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WATT UP: Hemi Powered ’55 Chevy

January 31, 2025

One of the many things The Auto Builder does on a daily basis is keep its eyes peeled for small make-a-difference items, tech and how-tos that might benefit you for both street and/or strip application. Sometimes those elements are major, other times they are far less significant, but nonetheless helpful. We also pay particular attention to things that are of interest, up to and including the reasons why an owner did not win at a car show. There are 55 photos here, each with a bit of info. Many may pay dividends for you sometime in the future, so sit back, learn, laugh and enjoy.

Lost & Found

There are many reasons why the icon cars have achieved the lofty status they now enjoy, but one of the more obvious reasons is the simple fact that they were finished. Their existence and subsequent high-level exposure have inspired many a young lad to undertake similar projects, and for every famous car built in the early years, probably two others were started in an attempt to either copy or outdo it, but they never saw the light of day.

RILEY’S ’72 Chevy

It seems never to fail: You buy an old truck from a friend or family member with the intent of just sticking a used motor in it and giving it a quick paint job. This usually means that the front clip comes off to put the motor in, and that leads to taking apart the front suspension, which leads to assorted chassis upgrades, as well as the rest of the frame components being unbolted and stripped down for paint, and that means the cab is taken off and sent to a paint shop. Well, you know how those stories play out, and without going any further, this is exactly what happened to Jim Riley and his son Dusty.

Spotlighter

CAMARO MAN

Troy Leiphart Built His Ultimate Pro-Engineered Camaro

If you ask car enthusiasts to identify their favorite ’60s Chevy, most will say a Camaro. If you want a more specific answer, you probably will get mixed responses between the ’67-’68 models and the ’69. Troy Leiphart is one of those enthusiasts who like the early models, because they are smoother looking than the ’69 and look meaner when done right. That love affair with ’68 Camaros started when he was a kid. His older brother Ernie owned a maroon ’68, and Leiphart thought it was the coolest car around. After awhile, money got tight for Ernie, so Leiphart purchased the car from his brother. Leiphart drove the cool Camaro with much pride, fixed it up and spent time at the drag races, where the car did well. Eventually the engine blew and he couldn’t afford to fix it, so he sold the car back to his brother.

Author

Jeff Tann

Words & Photography

Returning to the Hobby

Twenty years passed and Leiphart was finally able to get back into the car hobby; in 1998 he purchased another ’68 Camaro. He drag-raced the car at the local tracks, but as much as he enjoyed drag racing, he also liked car events and shows. After thinking about his options, he began his search for another Camaro, one that could be turned into the ultimate lightweight drag car and that could also be street driven and be show-car quality. He eventually purchased a drag car that he turned into a pro-engineered Camaro that was street driveable. According to Leiphart, “Dreams do come true with hard work.”

Building the Foundation

The Camaro was taken to Way Cool Rod Shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where the round-tube frame was built. The Camaro features a Strange strut front suspension with rack-and-pinion steering that was installed by Lonny Gordon, owner of East Coast Muscle Cars in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. The rear was outfitted with a Dana 60 differential that features a spool with 4.56:1 gears. It was narrowed to 42 inches and rides on coilover Strange shocks. The cage and suspension look race ready, but this car is street driven and certainly attracts plenty of attention when enthusiasts get a close look. The rolling stock consists of ET 15×4-inch wheels running Goodyear 24×15 front tires and ET 15×15-inch wheels running Hoosier 18.50x31x15 rear tires.

The Heart of the Beast

If you build a car that looks race ready, it’s a good idea to back up the style of the car with a strong-running engine. Since Leiphart has been involved in drag racing since he was a kid, he knew what it would take to create the ultimate small-block Chevy. He started with a Motown block with a 4.155-inch bore and an Eagle crank with a 4-inch stroke that provided a 434ci displacement. The block was fit with Ross pistons and Speed Pro rings riding on Lunati rods, which gave the engine 13.25:1 compression. Fuel delivery was important, so the engine features full-race Brodix heads topped by a Brodix intake manifold. A Comp Cams camshaft was chosen, and it features a 0.645-inch lift and 262 degrees duration at 0.050 inch. The bottom end gets oil from a Milodon oil pump and is contained in a custom-built Milodon pan. The engine is topped off with a healthy 825cfm Demon carburetor and the fuel is ignited with an MSD ignition system. Michael Thomas in Dallastown, Pennsylvania, built the engine, and on the dyno it registered 675 hp at 7,000 rpm. The engine sounds and runs awesome. The strong-running Chevy engine is hooked to a built-up Powerglide transmission with a Trans Specialty 5,500-stall-speed torque converter and is operated by a B&M Pro Stick shifter.

Show-Quality Exterior

When Leiphart purchased the Camaro, the body needed plenty of work to get it show-worthy. Lonny Gordon, owner of East Coast Muscle Cars, did the bodywork, and in the process he narrowed the Glass Tech fiberglass rear bumper 3 inches. The body is devoid of trim and the stock hood was replaced with a fiberglass cowl-induction-style hood. After the body was looking nice, it was painted with a PPG custom bronze mix with a cream-colored rollcage.

Interior Fit for a Show Car

One of the things that differentiate this Camaro from an actual racecar is the quality of the interior. Al’s Upholstery in York, Pennsylvania, combined cream leather, bronze suede and painted aluminum to come up with a show-quality interior. The custom bucket seats feature high bolsters to keep the occupants planted. They are stitched in cream leather with bronze suede inserts, and the door panels were stitched to match. The rollcage and aluminum work were painted to match the interior, and a removable fiberglass dash was installed and outfitted with Auto Meter Phantom gauges. The steering column connects to the rollcage and was topped off with a billet steering wheel. The fuel cell is located in the trunk and is surrounded with cream-painted wheel tubs and an upholstered trunk lid.

Built to Fulfill a Dream

Leiphart wanted the ultimate street/strip Camaro and ended up with one of the nicest around. The car looks great and is fully street driveable, although not too far, because racing gas can get expensive, and this car was not built to obtain the best in fuel mileage. But it does everything else better than planned, and after all, that’s the point of all this.

PRO STREET CAMARO BUILDUP

A lot of specialized work and engineering went into the construction of Troy Leiphart’s ultimate ’68 Camaro. Here is an inside look at the buildup of the Camaro.

Only the bare body of the Camaro remains because a full-tube chassis that looks race ready has replaced the floor and subframe.

The front features a full-tube chassis suspended by Strange Engineering struts. You can also see the front engine mount already in place.

When you have a full-tube chassis, the interior is open to the elements, so a complete aluminum floor and firewall had to be built. All of the aluminum in the car is removable.

The Camaro body needed some bodywork to get it perfect. Since this was a racecar to start with, most of the work was done in front because dents can occur when knees are pressed against the panels and wrenches are dropping.

The body suspended on the chassis was rolled into the spray booth, where it was coated with the nice bronze-metallic paint.

The tube chassis had to be painted to match the interior, which was tricky because the entire outside of the Camaro had to be masked off to prevent overspray from sticking to the paint. Here, the car is masked with plastic.

After the body and tube chassis were painted, the car was looking nice and was ready for reassembly. There was nothing easy about this buildup.

Here is the Camaro after the parts were assembled. Now the Camaro was ready for a trip to the upholstery shop.