First off, it's an e-body. ANYTHING Foose did would be an improvement. Regardless of "market worth" or popularity, e-bodies are fat, heavy, and like belly-buttons, are way too common, like Camaros and Mustangs. I'd rather own one of several brand-x cars than own an e-body.
Second, Chip Foose has done more to promote the customizing hobby than anyone in the past 20 years, as did Chuck Barris before him. Don't like customs? I TOTALLY understand that to each his own. Me? If I never saw another restored Mopar with a set of tired-assed Cragar S/S's again, I'd go to my grave a happy man. I've seen enough cars like that for the past 30 years to last a lifetime, and if I wanna see a resto, I'll go to a car museum. I don't like every car that Foose lays his hands on (a polished turd is still a turd), but to me, it's ALWAYS been an improvement. And to me, cars are a canvas, not a temple.
MY Darts are not some automotive legacy, to be preserved for my children to see how great cars were back in the "golden age" of automotive history. MY Darts exist solely for the purpose of making ME happy. And for everyone that gets ticked off because I bolted on a set of 18" rims, or cut the door panels for speakers, or chopped the roof or whatever, there's another person who will appreciate the fact that I made my car DIFFERENT. REAL hot rodding isn't about fitting in and pleasing the crowd or the purists, it's about doing to your car what makes you happy and saying "screw you" to the critics.
This thread has been a wake up call for me. I've obviously grown in a TOTALLY different direction for most of you as far as my automotive interests are concerned. I've already stopped going to local Mopar shows because they're full of restos, which I've seen enough of (especially the SAME restos). And it's bad enough that the slanters get beat on around here all the time for not wanting to burn up the drag strip as cheaply as possible (even when they post in the slant six section). When I look at a car, I wanna see something I've never seen before, or at least something rare or unusual. If not, I wanna see what an individual did to modify his car to make it stand out from the crowd, and make it unique. Maybe I'll like what he did, maybe I won't. But I don't wanna look at another restored e-body with a big block and yawn.
And lest you think I'm some young 'un who traded in a lowered Civic for some old car sitting in a barn just to be cool, I'm a 45-year-old who's been wrenching on Mopars since I was 17. My first car was a '72 Swinger. I've owned eight Mopars since, mostly V-8's, including the Swinger and Dart convertible I own now. And THESE two ain't goin' anywhere I'll own 'em till I die.
I've come to the conclusion that FABO is all about going fast, to the exclusion of other all other automotive interests and/or tastes. That's fine, but it ain't for me. I'm in no hurry to get anywhere anymore. I just love driving old iron. If you don't have the same automotive tastes as me, I'm fine with that, but I've never been about telling the world that this car or that builder's style sucks, or that Mopars should be built a certain way, otherwise they're some kind of "sacrilege", or that small wheels or big wheels look like crap. I think I'll look around for some good custom car forums. They've gotta be a bit more open-minded, right?
:toothy10:
