The Official Hot Rod Thread

[RustyHornet]

Wow.......I drive trucks. If it is a car then it is an older muscle car. I get claustrophobic in these new cars.

That is a nice looking car.

I'd drive a truck everyday, problem is I don't have a clue what I really want in a truck... I've been racking up the miles one the lemans, we have been talking about building an engine for it. Have a 400 sitting on a stand waiting to be torn down. I'm not sure what's possible just yet out of a somewhat mild Pontiac engine. Talking with my mentor, I'd like to have 400hp 400tq, aluminum heads and intake are almost a no brainer as far as cost to rebuild the originals. All new internals.

The goal here is a nice driver, not looking for a drag car as this one is being built for twisties. The old original 350 2 barrel is dog tired, although she always starts and hasn't left us stranded, I can sense her time coming.... Will have to be careful because the original 3 speed Muncie is staying in it for now and the open rear end is stock too.. As it sits, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere, but it's always a risk taking it on the road with the current heart.

The rear suspension is all set up. The front aside from a large sway bar is stock rebuild. 4 wheel discs down the road and a tighter ratio manual steering box would be nice. I want to get rid of the power steering. Will stay a manual brake car. I want to make it a challenge to drive. More fun that way.

 

[SkinNFluff]

For you mouse man. Just got done doing little bit of work to this. Yes I do fit and yes it's a lot of fun to drive.

I had one one of those in that color park next to me at a car show in Corydon yesterday.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

WANT. 5.3LS powered S10 https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5632470245.html

 

[RustyHornet]

Got my uncles Corvette all polished up today. Wash, clay bar, polish, seal, polish wheels. Came out pretty nice, has some signs of having paint work done on the front and rear, some clear coat checking up. Looks good though and he'll be happy.

 

[Bigtanker]

Looks like a guy in Laporte needs a new hot rod.

LaPorte Co. man crashes Mustang at Cruise Night | LaPorte County News | nwitimes.com

 

[mom45]

Looks like a guy in Laporte needs a new hot rod.

LaPorte Co. man crashes Mustang at Cruise Night | LaPorte County News | nwitimes.com

This was absolutely horrible to watch. We were directly behind him when this happened. We had let him cut in front of our truck in line moments before his throttle stuck and the car took off. He hit two other cars that were there for the cruise (both repairable) before going through the fence and crashing into the tree. He was SO lucky that there was no traffic on State Road 2 when he crossed it and that he didn't hit any of the people walking around at the event. The second car he hit changed his path or he would likely have driven right into the people who were all seated in the shade just beyond that car. It could have been so much worse. The driver of this car was George Keller from the Hudson Lake area. He is in ICU with three broken vertebrae in his neck and all of his facial bones broken. We had way too much excitement that night. We were very glad the rest of the cruise was incident free other than a few cars overheating...no other fender benders or accidents that we saw or heard about. There is a clip of this car on the Dyno at Lane Automotive that I found on You Tube. This thing was definitely not stock.

 

[RustyHornet]

Ouch. Hope he turns out ok. The article states his feet became entangled, I hope that's what happened and it wasn't a mechanical failure to cause this.

 

[mom45]

Ouch. Hope he turns out ok. The article states his feet became entangled, I hope that's what happened and it wasn't a mechanical failure to cause this.

There was much discussion about how he had been having problems with the throttle sticking and had just had it fixed. He had also just had it repainted. He apparently has several old cars in his collection, but this was his baby....was. I don't think that can be fixed. The articles all said he was driving in flip flops or barefoot too. He was not. He had shoes on and the first to attend to him took his shoes off to use his socks to stop bleeding. One of the cars he hit happened to have a nurse for a driver. Everyone jumped in and did what they could, but it was not a good way to start the cruise. We were all pretty shook up after watching that.

We were following him and he was just idling through the parking area in front of us and as he approached where he was to park, his car took off like he was doing a burnout. Slid sideways and hit the first car with the rear quarter panel on the driver's side, which threw him into the Camaro in front of him with the front of the passenger side. He veered off of that and through the fence and launched it over the highway and stopped when he hit the tree. The Camaro was only parked there (out of order as the line of parked cars was not that far down yet) because the passenger had a broken leg and needed more room to get in and out of the vehicle. Had it not been there, he would have driven right into the shady area where everyone had set up their chairs. I bet the whole thing took less than a minute.

 

[RustyHornet]

There was much discussion about how he had been having problems with the throttle sticking and had just had it fixed. He had also just had it repainted. He apparently has several old cars in his collection, but this was his baby....was. I don't think that can be fixed. The articles all said he was driving in flip flops or barefoot too. He was not. He had shoes on and the first to attend to him took his shoes off to use his socks to stop bleeding. One of the cars he hit happened to have a nurse for a driver. Everyone jumped in and did what they could, but it was not a good way to start the cruise. We were all pretty shook up after watching that.

We were following him and he was just idling through the parking area in front of us and as he approached where he was to park, his car took off like he was doing a burnout. Slid sideways and hit the first car with the rear quarter panel on the driver's side, which threw him into the Camaro in front of him with the front of the passenger side. He veered off of that and through the fence and launched it over the highway and stopped when he hit the tree. The Camaro was only parked there (out of order as the line of parked cars was not that far down yet) because the passenger had a broken leg and needed more room to get in and out of the vehicle. Had it not been there, he would have driven right into the shady area where everyone had set up their chairs. I bet the whole thing took less than a minute.

Sounds to me like a mechanical error... That's too bad. That's often an area most overlooked when building these old cars, throttle return system.... One of the most dangerous things that could happen behind the wheel. The car most certainly could be fixed, how deep are your pockets? Every piece of steel is available for those.

 

[mom45]

Sounds to me like a mechanical error... That's too bad. That's often an area most overlooked when building these old cars, throttle return system.... One of the most dangerous things that could happen behind the wheel. The car most certainly could be fixed, how deep are your pockets? Every piece of steel is available for those.

I suppose it COULD be fixed but just about everything on it would have to be replaced or repaired. The rear axle might be okay...and it was tubbed so there was some money in it. I have no idea how much he had on it for insurance. It would be an expensive project. It is pretty cool that you can buy all of the repair parts/panels for the old vehicles. Hubby's truck is mostly original, but the bed is completely new. I actually found it on Ebay as a complete kit for him when he couldn't find it anywhere else at the time.

I don't know why he didn't think to shut it off, but it happened so fast I guess I can understand. I had my accelerator stick to the floor once when it was well below zero outside and my car had been sitting in the parking lot at the train station all day. Started it up, idled out of the parking spot...touched the accelerator to go forward and it went straight to the floor and stuck there. I couldn't break it loose. People were walking to their cars and there I was trying not to kill anyone. I shut the key off, threw it in neutral and coasted into an empty spot that happened to be in front of me...dumb luck. Hubby and I were dating at that time...I called him and he came and thawed the linkage out for me while I warmed up in his truck. It did it again the next day, but that time I knew to test it before I put it in gear and just immediately shut it down. He rescued me again and fixed it so it wouldn't do it again. I understand how a person can panic in that situation...been there. I hate the idiots on FB that are posting stupid comments about how he had to be hot rodding it, etc. Idiots that weren't there and have no clue what actually happened.

 

[RustyHornet]

Lots going on in that particular event. I suppose my reaction wouldn't have been very different than his. AVOID people at all costs, cars can be fixed. We'd all like to think we'd reach for the key, but when a "race car" takes off on its own and there are people around, I'm sure my instincts would be to just steer the car while slamming the brakes. I guess also my hand usually rests on the shifter so I would have naturally tried slamming it in park.

 

[mom45]

Lots going on in that particular event. I suppose my reaction wouldn't have been very different than his. AVOID people at all costs, cars can be fixed. We'd all like to think we'd reach for the key, but when a "race car" takes off on its own and there are people around, I'm sure my instincts would be to just steer the car while slamming the brakes. I guess also my hand usually rests on the shifter so I would have naturally tried slamming it in park.

We were even thinking if he had gotten it into neutral or pushed in the clutch (assuming it was a manual...so many things that come to mind after it is over but not necessarily things that go through your mind in the heat of the moment. He definitely did all he could to avoid injuring or killing anyone and is to be commended for that! I sure hope he comes out of this okay. Still in ICU last I heard.

 

[RustyHornet]

We were even thinking if he had gotten it into neutral or pushed in the clutch (assuming it was a manual...so many things that come to mind after it is over but not necessarily things that go through your mind in the heat of the moment. He definitely did all he could to avoid injuring or killing anyone and is to be commended for that! I sure hope he comes out of this okay. Still in ICU last I heard.

Exactly. Would be a shame to lose another car guy, especially like that. Couple years back we lost a customer in his 68 mustang. Have no idea what happened but he lost his life in a firey rollover. He was going though a divorce at the time and I believe alcohol was a factor...

 

[mom45]

Exactly. Would be a shame to lose another car guy, especially like that. Couple years back we lost a customer in his 68 mustang. Have no idea what happened but he lost his life in a firey rollover. He was going though a divorce at the time and I believe alcohol was a factor...

Very true. We meet some really nice people at car shows and events.

 

[RustyHornet]

This is cool.

1965 Plymouth Valiant 440 Street Race Hot Rod

 

[ChristianPatriot]

This is cool.

1965 Plymouth Valiant 440 Street Race Hot Rod

Dude was gettin serious on those headers

 

[churchmouse]

Dude was gettin serious on those headers

Those look like the 1st set of fender-well exits I had on my 1964 Dodge when it still had the stroked out 383 in it.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Just because....

 

[churchmouse]

Most cool CP......most cool.

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Forgot the best one