Factory Lightweights: Detroit'S Drag Racing Specials Of The '60S

Among racers it has never been a secret that a lighter car is a faster car?particularly in drag racing. When Detroit?s automakers got involved in organized drag racing, they paid heed to this principle, issuing a series of rare race-only cars that became legends in their own time. Unbound by warranty and durability concerns, these wild cars featured lightweight additions such as fiberglass and aluminum body parts, Plexiglas windows, and many more weight-saving tricks. Under their hoods were wicked, raucous engines that only felt at home on the quarter mile. Factory Lightweights: Detroit?s Drag Racing Specials of the ?60s chronicles these rare cars that still inspire admirers and imitators today. Cars like the Ford Fairlane 427 Thunderbolt, Pontiac?s Super Duty Catalina, Dyno Don Nicholson?s Chevy II Wagon, and a whole assortment of Hemi-powered Mopars, sit at the top of the heap when you?re talking about the fastest American muscle cars produced during the 1960s. Limited numbers of these cars were produced and very few still survive today. Charles R. Morris tells the complete story of these remarkable drag racing specials. The book explains how the Big Three came to build these insane cars and describes, in detail, the cars and engines that helped make the 1960s such a unique era in drag racing history. A huge collection of period photographs, many previously unpublished, captures the spirit of the times and shows readers how these cars looked as they ran?particularly important, given that so many of them have been lost to history. Dodge - Lancer, Dart, D/Dart, 330, Coronet Mopar Engines - aluminum engine, Ramcharger, Max Wedge, 413, 426, Stage II, Stage III, Race Hemi, Street Hemi, A990 package Plymouth - Sonoramic Commando, Valiant, Savoy, Belvedere, GTX, Barracuda, Super Stock 413v Ford - Galaxie, Custom 300, Starliner, Fairlane, Thunderbolt, Mustang, Holman-Moody conversions, 289, 352 Fe (360 hp), 390 (401hp Thunderbird Special), 406 Thunderbird Special, 427, Cobra Jet 428 Mercury Comet & Cyclone 427 Chevy - Bel Air, Z-11, Impala, Chevelle 396, Chevy II (with 283 or 327 swapped in), Nova L-79 with a 327, 409, 427 Olds - F85, Cutlass, 442, W-30, Ram Rod 350 W-31 Pontiac - Catalina, ?Swiss Cheese? Catalina, Super Duty, Tempest, LeMans, GTO, '68 Firebird, 389, 421 '69 S/S AMX About the Author Charles R. Morris is an auto enthusiast who has written numerous magazine articles for Ford-related publications. A drag racer for 40 years, Charlie has run cars in Stock, Super Stock, and modified production. FACTORY LIGHTWEIGHTS Drag Racing Specials of the ?60s Ford Thunderbolt Holman Moody Lightweight Racing Ford Thunderbolt Comet Cyclone Chevy 409 327 Hemi Drag Chevy Drag Racing History Lightweight 327 396 409 427

Condition: This is a NEW BOOK

Author: Charles R. Morris

ISBN: 9781932494440

Publisher: CarTech

Pages: 180

Weight: 1.35