With the car on jacks and...
With the car on jacks and basically stripped down to the bones, Team Hotchkis meticulously lowered the LS1 into the modified subframe. R&D engineer Paul Yniguez literally wedged himself under the fender and alongside the frame for an up-close look on how the all-aluminum engine fit. After the mounts were secure, the engine was removed so that the rest of the car could be assembled.
For instance, the interior, which featured restoration parts from Classic Industries, wiring harnesses from Painless Wiring, insulation and sound-deadening material from Dynamat, as well as climate control unit from Vintage Air, had its dash, console, and door panels replaced with new units fabricated in-house from sheets of aluminum. To give them a cool look, they were shipped off to Santa Fe Enameling to be powdercoated gloss silver, rather than simply polished (which would require more upkeep in the long run). Industry standard Auto Meter gauges were used exclusively and a slice of Italy even found its way into the cabin by virtue of a Momo steering wheel and shifter knob.
To round out the interior comforts, Jesses Upholstery dressed the Corbeau seats in a durable light-black cloth and positioned them on insulated floorboards covered with carpet from ACC.
When it came to finding small items that have long since been eliminated from the Chevy parts catalog, the folks at Memory Lane chipped in to make sure that certain things remained as original as possible (i.e.: door locks, bumper brackets, and the like).
With the interior down to...
With the interior down to the bare minimum, a layer of Dynamat road deadening material was laid in place. At this early stage, the massive array of wiring harnesses from Painless Wiring were still coiled up, just waiting to be installed.
As mentioned earlier, the suspension received the complete Hotchkis treatment with coils, leafs, and bars leaving it with an awesome stance and the ability-with the additional help from Energy Suspension's polyurethane bushings-to cut through the canyon in a breeze. Bilstein shocks were installed to dampen the lowered ride and a Lee 12.7:1 quick-ratio steering box makes short order of the effort required to get the massive Yokohama's (275-40x17, front, 315-35x17 out back) to turn. American Racing Torque Thrust Two wheels have plenty of window space to vent (and allow to be seen) the massive Baer Racing cross-drilled rotors and aluminum binders (13-inch rotors in front, 12-inch units at the rear). Taking the brute force from the potent LS1 is a stout 9-inch rearend furnished by Currie Enterprises complete with stump-pulling 4.10:1 cogs mated to a Traction Lok carrier.
Vintage Air provided a state-of-the-art...
Vintage Air provided a state-of-the-art climate control system designed to replace the factory heater A/C unit. With the complete dash out (a new one was furnished by Classic Industries), it was much easier to install.
The intent of the car was to be an all-around performer-which meant it had to have the perfect combination of power, comfort, cornering agility, and stopping ability-but it also needed a level of reliability to keep all of the systems up to the task. That's where Team Hotchkis' meticulous attention to detail really shines. All of the loose ends that often plague project cars were addressed. Wire connections were installed perfectly and all fasteners used were of the highest quality. Rubber molding was replaced, warped plastic amenities were swapped, there was even a trick set of extra bright A.P.C. H4 headlights installed for trouble-free night cruising.
Even underhood non essentials were kept to a minimum. Stock exhaust manifolds are used in place of tubular headers which exit through cool sounding, yet not-too-big, 2 1/2-inch Flowmaster mufflers. On the top side, a custom air intake with K&N filter were employed to make sure the LS1 has no breathing problems. Again for reliability, MSD plug wires were laced away from potential hazards such as exhaust and linkage interference, Red Line synthetic engine oil was used in the LS1's crankcase, and a sure-handed B&M Ripper six-speed shifter was mated to the Pontiac Historic Services-supplied T56 providing a positive feel when rowing through the gears.
From A Visual Perspective
When we check out potential feature cars, usually the first thing that draws our attention is the way the car looks. But when it comes to making a final decree as to whether the vehicle finds its way into these pages, the determining factor is more often than not the level of detail the car has been built to. Since Hotchkis' F-71 is a work of art from the inside out, the final appearance was one area that was given a lot of consideration.
Stock pedals? Yep, since this car will be equipped with a T56 six-speed, the clutch pedal is a must have.
 |  The fuel tank's filler neck...  The fuel tank's filler neck fits snuggly under a corner of the deck lid. |  Dynamat fit behind the custom...  Dynamat fit behind the custom aluminum door panels, as well. |
 Whether it was fuel lines,...  Whether it was fuel lines, brake lines, or A/C lines, a great deal of attention was given to how they were assembled and routed. |  In this preliminary stage,...  In this preliminary stage, the center console (here just a template made from cardboard) starts to shape up. As seem elsewhere, the finished aluminum version is a piece of art. |  Helping to make the best of...  Helping to make the best of the T56 transmission was this bulletproof Ripper shifter from B&M. Of course, the console was built around it, so its function was more important than its design. |
 A full interior carpet kit...  A full interior carpet kit from Auto Custom Carpet laid over the Dynamat nicely and certainly was a welcome addition to those who worked on installing the wiring and other dash pieces. Nothing fancy here for the floor covering, though. Basic black did the job nicely. |  Paul took his time while routing...  Paul took his time while routing the Goodmark-covered plastic fuel line from the adapted late-model Camaro tank to the LS1's fuel rail. Note the remote cylinder mounted on the firewall above the brake power booster assembly. It's for the hydraulic clutch used for the T56. |  When it came to installing...  When it came to installing the gas tank, in retrospect, Team Hotchkis chose the wrong path. Instead of opting for an aftermarket fuel cell with the requisite steel braided hose, the decided upon using a late-model Camaro plastic tank with a built-in fuel pump. However, after literally cutting apart the trunk floor to make it fit and piecing together a fuel line from a myriad of parts, they still had to deal with the wiring. This required sacrificing three $90 oxygen sensors to get the correct wiring connector. |