More "Phantom" cars.....

Here's some more "Phantom" cars that the dreamers just won't let die.  # 1. 1968 428CJ Mustang.  Carroll Shelby was putting Police Interceptor 428s into his GT500 Mustangs in 1967-68, even offering dual quads as an option. Since the 390 was an option and all "FE" engines are externally identical a 428 was a bolt-in swap. Bob Tasca of Tasca Ford had great success drag racing a 428 Mustang and was instrumental in convincing Ford to offer the 428 in the 1969 Mustang. Rumors persist that there were "a few" built for 1968. However I have never seen one or a build sheet or a window sticker for one or a Marti report.  If someone can produce documentation, I will stand corrected, but until then I will say these don't exist.  # 2. 1970 Boss 429 Cougar.  Boss 429 Mustangs were built to homologate the engine for NASCAR racing. They started life as 428 models and were sent to Kar Kraft for the conversion, which required extensive modifications. Only 1359 were built in 1969-70 and Ford lost money on every one. Two Boss-Nine Cougars were built for drag racers "Dyno" Don Nicholsen and "Fast" Eddie Schartmann. Neither had much success. Nicholsen pulled the Boss 429 and replaced it with an SOHC 427 Ford and won some races. Schartmann used his car in tuning clinics for a while. Nicholsen's car turned up a few years ago. The collector has a Boss-nine and a cammer 427, but neither are the original engine or the Nicholsen race motor. Another collector is trying to restore Scharmann's car. Anyhow-these are the only two, there was never a production version.  # 3. 1970 "W31" Cutlass Rallye 350. The Rallye 350 was an "insurance beater " like the Pontiac T37 Tempest. The Rallye package included a super loud Sebring yellow paint job, body colored bumpers, a "Judge" style rear spoiler and special striping. Power was-duh-a 350 V8 rated at 310 hp backed by a 4-speed or a TH350. 3,527 were built. Contrary to rumors these cars were not a 442, and were not "Almost the 1970 Hurst / Olds". Hurst was not involved in any way shape or form. Rumors also persist that 10 or 12 were built with the vaunted "W31" 350 which featured upgraded cylinder heads, an aluminum high-rise intake and a hot 308 degree cam so radical that the engine was only available with a 4-speed and 3.90:1 or 4.33:1 gears.  However-again-I hate to sound like a broken record-but I have never seen one or a build sheet or window sticker for one, and no magazine or Olds executive or engineer has ever verified one. As far as anyone knows all 3,527 have the standard Olds 350. # 4. 1971 Challenger T/A. This package was listed in early '71 sales literature, and there was even a full-page ad in Motor Trend. However the car in the ad was a '70 model, and a '71 grille was airbrushed in. When Ford pulled out of Trans-Am racing for '71 ( that's why there was no '71 Boss 302 ) Chrysler did too. Without the racing tie-in, the brass decided they didn't need to make a production version. Also the '71 R / T striping looks a lot like the '70 T/A striping.  But there were none built. The 340 Six-Pack T/A package was only offered in 1970.  # 5. 1973 Super Duty Pontiacs. In early 1973 sales literature the SD-455 was listed as optional in the GTO, LeMans, Grand Am and Gran Prix models as well as Trans-Am and Formula Firebirds. In a colossal goof "Cars" magazine made the SD-455 '73 GTO their "Car of the Year".  However-the engine had trouble passing emissions with the hot RAIV cam, so it was swapped for the milder RAIII cam and horsepower was down-rated from 310 to 290. They also had trouble with the connecting rod supplier, and EGR valve function.  Finally, in April 1973 the engine was EPA certified in the Firebird line only. Only 295 were built-252 in T/A's and another 43 in Formulas. Another 943 were sold in '74 T/A's.  So anyone with a 455 powered '73 Grand Prix or Grand Am,LeMans or GTO has the standard 250 hp 455. It may be a tire-fryer, but if they claim it's a Super Duty, their lying.  # 6. 1975 455HO Trans-Am. These cars technically exist. I say technically because of the story behind the car. Catalytic Converters slaughtered performance for everyone. Later on, engineers realized the bottleneck was not the converter itself, but the fact that the exhaust went into one pipe before entering it. 1975 was the low point for everyone. When the '75 models were introduced the only engine in a Trans-Am was a 400 that wheezed out 185 hp. A far cry from the 290hp SD-455 of the year before. The buff magazines howled bloody murder. Pontiac responded by introducing the "455HO" Performance Package. It included a 455 V8, a 4-speed and a 3.23:1 posi rear end. The buff magazines howled again. The motor was not the 455HO of '71-72 that had RAIV heads, intake and exhaust manifolds and the "068" cam that made 335 hp ( 300 net ) and 480 lbs of torque at 2,700 rpm. This was a 7.6:1 compression "station wagon" 455 that wheezed out 200 hp. Of the 23,000 T/A's sold that year, only 857 had this package. At least Pontiac was trying. For '76 it was simply called "455 Performance Package" and the buff magazines were happier that they weren't desecrating a legendary moniker. ( GM was shameless
 at this. The low point was the '79 Hurst / Olds when they hung the "W30" moniker on a 350 V8 that wheezed out 160 hp ).  Of the 46,000 T/A's sold in '76,  7,528 had 455s.  The others were all 400s.  # 7. 1978 Dodge Li'l Red Express. In November 1977 Car and Driver had a "Double the Double Nickel" article-i.e. testing cars that could go 110 mph or faster.  The 1/2 ton Dodge Pickup blew the doors off both an L82 Corvette and a WS6 Trans-Am in a drag race. However-the "Prototype" Li'l Red Express had a 360 V8 with Nascar W2 heads, the hot cam out of the old 340 Six-Pack, a Holley Double Pumper carb mounted on an aluminum single-plane Holley "Street Dominator" intake, and catalyst-free dual exhaust. Needless to say-production examples with a standard 360 with stock heads and cam and a Carter Thermo-Quad on an Iron manifold were substantially slower!!  Dodge sold a few thousand "Little Red Trucks" in '78-79, but none of them had the kickass motor of the "Prototype!!"  Mastermind