Power & Performance News Summer 2016

VOL. 7, NO. 2

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CONFESSIONS OF A CANNONBALL RACER

SHELBY SKUNKWORKS TOUR

LATE MODEL GM TRANS GUIDEMASSIVE

• MANUAL SHIFTER UPGRADE• HEAD SWAPS FOR POWER• AN LS FOR EVERY BUDGET• EASY BUMP STEER FIXES

THIS GTO IS A KEEPER

PRINTWEB VIDEO SOCIAL

TECH SOLUTIONS

JUDGETHE

Rules

We Welcome

STEVE

ACTOR / CAR GUYZAHN

VOL. 7, NO. 2

PPND

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PPN2016-2

$7.99

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CONFESSIONS OF A CANNONBALL RACER

SHELBY SKUNKWORKS TOUR

LATE MODEL GM TRANS GUIDE

MASSIVE• MANUAL SHIFTER UPGRADE• HEAD SWAPS FOR POWER• AN LS FOR EVERY BUDGET• EASY BUMP STEER FIXES

THIS GTO IS A KEEPER

PRINTWEB

VIDEO SOCIAL

TECH SOLUTIONS

JUDGETHE

Rules

We Welcome

STEVEACTOR / CAR GUY

ZAHN

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Bench RACING FROM THE EDITOR

StaffGroup Publisher Shawn Brereton

Editorial Director Cam Benty

Senior Tech Editor Jeff Smith

Tech Editor Richard Holdener

Contributors Cindy Bullion Brandon FlanneryJoe Greeves Hib HalversonDan Hodgdon Kyle HyattStephen Kim Fergus OgilvyC. Van Tune Manufacturers

Advertising/SubscriptionsJohn Nichols Ivan KordaJonathan ErtzFor advertising inquiries call 901.260.5910.

Copy Editor Cindy Bullion

Production Hailey Douglas

Art Jason Wommack

Power & Performance News is pub-lished biannually to promote hardcore automotive performance as well as rec-ognize the parts and services from par-ticipating manufacturers. The magazine consists of dedicated information from partner companies with the mission of disseminating unfiltered editorial on companies, products and services directly to automotive enthusiasts.

Editorial and advertisements for each issue originate from partner companies participating in the magazine.

Power & Performance News is a hybrid of content that was originally published at PPNDigital.com as well as original content that was created for this biannual print magazine. Magazine distribution occurs through direct distri-bution from parent company Xceleration Media and partner companies.

Power & Performance News is a property of Xceleration Media. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written consent from Xcelera-tion Media. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

COVERON THE

Wade Kawasaki’s1970 GTO Judge.To see more, check out page 18.

Welcome to the PPN family of cool muscle cars — past and present

In the world of high performance, Americans love muscle cars, be they classics or soon-to-be classics. If you were a fan of Cars & Parts, we welcome you. The folks who produced that magazine were personal friends of ours, and we

loved what they did with that publication. Sadly, they are no longer on staff; you are stuck with the veteran staff that now creates this quarterly magazine.

Frankly, it’s a staff of All-Stars, if I do say so myself. Take for example, Jeff Smith, the highly successful editor-in-chief of both Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines. With 37 years of experience, he is well-respected by manufactur-ers, journalists, and car guys, worldwide. Our tech editor, Richard Holdener, is in the dyno cell more than in his own bed. If there is a part he hasn’t tested first-hand, well, we’d be surprised. No one is more qualified.

My background is quite varied and includes editor-in-chief duties at Pop-ular Hot Rodding, Car Craft (I followed Jeff there in 1987), Corvette Fever and — most importantly to you — Muscle Car Review. In addition, I performed marketing duties for COMP Cams and as VP of Marketing for Flowmaster/B & M. My personal automotive stable is as varied as this magazine, having owned, restored, or modified ’69, ’70, and ’72 Z/28s; ’66, ’67, and ’68 big-block Corvettes; ’69 Boss 302; ’69 Cougar XRT convertible; and a ’66 Hemi Satellite — just to hit the highlights.

The point to all of this is to convince you of one thing: You are in good hands. No magazine staff has more cumulative years of experience in the biz, and that includes all the biggies. But before you think we are just a bunch of old dogs, take a look at our website. Power and Performance News has an awe-some internet footprint that provides a searchable log of content — any time you need it. From videos to tech columns, car features or new product info, you can find it in one place, PowerPerformanceNews.com.

We understand Cars & Parts focused on restoration topics, and we will con-tinue to wave that flag, starting with the perfectly restored 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge that adorns our cover. Also in this issue is a candid conversation with a 40-year veteran of the Van Nuys assembly plant, along with some of the cool-est classic photos from General Motors ever uncovered. I’m sure you’ll enjoy!

In addition to the restoration content, PPN will highlight RestoMod upgrades that retain the exterior appearance of the original muscle car but improve the power and handling of the original vehicle. In terms of sizzle, this style of build is cookin’ these days. What you won’t find are 1000-hp engine builds that, frankly, are unrepeatable. They serve no purpose for real car guys and only attempt to falsely draw newsstand sales. That’s NOT us.

Currently PPN is only a quarterly magazine. That could be changing short-ly. For those die-hard Cars & Parts fans, there has been serious discussion of restarting C&P in 2017. In the meantime, we hope this 132-page issue of Cars & Parts/Power & Performance News piques your interest. We hope you’ll like this issue enough to continue to read our magazine and, for those of you not signed up, subscribe now. The bigger we get, the better the chance of the Cars & Parts magazine showing back up in ‘17.

Thanks for listening. Hope you like the issue. Shoot me a note if you have some-thing you’d like to include in the issue, or words of praise. I can hope, right?

Cam [email protected]

Congratulations are in orderLast month, we were under attack. Well, we’ve won the battle, but the war is not over. While the EPA has backed off on their edict to disallow modification of any pollution controlled vehicle — now those car builders who wish to purchase performance parts can do so without worry — the RPM Act still needs to be passed so that this problem will finally go away. Rather than take up space here, if you want to know more, go to the SEMA website (sema.org) and voice your support for passage!

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TECH24 HELL OF A DAMPERATI dampers build big power

36 NEXT LEVELAdjustable runner length intake from FAST

50 ELECTRONIC TRANS GUIDEPerformance shopping tips when shopping for a GM 4L60E automatic transmission

62 PREST-O CHANG-OBig-block head swaps make major power

72 LOW BOOST = BIG POWERTorqStorm has reinvented supercharging

80 INJECTION CONNECTIONTesting out JET Performance’s Dynamic Tuner Software

82 AN LS FOR EVERY BUDGETPPN’s best bang for the buck breakdown

90 STEERING DEBUMPEDBaer’s Tracker Kit improves suspension

100 SHIFTING SOLUTIONSRed’s manual trans shifter tech

108 ELITE PERFORMERSBreathing Improvers for the LS7 engine

116 DUAL PLATE PERFECTIONTwin plate NOS unleashes BBC beast

124 FILTER TECHWhat your oils filter can reveal

FEATURES16 CELEBRITY ENCOUNTERDan Aykroyd buys our Dodge

18 THE JUDGE HAS SPOKENOur perfect GTO cover car

28 ANATOMY OF A CANNOBALL CAR

RPM reveals his speed secrets

40 THE “OTHER” REDHEADAn out of this world Mars Red ‘69

46 MODERN CLASSICHigh-tech features make this ’70 RS special

66 DECADES ON THE LINETales of muscle car building at GM’s Van Nuys Assembly Plant

75 AUTOMOTIVE HOROSCOPESmooth roads ahead for you? Find out here!

76 UPGRADED FOR AUTOCROSSAutocross-ready 2014 Mustang GT

86 ONE COOL CATHome-built Cougar leads to career

96 RIDING WITH ZAHNActor Steve Zahn’s ’70 Roadrunner

104 LATE MODEL CAMARO UPGRADES

Granatelli power and suspension tech

112 INSIDE SHELBYBehind the scenes at Shelby Cars

121 MAKING A STATEMENTAMX made a run at Trans Am Series

4 Power & Performance News / Vol. 6, No. 1

SPEED SHOPMustang GT Axle Back Exhaust Legato Performance ... 56LS30 Engine Oil Driven................................................... 56Single Disc Mustang Clutch Kit Quarter Master ....... 57Route 9 Universal Wiring Kit American Autowire ...... 58LS Conical Val Spring Kits COMP Cams ...................... 58Shelby GT350 Exhaust American Racing Headers ....... 58 Valve Cover Adaptors Trans Dapt ................................. 595W30 Motor Oil Prolong ................................................. 59Dash Panel for 1987-93 Mustangs Classic Dash ........ 60Billet Brake Handle Cover Ring Brothers .................... 60Retro-fit Hydraulic Roller Lifters Crane Cams ........... 60Voodoo Crank & Rod Kits Lunati .................................. 61

DEPARTMENTS01 BENCH RACINGWelcome Cars & Parts fans

01 FAST TALKJunkyard day discoveries

08 SPEED NEWSThe latest and greatest

10 DIGITAL GUIDEPower and performance sites, apps, and social media

12 VIDEO REWINDRacing, product and entertainment videos

14 SOCIAL MEDIA SOUND OFF

Stay connected through social media

126 SALVAGE YARDRaw material for car builders

128 PARTING SHOTBuilding Nader’s biggest nightmare

CONTENTS

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Even more features, videos, & event coverage

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See more new products updated daily at PPNDigital.com.


Fast TALK WITH JEFF SMITH

Junkyard day

My buddy, Tim, called yesterday. He’s got a 355c.i. small-block with a bunch of good rotating parts, but the block was worn with more than 0.003-inch

taper in a couple of cylinders. So, he’s been searching for a budget, four-bolt main replacement.

It had to be a standard bore block because his pistons for the original block were already 0.030-over. He called and said he’d found a block in a van at the junkyard and wanted to know if I could help him pull it out. I’d been stuck behind my computer for several days, and it sounded like a great escape for a morning, so I drove over to his shop.

We pooled our two 1/2-inch electric impact wrenches and Tim’s junkyard tool box, along with a four-wheeled hand cart, and set off in search of the van. This particular yard charges a fee to rent an engine hoist, so Tim brought along a simple cable puller — commonly referred to as a come-along. I wasn’t quite sure how he planned to use it until we arrived at the van.

A previous picker had conveniently removed the entire front suspension and transmission from this van. They left the engine support-ed by one of those tall steel pedestals used to support the cars. The front of the engine was overhanging the front steering drag link, so we started by removing the water pump and accessory drive.

Then, Tim slipped the ca-ble puller hook into the carb pad (the Q-jet was missing) and hooked the other end to a thin metal part of the dash just under the radio opening. He tightened the cable pull, and I yanked the stand out from under the oil pan. We slowly let the engine down until the oil pan was resting on the cart.

After that, we began disassembling the engine, in-cluding the front balancer, timing cover, intake, exhaust manifolds, and then the heads. As soon as we took the valve covers off, the engine looked really nice on the inside — almost too nice.

One valve cover had a GM Goodwrench decal that had originally led Tim to think this was probably a four-bolt main block. He had brought along a dial-bore gauge and as soon as we had one head off, he measured the bore. The pistons looked a little too new, but the gauge read 4.020-inch, which seemed suspicious but still usable.

Next, we pulled the pan, and the pistons looked fairly new. But nowhere could we find any stamping that said

STD, .030-inch, or any numbers for that mat-ter. Tim decided to go ahead and strip the rest of the block, and we dragged the bare block up to the office window where they charged him all kinds of extra fees totaling roughly $130 out the door.

We then took the block to our machinist, who was a little too busy to check it right away. He called me the next morning to give us the bad news. Our 0.020-inch over block was really 0.060-inch over and wasn’t going to work! Arrgghh!

I had a used short block at my shop that we thought might work, but it turned out to be 0.030-over, so suddenly we were staring at strike two.

Finally, Tim remembered a mutual friend had a four-bolt main block he said was a standard bore piece. I drove over to his house and picked up that block, after carefully measuring all eight holes.

At lunch, the subject was all about two-piece rear main seal small-block Chevy blocks. Chevy still sells these engines as Goodwrench replacement engines, and the blocks are cast in Mexico. While we’re not in danger of running short of these blocks

anytime soon, the last time this engine appeared in a pro-duction car was 1986. That seems like yesterday.

All told, it was still fun to spend a couple of hours in the junkyard with a friend spinning wrenches. We arrived at the yard at 9:30 a.m. and returned to Tim’s shop two hours later, knocking the freeze plugs out of the block and washing our hands. Sure, the job was easy because most of the obstructions had already been removed. But, now it’s just a lump of iron that’s pretty much only useful as a door stop.

Tim purchased the warranty so he might be able to exchange it for another block that we can use. But, we have to do that sometime in the next 30 days.

The final dig occurred today as I’m writing this. The machine shop called and requested we remove that lump of iron from their shop! They don’t need any more door stops.


Speed NEWS NEWS / HEADLINES / HOT TOPICS SPONSORED BY

When the Camaro first appeared as a 1967 model, it cast the die for an amazing legacy that continues today with the release of the 2017 50th anniversary edition.

If you watched the Indy 500, you may have seen it pacing the event, driven by Roger Penske. Along with Camaro’s anniversary comes the 50th anniversary of Penske as a race team owner – and on the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500.

The Camaro SS shown here was more than capable of handling the high performance pace car duties on May 29, the ninth time it led the pack of Indy cars for the start of the race. With 455 hp emanating from the LT1, 6.2L engine (the most power SS ever), it was a grand way to start the racing festivities.

The race signified the Green Flag for the launch of Camaro’s 50th An-niversary Edition, which continues

to honor the distinctive looks and performance that have always set the Camaro apart.

This edition is offered on 2LT and 2SS coupe and convertible models, all with Nightfall Gray Metallic exteriors featuring a 50th Anniversary stripe package and badges – and a black top on convertibles. Z11 Camaro fans will certainly be pleased (inside joke for Camaro enthusiasts).

Anniversaries abound at Indy 500

No other racing team has recorded more wins at the Brickyard than Roger Penske and Team Penske, beginning with driver Mark Donohue’s victory in 1972. Penske and Donohue had established their relationship six years earlier, when Penske transitioned from driver to team owner. They quickly found success in SCCA’s Trans-Am Series, with Donohue piloting an early Camaro Z/28 racecar to 20 race wins from 1967-1969.

Penske tackled the Indy 500 for the first time in 1969, while still campaigning a Camaro in Trans-Am.

Donohue was his driver for both series. Later, racers including Mario Andretti, Al Unser, and Rick Mears drove for Penske, with Mears winning four Indy 500 races and helping solidify Team Penske as an Indy powerhouse in the 1980s. Penske continues to be a force today.

INDY 500 CAMARO PACE CARS1967: RS/SS convertible1969: RS/SS convertible1982: Z28 coupe1993: Z28 coupe2009: SS coupe (2010 model)2010: SS coupe2011: SS convertible2014: Z/28 coupe2016: Camaro SS (2017 50th

Anniversary Edition).

Penske dominates at the Brickyard

PPNDigital.com 9

NEWS / HEADLINES / HOT TOPICS Speed NEWS

Bob Bondurant’s Hellcat Driving SchoolIf there was any need to validate the Hellcat Challenger and Charger were awesomely fast machines, one only needs to check out the bondurant.com racing school website. For those who are having trouble keeping the rubber side down, the prestigious Bondurant Racing School has a course you should attend. In the Hellcat High Performance Driving School, now you can learn the skilled art of the 120 mph power slide with a Bondurant instructor seated next to you, deftly explaining how lame a driver you are.

As with all Bondurant “colleges,” the course starts with in-class education and then proceeds to the Firebird Interna-tional Raceway facility for some tire smoking good fun – err, learnin’. It’s not cheap, but neither is the car, and driving it the way it should be should come on the option list when you buy one. One-day, two-day, and three-day courses are offered – and we can’t think of anything that could be more fun.

bondurant.com

Special Mustang display at Canton museum

Photo courtesy of Ford Split personality Mustang displays 2015 and 1965 technology evolution

Now a permanent display at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum in Canton, Ohio, this Split Personality 1965-2015 Mus-tang illustrates the dramat-ic changes in automotive evolution during the past 50 years. Picked by the Mu-seum to celebrate Ford’s contributions to automo-tive evolution, the unique machine will be part of the Property Power Exhibit at the museum.

Perhaps a driving force for the selection of the Mustang was the fact when it was launched, no specific styling patents were granted. Only after

the car proved such a huge success – selling more than 1 million cars in its first 18 months – were styling pat-ents even considered and applied for over time.

As noted by the mu-seum spokesman, “The Mustang, along with other Museum exhibits, celebrate the story of intellectual property and illumi-nates their significance to progress, innovation, and culture in America. In addition, it demonstrates how trademarks, patents, and other forms of intel-lectual property make modern amenities possible. The interactive display is

designed to highlight the importance of patents and the tremendous march of technology through the

decades. It calls out various patents in the current vehi-cle, as well as those in the original pony car.”

SuperCar Camaro: ZL1 arrivesThe 2017 Camaro ZL1 is poised to challenge the most advanced performance cars in the world in any mea-sure – with unprecedented levels of technology, refine-ment, track capability, and straight-line acceleration. From the fully automatic soft top that drops beneath the hard tonneau cover, to advanced underbody brac-ing to allow the same crisp handling as the coupe, the Camaro ZL1 Convertible is certainly high-tech. The fully automatic top can be raised or lowered with a single button while driving up to 30 mph, or lowered remotely with the keyfob.

Acceleration for the ZL1 is delivered with a new supercharged 6.2L V8 engine estimated at 640 hp (477 kW), and either a six-speed manual transmission with active rev matching or an all-new 10-speed automat-ic. Handling enhancements include the lightweight, stiffer structure that was released with the Gen 6 Ca-maro, the Magnetic Ride suspension, and an electronic limited-slip differential. Standard cool interior-mount-ed controls include Driver Mode Selector, dual-mode exhaust, and advanced “connectivity” features.


Digital GUIDE WEBSITES / FORUMS / APPS

Power & Performance at your fingertipsPower & Performance News has made it as easy as possible for you to receive the information you are look-ing for in the format you feel most comfortable with.

Whether you get your information on a laptop, tablet, or your phone, we have several avenues for you to get info straight from the source.

Our content is updated daily, so check often with Power & Performance News through any of the social media options on the right.

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APP

PerfExpert – Onboard Car DynoNothing can replace a real dyno, but for a simple test when the dyno session is still days away, this app will give you an idea of engine power and torque. The app claims it is within 2 percent, but in our test, the figures were more in the 5 percent range. Use this tool as a guide for comparison after making a vehicle change, and you’ll be happy with the A-B break-down. In the app’s Timed Run mode, you can measure your 0-60 mph, 0-60 ft., 0-1/8 mile, and 0-1/4 mile distances and times. The app starts as you accelerate, when prompted by the program, and then tells you when its completed its testing. Not only does it give you a text readout of the performance and environmen-tal parameters, but also a very clear dyno graph. For $5.99, it’s worth the price of admission. Available for iOS and Android phones.

Cost: $5.99

Chevrolet cylinder head dudeSince its arrival back in 1955, the Chevrolet small-block engine has gone through a huge number of changes. Keeping track of which Chevrolet cylinder heads are the right ones for your engine build takes an expert. This easy-to-follow guide details the special details of cylinder heads built from 1955 through the 1990s, and the features that make each head unique. Included in this guide are not only cylinder heads produced by Chevrolet but also aftermarket heads from Racing Head Service, EQ, and Dart, making this great for performance fans everywhere.

chevydiy.com

Classic Car Restoration ClubFrom news to shopping to videos, the Classic Car Restoration Club meets daily on this website. With a range of topics from simple restoration tips to full blown installs, the CCRC is a weekly car-build-of-the-day landing strip for everything muscle car fans love. Not only do they offer tips on how to perform original restoration techniques on your vehicle but also Resto-mod upgrades. One of their more popular video series for ad-vanced club members illustrates how to stuff an LS3 Chevrolet late model engine and Heidt’s subframe into a classic Second Gen F-Body. While some of the info is free, the good stuff is part of their CCRC subscription program. It’s well worth it.

classiccarrestorationclub.com

AutoZone repair guideWhile the guys behind the counter know a lot, you can help yourself out by doing a little research before you head for your local Auto-Zone. Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of stuff packed into this website. Some “experts” might want to start with the Glossary of terms. . . especially for those too embarrassed to let anyone else know they don’t know what VVT means or where the Pitman Arms goes in your front suspension. From the easy-to-use website, you can rent a specialty tool, trouble shoot a vehicle problem, or review one of their many online videos to help install parts or perform simple maintenance. Hey, get in the Zone!

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http://www.classicarrestorationclub.com

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Video REWIND RACING / PRODUCT / ENTERTAINMENT

Video Rewind is where we point out interesting videos found on the In-ternet. Whether they are historical, funny, dramatic, technical, or what-ever. We like them, so we thought you might too.

To watch all the videos below, head to:PowerPerformanceNews.com/video-rewind

MUSCLE CAR HUNTING WITH A GMC SYCLONEWhile the talents of the Hellcat Challenger, Camaro, and Shelby Mustang drivers in this video are questionable, this GMC Syclone is more than impressive turning trap speeds of over 155 mph on the Virginia Half Mile event. Clearly the owner has turned up the wick on this impressive, and rare, all-wheel drive Syclone. There is no discount-ing the power output of this very fast little truck.

SHELBY TERLINGUA TEARS UP THE TRACKJust in case the images in our Shelby Skunkworks tour (see page 112) don’t give you enough of a ride, this video certainly will. With 750 hp on tap, this is a wild ride not to be missed, and the reason the Ter-lingua name is so well respected in muscle car circles.

V8 CLUB UKRAINE – MUSCLE CARSIf you thought Ukraine, formerly part of the USSR, was only full of Skodas and Zils, guess again. America has conquered a small group of avid American late model muscle car fans. This video shows their latest club meeting, including a Stet-son-topped car clubber who clearly loves the smell of tires in the morning.

SAFE AT ANY SPEEDWhile watching expensive late model mus-cle cars being destroyed is not our favorite hobby, watching these slow motion tests with 2016 Camaro, Mustang, and Challeng-er models gives a real sense of the amount of time spent keeping you safe when you drive. Just the amount of engineering used to make these cars perform well in these types of accidents is impressive. Camaro and Mustang achieved good ratings, the Challenger had issues. Good stuff to know.

TESTING THE 2017 CAMARO Z/28Things go sideways during a development test when the rear wheels of this Camaro lock up and the car hits the safety barrier. The driver appears to be unharmed. The car however, not so much.

For original video content head to PowerPerformanceNew.com/videos.

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Cam Benty and C. Van Tune hang out with Aykroyd on the set of Doctor Detroit. Aykroyd added the caption himself.

PPNDigital.com 17

The day Dan Aykroyd bought our cop carBy C. Van Tune

Summer of 1982. The Blues Brothers was a hit movie. John Belushi had just died of an overdose. And PPN Editorial Director Cam Benty and I had a cop car for sale.

The only problem was no one was calling on the ad. Fi-nally, the phone rang. The caller had a bunch of questions about the provenance of this particular car: Ex-California Highway Patrol, competed in a cross-country illegal high-speed race called “The Four Ball Rally,” and even got shot at by some angry civilians on the highway at midnight somewhere in the plains states.

Sounds like just the kind of car this caller wants. I had written an article on competing in the race for

Popular Hot Rodding magazine, where Cam and I worked at the time. We had to hurriedly prep the car, adding a hotter cam, carb and intake, Direct Connection heads and headers, and put the most powerful set of lights we could find in the grille. My dad and I drove the car non-stop from Los Angeles to Boston (where the race was to begin) and met up with my two co-drivers just in time.

The race is a whole ’nother story in itself, but I’ll surmise by saying that by the time the car made it back to California and the event was over, it was filthy with road grime and was burning oil. Yet, it still sounded cool and had a vibe like a relative of the infamous “Blues Mobile.”

Listed at only $1,900, our 1979 Dodge St Regis was priced to sell. The guy on the phone wanted to come see it the next day. Said his name was Danny.

When a new Datsun 280ZX Turbo rolled up and a guy wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and thick-rimmed glasses got out, he looked like anyone. What we noticed was the knockout blonde gal with him. The guy started in with questions.

“Seventy-nine Saint Regis, so that’s got the 400 engine, right? No 440s in ’79. Hey, is that a hundred-amp cop car alternator on there?”

Have you ever met someone who looks or sounds re-ally familiar but you can’t place him? That’s the deal with this guy. Then it hit us at the exact same moment: That’s Dan Aykroyd!

After a test drive, Danny whipped out some cash and counted out $1,900. No haggle. He was as cool of a per-son as you could hope for. A true car guy.

The next day, Danny called with a question about the brake lights. They didn’t work.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you there’s a switch under the dashboard to shut those lights off, for stealth driving,” I replied.

Aykroyd liked that, and invited us to visit the set of a movie he was filming, Doctor Detroit, which was shoot-ing that night in a junkyard, so hell yeah we’re going. A crew photographer captured a candid of the three of us together, with Danny in costume as his character Clif-ford Skridlow, in front of a huge mountain of used tires.

Two days later, an envelope arrived at PHR with two copies of that photo, with a cartoon word-balloon that Danny had drawn in. Nice. After staying in contact for a few years, we lost touch.

Amazingly, when I bumped into Danny two years ago at

an event for his Crystal Head brand of vodka, he remem-bered the car, and us PHR guys, like it was yesterday. He told me he’d driven the St Regis for about 20 years, while at his vacation house in Martha’s Vineyard. He then donat-ed it to a charity auction.

I asked what he drives now. A special-order last of the Ford Crown Vics with the police package.

So, forget about Ferraris and Porsches, Dan Aykroyd prefers police transportation. Just the ticket for a fast cross-country escape.

Oh yeah, and I still have the bullet.

C. Van Tune has reported on cars since 1980. From his early days on staff at Popular Hot Rodding, to later serving as editor-in-chief of Motor Trend, and hosting automotive TV shows on ESPN and the NBC Sports Net-work, Tune is now a contributor to Power & Performance News, and will be focusing on vintage cars, stories, and legends in the car magazine biz.

Leaving the start of the illegal “Four Ball Rally” cross-country race in 1982. This is the car that Dan Aykroyd would buy from us.

Yes that’s a real bullet hole in the tail light.


The Pontiac GTO is often credited as the original muscle car and holds a special place in the hearts and minds of car enthusiasts. In addition to the GTO’s muscle, few cars could match it in terms of outright style, particular-

ly when equipped with the optional Judge package that included iconic outland-ish stripes, wing, and Hurst shifter.

As is the case with most muscle cars, GTOs were regularly subject to various modifications by often well-meaning, but less-than-qualified enthusiastic own-ers. Such changes, coupled with the tricky handling characteristics and lackluster brakes, also led to many GTOs meeting with the crusher due to accident or mis-use. All of this adds up to the fact finding an original, numbers-matching GTO, particularly a Judge, is next to impossible – but not entirely impossible.

HERECOMES This original,

numbers-matching 1970 Pontiac GTO

Judge looks just as good as when

it left the factoryWords Kyle Hyatt Photos Courtesy of Coker Tire

PPNDigital.com 19

FeatureKawasaki GTO

Wade Kawasaki, President and COO of Coker Tire, initially heard about a GTO from a high school friend while on vacation in Hawaii. This friend purchased the GTO from the original owner, who had ordered the car from the dealer on Maui, and had it shipped over to Honolulu with the intention of restoring it.

The GTO was in pretty decent shape, having been kept on a small is-land. It had very few original miles on the odometer, as well as a clean interior, but had suffered some damage to the left front fender and left rear quarter.

The friend who bought it eventual-ly decided he didn’t have the time or resources to devote to another project and offered the car to Kawasaki. Nat-urally, this was an offer he couldn’t refuse, so he had the car shipped to

The original 400c.i. engine was completely rebuilt and lovingly reassembled by the artisans at Bodie Stroud’s southern California shop. It features the 10.25:1 compression ratio along with facto-ry intake and exhaust – with the exception of the Pypes tailpipes.

With PPG Cardinal Red paint to dress the exterior, the matching red interior is stunning. No power options here; this all muscle machine sports crank handle window operation and pull rods for upper and lower interior ventilation.

As one would expect from a car owned by the COO of Coker Tire, the Judge features Wheel Vintiques original style Pontiac Rallye II wheels and raised white letter Coker-built Firestone Wide Oval tires.

the Wheel Vintiques factory in Southern California and set

about finding someone to do the restoration.

Wade had heard of Los Angeles-based car builder Bodie Stroud from numerous friends

and colleagues and had seen much of the work he’d

done in recent years. He had the idea the Judge would be the perfect

car to feature in the Wheel Vintiques booth at the 2015 SEMA Show, and so approached Bodie to do the work on the car. Bodie accepted and began the months-long thrash to get the car

ready for SEMA in November.While typically known for his more

creative and custom work on cars like Tim Allen’s 1968 COPO Camaro, Bodie is also well respected as a restorer. His meticu-

lous research and skill in fabrication undeniably made him the best man for the job.

Bodie left no stone unturned in the restoration of the GTO, working with the best products from Original Parts Group, including trim pieces, replace-ment parts, emblems, and body parts. OPG’s products and technical advice was critical to the GTO’s restoration. Bodie also enlisted the help of Trim Parts and Classic Tube for the most accurate and well-made restoration products, to make the GTO look as good as, if not better than, the day it left the factory.

The PPG Cardinal Red GTO Judge looks as if it just rolled out of the fac-tory with its 400c.i. big-block engine, GM 10 bolt rear end, factory steering

box, factory suspension, and a revitalized original interior made pristine by the high-quality parts from PUI Interiors. Authentic Firestone Wide Oval raised white letter tires from Coker Tire are wrapped around Wheel Vintiques Pontiac Rallye II wheels, giving the car a truly period correct look.

The only areas where Bodie really left the realm of factory replacement parts are in the exhaust system, supplied by Pypes, and the suspension. The old Goat received a full com-plement of Energy Suspension bushings, as well as Bilstein shocks. These limited modifi-

cations serve mostly to help tame the GTO’s handling characteristics and are not visually apparent.

“These cars are so special, and finding

The Enduro nose was state of the art in 1970 and replaced the need for large chrome bumpers. The GTO nose was different from its sister Pon-tiac, the Lemans front end, making these parts especially hard to find.

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The interior looks like a brochure of a 1970 Pontiac showroom. With a cool Hurst-handled shifter jutting from the console opening to the perfect rear seat covers and woodgrain dashboard, this is what you got when you checked the box to order a GTO Judge.

Before heads up display, there was the hood-mounted tachometer. Pretty cool, al-though when it rained, visibility was difficult.

them in this condition is pretty rare. We would be doing a disservice to the car if we did anything crazy with it,” said Bodie. “As the restorer, it’s

my job to peel the years back and really honor the his-

tory of the car and the guys who

original-

ly designed and built it. It was such a pleasure to get to bring this car out of the barn and back to life. It turned out great.”

The results of the restoration abso-lutely do not betray the relatively short timeframe allotted for the work. Bodie and his crew worked day and night for two months to have the car perfect and

ready for its worldwide debut at the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Displayed in the Wheel Vintiques booth at the show, the car received much attention and adoration from attendees, and in a crowd of wildly modified and over-the-top custom-ized vehicles, the perfectly restored muscle car truly stood out.

The Judge graphics told the world you were pack-ing something special back in 1970. The over wheel well “eyebrows,” rear wing and Judge

decals were the most prominent indicators.

When it comes to high performance crankshaft dampers, ATI is the pinnacle of performance. The “go-to” brand for 100 percent of Pro Stock and

NASCAR racing engine builders, they know a thing or two about smooth running engines and crankshaft dynamics. For that reason alone, their newest dampers for Mopar and GM vehicles aptly bring that racing success to the street. ATI dampers are SFI-approved for added safety and durability.

The Dodge Challenger and Charger Hellcats have set the mark for high performance: able to twist the dyno to 707 hp, making them the most powerful production cars available today. But as any performance addict will tell you,

huge power is terrific, but you can never have too much of a good thing. Enter ATI.

The opportunity to add a few more horses to the Hellcat’s stable of power became the challenge for ATI’s engineers. They accomplished this goal by offering a new damper that overdrives the factory supercharger by 10 percent, increas-ing the “boost” by 3psi.

The new damper (PN 918485), when combined per ATI recommendation with use of an aftermarket tuner (HP Tun-ers offers one currently, but by this writing, Diablo Sport and SCT should have followed suit) generates an additional 80 hp at the tire, and at least 100 rwhp with E-85 fuel. That’s

HELL OF AATI turns up the heat with Hellcat and GM power boosting damper line

Words Cam Benty / Photos ATI Racing


PPNDigital.com 25

a boost even Hellcat pilots will feel in a big way. With this high performance damper, ATI also recom-

mends upgrading the mechanism that keeps the damper from turning on the crankshaft snout. After all, we are talking about huge power here.

The factory uses a washer system to avoid damper slippage on the crankshaft with Hellcat engines. Both the Hellcat and the lower horsepower Mopar VVT engines use a press-on, interference-fit hub to allow the damper to perform its shock reduction and crankshaft management duties. To ensure ATI’s Hellcat damper stays in place under the high boost application, they offer a pin kit that replaces the factory Hellcat washer system. In this way, there is no possibility of losing the engine power generat-ed by the ATI overdrive damper.

And just to be safe, ATI also offers a high per-formance replacement OEM diameter damper (PN 918483) that provides a durable upgrade to the fac-tory damper.

It has a ring to itKey to the racing success for ATI is the unique and inno-vative design of their Super Damper. Unlike many others, it is rebuildable. It can be taken apart (ATI recommends maintenance every time you rebuild your engine), inspect-ed for wear, and then freshened for additional service. That alone makes ATI a good choice for racers and power enthu-siasts who have signaled this feature as a key benefit.

ATI dampers are modular in construction with a ma-chined “hub” that presses on the crankshaft snout. The “shell assembly” (which bolts to the hub via six countersunk fas-teners) features an inertia ring that is critical to the damper’s crankshaft shock and deflection control. This inertia ring is sandwiched between an inner and outer shell. On the iner-tia ring, there are rubber O-rings, which are responsible for the “tuning” functionality of the damper. These O-rings can range from soft to hard as requested by the engine builder.

This cut-away shows the high tech nature of the ATI damper, which is why it is currently the only damper used in NASCAR and Pro Stock competition.

This LSA engine damper kit includes the cen-ter-mounted crankshaft hub, the outer damper mechanism, and a drive pulley. Several different pulleys are offered for LSA engines to change the supercharger boost output.

Corvette and CTSV Power GainsIn much the same way the ATI Super Damper has provid-ed a power boost for Hellcat, ATI engineers have addressed the issue of General Motors engine dynamics. They offer a series of dampers for the newest Corvette and CTSV high performance engines and other applications.

Talking specifically about Corvette C7 applications, ATI offers both a wet sump (standard level Corvette) and dry


pirated) trucks looking to slow down the accessories. Their unique ability to fully integrate the damper and pulley “package” to fit these unique applications is what makes them so popular.

From trucks to cars, and from Hellcats to Z06 Corvettes, ATI’s newest line of Super Dampers offers diversity and in-novation. What it means for the big picture is that while you may think you had the most powerful Hellcat, Corvette, CTSV, or Tahoe when you rolled from the dealership lot, we have some bad news. ATI has changed the game. Source: ATI Racing, atiracing.com

This is ATI’s PN 917315 for Corvette Dry Sump system. The overdrive pulley is shown here.

For 2014 Corvette LT1 engines with the wet sump system, ATI PN 917314 is suggested.

sump (Grand Sport) damper that provide a signif-icant upgrade from the factory-mounted LT1 engine components.

For the supercharged LT4 engine application found in the C7 Z06 Cor-vette, ATI offers 5, 10 and 15 percent overdrive pulleys. The 15 percent, 8-groove pulley that fits to the Z06 damper (PN 917315), adds 2.3 psi to the stock application for 50 more horsepower at the tire. The 5 and 10 percent pulleys are designed for higher displacement aftermarket su-percharger upgrades where an over-drive pulley less than 15 percent is de-sired. If a customer is looking to add an ATI damper/pulley to increase durability without increasing boost, the 5 percent pul-ley is recommended.

For the 2009-15 LSA engine used in the Cadil-lac CTSV application, ATI comes to the rescue with a per-formance pulley system that increases the durability of the unit while retaining the supercharger overdrive output. For 2016 Cadillac CTSV LT4 applications, ATI offers similar to Corvette overdrive pulleys, but for those details, ATI rec-ommends calling their tech line for specifics.

ATI has not left the truck guys out of the mix either. Cur-rently they offer up to 10 different pulleys that can provide overdrive for Tahoe and Escalade trucks running aftermar-ket supercharging, and underdrive for NA (Naturally As-

ATI offers a wide variety of damper/pulley systems for all types of performance engines. This Damper/Pulley, PN 918854, looks simple but provides major high-tech features and tunability for the engine builder or vehicle owner.

40 years ago, this secret Shelby was built for high-speed stealth

Words/Photos by C. Van Tune

OF A


You are looking at a legend. The story of this special Shelby, and its mysterious owner known

only by initials “RPM,” date back to 1975, when the car was found aban-doned in a field on a Wyoming farm. Its original 428 Police Interceptor en-gine was missing, a 390 in its place, but even it was lying dead with a con-necting rod stuffed through the block. When RPM drove past in his line-man’s work truck, the unloved 1967 Shelby GT500 caught his eye. An idea was born.

Forty years ago, America was in a frustrating time of boring cars, long lines to buy gasoline, and a legion of law enforcement eager to ticket any-one exceeding the ridiculous 55 mph national speed limit. It was a dark automotive era of 165-hp Corvettes, lame Mustang IIs, and smogged-out land barges.

There were no cell phones, GPS navigation systems, or on-board com-puters. The only social network was a CB radio, and the only technology to beat a cop’s radar gun was a simple one-band radar detector and your fast reflexes to hammer the brakes.

Time capsule of car and driver, in photos from 1982 and 2016. The Shelby has been hidden away in storage since 1987 and only just uncovered for this exclusive article.

PPNDigital.com 29


Infra-red lenses can be put on headlights for “dark running”

Aircraft landing lights, road adaptive

“Radar communicator”

sends “55 mph” signal

regardless of speed

Military-spec radar-absorbing material under hood and trunk lid

Kevlar-29 bulletproof

panels in doors, roof,

fenders, and hood

Temperature sensors for

four-wheel disc brake pads

and wheel bearings

427, 428, or 483c.i. engines

This photo from 1987 was the last time we saw RPM’s GT500 before it was locked away for nearly 30 years.

Part James Bond gadgetry, part Stealth Bomber technology, and packed with long-legged highway performance, the midnight blue GT500 was unlike any other car on earth (see images above).

But, let’s start at the beginning of this amazing story: The day RPM first glimpsed the Shelby, as he drove past the Gillette, Wyoming, farm where it sat abandoned.

“The first thing I saw was the up-per side scoops on the car,” RPM re-calls. “The grass in the pasture was

about four feet tall, and the car was buried up to those scoops. I stopped my truck and climbed over the fence to get a closer look. It was covered in that red Wyoming dust, and had been sitting there long enough that the dust layer helped preserve the car. “

Back in 1975, a Shelby with a dead engine (and not even the correct en-gine at that) was just another used car that needed a lot of work. Selling new in 1967 for about $5,000, the mor-ibund car that RPM found was worth maybe $500.

Author’s note: Our personal connection to this car goes back to 1982. RPM called the Popular Hot Rodding offices, and I answered. The deep resonant voice on the other end of the phone listed off more than 20 unique modifications he’d made to the car — many that he designed and built himself. Frankly, the car sounded too incredible to be true. We had to see it for ourselves. I flew to the Midwest location where we’d agreed to meet. And, as I soon discovered, everything RPM had told us was true. And more.

So, what if that forlorn GT500 could be resurrected from the dead, and built to be faster than ever? What if it could be turned into the automotive equiva-lent of a stealth aircraft? And what if RPM could safely drive it from coast to coast as quickly as possible?

To be a successful Cannonballer — a person with the passion to see just how fast, and how far, he could go on public highways — took ingenuity as much as guts.

Hidden away since 1987, this secret Shelby has been discovered, uncov-ered, and presented exclusively here for Power & Performance News. It is a time capsule of technology, engineer-ing ingenuity, and how one man built it to beat the system.

This is the legend of RPM’s 1967 Shelby GT500.

PPNDigital.com 31

Even though the Shelby was only 8 years old, a DMV check revealed it had six previous owners. “It had seen a lot of hard performance use,” RPM add-ed. ”Everyone had their fun with it, busted it, and couldn’t afford to fix it.”

An important item to keep in mind: Forty years ago, there wasn’t anywhere near the abundance of af-termarket and restoration parts for a Shelby Mustang as there is today. Lots of ingenuity was required to make the car into the multiple-show champion it became. The first car show entered was in Salt Lake City in 1977, where it won “Best of Show.”

But, it was an article in the Shelby American Automobile Club’s maga-zine in 1979 that caught RPM’s atten-tion, and changed his plans forever.

“The story that SAAC president Rick Kopec wrote about driving his ’65 GT350 in the 1979 Cannonball

cross-coun-try race got me to won-dering if I could learn enough to develop a special vehi-cle to com-pete in such an event,” RPM told us. “A ve-hicle that

would be fast, reliable, and stealthy enough to avoid all of the known, and unknown, obstacles on the nearly 3,000 miles of highways and backroads.“

Asked why he decided to build-up his show-winning Shelby instead of some other car, RPM answered “It wasn’t a numbers-matching car, so it didn’t bother me to modify it. I wouldn’t have done all this to a num-bers-correct vehicle.”

His goal was to keep the exterior of the Shelby as stock-appearing as possible, while under the skin build-ing up an intricate system of high-tech electronic devices and mechanical systems to give him an advantage in dealing with each challenge of driving long distances at high speeds.

A little background: RPM worked for a company that built high-volt-age power stations and cross-country transmission lines — also known as “The Power Grid.” His knowledge of electrical and mechanical engineering helped him in designing many of his Shelby’s one-of-a-kind components. A trusted friend (an aerospace engineer) provided valuable guidance on the microwave countermeasures, such as the “Radar Communicator” that caus-es a radar gun’s readout to show “55 mph” regardless of the Shelby’s speed.

About 20 percent of a strategy to win a cross-country race is to drive fast. The other 80 percent is made up of important things such as cruising

range, vehicle reliability, driver com-fort, vehicle stealth, and safety. RPM’s first order of business was to upgrade the car’s brakes, adapting a pair of ’67 Shelby four-piston calipers and rotors to the rear axle. Remember, this was in 1979, and there were no conversion kits for such a swap. No aftermar-ket setups with giant rotors and race pads. Just junkyards to hunt through, for donor cars.

Next on the list was increasing the car’s cruising range. The stock

What’s a Cannonball?“Cannonballing” has grown to become a word to describe any sort of high-speed endurance driving on public roads, but it has its roots in an actual event.

Not bearing much resemblance to the farcical movie The Cannonball Run that followed, the actual event was officially known as the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.

Created by automotive writer Brock Yates in 1971, the secret event was an invitation-only challenge to see who could drive from New York City to Re-dondo Beach, California, in as quick of an elapsed time as possible. Cars left at one-minute intervals from the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan. Many of them never made it to the finish line, or without a serious encounter with law enforcement.

Doug Nash 5-speed or Richmond 6-speed

Driver-adjustable tail light and brake light cutouts

Driver-controlled electrically opening headers/exhaust

47 gallon auxiliary fuel tank in place of rear seat

Liquid “ground sprayers”

2.47 ratio ring and pinion for high speed cruising and near 180 mph top speed


15-gallon Mustang fuel tank was good for maybe 100 miles at Can-nonball speeds, so RPM removed the Shelby’s rear seat and constructed a 47-gallon auxiliary tank out of alumi-num in its place.

He then swapped the stock 3.50 rear gears for a 2.47 ring-and-pinion and chucked the existing four-speed for a Doug Nash five-speed gearbox.

With the stock Shelby 15x7-inch, 10-spoke aluminum wheels and Good-year NCT radials, sized 245/60x15 — there were NO 16-inch or larger pas-senger car wheels/tires in 1979 — the new ultra-tall rear-end gearing and electronically-tunable dual Holley 600 carbs improved the highway fuel economy to nearly 19 mpg at cruis-ing speeds, and gave the car a usable range of about 1,100 miles.

Every gasoline stop he was able to eliminate, by further improving the car’s highway fuel economy, saved around 15 minutes of down time (the elapsed time between when you drop below cruising speed to exit the high-way, plus the time to get the fuel and pay, and the time it takes until you’re back up to speed.) Fifteen minutes at 120 mph equals 30 miles.

The car’s headlights were the next area of modification. RPM fitted a pair of aircraft landing lights under the bumper, and devised a cockpit-adjust-able electric control to move the lights up/down and side-to-side, for target-ed illumination. Of course, many new cars today have a similar system of “adaptive headlights” that turn in the direction of a corner, but, in 1979, RPM had the only one.

Further tricking out the forward lighting, RPM affixed infra-red lenses to the lights and located a pair of mil-itary-spec night vision goggles for the driver and passenger to wear. The re-sultant “dark running” ability proved valuable on vulnerable stretches of highway where it felt better to slip through completely undetected.

When RPM handed me the night vi-sion goggles, he hadn’t told me about the infra-red lights. We were running out of Rifle, Colorado, on a test trip across parts of the High Plains to the Wyoming border and back. When he hit the IR light switch, and the outside world went black, my first experience peering through night vision glasses was surreal. (For safety reasons, RPM only used IR-mode when no other ve-hicles were in the vicinity.)

The 428 Police Interceptor engine from the old days has been upgraded to a 427 side-oiler stroked to 483 cubes. Accompanying the massive increase in power is the just as massive set of auxiliary systems to run reliably as well as fast.

Cool air makes more power than hot air, and the huge amounts of heat buildup in a stock Shelby’s engine compartment can steal performance. RPM went on an all-out assault on high temperatures with his custom air plenum and six powerful small electric fans that pull air out through the hood’s rear gills.

Reliability over long distances, in all types of weather, was next on RPM’s list. Virtually every fluid in the car was being monitored, measured, and cooled when necessary. The 428’s 10-quart oil pan was augmented by a 9-quart oil reserve with sensing unit and automatic feed capabilities, should the engine need more oil while run-ning. There are temperature sensors for the brake pads, wheel bearings, and fuel entering the carbs. Everything but how many calories you’re burning is being monitored by something.

Another feature ahead of its time was RPM’s unique design of electri-cally-opening headers. By modifying an electric motor to a geared screw-drive, 12-volts could be switched on to open a collector plate in the ex-haust system. In 10 seconds, the ex-haust went from stock Shelby Mus-tang in tone to full race car tenor. Flip the switch the other way, and the screw-drive closed the plate tight.

The interior of the Shelby retained its stock dashboard, steering wheel, door panels, and rollbar, but had been modified with Recaro seats and a bevy of devices for radar detection. Specially built aluminum overhead and center consoles contained the switchgear, gauges, and controls for the vehicle’s many mechanical and electronic systems.

On the road, the ride quality was comfortable enough to allow for co-driver naps between stints behind the wheel, which becomes ever more important as the hours wear on, and you still have 2,500 miles to travel. Acceleration from the 428 was surpris-ingly stout, even above 80 mph, giv-en the long-legged rear gearing. RPM liked to keep the 15-gallon stock tank filled with racing fuel, “just in case.”

As fate would have it, 1979 was the last of the “officially unofficial” Cannonball events, so RPM did not get his Shelby built in time to run in one of those. But, he did compete in the similar-themed “U.S. Express,” as well as the “Four Ball Rally” (with this author, in the ex-California Highway Patrol car we’d sell to Dan Aykroyd after the event) and in two of the lat-er legal and sanctioned “One Lap of America” 7,500-mile seven-day ul-tra-endurance events.

During all of those long days and seemingly-unending miles of driving, RPM’s Shelby was 100 percent reli-able, and neither he nor his co-drivers 96

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Big Power With Street Manners I


The cockpit in 1979, before the Recaro seats and about a thousand technical additions.

Because the car’s stock 15-gallon tank only gave a range of about 100 miles at Cannonball speeds, RPM added a 47-gallon auxiliary tank in the back seat. Range with both tanks is now approximately 1,100 miles.

Just about every electrical device, moving part and fluid in the car is being monitored, measured, and cooled when necessary. The bevy of switches in the aluminum center console control the six-stage headlights, taillight cutouts, and oil feed into the engine from a nine-quart re-serve tank, while driving. Aircraft landing lights were modified by RPM to adjust up/down and side-to-side from the cockpit. Infra-red lenses can be placed over the headlights for “dark running.”

At the finish line of the 1985 One Lap of America, RPM’s Shelby sits near the entrance to the fa-mous Portofino Inn, in Redondo Beach, California. The Shelby was one of the few entrant vehicles to make the entire 7,500-mile trek without breaking down or being stopped by law enforcement.

At a brief roadside stop in 1982, RPM plans his next move. Near the car’s headliner is another alu-minum panel housing switchgear and gauges for carb tuning and fuel transfer between the tanks.

For even more, search “Confessions of a Cannonballer” at PPNDigital.com.

were ever stopped by law enforce-ment. That’s a lot of miles, at a lot of speed, in a lot of weather, to have such a perfect outcome.

In 1985, RPM brought his car to the Popular Hot Rodding offices in Los Angeles. We arranged for him to show it to Carroll Shelby at the Chrysler-Shelby Development Center in Santa Fe Springs, California. Yeah, back when Shel’ was building Dodg-es. Carroll crawled into the cockpit of the GT500, looked at all the modifica-tions, listened to the stories, and then said, “RPM, you’re one crazy sum-bitch. But I love it!”

When we last saw RPM’s special Shelby, it was in 1987. Then, the car disappeared. It went off the grid for

Buried underneath a custom- fabbed aluminum cold-air plenum that seals to the hood is a Shelby me-dium-riser intake housing twin Hol-leys. Venting radiated engine and exhaust heat out through the after-market Shelby fiberglass hood (with rear gills) are six small but efficient electric fans that each pump 180 cfm away from the engine compartment.

Backing up the powerplant is a Richmond 6-speed that replaces the Doug Nash 5-gear and gives the car an overall top gear ratio of 1.95. That lets the GT500 loaf along at a mere 2,000 rpm at 70 mph (4,000 rpm at 140 mph) and delivers an “estimated” top speed of close to 180 mph. However, know-ing RPM’s penchant for under-prom-ising and over-delivering, “estimated” probably means “observed.”

Factor in the undisclosed number of high-speed long-distance runs that RPM made on his own, in an effort to best his previous elapsed times, and his legend will never be fully known, even by his closest friends. But, most importantly, he always achieved his main goal of arriving home safe, se-cure, and undetected. The perfect stealth mission.

nearly 30 years. Until recently, when RPM contacted me and asked if I‘d like to get reacquainted with the GT500.

Looking at the exterior of the car today, not much has changed since we last saw it. Under the skin, however, RPM has given the Shelby some new muscles and increased its high speed performance even more. The 428 has been replaced by a 427 side-oiler, stroked to 483 cubes. Dove alumi-num heads cover 10.85:1 compres-sion pistons, and valve actuation is via a Lunati solid-lifter cam, Milodon gear drive, and Shelby stainless steel roller rockers. Oil capacity has been upped to a 12-quart pan, but retains the 9-quart reservoir with automatic transfer capability.

Here it is, after emerging from storage in 2016. Yes, we took a ride in it, and it still hauls ass.

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The aftermarket industry had a bit of a learning curve when Chevro-let introduced the LS platform. The

all-new, “clean sheet” design addressed weaknesses found in previous genera-tions and had little in common with its predecessors, other than the bore spac-ing and rod bearings. Updated versions have added to the engine’s robustness, and its outer limits are still being ex-plored. With time and experimentation,

LS power levels and rpm redlines are now hitting numbers previously un-heard of — and hitting them reliably.

One of the first to forge a path into higher horsepower was the engineer-ing group at Fuel Air Spark Technol-ogy (FAST). An early project included a patent for interchangeable runners within a new intake manifold of multi-piece composite design with a larger throttle body. Many hours went into

developing the internally-mounted runners for optimum performance.

These molded air horns capture the incoming stream of air through the throttle body and funnel it into the head through an optimized rectangle tube. The resulting airstream main-tains high velocity that is ideal for low-end torque and increased horsepower. Testing on a near-stock LS7 produced gains of nearly 20 hp.

LeveL

FAST’s interchangeable runners push horsepower ceiling

Words / Photos Brandon Flannery

PPNDigital.com 37

rpm,” says Billy Godbold, longtime COMP Performance Group engineer. “Of course there is always that 5 per-cent that takes things to the next lev-el, and the interchangeable system is designed to help them get there.”

Godbold says anyone who isn’t turn-ing over 7,000 rpm probably wouldn’t see any benefit to upgrading intake runners. In fact, they’d probably see a slight dip in low-end torque, which would offset any gains above 6,000.

“You really don’t want to trade 10-15 lb-ft at your shift recovery point for 5-10 hp at peak in a street application,” he says. “However, the shorter run-ners love rpm and really wake up in the 7,000-8,000 rpm window.”

High rpm applications (especially those engines used in competition) place unique demands on the intake system. First, you need less air flow restriction to just supply the demand. Second, optimum intake runner length is not only dependent on rpm, but also the cam timing.

These new FAST runners — two versions are available — take full ad-vantage of larger-duration camshafts and larger displacements typical in race-type applications.

This is good news for those going “beyond bolt-on” or with high-stall automatic cars and stick-shift cars.

The mid-length “High HP” runners have proven to average more than 20

The original goal was to maxi-mize power throughout a standard, street-friendly 2,500-6,500 rpm oper-ating band. Hence, the runners need-ed to be as long as could be packaged inside the LS space constraints for proper wave tuning, especially in the mid-range.

“For 95 percent of customers, the standard FAST LSXR manifold is tuned perfectly for their operating

The runners seal into place with an O-ring and are secured with a machine screw.

Runner lengths from short to long. They could even be mix and matched to tailor peak rpm and torque for specific applications.

FAST’s interchangeable runners push horsepower ceiling


additional horsepower between 6,000 and 9,000 rpm over the original LSXR manifold. The shorter “Race” run-ners can top the best four-barrel race intakes and offer 30-plus more horse-power on average between 7,000 and 9,000 rpm than the original LSXR manifold, with a 500-1,000 upward shift in peak horsepower for “top of the tach” performance.

The High HP runners do not sacri-fice as much torque as the Race run-ners, which can be a plus for those not needing a max-rpm scenario. As builders continue to explore new op-tions, the runners can even be mix-and-matched between the High HP, Race, and even Standard runners to dial in the torque and horsepower peaks for a specific application. The possibilities are numerous.

The doors to new technology are also opened.

“Everything works as a system,” says Godbold. “If we can improve one component, like the intake, it then inspires us to alter the other components. Once we have a mani-fold that is set up to go 9,000 rpm, we can then design a camshaft to com-pliment it or make upgrades to ele-ments of the fuel system. Operating in the 9,000 rpm range safely opens up a new realm of possibilities and package options.”

At the time of these photos, the prototypes were being put through their paces. The engine was a mild 6.0L with a stock crank and H-beam rods and pistons from Lunati. Cam-

For 95 percent of customers, the stan-dard FAST LSXR manifold is tuned perfectly for their operating rpm. Of course there is always that 5 percent that takes things to the next level, and the in-terchangeable system is designed to help them get there.The Race runners are the shortest. These sacrificed a little bit of power over the High HP runners

until 7,500 rpm and then peaked at 8,000 and continued to make steady power until the 9,000 redline of the test engine.

The High HP runners had a pretty level power peak from 6,500 to 7,500 rpm.

The Standard runners offer more lower-rpm power than the other two and peak around 6,500 rpm. For most hot street engines, this would be the ideal choice, as the longer runners make more bottom-end torque.

PPNDigital.com 39

shaft grinds were also tested, and the data will be analyzed and inte-grated into a new camshaft custom-ers can purchase.

Where will the rpm craze end? Time will tell, but for now, those surf-ing the outer limits of the LS plat-form have a range of options when it

comes to getting enough air and fuel to help them achieve their goals. Source: Fuel Air Spark, fuelairspark.com

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UNDERCOVER

For some guys, the change from hanging with cars to hanging with girls often generates a battle of wills. The need for a house, family, and other expenses push

the love of performance cars to take second place for most. Derel Latta’s wife, Jessica, was well aware of her husband’s love of cars right from the start – a big part of who he was and clearly something she wanted him to continue.

The result of that “merger” was not only the ’69 Cama-ro shown here but their business, Undercover Innovations, where Latta gets to build the cars of his dreams on a daily ba-sis. He has neatly found room for two “red heads” in his life.

Latta’s current early model Camaro is affectionately called “The other Red Head” for its high impact Mars Red PPG Acrylic Enamel paint that drapes the lovingly prepared body panels. From bumper to bumper, Latta has reworked the Camaro, which has been re-engineered several times

Derel Latta’s “dream girls” are the center of his world

Words / Photos Cam Benty

during the 17 years it has been “in the family.” But, it is the small things that make this classic particularly unique.

Up front, Latta was looking for a cleaner appearance than the original factory effort, so he moved fog lights into the turn signal openings in the lower fascia. Turn signal lights were tucked into the factory grillwork, and the orig-inal Rally Sport headlight washers were removed to clean up the headlight openings. The fiberglass L88 style VFN hood has been modified through the inclusion of an SLP grille system that allows hot air to escape from underhood.

Working rearward, Pontiac Fiero mirrors were added to either side of the car, using Corvette flaring to make them more aerodynamic and keep with the clean look of the body. The original Camaro rear fenderwell chrome has been painted body color, and the rear spoiler has been massaged and reworked with the slight dip in the center to allow

PPNDigital.com 41

for better rear visibility. A fiberglass body color VFN rear bumper finishes off the rear section styling.

Underhood is where things get interesting. One of the last creations of Jim Barnes of Barnes Racing Engines in Bakersfield, California, the 496c.i. engine, stroked from a factory 454, powers the red head that passes massive torque through the TCI-prepared Turbo 400 Street Fighter transmission.

The shift points are deftly handled by Master Shift pad-dle shifting solenoids that are mounted on the steering wheel, easily within thumb reach. With a stall speed of 2,000 rpm, the Camaro can be easily driven on the street or taken to the drag strip for some local competition at nearby legendary Famoso Raceway.

Legendary engine builder Ray Barton assembled the 496c.i. big-block Chevy.

Front suspension upgrades include tubular A-arms, frame connectors, and sealed lower radiator ducting.

The chassis is as sophisticated as the topside with a Heidts independent rear suspension.


The highlight of the current (more than one engine has lived within this Camaro) Barnes big block is the new Edel-brock fuel injection unit that allows for total tuning of the en-gine dependent on the conditions or the need. MSD ignition parts keep the engine firing on all cylinders. The engine itself features a cast steel crank and Eagle Forged I-Beam 6.385-inch connecting rods. Final compression is a modest 10:1.

To reduce front end weight, Latta installed Edelbrock aluminum cylinder heads and a host of COMP Cams parts, including their best valve springs and rocker arms. All of these parts are activated by a COMP Cams “Thumpr” roller hydraulic camshaft with 0.552-inch lift intake and 0.0542-inch lift exhaust measurements. Advertised duration is 291-degree intake and 311-degree exhaust.

Directing exhaust flow out of the hearty big-block Chevy are Patriot exhaust headers with 1 7/8-inch diame-ter primary tubing and coated to retain their silver, shiny appearance. These shorty headers enter underbody stain-less steel tubing and flow through Dynomax pre-mufflers and Magnaflow chambered muffler to keep the Camaro

street sound-legal. Finally they flow through multi-vent-ed exhaust tips mounted in the center of the rear valance to create a race car look.

The suspension is a marvel of modern engineering, us-ing a Heidts Independent Rear End that features inboard brakes and high-strength half shafts to plant the big-block’s torque to the ground. The Heidts system uses a pair of at-tractive (yet functional) chromed coil over springs that are fully adjustable for racing or street driving.

The Heidts system uses custom A-Arms that attach to the Heidts-designed spindles, which support the Bonspeed 10-inch wide and 18-inch tall wheels. To clear the massive 315/30-18 Falken tires, Latta and his team installed full tubs and re-sectioned the frame. The result is a perfect blend of suspension, tire, wheel, and traction.

At the heart of the Heidt’s suspension kit is the Ford Nine-Inch Positraction enhanced rear end that is reworked by Heidts and, in this case, uses 3.73:1 ratio gears. Bracing either side of the rear end are Wilwood brakes with 12-inch diameter rotors and four-piston calipers. The design re-

Latta used shorty headers to duct exhaust away from the big-block and single exhaust tubing below for improved ground clearance.

Every part of the ’69 Camaro shows Latta’s attention to detail. Just look at the efforts made to install the huge air intake tube.

The extra care shown to select the right suspension pieces helps deliver the perfect ride height.

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moves the brake system from the outer suspension system, lessening the sprung weight of each axle for better overall handling.

Up front, Latta used the stock Camaro subframe, re-worked and freshened with Global West A-arm mounts and Heidts spindles to match the rest of the car. For faster steer-ing and better handling, an AGR quick ratio steering box was installed, as well as a custom-made lower chassis pan-el that aids in cooling by directing air through the radiator rather than letting it fall out of the bottom of the car. Final-ly, the suspension was enhanced with additional Wilwood brake parts — in this case the six-piston brake package for added stopping horsepower!

In keeping with the other Camaro upgrades, the interior was heavily modified, starting with the installation of per-formance seats reworked by Art Ramirez, a local Bakers-field upholstery artisan. Key to the upgrade is the stitching of Derel and Jessica’s company name, Undercover Innova-tions, into the seats. The Sparco suede-covered wheel again sports the paddle shifter buttons, but not enough to block any of the gauges.

A roll bar with kickers protects the occupants in the event of a roll over and is neatly integrated into the body-work, while the rear seat has been removed for weight sav-ings and to leave room for the large fuel cell that takes up much of the rear trunk space. B & M gauges monitor key engine functions mounted both in the instrument panel and into the A-Pillar for easy review.

The “family” Camaro is not only a winner with the Lat-tas but a winner in every car show in which the Mars Red machine has been entered. And Latta is not shy about driv-ing the first Gen F-Body, having driven the car some 47,000 miles during his ownership. But not every drive has been bliss.

The change to the Heidts rear end was the result of the original big-block Chevy rear end departing the chassis during a run to local Los Angeles. The previous engine was removed after the factory big-block just plain wore out, pro-

viding a space for the new Barnes engine that powers the Camaro today.

The most current hurdle for Latta involved heat. With the air conditioning on, the car would constantly overheat. By accident, Latta noticed excessive heat emanating from the grille and tracked down the problem to a pinhole leak in the radiator. At the time the car was photographed, he was waiting for a new radiator to finally repair the cooling sys-tem to handle the 100+ degree days common in Bakersfield.

The Latta family Camaro has added a new garage playmate for the ’69, a heavily modified 2014 1LE Cama-ro that sports a host of modifications and some ’69 Ca-maro-type upgrades, such as the rear spoiler and custom exhaust. The amazingly powerful Camaro is just the lat-est red head to enter the Undercover Innovations stable. But no matter how many enter Latta’s life, we know who is his favorite — right?

The interior sports all the necessities of a purpose-built street machine/race car, along with those steering wheel mounted paddle shifters that deliver high-speed gear changes.

Pontiac Fiero side view mirrors are a nice touch on this cool Mars Red Camaro.

A sneaky 396 front fender emblem belies the actual displacement of the engine powering this Camaro.

The L88 hood and quick release latches help access the engine. Note the subtle lower spoiler that works perfectly with the Rally Sport Hide Away grille work.

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MODERNUSCLE


This Black RS may look like lots of other classics, but it’s equipped with Bluetooth, GPS Tracking, and a Geo Fence? And, that’s just the start.

PPNDigital.com 47

Back in the heyday of muscle cars evolution, to go fast, drivers had to sacrifice every creature

comfort in their quest for almighty horsepower.

For many of those legendary 1960s ultra-high-performance cars, heater and radio delete were common on the ultimate big engine machines. Air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, and the like were “upgrades” and true performance “luxuries” looked down upon by purists.

Today, muscle cars are completely different, and performance fans want power and comfort. Air conditioning, cruise control, 12-speaker stereo sound systems, seat heaters, and climate con-trol are all available by checking a few boxes on the order form and coughing up some coin. The phrase having your cake and eating it too was never more appropriate.

For Virgil Castillo of Bakersfield, California, his ’70 Camaro RS is a la-bor of love. After discovering the ag-ing F-body sitting in a field in nearby Mariposa, California, Virgil decided to make it something really unique. His pride and joy for more than 25 years, the car has gone through an inordinate number of changes.

The PlanCastillo’s vision was to not only re-tain the cool looks of the classic split-bumper Camaro but stir in the creature comforts that were never in GM’s 1970 playbook. As Virgil is quick to say of his Camaro, “I drive it every day, show it, and experiment with new options and features all the time.” As has been the case for the last 25 years, this car is under construction with new things cropping up every day.

To start with the basics, Virgil did all of the bodywork, including laying on the acrylic black paint and classic Z/28-style striping. He added a fac-tory front air dam, three-piece rear spoiler, and a two-inch tall cowl hood. As noted earlier, the car is daily driven yet immaculate, black and shiny most of the time. That takes dedication in the Bakersfield summer wind.

The Camaro chassis is remarkably advanced with a full Heidts front end that incorporates front tubular A-arms. The front and rear brakes are disc-style, taken from a ’78 Pontiac Trans Am and more than able to slow down the sleek Camaro. Coil over Heidts-tuned shocks finish off the front end,

The 350c.i. small-block Chevy engine was reworked with a host of aftermarket pieces and built to retain its reliability while tearing up the pavement.


which also sports a very crisp driving close ratio variable steering box.

In the rear, a GM 10-bolt Posi-rear end is used with 4.11:1 ratio gear for quick starts off the line. If you are scratching your head about the wheels, they are from a 1996 BMW 7-series, 18-inch tall, chromed, and wrapped with P245/45-18’s in the front and P285/40-18’s out back. Ac-cording the Virgil, the offset is perfect.

While the last of the original Barnes Racing Engines 496c.i. Chevy big-block is just waiting in line to hop between the fender wells, the Cama-ro currently runs a plenty powerful small-block.

Virgil reworked the original 350c.i. engine, adding an Eagle crankshaft, stock rotating assembly, COMP Cams valve train including stud girdles, roll-er rockers and World Industries cast cylinder heads.

A custom panel by Undercover Innovations, where Virgil works, fills the gap between the grill and the top of the core support.

Virgil topped the engine with an Edelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap in-take manifold and Proform carburetor.

Hedman headers exit the exhaust through Flowmaster 2-chamber

40-series mufflers for a cool perfor-mance sound. A smooth shifting Keisler TKO 600 six-speed transmis-sion, modified for a second Genera-tion Camaro, controls the gear chang-es, along with a supporting cast that includes an 11-lb. flywheel and rac-ing clutch.

High-tech Interior The interior was restored to original look, but belies the hidden “additions” Virgil has incorporated. The factory seats are covered in black cloth and vinyl, while the dash-mounted Ken-

wood stereo, backed by a Rockford Fosgate amp and Polk Audio speak-ers, produce the perfect combination of sound and power.

Paddle shifters are positioned in a reachable point on the steering wheel to help Castillo handle all the shifting in a timely manner, and a full brace of gauges keeps tabs on the key engine operations. For the most part, the in-terior simply looks very original over-all, belying the interior upgrades that make this Camaro truly unique.

From GPS tracking through his remote control to an auto lock sys-

The interior is packed with upgrades, even though they are not apparent on first look. From the Polk Audio system to the heads up dis-play, USB ports, GeoFence, remote autolocking system, Vintage Air, remote engine kill system (in case of theft), and Geolocating, this is more 2017 Camaro stuff than 1970.

Shift into reverse and the rear facing back up camera springs to attention in the left side of the rear view mirror. Heads up display from a late model Cadillac is really novel — especially for a ’70 RS.

Found in a field in Mariposa, California, the Camaro is truly a “field find” that was saved from sure demolition.

tem (that not only locks the doors but rolls up the windows), there are huge number of modern convenienc-es that have been adapted and engi-neered for this Camaro. A rear back up camera feeds video into a screen mounted in the rear view mirror,

and heads up display from a Cadil-lac feeds the driver info as you roll down the road. And for that cool, fi-nal touch, when you close the door, the interior dome light slowly fades rather than just shutting down.

Virgil’s Camaro is one of a kind,

and that’s the way he likes it. Unique in every way, we can only imagine what he has in store for the next mod-ern muscle touches. Maybe it will fold up into a briefcase at the touch of a button like George Jetson’s space mobile? Don’t put it past him.

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StreetMax Series cams are for high RPM street applications using 1.70:1–1.80:1 rocker ratios providing a stable, trouble-free valve train. Calculated valve events are used to optimize maximum performance and worry-free operation, with awesome idle sound and power in the 7500+ RPM range.Designed for ‘97–up Chevy V8 LS1 5.7L, Vortec 4.8L, 5.3L, 6.0L engines. Fits LS and Gen. III/Gen. IV engine families with three bolt timing sets.

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RaceMax Cams RaceMax Series cams are made for maximum race effort drag race applications that include compatibility for Nitrous Oxide systems. These profiles are serious and are tailored for “built engines” with internal modifications and upgrades—think dyno shootout rather than daily driver. Designed for ‘06–up Chevy V8 LS3/L92 6.2L engines. Fits LS and Gen. III/Gen. IV engines with

StreetMax Series cams are for high RPM street applications using valve train. Calculated valve events are used to optimize maximum performance and worry-free operation, with awesome idle sound and power in the 7500+ RPM range.Designed for ‘97–up Chevy V8 LS1 5.7L, Vortec 4.8L, 5.3L, 6.0L engines. with three bolt timing sets.

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4L60ETRANSMISSION

Words / Photos Jeff Smith

PPNDigital.com 51

It’s all about control. The automotive world is increasing-ly regulated by digital electronics, and hot rodders might as well take advantage of these amenities. If you look

at the progression of new cars for the last 30 years, it’s all about digital management of every aspect of the automo-bile — including automatic transmissions.

This story will look at the evolution of the 4L60E, which is essentially a digitally controlled 700-R4. We’ve done the research so you don’t have to wade through all the inaccu-rate chaff to pick out the seeds of the best 4L60E. We’d also like to thank Jimmy Galante at Racetrans in Sun Valley, Cali-fornia, for his technical guidance with this story.

Let’s start with a brief history. The original 700-R4 was built in 1982 as a Corvette four-speed automatic with over-drive. This gearbox is different because it applies an over-drive to First gear to create Second. Third gear is 1:1, with overdrive again engaged to create Fourth.

This first version was designed with a bolt-on extension housing and employed a throttle-valve (TV) cable intended to signal engine load to the transmission via throttle posi-tion, instead of a using engine vacuum. Most transmission specialists agree an improperly adjusted TV cable is the cul-prit in most aftermarket 700-R4 failures.

In 1993, GM wisely converted to electronic control, eliminating the cumbersome TV cable while changing its nomenclature to 4L60E. The numbers decipher like this: 4 is the number of forward gears, L (longitudinal) for rear-wheel drive, 60 equates to a maximum 6,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight (GVW), and E for electronic control. Later transmissions were upgraded as 4L65 and 4L70 for use in heavy-duty trucks.

The 4L60E has now been in production for more than two decades and has experienced multiple performance updates that affect interchangeability. The first electric ver-sion was bolted behind the small-block Chevy (SBC) in cars

and light trucks and visually appeared much like the ear-lier 700-R4, except for its large 18-pin electronic connector. The next major change was a six-bolt extension housing in 1993, compared to the original four-bolt.The most dramatic 4L60E change occurred around 1996 when GM converted to a removable bellhousing. This move allowed adapting multiple engine bellhousing patterns to the same case. For torque converters, the earliest 700-R4 transmissions used a 27-spline converter. Later 1984-’97 700R4 and 4L60 versions were of the 298mm family line, with a 30-spline input and a 1.70-inch diameter hub.

With the introduction of the LS engine family in 1998, later 4L60E transmissions employed a third different input, also 30-spline, with a larger 300mm torque converter that is substantially thicker (about ¾-inch) than previous versions. There followed a fourth and most recent 4L60E evolution that accommodates an input shaft reluctor that does not ef-fectively interchange with earlier converters.

Trans SwappingBecause LS engine swaps into older muscle cars has be-come a foundation in the performance world, this means the 4L60E is heavily ingrained in this parts dance. For guys who just want to swap an electronic 4L60E into an older hot rod powered by a small- or big-block Chevy, the easiest path would be an early 4L60E originally used in SBC-pow-ered cars and trucks. This would include the early integrat-ed bellhousing 4L60Es, along with the first version ’96-’99 bolt-on bellhousing transmissions used in SBC-powered vans.

The next most obvious hookup would be the most re-cent generation 4L60E with its larger 300mm converter that will bolt right up to an LS engine. In most cases, you can use the 4L60E trans with its 298mm style converter behind a normal, six-bolt LS crank flange engine (4.8L, 5.2L, 5.7L,

The quickest way to identify a 4L60E is to first look at the bellhousing pattern. The bellhousing on the left uses the traditional small-block/big-block Chevy bellhousing pattern. The LS style 4L60E bellhousing (right) is also removable but features a bolt hole at the 12 o’clock position, making it easy to identify. Both of these bells have been trimmed in roughly the 4 o’clock position to fit on RaceTrans’ dyno so are not representative of a true stock bellhousing.


6.0L, and 6.2L). Truck engines such as the 4.8L, 5.3L, and 6.0L used a dished flexplate to place the starter ring gear in the correct position. The 298 and 300mm references are to converter diameter — 300mm equals 11.8 inches.

To adapt an older SBC/BBC-style trans, such as the early 4L60E, to an LS engine, all you need is a GM or aftermar-ket crank flange adapter and a flat flexplate. The adapter mounts between the crankshaft and the flexplate with the center portion of the hub protruding through the flexplate. This extends the short LS crank flange by 0.400-inch to the 1.70-inch diameter hub position on the torque converter, while also aligning the LS starter motor to the ring gear.

To spot a 4L60E, look for the cast letters on the driver side of the case. All 4L60Es come with an info tag, just visible on the top of the trans. If the tag is missing, the code is also stamped just above the pan rail. Because this trans uses the traditional SBC bellhousing pattern, the first letter refers to the year. The cast-in “30” relates to the RPO code M-30 for the 4L60E. A “35” indicates 4L65, while “70” means 4L70E.

The cooler lines on newer 4L60E transmissions use a push-in fitting with a clip that must be removed before the line will separate. Adapter fittings are necessary to use AN-6 cooler lines. All 700-R4 / 4L60E cases are threaded with NPSM straight threads — not tapered. Do not use ¼-inch tapered pipe thread adapters, as this could easily crack the case and ruin your day. This Fragola fitting uses an aluminum gasket and adapts directly to a -6 AN hose.

There is an exception to the above information. The 1999 and 2000 4.8L and 6.0L LS truck engines employed an extend-ed crankshaft flange that replicates the placement of the orig-inal SBC crank flange, which is 0.400-inch closer to the con-verter than “normal” or flush LS cranks. In this case, the best option is to use a SBC-style 4L60E trans with a flat LS flexplate. Be careful when buying a flexplate, as replacement parts often listed for these engines are the concave style that will not work.

For those who desire to adapt a late model LS style 4L60E to a small-block Chevy, the best approach is to find a 4L60E transmission originally built for the small-block Chevy. This trans will have the bolt-on bellhousing with the traditional SBC/BBC bellhousing pattern.

There are four different 4L60E Input shafts. The early version 700-R4 (A) uses a 27-spline input. The first 30-spline input (B) appears similar but is larger and stronger. Newer 2000 and later 4L60/4L65/4L70Es employ a slightly different configuration (C). The newest LS input for the 300mm converters (D) includes a reluctor counter on the input. It’s critical to know the difference between all four versions to prevent converter interchange problems. The last two style input shafts (C&D) will create PCM error codes if interchanged incorrectly.

A

B

CD

There are two different ECU connectors for the 4L60E. The green connector is from 1999-2005, while 2006 and newer use a black connector. Aftermarket controllers will plug into either color with no problem.

There are two different oil pan depths for the 4L60E family. The shallow pan was used in ’93-’97 versions and has a flat bottom. The ’98 and later versions come with a deeper, stepped pan as shown here. This pan measured 3 inches deep. The filter must match the pan depth. A shallow filter with a deep pan is a bad combination.

This is the combination neutral safety switch and backup light switch located on some 4L60E shift lever shafts. While it looks expensive, we found a replacement at RockAuto for $19. If the 4L60E is swapped into an early muscle car with a stand-alone controller, this switch can be discarded.

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Builders, however, are often faced with using what they have or can buy cheaply. Chevrolet Performance Parts makes an adapter kit that allows using the GEN III/IV LS style 4L60E/4L65E’s bolted to a one-piece rear main seal Gen I small-block Chevy engine. The kit (PN 19154766) in-cludes an aluminum spacer (roughly 0.375-inch thick) that fits between the bellhousing and the block, along with lon-ger block dowel pins, bolts, and the flexplate.

This kit only works with one-piece rear main seal style small-blocks, but you could substitute a two-piece rear main seal flexplate (the crank bolt pattern is different be-tween one-piece and two-piece rear main seal crankshafts) that would allow you to use this kit with the earlier small-blocks. It would also be possible to build your own spacer. TCI Automotive offers longer dowel pins.

Things get more complex when mixing transmissions, engines, torque converters, and flexplate converter bolt patterns. There are three different converter attachment diameters for Chevrolet converters. The earliest and most common TH350 and TH400 torque converters used either a 10.75- or 11.5-inch bolt pattern that is measured from the crank centerline to the center of one bolt hole and multi-plied by two. LS engine converters use an in-between 11.1-inch bolt pattern. Thankfully, the 11.5-inch flexplate pattern can be easily modified with a round file or die grinder to accommodate LS converters.

For those wanting to swap a 4L60E into an earlier car, you also need to think about speedometers. There are sev-eral companies, such as ShiftWorks, that offer a cast alumi-num tailshaft housing that will drive the original speed-ometer cable. This will cost between $500 and $600. Many of the stand-alone controllers will indicate speed, but this requires using their display.

Another option is to use the 4L60E’s stock VSS (vehicle speed sensor) signal to drive an electronic speedometer available from several companies, like AutoMeter, Classic Instruments, SpeedHut, and others. Or, you could use an electronic speedometer and drive it with a GPS signal. A different alternative comes from companies like Abbott or

The 4L60E does not offer a mechanical speedometer output. Options to create a cable output include converter boxes or custom cable-drive extension housings. Another option is to convert to an electric speedo that will accept the 4L60E’s vehicle speed sensor (VSS) output (arrow) or a GPS-driven version.

If you are contemplating a 4L60E conversion into an early muscle car, you will need a stand-alone trans controller. There are at least six versions on the market, including the MSD Atomic, Compu-Shift, TCI EZ-TCU, GM’s unit, the Painless PerfectTorq, and one from B&M. This is the TCI EZ-TCU.

TRANS LENGTH CHART

TransmissionOverall Length

Bellhousing to Crossmember

Bellhousing Pattern

TH350 (6-inch tailshaft) 27 11/16” 20 3/8” SBC4L60E (1993-’96) 30 3/4” 22 1/2” SBC4L60E ’96 – later

w/removable bellhousing 30 3/4” 23 3/16” SBC4L60E ’98 – later

w/ LS style bolt pattern 31 5/32” 23 19/32” LS

This TCI chart calls out the different 4L60E transmissions and their lengths compared to a typical TH350. The bellhousing pattern refers to either small-block Chevy (SBC) or LS Gen III/IV engines.

TRANS TIPS

Trans CodeFactory

Torque RatingRatios

Weight*1st 2nd 3rd 4th 4L60E M30 380 lb.-ft. 3.06 1.62 1:1 0.70 160 lbs.4L65E M32 430 lb.-ft. 3.06 1.62 1:1 0.70 160 lbs.4L70E M70 495 lb.-ft. 3.06 1.62 1:1 0.70 160 lbs.4L80E --- 440 lb.-ft. 2.48 1.48 1:1 0.75 180 lbs.4L85E --- 685 lb.-ft. 2.48 1.48 1:1 0.75 182 lbs.

You can quickly identify later 4L60E versions by the RPO code cast into both sides of the case. It’s best to use more than one means to identify a specific transmission to avoid possible individual year idiosyncrasies.

Speedhut who offer a conversion box that uses the VSS sig-nal to command an electric motor that drives the stock cable speedometer. SpeedHut’s version is about to come online, and we are told the cost should be around $400.

As you can see, there are multiple variations on the 4L60E transmissions that make it very easy to wander down the wrong performance path. Mistakes are easy, especially if you are mixing and matching engines and transmissions. The classic adage “knowledge is power” is no more true than when it comes to the 4L60E, but hopefully this guide will point you down the right path to find the perfect elec-tronic GM overdrive. Sources: Abbott Enterprises, Abbott-tach.com; Auto Meter Products, Autometer.com; B&M Performance Products, bmracing.com; Chevrolet Per-formance, Chevrolet.com/performance; HGM Automotive Electronics (Com-pu-Shft), Hgmelectronics.com; Painless Wiring, painlessperformance.com; Powertrain Control Solutions, powertraincontrolsolutions.com; Speedhut, Speedhut.com; TCI Automotive, tciauto.com

For more, search “Spotter’s Guide” at PPNDigital.com.

http://www.powertraincontrolsolutions.com


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Words / Photos Richard Holdener

If you are a Chevy guy and heading out to the performance super market for parts to build your 900-hp big-block, what stuff might we find in your cart? Oh sure, there will

be the usual suspects, like high-compression pistons, roller cam, and a single-plane intake. But, what if we told you they were having a sale on oval-port cylinder heads?

The Mamo Motorsports heads started out life as (already impressive) AFR oval-port castings.

Big-block Chevy oval-port magic

PRESTOCHANGE-O

PPNDigital.com 63

Most big blockers would walk right by said sale items and head over to the isle with rectangular port heads, right? Conventional wisdom suggests big power requires big cylinder heads, but don’t count out a set of AFR oval port heads, especially after they have been given the once over by Merlin the (flow) magician at Mamo Motorsports. If this 565 BBC is any indication, there are a great many big blocks sporting the wrong shape intake ports.

Truth be told, even the magician himself, Tony Mamo from Mamo Motorsports, was hesitant about using oval-port heads on a build-up looking for 900 hp. At the insis-tence of Dan Ledbetter, Merlin stepped up to the challenge to create a 900-hp big-block using oval-port heads, and like any good magician, he had a trick (or two) up his sleeve.

After a wave of the magic porting wand, the AFR heads receive the Mamo Motorsports logo. These heads also received a PAC spring pack-age designed for use with the solid roller cam profile.

The oval-port heads may not have the port volume of a conventional rec-port heads, but boy howdy did they flow!

The Mamo heads featured a 2.30/1.88-inch valve package and detailed 111cc combustion chambers.

The big-block featured Callies forged internals, a serpentine drive system, and Edelbrock mechanical water pump.


It would take impressive oval-port heads to support the desired power level, so the easiest way to make great heads is to start with good ones, meaning something from Air Flow Research. Starting the project with the 300cc Magnum oval port heads, Mamo Motorsports was able to apply some magic to coax even more flow and power from the impres-sive castings. According to the magician, head flow topped the 400cfm mark after all the wand waving. Of course, the heads were only part of the program, and the rest of the motor needed to be up to the task as well.

Once the head flow was taken care of, the rest of the big-block required attention. Starting with a Dart Big M block, the first three weapons in the arsenal of power were cubes, cam, and compression. It is always easier to reach a given power goal with a bigger motor, so Dan and Tony stepped the build-up to a full 565c.i. Next on the performance to-do list was cam timing. The big-block received a solid roller profile that offered a .779/.750 lift split, a 280/282-degree duration split, and 112-degree lsa. Rounding out the three Cs was a static compression ratio of 14.0:1, thanks to domed Ross (4.60-inch bore) pistons with Total Seal Rings, and small (111cc) combustion chambers.

The power level and rpm dictated forged internals, so the 565 also received a Callies 4.25-inch Magnum series stroker crank and Ultra rods. Also included in the short

Firing the fuel was an MSD billet distributor, plug wires, and 6AL igni-tion amplifier.

Keeping vibrations in check was an ATI Super Damper, while the Jones Racing Products drive pulley spun the vacuum pump for a few extra ponies.

Knowing exhaust flow was plentiful on a 900-hp big, the 565 was config-ured with 2.25-inch headers feeding 4-inch collectors.

Air and fuel were supplied by a Sean Murphy 1150 Holley Dominator feeding a ported, Dart single-plane intake.

block were a Moroso oil pan and windage tray, Mellings oil pump and vacuum pump from Jones Racing Products. Rounding out the build were an ATI damper and Edelbrock mechanical water pump.

When you see a graph like this, you immediately think a big motor with big cylinder heads. What makes this 565 BBC so impressive was not just that it produced 900 hp without the use of nitrous or forced induction, but that it did so using oval-port heads. You need big flow numbers to reach 900 hp, and that is exactly what these oval ports from Mamo Motorsports delivered.

A wave of the wand was all it took and the oval-port 565 BBC thumped out 900 hp and 759 lbs-ft of torque.

With the bottom end taken care of, it was time for some power producers. With the stout short block at the ready, the guys applied the Mamo Motorsports’ oval-port heads. In addition to receiving the custom porting and chamber work, the heads featured a 2.30/1.88-inch valve package, PAC 1224 springs designed for the solid roller application, and T&D shaft rockers. Feeding the magic oval-port heads was a Dart single-plane intake ported by Roger Helgeson. The intake was flanged to accept a 4500-series Holley carb.

The 565 was fed by an 1150 Holley but not just an out-of-the-box version; this 2-circuit Dominator was given the once over by Sean Murphy Inductions. Igni-tion chores for the high-compression big-block were handled by an MSD billet distributor. After a break-in, some fresh Lucas oil and dialing in the jetting and timing, Tony the magician waved his magic wand and Presto Change O, the oval-port headed 565 produced peak numbers of 900.7hp at 6,900 rpm and 759.2 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm.

It makes us wonder how many other rec-port big blocks out there might ben-efit from a little oval-port magic. Sources: AFR, airflowresearch.com; ATI, atiracing.com; Edelbrock, edelbrock.com; Holley/Hooker, holley.com; Jones Racing Products, jonesracingproducts.com; Lucas Oil, lucasoil.com; Mamo Motorsports, mamomotorsports.com; Moroso, moroso.com; MSD, msdignition.com; Total Seal Rings, totalseal.com


Opened on Dec. 1, 1947, the Gen-eral Motors (Los Angeles) As-sembly plant in Van Nuys, Cal-

ifornia, operated for 45 years. It was a huge part of Rich LaGrasta’s life, a family thing, his father having start-ed his employment building Fleetline Chevrolets in February 1948.

In all, the plant built 6.3 million vehicles on its 68-acre location in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, fi-nally closing in 1992. To punctuate the

event, a high option IROC Camaro was to be the final vehicle, signed by each employee as it passed down the line.

The main reason for the closure, according to LaGrasta, was “the out of control cost of healthcare coverage for the work force.” In Canada, the cost of healthcare, by comparison, was almost zero, picked up by Canada’s socialized healthcare. That’s a big part of why those 4th Generation Camaros were built in Canada.”

In addition, the rising cost of ship-ping parts from the East Coast out to the West Coast for assembly and then, shipping the finished product back to the Mid-West or East Coast for prod-uct sales became prohibitive. That got to be real expensive when the Van Nuys Plant was the only working “F” Car Plant, since the older Norwood, Ohio, plant shut down years earlier.

In the end, more than 2,600 em-ployees were employed to construct

Rich LaGrasta talks about his time at the GM Van Nuys Assembly PlantWords by Cam Benty Photos by Rich LaGrasta, GM 2016, Cam Benty

FOURDECADESFUNOF

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Chevrolet Camaros and Pontiac Fire-birds, the third generation of that marque. During its time, Van Nuys was responsible for the building of such legendary vehicles as the Ch-evelle (1964-1972), Impala (1958-67), Camaro/Firebird (1967-72, 1982-92), Tri-5 Chevys (1955-57), Monte Car-lo (1970-71), Nova/Omega/Apollo/Ventura (1973-76), and Corvair (1961-63), just to hit the highlights.

Rich LaGrasta: Van Nuys EnthusiastI was at General Motors for 38 years, be-ginning when I was18 years old. I was going to Pierce Junior College in the San Fernando Valley in 1966, but was hired by General Motors after I asked my dad for a job. It was easy to get hired, in part, due to the new vehicles we were about to build – something called an F-Body – Camaros and Firebirds.

My dad also worked at the plant as a Soft Trim Supervisor; he started in February 1948, three months after they opened. At that time, they were building Fleetline Chevys, sedans, and later, Fleetline half-ton trucks, but just for about eight years or so.

We began building the ’67 Camaros in Sept. 1966 and continued through to 1972, when there was a big UAW strike that cut production dramatically. The F-Body (Camaros and Firebirds) were truly amazing vehicles. While I started

working at the plant in May in Quality Control, they needed more people to work the F-Body assembly line. Short-ly thereafter, I transferred over there, joining the UAW and enjoying a mod-est wage and benefit increase. They asked me where I wanted to work, and I asked for the motor line.

On the motor line, I was hired to install the carburetors on the engines. At the time, we had just started mak-ing the all-new Z/28 model. That was a particularly interesting car. We had a special parts cage that kept the Z/28 engines and another cage that housed the carburetors for this engine, a spe-cial 780cfm Holley. If you did not lock up the cage, they would disappear real fast [uh, stolen?], so a locked cage was needed to keep them in stock. In-cidentally, we were using those same carburetors on the L72 big block en-gines (427c.i./425hp) that went into the Biscayne’s and Impalas. In ’69, we built some Camaros with four-wheel disc brakes, a new option – that was special and expensive, too.

It was interesting watching the train cars come in from all over the country, especially when the shipment was a load of 302c.i. Z28 engines or 427c.i. big-blocks. There were also train cars full of aluminum 4-speed transmis-sions and Positraction rear ends. You have to remember, at the time, there were many different engine options for these cars. A platform could have as many as six different engines.

So, when the new Camaros arrived, I was impressed. In 1967, they offered a new 350c.i. engine that only went in the Camaros. I remember driving a 350c.i., 295 hp, 4-speed stick shift SS Camaro that really ran strong. Then I saw the first 396c.i. big-block Camaro, and I was hooked.

For the building of the 396c.i., 375 hp L-78 engine at the plant, I had to once again go to the special cage that housed the parts and engines for these applications. Driving those stick shift L-78 396 cars produced crazy wheel hop in every gear. With the 3.55:1 gear-ing for ‘67 big blocks only, plus a Tur-bo 400 automatic transmission, it was still a fast ride, far more streetable and easier to launch off the line — sweet!

Not long after those 396c.i. cars appeared on the line, I went to Ran-cho Chevrolet in Reseda, California, looking for one. All of 19, I was cer-tain I would not be able to find one, but they proved me wrong and they actually had one on the lot that “just came in.” It had the 400 Turbo Hydro transmission, gauge package, and the console, but it had 2.73:1 open rear end gearing. It needed a lot stiffer gear-ing if I was going to do some serious quarter-mile work; as it was, that car would pull the quarter mile in second gear! I changed it out for a set of 4:10:1 (Posi) gears, and it immediately woke it up, that was one strong runner.

I quickly “upgraded” my Camaro with a set of Cragar SS wheels, Bill

Rich LaGrasta worked at the General Motors Assembly plant in Van Nuys, California, for nearly four decades. A car enthusiast and restoration expert, he is a walking library of General Motor history. Today, he still restores and shows his car and lives not far from loca-tion of the original Van Nuys plant.

The aerial view, taken in 1978, shows the size of the plant and the surrounding area. The plant was to create thousands of jobs during its operation and dramatically changed the surrounding population. It opened in 1947 and closed in 1992. In all, more than 6.3 million GM vehicles were constructed here.


Thomas traction bars, and bigger tires, to change the way it drove and han-dled. At Fiasco Automotive in the San Fernando Valley, they went through the ignition and the carburetor and then dynoed my Camaro. It peaked right at 330 hp at the rear tires, which was a 40 hp increase over stock.

Of course, I’d be out at San Fernan-do Raceway every Sunday morning (after church) racing my SS 396 Cama-ro. That was just the way it was back then. It was a fairly strong running Camaro with cheater slicks and closed exhaust (no headers). After the dyno tune, it would easily click off some low 13 second ETs at more than 106 mph.

With a set of headers, uncorked, it would easily have been a mid-12 sec-ond car. That was moving out way back in 1967, for an auto trans Camaro through the dual Cherry Bombs!

Working for a LivingAll of my family worked at the plant like me, brother Larry, sister Marie, my future father-in-law, and brother-in-law, even my next-door neighbor; it was crazy. It sounds like a lot of nepo-

tism, but we all enjoyed the work. And if you didn’t like one job, you could move around. If you were in the paint department and wanted to go to trim department, you could do that, if you had the seniority.

When my 20-minute breaks would come, while most of the oth-er workers were getting a cigarette or catching a snack, I would head for DVT – Dynamic Vehicle Testing. That’s where the cars would go on the rollers and the operator would go

through the gears and make sure all of the car’s mechanical systems were working properly.

I thought that was the coolest job. These guys get to drive all the new cars coming off the assembly line. Years lat-er, I got my wish about the time that computers became part of the engine management systems. I loved the com-puter-controlled cars. Computers were the future for the industry, but that was not the case with all of the employees, some didn’t want “change.”

Chevrolet General Manager Peter Estes was a smart and colorful guy, at the helm during the golden age of the brand. The year 1965 was a big deal at GM, and here they celebrate the assembly of their three millionth car for that model year. Behind the wheel, a big deal himself, All-Star pitcher Sandy Koufax.

Rich LaGrasta was in the enviable position to know something about the “new” ’67 Camaros, having been part of the build process back as early as mid-1966. Armed with the love of fast cars, LaGrasta found a red, big-block automatic on a nearby lot and drove it home – at the happy age of 19. It was not long before that Camaro was modified with Cragar wheels and assorted other upgrades.

The 1967 Camaro Z/28 was a very special car that first year of Camaro production. LaGrasta remembers the arrival of the 302c.i. engines on the train car and how he had to lock up the key performance parts, like the Holley carb used on those cars – to avoid theft in the plant!

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I worked both day and nights shifts. For a time, I transferred into the inspection department, which I felt was a much better job than assembly line work. There were different types of inspection operations – you could be on body and paint or chassis, or in trim. But I liked being on the final in-spection team, which led to my DVT position. I liked working on the plant floor rather than in the offices.

Special Orders Don’t Upset UsAs a young kid, 18 to 19 years old, if you looked for it, you could find gold in a lot of places at the Van Nuys Plant. There were cars with 4.11, 4.56, 4.88 gear ratios, 427c.i. engine in 1966-67 Biscayne and Bel Air coupes, and, yes, even big-block station wagons, with 4-speeds! These very unique cars would be special ordered and pro-duced at that plant.

We also made COPO police cars at the plant. The police cars we produced in ’66 and ’67 were destined for plac-es like Wyoming and South Dakota and had some strange engine combi-nations. Some came with 390 hp big-blocks, and even 4-speed transmis-sions and 2.73 Posi gears. Talk about fast highway patrol cruisers, these were unbelievable cars!

At one time in the early 1960s, Van Nuys was making the Impalas and Biscaynes — the B- Body Chevys. They were also making Corvairs. That was really something to see the big cars all in a row on the assembly and then these little Corvairs in between. In 1964, they quit building Corvairs and started making the very popular Chevelles, again on the same line.

I was going to high school about the same time as the Chevelles were being produced, and my dad brought me into the plant to see these new cars. The Chevelle Super Sport was just gor-geous. About the size of a ’55 Chevy, they were perfect. My dad mentioned he saw them make a few special order 365 hp, 327c.i. 1964 Chevelles – that was a solid lifter Corvette engine.

Most of the ’64s were 283, and later they shifted to the 327c.i. engines with 250 or 300 hp. But there were some spe-cial orders like these 365 hp cars – and you could hear them when they fired ‘em up with those solid lifter camshafts and cool exhaust note. That was impres-sive; to the trained ear, it was music.

What was interesting was making a lot of cars that were just a little odd. We

made Monte Carlos starting in 1970, along with Chevelles on the same as-sembly line. For my future neighbor, Van Nuys built him a special 4-speed manual, 350c.i. Monte Carlo, one of 32 built. When he decided to sell the car many years later, I bought it from him. It was a 300 hp, 350c.i. engine with a 3.31 Posi rear end.

The Monte Carlos were built on the same line as the big B-Body wag-ons and the Chevelles, and to build one with a 4-speed manual big- or

small-block took some special parts. The Camaros and Firebirds were on a completely different line within the Van Nuys plant. Talk about a versatile assembly plant, we could darn near build anything at one time that GM threw at us.

Dawn of the RS CamaroWe began making the 3rd Gen Cama-ros in 1982. The new design was ad-vanced for the time and a big jump from the ’81 model. While the engine


power took time to develop, this was a great car, and today it has so much po-tential. In 1987, we undertook a project that ultimately became the RS model.

Based on the V6 engine platform but with the available throttle body-in-jected 305 engines too, we added a number of SS exterior treatments that greatly improved the looks of the car, including body-matching wheel ac-cents, SS wheels, and the custom inte-rior option. In effect, we made an SS that was far more affordable and got better fuel mileage, and if you want-ed to go faster, well....the speed shops

could take care of your needs real easy.We built three of these prototype

cars (red, white, and black) and took them to a number of local dealerships around the plant. The dealers could not have been more excited, and the result was that for 1987, the RS option was available in California only and 5,518 cars were sold. The “test” con-tinued in 1988 with a similar total of 7,038 reaching the public. Due to the success of those California sales, it be-came a 50-state option in 1989.

It was not long after the RS that we began building a number of the 1LE

optioned cars. A result of Chevrolet’s success in Showroom Stock com-petition, these cars had the highest horsepower engine and used the 12-inch Caprice brake rotors, along with other handling upgrades. To keep the car light, air conditioning and other power options were removed. The result was a somewhat lighter car that was purpose-built for racing. It was extremely fast for its day and very successful. In all, 111 cars were constructed that first year at the Van Nuys plant. These are highly sought after Camaro F cars today.

In September 1966, Camaro production was in full swing. Note how two workers in one motion install the front clip, the entire clip carried into place while other workers bolt it to the chassis. This was way before the age of robotics. The rectangular image on the windshield, according to LaGrasta, means it was a pilot, pre-production Camaro.

The 1970 1/2 F-Body cars were shockingly different from the previous run, and none more striking than the Trans Am models. LaGrasta remembers these cars particularly well since they not only looked very different but when they would fire them up at the end of the line, they sounded so very unique.

Cars of all kinds came off the same assembly line. Case in point, this im-age from 1970 where a Monte Carlo is approaching final prep just ahead of a 1970 Chevelle. This is pretty common for assembly lines where different cars come off the same line, but to see cars of this historical significance is impressive.

Under chassis on this Camaro is a unique angle showing the build process for these cars. LaGrasta performed a wide variety of different duties during his time at Van Nuys, from assembly line to front office, Dynamic testing lab, and final inspection – just to name a few.

For a more in depth version of this article, including more images, search “Rich LaGrasta” at PPNDigital.com.

Setting the hook to a lifetime being a car guyMy dad, of course, had cars built for himself that we’d drive. No surprise they were all GM and built at the Van Nuys Plant. One was a beautiful 1953 Chevy Bel Air sedan, which I remember well.

I can remember back in 1961 when my dad brought home the first 409 Impala. Of course, it was only a single four-barrel, but it was a Super Sport! He arrives home and the first thing he says is, “hop in, let’s go for a ride.” We lived around Victory and White Oak Avenues (in California’s San Fernando Valley – where the Van Nuys factory was located), and the sound as he accelerated through the gears was just so sweet, you could just hear the thunder of that new Chevy 409 solid lifter, high compression engine.

In 1962, the dual quad 409s were being produced, and I went nuts over these things. All during that time, we had various vehicles, all from GM. When I got older and started driving (1963), I was al-lowed to order cars for my mom and dad as a family vehicle. It had to be an auto-matic transmission with power brakes, power steering, air conditioning, etc. — a car my Mom could drive us kids around in — but no stick shifts. That didn’t stop me from ordering the highest horsepower en-gines with auto trannys and posi-traction as a “family car.”

They might have been a Caprice or Im-pala Sports Sedan, but darn if they didn’t

end up at San Fernando Raceway on Sun-day mornings (again, after church, ahem), and oh yeah, I had to hide those trophies I won under the bed for a while or explain how I acquired a “racing trophy” when I didn’t own a car, not yet anyway.

But it was those early GM Assembly plant experiences that were to not only draw me closer to the Van Nuys plant, but allow me to continue to love and appreci-ate all cars. I’ve enjoyed many older clas-sic cars (mostly Van Nuys cars) that I have managed to purchase, restore, show, and enjoy, some from every GM Division, ex-cept Cadillac, uh, just not old enough yet. I have my dad, Joe, to thank for getting me a job with GM. “Pop” who is currently 92 and doing well, put in his 35 years with GM and retired back in 1980. In fact, he’s been a retiree longer than he worked for the company — now that’s getting your GM retirement money’s worth I’d say.

I was able to retire from GM in 2004, just like my dad at the ripe old age of 56, but I went out with more than 38 years of seniority, not too shabby a life’s history from a “Baby Boomer” kid from The San Fernando Valley. Funny, but thinking back, if I had to do it all over again, what would I change? Probably not a darn thing, I think that for me, I pretty much nailed it right the first time around; can’t ask for more than that from life.


In their delivery of instantaneous power, superchargers flourish when compared to turbochargers.

They suffer no turbo lag. Beyond this, there is now a street-performance cen-trifugal supercharger that combines this asset with a further dazzlingly ef-fective characteristic.

Commonly, the boost range of tra-ditional centrifugal superchargers is initiated between 3,000 to 5,200 rpm. But Grand Rapids, Michigan, special-ists TorqStorm has taken a further leap forward by inducing boosted power at around 1,850 rpm — and it continues to generate it all the way to 6,500 rpm.

This masterwork is accomplished mostly by clever configuration of the compressor wheel. During a short in-

Words Fergus OgilvyPhotos/Illustrations TorqStorm

A supercharger with a low-boost fix, and how it was almost never made

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terview with Rick Lewis, who man-ages TorqStorm’s technical sales, he further explains the device and how it almost never saw the light of day.

In the BeginningAn unpretentious, reassuring man, Lewis began by explaining: “We’re CNC machinists by trade, and sever-al years ago we were approached by a company interested in having us develop a supercharger to their blue-print. We proceeded, but as the design entered its final stages, the company that had initiated the project abruptly abandoned it.

“Even as the project had been mov-ing along, we all paid close attention as most of us at the shop are confirmed gear heads. But the designs we were fol-lowing weren’t our designs. We began contemplating how good it could be if we applied proven technology already developed. We changed the design of the gears and bearings, reshaped much of its architecture, and introduced a self-contained oiling system.”

In the final analysis, TorqStorm had accepted the challenge and entered the supercharger market as a manufactur-er. “The design has further qualities to recommend it,” says Lewis. “The most conspicuous is its use of a billet gear case, in contrast to the traditional cast case. This significantly reduces bear-ing deflection and improves sealing. We also introduced a self-contained oil supply, which simplifies the instal-lation; it eliminates oil feed lines.”

Volute

Diffuser

Compressor Wheel

The compressor wheel draws air in and accelerates it through the slender passage of the diffuser. This intensified air collects in the volute, or scroll, where the energy is converted into positive induction pressure and propelled to the engine via a fuel-metering device: EFI throttle body or blow-through carburetor.

Superchargers by nature are free of turbo lag — instantaneous power. But this one encompasses a further distinction: low-end grunt. It pulls hard from 1,850 rpm.

Brainstorming the TorqStormGiven their tool and die background, where everything has to be so precise, they were convinced they had a com-petent product. The most common criticism of supercharger kits concerns alignment — parts that don’t fit well.

“Yes, a fair statement,” explains Lewis. “We resolved this in our orig-inal designs, by introducing a ¾-inch-thick billet mounting bracket.” Sub-stantial in construction, this bracket is supplied with all TorqStorm kits to eliminate any fitment frustrations. In addition to improving belt alignment, it also halts deflection and ends the risk of belt-throwing.

The compressor wheel is intriguing: an embodiment of mathematical complexity and almost supersonic velocity. Operating at the speed of sound, incidentally, would impede performance and be detrimental to NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) requirements.

A second major cause of annoyance with supercharger kits is often their incompleteness. TorqStorm’s solution for overcoming this impediment was novel: they enlisted some of their cus-tomers to serve as quality assurance stewards on their R&D programs.

“In fact, without these stalwarts,” says Lewis, “the completeness and ease of installation would never have allowed the kits to reach their current standards.” This is evidenced by the fact they dispatch Cleveland kits to far-off Australia, confident they are complete, that they’ll fit properly, and that they’ll match expectations.

In a centrifugal supercharger, the air is propelled through the compres-sor wheel and compressed in the dif-fuser — the slender passage formed between the compressor cover and the bearing housing — and in the vo-lute or scroll where its kinetic energy is converted to pressure. The amount of compression is generated by the amount of diffuser gap and the di-ameter of the volute. As a result, the increased supply of compressed air to the engine burns more air-fuel mixture and produces more power.

Of primary influence is the com-pressor wheel, which when used in a turbocharger, is powered by exhaust flow. On a supercharger, however, it is driven via a gearbox that takes its pow-er from a crankshaft pulley by way of a drive belt. The gearbox accelerates the compressor wheel from engine speed to a point where the compressor operates

efficiently. Typically, maximum effi-ciency is reached when the compressor wheel spins at 70,000 rpm and beyond.

Interestingly, it is not the compres-sor wheel’s ultimate revolutions on which the engineers focus; instead it is the tip speed of the wheel’s out-er diameter. Tip speed is calculated in meters-per-second, and it is this velocity that determines the super-charger’s efficiency.

To increase further the compressor’s efficiency, splitter blades are added to the compressor wheel’s traditional eight blades. Shorter than the primary blades to avoid being restrictive, they are placed alternately, extending up the tapered hub toward the inlet.

The boosted air destined for the cylinders is propelled from the super-charger to a carburetor or a fuel inject-ed throttle body via a bonnet and dis-charge hoses. Positioned in the middle of the hoses is a vacuum-operated pressure release valve, also known as a wastegate. This device releases ex-cessive boost pressure, which in turn prevents overloading the system un-der sudden deceleration.

InstallationEncouragingly, installation is fairly straightforward and usually can be completed in two or three hours. The process begins by attaching the crank pulley spacer and the accompanying eight-rib, eight-inch diameter super-charger crank pulley to the engine’s harmonic damper.

Then the system’s robust mounting bracket is fastened to either the left or

right cylinder head, depending upon the design, using three spacers and a backing plate. This step is followed by securing the supercharger to the bracket with seven socket-head bolts.

Sensibly, a V-band clamp allows the supercharger’s compressor housing to rotate. This feature is introduced to ease the alignment of the supercharg-er’s discharge port, with the hoses routing to the bonnet or an intercooler.

Adjacent to the 3 1/4-inch super-charger drive pulley, which generates 6 to 8 pounds of boost to most engines, is the tensioner pulley. Manually ad-justed, this pulley is lowered onto the eight-rib serpentine belt and adjusted to apply appropriate tension.

Typically, single-supercharger power increases run between 150 and 200 hp at 6 to 9 pounds of boost, and TorqStorm states their units will support 700 hp-plus. Priced modestly at around $2,800, depending upon finish (natural alloy, black anodized, or micro-polished), and with a self-contained oiling system and limited lifetime warranty, one begins to wonder how this is achieved.

Rick Lewis explains, “We ma-chine everything ourselves in Mich-igan — including the supercharger gear case, the compressor wheel, brackets, pulleys, tensioner — and it’s this tightly controlled policy that contains production costs.” If this approach is to your liking, the super-charger will be too. Source: TorqStorm, torqstorm.com

TorqStorm’s background is firmly established in tool-and-die making and performance parts. It resurrects many interesting truths we all once learned, which apply well to their supercharger division. Reliability first: if two ways exist to approach the project — simple and complicated — opt for the former. Produce everything you can in your own shop; it gives you complete control.

For even more on this article, search “Labor of Love” at PPNDigital.com.

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Smooth roads in your future? The Auto Strologist knows all – and has his predictions for July ready to protect you from harm.

ARIESMarch 21 – April 19

LEOJuly 23 – August 22

SAGITTARIUSNov. 22 – Dec. 21

CANCERJune 21 – July 22

SCORPIOOctober 23 – Nov. 21

PISCESFeb. 19 – March 20

Early in the month, life messes with your firing order, causing serious upset, igniting new problems down the road. By July 10, things smooth out and you gain traction until July 27, when you again must overcome obstacles to your progress. Stay the course, and drop back to idle when necessary before jetting up for future performances.

July marks a rough spot in your year, and you’ll consider pulling the cover over your life or parking it for the month. That won’t be possible. Take the time to rally around close friends who have kept your floats level, and watch for those who could cause restrictions in your exhaustive efforts to succeed from their negative points of view.

A significantly reduced power output could be less tragic than initial assessment may appear. Take stock of the telltales and generate cus-tom solutions that will show your enthusiast spirit. Don’t putty over flaws in your day. It’s a great time to buff things up and then seal the deal with a topcoat of clear brilliance.

It’s easy cruising for July, including an eventful July 4 holiday that nets impressive wins that continue throughout the month. Be sure to avoid fouled personalities that could lead to a spark of bad luck. When challenges arise, speed shift into another gear and drop the clutch on the competition. You’ll win in the end.

While your month will retard a bit from your successes in June, you’ll be at full advance by July 12 and pressing hard to your goals. While you may kick over a few cones as you acceler-ate, your timing will be excellent for cranking on some of those things that have been left in the trunk. Now’s the time to step on it!

Offset the imbalances that arise around July 7 by weighting your schedule with positive inclination. Incorporating stagger to correct with wholesale platform issues will not help when you are circling in only one direction. Rotating your focus and keeping the pressure on for the completion of long term goals will avoid catastrophic wall banging that will leave you calling for the wrecker.

TAURUSApril 20 – May 20

You will enjoy limited slippage in the early part of the month, but regardless of the smooth run, keep that focus and tune yourself to stay on task. Don’t allow those in another lane to distract from your concentration on the green lights that illuminate your path to ultimate success. Compounding your problems with too many other opinions will just leave you spinning your tires.

VIRGOAugust 23 – Sept. 22

CAPRICORNDec. 22 – Jan. 19

Love dominates your month. Your efforts to show off have proven beneficial to attract-ing others you seek. Polish up your act, and you’ll trophy for sure. Watch for shunts that could take you off course, around July 26, from those who drop an oil down on what’s rightfully yours. This is also a good month to buy a new race car.

Venture outdoors this month. Suspending the usual plans for roads untraveled will slip the synchros in place to a great summer. Around July 14, shock your system, turn off the trac-tion control, and drift into something that’s out of the groove. Don’t let anyone bog you down, but keep a tow strap of safety in mind as you take on new trails.

GEMINIMay 21 – June 20

Your natural dual-plane personality can cause crossfire around July 5, but a surprise injec-tion of power will overcome any oil downs as you race to the middle of the month. A new purchase from eBay Motors will carry you to final happiness despite a few flat performanc-es that could bog you down. Don’t choke.

LIBRASept. 23 – October 22

AQUARIUSJan. 20 – Feb. 18

It’s time to get on the scale and shed a few pounds. Strip out the baggage in your life that is driving things out of balance, and steer clear of items that will lock up your gears. Keep your eyes on the indicators that help you keep tabs on current pressures. Remember your personal motto: It’s all about power to weight!

Don’t miss a shift early in the month as personal issues can mirror problems that have trailered you in the past. Drive to engage the gears that mesh with your lifestyle and build a proper ratio of work to recreation. In clutch times like these, it’s important to discuss the positives and negatives that will avoid excessive friction in your life.


Back in high school, Jose Ramirez never cared about cut-ting corners or shaving a few

seconds off his lap time. After all, a ’65 Lincoln is a cruiser not a race car, Ramirez entertained himself in high school by customizing his Lead Sled. For fun, he would singe the facial hairs of unwary friends with the Lin-coln’s rear-mounted flame-throwers. Fun but not fast.

While the Lincoln was a very dif-ferent take on automotive entertain-ment, it did share a very important link to his 2014 Mustang GT, shown here — it was a Ford. If there is one constant in his life, it is that all of his cars, since that Lincoln, wore the Blue Oval brand name.

The Lincoln performed great for many years, but it was the ’56 Ford pickup that was his first real automo-tive project. Starting from scratch, he gutted the car and took the parts from a 1972 Mercury Cougar to motivate the pickup. Over time, he installed the Cougar’s 351 Cleveland engine, performance automatic transmission, and other key ingredients to drive the classic F100.

In the end, the truck was really awesome in so many ways, except for fuel mileage. That issue was not a problem while working at a local Jiffy Lube, but the opportunity to work for the nearby oil company made the ’56 truck less than optimum when com-muting in Los Angeles traffic. With

great regret, the truck had to go — but it is not forgotten even today. The number “56” emblazoned on this 2014 Mustang is a constant reminder of the beloved truck.

In 2008, Ramirez purchased a Mus-tang, his first Ford sports car, which was to have a profound impact on his future. It was a fine commuter vehicle and handled the corners great but was lacking in power. On the heels of that experience, he was to purchase a 2010 Mustang, only to kick himself when the 2011 Mustangs came out with their 5.0L engines, his 2010 still running the 4.6L.

Ramirez’ worst fears arrived in 2013 when he was to attend Dyno Day at Braun’s Automotive in nearby Lo-

ITPerfecting the art of autocross racing with a 2014 Mustang GTTURN


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With the experience of Dyno Day fresh in his mind, he began hanging out with Nelson and his friends, which set into motion his purchase of the 2014 Mustang you see here. Stripped of the luxury items, the car included some critical performance pieces, including the Track Pack option that delivered wider wheels, radiator and oil coolers, six-speed manual transmission, and the performance Torsen differential. It was on this platform that his serious autocross directive was launched.

“Seat time means a lot,” notes Ramirez of his racing experience. “At every event, I learn more and im-prove my driving. I regularly attend events including the monthly auto-cross events at Camarillo Airport in Camarillo, California. Greg Nelson of

Demon Motorsports fame has been a great help and has taken me under his wing to help me prepare the car and improve my driving skills.”

Building the PlatformWhile his driving skills are a work in progress, Ramirez has dug in to improve the tools at his disposal — translation: building up his Mustang. With regards to suspension enhance-ments, Ramirez added offset Bilstein B6 Mono-strut shocks along with H & R springs, which drop the Mustang 1.6 inches in the front and 1.5 inches in the back. In the rear, he added Wh-iteLine suspension pieces including upper and lower control arms, pro-totype bushings to reduce flex, and a Panhard Bar with relocation brackets.

mita, California. Compared to the new 2013 Mustangs, his 2010 GT produced a full 100 rwhp less than the new model cars. But, if there was a benefit to that experience, it was to introduce him to his new performance mentor, Greg Nelson.

The 5.0L engine incorporates a 101mm cold air intake to help boost its performance. The yellow coloration? That’s plastic coat — one of Ramirez’s best kept secrets.

His signature “56” on the hood is to remember his departed ’56 F100.


Underhood, the most prominent changes are the Ford Racing Export brace to stiffen the front suspension and a massive Steeda 101mm Cold Air intake (plan calls for installation of a factory Boss 302 intake in the near fu-ture). To add a little contrast, Ramirez used plastic-dip yellow on the valve cover inserts and other key pieces. While he expected the coloration to burn off quickly, it has remained in good shape for many months, with the ability to peel off the coating at any time and change out the color. A similar technique was used on the rear brake calipers, with a charcoal gray coloration — incredible!

The exterior changes are subtle but effective. The large rear spoiler mounts to the trunk lid (a new rear spoiler is being considered), and the Stillen front “splitter” dresses the front end. The wheels are Forge Star F14 wheels, 18x11 inches all around, with a custom offset wrapped by Dunlop P285/30-18 Starspec tires.

Interior upgrades include swap-ping out the original cloth seating for a set of Shelby GT leather covers, and the shifter boot has been upgraded to Al-cantara Suede. Most significantly, the passenger dashboard has been auto-graphed by two of the most significant personnel in Ford performance histo-ry: Henry Ford III and Steve Saleen.

Seat TimeAs mentioned, Ramirez is big on learn-ing by doing, and after two years, his education is far from complete. Most recently, he attended an autocross at

California Speedway in Fontana, Cal-ifornia. There he met legendary racer, Mary Posey. Not only has Posey won more than her fair share of races in her Second Gen Camaro, she has a style that is plenty blunt — and informative.

“I learned a lot from Mary, she was incredibly helpful,” says Ramirez. “It’s interesting, in some forms of rac-ing, like drag racing, the drivers are so competitive and don’t share their secrets of success. But with autocross, you find folks are very helpful. That was the case with Greg Nelson, who is the main reason I’m so hooked. In addition, most of the autocross racers in our group drive Camaros, yet ev-eryone gets along and shares info. In most groups, Camaro and Mustang guys don’t even talk to each other.”

So, the plan from here is more seat

With cool exhaust tips, massive rear deck spoiler, and forged aluminum wheels, the Mustang GT cuts a striking pose.

These Dunlop Starspec tires are Ramirez’ fa-vorite for competition. Wheels are 18x11 Forge Star F14s with adjusted offset.

time and additional horsepower in-creases, while keeping his ear to the ground for tips to improve lap times. Just like anything automotive, it’s a matter of careful tuning to achieve perfection. Turn it up!

The Stillen front splitter does a great job keeping air out from under the Mustang. It looks pretty cool too.

PPNDigital.com 79

The Alcantara suede-wrapped five-speed manual stick juts from the factory console. In addition, Ramirez had Shelby leather upholstery installed, replacing the factory cloth coverings.

This Ford has been signed off as the real deal by Henry Ford III and Steve Saleen.

The massive rear spoiler matches the girth of the front splitter to balance the airflow over the Mustang shape.



CONNECTIONJET Performance’s Dynamic Spectrum Tuner Software

It’s an electronically brave new world out there. There hasn’t been a carburetor used on a domestic production car since the mid 1980s, so EFI is not only prevalent, but

downright essential. For car guys, electronics also means learning a new skill by using computers to tune cars. The LS engine family has already established itself as a force in late model performance, so learning how to tune these electronically fuel injected engines is a new learning curve for a new generation of hot rodders.

If you like the idea of learning something new and doing things yourself, instead of paying somebody else to do the fun stuff, this is where JET’s new Dynamic Spectrum Tuner (DST) software comes into play. Often, the first thing a car guy wants to do is add a camshaft, or perhaps an intake manifold and a set of headers, to an LS engine to make more power. The issue is often these changes will require some tuning to the engine’s EFI.

JET offers the DST software as your ticket into the world of electronic tuning. This software allows your laptop to ac-cess the GM computer, which unlocks a giant tuner’s tool-box for modifying the stock GM programming. It is well beyond this introduction to list more than just a few of the areas the DST can tune, but let’s take a look at a couple of the more important areas.

We used a stock computer diagnostic link jump harness built by our friends at TPI Specialties in Chaska, Minnesota, to connect our LS engine ECM to our laptop. You don’t need this rig to do tuning, but it is convenient for work outside the car. The DST program comes with a serial port con-nector, which means you will also need a serial port to USB adapter.

Let’s say, for example, you have a stock 6.0L truck engine swapped into your street-driven ’69 Chevy pickup using the factory GM computer and wiring harness. The stock LS

INJECTION

PPNDigital.com 81

power was great for a time, but now you’re ready for up-grades like a performance intake, headers, and a camshaft. This means it will be necessary to make some relatively sim-ple changes to the software so the ECU can properly control the fuel and spark. There may be some changes required in order to improve the idle quality, for example.

After loading the software into your laptop and copying the ECU’s original software, so you always have a base to come back to should you need it, the DST allows instant access to the LS engine’s entire spectrum of tuning. The sys-tem separates the software into seven main tuning areas: spark, fuel, idle control, emissions, transmission control, systems tables, and diagnostics. Of these, you will probably spend most of your time with the fuel, spark, and idle tables once the major parameters are set. For example, you may want to disable the vehicle anti-theft system (VATS) so the engine will start. Then, you might want to add a couple of degrees of ignition timing at idle and part throttle to match the airflow changes you’ve made.

The most challenging part for us with this system was learning how to navigate around the different categories. That just involves figuring out where all the tables are located and then accessing each one to make the changes. The other big hurdle for any new tuner will be learning the GM-speak. We thought we knew quite a bit about EFI but still ran into new acronyms, like DFCO, which stands for deceleration fuel cut-off, and ETC , or electronic throt-tle control.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when tuning is to make only one change at a time and then eval-uate that change for more than 30 seconds before you move on to the next one. The bad thing about doing EFI tuning is keystrokes are very easy and quick to perform. It’s so easy, the software almost begs you to make multiple changes at a time. But at least until you are more proficient, it’s best to work slowly and deliberately to prevent problems. This comes from the voice of experience; I’ve buried myself so deeply that a full move back to stock was required to dig myself out of the tuning hole that I had created.

Another crucial point is that no amount of tuning will cover up a mechanical issue. As an example of this, it’s impossible to cure an erratic idle speed with a keystroke when you discover the throttle plates are actually physi-cally sticking.

This is one of dozens of DST tuning screens. This one is Spark Advance vs. Load vs. RPM Open Throttle High Octane – whew! The vertical (y) scale is load expressed in grams/cylinder. This is GM-speak for load ex-pressed in terms of grams of air flow per cylinder per sec (gms/cyl/sec). The upper left hand corner is low rpm with throttle closed, while the lower right hand corner is WOT at high rpm. A typical 5.7-6.2L LS engine will idle somewhere around 800 rpm at 0.5 gm/cyl per second.

This just barely scratches the surface of what you can ac-complish with the JET DST software system. But consider-ing its affordable price at only $399.99 from either Summit Racing or JEGS, its’ an easy way to learn how to tune. In our particular case, we used PN 14005 that covers most of the 1999 through 2006 GM LS engine applications. There are other part numbers that cover diesel applications, as well as the 58x version 2006-2014 GM cars and trucks. This baseline software will allow you to tune up to four different cars. Beyond that, you can contact JET for additional licenses to tune more vehicles. Check it out. Source: JET Performance, jetchip.com

Most late model GM ECU’s are actually powertrain control modules (PCM), which means they also control the automatic transmission. This screen reveals just a portion of the tables available. This allows you to adjust the part-throttle or max-throttle upshift points and firmness. There’s an entire story on what is often referred to as Torque Management.

Adding a supercharger will require significant changes to the original tuning parameters and probably should be accomplished with the help of a competent tuner.


These days it’s easier than ever to put together a stout engine, regardless of how much money

you have in the bank – or how much your significant other is willing to let you spend on your vehicle. Thanks to the LS from General Motors, even the most down-on-their-luck vehicles have the opportunity for a second life.

We wondered just what is available out there for the LS and turned to the experts at some of the country’s lead-ing engine companies – the COMP Performance Group, Lunati, and Crane Cams. We gave each expert a different theoretical amount to spend and asked them to go nuts (but within

budget). Our levels varied from $1,500 for simple valve train upgrades to $5,000 for the most aggressive after-market goodies ranging from cylinder heads to nitrous. We also asked them to make sure the upgrades they se-lected allowed for more changes to be made in the future.

$1,500The budget number of $1,500 was as-signed to the group at Crane Cams in Daytona Beach. Since their bread and butter is valvetrain, they focused solely on that area of the engine. They came up with three camshaft options, regardless of whether the builder is

simply looking for a stock replace-ment, a mild upgrade, or a perfor-mance option. They all sell for $415.80. Crane account manager Allan Bechtl-off helped us with the project.

“We went under the assumption that this would be a stock cylinder head application, and we would rec-ommend a mild increase in the valve spring tension since the cams are slightly above what a stock spring can handle for tension and/or trav-el,” Bechtloff says. “We recommend-ed a valve spring kit and a fulcrum upgrade so the factory rocker arms could be retained, along with a better set of pushrods.

There is an LS build for every budget

PowerSHOPPING FOR

Words by Dan Hodgdon

PPNDigital.com 83

Next, they recommended a Street Max option which can be used with the same engines as the “Direct Fit,” but with the 6.0L option added. This is a performance-oriented cam with a light choppy idle. A computer upgrade is recommend along with a valve spring upgrade. It can be used in the 1,800 to 6,000 rpm power range.

Another more aggressive “Street Max” option works with 5.3L, 5.7L, and 6.0L engines and provides a light chop to the idle. This option works well with supercharged or nitrous applications. A computer upgrade is necessary here as well, along with an upgraded valve spring kit.

“The factory LS rocker arms will work well with all three of these cam-shafts,” Bechtloff explains, but the “fulcrum upgrade” or LS Rocker Arm Upgrade Kit is highly recommended. It is available for $130.00.

The factory rocker is lightweight with a low moment of inertia, but the loose factory needle bearings and powder metal fulcrums are not up to the task when it comes to improved performance of the cam and springs.

“This kit allows you to install caged needle bearings and an 8620 steel fulcrum into the factory rocker arm body,” Bechtloff adds. “It’s easy to do and will enhance the endurance of the rocker arm system.”

Meanwhile, the valve spring kit costs $234 and features a complete set of dual coil valve springs, steel retainers, lower spring seats, valve locks, and Viton valve seals. A spring replacement tool allows two springs to be changed at once and cuts the job time in half. The tool is available for $157.10.

Heat-treated, .080-inch wall, 7.400-inch overall length pushrods

for the LS engines reduce pushrod deflection to

maintain control of the valve train,

and a set is avail-able for $138.33. Finally, the three-bolt timing chain conversion kits

may be necessary and cost $253.80,

but be sure to select the correct one for your

application, as different LS engines have varying numbers of timing sensors.

“These LS cams are also using a three-bolt design, so a timing chain set may be re-quired to match the camshaft and tim-ing sensor configurations. “

The Crane staff recommends using one of their mild “Direct Fit” cams for daily drivers utilizing 4.8L, 5.3L, or 5.7L engines. The cam can also be

used in a truck for towing with a power range of 1,400 to 5,500 rpm. The stock valve springs can be utilized, but a spring upgrade would be beneficial. The cam does not require a computer upgrade.


$3,000The mid-level budget of $3,000 went to Lunati’s national accounts man-ager, Kirk Peters. His Olive Branch, Mississippi-based company has been cranking out valvetrain components and bottom-end parts for decades.

“I’d start by improving cubic inch-es,” Peters says of his project.

To do so he recommends using a Lunati Voodoo 408c.i. rotating assem-bly package that includes a 4-inch-stroke Voodoo forged crankshaft, 6.125-inch H-Beam connecting rods, and 4.030-inch bore ICON flat-top forged pistons. The cost is $2,507.

The compression ratio is 11.6: 1 with 66cc combustion chambers. Pe-ters notes, however, that for a daily driver, one might need to lower the compression ratio with ICON dished forged pistons, which will change the compression ratio to 9.1:1 with 66cc combustion chambers. Each option features a 1.5mm x 1.55mm x 3mm ring pack with King rod and main

Lunati’s Kirk Peters (center) says a rotating assembly and camshaft are the place to start when upgrading an LS.

Bolting on a FAST LSXR manifold can boost airflow and cooling.

PPNDigital.com 85

bearings. All Lunati rotating assem-blies come balanced.

“Now that we have increased the cubic inches, let’s improve the cam-shaft,” Peters says. “We are looking for a ‘Hot Street Cam,’ which will op-erate in the 1,800 to 6,400 rpm range.” He recommends a Voodoo Hydraulic Roller Cam and Lifter Kit designed for common GM LS Gen III/Gen IV en-gines. The kit is available for $717.85.

$5,000The big money went to Chris Mays, performance account manager at the COMP Performance Group in Mem-phis, Tennessee. Mays’ company owns a wide variety of leading performance aftermarket brands so he had the most options.

“This is pretty easy when I’ve got $5,000 to play with,” he said.

He started with a set of assembled LS7 Pro Elite cylinder heads from Rac-ing Head Service, components that are CNC-ported and feature stainless

valves, along with tool steel retainers. The heads would set a customer back $3,631.98 and require a 4.165-inch or bigger bore. Next, he suggested a cus-tom-grind COMP Cams LS camshaft designed to work with a stock LS short block for $411.79. He also threw in a COMP OE Rocker Arm Trunnion Up-grade Kit for increased stability and stiffness for $140.35.

Mays topped off the setup with a FAST LSXR 102mm Intake Manifold for improved airflow and better-heat dissipating characteristics than alumi-num options. The manifold will work with a stock EFI setup and set the builder back $1,033.17.

“This is with a head upgrade,” Mays says of his build. “If the custom-er buys an LS7 takeout, or has an LS7

or LS3 with upgraded heads, they stay way under this budget and still get at least a 200-hp gain.”

Mays also notes for those who al-ready have upgraded heads, a ZEX LSX Blackout Nitrous System can add up to 175 additional horsepower for another $601.55. Of course, if a cus-tomer is so inclined, he or she could also choose to add an upgraded bot-tom-end like Lunati’s Peters spoke of instead of superior heads.

So there you have it. Regardless of whether you’re building a show-qual-ity vehicle that needs the giddy-up to match, or you just have the means to beef up your engine little by little, the option is out there. Sources: Crane Cams, cranecams.com; Lunati, lunatipower.com; COMP cams, compcams.com


The Mercury Cougar is an of-ten-overlooked part of Ameri-ca’s muscle car heritage. With

its luxurious flowing fender lines and focus on comfort, only the spe-cially-tuned brain of a muscle car historian understands this vehicle can be transformed into something any performance fan can appreciate. This was exactly the case for one star-ry-eyed car builder.

For Jason Lewis of Stevenson Ranch, California, muscle cars have had a truly life-altering effect. A high-ly accomplished videographer, Lew-is longed to get his hands dirty and test his car construction skills. In his youth, he enjoyed building racecars and street cars for various purposes, but to make a buck, it was in running a camera or locked in the editing bay that turned out to be his life’s work.

So, after considerable soul search-

Words by Cam Benty Photos by Jason Lewis

Jason Lewis’ ’70 Cougar led to a life in restoration

OVERTOPTHE

While this ’70 Cougar originally came with a 351c.i. Cleveland engine, Jason substituted a fully prepped 351c.i. Windsor that is a more than capable replacement.

PPNDigital.com 87

ing, Lewis got together with his wife, quit his day job, took out a line of cred-it, and opened a muscle car restoration shop. His first project: a $400 1970 Mercury Cougar. As you can imagine, the car was rough but still a very solid vehicle, having spent most of its life in California where rust is slow to grow – but not impossible. This first project would definitely test his creative met-al working skills.

“I always loved muscle cars,” says Lewis. “It began when I was in high school and I drove my grandfather’s Ford Maverick. I did a little customi-zation and drove the car to school ev-ery day. That car held a special place in my life.”

While Jason’s current shop is well suited for complete and proper resto-rations, his first project garage was a makeshift tent in Pacoima, California. Using a rotodisc grinder and a lot of

This is what you get for $400 these days. While the exterior retained some of the Cougar look, the interior was a disaster. Amazingly, Jason took only nine months to perform his magical restoration.

hand disassembly, Lewis stripped the car to its base elements. By doing so, he discovered plenty of damage, wit-ness marks that proved the car had actually been airborne at some point in its history before coming back to earth in a most unpleasant manner. No matter. Lewis was learning as he went, and the car began to quickly take shape.

Lewis’ vision for his Cougar was to create a car that looked, smelled, sounded, and performed like a classic

muscle car, with late model upgrades. He carefully considered a number of different options.

The 351c.i. engine uses a Windsor block with a Nodular Iron crankshaft that has been deburred and micro polished. The 10:1 compression SRP pistons are covered by Edelbrock Fast Burn aluminum cylinder heads, Edel-brock AIR Gap intake manifold, and 800 cfm 4-barrel carb. A COMP Cams hydraulic camshaft, chromoly push-rods, and Magnum rocker arms keep

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the valve train in control, while an electronic ignition replaces the origi-nal points system.

The modern serpentine belt system is a nice touch and drives not only the alternator and water pump, but a Vin-tage Air A/C system. A Be Cool radi-ator keeps Lewis rolling on hot south-ern California days, and the Hedman headers feed exhaust through the Borla Turbo XL Mufflers. The result is just the right sound when cruising the boulevard or cranking it up at the local road racing/autocross facilities in But-tonwillow or Willow Springs.

For the interior, he redesigned the instrumental panel, engineered new door panels, center mounted the elec-tric window controls, and installed Summit Racing seats with G-Force four-point seat harnesses. In fact, most of the parts used on the car were purchased through mail order, Sum-mit Racing and JEGS both providing a parade of automotive “presents” that arrived at the Lewis home on a regular basis.

Other interior upgrades include AutoMeter Cobalt gauges, TCI Ratch-et shifter, Painless Performance 18-cir-cuit wiring harness, and a keyless entry with two remote triggers. For sound, an Eclipse stereo head unit and 600-watt amp drive the five JL Au-dio speakers. The sound system also features both Sirius radio and iPod connectivity. Finally, the TCI high performance Ford AOD transmission features a TCI torque converter with a 2,800-rpm stall speed.

The Cougar rides on an AirRide ShockWave and Ride Pro 2-way sys-tem, which provides adjustability for street or racing environments. New upper and lower control arms have been upgraded with Polygraphite bushings and new ball joints. The

The ’70 Cougar is an often-overlooked model year, but this car is an incredible looking and very functional muscle car with plenty of luxury features as well.

Out with the old and in with the new — Jason’s incredible Windsor for a Cleveland swap fest.

Jason reworked all of the interior appoint-ments and even created a completely custom dashboard outfitted with AutoMeter gauges. The transmission is a late model TCI-prepped AOD unit from an ’86 Mustang.

PPNDigital.com 89

Flaming River 16:1 ratio steering box is assisted by their steering valve/slave cylinder and tilt steering col-umn. Cross drilled and slotted disc brake rotors are used all around with the stock disc brake calipers. The rear end features 3.89:1 ratio gearing, 31-spline axles and an Eaton Trac-Loc to insure durability. Master Power rear disc brake calipers and parking brake complete the package.

Lewis lovingly applied the Grabber Blue exterior paint in his makeshift paint booth, a two-stage paint process that was color sanded between spray-ings. He personally removed each piece of stainless steel, hammered out any dents, and then hand polished them to perfection. The grille insert repairs were a major undertaking, re-quiring lots of cleaning and polishing and then hand painting to get the final original affect.

The wheels are 17-inch Ameri-can Racing Torque Thrusts wrapped with Falken P235/45-17 front and P275/40ZR-17 rear tires.

“I found that with ’70 Cougars, new parts weren’t easy to come by,” Lewis says. “If you have a ’67, ’68 or even a ’69 Cougar, there seem to be a lot of part sources. Even the ’71 and later Cougars have ready parts available. Not so with the ’70. I had to spend a lot of time fixing and chasing parts.”

The final effect is an amazingly detailed Cougar with lots of creative touches, the result of Lewis’s own cre-

Lest we forget Jason is a perfectionist, the underside of the Cougar is spectacular. When was the last time you saw a Cougar created with this much attention to detail?

ative vision. While retaining the exterior appearance, Lewis exe-cuted a total personalization of the vehicle to his own tastes — a labor of love that took him just nine months to complete.

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If your idea of a great Saturday after-noon is dueling with autocross cones or executing that 180-degree freeway

on-ramp with precision, then you’ve probably listened to the prophets of doom espouse about the evils of bump steer. Everybody who talks about bump steer treats it as if it’s the sus-pension equivalent of an ankle-deep pothole. Let’s take a look at bump steer and how to minimize its effects.

We decided to take on that chal-lenge with a Chevelle muscle car that exhibits plenty of bump steer, so we can see what all the hyperbole is all about.

But first, jump in the car and let’s make a quick lap. We’re about to en-ter a sharp 90-degree turn around the first cone on the autocross course. We crank the wheel to the left, transfer-ring load to the right front corner of

the car, compressing the coil spring. On any car, this weight transfer also causes a dynamic change to the right front camber setting. This occurs be-cause the upper and lower control arms pivot in an arc around their mounting points and are tied together at the spindle.

The problem with most production cars is the front suspension is designed to create positive camber, which if you

LIFEBACK TO

Testing Baer’s Tracker Kit Words / Photos Jeff Smith


STEERINGdeBUMPedBaer’s Tracker Kit improves suspension

PPNDigital.com 91

B-body (Impala) spindle. This spindle combined with a pair of tubular upper control arms, like those from Global West, creates a negative camber curve in bump, which pulls the top of the tire inboard.

As the upper and lower control arms move through their arc, the steering linkage also scribes an arc. Unfortunately, this arc is much differ-ent compared to the control arms. This causes the spindle to pivot, which moves the tires either toward toe-in or toe-out. This is called bump steer. The term refers to the fact that when the suspension moves away from its static ride height in either bump (com-pression) or rebound (extension), this movement induces a change in toe, which is not desirable.

Look down at your feet and point your toes in towards each other — that’s toe-in, and the opposite is toe-out. Now imagine your feet are your front tires. It’s that simple. The ideal

situation is where the front suspension moves throughout its travel with zero toe change. All this leads us to three simple questions: 1) What constitutes “bad” bump steer? 2) How bad is bump steer in a production car? 3) Can this bump steer be improved?

The answer to the first question is perhaps the most contentious. If we listen to the zealots, the only accept-able answer is “zero bump steer.” But, according to Doug Norrdin, owner of Global West Suspension and a man with 40 years of suspension knowl-edge and experience, the front tires can absorb quite a bit of toe change.

Any tire when subjected to cor-nering input, will deflect. This means even on a car with what could be termed “excessive” bump steer, it’s possible while the steering angle (toe) of a front tire has changed, it might not be perceptible to the driver because the tires absorb the difference. Norrdin acknowledges excessive bump steer is

are looking at the car from the front, pushes the top of the tire outward. This induces push — understeer — which for a non-performance oriented driver is more controllable than over-steer, where the rear of the car tries to pass the front end in a corner.

A popular suspension upgrade to create a better camber curve for early Chevelles has been to replace the stock spindle with a ‘70s era, one-inch taller

This is the front suspension on our ’65 Chevelle test subject. The upgrades include B-body spin-dles, Global West tubular upper and lower control arms, 1.125-inch front anti-roll bar, and Global’s extended coil-over shock conversion. The front brakes are an early Baer conversion using C4 calipers and 13-inch rotors. The only missing item is the coil-over shocks that were removed for testing. Also note that we removed the connection for the anti-roll bar for the same reason.


counterproductive to improved han-dling. But he also makes a point that much of what appears on the internet in terms of “bad” bump steer is not supported by hard facts.

The second question concerns bump steer in a production car. For this, we decided to test our ’65 Chev-elle, which has seen more than 20 years of autocross and track day abuse. This particular car combines a B-car spin-dle with Global West tubular upper and lower controls arms.

For our test, we first established a typical alignment of ¾-degree of nega-tive camber with 5 degrees of positive caster. Then, using a Longacre bump steer gauge, we measured toe change while moving the suspension through both compression and rebound. The results, frankly, were surprising. We’ll get to those details momentarily.

The third question deals with how to improve bump steer. The way to im-prove bump steer on production cars is to alter how the steering arm moves in relation to the control arms. Several variables affect this situation, includ-ing the position of the drag link, idler arm, and inner and outer tie rod ends.

Baer Brakes has created a product that might help by altering the posi-tion of the outer tie rod end. In many production car applications, the outer tie rod end is positioned too high rel-

Baer created these Tracker conversions to help counteract the B-body spindle bump steer issue. The tapered portion of the arm fits into the stock steering arm, while the lower portion mounts the spherical bearing. The spacers allow custom tuning to reduce the bump.

We used this Longacre bump steel gauge to measure our before and after results for installing the Baer Tracker kit on our ’65 Chevelle. Each vehicle will be different, but it appears you could expect similar results if calibrated correctly.

ative to the spindle. Baer’s Tracker kit replaces the outer tie rod end with a spherical bearing and a tapered adapt-er. The longer stud on the spherical mount side allows you to lower the position of the tie rod end. Using pre-cision-machined spacers, the Tracker allows you to easily adjust the posi-tion the outer tie rod end to reduce the bump steer.

Notice we said “reduce” the bump steer. While we can only comment on the combination we tested, the Track-er reduced, but did not eliminate, the bump steer on our Chevelle.

To test bump steer, we used a Lon-gacre tool. This consists of a graduat-ed flange that bolts to the front hub to measure the bump steer through both compression and rebound. We set the toe at zero at ride height and then began taking toe change mea-surements through both compression and rebound. Our results are listed the accompanying chart.

Under compression (bump) the steering toes out along a somewhat linear curve. At one inch of compres-sion (which is in the neighborhood of what a well set up autocross car will see at the apex of a corner) we mea-

MRT 0716 C&P p.indd 1 5/6/2016 2:53:51 PM


sured 0.110-inch of toe-out. Converse-ly, under rebound, the combined an-gles created toe-in. Moving into the 1.5- and 2.0 inches of both bump and rebound, the numbers became much worse with 0.200-inch of toe-out at 2 inches of bump.

What we measured for the baseline is exactly the way we have raced this Chevelle for the last 10 years. Obvi-ously, 0.110-inch of toe-out under one-inch of compression is not even close to ideal. But it’s worth emphasizing that at no point in all my years of com-petition experience with this car did it ever yank the steering wheel out of my hands nor exhibit erratic steering be-havior. But clearly, the Chevelle could benefit from less bump steer.

We then installed the Baer Tracker kit on the right front of the Chevelle and retested. The kit includes a total of 0.750-inch of spacers in various incre-ments that will allow you to dial in the exact combination that will maximize a reduction in bump steer. We tried five different combinations of spacers and discovered the best bump curve was with the thinnest 0.030-inch shim. It’s important to mention here that the only way to know which shim pack-age performs the best on your car is to measure it. There’s no other way to do it. This means you will need a bump steer gauge.

At one inch of bump, the Tracker kit reduced the toe-out from 0.110-inch to 0.085-inch. While we still have 0.085-inch of bump, the Tracker did reduce the original measurement by 23 per-cent. The rebound numbers at one inch delivered a slightly better reduction of 27 percent. The complete results are in the accompanying chart and graph.

As noted earlier, the Baer Tracker kit improved our bump steer issue, but it did not eliminate it. We have also mea-sured the bump curve on Global West’s ’65 GTO A-body test car fitted with Global’s new forged aluminum spin-dle. That package delivered a near per-fect bump curve of only 0.015-inch over two inches of suspension travel from one inch of bump to inch of rebound.

While this essentially eliminates bump, the price for this performance is roughly $1,300 for the entire Global custom spindle, steering knuckle, and brake adapter package. This makes

the $175 for the Baer Tracker kit a pret-ty good deal.

It’s impossible in a short maga-zine story to deal with all the details involved with improving handling as there are dozens of variables that come into play — bump steer is just one. But if this treatise interests you, Baer offers a Tracker upgrade for many popular body styles, including nearly all of the popular Mustang applications. You can find the entire application guide by going to Bear’s website. Sources: Baer Brakes, baer.com; Global West Suspension, globalwest.net; Longacre Racing, Longacreracing.com

-0.25

-0.2

-0.15

-0.1

-0.05

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

-2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Series 1 Series 2

Rebound Compression

Toe-In Toe-Out

Bump Steer Curves

The graph shows how much bump steer the B-body spindle creates (Blue line) and the measure-able reduction achieved with the Baer Tracker (Red line). Negative numbers relate to both re-bound and toe-in while positive numbers indicate compression and toe-out on this x-y axis chart.

Here, the Tracker kit is installed on our Chevelle. The aluminum tubular arm mounts the spherical bearing that not only looks cool but is obvious-ly much stronger than a stock tie-rod end.

Bump Steer ChartSuspension Movement

B-body Spindle

Baer Tracker

Rebound

2.0 - 0.210 - 0.2001.5 - 0.157 - 0.1401.0 - 0.130 - 0.0950.75 - 0.086 - 0.0720.50 - 0.052 - 0.0480.25 - 0.030 - 0.022

0 0 0

Compression

0.25 0.028 0.0230.50 0.055 0.0410.75 0.088 0.0681.0 0.110 0.0851.5 0.160 0.1302.0 0.220 0.170

In this chart, compression bump numbers are expressed in positive numbers to indicate toe-out. Rebound bump numbers are expressed in negative numbers to indicate toe-in.

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Actor Steve Zahn’s Roadrunner readies for a Midnight Run

Words Cam Benty

PPNDigital.com 97

Steve Zahn is a funny man. A “character” actor if there ever was one. Regardless of the Hollywood

successes, he still makes his home not far from Lexington, Kentucky.

While the lead photo may have you thinking Steve Zahn hangs with moonshiners when he’s not making a movie or dropping in for a cameo in some strange TV show, fact is he loves muscle cars. The actor turned to ac-complished engine builder Lynn Ray — the older guy standing next to the rat rod in that lead photo — and his shop, Lynn’s Speed & Custom in Mid-way, Kentucky, to polish up his 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner.

“It was Lynn who saw my car and realized that it needed some up-grades,” says Zahn. “First up was the change out of the brakes for an after-market Wilwood system. That was the start, and one thing led to another. We ended up starting over and pulling the engine to make it more powerful and more reliable. We added a new custom radiator and a stronger ignition. Inside, we changed out the radio but left key components like the cool bench seat.”

The result is a Roadrunner with plenty of power and lots of reliability. The target was to make the 383c.i. en-gine more than capable of daily transit but able to deliver solid horsepow-er on demand. The engine features a Holley fuel pump, MSD ignition and Holley intake manifolds. Mopar valve covers and air cleaner are a nice en-gine dress up, and Vintage Air condi-tioning keep the occupants cool on hot Kentucky summer nights.

With safety in mind, Zahn had Baer disc brakes installed at all four corners. While he originally used a set of polished American Racing Torque Thrust Wheels, they were lat-er powder coated black to contrast with the classic Mopar Vitamin C orange paint scheme. The best news there was that before painting, the body was amazingly straight and rust free — great to start with a solid platform, as any paint and body man will tell you.

Today, the Roadrunner serves as an amazingly reliable and fun to drive muscle car from the past. Zahn said he loves driving down the local roads surrounding his rural home — only to find new roads that had yet been un-discovered. With his family members along for the ride, few things give him as much pleasure.

“I really love the older body styles of the classic muscle cars,” says Zahn of his Roadrunner. “These cars were from the golden age of performance and have unique style all their own. They hold their value because they are so unique. They are easy to work on, and you can make changes without hurting the value.

“I could find something else that was cool, but just about anything fun these days is $100,000. This Road-runner is cool, affordable and easy to work on. That’s a winning combina-tion for me.”

But Zahn’s cool Roadrunner was not always the way Zahn rolled. As with most of us, we don’t start at the top. And so it was for Zahn . . .

The Vitamin C Orange Plymouth features big, black out 17 x 8 American Racing wheels and all the proper original issue Plymouth Roadrunner decals and graphics.


(Above) With louvered deck lid and hand painted 7A on the door (the drips are a nice touch), this machine is all business. There is just something cool about this hot rod sitting in a cornfield. (Right) All that power is worthless if you can’t get it to the road. These Hoosier “cheater” slicks do the job and are the daily “footwear” for this cool hot rod.

The 383c.i. engine has been gone through twice, once by his friend Hugh and then by Lynn. It runs great on pump gas and features Flowmaster mufflers for a great exhaust note.

The interior sports all the comforts of…well a 1970 Plymouth, with the simple addition of the Vintage Air conditioning system.

Street Legal for midnight moonshine runs, the hot rod is loud and proud with limited exhaust baffling. With operational headlights to keep it legal and lots of engine chrome, it is a show-stopper everywhere he goes.

When he first completed the Mopar, Zahn was just happy to be driving the car after years of work. The polished Torque Thrust wheels were a nice touch but Zahn wanted something different. Going black out with the wheels was a stroke of genius. The dyno test on this run said the Mopar was putting out significantly more than 300 hp to the rear tires. Not bad for a reliable street cruiser.

Talk about a cool garage, Zahn’s shop holds not only his farm equipment but is perfect storage for the Roadrunner. Huge sliding doors keep out the weather on cool Kentucky nights.

Muscle Car HellIt’s a muscle car fan’s worst night-mare; a horror story unfolds like a bad tank of watered down 87 octane fuel. There in the garage it sat. Not your prized dream muscle machine, but a Chevrolet Chevette. Yep, one of those anti-muscle cars built during the worst time for performance cars in history – the late 1970s. To make matters worse, it’s your only set of wheels. The only two avenues: drive it or walk. For Steve Zahn, this night-mare was a high school reality. He re-calls hating driving that car to school and having to pass those lucky guys with the cool muscle cars. It was an embarrassment he hoped to eventu-ally correct.

He has.

“I wasn’t one of those guys that had the cool ride, the Monte Carlo or the Mustang,” Zahn says. “I had a Ch-evette. You know there’s just no way to accessorize a Chevette. I used to hate walking through the parking lot and seeing all those great cars. But I always knew I’d have my day.”

Zahn’s first step to personal vehic-ular redemption came after filming That Thing You Do, a period movie set in 1964. Shortly after the movie shoot

Steve Zahn filmographySteve Zahn was born in Minnesota in November of 1967. His first professional acting role was in a Minnesota produc-tion of Biloxi Blues at the Old Log The-ater, but his first big break came in 1994 when Ben Stiller cast him in his picture, Reality Bites. He spent his early career between movies and touring companies of Broadway shows like Bye Bye Birdie. He met his wife Robyn Peterman while touring with that production.

He appeared in movies throughout the '90s, including That Thing You Do, You've Got Mail, and Out of Sight. Lat-er movies included National Security, Daddy Day Care, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Dallas Buyers Club. Look for him in the 2017 release of War of The Planet of the Apes.

Modern TV roles include voices for Phineas and Ferb, and regular roles on Mad Dogs, Treme, Mind Games, and Modern Family.

ended, Zahn spotted a 1964 Chevelle SS with a 327c.i. engine and four-speed for sale. He picked it up and enjoyed driving the car around his hometown. After a while, however, it became time to either restore the clas-sic Chevy or move on.

“I just looked it over and as much as I liked it, I still wanted something different,” Zahn says. “Having leafed through classified car ad magazines over the years, the 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner just jumped out at me. That was the car I wanted parked in my garage.”

Zahn sold the Chevelle in 2002 with the intention of finding a Roadrunner as soon as possible. While filming in LA, a film director mentioned that the folks at Picture Car Warehouse had a lot of interesting muscle cars.

When he arrived on the lot, Zahn inquired about a ’70 Roadrunner. They had one. After a short nego-tiation, Zahn became the owner of a 383c.i.-powered Plymouth Road-runner.

“It was my revenge for all those years of having to drive that Chevette back in high school” Zahn says. “It’s the car I’d been looking for. My ultimate muscle car…and now it’s all mine.”

Congratulations, Steve. The night-mare has been finally put to rest. The Chevette is dead. Long live Mopar performance!

The Mopar is all Roadrunner with origi-nal-style decals and even the “Beep Beep” Roadrunner horn.

I had a Chevette. You know there’s just no way to accessorize a Chevette.

— Steve Zahn

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Ever wonder why shifters are such a popular aftermarket modifica-tion?

For one, they enhance the driver’s control over the vehicle, delivering that simple satisfaction of a positive shift engagement so you know you are in the right gear at the right time. Af-termarket shifters are also a relatively inexpensive modification, but it can be confusing to pick the right late model shifter for your application.

In the early- to mid-’80s, the auto industry changed to manual transmis-sions with top-mounted, internal rail-shift mechanisms, such as the Tremec T-5 in Camaros, Firebirds, and Mus-tangs. The T-5 was followed by the T-56 and T6060 six-speeds and eventu-ally, the T6070 seven-speed. Addition-ally, Tremec offered an aftermarket five-speed, the TKO, and aftermarket six-speeds, the Magnum and Mag-num XL. Aftermarket shifter makers

Words Hib HalversonPhotos Drive Line Components Company,

Hib Halverson

concentrated on making products for these newer transmissions used in original equipment applications.

When the Resto Mod craze took off, shifter makers were caught flat-foot-

ed. There were few shifter choices for, say...a modern five-speed in a ‘68-’69 Camaro or a contemporary six-speed in a ‘65 Fairlane.

In the early-2000s, this shifter

SH FTDES GN

INModern

transmission swaps

made easier

This Tremec TKO five-speed is fitted with a Quik Stik Shifter configured for use in a ‘68 or ‘69 Camaro. TKOs have three different locations for their shifters. On this transmission, the rearmost mounting point is used. The two other locations have cover plates sitting on them. Driveline Components has shifter base plates available which enable shifter installations at either of those other two mounting points.

shortfall caught the attention of hot rodder/engineer/entrepreneur Red Roberts, founder of McLeod Indus-tries, best known for flywheels and clutches. McLeod was also a Tremec distributor and maker of transmission adapters, so Roberts heard a lot of Resto Mod customers crying about the lack of shifters for swaps of modern transmissions into older cars.

Seeing an opportunity with the hundreds of thousands of late model performance cars with Tremec man-ual transmissions, Roberts did some brainstorming and developed some key ideas for use in what would be-come the “Quik Stik” Shifter.

As a first step, Roberts would use “belleville” washers for biasing rather than traditional coil springs. Second, he’d replace the typical delrin-ball-in-socket shifter pivot with a spher-ical bearing, which is smaller, more precise, generates less friction, and requires no lubrication. Last, and from a business standpoint, certainly not least, he wanted this to be a “modu-lar” design so a modest number of parts could be used in different com-binations to make shifters to fit many different applications — everything from a TKO five-speed in a Plymouth Duster to a Corvette TR6070 sev-en-speed in a Hudson Hornet.

Well, ok, we’re just foolin’ with you on the Hudson Hornet thing, but you get the idea: Roberts’ company, Drive-line Components, which he formed after his sale of McLeod Industries, catalogs a heck of a lot of shifters — about 5000. The two most common applications are for ‘68-’69 Camaros with either the Tremec TKO five speed or the T-56 six-speed. The most unusu-al? Roberts told us he has built several shifters for right-hand-drive, Austra-lian hot rods with Tremec gearboxes.

The core of a Quik Stik Shifter is its “Stub.” Driveline Components makes about a dozen different versions of the Stub, which are the basis of the product’s wide application range. The stubs are machined from billets of 4140 steel. The top is threaded. At its center is the spherical bearing mount. The bearing is retained by a snap ring and rides on a steel pin, the ends of which are retained in one of several different 6061-T6 aluminum shifter bodies.

The Stub’s two cross arms are 90 de-grees to the bearing centerline, which prevents the Stub from twisting on its yaw axis in the body. Slots in the body

Photo by Drive Line Components CompanyThe key parts of a Quik Stik Shifter are illustrated here.


allow it to pivot fore or aft, for up- and down-shifts, or side-to-side in the neu-tral gate. At the bottom is a ball, which engages a socket machined into the transmission’s internal shift rail.

On the pin, between the inside of the shifter body and the bearing’s in-ner race, are 10 Belleville washers, five per side. Developed by a Frenchman, Julien Belleville, in 1867, a “Belleville Washer” is a type of spring that looks like a washer. When compressed axi-ally, its shape produces spring char-acteristics. Since the early 1960s, the most common automotive applica-tion for them have been “diaphragm clutches,” the “diaphragm” being a large, Belleville washer with “fingers” on its inside diameter.

Used in a Quik Stik Shifter, Bel-levilles provide the “biasing” towards the 3rd/4th gate, which is a common shifter principle. This bias eliminates a driver having to “find” third gear; as it moves through neutral, the shift-er’s Belleville washer assists the Stub’s

sideways movement into to the 3-4 gate but resists the handle going as far as the 5-R or 5-6 gate.

Retaining the Stub in the shifter body is a steel retaining plate. Most Quik Stiks come with a standard plate however, for racing applica-tions, Driveline Components has an optional plate with adjustable shift-er stops. Attaching the plate and the body to the shifter’s 6061-T6 alumi-num base plate are four countersunk, socket-head cap screws.

The steel adapter arm, which is the other factor in this shifter’s wide range of applications, attaches to the stub with a self-locking nut. To ensure precise orientation, the arm has a key-way, which is a slight interference fit on the stub. Driveline Components has nearly a hundred different adapt-er arms offering as much as a 4 ¼-inch fore/aft offset and up to a 3-inch lat-eral offset.

Finishing off a Driveline Compo-nents Shifter is a chromed shift lever. Three different levers are available, and each can attach to the adapter arm in one of three positions. A shift knob is not included, but there are many vendors, such as Hinson Motorsports, that carry shift knobs.

The most important part of a Quik Stik is the “Stub.”

The other key piece enabling so many different configurations is the Quik Stik’s adapter arms. Four different choices of the nearly 100 avail-able are shown here. L-to-R are: Early T-56 into ‘68-’69 Camaro/Firebird, generic “double high offset” for custom-built powertrains or vehicles, TKO 500/600 into ‘68-’69 Camaro/Firebird and Fox-platform Mustangs with T-45, T-5 or TR3650 five-speeds.

Driveline Components makes a variety of Stubs and Shifter Bodies. Those offerings are part of how the company can offer shifters for about 5,000 applications.

At left is the optional retaining plate with stops. At right is the standard retaining plate. The optional plate is suggested for racing applications where very aggressive shifting takes place.

As great as it is, even a Quik Stik Shifter cannot violate the laws of physics. When you decrease the shift throw, shift effort goes up, but, Driveline Components’ reduced fric-tion design mitigates that increase. Switching to a premium, low-viscos-ity, synthetic gear lubricant in the transmission, such as Driven Racing Oil’s STF, may further reduce shift effort. In fact, it’s possible this shift-er, in combination with a premium synthetic trans lube, could actually have net shift effort staying about the same, in-spite of its shorter shift throw.

Driveline Components Quik Stik shifters for restomod, retrofit, and non-GM OE replacement applica-

All of the Quik Stik parts are shown in this layout.

tions are available from McLeod Racing, along with several Tremec “Elite” distributors. They are also sold direct by Driveline Compo-nents. The “Hinson Short Throw Shifter” based on the “Quik Stik” de-sign is available for original equip-ment Tremec six-speeds in C5/6/7 Corvettes, 4th Gen Camaros, and Pontiac GTOs, and is sold exclusive-ly by Hinson Motorsports. Addition-ally, Hinson Motorsports is develop-ing its “Short Throw” shifter for 5th Gen Camaros and the 1G and 2G Ca-dillac CTS-Vs.

Sources: Hinson Motorosports, hinsonsupercars.com; McLeod Racing , mcleodracing.com; Tremec, tremec.com

This Quik Stik is fitted with an adapter arm intended for use with a Tremec T-56 six-speed out of a ‘93-’97 Camaro in a ‘68 or ‘69 Chevy Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.

This is the business end of a Quik Stik configured for use with a Tremec TKO 500/600 five-speed in a ‘68 or ‘69 Camaro. Note the robust construction. These shifters will last a lifetime.

The Quik Stik for the TKO/early Camaro application finished with a Driveline Components shift lever and shift knob.

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Twin-turbo Granatelli sleeper Camaro


When retired LA Fireman Chris Sweasey stomps on the throt-tle of his 2010 Camaro, a lot of

things happen. For one, his gunmetal gray Camaro launches far faster than the stock exterior would ever portray. Most recently, a Hellcat Challenger learned a valuable lesson as Chris un-leashed more than 650 rwhp on the unsuspecting Mopar owner, kicking a little sand in the bully’s face. It’s that kind of fun that Chris enjoys these days after years of service in Los An-geles’s most dangerous living quar-ters: the South Central district.

But a peek under the Camaro’s hood reveals little, as the power

source of this inferno fast machine doesn’t leap out at you. Sure, there are the cool Granatelli valve covers that dress the top end of the engine, along with ruby red air inlet tubing, but there is no supercharger, either centrifugal or Roots. Even the facto-ry exhaust manifolds are still in their stock location, and the underhood heat, so prominent in turbocharging systems, is also absent. So the ques-tion becomes — why is this Camaro so fast?

A peek at the underside reveals Sweasey’s secret weapon. Tucked up ahead of the lower exhaust tub-ing connection but above the frame

are a pair of PTE6265 turbos and boost-regulating waste gates. Each of the turbos features a 4-inch inlet compressor, making them capable of 65 lbs/minute. The PT 46mm waste gates feature adjustable springs that allow for a range of 4.5 to 15 psi (the factory setting is 7 psi). The exhaust is 100 percent 304 stainless steel, the heat temperature-coated system de-livering excellent durability. Protect-ing the system from ultimate disaster is a 1 x 50mm TiAL blow off valve.

In the case of Chris’ Camaro, boost adjustment has been tested on the Granatelli dyno to find out not only the capabilities of the engine, but

PPNDigital.com 105

1967 due to a failure of a $6 transmis-sion bearing.

For those in the latter category, you know the name Granatelli for the efforts of Joe (JR to his friends) Granatelli and his advanced automo-tive emporium in Oxnard. There by the sea, JR cranks out some crazy fast stuff, be it road racing track cars, high performance trucks, super fast street cars, or even King of the Hammers high-speed sand dune attack vehicles. The Sweasey Camaro is just one of his latest brainstorms-turned-tire-frying machines. Goodyear and Michelin should send him royalty checks!

The design for the turbo system is pure genius. While most turbo sys-tems start with an aftermarket exhaust manifold that mounts a turbo or two, Granatelli decided to use GM engineer-ing for this base, retaining the factory exhaust manifolds that deliver the ulti-mate durability. This ensures excellent exhaust sealing and avoids the crack-ing often found with header systems.

Granatelli offers two levels of tur-bochargers, either journal bearing or ball bearing. The difference: the ball

also to make sure the stock engine, transmission, and rear end are not overtaxed. It is for this reason we did not create some smoky burnout lead photo, knowing that if those big 275 tires twist the wrong way, so could the drivetrain.

As for tuning, a simple selection of right colored spring for the waste gate gets you either 5, 7, or 9 lbs of boost equating to between 500 and nearly 700 rwhp. That’s rear wheel horse-power for those with scorecards, and a clear reason why that Hellcat Chal-lenger was overmatched. In essence, we are talking about close to 800 hp at the flywheel!

Why does it work?If you recognize that last name, you must be either really old, or really au-tomotive tech savvy.

If you fall into the older catego-ry, you probably know the name Granatelli from the famous massive, trench coat-wearing Indianapolis 500 Race Car Team owner, who won more that his share of races with rac-ers bearing names like Parnelli Jones, Graham Hill, and Mario Andretti. But Andy Granatelli may be best known for the STP racers that did not win, his Turbine cars of the late 1960s resetting every record at that legend-ary race track, and missing the win in

If you build it, they will come. Such is the case with Granatelli Motorsports nestled neatly in the beach community of Oxnard, California, 60 miles north of Los Angeles. JR has a thriving business that builds very cool machinery, including this ultimate sleeper 2010 Camaro.


Aside from the cool engine dress up panels and the twin turbo name plates (so there goes the sleeper mystique), the engine retains many of its origi-nal pieces, as does the automatic transmission and rear end. The only hint of something special is this cool ruby red tube that can be seen down low in the engine compartment.

Out of the engine bay, you get a clear look at the guts of the Granatelli Twin Turbo system. Note the turbos and waste gates (one on each side) retain the factory exhaust manifolds, a cool Granatelli exhaust manifold heat shield dressing the factory parts to keep heat away from sensitive technology. With the turbo low in the frame, they are naturally cooled by airflow under the vehicle.

Granatelli offers a complete exhaust system that compliments the under-hood upgrades. This stainless steel exhaust comes complete with all tubing, mufflers, and high-polished exhaust tips.

Aptly named the One G for Two G’s suspension system, Granatelli developed a kit that in-cludes this impressive bracing system tying the frame rails in a highly efficient manner. Best of all, there are no issues with ground clearance, especially with this daily driven Camaro. Chris Sweasey insists on maintaining factory ride height to haul around his “valuables.”

bearing turbo delivers the peak of per-formance, the journal bearing system saves the buyer $1,000 — it’s that sim-ple. For anyone looking to run hard and long, such as running the Silver State Classic or Texas Mile, check the box for the ball bearings.

The tubing system, mentioned ear-lier, is connected with a series of high-end V-Band clamps that negate the need for gaskets that can wear in high temp applications. But by positioning the turbo low in the system, protected by the Camaro frame, the turbo is nat-urally cooled by airflow under the car. That means greatly reduced underhood temp that diminishes engine efficiency and robs potential engine power.

Helping to cool the intake charge and generate the greatest power is the High Flow Bell front-mount in-tercooler. With 3.5-inch inlets and a 4-inch diameter discharge pipe, the airflow is massive. For added appeal, black powder coated tanks dress the intercooler itself, while fiberglass-rein-

forced silicone hose couplers provide solid durability.

While the turbos sit just high enough to gravity feed back to the oil pan, Granatelli opts to include an ultra-high-flow scavenge pump to en-sure the turbos are “dry sumped” as soon as the oil does their job cooling the bearings. This pump simply sucks the oil from the common drain tank and pumps it back up to the passen-ger side valve cover, where it interacts with the proper PCV.

Two G’s for one GAiding traction with the Camaro is the Granatelli Motor Sports 1 G Suspen-sion System that delivers the structure needed to help Chris Sweasey “stick the landing.” The system includes an as-

In essence, we are talking about close to 800 hp at the flywheel!

PPNDigital.com 107

sortment of suspension braces that bolt to the frame in key locations. For Swea-sey, having the stock ride height was key to his daily driver purposes behind the Camaro. To maximize handing, dropping the height would be advised.

With all that power, Granatelli Motor Sports includes a recommend-ed brake upgrade. While they use the factory Camaro Brembo calipers (also available through Granatelli), Granatelli modifies an Alcon rotor adding a series of science slots and drill holes, different front and back, to dramatically improve high-speed stopping. Granatelli uses the factory brake pads, which he feels are more than adequate for high performance driving.

In our test drive, the Camaro’s power was plenty evident, coming on like a strong tidal wave of torque. Since the Camaro features a stock au-tomatic transmission and rear end, stabbing and steering is ill-advised. Instead, the best technique is to

To match the increase in power, Granatelli offers upgraded braking efficiency. While the original Brembo brake calipers and pads are retained, Granatelli machines his own rotors to help clean out and cooling. Tires are big, 245s up front and 275s in the rear.

Granatelli offers this extended and effective rear spoiler to dress the deck lid of Gen 5 Camaros. This angle also shows the polished exhaust tips and Sweasey’s license plate — signifies a high-speed projectile — which is more than appropriate.

Granatelli also engineered a set of springs, control arms, and struts for his upgraded suspension kit. Highlighting these items are the high-qual-ity, adjustable heim-jointed struts that are as strong as they are beautiful and will keep suspension deflection to a minimum.

achieve about 30 mph before kicking in the turbos, to keep the power from tearing up the driveline. And kick in it does. The power band starts quickly — no turbo lag — followed by back-side compressing force.

The Granatelli Twin Turbo pack-age offers a complete solution to turbocharging that is perfect for the street or racing. Having conquered such high-speed events as the Sil-

ver State Classic, a flat out, 180-mile speed test through the Nevada desert, and many other road racing events, the turbo system design has an im-pressive “track” record. But its street manners are what set it apart — the perfect street-strip-race combination. Uncle Andy would be proud.

To see more on this Camaro, search “Playing with Fire” at PPNDigital.com.


Squeezing another 20-30 hp out of a set of mediocre Gen I small-block Chevy cylinder heads is simple; just open up the bowls and back-cut the valves. But,

upping the ante to a set of GM LS7 castings and wringing out any additional airflow can prove difficult. RHS has wel-comed the challenge and cast their own LS7 heads.

Arguably the best factory small-block heads ever built, the GM LS7 castings move 360 cfm through raised runners. 12-degree valves, factory CNC porting, and 2.200-inch tita-nium intake valves further add to the mystique. However, while they perform exceptionally well on a 427c.i. motor, today’s crop of mega-displacement race engines can easily push them past their comfort zone.

Since the LS7’s release in 2005, options for aftermarket blocks and stroker crankshafts have exploded, and spawned an equal growth in engine displacement. Today’s LS race engines can easily exceed 500c.i., and when matched with modern valve train hardware that can turn 8,000-plus rpm. Keeping the cylinders filled at elevated engine speeds requires some serious airflow.

RHS started with a clean-sheet design to significantly improve upon GM’s LS7 cylinder heads with its Pro Elite Big Port LS7 castings. Some key en-hancements: CNC-ported 307cc intake runners, raised intake port entrances, massive 2.250/1.615-inch valves, beefy .750-inch-thick deck surfaces, and reinforced rocker rails.

In addition, RHS enlarged the intake ports from 275- to 307cc, and raised the port entries .220 inches higher than stock. The straighter flow path to the valve seats significant-ly enhances performance potential, and the RHS castings boast plenty of cross-section to support large-displacement combinations.

“The stock LS7 heads are very impressive, and since they are already CNC ported from the factory, there isn’t a lot left on the table,” Kevin Feeney of RHS explains. “We had to look outside the box, which is why we decided to raise the intake runners. This provides a much straighter line of sight for the intake charge as it travels into the combustion chamber.”

Words / Photos by Stephen KimPERFORMERSELITE Bolt on

RHS Pro Elite LS7 heads for tremendous boost

RHS offers its Pro Elite LS7 cylinder heads in 291cc and 307cc configurations to suit a wide range of street and race applications. They’re available fully CNC-ported or as raw castings. For older 3.900-inch-bore LS motors, RHS offers a 266cc small-bore variant as well. All Pro Elite LS7 heads are compatible with both stock and aftermarket intake manifolds.

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Bolt-in simplicity, enhanced durabilityRaising the height of the intake ports is one of the most ef-fective methods of improving cylinder head performance, but that often creates the need for intake manifolds de-signed specifically for the repositioned ports. To eliminate this added expense, RHS designed the Pro Elite heads to maintain compatibility with standard LS7 intake manifolds.

“From the very beginning, the RHS LS7 heads were built to accommodate a stock or aftermarket intake manifold designed for standard-location ports,” says Feeney. “To ac-complish this, we added material to the intake face so the cylinder heads can maintain proper port alignment without having to use spacer plates.”

On the durability front, perhaps one of the biggest down-sides of porting a factory cylinder head is compromised in-tegrity due to removal of metal. This is of particular concern at the roof of the runner, where porters trying to improve line of sight at the port entrance risk grinding into the valve spring pockets. Likewise, the elevated cylinder pressure and spring pressure of race engines are subjected to place additional stress on the head casting. Consequently, RHS fortifies its Pro Elite LS7 cylinder heads in several key areas to maximize casting durability.

“In addition to raising the intake ports, we also raised the roof of the head to maintain spring seat thickness, and to provide adequate installed height for the tall valve springs required in high-lift applications,” Feeney explains. “We also reinforced the entire rocker rail area for additional valve train stability and to support aftermarket shaft-mount rocker arms. Head gasket retention is critical in high com-pression and boosted applications, so the RHS LS7 heads feature much thicker decks and a six-bolt head design.”

Air quality, not quantityWithout question, the flow bench has dramatically acceler-ated cylinder head development in the last decade. Howev-er, factors such as port velocity, cross-section, and chamber efficiency are often as important as peak airflow numbers.

“The quality of airflow is more important than the quanti-ty,” said Feeney. “The key to making lots of power is optimiz-ing the combination of runner volume, cross-sectional size and valve diameter to design a balanced port that will maxi-

Based on a Chevrolet Performance LSX block bored to 4.185 inches, our 451c.i. test mule utilizes a Callies 4.100-inch forged crank, Compstar steel rods, and Wiseco 12.0:1 pistons. With a Mast Motorsports sin-gle-plane intake manifold and a Wilson 4500 throttle-body providing the air supply to hand-ported GM LS7 heads, the combo cranks out 720 hp on the engine dyno and 566 hp on the Dynojet.

Swapping out the heads and camshaft in a fourth-gen Camaro is never fun, but straight-forward nonetheless. After removing the cooling fan, radiator, harmonic balancer and water pump — then disconnecting the fuel lines, throttle-cable, injector harness, plug wires, steering shaft, and coolant hoses — it was time to dive into the belly of the best.

With the intake manifold, throttle-body, rocker arms, valve covers and headers removed, the cylinder heads slid right off the studs. Since this Real Street race car prioritizes performance over comfort, the power steering and A/C were deleted early on in the build to reduce weight and free up space under the hood. Along with the low-mount alternator, this definitely made the heads/cam swap a simpler affair.

Raised intake ports provide a straighter flow path from the port entrance to the valve seat, which alleviates load off the short-turn radius and improves airflow. In a combo like this Real Street 451 that will eventually see a lot of nitrous, RHS’ beefy castings and .750-inch deck ensure posi-tive head gasket seal. To accommodate the wide range of applications the big-port 307cc castings (PN: 54504) are intended for, they’re sold bare so racers can customize them to the specific demands of their combination.

mize power and torque for the intended application without sacrificing throttle response. All these factors went into de-signing the Pro Elite 307cc castings specifically for larger cu-bic inch applications. Increasing the intake valve size to 2.250


inches complements the larger bore diameter of big displace-ment race engines very well. Compared to stock, the overall increase in cfm of the RHS heads might not be dramatic on a flow bench, but they still net a big increase in horsepower.”

Dyno test While analyzing specs indicate potential performance gains, nothing settles the score like a real-world dyno test. To find out how much of a horsepower boost the RHS Pro Elite cylinder heads are worth over a set of stock LS7 castings, we tagged along as the School of Automotive Machinists & Technology (SAM Tech) bolted them to a 451c.i. LSX-pow-

Since the new top-end package will see more than 8,000 rpm, light-weight titanium valves are a must. They measure a big-block-sized 2.250/1.615 inches. The two additional bolt holes at 12 and 6 o’clock allow increasing clamping load for superior cylinder seal. The com-bustion chambers check in at 69cc and boast generous quench pads for enhanced detonation resistance.

At 98cc, the exhaust ports are quite a bit larger than stock as well. They have been raised .100-inch over stock to boost flow without compromis-ing header fitment. The reinforced bolt holes look like they mean busi-ness and help reduce head distortion. Raised rocker rails also provide additional valve train clearance.

Reinforced rocker rails reduce deflection and improve valve train stability. Reducing mass on the “valve side” of the rocker arm is far more important than on the “pushrod side” of the rocker arm, so RHS set the heads up with COMP Cams titanium retainers and locks to further stabilize the valve train.

In any high-rpm solid roller cam application, the lifters must endure the tremendous load

placed upon them by ultra-stiff valve spring pressure. As such, the 451 utilizes COMP

Cams’ premium Elite Race lifters (PN: 98956-16). They feature preci-

sion-ground 9310 steel wheels, EDM oiling holes, polished 8620 steel bodies and micro-sorted

needle bearings. The oversized .400-inch hollow axles are CNC-ma-

chined and dual-pinned.

ered 1995 Camaro. Built to compete in the NMCA LSX Real Street class, the

Camaro serves as the ideal test bed. Not only has the Cama-ro reached the limits of the factory LS7 heads, it needs a big increase in horsepower to keep pace with the competition in Real Street.

When the Camaro’s 451 was built by Late Model Engines in 2010, the first aftermarket rectangle-port LS cylinder head castings started trickling into the marketplace. How-ever, the 360 cfm dished out by GM’s factory LS7 heads were deemed more than sufficient to run competitively in Real Street. The crew at LME still improved upon them, hand-porting them to 399 cfm on the intake side and 256 cfm on the exhaust side, at .700-inch lift. Matched with a custom 254/260 hydraulic roller camshaft featuring .646/.630-inch lift, the combo cranked out 720 hp on the engine dyno. The Camaro ripped 10.20 seconds at 137 mph on the track.

Those numbers were more than respectable back then, but the NMCA Real Street competition has gotten much faster. To help the dated 451 keep up, SAM Tech was tasked with updating the combination with a set of 307cc RHS Pro Elite LS7 castings and a custom COMP Cams 260/274 solid roller. Considering the factory LS7 cylinder heads on the 451 have been ported to flow an additional 39 cfm over stock, the RHS castings clearly had their work cut out for them.

At the end of the dyno session, the RHS Pro Elite LS7 cylin-

The stock LS timing cover is a very nice piece, but COMP Cam’s new LSX cover (PN: 5496) offers several advantages. It provides plenty of clearance for double-roller timing sets and high-volume oil pumps. No grinding required. Other highlights include provisions for crank triggers and timing pointers.

der heads, combined with the custom COMP camshaft, best-ed the set of ported GM LS7 heads by 59 rwhp, for 625 hp total. Factoring in a standard 20-percent driveline loss equates to a 74 hp increase at the crank. Not bad for a day’s work.

Sources: Racing Head Service, racingheadservice.com; COMP Cams, comp-cams.com; Late Model Engines, latemodelengines.com; School of Automotive Machinists and Technology, samtech.edu

After sliding the new camshaft into the block, the SAM Tech crew dropped in the lifters. Unlike an OEM block, the Chevrolet Performance LSX block has windows cut into the lifter valley, which makes it much easier to properly position the lifters onto the cam lobes.

To ensure precise cam timing with the high-pressure springs, COMP Cams’ billet double-roller timing set (PN: 7102) is the perfect tool for the job. In addition to allowing for up to 8 degrees of adjustment, it comes pre-stretched and heat treated.

After torqueing the ARP head studs down to 80 lb-ft in three stages, the intake manifold and throttle-body were reinstalled. Buttoning everything back up is the exact reverse of the removal process.

For more information, including more installation pictures, search “Elite performers” at PPNDigital.com.

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Spark A New Level Of Performance.The FAST® E6 Digital Capacitive Discharge Ignition will equip your engine with high voltage from cranking to redline. A series of sparks at lower RPM offer quicker starts, smoother idle and improved throttle transition. Full voltage be-yond 3,000 RPM increases midrange and top end power. It can be triggered with breaker points, amplifiers or magnetic pickups and features a clean RPM signal for EFI and aftermarket tachometers. The E6 is compatible with any carbureted or fuel injected 4, 6 or 8-cylinder engine and is ideal for street rods, muscle cars and daily drivers. Need quality spark? E6 has you covered!

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There has been a lot written about Carroll Shelby over the years. We can save you from the stereotypical la-bels here and just say he was one of a kind. Shelby was

to America what Ferdinand Porsche was to Germany and Enzo Ferrari was to Italy. He was an All-American who built some of the fastest cars ever constructed, from LeMans-win-ning Ford GT40s to Cobra roadsters that dominated road racetracks throughout the ’60s.

That was then. This is now.Despite living well past his years with transplanted

heart and kidney, Shelby has passed on to the great road course in the sky. But since his passing, his legacy con-tinues to grow that fire, fueled by improved engine tech-nology and a thirsty crowd of consumers willing to pay handsomely for the latest Shelby-monikered machinery.

And why not? The newest Shelbys are the fastest and most impressive ever. That’s really not surprising based on the fact we are in the biggest “speed war” ever. In this era of 707-hp Hellcat Challengers and 640-hp ZL1 Camaros, it’s not shocking it’s the Shelby brand supporting the Blue Oval crowd with 1000-hp Shelby Mustangs — if nothing else

than to keep tire companies and chiropractors in business due to melting tread and sore backsides.

The “Basic” Shelby line upJust like in 1965, Shelby cars will take your basic Mustang and make it something special. The new line of Shelby GTH “Hertz” models is awesome and will be readily available at select dealers for those seeking a weekend thrill. The new Shelby GT350, although not built at the Shelby American facility, has been super successful and continues to promote the Shelby American legacy world-wide.

As was obvious during a tour of the Shelby Heritage Center, Shelby American is cranking out a lot of stuff. For the Shelby fan, you can have your new Mustang GT shipped (or drive it) to the Shelby American HQ for a Shelby GT (or Super Snake) makeover. As part of the upgrade, you can pick from massive 750+ hp engine “enhancements”, 6-pis-ton Wilwood brakes, adjustable rear control arms, Katzkin interiors, rollcage, race seats, differential and transmission cooling system, and Ford half shafts, just to hit the high-lights.

2016Sneak peek at the latest from Shelby cars

Words Cam BentyPhotos Shelby Cars, Cam Benty

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But a walk through this facility is not only a walk back in time, but a look at automotive evolution. What was the most eye opening was the number of specialty “throwback” cars under construction — everything from replica Cobras (part of Shelby’s continuation series) to a 20-car run of orig-inal style Ford GT40s.

For those keeping score, the GT40s are not to be confused with the run of GTs Ford produced in 2005-06 or the newest Eco-Boost driven GTs about to launch next year. The newest limited production vehicles are replicas of the original ’60s race/street cars that won big at LeMans. With fuel gulping, 427c.i. FE engines and bundle-of-snakes exhaust exiting un-muffled from the rear, these are the kind of machines that put American racing on the map, breaking Ferrari’s vice grip on FIA World Manufacturers GT class. Not only did the GT40s finish 1-2-3 in 1966, they went on to win in 1967, 1968, and 1969.

Terlingua Races AgainThe Terlingua got its name from a small ghost town in southwest Texas, where Shelby purchased some land in the early 1960s as a place to go horseback riding, dirt bik-ing, and enjoy other fun sports – including story-telling, chili cook-offs, and drinking. As the story goes, Shelby and friend Dave Witts created a town council of their friends and other buddies to “run this here town.”

Once inside the center, it is evident this is a special place. From Super Snakes awaiting anxious owners to come pick them up (foreground) to Hertz GTH Shelbys, the factory is cranking these machines out hourly.

Unless you know the background for the Terlingua Racing Team, Shel-by’s title as Social Director might just appear to be a cute joke by some of the Shelby mechanics. In fact, this was Shelby’s title from Terlingua, Texas, back in the ’60s.

To gain perspective, the Shelby Terlingua is the direct competitor to the Camaro Z/28, more racecar than streetcar and purpose-built for track competition. With 750+ hp on tap, this is an appropriate vehicle to wave the flag for Ford, which won its first Trans Am championship first in 1967 with the original Terlingua Mustang.

As stated on the Shelby American website: “Figuring they had something coming to them as legit owners of their town, they wasted no time forming a city council, handing out all the choice political positions to their drinking bud-dies: Witts elected himself mayor and Shelby named himself Social Director, alternating as the local dog catcher as well.”

Automotive artist, Bill Neale, became the director of the Museum of Modern Art and Tom Tierney was elected Chief Justice of the Municipal Court. Other members of the Shel-by Rat Pack were doled out esteemed positions as Director of Sanitation, Director of Parks and Recreation, Director of Urban Housing, Inspector of Hides and Commodore of the Terlingua Navy.”

To that end, all Terlingua cars have plaques denoting lin-eage and a sign off from Bill Neal himself.

But the Terlingua Shelby race team of 1967 was a lot more than a social club. It was a Shelby-prepped Terlingua Mustang that was to win the Trans Am Championship and set the standard for Ford Mustang performance to come. The title, won by Jerry Titus in ’67, (reclaimed by son Rick Titus 20 years later, this time with a Saleen Mustang) was to light the fuse to the Shelby/Mustang legacy of winning.

To that end, every one of the new limited edition 50 su-perfast, road race-ready 2016 Terlingua Shelbys are adorned with an official decal denoting that Social Director Carroll Shelby personally approved of the build. Speed Director would be more fitting.

The Terlingua features a 5.0L, 750+ hp engine — the same as the Super Snake package using a Whipple supercharger to boost power. Outside, the Terlingua can be spotted by its


ture the Gurney bump that puffs up the driver side roof to allow clearance for, originally, driver Dan Gurney’s helmet. Proving the attention to detail, Smith’s gauges are used in the installment panel, and silver rivet seats allow for fresh air-cooling for an attractive throwback appearance.

The car is offered in three color combinations, black/sil-ver, blue/white, and red/white. The 15-inch Halibrand pin-drive wheels are both attractive and functional, and the true Monocoque chassis is a true-to-the-original platform. The 427c.i. engine in your choice of horsepower can be had with air conditioning, a sign of how times have changed from the ’60s when A/C was rarely found in homes, let alone cars.

Daytona Coupe ContinuesBack in the ’60s, Carroll Shelby commissioned Peter Brock to redesign the Cobra racecar on the original Cobra SC frame. His vision was the Daytona Coupe. After a few racing struggles in early 1964, in 1965 the Daytona Coupe dominated the FIA World Sports Car Championship GT class with wins at Daytona, Spa, Monza, and Nurburgring, just to hit the top locations. It was this legacy that was to create a huge demand for Shelby Daytonas today.

Under the heading something for everyone, this Shelby GT EcoBoost Mustang is built for European buyers looking for big power from small displacement engines. Starting with the Ford EcoBoost four cylinder en-gine, Shelby turns up the wick and dresses up the outside of this clean Mustang, making it plenty powerful while keeping the weight down to improve overall handling.

With plenty of local landscapes to test, Shelby runs their modified trucks through plenty of “field tests” to make sure they are ready for the customer abuse they are certain to see.

carbon fiber front splitter, side skirts, rear spoiler, and hood with Terlingua Rabbit graphic.

In the suspension department the Shelby sports a set of adjustable coil over shocks, Ford Performance half shafts, Brembo big brake calipers, and Eibach sway bars. A func-tional rear diffuser dresses the rear of the vehicle, along with black Borla exhaust tips. At the time of the visit, Chief Designer/R&D Vince LaViolet showed us the carbon fiber brake package under consideration, along with some new shock valving that should dramatically aid handling.

Only 50 of the 2016 Terlingua Shelbys will be built, an expensive upgrade on the basic Mustang GT that takes this car far beyond the level of high performance streetcar. If you don’t think this is a serious racecar, take a look at the video shot by LaViolet, who rented a housing development under construction and took a few prospective buyers for a drive through the freshly paved street. (youtube.com/shel-bycars) That’s a ride that will impress.

The return of the GT40As mentioned, the GT40 was a huge breakthrough for Ford back in the 1960s. The new GT40s are an impressive replica of the original GT40 MkII cars. Short and quick, these cars measure 163 inches long and only 40 inches high, and fea-

Shelby has been doing builds like this for some time now, the factory having gone through several changes over the last two decades. A walk through the plant will not only reveal lots of new cars, but some cool old stuff like this 2014 GT500KR.

The Heritage Center is definitely worth the price of admission (free) and includes a showcase of the most significant Shelbys ever made.

http://www.YouTube.com/shelbycars

http://www.YouTube.com/shelbycars

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The Shelby GT is the most popular version today and features a number of basic upgrades from the standard Mustang GT platform. What is amazing is how far you can go with upgrades — including a 750+ super-charged 5.0L engine.

As only Shelby would do, the continuation aluminum body Daytona Coupes (a fiberglass replica is also offered) are rolling out of Shelby American to a few select buyers – these ain’t cheap. True to the original, the car is a copy of the racecar, right down to the three-inch round tube style frame, leaf springs, independent suspension, Stewart War-ner gauges, 21-gallon stainless steel fuel tank, FIA 15-inch wheels with Avon tires, white ceramic coated headers, side exhaust, and roll bar. If luxuries such as A/C, power steer-ing and windows, and a central locking system are needed, the fiberglass Daytonas can be so ordered. With either car, the choice of engine sizing is yours and includes 289, 347, and 427c.i.

So, it’s clear that despite the passing of their fearless leader, Shelby American is healthier than ever, something that a quick walk around the facility will lock in. The Shelby American facility, moved closer to downtown Las Vegas a few years ago, is worth the trip if you are in Vegas and the tables are treating you badly. They offer tours on a regu-lar basis, so you can see some of these things for yourself. It’s a tour car folks won’t soon forget, even if your favorite marques carry Bowties or Pentastars. Horsepower is a com-mon denominator all performance fans appreciate. Source: Shelby American, shelby.com

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1966 LeMans win, where Carroll “kicked old man Ferrari’s ass,” 20 lucky buyers will own this GT40 MkII. Most likely powered by a 427c.i. FE engine (that is up to the buyer of course), these lightweight missiles replicate the original race winners in great detail.

Not part of the tour, this Terlingua is getting some new test pieces installed. Most recently, they were testing some new prototype shocks from a secret manufacturer, along with a recheck of the underhood upgrades – something that is just part of the process of all Shelby Skunkworks operations.

One of the prettiest shapes in automotive history, the Daytona Cobra backs up the aggressive looks with plenty of power. (Below) This partic-ular Daytona runs a powerful small-block Ford dressed with period-cor-rect Weber downdraft carbs.


It doesn’t matter whether you run your car in the NHRA Win-ternationals or on “National

Street” in the small town called Winters, chances are you have heard of nitrous oxide. Though it has been used for decades to en-hance the power output of internal combustion engines, only in the last decade has it become the darling of both the big and small screen. Suc-cess stories like Street Outlaws have put the substance in front of count-less enthusiasts, while The Fast and Furious franchise has introduced it to literally millions of movie-goers.

Not everything you see depicted in the silver screen is 100 percent accurate, but the core message remains consistent. Push the button on a nitrous system, and your performance request is answered instantaneously. That immediate surge of torque remains as long as the nitrous is engaged. It might not help foil an inter-national smuggling ring, but it will make your vehicle one heck of a lot faster!

Before getting to the test on our tunnel-rammed 572 BBC, it might be a good idea to get a better understanding how nitrous works and the different ways it can be applied to a motor.

TWICENICEAS

Words Richard Holdener

Dual plate NOS big-block Chevy

The Pro-Shot Fogger system supplied by NOS included a pair of 4500 Dominator plates and spray bars, along with solenoids and jetting to adjust the power output of the system.

Nitrous oxide is often depicted as an explosive substance in the movies, but the reality is nitrous oxide isn’t even flam-mable. It takes a team of special effects guys to get a system to explode, and the fireball is the result of C4 or some other explosive and not the nitrous itself. Open up the valve on a nitrous bottle and apply a match (or even a torch), and

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you will be sadly disappointed at the result. The sub-zero temperature of the nitrous mixture will simply extinguish the flame. Considerably less exciting than the crash-scene infernos we all watch and love on film, but if nitrous oxide doesn’t explode, how does it add power?

Nitrous oxide is a compound consisting primarily of nitrogen and oxygen (very similar to the air we breathe). The extra power offered by the nitrous oxide actually comes from the oxygen molecule portion of the compound, but first it must be separated from its nitrogen partner. Heat is required to release the oxygen molecule, but the supplied heat must exceed 572 degrees. The best place to find heat of this magnitude is in the combustion process of an internal combustion engine.

Though often thought of as a fuel, nitrous oxide is actu-ally defined as an oxidizing agent. Once released, the liber-ated oxygen molecules are free to support or enhance the combustion process. When you combine the extra oxygen present in the system with extra fuel (like gasoline), the re-sults are push-button power.

The release of the power-producing oxygen molecules is impressive enough, but the benefits offered by nitrous oxide also include a substantial reduction in inlet charge temperature. For performance use, nitrous is stored (under pressure) as a liquid, and when injected, the nitrous is con-verted into a gas — a simple process known as boiling.

1. Our BBC test motor consisted of a Dart Big-M block stuffed with a 4.375-inch Lunati Signature Series stroker crank.

3. Sealing all the cylinder pressure was a Total Seal ring package.

2. The CP forged pistons featured gas porting and small (11.0:1) domes. They were teamed with Lunati 4340, I-beam forged rods.

4. Tucked in behind an aluminum timing cover was a trio of products from COMP Cams, including a healthy solid roller cam, lifters, and double-roller timing chain.

5. The 572 stroker was topped with a set of as-cast AFR 345 aluminum heads. Though the ports remained as cast, the chambers received full CNC porting. Securing the heads under all that nitrous pressure were ARP head studs and Fel Pro MLS head gaskets.

This liquid-to-gas conversion absorbs a great deal of heat from the surrounding area (the inlet air). The average en-thusiast often associates a boiling point with heat (convert-ing liquid water to steam at 212 degrees), but the boiling point of nitrous oxide is a chilly -129 degrees. In addition to the heat absorbed during the boiling process itself, the introduction of a compound registering -129 degrees has an


additional positive (chilling) effect on the inlet charge tem-perature. Since cooler inlet air is rich in oxygen molecules, this chilling effect can further increase power. The combi-nation of extra oxygen molecules and sub-zero injection temperatures produce some pretty impressive power gains.

Nitrous oxide systems can be very complex and include computer-controlled solenoid activation, but most systems include the following major components. The first is a high-pressure, containment bottle. Nitrous is fed from the bottle through high-pressure lines to a solenoid. The sole-noid is electronically activated to allow nitrous flow. The fuel system shares this design, with fuel from the engine’s fuel pump flowing to the fuel solenoid. The fuel and nitrous solenoids are activated simultaneously to allow the intro-duction of both into the engine.

From the solenoids, nitrous and fuel are delivered to some type of injection point. The injection points can in-clude a single fogger nozzle placed upstream of the throt-tle body, an injection plate located under the carburetor (or throttle body), and even multiple fogger nozzles drilled and tapped into the intake manifold to feed each individual cyl-inder. It is also possible to combine these systems to provide multiple stages of nitrous. The nitrous and fuel flow from the solenoids to the injection point is regulated through jet-ting to adjust the power gains offered by the kit.

To illustrate just how cool adding a mixture hovering around -129 degrees is, we subjected a big-block Chevy to a NOS nitrous kit. Not just any big-block and not just any

6. Finishing off the BBC was an ATI Super Damper, Moroso oiling system, and MSD distributor.

10. The kit from NOS included a single nitrous solenoid. The single solenoid feeds a T-fitting to supply nitrous to both plates.

8. Feeding the nitrous-injected BBC was a pair of Holley 1050 Ultra Dominators.

7. We installed the NOS plates using the supplied gaskets and (longer) carb studs. Note the provisions for the fuel and nitrous jets and lines on each side of the nitrous plates.

9. The crab-cap distributor was combined with an MSD crank trigger to ensure dead-accurate ignition timing. We retarded the timing 9 degrees with our 300-hp shot, but we also had the extra safety of 118-octane, Rocket Brand race fuel.

simple plate system. The Rat motor in question was sport-ing no less than 572c.i. and was chock full of go-fast goodies even before adding the squeeze.

The 572 started out life as a Dart Big-M block. The stout foundation ensured plenty of strength, to which we could add plenty of nitrous. The four-bolt block was stuffed with a forged rotating assembly that included components from Lunati, CP, and Total Seal. The short block was also home to a COMP roller cam, Moroso oiling system, and AFR 345 heads. Topping the mix was a Dart tunnel ram given the once over by the flow wizards at Wilson manifolds. The dual-quad, tunnel ram featured a pair of Holley 1050 Ultra Dominators. The tunnel ram required use of a crab-cap dis-tributor and crank trigger from MSD.

The great thing about running the tunnel ram on our big-block was it allowed us to run a pair of nitrous plates; after

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all, if a single is good, two NOS plates are twice as nice! The Pro Shot system supplied by NOS included one fuel and one nitrous solenoid, but the sys-tem can be upgraded with additional solenoids for increased flow. The sin-gle solenoids were more than enough for our power needs, as we set up jetting to provide 300 hp (150 hp per plate). We made sure to heat the bottle to ensure adequate bottle pressure be-fore hitting the power button.

The 572 was no slouch even before the nitrous, posting peaks of 883 hp and 767 lb-ft of torque. After engaging the NOS system, the peaks jumped to 1,168 hp and 1,006 lb-ft of torque. With each plate centered over four cylinders, the dual-plate system offered even bet-ter nitrous/fuel distribution than a sin-gle system. The dual-plate NOS system pushed our pachyderm well into the four-digit power zone. Imagine hitting the button on this baby in an early Ch-evelle, Camaro, or C10 truck.

Sources: ARP, arp-bolts.com; ATI, atiracing.com; COMP Cams, compcams.com; CP Pistons/Carrillo Rods, cp-carillo.com; Holley/Hooker/NOS, holley.com; Lucas Oil, lucasoil.com; Lunati, lunatipower.com; Moroso, moroso.com; MSD, msdignition.com; Total Seal Rings, totalseal.com

11. The kit also included a single fuel solenoid. The dual-plate kit can be further upgraded by adding a second set of solenoids to feed each plate.

12. The power gains offered by the NOS kit were adjustable using the supplied jetting. We installed jetting to provide an extra 150 hp per plate for a total of 300 total horsepower.

13. Run without the nitrous, the tunnel-rammed 572 produced 883 hp and 767 lb-ft of torque. After engaging the nitrous, the power jumped massively to 1,168 hp and 1,006 lb-ft of torque.

Nitrous not only adds a serious chunk of power but does so instantly. Push the button and you are immediately rewarded with almost 300 lb-ft of torque and an extra 300 hp. Making this all the more impressive was the fact the BBC was already thumping out 883 hp and 767 lb-ft of torque. Any time you get four-digit power levels, you know you are doing something right. This nitrous-injected big-block produced 1,168 hp and 1,006 lb-ft of torque on the squeeze.

For a more in depth version of this article and more installation pictures, search “Twice and nice” at PPNDigital.com.

http://www.holley.com/

http://www.holley.com/

AMX ISCODE FOR

Words / Photos Joe Greeves

AMC’s solution to the Trans Am Series

The fact competition builds the breed certainly applied to Trans Am race cars of the ’60s. Every year, manufacturers had to improve on their previous year’s efforts in an attempt to build a winner. Back then, the

phrase “what wins on Sunday, sells on Monday” was never truer.While the Big Three had the financial resources to ease the pain, Ameri-

can Motors had to do more with less. It was really a David vs. Goliath chal-lenge, AMC creating cars on a budget to battle the giants. Obviously, when success was a matter of survival, motivation was strong.

Having witnessed many companies go under in the ’50s and ’60s, Hud-son and Nash decided it was better to blend rather than die alone. American Motors Corporation was the fruit of that merger and kept them rolling. In 1968, AMC was cranking away, its Jeep line helping the company’s bottom line. But the lack of a performance vehicle was the missing link in the line up.

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The 1968 AMX was a brilliant answer to the problem, a sporty, all-metal, two-seater the likes of which had not been seen since the 1957 Thunderbird. The darling of the 1966 auto show circuit, it featured a unique prototype rumble seat in the rear deck that opened for two extra passengers. While the “Ramble Seat” concept never made it to produc-tion, the car quickly captured everyone’s fancy.

Taking a page from the Mustang styling book with a long hood and short deck, it looked ready to roll over the compe-tition. Fitted with a 390c.i., 315-hp engine, it was more than competent and priced almost $1,000 less than the Corvette. The AMX was quick, sporty, and very well-received by the automotive press.

Although only produced for three model years, ending in 1970, its performance image lived on in the Javelin, tran-sitioning, like the classic T-Bird, into a four-seat version. To-day, there are a dedicated band of enthusiasts who believe the AMX was a car well ahead of its time. These cars are highly coveted.

Personal TouchSteve Gers from Jacksonville, Florida, is one of those fans. His 1969 AMX, painted a factory Willow Green, is beautiful-ly restored to perfection. Gers has been enthusiastic about automobiles since he was a kid, the AMX rekindling a won-derful automotive addiction.

Gers’ talent with sheet metal work and paint came via the teachings of his good friend, Bruce Birkett, who owned a body shop. In their younger days, they built a number of cars including Mustangs, Corvettes, Pontiacs, Broncos, and Jeeps, just to hit the highlights. Originally, Gers was look-ing for a Chevelle or GTO as his next project vehicle, but everything changed when a neighbor told him about a pair of AMXs for sale. Steve recalled sitting in one of the sporty two-seaters back in college and thoroughly enjoying that experience.

When Gers met the seller, he found out the deal was for two cars, not just one. Regardless of the surprise, he decid-ed to make the purchase. Neither AMX ran, but one was in fairly good condition. Gers eventually sold the other AMX in order to concentrate his efforts on the first one.

Rated at 315 hp, the 390 V8 engine was more than capable of delivering muscle car performance.


The two-year restoration began with stripping the ’69 completely, gutting the interior, and removing the engine. He sanded the old paint down to the primer and eliminated the collection of dents and dings acquired in the previous half-century, concentrating on door gaps and cut lines. He re-sprayed the AMX himself, choosing the original Willow Green body color and twin black stripes.

While the bodywork was in progress, his local machine shop worked on the 390, boring the block 0.030-inch over. Gers added new pistons, bearings, and gaskets, then re-worked the heads with stainless steel valves so he could run leaded gas. The original 650cfm Motorcraft carb was rebuilt, and today, it works like a charm.

The final step was the interior, with Gers reupholstering the seats, refurbishing the original door panels, and replac-ing the carpet. All the gauges on the dash were rebuilt and function perfectly.

The completed car is all-original with just a few excep-tions, like new shocks, brakes, and the Torque Thrust rims that were a common upgrade during the ’60s. Steve and wife Pam have been enjoying the car for the last four years, cruising and attending car shows at every opportunity.

The long hood line contrasts the very short fastback rear profile.

(Left) Perfectly restored to original, the AMX features a full complement of factory gauges. (Above) The four-speed shifter is all business, indica-tive of a vehicle not built for luxury.

This is truly a two-seater, as noted by the lack of rear seat and carpeting that stretches over all surfaces.

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College memoriesWe told you that the AMX made an indelible impression on Steve way back in his college years, so it’s no surprise he owns more than one of these classic AMCs. Gers’ original goal was to acquire a 1970 AMX, preferring its updated styling and addition-al horsepower. Eventually, he found this bright yellow 1970 AMX with its Shadow Mask satin black hood on the AMC website. An AMC specialist, who was responsible for rejuvenating more than 50 of these cars over the years, had restored it.

Even though the yellow paint is more than 10 years old, it still looks flawless. Unlike the green one, the yellow car was virtually complete and drivable when he bought it. Subtle styling changes in the ’70 included a full-width grille and an extended front end that was five inches longer than on the 1969. It has a revised front bumper but uses the same rear bumper as the ’69, with slightly different taillights.

While everything is factory original on the green car, the yellow car is modified with an Edelbrock 600cfm carburetor, aluminum intake, exhaust headers, and 2.5-inch exhaust. Gers smiles when he says that the yellow ’70 is so much faster than the green ’69! Functional side exhaust pipes are scheduled as a future project.

Although the ’70 might be his favorite, the long exposure with restoring the ’69 means it will be hard to part with, so for the foreseeable future, Gers and his wife are a two AMX family!

Steve and Pam Gers smile broadly standing next to their other AMX, a yellow and black ’70 model that looks as perfect as the ’69.

One of the few non-stock upgrades, these Torque Thrust wheels look perfectly at home on this AMX.

Simply designed without the added non-speed related pieces found on many muscle cars of the time, the AMX is super aerodynamic.

Even the trunk space is restored, painted Willow Green to match the rest of the vehicle.

For more , search “AMX” at PPNDigital.com.


If the lifeblood of an engine is its oil, then it stands to reason an oil filter is the liver. Its purpose is to clean that

“blood” before it cycles again through the “body,” providing nutrients, regu-lating temperature, and picking up any unhealthy toxins along the way. Thus, maintaining a healthy oil filter is cru-cial to the health of the engine.

Certified Lubrication Specialist Lake Speed Jr. says just as doctors can look at a person’s liver to see if something unhealthy is happening elsewhere in the body, you can inspect the oil filter on your engine to detect problems deeper within.

“Checking the filter is an easy way to check the health of your engine and oiling system,” he says. “If your filter is filled with metal shavings, then you have a problem! If the filter is plugged with sludge, then you have a different problem.”

Metal flakes or shavings in an oil filter, or oil pan, are an indication of metal meeting metal somewhere in the engine. This could be due to im-proper oiling, like not using the cor-rect viscosity for your application or not using an oil with the proper ad-ditives for the design and use of your engine. Also, not having enough volume of oil can lead to inadequate pressure for oil to reach and lubricate all components.

The presence of sludge, which appears as a tar-like substance, is

a tell-tale sign the oil has oxidized. This can occur when the engine reaches a high temperature or oil is not changed frequently enough. Se-vere driving conditions that produce increased levels of contaminants — such as gases, water vapor, fuel — also contribute to sludge that bakes onto engine components and clogs passageways, just as cholesterol in the body collects in arteries and re-stricts blood flow. Additional effects of sludge include reduced fuel econ-omy, strain on the cooling system, and potential engine failure.

According to Speed, it is not a good idea to inspect your engine’s oil filter during every oil change. For engine builders, an oil filter inspection should also occur after the break-in cycle and,

Words / Photos Cindy Bullion

if the engine is for racing, again after a few runs on the track, then at regular oil change intervals.

Remember, you are bound to find some contaminants during any oil fil-ter inspection; the filter wouldn’t be doing its job otherwise. Sludge and metal shavings should always cause a moment of pause, though. The pur-pose of inspecting the filter is, after all, to diagnose any problems before they get out of hand.

And just what is the process for inspecting that filter? Let us walk you through.

We used Powerhouse Products’ Oil Filter Cutter (PN# 351646) to cut open our filter. Placing the filter, pre-drained and opening up, in a vise helps on the safety and cleanliness fronts. Once

FOR YOUR

HEALTHCutting open your filter can reveal a lot about your engine

This many metal shavings in an oil filter most likely mean engine component failure.

PPNDigital.com 125

you have clamped the cutter onto filter, spin slowly and evenly until it breaks through the metal casing. You may need to tighten the cutter after a spin or two.

The top of the filter should be easily removable after cutting, and it can be tossed in the trash by simply loosening the cutter’s clamp — no messy hands.

You can now remove the seals, followed by the filter media. Let the media drain for 10 or more seconds before putting it aside to take a look at the little bit of oil remaining in the canister.

You may be able to see sludge or contaminants — like the metal shav-ings and gasket sealer here — that have settled to the bottom of the cut open canister.

Since there were obvious signs of contaminants in the canister and from a quick check of the filter media pleats, we used a box cutter to separate the “guts” for closer inspection.

The filter media can now be unfold-ed like an accordion, exposing con-taminants hiding deep in the pleats.

Once unfolded, it’s easy to see contaminants. A small amount of metal shavings are normal in a new engine, but beyond the break-in pe-

riod, shavings may indicate com-ponent failure. In this case, you’d probably want to start looking in the engine for a problem.

A magnet is a great tool to help you determine if metal shavings in the fil-ter are steel and, then, where to go to in the engine for further work. Alu-minum or titanium shavings will not stick to the magnet. Source: Driven Racing Oil, drivenracingoil.com

Using an oil filter cutter cuts down on mess and potential injury — that metal casing edge can be sharp. Just a few turns is all it takes to get inside and inspect for metal flakes or sludge.

Some contaminants may settle to the bottom of the oil filter, so check there before disposal.

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If nothing else, car enthusiasts are dream-ers. They see not what the vehicle may look like today, but what it may become. That’s who we are as hobbyists, and testing our restoration and modification skills are at the center of our purposes on this plant. Our Field Report series is a way of presenting some raw material for future project plans. Hopefully you spot some-thing here that sends you to the garage for some serious strategizing.

Jerry’s Used Cars, West Monroe, Louisiana

When asked about this “nose in the ground” 1954 Kaiser, the owner tells this story: “In 1954 when the car was new, it participated in a transcontinental race. It led all the way. Somewhere in Mexico, a bright flash of light filled the sky, evidently from a UFO filled with Martians. The Kaiser disappeared. A few years ago, on the first day of April, they found this Su-percharged Manhattan nose-first in the ground.

Tucked undercover, this 1961 Cadillac four-door hardtop shares space with a very rare 1953 Henry J Corsair deluxe. The Henry J was sold in 1953-54 and could only be purchased from Sears Stores.

Chrysler 300s came only as convertibles or two-door hardtops in 1961. Someone added a 300 grille to this four-door Windsor sedan somewhere along the line.

1455 Highway 15, W. Monroe, LA 71291 Year opened: 1976

Owner: Jerry L. Brewster Phone: 318-348-3041

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This 1970 Ford Torino convertible has good GT trim and a good hood, except for the plastic trim around the hood scoop. This is a very cool car with potential for restoration or modification.

This 1954 Cadillac hardtop has been radically customized with ’58 Caddy rear fenders and fins, in addition to the continental kit.

There are several 1965 Chevrolets in the yard, including this cool Super Sport. The original 327c.i. engine and automatic transmission have been removed.

The engine and transmission have been removed from this red 1967 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport, but the bulk of the body is still there. As an added attraction, it is a factory air conditioning car. The ’71 four-door Ford Thunderbird Landau in front still has its 429c.i. engine and factory air conditioning.

This 1949 Packard is a classic shape from a legendary brand and good fodder for future restoration.

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Parting SHOT

History in the makingWe found this image from the General Motors Van Nuys Assembly plant when researching the story with Rich LaGrasta about his years working on now-classic vehicles from the Golden Age of Chevrolet. This 1960s Corvair build shot caught our eye just because of the choreographed nature of the way these guys are working together to stuff the suspension in to the body. The cool uniforms and haircuts tell a story as well.

Photo: General Motors, 2016

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Power & Performance News Summer 2016

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Transcript of Power & Performance News Summer 2016