Here's the first set of photos from the teardown and media blast of our 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne "Post Modern." The metalwork has begun, and we've shot the entire body and parts in DuPont epoxy primer. We've got a long way to go on this one, but the ball is rolling!
After the metalwork was completed on the bottom side of our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy", we applied some Eastwood
Epoxy Primer to the underside and inside of the body shell to prevent rust and to provide a base for the next steps. We then sealed all the seams with 3M Automix Heavy Bodied Seam Sealer (8308) using their pneumatic applicator. We like to mask off the seams with 3M tape, then apply the sealer, brush it smooth, and then peel the tape before the sealer hardens. The sealer ensures no moisture will creep between the panels and start to rust. Once sealed up, we scuffed the primer and applied several coats of Eastwood 2K Ceramic Chassis Black on the bottom and inside of the body. The 2K Ceramic Chassis Black looks like the factory black used on chassis parts, but is far more durable than regular paint.
Charley Lillard and Mark Stielow teamed up to build one of the most outstanding 1969 Camaros to date. Ride along in "Jackass," a 1969 Camaro powered by a 2009 Corvette ZR1 supercharged V8, stopped by ZR1 carbon ceramic brakes, and riding on the best suspension goodies from Detroit Speed, Art Morrison Engineering, Currie Enterprises, and more. Hang on tightly! Video from the 2009 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational DVD .
We were doing a tune-up on a car over the weekend and the timing was so badly off that it had a little backfire. "Little" enough to destroy a muffler! This was actually pretty cool to see it come apart, but now you know why cheap mufflers are so cheap! This one blew out completely, throwing rust and carbon build-up all over the place.
Larry Callahan runs the website Pro-Touring.com , and his own twin turbocharged 1968 Camaro is a textbook example of the kinds of cars the website is built around. The "MotiV8r" Camaro features every pro-touring trick in the book, and was built by Prodigy Customs to run as good as it looks. Video from the 2009 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational DVD .
Amir Rosenbaum brought the Speed By Spectre 1970 El Camino to the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational event in Pahrump, NV, where we took a quick look at the car. It's a super-slick road and track machine, powered by a dry-sumped LS7 V8 that's been set back and dropped low in the chassis and backed by a T56 6-speed manual trans. We like the fact that Rosenbaum isn't afraid to push it to the limits on the track!
The Pontiac 400 V8 engine that we're using in our 1969 Firebird project called "Routy" came to us completely as a rebuilt log-block with all new parts inside, but we were charged with the task of doing the final assembly and detail work. This time, we're test-assembling the brackets and parts on the engine, and came across a great tip to help keep your Pontiac V8 engine running cool. By the way, here's a link to the made in USA valve covers!
The trunk floor area in our 1969 Pontiac Firebird "Routy" was looking pretty rough, so we elected to use an assortment of repair panels from Classic Industries to replace the rust and previous damage repairs. The process went pretty smoothly, and we were able to butt-weld and plug weld the new pieces in leaving a factory appearance with no evidence we were ever there. A coat of Eastwood Epoxy Primer will help keep them rust free for good.
Watch the video of the
Camaro making a chassis dyno pull at Finish Line Performance and enter
your guess of how much horsepower and torque the car made, and you could
win a V8TV Prize Package!
Here's the first of many videos covering our project 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne project called "Post Modern." The plans call for an LS1 / 6-speed manual drivetrain, big wheels and brakes, air suspension, and a bunch of other cool tricks. The red & white in this rendering are only one of a bunch of color ideas we're kicking around, but the final color has yet to be chosen. We're doing a complete build on this car, so stay tuned for many videos on the transformation!