It's likely you won't see the finesse. The motor appears an ordinary street bullet-until Vinnie cranks it and the sound swarms over you. You'd swear it was a big-block. It's got oil spray bars inside the rocker covers to keep the valvesprings cool. Those slick headers look store-bought but they're not. The sleeper mentality's goin' full-boogie here.
Finally, the Strangely Believe It category: "A coworker of mine was looking at the Camaro and he said, 'I know the original owner of this car.' He was sure of it because the appearance had not changed much from the old days. He said the guy had written his initials on the bottom of the console, so we looked. They were there. Eventually I met him and heard a very familiar story. He sold the Camaro (for $2,800) because it was time to buy a house." What goes around comes around.
Powertrain
Vinnie had JA Performance in Lynbrook, New York, develop a '70s-vintage 406-inch small-block (4.155x3.750) after legendary S&K Speed in Lindenhurst had tended to the machine work. S&K balanced, polished, and checked all clearances on the rotating assembly-Cola crankshaft, Lunati connecting rods, and Ross flat-tops that generate a 10.5:1 squeeze. JA oriented a 0.630-inch-lift, 264-degree-duration Comp Cams camshaft and chained it (straight up) to the crank with a GM timing set. Down below are a Moroso oil pump and 6-quart sump. To complete the long-block, JA gasket-matched the ports and installed Dart Pro 1 CNC aluminum castings finished with 64cc combustion chambers and 2.08-inch Manley intake valves. Hardware includes Crane 1.5/1.6:1 roller rockers, Comp Cams 955 valvesprings, and Manley pushrods, guides, retainers, and locks. A Victor Jr. intake manifold hosts a 750-cfm Holley worked over by Ten Speed in North Bellmore, New York, a 4-inch Super Sucker spacer, and a K&N element. Fuel comes up the old-fashioned way, pushed by an Edelbrock mechanical pump. Once fuel and air mix, they take marching orders from the MSD 6A ignition system set at 36 degrees total. Though those smoothie headers might appear to be ready-made, they represent MI Mike's subtle handiwork: 171/48-inch primary pipes that transition into a 3-inch system joined by nasty-bark Hooker Aero chambers. Mike also fabricated the rocker covers and the oil spray bars inside them. Fred at FB Performance Transmissions in Bayshore, New York, surgically implanted one of its 4STB-E three-speed full manual automatics (based on the 4R70W Ford) equipped with a transbrake as well as an overdriven top gear (2.84, 1.56, 1.00, 0.70:1). It has a 900hp capacity and uses electrical activation for the converter and OD lockup functions, but does not interface with the ECU. Vinnie flips the OD switch next to the Hurst Quarter Stick and the tranny goes fat for the freeway walk home. An FB 8-inch torque converter does the multiplication behind a gnarly 4,100-stall speed. Torque flies (yes, it does) down an FB driveshaft, and an oil cooler keeps the tranny juice on a low simmer. It all comes out the 12-bolt axle fitted with a 4.10:1 final drive (2.87:1 in OD), an Eaton limited-slip differential, and Moser 31-spline axles.