OK - so it looks like they changed the name of the show from 'Driven' to 'Car Kings.' Either way, pretty cool show (a little more 'drama' than is needed, but that's what happens when you have wannabe TV stars, rather than regular car guys on film).
However... I couldn't even make it to the first set of commercials without pausing and yelling at the screen - my wife was laughing at me.
First, the seller kept saying it was an untouched car - never been restored... blah, blah, blah. Maybe the seller didn't know, and maybe he was B.S.ing the buyer - who knows. My take was that it was a 'typical throw everything at it' refresh/restore that bugs the crap out of me. Why?
- Originally it was a no stripe car (rocker side molding AND Boss 351 stripes... come on)
- Spoilers (trunk spoiler was on backward - you just know they added those on)
- 351 Ram Air stickers and TuTone hood blackout (yet it has no Ram Air assembly and no hood locks)
- Rear exhaust cut-out valance and dual exhaust (but it was an H-Code which came with no factory dual exhaust)
- Magnum 500s (you know that car came with 14" Corporate Dog Dishes)
- Rear quarter panel damage
- Improper repair on the Urethane bumper (bondo'd)
I'm not bugged about the price - they're only worth what the buyer's willing to pay, after all. I think that $18K price was not all that bad, actually.
Then all the misinformation by these 'experts' was driving me up the wall!
- These cars are not gigantically proportioned compared to the previous models
- 351C-2V came from the factory with 180hp
- Welding in the roll bar would stiffen the chassis (WTF?!! SFCs, yes - roll bar, not so much)
- Way too many more little comments and whatnot I can think of off the top of my head... but Dang those guys are misinformed
Then they're bugged about the cowl rust. Whiners! It's an H-Code restomod - throw in a set of Dynacorn repop panels and call it good. I didn't have those available when I did mine... geez.
Did anybody else yell at the TV when they were trying to stuff that Coyote in and it kept getting hung up on the cross-member and wedged into the shock towers? Wow. I thought those guys were supposed to be some of the best in the biz - I wonder how much they klooge/half-*** other cars they build. Oil pan's facing the wrong way and the Coyote's too wide for even our shock towers, Bozos.
OK - so, having said all of that, there are some really cool things about it that I like:
- Wheels are sharp - nice choice!
- The 'Murdered Out' look turned out better than I expected - I think I would've preferred gloss black, though
- Dakota Digital gauges turned out awesome - I might have a tough choice ahead
- "Mach 22" logo was a neat idea, and turned out OK. The stripes... not so much (I wouldn't hire that guy to 'eyeball' anything for me - typical hack job on the stripes, and glad they didn't attempt the TuTone hood)
- TCP suspension components - good choice!
- Wilwood 4-wheel disc brakes - good choice!
- The custom grille turned out nice, but would've stuck with the factory Mach 1 grille and turned the sport lamps into driving lights
I have no idea what kind of exhaust they put on that thing, but it sounded like a beast. Overall, I think it was a pretty well done car.
I liked the show and agree on the exposure being a good thing for '71-'73 Mustangs. Unfortunately, I anticipate a slew of 'Mach 22 wannabes' looming on the horizon, as people tend to become copycats. I just hope no rare, valuable, and/or collectible cars get cut-up in the process... I'd rather see them restored. H-Codes and 302 cars, however - Go For It!
Thoughts?
