One of the coolest things about my travels and experiences in 2013 is the clear signal that I have gotten from lots of guys in my age bracket (late 20s, early 30s) regarding the cars we looked at starry eyed while growing up. There’s no denying the fact that traditional muscle cars from the 1960s and the hot rods we all know and love will be around and most popular for about as long as one can possibly imagine, but with each passing year we see different cars poke their heads into the gearhead realm. Unlike times past, instead of being laughed out they are embraced. That stuff is happening right now with cars from the 1980s. It wasn’t long ago that if you rolled into a cruise night with a Dodge Omni GLH you’d have been met with looks of derision and scorn. Now you’ll be swarmed by a group of guys who remembers reading about ’em in magazines growing up and the looks are those of lust. The same can be said for G-bodies, Ford LTDs, and even some of the Japanese stuff. After hanging out with the group of guys who built and run the XJ-R Jeep, my thoughts on this were completely reinforced.
One of the dudes has a bad ass Omni AND a big block powered D100 truck. Other guys have less desirable stuff that they love just as much as their traditional pony cars that we all immediately default to when talking about what a “cool car” is. I had a 1988 Camaro in high school and I keep catching myself leering at examples when they drive by or when I see a clean one at a show or cruise night. Like the guys who grew up in the 1970s that got their mitts on Chevelles, Mustangs, Dusters, and other cars on the cheap, the stuff from the late 1980s was bargain basement by the time I was begging for a diploma in 1998. I’ll freely admit that back in the day before I had an appreciation for anything other than traditional muscle cars, I’d have probably peed in the window of a turbo Dodge Shadow, SVO Mustang, or one a weirdo McLaren turbocharged Pontiac Grand Prix. Now, I’d make space for one in the driveway without hesitation.
The best part of this in my mind is that these cars always came with some level of apology to them when someone told you that they were into whatever non-mainstream make or model they have. Those days are pretty much over and I think a lot has to do with the fact that the cars which people are driving today like the Ford Focus ST for example are the machines Detroit was trying to build 30 years ago and just didn’t have the technology to get them where they wanted them to be. No one will ever mistake an Omni GLH for a Focus ST, but in theory and on paper, they are virtually the same car. Small displacement turbo four, awesome suspension, relatively light weight, stupid fun to drive, etc. Not to say that Detroit has mastered the art of these cars yet, but they’re lightyears ahead of where they were back in the day and the caqrs appeal to the guys in my demographic for the very reasons the old stuff does.
Our own Dave Nutting pretty much embodies the spirit of today’s 20/30 something hot rodder. The guy has his Monte Carlo SS which has a worked up small block in it that he installed EFI on, a modified suspension to make it turn, and interior upgrades on stuff like seats, etc. Up until a month or two ago, he drove a Subaru WRX as his daly driver which is a car that lots of kids look at as a modern “muscle car” (I know guys are throwing rocks at the screen, but it is true). The little AWD hatch had a stick, a turbo, and enough power to make the commute and virtually any other driving circumstance fun. Dave wants a classic Buick Riviera project car and he’s daily driving a bone stock 1987 Monte Carlo now. There is no shame in the man’s game.
There are people who like to think that this idea of inclusion and acceptance, especially of cars lots of traditional hot rodders would label “weird” is because of how much getting into a traditional muscle cars costs. I don’t agree with that theory 100%. From my own experience, I wanted a Caprice because I thought they were cool as hell when I was a kid because the cops drove them and there was the whole “cop car” mystique about them. It would have been more expensive to start with a Chevelle, but that was not the determining factor, here. It was about getting my mitts on a car that struck me as cool back in the day and being able to make it my own which moved me in that direction. The same can be said for any of the younger guys currently taking up the flag for the cars THEY wanted back when the closest they could get was looking out the window as their parents drove by a dealer or maybe seeing one in a parking lot while clasped onto their dad’s hand on the way into the mall. Those are the moments in time that trip a gearhead’s trigger. Those are the things that connect us to the cars that we own and the cars that we want.
For one, I think it rules. It isn’t like every car show is going to be rows of Starions, Omnis, police spec Diplomats, Caprices, and Crown Vics, but there are lots of people out there who are as passionate about those makes and models as you are about yours. Lots of happen to be in my age group, which makes me believe that despite the dire warnings and predictions that no kid likes cars anymore, hot rodding will continue to morph and survive. We just keep adding cars to the train. You don’t have to ride in them but the more passengers we have on this thing the better off we all are.
Something I’ve been watching for years. It’s gonna be a while before cars besides the true desirables (G-bodies, cop cars, and some of the hot hatches) get up to 5.0/IROC levels. And it’ll be even longer before other bodies are even looked at.
I’ve always wanted the cars from my years as a kid and high school years..I’m sure that rings true for many.. sadly, somethings get in the way.. in this state it was the el’stupid emission laws , building a car only to be told that you can’t run it on the street sucks, even tho it was cleaner at the tail pipe than any ’82 f body ever was.. at least that part changed..
I’ve lusted over odd ball cars for my whole life, dad brought home a “levi’s” pacer for mom, I thought it was the coolest.. but also loved the 79 t/a and must of built 15 models of it.. in 85 walking past a Pontiac dealer I saw that years t/a, liked the 82 up but the 85 with the new nose and lower body panels tail lights just screamed in my brain.. by 88 I had one.. I also lusted over the monte SS and walked by one at a dealer everyday on the way to the bus stop.. it was white with maroon gut.. wanna guess what mine is?
liked the late 80’s lsc it just looks right with the gta crossmesh wheels.. working at a mopar dealership you got to really get an understanding of just how awesome those little 2.2 turbo’s were.. at the time.. if mopar had a small rear drive car at the time, no one would’ve been laugh’n . I feel for the kids that are Brian’s kids age, as there really isn’t anything new that’s a standout.. when I was a kid there was tons of vehicles to drool over.. even if they where slugs, they looked cool.. today other than a few retro models, they all look the same just change the nose cone and lights..
As much as I’d like for this to be true, I’m really not expecting to be able to retire on my stash of ’80s performance cars (as some older boomers have on sales gains from ’60s muscle). They’re just too expensive to build, don’t qualify for enough exclusive events, don’t have enough of a “following,” and are too emissions-regulated to ever “make it big.” 🙁
I think Brian’s point might be that even if the 80s cars don’t make it big, they still make it. And the guys who are into them will be better off if they don’t make it big…keeps prices sane….
One can still build up an 80’s car under the nazi Californian rules… Legally.
I’m British, so never grew up with any of these cars.
I’m also 42, which probably makes me too old to really fit the mould.
But I want a Police Interceptor spec Crown Victoria more than I want the Cirus family to stop making music. They are cool as an iced penguin, and the Buick GNX is even cooler.
One day mi amigios.
Age and where you’re from really doesn’t matter. I’m 41 and I’ve been into these for near 20 years. Really, I guess it started before that. When I was a teenager my mother was (nearly) given a 81 Mercury Zephyr by my grandfather. She bought it for $1. I didn’t think much of it at the time but it grew on me and I realized just how insanely cool that car was. I thought about building up that 200CI I6 and tossing 3 webbers on it… lol….
Webers…. Stupid too fast typing… 😐
Slow automotive news day or is Brian priming the market for the ’80s, smog era stuff because he has a barn full of ’80s junk cars?
Like my 1985 LTD LX! Originally Ford set it up with an 84 Non roller HO/AOD 5.0L combo CFI from the 84 Mustangs. Ford only build 3260 LTD LX’s. Better sway bars, 10″ rear drums, and a track lock 7.5″ rear with (I think) 3.12 gears. Now it has a roller HO 5.0L V8 from a Mustang and has been converted to 89 SEFI standards. The Suspension is set up like a 93 Mustang cobra… 4 wheel disc brakes and all with 3.73’s in the 8.8″ rear. 93 cobra booster/master cylinder. Bilstiens all around. CC Plates. Dual to single exhaust to keep the sleeper look… complete with an original looking single dual tip. Anything that can be done to a FOX Mustang has been and can be done to this car. Go a head and look at the pictures in my photobucket account:
http://s69.photobucket.com/user/e4drht/library/1985%20LTD%20LX
Also, I’ve been into FOX Fords for close to 20 years. I remember when they were dirt cheap cause nobody wanted them! Now, a Fairmont Futura goes for at least 2-3K+. Doesn’t matter what motor is in it. Mid sized 83-86 Ford LTD’s are going up too… and thats just the grandmas I4/V6 versions…. good luck on finding an 84/85 Ford Midsized LTD LX.
Viva le ’77 Skylark!
I’ll stand up and identify myself as one of the XJ-R guys. :raises hand:
Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I loved old-school muscle cars, but I also developed a love for the late 70’s and 80’s “smog era” cars. As a 5 year old kid (around 1987), I had a profound moment when visiting my cousins at their house on the beach in Hull, MA. My cousin’s friend had an older brother (nicknamed Stazz) that owned a light blue 1979 Trans Am with the 5-color blue screamin’ chicken decals and t-tops. As I was playing in their yard one summer day, the car pulled up at the end of the street and a herd of girls flocked from the beach to the car like moths to flame. At that moment, I knew I had to have one. Did I know that the car had a lame 403 Olds under the hood, or that it was not as fast as the earlier cars? Nope, and I didn’t care. That car made Stazz the coolest person in the world in my eyes, and that ended that argument.
Fast forward to today, and predictably I own a 1979 Trans Am. It’s Platinum Silver with the French Brothel Red interior. I tossed the 403 after it began having issues and built a Pontiac 400 for it. I also own a Turbo Dodge (a 1987 Shelby CSX) because I had to have a weird and rare turbo 80’s car, and because it was dirt cheap to buy, modify, and make fast.
Cars of this era are often looked down upon, but many are more than capable performance platforms that can be modified to fit whatever you want to do. If my friends and I can make the straight-axled-at-both-ends Jeep Cherokee do stupid things, the sky is the limit with most of the other cars from this era!
I get bored so quickly seeing the “traditional” muscle cars over and over, done the same way over and over. So, I am always looking for the different, the unusual, even the newer stuff.
Brian is no different than any car guy. There is always a soft spot for those cars we loved as a kid. If you were a boy/teen in the ’80’s, like I was, we all had posters of Porsches, Lambos and wild streak machines on our walls right next to the girly posters.
I have a 50k mile 1990 TGP from the pacific NW for sale. Pretty clean if interested.
Back in the early 90s as a daily driver I had an 85 Mercury Marquis LTS 5.0, the Merc version of the LTD LX. For some reason was only sold in Canada from what I can find. Fun car, unfortunately it got totaled after an old full-size Buick hit me on the highway and sent the car spinning along the guardrail, getting shorter with every revolution.
About 18 months ago there was one for sale at the opposite end of Toronto, turned out it was one that belonged to a friend years ago. Pretty rusty now though, it would need a lot of work or a donour shell to swap everything over to.