The best way to sum up my approach to building my car is to say that I am playing the cards I was dealt.
My first Cadillac 472 cost $100. My second one was free. Throw in one BOP TH-400, two Chevy TH-400's, and an empty Chevy TH-400 case for another $100. Also, a free Dana 60 rearend and suddenly I have the makings of a stout bracket racer. That's right, two engines, three transmissions, and an unbreakable rear axle assembly for $200.
I have been collecting parts for over three years and have yet to come accross a big Pontiac motor. I do, though, have a 215 cu. in. 6-cylinder if anybody wants it.
The Cadillacs are out there. The majority of people I know are looking for the 500 cubic inch version and as such, the 472 often times gets thrown into the deal for free.
There are performance parts for the Cadillac today that allow for a cost effective budget build. For my application, bracket racing, it is not how fast you go but how consistently you do it.
Sure, I have to modify my family heirloom to fit the engine, but I came to terms with that when I stripped the car to see how bad the corrosion was. Of the fourteen body mounts, seven were air gaps and i became pretty disgusted with GM's design approach. It is obvious to me that GM never intended these things to be family heirlooms, so fixing it and making it my own design suits me just fine.
The "daring to be different" thing suits me OK.
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JB 472
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