8. Golf shirts. You get some shirts with the Car Craft logo on them, which instantly gives you customer-level cachet at Checker Auto Parts and giggles of recognition from one of the girls at a certain strip club in North Hollywood. She's the chubby one.
9. Golf carts. You get your own golf cart to drive around at car shows. This guarantees that everyone else at the show will think you're a self-important jackass.
10. Learning at the knee of Matt King. He knows all, sees all, and does our evaluations.
Another Reason To Move To AustraliaGrabbing parts from around the GM world, Holden's HSV tuning shop has produced a monster called the HRT 427 based on the Monaro coupe, which is destined to become the GTO.
The major ingredient in the race-oriented HRT 427 is the 7.0L (yup, 427 ci) version of the LS1 V-8 from the Corvette C5-R endurance race car. Running 11.5:1 compression and breathing through eight individual velocity stacks, the 427 should make nearly 500 hp, which it sends through a Tremec T-56 six-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels.
To use all that power, the car's chassis has been upgraded with a new aluminum A-arm front suspension in place of the standard struts, there are big AP brakes at every corner, the body has been lightened with a carbon-fiber hood, and the underside gets a body pan that smoothens airflow. The wheels are 18 inches in diameter, and throwing away the rear seat and other unnecessary stuff drops the car's weight by about 220 pounds.
HSV says the point of this car, if it were to enter production, would be to compete against machines like Porsche's 911 GT2 for significantly less money. All we ask is that they throw a Pontiac badge on it and send it over here.
In And Out ListIn: Having a tailgate barbecue off the back of your 454-powered '70 Chevelle wagon before a football gameOut: It's like, 20 degrees outside!
In: Coming across a '72 Dodge Coronet wagon with only 40,000 miles on the odometer, a "For Sale" sign on the windshield, and a cheap asking priceOut: Waiting two days before calling about the wagon and finding out it sold the day before
In: Finishing your first transmission rebuildOut: Your rebuilt tranny is somehow leaking something from somewhere
In: That Ford will build three GT40s during 2003Out: We're not on the list to get one, and even if we were, we wouldn't have the money to pay for it
In: Building a street machine and powering it with a straight-six just to screw with people's mindsOut: Building a street machine powered by a straight-six and then trying to convince people that it's actually fast
In: Bench seatsOut: The hideous upholstery that covers most bench seats
In: Building a decent car in six weeksOut: Taking more than a decade to build any car
In: Getting a regular paycheckOut: Watching your 401K take a dump in the stock marketOut: People who whine about their 401Ks
Vortec Vortex[Photo 116-0211.SCUP 10A and 10B on CD.]GM has been on a new engine binge. Since the introduction of the '97 Corvette's all-aluminum LS1 V-8, GM has been working vigorously to replace all the engines in its fleet. From the Ecotec four in the Cavalier to the Duramax turbodiesel in the heavy-duty pickups, GM has put a lot of new engines out there. Now it has prepped two new engines for the '04 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups.
Based on the 4.2L Vortec 4200 inline-six used in the Chevy Trailblazer and GMC Envoy SUVs, the new Vortec 2800 four and Vortec 3500 five promise to be both powerful and fuel efficient.