Homebuilt Muscle

Turning the clock back a bit, last summer we asked you to send in pictures of your muscle cars. We told you we'd print all of them that were fit to print-which we did in our January issue. We opened the crates of mail, and we discovered gold. As we rushed our readers' rides to print, we felt a little sad that we couldn't delve deeper into some of the more bang-for-the-buck cars-the ones here in this story. These dozen were the gold at the bottom of the pan-the very same ones you've been dying for us to bring you.

As we said, building a fast street car on a budget is easier said than done-witness the fact that we agreed to publish all readers' rides in our January issue, then were only able to cull these 12 cars from about 275 total entries. Building on a budget ain't easy, folks. These examples range from a few thousand dollars, to just somewhere north of $30K. (Factoid: In our readers' rides photo contest, the median amount readers reported they spent on their finished cars was about $27K-and they were probably cooking the books at that.) What separates these from the rest is that these 12 owners all pound on their cars at the track. They've also done a great job visually-and in doing so have spent wisely. Beyond that, all 12 were willing to brave the winter cold, and get us some additional photography.

There will inevitably be cries of foul play. Other than one Chevy-powered AMC, they're all GM. If we had our druthers, there'd be equal parts Ford and Mopar. All 12 are also heavily street/strip biased. We'd love to see more Pro Touring action, but based on the pool of reader rides we got, we'd need to raise the cost bar to add the g-Machines. It appears that good-looking, serious-performing budget Pro Touring machines are still pretty rare. (Brent Jarvis' '68 Chevelle is probably the closest we're going to come-and can be seen on the previous page, our cover, and elsewhere in this issue.) That said, we haven't given up the search for Fords, Mopars, or budget g-Machines. Those guys are out there somewhere, and if they want to make themselves known to us, there's ink in our barrel and paper on our press just waiting for them.

One last parting thought. While most in this dozen are homebuilt, a few aren't. The lesson to be learned here is that there are bargains out there. All other things being equal, it's always better to have good bargain-hunting skills in addition to whatever other car-building skills you may have.

Standing next to this Artesian Turquoise '65, Dominick knew that day had come. It didn't take long for a deal to be struck that kept the Chevelle off the auction block. Now at home in his garage, Dominick has decided to keep the mods minimal to preserve the Chevelle's unrestored feel.

That doesn't mean that it's not enjoyed, however; besides joy rides through the streets of Gurnee, Dominick occasionally runs it in the NMCA Nostalgia Muscle Car class, where the mildly built 396 has returned a best of 11.92 at 115 mph. We like that poetic justice; Dominick got his 11-second Chevelle after all.

Jim's best race, however, was actually a loss. In the other lane was his 81-year-old dad in his 16-second Seville. The elder Alcorn was surprisingly quick on the light and Jim ended up breaking out of his time trying to catch up. Jim says, "He had the biggest smile, and I will cherish that moment and memory forever."

When Rich laid eyes on it again the cheap paint was showing plenty of wear. Nevertheless, the body was still solid and the $14K price, which included lots of parts and the original engine, was fair, so Rich settled for a '69.

Nowadays, Rich says the finished Chevelle continually strikes awe in him, and a twist of the key makes him feel like he's 18 again. His favorite thing to do, however, is to toss the keys to his daughters, Katie (20) and Kelli (18), when they're out at the track or cruise night together, and watch the stunned faces of guys as they drive it around.

To make this dream car a reality on his budget, however, David had to reallocate the engine planned for his first GS project into the tubbed beast. Of course he had to make sure it could earn those massive meats and send the Brand X'ers packing, so the wick was turned up on the engine build with much higher compression, more lift, and tighter lobe centers, and the highest head flow numbers he could get from the Buick boys at TA Performance.

Since David's a specialist in electronic design, he hardwired an Innovative LC-1 wideband sensor and mounted it in the radio delete plate so he can make sure the tune is mint at all times. We like that kind of dedication.

Thanks to his tuning persistence, the radical build was tamed, and David says the GS has surprising torque throughout the rpm range and idles at 1,000 rpm even when cold. Plus, he carries a 14:1 air/fuel ratio at easy cruising speeds, which has managed to net him a wallet-bruising 6 mpg.

While browsing the AMCcars.net forum, Frederick came across a complete and rust free, but disassembled, '70 AMX. After corresponding with the owner and determining it was a good deal, Frederick rented a box truck and trailer, and braved snow and black ice from Maryland to Ohio to retrieve it. When he arrived, he was surprised and delighted to find it in climate-controlled storage with loads of extra parts-plus all the little stuff was bagged and labeled. We only wish we were that lucky.

AMX's are unique muscle cars by design, so Frederick's modern engine choice was equally distinctive: an LT4. The swap was straightforward, thanks to help from a fellow AMC fan with two small-block-powered AMCs. Of course, stock LT4 power wasn't muscle car worthy, so Morris Machine in Manchester, Maryland, was tapped to freshen it up and slide in a COMP Cams XFI bumpstick.

True to his plans, Frederick says he drives the AMX as often as possible to work, cruises, shows, and recently the dragstrip. To his surprise, he easily snagged a 12.83 at 105 mph. Not bad for just dropping the 4L60E in Drive and mashing the pedal.

Mike knew what 442s, W-30s, and Hurst Olds were, but he'd never heard of an SX. After a little research, he found that it was a package only offered in '70 and '71, and that there were only 357 convertibles made in '71. Sounds like a candidate for stock restoration, at least according to many Olds aficionados he's run across, but Mike's plan was to enjoy the Olds-its rarity be damned.

Still, the purists balk. An SX convertible owner at the Olds Nationals with a concours-perfect resto gave Mike an earful about what he'd done to his car and its value. Mike laughed and told him that car was built for his enjoyment, not anyone else's. That guy would probably have a conniption if he knew about Mike's future engine and rollcage plans.

The major sideswipe crunch caused the Camaro to darken Brad's garage for almost two years while he waited for a run of full quarters from Classic Industries, but in the meantime he was planning the replacement for the anemic 307. Beginning with a blown 454 pulled from a van, Brad had the block bored .060-over and all the machine and balance work finished at a local shop, and then set about assembling the short-block in his garage. Using a book by PHR tech contributor David Vizard, Brad also worked his own magic on a set of cast-iron oval-port heads, eventually achieving his goal of 300 cfm at .600 lift according to a Super Flow 300 flow bench. Not bad for a rookie.

That's a long time for a gearhead to be without a toy, but we think the result was worth the wait. With a modest $15K investment, Brad got a second-gen F-body that he can easily drive 100 miles to the track, air down the tires, and run 11.39 at 118.8 mph.

As soon as he got it home, however, Josh proceeded to rip out the suspension and upgrade it with S-10 spindles, brakes, and a complete rearend since it's an easy junkyard swap for stronger parts. Next, the engine and trans made way for a basically stock Chevy 355ci short-block and a Turbo 350. The first iteration was intentionally mild since it was subject to smog regulations at the time, and Josh drove it daily to Arizona State University, reportedly getting about 10 mpg.

Mid 12s have been no problem, but now that Arizona has loosened the smog noose, and he's bought a separate daily driver, Josh has plans for making the Astre more of a dragstrip terror with a bigger cam, higher stall converter, and better headers. Other than that, Josh basically considers it done and still enjoys driving it as much as he did the first time. Plus, he also enjoys all the reminiscing when he takes it out; you don't see Astres much anymore, but a lot of people who see Josh's GT seem to have memories of them to share.

In the 32 years since then, Jim's Monza hasn't changed much, and has only covered an amazingly paltry 27K miles. The paint and interior are both original and near showroom fresh. We wouldn't hesitate to say this has to be the most perfectly preserved and optioned Monza out there. "This is my secret for building some budget muscle," Jim says. "Buy a new car 32 years ago, buy speed parts at '70s and '80s prices, and most important of all, never sell your ride!"

After losing a lifter, wiping a lobe on the cam, and damaging the crank with the debris, Dan pulled the basically stock 454, and decided to keep it street friendly, but make it a more fun ride at the local eighth-mile strip. Working in his garage with his friend, Todd Huffstetler, Dan rebuilt the big-block with oval-port heads, 9.5:1 Sealed Power pistons, and a Lunati cam. Behind that went a Turbo 400 upgraded with ATI internals and a set of 4.56 cogs in the 9-inch Ford rear. Since less rotational mass equals speed, Dan also upgraded to a lighter set of wheels.

All in all, the upgrades weren't expensive or extensive, but they served to both make the car his own creation, while making the Malibu much more fun to drive on the street, and capable of ripping off mid 7s in the eighth-mile.

Until 1995 that is. A day's worth of drag racing in the low 13-second range took out the 396, leaving Ryan the perfect excuse to build a better big-block. First, the Chevelle was stripped down and treated to a fresh coat of Quasar Blue Metallic, then BES Racing assembled a 427ci big-block using parts Ryan had been collecting at swap meets. Paired with a Turbo 350 with a 4,000-stall converter and M/T ET Streets, Ryan usually got one low 11-second pass per night before being canned for not having a rollcage. That setup provided trouble-free fun for the next 10 years.

Nowadays, with a good job as a machinist and programmer, Ryan decided to pull the 427 for a mild freshening of the bearing, rings, and gaskets at BES. This time, however, once the engine came home, the Muncie was retuned to its rightful place behind it. Why? Because it's more fun grabbing gears in an 11-second street car!

After swapping sheetmetal and doing a little bodywork, Corey had it sprayed black and drove it all through high school, to work, prom, and date nights with his then girlfriend Karen. The summer before college, Corey built a budget 383 using everything possible from the original 305, and swapped the 2.42 cogs for 3.42s and an Eaton posi. It continued daily duties and 250-mile trips from his college to see Karen, but the new power also got Corey interested in drag racing and a little canyon carving with the local Euro tuner cars.

Currently, Corey is a physics graduate student at Wake Forest University, and the Malibu is still his one and only car, and it's still making 250-mile trips every weekend to visit his wife, Karen, while she finishes her degree as well. Sure, he'd like to be wrenching and improving the Malibu again, but for now, he's just enjoying driving a unique rod that's only cost him one starter in the past seven years. "I didn't know what a Malibu was when I got it, but you can bet it has turned into my most beloved vehicle," Corey says. "I will hold onto this car for a long time."