Hey guys im 17 and was thinking about building a drag car and was seeing if you guys could help me out alittle bit. I know were i can buy this maverick for $500. The body is in decent shape. The previous owner put an older LTD front clip on it so that he could run a 460. I guess he had the car on the road and running before because my dads friend seen him. I would have to re weld the clip on because whoever welded it did a crappy job. But i can buy this car with no motor or tranny in it. I can also buy a 429 with tranny from a guy i know for $500. My plans would be to strip the cars interior and weld in a roll cage and 2 bucket seats and get rid of all the excess weight. Also rebuild the engine but not really beef it up because the funds are alittle low. So i was wondering do you think this car would go pretty good down an 1/8th mile track, (Seeing how thats all i have around my area). I know that the 429 would be alot better in the 1/4 mile but do you think it would go decent in the 1/8? Also what class would i have to enter. I know i wouldnt want to run with the heavy hitters because they have alot of $ in there cars, but i know that my mav would have some pretty decent mods so i couldnt enter stock class. Well all the help you guys can give would be muchly appreciated.
I'm guessing that the tracks in your area are bracket racing tracks? If so, drop a 302 down in the thing and go out and have some fun. Other than bragging rights, going fast doesn't assure that you will win! If you're worrying about funds, I wouldn't go with a 429. Get a 302, put it in, go to the track and enter the footbrake class or the trophy class first if you want and have a good time. Later,
i'm not sure i'd get something that someone else welded a different fron clip on unless it was a mustang II. i'd also go with a 302. you can stroke it to 331 or 347 and make a lot of power. that 429 is going to need a lot of track to get going. bracket racing is the great equalizer. just change your dial in with shoe polish. any car can win. good luck.
In rule books it states that welds cannot be ground and re-welded, they have to be welded once and done right without grinding so the inspector can see the penetration. True this is for big name tracks but if the track you're at cares about safety of the people on it they will be looking pretty hard. My gut says keep looking and build a 302 or stroked 302 to fit in a original car. I bought my 77 V-8 maverick for $500. still ran, tranny was going south but has all the right parts for a quick car. without expense of modifications. I tried to buy a fixer-upper and as many here can attest, it will probably cost more in the long run than buying a running, driving car, mine did.
Well if i was gonna re weld it i would cut the piece off and re weld the entire piece. But yea you guys are right the 429 would be no good in an 1/8, plus its alot more expensive for parts. My dad has an old 289 in the garage that i might do up instead and put it in my street car and maybe take it to the track every now and then. I figure if i save my money i will be able to turn that 289 into a 331 stroker.
E.T. is directly proportional to dollars spent (to a point, then it's diminishing returns). "All it takes is money."
A 429 would be just fine in the 1/8,that old "big blocks take longer to wind out" is BS,but I agree with the others,sounds like a hack job.If you did get it to go it would probably not be safe based on your description of the car.These cars are still cheap,go find a decent car & smallblock it,you'll be $$ ahead and be easier to sell later if need to.BTW,if that 429 is a '69-'71,the heads are probably worth $350-450 alone.Look for cast # on the head below the valvecovers between #2 & #3 cyl,should be C9ve,D0ve,D1ve.
