"The New Face Of Musclecars" as Proclaimed by Hot Rod Magazine!

[Build-It-Break-it]

I think completely changing what makes these cars desirable in the first place takes away from why they where sought after to begin with.

Adding slight details to clean up things or better fit and finish I get, but not completely reinventing the car.

If a modern car "look" is what your after Id buy a new car. If you want the drive ability of a new car hidden under the hood,body,etc I get completely.

I think "the new face of muscle cars" is what's "cool" now but won't grab much positive attention 10 years from now.

How many people do you still see wearing fanny packs now a days? those where cool right?

[LateralJeaz]

Originally Posted by Build-It-Break-it

How many people do you still see wearing fanny packs now a days? those where cool right?

Umm....no they weren't. Lol.

[TheJDMan]

Like was stated on PT, these custom cars will be irrelevant in 10 years. They are only "The New Face of Muscle Cars" until the next magazine cover comes out. On the other hand a stock body car will still be relevant years from now.

[214Chevy]

I don't know exactly how much money you have to have in a slush fund to be able to build a $400k plus car, but I do know it's a butt load. The thing is, the people that have the money to build a half of a million dollar car doesn't even look at it from a stylish point and don't care what the car will look like 5 years from now because they'll have found something else to spend their money on, be it another car, a boat, etc. If the car they built today becomes whack and outdated, they'll just build one of the current date and time. They build these cars for the oooh-ahhh factor and to have people like you and I standing around it at all of the car shows drooling and taking pics. Also, they like to be different just like the uber rich guy who buys a $2 million Bughatti. Why do you think these high dollar builds get built, then the builder still has possession of the car for the first year or so touring all around the country to all of the big shows...Good Guys, SEMA, Detroit Autorama, etc and then the owner finally takes possession of the car, puts about 1,000 miles or less on the car and then it's suddenly for sale for about $100k-$150 less than what he built it for?

[preston]

Good points 214Chevelle about the actual mentality of these builders.

I also find myself much more drawn to stock "resto" cars that used to bore me. Now its the overdone pro-tour cars that bore me unless they are truly standout. I like to see a little chrome, a little gap, some emblems, a little OEM even when the car is heavily modified.

IMO while I'm still glad cars like Inferno exist, they are overdone and too modern for me. While I have a lot of respect for the Ring Brothers for examples, I find their show cars to be way over knick knacked and almost incoherent in their styling.

For example my '68 Mustang is lowered to the ground on a custom chassis and has 18" wheels. It was wide bodied 4" through the character lines and even Mustang guys at the shows are not usually able to point it out. The flares are tasteful and the styling mimics the Shelby front end. The drip rails are shaved, but I still have chrome and emblems on the car. No one is going to mistake it for a stock '68 Mustang but there is no styling wackiness and even the aforementioned 18" wheels are kind of a low key generic CCW style that doesn't look overly modern. I'm starting to have 2nd thoughs on the wildly louvered hood because that one radical piece kind of undoes the other points.

[OBeer-WAN-Kenobi]

I think everybody should just build whatever they think is cool. There will be those that agree with your version of cool and those that don't but trends will always come and go and life is too short to waste time caring what everyone else thinks.

[DOOM]

[QUOTE=OBeer-WAN-Kenobi;660837]I think everybody should just build whatever they think is cool. There will be those that agree with your version of cool and those that don't but trends will always come and go and life is too short to waste time caring what everyone else thinks.


[/QUOTE\

That sums it up right there!

[LateralJeaz]

Originally Posted by TheJDMan

Like was stated on PT, these custom cars will be irrelevant in 10 years. They are only "The New Face of Muscle Cars" until the next magazine cover comes out. On the other hand a stock body car will still be relevant years from now.

Oh well excuse me...if pt said it, it's clearly gospel.


I tried and tried to resist but I'm a bit of a bear poker by nature and simply couldn't do it. On behalf of some of the biggest baddest shops in the nation who have poured their hearts and souls into designing some of these cars, and the guys who paid the biggest of bucks to have them built, I'd just like to say... lol. Sure some are a little weird looking. But imo some are revolutionary. In this great nation of ours We're all entitled to our opinion, and I somewhat respectfully disagree with yours.

[214Chevy]

Personally, me...I like the look of customized cars. Even if it means it may be out of style 10 years from now. I love it. Everything we have from the clothes we wear, to our hairstyles, the curtains/furniture in our houses, etc has a "time factor" so to speak. So, these builds are no different in the grand scheme of things. Trust me, if I had it like that, three shops that I would run to for them to build me a car are Greening Auto, Roadster Shop and Ring Brothers. I know there are others out there who may be considered far better builders in other peoples opinion, but I love the builds these three shops do with all of the custom one-off billet pieces, etc. The thing is with these super builds as I would call them, the owners probably have little say so in my opinion. Sure, the builders run almost everything by them and get some sort of approval, but most of the time these rich guys are all too familiar with the work and craftsmenship of the builder and already know who they're dealing with and what kind of high quality work they put out. So, I'm sure the rich guy says "I have $550k budget, here's my car and I want a Ridler contender or I want it done by SEMA, etc." then just drops the car off with a huge deposit and that's when the shop gets to working on the car 40 hours a week pretty much and stays on it and it becomes there baby for the next 10 months in order to present it for the top car of that year and be in all of the magazines like Inferno and Viscious. Also, they leave much of the design fabrication up to the builder and his imagination. Think about it, these guys are just rich and are probably not designers or fabricators. LOL!! So, the builder models something like the rear taillights in modelworks or whatever 3D software he uses and emails a pic of it to the owner and since it has probably never been done before, the owner so calls loves it. All the owner knows is it's one-off and it's guaranteed that no one else will have it. One thing about it is, I'll probably never have a car like this built, but if I did, the builder would be mad at me because soon as it was finished I want my damn car. There would be no keeping it for a year or so showing it all around the country. I'm picking my car up from the second it finished.

[214Chevy]

Originally Posted by 214Chevelle

I don't know exactly how much money you have to have in a slush fund to be able to build a $400k plus car, but I do know it's a butt load. The thing is, the people that have the money to build a half of a million dollar car doesn't even look at it from a stylish point and don't care what the car will look like 5 years from now because they'll have found something else to spend their money on, be it another car, a boat, etc. If the car they built today becomes whack and outdated, they'll just build one of the current date and time. They build these cars for the oooh-ahhh factor and to have people like you and I standing around it at all of the car shows drooling and taking pics. Also, they like to be different just like the uber rich guy who buys a $2 million Bughatti. Why do you think these high dollar builds get built, then the builder still has possession of the car for the first year or so touring all around the country to all of the big shows...Good Guys, SEMA, Detroit Autorama, etc and then the owner finally takes possession of the car, puts about 1,000 miles or less on the car and then it's suddenly for sale for about $100k-$150 less than what he built it for?

To piggyback off of what I said previously about uber rich guys/owners building these cars and not being worried about what is or isn't in style in a few years and the car would be sold after it making it's rounds thru the car show world, winning awards, magazine shoots, etc. Well, here's a perfect example of exactly what I was talking about. The ad states $1.5 million spent on the car and it's for sell for far, far less. So, do we think the owner really cares about money now? Also, the mileage states 235 miles. Do we think the owner has even had a chance to enjoy the car by driving it? http://www.ebay.com/itm/1961-Chevrol...VZNYOB&vxp=mtr