THE AUTO BUILDER

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Building a cool new truck to show off at SEMA is nothing new for Jim Lewis and his team at ProMotorsports in Edmond, Oklahoma, as that’s what they do. This stunning new ’07 Cadillac Escalade EXT is their most recent creation. Like so many other enthusiasts, Lewis used the latest generation Escalade because it was an immediate hit, especially among the urban lifestyle crowd, so team ProMotorsports thought one would make a great representative demo vehicle for their shop. Billy Lewis came up with the flat black concept, with tons of chrome and polished metal to contrast the flatness of the finish. While the paint may be the first item that attracts you to this truck, the crew at ProMotorsports actually started the build underneath it all by increasing the performance of the Escalade.

B-Series Block Hop-up

Sleeving A B-series Block Is Not New, But How It Is Done Can Make All The Difference Author These days, if you want to go fast on the track in a Honda, forced induction is almost a must, as most vehicles come with relatively small-displacement engines when compared to their domestic brethren. Basically, the more cylinder pressure and fuel that you can ignite, the faster you go. Admittedly, this all sounds pretty general, but for now, let’s roll with that thought.

THE HYDROGEN HIGHBOY

Enter Carl Casper, a man best known for building custom cars and promoting his huge custom car show every year in Louisville, Kentucky. Casper has long been a self-thinker and innovator with plenty of experience under his belt, and he was intrigued with the concept of alternative fuels, hydrogen in particular. During our conversation with Casper, he summed it when he said, “I feel many of the solutions will come out of the car guys. I want the mechanical wizards who have taken street rodding and auto racing to the highest levels imaginable to start putting their creativity into alternative-energy systems. I’m putting my money on them. Everyone seems to be waiting for the big corporations to pull us out of this energy crisis, and they tend to forget that from the very beginning of time it’s often the little guy with a shop behind his house who creates the next great idea or invention of our time.”

Spotlighter

CIMTEX SUPER CAMEO: PART 6

Fabricating Engine and Transmission Mounts and the Driveshaft

Author

Bob McClurg

Story and Photography

…continued from Part 5

In Part 5 of our Cimtex Rods Super Cameo buildup series, we covered the actual building of our GM 4L80E electronic overdrive transmission, which will be backing up the Super Cameo’s Powerdyne twin-supercharged Corvette ZR1 engine. Also discussed were the tricky transmission electronics and the CompuShift electronic control module required to make this unholy alliance work.

With that done, the time has come for the crew at Cimtex Rods in Jarrell, Texas, to actually install this potent ZR1/4L80E powertrain into the highly modified Flat Out Engineering/Corvette C4-equipped 1956 Chevrolet half-ton truck chassis. Of course, that required fabricating a new set of engine mounts, along with designing an adjustable transmission crossmember. Once the engine and transmission were securely in place, Tim and Darrell Cimbanin were able to have a custom aluminum driveshaft fabricated.

On paper it all sounded pretty good, but it would require a lot of time and thought, not to mention a generous supply of rectangular steel tubing, some flat stock and some round steel tubing.

“After we bolted the Corvette ZR1 engine and Jimmy G. 4L80E electronic overdrive transmission together, we lowered it into the chassis,” said Darrell Cimbanin. “Early on, we had decided that we would be setting the engine back in the chassis a total of 6 inches, not only for better weight transfer but also to allow sufficient room to house the Be Cool four-core aluminum radiator and twin electric fans, the Turbonetics-Spearco intercoolers and the twin Powerdyne BD11-A silent-drive superchargers.”

In order to accomplish this, the engine and transmission were first lowered into the chassis. Next the true centerline of the Corvette ZR1 engine was arrived at, using the crank bolt as a point of reference (15 inches center to center) and centering it between the front ?framerails. The centerline of the Jimmy G./GM 4L80E electronic overdrive transmission was likewise arrived at by measuring center to center off the tailshaft to the inside of the Super Cameo’s boxed-in framerails at 14-3/4 inches side to side.

The actual motor mounts that secure this potent powerhouse in place consist of two pieces of rectangular 1/4-inch steel plates bolted to the engine using the OE Corvette ZR1 motor mount bolts. Welded to that are two 2-inch chromoly “fingers” in a “V” formation, welded to a piece of 1×1-inch round chromoly tubing with an Energy Suspension black graphite, polyurethane motor mount bushing pressed through it. These mounts bolt up to a pair of 1×2-1/2-inch mounting tabs welded to the inner rails of the chassis by a pair of 1/2×3-1/2×7/16-inch engine mounting bolts. It’s simple yet effective.

However, when it came to the transmission crossmember, things were a bit more complicated. From the get-go, several different transmission crossmember designs were discussed, including a trick sheetmetal design. But in the long run, something simple such as a 30-degree, U-shaped crossmember made out of a series of three pieces of 30-degree angle-cut, 1×3-inch rectangular box tubing measuring 13 inches on the side pieces and 5 inches on the center piece proved to be the most logical choice.

“The center of this mount (which uses an Energy Suspension-manufactured GM 4L80E isolator and polyurethane transmission mount, part No. 31108G) is slotted a total of 1-1/2 inches so that you can run a number of GM electronic overdrive transmissions, although we’re sticking with the GM 4L80E,” said Cimbanin.

“We’ve also made this mount totally removable. Welded to each end of the crossmember is a piece of 3-inch steel tubing. The mount is bolted up to the chassis via a pair of 3/8x4x7/16-inch bolts secured to the chassis by a pair of custom-fabricated 1-1/2×2-inch mounting tabs. We’ve also placed a series of three 1-1/2-inch holes finished off with 1-1/2-inch-diameter round tubing welded in place. These holes not only improve the appearance of the transmission mount, but they also give it added strength!”

When it came to fabricating the fully balanced custom aluminum driveshaft, the Cimbanins contacted Wade King at Irvine, California’s Drivelines Inc. and ordered a unit measuring 51 inches in length that utilizes a GM 4L80E yoke on one end and an SAE-grade, 3/8-inch U-joint on the other. Since this driveshaft is manufactured out of aluminum, it’s not only lightweight but can also be show polished!

Now follow along with us as Cimtex Rods’ Tim and Darrell Cimbanin and fabricator Creighton “The Real Deal” Deal show us how it’s done!

In Part VII we will be covering the fuel tank and the fuel system, the supercharger and the intercooler installation. Stay tuned. TB