I don't think there are many of the regulars left who used to hang out here back in the late 1990's.... Ken obviously, and a few others. It was pretty much the "home" for many members of Mid-Atlantic F-Body Association..... I think there were close to 300 members at the peak. MAFBA seems to have disappeared, and not many of the regulars are still here.
Anyway, one of the regulars who posted here was a guy named George Baxter, who had one of the very few M6 30th Anniversary SS convertibles. We all watched as he took the car from a bolt-on stocker to what was for almost 2 years one of the quickest LT1 cars that anyone knew about. It culminated with a 9.04@155mph pass in November 2001. Sad thing was, that pass was only an "easy" pass, right off the trailer, trying to set up the suspension for a serious pass..... no doubt in my mind the car would have gone deep in the 8.9's..... but that's woulda, shoulda, coulda, and that doesn't count. The S/C decided to shed a few blade tips and that was the end of the season. That record stood until late last year when Chris Sikora ran a 8.9X with his LT1.
The old setup was an LT1 4-bolt block, highly modified Canfield LT4 heads, Hooker LT's and a very large Xx-trim Vortech S/C. Power was routed through an Art Carr TH400 and a Moser 9-inch rear. Suspension was "stock style".... just replacing the stock parts with the same beefed up parts that you or I might put on our cars. The engine made 1,125HP on the engine dyno.
The 30th SS was amazing, because from the outside, and on the interior, it looked almost stock. The only compromises on the outside were a parachute on the back bumper (required by NHRA) and a partially-hidden switch for the master battery cutoff. ALthough he ran a Mufflex 4" exhaust, he kept the twin tips from his SLP "2OTL" exhaust welded on it. Interior-wise, until the very end, it still ran the full leather interior. Only the NHRA certified roll cage, a 5" monster tach and a lot of extra switches tucked away in the dash and console were departures from stock. As a result, the car ran at a 3,900# race weight.
George has spent the last 2 years rebuilding the 30th SS convertible, and its about 3 weeks away from its first track pass. Last Saturday, we took it up to Steve Spohn's new shop in Lebanon, PA for some tweeks to the "stock style" suspension. As soon as Steve is done, the car goes to a body shop to have the "can-opener" work to the rear wheel openings (29.5" ET Drags) repaired, and then to the track for the initial passes. Then the car should be ready for the PRO/Edelbrock Xtreme Street class, at the Atco NJ event in May. In order to be competetive in that class, you need to be able to run 8.4's. He also plans to take it to the "North vs. South" shoot-out in Indy in June. Hopefully I will be going along as part of the "crew".
In its current configuration - Dart Iron Eagle SBC 1 block, Brodix 23deg heads (limited by class rules), even bigger Vortech blower, upgraded TH400 and lightened 9-inch - the car should be competive in the Xtreme Street class. It is unfortunately less "stock" looking, because of the extended spoiler that was judged to be necessary to keep the car reasonably stable at 165+MPH trap speeds. But other than that, and the subtle body work to the wheel openings, its still suprisingly "stock".
The sound of the engine is absolutely amazing.... it rumbles. Chassis dyno numbers at this point are "over 1,000rwHP".... can't be any more specific.
I have a few photos of things as they stand now that you might be interested in.....
Rolling it out to load it on the trailer for the trip to Spohn:
At Steve's shop... left to right George, Steve Spohn, Gordon Spohn, Cliff Briggs (crew):
We need to clean up the rust a bit....
The interior needs some work.... I've cut the "fill-in" plates for the dash.... and we need to do a little more to clean it up.... it's been in the shop for 2 years......
Anyway, one of the regulars who posted here was a guy named George Baxter, who had one of the very few M6 30th Anniversary SS convertibles. We all watched as he took the car from a bolt-on stocker to what was for almost 2 years one of the quickest LT1 cars that anyone knew about. It culminated with a 9.04@155mph pass in November 2001. Sad thing was, that pass was only an "easy" pass, right off the trailer, trying to set up the suspension for a serious pass..... no doubt in my mind the car would have gone deep in the 8.9's..... but that's woulda, shoulda, coulda, and that doesn't count. The S/C decided to shed a few blade tips and that was the end of the season. That record stood until late last year when Chris Sikora ran a 8.9X with his LT1.
The old setup was an LT1 4-bolt block, highly modified Canfield LT4 heads, Hooker LT's and a very large Xx-trim Vortech S/C. Power was routed through an Art Carr TH400 and a Moser 9-inch rear. Suspension was "stock style".... just replacing the stock parts with the same beefed up parts that you or I might put on our cars. The engine made 1,125HP on the engine dyno.
The 30th SS was amazing, because from the outside, and on the interior, it looked almost stock. The only compromises on the outside were a parachute on the back bumper (required by NHRA) and a partially-hidden switch for the master battery cutoff. ALthough he ran a Mufflex 4" exhaust, he kept the twin tips from his SLP "2OTL" exhaust welded on it. Interior-wise, until the very end, it still ran the full leather interior. Only the NHRA certified roll cage, a 5" monster tach and a lot of extra switches tucked away in the dash and console were departures from stock. As a result, the car ran at a 3,900# race weight.
George has spent the last 2 years rebuilding the 30th SS convertible, and its about 3 weeks away from its first track pass. Last Saturday, we took it up to Steve Spohn's new shop in Lebanon, PA for some tweeks to the "stock style" suspension. As soon as Steve is done, the car goes to a body shop to have the "can-opener" work to the rear wheel openings (29.5" ET Drags) repaired, and then to the track for the initial passes. Then the car should be ready for the PRO/Edelbrock Xtreme Street class, at the Atco NJ event in May. In order to be competetive in that class, you need to be able to run 8.4's. He also plans to take it to the "North vs. South" shoot-out in Indy in June. Hopefully I will be going along as part of the "crew".
In its current configuration - Dart Iron Eagle SBC 1 block, Brodix 23deg heads (limited by class rules), even bigger Vortech blower, upgraded TH400 and lightened 9-inch - the car should be competive in the Xtreme Street class. It is unfortunately less "stock" looking, because of the extended spoiler that was judged to be necessary to keep the car reasonably stable at 165+MPH trap speeds. But other than that, and the subtle body work to the wheel openings, its still suprisingly "stock".
The sound of the engine is absolutely amazing.... it rumbles. Chassis dyno numbers at this point are "over 1,000rwHP".... can't be any more specific.
I have a few photos of things as they stand now that you might be interested in.....
Rolling it out to load it on the trailer for the trip to Spohn:
At Steve's shop... left to right George, Steve Spohn, Gordon Spohn, Cliff Briggs (crew):
We need to clean up the rust a bit....
The interior needs some work.... I've cut the "fill-in" plates for the dash.... and we need to do a little more to clean it up.... it's been in the shop for 2 years......
But seriously that is an impressive machine. at 165 mph is the covertible top going to hold up?
Besides being a vert of course. 
to see what George was doing to his car...I've always considered it the "top LT1"...ever. Well, he doesn't have the LT1 anymore, but I still can't wait to see what he'll run. 
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