After three years of wrenching, the question hanging over any project car is the same one: will it actually fire when you turn the key? The maker behind this one finally got the answer, and it came on the very first crank. Reaching that moment is what the whole grind of a build is for.
Chris Castor started from a 1973 Dart Sport and swapped on a 1971 front end to turn it into a Demon clone. The mill is a 318 bored 0.030 over, topped with an AirGap intake and 302 heads, with KB167 pistons and an XE262 Comp cam driving it. Headers round out the combination. The car wears lime green paint, though the front passenger fender is still sitting in gray primer.
A detail I think is easy to overlook: the cam had already been broken in on a run stand ahead of this day. In my view that removes a big chunk of risk from a first start. The ignition wiring was what this start was meant to test, and the engine lit right up, catching the maker off guard in the process. It was revved several times afterward with loud exhaust bursts, loud enough to startle the maker's child. One thing to flag: the car is smoking by the end, and I would want to see that sorted before much more running.
There are open items, which feels right for a project at this stage. Final paint has not been chosen, with plastidip mentioned as a temporary option. Only headers are on it right now, with alignment and exhaust still ahead. A new body is planned later, with everything swapped over when that happens.
Project by Chris Castor. Watch it on their YouTube channel: