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The Goodguys PPG Nationals In Columbus, Ohio - Better Than Ever
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Part of this year's award criteria mandated that all eligible vehicles take part in a demanding three-lap autocross. Woller strapped himself into RAZOR and cranked out three very impressive lap times with a best of 18.466 for the 1,000-foot course. In the end, RAZOR defeated the largest field of contenders ever (28 cars) for the Street Machine Of The Year crown. The top five finalists for this year's award included Kevin Alstott ('68 Camaro), Gary Abraham ('70 Nova), Woller's RAZOR, Jeff Hanson ('69 Camaro), and James McLeod ('69 Camaro Convertible). | BY THE NUMBERS | | “RAZOR” 1969 Camaro | | Erv Woller, North Lake, Wisconsin | | OVERALL FABRICATION | | Constructors: | Ring brothers, Spring Green, WI | | Design concept: | Sean Smith, SS Design | | Interior & design: | Upholstery Unlimited | | (Steve Pearson) | | Carbon fiber body components: | hood, decklid, | | rear bumper, and brake duct air intakes | | all custom fab by Ring brothers | | Machined parts: | custom-machined taillight bezels, | | rear fuel filler, shifter plate, gauge bezels, | | ignition switch plates, hood hinges, | | wheelhouse vents by Ring brothers | | Engine: | GM Performance all aluminum | | ZL1 big-block, 454 ci | | Transmission: | Viper T-56, six-speed manual | | SUSPENSION | | Front: | Detroit Speed & Engineering | | hydroformed front subframe | | Rear: | Detroit Speed & Engineering Quadralink | | Paint: | BASF RM line | | (Mineral Gray and other custom blends) | | Wheels & tires: | custom Budnik wheels, | | 18x10 front; 19x12, rear; | | Goodyear tires | | Gauges: | custom by Classic Instruments | | Exhaust: | Flowmaster Super 44 | Deal Of The Decade!
You can browse through swap meets and car corrals all summer long and never come across a deal like this. In fact, Mark Fannin's '71 Chevelle is the mythical dream deal you always hear about and search for, but almost never find. Here's what we mean: Mark wants $25K for his '71, which runs 10.80s with pump gas on pure motor. It's a super clean, straight, rust-free street car with new Lexus paint, a perfect interior, and a rollbar. Under the hood is a 489ci big-block with an Eagle stroker kit, Dart Pro 1 heads, Victor Jr. intake, 830 Holley, and a mild roller cam. Running gear includes a built Turbo 400 with a TCI 3,800-stall converter, a 12-bolt rear with 4.10 gears, and Mickey Thompson drag radials. We're not usually into pimpin' other folks cars for sale, but c'mon, people, some reader needs to step in and grab this up. Give Mark a call if you're interested (937-320-0801). This thing spanks our '68 Chevelle (Project Street Sweeper) for about half the price.  Bobby Alloway of Alloway's...  Bobby Alloway of Alloway's Hot Rod Shop built this sweet small-block-powered '68 Camaro for a customer. We don't know much about it, but it sure was hustling through the Street Challenge Autocross. We're chasing it for a feature, and hope to have it for you later this year.  We stopped by the Toyo Tire...  We stopped by the Toyo Tire booth in the manufacturers' midway and talked with Toyo spokesmodel Bianca Smith (26). We asked Bianca to pose with the Proxes S/T tire (size 275/40R20) on Gene Gerber's '29 Ford (Springfield, IL). Bianca has modeled for Import Tuner, Super Street Bike, and Modified magazine, so she was well prepared for our camera!    The '64-72 GM A-bodies get...  The '64-72 GM A-bodies get all the glory these days, but the earlier ones are actually much smaller, and had quite a few innovations that never survived. Much like today, there was a gas crunch, and manufacturers rushed to produce lightweight, thrifty cars with style. Take, for, instance the Olds Starfire with its all-aluminum turbo V-8, or the Pontiac Tempest with its rope driveshaft, rear transaxle, and independent rear suspension. This '62 Buick Skylark is owned by Terry Stinehelfer of Bucyrus, OH. It's got a 215ci aluminum V-8, stroked to 266 ci. Terry built it as a "phantom GSX"-his interpretation of what a '62 GSX would look like.  Carb manufacturer Barry Grant...  Carb manufacturer Barry Grant (left) gives one-on-one carb advice to one of his customers-Ken Guge of Kokomo, IN. Ken has a Road Demon in his '28 Ford and was pleased to get the lowdown from the man who built his carb. Note the Badman inline four-barrel carb in the foreground; we'll be dyno testing one of the first production units in a few months.  Columbus and the PPG Nationals...  Columbus and the PPG Nationals is the place where the Goodguys Giveaway car-a '70 Chevelle built by Precision Coachworks and Air Ride Technologies-was awarded to one lucky winner. But before that happened, it was time for one last flog through the autocross course. Hmm, who should drive? How about veteran racecar driver and LeMans winner, Scott Pruett?  This absolutely gorgeous street...  This absolutely gorgeous street rod is a breathtaking interpretation of a '27 Ford roadster. It's owned by Michael Chetcuti of Livonia, MI, and has a 392ci late-model Hemi backed by a 727 Torqueflite trans. Workmanship on the '27 was absolutely stunning.  Equally stunning is the '70...  Equally stunning is the '70 Nova known as "Notorious." Owned by Gary Abraham and built by Rad Rides By Troy, Notorious is one of the baddest alternative fuel muscle machines we've ever seen; a 572ci big-block is inflated by a F-2 Procharger, and fed a diet of E85. It makes over 1,000 to the wheels. The suspension is all Detroit Speed & Engineering; a hydroformed front subframe up front and a Quadralink four-link in the rear do a really good job of keeping this beast planted on terra firma. We've been begging Troy to let us shoot this for you-and we think the deal is just about done.  Dan The Cable Guy Forgotten...  Dan The Cable GuyForgotten muscle cars are a favorite topic around the office, and one we've always admired is the unsung '67-69 Thunderbird. These cars were sleek, powerful, luxurious, and have a look that's still sexy well into the 21st century. We don't know why these never caught on, but that's fine with 28-year-old Dan Scarbro, a cable service technician from Englewood, Ohio. Dan paid just $800 for his '68 T-bird, which came with a standard 429ci big-block-the first year for the Lima-built big-block. Dan did all the work himself, including the flat-black paintjob-right out of a Rustoleum can! Dan says the pinstripe job was done by Shane Syx.   We're suckers for a freak...  We're suckers for a freak show like this! It's a real '69 Camaro that has been chopped, cut, spliced, shortened, and narrowed in every dimension imaginable. About the size of a go-cart, Manny Powell's '69 is powered by a very much life-sized 6-71-blown 454 big-block. Powell is from Newark, OH.  When we saw Steve Davis (Grove...  When we saw Steve Davis (Grove City, OH) drive by in his '70 Cougar, we chased him down in our golf cart. He almost got away-his 428 Cobra Jet had a lot more sauce than our Briggs & Stratton, but he ran into traffic. This really clean example is mostly stock with a cam and a C6 trans. Yet another great muscle car that gets little attention!  Sometimes you see a simple...  Sometimes you see a simple car that is just right-not fancy or powerful or tricky-just plain nice. Sam Ramondelli's '68 Nova presented a sweet silhouette, so we shot it. It's a clean four-speed car with a hot little 327. Sam lives right there in Columbus, OH, and has owned it since 1982, so don't try to talk him out of it-we tried, and failed miserably.
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