From One Car Guy to Another
I am 55 years old and have been married for 35 years. I have found the secret for a happy and lasting marriage for us car guys. I would always build cars (Chevy muscle cars) and then sell them and my wife was always vocal about it saying that I worked for free or $1 an hour.
This all stopped after I built her a ’68 RS Camaro 396 four-speed; I gave her the car instead of selling it. Since then I have built myself an ’84 big-block Camaro drag car and am just completing my ’68 Camaro, which also has a big-block. I do all my own work and even built the Muncie M20 for her car out of spare parts. Her car is Victory Red with white Z stripes and my ’68 is painted pearl white with a black vinyl top and black pearl Z stripes.
I am feeling the age big time on this last build, but please let your readers know that the secret is to give your wife/significant other a beautiful car and they will appreciate all the hard work and time that it takes to complete.
I recently read a letter in CHP from a guy who was justifying a reason for you to send him a new hat. Well, I too am here with my proverbial hat in my hand with the same request.
I have been subscribing to your magnificent publication for several years and have recently retired and am building a shop behind the house to continue my lifelong passion of building the finest Chevys I can afford. When I first subscribed to CHP, I too (like the previously mentioned reader) received a shiny new CHP hat. And I must say I was, and still am, very proud of it. When I first received it, I reserved wearing it on Sunday or other special occasions. It was indeed my pride and joy. But as you can see from the photos, it soon became my favorite daily driver.
You can also see from the photos that somewhere along the way there was an unauthorized modification to the bill. I am also sending a photo of the culprit of this mischievous deed. His name is Max. He is a 1-year-old Hungarian Vizsla and when standing on his hind legs, he can easily retrieve just about any item from the kitchen countertop. Quail is his favorite game to hunt and much to my dismay, hats are his second favorite. So, my CHP hat fell prey to his kitchen countertop hunt.
The final photo is of the shop I am building, which validates my dyed-in-the-wool devotion to everything Chevy. So, hat or no hat, I am renewing my subscription online today. Thanks for the great periodical!
Thanks for writing in and know that we got a good laugh from your email and photos, especially of the culprit. While I don’t have a huge reserve of CHP hats, I have a few stashed away for just these types of emails. Keep an eye out; I have one packed and already heading out your way.
The digital world is here and we’re willing to bet you’re well versed with Facebook and already spend a lot of time posting, reading, and looking up old friends, right? We’re there too and tend to post often, so why not head over to www.facebook.com/chevyhighperformance and click “Like”. We generally tend to post what we’re up to, give behind-the-scenes sneak peeks, and things to look forward to in upcoming issues.
GM recently announced the most powerful convertible to be produced: the ’13 Camaro ZL1 convertible. These are expected to go on sale in 2012 and will be powered by the supercharged LSA 6.2L with 580 hp and backed by a manual six-speed transmission. Pricing for the late-model hot rod has yet to be disclosed, but whatever it is, you can bet it’ll be worth it.
5th Annual GMPP LSX Shootout
Presented By GM High-Tech PerformanceThe action was fast paced and here are the complete results from the LSX Shootout class winners!
JE Pistons Drag Radial
• Winner: Mike Brown, ’98 TA, 7.31
• Runner-up: Andy Essary, ’02 TA, 7.53
ERL Performance All Motor
• Winner: Judson Massingill, ’99 Camaro, 8.31
• Runner-up: Joe Huneycutt, ’02 Camaro, 8.61
Holley EFI Real Street
• Winner: Adam Preston, ’00 Camaro, 8.48
• Runner-up: Paul Falcon, ’01 Formula, 8.87
Proform LSX Rumble
• Winner: Dennis Pearson, ’10 Camaro
• Runner-up: Tim Habel, ’10 Camaro
Nitto Tire Fifth-Gen Camaro Challenge Presented by Camaro Performers
• Winner: Louie Filippides
• Runner-up: Shawn Calabrese
Tremec LSX True Street class
• Overall Winner: David Childress ‘98 Pontiac Trans Am, 9.039 average
• Overall Runner-Up: Greg Edwards ‘02 Chevy Camaro, 9.212 average
• 9-Second Winner: Justin May ‘91 Pontiac Firebird, 9.586 average
• 10-Second Winner: James Voyles ‘70 Chevy Nova, 10.068 average
• 11-Second Winner: Brandon Smith ‘10 Chevy Camaro, 11.035 average
• 12-Second Winner: Steve Ciregna ‘02 Pontiac Trans Am, 12.024 average
• 13-Second Winner: Jesse Lancaster ‘02 Chevy Camaro, 13.021 average
• 14-Second Winner: Paul Lewis ‘04 Pontiac GTO, 14.037 average
World’s Fastest LSX Challenge Award
• Fastest Fourth-Gen Camaro: Judson Massingill, ‘99 Chevy Camaro, 8.279 at 158.13 mph
• Fastest Firebird: Mike Brown ‘98 Pontiac Trans Am, 7.394 at 193.13 mph
• Fastest GTO: Don Dixon ‘05 Pontiac GTO, 9.841 at 140.36 mph
• Fastest Corvette: Mark Carlyle ‘07 Chevy Corvette ZO6, 8.157 at 177.65 mph
• Fastest Cadillac: Gene Griffith ‘09 Cadillac CTSV, 10.538 at 130.85
• Fastest G8: Donna Miller ‘09 Pontiac G8, 12.452 at 112.24 mph
• Fastest Truck/SUV: Jeff Oppenheim ‘86 Chevy El Camino, 10.569 at 126.90 mph
GM High-Tech Performance Fifth-Gen Camaro Shootout
• Winner: Ronnie Hackleton, ’10 Camaro, 10.41
• Runner-up: Paul Murphy, ’10 Camaro, 11.52