How do we blend race car and comfort?

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I am currently building my falcon to do EVERYTHING well. It will not be the best at any one particular thing, drag, road race, street, etc. but it will be able to do all of those things well.
Tci coil over front end, 4 link rear with double adjustable QA1s, electric power rack and pinion, 18x10s on all four corners, 13” front and 11” rear wilwoods, fuel injected turbocharged Honda V6, flex fuel capable, and a 6 speed manual. Ice cold AC and heated seats. It’s almost finished, little more fab work on the suspension and some tin work then final assembly. I can’t wait.
 
cojohnso said:
A Gen II (style) hemi build behind a Tremec 6 speed trans. Add EFI on top for tunable Street. Dana 4.10 drag pack. (Shouldn't need spool. Unless hemi goes north of 750 HP.)

My 451 Duster has ran up against 2 Hellcats. Once amber lit? Never saw them again.

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That's cool! You still have it?
 
TT5.9mag said:
I am currently building my falcon to do EVERYTHING well. It will not be the best at any one particular thing, drag, road race, street, etc. but it will be able to do all of those things well.
Tci coil over front end, 4 link rear with double adjustable QA1s, electric power rack and pinion, 18x10s on all four corners, 13” front and 11” rear wilwoods, fuel injected turbocharged Honda V6, flex fuel capable, and a 6 speed manual. Ice cold AC and heated seats. It’s almost finished, little more fab work on the suspension and some tin work then final assembly. I can’t wait.
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I have a Bro that would dig that. He's a Ford Guy, but he's cool as can be, I rekon
 
What are peoples thoughts on a cage?

With out a cage its just a fast street car.

Keeping multiple people safe inside the cage with out helmets on is a big concern tho.
 
jbc426 said:
Forced induction, overdrive, EFI, A/C, good insulation, great brakes & tires and compliant suspension. You know, like that yellow '68 convertible that stops by your shop from time to time. (blower in the works)
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I have never been in that car. Maybe some day that guy will take me for a ride?

:)
 
And anyone who says buy a Hellcat....

Well you must have never seen a 1970 Challenger.

A 1970 Challenger looks like your 25 year old girlfriend in college.

A modern hell cat looks like your neighbor Barry's wife....

One is slim, trim and sexy to look at... the other one...... well it just aint the same....
 
No more black interior...no more rough idle..no more big cam..no more hi stall converter..no more 4.10, gears, no more headers and no more loud exhaust!
Smooth idle..,lots of lo end..noticeable but pleasant exhaust..good braking, handling and mileage!
I can hear the "murmurs"
 
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Cope said:
What are peoples thoughts on a cage?

With out a cage its just a fast street car.

Keeping multiple people safe inside the cage with out helmets on is a big concern tho.
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Cage with swing out bars for easy access to the front and a swing cross bar so you can get into the back seat.
 
I’ve recently been thinking about this in terms of “How do I have a majority street driven car that can put the power to the ground AND corner well?”

Where do corner carving and straight line speed intersect? Trying to have the best of both worlds over here, haha.
 
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My plan has always been the early to mid 70s pro stock look.
I was looking at my Dart Sport roof structure and it looks to be boxed in pretty good around the edges. I was thinking maybe a main hoop and two rear bars. I also thought about tying the main hoop to the roof by making a couple tabs to bolt to the original shoulder belt anchors. I also would like a full frame with parallel 4-link rear. I have wondered if any of the newer Mustang strut front suspension systems would be a good choice to adapt up front.
Through years of daydreaming about all this, I figured I would use Alston Chassis parts to build my own, but now that I'm ready to actually start, I have read some bad reviews about them.
 
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Cope, I agree. 90% here advise people to install the 3.91's, rough idle cams, 3800 converters, and when they are done all they have is a quick car that nobody wants to sit in more than 60 seconds. I'll say you can have all the fixn's for your comfort, smooth idle, and still go 12's and still cruise 70 mph on the interstate all day. Build a torque monster with about 350 hp that runs fine on 87 octane, and keep the gears around 2.94. Or 3.55's with OD.
 
Cope said:
And anyone who says buy a Hellcat....

Well you must have never seen a 1970 Challenger.

A 1970 Challenger looks like your 25 year old girlfriend in college.

A modern hell cat looks like your neighbor Barry's wife....

One is slim, trim and sexy to look at... the other one...... well it just aint the same....
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Yea I agree I was just messing with you. Who can afford one anyways. Not this guy lol
 
TT5.9mag said:
I am currently building my falcon to do EVERYTHING well. It will not be the best at any one particular thing, drag, road race, street, etc. but it will be able to do all of those things well.
Tci coil over front end, 4 link rear with double adjustable QA1s, electric power rack and pinion, 18x10s on all four corners, 13” front and 11” rear wilwoods, fuel injected turbocharged Honda V6, flex fuel capable, and a 6 speed manual. Ice cold AC and heated seats. It’s almost finished, little more fab work on the suspension and some tin work then final assembly. I can’t wait.
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I'm building my 73 Cuda along this line of thought (minus the Honda power). It will be run at Road America and as a daily and the goal is to match the capability of the BMW E39 M5 I had in all aspects. Handling, power, comfort, and convenience. Power is no problem with a stroked small block, but the rest of it will be a challenge. I'm thinking about building a low profile cage in while I have it stripped. I have to draw it up and do some calculations to see what makes sense and is effective. I don't want to be climbing over bars to get in and out. It will have AC and some sort of nav/radio/bluetooth system as well. I've become used to the amenities my 2020 Ram Laramie provides.
 
318willrun said:
Cope, I agree. 90% here advise people to install the 3.91's, rough idle cams, 3800 converters, and when they are done all they have is a quick car that nobody wants to sit in more than 60 seconds. I'll say you can have all the fixn's for your comfort, smooth idle, and still go 12's and still cruise 70 mph on the interstate all day. Build a torque monster with about 350 hp that runs fine on 87 octane, and keep the gears around 2.94. Or 3.55's with OD.
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My '68 has 4.30's, a high-quality 3800 stall lock-up converter, a 2004R Stage 2 overdrive trans from Extreme Automatics, properly adjusted slapper bars and 275/60-15 Nitto Drag Radials powered by a 408" Magnum with EFI and a 250'ish duration roller cam on a 108* LSA with nearly .600 lift.

I've beaten a Hellcat in a drag race, can cruise all day at 70+ mph at 2500 rpm. The car gets 14 mpg around town and 17+ mpg on the freeway at 70mph with the top down and A/C on. It also handles and stops very well. I've yet to have anyone stay with me on twisty roads.

My point is that its all about the combination. Hopefully before summer is over, it will have a 750 hp supercharged 408 with a 4L80 trans installed in it, which should smooth out the cam lope and perk up the performance considerably.

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jbc426 said:
My '68 has 4.30's, a high-quality 3800 stall lock-up converter, a 2004R Stage 2 overdrive trans from Extreme Automatics, properly adjusted slapper bars and 275/60-15 Nitto Drag Radials powered by a 308" Magnum with EFI and a 250'ish duration roller cam on a 108* LSA. I've beaten a Hellcat in a drag race, can cruise all day at 70+ mph at 2500 rpm. The car gets 14 mpg around town and 17+ mpg on the freeway at 70mph with the top down and A/C on. It also handles and stops very well. I've yet to have anyone stay with me on twisty roads.

My point is that its all about the combination.

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lock up converter and OD tranny allows more gear and converter. Yep! Nice car!
 
jbc426 said:
My '68 has 4.30's, a high-quality 3800 stall lock-up converter, a 2004R Stage 2 overdrive trans from Extreme Automatics, properly adjusted slapper bars and 275/60-15 Nitto Drag Radials powered by a 408" Magnum with EFI and a 250'ish duration roller cam on a 108* LSA with nearly .600 lift.

I've beaten a Hellcat in a drag race, can cruise all day at 70+ mph at 2500 rpm. The car gets 14 mpg around town and 17+ mpg on the freeway at 70mph with the top down and A/C on. It also handles and stops very well. I've yet to have anyone stay with me on twisty roads.

My point is that its all about the combination. Hopefully before summer is over, it will have a 750 hp supercharged 408 with a 4L80 trans installed in it, which should smooth out the cam lope and perk up the performance considerably.

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The primary problem I found with today's cars is the same problem so many years go. Get them going out of the hole? My A-body with its small slicks, SS springs and Mosier axled 4.56:1 8 3/4" spooled rear is setup for launch. Race is over in first '60.
 
cojohnso said:
The primary problem I found with today's cars is the same problem so many years go. Get them going out of the hole? My A-body with its small slicks, SS springs and Mosier axled 4.56:1 8 3/4" spooled rear is setup for launch. Race is over in first '60.
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I have done the big block A body, they are fun, until you want to turn....... they are great in a straight line and an occasional cruise.
If it's a cruiser it better handle, and not like a dump truck.
 
jbc426 said:
My '68 has 4.30's, a high-quality 3800 stall lock-up converter, a 2004R Stage 2 overdrive trans from Extreme Automatics, properly adjusted slapper bars and 275/60-15 Nitto Drag Radials powered by a 408" Magnum with EFI and a 250'ish duration roller cam on a 108* LSA with nearly .600 lift.

I've beaten a Hellcat in a drag race, can cruise all day at 70+ mph at 2500 rpm. The car gets 14 mpg around town and 17+ mpg on the freeway at 70mph with the top down and A/C on. It also handles and stops very well. I've yet to have anyone stay with me on twisty roads.

My point is that its all about the combination. Hopefully before summer is over, it will have a 750 hp supercharged 408 with a 4L80 trans installed in it, which should smooth out the cam lope and perk up the performance considerably.

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Your car is awesome.
 
I guess it's been done many times, maybe not many times with a helephant, but that's what I'd do with YOUR money, god knows I can't with mine.
Fit the demon interior (complete + $1.00 passenger seat) whatever trans, 8 speed could be fun, Dana 60, fiberglass or carbon fiber as many panels you can. I like 15 inch weld wheels bead locks out back, so much could be done.
Paint it plum crazy stock longitude stripe, shaker hood, ya know make er look stock ish
 
vitamindart said:
I have done the big block A body, they are fun, until you want to turn....... they are great in a straight line and an occasional cruise.
If it's a cruiser it better handle, and not like a dump truck.
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You wanna know what vehicle handles really nice??? A big front loader with articulated steering
 
The roller is an original Plumb crazy car.

The finished product will be Purple and black.
 
cojohnso said:
The primary problem I found with today's cars is the same problem so many years go. Get them going out of the hole? My A-body with its small slicks, SS springs and Mosier axled 4.56:1 8 3/4" spooled rear is setup for launch. Race is over in first '60.
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Exactly, I pulled 3 car lengths out of the hole on it, but around 11 seconds later, I heard that blue Hellcat screaming up on me from behind at the end of the 1/4 mile. He blew past me doing 20 or 25 miles per hour faster than I was going, but not until I past the finish line first.

It was right then I knew, "I've got to have more power". This year if the supply chain ever comes through with fresh parts, my plan to nearly double the rear wheel horsepower should come to fruition.

Supercharged and turbocharged Mopar engines.

If I can keep it hooked up, it should run low 10's or better on the street, idle smoother, have stunning pull from 100 mph on up and still get good gas mileage when driven modestly.
 
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