The List

Going from memory here...

Software Janitor's list.

1. If it's not American, it's not mine.
2. If it's a Ford, it's not mine.
3. If it's not rear wheel drive, it's not mine.
4. If it's not a V-8, it's not mine.
5. If it's a four-door, it's not mine.
6. If it's green, it's not mine.

For, literally, decades, we've been trying to find a car that breaks all of those rules that's also worth owning as a hot-rod.

The front-wheel drive portion almost always kills the plan.

A modular V-10 in a green Australian Falcon breaks five; but the correct wheels still push the car.

I intend to break three with The Beast.

It's not American, or a 2-door and I plan on painting it green.

This kinda segues into "what is a hot-rodder?"

There's lots of aspects and camps in the car culture.

There's people who're into fancy paint, appearance, interiors and bone-stock performance.

There's people who are into performance and damn how it looks.

There's fucking morons people whose real interest is in stereos, but they make their stereo look like a car.

But are they rodders?

To me a hot-rodder is someone who's looking to make their car perform better than stock and whom is doing their own work as much as possible.  That last qualifier is why there's so many "damn the looks" cars.  Body and paint need more skills and equipment than most people are willing to invest in.

If you're paying someone else to do all the work, you are NOT a hot-rodder.  Sorry.  You can be a member of the car culture, but you've done nothing more than someone buying a Ferrari has done.  You paid for someone else to do it.

It's why the guy with the slower car is looking down his nose at your rich ass.

Is the kid with a 13 sec Civic a hot-rodder?  Yes!

I think us V-8 rear wheel people should acknowledge that and welcome them.

As long as they don't bring the stereomobiles.