Converting a Pro-Street car into a Pro-Touring car?

[Steve1968LS2]

Thoughts?

It seems that you can get pro-street cars pretty cheap.. how tough to convert them to pro-touring..

They generally have tubs.. sure they are large tubs but you can certainly run smaller g-machine tires. You would probley want to put a wider rearend in there though..

They also usually have cages and are pretty stiff.

The rest is iffy but so long as they aren't drag race disc brakes you should be able to use them as well..



Case in point:
http://adcache.collectorcartraderonl...8/77830718.htm

Many of them have healthy motors as well.. maybe put in a less lopey cam and do some changes.. seems like you could "re-invent" the car for not a lot of $$$..

Someone has to save these poor cars ;)

Thoughts?

[Restomod]

28k is not exactly a cheap car,I bought a 70 Camaro Pro Street roller for only 4K it had nice paint, black int., Weld Drag Stars,rci seats, fuel cell, 9" rear,coil overs ,ladder bars, 4 wheel disc, cage ect. That would have been a great car to do this to,my boss ownes it now its Butternut yellow with a great 454...only 12K

[ProdigyCustoms]

It may be cheaper to convert a Pro Streeter then a stocker. However, most Pro Streeters that are cheap are usually rough and edgey to say the least. Often ex race cars with head lights and tailights. Not a bad idea though if a deal was found. When you consider a roll cage and tubs alone can tie up 3, 4 , 5 grand, it could be a win.

[trapin]

Someone has to save these poor cars ;)

I'm glad you and I see eye-to-eye on that subject. There's a lot I could say but my father always told me, "If you have nothing nice to say......".

[Steve Chryssos]

From a magazine standpoint, I think it's an awesome idea.

[Steve1968LS2]

It may be cheaper to convert a Pro Streeter then a stocker. However, most Pro Streeters that are cheap are usually rough and edgey to say the least. Often ex race cars with head lights and tailights. Not a bad idea though if a deal was found. When you consider a roll cage and tubs alone can tie up 3, 4 , 5 grand, it could be a win.

Well I know some mags like to say Pro-Street is comming back but I commonly see PS cars that have $60k in them going for less than $30k.. the workmanship is pretty good. I was just thinking that many of the systems have a commonality with Pro-Touring. And you would have NO trouble fitting 345's out back

[Steve1968LS2]

28k is not exactly a cheap car,I bought a 70 Camaro Pro Street roller for only 4K it had nice paint, black int., Weld Drag Stars,rci seats, fuel cell, 9" rear,coil overs ,ladder bars, 4 wheel disc, cage ect. That would have been a great car to do this to,my boss ownes it now its Butternut yellow with a great 454...only 12K

That was just an example.. I have seen pretty nice PS cars for as low as $20k. They are already tubbed, caged and in many cases have a pretty stout motor. Sell off the drag race wheels and tires to pay for some g-Machine running gear and voila.. Pro-Touring.

Well you get the idea.. This was just an example to illustrate a point (can you illustrate something without pictures?? ;)

[toddshotrods]

I think the concept of converting a P/S car to a P/T car is sound. The problem, as I see it, is in buying a car from someone else and "making it yours". My friend insists that this is the way to go, and goes on and on about how much you save. In most cases, I take the opposite viewpoint. Over the past four years:

He bought Vega #1, a back-halved P/S car. Found out the motor wasn't right and spent a good chunk of money developing his 434 small block. That was before he ever got around to fixing the things he didn't like about the car. The 434 changed things because it was way too much motor for the chassis. He found a full-tube chassis ex-race car, with lights, a good title, and no motor/trans. The 434 went in, and he sold the old car (with no motor/trans) for about half of what he paid for it. The first motor is still in his office, so he lost a bunch of money. Now he's in the process of going over the rest of the car to suit his tastes.

He tells people he has about 25K in the car, because he only counts what he has in it as it sits. I was there from the beginning and I saw him actually spend about 40K. It's getting ready to get some custom fiberglass work on the front clip, new paint, interior, etc. I would bet on a set of new wheels within a couple years. He's doing the paint himself (bodyshop owner) so he won't count what the paint job is worth, just the materials. I estimate that when it's all said and done he will exceed 60K easily (labor included). Actually, the more I think about it, he's getting into the really expensive stuff now so it could be a lot higher. I think he could have done the same thing, and most likely better, by starting from scratch.

If a guy sees a car he really likes and can live with that car pretty much how it is, I say go for it. I have seen very very few cars that I wouldn't end up changing to suit my tastes. Most custom cars were customized for a particular individual, and unless you happen to have the exact same taste and preferences...

I'm not saying it's not a good idea, just one that should be approached carefully. You gotta get the pencil and paper out (computer and spreadsheet for some) and figure out what it's really going to cost you, compared to building from "scratch". For someone who currently owns and P/S car and wants to convert it, I think it's a great idea.

[trapin]

Well I know some mags like to say Pro-Street is coming back...

Coming back??!!! Hell, it just left a couple of years ago. That was SOME short vacation. I have to think this is more 'wishful thinking' on behalf of these editors. Don't forget, there are still a good plenty of 'the old guard' out there that have still not openly accepted the idea of the G-Machine. If it does come back, it'll have a lot of our trends adapted to it and look drastically different.

[63SW]

Comming from a guy that LIKES the Pro Street stuff and has a 72 camaro that has been mini tubbed , roll cage and NUMEROUS other mods , i think its a good idea. :icon996:

After finding this site recently and reading the posts , seeing pics of all the outstanding rides here , IM THINKING OF TURNNING MY 72 INTO A PT car .

Now what do i do with the 8-71 blown 510BBC if i do ?
I dont see to many PT cars with that kind of combo.


Heres the car , WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ?

[Rick Dorion]

Given the right price, I think it's a good platform. As mentioned, many good items are already present. A more suitable suspension and maybe brakes and you could be off and running.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

I think it's a pretty good idea to convert an old pro-streeter into a pt'er. When I was car shopping, and things were looking pretty grim with respect to finding a solid car, I came really close to buying an Ex-drag car '69 that had already been mini-tubbed. It was a rolling shell, so it was pretty cheap, around $3500, I think. I ultimately decided not to buy the car for fear of the suspension being too chopped up, and also relying on someone else's fab work. I think if you find the right Pro-Street car, you could convert it to Pro-touring relatively easy. Although, it may not be so easy on the wallet, since usually the biggest bucks on a pt car are spent on the drivetrain, wheels, suspension and brakes and I would venture a guess that any of the items on a pro-street car would be less than optimal on a pro-tourer.

[Tiger]

The car is beautiful and probably even nicer with some bigger wheels.

USAZR1 did this to his Camino, it was a Prostreet and he changed it to protouring.

I like your idea of 28K being cheap.

Ciao
André

[Steve1968LS2]

I like your idea of 28K being cheap.

Ciao
André

Cheap is realtive ;)

I meant, you could buy the cars cheaper (in some cases) than it would cost to build.

[Air Daddy]

Here's a old PS car from Texas that's had the PT treatment.

[Steve1968LS2]

Here's a old PS car from Texas that's had the PT treatment.

Now THAT is what I am talking about.. know the owner of that car?

[Air Daddy]

Now THAT is what I am talking about.. know the owner of that car?

I don't know him personally, his name is Tommy Angelle of Katy Texas.
I wish I could find pics of how it looked before the update.
I'll keep looking through the old shoe box full of pics.
I can't really remember how big the rear tires were back in the old days,
but the car definitely was not pro-touring back then.
Huge improvement!

[USAZR1]

USAZR1 did this to his Camino, it was a Prostreet and he changed it to protouring.
Ciao
André

I paid $8K for my 69 El Camino prostreeter,,then spent another $10K on rolling stock,Viper T56,and chassiswork from Joe Wilson Race Cars.
Just click on the link in my sig to see my car's progression.

[trapin]

63SW.....looks like it hauls ass. My '68 used to be set up just like that when I was causing trouble down in Detroit about 15 years ago. I say your car is teetering on the edge of being Pro-Street but probably falls a little closer to Resto-Mod. Tighten the suspension a little (bushings, shocks, sway bars) go 18x8's in the front and 19x12's in the back with 335 rubber and she'll make a nice little cruiser that can mop up in the 1320 when needed. Sweet car. I love 2nd gens. :icon996:

[63SW]

Thanks for the compliments ( No 1/2 off sales here .dammit Bill )

the car is border line street car with the eng thats in it . its a 618hp 406sb with 6in rods , healthy little cam , dart iron eagle heads , brodix intake and a 1050 dom. ( streetable , just expensive filling the cell with 112octaine ) .and has a Bigshot NOS kit set 300 hp pills.
YEP , it will scoot!
it has a turbo 400 and a ford 9" back braced , ladderbar ,coilovers good axels and 5/8 pso stock studs.

Interior is in line for redo but i have already added a set of corbeau style seats that i really like .( except when i hit the nitrous button and the damn seat slid all the way back cause it wasnt locked real good )

i would like to see what it would look like with a different tire and wheel combo on it but dont know anyone around that has anything i could mock up with.

Anyone with one of those computer programs that could give me a idea ?

I think 17x8 on front would be ok but not sure
I would also like to drop the front about 2 inches and the back about 3 if i did it so it would be slammed on the ground.
I figure 2 in drop spindles in front would do the trick and the back would be easy with the adjustability of the coilovers

( here i go again, switching my plans . I need to FOCUS on the 69 convert for the power tour)