From 'Vairs to 'Vettes

Hello, my name is Ed,

As an intro I'll give you a quick run-down on my hot-rodding experience. My dad was an airline mechanic who bought me a '62 Corvair for my 16th birthday back in 1974. At the time, Corvairs weren't too cool so I drove it a year and traded it in on a 1970 GTO with 80,000 miles on the ticker. My Goat was very cool and I over-powered the 400 the turbohydramatic so much just to hear that second gear chirp that it started slipping after a year. But, I drove it a while longer, until the price of gas went up from 50 cents to a buck. I was going to get married and decided I needed something that got better gas mileage so I traded my '70 GTO in on a '74 GTO with it's ultra low compression 350 and experimental low lift cam (or was it short duration?). Anyway, the little white '74 with red, white, and blue stripes down the side, three on the floor, and functional hood scoop looked cool and actually didn't run too bad. But, I was used to more power and did some research on Pontiac motors. I figured out that the cheapest way to get more power was to do a head swap, so I went down to the salvage yard and picked up a set of big valve 1967 heads off of a 400 that ran 11. 75 to 1 compression. The great thing about this swap was going to be that I'd get a lot more fuel and air flow through those big valves and my static compression would rise to about 9 to 1, perfect for the gas that was available in those days. But I botched the job, got the heads on right but failed to use the length of push rods that came on '67 heads. When I went to fire it up for the first time . . . CLUNK . . . and the engine froze. I took the heads off and started kicking myself in the butt when I saw the bent valve and realized what I had done. Needing my transportation back quickly, I put the old heads back on and forgot about the swap.

Jumping ahead to the mid-80's finds the '74 with a wide set of fiberglass fenders (looked ugly) that I used to repair rust damage, a wide ratio Saginaw 4 speed out of a Vega, and a cheap 2.73 to 1 economy rear end that I put in when the 3.08 ring gear chipped a tooth. Now, you must understand that the economy gears and the wide ratio gear box were a part of my ingenious plan to build a car that was quick off the line and got good gas mileage too. It was a smart idea and ahead of its time because the next step was to replace the 350 with a 455. Us old Pontiac freaks know that every Pontiac V8 made from about 1955 up, whether were talking 255 ci or 455 ci used the same block. The differences in compression were all in the heads. The first 455 I bought was in pieces in several boxes but the main reason I bought it was for the 1969 GTO 400 HO heads that came with it. Turns out I had to go to the salvage yard and buy a donor 455 out of a land yacht and punch it .040 over to to actually complete the build. My father and law helped me put the 11.25 to 1 compression engine together and with the .5 lift cam we used I tell you this thing was a beast. But the compression was a problem. Heads from back in the '60s were made for 100 octane gas and engineers did not worry about detonation issues. The valves rattled under the slightest load conditions. The highest octane gas available was 10% ethanol 93 octane. I used octane boosters and retarded the timing but nothing worked. So, I took the HO heads off and had the original land yacht heads rebuilt. They had smaller valves but would reduce my static compression to 9.5 to 1, perfect for a hot-rod. What a difference! The powerful motor had been transformed into a low to mid range torque monster that ran much better even without fuel additives. I drove it for a year then, BAM . . . it was totaled out when I got rear-ended by a city bus. I kept that car in my garage but bought a new 1990 Cutlass to get around in.

My next project was a barn find. About 1989 I was offered a 1957 four door Chevy Bel Air. I had it about 90% restored by 1991 when I had to sell both cars after a divorce. From then on I bought nothing but new cars. Of course, I had to drive the Cutlass until 2003. Then, two years ago my new wife's father passed on. I loved the man. He meant a lot to me for several reasons, not the least of which was that my own father died in 2002. He also collected Corvettes. Not new ones or the old collector cars from the '50s and '60s. Most of his were wrecked C4s that he would resurrect. One of the last cars he bought, however, was a 2001 millinium yellow convertible, an unblemished six-speed car with only 33,000 miles. After he died, it was suggested that I buy the car at the family discount rate, which I did. Now, my goal is to keep this pristine beauty looking stock while bringing the power numbers up to modern specs. In other words, I want to squeeze 60 to 100 more ponies out of the LS1. That's where you guys come in.

See you in the forums!

Welcome to the site Ed
Lots of helpful people and knowledge on the site, getting that vette how you want it should not be much of an issue.

Welcome to the site, Ed. Great introduction as well. See you around. Lots to read and plenty of knowledgeable people to help you along the way.

Welcome to the site Ed.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!

Welcome aboard, Ed! :wave: