The small four cylinder has been replaced with a small block Chevy. What a surprise this would be to the poor unsuspecting person that lined up next to them (check it out below and then keep reading).
 

All this reminds me of a story: In 1999 I sold my 71 Camaro to my good friend Gary, who in-turn sold it a year or so later to Larry, the guy that I attend car shows with today. I bought that car in 1975, which was my very first car. It was in pretty rough shape back then but after working on it everyday after work for about a year, I was very proud of what I ended up with when I was finished.

In the late 70's a buddy of mine came with me to visit a mutual friend that moved to Santa Barbra, Ca. We both hadn't seen him in awhile so on a Friday evening after work we jumped in my Camaro and hit the road. We decided to take the scenic route and go down Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Now if you stay on Sunset Blvd. it passes right through Beverley Hills where the rich and famous all live. I'd only been through this area once before as a passenger a few years prior so when I told my buddy about that drive, he wanted to experience it too.

I told him about all the weirdo's hanging out on Sunset Blvd. along with all the cool homes in Beverley Hills and then the road dumps you out right at the ocean along Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). It was a really cool drive and was only slightly out of the way so... why not.

The trip that evening didn't disappoint because there were a lot of odd people hang'n out on the blvd; to which we both got a good laugh at. After a few miles the freak show was over and the next thing you know you're in Beverly Hills. Now if you haven't ever been in this area: it's two lanes in both directions, lots of curves with a few stoplights here and there, really large pieces of property with a bunch of trees lining the streets. To say this was a nice area would be a huge understatement, it's gorgeous!. Anyways, you get the picture.

The traffic wasn't heavy that day, which always makes for a nice drive and once we started seeing nice houses, we were held up by a stoplight. The reason I mention this stoplight at all is because a Datsun 'Z' car pulled up next to us with a  girl behind the wheel. She glanced our way with a smirk on her face as if to say 'see if you boys can keep up kinda look'. With both of us in the front row at the time, I didn't think much of if at first but after we got rolling things changed very quickly because once the light turned green, that Z car left like someone was chasing her. I mean damn... she was hauling ass.

Well let me tell ya, it's funny how much the male ego will put up with at certain times, but this wasn't one of those times. First: there's no-way that car should be able to out run mine and 2nd. it's a girl driving. Well there you have it, the perfect storm for getting a speeding ticket, reckless driving, speed contest or all of the above. Let the games begin!!

Now my buddy in the passenger seat has been in my car many times but even he wasn't prepared for what was about to happen next. I ended up getting tunnel vision, setting my sights on that car and drove my Camaro like someone paid me to beat her.

It only took me a few seconds before I started closing in on the other car...which was the good news. The bad news was, no matter what I did, or how fast I drove, I...couldn't...pass...her. Now remember, this is Beverly Hills that were racing through and for some reason we just kept hitting green lights. And every time I saw a sign going into a turn with the recommended speed on it, I just doubled that and did my best to make the corner.

Now I've always wondered what people might have have been thinking that were stopped at a red light watching us go by. I mean they must have thought we lost our minds because many times I saw 80 or 90 on my speedometer and I thought nothing of it at the time. On the other hand my buddy didn't say much, he just tried to find something to hold on to as we went around all those turns. BTW, there wasn't any seatbelt laws back then. And we weren't wearing any that day either (I know, pretty dumb)!

Anyways, it took me a few miles but I finally passed her doing about 80 while going around a large sweeping turn with the backend steppn' out. And once I was in front I stayed there. But why did it take me so long to pass this car? I figured the stock motor couldn't run this well because it accelerated like my car. All I knew I was in front and I was happy!!

A few more miles down the road we came to our destination so I started to slow down. As I was downshifting the girl in the Z car went by, beeped the horn and waved out the window. I waved right back but I couldn't believe what just happened. I have no idea who she was or what engine was in it, all I knew is that car ran great and that girl drove even better. 

A few years later I was with a few friends and the subject of putting a small block Chevy in a 'Z' car came up. Turns out someone was making a kit to swap out the stock engine to put a small block Chevy in. That's when it hit me because that must have been the case that day when I raced that car. It was an 'aha' moment and it made sense. I mean those 'Z' cars were fairly new back then so when I went after it, I should have passed it with no problem. I sure had fun that day but I can't say the same for my buddy riding shotgun because he was ready to get out of the car once we stopped. Good times!!