Hi Richard. Glad to hear the Z/28 is in good hands. It was (and probably still is) a very nice car. Truthfully, it’s one of those regret cars (regret having to sell). I miss it. You, and probably a few others here would be surprised to find out that the old Chevy Street Machine book you have in your hands and the original copy are quite different. That book was heavily edited by a non-hot rodder. I don’t have the foggiest idea who the guy is on the cover (it sure isn’t me <g>
. The original cover image had a certain black Camaro nose sticking out of a garage with toolboxes, tools and parts on either end. And a good looking (albeit conservatively dressed) gal under the hood. At the time, the consensus was you had to have a red car on the cover of a book or magazine for it to sell, so the cover image was rejected along with a whole bunch of what I thought was appropriate stuff inside. Bottom line was, I hardly recognized the book when I saw the finished product. In the end, I think I made roughly $0.49 on the thing <g>.
The good news though is, that book and the entire process behind it haunted me and drove me nuts for years after (that's good news?). Although it’s long been out of print I still believe there are sufficient folks out there who are interested in the technology. That’s what is driving me to create an online e-magazine/e-book sort of deal. So basically, I’m going to repeat much of the content format, but with new words and new pix. And with a style that’s oh-so-so similar to the gun slinging, speak the truth old timers like myself used at the late great Super Stock & Drag Illustrated. The reality is, the late Steve Collison (Editor of SS&DI) really knew how to get it done.
What I really need is a guy like you to buy Buford the Buick (there’s a story regarding the name too..I don’t name cars….but…) -- someone who appreciates the time and effort that went into it. Bottom line here is, Buford would absolutely rock with a stone stock crate motor and an inexpensive manual valve body TH400. If you or anyone else knows of an interested buyer, pass it on!
Have a good one…
Wayne Scraba