The goal of this project was to complete a first effort pro-streeter in the course of a few years. After being a garage-bound collection of parts for most of those years, the vision of having a Rich Dobertin style (Pontiac J-2000) with a twin-turbo'd fuel injected, gleaming chrome powerplant gave way to a more realistic plan for a complete chassis rework and just a "stock" motor swap.

I always liked smaller cars, and would have built a car like a Ford Cobra (kit or otherwise); but it would be too costly for the initial "kit" investment,  and the Vega, Monza and Mustang II are hard to find nowdays. The alternative body choice of the Mazda RX-7 was made because I have always liked the shape of the Mazda RX-7, which looks faster parked than many cars do rolling down the highway.

Having owned a stock 1979 model before, I figgured a V8 would make the car more unique and even more fun to drive. The conversion took me about four years to complete. Most of the work has been done at home: either in the back yard, the driveway, or in my garage as space permitted. The paint, exhaust, rear end, and drive shaft work was sent to local shops.

 
Time Money and Parts
Usually, when I had the time, I did'nt have the money to buy parts.
And when I had the parts, there was not enough time to put them on...
Now there's time to enjoy the car on Sunday afternoons with my daughter.

A cost target was established in the $7,500 range, and was to be spread out over the duration of the project.(This would be a great price for just the hardware found on a typical pro-streeter). If this seems like a lot of money, consider driving a beater for a few years to save money, and take what you would use for a car payment to buy parts with, and you're all set.

I got the body from a wrecking yard in 1995 without the Rotary and 4 speed. A buddy of mine knew of a chassis shop in Austin that had a good deal on a narrowed 9" rear housing, so we picked it up. He lent me an air chisel, and I hacked away at the floorpan until the grass started growing through it. Danny advised me:
"If you are going to all of that trouble, don't just put a small block chevy in it". After riding in his nitrous assisted 460 Galaxie XL fastcar@flash.net I was convinced that my project would be powered by a big block Ford as well.

The motor (a 460 Ford) was a second choice for the car, because the 429 is closer to 7 liters. I bought a 429 from a demolition derby guy, but found 2 broken piston skirts in the oil pan, so it was parted out and sold. To minimize expenses and get the car on the road quicker, a running 460/C6 combo was selected and installed. This car is the third vehicle that the motor has been used in ! (a Lincoln/a pickup/this car)

I took the extreme approach to the chassis work (building a complete frame, etc) and see that many builders have now cut the conversion time down to a month or so with bolt in kits for the SBC. Where was the Internet 5 years ago ??

One design goal was the "Pro Street" look. To have tubs and fill them with big tires, I found the cost of a narrowed rear with the four link and fancy disk brakes would eat up more than 30% of the budget.
I chose to put the money into the suspension before the motor, and try to get the car to hook up before adding more horsepower. The stock 460 has more power than I expected, and will be used as-is for the first season until. I plan to add performance parts during the winter so that I can enjoy more cruising time next year.

Future plans call for a higher performance rebuild or a Ford Motorsports 514 cu.in. crate motor. Now that the chassis and motor mount foundation is built, the crate motor will basically bolt in !!

How does 600 HP in a 3100 pound car sound ? ( ~5 lbs per HP...AWWW, Behave!)