I've often wondered about how to handle the interiors in modern vehicles when turned into in race cars. Modern car architecture and all it's trappings can be overwhelming with all the computer age/OBD/air bag stuff. Even if electronics are designed to be low-maintenance and lightweight, adding more of it everywhere tends to make things more bulky and complicated overall. Removing all of it is probably the only reasonable solution.

I've worked on enough of them to know there is no elegant way to make it 'look stock', 'cool' or otherwise. I guess you found the answer.

I would look at the spartan interior groups from the commercial lines like Vans and small HD trucks. They usually have bare minimum interiors. But then again, I'm thinking A-100 vans and such.

I think the new Drag pack Hellcats have a good compromise with bareness.
As far as trucks, perhaps peeping some of the Nascar truck series interiors.
I love the bare, black electric tapped steering wheels from the Fireball Roberts days.

Yes it is pricey, my issue with that style in Demon is the baby gauges. It is the plan for the Duster though.

Which is the lesser of both Evils, the Duster or the Demon? LOL

No flicks yet, but some how I've ended up with four complete sets of door vent window assemblies. I've got some neat ideas that will have to find themselves into a ultra limited run.
Those assemblies weigh a whopping 5 lbs per side with the original glass.
The trick with them being left as part of the doors is that they do not scream out "Fixed post lexan window" like a race car. Their shear presence distracts and or fools the eye to think that the door is stock.

73 Duster, 318 (out of a 70 Duster) Edelbrock cam, intake, carb 727, 7 1/4" rear


72 Demon 451, Tranzact- trans brake 727, 3.91 spool 8 3/4


Lee I totally appreciate your all metal car and the sneaky you have put into it. The Demon with Hooker fenderwell headers, 3.5" Flowmasters dumping just behind doors, full glass nose, trunk lid and rear bumper don't at all scream stealth.

As all cars do my cars story led to it getting glass body panels. The man I bought it from got it rust free and gorgeous from South Carolina in '94 and drove it home 360, 727, 8.75 rear. Fast forward two weeks and he hydroplaned it and bent everybody panel but the roof and hood. Good solid parts were impossible to find in Indiana and I wanted it straight, most of my buddies had begun referring to it as the 1000 dent Demon. Well she is dented a lot less today, some of her scars are still there, bent rocker panel and a couple other small dents. I never really cared what it looked like which is why it is still in primer 22 years later.

Don't ya remember??????Around page,,,,22 or 23,,,,,told ya to make 2 of everything

2 of everything! I wish I could make another me, then again, maybe not for the earths sake.
Orange you supposed to be in bed already young man?
I'm afraid your vent windows are a little different on the 63's.

I got you in mind for some stuff in the near future, Itis. I can't bare your cars weight, it's heavy on my eyes.

In the overall sense, this is how I look at it at the end of the day.
If you drop a single penny on the ground, (which for some strange reason are the only coins that seem to fall out of pockets and or hands) you most likely will not pick it up. But, if you were to drop a hundred pennies at the same time, all adding up to a Dollar, you'd most likely pick 'em all up.
Point being, it's easy to see the value of a hundred small copper coins on the ground along with their weight, but one coin? one cent? it can easily be discounted as non important. Weight drop is just the same at the end, 1 Cent, 1 ounce. You either drop the most obvious weight at first or you micro chip away at it one coin at a time. Still adds up to the same and that makes perfect sense.LOL.

FMJ that's deep man real philosophical







Excuse my shameless post to get us back to front page

Old fellow once told me it takes pennies to make dollars. I pick them up!

For a few dollars more.

See these here vent assemblies? depending on car and year,they can weigh anywhere between 4-7 lbs for each side. Here is a 65' unit weighing in at 5Lbs that I plan to look at just a bit, bit closer.
I already know since it has been changed to Lexan way, way back that the glass itself is a hefty piece, but it is in the tracks and cross braces where the real sneaky weight lies dormant. Let's knock on the door soon.
This will be fun in finding both time and the material to construct a new feather vent.

I thought about alleviating those on my car but then wouldn't have roll down windows since my 72 isn`t a post car w/window trim............

I do my best at being stealthy with my engine compartment so it pained me greatly when someone pointed out the shiney Moroso underdrive pulley the other day!!

I didn't bother to paint it black because I didn't figure it would keep up the charging and cooling but it did!

Off it comes for stealthification! LOL!

Started on my brakes. Cleaned up the 10" drum spindles. There must have been a pound of grime on them.


To fit the bracket, you have to remove some material on the side of the spindle. So after a little grinding to get the clearance I made an executive decision to go a little further and clean up the casting flash. It's hard to stop once you get started on these little projects.


Here's a comparo shot of what is being replaced - ye olde Kelsey Hayes small bolt pattern disc brake spindle. The one on the car is in nicer shape than my extra here but it is the same part. Disc brake spindle is 5 lbs, drum spindle is 4 lbs, so a savings of 1 lb. on each side.

GY3 A little flat black as a base coat with sprinkle of stainless steel color flashed painted from afar, Maybe even 3 feet away. Then from the same afar distance, a little copper and or brown metallic color will give you that old rustic patina look. People swore, including some moparites around here that certain parts were steel,rusty and heavy.
Lots of tricks from the movie set trade.

Wow. that's some polishing and I would guess some stress release risers removed as well.
Drums get a bad rep in a lot of circles, but the fact is, they work fairly well or better when properly adjusted, good parts and in a light package.
Now if only someone could fabricate or stamp out some high T-grade aluminum backing plates.................

Yeah, I kinda got into it a little. The whole casting was deburred. Pic makes it look shiny but it's more of a machined look in person. Started with the die grinder to remove the material, went to a flap wheel to smooth it out and then a wire wheel to finish it.

Prior to any metal removal, all the grime was scraped off and the spindle was soaked in Evaporust.

It's down in the depths so I just shot it in black tonight and road grime will make it further disappear.

People still can't believe that the only Chrysler parts on the engine are the block, main caps and valvecovers when I tell them (not very often).