Whether it merits it or not, the Cross-Fire engine’s performance often gets a bum rap. That’s not always a bad thing, though. Let me explain. With the competition looking down their noses, the element of surprise is that much more potent. That’s what Steve Oktela is hoping for. He took his ’82 Corvette to the Corvette Clinic with the expressed goal of turning up the torch in his “Fire,” but he still wanted to retain the stock look. That’s exactly what they did.
When looking at the engine, there aren’t many hints of anything other than stock parts hiding under the air cleaners. That all changes when you hit the gas. This Cross-Fire will churn the tires at any stoplight. We intend to take the car to Norris Motorsports in Ocoee, Florida, for some dyno time. To see what horsepower our new engine is capable of dishing out, we’ll have dyno numbers posted next month in Inside Track.