We're in an era of street-legal Pro Mods with the rise of Drag Week, but the idea of street-legal dragsters is hardly a new one. This 1964 Chevrolet Malibu is a hilariously unique example of the obsession with street-legal race cars. Thanks to the Petersen Photo Archives, we've got a chance to visit this bookmark of insanity.

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This Malibu was built by the late Ed Wood, a SoCal hot rodder notorious for some wild engine swaps, like a front-engine Olds 455ci-powered Corvair. The Malibu was stretched 13 inches up front and initially housed a pair of Olds 400ci V8s under its elongated hood. When 500hp wasn't enough, Wood bought a military surplus Allison V-1710 V12 engine, the same engine that powered a multitude of World War IIera warplanes, like the P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning.

Engineered by General Motors' Allison division, the V-1710 combined a 5.50-inch bore with a 6.00-inch stroke for a grand total of 1,710 ci (or about 28L). Power ranged from 1,000 to 2,300 hp from the factory, depending on application, but both ground- and sea-based racers found nearly 4,000 hp from the massive overhead-cam V12. After the war, surplus engines were cheap (vintage ads show them going for $350, a little more than $3,000 today), and they found their way into just about every form of American motorsport at the time.

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When the Malibu was rebuilt, the chassis was updated and redesigned to accommodate the massive warplane engine, but retained its street-legal status. Wood made it a point in 1972 to show off its street-worthiness to HOT ROD Magazine. The body, while hinging open like a Funny Car, still retained a functioning hood, doors, and could carry a passenger in its two-seat interior.

The transmission was apparently a two-speed unit, with First gear being 1:1, with a 0.40-overdrive gear, and the massive torque of the V-1710 was quick to restripe the roads of Bakersfield, California, with little effort.

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Wood also began a second Allison V12 Malibu around 1984, but the project was never completed due to health issues. This time it was to be a red convertible.

While Wood passed away on January 29, 2009, members of his family have been active in reaching out to the comments of a Flickr page that hosted some photos online. Bryan Wood, Ed Wood's nephew, was even intimidated by this monster as a child: "Being a kid, I was so scared of this car that I would walk large circles around it just to make sure that there was no chance of having to ride in it."

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