Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 1, Issue 11 November 2021 i All Chevy Performance

Since the eighth grade when my Pop’s business partner rolled up to their tire store in a dark blue with white stripes ’69 Z/28 Camaro, the thought of owning a car just like that became my dream–more like an obsession,” Doug Renner vividly remembers. “That car was the catalyst to how this whole thing started with my ’69 SS. Like many of us who grew up in the ’70s, playing with toy and model cars were the gateway to one day having the real thing. “As a kid, I loved playing Hot Wheels with all the neighborhood kids and my two brothers,” Doug recalls. “We’d play with those cars all day long.” That passion was confirmed when Doug took on an after-school gig at his dad’s shop as an environmental…

When Jim Chamberlain brought his ’65 Nova to Kev’s Rod and Custom to have all-new outer panels fitted and gapped (except the hood and roof), he knew he wanted to do something about the huge stock bumpers. Initial discussions involved trimming the bottoms, but when a Camaro bumper was offered up against the body the decision was made to use a pair of them, but narrowed, smoothed, and tucked in closer to the body. The latter then became “recessed” rather than “tucked.” The work began once the other panels were all aligned and a pair of new ’69 Camaro rear bumpers were sourced from Classic Industries; then the chrome was removed. Once the bumper was installed to everyone’s satisfaction, work progressed on a custom-fabricated pan with recessed license plate to…

In 1967 gas was 33 cents per gallon, the first successful heart transplant took place in South Africa, Super Bowl I was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs (Packers won, 35-10, by the way), and 403,963 variations of the Chevy Chevelle rolled off GM’s assembly lines with 11,695 of those being two-door sedans. Of those, only 1,903 were armed with V-8 power. C’mon people, what were you thinking? We get it. Most people were pulling in an average of $7,300 per year, so practicality was more important than burning rubber in a new midsized auto, and the Chevelle 300 was the no-frills base model designed to accommodate those budget-minded folks. It came with minimal chrome exterior bits and a…

On its 27th trip to Louisville, the 52nd NSRA Street Rod Nationals went off without a hitch, considering the minor obstacles associated with the pandemic, which had no effect on the longstanding hot rod tradition. Considered the “grandaddy” of all hot rod events, “The Nats” remains king of the car shows. They show up by the thousands and just about every brand of hot rod and muscle car made it to the yearly extravaganza held at the Kentucky Exposition Center. And for us Chevy enthusiasts, there was a wealth of Bowtie muscle–classic Camaros, Novas, Chevelles, Corvettes, Tri-Fives, and big cars were all representing in huge numbers throughout the 1.2 million square feet showgrounds. Yep, the Street Rod Nationals is way more than just street rods–it’s a high-octane-fuel-burning hot rod and…

When we left off last month, our short-block Chevy engine was assembled and we had determined what we needed to look for when it came to cylinder heads (67cc combustion chambers). Half the valvetrain components were also in place (cam and lifters) but we still had yet to choose rocker arms and measure for pushrods. In addition to determining those components, we also needed to check the piston-to-valve clearance once the cylinder heads and related valvetrain components were on-hand. To top off our budget build, we chose a pair of Summit Racing cast-iron Vortec cylinder heads due to their reputation for being a great out-of-the-box design at an even greater price. The Vortec cylinder head design dates back some 30 years, but its cutting-edge design (for the time) still retains…

Hobbies come in all shapes and sizes. Luckily for us, the hot rod pastime proliferates in a myriad of different forms, making it a user-friendly activity for people of all ages, gender, financial status, and mechanical skill level. Many of us jump into the fire at a young age and grab our own piece of the horsepower pie, whether it be in the form of peddle cars, go-karts, fullsize hot rods, or even smaller-scale modeling—slot cars and the like. So, however you want to slice it, once in, you’re now part of the hot rodding adventure. You just gotta strap in, hammer the pedal, and enjoy the ride. When Clint Sroke of Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania, needed a new means of “quick” transportation, he decided to do something he never thought he…

In Part I of our story, Eric Rosendahl wanted a 5.7L LS engine in his ’67 300 Chevelle that could easily be a daily driver. We bolted in the engine along with a fresh 4L60E. The rest of this story will document all the subsequent changes and fixes we had to create to bring this plan to a climax. The engine is really just a breathed-on Gen III LS truck drivetrain cloaked in a ’67 Chevelle 300 sedan body or, the best of both late-model efficiency and a cool muscle car image. We have to admit that we were in such a hurry to drop the LS in place that we didn’t shoot any photos of the install, which is why you won’t see the classic image of the new…

It’s no big secret that when Ed Cole and his band of mechanical geniuses designed the original ’55 Chevy small-block V-8 there was little–if any–concern given to minimizing exhaust emissions. Times were simpler and though major cities like Los Angeles experienced greenish clouds of incredibly unhealthy, noxious smog on a regular basis, little was done to address the fact that autos emit plenty of pollution. So, in steps Uncle Sam to lend a hand with a series of increasingly stringent mandates forcing Detroit (and the imports) to clean up their respective acts. But, get this, before the U.S.government got serious in 1970 with the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), five years before, in 1965, California led the charge with a mandate for new ’66 cars to get clean…

@TavisHighlander TavisHighlander.com Vehicle Build by: Gap Racing, Hockley, Texas Gap Racing has tackled a wide range of full-vehicle builds, ranging from street cruisers to Great 8 show cars. Their depth of fabrication knowledge is significant; that will come in handy with their latest project, a ’67 Camaro. Sitting on an IRS-equipped Roadster Shop chassis, the Camaro will receive some fab-heavy mods. A lower chin and splitter assembly was designed first and set the tone for many other pieces. The grille will feature a stretched hexagonal design with custom-made turn lenses nestled between the headlight buckets. Heat extractor vents in the hood will mimic racing stripes but will serve a functional purpose as well. Out back, the taillights are aftermarket ’67 Camaro but are bordered with thinner bezels than stock. There’s…

For many years Paula Lewis had a problem—and it was one that she was desperate to fix. You might be asking what possible problem could she have had? She explains, “Since the first day I got my license I have always been a Chevy girl. My first car was a Camaro and as most who love Camaros, I always wanted a ’69.” While that might not seem like a problem, when she tied the knot, her husband, Matt, didn’t share in her appreciation for anything with a Bowtie. He was—and is—a hard-core Mopar guy and for her she states that “it was not a car that I was really into.” As the family grew, going to car shows became a problem for her because Matt’s ’67 Belvedere was tubbed and…

When the Chevy II was introduced in 1962, it was targeted as a smaller, economical choice compared to the fullsize cars available. Sure, there was the futuristic Corvair with its rear-mounted, air-cooled engine, but the Chevy II provided a more traditional approach to transportation. It was designed as basic automobile to compete with the Ford Falcon. In short, the Chevy II was all about basic transportation. The first generation of the Chevy II continued on the economical tract, though it did receive the Super Sport option in 1963 and a V-8 was made available the following year. There were even gauge packages available from the factory as Chevrolet added more styling cues for the Nova. Strangely enough though, the second-gen models did not have an option for gauges. They were…

It’s hard to pull off the sleeper look with a car that most people consider a muscle car. The ’72 Chevrolet Chevelle seen here certainly fooled us on first inspection, but all bets were off when we saw it make a pass down the dragstrip on a heavy dose of nitrous oxide. Shannon Medley bought the car several years ago and built it as a fun project that he could drive on the street and take to the track. When he bought it, the car was so nice that he hated to make it a serious race car, so he did what he could to retain the car’s original appearance. That’s part of what plays into the car’s sleeper theme—green on green with a bench seat isn’t exactly the most…