ENGINE
UPGRADES
ENGINE
UPGRADE #1 CLICK HERE
Third
vehicle in the shop right now for engine upgrades
is a '49 Chevy Pickup.
 The
woman who owns this vehicle lives in Colorado Springs,
and wants to commute at 80 MPH in heavy snow with
all the other Denver crazies. (Have you ever been
part of this Colorado commuter madness? It's incredible!)
So her classic truck restoration project included
a whole new chassis as well. We modified a frame
and driveline from a '04 Chevy 4x4 pickup to suit
her cab and a flatbed that we built. Now she has
the modern fuel injected 350 horsepower V-8, electronically
controlled four wheel drive, and every single electronic
control from the modern pickup; cruise, ABS, power
steering, power brakes, tow/haul transmission function,
etc. We even modernized the dash and installed the
instrument cluster from the '04 Chevy. So restoring
this antique Chevy was quite an improvement!
 Number
four is a '36 Ford! This classic hot rod restoration
job includes a terrific engine upgrade. The original
flathead engine put out about 65 HP. This customer
wants a more classic approach to his hot rod, so
we installed a beautiful '50 Mercury flathead that
develops almost twice the power, at 125 HP. And
we installed hydraulic brakes and a modern five
speed transmission with hydraulic clutch. A perfect
classic hot rod upgrade.
Number
5: A killer '72 Firebird! This restoration job includes
the usual body, paint, and just a little interior
work, but we did a dramatic engine upgrade. This
outfit in Leoma, Tennessee, Jim Butler Performance,
builds the best Pontiac motors we've ever installed.
They are a top notch outfit, and have good solutions
to all the challenges. And their motors are beautiful
as well.
 Our
customer has had the car since it was a couple of
years old, and took great care of it. When it came
time to freshen it up, though, he wanted all the
modern technology. Besides the terrific engine,
about 500 HP, he wanted the transmission improvements
to handle the power correctly. We do the transmission
work in-house, and we have always loved the Butler
motors, so the warranty on this one is solid. He
also went with big brakes and the best suspension
upgrades available. His goal was top performance,
and that's what he got! And the new engine is much
lighter than the original, adding to the overall
package.
Car
6 that we have in the shop today with an engine
upgrade is a '62 Impala convertible with an LS-1
engine. Factory Corvette power to move one of the
most popular classic convertible sleds. This car
also has air ride for a maximum low look, Wilwood
big brake upgrade, AC, the works.
We didn't build this car, but are finishing someone
else's build. Our customer bought the car mostly
done, leaving us to complete the existing work,
correct some of the prior work, and shake it out.
A lot of our antique and muscle car restoration
work comes to us this way, and we're happy to help.
Our deep and broad experience with classic restoration
and upgrade work allows us to say "yes" to any job
someone else can't finish. The last 10% work on
a classic car restoration takes 50% of the time
of the total job, and we really enjoy helping out
in this kind of situation.
Example
#7 is one of the coolest jobs we've ever done. A
perfect, highly modified but mostly stock appearing
'66 Chevelle. No corners were cut on this one; our
goal was simply to build the ultimate, drivable
'66.
But let's start with just the motor: A GM 572 that
develops 620 horsepower right out of the box. GM
builds it with the best technology in the industry
to terrific quality standards. And the value is
just incredible! The dollar to horsepower ratio
is amazing, and it comes from the factory. I don't
think it gets any better than this.
Clearly,
since this car is the ultimate build, you can expect
that the customer and we did the best research.
You can spend more on a motor, but it's hard to
beat the GM crate for originality, warranty, dependability,
power, and looks.
And we did all the other great upgrades you'd expect;
huge brakes, narrowed and tubbed rear end, Hotchkiss
suspension, etc. The paint is flawless, as is the
interior, electrical, chrome…
ENGINE
UPGRADES #3 CLICK HERE
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