That Streetfighter thing:

[Damn True]

PT is but a small niche within the whole spectrum of Hot-Rodding. Growing to be sure, but still small. Within this group we still have sub-groups.

There are those who want an original looking car with a few modern performance touches that make the car more pleasant to drive.

There are those who want to seriously modernize every aspect of the look and feel of a car. Originality be damned.

There are those for whom this is just the current style of Hot Rod. Not unlike Pro-Street was not so many years ago. "Show-Touring" or "Pro-Tweed" if you will. ("Not that there is anything wrong with that.")

There are those who intend to run their cars at auto-x and Open Track events.

At the risk of inflaming the ire of some (It's not as if that has ever stopped me before) I'd like to start a discussion of a specific build type within the PT niche. I know we all resist labeling cars as this or that, but I think this style lends itself to a label more than others. If for no other reason than to explain to some rube why the heck you built it the way you did.

Streetfighter.

What is it?
What makes a car a "Streetfighter"?
Is it a look, or is it a deed? (Nature vs. Nurture?)

I'll give my opinion (and it's just that....and yes, it stinks just like yours) then open the floor for ya'all to chime in.

IMO, a "Streetfighter" is to PT what a chopper is to Harleys. Minimalist first and foremost. Sure it still has carpet, but there's no room here for DVD monitors. Performance should be the primary concern. Occupant comfort and the eardrums of the neihbors kids are secondary concerns. Retro or Modern theme is fair game, though I have a personal preferance for something that stylistically leans toward the old T/A cars. There is certainly room for a more modern look with a set of CCR's and bunch of carbon fiber as well.

The word itself conjurs up an image. "Street" implies that it actually gets used to it's potential, not merely waxed on Saturdays and parked on a lawn with a crying baby doll on Sunday ("Not that there's anything wrong with that.") It also implies an "edginess" something that might be a bit offensive to "normal" people. Remember how your parents reacted to the cover of that Sex Pistols album....that's the vibe. "Fighter" alludes to a car that has seen it's share of nicks and scuffs. Rock chips are fine, encouraged even. A couple of marks on a rocker panel from orange cones at the last auto-x are badges of honor, not detriments.

These are cars that get driven, hard. As such they should have appropriate safety equipment. Quality seats, properly installed. Harnesses, again...properly installed. Bonus points for cages, fuel cells and fire systems.

A buddy of mine found this website the other day with a couple of fine examples of the vibe:
http://web.mac.com/streetfytr/iWeb/T...ETFIGHTER.html

I think you'll recognize a few.

So let's discuss.

Who's headed this way with their car?
Who's built some bitchin custom doo-dad to inch closer to the goal?
What's needed from the aftermarket to support this niche within the niche?

My other intent for this thread was to provide a centralized location for vendors (paid advertisers of course) to launch products specific to the genre. Also a place for us, and those like us to share ideas for the home-made stuff we've built.

[David Sloan]

Street fighter= Big Red,Stevos & JPs II Much are the first to come to my mind. I know there are some more.
My next car the Cuda will be built on this type of build,(Street Fighter)
It will have some slick azzzzz paint. Cant help that its what i do.
But it will be all business,Full frame,cage,seats,belts,Fuelinjected426hemi,5speed, all the necessities a race car cough (street car) needs.
I know the people that know me know that i will run the Shiiiiit out of her.There is video on this web site to back it up.
That is what they are for!
And we hope to be making some cool street fighter parts to go with this style.

[69Nova]

I think True hit the nail on the head. I completly agree with you. The car has gotta have some serious attitude and capability on the track. The majority will hate it and not get the picture. I do consider my car a budget Street Fighter. It not the best at anything yet but the car has attitude and defintly suprises people at the autocross in my area.

[6'9"Witha69]

My car is minimalist by budget, abused by desire and in one piece by ability. Call me PT, call me a street fighter, never call me a fairgrounds cruiser. Functionality over form has always been my method. Paint is shot? Don't care. I'll still race it. I don't care if it ever has show quality paint, I may just end up Earl Scheibing it and not caring about chips and road rash.

Not to say I won't have some other shiny parts, but making it work will always come before making it look better!

[Steve1968LS2]

I think my car is sorta "streetfighter" esq.. low of creature comforts with parts geared towards performance first and looks second.

In the end it's just another term to be bantered about. I consider us all "car guys" and that makes us family regardless of what we choose to pidgen hole our rides as.

[trapin]

Steevo's probably lickin' his chops right now as he reads this. No greater champion of the genre then Mr. Shrifter himself.

I think I more identify with the Streetfighter mentality. I guess it comes from the little bit of drag racer I still have in me. I just like my cars raw and to the point. My car may lack a roll bar but it will also be deviod of the fancy stereo system and air conditioning emenities. I won't even have a heater core. No reason for it.

Two cars that absolutely scream the Streetfigher mentality are Steevo's '68 and Parson's II Much. Great examples of purpose built hot rods.

The next car I build will be a pure Streetfighter.

[Damn True]

I think my car is sorta "streetfighter" esq.. low of creature comforts with parts geared towards performance first and looks second.

In the end it's just another term to be bantered about. I consider us all "car guys" and that makes us family regardless of what we choose to pidgen hole our rides as.

Steve you are the Thomas Harris of the Hot Rod community.

[NOPANTS-68]

IMO, a street fighter by name is simply a PT car blended with a dedicated track car. I built my Nova with this style in mind- cage, Tremec, minilites, harnesses, no heater, no radio, and of course big power that wakes the neighbors. A street fighter may lack polish, but it drips with attitude. Can't beat cast center wheels and lots of home made parts for the bad boy look. Early Trans-Am cars are about as street fighter as one could get- just remove the window net and the meatballs and there you go. lol

[Damn True]

Sounds like a cool car. How about sharing some pics with us.




BTW, my other intent for this thread was to provide a centralized location for vendors (paid advertisers of course) to launch products specific to the genre. Also a place for us, and those like us to share ideas for the home-made stuff we've built.

[Restomod]

These have been Streetfighters longer than cars....

[formula]

I'd say that street fighters are, in some ways, the closest to the original "hot rod" mentality that came out of postwar suburbia, i.e. built to be nasty fast and driven hard on a relative budget. As such, I'd like to think that my car is as much a street fighter as anything, even though I don't have the payola to play with the big boys right now (college>cars). Mine's driven every damn day that it runs, and is driven hard every time it's driven. I get "why the heck would you need/want *insert mod* on a car like this?" all the time, and if it's not that, it's "you should just put a 455 in it and be done". I get a kick out of being so socially unacceptable--I enter car shows for the parking and wear the scars from my tire blowout proudly (although they will be fixed eventually to avoid rust). I guess what I'm trying to get at is that a street fighter, to me, is a car that is first and foremost driven balls-out at every opportunity and focus their attention on that aspect of their car first, and I think a looooot of the guys on here meet that category, even if they do shine up their ride for shows on saturday.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

An old definition I came up with:

Street Fighter: (The term is adapted from a European genre of stripped down street bikes and has been designated to represent the minimalist sub-genre of pro-touring cars.) A classic muscle car with heavily modified and upgraded suspension and brake system components, a powerful yet functional (i.e. efficient) drive train, and diminutive creature comforts. Most Street Fighters are devoid of A/C, big billet wheels, chromed-out engine bays and navigation systems, but rather are clad with forged wheels, roll cages and light weight fabricated compoments. Most anything not necessary to make the car accelerate, decelerate, handle or function more efficiently is stripped from the vehicle. Street Fighters are Pro-Touring counter-culture at its finest; minimal drivability is sacrificed for performance and function. In the simplest of fashions, Street Fighters can be equated to street legal race cars.

Edit: My '68 is being built in this context.

[bobbaganoosh]

I guess that's the direction I've been heading on my Mustang all along, light weight, good amount of power, and good handling capabilities, yet legal enough I can drive it to work if I want to. It doesn't have a/c or a radio nor will it, but I don't care. It's just a car I'm building to flog the piss out of. I'm on a limited budget so mostly everything on the car I've made or bartered for.

[vanzuuk1]

Years ago my friend marcus wrecked his gsxr, and I tried to convince him to leave the plastic off and strip it down a little. No dice.

Time passed and my own gsxr went cartwheeling down the road, I went for the minimalist look and rebuilt it.

Around that time I saw steevos car on the cover of phr and it blew me away. It was like there were notes to a half written song in my head and then I heard the song on the radio. I also got all worked up over the pure vision cars,the red gtx really made me stop and think.

I dont know if my current car is a streetfighter but by the fall it will be at the end of its current phase,let me know what you think.

[vanzuuk1]

It might be a streetfighter if-

Your girl hates to ride in it.

The resto guys look visibly disturbed by it.

The cop at the 711 wants to write you a ticket before you even start it.

It makes little kids cry.


You fight the urge to take it out in the snow.

You do so many donuts you hurt your neck.

A friend of a friend sees you get on an entrance ramp and says you "almost wrecked". You dont remember the incident.

You take a guy with a late model vette for a ride and he steps on imaginary brake pedals as you approach your exit.

[vanzuuk1]

True I just checked out that link...for some reason I liked it!

Andrew pettys nova should be mentioned also.

[Damn True]

True I just checked out that link...for some reason I liked it!

Andrew pettys nova should be mentioned also.

Thought you might like that.

ABSOLUTELY! Andrew's car is a great example.

[vanzuuk1]

That lime green mopar was at the xv open house, it was badass.

The plate on the car next to it read "nuke gm", that was great.

[Steve Chryssos]

These cars have always been around. Giving them a name just makes it easier for us to exchange thoughts on the subject. Think back to when Brock Yates had Cotton Owens build him a Dodge Challenger for the Cannonball Run. Or how about Porsche RSR's from the mid 70's? Many of us can trace our inspiration back to Big Red or the Penske-Donahue cars.

There is something tabu about a streetfighter. Like you snuck into the pits, stole your favorite race car and escaped onto public roads. Ron Howard did exactly that in a movie called "Eat My Dust". I saw that movie and was hooked Growing up in New York City, car movies had a profound influence on me. The west coast had the cars. In New York, you had car movies and TV shows. From Mad Max to the Dukes of Hazzard, the cars always seemed like they could drive through concrete walls. When I strap into my car, I get that same feeling. It's loud and fast and hot. If I want comfy and cool, I'll stay on the couch.

As for parts, I think the streetfighter niche is too small to support volume production. These cars are the exception rather than the rule. But Twist will try to release some streetfighter parts. In conjunction with Jake's Rod Shop, we have run off a batch of ten streetfighter aluminum rear spoilers. Five 67-68 and five 69. Since volume is so low, they will be a bit pricey. There's a lot of hand finishing involved, so there is no way around that. But if you want that streetfighter look, these spoilers will get you there. I'll post a picture tomorrow. After that we will be releasing vintage Trans Am style gauge clusters for 67-68 Camaros. They too will be fabricated aluminum and will be very different from currently available offerings.

[vanzuuk1]

Steve I am in for a rear spoiler, do not forget. The pics you took at xv came out great.