Total Performance street rod news

We have this Cavalier with two engines—a Hahn turbocharged 2.2-liter Ecotec, and an even more powerful 2.2-liter supercharged Ecotec that made 265 horsepower on the dyno. We built the car for sister publication "Hot Compact & Imports" (HCI) and toured it two years ago. The car is a blast to drive, and has the capability of surprising most V-8 street machines. It has plenty of zip, no matter where you stab the throttle, and it especially enjoys its time in the upper rpm range.
With such machinery sitting in our garage, we are constantly challenged with what to do next. So, as we look toward the future and conjure up developments that ought to be and trends that make a great deal of sense to us, not to mention the fun of planning and executing such new developments, we're thinking about back to basics, affordable and cool. That's nothing new; magazines have been doing this for years, but we’re bent on the idea of building a low-cost, entry-level street rod with all of the fun and all of the power of a modern rod, while relaying the cost of such a build as we go. To us, mounting our 265hp Ecotec in a Total Performance new 35th-anniversary King T makes perfect sense.
This certainly doesn't mean that one will want this same car, but to our way of thinking there has be someplace for the youth of today to begin their rodding careers, and we wanted to revisit firsthand what that process might entail. Also, we did not wish to leave out those on tight budgets, yet would love nothing more than to build a respectable car to take to rod runs. Rodding is supposed to be for everyone, regardless of one's station in life, and that drove us back to our roots—but not so far back as to make the recommendation to locate some junked-out heap and start with a pile of unusable parts to build a rod. That can be an overwhelming task for a starter car, especially when you consider dealing with all of the systems and having to tear apart a car and then rebuild it to today's standards. Even if you do the work yourself, this can be a long and expensive proposition for a first-time builder.
What we wanted was a slick, new-style, track T-roadster, one that could easily be built by a father and son or a teenager; a project that wouldn't have your wife cooking beans for a week because you spent the grocery money on a pile of parts. Speaking of parts, that is what makes this car attractive, as everything is an over-the-counter item.
Once we get our engine and trails to the people at Total Performance, they will have engine/trans mounts made for the Ecotec, in addition to a small-block Chevy. Used Ecotec motors are not high-demand items; you can pick one up cheap at a wrecking yard and supercharge or turbocharge it if you so desire.
Our car had to make sense. It needed to be the sort of car that would get finished once the project was underway. What we didn't wish to have happen is for the project to languish in the garage because of a lack of funds, or because it became too complex. Simplicity is the answer here. Immediately our thoughts went to Mickey Lauria, who this year celebrates his 35th anniversary with Total Performance. Lauria's company is the leading T-bucket manufacturer, and he has sold more T-buckets than any living person we know of. He's reinvented these cars more times than 1 can remember, creating new styles and new looks, and each time he creates new interest in a segment that would have long been a memory if not for his efforts.
What we didn't want is your typical T-bucket. We wanted an image that a young rodder might identify with. We wanted a T-roadster would do, as we got our inspiration from the trick little four-cylinder, '32 Miller-style roadster that Dan Webb handcrafted for his daughter Ashley. It is exactly what a young kid might hope for. So I called Lauria and asked to stop by his shop, not telling him what was on reasonable to discuss our plans in person, as it might take some explaining to keep the project discussion on course. Ever the imaginative person, Mickey can conjure up any number of ideas, so to move this thing along it was best that we met in person.
Following the hellos, Mickey look me lo the front delivery room where three very clean and brightly painted T-buckets were sitting, ready to be delivered to Universal Technical Institute. I was told that these cars marked 148 that Mickey delivered to the school, as they are used for students to learn the building techniques of basic rods. At this point I had not shared my idea, but seeing these cars only cemented my belief that the idea was a sound one for young people
As we made our way to the counter, I began to share with Mickey "the plan." He immediately stopped to show me an illustration of his 35th-anniversary T-roadster. After a quick glance, I said this was exactly what I had in mind. "Would you like to see it?" he asked.
Sitting in the garage, up on stands, was exactly the car we had envisioned! Only this car was better, in that everything there was available. It had the track-style nose with a kick out over the frame rails, an area I originally thought would give us design problems. It was low, it had a good rake to it, and the only thing I saw was that—while comfortable for tall drivers—the windshield was too tall. An easy fix, considering that what I had in mind was something lower and less flat. This was the car we needed for our project.
1 explained to Mickey that I had spoken to our young editorial guys and asked them if they would like to build such a car, beginning to end, and have a car that; could be driven to all of the events that surround our new home. Receiving an enthusiastic "yes" response, 1 asked Mickey if we could get our hands on one following the completion of his first show car. His response was, "How quickly can you get me the engine and transmission?"
We only needed to pull the engine out of the Cavalier, but because of the Corvair steering box location in Mickey's car, the simple installation would be an automatic, rather than a manual. Without resorting to an adapter to mount an existing GM 200 to the engine, which we will do if necessary, the other option is to install the Alsin five-speed out of the Pontiac Solstice, thus putting the four-cylinder in a north/south configuration. I placed a call to Bill Martens at GMPP to inquire about the early availability of a traditional automatic transmission for the Ecotec, as the Solstice is presently available only with a close-ratio manual five-speed. We thought an automatic transmission would no doubt already be tooled up, engineered and released soon, but if that proves unavailable, we will either alter the existing steering assembly, perhaps using an Ididit shorty column and relocating the steering box, or machine the engine/trans adapter.
The associated running gear should be easy to install, which makes Total Performance's 123-inch chassis ideal. It includes an 8-inch kick-up at the rear and consists of a coilover-suspended live 8-inch, radiused-rod rear axle, with a 4-inch dropped front axle mounted with a transverse spring. All of this is available—from a perimeter frame for $350, to a you-weld-it frame for $575, to a fully assembled Stage III frame assembly for $3,195, and anything in between. The '27 roadster body is $895, and it is a one-piece body with a smooth firewall, non-opening doors or trunk. The windshield is not finalized, as the one they have will be cut down for a better look. Overall, the whole package just fits.
We will be doing the buildup in our sister publication "Street Rod Builder," but we will cover the car here as well, as we hope to create as much entry-level interest as possible. If you would like to speak to Total Performance about the King T, call 203/265-7107.