V.P. MARKETING/CUSTOMER RELATIONS..........TRISH BIRO trish@rpmmag.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR..............................................TOBY BROOKS toby.brooks@rpmmag.com EVENT MEDIA..........................................events@rpmmag.com EVENT SUBSCRIPTIONS COORDINATOR.....SHERRIE WEBER sherrie@rpmmag.com SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR...........................TOBY BROOKS toby.brooks@rpmmag.com Photographic Contributions: TONY WEBER, TIM LEWIS, MARK goDragRacing.org, TARA BOWKER, GEORGE PICH, TOBY BROOKS, MATT WOODS, TABITHA SIZEMORE, MATT TROMBLEY, LOUIS FRONKIER, WILL McDOUGLE, BART CEPEK, BENOIT PIGEON, KAYLA WOOD, PATRICK “RED” WILLIAMS, and BLAKE FARNAM. Editorial Contributions: TIM LEWIS, CHUCK SCOTT, MARK goDragRacing.org, TOBY BROOKS, TABITHA SIZEMORE, JAMES WILLIAMS, TIM BIRO, STAN SMITH, JT, RYK LEE WADDELL, GEORGE PICH, JAY MISENER. Technical Writing Contribution: CHUCK SCOTT, SHANE TECKLENBURG, TOBY BROOKS, and TIM BIRO.
ADVERTISING SALES For advertising information contact
MEET THE RPM TEAM
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.........................................................CHRIS BIRO editor@rpmmag.com
RPM Magazine is a REGISTERED TRADEMARK of Revolution Publishing & Media Inc. RPM Magazine is a worldwide motorsports publication distributed in 34 countries and can be found on popular newsstands in the USA, Canada and select newsstands in the UK. If you cannot find a copy near you please call 519-752-3705 or email circulation@rpmmag.com To subscribe to RPM go to www.rpmmag.com or email Trish Biro at trish@rpmmag.com, or call 519-752-3705. The focus of RPM is to bring a diverse mix of high performance street and race automobiles to life within its pages including race cars, musclecars, hot rods and street legal machines with an emphasis on the “EXTREME,” including fast doorslammer and outlaw forms of drag racing. Not familiar with these types of cars? They are considered to be the top-shelf of the industry and are on the edge with regard to design, performance, and power! RPM Magazine does not sell its mailing list or share any of the confidential information regarding its subscribers.
WANT YOUR CAR IN RPM?
RPM Magazine has been a world leader in motorsports publishing for 20 years and has support locations in Ontario, Canada, Alabama, Texas, and Virginia, along with contributing writers and photojournalists worldwide. If you have a story that may fit within the focus and scope of RPM Magazine’s coverage, please email our Editor In Chief at editor@ rpmmag.com. Submission of an article does not guarantee that it will be published. Revolution Publishing & Media Inc. (RPM) / RPM Magazine IS NOT responsible for errors or omissions in ANY advertisement or article. Advertisements may be rearranged or altered at the sole discretion of RPM to allow the ad to fit in the space purchased by the advertiser. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY ADVERTISING WHICH WE CONSIDER TO CONTAIN MISLEADING, OFFENSIVE OR FALSE INFORMATION. REPRODUCTION OF ANY INFORMATION HEREIN IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.
Publication Return/Address Change Information USA RPM MAGAZINE (USPS Periodical #023474) is published monthly 12 times per year by USA Publisher’s Agent, 10387 Main Street, Suite 300, Fairfax, VA 22030.
TRISH BIRO ...............519.752.3705.......trish@rpmmag.com
Periodicals postage rate is paid at Fairfax, VA and additional mailing offices.
Art & Graphics Director: Toby Brooks
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
Special Events Manager: Chris Biro events@rpmmag.com Special Events Sales: Trish Biro: 519-752-3705 trish@rpmmag.com Subscriptions/Address Changes: Circulation circulation@rpmmag.com General Inquiries: 519.752.3705 info@rpmmag.com
RPM Magazine P.O. Box 24020 Brantford, Ontario CAN N3R 7X3 CANADA PUBLICATIONS MAIL INFO AGREEMENT NO. 40045044 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CDN ADDRESSES TO RPM MAGAZINE P.O. BOX 24020 BRANTFORD, ONTARIO N3R 7X3 OVERSEAS RPM MAGAZINE P.O. BOX 24020 BRANTFORD, ONTARIO, CAN. N3R 7X3
EDITOR’S NOTE
by
Chris Biro
Fear not...
WE’RE HERE TO STAY!
“T “OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, ONLY THE STRONG PRINT TITLES HAVE SURVIVED, AND RPM IS ONE OF THEM. WE SIMPLY HAD TO CHANGE WITH THE TIMES.”
he rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated” ....said the print magazine. This quote by Mark Twain has particular meaning this month. Recently, after a magazine industry shakeup, our phone, email and social media lit up with questions about RPM in print. So I’m here to tell you, RPM is not going anywhere in print! In December our performance car, street machine, and drag racing industry was given some bad news. TEN Publishing had shuttered 19 of its 22 titles in print. Definitely not a shock at all, it’s the large corporate world, after all. From what I read, they decided to pursue digital operations only for those titles. Unfortunately, every corporate move such as this has a price. In this case, the human cost in cutting staff and having paid print subscribers left with no physical mag on their doorstep each month. I get it. Digital is fast and now. It’s interactive, costs a lot less to produce (which is a large motivator in the corporate world), and can go worldwide with a few clicks of the mouse. The RPM web mag has been doing all that for over 10 years, but for print it is about quality, not quantity, something that gets completely lost in the “millions of hits,” “viral views,” “hundreds of thousands of followers” digital world lingo of today. Rest assured we WILL not shutter RPM in print as long as I am at the helm of the magazine! If another 20 years down the road we have readers that still want their fix of RPM in print, they will get what they paid for! Equality for all, in other words; no matter how you get RPM you will always be treated equally. Another thing that chaps me is tech and IT people preaching how print is no longer viable. Wait—last time I checked not every single IT/tech business succeeded. The print haters seem unmoved by the fact that hundreds of tech and IT companies start up and fail every single year. We all understand that print is not what it was, really, we do. Today, print needs digital and digital needs the reality and true readers of print. Following the TEN announcement, Tom Bailey made a post relating to the reality and feeling of being featured in and reading print and how that feeling that is like no other, even in our digital world. It’s true: print is a different engagement for readers—a more personal one and print readers seem to be harder core. They want their mags to read, display, and share with others in the physical world. It’s not just a quick click then on to the next web page or video. Over the past 10 years, only the strong print titles have survived, and RPM is one of them. We simply had to change with the times. If someone doesn’t want the print mag they can have digital, it makes no difference as both are the exact same product, but as I said, rest assured that no matter which you choose, you will always get what you want. RPM started over 20 years ago as your hardcore street/strip car mag and we don’t plan on changing that anytime soon!!
COMING NEXT MONTH: Killer feature cars................................................................ cars................................................................
A wild turbocharged ’70 Vette, an all-business grudge Fox body Mustang, and a cool big block Nova
4
THIS AND MORE IN THE NEXT RPM! february 2020 | RPM Magazine
ADVERTISER INDEX ACC Performance................... 23 Accufab Inc............................ 45 AED Competition................... 67 Aeromotive........................... 36 AFCO..................................... 10 Air Flow Research (AFR)....................... 56,57,79 AJE Racing............................. 67 Alan Johnson Performance (AJPE)............................ 67,81 Alston Race Cars.................... 61 American Racing Headers..... 56 ATI Performance Products..... 37 Auburn Gear........................ 104 Aurora Bearing...................... 64 Autoglym............................ 108 AVAK/Ridgegate Tools........... 42 Baer Brakes......................14, 36 Be Cool.................................. 84 BES Racing Engines............... 16 Bill Mitchell Products.......34, 70 Billet Specialties.................... 76 Blower Shop............................ 5 C&C MotorSports..................... 8 C&S Specialties...................... 76 Calvert Racing Suspensions... 17 Canton Racing Products........ 29 CFE Racing Products.............. 23 Chassis Engineering.........26, 70 Clearshot Customs................. 80 CNC Motorsports................... 71 Coan Engineering.................. 53 Competition Products........... 19 Crane Cams......................... 113 Crower.................................. 89 CVR Products......................... 25 DART..................................... 68 Delta PAG.............................. 98 Design Engineering............... 44 Diamond Pistons................... 59 Drive Train Specialists (DTS)... 13 DRIVEN Racing Oil................. 66 Dynomite Dynamometer...... 28 Dynotech Engineering............. 8 ECAM.................................... 80 Energy Suspension...........72, 86 Erson Cams............................ 90 FUELAB................................. 24 Granatelli Motorsports........ 105 GRP Connecting Rods.......... 102 Harland Sharp....................... 46 Harwood............................. 103 Hitman Hotrods.................... 57 HoleShot Wheels................... 20 Holley.................................... 77 Howards Cams...................... 11 Hughes Performance............... 7 Ian Hill Racing....................... 73 Icon Forged Pistons............... 92 Induction Solutions............... 52 Indy Cylinder Head................ 32 Innovate Motorsports............ 35 JE Pistons.............................. 82 Jesel...................................... 14 Joe Van O............................... 57 JW Racing Transmissions....... 65 Karbelt.................................. 67 Kinsler Fuel Injection........13, 63
LenTech Automatics.........30, 74 Liberty’s Gears....................... 74 Lokar Perf. Products............ 110 Lutz Race Cars....................... 80 Magnaflow.......................... 106 MagnaFuel............................ 34 Magnuson Superchargers...... 33 MAHLE Clevite Inc................. 96 Manton Pushrods.................. 73 Mark Williams..................... 106 Meziere Precision Mfg........... 40 Mickey Thompson Tires......7, 28 MSD Ignition......................2, 47 Neal Chance Converters.... 43,68 NGK Spark Plugs.................... 72 Nitrous Supply...................... 38 Parts Pro Perf Centers.......... 116 PBM Products........................ 12 PCR Priority......................... 109 Percy’s................................... 64 Performance Fasteners.......... 47 Perf. Plus Connection.......41, 98 Philadelphia Racing Products (PRP)...............................9, 94 Piston Racing Engines......... 107 Powermaster Performance.... 30 Precision Turbo...................... 50 ProCharger............................ 82 Profiler.................................. 63 Proform Parts...................18, 48 Pro Systems Carburetors........ 31 PRW-USA............................ 109 PTC.......................................... 9 Quick Fuel Technology........... 46 Quik-Latch Products.............. 40 Race Part Solutions..........12, 21 Racecraft............................... 51 Racepak................................ 95 Racequip..........................49, 63 RAM Clutches........................ 78 RCD..................................... 109 Renegade Racing Fuels....... 100 RM Racing Lubricants............ 75 Ross Racing Pistons..........5, 102 RPM Magazine Subscribe!.114 SG Metal Works..................... 74 Shafiroff Racing Engines.. 20,39 SM Racecars.......................... 87 Strange Engineering............. 91 Summit Midwest Drags......... 27 Summit Racing Equip.87,111,115 T&D Machine......................... 75 TCI Automotive.................... 107 The Supercharger Store......... 75 Ti64....................................... 67 Tom’s Upholstery................... 41 Trick Flow.........................15, 87 Tuned By Shane T.................. 68 VP Racing Fuels..............22, 112 Wiseco.................................. 95 World Products..................... 58
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february2020 Often Imitated, Never Duplicated—For 21 STRAIGHT YEARS RPM Magazine has been the ORIGINAL Voice Of Wild Street Machines and Extreme Drag Cars WORLDWIDE! Don’t Settle For Less! We DELIVER Insane Fast Cars and Bring You NO POLITICS... JUST ACTION! Your ONLY “Real Time” “Real World” Car Mag...PERIOD!
THE SO Much Horsepower Packed Into One Place... That Place IS RPM Magazine!
RIDES
Lo Blow................................................................. 54
This wild ’69 Mustang went from in the mud to in the weeds to in the money!
Still the One....................................................... 40 Although almost everything has changed, Jay Gallant has been wheeling this Mustang ever since high school
Strictly Business....................................................... 8 What you see is all you get with this X275 2000 Camaro
SOL TAKR.........................................................................24 RPM
The Buchanans may have one of the world’s most wicked family heirlooms, but it wasn’t easy getting there
EXCLUSIVES
Inch by Inch...................................................90 Fabrication tasks aplenty on our LS-powered Project Acadian
Street Heat ................................................................ 72 This hot hauler takes the classic flame job to a whole new level HOME Grown
Project Home Grown COPO..................................98 Our COPO project gets a Holley digital dash and brake line
COPO
TOWTECH
Trickin’ Out Your Trailer.........................106 We add a durable floor coating and some other cool stuff
Shop Talk.......................................................... 110 Real beasts hibernate
READ COMPLETE ISSUES OF RPM MAG ONLINE AT WWW.RPMMAG.COM 6
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
STANDING ON THE GAS SINCE 1963.
Mickey Thompson was unstoppable. He was the first American to 400+MPH at Bonneville & the manager of Lions Drag Strip. At heart, Mickey was a drag racer, now his DNA lives on in the innovative winning products we build today for drag racers like you. UNCOMPROMISED CONSTRUCTION / UNDISPUTED PERFORMANCE.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
7
I
n the high performance car scene, it seems there are a number of typical would-be feature car owners. There are the show car guys who know every inch and every bolt of their car and could fill a tech
8
sheet with pages of info. There are others who know that building a fast and/or good looking car is almost always a money losing proposition, so while they may have a cool ride, they don’t necessarily know everything about it. Then there are
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
the grudge folks. The conspiracy theorists of the hot rodding car culture, these folks know that knowledge is power, and in a world where the difference between winning a race with the big check in tow and going home early
story by
James Williams
photos by
Blake Farnan
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
9
STRICTLY BUSINESS WHITE HEAT The Camaro sports an understated monochrome Frost White exterior over mostly factory panels. A carbon fiber nose and pin-on hood from Joe Van-O reduces the weight.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
can be differentiated by literally hundredths of a second, it’s hard to blame them for being notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to the particulars of their cars. Jeff Vance is decidedly of the third group. A racing veteran of over 25 years, he’s spent the past decade campaigning this Arctic White 2000 Chevy Camaro. And judging by the concise tech sheet he submitted for the feature, it’s safe to
say he’d rather keep most of the fourth-gen’s hard-earned secrets to himself, thank you very much. “I bought the car about 12 years ago and spent a couple of years building it,” he said. Little more than a bare shell, the car had been involved in a front-end collision, making it a great candidate for a conversion to strip duty. “I started to build the car to run True Street but the class was
cancelled before I had even finished it,” he laughed. Undeterred, Vance found success in the radial tire class, winning the OSCA points chase for 2011. Chassis modifications are reflective of keeping the car legal in classes requiring stock firewall and strut towers. A full tube chassis has been fabricated and installed from the firewall back. Up front, owner-fabbed tubular upper and lower control
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
11
STRICTLY BUSINESS WARM ’EM UP The sticky Mickey Thompson 275/60-15 rear tires provide plenty of traction off the line after a quick burnout. Matching MT ET Fronts roll just ahead of the thunderous fenderdumped exhaust. arms and a custom K-member replace the heavy factory units. Custom coilovers add adjustability and assist with weight transfer on launch. Out back, a fortified Ford 9-inch housing was braced and cut to length before being filled with a Mark Williams center section, Pro gears, and Strange axles. Originally campaigned with factory-style mounting points, the car was updated to a 4-link in 2018 for added adjustability and over 200 pounds of weight savings. Speaking of weight savings, since the factory nose had been crunched, it
12
seemed like as good a reason as any to upgrade to a lightweight carbon fiber replacement clip with removable carbon hood from Joe Van-O. The rest of the factory panels were retained and all was prepped by Roy’s Auto Body in Forest Ontario before laying down the clean monochrome white hue. Rolling stock for the Camaro consists of Weld Wheels shod with Mickey Thompson tires on all four corners. Up front, a pair of polished 15x3.5inch Alumastars roll on 26x4.515 ET Fronts, while double beadlocked 15x15 Alumastars turn
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
13
STRICTLY BUSINESS
BUILT TO FLY The massive rear wing adds top-end stability while a single drag ’chute helps slow the car after another pass.
the sticky 275/6015 ET Drag radials out back. A quartet of Wilwood discs handle the stopping duties. Heretofore, most of the details provided are fairly obvious—or inten-
tionally vague. It’s when you unpin that lightweight hood that the specifics get harder and harder to come by. A 585 ci Chevy big block now lives between the heavily braced and modified
THE
factory strut towers. Starting with a Dart Big M block, Vance pieced together a rotating assembly consisting of a Callies crank, Oliver rods, and Diamond pistons. A COMP roller cam works
ORIGINAL
B ELT D R I V E SYST EM Patented High Torq Drive™ reinforced belt runs dry, spins with less friction than timing chains or gear drives and absorbs harmonics. Kit hardware is all Grade 8 Allen and Torx™ design. Cam timing is externally adjustable. 2 Piece Pulley is infinitely adjustable ±10°. Solid Pulley is adjustable ±8° in 2° increments. Crank Pulley is heat-treated steel and incorporates a High Torq Drive™ tooth configuration. Hard coated Billet Aluminum Upper Pulley features patented High Torq Drive™ tooth configuration. Teflon® coated vacuum cam and crank seals. Accessories available to run distributor drives, fuel pumps or oil pumps off front of cam. For product videos and information, visit us at Jesel.com or call us at 732-901-1800
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
with Isky rollers and is spun via a Jesel belt drive. AFR aluminum cylinder heads have been equipped with T&D shaft rockers. Induction for the Rat consists of a modified Edelbrock
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PowerPort® 365 extreme performance race heads for big block Chevy are designed and built for you to win races. The high-strength castings flow a massive 424cfm @ .900" lift and can withstand enormous amounts of compression and RPM. Rectangular-shaped 365cc CNC Competition Ported runners, 119cc heart-shaped chambers, CNC bowl blended valve seat transitions, 24° intake valve angles with 4° side cants, and the highest quality valvetrain components help make PowerPort 365 heads the best choice for your car. Use PowerPort 365 heads on your engine and turn your goal of winning into reality! Dyno Results
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Your Recipe for Big Block Chevy Performance! New heads are just one component of the horsepower recipe. To make it complete, you’re going to need some more ingredients.
Trick Flow by Wiseco PowerPort Forged Piston Sets These lightweight pistons are fully skirted and precision-machined from premium alloy to fit big block Chevy engines equipped with PowerPort 365 cylinder heads. Features include 3D profile dome milling, oversized valve reliefs, precision-fit wrist pins, and Spirolox retainers.
Track Max® Camshafts Give your big Chevy an even bigger power boost with a Track Max camshaft. They are dyno-proven to produce significant power increases over the entire RPM range, not just a particular RPM.
R-Series Intake Manifold Optimized for PowerPort 365 heads on 500-plus c.i.d. engines, the R-Series rectangular port intake uses a high-rise single plane design with high-flowing extended runners and raised plenum floors to significantly increase power and torque in the 3,500-8,000 RPM range. There are also bosses for nitrous nozzles and extra material for custom port work.
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Some parts are not legal for sale or use on any pollution-controlled motor vehicles.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
15
STRICTLY BUSINESS
JEFF VANCE’S 2000 CHEVROLET CAMARO X275 Chassis Type & Mods: Custom owner-built tube chassis from firewall back. Factory front frame rails & shock towers. Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Owner-built tubular upper and lower control arms and K-member with modified spindles. REAR: Custom 4-link rear with QA1 coilover shocks. Wilwood disc brakes. Body & Paint: All factory panels except Joe Van-O carbon fiber nose and hood. Paint and prep by Roy’s Auto Body in Forest, Ontario. Engine: 585 ci big block Chevy. Dart Big M block with Callies crankshaft, Oliver rods, Diamond pistons, and Total Seal rings. COMP roller cam with Isky lifters and Jesel belt drive. AFR cylinder heads with T&D shaft rockers. Induction & Fuel Delivery: Edelbrock aluminum intake manifold with dual Wilson billet throttle bodies. Holley injectors with Holley Dominator EFI. Power Adder: Two-stage NOS dry nitrous system. Electronics & Ignition: MSD distributor & plug wires. Holley Dominator ECU. Exhaust: Custom fabricated fender-dump headers. Transmission & Driveline: Owner-built two-speed TH400 automatic transmission with Hutch-tweaked Neal Chance bolt-together converter. Differential: 9-inch Ford housing with Mark Williams center section, Richmond Pro gears, and Strange axles. Tires & Wheels: FRONT: 15x3.5-inch Weld Racing Alumastar wheels with 26x4.515 Mickey Thompson ET Front tires. REAR: 15x15-inch double beadlocked Weld Racing Alumastar wheels with 275/60-15 Mickey Thompson ET Drag tires. Performance (any): Undisclosed Special Thanks: ““Rick Stewardson and Tom Craig have always helped with the car at the track along with my girlfriend Tam.”
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
PLUMBED POWERFUL The first thing you notice when the carbon hood comes off is the sea of anodized AN fittings and hoses on and around the NOS-juiced 585 ci big block. The dual Wilson throttle bodies just poke through the hole in carbon hood.
tunnel ram that has been fitted with an octet of Holley injectors and crowned with a pair of 4-barrel-style Wilson billet throttle bodies. Ignition is handled by components from MSD and everything is commanded via a Holley Dominator V2 ECU. Thanks to the
flexibility and control afforded by the Dominator system, Vance has been able to use the traditional port nitrous setup with eight nozzles as a custom two-stage dry system comprised of NOS components. Backing the juiced big block is an owner-built two-speed
TH400 automatic transmission with a Hutch-tweaked Neil Chance bolt-together converter. A Hurst pistol-grip QuarterStick shifter handles the gear change duties. Other appointments in the sparse purpose-built interior include a single fabricated drag seat,
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
STRICTLY BUSINESS
ONE SEATER The Camaro’s interior is built for two things: function & safety.
a fiberglass dash with a pair of nitrous pressure gauges, and the custom chromoly skeleton that makes the car both safe and legal for competition. And speaking of competition, Vance wasn’t content with winning the points chase in 2011 and hanging up his helmet. “After that I just ran small-tire shootout-style races.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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I won a few races with Pro Tree Racers Association (PTRA) and Ontario Grudge Wars (OGW),” he added. Then, in 2017, he powered the snow-white Chevy
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
to the winners’ circle at the 2017 SMACKDOWN event in St. Thomas. So what if Vance won’t give you all the particulars on his 2000 Camaro.
STRICTLY BUSINESS
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STRICTLY BUSINESS EITHER WAY Whether parked in the grass or blasting another pass down the track, the Camaro looks the part of a wickedly fast racecar. How fast? Your guess is as good as ours!
READY FOR THE
CERTIFIED. FRESH. The Mustang’s cockpit features a lightweight chromoly skeleton and lots of carbon fiber panels and bar protectors. A Racepak digital dash is the lone addition to the fiberglass replacement dashboard that lives behind the quick release Strange steering wheel.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s because he doesn’t know them, though. It’s just that you’re—well— the competition. And as far as he and every other grudge
racer are concerned, the less the competition knows about their car, the better. It isn’t personal. It’s just business.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
23
I
t’s been said that there’s no substitute for experience. Whether it is the top-of-the-world sensation of victory or the crushing blows
24
of defeat, having been through the emotions ourselves helps us connect with our fellow man and woman when they describe what they’ve been through.
That’s exactly what happened when James Buchanan started telling us about his bad-to-thebone 1968 Dodge Coronet RT. After a quick look, we saw
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
the Idaho “SOL TAKR” personalized plates and chalked it up to typical car guy bravado—as in, “this car is so awesome, it will destroy you.” To be fair, it is and
story by photos by
Toby Brooks
Bart Cepek
cvrproducts.com For more information visit
www.cvrproducts.com
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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SOL TAKR
it probably could. But that wasn’t what Buchanan meant at all. In fact, quite the contrary. And having been there ourselves a time or twelve, it got us right in the feels. It seems that the 20 year project has seemingly been
littered with one hurdle, obstacle, or setback after another. “Even with all the situations and trying moments with the car, which is what the license plate is all about, it’s still here and part of the family,” he said. Just over 25
years ago, Buchanan bought the car after finding it in a field in Washington state. Still single at the time, he was looking for a project car to pass the time, and an all-original numbers-matching Coronet RT seemed like a good
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
TIME TRAVELLER A numbers-matching classic Mopar is a rare sight at most tracks today. Lucky for us (and as evidenced by the burnt rubber on the rear quarters!), James Buchanan isn’t afraid to still run this incredible 1968 Coronet R/T.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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ERA PERFECT The killer Six Pack hood, Jet Black paint, and polished Weld wheels with Mickey Thompson skins make this Mopar a standout at any time in the past 50 years.
RULE THE
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
STRIP
SOL TAKR
place to start. “It came to me with a pile of boxes and was mostly complete. I started searching for the parts I needed and worked on it as I could find the time and extra money,” he added. Four years into the work, Buchanan met his wife and got married in 1998. The couple moved to Arizona for a job with the Air Force in 1999 and a newborn son came along not long after that. For many of us, such dramatic changes would be reason enough to stall out on a car, but an undeterred Buchanan managed to “finish” the Dodge for the first time shortly thereafter.
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A real R/T with numbers-matching powertrain is NOT something most purists—let alone Mopar purists—are too eager to see modified. With a full interior and over 4200+ pounds, there are far lighter, less rare, and cheaper ways to go fast. But there’s something about
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
doing it in this kind of unabashed late-60s musclecar fashion that just can’t be explained. And Buchanan gets it. The car is a unique expression of his own personality without resorting to irreversible cutting and hacking. “At the start, I left the original 440/727 in the car
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
Features
TSV Technology
PENTA POWERED The 528 ci Mopar big block is stuffed with a Sonny’s crank, Oliver rods, and CP pistons. It has also been equipped with Indy Indy-1 aluminum heads and a matching Indy single-plane intake along with a massive Pro Systems SV-1 carb. Nitrous is delivered via a Nitrous Supply plate with Induction Solutions solenoids. and drove it that way for a few years. We took a picture of my son Dakota and I in Sedona, AZ while we were out and about with it, not really realizing how long we would own it or what it would mean to Dakota later in life,” he said.
Later the 440 would be replaced with a 400-based 496 to be raced for the next 7-8 years (rest easy, though; it could be returned to numbers-matching status easily, as the original powertrain is safely stored on a cart in Buchanan’s
shop). The car was repainted in 2007 and did the car show circuit for a bit, winning lots of Best Paint and Best In Shows and the Chrysler Marque at the Reno Nugget during Hot August Nights 2007. But so far, it sounds pretty standard-issue hobby car,
right? Not so fast. After the showing, Buchanan raced the 496 until a rod bolt failure ended the life of that engine. He started collecting parts for a new engine, but life and financial obligations took precedence and the car sat for the
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www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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JAMES BUCHANAN’S 1968 DODGE CORONET R/T STREET MACHINE Chassis Type & Mods: Stock firewall, floors, and factory leafspring location. Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Stock K-member with 0.880 torsion bars, QA1 dynamic strut bars, and 90/10 shocks. Stock front disc brakes. REAR: Split mono leafs with Cal Tracs and adjustable rear shocks. Wilwood disc brakes. Body & Paint: Fiberglass Six Pack AAR hood. PPG solid black with no metallics and 2021 clear coat. Engine: 528 ci Mopar Mega Block. Sonny’s 4.500 stroke crank, Oliver Chevy rods, and CP 14:1 compression pistons. Ultradyne solid roller cam with Jesel timing belt system. Indy-1 aluminum cylinder heads. Induction & Fuel Delivery: Indy single plane aluminum intake manifold with Pro Systems SV-1 carb. Power Adder: Nitrous Supply perimeter dual stage plate with Induction Solutions solenoids. Electronics & Ignition: MSD distributor, plug wires, coil, and ignition with 2-step. Leash main board and Leash two-stage nitrous controller. Transmission & Driveline: 727 Torqueflite trans with full metal jacket drum, super sprag, billet input & output shafts, and 5-gear planetary. TCI transbrake and Neal Chance 5k converter. Differential: Strange Ultimate S60 with 4.10 gears, 40-spline spool and axles. Tires & Wheels: FRONT: 15x3.5-inch Weld Racing Draglite wheels with 26x4.515 Mickey Thompson Sportsman front tires. REAR: 15x12-inch Weld Racing Draglite wheels with 28x10.5-15 Mickey Thompson ET Drag tires. Performance (quarter-mile): 900+ hp on motor. “Old 496 went 9.80s with spray. New 528 has been low-10s on motor. Expecting low-9s with spray lined out.” Special Thanks: “90% owner built. I worked at Moffit and Bratton, so I had my hands in the build of the engine. My good friend Dennis Riley helped with the build of the new trans. Strange Engineering built the S60. Everything else was built and put together by my son Dakota and me.”
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
next eight years. He managed to keep his performance addiction at bay with a 2009 Challenger 6-speed daily driver that was also raced on occasion until he could get the Coronet back together, but it just wasn’t quite the same. “When the money came back around and I could find all the parts I
needed, the new engine went together and was machined and built by my friend Pat at Moffit and Bratton in Boise, Idaho,” he recalled. The engine displaces 528 cubes and starts with a Mopar Mega Block filled with a Sonny’s 4.500-stroke crank, Oliver Chevy rods, and CP 14:1 compression pistons.
An Ultradyne solid roller cam is spun via a Jesel belt drive and Indy-1 cylinder heads top it off. Fuel delivery is straightforward, with a massive Pro Systems SV-1 carb atop an Indy single plane aluminum intake. The combo is good for 900+ horses before the added influence of the Nitrous Supply dual
perimeter plate system with Induction Solutions solenoids. Imagine the joy you’d feel after waiting, saving, and planning for the engine you’ve dreamed of for the better part of a decade followed by the gut wrenching agony of destroying the rest of the powertrain almost immediately after installing
SAFE SPACE No, we don’t mean a place to sit alone and cry for the faint of heart...this cockpit retains plenty of factory cool with enough custom fabrication and hardware to be safe and track-legal deep into the nines.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
it. “With the new 528 in, I got one hit and gutted the 8 3/4 rear, then nuked the trans on the second hit,” Buchanan recalled. Feeling frustrated, the car would sit for another two years before finally deciding to upgrade both the trans and the differential to withstand the power. A 727 Torqueflite trans with full metal jacket drum, super sprag, billet input & output shafts, and 5-gear planetary was put together and installed. Buchanan also added a TCI transbrake and Neal Chance 5k converter. Further rearward, a Strange Engi-
neering Ultimate S60 differential was added, too. Tall 4.10 gears make for hard launches and the 40-spline spool and axles handle all the punishment the 528 can dish out. “The trans and rearend have both survived many hits at the track and no preps without a hiccup (knock on wood) so far,” Buchanan said with a laugh. Body and paint are crisp and clean except for the remnants of hot & sticky Mickey Thompson rubber on the rear quarters. A fiberglass Six Pack AAR hood adds style, and the PPG solid black paint with no metallics covers it all in sinister
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STILL SMILIN’ Father & son Dakota & James Buchanan stand by their family heirloom Coronet with a picture of James holding Dakota when he was just a year old.
beauty. “Nothing has been cut or modified and will fit a 28 12.5 tire in the stock wheelwells,” Buchanan said. “I have resisted the urge to put the car on a diet and ruin the value of the car. It was the first Mopar that I owned and sometimes wish it wasn’t an R/T car so I could make it a big tire/4-link, but what do you do?” he added. Tires and wheels are era-perfect Weld Racing Draglites with 15x3.5s
SOL TAKR
running 26x4.5-15 MT Sportsman front tires and 15x12s on 28x10.515 Mickey Thompson ET Drags out back. Suspension upgrades are all of the bolt-on variety, with upgraded torsion bars, QA1 torsion bars, and new shocks up front partnered with split mono leafs, Cal Tracs, adjustable rear shocks, and disc brakes out back. So despite the heartaches, the parts breakage, and the long
road to get here, all’s well that ends well—and to say that Buchanan’s Dodge has ended well is an understatement. “At some point, I will relinquish the car to my now-20 year-old son,” Buchanan added. So despite the license plate, it isn’t so much about what the Dodge has taken from the Buchanans. It’s more about what it has given them.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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C
hances are, if you are a car guy or gal, you can remember your first ride with crystal clear detail. For
some of us, it was a clapped out piece of trash that barely ran. For others, maybe it was a more formidable street/ strip warrior. Regardless of what you
drove or how you drove it, you probably had visions of making it faster and all around better once you had the time and the funds to turn those high
school dreams into reality. For Welland, Ontario’s Jay Gallant, those dreams never stopped evolving. You see, the sleek black-n-
flamed Foxbody you see here was his very first car, purchased by his folks when he was just 16 years old. “The car was originally a factory
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
story by photos by
James Williams
Blake Farnan
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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刀椀瘀攀琀 ⬀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 一甀琀 ⬀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 匀琀甀搀
STILL THE ONE
䴀甀氀琀椀ⴀ䘀甀渀挀琀椀漀渀愀氀 唀渀氀椀洀椀琀攀搀 倀漀猀猀椀戀椀氀椀琀椀攀猀 䄀嘀䄀䬀 䴀愀砀䐀甀琀礀 䘀氀攀砀 吀漀漀氀 䬀椀琀 ∠ ㌀ⴀ椀渀ⴀ㨀 刀椀瘀攀琀Ⰰ 刀椀瘀攀琀 一甀琀 ⬀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 匀琀甀搀 ∠ 䘀氀攀砀椀戀氀攀 栀愀渀搀氀攀猀 昀漀爀 攀愀猀礀 猀琀漀爀愀最攀 眀椀琀栀漀甀琀 氀漀漀猀椀渀最 愀渀礀 氀攀瘀攀爀愀最攀⸀ ∠ 唀渀椀焀甀攀 儀甀椀挀欀匀眀椀琀挀栀 昀攀愀琀甀爀攀 昀漀爀 爀愀瀀椀搀 昀甀渀挀琀椀漀渀愀氀 挀栀愀渀最攀 ∠ 䠀攀愀瘀礀 搀甀琀礀 猀甀瀀瀀漀爀琀椀渀最 猀琀愀椀渀氀攀猀猀 昀愀猀 昀愀猀琀攀渀攀爀猀 愀渀搀 猀琀爀甀挀琀甀爀愀氀 昀愀猀琀攀渀攀爀猀
刀椀瘀攀琀 ⼀㐀ᴠ ⠀㘀⸀㐀洀洀⤀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 一甀琀 ⼀㈀ᴠ ⼀ 䴀㈀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 匀琀甀搀 㔀⼀㘀ᴠ ⼀ 䴀㠀
刀椀瘀攀琀⼀刀椀瘀攀琀 一甀琀 䐀爀椀氀氀 䄀搀愀瀀琀攀爀猀
䔀û漀爀琀氀攀猀猀 愀渀搀 䔀ϻ挀椀攀渀琀 䜀攀琀 琀栀攀 樀漀戀 搀漀渀攀 昀愀猀琀 䄀嘀䄀䬀 刀嘀䐀 愀渀搀 刀一䐀 䐀爀椀氀氀 䄀搀愀瀀琀攀爀猀 ∠ 䰀攀瘀攀爀愀最攀 琀栀攀 瀀漀眀攀爀 漀昀 瀀漀眀攀爀 琀漀漀氀 昀漀爀 攀û漀爀琀氀攀猀猀 爀椀瘀攀琀椀渀最 ∠ 唀瀀 琀漀 ㈀砀 愀猀 昀愀猀琀 愀猀 洀愀渀甀愀氀 琀漀漀氀猀 ∠ 匀洀愀氀氀 瀀爀漀漀氀攀 昀漀爀 攀砀琀爀攀洀攀 瀀漀爀琀愀戀椀氀椀琀礀 ∠ 唀猀攀 礀漀甀爀 搀爀椀氀氀 昀漀爀 搀爀椀氀氀椀渀最 愀渀搀 爀椀瘀攀琀椀渀最⸀ 一漀琀 漀渀攀 漀爀 琀栀攀 漀琀栀攀爀⸀ 䴀漀搀攀氀猀
刀嘀䐀ⴀ 㨀 唀瀀 琀漀 ⼀㐀ᴠ 爀椀瘀攀琀猀 刀一䐀ⴀ ⴀ嬀匀⼀䴀崀㨀 唀瀀 琀漀 ㌀⼀㠀ᴠ 漀爀 䴀 爀椀瘀攀琀 渀甀琀猀
刀一䐀ⴀ
刀嘀䐀ⴀ
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圀圀圀⸀刀䤀䐀䜀䔀䜀䄀吀䔀吀伀伀䰀匀⸀䌀伀䴀
刀䤀䐀䜀䔀䜀䄀吀䔀 吀伀伀䰀匀 ☀ 吀䔀䌀䠀
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
FLAMED FOX The first thing you notice when you see Gallant’s Mustang is the well executed House of Kolor Jet Black & Violet Kandy paintjob. The flames were hand pinstriped for added contrast.
4-cylinder that I drove in high school,” he recalled. The anemic 4-banger was replaced with a stock 302 before the itch for more power really set in, leading to a naturally-aspirated 393 followed by a 408 on
nitrous before the current combo was installed about eight years ago. That most recent iteration consists of a boosted 347 ci small block Ford built by Precision Automotive Machine in Niagara Falls, Canada. Starting with a Dart block, John, Dion, and Alex put together a boost-ready combo with a forged
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STILL THE ONE
Eagle crank, Eagle rods, and Diamond pistons. AFR aluminum heads were partnered with a modified EFI-ready Edelbrock intake for maximum flow. An Accufab billet throttle body meters airflow while a flow-matched set of 120-pound injectors are managed by a Holley HP ECU. Pushing extra atmosphere at the blue oval bullet is a belt-driv-
FRESH ROASTED With plenty of ponies on tap from the fuel injected 347, Gallant can light the hides effortlessly.
en Paxton Novi 2000 Renegade centrifugal supercharger system that blows through a custom fabbed and painted induction tube into a polished aluminum Extreme Velocity hat. “I bought the setup from a friend with a blow-through carb and carb hat, but decided to make the switch to EFI,” Gallant said. Ignition chores are handled by an MSD Power Grid that works
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STILL THE ONE
JAY GALLANT’S 1983 REAL STREET FORD MUSTANG Chassis Type & Mods: Small tire with 8.50 cert cage and TeamZ adjustable torque boxes. Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Custom coilover shocks with custom tubular K-member. Factory front disc brakes. REAR: Complete TeamZ rear suspension. Wilwood disc brakes. Body & Paint: Body and paint done by owner & his dad. Basecoat/clearcoat two-stage paint with House of Kolor Jet Black basecoat with ice pearl. House of Kolor Violet Kandy Shimrin base for flames with hand pinstriped blue break. Engine: 347 ci small block Ford built by Precision Automotive Machine Shop in Niagara Fall, Canada. Dart block with forged Eagle crank, Eagle rods, and Diamond pistons. AFR aluminum heads. Induction & Fuel Delivery: Holley HP EFI with Accufab billet throttle body on an Edelbrock aluminum intake. 120-pound injectors. Power Adder: Paxton Novi 2000 Renegade centrifugal supercharger. Electronics & Ignition: MSD distributor, plug wires, coil, and ignition with 2-step. Leash main board and Leash two-stage nitrous controller. Transmission & Driveline: ATI TH400 transmission with PTC converter. Differential: Ford 8.8 rearend with 4.10 gears. Tires & Wheels: FRONT: 15x3.5-inch Billet Specialties Street Lite wheels with 26x6-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R front tires. REAR: 15x10-inch Billet Specialties Street Lite wheels with 28x12-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R tires. Performance (quarter-mile): 153 mph. Special Thanks: “I couldn’t have done all this without my dad’s hard work over the years helping me. I’d like to thank my crew chief and stepson Cole for his hard work and Sheri who is always cheering me on win or lose. Also thanks to John, Dion, and Alex from Precision Automotive Machine shop in Niagara Falls, Canada and a huge thanks to Ian Hill for all his time, hard work, and dedication helping me set up and tune the car to get it where it is today. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
GOT BOOST? The small block Ford is pressurized via Paxton Novi 2000 centrifugal supercharger. A Holley EFI system controls the fuel.
in conjunction with the Holley HP system. An MSD distributor, coil, and Super Conductor plug wires round out the sparky stuff. A pair of mild steel custom headers push out through a full exhaust with dual mufflers that dump just ahead of the rear differential. As power levels steadily increased, so too did the need for added chassis stability and safety. The notoriously sketchy factory Ford torque boxes were upgraded with
adjustable fabbed pieces from TeamZ along with a full 8.50cert cage. Up front, a tubular K-member was installed along with upgraded shocks, while a fortified 8.8 Ford rear with 4.10 gears and Strange axles was hung via a complete TeamZ suspension setup from the factory mounting points out back. A pair of minitubs were added to help fit some more tire without clearance issues. Speaking of tires, rolling stock for the
Matt Trombley photos
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STILL THE ONE
Ford consists of a matched set of polished Billet Specialties Street Lite hoops shod with Mickey Thompson S/R tires. Skinny 15x3.5s spin up front on 26x6-15 S/R fronts, while 15x10s shod with
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DARK SIDE The Mustang’s mostly black vinyl cockpit is a mix of factory pieces like the dash & carpet with aftermarket and custom touches.
28x12-15 S/Rs roll out back and fill the factory wheel openings perfectly. Factory discs can be seen behind the billet centers at all four corners and have no problem stopping the pony.
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
Paint and body for the ’Stang was handled inhouse, as Gallant and his dad handled all the work themselves. Everything is stock with the exception of a 4-inch Outlaw cowl hood, but the slippery
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www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STILL THE ONE
LEGIT FAST The Mustang looks great standing still, but Gallant has wheeled it to victory on multiple occasions.
House of Kolor Jet Black and Violet Kandy flame job is far from factory. Ice pearl in the clear gives the car a cool and unique look that dazzles in the sun and the hand-pinstriped blue around the perimeter of the timeless flame licks adds a distinctive look. Inside, the interior is a straightforward affair, where the
previously mentioned cage work is on full display along with a pair of fiberglass racing buckets in the all-black cockpit. A collection of aftermarket gauges have made their way in and under the dash and a Hurst shifter now lives where the stock selector once resided. The exterior flames have made their way into the custom stitched
and flame-licked door panels for a hot integrated touch. “The thing I really enjoy about this car is that I do still drive it on a regular basis throughout the summer months,” Gallant said. Whether it’s picking up stepson Cole from school, going to get groceries, or just cruising down the highway, the fact that it is still fully
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STILL THE ONE
streetable makes it all the better. “One of my best memories with the car is when Pinks: All Out came to Toronto Motorsports Park probably around 9 years ago. I made it to the Final Four in the 10-second class,” he recalled. More recently, Gallant wheeled
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NO I IN TEAM Gallant and his crew keep the Ford looking and performing at its best.
the car through a tough field to capture the Real Street title at the 2019 Fall Small Tire shootout hosted by Ontario Grudge Wars. “I couldn’t have done all this over the years without my dad who’s always been involved in cars and was the reason
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
I got into them,” he concluded. And to think that it all started with a sleepy 4-banger and an eager 16year old with big dreams in his high school parking lot so many years ago. Lucky for you—and us—Jay, this Mustang is still the one.
www.rpmmag.com | february2020
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
story by
Toby Brooks
photos by
Matt Trombley
www.rpmmag.com | february
2020 55
LO BLOW READY FOR FLIGHT With a low-slung stance, massive rear tires, and a single rear-mounted parachute, the Mustang looks lethal even standing still.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
W
hen you see a car as wicked and nasty as Jay Barnabei’s 1969 Mustang with its low-slung stance, fat meats, and bulging hood with just a teasing peek of induction tubing, it’s easy to jump to conclusions. Like it was probably a high-dollar checkbook
build. Or it’s probably a trailer queen show car. Or maybe it was a clean classic that was turned into the wicked beast you see here. All would be wrong. Truth is what you’re looking at is a largely home-built bruiser that is flogged hard on the track. And as for a clean original classic? That one in par-
ticular couldn’t be further from reality. “We found this car back in 2002 sitting behind a guy’s house sinking in the mud. My dad bought it and started disassembling it with my grandfather,” Barnabei said. “Unfortunately, Grandpa passed away in 2004 and dad kind of lost interest in it. He offered
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NICE MIX
JAY BARNABEI’S 1969 STREET/STRIP FORD MUSTANG Chassis Type & Mods: Alston mild steel chassis with 2x3 frame rails and 8.50 cert cage. Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Alston tubular Mustang II with Pinto rack & pinion. Alston Vari-Shock double-adjustable shocks. Wilwood disc brakes. REAR: Alston ladder bar setup with diagonal link. Alston Vari-shock double adjustable shocks. Wilwood disc brakes. Body & Paint: Unlimited Products 6-inch fiberglass hood and fiberglass decklid. All remaining panels factory replacement steel (only factory roof remains). Ice white basecoat/clearcoat with black factory-style Boss 302 graphics. “Painted by me in my garage using paint from Summit Racing.” Engine: 317 ci 8.2 deck small block Ford built by Carl Speaks Racing Engines. Ford Motorsport R-302 block with Bryant crank, Carillo rods, and Diamond pistons. Custom solid roller cam by Ed Curtis at Flowtech Induction. TFS Highport heads with Harland Sharp shaft-mount rockers. Ported by Kunz and Ron Sharp. Canton oil pan with Melling oil pump. Mezeire remote mount electric pump. Induction & Fuel Delivery: Parker Funnel Web intake with gasket match port job. CSU 750 blow-through carb with Extreme Velocity carb hat. Magnafuel 500 pump with Aeromotive regulator. ProCharger C6 Corvette air-to-air intercooler and ProCharger blow-off valve. Power Adder: ProCharger F1r side slinger belt-driven supercharger. Electronics & ignition: MSD digital 7535 ignition. MSD distributor, plug wires, and coil. FAST dual wideband O2 sensors. Painless Wiring Pro Street wiring harness. Transmission & Driveline: Unlimited Transmissions TH400 with JW bellhousing. Ultimate Converter Concepts 9.5-inch custom converter. PST chromoly driveshaft. Differential: Ford 9-inch rearend with Moser 40-spline axles, Moser through-bolt aluminum center section, and Moser 3.89 Pro gears. Tires & Wheels: FRONT: 15x3.5-inch Holeshot Hole Star wheels with 26x415 Mickey Thompson tires. REAR: 15x15-inch Holeshot Hole Star wheels with 31x18.5-15 Hoosier Quick Time Pro tires. Performance: “Still working on a best ET, but it gets better every time I take it out.”
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
it to me to finish and sell and we would split the money,” he added. Instead, Barnabei decided to keep it and sell the car he was building for himself. “It ended up being a huge undertaking. Pretty much every piece of sheet metal was replaced, except the roof.” The first order of business was to get the chassis squared away. An Alston mild steel frame kit with 2x3 inch main rails was installed along with a full cage carry-
ing an 8.50 cert. Alston components also found their way up front, where a Mustang II setup with a Pinto rack & pinion was installed along with Vari-Shock double-adjustable shocks. Out back, an Alston ladder bar setup with diagonal link suspends a Ford nine-inch on VariShocks, but not before it was stuffed with 40-spline axles, a Moser throughbolt aluminum center section, and 3.89 Pro gears.
It’s obviously far from stock, but the brutally fast Ford still has plenty of factory chrome and trim to retain a classic vibe.
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Diamond’s turbo pistons make big power and combat heat and pressure. • Forged from 2618 aluminum with Herculean pin bosses that accomodate tough TP-1 or H13 tool steel piston pins • Lower skirt rigidity maintained by full-circumference designs that boast the strongest-known stiffening ribs • Hard-coat anodizing, ceramic crowns, and moly skirt coatings available • Fastest turnaround time on custom pistons Questions? Knowledgeable Tech Support: M-F, 9AM-5PM EST
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LO BLOW
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
The completed chassis was hunkered down over a matched set of polished Holeshot Hole Star wheels, with 15x3.5s up front on 26x4-15 Mickey Thompson tires and portly 15x15s out back with 31x18.515 Quick Time Pro tires. A matched set of custom disc brakes provide all the necessary stopping power. After the skeleton was taken care of, it was time to address that rotted, previously mud-caked
body. Necessity dictated the replacement of nearly every panel (including the floor pans) with only the original roof retained. In the process, Barnabei upgraded to an Unlimited Products 6-inch fiberglass cowl hood and a matching decklid before prepping and painting the car himself. Using Summit Racing paint, the car was sprayed in a two-car garage including the distinctive Boss 302 graphics and blacked out hood.
www.rpmmag.com | february2020
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LO BLOW
COOLED AND BOOSTED The Mustang features a ProCharged 317 small block Ford that incorporates a retrofitted C6 Corvette air-to-air intercooler.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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With the car coming together, it still needed a drivetrain. For that, Barnebei turned to Carl Speaks Racing Engines who put together a 317 ci 8.2-inch deck Ford small block. The rotating assembly consists of a Bryant crank, Carillo rods, and Diamond pistons stuffed in a Ford Motorsport R-302 block. A custom solid roller cam was spec’d out by Ed Curtis at Flowtech Induction to ac-
tuate the valves within a pair of lightly massaged TFS High Port aluminum heads. Ignition duties are adeptly managed by an MSD digital 7535 ignition, Pro Billet distributor, and plug wires. A pair of FAST dual wideband O2 sensors were also integrated and a Painless Products Pro Street wiring harness. Induction and fuel delivery for the high-revving
Ford consists of a Parker Funnel Web intake that has been gasket matched for better flow. A CSU 750 blowthrough carburetor is fed by a Magnafuel 500 electric pump and capped by a polished Extreme Velocity hat. A belt-driven ProCharger F1r blower pushed through a ProCharger air-to-air intercooler adapted from a C6 Corvette provides boost for the small block. Backing the
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blown Ford is an Unlimited Transmissions TH400 that has been beefed up and adapted to mate up using a JW bellhousing with an Ultimate Converter Concepts 9.5-inch custom converter tucked inside. A PST chro-
moly driveshaft sends the power rearward. With the build nearly complete, it was time to have some fun. However, a bit of bad luck led to a serious setback. “I finally got the car running in the fall of
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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DIY An Unlimited Products fiberglass hood and decklid round out the modest exterior mods, while Barnabei handled all the prep, paint, and graphics in his own garage.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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2016 and took it to the track. Unfortunately, the blower sucked up a strap from the engine diaper. It scattered the blower and the engine and never made a pass,” Barnabei recalled. By spring of 2017, the damage had been fixed and the car was running again. “I took it out to Steve Morris’ shop and put it on his dyno to get it running right and tune it. The last two years it has evolved a lot and it just keeps getting better and faster,” he added. Better and faster indeed. The Mustang was not only a
www.rpmmag.com | february2020
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LO BLOW
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
RACE READY...FOR TWO
The Ford retains the factory dash & door panels, but most everything else is custom, including a pair of Kirkey buckets with RJS harnesses, custom tubs, and a full cage. Meanwhile, the trunk is filled with an aluminum fuel cell, Optima Yellow Top, and MagnaFuel electric fuel pump.
crowd favorite at the Tom Bailey Pre-Party/RPM Takeover, it also captured the Extreme Class title at the All Out: Live event a few days later at Lapeer International Dragway. “The win was exactly what I needed to keep me on track. Over the winter
I plan on putting Holley EFI on the car then putting it back on the dyno,” he said. Other plans include running Drag Week in 2020 and additional truestreet type events. “I may even throw my hat in the grudge ring with it if it runs the num-
www.rpmmag.com | february2020
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LO BLOW
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
bers I want it to,” he concluded. Considering the depths this classic Mustang has arisen from—both figuratively and
literally, we’d say go for it, Jay. Because despite the low-slung stance, the sky’s the limit for this beast!
www.rpmmag.com | february2020
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story by
James Williams
photos by
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
H
aving been in the custom car magazine game for more than 20 years now and lifelong gearheads ourselves,
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will be a popular paintjob, we’ve seen it. And above and beyond all those, there’s probably no paint theme that’s been around longer, been done more often, or has the timeless
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STREET HEAT
staying power of the classic hot rod flame job. There’s been the hot rod primer black with red and yellow look. There’s been ghost flames and true fire. There’s been tribal flames, pinstripe flames, and all points in
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between. Heck, we’ve even seen a Ford Pinto with flames licking forward from the trunk (Google it if you don’t immediately get why that’s so clever). But despite all that, Mark Masone’s flaming hot 1951 Ford F1 pickup
still boasted some new territory in variations on the theme. “I built the truck entirely by myself with my son. The only thing that was ever sent out was to pinstriping, but other than that, we did all the
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
work ourselves,” he said. Having owned the classic Ford for 25 years, it’s been redone three times—but none wilder than the latest iteration. The first thing to grab your attention is the wildly modified Sunset Pearl-hued body.
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The closer you look, the more flames you see. In addition to the graphics, the fiery theme has made its way into the firewall, the custom-cut hood, and the door panels.
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STREET HEAT KOOL KUSTOM
The Ford sports more body mods than you can reasonable recount, and the three-stage paint, graphics, and pinstriping are all flawlessly executed.
While the Gold Pearl flames are noteworthy, it’s perhaps the fact that much of the factory hood has been cut away in a flame pattern that makes it so unique. “I added two inches to the factory firewall in order to smooth it out and then add the raised flames to it,” Masone said. Since the blown motor the truck would be receiving would need to pierce the factory hood anyhow, he
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decided to carry the flame theme to all new levels. Elsewhere, the roomy factory lid was lowered via a raked top chop—5 inches in front and 3 inches in rear. Both bumpers were trashed for a smoother look and an all-new bed was created using fenders from a ’40 Willys. Masone also handcrafted a pair of stainless running
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STREET HEAT
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HOT WING
The polished aluminum fabricated wing out back compliments the chrome wheelie bars and polished Weld wheels nicely.
boards with custom lighting. The eye-popping three-stage House of Kolors hue was then laid down flawlessly with timeless Gold Pearl licks and some custom pinstriping on the remnants of the factory hood and things were looking hot. And as cool as looking hot may be, it’s of little consequence if a rod like
this doesn’t actually have the guts to back it up. For that, Masone settled on a 468 big block Chevy built for boost. Starting with a punched cast iron Chevy block, Masone added all Eagle forged internals, including a stroker crank, I-beam rods, and 9:1 compression pistons. A COMP solid roller cam was selected to command the
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STREET HEAT
MARK MASONE’S PRO STREET 1951 FORD F1 PICKUP Chassis Type & Modifications: Custom-built 2x4 rectangular tube frame rails with custom narrowed back half. Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Second-gen Camaro subframe with drop coils and factory GM disc brakes. REAR: Custom 4-link setup with single-adjustable coilover shocks. Ford factory disc brakes. Body & Paint: Raked top chop (5 inches in front, 3 inches in back). Suicide doors. Custom-built bed with molded 1940 Willys fenders. Custom stainless running boards. Shaved bumpers with LED taillights. Smoothed and flame-recessed firewall. Custom flame-cut factory hood. Three-stage Sunset Orange Pearl paint with Gold Pearl clearcoat. Engine: 468 ci Chevy big block with forged Eagle crank, rods, and pistons. COMP solid lifter cam. Air Flow Research aluminum heads. Induction & Fuel Delivery: Dual 950 cfm Quick Fuel carbs. Power Adder: 8/71 Blower Shop billet supercharger pushing 10 pounds of boost. Electronics & Ignition: MSD 6-AL ignition box. Pro Billet distributor, plug wires, and coil. Painless Wiring 21 circuit wiring harness. Transmission & Driveline: Custom built GM TH400 automatic transmission with reverse manual valve body and trans brake. 3,800 RPM Pro Torque billet converter. Differential: Narrowed Ford 9-inch rearend with Strange nodular center section, spool, and 4.11 gears. Tires & Wheels: FRONT: 15x3.5-inch Weld Racing Draglite wheels with 26x4-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires. REAR: 15x15-inch Weld Racing Draglite wheels with 31x18.5-15 Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires. Performance: “We run the streets.”
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valvetrain, and a pair of Air Flow Research aluminum heads were torqued in place. A Blower Shop aluminum intake went on next crowned by the glistening billet lung—a CNC machined Blower
Shop huffer. Topping it and supplying the copious amounts of necessary fuel is a pair of sideways-mounted and fully detailed 950 CFM Quick Fuel carbs. Other underhood brightwork includes a
pair of flamed velocity stacks, polished aluminum AFR valve covers, and even a trick lowmount power steering pump. Ignition for the Rat comes from an MSD 6-AL ignition box along with a Pro Billet distributor,
WE’RE SENSING A THEME HERE... Look closely at the velocity stacks and you’ll see ’em...more flames!
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
STREET HEAT STEAMROLLERS
The big Mickey Ts ride on Weld wheels, while a narrowed Ford 9-inch housing is suspended on a custom 4-link setup.
plug wires, and coil. Masone wired the truck himself using a Painless 21-circuit wiring harness. Likewise, the DEI-wrapped headers and exhaust were own-
er-fabbed as well, where 2 1/8-inch headers dump into 4-inch collectors. Suspension and the unmistakable pro street stance comes by way of a second-gen Camaro
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www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STREET HEAT subframe grafted on to a custom 2x4 rectangular tube backhalf. The GM clip provides a quick and easy way of getting that slammed stance with independent suspension, disc brakes, and vastly improved handling over the factory straight axle. Coupled with dropped springs and upgraded shocks, the chassis work up front was complete. Meanwhile, out back, a custom 4-link setup was employed to mount the narrowed Ford 9-inch rear. The diff was equipped
with a Strange nodular center section, spool, and 4.11 gears before being suspended on a pair of single-adjustable coilovers. All that was left outside was tires and wheels, so Masone selected a timeless combo of big-n-little Weld Draglite wheels with Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires. The 15x3.5-inch pizza cutters up front contrast perfectly with the 15x15 steamrollers out back. Inside, the plush cockpit features a painted and pinstriped dash plugged full
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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CUSHY CONFINES
A pair of plush Pontiac buckets provide the seating surfaces, while a custom dash has been filled with analog gauges. A G-Force harness, Hurst QuarterStick, and Grant GT steering wheel round out the custom parts.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STREET HEAT
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
of aftermarket gauges perched behind a leather-wrapped Grant steering wheel. A custom center console features a Hurst QuarterStick shifter and dual cupholders before wrapping up the back of the cab to serve as a spot for a cool iconic Rat Fink graphic. A pair of plush beige cloth Pontiac buckets provide a comfy and secure seating surface and G-Force harnesses add safety. Matching beige cloth door panels have been adorned with—you guessed it—flame inlays just to tie it all together.
www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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STREET HEAT
HEAT ON THE STREET
Masone doesn’t just let the Ford sit for the show crowd...he loves to drive and street race his flamed hauler, too.
The final result is as hot as it comes—but just how hot is it? We may never know. Although built primarily for show, the melty tire remnants behind the Mickeys on the rear quarters point out that this is no trailer queen. However, as Masone admits, “We run the streets.” So while Masone might not bring timeslips to the street, when he rolls up in his wild ’51 Ford pickup, he definitely brings the heat!
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2020 89
RPM PROJECT CAR 1
INCHBY story and photos by
Scott Forbes
>>Fabrication Fabrication tasks aplenty on our LSpowered Project MattAcadian Trombley photos
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INCH
B
elieve it or not, it was July 2019 when we last checked in on our Project Acadian Revival. Christmas and New Years have come and gone yet again, but we’re on it. I wanted
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
to do this project with RPM because they are a real-world magazine that presents their projects in real time, not over the course of three or four issues, or worse yet, in a single “episode.” It would be easy to do the latter, but 95% of us have time,
parts, family, health or cash flow challenges during a build. Our world is not the “perfect” world we have been fed in the “other” mainstream magazines and more recently on the web. In July, we got up
close and personal with our tricked-out Hughes Powerglide trans that included a Reid case and also took a closer look at the Gear Vendors overdrive we are using. We looked at the install, how we set up our driveline angles and what we had
2 2: Here is that driveline geometry shot from the last article as a refresher on why we are doing all of this.
3: Here is our CAD designed first rough fit passenger side inner fender. I personally like a more factory appearance over the more “racecar” appearing bead-rolled flat panels.
3 Matt Trombley photos
1: This is where we left off at the end of last summer. While we got some things done here and there we needed to tie up the body loose ends before moving on. We didn’t want to have double back later.
to cut out of the car to do the job correctly. We then hit on the whys and hows of our awesome Calvert suspension install and then moved on to the fuel system, rearend, another test fit of our LS bullet, making our custom cooling system look OEM and designing
and building our labor-intensive custom headers. If you missed that July issue you can find it at the RPM Magazine website at www.rpmmag.com. Watch for RPM to be totally revamping the site to include each and every article in the magazine including all
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www.rpmmag.com | february2020
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RPM PROJECT CAR past build features. You will now be able to binge read and follow a build from start to finish on the new site! What I have been trying to get accomplished over the past few months during family and work is getting the sheet metal back together on the car. It seems like as I take a step forward I take two back. Now don’t get me wrong, this is no one’s fault but the guy working on the car. As we said in past articles, this project has become a runaway train. So now that the mechanics of the car have been sorted and the driveline geometry has been dialed in, we want to wrap up the body (get
it back in one piece) before we mount any more parts and final wire the car. As a side note, I was going to add more bars in the floor to cert the car to 7.50 but have decided to call it. Famous last words heard here in RPM Magazine first. If the car goes 8.50s, that is fast enough for me. That would be 4 seconds faster than the first time I brought it out in the early ’90s as a “driver”. LOL. Last issue you might have seen the beginnings of an inner fender being installed. I have never been a big fan of the race car flat beaded aluminum panels in a street car. That is my personal taste though.
4
5 4: This is so cool! While the car was still at the home garage (when I was recovering from my transmission vs thumb injury) Trevor at ACL Design came over to digitally scan the engine bay. This would enable me to create a CAD model of it .
5: No cardboard templates here! After the engine bay was scanned, I was able to recreate the entire assembly in CAD. This allows me to create any part or panel we want with complete dimensions before ever touching the first piece of metal, saving both time and material.
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6 6: My first task was to digitally build the inner fenders and rad support etc. This component can be spun and flipped and fully dimensioned, making it relatively easy to recreate it in steel or aluminum.
7
7 & 8: For example, here are the real world versions of our efforts.
8
Follow along here as what we thought would be straightforward, was anything but. As we were writing the last article and plumbing the transmission, one of my customers who has a good handle on heat exchangers as his company supplied all the major brands including OEM, noticed what I was going to use to cool my transmission. He mentioned that I might want to rethink my choice, which sent me on another wild tangent. Because we want to drive the car a lot and run
some True Street style races, I wanted to make sure the fluids were being taken care of. So it was back to the drawing board to fit bigger and better transmission and engine oil coolers without having them look like afterthoughts. Back when the car was at the house garage, our friend Trevor at ACL Design came over one night and scanned the engine bay so that we could create a CAD model of it. This in turn would allow us to design a radiator support and inner fenders that could be tweaked and
modified then cut and fabricated easily. With the scan and initial CAD model done, we went ahead and made a passenger side inner. Technology is pretty cool. For those that have access to these tools you will know what I am talking about. It is easy to go down a rabbit hole with it too, though. Meaning, I could have easily just made a card template, traced it to sheet metal and made my piece. However, if you want to repeat the process and make multiples, these are the tools needed and my business demands that
www.rpmmag.com | february2020
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RPM PROJECT CAR I become proficient at it, so why not practice on my own car? Like we said in past articles, we do these things because it is our business which enables us to do them efficiently and effectively. It is no different than the body and paint company doing the body and paint on their car but farming out this sort of stuff. Remarkably, with
very little upfront work on CAD, the first rendition fit. So we made a couple revisions and went ahead and cut the passenger side and formed it. This fit even better. This is where things take yet another turn. Anyone with a 62-67 Chevy ll or Acadian can tell you real estate is scarce in these engine bays. So when
Larry brought us a plate-style oil cooler (with an electric fan on it), because I also wanted to include an engine oil cooler and air conditioning, where to put it now became the challenge. Yes A/C. RPM readers, this is one way how a train wreck happens during a build. In short, don’t do what I am doing unless you plan it first and/
10 9 9: That is one big open space that I couldn’t live with. This being a real driven street car I want to keep it looking clean.
Matt Trombley photos
Billet
10: Our final OEM trans tunnel work resulted in a clean full-length opening for our work to begin. Back to the drawing board, for real.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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RPM PROJECT CAR or understand that it will have a ripple effect and add months if not years to your build (depending on time and money). The final decision was to put the coolers behind the headlights, mounted flat to the panel. From there, my thinking is to louver the panel. Simply put, air moves from high pressure to low pressure, so
our idea here is to give the engine bay air another path to exit, hopefully lowering bay temps as well. We will let you know how it works. The other order of business was to fill the gaping hole above the transmission (YIKES!). Why, some might ask? Well it is quite simple. The driveline angles on these cars were not great to start.
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12, 13, & 14: Again, using CAD, we figured out that we could work with two more steps to the tunnel to increase the diameter gradually and get the desired look when all was said and done.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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Add the fact that the car was lowered 3-4 inches and the LS engine is installed with a completely new IFS, we had to straighten things out. This was discussed in the last article in a bit more detail but the effects of this were that the transmission needed to be angled up towards the differential that is now higher in the car. Remember the two steps back? Now the driveshaft
tunnel needed to be raised 1 inch to clear both ends, so out it came. The new tunnel was step formed from 16-gauge cold rolled sheet and fit in the car. Next, the transmission tunnel needed to be cut and formed. Again we turned to CAD to lay out a simple template. Knowing the distances between each plane and the shapes that we needed to achieve we were able to create flat
patterns as starting points. With a quick plotting onto card stock we could then easily fold it up to check if we were ready to cut and form some sheet metal. The tunnel was tacked in and the front engine bay sheet metal roughed back in as well with a plan to continue to move forward. So let’s get this done, summer 2020 is coming and it’s time to see what this car can do!
15: Here is our installed tunnel. We took an entire article to show RPM readers the inner fender and trans tunnel building process to help everyone understand what goes into those seemingly insignificant areas of a build. We didn’t have to use CAD and could have achieved the same results with patterning/templating, etc. but we have the technology at our disposal and these parts are exact, and took less trial/trim and re-fit time. 16: It’s already January 2020 as we write this. Time to get hustling to make it out this year!
16 www.rpmmag.com | february2020
97
HOME Grown
COPO
RPM PROJECT CAR
by
Jay Misener
>> Our COPO project gets a Holley digital dash and brake lines
F
ebruary 2020 seems to be the issue of reflection for the Chevys involved in RPM projects, so it seems fitting that we take a look at where we left off
IT’S ALL in the
DETAILS
in June 2019 with Project Homegrown COPO. Yep, that’s right—it was way back in June when we last gave RPM readers their most recent fix of our homebuilt COPO tribute Camaro.
Racing season, running a business, and having a family seemed to once again take precedent over building a project car, and judging by this month’s Acadian project article—not to
mention talking with most everyone else in the world building a car—it’s nice to know that I’m not alone. It’s not that we didn’t have any time at all to work on the car. We just didn’t want
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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1: Our Holley EFI Dash (part number 553-106) will work along with our Holley HP Fuel injection system not to mention look wicked all lit up in our COPO tribute Camaro. Although a real COPO comes with mechanical gauges, we opted to be a little more modern, so this dash will take the place of all those gauges in one package. Plus, it actually has screen activated toggle switches if we choose to utilize them and it can also be used as a datalogger which is important for us. As we’ve shown in previous installs, you can also set up alarms for low oil pressure, water temperature, etc.
2
2: This dash bezel from Classic Dash is designed specifically to fit the Holley screen into the 2010-2015 Camaro dash. This makes quick work of the custom install and allows the digital display to be mounted in minutes with a finished, nearfactory look. 3: First we prepared the factory dash for the bezel by installing these mounting brackets.
3
to get too much started and have to pick up again in the winter. We were waiting for a number of critical components to arrive, as well, so instead we tinkered with various areas we
needed to tie up. When winter hit, we got back into some more dedicated work. We left off in June finishing up our jewelry-like Mark Williams braking system and introducing
RPM readers to our killer new RC Components Hammer wheels—15x10 beadlocks for the back and 17x4.5 fronts. We managed to do some work on our Dart LS Next
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2020 99
RPM PROJECT CAR 4
5
4: The bezel and the dash fit in the factory opening perfectly and look OEM.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
5: The Holley dash is installed along with a bunch more of our interior. Wiring is simply plug and play with the Holley HP system. In this shot you can also see our trick Precision Performance shifter mounted and wired (along with a dirty floor).
6 6: Next we took some time to weld on brackets for our brake system flex lines.
block and took delivery of our Ross 14:1 (yes sir, we said 14:1) custom pistons and COMP .800+ inch roller cam while Andrew from New Generation Engines prepared our Mast Motorsports cylinder heads. While it may not seem like much, we focused on some time-consum-
ing items as time permitted during our busy season. We went ahead with more wiring on the car to the point where we could start to install some of the interior. Now we have to wait patiently for Willy The Stitch of Tom’s Upholstery to finish the interior so we can install that and then install the Optic Armor
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2020 101
RPM PROJECT CAR windows we covered in a previous issue of RPM. Our wiring efforts also included the final install our Holley EFI digital dash. With a goal of giving that factory look we used the original dash mounting surround with a Classic Dash instrument bezel for our 2015 Camaro to fit the Holley display into, and the results are amazing. The only thing we will add gauge-wise to the interior will be a larger stand-alone shift light. Since I am 40 now, I hope I don’t need a wake-up call to shift this thing considering what I normally race, but it can’t hurt! We also found time to weld on a number of brackets for the braking system flex hoses and installed copper brake line. The line we sourced from our
local APC store was priced right and is easy to work with. While we were at it we installed the Hurst line lock and proportioning valve, as well. With winter setting in, we got back to work on our LS mill in mid-November. We bored the block to 4.185 inches to fit our custom Ross dome pistons and we also installed the reluctor wheel on the Lunati Pro Series crankshaft. We were able to find the Goodson RRJ350 Reluctor Ring Installation Tool so we could do it in-house at New Gen. Basically this tool is used to line up that reluctor ring/wheel in the correct spot to ensure we will have the
7 7: Our COPO 9-inch rear end with some newly installed brake lines.
8: Our adjustable proportioning valve was also installed.
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
9 9: Once the winter took hold we focused our efforts back on our LS mill. Our Dart LS Next block is being bored to 4.185 inch. This bore along with our 4-inch stroke Lunati crank will give us 440 cubic inches!
10 & 11: This special engine-specific Reluctor Ring Installation Tool from Goodson will properly line up the crankshaft reluctor wheel. This is imperative in order to have a proper timing setting.
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2020 103
RPM PROJECT CAR proper timing. We then moved on to balancing the crank with our new ATI Super Damper. As we publish this article in early January, we are moving on to assembling the long-awaited short block, so be sure to watch for it in an upcoming issue of RPM! Don’t forget that RPM Magazine will be totally overhauling and massively updating their website, www. rpmmag.com, by March to include each and every article in the magazine, including all past build features of the COPO, so you can follow it from start to finish in one place. Be sure to Toby Brooks photo check it out!
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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12: This is the reluctor wheel installed. We will actually tack weld this in place to ensure it stays put.
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13 & 14: Finally we get to re-open our ATI damper box! We will also be using this special hardened crankshaft bolt from ATI. We plan on zinging this engine to 8500+ RPM so we want to make sure we pay attention to the small details like this.
15 15: The crank is set up on the balancer with bob weights that simulate the weight of the rods, pistons, rings and bearings. We will be assembling our short block in no time now!
16
16: The Lunati Pro Series crankshaft is shown set up on the balancer at New Generation Engines with the ATI Super Damper.
SOURCES Dart www.dartheads.com 248.362.1188
Holley www.holley.com 270.782.2900
Lunati www.lunatipower.com 662.892.1500
www.rpmmag.com | february
2020 105
RPM EXCLUSIVES
H C E T W O T 1
1: Last month we showed you some paint and lighting upgrades to our new 28-foot enclosed Spartan trailer. However, that raw wood floor was just begging for some type of coating. After considering options like floor tile, bedliner-type coating, and carpet, we ultimately decided to try and give a garage floor coating a try.
PART II
TRICKIN’ OUT YOUR TRAILER
story and photos by
Toby Brooks
>>We apply a durable floor coating and some other cool stuff for our new 28-foot enclosed car hauler
L
ast month we showed you some painting and lighting upgrades for our new 28-foot Spartan extended tongue enclosed car hauler. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could complete the job
2
and get the raw plywood floor coated. This month we decided to give it a shot, and we learned some valuable lessons along the way. First, there are countless options when it comes to flooring in your trailer. Many people use the ad-
2 & 3: Here’s everything that came in our big box store-bought kit. The Rocksolid polyurea floor coating kit came with two easy mix burst pouches, two bags of decorative chips, two foam rollers, and instructions. Mixing is easy, as you simply knead the contents of the two bags until the seal between them gives way, then mix for 2-3 minutes more.
hesive-backed vinyl tiles. We’ve seen far too many of those discolor and come loose over the years to consider that a viable option. Indoor/outdoor carpet is an option, but again you’re dealing with adhesives as well as the likelihood of stains. Going
all diamond plate might look cool, but the expense and added weight were negatives. After much research, we decided to give a DIY polyurea floor coating kit a try. Polyurea is considered superior to epoxy coating due to its increased
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
To Run Like A Pro... Use The Best 4 4: With the trailer swept, vacuumed, and fully masked off, we were ready to start coating. 5: After bursting the inner seal between the two parts of the polyurea mix, you mix the bag thoroughly for 2-3 minutes. Then simply pour a 3-4-inch wide ribbon of material on the floor and work to spread it evenly using an included foam roller. We trimmed in the edges using a cheapie throwaway chip brush.
5
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durability and gloss. It’s also quite a bit more expensive and usually around double the price of comparable sized epoxy kits. We found the Rustoleum Rocksolid 2.5 car garage kit at a local home improvement store for $215, and considering the box said it would cover up to 500 square feet, it seemed like a fairly budget friendly option. Seemed like. After all, our 28-foot trailer is 8 feet wide, so that’s just 224 square feet. Throw in another 64 square feet for the door, and we are just shy of 300 square feet, so we figured
one kit would be more than enough. Wrong. Like any paint or coating job, the prep is critical. We swept the entire trailer with a push broom then vacuumed every square inch using a shop vac. We then masked the edges and the floor hooks and were ready to coat. The coating process itself is simple. Once the two parts of the
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2020 107
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RPM EXCLUSIVES mix are throughly combined, you simply cut a small opening in the pouch and pour a small ribbon of material on the floor. That material is then distributed as evenly as possible using one of the included foam rollers. Edges are trimmed using a disposable brush, and we worked one 4-foot section at a time. Once the two parts are mixed, the clock is ticking as the instructions say the combined material has a pot life of about an hour. It was fairly chilly the day we applied our coating, so that estimate was probably conservative, but still, there’s no time for breaks or texting. Once we completed a 4-foot section, we took some of the enclosed decorative paint chips and broadcast them randomly over the floor. This not only adds a cool look, it also provides some slip resistance to the finished product. The Rocksolid kit is clearly intended for indoor concrete applications and even comes with two packets of concrete etch (that we obviously didn’t use). However, the box clearly says it can be used on wood. We found a couple of message board posts from individuals who had claimed to have used the kits successfully in their trailers, but the jury is out as to whether or not the product will hold up well in this application.
Unfortunately, the product apparently covers significantly more area on concrete than it does on wood, where some absorption into the substrate likely prevented it from covering nearly the amount of square footage as suggested on the package. We got about 2/3 of the way back in our 28-foot hauler and ran out of material. After a banzai run back to the home improvement warehouse and another $215, we were tired, angry, and far less satisfied with the overall “budget” nature of this budget-minded upgrade. The finished product is far from flawless. It’s clear we were trying to make the material go further than we should have been, especially early in the process. Once we realized we’d need two kits, we got more liberal with the application and the end result is a deep, smooth, glossy appearance. However, the application in the nose of the trailer floor is a bit skimpier and doesn’t look as good. Overall, the finished product turned out fairly good. We’ll see how it holds up before we tell you unequivocally that it’s something you should try. At any rate, we can now install the winch and reinstall all the trim and hopefully we’ll be able to fill it with our Mustang project car soon. Stay tuned!
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6: Once you get going, it goes down pretty quickly. We worked one 4-foot section at a time, broadcasting chips before moving to the next section. Spike shoes are available so that you can walk on the coating while it’s wet on concrete , but they won’t work on the plywood floor without leaving permanent damage.
7 7: Here’s as far as the first 2.5 car garage kit got us...about 18 feet back in our 28-foot trailer. You can even see that the coating was a bit thin on the spare tire door, so even this application was probably a bit too light. We had to drop everything and run to the store to get another kit before everything set up.
8 8: Here’s the finished product the next day. Although the box says it can be walked on within 24 hours, ours was still wet, most likely due to the cooler temps.
9: We also added some spiked lug nuts and LED puddle lights to match our Dodge dually. All thats left is some touch-up painting and to mount the winch and e-track inside and we will be ready to rock.
9
www.rpmmag.com | february
2020 109
SHOP TALK
REAL
BEASTSHIBERNATE H JT
story and photos by
ello, my fellow gearheads! Winter is once again upon us here in the
northeast. Believe it or
not, I actually used to look
forward to the winter from an automotive perspective. Sure, I enjoy snow skiing and a variety of hunting seasons, but the thought of spending some quality shop time with my car always makes me happy. The difference between
winter shop time and spring/summer shop time is that the winter has far less stress involved when ripping into your car. “Car season” upgrades and repairs have severe time deadlines associated with them. Let’s face it—your
car needs to be ready to perform at 100% every weekend. This is not the ideal time to dive headfirst into making any significant upgrades or repairs. The winter, however, enables us to dig deep into repairs without the sleepless Friday
night thrashing session. Once my car was in a basic “race ready” stage, I used winters to improve one system at a time. Another was a total rewire. Yet another was engine and transmission rebuild. Another winter was the
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
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1 1: Are we “old-school,” or just really good technicians who thoroughly understand the combustion engine and how it works?
2 1. The beast rests patiently under a cover inside a heated shop just waiting for me to give it a nudge once a month. And for the record, I may or may not actually put my firesuit, gloves, neckbrace, and helmet on when I start it up over the winter. rearend and rear suspension. This past winter included a major overhaul in paint and body. The three to fourmonth hibernation it went through every winter was not in solitude, though. For many winters I worked on it almost daily, trying to bring my overall vision of the car to fruition. Last winter took me over the edge with upgrades and repairs. Removing every
body panel truly enabled me to dig deep into the inner structure of the car, making necessary upgrades and shaving as much weight as possible. I need to mention that all of this was done while trying hard to make it safer than ever. I was very fortunate and blessed that the car performed flawlessly all season and did not require any “unnecessary” upgrades.
2. I told you real beasts hibernate. Some of us just follow their lead.
For all of the non-racing spouses that may be reading this, please allow me to clarify my usage of the word “unnecessary.” A necessary repair may include fixing or replacing a broken part on any part of the car. An “unnecessary” repair may include replacing a perfectly functioning part with a safer, faster, or lighter one. These are all necessary in the grand scheme of our cars
but are usually left for the off-season. I actually put a car cover over my car a few weeks ago and have not even looked at it since then. At first it was no big deal, but as the days went on, and I walked by each day, it gave me a lost and lonely feeling. I was grateful that I had an old friend come visit for a few days and he really wanted to see the new paint. We
stayed in my shop for an hour or so while I went over every detail of the last list of upgrades. We then put the cover back on and I have not admired the Camaro’s beauty since then. Now don’t get me wrong— I have to do a front suspension upgrade on the car this winter due to the change in wheel size I made last winter. I dropped the rim size from 17-inch to
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SHOP TALK 15-inch in order to get the right set of “skinnies” rolling out front. This change in ride height improved the look tremendously but caused her to bottom out after every launch. It also made it extremely difficult to load into and
out of my hauler. When I adjusted the coilovers to fix the ride height, it left very little room between the coils for any suspension travel. That 572 big block is just way too much weight for the new ride height. So this winter I need to
reach out to a few companies and see what the experts recommend. Will I need a stiffer coil, a longer coil, or a better double adjustable front shock? Money is extremely tight so I will be considering my options carefully.
3 3. The long cold winters here in the northeast provide the perfect opportunity for us to either rip our cars apart in the pursuit of speed, or let them take a much needed long nap. 4. This winter I will be making an upgrade to the front suspension. This will provide me with an opportunity to tinker and allow my mind to get lost in happiness.
4
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february 2020 | RPM Magazine
5. I somehow think I will regret using the phrase “unnecessary repairs” in this article. In the pursuit of a fast car, there is no such thing as an unnecessary repair. I hope my wife either skips over that part or reads this photo caption.
5
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SHOP TALK Now back to my point: if I drag my feet on this project, I’m looking at a week’s worth of phone calls and research. This will be followed by a week waiting for the parts to arrive. The actual work will take half a day to perform, while taking my time and cleaning everything in the process. So for two weeks out of the 15-ish of my off-season, I will be having fun enjoying some quality shop time with my car. The remaining weeks it will be in deep hibernation awaiting a monthly start up. On one hand, I’m elated at the fact that my car is finally done and I can get back to my regularly scheduled program of hunting whenever I have free time. On the other hand, I truly miss tinkering and fussing over it every day. My mind never sleeps and I love it when I’m so absorbed into a project that NOTHING else can enter my thoughts. My car does this for me. So as far as I see it, I have a few options:
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Option 1: Quit my complaining and be grateful my car stayed in one piece last season and I’m not dipping into my daughter’s college fund anymore. Option 2: Get a set of studded ice tires and start drag racing on the ice. Option 3: Move to a part of the country where winter feels like spring. Option 4: To hell with saving money and being content. It’s time to put this baby into the 7-second club. While all of these are viable options, I am way too particular to get my car all slushed up ice racing. Moving to a warmer climate stops me from what I love most about winter— not to mention I absolutely love my home. Morphing my Camaro into the 7-second club would not only be extremely fun and exhilarating, it would most definitely result in a divorce which would force me to move. So, my friends, the only real option is the first one.
february 2020 | RPM Magazine
I’m not only grateful for my car and for the many lessons I was able to share with my daughter, I’m eternally grateful to everyone who helped me along the way, including my wife, who never once complained about the money or the late nights it took to finish it. My advice to everyone who is in the same stage with their car as I am is to enjoy the long, deep hibernation and spend the off-season working on your reaction time. The optimists say that spring is coming soon. My eyes see layers of ice and snow and a beautiful beast of a car that sits under a cover. Don’t be surprised if I happen to put my fire suit and helmet on over the winter during my monthly start up and imagine I am out on the dragstrip on a nice sunny Saturday afternoon making a hit. Until next time, Keep wrenching!
6 6. When it comes to this winter, I will most definitely choose option 1. Option 4 is lurking in the back of my head just waiting for a rich philanthropist to bring the ultimate smile to my face. Until then, I must use the force and stay away from the dark side that calls me.
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Keyword: MOR Drag Race Pan
Keyword: STR Slotted Rear Kits
Keyword: MSR 9 Axle Packages
Leaf Spring Sliders Adjust Your Leaf Springs!
Single Plane Intake Manifolds Increase Airflow!
Big M Sportsman Cast Iron Bare Blocks for Big Chevy Foundation of a Better Build!
Vertical Bar Mechanical Roller Lifter Sets Superior Strength!
CLV-SL-300-CR $189.00 USD pair
as low as $540.99 USD each
as low as $2,383.97 USD each
as low as $358.99 USD set of 16
Keyword: CLV Leaf Sliders
Keyword: BRO Single Plane Intake
Keyword: DRT Big M Sportsman
Keyword: HRS Vertical Mechanical Set
Low Cost, No Hassle, Landed Cost Shipping. Landed Cost shipping includes all duties, taxes, and clearance fees. In-stock parts are shipped FAST, delivered to your door with no unexpected fees. Questions? Complete details available in the Customer Service section of SummitRacing.com, talk via Live Chat.
Torx Polished Wheels Show Off!
Sportsman Model 4500 Dominator Carburetors Improved Throttle Response!
as low as $944.75 USD each
as low as $857.95 USD each
Keyword: RCH Torx Polished
Engine BBQ Grill Ready, Set, Grill!
Keyword: HRH V8 Engine
HRH-GHH350EG $739.99 USD each
Keyword: HLY Sportsman 4500
SPECIAL HANDLING SURCHARGES APPLY
GET MORE FOR LESS—WE DELIVER THE BEST BOTTOM LINE PRICE TO YOUR DOOR—GUARANTEED!
Int’l: 1.330.630.0230 1.800.230.3030
SCode: 2002RPC • Prices subject to change without notice. Please check SummitRacing.com for current pricing. Typographical, description, or photography errors are subject to correction. Please check your local laws/regulations. © 2020 AUTOSALES, INC.
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www.rpmmag.com | february 2020
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LS Series Conversion Mounts
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Designed to mount an LS Series Engine where an early 3 Bolt motor was previously installed. A must have for any LS engine swap.
Flex-Wave Reversible Electric Fans Patent pending design. Featuring more airflow, and quieter operation than traditional S-blade and straight-blade designs. Available in 12", 14" and 16" diameter.
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XPR (Extreme Performance Racing)
• Greater wear protection on startup • Increased horsepower • Extends equipment life • Non-foaming • High temp. service capability • Outstanding corrosion protection • Available in grades from 0W-8 through 10W-60
Shark Tooth Oil Pump The new gear design provides the engine with an improved flow of oil without the usual pulsing found in traditional gear pumps. This reduction in the pressure ripple from the pump will also provide benefits to the distributor and camshaft drive. Available for SB Chevrolet. Cats Iron Models: PN 10550ST - 5/8" diameter press fit pickup PN 10551ST - 3/4" diameter press fit pickup PN 10552ST - 3/4" diameter bolt-on pickup PN 10555ST - 3/4" diameter bolt-on pickup Billet Aluminum Models: 10550ST-825SS - For 8-1/4" deep oil pans 10550ST-725SS - For 7" deep oil pans
High-Performance AGM Batteri es The REDTOP® will outperform and outlast traditional batteries in demanding cranking/starting applications. It delivers the strongest 5-second burst of ignition power for reliable startups every time. The YELLOWTOP® is one of the few true dual-purpose automotive batteries available. With premium cranking power and impressive cycling capability, perfect for modern accessory-loaded vehicles. The BLUETOP® is a flexible boat battery and RV battery is ideal for those who need a sure-starting, strong-cranking, maintenance-free power source.
Aluminum
Racing Radiators
Various Sizes Available
The perfect fit for racing, street rod, classic, muscle, exotic or late model cars and trucks. These radiators are available in a variety of sizes for both Ford and GM Models. Featuring 2 rows of 1 in. tubes of which are single pass design.
Lightweight Aluminum
BB Chevy
Aluminum Timing Covers
• CNC machined for precise fit. • Provides a postive cam stop. • Fits with double roller timing chains. • Fits under most short water pumps. PN 14860 BB Chev Mark V - Polished PN 14870 BB Chev Mark VI - Polished
Cat Back, Dual Split Rear Designed to Performance maximize exhaust flow and Exhaust minimize Systems exhaust temperatures your truck will use less gas last longer and perform better. From the vehicle specific muffler design to the fully mandrel bent tubing to minimal bend degree angles your MBRP performance system gets exhaust out fast.
LED
Headlights Truck-Lite Headlight Kits are an excellent option for light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, off-road vehicles, classic cars, motorcycles and more. Provides a brighter, crisper and whiter light output, closer to the color temperature of daylight, dramatically improving light projection distance and overall visibility.
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Built for those who push the limits-with double the durability, 20% faster line speed, and extreme IP68-rated waterproofing. The Advanced Wireless Remote controls not only the winch, but also the clutch and other accessories.Available in 10K and 12K models with steel or nylon rope.
TruTrack Trunnion Bar Weight Distribution Hitch
Driveshafts ZEON Series Recovery Winches By using a lighter weight driveshaft, you reduce its rotational mass while it is turning, freeing up horsepower, which translates to faster speeds and lower ETs. Featuring high-strength, .114" wall thickness, a 6061-RT62 aluminum seamless tube, and include 1330 high performance U-joints.
High Performance Series
Limited-Slip Differentials
• Smooth Quiet Torque-Sensing Operation • High Performance OEM Type Design • Outperforms OEM differentials • Provides more traction and faster engagement • Available for Chrysler, Ford, GM and Toyota vehicles
An advanced system that integrates a sway control function into the design of the hitch. It combines precise weight distributing with integrated sway control to deliver the smoothest, safest ride possible.
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