Shop Tour - Hardcore Drag Racing

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 but he went a differe

  This 65' Nova is one of the most significant Pro/Street builds of all time. Since the time it was built in 1982 by Rick Dobbertin it won so many awards it literally put the worlds car builders on notice.  Rick devoted more than 3,000 hours over the course of three years to create this legendary Nova. The Nova was featured on the cover of the September 1982 issue of Hot Rod magazine and a full feature inside as well, it won the Grand Champion award at the 1982 Car Craft Nationals as well as Best Pro Street, Best Engineered and Best Engine awards. The main reason for those awards happens to lie beneath the hood, a 454 big block Chevy that was shoehorned into the little compact. Most builders would have called it a day at that time, but not Rick.  He installed a BDS 6-71 Supercharger that is feed boost via a pair of Rotomaster turbochargers that inhale the fuel mixture from a pair of Holley 750 CFM carburetors. Wow that was a mouthful. If that wasn't enough there is a port inje

                            More great articles coming soon !               If you want to submit your ride, send me some pictures and info about yourself and your car.  Pre-1985 cars at this time.  Photos must be outside on a sunny day. I would need a few engine shots, an interior photo and a few outside body shots, like a front 3/4 view and rear 3/4 view and a side view. I will give you you or the photographer credit for the photos. Please no people in the photos unless it is you the owner.   If your article reaches 150 views you will receive a Shop Tour door prize !     If you want to advertise your company with me, monthly rates start at $25.00 per month... with a four month minimum. Wow what a deal !   Email me at : shoptourracing@yahoo.com Thank you !     

        This Monte Carlo is one bad G-body . It’s powered by a freshly built 468 big- block Chevy that features a Weiand 8-71 supercharger making an est. 650 H.P.    Up top dual Fitech electronic throttle body’s inject the fuel. The top-end features aluminum Merlin heads and  hydraulic roller cam bumps the valves.       A huge Be-Cool radiator with dual electric fans keeps things cool .  The exhaust is routed through a set of ceramic coated headers and a mandrel bent 3-inch stainless steel tubes ending at the rear bumper . The engine is backed by a built 4L80e automatic transmission that is controlled and adjusted with a hand-held controller.     The interior features original factory-style blue velour bucket seats. The dash is filled with Autometer gauges. .     The back seat was removed and in its place is a set of huge wheel tubs covered in factory style carpet.           The Monte features an Art Morrison coil over 4 link rear suspension with a narrowed Strange nine-inch rear end f

  This 1966 Chevrolet Nova Pro-Street Wagon is amazing! The car was completely customized,as it started off as a 4-door that was professionally transformed into a 2-door. The wagon was tubbed to fit giant meats in the rear, then a roll cage was added to keep the body from twisting. The award winning paint is a two-toned metallic blue and silver with green and orange painted on pinstripes. Powering this Chevy II is a 372 C.I. small block V8 with an 8/71 supercharger from The Blower Shop,and sucking fuel from a pair of Holley Carburetors.      The exhaust flows through Doug's long tube headers and 3-inch pipes that exit before the rear tires.  The power is sent to a TCI Turbo 350 3-speed automatic transmission ending at a Dana 60 rear end filled with 3:73 gears. The owner states the car only has been driven 1500 miles since being completed .   The interior features two bucket seats with 3- point saftey harness ,an 8-point roll cage with carbon fiber interior accents, also a tilt stee

                              At any given weekend in America in the 1980's you could find a car like this at a car show, drive- in or just cruising the streets showing off .  The trend of Pro-Street started taking shape in the mid 1970's after the Street Freak movement, these cars were considered more street friendly because the rear tires were tucked in and they had some sort of exhaust system.   Don't think for one minute that these cars were slow by any means . They were just as powerful as before  and you could say that they were getting even more horsepower .  In the 80's builders were looking for the next new big thing to put into their cars , blowers & nitrous oxide , if one kit wasn't enough then three must be better , who needs two carbs when you could put on four of them . Later on there were multiple turbo's . And the best part was the over the top paint jobs with pin- striping and air brush work and more chrome plating then a Street Rod going fo