Good/Bad Idea of the Week: Bavarian Brougham

Thanks Phil! BIR v4.0 aims to please.

Broughamic parts were sourced from the following fine automobiles, most from the Octopus junkyard in Wilmington (actually he's a Septapus if you count tentacles):

• 1974 Lincoln Continental MkIV Givenchy Designer Series (grille)

• 1982 Chrysler Fifth Avenue (headlight bezels, c-pillar/sail panel opera lights, Landau script, red button-tufted leather rear seat for Sofa King Brougham)

• 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis - Panther platform (B-pillar and wing-mounted opera lights, "Ride Engineered" badges)

• Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance (rear door opera lights)

• Oldsmobile Delta 88 Brougham, Oldsmobile Cutlass Brougham Royale, 1981 Jeep Wagoneer Brougham(!), 1978 Dodge Monaco Brougham, Chevrolet Monte Carlo Landau, 1975 Ford Elite Coupe, Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham (badges!!)

I used a plasma cutter for the first time ever cutting the Brougham script into the trunk lid. Rear wing uprights were courtesy of a used laundry hamper. "d'BAVARIA" badging courtesy Pep Boys, Carson CA.

The c-pillar shields above the Landau scripts depict the Bavarian crest, rampant on a field of blue and white checks - the Bavarian flag.

The rear of this turd is so rusty, you can actually see through the trunk in side shots:

The driveshaft failure Phil referred to was a side-effect of our main failure - both motor mounts & both trans mounts sheared completely, letting the engine "jump its mounts" about 6" forward in the chassis. 3 hours of wrenching and Vendler-ific custom fabrication got us back on track. We were out with cooling woes as well, probably related to radiator hoses being pinched as aforementioned failing motor mounts allowed the drivetrain to gradually sneak forward, before full separation.

Some parting shots:

BROUGHAM!!!

Funny article Phil!  The only thing missing was a pic of our People's Choice winning car from the 06 Altamont Race.

That car was on its way to a podium finish before it shat its engine all over the track.

-Vince

A bunch of dudes completely ignoring the lady who seems to have forgotten her pants?  Now THAT'S dedication.

Thanks man. Once we got rolling on the Brougham Express we couldn't be stopped.

The extra long tailpipe was a last-minute trackside addition on Friday. Our tech went well but Jay & Co. wanted us to reduce our probability of driver CO poisioning - the trunk is mainly composed of rust & holes, and the existing exhaust wasn't quite long enough for their liking. 3' of tubing from 7's Only got it out past the trunk - perhaps a bit too far - but the other guys liked the Bosozoku vibe so we left it that way.

And the lady who appears to have forgotten her pants was, disappointingly, actually wearing pants in real life. Sorry guys.

Vince forgot to mention that this video ^ ^ is from a custom bumper cam, installed in the empty space where the headlight once resided, after it got "Vendler-ized" and left on the track for dead.

You assumed correctly...325i/M50. Others have commented that our car was super loud but it didn't really seem very loud to us. It was a bit "droney" in the car under yellow at low rpms; probably a resonant frequency, glaayven. But no complaints from me or any of our other four drivers. It has stock manifolds, 6-into-2-into-1, and after that I adapted it to 3" all the way back with a single Flowmaster.