Looking for a MV Daytona replica!


Mvice8489

Recommended Posts

Looking for a replica of the Miami Vice car.  Car needs to be as close to the Vice car as possible....same color, seats,  etc.  Must have working AC and audio system.   Looking for quality build and no maintenance issues. I will be consulting others on these boards as to the quality of the car proposed so, please, no junk  :)      Please e mail me at GregoryLeePfaff@Yahoo.com    Thanks    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking for a replica of the Miami Vice car.  Car needs to be as close to the Vice car as possible....same color, seats,  etc.  Must have working AC and audio system.   Looking for quality build and no maintenance issues. I will be consulting others on these boards as to the quality of the car proposed so, please, no junk  :)      Please e mail me at GregoryLeePfaff@Yahoo.com    Thanks    

 

FYI no one in here is selling a vice car at the moment as far as I know. I'm assuming you are looking for a Daytona?

You will need to be looking at various sources for cars that come up in the market from time to time, such as on Ebay and Kitcars.com, as others in here have done including myself.  

And when you say "as close to the vice car as possible" that is fairly restrictive. For example, the 2 show cars (of which only one remains) is a McBurnie built replicar on an '81 Vette chassis much the same as mine. However, the Vice or show car has a Vette style dash and instrumentation whereas mine is more faux Ferrari. There are also Rowley cars and some other manufacturers that built similar cars. And it is estimated that fewer than 35 McBurnies were ever built so there could be few left even working.  

You can learn a lot about these cars by reviewing the Ferrari Daytona threads in here and looking at photos, as well as posting your questions and comments in these threads. There are a number of knowledgeable people who can help.

But the market for cars 25-30 years old is pretty limited and so you may have to consider finding something close to what you are wanting, and then finding custom shops to make modifications. Some in here have done that. As to maintenance issues, given their age I would expect they all have this issue to some extent.

And be wary of resellers out there that are not so honest...we have had them in here before.

 

Perhaps others in here can also weigh in on where he can search for replicars?

Edited by Sonny-Burnett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Sonny.    I am not looking for a project car where I have to have a shop do mods or any additional work to it.  The car needs to be 'turn-key'....ready to go.  This will be more of a "toy" car for me to have.  Probably wont even put more than a few hundred miles on it per year.  I just don't have the time to deal with more mods and extensive maintenance issues as I have a few cars already (Jaguar 'Portfolio Edition' sedan as my DD, a 1997 air-cooled Porsche turbo, and a black 72 Vette convertible).  Am only interested in finding a car that looks exactly like the 'Vice Daytona......dash doesn't need to be the exact same, though.  Seats, wheels, and the external look of the 'Vice car are my main focal points of interest.   Think Crockett and Tubbs cruising in the Daytona with Phil Collin's 'In the air tonight' playing in the background.   Crockett pulls up to the phone booth to call his ex wife while they are on their way to catch Calderone.  Daytona parked by the phone booth at night.   THAT car is what I want my car to look like!!    Cash buyer.

 

BTW, I just watched 'a bullet for Crockett' and 'Evan' again over the weekend. Two of my favorite episodes!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm did you look at the jaguar based ones, the ones based on the XJ12 I believe? as I would think those would be a great deal more plentiful over there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good luck!

 

I have been looking for over ten years now and only seen junk! Many of the cars are overpriced and the ones I looked at had serious problems with wonky flares, the birdcage was rotten on one unit, another one I looked at didn't have a convertible roof nor a latch for the trunklid, another one I looked at had damage to the front end and a single turn signal lens was 2 grand! Many have incorrect headlights and badging is incorrect which means you will have to fill the holes and repaint. I have seen cars that don't even have door handles but a small rod for opening the door (very poor design!)

 

A lot of these kits were poorly made as one car I looked at had no trunklid! The entire rear body was a one-piece mold which I found preposterous! I drove four hours to look at this junk and it didn't even have door glass in it! Wasted day..........

 

Be REAL careful when a perspective purchase comes along as I have been working on these C3's as well as all vettes my whole life and I know exactly what to look for. Open a door and grab the windshield frame and make like your going to get it but lean on it with your weight. Many car owners will get pissed at this, but if it moves, the birdcage is rotten and I would run away from that purchase. The birdcage and the lower frame rails are the most susceptible to rust as they are covered (even on a vette body) with fiberglass and you cant see the rust unless you know where and how to look.

 

Like I said...I have looked very closely at over two dozen of these cars over the last decade and travelled many miles to be very disappointed. I'm not trying to be a downer on this, but lets look at reality. The C3 chassis's are now 40 plus years old, so unless the car was garage kept and restored often over it's life cycle, you will be buying a pile of rust and broken suspension as well as tired old ball joints etc.

 

I did look at one car that was reasonable priced but it had a carb fire and the hood was burnt badly. I tried to buy a "parts car" that was in an accident, but the guy was being a dick because he knew I wanted the hood. I missed out on that sale and the car is now in Niagara and the guy here took ten years to restore the car. It just came out last summer so he had a hard time finding a hood to! (I never told him where the parts car was)

 

Shop around and see what is out there. I have seen many butcher jobs on the bodies with gaps that you could park a bicycle tire in the doors to fender gap. Make sure the suspension is intact and that the frame and birdcage have no rust. Check the floors for rot especially where the rain water might come in from the window area or rear area behind the seat. Try to buy a car that has a newer drivetrain too. The old carbureted 350's are passe' and the newer DIS engines with fuel injection are far better on fuel. You don't want to buy an old tired nag with a million miles on it. Especially for the exuberant prices I have seen asked for these cars. I have found 27 of these cars over the last decade and quite frankly I can't see paying 20-40 grand for any of them that I looked at!

 

Many good wishes on your search..........I'm still looking.

Edited by Stinger390X
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

daytona.jpg

hmm did you look at the jaguar based ones, the ones based on the XJ12 I believe? as I would think those would be a great deal more plentiful over there.

Had an Autokraft (jag based car) and before that a Rover Based car whilst they are more faithful in terms of looks the Jaguar car was a pain and the rover car was terrible to drive 40 min max and I had to jump out and have a stretch. Plus being a Vice fan it had to be one like the show car and that is how I intend to enjoy it.

 

How do I post a picture here??

Edited by Tony Trans Am
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trans Am Tony

 

How do I post a picture here??

 

 

 

 

Best way to post a pic is to open an account at a picture gallery such as "Photobucket.com" You can upload your pics and then just cut and paste the links from that site to this one. Its pretty easy so if you need a hand or explanation I would be happy to help you out.

There is also an "Add Image" button on the toolbar here in the edit section but then you are placing the whole jpeg in here and size may be an issue unless you know how to edit your pics with software such as "PhotoStudio" or "photoShop" etc.

Edited by Stinger390X
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I forgot to mention there Mvice8489 is that there have been about four or five different manufacturers of the molds for the Daytona.

 

It is a matter of taste I suppose but I like the McBurnie mold the best as it has the good flares on the wheel wells.( he actually built the car for the show) There is a Rowley which is a bit different and Hudson's. There are some no-names around to like the one I previously described with the one piece rear clip (what an awful car that was!!!)

Depending on the C# chassis used it might have square headlights(correct) and others may have round headlights or worse...pop-ups which are vaccume operated and they usually fail after this many years as the rubber diaphragm disintegrates after twenty years or so and it won't hold air, ergo the lights won't pop up. The cannisters can be rebuilt and if your lucky you can find new-old stock still in boxes as I have seen some in Carlisle at the annual car show.

 

Feel free to check out the thread on here called "The Ferrari Daytona's of Miami Vice" as there is just a plethora of info there and of course our resident Daytona owners like Jurrasic Narc are good to ask questions of as they are very knowledgeable.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

also my guide to the ferrari daytona replicas, to help figure out what you want to shoot for

 

http://miamiviceonline.com/index.php/topic/11623-a-guide-to-the-v8-replicas/

 

as everybodies dream is a little different, and thus you may want to try something different with yours from the show car

 

and with the buying process I would reckon this would help as well

 

 

also theres a photo in the daytona thread by brian there that explains quite well why the XJ 12 was probably a great deal harder to live with interior size wise than the Corvette based replica.

 

plus thankfully none of these are based on the Corvette C7, a car that you hit your head on getting on and out of regardless if you have a helmit on.

Edited by Kavinsky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Kavinsky. That is a great video!

 

I remember working on these things back in the 70;s and 80's and a lot of them that came into the shop were rotten just like that. I would call the customer back into the shop after removing the fiberglass panels and I can remember a few jaws dropping.

One guy even started to cry............................................He had me restore it anyway and it cost him bigtime! It was a green 69 with the chrome bumpers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dont blame him, as green factory colored cars are getting to be the rarest around it seems, and a corvette just like the viper looks great in the right shade of dark green

 

hell I even bought a seiko watch, SNXA21, that had this same shade of green as the one on this viper:

 

 

complete with a blue carbon fiber watchband from Nato straps that complements it quite well.

 

as I've always looked at that color and gone, Damn it why arent they making any dark green cars anymore if they can look that good?

 

I must wonder if this begs the question though, is the best base car for the replica's an 82 then? given they were being produced at the brand new factory then with the C3 for the last year of production? so the rust protection maybe better on those than the rest of the production

 

as this one despite being a flood car that had the crap beat out of it seems to still be in usable nick:

 

 

as Jurrasic Narc's car is an 82 that had that cross fire fuel injected motor on it originally.

Edited by Kavinsky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the feedback guys!    Doesn't look like I'm going to have much luck finding what I am looking for  :( 

 

Love the talk of C3's, though.     I bought a chrome bumper 1972 C3 convertible this past January (2014).     It is black with black interior and wire wheels like Crockett's Daytona.   I bought the car because when I first saw it reminded me so much of the 'Vice car.   I had a NCRS guy do a very comprehensive  4 hour PPI (pre purchase inspection) on the car and it passed with flying colors.   I actually get more comments on that car than I do on my 993 Porsche Turbo!    But.......it is no Ferrari Daytona :)  

 

Anyway, I am still in the market should someone decide to sell.  So please keep me in mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The car isn't bad but I have a couple of small items of content...

 

1 - Wrong headlights , don't like the pop-ups as the cannisters always fail sooner or later. The real car had plexi covers over square headlights

2 - Colour - easily fixed if you feel like doing the jams, trunk and engine compartment too.

3 - Wrong wheels, To change it over to TRU-SPOKES you need to change all the spindles and find a set of rims? (I think there is a guy in FL that still sells them)

4 - Slege-o-matic-!Car needs t be standard for me to drive it. I'm not a fan of girly-matics but to each his own I suppose?

5 - Seats - They look comfy and are the correct style only the colours are incorrect. easy fix.

I looked at a car back in the spring and the guy put brand new seats in his Daytona that had lumbars etc and the headrest popped waaaaaaaaaay out of the top of the car. Looked ridiculous and when I sat in it the seat was so comfy and cusiony that even all the way back I hit the steering wheel with my body. Wrong seats for sure!  Those are the correct type and look rather form fitting and comfy.

 

The exhaust looks correct and I suppose with that engine it would cackle very nicely. Too bad he didn't start it up in the video as I would have liked to hear it.

 

The body looks pretty good and the badging looks ok as for the taillights too. The car is nice all around. Paint is still shiny and from the short view the interior looks ok. This would be a good daily driver for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

there is actually an alternative for the color though, viynl rapping it black

 

 

Tranny though I'm not sure what you could do there, maybe a hurst automatic shift kit? and I remember reading about how parts in the auto can be changed to shift the car just when you want it to, something to do with the magnets I think

 

 

plus with the wheels they are unique to mcburnie, if nothing else it would be worth keeping them as a historical item as you seldome see them on them anymore

 

and the vice city cars seem to be based on that wheel style, not the wire wheels.

Edited by Kavinsky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That wrapping is cool!

Kind of reminds me of the quick colour change they did on that Lamborguini in the movie about the road race across the country (Name escapes me right now?) but the Lambo was white or something, then when the cops were chasing the girls they went to a guy who hosed down the car and it changed to red or something?

 

I wonder if that vinyl is easy to peel off once applied? It seems to have an adhesive backing.

 

I bet that stuff once applied would be great for stone chips!?! We used to use a thick mylar clear made by 3M for stone chips but that stuff they put on the Ferrari looks awesome!

 

Car looked great when it was done.

 

Funny how many guys are going to a matt finish. I just painted my buddies 32 Ford last year in that matt black finish as well. That's what he wanted. I had to do it twice, as the first time I didn't add enough matting in the formula and he wasn't happy with the result, (he said it was still too shiny) so I added more the second time and it came out looking just like that Ferrari.

Edited by Stinger390X
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

People mostly use wraps for high end cars which you don't want to ruin the factory paint on. Cars like Ferrari's and Lamborghini's. It's a good alternative. 

I don't particularly like Matte colours on anything other than hot rods and rat rods, or cars like a Ford Mercury on Air Ride suspension with white wall tyres. :D  

 

1951-Mercury-Primer-fa-sy-1280x960.jpg

But I'm not a huge fan of Matte in general. I want to get a '32 Ford 5-window someday, and I'd paint it yellow like the one in American Graffiti. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah that was the cannonball run films Stinger, the second one with the countach that was being driven by Daisy Duke, and I always wondered how they did that.

 

the same sort of heat like thing that they used for kids toys or something? where when you spray it with water it changes color?

 

 

and I think that adheasive is heat activated, and thus can be removed with some sort of heat gun based kind of thing.

 

 

probably best handled by a shop that does that kind of thing for the applying and the removing, and where they can keep the temp up so it doesnt cool down that quickly

 

there was also another thing coming on about some sort of water based sheild, that's as half as thick as a credit card that Jay Leno was using for his Mclarens

 

 

and also I've seen that rap used on the Blasphemi, that hot rod 55 they built for road kil as an alternative to painting it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeh...Cannonball Run. Thanks Kavinsky I forgot the name for a moment.

 

 

I would love to have one tenth of Jays collection of cars.That guy is my hero when it comes to automobiles! He has so many neat toys!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

indeed and to think he's not only from here, MA I mean, but he's also Dyslexic.

 

and yet despite the sterotype of people here he is probably one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkMQfOJkQqQ

 

and even with that stupid conan thing, that wasnt his fault as he was ready to step down and then NBC decided to just kick Conan off and keep him, and then replace him with that talentless twitt

 

and you wonder why Carson hated those bastards back then.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.