Sixty8panther

Okay well I just can't help myself I'm so dog gonned obsessed with this whole four door hardtop thing that I had to share some of cool google finds with you. I find redeming value in some of the ugliest, plainest or otherwise unexciting cars if they have a hardtop greenhouse. I've decided to dedicate a thread, THIS ONE, to pictures of just four door hardtops of all makes and years. Forget those retarded "4-door-coupe" Mercedes Benzes that have no concept of reality... this is as sexy as a four door car will ever get IMHO. P.S. for obvious reasons I've tried to post only pictures where all four windows are rolled down. B) Something Olds Something new Something Mopar Something blue

1960s definition: medium sized car with a BIG (read: powerful) engine. In other words a really killer weight to power ratio in an other wise sedate car. 2005 Pop Culture definition: RWD car wiht a powerful V8. A four door musclecar is acceptable, to some a GN is a muscle car even though it has a Turbocharged V6 and not a V8 but in any case 99.9% of enthusiasts agree that a FWD si not a muscle car. Even if it has a V8 and manual trans. This is why the GTO concept based on a FWD Grand Am concept lasted about 20 minutes before it was shot down in a blaze of fire fomr the Muscle car crowd. Another annoyance is that cars like the Corvette and Shelby 427 Roadster Cobra are considered muscle cars by some empty headed press. Yes they're RWD and V8 powered but they're sports cars by definition, not 4 or 5 passanger cars with big cubes. The AMX might be the one exception to the 2-passanger rule.

Yes, and they're a proven seller for certain demographics... pimps and geriatrics for starters. [/sarcasm] My mention of a niche market was my reaction toy your comment about the non-existance of LAND YACHTS in 2005. Rememeber? In other words I thought you were saying there were no other cars in that segment. I mean it's hard to know when you're being sarcastic and when it's just your attempt to poke fun at peoples ideas. A full size, rear-wheel drive V8 powered Cadillac is a lot more realistic than a power-retractable-roof-convertible based on the Corvette. What the hell is a larger market than a direct competitor to the Lincoln Tow Car? Do you think that Cadillac would have a problem selling this type of vehicle? Volume wise BOF, full size cars made up 100% of their lineup for al of Cadillac's best decades. 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s... all huge BOF cars, predominantly RWD. I understand that they might go unibody thought i do not agree with that move but there's nothing unexpected about a land yacht. So true. :AH-HA_wink:

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.

Wow... that's a Maisto 1:18th I'll buy the DAY of release. :D

Call it a hot rod I'm okay with it... Call it a sleeper I'll agree But do NOT call a FWD a Mucsle Car... it's just not right. This is a very cool car indeed but it's not Musclecar. I'd shake the dude's hand if I saw him at a carshow. This is right up my alley. Very fine custom. Now if the engine was facing No.-So. and the rear wheels were motivated by a posi rear end I'd say it was perfect. No doubt that would have required even more severe modification.

I've got a weird type of OCD. I have no problem doing a huge burnout in my Camaro where the engine is reving at 6900rpm for 40 sec. straight, and then leaving the tire shards all over the rear quarters for months, but if my PANTHR vanity plate is 3-degrees askew I get all panicky and must fix it immediately. Or for instance I'll get junkyard rims/tires for My Camaro held on with old rusty lugnuts but yet I put tire shine on them every so often. And who the hell else runs Mobil1 oil and Sunoco Premium-Ultra (93/94) in their Camaro but yet their alternator is chained to the inner wheel well? :blink: I'm just a very strange person. :wacko:

Good point HE; this has to be one of the last uses of tailfins by any US manufacturer.

Good one... but somehow it's a little too mellow, uless it was the later part of the song where it really get's ging with funky guitar. Some slogan ideas: (not not serious ideas just idea genaration for the fun of it) - 2008 Camaro; just don't call it a pony car! - 2008 Camaro; more bite than bark - The all new Camaro, the same old Attitude - 2008 Chevrolet Camaro; the revolution in full swing - All new Camaro, all new technology, all new styling, same old agression - The Camaro is back, even though it was never actaully gone - The new Camaro, technology from 2008, mean streak circa 1967 - 2008: The year of the Camaro - 4, 3, 2, 1 ... Camaro to Mustang: Ready or not, here I come! - 2008 Camaro: Pilot's License suggested but not required

Wow... cool. What year did Motor Age cease to exist under that title?

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.

I was going to say Lincoln Navigator.

Well, thanks for the heads up anyway. :)

Riiiight. I had a worse day yesterday but I plead the 5th about the details. Don't want to bruise my ego. :P

Cool song but the referance to AIDS makes it not so P.R. friendly... Now on the otehr hand Ramone's "Go Lil Camaro Go!" is a greatr one. :)

Supercharged Series III 3800. Oh yeah, BAY-BEE!!!!

Great post! So true!

Hmmmm interesting... now see I'd never buy a '63 or '64. I can appreciate them at car shows but the fins are too darn small for me. It's actually depressing for me to see a '63/'64 next to a '59-'62. I'd rather see the fins eliminited completely rather than castrated. Again to each his own, although I can say you might have changed my mind about the Barrel Grille vs. Coffin Grille dilema when it comes to your COE. :D

Wow... someone voted 99. Holy $hit who has that much faith in my survival instinct??? I'm shopping around for a beater 91 Lebaron/88 Mustang LX convertible so I can drive it off a big cliff with the top down and jump out with a parachutte. I thought of that crap about 8 years before Vin Diesel did it in XXX. :angry:

Yup.... and I WANT one. Just because. I have no logical reason but I want one. Not nearly as much as a '61 Caddy Fleetwood or a '59 Invicta Wagon but if I ever see one on eBay for $700 I'll be a (not-so-proud) owner.

Balthazar: I'm Happy to report that the diagram of a Gnome Rotary Motor wiht a stationary crankshaft was included in the magazine only to demostrate the differance between a radial motor with revolving cylinders and a motor with rotary VALVES. What a fascinating era to live in... so many promissing technologies in the works. I had not even HEARD of the existance of Rotory valves untill Mr. George Kent asked this question in his letter to the editor sometime in the fall of 1914. :P As far as rotating cylinders... it's pure genius when they're air-cooled with lightweight cooling fins. So I'm still going to build a hot rod someday wiht a radial engine out of some ancient Biplane. It's an idea I've had in my head since before I was old enough to realize it COULD be done in all practicality.

Bumpity-bump. Answers will be posted tomorrow P.M. Any other takers? :mellow:

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:

Add ons... How can it be an add-on if it starts at the A-pillar and goes on past the rear bumper? There were a few "tacky" fins done by a couple Independants in the 50s but 70% of them are gorgeous. Wiht the exception of a 59 Turnpike Cruiser and a few Fords.

Harley: Didn't you get the PM about not posting PORN on C&G? That invicta is HOT! (yes Paris your check's in the mail) Balthazar: Hmmmmm... you have got one hellof a point there. :D