Inferno
July 16, 2023
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THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
SQUIRT GUN
You have to admit that the thought of injecting water into your engine sounds crazy. We all know that water doesn’t burn and it can’t be compressed. Those unfortunate souls who have tried to do this now have engines that are the equivalent of ship anchors. In this installation, we aren’t going to be injecting huge amounts of water into an engine, but rather a fine mist that’s proportionate to the fuel flow (10 percent to 20 percent), using a high-pressure pump. This will help lower the chances of detonation by reducing the intake charge temperature.
Remembering When
When Ricardo Lopez began building this 1955 Chevy he had some help, as well as a plan. In the beginning, this little Chevy pickup was to provide an excellent chance for Ricardo to spend some time with his son, Ricky, and to be able to show the boy some of the tricks that he had learned over the many years he had worked as a customizer, bodyman and painter. As owner of Paint By Lopez in Compton, California, Ricardo had hopes of his boy taking over for him in the years to come, maybe even calling the shop Paint By Lopez & Son. Unfortunately, Ricky was taken from Ricardo and his wife, Monica, in a freak accident. At first Ricardo was going to sell the truck, as the sight of it was almost too much to bear. But upon reflection he changed his mind. Ricardo thought that finishing the project was not only a perfect way to work through his grief, but it would also give him a chance to feel connected to the son he had lost. When the Chevy was completed, it would be a way to honor Ricky’s memory.
Shade-Tree 1.6.
Okay, we weren’t quite that naive about what we read regarding upgrading to 1.6 rockers on our small-block Chevy for the first time, but it was close.
The engine in question was a decent runner with 30,000 miles on the mild-performance rebuild. The rebuilt engine was purchased used, and among its selling points were 0.030-over 9.5:1 pistons, moly rings, 1.5 roller rockers, a Performer RPM intake and a brand-new Holley 750cfm carburetor. The cam wasn’t a perfect match to the torque converter used in the previous installation nor was the final-drive gear ratio. As a result, the owner planned on stepping down on the cam chart to a Comp 286H-10 cam, which came with the engine in its original box. Also included were a brand-new factory Z28 oil pan and a factory timing chain cover to replace the cheap chrome pieces. For $300, the engine package was a deal, and one we couldn’t pass up. We sold the aforementioned chrome pieces and matching valve covers for $50, getting us the engine at the bargain price of $250, and we still had the new cam and lifters on our shelf.
Spotlighter
SSRRRRR!
Adding Growl, Truetrac Limited Slip and a Nice “Duntov” Touch to a Chevy SSR
The guys at Detroit Locker (makers of the Detroit Locker, Tractech, Truetrac, and more) were looking for a contemporary vehicle to demonstrate the rugged durability and smooth power transfer of the company’s Detroit Truetrac helical gear limited-slip differential when it hit them: The Chevrolet SSR pickup would be the perfect vehicle for this purpose.
Author
Bob Carpenter
Story and Photography
The Build Plan: A Nod to Racing Heritage
They nabbed one of the limited-production vehicles and promptly put together a very impressive build plan. Working with Jason Hulst of Hulst Design, the team came up with a plan reminiscent of the Duntov/Chevrolet racing glory days, but with plenty of street smarts to keep this thing street legal.
Power Upgrades with a Supercharged V8
The first order of business was to make sure the vehicle had so much power that it truly needed a product like the Truetrac. That mission was accomplished by installing a Magnuson intercooled supercharger on the 6.0-liter V-8 LS1 engine in this ’04 SSR. Then they added a set of Dynatech headers and a MagnaFlow after-cat exhaust system. Dyno tests showed it made just under 500 horsepower. The truck is built with some massive side pipes, but they are yet to be functional, something that is planned to happen soon. With all of these power producers on board, you can bet that the truck needed some traction help.
The Detroit Truetrac Limited-Slip Differential
The Detroit Truetrac was the first gear-type limited-slip differential in the industry. The patented design of parallel axis planetary helical gears provides a quiet, automatic splitting of torque. Power transfer goes literally unnoticed by the driver; all he knows is that the car or truck is accelerating fast with no dramatics.
Performance Benefits of the Truetrac Differential
The Detroit Truetrac performs like an open differential under normal driving conditions and automatically transfers torque to the wheel with better traction when ground conditions warrant. The limited slip responds instantly to torque feedback any time, at any speed.
Enhanced Suspension with Belltech
Another item that needed attention for this project was the suspension. Project manager Don Johnson (of DJ&F) turned to Belltech suspension to get the truck riding at the proper height, and with the proper firmness. The SSR already comes with a sophisticated five-link rear suspension that uses two upper and lower links which attach to the frame at four points, and a transverse link (or track bar) to help provide lateral stability. In addition, there’s an antisway bar. The Belltech kit lowered the truck 3 inches in the front and 4 inches in the rear.
Wheels, Tires, and Track-Ready Style
A set of two-piece Halibrand Performance aluminum wheels with billet knockoff hubs really sets the tone of performance for this truck. Toyo Proxes tires are wrapped around the wheels for the ultimate in road traction.
Interior Upgrades and Hidden Audio Features
In the cab, the Truetrac truck has a gaggle of Auto Meter gauges installed on a pod, and the driver and passenger are held firmly in place with Mastercraft seats and five-point harnesses. It’s interesting to note that the passenger seat was built without a headrest in order to leave room for the tonneau cover. A Rawlings Audio stereo system is so well hidden that you would be hard-pressed to find any of the components without using a screwdriver or a wrench. An Alpine head unit is paired with a Tru Technology four-channel amplifier, an Image Dynamics wide-dispersion lens, an 8-inch midwoofer, a 10-inch subwoofer, Scosche wiring, and Mogami interconnects.
Exterior Styling by Axiom Design Solutions
All of these performance parts might go unnoticed if the package were plain vanilla, but Axiom Design Solutions made sure that wasn’t going to happen. The guys at Axiom assembled a collection of bolt-on body parts to really jazz up this pickup. They tweaked the look by starting with the front fascia, and then they added the rear fender brake cooling inlets (they’re functional, by the way) and a rear exhaust panel that covers the OE dual exhaust outlets. The rear wing is an obvious item that creates its own sort of buzz and gets a lot of attention, along with the 4-inch side exhaust pipes. A bolt-in competition rollbar adds some safety and certainly contributes to the racy look of this SSR. The grille bar set was finished off using Alsa Mirra chrome paint, and it looks sweet.
Custom Tonneau Cover and Convertible Roof
Last, and certainly not least, the Axiom crew put their creative minds to work and came up with a composite half-tonneau cover that’s removable and can be stored in the bed. This item really screams “sports car” even though this is a pickup! You can still open the passenger door with the tonneau installed (which makes tossing in the briefcase a lot easier). The SSR has an electrically operated, removable hardtop. The top folds down with the push of one button. The side windows go down and then the roof panels move independently on steel linkages to vertically stack and store in the bulkhead behind the passenger compartment. This unique storage arrangement allows the cargo area (the bed) to remain completely available.
Finishing Touches with Custom Paint
To top off everything, Custom & Classic sprayed on the white BASF paint with contrasting blue along the bottom. The addition of the classic racing circle on the door with a number for extra drama is a nice “Duntov” touch.
