Re: Racing Valiants/Chryslers
Posted: Tue 08 Dec 2009, 14:09
I don't know exactly. I was quite young and ignorant at the time, but if I remember correctly it didn't have that much done to it. Just a cam, Edelbrock intake, Holley and I think my dad ported the heads himself. He also had some intricate exhaust manifolds made by a guy in Cape Town, which took forever to make, cost a fortune and ended up being rubbish.
The Barracuda was initially quite competitive, but as people started spending vast amounts of money on classic car racing, the nimble little Cortinas and Alfas started overtaking the big, heavy Valiant. My dad quit racing to focus on building the race-bred Charger. Unfortunately, the only race work this car has done, was some drag racing at the Riversdale airfield. I have only been driven in it a few times but I can testify that it feels ridiculously quick and the sound from the free flow exhaust (my dad constructed his own headers this time round) is air-splittingly fantastic.
The Barracuda was initially quite competitive, but as people started spending vast amounts of money on classic car racing, the nimble little Cortinas and Alfas started overtaking the big, heavy Valiant. My dad quit racing to focus on building the race-bred Charger. Unfortunately, the only race work this car has done, was some drag racing at the Riversdale airfield. I have only been driven in it a few times but I can testify that it feels ridiculously quick and the sound from the free flow exhaust (my dad constructed his own headers this time round) is air-splittingly fantastic.