Let's pretend for a minute that, instead of being a cubicle-dwelling 9-to-5 working man (like most of us), you were actually fortunate enough to be the owner of one of the most high-profile transmission shops in the country. Now, let's try to forget about all of the hard work, long hours, and stress that such a job actually consists of and instead focus on living the dream, owning cool cars and having the time to install goodies and test them out all in the name of "research and development." Believe it or not, such an awesome life actually does exist and the man at the top of this particular empire is none other than Rodney Massengale, owner of RPM Transmissions (RPM) in Daleville, Indiana. Now, if you talk to Rodney, TJ, or any of the highly talented guys at RPM, they may tell you a much different version of this dream but we're going to run with the assumption that providing parts for some of the fastest LS-powered race and street cars in the country, while also getting to test them on your project cars, isn't a terrible way to make a living. Sure, some may call it "product development" but to others, like us, even getting a chance to spend time around a 9-second C6 Z06 is the stuff dreams are made of.
For Rodney and his crew, racing his personal Z06 is, quite literally, just another day at the office, taking on hyper-powerful cars and proving that reliable overdrive transmissions can and will live under racing conditions if properly built. According to TJ, "We built this car to showcase our 4L65E conversion. It shows how easy the car is to drive and how well it runs at the track. The car is very smooth and clean due to the automatic conversion and stock cam. Your grandmother could drive this car!" Yes, you read that right, this Z06 has been converted to a 4L65E automatic transmission, which we understand won't enamor the die-hard manual transmission guys, but bear with us for a minute. Once you understand more about this ride, the advantages of this conversion will become very obvious.
First off, let's discuss the engine combination. "The car has a completely stock [LS7] engine, never even had the valve covers off!" OK, well that was easy. Moving forward in the engine bay, we have the real secret to the horsepower, a Procharger D-1SC supercharger system that has been tweaked to work flawlessly run after run. For maximum boost, RPM installed a Cartek flip drive and 8-rib Innovators West crank damper, which brings boost in at 15 psi, enough air to lay down over 689-rear-wheel horsepower. Helping expel all of that air, Rodney relies on a set of Kooks 2-inch long-tube headers, which feed a 3-inch X-pipe and a set of B&B bullet mufflers. And, that's it for power.
Behind the basically stock LS7 is where the real trick stuff begins, starting with a Driveshaft Shop prop shaft, which smoothly delivers torque to a custom-built 10-inch Coan 3,600-stall converter. Behind the converter sits the entire reason this build even began, the RPM Transmissions Level 7 4L65E automatic transmission. Built with the best parts RPM could find, the Level 7 4L65E features an extra-wide, heavy-duty double-caged 29-element sprag, an upgraded 2.85 First gear planetary, billet Second and Fourth gear servos, 300M hardened input and output shafts, a Transgo shift kit, an SFI approved bellhousing, and micropolished internals. With that much internal hardware, you can see why it deserves an entire car built around it. Of course, the transmission and upgraded prop shaft mean nothing without a stout rearend and here again, Rodney worked in house to build a C6 ZR1 rear, which houses a Quaife torque biasing differential, a set of 3.42 micropolished gears and a pair of The Drive Shaft Shop 300M axles.