Top In-Progress Hot Rod Builds

Rad Rides At SpeedWe've previously shown brief snippets of Blowfish, Rad Rides by Troy's Bonneville-bound project for uber-rodder George Poteet, but as you can see here, it's just about finished. We'll bring you a full story on this thing when it's completed, but in case you don't know about it, it's a full-tube-chassis Barracuda with a 1,200hp, turbocharged, four-cylinder Mopar USAC midget motor with a Jerico four-speed and a Gear Vendors overdrive unit (making it an eight-speed to keep the engine in its powerband). A lot of hours in Chrysler's wind tunnel made it swoopy (0.20 Cd), so the F/Blown Gas Competition Coupe record of 233 mph should be a piece of cake, but the real goal is for Poteet to run 300.

Also going together at Rad Rides (www.radrides.com) is Jerry Crews' '66 Chevy Biscayne on the left, which Troy describes as "a lighter version of Chicayne." Instead of that car's twin-turbo motor, this one has a 540-inch, all-aluminum Lingenfelter engine that makes 660 hp and runs through a six-speed.

Living up to this legendary program is no simple task, and Blue Moon is one of just a handful of shops involved in the project. Not to be confused with the mega-buck Super Coupe that appeared at last year's SEMA show and was later auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson, these limited-production Baldwin Motion Camaros (www.officialbaldwinmotion.com) will be available at a less stratospheric price. Blue Moon's Al Kamhi, who was an original Motion customer while growing up in Brooklyn, is now building the painted rollers. According to Marty Schorr, the PR guy for both the old and new Baldwin Motion cars, No. 1 of 12 is a minitubbed Motion Red Phase III coupe powered by a Kinsler-injected 565-inch big-block. A total of three customer cars are currently under construction, including a radical open car (the first ever built; all the '67-'69 originals were coupes). A search is under way for a suitable donor for No. 4.

Instead of the original suspension, these freshly minted Baldwin Motions will feature a Control Freaks independent rearend designed and produced by Blue Moon that uses a Ford 8.8-inch centersection and big brakes from Stainless Steel Brakes. -Steve Temple

Tell us about your project!Not all of HRM's top project cars need to come from pro builders. If you have a project in the works that will blow us away, send photos and info! We run them in Project Garage every month. E-mail digital images of 300 dpi, 5x7 or larger, to hotrod@primedia.com.

The '69 Camaro is set to be the nicest Top Sportsman race car ever built. Mark Ruane came to Rad Rides to have a drag car built that was nicer than the rest, and Troy says his guys have put a ton of work into it. The base is a Jerry Bickel Pro Stock chassis, and the engine is a monster 720-inch billet-block deal that makes 1,450 hp. So, you know, it might run kinda quick.

Finally, the '63 Corvette in the background is mostly a show car being built for Steve Karwoski. Troy says, "It's got a really, really fun look to it." A 528 Keith Black Hemi with a 14-71 blower, a high hat, and zoomies make it look and sound like a Pro Mod car. -Rob Kinnan

Hot Rods & Hobbies, Torrance, CaSituated in three separate shops totaling more than 10,000 square feet, Hot Rods & Hobbies (www.hotrodsandhobbies.net) has plenty of space to have a multitude of killer projects going together. Last month, we brought you Helleanor, Gary Haw's HR&H-built '68 Mustang fastback. This month, we swung by to see what's new and were greeted with some projects that cover the full spectrum of hot rodding. -Christopher Campbell

Legends ReturnMany rodders fondly recall the heyday of Mr. Norm (www.mrnorms.com) and his dealership, Grand Spaulding Dodge. Back in the '60s, it was the Mecca of Mopar musclecars, and among the most prized of these vehicles was the legendary '68 Hemi Dart. Norm Kraus is now offering it in continuation form through Blue Moon Motorsports in Winter Springs, Florida (www.bluemoonclassics.com). With a base price of $150K, the revitalized Dart is not only faithful to the original but also enhanced with modern mechanicals. While the body is original Dodge sheetmetal, Blue Moon uses an updated Dana 60 rearend riding on Calvert Racing split monoleaves to make it launch. New, vintage-style Hurst wheels were engineered to fit four-wheel discs supplied by Stainless Steel Brakes. Otherwise, the car is remarkably faithful, right down to the Hemi-scooped 'glass hood and radiused rear wheelwells. A Ray Barton-built, 472-cube, dual-quad Hemi makes over 650 hp, and there's an optional Super Stock 528 stroker that raises the number to 800-plus. A limited number of these new Hemi Darts will be built, but Mopar fans will also be gratified to hear that a Mr. Norm's GSS Dream Car program is in the works, in which any Mopar musclecar from '62 to '72 can be recreated by Blue Moon.

Blue Moon has yet another time-traveling project on the books. The original Baldwin Motion Performance Group was a partnership between a Chevy dealer called Baldwin Auto Co. and Motion Performance, a high-profile speed shop. From 1967 to 1974, Baldwin Motion offered a whole slew of badass musclecars: SS (425 hp) and Phase III (500 hp and up) big-block Camaros, Novas, Chevelles, Corvettes, and Biscayne Street Racer Specials. Phase III 427 and 454 cars came with a written, money-back, quarter-mile-performance guarantee of 11.50 at 120 mph.