The Rustlass isnt so rusty

[SteveMcqueenRules]

well it may not be a lateral g freindly car but I want to basically emulate a 1963 super duty tempest. The car was originally white with blue interior so that's what it will get. Pretty much be a stock car except for the 350 instead of the 330 it would have had originally. Interior all stock. I want to go with a 4speed but I think a 200r4 will be much cheaper.
I want it to look like sort of a "what if" car like as if it was new and I was rodding it. it will be like a super stock drag car. I think after I get some more money like when I graduate I will invest in some suspension bits and take the car in a more lateral g friendly build. But no matter what I want to keep it basically stock except be alot faster and handle like a racer.
these cars are inspirations for each stage.
cant find a better picture of the gray ghost

this is a diecast but you get the idea for the first stage

[deuce_454]

too cool ! please do a 49 quaker state replica!... 15 inch minilites and clever suspension tuning will get you there.... would be an awesome car!

not sure about the 200r4 being cheaper though, a supert10 4 speed isnt that expensive used, and you can come far cheap in the suspension department if you box the stock controll arms and substitute dollars for sense...

you can get some raced once or twice nascar stuff very very cheap on ebay, and since you look to be handy with a welder you could do a truck arm rear and SC&C stg 2 front for less than 1k,

paint it yourself and drive the doors off it

[GNXTREME]

Cool machine....but go straight for the "Lateral G " version!!!!!
Very cool very different!!!!

[70rs]

Awesome build! So nice to see a car that is not too common. I love the Camaros (I own a 70) and Chevelles, but your car is too cool! It's going to be killer when done! The Super Duty clone or even just some of it for inspiration is a great idea for sure!

[SteveMcqueenRules]

From the beginning I just wanted to keep it really simple and cheap so I thought I would emulate a 60's drag car because it doesn't require a lot of cash to do it. basically just get some big block springs and some slicks in the back.

But knowing me I would probably get bored with that after a while and I have wanted to get into track days and autocross and stuff like that and there are a lot of suspension improvements for these cars. I have been a fan of the american cars racing Trans Am and this one


But parts cost money and I don't have a whole lot but I got a welder and some panel fab skills so for now I just need to fix the rust.

Thanks for all the kind words. I was pretty sure my car would just be laughed at because of all the beautiful cars like Bad Penny and others. My low buck car looks like a pile of puke compared to cars like that.

[SteveMcqueenRules]

Now to pull the motor/trans. Maybe fix the rust on the quarter panels. Whoa that was a lot of welding!
I wish I was doing something cool like bolting on some fancy brakes or a bunch of cool suspension parts, but I am just glad to have solid floors!

[ProTouring442]

Looks like a cool project!

A couple of random thoughts...

Since you're planning on running a 350 Olds and would like a manual transmission, how about a WC T-5? I don't remember all the details, but I seem to recall that you can run one in a GM car without too much difficulty, and the expense should be quite low.

On the rear suspension, how about a torque-arm? You should be able to fab one up fairly easy, it will let you run stock style exhaust, and they work pretty well. Camaro/Firebird used them from 1982 through to the end.

2 choices I can think of on the front that will not cost a ton. 1st is to use tall ball joints and SC&C uppers. The second is a little more interesting, but...

Graft the front frame from a 1977-up B-body (Impala, Eighty-Eight, Parisienne, tec.) This is pretty much the same suspension used in the 2nd-gen Firebird/Camaro, and you can adapt big brakes to it quite easily.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

[SteveMcqueenRules]

I would love to do a manual transmission, but with my budget I am not sure buying all the conversion pieces would be very cheap. I was planning on just swapping a 200r4 or is it 2004r? in and calling it good.

I was always turned off on the T5's because there was an article in a magazine a while back and the TQ rating for them is pretty low. Maybe I am mistaken.

It would definitely be a low buck swap for someone who already has all the manual parts, and a five speed would be cool.

I thought of a torque arm sort of like what Hot Rods to Hell does. I figure my stock suspension is decent I plan on going to some stronger control arms and stuff.

Ya I think the B body spindles are the way to go. I can get em out of the junkyard and maybe run the brakes off the donor car as well.

Really haven't done much research though since I still have rust and stuff like that to fix.