Square Peg In A Round Hole
September 24, 2022
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THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Aurabella: The 2025 Al Slonaker Memorial Award Winner
February 3, 2025
WHO NEEDS THE LOTTO?
May 27, 2025
ENGINE BAY PREP AND PAINT
We learned that Underground Motorsports in Little Rock, Arkansas, was going to build one fast daily driver, so we thought we’d take a peek and drop some knowledge for you. We were looking for any tech procedures that may illustrate for readers how a car of this sort is built from scratch.
50-YEAR FAMILY JEWEL
There are lots of cool story threads woven into the history of this ’57 Thunderbird, purchased new 50 years ago by W.T. Romine of Indianapolis. You see, Romine’s young son, Paul, was bitten by the hot-rodding bug and tried to convince his dad to hop up the T-bird. The elder Romine steadfastly rebuffed his son’s attempts to bolt on a McCulloch blower and other aftermarket parts for the respected Y-block Ford.
1175 HP
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.
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THE CHIEF OF NEW JERSEY
A Supercharged LT4 383 Six-Speed ’96 Impala SS
Native American Russell Youngblood is a man you’d love to powwow with. Bloomfield, New Jersey is the home and base camp for one of the coolest late-model classic Chevys you’ll ever see. Many feel that the 1994-1996 Impala SS models are to today what the 1955-1957 models were to the ’50s. Youngblood will certainly agree. His dark green-gray metallic is custom from stem to stern—so much so that we’d consider it one of a kind.
Author
Doug Marion
Photography by Bill Erdman
Exterior Upgrades: Custom Bumpers, Hood, and Grille
The Impala SS’s body changes are many and include custom bumpers, hood, and front grille. The taillights are 1991-era sequential while the hood is a custom item from Suncoast Creations.
Performance Suspension Tailored to 9C1 Police Specifications
The suspension has been updated to 9C1 heavy-duty police car specifications. Included are Eibach springs, Bilstein shock absorbers, Herb Adams front and rear anti-roll bars, Medco upper and lower control arms, and an Empire Driveline 4-inch-diameter aluminum driveshaft with safety loop. The suspension has been lowered 1 inch in the rear and 2 inches in front. Simmons 9- and 10-inch wheels rotate P285 and P295-35YR18 Toyo tires. The combo is said to improve handling considerably. So much for the superb chassis and suspension. Yikes!
Powering Up: A Supercharged 383ci LT4 Engine Conversion
Youngblood’s work-of-art engine is the original 1996 LT1, but it has been converted to LT4 specifications. It also has been bored and stroked to 383 ci and features Ross 9.0:1 compression blower pistons. But that’s not all. The induction consists of a Vortec 13psi supercharger with 52psi injectors. Ignition is a factory LS1 system with a MoTeC fuel and spark management system. The camshaft is a special Crane Cams grind. Bumping the valves are Crower roller rocker arms. The exhaust system features tubular headers, Ramdon cats, 3-inch-diameter main pipes, and Flowmaster mufflers.
Transmission Upgrade: Heavy-Duty Viper T56 Six-Speed
Behind this wild powerplant is a heavy-duty Viper T56 six-speed manual gearbox. According to Youngblood, a Camaro six-speed transmission was tried, but it could not handle the engine’s torque output. Crunch time!
Interior Modifications: A Unique Blend of Comfort and Style
The interior has many modifications as well. They include Cadillac Fleetwood carpeting, an Astro van overhead console, 1995 Pontiac Bonneville 12-way seats, and an Alpine audio with 5.1 surround sound system.
From Mild to Wild: The Journey of a 600hp Impala SS
When Youngblood bought his Impala SS in late 1996, he knew he might have to spruce things up to keep the foreign cars in check. One thing led to another, and now he has a 600-plus-hp, 35,000-mile Impala SS that loves a steady diet of both rice and sauerkraut. Motor on, Chief!
