Hi there. I've been more of a lurker for a while, but wanted to take this time to get some input from all of you.

For those of you who read the magazine, what do you like and what don't you like? What type of articles would you like to see in the future? Do the cars we feature peak your interest? If not, what would you prefer? How about motorsports - in other words, would you like to see more on drag racing and open track type of testing. What kind of engine builds would you like to read about? The list can go on and on, but I'm sure you get the idea by now.

If you've ever wanted to voice your opinion, now's the time. Lets hear your thoughts.

Best Regards,
Henry D

Chevy High Performance

comparo on drag radials vs slicks maybe thats already been done

Sorry Henry, but I'm letting my subscription run out. Just like I did Hot Rod that I had for many, many years, no other comments..

I personally would like more in depth resto articles, not the same re-hash of what has been said before though.

I buy the magazine on the newstand once in a while, main reason I don't subscribe is while the cars are very nice, they are way beyond my budget along with most of the people I know, 3-4000 dollar budget motors are a little out of my budget, 4l80E swaps are cool but for what you put into just the tranny swap I can cobble a whole car together. example I built my 72 el camino for $1500 lots of used parts, swap meets, and plain luck, I got about $2700 in my 70 chevelle right now including the 454, 12 bolt, bucket seats,cowl induction hood. I guess Im one of those people that enjoy junkyarding,and wheeling and dealing parts, figure anyone can pick up a catalog and build a car. But, to do it on a shoestring budget takes alot of determination and luck and not to mention a little stubborness.
I guess you can probably guess Im more of a car craft type subscriber, Jim

Haven't read many magazines in the past couple of years. Last one I had ran out last January. 4wheel & offroad performance. I get more off the internet nowadays, as far as info goes. I'm moving into a point in the hobby that I'm starting to get curious about a DIY EFI setup. Probably something with a Megasquirt controller. It'd have to be a bare bones, low budget, with good performance kinda deal. I have the resources to convert a manifold, what I need is info on sourcing the weld bungs, and other misc. small parts. Maybe something like what's the best low budget throttle body to use, factory sensors that'd work well in a DIY setup, etc.

Do it in a multi-part series, covering all the steps, like manifold conversion, tuning, etc. If you do, maybe I'll subscribe for a year. From Ebay, of course. It's dirt cheap, ya know. ;) :D

A couple of years ago, Chevy Rumble did a story about a cross country trip in a tired little 70 Nova. (It was across Canada, actually.) One of the editors bought the car as a project and had intended to have it shipped. But when he flew out to inspect it, he decided to drive it back to western Canada instead. His description of the trip in the 6 cylinder powered Nova with drum brakes made for some interesting reading. Road trip stories in older cars always make for good reading, along with lots of pictures. I'm not suggesting that you guys go tearing out cross country every month, but I'm sure an occasional cruise down a forgotten stretch of road in an old Chevy would spark a lot of interest among the readers as it may inspire some of them to finish their projects and set off on a cruise of their own. Is it your magazine that does the Art of the Find stories? If so, maybe you could expand on them a bit.

Also, it may interest you to know that there are a lot of cars out there that are Chevy powered, but don't have Chevrolet badges on them. For example, one of the best restoration jobs I ever saw at a car show was a 71 Olds Cutlass that had been restored by a father and son. It was pristine, and it was powered by a built small block Chevy. Doing a story about other GM cars that are Chevy powered would probably attract a lot of readers. It would definetly be different and I don't think it would offend any Chevy purists in the least.

I wouldn't mind seeing some tech articles on TH 400 and TH 350 transmissions. Not all of us want to convert to 700R-4s. Some how-to articles on rebuilding or upgrading these older transmissions would be nice. Maybe walk us through a Trans-go shift kit installation. Some help on the old 10 bolt rear ends would be great too. Again, as much as I'd like to upgrade to a 12 bolt or a 9 inch, present finances force me to try to build up the current 10 bolt as much as my budget will allow.

Last, for now anyway, the body shop guys would probably appreciate a mig welder comparison. I know you do body articles. We probably answer a dozen questions a day about which welder works best and which is the best buy for the money. Hobart or Miller? Gas or flux core? You might be surprised at how much interest there is out there on this subject.

How about some before and after testing of suspension and braking components? Not the same old crap most mags do, wear they take a 35 year old barge and throw a bunch of parts at it. How about completely going through the suspension and brakes making them factory fresh, and then running before numbers. That way all testing after that is based off good OE parts. I’m sure many would like to see the effects of running polyurethane bushings in the rear suspension vs. rubber, vs. some of the newer spherical ended options. How about some brake upgrades; stock vs. Baer SS kit vs. Baer Track kit vs. Wilwood 13” kit vs. DIY C5 kit.

DIY fuel injection via MegaSquirt or the like or the like would be nice too. Maybe some actual track testing of properly set-up carbed application vs. properly set-up FI arrangements (with some mileage variances too if possible) would be nice.

BTW, long time subscriber. I've been around since Jeff Smith first putting 16's on his "A" body.

Henry,

Pick up a copy of Hemmings Muscle Machines and use that as your guide except make yours exclusively for Chevrolet Muscle. That would win my business back. They blow away everything else out there. Great stories, great graphics, high quality, stock and modified cars with real life stories.

I also like more in depth resto articles. and thanks for asking.
Rob

Also, it may interest you to know that there are a lot of cars out there that are Chevy powered, but don't have Chevrolet badges on them. For example, one of the best restoration jobs I ever saw at a car show was a 71 Olds Cutlass that had been restored by a father and son. It was pristine, and it was powered by a built small block Chevy. Doing a story about other GM cars that are Chevy powered would probably attract a lot of readers. It would definetly be different and I don't think it would offend any Chevy purists in the least.

as well as chevy's powered by different motors - I had a 78 camaro with a 400 pontiac and my 66 chevelle will be powered by a 455 pontiac motor.

do a feature every month with "real cars / real people".... keep the eye candy features, but include 1 about "billy bob and his nova".... yeah, it may dog track & have worn carpet, but he rebuilt the motor himself as well as pulling the dented quarter panel..... so what if the panel is "happy" & waves back to you..... just don't include any "unsafe" feature cars.

"insider looks" - a look at the guys at GMPP - Ernie, Bill, Lisa, or at GM Racing "corporate level" .... inside the shops like "Hardcore Racing" (Gary is still there you know)..... CARS, wheel to wheel, uniboring, PAS, arizona speed & marine, street & performance etc.... who are the guys that make our parts & what do THEY own or work on after hours, not just "this is how a distributor is made" (though those stories are cool too)

pick up a "Cycle World" and any back issues..... read Peter Egan's column "Leanings"...... now go hire Him to do a monthly column.

proof read the magazine a little more (one of my few gripes)

GMPP is releasing an LS series motor with the Carbed intake..... I think the LS series is the wave of the future and could make the gen I / II SBC's obsolete in 15 years as far as the aftermarket goes (maybe not obsolete, but I think the Gen III / IV's are going to really take off in a few years) so how about a Gen III / IV "parts source" edition..... who has the front covers to convert to distributor, who make oil pans and for what models, do some Gen III / IV swaps into older cars..... if the current LS7 is any indication, dry sump oiling is here and will be seen more...... do an article explaining the ups & downs, ins & outs of dry sump oiling (BTW, anyone with the LS7, check the dealer for oil change info from the Z06 corvette and don't forget to remove BOTH oil pan plugs to drain the oil as well as putting BOTH back in :) )

if you're using parts from "X" comapny, give us the part numbers please

if you got your hands on cool parts that aren't released yet, please let us know...... nothing worse than going to a dealer to buy something only to find out it's not released yet & won't be for 3-4 months.

I will probably have more, but east coast time says 1:15am.

First of all, I want to commend you for taking this chance to listen to some of the most knowledgeable owners of not only Chevelles but also GM products accross the board.

I second the thought regarding the fact that as of lately, most magazine articles seem to have been already covered before. However, this may be due to the fact that since we're so much into cars, we do gather information from many sources and thus it is difficult for magazines to keep printing articles that are always fresh and unique. Still, if you fail to do just this, then you'll continue losing readers.

Having said that, I think CHP and other magazines fail to recognize that most of us don't have the means to make our cars "magazine worthy," i.e., with the $5K paint job, shiny engine, etc. I also think that most of us take the majority of our old car ownership satisfaction from the fact that we can do most of the repairing and maintaining work ourselves. To this end, I recommend CHP picks up on current modifications and adaptations being performed by the average car owner and not by what Foose, Boyd, and others are doing. For example: a timely article on B-Body spindle conversions, LS1 conversions, wheel interchange and other modifications available using GM parts whether new or from a junk yard. I want to emphasize timely here because I have seen many modifications done to cars at car shows that although these modifications gain momentum and become widespread on the car show scene, they don't appear on car magazines until years later.

I especially would like to see less articles where the car has the usual Global West/KYB/Hotchkiss/Wilwood combo and more of articles where the car owner performs an updating and IMPROVEMENT of the car's overall performance, with actual figures to back it up, not just a restoration. Informative articles on parts modifications also help the average do-it-yourself car owner.

Mix it up by showing parts prices for the parts as well as actually doing testing and mixing parts from different manufacturers in search of improvements - for example, upper control arms from one vendor, lower control arms from another vendor or original, etc.

The last thought may be anal to some but here it goes: some of your articles show pictures where technicians are not wearing any personal safety equipment at all (gloves, safety goggles, and ear protection). I'd like to think that most of us know better than to do what the people on the pictures are doing without wearing the appropriate protection, but there are always people to whom this may not be as easy to recognize and a sentence or two regarding the safe execution of any given task should always be included on your articles.

Thanks and good luck!

Ricardo

oh..... and a "repower" of a "late model" (88-98) pick up using a crate engine (383 perhaps) ...... what fits, what changes, how would the factory fuel injection handle the extra cubes, what was done to correct it and what are the emissions numbers before & after the swap

as well as chevy's powered by different motors - I had a 78 camaro with a 400 pontiac and my 66 chevelle will be powered by a 455 pontiac motor.

On that subject, OFBG, I saw a Windsor powered '54 Chevy last night at a local cruise night. Very well done, I might add. Odd, but tasteful. ;)

About the only thing that bugs me with all the car mags is that when you actually test something to see it's effect - leave the other variables alone!

For example, if you're testing one cam vs another, don't also put on a different carb and/or intake - it skews the results. Was the cam better, or the carb/intake combo?

Thanks very much for asking for input. I subscribe and read to your mag. It's one of a very many car mags I look forward to receiving.

I would like it if you could keep up the "how to" projects with pictures, etc.. I benefited greatly from the article on installing the D&D Viper T56 trans and similar articles that have formed a helpful library for my efforts.

I also like seeing the latest stuff for my car and the tests that you may be able to perform on how well it actually works or doesn't work.

In a nutshell, yours is on my top ten list - please keep up the good work.

Engine builds tested on dynos with real exhaust systems, corrected to SAE for true comparisons. One of the mags (Super CHevy??) did a great job of a controlled test on a 454HO, cam/intake/ head swaps - one step at a time. I personally like these the best as they let you see the impact of individual changes/mods. Same thing goes for suspension. Great to have big $$$$ to drop in an entire new chassis, but in reality probably 80-90% of magazine readers don't do this. We tend to do things one at a time.

Somehow, establish a direct link to GM Marketing and get them to "listen" to real world input on styling and wants/needs.

Don't cave into manufacturers' pressure to boast big gains from bolt-ons of expensive parts.

More affordable cars and projects is what I would like to see. As stated earlier, a DIY on a EFI would be something I would be interested in.

Hi there. I've been more of a lurker for a while, but wanted to take this time to get some input from all of you.

For those of you who read the magazine, what do you like and what don't you like? What type of articles would you like to see in the future? Do the cars we feature peak your interest? If not, what would you prefer? How about motorsports - in other words, would you like to see more on drag racing and open track type of testing. What kind of engine builds would you like to read about? The list can go on and on, but I'm sure you get the idea by now.

If you've ever wanted to voice your opinion, now's the time. Lets hear your thoughts.

Best Regards,
Henry D

Chevy High Performance

Henry

I'm not a subscriber, but I pick up your magazine from time to time when I'm in the airport. I've found the how-to type articles to be most helpful, such as the one on swapping a late-model OD trans. I would agree with the above comments to a certain extent regarding the cost of some of the projects, but it is nice to see what people are doing these days on the cutting edge.

Cheers,
Andy

What interests me in a magazine is definately more of a variety of cars and styles. I would not be interested in seeing every article being about pro touring styled cars with big brakes, nor would I want to see every car be a tubbed out street strip car either. really stock restored cars are what usually trip my trigger and get me to buy the magazine. I would like to see a variety, and even some looks back at older trends.

I would have to disagree with some of the other guys here though. I don't want to see Average Joes car unless average joe really did a nice job.
The thought of looking at some article about a car just because the guy buillt the car in his garage with his own two hands, doesn't work for me if the car has worn carpet and a quarter panel that is full of ripples. I am buying the magazine to see the really nice cars. If I want to see a garage built car that is only pretty nice but not really a magazine worthy car, I will go to a local car show, and then I wouldn't spend much time looking at it there either.

I would have to disagree with some of the other guys here though. I don't want to see Average Joes car unless average joe really did a nice job.
The thought of looking at some article about a car just because the guy buillt the car in his garage with his own two hands, doesn't work for me if the car has worn carpet and a quarter panel that is full of ripples. I am buying the magazine to see the really nice cars. If I want to see a garage built car that is only pretty nice but not really a magazine worthy car, I will go to a local car show, and then I wouldn't spend much time looking at it there either.

I'm with you Dave!! That's what magazines are for IMO.. I liken it to the mags out here with women in them/on the covers... nobody want to pick up one of those mags only to see the so so girl who works down the hall from you.. you want to see the BEST, the HOTTIE who you only wish worked by you, the one you wish you could have.. same goes for the cars!

Personally, I would like to see more Danube Blue 66 SS Chevelles featured in the magazine...I may just know of one :waving:

Mike

Henry,

Thanks for taking time to ask about the magazine. I have been a subscriber for several years now. Recently I think the direction of the magazine has gone astray. This last issue was very nice though and a welcome change.

I miss the days when Jeff Smith was the editor but I know things have to change. I like to read about engine build-ups, paint tech, suspenssion up-grades, troubleshooting tips, drag racing and of course the features on fine Chevy's.

I have noticed a lack of feature cars lately. I like to see a full spectrum of cars ranging from home built to giga-buck and everything in between. Sticking to only one type is boring.

I know that CHP has been a mix of new and old and that is good. Not everyone thinks an LS1/LS6 engine under the hood is cool, but some do. Some cars look good that way but I will go the old fashioned way and choose the big block, I like fat valve covers.

Take care and keep up the good work. :D

I am a long time subscriber. I enjoy CHP but if things don't change, I will not be renewing my subscription.

I personally am an average guy with an average budget. Wife, two kids and a house I have to pay for. Same goes with all my friends and pretty much everyone I am aquinted with in the car hobby. LS series engines are nice, but completely unrealistic in our worlds. I want to see real world engine tech, including big blocks.

More resto tech would get me to resubscribe immedietely. Show some tech on repainting a dash, or recovering seats or installing carpet. I know most of it has all been covered at one time or another, but its still good info that would be nice to re-read on occasion. Articles on removing windows or setting windows, adjuting bodypanels, and sounddeadening our cars.

Less of the high dollar, I built it in 6 months cars. I would rather see lower budget, its taken me 5 years to complete cars. And their are lots of nicely restored, mildly upgraded cars out there waiting to have articles written on them. They don't all have to be pro touring cars.

In general, take a good look at a car craft, thats exactly the kind of magazine I like to read. Now make Car Craft all chevy, and it would be perfect.

Read this thread, it might give you some help as well http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108594&highlight=magazines

Thanks, Jeff

Trying to put together a publication with staff and editor some 3000 miles apart must be tough and might reflect a disconnect in some of the content. I know with the electronic means we have today it can be done but you can see the personal touch has disappeared.

Completing a project in less than 5 years would help. Many excuses I know are valid but most readers want to see a finished project completed instead of just moving it from vendor to vendor while the technology gets cold. Shelve it or finish it but don't keep writing editorials about it.

Mark

Welcome to TC Henry,

First I'd like to invite you to visit www.camaros.net/forums (http://www.camaros.net/forums) (sister site) with the same request. I frequent both sites and there is a big personality difference (not better not worse) that might give you more insight.

That said I'll start by saying I let all my subs laps this past few months. Jan '06 is the last month I received of CHP. The others I had subs to are Car Craft, Hotrod and Super Chevy. I have many reasons for bailing on the subs. Getting my copy 2 weeks after I have read most of it at the news stand, reading Jan issue in Oct/Nov, renewal notices and sub pricing varies from $12 a year to about $22 or more. And for all but CHP (thank you) being subjected to snake oil sexual performance enhancement ads are the big gripes.

Super Chevy seems to cookie cutter their articles, I can't tell you how tired I am of features that start "Remember when you were in High School". Car Craft has this air of "we're not politically correct and if you don't like what we publish tough". Hotrod doesn't leave me with a good or bad taste in my mouth.

As for CHP it was getting lost in the sea of all the other mags floating around my home office and on the back of the toilet tank. When I read this thread it got me thinking and I went back and took a look at the last issue I have (Jan). My friend Carl Casanova's Camaro was featured but along with it were some good tech articles, readers rides and the rest I really hadn't paid attention to. Carl's car was the only article I had read before setting the mag down and having several others land on top of it... After digging it up again it struck me that I liked what I saw and read.

Keep up the good work and keep it diverse. I like stock restored and survivor cars just as much as high dollar customs and everything inbetween... If I can find a $12 a year sub price I'll sign up for CHP again but I won't be reading the others unless they are on someone elses coffee table. This way I'll be able to enjoy the mag and not have it get lost in a pile of others...

I see CHP now is involved with Camaro Performers so I'll rag on you just a little about it. It was advertised it was going 6 issues a year and subcriptions were offered. I sent in a sub card and haven't heard back and it's been many months. Any clue to what's up?

Hi there. I've been more of a lurker for a while, but wanted to take this time to get some input from all of you.

For those of you who read the magazine, what do you like and what don't you like? What type of articles would you like to see in the future? Do the cars we feature peak your interest? If not, what would you prefer? How about motorsports - in other words, would you like to see more on drag racing and open track type of testing. What kind of engine builds would you like to read about? The list can go on and on, but I'm sure you get the idea by now.

If you've ever wanted to voice your opinion, now's the time. Lets hear your thoughts.

Best Regards,
Henry D

Chevy High Performance

I am a subscriber, like your magazine, keep up the good work. I also on the same page as a couple other TC'ers, I dont wont to see some $1500 junker with bailing wire holding up the exhaust, I can go to Wal Mart for that.

Steve

I think CHP has to be in kind of a weird position within primedia..
How do you guys decide what goes into Hot rod, car craft, circle track, truckin,sport compact,etc? When any of those topics/features that are chevrolet related could be in CHP?
Personally I like drag racing, and any kind of engine building articles. I think a little variety here would be cool too, circle track, road race buildups... How about a Baja engine buildup article ?
I also think it would be cool to have a nostalgia section with a rotating in depth feature on some cars from the past. Grumpys toy, lake/Bonneville racers, Cam-am, SS 409 cars, Nostalgia racing, NHRA stockers ,etc.. Something to offset the more modern LS1, ecotec/turbo sections of the mag.

I would also like to see a little more depth in some of the performance articles. Even if it takes a couple of pages away from the Camaro/Chevelle of the month ;)

I am a long time subscriber and would like to see more big block articles without the use of roller cams, I know that is the easy way to big horsepower but most can't afford the big money that goes with it
Thank you
Bill

Stories I would buy a magazine to read, actually if you would commit to this I would buy a 2 year subscription:

Track the budget through this whole, multi-part series. Whenever a cool “trick” part is used, suggest a budget-oriented OEM style alternate (i.e. salvage yard part)

Junk-Yard Vortec Series
We need a project car for this series. A non-emissions Chevelle, Camaro, or Nova with a good Turbo 350 auto, and performance street gears. Start with a good track-prepped car, something that will be able to take full advantage of 500-700hp. As we go through the build-up, it would be nice to see real track times in a good car, for each stage. This is something you don’t see much in these series, a well setup car to start with, this way we can see the rear POTENTIAL of each engine package.


Part One
· Find a ’96-’00 truck 350, announce the intentions to add this to an actual car, make sure it is one of the blocks that can be machined to Accept a Mechanical fuel pump (get the whole engine with serpentine belts and accessories to be added to a car later)
· Bolt on 1 5/8” headers, vortec intake, carb, and HEI
· Get Baseline dyno results
· Drop it in the Car and get some Chassis Dyno and Track Results (use a temporary electric fuel pump with no return line, until you machine the block for a mechanical fuel pump later)


One a side story to the engine install, explain how to the engine’s original serpentine belt system and late-model electric fans when installing the engine. Tell us which cars out there in the junk yards have similar setups we can get on the cheap…. (i.e. if the 4.3 liter V6 truck has the same belts and accessory drives, let us know) This could be a supplement to any of the installments really.


Part Two

Machine the Vortec heads and Install the GMPP “Hot Cam” kit that includes new roller cam, springs, and roller rockers
Install a couple recommended roller cam’s from Comp Cams & Lunati’s Voodoo line
Get dyno results for each of these, drop the final package in our project car and get us some track timesPart Three

Pull the engine apart and prep and machine the block (also machine it to accept a mechanical fuel pump
install a budget (<$1500) balanced 383 rotating assembly good for about 9.5:1 Compression with the Vortec Heads
Reassemble and dyno the new combination (maybe with a bigger cam)
Get dyno results, drop the final package in our project car and get us some track timesPart Four

Upgrade the heads on the engine to the AFR 180cc Vortec-Style Street heads milled to create about 10.5:1 Compression
Dyno
Swap in a DIFFERENT roller cam that can take advantage of the AFR exhaust flow (maybe a single-pattern Comp Cams magnum grind)
Get dyno results for each of these, drop the final package in our project car and get us some track timesFollow-Up Series - Junk-Yard LT1

I would also be very interested in seeing the same car back again, to do this all over with a junk-yard LT1, but keeping the fuel injection and computer this time around. In the very last installment, add a Blower to that LT1, test it, tour it, and give away the car : )

There seems to be a general back lash against the current tendency to feature pro built and big buck cars. I've noticed here and on other sites as well as letters to the editors of many car magazines. Don't get me wrong we all love to look at the latest Foose camaro, for about two minutes. Then realizing that there is no way I can afford, nor is there much useful, adaptive, information that I can use on my substantially lower buck project I quickly loose interest.

The fact that several of the surviving magazines are all owned by the same publisher and that you guys share, recycle, cars and articles reduces the entertainment value of the mags also.

I'd like more shop type coverage. If you want to show me a foose car, show me it during construction and show me the latest bracket that he came up with to solve a problem I might encounter. Fuel injection is fine, but can you show me how to get it off a junk yard motor, rig it up in my garage and make it dependable. Telling me to buy the latest 2 or 5 thousand dollar kit from XYZ flies in the face of hot rodding in my way of thinking. Not to mention the very real life budget restriction issue. One other thing that always gets me. I know some guys don't have the skills or time to build it themselves. I farm out certain jobs in my builds. But if you're featuring a car that is entirely built by a pro shop, or a couple of shops, give some detail on the "builder" and shop. Including any innovative, adaptive ideas they incorporated into the car. It belongs to Mr. Deep Pockets, fine, but he didn't build it, he probably couldn't even tell you in detail why and how it was built. I want to know about the builder, the process, the how and why.

Why don't car mags actually build cars anymore? I don't mean throw thousands of dollars of free-be parts at late model used car. There is only so many ways to bolt on a bear brake kit. I mean build a car. Drag a 70 chevelle out of the local bone yard and build it, the way many of us do. The way real hot rodders do. Hire MartinSr to do a series of articles on body repair and painting. A guy like John Muha with electricl and wiring tips and tricks. Get an engine builder, give him a 350 or 400 small block, some bow tie iron vortech heads and a thousand dollars and tell him to build a street engine that I could live with in my 70 project. Not a stroker or a race engine, a honest to goodness street engine. I'd like to see an article on this new process of using fabric stretched over forms/wood and covered with resin to build a center console. Hands on stuff that we hot rodders can use.

oh and one more thing. tell us how much it all costs. In Rick Smith dollars.

JM.02

Hey Henry,

I would have to agree with the others here about DIY stuff.

Stuff like getting the most out of what you've got would be welcome. With gas the way it is I want to know I'm running the best I can even though I'm only going to have 10mpg... (hey, it's better then 7mpg...:)) Also If I can get another 10th in the 1/4 mile, that'd be nice too.

Back to back testing is always good. I hate when a mag installs a cam or heads and then says "wow... really feels great..." Numbers... I want numbers...

Also include the costs... Try and include the little stuff too like hoses and oil... And none of that "lying around the shop" stuff either... We don't all have 18* fully ported heads just sitting around. Even if you get them for free, list what they cost... I need to figure out how many 7-11's I'm going to have to rob, er... visit... to afford the next project. ;)

I like the mega dollar feature cars too... They're nice to look at and maybe they'll give me some ideas. Just don't go overboard.

Thrash on stuff... Burnouts, explosions, wanton distruction... All good stuff. Maybe an article on how to kill an import... Who says a 500hp shot on a Civic is a bad idea? :D

I really like the idea about a suspension and brake compairison that starts off with stock parts... Maybe start off with 40yr old trashed parts, upgrade to stock, then try other things like tall spindles, tall ball joints, 11, 12, 13 inch brakes.... Who ever that was that posted that was right on.

Good luck,
David

Last month one of the car mags, and I'm pretty sure it was Chevy High Performance, had a dyno test with obviously bogus numbers in it. Test #1 and Test #2 had the exact same torque at a particular rpm, 3500 I think, but DIFFERENT horsepower numbers at the same rpm. This is impossible. Horsepower is merely a function of torque and rpm. If the torque is the same at a given rpm, the horsepower by definition must be the same. Which is a long-winded way of saying "maybe you should have somebody proof read the magazine."

Speaking only for myself, I'm completely uninterested in anything by Foose, Trepanier, Coddington, or any of their ilk. Cars that go everywhere on a trailer don't interest me. I also see lots of stories on blown pro-streeters that claim 9 second 1/4 mile times or better "as soon as we find time to get to the track." Tell you what...find time to get to the track BEFORE writing the story. Otherwise, it's just another trailer queen. Not interested.

First of all I'd like to say I enjoy your mag. I pick it up at the news stand once in a while. I'd like to see a dual EFI setup how-to for dual quad intakes and how and if you can get them to work. Also some more car features would be awesome! :beers:

I cast my vote for more Average Joe cars, but they need to be nice cars. Less than 1% of the guys here will ever have a car professionally done. Few of us can afford to restore a car with our checkbooks.

The reason I favor seeing more cars built by average guys like us is because there are literally tons of great ideas floating around out there that we otherwise might not get to see. The internet has been a great resource, but as I'm finding out, not everyone who owns a Chevelle is a member here. There is a lot of talent out there and not all of it is found in the shops of Coddington and Foose. You'd be surprised at how many quality cars are being built in backyard workshops and garages. Don't dismiss the notion offhand.

I let all (more than three) subscriptions to Primedia rags expire. I then subcribed to two Buckaroo mags as well as Hemmings Muscle Cars, even though they cost considerably more. The other members here have had some good ideas. I will need a good reason to come back. Good Luck.

I vote for less high end LS-* how-to's and more basic low budget stuff. Like the average Saturday night cruise-in car owner would do. I know the name of the magazine game is to attract both advertisers ($$$) and readers, so most articles have to feature a product of a current or potential advertiser in a positive manner. Of course those have to still be in the majority, but the Qjet tricks and GM disc brake swaps are still popular. Also would like to see budget STREET performance parts how-to's. Not necessarily the most power from a given engine (and not a crate motor), but a good compromise of power, smoothness, fuel economy, reliability, etc.

What interests me in a magazine is definately more of a variety of cars and styles. I would not be interested in seeing every article being about pro touring styled cars with big brakes, nor would I want to see every car be a tubbed out street strip car either. really stock restored cars are what usually trip my trigger and get me to buy the magazine. I would like to see a variety, and even some looks back at older trends.

I would have to disagree with some of the other guys here though. I don't want to see Average Joes car unless average joe really did a nice job.
The thought of looking at some article about a car just because the guy buillt the car in his garage with his own two hands, doesn't work for me if the car has worn carpet and a quarter panel that is full of ripples. I am buying the magazine to see the really nice cars. If I want to see a garage built car that is only pretty nice but not really a magazine worthy car, I will go to a local car show, and then I wouldn't spend much time looking at it there either.

Yeah but there have to be some guys out there who have done low buck jobs in their garages that have turned out very well. That's the kind of article I'd be interested in - seeing top notch work on a budget. I know that stuff is out there.

...a second note. Average Joe care are still cool in my book. Have you ever seen a car you wouldn't look at twice in the pits at the local drags pull onto the track and rip off a 6. something (1/8th) or a 11. something (1/4th) mile. You stand back in awe and say to your bud, "Hey that was cool".

I also marvel at guys that paint "show quality" in a one car garage.

AVERAGE JOE IS COOL! :D

Just once I would like to read an article, a how to or a comparo, and hear at the end "All in all, it wasnt worth the time and this product just sucks"

Seems everything written about is fantastic, the latest and greatest. I've stopped reading a lot just because its all bowing down to the vendors that advertise in the mags. You cant say they suck because you need the coin. All the articles seem, to me anyway, to be bias just because of the coin each mag wants to retain or wants to pick up. Course, without that coin there would be no mags or articles so its rocks and hard places I guess.

I want an article summed up with "We spent 7 hours, $575.00 on parts, had to have the company send in their techs to install it while we watched and we can honestly say - it sucked."

I want an article summed up with "We spent 7 hours, $575.00 on parts, had to have the company send in their techs to install it while we watched and we can honestly say - it sucked."

actually, it should then say.... we then brought in Buba and Larry a couple of our hot rodding buddies from the local cruise night and offered them three cases of beer to fix the thing. They cut the do-hicky up and welded this and that to it and made it work... it looks better too. :beers:

Speaking only for myself, I'm completely uninterested in anything by Foose, Trepanier, Coddington, or any of their ilk. Cars that go everywhere on a trailer don't interest me. I also see lots of stories on blown pro-streeters that claim 9 second 1/4 mile times or better "as soon as we find time to get to the track." Tell you what...find time to get to the track BEFORE writing the story. Otherwise, it's just another trailer queen. Not interested.

I agree, but just because it's a mega dollar car doesn't mean it's a queen. Did you see Summit's Starliner? I think it was in PHR. They have a shot of it doing dougnuts... Cool!! :thumbsup: I say take the queens and thrash them... Hard... :D


Less than 1% of the guys here will ever have a car professionally done.

The reason I favor seeing more cars built by average guys like us is because there are literally tons of great ideas floating around out there that we otherwise might not get to see.

Hey less then 1% of us will date a super model, but I still like to look at them. The occasional feature on some mega dollar driver is cool. Especially if it's at the track or driving cross country in the rain, or burning the rubber off the rims... That's like a super model that'll bring you breakfast in bed and finish with a... :)

I also agree that there's a ton of cool stuff being done out there by guys like us that I'd love to see...

David

Yeah but there have to be some guys out there who have done low buck jobs in their garages that have turned out very well. That's the kind of article I'd be interested in - seeing top notch work on a budget. I know that stuff is out there.

You should READ more carefully before quoting.

I don't want to see Average Joes car unless average joe really did a nice job.

Just once I would like to read an article, a how to or a comparo, and hear at the end "All in all, it wasnt worth the time and this product just sucks"

I want an article summed up with "We spent 7 hours, $575.00 on parts, had to have the company send in their techs to install it while we watched and we can honestly say - it sucked."

Pick up a copy of Import Tuner. :D I work with guys that read trash like that. I peruse the pages at work when I'm bored. Nice women, but if you took them away, you'd be left with "how to spend $3k to lose all of your low and midrange torque, but gain 12hp @ 8k rpm." :D

I agree with the above statement regarding projects that work and/or don't work. Let's be honest...not everything turns out "peachy". That's why I enjoy reading Maximum PC...they will rip on a product if it sucks...even though that manufacturer may have an ad in the same magazine.

Part of the reason magazines should be around (in my opinion) is to offer up what's new and exciting in the auto "arena". Why not do unbiased reviews like Maximum PC...and tell it like it is? The last thing any of us want to do is plop down our hard earned money for something that turns out to be a piece of crap....

Another thing that should be considered is maybe having a feature a couple times a year where you take a low budget "cool" Chevy and compare it to a "high dollar" car. Obviously both would have to be nice cars...but you could do road/drag/slalom testing with real results...That way you would be satisfying both ends of the spectrum. Maybe one month do "correct restorations" then the next "slightly modified" cars?

Honestly. the only mag I subscribe to now is Hemmings Muscle Machines...awesome stories/photography and even paper quality is great. Plus it was $15 a year...not bad.

I formerly subscribed to Car Craft/Super Chevy/Hot Rod...they rehash the same things...and the same cars....

Plus, there are tons of cool rides out there...why do the same cars show up repeatedly in all the magazines? If you need proof...come to the Pavillions event here in Phoenix every Saturday night...probably HALF the cars there are worthy to be printed in ANY magazine...

Finally, some people like to look at cars in colors other than RED (don't mean to offend anyone)...

Here's a thought...put Mike Crown's Chevelle in an upcoming issue :)

Sorry for the rant...

I am partial to Chevelles but I like to see a lot of different cars. It is OK to have a trailer queen in the magazine as long as it is not more than one a month.

I understand that you can't put just 1st gen small blocks and big blocks in your magazine, but l have seen a lot of LS-1-2-3-4-5-6's gen 2,3,4's in there lately. You know the ones I am talking about. I suspect a lot of us here at this website enjoy reading about the old small and big blocks. So we are feeling squeezed out.

How about a road test of a new Impala SS road test?

How about bringing up some good bench racing stories from the 60's, 70's, 80's about real street races?

How about a section for old photos from the 70's of Chevies with big fat tires with Cragar S/S's sticking out a foot from the fenders with mud flaps?

It would be nice to see a few more nice restored Chevelles that are all stock in your magazine along with some nice drivers.

Just curious when you do put a car in your magazine is it one that just stands out because you can eat your Thanksgiving dinner under the hood and flip it upside down and you can eat dessert off of it being so clean?

I like to see avg. Joes car that sees a lot of bugs in the grill and paint chips from gravels thrown up from dump trucks.

Has anyone done a comparison on reproduction interiors or weather stripping? Can't be too hard to find 2 of the same vintage and style of a car that needs a whole interior. I don't think all those are made by one supplier.

How about a comparison between a 396 and a 454 with the same internals exactly and see which one has more power through RPM range and which one pulls down more MPG.

Hope this might have inspired you to look at some other possibilities.

Some of you guys are mistaken by what my earlier "Average Joe" statement meant.

I mean if your car is only average and the body work and paint are less than impressive, I don't want to read about your car in any magazine.

However if you are an average joe that builds his own car in his garage with hand tools and on a tight budget, but your car looks fantastic and you can't tell that it was done in a garage, yeah I want to see and read about it.

Not interested in paying for a subscription, to read about joe bob's chevelle with cragers, air shocks and pep boys seat covers and screw on chrome exhaust tips.

I'm a suscriber.
Its something to read, between Car Craft and HotRod.

Firstly you don't feature enough Chevelles.
Seems like a Chevy magazine should have at least one Chevelle feature a month.

I'd like to follow more build ups.
What happened to the 74 Z-28, and Ro's biscayne ?

My opinion...

While I do like to look at some of the high dollar cars, just a few pictures is enough... Unless its some photos of the fab work involved... Let us know how much the owner spent, and did he actually do anything (any work, any designs), or did he just whip out the check book...

I also feel that EVERY dollar should be accounted for (and realistically)... Budget is the most important consideration for me...

Home built cars!!! Sure, maybe someone had a body show do the paint, or another guy had his engine built professional (hey, we all can't do everything well)... But something the average guy can build...

Maybe really nice, and use some killer parts, but I'd like to see cars that cost under $25K (maybe not including the original car), instead of $100K+

Same goes for Tech articles... An LS1/LS6 would be great, but thats alot of cash to shell out at one time... Show us a nice hi-tech car that can be built in stages as money allows...


In depth, "real" comparisons:

I like the "New" stock suspension, vs. typical mods, vs. trick bolt-ons vs all-out (like the Truck Arm setup)... Compare them to see where the best money is spent for the average guy... And only change one variable at a time...

I am an average guy, so while I like the pretty hi-dollar stuff, most of what interests me is stuff that I can relate to and afford...

Thank you for asking us for our opinions.

I have been a subscriber to CHP for a very long time ( I am thinking well over 10 years) - In the Jeff Smith era, the magazine really seemed to click for me. I have been a subscriber to Super Chevy for 20+ years. It used to be the best - then CHP left them in the dust - now SC seems to be coming back.

Most of the car mags are leaving me cold. I cannot put my finger on why I feel this way.

I agree with the previous posts on Hemmings Muscle Machines - If I could afford only one subscription - it would be HMM. I also like Autoweek - as it is timely with news about the auto industry.

I have multiple interests - Chevelles and late model Camaros get most of my interest.

I enjoy seeing show coverage like Chevellabration - but Novas, Camaros and Corvette show coverage would be great. I like features on cars - like HMM does them.

It seems like all the car mags have gotten into the technical - test - build up mode. Not being a real "tech" kind of guy - I go past most of those articles. I remember a few recent issues of CHP and SC I spent less than 10 minutes reading - vs cover to cover in the "old days".

These are my current thoughts. Again thanks for asking.

Tony

Coupla "pet-peeves", and not just CHP, but car rags in general:

Put the table of contents on the FIRST PAGE - open the cover and "bam". Reference the articles spotlighted on the cover with THE SAME NAME in the table of contents, not the name of the "dept." or some other "cutsie" name.

At the end of a build-up or similar "project" article, along with the suppliers - LIST THE $$COST$$ (msrp) of the components used, and the APPROXIMATE LABOR you guys got for free!!
Example: Dyno time. "Freddy at XYZ123 Dyno-Tuners did 12 pulls on phase 237 of our buildup...." What would "Joe" expect to PAY for each of Freddy's 237 pulls?? And not just at the closing piece, but a month by month tally (each phase) of who's gizmo was used, and what "Joe" will pay for it.

Fire "Thesaurus & Dictionary Boy". Write articles in plain english.
I don't want to read: "Phil obtained a length of TO-826 unobtainium alloy from the tool room, and artfully carved the billet into a masterpiece of functionality and beauty..."
"Phil, scrounger that he is, took a hunk of scrap and fabricated a great solution to our problem, and it looks good too! And by the way, here are dimensions if you want to build one for yourself!"

We all know you guys are writers by profession, car guys by default. How about more articles on how YOU busted your knuckles working on YOUR rides?? How that last phase is put on hold because the washing machine puked its guts, and money for the cam & lifters went to Maytag?? It may lend a bit more credibility to you and your writers with some "been there, done thats".

I agree, but just because it's a mega dollar car doesn't mean it's a queen. Did you see Summit's Starliner? I think it was in PHR. They have a shot of it doing dougnuts... Cool!! :thumbsup: I say take the queens and thrash them... Hard... :D




Hey less then 1% of us will date a super model, but I still like to look at them. The occasional feature on some mega dollar driver is cool. Especially if it's at the track or driving cross country in the rain, or burning the rubber off the rims... That's like a super model that'll bring you breakfast in bed and finish with a... :)

I also agree that there's a ton of cool stuff being done out there by guys like us that I'd love to see...

David


Comparing a nicely done Chevelle or Camaro to a super model is like comparing apples to dump trucks. The super model will eventually grow old and no amount of plastic surgery will make her look better, whereas we can restore our cars to better than new condition indefinetly! ;)

But I get your point, and I think we agree that there should be a balance between dream cars rebuilt by the pros and those rebuilt by working guys on weekends and at night, the way it was decades ago when this hobby was in its infancy.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the cars featured in CHP and Chevy Rumble and other magazines. But it just seems like a lot of the owners restore them with their bank accounts instead of with their sweat.

"John Doe's Paint and Body did the body work."

"The interior was done by Joe Schmoe and the engine was built by Mr Ed's speed shop."

We read a lot of that in the articles, though I admit that when the time comes, I'll have to farm out my interior work due to my lack of experience, and I concede that it's probably the lack of experience that forces many people to have to farm out paint and body work and engine work. But there are an equal number of people out there who are very capable of doing professional quality work and like I said, they have lots of great ideas to share.

Comparing a nicely done Chevelle or Camaro to a super model is like comparing apples to dump trucks. The super model will eventually grow old and no amount of plastic surgery will make her look better, whereas we can restore our cars to better than new condition indefinetly! ;)

And 20 years from now when we're in an "old folks home" we can pull out a picture and say "I did that !" ;) lol

Really; I was given a sub (CHP) till '08 by the wife and I get a lot of ideas (dreams) from it every month and a few ideas that I've used, and they worked.
Seeing someone that you talk too's car is in the mag is great, gives the little guy a shimmer of hope.

I re-built the rear in my car with on-line help only (first re-build). A few here saying that you gotta learn sometime pushed me to do it, and I can say first hand you guys leave a lot of info out. :angry:

You could have a Poster in each issue with a Hot muscle car and hot chick that will boost your sales for sure Yes!, do some stories on muscle car dealers,ebay sellers who rip people off let the readers know what to look for get each sides story of the deal,cover some local car shows,cruise ins, Iam a current subscriber CHP,Chevy Rumble,Hemmings Muscle,Car Craft,Super Chevy, my favorite is Hemmings, do a honest evaluation of car products no BS. Good Luck

i would like some car/truck builds more for the budget minded guy/girl,

and some canadian vehicles in there, i know were above you and not that important at times, but we do have alot of buyers up here that would like to see some of there vehicles in a magazine.

I used to subscribe and I really liked the magazine, but then Jeff Smith got on the LS1 kick and it seemed like every issue was LS1 this, LS1 that. Maybe good info but NOT what I am interested in. I like old school and 2nd day style car stories. The cross country trip that Randy mentioned earlier was a great story, lets have more of them.
Ron

And 20 years from now when we're in an "old folks home" we can pull out a picture and say "I did that !" ;) lol

The car or the super model?:p

Or both?:beers:

I want to see what the guys that WORK for the "High End Shops" like Foose, Trepanier, Coddington, ect. drive. I`m talking about the guys that build these "Trailer Queens" for a living. I want to see what they drive to work or have in their garage as a project. I don`t want to see the owners of these shops cars, just the employees cars, the working man`s cars.

I would have to agree on less LS1 tech. It is neat to see it in there, but I would have to say the average enthusiast is the kid looking in the toy store window when it comes to LS1's. I am kind of tired of brake issues. I don't know if anyone else agrees with me.
I think it would be neat to do some more old school builds. I loved the 400 horse hydro roller 327. It would be pretty sweet to see a solid cam 302 and some other vintage looking engines with high end internals.

I want to know how to build my own manifold that is setup for a throttle body.
Someone told me it would have to be flow tested? Where? How?
What kind of metal could I use?
Is it even possible? I don't want to pay $2,000 for a manifold.
A article about how to increase your gas milage would be cool. I'm curious to see what is possible?

Is there any type of Chevy vehicle left that the car mags haven't put an LS1 into?

Henry,

Pick up a copy of Hemmings Muscle Machines and use that as your guide except make yours exclusively for Chevrolet Muscle. That would win my business back. They blow away everything else out there. Great stories, great graphics, high quality, stock and modified cars with real life stories.

I second this idea. HMM is the only subscription I am keeping. I get CHP, and am letting it lapse. Although this latest issue I have is a bit better, I have found the level of technical detail to be lacking (I feel like I am reading through a summary of the manufacturer's installation instructions)..Maybe I expect too much. For example, there was a story a few issues ago regarding the installation of a new clutch and Lakewood bellhousing. Having gone through this myself, and knowing how many TC readers ask questions or have tips on this type of install, I found the article to be somewhat oversimplified, and I thought it missed some opportunities to offer quality advice. I remember actually chuckling as I read through it. Therefore I will only pick up CHP in the future off the newsstand, should I see something that grabs my attention..

This is very interesting reading.

It seems like the LSx kick that all the magazines think we are on isn't really happening. Maybe they are the trend of the future or for that matter now, but most car guys can't afford them or the install of them.

Sure the highend trailer queen cars are nice, but the car magazines are tailoring their magazines to those owners. The owners of the trailer queens are only buying the issues with their cars in them. Its the average low buck guy that is buying every month. Start tailoring to us.

I would personally rather see the same low buck engine build-ups and cheap tech tips rehashed than read about some mega dollar engine I will never afford or want in my car.

Start doing a monthly tech tips section. Each month pick a diffrent area of the car and give us an assortment of tech tips to go with it. For example, one month do tech tips about the interior. Give quick tips about recovering seats or installing carpet, or gauge placement, whatever. Even if I have read all the tips before, I will read them again. Right now I am re-doing the interior of my chevelle, I am going back thru old magazines and reading the tech tips, lots of good advice.

Do a real monthly build-up. It could take a full year if need be. Buy a car off e-bay or the local papers. Now put a nicely built, low budget engine in it. Which that in itself could be a series of articles as well. But make the write ups include everything. What wiring did you have to change? What size fan spacer? What did you need to do to get electric fans on it? Get into detail. When you finish the build-up, sell it on e-bay, tell us how you did that and how it worked out, then buy a diffrent car off of e-bay and start again. Doing it this way would cover just about everything the average reader would encounter as well. Don't sugar coat everything, if their is a problem with the fit of a part, tell us. And give honest prices. If you get free parts from the manufacturers, fine, but give us the price it would cost us to buy it.

Make the magazines more low budget oriented. Do an article that tells how to convert to disk brakes, but give all the spindle choices and what cars to get them off of. Give real prices and how much work is involved doing it each way.

How about an article on what the largest tires that will fit under a given car would be. Use diffrent size wheels, 15"-18", what size tires on each rim will fit? Real world tech, thats what we want.

Jeff

Knock, knock, Henry, you out there?

Is it just me that noticed Henry hasn't replied yet? Is this like when they actually write in their magazine to their readers, asking what they want, and seemingly ignoring the responses? Or is he really that busy? Maybe someone should email him, remind him that he posted here. ;)

maybe he is sorry he asked...

Knock, knock, Henry, you out there?

Is it just me that noticed Henry hasn't replied yet? Is this like when they actually write in their magazine to their readers, asking what they want, and seemingly ignoring the responses? Or is he really that busy? Maybe someone should email him, remind him that he posted here. ;)

Hi there. I'm really that busy, but have been reading the responses as time permits. I was initially going to respond to each and every one of you, however it would take an entire day at the rate you guys are responding to this thread - which is a great thing.

I would like to say thank you ALL for your thoughts and I'm taking notes on everyones take on my question. Many of the things you're asking for are already in the works and I'm always open to hear the good with the bad. :)

Point being, readers like you make us who we are and we want to provide a product that all of us can enjoy.

Again, thank you and keep posting! I am reading.

Regards,
H

I've been a subscriber for about 7 years now. I read every issue cover-to-cover. Overall, I like the magazine. However, I'd like to see better quality photos of the work that is being performed. To get an example of the quality I'm talking about, take a look at Street Rod Builder. Their photos are awesome; they're clear, the color is nice, they are cropped to focus my attention on the part discussed, and the lighting is always right on the money. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give them a 9, I'd give CHP a 5. Black and white photos, while inexpensive to publish, don't do anything for me. I simply cannot distinguish parts in a b&w photo.

Hi there. I'm really that busy, but have been reading the responses as time permits. I was initially going to respond to each and every one of you, however it would take an entire day at the rate you guys are responding to this thread - which is a great thing.

I would like to say thank you ALL for your thoughts and I'm taking notes on everyones take on my question. Many of the things you're asking for are already in the works and I'm always open to hear the good with the bad. :)

Point being, readers like you make us who we are and we want to provide a product that all of us can enjoy.

Again, thank you and keep posting! I am reading.

Regards,
H

Good deal, Henry. :thumbsup: Was hoping you were. Seeing as your record of posts just doubled, and it only took 3 years, I'd say see you in another few. :D

Knock, knock, Henry, you out there?

Is it just me that noticed Henry hasn't replied yet? Is this like when they actually write in their magazine to their readers, asking what they want, and seemingly ignoring the responses? Or is he really that busy? Maybe someone should email him, remind him that he posted here. ;)

Darren, my thoughts exacty...
I still subscribe to CHP and have in the past wrote to them and never heard anything back. Including sending them pics of my Chevelle for the "Showplace" page where they feature readers rides. Never heard anything back on that either, including a follow-up asking if when they receive pics and info for the Showplace page, what should one expect..
Still No answer, Never, Nada ???

Gaz

Henry.......Just do articles on the average joe like most of us and your magazine will smoke the others. There's a magazine newspaper called Fastest Street Car that caters to the "average joe" and some "Non-regular 40 hr." wallets as well and does okay.

Henry,

I would just like to say again, thanks for asking. I still like CHP, it aint perfect but what is? :D

I dig the fact that they included my Chevelle in the readers "ShowPlace", very cool! :thumbsup:

I would say we gave you alot to think about, now get to writing! :beers:

Yeah, one more vote for more low dollar cars and buildups. I remember an article about 15 years ago about a couple of guys with an early 70s Nova and a very cheap 454 running 9s with a well though out nitrous setup, it was all done on the cheap. I would like to see articles and features like that every month, you could even devote a whole section of the magazine to it.

How about some budget twin turbo ls1 chevelles!! You can do a complete setup for less then $12K!! I want to see 1000 HP PUMPGAS STREET CARS!! I never see home built twin turbo cars like mine!


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/nitrorocket/_DSC0005.jpg

I just got here so haven't read it over.

I would like to see a couple of articles about engines that are designed to run on 87 octane gasoline, but at a true 11 to 1 CR. or above!!

PHR did several of them years and years ago and it always made me wonder what they would have really ran like if an old old L-48 type SB and a Mark IV BB were built per their spec's!

Spec's like;
1. Min. quench;
2. True flat-top pistons;
3. Real small chambered heads;
4. Long rods; and
5. A mild cam like say up to a 230 duration at .050" lift.

All to run on 87 octane unleaded pump gasoline.

I've asked Dave F. to do this too...

pdq67

Randy... BOTH...LMAO :D

Henry,
I subscribe to your magazine, and have for a few years. The tech articles were the main reason I began reading CHP. I agree with most everyone else about what they want to see, professional looking home built cars. The mega dollar cars are nice, but way out of reach. More restoration stuff would be great also. As I read this thread and thumb through the February issue, I realize you can't plaese everyone. Good luck.

I subscribe to CHP! I think it was a much better read when Jeff Smith was editor!!! But for some reason, every time I read an artical by Ro I cant get the picture of him with a toilet lid around his neck out of my mind!


Rocky

Coupla "pet-peeves", and not just CHP, but car rags in general:

Put the table of contents on the FIRST PAGE

At the end of a build-up or similar "project" article, along with the suppliers - LIST THE $$COST$$ (msrp) of the components used, and the APPROXIMATE LABOR you guys got for free!!

Fire "Thesaurus & Dictionary Boy". Write articles in plain english.


WOW!!! YES!!!! EXACTLY! YES!! to all of the above!!!! 100%

Feedback thus far has mentioned some good things and some things needed, the vast majority I agree with so far.... I will add my 2˘ now:

I can understand 2+ page colour glossy of a trailer queen or foose car may seem like a good idea to sell magazines. Ok. However, a 3/4 page B&W on how to properly install and break in a camshaft is not acceptable.
If the first 5 steps of the "how to" article are unbolting stuff to get at the part, and the last 4 steps are bolting those things back up, and whole article is 10 steps - it was a waste of time (yeah, I am exaggerating here, but you get the idea). I realize that there is a wide audience of skill sets reading - if that is the thing that is limiting the in-depth factor of how-to articles, then each issue needs 2 articles - one for beginners and one for advance guys. If any article is too long for one issue, continue it in the next issue - this is ok!!! We just want accurate, in-depth coverage and photos on how stuff works, and how to properly install and tune it. It is ok to preface an article with assumptions too - "This article on Holley tuning assumes the readers can do a basic rebuild, and have done so. If you haven't,we suggest you read 'this book' first." this gives the reader a clue where he/she stands on that.

We understand that sponsors pay the bills. No problem. Do an article on the latest bolt-on new high horsepower tire valve-stems or whatever. But in the same issue give us some real world how-to stuff - like an artcile on how to recurve HEI distributors (which distributor to pick from the wrecker, how it works, what parts to swap, what to modify, how to tune it, dial in the vacuum can) something like this would be a world of good to the average hot-rodder IMHO.

Someone above commented on Canadian feature cars. Sure, I like that idea because I am a proud Canadian, but is there real motivation for magazines to do this???
ACTUALLY, YES THERE IS - in particular for restoration parts. The snow belt guys in the northern USA and us Canadians are a very large part of the resto business due to the climate deteriorating the orignal parts. This is important to your sponsors and northern readers. This also links nicely with the earlier comments requesting more how-to resto articles.

On behalf of people at TC, thank-you so much for reading/requesting this feedback.
If you found that some of the feedback seemed negative - it is because we are passionate about our hobby; and we suspect you already have a good idea about some of what is working well so no need to waste time telling you what already know.

We hope the leaders of your magazine allow you to implement some of these great ideas the people of Team Chevelle have provided.

Problem is that you cannot please everyone. I am tired of seeing articles on how to install a cam, adjust timing, install control arms, exhaust, gear install, etc. Who in the world cannot figure out how to install exhaust? ANYBODY EVER HEAR OF A CHILTONS?? SAME INFO!

I want to see CUSTOM stuff, homemade stuff, homebuilt stuff, Dyno numbers and track times, technology, DIFFERENT STUFF!

I am a hot rodder like anyone else, I have been doing it a long time in my home garage and want info that I cannot get in a Chilton or Haynes manual. Putting that info in there is a waste of pages.

You could put a note on the first page like " For any factory replacement type information including suspension, motor, and drivetrain, consult a Chilton manual".

How about info for stuff you cannot get in a manual? Like Twin turbo, supercharger, programable ignitions, suspension "tricks", Specs on major performance upgrades, Dyno tuning, ETC.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/nitrorocket/_DSC0005.jpg

I'd like to see the magazine really stick to the root of it's title. As in Chevy and High Performance. That means tech, tech and more tech for Chevrolets.

Now, with that said, there are going to be some folks that are alienated because tech articles are "boring". Good riddance I say. I'm almost to the point of where I can't stand to pick up Super Chevy magazine. It only caters to the promotion of the Super Chevy shows and show cars in general. BUT, that's their niche. So, that's fine.

Just sit down and hash out what THIS magazine's niche was intended to be and let the creative juices flow from there. You can't please EVERYONE, and if you try, you'll soon find that you won't please ANYONE.

But, if it's specifics you seek, based on the mag's title and overall theme since I've known it, this is what I'd like to find in it's pages:

1. Sleepers. Cars that perform at a "high performance" level, but appear factory. Many folks dig stuff like this, because it gives the best of both worlds. A nice restoration look (to all but the most freakish of grease pencil enthusiasts), but something with the much needed extra muscle.

2. Entry level performance swaps. Older cars with newer style engines. Nothing high zoot. A guy has, oh I don't know, an old Chevelle.....and decides to hit the boneyard and find an LT1 or LS1. There may be some very mild fabbing and a little cobbling involved (nothing butch mind you, that's for Car Craft).

Another popular swap would be brakes and suspension from later model donor cars. It's been done a lot, but there could be a few things you've missed. I know it would be BEYOND taboo, but the Ford 9-inch with rear discs from Explorers seems to be fairly popular. Might be an outcry and go over like a lead balloon, but you'd still have a Chevy at heart. Just a lil FoMoCo out back.

Overdrive tranny swaps seem to have been done to death, so a new spin on that one might be tough. Be creative. Perhaps comparisons on shifters, including some installs. Maybe even some line-lock installs and comparisons. I'd like to see some things about transbrakes, for use in weekend street cars that hit the track from time to time.

3. I'd like to see some rated levels of difficulty. I think you guys have done it, but I'd expand on it. As in, make it a regular feature.

I'm thinking that one month, you devote a section in regards to brakes. The first article is entitled, "Beginner: Simple Brake Job YOU Can Do In An Afternoon." Really stroke the guys that are kinda scared of the whole brake scene. Tell them each and every tool they need to do a simple Saturday afternoon brake job. From inspection and disassembly, to re-inspection. What parts should and shouldn't look like. Trouble signs you can spot before ever even taking things apart. Trouble signs you can spot AFTER taking things apart. What to ask for at the parts store. Then final assembly and break-in. Final adjustments and operation. With a very thorough basic article like this, you can get some guys out to the garage doing something they normally might not tackle. Once they get over their fear/hesitancy, the confidence boost they receive, plus the thirst for knowledge sets them on their way.

Yes, I know alot of that could be done with a Chilton's manual. BUT remember, you're TELLING a story about brakes as you go along. Just like you're a buddy hangin' out with us in the garage. The old dog teaching the young pup.

Finally, a nice price list for each and every part. I know that it can be argued that a price list won't mean anything once it's gone out of date. However, prices won't move THAT much if I decide to tackle a project once the mag is a year old. Plus, it's interesting to look back on things like that as if it were a time capsule. "Remember when that only cost...."

The next step would be an intermediate brake job with performance upgrade. A nice title would be: "Intermediate: Serious Stopping for the DIY'er." Less focus on stock components. Something that requires a trip to the boneyard for an upgrade from a different/later model vehicle. Maybe a little fabbing involved. Nothing major. Maybe a couple of entry level aftermarket parts. Still nothing high zoot. A little less focus on hand holding and the bare basics, but still some good pics. Especially for the fabbing aspect of it. "This wasn't meant to fit here, but with a SMALL amount of work and basic tools, this is going to perform better than the factory components." I'd stay away from any welding on this step.

Final level would be, "Expert: Hardcore Tech without 'Braking' Your Neck". Serious upgrades with aftermarket components. Some major fabbing may or may not be required depending on the manufacturer's part. Welding, grinding, etc. is fine. Anything short of actually having to take things into a shop. I'd like for all of these levels to be for the DIY'er, but this one would be borderline.

And so on for all the major automotive areas. Suspension, tranny, gauges/electrical, top-end engine work, bottom-end engine work, etc.

I'd stay away from interior work or anything that doesn't promote high performance. I'd also stay away from outlandish articles that DIY'er won't be able to truly perform or afford. That's for Hot Rod.

I'd firmly establish yourself as the intermediate tech source for Chevy performance. Right between Hot Rod and Car Craft. A small sprinkle for entry level car guys and a small one for some higher level things. Think of yourself as the transistion magazine. That's not a bad thing. That's where most of us lie anyway.

No Beaumonts!!!!!!!!!
James

Henry, thanks for asking our opinion.

I was looking through some old CHP's last night and was really impressed with the tech articles from about 98' through 03' (Jeff Smith era). I think Mr. Smith is much like many of us here, articles on budget rear disc swaps, alternator upgrades using newer GM parts, etc... Thats the stuff I like to read, how to make it better without breaking the bank!

CHP has kind of gotten away from that a little bit lately, I understand that you need to include some stuff for the newer generation of car crafters, LS1 tech stuff, and I'm OK with that. Just don't change the entire magazine into new age tech or I'm gone!

And at all costs please, please avoid the idolizing of junk/cobbling as cool! Nothing has me turning the pages faster than when a certain editor of another mag (you know who I'm talking about) crows about pulling an allnighter to complete a motor swap. I can tell you exactly what it looks like when done! Junk is not cool, its just JUNK!

Anyway please take some of the suggestions here and follow up on them, we are your customer base!

OK how about this.
I'll ship you my "new" old 409 truck motor( I know they never put one in a Chevelle, but it is "Chevy High Performance") and you guys build it on a budget(or not) and I'll take pictures of the build as I stuff it back into my "new" old 62 Biscayne street racer. A 409 is a lot more appealing to look at than an LS1. Most Chevelle guys appreciate all of the period correct Chevys.

Another post: yea, yea, I know but!

I just got the new CHP in mail yesterday (Feb 06) and I really dig the 64 Malibu on the cover. What do you guys think? Also, the Nova is pretty cool too.

I will have to say this though. The aricle on "How to get more MPG" is very lame. There is talk of concepts but real tangible ideas. The only thing that made sense was "install an overdrive".

And one more thing: The suspession build of the early Nova, how about putting the "Before and After" track times in the article. Were you guys embaressed to print the truth? That is what guys are saying here. Write about the results. Don't just say "We were 5 MPH faster" cause that tells us nothing. :D

Wow, I just read all the responses up to this point... lots of great responses.
Here's what I would be doing if I had asked the question, and wass tarting with a clean slate:

*re-read all responses, and make a column for different ideas, then make them each into a different section focusing on them. Devote a couple pages each to things like: New GM vehicles, Whats new in factory performance, an "old school" engine build, a "new school" engine build, a basics repair column, a in-depth look of same subject as the basics article, etc. I could go on.
*Have a tips and tricks section where readers send in things they have learned. Not tools you can buy, but how about "heat up an open ended-wrench and bend it enough so you can get your spark plug out from behind your headers" type stuff. I wanna see a pic too.
*Get off crate engines, unless it is brand-new. Anyone can buy one and stuff it in.
*Have a featured centerfold car, wether it is top dollar or not. We will take t out and keep it if we like it.
*Do a full-on restoration of something "normal".
*Include all prices and part numbers. I don't care how much you got it for, how much will I be spending?
*Actually show us how something is done-Someone mentioned brakes. Give us the full details and problems. Include details like "make sure you ___, or ___ will suck when you have to do it later"
*Show us your failures. We wanna know what didn't work. Most car guys will not copy every item, we all wanna know what you tried first and what happened.
*Keep the readers rides (average joe), we all like seeing our cars, or what someone else has done to them.

I would bet the majority of the subscribers and buyers are people who are planning or currently doing a car. We get your magazine for the information and pictures. Yes, we can buy a chilton, but they are not "real-world".

Event coverage is nice, but all you see are a dozen pics of about 1/3 of a nice car, and 3 guys in tank-tops looking at a lounge chair. The text wastes 2 pages saying how the vendors really stepped up, who won the burn out contest, what the weather was like, and who won the bikini contest. Real event coverage: There were 42 red '70 chevelles with black stripes, there were 432 '69 camaro Z/28s, and 1 guy in a Beaumont, who was really just driving back home, but got lost. If you're going to cover or sponsor an event, hold one up in the midwest-like Minnesota or Wisconsin. We have CarCraft and Back to the '50s, whch total over 15000 cars. Carcraft could use some help-there's no swap meet, and it seems like it's focused on the 20 year old kid. Fine. If you also tried to get us over 30 crowd (we have extra $$$) really involved. I've been there all bu 1 year, and found it to be a nice relaxing weekend, but not really the car show experience.

Advertisers-they pay your bills-at least keep the small and floppy dink ads in the back where we probably won't read anyway. It would be nice if the real ads were not stuffed away, but I don't have a good solution.

1 - Carburetors, Distributors and so on all have their own set of problems that crop up and drive the owner crazy trying to figure them out. Do articles on each pointing out age related problems that creep into old parts (warped castings etc.) Also do performance setups of the various pieces such as the distributor and carb. Most people would be amazed at how much better if just their carb and distributor were set up for their application.
2 - Do engine/transmission swaps that are within reach of readers from a financial stand point. The mid '90s Caprice wagon with the LT1 can be bought pretty cheap these days and you can pull the engine for your Chevelle/el Camino. We are planning one ourselves. The old '80s Camaro and S10 5 speeds were weak but if you don't beat on them they will get the average car down the road just fine without the revs being out of sight. A friend has had one behind a 396 for several years now. Driveability is sometime more important to a person than all out performance.
3 - Do some features on Day2 readers' rides. You will get a bigger variety than doing features on restorations which are all done the same way.
4 - Features on nicely restored cars are always nice too.
5 - Do features on happy performance combinations. Some people stumble onto engine/drivetrain combinations that just plain work a lot better than they should. The most money spent doesn't always win.....just most of the time.
6 - Articles beyond the basics could include supercharging the Lt1, for those with a little more money burning a hole in their pockets.
7 -Then there are endless chassis, body and paint how-tos.
8 -
There are endless projects that are within the budgets of most car nuts and these are what we can relate to and read about. Most magazine articles today seem to be nothing more than thinly veiled advertising for advertisers' products and really don't give us a good idea of what we really need, yet we all know that advertising is what pays the bills.

Good point.... Sleepers are real cool. There are much better sleepers then mine, but my car is a 9 second ride as it sits in this pic on pumpgas! Those are the kind of cars I like to see! I tell you, I think its funny when those full race tubbed cars with snorkal scoops or huge cowl hoods only go 10's or 11's!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/nitrorocket/_DSC0004.jpg

I get the impression that scotty wants you to do a feature on his car. With 12 grand in the engine, I'd read the article and it would hold my low buck interest for about 10 minutes. Nice looking, trick, but for 12 grand I could build an entire car.

Being a long time subscriber of CHP and other enthusiest magazines, I've seen only one mag pull away from the others recently, Hot Rod. Understansable that the flagship gets the money and attention.

Maybe since I've be reading so many for so long, all others seems as if it's become ho-hum reading, just a slight level above reading advertising.

I understand the need to generate advertising dollars, but the content and writing needs a high performance tune up of it's own. 'Build it and they wil come'.

Want to attract more readers? We're generally more savvy than readers of ten or twenty years ago. You're competeing with THIS, right here, right now.

How do you accomplish this? Provide what the internet does not.

Better writing. We want the REAL story. Not a watered-down story that ends up only promoting a new product.

Different subject matter. Examples:

In-depth interviews with INTERESTING people

Historical section - What was it like in 62? Origins of Chevrolet Performance.

What about the future? WHAT and WHEN is Chevrolet going to offer something appealing to us blue-collar performance guys again?

Cars that are leading edge, not just the ones you find at the same events we attend. DIG A LITTLE!

Offer readers to do their own articles - FREE TALENT!
I'll volunteer to be first!

Quote from Professor SS:
'I get the impression that scotty wants you to do a feature on his car. With 12 grand in the engine, I'd read the article and it would hold my low buck interest for about 10 minutes. Nice looking, trick, but for 12 grand I could build an entire car.'
__________________
True, but it wouldn't be as fast or unique!

Quote from Professor SS:
__________________
True, but it wouldn't be as fast or unique!

True, but I bet it would have a grill. :D ;)

Who would'nt like there car in a magazine after putting all there blood, sweat, and tears into it.
$12K could so alot of things, but I am proud build a complete twin turbo LS1 that makes close to 1000 hp on pumpgas. Most 600 hp "Crate" engines cost that much with a carb and 7 MPG!
That $12K included buying a good used motor from pcm to pan. I then tore the motor down and completely built it with necessary mods all by myself. I also designed and built the entire twin turbo system myself. This included building an intercooler, headers, plumbing, motor mounts, coil brackets etc. I did it ALL. The point is anyone could build a car like mine if they REALLY want to!

I don't know about the rest of you, but one thing that bugs me lately in the mags, is seeing a badass car that the owner did not build. They might as well call it "Money Rodding Magazine". They get all the coverage! Anyone can call up the best shops around, drop off a car and have it completely built up, restored, and customized with $80K. It is kind of an insult to the backyard mechanics like you or me. How much love and skill goes into those projects...none.

I am very proud to say I designed and built my entire car myself.

I would really like to see this one.
1. A streetable straight six build in a lite weight nova or camaro, check this out, http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111671

2.Strip comparo's are awesome,
a. light weight drag rims versus steel wheels.
b. effects of weight at the drag strip
c. auto vs. stick
d. ethanol vs. race gas
e. set up a drag racing suspension, show before and after results.
f. rear end gear changes.
g. how about flogging a 10 bolt built as strong as you can get it and see
just what it can handle w/ slicks.
h. exhaust, 2" 2.5", 3", open headers vs full exhaust, header comparison.
i. rocker ratio changes and effects
j. head work changes, bigger valves, porting, springs and the results of each at the strip.
k. compression changes, 9 to1 vs. 11to1, hp gains
l. cams, flat tappet hyd./solid vs. rollers

I like to see real world testing to see if things work. Compare different brands against each other
I dont like to see one brand pushed all the time. Nothing against edelbrock and comp cams, they both make a great product, but try other brands more often. I know this has a lot to do w/ them supporting the mag. but what the hey...

I like tech articles a lot.

As far as feature cars,,,, how about trying 73-77 chevelles, buicks, olds etc... the love of cars didnt end at 1972.

I am very proud to say I designed and built my entire car myself.

As well you should be, its a truly awesome ride. Hell, I am proud of you and we aint never met.

Heres "looking at you kid" :beers: :thumbsup:

I think there should more articles featuring two-tone , early chevelle, pro street cars that are built in the family garage!!!! :D

I would like to see an article done on my car :) not the "trailer" queen just a budget minded fellow trying to compete with the guys that have LOTS of $$

Articles on AFFORDABLE things. Sorry but I don't buy a magazine that wants to talk about cars with $15000 engines, $10,000 paint jobs. I want to read about driver cars, not show cars.

How about articles on affordable kits and stuff for cool looking vehicles from the past on newer frames, like the Rodster for example. Things that the average car hobbiest might consider, not the guy with $30,000 that has nothing better to do with him money.

The only thing I don't like about Scottys car is the wheels, I don't like the big wheel/rubber band tire look, old cars need FAT tires :D

I'd like to see more parts swap writeups,,,power steering to manual steering, what late model steering boxes work, what pitman arm is needed, lose the power brakes, what manual m/c works. I like the drag strip tests, bolt this on, made .xx improvement. I'd rather see carb writeups than FI write ups, I like the old school stuff. Rear suspension tests, boxed lowers and uppers vs. no hop bars vs. lift bars vs. Alf Weibe's suspension ;) vs. anti rollbars, cal tracs vs. slapper bars. Old tried and true simple stuff for the performance enthusiast. Performance torque converters. Big block/small block chevy cylinder head tests with a wider range of variety. The KISS method in any and all aspects of improving our cars.

I've been a subscriber for many years, since CHP was 6 issues a year. I like the engine build-ups and dyno tests. CHP is my favorite, followed closely by Car Craft.

Early and late model engines, I like them all. However, I'd especially like to see a dyno test comparing some of the early performance GM intakes vs comparable aftermarket intakes.

Build a moderate 327/350/383, test it with a #653 dual quad set-up, then compare it to an early #397 or 129 intake, then a Z/28 intake, and finally compare it to a modern Performer or Performer RPM.

What about an engine build comparing the L-79 Cam vs a moder hydraulic, both with manifolds and headers, and repeating the test with the 30-30 or LT-1 cams.

How about a 327 build-off? Assemble two teams from the magazine staff. One teams builds the baddest OLD 327 small block they can put together, the other builds up the NEW 327 (or 5.3 litre smallblock). See who can build the baddest 327. One's old school, the other is the latest and greatest.

My tires have more tread on the gound then most believe it or not. The tread alone is 12" wide. The tire overall width is 12.5". I partly chose them so I could get the widest tread possible into my wheelwell.

Alot of guys seem to hate the "New" stuff. The new stuff is pretty simple really. For example, bolt a new LS1 in the car, make 400+ crank hp out of the box, and the motor will last 150K while getting 25 mpg. That, is pretty KISS.

It's all personal taste and budget. I myself still like the regular motors, but I could not build a motor for as cheap as I could buy an LS1 for. A decent buildup 350" or 400" motor will cost about $5k to build.

I tell you what, with these tires, I have to admit the car corners very nicely.





The only thing I don't like about Scottys car is the wheels, I don't like the big wheel/rubber band tire look, old cars need FAT tires :D

I'd like to see more parts swap writeups,,,power steering to manual steering, what late model steering boxes work, what pitman arm is needed, lose the power brakes, what manual m/c works. I like the drag strip tests, bolt this on, made .xx improvement. I'd rather see carb writeups than FI write ups, I like the old school stuff. Rear suspension tests, boxed lowers and uppers vs. no hop bars vs. lift bars vs. Alf Weibe's suspension ;) vs. anti rollbars, cal tracs vs. slapper bars. Old tried and true simple stuff for the performance enthusiast. Performance torque converters. Big block/small block chevy cylinder head tests with a wider range of variety. The KISS method in any and all aspects of improving our cars.

Again, thanks for all of your input. This is a great thread and I've been printing it out regularly, as it expands.

From all of us to you, have a great Holiday weekend!

Regards,
H

More articles on not so perfect muscle cars that haul ass and use 15 inch rims.

I will/have let my subscription for CHP lapse. I was about to do the same to my subscripion to Car Craft untill the resent change. I feel the mag is not tailored for my spending or intrests. If I want to look at a catalogue I know here to look. I was ripped off by subscribiing last time ..... no more. You are getting a great deal of FREE feedback I hope you react to it. For the time being I will look elsewhere...

Milan

Henry,

Back again.

Please post over at "Little Brother's" site, (Team Camaro), too!

pdq67

Henry,

I miss the days when Jeff Smith was the editor but I know things have to change.
:D

I always thought Jeff Smith's cam selection was on the small side.

I'd like to see an article about NHRA's super stock and stock eliminator class. Examining their engine and suspension technology.

first, read car craft, then you would know what not to do to a mag.
when doing articles, make then through, dont leave out things that are important to someone trying to dup. it
real world articles, not just something donald trump can afford, although i realize new things are out there and should be made aware of
there are a lot of new tools, parts, etc coming everday, would be neat to highlite them
follow up-follow up-dont start some project, then never tell us what happened when you tried something and it failed, or how it turned out
when doing articles on cars, dont always make them seem like they were perfect the first time-try and get the person to tell what headachs some things were
i realize there are time and space issues, and its an everchanging sport(remember the van craze)
i have been in this stuff for over 40 years, had numerous cars featured in mags, i appr. all makes of cars, they all can be made neat
maybe to many mags out there now, they seem to have a lot of the samr storys
one other thing i would love to see, when you do an engine build up, and claim it makes 10.000 hp on 91 octane, put it in a real car, and have a test article on it-i have yet to see an engine dyno driving down the street, idling in traffic

I think it would be cool to see like test results of setting up suspension for different purposes with aftermarket parts. And 1/4 mile run results through modding suspension and motor. Also restorations and the way the where and are accomplished.
Also I got a question would it be possible to get my Chevelle in chevy high performance some day when I am done with it? Right know I am overseas in Germany and a senior in high school. It was like a dream getting the Chevelle. Its a 69 Chevelle Malibu which was exported to Austria in 1969. I am still waiting for the info on the Chevelle from the Adam Opel GMBH in Germany. They are sending me a packet for approval. I also have the original title. Its getting modded right now with a full BMR suspension kit, strange adj. shocks, hotchkiss springs, LS1 brakes,... It's gonna look stock from the interior and outside though. All the factory parts are beeing stored in a safe place though.

Thanks for your understanding,
Ben

Note...the original postings on this topic is almost TWO years old!

You guys still owe me two issues from when I used to subscribe! I'm more of a Car Craft guy now. I'm more into the average guy type of builds vs. the have someone deliver it to me then I'll call up your magazine.

Hi there. I've been more of a lurker for a while, but wanted to take this time to get some input from all of you.

For those of you who read the magazine, what do you like and what don't you like? What type of articles would you like to see in the future? Do the cars we feature peak your interest? If not, what would you prefer? How about motorsports - in other words, would you like to see more on drag racing and open track type of testing. What kind of engine builds would you like to read about? The list can go on and on, but I'm sure you get the idea by now.

If you've ever wanted to voice your opinion, now's the time. Lets hear your thoughts.

Best Regards,
Henry D

Chevy High Performance

I let my susbscription run out about 10 plus years ago. The reason is every month is "10 Best Bolt-ons!" This stuff has been around for four decades....we get it with the bolt ons. These cars are now in the phase of very intensive restorations. I understand your magazine is "Chevy High Performance", but there isn't enough ground braking new developments in parts month to month, or even year to year in this stuff for me to warrant an annual subsciption. I learned a thing or two from your magazine back when I was teenager. Now I'm in my late 20's, with a career, and some disposible income to really make the car I want. Read that last statement as "weld in" as opposed to "bolt on." I'm much more interested in what it takes to make these cars look right right, and how to get the body work done right.

It's been several years since I bought car magazines, and the last ones were magazines from the sixites at a swap meet. It got to the point that the newer magazines were packed with ads, and the writeups were blatant infomercials for the manufacturer of the product being described. The feature cars seemed to be all six figure stuff owned by people, with deep pockets, and probably never had a finger in the build of the vehicle. That's ok but doesn't have much to do with us every day folks. There have been a lot of good ideas brought up here. Incorporate the better ones and I might be inclined to subscribe. You could always do a feature on the Day 2 restoration of our COPO Chevelle, but my progress has been so slow that everyone would fall asleep waiting for the next installment. ;) Check out some of the better sixties magazines and see how they did things. Many of the writers were hands on people. The people doing the magazine layouts seemed to be automotive people too as close up pictures of suspension and stuff weren't upside down or sideways as it got to be in later years. It takes more than a college degree to make a good writer. They have to know the product as well. Find these people and hire them. It would be a good investment.

I'm with Randy Moser>. Not all of us have the $$$ to build a $ 60,000 show car or race car. More of the Joe down the street type cars. No not the rust buckets. Just a working guy with a family & a mortage. Guys that buy $ 5.000 to $15.000 cars and try to make them nice. For weekend cruz's. There are guys here on a Mc Donald budget. Then you know. Some of us are retired. Some of us have familys with kids doing sports. So I'd like to see more of the 1 % of the street cars. Not all of us can afford air suspenions or 502 crate motors. Oh no saying we would JUMP at it if we could. Thanks for asking. Rick

OHH one more thing Henry: I get both chevy HP & Super chevy; I can't wait for them to come in every month. As soon as they show up. All work around the house stops. I get my cold Drink. Get in my chair. Turn off everything else in the room and sit down & read & read & reread! Never ever throw these mags out. Can you borrow one. NO but I know where you can get one. In between issues I go over the old ones. Just incase I missed something. Or forgot somethings. A friend of mine gave me a gift subscription. I've been hooked ever since. (Thanks Tom) Thanks again Rick

I've been a subscriber for 5 or 6 years now and would really like to see more technical articles on big block Chevy engine builds. Complete parts lists with expected HP and torque for each build would be very helpful.

Super Chevy, Chevy Hi-perf, HOTROD------------------all owned by the same company.
Too much hi-dollar stuff that the average joe can't afford.
Toooooooooooooooooooooooo many writers who are NOT knowledgeable about their subject material and/or do not proof their articles.
I've let ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL my subscriptions expire and HOTROD will soon expire, and then I'm done.
This site right here, as well as a couple of others I spend some time on (Corvette and early Chevys), provide substantially more and better information than the majority of publications---------------------AND WITHOUT A TON OF ADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously, I still lurk here, so feel free to say what you will and all points will be noted. That said, this thread may be old, but it's still a valuable read for me. :)

Regards,
H

I'm with Rick. I have a small budget for each year, and it changes based on whatever else is happening in my life. What I don't remember seeing in the past few years are the articles showing how to make something work with what you have. Now, I do remember seeing a budget dash restoration for a early 60's something, but there seems to be a trend in the articles showing all the parts that were replaced and little on how to bring what you have back to life. Also, what about cross over parts? Remember the articles showing how you could rob the brakes from a 1LE optioned camaro? There's so much info in the magazines that is beyond the level of all the people just getting into this hobby. Imagine a young hot rodder who always wanted a car like his dad had. He goes out and gets a few mags just to see, and it's all about thorwing $2000 at this and another $1000at that. Don't forget that next month we'll show you the latest thing that replaces what we said was the best this month... There's nothing wrong with a nice centerfold spread of a show car, or a section on stuff from the parts manufacturer, but look at the early issues. It was all about making stuff work, not buying new stuff.

Super Chevy, Chevy Hi-perf, HOTROD------------------all owned by the same company.
Too much hi-dollar stuff that the average joe can't afford.
Toooooooooooooooooooooooo many writers who are NOT knowledgeable about their subject material and/or do not proof their articles.
I've let ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL my subscriptions expire and HOTROD will soon expire, and then I'm done.
This site right here, as well as a couple of others I spend some time on (Corvette and early Chevys), provide substantially more and better information than the majority of publications---------------------AND WITHOUT A TON OF ADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, I agree, but what do you read in the bathroom??;)
Ron

If you've ever wanted to voice your opinion, now's the time. Lets hear your thoughts.

Best Regards,
Henry D

Chevy High Performance

Henry,
I like the articles that you do; I like the mag. layout too. The reason I don't get your magazine anymore is because the people in your customer service dept.. They are terrible to talk to. I wanted to change the address that the mag. was being delivered to, what a hassle. Never received the remainder of the subscription, so I quit. I hate when a company doesn't take care of thier customer.

Yeah, I agree, but what do you read in the bathroom??;)
RonLaptop and WiFi ;)

Yeah, I agree, but what do you read in the bathroom??;)
Ron

Books from known authorities, with facts, figures, documentation and factory data, to include this latest book from Ken Kayser. http://www.tachometerpress.com
Almost 600pgs including photos, documentation and drawings never released to the public.

It is VERY refreshing to read accurate information. It is not possible for me to count the number of times I've read inaccurate information in MANY publications over the years.
As I mentioned earlier, not only do many writers not proof read their material before its published, but tooooooooooooo many times it is abundantly clear that they have also not done their research and homework before putting something in print!

Excuse me, while I go to the "library". :D