Show off your Formal!

Thanks guys! Patrick I completely understand the distance part, its stopped me a few times too. The interior in the car is one of my favorite features. Does anyone know where I could locate material? The front seat needs repairing.

Try SMS Fabrics at http://www.smsautofabrics.com/ They are a great source for automobile upholstery fabric. They are also fairly expensive and can take MONTHS to fill an order, so you know. You might also try your local car upholstery shop. They get their materials from various sources, SMS being one of those. You might luck out and get a screamin' deal locally.

@Stan - On a triple-black car like the RMB, polished slots really give the car an aggressive look while remaining elegant. Kinda like a fighter in a tux.
 
A fighter in a tux I like that! The old girl does look mean from the back with 275 50 15's filling the wheel wells! SMS looks like they might have that fabric! I'm going to send them a picture and an email today and see what I get! Thanks!
 
Here's something to chew on. A '67 and a '76. What do you see?

fnr4hs.jpg

124vqye.jpg


No one is driving.... :D
 
If they're road worthy I'll save them... but if not, then why not have some fun with it before hitting the scrap yard? I always sell my parts that I strip out too.

In theory, I'm getting rid of the junk ones, (making the good ones more rare, thus increasing value) and selling you all parts you can't find anymore. You could almost look at people like me as helpful in keeping the 74-78's alive for the rest of you... almost...
 
You're not reaching. I have been defending the derby guys for a long time for exactly everything you stated in your post.
Take the ones that nobody steps up to the plate for because, let's face it, they're **** boxes with a a capital S. Sell us the parts and have fun with the carcass that its only other use is crusher fodder.
 
I find it extremely SAD that every other thread to "show off your Slab or Fusey contain projects or well preserved cars and what does the Formals thread get?

A derby car.

NOT what I was hoping for when I started this thread! Formals can't even get respect on what is supposed to be a C body board!?!?! WTF?

I need to walk away for a while.
 
I gotta agree with Mr C, I know this stuff happens its hard to stop it. The fact of the matter is I don't want to see it on a page dedicated to guys pouring their heart, soul and savings into them, there are plenty of pages for demo cars. It makes me sad to think that someone gets there jollies out of wrecking a car, I mean a Civic is one thing but anything old from the days when cars were more than an appliance makes me sad and even a little mad. I'd sooner the car get stripped of every useable part and crushed. Of course it hits close to me because my car is always attracting vultures that want to use it for a derby car, can't wait for the day its all fixed so they leave me the hell alone.
 
Its a lack of respect. Every mobile piece of machinery IMO gets a personality by the job it has done, little old lady car, rock quarry ute, freight locomotive, passenger locomotive and so on. They all reflect what they did and have the scars to prove it. To the derby guys these are just a disposable product like a sandwich bag. Don't get me wrong I could give 2 $hits about a 75 Impala and whatever crap driveline it has in it, so I can see their point as long as they are parting cars that are not worth saving or not sound.
 
I agree. Since I also like the formals but have never tried to hit anything with them, I've had some interesting discussions with the local derby folks. I've learned that they prefer the formal Chryslers because they hold up better. It's primarily because of the front bumper on the New Yorker Brougham. They refer to it as a: "pointy". Apparently they inflict serious damage to other cars. They seem to like the front bumper's center point, which is manufactured with a large steel reinforcement behind it. The corner edges help too. I've heard that they're considered to be the best that there is. In their opinion the bumpers on the older Chryslers were inferior, let alone harder to find.

So, it's not that they think the formal Chryslers are inferior, they're primarily looking for something that holds up better than the competition.
I also don't like it much, but it taught me something that I never knew.
 
Most of the derby guys pull the 400 and 440 engines and stick a SBC in them, so they are a great source for the right engines with all the accessories still attached.
 
I need to tell you guys that have never truly devoted yourself with Formals that these things started to rust when driven away from the showroom. I've closely looked at every one I've seen and more of these, comparitively, are beyond realistically restoring them than the other generations.

I have to do an edit after reading Dave's post.
Derbies are truly a dumb *** thing. AGREED. I do equate it with mouth breathers. But I think snow mobiling is dumb as dirt, too.
Would I do either? F no...
 
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Still disrespectful, strip, crush, recycle. If your brain does not work well enough to understand what a colossal waste of time and energy demo derbies are please state something to the fact before you start talking or posting. Something like "hi I am a derby dummy do you need any parts off this car" that way the rest of us know that you are not very bright and we can adjust accordingly.


Also years ago before the internet maybe it was fun to go watch some beating and banging. Now with you tube and all the crazy Russian traffic/dashboard cameras demo derby is boring and I have to put pants on to go to one.
 
The guys that at least make the attempt to salvage the good stuff off of future demo cars are guys I can respect. Remember that our cars are NOT the only ones they dig. Think of the '71 - '76 GM "clamshell" wagons - pretty rare these days because they are valued by the derbiers, too. Go over on the station wagon forum sometime and read what carnage the derbiers love to taunt with over there!

Demo derbies are a waste of time, energy, money and cars to me.
 
What killed my respect demo guys was some idiots at my local track, they run a hit to pass kind of class and I was at the track early to crew for my friends bomber car (low buck stock car). Some guys rolled up with a 69 300 with all four hubcaps it was a totally complete and viable on the trailer, I knew what they were going to do with the car so I immediately went over to them and asked what they paid they paid $600 from some old boy that just wanted it gone. I told them I would give em 2600 bucks as is if they took it home instead of racing it. They said it was going to be " a hell of a lot more fun than $2600 which was all I had spare at that moment. I watched them smash the glass, drill through the doors and door panels to install crash bars and smash the grill and taillights out of the car. They completely destroyed a nice original car they were Total f*&^ing idiots, and I'm really sorry but I wouldn't wizz on a demo guy if he was on fire. I've seen to many nice cars get ruined by them, in the two or three years we ran my friends bomber cars I have also seen guys at our track ruin a 67 Imperial coupe, 79 300, 70 something all white NYB coupe with a sunroof, 70 factory big block Monte Carlo, 70's Ford Elite, 70's Mercury Marauder, and countless late 70's Monte's, Grand Prix's, and Impala's, Buick Centuries, and big Oldsmobiles. And most sell nothing from them which pisses me off even more. Sorry about my rant.
 
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