garrell.770

All cams start off as a length of steel and they are ground to whatever the profile of the camshaft is and sold through speed shops etc. but the performance shop I mentioned has the equipment to grind cams, camshafts, in their shop of their own design based on the requirements. To put it simpler they take a stick of metal and grind away everthing that doesn't look like a camshaft!

This is a little different than the thread you reffered me to is asking how many original owners of SSS there are if I am interpreting it correctly and I have noticed post where someone just bought a used one recently and I just wondered about what the total was including 2nd and 3rd owners.

I am going to date myself but I bought a new red 69 Z28, then a lot of SS Impalas, 409 and 427, and Corvettes then I special ordered a red 93 Z28 probably the last special order Chevy you could get. Thats a beautiful ride you have probably what 13.8 in 1/4 mile and 25 mpg. Bring it to GA,and have Chris at Hunters Performance Solutions install one of their custom ground cams and put a tuneup in it and if are realy wanting to live it up let them install one of their Turbo chargers that they build in house. Enjoy it and be careful.

If this hasn't been done lately or ever I was just wondering just how many actual SS Silverado owners are members of the forum and what year model and colors are out there. One, black 2003 with 48,000 miles and is like new

Two mile airport runways, HotRod Magazine covered the April meet in Ohio.

Whew!

The loop is a requirement at 135 mph up so I was about to install one, I thought you ment that some of the SSS driveshafts had come apart.

Is that a chronic problem I have never been told that because I plan on an intake change and electric fans and better wind with hopes of 137 mph and probably three or four runs over a weekend to run my class and then move up in class with the possibility of two more landspeed records? Garrell

A deep front chin spoiler that would mount up behind the back of the front bumper could add 1/2 to 1 mph, it would have to be something available as an option on a SS or just a Silverado in case someone questioned it. Lowering the truck 2or 3" in the front would make a big change. When you have made all of the big changes you are allowed then you have to start with every litle change you can and they add up. I run in C/PP or C for the engine desgnation and PP for production pickup. I first ran in Maxton, NC. ON THE Maxton Mile and the first run I made was around 121.6 mph and that was with a cai and a Maxenergy programmer. Before the weekend was over I had folded the mirrors back and put 48 lbs. of air in each tire and ran 125,76 mph. It was 42 degrees at Ohio with a sustained wind of 25 mph and gust of 33 mph and damp as well, my guys had been exposed to the elements from about 6:00 am and I told them we would do the best we could without the air in the tires. I truly believe that if the wind had not been blowing the way it was or if we had a little tail wind and the air in the tires with an air dam or spoiler I could have ran 137 mph. I think at Bonneville where you have a running start and you have 4 miles to get up to speed and with the last modifications I had performed and you had a programmer to alow the 4l60 to shift into overdrive maybe 150 mph in a 5800 lb. loaded aerodynamic brick, not bad?

Has anyone got experience powder coating the stock grey SS 20" rims and leave the small aluminum section with the bowtie as is. If so did they turn out good with a good finish and hold up. It would be a real aggravation to carry to the tire shop and have the wheels taken off then broken down and the wheels taken to the powder coater then the tire shop wouldn't want the truck there ever how long?

These trucks even though heavy do an excellant job at landspeed racing and if not for the wind would have ran over 135 mph in a standing mile with no headers, cam change, stock heads and intake. I was not tacked out at 133.869 mph if I had been running 1 1/2 miles with a god wind maybe 137 mph, at Bonneville with an intake change, electric fans and headers 140 mph? Garrell Paterson

A little over a year ago I was still in a wheelchair after having a serious heart attack followed within a month by three strokes. I could not sit up care for myself in anyway. I didn't know my Wife, two Daughters, five Grandchildren or anyone. I hardly ever spoke or showed any interest in anything. My Doctors told my Wife I would never get any better but when I started coming out of the stroke fog I was rolled out to a building up to the left of our home and in it was the most beautiful cars and trucks I had ever seen! There was a huge stack of magazines that had stacked up over the two years I didn't look at them, one was an issue of HotRod Magazine that had an article about the East Coast Timing Assoc. and landspeed racing on the Maxton Mile in NC. I didn't tell anyway that on that Feb. day I vowed I would make a run down that mile in the OCT. meet that year. Long story short I started taking driving lessons in the high school parking lot. I parked the wheelchair and was doing two hours of crazy twisting,turning, bending and leg lift exercizes that I made up myself. By July I parked the walker and started using my hotrod walking stick which I will have for life because of my Parkinson's Desease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. I had decided to run my SS Silverado truck instead of my Corvette or one of the other cars because of the safety requirements that would have to be performed. I had a couple of performance modifications done to my truck that I read about in a magazine and in research on the internet. I decided to go to the Sept. meet instead of the Oct, one in case the Oct. meet was to be weathered out. My Sisters husband who is also a gearhead went with me to help me do things I had a problems with and do most of the travel driving. My Wife is okay with me driving over 120 mph but doesn't like me drivimg on interstates. I went yo Maxton to just make a few wide open throttle passes but I was assigned to the C/PP, production pickup class. on my first three passes on Sat. I was hooked and I ran around 123.5 to 125.6 mph. At the registration trailer I was told that I was off the one mile landspeed record by less than one mph. but I couldn't do anything about it. Three weeks later my 15 yr. old Grandson said at the Sunday lunch table in front of my Wife "Paw Paw why don't you go back to that old Maxton Mile next week and set that record, football season will be over and I can go with you" After the families left my Wife asked if there was not something else I could do to my truck where i could break the record. The wheels in my head started turning. A week later my Grandson, Brother in law and myself were at the last ever Maxton Mile landspeed event. There was a fifteen mph headwind all day Sat. and I was slower than I was the month before. I knew that early Sun. morning the wind would probably die down and it was going to be in the low twenties temp wise. We were at the track at 6:30 am and I was waved off a litle after 8:00. I knew by my tach when I went through the traps that I was faster than in Sept. when I picked up my speed slip I was very satisfied to see a speed of 126.999 mph. I stopped at the registration trailer and turned my ticket in and was verified that I had indeed set a new LSR. Last month at the first ever Ohio Mile I was the first participate down the track and with a 25 mph sustained wiind hiting me in the drivers side front fender and door I ran 132.267 to set the C/PP record and later in the day I ran, still with the wind, 133.869 to set the B/PP record. Not bad for a 5800 lb. truck with me in it with the stock heads, intake, cam, exhaust manifolds etc. Needless to say I feel very blessed to have accomplished my goals and now I find myself thinking of what modifications I can perform to run over 135mph next April. Garrell Patterson

03 black with 48,xxx miles, drove it a lot early years but a little over three years ago I had a massive heart attack followed within a month by three strokes. My truck probably wasn't driven more than 200 miles in over two years. I was in a wheelchair, couldn't sit up, walk or care for myself in any way. I also didn't know who my Wife, or two daughters or five grandchildren were. Family members borrowed my truck to haul fencing materials, refrigerators etc. which I had never done. I bought the truck strictly because it was a performance truck and because of it's looks and it complimented my black Corvette. Doctors told my Wife I would never get any better. I set a landspeed record last Oct. on the Maxton Mile in N.C. and four weeks ago I set two landspeed records on the Ohio Mile and ran a best speed of 133.869 as a production truck. It stays in the shop always and there is a tonno cover latched down with ratcheting web straps and no more appliances will be haued on it. I have it detailed twice a year and it looks brand new. Will probably go after two more records either next Oct. or next April with a goal of running 135 to 137 wind allowing. The wind gets really nasty at the airport in Wilmington, Ohio. Garrell

Try to find some club or group to organize and sanction and event. Safety rules and insurance is probably mandatory for an airport to even consider such a proposal. These old trucks are a ball as they continue to pickup speed all the way down the track. With the modifications I have done which are not invasive at all I crossed the speed traps about 400 rpms less than maxed out. If the length of the track was 1 1/2 miles in lieu of 1 mile I am sure I would have ran 135 to 137 mph. If the event was at 2 miles and the 4l60e was programmed to shift into overdrive I really think 140+ mph and it drives as easy as 60 mph on the interstate.

Driving from Wilmington, Ohio to 50 miles west of Atlanta three weeks where I landspeed raced my 03 SS Silverado with a 4:10 rear gear, three people, luggage, tools etc. om board I got 16.4 from a fill up to fillup on the interstate averaging around 75 mph. The truck has lots of modifications that must have helped the mileage. Garrell

I went back and looked again and I am not sure exactly you are describing. At the angle the pictures are taken it looks like the bumper is broken and part of it is hanging down but that is the hideous factory hitch sticking out . Garrell Patterson

My friend runs a hotrod shop and does complete builds of street rods and nusclecars, he also installs almost constantly vintage air and electric fans. I have seen him install on numerous occassions a double fan built into it;s own shrould. He wires the fans up to a t-stat sensor to come on at whatever temp desired and also puts them on a switch under the dash or someshere not so obvious. I have the single fan pushing or pulling 2400 cfm/ on my hotrod 37 Chevy truck and I just keep my switch on where when the ignition switch is turned on and the engine cranked the fan is automaticly on. I am going to do something similar to my SS Silverado race truck as well as an electric water pump to free up a few hp and both will be more efficient than the originals. Garrell

I went back and looked at the pics again and now I see what you are talking about then I checked the truck over throughly and everything appears to be aliighined. It looks like it is happening as you rolll out of the accelarator and unload the chassi! I don't know what it is except about the time thoses pictures were taken you begin to wish the track was five miles long and you could keep going on and on. Garrell

The front of my truck is actualy lower than the rear and it has never been bumped or hit. Keep in mind these pics are at the end of the run going through the traps and there was also a 25 mph quartering wind which possibly cause what you are seeing. Some of the brave/crazy fools on motorcycles said that the wind was geting under their farings causing the front of the bikes to lift and then they had to temporarily lift. Lot of them were 200 to 230 mph. I truly believe I could have run 135 to 137 mph with a run without the wind and I was never tacked out in third gear on any run, I was also hitting the rev limiter hard on the 1st to 2nd gear shift and the tuner doesn't know why but I lost rpms and I started to lift the accelorator a litle to avoid breaking something.

Did you see the bubble under the tonno cover.Other than the constant winds it was a great facility with the track as smooth as glass and there was probably over a thousand locals turned out to watch with the wind chill probably in the 20's and a litle rain off and on. Everyone involved with the event filled all of the motels/hotels in the area and the restaurants were full of us.

Sorry, make that www.dwphotosonline.com then click onto motorsports photography then scroll down to the current events and click on to the Ohio Mile.

I had already checked those pictures out and my truck is not include, the event photographer got some good pics of vehicles going through the traps at top speed and does have them in the order they ran with my truck first: www.photosonline.com click onto the motorsports site then scroll down the list of events and click on to the Ohio Mile. I have one inch webbing tie down straps at each corner of the tono. They loop over the tono cover latchs at six points and go through the loops in the truck bed floor and ratched down tight but check out the cover at about a foot behind the drivers side, there is a big bulge or bubble in the cover where evidently air was getting under it. You can look at it now and it tight with no streched area at all.

I can't find the rest of my story that I lost so I will post the continuation now and speed up through the early part: Doctors told my Wife I would never recover and wanted to bring Hospice in, around here Hospice is likened to the vultures circling, she refused and told the Doctors that when I got better I would not like that had happened. When I did come out of the fog the toughest part was that I did not remember such a devoted and loving Wife nor my two grown Daughters and when I had to study and name over and over the names of my five Grandchildren to remember who they were I would get very immontional. After I was more aware of my surroundings I started reading everything I could find and my wife ordered volumes of books. I read a story in HotRod Magaine about landspeed racing and the Maxton Mile that was sanctioned by the East Coast Timing Asoc. and there was a meet coming up in Sept. of 2011 and then the last ever Maxton met in Oct. after 16 yrs. I made my mind up then I would run in that Sept. met just for time and do the best I could. I ordered a rule book and determined that to run my 03 SS Silverado in production pickup would be the most logical decision for two run my 98 Corvette would require butchering it up with a lot of safty equipment involved. I got out of the wheelchair a year ago last Dec. after doing excruciating therapy exercizes I made up for myself for two hours every morning around 2am. I used a walker until last July I think and I now use my custom walking stick which I will have forever due to Parkinson's desease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. During this time I was planning what I could do to my truck within the rules and ordering parts. I had become reaquainted with an old friend who operates his own HotRod shop. We installed a cold air system, reprogrammed the computer with a handheld programmer and changed al of the belts, hoses and changed the oil. Come Sept. my Brother in law who is my crew chief and myself were off. I made five runs I think experimenting coming off the line at different rpms and I ran a best of 125.6 mph then I was told that I was only one mph from breaking a five year old LS one mile record. On the way home we discussed what I could do to my truck if we were going back the next month, the clincher was when my 15 yr. old Grandson asked if I would go back because football practise would be over. I started thinking what I could do to pickup maybe two mph to be safe. We got the programmer out and raised the shift points to 5800 rpms and raised the rev limiter to 6200 rpms. A 15 mph headwind blowed allday Sat. and speeds were off two to seven mph. I thought early on Sun. am the wind might die down so we got there early and was the 12th vehicle waved off with still about a 8 mph headwind but I came off the line hard almost standing up in the seat pushing on the go pedal, my speedslip read 127.999 mph and I and my crew and my SS Silverado held a landspeed record! The ECTA had signed a lease to hold meets at the Wilmington Ohio Airpark which I knew I would go there, then I started making plans to run at the inaugural Ohio Mile this past April. I set a goal for myself to run over 130 mph so I started researching what I could do to my truck and stay in the production pickup class which after checking references led me to Chris at Hunters Performance Solutions. First we installed 1:8 to 1 full roller rcckers with be hive valve springs and then heavy wall 3/8" pushrods just as a preventative measure, CNC ported the throttle body, installed remote controll cutouts dumping out in front of the mufflers and tailpipes. Then everything was topped off with a dyno tuneup for a + 60 additional hp. When we arrived in Wilmington the temp was in the 40's with high winds and an 80% chance of rain on SAt. I was so afraid of six months of planning going down the drain without a run. We decided to get to the airport an hour before the gate was opened at 6am hoping to be in the top ten called over from the prestaged lanes to the staging lanes. There were many purpose built vehicles that would have to be cranked and pushed to the lines. Shortly after we got there cars, trucks and motorcycles started lining up behind us for a mile down the return road. When they called the first ten entrants over to the staging lanes they waved me to the starting line first. The starting line crew started checking my tires, belts helmut strap and the chief starter said" now aren't you the lucky dog, there are 25 mph constant cross winds with gust of 34 mph so don't you f.... up and spoil my show and hold it up while we pick you up. Finally after camera flashes stopped going off including HotRod Magazine according to my crew guys ( that doesn't mean they will use it in the magazine) the starter stood in front of me and pointed his finger, meanwhile I brakeheld the engine to 1500 rpms and was waved off. About 100 ft. off the line a gust of wind pushed me to the cones on the passenger side and I gradually pulled the truck back to the center of the track but having to constantly make steering corrections. I was worried that all of the moving around would scrub off speed and this might be my only run and I would not meet my goal. When I went down the return road to the time slip booth I could not help but hold my breath but when the lady opened the door and handed me my speed slip and I saw 132.027 and I knew if it started raining then I would have accomplished what I had come for. When I got to the registration office my two guys were waiting there, they had heard my speed on the p.a. system. At registration I paid my fee and I moved up one class hoping I could get another run in. When I got in line the rains came but after a two hour rain delay and a three hour wait in line I was at the starting line again but this time to gain a few more rpms down the track I brakeheld the truck to 2400 rpms. The wind was almost as bad and I pulled the whel a litle to the left of the center of the track. When I went through the timming traps I knew it had been a good run and when I picked up my speed slip it showed 133.869 not bad in a truck that weighed around 5800 lbs. with me in it and a wicked wind blowiing. I found out the next day that I had also set two more landspeed records. Not bad for a guy that was never supposed to be anything but a vegetable? I said that would be my last trip and I would just dragrace close to home but I wonder what an intake change would do for my top speed? Garrell Patterson

I typed for another hour to share my story and everything seemed to work great and I onto post and I looked over the balance of my story if it is not somewhere else I will complete it again, it really is an inspiration and a tribute to the SS Silverados. Garrell

I wasn't sure where to start this thread but I want to tell you about something that I am very proud of and feel such a sense of accomplishment for: Almost three years ago I suffered a very serious heart attack and had complications. My family says I never spoke except to say yes or no sometimes to a question, I could not walk and was in a wheelchair and could not care for myself. One morning I had ben rolled up to the breakfast table when I aked my Wife if she was married, at first she though I was joking around but when she realized I was serious she.... took me to my Neurologist and after testing he informed my family that I had suffered three strokes! I had total memory loss but after aboutsix months I came out of the fog and was aware of the world around me but I never regained my memory. One day I picked up a HotRod magazine from a stack that had accumilated and wound up reading it cover to cover including adds. There was an article about landspeed racing under the sanction of the East Coast Timing Asoc. at the Maxton Mile on a WW11 runway in Maxton,