Issue 2 - Four Venturi, Le Mans Camaro, Valiant Barracuda, Toyota T, Shelby Convertible

I recently rewatched the 1978 film Driver, just to compare how close Winding-Refn's Drive was to it, and they're pretty damn close. Although Drive has more dialogue, and there's some semblance of reason as to why the main character does what he does, some key elements persist. One are the types of cars used; mainly 'muscle' cars. Let me explain.

In 1978 the 'muscle car era' was supposed to be over, but if you look at the cars used in the film, I'd have to say they have a pretty decent selection of classic muscle. There are at least two Firebirds, one appears to be new, and the other appears to be a few years old. Then there's what I would consider to be the iconic car of the film, the Chevrolet C10 pickup driven by Ryan O'Neal towards the end of the film. Fast forward and the cars in Drive may not be traditional muscle cars, but they certainly bring excitement to the film. There's Ryan Gosling's main ride, a Chevy Laguna. I've heard this car called one of the classics of the future in recent discussions, especially related to the Hagerty forum on the future of the car-collecting hobby. As current collectibles become out of reach of normal collectors and hobbyists, cars like these will take their place. This phenomenon is actually explained really well in a documentary called Red Obsession, in this case it's about Red Wine becoming collectible by Chinese collectors who have put prices simply out of reach, sort of like the craze for original numbers-matching Hemi cars, to the point where the prices become obscene. Moving on, we also see Gosling use a slim-jim on an '11 Coyote Mustang (I hope that doesn't actually work for my sake) and the baddies attempt to chase him down in a 300C Hemi car, which in real life would never get close to the Mustang, let's admit it.

What can one take from this comparison? Mainly, that the muscle car era is never over. There may be shifts, some not always necessarily for the better, sure. Ultimately, though, the original muscle car era may have passed, but it's been reincarnated in several lifetimes since.

Top 5 of the Week

1966 Shelby GT350 Convertible

This car is rumored to be...okay that's not true, there's no such thing as 'rumored' when it comes to Shelby cars. The registry takes all the guess work out of it. This car is one of eight available to the public, all other convertibles went to Shelby family members. Okay, the story is a little weirder than that though. Supposedly in 1966, only 4 convertibles were built, and sold. This car, along with the other eight and family member cars, were actually built in the 1980's (by Shelby at Shelby American) using NOS parts. That definitely make them a rare bird indeed, as typically the only cars available out of Shelby American were late model vehicles, and CSX Cobras. The car is a 289 V8, same as other GT350s of the era, with an auto transmission. Apparently, at $179,000, this is the best example of one of these, restored to concourse craftsmanship.

View On Hemmings

1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1

This is a great example of "The last of the Mustangs" to quote the original Gone In 60 Seconds. Why this one? Partially because of the price, at under $20,000, and partially because of the motor. The 351 Cleveland 4V was one of the most amazing small block engines (or any engine) in its time. I seem to remember Hot Rod Magazine dubbing it one of the most potent and powerful small blocks ever, and I think with a few minor bolt-ons and a cam change, it made something like over 500hp on an engine dyno. First of all, why not a little info on the motor? The 351 4V didn't just stand for 'four barrels' as some people thought. Actually, it stood for 'Four Venturi' which sounded Italian and probably evoked ideas of the race track. In actuality the engine had different heads with huge valves and massive ports, differently shaped combustion chambers for a start. Think of it as the 2V and 4V as the modern equivalent of the 302 Coyote and the 302 Boss. The 302 Coyote and Boss are essentially the same motors, but even though the 302 Coyote is described as having heads with larger intake ports than a Roush-Yates NASCAR motor, the Boss outdoes it with even better flowing heads, and different cams, etc. I certainly wouldn't scoff at a 351 2V (some people claim they are easier to drive on the street) but the 4V is where it's at for me.

View On Hemmings

1982 Chevrolet Camaro IMSA GTO

I'm sure you're wondering what the hell an '82 tube chassis Camaro is doing on here. Well, it has a little bit of an interesting story. In North America, IMSA was where it was at in '82 so to speak, and the GTO category - which I hate to say - were sort of equal part stock car and road racer at the time, were the formidable GT cars of the time. Based on production cars, naturally, the Camaro was a good choice for Chevrolet. This particular IMSA GTO car competed in all the major IMSA events like Daytona and Sebring, but also got to go overseas to race in the 24 Hours in 1982, where it finished second in its class. Not bad!

View On Hemmings

1966 Plymouth Barracuda

I've always had sort of a soft spot for the Valiant-Barracuda. I don't think it really gets the respect that it deserves. First, this car. It's a great example for under 30k, with a four speed and the 273 V8 still intact. Now, the Barracuda in general: why isn't it more famous? The Barracuda never got the fanatic longevity that the Camaro and Mustang enjoy, even though it draws several comparisons to the Mustang. First of all, the Mustang was derived on the Falcon, and the Barracuda on the Valiant, both compact sedans that came with six cylinder or small-block V8 engines. Both offered performance models and economy models, were roughly the same size, same price, similar displacements, and both were sort of a fast-back style. So why, was the Barracuda not more popular, even though it was released in 1964 as well? I can't answer that, but I think 'Valiant' had sort of a bad reputation. The Mustang also proved popular in racing, while the Barracuda didn't enjoy the same track use, Plymouth not having a racing program in those few years. Petty had a Hemi version in the mid-60's which he crashed into a bunch of spectators, and that probably didn't help the image much either. The 'Cuda that debuted along-side the E body Challenger enjoyed more popularity, but still never quite as much as the Mustang or Camaro. Speaking of which, a new Barracuda hits the scene in 2015. I'm curious to see how it turns out.

View On Hemmings

1923 Ford Track T

I love, more than anything, when someone gets a hold of a fantastic engine and builds a cool custom out of it. In this case, I have to give a pass to the sacrilege of using a Toyota engine in a Ford. This particular Toyota mill is the 4.0L V8 1UZ-FE, with 32 valves and twin cams. These engines were mainly found in large Lexus models, and were a direct derivation from the CART/IRL engines. The roadster itself is probably a little more than just a conversation piece, and looks to be well built, and likely performs and drives just as well.

Passers-By

1992 Volvo 740

Someone actually had the balls to put this in an auction, as if it's an antique. I personally don't get the Volvo wagon hype. Sure I love seeing an old P1800 as much as the next guy, but the 240 and 740 estates just wreak of hipster-ism. Let me explain how this happened. Yuppies had Volvo wagons, and because hipsters love bygone era irony, suddenly their parents' old cars became popular. By the way, I'm pretty sure Subaru is the new Volvo for new young yuppie families. Anyway, I'm sure this car is collectible to someone, but to put it on Hemmings and throw it in an auction...well...beats me.

1956 Velorex Oskar

"Put it in H!" It looks like an unhappy turtle. 

1973 Pontiac Grand Am

I have to admit, I'm partial to all of these (Cutlass, Laguna, Grand Am), especially the Oldsmobile Cutlass. I just think 25k is too much for one, and the Pontiac  has sort of a boat-tail snout going on. Nice car, otherwise.

1973 Pontiac Trans Am

In line with the 1973 Pontiac models is this '73 Trans Am 455 Super-duty. It's a nice example of a 455 car, well restored and is one of two or three in this color/interior combination. Because of the rarity of it being a one of "two or three" car, it commands a price of $205,000. I would maybe expect that sort of price for Jerry Titus' Trans Am, or the actual Smokey and the Bandit car, but not a one of two-or-three anything.

1990 Chevrolet Silverado 454 SS

There's nothing wrong with this truck per se, and the price seems fair for it. The 454 SS is cool, for sure. And like I started this blog with, it was a muscle car for a very malaised musclecar era. This one isn't far, far, far away from the list, in fact, every time I see one of these I almost hit the little Pinterest button, but something is holding me back, I think part of it is some of the hideous exterior and interior treatments that were so common in the early 90's and a lot of what I remember from my parents' cars. There is a nostalgia there but also a flashback of really pedestrian and merely average vehicles lacking artfulness in design. It was also a point where efficiency and emissions did not mix with power and torque. The giant big block could only manage 230hp, although torque was decent at 385lb-ft. I like the 454SS, but...it just needs something more. It's just not as cool as the 1978 C10 Stepside from Driver...the hero truck.

Up Votes

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1

I received some positive feedback from a reader about this beautiful Mustang in Medium Gold. Unless you wanted to somehow try to get your hands on one of the Boss 9's, in 1970 there were two ways you could go with your Mustang, either the bred-on-the-road-course Boss 302, or the bred-on-the-drag-strip big block cars. This Mach 1 comes with the 428 Super Cobra Jet and Drag Pack. Someone checked all the boxes on this car, including the Detroit Locker rear. It's also all numbers matching with full documentation, including the original window sticker. It's headed to auction, and I personally would bid quite a pretty penny on this baby.

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