Thought experiment: Cheap and "easy" street/strip car

In reply to The_Jed:

Might be easy if you stumble across a cheap 4x4 v8 explorer cause they already have all the goodies you want, gt40p heads, 31 spline with lsd and 3.73(iirc) stock. Blend together with a $200 ford trac-lok rebuild kit, b cam and nitrous and you got a SOLID 12 second truck. Heck with some luck you might break into 12s without nitrous

A friend of mine got a complete, running 4.8L LS for $200, a built TH350 for $350 and a 1994 Camaro RS with no engine and trans for $100 for roughly the same idea. Add in a few suspension parts, good rear tires and the 76mm Chinese turbo he has, and it should get the job done.

He also has an early 2WD, standard-cab shortbed S10 that he has considered putting that drivetrain in as well, although he hates to tear the S10 apart because it's his DD at the moment.

Keep it simple. The Mustang with a stroked 302 is pretty much what you are asking for. I don't see that getting into a swap of any kind fits your reality.

I would avoid the whole project thing and go buy a nice finished one that you know will go 12's. If after a few years you get bored, I am pretty sure you can recover your $$$.

I'll agree with everyone else, older Mustang is the easy button given the low cost and high availability of go-fast parts. The swaps are harder to pull off in your timeframe, but the cheapest route to the lowest ET on the 1/4 right now is an S10 V8 swap. Probably easiest one going too, and well documented. I commonly see running V8 S10s on CL around here for challenge money. Ranger V8 is a little harder but it would be my preference as a Ford guy. Either of these make a great drag car but not as good for cruising / distance driving as the Mustang.

I'd be looking for outside-the-norm options in the midsize sedan/coupe range too. Ford Grenadas,Fairlanes, and mid eighties RWD small LTDs make good drag cars and can be found cheap but usually require a diet and a power upgrade. Same for Novas and G-bodies for GM but around here they rust faster and generally demand much higher prices.

A short bed full-size truck might be an easy way to go too. They can be made light and 12's are only a diet and a snail away with good traction.

EDIT: For Example.... 4dr 305 swapped Jimmy http://macon.craigslist.org/cto/5484459869.html

Or...Got a mopar motor laying around, some welding skills, and a recent tetanus shot? http://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/cto/5483126085.html

chiodos wrote: In reply to The_Jed: Might be easy if you stumble across a cheap 4x4 v8 explorer cause they already have all the goodies you want, gt40p heads, 31 spline with lsd and 3.73(iirc) stock. Blend together with a $200 ford trac-lok rebuild kit, b cam and nitrous and you got a SOLID 12 second truck. Heck with some luck you might break into 12s without nitrous

and they are AWD so it makes for easy launches, stall it up then just let the load pedal sing and keep it straight, wont have much, if any, tire spin to negotiate. A high stall converter would help alot to compliment the AWD.

I'm liking the S10 or Ranger idea a lot. I'm curious to know how hard it is to launch one, but I guess I could move the battery to the bed for a slight weight distribution improvement.

I think an extended cab model would be best, but even a standard cab would be okay for shorter highway jaunts.

Plus, I'd have a pickup for hauling stuff

My friends s10 ran consistent 12.20s, stock 350 bottom end. Trick flows head and intake kit. Th350 and a 10bolt with 355 gears. With 29 10.5 hoosiers in didnt have any issues hooking up just slapper bars.

My brother and I are sitting here bench racing and mustangs are hard to beat (I just don't want one).

chriswadsworth wrote: My brother and I are sitting here bench racing and mustangs are hard to beat (I just don't want one).

The fox platform was used in more then the mustang. Alot of people dont want just another mustang anymore so theres alot more fairmont/tbird/ltd etc builds going now then in the past.

The_Jed wrote:

Opti wrote:

bmw88rider wrote: Fox bodies are the easy button but they are no longer that cheap. Prices are going up. You can build out the chassis and never touch the engine and get into 12's with drag tires. It only costs about 1-2K to get one into the 12's if it's healthy.

Seriously doubt this, how are you gonna run 12s with 230hp, considering most of these are a 15 or 16 second car and a few are high 14 second cars, I doubt your gonna cut even 2 or 3 seconds off a 1/4 mile time with just chassis mods and a severe hp deficiency.

These fellas claim to have done it: They stripped it a little further than the O.P. intends, but they made it look awful easy. http://www.mustangandfords.com/featured-vehicles/m5lp-0812-1989-ford-mustang-lx/photo-gallery/

This. It's been done so many times its nearly no longer interesting.

In reply to chriswadsworth:

I'm kind of in the same boat here. I like Mustangs, but they are way too expensive around here. So are Chevy S10s, but at least it looks like I can drive 90 miles to Lexington or Louisville, and they get a lot cheaper and have less rust. Not too mention there are a bunch of them already V8 swapped for sale in Kentucky.

Were I to do a swap myself, I'd have to weigh the added cost of the swap parts versus buying a car that had an SBC in it stock.

dropstep wrote:

chriswadsworth wrote: My brother and I are sitting here bench racing and mustangs are hard to beat (I just don't want one). So true, the turbo coupe would be alot of fun. We were not limiting ourselves to mustangs or to Fox's though as we were talking about slightly later cars as well. He was even kicking around 4.6 mod Mark VIII and T-bird as well. These cars are near and dear to my heart.

The fox platform was used in more then the mustang. Alot of people dont want just another mustang anymore so theres alot more fairmont/tbird/ltd etc builds going now then in the past.

I think I do not know how to properly quote. Mercury cougar, T-bird, Turbo coupes, Mark VIII etc... both Fox and Mod 4.6s (you get the gist) These are all easy to work on and highly functional choices that can be made to go fast! I think at one point or another I have had all of the above in my life at one point or another. My first car was an 87 V6 T-bird and not too many later I ended up with a 94 V8. They are all winners in my book.

Some say... that an f2t with a bigger turbo like a holset will get you there.

edizzle89 wrote:

chiodos wrote: In reply to The_Jed: Might be easy if you stumble across a cheap 4x4 v8 explorer cause they already have all the goodies you want, gt40p heads, 31 spline with lsd and 3.73(iirc) stock. Blend together with a $200 ford trac-lok rebuild kit, b cam and nitrous and you got a SOLID 12 second truck. Heck with some luck you might break into 12s without nitrous

and they are AWD so it makes for easy launches, stall it up then just let the load pedal sing and keep it straight, wont have much, if any, tire spin to negotiate. A high stall converter would help alot to compliment the AWD.

I meant taking the goodies from the explorer to put into whatever else but you know, that's probably not a bad idea to just try to meet the goals with the explorer it came in cause like you say, awd would help. Wonder how beavy they are?

eastsidemav wrote: In reply to chriswadsworth: I'm kind of in the same boat here. I like Mustangs, but they are way too expensive around here. So are Chevy S10s, but at least it looks like I can drive 90 miles to Lexington or Louisville, and they get a lot cheaper and have less rust. Not too mention there are a bunch of them already V8 swapped for sale in Kentucky. Were I to do a swap myself, I'd have to weigh the added cost of the swap parts versus buying a car that had an SBC in it stock.

Carbed v8 into an s10 seems to be about the easiest and simplest swap out there. Couple hundred for mounts and headers, maybe a driveshaft, fuel pump if originally efi, ???.

The S10 is basically a G body, and one of the engine options was 3/4ths of a SBC, so the SBC goes in easy. For Ford the later (98+ I think) Rangers with the double wishbone front end and torsion bars (4x4s and some 2wd models) will more or less drop in a 302 with some Exploder bits. Around me stock Rangers seem to go for less than a equivalent S10.

BrokenYugo wrote: The S10 is basically a G body, and one of the engine options was 3/4ths of a SBC, so the SBC goes in easy. For Ford the later (98+ I think) Rangers with the double wishbone front end and torsion bars (4x4s and some 2wd models) will more or less drop in a 302 with some Exploder bits. Around me stock Rangers seem to go for less than a equivalent S10.

Only the front suspension is related to the G-body, and it's narrowed. But. why even swap out the 4.3L? I've seen guys make 400hp+ with a turbo on the 4.3L. In a vehicle that light with slapper bars and slicks that should get you close. For the real adventurous, use a 4WD S10 with a Bravada AWD transfer and the same engine setup and have a DIY Syclone.

In reply to chiodos:

About the same curb weight as my Mark VII. lol

In reply to NickD:

Good point, 96+ vortec head model, maybe a cam, slightly better valve springs, open the ring gaps up, port injection manifold, feed it 15 lbs or so with junkyard turbo setup (a pair of 4 banger turbo should work well), keep the revs down (less than 6000) and it should hold up ok and make 400hp, 500ft/lbs. 12s should be no problem in a single cab short box truck. Given the light weight a stock 4L60E might even hold up ok.

The_Jed wrote: In reply to chiodos: About the same curb weight as my Mark VII. lol

I had to google it, seems your mk8 is a whole 300lbs lighter. Wow colour me surprised.

In reply to chiodos:

Sorry. It didn't occur to me at the time but I guess that was a bit of a jerk move on my part. Somewhere around 3,800 lbs.

I vote light and easy, FB + 302/350 swap with a decent rear tire (minitub?).

I vote Fox body as well, with the caveat that I'd just drop in the turbo off of something large and diesel you find in the junkyard. 302 plus 7 psi on a decent sized turbo should have you in the 350 hp area with basically no downside.

Also, some of the foxes are hilarious looking, so that's a bonus.

I always like the looks of the 'Xtreme' trim on the S10. One of those with a junkyard LS1 would be a hoot and I bet get you to your goals.