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In Memory of Tom Prufer (1940–2025): A True Craftsman of the Hot Rod World

May 20, 2025

This engine, and others like it, has opened up a brand-new chapter in the ever-evolving, wild world of Chevrolet power. By design it has a bore and stroke of 4.60 inches by 4.25 inches and Big Chief II heads, which are about 2 inches taller, that feature oval-shaped intake ports. This, they say, is for maximum cylinder filling. Years ago, creative racers would angle-mill heads to arrive at the desired combustion chamber size and to improve the valve angle in combination with the incoming intake flow. These heads are nicknamed “11-degree” heads, as they have been designed with a built-in 11-degree angle right out of the box. There’s no angle milling needed here. A special valvetrain is necessary, along with longer stem valves. Quarter Mile Performance feels that these heads are worth 200 additional horsepower over the very best “shorter” heads.

BACK TO BASICS

Simplicity is the key here, as this ’55 Chevy perfectly embodies the sleeper theme with a no-frills look and monster power. It doesn’t even feature all the stainless Bel Air or 210 trim you normally find on most tri-5 models; but even though this is a plain-Jane 150 devoid of trim, Ernie Lankford’s all-black ’55 certainly doesn’t get overlooked.

DOME ALONE

Dave Shuten is a time traveler. Traveling through time is what he likes to do best, but looking at his latest creation we can’t tell if his time travel machine is moving forward or back in time. Here’s the real dilemma: If you’re advancing a trend that ended in the early ’60s, are you traveling forward in time or back? One thing is certain: Dave Shuten loves to visit the golden era of show cars; after all, he’s the guy who did such an awesome job of cloning the Mysterion, an Ed Roth creation that was ultimately parted out and destroyed, only to live again through the efforts of Dave Shuten.

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CIMTEX RODS SUPER CAMEO: PART 4

The Assembly of Our Braking System

Author

Bob McClurg

Story and Photography

…continued from Part 3

In parts two and three of The Auto Builder’s Cimtex Super Cameo series, we followed along as Cimtex Rods primaries Tim and Darrell Cimbanin installed one of Flat Out Engineering’s Corvette C4/C5 front and rear independent suspension crossmember kits beneath a 1956 Chevrolet 1/2-ton pickup chassis.

Of course, this was followed by the actual installation of the 1984-1987 Corvette C4 rack-and-pinion-steering-equipped IFS and the bolting up of the 1984-1987 Corvette C4 IRS, which makes for a pretty nice-handling street truck.

Along the way, some modifications to the Corvette C4 front suspension were made for the sake of simplicity and an enhanced ride. For openers, Flat Out Engineering designed its kit to incorporate a pair of 12-1/2-inch Aldan Eagle 659/450 coilover shock absorbers, which replace the somewhat antiquated GM designed Owens Corning Corvette C4 monoleaf fiberglass front spring.

Out back, Tim and Darrell Cimbanin also took the initiative to narrow the Vette IRS some 3 inches (1-1/2 inches per side) in order to accommodate the anticipated 305/50ZR20 (31-1/2-inch tall) BFGoodrich g-Force KDW Radial T/As, which is easier than having to perform any unsightly exterior sheetmetal modifications to the truck.

In the process, the Cimbanins also decided to eliminate that bulky aluminum Corvette C4 rear suspension trusswork, replacing it with a set of four heim-joint-equipped adjustable parallel control arms equipped with a set of red Energy Suspension polyurethane control arm bushings. With that done, the guys at Cimtex Rods also installed a pair of 12-1/2-inch-long Aldan Eagle 654/400 coilover rear shocks.

There was one other major modification to the rear suspension, which we were not able to cover in the short time we spent at Cimtex Rods last summer photographing part three. That was the fabrication of a pair of CNC 6061 billet aluminum “wishbone” half shafts, which Darrell machined up to replace those clunky-looking modified factory units. These half shafts make use of the OE Corvette universal joints, which have been welded to each end of the new CNC half shafts, and they really look great! Ultimately they will be show polished when Cimtex Rods’ Super Cameo is completed.

In this segment of our Cimtex Super Cameo buildup series we will be covering the assembly of our braking system, which includes the installation of a pair of 15-inch, cross-drilled and vented front disc brake rotors and Baer Brake System’s new “Extreme Plus” six-piston billet aluminum, sintered metallic-pad-equipped front calipers (part No. 4301014,) along with Baer’s “DecelaRotors” ’84-’87 C4 Corvette single-piston, 12-inch rear brake caliper (part No. 5556-020) with an emergency brake lever feature.

Once again some modifications to the basic rear brake system were made, albeit for the sake of looks rather than performance. Trial fitting the rear system revealed that the OE-size, 12-inch Corvette vented rear rotors were sort of lost inside those massive 20×10-inch Intro two-piece modular rear wheels. After conferring with Baer’s VP of Marketing Todd Gartshore, a pair of the company’s 13-1/2-inch cross-drilled and slotted rotors was substituted. However, in order to accomplish this, it was necessary to fabricate a pair of 1/2×3-1/2×2-inch billet aluminum “dog bone” disc brake caliper extension brackets. They use a pair of 1/2-inch bolts to secure the single-piston Vette calipers in place.

With that done, the next order of business was the installation of one of Lokar Performance Products’ Corvette emergency brake cable kits (part No. EC-8004U), along with one of its Corvette rear clevis kits (part No. EC-80CC). This was followed with the selection of a brake pedal booster assembly. After a quick call to Total Cost Involved’s Andy Brosche, the guys ordered up a complete pedal assembly (part No. 633-6510-000). This assembly includes the brake pedal extension and swinging brake pedal bracket, the master cylinder and power booster and the brake reservoir. Arriving at the proper location to mount the unit to the chassis required bolting up the cab to the body mounts on the chassis. Once the correct location was achieved, a 1/4x6x4-inch mounting platform, or pad, was fabricated out of sheet stock and welded to the ’56’s boxed-in framerails. This pad was then drilled and tapped to accommodate the 9/16-inch mounting bolts, and the pedal assembly was on for keeps.

The next order of business was bending up the Cameo’s stainless steel brake lines. First a call was placed to Russell Performance Products, a division of the Edelbrock Corporation, and a whole slew of 3/16-inch AN-3 stainless steel “T” and line junction fittings was ordered, along with one of Russell Performance’s disc brake proportioning valves. These fittings were simultaneously bent up using the 3/16-inch stainless steel brake line material, which was obtained from San Antonio’s Gordon Chisenhall Specialties, to fashion the entire stainless steel brake line system. These brake lines were subsequently held in place using Russell Performance’s countersunk 8/32-inch Allen head brake line clamps, and the fit and finish is absolutely great.

Of course, the final touch was the installation of a set of 18×8-inch front (with a 4-1/2-inch backspace) and 20×10-inch rear (with a 5-inch backspace) Intro Rockman chrome-plated, two-piece, billet aluminum rivet wheels, rolling on a set of P255/45ZR18 BFGoodrich g-Force KDW T/As up front and P305/50ZR20 BFGoodrich KDW T/A radials on the rear.

So there you have it: In just four easy installments, the chassis on Cimtex Rods’ Super Cameo project truck is complete and sitting on four tires and wheels. In our next installment we will cover the buildup of our Jimmy G./racetrans.com GM 4L80E transmission, which will back up our Corvette ZR1 engine, as well as cover the programming of our Compu-Shift electronic transmission controller. Then, too, we’ll show how the engine and transmission mounts were fabricated, so stay tuned!

1. Shown is Baer Brake Systems’ Extreme Plus front braking system upgrade for the C4/C5 Corvette (part No. 4301014). This setup features everything you see here.

2. Also selected was Baer Braking Systems’ 1984-1987 Corvette C4 DecelaRotors rear disc brake setup, which features a cross-drilled and slotted 12-inch hat rotor and single-piston Corvette C4-type caliper (part No. 5556-020).

3. In order to accomplish this feat, Darrell fabricated a “dog bone” adapter bracket machined out of 1/2x3-1/2x2-inch-thick 6061 billet aluminum flat stock.

4. Also enlisted in the build was a Total Cost Involved complete pedal assembly (part No. 633-6510-000), which included the brake pedal extension, the mounting bracket, a power brake booster and dual reservoir.

5. Also on board is a complete selection of Russell Performance 3/16-inch, stainless steel AN-3 line and T-fittings, as well as a Russell Performance disc brake proportioning valve, which will be incorporated into the brake system.

6-7. A throwback from our last installment was the late fabrication of a pair of 6061 CNC billet aluminum wishbone half shafts, which replaced the modified Corvette C4 units. These billet shafts have the OE Corvette U-joint housings welded to each end and use the OE Corvette U-joints. These pieces will be show polished at a later date.

8. Now it’s time to install the brakes. With our highly modified ’56 Chevrolet chassis up on jackstands, the work begins.

9. First Darrell installs Baer Braking Systems’ Extreme Plus driver’s-side disc brake caliper mounting bracket to the Corvette front hub assembly using the 1/2-inch bolts provided in the Baer kit. These will later be torqued to 70 ft-lb.

10. Shown are the 1/2-inch bolts and washers that come in the Baer Extreme Plus kit. Prior to final assembly, everything gets test fitted to avoid any problems.

11. On goes the Baer Extreme Plus 15-inch cross-drilled and slotted hat rotor, which is held in place by a single lug nut.

12-13. Of course, this is followed with the installation of the six-piston Baer Extreme Plus disc brake caliper with the 1/2-inch mounting bolts being final torqued to 70 ft-lb.

14. Next comes the installation of the provided 3/16-inch stainless steel brake line to the nipple fitting on the Baer Extreme Plus six-piston caliper.