THE SEVENTIES Options

[Maltese Falcon]

I ran this SS350 '69 Camaro on Sundays at Lions Dragstrip, from 1969-72. It was an AHRA track...then converted to NHRA track until the City forced its closure in 1972. This track was where Don Garlits had part of his foot blown off; wherein he hatched the idea for the engine placement behind-driver style modern AA/FD.

[Maltese Falcon]

The Camaro was a quick Straight Line car, but always had a wicked Understeer tendency in the curvy canyon roads of local hills. Sold off in 1974, for that awesomeness of a 914 !

[KELTY360]

The Camaro was a quick Straight Line car, but always had a wicked Understeer tendency in the curvy canyon roads of local hills. Sold off in 1974, for that awesomeness of a 914 !

Sounds like the call of Mulholland.

[ClayPerrine]

[
Holden just did what lots of shade tree Yanks did, but with more money. Speaking of worry-free transplants, I once saw a guy trying to shoe-horn a V8 into a Chevy Vega. I never saw it done, but I heard that the first time it was running, he floored it and twisted the engine off the home-made mounts.

]The Chevy Vega was quite capable of having a V-8 put in it. GM rebranded the Vega as the Monza, and later put a 302 V-8 into it for racing. Of course you had to drill holes in the inner fenders to change the spark plugs, but GM offered a kit with the hole saw and rubber plugs for the holes.

With stock GM parts, you could put any small block into the Vega. With the 4-cylinder rear gearing, the were monsters in a straight line. I had lots of friends in high school with V-8 Vegas.

[gandalf_025]

In High School I had a friend that bought a stripped down
Vega wagon, 2 door with the back side glass replaced with metal
panels. He bought it new and drove it till the engine failed.
Another friend then bought it from him, flared the rear fenders
and put a built 350 in it with 411 rear end gears..
Painted it black and it was an amazing budget hot rod..
As I remember he had to put ladder bars in the back to
keep the rear wheels planted..???

[rick 918-S]

I ran this on the street everyday in the Mid 70's. 66 Chevelle post. It had under 7000 miles on it when it was first turned into a race car. 427 C.I. Big Block, 12/1 compression Crower Monarch solid lifter Cam, rectangle port heads Corvette Tri-Power, 4000 stall converter, Modified Turbo 400, 4:56 gears. Stripped to the shell 6 point cage. Ran in the 11's at Brainard International Raceway.

[rick 918-S]

Another car I had back in the Mid 70's Built id from Junk. Custom mixed pearl paint.

[Maltese Falcon]

My first exposure to the Porsche horizontal fan was with this 917/30 in 1978. Otis Chandler owned it after purchasing from Roger Penske...it's the Talladega rekord car (in Sunoco livery). I won a raffle to sit in the ride-along seat at R-I-R for a 20 minute session. Fastest I've ever been on 4 wheels (200 +) on the back straight ! Then I spent several years hunting down a flat-fan assembly for my next build on the black six>>>found it in 1988.

[bkrantz]

[
Holden just did what lots of shade tree Yanks did, but with more money. Speaking of worry-free transplants, I once saw a guy trying to shoe-horn a V8 into a Chevy Vega. I never saw it done, but I heard that the first time it was running, he floored it and twisted the engine off the home-made mounts.

]The Chevy Vega was quite capable of having a V-8 put in it. GM rebranded the Vega as the Monza, and later put a 302 V-8 into it for racing. Of course you had to drill holes in the inner fenders to change the spark plugs, but GM offered a kit with the hole saw and rubber plugs for the holes.

With stock GM parts, you could put any small block into the Vega. With the 4-cylinder rear gearing, the were monsters in a straight line. I had lots of friends in high school with V-8 Vegas.

The guy I remember almost certainly did not use parts from GM or even a local speed shop. It was strictly DYI, fueled by beer.

[Maltese Falcon]

Still lots of equip out there for '70s Vega v8 swaps !