Back in the early '80s, when we had hair bands and I had hair, I was with a bunch of guys who were working on a '69 Camaro. New quarters were being fitted in place with a new GM tail panel. My buddy turned to me and said, "The Chevy dealer told me this is the last tailpanel I'll be able to get because GM is no longer making them."

Rain. It's not what you want when you're driving the boss man's pristine '57 Bel Air in traffic-especially when his last words to you before handing over the keys were, "Make sure you bring it back in one piece."

Ergonomics is all the rage these days, especially in the automotive arts. Having the various controls we use to interface with our classic Chevys in just the right spot really adds to the overall driving experience, just like having them in the wrong spot, for lack of a better term, sucks. The steering wheel is how we become "one" with our cars and having it positioned correctly makes a huge difference, not just in performance driving, but even cruising around town.

Time was, to build a bigger-displacement big-block, you did it mostly through the stroke. That's because the classic, Mark IV big-block is limited to about 0.100-0.125-inch maximum overbores. On a 454ci engine with a stock, 4.00-inch stroke, a 0.100-inch overbore delivers a 476-inch displacement, while a 0.125-inch overbore will give you a 481-inch Rat.

After a recent discussion with the Editor about the best combination of performance in and dollars out, we decided to go to the source to find out what the GM powertrain engineers would do if they were in our shoes: big power and torque ambitions and a very skinny wallet.

Small gear changes contribute in a big way when it comes to the maximization of a race car's quarter-mile capabilities, and the proper choice determines the quickest elapsed times. The test mule for our gear change swap is an NHRA Stock Eliminator '70 Nova powered by a steel-headed 402ci big-block. Last year, the car made the switch from a 350 ci small-block pumping out approximately 400 hp that could get down the 1,320 in approximately 10.8 seconds to the big block, which should be good enough for 9-second passes at its lightest weight.inline_mediumwraptextright30991959/technical/engines_drivetrain/driveshaft_rearend/sucp_0910_1970_nova_drivetrainsucp_0910_01_z+1970_nova_drivetrain+rear_end.JPG.jpgTrue

The Project American Heroes II '69 Camaro built by Route 66 Motorsports (New Lenox, Illinois) exceeded our wildest expectations at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction this past April in Palm Beach, Florida. Associate Editor Patrick Hill of Super Chevy tells the story: "We anticipated PAH II making an impressive splash at Barrett-Jackson, but we about lost our minds when the gavel banged and the auction ended. Before we knew it, the bidding price was at $100,000 and starting to slow down. But the various bidders regrouped and the bidding took off like a rocket.inline_mediumwraptextright26742628/technical/additionaltech_perfdir/carbuilds/sucp_0910_1970_chevelle_projectsucp_0910_01+1970_chevelle_project+rendering_1.jpgTrue

We were a little late to the game with this '10 Camaro, owned by Tune Time Performance (Toms River, NJ), but have hit the ground running with an awesome first day and educational week. Which magazine went fastest? Who actually had a stock car when they did their baseline testing? I guess we can never be 100 percent sure of what anyone else does besides ourselves, and I for one am pleased with our baseline testing and first set of modifications.

In these uncertain times, enthusiasts are forced to watch every penny. That means maximizing power with a minimal expenditure. In most cases, it is necessary to trade the expense for either knowledge (of the likes you will find in the pages of Super Chevy) or good, old-fashioned, elbow grease. In the case of our Chump Change Challenge, we traded both.

Small gear changes contribute in a big way when it comes to the maximization of a race car's quarter-mile capabilities, and the proper choice determines the quickest elapsed times. The test mule for our gear change swap is an NHRA Stock Eliminator '70 Nova powered by a steel-headed 402ci big-block. Last year, the car made the switch from a 350 ci small-block pumping out approximately 400 hp that could get down the 1,320 in approximately 10.8 seconds to the big block, which should be good enough for 9-second passes at its lightest weight.

If your car or truck has a small-block that's long in the tooth or has seen a hard life, odds are it's not running with the same pep it had when new. You might even be burning some oil and hearing a few funny noises that are cause for concern. But thanks to GM Performance Parts, giving your Chevy an injection of fresh horsepower is easier than ever.

We left off with our 350 test mule in the July issue, when we rebuilt the bottom end with a rotating assembly from Summit Racing and pumped out a driver-friendly 468hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. We were poised to drop this baby into a first- or second-generation hot rod and make a nice daily driver until Trick Flow Specialties suggested we take out the friendly in "driver friendly" and scare the pants off anyone at the wheel. What we're referring to is Trick Flow Specialties' new carbureted, Roots-style supercharger kit that will bolt right up to our budget small-block.

The small-block Chevy is without a doubt the most popular engine in the world. Over the years, we have seen some wild variations come from these. Amazingly, the evolution continues some 55 years after it was introduced, with better cylinder heads, intake manifolds, engine blocks, and everything in between still arriving on a regular basis. These newly-designed parts have enabled our beloved Mouse to make ridiculous horsepower and live successful lives both on the street and the track, with up to 2,000 horses in forced induction combinations.

If you have even an ounce of Bow Tie blood, you will immediately recognize the three names presented above as nothing less than legendary small-blocks. During the muscle car era of the '60s and early '70s, this trio carried the torch into battle for their respective displacements. Sure, the fuel-injected version of the 327 was rated 10 hp higher than the carbureted L76, but both shared the same internal components.

There are two main ways we interface with our Chevys: one is through the throttle and the other is the steering wheel. Tons of thought and effort are put into the throttle side of the equation. After all, going fast is fun. But if no attention is paid to the steering side then the results could be a fast car that feels sloppy and is slow to respond to driver input. That can feel (or actually be) dangerous as you're zipping down the highway. Imagine a new ZR1 Vette with cruddy, unresponsive, steering-what fun would that be?

We're taking on all challengers and even going fishing for some big dogs with our balls-to-the-wall, no frills '72 Nova. It's being built for speed and absolutely nothing else.

CYLINDER HEADS As mentioned earlier, the heads are prototype LSX racing heads that were ported by Utah-based Chapman Racing Heads. They're filled with 2.200-inch titanium intake valves and 1.600-inch Ferrea Super Alloy exhaust valves. The intake port design is patterned after the high-rpm flow characteristics of the C5R head, but the chamber volume is a tight 45.6cc, hence the need for the deeply dished pistons.

Recently at the Super Chevy Handling & Suspension Challenge held at the old El Toro Marine base, Vic Edelbrock paid us a surprise visit in his Edelbrock Red C6 Corvette. The real treat was when Vic popped the hood to show off a prototype of Edelbrock's new TVS-based blower kit for the C6 that fits under the stock hood. We can't share many details now, but we do know that a kit for the 2010 Camaro is coming next. Watch for more info on this great new product from Edelbrock coming soon!

Pro Touring is the new Pro Street. Road warriors that can pull triple duty on the street, through the corners, and even down the drag strip are being built all across the country. By adding state-of-the-art technology to 40-year-old street machines, '60s-era cars can ride like a dream and go toe-to-toe with new Corvettes. Tubular control arms, coilover shocks, overdrive transmissions, and thin-wall tires combine to create some of the most versatile hot rods out there.

The downslope of the mountain is becoming clearer as we have ripped off every piece of '71 metal off the Back To The Street Camaro and have begun to slowly replace the old with the new. Last we left off, we repaired the floors and had the Camaro completely stripped naked. The front and rear suspension hit the paint booth and were over at Mike Cramer's Automotive Service class getting the final assembly before installation.

Our "ready-for-the-grave" patient at the start of these installations was a factory-stock '66 Chevelle begging for much-needed upgrades. You could tell that no one had rolled under this car, as the stock bushings were still in place, as were the factory springs, and four-wheel drum brakes. An unsightly and hazardous combination, ABS Power Brake had in the answer to our failing drums in the form of their complete front and rear disc brake package for A-body cars.

You have not lived if you haven't tried to run a stock '57 Chevy with manual steering, a bench seat, and no seatbelts through a slalom course. Imagine being dragged through the ocean by a whale, holding on by just a dorsal fin, and you have a pretty good idea. You're porpoising up and down, getting tossed side to side, and hanging on for dear life. It's not pretty (and we had the benefit of radial tires!).

A bad stance can kill the looks of even the coolest car. A jacked-up rake and a gap the size of the Grand Canyon over the front tire just looks bad. Back in the day, we would grab a torch and slice a chunk out of the front coils. Sometimes it worked, but more often ended up with a car that leaned like a drunken sailor. One time we cut off too much and had to run spring spacers until we could find another set at the local salvage yard. In truth, even when we cut them just right we were still doing nothing for, and most likely hurting, performance.

One of the common misconceptions about cam profiles for forced induction applications is that you have to do everything you can to minimize the dreaded overlap. In fact, some experts go so far as to say you should run stock cam profiles in blower applications.