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Words: Tommy Parry
About five years ago, Jeff picked up a Carousel Red ‘70 Formula 400 with a 4-speed and a sandalwood interior. Fortunately, it was nearly immaculate, and it served as a stellar foundation to build a pro tourer that could mix with modern muscle cars.
“The aim was to participate in autocross and road course events. I have friends here who participate in newer high performance cars — I want to show that I can build something that can keep up with their Porsches and Vipers and Corvettes and Camaros,” Jeff notes.
Though this car was fairly rust free, it was still in rough condition, so Jeff decided to use it as a platform for a build centered on an aftermarket aluminum IA II block displacing 535ci, mated to a T56 and a 3.50 rear end. The choice of motor was more for proving a point than having asphalt-rippling torque.
“Most pro-touring builds use LS engines, and I want to show that an aluminum Pontiac engine with fuel injection can also work,” Jeff says.
Additionally, he planned to drive the car a lot; he wanted the Formula to be available to drive whenever he wanted.
“I want to be able to drive the car to these events as well as events that are further away. I want to be able to jump in the car and drive to California or Las Vegas without having to worry about breaking down in the desert somewhere,” he explains.
Although this would feature quite a few new parts under the skin, he wanted to maintain a classic look and adhere to some classic styling cues, if possible. Unfortunately, this tends to send the bill through the roof — though it’s a good method.
Once the frame had been checked and straightened, Jeff grabbed some suspension upgrades to complement the massive motor. Included in this list are a DSE subframe with single adjustable shocks, a Quadralink 4-link rear suspension, a 9" rear end and widened rear tubs.
While working on the rear, he decided to go with fresh sheet metal rather than trying to straighten out the collision damage to the quarters and tail panel. To his amazement, there was absolutely no hidden rust in the inner quarter structures, outer wheel houses or anywhere else for that matter.
The body was then primered and epoxied and the front clip was straightened. Fortunately, all the elements ahead of the windshield intertwined like a perfect game of Tetris, so not much wall-punching or profanity was seen or heard in his body man’s shop during those days. Once the new quarter and tail were fitted, it started looking like a car again.
While he was back there, he ordered a new fuel setup from Rick's, with the ZL1 pump assembly, corner pickups and Vaporworx set-up to work with the Fast EZ 2.0 system.
He agonized for weeks over the wheel choice, and eventually settled on Forgeline GA3 with hyper silver hoops and satin graphite centers. As the rears are wrapped in 335-section tires, putting down some 800 lb-ft of torque shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.
Bear in mind he’s built a new home and put his kids through high school in the time he’s spent building this incredible Formula, and there are still a number of changes on the horizon. Among them are a new exhaust, custom headers, a cage to stiffen things up, rolling the lips on the quarters to clear the wheels and tires and lots of paint. After that, the car will come back to the shop Jeff built in his new home to assemble, then rip around the desert at frightening speeds.
To keep tabs on this inspiring build, you can visit its thread here.
