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[Sixty8panther]

I do an awful lot of thinkin' about cars throughout the course of my day.... I'm always boring Marcia with my "if I ever have the money..." and "wouldn't it be cool if..." type comments about cars. Anyway I just think there are many important questions out there that I need to answer during the course of my life. Here's a short list off the top of my head, thirteen to be exact since it's a lucky number.




You are about to enter the empty space known only as: "Sixty8Panther's Brain"








1. How much money will it take to realize my dream of having a 30s Hot Rod powered by a radial aircraft engine?


2. Which is cooler, a 1960 Cadillac Landau Hearse (by Eureka) or a 1967 Cadillac Hearse (by Miller Meteor)?


3. Would it be worth the money and effort to make a 2005 VW Beetle rear engined & RWD using a Bug w/ a bad motor & a totaled Boxter w/ a good engine & trans?


4. If I win the Lottery should I make a "Pegasus II" by stuffing a SD455 motor into a old beatup Ferrari 308 as an homage to William Mitchell?


5. How soon will I fulfill my next personal goal of buying a 1959 Buick?


5. Will it be a Flattop, 2dr bubbletop or 4dr bubbletop?


6. Once I sell my Camaro to buy a '59 Buick what will I eventually drop my 350 crate motor into?


7. How long would a stock IRS & rear end last in a 1984 Datsun if it was powered by a 377hp Chevy 350?


8. What would be more of a sleeper, a 2006 Impala converted to RWD and powered by a LS2 mounted lenghtwise or a LS7 Powered 1961 Impala wagon?


9. How much wood would a Wood Chuck chuck if he had a 4-speed 572 powered Wood Chucker?


10. Could I ever afford to pay an engineer & a machine shop enough money to make a 1000 cubich inch V16 using two Cadillac 500s with a joined crank?


11. If I did have a custom built Cadillac block 1000 cubich inch V16 would it be a waste to throw it in the back of a 1961 Cadillac pro street Combination Hearse w/ the formal window curtains and quad Coffin shapped Air cleaners?


12. Has anyone done a Hydrogen powered 1969 Camaro and if not will I be the first?


13. How come only one 1959 Buick Flxible Professional car is known to have survived even thought they made 49 Hearse/Combo/Ambulances that year? <_<






Hope this helps to understand my brain patterns and lack of sanity in my posts. Edited December 2, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[daves87rs]

Ahh...explains a lot. :P As long as it's not "How fast can we make this escort go?".....its cool with me. B)

[Sixty8panther]

14. What makes for a cooler family car for seven... a 1959 Plymouth Suburban Sport Wagon or a 1959 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon? 15. If I won $200,000,000 in the Lottery and bought a used Bugati Veyron, painted it flat black, had a pinstripe artist do it up old school rat rod style and got a "CRAPBOX" vanity plate would I stil be a yuppie?

[Sixty8panther]

Ohhhh... thought of one today while driving the '79 Caddy. 16. How much money/time/effort would it take to sawzall off the B-pillars in a Park Ave Ultra, strenghthen the door posts and fabricate pillarless style hardtop windows (w/ the chrome trim) and weathersripping so that Icould go cruising in a 2005 Buick HARDTOP?

[Flybrian]

I can answer that: whoop-de-doo. Far more trouble than its worth. I'd spend the effort making a '99 Riviera convertible instead.

[mightymouse]

I like the way you think and I think many of the same ideas! You are clearly a genious, and I'm on my way to your house now, w/ my Super Heavy Duty Sawzall and 5 packs of blades...

[capriceman]

Your not insane. When I first saw a Aveo I thoght Quote "If I put a 383 in the back seat and make it rear wheel drive, Could I call it a Corveo" The next day I went to the dealship and sat in one. Added Question "If I got a 59' buick would i spend more time looking at it or driving it" is that a good question 68?

[Sixty8panther]

Good point, but who cares... I mean I'd rather have a second car to LOOK at for 12 years while I just stare at it sitting in my driveway but have it be so cool that it makes a brand new Lexus or Acura look like a pile of dogturd. There's been a few months here and there when my Camaro sat around on a patch of dead grass while I saved up money for broken crap. (trans, MSD box & rear end for instance) I'm actually giving serious thought to trading my '68 Camaro minus engine straight up for a non-running, 1961 Cadillac Fleetwood in black that has been sitting since 1983. It's unofficially for sale, when I asked about it they told me that they would sell it ot the right person and since I'm a classic car nut I qualify. I already told Ross I'd love to just have it for a Lawn ornament. It's all there but has not run in a long time. I'm so freekin crazy about the styling of that car I openly told the G/F I'd rather own THAT Caddy and just never have it move versus 99% of brand new cars with a warranty. That's a great reason to drive a POS butt ugly Datsun right there... Yeah, I'd driving a twenty year old Datsun with 144,000 miles, but it's okay don't feel bad I've got a 1961 Cadillac Fleetwoood in my driveway and in another 20 years it will be back on the road. Edited December 3, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

1. How much money will it take to realize my dream of having a 30s Hot Rod powered by a radial aircraft engine?
2. Which is cooler, a 1960 Cadillac Landau Hearse (by Eureka) or a 1967 Cadillac Hearse (by Miller Meteor)?
3. Would it be worth the money and effort to make a 2005 VW Beetle rear engined & RWD using a Bug w/ a bad motor & a totaled Boxter w/ a good engine & trans?
4. If I win the Lottery should I make a "Pegasus II" by stuffing a SD455 motor into a old beatup Ferrari 308 as an homage to William Mitchell?
5. How soon will I fulfill my next personal goal of buying a 1959 Buick?
5. Will it be a Flattop, 2dr bubbletop or 4dr bubbletop?
6. Once I sell my Camaro to buy a '59 Buick what will I eventually drop my 350 crate motor into?
7. How long would a stock IRS & rear end last in a 1984 Datsun if it was powered by a 377hp Chevy 350?
8. What would be more of a sleeper, a 2006 Impala converted to RWD and powered by a LS2 mounted lenghtwise or a LS7 Powered 1961 Impala wagon?
9. How much wood would a Wood Chuck chuck if he had a 4-speed 572 powered Wood Chucker?
10. Could I ever afford to pay an engineer & a machine shop enough money to make a 1000 cubich inch V16 using two Cadillac 500s with a joined crank?
11. If I did have a custom built Cadillac block 1000 cubich inch V16 would it be a waste to throw it in the back of a 1961 Cadillac pro street Combination Hearse w/ the formal window curtains and quad Coffin shapped Air cleaners?
12. Has anyone done a Hydrogen powered 1969 Camaro and if not will I be the first?
13. How come only one 1959 Buick Flxible Professional car is known to have survived even thought they made 49 Hearse/Combo/Ambulances that year?  <_<
Hope this helps to understand my brain patterns and lack of sanity in my posts.

[post="51610"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

1. about $300,000
2. Eureka!
3. Hell no
4. Naw
5. in 7 months 3 days and 26 hours from the first time you read this. and its gonna be a flat top.
6. your 350 will become a table
7. about 3 years 29 days 15 hours and 21 minutes
8. 2006 impala
9. Not too much
10. Not likely
11. Uhmmmm yeah
12. no idea... but why?
13. cause they were garbage? :blink:

[Sixty8panther]

13. TRC: Please do not say that.... look at these photos before you pass judgement. These cars were built wiht RR/Bentley levels of craftsmanship by hand. They're beutiful. If I ever find one, even if its rotted up to the Roof I'm buying it and dragging it home. If nothing else I'll find a superb custom fabricator and give it to him for free with the promisse of the car being back on the raod someday.

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

looks like every other car from that era. it doesnt recieve the Ricer mark of quality.

[Sixty8panther]

Are you just not into professional cars at all or it it just the vintage you're not into?

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

fins do not do much for me.

[Sixty8panther]

My automotive preferances used to be as follows; in order of importance 1. GM Muscle Cars from the late 1960s (a few non-GM ones mixed in) 2. GM land yachts from the mid-60s to the early 80s 3. GM land yachts from the late 50s to mid-60s. Everything else was #4 and down. These days however I've realized that #3 and #1 have switched places.... I still love Camaros, Firebirds, Chevelles, Grand Nationals, GTOs, GSXs and 442s but I'm really drawn to only two vehicles: either a 1960s Cadillac Hardtop or a 1959 Buick hardtop. I've had my fun with the Camaro, I've had my fill of drag racing and neck snapping acceleration, and I know I'll come back around to that again. Three or five or seven years for now I'll be looking for a '70 Trans Am or a '69 Camaro, but right now I've decided to go a completely different route. With my budget there's no where else to go wiht the Camaro. I've run 13.9 w/ the Camaro on junkyard tires w/ an open rear end, I got my car featured on the American Muscle Car Website, I had not one but TWO photos of the car published in Car Craft magazine doing a wolrd class smokeshow.... It's been everything I ever wanted. New, used or classic having an extra car these days as an enthusiast is expensive... maintenance, insurance and repairs are a lot of money, not to mention the money-sucking-black-hole a restoration turns into. So if I'm going to spend thousands to restore a car I'd rather it be smoething more unique and less predictable than a 1968 Camaro. To me fins are where it's at, the ultimate styling element. Fins and hardtop greenhouses are the way to go. I'm all about those two features in my next car. And for Croc's benefit I'm refering to the real definition of a hardtop: pillarless 2 or 4 door car with a fixed roof, not some cheesy sports car wiht a retractable hard roof. With any luck I'll be driving a 1959 Buick by summer of 2006. B)

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

why dont you trick up a yugo GVX, thats pretty unpredictible

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Well, let me post this one question. Don't know if it will help you understand my message any better, but what the hell? 1. If an Australian owns a Holden Commodore, and is in a good mood on Monday morning, does he call his car a "Commie"?

[Sixty8panther]

Now that's some funny crap right there! Good one buddy!

[Sixty8panther]

You Lucky bastard, I am so jelaous. I can not believe you actually SAW this vehicle... IIRC I believe the owner of the car is a registered member of Buick-59.com. This photo is posted there anyway. I'm sure Balthazar would know.

[Sixty8panther]

It was the first time I ever saw a 1959 Buick.... This thing has more cargo space than most pickups.

[post="52576"][/post]

Yup, they're huge on the inside. I'd love to stick a high quality mohogany & brass coffin in the back of a '59 Buick Hearse. inside the coffin would be a killer sound system with toms of bass. I'd go cruising donw the street blasting odd music like Foghat, Bethoven and Rob Zombie. The biggest perk of owning a classic Hearse would be knowing you'd leave this world in STYLE!

Screw a 2005 DeVille hearse when your last ride can be in a '37 Packard hearse, or better yet a 1930s stretched Cadillac powered by a V16.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Now that's some funny crap right there! Good one buddy!

[post="52462"][/post]

That photo is pretty damn funny. :lol:

Thanks, by the way. I thought I was going to get hate mail for that. B) Edited December 5, 2005 by anorexorcist

[Sixty8panther]

Dude, I was born in Communist Slovakia and I would never take offense to something like that. I thought it was damn funny... my primary computer is still DEAD so I couldn't make something at least decent on Corel so I drew this Hammer & Scicle on PAINT. PAINT is about as useless a one armed Olympic Swimmer. :P

[Guest YellowJacket894]

^ Or a white person on the U.S. Olympic team... ...Now I think I'll start getting hate mail.

[Sixty8panther]

you should have said Olympic Basketball team.... :D

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Well, no hate mail... Nah, just spam. (My spam blocker is a lie.)

[Sixty8panther]

My Yahoo inbox is up to 1800. No joke. I justscroll apst all the ebay-thieves and spam and see if I recognize an address... I have to clean it one of these days. :sigh:

[Bizz]

1. How much money will it take to realize my dream of having a 30s Hot Rod powered by a radial aircraft engine?

depends on the level of fit and finish you want and if you want it street legal. a rusted out rolling chassis with the rear of the body hacked off and the radial mounted in its place with a pusher prop meets you description.


2. Which is cooler, a 1960 Cadillac Landau Hearse (by Eureka) or a 1967 Cadillac Hearse (by Miller Meteor)?

the one w/o R134


3. Would it be worth the money and effort to make a 2005 VW Beetle rear engined & RWD using a Bug w/ a bad motor & a totaled Boxter w/ a good engine & trans?

sure. no doubt, at least one other person in the world would agree.


4. If I win the Lottery should I make a "Pegasus II" by stuffing a SD455 motor into a old beatup Ferrari 308 as an homage to William Mitchell?

nope.


5. How soon will I fulfill my next personal goal of buying a 1959 Buick?

1-2 years after divorce


5. Will it be a Flattop, 2dr bubbletop or 4dr bubbletop?

w/o a wife calling you crazy, why not make it a 4 door flattop?


6. Once I sell my Camaro to buy a '59 Buick what will I eventually drop my 350 crate motor into?

ebay


7. How long would a stock IRS & rear end last in a 1984 Datsun if it was powered by a 377hp Chevy 350?

at least one pass

8. What would be more of a sleeper, a 2006 Impala converted to RWD and powered by a LS2 mounted lenghtwise or a LS7 Powered 1961 Impala wagon?

tough one. the modern impalas outperform classic ones in every category which would make the 61 the underdog. but, to most people, the classic would be the more obvious "hot rod". i would say the 06.


9. How much wood would a Wood Chuck chuck if he had a 4-speed 572 powered Wood Chucker?

as much as any woodchuck w/o the intelligence to tune a big block chevy.


10. Could I ever afford to pay an engineer & a machine shop enough money to make a 1000 cubich inch V16 using two Cadillac 500s with a joined crank?

depends on how cute he thought you were.


11. If I did have a custom built Cadillac block 1000 cubich inch V16 would it be a waste to throw it in the back of a 1961 Cadillac pro street Combination Hearse w/ the formal window curtains and quad Coffin shapped Air cleaners?

fudge-hell-yeah! that'd be awesome.


12. Has anyone done a Hydrogen powered 1969 Camaro and if not will I be the first?

do your own research. :P


13. How come only one 1959 Buick Flxible Professional car is known to have survived even thought they made 49 Hearse/Combo/Ambulances that year?

because George Bush hates black cars.

[Sixty8panther]

Wasn't 'W' knee high to a grasshopper in late 1958? Oh and BTW... when I say radial-engined Hot Rod I'm talking about a radial engine mounted just in front of the firewall wiht a transfer case sending power to a Muncie Rock Crusher. No prop, old fashioned RWD via two big M/T Drag Radials.

[Bizz]

Wasn't 'W' knee high to a grasshopper in late 1958?

well, sure he was. whats your point? :P

Oh and BTW... when I say radial-engined Hot Rod I'm talking about a radial engine mounted just in front of the firewall wiht a transfer case sending power to a Muncie Rock Crusher. No prop, old fashioned RWD via two big M/T Drag Radials.

[post="60813"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

ah. well radials are quite large. in order to see above it mounted in front you would need the body to sit quite high. why not an allison or rolls-royce? they sound better anyway.

[Sixty8panther]

ah. well radials are quite large. in order to see above it mounted in front you would need the body to sit quite high. why not an allison or rolls-royce? they sound better anyway.

[post="60847"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Three reasons:


1. It's never been done before to the best of my knowledge

2. The sight of a 4 foot tall radial sticking straiht up in the front of a '34 Hot Rod (LaSalle?) would be worth it. This idea makes a 454 powered '32 Highboy look tame by comparison.

3. Guaranteed inclusion in t least one magazine... and yes it would be a RAT rod so no over-done paint or outragous plush interiors. Car Craft would the the perfect magazine to feature it.

[Drew Dowdell]

I can answer that: whoop-de-doo. Far more trouble than its worth. I'd spend the effort making a '99 Riviera convertible instead.

[post="52052"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Don't have to. I've seen them on e-bay just like the Eldorado convertibles.

[Sixty8panther]

9 times out of 10 I refer a hardtop (weather 2 or 4dr) to a Convertible. I love driving a convertible once in a blue moon but I'm not the type to buy one... maybe a Solstice but in N.E. Convertible season is like two months: May and Sept. The rest of the time you need a roof wiht heat or AC blasting. Besides I think Hardtops are cooler than convertibles in most cases... smooth roofline and soid roof with the exotic open air feel.

[Flybrian]

Besides I think Hardtops are cooler than convertibles in most cases... smooth roofline and soid roof with the exotic open air feel.

[post="60923"][/post]

Neat lines, sure. Exotic? Hardly.

This...

...is exotic. And this...

...would tide me over.

[Sixty8panther]

Yes the Cielo was very cool but realistically it's just as costly to produce as a hardtop and IMO less enjoyable. Sun still bakes your head like a hot potatoe but the framed windows are still there as if it was a regular sedan. *meh*

[Flybrian]

The Cielo roof concept gave you sedan body integrity with convertible fun. And clearly you didn't see the '99 Cielo concept posted, which is all frameless with the top.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

This...



... Looks like a goldfish out of water.

[Sixty8panther]

The Cielo roof concept gave you sedan body integrity with convertible fun. And clearly you didn't see the '99 Cielo concept posted, which is all frameless with the top.

[post="60936"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I saw the damn thing when it was new, I saw it later on a 20/20 special about GM... (they talked about the voice commad feature more than the roof) and I saw it in your post. Yes, it's a suicide door Hardtop of sorts and made quite the splash on the concept car circuit.

There were some awkward styling elements to it and frankly I think it had about 10% a chance of seeing production compared to the Pontiac Rageous & Chevrolet Nomad of the same era.

Sad to say I doubt anything like the Cielo will ever come off a GM assembly line. Taking a knife to a used Park Ave and having custom glass cut is something obtainable if you're insane like myslef and are willing to spend $5000 to customize a car onl;y to lower it's resale. :D




WMJ:

The 1932 Helicron is way cool but nothing like what I want to make. I'll do up a sketch soon to show what I'm talking about.



BTW: that "1934 McQUAY-NORRIS STREAMLINER" is a hoot. I want one of those. :)