What's a good starter car?

[MrPbody]

There's no reason to "satisfy" me. I just tell the truth. You'd need a lot more than a cam and "bolt ons" to make the 550 GBHP necessary to get 400 RWHP.

What car is that Toyota engine from? Built some pretty nasty 7MEs...

Jim

[arock7musicx]

Mid '90s Toyota Supra. They are heavy, but the block is darn near invincible. My favorite part? Probably the sexy turbo inline six exhaust note

[MrPbody]

I got it. That's the shorter deck and shorter rod version of the inline 6. We did a couple of those at H&M a few years back. I like the older one, though it too, is "heavy", but the taller deck allows for "more" connecting rod. Chevy 6 rods work VERY well when the crank is ground properly. Afermarket rods, of course. Stock Toy rods are quite good in the earlier ones. The later "short" rods need a bunch of heat-treating to get them near the strength. One we did had two BENT rods in it, strictly from the 100-shot. Easier and better to just put "real" ones in there... The best runner used longer-than-stock rods and Ross pistons.

Dave came up with a strategy to port them, where one intake port "tumbles" the mixture and the other one "swirls" it. One '89 Supra in Maryland goes 9.20s on pump gas (BIG turbo...). In truth, one can extract nearly as much power from the Toyotas as they could from larger displacement American 6s. Well, "straight" 6s, anyway. The Buick is pretty tough to argue with... (:-

Jim

[oldblu65]

MRPbody , you are correct about it being the Catalina instead of the Bonneville . I had a little " brain glitch " . The following is an example of the Catalina but is a 4 door instead of the 2 door version . This is a Craigslist ad but is NOT mine . Just an example of the size of the original cars that started the " horsepower wars " and led to the creation of the true " Muscle Cars " ! Go to http://chattanooga.craigslist.org/cto/1981848116.html .

[Blt2Lst]

Originally Posted by oldblu65

The following is an example of the Catalina but is a 4 door instead of the 2 door version . .

This would be a good find for someone looking for a first car project. Sure it has 4 doors but if it had 2 doors the price would change accordingly and probably put it out of your price range. Those wide-trac pontiacs are great cars that can be built to perform like a true "Muscle Car".

I actually purchased a 63 Catalina 389 2 bbl 4 door back in 1985 just like the one in the add. It was a low mileage well maintained, garaged little old lady car. It was fire engine red with a white top and in near mint condition, and I got it for $1600. I got it for my mom but she did not like it because she said it was to big for her so my brother ended up with it.
He ended up getting broadsided by another car which caved in the whole passenger side. Luckily, no one was in the pass seat and he was unhurt but the car was totaled.
It's a good thing he was in such a big well built car at that time. What a cruiser that thing was, wish we still had it to build into a hipo machine.

These are the type of deals you should be looking for these days since the 2 door versions of many cars are out of the price range of many folks.

Good luck on the hunt for your project..

[FastEnf4U350]

Question for MrPbody: You are obviously an expert on engines so, since we're on the subject of Chevy small blocks, I have a question. I'm in the process of completing an SBC build. Here are the specs:
- 350 bored .030 over (355). Stock crank and rods (rods were hardened). Aluminum forged pistons (TRW/Speed Pro). Heads are Top Line Pro 220s (iron) 2.02 intake/1.60 exhaust, 72cc chambers. Compression ratio is 12:1. Dual lift springs (1.550 diameter), stainless steel roller rockers (1.5 ratio, 7/16" studs, stud girdles, guide plates). Cam is .630 / .630 with duration of .264 intake/.268 exhaust at 0.050. Solid roller lifters. Carb is a Holley 750 DP and running E85. Full headers. Should complete assembly by end of May. Wondering what kind of HP and torque I could potentially make (naturally aspirated of course) with this build. Thank you.

[FastEnf4U350]

Frankly, as the father of a young man, I would suggest looking for a classic "cruiser" as opposed to a real muscle car to start out with - something you can handle that will keep you safe. There are a lot of mid to late 60's cars that would be very cool cruisers. Examples: Chevy Impala or Chevelle, Plymouth Road Runner, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Chevy Nova, Ford Gallaxy 500, Plymouth Fury, etc.- two door models of course. Depending on where you live, you can probably pick one up for a reasonable price (depending on condition). All come with a variety of engine sizes and transmissions so I would opt for a mid sized CI engine and manual transmission. Would make for a nice "cruiser" and still give you a little giddy up when you need it. Again, as a new driver, think safety first.

Originally Posted by baravik

I will soon be able to get my driver's license, and I was wondering what a good muscle car to start with is? First off, I'm not gonna be stupid with it, I just respect good American muscle and love the sound of the engine. I don't need anything in great shape or showroom condition, just a classic piece of muscle that is half way reliable and looks sexy. Thanks.