Triumph and BMW both seem like a pricey upkeep recommendation for an entry-level (first-time/novice) enthusiast to get onto. Specialized dealership & service and parts availability in more places than not.   Really any truck could be an entry level collector not just special editions. Just depends what you want your collector vehicle to be able to do. In stock form most trucks might not be the best weekend cruise vehicle for most.   Miata and Mustangs are kind of the obvious recommendation for the newbie. Camaro or Challenger if that flavor suits you more.   Even various VW (bug, Golf, Jetta, etc.) would all be better for a entry-level person than a Triumph or BMW. But VW isn't necessarily cheap either, but at least they are plentiful. ... View more

Pick one?   I can't do it (after thinking about this for a few minutes). I like too many varied things that suit certain moments or uses.   Forced to answer I guess the 69 GMC truck I foolishly sold years ago.   I wonder what Jay Leno would answer to this? ... View more

Foose is a talented genius. I dislike crossover intensely but this one looks fun.   Pontiacs should be fun. (and should still exist, but that is another matter).   OEM's need to hire him and actually build what he draws. Granted that is true for many designers they already have. ... View more

Canadian Pontiacs 50s into 60s were Chevy frames & drivelines with Pontiac skins on them. Look at photos of 59 Pontiacs (first wide tracks) and you can see the difference in where the USA Bonneville wheels are vs. the Laurentian and such from Canada.   Engine wise... this means all Pontiac base inline 6's from this era are Chevy engines. Maybe they did some goofy little things to differentiate (i.e., truck engine with a head you couldn't get in USA as some say for some years). This also holds true for the GMC trucks of this era in Canada --we didn't get the V6 as per USA.   So it depends... a 261 might be tricky to get, but inline sixes are getting replaced with V8/LS in the vast majority of projects and while not that many 50s Pontiacs are getting rebuilt (or sitting around in junkyards) you are talking nearly 20 years of trucks as donors.   If it doesn't have to be a 261, but does have to be that generation of inline 6 (i.e., not the 62 and later design) I have seen more examples running in old grain trucks and such than anywhere else and you could buy the running truck cheaper than getting your engine sleeved, take out the engine and sell the grain truck...   Sleeves aren't all evil by the way. My dad hates them but has run a few in his work truck fleet for many miles with no issue related to the sleeve. Nobody knows it's sleeved but you and the machinist... ... View more

Sajeev has covered the bases.   I know some old-timers that swear by "let it soak in a bucket of diesel". In some cases this was a bucket of diesel in the corner of the shop for months or years till they bothered to get around to the item again. Just clean the part off real well, especially if going at it with a torch for heat...   If budget isn't an issue... I concur with the new heads + headers. Then you can shelf (or diesel bucket!) the old heads until you need them --which might be as an item in the trunk if you ever sell the car. ... View more

I like survivors and derelict but am not fussy on fake ratty.   There has been some terrible fake patina "barn fresh" overpriced flips in my area the past few years.   I concede that if you have a 95% survivor that needs a rocker or quarter panel to be allowed to drive it you get that fixed and may choose to get it painted to match the worn paint. I lean towards fixing the minimum properly and letting that age into the story myself.   The bike in the article has a great look. My tastes would lose the windscreen thing. But then I like worn-in leather jackets and jeans vs. shiny new. ... View more

1969 Shelby de Mexico ... View more

Such a wild looking design. Modern car companies please take note. ... View more

Ironically it's the "New Look" buses that do it for me and were present in my youth --but I am younger than the RTS design. I would guess that my area couldn't afford newer model buses for decades and that I was riding/seeing New Looks at the very end of their use in North America city fleets. Neat article. ... View more

I view the unibody designs as the compact coupe utilities aka baby El Camino/Rancheros. Subara Baha, Honda Ridgeline, the rumoured Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are the successors to this.   Where I live we didn't really see the first gen compact trucks (or they didn't last 10 winters). 80s to early 90s S10, Rangers, B2200, McFly Toyotas, Nissan Hardbodies and such were everywhere until they weren't. Only thing I have seen that kind of felt the same in recent decades was the first-gen Chev Colorado but they might have been bigger (never had one side by side with a 92 Mazda).   My two best friends in high school drove 87 and 92 Mazdas respectively, and they were great trucks (though the fold-down cushion wasn't much of a back seat). I'd happily buy a new version of that exact same truck today. ... View more

I dream of Rolls making a model... the "Archaic" with as many re-used 1930s parts as possible including a real Merlin engine. Think Cruella DeVille meets Mad Max. Minimal modern tech... but insane catalytic system that makes it legal everywhere. It's a Rolls... who cares if the exhaust is worth $30000?   Then put a few of them in the hands of notorious Hot Rodders/racers and go do stuff like Pike's Peak, Bonneville, Roadkill Nights, Power Tour, get Marty and Moog to road trip it across the U.K., etc.   That would be a Rolls Royce Hot Rod with street cred. ... View more

"Hack Mechanic" Rob Siegel knows about this BMW stuff... ... View more

It gets more interesting when stock-holder investment hype isn't the driving force and actual suitable (and desirable) product to market factors in (i.e., profits of actual vehicles sold is a large part of the valuation rather than vaporware promises). Investors want the next Tesla stock  --they don't actually care about EV, it's just that EV is seen as the money.   In the real world... I think "engine in hub" is a terrible idea for fleet driving anything but smooth highway delivery vehicles. Potholes and construction site trucks I don't see this working too well. ... View more

Electric-rotary hybrid RX9... I love that idea. Bring back the zoom-zoom kid while they are at it. ... View more

I seem to need my tire pressure gauge fairly often. ... View more

  if you google "convert Lincoln vacuum headlights to electric" there are some videos and a bunch of the top results point to the same eBay seller. People with other hideaway headlights seem to get directed to try adapting the available Lincoln kits as oddball Mercuries and such don't have as much support apparently.   I spent a little bit of time reading about it, and a few people at least suggest really going over the vacuum system (i.e., change all lines) first as that is relatively cheap to do and might fix it good enough to make you happy.   I can understand wanting to be free of vacuum however.   Good luck either way! ... View more

Do whatever makes you happy no matter what the rest of us may say.   If you think it may be flipped sooner than later (i.e., to seed the next project) then you may want to really define how much of a survivor the car actually is. Survivors can command strong prices in many cases including more than a restored example of some models. (and you aren't paying to respray --even DiY you have to buy the paint products, adds up for your recoup of investment).   If it is more valuable as a survivor, then only do what you need to do mechanically to make it safe an enjoyable. But remember the first point at the top too. ... View more

No mention of the refrigerant change (due to CFCs) that according to some sources has cost us 10 degrees of cooling in some vehicles. Ice cold AC in a 74 Monte Carlo... anything 90s plus I have been in not so much.   I get why the refrigerant change, just seems odd that no progress has been made on a next-gen refrigerant to get us colder again. Would be a selling feature I would think? ... View more

Put a double opera window in that rear side window to really give us that 70s vibe.   Padded vinyl top too, it would have been a special order to not have one likely.     Good job on this. I do think some of the earlier 60s Cadillac front end styling ideas would actually work better. This front end looks like some of the custom vans of the era that rather obviously just jammed something on there. ... View more

Build the car the way it will make you happy for a long time. Most people that give someone a car want that person to love it as much as them. You might not love it the exact same way (wild custom). You can always fully document it (i.e., if you fully restore it and take it to car shows it would be neat to see the customized era of the car too, like in a photo album). ... View more

There is logic in any multi-brand alliance (at least for cars) taking the global market and divvying it up to whichever name has the most brand equity in that particular region. Very silly that some companies still compete with themselves or allies on some turfs...   But serve the full market too. Yes you are going to have SUV and crossovers of 27 minor distinctions along a spectrum from small to mammoth.   But have a midsize and small truck too. Have a ute not just for Australia...   Surely you can develop a few actual cars too. Even if only 5% of the production is destined to be badged as Nissan for North America. So many cool cars in Japan and other places the last 30 years that we never got a sniff of in NA.   Personally I think a Nissan Evo would sell...     In contrast to what some companies are doing (i.e., GM) which is retreating to so few markets and product lines that they really just look like they are getting themselves set up for a merger (in name sale in reality) to benefit stockholders. ... View more

Hmm... Turnpike Cruisers came out in 1957 (more than 50 years ago) and 55 speed limit wasn't a thing until 1973? in USA. You don't promote a 55 speed limit unless it was higher somewhere...   Granted, I'm not sure many states had roads over 65mph back then (quite a few have over 70mph roads now). But it raises an interesting question of what speeds did the 50s and 60s designers have in mind? I'm not saying it is prudent to drive a 57 Mercury at 70mph in traffic, but on a 70 mph (or higher) road with little or no traffic I don't think that car lets you down or feels scary. A 1930s car... yeah probably scary. I'd be interested in others posting that have actually driven stock-spec cars at speed from these vintages.   As an aside, many offramps and such in my area were built to specs for speeds nearly double the usual posted limits. You can tell by the banking if you get out and walk them (not necessarily safe to do). It's a stark contrast to some of the newer ones that a person going slightly over the limit feels on the edge (or about to go off the edge of the road). ... View more

Utes have sold well in Australia for decades. The one pictured in the article is not even close to the ugliest of the breed. ... View more

I'd be surprised if Falcon convertibles differed greatly in tech from any Ford of that era.   Redthundervert posted this on a T-bird forum:   "Intermittent Top Operation - About two weeks ago the top operation became intermittent. If I held the top control switch and let the operation go through its complete opening or closing cycle it worked fine, although sometimes nothing would happen when I pushed the control switch to start the operation. If I stopped the operation in mid-cycle it often wouldn’t start again. It would always eventually work again if I turned the ignition off and on and kept trying over a period of several minutes. After doing many checks and tests, I finally decided to check all the relays starting with the top control safety relay (fortunately before I had taken the back seat out again). I tried to jumper the relay plug to bypass the relay coil and discovered that the jumper connectors fit very loosely in the relay plug and would fall right out. Once I tightened up the relay plug connectors using pliers the jumper wire stayed securely in the plug and the top operation worked smoothly again. I plugged the relay plug back into the safety relay and everything works fine again, at least for now until the next gremlin strikes! This winter I’ll be going through all the relay plug connectors to make sure each connector in each plug has a snug fit"   some other tips (i.e., one suggestion is neutral safety switch issues can impact top????) on the forum: https://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=17248     Good luck! ... View more

If the front end looks like an Escape it will suffer the same ignored fate as the Honda Ridgeline  --a perfectly capable vehicle for what most people actually do with their full sized trucks.   If it has a Bronco-ish front end it has a chance. If it comes in more than 4 colours of grey, black and white it has a better chance. If it isn't crazy money (most current midsize trucks, and the Ridgelines cost out the same as the heavily discounted full-sized around here) it will sell.   I don't mind the Maverick name recycle here by the way even though they are totally different types of vehicle. Courier is not the right kind of name to bring back... whereas I could see a Dodge (Peugeot/Fiat/whatever) bringing a Rampage to market.   Having learned the story of where Chevy got the trailblazer name (Vic Hickey) it's more embarrassing than I thought what they have done with Blazer... ... View more

Looking at it again...   -Isn't there a tiny spear of a hood ornament?   -is that adhesive register marks and/or mount clips outside of the areas contained by the braces, that is to say: this hood had a one-piece style insulation? ... View more

When Pat Ganahl revived Rod & Custom magazine the careful restoration-as-was-customized of this car by Jim McNeil was an ongoing feature. He (Jim) had owned it for a long time then, and I am talking about 1990s car magazines. Very cool that he still has the car today. ... View more

Spoom, I totally see Riviera too from the top-side view.   However, when I look up Riviera hood insulation the asymmetrical bracing doesn't match anything I looked at.   By the 70s many (GM at least) had gone to the one-piece insulation. Some Thunderbirds used 7 piece in 60s --but searching "7 piece hood insulation" didn't solve the riddle for me. But then I am assuming this hood didn't have a one-piece covering everything.   I looked up some AMC, Plymouth and so on... front lip of hood goes over the grill is tricky to visualize (i.e., 69 Chevelle has a panel in front of the hood, 70 doesn't) and you can't just say "oh that was only cars in 63-65" although that may be the best range.   The hood dimensions would help a bit (i.e., it kind of looks like 66 Corvair too, but then that wouldn't need hood insulation).   Watch... it will be from a 70s Japanese car. Fun topic. ... View more

Shot in the dark here... but Mike Wolfe of American pickers fame has fan-boyed out about similar machines on the show. Not saying he knows how to use your machine, but wouldn't be surprised if he knows a person that might. Even the audience of the show may be a good resource.   So maybe there is a facebook/instagram way to get this question to the fans of the show at least? ... View more

I'm thinking there would be less angst over the Mach-E if the widebody look was what we were getting. Or make it a no-cost option (hah... that will never happen). Make it a style choice, not a checkbook choice.   Reminds me of the Ford Explorer Sportrac which didn't look quite right, then at the very end they turn a prototype version into the Adrenalin model and you look at it and think "Why wasn't that what these things looked like all along?". ... View more