The oddest car body, engine combination you've ever done,seen,been in?

Rich Fox mentioned this one earlier. V-12 mechanical injected Jag in gen III Camero. This car was kept at Higgens Radiator in Santa Barbera, and run at SCTA events by Johnson Racing. I had a motorcycle shop accross the street and every time it fired up for tuning or whatever it would send chills up and down your spine. Run in a tough C/alt class at El Mirage, it was fast, but always a bridesmaid. As far as I know, it never set any records with that running gear. Man that car sound was mesmerizing.

 

Sounds like a Renault 10.



...or possibly a Renault 8.



Quite popular in the 60's, but never took hold to well, here in the states. Almost bought a 10 when I was in high school.




6narow

 

Famous interview with Norm Grabowski:
Reporter: "Wow, that's really cool - a WW2 Indian motorcycle with a Corvair engine!!"
Norm: "If you think that's cool, you should see my Dad's car - he has a Corvair with a WW2 Indian engine"
Reporter: "How does he like it?"
Norm: "Like it? He doesn't even know it yet!"

 

During the gas shortages in the 1970s I was in England and bought a MBZ 300 SEC fuel injected engine from a fellow who swapped a diesel into his.

It couldn't get out of its own way -- bet he was sorry later.

 

how about from Pinks all out, great show by the way,heads up drag racing like it should be!! the Nash metropolitian with the 454 in it, wild ride, just nuts, and the repo guys with the Kia sportage they repoed, and stuffed a blown small block in for drag racing, nuts lol. anyone got a picture of the Nash? definitely a real life hot wheels monster

 

Or a Dauphine perhaps
http://www.la-renault-dauphine.com/1095_frank't.htm

 

If it looks like a Morris Minor it could be a Renault 4CV, once described as the world's only four-door two-seat car:

 

Ok import or not, this is insane!! it looks just like a hot wheels car with the oversize engine taking up half the car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18Vmhj_3AVU&feature=rec-r2-2f-7

 

I streched my 52 Jeep frame and sat a VW Beetle on it, called it the VEEP. A Jeep 4 cyl in the trunk with 2" holes in it to get air to the radiator.

 

Nice car, Frank.
Did you do the resto, or did you get the car in that condition?


6narow

 

A long time back I had a cstomer who had a strange passion for 50's micro cars. He asked me to look at a Messerschmitt 3 wheeler he was thinking of buying. Some enterprizing chap had squeezed a Kawasaki 750 Mach3 in the back, which was suitbly butchered to accomodate it. The owner even offered to show how he could wheel stand it! I didn't want to be around when those whel-barrow front wheels came back down, so we politely declined and got the hell out of there.

 

Ok, do i win?

 

when I went to Whapeton science auto body[SSS]in about 1968 a guy had a VW bug with frame rails and a flathead up front sat a little high but seemed to be well put together

 

2 of 'em...both in Portland, Or in the early 70s.
One was a simca with a 4 barrel slant 6 mopar engine and stretched wheelbase...the other was a 63 dodge dart [the little "spaceship" version] with a 426 Max wedge with the looooooong dual AFB cross ram intake. The kid had to torch out pockets in the tops of the fenders to mount the carbs....weird. But he took me for a ride in it and it did scream!
Ok, and my brother's 61 Morris Minor with a 377 chevy and powerglide. Runs low 10s

 

How about a 1979 Triumph Spitfire with a 454?? I dont think anyone can beat that. He was so proud of it too, I had to hold back the laughter.

 

Can I play, too?

How about a VW with a VW motor? Doesn't sound very interesting until ya consider that the motor was a tail-hanging Rabbit or Jetta motor.





Rich Fox's Vega/Packard is pretty kool, but I couldn't find photos of it in a quick search.

One of the kool setups is the the Harris & Wester 12-port Jimmy/Gen 3 Camaro that was mentioned earlier:


Then there was this critter parked next to Ron Main's trailer:





It's allegedly powered by a bazillion rubber bands, but I no one talked to ever saw it run.

I could post weird combo here all day, but if ya wanna see strange bedfellows, the salt flats is the place for it:
http://www.chevyasylum.com/lsr/Welcome.html

One section from last year is called, "seen at the scene" and is a collection of shots I made of rats, kustoms...whatever that weren't race cars:
http://www.chevyasylum.com/cruisin/Cruisin2009/20090809/090809.html

Btw, that's why a really love the whole LSR thing. Innovation isn't considered cheating like it is in some big name "stock car" racing series.

I gotta run. Hope you enjoy the photos.

 

I had a 71 El Camino with a 73 Pontiac 350 in it.

 

Isetta - Corvair

 

bill Farrah, of the casino and auto museum, had a Jeep Wagoneer with a Ferrari 365 v-12 under the hood, and I worked with a cat that was putting a high pressure Jag v-12 in a -'80s Vette.

 

An old VW sand rail with a Corvair rear end and a Chevrolet 350 hanging off the back.

 

Once saw a late 90's jeep with a Viper V-12 in it.
Another one that comes to mind was a Morris Minor with a blown 454 in it.

 

Porsche 356 with VW turbo diesel kicker --

 

an acuatence (he f*cked up the wiring on myy truck, so were not friends really) had a first year chevy luv with a blown bigblock , everything was either modified or aftermarket. it had a corvett trans with a four on the floor. it scared the shit out of me when we were going down Pyrite st (a perfect 1/4 mile drag strip right near my house) and he punched it and I started feeling the front end lift up. "Dad, get me my brown pants!"

 

1965 Lincoln Continental hardtop with a GMC 6.5l Turbo Diesel, with a larger turbo, ceramic DB2, an inter-cooler, hi-nickel military block, stud girdle, backed by a 4L80E, 2.89:1 rear, pushing 25 psi of boost.

 

Damn, you mean there is more than one? I painted this truck orange ten years ago. It changed owners and I painted it a couple months ago. Its a 55. Notice the wheels?

 

That is a weird one.
Any pictures?

 

One of the two 'mind-blowers' engine conversions that I remember was a fairly new (at the time) Ford Pinto that somebody re-powered with a 1929 Ford Model A 4-Banger! It was featured in some car magazine at the time, and it out-performed the stock pinto AND got better gas mileage!

Another one was a guy in California that re-powered a 1954 Chevrolet CORVETTE with a 1957 Ford 312 Y-Block! He was some kind of a Ford-nut that wanted to prove the point that the only reason Corvettes were beating the 57 Thunderbirds was that the Corvettes were lighter weight! Duh!

I drove this one to high school in 1956. 40-Ford with a 1954, 354 Chrysler Hemi.

 

Yup. It is just not H.A.M.B. friendly. It is back in my shop now, having coughed out reverse gear (a common 4L80E problem).

 

That 1989 Nissan 240SX is the current Bonneville record holder in 'Flathead Ford-powered Unblown Gas Coupe' (XF/GC) at 156.778 MPH.

The same car also holds records in a couple of other classes with different engines.

JG

 

That is cool old Ford.