Table of contents for Volume 4, Issue 48 - December 2024 in All Chevy Performance

Many of us grew up with a stick-and-ball background as our parents signed us up for youth baseball, football, basketball, and if you lived in a colder climate you laced up skates and played hockey. These sports were a great way for kids to burn energy and to learn about competition and teamwork. While this path was common for many, Paul Olsen took a different route, which ultimately led him to create this stunning 1971 Nova. “My passion for the car hobby started early and was integral to the relationship I had with my father, who taught me most of what I know about building engines and working on cars,” Paul states. “He would take me to Puyallup Dragway on weekends when I was in elementary school. I remember riding…

When it comes to casual cruisers or even daily drivers, it’s easy to overlook certain items, especially if there isn’t any noticeable damage. The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” rings true in many situations as long as performance isn’t compromised. In the case of our trusty 1964 Chevelle four-door cruiser, the rear suspension has been trucking along for 60 years without any real maintenance. The coils were cut many years ago to lower the ride height, and we’ve been pleased with the ride quality and stability on the highway, so upgrading the suspension never made it very high on the to-do list. A while back, we decided to upgrade the front of the car with tubular front control arms. Classic Performance Products (CPP) manufactures the kit, so as…

Imagine the surprise Camaro enthusiast Carl Melendez experienced when his longtime friend called him out of the blue in need of some help. His good buddy was ready to pop the question to his girlfriend and needed to unload some things of value to purchase that all-important piece of jewelry. This “ring sale” included, among other things, a clean 1969 Camaro project. Carl always loved the styling of the vintage F-body and figured by purchasing the car he’d be helping out a good friend while parking a cool Camaro in the garage. Although the car was just a roller, the shell was in good shape, making a great start for the project; that was nearly 30 years ago. Once in Carl’s hands, the wheels started turning and ideas began to…

In the muscle car and hot-rodding scene, it’s been said that “stance is everything.” It’s a bold statement that carries a lot of weight but doesn’t mean the same stance works on every car. Far from it. For example, when it comes to a Pro Touring build, a low stance all around is very important as it gives the car the appropriate look and a low center of gravity that ensures excellent cornering ability. In this situation, having the car just an inch too high in either the front or the rear can spoil the whole Pro Touring recipe. Now, if you are building a gasser-style hot rod, precise ride height rules don’t necessarily apply here as there is plenty of room for interpretation when it comes to tire-to-fender gap.…

When it comes to car features, the writer typically gathers information on the car received via a questionnaire by the car’s owner with the idea to write an informative and engaging story about the car and its owner. While the technical information on the car pretty much speaks for itself, there are instances when it’s best to let the car’s owner tell the background story. This is one of those cases, so we’ll let Eddie Gunder, longtime owner of this 1969 Chevelle, share how he acquired this badass street machine. “In 1990 I came across this Chevelle for sale in the Special Interest, a local paper with automotive ads I picked up at my neighborhood convenience store. At this point I had a 1970 Nova, but the 1969 Chevelle was…

The one thing that you quickly learn when working with the small-block Chevy is that they all leak. When this engine was designed in the early 1950s, all engines leaked oil. The joke is that if your small-block stops leaking, it’s probably out of oil. Leaks were a fact of life. Automotive engineering has come a long way since those days but the fact remains that this little small-block is still prone to marking its territory with light brown oil stains on the garage floor. This story will address how to minimize these bouts of leakage. Notice that we didn’t try to claim to eliminate those leaks. In the name of full disclosure, we’ll stick with minimizing these drips and brown puddles. We’ll start with the oil pan area since…

The late 1930s produced some of the greatest automotive designs that have stood the test of time. One in particular grabbed the attention of a young Bob Martin and wouldn’t let him look away. “I always loved the Willys hot rods that I read about in Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines growing up and figured one day I would have one of my own,” Bob states. Bob was a young gun hot rodder from the start, so staying out of the car hobby was not an option. “I grew up surrounded by the hot rod scene. My dad raced a lightweight 1963 Ford Galaxie when I was a kid, and my mom worked for the NHRA. Needless to say, my life revolved around cars and racing,” Bob continues. At…

When car show promoters dive into the second time running a highly successful inaugural event it’s typically done better, having learned valuable lessons from the first year. Well, when car show promoters Bobby Alloway and Gary Case made plans for round two of the Triple Crown of Rodding presented by PPG held at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, September 6-7, 2024, they gathered extensive feedback from attendees, vendors, and participants, and used that information to ensure their second event would run smoother, better, and hopefully much bigger than the first. There was no doubt that the second Triple Crown event would be much larger than the first, as early vender and participant registration was up substantially from the previous year. Case and Alloway realized they had their hands full…

1. LS INTAKE MANIFOLD Summit Racing’s Max EFI LS Intake Manifolds feature a large 9.7L plenum with a curved-edge design for maximum airflow and horsepower. They are available in low (7.090 inches high) and tall (8.270 inches high) profiles with provisions for your choice of a 92- or 102mm throttle body. The Max EFI LS intake manifolds are available for LS1/LS2/LS6 cathedral port and LS3/L76/L92/L99 rectangular port heads in satin or black anodized finishes. Gaskets, mounting hardware, and a billet fuel rail kit are included. For more information, contact Summit Racing by calling (800) 230-3030 or visit summitracing.com. 2. NOVA BEZEL Classic Industries announces the arrival of the featured OER reproduction 1968 Chevy II/Nova standard-style headlamp bezels manufactured in die-cast zinc—same as original. The bezels have the correct black paint…

Here at All Chevy Performance we don’t have to waste breath explaining to you just how important the Chevrolet LS engine is to the world of automotive performance. When it comes to the legacy of horsepower, the LS is the greatest thing since … well … the original small-block Chevrolet. But that doesn’t mean the LS series of engines is without its idiosyncrasies. No engine is. You can, however, with a smart plan, almost always build an LS that perfectly suits your needs. The only problem is you need to know ahead of time what weaknesses you need to work around, and that knowledge usually only comes with years of hard-won experience. The good news is we’re going to help you skip right past all those years of learning lessons…

Dream cars come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s safe to say that Corvettes, especially those built from 1963 to 1967, rank highly for most Chevy guys. For Arny Gollott, his idea of a dream car changed over time. He always liked Corvettes, and he owned several nice examples through the years, but his dream was to own a true “showstopper.” Arny lived in D’Iberville, Mississippi, spending his life in the shrimp business, and came to know fellow Mississippians Justin and Eli Griffin several years ago. The Griffin brothers own and operate Twin States Rod Shop in Meridian, Mississippi, and have built numerous high-end customs, ranging from Tri-Five Chevys to wild custom trucks. When Arny decided to pull the trigger on a showstopper build, Twin States Rod Shop was…

There’s nothing like original sheetmetal on a vintage car, but original glass is a different story. Scratches, pitting, hazing, and more can detract from an otherwise-strong appearance. That was the dilemma Mark Stielow faced with his latest Camaro project, so he had Sled Alley replace all its glass, including the door windows. Dropping in the new windshield and rear window were straightforward enough, but the intricacies of the door windows are what prompted us to following along and take notes. with the rear quarter-window or gaps at the surrounding window rubber that can create the sort of annoying wind noise that sends a spouse to a dating app after about 15 minutes on the highway. “Installing the glass is the easy part—it’s nailing the adjustments that really take time and…