Is it just me or are there just alot of "cookie cutter cars". it seems like every on has alot of the same ' bolt ons ". it has been awhile since i have seen cars that have been hand fabricated.I know i am guilty becuase of time ,money, and ease of instalation. I like to see cars that are built out of necessity or functionality. I just think the little custom touches set off a car no matter how fancy or crude.
do aftermarket parts make us lazy ?
- Thread starter gwhiz
- Start date
- Status
I prefer the stock look, personally. I do appreciate custom work when it is done right but like you say a lot of it is just bolt on off the shelf junk.
Most people don't have the knowledge or tools to do custom fab work, plus time and materal cost in some cases its cheaper to just buy the already made part
gwhiz said:
I agree, not a fan of "cookie cutter" options. Now some parts are obvious add-ons and would be stupid to re-invent.
I have taken the time, headache, and many mistakes to customize mine so that there is never another Regal like mine on the street. I love the challenge of fabrication and research and development through trial and error.
I get where you are coming from. What I did with my car was take a whole bunch of stock g body parts, not all buick, and set them up so that there will never be another like it, even though it uses all gm oem parts and looks stock to the untrained eye.
Yes, there is a large amount of pocketbook/copycat cars. I dont blame people, building your own stuff is not easy. If you actually add up your time doing R&D and materials it can be more expensive. However, its more fun and you cant complain about the parts not fitting or them not being how you wanted them.
It depends on the car choice also. You can checkbook hotrod a 67-69 camaro easy. Crate motor, trans from a box, pre assembled subframes, prestamped bodies ect. Try to build a 81 cutlass with a 80 buick V6 drawthrough out of a magazine and its not going to happen. Sometimes I wish I would have just went with a SBO. There was a good 67 330 Olds I could have bought instead of the motor i have now. It probably would be faster, cost less, be more sellable, and probably get the same MPG but it just would be the same.
The short list of home built parts on my cutlass are
-Ported iron heads
-Alky injection
-2.5" stainless down pipe
-Entire underhood wiring harness
-Virtually every hose, trans, powersteering, AC, heater ect.
-Electric fan mounting and various assorted parts
-Air filter stuff
-Spoiler spacers to mount a TA spoiler on a cutlass
-More stuff
If you don't build your car, can you really call it yours?
It depends on the car choice also. You can checkbook hotrod a 67-69 camaro easy. Crate motor, trans from a box, pre assembled subframes, prestamped bodies ect. Try to build a 81 cutlass with a 80 buick V6 drawthrough out of a magazine and its not going to happen. Sometimes I wish I would have just went with a SBO. There was a good 67 330 Olds I could have bought instead of the motor i have now. It probably would be faster, cost less, be more sellable, and probably get the same MPG but it just would be the same.
The short list of home built parts on my cutlass are
-Ported iron heads
-Alky injection
-2.5" stainless down pipe
-Entire underhood wiring harness
-Virtually every hose, trans, powersteering, AC, heater ect.
-Electric fan mounting and various assorted parts
-Air filter stuff
-Spoiler spacers to mount a TA spoiler on a cutlass
-More stuff
If you don't build your car, can you really call it yours?
Yes and no. There are some things that people just don't have the ability to do, or that it would be long and expensive. For example, I'm not going to weld up a chromeoly transmission crossmember because Iceman's are way better than what I coudl do and cheap to boot. Same with control arms. I dont have the expertise for that or the resources. Somethings are just not able to be done by your average joe. I guess if you have the money then it's okay. Personally I dont care if a car is "cookie cutter" or not. I'll never have to worry about it with my car, so meh. Other people can do what they like.
I like borrowing features from other cars. My El Camino is a mix of many different cars.
Serpentine drive and AC parts from a 92 F-Body
Twin cooling fans from 92 F-Body.
Gm 330 horse 350 Crate engine, 700 trans from a 91 Caprice Police car.
Rear gears and Limited slip from a 90 Z28.
Ft springs and 36mm sway bar and steering box from a 91 IROC.
Nordskog digital dash.
Cadillac auto dimming rear view mirror,and Automatic headlights
Rear sway bar from a 87 Monte Carlo SS
Keyless entry from a 93 Suburban
Goodmark cowl hood and 70 Camaro Cowl induction air cleaner.
I keep my eye open for other cool features from other cars. 8)
Serpentine drive and AC parts from a 92 F-Body
Twin cooling fans from 92 F-Body.
Gm 330 horse 350 Crate engine, 700 trans from a 91 Caprice Police car.
Rear gears and Limited slip from a 90 Z28.
Ft springs and 36mm sway bar and steering box from a 91 IROC.
Nordskog digital dash.
Cadillac auto dimming rear view mirror,and Automatic headlights
Rear sway bar from a 87 Monte Carlo SS
Keyless entry from a 93 Suburban
Goodmark cowl hood and 70 Camaro Cowl induction air cleaner.
I keep my eye open for other cool features from other cars. 8)
- Status
Similar threads
