Story behind your hot rod

[SuperBuickGuy]

We did this awhile ago (Brian, maybe a sticky so this can be constantly updated) but our cars change almost as often as our underwear, so perhaps an update to your story?

What's the story behind your current hot rod? Why did you pick what you bought? Is this it? if not, what's your next one?

[Barry Donovan]

I like telling mine, breaks barriers.

I obviously grew up with v8s and carbs. Ingenuity was the mechanic.. learn it yourself or have nothing.
I went onto aircraft. military.. they are junked today. I am glad.

upon very disabled, my mind came around to memories not satisfied. I was also a pit man at a quick lube.. many cars. A couple of thousand. Strong opinions, hardly youthful.. hard earned facts.

I did grow to hate heck of a lot more than not. I do love the v8, costing too much is not one of the loves.

Found a foreign boxer just when gas prices were going high..16 years ago. My first and only foreign car. I still put the 3 main boxers in with hot rods.

To keep going on a similar genre of thought, maybe a flat plane or 301 Pontiac in a small chassis. The 301 is more realistic to find.

[Top_notch]

Bought my current project from my father in law. My wife wanted to purchase the house she grew up in, so we did. He didn't have room for the car, so I purchased that too. He bought it in 1978 and pretty much stored it since. Car has 44,000 miles, albeit hard ones. I'm saving my pennies to restore it one day. Is has a solid cam 327 with a 4 speed.

[TC]

Bought my current project from my father in law. My wife wanted to purchase the house she grew up in, so we did. He didn't have room for the car, so I purchased that too. He bought it in 1978 and pretty much stored it since. Car has 44,000 miles, albeit hard ones. I'm saving my pennies to restore it one day. Is has a solid cam 327 with a 4 speed.

Sweet!!!...

[TC]

I don't get rid of projects, but do seem to acquire them, right now I'm finishing up on the head and cam swap on my '99 Z28, just ordered the short travel roller lifters and Total Seal rings for my Nitrous motor for the Monte, so now I can get that to the machine shop. And I started clearing out the crap in the bed of the GMC so I can have that ready to put on the hoist once the Camaro is off it..... Things are getting done but when your working on 3 projects at once it doesn't seem to get done fast enough...... At least their is light at the end of the tunnel on the Z28.......

[Thumpin455]

Which one? The 70 GTO is something I always wanted, and its close enough to a 69 GTO that it worked out at the time. Eventually I will get a 69 and build it the way I want. All the Firebirds are because they were cheap in the 80s, and Ive had lots of fun with them. The Cougar was the first car I bought, so it isnt going anywhere but I dont have big hairy plans for it, just a cruiser with decent power. The 65 GTO and LeMans are well documented here, so it isnt hard to find the story behind those.

[Monk]

I had a '55 Chevy in '67.......had a tri powered 348.
Sold it when I was home on leave in '68.....and always wanted another '55 one day.

I bought the 409 from Jim Evans, same guy who built the 427 for the Nova, not
really knowing what I was gonna put it in.
He ended up building it for me as well.

Year later I found a '55 Chevy roller in Michigan.
All original sheet metal but with Nomad rear quarters.......bought it and the guy
delivered it to the house.

Rest is history........sort like the Street Rodder article said....getting back to my roots.
This car is about as much fun as sex.
The project is on the build thread.

[Grumpy]

1965 Ragtop or?

[bulletproof]

ive always wanted a henry j.... one came up for sale a few hours away..after doing some trading i drug it home..it set in my grandpas barn for about a year..it was going to be a long project...but i decided to have it ready for dragweek this year..i started with a very rusty shell...

[Dan Barlow]

I think my car has the longest name, 87 Pontiac GTA Trans Am. It came with the 350TPI 4 speed auto. I've had it 9 yrs. I just finished putting the LT1 out of my old 95 Caprice wagon (same as a Impala SS) . I also put a T5 in it about 4 to 5 yrs. ago. I'm a big fan of 350 S-10's. I've built 3 and have a kit waiting on the next. The t/a is the keeper project' s10 will be a daily driver. Big fan of what I used to hate as a former mopar/amc guy....the small block chevy.

[Barry Donovan]

I think my car has the longest name, 87 Pontiac GTA Trans Am. It came with the 350TPI 4 speed auto. I've had it 9 yrs. I just finished putting the LT1 out of my old 95 Caprice wagon (same as a Impala SS) . I also put a T5 in it about 4 to 5 yrs. ago. I'm a big fan of 350 S-10's. I've built 3 and have a kit waiting on the next. The t/a is the keeper project' s10 will be a daily driver. Big fan of what I used to hate as a former mopar/amc guy....the small block chevy.

I like the 80s stories.
As rare as a ten geared wagon for some of them.

I had an 84 monte SS..it was then I knew there is a real high output, and a bigger pile of fake surrounding it.

the Subaru I took on is a 12/86 stamp, rally went back to "A" version in January 1987. to build something special was not allowed unless a run of 5000 cars were built. Even in history of rally, the real Subaru is as elusive as an HO 400hp 305 climbing pikes peak.

mention 1969...9 times out of ten some yuppie will say "Camaro" or "chevelle" and "350".

how bout 1985! uhhhm...

there is a lot of hot rod stories...not all that common is my favorite.

Brians era and model caprice..that was on my wish list for a long time.

[cantvalve16]

My '66 Mustang was bought mostly because I like Mustangs and this one was super cheap. I have had a couple of these cars before so I know my way around them. On this one, I intend to make it my canvas. It is my creative outlet. Road racing, autocross, and drag racing will all be done with this one.
Not sure if I will do another one as my wife likes this car even in it's less than stellar condition. Just wanted to build something fast, light, and efficient. But, as SBG noted, you never know what will happen with cars and people.

[squirrel]

When I was a sophomore in high school, a lady we knew needed rent money. So my dad bought her 59 chevy pickup for $250. He drove it home, ten miles, it used a quart of oil on the drive. I've had the truck ever since.

[yellomalibu]

Shortly after getting stationed in New River (a Marine Air Base near Camp LeJeune, NC), I saw the coolest car I had ever seen - and it was a 68 Chevelle. Today, I can't give you specifics like wheels or what color it was - but I recall saying to myself, "some day I WILL own a 68 Chevelle" .

About 4 years later it was 1994, I was stationed in the desert of California (29 Palms), and decided that the desert of California was the place to buy a muscle car where rust isn't an issue. I took out a $2500 loan and started looking in the Recycler and I went to a swap meet in Pomona. The Recycler is where I found my car. Gave the guy $2100 for it, which left me a little money for tires - because it needed them, and I was about to drive it across the country.

It had been a toy for some time. The 307 and power glide were long gone - so I didn't have to feel bad about modifying it to make it "mine"... and ever since that day, make it mine is what I've been continually doing.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Several years ago, I saw this car at what would be the last, major, indoor car show in Seattle.

I was in love, the shape, the color, the stance... everything about that car - I was seriously drooling. It is true that I like Buicks, but that wasn't the Buick that made me like Buicks (my skylark was the guilty party in that). However, that one wasn't perfect - it's powered by a 500 cadillac motor.
I started looking for a car to build, and simultaneously, I was collecting parts to build a turbo 455 for the skylark. It was going to be low-buck, mostly stock bottom end, ported heads. Then I met Paul. Long story short. Custom pistons, I beam rods, girdle bottom end, half filled block, edelbrock heads, MS3x injection/spark... The top will be chopped 3" like the pictured car, though right now, I'm really tempted to chop it but leave the patina on it for now.