"It wasn't the kind of car that my son wanted so I ended
up just kind of parking this thing for two or three years before
I started working on it," he said.
The Winnipeg resident eventually turned to Canadian Super Shop,
which has been working on the car on a regular basis ever since.
Ratcliffe said the first thing he wanted to do was get a clutch
pedal welded on and replace the automatic transmission. "My
dream when I was a kid was always to have a hot rod with a five-speed
transmission in it, so that's what we did," he said.
Besides adding a Richmond five-speed transmission and a vertical
gate shifter, the 383 motor was replaced with a 500 horsepower
440 built to spec with a Nitrous Oxide 300 shot fogger kit installed
shortly thereafter. Hooker super comp ceramic coat headers with
a full three-inch custom exhaust system were also added, as
was a line lock to control traction while racing. With a Dana
60 differential stock, the GTX's axles were upgraded and superstock
springs and frame connectors were added. The battery was also
moved from the engine compartment to the trunk to help with
weight transfer.
Since the initial phase of work, major changes have been made
to the car every few years. About six years ago, a full-roller
valve train was installed along with Harland Sharp roller rockers
and Edelbrock aluminium 440 cylinder heads. With Ratcliffe calling
for more power, the motor was dyno tuned to 605 horsepower.
More recently, the fogger kit was upgraded and a progressive
nitro system was installed that Ratcliffe estimated to generate
approximately 1,000 horsepower at the flywheel. A Holly 1050
Dominator carburetor replaced the original 850 double pumper.
A custom suspension system was also built for the rear of the
car and just last year a brand new interior that simulates the
factory original was installed. The car's exterior was also
repainted the same colour, the factory original metallic blue.
Just this past winter a complete four-wheel disc brake conversion
was implemented. At the same time, the car received an aesthetic
boost when a set of 18-inch aluminium alloy wheels replaced
the 15-inch wheels.
"It has just taken this car to a different level in the
way of looks," Super Shop owner Marve Kraut said of the
new wheels.
Ratcliffe has been bringing his GTX to Super Shop for about
18 years and Kraut said the car is definitely one the shop's
prize pieces of work. "We take pride in all the vehicles
that we do but this just happens to be one that really stands
out in a crowd," he said. "You're dealing with probably
one of the top 10 true street cars in the city for performance
and power."
Kraut said the biggest challenge in working on the vehicle is
finding the right balance between driveability and power but
he thinks the shop is close to achieving that. He said the car's
driveability is what makes it so special. "Here's a car
that you could probably drive to Vancouver in comfortably and
then take it to the drag strip and run extremely fast quarter-mile
times," he said. "It's a really flexible vehicle from
that standpoint - it's got comfort, driveability and speed."
That versatility will serve Ratcliffe well in the near future,
when he pulls his GTX off the track. "I'm probably going
to run the car at the track for a couple more years and then
re-tune it so that it's a really nice street ride," he
said. "I find that for a really nice street ride, it's
just a little bit too much carburetor."
Ratcliffe, who usually keeps cars for a couple of years before
selling them, said he never thought he would end up putting
this much time and effort into the GTX. "It was always
a head-popper. People always liked the look of it," he
said. "I liked it because the body was great."
MOD LIST
ENGINE / EXHAUST
440 dyno tuned to 605 horsepower
Richmond five-speed transmission
Nitrous Oxide 300 shot fogger kit.
Progressive NOS
Holly 1050 Dominator carburetor
Harland Sharp roller rockers
Edelbrock aluminium 440 cylinder heads
Full-roller valve train
Hooker super comp ceramic coat headers with a full three-inch
custom exhaust system
March Billet Serpentine pully kit
Full electronic ignition system
INTERIOR
Fully restored interior
Custom vertical gate long five-speed shifter with Billet Shifter
handle
Custom steering wheel
Roll cage
EXTERIOR
Billet Specialties 18-inch aluminium alloy wheels
BFGoodrich G-Force KDW tires
6-pack hood fibreglass
Metallic blue paint, factory original
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