Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 10:32:04 -0400
Reply-To: kayakjr@JUNO.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Reynolds <kayakjr@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Fwd: ultimate sleeper porsche rusting van -- just for fun
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
You should see Jay Leno's car. 55 Buick with Corvett suspension / sub
frames, 17" wheels that look stock, Super large GM crate motor. See
www.autoweek.com and search for JAy leno, choose the 3rd article.
Extract below and full overly long link at the end.John
That is no stock 50-year-old Buick V8 in there. Leno ordered the GM
Performance Parts ZZ572 crate engine out of the GM Performance Parts
catalog (goodwrench.com). The engine made its debut at SEMA in November
and GM has sold about 30 or 40 since, though the waiting list is much
longer than that. Even though he could have bought anything he wanted to
power the Roadmaster, there were many advantages to this motor. “You get
a big-block and somebody makes the pistons and somebody else makes the
rods and inevitably something doesn’t quite work,” Leno explained. “You
buy this motor, drop it in, it’s built by engineers, it’s got a
guarantee—I mean it’s 620 hp, how do you beat that?” The transmission
mated to the 572-cubic-inch V8 is a GM 4L85E, specially adapted to run in
the Buick. “The guys at the GM Proving Grounds calibrated the
transmission points,” Leno said. “They were lapping at 145 mph with four
guys in it. Isn’t that hilarious?” You wouldn’t want to try that with a
stock ’55. But this ain’t stock. The rear chassis is straight from a C4
Corvette and the front chassis is largely C5. It has Corvette carbon
fiber transverse leaf springs. If you lifted the body off and had a look,
you’d see the majority of the middle of the Buick is new. “The Roadmaster
ends right about here,” said Juchli, indicating a point about a foot in
front of the front wheel. “Then we made a new frame back to this point
[by the rear wheel] and then we picked up the rear frame.”Altogether,
they put in about four feet of new chassis and hung a C5 Corvette
suspension off of it. One of Leno’s favorite parts is the wheels and
hubcaps. “We made the wheels out of billet, made ’em 17 inches. Then we
made hubcaps—see, a normal hubcap would end here, we made bigger hubcaps
and then made black stripes to give the illusion of a 15-inch wheel. It’s
actually a 17-inch wheel.” See, part of the fun of this car is its
deceptive nature. “The other day I was up in Coldwater Canyon and I came
up behind a guy in a 911. He’d gun it and I’d stay right with him. You
could see his expression in the rearview mirror, kind of like, ‘What the
f***?’”
http://www.autoweek.com/search/search_display.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_c
ode=coverstory&content_code=06494089&Search_Type=STD&Search_ID=2045375&re
cord=3
I'm building a 1936 Chrysler like this as we speak,
with the same sleeper, idea. I'm updating all
the mechanics, electronics,etc. It will get PS,
air, PB, PW, in time. The body will remain
as old and warm out as the day I got it. Cool
idea. I thought I was the originator, but I guess
this guy beat me to it!!
| 
