This build came together right in my garage, with every bit of the work done by me, except for a little help with the paint. It all started with replacing half the floor, which quickly turned into tackling both quarter panels. I split the tubs, added 3-inch straps for a mini-tub, and pulled the rear frame. Using Competition Plus frame rails, I reworked them to fit the floor better and added 2-inch tubing for the subframe connectors. 

I then picked up an S&W cage, installed it, and built my own rotisserie to mount the body. I blasted it top to bottom right in the driveway and laid down three coats of DP90. 

The rust repair was no joke. Honestly, the car probably should have ended up in a junkyard. I made patch panels everywhere and had the entire back end shipped from Texas just to get a tail panel since there was no reproduction available. 

After piecing together what I could, I finally got a good panel mounted. Then I rebuilt the vent windows, added new door hinges, reskinned both doors and handled all the bodywork before painting the car right there in the driveway.

Wiring was a whole new beast. I used an American Autowire modern kit. It was intimidating at first, but I got the hang of it as I went. I welded in motor and transmission mounts, added perches for the driveshaft, and spent time dialing in the right angles. This car started life as a 4-cylinder manual, so there was a lot to transform.

Now it’s a blast to drive. Built for the street and strip, it rips off a 1.59 sixty-foot and hits 6.30 at 110 in the eighth. On the street, it’s a red-light terror. After ironing out the bugs, it’s turn-key and ready to roll. The tune is conservative, 16 degrees under boost on 93-octane, since there’s no reliable source of E85 around. It’s all managed by an MSD 6012 box that pulls timing as boost builds.

Cooling comes from a Treadstone front-mount air-to-air intercooler. It had a 4-pound boost restriction, so I cut off the 3-inch outlet, TIG-welded a 3.5-inch one, and dropped the restriction to 2 pounds. I even made grill extenders to push the grill out 3 inches to fit the cooler. I wasn’t sure I’d like the look, but once it was on, I was sold.