{"id":79082,"date":"2021-05-03T15:51:41","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T22:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=79082"},"modified":"2021-05-03T15:54:33","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T22:54:33","slug":"gm-week-feature-matts-lq4-powered-chevelle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/gm-week-feature-matts-lq4-powered-chevelle\/","title":{"rendered":"GM Week Feature: Matt’s LQ4-Powered Chevelle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cI beat on her; she’s purpose built. If she turns out sorta pretty then no complaints. I drive her hard\u2014no $10,000 paint jobs here,\u201d Matt began. <\/span><\/p>\n

With that level of disdain for the car, one might be surprised to learn this Chevelle was a family heirloom. His grandfather bought it new with four-wheel drum brakes, a 350 engine, a Turbo 350 tranny, a ten-bolt rear, and no power assistance of any kind.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When it made its way into his hands, Matt rebuilt the heads, slapped in a cam and added LT headers, fitted S10 ZQ8 wheels, and made some carb adjustments. He ran it like this for a year. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fidgety and cold, he started installing a new motor the following winter. A basic, modern motor with a few upgrades kept him content; a 2003 Chevrolet 6.0l. LQ4 with Hooker Super Comp LT headers with a harness modified by Wait4Me Performance. A massive bay made it easy to add in a four-core radiator with a Lincoln Mark VIII cooling fan. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The mix of old and new made a custom 3\u201d exhaust necessary. He capped it with Magnaflow mufflers, and mounted a Tanks Inc. in-tank Walbro 255 pump just a few inches above. <\/span><\/p>\n

With plans for a turbocharger down the road, he picked out a gearbox which could support real power. A 2003 GM 4L80E with a B&M Super Cooler Transmission Cooler sends grunt to a 12-bolt rear Auburn posi with 4.10 gears, then out to the C5 Z06 wheels wrapped in 305-section Mickey Thompson ET Streets. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the suspension needed retrofitting to make that power manageable. Matt went with Coleman Racing Fabricated 9\u201d Impala spindles; Impala hubs, bearings, seals and dust caps; SPC Performance fully adjustable upper control arms; Afco Racing steel\/nylon lower control arm bushings; VariShocks revalved by Alston\/Chassisworks; braced and strapped factory lower control arms; 650-lb rate springs, Speedway Motors \u201ctall adjusters,\u201d a factory small block sway bar. <\/span><\/p>\n

Underneath the front wheels, he added a set of Outlaw Billet aluminum 4-piston calipers and Impala 12\u201d rotors. In the rear, he opted for BAER 12\u201d rotors and BAER single-piston calipers with a parking brake.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When it came time to pick a turbocharger, he settled on a reasonably priced Turbonetics T76 with an F1 wheel. The forced induction ancillaries chosen were a JGS 56mm BOV, JGS 40mm wastegate, 60lb injectors, and an ETS v-mount intercooler. The result was a lot of wheelspin. See the video below for evidence:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n