Tabla de contenidos para Volume 4, Issue 39 - March 2024 en All Chevy Performance

In the world of custom car building, there are a lot of terms that get thrown around to categorize certain styles and types of vehicles. The idea of “Day Two” projects is the only way to fly for many enthusiasts who value the importance of modifying their vehicles using only period-correct OEM and aftermarket components. This type of build can be very rewarding but can also pose a substantial challenge while sourcing the right parts for the job. Recently, we met up with Chas Swanenburg of Long Beach, California, who just finished up a beauty of a ’67 Camaro build. “My dad was always a car guy—mainly classic Porsches though,” Chas says. “He always used to drag me to swap meets and shows as a kid, so I learned to…

Have you ever embarked on a big project like a suspension overhaul or engine swap and got 90 percent done before realizing how it would affect another important aspect of the car? Let’s say you built a complete 383ci stroker small-block Chevy while also yanking your Powerglide automatic and installing a five-speed TKX. Then, after dropping in the complete new powertrain you sit in the driver seat and realize you’ve still got a sticky old steering wheel and a column shifter sticking out right next to the new Silver Sport Transmission floor shifter. In case you haven’t guessed, yes, that’s exactly what happened to us. With the goal of getting our Nova back on the road and out of garage prison ASAP, we were not ashamed to look into making…

Growing up, Eddie Gunder and his core group of friends would do the typical neighborhood kid stuff that went down in the ’70s—riding bikes, taking part in football and baseball pickup games—all the things considered normal in the town of St. James in Long Island, New York. One thing from the old neighborhood that stuck in Eddie’s mind over the years was a gold ’72 El Camino SS. The hauler belonged to a local plumber and was used as his everyday work truck. At the time, Eddie didn’t think too much about it, but that Elco was a staple of Long Island for many years. As time went by Eddie found himself in the muscle car and hot rod scene due to his dad and uncle’s interest in vintage muscle…

Although drag racing is simple in nature, there are many factors that go into a successful pass down the dragstrip. Horsepower, traction, and aerodynamics are the three key elements in straight-line racing, and all three of those factors have evolved immensely since drag racing started gaining notoriety in the ’50s. In this article, we’re focusing on the development of drag racing tires and how a few companies helped inspire those changes and improve traction for all types of vehicles. Early drag racers drew inspiration from land speed racers, who already had a couple decades of trial and error under their belt. Whether on dry lake beds or sand, these racers fought for traction, but they had a long enough runway to power through the tire spin and ultimately reach the…

1. LIGHT & STYLISH Derived from their SS1R-GT Monoblock racing wheel (engineered specifically for ultra-competitive IMSA and WEC GT3 racing), the Forgeline CF208 delivers the SS1R’s split six-spoke design combined with a revolutionary, proprietary, carbon-fiber barrel to deliver the ultimate in technological advancement, exclusive styling, and unparalleled performance. The CF208’s super-lightweight carbon-fiber barrel creates an attractive and visually distinctive rim that is 40 percent lighter than its aluminum equivalent, delivering a significant weight reduction to the wheel’s outer perimeter where it has the greatest reduction in unwanted inertia and yields real-world improvements to acceleration, braking, cornering traction, and ride quality. For more information, contact Forgeline by calling (800) 886-0093 or visit forgeline.com. 2. VINTAGE-APPEARING HEADS Gen 1 small-block Chevy fans don’t have to choose between building a vintage-looking mill or…

There are a few ways to approach a project car. Some folks plan for years, make parts wish lists, and eventually buy the perfect start to their dream build. Others happen upon a project and start the rebuilding journey without a long-term plan filed away in their mind. Christian Peich falls into the latter category, as he wasn’t looking to dive into a full build, but this ’66 Nova Super Sport landed in his lap. His friend who had just moved to Kansas spotted the car in a field and brought it back to California. Christian already knew Jim and Monique McKay at Lakeside Speed and Shine in Lake Havasu, Arizona, so it was natural to rely on their assistance when it came time to put the car back on…

When Chevrolet Performance introduced its Connect & Cruise engine packages, it was a game-changer for those hot rodders looking to do an easier LS swap. The kits, which include a GM-brand, pre-programmed engine control unit (ECU) and ready-made wire harness, deemed it no longer necessary to spend time and resources chasing down the parts needed to outfit your new crate bullet with an engine management system. While not the end-all solution, at minimum, the included engine tune is adequate for a quick and uncomplicated start-up and a short drive to a local tuner and his chassis dyno. Armed with a computer and with the vehicle running under load, an experienced tuner can modify the GM program for optimal performance and driveability. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. However, if you are…

This is one ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air that draws your attention right to it. Yellow Gold Metallic paint borrowed from Bentley’s library of colors is accented with gloss black trim to make an instant statement. Under the hood it just continues the wild theme with an NRE twin-turbo 427 LS. Controlling all that power is a Roadster Shop chassis. @TavisHighlander TavisHighlander.com  Builder: Extreme Auto Restoration InTheGarageMedia.com…

Every hot rod and muscle car has history and, more often than not, an interesting story to accompany it. As time marches on, many of those stories get lost or are forgotten once that car is sold to another bright-eyed hot rodder who has his or her own vision of the car’s future to start a new journey while hopefully preserving much of the car’s original history. Fortunately, a good chunk of the history regarding Dennis and Marcie Williams’ ’57 Chevy Bel Air remains just as intact as the car itself. Oftentimes, us writers go to great lengths to dig in and find an interesting backstory on a vintage hot rod and the connection to its owner, but this one tells itself. Well actually, Dennis being the car’s co-owner and…

Carved on the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo is the proverb “Know Thyself,” a philosophical maxim that suggests self-awareness and honesty about how one’s limitations are fundamental to happiness. For every enthusiast with a half-completed project under a tarp, those words might as well be spray-painted on his or her garage door. Sure, some of us get bogged down in a project when its needs exceed our skills, but most projects languish because of time—and the lack thereof, to be more specific. The alternative is trusting your vintage Chevy to a restoration shop, but that can introduce a whole bag of new anxieties, as we’ve all heard the horror stories about projects gone awry. From shoddy workmanship and ballooning costs to shops that seem to evaporate overnight—with customers’ cars left…

The memories of our youth are much more vivid than the ones we log in our later years. Back then our gin-clear and receptive minds were firing on all cylinders, devouring daily data with senses as sharp as broken glass, our minds brimming with recollections that would ring true for years to come. These formative years are the ones that shape our lives in most every way. Jim McCullough fondly remembers the young and restless days of his youth, with his thoughts filled by pre-teen lust for American-bred muscle machines. “I was 10 years old when the first-gen Camaro was introduced as America’s new muscle car for 1967. Those memories are a slice of the story of my youth,” Jim states. Those vibrant accounts of the launch of Chevrolet’s F-body…