1996 Chevrolet Impala SS

Alex is a strong member out of the Bronx... A devoted member who also, like most members, has two cars. This month, we are showing you all Alex's 1996 Chevy Impala SS. Alex also owns a Grand National, and his son is also a member with a 1992 Chevy Camaro RS Convertible. Ahhh, don't you love it when the car enthusiast gene passes down to your offspring? Alex handed down the Camaro to his son as a High School Graduation gift. Some gift! Don't you wish all fathers could do that?

The year 1996 Impala SS came with the floor shifter and analog speedometer. Alex put some upgrades such as a K&N Cold Air Kit, Jet Performance Computer, 30 Ibs injectors and a 40 series Flowmaster Cat Back Exhaust system. Alex does plan on doing some more upgrades. He plans on swapping the heads, intake, throttle and possibly a mild cam. The car stock is 260 HP, but, Alex figures with the bolt on add ons, it should be around 280 to 285 HP.

Aside from Performance upgrades and future Performance upgrade plans, Alex has also changed a few non-performance upgrades. He changed the stock Bow Tie grille and made it red, added HID Headlights, LED lights in cluster and throughout the interior. Everything being done by Alex himself. He loves to drive it just as much as his Grand National and he always wanted to own the Impala SS when they came out.

You can always find Alex out and about, especially with his 10 year old daughter, Amber. Infact, Amber has all the shows marked down and loves going to Dogwood Cruise Nights on Tuesdays. She is also a VIP Member of EMC in High Standing for our Promotion and Flyers! And like her brother, we are sure Amber will get a nice ride as a High School Graduation Gift as well!

Alex is an all around great guy, with two great cars, a very giving father and a devoted man of the EMC Family. He, alongside of many of the "Bronx Boys" make it out to Long Island shows and meets every week. Now that's a car guy! To Speak to Alex today, go to our Members Section - 87gnlvr

1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass F41

Morty, Morty... Morty!! If you haven't met him, you've heard about him or seen him somewhere in his Cutlass. There is nowhere Morty won't go and no one he won't race. Morty is widely known for trying to set up a race anywhere and race anyone. And that's why we love him! Who can't love a 71 year old man who goes everywhere, drives his car hard and dares you to try and beat him? Don't sleep on his full head of white hair is all we are saying!

Morty has been in the car industry all of his life. Over 47 years in the industry actually. Started with Rambler in 1960 as an electrical and AC tech. Then Ford for a year as a tech to Chrysler as a Service Manager, General Manager in parts and service. Then Morty went to VW in 1997 as an Assistant Service Manager and then retired in July of 2010. In that time frame Morty has gone from a Chrysley man to a VW man and now an Oldsmobile man. He's raced a lot in his earlier years from midgets at age 13 to stock cars, sprint cars and even raced at Freeport Stadium and Islip Speedway. Racing is just about second nature to Morty. And if he hasn't challenged you yet, give him time... he'll get to you, eventually!

But let's get to Morty's 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass F41! Morty bought the Olds off of Carmine (another EMC member) 2 years ago. It sports a 330 motor .030 over, Isky cam, forged internals @004R overdrive transmission, Buick GN rear with 4:11 gears. Weld wheels, custom hood and recently added rear spoiler along with a custom shifter and tachometer. If you didn't know what the F41 stood for, it was a special Suspension package that Oldsmobile released on the Cutlass. Of course, this is Morty we are talking about so his only future plans is to go faster. What he is willing to do to achieve that or what he has in the works is something only Morty knows for now.

In Morty's down time he recently bought a 1982 VW Camper Westwood.... We are not surprised if we see him drag racing that thing either! Morty is a very important member at EMC, he truly lives for the car meets and drag races, a funny great guy who everyone loves and knows and is a great support system here at EMC. To speak to Morty go to our Members Section - MortyF41.

1986 Buick Grand National

JR is in love with Buick Grand Nationals. In the 90's JR's Uncle bought a 1987 Buick Grand National and it was love at first sight. JR always told himself that when he got older he would own a Buick Grand National someday. That day came in 2003 when JR bought his first GN. Unfortunately he got into an accident which lead him to the GN he has now, and makes our Car of The Month! The GN was stock with 58,000 miles on it. JR kept it that way until he got the itch to make it faster.

JR added Ported and Polished Heads with mtahching Intake, Alky Kit, 212 Cam, PTE 6262BB Turbo, PTE Front Mount Intercooler, H&R Full Rear Suspension and Bobs 2 Step. All this makes for some nice and quick upgrades, but JR didn't just care about Performance. JR put in some custom gauges along with LED interior lights, LED tailights and a set of Billet Specialties Street Lites wheels. Everything was done by JR himself and all the Tuning was done by Otto at Otto Performance. After everything was said and done, JR's GN made 600HP on the Dyno, and at EMC's Track Rental in October 2011 the car blew a head gasket 3/4's of the track. JR turned the car off once that happened and still ran a high 11. Not bad, right? JR's Grand National is nicely done, built right and has some cool upgrades that have finally come into the market for the G-Body cars. JR does plan on putting a new motor in the GN and is ready to go full on at EMC's next track rental.

JR also owns a really nice 1967 Ford Mustang that is on our site and For Sale. If your a Ford lover you should go look for it after reading this. JR is a very active Member and a great guy... Nothing he wouldn't do for any Member and makes the trips out to any Long Island meet all the way from the Bronx. A great guy that is a lot of fun and fun to have around. We at EMC are lucky to have such a loyal, caring Member. To speak to JR go to our Members Section - JR'sQUICK86

1971 Plymouth Duster 340

 

Al's Duster is an easy one to spot... Sure, the color helps, but Al's Duster is a catcher to the eyes! Dusters aren't too common like the usual Chevy and Ford's etc. around these parts... So the fact that Al's Duster is so nice, makes it just a rare combination indeed and always a treat to see out on the road or at local events. A well representation for all the Plymouth owners out there that these cars were not one to forget! And we simply love it!

Al's Plymouth isn't his first rodeo! He is Mike's father who graced us as Car of the Month with his 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass, AND, that Cutlass was once owned by Al. A family tradition of passing cars down from Father to Son, Al now has his Duster to play with. He has had the Duster for about 8 years now and in the course of that time, Al and Mike have done all the work on it except the body work. Obviously, Al and Mike are a good team because this Duster makes all of us at EMC want to have one!

The Duster sports a 904 Transmission and 390 Gears in a 8.75 Rear along with Edelbrock Heads, TTI Exhaust, B&M Shifter, B Cool Radiator and a 670 Holley Carb. Also done is a 4 wheel disc brake set-up and and a Hydro Booster Brake set-up.

Al got his Duster off of a friend of his who was going to junk the Plymouth.... I am sure after seeing what Al has done with it, his friend probably is a little jealous and re-thinks the almost sad fate he was about to put the car into. We would be! In the end, the Duster made out on top leaving Al with a sweet rare ride everyone looks at! Green never looked so cool!

Al does have a future plan with his car.... He plans on maybe doing a Fuel Injection set-up over this winter with future, future plans on possibly doing an overdrive trans way down the line. We just hope to keep seeing it around! Al is one of the original members of EMC and like his son, a great addition... If your lucky to see this car around town, take a look at it you won't be sorry. To speak to Al today, find him in our Members Section - mopar AL 71

1968 Dodge Charger R/T

 

Empire Muscle Cars likes to think of Greg as the Ultimate Dodge Charger guy.... After seeing what he has done with both of his Chargers, one can say that name definitely suits him well! Greg got this Charger back when he was 19. He saw a black 68' Hemi 4speed Charger in 1985 cruising around a hot spot in Levittown, Long Island, and just knew he had to have one. After locating an automatic and a 4speed, he felt he didn't even need to go look at the automatic. Ahhhh, love at first sight! The car was in driving condition, but somewhat rough. Importantly, it still had it's numbers matching engine, transmission and documentation (build sheet, Certicard, fendertag.) It almost overheated getting it back home, but with luck he made it. The Charger needed the old Holley water injection kit that was installed on it. At the time, Greg admits, he knew nothing about cars.... couldn't even change spark plugs at that point.
But like all bitten by the bug, Greg had work done on the car, and sadly the classic story of being ripped off by shops and individuals occurred. This made Greg want to do all the work needed on his Charger himself. And so the learning began. After driving the car around in rough condition for a few years, Greg took it off the road in 1988 and did what he considers a mini-restoration. In August of 1993 Greg was ready to attempt a paint job. After months of bodywork and block sanding, Greg painted the Basecoat/Clearcoat Silver in the back of his Father's carport.
In 2004 after years of street racing, Greg decided it was time to pull the numbers correct motor and change things up a bit. He rebuilt the engine and built a higher performance version of the 440 Magnum. It is 10.6:1 compression that runs on pump gas, and he forged the pistons, stock crank and rods, solid lifter cam, Edelbrock aluminum heads that he cleaned up the bowls and polished the ports. Greg then ran a dual plane intake manifold for a good bottom end power for the street, and a Holley HP 950 cfm carb. The Charger has 2" Hooker Super Comp and a homemade 3" exhaust with an X pipe. Greg raced the Charger at the track for 4 years and reached his goal with that setup.
In 2006 Greg replaced the original Hemi 4speed transmission with a Tremec TKO600 5 speed transmission with a Spec Stage 3+ clutch. At the same time, he upgraded the U-joints to 1350 size after grenading the originals as well as twisting the transmission yoke. Greg races the car as much as possible now and drives it whenever time allows.
Greg feels he owes all of his skills to working on autos like his '68. It has given him the confidence to attempt things he never thought he could accomplish, auto related or not. His latest challenge has been to make the necessary modifications to the Carburetor metering blocks to make them fully adjustable in all the circuits. When Greg accomplishes this, his air/fuel ratios throughout all loads and throttle positions will be exactly where he wants them to be and run very similar to Fuel Injection. Greg says he is having some success, but has much more testing/tuning sessions to go.
At this point, Greg has accomplished body repair, paint and detailing to add on his check list. Along with Mig welding, leadwork on body seams, engine building and some blueprinting, manual transmission rebuilding, general restoration.   Some things I wish to accomplish in the near future: Tig welding, Acetylene torch welding, and a rear end rebuild and setup on the Dana 60 Rear end. 

 For a guy who learned along the way, he pulled of one really sweet achievement - The outcome of his Charger. Greg certainly should take all the glory, as he did it all his own. We are very impressed with Greg's Charger as everything Greg has done has been done nicely and with precision. A first time around learning experience this Charger deserves more than just a Car of the Month spot. Let's also take the time to remember that Greg also has a 1968 Dodge Charger he is building as a Drag car. It will be a large cubic inch engine with a supercharger and a Jericho 4speed transmission that is ready to go! Greg is shooting for the mid 8's in the 1/4 mile with this side project. It's a backhalved car with a 4 link rear suspension... Oh, and yes, this too is being built at home, all by Greg!
If you love Dodge, especially the Charger you should pay attention to Greg.... A truly gifted guy doing great things with these cars we give him major credit and can't wait to keep watching everything he does. Greg is a respected member, car builder and drag racer - Speak to Greg today in our Members Section - 68Hardchargerrt.  

1976 Pontiac Trans Am

 

Joe purchased his Trans Am 15 years ago from his best friend Tony, only one month after he purchased it from the original owner in Brooklyn. The Trans Am was hurting, the body and interior were in good shape but the engine was smoking and the Transmission was slipping. And in Joe's words, "That's how it started, there is not a bolt left unturned." Over the years he has been restoring it and enjoying it at the drag strip and around town. And even though it's not the same year Pontiac - Joe's TA would make Burt Reynolds mustache blow off back in the good ol' Smokey The Bandit days!

The car currently has a 400 engine stroked to a 461. Most of the internals are from Nunzi's Automotive in Brooklyn. The heads are Edelbrock 72cc's and the machine work was done by long time friend Dave Williams of Williams Engine in Freeport. The assembly and head work was done by Joe himself. The transmission is a turbo 350 with full manual valve body built by Eric Schertz. The converter is a 4500 stall 8" by Pro-torque rear end is a 10 bolt from an 80' Trans-am with disc brakes with 3.90 gear set, posi unit & c-clip eliminators built by Joe. The intake is a prototype Northwind by Kauffman. The carb is a 950 cfm built by AED.

All the original sheet metal and most of the interior is in great condition. Joe tried to keep those parts as stock as possible. But, Joe says, "don't sleep!" His Trans Am has run in the 10's off the foot brake! And for 3700 lbs. - that's not bad!

Joe has been Drag Racing since a teen and has over 18 years experience in automotive work in a machine shop through high school and is currently building Chevy engines as well as Hot Rods and Turbo Buicks. Clearly, what Joe has learned and did over the years has paid off right into his Trans Am. Not only a serious running car, but super clean with combinations unlike any around the area.

Joe's future plans for his Trans Am is to enjoy it and preserve it. Maybe someday he may restore it back to stock, but who knows for sure. All we know is, Joe will never get rid of this car! And with his Trans Am tattooed on his arm, we believe it to be true.

A great, knowledgeable guy with a really cool Trans Am is what we think of Joe! See more pictures of Joe's ride in our News & Announcements section and talk to Joe today in our Members section - nutjob1976

1969 Chevrolet Camaro

 

Mike's super clean Camaro comes with a history like most do... But it's one Camaro that Mike never plans to part with since the day he got it. Rewind back to when Mike was 20 years old (we won't say how old he is now). Back then, Mike had a 69' Camaro that he had gotten for $500 and was three different colors with a worked small block in it. In those days, Mike constantly ran into a guy with a black 69' Camaro that he used to torment and challenge to a race any time he saw him. The guy always declined. It was clear, this guy never abused his 69' Camaro, just cruised. One day, the owner of the black 69' Camaro came to Mike wanting to sell it and Mike made sure he was the guy to get it.

When Mike got the car it had the 327 2 BBL carb and power glide all original 80k and AC. Since then Mike has done the motor. It's a 70 4 bolt mains 202/160 fuelie reproduction heads, 350 trans, nice cam Edelbrock Performer RPM, Holly 650 double pumper, Hooker super comp longtubes, Flowmaster exhaust and 342 posi out of 79 Z plus beefed up springs. The Camaro still has 93K on the clock.

Over the course of time, the Camaro was painted twice with the interior staying the same throughout the years. Mike did most of the work himself and certaintly drove it way more than it's previous owner, even through snow storms and daily driving. But if you ask Mike, his best moments was proposing to his GF in the car and then taking his first son for a ride in it in 2009. And it's with these memories that Mike plans on never selling his 69' Camaro and one day passing down the Chevy to his kids.

And with all this talk of Mike's 69' Camaro, it's not the only Camaro Mike owns. He also has a 2010 Camaro SS that he has been working on that you may also see around a lot considering Mike runs ny5thgen.com. A website dedicated to 5th Generation Camaro's that has a HUGE following and is all over the NY area.

With both Camaro's, Mike still has future plans for his 69', including a LS2 6speed tranny and full suspension. The only thing we wonder at Empire Muscle Cars is, with two hot Camaro's which one does Mike decide on driving when he looks in his driveway, a decision we are sure is a tough one.

Mike is an all around great guy with a great Camaro following and website. We love having him as a Member as he truly is a great car guy to have around and talk with. Speak with Mike today in our Members section - MUCKER15