You can have an Ultra-rare early '60's dream machine! If you build it!

There's a lot of renewed interest in the full-size musclecars of the ealy '60's-probably because the conventional ones-Road Runner, GTO, SS Chevelle etc-are getting way overpriced.  However, the really cool ones-SD 421 Pontiacs, 427 Ford Galaxies and Thunderbolts, 409 Impalas, and 413 Mopars are also priced in the stratosphere. The solution is to build one. The aftermarket has stepped up to the point that you could build a replica of one of these rare birds for a fraction of what it would cost to buy a "Real" one that needed work. Here's a list of my favorites. # 1. 1960-64 Pontiac. Whether it's a Catalina, Gran Prix, or a Bonneville, every one of these cars has at least 389 cubes under the hood. And, Pontiac V8s are externally identical from a 326 to a 455. You could easily swap in a later model 400, 428 or 455, or you could put a stroker crank in a 389 or 400 and make it a 455. Edelbrock sells a dual-quad manifold that's an exact replica of the factory SD design, as well as D-port and RAIV style aluminum heads, and there are cams, headers, etc galore to build as much power as you want. 4-speed conversion kits are plentiful, and you can use a Muncie or a BW T10, or if you want an automatic a TH400 is an easy swap.  # 2. Ford Galaxie 427 / Fairlane Thunderbolt clone. A Ford ahead of a Chevy on the easy to build list?  How did that happen? Well-forget finding a 427-their moon rocks. However Ford made millions of 390s between 1963-76, and they are from the same "FE" family and look identical, and they are much more plentiful in junkyards than the Chevy 348 /409 "W" engines. Edelbrock makes performance aluminum heads, and there are stroker crank kits to turn a 390 into a 427, 428, or even a 447. A T10 4-speed or a Tremec 5-speed is cool or a C6 automatic works great too.  # 3. "Super Stock" Dodge or Plymouth.  Same reason-383, 400 and 440 Mopars are relatively easy to find. There are aluminum heads, cams, intakes, etc, and stroker cranks to build a 451 out of a 383 / 400, or a 505 out of a 440. A Torqueflite 727 is bulletproof.   # 4. The Beach Boys sang about the "409" and they are still cool. 1961-65 Impalas are plentiful, but the trouble is going to be finding a running, or at least rebuildable engine. One source is medium-duty trucks from 1958-1965 also used the 348 / 409 series. Scour truck boneyards and you may find a candidate sitting there in an old dump truck, garbage truck, fire truck, etc. Once you do, Edelbrock sells aluminum heads for them, as well single and dual 4bbl intakes. There are companies that offer cranks, rods and pistons to make almost any combination up to 470 ci. These motors can make big power, but be aware, they don't make anywhere near the power of the 1965 and later MKIV-i.e. the traditional 396 / 427 / 454 "Rat" motor, or even the Pontiacs, Fords and Mopars.  And, because they are an obsolete design-they are going to cost more to build than the Pontiacs, or the FE Fords, or the B / RB Mopars, or a traditional Rat. But if you want one, it's the only way to go, and still cheaper than trying to buy an original one.  Regardless of make, I'd go full-on '60's Gasser look- radiused fenderwells, straight front axle, the full monty.  But you can do what you want, and save tens of thousands with these "fakes". And if you wreck it, it's easy to build another one, and you want want to committ hari-kari like you would if you wrecked an original one.  Mastermind