That "excess" you mentioned, is what IMHO makes the Superbird the pinnacle of the muscle car madness. It's just... so... much! Kinda like how (again) IMHO Whitsnake in the latter '80s was the pinnacle of the whole hair/glam metal thang. SO much hairspray... SO many sequins... SO many ice cold stares through the mist... SO many tears in the rain... SO many albums and videos that were SO overproduced. It was just the excess of the era...Good catch on my "Challenger" typo, corrected it to Charger, thx.
And you're right on the Mopar NASCAR kings in 1970 but talk about butt ugly designs - I couldn't park one of those super birds in my driveway without being embarrassed. Just way way over the top body design on the front and back ends of that beast...
...vs this well proportioned muscular beast...
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Thunderbird Club
- Thread starter TBird1958
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That it is. But at some point you jump the shark and go from the ragged edge of cool (which the 1970 Road Runner is) to a rolling caricature with grossly exaggerated features (which the 1970 Super Bird did). Was it a fast car - heck yes. Is it worth a mint today - oh yah. Do I want one - no thanks, it jumped the shark. But your right, it was the excess of the era maybe even a couple of years ahead of its time, by 1973 most of the muscle cars had gone fat and flabby.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
By modern standards, they were all fat, ungainly, and flabby. No handling, no brakes, and when you think about the power they made, it's not that impressive any more. The whole point was complete hands and feet involvement, at least for me. That's why I had British roadsters until I bought the Camaro, and most of the things I did to that car were to make it more like a roadster and less like a muscle car. It was an exercise in failure. Kinda like trying to make a Thunderbird into anything except a Thunderbird. I sure don't understand the prices people pay for what's really just another incompetent old car with an exciting face. A 1960s Thunderbird is perhaps a different proposition. Or maybe not. I haven't tried one. Strapping on one of Mark's '70s 'Birds cured me of wanting one very much. I love the way they look, but didn't like the way it felt so much. Pickups and strings can change, so that isn't such a big deal. Same thing with the car. If I didn't already have it because it was a daily driver until the early-1990s, I probably wouldn't own one.
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Like many of Tarantino's films, I can only watch knowing it is fantasy and not reality.
So true. I love his style, but hard to watch at times, after that scene, I couldn't watch it anymore. And I can take a lot.
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Well, if it's any consolation - women prevail in the end. For me it's what justified the rest, knowing that as an artist he was emulating the genre but righting the bad conclusion those films generally had. The latest Road Warrior film delivered the same message as the heroine was the star, not the road warrior.
I did hear the ladies get their revenge, may have to revisit to see that.
And I hear ya on the road warrior.
Hard work may pay off in the long run, but procrastination pays off now.
Technically, it is not procrastination until you have done the activity. Until you do it, it is just incomplete. Although some may claim I am simply picking nits, it does put it into a different category for accounting purposes. So, if your boss claims that you procrastinate, point out that since the tasks are not yet done, they are incomplete, so you can't be written up for procrastination until the activity is done.
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- Jun 30, 2010
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The 1st car my brother & I owned/shared - $250 in '69 (10 yrs old then) This is a pic I found on line - but it looked very much like that when we got it. It was owned by a doctor used by his daughter.
The favorite car I've owned (long gone) - '66 122s Volvo estate wagon - mine had a nice original chrome roof-rack but otherwise was identical to this pic. Died a hard death in Chicago (winters).
The favorite car I've owned (long gone) - '66 122s Volvo estate wagon - mine had a nice original chrome roof-rack but otherwise was identical to this pic. Died a hard death in Chicago (winters).
I love the romance and the dream of the old classics, but have come to realise I have no ability to work on them myself. Which pushes them into the 'just too expensive to be fun' category. Paying people to work on them is for those with bigger wallets that I have.
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'59 Impala drool I LOVE 59 GM's
Wagons are awesome too, I'm trying to find the rear facing 3rd row seating brackets and seats for my wagon
Working on them is half the fun. Those people that pay people to do their classic cares miss out on a lot.
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It's like an old Subaru
It was great - SU carburetor's -it was spunky to drive, the rear seat down gave a big payload space, roof rack
...oh? I dug it! It redefined "over the top"
... and then never do them ?
A strapping youngster like you, afraid of one of my old 'Birds?
At my daughter's wedding there were some old birds I was afraid of.
(Aunties of the Groom I found out.)
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It's like an old Subaru
It's the only car I've owned that I would love to (still) have.
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Although I liked the convertible aspect, back then I wanted something 'sporty' so wasn't that into it. (it was a car) A friend had a cream white '59 Impala 2 door hardtop that was raked up and had glass-packs. I wished we could have traded.
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Nice!
My favourite 59's are a Caddy and an El Camino. But I love them all... unless it has 4 doors.
1959 was probably my favorite year for the vintage corvette. Love those side coves and the fuelie engine.
