Horseless Carriages Roar Through Monkey-Town
March 20, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
AN EVENT TO REMEMBER
As the years go by, and as the quality of cars continues to exceed expectations, it isn’t surprising that the venues attracting the top cars get more spectacular over time. This year, record crowds in Columbus, Ohio, came out in droves to witness an amazing chrome carnival. Cars of every description, many of which were completed weeks, days, and in some cases only hours before the event, were debuted there, which made for an amazing array of automotive artistry. And if you think you’ve heard this before, know that even the most ardent car nuts were wide-eyed and standing motionless with mouths gaping as they tried to make sense of all the hardware in attendance.
Product Spotlight: Bill Mitchell Products Aluminum LS Engine Block
If you’re building an LS engine meant to dominate the strip, carve canyon roads, or simply crush the scales on any dyno, the BMP‑086515 Aluminum LS Engine Block is your ticket. Built from high-strength 357T6 aluminum alloy, it weighs a mere 135 lbs with caps and sleeves, giving you a rock-solid foundation without the ballast of a cast iron block. In short: strength where you need it, weight where you don’t.
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
Colorado Drop Kit
Story and Photography by Marshall Spiegel
DJM Introduces a Slick 3X4 Chevy Colorado Lowering Kit – Here’s How to Install It
Since its incorporation in 1985, DJM Suspension in Gardena, California, has grown to become one of the leading manufacturers of lowering kits for a wide variety of trucks. The company’s goal has always been to design and manufacture drop kits that help preserve the factory ride quality, and that goal was a big consideration when DJM set out to create a kit to lower the new Chevy Colorado (and the GMC Canyon). The DJM engineers created a 3-inch front drop, based on a specially designed lower control arm, and a 4-inch rear drop, which was achieved with DJM’s new, stronger steel lowering blocks. DJM strongly recommends that its new steel lowering blocks be used on vehicles with high-output engines.
The new 3×4 drop kit turned out to be relatively easy to install. The stock ride height measured 19-1/2 inches in front and 20-1/2 inches in the rear (measured from the center of the wheel to the fender lip). After the installation, the front and rear measured 16-1/2 inches, showing a 3-inch drop in front, and 16-1/2 inches in the rear for a 4-inch drop. At the new ride height, our test 04 Colorado had a ride and handling that seemed nearly as good as when the truck was at the stock ride height, but the new stance was far more aggressive and the looks were much improved.
DJM informed us that the stock shocks would work fine with this new drop kit for those on a budget; but it is recommended that the stock shocks be replaced with higher-quality, high-performance gas shocks to further improve the ride and handling. DJM owner and company president Jeff Ullmann performed the installation himself as we followed along so that we could witness for ourselves just how straightforward the swap is. Our test vehicle is a white 04 Colorado, and the accompanying photos show the highlights of the installation.
Author
TheAutoBuilder Staff
ARTICLE SOURCES
DJM Suspension, Inc.
Dept. TB
580 W. 184th St.
Gardena, CA 90248
800/237-6748
310/538-1538 (Tech)
