Thoughts On Being Last and Ghosts From The Past

For the first time in a while, I had trouble coming up with a title for this weeks blog. So many events have been happening over the past few weeks, I almost didn't know where to start. I figured here at the home of Maximum Power is as good a place as any - we'll be doing some slight changes over the next few weeks. The format will stay the same, but we'll be modifying some other aspects starting January 1st 2016. We're kinda pumped about it, we hope you will like what you see as well.

I actually ventured out into some stores yesterday, which is rare for me seeing it was black Friday. For the most part, the stores were nowhere near as packed as I thought they would be - which gave me a chance to grab a better look at what might be available this holiday season classic car wise. Some of the cool things I came across, in store as well as on-line, was this classic Chevy 750 piece puzzle. If they had more stuff like this when I was a kid, I might've done more of them. This will be a great project on those days when it's snowing like we're living in

Buffalo or when the Siberian Express is blowing up our address - which happens occasionally here on the coast of Maine. The other cool items I found  - and you have to have a sense of nostalgia as well as it being semi-twisted in nature with the 1st one, is the Dirty Mary & Crazy Larry Car vs Train Set. That's right - slot car fun combined with model railroading and Russian roulette! Typically a set includes a train set with an electric-motor-powered diesel locomotive, two or three freight cars, matching caboose, two slot cars, two speed controllers, and a UL-listed transformer to power it. Unlike the movie, you actually have options - you can race around and set up a perfectly timed crash just like at the end of the movie, or decelerate and avoid the train. You can also replay these scenarios over and over. The only bummer is that the slot cars look nothing like the Dodge Charger that was driven in the movie. The other cool slot car set I found was the American Highway race set featuring a modern Camaro SS and a Mustang GT.

While the Dirty Mary & Crazy Larry thing kinda got me on the ghosts of the past theme, it also carried over to NASCAR - and led to the 2nd part of the title for this weeks blog. I read of the passing of famed sports car racer Dick Guldstrand. While he was best known for racing Corvettes back in the 60's, he also dabbled in racing a 1967 427-powered Dana Chevrolet sponsored Camaro. He is also credited with giving Chevrolet its first Trans-Am victory at St. Jovite, Canada in May 1967.
Also as many of you know by now, Jeff Gordon drove his last NASCAR race about a week ago at Homestead-Miami for the Sprint Cup season-ending EcoBoost 400. While this blog focuses primarily on pre-1975 NASCAR, and love him or hate him, you have to admit that Gordon has contributed immensely to the sport over the past 23 years.

Vintage V8 Photography, which this blog is associated with, will be adding yet another car show to its "must attend" list for 2016. A friend of mine shared some pictures and details with me about this unique get-together - the Muscle Car Classic out in Inver Grove Heights in Minnesota. First off, it's hosted by a local GTO club, but it welcomes any and all muscle cars from the 60's and 70's. What makes this gig more interesting are the Street Muscle as well as the Rat Muscle categories. Rat Muscle is where all the barn finds, rust buckets, and anything else that looks downright pitiful gather for their moment in the sun. Oddly, it one of the more popular categories!

I also read this week about Shawn Bowen and his new "Violator" 1970 Dodge Challenger nostalgia nitro funny car. (Photo right courtesy of Dragzine.com). Bowen is no stranger to funny cars, but he's the latest driver to move to this increasingly popular class. That news got me to thinking - I can remember another driver who got her start in the 60's, but made her mark in a

1970 Dodge Challenger funny car. Della Woods is one of the few drivers, male or female, to drive funny cars for over 40 years. One of her most popular cars was her "Funny Honey" Challenger. As I compare the two pictures, I still can't help but have a soft spot for the old style funny cars, especially how they look, despite the all the safety improvements that have come about. There's just something about that old-school rake. Maybe I'm just gettin' old...

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

Giving Thanks

Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is right around the corner, I've been hearing the term "Give Thanks" quite a bit lately. And even though it may be getting to overkill levels, I'd still rather hear that than Christmas commercials - which I'll be totally sick of by November 30th. As humans though, when we get sick of hearing something, even if it's positive, we tend to tune it out and ignore it. I think it runs along the same lines as being told what to do - we just don't like it. As I was coming home from the garage last night, this concept kind of hit me. How many times have I been thankful when it comes to hot rods, muscle cars, and vintage American automobile memorabilia? Now before you go off the handle and mention, "...how can you be thankful for a material object that you purchased with money?" Simple - it's not just the object, but the entire realm that hot rodding encompasses.

Getting back once more to that moment when I was driving home from the shop on Friday, I was thinking about this weeks blog and the fact I had read the news that legendary automotive artist Art Fitzpatrick had passed away this week at the age of 96. If you don't know who he was, and call yourself a GM fanatic of classic cars from the 50's and 60's - shame on you. He was half the artistic team of Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman who drew some of the most eye-catching advertising for GM from 1959 to 1971. Everything from Cadillac's to GTO's - Fitzpatrick drew the cars, while Kaufman drew the people and scenery. Their work was so impressive, that for a period from 1967 through 1971, Pontiac head John DeLorean banned the use of photographs in all sales literature (except magazine ads) and solely used their art work. Fitzpatrick also created two series of postage stamps from 2005 to 2008 called "On the Move" and "Tailfins and Chrome" which featured vintage Corvette's, Thunderbirds, Chrysler 300's and more. Godspeed Art Fitzpatrick.

One of the reasons Fitzpatrick gave as to why he was still kickin' in his mid-90's during an interview last summer was the fact that he was still involved in some way with automobiles - or his passion. It wasn't the money, or living in California, or women (although he said they helped). He said he was grateful he could be part of that era of beautiful cars. Looking back on my 50+ year lifespan, I could literally write a multi-page thankful / gratitude list of the people, places and things I've been able to share and engage with in regards to high performance automotive in general. Whether it be with old (and new) friends and neighbors who share a common bond with hot rods, or the massive amounts of car shows I've attended, or riding shotgun in rat rods or drag cars, or the over two dozen classic vehicles I've owned - some restored... some not - to having the chance to participate with local organizations ranging from the local tech school to a state prison.

That last item on the list - the state prison - was probably one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. At this facility about 12 miles from where I live, there used to be a program (used to - thanks to budget cuts) where inmates who were due to be released within the next 18 months and those who had a good record while in prison, could participate in an auto body program the prison offered called "Cars Not Bars". It gave inmates a chance to learn or better a skill while working on some cool vehicles. It was the hope that once these inmates were released, they could capitalize on these skills and obtain meaningful employment. I had a 1979 Chevy C-10 pickup at the time that we did all the body work to - inside and out. My truck was the last vehicle they accepted into this program. When the truck was done - so was the program. It took us nine months to complete the work. It literally brought the term, "...sand until you bleed" to a reality. Because there was so much metal on this truck, I vowed to make this project the last one I'd ever do this extent of body work & paint on - four years later, I'm still keeping that vow. The inmates and staff I worked with were incredible. These inmates admitted and accepted that they fucked up, were serving their time, and couldn't wait to get out - and never return to prison. To my knowledge all the inmates I worked with kept that "never to return" vow alive and four of them are working in local body shops.

You may or may not be feasting on turkey and all the fixings this coming Thursday. But instead of passing out in the recliner or watching football, why don't you make a list of things to do next year in regards to hot rodding;
 - Take your child(ren) to a car show.
 - Sit your kid(s) on your lap and have them "steer" the car through your neighborhood.
 - Volunteer your time (if you can) with either a high school student or a non-profit organization that promotes automotive. Even if it's only one hour a week.
 - Drive the hot rod, muscle car or street rod more often. Weather be damned.
 - Establish a cruise-in at a cool restaurant in your town.
 - Attend a racing event; be it NASCAR style or drag racing. Even if it's way local and amateur.

The list can be endless. You can take it from here. And be thankful...
Until next time, peace out.
Dave

Keeping History Alive

Every once in a while, we have a really cool car come into the shop where I work. It's not often we get to work on such classic machinery, like this 1956 Chevy Bel Air (even if it's modified), especially when its factored into the sea of Subaru's, pick-up trucks, Prius's, and 4-door sedans that almost start to look alike after a while. Two trains of thought came about from that 8am appointment a few days back:
 - The shop's service manager who just happened to be at 9am that day (and the Chevy was fixed and gone) was, "Man... I missed the really good stuff again!" 
 - The 2nd comment was from another customer, also with an 8am appointment, waiting for her car to be finished who said, "Why would someone spend so much time & money on an old car? It's a dinosaur."

I've heard the second comment so many times over my life, I can't even begin to count. I realized long ago that if someone asked that of me, they will never understand - no matter how I try to explain myself. To me, fixing up an old car is not some statement of a mid-life crises (I'll be 53 next summer). I've been fixing, modifying, restoring, and basically having a blast with "old" cars for over 30 years. Sometimes I really get hit hard with that question, because not only do I work on old cars, but I write about and photograph hot rods from the 20's through the mid-70's, groove on nostalgic drag racing, NASCAR, as well as automotive Americana. I swear some people think I'm stuck in that era from my childhood. To me it's living and engaging in a sense of history. The same thing could be said of someone who is a Civil War buff, or a carpenter who loves fixing up late 1800's Victorian houses, or even the volunteer at your local historical society. I feel we all have some sense of history about something and the drive to preserve it in some way. If you happened to stumble across this blog by pure accident and are still reading at this point, but don't have any sense of any history at all - you need to get one.

As we move forward in our journey together on this Earth, we have to be careful not to loose that sense even when we think we're "making progress" or "improving the breed". The NHRA as well as NASCAR are walking this tightrope. In my humble opinion for what it's worth, I feel that the NHRA may very well implode and kill itself off. Between inner organizational politics, pissed off drivers, lack of manufacturers support, and decreasing attendance at events, the NHRA has been losing money since 2008. What a lot of people, even

fans of the sport, don't realize is that sponsorship money only goes so far - many of the drivers, be it pro-stock or funny car, invest a great deal themselves. It's not uncommon that a yearly budget to campaign a very competitive pro-stock car (that involves at least one back-up car), is around the 2 million dollar mark. Yeah - two million! And NASCAR isn't much better. Many drivers are fed up with the ever-escalating costs of racing. Many feel it's out of control. Ironically, what many fans and drivers feel is missing from these programs is the sense of history - or the way it used to be; when there were rivalries. Competition improves the breed, not having a 300 page laundry list of rules and regulations to follow so everyone is equal to the nth degree. Where's the creativity? Where's the spark of imagination? Where's the drive to be different?

I'm starting to see this "keep it simple - like it used to be" movement hit more and more car shows; even ones of national significance. Whether it's a small local get-together, or a large event that also involves bracket racing, auto-cross, or nostalgia oval racing, organizers of such events are reconnecting with the past and its deep history. I've been to some major shows across the eastern United States where full-on racing has the simple mantra of "Keep it safe - Keep it fun." And participants are adhering to it - most likely because no one wants to see these cool times go by the wayside. With events like these, big or small, we've got the pot of gold in the palms of our hands. Let's not get stupid and piss it all away.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave

Free Cars, Playboy Bunnies & Ticklers - What Will They Think Of Next?

Over the past two weeks I have been reviewing some articles from the 2015 Tokyo Auto Show that was held last month. Oddly, but maybe in hindsight not so much, most of the articles focused on the funky, goofy, and totally weird automobiles that were in attendance at that show. Most of us realize that 95% of these models and prototypes will never see the open market, let alone US shores. I can see some of these concepts being popular in Japan just because - if you think it's weird in our neck of the woods, pay a visit to the land of the rising sun. Some of their culture is just... way out there.

But it got me to thinking - I've been to numerous new auto shows throughout the country over the span of 40+ years where manufacturers try to pull out all the stops to get the consumers attention. Some are cool ideas, some are just pure gimmicks. Some make us laugh; others just leave us shaking our heads. As goofy as the picture above right looks, it is basically a mini-van made by Toyota. While it may seem a little over the top, manufacturers as well as other organizations have been doing the same thing for decades. And if you think some of the gimmicks of yesteryear were sedate because it was easier and more laid back times, guess again.

First up, the always struggling AMC. Throughout the 50's and 60's, American Motors had the definitive "Mom and Pop" image. By the late 60's however, the Kenosha Wisconsin manufacturer tried everything to ditch this image. For 1968 as well as in 1969, one "sales" tactic (they called it a promotion) was the use of Playboy Bunnies. In one promotion, a special-order pink AMX was given to the Playmate of the Year. Victoria Vetri, (above left), better known as Angela Dorian, was awarded this special vehicle (which is now owned by Jay Leno). AMC also used various Playmates in special advertising supplements that were mailed to members of the AMC Performance Club. Sexist? Absolutely blatantly so. You also have to remember the car buying demographics back then. Over 88% of automobile customers were men. However, try explaining the flyer you received in the mail (right) to your wife...

One of the first questions you may ask, is "I've never seen GM do anything like this!" And you'd be correct. They really didn't have to. Face it - they were multiple manufacturers (including Chevrolet, who was the #1 selling automobile back then) under one roof. However, when your company is farther down the scale, sales wise, the gimmicks tend to get a bit more crazy.

Chrysler was never exempt from this. Even though at one point, Dodge & Plymouth accounted for more muscle cars on the streets than any other marquee, the organization as a whole was still at number three (or less) in total sales. One of the most notable promotions, actually took place back in the mid-50's. Dodge had a contest where a lucky contest winner took delivery of a new Dodge every year, for life. Yeah - every year... for life! Plus, if the winner was already the owner of a Dodge vehicle when they won the contest, they received a $5,000 bonus. That was a cake-load of money back then. Can you imagine any manufacturer doing that today?



Crazy ideas and sales gimmicks were not limited to just dealerships or special events. For 1970 as well as 1971, Plymouth released a plethora of wild colors for their performance models, including the completely redesigned Barracuda. The pendulum swing of societal values was reaching its zenith going from the uber-conservative 50's to the anything goes late 60's. The American public, for the first time. saw such eyeball frying paint hues like Panther Pink, Plum Crazy Purple, and Sassy Grass Green. But none of these names compared to one that Plymouth offered. It was a bizarre shade of yellow mixed with a hint of green. It changed color tone slightly depending on how the light hit it or what angle you looked at. The name - Curious Yellow. The only factory paint color named after a European porno movie. The country of Sweden used color codes in the late 60's to classify whether an adult film was either soft or hard core. The film, "I Am Curious" was a popular underground film back in 1967 with "yellow" being used for the hard core version. Supposedly, some small cities tried banning the sale of such vehicles that were painted in this shade.

Carroll Shelby had one of the greatest sales techniques of all time - I call it a technique and not really a gimmick because the tactic he used to sell his Cobra sports cars truly highlighted the sheer performance of the vehicle. Rumor had it, that he would place a $100 dollar bill on the dash of one of his 427 powered Cobras before a test drive. The passenger in the other seat was promised if they could grab the bill while the vehicle was accelerating, Shelby would give them the car and the $100. The story goes, he never lost that bet. 

I'll leave you with one more. In 1970, Dodge had a marketing campaign for their muscle car offerings called The Scat Pack. Members who signed up received a newsletter, decals, patches, engine tuning tips, and more. They also had opportunities to purchase special merchandise not offered elsewhere. For 1970 (the item has also been re-released recently) Dodge offered a special piece of jewelry to "...Scat Kittens who swing with the Scat Packers." It was a pin, usually worn at the bottom of a skirt. It was called The Scat Pack Mini Tickler. The advertisement alone is worth more than 1000 words. If you look close enough, you can see one of the real pins on the model. The little bead on the end, if worn correctly, would "tickle" the leg of the wearer while they walked. If they sat down, guess where the bead went...

Until next time, keep it cool.
Dave

Odds and Ends

A very good friend of mine in the automotive journalism field once told me, "it's good for the soul to take a detour once in a while." Well, Maximum Power is taking a little detour this week. Now that it's officially November and daylight savings time has either begun or ended, (I can never keep track of which is when - all I know is the days seem damn short), I've decided to post a few odds and ends, picture wise, for this weeks blog. These are pictures that were taken, but never used in a blog, or posted on Facebook, or put up on the website for different reasons. Some just didn't turn out the way they were envisioned; the colors were off, the composition was out of balance, or in some cases, people just had to make it a photo-bomb. Naturally, there are stories that go along with these as well. In the end, it still makes for a good chuckle.

Remember last week I wrote about how old junk or other non-automotive oddities are substituting for car parts on rat rods? This week we have more evidence of that micro-movement. While this particular ride is not finished yet, I'm digging some of the features. I love the patina and the stance of this rod. For some reason, I am grooving the fuel pump set up. I have yet to pinpoint why. The buffet of horns on top of the motor are interesting and I'm unsure if they serve an additional purpose of just helping to channel air. The wiring is still a little sketchy in some places, but that will get sorted out.

Speaking of components in odd places, check out the brake master cylinder location on this beauty. I have to admit, I like this, as awkward of a place that it is. Granted, I would be nervous about getting any brake fluid on that mile deep green paint! I know it's personal preference, but I've never really liked how numerous street rods have the master cylinder relocated and placed along the frame. One aspect that drew me to this particular rod, was its mix of old and new. This shot also demonstrates my absolute HATE for overhead fluorescent lighting inside large buildings when it comes to photographing vehicles. It screws with colors and is a bitch to fix.

One thing I've learned over the years is that photographing vehicles at a car show is tougher than it looks. One thing that clouds the issue is all the other people in attendance and their perspective - in other words, why are they there? Just about everyone likes looking at the cool vehicles and will snap a few pics with their cell phone. They could care less if other people are in the picture or what the surroundings look like. As long as they get somewhat of a decent shot of the car - they're good. For someone who is more than a hobbyist and attempting to make a living at it; be it at a magazine, newspaper, or through their own work, "getting that quality shot" takes a lot more time and effort. And face it, not every car owner is going to meet you at a later time in a better location just so you can photograph their ride.

Sometimes it's people (or their shadows) that get in the way (above right). Is it me or is their some gravitational force that pulls spectators toward the hot rod you're photographing up close and you're not using an ordinary cell phone? A former car dealership manager I used to work for told me time and again; "Activity breeds activity." One minute there's zero people around a hot rod I want to photograph. The next minute, everyone wants to get in on the action...
Other times it's not people - it other vehicles. How the vehicles are parked; that's just the luck of the draw. Sometimes you win, other times, no matter what angle you're at, it just doesn't work like with the '64 Bel Air (above left).

In other situations, it's me. Even with a picture numerous people dig, I won't like it for some reason. Case in point this stunning creamy yellow 30's street rod. I like the color, the engine, lack of shadow, minimal reflections, even the orange hot rod behind it I can live with. So what's wrong? To me, it's the headlight. It's just... there. It draws all your attention to itself. It's as if the fender lifted the light for a photo-bomb. And it's a little out of focus. I know that's how the car was made and it's beautiful. But I feel I could've done better with the angle.

One question I do get asked every once in a while, is why I don't take "action" shots of hot rods, muscle cars, or street machines. The simple truth is, I'm not very good at it. I've tried it, but all my pictures have sucked. I still attempt it from time to time, but it's nowhere near one of my strong points. For the life of me, I have no idea what came together to get this shot of this beautiful Willy's while on the road. While this shot is hardly professional - it's about the best I've got. I can file this under "extremely lucky"...

My automotive writing and photography have been a learning curve over the years. I've come to the conclusion that I am totally comfortable with being an "amateur". I'm not technical enough to be a professional, nor creative enough to be an artist. My tools are very simple. Even with all the mistakes I've made over the years, the fact that people have read my ramblings and have purchased my work, leaves me with an immense feeling of gratitude. "Extremely lucky" doesn't even begin to describe it.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave