I saw a lot of restomod cars this past week and I kept thinking which car I would want to restomod

Lugnut said:

I don't understand this. This seems to me that it's nothing more than throwing money at something that looks cool to make it drive remotely like a modern car, which by every single measurable criteria are superior, safer, cleaner, and reliabler. I feel like this is the exact opposite of my own personal values when it comes to cars - keep them reliable, keep them safe, and don't change anything until it either needs replacement or you have completely maxed out its performance. 

I am positive I've told this story here before, but I'll do a quick recap of how all of this seems to me. I had an E30 M3 that I replaced with an E46 M3. I sold the E30 to a friend of mine who was just getting started doing track days. He took it out twice (both times to Gingerman Raceway), had the same instructor both times, and at the end of the second day he came up to me, very excited, and said, "My instructor said that I really should put coilovers and swaybars on the car because this suspension is really holding me back and I could go a lot faster with a new suspension!" He'd had the car for two DEs and he was ELEVEN SECONDS SLOWER at Gingerman than I was in the very same car. Why in the WORLD would you modify something when you haven't reached its potential yet?

I've had a crash now and I can't imagine pushing the performance of a car without crumple zones and airbags and all of that good stuff. A brand new Camaro 2.0t is going to be cheaper than any of these cars and will outperform almost all of them. It will most certainly out-safety any of them.

This is very honestly not a rant and not an "I'm right and this is stupid" post. I really want this explained to me because I've never understood it and some of you are super passionate about it. I just can't grok it. What am I missing, other than "old Supras look cool" and "3rd gen Camaros look cool"? I recently drove a 3rd gen Camaro and it was AWFUL! What am I unable to process about these cars? :)

Your points are all valid, but you have to look at the starting premise of a "Restomod. Restomods are first and foremost antique cars. It was a given from the start that the owner builder was willing to accept the limitations of an old car in order to scratch some other itch.

That said, in their soul, every Restomod builder knows and accepts what you are preaching; New technology is better than old technology. Drivetrains got better, brakes and handling got better. So, if possible, why not adopt what can be adopted and yet still have the personal expression of driving an antique car?

What has not been stated is that the results of building a Restomod are all over the place. Builder skill and design of the new vehicle is going to be variable. With the rule of "the last 10%", being what it is, getting a Restomod to the finished stage is a rare occurrence. This means that most have some foibles that you learn to live with. Or not.  And while some of these cars might be cool/impressive to look at,  driving the thing might make you pine for the original antique donor; way the berkeley too much power is probably the biggest culprit in this category.

I will let y'all know how I did when I am done!

Lugnut said:

I just wanted to clarify that I don't think it's stupid or that people shouldn't do it... Just that I don't understand it! Maybe I think a bit that modifying components before their capability has been reached is a little dumb, but that's only because of my personal priorities and activities with my cars. I don't do events that don't involve driving - I understand the bit about cars and coffee but I don't go to those very often because I don't do events where my car sits, turned off. My goal is to drive them as fast as they can possibly be driven, and I want to be a fast driver, not a mediocre driver in a fast car.

The bolded bits highlight the problem. You have a very narrow view of the car hobby and can't understand anything outside of that narrow viewpoint. Do you WANT to understand it? For many of us, cars are ALSO art. Rolling sculpture. We like driving them, but we also like looking at them. Not every car has to be a race car to be a valuable member of the fleet. And for some of us, we like our rolling sculpture to work as good as it can, not necessarily be the fastest in the world, nor a road race level handler. But better than stock to go with the looks of the car. We're not going to use 100% of the car's capability on the street and we aren't going to necessarily take it to the track. So starting out with the best on the planet and driving it to it's capacity is not on the radar, even if having fun IS. And then the aspect of taking a car that may look great but not work all that well and using OUR skill and talent to MAKE it work great as well as look good is a draw.

Now, I understand your viewpoint, too. I used to design in my head all sorts of modified cars, and built a number of them. Starting with cars like a Maverick or Corsica or even an old Falcon and making it look and act like a Euro sports sedan with upgraded engine, suspension and interior. It'd be cool because I built it instead of bought it, and it'd be unique because no one was doing it. Then I realized that if I was trying to make a BMW out of a Maverick or Falcon, that I could start with a used BMW and be nearly complete in stock form for about the same or less money. So I did that instead of modifying a lesser car or modifying an older car.

But look at cars like the Comet I posted. A classic, artistic form that only needs motor and suspension upgrades to be more than fun on the street and have a style that no modern car can match. Best of both worlds and I WILL end up building it, even if there are faster, better handling cars to start with.

As long as we are dreaming........

I'd like to build one of these, but transform it into RWD, with an Alfa V6 sitting under the hatch.   Looks wise---- this one is about perfect IMHO.  

Yeah... the whole point of a restomod is "art first, performance second."   ...and safety  somewhat third at best.  They aren't meant to be all-out track cars.  

Ian F said:

Yeah... the whole point of a restomod is "art first, performance second."   ...and safety  somewhat third at best.  They aren't meant to be all-out track cars.  

but if you want to see similar restomod cars that are all about performance, go check out the pro-touring forums. those guys do some crazy builds.

As for me i'd take pretty much any late 60's/early 70's american wagon. disc brakes and coilovers all around with a healthy cam'd big block.

Joe Gearin said:

As long as we are dreaming........

 

I'd like to build one of these, but transform it into RWD, with an Alfa V6 sitting under the hatch.   Looks wise---- this one is about perfect IMHO.  

 

I wanted to do a mid mounted VR6 in my '77 Scirocco, but with box flares.

edizzle89 said:

Ian F said:

Yeah... the whole point of a restomod is "art first, performance second."   ...and safety  somewhat third at best.  They aren't meant to be all-out track cars.  

but if you want to see similar restomod cars that are all about performance, go check out the pro-touring forums. those guys do some crazy builds.

yeah, they get some crazy fast cars, but they are still about the art first, as they could get the same or better performance out of a new car without the mods.

The way I normally describe it is, you can use the performance some of the time. You can use the looks ALL of the time. ;) We accept that there are no airbags or ABS or crumple zones. But it's pretty easy to be in the 97% of the public that doesn't get into accidents at all every year. I've driven old cars for decades and am still alive... ;)

Joe Gearin said:

As long as we are dreaming........

 

I'd like to build one of these, but transform it into RWD, with an Alfa V6 sitting under the hatch.   Looks wise---- this one is about perfect IMHO.  

 

You know the Audi TT quattro is pretty close wheelbase wise iirc. That's what I would do.