ome of General Motors’ truly spectacular cars were built from 1964-72 on what was called the A-body platform. Over the years there has been some confusion about the A-body designation as it had been used by GM as far back as 1926 to distinguish between the various chassis dimensions being built for the variety of brands produced. The alphabet soup basically continued into the ’60s indicating the size of the car: “A” representing most Chevrolets and Pontiacs, “B” Buicks and Oldsmobiles, “C” Series 60 Cadillacs and Buick Roadmasters, and “D” Cadillac Series 75.

Beginning in 1964 the A-body designation was used to identify intermediate-size cars that included versions of the Chevrolet Chevelle, Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Buick Skylark. Interestingly, GM had a corporate policy that limited engine displacement for these cars to 330 ci. However, the brain trust at Pontiac decided to stuff 389ci V-8s into the LeMans and created the GTO package as an option. The resultant sales caused the GM management to see dollar signs, so they bumped the cubic inch limit to 400 for 1965. By 1970 the cubic inch restriction was removed, giving rise to some of the most impressive muscle cars ever produced.

his is the opposite of putting lipstick on a pig (or whatever you want to call it).

We’re talking about taking one of the all-time-great engines—Chevrolet’s LS series—and dressing it to look like a classic, first-generation small-block. First off, when done right the LS engine is a great-looking powerplant all on its own. But sometimes you may want to disguise exactly what it is you’ve got powering your ride.

Sometimes you just don’t want your LS to look like an LS. This is particularly true when you are building a classic and you want to keep that old-school feel. If the outside of your Chevy car or truck looks all original, it can be a bit jarring to open the hood and find a modern powerplant sitting between the framerails. A first-generation small-block, or maybe even a 409 or rat motor, would look more at home in the engine bay. Or maybe you’re running a sleeper and want your potential victims to think you are running a workaday carbed small-block and not a big-inch LS with modern ignition controls and horsepower numbers a stock small-block 350 could only dream of.

hen it comes to assembling your next engine, the process of setting bearing clearances can be a bit intimidating to aspiring engine builders. Worse yet are the ones who just assume that if the crankshaft spins with the main caps torqued the clearance must be correct. If you are reading this story, you are likely the type of engine enthusiast who knows that effort usually is handsomely rewarded.

This process does require some specialty measurement tools and a fair amount of patience, but it is neither difficult nor mathematically challenging. It just requires the willingness to perform some careful measurements while paying attention to the details. There are also some tweaks to the process that can be employed to come up with the proper specifications.

e’ve shown you action from the Southeast Gassers Association in the past, and that coverage typically comes from Knoxville Dragway in Tennessee. As 2024 approached, we were excited to hear that our favorite gasser group would be returning to Brainerd Motorsports Park, a historic eighth-mile dragstrip in Ringgold, Georgia. This track hosted the gassers a few years ago and drew huge crowds to watch the unpredictable action, but various factors played into the group’s decision to race elsewhere during its highly contested championship series. Thankfully, those fences were mended and the authentic gasser organization could get back to business at Brainerd.

In case this is your first time reading about the Southeast Gassers Association, this group of racers is dedicated to accurately representing the gasser wars of the ’60s. They do so in period-correct cars, which play by a strict set of rules based on performance factors and appearance. The racing is true heads-up action—no handicap starts or breakouts. To even the playing field, there are multiple classes, separated just like they did it back in the ’60s. The cars are weighed and classified by the weight to cubic-inch ratio. C/Gas comes in at 10 pounds per cubic inch, B/Gas is 8 pounds per cubic inch, and A/Gas is 6 pounds per cubic inch. The A/Gas racers are the top dogs of the group, pushing the limits of the old-school suspension. Other classes, including Super Stock, H/Gas, and A/FX add to the event, keeping action on the track all day long.

ome parts of the country have a climate that is conducive to year-round car shows, but for most of us, the winter months are spent in the garage. By March, cabin fever sets in and it’s time to get out. For 47 years, the Corvette Expo in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, has been the go-to season opener for folks in the Southeast, but it has expanded over the years to reach a broader audience. A few years ago, the Corvette Expo event organizers added a special feature area for Chevelles, which has morphed into Chevys in general, so it’s not uncommon to see Camaros, Novas, Chevy trucks, and more. The Chevys in the Smokies feature widens the audience and has sparked significant growth in the event.

From NCRS-certified stockers to wild custom creations, the Corvette Expo has a great variety of cars on hand. We saw a significant increase in C8 Corvette participation this year, ranging from bone-stock base model cars to highly modified customs. As always, the early Corvettes get a lot of attention from the purists, but there were lots of great late-model cars in attendance. Those late models are the most likely to take part in the Dragon Cruise, a coordinated driving event, that tackles the famed Tail of the Dragon, a mountain road that has 318 curves in 11 miles.