Table of contents for Volume 4, Issue 40 - April 2024 in All Chevy Performance

Joe Rasnick is one of those guys whose imposing frame might be a bit intimidating to some at first sight, but at an impressive 6 feet 8 inches, his size doesn’t define his personality. He’s pretty easy-going until he sets his sights on something, and that’s when focus takes over. “I have always wanted a ’70 Chevelle—big-block powered, of course. When I was a young high school kid, I remember seeing the guys with cool cars getting the cool girls, and that’s pretty much what got me interested in cars,” Joe laughingly says. “Today, it’s mainly about having the car I’ve always wanted.” To fill that desire, Joe made the trek from Florida to the Barrett-Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, in hopes of finding just the right ’70 Chevelle.…

“We might spend 400 hours on the body surface of a restoration project and only 8 of them are actually spent in the spray booth to lay on paint,” restorer Nyle Wing says. “The rest of that time is spent block sanding.” Sanding, sanding, and more sanding. It’s the method of smoothing the small surface waves and high and low spots to ensure the panels will be as straight and smooth enough for a mirror-like finish. “A great paintjob is all about the prep and that’s what we’re talking about here,” Wing, who’s been restoring muscle cars for about 30 years, says. “You can lay on the color flawlessly, but if the surface isn’t perfectly smooth to begin with, you’ll never achieve a show-winning result.” Everything, of course, is relative.…

Fred Koss is a self-proclaimed “car nut.” He’s been one his entire life. His love for cars started with building model cars and racing slot cars, and later in life he spent weekends drag racing in NHRA’s Super Gas class. Immersed in the car world, this one-of-a-kind ’69 Chevelle is his latest, but before that he owned a host of other hot rods, including his first car that just so happened to be a ’69 Chevelle SS as well. But this here Chevelle build didn’t happen overnight—not even close. “I searched for years looking for a solid, rust-free example to start as a project, but dozens of leads ended up being rusted-out hulks,” Fred explains. “I finally located one in satisfactory condition, with the plan being to restore it and…

If you’re a regular reader of All Chevy Performance, you’ll probably recognize our ’57 Chevy 210 wagon that we’ve been building in the Clampdown Competition workshop for our buddy Bruce Valley. So far, we’ve replaced the front and rear suspension and added power steering, among other things. We also did a serpentine pulley system install on the LS3 Connect & Cruise engine kit in anticipation of its installation between the ’rails, which is where we’ve now found ourselves. For a quick recap, Valley wanted to upgrade the old wagon with power steering, A/C, and an overdrive transmission. Quickly going over what was involved to make said upgrades to the existing 350ci small-block Chevy/Muncie four-speed combo, it was an easy decision to shift gears and proceed with an LS upgrade. Since…

1. STAINLESS STEEL LS EXHAUST MANIFOLDS Hooker Blackheart now offers stainless steel versions of their popular cast-iron lineup of LS swap exhaust manifolds based on the 8502HKR and family. The new stainless steel manifolds offer a number of advantages over the cast-iron version, including increased durability, reduced weight, and improved corrosion resistance. The shorty tight tuck design means you can route exhaust tubing close to your frame/floorpan for maximum ground clearance. These are available in both natural cast and polished and all hardware is included (gaskets, bolts, and flanges). For more information, contact Holley by calling (866) 464-6553 or visit holley.com. 2. FIRING ORDER Small-block Chevy performance cams are nothing new. What is new is phasing them in the GM LS engine’s 1-8-7-2-6-5-4-3 firing order. The benefits include improved combustion…

There comes a moment in every buildup where you need to address the status of the body. Many times it can be when all of the mechanical and chassis fabrication upgrades are finally completed. It’s always good to have a plan of action regardless of whether you’re going from ground-zero or taking it on in steps to reach your goals. Regular readers of All Chevy Performance will recognize the ’71 Camaro laid out across our pages as having started its journey as a picked-down shell that was totally bare bones and barely a roller. It’s certainly come a long way through past articles addressing the suspension, brakes, LS driveline, cooling, and exhaust. We recently followed up at Procision Industries in Taunton, Massachusetts, where shop owner Pat O’Brien was preparing to…

If you ever get bit by the drag racing bug, there isn’t enough ointment in the world to stop the itch. You’ll think about it day and night, and you might even spend your kid’s college fund trying to turn on a win light. If you’re lucky, your significant other will support the habit and your kids will join the fun, too. For C.L. Braden, a hard-working gearhead from East Tennessee, drag racing was a big part of his life, so anything less than a big-tire, tube chassis powerhouse is just a street car. Such is the case with this ’67 Camaro RS/SS, a car that he put together specifically for the street, even though most would consider this a pretty radical setup. Going back to the ’60s, C.L. spent…

It’s a common scenario. You’ve just added a larger radiator with a pair of performance electric fans to help cool that hot small-block. Everything is working great until you take your Camaro out for an evening cruise at the local hangout. That’s when you notice that at idle with the headlights on and both fans running the voltmeter is sitting on 11.5 V instead of the 14 it used to read at idle. Plus, the headlights get brighter when you rev the engine. Something is amiss. In the early days of muscle cars, alternator output was in the range of 40 to 60 amps. There just weren’t that many electrical accessories that required more than perhaps 30 amps. But today, we have a ton of electrical components that place an…

Convertibles didn’t used to get a ton of attention, but now thanks to modern chassis technology you can add back that lost rigidity and create a potent performer. That’s exactly what’s happening with this ’69 Camaro being built at A.P.S. Muscle Cars. A Roadster Shop chassis will allow for modern LS power along with the ability to run big brakes and wheels with better suspension than ever before. On the outside the car will be blacked out from front to back except for a bright blue accent on the calipers and stripe. HRE S207 wheels will be blacked out as well to match the look. BBT Fab side mirrors have an updated appearance without being too modern. A stinger hood and some custom side vent trim rounds out the package.…

Embarking on the monumental task of crafting a custom car is more than a mere project, it’s an exhilarating voyage of self-expression echoing through the curves and contours of metal and machinery. Whether one immerses themselves as the hands-on artisan or entrusts the creation to skilled craftsmen, the end result becomes a masterpiece of individuality. Yet, in the labyrinthine realm of car building, the term “finished” becomes a paradox; a puzzle that perplexes both creator and observer alike. While some endure what feels like an eternity for completion, others, even upon reaching the finish line, find themselves haunted by the specter of alternative possibilities. These contemplations serve as the seeds of perpetual metamorphosis, revealing that for some, a build is never truly finished but rather an evolving work of art.…

One of the common upgrades made to improve the stopping ability of a drum brake–equipped Chevrolet is a disc brake swap. In our particular case, the car needing better binders was a ’63 Corvette, so we turned to Wilwood for help. Wilwood has been a leading manufacturer of high-performance brake system components since 1977, and among their long list of products are a variety of disc brake conversions. For our application we wanted more modern brakes, but we also wanted to keep our vintage five-spoke wheels. That meant two things: the new brakes had to accommodate 15-inch-diameter wheels with a minimum tread width increase due to the wheel’s 7-inch width. To meet our needs, we decided on Wilwood’s Classic Series Dynalite front disc brake kit (PN 140-14663-R, the R indicates…

It’s not often a vintage car, especially one from the early ’60s, stays within the ownership of one family throughout its entire existence. But this ’64 Chevy Impala has been with Montie Sisco’s family since his grandfather purchased it new off the showroom floor back in 1964. For years the fullsize Chevy was used for typical family duties and was his grandfather’s daily. After serving its purpose back in 1970, he offered it to Montie for $650. Monte had just gotten his driver’s license, so he jumped at the chance and purchased the Bel Air for his grandfather’s asking price. Introduced to the car scene at age 12, Montie would hang out with his gearhead brother-in-law while he was wrenching on cars, and he also let him tag along on…