What Makes A Restomod Count? — Carmudgeon Show w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep 237
The Carmudgeon Show
What Makes A Restomod Count? — Carmudgeon Show w/ Jason Cammisa & Derek Tam-Scott — Ep 237The Carmudgeon Show · May 11, 2026
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
52:43
Car
1963 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL
This is a classic Mercedes-Benz SL from 1963. It’s a famous model in Mercedes’ “SL” sports-car family, and the hosts are talking about it as a restomod example where a lot of the original car is still there.
A chassis number is the car’s unique ID number. It’s important because it ties the car’s identity to a specific original vehicle, not just the parts that are installed now.
A restomod is an old car that’s been kept, but improved with newer parts or upgrades. The point here is whether the build still feels like the original car or mostly becomes something new.
A serial number is a production ID that tells you where a specific car sits in the order it was built. The hosts are using it to show this car is from the earliest batch.
Mercedes SL generations are basically different eras of the SL model. The hosts are debating the numbering because it affects how you think about the car’s history and authenticity.
Term
tubular framed race car
A tubular frame means the car’s structure is built from metal tubes. Race cars often use this because it can be strong and light, and it helps the car handle better.
Body-on-frame means the car has a separate “skeleton” (a frame) and the body is bolted on top. It’s relevant to restomods because the frame affects how the car handles and how much you can modernize safely.
Gullwing doors are doors that open upward instead of outward. They’re a signature look on certain classic cars, including the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL mentioned here.
The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL is a cheaper, smaller roadster that came out around 1954. In this discussion, the big idea is that it borrowed more parts from Mercedes sedans, including the chassis, so it was easier to produce and buy than the 300 SL.
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL is a famous Mercedes sports car. It’s known for the gullwing doors, and it also used many parts from Mercedes sedans to make it easier to build and maintain.
“Sedan content” means the roadster/sports car uses parts that were originally designed for a regular family sedan. In this segment, they’re comparing how much of that shared hardware each Mercedes SL used.
This describes the engine size and layout: four cylinders total, with 1.9 liters of displacement. It’s one of the basic specs that influences how strong the engine can feel.
Carburetors are devices that mix fuel and air for the engine. “Twin Solex carburetors” means there are two of them, which can help the engine breathe and respond better than a single-carb setup.
A grand touring sports car is built for long drives—comfortable enough for the road, but still quick and fun. The speaker is saying the SL line became more about that kind of driving than about being a race car you use on the street.
A limited-slip differential helps both drive wheels work together. When one wheel loses grip, it limits how much the slipping wheel can spin so the car can still move forward.
Concept
sedan under the skin
They’re saying the car may look more exciting, but underneath it uses the same basic platform as a regular sedan. So the driving feel and layout are still rooted in sedan engineering.
Compression is how tightly the engine squeezes the fuel-air mixture before it’s ignited. More compression can make more power, but it has to be matched with the right engine and fuel.
The Mercedes SL is a luxury roadster line that’s meant to feel sporty, but also be easy to live with. The point here is that it’s not trying to be a hardcore track-focused sports car.
Swing-axle suspension is a type of rear suspension. It can make the car’s handling feel a bit “twitchy,” especially when weight shifts during cornering.
A swing arm is a suspension part that connects the wheel to the car and moves on a pivot. It helps determine how the wheel reacts when you turn or hit bumps, which can change how confident the car feels in hard driving.
Term
pendulum axa
A “pendulum axle” is a suspension/axle setup where the rear end moves in a pendulum-like way as the car goes over bumps or turns. That movement can change how the back of the car feels when you drive aggressively.
Disc brakes are a braking system where pads squeeze a metal disc to slow the car down. They usually handle heat better than drum brakes, so braking can feel more consistent.
Drum brakes are another type of braking system. Instead of squeezing a disc, they push shoes against the inside of a drum to slow the car down.
Car
Mercedes-Benz 250 SL
The Mercedes-Benz 250 SL is an older Mercedes roadster. Here it’s mentioned because the braking setup changed over time—from drums to disc brakes—which affects how the car stops and feels.
A four-speed manual is a car where you shift gears yourself using a clutch. With only four gears, the engine may run at higher RPMs compared to cars with more gears.
“Short geared” means the transmission final drive and/or gear ratios are set to keep engine RPM higher at a given speed. That typically improves acceleration feel but can make cruising noisier and less relaxed.
Here, “revving” means how easily the engine spins faster (higher RPM). Some engines feel like they want to climb to high RPM quickly, while others feel more comfortable pulling at lower speeds.
A “long stroke” engine means the piston travels a longer distance each cycle. That often helps the car pull strongly at lower speeds, even if it doesn’t feel like it wants to spin to very high RPM as easily.
“Single overhead cam” means the engine uses one camshaft up in the top of the engine head to open and close the valves. It’s a common design, and it can be tuned to make more pulling power at lower speeds.
A six-speed manual transmission uses six gear ratios that the driver selects with a clutch. More gears can help keep the engine in its best RPM range for acceleration and cruising, especially when paired with a specific final drive ratio.
Final drive ratio is the gearing that affects how fast the car goes versus how fast the engine spins. A “tall” ratio generally means lower RPM at highway speeds, so the engine feels less strained.
M113 is the name Mercedes-Benz gave to a particular engine family. Here, they’re talking about a big naturally aspirated 5.4-liter engine that’s paired with a manual gearbox.
Naturally aspirated means the engine makes its airflow without a turbo or supercharger. The result is typically a more direct, steady response when you press the gas.
Term
single cam 3 valve
“Single cam” (SOHC) means one camshaft operates the valves for the engine’s cylinder head. “3 valve” indicates each cylinder uses three valves (typically two intake and one exhaust), which is a specific head design that affects breathing and how the engine makes power.
Term
crossfire transmission
“Crossfire transmission” refers to a specific transmission used in the Mercedes-Benz Crossfire model line. The hosts are contrasting it with the transmission actually fitted here, implying the restomod uses a different gearbox than the one associated with that donor application.
Matt Quick is referenced as the builder behind this restomod’s powertrain/engine setup. In enthusiast circles, the builder’s name often signals a particular approach to sourcing, machining, and tuning rather than a factory configuration.
Car
Mercedes-Benz CLK63 Black Series
The Mercedes-Benz CLK63 Black Series is a special, high-power AMG version of the CLK. The hosts mention it because they’ve modified it heavily—like you might do when building a restomod.
Car
Mercedes-Benz C126
Mercedes-Benz C126 is the code for a particular older Mercedes coupe platform. In this discussion, they’re talking about putting a modern/stronger 5.4 engine into it and how that changes how the car feels.
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a very high-end luxury car made by Mercedes. It’s known for being comfortable and well-equipped. The podcast mentions it to compare how a smaller, lighter car can still use similar engine/powertrain ideas.
“Overpowered” here means the car has more power than the tires can safely use. When that happens, the car can start slipping, and you have to focus hard to keep control.
Term
tireshaking
“Tireshaking” is what happens when the tires start slipping and vibrating because they can’t get enough grip. It’s usually a sign the car is putting down more power than the tires can handle.
“Hellcats” refers to Dodge’s very powerful V8 cars. The point here is that they make so much power that it can be hard to put it to the ground without spinning the tires.
“Wheelspin on demand” means the driver can deliberately break traction and spin the tires whenever they want. It’s often used for quick acceleration drama, but it also shows the car’s power is exceeding what the tires can grip at that moment.
“Incinerate the tires” is a vivid way of saying the car aggressively spins the tires, rapidly wasting tire rubber. It implies the driver is using full throttle in a situation where traction is insufficient.
“NASCAR V8 sounds” refers to the distinctive loud, raspy, high-rev V8 character associated with stock-car racing. In context, it’s used to emphasize the restomod’s aggressive exhaust note and how it accompanies tire squeal and acceleration.
Tire squeal is the high-pitched noise tires make when they’re slipping while cornering or accelerating. It’s a sign the tire is near or beyond its grip limit.
Axle tramp is when the rear of the car starts to shake or bounce because the suspension and drivetrain are fighting each other. It often shows up when you accelerate hard, and it can feel dramatic—sometimes fun, sometimes annoying.
A rolling burnout means the car is moving and the tires still spin enough to lose grip briefly. Choosing a gear changes how the engine power hits the tires, so it can be easier or smoother to do.
“AMG 5.4” means a Mercedes-AMG engine that’s 5.4 liters. It’s the big engine at the center of the car’s personality here, and the hosts connect it to the way the car feels with a manual transmission.
The Cadillac CT5 Blackwing is a sportier CT5 with a more performance-minded setup. Here it’s mentioned as a reference for the kind of driving feel the speaker is getting.
“Tall gearing” means the car is geared so you go faster in each gear. That usually keeps the engine RPM lower at highway speeds, but it can make acceleration feel different.
RPM (revolutions per minute) is how fast the engine crankshaft is spinning. In this discussion, RPM is used to show how gearing changes engine speed at a given road speed—e.g., 2000 RPM in sixth gear corresponding to about 65 mph.
The Lamborghini Gallardo is a high-performance supercar made by Lamborghini. It uses a V10 engine and is known for quick acceleration. The podcast is talking about how fast it gets in early gears and how it pulls as you shift.
Horsepower is a number that describes how much “power” an engine can make. Higher horsepower usually means the engine can push harder, but it’s not the only factor in how fast or quick a car feels.
“No cats” means the catalytic converters are not there. That can make the exhaust breathe more freely and sound different, but it can also be illegal and increases emissions.
A “mild tune” is a software adjustment to the engine that makes it run a bit better. It’s usually not as extreme as a full-on performance tune.
Term
Pendle axle
This sounds like a nickname for a rear-axle configuration that makes the car feel sketchy. The point here is that the upgraded car no longer uses that setup, so it feels safer and more stable.
A five-link rear suspension uses multiple arms to control how the rear wheels move. More control usually means the car grips better and feels more stable, especially when you accelerate or turn.
Mercedes-Benz CLK (W209) is the second-generation CLK platform, and the hosts specify using its five-link rear suspension as the basis for the restomod’s rear end. That generation detail matters because different CLK generations can have different suspension layouts and handling characteristics.
Car
Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG
The C55 AMG is a Mercedes performance version of the C-Class. The hosts are saying the modified car is basically using the C55’s engine setup, so it should drive more like that faster, stronger configuration.
The Volvo P1800 is an older Volvo with two doors that’s designed more like a sports car than a regular family car. The podcast mentions it because someone made or referenced a custom project based on a Volvo P1800. It’s being used as the starting point for a different kind of build.
Brand
Alpha Halux
Alpha Halux is mentioned as a company/project approach to rebuilding classic cars. The host says it does a good job keeping the original car’s personality while still making it work well today.
This is about dropping a new engine into an older car without properly redesigning everything else to match. The host’s point is that the car can end up feeling awkward or unbalanced to drive.
They’re using a visual metaphor: imagine a web where one spoke is way longer than the others. If the car is great in one area but not the rest, it can feel out of balance when you drive it.
The Ferrari F355 is a famous older Ferrari supercar with a V8 engine in the middle. People like it as a starting point for restomods because it already looks great, and you can improve things like drivability and tech while keeping the Ferrari vibe.
Evoluto is the company the hosts say did the modifications to the Ferrari F355. In the restomod world, these are the shops that change the car’s look and update parts to make it feel more modern.
The Ferrari 288 GTO is an older, very famous Ferrari with a turbo engine. The host is saying the modified F355 takes some design inspiration from the 288 GTO—basically nodding to that classic look.
Car
Ferrari 355
The Ferrari 355 is a mid-engine Ferrari sports car. Here, they’re talking about how its steering and driving feel compare to the Ferrari 348, and whether it’s worth modifying for better handling.
The Ferrari 348 is an older Ferrari sports car with a mid-mounted engine. They’re using it as a comparison point for steering feel, saying the later Ferrari 355 didn’t really make it better.
Shocks (dampers) and springs are suspension components that control ride height and how quickly the car settles after bumps or during cornering. Changing them is a common way to address “dynamic problems” like body motion and steering response, which the hosts suggest can be fixed without changing the car’s identity.
A “fast rack” means the steering is geared so it turns quicker. You need less steering-wheel movement to make the car turn, which can make the car feel more responsive.
A fast steering rack makes the steering respond quicker—turn the wheel less and the tires turn more. That can make the car feel sharper, but it can also change the feel of control.
“Running gear” means the main mechanical parts that make the car move and handle—things like suspension, steering, and brakes. They’re saying basically none of those parts are original.
OEM means “original equipment manufacturer,” referring to parts made to match what the car came with from the factory. In the segment, the speaker uses OEM to suggest the shocks are essentially factory-spec replacements rather than a major custom performance change.
They’re saying the car uses shock absorbers meant for a Volkswagen GTI. It’s like using a factory-style upgrade from a different model, not necessarily a totally custom suspension build.
Term
brakes at the wheels
“Brakes at the wheels” means the braking hardware is mounted directly at each wheel (calipers or wheel cylinders), rather than relying on a centralized braking arrangement. In a swap, this matters because it determines how the car is stopped and how brake lines, routing, and pedal feel are engineered.
A hydro booster helps your brakes by using hydraulic pressure to make the brake pedal easier to push. It’s a common upgrade when a car’s original brake system doesn’t match the new setup.
The driveshaft is the part that transfers power from the transmission to the rear axle. If you change the drivetrain, you often need a custom one so everything lines up correctly.
Term
exhaust is custom
A custom exhaust is built to fit the new engine and layout. When you swap parts, the original exhaust often won’t line up or clear everything, so they make a new one.
Concept
restomazes
They’re talking about restomods—old cars that have been modified. The question is whether those changes are meant to keep the original vibe or completely reshape how the car feels.
An “LS swap” is when someone puts a GM V8 engine (the LS family) into a car that didn’t originally have it. People like it because it’s a popular, upgrade-friendly engine that can make a big difference in how the car drives.
The Defender is a classic off-road truck, and an LS swap means replacing the original engine with a modern GM V8. When you also add a supercharger, it can make the truck feel extremely strong and hard to control—so it may lose the “fun old truck” vibe.
A “turbo diesel” is a diesel engine with a turbo that helps it breathe better. Turbos help diesels make strong pulling power, especially at lower speeds.
“Wide open throttle” means you’re flooring it and asking the engine for maximum power. On a powerful, torque-heavy build, that can make the truck feel like it’s about to lose control.
They’re basically saying: if you don’t like how the classic Pagoda drives, a restomod might fix the parts you dislike. The goal is to make the car more fun and less frustrating to drive.
“Back end” means how the rear of the car feels while driving. The speaker is saying it feels a bit uncertain and not very confident at highway speeds.
Term
short leggedness
“Short leggedness” means the car’s gearing makes it feel like it doesn’t have enough “reach.” At highway speeds, it can feel like the engine is working too hard.
Term
breathlessness
“Breathlessness” here means the engine feels like it’s struggling to keep up, especially at highway speeds. It doesn’t feel smooth or effortless when you ask it to go faster.
A “built motor” means the engine has been modified and strengthened for more power or durability. Instead of staying stock, it’s put together with upgraded parts so it can handle harder driving.
but there's, it's for the car and then swapped it.
That's what those are worth.
No.
$3,000 for a Quattroporte?
You can certainly get like a perfectly serviceable one
for like eight grand for like an early Cambio Corsa.
Hey Siri, is that every month?
No, I don't know.
I don't want any more cars.
Oh my God, really?
Yeah.
Well, of course the manual swapping,
if you value your time at negative $4 an hour,
and then I think you-
I just body swapped a cabrio.
Yeah. So that's a thing that's been happening.
Huh. Yeah.
I think it's a really cool time for swaps.
Like this is the era of the swap.
And what I find-
Which is a sort of DIY type of resto mode,
which is to create,
to sort of do what we were talking about earlier,
which is to fundamentally change the character
of something for the better.
I mean, we certainly argue that it's for the better
in a Cambio Corsa Maserati Quattroporte 5,
a SteelK63 Black Series,
or Ferrari 360 Challenge Trudale,
or would choose whatever example.
I think the one thing that ages cars more
than anything else is transmission, right?
I mean, once you go from-
And you mean that in a pejorative sense,
because aging a car in some sense is charming.
We like old cars because of the character,
but some types of character are unwelcome.
Bad automatics were never good.
Correct.
I don't think anyone's a fan
of an old Turbo Hydromatic 300, whatever.
They work, they're fine,
but you're not gonna be excited about it.
It's not the centerpiece
and it's not a thing that you sort of idolize
as a part of the defining experience.
And once you get from carburetor fuel injection,
sort of not much has aged a car.
You can still get,
there's still early fuel injected amazing engines
that are compelling today.
I don't think that's the case with transmissions.
And so swapping, I love that math,
swap this to a six-speed,
but then oh, also did a complete rear-end swap.
Oh, and also a 113.
Yeah, and the brakes.
I mean, I think it really does,
it's a cohesive car as a driver's car.
And that is the thing that makes it a compelling proposition
and that if it didn't have that,
that would also be a problem.
And then, I've experienced a lot of,
like there's a tendency to buy cars
and modify them and to excess.
And we've all experienced this,
even maybe been there ourselves.
And when you don't sort of engineered properly
or you're assembling a bunch of parts from places,
especially a car that has a lot of aftermarket support,
whether that's like a Triumph TR6 or a BMW E30
or obviously a whole host of Japanese cars,
all the tuners that we're working in,
making aftermarket parts for Subaru's
and in the 90s and all that and obviously Supras,
there's a really substantial risk of regular citizen
buying a whole bunch of parts
and hanging them all on the same car
and you end up with something that just doesn't work.
And so that's the line that you have to walk
that requires restraint or judgment or engineering knowledge
or fabrication skills and combination of all of the above
that makes a difference between something
that really works beautifully
and something that feels like a collection of parts
all hanging on the same unfortunate car.
That, well, here we go.
Would you hold this please,
please say in front of your face between-
Car merchant of the day.
Yes, car merchant of the day award.
I have nothing more to add.
Yeah, we're not gonna get any more miserable than that.
So we can end on a low note.
Okay, well, we'll end on the low note.
Any other particular rest omens that you wish to offer
demerits or commendations for that you have experienced?
I haven't experienced that many of them.
I think the Kimera deserves recognition.
I mean, it was in the passenger seat of that car.
It's like maybe even far beyond a rest omens.
It is kind of its own thing.
I mean, it's a lunch at beta, right?
Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo.
Right, chopped up.
I think of that as its own thing, really.
I will grant it.
I drove one Monte Carlo and it was nothing like that.
Correct.
Donald Osborne's car, actually.
I think we mentioned that on the podcast.
The ones I've driven have all been like the clapped out
donor cars that were to become Kimeras.
And it's like, I remember the shift linkage
falling off of one while I was trying to drive it
and like popping it back on the side of the road
to continue on my way.
Did it actually un-improve the shift feel
once it was disconnected?
Because what I remember is that-
I couldn't when the one that was perfectly fully functional.
No, I just don't remember.
I remember the shifter being meh,
the steering being meh, the engine being powerless.
And that's all I remember.
And the car being great looking
with the little pop-up headlights and the whole thing.
But yeah, I'm not sure that the Camaro is-
Counts as a rest-o-mod.
It is legally a rest-o-mod,
which is critically important because A, it's old
and so you get some emissions exemption potentially
and B, you are sending it to Italy for restoration
and it's like a $6,000 Craigslist shit box.
So you don't have to pay like tariff or anything
because you're like, oh, I just sent it to be restored
in Europe and I'm bringing my own car back.
So, you know, cool.
So as opposed to like paying taxes, you know,
same thing with sales tax.
You're not paying a huge sales tax amount on some new car
because it's a car you already own that you bought
for six grand.
I like that.
We like cheap things that are cheap.
Unfortunately, the restoration itself
that you sent it for us, not cheap.
The experience it provides though, I would argue,
is it provides good value compared to what else?
Like if you look at how much an F40 costs
and you experience a Camaro, you say,
well, I think that they shouldn't costs as differently
as they do, you know, an F40 is four times as much.
Anyway, honorable mention for that car.
Yeah.
I don't, try to think what else that I've driven.
I mean, we were in the roof SCR.
That is absolutely not a rest of our car.
That's its own car.
Your impressions of Singer?
Really, really, really beautiful craftsmanship
was not in the top five favorite Porsches to drive ever.
I think it was a bit too sorted.
And I liked 9-11 Fest when they're scruffy and loose.
A little unhinged, yeah.
I agree with that assessment,
but I haven't driven that many of them.
The DLS is great and I haven't driven one of those.
I really want to drive a Todd Hill.
Yes, I was going to suggest that
because I think that car probably preserves
the old car character coupled with like modern powertrain
magic, specifically 11,000 RPM in a street car.
Yeah.
I was on that same 9-11 SC trip,
I was paired up with Vu,
who's the president of the Porsche Club.
And he had just come from driving an SC,
posted a video of it and he just sent it to me yesterday.
I haven't seen it yet.
SC or 9-11?
Okay, sorry.
And he just couldn't stop gushing
about how unbelievable that was.
Surprised me in the slightest.
That's my, right?
If those are, I think,
really philosophically divergent cars,
the 9-11 K and the Singer,
it's like saying like GMA versus Bugatti,
in my opinion.
Because they're so philosophically divergent.
Yeah, Singer's about looks.
It's about looks and jewelry and art and all of that.
In the same way that Bugatti is, right?
Yeah.
More than anything else.
And some of the Bugatti's that I've driven
have been among my least favorite big cars, so to speak.
Big, like heavy duty.
Heavy, maybe expensive.
Yeah, I'm much for the,
the cars that I really want to drive,
9-11 K, Alcoholics GTA.
I mean, the stuff that's or, you know,
the early Ford rest of mods, the Capri stuff.
There's some great stuff coming out of the UK
that's just nuts.
They're just unhinged enough.
As the British are wont to be.
But this is a really fun car.
It's a laugh machine.
Absolute laugh machine.
Yeah.
And well resolved mechanically
in terms of the experience it provides,
in terms of like dynamics.
Yeah, we didn't actually do a back roads run.
I don't, this is one of the,
you want to end on heresy.
I would put ABS in this car.
It's too fast to not have any luck breaks.
I mean, if I had to guess,
this would be zero to 60 in the force.
Yeah.
And it's too easy to go too fast in cars like that.
I don't, you know,
if you could do a standalone traction control,
I'd probably do that too.
Just because when you're driving in a non-ideal.
I wonder if ABS might be feasible
if it's got five, 60 brakes.
It depends on what you have on the other end,
on the hydraulics end, as opposed to the wheels end.
Yeah, but I mean,
you don't really need anything other than,
if you have, as long as you can fit the ABS pump in,
you can really do, you can do a standalone.
I mean, like for example,
I know E28 and the views, for example,
they have the M5 had four channel ABS
versus a lot of the other cars at three.
And that is a standalone unit with its own harness.
So you can, oops, the light just got bright.
You can very easily swap that four channel ABS
into early ABS,
but I'd rather have it than not put it that way.
But short of that,
I mean, I could also just control myself.
Heavens, why would we want to do that?
We wouldn't, we can't.
Okay, fun times.
Thank you for joining us
for this week's episode of The Car Margin Show.
We will see you next week, next week.
All right, talk.
About this episode
Restomod “counting” isn’t about the idea of modernizing—it’s about execution, engineering, and whether the car keeps its character while fixing real problems. The hosts map the spectrum from OEM-plus to “OEM plus plus” and “a rest of mod,” then dig into Mercedes SL lineage and Pagoda-era traits (sedan underpinnings, swing-axle confidence, gearing, and limited-slip behavior). They connect good builds to cohesive drivetrain/chassis integration, proper safety, and even legal classification.
The term “Restomod” gets thrown around a lot these days. In an era where more people are modifying and modernizing old cars more than ever before, it’s probably time we draw some boundaries to truly understand what OEM+, OEM++, and Restomod REALLY mean in the current modified car landscape.
===
Visit https://JasonSentMe.com for a quote on Hagerty's Guaranteed Value® Insurance!
===
The subject of today’s studio background is a 1963 Mercedes-Benz 230SL - yes, a Pagoda - with a host of Mercedes family modifications including but not limited to:
5.4L M113 V8 engine from a W220 S55 AMG
6 speed manual transmission from an SLK230
Brakes from a C126 560SEC
Rear multilink suspension from a W209 CLK
And many more odds and ends that make it all play nicely together.
Effectively transformed from a grandma cruiser to a backroad hell-raiser, Jason and Derek begin to wonder - is this just an engine/transmission swap, or has enough been done to constitute restomod status? This car comes from none other than Matt Kwiek from Kwiek Classics, who has become known for manual-swapping CLK63 AMG Black Series as well as a host of other Frankenstein’d Mercedes-Benzes. This one certainly got Jason, Derek, and company howling with laughter, but is emotion enough to constitute a restomod?
Naturally other restomod vehicles are brought into discussion - like the Cyan Racing P1800, Totem Automobile GT Super, Automobile Amos Delta Futurista, Tuthil 911K, and the Kimera 037. While these cars occupy a different market share and purpose, the Mercedes can probably keep up with the best of them on the right backroad. But does a more honest appearance and single-marque parts origin constitute OEM+? Jason’s MK3 Cabrio VR6 swap seems to fall into that category - but it still resembles a car that could have been built by Volkswagen in period. This Pagoda, however……would drift circles around its swing-armed original - and not flip over!! Maybe it’s in a class of its own.
Jason also discusses a recent trip to LA for the Air Water Show weekend, where he attends Good Vibes Breakfast Club with Andreas Preuninger, Director of Porsche’s GT Line. While he didn’t drive the GT3 S/C as expected, he did drive a Supercharged, LS-swapped 1978 Pontiac Trans Am making 700+ WHP. The car was so dialed in, we continue to wonder - does it qualify as a restomod? Or is it just a swap with all the right trimmings?
You’ll have to listen to find out - all this and more on this episode of The Carmudgeon Show.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
