- 1,115
- Rivera
- Tsukishima-TDUDT
The ZZ Top Eliminator hot rod became a legend by appearing in several rock music videos. Rock 'n' roll and hot rodding have a lot in common. Both inject old forms (say, blues music or antique Fords) with horsepower and flamboyance. It's no surprise, then, that many rock stars are also hot rod enthusiasts. ZZ Top frontman Billy F. Gibbons is probably the best-known roddin' rocker.
Heavily influenced by Pete Chapouris' the California Kid, Billy had Don Thelan's Buffalo Motor Cars shop build him a chopped 1933 Ford in the early '80s that would soon be known as the Eliminator coupe. Underneath was a straightforward Pete and Jake's chassis with a dropped tube axle and four-bar suspension up front and a Ford nine-inch out back.
Thelan chopped the steel three-window body three inches, Steve Davis made the three-piece hood with unique "scooped" side panels, and Kenny Youngblood designed the "ZZ" graphics. Additional body details included the filled rear splash pan with recessed license plate, '39 Ford teardrop taillights, and lowered '34 Ford headlights.
Finicky hi-po motors have never been Billy's scene, so the emphasis was on reliability. Power was provided by a simple but capable 350-cid Chevy V-8 with a Camaro Z-28 hydraulic cam, a polished intake manifold with a single four-barrel carb, and a Turbo 350 transmission. As a finishing touch, Eric Vaughn milled the ZZ Top logo into the valve covers.
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Again, no information on the actual specs of the car, but a quick search about the mentioned engine hints us its power may be around 145 hp - 370 hp.
And yes, Buffalo Motor Cars is who made the car, so they should have their name in the title...
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Here's another of ZZ Top's cars:
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