Old Meets New or The Value of Tribal Knowledge

     ^{I must admit - I'm starting to get annoyed. As I write this, it's 6am in the morning, it's raining for the 5th straight day, and the weather geeks who have predicted incorrectly for at least half the week, say it's going to rain for another day... if not two. Replacing the head gaskets (and all the other ones as well) on my 87 Mustang 5.0 is taking longer than I thought. Also adding insult to injury is the fact I can't wait to drive the car again and truly bang-shift some gears.}      
     However, this down time has given me a chance to check out some other aspects of the performance world. I’m not sure what drugs Ford is on, but they must be damn good. I receive a Mustang publication on a monthly

basis and in the June issue, it highlighted the 2013 Shelby Mustang Super Snake. Ford has blessed this rig with two power options, one with over 850 rear wheel horsepower. With the proper traction & gearing, as well as some practice time behind the wheel, this car has the capability of running high 9’s and almost 150mph in the quarter mile… and it runs on pump gas. I’ve owned cars that have gone that quick and I’ll tell you first hand - that’s cookin’ no matter what you’re driving. Alright, when all is said & done with the cost of the car plus options costs around $95,000 - but when you‘re running that quick, it’s going to run some serious coin to begin with. By the way, this car is already being built.

     Now, if that weren’t enough, in the July issue I received, Ford teamed up with Shelby Enterprises yet again and proceeded not only to turn up the wick, but basically torched everything else in it’s path. For an additional $45,000 or so, (hey - who’s counting right?) and to be built in limited numbers (the exact figure hasn‘t been determined yet) , is the Shelby Super Snake 1000... with 1200 rear wheel horsepower. Again, this ride cruises (if it’s capable of even doing that) on pump gas. That’s not just fast, that’s freakin’ sick. If I win the Powerball this week, I’m placing my order for one. Screw conventionalism.

     Before you send off a flaming diatribe, I’m not a Ford fan by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I’ve owned the fewest of them (a total of 3) when compared to Mopar or GM… and I’ve owned over two dozen antique, classic, and/or muscle cars in my 30 year automotive… umm… sickness. In fact, more than half my rides have been either Dodge’s or Plymouths. 

I’ve also haven’t forgotten that Chevy is releasing a Z/28 option on the Camaro for 2014. It will be the 1st Z/28 option since 1970 and unlike the small block V-8’s it was blessed with back then, will have a 7-litre 427 LS7 under the hood, with 505 horsepower - which is still nothing to sneeze at. The car will also have some unique styling cues that will differentiate it from a "regular" Camaro. I’ll shoot myself now by saying that GM has always had a distinctive way of inserting their feet into their mouths. Now you can send off the flaming diatribe…

      The bottom line here is I’m glad the manufacturers are not turning away performance in a corporate, robotic way, even during difficult economic times. If you look closely, a number of manufacturers still have their performance irons in the fire, domestic as well as foreign, to some degree. And that’s a good thing.
And while all this modern coolness is good for the psyche & soul, there is nothing like tribal knowledge. Say what? A college professor of mine once said, "You can’t appreciate the present unless you respect the past." As I grow older - never mind how old I am - this statement rings more true than ever before. I’ve heard some people in the automotive journalism profession state that they have grown tired of the "retro" styling of numerous performance vehicles. As for myself, I’m glad some of the auto manufacturers are still paying respectable homage to the muscle cars of yesteryear (the Dodge Dart not withstanding).

     I’ve come to grips that we are a country that no longer has a sense of history, or tribal knowledge. Corporate buyouts, budget cutbacks, layoffs, and downsizing (or "consolidation" as it’s now termed), all take a toll on tribal knowledge. Taking that a step further, when all this negativism slides down from the top, it also starts to erode things like ingenuity, taking risks, fresh ideas, and innovation. While some people say, "you can’t live in the past", I also mention that you can’t shut the door on it either. That’s one reason why I still love old vehicles, remembering back when I was a kid riding shotgun in my cousins GTO, and staring in awe of my neighbors Hemi Plymouth Roadrunner.

     Like anything, old cars as well as performance in general is more than just a business or a hobby. It can be good times & memories that can be shared and passed down through your kids & grandkids. We all know change is inevitable. In the automotive world, this should be part of the mission statement. However, we can be open to the gamut of performance, the marriage of new into old (think rat rods), while appreciating the present and respecting the past. Change, like life, is like an ocean wave. If we resist it, we’ll just get knocked on our ass. If we dive into it, we can go through it much easier.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

The Days Are Long, But The Years Are Short

     Gotta love technology. It’s become an integrated part of our lives and at minimum, is all around us. Even so, with all the modern advances that we see, occasional glitches do appear on the menu. We had some with this blog - but they’ve been ironed out (at least until the next one comes along) and we’re able to power-shift decently. So onward!

     As I write this, numerous things come to mind that have surfaced over the past week. First off, my youngest daughter just turned 25 years old. It just seemed like yesterday, that she got her drivers license as well as her first car - a 1983 Chevy Monte Carlo. It wasn’t a performance car by any stretch of the imagination, but hey, it was damn cool. Everyone in her high school knew it was her car.

     She sold it about a year later to purchase a 1970 Chevy Nova. She could easily digest the fact that it was a 4-door. Remember, this was only 8 years ago - and any 2 door Nova was WAY out of her high school budget (and mine… my oldest daughter was in college at the time and this

daughter was right behind her). Her Nova was in great shape, however, with only 48,000 original miles on the clock. She could even handle the gold color - inside and out! One of the coolest aspects of the car that I liked about it (as did she after a while) was that it was a base model. Bench seat, no power steering or brakes, no radio (the factory radio delete plate was still there), dog dish hubcaps - the works! It didn’t even have carpeting, just rubber floor mats. The only options this car had was the Turbo-Hydromatic 350 and mandatory 10-bolt rear end that went with it.

     We had plans to swap in a small V-8 that I had purchased & pulled from an old Chevy Caprice, but like many things in life, it just didn’t happen. She drove the Nova through college and then sold it to help pay for things when married life & kids came along. Sound familiar?

     Even though she now drives a minivan, some good things did come out of owning “older” vehicles. One, it gave her a simple basic starting point to learn about cars so she won’t get screwed when bringing her present vehicle to be repaired. While the systems on today’s vehicles may have become more technical and complicated, the premise is still the same and in some cases have not changed all that much.

Second, it’s also given me a chance to share one of my passions with her - something that she still carries to this day. She’s a Mom with a degree in graphic design and has a job that has nothing to do with cars. But that doesn’t matter - she still has an appreciation for them. Especially muscle cars, hot rods and old-school VW Bugs.

     My wife and I also shared with her (as well as our other daughter) our love of art, music, writing, and numerous other things that are a big part of this world. Both are daughters are very diverse. And that’s the bottom line people - strength is in diversity. Dare to be different. Share things with your kids; your hobbies, your likes, your appreciations. Get out of the house, away from the television, and for Pete’s sake, lose the iPhone for at least an hour or two. You might be surprised at the difference it makes when we engage with one another.

     Speaking of engaging, as of this writing, I am in the process of tearing down at least half the engine in the Mustang. When it was time to wake it up from it’s long winters nap, I realized it had not only a leaking valve cover gasket on the passenger side, but also a blown head gasket.

D-oh!! I’m unsure if it was due to the expansion rate differences between the aluminum heads and cast iron block, the cold temperatures this winter (unheated storage) or if in fact, it was time for a freshening up. The motor was rebuilt 10 years ago (very well I might add), but has hundreds of 12 second drag strip passes under it’s belt as well as regular street driving time. Also, head gasket technology has leapt by leaps & bounds over the past decade, especially with the incredible popularity of turbo charging. As I said earlier - onward! We’ll keep you posted as to how things are going. The guy I’m working with (who has tons of race engine experience) thinks the heads are fine. Fingers crossed!!

     Until next time - peace out.
     Dave