In 1983, Bucks County was infested..yes infested..by an army of New Yorkers after the Times and Forbes named our historic county the best place to live and commute to work just a few years earlier. One unexpected aspect was the ton of rich dudes driving around in their BMWs, Porsches, and Alpha Romeos on the dark farm roads looking to race. They were everywhere and as drag racer with a low 11 second 79 Ford Notchback Coupe drag car my pops and I built in a year from a junkyard car, parts, and a rare 1970 Boss 302 engine mistakenly put with all the other Ford 302s I bought for 150$…a priceless engine for 150$. Add aluminum ARP high compression heads made to fit a Windsor 350..just like the original 1970 Boss, a dual tunnel ram with twin Holley Dominators, a Ford 9inch rear with a 4.29 gear and a classic Ford TCI automatic drag transmission. I never broke into the 10s but I was damn close.
However, the car I’m most proud of building was the midnight rally racer I built to smoke all those nouveau riche NYC arseholes and take their money the best way..by subterfuge, dirty deeds, and having a car they had no hope of beating because it was a real European rally race car that the previous owner somehow bribed someone..handsomely..so he could register and insure a German built rally race winner in New Jersey. The 1980 Audi Quattro Coupe..with a longitudinal 5 cylinder turbocharged DOHC 20 valve engine, producing about 300 horsepower to all 4 wheels, was a dominator for taking advantage of the new Rally Car rules allowing 4 wheel drive. That car was a monster in 1983 and I have no idea how the owner got it into the states..I’m just glad he totaled it by bending the right front wheel corner way up and bent out of shape..a unibody car total loss. My friend Chris’ Dad had an Audi and mentioned the dealership was all abuzz about a wrecked race Audi from Europe heading for auction. As a Ford nut I watched English Rally Racing on Canadian TV as a kid and I knew exactly what Audi he was talking about. As fast as I could I went to the dealership in Jersey and made an offer to the Manager of 500$..which he flatly refused. We settled on 1200$ for the wrecked Quattro that everyone thought would be unfixable.. but I’m from Detroit..the son of a hot rodder..and I knew if the drive shafts were okay, the transmission relatively ok, and the engine was fine, I was confident I could fix the car..and quickly too. Ultimately, I cut off the whole front unibody structure, severely chopped a Camaro front clip and channeled the body to weld in a partial frame back to the rear suspension for stiffness and strength. We measured with plum bobs and levels, and though it was never perfectly level, we welded on the fenders, painted it satin black and went out at midnight looking for suckers. Chris and I rarely lost and cleaned up until I had to quit because of my responsibilities. I still dream about flying down those narrow unlit roads topping 100mph in the short straights in that beauty of a car.
Chris said he held onto it well into the 90s, but as it broke down he didn’t have the knowledge to work on the car..finally selling it for 5 grand In ‘96. I, of course, asked for the 1200$ I paid for it originally and was surprised to get a check soon after. Man…that 1980 Euro Rally Audi Quattro would be hard to beat 30 years later. Best hatchet repair I ever pulled off and is definitely my favorite because I did it all without Pops help.
Anybody else have a favorite project car that got away?
However, the car I’m most proud of building was the midnight rally racer I built to smoke all those nouveau riche NYC arseholes and take their money the best way..by subterfuge, dirty deeds, and having a car they had no hope of beating because it was a real European rally race car that the previous owner somehow bribed someone..handsomely..so he could register and insure a German built rally race winner in New Jersey. The 1980 Audi Quattro Coupe..with a longitudinal 5 cylinder turbocharged DOHC 20 valve engine, producing about 300 horsepower to all 4 wheels, was a dominator for taking advantage of the new Rally Car rules allowing 4 wheel drive. That car was a monster in 1983 and I have no idea how the owner got it into the states..I’m just glad he totaled it by bending the right front wheel corner way up and bent out of shape..a unibody car total loss. My friend Chris’ Dad had an Audi and mentioned the dealership was all abuzz about a wrecked race Audi from Europe heading for auction. As a Ford nut I watched English Rally Racing on Canadian TV as a kid and I knew exactly what Audi he was talking about. As fast as I could I went to the dealership in Jersey and made an offer to the Manager of 500$..which he flatly refused. We settled on 1200$ for the wrecked Quattro that everyone thought would be unfixable.. but I’m from Detroit..the son of a hot rodder..and I knew if the drive shafts were okay, the transmission relatively ok, and the engine was fine, I was confident I could fix the car..and quickly too. Ultimately, I cut off the whole front unibody structure, severely chopped a Camaro front clip and channeled the body to weld in a partial frame back to the rear suspension for stiffness and strength. We measured with plum bobs and levels, and though it was never perfectly level, we welded on the fenders, painted it satin black and went out at midnight looking for suckers. Chris and I rarely lost and cleaned up until I had to quit because of my responsibilities. I still dream about flying down those narrow unlit roads topping 100mph in the short straights in that beauty of a car.
Chris said he held onto it well into the 90s, but as it broke down he didn’t have the knowledge to work on the car..finally selling it for 5 grand In ‘96. I, of course, asked for the 1200$ I paid for it originally and was surprised to get a check soon after. Man…that 1980 Euro Rally Audi Quattro would be hard to beat 30 years later. Best hatchet repair I ever pulled off and is definitely my favorite because I did it all without Pops help.
Anybody else have a favorite project car that got away?
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