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March 10, 2009
Purity vs. Personalization: When Is It Okay To Modify A Classic?
By Sam Barer
Sound Classics
Conventional wisdom dictates that there are two types of people in the collector car world: those who modify their classics and those who don’t. I’ve seen some debates between modders and concours types that make an Ali-Frazer battle look like a pillow fight.
I’m generally a guy who likes to keep an old car stock-appearing, but I’m also a pragmatist who recognizes there’s a middle ground between an NCRS Top Flight Corvette and a ’31 Packard Phaeton butchered to accept Viper V10 power. My comfort zone is in doing the little things that look so right that they should have been done at the factory.
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November 20, 2008
Best of SEMA: Restorations
SEMA is all about over-the-top customizing, which is part of the reason why showroom-perfect stock restorations provide such a nice contrast at the show. Don’t be fooled, though—these blast-from-the-past beauties are rarely 100% factory, and it’s always interesting to see what the builder was able to tweak while retaining the original looks. For our Best Of SEMA voting in the Restorations category, we’ve nominated the ’61 Ford Starliner, this old-school JDM Skyline, this immaculate 1968 GTO, the 1980 Corvette Turbo concept, and this daily-driver Camaro RS. Which of these restos was your favorite?
November 13, 2008
Sleeper Starliner at SEMA
I love stock-looking restos that are hiding some serious performance, like this ’61 Ford Starliner, packing a 427 SOHC "Cammer" engine that’ll make 622 hp and 533 lb ft of torque. Such a refined-looking ride: I loved the open hardtop body style, the huge expanse of rear glass, and the fully-intact factory chrome trim. But the stock body conceals a fully fabbed Art Morrison chassis with adjustable coil-overs front and rear. The interior, including the thin-shell bucket seats, is out of a ’64 Galaxie—and the dash, with its amazing red-face gauges, is from a ’63 Mercury Monterey. With mods borrowed from cars that are close in both age and family tree, and a V8 available over the counter from Ford in the 60′s (after being developed for its racing program), the "Camliner" seems deceptively well-behaved. You’d be surprised to find out it’s not just your grandpa’s sunny-day cruiser. More pics after the jump.
November 5, 2008
1967 Camaro RS Resto
This 1967 Camaro RS is owned by Stan Neiman and showed up at the Classic Automotive Interiors booth. CAI designed a new front seat for the car that features—gasp—bolsters! The upholstery matches the original and the new seat foams and skins mount on the stock frames for extra concours points. The car is driven daily by Stan and his wife, who are reported to have never put the top up! See more.
1968 Pontiac GTO Resto
I wasn’t able to find anyone to tell me about this showroom-fresh 1968 Pontiac GTO restoration. The metallic green vinyl interior is amazing—pics don’t do it justice. The outside and engine bay are equally sharp, with none of the overdone-ness that usually accompanies restoration these days. Original Parts Group stayed true to their name with this car. Check out the wacky turn signal indicators on the dash after the jump.
1980 Corvette Turbo Concept Resto
After 14 years of frame-off restoration, this 1980 Corvette Turbo Concept is done. Willie Yager spent a good bit of that time researching the various configurations the car was tested with before GM gave it up. The interior, wheels, and paint reflect one complete set. Willie has the other wheels the car was run with at home. The rest of the car has been restored back to original specs and features two neato temperature-activated NACA ducts on the hood for engine bay ventilation. You can read more about the car in back issues of Vette magazine. Willie brought it out to display at the Spanjaard booth.
August 20, 2008
A '70s Pimpmobile Reborn
By John Coyle
Editor
The first time I saw Super Fly, I couldn’t believe how insane Youngblood Priest’s Eldorado was, and the other day, I got to wondering whether anyone had made a tribute page for it. I didn’t find anything specific to the movie car—though I’m sure something is out there—but I did stumble across this cool page detailing the story of a pimped out Eldo that somehow would up in a Nebraska wrecking yard. Sadly, the car was too far gone to be restored, but fortunately, all of the pimptastic hardware was saved and transplanted to another Caddy. Read the entire saga over on Sneedo, and check out a bunch of pics after the jump.
March 12, 2008
Ketil's Pantera Project
By John Coyle
Editor
This ’72 Pantera was shipped all the way from sunny SoCal to its new home in Norway, and it made the trip without incident. Since Panteras were never officially sold in that country, along with the usual resto gremlins, new owner Ketil will have to do some bargaining with the bureaucrats to get his baby on the road. He’s already gone ahead and gotten independent safety info from TUVRhienland, and is in the process of making sure the lights, seat belts and bumpers conform to Norway’s standards for the model year. Of course, one look at some of the creations on his ride page makes it clear he’s up to the challenge. Check out the stripped-down snowmobile he built, and don’t miss this video of his Pantera running for the first time in over a decade! Good luck with the project Ketil!
