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Ryan Honey’s big tire Chevelle is ready for grudge race action! Story by George Pich / Photos By Matt Trombley
W
hile so many people were wallowing in their self-pity, complaining that they had nothing to do during the shutdowns of the pandemic, Ryan Honey seized the opportunity to do, what else, work on his hot rod! And that says a lot, considering the car was 95% freshly complete when the Covid restrictions took hold. “We made things stronger,” tells Honey. “We took the time to pull the motor and moved what we could onto a Dart block with a Crower crank, Callies Ultra rods and JE custom pistons. It was seventeen years ago when Ryan’s dad, Lee John Honey, bought the 1972 Chevelle from his brother, Michael Honey. “It took my dad nearly a year to rebuild and when it came time to paint my pappy, Tommy Ziegenfus, came over to help buff it. My mom, Jody Honey, drove it around for many years before giving it to me.” Now that is a family car! www.rpmmag.com
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When the Chevy was given to Ryan he was sure to keep the family spirit alive and well, so when it came time to start his rebuild of the car he involved his dad and brother, Austin Honey. Unfortunately, he was roughly a quarter into the build when Austin passed away. “I completely stopped working on it during that time,” Honey said somberly. “But when I began to think about the Chevelle again, I realized that I didn’t want it to just be a cool street car anymore. I wanted to race it.” Ryan actually wanted to throw his hat into the grudge/no-time world of heads-up drag racing. Nothing like jumping in with both feet Ryan! This new mission put the fire back into the Honey family to get the car underway once again. “I began working on it nonstop. My dad and I did all the fabrication work ourselves which was the cage, the floors, tubbing it, and electrical.” The body of the Chevelle is solid with mostly original panels, as we said, the car has been continued on page 80
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This 1972 Chevelle has history in the Honey family and it has been an emotional rollercoaster for them to build it.
Big tires, 15x18x33 to be exact, hook big power, which is necessary in the world of heads-up grudge and no-time drag racing. Canada’s Performance Source!
8 Chisholm Ct. Ajax, ON. Canada 905-619-6660 www.karbelt.com
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And here is the big power part of the equation. A wicked 410-inch small block Chevy twin turbo built by Andy Jensen fills the spacious engine bay of the Chevelle.
A ladder bar/coilover suspended Ford 9” is filled with Moser axles, center section, spool and 4.57 gears.
Cage and tub work was completed by the Honey family.
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This is a grudge car, so worrying about looking fancy is usually left out of the equation. The interior of the Chevelle is basic, with racing seats, an array of aftermarket gauges and boost controller.
Twin 76mm Turbonetic turbochargers should push the power of the small block into the 4-digit zone. www.rpmmag.com
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A blow-through carb setup was used to route the massive amounts of forced air through the Victor Jr. intake in the family for years, and it was about 16 years back when Ryan’s dad painted it black with white SS stripes. They worked together on chassis mods, including the 10-point cage, boxing, modifying and reinforcing the frame, adding rear wheel tubs and a ladder bar/ coilover rear suspension. Rear tires are massive steamroller grade 15x18x33’s mounted and screwed to Weld racing wheels. Power comes from an Andy Jensen built Dart block based small block Chevy with those twin cannons we mentioned earlier. Yes, that’s the same Andy Jensen, so it’s a good bet that this small block will make some serious power. A custom grind COMP cam was slid into place and Crower lifters were used. Cylinder heads are AFR 225 series with Jesel rockers arms. A tried and true Victor Jr. intake is topped by a CSU Pro Series blow-through carb and blow-though hat with fuel coming via twin Aeromotive 1000 fuel pumps. The continued on page 85
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Massive wheel tubs were installed to accommodate those big Mickey T tires.
AFR 225 heads are equipped with Jesel roller rockers www.rpmmag.com
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A pair of “Austin Lee Honey” wristbands are draped over the Hurst Quarter Stick shifter in memory of Ryan’s brother who died during the build of the car.
You might notice some dust and even corrosion on some of the exposed aluminum and steel parts of the engine and underbody. Ryan’s brother passed away during the build and Ryan let the car sit for quite some time until he felt the urge to see the project through as a grudge race car.
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Being in the Honey family for so many years the Chevelle is a pretty solid and complete car with most of the original steel, bumpers and trim intact.
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Ryan Honey 1972 Chevelle Chassis Type & Mods:
Power Adder:
Suspension (Front and Rear):
Electronics:
Owner installed 10 point roll cage, tubbed (15x18x33 tires), and a ladder bar car. Ladder bar with 3-way adjustable coilover shocks rear suspension. Aftermarket control arms and QA1 shocks up front.
Body & Paint:
Painted black with white SS stripes by owner’s father, Lee John Honey, 16 years ago.
Engine:
Andy Jensen prepared 410 small block. Dart block, custom ground COMP cam with Crower roller lifers. AFR 225 heads with Jesel rockers arms. Victor Jr. intake. ARP fasteners, Moroso oil pan, Fel Pro gaskets, COMP timing chain and cover, ATI Sfi approved damper.
Rotating Assembly:
Crower crank, Callies Ultra rods and JE-pistons. Fuel Delivery: E-85 CSU Pro Series blow-through carb.
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Twin 76mm Turbonetic turbos, install and piping completed by Andy Jensen. MSD Digital 7 box and boost leash controller.
Transmission & Converter:
Reid TH400 transmission with a reverse valve body. TCI with a 4500 stall.
Rear Differential:
9-inch Ford rearend with Moser axles and Moser center section, spool and 4.57 gear.
The car was painted by Ryan’s dad, Lee John Honey over 16 years ago. turbos were plumbed in by Jensen as well. Backing the boosted small block is a built Reid cased TH400 transmission with reverse valve body and TCI 4500 stall converter. As for electronics, Ryan opted for the MSD Digital 7 box and Boost Leash controller. The project encountered a setback just as it was completed when Ryan was in two accidents and in the second one he severely broke his hand. Needing surgery, Ryan was not able to race the car in 2019, so he looked towards the 2020 season….and we all know how that turned out. Again, though, Ryan used these negatives as a positive and got back to work making the car better. For an inexperienced racer, a healthy small block with twin 76mm turbos will be a handful, so Ryan and his dad wanted to make sure everything was the best it could be. And that’s when the swap out to the Dart block was made. As of this writing, the chassis was being certified and the car was scheduled for tuning on the chassis dyno next month, so it’s only a matter of time before Ryan climbs behind the wheel to make some noise.
The bull horn style exhaust is a pretty sure sign that this car has something special waiting under the hood. One thing is for certain, though, this Chevelle has been in the Honey family for years and isn’t going anywhere in a hurry anytime soon, other than down the nearest dragstrip, that is. RPM
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