In the early years of the car, technology changed so quickly that after just 20-years of production it had surpassed the mode of transport used in the previous 2000 years, the horse. And to this day, that rate of technology and evolution hasn’t slowed. Each and every year cars are built to handle better, conserve more fuel and make more power. While it’s the manufacturers that spearhead many of these improvements, there are similar things happening in the muscle car world too.

Auckland panel shop director Patrick O’Keeffe is one of those people who’s been caught up in that cycle of constant evolution. After owning a variety of cars in his time, five years ago he completed the build of (more…)

This 572 big block-powered Chev Malibu doesn’t just haul arse in a straight line, it’s a weapon in the twisty bits too

I knew it was coming before I saw it turn the corner. There she was at last, in all her glory. People had told me about Garth Williams’s 1965 Malibu before the fateful day, and I knew upon sighting it ” and hearing it ” that it really was as special as it had been made out to be.

The car is spoken about often, almost as if it were an old wives’ tale. “They say it breaks traction in top gear on the motorway.” “It made it from Auckland to Americarna in two and a half hours.” “It runs on the blood of small children.”

From its reputation alone, I knew we had to somehow capture this wild machine and coerce it into the confines of our central city photography studio.

But how would something that sounds so untamed and looks so staunch cope with the captivity of CBD rush hour? “I’ll drive it in, no worries,” was the reply from its fearless driver. With the shoot booked for 9am, I had to confirm traffic wouldn’t be a problem. “Not at all, it runs cool all day long, no matter what.” How can this be? It was a thought I pondered, until the studio day rolled around.

Lights, Camera, Action

The shoot wasn’t until a few weeks after I had first seen and heard the car, so I was wondering if it really was as impressive-sounding as I had first thought. Was my memory playing tricks? Nope, not at all. When I heard it again it was just as wild as I remembered.

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When Mike Gerace decided to build a car for his wife, he didn’t do things by halves

People build hot rods and muscle cars for many reasons. For some it might be the perfect way to showcase the work of a small business. For others it might be a labour of love. For Mike Gerace it was both. As owner of Hot Rodifications, Mike needed a car to promote his business and his abilities to build one-of-a-kind vehicles. Perhaps more importantly, he had also always told his wife he would build her one. “My wife has always loved hot rods and muscle cars,” Mike says. “After all, she spotted me in the summer of ’86 while cruising the local hot spot. I was in my ’66 Chevelle. She says she saw my car first. Of course, I like to think that I had something to do with it.”

Mike knew she loved old Mustang Fastbacks. So when the time came recently to build his muscle car memento, he knew exactly what to look for. He studied the lines of the ’65s through to the ’68s looking for the right combination of vintage flavour and aggression.

“Then one day I was thumbing through a magazine and I saw an article on the Air Ride Technologies poster child for vintage Mustangs,” Mike says. “That brought the cross-hairs into full focus. It had a stance like no other Mustang I had seen before.”

With its earlier roots, a longer hood and rear window lines, the ’69 Sport Roof was born. Mike found his through an internet ad, hooked up his enclosed trailer, armed himself with a cashier’s cheque and headed off to fetch the Fastback.

Road Trip Time

“An old friend and I left Denver that afternoon and got to LA around 7am the next morning,” Mike recalls. “I inspected the car and we had a deal. The whole trip lasted 36 hours and covered 2200 miles.”

The car had been in storage between 1983 and 2004, and was an R-Code with 38,560 original miles. Apparently its first owner had a Mustang performance shop and used the car for R&D, so it had a few modifications when Mike picked it up. The roll bar had been removed, the car had been mini-tubbed and the front shock towers had been notched to accommodate a 427 side-oiler. Another cool modification was the nitrous tank saddle. This was hidden between the rear seat and a firewall in the trunk, with the braided lines running under the seal plates then beneath the dash where the solenoids were mounted. In turn the lines ran out of the firewall to the motor. As bad guys in cartoons always say: the only thing better than being evil is being sneaky! As the Mustang was raced for a while there were, in Mike’s words, “enough Auto Meter gauges to launch Apollo into space”.

The Honest Modifier

At this point we have to applaud Mike for his honesty. Take it from this journalist, many in the biz have purchased a vehicle already modified then taken credit for the full build-up. Not Mike. He was clear that the body came with a change or two, like the widened rear fenders and the brilliant red paint job.

While the body is morphed and menacing, the motor is as well. With a 428ci Cobra Jet strapped between the shock towers, the lighting of the fire begins with a full MSD ignition system and is fed through a 750cfm Demon carburettor. An estimated 450 ponies are pushed out by this big block, with 644Nm of torque.

This earth-trembling power is laid down via a C6 transmission that defies gravity through the nine-inch Ford with 31-spline axles and 410 traction-lock rear end.

They say the most important upgrade one can make to a car is where the rubber meets the road. The Fastback isn’t messing around when it comes to that. The treads in this case are Michelin 265/35R19 front and 315/35R20 rear. These wrap 19×9-inch Bonspeed Huntington alloys up front and massive 20 by 12s out back. Talk about tuckin’ the rims up in the guards!

The wheel tuck and the stance are what really make this ’69 special, and exemplify Mike’s skills as a fabricator and builder. As you can probably guess, the car is on air. Air Ride Technologies Air Bar out back and Shock Waves up front, to be exact. Other suspension components include Total Control tubular A-arms and Randall’s rack and pinion. A fair amount of re-engineering was required to get the car this low to the ground. Much of it is hush-hush, but Mike did admit to this wily reporter that he had steering arms fabricated, added different spindles and changed around a bunch of Total Control parts up front, then cut the Air Ride bar out back. The end result is a stance that is absolutely dumped in the weeds.

Mike even fabricated a 3/16-inch stainless steel skid plate that would not only protect the oil pan from the occasional ant crossing the road, but also strengthens the curves on those twisty roads in the Rocky Mountains.

Mike is from Colorado, where many a hot rod aficionado is out taking the twisties on any given Sunday. Of course, at the time of the photoshoot the tyres were rubbing a bit, but what do you expect from Dubs on a stance like this?

The Perfect Shape

The original ’69 Sport Roof is a dramatic yet subtle extension of the ’65-’68 Mustang Fastback, with its longer hood and rear window lines. This is why Mike chose it to modify for his wife, Dianne.

“She puts up with me doing this all hours of the day, so the least I could do was build her a hot rod,” he says. Taking an already fantastic Ford and turning it into a menacing emissary with the scowl and stance of a crouching mongoose is a feat in itself. And when it’s done properly, the result is pure hot rod magic.

One could say this creation is worthy of being made into a DUB car. As far as we can see, it already is.

1969 Ford Mustang Fastback – Specifications

Engine: 428ci (7014cc) Ford Cobra Jet, Edelbrock aluminium heads, 750cfm Speed Demon carb, MSD Pro billet distributor, MSD 6AL, FPA ceramic coated headers, Be Cool aluminium radiator
Driveline: C6 automatic transmission, Ford nine-inch diff, 4.1:1 ratio
Suspension: Total Control tubular front A-arms, Randalls rack and pinion, Air Ride Technologies Shock Waves, Air Ride Technologies Air Bar rear
Brakes: 13-inch Baer discs, Baer callipers.
Wheels/ tyres: 19×9 and 20×12-inch Bonspeed Huntington rims, 265/35R19 and 315/35R20 Michelin tyres
Interior: Saleen seats, Auto Meter gauges
Performance: Approx 450hp, 644Nm

Words & Photos: Isaac Mion

Chevrolet Camaro Z28 1100hp 69 VS “Bad Toy” 1964 Chevelle Malibu. 1065hp burnouts and drag race!

360hp 454 with 4-speed, power disc brakes, electric windows and top, and all numbers matching

We often get American news about car auctions from Barrett-Jackson, RM or Christies, but now it’s a Mecum auction that is making waves. Mecum’s auctions can be viewed live on the Discovery channel in the U.S, and they’ve already booked cars like an original Shelby Daytona Coupe for their 22nd annual Spring Classic Auction in May.

Also going up on the block will be auction owner Dana Mecum’s personal Chevelle collection. The cars will be sold as a group, meaning the winning bidder will be taking home a total of eight Chevelles ranging from a 1965 SS hardtop with a 327ci V8 to a numbers-matching 1970 convertible with a 450-hp LS6 V8 and four-speed transmission. The Chevelles look too good together to split up, it’s going to take a serious collector to adopt them all.

To find out more about the Chevelle collection and the upcoming Mecum auction. Click here to go to the website.

In 1970 Chevrolet promoted the Chevelle with the slogan “The performance starts as soon as you’re seated” ¦ that was no marketing BS. It was true then and remains very true today. What Chevrolet did not say was that when you sit down, sit with your knees as far apart as humanly possible because, if you are going to test the performance of the LS-6, you will need a couple of things similar in size and appearance to two defrosted chickens hanging between your legs! 454 (7440cc) cubic inches plus the LS-6 option equals 450hp (336kW) produced at 5600rpm, 500lbs/ft (678Nm) torque at 3600rpm. These were Chevrolet’s ’advertised’ ratings but it feels like more and I have to wonder if they weren’t quite telling the whole truth (and nothing but the truth) ¦

Truth is, in 1970 the basic Chevelle cost $USD2735.70. The LS-6 of which only 4,475 were produced, included the optional SS 454 package that would set you back $USD503.45, the LS-6 450HP Special High Performance Engine for $USD263.30, a M-22 Muncie Heavy Duty ‘Rock Crusher’ 4 speed transmission for $USD221.80 and a Positraction 12-bolt 4.10:1 rear axle (limited slip equipped) for the huge sum of $USD42.15 The total cost for this LS-6 off the showroom floor was $USD4402.82

Crankin’

The LS-6 454 instantly claimed legend status featuring a Holley 780 carburettor on top of a low-profile aluminium intake. The heads were closed chamber iron castings with rectangular ports and massive intake and exhaust valves. The block was an iron casting featuring a four-bolt design — while the crankshaft was made from 5140 alloy steel and tuftrided to form a very durable unit. It was forged, cross-drilled and oil passages chamfered for improved oil lubrication (because the engineers demanded it!).  Connecting rods were forged steel with separate caps using 7/16 bolts to hold things together. As if all that isn’t enough, add in 11.25:1 aluminium dome topped pistons and a camshaft with .520-inch lift and 316 degree duration ¦ and the redline 6,500rpm! The engineer’s even had the foresight to spec out this engine with high-RPM pulleys (with deep grooves to stop the belts jumping off) and machined-in provision for an external oil-cooler.

While the above may read like an enthusiast’s dream, it is not. It is fact, or more to the point, it is factory Chevrolet style 1970.

Undercover undertaking

John Murray who is a member of the American Muscle Car Club in Auckland owns the Chevelle featured. This story begins back in the good ol’ days when it was legal to burn rubber (and bras) and the powers that be encouraged it! As a teenager John would write to Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler etc. asking them to forward any information regarding their latest cars. The letters were not ignored responses came eventually. One day in 1970 arrived “The 1970 Chevelle by Chevrolet” — that is where this story begins. First thing to do was to jump into the family car and go get a driving licence (whether the family knew about it or not). Having got a licence John purchased a mighty Hillman Californian with a glorious flathead-4. Wanting to see how well it performed, he learned quickly. On the second night of ownership an engine rebuild started — because he had blown it up.

Various vehicles followed, some of good pedigree (a Ford Mustang) and some of dubious pedigree (a Vauxhall Viva GT). John maintains to this day the Viva performed very well — I believe you John, I can see it on a billboard “Yeah Right!”

In 1994 it was time to get serious and John started turning the pages of auto magazines in pursuit of his dream. This turned out to be rather frustrating as there was quite a gap between the heart and the wallet. Undeterred, in early 1996 John and Dave Loose took to the sky and arrived in US of A on a mission to find ‘the dream car’. First stop was to view a car at Reggie Jackson’s muscle car museum, they then moved on to view a second car but alas, in both cases, price was a factor. Rather than give up, the disappointments only fuelled John’s determination to make his dream reality¦ there had to be a way!

Get your gear off

Mid 1996 news got to John that an American was bringing an LS-6 into NZ as a project car that needed restoring. John and Dave sprung into action. After a lot of talking, a deal was made before any work was done on that car — the dream was becoming reality.

Prior to shipping to NZ the engine had been fully rebuilt to factory specifications. Whilst the car was generally in tired condition, the body was sound and after some thought John and Dave decided a full body off restoration was the way to go. Chuck’s Restoration Supplies were called upon for specialised parts and could be relied upon to get the goods, and to get them fast.

Dave worked his magic on the panels with assistance from his son’s Dane and Kyle and a new ’apprentice’ called John. With the body prepped inside and out it was time to focus on the chassis which received a once over before being sprayed in black. Even at this stage the transformation was incredible, it was almost criminal to cover the chassis born again in its shiny new coat. Next, it was time to deal to the body. After a little research the correct code 75 Cranberry Red paint was sourced and Dave channelled his considerable skills to spraying, topping off the job with the Super Sport graphics a la factory specifications — the dream was becoming reality.

Attention turned to the inside and the decision was made to purchase a new interior that was expertly installed by Ian Goodwin Upholsterers whilst Otahuhu Chrome Platers added the gleam.

After two and a half years of hard work, the Chevelle was restored to how it would have rolled off the assembly line in February 1970. The dream was now reality. The reality was better than the dream.

Musclin’ and hustlin’

Nine years have passed since the Chevelle was purchased and recently I was lucky enough to shoot the breeze and cruise with John. With some apprehension, and decreasing patience, my ears listened for the big-block approaching. With an earth-moving rumble punctuated by a flick through the gears the mighty Chevelle rose over the crest of the hill, the LS-6 had arrived.

As the Chevelle parked up, the first thing that struck me was the presence of this car. The muscular, flowing contours of the body suggest serious business. Closer inspection revealed a finish that is testament to the commitment and skills of those involved both in the restoration and the following years of maintenance and care. Chevrolet was not kidding when they stated, “The performance starts as soon as you get in”. The solid door closed with a reassuring thud and I found myself planted in a seat that was extremely comfortable. The 454 fired into life and I prepared myself for a unique experience.

If you’ve got, flaunt it

The LS-6 is quite happy to spin the wheels through first gear, and second gear, and third gear, with only moderate throttle. The acceleration can only be described as phenomenal. Or perhaps phenomenal and sideways. I felt the push in my lower back that was instantly interpreted by my brain as a massive smile followed closely by joyous expletives (that the editor will not allow to print) and we were on our way. The LS-6 powered forcefully down the road, grabbing the attention of passers-by and recieved the respect and adulation it deserved. The open road revealed another side to the LS-6; it ate the straights and swallowed the corners like the hungry, controlled beast it is, spitting upon the occasional menace. The LS-6 handles exceptionally well taking into consideration its 3800-pound weight. Balancing 450hp to the road takes considerable skill and I was relieved that John did not stand on the loud pedal (too much). It was all over far too quickly, and I am exceedingly thankful to John for sharing his LS-6 with us and look forward to seeing it again where it belongs — on New Zealand roads.

Specs

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle

Engine: Turbo-Jet 454 LS-6, 4.25” bore, 4” stroke, TRW impact extruded aluminium pistons, 11.25:1 compression ratio, 6.136” rods, 3/8-inch diameter pushrods, aluminium dual plane intake manifold, square port heads, 2.19” intake valves, 1.88” exhaust valves, LS-6 forged steel crank, four-bolt mains, camshaft duration 316 degrees intake and 302 degrees exhaust, camshaft lift 0.52” intake and exhaust, mechanical lifters, single Holley 780-cfm 4150 series carburettor with 1.6889” primary and secondary bores.

Driveline: Factory optional M-22 Muncie Heavy Duty ‘Rock Crusher’ 4 speed (M-21 standard); ratios: 1st 2.20:1, 2nd 1.64:1, 3rd 1.27:1, 4th 1:1 positraction 12-bolt with dealer-installed optional 4.10:1 rear axle

Suspension/Brakes:

• Front: unequal length control arms, coil spring mounted on lower arm, anti-sway bar;

• Rear: Salisbury  live axle, coil springs, four control arms

Brakes: power assisted front floating calliper disc; rear drum with integral vacuum assist. 11.0 inch diameter disk; 9.5 inch diameter drum

Wheels/Tyres: Factory Special 14×7-inch short spoke steel wheels front and rear F70x14 Firestone Wide Oval tires front and rear

Performance: 450hp @5600rpm 500lbs/ft Torque @3600rpm, red-line 6500rpm

Owner Profile

Driver: John Murray

Age: 50

Occupation: Sales Manager

Previously Owned Cars: 1967 Ford Mustang, Hillman Californian, Vauxhall Viva GT, Chevrolet Bel Air, Chrysler Charger, B&H Homologation model

Build Time: 2.5 years

Length of Ownership: 9 years

Thanks to John’s extremely patient wife Peni Dave Loose, Dane and Kyle Loose Ian Goodwin Car Upholstery Chuck’s Restoration Supplies Otahuhu Chrome Platers Ltd.