BEHIND THE LENS WHAT THE ... Once in a while, I’ll walk into a shoot, expecting to photograph a stock or mildly modified vehicle, only to be presented with a car, truck or motorcycle that leaves me stupefied, slack-jawed, mind blown and asking myself, “What the ... “ You know what I mean—vehicles that are built with unbridled imagination, and the words “That’ll never work” are never uttered, or the term “shoehorning it in” becomes a gross understatement. Like what, you might ask? How about a 1972 Ford Pinto Pony with a 427 CI V-8 stuffed between the frame rails, fed by a deuce of Dominator carbs and pushing 650 HP? Too much motor? Well, you could opt for something smaller, say a 1973 Honda Z50 Mini Trail bike that’s had its 50cc single banger replaced with a 4-cylinder, CB350F Honda. It goes just a little quicker than 25 MPH now. SCOTT MEAD With a little help from his grandfather, Mecum’s senior photographer, Scott, started driving at the age of 3 and was racing go-karts by the time he turned 8. He received his first camera (a Kodak Instamatic) around the same time and started photographing car events, races, rallies and concours. Before coming to Mecum, he was a writer and photographer for Edmunds.com, Motor Trend and spent 15 years in Hawaii photographing the island’s splendor. Scott’s wife swears he gargles with 100-octane race gas and bleeds 20/50 motor oil, and when he’s not on the road, you can find him in his garage, wrenching on their DeTomaso Pantera or Porsche 914. Fueled by the age-old question of “what if?” and probably followed by the statement “hold my beer,” thinking way outside of the performance box isn’t anything new. After all, Hot Rodders have been stuffing V-8s into Model Ts for decades—for about as long as dads have been bolting Briggs & Stratton lawn mower engines to soapbox derby cars. My grandfather was a prime example, taking a 1949 Crosley Wagon, pulling the 26 HP straight four and stuffing in a Flathead Ford V-8. But that wasn’t enough. He added a custom-ground cam from Ed Winfield, a set of SRB carburetors and four mufflers to make it as quiet as a church mouse. Completely stock in appearance (including the 12-inch wheels wrapped in whitewalls), the car was deceiving, and he loved using it to goad kids in jalopies at stoplights; he’d let them take off, then zoom past like they were standing still. At the next light, the unsuspecting teen couldn’t believe he had been taken by an old(er) man in a Crosley Wagon. My grandfather’s last “toy” was a 1974 DeTomaso Pantera that was a real sleeper. At a glance, it looked like a stock-bodied Pantera, but residing under the aft decklid was a Ford 351 Cleveland, topped by a Magnacharger twin-blower setup. Putting 574 HP to the rear wheels, the system was originally designed for the Corvette, but he had the blower assembly installed in reverse (the pulleys were at the back of the block), with a jack shaft connecting the crank pulley to the blower. Yes, the thrust was amazing. 46 // MECUM.COM
