What inspires you (And your builds/projects)?

[ssn696]

I started by writing an epic. Now I'll actually answer the question posed by the OP.

I learned to drive in a 1980 Malibu Classic Estate - that means fake wood grain on a station wagon. My Dad spent $900 replacing GM's shoddy flame hardened cam. I learned to fix cars after I and my family were ripped off too many times. Even in the 90's wagons were 'uncool', and I did not care that the car never got me any dates. But the wagon grew on me over time. Practical and easy to work on. At that time, there was the single car. Over time, I fixed all the little things that went wrong - my price was cheap - free. I did not have vast amounts to dump into the car, but the V6 was replaced with a V8, then a bigger V8 when I had the money. I was lucky that there were no emissions where I was located. I never had the desire to build a race-only or drag car, but something that would ably do everything. Today that's called Pro-Touring.
I gave up the wagon when the rot got the better of it. After a time, I wanted to get back to the project that I had abandoned, and I found a coupe this time. I kept changing plans and the car stayed off the road for a long time. I have the luxury now of a steady job, a fixed address, and a reliable daily driver. I can't explain the attraction of the body style, and the 1980 header in particular. I want to lower the car, because it will not be my daily driver. The benefit of time is that I have slowly collected parts after learning what swaps with what changes. But the wagon is still defiantly different.

The end result is that I now have two 1980 Malibus, three apprentice car nuts in training, and a wife who, so far, tolerates my mental health activity. She actually persuaded me to buy a Pontiac G8 GXP that showed up on the local Lemon Lot, with the hopes I would get rid of all the 'junk'. Looks like I will part with the GXP long before either Malibu. But, I must admit, the GXP's LS3 and six-speed gives me pause to reconsider my devotion to Gen I small-blocks...

 

[jeremyandthemonte]

You sir are my hero urban outlaw is a must watch Magnus has inspired me in so many ways but I have to say my build which is like the name "street fighter" was I have always wanted a low mean fast car and I was always a big fan of big muscle and speedhunters and oddly enough both cars we mopar but they represented in my mind a rebellious physics in which If you piss it off you have to watch out for the fight.

 

[joesregalproject]

Pretty cool Joe, All that thing needs is some suspension work and some nice rims and tires....
Is it a C6 or a 5 speed ?

Jake, it's a C6. Actually I'm going to take a day trip with the owner (close friend too) to Summit racing in Ohio next month to find a set of wheels for it. As far as suspension goes, it has air bags front and rear, so it's fully adjustable. He bought it new in 1986, redid the paint once and added some custom stuff in the early 90s and then tore it entirely apart in 2001 due to rust and wanting to redo it again and has been working on it since. It's got so many cool custom features, he just has an incredible imagination and ability to visualize how things will look. It's got the dump bed, a roll pan rear bumper, the ghost flames, all kinds of hidden LEDs inside stock housings, lots of shaved emblems, a smoothed firewall, color-matched undercoating and bed-liner, carpeted bed, color matched piping on the seats, hideaway iPod/MP3 connection in the glovebox. It's just done really cleanly, everything looks like it was factory. He tells me he's gonna use it as a work truck when he's finishes it. His other idea was to take the original single wheel bed (which he still has) and build a frame for it, paint it to match and make a matching trailer.

I've thought of doing a Dually conversion and a cowl hood on my daily driver 1999 Suburban but I've got too many projects right now. It's an idea that isn't going anywhere 😀

 

[autonaut]

I grew up in my dads autoshop. Here in scandinavia, most people drive non-american cars. And those that do, tend to go after camaros mustangs vette charger etc etc..

We serviced/service all these musclecars, restore, modify and so on..

To me they were never that special. I saw them every day. But sometimes, a client would walk in with a 4 door dodge aspen looking stock, but anything but. Or a malibu. An el camino. Or other less desireable american cars that most muscle car fans considered boring.

To me, these cara were cooler. I think the car says alot about the owner. And a guy willing to throw all his money after something others frown on, that guy is a true gearhead. He doesnt do it to be seen or heard. He does it because that car satifies him, and only him.

I dont want to build something for anyone but myself. And i happen to like el caminoes and malibus.. I've built firebirds camaroes and a single vette. All fun cars. But most were boring when they were "finished".. And sold shortly after.

This is my second el camino. I came to love them after buying me first cheap to use as a dd.. But it kept growing on my. And now i love gbodies in general. When i look at most owners of gbodies on facebook i kindda wish i didnt. But i do. Someday they will have ruined so many they cant afford them..

 

[SoFloG]

I am born and raised in south Florida, mainly Miami. G bodys and most older gm cars are customized to be a representation of a regional sub-culture that is hard to understand unless you were raised in the area in the 80's and 90's. Neighborhood heroes can be very influential. It's a part of life. The car game is so serious down here.

 

[Turbo Zach]

My father I guess was my biggest influence. We raced a 79 Monte Carlo when I was in high school. We parted out 20 78-80 Monte's in seven year . I built a daily driver from a 79 Monte Carlo that was too good for race car parts. Every time we got another car for parts I took the better stuff and put on my car. I fell in love with the lines of the car and know every bolt and screw on a 79 Monte. On my fourth one now. When we quit racing we built street cars. My dad's cars are 700 horse 70 Nova and a prostreet 72 Vega. I have a 80 Monte Carlo turbo, 79 Monte Carlo, 77 highboy dully, and a lifted 80 ford pickup.

 

[SoFloG]

I remember when the mid to late 80's Caprice and impala were the top dogs on the large wheeled high jacked
rides commonly called DONK . Now those have faded and more and more are being replaced with every type
of car you can possibly fit 24" rims under and still turn the wheels.
I've seem peoples cars jacked so high and wheels so big they cannot turn the steering wheel over 1/2 a turn
or it will rub the fender. This will ruin a good car....

Since when were there anything larger than 16" wheels in the 80's? I have 24s on my cutlass with no lift or cutting and can do full u turns. And ps a Donk is only a 71-76 caprice/impala. Hence the other nicknames like Box, Bubble, and Gbody. I'm all about not cutting cars or jacking fwd cars up in the sky. 24s aren't even big they are putting 34s on cars now. The 80s and most of the 90s in Miami everybody was riding 14 and 15 inch cragar tru spokes or kmc hammers or daytons.

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Back when I was a pup, inspiration was just in the form of keeping my cars/trucks running period. But, if that sounds negative, it really wasn't because, other than the "lying in the driveway in January" nonsense that it is hard to be inspired to do, I learned all the basics during that era that I could take forward to today.

Even though I had a fantastic '84 Cutlass Supreme, Royal Blue, that I really loved at the time, when I heard they were turning the Cutlass into a front wheel drive 4 cylinder in '88, I sought out to find one of the [4208] 442s that were produced and I got lucky. Sadly their popularity as collectors never has really caught on but I still parked it in the garage for posterity as its only 28K miles would prove with the idea that I would eventually make the rather poor performing car eventually perform like a 442 should. Exhausting every and all possibilities to make the stock 307 perform, I almost went 350 and then 403 before I just bit the bullet and managed to make a mild Olds big block run off the albeit rudimentary factory computer. My inspiration was to build an engine that would make the car go like a 442 should but also make it efficient enough to not only pass emissions testing but get 18-20mpg on the highway. With the help of a guy I unfortunately have lost touch with that used to work for one of GM's code writers, we were able to accomplish precisely that. I had to modify the primary side of the carburetor so the small block carb would make a big block idle and put in '70 W30 secondary metering rods but the thing purrs. Started with a Modello 280/286 cam which the computer did not like and had to back off to a Comp Cams 276/280 but still have .496/.512 lift. And, with Edelbrock aluminum heads and intake along with an aluminum water pump and a few other minor mods, the car weighs 40 lbs less with the big block than it did with the 307 and makes more than 2X the power. That is pretty inspirational! Went with a Bowtie level 3 200-4R to hold up to the new found power and still have the factory 8.5 limited slip out back with its 3.73 gears. The car is just geared amazingly well though I do have an enormous traction problem.

So, now, I am inspired to actually make the car hookup, turn, and stop as well as it goes. And all along the journey I continue to just learn an enormous amount of stuff which is kinda just the inspirational icing on the cake.

And, to be honest, I find it very inspirational just reading about all the other car projects here and elsewhere too.

 

[ssn696]

My inspiration was to build an engine that would make the car go like a 442 should but also make it efficient enough to not only pass emissions testing but get 18-20mpg on the highway. With the help of a guy I unfortunately have lost touch with that used to work for one of GM's code writers, we were able to accomplish precisely that.

As much as I know, there are those out there like yourself who have accomplished far more challenging edits to the GM hardware. Very cool stuff!

 

[Canon_Mutant]

Thanks a bunch! Others [frankly more people than not] have said "that's just dumb". If you are going to put a big block in your ride, why not maximize its performance and to hell with emissions and mpgs. Um, yes, I could have a 500 HP - 700 lb.ft. big block [or more], 10 second car with some pretty serious chassis, suspension, rear end, etc. mods to match but I instead have a 400HP/500lb.ft. 442 that will actually make it to the next potty stop before you have to fill it up again without moving back to the heavily polluting tech of the 68-72 era. As is, though I cannot go more than 1/2 way to the floor out of the hole without just sitting there broiling the tires and leave 8-10 ft. of black mark with both rears grabbing 2nd, I can still hit 60 in 5.2 and manage a 13.4/103 1/4 [again traction limited] but when I go into closed loop, lean burn mode, in overdrive, I can get 18-20mpg. That was my inspiration and still is . . .

Now, if I can just make her hook up a bit better, turn a corner, and stop [details] . . . lots of pretty cool stuff for that now days though! Leaning UMI.