Our goal with my shop talk series has been to keep you builders out there updated with the latest parts, tools, and tricks of the trade when it comes to getting down in your garage. I feel it a part of my responsibility to also get you better acquainted with some of the better and more reputable shops and auto parts suppliers as well. For this month’s column, Lowrider paid a visit to CFR Performance of Ontario, CA

The drive shaft is such a crucial piece to the drive train, yet many builders seem to overlook maintaining it on older models. This drive shaft makes your rear end spin and if you have a weak link, rest assured your car will be going nowhere! Hydraulics further complicate things and if your car is over-locked, you can push your drive shaft into the rear end and transmission damaging either one or in some cases both. Winding up with one of these cases usually means that the owner has not taken steps to know how to order and purchase the proper drive shaft for their car. In this month's web exclusive, we called up Dynotech, who seem to have the easiest system set up to order a drive shaft. They showed us the form they offer builders to download and fill out, in the execution of buying the proper drive shaft. It was as simple as one, two, three. First we filled out the measuring form, second we called in our order, and third we waited for the mail to show up. When the parcel service showed up, our drive shaft was here, cut to order, balanced, and ready to be installed. Now follow along as we order and install our Dynotech driveshaft for our 1970 Caprice project.

Today, we look at installing a GM Performance LS3 into a 1970 Chevrolet Caprice. Removing the stock motor and transmission will shave several hundred pounds of weight as you replace your old drivetrain that can weigh as much as 850 pounds combined. With modern technology, you will have efficiency, power, and the reliability of a new car.

Sometimes getting the right wheel and tire fitment to your dream ride is harder than it looks, and trying to tuck wire wheels into a classic is a prime example. In order to get the look you need, you usually have to shorten the rear end, especially if you are looking to use a 14x7 wire wheel. Those Impala owners out there looking to rock the skirts also need to take this modification into consideration as well. This month, we are going to show you how the axles and housing need to be shortened in order to achieve these looks.

In this month’s Shop Talk, we visited Classic Performance Products out of Anaheim, CA., because this company is the number one source for steering, braking, and suspension, accessories. We last visited with CPP a few years back, and upon this visit, we were amazed to see how much they’ve grown over the years. Since that first visit, the company has expanded into a newer building which has been progressed into a full manufacturing facility to help CPP keep up with the high demands of its customers needs.

Over the years, my family tool box has grown from a fishing tackle box with a handful of tools to a decent collection, which has taken me a number of years to accumulate. Obviously, they are a prized possession to me as they are my lifeline as a car builder and you can never have too many tools since you never know which ones you’ll need from project to project. As I mentioned, this collection certainly didn’t grow overnight, but I understood the importance of being prepared for any build. Needless to say, I’ve taken every opportunity possible to increase my collection. Of course this has not been without sacrifice as we all know how expensive it is to set up our own garages. Many of us have learned the hard way that you get what you pay for when it comes to tools, but thankfully, a few manufacturers have stepped up with some items that posses more bang for our proverbial buck. These tools are not only effective; they are actually affordable, too.

The future of steering is uncertain, as some manufacturers have already tried fly-by-wire technology, which is designed to allow cars to be more efficient in maneuvering. This electronic steering technology is still in its infancy stages and one day might be used in future builds. With modern technology progressing at such a high rate, manufacturers like Classic Performance Products of Anaheim, CA., have stepped to the plate to bring out products that can help to modernize the classic cars that we drive today. CPP was the first to make their own gear-boxes, as they saw the need to create their own designs that provided modern benefits for the older vehicles.

Engine upgrades are definitely not new territory for Lowriders. Since the beginning, we’ve searched for ways to dress up every aspect of our classic rides, and under the hood is no exception. When it comes to chrome engine parts, we are the kings of bling, as we bolt up as much as we can to keep our engines looking good, cool and our performance top notch. The first engine upgrade on most of our respective lists is to modify the carburetor and intake. This key upgrade can not only improve the look of your engine compartment in a very short time, it can also improve the performance and engine efficiency of your Lowrider. We decided to go back to basics in this month’s column and install a new intake on a 350 GM Performance crate motor. This install took only a few of hours, as we used the Edelbrock Performer Air-gap Endura-shine manifold. This award-winning design incorporates the same race-winning technology with a show quality finish that’s been widely used on a variety of Edelbrock intakes. The air-gap design features an open air space that separates the runners from the hot engine oil, resulting in a cooler, denser charge for more power. RPM Air-Gap manifolds are modeled after Performer RPM intakes for high performance street power from 1500-to-6500 rpm, and the new Performer Air-Gap manifolds are ideal for street performance from idle-to-5500 rpm. Now follow along, as we install this Edelbrock intake and carb combination on this crate small block 350.

As we open up the Lowrider Garage this month, we welcome “the power of blue.” Yes, this is the color of melting metal. We received a visit from the crew at Miller Electric. Their expert staff brought out a collection of their newest innovations to help us stay ahead of the curve with the latest in metal fabrication products and tools.

The inception of GM Performance Parts started in the late 1960’s when a then-27-year-old Ernie Callard was invited to a high-level GM Directors meeting to discuss the factory support needed for various Trans Am racing teams. The directors themselves had two concerns: Where do they store the parts, and how do they ship the parts? Above all, Callard was instructed to never run out of parts for the GM teams. With those directions, Callard was put in charge of a new line of high performance GM Parts. Initially, the parts were planned to be “no code” parts so that no one could track what they were, where they were going, or who finally received them. Ahead of his time, Callard had a slightly different idea: “I told them, ‘Let’s put a number on the parts. Let’s sell them! Let’s make these parts available to anyone who wants them for their own cars!’” The GM executives agreed, and Callard found himself in the high performance parts business. Although it’s doubtful that he knew it at the time, Callard’s early concepts of high performance part numbering, configuration, packaging, and distribution initiated the concept of a “crate engine,” while simultaneously laying the groundwork for what are known today as GM Performance Parts.

The concept and principle of the combustion engine is the same today as it was upon its inception a century ago. A fuel and air mixture is compressed by a piston and subsequently ignited by the detonation of the spark plug. When the piston is at top-dead-center, the chamber is at its smallest dimension; this is the time when the fuel/air mixture is at its most unstable condition and ready to be ignited. The better the combustion chamber is designed, the better the engine “breathes;” that is, the more efficient the overall flow of air through the engine. While the initial steam engines were actually fairly powerful, they couldn’t overcome the power and convenience of the combustion engines, which have remained the standard in automotive applications since the early 1900s. Today, the principle behind combustion engines is the same as it ever was, save for the obvious modern updates that have happened over time, thanks to technology and engineering which have only improved the concept in terms of efficiency and reliability.

Owner
Jose “Turtle” Hernandez

In each issue of Lowrider Magazine, we take it upon ourselves to bring you into the culture of Lowriding from various perspectives to bring about a better and more comprehensive understanding of our passion. Car builds are obviously a huge part of that, and we have done our best to bring you special departments dedicated to each facet of automotive customization. In the past we have brought you departments like “Lowrider Deluxe,” which gave you a time-travelling look at vintage parts that are still heavily sought after today. In the arena of audio and hydraulic products, we created “Bumps and Dumps” to help guide our readers towards putting together a clean set up or assembling a top notch audio system with the latest components. This month, we are bringing you a new department, “Saul’s Shop Talk,” inspired after a road trip to Vegas to pick up one of our latest projects. Our goal with this new section is to be able to discuss some relevant happenings within the industry that we might not have been able to shed light on in any of our other columns. In short, this column will bring about a discussion of any and all things automotive.

Today, we are going to get ready to tow but not before swapping out our rotors and brake pads. We stopped off at Sal's Canoga Brake & Tire Center of Canoga, CA, as Sal specializes in braking. After letting him know that we needed to update our brakes on our project tow truck, he recommended using EBC brakes. He felt that these would be ideal for us to use whenever we hauled our projects with our Ford F150. EBC Brakes produce the largest range of brake pads and brake discs in the world, with over 5000 part numbers for every type of moving vehicle. With modern trends towards cheap imported brake pads and brake rotors, EBC Brakes leads the world in its technology, quality control, product performance and customer service. The company's product range includes brake pads for cars, trucks and SUV, brake rotors (brake discs) for every rolling vehicle on the planet, and even brake pads for wind farms, military applications such as the Humvee, various armored cars and tanks, railway brake products and all kinds of industrial vehicle brakes. Simply put, if EBC brakes are good enough to stop an armored vehicle, then their brake pads are definitely good enough to stop a truck and loaded trailer. Now follow along, as Sal, of Sal's Canoga Brake and Tire Center, replaces the pads on this project hauler.

As we’ve all seen in print and even online, lowering the front end of early Chevy passenger cars (’37-54) can be as easy as unbolting the old and bolting in the new. When you factor in the aid of additional modern technology, the frontal ride height can be drastically reduced. However, to do so on the opposite end with an equal drop takes a little more effort than simply busting out your basic hand tools; bolt-on leaf kits are limited to the space between the bottom of the top-hat frame rail and the rear end axle tube.

One of the most popular body modifications, the chop top has been around for decades, even though the true origins of the design remain a mystery. No one is certain about the design’s exact beginnings, but the earliest stories of the chop top go back to 1938, when customizer Harry Westerguard of Sacramento, CA., slammed his ‘35 Ford to the ground with a spindle kit and chopped the roof. The effect was aerodynamic, fast-looking, and Harry didn’t stop there. With the help of a young, local piano player who had taken to hanging around the garage, Harry went even further. The piano player’s name was George Barris; now a legend in automobile customization.

Updating your gearbox and column is a necessary evil in most restorations, but in doing so; don't use an old rag joint and shaft. This is a common mistake among builders, and when you don't update your steering shaft components, it's easy to get unwanted sway and vibration from the old rag joints and steering shaft. Another problematic scenario arises when builders update the column and use a rag joint technology that wasn't designed to bend. Most people assume that they all are and encounter major issues when they find out that this isn't the case. Both of these unfortunate oversights are pretty common and should not be taken lightly as they can seriously affect your steering while driving.

Anybody who has ever set foot into an auto parts store on a mission for chrome will recognize the “Spectre” name. For over 26 years, Spectre Performance has been servicing the aftermarket industry with a vast array of custom parts. Their sufficient parts roster carries anything you’d need to dress up your engine, including everything from polished aluminum pulleys to ball mill valve covers. The company is also unique in the fact that The Speed by Spectre brand is the only brand currently building or creating intake for domestic vehicles in the form of horsepower-rated air intake systems. The principle behind a cold air intake is that cooler air has a higher density, which will contain more oxygen per volume unit than warmer air, thus giving you more power and efficiency once the car has warmed up. The Spectre cold air intake systems are horsepower-rated, washable, reusable, and come with a lifetime warranty.

When it comes to hydraulics, Lowrider owners have to put their thinking caps on and prepare for the ultimate automobile puzzle. Beyond power, clean set ups can set your car apart from the rest, but a truly effective set up can only be achieved through planning, designing, and visualizing the amount of room that you are going to use. We visited Black Magic Hydraulics of Las Vegas, who pointed us in the right direction by telling us what they recommend for a big body. After answering a few questions and understanding our budget concerns, they recommended a two-pump set up, which kept us within our $1,200 budget.

We’ve all been there. We’ve gotten that car, spoked it down, juiced it up, put some sounds in it, and hit the boulevard ready to ride. We enjoyed the summer nights and drove it ‘til the wheels almost fell off. In due time, she got scratched and scuffed and all of a sudden, we were ready for a paint job. Then, while the paint was getting finished, we decided to add some graphics to spice it up. That’s where it all begins; first new paint, then graphics, a stripe, a new interior, new spokes and whitewalls, and some chrome here and some chrome there. Before you know it, your previous boulevard banger is suddenly dressed to impress, ready for jack stands and mirrors. You know what we always overlook? Those precious show points we miss in the trunk. Once upon a time, a custom trunk was a sea of buttons, wrinkles, and mirrors that hid everything from sight. It was like that old box of Christmas lights your parents kept hidden in the garage that looked like one big knot of wires. Of course in Lowriding, the trunk evolved into a useful place to actually show the hydraulics, and the chromed-out setup.

An often overlooked but crucial component of any Lowrider build is the brake area. Of course, our old machines are already massive in weight and when you factor in the added pounds from hydraulic set ups and chrome, you could be driving a deathtrap if you’re not careful! We decided to bring you guys to a halt and bring you some information on this brake upgrade install process, and in doing so, we decided to showcase one of the industry’s best brake manufacturers, Centric Parts. As a leading manufacturer and supplier of aftermarket brake components and systems for everyday cars, Centric’s product performance is also top notch on duty vehicles and ultra performance vehicles. The company was founded in 2000 in Southern California, and has enjoyed solid growth every year since. After building a solid niche as a replacement part haven for daily drivers, Centric parts have aggressively expanded into the performance market.

We stopped over at Melendez Restorations of Rancho Cucamonga, CA., where they were working on a 1964 Impala. While we were visiting them, they caught our attention as they were in the process of beginning welding on a 1964 Impala. They decided to mold up several of the factory seams to allow the paint to flow. In order to accomplish this, they showed us the shop’s latest acquisition; the MillerMatic 180. This Auto-Set machine is an all-in-one wire welder that welds 24 gauge - 5/16 inch (0.8 - 7.9 mm) mild steel. This makes this machine perfect for several types of build jobs, from sheet metal replacement to our fender molding in this month’s feature.

During our visit to Japan, we stopped by Y Tech to visit our friends from One Forty Rollerz Car Club in Fukaya, Japan. Y Tech is a shop in Japan that specializes in hydraulic installations and also performs many auto body and paint duties as well. Yosuke Fukuda, the C.E.O. of Y Tech, generously opened up the doors to his shop to us for a few days. It was there that my vision of the Japanese Lowrider community was altered forever. With the Japanese Super Show only a week away, our friends at Y Tech were pulling all nighters to get theirs and their customers' cars ready for the big show. My previous vision of the Lowrider community in Japan was that they only knew how to buy cars from the states, but after seeing them work all night performing their own hydraulic installation, body work, paint work, and everything else you can think of, it is very clear that the Japanese are self-sufficient in working on their own vehicles. The respect between their culture and ours is very mutual, and it was very exciting to see how our U.S. Lowrider influence was not only felt, but upheld in the work that I saw being performed at Y-Tech. I want to thank Yosuke Fukuda, Koji Fukushima, Yuzo Nakamura, Kaoru, DJ Kali, Co-Pon and the rest of the One Forty Rollerz and Y Tech staff, for welcoming us into their shop and for upholding the Lowrider tradition of generations past and present.

Accumulators have been around for years, and the only thing that has changed about them are the designs. Whether you are installing vintage aircraft accumulators, or newer models, the principle of operation is the same. The old airplane accumulators were simple devices that were constructed of a piston, a cylindrical sleeve, and two end caps. The piston is free to move through the entire length of the cylinder sleeve, similar to a rod-less piston in a hydraulic cylinder. It’s almost the same principle as a piston pumping air on one side and fluid on the other. This is probably why most people have stayed away from these types of hydraulic systems. If you already had leaks, the pressure that the accumulator created multiplied the problem, as pressure had to escape from the weakest point.

If you own a classic Impala and you’re driving down the avenue or on the highway, you might notice that the steering is a little sloppy or loose. There are usually a few things that can cause this to happen, most of it stemming from normal wear and tear. This normal wear can be seen on the rag joints and bearings in the steering column. How do you get back to steering straight? Well, there are a few things you can do; you can change out your complete steering system with a newer-style setup, or you can do like us and start off with reworking your steering box, column, and union joints that connect to the gearbox.