Every 2nd Saturday of the month there is a Cars & Coffee gathering in San Jose, only 1-mile from our house!  My neighbor invited me to this event held at the Starbucks on Hillsdale Ave yesterday. We left together with the roadster and his Barracuda:

 

I was surprised at the turnout and sheer number of Hot Rods and Muscle cars from every era. Here are a few of my favorites with more in the gallery below.

Mopar or No Car

1st, 2nd and 3rd gen ‘Cudas and Belvederes:

 

 

Modified Formula S Barracuda:

 

Killer paint colors and graphics from Plymouth and on this 2nd gen Roadrunner:

 

J-Tin!

Always happy to see Japanese classics:

 

Triple tail lights Check:

 

GM

Impalas, Camaro, ‘Vette, Chevelle, Nova and more:

 

 

Wild Riviera:

 

Ford

’32 Hot Rods, Thunderbirds, Mustangs and more

 

Ford Firetruck with a late-model diesel drivetain:

 

Two of my favorites, a 70’s Disco-themed GM Van (see video below) and track-prepped Pantera:

 

 

I spotted a few British cars as well including a Triumph Herald, Spitfire, Silver Cloud Rolls and Mini

 

We had a blast and my family even got to enjoy the show. If you are in the area and love Classic American cars this is the spot. Free donuts and coffee is also a plus!

Enjoy the picture gallery!
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No, dear readers your eyes aren’t deceiving you! That is a 1972 Chevelle coming out of Turn 9 at Laguna Seca and here is the story behind this icon from the 70’s.  Owner Dave T was scouring the internet for dyno shops when he found Z Car Garage. With an endorsement from his co-worker an e-mail was sent and we happily obliged to dyno the Chevelle. We love muscle cars!

 

Dave had assembled this engine entirely by himself and wanted to see the difference a new exhaust system made. The stock exhaust consisted of OEM cast-iron manifolds, dual pipes w/o crossover and generic turbo mufflers. Baseline numbers were 277hp/326tq to the wheels. The new exhaust system included Hooker SBC headers, Pypes X-pipe and Race Pro mufflers. This helped produce 330hp/356tq to the wheels!

 

Here is a video of the dyno run:

 

 

What we love most about the car is that it was meant to be a ‘grandma’s sleeper’ that could work at the road-track, the drag-strip and as a daily driver.  It still has its original bench seat and column shifter. Dave has logged over 11,000 miles on the motor and recently completed a track day at Laguna Seca!

 

 

A few details on the engine build:

383CI
Intake Manifold-RPM Air Gap
GMPP Hot Camshaft
COMP Cams Valve Springs
GM Bow-Tie Vortec cylinder heads
Compression ratio 9.543
TH-350 (TCI)
3000 rpm flash stall converter (TCI)
3.08 rear, Eaton posi

 

Dave actually built the engine before he found the car. After the successful engine run on the stand, his dad encouraged him to find a car for it:

“He said, why don’t you get a Chevelle like you had in high-school- that was the best car we ever had. I had received a 1972 Chevelle Mailbu from my parents at the age of 16. It was blue with a white vinyl top. I had an accident in it and some time after that the cam/timing gear let go and although I tried to replace it the engine never ran right and we ended up donating it to the high-school auto shop class.”

 

 

He then found a ’72 on Craigslist in un-modified condition, shown above in the original owner’s driveway. The car has been repainted it’s original shade of green, and that’s it. In went the new motor and he’s been driving like mad.

 

Here is Dave putting the Chevelle through its paces at the Sear’s Point Drags (Sonoma Raceway). His first time out he ran low 13’s!

 

 

Thanks for bringing your Chevelle to us we enjoyed working with you Dave!