How many times have you seen it? You go to a friends place and in the garage is a cool musclecar, sitting neglected, with stuff piled on top of it, parts everywhere? You look at it and you want to tell your friend to give you the keys so you can finish the car and do it proud.
Most of the time, these cars are just sitting, completely ignored, and have probably not seen pavement in more than a year. It’s so disappointing, but to be fair, money and time could always be a factor, so we tend to cut our compadres some slack.
After a couple of failed attempts, finally, success!
The Oldsmobile in the video above, which appears to be about a 1972 442, has all the aforementioned accessories: the hood is on the roof of the car with what appears to be sheets of plywood and cardboard underneath, and sticking through the back window opening is an assortment of fender protectors and moving blankets. The back seat is packed with what us gearheads like to call “stuff”.
But it also appears that this car isn’t merely sitting, ignored and neglected, because the owner has decided to introduce the tires to the pavement and create some smoke while re-striping the road. It starts off slow, but eventually the 455 manages to put the power to the gears and break traction, and, ladies and gentlemen, we have smoke.
A burnout are a rite of passage for a musclecar, and when done properly and in a safe environment, they can be fun to watch. But please, at least give the car some dignity and take the hood off the roof, the blankets off the rear package tray, and represent this W30 Olds the proper way. I’m sure a few of you cringed at the mere sight of this, thinking perhaps the hood would somehow find it’s way back down on top of the engine.