Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 1, Issue 4 April 2021 i All Chevy Performance

INSTAGRAM @TAVISHIGHLANDER TAVISHIGHLANDER.COM Chris Holstrom Concepts tasked me with helping to restyle an auction-purchased Corvette that was already done. Done is never really the final stage of any classic car though, and this Vette needed some help. A modern driving experience with classic looks is the goal here, and the foundation of this build is an Art Morrison GT Sport chassis with IRS. Up front, there’s a 427ci LS3 topped with Borla stack induction. A T56 handles the gears and Baer 6P 14-inch brakes keep everything in check. The exterior has been kept simple and classic but has an attention to detail that makes it that much nicer than any 1964 ever was when it rolled off the assembly line. Bumpers have been tucked and adjusted, gaps scrutinized, and the…

When it comes to holding onto memories, we all go about it in different ways. For some folks the memories alone are self-sustaining while others rely on inanimate objects to help preserve them. Those objects can come in all forms. For Alex Deck, some of his fondest memories are preserved in the form of a 1980 Camaro Z28. It is a tangible link to his youth and the memory of his father Michael, who died in 2015. The Z was purchased new as a daily driver by the elder Deck and was given a plethora of ’80s bolt-on performance upgrades early on. Having been exposed to the car as a youngster, Alex recalls, “When I was a kid I couldn’t say Camaro, so it was always the blue car, and…

Many of our favorite cars wearing a Chevrolet nameplate were produced decades ago, but while we may love those vintage vehicles, there’s no disputing they can often benefit from more recent technology. Things like electronic ignition, fuel injection, and an overdrive transmission are common updates. Of course there are less-complicated improvements that can also have a big impact. One example is a serpentine accessory drive system. Rather than multiple V-belts and the stacked pulleys that are often required to spin engine-driven accessories, a serpentine system uses a single belt. The obvious advantage is that a lone belt with all the pulleys on the same plane takes up much less room on the front of the engine. There are also a number of other reasons to make the switch. A single,…

The automotive performance industry is all about improvements. It’s about adding performance or to enhance the driving experience. If the engineers are exceptionally talented, the product does both. TREMEC lit a fire under the five-speed market with the original T-5 that was eventually used in multiple Chevrolet and GM applications in the ’80s, but it wasn’t really designed to handle the torque of a healthy small-block Chevy. This pushed the development of the TKO five-speed that was eventually upgraded to withstand 600 lb-ft of torque. This five-speed has been a staple overdrive trans choice for many years, but with this following also came the demand for improvements. The biggest issues revolved around its ability to both shift at engine speeds beyond 6,000 rpm and changes that would make it easier…

FEATURE OF THE MONTH SPONSORED BY OPTIMA BATTERIES Basically every muscle car enthusiast has no problem recalling the person or event that pulled them into the scene. Marc Albright remembers the path quite clearly. “My dad got me into cars as a young kid,” Marc says. “He raced Formula V in his youth, which was always his interest growing up. That passion carried over to me early on, as every year we would go to the Long Beach Grand Prix for my birthday because I had such a love for IndyCars.” With racing and horsepower in his blood, Marc drove a healthy 1969 Nova throughout his high school years. The car was fast and well known within the local street scene. It was his daily driver—his only mode of transportation.…

There was a time when the hot-rodding world was flat. Not in the ships-falling-off-the-edge-of-the-planet sense, but in that every hopped-up cam grind was of the flat tappet variety. They were plentiful, cheap, and easy to install. But, much like a vinyl record collection, are they still relevant in the modern performance scene? In a world of roller cams, roller rockers, and a pace of life that is absolute grease lighting, we stopped to ask if some of the speed parts of our past still have a place in modern engine building. The response from today’s aftermarket manufacturers was a resounding “duh.” “Hydraulic, flat tappet cams are cheap and still make plenty of power for most street-driven cars,” Zach Woods of Speedway Motors says. “The other place flat tappets are still…

In 1969, for the first and last time, Chevrolet offered an SS 396 option package called RPO Z25 for Chevelles. Both before and after 1969 the SS 396 was a distinct Chevelle series, and it was available only with V-8 Malibu sport coupes, convertibles, or El Caminos. In 1969, one unique aspect of option Z25 was that it could be had with any model, including the bare-bones V-8 300 Deluxe series two-door coupe and two-door sport coupe. There were only two logical reasons for anyone to buy a Chevelle 300 Deluxe: first, all else being equal, it cost less than other Chevelles, and second, it was considerably lighter than other Chevelles. Both of these attributes resulted from less content. The 300 Deluxe model got rubber floor mats in place of…

When Chevrolet unveiled the 1958 passenger car lineup, the public was astonished to see that the entire passenger car line (except Corvette) sat nearly 3 inches lower than the 1957s. At the time this was a big deal since all of Detroit was caught up in a race to be the longest, lowest, and widest. The key detail that allowed the new 1958s to sit so low was the novel X-frame they rode on. Unlike the conventional perimeter frame found under the 1957s, by pinching the side rails together around the driveshaft tunnel—and splitting the driveshaft into two nearly equal halves—the floorpan’s footwells sank closer to the ground without losing any ground clearance. And a lower floorpan allowed for lower cowl height and roof line measurements. Chevy continued the use…

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM YOUR AIR CONDITIONING INSTALLATION Of all the additions that can be made to any early car for passenger comfort, a modern climate-control system has to be at the top of the list. Riding around on a hot day without A/C can feel like you’re in an oven. When the weather turns cold, it’s even uncomfortable for brass monkeys. Fortunately, we don’t have to suffer due to Mother Nature’s whims no matter what we drive, thanks to Vintage Air. The heater portion of a climate-control system is relatively simple; hot water passes through the small radiator like a heater core with a blower motor to warm the passenger compartment. On the other hand, air conditioning is more complicated; it cools by removing heat and humidity…

Jim Meyer was a retired machinist, but he was also a craftsman who built cars for the love of building cars. He didn’t do it for attention, even though the cars he built over his 50 years in the hobby got plenty of it due to the quality of his work. He made a name for himself in the Wichita, Kansas, area for his prior builds, which included everything from 1955 Chevys to Model T hot rods. He simply liked going to car shows with the family and hanging with his buddies who shared his passion. “Growing up we went to every local car show and rod run in the Wichita area,” Jim’s son, Dusty, remembers. “Whatever car he was working on at the time he would enter in the…

There is one important thing you need to remember about driving original, old cars: They drive and handle like old cars. That’s right, our favorite, unrestored old Chevys just don’t cut the mustard when it comes to braking, cornering, and tight handling. To most of us, however, that’s just part of the charm. Our 1964 Chevelle remains very much original besides an updated 350 and overdrive transmission. We’re talking original suspension and rearend, door seals, steering, and non-functioning AM radio. And you know what? We’re fine with the excessive wind noise, OK with a little body roll, and actually enjoy the white noise of the small-block. One area that we were not cool with anymore was the single-pot master cylinder and manual drum brakes. We’ve driven the Chevelle for years…