aking horsepower requires a special skill set, which includes attention to detail inside the engine. The outside of the engine doesn’t affect horsepower, but it can set your car apart from the others at the local cruise night. During a recent project, we gave an outdated big-block Chevy a new look, while also improving its performance capabilities. We started with a crusty 396 and didn’t make many substantial horsepower improvements, but we did help its curb appeal without spending a tremendous amount of money on dress-up items.

Many of the parts and pieces that we installed were intended to bring the engine into the modern era of performance, but those components also gave it a fresh appearance. So we combined that with cleaning and painting to create a nice-looking package for a driver-quality car. Make no mistake, this isn’t show-car stuff, as we performed these upgrades with the engine still installed in the car and we didn’t go to extraordinary lengths to refurbish any original components.

The idea was to take away the ’80s appearance by first removing the bright yellow plug wires, “braided” radiator hose covers, and rusty valve covers. We also stripped down the cooling system and removed the intake manifold to have proper access to the block and cylinder heads for a little rattle-can restoration. A fresh coat of Chevrolet Orange helped breathe some life back into the old big-block, and we were able to start installing the new parts we ordered from Summit Racing.

ars were meant to be driven. David Whitmer’s ’72 Nova with the ultrarare Sky Roof option is no exception. Whitmer restored the car after high school by rebuilding all the mechanical bits, replacing multiple rotten panels, and lovingly blocking the body on which he sprayed the paint.

The Nova has garnered plenty of street miles since its restoration, now with Whitmer’s wife and young daughter in tow. With even more family outings planned, more road miles to be earned, and considerably more precious cargo, it was time to up the reliability, driveability, and fun factor of the car once again. That process entailed a switch to modern, electronic fuel injection.

raking systems changed a lot during the ’60s. It was common to see drum brakes and single-pot master cylinders well into the muscle car era, but dual master cylinders were made mandatory by 1967. It can be argued that these early systems were adequate for the time, but we can all agree that trusting your life with a single-reservoir master cylinder is not advised on today’s highways. Drum brakes aren’t quite as dangerous, but they’re not nearly as capable as disc brakes, which weren’t standardized until several years later.

By Scotty Lachenauer Photography by The Author

oe Tavellas’s story starts out like many of us in the automotive hobby. As he tells it: “My background on cars and fixing stuff goes back a long way. I’ve been working on my own projects since I was around 10 years old. Minibikes, dirt bikes, and quads were first on the list. A few years later, I was ready for my first car.”

Of course, there was a major “influencer” in the house, and that was his father, Joe Sr; a jack-of-all-trades and an all-around car guy. “I learned a lot from my dad growing up and was always interested in what he was working on at the time. And it was usually a Chevy,” Joe states.

However, as he got into his teens, his preferences changed. “Oddly enough, at the age of 16, the craze with my generation was the Honda Civic Bubble Hatchback. I remember telling my father I wanted one. He said ‘no way …’ but if you want a hatchback, you should get a VW Golf. Long story short, we got a VW for $800, and that’s where it started for me.”

he world is full of compromises. What we’d really like to run in our next Chevelle Pro Touring project is a GM eight-speed automatic with a paddle shifter behind a killer all-aluminum 427 LS engine cranking 700 normally aspirated horsepower. That’s what we’d really like to do.

But the harsh reality of life points to a powertrain that must be a bit more conservative that includes a carbureted small-block Chevy and a basic, 30-spline, 700-R4 four-speed automatic. The overdrive trans promised decent street performance after a freshening but we were hesitant to employ it after witnessing a string of poor experiences with TV cable snafus on two different friends’ cars.

he Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) is one of those events we mark on our calendar a year ahead as a “must-attend.” The GNRS is held the final weekend in January at the Pomona Fairplex in Southern California. The venue has a long history of hot rodding as it is also home to the NHRA Winternationals, which began in 1961, and World Finals since 1984, the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, as well as the highly popular Pomona Swap Meet & Classic Car Show. Needless to say, the Pomona Fairplex is hallowed ground for hot rodding, drag racing, and pretty much anything automotive related.

Started in 1950, the National Roadster Show called various Northern California locations home over the years (in 1963 “Grand” was added to the name), when the event was moved to Southern California’s Pomona Fairplex in 2004. Today, the GNRS consumes seven massive exhibit halls and draws arguably the best of the best high-end vintage hot rods from all over the country—most of which are competing for the elusive America’s Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award as well as other various class awards.

Yes, the word “roadster” is in the event title, and, yes, there are plenty of roadsters on display, but this show offers a wide variety of classics, too. We’re talking muscle cars, customs, lowriders, hot rods (patina and shiny), and pretty much everything in-between. And with the multitude of brands being represented, there is something to satisfy the palate of just about every classic auto enthusiast.