Jalopnik
The completely indecipherable photograph and PCH Superpower heritage of the '48 Morris Minor truck were the winning combination when it came to beating the 89-year-old Dodge in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll. Today we're going with a regional theme, because the last time we had two vehicles from the same American region was when we had the PCH Philadelphia Edition, and that's just too long. Today we're looking at some high-quality project material from the state where the Civil War began: South Carolina! Thanks (and a PCH Tipster T-shirt) go to Ktek01 for these tips!
The Triumph Spitfire has good Hell Potential, of course, but it's just too slow to be cool enough. But when you go for the GT6... now you're talking! So head on down to Columbia and pick up this 1971 Triumph GT6 (go here if the ad disappears) for just one thousand dollars. That seems pretty cheap, doesn't it? Well, some negative-minded folks might read the part of the car's description that reads "car has set for 23 years" and flee in terror... but you're not like that or you wouldn't be here! Really, storing a British Leyland car in a pine forest in the Deep South is much like storing a good bottle of wine in a temperature-controlled cellar... except for the constant rain, temperature extremes, and critters making nests in the upholstery, that is. But the engine turns over by hand, so a tiny portion of the battle is already won!
Is there any American vehicle that can possibly stack up against a British Leyland sports car in a PCH challenge? Yes! You say you've always admired the Boss 429 Mustang, but those numbers-matching, Barrett-Jackson schmucks have pushed the price up too high to even contemplate one for your own project? You just need to expand your definition of eligible Mustangs, is all, and you can start by looking at this 1974 Mustang II with 429 Police Interceptor engine (go here if the ad disappears). Someone has managed to fit several acres of 429 into what amounts to a Pinto engine compartment, and you even get a tough 9" rear with 4.11 gears as part of the package. It looks like some work is needed here, but if, by some miracle when you finish the project you'll have the most badass Malaisemobile in your time zone. Imagine the respect you'll get using your Boss 429 Mustang II as a daily driver (that is, if you can survive past the first week after you get it on the road)!
Comments
Give me a British car for PCH and I'll do something stupid with it.
Wait.
Thats not how that saying goes. Oh well. Triumph.
The Rustang, if only for the phrase "Ready to be finished..."
That is PCH gold right thar.
Mustang. It looks like it has set for 23 years too and there's no telling what has been cut up or cut out to make that engine fit. And there is the slightest possibility that you might, someday, make it work. Not so much for the BL lump.
That 'stang looks pretty hellish, by old blighty just takes teh cake. 26 Years. Gawd damn.
I have a hood scoope like the mustang on my slant six dart.
God, that GT6 is sexy. I'd love to own one someday, and they're sufficiently rare and finicky enough to warrant true PCH.
But that Mustang II...it's the red-headed stepchild of the Mustang, and people will continue to question your mental health even after you rescue it from the mud and the muck. Though I suppose you could always do something cool with it...
[ltproshop.com]
I've got the actual model kit, so maybe it's time to build a life-sized replica.
"Really, storing a British Leyland car in a pine forest in the Deep South is much like storing a good bottle of wine in a temperature-controlled cellar... except for the constant rain, temperature extremes, and critters making nests in the upholstery, that is."
That, and the fact that Lucus electrical components were fabricated entirely from composed steak-and-kidney pie, and faded dreams.
There's no hell like British hell. That Triumph could be in perfect condition and I promise you given enough time, no matter how good the care is, it would end up being more hellish than the 'Stang.
That's because it's British and it hates all of us for ruining the empire.
Mustang, if you can call that a mustang.
The Triumph would be a fun project and one that I still have a few parts lying around that will fit. Also the blurry photos make it look like it's wicked fast.
No matter what you do to the stang, you're still going to end up with the automotive equivalent of a 15 year-old's mustache- something that gets universally derided despite months of effort.
gotta say the 429 mustang if only for the idea that I could have a mustang with a 429 in it... I do notice there is NO MENTION if it runs...
All that Rustang really needs to be finished is the COBRA II decal kit applied- without doing any bodywork first.
@graverobber: good point
Rustang.
There was one of these for sale on a Denver-area car lot last year 'bout this time, low miles, and it was almost showroom condition. I think the asking price was $8K. Must have been some nice, Mile High doobage goin' on when that figure was picked.
Still, I'd not have taken this "nice" example, even if it were free. Why? It's a Rustang. Disgustang. Worthless pile-o-parts. Even if it were gold-plated, the Rustang's influence would counteract any perceived value and would have turned the gold to lead. An alchemist's nightmare.
i have a hood scoop and a cobra kit on my slantsix dart
it's really not a fair comparison since British cars set the standards by which all other PCHs are judged.
My buddy raced a GT6 in the GT2 class, (2 litre and under) holy crap did that car fly. Held together with bailing wire and other racers used tires, but nasty fast with the set up he had.
The pics for the Triumph looks like part of a promotional campaign for the next Blair Witch movie. You could rebuild the whole thing from Moss for only about 4 times the price of a good one.
Have to go with the Mustang here. 429 in a Pinto with absolutely no brake or suspension mods, NO PROBLEM....
The Mustang, obviously...because even after thousands of dollars, hours, and buckets of blood/sweat/tears, you've got a '74 Mustang II.
429 of anything is a good amount.
I'll take the one photographed with the pinhole camera.
Tough choice but when faced whith a tough choice concerning the Gates of Hell, I have to go British. I have actually worked on these things. How many years sitting in a forest? My guess is that the poor thing will turn to brownish red dust at the first attempt to get it on a trailer.
@PeteJayhawk: BINGO.
if by some fluke of god and man you actually got the Triumph to run, people would be impressed and chicks would want you (it's a roadster, after all!)
but no matter what you do with the PintoPlus, it's still a Malaistang.
@abgwin: Roadster? I don't believe the roof has THAT much rust.
@graverobber: whoops. i was thinking "spitfire" and yet, typing "roadster"
ah hell, all british cars are roadsters in spirit.
The Mustang is just a bigass engine with a POS along for the ride - you expect it to torture you, but it'll run quick, frame twisted, with one front wheel constantly in the air.
The GT6, it's actually a nice car, covered in 23 years of rust, disrepair, and British Leylandosity. No matter how well it'll run, there'll always be more, and the car will be just worthy enough for you to care.
Putting a 429 in a Mustang II is like giving Rosie O'Donnell a Boob Job! Give me Spitfire and a Nissan SE-R motor and I'm good to go!
GT6 looks like it may well be haunted.
Gimme.
The Triumph is unquestionably the hell-mobile in this matchup. Besides, no matter what happens with the Craptang, you've got a 429 and a 9 inch just waiting for a real project. Like a 70 Torino, or a 67 'Chero.
I had to vote for the mustang, because I already have a triumph.
However, the GT6 seller does get PCH cred for listing it as a 4 cyl. Hint, the 6 in the name stands for something.
I'm going to pick the Mustang because every time you mention you have one you'll hear either what a POS it is or that it was in Charlies Angels. Doesn't matter if it's powered by a 429, OM617 diesel or nuclear reactor, the stigma of it's origin will never go away.
I picked Moosetang II, because even after you get it running people still won't understand.
I had to go with the Pintang. Ford's the only company I know of whose plastic rusts, add to the fact that the thing will be so nose heavy it won't turn, and all those wonderful Pinto safety features. Forget Dante, this is Iacocca's Inferno.
I like how the Triumph appears to be photographed while the owner is fleeing, perhaps from some Evil Dead style beast of unfathomable cruelty and nightmarishness. That said, it would make more sense for him to be running away from the Triumph.
In honor of Major Robert Anderson, I surrender to the superior numbers of the 429 Mustang II.
The Triumph pictures are an eye test, right? "Which is clearer, left or right?" "Uh, left." "OK, now for these?" "Hmmm. Left again."
I voted for it anyway. Never a fan of the Mustang II--too cute to take seriously as muscle, it was like the Mustangette. Plus, it looks WORSE than the Triumph--parked in a piney-wood for 23 years. Was the Stang in a swamp all this time? Down by the sea shore? Next to a corrosives factory? And the inside looks like a yeti nest.
@dohcspit: I was wondering if I was the only one who noticed that.
I vote for the Mustang. Bust your ass getting in to run and you still have a POS>
@Bumblebee: my bank account would disagree...
and i'm guessing the engine of the Triumph only turns over because the pistons and conrods, made of 100% rust, completely disintegrated when they owner tried to crank it over.
The GT6 is British and has sat for 23 years. Even if the Mustang has sat that long, it's not British.
Let's see. Leyland goes in rhythm with terror, and Lucas goes in rhythm with "Island Devil"
Anyone who tells me 'A Mustang II is a Mustang too!" just makes me laugh.
Triumph!
@dohcspit:
The 4cyl is what makes it very rare, instead of just rare.
Also notice "bill of sale only" as in he has no title for it which he did mention in an earlier ad. IIRC the earlier ad also stated it had been stored in a barn.
Surprised to see the rustang II holding its own, expected it to get clobbered but couldnt find a 74 Ford Capri to put it up against.
@dohcspit:
Argh, I thought I was going to be the first one to notice the Triumphs missing two cylinders. Maybe it has a 1498cc four-banger under the hood? Does an engine swap for a smaller one translate into extra jalopnik points?
I had a friend in high school whose brother spent a couple of years unsuccessfully trying to mate a small block Chevy with an MGB. I learned from that experience that just cuz you see an improbable engine actually sitting inside the engine compartment does not mean there is a serious chance that it is or ever will be connected to anything so as to make an actual car. Making your own hell by trying to put the square peg into the round hell is kinda-sorta cheating. Factory installed hell trumps over that and the GT6 has got plenty of same.
There's a GT6 on my craigslist right now, actually. "Great Project Car! Filled to the roof with spare parts!"
[neworleans.craigslist.org]
I'm actually debating a 70s triumph with an engine in pieces for the low, low price of hauling it away...
I'm a little conflicted here because I once had a ride in a Spitfire which had had a small block Ford engine grafted into it with little regard for structural integrity issues. While it was scary fast when the wiring wasn't sparking, it was mostly just scary. Spitfire, a runaway winner in this PCH.
Why hasn't anyone suggested 429 in a GT6?