photos by: the author
Looking Ahead for 2016, While Bringing You the Updates on Your Favorite Project Cars!
It’s that time of year again; where we pull back the car covers, reinstall the Optima and blow out the carbon that’s been building up over the last four months. The tracks are drying out, the weather is more livable and we’re about to start seeing the high-horsepower monsters taking over the city streets.
Of course, if you live in the South or the Southwest, you probably never put your car away for the Winter, in the first place. Anyway, you’ve probably been wondering what’s going on with our current fleet of project cars, so I’ve broken them down for you below in an attempt to give you an idea on where our projects are and where they’re headed for this upcoming racing season. Two-thousand sixteen is going to be a great year!
Project 88 (1970 Chevelle SS396)
This one has had us jumping over the winter! We’re replacing the interior upholstery with replacements from CARS Inc., installing new sheetmetal in 
places that it’s needed and will be utilizing Heatsheild Products for header wrap and sound deadening. We’re also looking at upgrading the transmission in this thing. The shifting is a little sketchy and the idea of potentially utilizing an overdrive gear and a stronger clutch only makes sense.
With our Hellwig sway bars already in place, we want to upgrade the suspension a bit further, upgrading all of the tie rod ends, the steering and the brakes. Our YearOne 17-inch SS wheels arrived last week and you’ll be seeing the install here, very soon! By the end of summer, this car is going to take on a whole new personality of its own!
Project Redo (1968 Firebird 400)
We’ve been cranking away on tis one! Featuring a FiTech EFI kit, YearOne 17-inch Rally II wheels and coming soon, a BMR suspension upgrade. We’re also entertaining the idea for a head and camshaft upgrade, brake kit upgrade and a an updated steering system to make our turning capabilities a bit more precise.
The TH400 sitting under the floorboards might be getting an overhaul at some point; the shifts are still fairly firm, but with more power and abuse being scheduled for our car’s modifications, we don’t feel too confident in it going up against what we have planned. Getting this car a PHS pedigree is on top off our list, too!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, the parent company to Timeless Muscle Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the magazine’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next round modifications for his own cars.
