Want a really fast racecar? We did too. The plan was all talk until HOT ROD Editorial Director David Freiburger shared a link from Craigslist featuring a back-halved '71 Dodge Demon. The car was in primer (red flag number one), but had some very professional-looking chassis and tin work inside. The slant six was still in place along with the stock firewall, dash, and everything forward of that point. We were thinking big-block swap and then calling it a day.

At the same time, we were producing a magazine call Elapsed Times, a throwback retro drag racing annual that was not only fun to read, but also fun to create. It was largely centered around the glory days of 1965-1980, when drag racing was evolving from a hobby to a professional sport. Staring at thousands of photos daily gave us the idea of painting the Demon with panels, freak dots, and lace like the Funny Cars that had our eye. We also really wanted the flat hood, door-slammer look — no scoops or cowls. Drinking the Kool-Aid made the car a lot more complicated. You can see for yourself if the result earns all the style points and street cred we think it does.