I know the only time I got recognition was when I drove mine to the beach and that was ONLY because it was a convertible. My coupe won many a street race and that did not even help nor did the three 1983 magazine features. People just did not consider the big cars much of anything.
I remember the two times I visited Super Chevy Sunday at Indy. Very few people had a clue what it was or cared. The second year I went (1983) I parked next to Floyd Garret's '69 SS427 and a few more people noticed but still no clue.
It honestly has only been in the last few years that people have noticed these cars.
Rick