I have a 74 Ventura Sprint and it currently runs in the 12's but, that is no longer quick enough me so I'm building a twin turbo BB-Olds that will put out hopefully 1,000Hp at the crank. Yes I said Olds it has an Olds in it now and I have a lot of extra Olds parts, it is what it is. Anyway the body only needs rear fender lips to repair the rust and some interior work. Otherwise there is no other rust, dents or dings but, I'm getting it ready for paint. I made a set of assassin traction bars and they work excellent but, they will not handle the new power. To do this properly I would need to back-half the car but, because the car is in such great shape I'm not sure I should do it will the car value go up, stay the same or go down? So what would you do, back-half the car and make a prostreet or leave as is, have a street cruiser, and get another racecar ?
"The pursuit of perfection is frustrating and a waste of time because nothing is ever perfect. The pursuit of excellence is commendable and worth while. Therefore strive for excellence, not perfection"
If the car were mint with the original power train and some unique/rare options I would say leave it alone. 1000hp will overcome the 9.5" - 10.5" tire that fits in the stock wheel tub. If it were me x3 on tubing.
I'm with Carl, you can make it fast without spending all that money. Once you tub it, your market is very limited when it gets sold, and cars get sold even when it's not in the plans sometimes.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
Depends on whether you are building a race car, a driveable street car and/or consider your car an investment. I've gone through the same thought process with my 72 Nova. The fact that it's a documented SS car has carried some weight in my decisions but it came down to what is practical for me and where I get the most bang for my buck.
I relocated the rear shocks and fit as much tire as I can without cutting. There is the option of mini-tubbing but I always talk myself out of it due to the minimal gain in tire size for the amount of work involved. I've never considered back-halving as an option. I'm building mine to drive, show and have a little fun. It'll be a 450+hp 454 with a 4sp and 12 bolt posi, and I can take the whole family with a trunk full of whatever we'll need for a day show & shining.
I will be spending more than I would realize if selling, but I'm certain I would spend even more if back-halving and realize less in a sale.
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72 Nova SS, 66 Beaumont Sport Deluxe, 09 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe
Millions of 74 Ventura -Nova etc running 9-10's w/o back half back half has a important word in it "half" is what you would do to its value
Well maybe not a million but, a few. Your right there are cars running high 9's and low 10's without a back-halved car but, these cars are usually high Hp and not high torque as per say at launch. These cars are usually between 500 and 750 Lbs./ft at launch and have 4.86 or higher gears. The build I'm sort of copying is here: Junkyard 455 Twin Turbo (http://realoldspower.prophpbb.com/topic260.html?sid=14b429204718c66a99fe275c4312f5ac#p1848), I'll be using better heads, fuel injection, and a bigger cam so I will be making more Hp and torque, most likely 1000Hp and 1100Tq. I should be launching at 800-900lbs./ft. of torque depending on how much I spool up the turbo's. Some really good ladder bars should work but, a 4-link would control it better. Besides I have more experience with 4-links than ladder bars. So should I get a different car to race or continue my resto-mod?
If the car were mint with the original power train and some unique/rare options I would say leave it alone. 1000hp will overcome the 9.5" - 10.5" tire that fits in the stock wheel tub. If it were me x3 on tubing.
That's one of my problems, it doesn't have the original drive train, it had a Poncho 400 with a rod hanging out when I got it. I have the build sheet for it but, that's it, also the previous owner thought it would be neat to use contact cement (eats plastic) to glue red shag carpet all over the place (what a F*CK-Head). So I have been collecting interior parts and was or am going to make the interior all black. The car is a Sprint (custom) with PS, PB (drums), AT, and AM/FM radio for options, so it is a basic Sprint. Besides the engine I have upgraded the front brakes to correct stock 74 P/disc brakes and put a multi-leaf corp. 8.5" rear-end with a 4.10 posi in the back. Should have left the single leaf in it but, it was bottoming out with the family in the car even with new gas shocks, leafs were bagged out. I think even if I put the drive train back to stock the resale value might top $10K. Here in Winnipeg there are a couple of Ventura's all fixed up, one is all original ($18K) and the other is a resto-mod ($11K) and they both have been up for sale for over a year. I have seen Nova's in various condition sell in less than a month and for over priced values.
Thanks guys for your opinions but, I think I'm going to prostreet it. I don't think the value will change much and would be pretty much the same either way. Then again my oldest daughter wants it so maybe I'll just will it to her. I'll keep you guys up to date on how things work out on my 9.0 quest.