Now THIS is Rare

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

A very nice car!


Watch those SS arms/bars.

Notorious for frequently elongating the bolt-holes

& even ripping the brackets off on some cars. :o


How much did you have to cut up

the factory floor tranny tunnel

for the new shifter?

I had to trim the trans tunnel back towards the arm rest about 3/4 of an inch...the factory plastic "Hump" would still cover the hole...as for the Southside Bars we mounted on the 9 inch all the bracketry was fully welded and the control arm mounts are also fully welded...so I am hopin nothing ever gets hurt there...the front mounts of course are still factory on the frame so I think they would be weaker then the rear ones...hopefully my puny : 4500 RPM launches won't break anything out back

[Two Lane Blacktop]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

Didn't Mark Donohue drive one of these in NASCAR for Roger Penske back in 1971?

http://www.geocities.com/mmbb444/Matador.html ---

[Two Lane Blacktop]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

A very nice car!


Watch those SS arms/bars.

Notorious for frequently elongating the bolt-holes

& even ripping the brackets off on some cars. :o


How much did you have to cut up

the factory floor tranny tunnel

for the new shifter?

[Turbo Regal]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

Didn't Mark Donohue drive one of these in NASCAR for Roger Penske back in 1971?

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

The origianl subject of this thread was the 1971 Matador Machine...one of 50 or so...it is no longer for sale...I have a planned meeting with him in the spring along with a local restoration guy to try to get the car back to its original glory...this will be a good thing for the current owner as we will help him get the parts and pieces together and get the car back road worthy so he won't harbor thoughts of selling it again...Rob

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

My first time out with the slicks on was hilarious...I didn't have a line loc and after I did a clutch drop and spun the tires I staged...a well known AMC racer was behind me in the lanes...he said when I launched the back end of the car was literally bouncing off the ground several inches...after that event I bought a set of Southside lift bars and installed them...they basically replace the lower control arms and also change the pinion angle some...I never wheel hopped again...but I was still nervous about how much power I was putting into that small tube AMC 20 rearend...especially after talking to a buddy of mine who tweaked the tubes on the end and side loaded the Auburn Posi he had in the differential so bad it exploded...so I sold the AMC 20 with 4.44 gears, spool, and Moser axles and bought a bolt in 9 inch Ford with a spool and 4.56 gears...and it has Currie 35 spline axles in it...I think I could add another 200 horsepower and not hurt it....now the transmission!!!???

[amxerhull]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

Beautiful car, Rebel! I bought a new Machine in 1970 (traded in a 442 convertible, DOH!). My wife hated the Machine because she couldn't see past the hood scoop. Like yours, it had bad wheelhop and I blew the rearend within 5000 miles. The rear was going out again and I traded it with only 8000 miles clocked.

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

I know...Thanks

[Monster]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

Don't worry Rebel25A, he will get around to it

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

I knew that...LOL....I was just hoping somebody who has seen everything might have a comment on my ugly beast

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

Our crazy leader, DF.

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

Who asked for more details ;)

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

The few events I made it to last year raised more questions then answers..tire spin...wheel hop...and issues with trying to make gear changes with this much car at 7000 RPM...most of the issues have been addressed or are being addressed...car ran a best of 13.10...LOL...of course that was completely missing third gear and pulling back into fourth...the car never got the spray either...so I have changed transmissions to a 2.64 low box and set aside the factory 2.23 low...also installed a Hurst Ramrod inline shifter in place of the factory Comp PLus...took the 4.44 geared AMC 20 rearend out and installed a Ford 9 inch with a spool and 4.56 gears...also installed Southside Lift Bars to eliminate the wheel hop...and last but certainly not least installed a Mallory VII box in place of the VI...this will give me launch RPM capabilities and retard for the nitrous...IT WILL BE THE FASTEST RWB MACHINE IN THE LAND hopefully around 11.70 on the motor...and who knows on the spray

[Rebel25A]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

[Freiburger]

Re: Now THIS is Rare

Thanks...the Rebel is my baby...little 407 inch AMC motor making over 500 horses...plus it has another 200 of spray at the ready

Can we see some more detail photos? How quick?