ithout a doubt, the independent rear suspension that debuted in the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray (and was used in all Corvettes until 1982) was a sea change in how the domestic auto industry approached mass-produced performance. Today’s horsepower and torque leave these C2 and C3 Corvettes in the dust. Hence, Detroit Speed’s ZR12 rear center section is “comfortable” with 12-bolt strength, 33-spline Truetrac precision, and 1,200 hp.

Like a light switch being flipped on, handling had become a key concern alongside horsepower—something Zora Arkus-Duntov had been telling GM from the get-go in 1954. The third-generation Corvette continued the IRS theme and solidified the Corvette’s cornering pedigree, but beneath the skin, the design had hidden weaknesses that would manifest as sheared halfshafts and broken differentials. That’s what happens when the bill of materials is determined by accountants instead of engineers.

e continue to chip away at the details of our 1971 Corvette project, making great progress on transforming the classic C3 into a thoroughly contemporary restomod with the addition of a Detroit Speed Selecta-Speed Wiper Kit (PN 121621).

Highlights include an electronically fuel-injected powertrain, an overdrive transmission, modernized suspension and braking systems, and all the other supporting performance elements. We’re also updating all the comfort and convenience features to help ensure the car is as easy to live with on a long-haul drive as it is on a quick run to Saturday morning’s cars and coffee.

We’ve already upgraded the hidden headlight system to electric actuation, and we’re now doing the same for the hidden windshield wipers. C3 Corvette (1968-72) models used a vacuum-operated door, and its operation was just as finicky and frustrating as the headlight doors. Fortunately, there’s also an electric solution—and, like our headlight conversion system, it comes from Detroit Speed. This Detroit Speed Selecta-Speed kit gives you the performance and convenience of a late-model wiper system in a package that mounts easily and cleanly in your car. The wiper motor is a low-profile, seven-speed unit with five delays, low and high speed, plus a rotary switch, adapter plate, and wiring harness.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR

VIDEOGRAPHY BY RYAN FOSS PRODUCTIONS

im Bridgewater rolled into this year’s Grand National Roadster Show with his 1966 Ford Thunderbird Landau—a car that looks close to stock at first glance but has been reworked throughout. Troy Trepanier and the Rad Rides by Troy (RRT) crew crafted a very different kind of statement piece. After winning the 75th America’s Most Beautiful Roadster with Ross Myers’ 1936 Ford roadster, it was time to “drive” in a different direction.

Instead of placing the Thunderbird on a modern aftermarket chassis, RRT retained the stock-style unibody platform to preserve the easy ride these cars are known for. The front suspension uses 2-1/2-inch-lowered springs, larger 1-1/4-inch sway bars, Viking dual-adjustable shocks, and a quicker-ratio steering box. Out back, a Ford 9-inch rearend is retained, along with the leaf-spring layout, which is lowered 2-1/2 inches. Viking adjustable coilover shocks and a 1-1/4-inch sway bar are also used. According to Trepanier, the Thunderbird keeps its comfort without the original floating feel.

he air at Muncie Dragway hung thick with the scent of race fuel and nostalgia as classic Ford and Mercury iron warmed up for a quarter-mile battle. For the second year, the FE Race and Reunion came to Muncie Dragway in northern Indiana for a truly classic Blue Oval bonanza. As the name suggests, the FE Race and Reunion showcases the very best FE racers and hosts a car/truck show and swap meet, and there’s even a “’brats and beverage” barbecue.

For three days in late April, time travel was possible as racers, builders, enthusiasts, and fans experienced the FE Ford and Mercury horsepower, torque, and beauty. Along with the participants and spectators, our team made the trek to Muncie, Indiana, for this special event.

Locked in time, Muncie Dragway was the perfect setting for rumbling FE Race and Reunion warriors. Its rustic feel and grippy quarter-mile surface provide the perfect setting for drag racing and the off-track fun.

ew builders undertake aluminum seat and interior fabrication because of the tremendous expertise it demands. An all-metal interior in a sedan is an extremely challenging project. With an open car, there are fewer components, and each can be installed through the cockpit top. With a closed car you don’t have that option. Each panel must be designed to be installed through the door openings, and once you give this some thought, you can see how challenging the process becomes.

t the very top of the Northwest United States, Washington is the last state on the West Coast before crossing the border into British Columbia, Canada. The 10th Annual Spokane Speed and Custom Show was held April 10-12 entirely inside the Spokane Fair and Expo Center, featuring over 400 entries from surrounding states and western provinces.

The weather offered short bouts of sunshine, filtered in with occasionally chilly rain, so spending the day inside eight heated buildings checking out the show was rather pleasant. One of the food vendors was Longhorn Barbecue, so we had a great lunch. After locating the six entries in the ARP West Coast Challenge Series and shooting a variety of different angles, we returned to the show entrance and took a closer look at the second car in line, Sue and Tad Leach’s bright PPG yellow 1956 Lincoln Premiere. The Lincoln is based on a concept illustration penned by British Columbia illustrator Murray Komant.

alk through any modern car show and you’ll spot it: carbon-fiber valve covers that aren’t carbon, woodgrain dash inserts that never saw a tree, and camo-patterned intake tubes that look like they were dipped in a swamp. Some of it is real. A surprising amount isn’t. It’s hydrographics water-transfer printing, a process that’s been around for decades but has only recently become a popular go-to finishing technique for hot rodders who want durable custom graphics on complex shapes without the cost of airbrushing or the seams of vinyl.

To get past the surface-level explanations and into the real nuts and bolts, we spent time with Michael Chodak, owner of Immersed FX, one of the country’s largest and longest-running hydrographics water-transfer printing shops. Fourteen years in, he’s dipped everything from valve covers to a 57-piece vehicle interior for an AT&T commercial. His take? Hydrographics is simple in theory, unforgiving in practice, and absolutely transformative when done right.

f you lived during the 1960s, factory muscle cars were everything. If you didn’t, you most likely wished you had. But one thing is for sure, there is still plenty of representation available for all of us to see, hear (very cool), and watch in action. What’s exciting is seeing these amazing machines go through the auctions (like Mecum Auctions) and watching sale prices keep climbing. (How many of us wish we still had some of our ’60s-era sheet metal stashed away in our garages?)

Of all the factory offerings, of which there were plenty, the Chevrolet Z11 may very well have proven to be the “one.” The one that set records at the dragstrips and made all of us dream during math class, the kind of math we were interested in–1,320 feet and elapsed times!