By
Craig Fitzgerald
—
Updated
in Magazine, Muscle Cars, Muscle Machines
Share this article
Go Retro
Aside from a lousy music selection, there’s nothing worse than seeing a hot muscle car driven by some geek wearing a “Members Only” jacket. Come on, get with the program and find yourself some vintage duds to go with that ground-pounder.
To that end, RT Retro is remanufacturing 1960s-style nylon racing jackets in exactly the same colors and styles as those sold in the 1960s. The jackets come in white, steel blue and two shades of red, along with the correct racing stripe combinations. And what’s a vintage racing jacket without patches? RT Retro offers emblems from all the major U.S. auto manufacturers, as well as Gulf, Goodyear, Firestone, Champion and Sunoco.
Spastic Plastic
Jackets are available through RT Retro’s website at www.rtretro.com. Pricing is $70, and the patches are $6.50 each. Since the jackets are manufactured and sold through a company in the U.K., you can skip out on paying state tax in the states. Shipping is via first-class air mail.
Spastic Plastic
The Pontiac Fiero was only available for four short years. At its inception in 1984, it was talked about in reverential tones as the second coming of the Corvette. By the end of its life, all the car’s initial shortcomings were overcome, and the car really started to come into its own. And in typical GM fashion, the minute they got the car right, they killed it off.
Go Retro
It’s hard to believe that the first Fieros rolled into dealer showrooms 20 years ago. And like a lot of cars that weren’t given the respect they deserved the first time around, the Fiero soldiers on with a completely rabid fan base dedicated not only to the preservation of original cars, but to their modification and improvement, as well.
It only takes a quick peek at Pennock’s Fiero Forum at www.fiero.nl. Some quick statistics from 2003: For the year, forum members posted over 454,000 new messages. That equates to about 1,200 messages per day covering technical information, events listings, a flea market and general discussion. As of 2003, Pennock’s Fiero Forum had 8,532 members, and in its entirety, the site consumes 8.4 gigabytes of information. Better heat up the coffee if you’re going to search this forum for data; it’s gonna be a long night.
Goodguys Want Muscle
The Goodguys Rod and Custom Association isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think “muscle car.” But Marc Meadors wants to change that. Marc’s dad, Gary, started Goodguys back in 1986 as a way to promote and produce automotive events around the country and throughout the year. Today, the association has over 66,000 members nationally, and puts on some of the biggest street rod shows in the country.
Marc Meadors is as involved in street rodding as his father, but since he came up later in the years automotive, he also has a big soft spot for muscle cars. That’s why, in 2003, Goodguys began welcoming cars built until 1972 into their car shows. Marc notes that 1973 is the cutoff point now, and doesn’t see a big change in that any time soon.
The next big event for Goodguys is the 15th annual Great Lakes National, set for August 20-22 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, at the Waukesha County Expo Center. Goodguys expects over 2,000 cars, including pre-1973 muscle, at the event. For more information on Goodguys’ other events, contact the association at 925-838-9876, or visit their home on the web at www.good-guys.com.
Hemmings Muscle Machines Calls Reveille!
With David Ball’s “Riding With Private Malone” at the top of the country charts, and a hot war still raging in Iraq, it’s gotten us thinking about all those stories of Vietnam veterans that came home to find that their beloved muscle cars had been sold off to pay the mortgage.
Just a reminder that if you were in the service during the Vietnam era and have either managed to hold on to your car all these years, or have reacquainted yourself with the car you had before you left for Southeast Asia, we’re interested in hearing your story.
Don’t hesitate to drop us a message, and include photos of your car if you can. Write to us at Vietnam Survivors, Editorial Department, Hemmings Motor News, P.O. Box 2000, Bennington VT 05201. Or you can email us your story with scanned digital photographs attached to cfitzgerald@hemmings.com.
