What are you doing to my Camaro?

June 26, 2007 1:50 PM

Better Off Dead Camaro. Finding and fixing the 1967 Camaro SS-350 from Better Off Dead.
posted by kirkaracha (72 comments total)

Awesome. Just awesome. I wonder if this guy snorts spray or where I could score some of that.
posted by dios at 1:58 PM on June 26, 2007

Cool. I bet it definitely cost more than $2.
posted by NationalKato at 2:01 PM on June 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

I meant nasal spray, of course.
posted by dios at 2:04 PM on June 26, 2007

He kept putting his testicles all over me!
posted by COBRA! at 2:04 PM on June 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Gurgle of 5.7L V8 + Muddy Waters = heaven.
posted by phaedon at 2:07 PM on June 26, 2007

Neato.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 2:08 PM on June 26, 2007

This is almost as cool as the guy in Illinois that built the Mad Max Clone
posted by peewinkle at 2:09 PM on June 26, 2007

For the record, everyone needs to see that movie.

It's amazing.
posted by Alex404 at 2:15 PM on June 26, 2007

"Language... Lessons"
posted by jonson at 2:19 PM on June 26, 2007

Holy cow. That guy is, like...some kind of semi-wealthy uber-nerd. Crossed with a total gearhead. I'm not sure I can even classify such a person, but I know that I both fear and admire him.
posted by Midnight Creeper at 2:23 PM on June 26, 2007

The humbling continues.

I despise bodywork. Others seem to love it. Ack!
posted by CynicalKnight at 2:26 PM on June 26, 2007

I want my two dollars!
posted by jjg at 2:32 PM on June 26, 2007

Damn shame when folks be wastin' a perfectly good Camaro.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:37 PM on June 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

Burhanistan: But, without Howard-Cosell-Speaking-Immigrants to race, what is the point?
posted by absalom at 2:38 PM on June 26, 2007

It's good sometimes to be reminded that pursuits that I normally consider pointless and crazy like old-car-restoring can occasionally produce results that I consider completely freaking awesome.
posted by gurple at 2:38 PM on June 26, 2007

Cool.

But Flash? Why, why, why?
posted by Western Infidels at 2:40 PM on June 26, 2007

I used to work with someone who collected movie cars. Lordy, he was insufferable. Always drove one to work and then of course he had to make sure his car was in the most visible parking spot so he could walk out to it a few times a day, lean on it and publicly bask in his own awesomeness.
posted by miss lynnster at 2:41 PM on June 26, 2007

I'm gonna miss Vincent Schiavelli.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:43 PM on June 26, 2007

This is so cool. Thank you for sharing!
posted by headspace at 2:49 PM on June 26, 2007

Truly, a sight to behold!
posted by fusinski at 2:50 PM on June 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

What's great about the Mad Max car is that one of my friends saw it once in the wild, and tried for weeks to convince us that he wasn't crazy. We never believed him.

And I've always loved the Better Off Dead Camaro. It inspired me to get my own busted, unfinished muscle car, in the hopes that one day a sexy French chick will use it to help me build confidence in myself.

The wife is hoping that I forgo this step, and just fix the damn car so it stops taking up half our garage.
posted by quin at 3:04 PM on June 26, 2007

Gee, I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky.

(And this? is awesome.)
posted by scody at 3:04 PM on June 26, 2007

...after the olympics everything looked so damn easy.....
posted by Mr_Zero at 3:08 PM on June 26, 2007

This was a great post. I loved that movie, was hot for Monique, and hotter for the car.
posted by sharpener at 3:10 PM on June 26, 2007

Recent John Cuzack interview where he says

"I actually get ... "Better Off Dead" a lot, which is weird 'cause ... it was two months of my life when I was, you know, 18 years old. And I don't really even remember the movie. ... I remember people coming up and talking about that movie kind of obsessively. I have more knowledge of that than I do of actually making the film."
posted by Mr_Zero at 3:11 PM on June 26, 2007

Cusack.... sigh
posted by Mr_Zero at 3:11 PM on June 26, 2007

miss lynnster : I used to work with someone who collected movie cars.

I have often said, that if I got stupid rich, one of the things I would spend money on would be building replicas of movie cars. And not even the obvious sexy ones, no Bond Aston Martins or anything obvious like that. No I want ecto 1. (the Ghostbuster's hearse), and the BTtF Delorean, Mad Max's truck from Beyond Thunderdome, and the Bluesmobile. Stuff that is either a nerdifact or just a really cool old car.

Lordy, he was insufferable.

Thankfully I already have this going for me. So getting rich and building a bunch of weird old cars would only help me refine this as a personality trait.
posted by quin at 3:14 PM on June 26, 2007

If you look close enough, you can see some Camaros in their natural environment here.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:17 PM on June 26, 2007

Practically the whole movie (except the ski resort scenes) was filmed in my ineffably boring little hometown corner of LA -- Sierra Madre. Oooh, drag racing on Baldwin Ave! (Speed limit: 25) The idea of anything even a little interesting happening in Sierra Madre made this movie waaay funnier than it should have been.
posted by Methylviolet at 3:21 PM on June 26, 2007

What? No batshitinsane tag for this? This guy went to great and questionable (he lied about the reasons for his interest in the car to the owner) lengths to get a completely forgettable car for an equally forgettable film.
posted by wfrgms at 3:29 PM on June 26, 2007

What? No batshitinsane tag for this? This guy went to great and questionable (he lied about the reasons for his interest in the car to the owner) lengths to get a completely forgettable car for an equally forgettable film.

That's just, like, your opinion, man.
posted by Brak at 3:41 PM on June 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

By the way, thanks, kirakacha. It was really cool to see the Better Off Dead camaro in action again.
posted by Brak at 3:45 PM on June 26, 2007

I'm real sorry your mom blew up, Ricky.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 4:07 PM on June 26, 2007

I fell in love with this Camaro because of this movie. I wish I'd thought to go looking for the original one, but I guess I just decided that it would be impossible to find. And then this guy (with whom I've conversed via email) actually finds the real one that was in the movie and restores it! Amazing.

Happily, I also found my own '67 SS/RS 350 (with a 4-speed) hardtop, so I don't feel so bad.

Oddly, it's about the same color as MeFi blue! :)

"If you look close enough, you can see some Camaros in their natural environment here."

Hey, the one Camaro on that page is a 4th Gen, dude. Just not the same as the '67 thru '69 models, and lacking "classic" status. :)

As far as I'm concerned, the natural environment of the Camaro is the Pacific Coast Highway (and maybe a cruise or two up Ventura Blvd... heh)!
posted by zoogleplex at 4:08 PM on June 26, 2007

Ms. Franklin is still lookin' good.

What? No batshitinsane tag for this?
Done and done.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:10 PM on June 26, 2007

This guy went to great and questionable (he lied about the reasons for his interest in the car to the owner)

Well, of course he lied. If he said "I want that car because it was one of the focal points of a cult-comedy flick from the 80s called Better Off Dead", the then-owner would've immediately realized that the car was worth a great deal more than it would've otherwise been.

completely forgettable car for an equally forgettable film.

what Brak said.
posted by revmitcz at 4:11 PM on June 26, 2007

On the rare occasions I date someone long enough to get to the First Stay-In Movie Night point, Better Off Dead is *always* the movie I choose first. I can usually tell how long the relationship will last based on my date's reaction to that movie.

wfrgms would be calling a cab home (if I swung that way.)

Seeing Diane Franklin's boobies in The Last American Virgin almost made up for it being one of the biggest downer films in movie history.
posted by Cyrano at 4:14 PM on June 26, 2007

This guy went to great and questionable (he lied about the reasons for his interest in the car to the owner) lengths to get a completely forgettable car for an equally forgettable film.

Are you fucking kidding me? That guy did the world a fucking service by restoring that fine automobile.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:20 PM on June 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

do you have any idea what the street value of this camaro is?

excellent post kirkaracha, excellent.
posted by dorian at 4:27 PM on June 26, 2007

Oh sure. The Camaro gets all the love. What about that orange Falcon? It had frikkin' loudspeakers on the roof! With loudspeakers, you don't just bask in your own awesomeness, you project it.
posted by adamrice at 4:56 PM on June 26, 2007

You know what "FORD" stands for, right?

:D
posted by zoogleplex at 4:57 PM on June 26, 2007

First On Race Day?

Or Fucked Over Rebuilt Dodge. Depends what company you are in.
posted by quin at 5:01 PM on June 26, 2007

Found On Road Dead... Fix Or Repair Daily... Flip Over Read Directions... Ford Owner Really Dumb... For Only Retarded Drivers... Ford Owners Recommend Dodge... and a personal favorite: Failure Of Research & Development
posted by quin at 5:05 PM on June 26, 2007

Bitchin'.
posted by Greg Nog

My thoughts exactly.
posted by blaneyphoto at 5:05 PM on June 26, 2007

No I want ecto 1. (the Ghostbuster's hearse)

It was not a hearse. It was an old-style ambulance.

Now, the Jaguar hearse from Harold & Maude-- that would be something.

Failure Of Research & Development

I need to tell that one to my friend who just left Ford R&D for another company.
posted by deanc at 5:20 PM on June 26, 2007

I could be wrong, but in that model, wasn't the hearse and the ambulance basically the same vehicle? I thought it was only after it rolled off the line and the task specific parts were added that it became one or the other.

(Though the fact that it's white would definitely put it in the ambulance catagory.)
posted by quin at 5:24 PM on June 26, 2007

My father always said of the hospital across the street when I was growing up "They bring you there in a white Cadillac, and you leave in a black one."
posted by adamrice at 5:43 PM on June 26, 2007

Oh man, that's a honey of a car. My mother had a cherry red '68 Camaro with an awesome black and white custom interior and she sold it when she had me to buy a family friendly station wagon.

To this day I think she resents me just a tiny bit for that. I resent myself actually. It could have been mine! *cries*
posted by LeeJay at 5:44 PM on June 26, 2007

Sheesh, I just realized that I dated myself by pointing out that ambulances were made on Cadillac chassis when I was a kid.
posted by adamrice at 5:44 PM on June 26, 2007

Go that way really, really fast. If anything gets in your way, turn.

Thanks, Coach.
posted by ZakDaddy at 5:51 PM on June 26, 2007

Now, the Jaguar hearse from Harold & Maude-- that would be something.

Bad news, deanc.
posted by jrossi4r at 6:24 PM on June 26, 2007

'Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy like that.' Best. Movie. Ever (starring John Cusack but lacking Jeremy Piven).
posted by steef at 6:28 PM on June 26, 2007

Shit, that's a great movie and a great car.
posted by OmieWise at 6:56 PM on June 26, 2007

Feh, It looked cooler with a ski rack.
posted by sourwookie at 7:25 PM on June 26, 2007

Nifty
posted by Smedleyman at 10:09 PM on June 26, 2007

Diane Franklin was teh hot. But not quite so much as that car. Nice post.
posted by psmealey at 2:47 AM on June 27, 2007

psmealey are you joking? The car is hot and all, but Monique wins in my book every time. A girl that can fix cars is much hotter than any car. Teach a man to fish, and all that. That car would be nothing without her.
posted by donkeymon at 5:02 AM on June 27, 2007

Sort of. That car was my favorite of all time before I saw that movie on VHS in 1980-whatever. I always dug Diane Franklin, though. She only did a handful of movies, unfortunately... I think Jennifer Grey stole her career (in the same way that Brittany Murphy stole Alicia Silverstone's).

I actually saw this movie recently on cable. The opening suicide scenes (intentional nods to Harold and Maude, I think), are still pretty funny. Don't really get the whole newspaper boy stalker thing, that didn't quite work.
posted by psmealey at 5:58 AM on June 27, 2007

I sure hope this fellow includes a driver's instruction manual in the glovebox that reads "1: Go that way really fast. 2: If something gets in your way, turn." These directions were easily adapted from two well-known ski instructors.
posted by Spatch at 6:30 AM on June 27, 2007

Almost completely unrelated, but my grandmother had a '68 Camaro SS. Once in a while I remind my dad, who convinced her to buy it when he was a rakish young man, that he sold it, when he was a sensible older man, but before I turned 16. And that it would be worth a lot more than the couple of grand he got for it.

On the other hand, I'd have died a long time ago, most likely impaled on the steering wheel while trying to decelerate from 10mph to 0. It had some serious brakes.
posted by yerfatma at 7:49 AM on June 27, 2007

Okay, I just finished downloading and re-watching this movie. It's still great! And although both are hot, Monique still beats the car.
posted by donkeymon at 8:29 AM on June 27, 2007

The car is hot and all, but Monique wins in my book every time. A girl that can fix cars is much hotter than any car.

Imagine another timeline where they still made Better Off Dead, but it had Michelle Meyrink in it.

Not that Diane Franklin is chopped liver or nuthin', but still.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:53 AM on June 27, 2007

Cameros are for troglodyte, jocko homo, letter jacket fanboys. The fact that Beth convinced Lane to purchase a Camero instead of a '70 Chevelle LS6 is actually a character development device employed by the writers to further establish her character as a shallow twit not worthy of Lane's affection.

The fact that some guy sought the car and restored it is pretty cool though.
posted by Fezboy! at 10:00 AM on June 27, 2007

Having just watched it for the first time ever, uninterrupted and in a generous mood, I'm here to tell you that it's a crappy movie. Embarrassingly bad. Cringeworthy.
posted by NortonDC at 11:32 AM on June 27, 2007

LIES.
posted by dios at 11:43 AM on June 27, 2007

"Cameros are for troglodyte, jocko homo, letter jacket fanboys."

I can't even tell you how little I resemble that description.

But then, I own a Camaro, not a Camero. :)

You may be right about the Chevelle, though. That's one badass car.
posted by zoogleplex at 11:44 AM on June 27, 2007

Now, if only he could track down Karate Kid, Part II's Chozen and enter into some sort of speed race...
posted by blueberry at 11:53 AM on June 27, 2007

Having just watched it for the first time ever, uninterrupted and in a generous mood, I'm here to tell you that it's a crappy movie. Embarrassingly bad. Cringeworthy.

I'm here to tell you that NortonDC is void of all truth, father of lies, with a desolate soul incapable of joy.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:59 AM on June 27, 2007

Dem's fightin words Norton!

Monique, why wont you return my calls?!
posted by Dantien at 12:17 PM on June 27, 2007

Not only that, I've heard that he is an eater of puppies and drinker of salt water. He once shot a man in Reno just to see if his blood made an in interesting pattern on the ground. Given half a chance, he would burn the bridge rather than cross it.

He once had sex with... *checks paper*

You know what? I'm sorry, this is my resume... I'm so embarrassed. Hang on, ok, *digs out 'Dirt on NortonDC' file*

Here we go... NortonDC believes with all his heart that Batman and Robin was the finest movie ever made.

I rest my case.
posted by quin at 12:25 PM on June 27, 2007

John Cusack HATED the movie and thought it was going to ruin his career. Supposedly he cussed out the director and said he was going to never talk to him again. Holland thought it was really good and didn't understand Cusack's reaction.
posted by erikharmon at 1:06 PM on June 27, 2007

John Cusack HATED the movie and thought it was going to ruin his career.

What a tool. He didn't ruin his career until Serendipity.
posted by psmealey at 3:18 PM on June 27, 2007