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BY NICK LICATA
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fter recently returning from the 2022 SEMA show I have a lot of unpacking to do (mentally, not physically). With so much going on at that show my brain immediately goes into overdrive, so it’s going to take a while for me to assess, reassess, and attempt to soak it all in.
As usual, friends who didn’t make it to the show ask what I noticed as being the latest build trends. This year I have to say the most noticeable trend at SEMA was that there was no trend.
Let me explain: The Ringbrothers brought a truck they called “Enyo”—one of the wildest pickups I’ve ever seen. It’s a ’48 Chevy-based truck with F-1 influence via the independent cantilever suspension and big-fat racing slicks on all four corners, tricked-out aero, and relies on a 1,000hp marine engine for motivation. On the other hand, Ringbrothers also brought a ’69 Camaro called “Strode,” which is insanely customized with an extended chassis and wider-than-stock all-carbon-fiber body panels but appeared relatively mild in comparison to the truck, which not only stole the show but won the prestigious SEMA Battle of the Builders award.
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1. Lifting in Style
For more information, contact All American Billet by calling (844) 245-5381 or visit allamericanbillet.com.
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2. Light Housings
For more information, contact Classic Industries by calling (888) 816-2897 or visit classicindustries.com.
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3. Short Throw Shifter
For more information, contact Bowler Transmissions by calling (618) 943-4856 or visit bowlertransmissions.com.
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Text and Rendering by Tavis Highlander
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solid starting point helps push any project forward quicker. Luckily, owner Andy Verzura was able to snag a rust-free body in Texas to get his ’55 build off to a good start. Taking care of the build is Tyree Smith of TyTech Performance. TyTech has loads of experience in making cars go fast down the track and this Bel Air will do that as well as be able to drive cross-country.
Power will be coming from a Magnuson supercharged LSX 454 backed up by a paddle-shifted TCI 6L80E. A full TCI chassis with a Ford 9-inch will manage all the torque and handle the bumps. Big 14-/13-inch rotors and 6/4 piston calipers from Wilwood should be up to the task of bringing everything to a stop.
On the outside everything is cleaned up and fitted nicely, but no radical body mods are in store. The main portion of the body will be Aston Martin Xenon Gray while the rear quarters and roof will be metallic black. Forgeline CV3C wheels with gloss black hoops and satin black centers round out the look.
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earheads are known for pushing boundaries and often struggle with knowing when to quit. Just 1 more pound of boost, or just one size larger nitrous jet can get even the most seasoned gearhead into trouble. But when it comes to raw, naturally aspirated horsepower, bigger is always better. Such is the case with this ’56 Chevy 150, a car that has show-winning qualities, combined with big-time horsepower from a Scott Shafiroff 615ci big-block. Jason Stills owns the rowdy Tri-Five, and he isn’t afraid to cruise it around town or make a 9-second pass. It’s certainly on the extreme side of the street car spectrum, with an extensive rollcage and plenty of race-ready details, but it runs on pump gas, so that counts as a street car, right?
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BY Jeff Huneycutt Photography by The Author
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But that doesn’t mean everyone wants to run the exact same engine.
FiTech Fuel Injection is probably most commonly known for their fuel-injected throttle bodies that allow car guys (and girls) to easily replace their carbureted setup with fuel injection. But the company has also developed a wide range of port fuel-injected intake setups for LS engines that never came with carbs. And it’s turned out to be a pretty comprehensive kit as well as a great way to improve performance.
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few years ago, Garry Gallo was triggered by his buddy Mike Kraemer’s purchase of a green ’55 Chevy gasser. Now, when you look at the definition of the word triggered, it usually means that it’s a response to something that is often perceived as being negative or harmful. For Garry, there was nothing nefarious in Kraemer’s purchase, but it did bring back some vivid memories from his youth. He recalls, “When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I used to hang out at a neighbor’s house and he had four daughters, with the oldest one being regularly picked up by a guy in this loud and obnoxious car that was jacked up in the front. The minute I saw it, I thought it was the most badass car that I had ever seen.” As you can probably guess it was a green ’55 Chevy.
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f you drive an old car enough, you’ll run into some regular maintenance issues that can be quite a pain. Such is the case with our ’64 Chevelle daily driver. This is a relatively low-mileage car, just recently turning over the 100,000-mile mark. Even with low mileage and a very easy life, compared to most cars from the muscle car era, this cruiser needed some attention. We’ve logged approximately 40,000 miles in this car, and it’s always been faithful with its 283 and Powerglide. The original 10-bolt rearend is still in place as well.
Despite the car’s dependability, we noticed an issue on a recent road trip that fast-tracked this long-forgotten maintenance item to the top of our to-do list. The axle seal on the passenger side was slinging gear oil all over the inside of the tire, wheel, and drum brake assembly. Unfortunately, it looked like it had been leaking for quite some time, but it was an “out of sight, out of mind” situation. We didn’t run the rearend dry on gear oil, but once these seals start leaking, it’ll only get worse.
We went to Summit Racing to see what kind of parts were available. Lucky for us, Summit had the seals in stock for less than $5 per piece. Replacing the axle seals is a relatively extensive job, considering that the parts to fix it come in at less than $10. However, there are a few other expenses involved. Since we had the rearend pulled apart we wanted to replace the bearings. We used high-quality Timken seals and bearings and a Fel-Pro rearend cover gasket, and then grabbed 2 quarts of 80W-90 gear oil.
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Brad Mrstik’s ’57 Chevy 150
BY NICK LICATA Photography by JOHN JACKSON
ri-Fives are cool. The ’55,’56, and ’57 Chevys have remained popular for various reasons, but we’ll give a good amount of credit to the vintage body style that looks just as sexy today as it did in Chevrolet showrooms nearly 70 years ago.
Brad Mrstik first took notice of a ’57 210 parked in a driveway just a few doors down from his house. It was owned by a couple high-school age brothers who seemed to have their heads under the hood more often than their butts in the seats. At only 6 years of age the image and shape of that ’57 somehow became emblazed in Brad’s young mind and played a big part on which model cars to build a few years later.
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hen it comes to bad actor cars, most gearheads are all about making power and going quicker and faster. That places major emphasis on horsepower and torque but this also leads to the more challenging question of how to manage all that power and convert it into traction. This story will outline a basic understanding of the various rear suspension designs. Many enthusiasts gloss over these systems or merely follow whichever system seems to be currently popular.
As a true enthusiast, it’s important to understand how each of these systems function, what makes them different, and which one offers the best approach based on the performance goal. An optimal drag race rear suspension would be a crippling disadvantage trying to find bite coming off an autocross turn or on a road course.
We will look at the popular rear suspension designs with a simple overview of each. Because we must cram all these systems into a single story, this means we are forced to leave out a mountain of details. Think of this story as a smorgasbord or an ice cream taste test where you can quickly sample all the different flavors and then decide which offers the best one that suits your particular taste. You can then launch into a more detailed search into the system that best meets your goals.
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Paul Coppola’s ’02 Z28 Camaro
BY SCOTTY LACHENAUER Photography by THE AUTHOR
aul Coppola of Rotterdam, New York, doesn’t remember not being infatuated with cars. “As a little kid, they were my favorite thing. Every toy I ever got was somehow related to them; Power Wheels, Hot Wheels, and models were all part of my stash. I would even wash and detail my mom’s car when I was a kid. It was the world to me,” Paul states.
Sadly, tragedy struck the family. “My dad [died] when I was 5. He ran a small body shop and used car lot. He sold all models of cars, but he only owned Chevy trucks and a few Corvettes, which he saved for summer fun. He took me to work every day while my mom was in nursing school. I would sit in the body shop all day as a 3-year-old, handing him tools and being very content. I also vividly remember riding in his Vette in my car seat and loving every minute of it,” Paul tells.
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BY “Rotten” Rodney Bauman Photography by The Author
ike so many others my age, I tend to resist change. As an automotive painter I was among the last to relinquish the lacquer. That was in my own original hometown of Riverside, California.
There, in the ’70s (toward the tail end of the van craze), McPeak Painting & Pinstriping was cranking out the custom paintwork. To help maintain the flow, McPeak employed a varying number of full-time painters—and for a period I was one of them.
Looking back, our custom paint pioneers didn’t have so much to work with. As late as the ’70s, we used lacquer for multicolor basecoat applications. For urethane clearcoats, Ditzler offered DAU75, and that was pretty much what we used.
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Sam Smith’s ’63 Corvette Sting Ray Restomod
he ’63 Corvette Sting Ray coupe, with its sleek body lines and signature split rear window, make it the pinnacle of styling for muscle cars and comparable sports cars of the era. With much of its design inspiration borrowed from marine life, it was GM’s Bill Mitchell’s curiosity with the stingray and mako sharks that brought those elements into the Corvette. The gills behind the front wheels and the spine-like element that divided the rear window glass are both borrowed from a couple of intimidating sea creatures, which translated exceptionally well on the ’63 Corvette’s fiberglass body. Other notable ’63 Corvette introductions were the independent rear suspension for improved handling, hideaway headlights, and the split front bumper, making the car more unique and futuristic than the previous Corvette model.
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he Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN) serves up a healthy plate of muscle car goodness at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Usually held on the third weekend of November, the MCACN show has become more than that–it’s now an annual event–one that increasingly showcases rare muscle car unveilings from some of the top restoration shops.
Every year the organizers keep the show fresh by creating invitational displays that highlight a specific milestone in the muscle car era. The show is brand agnostic and uniquely American in flavor with some of the finest and rarest muscle cars that are still with us.
For the GM faithful, as you entered the show, greeting you was one such example. On display was the No. 3 1960 Cunningham Le Mans Corvette class winner currently owned by Irwin Kroiz. As you walk deeper into the hall, on display was a ’67 Chevelle SS still wearing its original paint, vinyl top, and interior–and only 48.2 miles on the odometer–all logged in quarter-mile increments. Other race-prepped cars, some with Yenko pedigree, could be found on display as well.
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