Budget drag car… B-Body or A-Body?

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Ironracer said:
Well, in my opinion, and Reality, the A's lighter... i still miss my 68 Coronet, dammit...
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They are lighter. But not as good build quality. But that makes little difference against the clock. B-bodies are nicer street machines. A-bodies drag race build. The letter C-bodies of the late 50s/early 60s are the best build quality of Chrysler all time in my opinion. But a little heavy for street/strip options.

So it's all about application. E-bodies are wider thus can more accommodate the hemi for ultimate performance option.
 
motorpirate said:
cheaper, lighter, better rear overhang for drag racing.
all the same motors/transmissions fit..
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I got this to fit inside the engine well of my E-body. No chance for my A-body. Again. A-bodies have limitations.

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cojohnso said:
They are lighter. But not as good build quality. But that makes little difference against the clock. B-bodies are nicer street machines. A-bodies drag race build. The letter C-bodies of the late 50s/early 60s are the best build quality of Chrysler all time in my opinion. But a little heavy for street/strip options.

So it's all about application. E-bodies are wider thus can more accommodate the hemi for ultimate performance option.
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cojohnso said:
They are lighter. But not as good build quality. But that makes little difference against the clock. B-bodies are nicer street machines. A-bodies drag race build. The letter C-bodies of the late 50s/early 60s are the best build quality of Chrysler all time in my opinion. But a little heavy for street/strip options.

So it's all about application. E-bodies are wider thus can more accommodate the hemi for ultimate performance option.
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Damn, we caint agree on nothing but the weather! Lol. I've owned 2 Es over the years, both Challengers. A 71 and 74. They are heavy cars. ALL MOPARS are uni-bodys. Any Serious drag car SHOULD have the rails tied, even w/ a bolt on kit. A body's ARE lighter...follow the math, Sir
 
Ironracer said:
SICK! DIG THAT! wheel wells look cut....Badass Cuda! 71?
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The whole car is cut. Firewall, K-frame. Someone long ago for a small team's attempt to race the big boys of the early 70s. The Sox Martins and Dick Landy's were too tough. So they sold hemi and trans in 1980. Rolling body since. I bought as rolling body. Car too far modified and original 440-6 gone long ago for any build back to original. So a Pro Street build it is.
 
cojohnso said:
The whole car is cut. Firewall, K-frame. Someone long ago for a small team's attempt to race the big boys of the early 70s. The Sox Martins and Dick Landy's were too tough. So they sold hemi and trans in 1980. Rolling body since. I bought as rolling body. Car too far modified and original 440-6 gone long ago for any build back to original. So a Pro Street build it is.
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Well, them Boys WERE TOUGH! and had Factory Support! Plus, they Were Some of The Best! That's an amazing piece of history Ya guy there, and I wouldn't wanna change much, if I didn't have to! Kinda a time capsule! Great Save!
 
Ironracer said:
Well, them Boys WERE TOUGH! and had Factory Support! Plus, they Were Some of The Best! That's an amazing piece of history Ya guy there, and I wouldn't wanna change much, if I didn't have to! Kinda a time capsule! Great Save!
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Actually I'm done trying to research any history. I found no evidence that the car even qualified in a NHRA Pro Stock back in the day. The team that built was a small car lot in Wisconsin. The build quality is not to Sox Martin quality. I met Ronnie Sox before he passed. And got a good look at one of their Cudas that was being displayed at a show. 2007 Beechbend KY. I had pics of my Cuda. As well as descriptions. He had not heard. Big Daddy had not heard. Every contact that I have ran across have not heard. Only rumors. Thus nothing. I talked with the brother of that team's owner. He was gruff and nothing nice to say about their family former business of car sales. He remembered the car. But with nothing useful. I believe their efforts was failure.

So instead of following in failure's footsteps? Something completely different. A marine engine 904 ci DOHC Schubeck V8 monster motor. Dyno'd at 1200 HP at 5200 RPM. 1150 ft/lbs torque at 3000. All on pump 91 octane. This engine is designed and foundry poured to be 1200 HP stock.

Now? How to adapt a drive train to hold together and not kill me?

That's the story as it stands today.
 
this notion that B bodies are of better build quality than A bodies at the factory is nonsense any body that's worked on or built both know almost same car. difference mainly in dimmensions now maybe C bodies might be a better built car. i wonder what movie people are watching when in 2022 they post about going to the junk yard and buying complete 60's and 70's cars of any make and getting them cheap
 
slimjim said:
I know some B-bodies weigh close to the A-body. I guess a majority of my curiosity with the B-body platform are frame stiffness, available rear ends with lower gears, and big blocks.
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I agree. I had a 1965 plymouth Belvedere II 2 door hard top. All steel with a fiberglass hood and scoop. 440 with 727, Dana 60 with a 10 point cage. Car weighed 3420 with me in it. Sold it and after on built a 73 Big block dart. All steel with fiberglass hood scoop. 8-3/4 rear. 440/ 727, no roll bar. I did remove the crash bar out of the front bumper.. the car weighed 3520 with me in it. I couldn't beleaeve the dart was heaver than my 65 plymouth.
To the op good luck finding a A body for $5000 that doesn't need another 5000 just to get it road worthy. Lol
 
I was going to mention the Schubeck offshore engine if you didn't! Just mind boggling to see one going into a street build... I imagine you'll need some large fuel cells to feed that and go any distance on the street.
 
Lowcar said:
this notion that B bodies are of better build quality than A bodies at the factory is nonsense any body that's worked on or built both know almost same car. difference mainly in dimmensions now maybe C bodies might be a better built car. i wonder what movie people are watching when in 2022 they post about going to the junk yard and buying complete 60's and 70's cars of any make and getting them cheap
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‘67 and earlier b body’s were built With great fit and finish. ‘68 and on Bs weren’t built any better then As
 
My Chally has north of $100k into it. Glad I didn’t have to pay that. Bought it cheap but in a million pieces.

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I've seen some pretty quick small block Ram 50 builds for not a tremendous amount of money. May not be what you want to hear, but I would be looking in that direction at that budget level.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Late year 8-1/4’s are big bolt and owning a B body is not an automatic big dollar expenditure. There “Going slower” is only weight related. While the extra wheel base length is a draw back, it’s minor. You just work with what you have.

Going fast cheap is an exercise in thinking as well as what you can afford.
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8.25 are also c- clip, no thanks.
B- bodies are usually more money than a-bodies and the price gap isn't small.
The op is trying to build a drag car for 5k budget, or at least hypothetically & yeah a b-body is up above the weight of a full caged big block a-body, not the best place to be start. I will say it's easier to do stuff on a b-body like work on it, but a-bodies we're higher production, so cheaper. Except the prices aren't cheap by anymore.
 
slimjim said:
Definitely not looking to build a long lasting car. Just pondering a junkyard on junkyard build. Thats why I’m so curious about the stock benefits of each platform. I would be aiming to push the car to its breaking point for a single weekend of fun.
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Okay get an older 440 & trans no later than 71 and stick it in a gutted dart & put some 4.10 gears out back with slicks. That might even last a while.
Why break a car on purpose, people at the track will be pissed & you will too.
 
cojohnso said:
Actually I'm done trying to research any history. I found no evidence that the car even qualified in a NHRA Pro Stock back in the day. The team that built was a small car lot in Wisconsin. The build quality is not to Sox Martin quality. I met Ronnie Sox before he passed. And got a good look at one of their Cudas that was being displayed at a show. 2007 Beechbend KY. I had pics of my Cuda. As well as descriptions. He had not heard. Big Daddy had not heard. Every contact that I have ran across have not heard. Only rumors. Thus nothing. I talked with the brother of that team's owner. He was gruff and nothing nice to say about their family former business of car sales. He remembered the car. But with nothing useful. I believe their efforts was failure.

So instead of following in failure's footsteps? Something completely different. A marine engine 904 ci DOHC Schubeck V8 monster motor. Dyno'd at 1200 HP at 5200 RPM. 1150 ft/lbs torque at 3000. All on pump 91 octane. This engine is designed and foundry poured to be 1200 HP stock.

Now? How to adapt a drive train to hold together and not kill me?

That's the story as it stands today.
Click to expand...
Chevrolet bellhousing bolt pattern? Rossler turbo 400 with whatever first gear you want (2.10?) I have no concept of what kind of converter that monster will need!
 
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MOPARMAGA said:
Okay get an older 440 & trans no later than 71 and stick it in a gutted dart & put some 4.10 gears out back with slicks. That might even last a while.
Why break a car on purpose, people at the track will be pissed & you will too.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily intending to break it on purpose. Just wanting to find the limit of a budget setup. I’ve raced high dollar small block strokers and some mildly modded stock stuff. I had just as much fun with a junkyard 360 as a 416 stroker. I also worried less about pushing it hard. I guess where I’m going here is that I’d like to play on the extreme cheap side to see how much fun I can really have. Why spend 30k to enjoy the same fun for 5k. A little experiment if you will.
 
33IMP said:
Chevrolet bellhousing bolt pattern? Rosser turbo 400 with whatever first gear you want (2.10?) I have no concept of what kind of converter that monster will need!
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The engine is so big it has bolt patterns for either Chevy or Chrysler crank is drilled for hemi 8 bolt flywheel/flex plate. So transmission has options. I currently have a JW ultra power glide with Gear Vendor OD unit. It can easily handle the power. But heat will be a Pro for any "Street" type application. So still searching for options. Car does have setup for clutch pedal. They ran an A833 crashed boxed trans in the 70s behind an 800 HP 426 hemi.
 
If i wanted to go as fast as I could, starting from nothing and it has to be a Mopar, for the least amount of money?........ four door mid seventies a-body, (hopefully cheap, somewhat light) junkyard 5.9, cheap headers, Chinese intake, rebuilt carb (big as possible), 904 with a shift kit, cheapest converter i could find with some stall speed, 8.8 swap with gear and lsd......... and a big *** nitrous kit.

Forgot......
Gut everything! Bumpers, door bars, back doors, rear seat, carpet, heater, a/c, EVERYTHING goes.
 
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Lowcar said:
this notion that B bodies are of better build quality than A bodies at the factory is nonsense any body that's worked on or built both know almost same car. difference mainly in dimmensions now maybe C bodies might be a better built car. i wonder what movie people are watching when in 2022 they post about going to the junk yard and buying complete 60's and 70's cars of any make and getting them cheap
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I have an A, B and E body. B-bodies have bigger everything. Torsion bars, Pitman, idler arm, tie rods, rear ends, engine options. What are you kidding?

A-bodies are compacts. B-bodies are mid size. C-bodies are full size. And E-bodies? Was an attempt to marry A&B in my opinion.
 
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