NOVEMBER 2019 CARCRAFT.COM 65TECH NOTES
Who: Anthony Griffin
What: 1978 Caprice Sport Coupe
Where: Renton, WA
Engine: The cornerstone of the con-
version is an ’02 vintage LM7 (5.3)
from a pickup. Anthony rebuilt it him-
self with a stock bottom-end but with
Enginetech forged flat-top pistons and
an Elgin E1839P cam (0.575-inch lift,
220-/224-degrees duration). He left
the stock rockers on the 862 heads but
upgraded the trunnions with C-clips.
The engine wears 1^5 ⁄ 8 -inch Speed Engi-
neering headers; Ryan’s Auto Detailing
in Olympia, and Northstate in Marys-
ville, Washington, built the 2-inch
exhaust with Hooker Aero Chamber
mufflers.
Induction: A ProCharger D1SCH forces
air through a 4-inch-thick CX Racing
intercooler. “I went big for room to
grow,” Anthony says. Despite a very
conservative tune to protect the stock
4L60E, Speed Factory in Tacoma got
436 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm and
486 hp at 6,300 rpm (all figures
derived at the wheels).
Transmission: The 4L60E was rebuilt
just before Anthony got it so in the
interests of economy and expediency
he left it stock. He did, however,
replace the stock converter with one
from Roadrunner. Drivelines Northwest
in Everett, Washington, shortened the
driveshaft 3 inches.
Rearend: The 350 that came in this
car made only 170 hp, so Chevrolet
probably felt justified using the 7.5 axle.
No way that would cut it with this
drivetrain, so Anthony replaced it with
an 8.5-inch 10-bolt from a ’94. It spins
a livelier 3.73 gear on an Eaton limited-
slip carrier. He replaced the shafts with
more robust Yukon pieces.
Chassis/Suspension: For sure no sur-
prises that the front remains entirely
stock, right out to the brakes. The rear
still rolls the ’94 drums, but he replacedthe arms with Hotchkis tubulars and
springs with Hotchkis coils. The red
switch on the shift column engages
the line-lock.
Wheels/Tires: A big part of the
Caprice’s sleeper status is the set of
full wheel covers. They mount on the
15x6 steel wheels that came on the
car. For the time being, Anthony pun-
ishes a set of 215/70R15 Bridgestone
EL400 touring tires, but inevitably
something wider will appear on at least
the back. Obviously, they’ll have white
stripes too. You know, sleeper.
Paint/Body: The body wears almost
every speck of 2058 Antique White.
Future body plans call for ... nothing. It’s
as good as it gets.
Interior: “The interior was almost
flawless,” Anthony brags. “She told me
‘No one really ever sat in the back seat
and I rarely had anyone in the passen-
ger seat.’” Those old Delco sound sys-
tems were OK with the dulcet strains
of easy listening, but that didn’t cut it
for Anthony. He listens to a Sony head
unit through a Rockford Fosgate 500.2
amplifier, Infinity 6.5-inch coaxial
speakers, and two Rockford Fosgate
12-inch subwoofers.