Max Cooper has always been a fan of the Big-Block. So when it came time to upgrade the engine of his 1966 Chevelle SS convertible, his choice of a Chevrolet Performance ZZ502/502 crate engine was an easy one. “I started looking at options and the 502 had everything except the intake, carburetor and inverted oil pan; everything else was included when I bought it,” says Cooper. “It also had a 24-month warranty†. I wanted the 502 anyway in the first place, and the more I found out, the more I convinced myself.”
He bought the engine in 2012, and it’s proved reliable ever since. He and his wife, Beth, have visited various shows around the country, and this year they even had the opportunity to do a few laps on the famous Watkins Glen International Road Circuit in New York, in conjunction with the Syracuse Nationals.
The Coopers live in China Grove, North Carolina, a small town about 35 miles north of Charlotte. They previously spent nearly four decades in the Raleigh area but moved to be halfway between their son’s family in Clemson, South Carolina, and another son in Raleigh.
“We love it here; there’s so much to do around cars here,” says Cooper of the Charlotte area, home to many NASCAR teams and various performance companies. It’s fitting that Cooper lives in the area. Originally from Pompano Beach, Florida, he’s always had a penchant for mechanics. In his youth, he built his bikes by assembling parts from other bikes owned by friends in the neighbourhood. Later, he repaired his first car, a used one belonging to his father, to ensure it passed inspection in Florida.
“I’ve always loved taking things apart and putting them back together, and I still do,” says Cooper.
He had one of the highest scores on his mechanical aptitude test in high school, and part of his first job was rebuilding V-16 diesel generator sets. When he left the company, he was the plant’s logistics manager, driving a 30-ton crane to lift locomotive-sized engines onto tractor-trailers.
He credits this work with considerably broadening his mechanical knowledge. When the company closed, he could take his tools with him.
“Most of the tools I had came from there,” he says. “I improved many of them, but it was a good start for a kid fresh out of high school.”
He eventually landed a job with IBM and transferred to Raleigh in 1986. He lived in this area for 36 years before moving to Charlotte in 2022. Over the years, he married and started a family, with cars still a part of his life.
His first car was a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Over the years, he has owned a Corvette, an MGB, and various other sports cars and motorcycles. He also recently purchased a 1936 Chevrolet five-window coupe powered by a 350 cu.-in. Crate Small-Block Chevrolet Performance engine. As for the Rouge Flamme Chevelle convertible, it’s been a constant part of his life for 15 years now. He first saw it on eBay in 2008. Since it was local to him in Wake Forest, North Carolina, he had the opportunity to check it out in person before buying.
The car is a genuine Super Sport 138 and came off the General Motors assembly line equipped with a 396 and Muncie transmission. However, when Cooper bought the car, it had an engine
