Last August in our Corvette magazine, we covered one of the most unique dyno tunes that we had seen in a while. That particular session involved father and son team, Dave and Steve Karr of Atlanta, Georgia as they tried with much effort to fine-tune Dave’s 355 mill that was to be dropped in a ’69 Vette that Dave and his wife had brought home almost a year before.

There were a few things noteworthy that we especially liked that Dave and Steve had done with their hodgepodge small-block. For example, one of the most clever tricks that Dave had up his sleeve was when he shaved the “Weiand” logo off of his Stealth intake in order to make the manifold appear era-correct.

Also, Dave’s 355 was unique in the sense that it was a difficult motor to pinpoint, as the block’s casting number pointed toward a ’73 small-block while the factory-correct crank contained a serial number indicating a ’70 LT1. It was hard to tell exactly where from the motor originated, but it was still a respectable mill built with 2.02/1.6 Brodix heads and a Comp cam that was good for 425-30 horses.

Dyno tune sessions and first starts are always fun for the outsiders who are looking in, but very rarely enjoyable for the builders and mechanics who are trying with little success to get the engine to turn over. Such must be the case in our featured video of this big-block powered ’70 SS and the owner who is trying tirelessly to get its feet off of the ground.

Our featured Chevelle is currently built with a hydraulic roller-cammed 454 and produces 570 horses on pump gas. The fast Super Sport also features a 4-link rear with tubs, and should raise plenty of eyebrows at the Friday night or Saturday drags once it’s dialed-in.

As seen in this video, the big-block Chevelle had no exhaust manifolds and was running fuel straight from the bowls without a pump, and so it’s easy to see why it’s a work in progress. The way we see it, our featured SS has a way to go, but damn if it won’t make for a super-cool drag car once finished!