Just Right

 

Jeff Ryan is from Statin Island, New York, and this is his '69 Swinger, converted to a GTS with a 440. Other than the usual resto work, he had the SS springs de-arched 1 1/2" to get the desired stance. Performance to date is 11.24 @ 118MPH in street trim, although he's working towards a 10 second timeslip.

In the back, Jeff had the springs moved inboard and installed mini tubs. This allows the 29 X 12.5 sportsmans to fit in there, along with 15 X 10 Welds with 7 1/2" backspacing. Moving the battery spared the front wheels a few extra pounds and made a bit more room for the 440. A cage is also a good idea to stiffen things up.  An 8 3/4 with 4.56's was used, and the stock gas tank was kept with a rear sump installed. An electric pump, fram filter and -8an line complete the fuel system.

Rather than pull the bottom and raise compression, Jeff lost the Indy Intake and 640" cam. A run hasn't been made yet, but Jeff says the car definitely runs better.  Once winter goes away, he plans a run which I'll post along with his old times for comparison.

The 440 uses ported max wedge heads, a port matched Weiand Team G intake with a Holley 850 double pumper w/ four conrner idle circuit, and an Ultra-dyne 609" lift solid cam. He used TRW six-pack replacement pistons which are fly-cut, but Jeff says that compression is a bit low for the combo. A manual 727 takes care of the gears and that beautiful Howe radiator fixes the heat. It all looks pretty nice in there, eh?

As for the details, elephant ears were used to hold the motor in, and 2" CPPA headers take care of exhaust. The headers of course dictate manual steering, but with elephant ears, other clearance problems can be minimized by moving the motor a little.

The end result is a damn nice car, but more importantly, it's a damn nice BIGBLOCKDART:)

 

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