PRO STREET ELITE

SCAN any list of the greatest, the most famous, the most influential or the most ground-breaking street machines of all time and it’s a good bet that it will include Rick Dobbertin’s outrageous Pontiac J2000.

At the height of pro street’s popularity in the mid-80s, when big-tyred, mountain-motored American muscle cars ruled the universe, it was unthinkable to almost everyone that you could transform a sporty little four-cylinder hatchback like the J2000 into a supreme pro streeter. Clearly, Rick thought otherwise.

Magazines of the day described the J2000 as being from another planet. It featured a pneumatically lifted flip-up body and a flip-front, all covered in insane graphics incorporating dozens of colours. Its tube-frame chassis was made from polished 304 stainless steel. The all-alloy 350 Chev up front ran dual Magnuson superchargers, dual Rotomaster turbos and a 20-port nitrous system. Like the engine block, the aluminium four-speed Lenco was fully polished, while