Cruise Missile

Robert Briggs' '64 drop-top seems nice but nondescript--until you catch sight of the exquisite metal sculpture sitting in the engine bay.

But back to that engine: "It sets you in your seat when you nail it," says Briggs of his creation, as if we had any doubt. We had to ask, though, about the Impy's cruising capabilities, given the car's original intent, and the answer is positive there, too. "I didn't build it to sit and look at. It drives bitchin'," Briggs tells us, "but it's a tire burner." We can believe that, too. However you take this one in: checkin' out the wild engine bay, cruisin' the boulevard, or reducing new tires to bare cords, it's very cool, and makes perfect sense.

Speed Reading
'64 Impala SS
Robert Briggs
Garden Grove, CA
ENGINE
Type: '76 Chevrolet 400
Block: 0.030-inch overbore to 4.155 inches
Oiling: Moroso pan, big-block oil pump
Crankshaft: Cola forged-steel, 3.75-inch stroke
Connecting Rods: Eagle One
Pistons: Venoli pistons, pins, and rings, 8:1 compression ratio
Cylinder Heads: Brodix
Valves: 2.08/1.60-inch
Camshaft: Isky
Timing Set: Cloyes double-roller
Valvetrain:Isky pushrods, Crower roller rockers, remainder Brodix
Induction:1,050-cfm Holley Dominator carb by The Carb Shop, Ontario, CA;
Edelbrock Victor Jr. manifold; twin-turbo draw-through system using RotoMaster compressors and Turbonetics wastegates, fabricated by Ron Lummus Racing, Anaheim, CA
Ignition: MSD 6AL
Exhaust: Polished stainless headers built by Ron Lummus Racing, Burns stainless merge collectors, 3-inch Magnaflow dual exhaust
Other:Vacuum air pump, PMR braided lines
Output: 1,200 hp (est.)
Machine Work: Benson's, Santa Ana, CA
Assembly By:The owner
Thanks To: Arman Maghdessian and Gary Briggs

Ron Lummus Racing created the awesome looking twin-turbo setup for Robert Briggs' '64 Impala. Dual RotoMaster compressors, each fitted with a Turbonetics wastegate yank mass quantities of air and fuel through a Carb Shop 1050 Dominator. The dual-outlet manifold at the carb base feeds the dual-inlet hat sitting atop an Edelbrock Victor Jr. manifold, which in turn feeds the voracious 406ci powerplant. The result is an estimated 1,200 hp.

DRIVETRAIN
Transmission: Turbo 400, stock Impala SS floor shifter, TCI 12-inch converter, and a Steff electric cooler
Rear Axle: GM 12-bolt with Posi-traction and 4.11:1 ring-and-pinion, built by J&F Gear, Huntington Beach, CA
Driveshaft: Driveline Specialties

CHASSIS
Frame: Stock, reinforced by the owner
Front and Rear Suspension: Firestone airbags with KYB gas shocks
Steering: Stock
Other: Chrome-plated A-arms and trailing arms, other components painted gloss black; Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings
Brakes: Wilwood front discs, stock rear drums
Built By: The owner

WHEELS & TIRES
Wheels: 20x8 Intro Twisted Vistas
Tires: P225/35R20 Falkens

BODY & PAINT
Body: Stock, stripped to bare metal, blocked, and floorpans replaced by the owner; trim and bumpers replated by The Bumper Boyz, Los Angeles, CA; new emblems from The Car Shop, Orange, CA
Paint: Glasso Black by Paint by Briggs, Huntington Beach, CA