Seen the same day… Both are 1931 Model As…

Restored to original…

And the ‘hot rod’ version… Chopped, channeled, and powered by a 327 Chevy V-8

I can’t imagine somebody doing this to something like a Prius in 90 years (assuming there are even any left)…

And the way .gov regulation is going, hot rodding ANYTHING will be harder to do, with all the new ‘requirements’ for computer controls, regulation of programming/programmers, and ‘auto reset’ built into the ECUs on cars so that even if somebody CAN get in, the car will revert to stock on the next start up.

Yes, these old beasts required leaded gasoline, which means a search for a substitute for the lead that can be added to the current unleaded (and lower octane stuff).

Chemists discovered in the 1920s that Tetraethyllead added to gasoline was a cost-effective solution to pre-ignition and helped engines run better.

Lead also emerged as an effective way to protect against valve-seat recession, which can occur under high-rpm, high-heat, high-load conditions.

As the intensely hot exhaust valve hammers against the valve seat thousands of times per minute, the two components can momentarily fuse together in a process called “microwelding.”

Once the valve opens, the microweld tears apart. Multiply this by thousands of times and the valve seat deteriorates until the valve no longer seats properly. This leads to compression and power loss, in addition to catastrophic failure if the valve breaks off.

And it’s even worse in California… 108 Octane Sunoco gas has been declared ‘race fuel only’, not allowed on the streets!!! sigh…