Is there ever a point...

That did look pretty good...

 

I've always suspected that myself...

 

That car is absolutely insane looking. What was done to it body wise?

 

looks like it was just a roof chop. still very cool but if i were to go through all that work it woulda been a 2dr

 

4 doors

Gapp and Roush chose the 4 door body style to get their car into a better weight break at the time. NHRA was factoring Pro Stock cars by weight/cubic inches/and wheelbase for a few years in the mid-70s. If you went with a longer wheelbase, you could run lighter. If memory serves correct the 2 door wheelbase was 4 inches too short to make the break.

This is the same reason that Dyno Don stepped backward a few model years and ran a 70 Mustang at the same time.

It was a pretty cool time for Pro Stock. You could see big block cars running against small blocks, and there was a lot more diversity.

BTW, That chopped 4 door is bitchin' ...

Here's thinking outside the box ... My wife loves station wagons, and if I squint real hard, I can imagine a four door converted into a wagon and it looking pretty good. She would probably love a "phantom car" like that.

But, then again, she likes me, too ... no accounting for taste ...

 

That be the one! Thanks, Jamie!

 

Or you could always just bring one of the real wagons over from Brazil! Heck, it's only money and it would likely be the only one in the U.S.

 

4drs make really good sleepers.

 

Except for the pink dash...

 

My first Car (Mav) was a 4 door, and I personally think it was one first 4 doors to have sporty lines, Heck the Europeans have seen the value of sporty 4 doors for years. I think (unfortunately) they won't acheive the status of a 2 door, and a basic 2 door won't acheive the status of a Comet GT nor will the Comet GT acheive the status of the Grabber, there is a definate "pecking" order. Again though I like the 4 door equally as well as the 2 door, and if my Comet was a 4 door when I found it back in '98 I would have plunked down my $750 just as eagerly.

 

I think they have alot of appeal, if it wasn't for the fact that I have one Maverick already, i'd consider buying the one down the county from me. They have alot of potential, and the lines they have compared to other 4 door cars are great.

 

Captaincomet was right, Gapp & Roush went with the 4 dr because they could run more cubes with the longer wheel base. I don't think it would launch any better because the rear wheels are still the same distance from the rear bumper which actually puts more weight in front of the rear wheels, where you don't want it.

I think 4 drs look good, I have always liked their body lines, that photo shop some one did of the 4dr turned into a 2dr sedan looked awesome with those bodylines.

That chopped 4dr was done right up the road, Brooks Ky., by Pat Keeting(spell check on last name), he also chopped the 2 dr that was at the Gathering(see pics in the gallery) and another 2dr that made its way to the west coast. I am going to try and contact him about the cars and see why he chose the mavericks to do. He just chopped a 32 five window for a freind of mine that has a bodyshop/streetrod shop. He is well known in the street rooder world for his chops and metal and lead work. So why a maverick for himself? He used to drive to a 2 day cruise they have in Louisville, it was silver back then with pinstripes down the sides and hood.

And Jasons car looks very good!

 

A Longer wheel base car launches,smoother and more Straight. Think Rail Cars. They didn't make them long for nothing EVer watch the old Pintos launch vefore the advent of Ladder Bars etc....

 

longer wheelbase

I have always preferred the more violent launches out of my short wheelbase Comets compared to the smoother, straighter (slower!!!) launches out of my 71 Torino. My latest Comet and the Torino were running roughly the same amount of power.

Comparing a nose-heavy doorslammer to a Top Fuel dragster is apples to oranges. I can walk up to a Top Fueler and pick the front axle up off the ground. Can't do that to my Comet.

In a Pro Stock Car at that time in the 70s, the motor position was dictated relative to the front spindle. Longer wheelbase = worse front/rear weight bias. Not good.

I will repeat here ... making the wheelbase break was the reason Gapp and Roush picked a 4 door Mav. They were gacking at the idea of running a four door. It was the only new Ford body able to take advantage of that rule.

I mentioned Dyno Don stepping back 4 model years to race a 70 Mustang. I just stumbled on a picture of Glidden and Allen doing the same thing, 70 Mustang. The only examples in the all the history of Pro Stock that I can recall racers going that far backwards in model years to build new cars. It was just due to the odd factoring system that NHRA was using at the time trying to balance everything out, before going to the more homoginized system that they use now.