While perusing Craigslist yesterday we found this 1970 Chevelle for sale that had been turned into a hobby stock or street stock dirt track car. Unfortunately we’ve seen things like this before, but it got us thinking. Should we be pissed off about this? Aren’t there better (worse?) cars to do this to? I mean, as the west coast guy, I’m used to seeing rust free cars, but still, Chevelles are getting hard to come by. But what about you guys that live in the rust belt, or the far north east like Brian, who spend tons of time and money searching for good project cars, only to be forced to replace virtually every body panel with new reproduction parts because there is nothing left of the factory stuff that came on the car?
Does seeing a restorable or hot rod worthy muscle car turned into a dirt track racer piss you off?
Or do you look at this car and think. “Huh, for $700 I could actually buy that thing and make it good again!” After all, technically you could cut the cage out of this sucker and restore it. Maybe you guys in the rust belt have seen original cars in worse shape than this. After all, it does come with some spare parts. LOL
Was it, the chassis, a Chevelle racecar when they ran around tracks like Saugus? If so go for it. If it wasn’t go for it anyway, it’s a Chevy just pick up the parts at K Mart .
Now is it a real LS whatever 427,454 crazy ass rare car? Well find somebody who wants that floor pan more than you (you know BJ type $$$$) and sell it, find a base nothing car and do it up.
But being it’s all caged up now Hello Track Car! with plates!!!!
Yea I’m a Ford guy all Chevy parts come from K or Wal-Mart.
It it’s a yes or no question, then I’ve got to say “yes” . . . in the abstract, it’s a waste to sully and wad up a “worthy” muscle car on a dirt track (or worse, a derby).
The reality is a bit more complex, though. Rarity and condition are factors.
I’m not really seeing a “restorable” muscle car in that pile of parts. Maybe there was at one time . . . . With just floorpans and outer skins (circle trackers cut away all of the support structure behind the panels), this one’s destined for some sort of competition.
A garden variety 307 Chevelle may now be an antique, but it is hardly a muscle car. I also question whether demand outstrips supply for the sorts of cars that are most commonly made into such racing cars.
On the other hand, the last American coupe with a separate frame (generally preferred for circle track work) was manufactured twenty-five years ago, so perhaps it’s past time for circle track sanctioning bodies to rethink their lower-division rules.
There are two ways to look at this.
1st, it is a shame to have potentially revived street car classics taken off the street to be chopped up and bounced off walls and other racecars, never to see a cruise night or Wild Wednesday type drag event.
On the other hand, at least these cars are being used for gearhead activities, not
rotting under a tarp in some drunk’s backyard while the owner procrastinates his intent to rebuild it, passing up legitimate offers by someone who has the wherewithal to bring a classic back to sweet. Plus, a well built Street Stock car can last through several seasons of racing and even be passed through generations of families who embrace the short track lifestyle that is very much it’s own culture all over the country.
Social commentary aside, here’s what it means in Indy. For the last 30 years it has been anywhere from a chore, to now virtually impossible to find a 2 door Nova cruising the street, much less offered for sale. This situation of course is amplified by the rigors of time and midwest winters.
The good news is that there are many dedicated drag cars around and if you wanted to go Street Stock racing you could find an adequate roller for less than 1K.
You guys must get upset at the old footage of Stock car racing with 40 Ford coupes and 32 ford cars etc racing.
Not really. At least it’s being used for racing, and it’s unlikely they would have started with anything worth serious money.
Those look like 68-69 Chevelle fenders and doors. Dunno if you can actually get those to line up on a 70.
Did you say 700$ for this thing? Where is the link? If it’s 700, hell, I’ll by it, slap it together with a cheap big block and just blast around in it, Roadkill style.
I’m pissed that I didn’t buy a legit 66 GTO that was made into a short track dirt car.
Exactly WHAT would have been a better starting point? Anything with two doors gets called a “Muscle Car” these days. The low budget roundy guys should have to stick to 4 doors?
Not really. Most times . . . about 99% . . . the car in question . . . say something like a 1970 Chevelle . . . even an SS396 . . . Chevy made almost 60,000 of them. What’s one less in the collector market?
But . . . every now and then . . . infrequently thank God . . . someone takes a rare muscle car . . . one that less than 100 were built and cuts it up. THAT is a tradegy
I’m surprised that there are any 68-72 Chevells or second gen Camaros around as out local 1/2 mile dirt track (closed ~5 years ago) sure claimed more than a few.
Maybe this was built into a short track car 20 or 30 years ago when ’70 Chevelles were still cheap and plentiful, raced a couple of years and forgotten until now.
A race car? Piss me off? I’m pissed he didn’t finish and race it…a-hole “collectors” raising the cost of raw material to race pisses me off…yea, card table and folding chair toters piss me off…I’d rather see somebody sliding sideways looking out the passenger side window while they were searching for the cushion at the local dirt track than some dipstick sitting around at the mall telling everybody how much he thinks the car he polishes every weekend is worth…
Not at all…after all, it’s only a chevy
I have a nice set of fiberglass doers for whoever buys it and finishes it as a stock car. There is still a few of us running them at Barona Speedway in San Diego. Old Cajon speedway cars.
Yes it does…no matter what make/model. These cars are slowly…well faster than we know, disappearing. They get wrecked, stolen and chopped or shipped overseas, destroyed on the strip/tracks. Rare or not, we need to show the newer generation that these are beautiful works of art…not to be destroyed like the disposable P.O.S.’s that they drive today. I guarantee in 10, 15, 20 years we will all be wondering where these machines of yesteryear disappeared to. Look at the “rods” of the ’20’s – ’50’s they were plentiful and turned into track cars and destroyed…now try to find one in decent condition.
I only see an opportunity to turn this into a nice TT track car or even use for an autox event. You couldn’t build a cage for that price.
I didn’t see a mention of when this thing was cut up and started it’s life as a race car. Perhaps this was done far enough ago that it was a “dime a dozen” car at that time. As mentioned above, one time people were racing 32 fords to crash and junk them. cheap and abundant. now they’re not.
IMO, this car isn’t worth bringing back (unless it has some super exotic pedigree). so just enjoy it as a cool looking race car. there are still enough of them out there it would be financially wiser to find another one if your intent was to “restore” it.
Its a waste. Whats the point of using that Chevelle? Use a more common g body. Isnt it about time these guys found a new chassis to use for that stuff? This goes for all makes not just a Chevrolet. Id hate to see that as a Ford or Mopar as well.
Mien Gott!
My Chevrolet eating virus hass exceeded mine expectations! It hass eaten der driver and iss now devouring efery cursed molecule off der infestation dat iss Chevrolet!
But the question iss vy haff I got this verdampt German accent!
Why aye man! Ah hate Chevys nearly as much as Makems! – I better lay off that nitrous and gan and lie doon1
What pisses me off more is how in the last 10 to 20 years Hollywood glorifies the destruction of classic muscle cars. Olds 442 in Demolition Man, ’69 Malibu in Talladega Nights, about a million Chargers in the Dukes Of Hazzard (TV show and stupid movie), etc., etc. Back in the 50’s, the 30’s & 40’s car were disposable, in the 60’s, it was 40’s & 50’s cars and so on. Doesn’t it follow that we should see Hollywood destroying 90’s & 00 cars now?