Hobby Cars anyone?

This is mine, 1973 Pontiac LeMans


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I'm bumping this back up. Let's see your other rides! Here's my GMC.


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Check out  www.factoryfive.com for a couple thousand in savings.   Adios Allante!
Course it would have been nice if they had picked the "Cad Allard."        (almost forgot where I was posting.)

is the Factory Five still down the street from you?





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Five minutes away and for the past twenty years. What a great spot to stop by for a cup of coffee and some car talk.  Some day the Allante will go and as long as I can still lay on my back and hold a wrench!!
I think I have mentioned that four years ago when #1 son built a new house he stipulated on a three car garage so that he will have the room for a Factory Five" when his #2 daughter finishes college. She will be a senior this year.

I am a collector of a certain make of vehicles.  Hopefully I wont be chastised, but my fiancee and I collect dodge products.  From tiny toy cars to real cars, we have quite a collection.  While it is mostly collectables, die cast cars and such, we have some rare items, and we are working on having an actual car from each decade.  We current have covered the 70s, 80s (3) , 90s (2), and 00s.  I have been in a few magazines for my first car, my 1983 Dodge Mirada.  I recently also acquired a 1972 Dodge Demon, and later this week I will be looking at a 1992 Plymouth Laser AWD Turbo.
 
Here are pictures of a few of our vehicles:

 

 

 

 

 
Considering that they are Dodge products, they are always breaking...so they are all constant projects...

i'm thinking that maybe "project cars" is more accurate.  no?

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ORIGINAL: Katzmans Caddy

This is mine, 1973 Pontiac LeMans


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Not sure what the correct title is, mine is far from a project, it has every piece of chrome, every interior part and runs like a top, reliable, probably in better condition than may folks regular everyday car, never hesitated to take it on a 100 mile trip. Has only 60,000 original miles. The only thing I do to it is wash, wax and burn rubber.

my demon is a project car...it has a full fiberglass front end, disc brakes, aftermarket suspension, and a new drivetrain.
 
and yes, that LeMans looks nicer than most peoples DD...very nice car.

your may be the exception.
check out the red Duster on the flatbed.

we used to have a blue one, got 4mpg with the
340 MOPAR modified and  extra slicks for the strip.  

those were the days.

sold it, the guy handed over the cash and he pulled it out of the garage,
then drove off and proceeded to plow into the curve and block wall
three blocks away as he smoked them for the full lenght of the block. 

TOTALED!

what  a deal he got. 
i think i cried that day - (i said i think).

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ORIGINAL: Katzmans Caddy

Not sure what the correct title is, mine is far from a project, it has every piece of chrome, every interior part and runs like a top, reliable, probably in better condition than may folks regular everyday car, never hesitated to take it on a 100 mile trip. Has only 60,000 original miles. The only thing I do to it is wash, wax and burn rubber.

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Well it wasn't always the way it is in the picture...

did you buy it in rough shape/restore it, or have you owned it for a long time, and repaired the wear and tear?
 
what engine/trans?

I have had it for some time but it was pretty complete when I got it. I am the 4th owner, Original owner had the car from March 1973 to November 1989. The car is in far superior condition today than when I purchased it. The trunk was full of parts and trim pieces that fell off over the years and I had to repair the floor pan and trunk in a few places. It was in a barn about 200 miles north of Toronto so it had no exhaust system and years of dust and grim. Some body work was needed etc......I have kept it up and drove it while getting it to where it is today.
 
Now for the interesting part. The car is built in Oshawa Ontario, so you may or may not know that for the most part Canadian built Pontiacs left the factory with Chevrolet engines of similar power and displacement as the US cars. This began in the mid 50's and ended in 1977 when GM went corporate. Full sized Canadian Pontiacs were shorter too usually up to 6" shorter in the wheel base, because they were built on Chevrolet Chassis. We had our own distinctive models too. Tempest/GTO's were not available through regular dealer channels until 1970. There are lots of Pontiacs here with 283, 327 and orange 350 engines, less common are 348 3X2's, 396, 409 3X2's, 427 and 454 but they all exist.
 
Now my car is documented by GM Canada as one of 3,761 built. It has a TH 350 transmission and an L-48 Corvette 350. That's how she left the factory. Pontiac badged the engines as Pontiac Astro-Flash for Small blocks and Pontiac Astro-Jet for Big blocks. I try to keep it as original as possible with AC Delco parts and what not. 
 
I'll get a pic of the engine posted if you are interested.

wow...thats very interesting, with the drivetrain items.
 
Its very nice, and I also appreciate that it isnt the "typical" muscle car...i dont know that ive seen many, especially that clean.

My Dad had one and it was the car I learned to drive on, so there is a sentimental reason behind having it. Anyway here's a shot of the engine. I have since put on a ZZ4 Intake from Chevrolet Perfomance Parts.




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wow....looks spotless.
 
I would love to find my dads 64 corvette some time, but it is my understanding that it was totaled shortly after he sold it.

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ORIGINAL: Katzmans Caddy

My Dad had one and it was the car I learned to drive on, so there is a sentimental reason behind having it. Anyway here's a shot of the engine. I have since put on a ZZ4 Intake from Chevrolet Perfomance Parts.




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My 71 elcamino had a zz4 crate motor along with all the other goodies. Terrific motor, handled a 150 shot of nos pretty good.

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ORIGINAL: Patrick

wow....looks spotless.

I would love to find my dads 64 corvette some time, but it is my understanding that it was totaled shortly after he sold it.

 
Probably only goes 1,000 miles a year, stays tucked inside under a blanket all winter so not that hard to keep the motor clean.
 
Why not sell a few Dodges and pick up a 64 Vette?

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ORIGINAL: G.A.R.Y.

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My 71 elcamino had a zz4 crate motor along with all the other goodies. Terrific motor, handled a 150 shot of nos pretty good.

 
If I'm not mistaken the ZZ4 had 330 HP out of the crate adding in a 150 shot of NOS and that would have been one wild riding El Camino!

I happened to be up late the other night and caught a Ca. car auction on tv and a 63 zo6 split window went for 205k.  YIKES, however there are some 64's 327's for a lot less.

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ORIGINAL: Katzmans Caddy

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ORIGINAL: Patrick

wow....looks spotless.

I would love to find my dads 64 corvette some time, but it is my understanding that it was totaled shortly after he sold it.

Probably only goes 1,000 miles a year, stays tucked inside under a blanket all winter so not that hard to keep the motor clean.

Why not sell a few Dodges and pick up a 64 Vette?

 
right now, i dont want a 64 vette...i want my dads 64 vette.  plus, ive been racing mopars for 10 years now, and i have so many parts...i have several storage garages with spare parts.

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ORIGINAL: Patrick
...i have several storage garages with spare parts.

 
That would neat to see, kind'a like a Mopar Museum.

Here's a neat feature of my car, a 160 MPH speedometer


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    Interesting site regarding hobby cars!

www.semasan.com

A lobby group for the auto hobby industry. Makes sense if you are in the business of selling parts and performance parts. Never realized that there were so many anit-car hobby pieces of legislation to contend with.
 
Here in Toronto, Tuner Street Racing is so bad legisaltion is being introduced to permit police to confiscate the cars and crack down on modifications from stock. Several innocent people have been killed by these street racers who either drag race or run through traffic like a slalom course.