Quantifying "Vintage" and Waxing Nostalgia

     What can I say? At this juncture - not much. It has been literally 10 months since my last post. I am at a loss at the time lapse. Blogging is like a habit - it's so easy to get out of and difficult to restart again. I could offer a litany of excuses as to why I haven't posted anything. They would range from traveling, to working my "regular" job, freelancing assignments, moving into new digs - it would be an arm length amount. But what would be the purpose? It's all in the past. As a good friend of mine once said, "... if you've got one foot always in the past and the other in the future - you're just pissing in the middle. You're not here... now". 'Nuff said.

     OK - so we're back. In trying to achieve a balance with all the things that are currently on my plate, I'm going to attempt to publish a new post once a week. Next, I'm going to make a serious effort to hold fast to the nitty gritty mission of Maximum Power - which is focusing on American high performance vehicles and their advertisements from 1955 to 1974, racing (drag, street, and NASCAR) primarily from the 60's, as well as all things hot rod, street rod, and rat rods. Feel free to bitch slap me, email wise, if I get out of line with this.

     You may be asking (or not) - is there anything new? You betcha! We've put the finishing touches on the new website, http://vintagev8photography.wix.com/photography
You can also like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VintageV8Dave
On either of those pages, you will also find links to Etsy as well as Fine Art America where you can purchase reprints in various sizes of vintage Detroit iron.

One aspect that has been added to the original mix from 2013 are tons of photos of vintage vehicles and muscle cars "resting in peace" in salvage yards as well as in various locations along the back roads throughout America. While not everyone has a yen for this sort of thing, it does offer a unique perspective on this type of Americana. 

     This being Daytona 500 week down in Florida, I figured this would be as good as any place to start. This is one event I'm glad to say that I've crossed off my bucket list, and did so many moons ago. Call me behind the times or just a chronic whiner, but I just can't stomach ticket prices (to any sporting event) that sell at hundreds of dollars a pop... and some of those aren't even for good seats. Never mind parking at this years Daytona starts at $55 per car. I realize that racing events are more than just a sport and entertainment - it's a business. B-I-G business. I get it. And yes, something has to pay for the maintenance and the current renovations being done at Daytona that will be completed by next winter. The end result of those upgrades will make the venue that much nicer and accommodating. Regardless of how you feel, I'm sure we can all groove on this vintage picture circa 1957 when they actually raced on dirt. Also dangerous and cool are the heavy duty boards that act as a barrier - that's all that separates the fans from the track.

     I must admit - there seems to be a real blurry line when it comes to either stock car and/or drag racing when one adds the term "vintage" or "nostalgic". I think some folks are confusing these concepts with "retro" - which is yet another gray area. Google some images sometime and use those key words and you'll see where I'm coming from. Vintage can involve anything from the mid-90's on down. Drag racing and the NHRA is not exempt from this.

     I was reading a short blurb in the March 2015 issue of Hot Rod Deluxe where they were discussing the Meltdown Drags from the summer of 2014. Like NASCAR, numerous NHRA events are over-priced plus they lack the magic that was so prominent from the 60's. All these sponsorships and gimmicks today are leaving grandstands half empty and groups of management that resemble government parties where no one can get along. The Meltdown Drags out in Illinois are a prime example of events that are family oriented, reasonably priced, and a blast to attend. No monies are awarded, no celebrities are paid to appear - just good old fashioned drag racing circa 1966. Guess what? The stands were over-flowing with fans... and no bullshit problems or drama.


     It reminds me of the photo to the left that was taken at the Niagara Airport strip circa 1966-1967. All the vehicles are regular street cars. None of them have hubcaps. Look closer and you'll see the dents in the Pontiac Tempest's drivers door and the busted taillights on the 1963 Chevy Impala. Just run what you've got. Very cool.


     When I was first looking over this classic picture, I was wondering what kind of motors were in these classics. Aside from the obvious GTO and Chevelle (almost out of the picture staging behind the Impala), I was contemplating about the 1964 Dodge or the 1966 Chevy II. Did the Dodge contain Max Wedge power or did the Chevy have the rare L79 350HP 327 cid small block? And while I was at it, did the Impala contain a 409 or a 427? One thing I love about that era is the concept of "sleepers". These were the cars that looked plain Jane, but could clean your clock at a stoplight encounter - and you wouldn't realize it until it was too late. A good friend of mine used to label those cars, "Captain Invisible and his Dealer of Humility". 
 
The following ad is from 1955, but it gets the sleeper concept across loud and clear. Looks like an ordinary Dodge, but the owner is all smiles when he hits the loud pedal (or is it because he's blowing the doors off the guy in the other lane...). Finally, dig the bottom line in the ad - "... it's a real bomb." Pretty controversial stuff for the uber-conservative 50's.

I had a recent muscle car forum discussion with some good folks about some of the greatest sleepers of all time. Some of the more obvious answers were thrown around many times - mostly vehicles built from 1963 to 1966. Detroit had the performance aspect down pat; the styling just hadn't caught up to it yet. However, one off-shoot that came out of that thread, was the discussion of "not-so-obvious" sleepers. There was some outrage that flared up when someone mentioned the Shelby inspired Dodge Omni GLHS and Charger 024 of the mid 80's.

The sticking points were the fact that both these vehicles had between 175-225 horsepower. But that was countered with the realities of power-to-weight ratios. While these vehicles only made so many ponies, the other side of the coin was the fact they only weighed 2000 pounds.Properly tuned, these vehicles were capable of quarter mile times in the 13 second zone. While that may not sound like a big deal today, that was brutal 30 years ago.

Finally, with all this snow on the ground, at least in our neck of the woods, it's hard to imagine warm days and cool cars that will be the norm in just over two months.Things will be picking up speed beginning in May with numerous car shows as well as Vintage V-8 Photography's involvement in Project Graduation at Medomack Valley High School in Waldoboro Maine. More details and pics will be forthcoming!

Until next time - peace out.
Dave