Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - The Timber Wolf C2 Gets Fired Up

Welcome to the fourth of six total installments chronicling the assembling of our old "carny" Corvette into the ultimate C2 Vette Rod. Last month, the crew at Corvette Restoration AZ put the finishing touches on the paint and bodywork, and installed the A/C and all-new wiring harnesses. In this issue, we will install our badass 393 stroker, a brand-new Tremec 5-speed, and a twin-fan radiator setup. Before we continue with the build, here are the remaining basic elements of the Timber Wolf C2:
* Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, and Rearend Install
* Interior and Stereo Install, Wrap-Up, and Vehicle Drive Experience

Last month, the bodywork was done, and the car was finally primed and painted. As we said, we will also get into a little more detail on the engine accessories, including our new pulley system and the radiator/fan combo.

More than 25 years ago, a young Kim Ian Madsen, seeking a rebuild on a Vette engine, came through the doors of JD Machine in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. That would be the first of many car projects between them. When we asked JD Machine if they would like to participate in the engine build of the Timber Wolf C2, their answer was a definite yes. For the past 27 years, JD Machine has built stock and custom engines for all sorts of uses including circle track, street rods, off-road, race boats, and land speed racing. They also supply fully machined assemblies for those who like to do their own engine builds. As well as having a complete machine shop, they also have a Staska engine dyno in a separate test cell with the capability of over 1,500 hp.

When the plans were first laid for the drivetrain of the Timber Wolf C2, we decided to build a 393 Chevy stroker motor, primarily to produce big-block power from a well-built, old-school smallblock. We wanted to keep the install as simple as possible due to our time limitations, and since the C2 used a small-block from the factory, we knew another smallblock from the same bloodline would drop in with little effort.

To start this project, we needed a well-seasoned block that would be acceptable for a high-horse build like ours. We decided to source out one of Chevrolet's finest-a Gen-1 350 Chevy block-preferably with the last three digits in the casting number at the back of the block reading 010, which designates a high-nickel content block. When we contacted Mike Dawson, owner of JD Machine, he picked out his best block for this project from his vast inventory. All the blocks stored at JD Machine have been previously cleaned and magnetically inspected.

The block received the first of many machine operations from Don Hink, who handles all the machine work at JD Machine. The block's main bore line was bored and honed, and the cylinders were roughed in to a 4.030 bore. The block was also align bored and honed, and Eagle billet four-bolt main caps were installed. Next, the block was set up in the RMC deck squaring fixture. The RMC 12V surfacing machine was used to cut the deck down to 9.005 finished deck height. After the surfacing was completed, the block's cylinders were power honed with a series of different grit stones, with a finishing grit of No. 600.