate a classic?"  "What classic?"  I responded- "No one is putting Chevy engines numbers-matching Cobras-These are KIT CARS!!".  There a fake to begin with!!  By your reasoning-even the 5.0 Mustang powertrain is an abomination-they should all be built with side-oiler 427FEs!!!  "I'm not saying that, I'm just saying they should be built with all Ford parts!"  he said, backpedaling a little. "I don't get your reasoning." I said. "I could even see you saying that a '32 Ford coupe should have a flathead, or at least a modern Ford V8 like a 289 / 302, rather than a Chevy, because it is in it;s own way-a hot rod classic icon."  "No would want a '55 Chevy with a Ford engine in it."  "I get that."  "But this is a fiberglass replica of a car that went out of production 45 years ago." "Who cares what's under the hood?" People sold Avantis for 40 years after they went out of production, and no one screamed that they weren't using real Studebaker engines." "You can buy Porsche 356 and 550 replicas that use a VW chassis and powertrain-no one's railing that their "Bastardized" because they don't have Porsche engines."  "You don't understand!" he wailed. "I understand perfectly" "If we were talking about a REAL car."  "I get pissed off every time I see a Chevy LS motor in a '60's GTO or a '70's Firebird." "But the Cobra is a fake to begin with."  "If some guy starts selling Batmobile Clones based on '70's Cadillac frames are you going to scream blasphemy because the George Barris original was based on a Lincoln platform?"  "Are we going to argue about what is and isn't correct for a freaking Batmobile copy?"  Puhleeze.  He walked off in a huff, and didn't speak to me the rest of the day, which I took as no great loss. I still don't understand his outrage, though.  Anyone else pissed because people put 350 Chevys in Cobra Kit Cars?   Mastermind             

There is good stuff out there, you just have to look past the end of your nose!!

Had some naysayers tell me I was way off base saying there's plenty of good deals out there. Well, as usual, their wrong. Besides Hemmings Motor News, there's tons of regional auto trader papers, and the best tool is in your bedroom or living room-your computer. Type in any type of car and you instantly bring up dozens of websites with listings of those cars. Here's where you have to do a little legwork and peruse the sites, and write down the address and phone number, or print out the ad of cars that you find promising so you can go back to them. I search for cars for people all the time, and their amazed-"How did you find this at such a good price?"  Because I took the time to look at 50 or 100 ads, until I found maybe 2 or 3 that were a deal. Here's what you have to resign yourself to-there's no rhyme or reason or rule of thumb. Some things are grossly overpriced, and some things are a screamin' deal. You just have to find the deal. Here's a good example. I was web-surfing for a friend who wanted a 1971-73 Mach 1 Mustang. I found a really nice 351CJ, 4-speed '71 model for $12,500. I found a 1972 351CJ / C6 automatic model for $19,500. They both looked really good in the pictures, and both ads said the cars were in tip-top condition. The '72 may have been a little nicer, but it wasn't seven grand nicer in my opinion. I saw a Boss 302 for sale for $79,000 and another one for $55,000. Again-honestly-I didn't see much difference, and certainly not $25K worth of difference!! I saw two 1971 Boss 351s-one for $39,000 for one for $58,000-and I could not see 20K difference in the quality. I like Pontiacs, and I'm always looking for them, whether I have money or not, as a good number of family and friends also like them. I found three RAIV 1969 GTOs online that all looked great in the pictures, all claimed to be numbers-matching, and were all 4-speed cars. One was priced at $49,000, one at $62,000 and one at $85,000. The $85,000 claimed to be a frame-off restoration where every nut, bolt and hose was replaced. If that's what you want and you have the bankroll-good for you. However-the other two-I really couldn't see 13K of difference between them. Here's another kicker-it might not be exactly apples to apples-this car was an RAIII-done up like a Judge-that looked awfully nice for $27,000!!  The same applies to T/A's. I saw two excellent-condition 1979 400, 4-speed, WS6 cars for sale. They were even the same color- Nocturne Blue. One had T-Tops and tan interior and the other was a hardtop with blue interior. The one with T-Tops was priced at $34000, and the hardtop was priced at $18,900.  T-Tops aren't worth 16K in my opinion!!  On the same website I found a nice Starlight black 400, 4-speed '77 model for $24,500, and a Chesterfield Brown '77 with the same powertrain that appeared to be in similar condition for $18,995!!  Even base models had a huge discrepancy in pricing- with not a huge differnce in mileaghe or condition. For example-there were several 403 Olds / Automatic models on there. One was a black and gold SE priced at $39,995 with 24,000 original miles, and a Nocturne blue one with 21k miles for  $24995. In my opinion, the black one was not fifteen grand, 1500, or 15 dollars better in condition. It's just how greedy is the seller?  Look hard, and compare hard before you buy. Mastermind                

Just get over it and admit it's a screamin' deal!!

I talked a little about the "Devil's Advocate" types that will take the opposite side of anything. Don't listen to these naysayers, especially when it comes to buying the car of your dreams. I mentioned that I saw an excellent condition '69 GTO that was done up like a Judge for sale for $16,500 to an acquantance who was looking for a '68-70 GTO.  His "third baseman" buddy as we used to call them in the used car business started in about it not being a "Real" Judge. "Shut up." I said. "Pretend it's a different color without the stripes and spoiler."  $16,500 is a screamin' deal for a great condition GTO regardless of trim."  "If you bought a beater LeMans or a basket-case GTO body for $1,000, even if you were a bodyman and a mechanic and could do all the labor yourself 15 grand wouldn't make it this nice." "There's no way you could duplicate that car for $16,500. "No way." Ditto for the 1979 400, 4-speed, WS6, 4-wheel disc braked, 10th Anniversary Trans-Am I saw with 66,000 original miles that was priced at $14,900!!!  If you bought a rough-but-running '79 T/A for three grand, you couldn't make it that nice for another 12. Impossible. So stop being a naysayer and buy the damn thing if you want it, or let your friend buy it if he or she wants it. I once bought a 1966 Mustang GT with the 225 hp 289, factory air, the Rally-Pac guages, Pony intieror,and the original "California Megaphone" dual exhaust system with date-coded mufflers intact for $2,300!! The only thing wrong with it was the a/c compressor was locked up, so the guy had took the belt off, and the vynil top was peeling off. But the rest of the car was great, and it ran like a champ. I had gone to look at it with a friend who wanted a '65-66 GT350. He snivelled that "It's still not a Shelby."  I'm not even a Ford fan, and I bought the damn thing and sold it for more than double what I paid for it a couple months later, which was still less than it was worth!!  That car could bring 8-10K any day of the week, in the condition it was in, if it was advertised in Hemmings or on the internet. If I'd put a new Vynil top on it and fixed the a/c, it would bring 12-15k easy. Mr.-"It's still not a Shelby" still doesn't have a Mustang 16 years later. ( That was 1996 ). That's because he turned up his nose at a nice Boss 302 for $32,000 ( a steal ) and an excellent "Bullitt" replica, ( That was a 390 / 4-speed car ) for 25K. He won't lower his sights, and he won't admit that you can't touch a pristine original or restored Shelby like he wants for under 100K.  I had a customer that was a Mopar fan that wanted a 68-70 Charger. He turned up his nose at an immaculate, one-owner, little old lady owned '68 model for five grand because it had a bench seat and a two-barrel carb on the 383!!!  He also passed on a decent '69 that had a strong 440 in it, and Cragar mags with new radial T/A's because the 440 wasn't original and it had a little rust in the trunk. What '60's Mopar doesn't? Oh, and the price? $2,500!!  To put in perspective how stupid this guy is, the stunt coordinator of the "Fast and Furious" movies said they paid $16,000 for a basket case Charger that didn't run ( that was the one they going to wreck ) and $30,000 for a nice one for close-ups, because since Hollywood had been wrecking them for 40 years ( Bullitt, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, Dukes of Hazzard ) at least in California, you couldn't find one for sale in any condition at any price. The bottom line is this-yes there's grossly overpriced shit-and I do mean shit out there-i.e. the "Eleanor" Mustang from the Nicholas Cage / Angelina Jolie version of "Gone in 60 seconds" that's a 351W / Automatic CLONE that the owner wants 100 grand for. Hello? You can buy a REAL Numbers-Matching Shelby GT500 with a 428 and a 4-speed for 75K in any state in the union if that's what you want and you have the bankroll. Why would you pay 100K for a fake that's not even a good fake?  A 351 with a slushbox?  If a movie-tie in is a big deal to you, I've seen one of the Torinos from the "Starsky and Hutch" movie, autographed by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson for sale by the stunt coordinator of the movie who built the car for 32K. I've seen a 400, 4-speed, T-top, black&gold SE '77 Trans-Am restored by Year One and autographed by Burt Reynolds for 49K. By those standards I think most people would agree the "Eleanor" clone is an overpriced piece of crap at 100k. That aside, when you run across a great deal be smart enough to snap it up, regardless of what your third-baseman buddy who drives an '83 Tercel thinks. Mastermind                               

Like the Stones Classic....."You can't always get what you want......"

We all remember the Rolling Stones classic- "You can't always get what you want....But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." I get tired of people who say they want to buy a musclecar and then whine that they can't find a car they want for a reasonable price. With Hemmings, and the Internet, these people need to get over themselves. I ran a post last year titled "There is no used car factory" that was quite popular. In it- I simply stated that most of the cars were looking for are at least 30 years old and the chance of you finding the color you want, with the inteiror you want, and the engine / transmission / axle ratio you want is pretty unrealistic. It's still true, but these whiners are just too picky. I was talking with a friend about Trans-Am Specialties of Florida. They sell all kinds of musclecars, but they specialize in T/A 's. I was showing him the site, and telling him that I might be buying a car from them, as they had an awesome inventory, and everything I researched about them was positive. They had all years, and configurations, but they had quite a few Black "SE" cars from 1977-79-i.e. The Black and Gold "Smokey and the Bandit" model. He claimed that he'd love to have one of these. They had frame-off restorations, and they had 20,000 mile unrestored originals. They had 400 / 4-speeds, 400 Automatics, 403 Olds / automatics, models with T-tops, with Vynil seats, with cloth seats, with Rally II wheels, with 7 and 8 inch Snowflake wheels, with aftermarket wheels. As he turned up his nose at car after car that was absolutely pristine and reasonably priced i finally got pissed and said-"Your just playing Devil's Advocate."  "There's at least 10 cars here that I might buy, and I don't even really want a black one." His gripe was all the "SE" models had T-Tops, and that he'd had a bad experience with a '70's Camaro with T-tops-they leaked when it rained or when he went through a car wash. I scrolled down and found a Black on black '77 model with the 400 / 4-speed powertrain that had was priced at a reasonable $24,900. "Here's one without T-Tops." "Year one sells the SE striping kit, and the Gold dash panel and the gold steering wheel." There's your dream car."  "Or-Gasp!- Maybe you could just live with a black one that's not an "SE!"  "Your being sarcastic now." he snapped "No- I said- my dad bought a T/A brand-new in 1978, I went to the dealer to help him order it."  "And guess what?" "The SE package only came with T-tops." "You could buy T-tops without the SE package, but you couldn't buy an SE without T-Tops." "That's why my dad didn't buy an SE".  He didn't want T-tops. So we bought a Chesterfield Brown, W72, WS6, 4-speed hardtop model."  "Your so-called dream car never existed!!"  "I swear I've seen hardtop SE's"  He protested. "Nope." Then they weren't real SE's, they were base models that someone gussied up."  When I showed him the Nocturne Blue '79 that I was lusting after-he said-dead serious-"It's got 7 inch Snowflake wheels on it." "I know." I replied.  "I can live with them on such a pristine car, although the 8 inchers do look better." "Or if I absolutely HAVE to have the 8-inchers, Year One sells them for $169 each."  "If I spend 20k on the car, I think I can spring another $676 for the wheels I want." "These guys specialize in T/A's. I'm sure they could put 8 inch Snowflakes on it, before they shipped it to me, if I actually bought it."  "Hmmmph" he sneered. "I wouldn't buy a car with wheels I didn't like."  "That's why you'll never own a decent musclecar at any price." I snapped back. "Your to f*&%kin picky."  So next time you hear some one whining that they can't find a car they like at a reasonable price, don't even acknowledge it; Their an idiot like my co-worker that's going to find soemthing wrong with everything. These are the guys who say they wouldn't have sex with Angelina Jolie because she has tattoos or with Pam Anderson because she's got breast implants. Guess what guys-Angie or Pam wouldn't have YOU if you were the last man on earth, and your never going to find a car either. Mastermind.                    

Still more musclecars that would make good daily drivers...

Had people ask for more choices on musclecars I'd recommend as a daily driver, and someone asked how I get feedback that I sometimes mention. Besides this site-the guys at Musclecar Review forward correspondence to me as do the guys at PHR and Hot Rod. It goes through a link to a Gmail account I have set up. Anyway, here's some more good choices.  #1 The 1969-76 Gran Prix I mentioned-400 power standard all years with the 455 optional. GTO like performance and Cadillac like luxury in one package.  # 2. 1970-77 Chevy Monte Carlo. These cars were the scourge of NASCAR in the '70's. I rank them below the GP because 90% of '70's Montes have the 350 small-block for power ( Which certainly isn't a bad thing ) and the big-blocks are rare and pricier. However-we said we wanted a driver, not a drag racer-so in that vein a 350 Monte is an excellent choice-enough power, bulletproof reliability and great comfort and handling.  # 3. 1970-79 Firebird Formula and Esprit. You can buy these cars way cheaper than a same-year T/A, and if you get a 400 model enjoy the same performance. The 350 models make great drivers and are usually way cheaper-even Pontiac Purists want the 400 models-and with dual exhaust and a factory or aftermarket 4bbl carb and intake people will think you swapped in a 400. # 4. 1970-80 Chevy Camaro. Same as the Monte Carlo-I rank these below their Pontiac Cousins because of the lack of big-block availability-( a 396 was only offered in the Camaro from 1970-72, and are rare; by contrast you could get a 400 in a Firebird Formula up until 1979 and they are plentiful ) but a 350 Camaro is a great driver and a great base if you decide to hot rod it later. Avoid '76-80 305 models unless the price is just dirt cheap and you plan an engine swap anyway. If you can't find a good deal on a 350 powered '70's Camaro then you aren't looking past the end of your nose.  # 5. 1967-73 Mercury Cougar. The Cougar is to the Mustang what the Firebird is to the Camaro-the better buy of the two. While a 200 inch six-banger was the Mustang's base engine-all Cougars are V8s-289 / 302 cubes on up. While 390 and 428 versions will bring a King's Ransom just like their Mutang relatives,-the 289 /302 and 351W / 351C models are a steal. Cougars also have more cool luxury options like factory air, front disc brakes, upgraded interiors etc. The 74-76 models had the 460 available, but are based on the much heavier and uglier Lincoln MKIV platform. # 6. 1968-77 Chevy El Camino. As long as your not trying to buy an SS396 or 454 model-these are great bargains and the 350 versions are dependable drivers. Plus you can haul almost as much stuff as a 1/2 ton pickup.  #7 1968-79 Ford Ranchero. The "Other" El Camino. These were based on the Torino from 1968-76, and engine choices range from a 302 to the 460. However, most are 351C powered which is, if anything a plus factor. 1977-79 models are based on the larger Lincoln MKV / LTD II plaftorm which makes them roomier, more luxurious and better handling. Most of these had the 2bbl 351 / 400M under the hood, and simply ugrading to a 4bbl carb and intake ( like the Edelbrock Performer ) will help power and gas mileage immensely. I'm sure someone is going to bring up the glaring lack of Mopars on this list. The reason is-Most big-block Road Runners, Chargers, Challengers, 'Cudas, etc bring a King's ransom-and no one want's to put a lot of miles on their prize car that they just spent 40 grand buying or restoring. Further-because of the skyrocketing values of the "Big Dogs" a lot of 318 versions have been converted into Big Block clones, and are overpriced. And-the base models-really are basic-while a 1970 Firebird Esprit or Chevy Camaro will have a 350 V8, front disc brakes, power steering, factory a/c, and other amenities that make a nice driver, a base-model 1970 Challenger will usually have a slant-six or a 318 with no air, no power steering, and 4-wheel drum brakes. Do you really want to drive to work every day in a car with no air and no power steering and no power brakes?  As for the "B" bodies- Ditto-every '70's 318 Charger or Satellite or Coronet I see is a strippo like a taxicab-except they don't have a/c- and they are slugs that get lousy gas mileage. That's your dream driver? A 4,000 lb car with no air that gets 12 mpg, and will get it's doors blown off from a light by a soccer mom in a Camry?  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Mopars; but the bottom line is it's a lot easier to find a loaded  '70's Gran Prix or Monte Carlo in good condition than it is to find a Charger with the same equipment. Ditto-like I said-Pontiac made 117,000 Trans-Ams in 1979 alone. ( The last year of the 400 cube motors ). Dodge only produced 6,063 Challengers in 1974. How many loaded 360 versions with factory air and everything do you think are left?  See what I'm saying?  You have to FIND one first before you can buy it and drive it. Anyhow, good luch in your search for a daily-driver muscle machine. Mastermind                       

Musclecar as a daily driver part 2.....

Got a lot of positive response from yesterday's post-mostly people saying "Yeah-you go buddy." Quite a few inquired about what other musclecars I'd recommend as a daily driver that would be reasonably priced.  I'll give some general advice-and then I'll list some specific models.  #1 If you noticed-Partly because of the 20K price limit-there were no RAIV's, SD 455s, or 455HOs on the list of Trans-Ams I was looking at. There's 2 reasons for this-one-even if I had the 40K+ entry fee for one of these do I really want to subject a one of  3,402 1971-72 455HO T/A's or a low-mileage / restored one of  1195 1973-74 SD 455 models to parking lot dings, and rocks thrown up by trucks on the freeway?  And do I want to put 15,000 miles a year on a classic?  Do I want to risk blowing a rod out the side of an irreplaceble block trying to pass some arrogant yuppie in a BMW 5 series on a mountain road?  If I'm driving say one of the 93,000 '78 T/A's built, or one of 117,000 '79s-with a garden-variety L78 400  or an L80 403, the answer is a resounding yes. It's a DRIVER, not a concours show car, so if if the paint gets messed up, or an old lady puts a dent in it at Wal-Mart, I can go to Maaco and probably get it fixed for $500, and not feel too bad. Since I'd probably add an Edelbrock Performer intake, ( The stock 75-79 intake has a restrictive throttle opening which really limits power above 4,000 rpm )  and headers, to whatever I bought - This really wakes up these cars, doesn't hurt driveability and actually helps gas mileage-I wouldn't care if  I spun a bearing or popped a valvespring while playing grab-ass with a 5.0 Mustang, or a Hemi Charger or whatever. Even if I did grenade it beyond repair, There's millions of 400 Pontiacs built from 1967-78, and since it was GM's "Corporate" big block in the late '70s-there's millions of 403 Olds engines out there. It's not like I destroyed a Boss 302.  The point I'm making is, even if you could afford to, no one is going use an LS6 Chevelle, or a Hemi 'Cuda, or a Boss 302 or any other ultra-premium car for a driver. This leaves the base-models, which make better drivers anyway. Think about it-which would be a more pleasant daily driver- A 1969 Chevelle with a hydraulic-cammed 350 hp L34 396, a TH400, and 3.31:1 gears with a/c and power everything, or a solid-lifter, 4-speed, 4.11 geared 375 hp L78 396?  See what I'm saying?  Anyhow- here's a list of musclecars that make great, dependable transportation and are still great fun to drive, and like I said-you won't have to have to crap from soccer moms in V8 Cherokees or Yuppies in Cadillac's or BMWs. ( Unless it's an M3 or a CTS-V, but those are rare.)  #1. I'd have to rank the 74-79 T/As in the top spot. Most of them were loaded with a/c, tilt, cruise, etc, and with 400 cubes under the hood-even low-compression with salt-flats gearing they move pretty damn good, and will run on 87 octane regular gas. Like I said-an Intake manifold will make a huge difference in these cars performance. # 2. Right behind them is their '77-80 Z/28 Cousins. The L48 350 is bulletproof, and depending on whether it's a 4-speed or automatic, the 3.08, 3.42 or 3.73 gears help put the power to the pavement. # 3. 1975-80 Corvette. You don't usually see the words "Corvette" and "Bargain" in the same sentence-but these cars are a deal. I have seen decent examples on used car lots for as low as $3995!  This of course was an L48 / TH350 model, but I have seen nice L82 / 4-speed models for 15K. These cars still turn heads to this day, are a blast to drive, easy to fix-( You can get Chevy parts even in Mexico ) and are way more dependable than any used Porsche you might find for under 20K.  # 4. 1969-73 Ford Mustang Mach 1. You won't find any 428, 429, or Boss 302 or Boss 351 models in this price range, but there are a ton of 351W and 351C versions out there in excellent condition for under 15-20 grand. Go on the internet and you'll see. These cars are roomier than the '60's Mustangs, handle better, and have more luxury options. They are great drivers in my opinion, and have enough power to back up the image. # 5 1968-72 GM "A" body-The premium models all bring a King's ransom- LS6, RAIV, W30, GSX.  But you can still find a deal on a base-model GTO, 442, Skylark GS 350 / 400, or SS Chevelle. Body-on-frame construction makes them amazingly rattle-free for an old car, parts are easy to find, and they are nice, roomy, comfortable cars to drive. Happy Hunting! Mastermind                     

Musclecar as a daily driver? Yes you can!

My old 1994 Buick LeSabre that I've used and abused as a daily driver for the last few years is on it's last legs. The a/c quit working recently, and the CV joints are going out, and it's getting to the point that fixing it would cost more than the old beast is worth, no matter how faithful a friend it has been up to now. I've looked at some new and late-model used cars and trucks, and I've decided that theirs really nothing out there that I like enough to sign up for $500 a month payments for five years for.  The Nissan 370Z -I know-blaspehemy-a rice rocket-, and the new Boss 302 Mustang were quite tempting, but I just don't need a $40,000 loan hanging over my head right now. Friends have said  "Sell the Hurst / Olds and pay cash for something nice and low mileage. " I cannot swallow getting rid of the H/O for a Camry or an Accord or a compact pickup, or whatever.  I'd have to committ hari-kari. So my plan is to sell the Olds and use the proceeds to buy a good-condition musclecar that I can drive to work every day. I'll answer the obvious question-"Why not just drive the H/O?"  Two reasons-one-4.11 gears suck if you do any freeway drving at all, and I've had the car 18 years. I guess like a worn-out recording of a favorite song-we've just been together too long. I've rebuilt the 455 three times and the last time the crank let go I put a Chevy crate engine and tranny in it to avoid ruining a numbers-matching block. I figured my luck was going to run out sooner or later, and I wasn't going to stop driving like a madman, so that seemed like a viable solution. I'll put an ad on Craigslist and in Hemmings and on here detailing all it's features and the price. I'll sell it with or without the Chevy crate engine however the buyer wants to negotiate.  Anyway-back to the subject at hand-What musclecar should I use as a daily driver?  Since it's going to be a driver, it can't be an ultra-nasty bastard-( The H /O was, as was my Judge, I'm too old for that now ). No,I don't need  "King Kong"-I don't have to be the fastest guy around, but I want something that I can take a 200 mile trip in without worry and still not have to take crap from soccer moms in V8 Cherokees, Old men in Northstar Cadillacs, or little boys in Honda Civic Sis.  I've always liked Pontiacs, so I've narrowed it down to two models-a 1969-76 Gran Prix or a 1974-79 Trans-Am. I have experience with both these cars. My sister had a 400 powered 1972 J model in high school, and my cousin had a 1974 SJ with a 455. Both of these cars had power everything, and both of these cars felt like a GTO when you hit the loud pedal and showed their taillights to quite a few shocked Camaro and Mustang drivers. I had two Disco-era T/A's back in the '80's and I regret selling the blue one and wrecking the black one. The black one had the Herb Adams "Fire-Am" treatment-headers, a Holley Street Dominator intake, re-curved distributor, re-jetted carb, and a TransGo shift kit. I loved that car. It was fast enough to back up it's image, the seats were comfortable, the a/c blew cold, and the suspension didn't rattle your fillings loose. Anyhow, in my just-started search I've narrowly missed out on a few spectacular deals. My limit is $20,000-but believe me-you can find some awesome cars out there for under 20K if you look hard enough. I missed out on a 428, 4-speed 1969 Grand Prix for 15K, and the same guy had also just sold a 400, 4-speed 1973 GTO for 12 grand. Both were in excellent condition. I missed out on a 1972 Hurst SSJ GP with the 455 / TH400 powertrain as well.  The one that really hurt was I barely missed a 1979 10th Anniversary, 400, 4-speed, WS6 T/A with 66,000 original miles for $14,900!!  ArrrrGGGhhh!!!  The same website ( They specialize in musclecars, but especially T/A's )  also has a gorgeous 400, 4-speed, Chesterfield Brown 1977 model listed for $18,900, a Martinique blue '78 with a 400 Pontiac, an automatic, T-tops, and the WS6 package with 88,000 original miles that's just gorgeous for $17,995.  They also have an unbeleivable 21,000 mile original Nocturne Blue 1979 model with the 403 Olds TH350 powertrain for $20,900!!  They also have a 400, 4-speed 1979 DKM "Macho T/A" with Recaro seats for sale for $17,900.  If I can sell the Olds real quick or arrange financing with these guys, I'm going to buy one of those T/A's.  If that doesn't work out, I'll just have to wait until the right buyer comes along for the H/O, but's it's gratifying to know that there's such high quality stuff out there for reasonable prices. They also had some awesome 1970-73 T/A's on there, but they were priced well above my 20K ceiling. ( However, If I hit the lotto anytime soon that SD 455 / 4-speed Brewster Green baby is mine!!! )  Anyhow, I was thinking you could do the same-1969-73 351 Mustangs make great drivers, as do 1970-72 Monte Carlos, or '71-74 Chargers, or '74-80 Corvettes. There's a lot of stuff out there that would make wonderful drivers for somebody-priced under 20 grand.  Join me and don't drive an electronically nanny'd new car with a rev-limiter and a back-up camera, drive a musclecar and be a rebel!!  Mastermind                      

More on "Less is More".......

We all read magazines featuring mega-buck, mega horsepower cars and for a moment fantasize about having the "Meanest Mother in the Valley".  But in reality, 95% of us don't really want that. I remember the '90's when "Pro Street" was all the rage-cars built to look and run like a Pro Stock drag car. A friend wanted to build a Camaro in this fashion and I tried to talk him out of it because he was going to use the car as daily transportation. I told him-"Clambering around an 8-point roll cage every time you get in or out of the car is going to get old real quick." "As for the engine-if a Super Stock Firebird can run 11.30's with a Quadrajet-why do you need a Tunnel-Ram and dual 660 Holleys?" He eventually abandoned the project. The way this applies to musclecars is like I said in the last post-"Bigger isn't always Better." We may lust after a solid-roller 12:1 720 hp 572 inch Rat motor for a moment, but in reality a 9:1 motor that will run on pump gas with a cam that idles at 800 rpm makes a lot more sense. Here's a few more examples where it might behoove you to go with stock parts or with a little less than the "Ultimate".  # 1. Intakes. There are a lot of great aftermarket intakes out there. Probably the most prolific is the Edelbrock Performer and Performer RPM series. However, if you read the fine print-on Chevy and Pontiac applications for the "RPM" it says-"Does not fit under Corvette or Camaro hood without modification." "Does not fit under Trans-Am shaker hood without modification." By "modification" they mean cutting up the hood to clear the manifold, or bolting or welding the shaker scoop to the hood instead of mounting it on the carb the factory way. With proper heads, cam, exhaust, etc-the "RPM" is supposed to be worth 25 hp and 30 lbs ft of torque over the regular "Performer". Think about this-if you've built the engine properly-are you going to cut up the hood of your classic car because you "gotta" have 450 hp?  I mean 425 just isn't enough, right ?       # 2. Cams. "We shall Overcam" seems to be the hot rodder's mantra, and it's wrong. Especially on a street engine, it's better to err on the side of caution. I read an article in Super Chevy about how they built this "Budget" 350 that made 400+hp for only $2,600. Great. Except the "Circle-Track" style cam they put in it had only 9.5 inches of vacuum at idle. That's ok in a race car that doesn't have any power accessories and will never be below 3,000 rpm anywhere on the track. On a street car-this cam wouldn't idle below about 1,500 rpm, which would mean you'd need a stick or a high-stall converter if you had an automatic trans, and you'd need a vacuum reservoir to operate the power brakes. The Edelbrock "Perfromer RPM" series of cams-and their pretty radical-guarantee that they have 10-12 inches of vacuum at idle-enough to operate power brakes, cruise control and other vacuum accessories. I would look for cams that have at least 14 inches of vacuum at idle for most street driven cars. Follow the cam manufacturer's recommendations for axle ratio, converter stall speed, etc and you won't go wrong. But just because a certain cam made the most peak power on a dyno, doesn't mean it's best for your particular car. # 3. Exhaust. A set of headers sounds great, and on almost any engine will add 25-30 hp,or more on the big blocks. The downside is ( unless you get a "shorty" design ) they greatly reduce ground clearance-you have to be extra-careful when negotiating a speed bump or a driveway or you'll smash them up. They usually make changing the spark plugs a nightmare, sometimes interfere with the oil filter, and need constant re-torquing to avoid having an exhaust leak. It might be worth 25 hp to you to drive around worry-free with the stock exhaust manifolds in place. Now on the other hand, many cars, especially Camaros, Firebirds, and Mustangs, had very restrictive exhaust systems from the factory. I hate the "crossflow" single muffler used on '70's GM "F" bodies. If you read old tests of a GTO and a Trans-Am with an RAIII 400 or with a 455HO, the GTO is always faster. That's because the GTO had a full-dual exhaust system, and the T/A's had that damnded "Crossflow" single muffler that cost them about 50 hp in bone-stock trim. If your not competing in concours shows, it would behoove you to invest in a quality dual exhaust system; even with stock manifolds you can pick up 30 or 40 hp and 2-3 mpg. # 4. Suspension. Don't go overoard on teflon sway bar bushings, and steel frame and leaf spring bushings in search of Indy-car like handling. A friend went with "Ultimate" Herb Adams setup for his Camaro. It did corner like a go-kart and it would cut faster lap times around the Reno-Fernley Raceway than a Porsche 911, or a late-model Corvette. However, on anything but glass-smooth pavement, it would rattle your brains out. It was SO STIFF, that the slightest ripple or bump in the road was transmitted through the steering wheel and the driver's seat with crushing force. He eventually sold it, because it was unpleasant to drive on city streets. Hope this advice helps people out. Mastermind      

Sometimes less is more......And here's why!!

Talked to a guy who'd just bought a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 the other day. He wanted to hot rod it, so his plan was to put the numbers matching 351W on a stand in his garage and buy a Ford Racing crate motor. I thought this was sound thinking, as now he could drive it like he stole it and not worry about throwing a rod out the side of a hard to find block. But he was a little confused. He'd called a Ford dealer to inquire about the crate engines, and the parts guy recommended he buy the 362 hp 351W crate motor. He couldn't understand why the parts guy was trying to steer him away from the 385 hp 351W crate motor or the 400+ hp 392 stroker. When I told him the parts guy was giving him good advice, he was more confused. "Why would less power be better?" He asked. I explained that the 385 hp motor had a very hot cam and a Nascar-style single-plane Edelbrock "Victor Jr" intake manifold that only made power from 3,500-8,000 rpm. The factory owner's manual for these engines recommends 4.56:1 gears!! This engine makes very little power below 4,000 rpm, and is not really a street engine. It's more designed for circle-track racing or drag racing. By contrast-the 362 hp motor-while only being down 23 hp on the top end-is much more streetable. It's cam makes 14 inches of vacuum at idle as opposed to 10, and the intake manifold is a dual-plane Performer RPM with a power range of 1,500-6,500. The owner's manual for this engine recommends at least 3.50:1 gears. I explained that the "lesser" engine would still go plenty fast, but would Idle smoother, work with all the cars accessories, and work better with an automatic transmission if he had one. I also explained that it would have the low-end, tire boiling torque he was looking for, rather than being "peaky" and only having power on the top end. I told him-you get to the point of diminishing returns. If your a handgun shooter-a .38 is very pleasant to shoot and is certainly  powerful enough to put down an attacker if your life was in danger. A .357 Magnum has more recoil, but is still manageble for most people, and has enough power to kill a deer or a wild boar. "Dirty Harry" movies aside-a .44 Magnum can shoot clean THROUGH a deer and penetrate an automobile engine block. However, it's recoil is so fierce that it's virtually unshootable for all but the most expert shooters and the large frame needed to control the massive recoil is so heavy, that their hard to conceal and very uncomfortable to carry for more than about five minutes. Thus if you were a cop, or had a concealed-weapons permit a .38 or .357 would be a much better weapon to carry on a daily basis than a .44 Magnum, even though they have less stopping power. Conversely, if you were a park ranger in Alaska and could carry the gun openly, and encountered grizzly bears, polar bears and mountain lions fairly regularly, The big, bad, .44 is the only way to fly. Same with cars-a street machine needs a different style engine than an all-out racer. Here's a perfect example of the less-is-more theory. Let's say your building a 400 Pontiac. The Edelbrock Performer package includes a dual-plane manifold and a cam with 278 / 288 duration and .420 / .442 lift. With 72cc heads and headers this combo makes 387 hp and 439 lbs ft of torque. Plenty stout for a street engine that has 15 inches of vacuum at it's 750 rpm idle and works with a stock torque converter, and stock gears like 3.08:1. The Performer "RPM" package includes a taller manifold and a much hotter cam-an exact replica of the factory RAIV grind. 308 / 320 duration and .470 lift. With the same heads and headers this combo made 422 hp and 441 lbs ft of torque. A difference of 35 hp and 2 lbs of torque. However this engine only made 10 inches of vacuum at a 1,000 rpm idle, and most of the power increase was above 4,500 rpm. You can do the math-your trading quite a bit of low-end and mid-range torque for top-end rush. There's a reason the RAIV engine was only available with 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears!!  The point here is-let's say they were both installed in '70's Trans-Ams-yes the "RPM" package would be faster in the 1/4 mile provided you had 3.73:1 or stiffer gears and a four-speed or a high-stall converter. The Performer Package would idle smoother, get better gas mileage, and still rip the tires as long as you wanted to stay on the throttle, and probably only run 3 tenths slower in the 1/4. Remember-it's only down 35 hp from the "Big Dog". This is what I mean by the point of diminishing returns. That's where, yes you can go faster-but at a big penalty to idle quality, low-end torque and driveability, freeway cruising rpm, and fuel economy. If your building a racer or show car then do anything you want. But if you want to drive the car at all-bigger is not always better, so be careful when chasing every last ounce of speed. Mastermind

Hot August Nights.......Where are all the cars?

In Reno for HAN this past week, and I was a little disappointed. I'll have to check with the organizers and the newspaper to see what registration was, but it's got to be way down from years past. Yeah, the big casinos had the usual show-n-shines and the drag races, and the I cant-believe-were-not-dead concerts, but for just being around town, it was way different.  Used to, during this event you couldn't turn your head without seeing 3 or 4 musclecars on every street in town. And the mix was very cool and diverse. You'd see '32 Fords done in "American Graffiti" style, '40 Fords and Willys coupes done in '60's gasser style, Hemi Belvederes and AMC Rebel Machines, and a myriad of stuff that you didn't see every day, or may have forgot about. Not so this year. Everything was down across the board. Let me explain it this way-The only Chevys I saw were '55-57s, '60's and '70's Camaros, and '68-72 Big-Block Chevelles. Seriously. I didn't see one '60's Impala SS, I didn't see ANY '50s, '60s, or '70s 'Vettes, and I only saw two Novas. No '58 Chevys, no El Caminos, no '70-72 Monte Carlos, no Nomads.  Fords were even worse.  Even at the shows and events, it was all '60's Mustangs and a few '55-57 T-Birds.  No Thunderbolt Fairlanes, no 427 Galaxies, No Torinos, No Cougars, No Shelby Cobras, no Lincolns with suicide doors, nothing but a sea of Mustangs. Base-model Mustangs. Plenty of 289 coupes and fastbacks or 351 '69 and '70 models, but I only saw a few GT350 Shelbys, and I didn't see any GT500s or any Boss 302s or Boss 429s. Sad. The Mopar guys didn't participate much either. Any Mopar display was all 1968-70 Chargers. A few 'Cudas and Challengers here and there, forget a Hemi Superbird- I didn't even see a single 340 Duster all weekend!!  No Hemi Darts, no 413 Max Wedges, and -surprisingly-very few Road Runners. The Non-Chevy GM tents were equally disasppointing.  A few '60s GTOs and Firebirds, and a couple '60s 442s and a '70 Buick GSX clone. No tri-power 2+2's, no Gran Prix's, no Rivieras, no Toronados, for god's sake-I think mine was the only Hurst / Olds I saw. The only thing I can guess is the economy really is tight, and people arent't coming from all over the country any more-I saw a lot of California, Arizona and Oregon plates, but none from Texas or Oklahoma, or Colorado, or wherever like in years past. Whether driving it or trailering it-I guess it just got too expensive for some people this year. Gas at 4 bucks a gallon-greedy motel owners wanting $100 or more per night, a lot of people just said the hell with it-we can't afford it this year.  That's too bad, it really is a cool event. Hopefully the economy will turn around and more people can come out next year.  I don't mean to be cynical-but I was aghast at the lack of diversity this year. Maybe all the really cool cars are from the midwest and those are the people that didn't make the trip.  Any how, that's my take on Hot August Nights this year.  Mastermind     

How to choose a Musclecar? How do you want to drive it?....

Someone asked me this question yesterday. Usually the questions I get are Marque specific-I.E.-what to look out for when buying a Mopar, or Pontiac etc. But this guy was asking for general advice, regardless of make.  The answer to this is-"Do you want to drive it?"  Most people would answer with a resounding yes, but you'd be amazed at the number of cars that aren't driven 100 miles a year.  Their owners are content to trailer them to shows, and are afraid of putting a dent in it.  If your going to drive the car-that brings up the next question. "How do you want to drive it?" While very few people use an old musclecar as a daily driver, what you want to do with it and where you live should play a big role in your decision on what to buy. If you live in a state that has harsh winters, I wouldn't recommend a car with T-Tops or a Convertible. If you live somewhere that's hot year round-Arizona, Las Vegas, Florida etc- I'd recommend looking for something with functional  ( or at least repairable ) A/C.  If you live in a large city like San Francisco or L.A. that has a lot of stop and go traffic, an automatic transmission might be a better choice than a four-speed.  If you live in a rural area-4.11 gears will get old real quick-the motor buzzing at 3,500 rpm and the extra fuel usage might not be worth the blistering acceleration off the line. My cousin lived in rural Missouri-30 miles from Fort Leonard Wood and 90 miles from Springfield. All of his driving was high-speed, highway driving. He loved his '70 Firebird Formula 400 with an automatic and 3.08 gears, he loved his '78 Trans Am with 2.56s, and he lovd his '71 Mach 1 Mustang with 3.00:1 gears. All three of these cars could cruise at 80 or 85 all day, and like the cop car in "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry" had an almost "unlimited" top end.  When he bought an L82, 4-speed, 3.70 geared '74 Corvette, he was disappointed. In his words-"This thing is great for jackrabbit starts, and it's fun to run it up through the gears, but man it uses more gas than either of my 400 Firebirds did, and I always think I'm going to burn the engine up buzzing 4,000 rpm all the time on the highway." "It never overheats or anything, but I'm sure not comfortable driving it that way."  I suggested he change the axle ratio to a 3.08-"The L82 has enough torque that you probably won't notice a big difference in acceleration, but it will really lower your cruise rpm on the freeway. "  I also suggested a gear vendors overdrive. He ended up selling the car.  Be really honest about what you want-Don't search the galaxy and mortgage your house for an LS6 Chevelle or a Hemi Road Runner if you'd be just as happy in an SS396, or a 383 Super Bee.  I admit I'd be much too afraid of blowing a rod out the side of an irreplaceable block if I had one of the 88 1970 RAIV T/A's built to drive it like it was designed to be driven.  No way would I drop the clutch ar 4,500 and powershift at 6,200. ( Christ, what If I bent one of the extra-long pushrods and damaged the head?!! )   No, give me a disco-era T/A that's one of hundreds of thousands, and I'll put Edelbrock heads and the matching RPM cam-( Their RAIV spec ) on it, and I'll drive it like I stole it, and if I grenade the motor, I won't care. There's enough 1970's 400 blocks out there that I can find reasonable enough. Hope these guidelines help out in the decision-making process, whatever you decide to buy.  Mastermind                 

An El Camino can be a cool Chevelle alternative...

I've touched on this before but I had somebody ask me about El Caminos the other day, so I thought I'd re-iterate some facts for the general use. The El Camino was introduced in 1959 on the Impala body, to compete with the Fairlane based Ford Ranchero Pickup that had been around since 1957. It was long and ugly, ( '59 Impala tailfins on a truck bed?! ) and was discontinued after 1960. It was resurrected in 1964 on the all-new "A" body Chevelle chassis. Available with six-cylinder, or 283 or 327 small-block motivation they made nice drivers with more utility than a station wagon. Of course '64 was the year that the GTO turned the world on its ear. In late 1965 Chevy built about 200 or so Z16 "SS396" Chevelles, but no big block El Caminos. 1966 was the first full year of big-block Chevelle production. The 396 was available in 325 hp form with a hydraulic cam and a 375 hp form with a solid-lifter cam. Transmissions included 3 and 4 speed sticks and the TH400 automatic. The problem with El Caminos is they are lumped in with Chevelle sales; it's almost impossible to decipher how many of each model were built with what options. Except for the grille-1967 was pretty much the same as 1966. In 1968 the all-new "A-bodys arrived. Many people, myself included, think the 1968-72 El Camino is the best-looking one of all. The venerable 327 gave way to the new 350, and small-block models got the new TH350 if an automatic was ordered, and these were light-years better than the ancient Powerglide they were replacing.  They had every option that the Chevelle / Malibu line had, but again-there's no separate sales figures-their lumped in with Chevelle sales. In 1970 the 454 was introduced, the LS5 producing 360 hp, and the LS6 a whopping 450. There were a few LS6 Elkys built, no one knows how many. 1971 saw compression ratios lowered, and 72 saw the industry change from gross to net horsepower ratings, so it looked like power was down more than it actually was. 71-72 models had single headlamps as opposed to the dual lamps of the 68-70's. Otherwise the body was unchanged. 1971 also saw the introduction of the GMC "Sprint" which was a re-badged El Camino sold through Pontiac / GMC dealers. In 1973 the "A" bodys were redesigned yet again, and federal bumper impact standards hurt. Most people hated the new Collonade hardtops and complained that the '68-72 style was better looking. This sentiment continues today. The redesign didn't hurt El Camino sales however, they remained steady, and cool options like swivel bucket seats became available. However the emphasis became more on luxury than on performance. The 396 / 402 was dropped altogether, and the 454 was down to 245 net hp. Most El Caminos were 350 powered. This body remained basically unchanged until 1977. In 1976 however, the big-blocks were no longer an option. 1978 saw the "A" bodies downsized. About 600 lbs lighter than the outgoing '77 models, a 350 powered '78 El Camino SS was actually a pretty good performer. This basic body remained until the "G" bodys demise in 1988. After 1980 a 305 was the largest V8 you could get. In 1983 the engineers put the Aero nose of the Monte Carlo SS on the Elky, and this helped sales. However, with the SUV explosion, the "Car / Truck" that had been a mainstay since 1964 no longer had a market, and poor sales sealed it's doom. The model was dropped after 1987. They have kind of a "cult" following-( especially 1968-72 models ), but you can find a deal one if you look past the end of your nose. El Caminos are kind of a buy-it-if-you like it-car. I had three of them over the years, liked them all, but they didn't stir the passion in me that my Judge or my Trans-Am did. ( Not even the SS396 model ). But that doesn't mean you can't be happy in one, especially if you save money in lieu of an overpriced Chevelle.  Mastermind    

It's ok to buy a car that's already done!

I know a lot of us want to build cars our own way, and some even enjoy it, but if your in the market for a musclecar sometimes you run across a car that's already done that's a screamin' deal. I ran across two the other day-and If I'd had an extra 30 grand laying around I'd own both of them. One was a 1979 400, 4-speed, WS6 10th Anniversary Trans-Am with 66,000 original miles that was priced at $14,900!!  This car was a steal. If you bought a "rough but running" '79 T/A for say 3 grand, it would cost you a lot more than 12 grand to make it as nice as this one was.  The other one was a 69 GTO made to look like a Judge. It was a for-real GTO, it just wasn't a real Judge. However it was very nicely done, and the price was $16,500!!  It had  the 400 / TH400 powertrain, a hood tach and factory air. $16,500 was a screaming bargain. Whether you agree with it being done that way or not forget the Judge trim; regardless of  paint that's a steal for a rust-free well restored, well-optioned '69 GTO any way you look at it. And again-a basket case '69 GTO body will cost you 5 grand; then you have to fix everything and maybe dig up an engine and tranny. There's no way you could replicate this car for 17K. There was a GTO club in town, so I also saw a gorgeous 1973 GTO for sale. It was black with white interior-a rare and neat combo-and it had the 400 / 4-speed powertain with Rally II wheels and new BFG Radial T/A tires. The guy was asking $12,500 which I thought was eminitely reasonable. A lot of Pontiac purists snub the '73's because everyone likes the 68-72 body better; but it was one of only 4,806 built, and one of only 923 with a 4-speed. I bet if you offered the guy 10K he would probably take it, and that would be a steal. Because, again-you couldn't buy a beater '73 LeMans / GTO and make it this nice for 10 or 12 grand. No way. I also saw a 1972 Corvette for sale-a numbers matching, 454, 4-speed for $4,500!!  This baby was rough-but it did run, and the guy had a clear title. This one was the opposite-even if you had to put 20K into this one and had 25 grand in it when it was done-you could easily double your money at auction. 50K for a numbers-matching, 454, 4-speed resto? That'll go in a heartbeat. I also saw a 1978 Indy Pace Car Corvette for sale for $8,500. Granted, it was an L48 / automatic, and nothing special, but that's a deal for any decent C3 'Vette much less a Pace Car / Silver Anniversary model. I understand the allure of wanting to build something from the ground-up, and the satisfaction you get when it's done. I've done it. But it's also nice to buy something that doesn't need thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work and just enjoy driving it right off the bat. Maybe I'm getting lazy, but I think I'll do it that way the next time I buy a musclecar. Mastermind     

2 new action flicks featuring musclecars......

If your a DVD fan or a Netflix customer you might want to look for these two titles.  # 1. "Drive Angry".  Nicholas Cage plays-according to the narrator-a "A badass mother$%6cker who thinks he can escape his destiny by escaping from hell."   It's a cool premise-the bad guys can't kill Cage because he's already dead. He's trying to save his granddaughter from a Satanic cult.  Lot's of car chase action with a '63 Riviera, a '69 Charger, and a '72 SS454 Chevelle. Amber Heard is the eye-candy and William Litchner is great as the narrator / Demon Bounty Hunter who wants to take Cage back to hell.  Mindless fun, with great action.  # 2. "Faster" is a much darker tale featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a bank robber who was pronounced dead after being double-crossed by his crew, recovered and did 10 years in prison. Now he's out, and he's pissed-determined to kill everyone who had a hand in his misfortune. Billy Bob Thortnon plays a drug-addicted detective nearing retirement who helped set the Rock up the first time. The always sexy Carla Gugino is wasted as Thornton's partner, as is Moon Bloodgood ( Terminator: Rise of The Machines ) as his crack-whore wife. Also in the mix, and I don't know why is a filthy rich Yoga master hit man that apparently beat polio or something as a kid. The Rock's ride is supposed to be a 1970 SS396 Chevelle as it has that front end, but it has the round taillights in the bumper like a 71-72 model. Come on, guys!!  He also drives a '67 GTO early on. Gritty action and gunplay, a little short on car action, although the  Rock shows he can act in things other than dipshit comedies.  Mastermind  

Smokey Robinson was right....

Blues singer Smokey Robinson had a huge hit in the early '60s with the song "Shop Around".  He was talking about finding love, but the rule applies to cars as well.  Here's a few examples of huge differences on Apples to Apples cars. On a dealer's website that specializes in Pontiac Trans Am's there was a huge difference in prices, and not much difference in condition- all these cars were well-restored, or at least "Good driver" quality-there was no "projects" here.  What surprised me was someone was asking $33,000 for a 1975 455 / 4-speed T/A.  Granted, it was pristine, and one of 857, but we all know 1975 was the WORST year for performance, they still had the ugly 74-75 bumpers ( The cool urethane ones debuted in '76 ) and the "455HO" was a 7.6:1 compression station wagon engine that wheezed out barely 200 hp and required sub-4,500 rpm shifts to get decent performance.  On the same website was a 1979 10th Anniversary W72, WS6, 4-wheel disc-braked, T-topped, 400 , 4-speed model with only 66,000 original miles and it was priced at $14,900!!!  Huh?  The most sought after T/A model there is- ( After RAIV's and 455HO and SD models ) in great condition for less than HALF the price of the LEAST popular model?  On the same website, they were asking for $24,900 for a Nocturne Blue 1979 model with a 403 Olds / TH350 powertrain, and right next to it was a 400 , 4-speed Mayan Red '78 with T-tops for $17,900.   They also had a white 1973 455 / TH400 ( Not a Super Duty ) model for $39995.  Below that was Bucaneer Red 455 / 4-speed, ( also an L75 ) 1973 T/A  for $21,000!!. They also had two other '73 models-a Brewster green 455 4-speed priced at $59,999  ( Yikes! ) and a Brewster green 455 / TH400 model for $43,000.  Like I said, all of these cars were low-mileage, in great condition, numbers-matching, and I honestly don't think any of them was worth 10 or 15-20K more than any of the others. It's just how greedy the owner was that consigned the car there. I did some more web-surfing and got on a Mustang Site-they listed a pristine 1969 GT350 Shelby Mustang for $59,995. On the same site was another 1969 GT350 that looked just as good to me that was priced at $44,500-15 grand less.  They also listed two 1971 Boss 351 models-one for $42,500 and the other for $58,000.  I looked at 3 GTO' Judges the other day-two Carousel Red '69 models that were clones, and a For-real  Pepper Green '70.  The Pepper Green '70 was an RAIII / 4-speed model and it was utterly immacualte, having just had a frame-off resto done. It was worth every penny of it's $39,999 asking price.  It totally outclassed any GTO I've seen in a long time. However-the two '69's- They were both GTO's-not cobbled-up LeMans's-but they weren't original Judges. They both had the 350 hp base model 400, and the spoiler,decals and paint. The 4-speed was priced at $27,000 and the automatic was priced at $16,500!!!  I actually looked at these cars in person, not on a computer-and believe me I couldn't find a noticeable difference in their condition much less $10,000 worth.. Now you could argue that the 4-speed model is worth a little more-and I would agree- but not 10 grand more. The bottom line is look hard before you lay out your hard-earned cash for whatever classic you may desire. Mastermind       

More one or two year "Last" models that may be cool.....

Here's some more one or two year models that may be bargains for some of you. #1. 1971-72 Pontiac GTO. These aren't as snubbed by Pontiac collectors as the hated '73, but their treated like Rodney Dangerfield and I don't know why. They still have the classic '68-72 bodystyle that everyone loves, they still have 400 cubes standard under the hood, with the vaunted 455HO optional. And-even though their kinda rare-they only made 10,000 in '71 and 5,807 in '72-they are priced way lower than a '69 ( 72,225 built ) or '70 ( 40,149 built ). These are a screaming deal if you want a 1968-72 GM "A" body-they seem to be cheaper than Chevelles and 442s of the same years-yet the Pontiacs have 400 cubes standard and the Chevy and Olds had 350s as the base engines. Weird.  # 2. 1972 Plymouth Road Runner. These are the exact same bodystyle as the '71 that people pay way more for. Part of it is the '71s still had high-compression and the Hemi and 440 six-pack was still available. However, if your looking for a bargain, your not buying a Hemi or Six-Pack car anyway. The 383 was bored to 400 inches and got electronic ignition. Since the '71 383 was only rated at 300 gross hp, and the '72 400 was rated at 260 net, I don't think you lose any real-world performance. The 340 and the 440 4bbl was still optional as well. For whatever reason, you can buy one of these way cheaper than a '71 model, even if were talking standard engines. # 3. 1977 Olds 442. The last "Real" 442-built on the "A" body chasiss with an engine over 400 cubes. Sadly-Olds put the legendary moniker on a lot of junk in the '80s including a 4-cylinder Calais in '85 or '86. Yuk.  However in '77 you could get a 403 with F41 suspension, and cool graphics. Richard Petty won some races in this body after he switched from Dodge. With a little work-intake, exhaust, and an axle ratio change-( 2.41:1 was the standard gear ) they can really run. About 12,000 were built.  # 4 1982 Corvette. The last of the C3 bodystyle. Some had carburated 350s, but the ones to get are the Cross-Fire Injected models with the then-new 700R4 4-speed automatic overdrive. 'Vette purists kind of snub them in favor of 78-80 L82 models or the '84 and later model ( There was no '83 'Vette, the '84 debuted in March 1983.) which is why you can get a deal on one. Their not dogs-7 second 0-60 and 15 second 1/4 miles were good for the time-but they aren't as fast as some of the more sought after earlier ( L82 ) or later ( L98 ) models. Still it's not often you hear "Corvette" and "Bargain" in the same sentence. # 5. 1985-86 "5.0" Mustang. Everyone wants the fuel-injected '87-93 models. However, if you want some old-school snarl in a Fox Mustang-these had factory headers and a 600 Holley 4bbl on an aluminum manifold. A friend bought one of these brand-new and it was badass. It would literally spin the tires as long as he wanted to stay on the throttle. And the fuelies being quicker-I beg to differ we never got beat in a street race by one.  Maybe one of these will be your next dream machine Mastermind     

The Last of The Mohicans......

Well the first year of anything usually brings a king's ransom, often the last year can be a good buy for the sharp-eyed collector. Here's some "Last Year" bargains to look for. #1. 1973 Ford Mustang. In 1974 the awful Pinto-based Mustang II debuted and tortured us until it's demise in 1978. Yet the '73 models are like Rodney Dangerfield-a '71-72 will bring way more money at auction-although the bodystyle is identical except for the placement of the park lights in the grille, and minor trim pieces. Most have the mighty 351C for power in either 2 or 4bbl form, which isn't a bad thing, and the 302 models can be hopped up easily. If you want the last "Real" Mustang before the "5.0" era these can be a screamin' deal, and there's really nothing wrong with them.  # 2. 1974 Dodge Charger. Richard Petty won a ton of races in this bodystyle and the 400 and 440 V8s were still available. If your willing to settle for a 360 model-you can really save some money.  In '75 Chrysler desecrated the name by putting it on re-badged Cordoba. Yuk.  # 3. 1974 AMC Javelin / AMX. Ironically-they made more Javelins this year than they did any other year since '71 when this bodystyle debuted. Look for a 360 or 401 powered version; the 304's are slugs. I always thought these were a great-looking car.  Don't pay extra for something stupid like "Pierre Cardin" interior-their not collectible, their just weird.  # 4. 1974 Chrysler E-body. This was the last year for the 'Cuda / Challenger-and the glory days were gone-no more Hemis, or 440 Six-Packs, or even a 383 Magnum. Even the 340 was gone after '73-replaced by the 360.  On the upside you can buy them way cheaper than the earlier models, the 360s were decent performers, and you could always swap in a big-block.  # 5. 1979 Pontiac Trans-Am. This was the last year of the 400 cube engines. 1980-81 models had the ill-fated 301 Turbo or a 305 Chevy. However, of the 117,000 T/A's sold this year-only about 10,000 were 400 / 4-speeds. The majority of the rest had 403 Olds engines backed by a TH350. For this reason they are snubbed by Pontiac purists and can be bought way cheaper than a '77-78. On the upside-the 403 models ran surprisingly strong-the Pontiacs were quicker-but not THAT much quicker-that's how they sold so many. I had a 403 Olds T/A that I gave the Herb Adams "Fire-Am" treatment to-headers and dual exhausts, a Holley Street Dominator aluminum intake, re-curved distributor, re-jetted carb and open hood scoop, and a TransGo shift kit.  I surprised quite a few musclecars when they saw the tailligthts of my "smog dog" T/A. There's plenty of speed parts-anything that fits a 350 Olds will fit a 403.  # 6. 1980 Z/28 Camaro. For this one year only-you could get a Z/28 with a 350, a 4-speed with a 3.44 low gear and a 2.28 second, with a 3.08 rear end. These were actually faster than the '77-79 models which had 2.64 low gear T10s and 3.73 gears.  And they got better gas mileage and had more top speed.  Automatics had 3.42:1 gears which gave them a little accelerati rapidus maximus attitude too. Cowl Induction was brought back this year too-a vaccum-operated hood scoop that opened under acceleration and sounded like the "Vanishing Point" soundtrack. Inexplicably-in 1981 if you wanted a 4-speed, you got a 305 that wheezed out 145 hp. If you wanted a 350, you got an automatic. One of these "Last-year" models might be just the ticket for you. Mastermind      

Two-barrel performance? It can be done!

Had a guy ask me a question pertaining to yesterdays post. He said he shows his cars in concours, and some of them have two-barrel engines, and the rules don't permit changing the intake and carb. Yet he'd like more oomph. The advice I gave on putting in slightly stiffer rear end gears and maybe a mild converter is still good. As for more power-check this out-there are a lot of circle track racing classes that require two barrel carbs. Don't scoff-these cars go awful fast. Get a magazine devoted to circle track racing and check out the ads in the back. There are a lot of companies that sell extensively ported two-barrel manifolds for most popular engines, as well as re-jetted, and reworked carbs, for these racers. There are also cams designed for two barrel racers, and ported exhaust manifolds. I know a guy that pulled one of these engines out of a "hobby stock" Chevelle, put it in a street Nova, and ran low 13's!!. How'd you like to have your ass kicked by a guy running iron intake and exhaust manifolds and a two-barrel carb?  Where there's a will, there's a way. Mastermind 

Concours guys want performance too!!

Had a couple inquirys from the Concours crowd on how to go faster, and yet not lose points at shows. # 1, this depends on the rules. I've seen organizations that dock you points if you have the wrong kind of hose clamps on your radiator hoses, and I've seen others that are ok with replacement parts as long as it's the same type-I.E.-They won't dock a '70 Z/28 points for not having a correct carb as long as it's a 3310 Holley, even if it doesn't have 1970 date codes. Check with your individual club or organization-A Mustang club may have different rules than a Chevelle club. You can tailor your "stealth" mods to fit the spirit of the rule, if not the letter. That aside, here's some general advice that you can get away with when building a Concours show car. # 1. Stroke it. Extra cubes always means extra power even with a bone-stock engine. Most show judging organizations will check numbers on the block, but they don't tear engines down. So you could make your 350 Chevy into a 383, or your 389 Pontiac into a 421 or 400 Mopar into a 451, and no one would be the wiser unless you told them.  # 2. Camshaft. Judges don't have X-ray vision, so no one can tell if you upgrade to a slightly hotter cam in the search for more grunt. # 3. Induction. Here's where you have to check the rules-some organizations demand that the manifold be dead stock right down to the date codes. Others are ok with a "Stock Type"-i.e. you won't lose points on a '68 GTO because the manifold is off a '72 Catalina-it's an iron Pontiac intake that mounts a Q-Jet, so it's considered "proper". I have also seen the "Stock Type" rule allow some aftermarket intakes-i.e.-since a '70 Z/28 had an aluminum intake from the factory, they allowed a Holley #300-36-which is an exact replica of the original Z/28 / LT1 intake. I have also seen a Pontiac Concours club allow an Edelbrock P65 Dual Quad intake on a SD389 restoration and a Performer on a Ram Air IV GTO because the factory intakes were aluminum, and the aftermarkets qualify as "Stock Type" replacements. I have also seen Chevy clubs dock serious points off an awesome '71 SS454 El Camino because the iron intake came off a '69 396. Yet if you want to buy a service replacment iron MKIV Oval-port Q-jet 4bbl manifold from GMPP-there's only one part number listed from 1967-72.  Like I said each organization has it's own rules. You could also do some port-matching from the manifold to the heads.  #4. Head work. Judges will spot aluminum heads a mile away, but you can port stock iron heads. Depending on make, for example the difference between "standard" small block Chevy heads and "Hi-Performance" heads is hi-perf heads have 2.02 intake and 1.60 inch exhaust valves and screw-in rocker studs. "Standard" heads have 1.94 intake and 1.50 inch exhaust valves and pressed in rocker studs. The port sizes are the same. Any competent machine shop could put the larger valves in standard heads for a nominal fee. Ditto for 350 Olds heads-the vaunted "W31"'s had larger valves, but the port sizes were the same as standard heads. Pontiac heads can be milled as much as .060 inch to gain a full point boost in compression. # 5. Mechanical advantage. In 1971 when compression ratios were lowered across the board and power down, GM lowered axle ratios on most musclecars to minimize performance loss. They advertised this as "Tractive Force"  "The net result of all the drivetrain components."  You can do the same. If your car has Salt-flat's gearing like 2.56:1 or 2.73:1, switching to something in the 3.23 to 3.73 range can drastically improve acceleration without hurting driveability too much. If you have an automatic, a mild performance converter can help immensely. By mild I mean a stall speed of  no more than 2,000 rpm. This will give you a much better "holeshot" than the stock converter ( which will stall anywhere from 5-600 rpm less ) without hurting driveability. A 3,000 rpm converter is a waste behind a basically stock engine; it will hurt low-speed driveability and on anything 360 cubes on up, you'll just blow the tires off, which is not conducive to quick acceleration.  All of these tips will help your "Show Queen" develop some claws that no one can detect, while their looking at tailllights, and wondering how it happened. Mastermind   

Do research before you start spewing insults.......

Had several idiots email me after yesterday's post telling me I was "dreaming" about the idea for low-budget fuel-injected Pontiac and Olds engines. The one genius said that although the intake off a 350 Seville would fit a 350 / 403, it wouldn't work for high performance, since the late '70s Sevilles weren't known for their blistering acceleration. 1st off-the late '70's Sevilles weighed about 4,200 lbs, had 8:1 compression, and 2.41:1 and 2.56:1 axle ratios. I proposed a 78-88 "G" body Cutlass which weighs about 3,300 lbs, and I said "With proper cam, compression and gearing you could run in the 13's and get 20 mpg."  That means a 3.42:1 or 3.73:1 axle ratio, an overdrive transmission, 9.5:1 compression, and a "Torquer" cam-ala' Edelbrock Performer.  As for the fuel injection system- this one works like a big two-barrel carb-you could port-match the intake to the heads, for a little extra airflow, and Cadillac used the same throttle body to feed the 425 and 500 inch engines in the Deville and Eldorado lines from 75-78. If it could feed a 500 inch Cad engine properly, it should have no problem feeding a mildly modified 350 or 403 Olds. And-duh-you can use an electric fuel pump and a pressure regulator to adjust fuel pressure. to the engine's needs. Plus-your only accentuating what Olds and Cad engineers did to begin with-make big torque at low rpm. The engine would probably be redlined at 5,200 rpm max. This would actually be a pretty easy project to do, if you could find a Seville donor car for the engine, or at least the induction system in a junkyard.  As for the Pontiacs-the Offenhauser Dual-Quad 4bbl manifold has a spread-bore bolt pattern. I have seen people use Carter AFBs, Edelbrock Performers, Holleys, and even Quadrajet carbs on these manifolds. It wouldn't be hard to buy or make an adapter to bolt up 454 Chevy TBI throttle bodies to the carb pads. Nor would it be hard to fabricate a progressive throttle linkage. Since Corvettes used large-cap HEIs until 1989-it wouldn't be hard to hook up a 1984-"Cross-Fire" injection PROM to a Pontiac HEI distributor, or if you had to use a small-cap HEI for clearance, a 1990 and later TPI 'Vette Prom or a 1990-93 SS454 truck PROM would provide the fuel curve you'd need for a 400 inch engine. Plus Hypertech and other companies will make you a custom PROM chip for a reasonable fee. It wouldn't be a bolt-on like the 350 Olds setup, but it's not rocket science either. Any competent mechanic could probably do it.  The other setup I proposed would be even simpler-a high-school metal shop or foundry could cast a baseplate from the bottom of a Pontiac intake and the top of a Small-block Chevy TPI baseplate. Edelbrock offers hi-flow runners and trick flow and other companies offer 58mm throttle bodies, and high-flow injectors. Many people run TPI systems on 383 inch Chevy engines, so it can feed a 400 Pontiac pretty easily. Again-this would be a torque monster-I'd set shift points at 5000-5,600 rpm depending on the engines state of tune. Use a Corvette PROM, and the 85-88 MAF system which is infinitely more adjustable and adaptable to modifications than the 89-92 Speed Density system.  I wouldn't have a 16 year old attempt it, but a competent mechanic could make it fly pretty easily.  I'm thick-skinned, but I wish people would think before they start spewing about wrong you are. Mastermind     

You want to be really innovative....Do it on the cheap, with junk!!

We all get sick of seeing cars in magazines with the best of and state of the art everything and a $100,000 or higher build price. They don't impress me-anyone can buy a car and make it fast or cool if you throw enough money at it. What I think would be cool is build something really unique on an alternative bodystyle. I.E,-not a Camaro, Chevelle, Mustang or Challenger with an LS motor, a Coyote, or an SRT8 Hemi. What about a 1987 Olds Cutlass? A 350 or 403 Olds V8 would bolt right in place of the anemic 307. What if you used the fuel injection system off a 1976-79 Cadillac Seville? ( Sevilles had 350 Olds engines these years, with a Bosch K-Jetronic style throttle-body injection system that worked damn good. The fact that you still see them running around occasionally 30+ years later is a testament to how reliable they actually were. ) With the right cam,compression, and gears-including an overdrive trans-you could easily run 13 second 1/4s, get 20 mpg, and have a build price of 15-20K, including the purchase price of the car. Now that would impress me. What about a 2WD Dodge Dakota pickup from the '90's with a 5-speed stick and a 318? Or a 360 powered Dakoka R/T?  See how fast you can go AND remain Emissions-legal. How about a mid-'80's Firebird or Trans-Am with a 400 Pontiac engine with aluminum Edelbrock heads-and a custom made fuel-injection system. I don't mean a $3800 aftermarket setup from Accel or Edelbrock, I'm talking casting a base-plate that will bolt to REAL Pontiac heads and use Tuned Port Injection runners and electronics. Or taking an Edelbrock or Offenhauser Pontiac Dual Quad manifold and adapting two 454 Chevy truck throttle bodies-ala' "Cross-Fire Injection", except they'd be inline on the manifold.  How cool would that be?  How about a 1977-79 Ford Ranchero with a fuel-injected 460 under that long hood?  What about stuffing a 351W based 392 or 427 stroker into a 1991-95 Thunderbird in place of the 302? What about taking the Supercharged 3.8 V6 out of a wrecked Riviera or Pontiac Bonneville and putting it in a '90's Firebird and turning up the boost and adding nitrous? Stuff like that would impress me far more than another LS motored, $100,000 piece of someone elses garage jewelry. Mastermind          

Other one or two year models that might be cool......

Here's a few other one or two year models that are worth having, if you can find them at a reasonable price. # 1. 1977 Pontiac Can Am. This LeMans based performance package included a 400 Pontiac V8 ( a 403 Olds if you lived in California ) a TH400 with a shift kit, a ducktail spoiler, a T/A style "Shaker" hood, "Judge" style striping, and radial tuned suspension. The "A" bodies were downsized for 1978, and the largest engine you could get in a 78 LeMans was a 301 Pontiac or 305 Chevy.  # 2. 1977-79 "Macho T/A".  The buff magazines raved, and Dennis and Kyle Mecham sold about 700 of these "Smokey and the Bandit" T/A's on steroids. A re-curved distributor. a re-jetted carb, and opened shaker scoop, and Hooker Headers and real dual exhausts added 50-70 hp, and cool options like Recaro seats and a Doug Nash 5-speed could be ordered. These cars have a "Cult" following to this day, but despite the upgrades, they aren't priced any higher than the other disco-era T/A's that everyone wants to restore now.  # 3. 1984 Corvette. These "Cross-Fire" injected models are snubbed by 'Vette collectors in favor of the "Tuned Port Injection" used from 1985-91.  For this reason they are usually way cheaper, even if their in better condition. The 'Vette collectors are being snobbish about the later TPIs- These run plenty fast; 6-second 0-60 times and 15.0  1/4 mile times were the norm when they were new. There is a ton of speed equipment for the SBC, and if you use two 454 truck throttle bodies you can feed up to about 400 hp.  # 4.  1984-86 Ford Mustang SVO.  These had swoopy styling, Recaro Seats, 16" wheels with low-profile tires and a Turbocharged 4-cylinder that produced between 180-210 hp depending on year. The reason they didn't sell is the "5.0" V8 models were both faster and cheaper. If you can find one, and like to play with turbos, they can be made to really run; the 2.3 liter OHC Ford 4-banger is bulletproof and can take a surprising amount of abuse if you want to turn the boost way up or add nitrous. # 5. 1989 20th Anniverseray Trans Am. For this one year only-GM stuffed their best engine in their best chassis. They took the Kickass Turbo V6 out of the vaunted Buick Grand National and stuffed it into a WS6 Trans-Am. Grossly under-rated at 250 hp and 355 lbs of torque-these Limited-edition 'Birds could rip off very low 14 or very high 13 second 1/4s right off the showroom floor.  The downside is only about 2,500 were ever built, and their usually priced accordingly.  If you can find one, and swallow the asking price, they are absolute dynamite.  Good hunting. Mastermind            

One-year models that are underpriced....

For some reason, some models just don't bring the money that another model year of the same car does. Sometimes it's bodystyle, other times it's option availability, sometimes it's just public perception which certainly can't be explained. However, for the sharp-eyed collector you can often save thousands of dollars by buying one of these "off years."  #1. 1967 Pontiac GTO. I personally love these cars. The front and rear styling is much cleaner than the '66, automatic buyers finally got a 3 speed TH400 instead of the horrible ST300 two-speed-( read Powerglide ) that was in the '64-66 models. Front disc brakes were an option for the first time, and the engine size was increased from 389 to 400 cubes. Some enthusiasts were pissed that the tri-power ( 3-2bbl carbs ) option was dropped, but the hp rating was the same- 360-and according to the buff magazines of the day performance didn't suffer. Over 81,000 were built, and their cheaper than both the 64-66 and 68-70 models. Dynamite.  # 2. 1969 Shelby Mustang GT350. You don't usually see a Shelby on anyone's "Bargain" list and bringing prices of 40-60K, their not cheap, but try to touch any other Shelby for under 100 grand. They had cool styling and were powered by a 290 hp 351W-the Mach 1's base engine. This may be the reason-all the Ford and Shelby "Purists" wanted the monster 428 of the GT500, or the solid-lifter, screaming 306 hp 289 of the previous generation GT350. Some leftover '69s were re-badged and sold as 1970 models. This may be the only chance for a man without an NBA player's income to own a "Real" Shelby.  # 3. 1971 Dodge Charger Super Bee. This was the only year that the Super Bee package was offered on the Charger instead of the Coronet. The 440 Six-Pack and the Hemi were still available, but those are priced in the stratosphere. However, you can still find a deal on a 383 model. Nearly 7000 were built, so there not so rare as to be pricey just on principle. # 4. 1970 Olds Rallye 350 Cutlass. These had a super loud Sebring Yellow paint job, a "Judge" type rear spoiler, body-colored bumpers and Rally wheels. They were powered by the standard 310 hp 350 4bbl. Some people claim that 10 or 12 "W31" versions were built-but I have never seen one, nor have I ever seen a window sticker or build sheet for one, and no Olds engineer has ever verified one for a magazine. 3,527 were made, so their unique, but not a moon rock, and they don't bring the high prices that a 442, W30 or Hurst / Olds does.    # 5.  1973 Pontiac GTO. People hated the colonnade hardtops when they came out and I can see why-this car really doesn't compare to a '69 or '70 Model in interior or exterior style. Still-they had  400 or 455 cubes under the hood and Radial Tuned Suspension. 4,806 were built, and they were the last "A" body based Goat-they downsized to the "X" body platform for 1974. Which brings up....# 6. 1974 Pontiac GTO. Often called the best Nova ever built. These had front and rear sway bars, a Trans-Am style "Shaker" hood and a 350 V8 backed by a 4-speed or a TH350. On the upside a 400 or 455 is a bolt-in swap. 7,058 were built.  One of these may be a screamin' deal for you. Mastermind

Some "Little Brothers" might be a good buy.....

While everyone fights with machetes for the premium models, there are some "Little Brothers" that can put a big smile on your face with the money you saved and their good performance. #1 1968-72 Buick Skylark GS350. Buick fanatics fight with machetes for the 400 and 455 inch versions, but these are largely snubbed. I had a 1971 GS 350 and I loved it. They have the classic Chevelle / GTO / 442 bodystyle, but with a classier interior. # 2. 1968-72 Olds Cutlass. A "W31" will bring a King's ransom, but the base model 350 4bbl was rated at 310 hp,and there's plenty of speed equipment available. # 3. 1971-77 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350. Trans-Am's and Formula 400's can be pricey, but you can get these at bargain-basement prices. These cars are a screamin' deal as minor mods-( 4bbl carb and intake, dual exhaust, shift kit in the trans ) really wake them up, or a 400 or a 455 is a bolt-in if you so desire. "Esprit" models are basically the same, except they have a flat hood instead of the twin-scoops of the Formula.  # 4. 1970-79 Rally Sport / Type LT / Berlinetta Camaro. While Z/28's steal all the thunder, there are millions of these around, and nearly all of them have the mighty 350 Chevy under the hood, and you can't ask for a better base for a street machine than that. You might ask about a couple of glaring omissions-I didn't mention Chevelle or LeMans base models because so many of them have been turned into SS and GTO clones, and this practice continues to drive the price of the base models up higher than they should be. If you find a good deal on a small-block Malibu or LeMans, by all means buy it; I'm just saying their getting harder and harder to find at fair prices. Ditto for 318 Challengers and Barracudas-the ones that haven't been converted to "B"/ RB" power are getting pricier by the minute. Same advice-if you find one at a reasonable price, get it. Mastermind      

If you really do want a "driver".....here's some good choices!

While a lot of us want a weekend toy or a show car, there are some people that would like a dependable old car with a little hot rod style, that they can use as daily transportation. Here's a list of my favorites and why. # 1. 1970-81 Camaro / Firebird. These cars make nice, fun drivers. Most have either a 350 Chevy or 350 Pontiac for power backed by the bulletproof TH350. There is a ton of aftermarket equipment for these cars so you can tailor it any way you want. Models WITHOUT  T-Tops rattle a lot less. # 2 1969-76 Pontiac Gran Prix. 400 power standard all years, and the 455 was optional on 1970-76 models. Since this was the top of the line these cars usually have power everything. My sister had a '72 GP in high school; it had power everything and it felt like a GTO. # 3 1970-77 Chevy Monte Carlo. This body was the scourge of Nascar in the '70's. Monte Carlos are a better buy than Chevelles because they usually have A/C, stereo, power windows, cruise, etc. Most have the ubiquitous 350 for power. # 4 1967-73 Mercury Cougar. Cougars usually have more cool options and bigger engines than a same-year Mustang, while usually being lower priced. # 5. 1972-76 Ford Torino. These models have body on frame construction, which makes them ride and handle way better than their unit-body predecessors and rattle less. Probably most famous as the ride of ""Starsky and Hutch".  Most will have 351C or 351 / 400M power which isn't a bad thing. # 6. 1983-87 Monte Carlo SS. Cool styling, and great handling and comfort. With the 305 / 200R4 / 3.73 rear end combo-they move pretty good too. # 7. 1987-92 Lincoln MKVIILSC. Recaro type seats, the suspension and heart of a 5.0 Mustang, and a badass monochromatic paint job. While none of these is a blazing hot rod in stock trim, they can be with very little work, or you could just enjoy a reliable, powerful, comfortable daily driver with some old-school style.  Mastermind 

An old race car is a money pit and a pile of frustration....

I've touched on this issue before, but I feel it's worth re-visiting as I've had a guy ask me me about helping him restore a 1969 Pontiac Trans Am race car, that he was thinking about buying.  He's all excited about it, but for the wrong reasons. I asked him- "Do you want to sell it to some museum like Floyd Garrett's or the Peterson Auto museum?" "No."   "Do you want to race it at vintage car races that they have at the Monterey Historics, or at Reno-Fernley, or Laguna Seca?"  "No, I want to restore it to original and drive it on the street.".  "Forget about it." "You'll never finish it, and you'll want to kill yourself, and you'll eventually give it away for less than you have invested." "Why would you say that?"  "Because I know people who have done it."  "What does it have for an engine?"  "A 302 Chevy." "You lost half the value right there."  For it to be worth anything to a museum or a vintage race car collector it would have to have a 303 Pontiac V8. As far as I know-there were only between 50 or 100 ever built, and a lot of them blew up in Trans-Am and NASCAR Baby Grand races between 1969-72. You'd have to be able to prove that Milt Minter or Jerry Titus or whoever finished 2nd at Lime Rock or whatever in this VERY car, with this VERY engine. Herb Adams and a group of other Pontiac engineers hand-built the 303s. They took a 400 block, had Moldex make them a special 2.84 inch stroke crank, Carillo make them special 7.08 inch connecting rods and TRW make special pistons to destroke the 400 to 303 cubes. Plus they used Ram Air IV heads which are rare as hell. It's not like-I'm restoring a 1966 GTO-all I have to do is find a 389 with late 1965 or early 1966 date codes cast into the block. These were never a production engine, so you can't find one at any price, and the cost to build a fake would be enormous. Moldex doesn't stock 2.84 inch stroke Pontiac cranks. Edelbrock or Kauffman aluminum heads won't fly; Where are you going to find a set of 72cc Iron RAIV heads? At any price? The SCCA allowed privateers to run the Firebirds with Chevy engines because no one outside Herb Adams's inner circle could get the Pontiacs, and Firebirds in Canada had Chevy engines. "If you want to race it in vintage races, at least there's tons of parts out there for Small-block Chevys."  "Yeah but I want to make it streetable"  Groan. First off-where are you going to get a title? Race cars don't have titles.  You cannot imagine the DMV nightmare you face trying to get a title for a 40 year old car that was never titled or registered anywhere. Good luck with that. Secondly-Do you know what a nightmare you face chasing down taillight lenses, marker lights, wiring harness, every little nut and bolt and screw it takes to put an interior back in a gutted race car?  Heating and or air conditioning ducting under the dash, sound deadening and carpet. Window regulators to make the windows roll up and down. After of course you cut out the welded shut doors and fit new door hinges, latches and mechanisms. What about a drivetrain? Is it an original RAIII car or an RAIV? Is there even an original VIN number on the car? How do you know if it's one of 697 ever made for real 1969 T/A's that was made into a race car? It could be a base-model Firebird that somebody raced back in the day.  He didn't have the answer to any of these questions, but he clung to the fantasy like a man falling off a cliff holding onto that last blade of grass. I made what I thought were two very viable suggestions. "Here's what I'd do-take the money it would cost to restore that thing to streetability- for 35-40K you can buy a for real '69 Trans-Am in good shape."  "Or if you want the race-car tribute look-buy a running, registered, titled,  beater base-model Firebird, put the spoilers and paint and numbers on it, put an 8-point cage in it, and build either a stompin' small-block Chevy or 400 Pontiac, and have fun with it. That car you COULD drive on the street AND play with  at vintage car races, and since it's a clone anyway-you won't want to kill yourself if you put it itno the wall at 120 mph some Sunday afternoon."  Didn't make a dent. Like the posessed Keith Gordon crying over the totalled Plymouth in "Christine" he was completely unreasonable. "I can fight DMV and chase rare parts." "You'll see." "Wait till you see it all done!!" He wailed.  I have to quote Buddy Holly- "That'll be the day."  Mastermind                      

Some real Southern Racing shenanigans and tenacity!!

We've all seen the famous fist-fight between the Allison Brothers and Cale Yarborough at Daytona on the Wide World of Sports, and guys like A.J. Foyt and Smokey Yunick have certainly been accused of "bending" the rules. Back in 1966 or 67 Dick Guldstrand was running a 427 Corvette in the 24 hr Daytona race. They were running in the top 10, when the radiator blew. Undaunted-a crew member saw a big-block 'Vette in the parking lot just past the pits. They decide to steal the radiator out of the spectator's car, and pay him for it later. While thier doing this, just as they got the radiator out, apparently the guy was sleeping in the car, woke up, and being a big guy, decided to beat the crap out of the theives. While the 'Vette owner fought with the one crew member-the other ran toward the pits with the stolen radiator. The 2nd crew member managed to run as well, with the enraged 'Vette owner in hot pursuit. Just as all 3 of them reach the pits, the lead guy throws the radiator over the fence into the pits, and him and his fellow crew member both tackle the furious 'Vette owner. They explain the situation, and the Corvette owner climbs into the pits, and agrees to sell them his radiator for a dollar amount to be determined later, and the privelige of spending the rest of the race in their pit. They put the stolen radiator in the race car, and get back into the race. Then the headlights go out on the car. The drivers say screw it, and don't even pit. They just follow the taillights of the car in front of them, braking when he does. Turns out to be the Team Ferarri Car that was running 2nd overall!!  So they finished 3rd with a stolen radiator and no headlights. Now that's tenacity, and not giving up!!  Mastermind   

"That's my story and I'm stickin' to it"

The last couple posts started some heated debate, about what is and isn't "Right", but I'm sticking with my position. Which is, for the record-if something was available as an option on your car in that model year, I feel it's ok for you to add it, even if your car didn't come with it originally.  I mean, if some guy puts a hood tach on a '67 Firebird is it the end of the world?  Or adds a "Bumblebee" stripe to a '69 Charger? Even further- To me, if a guy has a 1968 Cutlass and stuffs a 455 / TH400 powertrain in it out of a big 98, paints it Peruvian Silver and Black, installs a Hurst Dual / Gate shifter and some Year One emblems-as long as he doesn't try to sell it as an original Hurst / Olds-more power to him. If you want a 4-speed in your 1970 Monte Carlo, then put one in it. Their rare, but a 4-speed stick was optional on the Monte Carlo from 1970-72. In fact, a 3-speed stick was the standard tranny, with the 4-speed and automatic optional. Ditto for Pontiac Gran Prix's-their scarce-but you could get a 428 with a 4-speed in 1969. From 1970-72, you could get a 4-speed with a 400, but not the 455. The same goes for 1973-75 Grand Ams. In 1973 only 187 Grand Ams had the 400 / 4-speed combo. Now is it a crime if some guy slaps an M20 and a Hurst shifter into one of the 34,000 others built?  If a guy buys a '73 Chevelle SS with a bench seat- and swaps in the swivel buckets-has he "Ruined" the car?  Better yet-what if it was a base-model Malibu, and besides the seats, he swapped in a 454 and added the SS trim pieces? Did he "ruin" anything?  I know a guy that has a gorgeous triple-white 1971 LeMans Sport convertible, with the "Endura" ( read GTO ) front end and hood.  He added the spoiler, the stripes and some Honeycomb wheels, as well as a hood tach. Every Hot August Nights, people "Oooh" and Aaah" over his "Judge" drop-top. He loves it, and honestly-who has he hurt? Any serious Pontiac collector can see it's a fake in about 2 seconds-( the most glaring thing being the 400 ci engine instead of a 455 HO ) and if or when he ever sells it he'll get more money for it because it's so damnded good-lookin'.  Far more than he'd get if it was Verduro Green with Green interior and a tan top. See what I'm saying?  If you buy a beater 1970 Satellite, swap in a junkyard 440 and put a reproduction rear wing and "Superbird nose on it, that's your perogative, and even though it's a "Fake" ( Superbird ) I'll bet if you sell it, you get way more than an "All-original" Concours-quality 1970 383 Satellite with documentation up the ass. Anyhow, this site is a dictatorship, not a democracy, and I'm not debating this anymore. A 1970 Z/28 is not "ruined" because somebody put a 750 Holley Double-Pumper carb on it and lost the original 3310.  Mastermind             

I'll just agree to disagree.....

Got some flack from the "Just as it left the Factory" crowd over yesterday's post.  I feel, as long as a color or an option was AVAILABLE on that model, that year, then your ok putting it on your car, whether it came with it originally or not. For example-if you want to put a tri-power setup on a 1965 GTO or a Six-Pack setup on a 1969 Road Runner, I think you'd be INCREASING the value of it, rather than hurting anything. Maybe changing engines or engine parts should be open to debate, but when it comes to other accessories-Puhleeze. If you buy a 1971 Firebird Formula 400 and you replace the cracked "Luxury Cushion" steering wheel with a "Formula" ( read Trans-Am ) wheel are you really compromising the value of the car?  Or if you put Rally II wheels on it when it originally had Honeycombs are you committing a cardinal sin? I think not. If you add or remove a vinyl top, or add or remove stripes, are you hurting anything?  If you put a Hurst Dual / Gate shifter in a GTO or 442 with an automatic, your adding value. What about disc brakes?  I'm not talking a 4-wheel Brembo setup worthy of a Formula 1 car, but what if you buy a '68 SS396 Chevelle or El Camino with 4-wheel drums ( They made them, I had one ) and put the spindles, rotors, calipers, master cylinder, booster, etc from a 1971 Chevelle on it, have you "ruined" the car?  No, you brought it to the top of specifications for that model year, since power front disc brakes were optional. What about transmissions?  Just because you could GET a Ram Air III 400 in a Firebird or GTO with a 3 speed stick, or a 383 Super Bee or a Road Runner with a 3-speed, doesn't mean anybody really wants one. Putting a 4-speed in would increase the value immensely. And what about carburators?  Quite a few Chargers had 383 V8s with a 2bbl carb-( My girlfriend had one back in the '80s ). A lot of Mach 1 Mustangs from 1969-73 had 351Ws or 351C's with 2bbl induction, and a fair number of Pontiac Firebird Esprit models had 2bbl carburated 400 V8s.  If you install a factory 4bbl carb and intake, or even an Edelbrock Performer and matching carb have you totally "Bastardized" the car? Honestly, excuse my language but are these people really saying that they wouldn't buy an otherwise pristine 40 year old car at a reasonable price because the f#4&ing carburator wasn't original?!!  Get over yourselves people!!!  And to go one step further-if I buy a beat-up six-cylinder, three-speed '69 Camaro and install a mild 350 and a Saginaw 4-speed put a "Cowl Induction" style hood on it and paint it like a Z/28-guess what?  I don't care if you don't like it, and neither does anyone else. As long as I'm not trying to pass it off as the real thing no harm done. And anyone with half a brain would know it's a fake after looking at it for about 30 seconds!!  As long as the stuff was available on that car, that year, it's ok. Mastermind