BY Evan Perkins Photography by The Author

hen Chevrolet’s Gen V engine hit the market, it was a radical change for GM V-8 enthusiasts. The pushrods were still present, the cylinder heads were aluminum and reminiscent of the outgoing LS generation, but the fuel injectors were in a radically different place. Rather than incorporate the muti-port fuel injection that had long been the industry standard, for the Gen V (LT-based) engines, GM chose to add high-tech direct-port injection.

This new style of fuel delivery placed the fuel injector outlet directly in the combustion chamber. The effect is much more control over fuel per cylinder with a host of other efficiencies. However, for the hot rodder, it seemed, well, intimidating as these new systems require extremely high fuel pressures, upwards of 2,000 psi. This is accomplished in OEM vehicles by using an in-tank electric pump paired with a mechanical pump driven off the camshaft.

When swapping an LT into a classic vehicle, such as this ’68 ex-Super Stock Camaro being built at Stoker’s Hot Rod Factory, in Upland, California, the mechanical fuel pump is retained in the engine and only a new low-pressure side needs to be retrofitted.

BY TOMMY LEE BYRD Photography by The Author

hen you’re dealing with a budget beater, it’s hard to justify dumping tons of money into it. Such is the case with our ’77 Nova four-door beater. It’s a little rough, and definitely tired, but for a total investment of $2,000, we’re embracing the low-buck nature of this project. As we’ve been driving it regularly, the Nova developed a squeal in the front brakes, and upon inspection we noticed that the pads were worn down to the wear tabs and the rotor surface appeared to be glazed over badly. This inspired a full overhaul of the front braking system, but we wanted to keep a strict budget to stay in line with the theme of this car.

We hopped onto SummitRacing.com to start shopping around for the least-expensive parts. Our wish list included brake rotors, calipers, pads, flex hoses, and wheel bearings. Summit offers many options for original replacement, as well as upgraded components. When it comes to bang for the buck we couldn’t resist splurging for Summit’s drilled-and-slotted rotors instead of originals. Summit Racing also makes its own brake pads, so we added those to the cart, in addition to the AC Delco replacement brake calipers. Dorman flex hoses and Timken wheel bearings finished our order, until we remembered to grab a can of Summit’s rubberized undercoat so we could give the Nova’s undercarriage a rattle can restoration while it was apart. Our order total came to $298, barely sneaking under the $300 mark.

BY Jeff Huneycutt Photography by The Author

n a perfect world, every car build starts out with a brand-new rolling chassis from Roadster Shop, Art Morrison, Scott’s Hotrods, or some other quality builders. But, in our world, that dream will just have to live in our heads a little bit longer.

Still, there are things you can do on a limited budget to help bring an old chassis back to life. That’s exactly what we were faced with when we dragged this ’80 Corvette home. The engine was shot, the transmission and most of the interior was missing, and, generally speaking, it was a basket case. But we got it for a good price, and the birdcage seemed to be in good shape—if you know anything about old Corvettes, that’s a big deal. So, it seemed worth saving.

This project, however, is experiencing severe mission creep. Chevrolet switched from fiberglass to steel floorpans in either 1976 or 1977, and the steel floors in our ’80 were severely rusted. In order to get the floors cut out and replaced properly, we decided the body needed to come off the chassis to create enough room to do it right.

t is the way of the world today. Technology improves the breed. Flat tappet cams had their day but if performance is your goal, one step that can really complement a good set of cylinder heads is the upgrade to a hydraulic roller cam. Yes, the cost to convert to a hydraulic roller is higher than just replacing a flat tappet cam. But there are multiple advantages to a hydraulic roller cam engine that we’ll go over before we show how easy it is to convert an ’86 and later model 350ci small-block Chevy over to a roller.

To update a pre-’86, two-piece rear main seal small-block Chevy to a roller, beyond just the cost of the cam and lifters, the conversion will also require a reinforced timing cover and a cam button to limit forward cam movement. This requires a button that presses against the inside of the timing cover to minimize forward cam travel.