Situated in Columbia Station, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, Ohio, a local salvage yard is making a worldwide reputation for itself as a one-stop shop for late-model engine and drivetrain swaps. We first became aware of Cleveland Power & Performance when we saw their ad for C6 Z06 rolling chassis. It was a running, driving shell, just missing the exterior body panels. Interesting concept: they call these rolling donor shells “go karts”. Their palletized drivetrain swap videos are even more compelling. Everything you need to install a current model LT1, Coyote, or Hemi engine into your older car are included: gauges, steering column, gas tank, pedals, wiring harnesses, and of course, the engine and transmission are mounted on a pallet. In the videos, they start the engines and walk around the pallet, so you can hear the engine run and see everything included in the sale. They were the first to offer a complete Hellcat drivetrain swap, which came out of a car that was totaled after only seven miles!
Sales manager Tim Mulcahy gave us a tour of the facility, which is located on 40 acres of land. Formerly Cleveland Pick-A-Part, a successful and long-running local business, they changed the name of the company a couple of years ago to reflect their emphasis on specializing in newer muscle and sports cars, and the response has been tremendous. Tim tells us that most of the palletized drivetrain swaps are sold before the components have been completely removed from the car, and they are shipping parts all over the world.
In addition to the dismantling and inventory work, they staff several mechanics and fabricators. If you want an engine built, a salvage car repaired, or a complete build of an older car, these guys can handle it. They are currently building a 1983 Firebird with the drivetrain and interior from a 2002 Firebird, and a 1969 Charger body swap onto a 2016 Challenger Hellcat, and we will be following both of those builds as they come together.
In the meantime, visit their website and Facebook pages for more information and scroll through our photo gallery of the builds and of some of their parts inventory. There’s a lot of cool stuff happening there.
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