Pimpin yer ride.

[Silverghost]

If you've ever seen the movie Cobra with Stallone, what they do to the Merc in that movie is simply criminal! Of course you could also say watching that movie is a crime! LoL

 

[Andrew Mace]

The only time I was offended was when some builder on TV announced he would be rodding a Packard

Not even when they dropped that I-beam on a 55 Chevy Nomad ?

Ah yes, the famous episode of "Home Improvement"; the story goes that it was actually a "regular" two-door Chevy wagon, not THE Nomad seen in the series, that met its fate with the I-beam. (Hopefully that poor two-door wagon wasn't very restorable before it was crushed!)

 

[TR3driver]

(Hopefully that poor two-door wagon wasn't very restorable before it was crushed!)

It was supposedly a rusted-out hulk, right out of the junkyard, with a quick respray to match Jill's Nomad. If you watch closely, the change can be seen as it's being crushed, and some of the rust is visible in the next scene with the 'pancake' in the garage.

But I found it amusing how many screams of outrage were heard before that fact became widely known.

And there were a LOT more Chevy Nomads made than the Sports 6 I practically had to give away. No one would have cried if it was crushed, except maybe me.

 

[billspohn]

As such, we should endeavor to keep any mods reversible and retain all the original parts in order to pass on to the next "steward" a nice, representative example of the marque. This, in fact, is how the marque will survive and how our hobby may be perpetuated.

Aw crap - I wish you'd said that BEFORE I got going on my MGA......

 

[rlandrum]

As such, we should endeavor to keep any mods reversible and retain all the original parts in order to pass on to the next "steward" a nice, representative example of the marque. This, in fact, is how the marque will survive and how our hobby may be perpetuated.

Aw crap - I wish you'd said that BEFORE I got going on my MGA......

Dear Bill,

I'd be happy to own any one of your cars.

Sincerely,
Robert Landrum

Seriously, though, pimping is not the end of marque, it's the beginning of a new one. Just look at the Shelby Cobra. It's based on an Alpine that been pimped. The Jamaican isn't any different.

 

[billspohn]

Seriously, though, pimping is not the end of marque, it's the beginning of a new one. Just look at the Shelby Cobra. It's based on an Alpine that been pimped. The Jamaican isn't any different.

Actually the Cobra was an AC Bristol or Ace, the Tiger was the modded Alpine. But yeah - if you do more than a few then it somehow legitimizes it all, doesn't it?

And I was kidding aboput the Jamaican - it came to me 'pre-butchered' and had the body conversion done back in the late 1960s. I just restored it and replaced the diveline with something else - it was already pretty far from a stock MGA so I didn't feel bad about going the V6 route.

 

[Andrew Mace]

In fairness, Cobras were converted "part completed" ACs, and Tigers were converted "part completed" Alpines. Both were limited production cars based on then-current production cars...so it's not quite a fair analogy!

And lots of Jamaicans, Devins and other kit cars were built back in the days when rusted, beat-up donor cars were (almost literally) a dime a dozen!

Oh, and Randall, I'd have cried if your Sports 6 had met with an I-beam or other method of crushing; remember, I almost bought that car before you did!

 

[PeterK]

I got my start in mechanics back in the 60's. I worked for a Dune Buggy shop in upstate NY taking bodies off of VW Bugs for the owner to shorten and add Meyer's Manx as well as other fiberglass bodies. It was real popular back then and probably a lot of the buggues on the road today are from that era. I drove a Corvair powered 65 Beetle with a Baja rear end (because the corvair 6-cylinder hung out the back a BIT.) Sadly, I didn't keep the original 1200cc motor or anything else from the mod. Guess I didn't preserve the marque very well back then either.

 

[Brosky]

I stuffed a 914 4 cylinder into the back of a 70 VW. Converted it to a single Holley 2bbl with the plenum chamber in the middle of the 4 intake tubes. Modified ignition, 9.5 to 1 compression, decent cam and headers or whatever you could call that spaghetti mess of exhaust back then, That engine had 4" pistons and tons of torque. That little sucker would rev like a jet and it would fly. Thank goodness for fiberglass deck lids that could be easily cut.

There were a lot of embarrassed pony car owners who laughed at the VW beetle beside them at one set of lights and hid their heads at the next.

 

[Andrew Mace]

I drove a Corvair powered 65 Beetle with a Baja rear end (because the corvair 6-cylinder hung out the back a BIT.) Sadly, I didn't keep the original 1200cc motor or anything else from the mod. Guess I didn't preserve the marque very well back then either.

Again, that was then; this is now. There were -- what -- 17-20 million Beetles built? Not exactly Bugatti Royale territory! :laugh:

It's strictly my own philosophy, but I tend to favor preservation, especially after a certain time period. If a car has survived in good original condition for a few decades or has been restored back to that more or less original condition, I think it deserves to stay that way. With relatively few exceptions, there are still enough "projects" out there for just about any make and model you'd want for those who want to customize.

[And for sake of full disclosure, my son and I are building a 1970 Triumph GT6+ convertible. But we started with a body tub I'd bought years ago (long separated from the rest of its bits) and a hopelessly rusted GT6+ rolling tub already partially stripped by previous owner (due to rust and, apparently, a blown gearbox). Many other long-stored bits and pieces in my barn will go into the project, and my excruciatingly long-term GT6+ potential restoration will likely loan its drivetrain for the short term!]

A few years ago I got a chance to meet the new owner of a 1942 Buick. It was a very nice, presentable car. Thing was, it was totally original, including about 98% of the paint. It couldn't have been any more original if it had gas ration coupons. The new owner was semi-seriously talking about hot-rodding it. I tried not to on his shoes.

But that's me, a guy who spent the first two years in my current circa 1922 bungalow trying my best to rid it (as much as possible) of the 1970s: cheap Kmart paneling on plaster walls, UG-LEE shag carpeting over hardwood floors, etc. At least the previous owners had the sense to toss the old wall sconces under the workbench in the basement...for me to find, restore and remount! :hammer:

 

[PeterK]

Hey Paul, You know that the 914 used a VW type II bus engine so the fit was easy. A lot of people with VW bus'es used to say that their VWs a Porsche engine in it. We laughed knowing it was the other way around. The mods is what made yours fly.

Now the 914-6 was a great handling car with lots of snot.

For my Corvair 140hp 4-carb engine to work, we had to flip something around in the transaxle because the Corvair engine rotated the opposite direction. Went through 3 transaxles in a year because of the torque. But it was still a pig and was totaled (not my fault) within a year. But it would fly (see pigs CAN fly!)

Hey Andy, the place that I worked at was Dale's Dune Buggies on Central Avenue in Colonie. We scoured Clarkie's in Saratoga for parts whenever we needed something.

Later on my 64 Bus had real wood paneling and (UG-LEE) period burnt orange shag carpeting. No wall sconces though but it had a massive Motorola 8-track under the dash. It was great fun taking it to SPAC for concerts.