Nino describes his wagon: "It has all the power accessories, including windows, locks, seat and antenna. I bought it last September for $700. The wheezy 307 Olds motor had 175000 miles but it still kicked along. Within a month it ate up its main bearings (just as planned) making room for a more interesting motivator. I went to BAP Racing in Henrietta and convinced them (under some duress) to let me throw about $1000 into building another Olds motor. This time it was a 403 originally rated at less than 200hp. The rebuild included balancing the stock connecting rods, "working" the stock cast-iron intake, and opening up the ports and valve seats on the stock cast-iron heads. How'd we make it fast? Well, let's just say it's a little secret that would make you laugh...
This was all thrown into the car on a rainy saturday in the parking lot of Rochester Institute of Technology (where I go to school) under the curious eye of Campus Safety.
My roommate and I scavanged 4 aluminum Buick wagon wheels for cheap out of a junkyard and threw the cheapest tires we could find on them. As you can see, the car is a one-wheel peeler right now, but a limited-slip rear end waits in the garage for another rainy Saturday.
The scan of the timeslip (below) shows the best pass I've made with the car so far. My time is on the left (car #79). We race at New York International Raceway Park in Leicester, NY. Crowd reaction to the car has been really amazing. People cheer when the wagon bags Camaros, Mustangs and even Corvettes. Oh, BTW, the car weighs 4800 pounds with driver!"
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