Can A Marraige Of "New" And Vintage Exist?

As I wrote last week, it felt good to be writing the blog again. It was almost equivalent to attending a reunion of sorts and catching up with old friends. I received a few emails over the past few days and in one or two of them, we traded replies as to:
 - what exactly is vintage (not to be confused with "old") and
 - what exactly is old (not to be confused with "vintage")!

Of course, your definition of old, or vintage, or nostalgic, will be different than mine. And our opinions will be slightly different from Tom the Chevy nut down the street - and that's fine. Strength is in diversity. Another bottom line is, even though we have different opinions, there is no true "right or wrong", we can all respect each other, and we can all benefit from each others experiences.

This discussion was, in part, fueled by an article I read on the Motor Authority website where the first known wrecked (ie; totaled) 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, will be going up for auction. I'm not taking sides on this, except for the fact that whomever purchased the vehicle originally was an idiot. The Challenger only has 64 miles on it and was demolished within one hour after driving it off the dealership lot (that's the idiot part). The selling price is anticipated to be between $20-30 grand, as Allpar has noted that the 707 horsepower (and that number is most likely underrated) Hellcat engines alone are going for around $17,000 dollars.
The kicker is, I can, without a doubt, envision someone purchasing the vehicle, parting it out, and putting all that goodness into a vintage car - especially an early 70's Challenger. The cooling system will have to be redone (because the original one in the SRT is shot), but apparently the engine still runs and the transmission is fully functional. Even the tires and wheels are good to go. If the Hellcat parts are swapped into some vintage iron, would this combination be one of the ultimate "vintage marries new" vehicles? Would it blur the lines of what exactly "old" is even further? What do you think? Here's a link to the article: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1016928_first-wrecked-2015-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat-going-up-for-auction

Speaking of firsts, in my last blog I was getting pumped for some upcoming car show events. Here's

a doozer - if you're a GM or Camaro fan (or even if you aren't and just dig vintage Detroit iron), you may want to head to Carlisle Pennsylvania at the end of June for their GM Nationals show. Organizers for the event have confirmed that the very first Camaro from 1967 has been restored and will be at the event. ( Ed. Note - that particular car is not the one pictured). This also begs the question - will Chevrolet bring anything to the event in regards to the all-new, sixth generation Camaro? The events in Carlisle are huge. GM already had teaser shots at the Chicago auto show earlier this year and has also released photos of the profile via a body die.

Another first... at least for 2015. The first race of the season for NASCAR is done. By the time you read this, the fact that Joey Logano won the Daytona 500 is old news. That's not why we're here. I threw the vintage shifter into gear and jetted back 50 years to look at a number of things.
First question - do you know who won the Daytona 500 back in 1965... 50 years ago? A guy named Fred Lorenzen (who was at the time a very prominent driver) won the 7th annual event in a very stock looking Ford Galaxie.
One fact still amazes me is that Ford supplied the "body in white" as well as all the drive-train to Fred and his team. Fred was responsible for the interior, paint, decals, and finishing of the race car. That fact is unthinkable today. Races like Daytona were in their youth and racing teams used any and all creativity they could muster in order to capture the checkered flag. Competition still breeds creativity. Nowadays I feel like it sometimes promotes homogenization because of all the drama and politics. 

Also going back to about this time 50 years ago to 1965, Dodge and Plymouth were about to turn the drag racing world on its ear with their altered wheelbase Coronets and Satellites. Chrysler had already been experimenting with the 2% altered wheelbase rule the NHRA allowed in 1964. And since NASCAR banned the new generation Hemi engine (and thus Chrysler boycotted the series) in 1965, the manufacturer threw a great deal of its financial weight into these vehicles that "looked funny" - and without knowing, gave birth to the modern funny car. Again - groove on the simplicity of the car.


While many racers gained serious notoriety from these factory-supported creations, in my opinion, Dick Landy got most of the press, as car-buff magazines were all over this development. Of course, a couple of moon-shot wheelies didn't hurt either. While articles abound about these vehicles and Dick Landy's major part in them, I find it ironic that it is an absolute bitch to find decent pics on Google regarding his 1965 Dodge. Just sayin'...


 I was thinking about that sentence I wrote a few paragraphs up - competition breeds creativity. In this

case, it's not necessarily competition, but most of the time it's a result of the concept of dare to be different. This also ties in with the "new / vintage" marriage thing (I think...). Do you realize that diesel swaps are becoming one of the more common and popular engine swaps? I'm seeing them in everything from street rods, rat rods (where they are very popular), even muscle & drag cars. Apparently, the word is that the Cummings B-series inline engines are the small block Chevy's of the diesel world. From what I've read, they are quite adaptable on a multitude of platforms (not just trucks), can make shit-loads of power with performance bolt-on parts, and are literally indestructible. I can really dig this - the only problem I have is how to classify this type of automotive "marriage"...

Until next time, peace out.
Dave