Dropping the hammer on this drop top delivers 11.97 e.t.s at 110.97 mph when fitted with a set of Mickey Thompson 26x10-15 rear meats. Too bad it's not NHRA-legal with no 'cage.Dropping the hammer on this drop top delivers 11.97 e.t.s at 110.97 mph when fitted with a Not a day goes by at CC that we don't have some bellyacher complaining about how bitchin' their gen-yoo-ine street car is. They claim it runs 10s (probably 13s), they say it's streetable (it runs on 110 octane juice and belches coolant), and they swear it's way streetable (a spool diff and a Dzus-off front clip are great for the street). Yea, we get lots of "real street car" claims. Willie Wager has a real street car. We've seen it, we've ridden in it, and it hauls hiney in short order. What's especially cool is that it looks nearly resto, and it squeaks out 11s-on motor. So what's the recipe for success? Torque. In late 1990, Wager shelled out $150 for a '71 Gran Sport convertible shell. The car was in need of everything, but Wager is a Snap-On dealer so he had the ultimate set of tools to get the job done. The outside and interior upgrades were simple-redo it with a whole mess of resto goodies. But underhood is where the resto theme kinda ended. Sly dog Wager kept the 455 looking OEM, but inside the engine is full hustle. The 455 crank and rods were reworked and fitted with BRC slugs. A rowdy Lunati grind dishes out 0.558/0.540-inch lift with 255-/272-degrees of duration at 0.050 lift. The stock heads were shelved in favor of a set of '68 430 heads that were whittled on by Pro Street racer Pat Musi. Up top, an Edelbrock Performer intake, a rebuilt Q-Jet carb, and a stock ram-air setup shuttle air inward. Exhaust stench is vented by Kenne-Bell headers and a 3-inch dual exhaust system with Dynomax mufflers. A worked TH400 auto and a 10-inch, 3,500 stall converter send power rearward. All and all, the new 455 combo is simple, low-buck, and most importantly, it works. 'Nuff said. A repro GSX rear wing slices the wind skating over Wager's buzz cut as he cruises with the top down. On the street, the GS wears a set of stock 15x7-inch Buick rims, making the car a perfect Friday night sleeper.A repro GSX rear wing slices the wind skating over Wager's buzz cut as he cruises with the We dig how Wager sanded the Edelbrock intake and then fogged it with red paint. On a dyno, this stock-looking 455 belted out 508 hp and 540 lb-ft of torque.We dig how Wager sanded the Edelbrock intake and then fogged it with red paint. On a dyno, For an increased sleeper image, the 10-bolt has been retained but is equipped with 3.73:1 cogs. Air bags in the rear springs help improve traction. We're talking simple mods that work, folks.For an increased sleeper image, the 10-bolt has been retained but is equipped with 3.73:1 By John Kiewicz Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
