To those of you reading this who have never been to the SEMA show, I’ll bet it is probably one of the items on your bucket list. Let’s face it, when it comes to having all-things automotive in one place, the SEMA show is hard to top. If you’ve never been to the week-long automotive extravaganza, you might think it is simply a huge car show with a party-like atmosphere. I won’t say that isn’t true. But it is Vegas, and I’m not talking about it. With everybody and their brother flooding social media with all of the cool happenings that occur, it’s easy to get excited.
In actuality, the real reason for the week-long automotive overload is for parts manufacturers to show the latest and greatest the company has to offer, and to generate interest in those parts and products. The SEMA show even has an entire area dedicated to all of the new products, and it’s cool to check out what’s on the way to enthusiasts.
The list of new products that get unveiled at the SEMA show each year is astounding, and covers all makes and models of cars and trucks. It wouldn’t be prudent – or even worthwhile – to show you guys all of the new products from this year, but I wanted to give you a chance to see the items that I feel will be great for the Chevrolet enthusiast. So, sit back, grab a cold one, and get ready to create your Christmas wish-list from the items presented.
Electronic Fuel Squirting
Fuel injection has definitely taken the automotive hobby by storm, and Edelbrock released a new, port-injected version that many will surely want. The price of EFI kits has been drastically adjusting to the market, and Edelbrock’s Pro-Flow 4 is a definite contender for an affordable EFI unit.
At $1,795.00 for the small-block Chevy and many other popular options, it really is a great value. The kit comes with the manifold, fuel rails, injectors, distributor, gaskets, hardware, oxygen sensors, engine control unit, and what Edelbrock calls an E-tuner (a tablet-style tuner that allows you to go into the settings and play with the air-fuel ratio, among other things). It does not come with an EFI-rated fuel supply, but Edelbrock offers a few different options for that as well.
The Pro-Flo 4 system also gives you nearly complete control of your engine when using the Advanced Tuning features of the E-tuner. These features give you the ability to easily adjust your ignition curve specifically for your engine setup, eliminating the hassle, complexity, and limitations of the standard distributor-advance mechanism. This type of control will result in a smoother idle, faster acceleration, better peak power, improved fuel economy, and the ability to control detonation. All that control is available with the touch of your finger.
If EFI is on your radar, but you have been worried about purchasing parts that don’t work together, or the difficult task of having to tune the system yourself, check out Edelbrock’s new Pro Flo 4 EFI conversion system here.
Controlled Adjustability
The SPC Performance adjustable control arms really are something that every classic Chevy needs. The arms are sold in pairs, and feature fully rebuildable ball joints with either stock length or 1/2-inch taller-than-stock studs to improve the camber curve. If you add a little extra caster via the adjustable links, you have a true, modern-feeling suspension. What’s more, the ball joints are fully greaseable and rebuildable.
If you’re looking to add more caster to your hot rod, these arms will allow for 6 degrees of change. The adjustability of the turnbuckles eliminate the need for alignment shims, and that creates a more infinitely adjustable front suspension geometry. The control arms come with either a Delrin, rubber, or polyurethane bushings, so you can tailor your ride.
For more information about these and other SPC Performance products, you check out the SPC website.
Trimmed-Down Cooling
Space in your engine bay, especially in front of the engine, is limited. Sometimes, it’s so limited that fitting a decent cooling system can be a challenge. The folks at ProForm might have solved that problem for a lot of enthusiasts.
When we spoke with Booth Platt from Proform, he had this to say about the new line of integrated-fan radiators, “We’ve totally re-thought how radiator systems should be done. A big breakthrough that we did was, we punched a hole through the core of the radiator and put the motor inside the core.”
By placing the fan motor inside the radiator core, it accomplishes a few things. First and foremost, it reduces the amount of space being taken up by the cooling system. The system pictured above, for example, is 4 1/2 inches thick – which includes the fan shroud, fan, regulator, and of course, the radiator. The system even integrates a fan controller and temperature sensor into the face of the fan shroud.
If you’d like to find out more about all of Proform’s new parts, check out proformparts.com.
Super Steering Achieved
The classic hot rods we all drive have been around long enough that parts are wearing out. Sometimes, replacements can be hard to find. One such item used to be a quality steering box. Thanks to Borgeson, that has all changed.
Borgeson just released a new steering box for the ’67 through ’92 Camaro, ’64 through ’77 Chevelle, ’68 to ’74 Nova, and ’78 through ’87 GM G-bodies. The new Borgeson Street/Performance Power-Steering Box has a 12.7:1 ratio, which is much quicker than the stock box. It’s a direct bolt-in application that fits the original power-steering pitman arm.
According to Jeff Grantmeyer of Borgeson, “The box is a true bolt-on for Chevelles, Novas, first-, second- and third-gen Camaros, and even later G-bodies. They’re made to use the original flare lines, or O-ring lines, and we include fittings for whichever you need. The only real modification would be for customers with pre-’77 vehicles, who will need to switch out their rag joint.”
If you’d like to know more about these power-steering boxes, and everything else Borgeson has coming out, head over to Borgeson.com.
Rust Eradicator
It doesn’t matter whether your classic of choice is a Chevy, Ford, or Mopar, one thing we all have in common is, we have to deal with rust. It’s something that can be dealt with in many ways, and the folks at POR-15 have been helping enthusiasts do away with it for decades.
At this year’s SEMA show, the company introduced a new product that eclipses the previous offerings of rust neutralization. “There are other rust removers on the market, but our’s tends to work faster and is a little more thorough,” says Rob Josephson. “It’s great for getting oxidized rust off of parts. Whether it be small nuts and bolts or tools, or if your vat is big enough, you can even dip in bigger parts.”
The new formulation from POR-15 is water-based, so it’s safe for the environment. The Rust Remover works in as little as 20 minutes for light rust, or you can let parts sit overnight if it’s heavily rusted metal. According to company literature, one gallon will de-rust several hundred pounds of heavily rusted steel. To break it down, that equates to around 1/2- to 3/4-pounds of dry rust removed per gallon.
All of the rusted areas must be submerged in the Rust Remover for it to work. When all of the rust has been removed, rinse the metal pieces with water, and then treat with a rust preventative. POR-15 Rust Remover works in as little as 20 minutes for light rust, or overnight for heavy rusted metal.
For more information on POR-15’s Rust Dissolving Solution, visit them online at www.por15.com.