After the body filler work was completed, we sprayed the body of our 1965 Chevelle with a high-build polyester filler from Standox . The sprayable polyester will fill all the minor sanding scratches and any pinholes in the body filler below. The polyester will also allow body technician John to refine the car's final shape, making the panels glass-straight and the body lines crisp.
The Roadster Shop builds some killer cars, and they were recently out beating up one of their most amazing creations, the RSC1 Corvette. Starting life as a 1962 Corvette, the Roadster Shop crew transformed every piece of this car into a slick high-tech version of the timeless C1 Corvette. Starting with a complete new RS Performance chassis, they added a GM LS7 engine, Kinsler EFI, giant brakes, and all the right parts to make it stop, go, and turn. Then they reworked every panel on the car, added a custom interior, and started winning awards. We think the best part is that this car gets driven hard on road course and autocross tracks. This interview was shot at the 2009 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, and is part of an upcoming DVD of the event.
Our 1965 Chevelle is going to have a Vintage Air A/C system installed, so we decided to use their FrontRunner serpentine accessory drive system on the engine. This system not only provides a mount for the air conditioning compressor, but it is also a slick mount for the alternator and power steering pump with a new-style serpentine belt for more efficient operation. The main truss mounts to the block and not the heads or intake, so all the belt driven parts line up perfectly. Here's how the system installs.
Cutting perfect circles in steel is easy with the HTPPlasma Cutter Circle Cutting attachment. You can adjust the size of the circle you want to cut and choose from 3 different base types to hold the compass in place. The plasma torch guide end is on wheels allowing it to glide over the work. Then, just set the torch in the guide, pull the trigger, and you're cutting perfect circles in seconds. It's really that easy. We proved it!
Charley Lillard brought his 1970 Chevrolet Camaro "garage find" to the first annual Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals show in Rosemont, Il. Our buddy Shafi Keisler caught up with Charley to learn the story of this legitimate 1130 mile all-original car. Lillard obtained the car from the original owner who parked it after it got dinged one day, and it sat in a heated garage for nearly 40 years. Would you believe original air in the tires? Check out Charley's website for more on this incredible car!
GM Performance Parts recently unveiled the first C.A.R.B. certified, EPA Emissions legal late-model engine swap for hot rods and muscle cars. We talked with Bill Martens about what the E-ROD kit consists of, and how GM was able to make this 430 HP LS3-based engine package be cool with Johnny Law. The key is the completeness of the kit, which comes with everything from the engine to the catalytic converters, vapor canister, and a special calibration in the ECM. That's right, over 20 mpg, catalytic converters for clean air, and 430 legal horsepower.
