When "Posers" were cool
12-28-2007, 08:06 AM
#1
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Eagle, Idaho
Posts: 578
When "Posers" were cool
I'm showing my age here but "back in the day", being the late 60's and early 70's 'Posers' were quite different. I never saw or knew of anyone putting SS 427 emblems on their 6 cyl. Chevelle or 428 CJ emblems on their 289 'C' code Mustang. To do such would get you laughed and shamed out of town! The oposite was very common though.
Sleepers! Those were a different story.
It wasquite common to de-badge your muscle car (we actually called them 'super cars' back then, muscle car is a later term). I had a friend with a 62 Chevy with a factory 409 and he put 283 emblems in it. He surprised quite a few in stop light races. One of my best friends inhigh schoolhad a black 65 Mustang fastback with a real solid lifter Hi-Po. He took off the factory Hi-Po badges and just left the regular 289 badges in place. He also installed a set of 'cut-out dumps' that could be opened from inside the car by pulling out 2 control *****. He surprised quite a few GTO's and 442's at red lights. Whena race got set he would pull out the ***** and the sound of that solidlifter small block with open headers was awsome!
Anyhow, those kind of 'Posers' were absolutely cool and RESPECTED.
That was a great time to live through, there were fewer cars on the road and street racing didn't get you sent to jail. Cars were everything to us back then and what mattered was how it performed, and placing fake badging never crossed our minds.
Sleepers! Those were a different story.
It wasquite common to de-badge your muscle car (we actually called them 'super cars' back then, muscle car is a later term). I had a friend with a 62 Chevy with a factory 409 and he put 283 emblems in it. He surprised quite a few in stop light races. One of my best friends inhigh schoolhad a black 65 Mustang fastback with a real solid lifter Hi-Po. He took off the factory Hi-Po badges and just left the regular 289 badges in place. He also installed a set of 'cut-out dumps' that could be opened from inside the car by pulling out 2 control *****. He surprised quite a few GTO's and 442's at red lights. Whena race got set he would pull out the ***** and the sound of that solidlifter small block with open headers was awsome!
Anyhow, those kind of 'Posers' were absolutely cool and RESPECTED.
That was a great time to live through, there were fewer cars on the road and street racing didn't get you sent to jail. Cars were everything to us back then and what mattered was how it performed, and placing fake badging never crossed our minds.
12-28-2007, 08:23 AM
#2
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Sunny Side of Louisville
Posts: 488
RE: When "Posers" were cool
I wish I would have been able to live out those days, sometimes (I'm 26, so a little before my time). I love the old muscle cars. And, yeah, you have to respect the sleepers. I STILL think that's cool. Much better than the "badging up".
12-28-2007, 08:30 AM
#3
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location:
Posts: 967
RE: When "Posers" were cool
I wish I could have lived in that era, i'm 30 and my dad always talked about how much street racing he did with his '67 Mustang and '69 GTO. It had to be so much fun and not as many worries getting caught by the cops.
Also, sleeper cars are my favorites, it's awsome to see a car that looks like a plain jane jump up and scare the **** out of someone.
Also, sleeper cars are my favorites, it's awsome to see a car that looks like a plain jane jump up and scare the **** out of someone.
12-28-2007, 08:45 AM
#4
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location:
Posts: 544
RE: When "Posers" were cool
I couldn't of said it better those were the days !!!!!!!!!!!!
[IMG]local://upfiles/13839/517B2E20AEB34EDB89824457A9F73BF2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/13839/9D016A07164C45F88E865A5A3007288F.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/13839/517B2E20AEB34EDB89824457A9F73BF2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/13839/9D016A07164C45F88E865A5A3007288F.jpg[/IMG]
12-28-2007, 08:52 AM
#5
6th Gear Member
RE: When "Posers" were cool
^+1
I spent many a summer evening at the un-official street drag strip locations in the Philly area in the late 60's early 70's. And I still have wet dreams about some of those sleepers I had the privilidge of seeing tear someone a new a-hole.
I spent many a summer evening at the un-official street drag strip locations in the Philly area in the late 60's early 70's. And I still have wet dreams about some of those sleepers I had the privilidge of seeing tear someone a new a-hole.
12-28-2007, 08:54 AM
#6
6th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: state of confusion
Posts: 7,635
RE: When "Posers" were cool
I've de-badged and dechromed all of the domestic cars that I've bought. Partly it's because I prefer a less "busy" surface treatment and want to see the relatively simple overall body shape instead of having my eye distracted by anything flashy. And partly because I feel no need whatsoever to advertise or hype what might be within. Those who can't pick up the little hints are perfectly entitled to remain clueless.
The 60's were exciting times. The little town that I grew up in (6 square miles, population around 10,000 at the time) had at least Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Plymouth dealerships in it. Couple of local 289/271 Mustangs and a 327/350 Chevy II that I remember, none of which sported anything more than an indication that a V8 lived under the hood.
Norm
The 60's were exciting times. The little town that I grew up in (6 square miles, population around 10,000 at the time) had at least Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Plymouth dealerships in it. Couple of local 289/271 Mustangs and a 327/350 Chevy II that I remember, none of which sported anything more than an indication that a V8 lived under the hood.
Norm
12-28-2007, 09:07 AM
#7
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: alberta, canada
Posts: 1,940
RE: When "Posers" were cool
ORIGINAL: cavediver
I'm showing my age here but "back in the day", being the late 60's and early 70's 'Posers' were quite different. I never saw or knew of anyone putting SS 427 emblems on their 6 cyl. Chevelle or 428 CJ emblems on their 289 'C' code Mustang. To do such would get you laughed and shamed out of town! The oposite was very common though.
Sleepers! Those were a different story.
It was quite common to de-badge your muscle car (we actually called them 'super cars' back then, muscle car is a later term). I had a friend with a 62 Chevy with a factory 409 and he put 283 emblems in it. He surprised quite a few in stop light races. One of my best friends in high school had a black 65 Mustang fastback with a real solid lifter Hi-Po. He took off the factory Hi-Po badges and just left the regular 289 badges in place. He also installed a set of 'cut-out dumps' that could be opened from inside the car by pulling out 2 control *****. He surprised quite a few GTO's and 442's at red lights. When a race got set he would pull out the ***** and the sound of that solid lifter small block with open headers was awsome!
Anyhow, those kind of 'Posers' were absolutely cool and RESPECTED.
That was a great time to live through, there were fewer cars on the road and street racing didn't get you sent to jail. Cars were everything to us back then and what mattered was how it performed, and placing fake badging never crossed our minds.
I'm showing my age here but "back in the day", being the late 60's and early 70's 'Posers' were quite different. I never saw or knew of anyone putting SS 427 emblems on their 6 cyl. Chevelle or 428 CJ emblems on their 289 'C' code Mustang. To do such would get you laughed and shamed out of town! The oposite was very common though.
Sleepers! Those were a different story.
It was quite common to de-badge your muscle car (we actually called them 'super cars' back then, muscle car is a later term). I had a friend with a 62 Chevy with a factory 409 and he put 283 emblems in it. He surprised quite a few in stop light races. One of my best friends in high school had a black 65 Mustang fastback with a real solid lifter Hi-Po. He took off the factory Hi-Po badges and just left the regular 289 badges in place. He also installed a set of 'cut-out dumps' that could be opened from inside the car by pulling out 2 control *****. He surprised quite a few GTO's and 442's at red lights. When a race got set he would pull out the ***** and the sound of that solid lifter small block with open headers was awsome!
Anyhow, those kind of 'Posers' were absolutely cool and RESPECTED.
That was a great time to live through, there were fewer cars on the road and street racing didn't get you sent to jail. Cars were everything to us back then and what mattered was how it performed, and placing fake badging never crossed our minds.
Ever hear of the "Silver bullet?" This car terrorized Woodward Ave in Detroit for years in the late 60s, early 70s. It was a 10 sec Plymouth GTX with a 4 muffler setup to keep it quiet. Talk about a sleeper.
12-28-2007, 09:17 AM
#8
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 123
RE: When "Posers" were cool
ORIGINAL: cavediver
I'm showing my age here but "back in the day", being the late 60's and early 70's 'Posers' were quite different. I never saw or knew of anyone putting SS 427 emblems on their 6 cyl. Chevelle or 428 CJ emblems on their 289 'C' code Mustang. To do such would get you laughed and shamed out of town! The oposite was very common though.
Sleepers! Those were a different story.
It wasquite common to de-badge your muscle car (we actually called them 'super cars' back then, muscle car is a later term). I had a friend with a 62 Chevy with a factory 409 and he put 283 emblems in it. He surprised quite a few in stop light races. One of my best friends inhigh schoolhad a black 65 Mustang fastback with a real solid lifter Hi-Po. He took off the factory Hi-Po badges and just left the regular 289 badges in place. He also installed a set of 'cut-out dumps' that could be opened from inside the car by pulling out 2 control *****. He surprised quite a few GTO's and 442's at red lights. Whena race got set he would pull out the ***** and the sound of that solidlifter small block with open headers was awsome!
Anyhow, those kind of 'Posers' were absolutely cool and RESPECTED.
That was a great time to live through, there were fewer cars on the road and street racing didn't get you sent to jail. Cars were everything to us back then and what mattered was how it performed, and placing fake badging never crossed our minds.
I'm showing my age here but "back in the day", being the late 60's and early 70's 'Posers' were quite different. I never saw or knew of anyone putting SS 427 emblems on their 6 cyl. Chevelle or 428 CJ emblems on their 289 'C' code Mustang. To do such would get you laughed and shamed out of town! The oposite was very common though.
Sleepers! Those were a different story.
It wasquite common to de-badge your muscle car (we actually called them 'super cars' back then, muscle car is a later term). I had a friend with a 62 Chevy with a factory 409 and he put 283 emblems in it. He surprised quite a few in stop light races. One of my best friends inhigh schoolhad a black 65 Mustang fastback with a real solid lifter Hi-Po. He took off the factory Hi-Po badges and just left the regular 289 badges in place. He also installed a set of 'cut-out dumps' that could be opened from inside the car by pulling out 2 control *****. He surprised quite a few GTO's and 442's at red lights. Whena race got set he would pull out the ***** and the sound of that solidlifter small block with open headers was awsome!
Anyhow, those kind of 'Posers' were absolutely cool and RESPECTED.
That was a great time to live through, there were fewer cars on the road and street racing didn't get you sent to jail. Cars were everything to us back then and what mattered was how it performed, and placing fake badging never crossed our minds.
Things were different back then, after the first horsepower wars ended cars changed. Instead of actually building performance cars, manufacturers would slap badges, stripes and spoilers on pretty much ordinary cars and market them as special- sort of reverse sleepers if you will. Totally ruined the meaning of cars like Z-28, Cobra, R/T and worst of all, SS.
Now, horsepower is back in a big way and the badges on cars have some meaning again but i think it'll take years for people to get over feeling free to put stickers and badges on plain cars.
BTW, this same badging discussion can be found on virtually every forum on the internet, the Japanese crowd can't stand type R posers, the M3 crowd is against 325s with M badges, then you have the crowd that put badges on models that don't exist-the Chevy Avalanche SS for example. It's so widely done you just can't take anything you see at face value anymore.
12-28-2007, 09:23 AM
#9
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location:
Posts: 174
RE: When "Posers" were cool
yeah I know what your saying.
Im defiantly not from that era.
Im in college. But a few weeks ago I was driving back from the gas station to my fraternity, and there was a UT pd there and I didnt see him. I was speeding and he came out and followed me.
Fortunately he was a cool guy. We got back to the fraternity and we got out and he talked to us for about 45 min about cars.
He had a 74 firebird with a 401 big block engine. His car was stripped down to make it faster.
He was telling me when he was racing thats what it was about, how it performed.
Im defiantly not from that era.
Im in college. But a few weeks ago I was driving back from the gas station to my fraternity, and there was a UT pd there and I didnt see him. I was speeding and he came out and followed me.
Fortunately he was a cool guy. We got back to the fraternity and we got out and he talked to us for about 45 min about cars.
He had a 74 firebird with a 401 big block engine. His car was stripped down to make it faster.
He was telling me when he was racing thats what it was about, how it performed.
12-28-2007, 09:34 AM
#10
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location:
Posts: 580
RE: When "Posers" were cool
While Im not from that era (26) I can only dream of it... Every "Car" I have owned up until the new GT, was either an old "sleeper" or and advertised hotrod, I say that because I would take the true Muscle cars I had and make them sleepers. For instance I had a 72 chevelle ss with a 396 punched out to a 402 but I had the malibu grill and emblems on it so nobody was the wiser.... I also had a 64 nova that was a 6cyl originally and I swapped that out with a very stout 383 and slapped the V8 badge on it, I was proud of that rig and wanted ppl to know what I had done.... Would you guys consider that "posing" 