34 CHEVY HIGH PERFORMANCE II NOVEMBER 2019
Long, Lean, Slidin’ Thing
Racing kidney beans and capped them
with skinny, sort-of-period-correct
Firestone Firehawk 225/50 tires.
Since the big car was an on-the-
ground cruiser and would only see
gasoline pumps, not dragstrip time
cards, Ben relies on a rebuilt 283 by
Leroy Ross. Ross tweaked it with a
performance intake manifold topped
by a 600-cfm carburetor and then
dropped in an HEI ignition to make
the fire. For a little flair, he installed
chromed ram’s-horn exhaust manifolds
and hooked them to a 2 1/2-inch
system that barks through Flowmaster
40-series mufflers. To enable reliable
movement, Dewayne Penn in Eldo
Springs (that’s what the locals call it)
worked the Powerglide over but didn’t
include an enhanced torque converter.Ben Bland Customs did the requisite
body corrections. Bland swung the
paint gun and covered all the steel
with Axis Prestige Black and Clear and
flat-painted the grille section. All the
trim and the bumpers got Gun Metal
Grey and then Axis flat Clear and flat
Silver. The headlamps are LED; the
taillights are modified stock. Bland
commands from a pristine, unmodified