Leepu and Pitbull

General Discussion
41

Actually, there are two known Mona Lisas. Both believed by many in the art world to have been pained by DaVinci.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=are+there+two+mona+lisas&form=PRHPCS&pc=HPDTDFJS&mkt=en-us&refig=ae21c7cd0b5e48b881814d63ef7dd5a0&qs=RI&sk=AS1SC1&pq=two+mona+lisas&sc=3-14&sp=3&cvid=ae21c7cd0b5e48b881814d63ef7dd5a0

Anyway, there are “purists” and there are those that prefer their cars upgraded. And there are also “sympathetic restorations”, those cars brought back to full function but not beyond, and with nothing done for cosmetics alone. Leno showed a Dusenberg in a TV special that he did a “sympathetic restoration” one, even keeping the original upholstery (which was still in good shape). Personally, I like any version well done.

I like Foose, but he does the same thing to every car. He pulls the body off, chops it, “shaves” it, channels it, pulls all the mechanicals out and replaces them with crated assemblies, gives it all a fancy paint job, bolts some custom Foose wheels on it, and slaps an enormous price on it. Every Foose car comes out the same.

I prefer the old ways, like Ed Roth, George Barris, and Gene Roddenbury did. Every creation was different, every one stunning, and every one created from the ground up. Especially Ed Roth. The only one doing that now is Randy Grubb. I’m not aware of anybody other than him making truly unique and original creations.

42

I don’t have a problem with modifying a car but just absolutely cringe when someone starts whacking up an original.

Back in the 60s and 70s guys used to cut up Harleys and parts that go on them. So many originals were ruined due to their being converted to choppers.

I watched part of the Gas Monkey show where they were involved in the biker build off and had to bail on the show when they started mangling a complete, running, original early Shovelhead dresser. A stripped Shovel ready to chop is easy to find without gutting an original.

As far as I’m concerned. no real car guy would ever agree with murdering a numbers matching car or motorcycle when there are plenty of options.

43

@ok4450

What I would love to hear is followups a few years later on some of the butcher jobs they did about taxes due,

Yes, I agree that would be a very interesting follow up.

FWIW, I have a number of rides that, for example, are simply stated as “1970 Chevelle coupe, excise tax = $75”. They don’t know anything about the actual value, nor do they care. Everything is treated as a vintage car w/o consideration for collectability or added value…

I don’t watch many of those shows anymore because of the hack jobs; drilling wiring chase holes in frames AFTER powder coat, welding touch ups after final paint etc. Imagine this pristine $75k bike that has major rust a year or two later…

On your last example, this is where I give Counts Kustoms credit. They bit the bullet and salvaged all the original sheet metal for that recent military truck BECAUSE it was a survivor. They could have saved money by replacing parts but the owner (Count) insisted they put in the effort to keep it as original as possible. That is what the vehicle owner asked for and expected.

44

The old 365 hp 327 was anything but a dog,I imagine a 650 Hp 302 in the scca or whatever cars would spank a stock 435 HP vette.back in the day we were greeted quite frequently with the explosions of overstressed big blocks,when the Chevelle group couldnt let off.Cubic inches usually win but all other things being equal the SBC,was a fine engine.

45

The real IROC 302 cubic inch V-8 was a real winner as was the 327 Corvette engine. In their day those engines were great. It’s unfair to compare push rod engines to dual overhead cam engines with variable timing and computer controlled spark and fuel metering. How do we compare cell phones to Ma Bell’s dial phones? But then are cell phones as reliable as Ma Bell was?

46

that old IROC,was pushing in the Neighborhood of 2HP per cubic inch,the standard big clutch wouldnt stand the gaff from these engines.

47

We went from my original comment:

Well, the original 327 wasn't exactly a thrill machine to begin with.

To this:

The old 365 hp 327 was anything but a dog,

Nobody said it was a dog. The original context was in response to the OEM motor being replaced with a crate motor and that somehow being inferior. That being said, my OEM 427ci 390 hp vette motors would spank that 327, all else being equal.

,I imagine a 650 Hp 302 in the scca or whatever cars would spank a stock 435 HP vette

Now there’s a fair comparison. Let’s take a highly modified, performance enhanced, SB race engine and compare it to a stock motor. Not to mention the rest of the vehicular package that is purposely designed to work well in a single application… :-/

48

I drove an origianl Z-28 years ago and it was certainly street ready. It was about as basic as you could get a car at that time and while the engine’s power band was relatively high it could be driven red light to red light with no particular problems. I’m pretty sure it didn’t have 600+ hp.

49

While browsing the interwebs I came across this post and felt the need to reply to some of the points.

I will start by introducing myself, im Jason (yup the guy from the show), also a 21 year veteran of Ford Motor Company (now Nissan)

I just want to hit a few of the points that were made.

So as far as the integrity of the stock 4.6, It actually has 91k on it, although less than 5K since a lower rebuild, they didn’t mention in the show but they sent the car out to Mustang Magic to get the Valve Seals done as well.

The also never mentioned the rehab of the suspension (shocks, struts, LCA, bushings etc etc).

American Racing in Deer Park NY, also did custom headers, and a full exhaust.

Keep in mind that this build took about 4 months to accomplish, although it looks much faster on TV this was a pretty long build, I was there for a lot of it as well.

The Lambo doors were only on for the show and were removed before we took the car back from them.

The car was rated by JTM @ 334whp, but dialed back after for drivability.

As far as sheet metal goes, there is no plastic or Fiberglass in this car, although the rear skins were removed, the replacement ones are actually made from a heavier gauge steel and bead welded not spot welded, all of which leads to a structure as sound as it was in 2002.

The paint work is however very well done, door jambs, trunk, engine bay done flat black.

All in all, I am not in love with the design, but my wife is, and that is all that matters…

The car is what it is, it is one of a kind.

Thanks
Jason

50

I watched part of the Camaro build show and saw enough to make me cringe and never return. A custom Camaro being done for roughly a measly 20 grand allegedly for a kid who can’t even drive a manual transmission. An automatic was specified and the attitude was “He’s getting a manual. Live with it”.

From what I saw it looked like the usual; interior and paint going on over some rust.

51

@Tworotors It made 334 Hp at the wheels and they had to dial it back? Seems were there transmission durability concerns or something? I have an 03 Mustang GT with a Kenne Bell supercharger, and it made 386 HP at the wheels when it was getting tuned, and was with a relatively safe/fat tune. I don’t think my car is particularly difficult to drive.

52

@ok4450 its a TV show, the money is all play money, its just a number for TV, remember the mechanics are all on staff, interior work, dyno tune, wheels, exhaust, etc etc are all done as a freebie in trade for some TV time and having their names mentioned on the show. Sponsors kick in some money, and the production company kicks in as well… People have mentioned PhantomWorks in the past, keep in mind that FW is an actual company and their work is being filmed, this is not the same.

@fodaddy I drive a 450hp Twin Turbo BMW every day and it is not difficult to drive, but this is my wifes car, and she uses it for joy riding, so yes it was detuned (dialed back) so it would be more suited for a woman (sorry) and for joyriding use. “choice vs requirement”

I would be glad to answer any other questions about the car…