OVERDRIVE: A One-Of-A-Kind Chopped '37 Ford Three-Window Coupe, A Factory-Fresh 454 '71 Chevelle, Quick Tips For Engine Assembly That Will Save You Big Time, And More At StreetMuscleMag.com!

Street Muscle’s OVERDRIVE is back! We have another week of great automotive content for all you salivating gearheads. We start things off by tearing up the streets in a wicked big-block-powered '37 Ford Three-Window Coupe! Keep scrolling to check out a list of some of the wildest LS-powered vehicles from LS Fest West 2022. Also, check out an insane factory-fresh 1971 Chevelle SS tribute car. Then we move on to an automotive icon – a GTO Judge sporting a 455ci H.O. Poncho. Finally, we cap things off by offering the key to cleanliness with this week's tech tip. Until next time...

-Vinny Costa

The last Ford factory-built three-window coupe rolled off the assembly line in 1936. By 1937 all coupes had five-windows, but that hasn’t stopped street rodders from wanting a ’37 three-window body. Those wishes were fulfilled with the Minotti Phantom body, a fiberglass interpretation of what a streamlined ’37 Ford coupe should look like.

Under the hood we find a Bill Mitchell Hard Core 540ci Merlin big-block that’s rated at 630 horsepower and 630 lb-ft of torque.The engine features forged pistons, a 4130 forged crankshaft. Up top are high-flow rectangular-port aluminum cylinder heads, a Merlin aluminum intake manifold with an 870-cfm Holley carburetor. This engine sure puts the "Hot" in Hot Rod !

Backing up that big Merlin is a performance-built GM Turbo 400 three-speed automatic with a manual-reverse-pattern valve body and a Turbo Action 3,500-rpm stall-speed converter. Power flows down to a Currie 9-inch rear end with a Detroit Locker and 4.11 gears.

The "Phantom" ’37 Ford three-window coupe body is a fiberglass Minotti product that has a chopped top and a far more streamlined profile than any stock ’37 Ford coupe. The seat frames were custom made before being covered with hand-stitched black leather.

The frame is a Pro-Street TCI unit that was narrowed in the rear to fit the massive 15x18.5-inch Mickey Thompson Sportsman-Pro tires and polished ET III wheels. The front wheels are 15x6-inch ET III wheels with BFG tires.

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Flowmaster’s Delta Flow technology provides superior scavenging of exhaust gasses. This results in increased horsepower, torque, and fuel economy while reducing exterior sound levels and interior resonance. The deflectors function properly only when they have been precisely placed and welded to exact specifications.

Pick the size muffler that fits your application and pick the sound level you like. Then sit back and enjoy the performance advantage of choosing Holley & Flowmaster. Flowmaster has many sound levels to choose from.

Home-Built Hero: Scott Coleman's 1970 Split-Bumper Camaro

Scott says he mostly built the split bumper Camaro in his driveway and a little small workshop under a very tight budget. The car was taken down to the bare shell. The body was sanded, and all rust was cut out and repaired. The body was then painted a Dodge Viper color called Green with Envy.

The engine in the split bumper is a 5.3-liter LS taken from a 2002 Suburban. The compression ratio is approximately 11.0:1. It has an Elgin camshaft with 238/242 degrees of duration and .595/.595-inch lift. The heads are home ported and built 862 castings with 2.02- and 1.57-inch stainless steel valves. "They work very well, and allow me to run more compression," Scott states. "They still flow well with the port work and boost and I have Comp Cams’ Rocker trunnions, Howard’s valve springs, hardened pushrods, and LS7 lifters. The engine is topped with a Cadillac CTS-V LSA supercharger that has a Griptec 2.45-inch pulley to make approximately 15-pounds of boost. The exhaust flows through a set of Speed Engineering 1-7/8-inch full-length stainless-steel headers Into a Pypes 3-inch dual stainless steel exhaust system."

"I rebuilt the 4L80-E with hardened shafts, billet, rollerized forward hub, increased clutch capacity, internal mods to increase line pressure, and a rollerized output shaft. It has a 3,800-rpm-stall torque converter and a Jakes Performance D1 trans brake. It is bolted in using a GForce Performance Products crossmember," Scott iterates.

Engine and transmission management in the split bumper is controlled by an Ms3 Pro ECU. Scott feels it’s overkill but will allow the addition of traction control, nitrous control, trans-brake control, and a lot more. The rearend is a Quick Performance 9-inch with 4.11 gears. It uses a Yukon center section with billet pinion support, 35-spline Moser axles, and a chromoly spool.

- Randy Bolig

This 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 tribute started out as a standard V8 Malibu and it went through a body-off restoration that spanned three-and-a-half years. The engine was upgraded to a 454 big- block that was bored 0.030-inch over, which increased displacement to 461 cubic-inches. Its bottom end was fortified with a Chevrolet forged-steel crankshaft and connecting rods, and Probe forged-aluminum pistons.

A Crane hydraulic flat-tappet camshaft bumps the valves in the rebuilt iron oval-port heads. Up top, a dual-plane aluminum intake manifold with a Holley 750cfm carburetor gets the big block pumping. The ignition system consists of an MSD HEI distributor and coil, and Taylor wires. Hooker headers, with an X-pipe & electrically-actuated cutouts handle the exhaust fumes. Backing up the big-block is a TH-400 with a hi-stall converter and a 10-bolt rear end filled with 2:73 gears and a Posi unit.

Originally green per the cowl data plate code, this Chevelle was repainted metallic blue with white SS stripes three years ago and a factory cowl-induction hood was installed. Its finish still looks great. The Chevelle rides on Z28 wheels with BFG radial tires.

- Mike Salemme

The POL - 13-inch Black Out Track 4 disc brake conversion by Baer takes your braking performance to the next level. This kit works with 1965-69 Mustang with stock OE drum brake spindles. Billet aluminum hubs come packed with Redline synthetic grease and include billet dust caps. The POL branded Baer 4-piston T4 calipers include D.O.T. compliant dust and weather seals.

Performance Online offers kits for :
1965-69 Mustang with OE drum spindles
1967 Mustang with OE disc brake spindles
1969 Cyclone with OE drum brake spindles
1962-69 Fairlane with OE drum spindles
1964-69 Falcon with OE drum spindles
1966-69 Comet with OE drum spindles
1967 Cougar with OE disc spindles
1967-69 Cougar with OE drum spindles
1969 Torino with OE drum spindles

Using a tack rag in your wipedown of engine parts can save you a headache later. Many rebuilders use shop towels, which can leave lint all over critical moving parts.
If you take a tack rag coated with automatic transmission fluid and do a cylinder wall wipe down, you'll be amazed at how much dirt and debris winds up on the tack rag because automatic transmission fluid is a detergent. The thin film of oil will also keep your cylinder bores from flash rusting.

Also, check the oil pan to oil pickup clearance before installing the oil pan. If the pan clears the pump pickup without the gasket, it is certain it will clear with the gasket installed. Measure the pump and pickup as shown, then measure the pan depth. If the pan is too close, you could starve the pump of oil and ruin your engine.

-Mike Salemme

This is a very rare Canadian-built 1970 Pontiac GTO that's owned by Randy Greene. It had some serious upgrades over the years, starting with a hopped-up 455 cubic-inch Pontiac engine equipped with a big Holley carb mounted on top of an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold. The fumes exit through long-tube headers and Flowmaster mufflers.

The 455 is backed up with a three-speed automatic transmission and 3,000 rpm high-stall converter, which is controlled by a Hurst His and Hers shifter.

The chassis was filled with the best parts from QA1, including control arms, sway-bars and heavy duty end links. The rear end was filled with 3:42:1 gears and a posi-traction differential.

The 15 inch Rally II wheels were quickly swapped for 17- inch American racing wheels with Nitto tires. The owner now takes it to car shows weekly and likes to educate children on muscle cars to help continue the car hobby into the future.