[Karl Bebout]

Michael, Make it safe, make it sturdy. The more bullet proof, the better. Don't even think about an independent rear end. Pay close attention to the rear suspension, at least four link, coil overs, and a Pannard bar. Get 2-3° negative pinion angle, helps a lot. Traction in these things is tough to come by. If you're just now building , make plenty of room for BIG rear tires and wheels. Gotta have an automatic transmission with lots of fluid cooling. Are you planning on any street driving or strictly for the Strip? Strip only? go with an 8" convertor and a trans brake, street driving would create too much slippage, heat, and dammage to this setup. I've run my Hughes TH400 with a 10" convertor, 12,000 miles and never had any problems. I don't race the car very often but have gotten a best of 10.74 @ 125 MPH. NHRA takes a dim view of open cars that go fast. At least a six point roll bar with side incursion prevention between your shoulder and elbow, is required for running quicker than 11.0, I think. The normal paperclip roll bar won't get you past tech at any stringent strip. Your speed and quickness will be limited only by the thickness of your wallet and your willingness to push the car to the limit. I'm partial to my Chevy engine but if you've got the bucks and the desire, there are some extremely potent Ford motors that will get the job done. Good luck.