In 1972 Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins blew everyone away at the Winternationals when he upset the dominating Chrysler Hemi 'Cuda of Sox&Martin with his 327 powered Vega. Through out the '70's and early '80's V8 Vegas were very popular-my dad and I built one when I was in high school. Other drag racers followed Jenkins lead-Bob Glidden had a wicked 351 Cleveland powered Pinto that won a bunch of races. V8 Pintos weren't quite as popular-but they were out there, and were actually easier to build than the Vegas-they required less fabrication. I dated a girl who had a 289 Pinto that was a rocket. Other guys didn't use the subcompacts-but they went the compact route. Sox&Martin had a Duster and "Dyno" Don Nicholson had a Maverick that won a bunch of races in the early '70's. The reason I bring it up is I was looking through a magazine and they had a "40 years ago today.." article that had pictures of a lot of these cars. It got me thinking-nobody's fighting with machetes for old Mavericks or Pintos, Vegas or Dusters-( unlike Camaros and Firebirds, Mustangs and 'Cuda / Challengers ). So you could build one really cheap. A Maverick rear end will bolt right into a Pinto / Mustang II and will handle up to 400 or so hp, as will a C4 automatic. So if you build a hot 302 combo your covered. A V8 Monza rear will bolt right in a Vega. 8 3/4 rears are easy enough to find for a Dart / Duster. An besides the possibility of building a hot 360 Magnum stroker, Mopar Performance makes crossmembers to install a 383 / 400 / 440 / Hemi. Other possibilities are other GM "X" bodies. Any Pontiac Ventura with a 350 Pontiac can accept a 400 / 455 as a bolt-in swap. Any Olds Omega with a 350 can accept a 403 as a bolt-in swap and 53 extra cubes definitely helps-all other things being equal. Radiused fenderwells, missing front bumpers, primer finishes, loud exhaust- these cars can be Jules' Wallet from Pulp Fictiion- a bad mofo-because no one cares about them to begin with. Others would be late 70's or early '80's Ford Fairmonts, late '70's Dodge Aspens and Plymouth Volares. Cheap Modern day "Rat Rods." Mastermind
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