Car Parts 2011

Do you ever find yourself in the mood to watch a race and turn on the Speed Channel only to find Pimp My Ride or hour after hour of Barrett-Jackson auctions?  If you're like me, there's a series of reactions to this.  First, there's a feeling of anger/disappointment.  This is followed by being perplexed at how 18 TVs fit into one car.  Then, something on the auction block piques my interest and I settle in for a couple hours with dreams of buying some of those ridiculously priced concept cars from the 50s or maybe a nicely restored, numbers matching, overpriced Hemi Cuda.  Well, this post is here to slap you upside the head because there are much more interesting cars to find than what's at Barrett-Jackson, Mecum, or RM.

virginmedia.com

In the market for a vintage race car?  How about a 1938 Delahaye 135MS?
 In 1938 this car came with a 3.6 liter inline-6 which was good for about 135 horsepower.  It could do an incredible 100 mph with that amount of power.  Neither of those numbers sounds like much compared to today's cars but back then 100mph meant your face was about to peel off if you hit the accelerator anymore.

This car doesn't exactly have the history or panache of a fully documented, championship winner... but WHO CARES when it looks this good?!  If you're interested, it can be found here.

There's also this 1948 Delahaye 135M roadster for those that want something that looks more like a boulevard cruiser than a competitor at Le Mans.
This particular Delahaye has been restored in California.  It is powered by the same motor as the race car except for a few missing carbs and has as much power as a Scion xD.  Yet, those 115 horses only have to propel 2,450 pounds via the rear wheels.  I'm pretty sure you'd get more looks in this than a Scion also.

Not into French built roadsters?  Prefer being pampered and chauffeured?  There is nothing like old world British elegance in the form of a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
This 1934 model of the Phantom houses a 7.7 liter inline-6 for immense amounts of low end torque to whisk its passengers in quiet comfort.  Though when called upon, that monstrosity of a motor can generate ludicrous speeds as displayed on its 120mph speedometer.  Remember, this is from 1934 not the current Phantom which is loved by Cristal imbibing clientele.

For the rest of us, the meat and potato kind of guys, I present some American muscle, both old and new.  First up is a 1957 Chevy pickup restomod.

www.ironworksspeedandkustom.com

Not everyone wants to drive a restored old truck.  Some of us like new conveniences like brakes that work and engines that fire up reliably.  This 57 Chevy is pretty much a mashup of C5 and C6 Corvette mechanicals with modified pickup truck aesthetics.  It puts down 598 dyno verified horsepower from a built 402ci LS2.  Handling duties are controlled by a tube chassis and C6 suspension parts.  Pizza sized Wilwood brakes stop this black beauty.

When handling and stopping are less of an issue and going fast in a straight line takes priority, there's nothing like a muscle car.  In this case, it has to be a grabber blue 1970 Mustang Boss 429.
This is the most badass blue monster that I've seen since that lagoon creature ate the entire Smurf village my junior year in college.  This is a numbers matching car located in Missourri and seems to be in damn good condition.  Since it's numbers matching, the specs don't need to be regurgitated here.  Let's just say that if you drove any of these cars, Xzibit wouldn't need to pop your collar for you to be a pimp.

Courtesy Z06zone.com

There are only a few things that a 16 year old boy thinks about on a daily basis.  In no certain order, these thoughts circulate around food, video games, girls'...er..."personalities", and big horsepower numbers.  The car that produced the biggest numbers at a fraction of the cost of most supercars back when I was 16 was the 2002 Corvette Z06.

The fifth generation of the venerable Corvette ran from 1997 to 2004.  The Z06 didn't arrive until 2001 and it was heralded as the descendant of the ultimate Vette, the C4 ZR-1.  The car originally was introduced packing a healthy 385 horsepower from a 5.7 liter LS6 V8.  However, the second year of the Z06's existence is what grabbed everyone's attention.  Chevy decided to redesign the intake, camshaft, pistons, valves and valve springs.  The LS6 now broke that magical 400 horsepower barrier with 405.  Chevy even commemorated this with 405hp badges on the fenders.

XMSengineering.com

In addition to a 405 horsepower motor, the American icon received uprated suspension, lighter wheels, fatter rubber, and a revised gearbox.  These upgrades allowed for amazing performance numbers.  Zero to sixty sprints were done in around 4 seconds.  1320 feet disappeared in 12 seconds.  Side loads on the skidpad reached numbers as high as 1.07g.  These numbers were comparable to the Porsche Turbo and Ferrari 360 Modena.  Remember that the Vette costs half as much as those cars.  This generation Z06 marked the Corvette's return to supercar status on an international level.

thaigaming.com

The main problems with this Z06, as with a growing teenager, are a 20/20 hindsight, impending maturity, and a younger, faster generation.  All of this is summed up in the 2005 C6 Corvette with the Z51 suspension package.  It is newer, smaller, just as fast, just as sticky, and has a much more refined interior.  Regardless of which year you choose, each can be had for around $25,000 without much searching.


If Corvettes are your cup o' tea, you can't do much better from a cost/performance standpoint than the cars from the past 10 years.  Considering the past ASS and how long it took to write about the Corvette, it would seem I no longer hold a love for the car.  I respect its abilities but am attracted to other cars on a more basic emotional level.  The Maserati Gransport sounds like sex.  The Aston Martin looks like sex.  The Acura NSX drives likes sex.  The Corvettes, on the other hand, are like that female Olympic medalist who had her gender questioned.  They do what they are supposed to do very well but it's definitely not the kind of "personalities" that teenage boys want.