Wednesday ORT: ReCharged, Gene Winfield, Epi Black Beauty, F1 Predictions

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We’re not really in the business of “spy photography” at ACF, but feast your eyes nevertheless at an anonymous submission of four-door Chargers in Stellantis custody… with tailpipes. Aren’t they quite handsome and interesting? I don’t know who’s gonna buy them, but at least someone will have a chance. I also quite like the look of the cars as seen here. Very fuselage-y, if I do say so myself. The last Chargers were sort of an improbable styling triumph, being the combination of a timid rebody and a sci-fi replacement front fascia, but they were never classically beautiful. This one has a chance in that regard, at least.

How much would you pay for a 550-horsepower Hurricane Charger?

Gene Winfield: In Memoriam

From ACFer WyattLCB comes this brief note about a star in the automotive firmament:

‘We don’t seem to talk much about the showcar and “kustom” world here on ACF, likely due to their polarizing looks and purpose of show rather than speed, but I have no doubt many of us still recognize the name Gene Winfield. It was announced yesterday, March 4th, that Mr. Winfield has passed away at the age of 97. One of the most prolific car builders and metal workers in American history, you’ve probably seen his work without even knowing it. Cars like the Reactor that featured in a 1967 episode of Bewitched (and onward to Star Trek, Batman, and Mission: Impossible); and the Piranha, which was originally a showcase for ABS plastics and then sold as a kit car. It became a star in the Man From U.N.C.L.E. in 1967 as well.

‘Both cars were based on turbocharged Corvairs, and while Piranha was fairly standard in how it used the Corvair mechanicals, Reactor was flipped around to be mid-engined and front wheel drive. Winfield used the front transaxle AND hydropneumatic suspension from a Citroen DS, resulting in a car that was special even past its wild body work and paint. Before those Hollywood candy creations, Gene worked with Ford to build two of the vehicles in Ford’s “Custom Car Caravan” from 1962-1964, the most popular being his modified E100 pickup dubbed, “Pacifica.”

‘Another early car that drew attention and became famous on the show circuits for decades was the asymmetric and aluminum-bodied Strip Star. Based on a 1946 Ford chassis, and stuffed with a FE427 big block, it destroyed the 4 speed transmission after a 121mph run on the dry lake when Gene hit a hole in the lakebed while returning back to the pits. All of these vehicles were built in 4 years, simultaneously, while Gene actually did some serious land speed racing as well. I’d say those are impressive achievements on their own, and there are countless other Mercurys, Fords, Chevys, and all kinds of other one-off cars built throughout the last 75(!) years to cement Winfield’s legend.

‘He never stopped working and building cars in his shop, but later in life Gene started touring all around the country, and the world, to shows and schools, in order to teach the art of metal work. He really wanted to help as many people as he could learn and continue the craft, and I can’t think of a better person from whom to learn. Three months ago, the YouTube channel “Full Custom Ian” posted an hour long interview and shop tour with Gene, at 97, gladly showing off every tool and explaining their use as well as demonstrating a few; even deftly cutting a curve on his Beverly #2 shear, which despite the leverage in its design still takes some force to use. While I can’t say I particularly like or want any specific car he’s built, I simply cannot deny the utter talent and passion Mr. Winfield had for his craft, and I thank him for all that he’s done for American automotive culture. He will be missed, and remembered fondly.’

In the famous words of Jerry Orbach, “Was that what my money paid for?”

My God, was it more than a full year ago that I was saying this 1989 Epiphone Les Paul Custom was almost done? I really do lose track of time. At that point I had a total of $814.36 in the guitar… but it was clearly “fretting out” in the upper octave. A full refret at most shops now costs $500 or more, so I thought I’d take a shot at the PLEK machine, which scans the fretboard then levels the frets with a robot cutter. Guitar Guys, of Newark, Ohio, thought there was just enough metal left to make it worthwhile. Total was $280.99, bringing the total for this elderly instrument up to a quite robust $1,095.35. Ronnie Schreiber cut new backplates, laser-engraved them, and charged nothing for the work, thus sparing me the embarrassment of cresting the $1,100 mark on a used Korean clone Lester.

With that said, I might as well admit the truth: it plays really well, and looks lovely while doing it. On the shoulder, it has the heft and solidity of a proper Les Paul Custom. It’s been aging for thirty-six years in a way that you can’t really fake in Gibson’s “Murphy Lab”, no matter how much they charge. All the corner-cutting was in the wiring and pickups, which have been replaced by proper American hardware. You could pay a lot more and get a lot less.

How’s it sound? My son and I recorded a few demos over the weekend, but because he’d come straight from a weekend at Camp Perry he was in his Civil Air Patrol uniform. It’s against regulations for him to appear on any media while in uniform unless he’s “on duty”, so we couldn’t use any of what we played. Earlier today, therefore, I just plugged in and played a couple near-random notes, just to demonstrate the unearthly sustain and tone of the thing.

In the hands of a competent player it would sound even better, trust me. Signal chain was simple: Epiphone → Decibelics Golden Royale → Fender USA Princeton Reverb Tweed Reissue.

And that’s the end of this guitar’s story, except for one thing: the alert viewer may notice a 2017 Gibson Les Paul Studio Deluxe IV in Caribbean Blue sitting on the chair behind me. It’s the insurance-funded replacement for the 2015 Caribbean Studio that was stolen from me in September of 2022. What did it cost, you ask? Well:

Awfully close to the total cost of the Epiphone, isn’t it? But a very different guitar. No binding, no headstock inlays, no aesthetic frills besides a lovely quilt-maple top. Burstbucker 2 and 3 pickups with push-pull coil split and a 9v-powered 10dB boost. If anyone in the ACF readership can play guitar better than I can — statistically, that can’t be more than, uh, a couple hundred of you — I invite you to come try the 1989 fake Gibson against the 2017 real Gibson. Which I’ve already done, of course, and my winner is… a story for next time.

Say Drake, I hear you like your F1 champs young

Perhaps feeling like his luck couldn’t get any worse after the Super Bowl, Aubrey “Drake” Graham placed an early $20 million bet on Lando Norris to win the F1 WDC.

If early testing is any indication, this was a much better idea than, say, engaging Kendrick Lamar in a public poetry battle. Because McLaren is on fire so far. There’s just one little issue: Oscar Piastri seems just about as happy in the car as Lando is. If the orange car is the fastest seat available for 2025, the championship will come down to talent and heart. I’d humbly suggest that young Oscar isn’t far adrift of Lando in the former and easily ahead in the latter.

Meanwhile, Red Bull is, to use the word that’s currently appearing on every YouTube video regarding F1 testing, “struggling”. But you knew that was going to be the case. You also know that Max Verstappen can be utterly relied upon to extract every possible point out of the chassis, which is not something that can be said about either McLaren driver.

Here are my quick predictions, based on almost nothing. I’d like to hear yours, as well — then we will come back at the end of the season to make fun of them.

1st place; McLaren, with Oscar winning the WDC ahead of Lando. They have the fastest car, they have some of the best pitstops, they have the Mercedes powerplant. All that’s required is for them to not make a truly awful mistake.

2nd place: Ferrari, with Charles beating Lewis by a 4-to-3 points margin. I think Sir Hamilton is washed and I don’t think he’s ready for the Ferrari paddock, which in the past couple of decades has mentally eviscerated every single driver not named Kimi.

3rd place: Red Bull, with Max far and away better than Liam. The second Red Bull seat is where dreams go to die. Max will put in a memorable effort while quietly wondering if he’d really not rather just be following the Euro DJ circuit in his new Dassault Falcon.

4th place: Mercedes, Princess George having the easy measure of Kimi. It wouldn’t surprise me if George beats Lewis in the drivers’ championship yet again. Kimi Antonelli will spend the year being alternately brilliant and woeful.

5th place: VCARB, where Yuki will school Isack. Entire books will be written about how Yuki Tsunoda was the finest modern driver to never even touch a championship-capable seat. Isack will flounder.

6th place: Alpine, Gasly absolutely toasting Doohan. Won’t be close. And I’m not sure Alpine will be the best of the second division, but I’m willing to risk it.

7th place: Aston Martin, Stroll whipping Alonso… just kidding. These cars could finish 17th and 18th for half the season until they get the aero reworked. Once that happens… 2026 could be a different story.

8th place: Williams, Albon ahead of Bortoleto. It breaks my heart to see Colapinto sent back to the minors after so comprehensively showing-up Thailand’s finest. Albon will beat this kid for a year, at least, and feel really good about himself. What he should feel: lucky. EDIT: It's Sainz, of course, and he'll toast Albon.

9th place: Haas, Ocon in front of Bearman whenever they crash into each other. I’m an unabashed fan of Mr. Haas and his team, but this is a feckless driver pairing that will just point out to everyone how actually solid K-Mag and The Hulk were together.

10th place: Stake. By a lot.

Regardless of the finishing order, I think it’s safe to say that the very recent F1 tradition of exciting races and unpredictable finishes will continue in even more dynamic fashion. Any season where Lando qualifies up front is, by definition, going to be more exciting than one where it’s Max.

Open thread reminder

This would be a good week to post anything that comes to your mind as worthy of discussion. I’ll be aggressively pinning the best topics. Later this week we’ll have the follow-up “Dark Horses” piece from John Marks and a “Drivin’ For Harambe” that should have the street racers out there hyped up. Last but not least, members of Trackday Club and Loopy’s Loonies will be hearing from me about shipping addresses. As always… thank you!