Sound The Alarm!

Every year it's the same thing - as soon as the calendar rolls past March 20th, officially starting the Spring season, it seems tons of hot rods, street rods, and muscle cars hit the Internet all with big "For Sale" signs. Some folks are attempting to cash in on the best time of the year to sell their rides. Some are just trying to bail out of that "winter project" that either never got off the ground or just snowballed into a bigger pile of shit than what was originally thought. Certain sellers have their rides very competitively priced and some aren't even breathing oxygen. If you're currently in the market for a summer ride, now is a good time to buy. The tricks are not to let your emotions get in the way, stick within your budget, come to grips with your limits of what you can and cannot do, (especially if your purchase requires some restoration), and if you do come across a solid screaming deal - don't wait. If there's ever a time to witness "... snooze, you lose" that's usually when.

The same concepts apply if your building your ride - whatever it may be. At the garage at where I work, we had a guy drop off a 1965 F-100 that still needed work, both inside and out, but needed some electrical issues resolved first. The problem was, the V-8 motor, matching transmission, wiring, and all the other electronic bullshit came out of a late-model Ford Explorer. Talk about a nightmare - "some" electrical issues didn't even begin to describe what a mess this Frankenstein truck was. The owner didn't think the situation was "too bad" (there's our first bad clue), and he also did numerous repairs prior to bringing this poor classic to us. His comment of "I did a lot of work on this myself, so I know there are certain things that aren't the problem." There's our second bad clue. After three days worth of work, and too many phone calls to remember, we dealt with computer issues (remember it has all modern drive-train), shade-tree half-ass repairs, and ultimately a blown transmission. He was all piss and vinegar until we physically showed him the incorrect repairs he did and the damaged used parts he purchased. Whether your buying or building - be sure to listen to your internal alarm if something doesn't seem right. There's no room for ego in this mental garage.

Listening to your gut and/or hearing warning alarms going off in your head can be a double-edge sword when it comes to motorsports. Without the occasional ignoring of these alarms, there would honestly be no innovation or pushing the envelope in the sport. The balance lies with while pushing the limits, and not to get killed. We've highlighted several examples of this type ridge-pole walking in the past - like the Turbonique "Sizzler" 1965 Chevelle SS as well as the rocket powered "Vulcan Shuttle" VW Bug. Google them if you're unfamiliar with either of them.

However, there are other examples that should've been shelved - for the mere fact that so many red flags came up, they were hard to ignore. One glaring example was in the infamous four wheel drive Chevy Vega funny car driven by Gary Gabelich who was best known for his land speed heroics at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Gary’s car couldn’t have been more unique back in the early 70's. There were no single-engine, four-wheel-drive cars on the drag strips. There were only a handful of rear-engine Funny Cars, and none that can be considered successful. Despite those facts, plans and financing went full steam ahead. But then problems began to arise. Building something this unique required many specialized components. Near the end of construction, the cost was rapidly approaching $50,000, thanks in part to such special items as the hand-spun, two-piece, 12-inch-wide Cragar aluminum wheels and the Spicer-Dana constant-velocity axles. And remember, 50 large was a lot of money back in 1972. That's almost $300,000 today. All these reg flags came to an abrupt end when Gabelich debuted the Vega in front of the media in Southern California. Only intending to do a burnout and a short squirt of throttle, his adrenalin got the better of him and he decided to make a full pass…which resulted in a bad crash and nearly a severed hand in the process.

But just think - if we didn't have brave men and women who weren't afraid to let it all hang out and test the unknown (or how a certain combination would work together or react) we wouldn't have the innovations we have today, in both speed and safety. However, I still hold true to my own fact that I do not have the balls to drive something like Junior Thompson's Opel GT Gasser. Massive short wheelbase, blown Chrysler Hemi engine, squirrelly as hell, going deep into the 8's. Yikes!

Until next time, peace out.
Dave