TurboMinivan
Still plays with cars
- Location
- Lehi, UT
Yesterday afternoon at work, a co-worker told me about a car she recently saw at the grudge races. "It reminded me of your car," she said. It was another Grand Prix? "No, it was a brown turd car of some kind--maybe a Buick, I don't know--but it was stupid fast and beating cars left and right." I tried to take that as a compliment.
Fast forward three hours. I am at home, perusing FB, and I see a new thread in the Utah Muscle Car forum. A guy I don't know says, "I haven't been on in quite a while, so I thought I'd show you all my latest project." From the photos, I am convinced this must be the car my co-worker saw at the races.
The owner begins, "I call her Martha. She is a 1977 Impala grandma car with 39,000 original miles."
Of course, he includes the obligatory odometer photo:
So far, so good. But pay close attention to the next photo:
Guy mentions he is running 9-inch-wide Goodyear whitewall slicks. And now that you're looking at the tires, the fronts sure do look to be on the skinny side for a car of this size--I bet you didn't even notice that in the first photo. Looking even closer from down here reveals the silly little peashooter exhaust tip for the deception that it is. His true exhaust pipes are tucked up as tight as he can get them.
And then there is the main event, all completely hidden underhood. It's a roller cam big block 454, with completely forged internals, just like my Grand Prix. But unlike my engine, his has a Procharger hanging off the front end, blowing through a large front-mount intercooler.
Guy says, "Preliminary testing suggests she's a baaaaaad girl."
Fast forward three hours. I am at home, perusing FB, and I see a new thread in the Utah Muscle Car forum. A guy I don't know says, "I haven't been on in quite a while, so I thought I'd show you all my latest project." From the photos, I am convinced this must be the car my co-worker saw at the races.
The owner begins, "I call her Martha. She is a 1977 Impala grandma car with 39,000 original miles."
Of course, he includes the obligatory odometer photo:
So far, so good. But pay close attention to the next photo:
Guy mentions he is running 9-inch-wide Goodyear whitewall slicks. And now that you're looking at the tires, the fronts sure do look to be on the skinny side for a car of this size--I bet you didn't even notice that in the first photo. Looking even closer from down here reveals the silly little peashooter exhaust tip for the deception that it is. His true exhaust pipes are tucked up as tight as he can get them.
And then there is the main event, all completely hidden underhood. It's a roller cam big block 454, with completely forged internals, just like my Grand Prix. But unlike my engine, his has a Procharger hanging off the front end, blowing through a large front-mount intercooler.
Guy says, "Preliminary testing suggests she's a baaaaaad girl."
