Show and Go Fast

Patina isn’t a new thing—and we don’t mean that as a bad pun. For the past several years there has been a growing interest in the well-worn warmth of aesthetically neglected finishes. From the rise of the rat rods, to retro rods pretending to be something they aren’t, there is a big bubble of shabby chic rods on the scene. To be honest, it bothers us.

Early on in Project Nova’s tenure with PHR, we noticed that any time we put a jack under any of the X-body’s four corners we were met with lots of creaking sounds, tweaked doorjambs, and the three remaining tires preferring to remain glued resolutely to the ground. Throughout our suspension upgrades at Classic Performance Products, we always knew that—unless we did something—the effectiveness of those mods would be tempered by a flaccid chassis to produce less than spectacular results. What we knew all along was that some very simple, cost-effective chassis stiffening moves can produce performance gains on par with more expensive mods like we’d already done. It’s one of those things seldom spoken about when lavish groupings of parts are packaged together, but that suspension experts readily admit has a huge impact on vehicle performance.

Serious Street Stangs

Over the past few issues, we've followed along as Livernois Motorsports built a new 323ci Four-Valve engine for Superfly. Consisting of an FRPP Boss 302 modular block, a Livernois rotating assembly, ported '03 Cobra heads, and custom Comp cams, it made 519 hp on the engine dyno.

A while back, we tested a Track Heat engine kit from Trick Flow Specialties on a high-mileage 5.0L. The Track Heat engine kit was designed as an upgrade that could be applied to anything from a bone-stock 5.0L to a wilder stroker application. For Part 1, we tested the merits of the system on a stock '94 5.0L, pulled from the engine bay of a high-mileage Mustang.

All right 5.0 Nation. We're back with three lovely ladies vying for the crown of October 2012 Babe of the Month. After scouring our BOTM submission files, we came up with these three ladies for you to choose from.

All right 5.0 Nation. We're back with three lovely ladies vying for the crown of September 2012 Babe of the Month. After scouring our BOTM submission files, we came up with these three ladies for you to choose from.

All right 5.0 Nation. We're back with three lovely ladies vying for the crown of August 2012 Babe of the Month. After scouring our BOTM submission files, we came up with these three ladies for you to choose from.

If you own an automatic equipped GM vehicle, you've probably felt the dreaded slip before. One day, everything is fine, with crisp shifts and smooth operation. The next day, it's all over the rev limiter on the 2-3 shift and you're suddenly feeling down in the dumps. Unfortunately, it happens to all of us at one time or another and it's usually right after you spend all of your hard earned cash on a new speed part or power adder. If you've never been inside an automatic transmission before, it can be a terrifying experience. Seriously, it looks like it works on magic, fluid, and money, which is almost accurate if you don't really understand what is going on. Luckily, there are plenty of quality transmission shops that can rebuild your transmission without an issue, taking a 400-hp capable factory unit and turning it into a 650+ horsepower tire fryer. And, whether you're going to have someone go through your slushbox for you or you're going to try to tackle it yourself, it's important to understand the key parts of the transmission and how each one works.

In the second part of our saga with Redline Motorsports, the crew began tearing down the ZL1 with less than 300 miles on it, just after our track test. The thrust of their efforts would be to utilize the same means of power production, which proved very effective on the CTS-V and other LS based engines. The first and most obvious modification would be increasing the boost, which is done (in this case) with a larger ATI drive pulley and a smaller LPE supercharger pulley. Increasing boost by this method amplifies a restriction in the intake path-the cast aluminum blower snout.

As a builder of the esteemed HTR series of fifth-generation Camaro SS's with an upcoming ZL1-based series, Redline Motorsports was eager to be on the forefront of testing the 2012 Camaro ZL1. Owner Howard Tanner was lucky enough to purchase one of the first automatic ZL1s, with a handful of modifications already stock-piled in anticipation at Redline's new Pompano Beach, Florida location. A mere 3-hours' drive from GMHTP headquarters, we were on stand-bye waiting for Howard to take delivery and head to Palm Beach International Raceway for a private test session on April 18th. While a sunny 90-degrees with 1,740-feet of DA wasn't exactly ideal, it was definitely a great test for the sophisticated E67 computer and the ZL1's upgraded intercooler system. Prior to the test session, Redline fabricated and dyno tested a cold air intake before returning back to stock as well as installed a 160-degree thermostat, removed the washer tank (for the intake fabrication), and installed a line lock for easier burnouts. All else was as delivered from GM including the tire pressure.

January 21, Melbourne, FL

• Mopar Super Swap XIII is hosted by the Mopars of Brevard at the Wickham Park Pavillion in Melbourne Florida
• Mopar swap meet/car corral, car show with no judging, and a model car show. Additionally, we will be having Don Carltons Original Mopar Missile Duster and a special tribute to all of the winged warriors (Daytona's and Superbird's).
• Info: Jon Warner 321-635-8581, jwarner51@cfl.rr.com; Penny Anderson 321-727-1039; pander2211@aol.com

Tech...

Tech...