It glitters in the sun, but it isn't a diamond. It makes the hippies grin, it makes the graybeards chuckle, and girls don't understand it at all. It's metalflake, and we've discovered that it looks as good on your '60s street machine as it does on your bass boat. So check this trip as we add a little sparkle to the CC/Rambler.
inline_mediumwraptextrightCC/Rambler25614377/techarticles/ccrp_0912_metalflake_paint_jobccrp_0912_02+1967_AMC_rambler+metalflake_paint_job.jpgTrue

Editor Glad admits it freely. Our '64 El Camino shop truck is a beater. His prepurchase criterion of having a rust-free cab was validated. There is no rust around the windshield, back glass, and cowl, and that's a major score. But the floorpans and quarter-panels were pretty much junk. Those are big enough flaws to keep us from truly enjoying our Pro-Beater parts hauler. The flappy quarters are an eyesore to all who set eyes on its Shamrock Shake flanks, and the holy rusted metal (Batman!) floors, while novel at first, merely provide an entrée for fumes and road grime that ultimately overwhelm the driver and unlucky passenger.inline_mediumwraptextright26811046/techarticles/ccrp_0912_rust_repair_restorationccrp_0912_01_z+1964_chevy_el_camino+rust_removal.jpgTrue

Three days of cool cars, burnouts, bikinis, cruising, and competition-is this heaven? No, it's the Car Craft Summer Nationals presented by GM Performance Division, and if you weren't there, you're gonna wish you were. We took over the Minnesota State Fairgrounds July 19-21 for a three-day celebration of everything automotive. Hundreds of gallons of race gas were burned, millions of calories of fairground food were devoured, and in spite of the unusually cool temperatures and ice-cold economy, we all had a blast. If you want to join us next year, log on to CarCraft.com for details.inline_mediumwraptextright31042167/eventcoverage/summer_nationals/ccrp_0912_2009_summer_nationalsccrp_0912_01+2009_car_craft_summer_nationals+.jpgTrue

Spotting a Plymouth Road Runner-or any blue-chip muscle machine-in the junkyard is sad and exciting at the same time. The sad part is realizing that a once-proud tire burner is a step closer to the crusher. The exciting part is the simple thrill of discovering a diamond in the dust. Either way, hope springs eternal that some savvy hunter-never us-will end up catching the prey and saving it for restoration before things get too far out of control. Unfortunately, for the '69 383 Road Runner coupe shown here at Desert Valley Auto Parts in Phoenix (dvap.com; 800/905-8024), any hope of resurrection is highly unlikely. But we can still dive in for a last look.inline_mediumwraptextrightMissing its 335hp 383 engine and heavy-duty 727 TorqueFlite transmission, this one has been carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey by Wile E. Coyote. We can only hope the inner fender, door frame, and other metal chunks have gone toward the revival of some other crashed or rusted Plymouth B-Body.30931962/featuredvehicles/ccrp_0912_junkyard_crawlccrp_0912_02+1969_plymouth_road_runner.jpgTrue

Tim Sockness was looking for a lightweight car he could cut up and use as a "Pro Street go-fast car." He'd been doing so since the '80s when he saw a Pro Street Duster wobbling down the freeway. "I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen," Tim says. So it stayed in his head for 20 years. Then one day, something clicked. "I was a late bloomer as a car guy. Up until I was 30 years old, I drove garbage." When Tim realized his fate, he began to build. First there were four-wheel drives, then an import with a turbo. "That car was fast; it had 240 hp at the wheel and only weighed 2,100 pounds." That's when Tim decided to build a real car.inline_mediumwraptextright26699092/featuredvehicles/ccrp_0912_1998_ford_rangerccrp_0912_01+1998_ford_ranger.jpgTrue

In the rodeo world of bull riding, 8 seconds is an eternity. Strap one hand to the back of a 1-ton-plus bull, let it rip, and hope to hold on long enough to not get stomped. In the drag racer's quarter-mile arena, it's exactly the opposite-the quicker the ride, the greater the thrill. By the time you pare it down to 8 seconds, it's about the same as strapping on that bull. But for those guys who've done it, all they want to do is go quicker.inline_mediumwraptextright26698372/featuredvehicles/ccrp_0912_1999_chevrolet_camaroccrp_0912_01+1999_chevrolet_camaro.jpgTrue

Spotting a Plymouth Road Runner-or any blue-chip muscle machine-in the junkyard is sad and exciting at the same time. The sad part is realizing that a once-proud tire burner is a step closer to the crusher. The exciting part is the simple thrill of discovering a diamond in the dust. Either way, hope springs eternal that some savvy hunter-never us-will end up catching the prey and saving it for restoration before things get too far out of control. Unfortunately, for the '69 383 Road Runner coupe shown here at Desert Valley Auto Parts in Phoenix (dvap.com; 800/905-8024), any hope of resurrection is highly unlikely. But we can still dive in for a last look.inline_mediumwraptextrightMissing its 335hp 383 engine and heavy-duty 727 TorqueFlite transmission, this one has been carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey by Wile E. Coyote. We can only hope the inner fender, door frame, and other metal chunks have gone toward the revival of some other crashed or rusted Plymouth B-Body.30931962/offshore/091200/ccrp_0912_junkyard_crawlccrp_0912_02+1969_plymouth_road_runner.jpgTrue

It doesn't take long when reading car magazines to realize how each story always comes off looking easy. Even if the tale is all about trial and frustration, it can seem like another chapter out of Aesop's Fables. That's because the reader is always spared the fits and starts, and the story takes barely 30 minutes to read. The only thing more fantastic than a quick magazine story is a complete muscle car buildup in 42 minutes on reality TV. So when we tell you Ken Crocie spent months on this Pontiac turbocharger restoration and all but slept at Westech's shop in search of respectable Pontiac power, it was all in the name of doing the project justice. We came along for the ride as intrigued observers, but trust us-the suffering was all Crocie's.inline_mediumwraptextrightThis may not look exotic, but nearly 750 lb-ft of torque qualifies in our book as something special. And it boosts through a stock-appearing Quadrajet.26726278/techarticles/ccrp_0912_turbo_pontiac_400_buildccrp_0912_01+turbo_pontiac_400_engine_build+.jpgTrue

Step Two
Edelbrock E-Street Heads
429 hp at 5,300
481 lb-ft at 3,900inline_mediumwraptextrightFor the sake of comparison, we looked at the numbers from a set of factory GM iron Vortec heads flowed previously on the same flow bench. The E-Streets were within 2 to 3 cfm through midlift then flowed 12 to 14 cfm more through the intake after 0.500 lift and 10 to 12 cfm more through the exhaust after 0.400 lift. The E-Streets have 185cc intake and 60cc exhaust ports.26784358/techarticles/ccrp_0912_small_block_chevy_buildccrp_0912_08+sleeper_small_block_chevy_engine+build.jpgTrue

The Four Corners
After we installed all the lightweight parts, the final test was to put the Orange Peel Chevelle back on the Longacre four-wheel scales to see if we made our weight. As you can see from the above graphic, we achieved our goal of trimming the Chevelle to our 2,993-pound race weight. This is without driver, which we also plan to cheat by putting staffer John McGann in the driver seat, who weighs almost 50 pounds less than the author. This would put the Chevelle's starting line race weight at around 3,150 pounds.inline_mediumwraptextright26584918/techarticles/ccrp_0911_chevelle_weight_reductionccrp_0911_12_z+1966_chevy_chevelle+weight_reduction.jpgTrue

If you go too fast at the dragstrip, you're gonna get booted. We've been racing the CC/Rambler for a couple of years now with that notion in the back of our minds, tiptoeing on the brake pedal or simply lifting in the lights to stay above the e.t. cutoff. Ya see, the '09 NHRA rules say you must have a rollbar if your car runs faster than 11.49 (or 135 mph) and the CC/Rambler ran a string of 11.60s on the motor. With the extra 2 seconds on tap from our NOS Fogger, a 10-second run was definite if we opened the big blue bottle. There is no way we'd get away with that without the proper safety gear, and we really wouldn't want to.inline_mediumwraptextrightCC/Rambler30809691/techarticles/ccrp_0911_rollbar_installationccrp_0911_02_z+1967_AMC_rambler+rollbar_install.jpgTrue

Car crafting is all about adapting late-model factory pieces to our older muscle cars. The conversion has to be simple, easy to work on, and best of all-inexpensive. Our show car cousins love those all-billet serpentine beltdrive systems because they're so cool looking. But most of us don't have two grand to drop on a pile of billet aluminum parts. However, the idea of a serpentine beltdrive system has serious merit-not the least of which is the simple fact that one belt drives everything. And with a spring-loaded tensioner, you can remove that belt in about three seconds. No more wrestling with multiple adjusters, misaligned slots, and a pile of obscure stamped brackets to retain an alternator and power steering pump on a short water pump V-belt system. There's a much better way.inline_mediumwraptextrightHere's a serpentine accessory drive installed on our 383ci small-block Chevy. We used new parts from Rock Auto for the pumps and alternator, but the brackets and pulleys are easy-to-find used parts.25353017/techarticles/ccrp_0911_serpentine_belt_driveccrp_0911_01_z+chevy_serpentine_belt_drive+install.jpgTrue

The air in the parking lot was electric. It felt historic, optimistic, and liberating. We were staging to cruise Van Nuys Boulevard for the first time in more than a quarter century. At just a few minutes past 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, a booming voice shouted a few informal instructions and cars began to pull out from the Rydell Chevrolet (formerly Paradise Pontiac) lot, tentatively at first as if they were anticipating trouble. Finally, an old-timer rolled into the street with authority, a bit of engine revving bravado, and just the thinnest wisp of tire smoke. The ice had been broken, and cruising was back on Van Nuys.inline_mediumwraptextright30810021/eventcoverage/car_shows/ccrp_0911_van_nuys_boulevardccrp_0911_02_z+van_nuys_boulevard+cruise.jpgTrue

Can you guess what we learned? Zilcho. As in zero difference anywhere in the power or detonation characteristics of the iron versus aluminum heads. Even the optimum total ignition timing was the same at 36 degrees. Regardless of coolant temp, rate of acceleration, steady state, or through a sweep, the dyno curves for the two styles of heads were identical. If anything, we could squint and guess and mumble that maybe aluminum heads were better by 2-3 hp. But the one thing we could never say is that the iron heads retained more heat and made more power than the aluminum. Maybe it's different on some engines with a drastically different water-jacket design, but we'll stand up and say that the old bench-racing line just ain't true.

Exhibition of speed. It's a moving violation, a few points on your license, and an intrinsic gearhead calling. A display of egregious horsepower can be masterfully executed, transcending the sophomoric nature of the act and potentially raising the perpetrator to local legend. Or, if seen in the pages of Car Craft, to national icon.

572 CI, Twin Turbocharged, 3,700HP Big-Block Chevy
Mike Moran, Taylor, MI
Drag racing has always been a showcase for pushing the limit of internal combustion engines, and Mike Moran is right there in the middle of the fight. We first met Moran back in the early days of Fastest Street Car racing when he surprised everyone with an 8-second, nitrous'd, Cleveland-powered Pinto wagon. Moran garnered even more respect with the first Fastest Street Car to run 200 mph. Today, Moran is pioneering a twin-turbocharged car in NHRA Pro Mod. That alone may not be newsworthy, but it is when you discover Moran is the first to combine hair dryers with electronic fuel injection and methanol.

AOD-E/4R70W

While everybody knows what the oil pump's job is and why it's there, few enthusiasts consider the lowly bubbler as a possible engine tuning resource. We've come to appreciate that it takes power to pump that oil, and as lubricants have improved over the last 10 years, we needed to know more about pressure, volume, and viscosity. Westech's Steve Brule proposed a flogging of four Milodon small-block Chevy oil pumps on a 372ci small-block Chevy. While somewhat mild, this small-block cranked out nearly 500 hp through two grueling dyno days of constant flogging with never a whimper. Even more impressive was the small-block's excellent consistency. If you're looking for a rock-solid small-block crate engine, the SHP is an excellent choice.

Sassy Grass Green is a Chrysler color. Specifically, it was option code FJ6 nicknamed Green Go for Dodge models and Sassy Grass Green for Chrysler and Plymouth cars. It was offered as a paint color option in '70 and '71. So what the hell is it doing on a '64 Chevy wagon? "I get that a lot," owner Bart Beuter says, sounding like he wishes he had a nickel for every time he's been asked that question. Why Sassy Grass? He just liked the color. He knew he wanted to paint it green and had been kicking around some color ideas with a Mopar buddy who recommended Sassy Grass. "As soon as I saw the paint chip, I knew it was the color I wanted," Bart says.

Before 1961, Pontiac was in the business of building fullsize cars aimed at the guy who couldn't afford a Cadillac but didn't want to settle for a Chevy. When fully equipped, they were flamboyant dreamboats that made middle-class working stiffs feel a little extra special. But 1961 marked a major turning point as the growing popularity of foreign compact cars like the VW Beetle caused GM to take notice. The first offensive salvo came in the form of the Chevy Corvair in 1960. Though it was a rear-engine platform, GM designed it with an amazing level of adaptability so it could serve as the basis-with tweaks-for the new-for-'61 front-engine Pontiac Tempest, Buick Special, and Oldsmobile F-85. For the first time ever, Pontiac dealers had a small car to sell. The '62 Tempest LeMans featured here is super cool because it has the optional 166hp four-barrel power pack. Never heard of it? Read on to learn more.

Twin Turbo 400ci Small-Block Chevy
Kenny Duttweiler, Saticoy, CA
Turbochargers are the new buzzword if you want to talk big-time horsepower. Combine a hair dryer with EFI and you have a killer street package, which is exactly what Kenny Duttweiler built for a mystery car owner from South Central Los Angeles. Duttweiler built this monster about two years ago, and it's in line right now for a bigger exhaust and a few other subtle changes to make even more power. The old package made a mere 1,200, and Duttweiler thinks the tune-up will pump out 1,400 big ones. All of this is stuffed into a tubbed black Buick Grand National that is going to need traction control to hook all the power to the pavement. Amazingly, all this plumbing fits into the stock Buick engine compartment with the air-to-air intercoolers wedged between the front bumper and the radiator.

Ian Cusey/La Habra, CA
Our painter buddy Brian Ferre tipped us off to this treasure trove garage located in an automotive service complex in La Habra, and we stopped by to talk to Ian, the owner of the building. He's been in the business of installing and servicing large-scale air conditioning units for high-rise office towers, hospitals, and hotels for more than 55 years. Sometime between 35 and 40 years ago, he rented the first unit in this four-unit building. As the building's other tenants moved out, he rented those spaces as well. Ian ultimately bought the building outright and now has all four spaces filled with cars, car parts, air conditioning parts, and all the other stuff a person accumulates over the course of his life. We regret our lens was only wide enough to fit one of the garages at a time.

Crisp In Pro Stock
NHRA Pro Stock Driver Ron Krisher was on a winning streak during Seattle's '05 Car Quest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in his Chevrolet Cobalt after three holeshot wins over series great Warren Johnson, number-one qualifier Mike Thomas, and once-champ Jeg Coughlin. After beating Coughlin in the semifinal, Krisher got his foot caught under the brake pedal before the car veered into the retaining wall, and after a brief slide, caught fire. Krisher was unhurt but sadly the race car was toast.

It really doesn't matter where your brand loyalty lies. If you dig musclecars, you'd have a Shelby Mustang. Even if your dream garage is full of Hemi cars or Camaros and Chevelles, you'd reserve a spot for a striped fastback, so long as it had ol' Shel's treatment. And even if you refuse to admit that you secretly lust for one, you absolutely can't deny that you'd look cool and be envied driving virtually any street on the planet in a Shelby-tagged Mustang.