http://www.pro-touring.com/threads/11848...256#post1165256

what's the next car going to be??!!

I saw that on Facebook. I'm pretty bummed about it. I'll be one of the only ones next year waving the Mopar banner in SoCal once my Dart is done. I'm trying to convince my dad to pick it up as it would be perfect for him as a weekend car or something to get him into autocross, but he has a lot of dental work to get done and probably won't afford it for another 2-3 months. Unless Tom wants to hold it for that long?

Either way, I wish the best of luck to Tom and him selling the iconic purple Valiant. Tom mentioned yesterday what his next car was going to be and it should be pretty cool. I remember him talking about it this past summer or the summer before.

Selling the car because a sponsor wants him to drive a brand X car?
That sucks ass. Sounds like a politician that only says what his donors want him to say. Terrible.
A man should be able to do what he wants without being controlled by outside influences.

Hey Samy...You are not alone. There are guys out there that may not be Moparts or FABO members. AutoXcuda is still active, right?

looks like i'll probably be the lone mopar at nationals again next year. Wish I could buy Tom's car. It would probably be cheaper in the long run than building my valiant to its level. GLWS Tom!

If he was running nascar, all he would have to was change a few decals.

I know what the next car will be and again, I remember him talking about this project this summer or the summer before.

I'm not sure if Autoxcuda has autocrossed recently. For the SCCA, in the LA region the CAM class doesn't exist as there's almost no interest. In the San Diego region, there's a really strong presence with quite a few cars none of which are mopars besides the Valiant.



I'll try to make nationals, but I'm not sure if my driving skill are good enough. I'm just starting to get good with the Scion tC, but that's a 180 hp FWD car which will be completely different than a 500+hp RWD Dart. I'm going to try to take some driving schools before my Dart is finished to better and fine tune my skills.

But, I've ridden in Tom's car and it's good and very well put together. I'd say it's definitely a good car if you want to start off in the CAM class.

Awesome thing about cam class at nationals is the people. No big egos, no looking down on lesser cars. Just a bunch of motorheads stoked to be out beating on their cars. Everyone was cheering on their competitors and having fun. I went into nationals with no chance but had a great time and met some great people. Hoping to move up the ladder in national results for 2016 but i need to fix the driver before i worry about the car.


I'd love to get Tom's car but that would involve selling my scat pack and my valiant. Not quite ready to give them up right now. It would be cheaper to buy a known good car but i think i'd regret not getting to build it on my own.

That car will always be known as 'Tom's car'.


Yes, it would be loads of fun to own and drive it.

At all the events I went to, everyone knew THAT car. When it would drive in everyone would say, "O no, there's Tom and the Purple Valiant."

If I make it to Nationals, there would definitely be more car than driver for me, so I really need to get in as much practice the next couple of months.

Well, I have the new throwout bearing in the AMX, and the close ratio trans, so I'll have to come down and show y'all how to drive.

You'll note I said 'drive'.


NOT 'drive good'.

cool car.. going to show my buddy who works for pat dakin hes looking for a turn key car.. he;s an amx guy but likes odd ball stuff. who knows. i know to build something like this would be much more than asking price.. neat little ripper.

Ha! I like the politician idea, it has to be easier than Air Traffic Control!
Unfortunately as a humble Air Traffic Controller by day and Mopar Racer on the weekends, when the family of 4 allows, as you guys know, seasons of racing and tires gets expensive! Really what it comes down to for next year is my friend/painter/bodyman/shop owner George Reiss of Reiss Restoration wants to use me as a driver next year to try and promote his business, which is unfortunately 90% Chevy owners. Now nobody has ever offered to pay for ANY of my racing endevours before, so it's hard to turn down. The Valiant is a great fun car, and who knows if it doesn't sell I may be right back in it in 2017. I would love to see a Mopar guy from here buy it and use it to win in CAM next year however, so $2k off for any of you guys, and if you add up all the parts and paint costs, you know $16k is a steal!

If it's still around in about 2-3 months, I'll attempt to convince my dad to pick it up.

Sounds good Samy! Again I would love a Mopar guy to pick it up, and give the CAM class Hell with it!

Bingo! When I had the chance to get back in to rounder-rounders with an acquaintance who wanted me to wheel his Nova, it didn't take long for me to agree. After that ended and I had another opportunity to drive on someone else's dime in Fords (Pintos no less) I jumped on that one too. When they decided to evolve their program into Ford chassis and powered modifieds, I followed them there too. Learn a lot about the differences between the big three in those years.

Would I have preferred to have driven a Mopar, absolutely. But in my corner of the world, the sole Mopar owner out there willing to do that was not going to bump their son-in-law out of a ride just because I wanted it, despite my Mopar background that most everyone around there knew about. Could I have been faster than him, maybe, but we'll never know.

Now I have my Mopar that I wrench on when time and funds allow. Maybe some day it will be done enough to show up in some CAM races. If the chance comes up to drive for someone else again in something else, I sure might consider it.

Sometimes you just gotta drive what comes. After all these years of being a test and R&D driver, I've developed a lot of respect for various platforms and manufactures.

Thanks guys, I do think Mopar owners are the most loyal you'll ever meet, but to help a buddy and get some costs covered, it seems like the right thing to do, for this year anyway.

Maybe after autocross my Dart for at least a year, George could paint my Dart for me. Lol. With all the modifications done to it, I'd feel bad if I left it with it's quarter panel bubbles, dents, and paint cracks.