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Daily Driven Muscle typography
PCV System for
Street Engines
’64 Chevelle Suspension
& Steering Rebuild
525hp
Twin-turbo
Straight-Six
PCV System for Street Engines
’64 Chevelle Suspension & Steering Rebuild
525hp
Twin-turbo Straight-Six
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December 2021
ACP department heading TOC
Departments
Features
Tony Causor’s ’66 Chevy II
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Katrina Updike’s ’69 Camaro
Sean Sullivan’s ’65 Chevelle SS
Bill Hugill’s ’65 Pro Street Corvette
Richard Johnson’s ’69 Camaro
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Event
The Southeast Gassers Association in Knoxville, Tennessee
Tech
Automotive Specialists and Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop Turn a Run-of-the-Mill Straight-Six into Something No One Has Ever Seen Before
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Rebuilding a Chevelle’s Front Suspension with CPP
An Optimized PCV System for Street Engines Can Minimize Oil Leaks and Might Improve Driveability
Bug Abatement on the Fly
On the Cover
Tony Causor’s project went through numerous starts and stops over the years, and today it’s totally on point and is one of the nicest ’66 Chevy II daily drivers on the road. See the full feature starting on page 16. Photography by Wes Allison.
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ACP December 2021 cover
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All Chevy Performance ISSN 2767-5068 (print) ISSN 2767-5076 (online) Issue 12 is published monthly by In the Garage Media, 370 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Placentia, CA 92870-6502. Postage paid at Placentia, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: All Chevy Performance c/o In the Garage Media, 1350 E. Chapman Ave #6550, Fullerton, CA 92834-6550 or email ITGM at subscription@inthegaragemedia.com. Copyright (c) 2021 IN THE GARAGE MEDIA. Printed in the USA. The All Chevy Performance trademark is a registered trademark of In The Garage Media.
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All Chevy Performance ISSN 2767-5068 (print) ISSN 2767-5076 (online) Issue 12 is published monthly by In the Garage Media, 370 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Placentia, CA 92870-6502. Postage paid at Placentia, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: All Chevy Performance c/o In the Garage Media, 1350 E. Chapman Ave #6550, Fullerton, CA 92834-6550 or email ITGM at subscription@inthegaragemedia.com. Copyright (c) 2021 IN THE GARAGE MEDIA. Printed in the USA. The All Chevy Performance trademark is a registered trademark of In The Garage Media.
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EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
BRIAN BRENNAN
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
NICK LICATA
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SARAH GONZALES
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ART DIRECTOR
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EDITORIAL TEAM
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Editorial contributions are welcomed but editors recommend that contributors query first. Contribution inquiries should first be emailed to info@inthegaragemedia.com. Do not mail via USPS as we assume no responsibility for loss or damage thereto. IN THE GARAGE MEDIA reserves the right to use material at its discretion, and we reserve the right to edit material to meet our requirements. Upon publication, payment will be made at our current rate, and that said, payment will cover author’s and contributor’s rights of the contribution. Contributors’ act of emailing contribution shall constitute and express warranty that material is original and no infringement on the rights of others.
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FIRING UP
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What Is It? typography
 BY NICK LICATA
I

n the world of classic muscle cars there is a solid variety to choose from should you want to start a fresh build or buy one already completed. The decision on which car to build or buy, whether it be a Chevelle, Nova, Tri-Five, Camaro, or a late-’50s or ’60s fullsize car, such as a Chevy Bel Air, Impala, or Biscayne, are only limited by your personal taste, imagination, and fatness of your wallet.

So, when it comes to which vintage muscle car is most popular these days, the first-generation Camaro appears to be the number one choice. More specifically, it’s the ’69 that gets most of the attention.

So what is it that makes this car so popular? We haven’t performed a comprehensive survey or the like, but I’ll take a stab at a few reasons on what I believe makes this car so popular.

 Parts Bin
InTheGarageMedia.com
 BY Nick Licata

FiTech’s Go EFI 4 Power Adder 600hp; Performance Online’s rear shock relocation kit pieces; PerTronix’s HEI cap and rotor kit pieces
FiTech’s Go EFI 4 Power Adder 600hp
Performance Online’s rear shock relocation kit pieces
PerTronix’s HEI cap and rotor kit pieces
1. Power Handler
FiTech’s Go EFI 4 Power Adder 600hp kit is just the ticket to replace a blow-through carb and even looks right at home atop a roots-style blower. This system is capable of supporting up to 21.7 pounds of boost out of the box as well as a single stage of wet nitrous. The air/fuel ratio is monitored and adjusted with FiTech’s fast-reacting, self-learning technology, plus the ignition timing can be controlled based on boost or nitrous. Most of the settings can be controlled through the touch-screen handheld monitor, but this system also comes with Pro-Tuning software to run on a laptop for even more specific mapping and tuning.
For more information, contact FiTech by calling (951) 340-2624 or visit fitechefi.com.
2. Second-Gen F-Body Rear Shock Relocation Kit
Performance Online’s rear shock relocation kit for ’70-81 Chevy Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds allows you to move your rear shocks inboard of the leaf springs for additional tire clearance and making the shock configuration into a non-staggered setup. Utilizing a non-staggered rear shock absorber allows you to run a traditional rear disc brake setup. It also allows the shock absorber to dampen suspension movement and axle twist more consistently. This kit will work with stock or lowered applications.
For more information, contact Performance Online by calling (866) 605-1453 or visit performanceonline.com.
3. Cap & Rotor
PerTronix’s HEI cap and rotor kits include nylon rotor hold-down screws. Flame-Thrower dust covers provide a larger air gap around the coil, which provides cooler operating temperatures. Cap and rotor kits meet or exceed OEM specifications and serve as direct replacements for ’75-90 Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac, and Cadillac applications with GM HEI ignition.
For more information, contact PerTronix by calling (909) 599-5955 or visit pertronixbrands.com.
ACP black typography CHEVY CONCEPTS
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1968 Nova Title

Text and Rendering by Tavis Highlander

A

lthough the owner of this Nova and I went through many design concepts, the one that really stuck out to me was a mild stock car theme. The look is easy to achieve and doesn’t require deep pockets. Instead, the theme requires a bit of restraint.

Front and center are the American Racing VF503 wheels that have been powdercoated black and have a red stripe added to the outer edge. The style of the wheel looks the part but also offers modern sizing advantages over steel wheels. Up front there’s a fabricated air dam/splitter assembly to aid with downforce. An appropriate sheetmetal rear wing could round out the aero for this build. Side exit oval exhaust completes the look and helps give the build a rowdy attitude.

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BY NICK LICATAPhotography BY Wes Allison
Less Is More: Tony Causor’s ’66 Chevy II
T

ony Causor is the kind of guy who, like many hot rodders, took to taking apart and modifying his Hot Wheels and other toy cars at a young age. Once Tony got old enough, he began getting his hands dirty helping out working on his dad’s cars. “Growing up, I remember helping my dad work on his cars in the garage,” Tony reminisces. “The knowledge I gained from my dad eventually led to me working on my own cars.”

1966 Chevy II Nova
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One-of-a-Kind Chevy Six typography
a run-of-the-mill straight-six engine from an old work truck
1. It is hard to look at the final result and realize that this engine started as a run-of-the-mill straight-six in some work truck built in 1958.
Automotive Specialists and Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop Turn a Run-of-the-Mill Straight-Six into Something No One has Ever Seen Before
BY Jeff Huneycutt Photography by The Author
H

ow many times have you been searching Craigslist or walking the aisles in a junkyard and find what might just be the perfect score only to raise the hood and be disappointed to find a pedestrian straight-six.

Of course, over the decades, Chevrolet put a lot more sixes in vehicles than they did their much sexier V-8s. The straight-six was Chevrolet’s main engine when it was introduced in 1929, going into almost everything all the way up to the V-8’s introduction in 1954. And even after the V-8 came around, the straight-six was the base engine for practically every model. Incredibly, the straight-six was still being produced in Brazil as recently as 1988.

So, given all that history, it is pretty darn cool that somebody is finally giving the straight-six its due. Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop in Gadsden, Alabama, builds some of the coolest pieces of fuel-burning art on four wheels. They’ve built some of the most famous hot rods ever made, including a Ridler Award winner and a Goodguys Street Machine of the Year.

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BY John Machaqueiro Photography by The Author
The Long Game
For Katrina Updike, Patience Paid Off in Getting the ’69 Camaro of Her Dreams
K

atrina Updike has always had a soft spot for first-gen Camaros. As she quickly points out, “I’ve always wanted a Camaro, and the ’69 is my favorite because it was the year I was born.” That longstanding desire to own one was a bucket list item, but as any hard-core Chevy person will tell you, ’69 Camaros in decent shape have become increasingly hard to find–and expensive. As is often the case, being in the right place at the right time, or knowing the right person, goes a long way to finding what you lust after. In Katrina’s case it was a matter of knowing the right person and playing the long game, which in her case was about 10 years.

For Katrina Updike, Patience Paid Off in Getting the ’69 Camaro of Her Dreams
1969 Camaro
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Suspension kit
Sometimes Basic is Best
Rebuilding a Chevelle’s Front Suspension with CPP
BY Todd Ryden Photography by the Author
W

e were wrapping up an oil change on our ’64 Chevelle not long ago and noticed a little top-to-bottom movement in the front wheels, which we took as the wheel bearings needing adjustment. After re-packing the bearings and setting the preload on the bearings the play was still there. Upon closer inspection, we noticed that the original ball joints were the cause of the excessive movement. Updating the front suspension had been on our “eventual” upgrade list for a while, but this finding moved it a little higher in the queue.

There are no shortage of performance suspension components available for Chevelles, including tubular control arms with improved geometry or versions to accept coilovers, but this old Malibu is your basic cruiser and is going to stay a basic cruiser. We’re talking gen-one small-block, a “one-wheel-peel” 10-bolt with 15-inch rallys wrapped in BFGoodrich radials.

To keep with our basic theme, we decided a stock rebuild of the front suspension was in order and surfed over to classicperform.com to see what Classic Performance Products (CPP) offered for a rebuild. They’re known for their performance coilover swap kits and cool tubular control arms, but they also offer stock replacement ball joints and control arm bushings as well as new stamped steel control arms just like the originals. If you plan to rebuild your stock control arms, you can upgrade from rubber bushings to CPP’s PolyPlus line of polyurethane bushings. Rubber is known for a smoother ride yet polyurethane improves the handling, road feel, and will last longer.

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BY NICK LICATA Photography by John Jackson
Malibu 2.0
Sully’s ’65 Chevelle SS
’65 Chevelle SS
M

entors come in various types of relationships, whether it’s a friend, an acquaintance, a big brother, or someone closer. “My dad, Jim Sullivan, got me interested in cars at a very young age,” Sean (Sully) Sullivan explains. “I went to car shows with him for as long as I can remember. Building cars came later when my dad bought me a ’67 Camaro for my eighth grade graduation to work on until I got my driver’s license.”

That Camaro was the catalyst to more builds of assorted brands over the years, but Sean always had a hankerin’ for an early Chevelle. “I really liked the looks of the square-body ’64 and ’65 Chevelle,” Sean states. “When I met Pat, the previous owner of this ’65 Chevelle, I’d contact him every month or so to see if he was ready to sell it. Of course, the answer was always ‘no,’ and at one point he stopped responding. Worried he had sold the Chevelle, without my knowledge, Jennifer, my wife had contacted him and purchased the car and then gave it to me for my 40th birthday. Talk about a cool birthday present. That was the best gift ever.”

With the car finally in Sean’s hands, he upgraded it right away with an LS3, TREMEC TKO 600, and bolted up a Ridetech air-ride suspension to the stock chassis. After several years in that configuration it was time to build it to version 2.0, if you will. It was already a nice car, but Sean had new ideas to bring onboard to the Chevelle. Having done so many builds with his dad, when he died Sean took to building cars solo. “My garage is too small for the type of work I wanted to do on this car,” Sean explains. “So, I contacted my buddy, Derek Carlson, owner of The Hot Rod Shop in Rancho Cordova [California], to see if he’d help me with the rebuild and use his shop. He understood the direction I wanted to go and he was excited to get involved. Besides, it was nice for me to get back to working on a project with someone else.”

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Crankcase Ventilation–Yes,
it’s Important
Crankcase
An Optimized PCV System for Street Engines Can Minimize Oil Leaks and Might Improve Driveability
BY Jeff Smith Photography by The Author
P

ositive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) can easily qualify as the least interesting aspect of a gearhead’s inventory of hot rod romance parts. Many people think that this system’s only benefit is to keep oil vapors from escaping valve cover vents that create that annoying oil mist that coats your engine and permeates into the passenger compartment.

So why bother to investigate such a nothing topic? Because there is much more to the PCV valve system than appearances would indicate and there can be multiple advantages to focusing attention on this little known circuit. If you think that minimizing oil leaks, reducing oil usage, preventing crankcase sludge, perhaps improving throttle response, and basically helping engine efficiency is a good idea read on.

Let’s start with how a PCV valve system functions. All internal combustion engines create crankcase pressure–generally referred to as blow-by. This is formed when cylinder pressure leaks past the rings and forms a mist of oil in the crankcase. This pressure must be ventilated or the buildup will very quickly push out valve cover or pan gaskets and force oil past the front and rear main seals. All of which is annoying, leading to a never-ending task of cleaning the engine bay. Just ask the guys with rags tied around their valve cover breathers.

Before 1962 production cars employed a road draft tube that dumped this oil mist on the road. Next time you see a photograph of a Los Angeles freeway from the early ’60s, look for wide black stripes of oil oozing down the center of each lane. Just imagine how slippery those freeways were after the first rain of the season!

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By Shawn Brereton Photography by The Author
Canadian Born, Texas Raised
Bill Hugill’s ’65 Pro Street Corvette
W

ith queues borrowed from drag racing cars—fat tires and power adders being the most prominent—it is hard to deny the appeal of a Pro Street vehicle. A Pro Street car will stop anyone in their tracks as soon as they see (or hear) it. If you don’t like attention, don’t buy one because you will get plenty of it—both good and bad. They usually draw the largest crowd at any show. Eavesdropping on the conversations, you’ll often hear detractors talking about how it isn’t practical; but they aren’t supposed to be.

Instead, they are the exact opposite—impractical, exaggerated, absurd, and extreme—and there’s nothing wrong with that. They are not daily drivers or grocery getters; they are weekend fun cars. Some say their sole purpose is to gain attention. The surprising part is that one would expect the owners to be maniacal egomaniacs who crave attention, but this is often the opposite. They just love watching people enjoy their creations. Such is the case of Bill Hugill from Boyd, Texas, and his ’65 Pro Street Corvette.

Bill has been a mechanic almost his entire life. Growing up with a mechanical inclination, he began by fixing other kids’ bikes. Bill’s career as an auto mechanic was born out of necessity when he bought a $600 car to drive and asked his dad for help. His dad said, “sure,” and then purchased the young lad a Chilton’s manual and told him to learn. Soon, it turned into working on friends’ vehicles, which blossomed into a lengthy, lucrative career with two shops now under his ownership. He was always tinkering, buying motorcycles and cars, fixing them up, and selling them (at one time he owned over 85 motorcycles).

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Rodney Bauman cleaning the car
Minor Detail
Bug Abatement on the Fly
BY “ROTTEN” RODNEY BAUMAN Photography by The Author
F

or some, the repetitious task of car washing is doggone drudgery, like a mindless, mundane, monotonous chore. Others may take the very same task to higher levels as serious business. Either way, this’ll be about a wash.

No matter which car-caring category you might fall into, the safety tips we’ll offer here could take the sting out of road trip cleanups, as well as higher-level detailing procedures. At any rate, the little work party to follow must be thrown.

To ensure a dramatic effect, we’ve chosen a colorful test vehicle. With its rather bright yellow frontend, “Guardrail” Willie Martin’s flammable ’55 Chevy is a moving target for a multitude of suicidal flying insect types—including things that sting.

ACP department heading Feature
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BY Nick Licata Photography by Jason Matthew
Positive Spin typography
white opening quotation marks
It all started when my son, Rick, and I got inspired after visiting Muscle Express in Jupiter, Florida,” Richard Johnson recalls. “My longtime friend Danny was building Camaros, Chevelles, and other vintage Chevys and stuffing them with LS engines. He asked when I was going to build one for myself. I thought about it for a bit and knew my son was good at LS wiring and ECUs, and with Danny’s connections it made sense, so I said ‘Let’s do it!’
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Richard Johnson’s ’69 Camaro Carries Plenty of Old-School Style
orange '69 Camaro feature image of front view
ACP EVENT
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drag race
woman presenting car in drag race
Retroactive
The Southeast Gassers Association Packs the House at Knoxville Dragstrip
BY Tommy Lee ByrdPhotography BY The Author
O

ld-school drag cars come in several varieties: survivors, restored cars, and tribute cars, just to name a few. Then there is the Southeast Gassers Association, a group of racers who have redefined vintage drag racing with side-by-side, heads-up action that replicates the excitement of the glory days of gasser racing. All cars must run on gasoline, utilize a manual transmission, and fit within the very strict appearance and mechanical rules package to compete.

Quain Stott, the man in charge of the Southeast Gassers Association, based the rules around the 1967 NHRA guidelines for the Gas Coupe and Sedan category. He put his own twist on it, by requiring all cars in the gas classes to use a straight axle and a manual transmission—no such rules existed back in the ’60s, but it was Stott’s way of keeping a level playing field. Even though the goal is period-correct gasser drag racing, there are several allowances for safety items to keep the drivers safe.

As the years have progressed, the group has been separated into three gas classes (A, B, and C, based on the car’s cubic inches and weight). Additionally, a Super Stock class has been added for a little more variety. You’ll notice the cars in the photo gallery that do not have a straight axle belong to the Super Stock category. All classes in Southeast Gassers Association racing go through technical inspection at each race and must be weighed after every round win to ensure they are within the rules. Visual inspections are also made before each race to ensure the period-correct appearance of each car. And this isn’t a loosely prepared set of guidelines—this is a legitimate rule book and it’s strictly enforced to keep the spirit of this event in check.

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This dragstrip relic was encountered behind a shuttered gas station near the late, great, Englishtown Raceway Park dragstrip in New Jersey. Drag racers praise the Monte Carlo’s 2 extra inches of wheelbase versus a same-year two-door Chevelle because the extra length puts the front tire centerline 2 inches farther forward. Since the engine sits in the same spot as any Chevelle, the effect is the same as a 2-inch engine set back and more static mass rests on the rear tires than a comparable Chevelle. The 15×5 Centerline front runners and barely visible tow bar hooks are just part of its drag-oriented modifications.
BY Steve Magnante Photography by the Author
Monte Carlos, Great and Small
This dragstrip relic was encountered behind a shuttered gas station near the late, great, Englishtown Raceway Park dragstrip in New Jersey. Drag racers praise the Monte Carlo’s 2 extra inches of wheelbase versus a same-year two-door Chevelle because the extra length puts the front tire centerline 2 inches farther forward. Since the engine sits in the same spot as any Chevelle, the effect is the same as a 2-inch engine set back and more static mass rests on the rear tires than a comparable Chevelle. The 15×5 Centerline front runners and barely visible tow bar hooks are just part of its drag-oriented modifications.
BY Steve Magnante Photography by the Author
Monte Carlos, Great and Small
P

ersonal luxury is what the Monte Carlo was all about. Unlike a full-dress Caprice, which was based on the comparatively huge Impala chassis or the Corvette, that though “personal” was far from luxurious, the Monte Carlo was perfectly sized with just two doors and enough plush upholstery to satisfy any fur coat salesman.

It’s often forgotten, but the Monte Carlo grew from the fertile mind of John Z. DeLorean. Yes, Johnny Z. may be best remembered for the ’64 Pontiac GTO, the gullwing door Back To The Future DMC-12 exoticar and a messy hotel room encounter with DEA agents—for which he was acquitted (see, he really was “a legitimate businessman”)—but without him the Monte wouldn’t be.

That’s because before he became president of Chevrolet on February 15, 1969, DeLorean was head of Pontiac Motor Division where he masterminded the creation of the all-new redesign of the Pontiac Grand Prix for 1969. You know the ’69 Grand Prix, it’s the car with the 6-foot-long hood.

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