Is Brand Loyalty Dead? Thank You Pro Touring.....

[SuperBuickGuy]

People are building stuff now out of necessity that would have gone to the crusher back in the '70s and '80s.

true for the 'popular' cars like 1st gen Camaros, Mustangs, 'Cuda's but there is so much out there that I cannot for a second believe that someone who wants a project would ever have trouble finding one that is worthy of rebuild. Not just that but if you want to be the center of attention at a show - the non-'populars' is the route to success.

And not just that, but it costs the same dollars to do one-off vs. mainstream.... the 'downside' is you'll rarely get your dollars back on a one-off.... but with that said, I do okay with C3s - so it's neither a rule nor even much more then a consensus

[silver_bullet]

I had you in mind when I mentioned Buicks, I was also thinking of inliners, diesels, and any of the other "weirdos " like us....

[Deaf Bob]

Brand loyalty... Tricky..
Our current derby builds are 03 up P71 crown vics.. Bad part is the front suspension is cast aluminum which breaks in derbys. So..depending on venue, we add steel cradles out of older Vics (box Vics) or early Impalas
Motor is Chevy
Tranny is Turbo 475 for most part
Rear is Caddy

We do use 10.5 GM rears, 9inch as well..
Many drivers swear by the 9". Our luck has not been that great..
Some swear by $6-800 buck after market axles.. We have broken others' .. Have not bought after market yet.

Guess you can say we are loyal to unbreakables?

[Gateclyve Photographic]

SBG, some of the rust belt folks living in states with regular I/M testing may disagree. Anecdotally, it looks like there a lot more "headwinds" for most folks than there were back when I first picked up a wrench . . . . For example, my first build -- which included a junk muscle car engine swap into a seven-year-old sport coupe -- was entirely outside (not even under a shade tree!) . . . . Try that in most urban or suburban areas now and feel the wrath of code enforcement and neighborhood associations (if your stuff and your tools aren't ripped off first) . . . .

My total investment in that build -- which I paid for out of savings from a minimum wage job -- was the equivalent of $6,604.08 in 2017 dollars (which doesn't buy all that much today).

My personal experience with Brand-X "non-'populars'" is somewhat different . . .higher costs and lots more fabrication than popular "catalog" vehicles.

[RockJustRock]

A lot of what started me on this was I started dream building a Gen 3 Camaro. So many sub frame kits you could just tie them together and get a tube frame with less hassle. Then I started seeing $1200 per end. Most fronts are Pro Touring not drag. THEN I see one front kit saying "saves over 20 lb.". Well crap, that kind of weight savings for that kind of dollars is just plain silly. THEN Pro Touring looked silly. Brian, Bryan and Chad need to contact Nutri System and Jenny Craig to run ads in the automotive world. "Save 50-100 lb.for a LOT less than a subframe kit".

[PT Sportwagon]

I am mostly brand loyal. I will never put a LS in my wagon. or any of my Fords. A Ford in a Ford what a concept. I have been tossing around the idea of doing a Coyote swap in my 85 Crown Vic 2 dr. But I look at expense, towards 10-12K when all said and done. I have also thought of a Total frame swap from a newer(03-11) Crown Vic/Grand Marquis. I would love to swap a Merc Marauder frame under it, using the Marauder interior. But then I think 10 grand could build a heck of a SBF. or even a BBF.
I actually have thought of an LS swap. My youngest has a 77 Pontiac Lemans he is working on. It already has a "corporate" Motor in it, an Olds 350 ( high altitude car) I look at it already has a "corporate" motor in it. drop an LS in it. But then my son doesn't have 5-10k for that swap either.

Tim