Hemi Mike!

[hemigtx]

Your car has been providing a lot of motivation as I restore mine (68 hemi gtx auto). I've been busting spotwelds for weeks, and I periodically grab that HPM shoot out article to give me the strength to go on. My combo is going to resemble this: .020 overbore, Isky 300 Deg duration, .510" cam, 2" Super Comps/Flowmasters, TCI converter (3200-3600 stall), reverse manual valve body, 4.11 gears with 29" drag radials. I keep changing my mind with the cam. Also looking at that .572" MP piece, but that seems pretty big for the street. Regardless, I want a car that is on the fringe of streetability. Then I'll post stories here. Drop me a line, and keep that X on the street!

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Semper Fi

[Hemi Mike]

Thanks for the kind words. I bought the car(RS23J8A) when I was like 21. Took me almost 10 years to get my act together and get 'er running. $10,000 for an engine was slightly out of my reach for a while. Body still isn't done though.
It now sports Willwood F/disk and a lift off sixpak hood. Weighs 3750# w/o driver. I customized a Year One sixpak fiberglass air cleaner base to accept 2-4bbl carbs. It closely resembles the '69 1/2 RR set up and it can fit a 3" K&N element from Mancini. Went from 12.81 to a 12.51 with those two mods. Pretty good for a 3.54 gear, 284/484 cam and std. pistons. Hopefully 12.40's with practice.
Best of luck! I'd love to see pics or video. Got some runs on tape if you'd like. E mail me HEMIGTX68@aol
BTW what color is the car and how else are you gonna set it up tires/rims, intake/carbs, shifter etc...these things aren't too sensitive to small changes in cam size. For the street I'd keep it around 250* @.050. Full 3"exhaust is a good idea also.
-Mike

[Maxwedge]

an Idea on the 6-pac hood.
From people I have talked to and articals read, the small individual air filters are WAAYYY restrictive. It may(this is just a suggestion) be better to run a single air filter along the front of the air-scoop. Maybe recessed a few inches from the front of the intake muth. And you may have to run two of them or one big one..
Dont know how much you would gain, but If you campair the flow rates between small air filters and large ones, it could end up being very significant..
Just my .02
Maxwedge

[Hemi Mike]

Poor discription on my part, sorry. I'm running the 3" tall oval sixpak K&N filter available through Mancini racing. The base is a fiberglass reproduction of the '69 1/2 Road Runner pice with the thick rubber seal, modified to sit on 2-4bbl's instead of 3-2bbl's.
BTW, what do you guy's think keeps me going? All of the stuff we bounce off each other and all the compliments. Things get tuff. To know that my project inspired someone is what keeps me goin'! Thank you.

[hemigtx]

Mike
My car was originally gold with a black top and gold/black interior (seats are mostly gold) and that's how I'm going to put it back. I bought it in #4 condition (rust in floorpan, needs total resto), but it's all original right down to the love beads and marijuana joint (no kidding!) circa late '60s that I found under the carpet. Cost me $12,000 (ouch!!), but I love 68 gtx's, so what's a guy to do? I've got some old American Racing slotted mags that I'm going to clean up and put on. My goal is similiar to yours, restore it to what they were meant to be. I can appreciate people spending $100 for an original steel hemi wheel and all, but back in the day the first thing you did when you got a car was trash the steel wheels and install headers! As for the shifter, I'm going to remain stock, but I've really been eyeballing that new MP crossram intake. It looks like a pretty expensive package once you round up all the misc stuff, though, so it may not happen real soon. I've got a long ways to go before I have to worry about that! Learning a lot about bodywork in the meantime. I'd love to see some shots of your car.
Semper Fi