Shop Tour - Hardcore Drag Racing

          Quick Look 1 This restored 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS coupe is an example of a modified street car that looks basically stock outside, but it has improved handling and power under the skin. A Muncie M22 Rock- Crusher four speed backs up a rebuilt and hot-rodded 350 CI V-8.   The small-block engine was rebuilt and bored .030-inches over and equipped with a roller camshaft, Brodix cylinder heads and an MSD ignition lights the fire. A Quick Fuel carburetor handles the air and fuel, while a set of stainless headers make some sweet tunes.  The owner stated that on chassis a dyno it made 392 rear wheel horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. The four-speed manual transmission is controlled by a Hurst Indy shifter and a Centerforce clutch.  The chassis features four-wheel disc brakes and custom A-arms with poly bushings. Out back classic Ground-Grabber traction bars help the Camaro hook-up on the street. It rolls on billet wheels w...

What's in The Garage?  with mark francis !        Last month we posted the story of Mark and his Monza named "Louie the Lizard", a big tire street & strip car powered by a hot small-block Chevy. In this edition of What's In The Garage, we are going to showcase some of Mark's past and current build projects. As we learned he has a passion for the Chevrolet Monza, either in sedan or hatchback form Mark has owned a few of each and he has a few in his stable now . Each one is in a different stage in the build process . Buckle up and hold on as we take a look into Mark's Garage!    One of Mark's first builds was this 1978 Monza. Mark said that he bought while he was in high school (1986) from his best friend.      Mark tells us in his own words about his new purchase. It was a V6 roller that he blew the up before I bought it. I bought a 307 from a guy that worked in a machine shop, he built it for the NHRA Super Stock class bu...

    Mark Francis has an addiction to H-Body Chevy Monza's. Our main story is about Mark's green Chevy Monza nick-named Louie the Lizard, later on we will take a look at his other projects that he has brewing in the garage, from the past to the present Mark has built some cool hot rods . From a young age Mark was exposed to racing from listening to  his Father's stories of his street racing days and how his Mother went along with him. When he got older he would work on his fathers cars and amassed a wealth of knowledge. While still in high school Mark began building cars for himself and for his friends.   Mark said he bought this Monza coupe around 2000 to go racing while his Monza hatchback was getting tubbed out. The car is a 1975 Chevy Monza Towne Coupe that was purchased as a roller. He said it was heavy and hideous . It needed more work than he imagined. This was Mark's first big tire car but it wasn't his last as we will see later on. When he brought the Mo...

Chevrolet introduced the compact Nova for the 1962 model year. They were available in 2-door coupes with hard tops & with post's, a wagon was also offered . If you wanted to show off there was a convertible option . They were a big hit with Hot Rodder's ,stuffing hot small blocks under the hood were the norm . For all out Drag Racing you could find Gasser's with injected 327's or the new big block 427's with superchargers and mechanical fuel injection . This freshly restored 63' Nova known as SNAFU is all steel and fitted with a hot small block. For power a 1968 Chevrolet  327 C.I.  block was bored .030' with 13.5:1 pistons was put into action.     It was capped off with a set of Dart cylinder heads and a Weiand intake manifold. The fuel system checks out with A 750 CFM. Holley double pumper carb., a Holley Blue fuel pump with braided lines run from the custom tank to the engine compartment. Te ignition system is by MSD, with a 6-AL Box and Blaster coil...

  Quick look ! This 1975 Chevy Nova is a one of a kind , with its first generation Camaro front clip. The bright orange paint pops in the sun , letting everyone know you arrived . The body is all steel with the exception of the fiberglass front clip. Powering this odd-rod is a 454 CI big block running on alcohol with mechanical injection , An MSD ignition lights the fire. It's backed up with a TH-400 transmission with an 8 inch converter and a trans brake . The chassis was upgraded with a 2x3 square tube back half , the 12-bolt rear end is suspended by ladder bars and coil over shocks.  The front runs tubular control arms with QA1 coil over shocks . The car is tied together with a full roll cage certified to 7.50.       With the front end off we can see the front mounted five gallon fuel cell, aluminum radiator & breather tank . Everything is designed for one purpose , to go fast !  This Nova rolls on 14 inch wide Weld wheels with bead-locks and st...

  This bright yellow Chevy 210 has only gone about 800 miles since its restoration. The ionic elements like the grille and bumpers have a unique appearance with an airbrushed look.  But as a true Gasser, you also need the right elements . That means a fiberglass one-piece front end to reduce weight and the high solid front axle big engine and street slicks complete the look.                                                                This was built to be a full competition machine for the street  or strip so a full  8-point roll cage was installed along with Corbeau racing seats, and Corbeau racing harnesses .   Other features include  power windows ...