The 2-Week Build: Introducing Our Project Fugly “Sleeper” Wagon

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In case you can’t tell, we’re some real drag racing junkies here at Power Automedia, and that fact has shone through in many of the project cars we’ve assembled over the years on our various titles. From the very beginning with our Project Grandma Malibu to our BlownZ 275 Drag Radial machine, we’ve run the gamut on street and strip-capable doorslammers, and whether we meant for a car to go racing or not, chances are we’ll run a project car down the 1,320 at least once.

IMG_3727It’s been some time since we last introduced an entirely new project to the lineup, and with a new year on the horizon, we feel it’s the perfect time to tackle something fresh. And of course, drag racing was on our minds as we went to the drawing boards and schemed ideas for our next adventure.

This time around, we wanted to do something a little different than past builds, something that you, our readers could really get behind and engage in. As we all know, everybody loves a good “sleeper,” and having never undertaken such a build, at least not from the very get-go, our minds were made up. We devised a plan to take a rather unsuspecting and unmenacing street car and transform it into a 9-second-capable road and strip warrior that no one other than the readers following along with the build would ever suspect. To accomplish this, we were going to need just the right car to fit the theme that would also allow us plenty of freedom to go hog-wild under the hood. Fortunately, if you go back 30-40 years, there are plenty of good rear-wheel drive “soccer mom” rides packing V8’s under the hood that can serve as just the pallet for such a build.

And the perfect vehicle to transform into a “sleeper,” perhaps other than a farm truck? How about a station wagon.

The idea is to build a very capable quarter-mile car, with plenty of power to hurt some feelings…but outward appearance will certainly not be it’s strong suit. With everything drawn up, we were only missing one key element: a car.

After some time perusing classified ads in and around southern California, we found just the right set of wheels: a 1982 Chevy Malibu wagon in the atrociously ugly but oh-so classic light brown color. Despite questioning whether we needed our heads checked for considering dragging this thing home, a deal was struck, we loaded the car up, and back to the shop we went with our prize.

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The original straight-six power plant simply won’t do for the nine-second performance capabilities we’re after.

With that, Project Fugly was born. We could kick around names for days, but none would be more suitable for what we had and what were about to do with it.

Fortunately (for us), the doll wasn't included with the price of the car.

Fortunately (for us), the doll wasn’t included with the price of the car.

Along with a unique approach to the car itself, we also want to step away from our more typical project builds and do something different with this one, and first and foremost, we want to get you, the reader, directly involved with the project from start to finish. So we hatched a plan to build Project Fugly over the course of two weeks, live-blogging every step of the way with up-to-the-minute updates, product and tech information for all the components in the build, and hoards of photos and daily video to bring you inside the Power Automedia shop like never before for all the knuckle-busting fun.

We’re already well underway with the foundational stages of the build — that is, acquiring all of the parts and pieces that we’ll need to have on-hand to build the car in those two weeks. At the heart will be a 376 cubic inch LSX 376-B Chevrolet Performance crate motor, with all forged internals and six-bolt heads designed for boost. This Gen IV small block packs a cast iron block, aluminum pistons, a hydraulic roller camshaft, LSX-LS3 rectangular port heads, and plenty of other go-fast goodies right out of the box. We’ll top it with a 4.5L Whipple supercharger, complete with a Holley EFI setup, to make the kind of power we’ll need to push the 3,000-plus pound wagon down the track as quickly as we’re envisioning.

Hughes Performance has jumped onboard the project, and as you’ll read in an upcoming installment, the Powerglide transmission and converter has already been assembled and staged for the build. We’ll be gabbing and installing an NHRA-legal 10-point cage in the car during the two-week build, as we hope to run well into the nines at the track. Ron Francis Wiring and Wheel Vintiques will also play a role in the build, and more and more of the components are coming together as we draw up the spec sheet for the build.

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The entire goal is to cloak all that power and potential under a weak-sauce exterior, and although we’ll be test-fitting and measuring here and there as we prepare for the build, Fugly won’t be molested in any way before we hack her up at the onset of the official build. No cheatin’ here, folks.

The Project Fugly build will take place in mid-2014, and from the moment the wagon rolls into the shop until we collect the time slip at the track, we’ll be taking you along for the ride. Reader input, surveys, and even some contests will be interwoven into the build, along with daily video and editorial updates and mini-video blogs right through to our dyno and track testing, offering a level of engagement that no other build we’ve taken on has enjoyed before.

We’re certainly looking forward to it, and we hope you are too!

About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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