1975 Chevy Laguna - Gimme Back My Bullet!

Inland Empire made a custom steel driveshaft for the Laguna, which we needed because the 700-R4 trans (from Phoenix) is longer than the old Turbo 350. The proper way to measure driveshaft length is from the end of the output shaft (at the trans) to the face of the pinion yoke (which is also the centerline of the U-joint).

Russell's Twist-Lok hose and fittings are less expensive than braided stainless, but they'll last longer before needing replacement, and are just as strong as braided stainless. Installation is extremely easy: just cut your hose to length with a razor, and push the barbed end of the fitting (with some lube) inside the hose. It can't come off. This is the line running from the fuel pump to the carburetor feed line.

All GM 10-bolt rearends built after 1972 use a stronger 8.5-inch ring gear, which will handle a significant amount of torque. Instead of throwing it away and putting in a pricey 9-inch or a 12-bolt, we decided to keep the 10-bolt. To bring it up to strength, we installed an Eaton TrueTrac posi, which is bulletproof in the burn-box and at the starting line. It also lays down torque evenly in the twisties without showing any bad manners.

You can see more of the Russell Twist-Lok hose and fittings here. Note that we're using a 130-gph Holley mechanical fuel pump without a regulator, which is right at the upper limit for an application like this.

Setting up the shims and the pinion depth requires an installation kit, which we also got from Summit (part No. SUM-G7816, 8-5-inch 10-bolt). With the Phoenix trans sporting a deep 3.06 First gear, and a super-tall 0.70 overdrive, we took advantage by installing a set of 3.73 gears from Summit.

The last piece of the strength puzzle for our stock 10-bolt rear was an aluminum cover from Summit. The cover is ribbed for strength, and features main cap supports that can be pre-loaded from the back of the cover. Note the convenient fill and drain plugs, and the cool appearance.

Since the axles were out to install the TrueTrac, we installed longer, wider ARP wheel studs (1/2-inch -20) to complement the NASCAR look. These were paired with the big 1-inch NASCAR lugnuts from Bassett that we bought earlier. We also took this opportunity to resurface the rear drums and install new brake shoes.

The following day, we got our new driveshaft from Inland Empire Driveline Service. IEDLS says for strength, you should scale up the diameter of your driveshaft as length increases. They use 1026 steel alloy DOM tubing and Spicer solid-cross U-joints when possible. Their driveshafts are dynamically balanced to 3,800 rpm for smooth driving on the highway and on the track.

In the cockpit, we installed a Stewart Warner Maximum Performance shift light tach. A separate shift rpm and recall control pad is located remotely on the instrument panel. We plan on making it look a little nicer when we address the interior in a later issue, but we needed the tach now, so it went in anyway.

Summit offers private branded analog gauges at a smoking price-this trio of silver-faced backlit gauges consists of voltage, water temp, and oil pressure in a satin black panel. The kit runs $89.95, and includes the electric sending units too.

One of the last steps was setting the TV cable line pressure on our 700-R4 trans. If this isn't done right, you can drive through your clutches and burn them up quickly due to not enough line pressure. This Lokar kit from Phoenix Transmissions has an adjustment for TV cable length, which according to Greg Ducato of Phoenix should be set "tight as a string" when the throttle is wide open. If it's too long, shifts will come too soon. Note the snazzy billet throttle bracket from Summit. On the subject of the trans, we needed to hook up a switched 12-volt wire to operate the converter lock-up solenoid on the trans.

Here's our solid-roller bullet completely installed, and ready to wreak havoc. About 10 minutes after this photo was taken, we got pulled over by a Rancho Cucamonga motorcycle cop. (We had our side-exit Dr. Gas exhaust and a custom trans crossmember installed by then.) He thought it was a real race car on the street illegally. (Imagine that.) Our paperwork checked out, so he let us go with no ticket.