umpers are not something typically high on the build priority list, but if you’re building any kind of custom or street machine, or even a hot rod, you really need the bumpers tucked to fit perfectly and certainly tighter than factory.

Recently, while touring Mick’s Paint in Pomona, California, we came across Jeff Pont’s 1969 Camaro that was undergoing a complete makeover from front to rear bumper. Now, Pont’s a detail guy so he likes things to fit, and fit better ’n’ factory, and the stock bumpers were just not cutting it. Stepping up to the task was Pauly Rivera, Mick’s crafty fabricator, to make the factory bumpers fit, well, like they should have from the factory with no visible fasteners. In this case, the bumpers were eventually to be painted body color and not chrome plated. Were they to have been chromed, then a whole lot more finish work would have been necessary.

Spark Plug Fundamentals

he spark plug is the one component that has been shared by every spark-ignited internal combustion engine since the earliest days. Oddly, the engine that powered the first Wright Brothers airplane was gasoline-fueled but did not use spark plugs. Instead, the engine builder, Charlie Taylor, employed a set of contact points located in the “T”-style cylinder head to create a spark. But for the rest of the automotive world, the spark plug has been in existence in one form or another since the 1860s.

Today, spark plugs have become smaller, more efficient, and now in modern electronically fuel-injected street engines can perform admirably for 100,000 miles or more. But what happens when we build a performance engine like a small- or big-block Chevy or an LS/LT engine with compression, a bigger camshaft, and better cylinder heads? Selecting the proper spark plug becomes a critical process, which is what we will address in this story.

The first step would be to identify the proper construction of the spark plug for your application. This starts by identifying the plug’s basic configuration. The first issue is what the spark plug manufacturers call thread reach. This is the length of the threaded portion of the spark plug where it engages the cylinder head.

ne of the most important areas of any high-performance ride always leads to the business office, which serves as the hub for monitoring the car’s vitals as well as maintaining its full operational control while also providing plenty of comfort for the occupants. Regardless of whether you’re taking on a full build or simply making updates, it’s a solid idea to think about upgrading your interior components, especially if you’re choosing to up the ante in the horsepower department of your classic Chevy. This can be as simple as opting to add a more-efficient gauge package or replacing a torn dashpad to more involved updates, like adding a new air conditioning system.

Many regular readers of All Chevy Performance will recognize the 1971 Camaro showcased across our pages, having followed its transformation from that of a stripped-out shell. As time has passed, we’ve focused on its suspension, brakes, LS driveline, cooling, exhaust, sheetmetal, wiring, and insulation. Looking deep into the bare interior, it’s time to focus on bringing it back to life with plenty of industry-leading technology to support the newly updated thunder of a 5.3L LC9 LS underhood. We recently followed up at Procision Industries in Taunton, Massachusetts, where shop owner, Pat O’Brien was preparing to move forward by taking on this very subject.

n this article, we’re looking at a 1968 Camaro being built at Roadster Shop. As is typical for a high-end build like this, they started with the best-quality donor vehicle that could be found. After fitting the Camaro body onto one of their Fast Track chassis, they did a complete scan of the body, and Mike O’Brien, the lead engineer at Roadster Shop, carefully designed a new floor to fit over the chassis, which kicks up in the rear to clear the independent rear suspension system.

Doing this work in CAD has many advantages. It was a straightforward process to determine the dimensions and shapes for all the panels, and to pinpoint the location of each reinforcing rib in the floor panels. All Roadster Shop chassis are CAD-designed, so that data was called into play to help design the floor, so it fits neatly to both the body and chassis in every critical area.

This digital information was also used to laser-cut guideplates to use on the Pullmax machine to precisely locate and form each rib. Some of the body mounts are located on the new floor, and these areas were heavily reinforced to provide the necessary strength.