Still more on budget building....

I hate to keep harping on the same point, but I thought of some more people who built cool cars for very low bucks. One guy bought a '71 Camaro that was a six-cylinder / 3-speed model. He dropped a 350 V8 in it, that a buddy had taken out of a wrecked "Hobby Stock" race car. It had headers and a hotter than stock cam, and because of the class rules, had a 2bbl carb!  He kept the 3-speed, but did add a Hurst shifter. We always joked that he could say he had an automatic with a high-stall converter and a manual valve body. It worked great-he could pop the clutch about 3,500 rpm and get the car moving with just enough wheelspin to get the engine up on its torque curve, yet not fry the tires too much, and then he'd shift about 5,800 rpm. It would lay 10-15 feet of rubber into 2nd,and really start pulling. The car was fast and fun. He never did change to a 4bbl carb or a 4-speed trans, because it was so much fun the way it was!  Another friend bought a '66 LeMans Convertible with the 326 / ST300 powertrain. He bought GTO emblems and trim from Year One. He also got the 400 and TH350 out of a '77 Trans-Am. Since Pontiac engines are externally identical from a 326 to a 455 the engine swap was a no-brainer. Since a TH350 is the exact same length and uses the same rear trans mount and driveshaft yoke as a Powerglide / ST300,the tranny swap was cake too. He even used the stock shifter, although he couldn't manually engage low gear. With his excellent TransGo shift kit that would automatically kick down to low gear below 15 or 20 mph, this wasn't an issue. He found a Tri-Power setup at a swap meet. The car was a great cruiser and fast enough to back up the image. Everywhere he went, people "oohed" and "ahhed" over his "GTO" ragtop. Another guy bought a '69 Camaro at an auction for $900. It was a 307 / Powerglide model. He bought a $699 "Long Block" 350 from a Pep Boys store, and added headers and an Edelbrock Torker II intake and a 625 cfm Carter AFB that he bought from a buddy. He bought a rebuilt TH350 from a local tranny shop, and got the proper "Horseshoe" shifter and console from Year One. He also bought a cowl induction hood and Z/28 emblems and painted it blue with white stripes and added Wheel Vintiques 15" rally wheels shod with BFG T/A radials. Total investment-$4,500, and everyone "oohs" and "ahhs" over his "Z/28". Even though "real" '69 Z/28's were only available with a 302 and a 4-speed, not a 350 and a slushbox. It's still a nice car, that's fun to drive and turns heads wherever he goes, that he built for a fraction of what a "real" Z/28 that needed restoration would cost!!  Another guy I know had a '73 Duster with the 318 / 3-speed powertrain. He went and got a 360 out of a wrecked police car. Through "Direct Connection" ( That's what Mopar Performance was called back then ) he bought the original 340 cam, lifters and springs, and the Edelbrock 340 "Six-Pack" manifold and 3 holley carbs, and throttle linkage and air cleaner. He also swapped the 3.21:1 gears for some 3.91:1s. This "360 Six-Pack" Duster was blisteringly fast. It would spin the tires most of low gear, but when it hit 2nd with those end carbs opened up, it pulled like a freight train. He always intended to put in a 4-speed, but I don't think he ever did. It was so freakin' quick the way it was, there was no need to.  Anyhow-those are the kinds of builds I'd like to see more of, not 100K trailer queens.  Mastermind