[Jeff Higgins]

I'm not saying any old original technology muscle car (yes, they really are "turds" in every sense of the word) would have a prayer against a GT3. For $250k you could certainly build one that would, though. Actually, you could build one for a fifth of that if cosmetics were not important. It would be way more than the proverbial "polished turd", too. Your run-of-the-mill hot-rodded muscle car is seldom built with roadrace type performance in mind however, no matter how much cash is poured down that rat hole. The ones that are, though, are very fast when done properly.

This car could be made to weigh well under 3,000 pounds. My '69 Super Bee, a much larger car, was around 2,800, but it was pretty well gutted for drag racing. It could fit some enormous brakes inside those huge rims. Aftermarket suspensions change all of the pick-up points and geometry. Like I said, the only limitations are the live axles, which are not as great a hinderance as some may think. Remember Colin Chapman - "even the poorest of suspension designs can be made to work well if kept from moving". That's kind of the idea with these.

So in the end you have a car that matches a GT3 in weight and braking ability. It has 70-80% more horsepower and double the torque. Aerodynamics do suck, but that's what air dams and spoilers are for. The handling is not quite as good, but closer than I think most would believe.

There are two old American cars that regularly run our track days up here at Pacific Raceways. One is a '66 Mustang set up like a Trans Am car of the day, but with all of the modern suspension bits and brakes. Fully caged and front and rear suspensions tied in, powered by a pretty hot little 302, weighing in the low 2,000's. When he is out there, not many cars will hang with him, including our local GT3's. The other is a Chevelle 454 SS with a 570-some-odd-inch crate motor with what the guy claims is over 700 ponies. It too has the brakes and suspension from the modern NASCAR wannabe aftermarket. It really needs to go on a diet to finish it, as it still weighs close to 4,000 pounds. Nothing will stay with it on the top half, but down in the lower half in the woods, its weight really shows.

Again, build quality is a non-issue at this level. When they are rebuilt completely by hand, as this Challenger apparently was, there is nothing left of the original build. While it is true that most people will actually reduce the build quality of an old Porsche at home in their spare time, these old pigs have nowhere to go but up. There are some great fabricators building some very capable cars out of these things. Again, most are built for drag racing or more show than go, but every now and then some one extracts their full potential. I'm not saying this particular car fits that description, but it certainly looks like it might. They are on the right track, anyway.