Station Wagons...The Next Big Thing

When I was a kid, my uncle use to drive a 1959 Ford Country Sedan which is basically a station wagon Galaxie. It was a 2 toner, red and white and I just enjoy riding that car. I even remember sitting on its hood without denting it. It was one hard shell. But what's interesting with that car is that every time it parks, people flock around, not because they were interested in it, but you'll notice a  look of concern in their faces. They wonder who just died in their town, thinking that that big car was a hearse.  And I guess it was the fate of that car anyway when the time came to let it go.

Morbidly funny, but old American station wagons in the Philippines were actually used as hearses. In my high school which happens to be hospital as well, everyone knew that when an old American station wagon is parked outside, it is waiting to pick up.....well, a has been.  Of course there were those real Cadillac hearses for those willing to pay more and leave in style. It was unfortunate. I'm a sucker for old American wagons but just the thought of its reputation back in the Philippines gives me jitters when I think of acquiring one. Don't get me wrong, I love them, in fact I intentionally look for them in car shows. I like them stock, I like them hot rodded, and particularly nuts over a 1958 Rambler Wagon.   

In this side of the shore however, old wagons were treated differently. Almost everyone has a story to tell about a station wagon they once had. They were the SUVs of the yesteryears. They were the family cars and had left so much memories of fighting young siblings, long road trips, technology-free travels and large cargo spaces enough for kids to play snakes and ladders while camping. They were the "hand me down" cars when a teenager starts driving, and was almost a necessity for a growing American family to own one.

With people switching over to modern SUVs as family "cars", modern wagons are in the brink of extinction. Sure there are a few left out there, but  people would rather buy  the "sportier" and more useful truck-chassied SUVs.

So if you find an old American Wagon....buy it, restore it...they'll be the coolest car around and potentially will become the next "big thing" in terms of value. If you're from the Philippines however, be sure to check if there is a back seat and no used blanket lying around before buying or restoring one.  Unless of course you are one of those brave souls with a morbid humor who thinks The Ring is one funny movie :) Happy motoring!

Little Car Big Win

50 years ago, the racing world was stunned when a small car wins big at the Monte Carlo Rally. Produced as an economy car in 1959 by British Motor Corporation, Formula One builder and designer John Cooper saw its potential as a competitor in rally racing. With some massaging and twitching of its anemic motor, the Mini Cooper was born in 1961. By 1964, it did not only win the Monte Carlo Rally, it dominated it by winning first, second and third, against bigger, and supposedly more powerful and faster cars. Talk about power to weight ratio. It again dominated the rally in 1965 and 1967, and could have been a straight 4 years of win if it was not disqualified in 1966 for headlight issues. Production continued until 2000 until BMW bought its rights. In 2001 the successor to the old Mini Cooper by BMW was launched.

The musclecar turns 50.

Prior to 1964, American performance vehicle are large full size cars with big motors. But in 1964, a new concept that is still being used in performance cars today was formulated by John DeLorean (he later on started his car company a.k.a. Back to the Future). When the problematic midsize 1963 Pontiac Tempest whose sales are dropping significantly, DeLorean came up with the idea of upgrading it with a bigger motor, and then re-badging it with GTO (short for Grand Turismo Omologato which until that time was solely being used by Ferrari). And the formula worked. They stuffed in a big 389ci motor, on a (relatively) small body. Sure there were bigger motors out there, but they carry bigger bodies as well. The 1964 Pontiac GTO on the other hand weighs only 3500lbs. And it was just less than $300 more than the base model Pontiac LeMan/Tempest. People bought the idea, and hence, the muscle car era was born. It was the same template that was used by the other Detroit Auto Makers and that began the muscle car war of the 60s and early 70s...carrying big engine on a small body template, which lasted for almost a decade until the 1973 oil embargo killed it. (The photo is a 1967 model)

Cheap Thrills!...Cars Out There That An Average Person Could Still Buy

They call it the Barrett-Jackson Phenomenon. With old cars being auctioned on TV, where 6 figure-sales is almost the norm, classic car enthusiasts planning to buy their first old car get too discouraged, as prices of these “once at the brink of abandonment” old cars just sky rocketed and can only be afforded by the super rich, who most of the time doesn’t even care about cars, just its investment potentials. As a result many owners of classics think that the value of their car is now worth the retirement pay of an average American, just because the same make sold in TV for a gazillion dollar.

 

In as much as we see these crazy expensive cars get sold across the block, we need to remember that what they show on TV are the high end desirable cars.  For instance, a factory authentic (1 of 11) numbers matching (not cloned) 1971 Hemi Cuda 4speed Convertible was sold a few years back at RM auction for $4.1 million dollars. Not a bad equity for a car worth less than $4,000 in 1971… And not only that, it has been rumored that a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, the most desirable Ferrari among collectors, recently changed hands at an insanely price of $52 million dollars….O by the way, those are the extremes....the real world deals, traded pinks on the first day of Barrett-Jackson for a very cheap price....but didn’t quite make it on TV 

 

Sorry to burst the bubble among average collector car owners …but not every classic out there is as

desirable and valuable as an old Ferrari or a factory Hemi Mopar…but hey!.... good news to the potential classic car enthusiast trying to buy his first old car…There are bunch of affordable equally fun cars out there. And guess what, as odd as it looks, people gravitate toward cars they don’t normally see at car shows.. And by the way, no pun intended, it can potentially frustrate the other guy who just spent a couple of hundred grand on his mainstream classic car, but people flock at the car parked next to him cheap yet cool and odd enough that even gearheads sometimes scratch their head and ask the owner what kind of car is it.

In as much as I enjoy working on my old cars, I equally enjoy surfing the net to look for affordable classics. No, I’m not buying another one as I have other priorities, and it’s quite hard to convince the home owners association who are suppose to be normal non-car people that the car I’m bringing home is not an eye sore. I search for one just for the fun of it, and maybe recommend it to a friend who wants one.

Here are some cars that are still very much affordable…fun, easy to maintain and guaranteed to make you feel so good when it attracts a crowd and you hear “WOW! You restored a…what it that?” or maybe a “Gosh! Look at that I have not a seen one since I was 10”  

While there are so many affordable classics out there, here are just a few of my suggestions: 

                                                                                   Chevy Corvair

                                                                                       Rambler

                                                                                      Dodge Dart

                                                                                Plymouth Valiant  

                                                                                     Ford Maverick

                                                                                        Ford Pinto

O yeah, these are just tips of icebergs...so don't be discouraged.....there's really a bunch of them out there 

The Knight Rider

I was in my first year in high school when it became a big time hit. Who has ever heard of a car that had everything “computerized” by the 80s standard, had the ability to jump…yup, without any ramps, drives on a twisty road, while the driver falls fast asleep… and o yes, the car talks as well,  predating the infamous and very lame “protected by Viper stand back” as every other car’s annoying anti-theft device by more than a decade.  It was something to look forward to on a Wednesday night…willing to give up time to do the typical high school homework for the sake of getting a glimpse of that show……that black TransAm, that unrealistic 300MPH, jumping, talking car show – The Knight Rider.

Unrealistic as it was, I've been so fascinated by it …and to be honest, it was KITT who did play such a big role in my insanity towards cars that I still carry to this day. O well, I’ve been car crazy even before, but I’m sure it did ignited the flame to be blown out of proportion.

Knight Rider is a story of a man who never existed when after recovering from an almost fatal gunshot was given a totally new identity. From a police officer Michael Long he became a crime fighter, investigator, commando, problem solver Michael Knight who fights every other bad guy around town, with no weapons, just that indestructible car (relatively) that was handed over to him for free...which pretty much carry the most insane  “James Bond” type of gadgetry.

But the real star for a car nut like me was KITT…..a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. It was intended to be an advertisement for the new F-body Firebird/ Camaro (3^rd generation) series, a totally new design from the previous Smokey and the Bandit Firebird that we all knew…..and it worked, at least as far as viewership is concerned.

True enough, I’ve seen a bunch of KITT replicas out there on car shows, and was even surprised to see a detailed one in the Philippines, once again proving Filipino ingenuity.

With all the movie/TV cars that I love, from Crockett’s Testarossa, to McFly’s DeLorean, from Hardcastle and McCormick's Lola-bodied kit car to Starsky and Hutch's 76 Ford Torino,  KITT, in my book has always been on top of my list. Yes there’s a bunch of other cooler TV cars out there, but it was KITT (not Michael Knight!!!) that got me so hooked up with cars   

My Old Hot Rod

What really is a hot rod? An old American car built to run fast? You see, what qualifies as a hot rod is still controversial even among the most hard core hobbyists. But if there is one common denominator that all hot rodders would agree on, is that, it's a car that is never finished, always under construction.

I first saw it parked on a driveway in Glendora, a 68 Mercury Monterey. It was in a pretty bad shape. Rust all over, cracked windshield, totally messed up dashboard, seats and headliners and was not running at all. But there's something in that car that made me start contemplating on buying it...But then, what will I do with it? Who will rebuild the motor? Will it fit in my garage? What about the brakes? Does it stop? Who will do the paint job? How much will I spend? Do I have enough money to restore it? While all those questions are still lurking on my mind, I suddenly found myself bargaining with the owner as I always do.  $800 later, it was a deal, called a flatbed truck, and brought it home.

Car had been so ugly, the homeowner’s association want me to get rid of it. But I kept it in my garage and with an artistic mind, I started visualizing the finished project. I can't wait till it's done. Sometimes I would just sit in my garage looking at it, thinking how good it would be to drive it when it's all done. Who wouldn't want to drive the coolest car in the neighborhood anyway?

As I started working on the car, I began thinking about my life. Who I was. Looked at the car, and saw myself in that big old Mercury. Where was I a few years back. Then it hit me. It's just disgusting. I was worse than most people think I was. I was just full of myself, and full of pride, my attitude, my evil desires, my dishonesties and my pretentions. A double life perhaps with too much inconsistencies.

But that was the past. I've been different from who I was. Yes I am still that same jolly person who loves to make people laugh. But something changed. What happened? Was it just a sign of maturity? Overhauled by experiences in life? Or was there really something far deeper than that?

It took a couple years before I was able to finally drive my hot rod. Two long years, of restoration, but worth the wait. Now it's a beautiful two-toner, bright yellow and white, and arguably the loudest car around. It gets the same attention on a cruise night, just as it does on gas stations. People honk to give me a thumbs up. Yes, it's now a nice, clean hot rod.

With so much rough edges in my life, I struggle to keep my life straight and to keep my testimony as a witness for Christ. Many times however, I fail, and realize how much inconsistencies I still have in my life. But I can honestly say that I’ve gone so far from who I was before.

My car had been restored. But is it really done? Not really. With so much time, effort and money spent on it, it's still is an old car. Well, the tranny leaks, the clutch slides, AC doesn't work and it handles like a semi. The gas gauge is dead, and so is the AM radio. But then again who needs a radio when exhausts are too loud anyway. Truth of the matter is, it sometimes sucks to drive an old car. You'll never know when it will die on you, so you got to be ready with your triple A and cell phone all the time just in case it decides to pull over by itself.

While others see a cool cruiser, I still see the imperfections. Sounds familiar? Modesty aside, people think I'm a nice guy. People at church think I'm a very spiritual person. But am I really that kind of person a lot of people think? Maybe yes to some. But then again, who really sets the standard? Maybe I'm just like my car, externally cool, but internally bad. Then I realized, no, I have changed a lot. I no longer had a broken wind shield, interior has been redone, and no longer have most of those rust spots in me. I've been restored, but just like my hot rod, still under construction.


God is really good. Just like my car when I first saw it, on its way to the junk shop, so was I. I was rotting and dead, a useless piece of junk, but He bought me with more than anybody can afford, His precious blood. Then He gave me life. Why? I don't know. He loves me, period. Nothing more, nothing less. And all He sees are potentials in me.


God only wants what's best for me. Just like an auto body mechanic, He burns the rust away, to replace it with new metal. Piece by piece, all for my own good. But does it hurt to get burned? You bet. Does He require perfection? No, but He wants holiness, consistency and maturity.

My hot rod is not perfect....and so am I. But one thing I'm certain of, God is not finished with me yet. And He will not stop sanding my imperfections, until I become what He wants me to be. 

     It may not be the perfect hot rod, but it sure is fun to drive, and I'm always looking forward for the weekend for a nice cool drive. Another day to drive my not so perfect car. Under construction, but getting there. To God be the glory

Hot Rodding 101 types of Hot Rods

What is a hot rod? That is a question that cannot be easily answered even among the most hard core car guys. It’s use is very subjective and even its origin has not been clearly defined. Traditionally, hot rods are old American cars with big V-8 motors modified for speed. However, even the country of origin nowadays is no longer limited to America and the definition of modification has been completely changed. Technically speaking, every after market is a modification as they stopped making a 1957 Chevy for instance…well, in 1957. Datsuns and Anglias are stuffed with Chevy 350cis, and as difficult to swallow as it is, Mustangs are stuffed with Nissan motors (a.k.a. FF3 Tokyo Drift Mustang) … So to narrow it down to basic minus all the controversial cross-overs, and because hot rodding is an American culture, let’s just say a hot rod is an old American car that is personalized by the owner…and don’t ask about a cut-off age, as old in itself is way too relative.  So here are  my different  classification of hotrods

Stock numbers-matching car –  wait, if hotrodding is modification and personalization, then will stock be defined as a hotrod? Yes.  Ironically, it is harder to keep a 50 year old car to be stock, than to modify it. To keep everything factory original, you need 2 things….(1) passion (2) more money than brain.

Unrestored original – well, that should have been a subtype of stock that’s even harder to justify as a hot rod. But to be able to maintain a 40 year old car as an unrestored original, you need a big heart…and a big barn that goes with it.

 

 
Pro-Street – almost synonymous to hot rod and may have been the flagship of the hobby in the 80s. Cars are highly modified, tubbed, with large Mickey Thompsons in the rear, a wheelie bar that's completely optional of course, and some skinnies in front. These most of the time sport those Keystones, Cragars and the like. Engines are bigger than the car..so to speak, having those blowers large enough that sometimes you need to remove the entire hood. I love Pro-streets, however, with its design meant for straight line acceleration on the drag strip but unable to perform on twisty roads, it’s not the funnest car to be used as a daily driver

   

Pro-Touring – Because of the instability of Pro-street on the street and on road courses, a new breed of hotrodding came out, I guess in the 90s. Pro-Touring is simply defined as old car with a new technology. Not only does it have a big motor to carry the car to speed, it now has modern suspension making its handling on road course at par with newer sports cars. It uses larger than stock rims and lower profile tires, a lower suspension for a lower center of gravity for better handling. And yup, it stops better as well with those bigger 4 wheel disc brakes.

Gassers -  this is my favorite form of hotrod…yes, my heart jumps, the boy in me comes out whenever I see one. Non-car guys won’t get it. But for a traditional hot rodder like myself, ahhhhh, that's the coolest of them all. Started in the 50s and became big all the way to the 70s, these cars are stripped off with as much weight as possible and almost have that same setting as a Pro-Street with wide tires at the back and skinny ones in front but lifted high and uses a straight front axle usually coming from truck donors. They are so peculiar, even their glasses are changed to Plexiglas for weight purposes…and yup, it has to be tinted with some weird color…..My favorite gasser by the way is Steve Magnante’s altered wheelbase Wilshire Shaker Nova….way cool

 Traditional Hot rods – these are the basic period correct modification in a car.  These cars looks as if time had stopped when it was modified in its period.

 Rat Rods – they hate being called rat rods…but o well, over time, it was accepted as a label. Too broad to define, but let’s put it this way… It’s a rot rod, exaggerated versions of traditional hot rods. Rust issue? No problem….it’s a necessity for it.  Is it cool? You bet…could have been the coolest kind of car around…Is it fast? Maybe…is it safe? maybe not