Chasing performance enhancing used parts is a lost art.....

Everything you read in the buff magazines today, whether it's a magazine project car or a "Reader's Ride" costs $50,000-$100,000 or more. Granted, they do feature some really cool stuff, but 90% of us could never afford to buy or build a car like that. Even their "Budget" articles can be annoying. Especially when they pull crap like "Hey what about that set of ported and polished Brodix Aluminum heads we almost forgot we had?"  I remember even in the late 90's Super Chevy had a series called "Project Cheap Shot". They bought a Nova for $1,500. Their goal was to get it to run 10 second 1/4s for under $10,000, including the purchase price of the car. They almost made it. The car did run high 10s when they were done, but they went $700 over budget. Still, a 10 second car for under 11 grand is pretty awesome. They serialized the build and it was very interesting. The Nova they had was a 350 / TH350 model. They decided the engine had good enough compression and didn't use oil, so they opted to NOT rebuild it and save money by hopping it up with bolt-on parts. They installed a Comp Cams 270H Magnum cam,lifters and springs and a new timing chain. They went with '81-86 305 heads. Their 58cc combustion chambers ( most 350s are 76cc ) would bump compression from 8.2:1 to about 9.6:1 which is about the limit with iron heads and cheap gas anyway. They bought headers and a used Holley 300-36 intake at a swap meet, along with a 3310 Holley carb. They bought a 2,500 rpm B&M torque converter and a shift kit for the trans, and they also bought a small nitrous system. What I thought was really cool is they did use a 9 inch Ford rear end, but it wasn't a $3,300 custom Currie unit. They bought it out of a junkyard out of a '70 Cougar. They had done some careful measuring, and the Cougar rear was not only the same width as the Nova's, the spring mounts were in the same place!!  It was practically a bolt-in!  They did spend $150 for some new 4.10:1 gears.  When it was all done, the car ran 10.70's on the nitrous and low 12s on the motor.  I'd say they hit it out of the park.  I'd like to see more projects like this. Maybe make the limit $25,000 including the price of the car. A friend if mine has a bitchin' Olds Cutlass built this way. It's a '64 model, but it's a Cutlass, not a 442. He swapped the 330 / ST300 powertrain for a 403 / TH350 combo. 73 more cubes and a 3-speed trans instead of a 2-speed made a stunning improvement in performance and drivability.  He used '70's Camaro / Firebird front spindles and installed front disc brakes along with the booster and master cylinder. He installed the front and rear sway bars from a '75 Gran Prix. He installed a fast-ratio power steering box from an '84 Trans-Am.  These changes gave a spectacular improvement in handling and braking performance.  He's running 16" American Racing Torq-Thrusts and 245 / 50VR16 Comp T/A's.  It's an awesome sleeper. It looks like a stock '64 Cutlass with mag wheels. But in a drag race or the twisties he doesn't have to take crap from little boys in their rice rockets or yuppies in 3 series BMW Turbos.  And it was built almost entirely with junkyard parts. I think that's really cool.  An invaluable tool is the Hollander interchange manual. This is the "Bible" that junkyards nationwide use to determine which parts fit which cars. For example the Trans-Am steering box my friend used will fit any GM "A" or "G" body from 1964-87, any F-body from '67-92, and any "X" body from '68-79.  Some other diamonds- 1975-77 Vegas used a Saginaw 4-speed trans with a 3.11 1st gear and a 2.02 2nd. This trans was also used in Chevy Monzas, Buick Skyhawks, Olds Starfires, and Pontiac Sunbirds from '75-81.  I wouldn't put one behind a big-block, but they'll stand up to a small-block with up to about 350 hp.  1980 Z/28s and '81-82 Z/28s and T/A's used a BW T10 with a 3.44 1st gear and a 2.28 second. Again, I wouldn't put one behind a 600 hp 572, but they'll stand up to about 400 hp. Ford Ranger pickups use the same 8.8 inch axle as the vaunted Mustang. There's all kinds of "Junkyard Jewels" that can make big performance gains for little or no bucks. You just have to look. Mastermind