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  • #16
    Ian is one talented builder. Sorry to tell him this, though, that is only a shade of a shop dog.

    That said, talent comes in a lot of forms - Vegas Rat Rods most of them are so talented in their own right. I like Gas Monkey because I'm a small business owner and I know how breathtakingly hard it is to run a business - I know most seem to call Richard a hack (though he built that 50 Chevy), but there are few people who can manage the talented. In many ways, it takes even more talent to hire talented people and keep them focused on the task then it is to simply be talented. Conversely I know a lot of people who didn't get the advantage of a boss who supports the artist and are losing the talent they had.

    It's even more fun to listen to a magazine editor rag on a shop owner as a hack.... pot meet kettle.

    Meet Buick, THE shop dog. Well, the area just outside the shop. SBG is a bit too noisy and he will watch, carefully, the builds - but not too close :D


    Last edited by SuperBuickGuy; August 9, 2017, 01:11 PM.
    Doing it all wrong since 1966

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    • #17
      Originally posted by SuperBuickGuy View Post

      how about a SB427 v. BB427 build? GM and Ford. Build a GM one for a Camaro and a Ford one for a Mustang. Nothing grass root about that. If you really want to change it up, throw them in a car and do corners with it. You could milk that for months if not years of tech. In the GM arena, you're going to be pointing out that torque, and hp can make one faster then the other.
      Good ideas. The big block versus small block thing sounds familiar . . . .

      As to doing corners with a big lump in a relatively cheap car . . . . The first paragraph of the first story on the CC/Underbird , , , ,

      "Car Craft is building a Fox-body Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. We are powering it with a mild, rebuilt Ford 460, fortified by a pair of CX Racing turbos. We are going to road-trip it, thrash it at the strip, and even sling it around on road courses. And we are calling it the CC Underbird."

      (Copy editing added the slash in later stories later to make CC/Underbird consistent with the CC/Rambler, CC/Olds, and CC/Malibu)

      Whether it flops or flies (or draws flies) is an open question . . . . And no CX Racing didn't "comp" the turbos . . . . (I don't think they've even acknowledged the build exists).

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      • #18
        I always read SBG's posts first over anything on here.
        Enjoy it..
        One day I'll meet him.. Almost did one day but he was out saving a fool in the Sound..

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        • #19
          I'm pretty sure they raced dynos on the bb/sb thing. Underbird - my dollars are on the other CC/ cars and it dying on the vine of public opinion.... it isn't a 57 Belair, a 6* Camaro, a 6* Mustang or a 3* Ford Coupe. Unless it is any of those, the public groundswell will be minimal. Or, as I just told someone else. I build C3 Corvettes to fund my Buick addiction. Nobody likes the underdog - especially when most can describe the underdog as something their local ex-stripper, ex-druggie roommate, or parolee is driving. It's the the Ford Explorer will never get love because they became a car for the underprivileged masses (same as the S10 blazers) - and of every cool one, you can tell me of 10 driven by criminals who just don't care... I'm sure that didn't come across clearly... ah well, I'm not an editor.

          CX comping turbos - I'd rather a $10 starbux card.... worth more in the end. Yeah, I said it out loud.

          Doing it all wrong since 1966

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          • #20
            I'm actually kinda into the TPI 305 vs. 302 thing, the deal being use of modern control where I know GM at-least no longer supports those w/ certain modules etc. I would just like to know if those are smog-legal, I imagine not. Anyhow it's tough to please everybody every month, and parts manufacturers feeding product in to have it used for something is how it works 'cause if we had to wait for those writers to have to buy everything themselves that might be of interest to the public, there might be some long waits. The fact that the mfr. can afford to do that means plenty of people have been willing and able to buy their stuff so far at normal prices. The guys who wind up with all that free (.....?) stuff, lucky them.

            We'd all like to see the mags do the project we'd want them to do, oh well, the cool thing is that there are indeed so many possibilities of projects that can be tried. Seems like I've seen some BB vs. SB @ equal c.i.d. comparisons, not remembering where.

            ...

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            • #21
              I noticed Lohnes has a new show on MTOD, they better get it while they can, because when the Economy tanks all these little internet shows are going to go bye bye....
              The Green Machine.
              http://s1.postimg.org/40t9i583j/mytruck.jpg

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              • #22
                I dunno, if it tanked the first to go in my house would be Direct TV
                Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by SuperBuickGuy View Post
                  I dunno, if it tanked the first to go in my house would be Direct TV
                  I'm talking about the investors behind these shows, when things look like they will go south, money gets tight and people get hung out to dry... I've seen it many times....
                  The Green Machine.
                  http://s1.postimg.org/40t9i583j/mytruck.jpg

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by BigAL View Post
                    I noticed Lohnes has a new show on MTOD, they better get it while they can, because when the Economy tanks all these little internet shows are going to go bye bye....

                    With last week's merger between Velocity and TEN's video and social media units, if Lohnes' show is any good at generating ratings, I predict it will end up on the Velocity mothership. The print side of TEN's business was not included in the merger, so you can read into that whatever you want . . . .


                    TEN is already owned by a venture capital hedge fund, so what happens to all of the brands is in the hands of investors.

                    But content is still king and those who are able and willing to produce it will generally land on their feet somewhere, regardless of what the economy does.

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by SuperBuickGuy View Post
                      something their local ex-stripper, ex-druggie roommate, or parolee is driving.
                      Somebody hates Fox-Body Thunderbirds even more than Bruab . . . .

                      It might be a fairly bland world if magazines only covered "57 Belair[s,] 6* Camaro[s,] 6* Mustang[s, or] 3* Ford Coupe[s]."
                      Last edited by Gateclyve Photographic; August 10, 2017, 06:41 AM.

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                      • #26
                        One aside . . . at the 2017 Midnight Drags, the crowd favorite seemed to be a rusty, mid-1960s C-10 that could tear off 175 m.p.h. trap speeds.

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by BigAL View Post

                          I'm talking about the investors behind these shows, when things look like they will go south, money gets tight and people get hung out to dry... I've seen it many times....

                          two things. first, that's what I was talking about - there is a changing attitude (heck, it may have already changed) about where entertainment comes from.
                          second, you can't live your life scared of what might happen in the future.
                          Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                          • #28
                            Originally posted by Gateclyve Photographic View Post

                            Somebody hates Fox-Body Thunderbirds even more than Bruab . . . .

                            It might be a fairly bland world if magazines only covered "57 Belair[s,] 6* Camaro[s,] 6* Mustang[s, or] 3* Ford Coupe[s]."

                            hate would be a strong word - I think the mental association of those cars block the masses from accepting them. Heck, Buick should come out with a model called the Blue Hair, and people really should give that 'joke' a rest. Let's not get me started on the gold-chain, polyester image that C3s are accused of causing... it's perception and your point earlier was you can't pander to the special-interest groups and stay solvent. If you don't have a 69 Camaro in CC, people get jittery.... no matter how boring or how stupid the mods they need their fix.
                            Doing it all wrong since 1966

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by SuperBuickGuy View Post

                              how about a SB427 v. BB427 build? GM and Ford. Build a GM one for a Camaro and a Ford one for a Mustang. Nothing grass root about that. If you really want to change it up, throw them in a car and do corners with it. You could milk that for months if not years of tech. . . . If you really want to get tech, then compare the SBC 427 and the BBC 427 with a LS 427.
                              I did a "back of the envelope" calculation for this series. Without any sponsorships or product placements . . .

                              The engines will likely cost between $5,000 and $10,000 (we could scrimp a little here on the small blocks), so the minimum for four engines is at least $20,000 and more likely closer to $40,000.

                              The engine dyno time, without comps . . . $2,000+

                              You have to have at least two cars to test the engines in . . . cars that have at least 10.00 safety equipment (Magnante's 500 Cadillac-in-a-Chevette scam wouldn't hold up for long on a big comparison test) . . . Even a pair of "Roadkill" rat-type rollers are going to run at least $7500 by the time they were safe enough for the lawyers). And if new transmissions and rear axle assemblies factor into the deal at retail prices . . . $2,000 minimum per transmission and $1,000 per axle. (some may object that the "editors" could just build up the parts cheaper or we could gamble with junkyard stuff, but time is money)

                              Track rentals . . . $3,000+

                              Another $3000 minimum for tires (cheap rollers probably won't come with new slicks or track day safe tires and for the test to be valid, the cars would need to be on equal meats).

                              We are in the range of $38,000-$58,000 already and we haven't paid anyone to shoot photos, write and edit the stories, or build and thrash the cars.

                              If we milked it for a ten-story series, the cost -- just in hard parts -- per story is $3,800-$5,800, minimum. The real world cost, without comps or sponsors would likely be even higher.

                              Bottom line: a magazine would have to sell a ton of ads and new subscriptions to pay the freight on that one.

                              If the story has a video component, the production costs (and ad load) increase dramatically.

                              And now, hopefully, everyone understands why "freebees" are a necessary evil.

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by Gateclyve Photographic View Post

                                I did a "back of the envelope" calculation for this series. Without any sponsorships or product placements . . .

                                The engines will likely cost between $5,000 and $10,000 (we could scrimp a little here on the small blocks), so the minimum for four engines is at least $20,000 and more likely closer to $40,000.

                                The engine dyno time, without comps . . . $2,000+

                                You have to have at least two cars to test the engines in . . . cars that have at least 10.00 safety equipment (Magnante's 500 Cadillac-in-a-Chevette scam wouldn't hold up for long on a big comparison test) . . . Even a pair of "Roadkill" rat-type rollers are going to run at least $7500 by the time they were safe enough for the lawyers). And if new transmissions and rear axle assemblies factor into the deal at retail prices . . . $2,000 minimum per transmission and $1,000 per axle. (some may object that the "editors" could just build up the parts cheaper or we could gamble with junkyard stuff, but time is money)

                                Track rentals . . . $3,000+

                                Another $3000 minimum for tires (cheap rollers probably won't come with new slicks or track day safe tires and for the test to be valid, the cars would need to be on equal meats).

                                We are in the range of $38,000-$58,000 already and we haven't paid anyone to shoot photos, write and edit the stories, or build and thrash the cars.

                                If we milked it for a ten-story series, the cost -- just in hard parts -- per story is $3,800-$5,800, minimum. The real world cost, without comps or sponsors would likely be even higher.

                                Bottom line: a magazine would have to sell a ton of ads and new subscriptions to pay the freight on that one.

                                If the story has a video component, the production costs (and ad load) increase dramatically.

                                And now, hopefully, everyone understands why "freebees" are a necessary evil.
                                Very informative - as a back yard / shade tree guy it is often hard to know all that goes into the production of these articles. However, how to you manage / control the potential conflict of interest of the "sponsors" giving you what they want to sell - not necessarily what is the best product for the intended job/usage?

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