Actually, the AM radio was standard that year, at least on the wagon. I have the original window sticker somewhere in my collection of crap. Oh it did rust - as I said, it failed inspection at around 12 years old despite having never been really driven on anything but dry roads and having maybe 10-12K on it. He just…

Cupholders are the new ashtrays. Cars in the 60's had 5 ashtrays at minimum.

I like that the hatch tent has a long and storied tradition of showing up on Pontiacs you don’t want to buy.

I like Vegas.

As the owner of a ‘79 Westy that also suffered #3 cylinder failure, I’ve contemplated this sort of swap as well!

That’s a pretty ideal swap. And unlike a lot of other options, is actually an upgrade in power output.

There’s a diesel Mk1 Rabbit with a (likely) cracked head on local Craigslist. I’d put it in that for a nifty runabout. 

My 71 Westy. I’ve got bad compression on number 3 cylinder and this would probably require a bit less maintenance.

“I don’t like cars older than 1980, so the logical conclusion is that they are becoming less appealing.”

I don’t have a way to measure “original”. I want to enjoy my car, and I want an engine that is powerful, light, compact, reliable, etc. What’s the point of being “original”?

“older muscle cars are becoming less appealing” I don’t think that’s accurate. 

Overlanding will go out of fashion long before LS swaps will.

People have never done this because it was original. LS swapping is popular because the engines are compact, reliable, easy to acquire and has tremendous aftermarket support.

It’s relatively light, it’s easy to make huge power, and it’s readily available for reasonable prices, so it’s not going away until there’s either a better option or governments start putting extreme regulations on combustion engines. Why is it silly? Lots of people (most I’d guess) don’t care about originality. They…

Probably about 40 years after swapping in small-block Chevys dies, I guess.

right - script not word for word, but the final result turned out better than I’m thinking they even thought it would

Loved this move as a kid, along with the first sequel. I pretend the third one doesn’t exist. Dated? Absolutely, butI watch anytime I catch them on TV. Also, no mention of “East Bound and Down”? Great song!

A few years ago somebody on Jalopnik wrote an impassioned take that Snowman is really the star of the movie. (paraphrasing) He’s doing the hard work to keep that rig up to 90. He has “real stakes” what with a wife & kids. Bandit seems like he’s doing it more for kicks. When Bandit wants to quit at the end, Snowman…

It’s on Amazon Prime too - but it would be fun to see it on the big screen (again, for me).

Why would you risk your life and freedom over 400 cases of Coors? Because you're thirsty, dummy.