Congratulations, that is sure a beautiful 69 2t2. I'll make sure to get a copy of the mag when it comes out.

Al

congrats on the shoot. Definitley let us know when its released!

It's actually for their magazines (not sure if it's for Hemmings Classic Car or Hemmings Muscle Machine), but it's not in the big classified ad book, it's the glossy magazine. One of the few things I still subscribe to (I don't need another article on how to degree a cam on a smallblock, or, heaven forbid another "Paint your car in your garage" article).

I will ask for no Hoser or Maple Syrup references. But I can't promise.

Questions!

Any idea when the feature on your car comes out?

What wheels are shown in the pic? Are they 15x8 rally's- front and back? Or maybe 15x7 up front?

What tire size front and back?

Are those Coker Silvertown redlines? I've read about a BF Goodrich radial T/A redline (not Silvertown) That are apparently higher quality but they are very expensive. I just love the look of your wheels and tires and I'd like to have the same look on my 67 someday. That's why I'm interested. I also think the hood tach looks great. And the colour. And..... I could go on. 

'Thanks 

We did all of the final back-and-forth, did the little "Owner's View" blurb and all of that last week, so my understanding is it'll be appearing shortly (whatever that means in magazine time!).

On the wheels and tires, I believe it's 15x7 up front and 15x8 rallys in the back.  The rear tires are 275-60-15, and the fronts are more like 255s.  They're Yokohama Avid  S/T redline radials, which are "blank" with no branding or sizing on the outside.

I got a chance to pre-read the article and it's good - no weird Canadian references as you so often find when a US author writes about Canada (no maple syrup, hoser, winter, or other references).  He writes/talks at length about the car, not much else!

-- Edited by davepl on Tuesday 21st of March 2017 12:15:12 PM

Thanks for the info on the wheels and tires. That stance is awesome. Are you happy with the Yokohamas? Looks like trim rings are the same for 15x7 and 15x8? I can't wait for the feature article to come out. What a great looking car.

John

Mondo Poncho wrote:

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Thanks for the info on the wheels and tires. That stance is awesome. Are you happy with the Yokohamas? Looks like trim rings are the same for 15x7 and 15x8? I can't wait for the feature article to come out. What a great looking car.

John

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Thanks!  Yes, I'm happy with the Yokohamas, they've been a good tire.  Not as much traction as the BFG drag radials I had on before the restoration, of course, but that's not to be expected.

I think the Corvette rallys (the rear 15x8) -should- have a rounded, deeper trim ring.  But since that wouldn't match the front, I'm running the 15x7 ring on front and back.

Thanks for the kind words! Not sure which engine photo you looked at; in the initial build I had an aluminum intake (painted orange with the bowtie branding ground off) that comes with the ZZ502 block and is port-matched to it. A couple of years later I decided I wanted a more original appearance including the factory intake, so I found a 1969 Impala SS and got a bunch of original parts off of that, so it now has the right date-coded intake and all of that.

The factory intake and exhaust manifolds really choke the motor off - I bet it's an easy 150 horsepower reduction. Remember these motors were dyno-rated with open headers and so on, so the 390 rating is more like 275 net, if that. I started out at 508hp and it's more like 325 as-installed I bet.

I also went to the factory air cleaner with the snorkel and so on - that also came off the Impala because it was a four-speed car and therefore lacked the heat stove. That took a while to find, I guess there just weren't make four-speed Impalas either!

If I buy and restore the convertible L36/M20 ragtop I might take a few more liberties with this one, like headers and the aluminum intake manifold again. But until then I'll keep it stock appearing so that I always have one in "original" format.

Hi Dave. John again.  Thanks for that info above.  I didn't realize you had a 502  under the hood in the picture I was looking at.  I've been giving a fair amount of thought as to how to best get power out of my 427  while keeping it looking entirely stock on the outside.  From what I've read, if you design the engine with factory manifolds in mind and the proper camshaft choice,  you don't have to give up a ton of power.  Of course if you design the car with a radical camshaft and big port big flowing heads and then put stock manifold on it there will be a big difference  and loss of power  compared to what it might put up with headers and an improved intake manifold.  I spoke to a reputable engine builder a while back who told me with the right internals and some work to the stock heads  and maybe some port matching to the manifolds and that kind of thing,  that he guessed he could achieve about 440 horse power to the flywheel.  That wouldn't be a bad kick in the pants.  But this has been something I've been throwing around in my mind for some time.  I knew a fellow who had a stroked 409 in a 1963 impala. That engine put out something like 565 hp in a similar amount of torque.  It was such a blast to drive that I've often thought it might be fun to put the correct engine aside and put a 496 with headers and intake in my car instead. But I keep coming back to the original look.  And of course  an increase in power would mean I'd have to make some changes to the transmission as well. So I keep coming back to the stock luck and trying to determine where the sweet spot is.  Thanks for your information and also for your comments too  John in Montreal! 

Cool! Didn't know they were out in the mail already, I'll have to look. I do plan to order additional copies, of course Looking forward to seeing it!