Okay. This is probably. . .no, it is the rattiest car ever to grace the pages of Mopar Muscle. So what is it doing here?
I don't really know that I can answer that one, other than to say that every time I see it, I grin from ear to ear. Editor Jerry kept looking at me like I was nuts when I showed him the photos of it from the first-ever Panama City Beach Car Craft Summer Nats last April. In a sea of finished, polished, and detailed cars, this Savoy seemed almost blasphemous-the antithesis of trailered, 100-point, chalk-mark-and-paint-daub cars. But of all the cars at the show, there was always a constant crowd of people around 19-year old Tony Reynolds' primered and purple-flamed '60 Savoy. And they were all pointing at it and smiling, just like me.
There's just something fun about a car with tailfins to begin with. But when you can tell by looking at it that the owner has it for no other purpose than to have a good time, the smiles are infectious. We know for a fact that Tony has less in the whole car than most guys have in their interior alone. Sure, that's obvious when you look at the car, but when's the last time a door ding wrecked your weekend? We doubt Tony even notices them. Touching up stone chips is just a trip to the hardware store for a fresh rattle can of flat black. There's nothing wrong with spending hours detailing and waxing your car, but wouldn't it be liberating to be able to wash your car with a Brillo pad, dry it with a hotel towel, and not think twice about it?
Consider them the class clowns of car shows and summer cruises. There's obvious appeal, from a building standpoint, to throwing together a car like this. Are there any rules? Just that it has to have tailfins. Nothing has the character of the big old '50s and early '60s cars. Slam the stance, add some custom wheels and meats (these cost Tony $500 at a swap meet), get in, and start having fun. Just don't even think about leaving the driveway without your emergency tool kit, knowing that you'll be using it sooner instead of later, and you'll be fine. Knowing that up front makes the roadside repairs a lot less traumatic. Tony and his girlfriend Erin drove the 900 mile one-way trip from Summerville, South Carolina, to the CC show in Panama City, Florida, with a minimum of difficulties, which makes us not have much sympathy for guys who complain about trailer brake troubles getting to the show 50 miles away.
Why spend money on a killer big block when the original Slant Six runs just fine? It doesn't look like a million bucks, but it gets Tony where he's going-most of the time. So does the original find-n-grind Three on the Tree. Sure, a new interior (and some door panels!) would probably be nice, but why let that stand in the way of attending the next Fun Run? Besides, who needs a sound deadener when that money would be much better spent on a flame thrower system? Of course, make sure you have a fire extinguisher to put out your burning, right Tony?
I could go on and on about why Tony's car does it for me, but I'd rather just look at the pictures and smile some more.