GM’s factory skunkworks turned out this Chevy Vega with a well-engineered all-aluminum small-block engine in 1972. It didn’t make it to production, but it inspired a generation of hot-rodders!

Growing up as a teenager in the late '60s surely had its perks, especially if you were into watching late-night street racing and visiting the local dragstrip. For Rick Kiel of West Olive, Michigan, ...