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A stroked LS3 and a ten-mile traffic jam near the California-Nevada line were all it took to strand Project Orange Krate, the Chevy High Performance 1971 Camaro, on the shoulder of Interstate 15 after the 2017 Holley LS Fest West. With Vette and Street Rodder editor Brian Brennan in the passenger seat and no working fuel gauge, it became a lesson every pro-touring builder eventually learns: horsepower changes your fuel math more than you think.
The Rochester Quadrajet fed GM V8s for more than two decades, and it remains one of the most argued-about carburetors in the muscle car world. Its mismatched spread-bore throats look like a design error until their purpose is understood, and most of the problems that gave it a bad name trace back to a handful of details that rebuild kits never mention. This guide covers how the Quadrajet works, why it leaks, how the production eras differ, and what a proper rebuild actually involves. Read on to find out why so many owners swear by it.
A carburetor rebuilding shop shouldn’t still be in business in the 21st century — fuel injection took over new car production decades ago. But a quick drive past a fading Coke sign in Little Rock is a reminder that classic cars, old farm equipment, and stubborn collectors have kept this particular trade alive long after Detroit gave up on it.
1970 was the last model year before a looming federal fuel mandate forced every automaker to detune their engines for good, and Buick used that final window to build one of the most overlooked muscle cars of the era. The GS 455 Stage 1 traded flashy branding for raw torque, putting up numbers that rivaled cars with far bigger reputations. This is the story of how the old man’s brand ended up building a genuine class leader. Watch to see why collectors are still catching up to it.
Ford loyalists and Chevrolet diehards have been arguing about the 5.0-liter Mustang and the TPI Camaro since both cars were new, and the argument has never actually been settled with the engines on a dyno. That is exactly what this shootout sets out to do, starting with baseline pulls on a 5.0L HO 302 and an LB9 TPI 305. The numbers are smaller than modern muscle. Read on to find out what these two engines really made.
A bone-stock, 707-horsepower Hellcat Challenger meets its match against a turbocharged Dodge Dakota sleeper build that most spectators never saw coming. Viewers are split between admiring the Hellcat’s factory muscle and cheering for the truck that “earned the Hellcat badge.” Watch to find out whether factory horsepower or a home-built turbo setup wins the quarter mile.
A Chrysler 440 big block living inside a vintage Ford racer is the kind of combination that makes purists twitch and racers grin. This build pairs a hot-tanked and honed RB block with upgraded pistons, a period-correct roll cage, and a carefully sorted carburetor setup. The result sounds nothing like what the badge on the body promises. Read on for why the 440 keeps ending up in cars Chrysler never built.
Scottie Dyer picked this 1966 Mustang convertible for his Dirty Dozen lineup completely sight unseen, betting on Classic Restorations Of Southern Indiana’s reputation before ever laying eyes on the finished car. What showed up at the 2017 Pigeon Forge Rod Run backs up the gamble — a stance and wheel combination viewers immediately praised, paired with an engine bay built to look deceptively stock. Small shop, big test, national audience. Watch to see if the build holds up.
Jason Michalak’s Bad9er Racing blown Hemi Corvette runs a 3.97-second eighth mile at 194 miles per hour on a 315 drag radial, setting the quickest elapsed time in Competition class at the Outlaw Street Car Reunion at Memphis International Raceway. It’s an extreme demonstration of how far a Corvette-based platform can be pushed on radial tires rather than full race slicks. Watch to see the run that had viewers doing double takes on just how fast 194 mph really is.
A Pontiac 455 big block catches fire mid-pull on the dyno in this Nick’s Garage video, and instead of cutting the footage, the channel keeps rolling and walks through exactly what went wrong. It’s the kind of unfiltered honesty about engine building’s real risks that has built Nick’s Garage a loyal following, even when the pull doesn’t go as planned. Watch to see how the fire started and what it reveals about pushing a big-block V8 to its limits.
A rat rod is supposed to look like it barely runs, which is exactly what makes a genuine 550-horsepower Chevrolet C10 sleeper so satisfying. Underneath the patina sits a drivetrain with nothing in common with the bodywork, most likely an LS swap producing roughly double what the strongest factory engine ever managed. Read on for how a half-ton work truck became one of the most sought-after platforms in the hobby.
Someone swapped a heavy-duty GM Duramax diesel into a classic Chevelle, and the result sounds less like a muscle car and more like construction equipment. Currently running mid-14-second quarter miles, this build is — according to commenters — barely scratching what a properly built Duramax swap can eventually do. Comparisons to a locally famous Duramax Grand National running 8-second passes set the bar high. Watch to see this unconventional build make its pass.
At one of the oldest drag strips in the country, Karen Stalba has spent 20-plus years running alcohol dragsters, cars fast enough to leave muscle cars in the dust. This weekend’s NHRA Lucas Oil Series brought 450-plus cars to historic Atco Dragway, a track with a record-setting past dating back to the 1960s. Here’s what made this South Jersey race weekend stand out.
The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon made 808 horsepower on pump gas and 840 on race fuel, ran a certified 9.65-second quarter mile, and lifted its front wheels hard enough to earn a Guinness record. It also arrived with a steel crate of drag parts, a factory transbrake, and an air conditioner repurposed to chill the intake charge. Dodge built it for a single model year and then walked away. Read on for what it actually took to get there.