Some '70s "clunkers" that make great modern rat rods....

A lot of the buff magazines are featuring old "rat rods"- 30's, 40s and 50's cars that are ugly, but wicked fast. There's a lot of '70's iron that you can buy cheap that has a ton of potential to have major speed for low bucks. Here's a few that you may not have thought of, in no paticular order. # 1. 1971-77 Ford Maverick / Mercury Comet. ( V8 models ) These "Economy" cars make great drag racers. Their light-around 3,000 lbs, and their short wheelbase gives them good weight distribution and traction. And their are a million ways to build power into a 302 Ford. A buddy of mine with a 440 Road Runner got his doors blown off by a hot 302 Maverick. Their not sexy-but they can be lightning fast for low bucks. # 2. 1971-77 Pontiac Ventura. Pontiac's version of the Nova. Some may have small-block Chevys in them-which isn't a bad thing-you basically have a Nova-and their's more speed equipment for a small-block Chevy than anything else on the planet. The real gems are the 350 Pontiac powered models. 350 Pontiacs respond spectaculary to basic hot-rod stuff-4bbl carb and intake, headers and dual exhausts, gears and a mild cam. Or if you want to be really badass-Pontiac engines are externally identical from a 326 to a 455. That means a 400 or 455 is a bolt-in. And any suspension parts that fit a Camaro / Firebird fit these cars so you could build a front-wheel pulling drag racer or a corner-carving "g" machine. # 3. 1973-77 Olds Omega ( Olds V8 models ). This was Oldsmobiles version of the Nova. Again-because of GM playing musical engines because of smog laws some of these may have Chevy straight sixes, or Buick V6's, or 305 Chevys. The 305 Chevy models would be ok if you wanted to swap in a 350 / 383 / 400 small-block. The ones to look for are the 350 Olds models. Edelbrock claims 397 hp and 400 lbs of torque from their "Performer RPM" package on a 350. 400 honest hp would make the light "X" body an absolute rocket. And a 403 would be a bolt-in swap-and stock or modified 53 extra cubes would be worth a sizable boost in hp and torque. Special note-some of these will have 260 inch Olds V8s. These are a lightweight "economy" motor that wheeze out about 120 hp. Their only good use would be as a boat anchor. However-the motor mounts and all the tin-i.e. valve covers, oil pan, etc, and the accesories-p/s pump, alternator, water pump, fuel pump, etc-do interchange with a 350. This means a 350 or a 403 would be a bolt-in swap. # 4. 1975-77 Chevy Monza ( California Emissions Model ). The Monza was built from 1975-1980 and most had 4 cylinders, 3.8 V6s, and 305 Chevy V8s. However-the real gems are the '75-77 "California" V8 models. For some reason-the 305 wasn't certified for California-so if you got a V8 Monza with California emissions it had a 350!!  The buff magazines called these the "Factory V8 Vega ". They weren't rockets because they had single exhausts, 2bbl carburation and salt-flats gearing. However-those are easy fixes-some dual exhausts, a factory or aftermarket 4bbl carb and intake and swapping the 2.29:1 gears for some 3.42:1s will have you showing your taillights to those smug late '80s / early '90's "5.0" Mustang owners.  # 5. 1975-79 Ford Granada / Mercury Monarch. ( V8 models )  These cars were marketed as compact luxury cars. Again-like a lot of '70's Fords-2bbl carburation, single exhaust and salt-flats gearing made them dogs. However-they have great potential. Some had 302s and some had 351Ws under the hood, and they had 9 inch rear ends-some with rear disc brakes. Their light-about 3,300 lbs-and theres a ton of speed equipment for Small-Block Fords. Their not sexy-but with the right equipment could be very quick. # 6. 1975-79 Dodge Aspen / Plymouth Volare. ( V8 models ) These were supposed to replace the Duster and the Dart. Their light-around 3,000 lbs-and the 318 models can be made to run strong. The real trick would be find a 318 model, and go to a junkyard and find a '92-2003 360 Magnum out of a Dodge Truck or Jeep Cherokee. Their's millions of them out there. "Magnum" heads breathe better than any factory head and many aftermarket ones. Edelbrock sells 4bbl "Magnum" compatible intakes. You'd have big power for very low bucks. # 7. 1975-78 Ford Mustang II. ( 302 models ) Even a young Farrah-Fawcett-Majors, braless and barefoot in shorts and a tank-top on the hood of one of these ( Ford shamelessly used promo shots for "Charlie's Angels" in their ads ) couldn't make them cool. Again-with a 2bbl carb and salt-flats gearing they couldn't break out of the 17s in the 1/4. However-with very little work-intake, exhaust and an axle-ratio change-these light-around 2,700 lbs "Factory V8 Pintos " can really rock. # 8. 1975-78 Plymouth Sport Fury / Dodge Monaco ( 400 and 440  models ). For those who want to live out your Elwood Blues fantasies-it's got cop tires, cop shocks,....Seriously-the 2 door models are even nice-looking, and their's a ton of speed equipment available for B / RB Mopar engines. If your short on cash this may be the only way you can experience big-block Mopar thunder-definitely way cheaper than any Road Runner or Charger you'd see. None of these cars are sexy-but they can all be wicked fast for low bucks. Mastermind