Fast and Furious/65 Riv

[rocky5517]

at 10pm Eastern time Fast and Furious is restoring a 65 Riv

[rocky5517]

What a mess!!

[rocky5517]

Check spelling/ Fat and Furious, on Velocity.. The guy wants a gasser. Better you don't watch

[petelempert]

Look away. PRL

[JZRIV]

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/fat-n-furious/videos/65-riviera-goes-gasser/

 

At first I didn't like it but I don't think its so bad. Its not what I'd do but anything to keep the Riviera name in the public eye is probably good. I had to laugh, the first words out of the guys mouth was "this was a little harder than expected"

Pretty much typical on any job on a Riviera

Edited June 6, 2016 by JZRIV (see edit history)

[telriv]

The SADDEST thing about this is they DESTROYED a '65 Gran Sport. ANOTHER piece of history GONE!!! And, they put a 355CID small block Chevy in it's place.  I'd almost be willing to bet that if I added a 200+ shot of nitrous to my otherwise mostly stock low compression original "Nail" I could also be in the 11's. As it stands now, full weight, over 200K since the engine rebuild, no lighting done, other than to remove ALL unnec. weight from the trunk, original trans. & converter,  etc. has run a best of a 13,902@98MPH.  I have pictures & video of 4400+ pds. pulling the left front off the ground. This says something about the legendary low RPM grunt/torque that the "Nails" originally produced & were known for.

[JZRIV]

Crap I did not notice it was a GS. This just goes to show there are still people out there who have no clue what a 65 Riv GS is. Unbelievable.

[Chimera]

I agree with JZ. Certainly even while making a gasser they should have kept the nailhead and gone a different way however. The owner made the essential mistakes that lacked appreciation for the starting treasure.

[lrlforfun]

OK Riviera People: 

 

I personally like stock the best. This car is not destroyed. It can be enjoyed as it is or converted to any number of ways another person would like it. Some ways easier than others.  Gasserman and his family are having a blast with it.  It's his car, his moment of glory, I'm happy for him and I find it a fresh departure for a different interpretation of a 65 Riv.

 

DO NOT FORGET.......the most supportive question is, "Sir/Madam, how do you enjoy your car/s?   Mitch

 

 

 

 

[RivNut]

Question #1:  Is it streetable and can it be licensed and insured to be driven on the street.?  Not to much enjoyment if it were me just sitting in the car waiting for my turn for 14 seconds of "fun."  Now if it only weighed about 1800 pounds and it had about 800 hp on tap, that might be a different story.  

 

There's another thread on this same forum dealing with the same subject.  Lots of opionions.

 

 

[Chimera]

So, just as a hypothetical, if someone really got a kick out of buying up 65 Rivieras and chainsawing them or crushing them, would you still feel that way and support it Lrlf? 

 

I PERSONALLY consider the car, maybe not destroyed, but certainly diminished. 

 

Obviously people are free to enjoy as they like, yet I don't lend my support to many ways people enjoy their classic vehicles, nor would I pretend to do so.

 

What IS very important to consider is that creative expressions such as forms of art or car builds for our specific example are rightfully open to BOTH praise AND criticism. I can critique while still honoring the personal choice and ability for others to enjoy the creation. IDEALLY if someone is going to do a build like this one, they might want to start with more of a low quality, non-GS car UNLESS perhaps they plan to do something extremely epic and profound like making a Silver Arrow like car or something of that nature. It is up for debate what is epic, profound, and appropriate. I would assume that he just worked with what he happened to have, yet A lot of money was spent on the build for sure $$$$$$$. 

 

I find the fresh interpretation not to my liking AND they did not meet their own goal of making it as fast as they wanted. Someone mentioned that maybe if they kept the nailhead and put the dual quad on, they TOO would have been more happy with the build as they would have met their own goals better while keeping it more true to form.

 

I mean, it kinda cool and interesting, but looks like they would be breathing in a bunch of exhaust? hehehehe.

 

Edited June 6, 2016 by Chimera (see edit history)

[RivNut]

Read the comments of John Rex in the link that I posted in post #10.  The Riv is 1) too heavy, and 2) the SBC isn't putting out nearly enough hp.  You would think if these guys were professionals, that they would know some of these facts.  They should have taken a lesson from Richard Rawlings on one of his Fast and Loud "grease monkey garage" shows.  He took a '54 Ford, put a straight axle under it, dropped in a SBF crate motor, and lost his shirt at the track.  Once again, too heavy, too little horsepower.  I think that this car was about 2 seconds slower than they "hoped" for as well.  Someone needs to do some simple math.

 

 

If you were around in the mid 60's when the factories were involved in "stock" car drag racing, you saw Hemi Mopars, Big Block Chevies "Mystery engines", and Big Block Ford Cobra Jets  fighting for the rights to be at the top.  All of a sudden there were aluminum bumpers, aluminum fenders, drilled frames, altered wheel bases, and anything else to lighten the car and make more horsepower.  Sox and Martin, "Grumpy" Jenkins, Don Nicholson, Gas Ronda, and of course Linda Vaughan - Miss Hurst Golden Shifter*.  Back when you could tell one car from another, and everyone had a favorite.  These weren't "gassers" but they knew the equation of ET = lb. / hp.  The lower the number, the faster you went.

 

Ed

 

*For some of you younger guys.

 

Edited June 6, 2016 by RivNut (see edit history)

[johnrex]

Rule of thumb in drag racing, a hundred pounds is a tenth of a second in the quarter mile! It is a law of physic. That's why professional drivers are small/lightweight.

[lrlforfun]

OK Chimera: To answer your question about chainsawing 65 Rivs...I have only broken up one 65 Riv in my life and that was not  well planned on my part . I have seen many many many 65 Rivs broken up in the last 5 years. I even have a blurb on Craig's List offering First-Gen Riviera parts.

 

There are several guys on the West Coast hustling First-Gen Riv parts to put bread on the table.

 

You hate this gas car, I don't mind it. There are lots of high dollar high quality builds out there I think are monstrosities.

 

Mitch

[Chimera]

My grandfather purchased his 64 New from the dealer and drove it till he died at 91. He was a MAJOR first generation Riviera parts dealer during that time...in Southern California, but these parts were gotten from the place where cars go to die. You are not really answering my question specifically, but I think I understand the points. Also, I did not say I hated the car. Intricacies are important. Certainly I don't see an issue with selling parts. I need parts! This particular build is a spectacle and will get some praise and much deserved critics. 

 

Final ruling: They did not meet their own goals. Poor Build. Thats official. They get some minor bonus points for it being the first time to do something that PERHAPS, should not have been done. I bet the owner loves the car though, so with that regard, it is a success!

 

Thanks Mitch.

[devildog93]

I realize i am biased as hell, but i hate all gassers, not just this one. I think they are a functional disgrace and just retarded examples of anti-engineering. Who the hell says hey, lets take this car and drop it back 40 years in suspension. This isn't a car any more, it's a crappy version of a dragster...and not very fast at that. How much did it cost them to go into the 11s? It bugs the crap out of me that i know we could do it for the same money, yet retain good braking, handling, and driveability without going full retard. Gassers are like guys who just do curls and say they work out. Goofy garbage.

[RivNut]

devildog,

 

Back before you were born - 1970 (I looked at your profile,) before the days of crate motors and jig welded frames.  When the S in NASCAR meant 'stock' as in produced by the factory, and the HR in NHRA meant 'hot rod' as in take what you got and try to make it faster (not that's necessarily good) but guys used to take the lightest weight car (a Willys) and stuff the biggest engine they could find (Chrylser 392 Hemi) into it, bolt on some go fast goodies, and see how fast they could get them to run.  Those were the gassers that some of older guys used to love to watch at the drags.  Throw an engine from an AA fuel dragster into a short wheel based roadster, bolt a wing to the top of it, and fill the tank with nitro, and you've got a real show for the crowd.  Go back to post #10 in this thread and click on the link to Reality TV and look at the pictures in post #12.  Once there, you'll see what us old farts refer to as gassers - real gassers, not what some reality TV personality is creating and calling a gasser.  Any body built after 1942 is too new, and Fords and Chevys were too heavy, any motor that wasn't blown and injected and was less that 392 cubic inches might as well stay home.  Good times for all - builders, drivers, and fans.

 

Ed

Edited June 8, 2016 by RivNut (see edit history)

[JZRIV]

On a general note, any custom car is personal preference of the one footing the bill to build it. No one else has to like it if its what the owner likes. Often a problem with this is the cars future value will be remain questionable. I've known a couple guys who built traditional street rods in the early 2000s when they were big. These were very well done professional cars. They can't sell them today and if they did it would be for a tiny fraction of what's invested because that trend peaked a long time ago. Same for custom motorcycles. Trending now in this area has been the baggers. Anyone who has a custom chopper with a fat rear tire from the late 90s early 2000s is out of vogue and they are difficult to sell.

I like to see modified cars of all types because if everyone was like me it sure would be boring. The above fact is one reason I stick with authentic builds. I work too hard for my money to build something that might nose dive in the market. The market for authentic cars or bikes is generally stable among enthusiasts and not as subject to wild swings due to their trendiness.

As for this gasser wanna-be I hope the owner is happy and maybe he'll want to buy an authentic Riv he can drive more often.

[devildog93]

Ed i wasn't talking about what was done with 30s and 40s cars. You aren't setting those back in time and making them less functional. I am surely not bagging on the old guys for doing what they did back in the day or i wouldn't have the opportunity to play with some of the cars or engines i like. What i do not like is people doing something just for the sake of being different even if it means cutting off a finger. I don't want to hate on the fat and furious guys for making a buck, but i would have left that build off the show if it were me. I think i am probably not the only guy who would have told that particular customer to head on down the road to someone else who might be interested in that type of build. I'm not in the mechanic business to make something worse than it was before i touched it, and in my mind that car is worse off. Cosmetics can be argued back and forth, but when it comes to safety and driveability issues like with gassers and "donks" i wouldn't budge.