"What big teeth you have, grandmother!"

Little Red Riding Hood had no idea what she was getting into. Sleepersare like the predatory wolf wearing grandma's duds, disguised as abenign being. What is it about sleepers that we really like? Is it theability to sneak around under the radar without raising eyebrows? Or isit the shock produced by whipping high-profile cars at their own game?Whatever the reason, sleepers are just plain cool. Drive one and you'llbe noticed by only the most observant. Even the cops ignore you--whichin itself should be good enough reason to build one. Ron Lynch's '65 BelAir fits neatly into the sleeper category, from its unmodified exteriorto its 500-plus-inch Rat motor. What big teeth grandma has indeed.

Ron purchased the '65 in the spring of 2001 after answering a classifiedad on the internet. The ad stated falsely that the Bel Air had 20,000original miles. Turns out it had 22,000 miles! The body and interiorwere so good that they required minimal attention to perfect. Aside fromthe body side moldings and sill plates, the trim, emblems, grille, andbumpers are as they left the factory. Ron simply polished the stainlessand cleaned everything else. He then had the body resprayed at a localbody shop in its original hue--black. The interior was bolstered withaftermarket gauges, and the Sony CD player was hidden out of view as theBel Air is an original radio-delete car. Ron fabricated a shifter towork with the aftermarket manual trans.

Originally equipped with a 230-inch six-banger and a three-speed manualtrans (on the tree), Ron gave his Bel Air the heart of a giant in theform of a Gen VI 502-cube big-block Chevy that he had taking up space inthe corner of his garage. The slightly used short-block was freshenedwith new rings, a new hydraulic roller cam, and GMPP aluminum heads andintake, and he topped it off with an 850 Holley. The three-speed justwouldn't cut it in this day and age where five- and six-speedtransmissions are the norm, not to mention the fact that it would havebeen reduced to shrapnel the first time the clutch was dropped, so Ronacquired a Tremec TKO II to back the potent big-block. The 0.83Overdrive makes cruising a sheer pleasure. A 12-bolt out of a '68 wagonwas modified by Currie Enterprises to complete the bulletproofdrivetrain, with 3.31 gears backing the grunt of the big Rat.

Ron made sure the exterior screamed stock by avoiding the temptation ofaftermarket wheels and other performance indicators. Now that it's done,Ron plans on some serious seat time. Not many will notice him, but helikes it like that.

So, if you're out prowling the streets, beware of this stock-appearingblack Bel Air and the hungry wolf hiding underneath.

Car Craft Q&A

Car Craft: Ron, were you out looking for a '65 Bel Air?

Ron Lynch: Actually I was looking for a '65 through '69fullsize sedan, but when there was talk about the state reinstating smogrequirements on '66-and-newer cars, it narrowed my search.

CC: Did you set out to build a sleeper?

RL: Yes, I did. It's amazing, but people don't payattention to it until I pull up to a stoplight. It looks stock, it sitsstock, and I only wish it had the original black license plates sopeople would think that I'm a leftover from the '60s! I planned theentire project out to the last detail before I even touched it. I builtthis car exactly as I envisioned it with the steel wheels and the stockride height. Visually, the only giveaway is the wider rear tire I used.

CC: What do you intend to do with it now that the BelAir is completed?

RL: Drive it and look for another car to build. Ireally enjoy building cars. It's my hobby. When I finish a car, I havenothing to do.

CC: What are you looking to build next?

RL: I don't really know. I guess whatever strikes myfancy. I'll probably build a midsize convertible like a Chevelle, ormaybe even a Cutlass or Skylark.

The Details

Car: '65 Chevy Bel Air

Engine: Chevy 502ci Gen VI

Heads: Aluminum, GMPP oval-port 2.25/1.88intake/exhaust valves

Induction: GMPP aluminum dual-plane intake, 850-cfmHolley carb

Camshaft: GMPP hydraulic roller, 224/234 degreesduration at 0.050-inch lift, 0.527/0.544-inch lift

Power: 510 hp @ 5,200 rpm, 570 lb-ft @ 4,100 rpm

Transmission: Tremec TKO II five-speed, Centerforce11-inch clutch

Rearend: Chevrolet 12-bolt, 3.31:1 gears, Currie C-clipeliminator kit, Eaton posi unit, Currie axles

Front suspension: '68 Impala lower control arms, '70Impala spindles, PST 11/8-inch sway bar, PST polygraphite bushings,Eaton springs, Delco gas shocks

Rear suspension: Stock, Eaton springs, vintage finnedtube shocks, Airlift airbags, GM sway bar, PST polygraphite bushings

Brakes: '69 Caprice discs, front; Ford Explorer discs,rear

Wheels and tires: 15x7 GM Rally wheels with BFGoodrichP225/70R15 Radial TAs fronts; 15x8 GM Rally wheels with BFGoodrichP275/60R15 Radial TAs, rear

Body mods: Stock with all factory trim

Paint: Black DuPont Croma One, by Hanson's Auto Craft,La Habra, CA

Best e.t.: Never raced

Cost to build: $26,578.28

Dan Nickel of Marshall, Wisconsin, still remembers his first crush--itbegan the same day he got his driver's license. The object of hisaffection was a killer '69 Z/28, and he fantasized about driving it toand from school. Unfortunately, Dan and the Z/28 came from differentworlds, and he ended up spending his high school years with aclapped-out four-wheeler instead.

Dan never forgot that first Camaro. A few years after high school heeven briefly hooked up with an '80 Z28 just because it reminded him ofthe '69. That didn't work out, and Dan took a long break from carcrafting until 1999 when everything came together. Armed with asupportive wife and some hard-earned savings, Dan found a venerablefirst-gen Camaro and began building his version of the ultimate streetmachine.

Like most projects, what was supposed to be a simple paint job took on alife of its own and turned into a complete ground-up restoration. Afterthe body was stripped to its shell, Dan enlisted Musclecar Restorationsin Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to remove and replace all traces of canceroussheetmetal caused by years of exposure to Wisconsin's salty winterroads. Six months later, a mild small-block 350 was dropped between thefenderwells, and a Richmond five-speed was mounted for comfortablecruising.

Dan's still trying to decide whether to drop in a mega-horsepower cratemotor or to perform a fuel-injection conversion. What started out as ahigh school crush has bloomed into an ongoing love affair.

Car Craft Q&A

Car Craft: Some people find project cars in old barns.Where did you locate yours? Dan Nickel: Actually, itwas in the classifieds, but it might have been cheaper if I did find itin a barn.

CC: What condition was your Z/28 in when you bought it?DN: Let's just say I should have probably started withanother chassis. We had to replace the framerails, parts of thefirewall, the front frame supports, both doors, rear quarter-panels, thetrunk, and the floorpan.

CC: How difficult was it to transplant the Richmondfive-speed? DN: Really simple. I only had to relocatethe crossmember an inch and it bolted right in with the stockdriveshaft.

CC: Any foreseeable updates? DN: I'dlike to do a fuel-injection conversion or maybe drop in a 500hp cratemotor. Oh, and definitely redo the original seats!

CC: Why? The seats look great. DN:They may look great, but you'd feel differently after riding on them forfive hours from Marshall to St. Paul.

The Details

Car: Dan Nickel's '69 Chevy Camaro Z/28

Engine: 350ci small-block Chevy

Heads: Cast-iron GM double hump, 2.02/1.94 intake/exhaust valves

Induction: Edelbrock Performer RPM, Holley 650-cfm carb

Camshaft: GM LT-1, 205/207degrees duration at 0.050-inch lift, 0.447/0.459-inch lift

Power (est.): 300 hp

Transmission: Richmond five-speed, Centerforce clutch, Hurst shifter

Rearend: GM 12-bolt, 3.31:1 gears

Suspension: PST bushings, PST 2-inch drop springs, PST shocks, front; PST leaf springs, KYB shocks, rear

Brakes: GM 11-inch discs, front; GM 9.5-inch drums, rear

Wheels and tires: 16x7 American Racing Torq-Thrust II with Yokohama P205/55R16 radials front; 16x8 American Racing Torq-Thrust II with Yokohama P245/50R16 radials, rear

Paint: PPG Hugger Orange with black stripes by John Balow at Musclecar Restorations in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Cost to build: Too much

There is a very long list of derogatory adjectives that could be used to describe the V-6 engines General Motors put in its third-gen F-cars.

We're being charitable calling them disappointing. They were terrible engines, really. They were crude, hated to rev, produced a guttural, droning exhaust note, and made no power-1989's 2.8 MFI sixer labored to produce 135 hp. The following year's 3.1 wasn't much of an improvement, either, upping the ante to 140.

So imagine driving around for a couple of years in this 135hp weakling and all of a sudden transforming it to a 400-plus-horsepower bruiser. Josh Kunkel is the owner of this fine-looking third-gen we spotted at the Car Craft Summer Nats in St. Paul, Minnesota. Josh's goal from the beginning was a V-8 swap, but it took two years of scrimping and saving before he could implement his plan. When he finally did, the end result justified the couple of years of V-6 hell he had to endure. "It took awhile to get used to the power, but I couldn't be happier. I drive the car as much as I can," he says.

Josh has been into cars for as long as he can remember. "I got it from my dad, I guess. He was always building and racing cars." He was a smart kid too, getting a job at 13 years old sweeping his uncle's shop floor so he could earn enough money to buy a car. By 15, an age when most of us waste our money on worthless teenage crap, Josh bought this Camaro for $5,500. "The body was in really good shape, and we were planning on building an engine anyway, so the fact that it was a V-6 didn't really matter that much," he says. Once he got his driver's license, he cruised the Camaro as is, all the while saving up for the next big step. "My dad and I planned a V-8 swap all along. We'd go to shows to look at different installs and talk about our options." They ultimately decided on an LS1 because it was unique and because of the potential of Chevrolet's Gen III powerplant.

Cash in hand, Josh searched the junkyards, found a complete drivetrain from a totaled '02 Camaro, and bought the engine, transmission, radiator, electric fans, and computer for $5,000. "The car had been rolled over, but it only had 8,000 miles on it. I didn't have to do anything to the engine."

Josh and his dad completed the swap in less than six months-the duration of a typical Minnesota winter. A V-6 drove the car into the garage as the temperatures plummeted, but a V-8 powered it out. The swap itself went very well, according to Josh. The engine and trans mounts are available as a kit, and he had his '89 harness adapted to work with the LS1.

While most of us California-jaded CC staffers shudder at the thought of a Minnesota winter, Josh and his dad look forward to them. "That's when we work on our cars." What else would you do? They plan and save all summer and build all winter. Josh performed a cam swap last winter that netted an additional 60 hp for his summer frolicking. That, plus some ECM fiddling during a chassis dyno-tuning session, means his Camaro is putting over 340 hp to the wheels and a big grin on Josh's face. That's 210 ponies more than his old engine made at the crank. How could you not like that?

Tech notes
Who: Josh Kunkel
What: '89 Chevrolet Camaro
Where: St. Cloud, Minnesota

Engine: It's an '02 LS1 from a totaled 35th Anniversary Camaro. After the swap, Josh ran the engine bone stock for a year. He's upgraded since then.

Valvetrain: Josh slid in a TPIS ZL-11 cam and added 1.7:1 LS6 rocker arms. The cam specs out at 215/220-degree duration and 0.559/0.557-inch lift on a 112-degree lobe separation angle, and was worth a substantial gain in power over stock.

Cylinder Heads: Stock for now, but Josh is planning some porting as this winter's project.

Induction: Josh tossed the stock intake for a higher-capacity LS6 intake. Internet rumors say that this manifold adds 15 hp to the wheels.

Transmission: It's an '02 4L60E with stock internals. Josh recently added a Yank SS 3,600 torque converter for neck-snapping launches.

Rearend: The stock 10-bolt is still out back. It's got 3.23:1 gears and a limited slip.

Suspension: Josh freshened up his suspension with new bushings and ball joints and strengthened up the rear with Lakewood trailing arms. Competition Engineering subframe connectors tie the front and rear together.

Brakes: Here's where things really get interesting. Josh and his dad, Roger, made a pair of Brembo calipers off a Caddy CTS-V fit on the front spindles. They cut off the old brackets, and Roger made new ones to fit the giant, four-piston calipers. They clamp down hard on C5 Corvette rotors. They made their own rear brakes too, replacing the stock drums with custom-mounted PBR calipers and 12-inch rotors.

Wheels and Tires: Josh rolls on Nitto 555 summer tires, size 235/40R18 and 275/40R18 front to rear. They're mounted on 18x8 and 18x10 Center Line Dagger wheels.

Paint and Body: The car was in surprisingly good shape when he bought it, so it didn't need any work. Augusta Autobody in St. Augusta added the rally stripes, Josh's first mod to the car.

Interior: Mostly stock, but that's a good thing as these cars are not a bad place to spend time while racking up the miles. Josh replaced the stock cluster with a Covan's Classics instrument panel and stuffed it with Auto Meter Ultralite gauges. His tunes come courtesy of an Alpine amp, Kicker sub, and Kenwood speakers.

Performance: He clicked off a 13.38 e.t. at 106 mph, but that was before the Yank converter was installed. He's hoping to whittle away at that time with some cylinder-head work soon.

Back in 1970, SCCA Trans-Am racing was at a frenzied pitch, and the factories were involved up to their navels. Chrysler Corporation answered the Trans-Am challenge with a pair of new-for-1970 E-bodies. Dodge's version was the aptly named Challenger T/A (for Trans-Am) and Plymouth's AAR Cuda was named for Dan Gurney's All American Racers who campaigned it on the factory's behalf. Both were officially sanctioned efforts with a slew of specialized "standard" equipment to make them legal for the ponycar wars.

The T/As and AARs were powered by a special version of the 340-inch small-block featuring special "T/A"-casting cylinder heads with offset pushrod holes to expedite cylinder-head modifications. They also sported beefier main caps and a one-time-only small-block six-barrel induction system similar to the '69 to '71 440 Six-Pack offerings and were conservatively rated at 290 hp. The special equipment didn't end there. All T/As and AARs came equipped with fiberglass hoods with unique scoops and factory-installed hood pins, and their staggered tire sizes (E60-15s front, G60-15s rear) were a first for an American car. Other features included large front and rear sway bars, a quick-ratio steering box, front disc brakes, rear spoilers (front spoiler optional), and a side-exiting exhaust system. Special graphics also adorned their flanks. These cars were balanced and ran well despite only limited success in the series competing against seasoned Chevy- and Ford-sponsored teams. Sadly, the Trans-Am Mopars were only produced and raced for one year before the effort dried up.

Dave Pany of La Crescenta, California, is the owner of this fine example of Trans-Am history. He purchased his 'Cuda from a neighbor back in 1993 after the local trash-truck driver complained about all the old cars parked in a cul-de-sac three blocks away that made maneuvering his truck difficult. Dave investigated and was surprised to find this rare musclecar sitting curbside. The owner had purchased the car for his wife, and it took three years of persistent hounding by Dave to get him to sell. The low-mileage car was a nice "twenty-footer" according to Dave, who promptly stored it in his garage, gathered parts, researched his planned concours restoration, and saved his money. Three years later he launched an assault on the unsuspecting 'Cuda. Fortunately, it was a rust-free example with original paint, inspection marks, and complete documentation-a restoration shop's fantasy.

Dave performed all the bodywork, painting, and interior refurbishment in his garage. He even went so far as to sandblast and clearcoat the underside. Legendary Auto Interiors provided all the interior trim, while Dave provided the labor. The drivetrain, boasting only 52,000 original miles, was cleaned up, repainted, and returned to its rightful home-in fact, the original heads have never been off the block. The complete restoration was completed single-handedly in a mere 10 months. Dave only drives the AAR about 100 miles a year, ensuring that generations to come will be able to appreciate the legendary factory Trans-Am efforts of 1970.

If Dave can restore a rare musclecar to 100 percent numbers-matching authenticity in his garage, what's keeping you from tearing into that primered Nova behind the barn?

Cool green! Cool Camaro! Cool, it's a big-block! We'll flick by a zillion Camaros in our magazine half-life without being able to remember whether they were red or orange. Then a bright-green, anatomically correct '69 comes along that makes us remember why everyone likes to build '69 Camaros. To add candy to the ice cream, this car has a 540 that makes it want to go 10s.

The owner, Brian Fiers, is also the builder, having assembled and painted most of the car in his garage during the long, dark Wisconsin winters. As usual, his dad, Larry, was the one who got him hooked. Thanks, Dad.

At the ripe old age of 16, Brian learned the ropes when he purchased an '89 RS Camaro with a V-6 that was a little too slow for anyone's tastes. That engine was swapped for a 355-inch small-block that got him through his teens. Eventually, Brian became interested in Chevy big-blocks, and since he had always wanted a '69 Camaro, he decided to look for a matching pair.

While he was looking, someone contacted him offering a wrecked '69 with a title lien. The car was originally a base model with a blue-on-blue paint scheme. Someone had painted the car green with white stripes and swapped in a 350-inch engine and a TH350 transmission from a '77 Camaro before stuffing the car's frontend into an immovable object. It was perfect. "I drove it back from Oklahoma with no grille and other various missing pieces and it was blowing oil all over the place," says Brian. "The floats were sunk in the carb and the car would struggle to make it up hills at more than 45 mph."

By that time, Brian already had the 454 core purchased, but he started on the body damage first to get the car looking complete. The paint from the cowl back was in good shape, so he replaced the grille, front bumper, and front spoiler with new parts and painted them to match the rest of the car.

He managed to sneak out on the road a couple of times during that summer and then garaged it for the winter build. First he added frame support parts to get the car ready for the big-block swap that was coming up. He also installed a set of 3.90:1 gears to replace the 2.41:1s that were a '77 Camaro-only option that came over in the original transplant. "It was weird," says Brian. "I couldn't believe the pinion it had in there. It was huge."

Brian scrounged an older Tremec TKO five-speed with a 3.27:1 First gear rated at 525-ish horsepower from a friend. He set the block in with one head to fit the exhaust and mocked up the crossmember and driveshaft. Then he pulled the engine back out and assembled it with a cast crank, forged Speed Pro pistons, a Comp flat-tappet hydraulic cam, a set of Edelbrock oval-port heads, and an RPM Air Gap with an 850 Speed Demon carb. It was a pretty average engine build.

The next summer Brian knocked the main bearings out of the engine and destroyed the crank. Since he was into the short-block anyway, he added a steel crank and hydraulic flat-tappet cam, only to knock the mains out again. The engine was rebuilt one more time with a solid flat-tappet cam to go drag racing. That combo produced a 12.00 at 117 mph only to spin a rod at the top end. Eventually the car went into the 11s with a solid roller, but Brian found more bearing wear when the pan was off. Out of frustration he pulled the block out, set it aside, and decided to build a 540-incher.

The 540 was pieced together from Summit and Jegs using all-new pieces. The block was from Bill Mitchell's Hardcore Racing Products, and the rotator was balanced by BK Engines in Buffalo, Wisconsin, and assembled by Brian in his garage. The first time out, the car went 10.97 at 126 mph. "The 60-foot times were all over the place at that point," says Brian. "I got them into the high 1.50s, then went 10.62 at 130 using a pair of slicks, Moog springs, and a set of CalTracs bars."

The car is driven on the street primarily, but it's also raced a lot. "I'd like it to be good at both, but it's a compromise," says Brian. "It goes to car shows 150 miles one way, and it cruises at 75 mph at 2,400 rpm." Is he satisfied with 10-second quarters and driveability on the street? "I want it to go faster," he says.

Tech Notes
Who: Brian Fiers
What: '69 Chevy Camaro
Where: Onalaska, Wisconsin. Brrrrr! Cold!

Engine: The block is an iron Merlin II with a 4.5-inch bore. Brian added a set of 6.385-inch Eagle H-beam rods and a Scat 4340 crank with a 4.25-inch stroke for 540 inches. The cam is a Comp solid roller with 254/260 degrees of lift at 0.050 and 0.660/0.666-inch lift.

Heads: The heads are Pro Topline (now RHS) 320s with polished combustion chambers.

Induction: The intake is a rectangle-port Edelbrock Victor Jr. with a BG Speed Demon 850-cfm carb with down-leg boosters. This combo made 525 hp and 525 lb-ft at the wheels during the '07 Car Craft Nationals.

Exhaust: Hooker made the Competition headers with 2-inch primaries. Brian made the 3-inch tubes and welded them to a set of Flowmaster 40-series Delta Flow mufflers.

Ignition: The 540 uses the standard MSD Pro Billet distributor with an MSD 6AL box, Super Conductor wires, and a Blaster II coil.

Swap: To switch a small-block to a big-block, you need to change the frame mounts on the crossmember and corresponding engine mounts. Brian's are from Energy Suspension. He also changed the heater core so the valve covers don't hit the hoses and added a big-block radiator and fan shroud. The master cylinder booster was changed to a smaller one to clear.

Transmission: To go from a TH350 to a Tremec, Brian had to drill and tap the hole for the Z-bar linkage that he scored at a swap meet. The crossmember was moved back an inch or so, and the mounting pad had to be cut and rewelded.

Rearend: Originally the rearend had an 8.5-inch 10-bolt. Brian planned on running 10-second e.t.'s and was contemplating a 9-inch until he read about a Camaro in Car Craft with a Dana 60 swap from Strange engineering with 4.10:1 gears and a Detroit Locker, so he used one of that combo.

Wheels/Tires: For the track he uses 15 x 10 Weld Pro Stars in the rear with 4.5-inch backspacing and 29.5 x 9 ET Drag tires. He still had to have the Dana narrowed 1 inch on each end, and there was a little trimming to do on the inner fender. On the street Brian uses a set of 15x8 Stars with 275/60R 15 ET Street Radials. On the front is a set of 15x5 Weld Pro Stars with 205/70R15 Cooper tires.

Trunk: The battery location is to save room to haul stuff, tools, and extra parts in case something should happen.

"The baby seat? It's for a real baby. This is my daily driver." La Paglia's car was built to commute from point A to point B (and point C on the weekends). You never hear that anymore. The car is tidy and usable inside, and from the outside, it looks like another clean version of Dodge's '73 Challenger. The low exhaust burble makes you think 318 until you open the hood and spot the 6.1L Hemi. That's what hooked us. This is the first 6.1L Hemi E-Body swap we've seen, and it's one of the cleanest around. Jonathan LaPaglia acts like it's no big deal.

Before 1998, Jonathan lived in New York City and never owned a car. When he moved to Los Angeles, he was forced to buy some wheels, and that's when the fever took him. "My first car was a '93 Bronco with a V-8, and I really liked the power," says Jonathan. He went through a couple more trucks with big engines but still couldn't satisfy his right-foot thirst.

"That's when I started looking at muscle-cars," says Jonathan. His first score was a perfect '67 GTO that was a little too mint to drive. "It was so nice that I got paranoid about it, I couldn't drive it. I started looking for a car with a few battle scars." Following an ad in the locals, Jonathan ended up in front of a clean-looking B5 Blue '73 Challenger. The owner was the shifty sort, and refused to let Jonathan drive the car around the block for "insurance reasons." That was salesman-speak for "needs lots of work and might not make it home." "My girlfriend told me to buy it! Buy it!," Jonathan admits. "So we bought it, and as we headed out on the freeway, everything started howling. Then the speedometer began to spin in the housing until the needle broke off."

The body and paint were original, and the 340 and 727 were cobbled together, but the combo moved the car and looked respectable enough to get by. So Jonathan worked on rebuilding the suspension with new bushings and lowered the ride height. "I like my cars to handle well before I get into the power," he says. "It handled like a dog, so I did the suspension first."

Jonathan drove the car for four years with reasonable paint, an adequate 340, and a stock three-speed transmission. "Eventually I got tired of the engine screaming on the freeway as some old lady in a Scion passed me." By then, Jonathan owned an '06 SRT-8 Magnum , which gave him the idea to swap in a modern engine and overdrive transmission. After doing a little market research, he realized there was no engine management available. Plan B was to rebuild the 340 with a stroker crank and add some fuel injection instead. That plan was derailed when the machine shop found several fatal cracks in the original block. While he was fighting a series of bad blocks and mathing out the other parts required for the build, Mopar Performance released an engine controller for the application. After hearing that, Jonathan had a 6.1L crate engine shipped to L.A., along with a five-speed kit from Keisler.

Originally, Jonathan dropped off the car and parts with a mechanic to do the job, but that proved to be time-consuming and costly. After a lot of back and forth, the mechanic just didn't have the time to finish the job. "If you want a car like this, you've either got to have a bunch of money or do it yourself," says Jonathan. "The motor and transmission were sitting in it but nothing else. Going back to the mechanic got old and expensive, so I just did it myself."

The experience transformed Jonathan from a guy who never had a car to someone who talks like he's been building Mopars his whole life. "I did it by using the Internet, buying a shop manual, and I pulled the whole car apart and put it back together doing one manageable section at a time and learning the car. It was totally worth it."

Tech Notes
What: '73 Dodge Challenger
Owner: Jonathan LaPaglia
Where: Los Angeles CA, where it is warm virtually all year.

Engine: The 6.1L Hemi is a crate engine from Mopar Performance with an advertised 425 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque. It came mostly naked, so Jonathan had to source a lot of parts like accessory drives and headers for the swap. The sump from Charlie's Oil Pans in Ohio fits the original K-Member, so you can drop in either a 5.7L or 6.1L Hemi. In this case, John also had to notch the K-member to clear the A/C compressor. The engine mounts are from a company called Schumacher Creative Services that specializes in Mopar swaps. They are designed to accept Tube Technologies Inc. (TTI) headers.

Controller: The Mopar Performance controller is similar to an AEM race box, fully programmable with timing and fuel maps. You even get all the sensors and a cableoperated throttle. The 6.1L was always speed density so John didn't have to switch it from a mass airflow system. The kit comes with three base maps that include one for the 6.1L. When the time came, it fired up with no leaks and no problems, which impressed John, since he did all the fuel-system plumbing by himself. After that, he sent it out to DC Performance for fine-tuning.

Exhaust: The TTI swap headers feed a 2.5-inch system with a cross-pipe. Sounded stock to us. TTI also makes headers for A- and B-Body Hemi swaps, just in case you were getting any ideas.

Trans: The Tremec TKO600 arrived with everything Jonathan needed to swap from an automatic to a five-speed, including the clutch kit and driveshaft. Because the car was so low, the transmission tunnel had to be clearanced a bit and the headers needed to be moved up to stay off the pavement.

A/C: John used the original heater box and ordered the compressor, condenser, hoses, and all the other underhood parts from Chrysler for a 6.1L. "I couldn't bear to see the hoses, so I ran the A/C lines using hard line from Vintage Air," says Jonathan. "I had a quote to do the hard lines, but I ended up doing it myself using bits and pieces. Works great."

Accessories: The front dress is from Chrysler and is for a 6.1L. The Hydroboost (hydraulic brake booster) is pressurized by a Chevy power-steering pump that was installed back when he had the 340 with a big cam and no vacuum.

Rear: The rearend is an 83/4 with 3.91:1 gears. It's just about the only part on the car that's close to original.

Brakes: This thing stops on a dime. John used the Baer 13-inch Baer Claw Track system in the front and 12-inch Baer Claw Sport system in the rear with an e-brake option. With the old engine and cam, it wouldn't stop. With the Hydroboost, it stops. He probably doesn't need it with the smaller duration of a factory cam, but it's still there.

Suspension: When he bought the car, it was riding on the bumpstops. John added Firm Feel tube upper control arms, boxed lowers, 2-inch drop spindles, and a 1-inch sway bar in the front and a 3/4-inch sway bar in the rear. The adjustable shocks are from Koni, and he had a set of custom springs built in the rear. To get the car low, John found a spring-eye box that drops the body down over the spring for good looks without the kidney damage.

Wheels/Tires: To get the look that has become traditional, the Dodge is on American Racing Torq-Thrust IIs. It has 17x7s in the front with 225/45ZR17 Goodyear Eagle F1s and 18x10s with 6-inch backspacing in the rear on 285/35ZR18s.

Inside: The cabin is fully lined with Dynamat and a stealth 11-speaker stereo system installed with three-way component Focal speakers up front (whatever that means) in custom kick panels, two-way Focal speakers in the parcel deck, and a 10-inch JL Audio sub in a ported enclosure behind the rear seat all driven by JL amps in the trunk. There's an Alpine head unit with an Ipod connection, XM radio, a Bluetooth phone interface, and power windows (with remote roll up when the alarm is armed), power door and trunk locks, and a power antenna. Also interesting in such a swap are the gauges. The stock fuel sending unit is retained inside a Rick's Hot Rod Shop EFI gas tank conversion and there are available ports on the manifold and block for the stock temp and oil sending units (using thread adapters). The tach was converted with modern VDO internals and receives a signal directly from the Mopar Performance ECU. The ammeter was converted to a voltmeter.

Special tricks: The block needs a 45-degree oil filter adapter from a Dodge Durango and a shorter oil filter to clear the K-member.

This '88 Camaro was Mike Bighley's first car. unlike those of us who spend our lives in pursuit of our true love-our first car-he kept his, building it up to the wolf-in-sheep's- clothing twin-turbo monster you see here.

Mike bought it in 1997, just around the time he turned 16. It was a base coupe model equipped with the optional LO3 TBI 305. Churning out 170 hp, it was an OK car for a 16-year-old. At 17, he got wise and began working on it, mostly adding bolt-ons. he did the typical cam/heads/exhaust stuff for several years, enjoying the building and driving experience. When he reached the limits of the 305 block, he upgraded to a TPI setup on top of a GM ZZ4 crate engine. That might be where many of us would have left it alone. But the motor oil really hit the fan when Mike, at age 23, decided he wanted turbos.

Mark found a deal on a strong reciprocating assembly and got to work. he did a lot of research on the Internet and some experimenting with different combinations in his own car before coming up with the iteration we came across at last year's Summer Nationals in St. Paul. here's the condensed version: a pair of Master Power T70 turbochargers, two intercoolers, custom headers, an edelbrock Victor-e intake, Fast Burn heads, 150-pound injectors, and four fuel pumps.

He dialed everything in using a FAST XFI engine-management system. How much power, you ask? Running on e85 fuel with 20 psi of boost, how does 854 hp at the wheels sound? Cooler still is the story Mike tells about the time he first cranked up the boost that high. "The clutch welded itself to the flywheel. I had to separate them with a pry bar." Steamy. he's still messing with the settings, ultimately shooting for 1,000 hp at the wheels at 24 psi.

All along the way, Mike steadily improved the drivetrain and chassis as well. He swapped out the stock trans in favor of a stronger T56, replaced the small 10-bolt rear with a Moser 9-inch, and added a rollcage and subframe connectors to take most of the wet noodle out of the Camaro's unibody. In addition to all the mechanical work, Mike, a bodyman by trade, painted the car himself. Control freak!

Tech Notes
Who: Mike Bighley
What: '88 Chevrolet Camaro
Where: Vadnais heights, Minnesota. The wind chill was 10.4 degrees F there at the time this was written.

Engine: Mike runs a GM Performance Parts ZZ4 block. It's heavily reinforced to cope with more than 20 psi of boost. He uses billet main caps and ARP studs, a forged Scat crank and Carrillo rods, and Je extreme Duty 8.5:1 pistons. he ported his GMPP Fast Burn cylinder heads keeping the stock valves but adding Comp beehive springs and titanium retainers. Aaron's Machine in St. Paul did the block prep.

Turbochargers and plumbing: hours of research led Mike to Brazil's Master Power, prompting him to pick up a pair of T70 turbos. They blow a compressed intake charge through a pair of air-to-liquid intercoolers that Mike painted black and hid in the grille openings behind the foglights.

Intake: Air enters the engine via a Wilson 90mm throttle body and into an edelbrock Victor e manifold.

Exhaust: Willing to try anything once, Mike made his own exhaust system starting with a set of 13.4" headers. From the turbine side, Mike made the 3-inch downtubes leading to a single 4-inch exhaust through a Borla XR-1 muffler exiting at the rear of the car.

Fuel: Mike keeps his engine well fed with a steady flow of e85 sprayed by a set of Ford Racing 150-lb/hr injectors. To keep up with demand, he sumped the stock gas tank and installed four Walbro fuel pumps. The car normally runs on two pumps, but the computer switches on the extra two based on load and engine speed.

Engine Management: Originally, Mike was running a MegaSquirt computer, but recently switched to a FAST XFI box. Ignition: If you can take your eyes off Mike's cool turbo setup you'll eventually notice his MSD Pro Billet distributor and HVC II coil.

Transmission: The T56 Mike swapped in several years ago is still holding up despite the massive jump in power. He upgraded to a McLeod twin-disc clutch, though.

Rearend: Worried about broken housings and snapped axles, Mike installed a Moser 9-inch with 3.25:1 gears and 31-spline axles. Can you blame him?

Suspension: up front, you'll see a PA Racing K-frame and control arms. In back are a BMR torque arm, control arms, and a Panhard bar. eibach's and Koni's are at all four corners.

Chassis: Mike built his six-point 'cage from a weld-up kit purchased from Competition engineering, welding it in on a 95-degree day. he said he's never sweated so much in his life.

Brakes: All that power under the hood will easily overwhelm a stock braking system. Mike wisely upgraded to Baer's Track kit that included 13-inch rotors up front and 12-inchers out back.

Wheels/Tires: Five spokes are the way to go, and Mike's got a set of 17-inch V45s by Vintage Wheel Works. he rolls on Nitto tires, sizes 274/45R17 front and 315/35R17 rear.

Paint And Body: Mike sprayed the '69 hugger Orange himself, adding the cool rally stripes in the process.

Tom and his brother are lifelong gearheads, so this Chevelle is the natural extension of a string of performance cars that dates back to a '68 Nova Tom bought when he was 14, which eventually appeared in a couple of magazines back in the mid-'80s. After a stint with drag boats, which is almost a requirement when you live in the Land of Lakes, Tom decided to build a triple-threat street car. "I wanted to build something that I could do everything with-drive it on the street, show it, and drag race it." That may not sound like much of a challenge, but for those who have attempted it, building a show car that can also run in the 8's is no easy feat. Look closely and there is virtually no part of this Chevelle that hasn't been rubbed on, cut, welded, or alloyed.

The effort was built around a complete round-tube chassis constructed by Greek's Pro Shop in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota. The chassis is NHRA-certified to run 8.50s, but Tom has much loftier aspirations. "I could have built the chassis to be legal for 7.50s, but that would have required a Funny Car 'cage. They're too hard to get in and out of for a street car, so we used the standard 'cage instead." A 7.50-second e.t. may sound a bit pretentious until you realize that in-your-face 632ci Rat, with its split King Demons and multiple stages of nitrous, is not just for show. This is the real deal.

If horsepower is king in the land of musclecars, then Tom's Chevelle is no mere usurper to the throne. The parts rundown for this motor reads like a shopping list for a Pro Mod racer. Let's start with the all-aluminum block for this 632. While Dart or Donovan usually head the list, Tom went with an Arias foundation called the New Century block, a newcomer that impressed Tom with its bracing, cross-bolted mains, and structural integrity. This 10.700-inch raised-deck block also raised the cam location, used a larger 60mm cam core, and spec'd 15:1 CP pistons for the short-block. "CP offers something like 13 options for custom ordering the pistons, and we took advantage of all of them," Tom says. Include a pair of CFE-ported 14-degree Dart Big Chief heads and a Jesel beltdrive and valvetrain along with 2.500-inch titanium intake valves, and the lunatic fringe moniker may seem inadequate.

Forget the all-show and no-go concerns, because he's already leaned on this engine pretty hard. "The motor's been up on the dyno three times already," Tom says. "We've tested all kinds of things like rocker ratios, heat ranges for the spark plugs, different weight oils, all kinds of stuff." At first, the power was, to use Tom's word, "disappointing,"so he bumped up the cam timing where the lift is just shy of 1 inch at 0.930 and the power now is a steam-generating 1,200 hp at 7,600 rpm making 930 lb-ft of torque at 5,800 rpm on a SuperFlow 902 dyno. Consider as well that there are also two stages of Wilson nitrous available that Tom has yet to trigger. "Right now the engine is really safe, and we'll start conservatively on the nitrous, but we can run up to 400 hp on the first stage and 250 on the second." We'll do the math for you: that puts this big Rat at 1,850 hp with both stages. And remember, Tom said he was being conservative.

Ironically, one of the most pedestrian of all production automatic transmissions is most often the trans of choice with high-powered cars like Tom's. His good friend and fellow drag racer Ron Flood at Cedar Machine, who did all the machine work on the engine, also assembled the Powerglide. "It's got all the good parts in it, too," Tom says, which only makes sense with near double-century-mark power numbers. This includes a Dedenbear case and a Hughes 9-inch converter that leads to a Ford 9-inch with a mild 4.11 gear set. With this much power, you don't need a lot of gear. The Greek's Pro Shop welded the all-chromoly round-tube chassis complete with a 14-point 'cage to give the drivetrain something to hang on and to help somehow manage all that horsepower. Morrison supplied most of the components for the suspension with help from a set of Afco aluminum coilover shocks.

All the madness happening under the hood tends to distract your eye from the subtle changes going on with the body. Even card-carrying Chevelle guys might overlook the mild roof slice, artfully executed by Central Avenue Auto Body. Once you look, you may also notice the missing roof driprail, the shaved emblems, and the flush door handles. What isn't hard to miss is the multicolored paint explosion that slides down the Chevelle's flanks.

All told, it took Tom and his cohorts 51/2 years to complete this amazing Chevelle. But this isn't the end of the story. He has several dragstrip adventures in the works for the coming year, and there's already a chassis dyno tuning session planned as well as many more street miles. Regardless of where this car goes, it's bound to attract a following. The lunatic fringe always do.

Tech Notes
Who: Tom Johnson
What: '67 Chevrolet Chevelle
Where: Moundsview, Minnesota

Short-block: Let's start with the Arias all-aluminum block stuffed with 4.600-inch-bore CP forged 15:1 pistons, Total Seal Hellfire rings for the nitrous, a Howards forged-steel 4.500-inch crankshaft, GRP aluminum rods, and Federal-Mogul bearings displacing 632 ci. Tom also added ARP studs, copper head gaskets, and a complete five-stage Moroso dry-sump system with the tank located just ahead of the radiator. For oil, Tom uses Redline 5W-30.

Heads and valvetrain: If you're really serious about making horsepower, a set of Dart Big Chief 14-degree heads is a good place to start. Tom then had Carl Foltz's Detroit-area CFE Racing work its port magic, which pulled the intake flow up to around 530 cfm using 2.50/1.88 titanium valves, Isky valvesprings, and titanium retainers followed by a Jesel shaft rocker system using 1.9:1 intake and 1.8:1 exhaust rocker ratios. The Comp Cams mechanical roller is a larger 60mm core that spins on roller cam bearings. Cam timing is, like everything else in this engine, big at around 260-plus degrees at 0.050 with 0.930-inch lift.

Induction: This is the attention-getting part of the car. CFE also built the sheetmetal intake that locates four split King Demon carburetors relocated to sit directly over a pair of intake ports. Each two-barrel flows 600 cfm, making the total potential airflow something ridiculous like 2,400 cfm. Tom also added two stages of Wilson Nitrous Pro Flow nozzles in the intake to add 400 hp in the first stage and up to an additional 300 on the second stage. All this is fed by a MagnaFuel electric pump flowing VP C23 race gas through matching purple anodized MagnaFuel regulators. Tom also has two NOS controllers, one for each stage, as well as EGT probes in each cylinder.

Exhaust: Tom built his own stepped headers, starting with a set of 23/8-inch primary pipes that bump up to 21/2 inches that then lead to a pair of DynaTech merge 4-inch collectors. Because the car sits so low, Tom built his own exhaust using SpinTech mufflers and 23/4x5-inch-wide oval tubing. The exhausts exit through the rocker panels just ahead of the rear tires.

Transmission: The Powerglide uses virtually no original parts, relying on a custom blend of a billet input shaft, 10-disc clutch pack, and other pieces assembled by Ron Flood of Cedar Machine that Tom says is good to 2,500 hp. The Hughes 9-inch converter makes the fluid connection bolted to a Reactor billet flexplate and stalls at a conservative 4,000 rpm using a B&M trans cooler and a 4-inch-diameter Inland Empire driveshaft.

Rearend: The narrowed 9-inch mounts Richmond 4.11:1 Pro Series gears mounted in an aluminum Strange centersection spinning gun-drilled 40-spline Strange axles.

Chassis: If you're serious about going fast, you need a chassis that will back it up. Tom didn't scrimp here either, using Greek's Pro Shop in nearby Spring Lake, Minnesota, to construct the all chromoly round-tube chassis complete with Art Morrison front control arms connected to Morrison spindles and rack-and-pinion steering system. In the rear, you'll find a custom four-link rear suspension with Afco billet coilover shocks to help put the power down.

Wheels/Tires: Minimizing the rotating weight means a set of Weld 15x4-inch Draglite wheels and M/T skinnies up front with 15x14-inch Draglites in the rear mounted with a pair of Mickey Thompson 32x18-15 slicks.

Safety: In the trunk is a complete 15-gallon Jaz fuel cell not far from the Stroud parachute. The interior is sprinkled with a Stroud window net and five-point harness assembly.

Body and paint: Tom had to point out much of the work performed by Central Avenue Auto Body in Minneapolis right down to the 2-inch trim at the front A-pillar and the 1-inch mill job performed at the rear to rake the roof. The drill rails were also shaved, and Tom installed the Percy's Speed Glass flush with the front and rear window levels. Tom retained the stock vent wings to allow in fresh air since the side Speed Glass windows are fixed in place, but he did remove all the emblems, adding flush-mounted Buick Regal door handles. Kenny Zupata spent days custom-mixing the base silver that has pearl, while the blue began life as a Mitsubishi color before they hit it with several pearl concoctions. There's even a little purple added in that was originally a Honda motorcycle color before it too became infused with pearl accents.

Interior: The dash is completely custom sporting an array of Auto Meter gauges too numerous to list. Clint Foner of Big Lake, Minnesota, performed the enormous task of wiring this beast, working around the Kirkey aluminum seats, the 14-point 'cage, the Colorado Custom steering wheel, the Biondo shifter, and the pair of Wilson nitrous bottles behind the passenger seat.

Performance: Engine dyno'd at 1,200 hp with another 700 hp available with nitrous. Tom is shooting for any number in the quarter-mile that starts with a 7.

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It looks better in the air than it does sitting still.>>>

'55 Nomad?
Who: Frank Eveland
Where: Zanesville, OH
What: '83 Chevrolet Malibu wagon
Why: First of all, we love wagons reaching for the back bumper. Frank painted this thing like a '55 Chevy Nomad, dropped in a 402 big-block, and went racing. The timeslip read 11.61 at 112 with a nice 1.55 60-foot time.

Garage Thought:
"Check this out. It's a gas gauge on my new Cuisinart coffee pot. Now I know how much "fuel" remains in the tank. I might replace this with an aftermarket gauge. Think an Auto Meter Pro Comp II will fit?"
Greg, San Diego, CA

Admit it. This thing is so wrong, it's right.>>>

Mopar Guy Head Turner
Who: Billy Budd Sullivan
Where: Pitt Bull Garage, Trego, MT
What: '70 Dodge Challenger R/T
Why: Just look at this thing. It is impossible to ignore. It's powered by a 0.030-over 440 that must be deafening, scoots with the help of a 727 TorqueFlite, and we're sure it has an 83/4 back there. Dig the seat covers?

You don't see these much anymore. We should shoot it just for technical accuracy.>>>

Original Trans Am
Who: Chip Rollins
Where: Goodlettsville, TN
What: '79 Pontiac Trans Am
Why: Chip is the original owner of this car. He bought it in December 1978, drove it for 40,000 miles, and parked it in a garage. In addition to the 400ci engine and four-speed, it has WS6 four-wheel disc brakes.

We didn't see the interior, but this thing looks mint.>>>

Mustang Survivor
Who: Robert L. Galla
Where: Dandridge, TN
What: '67 Ford Mustang
Why: According to Robert, this car is a completely original survivor (except for the wheels). It has a 390 FE with a Top Loader four-speed, and even the original carb.

Grrrreat whitewalls!>>>

Car Craft
Who: Don Bennett
What: '64 Pontiac Tempest
Where: Fredericksburg, VA
Why: Don's buddy bought this and a '62 Impala SS convertible as a package deal. He had no room and made Don an offer he couldn't refuse. The car has 74,000 original miles and a 326 that runs like new.
He says: The only thing different from a '64 GTO is the extra set of doors and the price.

Burnout!!
Send Your Smoke!
People! We are almost out of burnout photos to run in Car Craft. Gas isn't that expensive. Please, do a burnout and send it to Car Craft Burnout!! 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048 or fast mail at CarCraft@sourceinterlink.com with a photo that is at least 1 MB in size. Don't make us do it for you.

She holds it in gear until you wince and wish she would shift, but she doesn't. The Boss was designed with revvin' in mind, and Michelle clings to the abstract without mercy as she holds the pedal to the floor until the valvetrain clatter forces a shift. We know it when we see a throttle jockey who likes to rev by the faint veil of blue smoke that follows the car around, and all the signs were there. Thirty-five years earlier, Michelle might have been the Danica Patrick of Trans-Am.

We met her in a small office straight from a prison movie with bars on the cloudy windows and stark bleach-white cinder block. A pile of street-rod parts was on the floor. "Is it your dad's or your boyfriend's?" She hates questions like that, so we didn't ask. Instead, it was the first thing she volunteered to us. Michelle takes pride in being the one who breaks stuff and tinkers and owns the thing, so she has the right to kick those guys to the curb.

We walked outside and Michelle pointed around the alley at her '32 pickup shell that is getting a flathead. "Have you seen the pistons on a flathead? They are cool. We just took it apart the other day. They are sooo cool." She remembers being around 9 or 10 years old when she first spied a real Trans-Am Mustang. "My dad said, 'You better start saving your money because those cars are expensive.'" Short of the Boss 302 she really wanted, she managed to find a Wimbledon White Mach 1, but that wasn't enough, so she sold it to her dad and went after a Boss.

Michelle went from a 10-year-old clutching a copy of a vintage Trans-Am picture book to negotiating the sale of a real 302 car from a guy she met at a Carl's Jr. cruise night. "He had a Ford Fairlane, and I had a '72 Ford Econoline, so we started to talk. Don't get the wrong idea, the van was my dad's." The car was in a zillion pieces in a garage, and in her words, after some majorly annoying wrangling, the car was hers.

With a U-Haul trailer hooked to the van, Michelle went to scoop up all the parts; the engine and transmission went to Yorba Linda, California, to be rebuilt, and the body parts went to Ranger Performance, a shop owned by her boyfriend that happens to be where the car is stored now. There, they assembled the body and suspension, reupholstered the interior, and repainted all the interior pieces. Sadly, the stock steering wheel was missing, so Michelle replaced it with the MOMO.

Once the car had acceptable paint and a rebuilt 302, Michelle was bent on the thrash, and you could find the car screaming around the track at the Monterey Historic races or at 7,000 rpm with electro-cutout exhaust on the Buttonwillow Raceway. Laps at Fontana, the Hot Rod Power Tour(tm), and daily street whipping were ended when someone backed into the car and wasted the original paint. At that point, Michelle decided maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be rallying an actual Boss 302 Mustang, so she decided to restore the car with better paint and an interior redo. Nice as it is now, you can still catch it over-revving on the street-not a pampered life by any means. She still has a pretty big cam in there.

Tech Notes

What: It's a real live '70 Boss 302 Ford Mustang that Michelle lusted after from the time she was a kitten. She drives it like a rental.

Owner: Michelle Holstien; don't ask her if a boy built her car, she might slug you.

Hometown: Riverside, California, where you can probably hear the valves float as Michelle tries to find the point where a piston actually flies out of the block.

Wrenches: Larry Binder Jr. helped with the hard math and the garage space, her dad, Bruce, gave her the van, and Attila Vecsemyes at Ranger Performance did some additional wrenching.

Engine: The 302 was assembled in Larry Binder's garage after being machined by Pro Machine in Placentia, California. With 11.0:1 slugs and a custom Comp Cams hydraulic flat-tappet cam with 0.648/ 0.627 lift, the 302 made 390 hp on the engine dyno with the stock intake then 410 at 7,000 with the Bud Moore intake. It might have made more if she'd revved it higher. "I wasn't going to blow my motor just to get it down on paper."

Heads: The Boss 302 is essentially a 289 with a 3.00-inch stroke and the same 4.00-inch bore with the addition of a set of heads similar to the 2V 335 series with canted valves and huge ports that were introduced for the 351 Cleveland in 1970. This set has a 58cc chamber, 2.19 intake and 1.76 exhaust stainless steel valves, and cool-e-o polished-aluminum valve covers.

Headers: The pummeling exhaust note is from a set of 171/48-inch Hooker Super Comps with 3-inch tubing and V-Force, two-chamber mufflers. Michelle also installed an electronic exhaust cutout from Doug Thorley Headers. She prefers to drive it on the street with the exhaust wide open "because they are sooo freaking cool, I don't have a radio, that is my stereo."

Intake: Michelle poked around eBay and the Internet to find authentic Trans-Am Mustang stuff like a Cross Boss intake and original Boss 302 heads and ended up finding a Bud Moore mini plenum from the '60s at the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals. Bud Moore even signed it for her. "I took it to him on an airplane; that was fun."

Carburetor: Back in the day, a racing Trans-Am Mustang should have had a Cross Boss intake and a couple of huge carburetors, but the Boss intake required so many specialized carb and ignition parts, it was never run in the races. Michelle just uses a Holley 750 and an MSD Pro Billet distributor instead.

Transmission: She shifts it, eventually, with a T5 transmission from an '89 Mustang and a McLeod 10.5-inch clutch and T5 bellhousing. The rear is a 9-inch with 3.89 gears and 31-spline axles.

Suspension: Most of the suspension parts are out of a '67 390 Mustang. The heavy-duty 53.00x2.50-inch rear leaf springs and staggered shocks try to dampen wheelhop during what Michelle calls "full-throttle starts," and the donor car also provided a heavy-duty front stabilizer. It has Koni shocks and 390 springs with one coil cut to get the frontend down.

Looks: She was happy with it for almost three years until it was hit in the alley. The insurance provided the funds for the last piece of the puzzle: the paint. The body was repaired, the antenna was shaved, and a billet grille, HID headlights, and sequential taillights were added. The paint is BASF Glasurit dual-stage Medium Lime Green Metallic applied by Gil Terrazas at Ranger Performance. The stripes are from a kit she bought off eBay. The wheels are 15-inch Minilites with Dayton 235/60R15 and 255/60R15 tires.

Interior: It's stock except for the custom center console built by Ranger Performance. It went to Larry's Thunderbird & Mustang Parts (larrysmustang.com) for the new headliner.

We've all seen those business cards that itemize the owner's talents such as riots started, coups quelled, expertise with automatic weapons, tree huggers humiliated, Prius owners vilified, lost dogs recovered, and maybe a little life insurance on the side. When we met Dan Tallant at the Des Moines, Iowa, Goodguys show, he handed us a card that listed his shop's talents, which included chassis fabrication, Pro Street setups, and chopped tops.

With a business card like that, you might think that his favorite machine would be some exotic Pro Street car with every in-vogue accouterment. Instead, what attracted our attention was this ultraclean '66 Fairlane that looked like every Ford guy's idea of the perfect street machine. Dan decided to build this car for his father-in-law, Brian Lewis, which would also serve as a great calling card for Dan and his father/partner Dave's abilities at Tallant's Hot Rods in North Kansas City, Missouri (tallantsauto.com).

It's all here if you take the time to pay attention to this machine's purpose. Think low, clean, and simple, and every detail will reinforce those key words. Most Ford guys seem to gravitate toward big-blocks, so we expected to see an oversized FE between the framerails, but the idea behind this Fairlane was to make it more of a driver. "I built this car for my father-in-law, Brian, but actually my mom drives it about 90 percent of time." To that end, it had to be conservative yet still make a statement. The subtlety comes by way of a mild 351W motor. At first glance, the engine compartment appears street-machine typical, with a smoothed firewall bathed in body color. But questions arise when you realize what makes this engine compartment work so well isn't what's there, but what isn't.

Ford's Fairlane was built using a similar unibody concept to the early Mustangs. These midsize machines were tortured with the same shock-tower front-suspension system as Ford's ponycars. Not only was this stock suspension underwhelming from a handling standpoint; it also intruded heavily into the engine compartment. But those massive shock towers were missing when Dan popped the hood, which prompted a whole discussion on the Air Ride and Mustang II-inspired suspension. Dan chose to reveal his shop's ability in a subtle way by slamming the Fairlane on the ground with Air Ride pieces coupled with a rack-and-pinion steering for the front and a complete Air Ride triangulated four-link trailing-arm suspension in the rear.

The plan was to build a car that would both ride nicely and perform even at rocker-panel-scraping ride heights. "You can actually drive this car with the airbags all the way down," Dan says. The proof of that statement can be found if you note the minor camber angle of the front tires even with the ride height at full belly-slam height. This required tweaking quite a few components, including the engine crossmember and raising the engine 211/42 inches. That move cannot be taken lightly since it required slicing and raising the tunnel to clear the transmission. Dan also fabricated new inner fenderwells in the front after the original shock towers were removed, which allowed much more room to lay this Fairlane low.

The 351W supplies more than enough motivation to run this red rogue down the road complete with a Ford AOD overdrive behind it through a Ford 9-inch with 4.11:1 gears. This makes for a pleasant cruise through the countryside in overdrive, where the engine doesn't have to sing at 4,000 rpm to keep up with traffic. Dan also went to the effort of putting 11-inch discs on the front, just to make sure Mom can pull it down from highway speeds when necessary. All this rolls on a set of ubiquitous American Racing Torq-Thrust II wheels with 16s in the front and larger 17s in the rear. Dan kept the tire sizes conservative mainly so that he could play the slam game whenever necessary.

While the paint is impressive, it's even more so when you discover that Dan painted it over 10 years ago and that Brian has owned the car for over 12 years. It started out as a typical driver that needed new floorpan pieces and the standard rust repair of the lower rear quarter-panels. Dan had to fabricate them because when he started on this car, those stampings were not available. After plenty of longboarding and metal prepping, Dan sprayed the Fairlane in his own custom-mix red. The interior also received some attention, but most of that had to do with the minor custom dash efforts with the Auto Meter gauges.

This family-affair Ford is another rolling billboard for Tallant's Hot Rods. "We just finished an '03 Cadillac De Ville for a customer," Dan says. "He wanted the ultimate sleeper, so we converted it to rear-wheel drive and dropped in a GM 572 crate motor. It'll spin the tires forever." That's not too surprising coming from a guy who makes it look like too much fun.

Tech Notes
Who: Brian and Linda Lewis
What: '66 Ford Fairlane
Where: The fair town of Liberty, Missouri

Engine: Dan opened the cylinders up 0.030 inch and added an L&W crankshaft, 9.5:1 forged pistons, and a Comp Cams Dual Energy cam with 272/292 advertised duration and 0.496/0.520-inch valve lift. Big horsepower really wasn't the goal with this engine, so those are stock iron '74 351W heads fitted with 2.02/1.60-inch stainless valves and Comp Cams roller-tipped rocker arms. Dan added an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, a Holley 750 carburetor, and a set of Hooker 1 51/48-inch headers and Flowmaster mufflers to round out the power packaging. To bring a little brightwork to the engine compartment, Dan bolted on a March billet pulley system and a Vintage Air HVAC system to get through those humid Kansas City summers.

Transmission: That's a Ford AOD connected with a TPI 10-inch converter that stalls at 3,000 rpm, just in case Mom wants to bring the Rs up at the stop light.

Rearend: Dan dialed in a 9-inch and fitted it with a set of Richmond 4.11:1 gears and stock axles.

Suspension: This is where most of the work was performed. Dan started with an Air Ride Technologies Mustang II front suspension package and then re-engineered it so he could raise everything up inside the body. The plan was to build the car that could set ride height almost on the ground and still drive. The Air Ride four-link rear suspension required fabricated subframe connectors that Dan then connected to the triangulated four-bar setup.

Brakes: The effort here was to produce a simple braking system that would be easy to maintain and still work safely every time, so Dan went with factory 11-inch discs in front and a set of 10-inch drums in the rear.

Wheels and tires: No matter how many times we see 'em, those American Torq-Thrust II wheels still look great, especially on a car like this. The fronts are a set of 16x7s mounted with BFGoodrich 205/55R16s, while the rears are a set of 17x8s with 245/45R17 BFGs.

Interior: NKC Auto Trim in North Kansas City, Missouri, did the gray leather interior stitching while Brian performed the custom wiring that includes the custom dash and Auto Meter gauges.

Body and paint: The original car was in pretty good shape, but because it hailed from nearby Sedalia, the Midwest rust monster still had a say in the matter. By the end of the welding phase, new floorpans and lower quarter-sections took most of the time. After smoothing it all out, Dan mixed up his own custom PPG red and laid the color down. All the other trim pieces are original, as is the glass.

OH SO CLEAN

Chris Trisnan's '70 Plymouth 'Cuda

What? A stock car in Car Craft? Yeah, we normally peek out from under the hood when something rowdy burbles by and then walk right past a string of stock musclecars at a car show without a second look. Lately we can't help noticing how many musclecars are out there that are restored to stock or really close. We know you're thinking snoozeville, but maybe these guys are onto something. We're not becoming all numbers-matching on you--we're just going to introduce you to a resto guy to find out who would own a car that looks good instead of goes fast.

This 'Cuda's owner is an artist. His name is Chris Trisnan, and he doesn't work with paint and an easel; he uses steel and electricity. When he was a child growing up in England, he began experimenting with light and shade and drawing cars. At the time, American television was pervasive and the car culture was as big as ever. Chris watched Starsky and Hutch tearing around the city doing rockfords and donuts in the flying tomato, and it sucked him in.

"I was educated in North England, and I was doing really well in the art world when I met a guy who built custom cars," says Chris. "I began to paint murals on bonnets and won a couple of awards at local shows; that got me to London."

Once Chris was in the big city, he made some money selling Datsuns and doing paintwork on the side. Through his painting, he met some drag racers who were flying to Orange County, California, for a meet. He hitched a ride and came face-to-face with '70s Americana. "I saw the cars I love whizzing by--Mopars, Corvettes, and all the things that are completely out of reach in England," he recalled. In 1982 he moved to the United States.

"America isn't like England," says Chris. "America rewards risk-takers, and I am a risk-taker." Chris put his skills to work as an apprentice at a sign company and soon was good enough to start his own company, Graffiti, which builds environmental graphics and architectural signs. When his business took off, he started looking for a 'Cuda.

"I had a Harley in the back of my mind, but the E-Body was seductive," says Chris. "The stars lined up and a matching- numbers car with a big-block and the right colors appeared." The car was a '70 Plymouth 'Cuda for sale in Canada. It was tough to get because the owner didn't want to sell the car to a flipper or a dealer. The car needed a good home. "It was like a job interview, and I could hear his wife saying that he should keep the car," he recalled. "I had to talk him into it."

Unlike many of us who are technical and mechanical, Chris is visual. His appreciation of the hobby comes from the colors and forms of the early musclecars during the years of wild hues and graphics. "I was looking for a color with a lot of impact, and Rallye Red with a cream interior did the job. I am a visually driven creature, so the wilder cars are more interesting than something with just a big engine, but both are best."

After securing the 'Cuda, Chris had it shipped down to the O.C. on a huge transporter. Even the driver was diggin' it. On the way, he called Chris to tell him how nice the car was. "It was like a dream come true when the car was lowered off the transporter," Chris says. He was so excited to drive the car that immediately after taking the keys and the build sheet from the driver, he took it for a spin. When he got back, the build sheet was gone. Bummed, he settled for a copy provided by the original owner. Maybe he's a little like us after all.

After Trisnan had the 'Cuda for a while, he started to notice what it means to be driving this kind of car. "I think Mopar guys just get it," says Chris. "The English cars have prestige like the Bentley, etc., but never the colors and style of the American cars. The Hemi was at the top of the heap. Guys who recognize these cars understand the design and the feel of the '70s. I liked the '60s and '70s era; the style was an in-your-face blend of loud color and high performance. We observed it from England, and the English always looked at the American car market as something to be admired. We had nothing like the American cars back then. Now I just look at the car and think, Man, they had it together back then." Now-adays when Chris drives the convertible 383-powered 'Cuda, he gets a new kind of respect. "I can accidentally cut people off and they will still give me the thumbs-up."

Just because he bought an original car with only 85,000 miles on it doesn't mean it didn't need work. Lucky for him, he met Grant May at the Spring Fling Mopar show in SoCal while he was asking a guy whether or not a Rim-Blo steering wheel would fit the car. The vendor said it would, but Grant overheard the conversation and cut in to say it wasn't right for the car. Because Grant was from New Zealand he spoke with an English lilt. The accent and a visit to his shop to eyeball his work ethic cemented the friendship. "His spanners were all lined up, and the shop was spotless," says Chris. Grant talked Chris out of changes to the car that would have ruined the value. Working from a shop on a three-acre spread in California, Grant began to tweak the car, starting with a tune-up. Then the interior was stripped down and rebuilt using mostly original parts, which were refurbished. It's not easy to find convertible 'Cuda parts, so what wasn't available, Grant restored to look like new. "It is an expensive hobby, but if you want it right you need to pay the money," Chris laments.

After Chris had been exposed to the E-Body, he started looking around at others. "I would pay extra for a car that was numbers-matching and restore it rather than change the car to something that wasn't on the showroom floor," he says. In another fit of luck, Chris found a car with wilder graphics and the big engine he always wanted. It was a '70 Challenger R/T with a 440 Six-Pak engine. "I've always liked the way cars came off the production line. I like the big horsepower too, but it has to be an original car. The big draw for the Challenger is the paint combination, and the big engine is the bonus." To restore this car, Chris is going to go crazy: "The new car is Sublime Green, and I am willing to drive out of the state to secure a gallon of the correct paint."

As Chris transforms into a Mopar guy, he's picked up car-guy bad habits and also collected a '70 Charger. It is also a 440-powered car, painted Plum Crazy purple with a white interior. He says it's all there and is an original unmolested car--how could he refuse? He confides that he has the three cars he believes are the crme de la crme of the Mopar world, and he is done buying muscle because there's nothing else that appeals to him--except a Hemi, of course.

TECH NOTES

Who: Chris Trisnan

Where: He's from England, where everything is jolly good.

What: It's a '70 'Cuda convertible, one of about 550 built.

Work: Grant May owns May Automotive Performance in Lake Mathews, California, where he has maintained the 'Cuda since he met Chris at the Spring Fling. Grant is from New Zealand, so he has a handle on the Mopar scene from all over the world. He's been in the States working on Mopars for 10 years.

Engine: This performance-oriented 'Cuda came equipped with the 335hp 4V 383. Unlike earlier Barracudas, the later big-block E-Body was available with power steering and power brakes. You could also order the 375hp 440, the 390hp six-barrel 440, or the 425hp 426 Hemi.

Transmission: The E-body was designed to go straight, and that meant drag racing. And nowhere was that more evident than the Slap Stick shifter connected to the TorqueFlite 727 transmission. It allowed the one-two shift to be made with a quick push on the shifter. Because Chris has a tendency to take long trips on the freeway, Grant installed a Gear Vendors overdrive unit. The only major modification needed to get the unit in the car was shortening the driveshaft. Grant used the stock crossmember and hid a switch under the dash so Chris could flip from manual to automatic mode.

Wheels/Tires: The Magnum road wheels were standard on the 'Cuda, or you could order the optional 15x7 Rallye road wheels like the ones on Chris' car with raised-letter F60-15 Goodyear Polyglas tires. The BFG tires currently on the car are P245/60R15s. Lately the popularity of the musclecar movement has caused these, the BFG P235/60R15, and the P255/60R15 to become scarce. So you'd better order now.

Body: Checking the 'Cuda box at the dealership won you the performance hood with nonfunctional hoodscoops (unless you got the Hemi; then it was a shaker), hoodpins, a blackout rear valance panel with the 'Cuda script, and a hockey stripe that read the engine displacement (unless you ordered the Hemi, in which case it was spelled out). This 'Cuda was ordered with FE5 Rallye Red, a color that went away the following year.

Interior: The dash was a mess, so Grant May took it out of the car, added new looms, and fixed the heater and A/C hardware. The gauges were farmed out to Performance Car Graphics in Florida to get the cluster painted and to make sure they were clean and operational. Grant used Legendary Auto Interiors for the seats because the company offers the stock patterns and colors, which are made in the USA. It's hard to get rear interior panels in white for a convertible, so Grant opted to refinish them by sanding them down, texturing them, and painting them with SEM vinyl finish. Since it's a driver, not a weekend car, he put it together for the road.

Trivia: Some of the coolest color names came from the Chrysler musclecar era. In 1970 you could order paint with names like In Violet, Vitamin C, Tor-Red, and Lemon Twist. Sassy Grass Green and Curious Yellow became available in 1971. CHEERIO

In the mid-'60s, Chrysler figured out a way to drop a 426 Hemi engine into the A-Body Dart and Barracuda (with a sledgehammer to the shock tower) to compete in the NHRA Super Stock class. Each Dart was built in the Hamtramck assembly plant in Michigan, converted to a Hemi Super Stocker by Hurst, and delivered in grey primer with a black fiberglass front end, Hemi scoop, and 15-inch black steel wheels. Around 150 Hemi Darts and Barracudas were built and delivered to racers for competition. Tommy Watts was an 8-year-old when he first saw one race at the Sunshine Speedway in Tampa, Florida. The year was 1968.

With the hope of a Hemi Dart burned into his memory, Tommy did the same as the rest of us and went to school, got a job, and drove a commuter, all the time watching and waiting for his Hemi Dart. Business got good and real estate got hot, so Tommy found himself in the position to find and buy the Dart of his dreams. Unfortunately, that was only about two years ago and the price of a real Hemi Dart was close to $300,000. "I remember the original ones kicking everyone's ass in the '60s," says Tommy. "Back then, if you had a real one, it meant that you were a racer, so each car has a history. I had a '69 Road Runner that was a fast car. It was fun, but not a Hemi Dart."

Tommy began to look for a rust-free '68 body to build a replica, and found that even those are hard to come by. He was close to buying a white '68 with a turquoise interior and a six-cylinder at a swap meet, but it was purchased out from under him and shipped to North Carolina. Undeterred, Tommy traveled east, found the owner, and talked him out of the car. The car was shipped to Joel Nehi at Joel's Automotive in Riverside, California, for the transformation.

"I wanted real Hemi parts on the car," says Tommy. "So I went to swap meets and bought as many early Hemi parts as I could find." He ended up with a set of '69 heads and an original block and went to the aftermarket for the rest of the parts.

The body was sanded down and resprayed the original white. Steel wheels were found at a local junkyard, and to complete the look, a fiberglass Hemi scoop hood was added. When Tommy got to the stock wheelwells, he stopped. Original Hemi Darts had the rear quarter-panels hacked to fit fat slicks for drag racing. Press photography reveals that the guys at Hurst probably cut them with a chisel or a sharp rake. Tommy wasn't in the mood to chop his pristine unitbody, so he left that bit of authenticity out of his build. "I was at the Spring Fling , and guys were happy that I didn't cut the wheelwells," says Tommy. We tend to agree with them.

Tech Notes
Who: Tommy Watts
What: '68 Dodge Hemi Dart clone
Where: Sherman Oaks, California

Engine: The Dart has a 426-inch Hemi with a '69 block and heads. The rotator and pistons are from Mopar Performance, including a forged steel crank and 6.86-inch forged steel connecting rods. The pistons are big domes that yield a 12.5:1 compression ratio. On the street the Hemi uses an expensive mix of race gas to remain authentic.

Exhaust: The '68 uses new Hemi Dart 211/44-inch race headers from Hooker that allow you to change your primary tube lengths, collector lengths, and collector types to increase or decrease the torque and horsepower output at any rpm level you want. They flow to a 3-inch exhaust, a set of Flowmasters, and Swinger tips, none of which were on Super Stock Darts.

Drivetrain: The Dart has a 727 Torque-flite with a reverse-manual valvebody and a 4,500-rpm converter. Yes, he drives it on the street. Did we mention the 4.56:1 gears in the Dana 60? His best run is 10.38 at 135 mph.

Intake: The Mopar Performance crossram is similar in form and function to the original but slightly different in height and detail. Original-looking versions are available from A&A Transmission in magnesium or aluminum.

Carbs: Tommy used the original-flavor 770-cfm dual Holleys and Mopar linkage instead of 750s. The linkage is from Mopar Performance, and correct fuel lines are available from Kramer Automotive Specialties.

Interior: The seats came from an A100 van, and Year One supplied the lightweight seat mount brackets, radio-delete plate, and carpet for the rear seat delete. Hurst Darts had black interiors and lightweight windows that went up and down with a strap.

Body: Aside from the Hemi Dart scoop, the body is original. At first Tommy didn't cut the wheelwells because he wanted the grandma sleeper look. Now he's realized that it was the right decision to not cut up a vintage Dodge for any reason. What if he wants to change it back? Hurst cars also had no mirrors, 'glass fenders, and lighweight front bumpers.

In the July '07 issue, we announced a Readers' Rides contest and askedyou to send pictures of your cars. Out of the hundreds of submissions,we narrowed the field down to the 25 cars you see here. Now we turn thejudging over to you to vote for your favorite car. The voting poll is on page four of this story so you can check out all the rides before voting. The carthat receives the most votes will have a feature article written about it in the pages of Car Craft.

Don't worry if you submitted photos but didn't make it into the top 25.We saved all the entries and will use them in the regular Reader' Ridessection throughout the year. Thanks to all of you who entered.

1. Plucked From a Barn

Who: Steve O'Connor

Where: Papillion, NE

What: '69 Chevrolet Chevelle


Why: We like that it has a 502 and a four-speed, and the Vintage Airsystem keeps him happy as a clam in the summer. Steve did the frame-offresto of the car in his driveway.

Steve says: "This car sat in an Iowa barn for 22 years before Iaccidentally found it."

2. Clean Engine

Who: Chad Bonneville

Where: Riverside, CA

What: '69 Plymouth Barracuda

Why: This car started life as a Slant Six/slush box car, complete withfoot-pump windshield squirters. Already the owner of a notchbackBarracuda, Chad took the good bits from his notchback and used them totransform the fastback. Rounding out the car's list of goodies are aMopar Performance 360, Purple cam, double-pumper carb, and 83/4-inchrear.

Chad says: "I've made at least 200 eighth- and quarter-mile passes withapproximately 30,000 miles of street duty. The combo has proven to bevery reliable and fun to drive."

3. Wheelies, Please

Who: Josh Chittenden

Where: Spring Lake, MI

What: '67 Ford Mustang

Why: It's a family heirloom that runs 10.20s on the motor. Josh and hisdad recently rebuilt Dad's old race car on a Stroh's budget, updatingthe aging but effective combination. Power is courtesy of a strokedWindsor. It's sent to the pavement via a C4 and ladder-bar-suspended9-inch.

Josh says: "The car is launched at 3,000 rpm and air-shifted at 6,800. Built on a budget by blue-collar people."

4. Rides On Air

Who: Randy Gast

Where: San Jose, CA

What: '69 Pontiac GTO

Why: Publisher Gallagher's Buick blew up on the freeway. He has an AirRide Technologies suspension in common with this guy. Randy's Goatsports a warmed-over 455, Flowmasters, 18- and 20-inch hoops, and akiller stereo. His engine works just fine, too.

Randy says: "It's the sickest Poncho drop-top around!"

5. Late-Model Stuff is Cool, Too

Who: Burke Bradley

Where: Missouri City, TX

What: '05 Pontiac GTO

Why: Burke's Magnacharger-topped LS2 makes 503 hp at the wheels. He sentthe dyno sheet to prove it. We like the stance and sleeper look.

Burke says: "With 500-plus rear-wheel horsepower from a stock-sounding,stock-driving car, this is the car Pontiac should have built.

6. He Races This Thing

Who: Tim Coon

Where: Lisbon, IA

What: '60 Chevrolet Impala

Why: Don't get angry; this isn't a trailer queen. It just looks likeit. Tim built the Impala himself over what seemed like the course of adecade. He built the frame, grafting in a C4 Corvette front suspensionand making his own rear control arms. He also built the engine andtransmission, welded up the exhaust, formed new floorpans, and even madeand upholstered the seats. Makes us feel lazy.

Tim says: "It's an owner-built, fully custom and detailed, street-drivenand raced Impala."

7. Little Car, Big Revs

Who: Clark Weaver

Where: Wellington, CO

What: '63 Chevrolet II

Why: Clark kept things simple when restoring his Nova, and we're coolwith that. He says he had to remove at least four layers of paint andfix lots of hack-job body repairs. It's all old school under the hood,where you'll find a solid lifter 302 that routinely runs up to 7,500rpm. No dragstrip times yet--Clark just finished building the car lastsummer.

Clark says: "The rev limiter is set at 7,500 and it gets hit all thetime! What fun!!"

8. Super B-Body

Who: Kevin Bishop

Where: Whitinsville, MA

What: '69 Dodge Super Bee

Why: We like Mopar B-Bodies, and it's cool to see one that's fast.Kevin's running a 499-inch stroker motor topped with Indy heads. He senta dyno sheet backing up his big horsepower claim: 668 hp and 650 lb-ft. He also sent timeslips: 10.96 seconds at 122 mph.

Kevin says: "This is a fun, fast car anybody could build at home."

9. Monte Drives A Chevelle

Who: Monte Dinnell

Where: Fox Lake, IL

What: '70 Chevrolet Chevelle

Why: Not many of us can say we own an 850hp Chevelle. Not many of us cansay we own an 850hp anything. Monte's car is stuffed with go-fastparts: a 540 block, Dart heads, an 1150 Dominator, and a lot of nitrous.A stout TH350 and 12-bolt rear get the power to the ground.

Monte says: "It just looks bad-ass."

10. Another Big-Block Chevelle

Who: Laurence Brockie

Where: Mount Prospect, IL

What: '71 Chevrolet Chevelle

Why: It ran 9.99 at 110 mph on a pass that he had to shut downthree-quarters of the way because the crankshaft keyway broke. With anF2 Procharger breathing on a 509 big-block, we'd love to see what thecar is capable of when it's all dialed in. Larry says he's shooting forhigh 8s while keeping the Chevelle streetable enough to take to cruisesin the summer.

Larry says: "When I drive it on the street, old ladies run from it!"

11. Glad Wants This Guy's Engine

Who: Gary Groeteka

Where: Collinsville, IL

What: '67 AMC Rebel

Why: It's unusual to see an AMC owned by someone who doesn't live inWisconsin! Plus, we like the clean but aggressive look of these cars.And Glad has 401 envy, so Gary's Rebel makes the cut.

Gary says: "It's one of the cleanest contemporary body styles from AMC. Plus, tell me you've seen a nicer '67 AMC Rebel ever!"

12. Pro Street Hornet

Who: John Bots

Where: Delafield, WI

What: '74 AMC Hornet

Why: See what we mean--those guys in Wisconsin love their AMCs. John'salso got a 401 underhood that sports Edelbrock heads, dual quads, and a150-shot of nitrous. He bought it from his sister for $5 when he was 17.

John says: "It's off the beaten path--401 Hornet with nitrous and AirRide."

13. What We'd Drive if We Didn't Have Smog Laws

Who: Mike Miller

Where: Huntley, IL

What: '81 Chevrolet Camaro

Why: We're guessing Mike doesn't have a mullet hairdo--his car is toonice. Mike says he rebuilt the car from the ground up, and it actuallymakes some power with its 383 small-block. On nitrous it runs 11.62 at119 mph. The undercarriage is as clean as the body; he sent the photosto prove it.

Mike says: "This is a rare body style that turns heads everywhere itgoes."

14. NAFTA Car

Who: Daniel Mizrachi

Where: Panama

What: '71 Plymouth Scamp

Why: Cuz if he wins, we get to go to Panama to photograph his car.Actually, it's a totally cool car in its own right. He bought it acouple of years ago, only to spin a bearing shortly after takingdelivery. Now, the Plymouth runs a 504-inch Indy block/727 TorqueFlitecombo that's good for low 11s at the local traction-challengedairfield-turned-dragstrip he runs at.

Daniel says: "It looks stock but has abig punch."

15. Steel Wheels

Who: Steve Billings

Where: Whitmore Lake, MI

What: '70 Chevrolet Nova SS

Why: Yes, we dig steel wheels, but this car has a lot of other thingsgoing for it. You gotta love dual quads on a 406 small-block. Anotherbig plus is the TKO600 five-speed manual trans hooked to 3.73:1 gears inthe 12-bolt out back.

Steve says: "Just a cool old Nova that looks pretty stock, goes down theroad, and doesn't give me any grief."

16. Racing Fox

Who: Kevin Kyser

Where: Benbrook, TX

What: '86 Ford Mustang

Why: We were surprised--we hardly had any Fox Mustangs sent to us. It'snot hard to turn them into really fast cars and do wheelies like Kevin.He bought this car brand-new when he was a junior in high school and hasdriven the crap out of it since then. The original engine had 266,000miles when he finally pulled it and dropped in the 342. Now it rocketsto low 10s at the strip.

Kevin says: "This is an original cream-puff of a car that has been keptimmaculate since bought brand-new."

* Kevin just updated us with his best run to date: 10.075 at 132.10 mph.

17. Must Be Something in the Water in Texas

Who: Ross Johnson

Where: Dickinson, TX

What: '68 AMC Rambler

Why: What looks like a P.O.S. Rambler that should be getting melted downin a foundry overseas is actually a fast race car. In the six years he'sowned the car, Ross has swapped in a turbo 3.8L V-6 from a Buick GrandNational and a manual-valvebody Turbo 400 trans. Then he minitubbed itand installed a four-link coilover rear suspension.

Ross says: "I think your readers would vote for it as an underdog. Noteveryone will like it, but for the goofy folks like me, it's funny."

* At the strip, Ross smoked some punk in an Accord who had about a threesecond jump on him, passing him by half-track.

18. Corner-Turner

Who: Don Goetz

Where: Alpine, WY

What: '68 Chevrolet Camaro

Why: Don went off the deep end in a big way building this Camaro. Forbetter weight distribution, he set the aluminum 427 small-block back11/2 inches. His Richmond five-speed transmission has custom First- andSecond gear ratios for autocross racing, and he runs a modifiedtriangulated four-link rear suspension and coilovers out back thataccommodate his 315/35-17 rear tires.

Don says: "This is one of the best-handling Camaros out there."

19. More Traditional Take On a '68

Who: Michael Zurl

Where: Long Island, NY

What: '68 Chevrolet Camaro

Why: For cool engine stuff, Mike lists 496 ci, Eagle rotating assembly,aluminum heads, 10.5:1 compression, Proform 850 carb, and a Comp rollercam. Power? He says there's 678 dyno-proven horsepower under the hood. He backs that up with a Turbo 400 trans and 4.11:1 gears in a 9-inch.

Mike says: "This car will easily smoke the tires in any gear, anydistance."

20. Minty Mach 1

Who: Randy Johnson

Where: La Crescenta, CA

What: '69 Ford Mustang Mach 1


Why: It just looks good. Four years ago, Randy got tired of working onhis house. Wanting to do something more productive with his time, heopened an eBay account and won the first thing he bid on: this Mustang. Upon delivery, he took it completely apart, transforming it to the coolMach 1 you see here. Randy replaced the stock 302 with a stout 351Windsor augmented with Edelbrock heads and intake. A C6 automatic anddisc brakes on the 9-inch rear round out the package.

Randy says: "The best Mach 1 around."

21. Road Racer

Who: Ray Banks

Where: Cupertino, CA

What: '65 Ford Mustang


Why: It took six years, but Ray built his Mustang from the ground up asa race car. The stroked Windsor makes 568 hp at the flywheel. It twistsgears in a wide-ratio Top Loader, then back to a super-beefy Currie "9+"9-inch. Of course there are a ton of chassis and suspension tweaks. Thehighlights include a seam-welded unibody, an Autopower 'cage, and aGlobal West suspension. When he's not tearing up the corners at SearsPoint and Laguna Seca, he shows the car, too.

Ray says: "I rebuilt every single thing on the car."

22. Dare to Be Different, Indeed!

Who: Bill Janssen

Where: Tucson, AZ

What: '75 AMC Pacer


Why: Bill began his letter to us with the well-worn phrase, "Dare to beDifferent." Initially, we were like, "WTF?" Then we looked some more andsaid, "Hell yeah!" He bought the Pacer for $300, then promptly turnedaround and sold $900 worth of parts off it--essentially getting paid totake ownership of the thing. He gutted it, built a frame, put a 450hpsmall-block Chevy in it, painted it in his junkyard, and went to thetrack to do wheelies. Oh, and it runs 10.49s, too.

Bill says: "The car is all amateur-built (not a showpiece) but looksgood from 10 feet away."

23. Cone Dodger

Who: Keith Kanak

Where: Phoenix, AZ

What: '64 Chevrolet Chevelle SS


Why: Jeff Smith recused himself from judging Keith's car, saying hecouldn't be impartial. Chevelles are a weakness of his. Keith's owned itfor 33 years, during which time it's seen four engines andtransmissions. Currently, he runs a Beck Racing 383/TKO600 drivetrain,Global West control arms and sway bars, Hotchkis springs, Edelbrockshocks, and Baer brakes on all four corners. He's a regular at Phoenixautocross events.

Keith says: "Most of all, I enjoy the long-distance rod runs, trackdays, and just driving the hell out of it!"

24. Disregards California's Ban on Public Smoking

Who: Chris Bell

Where: Los Angeles, CA

What: '87 Buick Grand National


Why: Chris bought the Buick new in 1987 and has been racing it eversince. Over the years he's dropped his e.ts from mid-14s to mid-11s, all without going into the engine. We especially dig this car'sstreet-racer vibe.

Chris says: "The Buick Grand National is one of the baddest street carsto ever come out of Detroit."

25. Surprise!

Who: James Freeman

Where: 803 area code, South Carolina

What: '73 Buick Stealth Bomb LeSabre


Why: Don't deny it--you would drive this car if you could get away withit. Kinda like riding a moped. Jim bought the Buick in 1986 for $300when it had 60,000 miles on the clock. Now he's at almost 200,000 andthe car won't break. Though the 455 is all stock, it is a little wornout--he can push the valves open with his thumb. But it doesn't smokeand still revs to 4,200 rpm with no problem. Performance modificationsinclude "muffler delete" and an estimated 300 pounds of weight shavedoff the front of the car, thanks to corrosion, A/C-, and bumper-delete. He's not welcome at his local track, so stopwatch estimates put the carat high 14s in the quarter-mile.

James says: "Still burns rubber from a 5-mph roll, and gets 16 miles pergallon. Nothing ever breaks--haven't spent any major money in 21 years. Everyone likes a car you could own for $500!"

DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH OUR POLL SYSTEM, WE HAD TO SPLIT THE ENTRIES BETWEEN TWO POLLS BELOW. THEY'RE LISTED IN ORDER, SO FIND YOUR FAVORITE IN ONE OF THE TWO POLLS AND VOTE THERE. SORRY FOR THE PROBLEM GUYS, THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE HAVE BEEN DRAGGED BEHIND THE SHOP AND SHOT!

I never liked these cars. Stupidly, I admitted this to Gene Hooker, the car's owner, while driving to the photo shoot. Not the smartest move, of course, and I clumsily tried to talk my way out of it. Instead of being angry (which he should have been), Gene smiled and said he never did either. Whew!

My intention was to compliment him on the excellent job he'd done restoring this particular Mustang, often considered an undesirable body style by some people. It just didn't come out that way.

Gene never had any plans to build a '72, though. He was going through a divorce in the late '80s and needed something to keep him occupied during the ordeal. "I had owned a '70 Mach 1 that got totaled while my wife was driving, and I wanted another one like that." But he couldn't afford any of the pre-'71 Mach 1s he looked at. Instead, he ended up buying this '72 on a local car lot for $1,000.

In hindsight, he thinks he paid too much for it. "It was in pretty foul shape," says Gene, a stoic guy who has a gift for speaking in understatement. "The engine knocked, the suspension was shot, the brakes were shot, the alignment was way off, it had a GM power steering pump that didn't work, the windows leaked, the floor was rusted through, and though it was originally a four-speed car, it had an automatic and only Second gear worked." He drove the car home from the lot, a 15-mile drive along country roads that should have only been a 20-minute ride. "It took about 45 minutes," Gene says. "My father followed me in case the car fell apart along the way." The trip seemed to last a couple of hours.

Once home, Gene went through the car, assessing the condition, saving up money, and tracking down replacement parts. In December 1991 he began working steadily on the Mach, fixing the mechanical things first. He wanted to keep the car driveable before sending it to the body shop. "I fixed the brakes and suspension first. I fixed the door handle too so I could get in the car." He then tackled the drivetrain, rebuilding the 351C and adapting a T5 transmission from a '93 Mustang. Then it was off to the body shop for an extensive cosmetic and structural overhaul. The floorpans were replaced as well as both quarter-panels, both doors, the decklid, and the front and rear valance panels. Martin Bennette of Asheboro, North Carolina, sprayed the freshened sheetmetal with a Gold Glow basecoat/clearcoat paint job.

He finished the major work on the Mustang in 1993, but Gene still continues to tinker. He added power assist to the brakes last winter and is toying with t