Is Your Car Honest?

Before we get started, I'm going to lay down a few confessions: I'm aging, (not old - that's a negative state of mind), and I like things, especially go-fast vintage automobiles, to be honest. Let me explain a little deeper. I can dig just about any year or make, car or truck (heck I've even seen some flat-out cool buses and oil delivery rigs) as long as there isn't some sort or level of bullshit involved. I can remember a few car aficionados talking with this young guy about the 1974 Roadrunner he had brought to a car show last summer. He said the vehicle ran 8's in the quarter mile. "It's unbelievable!" he told us. Yup - he was right; it was totally unbelievable. It had a modified 440 engine (unsure of the year), no turbos, no nitrous, and almost a stock suspension setup. As bad ass as the Plymouth was, there was no way in hell this Mopar B-body was that fast. We asked him details about the drive-train, chassis, etc., to which he had none... because it was his old man's rig.

I kinda get the same feeling in my gut when I browse the classifieds on Racing Junk. I have a yen for the "Radical Street Cars" section under the Drag Racing Cars section. But how many grains of salt do I take when I see a beautiful classic car that's "regularly street driven" but the motor has 13.5:1 compression? I don't know about you, but racing gas is stupid expensive to buy and not widely available. We're lucky if we get 93 octane. And with what passes for gas these days, even that can be a crap shoot. Maybe racing or 100-octane fuel is available in your neck of the woods. If it is, be uber grateful - because most of us don't have that Cadillac problem.

Remember a few years ago that insane 1970 Chevy C-10 that came out of Oklahoma that went viral all over the net and even eventually found it's way into the pages of Hot Rod magazine dubbed "Farm Truck"? The formula was simple - take an absolute beat C-10 (but with a nice interior I might add), stuff a massive big block between the front fenders, give it nosebleed amount of nitrous, add some massive slicks on the back and viola - one of the best sleepers that went deep into the 12's at first and finished into the 11's. The details on this truck

were incredible as well as honest. Like many popular rigs, it spawns copies -  which is not a bad thing - as long as it's honest. A guy in our local area built a similar truck, (except his was a '67), and he used a small-block LS motor with twin turbos. The truck never pretended to be something it wasn't. It was beat, but well thought out, the time slips spoke for themselves, (as well the rubber from the racing slicks), and it was totally true to itself. 

So whatever you're building, riding in, about to purchase, or pass on to a new owner, stock or heavily modified, make sure your ride is honest - no bullshit. The hot rodding world will thank you for it.

Until next time, peace out.
Dave