Backhalving?

Guitar Jones said
Because as any good racer will tell you (and it's also in the original Direct Connection race manuals) that your car, and engine are only as good as the chassis they are put in. The chassis is what takes the power and plants it to the ground. You can take a lower horsepower motor and go faster with a good chassis then you can with a high horsepower motor and poor or marginal chassis.

I wouldn't call cal tracs and split mono leafs a "poor or marginal chassis". Look under any stock eliminator car, 9 times out of 10 you will find cal tracs.

Guitar Jones said
the Pro Stock guys will tell you, you can buy the high horsepower motors but without the chassis and the proper set up you aren't going to be competitive.

Is he building a Pro Stock car?

Guitar Jones said
why not build it once, then you won't have to redo the interior, paint the quarter panels again because you had to stretch the wheel wells, redo the roll cage, change your fuel and electrical systems around, etc., etc. It's not just as simple as removing those parts and then back halfing the car. You will spend way more than just the cost of those CalTracs.

That's why you don't do body/paint till you get the thing sorted out. Has he even priced what it takes to do a decent back half for a car? I'm trying to preach common sense and you're wanting him to spend several thousand for something that in all reality is probably not even needed for quite awhile. If he wants the look then it's already decided, but if he just wants the car to hook there are much cheaper and easier ways to try first.

The car in my avatar beat plenty of tubbed cars off the line ON THE STREET with 9x28 MT's, 340 Duster leaf springs, pinion snubber, and long shocks. How? by adjusting my snubber, clamping front spring sections, unclamping rear sections, trying different shocks, playing with tire pressures. You know, stuff the DC chassis book recommended. If only cal tracs existed then...