XP715

Just cars, or trucks too?

Couldn't agree more. Whoever built this deserves a lifetime international bus pass because vehicle ownership is obviously waaaaaaaaaay too hard for them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks...p3756.m14.l1308 You got to know when to hoooooooold 'em; Know when to fooooooold 'em. Know when to waaaaaaalk away; Know when to run......

I'd be tempted to peel the wood off, paint it Saturn Yellow with a black stripe down the side, slap some Buick rally wheels on and some fat RWL tires, punch out the motor, and make a Buick GSXpress out of it. ........ are you taking notes, Camino?

Me too. I often wonder what would have happened if they resisted the buyout and kept marching on themselves. Kinda sad that one of the oldest and most prestigious luxury marques died as a Studebaker with an uglier nose. I don't even consider the Packardbakers of '57-'58 to be real ones; it's '56 and before for me. Your '55 was pretty much the end of it all. Got any pictures of it?

Believe me, I am quite familiar with the cost of Packard parts: my father and I are finishing up a seven year complete restoration of a 1937 Super Eight touring sedan, and we recently dragged home an incredibly beat up and incomplete 1940 Henney ambulance that we've shortened 20 inches and are working on turning it into a panel truck. It will be 100% stock Packard, just shorter and no side windows. The 1940 120 was bought as a parts car for the panel truck project. He's taking the complete dash and cluster, the transmission, and entire nose for starters, maybe more. The motor in the 1940 120 parts car is stuck and most likely junk. However, I know a guy that has a running 1941 120 engine that could be had cheap if I decided to restore that car at some point. So much cool stuff, so little space to store it all till I'm ready for it!

The vehicle in question is a 1941 Hudson pickup truck. One of supposedly only 812 produced. The good thing is that its entire nose, doors, all trim, and all interior parts are shared with Hudson automobiles, meaning just the bed and cab are special. And here's what a tastefully hot rodded one with a complete stock appearance looks like: I've long loved Hudsons, think these are beautiful, and having a factory pickup would be the ultimate! It has plenty of hot rod-looking touches already if I chose to go that route: -sleek, almost chopped-looking cab -beautiful V-windshield -reverse-opening hood I'm in love! To add further difficulty to the decision: my father has a 1940 Packard 120 touring sedan sitting around in about the same state of disrepair and incompleteness that would be a great candidate for this project too!

Me and a few friends (Sixty8, speedingpenguin, etc.) have been toying with the idea of going in on a pre-war vehicle (car, truck, panel truck, doesn't matter; just has to strike us) together and making a low-budget hot rod out of it for quite some time. We want it to be something unique and different, i.e. not a Ford or Chevy or Dodge. Recently I stumbled onto something that certainly fits that bill, but it is incredibly rare. Not like Duesenberg rare in terms of value or desirability, but something still incredibly rare. It's beat to death, rotted to death, but still there enough to be saved with a bajillion hours of metalwork. Its original chassis with all its running gear was sold long ago. It now sits on an equally rotted to death S10 chassis with a stuck 4.3 V6. So basically, if we were to get it, we'd be buying it for the body alone and would have to mate it to another chassis as well as find a whole host of missing parts, as we're looking for stock appearance on the outside with performance on the inside. And the body would not be modified in any way so that it could not be reversed (no chopping, channeling, sectioning, tubbing, deletion of trim or door handles, etc.) The guy who owns it is very realistic about it in that he knows it's rare but also knows that it's not worth much because of how beat and incomplete it is (could probably be had for around $500). So, my question to you all is, what would you do? Would it be sacreligious to use this for a hot rod project regardless of its rarity, even if you felt like it was the only way the vehicle would EVER see the road again in any capacity? Would you buy it and hang onto it and try to collect the necessary parts to restore it back to original? Or would you pass it up and hold out for something a little less potentially upsetting as a hot rod or less impossible as an original? Discuss!

Happy birthday to all!

Saw a guy riding an early 1940's Indian Chief on my way to breakfast this morning; very cool!

Those are really cool. Shame they had to be built by talented folks nearly 40 years after they should have been produced by the company that conceived them. Thanks, ASSCAR!

Got a new dumpster in at work today; it was dropped off by a late 1960's Diamond Reo that was still looking sharp. Haven't seen one of those in a long, long time. I've actually seen a few obscure trucks as of late. On trip out to the western part of the state a few weeks ago, I saw a late 1960's Brockway dump truck still working hard, and about a week ago I was treated to the sight of an early 1950's Autocar DC series dump truck, also still working, but obviously treated to a major rehab in the not too distant past. Very cool. My hat's off to anybody who restores an old truck and puts it back to work, especially when it isn't your run of the mill Peterbilt, Kenworth, or Mack.

You're absolutely right; Mopar sat out the 1965 season because the 426 Hemi was banned upon its release. And believe it or not, Mopar hung on and took NASCAR's bull$h! until the 1977 season was over before pulling out.

Personally, I think NASCAR hasn't been cool since the early 1960's, but it DEFINITELY hasn't been cool since they cut engineering, innovation, competition, and the horsepower wars off at the knees in 1971 when they banned the OHC Ford 427, the DOHC 426 Hemi that Mopar had on the drawing board as a response to it, and the Mopar wing cars, stating that they were "overly competititve." Actually, I shouldn't say that they banned the wing cars, but rather they castrated them out of competition. You could still race a wing car in 1971 if you wanted, but you had to run an engine destroked to 305 cubic inches. This was after they were unsuccessful in making them ineligible for racing in 1970 by suddenly upping the "stock" production requirement from 500 units to 1500 units without telling Mopar until the last possible second. 426 Hemis and Ford 429's also had to wear restrictor plates starting that year. This is where it stopped being a sport and started being a business. They had to cater to the masses, and, with a predominantly General Motors-loving fanbase, it wouldn't be good for NASCAR if Fords and Dodges were winning all the races. Much as I love GM and will until the day I die, they didn't have anything on the drawing board that could hold a candle to Mopar or Ford as far as something purpose-built for stock car racing was concerned at the beginning of the 1970's. NASCAR today represents everything wrong with motorsports. It's a big pathetic soap opera now. The professional wrestling of motorsports: cheesy and fake, but millions of people still tune in anyways. Not one part of it has anything to do with what it originated from. There's no more racing in it, either: whoever has the biggest team with the most cars can form the largest draft line and push whichever driver they decide to be at the front of said line to victory, provided there's not a wreck. Hmm, let's see....... a generic car with Toyota Camry stickers holding wide open throttle in a line of teammates for five hundred miles, or Hudson Hornets roaring across the sands of Daytona Beach? Guess which one I'd choose. Bet I'm not alone, either. f@#k NASCAR and f@#k all of its brain dead fans that can't open their eyes and see how fake and worthless it is.

Might as well be. The G8 is the only cool thing they have.

I'd love this 1957 GMC panel with factory NAPCO 4 wheel drive. Maybe I should find an old panel and put it on modern running gear for a nice winter warrior!

gmpartsgirl seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth as well.

WMJ is the one I was wondering about the most; anybody know anything about him?

Pintos in general are pussy, regardless of configuration. Redeem yourself by posting a pre-1936 Ford panel truck or sedan delivery NOW NOW NOW!

Happy birthday, dude!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks...p3756.m14.l1318 This 1955 GMC one-ton panel is calling my name. It's got the right amount of wear without being a rotbox. All I'd do is go completely through the suspension, brakes, and engine/drivetrain and drive her as-is. Can somebody please drag this home from Michigan for me?!?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks...p3756.m14.l1318 This 1955 GMC one-ton panel is calling my name. It's got the right amount of wear without being a rotbox. All I'd do is go completely through the suspension, brakes, and engine/drivetrain and drive her as-is. Can somebody please drag this home from Michigan for me?!?

What exactly is it? I still kick myself to this day for not buying an old coworker's 1970 R75/5 a few summers ago when I had the opportunity to. He also has a 1984 R80. Another friend of mine has an old R75/5 as well and I really have the itch for one. Airhead Beemers are the best!

Most definitely so; they were discontinued after the 1970 model year. That generation was the end of them!

Finding something faded and worn but solid, forgotten in the back of an old barn or garage or warehouse, with fire and Civil Defense lettering like this 1950 Chevrolet one-ton panel truck would be one of my ultimate wants. Just make her safe and drivable and leave it original. I would probably sleep in the driveway with my arms around it.