RideLust

I always find it amusing when the racing drivers of today climb behind the wheel of vintage automobiles as their comments range from the amusing to the absurd. Justin Bell for example has won the 24 Hours of LeMans and was a GT 2 World Champion, so seeing him behind the wheel of a vintage Dodge Charger was well, kind of interesting. Understand that this is a guy who has no problem slinging a modern race car into a turn at 130 mph, however once behind the wheel of a 44 year-old Dodge Charger he seems to get all flustered. Granted, these cars are not for the faint of heart, but jeeze, I figured he’d be more comfortable then this video portrays. Yes the stock steering sucks, and yes drum brakes aren’t in fashion anymore, but hell man… just relax and enjoy what is arguably one of the coolest muscle cars ever created.

Source: Youtube.com

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There is no glory in owning an American car from 1979. They were slow, cheaply made and for the most part, ungodly ugly. Combine that with the fact that the late 1970′s were the age of the automotive add-on and well, you can see where I’m going with this. Stickers, rear window louvers and continental kits were all the rage here in the U.S. and because of this some of the most tasteless vehicles of our time were created. Take for example this 1979 ford Thunderbird that was recently for sale on eBay. To give you an idea of how bad things were back then, just take a look at the following photos. First off you had acres and acres of hideous orange leather interior, 15-inch wheels with faux-spoke hubcaps and an external continental kit with spare tire that added an additional 2-feet to the cars already massive wheelbase. Now don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a part of me that digs this big land yacht, however there is also a part that knows that it should’ve been torpedoed before it ever left the dockyard.

Source: eBay.com

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By now it should be no secret that I love big cars. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the 1970′s, or maybe it’s the fact that at 6’4″, I’m a rather large Dude. Whatever the case though, these massive land yachts have a place in my heart that can’t be touched. Even though big ole’ American cars are inefficient as hell, they represent a time when people actually traveled on the open road, instead of flying over it. They were made for comfort, speed and at the end of the day, had styling that made a statement where ever you went. What you are seeing here is a 1971 Plymouth Sport Fury, a car that at 19-feet long and 4,000 lbs. defined the term “land yacht”.
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Do you have a kid with a birthday in the near future who is into cars and racing? Well if so, then I have the perfect gift for you! What you are seeing here is an early 1970′s twin engine Rupp go-kart that is seriously bad ass. It’s got twin period correct McCulloch American racing engines, 4-wheel disc brakes and temperature gauges that attach onto your belly via a connecting strap – now that’s cool. It’s also got twin aluminum gas tanks and a starting kart. Keep in mind that it does need a little work, but quite honestly, who cares? This thing simply rocks as is, and is a piece that I can almost guarantee will make you a rock star anywhere you take it. Check out the eBay ad here!

Source: Ebay.com

Last year while walking along the beautiful streets of Carmel, California during the weekend of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, I came upon this little white car with a BMW emblem on the front. It had a highly stylized front end, the traditional BMW kidney bean grill and raised a scoop on the hood. At first I didn’t know what to make of this little white machine, but then I did some research and found out that it actually started life as a car known as a Glas that was produced in Dingolfing, Germany. This particular model, a 1968 BMW 1600 GT, is being offered for sale up on eBay with a starting bid price of $25,000. The only catch is that the car is located in São Paulo-Brazil which makes it kind of hard to do a walk around inspection.
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If you want to get a bid in on this car, I’d suggest you hurry since the eBay auction is set to expire on Sunday morning. Up for grabs (and spotted on Bring A Trailer) is a 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider that’s been Frankensteinized: gone is the original 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, replaced by a 5.0-liter V-8 from Ford. The owner doesn’t list horsepower, but given the engine’s 9.0:1 compression and stock cams, it can’t be too excessive. Of course it does rock a 4-bbl carb, Edelbrock intake, Edelbrock heads and a custom exhaust system, so let’s just call horsepower “more than adequate”. Ensuring that the rearend isn’t turned into a pile of metal shavings, the owner has thoughtfully replaced the stock rear with one from a Chevy S-10, and a Borg Warner T-5 five speed handles the gear changes. Read More…

The Pantera has never been a car that’s garnered much respect from the exotic car crowd. With its Italian body and American heart, many of the super car purists simply looked upon it as an automobile with an identity crises. However, there are those of us who view these mechanical melting pots as some of the coolest high performance cars ever created. Designed by U.S. born designer Tom Tjaarda and built by De Tomaso over in Italy, the Pantera was outfitted with a 5.8-liter 351 cu in Cleveland V8 from Ford that produced 330 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque. This equated to a 0-60 mph time of around 5.5 seconds and a top speed of just under 160 mph. Pretty impressive numbers for 39 years ago. Keep in mind however that those numbers are for a stock 1971 Pantera and that the one you are viewing here is anything but.
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At about 19-feet long the 1977 Chrysler Newport was about as big as you could go back in the late 1970′s. Sure it was roomy, but all that room meant that these big canoes (all 4,400 lbs of them) handled liked they had balloons for suspension systems. The ’77 Newport was motivated by a 440 cu in big block that was clogged up with all sorts of emissions controls. That meant that the 7.2-liter behemoth under the hood only put out 185 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, a far cry from the 1968 version that made 375 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. Regardless though, the Newports of the late 1970′s were all about space, comfort and the fact that you could fit an entire neighborhood in the back seat.
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Every so often a car comes up for sale that makes me want to sell off a few body parts to get. Generally it’s something exotic with a racing pedigree and proper performance. Unfortunately though most, if not all of the time, they’re out of my price range. One such example is this stunning street legal replica of a 1969 Lola T70 Mk3B that is currently for sale on eBay. A quick tidbit of information; Lola was founded in 1958 by Eric Broadley, a British entrepreneur and engineer. In their time cars like the Lola T70 have competed against some of the greatest cars in history like the Porsche 908 and 917, Ford GT40 and the Ferrari 512. What’s amazing about this car though, albiet it being an exact replica of a T70, is that for one it’s completely street legal and two, I’ve actually seen this car in person at an event at Limerock Park in Limerock, CT.
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I’ve got a buddy of mine who always insists that he does better when he purchases second hand parts. For some reason though, his car never runs properly and thus, he’s never around. Purchasing anything used is a total crap shoot in my opinion as it’s very difficult to find honest sellers. If you’ve ever gone to any type of outdoor swap meet then you know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re careful and do your due diligence then there are deals a plenty to be had. In order to get these deals though, you’d better know what you’re looking at and be able to tell the good from the bad. I’ve purchased some used parts in my time and more often then not, I just end up reselling them because I simply don’t trust them. I’ve also sold used parts, however when I do I’m VERY careful about putting down an accurate description and setting them at what is considered to be fair-market-value.
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