Last month as I walked through the pits at the California Hot Rod Reunion, I caught a glance at the insane looking Plymouth you see above.
Before I even got any closer, I knew I found a perfect Car Spotlight for Haulers & Sedans month.
From some angles, it looks like a simple and clean Valiant Wagon with some big rubber out back.
But then there's the front view, and any notion of "simple" is thrown out the window.
Looking for a little presence in your engine bay? A blown Hemi with a fat pair of Holley carbs will certainly get the job done. Obviously, this wasn't one of those simple weekend engine swaps.
Obviously this engine setup is putting out some serious power, but you get the idea that this car was built as much for the grin factor as it was for any performance reasons.
A better view of the Weld race wheels and Mickey Thompson meats. As you've probably noticed this car is sporting a more contemporary low stance as opposed to the retro high-riding look.
The only thing the car is missing is a giant, gruesome, rat fink-esque character popping through the roof, burning rubber into the sunset.
-Mike Garrett
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
incredile!!! I just love this kind of cars!!! I bet the owner never raced on the 1/4 mille!!
that engine is sick and makes me feel very tiny with my 1.8L in my wagon...
If i had the bucks though..
Some info on the build would be nice. What tires are hiding under those massive fender wells? What engine and blower combo? I guess this was nice if you just want to see some pretty pictures, but I expect some details from a site of this caliber.
Nice early A-body coverage! I'm trying to buy a clean, original '66 Dart wagon right now but I can't find anyone to ship it from San Fran to Cincinnati for under $900.
Niiice !
what a ride..imagine this one coming up in your rear view on a cold winters night. i'd love to know what kind of power its putting to those wheels??!! - apart from the massive engine block, this wagon reminds me of a car sticker my friends Dad had on his old Cortina Estate that read "Uncle Bucks Chuck Wagon".. i love it.
I just love these old american wagons, they are so spacious, I'd love to have one.
Nice Engine
Speedhunters really needs a hot rod/old american car expert in its staff. I'm sure if this was an old toyota wagon you would have pointed out all the custom touches it has, but as you dont know full well a Valiant wagon, you didn't even take pictures.
I'm not bashing, it's awesome that Speedhunters features such stuff (it's what brought me to check out this place more often), but it would be cooler if you had a hot rod expert in your ranks, just as you have tons of japanese cars experts.
Oh, and its hard enough to fit a regular 340/360 small block Mopar in an early A-body and still have room for headers, let alone a big block or Hemi, probably why the motor sits so high in this car.
I volunteer to be the Speedhunters American car expert, I have the appropriate level of random, useless automotive knowledge, and writing about cars seems to be one of the few things I'm good at!
Hire me!
And I am planning to move to California in early 2011 if that helps at all.