Old 427 L88 swap into a Chevy II by Frank Robson?

I'm looking for any leads on people who might recall a fellow named Frank Robson (sp?) out of the Mayfair section of Philadelphia around 1968. I'm told the fellow had done some BBC swaps and even had some print in Hot Rod or Popular Hot Rodding or similar magazine in 1969. Prior to Hooker comming out with their BBC fenderwell headers, this guy was making them.

I have tried to search the net and this site alreay, but have come up short. I'm hoping someone recalls the guy or his shop and can shed some light on a car I'm chasing down details on.

I'm thinking my best shot are some NE Philly street racers who may recall the name.

Just thowing up a pic to get some extra clicks

 

All I can say is, if that deuce pictured is packin' an L88, that's one helluva sleeper right there!! (Sorry no help to offer otherwise)

 

You know it.....

 

Yes, that car has been a real sleeper most of its life (since 1971) and pretty much looks the same today, though I don't know how it looked in the magazine.

I'm hopeful some may have a BBC and/or Nova articel with it in it. As of right now, I am not clear if it was a tech article on hw to put a BBC in a Nova or simply an article about L88 and the potential to make anything fast with them. I am cetain that both the Nova and the L88 appear together in the magazine.

 

Does anyone have any knowledge of Street Driven Chevy II's with BBC conversions in magazine or other coverage up to 1969?

 

I'm still pretty shaken up over the loss of Grumpy Jenkins. I really can't beleive it yet that I'm not going to be seeing him any more. This Chevy II also has a Bill Jenkins connection. Turns out the car was suffering from some troubles shifting in the upper R's and was brought to Bill for a fix. He diagnosed the mechanical clutch linkage wasn't up for the job.

So a nod to Grumpy and a bump in hopes of more info on this car.

 

PxTx,

My dad's racing years were about a decade before ('55 150 with a powerpack and a '57 Bel Air conv't with the 270hp 283), but I'll ask him if he knew of the Chevy II.

Where are you in PA?

 

Around '71/'72, there was a red primer '64 2dr ht around here with a chevy van front axle, L-78, M-22 and 4.56s...
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IVE OWNED A 67 SPORT COUPE W/A 396 ,120 OVER BORE, ROLLER CAM 710 LIFT CAMCHAFT BEST IT EVER WENT AT THE DRAGS WAS A 9.10 QUARTER MILE. HOOKER FENDERWELLS . IT WAS A COMPLETLY STOCK FRONT SUSPENION WIT A LITTLE CLEARANCE BOX OUT AT THE TOP TO MIDDLE TOWER AREA. HEADERS HAD TO LAY IN ENGINE BAY FOR MOTOR INSTALL. 4SPEED MUNCIE FOR A SHORT WHILE THEN A TH400 WITH A CUSTOM CROSSMEMBER . GOOD LUCK IT WAS A BLAST FOR A 25 YEAr OLD MANY, MOONS A AGO. MARK

 

i feel your pain too
good luck in your search

 

Everyone knows of the big guys who did swaps like Yenko or Baldwin, but there were a number of dealers unknown to most that also did swaps. I've got a 1971 SS396 Camaro that I've owned since 1973, and it has a dealer installed 427 in it, done when it was new. It was done in S. Cal. at a dealership that is still there, called Courtesy Chevrolet. The receipt for the swap has a price tag of under $900, after trade in of the original 396 engine.

 

There is new one. I have heard of the Dana conversions.

 

Thanks guys. I'm from the north-east suburbs of Philadelphia and the car I'm researching spent its whole life around here too.

One fellow mentioned he thought the car may have been in a Car Craft artilce. If anyone has any 1968 or 1969 editions of CC please check for the car.

The dealer swaps happened all the time. My dad was a dealer tech when thorugh the muscle car era. He had done many "upgrades" under warranty. Like when a 396 would fail. If the customer paid the difference between warranty coverage and the upgrade...the car left wiht a 427- or whatver the case may be. So if not technically done as new- that is one way the urban legend of the local factory 427 car happens.

Prior to the 427 in this Nova, it was known to have had a 302 cross ram "from the factory" so you can guess how that happened.

 

Dad worked at Kirsch Chevrolet in the 50's- saw alot of the same things happen, like a plain-jane 57 wagon that got a 270hp engine after the 2x4 setup was replaced with a single carter. No one figured it out until a gas station attendant pointed out the deep-groove pulleys !

 

For tech information, I seem to remember a ~1978 (summer months?) issue of Car Craft with a big spread on Chevy II and Nova and describing a BBC swap with mostly stock parts -- except for the headers, of course.

 

I've got a bit of a break on the "Robson" name. It turns out the shop that did the work as called "JA Robinson Automotive" and the owner had passed away and many things were recently auctioned off in Philly back in January 2012.

I spoke wiht a fellow who seems to recall a circular JA Robinson sticker grom the time period. Any Philly guys recall the shop or the man?

 

worked for Joe Robinson at the Frankford ave shop for several years in the 80s. Joe was a character to say the least! I do not remember the 427 nova but do remember numerous other conversions, rare muscle car items that Joe had, rare trains that Joe collected and stories that Joe and others told me.
The shop had a secret room of rarities including aluminum 427s, Hemis, 454s, etc.
I do have some of the old engine metal tags from JA Robinson. There were stickers that were blue and yellow with JA Robinson and a micrometer on them!
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This is great news! I really appreciate the reply.