I've always really been into cars, both mechanically and the appearance. I bought a '71 Chevelle for $400 when I was a senior in high school and starting off the modding by taking a paint and body class. The car was rough enough that all I got done was the body work and primered it. Next up was the chrome waterneck. Which leaked the first time I put it on. Then the gold anodized Moroso valve covers. Which leaked the first time I put them on. Not the best start, eh?
Bigger 2 barrel carb and headers were next, then an aluminum intake and a Holley 1850 (600 cfm, vacuum secondaries). Then a 268H Comp Cam, B&M Holeshot converter and Lakewood ladder bars. I had a friend help with the cam install and a shop do the converter but I did the rest myself. I found a set of 041 fuelie heads with a fresh 3 angle valve job that would bump my compression from the smog heads my car had (the engine was a Target Master 350, 8.2:1 stock compression) by at least 1 full point. Then an Edelbrock Torker intake and Carter 625 AFB carb. By then I'd gone from a 16.8 @ 83 stock (with dual exhaust and glasspacks) to a 14.8 @ 96 mph, still on the open 2.56 rearend.
I then upgraded to a Holley 4777 (650 double pumper) and my et dropped to a 14.68 and trap speed picked up to 100 even. I dialed a 14.65 and drew an '82 Mustang 5.0 with a 16.0 dial. Cut a good light and blew past the Mustang a good 150 feet before the traps, so I lifted and coasted through the lights...and still broke with a 14.63 @ 93 mph. Should have kept my foot in it, probably would have been close to a 14.4 @ 101 or so. 3.08s and posi got me into the 14.30s but I had to shift into 3rd just before the traps so my speed was around 98 mph. Got some Richmond 4.11s and dropped down to 14.27 but trap speed was off at around 96-97. Just really didn't have enough cam.
Time to go nuts, amirite? New short block, came out of a friend's low 13 Nova. Forged 11:1s, big Crane cam. Definitely a lot stronger engine...done in by a bad harmonic balancer. It is really ugly when the big end of a rod comes apart at 6500 rpm. Really, really ugly. 4 lobes of the cam, 4 lifters, 3 pushrods and chunks of forged TRW piston side skirts. Nice hole in #6 as well. Time for another short block. Forged 10:1 pistons, balanced and blueprinted, LT1 pink rods, 292 Magnum Comp Cam. Not much power under 3500 rpm so out with the B&M Holeshot and in with a Hughes 4000 stall (modified Vega converter). Instant low 13s at 108 mph in full street trim, best run of 12.84 @ 108. The heads were a real choke point, the 1.94/1.50 valves just weren't enough for the cam so I was short shifting around 6800 rpm. Better heads and would have been shifting around 7200-7400 rpm.
Coming home one day, driving up my street and the engine started knocking and before I could put it in neutral and shut it off, the engine went completely quiet. That was it for the Chevelle. As much as I hated to get rid of it, now I needed another short block and was also going to need to completely redo the brakes-upgrade to front disc and the rear brake lines were leaking. Beyond my financial ability while in college.
I bought my Dad's '77 Cutlass Supreme Brougham. He'd already had me remove the converter and put in a test pipe and replace the balky Q-jet with a 650 cfm Holley spreadbore. I got an Edelbrock Peformer intake for it, upgraded HEI coil and a 2200 rpm stall converter. The 2.41 gears had to go, but the best rearend I could find was one with 2.73s. Still better than the stock gears. The stock single exhaust was horrid. The pipe on the driver's side went under the oil pan and forward towards the passenger downpipe and connected up near the exhaust manifold, making about a 270 degree turn at the connection. No wonder the car was so sluggish. Real dual exhaust dropped the hand timed 0-60 time from 9.2 to 7.8 seconds. I have never seen such a huge improvement from just dual exhaust-but the stock design was so bad, I probably found 40 hp or so by dumping the factory single exhaust.
I ended up buying a '73 Delta 88 for $550 because it had a 455. Factory rated at 235 hp and 380 lb-ft, well beyond the 170 hp/270 lb-ft 350 (stock) I already had in the Cutlass. Pulled the 455 and swapped it in. Had to use the 350 exhaust manifolds since the 455 manifolds were meant for the larger Delta engine compartment. The stock HEI dropped right in, same firing order too. I figure with the dual exhaust (vs the Delta's single exhaust), 14 x 5 K&N air filter and HEI, the 455 was probably making around 260 hp and 400+ lb-ft of torque. Hand timed 0-60 dropped to 6 flat.
2 months after the swap, some clown blew through a light and totaled my car.
1974 Z/28 next. Last year they had the L-82 350. Already had Hooker headers and purple hornies (who else remembers those?) and a Hurst shifter for the M-21 4 speed. Still had the posi tag on the rear end too. Added a Performer intake and 3310 Holley (780 cfm). Unfortunately, my ex-wife was writing hot checks all over town and I ended up selling the car.
After that, it was family style cars, although I did put headers on my '79 Celica and a better exhaust and built a cold air intake for my '85 Celica. Headers, CAI, exhaust and pulleys (plus suspension mods) on my '90 Accord. My 626 was the only car I've owned I did absolutely no mods to. Even the crappy Pontiac Sunturd I had I did upgrade the anti-roll bar bushings to uerthane. Now that I have my Maxima, I've done a few minor things, debating whether or not to get headers (the best bang for the buck) because they will eliminate the pre-cats and I'll have to run O2 sims and hope the inspector doesn't look under the car so I can pass my state inspections.
In addition to all that, I was pretty anal about how my cars looked. Even when my Chevelle was primered, I still washed it and kept up the chrome bumpers, trim and the wheels.
Yeah, I am pretty car crazy.
