In another thread, a debate popped up as to what is a street machine and I've seen this from time to time again.
One thing is for sure, I wasn't born yesterday. I've been into cars for a long time, including when I didn't own one and have a lot of old school taste.
I've noticed that there have been a number of people trying to re-define what I and many others have taken for granted as a definition of what is a street machine. Getting tied up with laws and government passed down restrictions. Who defines what a street machine is? WE DO!
A street machine, also synonymous to a muscle car, is a modified car and more often than not a high performance vehicle, often to rather high levels. I would not class a restored to original as factory condition car as a street machine. A street machine is a moderately to highly modified and appreciable vehicle that is practical enough to drive on the street, in other words a dragster cannot be a street machine as you can't turn corners or do a U-turn amongst other things. RTA laws/rules do not come into it at all, unless anyone has the nerve to say that New Zealand Street Machines are not classed as Street Machines by "our" standards.
With Australias car culture being degraded further and further each year by beurocratic wankers, introducing more laws and restrictions affecting auto-enthusiasts, (us), as well as other factors such as fuel prices and hoon labelling, in the future, maybe 10 or 20 years from now, an engineers list for a modified car will be quite short and the car may have very few mods and not enough to really distinguish it from a stock car.
Even when this happens, a street machine will still be a street machine, whether it can be 'legally' driven on the road or not. The fact still remains that it CAN be practically and easily driven on the road.
There are those that have gone through a lot of effort to obtain an engineers certificate in order to feel safe and canarie proof on the road. They like to think they are driving a street machine because it has a certified 9inch and they spew when they see an extreme 10sec car featured in a magazine as a street machine with all its mods, some of which may not be included on the certificate or may not be passed as road worthy in other states or lands. Modding a car, following beurocratic rules and getting an engineers certificate to drive an ordinary modified car 'legally' on the road does not make it a street machine and it doesn't make it canairy proof either, because ultimately, very few can escape the: "Hand brake needs adjustment, seats too loose and water squirter is not functioning properly", lick, slap, yellow sticker, get off the road mate approach.
Street machines have come in all shapes and sizes over the decades From fully blown, tubbed Model T Ford bucket with side pipes to cars like GHMLH. And although by todays RTA laws/rules I can't build a Blown Model T Ford bucket like that now and drive it on the road 'legally', that doe not change the fact that it is a street machine.
Cheers,
Rick.
Street Machines
Started by
_TORANR AMORE_
, Jul 12 2006 11:45 AM
6 replies to this topic
#2
_Herne_
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Posted 12 July 2006 - 12:33 PM
Well Rick that is certainly one point of view.
I have recently said my piece in a previous post and will let it stand without further commet at this point in time.
We are all entitled to our view.
Herne
I have recently said my piece in a previous post and will let it stand without further commet at this point in time.
We are all entitled to our view.
Herne
Edited by Herne, 12 July 2006 - 12:34 PM.
#3
_LX8VD69_
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Posted 12 July 2006 - 02:22 PM
the porblem with your theory rick is that it means we would have to embrass the ricer community as well and i reckon that would cause a bit uproar just the same as when street machining first started it was sort of classed with hot rods. i know that we all have the same agenda, the enjoyment of our vehicles but we are all different and im sorry i dont care how quick these cars are i still believe only milk and juice comes in 2 litres. but you make one point and that is the evolution of what is a street machine, remember back in the early 80s they were basically drag cars with number plates, and then they evolved into group c spec race cars and the draggers were complaining about the racers and now the wheel has turned abit more with the bagging of trailer ponies which i personally beleive that it cant be a street machine if it never even gets driven on the street. any way ive rambled enough
#4
FastEHHolden
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Posted 12 July 2006 - 02:40 PM
And add to that elitism as often gets expressed on this forum...finger points at conceited A9X and XU1 ect owners. On the flip side jealousy is a curse.
I remember the big debate in "Street Machine" Magazine where they tried to draw the line at 1986 and say that after that they were not street machines...thats stupid.
To me Street Machines are a "style"..not a particular model, year or what ever.
I could rice up my UC..neons, wings, murals, rice race stickers on the front guards, blow off valve, RB26 transplant....is it rice or street machine?
But what if I chopped 6 inches out of the roof, removed the front guards, made a chassis, chrome 350 chev with GM6/71 blower, choped the rear guards out and fitted steam roller sized tyres? Is it Street machine or rod?
I think its the style that is distinct..not the age of the car.
I remember the big debate in "Street Machine" Magazine where they tried to draw the line at 1986 and say that after that they were not street machines...thats stupid.
To me Street Machines are a "style"..not a particular model, year or what ever.
I could rice up my UC..neons, wings, murals, rice race stickers on the front guards, blow off valve, RB26 transplant....is it rice or street machine?
But what if I chopped 6 inches out of the roof, removed the front guards, made a chassis, chrome 350 chev with GM6/71 blower, choped the rear guards out and fitted steam roller sized tyres? Is it Street machine or rod?
I think its the style that is distinct..not the age of the car.
#5
_TORANR AMORE_
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Posted 12 July 2006 - 02:49 PM
the porblem with your theory rick is that it means we would have to embrass the ricer community as well and i reckon that would cause a bit uproar
OOP's, sh!t, sorry, you're right 
, when I wrote that I wasn't even thinking about Ricers,.... well,.... because I never do.I have a fixed mindset based on Classic Muscle Cars, so yes, I'm purely talking about Classic cars & the like, so theory amended.
Other than that, like I said legality has nothing to do with it, otherwise it would be inadvertedly the RTA/Government/Beurocrats defining what a street machine is.
Just imagine hypathetically a society with laws against modification where you can't even use mag wheels. Then a street machine, as it was perceived years ago, would still be a street machine today. So let's not play with the words and try to redefine something that's been accepted by many for so long.
By the way, even the term 'Rice' has had metamorphisis of its meaning being altered and obscured. It still means cheap Asian/Japanese built cars as far as I'm concerned, rather than anything with a superfluous wing/spoiler on it etc, which I would probably go no further than to say is 'Riced up'.
It's an interesting topic, because it makes you wonder if the ideas, attitudes, tastes, opinions of the older car cultured generation gets passed on to the newer generation. Or does the newer generation just manipulate and redefine or bastardise this ignoring its history. Of course I'm thinking about certian youth that think they're on a newly invented thing called drifting.
Opiniions are good and everyone has their own agenda but it would be good if we(everyone) were on the same wavelength, especially when language is used.
#6
Dr Terry
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Posted 12 July 2006 - 04:01 PM
Hi Guys.
I haven't seen any previous discussions on this one so I'll put in my 2c worth.
AFAIK there is no legal definition of a 'street machine'. Firstly it only applies to registered & modified street-driven cars, but what about street rods. I think where it stemmed from was that there was no 'catchy' name for 'late model' street rods. In the US, where they call them hot rods, they only class a genuine hot rod as being pre-1948 (the origin of that is another whole story for another day). So, if you have a modified 1932 car it's called a street rod, but what is a modified 1975 car called. I think the term 'street machine' is an Australian derived term, that covers it pretty well.
Now, the problem we have is, we have over 50 years of 'street machines' so they're trying to define what you call the newer group of modified cars. It's a bit like the veteran, vintage, classic thing all over again. As the years go on you have to change definitions.
Dr Terry.
I haven't seen any previous discussions on this one so I'll put in my 2c worth.
AFAIK there is no legal definition of a 'street machine'. Firstly it only applies to registered & modified street-driven cars, but what about street rods. I think where it stemmed from was that there was no 'catchy' name for 'late model' street rods. In the US, where they call them hot rods, they only class a genuine hot rod as being pre-1948 (the origin of that is another whole story for another day). So, if you have a modified 1932 car it's called a street rod, but what is a modified 1975 car called. I think the term 'street machine' is an Australian derived term, that covers it pretty well.
Now, the problem we have is, we have over 50 years of 'street machines' so they're trying to define what you call the newer group of modified cars. It's a bit like the veteran, vintage, classic thing all over again. As the years go on you have to change definitions.
Dr Terry.
#7
_TORANR AMORE_
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Posted 12 July 2006 - 05:04 PM
Thanks Dr Terry, Your 2c has been well spent
Sounds like you know a little history, I'm willing to go along with that. The definition sounds blunt and simple. But it's not as simple as that because people read into it and extrapolate other meanings.
The part that disturbs me is how far some people will go with the words 'street', 'driven', 'registered' and start using words like 'legal'
Now I'm not talking about coppers or the RTA or any government organisation. I'm talking about certian green eyed people within the car enthusiast community that point at what is obvious to the vast majority as a street machine and say "that's not a street machine, it has a.." *enter part here* "..in it which is not on its engineers certificate, it shouldn't be on the street, it's not 'legally' registered, according to rule such-n-such and code such-n-such it can be defected, wah, wah, wah, wah."
Like I said before, is a Blown Big Block Chev Torana from NewZealand not a Street Machine by "our" standards because our RTA wouldn't approve it here?
There are others that point and say "he doesn't even drive it much on the street... that's not a street machine".
A friend of mine has a nice street machine in his garage. It's not registered yet and he doesn't drive it, yet people take photos of it and refer to it as a street machine.
The part about how the times change the classifications change is ok and I'm sort of willing to go along with that too,.. reluctantly. But it wouldn't be easier if the boundaries of these classifications were more clearly defined? and who defines them?
Your 2c has been well spentSounds like you know a little history, I'm willing to go along with that. The definition sounds blunt and simple. But it's not as simple as that because people read into it and extrapolate other meanings.
The part that disturbs me is how far some people will go with the words 'street', 'driven', 'registered' and start using words like 'legal'
Now I'm not talking about coppers or the RTA or any government organisation. I'm talking about certian green eyed people within the car enthusiast community that point at what is obvious to the vast majority as a street machine and say "that's not a street machine, it has a.." *enter part here* "..in it which is not on its engineers certificate, it shouldn't be on the street, it's not 'legally' registered, according to rule such-n-such and code such-n-such it can be defected, wah, wah, wah, wah."
Like I said before, is a Blown Big Block Chev Torana from NewZealand not a Street Machine by "our" standards because our RTA wouldn't approve it here?
There are others that point and say "he doesn't even drive it much on the street... that's not a street machine".
A friend of mine has a nice street machine in his garage. It's not registered yet and he doesn't drive it, yet people take photos of it and refer to it as a street machine.
The part about how the times change the classifications change is ok and I'm sort of willing to go along with that too,.. reluctantly. But it wouldn't be easier if the boundaries of these classifications were more clearly defined? and who defines them?
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