Chryco worked closely with some known short track racers to get the Kit Kar right

In Response To: I recall a time when almost every short track car was Camaro bodied, but there were also a few Mopars around. My point is that the Barracuda was not out to lunch, even if not common. The kit cars were a nice package and worked well when set up right. They won a lot. *NM* ()

I'm recalling it may have been Joe Ruttman (?) but the old synapses are a tad rusty these days. Car and Driver did a story on a buildup with staffer Pat Bedard (ex-Chryco chassis engineer) which took them to the limit of their endurance, but it ran very well once sorted.

The engineers worked very hard to get an affordable package that would work well out of the box, which was the real competitive advantage versus the cut and try backwoods guys.

However, having the pieces, and having the car were two different things. While the attraction of doing it yourself was engaging, in truth, having a pro to jig and assemble the whole works together was key.

Petty Enterprises had the jig and would get you set up with a very competitive chassis from the jump, but at a price. I saw the jig in the back shop in Level Cross, with barrels of other kit kar staples (drop out third members, knuckles, etc.) in the mid 80's when we did a story on them for the Pontiac owner magazine.

When the Howe chassis began to circulate, it was over for the home brew cars - the MPC kit does and excellent job of replicating this breakthrough.

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Musing on potential Round2/MPC reissues - the remaining Super Stocker short track series. Would they be popular enough to justify cloning the Camaro, Mustang, Chevelle, and Barracuda bodies?