Re: Summit Racing Studebaker-Packard meet
Posted by Craig the Clipper Man On 2013/8/26 11:11:43
What a tasty comment ... 
I have never really been into street rods. They just didn't seem to make sense to me. I mean, I like new cars and I like old cars; but I like each type for its own qualities. To appreciate a 70-year-old car, you have to appreciate its engine, its brakes, interior, etc. You have to accept its shortcomings. New cars are marvels in technology and performance. But just as you wouldn't try to show-horn a 356 cid inline eight into a new Cadillac (good luck with that!), I don't think it makes any more sense to drop a 21st century V-8 into a 1940 car.
Every now and then I see someone advertising what appears to be a fully restored 1930s era Packard in Hemmings Motor News. This car looks great in the ad and there is wealth of information about it and its restoration. And then I come to the part where the original engine has been replaced by a 454 V-8, modern automatic transmission, modern air conditioning, and a 12-speaker Bose stereo system. I just about gag! What they actually have is a pseudo-modern car under a 1933 body. All that seems to be missing is the computer and air bags. I leave that car -- which is often priced like a 100-point Packard -- a start reading about an original 1947 Custom in need of minor restoration.
I feel better after that.
I have never really been into street rods. They just didn't seem to make sense to me. I mean, I like new cars and I like old cars; but I like each type for its own qualities. To appreciate a 70-year-old car, you have to appreciate its engine, its brakes, interior, etc. You have to accept its shortcomings. New cars are marvels in technology and performance. But just as you wouldn't try to show-horn a 356 cid inline eight into a new Cadillac (good luck with that!), I don't think it makes any more sense to drop a 21st century V-8 into a 1940 car. Every now and then I see someone advertising what appears to be a fully restored 1930s era Packard in Hemmings Motor News. This car looks great in the ad and there is wealth of information about it and its restoration. And then I come to the part where the original engine has been replaced by a 454 V-8, modern automatic transmission, modern air conditioning, and a 12-speaker Bose stereo system. I just about gag! What they actually have is a pseudo-modern car under a 1933 body. All that seems to be missing is the computer and air bags. I leave that car -- which is often priced like a 100-point Packard -- a start reading about an original 1947 Custom in need of minor restoration.
I feel better after that.
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