The Odd Custom: Let's Predict the Future Hot Rods

"Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns" (themarvelous1310) 12/16/2013 at 16:43 • Filed to: future, hot, rods, grand prix, pacifica, probe, theoddcustom, themarvelous1310, oppositelock

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No need to get all fancy on me with bolded print or itemized info, just show me a car and why you think people are gonna regret not keeping them. My theory is, with 3-D Printing becoming easier and cheaper by the day and the aftermarket getting ever more clever, at some point we're just gonna throw out the rulebook on what old car was cool or not and just start making every old car we can get as insane as possible. That being, my focus is on cars that have good basic attributes, decent looks, great potential, and some existing aftermmarket.

First off, any 1990s Pontiac Grand Prix Coupe is guaranteed money.

They look good(I mean, for 90's cars), they're from an extinct brand which just sounds good, the later ones are wider/roomier than the Firebirds from the same era WITH LESS FRONT OVERHANG(There's like a foot of unnecessary bumper on every F-body and it pisses me off), the GM L-Series V-6 has an endless aftermarket, and if you have some money to blow you can make it AWD with parts from almost any GM sedan or SUV. I would say the same about any W-Body coupe, up to and including the last Monte Carlo, but something about those GTPs gets me every time.

Next, I'd nominate the poor odd duck we call the Chrysler Pacifica. I'm not sure about this one, but I think I can justify it somewhat.

A great looking, comfortable, usually well-equipped crossover/wagon/SUV thingy that sadly lacks two things: Balls. There's a good aftermarket for cosmetic parts, but not much going on the performance side-which doesn't mean it doesn't have any potential. Having worked on a few of these, the car has a nice, big engine bay, almost too much for the engine if it wasn't cluttered to hell in typical Chrysler fashion. If you sat and thought it out, you could definitely fit a Hemi, trans, and driveshaft in there, especially if you find an AWD model. I'd suggest finding a semi-wrecked Grand Cherokee from 2005-'10 and keeping very careful notes, but you'll have a truck like no other when you're done. If not, just swag it out, drop it down(it wasn't going anywhere offroad anyways) and ride slow, so everybody sees you.

Next up, it's the motherfuckin' Ford Probe.

AWW YISS.

Arguably the best looking compact America gave us in the 90's, I've always had a soft spot for the Probe despite my misgivings for anything FWD and/or small. It's lightish, athleticish, and strongish with the available V-6, but it was never a performance superstar and I blame the overabundance of window, which couldn't be good for the center of gravity or weight. The thing is, nowadays we have plastics that have the same clarity/structural integrity of glass with much less weight, and the added advantage of them being shatterproof-but that's not why it's on the list, no. That would be the V-6.

I've been toying around with some blueprints in AutoCad for a long time, and one thing I've noticed about a LOT of FWD coupes from the 90s is that, with a few adjustments, the engine always fits perfectly where the back seats go. The problem is most cars aren't made to handle the weight in such a small space, but it's never so bad a light rollcage and a firewall couldn't fix it. The bigger problems are the gas tank and the intakes, but again, these aren't problems that you couldn't work through. The bigger question is, how many American FWD coupes from the 90s are worth donating that kind of attention to?

The aforementioned Grand Prix would be incredible with its engine midmounted, but it's kind of heavy as are the Riviera and other W-Bodies. The Sebring and its mates (like the Stratus) look decent but are a tad too fragile, hard to work with. Ford had no large FWD coupe, they had the Mustang. The smaller Chevy and Dodge coupes, with the notable exception of the Beretta Z26, are ugly as shit by anyone's standards and definitely wouldn't sell to anyone. This leaves just the Probe, light and compact with V-6 power, the most physically fit model to move the engine back in. That said, I'll probably do it to a GTP once I find a decent one with no rust.

So, what are your future classics?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 16:47

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Let's be clear here: the Panther will be the basis of about eleven billion hot rods, because easy to get, because won't die off in the interim, because bolt-in engine swaps, because easy suspension and body mods + BOF, and because it some point I expect their "old man car" repulsion field to wear off with a sudden BANG, as it did for previous old man car hot rod favorites.

Joe_Limon > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 16:47

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I am gonna say every car I have ever owned up until now.

86 tbird

99cougar

02 grand prix

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 17:11

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You got 1/3 on your list correct. The GTP/Regal GS/Monte Carlo SS are already popular on woodward due to how easy it is to get 400hp out of the 3800 series II. They will continue to find power as better tunes and parts are developed. Now onto the other two

Pacifica - No, it will NEVER be a hot rod. A cruiser? Maaaaaaybe if we get desperate. But no. It's too plain, it's too difficult to modify, it's not quite flawed enough to be worthwhile to modify because you'd have to improve everything to avoid leaving a weak spot

Probe - No. It wasn't very fast when new. Some are kinda fast today. Most are falling apart because they're shitty cars.

Let me run down what the proper hot rods of the future will be.

Plymouth Prowler - It might be a collectible, but you can bet that if it hasn't happened already, someone is going to stick an SRT V8 in the front, put the exhaust out the sides, and roast tires up and down the street.

Chevrolet SSR - I know, it wasn't well executed. The interior is incredibly bland and it was expensive when new. The solution? Old-school hot rod style on the new chassis! It's powered by an LS motor so you have infinite power at your disposal and you can make a sick looking retro-mod truck around it.

Overall, you just can't predict trends. Your statement at the beginning of "People will throw out the book and start doing everything they can to their old cars." has been happening for a while now. Did you forget the fast and the furious scene? Remember how many people put on a NOS kit just for the spray effect? And what about all the ridiculous custom jobs that occur? Every make and model has seen at least one example with a fake hood scoop and wing on it. You just never know what will be "cool" and what won't. 3-D printing won't change that fact, it will just be another avenue for people to go. Realistically, printing your own body kit is so far into the future that most cars you'd want to do it on will either be valuable or junk by that point.

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 12/16/2013 at 17:49

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What do you mean, 'will be'? Let me tell you, where I live they're already running around with loud pipes, hot cams, rims, paint jobs and the odd supercharger. There's an entire club up the street that specializes in them(wish I had pics, I'll probably do a post on them before long). The future of the Panther is NOW!

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 12/16/2013 at 17:52

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I was gonna say both of these, but it's kinda obvious. I wanted to come from left field a bit.

BullManUGA > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 18:11

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Wow. Not to be harsh, but what planet do you live on? Grands Prix have horrific build quality and interior materials. I hated mine and the way it looked on the inside. On the outside, the acres of plastic cladding looked terrible too. I can't even begin to imagine who would look at a goddamned Chrysler Pacifica and think "not a horrible shitbox."

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > BullManUGA 12/16/2013 at 18:17

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaand Here's the Hater Thread!

Yeah, i can tell how badly Grand Prix were by the ridiculous number of them still running. Not all good cars are built well, ask anyone who's ever owned an Alfa Romeo.

Milky > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 18:24

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"There's a good aftermarket for cosmetic parts"
Lol define good. Also holy FWD all over this list. No thanks.

BullManUGA > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 18:32

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You posted in a public forum. I gave my opinion. My Grand Prix was falling to pieces on the inside at 65k miles. They used STAPLES to put the crummy plastic trim on the door cards. One would hope a car made in the 21st century would be put together better than one built by a drunken Italian in the 60s.

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > Milky 12/16/2013 at 18:34

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Don't like fwd? Me neither. That's why I'm taking the back seat out of my Riviera to make room for the supercharged 3800 that was in the front(not to toot my own horn, but it's happening and there will be vidya). A car is what you make it, and you can make it anything, even if all you have is a garage and a toolshed like me. That's what The Odd Custom is all about.

And compared to that of that of my Riviera, the aftermarkets for all of these are amazing. Know what yoou can get custom for a 90s Riviera? Rims. That's it. They don't even make replacement parts.

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > BullManUGA 12/16/2013 at 18:40

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People like you are why cars are so expensive. Everything has to work. Nothing can look bad. Not even at 65,000 miles.

And for the record, what the hell were you doing in there, cockfights? My aunt had a 1993 Cavalier for damn near 400,000 miles and ten years before the engine died, and the only thing that came apart was the roofliner and interior light! And this is a car that ROUTINELY held five full-sized adults!

feather-throttle-not-hair > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 18:40

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Hmmm. I dunno man. I mean this is predictive so there is every possibility you are right and I am wrong, but I just don't see it with those cars. I feel like bad build quality, while not absolutely dooming, is a pretty big impediment to most of these cars. The possible exception is the pontiac, which as others have mentioned has an engine that is capable of making big power.

I just feel like if you're going to do serious modifications, presumably going for big power, the last thing you want is FWD. And if most of the money in the project is going to go towards mods and not the initial purchase price of the vehicle, there really is very little excuse to start with something less than ideal, e.g. FWD.

Obvious picks are things like the Mustang and 350Z, both built in large numbers, ensuring lots of parts availability.

Less obvious picks for me:

Toyota Tacoma

Cadillac CTS

Everything that shares a platform with the chrysler 300

Infiniti G35 sedan

All of them turbocharged Auid's with AWD.

Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns > feather-throttle-not-hair 12/16/2013 at 18:52

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Those are some good choices, problem is everyone knows it. By the time those are classic, they'll be expensive as hell, whereas those late 80s W-bodies are coming up on EPA exemption and still available for under a grand. As for the FWD... I got something planned.

Also, as us Yanks often do I kinda forgot about imports! As far as foreign cars go, I'd pick the older Lexus SCs(400 has a v-8, 300 has a 2JZ, and 450 is just terrible), Mazda MP3(kinda classic already), Audi TT(again, already kind of a shoe-in), Jaguar S-type R, Nissan Xterra, and the Infiniti Q45(swag).

feather-throttle-not-hair > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 12/16/2013 at 19:17

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Yeah. I was actually re-reading this, and i think maybe some of our disagreement comes down to what part of the country we live in.

Here, in seattle it's all imports, we (relatively speaking) see very little american iron. It's been weeks since I've seen a ford probe, or a Pontiac that isn't my friend's GTO.

I probably forget just how available and more importantly cheap some of the cars you listed are.

Also, i like your import choices, particularly the Q45 ( I totally want one) and the Jaaaaaaaaag. Seems like nobody realizes that Jag has been doing supercharged V8's for a long time now. And they're cheap as shit, just dont expect working electronics....

Grindintosecond > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 11/26/2014 at 20:49

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The future of hot rods will be kids in garages re-winding copper wire to electric motors, altering, adding, adjusting magnets.

daender > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 11/26/2014 at 21:13

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Why the Ford Probe? Use what it's based off of, the Mazda MX-6. I think it's aged better than the Probe.

That said, there might be some collectable 90s/00s like the Z/24 Cavalier (especially with the optional supercharger package), Neon R/T and ACR, and other GM SCCA-spec fwd coupes.

Better option:

The NC Miata. The market for it will tank hard once the ND hits showrooms. NC is sort of the middle-child of the Miata family. The NA/NB is a great lightweight and affordable convertible hoonmobile but the NC is heavier than its predecessor and successor (by about 300-400 pounds)! It's more of a touring car than a wannabe sports. It shares chassis components with the RX-8 so yeehaw rotary swapage!

That's Mad Mike's next drift car, a NC Miata with a 3-rotor (now 4-rotor with turbo), he's enjoying the fact all the work he's done on his RX-8's suspension easily carries over to the NC so that eliminates one factor of having to design and test components. NC Miatas have longer wheelbases so when you swap in a LS-V8 it won't just as spin-happy as the NA/NB chassis.

The Transporter > Mister Win Blames People, Not Guns 11/26/2014 at 21:20

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I predict that the '92 Grand Prix GXP will end up becoming collector's cars because that was the year that Richard Petty raced in NASCAR. The 1000 special Richard Petty Editions have already begun to reach that status. Same goes for the ones with the McLaren turbos. Keeping them stock will be key

FWD cars just don't scream hot rod to me, anyway. I foresee small pickups taking the mantle. Relatively cheap and plentiful (a key element with a hot rod), easy to modify, and an engine bay big enough to fit just about whatever you want in it.