All Chevy Performance Volume 1, Issue 7 July 2021

There seems to be a resurgence in old-school-style builds—an outright attraction to what was cool back in the ’60s and early ’70s: Gassers, or at least cars built with a gasser look and style, are making a raging comeback, and the Southeast Gasser Association is taking their drag racing series next level as far as authenticity and accuracy goes. The Columbus, North Carolina, drag racing association has adopted strict rules for the sole purpose of keeping their events reminiscent of how the gasser drag racing classes looked and operated back in the ’60s—1967 to be exact. This means cars approved to compete must be 1967 or earlier model years, have period-correct wheels and tires, chassis and suspension, interior, and engine bay appearance, and the body mods must be consistent with…

1. PREMIUM CAMARO QUARTERS Auto Metal Direct (AMD) has completely re-tooled and now offers premium quarter-panels for the 1969 Camaro. The new premium versions focus on areas that have troubled these quarter-panel reproductions in the past, like the door gap, tail panel seams, deck filler, and decklid intersection, to name a few. Save money with less labor costs to get your Camaro back in the game. Like all AMD parts, these quarter-panels arrive EDP-coated to help protect against rust and corrosion prior to installation. For more information, contact Auto Metal Direct by calling (877) 575-3586 or visit autometaldirect.com. 2. LATERAL X SUBFRAME CONNECTORS Performance Online (POL) Lateral X 1967-1969 Camaro and Firebird subframe connectors stiffen the unibody, reduce chassis flex, and strengthen the chassis. It’s completely bolt-on with no cutting,…

If you just quickly glance at this project, all you’ll see is a slick, low-slung, bubbletop Impala. There’s a lot more here though, and the guys at Big Oak Garage have put in some major hours to make it subtly more aggressive than stock. Side profiles are really important when creating the illusion of flow and motion with a car. While a stock Impala has many lines from the side that sweep upward, this version now has all parallel or converging feature lines. This is thanks to a reverse wedge cut that runs from front to back. There’s material added to the rear and none added to the front, which creates an appearance of forward motion. The roof is also built from scratch and tapers downward at the windshield. That…

Getting a car for free sounds cool, right? That’s exactly what Jason Scudellari thought when his buddy Evan Perkins, who was the editor of Hot Rod magazine at the time, offered him a 1963 Nova at no cost. Perkins was looking to start the restoration project but his day job and a busy family life left little time to get the thing going, so the car sat stagnant for a few years before he offered the car to Jason. “I’ve never been one to say ‘no’ to someone offering me a vintage car for free no matter what condition it was in,” Jason says. “That was before I actually saw the car in person. When [Perkins] trailered that rust bucket to our shop, I took one look and wondered what…

NEWS FLASH: Enthusiasts are still building big power from old-school small-block engines. With 436 ci, natural aspiration, and EFI, the project engine we’re going to discuss in this story spun to 7,300 rpm and lit up the dyno with 708 hp and 614 lb-ft of torque. That was with a comparatively small camshaft and a pump gas–friendly compression ratio. Those peak numbers are impressive, but perhaps more so was the fact that its glorious, neck-tugging torque came in immediately in the powerband: 451 lb-ft at only 3,500 rpm. That’s only 19 lb-ft short of the factory LS7 engine’s peak torque of 470 lb-ft, which occurs at 4,800 rpm. Comparing this small-block, which was designed and built by John Lohone, of Michigan-based Valley Performance, with the vaunted LS7—the naturally aspirated king…

Henry Fisher is into cars; he’s been in the used car business for over 51 years and building show-quality vintage cars and trucks for well over 20. His stable leans heavily toward the classic truck scene, which includes a 1972 C10, 1972 Blazer, a 1968 C10, and a slew of other sweet muscle cars and pickup trucks—all built from the ground up and all with LS power. He digs the style of classics yet enjoys the reliability and performance of late-model engines. So, how did this A-body come about? While attending an auto auction a few years back with his grandson, Garrett, a 1968 Chevelle came across the auction block and Garrett got all wide-eyed for the numbers-matching classic. “It was a true SS 396 car, and after winning the…