Jack Buckerfield's '65 Blends High Tech With Old Tech
Jack Buckerfield's '65 Blends High Tech With Old Tech |
|
By Chuck HansonIt's been said that most folk are somewhat resistant to change... that they'd prefer to leave things as they are. But, change can be good. A perfect example we can all relate to is Jack Buckerfield's '65 Super Sport. He's managed to successfully marry both old and new mechanical disciplines into one undeniably delicious package.
Jack's retro-tech rebop began as a bare-bones body, a frame, and not much else. That was fine with Jack, however, since his vision of the finished project called for him to completely blow the car apart, anyway.
He immediately set about refining the chassis, replacing all the OEM front suspension components with new Polygraphite-bushed replacements and adding a front disc brake setup from a '71 Chevelle. Out back, the completely rebuilt 3.31-geared, 12-bolt rearend is stabilized and mounted by a set of owner-fabricated, unequal-length, adjustable parallel control arms. Additional stopping power was ensured through the use of a rear disc brake setup pirated from a '91 Camaro Z/28. According to Jack, "adapting the F-car rear disc setup was quite simple, and lent itself to a fully operational emergency brake system." Actuation of the new four-wheel disc setup is left to a '76 full-sized Chevy master cylinder, fitted with an adjustable proportioning valve, a Hurst Line-loc and topped off with synthetic brake fluid.
Naturally, one would assume that all that braking power would be required for good reason... and you'd be right. Some of the best horsepower hardware available found its way in and on Jack's 383ci small-block, including a Moldex-modified 3.75-inch crank inside a four-bolt small-block cylinder case. The 4.030" bores were filled with TRW pistons hung on Crower Sportsman rods, while a pair of Brodix Track One heads were assembled with 2.08"/1.60" valves and Comp Cams Pro Magnum 1.52-ratio roller rockers. The solid roller camshaft also came from the Comp Cams catalog, and specs out at 261/267-degrees (Int/Exh) @ .050 lift, on a 106-degree lobe center. Stated lift values are pegged at .401" intake, and .417" exhaust.
The engine compartment is stuffed full of horsepower hardware and a special owner-fabricated fuel injection system. With so much power on tap, the biggest problem facing Jack Buckerfield is hooking it up!
Perhaps the most intriguing part of this whole package is the induction system; a custom-fabricated fuel injection setup designed and executed by Ross Smith and the owner. The manifold was hand-built by Jack from aluminum alloy sheetmetal, and incorporates hardware from an OEM tuned port injection (TPI) system. Fuel management is handled by a specially modified Corvette L98-style electronic control module (ECM) and recalibrated software. The incoming fuel charge is lit off by an MSD ignition system consisting of a 6AL distributor and crank trigger, Blaster 3 coil, and wires, while spent gases exit through a set of Jet Hot-coated Hooker Super Comp headers dumping into a full 3-inch over-the-axle exhaust. A Richmond five-speed transmission helps put the power to the pavement.
With the mechanical aspects aptly handled, Jack focused on the body, replacing the floor and trunk pans as well as the driver's side quarter panel. The rest of the sheetmetal is original, and after mucho block sanding, it was covered with PPG Deltron basecoat (Crocus yellow) and Delglo clearcoat. Sixty-fives aren't known for their overly-accomodating wheel wells, but Jack maximized his wheel tire combination with 15x7 and 15x8-inch Cragar DragStars (4 1/2 & 5 1/2-inch backspacing, front & rear) mounting 215/65-15 and 255/60-15 BFG TA radial rubber. Even so, getting the car to hook up all that horsepower can be a problem, unless Jack maintains a judicious right foot. For those who still resist change, you need only to take a look at this '65 to realize that "Something old, and something new, can only bring out the best of the two!!!"
