hen it comes to installing a camshaft the operation is pretty straightforward: lube the lobes, slide it in the block, and install the timing chain set. But for those gearheads who might want to adjust the timing of the cam for a little more low-end grunt or to move the powerband up a few hundred rpm, there’s more to the simple stab-and-go approach. And even if you find yourselves, like us, not chasing that little bit of extra power but like the idea of double-checking that everything is as advertised, there lies more to a camshaft install than one might realize. This extra step is commonly known as “degreeing” the camshaft.

In layman’s terms, degreeing a camshaft is the simple operation of checking that the installed camshaft functions happen as specified on the cam card. Each and every camshaft is ground to achieve a certain event at a certain moment, so it’s important to ensure that those events happen when they’re supposed to after the camshaft and timing chain set are installed. This easy operation ensures that not only has the camshaft been manufactured according to the cam card’s specs, but also ensures that the engine builder didn’t make a mistake—a mistake that could possibly take out expensive components if installed incorrectly. By comparing the results from degreeing the camshaft with the cam card, we can verify that the valves will open and close when they’re supposed to and the lift and duration is as advertised.

n LS swap into a Chevelle is not breaking news. In fact, it’s a nearly commonplace occurrence. Most media stories reveal just the main points and never the little details and information that make the swap a success. There are plenty of nuances to these swaps and after struggling through our fair share of these, we thought we’d share the little nuggets as well. For example, if you don’t choose the right oil pan, ground clearance will suffer, the pan will hit the crossmember or the steering linkage at full lock.

Our test mule is a somewhat out-of-the ordinary 1967 Custom 300 sedan that Eric Rosendahl purchased with a small-block 383 and a TREMEC five-speed. While he loved the car with its Hotchkis suspension, 17-inch wheels, four-wheel discs, and great paint, he envisioned a modern driveline with a much more tractable 5.7L LS and a 4L60E controlled with a factory ECU. The swap demanded quite a bit of time to execute correctly as the project ran into typical old car issues that added to the build time.

f you are familiar with NASCAR Cup engines, then you are likely aware that they have used their solid-gold R&D budgets to develop dry-sump oiling systems that use a multi-stage pump to do more than just move motor oil around. The engines are actually sealed tight, and the external oil pump also scavenges air along with oil to effectively pull a vacuum inside the crankcase.

Obviously they are doing that because it helps create horsepower. But the Cup system also comes with a lot of complexity and maintenance, and for hobby-level racers dry-sump oiling systems aren’t usually legal. The good news, however, is there is an option for those of us with cubic zirconia budgets that can get us close to the same result.

or most performance fans, the 2020 Corvette is just about perfect. With tons of horsepower cranking out from the mid-engine 6.2L LT2 powerplant, big sticky tires at the four corners, and an interior right out of a SpaceX rocket, there’s no reason to change a thing, right?

As if that weren’t enough, J.R. applied some further power-adder madness, the kind of crazy “what if” thinking that has powered many of his high-powered creations around speedways like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Yep, J.R. decided to “poke the bear” and pulled out a Nitrous Express nitrous kit, forcing that highly explosive gas into the virgin engine’s cylinders just to see what it would do. But that’s just J.R. Granateltli, we were to learn.

odern technology has certainly crept into our world of hot rodding and performance. There are plenty of electronically controlled devices, from ignitions to gauges, transmissions, and, of course, fuel injection systems. In many cases, these make great updates to our Chevys, but sometimes keeping things simple is a welcome change.

One of the great debates over the last decade is that of going with modern EFI or sticking with the old technology of a carburetor. It seems that all the talk is about throttle bodies and port fuel injection these days, but we recently saw the updates Edelbrock made to their line of AVS series carburetors and we can tell you that the R&D on their tried-and-true carbs continues right alongside their EFI program.

They recently released the next generation of their carbs as the AVS 2 series, which has received a number of upgrades while keeping it affordable and easy to tune. In fact, they started with all-new tooling for the carb, which is cast and assembled in Sanford, North Carolina. You’ll quickly notice the details and crisp appearance of the fresh housing right away.