In 1965, Argus Publishing purchased an unassuming '57 Chevy Bel Air 210 post model to use as a project car for the editors of Popular Hot Rodding magazine. Through its existence, the '57 would serve as a test bed for multiple engine combinations, suspension setups, and drivetrain enhancements. Through four decades of ownership, the editors of PHR used the car to teach several generations of hot rodders how to build cars, while an entire aftermarket industry grew up around it. Above all, the bright yellow shoebox-named Project X-became a legend in the hot rod community, arguably the most significant car in the history of the hobby.

With 50 years of service and millions of readers served, we were looking for the next great adventure for Project X. So you can understand why we were so excited when General Motors came calling. The concept for this latest build was first initiated in January 2007. GM Performance Parts, a long-time contributor to the development of Project X, was working up its marketing strategy for the launch of a new line of 427-inch big-block crate engines featuring the Anniversary 427 ZL1 big-block (see "Big-Block Birthday," page 66). The Anniversary engine celebrates 50 years of great GM big-blocks with a modern interpretation of the legendary ZL1 Chevy big-block. Looking to stuff this monster into a '57 Chevy, the hunt had begun for a clean car to use as starting material for an '07 SEMA build car. A chance discussion between Dr. Jamie Meyer of GM Performance Parts and Mike Copeland of GM Performance Division (two of the teammates who brought GM the Reggie Jackson '69 Camaro in 2006) inquired as to the whereabouts of Project X. At Copeland's urging, Meyer approached Doug Evans, senior VP at PHR's publisher, Source Interlink Media, and the deal was struck. Project X was going back to GM!

As with any new GM vehicle, you start with a cutting-edge design and build to it. The first amazing part of Project X's journey was when ace GM Designer Dave Ross put pen to paper. Ross was only a small boy when the first article on Project X hit the newsstand in 1965. But he asked his mom to pay the 50 cents for the magazine, and as soon as he got it home, he started drawing pictures of Project X. He liked drawing pictures of cars so much that he decided that was what he was going to focus his life's ambition on: drawing and designing cars for GM. Now 42 years later, Dave Ross is one of the leading car designers in the world, owing a lot of it to his inspiration as a youth: Project X. Imagine how surreal it must have been for Dave to be handed this project. "Hey, we've got this '57 Chevy that we'd like you to turn into a modern GM interpretation of a Pro Street car," we imagine them asking him. "They call it Project X. Have you heard of the car?"

Oh, the irony, given his background, and the fact that Ross has his own tubbed and blown '57 that he takes out on local Detroit cruises. And so it was Ross, with solid input from leading car builder (and talented GM employee) Mike Copeland, who blazed the path for Project X's latest incarnation. Copeland demanded a Pro Street stance that will be as functional as it is fashionable. Ross drew up a stunner: low-slung street-dominating lines, updated 210 chrome trim, side-exit exhaust, and a new rim inspired by an aftermarket ad that he still remembers from that first Project X issue.

Copeland barked out orders for a melded modern chassis, existing somewhere between the modern and the original '57, with heavy C6 Corvette influencing and substructures. He also challenged his team to develop a modern Pro Street four-link rear; we'll share actual GM math data for all of you aspiring Project X followers. Assuredly, this type of work could not be duplicated in one's home garage. Instead, Project X will get the same type of state-of-the-art engineering that has brought GM to the top of the heap in today's automotive world.

As we'll show you throughout the next few months, the details of this build may be unlike anything you've ever seen in the hot rod universe. When an entire car company brings back a 50-year-old friend, miracles can happen. A functional ram air '57 hood, a "hidden" tub job, front fender substructures, and CNC-cut hand-painted emblems and aluminum trim are just the start of what will be an amazing journey for Project X. We plan on bringing it all to you with coverage never seen before in PHR-from every last drop of the Corvette Z06 yellow paint, to a final testdrive and evaluation that will take your breath away.

It's Project X's return trip home to GM, a car build that will be matched by no other. And, you'll read it all here in Popular Hot Rodding.

Flashback: July 1965
Project X's humble roots began in the July 1965 issue of Popular Hot Rodding, where it started life as a test bed for the burgeoning aftermarket parts business. The original story copy would prove prophetic: "You-the readers of Popular Hot Rodding-are hereby invited to suggest how it should be placed in first-class shape. What should the initial steps be? What should the ultimate objective be? Street rod? Strip rod? Customize it? Make it a show car? A go car? You tell us!

"Let's go a step further. Maybe there's a specific item of speed equipment you'd like to see installed. It can be done, shown how it's done, and what the results are. Maybe the 283 should be replaced. How about trying a 396-incher in it? No? Well, then, we can try a 327-or any other and show you just how we do it." Since those words were written, the little '57 has seen just about every modification possible. We don't think in their wildest dreams the original editors of PHR would've guessed how many parts and iterations this '57 has seen, and now it's getting the ultimate makeover in the innermost sanctum of GM-the hallowed GM Design Center in Warren, Michigan.-Johnny Hunkins

Any time you push the boundaries of engine output, you know there will need to be some dyno testing, and that's exactly the case here. We had some boundaries to work within, so that the end result was a sane build for the average mid-budget hot rodder. These boundaries included pump gas, a minimum of 350 lb-ft at 2,500 rpm, and a near lope-free idle of no more than 850 rpm. As for output, our goal was to see if 600 hp from a 350 block running on pump gas was even feasible. In the process, we would look at some newer speed parts, plus some tried-and-tested parts. All this, it should be said, will be attempted without the aid of a blower or nitrous.

400 Cubes With A 350 Block!
It's doubtful any of us need to be reminded that more cubes means a stouter engine, but it's been some 35 years since GM made the 400-cube version of the small-block. These tended to have an overheating and cracking problem, which has resulted in a scarcity of usable ones. The same cannot be said of the 350 block. It's about as reliable as a block can get and there are still millions available to the hot rodder. Stretching a 350 to 383 inches has been a common practice for the best part of 20 years. The question here is, can we go more? In terms of bore diameter, there is not much room to go more than 30 over, although a sonic tester can find blocks good for as much as 60 over. The combination to get a 383 is to bore the block 30 over (to 4.030 inches) and use a 3.75-inch stroker crank. The stroke increase over stock is 0.27-inch. Crowding this into a 350 block normally means cutting more rod clearance into the bottom of the bores and the sides of the crankcase. The amount needed to do a 383 sometimes compromises the block, and the clearancing goes into the water jacket.

Because the possibility of finding water is not that remote of a reality, the 3.75-inch stroke has long been considered the sensible limit of a viable 350-based stroker. But hot rodding, by its very nature, is all about pushing boundaries. Working with crank and rod manufacturer K1 Technologies, Lloyd McLeary of T&L Engines in Stanfield, North Carolina, has developed a procedure to reliably get a 4-inch stroke into a 350 block to produce 408 inches.

The process of producing 408 inches starts with a block selection procedure that involves both visual and sonic inspections. The sonic testing is the most critical aspect of a 408's success. Only about 50 percent of the good blocks already pre-selected for high-output builds will safely take the 4-inch stroke. Even so, it's close, as there is not much room to maneuver here. A typical performance rod on a 4-inch stroker crank will regularly break through into the water jacket. A key factor in making all this work are the modifications T&L does to the K1 rods. They make two moves to give the outer rod-bolt head more room: First, the bolt platform of the rod is machined about .025-inch lower, then the end of the rod bolt is machined .025-inch shorter. This, in conjunction with a block selected on the basis of sonic test results, gets the job done. The final inspection is to pressure-test the block to make certain it is watertight at the ground clearance points.

Going to 408 inches in an effort to achieve our 600hp goal might look like a big expense, but a stock factory crank at this power level will be well on the way to its limit. This makes a stout aftermarket crank more or less essential to the engine's ultimate survival. If a crank is needed, then it may as well be a stroker crank, as this will contribute to the output as well as beefing up the bottom end.

The piston requirements to meet the needs of an engine such as this are a little more critical than normal. First, to ease the reciprocating loads brought about by a stroke increase of over half an inch, we need to go for a tough piston that is also light, and these two factors are, for the most part, diametrically opposed. Fortunately, Mahle has a piston that fits the bill really well. Not only is it light, but this high-tech piston features thinner rings that are also narrower in plan view. This makes them able to seal up better with less ring drag, and that's an important issue on a stroker motor.

At this point, we have a short-block based on a 350 block that displaces 408 inches. You could build this short-block at home if you wanted by ordering all the parts from the relevant suppliers and getting a fully prepped and pressure-tested block from T&L, but quite frankly, it would cost you at least as much as getting the built short-block from T&L. The cost for an assembled block and balanced rotating assembly with a roller cam of your choice installed (we will get to that later) is around $3,200.

At this point, our 350 upgrade is looking good. We have 58 cubes more than stock, but that will not be of much use if the heads can't supply the air to feed those extra cubes.

Cylinder Heads
When AFR introduced their 195cc port Eliminator heads, it was without any great fanfare, so attention from our direction was somewhat limited. But rumors of great results with these heads (typical street price under $1,500) kept cropping up, so it looked like time to investigate. That was a year ago. Since then, we have sat in on dyno tests on four occasions and the output figures achieved were strong. For an air-hungry 408, some top-notch heads would be needed if results were to reflect the investment of time and money in the bottom end. These AFR heads looked like they would fit the bill and do so at a great price.

The AFR Eliminator heads feature 2.05-/1.60-inch valves and are CNC ported. As a pioneer in the field of both aftermarket cylinder heads and CNC porting, AFR has over a quarter century of experience to draw on. The Eliminator heads are a culmination of this experience, and represent some serious fine tuning of the 23-degree Chevy heads.

AFR has always been very strong in the cost department. This is because they CNC port these heads to a finish that delivers the most cost-effective result. If the finish is made finer, the cost escalates dramatically, while power may only change marginally-and it could go either up or down here. If the finish were made coarser, the price would drop only minimally, while the flow and power would drop measurably. But at the end of the day, finish is, at best, a second-order effect. The primary factor toward a functional head is port and chamber shape. Fail here and it matters little how good the surface finish is.

The reality is that shape dictates flow, swirl, port velocity, efficiency, wet-flow characteristics, and more. With any high-performance head, good airflow is essential, and though these AFR heads had that, there proved to be a lot more to their power producing capabilities than just airflow. That said, let's start by taking a look at the airflow as measured on T&L's freshly calibrated bench, and then move on to the other power producing assets.

The nearby graph (opposite page) shows the flow numbers we saw on the T&L bench. These, incidentally, were slightly higher than AFR advertises. Along with good peak flow numbers were fat curves, which were good from the seats all the way up. A point of note is that the bigger the displacement for a given intake valve, the more important low- and mid-lift flow becomes. With a 175-cfm intake flow at .250-inch lift, this AFR head is about 5 to 7 cfm more than we normally see at that lift station.

Along with good flow, the AFR intake ports also generated swirl numbers that typically deliver good results. Additional probing showed good port velocities and velocity distribution. All this adds up to promising results on the dyno.

As good as all the gas dynamics of these heads were, it was still short of the sum total. Other options could make a big difference, especially if you intend to use them with a hydraulic roller cam. The valves, springs, and retainers we used have been selected to enhance the rpm capability of the heads without going to a spring as heavy as would normally be used. For instance, the valves had an 8mm stem (a little under 5/16) with a lightweight head. This chops the weight of the intake valve from typically 129 grams to 105 grams with a commensurate save taking place on the exhaust. The valvesprings used for these heads are high-dollar items and also present a performance advantage. For our 408, we are going to need a lot of valve lift. To make a stable valvetrain, the spring must have low mass and a high natural resonant frequency. The AFR spring has both. It weighs a scant 92 grams (typical is 110) and delivers 160 lbs on the seat, and 424 lbs at .600-inch valve lift. Because it is a much smaller diameter than most springs, it needs only a small retainer. This weighs a slim 17.5 grams, as opposed to a typical retainer mass of 33.5 grams. All this attention to detail chops a worthwhile amount of mass out of one of the most mass-critical areas of the valvetrain. AFR's efforts in this direction mean the heads are ideally suited to hydraulic roller cams, and to high-lift solid street rollers-the latter is just what we are going to use.

Cam Selection
Probably the two top reasons why street engines use a hydraulic roller are the zero-service factor and the quiet operation. What this has done for many hot rodders is exclude the solid street roller from consideration. We have run COMP's solid street rollers for many years; our longest one in service has over 80,000 miles on it, and has yet to need a lash adjustment. Also, by making the lash adjustments with care, the valvetrain is far from noisy. The sound is more like a purr, and is far from objectionable. This is being brought up because a solid street roller was a more appropriate choice; let's look at this 408's requirement. First, it has a lot of inches, so it will need to have a high-lift valvetrain. Secondly, there is enough airflow through the heads to make power up to 7,000 rpm. This means we have to deal with two contradictory situations: high lift and high rpm. Added to that, we needed a long and reliable service life. A COMP Xtreme Energy street roller takes care of that. The profiles chosen were 286XSR for the intake, and 292XSR for the exhaust. These profiles are 248 degrees and 254 degrees for the intake and exhaust respectively. With COMP's 1.65:1 rocker (PN 1006) on the intake and 1.5:1 (PN 1004) on the exhaust, net valve lift after lash was .620-inch and .588-inch.

Induction
The intent is to test two intakes. First, we wanted to see how well an Edelbrock Air-Gap Performer RPM fared on an engine with a projected output of over 520 hp. Experience has shown that on engines in the 300 to 500hp range, this manifold really delivers. Some of our previous testing has also shown that at about 530 hp, it appears to be approaching a limit. But testing on our 408 should better define its already well-appreciated attributes for producing a really strong low end with what is, for a two-plane intake, a very creditable top end. Next on the list to test is a Holley Strip Dominator. This is a manifold which seems to be short on credit for its good power capabilities. On engines capable of 500 or more horsepower, our previous experience has shown it gets the job done in style. With the hot spec of this 408, it seemed like a good idea to reacquaint ourselves with the Strip Dominator's power potential. Both manifolds were checked for a port match. Both aligned pretty well, so it was decided that we would run both intakes in out-of-the-box form.

For carburetion, we had three custom-built Holley carbs. These were carbs that had calibrations specifically for a big-cam 400ci engine. T&L has these built and calibrated for their engines by a Cup Car carburetion specialist. When checked on the flow bench, these carbs (a 750 HP series, a 750 HP with an 850 baseplate, and an 850 with a milled choke horn and some airflow work) delivered 803, 901, and 932 cfm respectively.

Spark Generation
For ignition, we used a Pertronix HEI-style distributor with vacuum advance. This was equipped with the lightest springs for the mechanical advance and fed the spark to the plugs via ACCEL 8.8mm plug cables. So why the vacuum advance? With this coupled to manifold vacuum (not the ported vacuum source) we were able to get the motor much more street friendly. Not only did the vacuum advance allow us to get a better and smoother idle, but also it consumed less fuel at idle and part throttle cruise.

Dyno Time
As is often the case, our project engine was run on T&L's dyno in Stanfield, North Carolina. After a one-hour break-in, the oil filter was removed and cut open for a particulate examination. This delivered a clean bill of health, so a new filter was installed and oil was added. The valve lash was given a final check and we were ready to go.

Our main push was to see if we could make 600 hp, and with only 6 hours of dyno time available to us, we did not spend too much time with the Edelbrock Air-Gap Performer RPM tests. The point was more to see what the "bulk" difference might be between the two-plane Performer and the single-plane Holley Strip Dominator. Going in, it was already known that this combination would need a large cfm of carburetion. At the same time, we did not want to compromise driveability, so we chose to run the Holley 750 equipped with the 850 baseplate. With its measured 900-cfm capability, this looked to be a good compromise on what had to be a one-shot deal.

The custom calibration on the carb proved to be right on the money, as any jet change up or down lost output. The results are in the chart on p. 92. Unless you are familiar with this sort of result, these numbers are going to take a little explaining for the true picture to be more clearly seen. First, note that the numbers are all rounded to the nearest whole lb-ft or hp. The reality is that this engine missed the 550hp mark by just 1.4 hp. That's a very creditable number for a two-plane intake. But look at the peak torque. That is only about 510 lb-ft. Normally, this would be somewhat higher, but because the peak torque is at relatively high rpm, the manifold is already pushed near its limit in terms of best airflow per revolution of the engine. At the peak torque figures, this combo is already well over the 500hp mark that Edelbrock envisaged would be about the limit of its use. What we have here is an example of a subtle parts mismatch. The demand from big cubes and high rpm is being effectively communicated, via a set of highly effective heads, to the intake manifold and carb. But as the big demand from the cubes/rpm/heads combo is increasing, the flow capability of the intake/carb combo is close to being maxed out, even at 5,000 rpm. Result: Because peak torque wants to occur so far up the rpm range on this big-inch motor, the peak torque value is being compromised by lack of sufficient airflow. Don't get me wrong here, the Edelbrock Air-Gap Performer is a great manifold. If, twenty years ago, you had asked a pro engine builder whether a two-plane intake could be made to support even 500 hp, the answer would have been, "not a chance." If we want to see that 5 to 10 lb-ft of increase, then it's a case of using a cam about 10-degrees shorter to move the powerband down into a range more suited to the intake.

So, as good as the Edelbrock two-plane may be, our next tests will show if there is any substance to our theory that this engine just needs more induction capacity.

Single-Plane Test
The first move was to swap out the two-plane intake for the single-plane Holley Dominator. On top of this went the basic mildly-modified 750 with calibrations deemed necessary for the single-plane setup. Although output below 4,500 rpm dropped, this 408 came on strong from there on up. Peak torque went up to 516 lb-ft, and peak hp to 572. That was good, but the carb capacity still looked a little on the weak side for this deep-breathing 408. To check and see if this was so, the 900-cfm 750 (with the 850 baseplate) was installed. Presto! 526 lb-ft and 579 hp. We are starting to look good here. Now working on the assumption that if some is good, and more is better, the 930-cfm (modified 850) might be just right, so it was installed. Result: 534 lb-ft and 587 hp.

At this point, you can see we are closely approaching our target 600 hp. The problem is, we have now used our biggest carb, but as often as not, a 2-inch spacer on an engine of this size can make the carb look bigger, so that was the next move. This resulted in a best of 541 lb-ft and 595.4 hp. Seeing as our 600hp target was so close, our next move would have been to do a little stagger jetting and change the oil for a good synthetic. That would have almost certainly given us the 600 hp we were looking for, but time was against us.

It's worth looking at our graph comparing the output with the two-plane against the output with the single-plane. In round terms, the Air-Gap Performer produced 45 lb-ft more down low, whereas the Strip Dominator produced 45 hp more at the top end. As can be seen from the graph, the crossover point was a shade over 4,500 rpm. As far as the valvetrain went, this COMP solid street roller ran like a 595hp Swiss watch at 6,800 rpm, and valvetrain noise at idle for our diligently lashed system was barely any more than a typical high-performance hydraulic. As for the AFR heads, they proved to be capable of feeding the 408 inches produced by the K1 crank and rods, and Mahle pistons.

At the end of the day, it has to be said that over 540 lb-ft and nearly 600 hp from a bolt-together engine running on pump gas is nothing to sneeze at. Of course, all these great results are academic if the cost of producing them is out of sight. All this comes in at a reasonable budget: T&L offers a turnkey replica of this engine complete with dyno sheet for less than $6,750, and that's well short of the big-block territory that a 600hp pump-gas friendly engine normally requires.

There's light at the end of the tunnel. It's been over a year since we bought our big blue Ford off eBay for $8,100 and started turning it from grandma cruiser to boulevard bruiser. The last few stories involved the biggest transformation when we dropped in the stroker 408 Twister small-block, and bolted up a MagnaFlow exhaust system. But cars aren't just a collection of big-ticket items, they're also a ton of tiny details. Many of these parts aren't as glamorous as a 550hp engine, but they are critical nonetheless. Your first track day in your raucous-sounding ride could be ended because you didn't have a $40 driveshaft safety loop. The new mill under the hood could be turned into a doorstop because you didn't have an oil pressure gauge. The carb could get jacked up for lack of a fuel filter. All these things are good at killing a budget since they're often forgotten, and when added up, things can get pricey.

But not everything needed to finish this project had to do with performance. The Fastlane Fairlane was always envisioned to be a typical street machine. The plan wasn't for a ragged bracket car or a show car that can barely make it on and off a trailer. We were shooting for middle ground. This meant we tried to keep the car nice enough to take to the local cruise night as well as fast enough for the dragstrip, so we spent a little extra on aesthetics as long as it didn't hurt performance. With these final touches in place, we should be ready for the track and a few passes to see if we can get into the 11s. Hey, if we don't make it, at least we'll look good trying.

WHERE THE MONEY WENT
'70 Ford Fairlane 500:	$8,100.00
408 stroker engine:	$8,757.79
Hughes Performance C4 trans/converter/flywheel:	$2,050.90
Installation of 408 and C4 trans:	$2,776.99
Vintage Wheel Works V60 wheels:	$1,179.00
Nitto 555 tires:	$594.00
Mount and balance:	$100.00
Used '70 Torino GT hood:	$250.00
Paint and body:	$250.00
Materials to paint rear valance:	$15.00
New vinyl top:	$119.95
Labor for top installation:	$250.00
Front spoiler:	$67.96
Line lock with lines:	$96.90
SSBC front disc brakes:	$999.95
Rotor upgrade:	$150.00
Just Suspension "The Works Kit":	$1,850.00
Credit for unused KYB shocks:	-$152.00
Alston double-adjustable Varishocks:	$956.00
Alignment:	$69.95
Strange 9-inch rearend with disc brakes:	$2,423.72
Lokar e-brake cable kit:	$144.95
Misc. hardware for rearend install:	$86.44
Aluminum 3.5-inch driveshaft and parts:	$470.00
Odyssey, Moroso, and other parts for battery relocation:	$448.35
Stainless MagnaFlow 3-inch exhaust system:	$1,142.80
Sold parts from Fairlane (tires, wheels, hood):	-$425.00
Punch List items (gauges, seats, hood pins, etc.):	$1,902.37
G-Force helmet from Summit:	$149.95
Total:	$34,825.97

Ever since we bought the Fairlane, the dash has been covered by a blue carpet to hide the cracked and time-worn dashpad underneath. nobody makes a replacement dashpad yet, so we ordered a dash cap from Dearborn classics (Pn Dc100, $99.95) and some new kick panels to replace our broken originals (Pn KP104, $69.95/pr.). since they only came in black, we had John over at Best of show coach Works coat them in the appropriate hue.

Project X
When the teams at GM Performance Division and GM Performance Parts offered us the chance of a lifetime for our beloved Project X, we jumped at the opportunity to have our car return to the same company that gave birth to it 50 years ago. Now, months into the project, the bright yellow hot rod icon is starting to round the corner toward a completed car once again. We knew that GM would be able to offer this build a level of expertise that no speed shop in the world could match. The grafting of a current-production C6 front suspension, the re-engineering of a 50-year-old frame, and the one-off triangulated four-link rear suspension that tucks 16-inch-wide tires were all done to current-production car specs from the original manufacturer. While it all took our breath away when we saw it in math data, we had actually hoped that Project X would be treated to just such a rebirth.

So, while the advanced production-level engineering was great, what impressed us the most about this latest build was the decades of hot rod expertise that we ran into when we met the team of GM employees that put the finishing touches to "X." During the build, there were literally thousands of loving hours that were poured over our long-term 1957 Chevy project car in a form of craftsmanship and artistry that you just don't expect to see from the company that sells more cars in the world than anyone else.

In this article, we've tried to break down the details of just 10 of these custom areas on Project X. There are literally thousands of subtle and not-so-subtle changes on this car since the day we dropped it off with GM, so please understand if your favorite area isn't featured here. If there is something specific that you want to know "how they did that," drop us a note (john.hunkins@sourceinterlink.com), and we'll see if we can get the folks at GM to share their secrets with us. With that as an introduction, let's take a look at 10 areas of Project X that have pushed the legend of this project car to new heights.

Functional Ram-Air Hood
Like many parts of the '57 Chevy, the hood is one of the most sculpted (and re-sculpted) pieces of automotive art ever created. It's a massive piece of steel that comes ramping down to meet the grille while carrying twin hood decorations (often referred to as "front sites" or "bullets") that some still use to "line up" the car when driving. The aggressive uphill rake of the hood also serves as the perfect place for that timeless, scripted Chevrolet logo to announce your arrival. Of course, about as soon as these cars came out, hot rodders have looked for ways to use those bullets to get more fresh air into the hungry engine under the hood. The problem with homemade ram-air kits on these cars is that they usually leave quite a bit to be desired in the fit-and-finish department-think gutted hood ornaments with "custom" clothes dryer ductwork here.

The GM team had a better idea. They wanted to add a functional ram-air hood to the one and only prototype Anniversary Edition 427 big-block, but they wanted to treat the concept as if it had been designed into the car. And, since these are the same folks who are designing and engineering the cars that you'll be driving in the next five to 10 years, they were just the team to take on such a task.

Working from an original Dave Ross design, the team widened the hood area that surrounds the bullets by 25 mm on each side, and then built this amazing substructure into the underside of the hood. The idea was to capture the air filter in the hood itself. When the hood is down, the air goes through the holes in the hood, gets filtered, and all works as normal. With the hood up, the air filter gets lifted off, exposing that gorgeous, all-aluminum 427-inch big-block underneath.

For additional functionality, the GM team also replaced the hood latch with a pair of Solstice trunk latches. This got rid of the huge (and sometimes dangerous) stock single latch that hung down in the middle. The hood hinges were replaced with deck lid hinges from a Cadillac STS. That's right, we no longer have to worry about the hood coming down and smashing the back of our heads while attending to the engine.

Custom Firewall
In 1955, the shoebox Chevy came loaded for bear with a 265-inch small-block V-8-the first of many. And while Project X came from the factory packing a six-shooter, the hot iron for '57 was the 283-inch small-block Chevy. The small-block grew in size steadily over the next 50 years, however, the amount of space provided for the engine in a '57 Chevy was still designed for a small-block. So when car builders try to stuff a blown small-block with big headers, or as in our case, a big-block under the hood, you suddenly start looking for areas to grow the engine compartment. The width is there, but with a longer engine, you run into problems.

Taking into consideration the size of the aluminum Anniversary Edition 427 big-block, plus the super-trick exhaust that was in the works (side-exit exhaust is detailed later), the GM team knew that they'd have to get into the firewall. Project leader Mike Copeland leaned on his math data team hard for this one. He had them scan our original Ram Jet 502 crate engine to use as a reference guide for the shape of the Anniversary Edition 427 big-block. The Ram Jet got the GM team close, but they still had to get back into the initial build once the 427 showed up and the distributor was a different size.

Still, the firewall conforms to every line of the 427. When you look over this car, you might actually miss the hours of work poured into the firewall, but then you start to see that it frames the 427 like a velvet-lined jewelry box drawing your eye to the engine.

Time to build: Six weeks

Hardest part: The real art to this project is that every piece of the substructure had to be hand-fabricated. Starting with a wood form (hand-carved of course), the team shaped, welded, and hammered this factory-appearing piece into the underside of the hood.

Pro's tip: After removing the inner structure of the hood, a wood frame was built to support the hood while it was being modified. The fixture is built from 2x6-inch pieces of pine. The original metal was reformed to expand the openings. Aside from making the openings larger, there was no cutting or welding on the outer surface of the hood.

GM employees: Jim Gobart took the lead on the hood, and Michael Hair did the hood hinge and latch mechanism.

Cold Air Spears
As if a functional ram-air hood wasn't cool enough, the artisans at GM Performance Division wanted to go one step further, adding the crowning touch to the craziest '57 Chevy hood ever built. They turned to GM Design to come up with an updated "bullet" design to act as the jewelry that pulls attention to their craftsmanship on the hood. Design studied the original hood ornamentation, used the math data for the new hood design as a reference point, and then drew up new "spears" to fill the ram-air opening on each side. Again, this design strategy holds true to the timeless '57 design, but it brings it up to date with the ram-air technology-and it just looks so trick!

Time to build: Two weeks

Hardest part: Hand-forming metal in a hood that was already custom

Pro's tip: Don't be afraid to trial fit and repeat.

GM employee: Brian Alfonsi

Time to build: Six weeks

Hardest part: Changing distributors mid project
Pro's tip: Make sure that you have your engine complete with all accessories before you start cutting. If you decide to change valve covers or distributor, then it could lead to disaster-or just a lot of extra work.

GM employees: Mario Orlando, Jim Ostrand, Kevin Schultz, and Jim Gobart

Gauge Pod
The instrument panel (or IP) has come a long way in 50 years. With GM design leading the way on today's production vehicles, GM Performance Division wanted to bring today's state-of-the-art GM interiors inside Project X. One problem that they faced was that the stock '57 dash has the gauges mounted in an upward-facing position-that is, the gauges are not protected from sunlight as they rest in the stock dash. The GM team wanted to mount the gauges in a more shaded area with a better angle for reading. What they ended up doing was adding material to the stock dash eyebrow. Within that hand-crafted area now resides a full set of electronic gauges.

The gauge pod is just the start of the modernization that took place on the interior of the '57. The GM team also added air conditioning, a tilt wheel out of a '64 Impala, and a Hurst shifter for the Richmond five-speed. After a full analysis of driver positioning (yes, just like a current production Chevy Malibu), all of the creature comforts were positioned for optimal use.

Time to build: Three weeks

Hardest part: Integrating a Kenwood XM radio and navigation system into a 50-year-old dash. (Are these guys nuts?) The car has a complete Kenwood audio system, with a touch screen built into the roof above the mirror. This touch screen also controls opening the headers, opening the deck lid, and turning the foglights on.

Pro's tip: Like all aspects of this car, a little bit of planning will go a long way. Just like any exterior changes to the car, it makes sense to map out what you want on the interior. This is especially true if you are mixing and matching several advanced electronic systems as they did on Project X. Plan your work and work your plan.

GM employees: Jim Gobart, Jim Holcomb, and Mike Hair

Mustache Bar and Bumper
The distinctive front end (and the chromed-to-the-max front grille in particular) is one of the most defining features of the '57 Chevy. The GM team certainly didn't want to take away from the original design, but they did want to bring it up to date. Plus, a distinctive grille would make the perfect place to announce the arrival of the Anniversary Edition 427 big-block crate engine.

The custom "427" logo was drawn by Dave Ross, and the team was off and running. Using that as a starting point, they drew (in math of course) a blended "mustache bar" that would incorporate the "427." The result is an incredible interpretation of how an American icon would have come from the factory with a 427 under the hood.

Also, the front bumper was stripped of all its chrome, refined to fit together like a glove, and the bullet bumperettes were modified to hold foglights. The whole bumper is so subtle, it almost looks like it should have back in '57.

Of course, you don't just order any of these pieces from your favorite '57 Chevy restoration shop, but you can build them if you have the type of blueprint that the GM team was working from. They started with a production grille and bumper, then worked it into the designed pattern. Once the metalwork on the spear was done, it was off to the chrome shop, and then back to Warren to have the "427" logo installed. That logo, like all of them on the car, was CNC-cut out of aluminum, and hand-painted by GM employees.

Time to build: Four weeks
Hardest part: Incorporating the new GM Performance Parts Anniversary Edition 427 logo into a one-off front grille

Pro's tip: With projects like this, it makes sense to draw out the original area that you want modified, and then draw gradually differing versions. Eventually, you get to a point that makes sense for the car. Most original designs can be made better with an eye towards aerodynamics or just fashion. It's your hot rod-you make the choice.

GM employees: Dave Ross did the design, Ira Holcomb did the mind-numbing detail work, and Matt Furness took care of the CNC components.

Center Console
Continuing with the interior, Copeland had his gang order some Cadillac STS bucket seats to use in the Chevy. They removed the headrest, cut them down 2 1/4 inches, and had them upholstered with period-patterned material. GM used the skills of Pat Russell (www.pjstrimshop.com) to round up the upholstery and materials. Pat also finished the carpeting and most of the interior, but what do you put between those big, beautiful seats? Ross, Copeland, and crew put their heads together and came up with the full-length center console out of a '64 Impala. It offers the correct look for the job, and the GM team shaped it to fit into the desired location. Again, the exterior pattern was extended through the console for a perfect, finished look.

Time to build: Two weeks

Hardest part: Bringing the timeless '57 Chevy exterior trim pattern into the interior without making it look too overdone

Pro's tip: Don't be afraid to try chrome trim and textured patterns on the inside of your hot rod.

GM employees: Thomas Houck, Stephan Fancher, and Tom Seefried

Rear Seat WaterfallM
This could just be labeled "interior," but there are so many aspects of the interior that we wanted to draw attention to just one area in particular. When GM got Project X, it had racing buckets, a tacked-in 'cage, and a flat factory dash with aftermarket gauging. Then Dave Ross and Mike Copeland got involved. With the dash and console brought up to speed, they started focusing on the transition of the exterior of the car into the interior. Think of it as a continuation of the experience the driver has as they walk to the car, open the door, and get in. GM wanted it to work together seamlessly (with a consistent look and feel) just like today's production cars from General Motors.

Part of this transition experience was to continue the lines of the dash through the console, and then cap it off in between the back seats with a "waterfall" reminiscent of higher-end Chevy models of that period.

Time to build: Four weeks

Hardest part: Picking modern-day materials that match the look of a 50-year-old hot rod with the feel of today's new interiors

Pro's tip: Take a look at what GM's new interiors have to offer. Pay particular attention to the materials, and fit and finish. Now go back to your car and see if there are any interior parts that you'd like to have in your car. Put all of that together in one design and you'll come close to having what Project X has here.

GM employees: Dave Ross (design), Jim Ostrand built a wooden form to use as a guide to metalwork the sheetmetal for the waterfall.

Side-Exit Exhaust
"It has to have side exhaust," said Mike Copeland in one of the initial meetings on this car. His love for Project X clearly gushing, we waited to see what the GM team had in mind. Fitting to this modern build, they came back with a subtle stainless- steel plate that would house the quick-exit exhaust coming off of custom-bent long-tube headers. The build included routing each pipe into a collector that surrounded an open exhaust valve that was integrated into a stainless-steel panel. That panel was then worked into the front fender for a perfect fit.

In the end, the side exhaust has become the crowning jewel of this car. Cruise the street in style, but when it's time to ruffle some feathers, hit the button that says "open," and all hell breaks loose as the 427-inch big-block screams for all it's worth.

Time to build: Four weeks

Hardest part: Integrating the electronic controls for the exhaust valve into the onboard navigation system. We still don't know how they did this one.

Pro's tip: Go slow on this one. Double and triple check every bend and every final point of attachment for the header primaries. If you mess up at the header flange, it only gets worse at the collector.

GM employees: Derin White and Tom Seefried learned how to thread the needle with exhaust tubes!

"X" Etched Details
We knew that Project X was going to retain its 210 trim level-a requirement from our editorial staff. Among the early Dave Ross designs was one that caught our eye because it had a distinctive "X" pattern laser etched into the metal that was then surrounded by fresh trim. Ross drew in oh-so-subtle changes to the path of the chrome trim, then filled them in with this custom "X" pattern. As it turned out, the GM team ended up creating math data for all the trim, putting that into a CNC machine, and then custom-cutting one-off Project X trim out of polished billet aluminum. Meanwhile, the fill trim with the "X" pattern was being laser etched to match trim panels and complimenting the rear quarter-panels to perfection. The end result is pure automotive artistry.

Time to build: Three weeks

Hardest part: CNC-machining one-off billet aluminum trim panels that are seven feet long

Pro's tip: This one is not for the do-it-yourselfer, but we've had limited success with our local waterjet shop, which does laser etching on a smaller scale. Check your local yellow pages-you'll be surprised at what you might find.

GM employees: This one was all in the wild mind of Dave Ross, and the math data wizard, Jim Popiel. It was installed by Jim Gobart, Tom Seefried, and Jim Ostrand.

Time to build: Two weeks

Hardest part: Taking a vintage design for a 15x7-inch rim and blowing it up to fit Mickey Thompson 31x16x20 steamrollers

Pro's tip: Want to design your own killer rim? Start looking at some 40-year-old issues of PHR-you never know where inspiration will come from.

GM employees: Dave Ross and Mike Copeland

Wheel Design
Dave Ross, master vehicle designer for General Motors, has put his heart and soul into Project X, the same '57 Chevy that helped shape his life during his formative years. As the crowning jewel to what he describes as the highlight of his career, Ross went back to the original July 1965 Popular Hot Rodding issue that first featured Project X. In that issue, there was an ad for an aftermarket rim that he most assuredly had memorized as a boy. Ross took that pattern, updated it to 2008 standards, tweaked it to put his own subtle styling signature on it, and told Copeland to "print it."

Copeland had his contacts at Budnik study the design, and cut one-piece wheels off of that original Dave Ross work. Two weeks later, the 18x7-inch front and 15x20-inch rear wheels showed up at the GM Design Center in Warren, Michigan. We promise not to tattle if you call Budnik up for some copies!

Street Sweeper
We've been spending money and turning wrenches on our Street Sweeper Chevelle project since we first got it in the April 2007 issue of PHR. Quite frankly, we were tired of futzing around and it was time to burn some rubber. We could've gotten totally anal about it, building a rollbar, relocating the battery, wiring in a rev limiter, and installing a roll control, but we were starting to think our '68 Malibu was turning into a science project instead of a bona fide street/strip car.

It was time to take stock of our work and find out what worked on our Chevelle, and what didn't. Message forum opinions, engine dyno results, and past experience can only take you so far-at some point, you need a signpost to point the new direction. As fate would have it, the Fun Ford Weekend was coming to town for their season ender at Fontana's California Speedway. Unlike Fun Ford's typical all-Ford show, the finale (which was held on October 20) would allow other domestic makes, including our Chevy.

True Street-The Ultimate Test
I was particularly interested in True Street, because it's designed for licensed, insured, and registered street cars. Even better is the 30-mile pre-race qualifying cruise, which all True Street racers must successfully complete. When True Street was first started in 1993, the idea was to move "street car racing" back to true street cars, hence the name. Run 'em in hard traffic conditions long enough to weed out the race cars, then run 'em three times back-to-back down the track with DOT tires while the engines are still heat soaked. And the real kicker: From the beginning of the cruise until the last lap, nobody's allowed to pop the hood.

This kind of mechanical abuse is enough to scare away most guys, myself included. In the 14 years since I helped create the class, I had yet to run in it. That was about to change: The Street Sweeper was ready to pound asphalt! The plan: run the test and tune the day before True Street, and flush out any lastminute problems. Our first problem actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise: True Street requires DOT-legal tires for the cruise and drag runs. We already had our 28x10.5 Mickey Thompson eT drag slicks mounted on Summit Star rims, and they weren't legal. Bummer. But we did have a backup set of 26x10 Mickey Thompson eT streets mounted on Centerline Telstars. They were from a previous project car, but other than looking ridiculously short, they fit the Chevelle fine.

After some debate, we decided to do the Friday test and tune on the bigger 28x10.5s, then do True Street on the smaller 26x10 DOTs. At least we'd have a set of data with both tire sizes, and that turned out to be a very useful piece of info for later on.

The day of the test and tune arrived, and we were filled with excitement and trepidation. We loaded up the Street Sweeper with the slicks and skinnies, boxes of tools, camera gear, spare parts, lounge chairs, and a giant cooler full of drinks and vittles. The great thing about A-bodies is that they can swallow virtually anything. Built at a time when trucks were still for farmers, the midsize five-seat Chevelle was the SUV of its day.

With a full load of 91-octane, we headed to Fontana. At the drags, we picked out a good spot and unloaded our junk. We swapped on the 28x10.5-inch slicks and skinnies, then went to tech inspection. If you've never been through NHRA tech with your street car, here's the low down: You want to be prepared. There's nothing worse than getting this far and being turned away for something stupid. In theory, you're supposed to buy an NHRA rule book and study it (which we recommend), but the cliff notes version is that you need a newer Snell-rated race helmet (not a motorcycle helmet-it's not treated with fire retardant), an overflow catch can for your radiator, working seatbelts, redundant throttle return springs, and a driveshaft safety loop if you're running slicks. These are only the basics. Cars going faster than 11.50 also need a rollbar, five-point safety harness, and stick-shift cars need a blow-proof bellhousing. We would be happy to break into the 11s on this first set of runs, so we weren't worried about the rollbar...yet. At tech, we got a clean bill of health and breathed a sigh of relief.

Our next stop was the digital scale. With driver, an empty trunk, and a full load of fuel, the Street Sweeper weighed 3,666 lbs. That's about average for an all-steel '68-72 Chevelle with no A/C or heater. With our 496-inch big-block Chevy motor twisting the dyno to 626 hp and 635 lb-ft of torque, we knew it was reasonable to expect 11-second e.t.'s right out of the box, and we were right. All three of the runs we made on Friday's test and tune clustered tightly in the 11.80 area, and ranged from 11.75 to 11.86. We were pleased that on the first outing, everything operated as expected: Our previous oil-starvation issues were completely gone, and our concern over potential tire rubbing with the 28x10.5-inch slicks was a non-issue. In short, this was a shakedown test designed to find serious problems- not the time to set the world on fire. We were satisfied that the Chevelle would run good the following day without breakage, but how would the shorter and narrower DOT tire fare?

We bolted the NTO1 Nittos back on, loaded up the Chevelle, and made the hour-long drive home with a smile plastered on our faces. even the heavy Friday evening rushhour traffic didn't bother us-or the car, which showed a cool 160 degrees on the new Stewart-Warner temp gauge. Saturday morning, we pulled the Nittos off, and bolted the 26x10 eT Streets on. We figured it would look better if we just showed up with them already on; plus it would make things easier once we got there. (Side benefit: We enjoyed the looks we got with barely street-legal "grooved" slicks.)

In the pits, we met our engine builder, Andy Mitchell, where he suggested we lash the valves one more time. With over 2,000 hard street miles and three drag runs on our 496, he thought it wouldn't hurt. Yeah, hydraulic rollers don't normally need adjustment, but our valvetrain had a touch of clatter that we easily cleared up. This bagged us some extra duration in the deal, too. After one last hard look in the engine room, we closed it up and fastened the hood pins. This was the last time we'd see those COMP valve covers until after it was all over. All the preparations were done, so we set up the grill under the easy-up, fired up some cigars, and watched the crowd gather as we barbecued our burgers and cheese brats. As showtime crept near, we were joined by the rest of our friends. We reasoned that we might not have the fastest car, but we sure as heck had the best party.

Showtime!
By the time we got called to the staging lanes for our 30-mile street cruise, the mercury was topping 90 degrees. Some of the other True Street competitors were visibly nervous, but with all the hard street miles under our belt, we just relaxed and enjoyed everything. Due to a snafu with the event staff, our 30-mile drive took just over an hour, with the Street Sweeper Chevelle idling in traffic far longer than anticipated. Nevertheless, our Jeg's radiator and mechanical fan kept things cool, and the 496 rumbled on without protest.

Once the pace vehicle brought us back to the track, we had a few minutes to grab a bottle of cold water and set the tire pressure at 15 psi. We wouldn't have the chance to change the pressure after the first or second run, so we went conservative. A Chevelle with a torquey big-block is going to load the little tire pretty hard, so we felt it was better to slightly over inflate rather than under inflate, on a smaller-than-optimal tire. We also set the right rear Air lift bag to 15 psi, and let all the air out of the left-side airbag. This would pre-load the right side at launch, leveling out the car for a straight leave. (See photo at the top of page 64.)

We made our three back-to-back runs without incident, all of them produced with identical technique: Wet the tires, pull forward for an ample burnout ending in second gear, stage shallow, flash the converter to 3,000, and shift at 5,900 rpm (our engine dyno power peak). When the dust settled, we averaged 11.764 for our three runs, which was good enough to place sixth overall.

Conclusions
The goal of our '68 Chevelle project car has always been to run 11s on pump gas without the aid of a power adder. Strictly speaking, we achieved that goal with room to spare on the first time out, and we did it in one of the harshest environments imaginable-True Street competition. Nevertheless, with a dynoverified 626 hp, there's more un-tapped potential in the Chevelle. Given the dyno numbers, we'd like to better the strip performance without going too crazy.

For one thing, we're a little miffed by the low trap speed, which by all accounts should be in the 117-120-mph range for a motor of this output. One thing we'll be looking at is fuel starvation (we're currently running a 9/32-inch-diameter stock fuel line from the original 307 small-block). A larger fuel line and a trip to the chassis dyno for some tuning should reveal what's going on here. Also, we feel the converter may be a tad on the loose side. Although we spec'd a 3,500-rpm stall speed from TCI (a Super StreetFighter 10-inch), we're consistently seeing over 5,000 flash rpm at launch when we hit the gas.

As far as the results from different size tires go, it was interesting to see that the shorter, narrower tire ran the quickest- even though the engine was absolutely heat soaked and the ambient temperature was screaming high. On one hand, it's a testament to the streetability of edelbrock's Performer RPM Air-Gap intake, but it also tells us we're crossing the finish line closer to our peak power rpm with a shorter tire-i.e., we're too tall on the gear ratio, or we're too loose on the converter for our power.

Whatever the case, we will not be putting an intrusive rollbar on the Street Sweeper Chevelle, nor will we be turning it into a race car. This is a fun street car, and we are firm on this. We may get kicked out of the track once or twice before putting a halt to our mods, but we can get around some of our drag testing limitations by running eighth-mile for a while. We know we can go quicker and faster, so stay tuned. Next month, we'll be looking into some fuel system fixes, including a largerdiameter fuel line.

STREET SWEEPER CHEVELLE • DRAG TEST RESULTS* OCTOBER 19 & 20, 2007
60-ft:	1/8 ET:	1/8 MPH:	1/4 ET:	1/4 MPH:	Notes:
1.73	7.57	91.8	11.86	113.4	28x10.5 ET drag slick, 15 psi, RH lane, Friday T&T
1.62	7.41	91.4	11.75	112.0	28x10.5 ET drag slick, 12 psi, RH lane, Friday T&T
1.65	7.46	90.9	11.83	110.9	28x10.5 ET drag slick, 12 psi, RH lane, Friday T&T
1.70	7.46	92.3	11.74	113.8	26x10 ET street DOT, 15 psi, RH lane, Sat. True Street
1.78	7.55	92.5	11.84	113.7	26x10 ET street DOT, 15.5 psi (est.), RH lane, Sat. True Street
1.66	7.41	92.3	11.70	113.5	26x10 ET street DOT, 16 psi (est.), LH lane, Sat. True Street

In the rural farm country of Kalona, Iowa, you'd expect to hear the monotonous drone of a massive John Deere combine working the fields. But on a good day, you can hear the raw horsepower of Bob Lathrop's badass 351 Windsor punching through the air.

Bob built the AFR-headed engine at his shop, Performance Unlimited, where he works on cars during the day and burns the midnight oil building race engines. He says there is just not a big enough market in the area to support a full-time engine shop, so he does what he has to, in order to pay the bills and keep the wolves at bay.

Let's back up a minute, and start at the beginning. Last spring, one of Bob's customers asked him to build an engine for a '67 Fairlane. Bob had wanted to build an engine for the Engine Masters Challenge, so why not build a 351 Windsor that would satisfy both? A project was born.

Bob and his crew, Jim Keifer and Shawn Horras, found a '71 351 Windsor core from an old van that was in pretty decent shape. The early blocks are known to be way beefier than the later stuff, so he figured it would hold the 500-plus horsepower he was shooting for. For that power range, a main girdle from PRW was added for insurance. A call to the Eagle tech line confirmed that a plain-Jane set of SIR 5.959-inch Windsor rods would easily handle that load.

With an OEM Ford crank resting on a set of Clevite bearings, he found the clearance was dead-on out of the box at .0022 inches on the mains and .0020 inches on the rods. Crank thrust was good at .004 inch, and rod side clearance was again spot-on at .020 inch.

A Moroso front-sump pan holds the Pure Power synthetic oil that Bob likes to run. The Melling M-Select pump runs that oil through a Pure Power modular oil filter before feeding the bearings.

"There really isn't anything trick in the engine," Bob claims, though he admits that the pistons are, in fact, pretty trick. "Besides the heads, the pistons are the single most expensive part of the engine," Bob says. He had the gurus at JE whip up a really nice set of lightweight forgings that gave him plenty of piston-to-valve clearance, a very streetable 10.48:1 compression, and a 1.2mm, 1.5mm, and 3.0mm ring package. That package has a back-cut, moly-faced top ring with a .020-inch gap, a back-cut, napier-style second ring with a .022-inch gap, and a low-tension oil ring. A good portion of the friction in an engine comes from the rings, and using the low-tension oil rings and napier second really helped out, in this case dropping the amount of torque required to rotate the short-block to 16 ft-lb.

COMP Cams ground Bob a hydraulic flat-tappet camshaft with 240/246-at-.050 duration, and .576-/.583-inch lift on a 108 lobe separation. COMP also supplied the 1.6-ratio Magnum series rocker arms for this deal.

Oh yeah, and the heads? How about a set of AFR 205 CNC-ported heads that use a proven porting program and flow big numbers right out of the box? Not wanting to get the runners too big, Bob did almost no work on the heads. A small amount of epoxy was used to blend a variance in the pushrod restriction, and just a few minutes were spent with a cartridge roll on the short-side radius, masking the parting line where the CNC program switched from the intake side of the runner to the chamber side. These little touches brought the flow numbers up a solid 10 cfm on the intake. AFR has some of the most efficient combustion chamber designs on the market, and they were left as-is. The exhaust ports were also left untouched. Bob used the valves and retainers that came with the heads, and only changed the springs to a set from COMP that was set up with 140 pounds on the seat and 380 open. That kind of spring pressure can be rough on a flat- tappet cam, so the break-in was done with care.

Tuning this relatively modest combination is what really made the engine shine. "We ran the Innovate ST-12 wideband system and had an O2 sensor in each header tube," Bob says. Bob claimed earlier that the only trick parts of the engine were the pistons, but it's clear that he spent a bit of time on the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake. "I have about 20 hours of work in that intake, raising roofs and reshaping plenums," Bob says. One thing Bob learned about the Performer RPM is that cylinder number one wanted to be lean, and number eight liked being rich. He played around with various dams, and moved some of the port walls around, managing to even out the fuel distribution and bump up the power curve at the same time. "My goal was to get the cylinders to behave as close to the same as possible," Bob says. Playing with valve lash had almost no effect, and he even tried to run a hotter spark plug in the richest hole to combat a possible fuel-puddling problem. Dyno testing with a Victor Jr. never showed the same broad power that the Performer RPM did. The Victor Jr. was a little higher in peak power, but not enough to justify its use.

A good part of the tuning effort was focused on the Charlie Morgan-built 1070 carburetor. Staggering the jets and air bleeds really helped cylinder-to-cylinder variance, and Bob dipped into some emulsion jet changes to even things out. "When I changed the emulsion jets, I got rid of a lean condition I had on all eight cylinders on tip-in," Bob says. Bob tried running an 850 annular booster carb, and it had a little better fuel curve, but just didn't make the power of the 1070. Referring to the ups and downs of power versus efficiency, Bob sighed and said: "That's the game we play. It's a trade-off."

All of Bob's hard work was rewarded with big power numbers, 536 peak horsepower and 488 lb-ft of torque to be exact. Did we mention this was on 91 octane pump gas and all at below 6,500 rpm? Again, with a flat-tappet hydraulic cam.

Bob's philosophy of building engines like this has always been to focus on a combination that's really responsive and torquey. "I've always been a torque guy," Bob confesses. "I think that's what got me into fifth place two years ago," he says, referring to his extremely respectable showing at the 2006 Engine Masters Challenge. That philosophy keeps his customers happy and his business growing.

Bob's engine build sheet sure might not look like it has very many trick parts, but he's proven that he knows how to put together a solid combination that will leave ordinary 351W pump-gas engines in the dust!

BY THE NUMBERS
PERFORMANCE UNLIMITED 358CI SMALL-BLOCK FORD
Bore:	4.030 inches
Stroke:	3.500 inches
Displacement:	358 cubic inches
Compression ratio:	10.48:1
Camshaft:	COMP hydraulic, flat tappet
Cam duration:	240/246 degrees
	at .050-inch tappet rise
Cam lobe lift:	.360/.364 inch
Rocker ratio:	COMP Magnum 1.6 ratio
Lobe separation:	108 degrees
Installed centerline:	102 degrees
Top ring:	1.2mm JE
Top ring gap:	.020 inch
Second ring:	1.5mm JE
Second ring gap:	.022 inch
Oil ring:	3mm JE
Piston:	JE, dished top
Block:	OEM Ford 351W
Crankshaft:	OEM Ford 351W
Rods:	Eagle SIR 5.959-inch I-beam
Main journal:	2.620 inches
Main bearing clearance:	.0022 inch
Rod journal:	2.070 inches
Rod bearing clearance:	.0020 inch
Cylinder head:	AFR 205
Peak intake flow:	295 cfm
Intake valve diameter:	2.080 inches
Exhaust valve diameter:	1.600 inches
Intake manifold:	Edelbrock Performer RPM
Carburetor:	Holley 4150 modified to
	1,070 cfm by Charlie Morgan
Header:	Mac 1 3/4 Fox-body Windsor;
	3-inch collector
Ignition:	MSD 6AL
Damper:	TCI Rattler
Water pump:	Meziere

DTS DYNO DATA
BEST QUALIFYING PULL
RPM	TQ	HP
2,500	364	173
2,600	374	185
2,700	383	197
2,800	393	210
2,900	404	223
3,000	413	236
3,100	419	247
3,200	423	257
3,300	421	265
3,400	416	270
3,500	411	274
3,600	410	281
3,700	412	290
3,800	418	302
3,900	427	317
4,000	439	334
4,100	451	352
4,200	461	369
4,300	469	384
4,400	477	399
4,500	481	412
4,600	485	425
4,700	486	435
4,800	487	445
4,900	488	455
5,000	487	464
5,100	486	472
5,200	486	481
5,300	484	488
5,400	481	495
5,500	479	502
5,600	477	509
5,700	474	515
5,800	470	519
5,900	466	524
6,000	463	529
6,100	457	531
6,200	451	532
6,300	445	534
6,400	439	535
6,500	433	536

Any way you cut it, this is an expensive hobby. Many of us don't have the long green to buy a cherry starting point for a dream car, so we're left with finding as good a starting point as our wallets will allow. Buying a rougher project generally means the body isn't in prime shape. Usually a few panels have succumbed to the ravages of time, namely rust and dents. Some areas, like the front fenders and the door skins, are straightforward to replace, but rear quarter-panels require quite a bit more time, and more importantly, a fair bit of skill.

In the case of our Bad Penny '68 Camaro project, the problem wasn't rust, but damage caused by blunt-force trauma. The driver's quarter-panel, rear panel, and trunk lid were all mangled when a truck slammed into the back of the Camaro (see "Worst Case Scenario," September '07). Nonetheless, the process for replacing a quarter-panel is just about the same whether Mother Nature or a random bad driver causes the damage. And while it's certainly not an easy task, having high-quality parts from a supplier like Goodmark Industries really helps.

Whether you're going to tackle a project like this yourself, or farm it out to the professionals, you need to know what's involved. Follow along as we rehab the back of our battered F-body with some new sheetmetal.

Where The Money Went
Maybe you've decided that tossing on some quarters is a bit outside your comfort zone and you want a pro to do it. Here's what it cost in labor and material (not including parts) to get the panels on our car. Labor rates will vary based on area, and materials will vary depending on the car, but this will give you a ballpark figure. Labor rates also include removal of damaged parts. If you need the outer wheelhouse replaced, add five hours of labor.

LABOR
Replace left 1/4 panel	16 hours
Replace left drop off	3 hours
Replace rear panel	8 hours
Fit trunk	1.5 hours
Total labor	28.5 hours
Labor cost at $75 per hour:	$2,137.50
MATERIALS
3M cut-off wheels #1989	$40.75
3M grinding wheels #1991	$35.35
3M clean & strip wheels (3)	$24.75
Welding supplies	$50.00
POR-15	$49.97
Total materials:	$200.82
Total (not including parts):	$2,338.32

Getting It Straight
When our '68 was wrecked, the body was a mess and certainly "dimensionally challenged." Replacing the panels with the car in this condition would have led to the parts not fitting right, and a good chance the Camaro wouldn't end up square. To ensure that the Camaro would be in the right shape to accept the new parts, it was sent to a computerized frame rack. Original dimensional specifications for a '68 Camaro were entered into a computer, and the car was "pulled" until the numbers matched up. The time on the rack cost just over $2,000, but when we went to do the repairs, we found it was worth every penny. Later, when the car was aligned, it was found to be perfectly square, thanks to the time it spent on this rig.

It was almost three years ago when GM introduced the 7L LS7 engine as the most potent mill ever turned out by the General. At 505 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque, it surpassed everything else in GM's stable, and most of the engines put out by the competition. But today, it's no longer the meanest dog in the kennel. That distinction has officially been passed to GM's latest creation, the LS9. The LS9 engine was developed to motivate GM's latest supercar, the ZR1 Corvette, and if it hoped to surpass the world-class performance of the Z06, GM knew it would need something special under the hood.

Displacement Drops
The new LS9 exceeds the LS7 in every area except one: displacement. The main reason for the drop in displacement is strength. GM's plan for the LS9 included a supercharger, and it felt the 427 cubic-inch block wasn't strong enough to reliably hold up to the intended boost. Instead, a beefed-up 6.2-liter LS3 block will be used. Starting in '09, all 6.2L blocks, including truck blocks, will feature this 20 percent increase in bulkhead strength. According to Tom Reed of GM Powertrain: "All the blocks benefited in '08 with a 20 percent increase because of the LS3 improvements. Therefore, since '07, the bulkhead area strength has increased 40 percent. That's something to keep in mind when the 6.2L blocks start showing up in the boneyards, way down the road." The 319-T5 aluminum block, with forged steel bearing caps, will also be deck-plated, bored, and honed. The LS9 will also feature eight block-mounted oil squirters. These squirters will keep chamber temps down and lessen drivetrain noise. This is the first time GM has used oil squirters in a small-block application. By sharing the casting across the LS3 line, costs will be kept down.

Forging Ahead
Exotic titanium will continue to be used in the engine's rods as per the still-continuing LS7, but GM has moved to forged 9.1:1 compression pistons. The floating-pin pistons are anodized on the top, and the skirts are polymer-coated. Turning it all will be a forged steel micro-alloy crankshaft.

Boosting The Power
For the first time ever, the new ber Vette will come from the factory with a supercharger under the hood. The Eaton Gen VI Twin Vortices Series (TVS) supercharger exceeds the previous Gen V supercharger in several key areas, including blower displacement. The larger displacement of the new Gen VI expands the range of the compressor's effectiveness, building power more quickly at lower rpm and sustaining it through higher rpm. The 2.3L displacement of the Eaton will provide a maximum boost of 10.5 psi.

Air To Water Intercooler
The new air-to-liquid, tube-in-fin intercooler will help lower inlet temps by up to 140 degrees F. One of the most impressive feats of this new system is how it's packaged into such a compact form. GM engineers were tasked with keeping the overall dimensions of the new LS9 in line with the LS7. This way, no huge bulge will be needed on the new ZR1 Vette.

Other Details
To keep the engine as low as possible, GM opted to run a two-belt system on the LS9. The air conditioning and alternator will run on a separate 6-rib belt, while the blower, power steering, and water pump will run off an 11-rib belt. To handle the extra strain, the water pump bearing was beefed up. Oil capacity was increased for the system since the ZR1 has an expanded performance envelope compared to the Z06. The result is a 33 percent increase in oil capacity. This means you'll need 10.75 quarts of oil instead of the previous 8 quarts when you do an oil change. The increased oil supply will result in the engine handling 30 percent more g-force. This increase in oil capacity will also be integrated into the LS7 engine in the Z06.

Bottom Line
While GM didn't give the final power number of the LS9, GM Powertrain's Sam Winegarden told PHR: "There's no way it's leaving Wixom with less than 620 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque!" That would equal an output of 100 hp per liter of displacement, making it the most powerful production-vehicle engine in GM's history. Equally important to GM was the LS9's refinement, driveability, and durability. Despite having 23 percent more power over the LS7, the LS9 delivers an 11 percent improvement in idle performance over the LS7. The GM engineers have also increased the thermal efficiency by 15 percent, and lowered parasitic loss by 35 percent over the last generation supercharger. And at least one aspect of manufacturing has been made easier, since 76 percent of the parts in the LS9 carry over from other GM small-blocks. In terms of durability, the LS9 has already been validated to more than 100,000 miles. That's 6,800 hours on the dyno, with more than 100 of them at WOT. This is a good thing, since we bet these new engines will be spending quite a bit of time clawing at the upper rpm.

SUPERCHARGED GM LS9
Dyno: 620 hp, 600 lb-ft torque (estimated)
Type:	Gen IV small-block V-8
Block:	319-T5 aluminum, 6.3L
Compression ratio:	9.1:1
Bore:	4.06-inch
Stroke:	4.62-inch
Camshaft:	hydraulic roller,
	low overlap cam with lift
	of .555 for intake and exhaust
Rod material:	titanium
Pistons:	forged aluminum
Crankshaft:	forged steel
Oiling:	dry-sump system, 10.75-quart tank,
	oil pan mounted cooler
Throttle body:	87mm single-bore,
	electronically controlled
Cylinder heads:	Rotocast A3556-T6 aluminum,
	based on L92 design
Fuel delivery:	48-lb/hr fuel injectors
	with center-feed fuel lines,
	dual-pressure system
Power adder:	R2300 Eaton Gen VI,
	four-lobe rotor, 2.3-liter displacement
Max boost:	10.5 psi
Intercooler:	liquid-to-air,
	dual-brick cooling system
	with separate water supply

For more detailed photos of the LS9, log on to www.popularhotrodding.com.

Some stories are so obvious and necessary that it's difficult to identify the need. Surely everybody knows what a Q-jet looks like and how to tell it apart from an old Carter or a Holley 4150. "Not so fast, Mr. Smarty Pants Editor," you might say. "Don't take so much for granted." Hard to believe, but a carburetor hasn't been placed atop a new production car or truck since 1988. That's 20 years ago, folks. To put it into perspective, a kid who graduated high school in 1988, then got a job as a line mechanic at a new car dealer after Vo-Tech training, could conceivably be a 20-year veteran without ever having been paid to turn the idle screws on a Holley. That puts things in a whole new perspective. Then there's the guy who only knows Holley carb architecture (which includes Barry Grant, QFT, and many other smaller manufacturers), never thinking to try a new Edelbrock or a Sean Murphy Q-jet.

To another point: We'll be generically referring to carbs here as "Holley," "Quadrajet," and "Carter." There are many manufacturers that use the Holley architecture, so using the term "Holley" is strictly a convenience to keep the reader from getting confused. The term "Carter" is essentially the same case, though current Carter carburetor architecture is strictly all Edelbrock these days. The Rochester Quadrajet is out of production but is currently available from several sources only as a rebuild. Our thanks to Sean Murphy for providing one of his seriously refurbished units.

The idea here isn't to compare the pros or cons of one carburetor architecture over another, but to do a straightforward walk-around of the three major types and to show you where to "turn the dials," so to speak. Maybe after reading this, you'll want to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.-Johnny Hunkins

The last thing the world needs is another carb versus EFI story, so we'll spare you the rehashed and inconclusive monotony. What the collective hot rodding community can use is back-to-basics carb tech. Despite its perceived simplicity, meeting the changing fueling demands of a motor- from idle to cruising to WOT-strictly through mechanical methods requires a complex device. The maze of fuel and air passages that constitute a carburetor is hardly intuitive in terms of functionality, and basic carb tuning requires understanding how it all comes together. Furthermore, Holley (aka modular), Carter (now Edelbrock), and Quadrajet carbs all take different approaches to performing the same task. To help those less familiar get up to speed, we'll cover the basics of how carbs work, reveal simple tuning tips, and divulge the differences between major carburetor platforms.

How Carbs Work
The principle of carburetion is really quite simple. In liquid form, gasoline does not burn and therefore needs to be vaporized. Through an elaborate network of internal air and fuel passages that rely on rudimentary physics, carburetors introduce atomized fuel into the air stream above the intake manifold plenum, which then vaporizes into a gaseous state by the time it reaches the intake valves.

Fuel is pumped into the bowls through the needle-and-seat assembly, and then drawn into the intake through the pressure differential created by the venturi effect. The hourglass shape of a carburetor's venturi increases air speed in the section where it necks down, creating a low-pressure area. It is this reduction in air pressure that enables fuel to be pushed from the fuel bowls into the intake manifold. "Think of a carburetor as a fuel injection system that operates at 1 psi of pressure," explains Judson Massingill of the School of Automotive Machinists. "Everyone thinks manifold vacuum pulls fuel out of the carburetor, but since manifold vacuum drops to zero at WOT, it's the pressure differential that's doing all the work. Fuel bowls have air vents in them, which means that there's 14.7 psi (normal atmospheric pressure) of pressure pushing down on the fuel. The venturi effect reduces pressure to about 13.5 psi at the manifold, and that 1 psi of pressure differential is all it takes to push fuel through the carb." Moreover, boosters in the venturi, which act as a venturi within a venturi, further increases the pressure drop (carb signal) without significantly compromising airflow.

Even so, the fuel droplets would be too large for effective atomization without a means of introducing air into the mix through emulsification, and that's where the air bleeds come in. Emulsion tubes carry fuel from the fuel bowls to the venturis and preatomize the fuel by mixing it with air channeled in through the air bleeds. The effect is similar to drinking through a straw that has a hole in it. Ensuring thorough atomization, and therefore complete vaporization of fuel, yields more thorough combustion, increased power, and reduced emissions.

Circuits
Unlike many industrial motors, the load and rpm a car engine experiences is in a constant state of flux, whether it's idling, part-throttle cruising, or at WOT at the dragstrip. Meeting these fueling demands through mechanical means require several networks, or circuits, of air and fuel passages. These consist of the idle circuit, primary and secondary circuits, fuel enrichment circuit, and the accelerator pump circuit. As its name suggests, the purpose of the idle circuit is to provide fuel at idle. Likewise, the primary circuit delivers fuel in proportion to the throttle angle of the primaries, while the secondary circuit initiates additional fuel flow once the secondaries kick in. "While it's true that changing the tune on one circuit can affect another, each circuit can be individually tuned to effectively meet the needs of the engine's operating range that it affects," says Victor Moore of Barry Grant. "However, this means that there are often several ways to address a single issue."

The fuel enrichment circuit, or power valve, adds fuel only at WOT, and is typically found on the primary side of the carb. This allows running smaller jets for crisp cruising and throttle response and adds extra fuel only when needed. At idle and part-throttle, manifold vacuum keeps the valve shut. However, when manifold vacuum drops at WOT, the power valve opens up and adds the equivalent of 7 to 10 jet sizes of fuel. "With a typical Holley, that means you can have 72 jets up front and 80 jets in the rear so it cruises real nice going down the road. But when you go WOT it's like having 80 jets in the front and back," Judson explains. "Everyone wants to block the power valve, but if you block it and then go faster, that just means you were 7 to 10 jet sizes too rich in the first place."

The accelerator pump circuit is akin to a mechanical fuel injection system and is the only circuit on a carb that is not affected by airflow. It is designed to help speed up fuel flow when the intake charge stalls under heavy loads by providing a small squirt of fuel. "People think that when you floor the throttle and the motor bogs, it's because the carb dumped too much fuel into the motor, but the exact opposite is true," says Judson. "What's actually happening is the volume of air entering the carb is so great that the carb signal drops to where the air stalls and no fuel can be delivered. The accelerator pump combats this lean condition by squirting fuel until air speed and carb signal picks up again, easing the transition between light and heavy throttle."

Carb Sizing
A quick Google search will find several formulas that recommend a specific carb size based on factors such as engine displacement and rpm range. While they're better than nothing, they offer ballpark estimates at best. "If you have cylinder heads that move a lot of air and a cam that takes advantage of that airflow, you need a much larger carburetor than those charts recommend,"explains Judson. "However, I fyou have factory heads that aren't very good, you're better off with a carb that's smaller than the charts recommend."

Perhaps the best way to dial in carburetor sizing is through trial and error with a vacuum gauge. While cylinder heads are flowed at 28 inches of water, carburetors are flowed at 1.5 inches of Hg, which equates to roughly 20 inches of water. Consequently, if a motor never pulls 1.5 inches of vacuum, then the carburetor never flows at its peak potential. According to Judson, on a typical street/ strip motor, it's ideal to shoot for 1.5 inches of vacuum at Wot.

Start with a carb on the small end of the spectrum-such as a 650-cfm unit-hook up a vacuum gauge to the intake manifold, and run the car up to peak rpm. "If it pulls, say, 2.5 inches, you know that the carb is too restrictive,and you need to step up in size," Judson explains. "Let's say you ran the same test with an 800-cfm carb and only pulled 1 inch of vacuum at WOT. Then you might have picked up some horsepower up top at the expense of low- and midrange power, in which case you should size back down to somewhere in between." Furthermore, a carb that is too large won't show any kind of reading on the gauge, which means it isn't presenting any restriction in flow whatsoever -most likely resulting in poor low-rpm metering. It's better to err on the small side than the large side when it comes to carb sizing, but shooting for 1.5 inches of vacuum at WOT will typically yield the best compromise between peak horsepower and driveability.

Jet Sizing
Understanding how jets regulate the air/fuel ratio is rather simple. Larger jets (with bigger numbers) richen the mixture, while smaller jets lean it out. However, jet sizes don't necessarily correlate to a specific diameter. For instance, a 40 Holley jet has a .040-inch diameter, but a 70 Holley jet has a 0.073-inch diameter. That's because all jets are numbered based on what they flow, not their drill size diameter., Just remember: The bigger the jet, the greater the flow.

Judson's Six Tips For Carb Nirvana
1 "Everyone wants to put bigger jets in a carb because they have a hot rod and think more fuel equates to more power. The exact opposite is true. Lean is mean. The average carb is engineered on the rich side to save you, so fine tuning usually involves removing fuel from a motor, not adding it."

2 "Bigger isn't better. Don't just go out and install a bigger accelerator pump, a bigger shooter, and a bigger needleand- seat assembly. Carb manufacturers already know how much fuel a carb flows, and the factory setup is fine for 99 percent of motors out there."

3 "People think carb gurus can get more power out of a motor because they make the carb flow more air, but that's not true. Where they get the power is in flattening the fuel curve from minimum to maximum rpm."

4 "Never start out by decreasing the jet size, or you'll risk burning a motor up. First, up-jet and make sure the motor loses power just to be safe, then startreducing jet sizes. As a rule of thumb, go up one jet size, and if you lose power, down-jet by two jet sizes."

5 "If you're running at the dragstrip, gauge your losses or gains based on trap speed, not e.t."

6 "Carbs work great as long as the fuel bowls are full. If your fuel system can't keep up, nothing you do to the carburetor means a thing, so it's paramount to have a good fuel system."

Vacuum vs. Mechanical
A carburetor's secondary throttle blades open up to provide additional airflow under heavy acceleration. This can be accomplished mechanically or via vacuum assist, and each has its pros and cons. For heavy vehicles with tall gears, it's generally accepted that a vacuumsecondary carburetor provides superior streetability and gas mileage. This is because the secondaries open up gradually as engine vacuum in the primary venturis increases with rpm. Mechanical secondaries, on the other hand, are directly linked to the gas pedal. Typically, mechanical secondaries will begin to open at 40 to 45 percent throttle. They have a reputation for "hitting harder" than a vacuum-secondary carb at the expense of driveability and are better suited for more serious engine combinations. Additionally, some (but not all) mechanical-secondary carbs feature a second accelerator pump, so some (but not all) mechanical-secondary carbs are double-pumpers. Despite their reputations, vacuum-secondary carbs can support massive horsepower, and many enthusiasts flog mechanicalsecondary carbs with great success on the street. The introduction of Barry Grant's vacuum secondary King Demon (4500 series) recently is a good example of this.

Tuning
A detailed guide to carb tuning is beyond the scope of this story. Dozens of books have been written on the topic, but the question is, is it even worth bothering with? "Carb manufacturers have done an incredible job of engineering their products right out of the box," Judson explains. "All these bracket racers and street squirrels want to tinker with them, but they mess them up more than they ever improve them. As long as you size carbs properly, they're so good out of the box, it's unreal. Even if you're a great carb tuner, you might only get another 1 percent out of a motor."

Nonetheless, there is a time and place for altering the factory's calibrations. "Out-of-the-box carbs are fine for street/strip motors, but if you're building a race motor, you need a race carb," says Dave Braswell of Braswell Carburetion. "Race cars operate in environments that street cars never see. For instance, since drag cars launch so hard, we've developed carbs that can deliver fuel at 3 g's without uncovering the main jets."

Granted, that's an extreme scenario, but where most gains can be picked up is in the fuel curve. Production carburetors are intentionally tuned to run slightly rich at high rpm for safety. Flattening out the curve is best left to a pro, but doing so can yield dividends. "Every engine wants a different fuel curve, and the fuel port passages in a carb are like the cross-sectional area of the ports in a cylinder head," explains Patrick James of ProSystems Carburetors. "We modify the fuel passages to make the emulsion process more active and custom-tailor the diameter of the fuel ports and fuel curve to each application. There's more to it than simply adding more fuel; it must be introduced in a burnable fashion."

Holley Carbs
Numbers aren't always an indicator of quality, but the Holley modular fourbarrel is the most popular performance carburetor in the world. George and Earl Holley started building carburetors in 1904, and the company has since produced over 100 million units. After introducing a pair of 370-cfm fourbarrels in the early-'50s-Models 2140 and 4000-Holley launched its legendary 4150 model in 1957. Amazingly, that same basic design architecture has been chugging away for over 50 years, with continual refinements increasing airflow from 400 cfm in 1957 to more than 1,000 cfm today.

The 4150's big brother-the model 4500 Dominator-was developed by Holley for Ford in the late-'60s to assist the company in its quest for NASCAR and Trans Am racing glory. The original Dominator flowed 1,150 cfm and was used on Ford's 429- and 302ci race motors. Today, the Dominator is available in flow ratings ranging from 750 to 1,050 cfm and is the carburetor of choice for hoards of hardcore racers.

In response to the changing needs of the OEs due to smog concerns, Holley has introduced countless carburetor models over the years. These include emission-friendly models, and even carbs designed as high-performance Quadrajet replacements. Nevertheless, the 4150 and 4500 series carbs are unrivaled in their popularity and street cred. Over the years, various manufacturers (such as Barry Grant, Brasswell, and QFT) have introduced their own product lines based roughly on the Holley modular architecture.

Quadrajet Carbs
Vilified by the masses yet embraced by experienced carburetor tuners, the Rochester Quadrajet has gotten a bad wrap over the years. Dubbed the "Quadrajunk" by the uninitiated due to its complexity, the Q-jet is quite possibly the most versatile and advanced carb ever built. "Since it was designed as a GM production carb when emissions laws were getting stricter, it had to, be very accurate," says Sean Murphy of Sean Murphy Induction. "When tuned properly, a Q-jet is hard to beat. Fuel mileage, top-end power, and low-end torque-it can do it all."

As with EFI, it's the Q-jet's precision that can make it finicky at times. Although Holleys and Carters can be extremely forgiving of tuning errors, this isn't the case with the Q-jet. "Due to its precision and accuracy, Q-jets won't let you be nearly as sloppy with tuning compared to the other carburetor platforms out there. You can't take a Q-jet that was running well on one motor and stick it on another motor and expect it to run right. Even small changes in compression or cam can really upset the tuning."

Built by the Rochester Products division of GM, the Quadrajet first appeared in 1965. Designated the 4M, it featured small-bore primaries for improved throttle response and fuel economy and large-bore secondaries to meet fueling demands under heavy acceleration. During its reign of over 20 years, the venerable Quadrajet was used by every GM division. It survived well into the '80s, even implementing computercontrolled engine management over many of its functions, until finally being phased out in favor of EFI.

As a production piece, the Q-jet was never designed to be a highperformance carb. However, all Q-jets flow a minimum of 750 cfm, and some flowed a very respectable 800 cfm. Furthermore, NHRA Stock & Super Stock racers have been pushing well over 600 hp with Q-jets for many years. The Q-jet was continually refined over the years, and the first major redesign came in 1975. Called the M4M, o rmodified 4M, it boasted a larger fuel bowl capacity, a revised adjustable part-throttle (APT) system, and larger primary bores. The Q-jet went relatively unchanged until the middle of the '80 model year, when it implemented electronic controls and was dubbed the E4M (Electronic 4M). Consequently, the '75-'80 castings are the most coveted by hot rodders.

Carter Carbs
Noted for its simplicity, reliability, and adaptability to a myriad of applications, the original Will Carter fourbarrel (WCFB) carburetor dates back to 1952 when it was first introduced on Buick straight-eight engines. It was a cutting-edge piece for its time, used as factory equipment on C1 Corvettes and Chrysler Hemis, but increasing power levels of the era demanded higher air- flow capacities. To meet these needs, the Carter AFB (Aluminum Four-Barrel) was introduced in 1957 and was used as an OE carb by Chrysler, Ford, and GM throughout the years. The AFB earned a reputation for potent off-the-line punch, and engines such as the Pontiac 421 Super Duty-which used a pair of AFBs-helped reinforce that image. Although Carter didn't rate the flow of its carbs, the AFB is believed to have flowed between 450 to 625 cfm.

By 1966, the AFB was superseded by the AVS (Air Valve Secondary) carb and was used primarily by Chrysler. The AFB and AVS look almost identical from the outside, which is partly why the AVS never gained widespread acceptance by hot rodders. "The biggest difference between the AFB and the AVS is the AVS has a spring-loaded secondary air valve as opposed to the AFB's counterweighted air valve," explains Smitty Smith of Edelbrock. "The AVS' air valve is adjustable to better suit heavy vehicles, whereas the AFB's valve is not adjustable." Another key difference is the AVS' lack of secondary booster venturis, although Edelbrock has revised the original design by adding boosters to its Thunder Series AVS carburetors.

Long after the AFB had been phased out, Carter brought it back in the mid- '70s as the Model 9000, updated with an electric choke, emissions provisions, and OE throttle-linkage compatibility. Due to the rise of factory EFI in the mid-'80s, Carter lost significant market share and was sold several times before being acquired by Edelbrock. Today, the company offers AFB and AVS carbs, with flow ratings up to 800 cfm, with both square-flange and spread-bore bolt patterns.

Over the past three issues, we've covered the major aspects of our '60 Corvette project named "3G." Suspension, drivetrain, and braking were put together to produce a package that equaled that of a modern-day sports car. In this episode, it was time to make the 3G look more like a modern-day sports car and to set up the suspension for full potential. The lines of the 1960 Corvette were sporty for its time and had plenty of eye appeal. Working with designers Jason Rushforth and Eric Brockmeyer, we drew inspiration from many different sources and set about to update the style of this fantastic design.

The most visible change from an original Corvette was the set of roll hoops. Inspired by Ferrari's 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, the hoops not only made a dramatic statement but also were a functional safety device. Encapsulating the fuel tank, there was a steel cage that mounted to the chassis, and the hoops were then attached to this cage. The hoops themselves were bent on a 3.5-inch radius with three bends making up the hoop, rather than just doing a single 180-degree bend. The hoops were chrome-plated, and bezels were fabbed to match the OE trim. This cage structure also provided the anchor points for the shoulder straps on the Crow Enterprises seatbelt harnesses.

Before the 3G Vette went to the paint and body shop, the car needed to be fully assembled for final body fit and finish. There were a few more body modifications to be done, the biggest being the elimination of the side glass, thus creating a true roadster. While this may sound like an easy task, it sent us down a road of numerous and often very difficult ancillary modifications, just to make everything look like it was a factory option.

The fiberglass work was a fairly straightforward operation, building small molds, laying glass, and capping off the tops of the doors. Then we needed to fabricate trim to match the original pieces that wrapped around the seats. First, Art ran a piece of 1.5-inch aluminum bar stock through a table saw to create the rough trim. This was then bent to match the curve of the door. Finally, it was tapered to match the width of the windshield frame at one end and the width of the seat trim at the other. Because we eliminated the side glass, we also needed to eliminate the notch in the windshield frame. This part of the project involved having the windshield posts metal-sprayed, then hand-finished, copper-plated, hand-sanded, and trial-fit a bunch of times. This continued to the top of the windshield frame where a billet aluminum piece was made to replace the OE stainless. Fortunately, not all the trim was as time-consuming as this. Most of the other pieces were off-the-shelf items from Year One, saving us from restoring the original items that came off the car.

Rolling the car outside for the first time with all the trim attached was pretty spectacular. It gave us a great boost of excitement and motivated us toward finishing the project and getting some miles on the odometer. At this point, the car was taken down to the guys at Byers Custom & Restoration, a shop that has done the paint and bodywork on some of the rarest sports cars in the world. While the original scheme was going to be for a silver body with white coves, Jon Byers suggested a metallic combination, gray for the body of the car and silver for the coves. After flipping through the PPG color books, we found Volkswagen's Urban Gray and Reflex Silver. To make sure that these colors would work, Jon sprayed a test panel and examined how they looked with upholstery and trim samples. Everything looked great, so the paint was ordered from PPG.

With the materials ordered, Jon and his talented crew began the tedious assignment of smoothing out a 46-year-old fiberglass body. In all, close to 600 hours were put into the 3G's paint and bodywork-you could definitely see the attention to detail. Like with the rest of the project, the paint finish and bodywork was a drastic improvement over the original. The great thing about working with a professional shop like Byers was that the car was turned out in about 9 weeks, so we could move on to final assembly and firing the car.

The next step of creating a more modern sports car was to update the look of the interior. Drawing inspiration from the latest Italian supercars, we were looking to do something modern, high-tech, and down-to-business. The main focal point of the interior, besides the spectacular upholstery, had to be the gauge cluster. The challenge was to add cutting-edge styling to early 1960s components. Classic Instruments worked its magic on the gauges, converting them to electronic units and color-matching them to the upholstery. But Rhys Sanderson of www.carbonguy.com performed the most dramatic transformation. Using the stock two-piece die-cast cluster, Rhys bonded the pieces together and wrapped the entire unit in carbon fiber, finishing it in numerous clearcoats to give it a deep, rich look. The final sports car touch was the addition of a Honda S2000 starter button wired into the ignition system. The overall look of this new gauge cluster was nothing short of phenomenal.

Carbon fiber was used extensively throughout the interior. Door panel inserts, the console insert, and the grab handle were all made out of this high-tech material and provided a great contrast to the upholstery, trim, and body color. Sourced from Paul Atkins of Paul Atkins Interiors, the red leather and matching red carpet were stitched up by Jamie McFarland of McFarland Custom Upholstery. Using Eric Brockmeyer's rendering as a guide, Jamie and his skilled staff handmade the bolstered seats and created an interior that was very comfortable and modern. Handling all of the heat and noise insulation duties was Dynamat, which gave the resonance-prone fiberglass body some much needed help. While Jamie and crew did all of the stitching and seat fab work, Art custom-made all of the trim for the interior, fabricating it out of quarter-inch brass bar stock, which was then chrome-plated.

The final high-tech item was the steering wheel. Designed for European road racing, the SPA Technique wheel featured 9 LED rpm shift lights in a panel at the top of the wheel. Through a tiny controller that hid under the dash, the programmable LEDs came on in groups of three (yellow, green, red) and then flashed when it was time to shift. It was the last detail needed to complete the interior package.

Now that we had the look we were going for, it was time to set up the car so that its performance would match. While the steps to doing this weren't exactly complicated, it did take time and is often a missed step in the final stages of a project's completion.

After squaring the rear end and aligning the front end, it was time to scale the car. While it was an expensive piece of equipment, this was probably one of the most important tool a hardcore car guy could have. Scaling a car would give you the opportunity to tune the vehicle so it performs its best in both day-to-day driving and road-course action and help wring out that last little bit of performance from the suspension. Because these cars were never symmetrical weight-wise, it was important to make the necessary adjustments to balance the car from front to back and side to side. This process can be time-consuming, but with the right tools it can usually be done in a few hours. With some persistence, we were able to get the corner weights of the car within 5 pounds of each other. From the very beginning, our focus had been on the overall balance of the car. This focus had now paid off.

Now that the setup was complete, the car was put back on the lift and every bolt from front to rear was checked for tightness. Once we were assured that everything was snug, we began putting some miles on the car. The brake pads were broken in, and we were acutely listening for any sort of unusual mechanical noise. Thankfully, there was none, and our trips slowly began to get further and further away from our home base. After about 200 miles had been put onto the odometer, fluids were changed, and the bumper-to-bumper inspection was done once more for loose fasteners, leaky hoses, or anything else that could cause an accident. The car was then taken down to Blood Performance and run on the chassis dyno to fine-tune the FAST XFI fuel-injection system.

Our project was done. The car was now finished and streetworthy. There was just one more thing to do with it: beat on it at the test track like it was stolen. Next month, we'll hammer the 3G Vette at Fontana Speedway, summarize the performance and all specifications, and show you the finished car in all its glory.

Art Morrison Enterprises Inc. would like to thank the following companies for helping make the 3G Vette such a success:

AGR	www.agrperformance.com	817-626-9006
American Autowire	www.americanautowire.com	800-482-WIRE
Bill Mitchell Hardcore Racing Products	www.theengineshop.com	631-737-0372
Boyd Coddington Wheels	www.boydcoddington.com	888-254-3400
Byers Custom & Restoration	www.byerscustom.com	253-735-1025
Carbonguy	www.carbonguy.com	253-922-2217
Classic Instruments	www.classicinstruments.com	800-575-0461
Crow Enterprises	www.crowenterprizes.com	714-879-5970
Detroit Speed & Engineering	www.detroitspeed.com	704-662-3272
Dynamat	www.dynamat.com	513-860-5094
FAST	www.fuelairspark.com	877-334-8355
Flaming River	www.flaming-river.com	800-648-8022
Flex-a-lite	www.flex-a-lite.com	800-851-1510
Fluidampr	www.fluidampr.com	716-592-1000
Gotta Show	www.gottashow.com	602-237-4506
K&N Engineering	www.knfilters.com	800-858-3333
Lokar	www.lokar.com	865-966-2269
McFarland Custom Upholstery		253-538-2424
McLeod Industries	www.mcleodind.com	714-630-2764
Michelin Tire North America	www.michelin-us.com	866-866-6605
MSD	www.msdignition.com	915-855-7123
PPG	www.ppg.com	412-434-3131
PRC Radiators	www.prchotrod.com	812-897-5805
Red Line Oil	www.redlineoil.com	800-624-7958
Rockland Standard	www.rsgear.com	877-774-4327
SPA Technique	www.spatechnique.com	317-271-7941
Strange Engineering	www.strangeengineering.net	847-633-1701
Vintage Air	www.vintageair.com	800-862-6658
Wilson Manifolds	www.wilsonmanifolds.com	954-771-6216
Wilwood	www.wilwood.com	805-388-1188
Year One	www.yearone.com	800-Year-One