Features Vintage Stock Cars for the street...

I'd like to take a '65 Galaxy and do this to it. Gut the wheelwells and interior, period cage/chassis (but streetable, no front wheel kick out etc.) with the same fatass Firestone 15" wheels and tires. Make it look just like this only without the lettering and numbers. Clips on the glass, the whole deal. It looks like they laid the winshield back and maybe even chopped it a bit.

I don't mean a "pro-touring" car with tall wheels, tweed and a tech drivetrain either...I mean empty oil drum, painted floor pan, slammed, big motor, moonshine runnin', white knuckle grabbin' holy mama I'm comin' home HUH? What did you say officer I'm DEAF commuter car.

A wicked side-oiler 427 with an over drive stick tranny would sound unbelievable from inside too...MAN.

 

Many moons ago I read a side bar article in one of the car mags where some super rich guy had a cup car converted back to the street. At the time, it would have been a 1960-70's Ford and, as best they could, the builders just put a Galaxie interior back in it working around the racer stuff. It had a stock dash, steering wheel and door trim, but racer seats an a Brooklyn bridge of a cage.

Might I suggest you try to find an old vintage race car the same make as you want and use it for a donor car / guideline? Rather than just stripping an old car and throwing some mods at it, you could do it correctly and perhaps use some of the vintage car's racing parts / tricks. Gary

 

Yeah, that would be cool to put an original one on the street, but it seems to me anything with a race pedigree from the '60s is a big money museum piece, race winner or not. There's a vintage stock car thread on here and it's full of badass, very common and low cost body styles that look AWESOME. Most of these models you can get for free (like a '72 Gran Torino for instance) and they'd make a fantastic project in this direction.

The overall experience, look and feel of a serious stock car could be achieved fairly cheap, and wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to drive that thing anytime, anywhere you want, instead of a couple rare laps at a nostalgia event! The possibilities are pretty cool...a gutted, but well thought out interior (maybe with 4 seats,) clean, straight body panels that align perfectly, maybe some wind cheating "Smokey" style tricks, a killer drive train that is well executed, but not over done with chrome and wrong era parts...

Just firing it up, rolling out of your driveway and loping through the neighborhood would be a hell of an experience, (imagine the FREEWAY!)

 

That's a really neat idea,modifieds also would work(and there are several around like that). It would eliminate the 2 hour tows,and 16 hour days spent waiting to go out,too. The neatest thing is these things wouldn't be crazy expensive,although if they caught on I'm sure someone would spend 250 grand soon enough. There's gotta be some stock car style cars out there now?

 

How cool would it be to drive this thing around . . . .



Big Hemi roaring through the side exit pipes . . .

 

I LOVE this idea! It's essentially what one would do with a roadster. Remove the unnecessary, get it low, and make it go. It's a formula for perfection really.

Slim

 

I've got a vintage type stock car in the works (a 39 Buick sport coupe) that I'm planning on racing with the locl vintage stock car guys here in Maine. I've often wondered wha it would take (headlights, tail lights, lexan windshield etc.) to make it streetable once it's done. I mean, damn, what a shame to put the time and energy into a car you only get to put on the track a few laps each summer at a vintage racing event ... how freakin cool would it be to run open headers barebones rollcaged racing seats 5-point harness fuel celled racing machine on the street, and as Conder has suggested, on the FREEWAY?
Can you imagine the rush of treating the on ramp like the pit exit, but with the genuine feel of balls out stripped down horsepower? Damn.

 

here's mine.
i can post details later today if desired.
65 Gal, ned jarrett psuedo-copy for the street.
it looks a little different now. still about 98% done.
i am sure someone on here knows more, but the yellow Gal you pictured was Junior Johnson's car and is widely believed to be the car that caused Nascar to start using body templates. johnson kind of "discovered" drafting. they did indeed chop the top and laid the front window back and kicked up the rear. after Nascar discovered this, body templates became common place.
i think the car was referred to as the "banana car" and is now owned by Vic E.
steve
norcal

 

I'd make the doors open and give it a heater, but that's about all I'd do to make it easier to live with on the street. I get all geeked out thinking of where I'd lighten it up, making sure the floorboards were solid and then spraying them body color with flattened clear to cut down on glare or, like with that Satellite above, both headlights could go on one side with the other side a huge vent...I could go on all day.

True, this same thing has been done to Hot rods and Gasser style street cars for years, but seldom do the builders ever curb their need to "civilize" them with sound deadener, tons of upholstery and the latest greatest speed/handling/stereo tech.

The beauty of traditional Hot Rodding is it's purity. Take Dave Tanamura's original So-Cal Speed Shop '32 roadster...When he drives that sucker he's THERE. Not "there", only with a really smooth running, stress (adventure?) free, rationally acceptable version of "there".

This stock car could be re-created a lot cheaper than a period correct real steel Hot Rod. It would be safe too, because stock cars had good brakes and chassis (which used to be just a beefed up stock set-up.) It wouldn't take 250k to do a very, very good version of one. A car like this is virtually all labor and some speed parts for the motor. BADASS.

I just saw your post Bava, that's it man! Post all the details you can, I can't wait to see more...

 

This was at the Charlotte Auto Fair last year:

 

Some of the older HotRod magazines had stories on these cars, which were all built from actual cars. They had really cool details,beefed up shock mounts,headers through the frames,doors in the floor to check tire wear,etc. Big track cars had bumpers faired in,all kinds of aerodynamic tricks,even underneath...I think what makes 'em so neat,aside from the obvious creativity,is the fact that they started with real cars. Thats probably a good cutoff point for dating such a project. Lets see some more...

 

I'm in for this one !... I have kicked around buying at different times a '65 / '66 untouched Charger or Cornet for this kind of project. The closest I got, was buying an '55 Chev that was an Ol' stock car with no history .. but the Wife "conveniently" forgot to place the bid when I was at work ...Ha

My Dad liked to do stuff like this to, so in '64 or '65 he got a set of Firestone Stock Car Specials and wacked the wells and beefed up the suspension. I think he envisioned something more like you would run at Riverside.

 

This just proves it can/should be done ... just with vintage elements (frame, suspension, wheels, engine, etc.) along with the banged and scuffed up paint and numbers. Man, the wheels are turning now.

 

I've got a '65 Ford 500 Custom (post version of the Galaxie) and am planning on doing this to it. I didn't want to bring it up here, thought it was to un-HAMBy. I don't know if I'll be able to pony up for a 427 side-oiler, I'll porbably just go with a 390 or 410 that's pretty strong. I'm with ya though, let me know how yours turns out!!

 

The yellow banana was driven by Fred Lorenzen and hit the wall on lap 139 of the 66 atlanta 500 the car was sold by Jr Johnson to Bob Adams of Richmond Va. He then sold it to two civil service employees of the Warner Robins Georgia area their names were Jake Davis and JW Brown by then it had been refited with a 66 ford body. They then hired Charlie Burnette to drive the car. In the 68 Daytona 500 they dropped a valve on lap 5 and finished in the top 25. They then went to Rocking ham and blew a head gasket . The final race for the car was atlanta lost a clutch . The last time I saw the car it was in the Ronnie Rice Pluming co lot and parts being used on a dirt figure 8 car. If they put that car back together they did a lot of work.. Bobby..

 

One more thing- the Galaxies/Customs have those stacked headlights, and I was thinking about how cool it would be on one of these to combine the high/low beams into the upper lights, and do a ram air system fed from the lower headlight cutouts. just plumb it up and modify an old air cleaner to accept two big hoses pumping in cold air.

 

How's this, Both street legal and lots of fun. Ted

 

There's a '65 Galaxy fastback at the local wrecking yard here. They use it to block the entrance when they are closed, but it looks like a solid and straight car from the road. They do sell complete cars so if you want, send me a P.M. and I'll find out the phone number for you.

 

I have been wanting to build a streetable version of this 57 chevy ever since I saw it at the charlotte autofair about 10 years ago.
like you guys are saying, these are bare bones essintials cars, just like the traditional hot rods of the early 50's.
I think it would be cool to engineer some sort of hideaway headlight, so that you don't lose that stripped down look, and like what was said earlier, maybe just a slightly modified cage for ease of entrance, and a passenger seat.
more fun than you could shake a stick at!

 

Love the Galaxie ideas, Conder.... Would be a ton of fun on the street!

Here's another mid-60s Ford to ponder:
http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hdrp_0605_1964_holman_moody_ford_fairlane/index.html

This thing is killer!!


Malcolm

 

For some reason, I've had the Galaxie idea too. That would be a mean street car. Maybe go as far as putting a 5 speed overdrive in it too.

 

I'd like to do it with a '51 hudson coupe. But I'm biased.

 

A streetable car with "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" emblazoned down the side and a lumpy 308 under the hood would be unbelievable. Hell, even little kids would know what you were all about and would beg for a ride in "Doc". R.I.P. Paul Newman.

 

this one was driven from his house to laguna seca for the monterey historics.. pretty much inline with what you were talking about. It is gutted except for the dash and 2 seats. One seat is stock and the other is custom with stock style upholstery.

 

That 66 is really cool. (Yellow Banana)
I've got a 66 LTD .... hmmm
maybe I should consider doing something like that.
Just do it Conder !!!

 

look at pics of NASCAR cars from Daytona and Darlington the roll cages back then were very easy to get in because they still used the doors! the door bars were single and very low in the cage.

 

One of the things I like about Hot Rod magazine is that they publish "Dare to be Diffferent Cars." Many of these fit the bill. The Chevy modified is the cat's pajamas. But you have to be careful... as you make your race car more streetable you will eventually end up with a rally car. HA!
Enjoy, Gary

http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/113_0703_1951_mercury/index.html
http://www.retroscenemag.com/post/Hot-Rod--Dare-To-Be-Different.aspx

 

I have had a 68 fairlane fastback for a long time,
and you have all stumbled upon my build up plans for it!!!

I was planning on street-repicating my Dads 1969 Holman Moody car
with some minor updates nothing flashy
351C 4speed 4wheel discs...
shelby A-arm drop w/ wedge..etc etc

 

My buddy Jack owns this street replica stock car.