For almost 15 years RPM has been committed to “Keeping It Real”. And that is not just a buzz phrase around here. We really do work hard to find exclusive content for our readers. Interesting, high power and diverse content, but most of all, stories that any one of us could be part of. In particular are the RPM Project cars, all three of which are featured in this very issue, and each are REAL WORLD builds completed in REAL TIME within the pages of RPM. In other words, we are building the car as we write each story as opposed to doing a project then writing about it several months/years later. You get the straight scoop, the good and the bad, and even those little challenges we all have during a project that will put us behind or prevent us from moving on to the next step.
We also try to show every step of a project, big or small, so our readers will understand that it is not an easy process, it takes hard work and dedication. That being said, be sure to give yourself lots of time to complete your own project. The last thing you want to do is become frustrated with the time demands, or run yourself short on cash because you have set an unrealistic timeline and then have to put things on hold or give up altogether. Anything worthwhile takes time, and you’ll see by reading about our RPM projects that some have taken four years to complete, but the end result is definitely worth it!
About our 3 current RPM Project Cars:
Project “Getting Back On Track” is much more than meets the eye. The 1992 Chevrolet Camaro RS is being built from the ground up to allow Blake Robinson, a racer who lost his leg as the result of a nitrous oxide bottle explosion, to return to the sport of Drag Racing. The car, once finished, will run in two classes of competition; Outlaw 5.80 and Texas Triple Threat Racing. The four link, back halved Camaro will be powered by a small block Chevy engine with an 80mm turbo. The drivetrain consists of a custom built two speed Powerglide transmission and a Fab9 rear end. We started this build in March of 2012, with plans of getting Blake back in the seat late in 2013, however, with illnesses related to the loss of his leg and the usual project delays, 2014 is now the goal. Incidentally, this project started as a supercharged combination but was changed along the way to the turbo.
“4 LUG THUG” RPM broke from the magazine project car tradition when Project Thug kicked off in the November 2009 issue. Traditionally, magazine builds get thrown together in a matter of a few issues with what seems like half the car being put together in 5 pages. Often, project cars will go several issues and then disappear for years with readers wondering if it was ever finished. 4 Lug Thug was built from scratch in the pages of RPM with each step of the process getting it’s own story in almost every issue over the past 4 years. Readers have watched as the common man’s backyard build has progressed from a junkyard shell to a finished small tire brawler. 4 Lug Thug is a 1987 Mustang Convertible with a nitrous motivated 427ci small block Ford. The build is coming to a conclusion over the next few issues but will be used as the RPM test mule for years to come. Keep an eye out, you may see the RPM staff beating on the old THUG ragtop in Street Race/Ultra Street competition or even the occasional 5.50 or 6.0 index race.
Project “GREEN MACHINE” – is really two projects in one. It all started with an RPM engine project, “Big Block Brawler”, where we built (with the help of Bad Attitude Engines out of Morriston Florida) a reasonably priced big block Chevy to make 1,000HP. The engine build was featured in the June to September 2012 issues of RPM and on the dyno it produced 671hp on pump-gas and 1180hp/1069 ft pounds of torque with a Nitrous Supply annular-discharge Pro Plate. Project Green Machine, the car, is a street & strip 1966 Chevrolet Bel Air that is powered by that same 489 cubic inch big block Chevy ”Brawler” with 10.0-1 compression and a Comp hydraulic-roller camshaft. With its stock style suspension, the Bel Air can fit a 10.5” Mickey Thompson ET Drag slick or 275 Mickey Thompson Drag Radial, so at the drag strip it could be run in a number of different classes. But rest assured, it WILL be street driven… a lot!
