One HO That Can Go
Loyal, longtime subscriber James Jaco purchased his Hugger Orange Z28 about six years ago, and hasn't looked back since. The former Colorado resident promptly drove his HO Camaro down to Texas Speed for a big cam, long-tube headers, and true dual exhaust. This combo was sufficient for 13.4s at over 9,000 feet DA in Colorado. After a recent promotion moved him back to his native Chicago suburbs, his understanding wife gave him a blank check for Christmas and it was time to drop off the Z at Outlaw Motorsports. Using a Texas Speed 239/233 duration cam and ported heads with 2.04 intake and 1.575 exhaust valves, James was well on his way to 11s in good air. A FAST LSX manifold and Nick Williams 90mm throttle body setup would help take advantage of the deep breathing heads, as would a 200hp direct port fogger system. A Mufflex 4-inch exhaust and full complement of bolt-ons has so far helped this Camaro go 12.30 at 114, but a harder launch and some juice should change all that. Despite a Ford 9-inch rear with a spool and 4.11 gears, short times haven't breached the 1.7s. But James plans to drop the Textralia clutch at about 5,000-6,000 rpm next time he is at the track and let the BMR suspension and 26-inch Mickey Thompsons do their work. On laughing gas James believes timeslips should be in the 10-second region. Even with the spool, he still drives this 90,000-plus-mile F-body on the street and occasionally to pick up his 8-month-old son, who loves to fall asleep to the sound of a lumpy idle.
Junk In The Trunk
Some people just can't get enough when it comes to the portly B-bodies, and Jason Stevensen is no exception. After the demise of his 1994 9C1 Caprice, he has turned his attention to this super clean 1995 Caprice wagon. Believe it or not, Jason's favorite pastime is scooting the former Utah State honeybee transport vehicle through Brainerd International Raceway's 3.1-mile, 12-turn road course. To grip the pavement Jason uses meaty 275/40/17 Bridgestone Potenza rubber mounted on Impala SS rims, BMR control arms and front sway bar, Hotchkis rear sway bar, Bilstein shocks, and Eibach lowering springs. A Neal Chance 2500-stall torque converter, 3.73 gear and Eaton posi help the mostly stock motor distribute power to the rear wheels. Crane valvesprings and 1.6 ratio rockers, SSRI intake, Fbody MAF, Tri-Y headers with off-road pipes, and a MagnaFlow cat-back open the LT1's lungs. A 160 degree thermostat and tune from PCMforLess complete the list of bolt-ons.