Reeling In The Years: Rod Saboury ReturnsRoll back the tape to the '80s, back when Pro Street was king and supercharged, "tubbed" high-performance cars ruled the land. For Rod Saboury, it was a great time. He was the king, along with fellow Pro Streeters Rick Dobbertin, Matt and Debbie Hay, and the rest. We're happy to say Rod is still heavily into street machining today. Rod's black '63 Corvette split window started life as a 100-point concours car that became quite the sensation in its day.
But Rod has done more than just build Pro Street cars. When Hot Rod put the call out for Fastest Street Car runners way back in 1991, Rod showed up with a wild 632ci '57 Corvette that made it all the way to the finals but ended up losing to Max Carter's Nova because of a broken valvesprings. The Vette was also the first "street car" in the 8s. Before it was all over, Rod had built several cars, including a very nasty twin-turbocharged Firebird that came very close to winning the NMCA Pro Street title. Much of Rod's success could be attributed to his NHRA Super Stock experience running a '69 Camaro. So he's more than just a Pro Street car builder.
While Rod's first '63 is no more, old habits die hard, and he just can't get enough of those cool split-window Vettes. To satiate his empty garage pains, he built a new '63 Pro Street Corvette; this one's blue and has a few more goodies than the last. Rod's current '63 began as a total basket-case originally located in a small garage in Reading, Pennsylvania. With the help of good friend John Millar, Rod installed an '01 LS6 engine. Currently the car gets 20 mpg on most long drives accompanied by his wife Tina, but that's the key-the car has tons of street-driven miles on the odometer.
While two '63 Pro Street Corvettes are generally considered your lifetime allotment, not so for Rod. The current '63 will soon be moving out in favor of yet another '63. This time, Rod has a loftier goal in mind: 200-mph top-speed performance, 6-second quarter-miles, and retaining street-driveability. With twin turbos, a 400ci small-block, a four-speed Lenco trans, along with other performance parts, Rod is sure he will make his goal. Knowing his engineering abilities, we expect him to reach his target without question. His other race car, a Pro Street '57 Corvette, was the first car of its type to click off 7-second quarter-mile times. Hitting 200 mph and 6 seconds with the new car shouldn't be much of a challenge. When Rod hits his goal, we'll let you know.
John Raffa Memorial Scholarship FormedCar Craft's veteran readers will no doubt remember the name John Raffa, a former CC publisher and a car enthusiast through and through. Recently John passed away-but his spirit of creative thought lives on.
Recently John's wife Karen announced the formation of the John Raffa Memorial Scholarship, which is a joint effort involving SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) and your contributions.
The scholarship money will be given annually to a journalism student and go on in perpetuity. To begin the fund, SEMA will require $100 from 100 people in "John Raffa's name" to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund. In recognition of the first 100 contributions to the John Raffa Memorial Scholarship Fund, Karen will send you a signed piece of John's art.
Send your tax-deductible check (minimum of $100) to:
Sema Memorial Scholarship FundJohn Raffa (this is very important)Semac/o Faith Barnese1575 South Valley Vista Dr.Diamond Bar, CA 91765
Stick It
Stamps To Celebrate Performance Cars Of The '50sEver wish you had a car collection? How about at least one car for every day of the week? Well, now you can have your wish courtesy of the U.S. Post office, which will be releasing five new "sporty car" stamps in 2005. The new stamps will be emblazoned with five significant cars from the '50s, including a '52 Nash Healey, a '53 Chevrolet Corvette, a '53 Studebaker Starliner, a '54 Kaiser Darrin, and a '55 Ford Thunderbird.