So what's the best cheap Mopar hot rod?

[RCCDrew]

After reading about all the cheap potential of the LS engine, I started thinking about what would the best bang for the buck Mopar hot rod be? Something you could buy cheap, throw on some power adders on, and shock your city? So, what would be the best Mopar or combination of Mopar parts for a cheap, scary hot rod?

[FJMG]

Not cheap but Stu's Nash is pretty darn cool!

[68X426]

A 440 Dart or 440 Duster.  Cheap can be done right and very fast. 

[stripedelete]

66 67 Coronet

[garner7555]

I personally wouldn't want to own one, but to answer your question; a Dodge Neon with lots of power adders would be cheap and fast with plenty of cheap used parts for when it breaks.   

[1974dodgecharger]

I personally wouldn't want to own one, but to answer your question; a Dodge Neon with lots of power adders would be cheap and fast with plenty of cheap used parts for when it breaks.   

I don't know about that guys with their Neons are pushing 550rwhp and are breaking plenty and have to constantly upgrade something to keep up with the power they have. 

I say get a 1980s Chrysler 'M' car o the 'K' car whatever and add power adders to that, lmao...

[JR]

How cheap have early SRT8 LX cars gotten?

Is it possible to build a 12 second big block A body anymore for under 10 grand if you're starting from scratch?

Edit: Just checked. 15k for high mileage SRT8 Charger/Magnum/300, up to 28k for a creampuff low mileage example.

I don't know if it's wisdom or laziness setting in, but i vote for one of those with whatever mods are in budget instead of building a vintage one from scratch if cheap speed is the priority. I'm sure 10 guys will tell me how much HP you can get out of an old 360 with whatever change is in your pocket, but 15k for 425 hp and good reliability seems pretty sweet to me.

[SRT-440]

Mid to late 70's like Lebarons, Darts, chargers. Throwing this out there, I have a '71 Dart Swinger B5 Blue with a fresh 440 and 727 for sale. Will spin the tires at almost any speed. $12,500.

[ws23rt]

How cheap have early SRT8 LX cars gotten?

Is it possible to build a 12 second big block A body anymore for under 10 grand if you're starting from scratch?

Edit: Just checked. 15k for high mileage SRT8 Charger/Magnum/300, up to 28k for a creampuff low mileage example.

I don't know if it's wisdom or laziness setting in, but i vote for one of those with whatever mods are in budget instead of building a vintage one from scratch if cheap speed is the priority. I'm sure 10 guys will tell me how much HP you can get out of an old 360 with whatever change is in your pocket, but 15k for 425 hp and good reliability seems pretty sweet to me.

I have to agree on this just because I have grown accustomed to these cars.
As to whether they should be called "hot rods" is a question of the meaning of the term.

A car can be made to look like it will perform for real cheap.-- And people do it all the time.--

The elephant in the room is that a "hot rod" is generally made to --look-- hot first and be hot second.

[Troy]

Bang-for-the-buck would almost have to be a magnum era Dakota V8 (or Durango or 1500 if you can deal with the weight). They are dirt cheap to buy. Build a Magnum 408 stroker (again, very cheap for a Mopar) and upgrade the transmission. You'll likely not get enough traction to need a rear end! A friend has one and it's scarier to ride/drive than his Max Wedge clone.

I see early-mid 60s cars for cheap and they'll all easily take a big block. Fitting a 440 into a Dart or Duster does take some work and they can be a giant pain to work on. However, with an old car you may end up needing a lot of work that isn't power related which will eat your budget and time.

Troy

[Aero426]

Bang-for-the-buck would almost have to be a magnum era Dakota V8 (or Durango or 1500 if you can deal with the weight). They are dirt cheap to buy. Build a Magnum 408 stroker (again, very cheap for a Mopar) and upgrade the transmission. You'll likely not get enough traction to need a rear end! A friend has one and it's scarier to ride/drive than his Max Wedge clone.

I see early-mid 60s cars for cheap and they'll all easily take a big block. Fitting a 440 into a Dart or Duster does take some work and they can be a giant pain to work on. However, with an old car you may end up needing a lot of work that isn't power related which will eat your budget and time.

Troy

Saw a 5.9 Dakota R/T at lunch on Friday.   Bet it scoots pretty good right out of the box. 

[RallyeMike]

Is it possible to build a 12 second big block A body anymore for under 10 grand if you're starting from scratch?

This is still the ticket but its getting harder to do. Remember the Hotrod Magazine 68 Dart with the junkyard 440? They were shooting to run 12's for $2000 and came real close.

I actually did the exact same thing to a 68 Dart a year before them. Without tuning and a slipping trans it ran a 13 flat for less under $2000. Most of my money went into an 8-3/4 rear end and rear tires and wheels. I kept the 9" brakes all around adapting them to the 8-3/4. The 440 was a used 68 350 horse engine. It had used fenderwell headers, used Holley 750 DP, used single plane, and stock ignition, cam and oiling. The car weighed 3060 lbs when I got it with the /6, and 3100 lbs after the 440 transplant and weight reduction program.

It's hard anymore to come up with premium year A-bodies (67-72) for cheap, but there are still very inexpensive 73-76 cars available if you look. The later cars are a little heavier but have big bolt pattern and disc brakes more often than earlier models. I still believe I can do this for maybe $2-3k.

[Ponch ®]

early (1963-1966ish) and later (1970-1975ish) 4 door A bodies.

Theres a little car club that's been coming to the Van Nuys Spring Fling for a year or two now. Mostly young "greaser" type kids in their late teens to mid 20's. they buy these cars for a few hundred, keep the six bangers running and then do some whacky (but cool) stuff to their rides. They may not be fast (yet), but if thats not the hot rod spirit, i dont know what is.

[Mike DC]

       

. . . . but if thats not the hot rod spirit, i dont know what is.

[az69b5charger]

Saw a 5.9 Dakota R/T at lunch on Friday.   Bet it scoots pretty good right out of the box. 

They don't scoot at all. I have a 2000 CC R/T. They're absolute pigs. 15 second trucks and horrible gas mileage. I use mine as a truck, not a hotrod. If I wanted to do anything to it performance wise, I'd put an LS in it. I had a 99 R/T before this one, and a friend has a 98 hes owned since new. They're all rats

[Rolling_Thunder]

BB A-body   ---  Ive seen some decent deals lately - roller A-bodies for $500 and such...   

[Troy]

Saw a 5.9 Dakota R/T at lunch on Friday.   Bet it scoots pretty good right out of the box. 

They don't scoot at all. I have a 2000 CC R/T. They're absolute pigs. 15 second trucks and horrible gas mileage. I use mine as a truck, not a hotrod. If I wanted to do anything to it performance wise, I'd put an LS in it. I had a 99 R/T before this one, and a friend has a 98 hes owned since new. They're all rats

That engine has a lot more in it. I can't imagine that swapping to an LS is easier than modifying the 5.9.

Troy

[az69b5charger]

No but depending on what your performance goals are, the 5.2/5.9 sucks in terms of hp/dollar. Some people think 13s is fast. So for them keeping and modding the Magnum is the way to go. For any kind of serious performance goals, it doesn't make sense to dump money into the Magnum setup, especially with Dodges limited PCM tunability. I've built deep 11 second Mopar street cars, and a mid-10 SB dedicated race car. When it comes to EFI though, you're limited with the Mopar setup, unless you want to run a standalone engine management setup. Even with a 408 with good heads, it'll still be a gas sucking pig

[Mike DC]

            
The big Mopar SB's always seem to make a lot of torque for their size.  Big torque and big fuel consumption are pretty hard to separate, at least without jumping to a 50-years-newer design the Chevy LS or G3 Hemis.