If your car was on the cover of a VERY popular magazine, would it have an oil leak ?

[moparmagiclives]

I just got the new HRM In the mail this weekend, absolutely fabulouse willys coupe on the cover and a couple page spread. I couldn't help but notice the chrome oil pan is stained from a possible front crank seal or the chrome pan itself.

Now to me it says "I'm worked, because I work !!"

But if it was yours, would it leak in a magazine spread? I'm torn both ways.

[blunc]

Some people like "trailer queens", others like work horses... it's always a personal choice.

[Jantrix]

I've always been a function over form kinda guy. I think though if I knew my car was gonna be shot for a mag, I'd make double sure she was showing her best assets.

[jbwelda]

it just goes to show, just like in the models we build, if we skip one thing, no matter how insignificant, that very flaw will be front and center in any photograph of the piece. never fails.

[slusher]

I am to picky about my own car. if l had a muscle car it would be perfect.

[DON-T2]

Maybe a bit off topic but the center spread ( 32 High Boy ) is my neighbors car and was my inspiration to get back into the hobby a few years ago. And yes he drives the High Boy almost daily when the weathers is good.

[jbwelda]

> if l had a muscle car it would be perfect.

really? because that doesnt sound very real-world based. if youre gonna drive it its gonna get dirty and the motor is going to leak fluids at least enough to pick up dirt and make it look dirty. now if its all up in your garage then you can have perfect...a perfect garage queen. not much of a muscle car.

[moparmagiclives]

Maybe a bit off topic but the center spread ( 32 High Boy ) is my neighbors car and was my inspiration to get back into the hobby a few years ago. And yes he drives the High Boy almost daily when the weathers is good.

You have bad weather in Long beach ???

[2002p51]

I believe in Jay Leno's philosophy; He likes to get the them restored to a ten, then drive 'em down to 7 or 6!

[KevinMoparFord]

Part of what you see might be the refalection of something from the concrete. In looking at the inside spread I am not sure it is for sure a leak. Might it be a leak, sure, if you are going to use chrome parts like oil pans, timing chain covers, and such, you usually seem to get leaks.

[moparmagiclives]

I thought the same thing Kevin, But it doesnt look like the axle breaks the reflection. Not that I think it makes any difference of the car itself, It just caught my eye right off the bat.

My favorite are the cars on the cover with the head lamp going in two different directions.

[my name is nobody]

Luckily, it was Dusk when this Mopar Muscle guy shot my '69 Dart Swinger 340.

But I think the '68 HEMI Coronet R/T was leaking a little something in the background.

my little dart out in the daylight:

Edited September 10, 2012 by my name is nobody

[Thom]

Mine would it's BRITISH !!!

[Dennis Lacy]

I can appreciate seeing some oil stains or radiator water stains (or whatever) on a feature vehicle because it shows me that the car gets used. If I were prepairing a car for a shoot I would spend a reasonable amount of time cleaning but not to the point that it looks like the car has never been driven.

I am definitely NOT the guy at a car show that gets out of his lawn chair every 5 minutes to wipe down his car, haha.

[Junkman]

"If your car was on the cover of a VERY popular magazine, would it have an oil leak ?"

With my luck, it would be safe to say so. Or worse.

[Guest G Holding]

Yeah...Cause its not a trailer queen, but a driver...If its got a blown seal...someone was havin some fun.

[moparmagiclives]

That brings up another thing, I always see these articles about "street driven ****hp" but they never have bald tires, what gives?

[FASTBACK340]

my little dart out in the daylight:

Gotta love them A Bodies!

Speaking of A Bodies..... Way back in the 90's one of the monthly Mopar Mags had a '67 Barracuda on the cover that had about a dozen dents the the aluminum grill surrounds. Both sides.....

Always wondered how things like this happen

[Joe Handley]

Depends, if it was my 200 Touring, I'd sure as heck hope not, it's only got 6000 miles on it (6002 to be exact, it "rolled" over on the way to work today!) Now if it was my 14 year old Cherokee............well, it's s 14 year old Cherokee with the factory motor, I'd be worried if there wasn't at least a little oil leaking, that means I'm out of oil!

[Joe Handley]

That brings up another thing, I always see these articles about "street driven ****hp" but they never have bald tires, what gives?

If you can afford to build and then feed a ****hp motor, you can probably afford to buy new tires every day or two

[crazyjim]

If a car I owned was on the cover, I'd be happier than a pig in slop. Oil leak or not.

[MachinistMark]

Absoloutley not. A car doesnt need to leak oil to be "worked" \

leaking fluids of any sort is just poor maintenance. plain and simple.

[jcbigpaw]

If my truck was nice enough to make it into a magazine I'd make sure it looked perfect. I do have to say though that my neighbor does absolutely correct 69 Z28 restorations and even if you don't drive them they still age and all your finishes tarnish. Nothing stays perfect. Once it's done it's all downhill or endless maintenance. I don't want one so nice it takes that much work.

Edited September 11, 2012 by jcbigpaw

[Dennis Lacy]

That brings up another thing, I always see these articles about "street driven ****hp" but they never have bald tires, what gives?

That's because 90% of people who build hobby cars with engines making stupid HP numbers are posers and have never opened the trottle more than 50%. Which is a good thing because your average person has below average skills behind the wheel. We all want to think we are a "wheelman", but lets face, we're not. Most of the people you talk to with stupid HP making engines don't even understand what it took to get there, and especially why. They just write a check to the engine guy. These are the same guys you see videos of on You Tube getting pressured into showing off by a crowd of people while leaving a car show. It's obvious they have no clue behind the wheel because the car gets away from them instantaneously as their foot hits the floor.

It's like anything else, it's bragging rights for the car shows and magazine articles.

[jbwelda]

>leaking fluids of any sort is just piss poor maintenance. plain and simple

ok...so you just rebuilt the motor and have it all buttoned up and 200 miles later you notice small amount of seep from the rear main seal, not enough to drip, yet, but enough to attract dust and make it look messy on your nice new chrome thingie. so you tear out the motor and tear it down to replace the main seal and put it back in, to find out if maybe THIS time the stupid thing seated properly and nothing else messed up in r/r.

if so, i salute you. most people would just drive it. i know i would. then again i dont have cars on magazine covers either!