TECH NOTES
Who: Scotty Stites
What: 1981 Chevrolet Malibu
Where: Ripley, MS
Engine: This conventional small-block
Chevy starts with a Dart SHP block
machined by Barnes Racing Engines to
accept a 4-inch stroke. The Eagle 4340
crankshaft is mated with Eagle 6-inch
H-beam connecting rods and slings a
set of Ross pistons. With a hefty dome
on the piston, the final compression
ratio is 12.0:1 when combined with the
Brodix 10X aluminum cylinder heads.
The extensively worked heads were
previously used on a Sprint Car engine
and feature 2.150-inch titanium intake
valves and 1.600-inch stainless exhaust
valves. The camshaft is a Comp Cams
solid-roller with a custom grind, featur-
ing 274 degrees intake and 286 degrees
exhaust duration at 0.050-inch lift, and
a max lift of 0.753-inch on the intake
side and 0.721-inch on the exhaust.
Other Comp Cams components include
a belt drive, 1.550-inch valvesprings,
and pushrods. The valvetrain is finished
off with a set of Jesel shaft-mounted
rocker arms with a 1.6:1 ratio. Engine
electronics are handled by an MSD
7531 box, accompanied by an MSD Pro-
Billet distributor, coil, and flying-magnet
crank trigger. The car’s exhaust consists
of Hedman headers (1.875-inch primary
tubes) leading to 3.5-inch pipes and
Dynomax bullet mufflers.
Induction: Atop the small-block is a
Brodix single-plane intake manifold,
which features a 4150 flange. The car-
buretor is a Quick Fuel 950-cfm unit,
set up for methanol. It draws fuel from
a Magnafuel 275 pump.
Transmission: Since Scotty spends
his days building transmissions, he
jumped at the chance to modify the
Powerglide in his Malibu. Along with
all-new hard parts, he installed a BTE
valvebody with a Pro Brake. The cus-
tom 8-inch torque converter stalls to
6,000 rpm on the line. A Wiles Racing
aluminum driveshaft handles the shock
of the high-rpm launch.
Rearend: Out back is a Quick Perfor-
mance 9-inch rearend. It features an
aluminum centersection, packed with a
4.71:1 Motive ring-and-pinion, a spool,
and Moser 35-spline axles. Scotty’s
specialty is reducing mass in the rotat-
ing assembly (he’s a transmission
expert, after all!), so he got to work
relieving the ring gear mass around the
attachment points using a Bridgeport
machine.
Suspension: The previous owner
replaced the rear framerails with 2x3
rectangular tubing and installed a Com-
petition Engineering ladder-bar suspen-
sion. Scotty tweaked the suspension to
his liking and has the Viking double-
adjustable coilovers dialed in. The front
suspension features QA1 R-series
coilovers with 250-pound springs. A
rack-and-pinion was added by Laverne
Ferrovillat at 5th Avenue Race Cars in
Mobile, AL. Braking consists of Aero-
space Components front discs and
Wilwood rear discs.
Wheels & Tires: The Malibu rolls on
Weld Alumastar front runners, which
measure 15x3.5 and mount to a set of
Mickey Thompson 26x4.5-15 tires. Out
back is a set of Billet Specialties
15x12s, mounted to Mickey Thompson
315/60R15 Pro drag radials.Body/Paint: The body on Scotty’s
Malibu is mostly stock, aside from the
Glasstek 4-inch cowl induction hood.
Scotty straightened up the body and
gave it a satin-blue finish using low-
cost blue Plasti Dip.
Interior: It’s a pretty basic setup inside
the Malibu, but it serves the purpose.
Scotty says, “Aluminum interior panels
and Lexan windows are great for
weight savings, but I hate that stuff.”
He loves the fact that he can still roll
the window down on the return road to
get some fresh air during those hot
Mississippi summers. Scotty is sur-
rounded by a 12-point mild steel roll-
cage and hangs on to a Grant steering
wheel and B&M Pro Stick shifter. He’s
strapped into a Jegs racing seat, using
an RJS cam-lock harness.NOVEMBER 2019 CARCRAFT.COM 61