Ken, that's a '68 2dr sedan (LL21). Originally 273 V8, 904 auto trans, 2.71:1 7¼" rear A/C, PS, variable speed (not 2-speed, not 3-speed) wipers, all tinted windows, up-grade interior, yellow W/black PAINTED roof & gold vinyl bench seat interior car. It's now painted 1970 Y-1 (Top Banana) yellow W/black vinyl top, mostly black cloth interior (still bench seat), has a mild (about 350 HP) 360, A-518 (4-spd AOD) trans, 3.91:1 8¾" narrowed C-body station wagon rear, NOS firm feel police PS box, C-body (Newport, New Yorker) pitman/idler arms & tie rod ends (arms are 2" longer for faster steering, tie rods are bigger, 11/16" vs 9/16"), 1.04" torsion bars, slightly relocated HD leaf springs (moved inboard ¾" each), Koni shocks, 1¼" anti roll bar, 10.875" (soon to be 11¾") disc brakes & 10" drums both running carbon metallic frictions, hand made tri-Y headers (to clear the steering mods), hand made welded frame connectors, & ½" full recirculating fuel system feeding the Holley 650 double pumper. It rides on 16" X 7" Torque Thrust II wheels with BFG KDW tires (205/55's on front, 245/50's on back). It's not
REAL fast (but it's not slow either
), & rides like a buck-board, but it'll take a 25 MPH 270° interstate on/off ramp at 55 MPH easily (& at that speed the tires are just beginning to "talk" to me). I built it to chase Corvettes, & considering I did it all "on the fly" (for under $15K) by just picking parts, it came out surprisingly well balanced. When it does eventually start to lose grip in a turn, all 4 tires start to move laterally very gently; none of this suddenly having the rear try to pass the front, or having the front wheels scrub out drama! The only real "weak point" in the car is the tire/wheel size. I could use an 8" wide (5" back space) wheel on the front without changing anything, but without moving the rear springs INTO the frame rails & widening the wheel tubs (which would make tail pipes a nightmare without narrowing the fuel tank), I can't go any larger than I already have on the rear (the tires
JUST touch both the inner wheel house & fender lip in "spirited" driving). As a point of comparison, my bro's '68 Barracuda fast back has 16" X 8" (5" back space) wheels with 245/45 tires on all 4 corners (& in the trunk too!) with nothing moved or modified (his rear is slightly wider than mine, I cut mine down to fit my wheel combo).
All in all, it's a very fun ride; a real blast to throw around the back roads, not too shabby in the stop-light grand prix, & with the overdrive trans it cruises at 70-75 MPH quietly & effortlessly. Unfortunately, it's been parked for just over 2 years now. One day, it'll return to the road sporting new Edelbrock aluminum heads & a better cam. Before that happens though, my bro's 69 Coronet 500 wagon is getting a new Dana 60 rear with Cal-tracks & mono-leaf springs. Since we dropped the 550 HP 493 (stroked 440) in it, he's been worried about the old rear (it was my first R&P swap & it's not real quiet).
Now, who want to get me started telling skydiving stories?
