The more things change: Stupid 1970s and 1980s muscle car mods

[sugarwood]

Slot mags, sidepipes, raised letter tires, AND hood scoop.
Saw this time capsule and was reminded of 1980s car culture!

What do you remember about aftermarket mods of your youth?
Which were boneheaded, and which were legit ?

• Slot mags
• Cragar SS
• Louvers
• Cherry bomb straight pipe exhaust
• Tunnel rams, hood scoops, blowers? What was the difference?
• NOS
• Hood scoops
• Alpine / Kenwood stereo.
• Jacked up rear end
• Traction bars
• Pinstriping
• Wheelie bars

What are some of your stories ?

[targa911S]

slant nose 911 in 5,4,3,2...

[Eric 951]

That 'Vette is bithcin'

The other photos posted aren't bad--expect for the dummy scoop on the Camaro and I never cared for the Plymouth in "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot"--the Trans Am that Bridges steals is the better car

I may be in the minority, but when going to shows, I prefer to see the "Day 2" cars rather than the endless rows of bone-stock muscle.

Cragar SS wheels, yellow traction bars, Thrush side pipes, raked stance, tunnel rams, wild graphics...hell yea.

[craigster59]

J.C. Whitney....

[craigster59]

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by targa911S

slant nose 911 in 5,4,3,2...

Good to see you posting Dave.

Slant nose - yech. Jacked up rear end with skinny tires - very dumb. Fake blower injection housing on top of a carburetor- mega stupid. I like that Vette in the first picture- a lot.

[Evans, Marv]

I remember seeing young guys' cars cruising the down town main street in 1950 or 1951. They had the rear ends lowered. I was only about nine years old at the time and wondered why they did that. Of course around ten years later, it was the front ends that were lowered.

[Mike Billings]

Turbonique - 1000 HP rocket engine

[GH85Carrera]

One of my High School buddies had a Camaro with a jacked up rear. He carried a yard stick and copy of the law in the car all the time. He would get pulled over regularly, and the cop was ready to ticket him for a car jacked up too high. Yea, the had a law about it in Montgomery, AL in the 1970s.

Anyway, he would pull out this yard stick and show the cop it was 1/2 below the maximum.

I drove a bone stock 914 2.0 from 1974 on and the cops left me alone if I was smart enough to stay close to the speed limit, and not go around corners too fast. Fortunate thing for me was discovering autocross.

[sugarwood]

^^ What a responsible degenerate! Did he go to law school?

What was the point of jacking up the rear?
Was there some putative performance benefit? (that made no sense to adults)

[sugarwood]

Was tuner culture just as feckless & comical back in the day?

What was the point of a blower / tunnel ram ?
More forced induction, I assume.
Did most guys retune their engine with a different cam and exhaust?

Or was it the equivalent of today's cold air intake that does nothing.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Slot mags, sidepipes, raised letter tires, AND hood scoop.
Saw this time capsule and was reminded of 1980s car culture!

What do you remember about aftermarket mods of your youth?
Which were boneheaded, and which were legit ?

• Slot mags
• Cragar SS
• Louvers
• Cherry bomb straight pipe exhaust
• Tunnel rams, hood scoops, blowers? What was the difference?
• NOS
• Hood scoops
• Alpine / Kenwood stereo.
• Jacked up rear end
• Traction bars
• Pinstriping
• Wheelie bars

What are some of your stories ?

Everything on that list is still cool if done right - except pinstriping.

I hate pinstriping, only seen it enhance a car a few times and then still like it better without.

Hey, it's all subjective.

Not on the list above is terrible interiors.

Dashboards and door panels should not have shag carpeting.

Just saying cars are not panel vans.

I have to draw the line somewhere.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

^^ What a responsible degenerate! Did he go to law school?

What was the point of jacking up the rear?
Was there some putative performance benefit? (that made no sense to adults)

Actually he did, and ended up as a Arizona State senator for a few years until the BS of politics just turned his stomach and he went into private practice.

He bought the car with the rear jacked up. He liked it, and when he hit the gas the rear end squatted down a lot and went fast for the era.

[JackDidley]

Cars today are sooo much cooler.

[Wetwork]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Everything on that list is still cool if done right - except pinstriping.

I hate pinstriping, only seen it enhance a car a few times and then still like it better without.

Hey, it's all subjective.

Not on the list above is terrible interiors.



I have to draw the line somewhere.

Had a buddy I was stationed with who picked up a sweet 80's stepside pickup with little pin stripes down the side. He didn't notice and neither did I it was "porno pinstripes." From one end to the other the stripe was made with little tiny stick figures in various Kama Sutra positions. His wife sure noticed and for free beer I helped with the hours of rubbing compound removing them. Looking back years later it was a freaking work of art. Whoever did it should have his stuff in art galleries.-WW

[Sooner or later]

I had 67 Mustang with Crager SS, Chery Bomb exhaust and a couple of inches high in the ass end (shackles )
Also a 78 280z with Alpine and louvers.

[cairns]

Things haven't changed all that much. Whenever I see Techart on a Porsche I feel nauseous.

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by JackDidley

Cars today are sooo much cooler.

LOL! I have seen this look and I don't get this look. Why does everything need to be slammed on the ground with the largest wire tire combo you can fit.

[stomachmonkey]

I liked raised white lettering.

Still do.

Out with the GF (now wife) one day.

Her dad took her 240SX in to get tires.

We get back to the house and it’s sitting there with a brand spankin new set of whitewalls.

?????????

He thought it was fine and could not understand why she was upset.

Uhmmm, cause it’s not a Cadillac and it looks ridiculous.

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by craigster59

J.C. Whitney....

JC Whitney was THE aftermarket parts warehouse before the internet...lots of frayed pages, and circled items, it was better than the Sears, Christmas "Wish List" catalog.