Back in the day, electronics referred to transbrakes, delay boxes, and throttle stops. With all due respect to the older crowd, in an era when 3,500-pound door slammers are running 7-second e.t.’s on 275 drag radials, it’s time to reevaluate the meaning of the word. Today’s small-tire drag racers are setting the scoreboards on fire thanks to a one-two tandem punch of staggering horsepower and incredibly efficient power management, and neither would be possible without the rise of modern electronics. If there’s traction to be had on a dragstrip, today’s advanced electronics will find it, and there’s no better way to go faster than to put the power your engine is already making down to the pavement more efficiently.

We’re still enamored with conventional small-blocks, and this month we put together the ultimate thumper for any street machine. That means we didn’t go overboard with a radical camshaft or shoot for the sky with monster compression; instead, we went big with the cubic inches, installed a hydraulic roller cam, and topped it off with a 4150-style carburetor. To get this build going, we went to our favorite machine shop, A.R.E. Performance & Machine in Simi Valley, California, where we assembled our 434ci small-block combo.

The new SS Camaro’s LS3 powerhouse ships from GM already putting out a stout 436 hp. As impressive as that is, the engine is just dying to make more and given the Camaro’s hefty curb weight of over 3,800 pounds, those extra horses make a great car even better.

Of course there are plenty of reasons to convert to power windows, including the appeal of owning a fully loaded car, or just looking cool in general. Beyond the convenience factor, installing power windows into a car that’s almost half a century old can help eliminate a few hurdles.

Horsepower and torque are useless unless you can apply the energy to the ground in order to accelerate your muscle car. Traction becomes quite a challenge for those dealing with leaf-spring rear suspension systems found under older Chevy vehicles. Leaf-spring suspension systems are simple and effective for its intended purpose—but add some power and sticky tires and the story changes. Ron Rhodes, of Rhodes Custom Auto, knows a thing or two about this setup and shared some secrets that are employed on his ’68 Camaro RS. Rhodes is no stranger to the dragstrip life as he has fought hard on the asphalt jungle for decades and most recently is one of the top X275 players in the Northeast. The X275 ranks are reserved for stock suspension cars running 275 drag radials, and the competition is fierce. But that isn’t his only foray into the wild heads-up racing world, as he is also a former NMCA badass in the naturally aspirated Pro Stock division.

Going fast and looking good are what most muscle car enthusiasts thrive for, and Pat McNeil’s ’69 Chevelle is a prime example. If you recall, we first featured his Butternut Yellow Chevelle a few years ago (“The Cow That Jumped Over the Moon,” Oct. ’09 issue). Since then, we’ve learned that he and Mike Saiki from Motivational have once again upped their game, this time with a more potent 496ci big-block that sings to the tune of 765 hp and 638 lb-ft of torque!

People always come up to me at the races, swap meets, or car shows, and tell me how much they enjoy the escapades of the Mac family with our cars, and the projects we’re working on. Unfortunately, because our local track, Fontana’s Auto Club Dragway, has had a very limited schedule this past year, we’ve mainly stuck around the house. So what do you do when you’re bored and broke? The price of fuel has limited us to racing close to home, and when we do spend the money to take two cars, let’s say to Vegas and stay overnight, our pocketbook takes a real hit. You have to win in at least one class just to break even!

Get A Little Cooler

Torque, you have to love it. It’s what pushes us into the seats during acceleration and puts the never-ending grins on our faces. Chances are if you’ve already upgraded the transmission to handle the additional grunt, then the rearend is the next area you’ll want to address. Beefier axles, steeper gears, and a huge choice of differentials can make it tough to choose from, however the manufacturers listed here offer a variety of choices for your every need.

Part Numbers
899-5520 900-7500
900-7500 901-9550

For some, luck is just something that happens to them; others have to make their own. Just ask Warren Johnson, the “Professor” in the NHRA Pro Stock ranks. He has been preaching the above headline for as long as I can remember. This month I have two stories; one is racing related, and the other is about hauling our possessions down the road.

It didn’t take long for gearheads to figure out that GM’s Gen III truck engines are a great bang-for-your-buck buy for transplantation into a classic muscle car. There are differences, of course, but these powerplants are essentially iron Corvette motors, waiting for a few well-chosen upgrades to turn them into slick street machine motivators. That’s pretty much what we did here—found a truck motor that’s destined to reside in the engine bay of a ’66 Chevelle, and outfitted it with a new COMP Cams camshaft and a set of RHS’ new Pro Action cylinder heads with Clean Cast Technology, which is designed to create “as cast” ports that flow like those in ported heads. The results were impressive—and impressively inexpensive, to the tune of a measly $1,470 clams for a fully assembled pair of lungs. Yes, you read that correctly. Now read on.

Everyone knows that airflow equals power, but what about fuel? All the air in the world won’t make one single horsepower if it isn’t mixed with the proper amount of fuel in the combustion chamber. To illustrate the point, consider the age-old adage that “the really fast guys don’t care about dyno numbers.” If there’s an element of truth to this, there’s a very simple reason why. In the walk of classes like Outlaw 10.5 and Pro Mod, where severely boosted and squeezed motors often eclipse the 3,000hp mark, it’s hard to find a dyno that won’t go kaput when subjected to such extreme abuse. In this elite realm of combustion nirvana, where it’s difficult to directly measure engine output, calculating horsepower is all about keeping track of fuel consumption. Measure the volume and rate at which an engine burns fuel while going down the track, then compare it to well-established BSFC standards for engines of your type, and you’ll have a very good idea of how much horsepower it’s making.

Replacing spark plug wires probably won’t be the most glamorous upgrade you’ll perform this year, but it’ll help bridge a critical gap in the ignition circuit between great and poor performance.

Ultimate Rollers

The LCD screen stays lit after the last temperature reading for approximately 15 seconds.

We love letters, especially technical questions. Submit your tech questions to Kevin McClelland at chevyhi@sorc.com. Regular shout-outs and good tidings are also always welcome.

Manhandling a tail-happy 10-second beast down the dragstrip? Bring it on! Connecting a few innocuous strands of copper where a wiring schematic says they should go? Run for your life! Indeed, hot rodders have a funny way of looking at things sometimes, and electrical intimidation has burst many bubbles of EFI grandeur. Fortunately, that needn’t be the case anymore. In last month’s installment of “How it Works,” we showed how simple it is to fit an LS engine and late-model trans into your classic Bow Tie ride. With all the pre-fabbed motor mounts, crossmembers, and headers at your disposal these days, dropping a Gen III/IV small-block between your car’s framerails is arguably the easiest part of an LS swap. That said, hooking up the electronics, sorting through the wiring, feeding fuel to the lump, and programming the computer isn’t that much harder.

They say knowledge is power but when it comes to horsepower, you need to know what’s going on underhood at any given moment. It doesn’t matter if it’s a race car or your daily driver, having vital engine temperature, oil pressure, rpm, speed, and other important vehicle information can help you maximize performance and quickly diagnose potential problems. However, a cluttered instrument panel can also be distracting, and can actually make it harder to monitor multiple engine functions with a single glance while you’re driving.

It doesn’t seem to matter how nice a restoration might be when the car changes hands, there’s always going to be something the new owner would like to improve on. In the case of John Barkley’s recently acquired ’66 SS396 Chevelle, the exhaust system was the first thing he wanted to attend to. The previous owner went to a lot of trouble and expense to build the car properly, but at the tail end of the project he knew he was going to have to sell it. Instead of installing a complete exhaust system he took the low-buck route and slapped on a set of header mufflers. For a car that’s going to spend most of its time on a dragstrip, header mufflers are an OK solution, but for a street-driven automobile the idea stinks. The first bad smell is that of deadly carbon monoxide fumes drawn into the passenger compartment; the symptoms of exposure to carbon monoxide poisoning range from burning eyes and headaches to death caused by asphyxiation. Next on the list of discomforts created by an abbreviated exhaust system is fatigue, which can be brought on by the constant drone of harsh sounds being transmitted into the passenger compartment. In no time at all, the soundwaves pounding into the car’s floor translate into a subconscious reason to dread driving the car.

Secured

The last time you saw our Dart-based 454ci big-block, we generated 965 hp and 877 lb-ft (“Off-The-Shelf Steam” Apr. ’11 issue). For induction duties we used a pair of Brodix CNC oval-port BB-3 332 Xtras and a Brodix HV 2000 manifold, while a Vortech YSi supercharger added the artificial atmosphere. Fueling the copious amount of air was a Carb Shop–modified Holley 750 carburetor.

It’s that time of the year again. You know, when the weather begins to get cooler, the cars are put away in the garage, and we all wait for the big guy in the red suit to deliver everything on our wish list.

For 2011, we brought back our annual Holiday Gift Guide and filled it up with everything a car guy or gal could dream of. The question is, what’s on your list and will you be wrenching on your ride over the winter?

Click Here To Download the PDF Version of the 2011 Holiday Buyers Guide

We love letters, especially technical questions. Submit your tech questions to Kevin McClelland at chevyhi@sorc.com. Regular shout-outs and good tidings are also always welcome.

V-style holders always come in handy whenever you’re working on cylinder heads. These feature a lightweight aluminum construction and allow you to place them in any number of positions for easier access.