Ok, this is getting out of hand. First, a one-year-only Road Runner. Next, a straight-axle Dart that was so funky and unexpected that I sat there, staring at it, both horrified and intrigued. Tonight’s find will be the last time I search for any kind of Mopar on the Internet for at least a week, and I freaking mean it, because I have no other way to explain why I’m seeing a tubbed, stripped, and somewhat race-prepared 1980 Dodge Mirada on my feed. In red, of all colors. Seriously, this self-torment has got to stop.
That being said, the Mirada is a pretty decent find. It’s already been big-block swapped, using a 440/727 combination that runs out to a narrowed Dana in the rear. It’s tubbed, appears to be frame-tied, and has had weight hacked out (note: missing fender wells and the heavier bits of the interior.) There’s tubing inside, but there’s some things I just don’t know, so you make the call on whether or not that’s a quality looking ‘cage. Outside, the body is clean enough…the rear plastics are falling apart, but they are crap anyways and you can get a fiberglass tailpan from VFN Fiberglass that ditches the multi-piece, pressed-cardboard crap for one useful piece. If you decide to pursue the race car line, or are deadly serious about making this Mirada something wicked, you can get the trunk lid, hood, and an entire nose clip, from the fenders to the front bumper cap, in fiberglass as well. Or you can just rip off that riveted-on scoop and put a Roots blower right where it should be…with that much rubber out back, shouldn’t there be a blower through the hood? I think so. If you’re building a Mirada, you might as well dive head-first into the pool of insanity…you’re already dipping your toe in the water.
At press time, the Dodge is sitting on eBay with a Buy-It-Now price of $7,500. It’s easily worth the sum of it’s parts, but could it be something really wicked? I think so. Something tells me that 440 isn’t even breathing hard yet, and the running gear is stout. If it were me, I’d go over it to make sure everything is safe, plumb some exhaust out so it’s street drivable, and start pricing blowers and a set of Welds so that those Centerlines could be ditched, and prepare for Drag Week 2017. Then again, my affliction for red Miradas is well documented, and telling my wife that I’m buying this car…well, that wouldn’t end well.
Here us friends of yours are trying to torment you constantly sending you Craigslist ads and pictures of cars you would drool over. But, you are so much better at tormenting yourself. Have fun with this one, Bryan.
Why do I want this??????
Dang, who’s been driving this thing, Wee Man? Check out the seat position.
Reminds me of Paul Rossi’s Super Stock Mirada from the 80’s
I like to see concepts like this. It is different than the “norm”. Do I like it better than a 1st gen Challenger? No, but I feel that vehicles from the mid ’70s to early ’80s DO have potential. You just need to think outside of the box. This is a great example of an “out of the box build”! Not that I do not like the streamline models ( Camaro, Mustang, Charger…..) but I would like to see more of the oddball vehicles just to add some variety. This is why I’m building a ’73 Plymouth Satellite 4dr with the theme…”Moonshine Runner”. Anyway, that is my “thought” and I hope everyone has great day.
From the ebay ad it was suppose to be a former Super Stocker. Says SS/MA in the ad, guess it originally had a 360 in the car.
Can’t go wrong with a former SS car, they are built well.
Is it even a big block with where the distributor is located?
nevermind, zoomed in
where in the ad dose it say ss/ma car ???
not sure i would pay $7500 for with out more info on the car
True MoPar Madness–part it out
I saw this car in person last week. It appears well constructed, seemed a bargain to me.
I’ve been running one for 30 years, they are real heavy(3900#) in street trim but a blast to drive. I have back halved the car, put struts from a K car up front and managed to get the weight down to 3500# with all the original windows in it. It has a stout 440 with a 727 tranny and a 4:56 Dana and runs 10:50’s all day long.