This site is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of 1960's and '70's Musclecars. I will answer any and all questions about what is original, and what are "Period Correct" modifications. I will also post my personal opinion about what is and is not proper. People are encouraged to debate me or share their own opinions or experiences.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
"Cross-Breeding" is not Blasphemy.....
I was pleased to read in a buff magazine about a guy that bought an unrestored '57 Chevy race car that had a blown 389 Pontiac in it. By blown, I mean supercharged. Apparently the car was first raced in 1962, with a Pontiac engine, and was raced clear up until the '80's always with a Pontiac engine. Refreshingly, the new owner says he's going to restore the car as it was raced, and keep the Pontiac powertrain. Very cool. Much cooler than spending umpteen thousands trying to make it "original". Purists rage against cross-breeding as blasphemous, but that's how hot rodding started. In the '50's many people put Cadillac V8s into Studebaker Coupes and ran them at Bonneville. Tons of guys put small-block Chevys into '32-34 Fords. I remember in the '60's and '70's seeing a lot of engine swaps. Ford guys hated it, but I have seen many '53-56 Ford F100 pickups with Camaro or Chevelle front clips-( which gives modern power steering and front disc brakes ) and small or big-block Chevy motivation. I saw a lot of '60's Chevy / GMC pickups with 389 / 400 / 421 / 428 Pontiac engines under the hood. Car Craft and Hot Rod featured a '64 Cutlass with a vicious tunnell-rammed 454 Chevy in it, and a '64 Tempest with a Mondello-built 425 Olds that ran high 10s. For a while in the '70's and '80's V8 Vegas and V8 Pintos were all the rage. Popular Hot Rodding had a project car that was a Chevy Luv pickup with a 350 V8 swapped in. My cousin bought a Datsun SPL311 ( the two-seat roadster that looks like an MG ) that had a 215 inch Aluminum Buick V8 in it. It was seriously quick. A couple guys I know put 500 inch Cadillac V8s into a '78 Monte Carlo and an '81 Firebird respectively. They were low-budget, and really quick. Sometimes you have a car laying around, and an engine and tranny laying around, and you think hmmm....Now granted, I still think anyone who puts a modern LS motor into a numbers-matching SS Chevelle or GTO, or a Ford Coyote into a numbers-matching Mach 1, should be crucified. However, if they do it to a beater Malibu or Tempest or Fairlane, who cares? If you want to buy a '69 Cutlass-( not a 442 or H / O!! ) that someone previously swapped a Rat Motor into, and the price is right, go for it. It's a piece of hot rod history too. Mastermind
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