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THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Triple Crown of Rodding 2025: Top 30 Review
In its third year, the Triple Crown of Rodding keeps getting smoother, stronger, and more refined—like a finely aged bourbon, each year’s competition distills the craft down to its boldest, most balanced builds. The 2025 event brought a level of intensity and talent that proved just how far the hobby has come. Builders came prepared, and the competition was fierce, with every entry pushing boundaries in creativity, engineering, and execution. This wasn’t just a show—it was a proving ground where only the most exceptional rides could shine.
Top 10 Camshaft Tips
The camshaft is often called an engine’s “brain,” and that’s an apt comparison. The cam controls all the major timing events in the valvetrain, which means it is responsible for how efficiently the engine can ingest and combust the air/fuel mixture. Choosing the right cam profile for your engine
combination is the key to making the most possible power.
Project ’47: Part Two
The Blueprint 383 provides the Advanced Design pickup with nearly 400 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque, which is plenty of power for cruising, especially the fair- grounds. During the engine build, Blueprint Engines took the time to photograph the machining process, as the company completely refurbished the Chevy four-bolt main block, machined and assembled it into a brand new horsepower monster.
Spotlighter
Axle Conversion: One Less Nut
Swapping Over From Six- to Five-Lug Axles
Author
Josh Kaylor
Photography by Will Smith
The Need for a Lug Conversion
When updating an early truck to five-lug disc brakes up front, the six-lug rear bolt pattern should be changed to match, as this directly affects the wheel selection and fitment for the truck. Many wheel manufacturers offer three times as many five-lug wheels as six-lug. They look better, and the available styles and offsets are generally more accommodating for slammed pickups.
Converting an Old International Truck
We recently converted an old International, a truck we affectionately think of as farm fodder. We updated the truck with a Fat Man Fabrications Mustang II with a five-on-five pattern, but we still needed to match up the rears.
Choosing the Right Parts
We called the folks at Classic Performance Products in Anaheim, California. Since we have a ’65 Chevy frame hiding under our ’47 body, they had just what we needed. The ’64-’65 Chevrolet axle conversion kit comes complete with everything needed to swap your axles to a five-on-five pattern, including a brand-new set of axles, drums, wheel studs, and a rear differential gasket. The kit includes everything to complete the installation except two quarts of gear fluid.
Step-by-Step Guide
In just a few hours and with a 50-pound bag of Oil-Dri, we had the rear completed. Should you face a similar problem, check out the highlights of our swap.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Classic Performance Products, Inc. (CPP)
378 E Orangethorpe Ave.
Placentia CA 92870
Tech Line 714-522-2000
