When you see "your" car for the first time, you just know it. There's a moment of connection when you identify with it followed quickly by the annoying feeling that someone else owns it. That inspirational moment is even more significant when you realize you're neither looking for a project nor are you even aware you're a hot rodder.

That's pretty much how it happened to Ray Dunham, as he strolled through the Donut Derelicts car gathering in Huntington Beach, California, early one Saturday morning about three years ago. Ray had a real appreciation for vintage style, particularly '50s-era cruisers, but it had been a while since he'd built anything. Vintage, two-toned VW Beetles had been his thing in high school until he made the pragmatic choice after graduation to fumigate the Bugs and get a reliable and user-friendly late-model daily driver. But Ray was never satisfied without something to tinker on and eventually picked up a '57 Harley-Davidson. The Panhead satisfied his urges for a while until a friend and fellow biker met an untimely end while riding. Ray's girlfriend was understandably shaken and persuaded him to sell the Harley, and he was once again left without a project.

But that Saturday morning, as Ray was walking among some of the sharpest hot rods in the area, his eyes landed on a beater '36 Ford three-window coupe, and he was awestruck. Ray had no background in vintage cars outside of his VW experience and had to ask someone what it was, but he knew he'd found "his" car. It was initially not for sale, but persistence pays, and eventually, a deal was struck and the '36 was his.

As tends to happen when purchases are made with the heart rather than the head, Ray paid too much for a car that needed a lot of work. The slammed '36 had no suspension travel and scraped the running boards on nearly every dip, rise, or turn. And everything rattled. On top of that, the car's driveability was marginal at best. The brakes were scary, and the tired, near-stock flathead could barely reach cruising speed, typically overheating when it did. It quickly became obvious that Ray had bought a project rather than a driver. He began replacing parts a few at a time, making a list of what was needed as he went, but the further he went and the longer the list got, the more he realized he was simply bandaging the problems. So eventually, he resolved to rebuild the car from scratch.

The most interesting part about this resolution was that Ray had no idea how to correctly build a '36 Ford, or any other hot rod, and he had never been involved with the culture; his slate was as blank as his car's. In retrospect, that was probably for the best. Rather than relying solely upon conventionally styled '30s rods to determine the look for his '36, Ray drew upon his VW past to create a retro but classy appearance that simply suited his style and taste.

Of course, what the eye notices most when it sees the car for the first time is the striking satin-black and gloss-red paint combo. Ray may not have been able to identify the car, but the moment he saw it, he knew it would be two-toned. A little time with a friend and a photo-editing program sealed the deal for the red/black theme. Why satin-finish black rather than gloss? Ray just felt it had more visual impact, plus it gave the '36 a little more traditional hot-rod attitude to balance the low and fender-skirted custom stance.

Since retro was the theme and style was important, nothing would do for motivation other than a well-detailed flathead. However, whatever the look, performance is always cool, so the flattie was built with vintage style outside but modern internals, including a Scat crank to bring it up to 276 ci and a Weiand supercharger to top it off. The Weiand may not be vintage, but Ray wanted the '36 to be as fun to drive as it was to look at. And with no hood, the vertical ascent of the engine made for a great visual.

For the interior, Ray wanted it to glow with a quality of material and finish like a high-end, modern street rod while retaining the feel of a '50s custom, so the interior was wrapped in pleated vinyl and dyed to match the red of the fenders. Everything else was carefully chosen to fit the vision Ray had in his head and mostly assembled in a small one-car garage by Ray and a couple of friends.

That's briefly the story of how Ray finished his dream car the first time. What you see in these photos is actually the second iteration of the '36. Ray built the car to have fun with, and shortly after it was finished, an overzealous throttle stab with a 6,100-rpm burnout ended with a massive flywheel explosion sending shrapnel through steel in all directions except, fortunately, up through the floor. Naturally, Ray was disgusted and heartbroken, but you can't give up on your dream car, so Ray grabbed a ratchet and started disassembling the car again. Eight months later, the coupe was back in one piece as you see it here.

Though he's a little more careful about how hard he pushes it now, Ray's still not afraid to drive the coupe like a real car. He routinely drives it three or more times a week and has made the 200-mile round trip to San Diego a few times, attracting attention everywhere he goes.

Admirers often debate about how to label the car, and it's been called everything from classy to bitchin' as well as hot rod, street rod, and pretty much every other classification. "People often ask me if it's a hot rod or a custom," Ray says. "And I'm not sure what to say, since I really wasn't trying for it to be either. I just built the car I wanted."

Quick Inspection: '36 Ford three-window coupe
Ray Dunham * Costa Mesa, CA

Powertrain
Engine: One of the most eye-catching parts of the car is the perfectly detailed '53 Mercury flathead. Assembled by Bob McKray Performance, the flattie uses a 351/416 bore and a 4-inch stroke from H-beam rods and a Scat crank to displace 276 ci. The Ross pistons only create 7:1 compression under those Edelbrock cylinder heads, but that's still a little more than a stock flathead and ideal for forced induction. The Weiand 142 supercharger is part of a kit offered by Roadrunner Engineering and includes the intake.

Power: Even supercharged, flatties don't make bucket-loads of power, but 235 hp at 5,000 rpm with 350 lb-ft of torque provides solid motivation for the '36, since it tips the scales at around 2,500 pounds.

Transmission: We were impressed to see a stick shift in this rod rather than the automatic found in most cruisers. A stock Chevy T5 is on the other end of that 36-inch shifter with the grinning skull, though it's now sporting a Cornhusker bellhousing and a Wilcap billet-steel flywheel.

Rearend: A stock Posi-traction axle from a '68 Camaro fit surprisingly well inside the fenders.

Chassis
Frame: No aftermarket street-rod chassis here-the stock Henry rails still lie beneath the sheetmetal.

Suspension: A Ford drop axle connects to stock spindles up front with Air Ride Technologies airbags for ride-height control. The rear utilizes custom-built leaf springs for locating the axle and rides on Air Ride airbags as well. The steering box is from a '40 Ford.

Brakes: Old- school manual drum brakes take up all corners, with the original '68 Camaro units in the rear and drums from an early Lincoln up front.

Wheels: Steelies from Wheelsmith measure 15×7 in the front and 15×8 in the rear. The wheel covers are the popular '57 Cadillac hubcaps.

Tires:
Mastercraft wide-white radials are 185-15 in the front and 195-15 in the rear.

Style
Body: There was actually a lot of work to do to the original '36 Ford three-window sheetmetal, including repairing the rear roll pan, quarter-panels, cowl vent, and fenders. The roof was given a 3-inch chop by Chris Thompson. Fenders from a '35 Ford, already in place when Ray bought the car, fit up to a custom-made '36 grille, and '41 Chevy pickup headlights replace the original pieces. The fender skirts are custom-made. After the flywheel failure, the same fenders were repaired and worked straight again.

Paint: The unique color combination is probably the part of the car that sticks with people the most. The red on the fenders and running boards is '00 Chevy Victory Red, while the satin black is a custom-mixed finish. The finish was laid by Mascar Auto Body in Costa Mesa, California.

Interior: Ray's goal was to make the interior of the car glow as much as the red paint, and Westminster Auto Upholstery in Westminster, California, did a near perfect job with the color of the retro-stitched vinyl. Little touches make all the difference. The pedals look like custom pieces but are actually chromed stockers from a '40 Ford, and the armrests are from a '56 Chevy pickup. Stewart-Warner gauges fill the dash, and Lexus carpet was dyed a custom red to match the vinyl.

Photo Gallery: 1936 Ford Coupe - The One - Hot Rod Magazine

DETROIT - Chevrolet announced the 2008 Corvette 427 Limited Edition Z06,a limited-production model that pays homage to the big-block Stingraymodels of the mid-1960s. The 427 designation refers to the cubic-inchdisplacement for the highest-performance engines offered between 1966and '69 - and is also the cubic-inch equivalent of the Z06's 7.0L LS7small-block V-8.

The 427 Limited Edition Z06 features a Crystal Red Tintcoat exterior,the first Z06 ever offered with a red metallic tintcoat paint. It alsofeatures graphics on the hood and fascia that evoke the style of thefamed "stinger" hood design and graphics that were offered with 1967models equipped with the 427 engine. Also unique to this model are "427"hood badges. Each example is numbered and signed by Wil Cooksey, theCorvette assembly plant manager who is retiring after 15 years on thejob, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

"The heritage of the 427 designation with the Corvette is legendary,"said Harlan Charles, Corvette product manager. "Recognizing the tie-inof the original 427 engine and the LS7's 427-inch displacement has beenon the Corvette team's mind since the Z06 was introduced, and we'rethrilled to express it in this special model."

Available under order code Z44, this special Z06 enters production thisspring. Only 427 will be offered in the United States and Canada, with78 more exported outside North America. That's a total of 505 productionvehicles - the same number of horsepower produced by the LS7 engine.

The special-edition Corvette carries a MSRP of $84,195 and includes the3LZ premium equipment package with a custom, leather-wrapped interior. Anavigation system is the only option ($1,750). As with other Corvettemodels, customer delivery is available at the Corvette Museum, inBowling Green, Ky.

A breakdown of the 427 Limited Edition Z06's unique content includes:

* Crystal Red Tintcoat exterior paint with stinger-style graphics and427 hood badges

* Exclusive, new chrome wheels

* Body-color rear spoiler and door handles

* Exclusive dark titanium custom leather-wrapped interior

* Special Crystal Red interior trim plate graphic pattern

* Console armrest signed and numbered by Wil Cooksey

* "427"-embroidered seats and floor mats

* "Z06" sill plates

The 427 Limited Edition Z06 joins the Indy 500 Pace Car replica -available in coupe and convertible configurations - as the secondlimited-production Corvette model introduced for 2008, givingenthusiasts and collectors a wealth of choices. In January, Chevroletalso announced the 2009 Corvette ZR1, which enters production later thissummer.

"There's never been a better time to be a Corvette enthusiast," saidCharles. "The performance and refinement are exemplary and specialeditions, like the 427 model, enrich the heritage of America's sportscar."

Corvette Z06 details

The Corvette Z06 that is the foundation for the 427 Limited Editionoffers carefully executed levels of capability and technology, making itone of the best performance values on the market.

The Z06's LS7 7.0L engine reintroduced the 427-cubic-inch engine to theCorvette lineup. It uses racing-derived lightweight technology,including titanium connecting rods and intake valves, to help boosthorsepower and rpm capability - it is rated at 505 horsepower (377 kW).*The only transmission offered with the Z06 is a six-speed manual.

In the car's 3,162-pound (1,437 kg) package, the LS7 engine helpsdeliver 0-60 mph performance of 3.7 seconds in first gear, quarter-miletimes of 11.7 seconds at 125 mph and a top speed of 198 mph (as recordedon Germany's Autobahn) - the Z06 also circuited Germany's famedNuerburgring racetrack in a time of 7:43.

The Z06 has a unique aluminum body structure for optimum stiffness andlight weight for the fixed-roof body style. Perimeter rails areone-piece hydroformed aluminum members featuring cast suspension nodes,which replace many welded steel components on other Corvette models.Advanced structural composites featuring carbon fiber are bonded to thealuminum structure. Wider front wheelhouses, for example, are carboncomposites and the passenger compartment floors combine carbon-fiberskins with an ultra-lightweight balsa wood core.

A firm, race-proven suspension works harmoniously with large 18 x9.5-inch cast-spun aluminum wheels and 275/35ZR18 tires in the front,and 19 x 12-inch cast-spun aluminum wheels with 325/30ZR19 tires in therear to achieve lateral acceleration of more than 1 g. Complementing thesuspension system and large rolling stock is an equally capablefour-wheel disc brake system, consisting of 14-inch (355 mm) vented andcross-drilled front rotors and 13.4-inch (340 mm) vented andcross-drilled rear rotors.

The front rotors are acted upon by large, red-painted six-pistoncalipers that use six individual brake pads. Individual brake pads areused because they deliver more equalized wear compared to what wouldotherwise be a pair of very long single-piece pads. For the rear brakes,four-piston calipers with four individual brake pads are used. A Delphifour-channel ABS system is standard, as is a very competent activehandling system - complete with a Competitive Driving mode.

History of the Corvette and the 427 engine

The Chevrolet Mark IV V-8 debuted in the Corvette in 1965 and was dubbedthe big-block, because it was physically larger in all respects thanChevy's other V-8 engine, which became known as the small-block. In '65,the big-block was offered in a 396-cubic-inch displacement, with amaximum rating of 425 gross horsepower (317 kW). In 1966, the big-blockreceived larger cylinder bores and grew to its legendary 427-cubic-inchform. It came in two power levels: 390 hp (291 kW) and 425 hp.

By 1967, the Corvette's 427 engine was a legend in its own time and wasoffered with a unique induction system that featured an inline trio oftwo-barrel carburetors. Known as the "L71" (its order code), it wascharacterized by a large, chrome triangular air cleaner assembly. It wasrated at 435 gross horsepower (324 kW). The '67 big-block Corvettes wereeasily distinguished from their small-block brethren by a raised"stinger" hood.

A handful of Corvettes with the "L88"-code 427 engine slipped out of thefactory in 1967, each rated at 430 horsepower (321 kW), but the L88would be more closely associated with the redesigned 1968 and '69models. The L88 breathed through a single four-barrel carburetor ratherthan the L71's three two-barrels. The triple-carburetor induction systemwas still available, however, as the Corvette was offered with both theL88 and L71 versions of the 427.

No less than six versions of the engine were offered in 1969, the finalyear for the 427. They included the L88, the L71 and a very rare ZL1 427that was built with a lightweight aluminum cylinder block. Only tworegular-production Corvettes were built with the ZL1 engine, puttingthem on the short list of the most collectible Corvettes in history.

The big-block increased in size to 454 cubic inches in 1970, and theoriginal big-block engine family exited the Corvette lineup after the1974 model year. The 2008 Corvette Z06's LS7 engine offers big-blockdisplacement and horsepower, but in a more efficient small-blockarchitecture.

*SAE certified.

Photo Gallery: Chevy's 2008 427 Limited Edition Z06 Slautes Big-Block Corvettes - Corvette Fever Magazine