is this a difficult task? kinda long!

ive been brainstorming on what vehicle i should choose for a street/strip machine. i have narrowed it down to two eligible vehicles and was hoping some people had some insight on which is more cost effective to build. here we go. i want to do a small vehicle v-8 conversion and i cant decide between a vega or an 80s model s-10 pickup. i have researched them both but was wondering if anyone has done or had a buddy do a similar buildup. want to run a 350 ci bored .020-.030 run a stroker kit, and i was talked into using some later model vortec heads. top it off with a dual plane intake and an edelbrock 650. i have found motor mounts for both vehicles but im not sure how much effort it will take to bolt up a ford 9" or chevy 10 or 12 bolt. any help will be appreciated

hmmmm. Most of the Vega's were little more than rusted out junk when they were new, doubt they are in much better condition now.... An S-10 is a typical light in the back end non traction wonder. Without a quality 4-bar set-up and some meaty meats, about all they're good for with some horsepower in them is big smokey burnouts. Both projects have been built repeatedly by countless rodders. Not meaning to burst your bubble, but as long as you are in the planning stages, why not plan something unique that hasn't allready been done by so many others??? I like to build unique cars and not wind up at a stoplight beside the clone to mine!!!!! JMO

glad you mentioned that. if i had the money i would do a buildup on a dart. owned one a few years back but had to sell. not many around and would make one heck of a street/ strip machine. my only concern is the cost of building a mopar. its insane. maybe thats why im staying in this norm. i want to build a small car but the availability of most products for them kind of stink. any other recommendations?

Heck, build what you really want. If it cost more that just means you have to want it more and work a little harder and longer to get it. Trust me, nothing worse than getting into a project that you don't really want!!!!

Inexpensive and fast usually don't fit in the same sentence. :HMMM:

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Originally posted by pro70z28
Inexpensive and fast usually don't fit in the same sentence. :HMMM:

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Can I quote you on that? Ooops, never mind, I already did.

alright. i think im being misunderstood. by inexpensive i mean bang for the buck sort of products. why buy an expensive part for my car when its not going to benefit me much. i want horsepower first, then to fine tune the traction issues which are immenent. obviously i want something streetable too so im not looking for anything highly modified or too pricey. i want it to be a toy for the strip. a safe place to get the urge to speed out of me. im not looking for a racecar. just want to run mid to high twelves which should not be difficult in such a light weight vehicle if i can solve traction issues.

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Originally posted by jus_1982
glad you mentioned that. if i had the money i would do a buildup on a dart. owned one a few years back but had to sell. not many around and would make one heck of a street/ strip machine. my only concern is the cost of building a mopar. its insane. maybe thats why im staying in this norm. i want to build a small car but the availability of most products for them kind of stink. any other recommendations?

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Funny you mention Dart. As I was reading the first two posts, I was thinking Dart! I think they can be pretty cool. There is one here in the local paper that I was fantisizing about myself.
Agree that there are a lot of good choices, probably better than the Vega or S-10.
There is an early falcon station wagon in a used car place that has been there the last year. It is in ugly shape, but looks straight and rust free. Been thinking about that too.
Lots of possibilities.

like i said earlier a dart would be my dream to build, just not now. i am a young guy still trying to find a groove before i go trying to build a dream car. the dart is an underappreciated rod and i want to see it get its fair share of heads turning. i have alot of rodbuilding experience for my age but never done one completely by myself. just looking for a cheap toy to have fun with and learn a little bit.

Valiant with a 360/904

Yeah Valiant. That sounds even better than Dart.

I did the Vega thing years ago years ago. I had a 73 wagon, and thought it would make a cute pick-up truck (as I recall I was drinking kind of heavily back then:LOL: ). Anyway I ran a bunch of engines in it over the years, ended up with a 327 3 dueces /4spd/8"ford Rear end. I think it would be kind of a neat project as you don't see them around anymore.

A couple of draw backs to keep in mind. The front disc brakes are really small and I'm not aware of any inexpensive conversions for them. The rear suspension is a coil spring type, and I've never had much luck getting those to hook up compared to leaf springs.

I also did a 65 Dart at one point (same platform as the Valiant). The small block Chrysler motors are a bolt in as would be an A833 4 speed like I was running. Biggest draw back is exhaust. Your stuck with either very restrictive 273 Dart Valiant only manifolds or federwell headers.

If your not married to the Chevy engine thing here's a thought.
If I was going to build another really hot street/strip car I would likely do another V8 Pinto. Here the formula I would use:

71-73 Coupe body (the one with the trunk instead of the hatch and the thin and light ribbon bumpers). It's the lightest and most rigid.

SB Ford, either a buillt 351W or 302 (I would likely start with a 351 and build the biggest stroker I could). The engine is a bolt in using 75--78 Mustang II mounts. Headers are available thru Hooker for ewither the 302 or 351.

Upgrade the brakes with 75-up Mustang II spindels (There a bit beffier than the earlier Pinto/74 Mustang II units) and add 11 Disc brakes (the conversion is fairly cheap and readily available). I would also upgrade the front springs to 78 Mustang II V8/AC springs (also readily available and a bolt in. If you also wanted to go around corners, the Must II sway bars are a bolt on.

I back the engine up with a SB C6.

Finally a 9" is almost a bolt in (spring perch relocation is sometimes needed). A 57-59 Ford SW rear end is exactly the right width, but it seems that back in the day we also got by some other 60's (' housing by using the wheels with the right offset. Although a 4 link would be ideal, you can get buy with the stock leaf springs and traction bars.

Just a thought :whacked: :whacked:

I have also done the V-8 Vega thing. Was a neat car and I actually did the swap while I was in Germany with the USAF. There are kits around that take care of most of the engineering for you. Your challenge will be finding a suitable car. A similar choice would be a Chevy monza, they are sleeker looking but have a lot of the same components, plus Chevy built some with factory V-8s. You don't see a lot of either of these cars around any more. You might even find one of these that was a former race car and has a lot of the suspension work done. Then your challenge would be making it street legal and streetable again.

As for the S-10, that is a popluar swap and a lot of them are showing up with the late model EFI small blocks in them. Go to Google and do a search on V8 S-10 and I bet you will find a lot of info.

One more thought, if I was gonna do a budget street strip car a 62-65 Nova would be hard for me not to pick. They are still available, are light weight, lots of parts around and with the leaf spring suspension can be set up for decent traction. The 66-67 are nice too, but more expensive due to demand.

Good luck with your project

Pat

Bang for the buck? Mid 70's nova, light ,cheap, and plenty of used speed equipment around due to a lot of camaro parts interchange. Carlg

Gremlin w/ 305 and 4 speed or 5 speed:cool: :whacked: hehehe

When I was a kid the junkyard I frequented had an MG miget sittin' not too far from the front door of the office. Little cracker box that I thought would be a nice container for a SBC. Never happened tho. Junkyard went out of bus. and most of the old cars where crushed (By order of city officials).:CRY:

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Originally posted by Troglodyte
Gremlin w/ 305 and 4 speed or 5 speed:cool: :whacked: hehehe

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How about a 401. Randall AMC/Jeep used to do the engine swap and sell 'em new as a dealer-installed option.

There is an ugly little green Gremlin around here with a 350 in it. All set up for drag racing and has the crappiest paint job and everything. It looks to be all motor so heh. Has two carbs sitting up top and big slicks, etc. Move the engine back about 6 inches or more and then put the seats way in the back and that thing would haul some butt I bet. I think they are ugly but hell, if it's fast then who cares. Now if it were me I would do a wagon.

thanks for all the posts guys. good ideas. ive being thinking about my dart i had growing up as a teenager and it has got me thinking i should go for it. a dart, valiant, early baracudda. but i am almost set on doing a chevy build up because of the availability and price of parts. 62-64 nova would be sweet and so would a later 70s model. my plans of a vega or even a monza are almost out the window. i would like to go 65 baraccuda because my dad told me it was one of the best small cars he had owned. and did drag race one for years and held the state stock et title for his class for a good while. i just would hate to spend a ton of cash building a 360, when a sb chevy has so many more options. i may have to throw cost to the wind and do a cuda with a 318 for a while and take my time building a 360. what do you all think?

After pricing Mopar stuff, I think a Cuda/Valiant with a 406 Chevy would be just the ticket.

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Originally posted by techinspector1
After pricing Mopar stuff, I think a Cuda/Valiant with a 406 Chevy would be just the ticket.

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Nice suggestion! I'd do that.

I'd trash the chebbie engine, and put a Blue Oval 408 stroker motor in it. But hey, I've been accused of bleeding Blue Oval Blue Blood !!!!!!!!!

O.K., Just to be different, I'll suggest a 1 cyl. Maytag engine. HEHEHE

Actually i'd have to vote for the BBC. I bleed horsepower ..... mmmm... I mean bowtie orange. :whacked: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

sorry guys i am completely bias to using a mopar engine for a mopar restore. or chevy for chevy, or ford for ford. so what should i use for a 65 cuda, 66-72 dart or valiant. i am thinking 360 but could i push a 318 to run low 13's. what u guys think

I haven't done a lot of Mopars, but I did do a Plymouth Scamp with a raspy 340 in it, it ran VERY strong.....and yes, I left it the original light metallic green color with the scamp decal!!!!

I know how you can please everybody here and make a fast car. Start with a 400 Mopar block, offset grind a 440 crank for it. Use big block Chevy rods that are bored on the pin end to hang 429 Ford pistons. No kidding, makes a 470 inch motor and pleases everybody. Top it off with Indy heads/intake and you're good to go.

A Mordevy ........... I like it. :)

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Originally posted by Dave Severson
I haven't done a lot of Mopars, but I did do a Plymouth Scamp with a raspy 340 in it, it ran VERY strong.....and yes, I left it the original light metallic green color with the scamp decal!!!!

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Me either, only a couple, but I'm told that the 340 heads were the best that the Pentastar boys ever casted up.

I was still doing machine shop stuff then, with my feeble memory I don't remember what the flow numbers were on the heads, good numbers though. The heads were an original set of 340 six pack heads off a rollover. Real quick rpm.