I am going to disagree with Ron, and most of the others that are looking at the nostalgia movement in their own little view finder rather than the whole picture. Ron's position, like a lot of others, is that "this is the way I see it and everyone else should conform to my view".
Back in the day when funny cars started, just about anything would show up at the strip. Big Al was an all fiberglass flip top body 34 Ford sedan with an Allison motor. Sounds like a funny car to me. There were 64 Chevy IIs, 64 and 65 Mustangs, Corvairs, 58 to 64 Vettes, and jeeps. Some of these bodies resembled the originals, some were highly modified, some were steel and some were all fiberglass. Al Vanderwounde was looking at the world through a different set of lenses when he created his great looking funny cars. How about the Wonderwagon lowrider with all the aero mods? Or the Powers Corvette? All the cars with the tops taken off? There were twin engined cars, cars with 2 blowers, small motors and big motors, front motored and rear motored, flip up in the rear, four wheel drive, etc, etc.
Some other issues:
Spill Plates - when installed on a car with a wide "greenhouse" they take away downforce. The air your spoiler catches does not come over the roof of the car, it comes from the sides.
Computers - some need them, they are a crutch. I have not worked on a nostalgia car that has had a computer. It is more fun without them. But why should I care if the car in the other lane has one?
Purses - back in the day most shows were booked in events and there was a set level of pay by the amount of fans you could draw. Today, because of many who could only get bookings by running cheap have set the standards for your open shows. Why would anyone run for $350.00 to $500.00 a run? Do you feel you are only worth that much? DRO brags about a $23,000.00 purse for an 8 car open show. That is a pathetic amount and they should be embarassed for offering so little considering the cost to run one of these cars.
Rules - NHRA is tightening the rules for the cars because of the racers insistance on running quicker and faster all the time. With the AA/FD they tried to control the performance with performance equipment rules but the racers kept going faster until drivers were getting hurt. With the funny cars they just keep adding safety equipment that keeps driving up the cost of racing and is making the cars more like the "big show" cars. If the performance levels were kept at 5.90 plus, the rules would have stayed the same and costs to run these cars would not be escalating.
Bodies - Why should you care what year or shape of body the other teams are running? If a jeep can run 244 mph, do you think the aero is really that important? Down force in the big show cars allow them to apply more clutch sooner with the lock up fingers. The starting line limits the amount of clutch weight you can apply in a non lock up clutch, so where does the aero come into play with these cars? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and variety is the spice of life. If a bat mobile car draws more fans then what does it hurt if a team runs one? My son Richard's 55 Bel Air is a real crowd pleaser where ever it runs, but it isn't "legal" by the nostalgia body police. But does that stop him from getting paid to run it when he has an opening in his schedule? And he gets a lot more than what these cars in an open show are earning.
These are my personal views based on my being a spectator, participant, and at times promoter of this type of vehicle. Your views and opinions may vary, and I respect that. I won't tell you what your car should look like, and I would appreciate if you didn't try to dictate to me how mine should look.
