Here's a wild idea: Go talk with your banker, buy the Primedia magazines, then you'd own the original Project X and you could restore the real one to any era you'd want. You could cover the build in your own magazine(s). Otherwise, don't do it.
Cloning* a "famous" car that still exists or isn't locked up in secret permanent storage is kinda rude, if not down right dishonest, unless it's to be used for the movie prop car that gets flipped off the cliff and burned but the owner of the "real" one doesn't want it to meet that fate no matter what the studio is paying. Ok clones since it's what was done with them anyway would be copies of the General Lee, TV Batman cars, Bandit TransAms, etc. cars like that. *Meaning exact replica/forgery that can't easily be distinguished from the original, not just painting a deuce highboy Piss Yellow and calling it the AG coupe
Interesting- and I think I've seen both sides of the argument clearly. When I posted this only just last night I was SURE the original would never see those early days again so it made PERFECT sense to want to catch that vibe. Well, and insider e-mailed me and let me know that the company is considering tossing out all the high-tech components and returning the original car to the early version. With the threat of that it just takes all the wind out of the sails to want to have a simular car running around. Back to plan B of a white '56 150 Coupe or Delivery gasser with all the spirit of Project X (and I still think Project 2X is the killer name!) Thanks Jim
Jim, Project X was one of my all time favorites but another car that I would love to see "reincarnated" is Joe Allreads '57 150 2 door wagon that he campaigned in the Jr. Stock ranks. That wagon always gave me the pee hards!
Hey, Interesting post, started read car magazines about the start of Project X. These cars were everywhere at that time and cheap too! There were prob 2 dozen 55-57 modified much like the early Project X here in the late 60's. I am going to look at one next weekend. '57 150 built in '63 by my neighbor. Had the following the last time I saw it in the mid 70's: sbc, stick, Vette valve covers, CB3, Holley, Sun Tach, bucket seats. Grey 5 spoke cragars in the front, Cragar SS's, and slicks in the back. This car had an engine fire in 1975 and has been in a pole barn since. I hope to add this to my pile this weekend. Bill
If you buy Primedia, PLEASE bring back Custom Rodder, Jim.... I'm already jonesin' for it and have read the last issue about 10 times. I vote a bigtime YES to building a second "Project X"! As I recall, PHR bought that '57 Chevy in '64 or'65 and I followed the buildups for years. Strangely, I don't care for Tri-5 Chevys ('55-'58 Fords rule!) except for building them into vintage circle burners and "X". Most of us have a famous dream rod or custom we'd love to own. Unless the stars align in perfect order, 99.9% of us will never own that car. So building tributes/replicas of "your rod" are the only way we can fulfill that desire. I won't use the word "clone" as that sounds like Dolly the Sheep. If I had any decent bodworking skills and the $$$, I'd build my own El Matador as at least one other person has. So go for it and don't look back! Were it me, I'd do the yellow version with the radiused wheelwells and a Big Block but that's my pick, not yours.... Jan
Hmm...the very mention of the term clone (or tribute to, or recreation of, or in memory of, or wannabe) makes my blood boil. If you are building a clone for yourself to enjoy and you don't plan on ever selling it (or being made fun of for driving a clone) go for it. If it is something you don't plan on keeping forever, DON'T DO IT! You may be honest in telling the next guy but will he be honest in telling the guy after him? And so on down the line of deception. Granted, cloning a popular car where it is public knowledge where the original is stored is not so bad. But making Lemans' into GTOs and regular Chevelles and Impalas to Super Sports is not cool. However, I am in total agreement that a little bit of all of our cars are "clones". I think it would be cool though to build a car based on your "idol" car with some things to set it off and make it your own, like a different color of paint or a different name (Project Y...I don't know : ) ). .02 deposited
do it joto! project x used to rule, doesnt it have billet wheels on it now? my uncle built this 57 in the early 70's using project x as a guide, my uncle gave me the 'project x handbook' with articles on how they set it up, & everything else that was part of the original project-x build. heres my uncles old car.
almost every old car is a clone of something.if it's not a direct clone from a movie car or something you saw on a magazine,it's a clone of what YOU think a hot rod would have been,or what you think it looked like new.....just had to be a little anal retentive here creepy
Now maybe I'm wrong but building one wouldn't really be a clone would it? The whole idea was to show how to build one. So if you do, it would simply be following the intentions of the original articles. Guys building one in their garage was the entire idea.
Build the car you want and don't worry about what others think, but make it yours. Not really a "clone" but how you would have built it. We all have our ideas of what we want in our cars, or we would all be driving stockers.
Jim, There is no way financially that they Primedia are going to right all of the wrongs that that they did to that car ! When Pete Pesterre(RIP) was editor of PHR and Argus was around a few blocks way from Barrett-Skinner Engineering BSE Automotive in Chatsworth he used to cruise over in X and we go to grab burgers in it. He enlightened us with what Argus had in mind for Ol X. she was going to get a work over to right all of the wrongs that had been done to her in the past including all of the blown clutch scars in the frame & firewall. Oh she got the full blown deal! were talking replacement chassis fenderwell lips, replacement hood,high tech interior,gauges Weld drag lites and so on. This car hardy resembled her old self. I was sadly dissapointed with the end result, Pete had past on, and I'm sure that he would have stopped much of this improvement, but WTH, most of it was sponsored by advertisers so no money out of pocket. I used to know who had the original chassis (It was a CALIF one with beefy welds made in South Gate). As far as I'm concened, when George sold the magazine to Primedia, that cars soul was already dead. Yeah she may have had the same body but with so much make up on one couldn't enjoy her. I say build her to her 1st incarnation and make her scream down PCH Do the Americans, Cheater Slicks and Yellow Spray Job. We'll talk about it over that Burger @ Bob's next week. I should be back in town then.
I have plans underway for "Project 2X"- not a sedan, not yellow- but the spirit will be undeniable. I'll let you know more when the car is in my driveway. Thanks, Jim
I always thought that Project X was created by Bill Lloyd in the Argus ad department! Can't tell you how many times we were hustled to provide parts from our clients for Project X. And it always helped if we threw in an ad to run in the same issue that the editorial ran in! At one time or another, it had an Offy, Edlebrock and Wieand manifold as well as headers from every So-Cal manufacturer. So, no matter how you build it, it will be correct!
I think you should do a tri 5 chrysler project bombastic then at least it would be original...how many more years are we gonna see the same projects over and over in those magazines ....do a 63 corvette with modern corvette underneath i seen enough tri 5 chevys
wow...I had no idea so many people had any feelings about "cloning" "Tributes" or "re-creations" espescially considering how many are here, or are drooled upon. Vic Edelbrock Roadster. if you had the means and the wherewithall, who wouldn't drive the piss out of that car? it's not the one in the grainy black and white photos (with 'ol Vic's smile being the brightest thing on film...gotta love that.) not the one in Vic Jr's garage, but hell, if you could have one just like it...you get the picture. My "white elephant"-the one I will build before I die-The Hurst Hairy Olds. 2 425's with blowers...silly, over the top and according to previous drivers "undrivable"-I have never seen more than peices of the original in person- but I MUST be in it one day. it's ridiculous, but hey...we all have "that one car" that gets us in the right spot. point being. I say build it how you originally planned- 66 Project X. That car...Man. it's an Icon. and oddly enough, you could probably drive it around without all of the crap we are talking about. The Bullit Mustang- pretty well recognized, Right? You would think more than "the gearhead elite" would spot it as the Bullit car-I had a friend build a painstaking clone-he musta watched the movie 200 times-and read thousands of pages of text to hit it "spot on" and guess what? short of a car show or cruise night, he almost never got any comments on it. I suspect that a project X Clone (or tribute...whatever) would draw about as much attention. it's kind of like cloning Cooters Tow Truck instead of the General Lee. we all saw it, but it didn't register in the eyes of everyone that spotted it on the cover of the magazine. I think you could easily do it and not catch a bunch of crap about it. (at least not to your face. ) and at the end of the day, it would be a bright Yellow 57 Chevy. It's what you want, Life is Short, do it. I wager that if you don't, when you are done with "the other plan"...you'd end up looking at it thinking "It would look better Yellow...with pie crust slicks."
i just figured out what i dont like about the idea...here it is "why not build a 911 tribute 57 chevy or a miller welder 57 chevy ,A lawn mower 57 chevy or how about a clone project x" see what i mean ?
I get that Slaz... still would love to have an X clone, but the car I'm now building will be different, just like the thousands of cars it inspired. Thanks Jim
I've always loved the '54 Chevy "Moonglow". If I ever get a nice '54 HT, I'll clone it in a minute. Do it if you like it!!!
Hey the way I see it if you can get the real one whats wrong with a clone? Isnt Ford Chevy Dodge building clones all day long? Why not clone and old car you have always wanted? I wouldnt want to build the same car all day long but doing it one time and doing it right is fun enough for me.
Interesting thread. I've had hot rods my whole life. I've still got the 57 Bel Air I drove in high school. Right now I'm building a very close copy of the"AG" Coupe. Very close. I would like to have the real one. Figari won't sell it. I've asked. So I'm building it. It's not a fake. I'm using the same period correct parts that were used for the movie car. And some that weren't so period correct. We've made a few allowances out of respect for safety and/or workmanship, but for the most part it is spot on. It's a real hot rod that looks just like my favorite car in the world. I've spent four years and more moola than I care to admit. And I am jazzed as hell that I'll be driving it in a couple of months. Rude? I don't think so. I'm paying a high compliment to an icon. And I'll challenge anyone to match the effort and research we've had to do to get it right. And if you don't like it? Kiss my ass, this one's for me.
Jim, I don't know if you are still reading or still going in this direction but I was scanning through some mags and found Project-X Stage II March 1969 if you don't have it and are interested. You can have it.
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