When Did Things Become So Divided?

A couple of events took place this week and with my somewhat skewed thought process, gelled them all together into this week's concept. There's a line from a well-known movie where one of the characters states, "What do they call that when everything just kinda comes together?" Right afterwards, the lead character fires back, "Yeah - they call it the Bermuda Triangle."

Case in point; I was reading an article this week about the 2017 Honda Civic Type R. Now before you lose your shit asking why on Earth I'm taking about a rice burner, here me out. While I think it's really cool that a four-banger from the factory can come with 306 horsepower and 295 pound feet of torque, that's not the direction I'm going in. My main point is, I have one big problem with this car and it's not even the $35,000 price tag. My beef? It looks like the poster child for a tuner car. It has it all - the special scooped hood and scalloped body, the bling wheels, the trumpet rear exhaust tips, and a big rear wing that defines the word goofy. And there lies the rub - this is the only way you can purchase this car. No rear spoiler delete option, no discount for removing special ground effects. I'm also wondering just who exactly is Honda marketing this puppy to? Maybe things are different in Florida or out in California, but in my humble opinion, this car screams the under-28 crowd. Now - just how many 28 year old's (or younger) can swing 35 large or the monthly payment (and insurance) that goes with it? Maybe some peeps out there can shed some light on this. It's too bad the Type R engine isn't available in the regular plain-jane SI. Now that would a daily driver I just might buy. Talk about a sleeper.


Which leads me to my next point; I really miss the good old days of hot rodding. Long before the manufacturers got the hang of adding scoops, stripes, and spoilers by the late 60's, sleepers were bountiful and even encouraged. Another different aspect between then and now, was most hot rodders didn't rely on the factory for go-fast vehicles and/or hardware. The 50's and most of the 60's were defined by two words - engine swap. I have an old publication that was printed decades ago by the Hot Rod Magazine that showcased Mopar engine swaps. This publication held page after page of people swapping the 392 Hemi into almost anything - from a 1957 Thunderbird to an early 60's Studebaker Lark. Big block 383 and 440 engines were swapped into Ford F-100 pickups as well as Chevy's from the early 50's. You see, back then (and I'm talking pre-1970) hot rodders didn't care if they or someone else created a "mutt" of a vehicle. The name of the game was to go fast for as little coin as possible. A part of me leapt for joy last Friday when I saw a nice 1964 Ford Falcon with a modified Buick Nailhead engine between the fenders at a car show. Other people who viewed it, were divided - a definite love / hate type of deal.

It's funny though - when I step into the realm of street rods from the late 20's and 30's, I'm more persnickety about engine swaps. If you peruse the classifieds of Racing Junk, you'll see countless Ford street rods with small block Chevy's powering them. Ditto with an old Dodge, Plymouth, Pontiac, etc. I love it when a Ford street rod that actually contains Blue Oval power, especially if it's a tunnel-ram big block or a stoker small block. And don't even get me started on the Mustang Fox-body engine swaps, especially ones with LS Chevy's. It was a novelty 5+ years ago, but that's worn off for me. Maybe I'm just burnt out from seeing so many of them. I guess it's a case of you don't know what you've got until it's gone... or perhaps less common.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave