If there’s one thing we love, it’s a good-old fashioned LS swap – and not just into an old muscle car either. Recently the Guys at Victory Racing Engines (VRE), in Detroit, Michigan sent us over some pics of an awesome LS-powered Jeep they are building up for a good cause and some off-road fun. VRE is the same shop behind the Passionately Pink Camaro, so when the owner of this 1995 Jeep Wrangler, Matthew Limes, decided he wanted to build the Jeep into an off-road beast to raise awareness for the Wounded Warriors Project, he knew just who to call.

The Wounded Warrior Jeep features the driveline from a 2005 Silverado, including the stout iron block 5.3L LS engine and 4L60E 4×4 transmission with a Precision 2,800 stall converter. A wiring harness from Painless made using the stock ECU a breeze and the tough little 5.3L gets a significant “boost” in power thanks to a Kenne Bell Supercharger. The guys at VRE tell us when all is said and done, the combo should land the Jeep somewhere in the range of 400 horsepower and the same amount of torque at the tires.

Mark Hayosh, Head Fabricator at VRE tells us, “We caught some grief from people about not using a Mopar engine, but in the end we decided, ‘Why compromise?’ and went with the LS.” Now that’s our kind of thinking.

To put that LS power to use and handle the rigors of off-roading, the Jeep is outfitted with a 3-link front, and 4-link rear suspension from GenRight, and heavy-duty Dana 60’s with 5.13 gears and ARB lockers in both the front and rear. The King 2.0 coilovers currently are set to give the Jeep around 7” of total lift, and have 14” of travel built right into the shocks. Of course, what’s an off-road machine without a set of massive tires and tough wheels? The Wounded Warrior Jeep rolls on a beefy set of 40” Nitto Grappler Tires mounted on a set of 17×9 Raceline Monster Wheels. A heavy duty steering box from AGR gets the duty of keeping those big rollers in line.

VRE tells us the Wounded Warrior Jeep will makes its debut at the 2012 SEMA show, and after that be sure to keep an eye out for it at a show or sand dune near you!

The penalties for an off-track excursion can be severe – while the ‘Ring is technically a public toll road, if you pitch your car into the weeds, you will be held responsible for the cost of repairs to the barriers, and even the toll revenue lost if the track must be closed to clean up your mess. But, as one of the world’s great historic race tracks and the litmus test for factory performance, the Nürburgring will continue to draw enthusiasts from around the world to test themselves against this legendary stretch of pavement.

May we suggest that, unless you are particularly well-financed, you satisfy yourself by watching this video of what it’s like, rather than spending the money yourself?

Image: Guy Fieri Blog

You’ve watched him on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” but now you’ll be getting a whole lot more of Guy Fieri because he was just named the celebrity pace car driver for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 later this month. As we found out from Indy Star, the culinary genius was named the official driver of the ’13 Corvette ZR1 pace car this morning. Olivia Newton-John and Martina McBride will also help kick off the event in two weeks.

While Fieri is most known for his talents in the kitchen, he is also a major car guy. As of last year, he owned several performance cars, including a ’11 Camaro SS convertible, ’70 Chevelle, and an ’07 Corvette. Although he could choose to drive any one of these cars on a daily basis, we’re sure that driving the official pace car at Indy probably tops the list of cool car-guy things he’s been able to do. After all, who wouldn’t want to drive the brand new ZR1 around the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Fieri will pace the field for the 500-mile race come Sunday May 27th, a milestone for Chevy as the Corvette model paces the field for a record 11 times, but he’s not the only celebrity set to make an appearance at the event.

Actress and singer Olivia Newton-John will act as the grand marshal for the 2012 IPL 500 Festival Parade, as well as give the command for racers of the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 race to start there engines on Friday, May 25th. Newton-John is the aunt of Indy Lights driver Emerson Newton-John. She will also be at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. Country singer Martina McBride will help kick off the event by singing the national anthem.

Fieri will take to the track on May 27th just before noon behind the wheel of the ‘13 ZR1 complete with a 60th Anniversary-style livery. The race kicks off at noon and will be broadcast by ABC, so don’t miss your chance to see the last C6 pace car take to the track.

Image: All American Automobiles

Have you seen a car that looks like this with front end damage in the Southern California area lately? If so, the California Highway Patrol wants to know about it. As we found out from CorvetteBlogger, a dark blue C6 Corvette was allegedly involved in a hit and run accident that killed a pedestrian early Sunday on a highway off-ramp between Santa Maria and Nipomo, California. If you have any information about the whereabouts of the vehicle or the driver, you are encouraged to contact local authorities.

The accident took place early Sunday morning on the Highway 101 off-ramp for  Highway 166 eastbound. It was there that police say a dark blue 2005 or 2006 C6 Corvette with a removable hard top struck a male pedestrian before fleeing the area at a high rate of speed. The pedestrian, who’s name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene and police need your help to catch the prick suspect responsible for his death.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the car was last seen traveling northbound on Thompson Road toward Nipomo on Sunday morning. Per evidence at the scene and witness accounts, the car has a busted windshield, missing hard top, and damage to the front bumper, right fascia and hood. The car is believed to be owned by someone in the Nipomo area who may be concealing the car in a garage or under a car cover.

If you have seen a damaged blue C6 Corvette since Sunday morning in the Nipomo or Santa Maria area, you can contact the California Highway Patrol at 805-349-8728, or 805-593-3333 after normal business hours.

Want a peek at what a couple of top notch builders are up to? Then follow along as we review three ultra cool rods that all share a common thread. Aside from that fact that they’re all Chevys, each is running ProCharger products for a big bang in bolt on horsepower. Check out the two Camaros from John Wargo and The Custom Shop and a killer ’55 Shoebox Chevy from Denny Terzich of ProRides. The guys over at ProCharger bring us the story.

First off, gaze upon the “SSawd,” a mega mash up that combines a rag top First Gen F-body, the all-wheel drive running gear from a Trailblazer SS and a rear clip from a 2010 Camaro. A ProCharger F-Series blower and air-to-air Intercooler poke up from the hood giving a hint of the mega power lurking below. It took a pair of big ones to pull this off.

Next up is another Custom Shop creation called “Project Grand Sport,” a heavily modded, white and orange resto rod 1968 Camaro Convertible with a small block LS1 sporting a ProCharger LS Transplant Kit, D-1SC self-contained supercharger and air-to air intercooler. Look carefully at his beauty and don’t miss all the cool tweaks.

Last but not least is Denny Terzich of ProRides’s ’55 Pro-Touring Chevy called “Project X-Box.” This monster is packing 1,200HP via a ProCharger F-2 with a 1550 HP air-to-air intercooler and though it’s still under construction, Denny hopes to have this beast completed in time for this year’s SEMA show. Keep your eyes peeled for the finished product!

For full galleries of these builds and more ProCharger details, check out their website.

Typically, the shorter the hiatus is, the more we wish we had taken our time and done it differently. But when you do take your time and do it the way you want, it rarely ever turns out to be anything less than awesome.

On Pro-Touring.com we found this 1979 Z28 Camaro that Brandon Slater started when he was just 23 years old. As you can tell from the pics, he started with a rather rough project and he’s transforming it into something awesome.

He has an ’02 LS1 with a T56 trans, QA1 coilover shocks and a Ride Tech four-link rear suspension supporting a Moser 12 bolt rear end and Corvette brakes with a Wilwood master cylinder. For tires, he’s going wide with a 255/40 up front and 335/30 BF Goodrich TA KDW’s in the rear, riding on 18×8 and 18×9 Forgeline WC3 wheels. He’s running all the lines for his Vintage Air AC system behind the fender for a clean look.

He began the project in 2008, and these days he’s working away and was able to take it for a test drive. Looking at the progress and getting it out for some air is a good motivator to get it back on the road, and we can’t wait to see it.

Yet three years later Buick is back, having had a lot of success with its turnaround plans as several new products infused excitement back into the brand. Now comes word from GM Inside News that the General is trademarking the Riviera name, perhaps setting up a comeback from one of Buick’s most legendary cars.

Introduced in 1963 as a “personal luxury car”, the Buick Riviera was an odd duck in that it was one of the only GM products that did not share its bodyshell with another GM vehicle. Up until 1979 the Riviera utilized rear-wheel drive, solidifying its stance as part luxury barge, part performance car, and engines as big as 455 cubic-inches.

We don’t expect GM to make a triumphant return to carbureted big-blocks anytime soon, a rear-drive Riviera could be in the cards for Buick. The Buick Regal GS with a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine has already found plenty of fans, and a rear-driver Riviera based on the Cadillac ATS platform could make Buick even more appealing for people looking for a comfortable-yet-fun driving experience. GM introduced a Riviera concept back in 2009, though nothing ever became of it…though that was the same year GM declared bankruptcy. Perhaps the General is finally getting around to some much-delayed products, and there’s always a hope that the LS3 engine found in the Camaro might make its way into the Buick lineup.

While nothing is set in stone, a we think a rear-drive Riviera would be a welcome addition to the Buick lineup. What say you?

Our shop dawgs Sean G. and Dean J. are in the middle of a flat-out thrash to get our 2002 F-Body aka “BlownZ” ready to hit the track early this race season, and every day brings us a little bit closer to completion. We’ll be racing in the NMCA West 275 class, but will also venture into Outlaw 8.5 and possibly some LSX Shootout races. We’re documenting everything in detail for full tech articles on each aspect of this build, but we want to keep you up to date on some of the important milestones we’re passing every week. Bookmark this page – we’ll be updating as we go along, and putting in links to all the detailed stories.

Build Diary:

Where do we begin? When our “new” Z28 rolled into the shop, it was a running, albeit not completely sorted, race car. But since our motto here is “never leave anything untouched,” we dove right in and began reworking the car into our own vision of what we wanted.

With the cross brace and cowl box both finally finished up, it was finally time to get the engine installed for what we hoped would be the final time.

BlownZ will be using a dry sump oiling system from Peterson Fluid Systems. Look for a full tech article on the oil system in the near future.

One nice thing about all the cowl work we did is that we could drop the 388 LSX and TCI Pro-X Powerglide into the engine bay from the top rather than up from the bottom like in a stock 4th Gen.

But even with all the extra room we made in the cowl area, it still too a bit of finesse to keep from slamming the engine into our new cowl box. Luckly by now we were getting pretty good at getting the engine in and out of the car.

The 388 LSX in its rightful place...

When we got the engine where we wanted it and the engine plate secured to the mounts, we could start putting the Afco radiator and Aeromotive fuel system back in the car. We were using a custom made Afco radiator with integrated Meziere water pump; Fragola hoses and fittings, an an Aeromotive EFI Pro Series pump.

It might be hard to believe, but that one simple Afco electric fan provides all the cooling BlownZ needs in the staging lanes and after a run. Hey, it's not like we'll be sitting in rush hour traffic in a dedicated drag car.

The Holley Hi-Ram Intake manifold is just the icing on the cake. We're using their new cathedral port version for early style LS heads, and aimed it right at the cowl box.

Now that we've got BlownZ's heart in place, it's time to get some blood and other vital fluids pumping through the veins. We once again went with Fragola FPS 3000 hose and fittings for the plumbing we had left to do.

Good thing these Fragola hose ends are easy to work with...

...because we have a LOT of plumbing to get done. Here you can see that we've got our feed and return lines ran to the fuel rails, as well as the coolant and oil lines to the block. At this point we really started looking forward to the first time we would get to hear this beast roar to life.

In order to contain all of the fuel system lines in an NHRA legal fashion, Sean G. is building a front cross brace and frame for the fuel pump, filters and lines. This will protect the front end components in case of accident.

Moroso's breathers got the call for BlownZ. These are really nice sheet metal oil breathers - and we hid them behind the front head lights. They also have a nice petcock in case we need to drain them.

You can see how we had to arrange and carefully design the Aeromotive Pro Series pump with a vertical orientation - using a careful selection of Fragola 90-degree and 45-degree -12 fittings.

This is the fuel system layout we're running on our front fuel-cell equipped F-body. -12 from the cell, Fragola -12 stainless line, Aeromotive Pro Series fuel pump and filters. We'll need to build a frame around the fuel lines and filter of 1-1/8-inch moly tubing to comply with NHRA rules.

We removed the tape and body protective wrap for a video shoot today. BlownZ looks good.

Moser's M9 for F_body ready to go back into the car. We filmed a video for Moser on their new drag brake setup we're running - that's why it's back out.

A little elbow grease on the VA Speed 388ci.

We cleaned up the VA Speed built 388ci bullet. Trick Flow 265cc cathedral port heads, Jesel Belt Drive, and an LSX block get the magic done.

This is BlownZ on March 20th. The engine is coming in and out of this car more than you can believe. We've got the cowl box finished and waiting for the Five Star Bodies poly windows. You can see our Afco radiator and 2 gallon fuel cell.

Fragola "FPS Series" 3000 Race Hose is what we chose for the plumbing. Manufactured to the highest aerospace-quality standards for years of trouble-free service even in the most demanding circumstances, we were pretty comfortable with it.

Fragola "FPS" 3000 "billet" swivel hose ends got the call for our series race application. With tire shake being common for fast drag radial cars, we wanted some serious hose ends.

Afco's micro-custom radiator mounted at a 50-degree angle so that we can fit a large 8-10" inlet tube to the front of the ProCharger F1 series blower. Check out our integrated Meziere water pump.

Completed cowl box.

Removable driveshaft loop.

In order to get our torque arm to clear the floor under suspension compression, we had to slightly clearance the floor.

Today was welding - specifically the Vibrant intercooler tubing. Shop Dawg Sean Goude got down and dirty welding our Vibrant aluminum tubing with our kick ass Lincoln Electric 275 Precision TIG welder. And let me tell you - one look at this welder and you'll know - that's a serious piece of hardware. Offensive lineman weigh less than this bad boy. We can't wait to show off the welds we laid, but you'll need to wait a few more days.

One of the first things we wanted to address was traction, and in order to make the most of our small-tire car, we turned to Moser Engineering for their M9 Ford 9-inch rearend, harnessed to their torque arm suspension. The Moser M9 is a fabricated 9-inch, and it's combined with 3.89 gears and Moser's 40-spline axles. We also went big with the new Moser Drag brake kit.

Here's a closer look at that rear swaybar - it's a double-tube unit from Wolfe Race Craft that can handle the massive torque loads our blown 388 will be delivering, while still offering a progressive response and far more adjustablity than a single bar. Wolfe recommends the double bar for cars quicker than 8.50.

Under the hatch, a pair of battery trays from Chris Alston's Chassisworks are test-fit. The location will put the weight of our dual batteries where it's most advantageous.

Up front, we're using a Spohn Performance drag K-member, Spohn chrome-moly control arms, Spohn's Pinto-style manual rack, Spohn bump steer kit, Afco double adjustable shocks, Strange front brakes, and a PA racing 2-inch drop spindle. Since we're using motor plates, we elected for the no motor mount option.

We turned to Fragola Performance Systems for our cooling, trans, and fuel system plumbing - Making sure the fire stays fed is critical to the success of our project, so no corners are being cut here... We'll go into a lot more detail on the Fragola hardware in an upcoming story.

BlownZ's air-to-water intercooler comes courtesy of Chiseled Performance is a 2,000 HP air-to-water design with 4-inch V-band clamps and Chiseled's special high-boost 1-piece end tank design.

Our intake tubing comes to us courtesy of Vibrant Performance, as well as mandrel bends, Vanjet clamps, and other critical fittings. We elected for 3.5-inch tubing for the supercharger to intercooler. Vibrant has an amazing selection of stuff, we were especially impressed by the quality of the tubing bends. There was literally zero deflection in the tubing.

With the VA Speed 388ci engine in place and the motor plate more or less in its final position, it was time to start mocking up all the tubing from our ProCharger to the intercooler and back to the engine. We're running a ProCharger F1R and a Dan Schoneck-designed reverse belt-drive.

Here is the Chiseled Intercooler mounted with the Vibrant hardware and proprietary Vanjet band clamp.

Our 388-cubic-inch LSX built by Virginia Speed arrived, and the challenge became shoehorning it beneath our Camaro's cowl. This was no small task.

In the interior of the car, we mocked up the Vibrant tubing, and Dean began playing the game of musical tubing... We were planning the entire time to build a removable panel inside the cowl so we could access the throttle body. Compared to a Mustang, the cowl area of an F-body is a complete mess for a supercharged or forced induction application.

We worked very hard on the ride height of BlownZ. This shows our lowered ride height, plus our new M/T wheels. Pretty sweet looking. We had some concerns about the fender to tire clearance but it turned out that under virtually any scenario there was no problem with clearance.

Wolfe's double sway bar and the Afco double-adjustable shocks installed. Due to the lowered ride height, we did need to use an Afco shock that was one-inch shorter than the factory extension length. However, Afco does make an F-body shock in the shorter configuration.

Our interior - and yes - it looks messy. When we bought the car, it had a factory column in it, and our short-ass driver couldn't reach anything - the pedals, steering, wheel etc. Building a removable race-style column was the easiest solution.

There just isn't as much room in an F-body engine bay as in a Fox body or late model Mustang, never mind a classic muscle car. Since our 388ci VA Speed LSX engine required a dry-sump, we needed to think pretty hard about where to put it. There is a lot going on in the front of the car - reverse blower drive, radiator, our fuel cell and pump, and the dry sump. We elected to trim out the inner fender and found a cozy spot ahead of the front wheel.

Probably the toughest part of this project has been the cowl area. Our LSX engine is within 1/2-inch of the factory location, yet you can see what a mess the lower cowl is. Remember in a factory LSX the engine sits part way under the cowl. Try to run a normal reverse-intake blower setup is just a disaster. This shows you how much cowl trimming is needed to get the engine in the car. We're building a very clean cowl plate and setup here, once it's done it will look almost factory.

Another shot of how difficult it is to build an F-body blower car without liberal use of the plasma cutter.

Kooks gorgeous 2-inch headers with AEM 4-channel wide bang 02 bungs. We'll be running 8 02 sensors on the car. These are stainless Kooks headers and they are a work of art.

We modified the Kooks headers to install a 4.5-inch collector. The merge collectors on the headers were amazing, but probably not optimized for a 1,300+ horsepower boosted engine. We wanted to get the exhaust gas out as efficiently as possible. Our header collectors weren't nearly as pretty as the factory Kooks merge collectors, but at 1.5-inches larger in diameter, they'll let more exhaust gases out more quickly.

Moser M9, Wolfe double sway bar, and Afco double-adj rear shocks all installed in the car. You'll notice we did quite a bit of work strengthening up the pan hard bar area and getting the geometry right.

Final mock up of the steering rack. This shows you our entire front suspension setup. We needed to move the steering rack from the way Spohn did it originally due to the dry sump pump. We added some a billet steering rack bracket from Chris Alston Chassisworks to help make the job simple and quick.

Official Release:

Check out these sweet looking C5 and C6 Corvette Wheel Center Caps from Zip! Adding these Corvette Parts to your factory or aftermarket wheels is a simple, relatively inexpensive way to personalize and set apart your Corvette without having to change the wheels!

C5 Corvettes

The 1997-1999 C5 Chrome Center Caps look amazing on both factory painted and aftermarket chrome wheels. Install as is, or remove the emblems from your stock centers and snap them onto the chrome caps for an OE appearance.

C6 Corvettes

The 2005-2012 C6 Corvette Wheel Center Caps are beautifully crafted and available in multiple colors and finishes. Featuring Jake, his alter-ego, Elwood, or the Carbon Edition design, these caps scream attitude and showcase your Corvette racing pride. Installation is easy – simply pop out the factory wheel center cap and insert one of these custom GM caps!

All center caps are sold in sets of four.

When you’ve been fully immersed in the automotive industry for some time, your perception of what’s cool tends to change a bit. While custom paint jobs, chrome details and flashy exhaust tips used to catch my attention, I’ve come to realize that these elements are only skin deep. Anyone can drive a nice looking ride, or even a built one for that matter, but if you’re looking for the true gems in the automotive world, you have to seek out the cars built with true dedication and passion. Brian Hobaugh’s ‘73 Camaro is the perfect example.

Brian's Camaro wasn't much to write home about when he first got it, but that changed quickly as massive amounts of fabrication began.

From a young age, Hobaugh was exposed to second-gen Camaros, with his dad owning and autocrossing a standard ‘74 and then a ‘72 Z/28. So when life presented itself in a way where a project car was feasible, Hobaugh jumped at the opportunity to build his dream car- a Sports Car Club of America Solo II C-prepared second-gen. But Hobaugh didn’t just want a track car.

“I thought, I hate to spend all this time and money and not be able to drive it on the street,” Hobaugh told us. “I figured, I’m going to enjoy this thing on the street and open it up to all kinds of other events.”

So, after purchasing a ‘73 Camaro donor car from long-time friend Mary Pozzi, the journey of turning a rust-bucket of a car into a street-legal autocross beast began. Autocrossing with his father in a ‘65 Corvette for 24 years, Hobaugh had the right combination of knowledge and ideas to plan out his own autocross beast. With the help of his father Steve, multinational autocross champion Frank Stagnaro, and noted chassis designer and fabricator Mike Maier of Maier Racing, the Camaro started coming together almost immediately.

Mike Maier of Maier Racing took care of all the necessary chassis fabrication.

Fabrication

With the cage and suspension system hand built by Maier to give Hobaugh everything he wanted in a car, custom sheet metal laid down by Hobaugh and his crew at Car West Elite in Fremont, California where he is the manager, and numerous problem-solving modifications done along the way, the amount of fabrication that went into this car is just downright amazing.

With years of fabrication experience, Maier took care of all the chassis work. In the rear, you’ll find a full floater Ford 9-inch rearend with Detroit Locker differential and Competition Gears 3rd member, as well as a custom 3-link suspension system. Due to SCCA Solo II C-class regulations, only sections of the frame rails could be removed for suspension modifications, so Maier expertly worked around the stock rail piece to give the Camaro the best suspension possible within C-class limitations.

C-class rules also regulate the front end suspension modifications of competing vehicles, so the stock front sub frame was used and modified in order to avoid a weight penalty, while custom spindles, and upper and lower control arms were fabricated by Maier. Hobaugh chose to go with Speedway Engineering hubs in the front, as well as JRI shocks all around. Steering for the Camaro is taken care of by a stock-style steering box paired with a modified Howe centerlink.

Body work and paneling for the Camaro were also custom done. In order to fit two different sets of wheels and up to 20 inches of rubber under the car, the Car West Elite crew hashed out custom quarter panel flares more than once to get just the right look.

“I don’t know how many times I redid those fenders, and they’re still not perfect,” Hobaugh told us. “If I could do them again, I would, but everything in a build is a compromise, EVERYTHING, or else you’ll never be done.”

The car also received many customized fiberglass components. In addition to the removable fiberglass front end, so too are the molded front and rear bumpers, doors, hood, and deck lid. Weight reduction was a consideration but not too much, considering that C-class regulations require Hobaugh’s car to be at least 3,100 pounds to compete. In order to achieve this weight, about 200 pounds of lead has been added to the car.

Power

Obviously, if you’re going to build a car to be a tough competitor on the autocross circuit, you have to have some serious power behind it and the goods to tie it all together. That’s why Hobaugh went with a Mast Motorsports/GForce combination.

Powering the ‘73 is a fuel cell-fed Mast Motorsports 416ci. LS3 SS motor with a custom K&N air intake that puts out about 605hp and 538ft-lbs of torque. This is matted to a GForce 4-speed GF4A transmission with long linkage that sits in a custom fabricated transmission tunnel with removable cover. Tilton pedals make handling the drivetrain combination a breeze while putting Wilwood stopping power on hand.

The custom K&N intake and exhaust system allow the Mast Motorsports engine to breathe in the Camaro, giving Hobaugh plenty of extra power to play around with.

The Camaro is also fitted with a custom exhaust system that starts with modified Edelbrock LS headers, and empties into stainless steel piping with a custom cross over. Two Magnaflow mufflers and a Borla muffler are then used for noise control, with the system exiting out the driver-side quarter panel to avoid clearance issues over the rear axel of the car.

Interior

With a set-up like this, Hobaugh’s Camaro is far different from the ever-popular pro-touring cars you see everywhere now. This thing is literally a race car that can be driven on the street. Although the Camaro is street legal, you’ll find nothing but bare-bones race car digs in the interior.

A couple of five-point harnesses attached to Kirkey road race seats, a full cage tucked up tight to the roofline and body contours, a VFN fiberglass dash customized by Maier Racing, some Speedhut gauges and a Hurst shifter are all you need to see to know that this Camaro means business.

If you’re looking for creature comforts, you won’t find them in Hobaugh’s creation, but that doesn’t mean you won’t see him driving it to a show now and again.

Exterior

Just because it’s a full-fledged race car doesn’t mean that Hobaugh’s Camaro isn’t reminiscent of the classic muscle car era, however. As a tribute to his dad’s old Z/28, Hobaugh decided to fit the Camaro with its own hood and roof stripe.

Unlike the brown and gold paint scheme of his dad’s Z, however, Hobaugh decided on an orange and black combination. The PPG Envirobase Waterborne orange that covers the main body is a bit brighter than the Hugger variety, but definitely gives the car a noticeable pop, while the satin black Elite Auto Films stripe brings in that classic American muscle flavor we all know and love.

Wheels and Tires

Depending on what type of competition Hobaugh is competing in determines what wheels and tires are on the Camaro. For Solo II races, the Camaro is equipped with 17 x 12-inch front and 18 by 12-inch rear wheels from Complete Custom Wheel with P345/35/R18 and P335/35/R18 race rubber respectfully. For pro-touring events, Hobaugh runs 19 x 11.5-inch front and 20 x 13-inch rear wheels from Dynamic Performance Engineering with Michelin Pilot Super Sport shoes.

The Aftermath

In total, the build project took Hobaugh and his team a little over three years to complete, but the wrench time was well worth it. When the car hit the pavement for the first time last May, the suspension was almost perfectly tuned in. “Sometimes when you put a car together, it’s just a disaster,” Hobaugh told us. “So we were super happy at how close it was.”

Since the car has been on the road, it has been upgraded to the latest JRI ST/08 shocks with remote canisters. Wilwood has also played a big part in where the car is, providing 6-piston Radial mount front and 4-piston rear calipers, matched with their Spec 37 Rotors for the Camaro.

While Hobaugh couldn’t have asked for his second-gen to turn out any better, there is constant adjustment to the car to make sure it performs as best as possible. “If you’re going to be at the top, there’s constant adjustment,” said Hobaugh. “Every single event there has been a change.”

We’re not talking about major modifications. SinceHobaugh had the best guys help him out on the build, the Camaro has only seen adjustments to the spring rate, front sway bar and shock settings. Pretty impressive considering Hobaugh is among one of the top autocross competitors.

In the last year, Hobaugh has competed with the Camaro in Goodguys Autocross events, the American Autocross Series, U.F.O. Series, the Run to the Coast, and even the 2011 Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge after the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Although Danny Popp and his ‘06 Z06 took the victory at Optima, Hobaugh finished a respectable third in his freshly built Camaro.

Hobaugh plans to take his car to the SCCA Solo National Championships in Nebraska this September, but doesn’t have any other plans to take the car cross-country to compete. “The best drivers in my class are right here,” Hobaugh told us. “So I don’t have to drive anywhere when the best are right in my backyard.”

Hobaugh’s Camaro is absolutely amazing and definitely an inspiration to those enthusiasts looking to have a legit race car that can be enjoyed other than on the track  “I’m pretty much pushing the envelope of is it a street car or is it a race car,” Hobaugh told us. Call it crazy, but we think Hobaugh has tapped into the best of all worlds.

Let me introduce you to my local dragstrip – the Little River Dragway. Located just outside the small town of Academy, Texas, (population 1,961) it’s the only quarter-mile drag strip between Dallas and San Antonio, serving all of Central Texas and beyond. Admittedly, it’s not much to look at on the surface, but it is one of the most unique and scenic settings you’ll find a drag strip nestled into anywhere in the country. Huge trees line almost the entire length of the track on both sides, and a river actually runs through the land just behind the burnout box, hence the name “Little River.”

But what this little drag strip lacks in polish and refinement, it more than makes up for in longevity and sheer grit. This year marks Little River Dragway’s 55th anniversary. Back in 1957, a gent named Jerry Tomastik built the dragway out of an abandoned stretch of black top left-over when Texas Highway 95 was updated. In that five-and-a-half decade time span, Little River has hosted drag racing greats like Don Garlits and John Force, along with tens of thousands of other amateur racers just looking for a safe place to go all-out their souped-up car. Even today, on any given Friday or Saturday night you might see anything from a youngster in his stock Honda, to a full-blown alcohol fueled dragster make a pass down Little River’s blacktop.

Takin’ Care of Business

Little River Dragway is the longest continually operated and sanctioned dragstrip in the entire State of Texas; an impressive accomplishment, especially considering the recent hard times that have fallen on dragstrips all over the country. I want this editorial to be about doing our part to save local tracks, but let’s be honest from the get-go: as emotionally attached as we might get to one, a drag strip is ultimately a business. The owners will find themselves subject to the exact same basic laws of economics as any other business venture. They have to be well managed, well marketed, and well maintained with continual reinvestment. Ones that are well managed and that make wise economic decisions will thrive in the good times, and survive even in the worst of times. Again, it’s just like any other business.

Keep Your Local Track In-Demand

What I really want to focus on is the other economic factor that drag strips and other businesses are subject to: demand for their products and services. For a drag strip to continue to exist there has to be a relevant demand for what they offer, and we racing enthusiasts are the ones that can create that demand. If we aren’t putting the blacktop to use at every chance we get, and attending their events as often as we can, then there’s a good chance that there eventually won’t be enough demand for a dragstrip to go on operating – no matter how well it’s managed.

Here’s my appeal to you as fellow enthusiasts: Get out to your local track as often as you can. If you’re an experienced racer who’s been out of the sport for a while for whatever reason, dust off that door-slammer and get out the dragstrip again. Why not? If you’re a drag racing noob, and have never even so much as chirped the tires in your V6 Camaro, go out to the next Test-and-Tune and make a few passes for fun. I promise that you’ll be hooked from the very start. Sitting on the couch on Saturday morning with nothing to do? See if an event is going on at your local track and take the kids out for a fun afternoon at the dragstrip – and while you’re at it, take the opportunity to teach them all you know about racing. The next generation of enthusiasts has to get their love for cars somewhere, right?

We can’t really do much about how a dragstrip is managed, continual urban sprawl, or noise ordinances that sometimes take tracks down, but we can control how much demand we create for their services. Let’s do our part as enthusiasts to ensure that there are still plenty of drag strips, like my own Little River Dragway, that will be around for the generations of racers to come.

Official Release:

LIGHTWEIGHT NEXTEK DUAL VALVE SPRINGS FROM MANLEY

The valve train experts at Manley Performance have developed a series of new compact, lightweight dual valve springs with open pressures up to 1300 lbs. that can be used in lieu of larger diameter triple springs. By reducing the active mass by up to 30% they provide improved valve train control and higher RPM potential.

These latest additions to Manley’s NexTek line are made from an ultra clean, high tensile strength material to achieve the desired pressures, while the dual spring design reduces friction (which generates heat) resulting in greatly reduced load loss. They also have a higher natural frequency, which adds to valve train stability. Additionally, a Super Finished multi-step surface enhancement significantly improves fatigue strength.

Reducing the diameter of the springs also enables the use of smaller, lighter valve spring retainers—which also promotes higher RPMs. The springs have been extensively tested on the Spintron, dyno and race track (including supercharged nitro-burning engines) and proven highly effective and durable.

NexTek valve springs are part of Manley’s NHRA Major Sponsor contingency award program for 2012. For additional information as to the various spring sizes and load ratings call Manley’s tech reps at 732-905-3366 or visit www.manleyperformance.com. A copy of the new 2012 Manley catalog is available online, or a hard copy can be purchased for $5 (for $10 you get a catalog plus a Manley T-shirt). Remit to Manley Performance, 1960 Swarthmore Ave. Lakewood, NJ 08701.

Features:

• Made of ultra clean, high tensile strength material
• Feature open pressures up to 1,300lbs
• Can be used instead of larger diameter triple springs
• Reduces the active mass by up to 30%
• Part of Manley’s NHRA Major Sponsor contingency award program for 2012

You might expect a Corvette owned by a guy named Anthony Saint John to be a quiet, humble, and modest ride that doesn’t look to make much of a commotion. However, as I found out one cool winter morning in central Texas, this devilish black C5 Corvette doesn’t quite live up to its owner’s name.

It’s raw. It’s loud. It’s extremely violent.

The Heart of a Z06

St. John’s beastly black Corvette is a 2000 model coupe that came from the factory with a 6-speed manual and black leather. Even though it isn’t actually a Z06, the black coupe has got a nasty trick up its sleeve. Under the hood lurks a GM Performance Parts LS6 crate engine with an aftermarket cam that boasts 238/242 degrees of duration. The cam gives the Vette a pretty malicious idle, but underneath all that chunk-a-chunk you can make out another, far more sinister sound – the distinct whine of a supercharger.

It Only Counts If You Can Use It…

To handle that amount of brute force, St. John equipped the Corvette with a tough RPM Stage 5 transmission, and kept it a 6-speed manual. No doubt about it, it also takes a stout clutch to stand up to that kind of power. St. John tells us, “I’m running a SPEC Stage 3+ single disc ceramic clutch. I’ve had the same one for three years now, and I’ve never had an issue. It’s still taking a beating and that’s why I’ve always run SPEC clutches in all my cars.”

On the chassis side of things, the car rides on C6 Z06 struts, and stiffer C5 Z06 transverse leaf springs, while solid motor and trans mounts from Pfadt keep the driveline from moving around under the stress of the supercharged LS6. The car rolls on 19×9.5 and 20×10.5 forged one-piece Imola wheels, wrapped in Bridgestone 760 Sports in 245/35/19 and 285/30/20 sizes. Baer cross drilled and slotted rotors in stock C5 sizes team up with Hawk HPS pads to bring those big rollers to a stop. A set of stationary Depo projector headlights, and a matte finish carbon fiber targa top, that St. John laid by hand himself, round out the visual updates.

At the drag strip, St. John tells us that the best time he’s ever been able to manage was a 10.78 at 133 miles per hour, with a 1.71 60 foot time. As you’ve no doubt already guessed, the Vette has massive traction issues trying to get off the line. “That best time was with some old, scraggly, bald drag radials my buddy had laying around his shop that we bolted up. I figured they would still work way better than my 20-inch street tires though,” he says with a laugh.

When St. John took me for a spin down the highway in the black beast, I didn’t know quite what to expect. We cruised down the highway for a few miles at the 70 MPH speed limit, and I actually found myself lulled into a state of calm by the Corvette. I was just thinking how nice the car drove considering all the modifications it had done to it, when out of nowhere St. John dropped down a gear and aggressively smashed the pedal to the floor. The instant he dropped the hammer I was rudely re-awakened to the fact that this car is not nice; it is a cold blooded killer that wants to eat you alive.

Instantly I felt the rear end of the car lose traction. It wasn’t just a little chirp or a squeal from the Bridgestones, but more like the back end of the car was pissed off at the front end of the car for not getting out of the way fast enough, and was trying with all its might to pass it. When the car finally regained traction I was treated to a forceful push back in my seat like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Admittedly, I’ve never ridden in a 10 second car before, and this was even my first time to ride in a supercharged LS powered car. But it’s safe to say that St. John’s beastly black C5 has made a believer out of me.

KBTV reports that a 23-year old Seattle man circumvented the whole rental process by stealing a brand new 2012 Chevy Camaro SS right off of a Hertz rent-a-car lot, and you can guess what happened next. The high-speed chase reportedly began when police in Olympia noticed a crowd gathered around a new silver Camaro. The driver jumped in and took off, leading police on 50-mile chase along I-5 South at speeds of 150 mph or more. The chase only came to an end after the driver hit spike strips laid by officers.

This poor Camaro SS was barely broken in before a thief took her for a 150 mph joy ride

The driver of the Camaro lost control after hitting the spike strips, and drove the sports car off of the road. The driver was soon apprehended, and yet another Camaro SS is destined for the scrapyard. It just goes to show that any rental car agency dealing with fast cars is bound to attract more than a few miscreants…and it only takes one with the skills to hot-wire a car to cause an extreme level of chaos.

Of course, the Livernois ZL1 is heavily modified and is pushing 707 horsepower and 680 pound feet of torque to the rear wheels thanks to the following combo of components:

• Livernois Motorsports In-House CNC LSA Cylinder Heads
• Livernois Motorsports Stage 2C High Lift Camshaft
• Livernois Motorsports LSA Head Studs (Available soon)
• Livernois Motorsports Exclusive Heat Exchanger (Available soon)
• Livernois Motorsports Solid Supercharger Coupler
• Livernois Motorsports Supercharger Pulley
• Livernois Motorsports Exclusive Steel Idler Relocation Bracket w/ Metco Pulleys (Available soon)
• Livernois Motorsports Spec’d Injectors
• Livernois Motorsports Dual Fuel Pump Upgrade
• Precision Industries Converter Built to Livernois Specs
• Metco Oversize Crank Pulley Ring
• Innovators West Oversize Balancer
• Rotofab/Livernois Cold Air Intake (Available soon)
• Stainless Works Longtube Headers & Connection Pipe
• Hardened Pushrods
• NGK TR6 Spark Plugs
• 160 Degree T-Stat
• GM 90mm Throttle Body
• Bogart 17” Wheels w/ Slicks & Skinnies
• Livernois Motorsports Dyno Tune

No doubt about it, that’s an extensive and impressive list of modifications, but there are a few impressive facts that come from what all Livernois didn’t change. The car is still its full-weight mammoth-self, weighing in at 4,295 pounds with the driver. Amazingly, the car also ran sub-10’s with a 100% stock suspension!

As for the story of the 9-second pass, who better to tell the tale than the man who was behind the wheel; Livernois’ own Rick LeBlanc:

The first pass off the trailer today, the car went 10.14 at 138 MPH. Many of my launches were from just above idle and it was like a bracket car with several 10.0X-10.1X passes at 138-141 MPH.

Our tuner Dan Millen was at the track with me all day logging each pass and getting more and more aggressive after each pass, so I’m sure the power was quite a bit higher than what we saw on the dyno. Dan got pretty aggressive with the tune, and on the last pass he told me to leave as hard as I could off the converter. We made up our mind that no matter what we were going 9’s on this pass!

I did the burnout, staged, then got focused. I didn’t worry about my reaction time (it was horrible as you can see) and I put it on the converter until it felt like it was going to roll forward, and then let it rip. I knew at the end of the track it was a good pass when I saw 145 mph on the heads up display. We finally did it, running a 9.87 at 142 MPH!

I wouldn’t hesitate to daily drive the ZL1 with these mods, minus the slicks of course. I do plan to head back to Milan on the stock wheels and Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials to see what it will run on 20’s.”

We would like to thank GM for building an awesome car, Rodger’s Chevrolet, Milan Dragway for the great track, Innovators West, Metco, Mickey Thompson Tires, Precision Industries, Rotofab, Stainless Works, and all the technicians at Livernois Motorsports!

The gloves are off in the battle for ZL1 supremacy, and we can’t wait to see who will fire the next shot. But for now its congrats to the team at Livernois on having the fastest ZL1 around!

Images: eBay

Ah, the fifth-generation Camaro; a staple in the modern muscle car war and what many a ‘Maro fan hope to someday have in their garages. But if the price of a new Camaro is currently holding you back from buying your fantasy car, we found a cheap way to make your dreams come true…almost. Right now thanks to eBay, you have the opportunity to out fit your golf cart with a Camaro-esque body kit. Hey, at least its a step above a Match Box toy!

Offered by Electric Cart Warehouse in Southern California, the body kit for 2004 and newer Club Car Precedent golf carts comes with the front end, grill, hood and rear cowl pieces to make your golf cart look like a fifth-gen Camaro. For just $1,499, you can be driving around in the car of your dreams in a matter of days.

This particular kit is painted in black with red flames in the front that transition to black flames over red paint in the rear, although you can have it repainted by the company for an extra $399.

You too could have a cool new Camaro, well, kind of.

The kit is only available for a “Buy It Now” price, so there is no bidding necessary. Now all you have to do is choose from 135 different paint colors if you don’t like the flames.

Featuring Aeromotive’s popular 340 lph Stealth Fuel Pump, this is the perfect fuel cell for your big horsepower needs. The internal pump is extremely quiet with an OEM style configuration capable of supporting 700+hp. Additionally, the fuel cell provides several performance advantages, such as cool operation, even in harsh driving conditions, achieved through always having the pump submerged with innovative baffling, and space savings.

The ease of installation for the fuel cell is also unbeatable with no pre-pump plumbing necessary. All you have to do is strap in the cell, hook up your wires and lines and be ready to drive; no welding or drilling required. Featuring a natural aluminum finish, this fuel cell will look good in any vehicle.

A bit more budget-friendly than Aeromotive’s A1000 and Eliminator fuel cells, the 340 Stealth Fuel Cell will save you space, time and money on your build project. And don’t forget, you can choose from 6-gallon, 15-gallon and 20-gallon cells to equip any application with the proper amount of fuel.

For more information about applications and retailers for Aeromotive’s 340 Stealth Fuel Cells, visit Aeromotive’s website.

Remember the racing scene form “Grease”, and how it just dripped with sex appeal? Where Cha Cha dropped her neck scarf for a balls-to-the-wall drag race between Danny Zuko & Leo? This isn’t quite it, but Kent “Mr Horsepower” Rose is somewhat of a modern day “Cha Cha” – sunglasses and all. He’s not a super sexy woman in skin-tight yellow pants – but more so your man-in-overalls, and you can still see his face adorning t-shirts all across Floyd County, Kentucky. That’s because Mr. Horsepower is the official “arm dropper”, of the popular “Hillbilly Arm Drop Drags”.

The Hillbilly Arm Drop Drags (HBADD) is the second biggest event in Floyd County, Kentucky (after “Apple Day”) with racers coming as far as Missouri and South Carolina to participate. As you’ll remember from our coverage of the very first HBADD, The event is held near Prestonburg, Kentucky, on the runway of the Combs Airport, less than 300 miles away from Bowling Green. It’s not quite the event that LS Fest is, but there’s nothing else like it.

In two days – May 4th and 5th, over 10,000 spectators and racers attended the “Arm Drop Drags,” to watch both practice and races. As Mr. Rose, himself tells the Floyd County Times, ““The Arm Drop Nation is everywhere. It’s amazing to go out now and see all of the people who are wearing Arm Drop T-shirts. They’re proud and we are too. We are Arm Drop Nation”

The event included such big names in the racing world such as Jeff Lutz, Patrick Barnhill and Willard Kinzer, (who hails from Floyd County). Just a quick search of YouTube will bring up tons of videos from the event, and you’ll notice that the LSX world was very well represented. It looks as if the HBADD community is planning a 4th of July weekend for all of you LSX fanatics, so in the words of Kentucky LSXTV-ians – “Come out and ‘getyasum!”

Thanks to LSXTV Facebook Fan Douglas Wireman for the tip!

That may have been true during the 80’s – during the Small Block Chevy days – and prior to the release of GM family of LS engines. Now, due to the fact that the LS is in “everything” – GM’s little lightweight powerplant that could, it has changed the way Chevy guys think about engine building. These LS V8′s are exactly what gear heads have been looking for: lightweight, compact and producing at least 1 horsepower per cubic inch with reliability and durability. And by the way, if you’re looking for good fuel economy and tons of aftermarket support in a basic platform that can rev high and pull hard from low rpm, and do all of that on pump gas without complexity or tons of maintenance, then digging through the junkyard for the right parts to put together a recycled LS engine might be for you.

Let’s say you’re a guy with dreams of big horsepower, but a wallet with a four cylinder stroke or maybe you’re a guy that just likes a challenge and likes spending time searching in the local junkyard.  Can you build a modern GM engine using junkyard parts that has decent horsepower and longevity?  We talked to a couple of the best LS engine builders on the planet to find out what junkyard parts it would take and what pitfalls to avoid in building a junkyard LS engine with muscle.

Our Experts:

Chad Golen, Golen Engine Service

Golen has 20 years of engine building experience with 17 years focused on LS performance engines. Golen Engine Service is operated in a 12,000 squarefoot facility in Hudson, New Hampshire, where a team of hand picked and home grown technicians produce high performance miracles for an elite clientele base. Among these customers, Golen has built custom engines for golf legend Jack Nicklaus and Jerry Onks. Golen’s LS7 engine work powered Onks’ road race Corvette to the 2010 Road America Championship.

Golen's clientele list includes Jerry Onks, whose C6 Corvette Road Race GT3 Racecar is powered by a Golen 427ci LS7 Race Engine.

Golen’s engines have also been purchased by D&S American Muscle for Mad and Daring Race Team of the Netherlands for use in their C6 Corvette GT3 Race Car, The crew at Golen’s is specialized in their respective areas which allows for a very high degree of experience in specific systems. Among the specialties, Golen’s Engine Service has a full staff of machinists and their own in-house dyno operator and tuner.

Billy Briggs, Briggs Performance

Briggs has been involved in building high performance GM engines for over twenty years and claims some of the most impressive accolades that an engine builder can earn. In the past few years, Briggs Performance has focused on building some of the fastest LSX drag racing motors that compete in the National Series. Briggs’ engines have powered winners across the nation, most notably in the LSX shootout in both drag radial and true street classes as well as Milan dragway’s heads-up drag radial and 10.5 outlaw classes.   According to owner Billy Briggs, “99 percent of our business is LS engines.”

Other accomplishments that Briggs Performance claim include the following:

• First LS engine to exceed 2000 hp
• First LS engine powered race car to run faster than 7.0 second quarter mile
• First LS engine powered race car to exceed 200 mph in the quarter mile

Breakdown on GM’s LS Engines:

GM’s LS engine platform is often called the new small block Chevy and it’s entry into the marketplace signaled a higher performance era in GM motors with the same interchangeability that GM fans have come to expect. With almost a decade and a half in the market, the popular LS engine platforms have been showing up in the salvage yards in droves which means that cores can be found on the cheap. These engines have been showing up as engine swaps in just about every type of chassis imaginable.

If you’re inclined to take on the challenge of building one of these inexpensive powerplants from cores found in a wrecking yard, you should be a little familiar with the evolution of the LS Platform. To help with matters, we worked with Chad Golen and Billy Briggs on a down and dirty guide to LS Engines below, starting with the one that began the evolution, the LS1.

LS1

LS1

Showing up first in the 1997 model year C5 Corvette, this aluminum block engine was a departure from the previous small block Chevy engine platforms. Sharing very little in common with the previous SBC platforms, the LS1 created a buzz with automotive enthusiasts and hot rodders alike. Because of their comparatively small bores – 3.89 inches – LS1 blocks can only use LS1, LS6 and LS2 heads. Using heads designed for larger engines will cause valve-to-block interference. Transplanting an LS1 could become touchy because the 1997-2004 Vettes came with throttle by wire throttle bodies and electronics to operate them. You must have the accelerator pedal and TAC module from a 1997-2004 Vette that match the PCM programming to use the stock throttle body.

The 1998-2002 LS1 equipped Camaro and Trans Am cars used a pwm VATS system as an anti theft device. A VATS module in the steering column transmits a pwm signal to the ECM if the proper ignition key is inserted into the key switch. If the improper key is inserted, the system disables the injector pulses after 2 seconds of engine run time. When transplanting the engine from one of these vehicles, the VATS system must be defeated. Painless Performance offers a kit that will accomplish this.The 1997-2004 LS1 Corvettes use a serial VATS system. The ECM and BCM use serial communication which is not defeatable by an add on VATS module.

• Displacement: 346ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Aluminum with 15 degree cathedral port
• Compression: 10:1
• Bore & Stroke: 3.900” x 3.622”
• Specs: rated at 350 hp and 365 lb·ft used in the Corvette from 97-04. It was also used in GM F-Body cars with a rating of 305HP – 325HP.
• Where to look: 1998-2002 GM F-Body Camaro Z28 and SS, Pontiac Formula and Trans Am, 1997-2004 C5 Corvette, 2004 Pontiac GTO.

Notes: 1997-1998 LS1 engines had perimeter bolt valve covers.

Casting number 12550592 was available in the 1997 Corvette in the first production year. In the 1998 Corvette, Camaro and Firebird model with the 12550592 had casting improvements for added strength.

Casting number 12559846 (1998-1999) had an improved cylinder liner design

Casting number 12559090 (1998) was a midyear revision with new cam bushing material.

Casting number 12559378, 12559846 and 12560626 were released in 2000 with a cored rear cover oil passage design change.

LS2

LS2

The LS2 was introduced as Corvette’s new base engine in 2005. Using “243” casting heads, a smaller camshaft and an additional 18 cubic inches. Compression was raised from the LS1 and a different intake manifold and larger 90mm throttle body were incorporated. The LS2 intake manifold featured a larger plenum and re-contoured runners. NASCAR used the LS2 as the basis for the Spec engine used in NASCAR’s Camping World Series East and West divisions in 2006.

What makes the LS2 popular with engine builders is that the block is compatible with the high flowing and desirable L92 cylinder heads. The larger, 4.00-inch bore of the LS2 enables it to use LS1/LS6 heads, as well as L92-style heads.

LS2 engines from 2005 Corvettes and 2005-2006 GTOs and Chevrolet SSRs with engine codes ZJA, ZJB, 5MC, YTA and 6MC all had 24X crank position sensor reluctor wheels. These LS2 engines can be operated with an LS1 ECM and a fuel injection harness from Painless Performance, along with an LS1 Corvette style accelerator pedal and TAC module.

LS2 engines in 2006 and later Corvettes were equipped with a 58X crank position sensor reluctor wheel. These engines can be operated with a Painless Performance fuel injection harness, an E-38 ECM and 2006 and later Corvette accelerator pedal.

• Displacement: 364ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Aluminum with 15 degree cathedral port
• Compression: 10.9:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.000” x 3.622”
• Specs: rated at 400 bhp @6000rpm and 400 lb·ft @4400 rpm larger displacement of 5,967 cc (5.967 L; 364.1 cu in)
• Where to look: 2005-2006 Pontiac GTO,  2005-2006 Chevrolet SSR, 2005-2007 Corvette, 2006-2007 Cadillac CTS-V, 2006-2009 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS

LS3

LS3

The LS3 was introduced as the Corvette’s new base engine for the 2008 model year producing 430 hp @ 5,900rpm and 424 lb-ft @ 4,600 rpm without the optional Corvette exhaust. The LS3’s block is an updated version of the LS2 casting with a larger bore at 4.060” creating a displacement of 376 ci. The LS3 also used the highly desirable L92 cylinder heads and a more aggressive camshaft and revised valvetrain. The stock LS3 is fitted with a 2001 LS6 camshaft that is modified with more intake lobe lift. Other features included offset rocker arms, high flowing intake manifold, a slightly stronger block than the LS2 and larger injectors from the LS7 platform. The LS3 block can use any head except for the LS7 and C5R.

LS3 engines in 2008 and later Corvettes were equipped with a 58X crank position sensor reluctor wheel. These engines can be operated with a Painless Performance fuel injection harness, an E-38 ECM and 2006 and later Corvette accelerator pedal.

• Displacement: 376ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Aluminum with 15 degree cathedral port
• Compression: 10.7:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.065” x 3.622”
• Specs: rated at 430bhp @5900rpm and 424lb-ft @4600rpm
• Where to look: 2008-2012 Corvette, 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP, 2010 and up Chevrolet Camaro SS.

LS4

LS4

The oddball LS4 is a 325ci version of the Gen IV small block with a different bellhousing bolt pattern adapted for transverse front-wheel drive applications. GM shortened the crankshaft 13mm at the flywheel end and 10mm at the accessory drive end to shorten the length of the engine. The accessories are driven with a single serpentine belt and the water pump is mounted remotely to save space. It uses the same cylinder head as the Generation III LS6 engine. Unless you’re modifying a front-wheel drive car, the LS4 platform is of little value to hot rodders looking for an engine swap.

• Displacement: 325ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Aluminum with 15 degree cathedral port
• Specs: rated at 303 hp and 323 lb·ft
• Where to look: 2006-2009 Chevrolet Impala SS, 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, 2005-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP and the 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super.

LS6

LS6

The LS6 platform is basically a higher output version of the LS1 engine with the same capacities only with better heads (243 head castings). Originally only used in the high performance C5 Corvette Z06 model, the LS6 was later used in the Cadillac CTS-V for two years before being replaced by the LS2. The LS6 shared the same basic design as the LS1 but improvements like the windows cast into the block between cylinders for bay to bay breathing, increased main web strength, higher flow intake manifold and a cam with higher lift and duration were incorporated. The key features of this engine is the higher compression ratio, sodium filled hollow stem valves and revised oiling system. Because of their comparatively small bores – 3.89 inches – LS6 blocks can only use LS1, LS6 and LS2 heads. Using heads designed for larger engines will cause valve-to-block interference.

Transplanting an LS6 could become touchy because the 2001-2004 Vettes came with throttle by wire throttle bodies and electronics to operate them. You must have the accelerator pedal and TAC module from a 2001-2004 Vette that match the PCM programming to use the stock throttle body.

The 2001-2004 LS6 Corvettes use a serial VATS system. The ECM and BCM use serial communication which is not defeatable by an add on VATS module. Best option on these is to use a different throttle body / ignition system or carburetor.

• Displacement: 346ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Aluminum with 15 degree cathedral port
• Compression: 10.5:1
• Bore & Stroke:  3.900” x 3.622”
• Specs: The initial LS6 in 2001 was rated at 385 bhp and 385 lb·ft, but the engine was modified for 2002 through 2004 to produce 405 bhp and 400 lb·ft of torque.
• Where to look: 2001-2004 Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06 and 2004-2005 Cadillac CTS-V.

Casting number 12561168 for LS6 was the first year for bulkhead vent windows in #2, #3, and & #4 bulkheads which eliminated the need for 28.5 mm drilled vent hole.

LS7

LS7

The LS7, while based on the Gen IV architecture, has several major changes in it’s design. Inspired and influenced by Corvette’s Le Mans racing program, the LS7 incorporates some serious race engineering in the engine’s development. The block itself has larger sleeved cylinders with a longer stroke. The crankshaft and main bearing caps are forged steel for strength and the connecting rods are forged titanium with hypereutectic pistons. Heads feature Del West 2.20” titanium intake valves and 1.61” sodium filled exhaust valves.

The hardware on the LS7 alone is impressive but the engineering incorporated in the package is very advanced for a production motor. The LS7 features a dry sump oil system and CNC ported 12 degree head castings. The cylinder heads, with the larger valves, flow an incredible 370 cfm. These engines are hand built by the General Motors Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan. The bad news? You’re probably not going to find one of these in your local wrecking yard. LS7 blocks should be matched with heads designed for at least 4.10-inch bores; and 4.125-inch bores are preferred.

LS7 engines in 2006 and later Corvettes were equipped with a 58X crank position sensor reluctor wheel. These engines can be operated with a Painless Performance fuel injection harness, an E-38 ECM and 2006 and later Corvette accelerator pedal.

• Displacement: 427ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Aluminum with 12 degree rectangle port
• Compression: 11:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.125” x 4.000”
• Specs: Rated at 505 hp at 6300 rpm and 470 lb·ft at 4800 rpm with a 7000 rpm redline.
• Where to look: 2006-2012 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

LS9

LS9

It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll find a wrecked ZR1 Corvette in a junkyard, and if you do, you are going to pay for this high end salvage piece.  These factory supercharged engines are based off of the LS3 block because of the higher cylinder pressures created by the supercharger which requires thicker cylinder walls. If you are looking for a motor that pumps out around 600 horses, is emissions legal and will last for 100,000 miles, your best bet is to buy this crate engine from General Motors Performance Parts at a price tag just north of 20K.

• Displacement: 376 ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Aluminum with 15 degree rectangle port
• Compression: 9.1:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.065” x 3.622”
• Specs: Rated at 638 hp and 604 lb-ft
• Where to look: 2009 and newer Corvette ZR1

LQ4 “Junkyard Special”

LQ4

Based on the LS engine, this 6.0 Liter truck engine was designed to bridge the gap between the new LS small blocks and Big Blocks for the truck applications. The major difference in the LQ4 engine is that they are cast iron instead of aluminum. Bolting a set of LS6 heads to the iron block, the LQ4 was born. The 1999 and 2000 model year engines had cast iron heads with all other model years sporting the cast aluminum heads. The beefy iron block and the 4.000” cylinder bores that can accommodate the GM L92 heads, make for some serious horsepower at budget prices. For junkyard engine builds, these are a very desirable engine. The LQ4 and LQ9 are the most common Gen III LS blocks, and are very desirable due to the big bore and durable iron construction. Some have made 1,500+ HP on this block.

All trucks manufactured with Gen III & IV engines have a serial anti-theft system.  This serial anti-theft system is only defeatable through ECM reprogramming.  You should plan on having the ECM re-flashed when installing this into your transplant vehicle.

• Displacement: 366ci
• Block: Cast Iron
• Heads: Cast Aluminum or Cast Iron 15-degree cathedral port
• Compression: 9.4:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.000” x 3.622”
• Specs: Rated at 300 horsepower to 325 horsepower and 360 lb·ft to 370 lb·ft from the factory.
• Where to look: 1999-2004: Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL Denali, Hummer H2.

LQ9

Vortec Max LQ9

Marketed as the Vortec HO 6000 and later as the VortecMax, the LQ9 was a higher output version of the LQ4. Specially designed for the Cadillac line, the engine found it’s way into GM’s truck line as the VortexMax in 2006. The LQ9 featured a bigger cam and higher compression flat top pistons for an extra 10 horses and 10 lb-ft output over the LQ4. Like it’s predecessor, the LQ9 is a highly valued engine for budget rebuilds of stock engines that can be pushed to a higher horsepower level.

All trucks manufactured with Gen III & IV engines have a serial anti-theft system.  This serial anti-theft system is only defeatable through ECM reprogramming.  You should plan on having the ECM re-flashed when installing this into your transplant vehicle.

• Displacement: 364ci
• Block: Cast Iron
• Heads: Cast Aluminum 15-degree cathedral port
• Compression: 10:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.000” x 3.622”
• Specs: Rated at 345 hp and 380 ft·lb from the factory.
• Where to look: 2002-2006 Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade EXT, 2003-2006 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 2003-2007 Chevrolet Silverado SS, 2004-2005 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra (Vortec HO Edition only), 2006-2007 Classic Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra VortecMax Option.

LY6

LY6

Another cast iron truck block, the LY6 is the replacement for the LQ4.  Sharing the same bore and stroke as the LQ4, the LY6 added variable valve timing which makes the powerband a little broader. These engines came from the factory with the high flowing L92 heads and increased compression. They may be too new to readily find in the wrecking yards, but patience and a lot of searching could reward you with a stock 352 horsepower block.

All trucks manufactured with Gen III & IV engines have a serial anti-theft system.  This serial anti-theft system is only defeatable through ECM reprogramming.  You should plan on having the ECM re-flashed when installing this into your transplant vehicle.

• Displacement: 364ci
• Block: Cast Iron
• Heads: Cast Aluminum 15-degree rectangle port
• Compression: 9.67:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.000” x 3.622”
• Specs: Rated at 352 hp and 382 ft-lbs.
• Where to look: 2007 to present: Chevrolet Silverado HD, GMC Sierra HD, Chevrolet Suburban 3/4 ton, GMC Yukon XL 3/4 ton.

L76

L76

Also referred to as the new VortecMax, the L76 is often considered the replacement for the LQ9 engine. The L76 is an aluminum block version of the LY6 that incorporates features like variable cam phasing and active fuel management. Other differences include a higher compression ratio and bigger camshaft. A second version of the L76 was manufactured with an LS style intake for the Pontiac G8 GT which dropped the variable valve timing feature.

All trucks manufactured with Gen III & IV engines have a serial anti-theft system.  This serial anti-theft system is only defeatable through ECM reprogramming.  You should plan on having the ECM re-flashed when installing this into your transplant vehicle.

• Displacement: 364ci
• Block: Cast Aluminum
• Heads: Cast Aluminum 15-degree rectangle port
• Compression: 10.4:1
• Bore & Stroke: 4.000” x 3.622”
• Specs: Rated at 366 hp and 376 ft-lbs in the truck versions 361 hp and 385 ft-lbs in the Pontiac G8.
• Where to look: 2007-2009: Chevrolet Surburban, Chevrolet Avalanche, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon XL and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 GT.

Searching the Junkyard

Before you even head out to the junkyard, it’s beneficial to identify the parts that you are looking for, know which vehicles are donor vehicles and set a parts budget. These three tips work inconjuction with each other and will help keep your project in the budget range.

• For example, when you are identifying the components that you want to search for at the local junkyard, try to select parts that are more common.  Not only are your chances of finding a decent component better, but the larger the parts market is for the component, the cheaper the cost will be. The more rare a part is, the more you can expect to pay for it. Golen explained, “Doing an engine build with parts from the junkyard is going to take a person that is willing to do the homework, willing to ask questions and willing to do the legwork. Getting all the parts for a real strong performing motor from the junkyard can be done, and the complete project can be assembled at a cost between $2,000 to $2,5oo, but it’s going to take a sharp do it yourself guy that will put in the time.”

This LQ4 was rescued from a wrecking yard.

• Once you have your parts list in hand, you’ll want to make sure you are prepared for the actual search. Bring a printed out list and even pictures in you could. An iPad or Tablet with WiFi would be even better!

• In addition to the common hand tools and gloves, you will want to bring an inspection mirror, a magnet and a good flashlight. According to Briggs, “A flashlight and inspection mirror will come in handy when checking for casting numbers or the bottom side of the pistons. The magnet comes in handy when you are checking for metal deposits in the oil pan.”

An LS3 block is a rare junkyard fine but well worth it.

Searching For Parts..

The Block: Aluminum or Cast-Iron

LS blocks came in both aluminum and cast iron versions. with so many different engine blocks in the LS family to choose from, how do you decide?

“Cast iron is the ticket,” says Billy Briggs. “For a budget build, and from a performance standpoint, the LQ4 and LQ9 cast iron blocks are the way to go.  You’re going to have problems with a stock block if you try to push it too much but cast iron is the one that you can push the most without too much risk,” he added. Chad Golen also preferred the cast iron block for this type build, “Without a doubt, I would look for an LQ9 truck engine block. If you can pick up the entire complete engine with intake, ECM, accelerator pedal and harnesses, you’ll be miles ahead of the game.”

According to Briggs, “The LQ4 and LQ9 cast engines with their aluminum heads and composite intakes are well designed to work together and there is no reason to try and mix and match other heads or intakes for this type of budget build.” He quickly added; “You will want to get the wiring harness, computers, sensors and gas pedal with the engine when you pull it from the vehicle.  Don’t clip the wires and find out later that it costs you more in the long run to replace these electrical components and have them calibrated to your engine.” Golen added, “If you can’t get the matching heads for the engine block, it’s worth your time and the extra expense to find a set of L92 heads from a Cadillac 6.2 liter engine.”

LQ9 cast iron block.

Briggs says that the production blocks are stronger than most people give credit. “These blocks are pretty solid pieces that don’t have any inherent problems,” explained Briggs,” but when you go to put the heads back on, I wouldn’t use the GM MLS gasket. They are good but for 90 bucks you can put the FELPRO MLS gasket on it.” The bottom line on Gen III cast iron blocks is durability. To illustrate that point, Briggs said “If you bought a 6 liter truck motor, bought new rods and pistons, honed it out with plates, you could make 1,000 horsepower all day long.”

The LQ9 "317" casting number head. (Photo from LS1TECH.com)

A Word About Flex Fuel GM Trucks

General Motors manufactured full size trucks with two different types of flex fuel systems. The early type used from 2002-2005 utilized a fuel composition sensor (FCS).  This sensor measured the ethanol content and temperature of the fuel and sent a pwm signal back to the ECM.  The ECM applied this signal to a look up table which gave different commanded air/fuel ratios according to different amounts of ethanol in the fuel.  The Fuel injectors on these engines are larger than the non-flex fuel type and also use a different connector.

ECMs from these vehicles require the signal from a FCS in order to command the correct air/fuel ratio.  If there is no signal is present, the ECM commands an air/fuel ratio that would allow the engine to operate regardless of ethanol content in the fuel.  This default air/fuel ratio is  rich for 100% gasoline and lean for 85% ethanol. Aftermarket fuel injection harnesses can be purchased that allow keeping the flex fuel design with the addition of an FCS sensor and the matching ECU or the flex fuel design can be eliminated by changing the fuel injectors and changing the VIN on the ECM to a non-flex fuel VIN.

In 2006 GM changed the way ethanol percentage of fuel was calculated by their trucks.  The new system was called The Virtual Flex Fuel System.  Instead of using an additional sensor in order to measure ethanol content, the ECM had a software upgrade which allowed it to make this measurement by utilizing the fuel tank pressure sensor and level sensor signals.  When the key is turned on the ECM looks to see if the fuel tank level sensor signals at least a 2 gallon change from the last key off.  If the sensor picks up a 2 gallon change, the ECM shuts the tank vent solenoid, monitors the fuel level and fuel tank pressure.  These readings are applied to a formula which gives an ethanol percentage.  The commanded air/fuel ratio is then changed according to ethanol percentage of the fuel.

In 2006, GM trucks used the same 160 pin ECM with blue and green terminal position assurances as did the 2002-2005 trucks.  Aftermarket injection wiring harnesses designed for this ECM and use the factory accelerator pedal and TAC module from the transplant vehicle.

Truck Engines and Throttle by Wire

GM’s V8 throttle by wire lineup consisted of  2000-2002 Gen 3 truck engines and 2003-2006 Gen 3 truck engines with either the 4L60E or 4L80E transmissions. The difference between earlier throttle by wire and the later version is because of a throttle body design change for the Gen 3 truck engines.  Engines built in 2002 or earlier came with a throttle body much like the LS1 in the Corvette.  These throttle bodies are easily identified by the black TAC motor on the passenger side of the throttle body and the TPS opposite to it.  2003 and later throttle bodies have the TAC motor and TPS both on the passenger side.

Aftermarket fuel injection wiring harnesses can be purchased to adapt these throttle by wire systems to work in your transplant vehicle or you can swap out to a throttle by cable type throttle body. The most popular throttle body conversions include the LS1 or LS6 throttle by cable throttle body.

“For a junkyard build,” Golen says, “it’s easier and cheaper to stay with the F-body type cable setup. You can make the throttle by wire system work, but it will require more expense and effort.”

Throttle by wire (Left) and throttle by cable (Right) throttle bodies are identified by an electrical actuator or cable quadrant on the side of the unit.

Cylinder Heads and Casting Numbers

Briggs told us that “The 317 casting number truck head is pretty hard to beat. It’s actually a pretty good head when it comes to boost because of the bigger combustion chamber.”  We checked the 317 casting number flow numbers out and found that they are pretty much the same flow as the LS6 heads. For a budget friendly junkyard build, these heads are a pretty good deal, but only if you are planning on using a power adder like a turbo or supercharger.

An LS6 style head is good for naturally aspirated applications because of the smaller combustion chamber. L92 cylinder heads have become very popular additions to the LQ4/LQ9 iron truck blocks because of their flow. The L92 heads have proven themselves to be rockets based on the racing influenced design of the heads which have raised runner floor and wider port opening by virtue of an offset intake pushrod. Golen believes that “it’s worth the time and effort to find a set of L92 heads for your cast iron block. There are big horsepower gains that can be made with that combination.”

Here’s a quick rundown on the LS cylinder heads by casting numbers:

Casting Number 12564241 or 12559853

• 1997-2003 LS1 Passenger Cars
• Aluminum
• Combustion Chamber Volume: 66.67cc
• Compression Ratio: 10.1:1
• Intake Port Volume: 200cc
• Exhaust Port Volume: 70cc
• Intake Valve: 2.00”
• Exhaust Valve: 1.55”
• Part #12559853 (1997-2000), 12564241 (2001-2003)

Casting Number 12564243

• 2001 LS6 Passenger Car
• Aluminum
• Combustion Chamber Volume: 64.45cc
• Compression Ratio: 10.5:1
• Intake Port Volume: 210cc
• Exhaust Port Volume: 75cc
• Intake Valve: 2.00”
• Exhaust Valve: 1.55”
• Part #12564243

Casting Number 12562317 or 12572035

• 2001-2004 LQ4/LQ9 equipped truck
• Material: Aluminimum
• Combustion Chamber Volume: 71.06cc
• Compression Ratio: 10:1
• Intake Port Volume: 210cc
• Exhaust Port Volume: 75cc
• Intake Valve: 2.00 inches
• Exhaust Valve: 1.55 inches
• Part Number: 12572035

Casting Number 12561873

• 1999-2000 LQ4 equipped truck
• Material: Cast Iron
• Combustion Chamber Volume: 71.06cc
• Compression Ratio: 9.5:1
• Intake Port Volume: 210cc
• Exhaust Port Volume: 75cc
• Intake Valve: 2.00 inches
• Exhaust Valve: 1.55 inches

Casting Number 12561706 or 12559852

• 1999-2004 LR4 equipped truck
• Material: Aluminum
• Combustion Chamber Volume: 61.15cc
• Compression Ratio: 9.5:1
• Intake Port Volume: 200cc
• Exhaust Port Volume: 70cc
• Intake Valve Diameter: 1.89 inches
• Exhaust Valve Diameter: 1.55 inches
• Part Number: 12559852, 12561706

Casting Number 12558806 or 933

• 1997-1998 LS1 (Perimeter Bolt) Passenger Car and Corvette
• Material: Aluminum
• Combustion Chamber Volume: 66.67cc
• Intake Port Volume: 200cc
• Exhaust Port Volume: 70cc
• Intake Valve Diameter: 2.00 inches
• Exhaust Valve Diameter: 1.55 inches

Casting Number 2716 and 5364

• 2008+ LS3/L92 Passenger cars and Corvette
• Material: Aluminum
• Combustion Chamber Volume:68.4cc
• Intake Port Volume:257cc
• Exhaust Port Volume:86cc
• Intake Valve Diameter:2.165 inches
• Exhaust Valve Diameter:1.59 inches

LS7 Intake manifold with fuel rails.

Intake Manifold

When it comes to the subject of getting air to your engine, Briggs says that there are limitations on stock piece. The factory LS6 intake is pretty decent, as is the LS3 and LS7. But when it comes to truly making power, it make more sense to put a carb’d style intake on or a FAST unit.

“The truck engine intake flows a lot of air but it’s also the tallest. If there is a concern over space issues and the intake fitting under the hood, then you’re going to be forced to use the lower profile intake. The Z06 style manifold is the better one of the car intakes.”  Briggs also explained that the intake off of an F-body Camaro (LS1) would bolt to the truck blocks and work well when space was at a premium.

Golen would opt to stay with the LS1/LS3/LS7 F-body intake “for cost and ease of making the fuel system work properly. The F-body intake includes fuel rails that are a returnless design. Less cost, less plumbing and less work.”

GM LS9 Crankshaft

Crankshafts

There’s no need to worry about the quality of a stock crankshaft with a turbo or reasonable horsepower supercharger engine, according to Briggs. “The stock crank is fine. I’ve made over 1,000 horsepower with a stock crank. It’s not the ideal situation and not something that I would not plan on doing routinely but it proves that the stock crank can handle more than the stock cranks of the 70’s or 80’s.”

There are some issues to be aware of however. The 1999 & 2000 LQ4 engine came stock with a 0.44″ longer crankshaft to accommodate the 4l80E transmission engine/tranny combination that was offered in the stock vehicles during that period. The early LQ4 blocks can run the older SBC style transmissions like the TH350, 700R4 and TH400 with no problem. If you want a newer LQ4 block to run an old style transmission, you have to install an older style crankshaft into the block or use a crank spacer for the flex plate.” Golen echoed Briggs by saying, “The stock crank is worth keeping unless you want to push the engine. Then it’s worth it to upgrade to an aftermarket piece.”

Rods & Pistons

Factory pistons are definitely the weak point of the LS family. Assuming you’re looking at a non-LSA/LS9 engine, you’re looking at hypereutectic pistons that won’t survive under high horsepower or boost. However, at the 500-600 horsepower level, they will do for budget builds. The LS7 piston and LS3 piston is a little more stout than the truck or LS1/LS2 units; so you might be able to push things a little bit. However, inexpensive pistons are cheap enough that if you’re scouring the junkyard for pistons you are probably penny-wise and pound-foolish. Same thing with rods, if you’re looking for pistons or rods, for the most part, inexpensive aftermarket offerings are inexpensive and strong.

In Conclusion

We believe that the LS is more than the small block Chevy of this generation. Engine parts are as plentiful and they are clearly better than small block Chevy parts. So we’re talking better design and technology, equal availability, and more durability. We hope this guide helps you identify and pick the best LS parts that your money can buy, and whether you’re surfing a junkyard, Craiglist, or trying to sweet talk your buds into hooking you up – now you know what you need!

As one of the best-known names in American aftermarket performance parts, Holley Performance has set a very high standard for itself. That’s a good thing, because it pushes the well-known brand to undertake crazy, daring projects that most other aftermarket companies wouldn’t even attempt.

Projects like the G-Force One, a classic Pontiac Grand Prix from the 1980’s which Holley has seen fit to stuff a supercharged LS7 into. This project has been ongoing, and Holley recently posted a whole bunch of progress pictures. According to Holley’s Facebook page, it looks like G-Force One is almost ready for prime time! Obviously, the heart of this project is the supercharged LS7 engine, which should make over 750 horsepower.

Holley’s own EFI management system will ensure a steady flow of air and fuel, and the engine will be backed a Tremec T-56 six-speed transmission. Holley’s own president will be driving the G-Force One hard and often.

We’re big fans of G-body GM vehicles ourselves, and we don’t think they get half the love they deserve. We’re glad that Holley is thinking outside of the box for this project, and opting for a car that isn’t as flashy as a Camaro or as well known as a Mustang. We can’t wait to see what the finished product is capable of.

It’s true that the new Corvette convertible will be the epitome of America’s favorite sports car. A combination of the beloved Z06 and ZR1 models brings a 505-horsepower engine to the table capable of cranking out 470 ft-lbs of torque. Talk about feeling the wind in your hair!

Other 427 Convertible amenities include a standard six-speed manual transmission (in fact, the convertible model will only be available with a stick-shift gear box), Magnetic Selective Ride Control, lightweight Cup wheels wrapped in Michelin PS2 rubber, and weight-reducing carbon fiber components. The only thing this Corvette doesn’t have is a roof.

And we certainly don’t see anyone complaining about getting slapped in the face with 505 ponies worth of wind, do we?

We weren’t the only ones disappointed to hear that the XTS would be available in either front-or-all-wheel drive. According to a new report from Car & Driver though, GM has heard the collective groan, and is reportedly already working on a rear-drive successor to the XTS due out around 2015.

So it seems Cadillac is at least thinking and listening to what buyers are interested in. Take the Cadillac Ciel concept, which paired a hybrid system with a twin-turbo V6 engine, all in a massive four-door rear-drive convertible. That was totally Cadillac. But the V6-only XTS? Meh.

Car & Driver reports that GM is working on a new, rear-drive platform called “Omega”. This rear-drive platform is said to have a maximum length of 207 inches. Now that’s a big Caddy, and it will require a big engine to motivate it. The Omega platform will serve as a mid-to-big halo car, and will hopefully represent a return of the huge, opulent Cadillacs of lore.

An eight-speed automatic transmission will back one of two V6 engines, including a twin-turbo we’ve been hearing plenty of rumors about. A “mystery V8” may also be in the works, which gets our hearts all aflutter with speculation. Whatever the Omega Caddy turns out to be, it already sounds better than the current boat anchor of a sedan. Seems to us like the current XTS is just a placeholder, and we’ll have to wait a few more years for a proper big Cadillac once again.

Official Release:

Lakewood Industries Releases Performance Control Arms

CLEVELAND – Lakewood Industries, a Prestolite Performance brand that specializes in bellhousings, suspension products and chassis components, recently launched new performance control arms for late model Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros.

Compatible with 2005-2011 Mustangs and 2010-2011 Camaros, these performance control/trailing arms are up to three times stronger than factory parts. The heavy-duty tubing and bushings used on these control/trailing arms will not bend and deflect during hard launching or cornering. Lakewood uses thick wall tubing to prevent bending versus the thin stamped-steel factory arms.

The polyurethane bushings are an upgrade from the factory soft rubber bushings, enabling body-roll and sway. Lakewood’s rear control arms utilize torque from the axle-rotation to lift up against the chassis, transferring the force directly downward into the pavement, forcing a driver’s rear tires to plant and hook. This instantly eliminates wheel hop.

All Lakewood control/trailing arms are engineered as direct bolt-on factory replacements and install quickly and easily.

Estimated retail for the product is $140 to $170 and can be found at Lakewood’s premier dealer locations, which can be found at www.lakewood-industries.com/FindADealer.aspx.

The new performance control arms from Lakewood Industries offer stronger components and better performance than your stock units.

Features:

• Available for 2005-2011 Mustangs and 2010-2011 Camaros
• Up to three times stronger than factory components
• Won’t bend or deflect with hard driving conditions
• Make use of polyurethane bushings rather than rubber
• Help eliminate wheel hop
• Direct bolt-on factory replacements

Official Release:

New Holley All–Aluminum 0–1850SA and 0–80457SA Carburetors

Bowling Green, KY–Holley Performance Products is proud to announce the all-aluminum 600-cfm 0-1850SA and 0-80457SA carburetors.

These popular Carburetors have been revamped with an aluminum main body, bowls, throttle body, and metering block. That means a 40% weight savings and a polished finish that stays shiny longer, all with a price tag that fits any budget. These bolt-on-and-go performance Carburetors are available with manual or electric choke (0-1850SA and 0-80457SA respectively). Both feature a single push-on style fuel inlet, multiple vacuum ports for accessories, and Ford A/T kickdown, 700R4 linkage and 4L60/80E TPS kits are available separately.

The 0-1850 and 0-80457 Carburetors have been staples in the hot rod and muscle car world because they run great on a wide variety of applications thanks to their universal calibration and vacuum secondaries. With the well-mannered characteristics of 600-cfm airflow, adjustable needle and seats, and a choke, these Carburetors are right at home on most stock to mildly modified street machines.

Features:

• Revamped with an aluminum main body, bowls, throttle body, and metering block
• Features a 40% weight reduction
• Polished finish stays shiny longer
• Available with manual or electric choke
• Run great on a wide variety of applications

For more information contact Holley Tech Service, 1801 Russellville Road, Bowling Green, KY 42101. Telephone 270-781-9741. For nearest dealer: 1-800-HOLLEY-1. Or visit them on the web at www.holley.com.

The video caption says that this is actually the very first test run that Pettersen has made with his new Turbo LS engine, but that doesn’t stop him from using it exactly how he intends to. You can hear the turbo spooling up hard, as the Jeep starts its ascent up the mountain, and only a few seconds into the climb there is a faint but audible pop. Pettersen keeps pushing the Jeep hard, but it isn’t long before clouds of white smoke start pouring out from under the chassis. The blue-buggy stops dead in its tracks, and is engulfed in its own blown-engine smoke.

Simple fix? Not so much really. The postmortem examination of the engine revealed that Pettersen is now pretty much left with an expensive boat anchor and will have to start from scratch. Looks like it’s time to hit up eBay to get another LS headed to Scandinavia.

Our friends at Whiteside Customs in McKinney, Texas recently tipped us off to a new line of custom 5th Gen Camaros that their shop will be turning out in the near future. Already known for their “Project Syn R G” 500 horsepower V6 5th Gen Camaro, Whiteside is now looking to expand with their line of Signature Series Camaros, that will be based around adding visual impact, high performance suspension upgrades, and a little bit of performance to go with it.

The car you see here is Whiteside’s Stage 1 prototype, which is offered as a basic upgrade package for street cars with bushings, coil overs, and sway bars. Stage 2 cars will be for more aggressive street applications, while stage 3 will be aimed at 5th Gen enthusiasts who want to regularly hit the autocross or road course in their new Camaro.

The parts included in each of the three packages are a Roto-Fab cold air intake, BR Series coilovers from BC Racing, upgraded swaybars from Whiteline. The Whiteside Signature Series Camaros will all be rolling on Forgeline Wheels wrapped in sticky Michillen Pilot Super Sport tires, that are bolted over a set of massive Brembo 6-piston calipers.

Simple but effective chances to the exterior, mixed with an aggressive stance from the coilovers give the Signature Series Camaros plenty of street presence, while on the interior is stitched up in plush Katzkin Leather with sueded accents to offer a better driver experience. Mike White, the CEO of Whiteside Customs tells us, “My outlook is simple: sweat the small stuff. It’s the details that set apart the good cars from the best.” The Whiteside Customs Signature Series Camaros will be available for sale through Huffines Chevrolet in Plano, Texas.

As we all know, the LS1 engine under the hood gives these fourth-gen Camaros plenty of power potential. But if you don’t upgrade the suspension along with the engine, you may end up shearing off not one, but BOTH wheels when you launch hard at the drag strip. That’s exactly what happened to the driver of this ‘02 Camaro in the next video.

With a 400 horsepower 346 engine backed by a Moser 9-inch rearend, one would think this Camaro would be all set for drag racing. But with stock shocks that had seen at least 100,000 miles, severe wheel hop was apparently a problem.

As soon as he punches it, the rear tires start bouncing out of control, and the car barely makes it off the starting line before one, then both rear wheels completely sheer off the lug nuts. Simply put – we’ve never seen anything like this before.

The driver blames the axles and acorn-style lug nuts, though an old, beat-up suspension is just as likely the culprit. Luckily, the driver’s brother came through with replacement hubs, and this Camaro was back in action before the end of the day…though they made sure to go easy on the launch this time.

Forgeline claims that the inspiration behind their current 3-piece, RB3C wheel series comes from this trick 1st-Gen Camaro from Ringbrothers of Spring Green, Wisconsin.

The custom ’70 pony hides a massaged LS7 under the hood that puts out well over 650 horses while chasing a Tremec TKO-600 5-speed. Known as “Diversion,” the Camaro made its debut at SEMA 2011. It features a full-custom chassis, a custom fabricated body with extended rocker panels covered with BASF Mineral Gray paint and custom billet bezels, taillights and hood and door hinges.

The Ringbrothers’ car comes to a stop with a set of Baer brakes and exhales through a set of Flowmaster 44 Series mufflers. Adding to the Camaro’s stout appearance, however, are the 18 x 11- and 19 x 13-inch, custom painted RB3C Center Lock wheels mounted via Forgeline’s Center Lock Conversion kit and a custom nut from Ringbrothers.

To show off the motoring heritage behind Forgeline’s 3-piece design, the “RB” designation in the RB3C series actually stands for “Ringbrothers,” whose humble beginnings were initiated when they started off building custom cars years ago with thrown out lawnmower engines found in dumps.

Since that time, motoring brothers Mike and Jim Ring have gone on to win the Goodguys’ “Street Machine Of The Year” award for two years in a row. They’ve made rodding and performance history for sure, and a large part of their car building mission is to “maintain stock appearances” while “upgrading performance with contemporary parts and products to create works of art.”

The Ringbrothers’ ’70 Camaro is definitely inline with Mike and Jim Ring’s artistic vision, and Forgeline, with their RB3C series, is happy to celebrate that vision with them!

Take one ’67 Camaro RS, a fearless driver and navigator and search out the finest race tracks in the country during an eight day, 3,500-mile drive-fest; hauling the entire trip in the cockpit of the ‘Maro…yeah, this sounds like a blast. That’s exactly what James Shipka and co-driver Carl Casanova will be doing. We picked up on the adventure cruising through our favorite website, pro-touring.com. Joining 90 other teams from around the world in what will be the OneLapCamaros third time participating in this one of a kind event.

We apologize for being a bit tardy on this one since it’s already begun but on Saturday, May 5th, the Tire Rack One Lap of America kicked off in South Bend, Indiana. Over the course of the following eight days, this automotive marathon will cover cross-coutnry distance and hit up 21 different race tracks from across the country.

The OneLapCamaro is returning for its third year defending its title as the Vintage America Class Champion. This isn’t about the title, the OLC team is out for blood.

Lucky for Camaro and ChevyHardcore.com fans, James Shipka and Carl Casanova will be updating their journey online through their blog and with live updates via their website. With a detailed map running on the site, live and a constant RSS feed throughout the entire week, we assure you won’t be left out of the loop. Not enough? Facebook fans will rejoice as live updates and posts to current events on the trip will also be posted there as well. Be sure to check out all of the links at the bottom of this news item to keep in touch.

So, why pocket away eight long days with a 3,500 mile road trip in a car that could essentially rattle your teeth out? Well, its all in good fun and for a great cause. This year, the OLC will be running in support of a local charity to Calgary residents – the EvenStart Foundation for Children of Calgary.

This year we will be running the One Lap of America in support of a local charity – the EvenStart Foundation for Children of Calgary.

The EvenStart Foundation’s mandate is “to give at-risk children who are economically disadvantaged, the educational, therapeutic, nutritional, and nurturing supports necessary to gain an ‘even start’ in their lives. Again, you can help raise awareness by checking out its website at the bottom of this posting.

Of course, this wouldn’t be possible with the help of some of our favorite aftermarket heros. Heroes like RideTech, OPTIMA Batteries, HRE Wheels, SpeedTech, Touchstone Exploration, FM3 Performance Marketing, Baer Brakes, Currie Enterprises, Centerforce Clutches, Rick’s Stainless, VaporWorx, Marquez Design, Heighton Restoration, Camaro Performers, Vintage Air and Pozzi Racing.

We look forward to this event every year. We wish the OLC team all the best and a safe journey. We’ll be doing our best to keep you all up to date on the progress of their journey.

Staying Connected:

www.OneLapCamaro.com

www.OneLapCamaro.com/live.html

www.Facebook.com/TheOneLapCamaro

http://www.evenstartfoundation.org/

Official Release:

Trend Performance unveils world’s first hard-tip self-lubricating pushrod

Warren, MI: Trend Performance has introduced what they believe to be the world’s first self-lubricating 5/16in hard-tip competition pushrods. While their lower ends, those that engage the lifter seats, remain unaltered their upper ends now feature self-lubricating tool steel tips hardened to 60Rc. Both upper and lower 5/16in diameter ball ends are formed with a 210-degree radius at the end of a 1-5/8in taper to provide proper operating clearance around the rockers as well as in the lifters and lifter bores.

Engineered to overcome degradation troubles on the upper ball of high-revving high-powered engines, these new hard tip pushrods are now available in the following diameters: 7/16in, 1/2in, and 9/16in. Their wall thicknesses are 0.125in or 0.165in; 0.125in or 0.165in or 0.200in; and 0.200in respectively. Prepared in a satin finish over a precision center-less ground surface and laser-etched to the customers’ request, Trend’s hard tip pushrods are available in any length-usually 6.000 to 13.000 inches.

Trend’s hard-tip announcement of their latest ball-ball pushrods follows last year’s introduction of their BZ pushrods. By engineering a phosphor-bronze insert in its upper cup, the BZ brought an end to similar galling troubles in ball-cup-style pushrods.

In the 1990’s, pushrod wall thicknesses were increased to combat deflection caused by increasing valve spring pressures. Later their outer diameters grew. Today many believe the chief threat to their longevity is caused by deficiencies in modern lightweight lubricating oils. But the reality is that the competition pushrod is battling on a host of hostile fronts.

Four valuable tips to improve valve train performance

1. Pushrods set between lifters and rockers with contact surfaces rougher than 1RA expose the pushrod to potential ruinous abrasion. Always inquire about the surface finishes of the parts that operate in conjunction with your pushrods.
2. Pushrod balls bound in tight cups will eventually fail. Always ensure they have sufficient operating clearance.
3. High narrow-seat loadings generated by setting a pushrod in a V-cup compared with the more desirable radius cup further impairs the pushrod’s longevity.
4. Note: Increased rocker ratios and higher engine revs generate greater stress on pushrods. These factors also increase surface speeds on the ball.

Ed Pink says:

“We spend more time measuring and checking than we do putting the engine together. With pushrods, checking ball-and-seat dimensions is good working practice. It ensures the clearances are correct and everything fits right. Often we apply some machinist’s bluing on the ball of the pushrod and check its fit to the rocker arm cup. For years, I have used Trend pushrods and piston pins. I know of none that work better.”

Features:

• Upper ends feature self-lubricating tool steel tips hardened to 60Rc
• Both ends formed with a 210-degree radius at the end of a 1-5/8in taper to provide proper operating clearance
• Engineered to overcome degradation troubles on the upper ball of high-revving high-powered engines
• Available in three different diameters and any length

Image: Deviate Autosport

The fifth-gen Camaro SS convertible is apparently owned by rap artist “Slim Thug.” In true swag fashion, the car has been treated to not only a custom chrome wrap with chrome Chevy emblems, but also a matte black hood and tail stripes by Houston-based Deviate Autosport. Obviously someone wants some attention and that’s exactly what this combination will get.

Regardless of your thoughts on chromed cars, there is something to be said for the work that goes into accomplishing this look. When you’re wrapping a car, it’s always important to wash the car, and lay out the product before you actually apply it to the car to make sure you have everything positioned carefully. You need the correct tools to attach the graphic to the vehicle for every vinyl wrap, and chrome wraps can be a bit trickier. One little pucker in a vinyl wrap with an intense graphic may go unnoticed, but even one grain of dirt or one tiny crease in a chrome wrap and you may as well put a flashing sign with a giant arrow pointing out the flawed spot. Sounds like a bit too much trouble if you ask me.

We know you guys like custom LSX-based cars and love the modern Camaros, but we want to know what you think about chrome wrapping. Is it worth the hassle and attention, or are there much better things you could do to your car aesthetically?

One single Pfadt Part Number – 1460190 – gets you just about everything you could possibly want in a 5th Gen Camaro. The kicker is that the maximum quantity of this part number is exactly “1”. Pfadt Race Engineering recently announced that they are selling their awesome “Ring Spec” 2010 Camaro SS to make room for a new ZL1 to play with and develop parts for. So, if you’ve got $42,000 to spend you can head on over to Pfadt’s website now and drop the Ring Spec Camaro right in your shopping cart.

Well, ok – you can’t actually put the Ring Spec Camaro in your shopping cart – we tried. But if you are serious about 5th Gen performance this could be just the car for you. It features a MAST Motorsports LS7 that makes 620 horsepower and 580 Pound feet of torque, a full Kooks exhaust, and an upgraded Katech Twin disc clutch. The Ring Spec Camaro rolls on a set of BBS Wheels with Toyo R888 tires, and has upgraded CTS-V brakes. Of course, it has a ton of Pfadt goodies, including their ultimate Stage 5 Suspension kit for serious racers.

Pfadt tells us the car has under 10,000 miles, and is still 100% street legal in spite of all the modifications. They’ve even promised to throw in all of the OEM components to go with it, although we can’t imagine you would ever want to put them back on a car like this. So, if you’re seriously interested give Pfadt a call at 888-972-2464. Serious inquiries only, no tire kickers, no joy rides…even though that would be pretty damn fun.

Though the Corvette ZR1 may be able to hang with the most exotic cars Europe can create, its comparatively-low price tag makes the Chevy supercar a lot more accessible to the average man. GM knew that it wouldn’t just be Wall St. moguls and European princes buying the Corvette, and they wanted to give those who can afford the Corvette ZR1 the unique option of building their very own engine.

It’s one of the coolest features that can come with buying a Corvette, and a fellow by the name of Beau Blackwell filmed the entire process of building his supercharged LS9 engine from beginning to end. It’s a cool video, and probably the closest most of us will ever come to building our own Corvette ZR1 motor.

Being that America is the land of the self-made millionaire, GM’s hands-on engine experience is a great idea for building goodwill among its best customers. We’re not sure what Mr. Blackwell’s background is, but it seems pretty obvious to us that this engine build isn’t his first time at the rodeo, so to say.

The 8-minute video is obviously sped up, and includes the flight and arrival at GM’s Wixom engine building plant. It is here that Beau takes his soon-to-be LS9 engine from one station to another as a team of engineers watch over his progress. Judging from appearances, we’d gather that these are GM’s most experienced engine builders. Under their watchful guidance, Beau puts the engine together, and from there it’s a short journey to the engine dyno to ensure everything is working as intended.

It looks like an amazing experience, and we’re glad Beau chose to share it with the world.

With 580 horsepower, the supercharged 6.2 liter V8 engine is among the most powerful ever built by GM. With a redline near 7,000 RPM, all the forged components in the world don’t mean diddly-squat of the cylinders aren’t perfectly round. Anybody who knows CNC machining knows that metal can, and does, bend, including the cylinder sleeves. This can cause quite the problem when it comes to high performance motors.

GM gets around this by attaching a special deck plate to the block, prior to machining it. This plate simulates the same stresses that the engine would experience if the cylinder heads were attached. This helps keep the cylinder sleeves perfectly round during the honing process, ensuring extra longevity and peak performance. It’s a cool video for anybody interested in watching an LSA come together.

Images: LSwut

Stephanie’s Power Shop enlists the know-how of experienced engine builder, model and LSX fan Stephanie Lynn to show you how to use all the nifty parts that Proform has to offer as she rebuilds her WS6. In short videos shot in Stephanie’s own garage you’ll get to see everything from Proform’s Digital Tire Pressure Gauge and new Cylinder Head Handles to their bench top Digital Spring and Stud Mount Valve Spring compressors this season.

Twelve new videos have already been shot for the second season of Stephanie’s Power Shop, with the first video showcasing Proform’s Socket Assist set.

This video hit Proform’s YouTube channel last Wednesday with the promise of more videos arriving each and every week.

If you’re looking to see the latest and greatest components offered by Proform, stay tuned to their YouTube channel every Wednesday for a new episode of Stephanie’s Power Shop. You’ll not only get to see new and steadfast Proform products, you’ll also see helpful demonstrations of each product by Stephanie.

Carscoop came across not one, but three Chevy Caprice PPV up for sale on eBay, including a bright red “undercover” vehicle. Ill tidings for GM’s attempt to get back into the police car market?

The first Caprice, located in New Braunfels, Texas, is the most obvious police car of the bunch in its black-and-white duds. There is no reason given for the sale of this vehicle, and with just 260 miles on the odometer, it is basically brand new. The Buy It Now price is just under $26,000, while the MSRP was nearly $32,000.

The second car is from Peoria, Illinois, and is less obviously a cop car. With about 9,300 miles on the odometer, this car at least got some use…though it too has found its way to a used car dealership. There is even less background on this car, making us wonder just what it’s story is.

Finally there is this bright red “detective” model of the Caprice PPV, though how a car nobody else can even buy is supposed to “blend in”, we don’t exactly know. With over 6,000 miles on it, this PPV also qualifies as a slightly-used vehicle. Furthermore the dealership claims to have at least eight of these Caprice PPV vehicles for sale, including 5 regular and 3 undercover cars. Sounds like at least one department completely divested itself of Chevy’s cop car.

Lest we be called out as biased, we should note that there are exactly 0 Ford Taurus Police Interceptors up for sale no eBay, and just two Dodge Chargers, both of them 2007 models with high mileage. On the plus side, for anyone wanting a Bowtie-badged rear-drive sedan with a V8 under the hood, here’s your chance.

Is the Caprice PPV not up to snuff? What exactly do you think is going on here?

Livernois strapped the new “Z” on their dyno for some baseline numbers, and the new Chevy didn’t disappoint. It spun the drums to the tune of 476 horsepower and the same amount of toque. On the dyno at Livernois the ZL1 seems a bit subdued, and you’d never guess that over 580 horsepower is hiding under the hood.

After they had their baseline numbers to work with, the guys headed out to Milan Dragway, about 45 minutes from Livernois’ headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Ironically enough, this is the exact same track that the ZL1 engineering team recently turned in a string of 11.9 second timeslips from a very similar bone-stock ZL1.

Unfortunately, the guys from Livernois wouldn’t be able to get the same type of runs that the GM engineers were able to produce with Milan all to themselves. Rick LeBlanc, the Livernois’ shop hot shoe, tells us, “We were at the track for about eight hours, and only got in three runs since an event was going on at the same time. The track prep just wasn’t there because of all the other cars running with street tires. On the first run I just annihilated the tires, so on the other two passes I waited until the car shifted into 2nd before I mashed the gas hard. If I had a few more passes, I think I could’ve found the car’s sweet-spot for launching it.” In the end Livernois’ ZL1’s best time was a 12.41 at 115.6 MPH, with a 60-foot of 2.1. LeBlanc tells us that they know they can do better with the car, and they are taking the ZL1 back out to the track later this week. Keep it tuned to LSXtv for updates on the Livernois ZL1.

Upon entering the Edelbrock building on Madrid Avenue, the first display you encounter is Vic Edelbrock's first tool bench, tools and tool box.

After meeting with the Center For Learning Unlimited’s director, Virginia Mathews, Christi decided to help with the Center’s fundraising. Their first attempt to raise funds was through T-shirt sales. “I’ve never worked as hard in my life for a thousand bucks,” said Edelbrock. “I knew there was a better way, and there was a whole automotive industry and culture of car enthusiasts that supported education,” she added.

Ever the showman, Vic Edelbrock Jr arrives to Vic's garage after a full day of factory tours. He carefully backs into his reserved parking spot, gets out and opens the hood asking where the car show is.

Thus began the Edelbrock Revved Up For Kids Charity car show. We should have known that the folks at Edelbrock were not going to stop with a local community fundraiser, but things became clearly evident when the company put their talents behind  Jim Bingham’s Hot Rodders of Tomorrow program.

The Ohio Technical College trailer made the trip out to showcase the new Edelbrock Performance Academy program.

The Evolution of Edelbrock’s Formal Automotive Education

When high school’s budgets were being tightened nationwide, several programs were cut from the school’s programs. One of the hardest hit programs in the these schools was in industrial arts and shop classes. The Edelbrock corporation realized that kids would not be exposed to the auto industry and auto maintenance without some outside support. A natural partnership between Edelbrock and the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow was formed.

The Edelbrock Corporation has always placed a high priority on the future of automotive from the youngest enthusiast to the oldest. Vic Edelbrock continues to support family involvement in the hobby. During the car show, he signs autographs and poses for pictures with families all day.

Unwilling to ignore higher education, the Edelbrock corporation put the wheels into motion for an Edelbrock Performance Academy and found a willing partner in the Ohio Technical College. Launched just a few short weeks ago, the Edelbrock Academy program is up and running with students already on their way to a career in the automotive industry.

The Edelbrock Performance Academy and Ohio Technical College showed kids how to airbrush using stencils during Sunday's car show..

All three of these programs were on-hand at the Edelbrock’s Revved Up For Charity Weekend with all proceeds benefiting the Center For Learning Unlimited. We asked Christy Edelbrock, one of the driving forces behind Edelbrock’s push for bring automotive technology back into the schools, what is next. “We have big plans, oh boy… we have some really big plans and as soon as we get the details finalized, we’ll let everyone know.”

Preparing for the Future by Recognizing the Past

The seventh annual Revved Up for Kids charity event formally got underway with factory tours at the Edelbrock manufacturing facility on Saturday, May 5th. Guests were invited to witness the latest manufacturing technology at the facility by Vic Edelbrock Jr. With the company’s solid push in formal education, Vic Edelbrock could easily be tagged with the moniker, “the Professor of Power” or “the Dean of Dominance .”

Front row and center of the legends table was host Vic Edelbrock Jr. A member of countless Halls of Fame, Vic has served as President of the SEMA organization and served on the Board of Directors. Among the numerous awards, he was given the Petersen lifetime achievement award in 2005.

At 92 years young, Lou Senter is still a much loved and respected part of the Southern California car scene. From the dirt tracks of California to dry lake racing, Senter made his way to campaigning in the Indianapolis 500. Working for Eddie Meyer, Senter learned about aftermarket parts and went on to open his own speed shop. Ansen Automotive specialized in selling Edelbrock parts and doing their own engine building and machine work. One of the first to bring aluminum wheels to all racers, Ansen Automotive owes it's success to Senter.

Shortly after the facility tours were completed, the festivities moved to Vic’s Garage on Madrid Avenue in Torrance, where the “Legendary Party” and twelve of automotive performance biggest legends, officially kicked the charity weekend into high gear. This gala fundraiser also launched Edelbrock’s 75th anniversary year in a way that only Hot Rod legends could… by telling stories and secrets from the past.

Parnelli Jones is one of the most recognizable names in auto racing... any type of auto racing. He is a member of over 20 Halls of Fame, and still counting, including the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, International Motorsports Hall of Fame, National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, and the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. Jones etched his name in history books after winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1963 with a car that developed a substantial oil leak late in the race.

George Follmer is one of the most versatile drivers the racing world has ever seen, having competed in, and won in every form of automobile racing. This one time team mate of Parnelli Jones counts many accomplishments including SCCA Road Racing Championship in 1965, Trans-Am Championships in 1972 and 1976, and the 1972 Can-Am Championship. Follmer was so successful in these series that people often referred to him as George-Am.

Vic’s garage houses some of the most amazing artifacts from the company, along with a collection of cars that is simply out of this world. Historic Edelbrock manifolds line the walls, one of a kind engines sit on engine stands, and trophies of every shape and size occupy shelves and stands. The walls are covered with pictures of Edelbrock’s past. From Vic Edelbrock Sr’s day at the helm and on the track to racers and Edelbrock employees that contributed to legendary feats in shaping how the automotive performance industry did business. A visit to Vic’s garage is well worth the time. Every year during the Revved Up For Kids charity car show, Edelbrock opens up the museum to the public, free of charge.

Featuring racing legends Parnelli Jones and George Follmer, customizers George Barris, Sam Foose and Gene Winfield, engine masters Ed Pink and Ed Iskenderian, merchants of speed Louie Senter and Alex Xydias, inventor Andy Brizio, the voice of speed Dave McClelland with the host Vic Edelbrock Jr rounding out the legendary “dirty dozen.”

Ed Iskenderian (the Cam Doctor) took his business from cam grinding for NASCAR's early stars and Southern bootleggers to today's market where everyone wants to be a winner. As Ed reminded everyone, "Winners use Isky Cams."

Ed Pink (The Old Master), has built winning engines for Formula 5000, Indy Cars, Midgets, Sprint Cars and Silver Crown cars. If it was an engine, Pink could build it and build it well. From Fords and Pontiacs to Nissans and Toyotas, Pink has done it. Awarded the NHRA Lifetime achievement award in 1995, Ed Pink is a member of several motorsports Halls of Fame.

Emcee Alan Taylor had his hands full as the legends started the bench racing session in high gear and continued pressing the throttle to the floorboard for the full event. Tall tales, fish stories and denials blended in with a sincere respect among the men at the head tables. Each of the legends paid respect to the others in a seemingly common understanding that they had their careers intertwined by divine intervention.

“We all got so good because we had the same guys teaching us,” said Ed Pink. “When I was having trouble with a particular engine problem, I’d call Bobby Meeks.” Alex Xydias concurred with Pink’s conclusion. “We’d call Edelbrock’s shop and talk with Meeks or Edelbrock Sr,” he said, adding “I’ve got a long list of heroes that influenced me in this business, which includes all the men up here tonight.”

Gene Winfield (King of Kustoms) has over 60 years experience in car building and custom painting. At 85 years old, Gene still puts in a full day's work everyday and looks to be in better shape than most 40-year old men today. We asked him what the secret to staying fit was. "Eat lots of red meat and put salt on everything," he responded.

Alex Xydias, the mastermind behind So-Cal Speed Shop and the So-Cal Streamliner, explained what made them all legends. "We all were calling the same guys and getting the same help. We were all calling Bobby Meeks and Vic Edelbrock Sr. That's what made us great."

We managed to round up Parnelli Jones and George Follmer for a quick chat. The normally reserved and quiet Jones is legendary for doing his talking on the track, was mingling with the crowd and his old team mate Follmer. The tandem made up one of the most feared one-two punch in sports car and Can Am racing that the sport has ever seen. “Parnelli and I were team mates, so it made it tough on the other guys. If they got by one of us, they’d still have to beat the other one,” said Follmer.  Looking into the eyes of these racers, there was still a bright light of competition that still burns deep in their soul. The piercing blue eyes of Parnelli Jones still shows the intensity that has driven these legends into the pages of history.

Car Show

The cars in Vic’s garage are incredibly awesome, and we’ve covered them on several occasions, but it seems to take extremely nice cars to bring out other exquisite custom and show cars. Such was the case on Sunday, May 6th, when the Revved Up For Kids car show began. In the Edelbrock parking lot on Madrid avenue, some of the most historic and unusual hot rods were placed in spots of honor. A special area was roped off for the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow and their Engine Challenge contest.

The avenue in front of the Edelbrock building featured a spectacular array of vintage cars blended with American muscle cars from the heyday of big power in boxy American nameplates. Streets around the facility were filled with sections for specific car types, like the Mustang corral, Mopar alley and Hot Rod heaven. Birds of a feather tended to flock together.

We took our time and walked through every side street, every alley and all of the surrounding parking lots. There were as many rare and unusual cars in the spectator parking lots as there were in the car show itself.

With 1960′s surf music pumping from the local radio station’s remote on-site trailer, the mood surrounding the event was typically Southern California hot rod laid back. The laid back attitude permeated the entire show except the area where the Hot Rodder’s of Tomorrow were conducting three rounds of the engine building competition, fighting for the best time, a winner’s trophy and scholarship prize money.

The Hot Rodder’s of Tomorrow engine building competition is contested between high school teams that properly disassemble and reassemble a small block Chevy engine. Using correct assembly procedures, the students rebuild the engine with proper torque specs in front of judges and an audience. The team completing the rebuild in the fastest time with the fewest mistakes wins.

Vic Edelbrock Jr. addresses the crowd before the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Builder's Challenge gets underway.

Engine Builder’s Challenge 

The Hot Rodder’s of Tomorrow Engine Builder got underway just after the car show’s opening ceremony ended. Round one began with teams from Katella High School (Team PRW), Southern California Regional Occupational Center (Team Moroso), Loara High School #2 (Team Magnaflow), Millikan High School #1 (Team K&N) and Calaveras High School #2 (Team DART).

Christi Edelbrock wishing the competitors good luck before their round.

The all girls team from Loara High School representing Team Magnaflow set a fast time in round one, which really surprised no one. The Loara High School teams have been a part of the program for a long time and have consistently performed very well in the challenges. Clocking in at 31:52:00, the all girls team found a large cheering section in the crowd and converted a lot of spectators into fans.

The all-girl team from Loara High School representing Team Magnaflow won the first round with an amazingly fast time.

Katella High School’s Team PRW followed next with a 41:26:00 time with Team DART’s Calaveras High School right on their heels at 59:52:00. Southern California Regional Occupational Center’s Team Moroso and Team K&N from Millikan High School rounded out the field.

Loara High School team 1, representing Team Motive Gear, finished their rebuild with a blistering fast round, winning round 2.

Round two started just prior to lunchtime, around 11:00, which seemed fitting because these kids were hungry for a challenge. The very experienced Loara High School team 1, representing Team Motive Gear, finished their rebuild and dropped spectator’s jaws with a blistering 19:11:00 time.

Calabasas High School’s Team Airaid posted a very respectable 60:13:00 with Calaveras High School Team #1 representing Team Royal Purple finishing just a couple minutes behind. Team Accel’s Rancho Alamitas High School Team #2 and  Millikan High School #2 team, Team Edelbrock, rounded out the field for this round.

Team Aeroquip's North Orange County ROP Team #1 won round 3 by clocking in at 38:09:00.

The third and final round kicked off slightly after 1:00 p.m. with North Orange County ROP Team #1 (Team Aeroquip) clocking in at 38:09:00. Team Howard’s Cam from Rancho Alamitas High School took the runner up position for the round with a 74:28:00. Team Comp Cams of Crawford High School and Team Flowmaster from Valley View High School battled the heat and each other to round out the final round.

When the scores were totalled, Loara High School Team #1 representing Team Motive Gear and the all girls team, Loara High School Team #2 representing Team Magnaflow finished first and second respectively.

Closing Down

After the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow’s award ceremony, the sun was creeping deeper into the west and the crowd of spectators started to dwindle. We wandered over to the Edelbrock trailer to see what was going on. Christi Edelbrock was already talking about next year’s Revved Up For Kids Charity car show. “This was a great show and we had such a great turnout. Every year it gets better and better. Next year… it’s going to be even bigger and better than this year,” said a beaming Edelbrock. “You just wait and see. I have big plans.”

According to Christi Edelbrock, "We have big plans. Wait and see, we have some really big plans."

Did we mention that all the proceeds from the weekend, and we do mean ALL of the proceeds, go to benefit the Center for Learning Unlimited? There is no doubt that Edelbrock LLC is committed to education. From the Revved Up For Kids Charity Events to hosting and sponsoring the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow events, the Edelbrock team has the primary education covered. When it comes time to prepare for a career and higher learning is warranted, Edelbrock’s Performance Academy has you covered there too. We can’t wait to hear what Edelbrock has planned for continuing education in the automotive performance industry.

Photo gallery from the 7th Annual Revved Up 4 Kids Charity Weekend (Click on image to enlarge):

A few weeks ago we brought you the story of Redline Motorsports record setting quarter mile run. With a blazing time of 10.32 at over 134 MPH Redline can currently say that they have the quickest ZL1 in the world. Now, after talking with the guys from Redline we have a few more details about the record setting ZL1 to share with you.

There was never any doubt that the Redline ZL1 had a few upgrades when they turned in that low 10 second pass, but what we were surprised to find out is just how relatively mild the modifications to the car really are. They started with more boost via an ATI drive pulley and an LPE supercharger pulley. A hot bumpstick from COMP helps move that extra air through the stock cylinder heads with a duration of 231/248. Bigger injectors, American Racing headers, additional capacity in the air-to-water intercooler, and a nice 3600 stall converter round out the modifications Redline performed. Sure, that’s a lot of modifications, but you’ve got to admit that there are plenty of cars running around with crazier combos that aren’t nearly as quick. Heck, the Redline ZL1 even still uses the stock exhaust from the catalytic converters back.

When all was said and done, Redline reports that their ZL1 turned out just over 650 horsepower to the rear wheels on 93 octane gas. That power level may have given them the record for now, but the ZL1 battles are just getting started, with all the top tuners developing their own ZL1 packages. In fact, Redline is using this ZL1 to develop their own “HTR-ZLR Camaro” that is slated to be packing 725 horsepower and will be available with a full warranty through Tropical Chevrolet in Florida.

The guys at Redline are telling us that 9′s are starting to look more and more like a possibility with this car. Lately their ZL1 has been cutting 60-foot times as low as 1.54. Once they get everything ironed out, who knows how fast this thing might go. Keep it tuned here for more info on the Redline ZLR’s development as it becomes available.

Almost from the very start, the Corvette has been the performance flagship for Chevrolet, showcasing the best in power, handling, and overall performance General Motors has to offer. America’s Sports Car has evolved over the years to incorporate all sorts of new technologies – some, like the C4′s digital dash are best forgotten, while others, like the LS series of modern pushrod small block V8 engines, have shown that even ideas that have been around for a long time still have plenty to offer when given a high-tech makeover.

One piece of technology, the leaf spring, dates back to long before the first automobile, and yet the modern Corvette still makes use of this hardware, albeit in a very interesting and unique way. Is the transverse composite leaf spring suspension found in the C5 and C6 Corvette really holding these cars back, or can it get the job done on the street and at the track? Here, we’ll take a look at late model ‘Vette suspension upgrades from both sides – retaining the leaf springs, or switching to a coilover setup – to help you decide for yourself.

The C5 and C6 are world-class sports cars that can hang with the best of them.

“Leaf” It Alone – Why the Corvette’s Transverse Leafs Work Just Fine

Leaf springs may have been around for a while, but the Corvette's transverse leaf spring suspension is anything but out dated. Here you can see the rear leaf that spans to both sides of the suspension, and bolts under the lower control arms on Y2K, our project C5 Corvette.

At its most basic, the C5 and C6 Corvette suspension uses upper and lower A-arms suspended by transverse leaf springs made of fiberglass. At first, many people are surprised to find out that a car as technologically advanced, and well known for its handling capabilities as the Corvette actually still uses a suspension design that was first developed for horse-drawn buggies. Leaf springs may not be new technology, but there’s no denying that they can still work very well. If they didn’t, it’s hard to believe that GM would still use them on the Chevy flagship.

This is a shot of the front. You can see the black rectangular leaf spring bolts to the top side of the lower control arms on Y2K.

Two simple mounts bolt the leaf to the suspension in both the front and rear of the C5/C6 Corvette. The compliance in the stock rubber mounting bushings can lead to "crosstalk" that actually sends some of the load from one side to the other during hard cornering.

GM chose to go with the transverse leaf spring design on the Corvette for several reasons. First, the fiberglass composite leaf springs offered a huge weight savings over both coil springs and steel leaf spring systems. When GM first used a transverse composite leaf in the C4 Corvettes that were introduced in 1981, they were able to replace a ten-leaf steel unit that weighed 41 pounds with a single composite leaf that only weighed a paltry 8 pounds. Because the composite leafs have a strength to weigh ratio five times higher than steel, they were able to achieve the same spring rates while shaving off a significant 33 pounds of un-sprung weight from the Corvette.

Here you can see the rear leaf's orientation to the rest of the suspension. An added benefit of using a transverse leaf is that C5's and C6's can fit some pretty huge meats on the rear.Just look how much room there is to spare on Y2K.

The second benefit to the transverse leaf spring suspension design is an increased roll stiffness rate, since the leaf spring somewhat acts as a sway bar (this is both good and bad, but we will get into that later). Since the transverse spring helps to control roll, C5/C6 Corvettes can use slightly smaller and lighter sway bars to achieve the same effect as a huge sway bar and coil springs. Transverse leafs also allow for a lower right height compared to coil springs that have to sit up high in a spring pocket on the frame. Lower ride height means a lower center of gravity and better handling. As an additional benefit, the composite materials used in the Corvette’s leaf springs offer more durability than steel leafs, which have a tendency to sag over time and lose their spring rate.

Without a coil spring running up to the frame, the corvette could be designed around a lower ride height. An added benefit is that the lack of coil spring pockets allows for more cargo room in the back of the Corvette.

These are all great arguments for transverse composite leaf springs on the Corvette, but the real reason why GM put leafs on the Corvette is a simple one: packaging. They just make more sense in fitting to the Corvette’s low and wide chassis. In the front of the car, using the transverse leafs eliminates the need for upper spring pockets, which keeps the hood line as low as possible, improving aerodynamics. In the rear, there simply isn’t room for a traditional coil spring independent suspension, and using a transverse leaf spring helps the late model Corvettes keep all of the rear cargo area they’ve become well known for; meaning you get to put luggage where a spring mount might otherwise be.

In the front of the car, its the same story. The lack of coil springs and tall spring pockets means the nose of the car can be kept lower, and consequently have better aerodynamics.

So, it seems that transverse composite leafs are a pretty logical choice for use in the late model Corvettes, and there is no denying that they actually work great in about 90% of the driving conditions that the average Corvette will see. But there are admittedly a few issues that can pop up when a C5/C6 is tracked really hard.

Suspension Sass – “Cross-Talk”

The stock transverse leafs work great on the street, but when driven hard on the track, there can be some drawbacks that start to pop up.

The most common issue with the stock transverse leaf springs on a car that gets driven hard is what’s called “Cross-Talk.” This refers to the fact that the Corvette’s suspension isn’t actually 100% independent since the leaf spans to both sides of the car, and connects the two sides much like sway bar. This is when we get back around to how the leaf acting like a sway bar can be a bad thing.

“The term ‘cross talk’ is really a generalized term that refers to one fact: the transverse leaf spring on a Corvettes suspension has characteristics that are similar to an anti-roll bar effect (only promoting roll potentially, in lieu of fighting it) on top of a progressive spring rate. Cross talk happens whenever the car is in roll, meaning whenever it is in a turn and the body starts to roll over the wheels, compressing the suspension. The symptoms are the spring giving a harsh ride and abrupt transitions from a neutral balance or understeer balance, to an oversteer balance, or vice versa.” Sonnen explains.

“Now take that see-saw scenario and add a second pivot point, again being clamped down say, two feet away from the first pivot point. Now, you are pushing down on one side, which makes the inside of the first pivot point want to be forced upward, which in turn wants to force the outboard side on the second pivot point downward! This is basically what you have going on with the transverse leaf spring system used on the Corvette: the right wheel gets pushed up during compression, and the left wheel gets pushed down.”

Sonnen continues, “The leaf spring reduces the true independence of the suspension, although it is still technically geometrically independent. Using the see-saw example, you can see that any deflection on one side of the leaf, like when you are in a turn and the car’s body starts to roll and compresses the suspension, will have an adverse effect on the other side of the leaf. Adding to the problem is the rising rate in the transverse leaf spring, meaning more force is required to compress it from, say 2-4 inches of bump, than 0-2 inches of bump. This can contribute to a harsh ride characteristic and tendency for abrupt transitions that Corvettes, and especially C6 Z06s, are known for.”

Z06's actually have a slightly higher spring rate than base model Corvettes, meant to work better on the track.

Suspension Tuning with Leafs

So now that we’ve identified cross-talk as a Corvette suspension tuning problem, how do we get rid of it? Well, that can be a bit of a problem in itself. Cross-talk is just an inherent problem with the design of the transverse leaf springs. But don’t be disheartened just yet. There are still a few suspension options to help you make the most of the stock transverse leaf spring system, and in most cases they can take you as fast around the track as you could ever want to go.

GM Performance T1 Leafs

The GM Performance Parts T1 suspension has been used with great success by C5 and C6 race teams in SCCA racing, where the rules require the use of a stock style suspension.

You don’t have to look far to see just how fast C5/C6 Corvettes can be with a stock-style leaf spring suspension. Just look at the success that Corvettes have had in SCCA racing. GM performance actually designed a specific suspension kit for Corvettes racing in SCCA that includes replacement leaf springs with higher spring rates, as well as new sway bars, front control arms, and shocks that is referred to as the T1 Suspension. We were able to speak with Jeff Kettman, a GM Racing Parts Manager about the stock style T1 Suspension kit.

Kettman tells us, “When the T1 kit was first developed for the C5 Corvette back in the late 90′s, the engineer that worked on it came from the Corvette production team and had a lot of knowledge about the production car development and access to the engineers there. Since the primary reason for development of the T1 kit was for SCCA racing and as such, required keeping stock configuration on items like the springs.”

He explains further, “We worked directly with the OEM suppliers and developed custom parts such as higher rate springs. We actually had our own molds made for the springs, but they use the same materials and production processes as the OEM springs, so we get all the quality control that goes into the production parts. We also worked with the production bushing suppliers to make the control arm bushings out of a harder/higher rate rubber. We did go outside to an aftermarket supplier for the anti-roll bars as they were better suited to bend the bigger diameter material necessary to get the rates required for those parts. When it came time to do the C6, we followed the same path and updated the parts as necessary.”

Rebuild it Better than Stock

If you want to keep the stock style suspension, or maybe you are looking for budget minded upgrades, there are still several suppliers that can help you put your C5/C6 in better than stock form; let’s not forget that the first C5’s are nearly 15 years old and some of those suspension components might be getting a little saggy and loose.

If you’re looking to refresh your stock parts, check out Corvette Central, where you can find all the new suspension components you’ll need for a rebuild. It’s also easy to forget that the C5 and C6 can be lowered just by changing the stock leaf spring end attachment bolts. Corvette Central sells 4-corner lowering bolt kit that can help you achieve a lower center of gravity for just $40. Now that’s bang for your buck.

It's really all about grip. The better your suspension is set up, the more grip you can extract from your tires... even in the rain.

Mid America Motorworks is another full service supplier of everything you need for your C5/C6′s suspension. In addition to selling the GMPP T1 kit, Mid America Motorworks also sells a leaf spring based suspension kit they call the Xtreme Touring Suspension kit that includes higher rate springs, specially valved Bilstein shocks, and stock replacement polygraphite control arm bushings.

In keeping with the stock-style upgrades, Pfadt offers a few options for guys who want to keep the stock leafs, but still want some adjustability in their suspension. Sonnen tells us, “We offer an adjustable inverted shock that’s a direct replacement. It has better upper and lower mounts and also has an adjustment range for the damping quality. So you could stiffen it up for the track, and soften it up for the street. Since its inverted, that means that the majority of weight is transferred to the chassis, so a bit of the weight is taken off of the control arms, and allows the suspension to react faster to changes. Also, with inverted shocks, you are taking the weight and moving it to the sprung side of the chassis, and any time you can remove unsprung weight, and anytime you can remove weight from the unsprung sections of the car – the wheels, tires, half of the control arms, half of the shock absorbers – it will allow the wheels to react faster, because the less mass you have outboard the better the whole suspension system is going to work.”

The "Traction Trio" - Your Corvette's springs, sway bars, and shocks make all the difference in its handling ability.

He goes on to say, “We also have a line of parts that we developed with long-time Corvette Racing driver,Johnny O’Connell. The Signature Line are OEM quality, million mile warranty, that are literally run on the same production line as the OEM shocks. So you get the same OEM durability, but they have the performance of our re-valving that we developed with Johnny O’Connell.”

Getting Track Ready – Stepping Up to Coilovers

When you're looking to shave every tenth of a second off your lap times, then its time to step up a set of adjustable coilovers.

Now, hopefully you get the idea that the stock leafs aren’t terrible, and that they actually work very well, so we’re ready to talk about coilovers. Coilovers can have a lot to offer on both street driven and track toy late model Corvettes. “Most of our customers at Pfadt are not building 100% full-race cars, and they want to be able to drive their cars on the street a lot,” Sonnen explains. “Another advantage to coilovers is that there is a tremendous amount to be gained in terms of ride quality because with a truly independent suspension where you can control the spring rates on each corner, you are able to eliminate many of the negative effects of the leaf springs. So with coilovers you can tune your suspension for great streetability and trackability.”

He goes on to say, “The stock suspension is great, but all of the premiere race cars will make the move to a coilover for a reason, and that is to really make the suspension fully independent, and to gain the ability to fine tune the spring rates on all four corners with an almost infinite variety of springs and rates that are available for coilovers.”

The C5/C6 Corvettes actually lend themselves to coilover swaps pretty well. Sonnen tells us, “If a C5/C6 owner is looking at possibly doing a coilover swap from stock leaf springs, it is actually a very straightforward installation. You just remove the stock leaf springs and shocks, and the coilovers bolt in right in place of your stock shocks, and then you just adjust them to your desired ride height. We typically ship our coilovers precalibrated with a ride height that is typically about three quarters of an inch lower than stock, but at the end of the day the right height is totally up to the owner’s discretion. Once you’re done, don’t forget to get the car aligned. A big benefit of coilovers is that they ultimately end up weighing a fair amount less than the stock shocks and leafs that you took off the car.”

Most full coilovers bolt in place of the stock dampers, and completely remove the transverse leafs.

Callaway tells us, ““Personally, we like the stock transverse leaf spring suspension. That’s why with our Multi-Pro R2 we developed with Eibach, we leave the leaf in place and supplement in some spring rate with the coilovers. With our coilovers, we do change the spring rates, but we only do it in small increments; like say 60 to 150 pounds per inch per axle, depending on whether you have a base model or a Z06, since the Z06’s already have slightly higher spring rates. Also, with a supplemental coilover system like the R2 that keeps the stock spring in place, the vehicle’s weight isn’t just resting on the stock shock towers that weren’t really designed to carry that much load.”

Callaway developed the Multi-Pro R2 coilover system with Eibach to supplement, and not entirely replace the Corvette's transverse leafs.

He continues, “What we really look for is a change in the damping with these cars. With the R2, we focused on the valving of the damper to tune in the characteristics we wanted it to have. We are looking to add wheel rate without the driver being able to perceive any harshness on the road, and we do that with damping. When you look at the vehicle’s mass, unsprung mass, the balance front to rear, and you can figure out your target spring rates pretty quickly. So really, the character that comes out of a suspension change really comes from the dampers, so that is where we spent most of our development time.”

Leaf it Alone, or Coil Up?

Hopefully through this article you’ve gained an appreciation for just how good the stock suspension on the C5 and C6 Corvettes actually is. It’s a typical case of “bigger isn’t always better” – just because coilovers offer the most performance in the form of a wide range of adjustability, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best option for your particular car. As with most other modifications done to your car, you need to first start with deciding exactly how the car will be used, and go from there. If you’re planning to spend the vast majority of your time on the street, then a stock style suspension will likely be enough for you, but if your Corvette will share a significant amount of time between the street and the track, the you might want to look into a set of coilovers so you can have the best of both worlds. It’s totally up to you, and how you plan on using your Corvette.

And the official 2012 Indianapolis 500 pace car is……. drum roll please……a 2013 Corvette ZR1! After waiting more than two weeks for the official announcement to be made, we just found out from GM News that the last C6 model year ZR1 will be pacing the competitors come May 27th at the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500. Clad in a 60th Anniversary-esque paint scheme, the ’13 ZR1 is the most powerful production Corvette ever produced, making it the perfect addition to Chevrolet’s lengthy list of Indy pace cars.

With Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesman Doug Boles’ announcement that the official pace car would either be a Camaro or a Corvette back in April, we expected to see either a 60th Anniversary Corvette or a brand new ZL1 on the track this summer. In an announcement made this morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 60th Anniversary Corvette was confirmed to be the winner. Well, sort of.

According to the GM News announcement, the “Corvette Pace Car features an exterior paint scheme and full body length stripe similar to that of the 60th Anniversary Package being made available on all 2013 Corvette models.” From what we can tell by the pictures, it seems that the striping on the pace car may be a bit more on the grey side than the blue of 60th Anniversary model, as well as a little lighter, although it’s difficult to tell based on the lighting. Either way, the official pace car is stunning and will go nicely with the Camaro festival cars announced last month.

“Corvette embodies pure performance, so the ZR1 is a perfect car to pace the most prestigious auto race in the world,”  Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer was quoted as saying in the GM News announcement. “Chevrolet is a great partner of the Speedway, and we share in the excitement of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the iconic Corvette brand. It’s even more meaningful to see a Chevrolet pacing the field at Indy since Chevy has returned as an engine supplier for the IZOD IndyCar Series for the first time since 2005.”

While Chevrolet will be celebrating 60 years of the Corvette with the 2013 ZR1 pace car, they will also be celebrating a milestone at Indy. This year marks the 23rd time that a Chevrolet has been used as the official pace car for the Indianapolis 500 race and the 11th time that a Corvette has paced the field. No other manufacturer or car model has paced the Indianapolis 500 race more than Chevy and the Corvette respectively.

“This is a truly momentous year for Chevrolet when it comes to performance, with our continued success on and off track, and especially with our return to the IndyCar Series, powering some of the fastest cars on the circuit,” said Jim Campbell, GM vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports in the announcement.  “I can’t think of a better way to mark the 60^th Anniversary of Corvette than having it lead the starting field of the Indianapolis 500.”

The green flag is set to drop at the 2012 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday May 27th at noon ET. Be sure to tune into the race to see the ‘13 ZR1 take center stage to start the race.

Image: CorvetteBlogger

The start of 2013 is almost here. Well, at least when it comes to the 2013 model year, and with that comes the release of the 427 Convertible, a Corvette we’re excited to see hit the road. Although pricing has been estimated to be in the Z06 range for the seventh Corvette model since its debut, nothing was confirmed until the National Corvette Museum (NCM) Bash held last week. As we found out from CorvetteBlogger, customers looking to get into a new 427 can expect to pay upwards of $76,000 for the new model, come this summer.

In a presentation at the NCM Bash, Team Corvette member Harlan Charles stated that a starting price of $75,925 has been approved for the 427 Convertible. If you’re looking for all the bells and whistles of the 60^th Anniversary 427 Convertible shown to the public back in January, however, you’re going to have to come up with a bit over $90k.

The starting price of the 427 comes as no surprise to many, falling right in line with the $75,600 base price tag of the 2012 Z06. It is, however, fairly hefty compared to the $3,513 original price of the 1953 Corvettes, but we are talking 60 years here and the most potent factory Corvette convertible ever offered.

The other insight that was revealed at the NCM Bash is that production of the 2013 model starts this week, with cars being shipped out in June. Guess you better start saving your pennies now!

For more information about the 427 Convertible walk-around that occurred at the NCM Bash, be sure to check out CorvetteBlogger.com.

Senior wouldn’t just build performance products mind you, rather he would use them himself. Three weeks before Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II, he was clocked at the speed of 121.42 mph in his ’32 at Rosamond Dry Lake. But during the war Vic Sr. would stop building performance products and used his machinist skills for the war effort.

Vic Sr.

In 1949 Vic Sr. moved into his first purpose-built shop on Jefferson Blvd. At 5,000 sq. ft. it was equipped with a small machine shop, repair bays, engine dynamometer, a small stock room and office space. Throughout the 1950′s Vic Sr. would continue to set speed records and the Edelbrock name flourished.

But in 1962, at the age of 49, Vic Sr. would sadly pass away from cancer. His name and company would be passed on through his 27 year old son Vic Edelbrock Jr. Flash forward to 2011, and the Edelbrock name has become one of the most recognizable names within the performance industry. Their distribution center alone now covers over 65,000 feet.

Recently we got the opportunity to sit down and talk with the 76 year old Vic Edelbrock Jr about a variety of topics:

powerTV: Your father started the Edelbrock name, but what kind of man was he? How did he influence you and your work ethic?

Vic Edelbrock: “(laughing) Ha, well he would only say it once, and you better take note of what he said. He was German and he was very well liked by everybody, if he liked you then you had a real friend. He passed away at the age of 49 in 1962, I was fortunate because of the friends he had were really loyal to me, and really helped me get through that period.

He had an excellent mind for automotive engines. He only went to school to the ninth grade, because his fathers grocery store burnt down in Kansas, and he had two older brothers and they all had to go to work to support the family. But my father read a lot, he read a lot of books about the internal combustion engine.

A lot of his automotive experience came from the farmers who would buy a model-T, and they would want someone to pick it up for them and bring it to their farms. Of course there were no highways, there was just “dirtways”, so parts would just fall off the Model-T because of the roads. He was forced to be mechanically inclined to pick up the pieces and put them back together. So that was the start of him being able to work with his hands.”

PTV: Your father was very involved within dirt track racing, specifically midget racing, how did he get involved in dirt track racing?

Vic: ”When everybody came back from overseas, people wanted to see cars race. Because midget racing was going on before the war, it just continued after the war. You could go opening day to Balboa Stadium in San Diego where the Chargers use to play football, and if you won opening night which was always on memorial day weekend, you might come home with $15,000 in your pocket. The stadium would hold 32,000 and they would sell every seat.

My father got into midget racing before the war, then after the war he bought a regular car that had a frame rail in it that they called a “rail job”. Then Frank Kurtis designed a modern midget that was a very good looking car, that we happen to have it, and it is fully restored back to it’s original condition. My dad bought it new in 1946, it was number 7 of the Kurtis Kraft machines.

Midget Racing really grew out of Southern California, then moved to northern California before it moved to west. He eventually moved to racing Jalopy’s because more people wanted to see more cars crash. And if you raced a midget, you didn’t want to crash your midget because of how expensive it was to repair it.”

Edelbrock still has the original Ford V8 Kurtis Kraft Midget

PTV: Yeah well that and if you crashed back then, your chances of walking away were very slim.

Vic: ”Oh of course, they only had a lap belt. And then you had drivers like Rex Mays who didn’t believe lap belts. He was killed at Del Mar which was a horse racing track back then. But there is a photo of him that you can find where he’s upside down and he’s coming out of the car. It’s a really scary sight.”

PTV: How did your father come up with the idea to use the Flathead Ford?

Vic Sr. with Vic Jr.

Vic: “Well, it was never built as a performance engine. Obviously, it was built for low cost. In 1919-20 Henry (Ford) was making 2 million cars a year. So, he was busy making parts!

I don’t know how my father exactly came up with idea. I do know that he bought the ’32 roadster, that was the family car, I was born in ’36, and he bought that around the same time. It had a flat head in it, and of course he started playing with that. At the time everyone was using the 4-cyclinder inline Chevrolet engine. They really turned their nose down on the flathead.

I don’t know why he picked it up, obviously he probably didn’t like the idea of the 4-cylinder and wanted more cylinders and his only V8 option at the time would of been the Flathead Ford

Three weeks before Pearl Harbor, my dad had a roadster that almost went 122 mph. They didn’t have cylinder heads back then, Ford made a small combustion chamber engine design for cars sold in Denver and high altitudes to get a little more performance out of them. My dad would take those and screw around with the combustion chamber, and he ended up using methanol because he could get the compression up.

But when he went 122 (mph) people forget that the right hand would be on the steering wheel, but the left hand would be through the steering wheel pumping on a pressure pump. We still have that car.”

PTV: Really? How many cars do you have at Vic’s garage right now?

Vic: “Oh, probably around 35.”

PTV: Is their one car that stands out above the rest?

Vic: “My Dad’s roadster is everything, but the midget also means a lot. It has the original trailer, and my dad used to tow it with a Woody. Which my wife always wanted one of her own, so we bought one and restored it. Now we have the original midget, trailer, and a restored Woody which really mean a lot.”

PTV: Speaking of racing, Edelbrock is extremely well known throughout the performance industry, but it seems like the past 5 years Edelbrock has been focusing a lot of time at the motorsports arena.

Vic: “We have, mainly in the cylinder heads. When we started our cylinder head program back in 1992, I didn’t get in to the racing stuff where everyone was, instead I got into street performance. But we have really put an effort over the past 5 or 6 years to build strictly race application cylinder heads. A year ago at PRI we also introduced a brand new manifold design, which set the record books and we feel that the industry has changed because of it. We have the capabilities to make some very complicated pieces, and ensure that there is no shrinks or pulls in the castings.

Also, we are very fortunate to have Dr. Rick Roberts who studied at Cal Tech, and actually went to work for IBM when he got out of school. But luckily he was a car guy, and he couldn’t get away from the car industry. We’ve had a lot of fun over the years and are continuing to have a lot of fun.”

PTV: What is Edelbrock’s involvement with the new NASCAR EFI System? 

Vic: “Our manifolds have all been changed, but NASCAR mandates where all the nozzles are placed on the manifold. We are already the official manifold of NASCAR, and while we are still making our manifolds, we are not on any Fords this year. But we are on Toyotas, GM, and Dodges.

We are the only independent manifold manufacturer that has been approved for NASCAR use outside of the OE manufactures. We are really proud of that. A lot of teams are still manufacturing the manifolds in-house, but what they are finding is that we can do it at almost half the cost.”

PTV: We got to listen to Dr. Rick Roberts at this year’s AETC and he said that he still uses a CAD system when designing cylinder heads. But he said it was amazing to think that 30 years ago we were doing this with a T-square. What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the manufacturing process during your time building the Edelbrock name?

The biggest thing that has happened to the manufacturing process is the entire CNC process. It has allowed us to make cylinder heads at 1/3 the cost if we didn’t have these machines, and as of right now, we have over 90 CNC machines.

We are also vertically integrated so that everything is under one roof. We have very sophisticated equipment to measure our aluminum and make sure that it doesn’t have gas in it. Aluminum is the most gas filled metal there is, and you have to get that gas out of there. We closely monitor that and keep it in check.”

PTV: What advice would you have for someone that is wanting to work within the performance market, and become someone like Dr. Rick Roberts?

Vic: ”It depends on what their knowledge is, if they are a real gearhead, and know cars then they might not have to go to school. But if you’re not, and you need a little education, then I suggest you go to the various schools out there. Edelbrock is involved with the Ohio Technical College, which has the Edelbrock academy. They teach about using Edelbrock products, and how it can mean a job for you.

There is a real need for installers and programers across the country, but you need the education. Some of the schools like NTI, or Wyotech have great job placement aids also. Having the education really helps put you to the next level, take cylinder heads and camshafts, how many people know what overlap really is?

You take the camshaft, manifolds, cylinder heads, and that’s your induction system. That’s what’s responsible for NASCAR going from a 355 engine, say 20 years ago that only put out 650 horsepower to a 355 that puts out 900 horsepower today.”

Vic Edelbrock Jr. today

PTV: Speaking of NASCAR, one last question for you, what’s the biggest problem facing NASCAR today? What do you think needs to change?

Vic: Ha, well the restrictor plate!… I think right now, the racing at Daytona looks like two grasshoppers mating! I was very upset when I saw the first race at Daytona, I made a phone call to Jerry Cook of NASCAR who is a close friend of ours. When he called me back, after a couple of days I said, “what in the hell are you doing!” I mean this is ridiculous.

But now they are feeling it even more from the public. The public doesn’t like it, the racing is very boring. So I think they have to make some changes to where they are able to go back and draft the proper way, three or four in a line. The cars need more power to be able to slingshot like they did back in the old days. It might mean smaller engines.

Daytona is the biggest race of the year, when people watch it now, people fall asleep in the middle of the race. Once they bring that around, I think that will help improve not only Daytona and Talladega, which helps the whole atmosphere.”

At 76 years-old, Vic Jr. shows no signs of slowing down. For that matter, neither does Edelbrock as a company. 2012 is shaping up to be another great year for the historic company, and with a ton of new products for the performance and motorsports markets, it might be a year they soon don’t forget.

GM has finally announced pricing information on the 2013 Cadillac ATS, and the Bimmer-fighter starts at $33,990. That undercuts the ATS’s main competition, the base BMW 3-series, by $910. But the real question seems to be will buyers respond to Cadillac’s attempts to fight the Germans with the Germans’ own tactics?

The 2013 Cadillac ATS gets a base 200 horsepower 2.5 liter naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder engine at the base price. Stepping up to the 2.0 liter, 270 horsepower turbo four-banger will cost you at least $35,775, and opting for the top-of-the-line 312 horsepower 3.6 liter V6 will empty your wallets of at least $42,090.

Cadillac doesn’t really have the best history when it comes to smaller luxury cars (see Cimarron, Catera), but GM has also never invested as much into making a Cadillac model into a true luxury performer, and it could be a look at the very future of GM performance cars to come.

So, can GM beat “ze Germans” at their own game? Will undercutting the BMW 3-Series by almost a grand make a difference? The ATS has a mighty steep mountain to climb, but we think it has the right tools to make the ascension. Do you?

Image: GM

It seems that lately the 5th Gen Camaro has become the Give-Away car of choice, and lucky for you, there are seven sweepstakes currently going on across the country that could award you with that very prize. As we found out from Sweepstakes Advantage, your chances of winning either a V6 or a V8 Camaro are already getting better and better. The best part is that each of these sweepstakes is easy to enter and won’t cost you a dime.

Seize the Keys Camaro Sweepstakes

Your first chance to win a Camaro is the Seize the Keys Sweepstakes being put on in correspondence with the GM Military Discount program. Of course, because it’s being offered along side the military discount, you have to be an active-duty, reserve or retired service member of the United States military.

The Camaro being offered in this sweepstakes is a 2013 2LT with all features determined by GM. There is also a chance to win one of one hundred $100 gas gift cards if your branch of the military has the most amount of shares on Facebook. This sweepstakes goes through September 14th. For full details and to enter, visit Gmmilitarydiscount.com.

Armor All- Show Us What Life Did to Your Car

Image: Armor All

No matter what you drive, life happens, causing dirt, grime, and unfortunately, damage to build up on your car. That’s exactly why you should enter to win the Camaro from the Show Us What Life Did to Your Car Sweepstakes from Armor All.

The car up for grabs is a 2012 Camaro SS autographed by renowned race car driver Tony Stewart. The grand prize also comes with a $14,595.55 check to cover the taxes on the Camaro, so it really is free.

All you have to do to enter is upload a picture or video of what life has done to your vehicle to the Armor All Facebook page and wait for the drawing at the beginning of July. In the meantime, you could win one of 100 Armor All Complete Car Care Kits.

Castrol Protect Your Ride Sweepstakes

Castrol is also jumping on the sweepstakes wagon, offering a 2012 Camaro prize in their Protect Your Ride Sweepstakes. As you know from our previous story on this giveaway, the car is just a base model V6, but if it’s free, you can’t really complain.

To enter, go to Castrol’s website and punch in your email address, fill out the remaining contact information. The drawing will take place August 12th.

Image: BlakeKoch.com

Pioneer Solutions Inc. Rise Up and Register Sweepstakes

Rise Up and Register was started to promote voting among NASCAR race fans. According to the Rise Up and Register website, over half of race fans didn’t vote in the last election, so they are encouraging the NASCAR nation to have their voices heard for the presidential election later this year. In doing so, they are offering anyone that joins Rise Up and Register a chance to win the official 2012 Rise Up and Register promotional V6 Camaro.

In order to be eligible to win the Camaro, all you have to do is register on the Rise Up and Register website or Text “USA” to 41600.

This Camaro isn’t a new car, but gently used for promotional purposes, and this sweepstake goes through December 15th.

Wilton American Muscle Sweepstakes

Just recently we told you that the National Corvette Museum was raffling off an Imperial Blue Camaro. Now’s your chance to win one. While it’s not a 2012 ZR1, Wilton Tools is giving away an Imperial Blue  2011 Camaro SS complete with the 6.2L V8 engine.

Entering to win is as easy as filling out an entry form on the Wilton website. You can also enter the Holding Strong Vise Story Contest from Wilton which allows you to be eligible to receive a C-Clamp ARV and win $5,000 worth of Wilton merchandise. The drawing for the Camaro SS and the Holding Strong Vise Story Contest will take place on September 30th.

Image: ChevyDrivesChicago.com

Blackhawks Themed Camaro Sweepstakes

If you’re a Chicago Blackhawks fan, this sweepstakes is the one for you. By registering with ChevyDrivesChicago.com, you can win a 2012 Chicago Blackhawks themed Camaro complete with customized paint scheme, grill, interior and decals.

This sweepstakes only goes through June 30th with the drawing being held July 10th, so you have to act quickly to get your name into the drawing. Even if you aren’t a Blackhawks fan, you could claim the prize and turn the car into a pretty cool custom project.

Amp Energy/Dale Jr. Camaro Giveaway

The seventh sweepstakes going on with a Camaro prize we told you about last week. Make sure to go to Amp Energy’s Facebook page for your chance to win the 2012 45th Anniversary Camaro SS.

Best of luck to all you entrants out there, and if any of our readers win one of these fantastic Camaro prizes, we definitely want to hear about it.

Car modifications come in all shapes and sizes. Where some enthusiasts would be content with adding some interior details, a little bit of power or a spiffy new paint job to their cars, JCG Restorations & Customs in Oxnard, California offered Karl Dunn the complete package- a first-gen Camaro so unique that it would take hours to pour over all its details.

Dubbed Blu Balz, “Because it’s blue and you have to have a pair of stones to drive it,” owner of JCG Restorations & Customs Cris Gonzalez told us in a phone interview, the ‘68 Camaro is the epitome of a muscle car enthusiast’s wet dream. In talking with Gonzalez, we could tell that the car was more than just modified sheet metal and boosted power, however. It was built with passion, the type of which you might see crawl over the face of a child on their first visit to Disney Land.

We first heard about Blu Balz through the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association. One look at the pictures and we knew we had to know more, so we contacted Gonzalez to give us the scoop on the immense build project. So what all did JCG do to the car? “Everything and anything,” according to Gonzalez.

After Dunn, a Tennessee resident, found JCG Restorations & Customs all the way across the country on Lateral-G.net, he had the car delivered to Gonzalez to begin what would turn out to be the car of both men’s dreams in just 14 months.

JCG Restorations & Customs took customization to a whole new level with Blu Balz. From a custom billet grill to a custom billet tail panel, this first-gen Camaro has a personality like no other. Images: Cris Gonzalez

Stretched on all four corners, the Camaro shares a unique stance with old-school Trans-Am racers. “I’m a big fan of the Penske Trans Am car,” Gonzalez told us, giving the car a theme to pursue.

With practically everything done in-house, JCG equipped the car with a custom spoiler and custom billet grill, adding touches like flush mount taillights in a custom billet tail panel and moving the signal lights into the headlights for the perfect aesthetic personality.

If you were to try to count how many one-off components JCG made for the Camaro, you’d be counting for days.

The modern Corvette Z06 Jet Stream Blue exterior paint is complimented by a carbon fiber hood, cowl panel and header panel.The car even has tow hooks in the front, paying homage to the racers of yesteryear.

“We followed the rendering exactly,” Gonzalez said regarding the original car design drawn by Ben Hermance.

While the body modifications and sheet metal work are enough to win this Camaro awards, it is backed by the ultimate pro-touring powerhouse. Roaring to the tune of 600hp, the QMP Racing Engines-built LS7 V8 boasts JCG Dry Sump and Accessory Drive systems, and Detroit Speed Engineering (DSE) headers. Harnessing the 600 ponies is a T56 transmission and a clutch from Advanced Clutch Technology. Surprisingly, the Camaro is easily serviceable, a major factor in building the car how it is, according to Gonzalez.

Underneath the car you’ll find a complete DSE suspension system matched with a Moser 9-inch rearend and Wilwood brakes. This setup ensures that the Forgelines wrapped in Nito rubber get all the oomph and stopping power they could want.

The Camaro is also equipped with a custom JCG exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers, making sure the car has just as much bark as it does bite.

The interior of the Camaro was also reworked by JCG. “I like the ‘70 Trans Am feel,” said Gonzalez, so he molded the interior accordingly. In addition to work by Eric Thorsen Custom Upholstery, the interior of the Camaro features Pro-Parts and Spek gauges, as well as a custom dash and console with billet inserts created by JCG.

“I was lucky to have a customer who allowed me to make the car as nice and add as much detail as I wanted,” said Gonzalez. “I probably added 10 times the details as originally planned.”

The result is the one-of-a-kind Camaro you see here, dressed to impress with the goods to keep you coming back for more. “The car compliments the vision of what we can do at the shop,” said Gonzalez. “I got the freedom to build the car that I had always envisioned.”

And if one of these bad boys wasn’t enough, Gonzalez and Dunn have plans of building a second Camaro just like it.

Anything that didn’t make it into the first car will be on the second, giving the now friends something to play around with that’s a little lighter, fully caged and with more carbon fiber.

Debuted at the Las Vegas SEMA Show last year, Blu Blaz is only starting its pro-touring journey. Set to be shipped out to Tennessee in the next couple weeks, the Camaro will see plenty of pro-touring and autocross events this year, including a stint at the 15^th Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio in July as well as an appearance at the Popular Hot Rodding Shootout that follows. Keep your eyes peeled at your local pro-touring events, because if Blu Balz is in town, you won’t want to miss your chance to check it out.

Tim Pak, one of the organizers of the Cadillac Challenge Series tells us, “The event organizers decided it would be a good idea to have Round 3 setup as a non-points exhibition round in the middle of MFest. The idea was to increase exposure to a different market segment and to help change the perspective of what some people think Cadillac V-Series cars really are…and it worked!” He added, “There was a mutual admiration and respect for what each brand of vehicle was able to show on the track. If anything this event was encouraging for all gear heads, as both brands are adequately represented by their respective super tuners.”

In the C1 Class Steve Collins in his matte-black 2012 CTS-V handily took the victory with a fastest lap of 2:09.642, Collin’s time was just over two-and-a-half seconds faster than the next closest competitor, David Little in his 1st Gen CTS-V. It should be noted that both of these cars, dispite running in the “stock” class, where mild modifications are allowed, were running some of the best times in Vegas.

Moving on to the C2 Modified Class, JR Renick piloted the D3/Renick “Battlewagon” CTS-V wagon against Team Special K and their D3 prepped 2010 CTS-V. Current C2 points leader Alan Cohen, was absent from Vegas and will also be missing the next few events, leaving the field wide open. The Renick CTS-V wagon edged out a narrow victory with a time of 2:15.721 over Team Special K thanks in part to heavy traffic from the BMWs circling the track at the same time.

The C3 Unlimited Class is always a favorite and they didn’t disappoint in Vegas. The D3 Legionnaire and Team HeaVyweight’s CTS-V both came to the track with a few new modifications and were playing to win. In early sessions both cars posted fastest laps of 2:08.5, and were separated by just 0.04 seconds. During the middle of the heated battle, D3 had to break away to participate in a “Tuner Showdown” against the BMWs. After placing a respectable 6th in the showdown, D3 came back to the Challenge Series and cracked off the fastest lap of the entire weekend – a blistering 2:07.704, which firmly put them in the winner’s circle yet again.

The Cadillac Challenge Series will continue with Round 4 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. If you’re interested in running your late-model Caddy in the Challenge Series, visit the official website here for all the info on how to register. Also, be sure to check out the Vegas gallery below and recap video.

And, starting May 4th at a cost of $76,300, lucky South Koreans will be able to buy the Vette straight from their local Chevrolet dealership.

Even though South Korea is a thoroughly developed country with the same modernities that we enjoy in the North America, they are merely Asia’s fourth-largest automobile market. Chevrolet hasn’t had a large presence there – most of them have been rebadged Daewoos – but availability of American Chevrolets will be expanding due to a free trade agreement signed by South Korea and the US. The Corvette Coupe is the most recent car to benefit from the more open trade arrangement.

The Coupe may be the lowliest of Corvettes, but it’s plenty of car with enough hair on its chest. Chevrolet’s site shows it comes standard with a 430-horse 6.2-liter all-aluminum V-8 capable of 0-60 in 4.2 seconds and achieves a remarkable 26 MPG on the highway. A six-speed automatic can be opted in place of the six-speed manual. Other standard items are leather seating surfaces, 3.42 gears, 18-inch front/19-inch rear five spoke silver wheels, variable-ratio power steering, and removable roof panel, among others. Why the Convertible, Grand Sport, Z06, or ZR1 won’t be available in South Korea is beyond me, but chances are the Coupe will be enough for the Korean denizens for the time being.

It remains to be seen if the Corvette will enter the North Korean market, but don’t hold your breath.

Autoblog reports that Savage unveiled a new, track-going version of the Roadyacht called the GTR, and it makes due with a turbocharged 6.2 liter V8 cranking out a stump-pulling 700 horsepower. Savage Rivale has been making powerful “Roadyachts” for a few years now, but this latest creation took the stage at the famed Top Marques show in Monaco. With the 700 horsepower 6.2 liter turbocharged V8 under the hood, Savage claims the GTR can go from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds, quicker than it took you to read this sentence.

The top speed of the Savage GTR is an estimated 234 mph, faster than everything save a handful of hyper-exotics. And none of those are convertible 4-door supercars, like the GTR is. Oh, did we forget to mention that it is a hardtop convertible? Ya, that’s pretty damn awesome if you ask us…who doesn’t want to feel the wind in their face at 200 mph?

Images: Autoblog

It wasn’t until late last month that GM finally got around to trademarking their prized SS moniker, surprising since the SuperSport designation has been around over 50 years. Of course, this brought plenty of speculation from automotive news sources across the country, including our own. But thanks to a recent entry on Car & Driver’s blog, we don’t have to guess at GM’s antics any longer. It seems that GM will in fact be offering a civilian version of the Chevrolet Caprice PPV for 2013 under the SS designation. A civilian police car? We’re game!

Image: NetCarShow.com

The new SS sedan will be built on the Zeta platform, the favorite rear-wheel-drive platform used by GM for vehicles such as the Camaro, GM Australia’s Holden Ute, and a Chinese Buick Park Avenue. Before Zeta II, a more flexible, light-weight platform is released for 2015, GM will produce two more Zeta-based cars for the American market. If your local government allows their vehicles to be imported, you may have already seen one of these Zeta cars: the Chevrolet Caprice PPV. However, because some localities don’t allow their government vehicles to be assembled anywhere but the United States, the most recent Chevy police car may not be available in your area just yet.

The other Zeta-based car GM has come up with is set to hit the market for 2013. Based on the PPV, the new four-door sedan will join Chevy’s long list of SS vehicles.

Carrying the SuperSport designation, the new car will more than likely be powered by the 6.2L V8 out of the current Camaro SS, with a less potent V6 version expected to be available after the car’s initial launch. There will also be a SuperSport-based 2013 Chevy NASCAR entry.

Come 2015, both the SuperSport and Caprice PPV will move over to the new Zeta II platform. Production of the two models will shift to the United States at that time, making the Caprice PPV available to more local governments. Discussions are also being had regarding the possibility of a sport wagon and Ute pickup truck being added to the lineup come 2015.

 AMP Energy, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 7-11 have all teamed up to bring you the chance to win your very own 2012 45^th Anniversary Camaro, and this isn’t one of those lousy V6 models either. The $38,200 2SS Coupe boasts the same 426-horsepower V8 engine found in the regular 2SS with added Carbon Flash Metallic exterior, two-tone special 45^th Anniversary hood and decklid striping, 20-inch Deep Silver wheels, 45^th Anniversary sill plates and HID headlamps.

This special Camaro is being offered in correspondence with the release of AMP Energy’s new drinks, and to promote the new drink line Earnhardt is hosting the “AMP Energy Inside Track”, a video series that takes a look at some of the things that go into preparing his AMP Energy car for the track. Each day of the week brings a new video showcasing one component of racing and a specially designed AMP Energy item that corresponds with the race preparations. The special items range from hats and t-shirts, to travel bags and coolers.

Winning one of these items is as simple as texting in the code featured on the Big Energy AMP Energy display at your area 7-11, and you’ll also be entered to win the Camaro. According to the official rules found on AMP Energy’s Facebook page, 1,300 prize items will be awarded in seven different entry periods with the winner of the 45^th Anniversary Camaro drawn on June 1^st. You only have until May 31^st to get your entry in for the Camaro, so act fast. Visit your local 7-11 and text in the code. You’ll be entered to win the 45^th Anniversary Camaro and might even pick up some cool AMP Energy swag in the meantime.

We are used to hearing navigators talk rally racers through the tight corners and unforgiving trails that they have to navigate. Having both Pilgrim and O’Connell give us turn-by-turn instructions on navigate us through a nationally known track like Miller Motorsports Park is a rare treat. While it won’t make you into a race car driver over night, those weekend warriors who do race at Miller might pick up a few tips and tricks.

You’d do right to listen to both Cadillac drivers, as they did a fine job on the track this past weekend. O’Connell managed to finish in second place, and Pilgrim took fourth after the third spot was snatched from him. Even so, O’Connell still has a comfortable first place-overall standings so far, with Pilgrim trailing second overall. They are still sitting pretty, though the season is far from over.

If you’re a fan of high-performance domestics but aren’t a fan of Pace Performance on Facebook, you should be. You get access to company information like Pace’s mission and description, as well as photos of car shows they’ve attended and event announcements.

Pace also posts special deals and highlights products for their Facebook fans a few times a week. This is especially handy if you’re building a high-performance vehicle and want to get the best deals on the quality components you need.

Social media is all about connecting with people and Pace Performance’s Facebook fan page also provides a forum for that. Ten years ago, if you wanted to connect with your favorite companies, you had to constantly be searching their website or call them up on the phone.

Thanks to Facebook, now you can get all the information, updates and access to these companies in one location, not to mention an easy way to interact with other company fans across the country.

Pace Performance thinks of their customers as family, and it shows in the company’s service, selection and speed of transactions. There’s nothing worse than having to order parts from several different sources to complete your build, talking to someone on the other end of a tech line that doesn’t know anything about what they’re selling, or waiting weeks for your parts to ship, let alone get to you. Pace Performance understands this and prides themselves on having knowledgeable staff, fast friendly service and a complete selection of performance components.

Haven’t tried Pace Performance for your domestic vehicle needs yet? Check them out on Facebook and see what they’re all about. Chances are you’ll like them so much that you won’t trust any other source for your performance needs again.

Promoted by Mid America Motorworks, mail-order purveyors of all things Corvette, DYCTWD was launched in 2001  and is a way to promote the love of America’s Sports Car by actually getting out and enjoying yours in an everyday setting, instead of keeping it garaged and only bringing it out on special occasions.

“We understand why many owners consider their Corvette to be a special car and only drive it occasionally,” said Mike Yager, founder and “Chief Cheerleader” of Mid America Motorworks. “But we think driving your Corvette to work, at least one day a year, is an excellent way to demonstrate just how popular Corvettes are. And it is a chance for Corvette owners to meet new Corvette owners.”

To find out more about Drive your Corvette to Work Day, check out Mid America Motorworks’ website, and be ready to send off some high-res digital photos of your own Corvette at work on 6/29…

From what we understand, there never was a Chevy Tahoe SS, though that didn’t stop the aftermarket from offering various looks and performance packages to turn a family hauling into a race truck. The 6.2 liter V8 is well supported already, so strapping a supercharger to the big-displacement V8 is sure to crank up the volume in terms of power.

But that’s only the start. Other modifications include alcohol injection, a Comp Cams camshaft, LT headers, and 4:10 gears out the rear. Hence why this almost three-ton beast of an automobile is able to spring down the ¼ mile in less time than most muscle cars. Gas mileage? Who cares…you’ll never be late for soccer practice again.

Husted's G8/Commodore. Images: JMR Visuals

Seldom in the automotive press do you ever get to hear about what happens to former feature cars that a magazine previously ran a story on. Some pop up here and there at car shows or on random enthusiast websites, while others disappear into the pages of history, leaving the readers wondering what ever happened to that sexy hot rod they fell in love with oh so long ago.

Well not that far back in history, two months to be exact, we featured Tony Husted’s ’08 Pontiac G8 GT turned Holden Commodore SSV. To say that Tony’s car is one of a kind would be an understatement, as his “Commodore” produces a not-too-shabby 584hp to the rear tires.

This fortified brute force comes courtesy of not an artificially enhanced 6-liter, but a reworked naturally aspirated 427-stroker LS3. Sporting all of the best hardware he could get his hands on, Tony took the “no expense spared” approach to building this monster and it shows. It is hands down, the most impressive G8 we have ever seen.

Well Tony contacted us last night to tell us his pride and joy is currently up for grabs via eBay. The auction listing shows plenty of great pictures and goes into quite a bit of detail to help Husted unload the Pontiac to make way for a possible new toy. He admits that the Buy It Now price of $37,500 is actually quite a deal –especially since he has over $80k wrapped up in the project itself.

What’s Tony looking to replace this with? He wants to keep things on the low, but he admits that it starts with a “C” and ends with a “V.” However, he has no problem hanging onto the G8 since it ultimately didn’t sell in the auction with the reserve price unmet, considering it’s the car that granted him national exposure, after all.

The team took two new ZL1’s with them to the drag strip; both an automatic and a manual. At the track they bolted up a set of 18” Mickey Thompson drag radials on Z06 wheels to the silver automatic trans car, and a stet of 20” Nitto drag radials on stock ZL1 wheels to the red manual trans ZL1. However, all we are told about the times is that racers using drag radials on the ZL1 will likely find themselves running faster than 11.49, at which point the NHRA mandates a 5-point roll cage must be installed. So, they say that the high 11-second time slips were created with the ZL1′s stock Goodyear tires.

In the end, the silver automatic ZL1 ran the best time of the two, with an 11.93 at 116.95 MPH. The red manual transmission car was just a tick behind with an 11.96 at 117 MPH. Tony Roma, Camaro ZL1 Program Engineering Manager said after the test, “The ZL1 is great at everything and we’re very proud of that. You can take it to the drag strip and run 11-second quarter-miles all day long. You can also take it to a road course, where it’s balanced, handles well, and does exactly what you want – including lapping Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course in under three minutes – and yet the ZL1 is sophisticated enough to use as a daily driver. It’s a supercar you can drive every day.”

If you want to set your eyes on some of the country’s hottest examples of American Muscle then all you need to do is head out to a Goodguys car show. Goodguys events are absolutely crawling with high-end hot rods, both old and new. This custom 2011 Camaro SS owned by California resident Stewart Weissman, won the Goodguys’ Standard of Excellence award for newer cars at their Del Ray event late last fall. This gold-skinned hottie is a prime example of the type of bad-ass modern hot rod you’re sure to see at any Goodguys’ show.

Weissmann had already built several early Camaros, including a 1,000 horsepower 1969 model, so when the 5th Gen Camaros made their debut he knew it wasn’t a matter of “if” he was going to build one, but rather a question of “when” and “how”. Weisman tells us, “I was already in the process of buying a new Camaro when I went to the 2010 SEMA show. That’s where I saw one of the custom 5th Gens at Tommy Z Design’s booth. I started talking with the owner, Tommy Zondervan, and I knew he was the one I wanted to handle the build on my 5th Gen.”

Once Weissman took delivery of his new black 2011 SS, it was almost immediately shipped to Tommy Z Design’s shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan where it underwent a complete transformation over the course of three months at the hands of Zondervan. The most obvious changes are to the body, where the modifications come from a mix of aftermarket components and custom pieces designed for the car by Zondervan. The front and rear fenders were modified for a bit for a subtle wide-body effect and the whole car was covered in several coats of Antique Gold Metallic from PPG.

The distinctive wheels are one-off’s from USW Forged, in 21×10.5 in the front and 21×12 in the rear. A set of Pirelli P-Zero tires in 245/35/21 and 295/30/21 cover those big rollers. The best thing about this wheel and tire package is that it gives the car the modern “big-wheel” look, without taking it to a tacky extreme.

The Gold Camaro’s modifications aren’t just skin deep – it’s got plenty of performance to back up its aggressive looks. Flip open the hood to the front (Corvette style) and you’ll find an Edelbrock E-Force Supercharger bolted to the top of the stock LS3 engine. The Edelbrock “aluminum-lung” easily bumps the power output up into the 500 horsepower range, while one of Maganflow’s quad-tip center exit exhaust systems let everyone know the car has arrived.

Weissman tells us, “Everyone loves it. I’ve never had a car that everyone universally loves the way they do this new Camaro.” He jokingly adds, “Even my wife likes it.”

Except not really. Leave it up to the guys at Lingenfelter to prove that the Camaro ZL1 can, and will, keep up with the 2013 Shelby GT500. With Lingenfelter’s horsepower packages bumping power anywhere from 630 to 720 ponies, the Camaro ZL1 has already already broken that 200 mph, as we initially reported a few days ago.

It took Lingenfelter just days after taking delivery of the ZL1 to get it out on the track, already strapped with a host of power-increasing goodies. A LPE GT9 camshaft gets more out of the motor, and supercharger speed is increased thanks to a 5% overdriven bottom pulley and 2.3 top pulley. CNC-ported cylinder heads and a custom air filter help the LPE-tuned ZL1 make 720 horsepower and 650 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels.

All this was done in two weeks, after which LPE took their newly-tuned Camaro ZL1 out to Muncie Dragway in Albany, Indiana. In the quarter-mile, the LPE Camaro ZL1 turned a 10.79 at 134.36 mph. Now, just a few days ago Hot Rod Editor-In-Chief David Freiburger managed to take the LPE ZL1 up to 202.67 mph, at the at the Continental Tire Uvalde Proving Grounds in Uvalde, Texas.

That’s near enough the same top speed claimed by the 2013 Shelby GT500 for us.

In other words, it’s on.

Check out Lingenfelter’s full Press Release below.

DECATUR, Ind. – Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE) has demonstrated their high-horsepower expertise once again, becoming the first to exceed 200 mph in a new 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Driven by HOT ROD magazine Editor-in-Chief David Freiburger, the Lingenfelter-tuned ZL1 Camaro hit 202.67 mph at the Continental Tire North America, Inc. Uvalde Proving Grounds in Uvalde, Texas on April 30, 2012.

“The Lingenfelter crew couldn’t be more excited to make history as the first 2012 ZL1 Camaro to exceed 200 mph, and to celebrate this victory on the heels of becoming the first company to run a ZL1 in the 10s,” said Ken Lingenfelter, owner, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. “We are very proud to have David drive our car and to share in this accomplishment with HOT ROD magazine, an icon in the world of speed and high-performance vehicles.”

On April 18 – just two weeks after taking ownership of one of the first production ZL1 Camaros available to the public – Lingenfelter powered their ZL1 Camaro to its first record run in the 10s, making an impressive 10.79 quarter-mile pass at 134.36 mph at Muncie Dragway in Albany, Ind.

LPE engineers used their expertise to modify the ZL1 Camaro with a Lingenfelter GT9 camshaft; CNC ported cylinder heads; an increased supercharger speed thanks to a 2.3 top pulley and a 5% overdriven bottom pulley; a custom air intake with LPE’s race mesh filter; Continental ExtremeContact(tm) DW tires and production ZL1 wheels. The LPE-tuned ZL1 makes 720 HP and 650 lbs. ft. of torque at the rear wheels.

Lingenfelter offers enthusiasts three supercharger upgrade packages – producing 630 HP to 700 HP – for the 6.2L ZL1 Camaro engine, delivering substantial improvements over the factory 580 HP and 556 lbs. ft. of torque while maintaining a safe level of boost and supercharger RPM. The LPE ZL1 Camaro Supercharger System Upgrade Packages are available for purchase and installation by Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. For more information, visit www.lingenfelter.com.

For more than 34 years, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering has created a matchless heritage of bringing astounding new capabilities to the world’s most sought-after sports cars. This legendary record of precision engineering continues today, as the highly skilled Lingenfelter production team continues to target design excellence in engine packages, superchargers and high-performance aftermarket components that refine power, speed and control. For more information, visit www.lingenfelter.com, contact Lingenfelter Performance Engineering at 1557 Winchester Road, Decatur, IN 46733, or call 260.724.2552.

Modern muscle car enthusiasts are more likely than ever to test their machines at the race track. And we’re not just talking about going fast in the quarter mile; today’s enthusiasts are building cars that not only make serious horsepower but also handle like true world-class sports cars. As a result, these cars and their owners are suddenly finding themselves right at home on autocross courses, all around the world.

Autocross, also known as “auto slalom”, “Solo”, or “Solo 2″ racing, is a competitive time-trial that is typically hosted in large parking lots on tracks comprised of orange traffic cones. Popular with most sanctioning organizations including SCCA, NASA, and others, these relatively short courses with tight corners are less likely to test maximum speed and more likely to test a vehicle’s handling limits and a driver’s skill and smoothness. And because participants are racing at slower speeds against the clock with few obstacles (as opposed to the mayhem of wheel-to-wheel and door-to-door road racing), the potential for serious damage is minimal, making it a great sport for almost anyone who loves to drive.

But even though autocross is friendly to beginners, it is also a serious sport that offers a wide range of vehicle classification (depending on preparation level) and an abundance of intense competition. And like any competitive environment, enthusiasts are always going to push the limits of performance. So we wondered, as the speeds get faster and the cornering loads get higher, what are the implications for our wheels? Is just any wheel safe for exploring the cornering limit? And when we’re ready to invest in a set of performance wheels to improve our capability on the autocross course, then what exactly should we be looking for?

We posed these questions to David Schardt, the owner of Forgeline Motorsports, makers of some of the finest custom and performance wheels on the market today. Dave is not only an expert on wheels, but also a lifelong motorsport enthusiast who grew up racing Porsches in Porsche Club of America club racing events and has raced professionally in the World Challenge road racing series.

Schardt highlighted several points that should be considered by any enthusiast who lines up to navigate the corners. But citing the big horsepower and massive traction found on today’s muscle cars, his primary concern is strength and safety. “Today’s muscle cars make lots of power,” he says. “The supercharged Camaro that I just recently sold made 550 horsepower when I owned it, and the new owner has already upgraded it to over 600 horsepower at the wheels. And they are relatively large heavy cars.” (Editor’s note: the fifth-generation Camaro weighs over 3700 pounds.) “So when you combine all of this power and vehicle mass with sticky performance tires, then you’ve got to consider the cornering loads and whether or not the wheels were engineered to withstand these loads. Wheels that cannot withstand the load may eventually break and result in a crash.”

Schardt is quick to point out that Forgeline engineers all of their wheels using computer-simulated finite element analysis and then tests them beyond SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) standards using real-world load variables. “SAE standards assume coefficients of friction that are too low to account for modern performance tires. So, Forgeline automatically assumes much higher friction coefficients and much higher cornering loads to ensure that our wheels are safe, even on the race track.”

Next on Schardt’s list are the typical performance variables, namely stiffness and unsprung mass. “If we are talking about a high-speed road course, then we really need to consider the wheel’s stiffness. In high-speed corners and braking zones, it is possible for the wheel to flex quite a bit, which creates unwanted compliance and less predictable reactions to driver inputs. With a stiffer wheel, we see less deflection and therefore enjoy more predictable reactions to driver inputs, especially under hard cornering and braking.”

And of course, then there is the most obvious metric: mass. “On an autocross course, probably your biggest performance variable is weight. When it comes to unsprung mass, less is more.” Of course, today’s muscle cars are designed to handle large wheels and tires that tend to be heavier. Schardt tells us, “You’ve got to remember that the wheel corners are not only heavy but also spinning, so they generate a lot of rotating inertia. So as they get heavier, they pick up more and more inertia. And wheels with lots of inertia are harder to turn, harder to stop, and harder to accelerate. So holding traction coefficients constant, lighter wheels with less inertia will turn more easily, stop faster, and accelerate more quickly – which is obviously better for performance.”

Once again, Schardt cites some of Forgeline’s engineering advancements to increase rigidity and decrease mass. He recommends that autocross enthusiasts consider wheels from Forgeline’s Performance or Competition Series, as these wheels are built with a stepped-lip design, which allows the wheel center to be slightly smaller and lighter. Many of their newer designs feature I-beamed spokes that serve to reduce mass while also adding stiffness. And all of their wheels are available with optional lightweight titanium fasteners (which can save an additional pound per wheel). Their GA3R model (within the Competition Series) is even warranted for racing use –a testament to their engineering confidence.

Lastly, Schardt suggests custom wheels that are built-to-order may offer some performance benefits as a result of fitment flexibility that is simply impossible to duplicate with off-the-shelf wheels. “Since we build all of our wheels to meet the customer’s specifications, we enjoy some extra flexibility on fitment issues. So if a customer wants to add a little extra width to run a wider tire or maybe reduce the offset to pick up some extra track width, then we can do that. Sometimes those little specs can add up to real performance benefits.” Plus, custom wheels from manufactures like Forgeline are usually designed with extra clearance to accommodate those big brake kits.

So now you know what to look for in the next set of performance wheels for your performance car: strength, stiffness, light weight, and optimal sizing. For more information on wheel options you can contact Forgeline at 800-886-0093 or visit their website here.

Author: John P. Comeskey

In fact, over the past month or so, Lou Gigliotti & Co. has been planning to make their return to the SCCA World Challenge in their #28 Camaro, and they recently ran their first event at Long Beach. There were still a few bugs to work out with the new LG Camaro, but with their recent success of becoming second in the number of wins ever in the series, and claiming a total of three championships to boot, we think the LG gang will surely be a force to be reckoned with through out this season.

LG has also been busy on the home front testing with yet another 5th Gen at Eagle’s Canyon Raceway, near the LG headquarters in north Texas. LG recently posted this video of one of their test sessions with their modded 2011 SS, which will eventually lead to the development of more parts based on what they learn from the car. (Be sure to watch at around the 1:20 point, where one of the GoPro’s goes launching off the car and lands in the grass.) LG’s racing efforts in both the World Challenge Series and at home in Texas are nothing but a good thing for 5th Gen Camaro owners, because the trick equipment they create for their race cars could someday find its way on to your ride. Check out LG Motorsports’ website for all the latest.

Official Release:

BRODIX Introduces the LS Compatible Small Block Series

BRODIX delivers the industry’s most durable replacement for the LS style cylinder heads with the introduction of the BR  small block series. The BR 7  is an out-of-the-box version that comes standard with 71 cc combustion chambers, bowls blended, and intake ports matched. The STS BR 7  is a 100% CNC ported version that flows over 375 cfm. The BR 7 and the STS BR 7 both utilize a 12° valve angle and 2.204 / 1.614 valve combination. The STS BR 7 273  flows over 415 cfm with a 71 cc combustion chamber and 2.250 / 1.614 valves. The BR 7 series heads accept all standard LS components and share all of the legendary BRODIX features including: easily repairable A-356 virgin aluminum alloy and the strongest deck surface in the business.

Features:

• Durable replacement for the LS style cylinder heads
• Comes in several versions
• BR7 comes standard with 71 cc combustion chambers, bowls blended, and intake ports matched
• STS BR 7  is a 100% CNC ported version that flows over 375 cfm
• The STS BR 7 273  flows over 415 cfm with a 71 cc combustion chamber and 2.250 / 1.614 valves
• BR Series heads accept all standard LS components

When the Edelbrock E-Force supercharger first came out a few years ago, late model Corvette owners rejoiced at the fact that they now had a 100% bolt-on ready solution for boost that they could install in a weekend, and drive their car to work on Monday. Well, at least C6 owners rejoiced, since they were the only ones that could actually use the E-Force. But a few months ago, we reported that thanks to the engineering geniuses at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, that was all about to change. Lingenfelter took on the task of designing an install kit that will include every necessary component to allow C5 owners to easily bolt the superb Edelbrock E-Force Supercharger unit to their LS1. Now the install kit is ready to start shipping, and we have been given the ok to give you our exclusive first look at how Lingenfelter makes it all possible.

The E-Force Supercharger features the same Eaton TVS 2.3L four-lobe rotors as the supercharger unit on the LS9 Corvette ZR1. The lobes have a full 160 degrees of twist and allow the supercharger to achieve the highest possible volumetric and thermal efficiency with every revolution. On the E-Force the supercharger is inverted to allow for 12-inch long intake runners, which means more grin inducing low-end torque for you. Another unique feature of the E-Force is its integrated by-pass valve, which keeps you out of boost under normal driving conditions and your gas consumption down. But when you mash the gas, and the manifold goes from vacuum to positive pressure, the by-pass valve shuts and boost gets made just when you want it. Another huge advantage to the E-Force is the fact that you don’t have to plumb oil lines to the supercharger thanks to its self-contained oiling system that is good for 100,000 miles without needing service.

To get all the details on how C5’s will now be able to bolt on an E-Force supercharger, we spoke with Jason Haines, Project Director at Lingenfelter. As it turns out, getting the C6 E-Force to fit the C5 wasn’t exactly an easy task. Haines tells us, “Despite the similarity between the C5 and C6 Corvette, differences exist in many areas that impact the installation of a supercharger. The biggest differences are in the hoodline, cowl, how the accessory drive is set up, the sensors that have to be connected, and the general block design of the LS3 versus the early LS1 in the C5.”

Adapt, Improvise, Overcome

Haines explains further, “There are a lot of changes that we had to make to Edelbrock’s C6 E-Force kit, the LS1, and even the C5 itself to get it to fit. First we had to relocate the engine oil pressure sensor and modify the valley tray on top of the LS1. We also had to use a new intercooler fluid reservoir and convert the LS1 to a newer style LS3/LS7 style water pump and radiator hoses. Since the electronics are also different we had to use a new MAP/IAT adapter harness, MAF adapter harness, a throttle body extension harness, and even a new intercooler pump wiring harness. We also use a combination of a new hood and chassis spacers to get everything to physically fit in the C5.”

This particular C5 got the honor of being LPE's test mule for their E-Force install kit. As you can see, just like most other supercharger kits for the C5, you'll need a new hood to clear Edelbrock E-Force on your LS1. LPE has reworked their own C5 hood to work with the kit, and is working with other manufacturers to see if their hoods will work as well.

Now, we know what you’re thinking: “Great, I have to get a new hood painted…” But, when you really think about it, the vast majority of aftermarket superchargers for the C5 also require a new hood, so this is really par for the course. When we asked Haines about the aftermarket hood required he told us, “There was no way around it; the C5 Corvette requires a new hood to fit the C6 E-Force in the car. We revised the tooling on our existing C5 Corvette supercharger hood so that it would clear the E-Force kit. We’re also working with other C5 Corvette hood manufacturers to find out if their hoods will clear the E-Force system.” Well, I guess if you don’t want to buy a new hood when supercharging your Corvette, then you’ll just have to spring for a C6. But if you’ve got a perfectly good C5 you’d like to boost, then read on.

Fitting the E-Force on the LS1 called for a modified valley tray, and fittings to allow the oil pressure sensor to be relocated.

The LS1's water pump has to be ditched in favor of a C6 LS3/LS7 style pump and radiator hoses to work with the E-Force. LPE also had to design new intercooler fluid lines and a new idler bracket and tensioner.

In spite of the numerous external modifications required to fit the E-Force on the C5, the stellar Eaton-built guts of the E-Force remain the same. Per Haines, “The internals are unchanged with our C5 E-Force kit. We don’t make any modifications to the supercharger assembly itself. But, whatever shop the customer chooses to install the kit will have to make a small clearance modification to the back of the supercharger assembly to provide more clearance with the cowl. We also use the same air-to-water intercooler external radiator, even though we do have to modify it to fit the C5, and we even use the same water circulation pump. We do have to use a new intercooler fluid reservoir because the C6 E-Force reservoir just won’t fit in the C5’s engine compartment.”

The oil pressure sensor on the stock LS1 gets right in the way of the supercharger, but never fear, because LPE has the answer. Here is the oil pressure relocation fitting that LPE designed to work with the E-Force.

LPE had to use a whole new intercooler fluid reservoir on the C5, since the unit that comes with the C6 E-Force wouldn't fit under the hood.

Per Haines, “To get around the head port differences between the LS1 and the LS3, we simply base our C5 adapter kit on the Edelbrock E-Force kit designed for the LS2 equipped 2005 to 2007 C6 Corvettes since the LS2 heads are cathedral intake ports just like the LS1 and LS6. They just don’t have the hollow valve stems that were in the 2002 to 2004 Z06 Corvettes with the LS6. We use the #1595 tuner kit since the calibration and injectors that come with the complete LS2 E-Force kit aren’t used with our C5 E-Force kit.” Now why didn’t we think of that?

Once you actually get the E-Force in place on the heads, this is what you can expect to see. There are still several lines, belts, sensors, and hoses that need hooked up at this stage.

Some Assembly Required

Lingenfelter plans to just sell their C5 install kit in component form so that customers can get the necessary parts a-la-carte, and only have to pay for what they really need. Haines tells us, “For now, the C5 installation kit is being offered as a fairly basic kit with just the primary components needed to install the C6 E-Force. The supercharger system itself, and the pulleys, fuel injectors, engine water pump, radiator hoses, throttle body, and fuel system are all available from Lingenfelter, but are being sold separately so that other Edelbrock distributors and installation facilities can source those components themselves if they want to.”

Here is a close-up of the 90mm electronic throttle body that LPE offers as part of the install kit. This is necessary since the E-Force is originally designed to work with the C6's electronic throttle body.

He adds, “Since the C5 Corvettes have been on the road for a while now, it’s pretty likely that the cars getting the supercharger system will already be modified, or might even be getting other modifications done at the same time as the supercharger system. That’s one of the big reasons it’s so important to offer the kit in component form, since some customers may not need the complete kit or may already have certain parts. If you don’t already have one, you will definitely need a high flow fuel pump, or at least boost the voltage to the stock pump to keep up with the fuel demands.” It may not be the 100% complete kit that C6 owners get from Edelbrock, but hey, you are a resourceful bunch of gearheads, we’re sure you’ll figure everything out just fine.

Along those lines, the Lingenfelter C5 E-Force install kit won’t come with a pre-packaged tuning solution like Edelbrock provides for the C6. But, if you’re doing this level of modification to your C5, chances are you already have a tuner in mind for your car, or better yet, you might already know how to tune yourself. Haines says, “Initially our C5 installation kit for the E-Force won’t include any kind of calibration, and it will be up to the customer and their shop to tune the engine after the install. At some point in the future, we do plan to provide a calibration delivery method as part of a more complete kit.”

Down to the Numbers

So now that we know what the Lingenfelter install kit is all about, let’s get down to the bottom line; how much power it makes. Haines tells us that with a 3.875 inch pulley, the E-Force kit on their otherwise stock LS1/6-speed C5 test mule made 9 PSI of boost. That much boost helped the C5 spin Lingenfelter’s Mustang Dyno to the tune of 454 horsepower and 437 pound feet of torque at the rear wheels. Not too bad considering that the E-Force is the only modification that’s been done to the car. Common sense tells us that just a basic set of long-tube headers and an exhaust system would likely net a pretty sizable bump in those numbers.

We were also curious if the Lingenfelter C5 E-Force kits will carry the same 50-State Emissions Legal certification and optional warranty that Edelbrock offers on the E-Force. Haines tells us, “Our C5 E-Force kit won’t initially be 50-state legal, but creating a 50-state legal version with the required calibrations is part of our product development plan for these kits. As for the warranty, the E-Force kits are available with an optional powertrain warranty that can be as long as 5 years and 100,000 miles, but that is only available for cars that are still under their OEM warranty. But because of their age, none of the C5 Corvettes will be eligible for the Edelbrock warranty.” Well, it was at least worth asking about, right?

Get a Check-Up First…

Finally, Lingenfelter strongly recommends that anyone planning to boost their C5 take the time to do a general health check on their engine and supporting systems. Let’s face it; most C5’s aren’t exactly spring chickens anymore and likely have some pretty good miles on them. Haines offered these suggestions; “One of the things we strongly recommend is that they also install higher pressure valve springs to help mitigate the potential for valve float at high RPM under boost. And finally, due to the age of C5 Corvettes, we recommend doing a general heath check on the engine and the vehicle before installing the supercharger system. When we install any package like this on a C5 Corvette we always perform a baseline chassis dyno test and an engine leak down check.”

LPE and Edelbrock have always had a great working relationship. Haines says, "Lingenfelter Performance Engineering and Edelbrock have worked together on several projects in the past, including the development of Edelbrock’s first cylinder heads for GM LS engine’s and CNC ported versions of those same heads. We look at the C5 E-Force installation kit that we are developing as just a continuation of the great relationship that we already have with Edelbrock."

To Boost or Not to Boost…

So there you have it. Every Corvette deserves the right to a big helping of boost, and now C5 owners can now celebrate the availability of a brand new, bolt on supercharging solution. Best of all, you only have to buy what you really need to get your C5 supercharged with Lingenfelter‘s new E-Force installation kit. While there’s a little bit of DIY involved, it’s good to have another proven option available when it comes to force-feeding your 5th gen Corvette.

For car builders that really want that ultimate custom look, a complete set of custom designed gauges really highlight the interior of any car. Auto Meter, the company that has a complete line of instruments for just about any car enthusiast’s personal tastes, has recently opened up their custom shop to the public.

The first place someone’s eyes fall when they look into the rolling piece of art you’ve created is the gauges. The one piece of the interior you, as a driver, spend the most time looking at is the instrument cluster. When done right, instruments can compliment the character of your vehicle. Tie it all together and it can be the difference between a finshed masterpiece and a casual weekend project.

The Auto Meter’s custom shop offers several basic options to get you started, then you are only limited by your imagination, or your custom car project’s theme, to create your masterpiece in the custom shop’s configurator program.

According to Auto Meter’s Joseph Mills, “we were getting more and more requests to do “one off” and custom instruments. While we’ve always worked with our customers to provide them the exact product they needed, there were limitations in what we could do and the process wasn’t as easy as it should have been. Well that ends now. We’ve built what we think is a pretty awesome way to create and buy exactly the instruments that your project needs. We’ve constructed this site from the ground up using some of the most sophisticated software available to give you the quickest and easiest way to visulaize and build the finest instruments in the world, in the exact style you want.”

Let’s assume that you want to color match the gauges to your car’s paint. The Custom Shop Configurator currently has an option to have you paint the dial, pointer and retainer yourself if you’d like to match these exactly to your vehicle. When you order with this option, Auto Meter will automatically send out three of each of the components for you to paint and send back for screening and assembly. The online program has a color wheel tool which allows you to match an infinite amount of colors for visulaization purposes. You can imagine it, design it, then see it on the screen.

You may be wondering how long it takes to get your custom designed gauges. According to Auto Meter, you can expect each gauge set to be custom built to your specification and shipped out within 4-6 weeks of the initial order.

If you’re in the target demographic for the new Camaro ZL1, you are old enough to remember the end of the muscle car era. 180 horsepower, 350 cubic inch V8 engines choked with “electronic” carburetors and first-generation catalytic converters that were the ecological equivalent of a potato shoved up the tailpipe. Even yours truly, born in 1968 and driving in the ominous year of 1984, thought he had seen the high water mark of automotive performance come and go. The first car ever purchased with my own money, a 1971 Pontiac GTO with a 455, seemed like the most brutal, best-performing car I would ever hope to drive.

I don’t like to be wrong, but in the case of the Camaro ZL1, I couldn’t be happier to admit I had it totally and completely incorrect. That old Goat of mine, while definitely an epic muscle car, also had a tendency to try to kill me every chance it got. Part of that was a youthful lack of a sense of self-preservation on my part, but it also had a lot to do with the very limited capabilities of the chassis and tires to deal with all that power and torque. Now, after getting the chance to wring out the best Camaro Chevy has ever built, both on the winding tarmac of Virginia International Raceway and the surrounding two-lane public roads, I can say without reservation that the Golden Age of Performance is right now.

The new Camaro ZL1 couldn’t be more different from that old Pontiac. In every way, save perhaps nostalgia, it’s a better car. It’s also a far better car than the “run of the mill” Camaro SS, and not just by virtue of the extra power provided by the supercharged, 580 horsepower LSA under the hood. It’s best described as what you would get if you took the wish list of every engineer who worked on the original 2010 Camaro, threw out the totally impractical (after all, there is only so much weight that can be taken out of the platform, and the sight lines from the driver’s seat will always be what the production sheetmetal and greenhouse dictate), then implemented the rest.

More Than Just A 580-Horse SS

With a starting price tag just shy of $55 grand, ZL1 purchasers can rightfully expect more than the same 5th Gen Camaro we’ve seen since the 2010 model year with a few extra ponies under the hood. In addition to the obvious cues like the vented hood with a carbon-fiber insert, rear spoiler, and front fascia, a host of other changes were required with the ZL1 to make sure that the supercar-level performance potential was accessible to mere mortals, like the journalists invited to Virginia International Raceway to sample the car first-hand.

The car’s aerodynamics received a nose-to-tail overhaul, including things you won’t see without access to a chassis lift. For example, the pair of belly pans that minimize turbulence under the car and help to contribute to an astonishing 65 pounds of overall downforce at 150 miles per hour, compared to 200 pounds of lift for the SS. Clearly, this is an important consideration for a car with a published top speed of 180 for the manual and 184 for the automatic.

Beneath the ZL1, you'll find aerodynamic refinements that set it apart from an ordinary Camaro. A racing-style splitter on the front fascia helps keep excess airflow from reaching the underside of the car, without severely restricting ground clearance. What air does find its way beneath is directed by a belly pan beneath the engine cradle that incorporates ductwork to improve transmission cooling.

Unlike the Brand F competition, the Camaro ZL1 will require no special upgrades for track day duty, and we've been assured that warranty claims (within reason) won't be an issue.

Your Own Worst Enemy

Of course one of the challenges of designing a car like this is making sure that its performance won’t just be useful to the innately talented, or downright dangerous to the enthusiastic-but-unskilled. Back in the heyday of muscle cars, about the best you could hope for was that buyers smart enough to check the boxes for the right options on the order forms knew what they were doing. However, the institutional knowledge of today’s army of engineers, programmers, and test drivers who all contributed to the development of the ZL1 has been distilled into the countless ones and zeros tucked away inside a part of this Camaro that may be even more important than the LSA engine under the hood – the Performance Traction Management system.

Understanding Performance Traction Management

The ZL1 offers five different Performance Traction Management (PTM) modes that integrate magnetic ride control, launch control, traction control, electronic stability control, and electric power steering response into a coherent system that adapts the way the ZL1 responds to driver input and road conditions to better handle different situations. While the technology was pioneered on the flagship Corvette ZR1, in many ways the PTM in the ZL1 is even more sophisticated. Here’s a breakdown of how the different modes operate:

"For launching the car at the dragstrip, Mode 4 has launch control enabled and it's tuned for these Goodyear tires on the street," Roma explains. "Go into Mode 4, hold full throttle, and it calculates the RPM it needs - it looks at ambient temperature and other things, and will hold between 3-4000 RPM. You do a moderate release on the clutch - not side-step it, or feather it, just a nice moderate release - and it will maximize wheelslip for forward momentum. It's very repeatable on the dragstrip - you can beat the traction control system, but it will do the same thing, all day long. If you just want to get a good launch, or you're at a stoplight, it's the 'don't embarrass me in front of my girlfriend' mode."

Laws of Physics Still Apply

Despite all the magic baked right in to the ZL1, it’s still limited by the basic laws of time and space. The chief criticism of the 5th gen Zeta platform is that the resulting Camaro is no lightweight. We found that even with 580 horsepower, enormous wheels, tires, and brakes, and superhuman PTM reflexes, the ZL1 still has to contend with inertia. Stomp on the gas in first, and (assuming you haven’t gone all “Mode 5″ and put it sideways into the weeds in a cloud of tire smoke) the ZL1 moves out all right, but the LSA doesn’t exactly feel like it’s reeling in the horizon as if it were strapped to a bungee cord.

One of the many details that set the ZL1 apart from its lesser brethren are the front tire deflectors that help direct airflow around the rotating wheels and tires to reduce both lift and drag. Compared to a traditional air dam, these deflectors make the car less sensitive to changes in pitch - obviously important in situations where the Camaro is transitioning from braking to acceleration.

As a practical matter, while circulating around VIR’s sweeping road course (and trying to keep Roma, behind the wheel of the instructor ZL1, from becoming a dimensionless point in the distance), I found it all too easy to constantly bump off the LSA’s rev limiter – take a look at the dyno graph and you’ll see why. There’s no big hit as the car comes “on the blower” and no fade as it climbs through the tach. This is an engine that feels like it’s just getting started when it’s really time to select the next cog. It can be deceptive until you get used to the idea that you need to shift even though the car doesn’t feel like it’s breathing hard.

ZL1 Fun Fact: One of the six available options is the "Bright Aluminum Wheel Package" - for an extra $470, instead of the black standard wheels, you get polished aluminum versions made from the same forgings, without the individual spoke separations machined out.

Up front, the ZL1 uses two-piece brake rotors for optimum stopping performance.

Obviously, the engine is the Main Event here, but if you manage to focus your concentration away from the horsepower for a moment, you notice that the PTM (and all the other engineering changes) are doing exactly what they’re advertised to do – keep the amateurs (like myself) out of trouble, and give the gifted an extremely capable platform to throw around the track.

That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to put a wheel wrong with the ZL1 – as a matter of fact, the day before I got to drive them at VIR, another journalist managed to run off-track and into a tire wall in (admittedly) wet conditions. However, you really do have to try hard to make this car misbehave. While some people will lament the intervention of on-board computers and cars designed to save you from yourself, the take-away I got from the driving experience was that the ZL1 is a car that’s designed to let you learn to separate the scary from the truly dangerous, without punishing you for putting a toe over the line.

Sizing Up the Competition

With the announcement that the 2013 Shelby GT500 will be rated at 662 horsepower “at the brochure”, the obvious question is whether or not the ZL1, despite being the Best Camaro Ever, is enough Camaro to take on the Ultimate Mustang. Will an independent rear suspension, the incredible sophistication of PTM, and the fact that the Camaro design team actually intended for people to, you know, drive their ZL1′s at the limit without things breaking or the service manager voiding your warranty be enough to keep the Blue Oval at bay?

All we can say is that the Camaro ZL1 feels like a car that is just the beginning – there’s a whole lot of room left to grow, and we can’t wait to see what happens once the hordes of 5th Gen tuners who have been honing their craft since the 2010 model year get their hands on the ZL1.

The Camaro ZL1 boasts a Nurburgring time of 7:41.27, putting it into the elite group of performance cars with a sub-8-minute potential on the incredibly demanding German road course. For comparison, the Corvette ZR1, with a price tag of more than double that of the Camaro ZL1, has run a best lap of 7:19.63 on the Nordschleife course.

Oh, the mighty slush box. It’s come a long, long way in its journey through GM’s history. It’s steadily evolved from the simple Oldsmobile Hydra-Matic introduced in the 1940’s (the first fully automatic transmission ever) to the simple yet effective style of the 2-speed Powerglide of the 1960’s, and finally into the smooth as silk, but tough as nails electronically controlled 4LXX and 6LXX units that GM enthusiasts enjoy today. They are generally strong, reliable, and upgradeable, all while giving you the benefit of low RPM during highway cruising thanks to the magic that is overdrive.

To find out just what it is that makes the modern GM Auto Overdrive transmissions tick, and to help you choose the right one for your car, we went to the transmission experts at TCI, Hughes Performance, and Gearstar. These guys know the ins and outs of these transmissions, and they filled us in on the strengths and weaknesses of each design, and how they can be modified into bullet proof units that can handle anything you can throw at them.

GM's modern automatic overdrive transmissions are great options in everything from street rods to hard core drag racing machines, and everything in between.

The 4LXX Family Tree

The 4L60 family of transmissions have been around for quite a while, and started production in the early 90’s. They have been used in almost every rear-wheel drive model that GM has offered since then. Pete Nichols from Hughes Performance offered us this advice on where to find each type of transmission. “The 4L60E began production in 1993, and the later 4L65E and 4L70E are members of the same transmission family as the 4L60E. 4L60E-based transmissions were installed by GM in 4th gen F-bodies, C4 and later Corvettes, and full size passenger cars such as the Caprice. They are also found in fullsize two and four wheel drive trucks, SUV’s, vans, and even light duty trucks and SUV’s such as the S-10 and Blazer.”

The 4L60 Automatic Overdrive is a descendant of the 700-R4 overdrive of the 1980's.

He adds, “The 4L80E and 4L85E transmissions began production in 1991. These transmissions were only installed by GM in heavy duty, full-size two and four wheel drive trucks, SUV’s, and vans. And more recently, the 6L80 and 6L90 transmissions have become available in 2010-later Camaros, 2006-later Corvettes, 2008-later Pontiac G8′s, select 2006-later Cadillac models, 2007-later full size trucks and SUV’s, and select 2006-later Australian Holden models.”

The More Desirable Models

Not all of the GM Overdrive Auto transmissions were created equal. The early 4L60’s were pretty much a rebadged 700-R4, and carried over all of its weaknesses. However they did get progressively better, along with newer and stronger models that came after them.

Scott Miller from TCI offered, “The 4L65E and the 4L70E have 5 pinion planetary gears that are stronger than the 3 pinions found in the 4L60 and 4L60E, which makes them a better choice. But it is hard to beat the 4L80E. It doesn’t really have any inherited weaknesses since it’s based on the legendary TH-400.”

Nichols from Hughes says, “The 4L80E transmission family is the strongest GM overdrive transmission ever produced and installed in a standard passenger vehicle platform, and is arguably the strongest overdrive transmission produced by any of the big three. The 4L85E featured a higher torque capacity rating than the 4L80E, but for all practical purposes the entire 4L80E transmission family is on a fairly level playing field when it comes to strength.”

Better clutch packs and quality friction materials are vital in a high performance auto trans. Here we see what goes into TCI's 4LXX based transmissions.

When looking at the newer six-speed autos, Nichols says, “The 6L90 features a higher torque capacity rating as compared to the 6L80. But really, any inherent benefits or design improvements within this transmission family are negligible. In our opinion the 6L80/6L90 is kind of a weak design, and isn’t really suitable for high horsepower racing use.”

The Corvette's rear-mounted transaxle is a variant of the 6L80E Transmission, with a different external case set up so that it can be mounted directly to the rear end.

Finding the Weakest Link

Like most OEM components, the GM Auto Overdrive transmissions were designed for everyday use and not to stand up to the rigors of drag racing. Patrick Walczak, a Master Builder from Gearstar had this to say on the inherent weak spots in the GM Auto Overdrives: “All of these transmissions have great potential to be upgraded to handle twice the horsepower and torque they were originally designed for from GM. But their weak spots get uncovered when extra power modifications are added to the vehicle; like turbos and superchargers. The weak links in these transmissions are usually the clutch packs, namely the 1 to 2 power-up-shift, and the 2 to 3 power-up-shift. Those are the problems you’ll see up to about the point when you’ve added about 50% to the engine’s output. If you’re making more power than that, then there are select hard parts, like shafts, drums, and the amount of splines in the clutch hubs that all need to be upgraded.”

TCI shows us some of the tougher components they use to replace the 3-4 clutch assembly in a performance 4LXX transmission.

Miller from TCI offered this on the 4LXX’s weak spots; “In the 4L60, 4L60E, 4L65E and 4L70E, the 3 to 4 clutch pack and the 3 to 4 input drum assembly are the weaker links. Also, the 4L60 and 4L60E utilize 3 pinion front and rear planetary gears that are really pretty weak. And when you get down to it, the clutch capacity in all of these transmissions can be increased to make them all stronger better able to handle more horsepower.”

Here TCI shows us the parts that need to commonly be replaced in the forward clutch assembly for a performance transmission build.

Nichols from Hughes broke down the specific things that need changed in each trans family to get the most out of them for us. He says, “The top 5 upgrades in the 4L60E family would be a 2-4 servo upgrade in the form of a Corvette servo or aftermarket billet servo, valve body reprogramming and modifications, an upgraded 3-4 clutch pack, a sleeved and reinforced input drum, an upgraded sun shell, and improved friction materials in general.”

Patrick Walczak is a master builder at Gearstar, who has over 35 years of experience building transmissions. In this picture, Walczak is torquing the bolts on the pump housing at the front of the transmission.

“The 4L80E family actually needs very little in the way of upgrades. Improved friction materials and valve body reprogramming and modifications are always a smart move, though. For high horsepower and racing use the top 5 upgrades would be a billet input shaft, a billet forward clutch hub, a billet intermediate shaft, a modified direct drum with custom 36-element intermediate sprag and races, and a transbrake valve body. These upgrades, along with the right friction materials and proper assembly techniques can easily get you 1,500 flywheel horsepower compatibility,” Nichols explained.

Walczak from Gearstar shows us the stronger fourth generation 5-pinion planetary gear set.

He went on to say, “The key upgrades in the 6L80 family would be improved friction materials, a billet intermediate shaft and hub assembly, and ECM reprogramming. But the best performance upgrade you can install in any of these transmissions is custom high performance torque converter. A properly designed and matched torque converter for a given combination is absolutely critical to maximize the performance potential and drivability of the vehicle.”

Buyer’s Guide

We had the experts from TCI, Hughes and Gearstar give us their best GM Auto Overdrive suggestions for three common levels of performance; a high powered street car, a street and strip machine, and an all-out track dedicated race beast.

450 HP Street Car

• Gearstar: “A 450 horsepower small block would be best suited to a Level III 4L60/700-R4 and should be complimented with either a 3.55 or 3.73 gears depending on the tire diameter. Each of these are available as electronically controlled units, which use a computer to handle the trans’ shift points and pressure-rise control. Going electronic is a more costly endeavor and requires more install time and consideration for where you will place the ECM and wiring harness. But the advantage is programmable shift points and a better shift feel. The non-electrical unit uses a throttle valve (T.V.) cable to the carb or throttle linkage to know when to shift.”

• Hughes: “We recommend our Street/Strip series 4L60E/4L65E/4L70E transmissions for street and mild street/strip applications producing up to 500 flywheel horsepower. This transmission series is also a good choice for light-to-medium duty towing and mild off-road use.”

• TCI: “For powerful street cars up to just over 500 horsepower, we recommend our Street Rodder transmission. It has a an improved performance valve body that gives it a nice firm shift, but not too harsh, which is perfect for street rods.”

600 HP Street/Strip Car

• Hughes: “We recommend our Heavy Duty Street/Strip series 4L60E/4L65E/4L70E transmissions for street and street/strip applications producing up to 650 flywheel horsepower naturally aspirated or with a mild power adder.”

• Gearstar: “A 600 horsepower small block or big block would require a Level IV build spec 4L60/700-R4 to handle that kind of power, or one of our 4L60E Level IV Transmissions if you were looking for an electronically controlled trans.”

• TCI: “At this power level we would recommend our Streetfighter Transmission, which can handle upwards of 775 horsepower. It can be shifted manually or run as a fully automatic, and has our Constant Pressure Valve Body that keeps the clutches from slipping under the types of load a 600 horsepower car can produce.”

A serious race car needs a serious transmission that can stand up to a beating.

800 HP Full Race Car

• Gearstar: “An 800 horsepower application would require a 4L80E, which is an overdrive version of the famous GM Turbo 400 transmission. The 4L80E has a relatively close gear ratio spread that makes it more suitable for high horsepower; 2.48 1st, 1.48 2nd, 1:1 3rd, and a 0.75 overdrive in 4th. The 4L60 has a 3.06 1st, 1.62 2nd, 1:1 3rd, and a 0.75 overdrive 4th gear. Engines that are going to rev higher in heavier vehicles should also compliment it with 4.11 or 3.90 rear gear ratios.”

• Hughes: “We recommend our Street/Strip series 4L80E transmissions for street, street and strip, and racing applications producing up to 800 flywheel horsepower. We recommend our Heavy Duty Street/Strip series 4L80E transmissions for street, street/strip, and racing applications producing up to 1,000 flywheel horsepower. We recommend our Extreme Duty Street/Strip series 4L80E transmissions for street, street/strip, and racing applications producing up to 1,500 flywheel horsepower.”

• TCI: “For a full on race car, the Super Streetfighter would be best, or even a fully manual competition trans if there is one available for their application. We build the Super Streetfighter to handle over 1,000 horsepower, so it would be just fine behind an 800 horsepower engine.”

Every member of our panel agreed that the 4L80E is one of the best options for an extremely powerful street/strip car or a full out race car.

“This is where the majority of our 4LXX units end up. This is another place where our 6X Transmission would be a perfect fit, but an LS swap could be done with a 4L60, 4L60E or 4L80E with our EZ-TCU for the electronically controlled units. Also, our conversion LS style flexplates allow you to use any variant of these transmissions behind an LS application.”

Retro-fitting a 5th Gen Camaro for Serious Track Use

As the new car scent of the 2010 and up Camaros is starting to fade a little, more and more enthusiasts are getting over their fear of modifying their new cars, and are diving into them hard looking for more performance. It’s becoming clear that making big power in these cars is about as easy as falling out of a tree, especially thanks to all of the bolt-on forced induction options out there. So, naturally more and more 5th Gens are starting to show up on the drag strips packing some serious power – more than their stock driveline can realistically handle. So we asked our panel of experts what would be involved in retro-fitting a 5th Gen with a 4L80E for serious drag strip duty.

Gearstar:”In a high horsepower, full race 5th Gen Camaro, this is presently the best way to go for a dependable full-race transmission. It would be a good idea to retrofit a 4L70E or a 4L80 in applications with about 600 horsepower or more. These units have evolved with technology over time and have just gotten better and better. I’m sure that the 6L80E family of 6-speed autos will come of age, but for now they are still in their infancy and haven’t really proven to be a reliable way to transfer a lot of horsepower.”

“If you were looking to swap in a 4L60 or a 4L80 into a 5th gen you would need a new stand-alone computer to get the trans to function properly, since the 6L80E uses an ‘inboard controller,’ meaning the computer is inside the transmission and the car only sends the operating parameter signals (throttle position, road speed) to the trans. You would also need to modify the driveshaft for length and yoke type. Luckily the aftermarket already offers custom crossmembers for this type of application.”

The popularity of the Fifth Gen Camaro Challenge Class that is a part of the LSX Challenge Series has shown that there are more and more 5th Gen owners who aren't afraid to drag race their new Chevys. TCI, Hughes, and Gearstar all have great options for retrofitting your 5th Gen from a 6L80E to a stronger 4L80E based design for serious dragracing use.

“We offer a full manual valve body option on the 4L80E that eliminates the need for an electronic controller. This valve body requires manual upshifting and downshifting. We also have transbrake options in both full manual and automatic shift configurations for the 4L80E. The transbrake option definitely gives the 4L80E a competitive edge in a full race application over any other GM overdrive transmission. As easy as it is to make insane amounts of power with an LS-based engine platform, the 4L80E quickly becomes the only logical overdrive transmission choice, especially in a maximum effort street/strip or full race application.”

TCI: “It can be done and we have actually sold some of our 6X Six Speed Transmissions to individuals that have 5th gen Camaros. It is based off of the GM 4L80E so it fits pretty well. The 6X will handle up to 850 HP, and it will allow them to drive it practically cross country due to the gearing and converter lock up. It is the only 6-speed automatic on the market that will handle that kind of horsepower, and it is fully tunable with our EZ-TCU.”

“If they have a 5th gen with even more horsepower, and they primarily use it to race but still want overdrive, I would use a 4L80E with our controller, or our 4L80E with a full manual valve body with a transbrake.”

The Final Gear

The 4LXX members of GM automatic overdrive transmission family are a great solution to help you “get shifty” no matter what you use your car for. As stock units, they are great for mildly modified cars, and they can even be modified to take a beating from 1,000 plus horsepower engines. Check out Hughes Performance, TCI Transmissions, and Gearstar for more info on how to pick the right automatic transmission for your car.

The car in question is a 2002 C5 Corvette Z06 with a 405 horsepower LS6 V8 under the hood (a 20 horsepower increase over the 2001 model). With 400 ft-lbs of torque on tap, and even in stock form this Corvette has plenty of power to shred some rubber.

The Z06 isn’t a cheap car, and neither are its tires. The high performance rubber can cost $400 per tire or more (though there are always cheaper options), meaning that four new tires would run you upwards of $1,600. At that cost, no wonder the driver wanted to make sure he gave his old tires a good send off, and get the most fun out of those tires that he could. Bravo sir, bravo.

Just like the scene from Ferris Bueller with Cameron Frye’s father’s Ferrari, the valet was off joy riding in the rented Corvette. Thanks to video footage, Nieves and an employee are caught taking the C6 on some local dirt roads, perhaps indulging in their inner rally car driver fantasies. Eventually the car subjected a cruise on Merritt Island and a trip to Applebee’s.  Nieves even drove the car home, took pictures and eventually took it out to run errands. If the distrust and anger is not already boiling your blood, Nieves used the convertible C6 as pickup truck to haul back a load of lumber from the local hardware store.

However the infuriating treatment of the C6 did not stop there. Nieves allowed a four-legged friend to run amok on the painted surfaces of the car; it is hard to not be livid when watching Fido damaging the finish in the new car. Of course when Nieves parked the car with the top down and the door open near Premier Parking Spot Jeff Deal confronted a female employee about the car along with Nieves. Nieves denied driving the customer car even after being shown the video documenting all sorts of hoonage. Of course the local news station plans to follow up on Nieves’ behavior along with getting customer reactions to his alleged “hoonfest”.

Image: National Corvette Museum

The National Corvette Museum (NCM) is known for many things, one of them being their unique raffle opportunities. For just a fraction of what it would cost you to buy a brand new Corvette, you can win anything from a brand new ZR1 to a “Build Your Own” Corvette prize. While we wouldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want the opportunity to win a brand new Corvette, the NCM is giving those of you who are bigger Camaro fans an equal chance at walking away with a stellar prize. As we found out from Camaro5, the NCM will be raffling off a 2012 Imperial Blue Camaro ZL1 come September.

Now, for those of you who haven’t been paying attention, the new Camaro ZL1 is not offered in Imperial Blue. In fact, only four ZL1s were painted in the color. These cars were produced specifically as one-off vehicles for GM to use at shows, and now that at least one of the Imperial Blue ZL1s has been retired from duty on the show circuit, it could be yours with the purchase of a single $25 raffle ticket.

Just like its counterparts, the Imperial Blue ZL1 comes with a 580 HP supercharged 6.2L engine. This powerful beast is sure to turn heads with the classic rumble of a muscle car, power to put you back in your seat, and a rare color finish that will guarantee this car has collector value.

If you want to have a chance at winning this rare color-option ZL1, tickets can be purchased through the NCM for just $25. The raffle will take place on September 20^th with unlimited tickets being offered before hand. So grab up as many tickets as you can and cross your fingers for a win like no other.

Official Release:

ARP ADDS 18 NEW RING COMPRESSORS

Automotive Racing Products, Inc. has added 18 new bore sizes to its line of tapered ring compressors, bringing the total to 119. These include 77 SAE sizes that range from 3.552″ to 4.750″ and 42 Metric models from 75mm to 95.5 mm.

ARP’s ring compressors are CNC machined from 6061-T6 billet material and feature a true radius to compliment each individual bore size. This serves to efficiently compress the piston rings as the piston assembly is pushed into the cylinder. The compressors feature an O-ring relief, which allows it to seat squarely on blocks with or without O-rings.

Durability is enhanced through Type 3 anodizing, assuring a long service life, and the bore size is prominently engraved on ARP compressors in 3/4″ tall numbers for easy identification.

With all of these features ARP ring compressors have become a favorite of many leading engine builders the world over. For a complete run-down of all available sizes for 2012 see New Products section of the company website, www.arp-bolts.com, or call the ARP tech line at 800-826-3045.

Features:

• 18 new bore sizes of tapered ring compressors
• 77 SAE sizes and 42 Metric models
• CNC machined from 6061-T6 billet material
• Features an O-ring relief
• Durability enhanced through Type 3 anodizing

Image: Automobile Magazine via CorvetteBlogger

Let’s just start out by saying we’re as frustrated as you are. All this talk about the next-generation Corvette has gotten us antsy about the C7 arrival, maybe a bit too prematurely, and now we’re just chomping at the bit waiting for even a teaser photo of the new model to be released. We’ve seen plenty of “spy shots” and video of test mules out and about, but nothing beats the real deal. So, when we can’t see the real thing, why not create renderings of what we think the C7 Corvette will look like when it makes its debut next year? As we found out from CorvetteBlogger, that’s exactly what Automobile Magazine has done for their June issue. Call us pessimists, but is all this really getting us any closer to the real C7?

The C7 is an important milestone for the Corvette. It is, after all, the next generation of America’s favorite sports car. But, with all the hype we’ve been seeing lately, most of which is merely exercises in guesstimation, we’re kind of over the new model and it hasn’t even been revealed yet. None the less, the C7 continues to gain attention with a snowball effect, sure to explode come January 2013 when the model makes its debut at the Detroit Auto Show.

Could it be that the C7 will actually look like this? Now that Jalopnik and Automobile Magazine have come up with very similar renderings, we're thinking they might be on to something. Image: Jalopnik

The latest hype comes in the form of Automobile Magazine’s C7 rendering. In an article about which cars are getting updates in the next couple years, the C7 is discussed along with an image of what Automobile Magazine thinks the car will actually look like. In the article, editors of the magazine talk about the eight-speed automatic transmission, smaller size, upgraded interior and base engine expected to come in the 2014 model.

While the rendering is pretty impressive, we can’t help but to see the similarities between it and the one Jalopnik revealed last year. You know, the one that GM claimed on their official Corvette Facebook page was a good effort but not really what the C7 looked like back in November?

Maybe GM really was pulling our leg at the time and the C7 will look much like what we’ve already seen. Either way, it’s obvious that enthusiasm for the next-gen Corvette is not going away, frustrating or not.

For a look at the full C7 excerpt from Automobile Magazine, be sure to check out CorvetteBlogger’s article.

Seems the bugs down in Texas had a hard time getting out of the way of Lingenfelter's speeding yellow bullet...

Lingenfelter Performance Engineering can hang their hat on yet another first for the new Camaro ZL1. In a recent post on their Facebook page, we learned that Lingenfelter’s Yellow ZL1 is the very first example of the new model to achieve a top speed of over 200 HPH.

Lingenfelter says, “After several attempts at slightly above 199 MPH, David Freiburger just ran 202.67 MPH in the same Lingenfelter ZL1 Camaro that was the first in the 10’s. This is the first ZL1 over 200. Thanks to our friends at Continental/General Tire Proving Grounds at Uvalde, TX and to the team at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering.”

It should be noted that the Yellow Lingenfelter ZL1 is far from showroom stock, and is reportedly pushing well over 700 horsepower; so don’t expect every new ZL1 to be able to reach those kinds of speeds. We view this as not only a victory for Lingenfelter, but also a victory for GM and the engineering team that built functional design cues right into the ZL1 to help it achieve enough downforce to reach these kinds of speeds. Stay tuned for more info on the 200 plus MPH run as we receive it.

Photo: Tony/Corvette Blogger

With the upcoming C7 Corvette lurking on the horizon, everyone is getting a little anxious to see the first uncovered and true working model of the latest and greatest American sports car. CorvetteBlogger was fortunate to receive a few spy shots of what is assumed to be the C7 (although heavily camouflaged) on the streets of Holly, Michigan. CorvetteBlogger posted a link to TheGearPage.net, the original place where the pictures of the prototypes were originally uploaded. Out of the pack of cars seen near the infamous “proving grounds” a couple of C7 prototypes were out and about, but once the driver caught sight of the camera it was a mad dash to cover the cars up. With Z06s, a ZR1 and a 911 in the mix, it is fairly safe to assume that the drivers had a nice day putting the cars through their paces at the proving grounds.

Of course GM will remain tightlipped about the final look of the C7 until they see fit, but thanks to spy shots the audience is only getting more excited for the upcoming release. Based upon the photographer’s comments, the head of the Corvette department found his fellow coworkers hasty attempts to cover up the C7 prototypes before the paparazzi struck, to be quite amusing. As the release date gets closer and closer, the frequency of sightings is sure the increase and hopefully the quality of the images will as well. Not to say that the spy shots are not clear, but the car is still heavily cloaked that is hard to determine the subtle refinements and true shape of the car.

So, what makes Holley’s C10 shop truck so unique? At first glance you might think it’s freshly restored early pickup. If you think that, you’d be dead wrong. This unique truck maintains all of its originality with the benefits of a modern powertrain thanks to an LS3. Tomlinson describes this slick sled as having, “about 500 horsepower and its a blast to drive.” Yeah, we can see why, damn!

Holley made sure to keep the vintage look of the truck. Even going as far to dress the LS3 up to look just like the original 396ci big-block of the era. “Those coil covers are a great product for us; they have the massive, vintage big-block look” said Tomlinson.

The engine bay isn’t the only place where Holley upgraded the truck during restoration. The stock chassis was pulled and a complete modern suspension including a Ford 9-inch rearend was added.

Just as we were, Hanson was also astounded by the original look maintained by such key features as the truck’s white grille and headlight bezels. Holley CEO Tomlinson explains that this was precisely the point of the build, “…From the wheels to the old time truck lettering on the door…we even kept things like the old style mirror…[and] the fuel filler, which is blocked off at this point.”

Another point of interest for Hanson with the ’67 C10 was the unique design of the vintage knockoff wheels, which Tomlinson claims holds a significance within itself. They are actually 6-pin, Indy Roadster knockoffs that are based on originals from Halibrand, except that they have been retrofitted for the truck’s stock 6-lug configuration.

According to Tomlinson, the truck is as functional as it is clean, and he and Holley Performance have been satisfied even with the craftsmanship of the truck’s custom wood bed, “The wood is from Bed Wood; it’s actually very nice.” Other features of the custom C10 include the truck’s relocated fuel filler, which has been built into the truck bed, and Holley’s shop and show pickup currently holds a gas tank of around 20 gallons, should anyone from Holley Performance decide to make use of those 500 horses on a slightly longer lunch run!

Check out the cool LSX script on the rocker panel. Now this is our kinda jeep!

If anyone ever tries to tell you that the world of LS1 swaps has gotten stale, then they’ve clearly never seen this. Justin Miller from St. Louis, Missouri has taken our favorite powerplant and transplanted it into one of the most iconic off-road vehicles of all time; a Willys Jeep. It’s truly a match made in heaven.

Miller’s history with this particular 1952 Willys is a long one. The Jeep had been sitting at a storage unit near Miller’s grandparents’ house for nearly 32 years, and he remembers seeing it parked there when he was a kid. He finally asked the owners to sell him the rusty Jeep just a few months ago, and he took it home to start the restoration process.

The Willys has come a long way in the time that Miller has owned it.

“When I started working on the Jeep I was living in a condo with a single car garage, and that’s where the majority of the work was done to the Jeep. I even lifted the body off the frame using ratcheting tie-downs hanging from the garage rafters.” Miller says. Unfortunately, the years had taken quite a toll on the Willys, and the original body was essentially unsalvageable, and Miller had to procure an entirely new body from Kaiser Willys.

One of our favorite details Miller added to the Willys is the canteen over-flow bottle.

Once the body was solid again, Miller moved on to the drivetrain. From the very beginning, the choice was clear. “When I told my friends that I wanted to put an LS1 in the Willys, they all told me I was crazy and that it would never fit.” Miller tells us. But never the less, he went for it anyway in true Hot-Rodder spirit. The engine is an LS1 with a pretty serious cam, and a set of Hooker block-hugger headers help fit everything inside the Jeep’s narrow frame rails. The LS1 rests on a set of weld in adapters and stands from Novak Conversions that are specifically for this swap.

The transmission is a beefy 4L80E with a 3,200 stall converter from Monster Transmission. According to Miller the trans tunnel only needed a few slight modifications to get the big RWD transmission to fit. Also, the transmission is so long and the wheel base of the Jeep so short, that the driveshaft ended up being just 13-inches long.

Miller tells us his LS1 Willys will do battle on the street, at car shows, and even on the drag strip – making it a certified triple threat. Yes, he plans to take the Jeep to the drag strip. Given the fact that it only weighs around 1,600 pounds with him in the drivers’ seat, you know it’s going to be quick. Miller is putting the finishing touches on the LS1 Willys and plans to have it tearing up the streets before the end of Spring, so keep your eye on LSXtv for updates.

Pro-touring cars seem to be popping up everywhere, but we haven’t seen one yet that was done quite like Hall’s Camaro SS convertible. With the supercharged LSA from a wrecked CTS-V under the hood, the car is pushing 648hp to the wheels and 650 pound feet of torque. Aside from a smaller pulley in the supercharger and a spacer put in the intercooler, the engine is essentially stock, and yet produces well over what the new ZL1 offers.

Along with the LSA, Hall equipped the Camaro with six-piston Baer brakes, a T56 transmission, 18-inch wheels and a full Hotchkis suspension system. Hall to not only built his dream car, but also a car that he can enjoy with his wife and grandkids. The three-year build is topped off with carbon fiber accents and Recaro seats in the interior, and a classic black and white paint scheme.

What’s more impressive than the build itself, is the fact that despite having many modern performance features the Camaro maintains its original muscle car personality. It may not be the kind of thing for the muscle car purists of the world, but we’re sure an absolute thrill to drive.

Crank up your speakers on this one, because the sounds of Hall’s Camaro are not to be missed. Just try not to drool on your keyboard too much. You wouldn’t want to short out your computer before you get the full experience of that supercharger whine mixed with exhaust-note heaven.

Licata got some of his inspiration for the Occupy Muscle Cars movement by attending an Optima Challenge event.

OMC was started by Nick Licata and we were lucky enough to get a chance to talk to him about the whole idea behind this movement last week. According to Licata, OMC isn’t about pitching tents, causing a scene, and trashing property. It’s just about enjoying your muscle car on and off the track.

“I’m not trying to do something different,” Licata told us. “Its just about fun.” After attending an Optima Challenge event last year, Licata determined one common factor between all the muscle car owners that kicked off the OMC movement. “They all have day jobs but on the weekends they occupy their muscle cars,” Licata said.

Right now, more than anything, OMC is a Facebook destination where muscle car enthusiasts can come together, share pictures of their cars, schedule meet-ups, and just enjoy being a fan of American muscle. Licata doesn’t know where OMC will go from here, but he hasn’t eliminated the idea of having OMC events in the future.

Occupiers can even order t-shirts to show their support of the Occupy Muscle Cars movement.

Although OMC is nothing like Occupy Wall Street, it was partially inspired by the major protest. After all, if you find a movement or protest to be outlandish, why not start your own satirical version of it?

“We don’t throw fits,” Licata told us. “We just get in our cars and mind our own business.”

Licata also told us that he got inspiration for OMC from the current happenings in the automotive market. “The whole muscle car movement is back and that kind of inspired this as well,” he said. “What better time than now to start the OMC movement than when the big three are involved?”

Although OMC is still in its beginning stages, several big names in the automotive industry have gotten involved. Companies like BF Goodrich, The Roadster Shop, Centerforce and Maier Racing are all fans of the movement on Facebook.

Join the growing group of muscle car enthusiasts that are proud to say they occupy their muscle cars by giving OMC a “Like” on Facebook and start showing those other Occupiers what it’s really about and to let your message be known. “It can be the average Joe or any one in the industry,” Licata said about who can join the OMC movement. “Liking muscle cars is the only requirement.”

Official Release:

GM LS1/LS6 Front Sump Road Race Drift Car Oil Pan

Canton’s new 15-276 front sump road race/drift car oil pan is designed for GM LS1/LS6 powered cars that require a shallow front sump oil pan. It’s diamond shaped baffle with 4 trap doors and removable windage/anti-slosh baffle provide the best oil control under demanding street and track conditions. With provisions for a pan mounted dipstick and 20 mm oil temperature sensor along with a 6.5 quart system oil capacity.

Features and Benefits:

• Shallow 5-5/8 sump
• Diamond shape road race baffle assembly with four trap doors
• Removable windage/anti-slosh baffle
• Magnetic drain plug
• Provision for a pan mounted dipstick
• Provision for a 20mm oil temperature sensor
• Long lasting gold iridite plated finish
• Tig welded for the best quality welds
• 6.5 quart system capacity
• Uses stock Pontiac GTO pickup

As Schneider explains, Centerforce’s aim with the clutch was to manufacture a twin disc assembly that eliminated the problem of not being able to get the input shaft into the clutch from previous assemblies. The way that Centerforce achieves this is through the use of a unique, pin-driven system, “[Centerforce] eliminated that problem…the second disc actually couples to the first disc with drive pins and it’s absolutely gorgeous.”

Centerforce has also done extraordinary machine work on their new flywheel, allowing for a smaller and lighter assembly, “The flywheel itself…because we’re using a dual disc we don’t need a big diameter.” Centerforce’s DYAD clutch system is shipped with special plastic covers to keep the kit’s bolt threads from being scratched while in the box, and a set of special plugs for the transmission lines keeps fluid from spilling out during assembly.

The kit also features a spec card that includes a full breakdown of your system, showing you how to put it together. Aside from this initial spec card, the DYAD kit also features a separate spec sheet that features your system’s pressure check, along with the kit’s part and serial numbers.

All three of the steel components included in the clutch system are marked with timing marks, so that that combined with the kit’s spec sheet and card make assembling the clutch relatively easy while offering superior performance from a more refined, dual disc assembly.

In this video we found on YouTube features a wrecked but useable Trans Am that will be giving up its driveline for a swap into a 55 Chevy. The body of the car has surely seen better days, but as you’ll soon observe, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the powerplant. While the LS1 is still in the Trans Am, they decide to have a little pre-swap fun. Just put down a little bit of water, hold the brakes, apply generous amounts of LS1 power; and presto – you’ve got yourself a full-fledged junk yard burnout machine.

It’s a ton of fun to watch, but don’t you think repeatedly abusing your LS1 right before you swap it out might be a bit counter-productive? It would be the definition of irony to blow the engine when it’s the sole reason you bought the car. Check out the video here.

Official Release:

Fel-Pro PermaTorque MLS Performance Head Gaskets Now Available for Expanded Range of GM LSX Engines

Southfield, Michigan…Federal-Mogul’s (NASDAQ: FDML) market leading Fel-Pro PermaTorque MLS performance head gaskets are now available for a significantly expanded range of performance engines based on the popular LSX block from GM Performance. Each of the new PermaTorque MLS head gaskets features the Fel-Pro brand’s exclusive LaserWeld stopper layer technology proven in NASCAR, NHRA and IHRA competition.

Federal-Mogul now offers 10 Fel-Pro PermaTorque MLS performance head gaskets for the LSX family of engines. Gasket bore sizes are 4.100” and 4.200”, with available compressed thicknesses of .041” and .053”.

“Our new PermaTorque MLS gaskets cover virtually any LSX-based engine combination producing up to 2,000 horsepower,” said Federal-Mogul Performance Gaskets Product Manager Ron Rotunno. “Professional and sportsman race teams and their engine builders have had tremendous success using these gaskets to ensure a reliable seal of extreme cylinder pressures and temperatures.”

Each PermaTorque MLS head gasket features the brand’s exclusive LaserWeld stopper layer, which helps maximize combustion sealing by precisely controlling the compression of each gasket’s layers. This helps reduce head lift, prevent gasket damage and ensure a superior combustion seal over a broader range of operating conditions.

“LaserWeld is the new standard in Sprint Cup racing,” Rotunno said. “This technology is another example of our ability to help engine builders anticipate and address the challenges associated with rising combustion pressures, temperatures and increased casting motion in each new generation of high-output engines.”

Developed with the insight and support of leading engine builders in NASCAR Sprint Cup and other leading racing series, PermaTorque MLS performance head gaskets provide the robust seal needed to contain extreme combustion pressures and temperatures common to naturally aspirated, turbo/supercharged and nitrous-equipped performance engines. Each gasket is composed of multiple layers of full-hard stainless steel, precisely engineered sealing beads and advanced polymer coatings to maintain contact pressure between the cylinder head and block despite the extreme horizontal and vertical casting motion encountered in many high-performance engine applications.

These benefits have been proven in thousands of miles of championship oval track competition and thousands of passes on drag strips across North America.

For more information regarding Fel-Pro PermaTorque MLS performance head gaskets, contact your performance engine parts supplier, visit www.felpro-only.com or write to: Fel-Pro Marketing, Federal-Mogul Corp., 26555 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, MI 48033. Complete application listings for Fel-Pro gaskets and other Federal-Mogul products are available online at the company’s free www.FMe-cat.com electronic catalog.

Highlights:

• 10 Fel-Pro PermaTorque MLS performance head gaskets now available for the LSX family of engines
• Features exclusive LaserWeld stopper layer technology proven in NASCAR, NHRA and IHRA competition
• The LaserWeld stopper technology helps reduce head lift, prevent gasket damage and ensure a superior combustion seal over a broader range of operating conditions

Official Release:

2011 CAMARO COUPE, CONVERTIBLE CAT-BACK EXHAUST SYSTEMS AVAILABLE FROM CORSA PERFORMANCE EXHAUSTS

BEREA, Ohio – Premium exhaust system manufacturer CORSA Performance Exhausts offers its cat-back systems for the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro V8 coupe and convertible.

CORSA’s dual rear exit exhaust systems for the Camaro feature a straight-through, 2.5-inch nonrestrictive design to maximize airflow, improving performance and fuel economy. Boasting airflow increases up to 44% over stock, the Camaro exhaust systems have an average performance increase of 6 HP and 7 ft.-lbs. of torque. They are available with sleek 3.5-inch or 4-inch polished Pro-Series tips laser etched with the CORSA logo.

The CORSA Camaro exhaust systems feature the company’s patented Reflective Sound Cancellation(tm) (RSC(tm)) technology that delivers a bold performance sound outside the vehicle without unwanted interior drone. The benefits of RSC technology are clearly showcased in the 2011 Camaro convertible L99 6.2L V8, which has an automatic transmission and Active Fuel Management.

“The factory exhaust for this vehicle is equipped with restrictive exhaust valves that our engineers knew performance enthusiasts would want removed,” said Craig R. Kohrs, VP and general manager, TMG Performance Products. “Our technology works by targeting low-frequency sound waves within the muffler case, canceling the drone-causing sound frequencies while leaving the desired bold tone without flow restriction or electronic devices.”

In order to combat the extreme low frequency interior drone caused by the Active Fuel Management system with straight-through exhaust piping, CORSA decided to use a next generation version of their popular RSC technology.

“Our latest RSC technology is perfect for this situation because it uses rectangular sound canceling channels – which package nicely in the tunnel of the vehicle – rather than the cylindrical mufflers traditionally used by exhaust designers,” Kohrs continued. “With high-quality design and engineering, we are able to give enthusiasts what they want and deliver a straight-through exhaust with no drone.”

CORSA’s Camaro exhaust systems include the XO pipe and feature easy, bolt-on installation. Hardware and detailed installation instructions are also included.

Features:

• Available for the 2011 Camaro coupe and convertible
• Provides up to 44% more airflow over stock exhaust components
• Adds an average of 6hp and 7 ft-lbs of torque to your car’s performance
• Improves fuel economy
• Delivers a bold performance sound outside the vehicle without unwanted interior drone
• Features easy bolt-on installation

LSXtv is proud to announce that the late-model GM performance specialists, LaFontaine Performance Center (LPC) have joined our family of sponsors! Located in Highland, Michigan, LaFontaine Performance Center is the largest GM Performance Parts dealer in all of Michigan, while the LaFontaine Dealership is the number one Cadillac/Buick/GMC dealership in the entire country.

LPC stocks all of GM Performance Parts’ most popular Crate Engines (LSX, Small Block, Big Block), and they ship them to enthusiasts all over the country on a daily basis. However, crate engines aren’t all they do; LPC is also well known for reincarnating the “Muscle Trucks” that were so popular in the early 1990’s with their “GT454” GMC Sierra. The GT454 is available in two different packages, one of which replaces your new Sierra’s stock engine with the bad-boy LSX454 crate engine that makes an Earth-shifting 620 horsepower.

The folks at LaFontaine are also avid drag racing enthusiasts, sponsoring teams competing in everything from Drag-Radial to Outlaw 10.5, and even Pro-Mod. Check out LPC’s Website for more info on all the crate engines, performance parts, and performance cars and trucks they offer. Or better yet, give them a call at 248-714-1126, and tell them “thanks” for supporting your Number 1 source for all things LSX – LSXtv.com!

QA1 specializes in providing performance suspension components for the street rod, street performance, circle track and drag racing markets. For each of these specialty markets, QA1 puts out a unique catalog, featuring some of the best products and latest technology to help you get the optimal suspension performance no matter what the application.

To help promote their products next year, QA1 is looking for cars to feature on the pages of their 2013 catalogs. If your car runs QA1 components you’re eligible to enter the company’s photo contest.

To enter, all you have to do is snap a good photo of your car and submit it on QA1’s Facebook page by May 25^th. Photos must be of your vehicle and can’t be submitted on someone else’s behalf. You must own the rights to the image you submit.

A number of photos will be selected for the catalogs, so make sure to give QA1 your best shot. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and the owners of the cars chosen will get a QA1 t-shirt and premium bragging rights.

Be sure to get your photo in by May 25^th to qualify and vote for your favorite pictures to help the judges choose which cars they will use.

Want to bump your car’s power up to 900 horsepower or more with less than a day’s worth of work? Check out one of Golen Engine Service’s Turn-Key Boosted LSX Crate Engines that could have your ride packing up to 1,200 horses. All of Golen’s Boosted LSX Crate Engines are 100% turn-key and come complete with a full Holley EFI Engine Management system and harness. You just drop it in your car, and start laying waste the rear tires. Chad Golen tells us, “Our Hot Rod Turn Key Boosted engines give you the big power you are looking for in a complete turn-key package that’s dyno tested and tuned so it is ready to run once you get it.”

Golen offers their Turn-Key Boosted LSX Crate Engines in five different varieties to match your goals and budget.

• LQ9 Iron Block 408ci with Whipple 2.9 Supercharger – up to 800 HP

• LS3 Aluminum Block 416ci with Whipple 2.9 Supercharger – up to 850 HP

• LS7 Aluminum Block 427ci with Whipple 2.9 Supercharger – up to 900 HP

• LSX GMPP Iron Block 427ci with Whipple 4.0 Supercharger – up to 1,200 HP

• RHS Aluminum Block 427ci with Whipple 4.0 Supercharger – up to 1,200 HP

If for some crazy reason none of their Boosted LSX Crates match up to what you’re looking for, Golen can custom build you the combo of your dreams. Every crate engine that Golen sells comes with a 3-year no-mileage-limit warranty and top notch tech service just a phone call away. Check out Golen Engine Service’s website, or call 1-800-591-9171 for more info on all the LSX crate engines they offer.

Crane Cams doesn’t just make camshafts for Hot Rods and Muscle Cars, but they also have a huge selection of cams for modern performance cars like the 5th Gen Camaro and C5/C6 Corvette. In fact, the folks at Crane are particularly big fans of the venerable LS engines from GM and even offer this cool LS Series Mini-Catalog that gives a sampling of their most popular products for LS1’s through LS7’s.

Crane’s LS Series Mini-Catalog gives all the details on their best-selling cam grinds for LS engines. They are updating their LS camshaft selection almost every day, but if you still don’t see exactly what you are looking for, Crane will make you a custom grind at no additional cost.

If you’re looking at doing an entire valvetrain upgrade for your high-performance street or racing engine, Crane has everything you need. The LS Mini-Catalog also gives a snapshot of the rocker arms, valvesprings, lifters, timing sets, and custom length pushrods they manufacture for your LS engine.

Best of all, every single LS component that Crane makes, is manufactured right here in the USA. So if you’re looking at upgrading the bump-stick in your Camaro, Corvette, GTO, or even an LS powered Truck, check out Crane’s LS Series Mini-Catalog, or give them a call at 1-866-388-5120 to talk about your specific goals.

The Edelbrock Performance Academy is the brain child of Christi Edelbrock, Edelbrock’s Vice President of Business Development, and Justin Brenner, OTC’s Director of Corporate Development.

The idea behind the program is to give OTC students training on aftermarket performance products as well as teach them the skills to increase the performance of a vehicle through three focus areas: planning, installation and modification.

The academy program consists of a 12-week, 300-hour course with nine training modules in camshafts and lifters, cylinder heads, carburetors, intake manifolds, electronic fuel injection systems, exhaust systems, nitrous and superchargers and data acquisition systems. The ninth module will cover the history of the Specialty Equipment Market Association and Edelbrock. Throughout the course, students will get hands-on experience with products from Edelbrock’s aftermarket line.

“The students will break down many of the parts on their own and will work on actual vehicles from configuration and installation to dyno-testing and tuning,” said Bill Abbott, Director of the Edelbrock Performance Academy at OTC in a recent Edelbrock press release. “As with all OTC classes, the Edelbrock Performance Academy will focus on more than just mechanics, teaching students the importance of a strong work ethic, customer service skills and the technical know-how.”

The Edelbrock Performance Academy will be open to 12 advanced students per class with a new course starting every 6 weeks beginning this fall. Students who complete the academy program will not only gain a unique skill set, they will also receive a certificate as proof of their high-performance, highly specialized training.

“Students gain an advantage in the workforce by completing the Edelbrock Performance Academy by receiving hands-on training using the latest products from Edelbrock,” Christi Edelbrock said in the press release. “This course is ideal for those pursuing a career as an engine dynamometer test technician at a performance shop or other tuner positions on a unique builder, race team or at a specialty aftermarket installer.”

But now we have the most certain evidence yet that GM plans a new Chevrolet model called the SS. Writer and website designer Christopher Price stumbled over mention of a 2014 Chevy model called the “SS Performance” while checking out OnStar’s page.

It was a happy coincidence for Price, who was looking at what future GM vehicles would be offering RemoteLink with OnStar. He clicked on the 2014 model year, and right there next to all the expected models within GM’s lineup was “SS Performance.” This pretty much seals the deal on what GM’s new car will be called.

That of course still leaves the mystery of what it will look like. Speculation remains that a four-door sports sedan is in the works, likely based on the Holden Commodore. Yet the Commodore platform is old, dated, and slated to be replaced soon…like around 2014. So if anything, the SS Performance will ride on a new platform, and Price speculates that it might even come with a bi-fuel CNG (compressed natural gas) and LPG (propane) option.

We won’t hold our breath, as GM doesn’t seem likely to reveal any more new cars until later this year. It appears that for once, the rampant speculation of internet journalism was right, at least as far as the name of Chevy’s new car is concerned. Everything else is still up in the air as far as we are concerned though.

In the video, Sandor Piszar, Director of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports for GM, reminds us that the COPO is a drag only package and can’t be licensed for legal use on the street. “Back in 1969 the COPO Camaro was actually a production vehicle. You could license it, put a plate on it, and drive it on the street. The 2012 COPO really is an all-out racecar…it has a serial number and no VIN Number.”

At the Wixom Build Center, the GM show off one of the Supercharged 327 LSX engines on the dyno, as well as all the cool equipment they use to tune it. Afterwards, the Hot Rod editors get their own turn behind the wheel of one of the new ZL1’s, and we get a brief look at the new 1LE handling package. As a special treat, at the end of the video “Mr. 5th Gen Camaro” himself, Al Oppenheiser shows us how easy it is to do a smoky burnout in a ZL1. Check out the video for yourself here.

The Chevrolet pickup has been a staple in the Chevy lineup since the 1930s. Built for hauling and work loads, the classic Chevy pickup has become more of a leisure vehicle now than ever before. With the pro-touring trend increasing in popularity every day, we are seeing more and more of these trucks get a new chance at life, just like this Cherry Red ‘51 Pickup set to cross the auction block at Mecum’s Spring Classic Auction next month.

This Chevy truck combines the best of both worlds. Classic looks are complimented by a new Corvette LS2 for power, which was upgraded with a Griffin radiator and a street and performance pulley system.

The engine is strapped to a new 4L70E automatic transmission and backed by a Dana 36 rearend with 3.73 gears.

The truck also features power rack and pinion steering and a frame modified to accept the front and rear suspension from the more advanced Corvette.

Inside, the Chevy pickup features a two-toned tan leather interior, Glide Engineering front seat, Flaming River tilt steering column and Vintage Air system. All of these features make the truck comfortable and ready to enjoy whether its at a show or on the road.

If you’re looking for a classic pro-touring truck, this one is definitely worth a look. It is set to cross the auction block at the Dana Mecum’s 25^th Original Spring Classic Auction in Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday May 18^th, with biding set to take place at 2:30p.m. Check it out and you could be enjoying your summer behind the wheel of this red Chevy pickup.

With looks this good, its hard to imagine this truck was originally produced to haul work loads

Official Release:

Gearstar Introduces New GM 4L60E, 4L65E and 4L70E Performance Transmissions

AKRON, OH – First introduced in 1982 as the 700R4, GM’s 4L60E automatic overdrive transmission hasn’t always been known for its durability. Fortunately, Gearstar’s 30 years of continual development for both improved O.E. durability and aftermarket performance has enabled it to develop a range of 4L60E-based automatics capable of harnessing up to 650 hp. Upgrades include a 28-element sprag, a carbon fiber 2-4 band, high-energy friction discs, a 10-vane pump, a high-capacity 3-4 clutch drum, heavy-duty steel plates, a Transgo shift kit, hardened rings, a revised pressure regulator, new solenoids, a hardened sun gear shell, Torrington bearings, and a Corvette servo.

For ease of installation, Gearstar’s comprehensive transmission packages are ready to drop right in. They come complete with a high-performance torque converter, a new pan, a fluid cooler, a fill tube, and a transmission mount. Rated at 450 hp, pricing for the Level 2 4L60E overdrive starts at $2,295. Level 3 and Level 4 models are available as well, rated at 500- and 650 hp, respectively. For LS-series motors, Gearstar also offers 4L65E and 4L70E automatics that match up perfectly with the revised bellhousing bolt patterns found on these newer blocks. For the ultimate in durability, Gearstar utilizes the same five-pinion planetaries GM integrated into the 4L65E and 4L70E into its own Level 3 and Level 4 packages.

All Gearstar transmissions are backed by a 36-month warranty, and each unit is dyno tested prior to shipping to ensure the highest in quality control. For more information, please contact Gearstar at 330-434-5216 or visit www.gearstar.net.

Features:

• Harness up to 650hp with your GM 4L60E-based automatic
• Ready to install
• Comes with a everything to run your performance transmission, including torque converter, fluid cooler, and new pan
• Pick from several levels for different horsepower applications
• 4L65E and 4L70E transmissions available for LS-series motors
• All transmissions backed by a 36-month warranty

This past winter the Swedish Camaro Cup drivers packed up their cars and tools, and made the jump across the pond to run two of their events on American soil; one at Sebring and one at Palm Beach. In this video from Vimeo, we get to ride along with Swedish Camaro Cup driver Stefan Jacobsson in the Number 73 Prena Motorsports Camaro as it makes a few laps around Palm Beach International Raceway at what seems to be a practice session. (The video states that it was shot at Sebring, but we are pretty sure this is actually Palm Beach).

As you’ll remember from our previous coverage of the Swedish Camaro Cup, the cars are only 5th Gen Camaros in appearance. Underneath they are a fully build race chassis, with power coming from a GM Performance Parts ZZ4 small block Chevy crate engine. Never the less, they are still a blast to watch and will hopefully stand as inspiration for Americans to start a Camaro Cup of our own, with real 5th Gens.

To get a bit more info on the race, we looked up Prena Motorsports website, and found out what Jacobsson had to say about the two races in Florida. In a rough Swedish-to-English translation, Jacobsson says, “Our first stop was the Sebring Raceway in Florida. The training went well, but the track felt a bit grainy. The surface is made of concrete and seashells in order to keep the heat on the track, but it wears tires terribly. The first race I ran in fifth place but spun and ended seventh.” Unfortunately, it would be more of the same for Jacobsson at Palm Beach with car troubles keeping him from finishing. “The car started to just go from bad to worse, so had to stop the contest.” he says.

However, in the latest video from Redline their ZL1 sounds noticeably nastier, giving the impression that it isn’t quite so stock anymore. The ZL1 completely kicks down the door of the 10-second range, running a best of 10.32 at 134.79. For now, that is the quickest elapsed time that any ZL1 has turned in.

President of Redline, Howard Tanner, tells us, “The goal for the car was mid 10′s, so were really happy to see it go deep into the 10′s. Now we think that 9’s are within reach!” For now Redline is staying pretty tight-lipped about what all they’ve done to the car but they did tell us that the longblock of the engine is still completely stock, and we get the impression that it has a full array of bolt-on’s. Head over to Redline’s website for more info.

The ZL1 competition is in full effect, and the Camaros just keep turning in better and better time slips. Keep it tuned to LSXtv for all the updates on who’s got the baddest “Z” around.

Yoken’s C5 features a 7-liter C5R block – while these are something of a rarity nowadays thanks to their expense, when the LS platform was new, the factory race block was the only game in town for those looking for more displacement, better strength under boost, or both. And speaking of boost, a Vortech YSi supercharger feeds pressurized air to the FAST intake manifold, delivering a claimed 960 horsepower to the dual disc clutch, and thence to the pavement.

Per Yoken, the car is still a decent daily driver, despite clocking speeds in excess of 180 miles an hour on the half-mile stretch of asphalt that normally sees Cessnas, not Corvettes. With tuner (and close personal friend of the Corvette Online staff) Ryne Cunningham of Cunningham Motorsports behind the wheel, this ten-year-old Y-body proved that the C5 platform is more than capable of taking on the best the world has to offer in a top speed shootout, then driving all the way back home with the same reliability and comfort you’d expect from a family car.

Official Release:

HOT NEW CHEVROLET LS SLANT-EDGE VALVE COVERS FROM PROFORM PARTS

Roseville, MI: Proform Parts has just added these beautiful Slant-Edge valve covers, for Chevrolet LS engines, to their ever expanding line of licensed Chevrolet Performance Parts (formally GM Performance Parts). They will fit all LS cylinder heads, providing a significant increase in valve train space to accommodate aftermarket roller rockers or shaft-mounted rocker systems. Enthusiast should check external clearance specs to see if these valve covers will fit a given engine compartment, including engine components and associated bracketry. They are available in six different styles, including raised or recessed Chevrolet and Bowtie emblems, or no emblem at all. Suggested retail starts at $250.

Because these valve covers are taller than stock, they will allow for a wide variety of custom valve train applications. Unique mounting studs and oil restricting baffles are included. Pre-drilled and threaded mounting holes can be used to mount Proform’s Integrated Ignition Coil bracket (sold separately). For those not interested in performing coil relocation, this LS valve cover and bracket system is the perfect upgrade. These Slant-Edge valve covers are sold in pairs. Patent Pending. Available Summer 2012!

Features:

• Licensed Chevrolet Performance Parts product
• Fit all LS cylinder heads
• Provide more valve train space to accomidate aftermarket roller rockers or shaft-mounted rocker systems
• Available in six different styles

Images: Camaro5.com

The Camaro has always been an important part of the Indianapolis 500 race, pacing seven of the races since 1967. With the 2012 running of the Indianapolis 500 coming up next month, many people are eager to hear what the official pace car will be. Unfortunately, the official announcement has not been made yet, but as we found out from Camaro5.com, there are plenty of Camaros commissioned as Indianapolis Festival Cars recently unveiled to ogle over for the meantime. And by plenty, we mean a whole stable full.

The 2012 Indianapolis Festival Cars consist of mostly Camaro convertibles with just a couple hard-top coupes. These cars will be used to transport track officials and VIPs around the event, and it’s a safe bet that the yet to be revealed pace car will be much different.

The convertible cars are all 2SS L99/6L80E models with a couple clad in the RS package. All the drop-tops feature all black interiors to match their black convertible tops. The two coupes are set to be used by the state police and are of the 2SS/RS variety, featuring all grey interiors. One of the two coupes was even spotted sporting 21-inch dealer option rims.

As you can see, the blue on white paint scheme of the Camaros is stunning in the sun. The simple yet distinct look is reminiscent of the first Indy Camaro pace cars and is sure to attract attention at the upcoming race on May 27^th.

While the festival cars are all Camaros, we’re not quite sure if the official 2012 pace car will follow suit. The fifth-generation Camaro has been used for the past three years to pace the Indianapolis 500, but spokesman for Indianapolis Motor Speedway Doug Boles told Indy Star last week that this year’s pace car could either be a Camaro or a Corvette.

Either way, we’ll be happy campers.

The official announcement of the 2012 Indianapolis 500 pace car is set to come this week. Once it’s announced, you can be sure to see it covered here. So while you wait, check out the full 2012 Indianapolis 500 Festival Car Camaro photo gallery below.

Figspeed, located in Las Vegas, Nev. will host the first of six XFI 101 and XFI Advanced Extreme courses slated for 2012 on May 5, offering gearheads interested in learning more about FAST’s revolutionary XFI units the perfect excuse to get away in Las Vegas for a weekend and even have a day to spare to get in some trouble in “Sin City.” After all, May 5 is Cinco de Mayo, and who wouldn’t want to party it up and learn the in’s and out’s of FAST’s XFI systems in Vegas?

In the XFI 101 course, attendees will discover tuning secrets for the new XFI 2.0 as well as the original XFI and classic FAST system and learn firsthand from industry leaders and the knowledgeable FAST technical support staff, all in a class designed for seasoned tuners and first-timers alike. Among the instructors for the course is fuel injection and XFI tuning wizard Brian Macy of Horsepower Connection.

The COMP Performance Group has afforded a special offer to PowerTV readers, who will save $50 off the regular registration fees when they use the promo code GOFAST.

To register for any class or to learn more about the renowned courses, visit www.efi101.com or www.fuelairspark.com. Upon registering, simply enter the promo code above and save.

Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding with shielding gas is one of the easiest and most popular methods of welding. (Photo from Lincloln Electric)

The skill of welding can take many years to perfect, but if you’re a regular Joe working out of your garage, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get enough “stick-time” to become an expert. The wide ranging choices of welding processes, welding wire and even the different shielding gasses is so large that the task of choosing the best consumables for the job can become confusing.

To help all of us “handyman” do-it-yourself restoration guys out, Lincoln Electric has developed a series of short videos that explains the selection process of different aspects of welding for the best chance at getting a solid weld. Our friends at Lincoln Electric alerted us to one of their most recent “How-To” videos: Shielding Gas Selection for MIG Welding.

Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding uses a continuous solid wire electrode for filler metal and an externally supplied gas to shield the molten metal from atmospheric contamination while it cools. The molten metal is very reactive to oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen in the atmosphere, and if exposed to these elements, will produce a weak weld. However, when done properly, MIG welding can produce a very strong weld with a great weld appearance.

A properly made finished MIG weld has no slag and virtually no spatter. MIG welding may be used with all of the major commercially available metals, including low carbon steel, low alloy steel, and stainless steel and aluminum with potential for excellent success by a novice. This has made MIG welding one of the most popular choices with the DIY crowd.

MIG welding with gas shielding produces an electric arc that is soft and less likely to burn through thin material and is one of the easiest types of welding to learn. The forgiving nature of MIG welding allows the operator to be less precise in arc length and travel speed to produce a quality weld.

One of the key issues that an operator has to be clear with is the proper selection of shielding gas. As the Lincoln Electric video demonstrates, selecting the right shielding gas is not as difficult as it may sound when faced with the many options available. After picking up a couple of quick tech tips from the video, you’ll be welding like a pro in no time.

Rated at 312 horsepower from the factory (GM found a few stragglers in 2011, bumping up its numbers), most dyno videos of stock V6 2010+ Camaros come in around 250 wheel horsepower and 225 ft-lbs of torque. Respectable, but hardly intimidating. But IPF’s supercharger kit boosts power at the wheels to 380, and torque to 300 ft-lbs, which works out to 435/360 at the crank. This kit will also work on 2008-2011 Cadillac CTS sedans equipped with the LFX V6. With that much horsepower on tap in a V6 package, it is easy to sneak the performance of a V8 Camaro under the radar of insurance companies. Not that we’re condoning that mind you, it’s just that considering the price of a base V8 Camaro, you could have a V6 Camaro with lower insurance premiums and V8 performance. Might be worth considering, don’t you think?

Love is a many splendored thing – especially when two LSX enthusiasts fall in love, like Sarah and James Karger from Fort Worth, Texas. The Kargers just sent us these pics from their wedding this past weekend featuring what has to be hands-down the most awesome Groom’s Cake we’ve ever seen; an incredibly accurate sugar and flour replica of our favorite power plant – the LSX.

As Sarah pointed out, 'This LSX has head-studs just incase we wanted to add some boost!'

A shared love for the LSX and racing is one of the things that brought Sarah and James together. Sarah tells us, “The reason behind the cake is my husband and I have a Fox Body Mustang with a 6.0L liter turbocharged LSX motor. It is an iron block LQ9 with a Borg Warner S400 T6 turbo. It runs 5.80′s on 275 drag radials. It’s still a real street car, and has A/C, heat, and a radio. We built the entire car together from a roller, and even built the turbo kit ourselves.”

The Karger's turbo LSX swapped Fox-Body was the inspiration behind the LSX Groom's Cake.

The LSX Groom’s Cake was one engine build that didn’t require the services of a machine shop, but rather the skills of an experienced bakery; namely the Food Network featured Haute Cakes and Cookies out of Fort Worth, Texas. Haute owner Wendy Collinsworth took on the LS1 cake as her personal project. “We met with Wendy and talked a little about the coupe and the LSX, and gave her a few pictures. She took it from there, and did an amazing job!” says Sarah.

Sadly, no one saved us any of the LSX cake.

Congrats to the Kargers, and thanks for sharing your “LSX-Love Story” with us!