Questions you should ask before purchasing a street rod or exotic car:
-How do you intend to use your car?
-Some street rods are for show, some for racing—most aren’t comfortable enough for driving
-The Ravenhawk is intended for driving, with lots of space for your legs, as well as for luggage
-Its “wide body” provides ample space for comfortable touring
-The Ravenhawk is heavy enough, along with the positraction rear end and wide tires, to maintain traction under aggressive acceleration—this dramatically reduces potential “spin out” that might occur with a high powered, light weight car
-The Ravenhawk drives straight and easy on the highway for very happy touring, and is comfortable so your significant other will want to ride in it with you
-The Ravenhawk is also beautiful enough to exhibit in a car show if you desire
-Were you thinking about a restoration?
-The Ravenhawk is not a restoration, nor a replica of some other car
-It is a completely new design using proven components
-You can have an “original” without having to deal with grease or rust!
-Does it have power steering?
-Most street rods don’t have power steering
-The Ravenhawk has power rack and pinion steering
-Are the seats adjustable?
-Most street rods have fixed bench seats, or at best small bucket seats that have a very limited adjustment range
-Both Ravenhawk bucket seats are adjustable. The LSR has 6 way power adjustable seats (also optional heated) and the steering wheel has both tilt capability
-The passenger seat is adjustable separately from the driver’s seat
-The seats are comfortable and big enough to accommodate a large person
-The seat height from the floor is comfortable so you aren’t leaning back, without sacrificing headroom, and your knees aren’t up to your chin
-Ravenhawk’s seat height from the ground makes for easy entry, and you don’t have to lift your legs over a high threshold
-There is also space behind the seats for storage (seats also fold forward)
-Does the car have shoulder harnesses?
-Most street rods don’t have the capability for shoulder harnesses, only seat belts
-The Ravenhawk has three point, frame mounted and retractable shoulder harnesses for each seat
-How about windshield wipers, as well as a windshield large enough to see out of?
-Some street rods use Plexiglas for their windshield. This is very likely to end up being scratched from cleaning, and will not work with windshield wipers
-A street rod with a “chopped” top can be very difficult to see out of, as well as being difficult to replace the windshield or door glass
-The Ravenhawk windshield is made of safety glass and is the size of a full car
-The windshield wiper blades are full size, with intermittent speed settings
-The rear window is also glass, as well as being heated
-How will you obtain a replacement windshield or door glass if needed in the future?
-The Ravenhawk windshield and door glass are production items that are readily available from your local automotive glass replacement dealer
-Does it have outside rear view mirrors, and are they adjustable?
-Most street rods have very small outside rear view mirrors (or perhaps only one for the driver)
-Ravenhawk’s outside rear view mirrors (one on each side) are power adjustable from the driver’s seat, and they are also heated!
-The inside rear view mirror can be darkened for night driving
-Also each sunvisor has lighted vanity mirrors
-Is there room for air conditioning, glove box, various controls and the instrumentation you want? How about a center arm rest?
-Some street rods have very limited space both in the dash for controls and instrumentation, and for the heat & air conditioner under the dash, with no space for a glove box or armrest
-There is no problem with the Ravenhawk as the dash is very large
-The center console offers additional space for controls
-The large, solenoid operated, locking console / glove box (with light) and arm rest is very convenient
-Does the hood have a safety catch?
-The hood on some street rods pivots from the side(s). This requires two separate manual steps: one to open, and one to latch the hood. There is no safety catch if the latch is inadvertently left unlatched!
-The Ravenhawk hood is a “clam shell” design that opens from the windshield side
-With the hinge at the front, there is no need for a safety latch, as the hood will not blow open even if it wasn’t satisfactorily latched
-We do utilize two latches on the hood, one on each rear corner, with one handle that automatically goes back to the latched position
-How large is the trunk?
-Some street rod and exotic car trunks are very small and share space with the battery and/or fuel tank
-The Ravenhawk has a large trunk for two sets of golf clubs as well as luggage, even with the top down
-The trunk floor is flat which makes it easy to position lggage.
-Where is the gas tank and filler located?
-Many street rods have their gas tank and filler located in the trunk
-This makes the outside of the car cleaner; however consider the consequences of spilling gas on your carpet (or luggage) when refueling, and the possibility of getting the gas tank pushed into the cockpit in the event of a rear end crash
-Ravenhawk’s gas tank is located underneath the trunk floor, and the filler is behind a door. This keeps gas fumes out of the cockpit and trunk space, and provides a clean appearance
-The optional 20 gallon gas tank is stainless steel with stainless steel lines
-What does the third brake light look like?
-The third brake light on some street rods looks like an afterthought add-on
-Ravenhawk’s is a production LED design that is artfully fitted into a beautifully sculpted recess
-Are you thinking about a removable hard top?
-These look nice; however you’ll need a place to store it, as well as some type of help to remove/reinstall it.
-Also what do you do with it when you are on a trip away from home in beautiful “top down” weather?
-The Ravenhawk’s convertible top is easily stowed, is out of sight with a hard tonneau cover, with little impact on luggage space when the top is down
-A optional removable hard top is available (along with the cloth top), and has the advantage of being able to paint it the same as the body, a contrasting color, or even carbon fiber!
-With electric doors, how do you get in when the battery goes dead?
-With most street rods you are stuck with trying to open a door using a stiff wire around the glass
-Even the new Corvettes require that you make a service call to jump external terminals
-Your Ravenhawk has an external key slot where you use your ignition key to manually open a door
-If your key is inside, we have a solution for that also!
-Differences from an exotic car
-Your Ravenhawk is unique and easily recognizable from look-a-like exotics or other street rods. Some different models even look like each other!
-The V8 exhaust rumble and acceleration of the Ravenhawk is unmistaken—true American Street Rod
-Did you know that some exotics require a several thousand dollar check up at 10,000 miles, plus expensive periodic maintenance checks! Where does one find an exotic dealer for service?
-The Ravenhawk can be serviced at your local dealer, same company as the engine type, with no required check ups, just normal maintenance.
-Cars with gull wing doors may have a wide door threshold that you have to slide across and lift your legs over as well
-Gull wing and scissor doors make it difficult to get into and out of the car.
-You may not be able to open a gull wing door in a normal garage or parking lot due to needing extra space beside the car for clearance. You may also need additional ceiling clearance -Scissor doors can be hard on finger nails and fingers!
-Some exotics are so low to the ground that they are very difficult to get into or out of
-Ravenhawk’s seat height from the ground makes for easy entry, and you don’t have to lift your legs over a high threshold
-Does the retractable top allow enough space for golf clubs? Will your golfing buddy have to hold both his and your set of clubs in his lap?
-The Ravenhawk trunk is large enough to hold two sets of golf clubs and suit cases, even with the top down