Home-Built Heroes: Three Classic Hot Rods Built For Cruising

If there is one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that car guys love to talk about their rides. Hey, we get it, we’re car guys too. Maybe that is why our Home-Built Heroes column is so popular.

This week, we decided to put together a grouping of reader’s hot rods that we feel are the epitome of home-built. The Home-Built Heroes page gives you guys the opportunity to be a part of what’s happening here, and we are continually asking you all to send in submissions about your cars. They do keep coming, and we appreciate that. But, we still want to see more cars.

Pennsylvania Prowler

Dale Merrill of Montoursville, Pennsylvania, tells us that he has always wanted a ’69 Camaro. When we say always, we mean, since he was a kid. Dale purchased the car in the condition you see. “When I found out about the car, I actually purchased it before I saw it,” he said with a chuckle.

home-built

Dale has a few upgrades in mind for his first-gen.

Just because he purchased a nice car doesn’t mean he is going to leave it as is. “I am planning a few upgrades, like adding a power rack-and-pinion, a five or six-speed manual transmission, and a set Torque Thrust wheels,” he affirmed.

home-built

With a Reher-Morrison-built big block, no upgrades are required under the hood.

We don’t think the engine needs much improving, as the 427ci Reher/Morrison-built engine features a roller cam, Pro System 950 cfm carburetor, Edelbrock RPM intake, MSD ignition, Hooker Super Comp headers, and Flowmaster mufflers with a 3-inch exhaust. Rowing his own gears is accomplished via a Muncie M21 gearbox and a Hurst Competition Plus Shifter. Finally, a 12-bolt rearend filled with 4:10 gears and Positraction turn the tires to dust at will.

Black Out

Our second submission this week comes from the great state of Indiana, and we were directed to Stevesnovasite.com to see the profile page for this little hot rod. This ’65 SS came complete with a black-on-black appearance, and a 220-horsepower 283ci small-block. It currently has a Turbo350 transmission and a 10-bolt with 3.36 gears rounding out the drivetrain.

The Tuxedo Black Nova looks great inside and out.

The Cragar wheels are wrapped in 194/70-14 tires, and the factory-installed options list reads: AM radio, tachometer, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, padded dash, and a rear-mounted antenna.

Third-Gen Hand-Me Down

Chelton Maley didn’t tell us a lot about his third-gen Camaro, other than his mom purchased it new. Eventually, it became Chelton’s car while he was in Junior High, and we’re certain he gathered a lot of friends with this cool convertible.

home-built

The third-gen convertible is a a good looking car.

He also tells us that he has been on Power Tour and has attended many LS-Fest events.

Do you want to read about more Home-Built Heroes? All you need to do is click here. If you own a Home-Built Hero, we want to hear about it. Since we’ve started the series, we have received more than a few candidates, but we still want to see more – we can never get enough. If you want to see more cars built by you the readers, send us a few pictures of your car showing the engine, interior, and exterior, along with all of the pertinent information, and we’ll make you Internet famous. You can send your submissions to [email protected].

About the author

Randy Bolig

Randy Bolig has been working on cars and has been involved in the hobby ever since he bought his first car when he was only 14 years old. His passion for performance got him noticed by many locals, and he began helping them modify their vehicles.
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