Chevrolet Camaro

 

Unveiled in 2006, the Chevrolet Camaro Concept sports car embodies the best in performance and styling that has made the Camaros, the most sought after cars. The sophisticated design of the Chevrolet Camaro concept car is sure to take it places. This concept car captures the true spirit of Camaro, one which has made it the most popular coupe of all time.

One thing that is bound to catch your attention immediately with the Chevrolet Camaro concept car is its long hood. Apart from making a style statement it also shows you the kind of attention that has been paid to the design. The short deck, wide stance and long hood make for greater aerodynamic performance. This is not all; there is a powerful 400 horsepower (298 kW), six-speed manual transmission engine that is inside this futuristic concept car that can achieve exciting speed.

The sports car is a fifth generation Camaro which will offer both V 6 and V 8 engines. This American sports car will also be available in a choice of automatic as well as manual transmission. The small-bock engine offers serious performance, bound to leave the competition behind. The sports car is pretty long at 186.2 inches. The wheel base is quite large at 110.5 inches. You can find real monstrous 275/30 front and 305/30 rear tires which are designed to take on the power generated from the LS2, V-8 engine. The power-packed engine is capable of reaching speeds up to 300 km/h with ease. When not hurtling along in highways, the sports car is also capable of performing equally well inside cities. Even though designed for achieving high speeds, some of the features in this concept sports car have been carefully thought out for every day use. A good example would be the ´Active Fuel Management´ feature. This latest feature allows for optimum saving of fuel. This is enabled due to the incorporation the latest in cylinder deactivation technology. This in turn means higher fuel economy on long drives.

The lean and mean design is great for highway drives as well as parking in places where space is at a premium. From suburban parking lots to garages in homes, the overall size of the sports car is just about right. The cockpit design has been by those of fighter planes. The instrumental panel is purposeful at the same time being perfectly in sync with the overall aesthetics of the concept car. The luxurious interiors also reflect the same fetish for perfection for which Camaro is famed for. You can still find a hint of the first generation Camaros in the overall execution of the interior. Along with luxury, functionality also has been taken care off in a never before way.

The sports car features progressive rate springs as part of its rear suspension which means no more jarring drives. Ultra-smooth rides are a possibility with these suspensions along with the gas-pressurized dampers which are part of the features of this concept car. Adequate care has also been taken to offer a superior braking system. The four-wheel vented disc brake which comes with 14-inch rotors means that this sports car comes to a full halt even while cruising at high speeds and importantly, under all conditions.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS X 55 - The Perfect Pose - 34

With its 406ci engine churning out more than 750hp, Chris Robertson’s Camaro has easily enough grunt to back up its tough-as-nails stance

With its 406ci engine churning out more than 750hp, Chris Robertson’s Camaro has easily enough grunt to back up its tough-as-nails stance
Is it just one of life’s mysteries how sometimes a car can become more than the mere total of its parts, or is there some form of science to it? Likewise, how can two cars be built with the exact same components, yet be considerably different in attitude? Maybe sometimes an owner’s love and passion really does show through when compared to a car that has been trucked from workshop to workshop to be built.

It’s a Freak!

Whatever the reason behind it, Chris Robertson’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro is one of those vehicles which has that special ‘X factor’. The obvious reason would be that it’s a very rare X55-badged car, although I’m sure there is far more to it than that. Perhaps it’s the fact that it was originally imported into New Zealand in 1970 to be turned into a race car that gives it a tougher-than-nails attitude. More likely, though, is the selection of the right components under the hood and the right stance without any unnecessary bling that ties the package together perfectly.
It was a lucky find when Chris managed to purchase the vehicle complete, but in bits and needing a fair amount of attention. Luckily for him, though, the expensive parts had been purchased by the previous owner, and the car was bought for a very reasonable price. Upon closer post-purchase inspection, his buy was found to have factory subframe connectors in it, making it an even rarer vehicle than was first thought.
There were a few setbacks during the rebuild, the main one being a workshop that tried to take Chris for a ride by charging exorbitant prices for the wrong parts. But thanks to some good mates and Chris’s own mechanical ability the car was completed around four years ago. However, with a young family, and a supercharged Chevelle also sitting in the garage, the Camaro hasn’t seen the light of day for the last three years.

Packing a Punch

The 6653cc (406ci) Chev small block purchased with the car is now running to its potential, and with a parts list that reads like a petrolhead’s dream, that potential equals huge power. With a Lunati 4340 steel forged crank spinning away on heavy-duty bearings in an oversized baffled sump, bottom end reliability will never be a problem.
Attached to the crank via SPS fasteners are Lents 152mm rods and Lunati forged pistons with laser-cut rings. The Lunati full roller two-stage race cam gives the game away a bit, as the noise emitted through the three-inch exhaust is exquisite. At the front of the system are Hooker Super Comp headers that have been match ported to the Brodix 10/1 aluminium race heads.
The heads were CNC ported before being hand finished for maximum flow. Not only are they ported on the exhaust side but also the intake. Thanks to Chris’s handiwork the ports on the Brodix single plane tall intake manifold now match those of the head perfectly.
To make the most of the aggressive cam, Chris has fitted Lunati heavy-duty valve springs and roller rockers, along with large stainless steel valves and titanium keepers.
With a tough Cometic head gasket and the high silicone-content pistons, the car is set to handle nitrous oxide if the need ever arises. With approximately 750hp at the wheels on tap, however, that need is quite unlikely to eventuate.
The high compression ratio (13.1:1) has encouraged the car to consume a strict diet of race fuel. With a 760cfm Demon race carb complete with custom venturis, the Barry Grant fuel pump has its work cut out. Luckily, oversized braided lines are there to assist in the tank’s drainage.
The ignition system is strictly comprised of MSD components. Hiding inside the Chev dizzy are MSD internals, and an MSD Blaster 2 coil helps get the fire started.

1958 Chevrolet Bel Air - Dare to be Different - 60

John Courtney’s beautiful low-slung ’58 Bel Air makes you ¨wonder why Chev needed all that head space in the first place
As custom car culture started to gain momentum in the mid 1950s, people were hacking, slashing and spraying all sorts of cars in an effort to make them unique. Some ideas failed miserably, but others, like the concept of lowering a roof via a chop, were very well received. By the late ’50s manufacturers started to take notice, so much so that in 1958 General Motors unveiled its brand new Chevrolet Bel Air with a far lower roofline than was usual at the time.
Compared to previous models, this new machine looked almost custom straight off the dealership floor. Half a century on, what was considered low then is now nothing of the sort, and enthusiasts like retired Aucklander John Courtney are re-chopping that first ‘factory chopped’ car. And dear God does it look fantastic.
Lucky Find
John didn’t actually do the roof chop himself, but rather purchased the Chev from the States as an unfinished project on eBay. Whoever started the car had done a great job of the chop, a task that is not for the faint-hearted. After getting that far though, it seems the fun went from the project, and the American owner left the rest of it in a poor state.
Once landed, the car spent 18 months going through a serious transformation, from ratty old bubble-top to low, sleek and sparkling. “My son Brad conned me into buying it,” John says, laughing. “Eighteen months later and the car is finished with not a whole lot of help from Brad. He still drives it all the time though.”
Starting with tidying up the body, John took the car to Darren at Glen Eden Panel Beaters, who began to painstakingly tidy the American workmanship and install the rear split window. John decided to add to the custom look by creating side exit exhausts, and knocked up the stainless surrounds himself.
From there, it was over to Phil Stokes Panel and Paint, where the car sat for the next few months being prepped and then painted in a beautiful two-tone copper and silver. Although both of Japanese vehicle origin. the colours work well, and the two-tone scheme really makes the Bel Air stand out from the crowd ” as if it didn’t already.
To finish off the look there has been plenty of rechroming, an expensive task, but on a car such as this it’s a necessary evil. With the chrome work re-fitted the car looks awesome, glistening in the sunshine and turning heads wherever it goes.
Healthy Rumble
The beautiful rumble emitted by those side exit exhausts comes from a tidy 383ci small block crate motor. The motor is no huge-power race donk, but sports around 425 horse at the crank ” plenty enough to get the Chev moving. Besides, John has a race car already, so he didn’t need to ruin a good cruiser with an enormous motor.
The 383 runs alloy heads and roller rockers sitting under a 650cfm carb. Custom headers dump waste gases into the twin exhaust system and out to the side of the car, while a Turbo 400 transmission transfers power back to a limited slip diff spinning 17-inch chrome rims wrapped in Toyo rubber. Lance from Arrow Wheels helped out with getting the rollers to suit the look and stud pattern of the old Chev. He didn’t do a half-bad job, either.
Lower Here, Lower there
With the roofline cut 3.5 inches, a newly lowered stance was also required. John kept it simple, dropping the Chev to the ground with new shocks and springs all around, which also improved the handling greatly when combined with the after- market sway bar up front. Next up: the brakes. Although acceptable at the time the car was built, the 50-year-old drums originally fitted to the car were not up to scratch, and were replaced with a set of discs up the front and rebuilt items out back.
With the car nearly finished, John went to see Peter at Waikumete Car Upholsterers in Auckland.
“Peter and the team were very patient with me and did a really good job on the interior,” John tells us. Now resplendent in a custom embroidered vinyl, the Chev’s interior also benefits from custom lowered seats to allow for more headroom in the reduced interior space.
With a very cool Dakota digital dash panel in place displaying speed, revs, water temp, oil pressure, voltage and fuel levels, plus the flame steering wheel that ties the interior into the rest of the build nicely (as seen on the rocker covers and air cleaner), all that was left to do was to install one hell of a stereo system.
Brad was the brains behind it, perhaps knowing all along that he’d steal the keys as soon as the car was completed.
“I just gave Brad a cheque and let him go for it,” John says. “I still don’t know how much it was, all I know is that it’s very nice and very loud.” If only all our parents were so easy to convince…
Powered by a pair of powerful Alpine amplifiers, the system is controlled by an Alpine DVD head unit mounted into the dash, and thumps out serious volume via two sets of Alpine interior speakers and a big dual voice coil Alpine 12-inch subwoofer mounted in a custom enclosure in the boot.
Cars like John’s ’68 Bel Air are great examples of hot rodding done right. Despite how drastically the car has been chopped, lowered, painted and modified, it only ever looks like an enhanced version of the original, completely following the lines and features of the donor vehicle. Combine that with a beautifully detailed, chromed and polished interior, exterior and engine bay, and you have a perfect cruiser.
It makes you wonder if the younger generation of car builders will be doing the same in 30 or 40 years time to vintage 2009 Camaros, Challengers or Mustangs.

1954 Chevrolet Corvette Nomad - The Waldorf Hotel - 53

After searching for the original Chevrolet Corvette station wagon show car for four decades, American John Bolsted decided to build his own ” but better.
Fifty years, or half a century if you want to make it sound even longer, is a hell of a decent stretch of time to hold on to an obsession. Most people simply don’t have the staying power to stick with a dream for that long, but then California-based retired fireman John Bolsted is not most people.
It was 1954, and John was a young freshman at high school. “I was flicking through a Life magazine, and came across an advertisement for AC Spark Plugs,” he recalls. “The ad featured an image of a car like nothing I’d ever seen ” the Chevrolet Corvette Nomad. I wanted that car so badly, and spent the next 40 years looking for it.”
It seems at first as though John must have been looking in all the wrong places, considering his four decade-long unsuccessful hunt. But the truth is, despite the various rumours and hoaxes that pop up every now and again, that particular concept car ” and the four other examples made ” were most likely destroyed by Chev before the 1950s were even over.
Now known as the Waldorf Nomad, the car was first shown on September 22, 1954, during the Chevy Motorama event at the Waldorf Hotel in New York, and it has since become a Holy Grail of sorts for Chev fans. A crazy mix of Nomad station wagon and Corvette sports car, the Waldorf Nomad was by all accounts the first sports wagon ever made. It had a complete first generation ’Vette fibreglass front end, an exceptionally low profile and aggressive, muscular styling. It is safe to say the Nomad/Corvette was well before its time, and why Chevy never put the car into production remains a mystery.
Never Give Up
As far as fans go, none was more die-hard than John, and although he gave up on his search, he did not give up on his dream. “About 10 years ago, I finally decided I would have to build my own version of the car as there was just no way I would ever be able to find an original. I started searching for a suitable Nomad wagon to convert and eventually found something that would work in Rhode Island, New York. The owner said I could easily drive it back to California, so I booked a one-way ticket and went to get the car. When I arrived, I found the Nomad sitting in the garage, held together with duct tape and bailing wire ” literally. I said no thanks and flew home.”
This is where John’s story takes a turn for the better. “Once back in California, I was talking to some of the firemen I had worked with about the trip, and one of them mentioned that he had attended a house fire in that area and it had got into a neighbour’s garage that just happened to have a 1956 Chevy Nomad restoration project in it. The owner decided it wasn’t worth his trouble rebuilding it and eventually agreed to sell it to me.”
No Going Back
After media blasting the car, it began to dawn on John just what he had got himself into, but not being one to quit, he sat down at a desk and began to study vintage photographs of the original Waldorf Nomad. Although you can get a rough idea of the shape of the car from pictures, the hard part lay in the dimensions. But John had a plan. “It is fairly common knowledge that the wheels on the Waldorf car were 15-inch. Knowing that much I used it as a scale to get the dimensions of the rest of the car from the pictures I had.” Once John had worked out all his measurements, he took his car to master body-man Dick Dean, who helped John chop the roof two inches, pancake it a further inch, and sectioned  the body three inches, thus creating a much lower profile overall. Next, Dick set about splicing Corvette with Nomad, grafting on the fibreglass rear end and complete fibreglass tilting front clip. Fibreglass was also used to create the swinging rear tailgate, complete with electric window.
Once all the glass and heavy body mods were completed, John towed the car across to Bad Boy Customs in Idaho, which detailed the body, painting it in two-stage urethane 1958 Cadillac Lake Placid Blue and 1955 Chevy India Ivory. Then, finally, chrome trim from a 1954 ’Vette was customised and added to the car to complete the body look.
Because John wanted the exterior to stay true to the original, he chose old-school stock steel wheels to roll on, clothed in skinny 225/70R15 whitewall tyres and genuine Corvette wheel covers, which he picked up for the princely sum of one dollar many years ago. The wheels fit nice and snug into the Corvette guards due to drop spindles in the front and re-arched leafs in the rear, all dampened by KYB shocks.
Modern Interpretation
As for the powerplant motivating the Nomad, John felt he could take a little artistic license since the original show car never actually had an engine or transmission at all. In the interests of reliability and power, he went for a late-model LS1 5.7-litre V8, pulled from a 2002 Chevy Camaro. The injected LS1 has been left mostly to its own devices and simply benefits from a new exhaust system. A custom alloy radiator, designed to barely clear the bonnet, has been fitted as the Camaro option simply was not compatible with the low-slung ’Vette front end.
That same donor Camaro was also relieved of its Tremec T56 six-speed gearbox, which found its way into the Nomad and pushes power out to a 10-bolt Chev rear diff with 3.73 gearing via a custom driveshaft.
As with the engine situation, there was little information to go on for the Waldorf Nomad’s interior, so John took it upon himself to come up with something that he felt fit perfectly. Trimmed in blue material and white vinyl, the Nomad’s living space is a mash-up of different bits and pieces: front seats from Toyota, rear seats from a Chevy Celebrity, a 1958 ’Vette steering wheel, a 2002 Camaro shifter ” the list goes on. A set of Auto Meter gauges was also installed so that John had a good, reliable eye on his engine.
No Trailer Queen
Finished a good four years ago, John’s Waldorf Nomad is a one-off that has received many accolades and trophies. Although it seems extremely doubtful that an original Waldorf will ever be found, that’s something we are prepared to accept if people like John keep the golden era of American motoring alive with cars like this one.
Since it was finished, John’s car has clocked up in excess of 120,000 miles (193,000km) thanks to his penchant for hot rod tours and car shows all over the States. If there’s a better way to spend your time in retirement, NZV8 can’t think of it.

1954 Corvette Nomad – Specifications

Engine: LS1 5.7 litre, Corvair turbo mufflers, custom exhaust, custom alloy radiator
Driveline: Tremec T56 Camaro six-speed gearbox, custom driveshaft
Brakes: Front S-10 Chevy disc brakes, factory Camaro rear drums
Suspension: KYB shocks, re-arched leaf springs, 3-inch drop spindles, custom rear sway bar
Wheels/tyres: 15×5-inch stock steel rims, 225/70R15 whitewall tyres, 1958 Corvette wheel covers
Exterior: 1-inch roof pancake, 2-inch roof chop, 3-inch body section, Corvette fibreglass tilt front end, Corvette fibreglass rear fenders, custom rear lift gate, custom electric window, 1958 Cadillac Lake Placid Blue paint, 1955 Chevy India Ivory
Interior: Customised Toyota front seats, Chevy Celebrity rear seat, 1958 Corvette steering wheel, early Chev van tilting steering column, 2002 Camaro Hurst shifter, Auto Meter gauges, modified ’55 Chevy dash, Vintage Air air conditioning, Alpine sound system

1982 Chevrolet Silverado - Daily Grind - 54

Name: Tim Kerr
Vehicle: 1982 Chevrolet Silverado
Nice-looking truck Tim, did you buy it like that?
Nah, it started off as a diesel and got tucked away in the garage when the diesel stuffed out, and then I got carried away and started rebuilding the whole thing. Ended up taking the diesel motor out, putting a fuel—injected petrol motor in, and then doing everything: new rubbers, lowering it, new paint, panel work, new wheels, the lot. I painted it myself ” I won’t do that again.
How long ago did you buy it?
It would probably be about eight years now; two and a half years in the garage getting rebuilt, when I could fit in time to work on it. As everyone knows, projects always take longer than originally planned. I didn’t plan to go this direction with it, but it always happens, doesn’t it?
Isn’t it a bit too pretty to be used as a work truck now?
Yeah, but it is good to drive every day, it’s quite a comfortable ride. It is a truck though, but I’m pretty happy with it.
What’s the new motor you put in it?
It’s a fuel—injected 350 from an early-’90s truck. I bought the motor and transmission together. The trans is a 4L80E, which has been rebuilt, so it goes well. It’s not too bad on gas now, which is good, as I drive it from Pukekohe every day to Procoat in East Tamaki. On the motorway it just idles along when you’re doing 100kph, it’s great.
If you weren’t driving it every day, what would you be driving instead?
I don’t know. It would have to be something practical. I did have a Hiace van but that crapped out at 450,000km. I was a bit gutted, as I was aiming for the half century. With its big tray the Chev is quite practical, but as you said, it’s a bit too nice to be used for lugging stuff round. I’ve already put a few scratches in it from delivering parts to people, so it really is time to sell it. It’s too nice for that.
Have you got another project on the go?
Yeah, I’m going to sell the truck, as I’ve got the project I’ve always wanted, a ’55 two-door post Chev. I’m really looking forward to getting into that. That will be another few-year project I’m sure. I’m really looking forward to it, and I know I can do a lot of things on it through here [Procoat].
So the ’55 will become a bit of a business advertisement when done?
Yep. You learn by your projects. The truck was a good gauge of how things should be done, for when I do it to another vehicle worth doing it on. With the truck, I learnt a few things, so you know what to iron out the next time round; hopefully everything goes according to plan.

1966 Chevrolet C10 SWB - Pick - Up Lines - 55

With a 502ci big block, this Chev truck doesn’t just haul parts, it hauls arse.
No matter what profession you are in, no matter how terrible your job, there is usually some form of perk, some kind of a hook-up that gets you through. Sure, cinema attendant might be a terrible occupation, but just think of all that free popcorn. Garbage collector? Start your own second-hand emporium. Even we lowly automotive journalists manage a few sneaky drives in cool cars and receive the best seats at events to make it all worth it.
As one of the directors of V8 performance parts specialist DC Trading, Carl Nixon is in a fairly good position when it comes to perks. Recent years have seen various V8-powered machines roll through his garage, but his latest, a 502 big-block-powered 1966 Chevrolet C10, is one of the best yet.
In The Know
“A friend of ours in Arizona had been building the truck for quite a few years,” Carl explains. “We had been watching the build as it progressed, but eventually, after eight years, the original owner had had enough and decided to sell. At the time it was about 80 per cent completed, I took a good look at the car and decided to buy it ” it was a very high quality build, and all the parts were top of the range. So I picked it up, and got it sent back over to New Zealand where we would finish it with the intention of using it as a work truck for the business.”
Indeed, the Chev is now finished, but as for the idea of putting it to work for the business, well, that never quite came to fruition. “Once it was finished, we just couldn’t bear to use it as a parts hauler, it was just too nice,” Carl admits. “Everything on the car is top quality in terms of both build and parts, I didn’t even want to park it oulone throw engines in the tray.”
Viewing the C10 in person, it’s easy to see why Carl couldn’t bring himself to put the truck to work. The flawless body is coated in a deep metallic blue, greatly improved by the immaculate chrome work, deleted rear bumper and custom rear roll-pan. This Chev is a definite show-quality head turner, not a parts hauler.
502ci Of Quality
Although the truck does look great from the outside, NZV8 is also fairly partial to the vista under the hood. Five hundred and two cubic inches of GM Performance crate motor sits in the chassis rails in the completely de-loomed engine bay, growling away flawlessly as the big Holley race carb sucks air into the high-flowing GM Performance intake manifold and heads.

Inside the big block, GM Performance rods, pistons, crank and aggressive cam all make for an indestructible powerplant that produces upwards of 550 horse. Aeromotive supplies the fuel, while a full MSD 6AL ignition system with Pro Billet distributor, leads and coils provides the spark. Waste gases are extracted through a set of Hooker Super Comp headers and a Magnaflow exhaust, while the entire system is kept cool by a large Be-Cool radiator setup.
Five-fifty is not exactly a weak number when it comes to horsepower, and in order to get each and every one to the wheels, the Chev needs a fairly serious driveline. Backing up the motor is a very slick TH-400 transmission, built by Hughes Performance in the States. The quick-shifting trans runs a Hughes Performance 2500rpm stall converter and a tough limited slip diff at the rear end, all while being kept nice and cool with a remote trans cooler system.


Big Is Good
The C10 is what many would consider overpowered with this power train ” especially considering so little weight hangs over the rear wheels. “It is definitely a very interesting car to drive,” Carl admits. “You really need to be very careful if you want to drive it fast.”
With most of the weight up the front, Carl has tried to alleviate the problem by fitting big 20×10-inch Budnik Teardrop X rims, wrapped in grippy 285/50R20 Goodyear Eagle II rubber. This doesn’t entirely solve the issue, but it looks damn cool regardless.
The big rims hug the fully restored deep blue body thanks to some simple suspension work ” new coils and shocks in the front, and a new lowered trailing-arm system in the rear, complete with an adjustable panhard arm.
Because the truck is not overly heavy, it was decided that huge Wilwood brakes or similar would not be necessary, so new GM discs for the front and drums for the rear were ordered and fitted.
Although there isn’t a whole lot of real estate inside the Chev, the interior was given no less attention than the rest of the car, receiving late-model 2004 Silverado electric bucket seats, a cool Budnik steering wheel on an adjustable ididit steering column and the necessary gauges from Auto Meter. A simple stereo system from Sony was also installed should the 502 somehow not provide enough entertainment.
Hauling¦ Arse
Since getting the truck completed, VINned, registered, warranted and certified, Carl has only managed 480km in his C10, but those 480km have been some of the best he has driven. “It’s just a lot of fun to drive, and this era of C10 has always appealed to me, so it has been a good experience,” he says. “You tend to see a few earlier Apache trucks around and later ’70s trucks, but very few mid-’60s examples.”
Considering it is simply too nice for a work vehicle, Carl has reluctantly put the Chev up for sale. “I love the truck, but I just don’t use it enough to justify owning it, plus with our other project cars on the go, we really need the workshop space.”
Other projects? We guess some jobs have more perks than others.

1966 Chevrolet C10 SWB pick-up – Specifications

Engine: 502ci (8.2-litre) big block GM Performance Parts crate motor, GM Performance pistons, GM Performance rods, GM Performance crank, GM Performance heads, GM Performance comp cam, GM Performance valve springs, GM Performance roller rockers, Holley 950cfm double pumper race carb, GM Performance intake manifold, Aeromotive fuel pump, Holley fuel regulator, MSD 6AL ignition, MSD Pro Billet distributor, MSD coil, MSD leads, Hooker Super Comp headers, Magnaflow three-inch mufflers, Be Cool radiator, de-loomed engine bay
Driveline: Hughes Performance TH-400 R4 transmission, Hughes Performance 2500 stall converter, remote trans cooler, limited slip differential
Brakes: GM front discs, GM rear drums
Suspension: Standard front coil setup with KYB shocks and heavy-duty springs, lowered trailing arm rear suspension, heavy-duty rear coils, adjustable panhard arm

Wheels/ tyres:
20×10-inch Budnik Teardrop X rims, 285/50R20 Goodyear Eagle II tyres
Exterior: Rear roll pan, deleted rear bumper, PPG metallic blue paint
Interior: 2003 Chev Silverado electric bucket seats, Budnik steering wheel, Auto Meter gauges, ididit steering column/shifter
ICE: Kenwood MP3 player, Sony speakers

1957 Chevrolet 150 - Ready to Roll - 59

People build and own V8s for various reasons. Some like the challenge of an intense, full-time build. Some like to tinker away in the garage on a 10-year-long project in an effort to hide from the missus. Others, like Southlander John Abbott, don’t mind skipping that part out altogether. As the owner of Charlton Auto Imports, John has been importing cars and car parts from the States for quite a while now. His main trade involves on-selling those goods to waiting New Zealanders, but occasionally he stumbles across something special, something that tickles his fancy just enough that he has to keep it for himself. This 1957 Chevrolet 150 coupe, in brilliant yellow, is one of those. Classic, American Graffiti rod looks, a five-speed manual and a whole lot of supercharged small block Chevy power at a fair price — that was just too good to pass up.
Running a 427 cubic-inch Chev Motown block sitting inside a smoothed and de-loomed engine bay, the big Chevy coupe snarls up an angry 650hp at the crank, which is more than enough to get the old girl moving. Internally, the motor runs a Scatt crank, pumping tough H-beam rods and forged pistons. Up above, Edelbrock has supplied a pair of high-flowing Victor JNR heads and thirsty twin carbs, which have a healthy dose of air sucked through them thanks to a whining 6/71 supercharger. A big Holley pump matches the large amounts of force-fed air with the right amount of fuel before an MSD 6 ignition system ignites the mix. Finally, a set of free-flowing Doug headers feed waste gases out into a simple exhaust system travelling out to the rear of the car.
Blower ’n’ Stick
It’s not too often you see a manual gearbox in an old rod these days, so it is a pleasant surprise to find a super-tough late model Tremec TKO600 five-speed backing up the blown Chev motor. It has to deal with a hefty power figure, but the Tremec box is well-known for its strength and should see John right for a few years yet, especially when combined with a meaty Centreforce clutch and a big Ford nine-inch diff.
The limited slip diff spins a set of 15×10-inch Centreline rims bolted to custom-made narrowed axles. The lightweight wheels are shod in big Mickey Thompson 26x8x15 street rubber, which although not full race slicks, provide a good compromise between traction and wear. Up front, much narrower 15×6-inch Centrelines hide a set of big Camaro discs and callipers, while the rear drums have been upsized to 11-inch items.
Keeping the old coupe both low to the ground and squat off the line is a reasonably simple suspension system, consisting of tubular A-arms sprung with lowered coils, while the rear springs have been relocated in-board to allow for the big treads. Bilstein shocks on all four corners dampen the car.
Classic Style, Modern Twist
When it came to the Chev’s exterior, the original builder was clearly after the clean and simple pro-street aura. A bright yellow hue coats the shaved and smoothed body, which has been freed of obtrusive extras like door handles and side mouldings.
The same theme carries through to the interior, which has been simply and tastefully reconditioned and re-trimmed, but also enhanced with the replacement of the standard dash by a digital unit — a little bit of late-model technology to liven up a half-century-old machine.
Put aside the fact that this 50-year-old piece of tin is a pleasure to look at, it’s also — as you could probably tell by viewing the specs box — a whole lot of fun to drive. Classic ’50s street class, simplicity and one hell of a thump under your right foot — it’s a Chev enthusiast’s whining, roaring wet dream. Sure, this rumbling monster of a machine wasn’t built here in New Zealand, but is that really a problem? There is nothing wrong with letting someone else do all the hard work, then taking it off their hands for a fraction of what it would cost to build yourself. That, folks, is what we call smart rodding…

1957 Chevrolet 150 – Specifications

Engine: 427ci (6997cc) small block Chev Motown block, Scatt crank, H-Beam rods, forged pistons, ported and polished Edelbrock Victor JNR heads, 6/71 supercharger, twin Edelbrock carbs, Holley fuel pump, MSD 6 ignition system, Doug headers, custom alloy radiator, electric cooling fan, twin custom catch cans, custom firewall
Driveline: Tremec TKO600 five-speed manual gearbox, Centreforce clutch, Ford nine-inch LSD diff, 3.25:1 gears, narrowed custom axles
Brakes: Camaro front discs and rotors, 11-inch rear drums
Suspension: Bilstein shocks, lowered coils, tubular A-arms, relocated rear springs
Wheels/tyres: 15×10-inch Centreline rear rims, 15×6-inch Centreline front rims, Mickey Thompson 26x8x15 rear tyres, BFG 275x60R15 front tyres
Exterior: Shaved door handles, shaved side chrome, custom yellow paint
Interior: Custom retrim, digital dash, Lacara steering wheel
Performance: 650hp (485kW) at the crank

Chevrolet Camaro 1982 - 1992 - Buyer's Guide - 58

Book By Its Cover
When I started researching the third generation Chevrolet for this Affordable Muscle story, it was one of my least favourite muscle cars. It seemed tasteless, gaudy and unbearably soft. Yet, after delving far deeper into the F-body machine via piles of literature, videos and images, I have a whole new appreciation for this icon of the 1980s.
If there is one car that is soon to become a true-blue classic, it’s this one — whether people realise it or not.
Out With The Old
First introduced in 1970, the second generation Camaro was a popular car and sold well over the next decade, but by the early 1980s it was well and truly showing its age. A new Camaro was needed, a machine that would bring the ‘ultimate muscle car’ into the modern world.
When launched, the car had its good and bad points. On the downside, due to the 1979 fuel crisis the third generation Camaro holds the dubious honour of being the only Camaro ever to have been offered with a four-cylinder motor. The 2.5-litre ‘Iron Duke’ made a whopping 67kW, and predictably it was none too popular on the sales floor.
But there were many pluses, too: factory fuel injection, five-speed manuals, four-speed autos and, most importantly, the third gen Camaro was an astounding 227kg lighter than its predecessor.
First released in 1982, the new Camaro was offered in three trims: Sport Coupe, Berlinetta and the range-topping Z-28. All three proved an instant hit. Car & Driver magazine crowned the injected V8-powered Z-28 its car of the year for ’82, and that same year saw the machine chosen as the official Indy 500 pace car, of which more than 7000 replicas were sold.
Evolution
Over the next decade the Camaro evolved in an effort to keep up with the competition in terms of styling, handling and performance. In 1982 the most powerful option available was the Cross-fire V8-powered Z28 at 123kW (165hp), but by the third generation’s final days in 1992 that figure had nearly doubled, reaching 201kW (270hp) thanks to the 5.7-litre (350ci) L98 motor. Both five-speed manual and four-speed auto transmissions were introduced in 1983, while interior and exterior aesthetics continued to improve as the 1980s gave way to the ’90s.
IROCkin’
Way back in 1974 a new race series was born. It was dubbed the International Race of Champions, or IROC for short. Initially, the single-make series used Porsche 911s, but after a few years its organisers realised the cost of purchasing and maintaining the German sports cars was simply too prohibitive. Which is where Chevrolet came in. The Camaro (then still the second generation) was chosen to replace the 911 and, soon after, the series took off in popularity. By 1982 and the introduction of the third gen Camaro, the series was running strong, and the organisers decided to hold on to the Chevy stalwart and make the move to the newer cars.
It is no surprise, then, that in 1985 GM decided to capitalise on this brand loyalty by offering something special to buyers, and thus the legendary Camaro IROC-Z was born.
The IROC-Z sat above the Z-28 as the top-end model for 1985 until 1988, when it replaced the Z-28 altogether. It featured vastly improved handling, tuned port injection taken from the Corvette, unique decals and big (for the era) 16×8-inch alloys. Over the five years of production 166,000 IROC-Zs were produced, but due to their aggressive and desirable nature — thanks to accidents and thefts, in other words — few genuine examples are left today, making them very desirable.
Buying Guide
So you’ve found yourself a nice Z-28 or IROC-Z… But, with decals and dress-up parts so easily available, how do you know you are about to buy the real thing? This is a common problem, and thankfully someone has gone and made it easy for the rest of us and built an online Camaro VIN number decoder. This can be found at www.camarosource.ca, and may just save your bacon. Simply enter in the VIN number of your prospective new car and it will break it all down for you, instantly letting you know whether you are looking at the real deal or a tarted-up base model.
Once the authenticity has been confirmed, make sure all the usual checks are carried out, but pay special attention to the floor and under the doors, as these are the most common rust areas. Finally, if the car is sporting a five-speed manual, make sure you put it through its paces — the T5 box used is not renowned for its strength.

Chevrolet Camaro 3rd Gen: Built 1982-1992

Engine options: 2.5-litre (151ci) four-cylinder; 2.8-litre (173ci) LC1 V6, 2.8-litre LB8 V6; 3.1-litre (191ci) LHO V6, 1982-1983: 5.0-litre (305ci) LU5 V8; 5.0-litre (305 ci) LG4 V8, 5.0-litre L69 V8, 5.0-litre LO3 V8, 5.0-litre LB9 V8; 5.7-litre (350ci) L98 V8
Bodies: Coupe, soft top, targa top
Prices: Prices vary depending on the age, condition and specifications of the car

1979 Chevrolet C10 Pick - Up - Jaw Dropper - 65

If you think the exterior of Matt Elliott’s Chev C10 is smooth, wait until you see the engine bay.
The story of Matt Elliott and his C10 is like many others. It starts off with a young guy growing up in the import scene, spending a dizzying amount of cash on cars only to lose it all when he sells them. From there he goes on to buy a V8, and decides that having previously spent so much money on mods, he may as well buy a vehicle that’s already completed. In Matt’s case, the C10 was what he found.




We actually had a look at the truck not too long after Matt bought it in 2007, and it was a pretty cool ride. It was bright orange, slammed on airbags and had a decent small block in it, so Matt looked set for endless days of cruising around Tauranga and Mount Maunganui drawing admiration from those he passed. Well, that was the plan at least.
When the transmission decided to give up, Matt didn’t think much of it and had it replaced, safe in the knowledge that these things happen and at least nothing else should go wrong. But as fate would have it, it did, and little did Matt or his now-wife Jamie know at the time, this would be the start of one seriously impressive labour of love.

Always A Catch

“After the transmission was sorted, the motor had a few issues so we decided to bring in a crate motor and drop it in,” says Matt. That sounds pretty harmless, although he mentions the engine purchase came with one catch: an engagement ring had to go with it.

It was while the engine was held up in transit that things started to snowball. “While we were waiting for it to turn up, the concept for the build changed to smooth everything out,” Matt recalls. “So we hid everything in the engine bay, shaved everything and ended up repainting every panel, and instead of just dropping the motor in we went overboard.”
Matt uses the word “overboard” here in the same way you could describe the recent oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico as a small spill. More than 1400 hours of labour have gone into making the cleanest engine bay we’ve ever seen. It’s hard to know where to start describing all the work that has gone into it, but it’s obvious Matt had some serious international inspiration, and some of the best local talent available.
The firewall was the first item to be attacked, and every protrusion was removed. The brake master cylinder has been replaced with a Wilwood item and matching pedal box hidden up under the dash. For ease of access the reservoirs are now mounted in the scuttle panel and are simpler to get to with the bonnet open. The more you look, the more you’ll find is missing from the bay, like the window wiper motor, which is also hidden away.

Best of The Best

The majority of fabrication work was taken care of by Jason Sellars at JSE Custom Fabrication, while Nakija Klaus was in charge of the sheet-metal department. Those silky smooth new inner guards may look like they’ve been created from fibreglass, but they’re handcrafted steel works of art that took more than 400 hours to create. Nakija’s metal bending skills don’t end there though; the custom radiator top panel is also his handiwork, and it nicely hides what’s usually an unsightly part of an engine bay.

With so much time and effort going into the bay, Matt set about dressing up the GM ZZ383 crate motor once it arrived. While it may look simple, there are a few touches that generally go unseen. Details like the recessing of bolts, colour coding and a hidden power steering unit tend not to be noticed until they’re pointed out, such is the quality of the job.
Cory Abbot was called upon when it came time to wire the vehicle, and he was under strict instructions to keep the visible cabling to an absolute minimum. The job was time-consuming and resulted in no original wires remaining in the vehicle. After 200 hours of cutting, crimping and soldering, Cory’s job was complete. Not a single strand is visible, yet all the electrics work perfectly.
With the engine bay soon far beyond the standard of the rest of the truck, Matt knew he couldn’t stop there. He points out that finishing the truck cost him not just time and money, but the price of a wedding, too. Since Jamie is obviously pretty patient with him and his obsession, we think that’s probably not that bad a deal.

Same Again please

With Jason having fabbed up countless parts for the engine bay, including the custom headers, he was also enlisted to help in the tray area. Matt wanted to continue the clean theme, so the existing chequer plate tray floor was removed and the lines for a new one were marked out. Jason’s job was to create a custom drop tank, plus new mounting points for the airbag suspension components as well as the battery. Again, it’s not about what you see here but what you don’t. The new one-piece wave-shaped tray floor was skilfully rolled up and slid into place, hiding all that lies beneath.
The smoothing obsession continued to the rest of the exterior where Nakija, who at the time was working for Iron Rides, (and can now be found at Rods By Reid) once again got his welder acquainted with the truck’s body. The front repeater lights were removed along with the bumper mounting bolts, drip rails, mirrors and door handles.
With these items gone, he set about creating a custom roll pan, hidden tailgate latch, custom tail lights and a number plate light. It all sounds easy but the hours were soon clocked up in the quest for smooth perfection.
From there it was off to Willy Johnstone at High Impact Paint, who applied the House of Kolor Tangelo Pearl over a top secret base colour. It may have been orange when Matt first purchased it, but the House of Kolor paint took it to a whole new level. The depth and pearls really make the curvaceous panels of the engine bay and tray come alive under the slightest hint of sunlight to showcase the workmanship perfectly.

The Theme Continues


Although the closest the rest of the country will get to the vehicle is admiring it from afar, Matt turned his hand to the interior, which was not too shabby to begin with.
While the trim remains as it was when purchased (and it’s about the only part of the vehicle that does) the ’70s dash panel has been replaced with something far more modern. Rather than go for the simple flat-panel option to hold his newly acquired hoard of Auto Meter gauges, Matt again tested Nakija’s ability by having him sculpt another work of art. Beside the other gauges, there’s a Dakota Digital air pressure gauge to give the pressures on the suspension at all four corners whenever the key is on.
Those pressures are kept up by two compressors hidden under the tray, transmitted to the airbags via half-inch lines. Jason was responsible for creating the custom adjustable four-link rear end as well as mounting the QA1 shocks in charge of damping. Up front the stock A-arms have been modified to allow fitment of the bags, and three-inch dropped spindles were added to further reduce ride height and help with the camber correction involved in such a drop.
Matt’s happy to admit that he’s better kept out of the way when it comes to fabrication and intricate mechanical work, so he also left the fitment of Wilwood callipers and rotors both front and rear to Jason. With big 20-inch MHT rims and the possibility of 22s filling the spaces in future, Matt decided on 330mm rotors up front and 324mm items in the rear. Not content to leave anything alone, he’s had the rotors and callipers colour coded, as well as the massive rims.

Never Enough

While the fabrication work and the end result are the most impressive aspects of the build, the fact it was completed within a year is also remarkable. “It’s only 99 per cent done,” Matt reckons. “In the future I would like to boost it in some way, shorten the diff and get some 12-inch-wide rims under the back and maybe go to 22s.” Judging by what he’s done so far, we’re pretty sure that list won’t take long to complete.
If he had another shot, would Matt do anything differently? Not really, he says. “The one thing I learnt was that it pays to get the best of the best to work on your stuff. Sure, they may cost a bit more than others, but you get the best work done first time and generally on time.”
Matt’s C10 is certainly testament to that mantra.
After spending a few hours running a fine-tooth comb all over the truck, NZV8 is yet to find a single flaw. Matt reckons there are one or two but, for a perfectionist, he’s surprisingly unfazed by that.
“The truck has its imperfections,” he says, “but you need to draw the line somewhere or you will never drive your vehicles.”

1979 Chevrolet C10 Stepside Pick-Up – Specifications

Engine: 383ci (6.3-litre) small block Chevrolet crate motor, four-bolt mains, one-piece main seal, 96.5mm (3.8-inch) stroke forged scat crank, hypereutectic 244-T5 pistons, 9.1:1 compression, billet camshaft, Edlebrock E-Tec 200 Vortec-style alloy heads, 1.5:1 roller rockers, Weiand Stealth Air Strike Vortec intake, all mounting bolts countersunk and recessed, Holley 770 street avenger carb, K&N filter, 50-litre custom stainless tank, -8 and -10 lines, Summit inline billet filter, Holley mechanical fuel pump, MSD Street Fire HEI distributor, MSD high spark replacement module with rev limiter, MSD 8.5mm leads, Jason Sellars Fabrication custom 1-5/8-inch headers, twin three-inch pipes dumping before diff, Segedins alloy radiator, 406mm fan, hidden overflow bottle, hidden wiring, custom hinges, custom Gilmer drive, shaved firewall, custom all steel inner guards, custom smoothed front cowl, remounted steering column, hidden power steering pump and lines.
Driveline: B&M Turbo 350, 2500rpm stall converter, shift kitted, Chevrolet C10 12-bolt diff, Moser Engineering 12-bolt axles, Eaton Posi Torque LSD, modified standard driveshaft, remote mounted transmission cooler
Suspension: (Front) Factory control arms modified to accept RideTech airbags, 3-inch drop spindles; (rear) RideTech adjustable triangulated four-link, Firestone airbags, bag-over-axle arrangement, QA1 Proma Star single adjustable shocks, 32mm front sway bar, 32-litre alloy air tank with custom drain, ½-inch air lines, Dakota remote control system, eight-way solenoid setup, two DC4000 compressors
Brakes: 330mm cross drilled and slotted front rotors, Wilwood GM two-pot replacement callipers front; Wilwood C10 rear disc brake kit, 324mm cross drilled and slotted rotors, Wilwood four-pot callipers and pads, custom-mounted Wilwood pedal box and hidden master cylinders, no booster
Wheels/tyres: 20×8.5-inch MHT Drive, custom painted centres, Bridgestone S-03 front tyres 255/35R20, Michelin 275/45R20 rears
Exterior: Shaved front bumper with hidden mounting points, shaved front repeaters, shaved mirrors, shaved door handles, shaved drip rails, custom rear light buckets, custom rear roll pan, custom hidden tailgate access and latch, hidden wiper motor, custom LED tail lights, custom rear number plate LED lights, tubbed rear tray, remote fill master cylinder reservoirs, House of Kolor Tangelo Pearl paint
Chassis: Custom air and fuel tank mounts, custom cross members and c-notch
Interior: Retrimmed factory seats, Momo leather steering wheel, Ididit polished adaptor, B&M Hi-Tek Street Bandit shifter, Auto Meter Sport Comp gauges, Dakota digital air pressure gauge, four corners and tank; custom steel dash panel, Ididit polished steering column with custom Borgeson telescopic shaft and joints, custom Wilwood accelerator pedal made from a Wilwood clutch pedal, S2000 engine start button, custom hood lining, Autoloc keyless entry system, fully lined with Dynamat, Alpine head unit, Pioneer component speakers

1976 Corvette Stingray - Overkill - 80

 I’ve got an addictive personality. If I like something, I like it a lot,” says Robbie Allen. And when you lay eyes on his 1976 Corvette, it’s pretty easy to see what he’s talking about.
While some people would say the car is overkill, to Robbie it’s pretty much perfect. The build has been an ongoing labour of love for 14 years now, and in that time it’s continued to grow and develop to represent Robbie’s personality. As he rightly says, he’s worked hard all his life for his toys, so he may as well make them how he wants them and get the maximum enjoyment from them. The road to automotive perfection hasn’t been an easy one though, and we’re pretty sure it hasn’t been a cheap one either, but for now at least, he’s got the car he always dreamed of having, and a whole lot more.
His wingman for the build, and the guy who looks after the entire mechanical side of the car, is Richard Brister. Richard is a jack-of-all-trades, and if it were not for his involvement, Robbie probably would have given up on the build many years ago, as it just gave him problem after problem. Since Richard has been on the job though, the car has become as reliable as a Swiss watch, allowing Robbie to dream up new additions rather than be faced with constant repairs. And dream he has!

One of Richard’s first jobs on the car was to get it running reliably. While originally this meant fixing the stock 454ci big block the car was purchased with, it wasn’t long before a supercharger was mentioned and a whole lot wilder engine build commenced. With Robbie working in the freight industry, the decision was made to import all parts for the build from America, including a new World Products standard deck block, 4.5-inch JE pistons and a 4.25-inch Eagle crank. With the combo screwed together with L19 rod bolts and a bunch of ARP fasteners, it now displaces 540ci. As if that wasn’t enough on its own, a polished Weiand 8/71 supercharger and twin 850cfm Barry Grant carbs were fitted to the top.
With an MSD ignition system taking care of the spark, the combo is now producing around 900hp and 900ft/lb on pump gas! The engine bay is pretty tight; Hooker Headers with 2-1/8-inch primaries filling up the space on either side of the block, and a larger alloy radiator and header tank taking up every square-inch of the front end. The cooling system obviously does its job though, as the car sees plenty of street miles, runs down the drag strip and has spent time on the burnout pad, all without issues.
Knowing full well that the old manual box wouldn’t be impressed with the new power figures, a TCI-built Turbo 400 transmission was imported. Built in America with a full reverse-pattern manual valve-body, 3000rpm stall converter and transbrake, the box should now outlast the rest of the car, and with Robbie’s driving style, that’s saying something.
Over the years, the Corvette has continued to evolve. One major step was fitting later-model steering and suspension components. The alloy A-arms used were chosen for their increased adjustability, and the fibreglass transverse leaf springs for their increased strength. At the same time, Richard fitted Bilstein shocks and oversized swaybars on each end too. Add to the setup 4-pot callipers front and rear with 11.25-inch rotors, and the car now handles and stops just as good as it looks.



Speaking of looks, that’s where Robbie’s addictive personality comes in to play. A Motorhead fan for many years, he’s based the entire visual package on the band’s distinctive fanged skull mascot. Brent aka ‘Hippy’ from Kustom Design Studio in Hamilton was the man behind the airbrush for the intricate skull and flame work that now adorns every panel of the car. Not that you’d know it, but the deep black with purple pearl paint the graphics sit on was sprayed over ten years ago now. The ZL4 flares the car wears were fitted before he purchased the car and were one of the things he originally liked about the vehicle. The only bodywork change since has been the fitment of a 1982 rear bumper, and his custom spine-like wing mirrors.
For many years Robbie had the idea of transforming the interior of the car to incorporate the Motorhead theme. Most people he turned to said it couldn’t be done, which only encouraged him even more to see it through to completion. Then the one place keen to take on the job went into receivership while the car was there, and his car was almost taken as part of the property seizure. Finally, after all of this, he turned to Steve Levine who, although known for his paintwork, obviously knows how to make an idea come to life in 3D also.
Motorhead skulls were moulded up and grafted to a complete new dash assembly, the horns off their helmets flowing seamlessly into the doors and centre consol. An adjustable steering column was added which exits one skull’s mouth, and a digital dash unit fitted in the centre. All up, 1000 hours went into the job, and that’s not including the custom floor that’s now in the car too. Once the interior was finished, the car was handed back to Hippy to have the airbrushing done to match the style of the exterior work. Again, hundreds of hours went into this one aspect alone, which as far as we can tell probably makes it the most detailed and potentially most expensive interior in the country.

                              

While currently there’s a decent stereo system in the car, Robbie has plans to make it bigger in the next facelift the build will receive. As part of that build, a full aftermarket chassis is to be imported from America, which will allow a tubbed rear end to be fitted. Along with this will come a roll cage, which is the only thing that is stopping the car from running 10-second passes currently. While the car is off the road for the rebuild, Robbie’s not left without a toy, as he’s got his daily driven Hummer and an airbagged Viper-powered Dodge Ram to play with. The three vehicles are often hired out for weddings and school balls under a business Robbie has setup called Bridal Beasts. The popularity of the service has blown him away, but then again, it’s not hard to see why people would want a ride in the cars either.
We can only imagine, anyone who gets a ride in the Corvette will get an experience to remember, and not just because of the Motorhead face staring back at them when they’re in the passenger’s seat, but due to Robbie’s habit of turning the rear tyres into smoke, and his complete inability to do anything in moderation… burnouts included.

1976 Chevrolet C3 Corvette Stingray – Specifications

Engine: 540ci big block Chev, World Products standard deck block, JE 4.5-inch forged pistons, Eagle 4340 forged H-beam rods, L19 rod bolts, Eagle 4.25-inch 4340 forged crank, World Products Merlin III alloy heads, Crane shaft mount rocker gear, titanium retainers, Crane hydraulic roller cam, hydraulic roller lifters, matched springs, 0.720-inch lift cam, Manley push rods, Cometic head gaskets, 2x BG 850cfm annular Mighty Demon carbs, polished Weiand 8/71 supercharger, Mallory 250gph fuel pump, Mallory regulator and high-flow cartridge filter, MSD billet distributor, MSD Digital 6 ignition, MSD boost retard control, MSD Blaster HVC coil, modified Hooker Headers 2-1/8th primaries, 4-inch collectors, Hooker 4-inch side pipes, aluminium radiator, custom header tank
Driveline: TCI GM Turbo 400 transmission, full-manual valve-body, reverse pattern shift, 3000rpm stall convertor, transbrake, B&M trans cooler with electric fan, stock Corvette 8.2-inch diff, Eaton carrier with carbon-fibre clutch discs
Suspension: Transverse fibreglass springs with adjustable spring rate, power rack and pinion steering, alloy upper A-arms, oversize sway bars, rod-end camber adjustable link arms, Bilstein shocks
Brakes: 4-pot callipers, 11.25-inch rotors all round
Wheels/Tyres: 15×8 and 15×10-inch Cragar Star Wire rims, 265/50R15 and 295/50R15 tyres
Exterior: 1982 rear bumper, ZL4 flared guards, custom cherry purple paint, airbrushing by Brent Larsen at Kustom Design Studio, Hamilton
Interior: Standard Corvette seats, aluminium steering wheel, aftermarket steering column, Hurst ratchet shifter with transbrake control, Racepak digital dash, Auto Meter gauges, full custom dash, doors and interior, Sony audio
Performance: Approx 900hp and 900ft/lb, 11.2-second quarter mile

1965 Chevrolet Corvette - Mechanical Monster - 86

 

Every now and then, a car comes along that defies convention, and pulls a big middle finger to normality. Dave Best’s 1965 Corvette is one such car, and while it may be new to us, Dave’s owned it and tinkered with it for over two decades now. Mind you, it’s never been as angry as it is in its current guise.

Dave tells the car’s history — “I found it in the late ’80s in Bakersfield, California. It belonged to the owner of Manuel’s Body Shop at the time and had a tunnel-rammed small block in it. It had previously raced at the ’76 Winter Nationals in Pomona. I couldn’t secure a deal at the time, and had to head home, so I entrusted Willie Roach to try and persuade the owner to sell it to me, which eventually happened right around tax time.”
Over the next 15 years Dave was continually playing with the car, and has lost count of the number of different engines it’s had in it, laughing “customers kept buying the engines out of it”, referring back to his days as a Tauranga speedshop proprietor. A lifetime hot rodding enthusiast, he learnt from an early age how to build engines and entire cars, so was certainly not afraid to get his hands dirty on the never-ending project. He wisely knows his own limits though, and when he decided around five years ago that the old girl would make for a cool circuit car, he knew exactly who to turn to.
Dave had heard nothing but good things about legendary circuit car builder Mike ‘Bic’ Anderson, another Tauranga local, and he was entrusted with the job. From the outset, Dave said there was no rush, as with time comes perfection, and that’s what Bic has achieved. Dave can’t speak highly enough of his workmanship or knowledge.
Dave knew he was never going to mess with the way the car looked; after all, that’s what drew him to it all those years ago. The radiused rear guards give an indication of its drag racing history, while the change to a ’67-style front end shows that many years ago someone tried to make it look newer than it really was. Dave’s pretty sure the aesthetics were done when the car was just a few years old; the silver paint however was applied just over 30 years ago now — not that you’d know it.
Bic’s mission to turn the car into a competitive circuit machine was fraught with difficulties, from the small cabin space to the ‘unique’ Corvette rear end that has the axles as a vital suspension component, and which does not improve the vehicle’s handling ability. It’s all in a day’s (or a couple of years’) work for a guru like Bic though, and Dave left him to his devices to apply his ingenuity as he saw fit.

                                       

The suspension side of things was a major, and one of the more time-consuming aspects of the project. The solution to the car’s inherent problems was to create slip-joint style half-shafts, which would increase and decrease in length through the suspension travel. When combined with an extra suspension link, and set up to perfection on a computerised suspension analysis programme, the result is genius. Of course, the basics, such as fitting adjustable shocks and a Guldstrand transverse leaf spring, were also taken care of. The modified rear arches allowed for the track to be widened for optimum road-holding ability, too.
Up front Guldstrand springs were added, along with optimised double A-arms, a custom chromoly sway bar, and a rack and pinion steering assembly, the latter powered by an electric pump.
In preparation for Dave’s powerplant of choice, a dry sump tank was mounted as rearward in the engine bay as possible — and a custom fuel system fitted as far forward as practical.
While Bic was sorting out all the little time-consuming parts that go into a major build like this, Dave was busy assembling the motor. Like the car itself, he’s owned the motor for many years, and although tempted to sell it at times, he has managed to hold on to it. After building it with various combinations, he knew exactly what was needed this time around — and that was mechanical fuel injection. While the naysayers say it can’t be done on a road car, and that tuning is impossible, Dave disagrees, and thanks to the perfectly tuned Hilborn injection system on the Corvette’s 410ci sprint car motor, he’s got the proof for his theory.
Dave built the engine around a bow-tie block, with 13.2:1 compression to make it street-friendly, albeit on avgas. The rest of the engine specs read like a dream list for most engine builders: Brodix dash-12 15-degree heads, splayed caps, LAE Kryptonite crank and rods, Jesel shaft rockers — you name it, it’s got it. The headers, which could double as an objet d’art, are more of Bic’s handiwork and are stepped from 1 7/8-inch to 2-inch into a merge collector followed by a full 3-inch system, and, as you can expect, the sound is raucous.
The driveline that backs it all up is equally as well thought out, and while predominantly aimed at taking abuse on the track, it’s streetable, but not for the faint-hearted — then again, driving any mechanically injected car on the street takes a bit of getting used to. A Tilton 7-inch clutch acts as the on/off switch from the Jerico 4-speed manual straight-cut dog box. Further back you’ll find a Duntov heavy-duty Eaton Posi with 3.08:1 ratio, and the aforementioned custom half-shafts.
One of the finishing touches in the build was the wheel combination. Too small and they wouldn’t fit over the Wilwood 6-pot front calipers and 13-inch rotors, too large and they’d ruin the classic appeal of the C2’s bodylines. The perfect solution was found in the form of 17×9.5-inch American Racing Salt Flat Special wheels, which are wrapped in 275/40R17 rubber. The vehicle’s widened track brings the tyres ever so close to the guards, yet somehow they don’t hit at all.



While the car hasn’t made it onto the circuit for a shakedown yet, with the engineering finesse and thought that has gone into the build, we can only assume it will be an impressive sight. But what class will it race in? Dave’s not too sure, and to be honest, he’s not really that fussed. He built it how he wanted it rather than how someone else told him to, and if that leaves him relegated to track days and street driving, then so be it.
With a new business venture — Gravel Clothing — now underway, time is at a premium for Dave, so fully committing to a race series would be a long shot at present anyway, but we can’t think of any better way to market a clothing brand aimed at car enthusiasts than slapping the name on the side of one of the coolest cars in the land. If you love the car as much as we do, then we recommend you check out the Gravel Clothing website; you never know, but you may just find it on a T-shirt … and while it’s not as cool as owning the real thing, it’s about as close as you’re ever going to get.