In: My classic '57 Bel Air.
Out: It still has no heat or windshield wipers after 12 years of driving.
In: Girlfriend buying you a windshield wiper kit for Christmas.
Rod Man
In: Owning a '73 Laguna.
In: Liking it, even though it's a four-door.
In: Being the second owner.
Out: It has a wussy 145hp 350.
In: Your wife buying you parts to replace some broken switches.
In: Your wife helping install said switches.
Out: One of them is the wrong piece.
In: I love my wife.
In: Installing your first set of headers by yourself.
Out: Just because they fit your car doesn't mean that they fit easily.
Out: Not having a garage to use for the installation.
Out: The apartment complex you live at forbids any wrenching in the parking lot.
In: Doing it in the parking lot anyway.
In: Being in the U.S. Coast Guard.
In: All the other people serving in the military.
Out: The 10 drug-runners we busted last patrol in the south Caribbean, and the 8,800 pounds of cocaine that they had with them.
Phillip Nelson
Via e-mail
Reader's Letter Of The Month
Youth and Enthusiasm
I am a 14 year-old kid with a '70 Nova. My dad and I are restoring it, and when it's finished it will have a 327 small block, Borg Warner T-10 four-speed, and a Ford 9-inch rearend with 4.11s and a posi. It's got an Edelbrock RPM Air Gap intake, a Holley 650 double-pumper, "camel hump" cast-iron heads which have been extensively ported and polished (with lots of help from my dad), a Comp Cam, and a strong bottom end with Eagle "H-beam" rods. When it's done it should make over 400 horses and hopefully drop into the 11s. Except for my buddies and me, everyone in my school likes imports. I try to persuade them to change their ways, but they say "musclecars are too rare and expensive." I agree that they are getting hard to come by, but then why don't they build up a third-generation Camaro or a 5.0L Mustang? Maybe they could get a third-gen Camaro with a TPI 350 in it, and with some bolt-ons it could run 13s. No one seems to understand this but me. Maybe when I pull into the high school with the car shaking from the big cam, and the engine singing through the straight pipes, they will have a change of heart.
P.S.-Your magazine is awesome!
Dalton Hollinshead
Champion, MI
Sounds like your dad has taught you well, Dalton. Car Craft will soon introduce you to another 14-year-old who will be building a '65 Chevelle along the same lines as your Nova. You obviously have a solid plan. Send us pictures as you build your car-it sounds like a real winner. And have your classmates check out the story on affordable supercars in this issue.
The Reader's Letter of the Month winner gets a free Car Craft license plate. There's just one rule: In order to receive the prize, you have to include your full name and return mailing address in your letter, fax, or e-mail so we can ship the prize to you.
How to Write to Car Craft
Mail: Car Craft Readers' Pages, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048
E-mail: carcraft@primedia.com
Fax: 323/782-2263
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Remember: We can't handle your subscription questions here at the editorial offices (log onto www.carcraft.com for info on that stuff). We also can't return anything you send us, but we want all the real photos we can get-not digital shots.