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This 1964 Chevrolet C10 pickup has been thoroughly modernized with a fuel-injected LS3 crate engine, an overdrive automatic, Corvette disc brakes at all four corners, and a full custom leather interior. The truck it started as had a 283 small-block, drum brakes, and a vinyl bench. Chevrolet’s 1964 cab redesign gave builders the perfect canvas for exactly this kind of transformation. Read on to find out what GM got right the first time and how this build pushed it further.
The 2016 SEMA Show settled an old argument when the Ford Mustang was voted Hottest Coupe over Chevrolet’s Camaro, even though Chevy brought the bigger display. But the car that actually stole attention that year wasn’t from either factory — it was a privateer rally driver’s twin-turbo 1965 Mustang making more than 1,400 horsepower. Here’s what happened at the show that’s still a reference point for builders a decade later.
David Reese built this 1966 Ford Mustang Gasser back in 2013, and it still runs its 351 Cleveland exactly the way a period-correct gasser should. What makes War Horse unusual isn’t the raised nose or the drag strip runs — it’s that its owner has actually driven it cross-country on public roads. Watch to see how a dedicated race car earns that kind of mileage.
This 1961 Ford Galaxie Sunliner packs a 390-cubic-inch V8 that could be optioned up to 401 horsepower on paper, paired with a stripped-down three-on-the-tree manual and no power assist anywhere. Years before anyone used the phrase ‘muscle car,’ Ford was already quietly building the ingredients for one. Read on to find out what driving a full-size Ford built this way actually felt like.
This widebody Dodge Viper claims a title most builders wouldn’t dare chase: the only air-bagged, wide-body Viper anywhere. With a claimed 1,200 horsepower packed into a chassis never designed for that kind of power, it’s part show car, part street brawler. Here’s what it actually takes to make a build like this work.
Plymouth never built a 1971 Superbird – NASCAR’s rule changes killed the aero-car program before it could happen. Gary and Pam Beimke built one anyway, working from documentation for a prototype 1971 Daytona to complete their own tribute in 2001, followed by a matching Superbird in 2003. Add a sunroof and a Hemi and you’ve got one of the more unusual builds on the Mopar show circuit. Here’s the real story behind the Superbird that was never supposed to exist.
A nitrous-huffing, LS-swapped Chevelle showing up to Pure Street class and out-running the big-block faithful is the kind of pass that starts arguments in the pits. Pure Street doesn’t care what’s under the hood — DOT tires, a full interior, and a car that drives itself home are the only requirements — which is exactly why a swap turning real numbers there matters. We dig into what makes these small-block conversions competitive and how nitrous is closing the gap on traditional big-block combinations.
A blue 1969 Camaro, a first-gen Nova, a ’66 Chevelle, and a full-size Oldsmobile all take their turn peeling out of the same Cars & Coffee lot — and the comments make clear which exits actually earned the crowd’s respect. Two moments around the 1:02 and 3:20 marks draw the loudest reaction. Watch to see which car nailed the send-off best.
A Buick GSX built during a five-month factory window in 1970 raises a genuine documentation question for its current owners — one that even a close look at the car’s trim and colors can’t fully settle. Its Stage 1 engine option carried an official rating widely considered too conservative for what the car could actually do. Here’s the open question at the center of this particular GSX.
In 1965, Chevrolet offered Corvette buyers a fuel-injected small-block that cost nearly double the price of the brand-new 396 big-block, and made fewer horsepower on paper. Only 771 people took that bet, and the option disappeared entirely the following year, not returning to a Corvette for another seventeen years. Read on to see why buyers paid the premium, and how this particular ’65 Sting Ray proved it decades later at Drag Week 2015.
Restoration shop owner Luciano ‘Lucky’ Lacerda built this 1961 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible specifically to showcase his own shop’s work at SEMA, finishing it in a deep green that stands out even at a packed Scottsdale cars-and-coffee. It’s a deliberate choice in a SEMA field dominated by trucks and muscle cars. Watch to see what a restoration shop owner picks when the whole point is to prove what he can do.
A 1971 Chevy Nova originally left the factory with a base inline-six – this one now runs a 406 cubic-inch small block with a full roller valvetrain and a build claiming 572 horsepower to the wheels. Paired with drag radials instead of slicks, it’s built to be raced and driven home the same day. See why the 406 stroker combination remains one of the most popular small-block builds in drag radial racing, and what it takes to make that kind of power reliably.
This Dodge Challenger looks like it just rolled off a dealer lot, right up until it launches. Built to run at Texas Speed Syndicate’s exclusive Quick 30 drag day near Houston, this twin-turbo sleeper makes over 1,300 horsepower and has been recognized as holding the modern Mopar speed record. Twin turbos on a late-model Challenger are rare enough on their own. Read on to see why hiding them under a stock body is the hardest part.
That ‘396’ badge on this 1972 Camaro SS is telling a small lie – Chevrolet quietly bored the engine out to 402 cubic inches back in 1970 and just never bothered updating the fender emblem. Add in a 174-day UAW strike that crushed Camaro production that same year, and this clean Graphite Gray Pro Touring build is sitting on a genuinely rare factory foundation. Only 970 Camaros left the line wearing this exact big-block SS package. Read on to find out why 1972 was the end of the road for the big-block Camaro.
A 1972 Corvette build sheet shows a horsepower number for the LS5 454 that looks like a nosedive next to earlier years, and the reason has more to do with how Detroit measured power than with what the engine actually made. This numbers-matching, Bryar Blue example with a Muncie four-speed and original Rally Wheels sits right at that turning point, and an LS6 cam and intake swap wakes it up further. Read on to find out what really happened to the horsepower wars in 1972.