User talk:Suemcphail

Mark Stewart McPhail (August 1, 1963-) is one of the world's foremost authorities in high performance automobiles, businesses and homes. He is a business owner, mechanical engineer, and innovator known best for an expansive knowledge of the interchagability of GM powertrain engines and components extending from current models back to the 1950s.

He is founder, owner and operator of McPhail Performance which creates and installs factory-quality performance upgrade packages for such GM vehicles and high performance alternative energy systems in housing. The company also offers performance tuning servies.

Childhood

McPhail was born August 1, 1963 in Detroit, Michigan to William and Charlotte McPhail 100 years after the birth of automotive pioneer Henry Ford. He learned to read, using Hot Rod Magazine as a primer and began building and modifying model cars before the age of 7. By age 10, he had graduated to lawn mower engines, picking discarded ones from the trash, diagnosing their problems, rebuilding and selling them.

Working under the watchful eye of his father, a GM technician and employee of GM Rearch and Development, McPhail's first venture into full-sized automobile modification was installation of a 400 cubic-inch Chevy small-block engine and Turbo 400 transmission in a 1975 Camaro.

General Motors Career

After graduation from Michigan Technological University in 1985 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, McPhail was hired by General Motors as a dynomometer test engineer. During his 20-year tenure with GM, McPhail served as 4.3-liter engine calibration engineer for export and concept vehicles; and resident engineer at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas; In 1989, he was assigned to the Chevy Raceshop (later named GM Motorsports and GM Racing) as drag racing program program manager.

From 1991-93, McPhail was assigned by GM to Torrance, California as the Chevy Raceshop West Coast Technical Liaison with automotive performance aftermarket companies and enthusiast media. During this period he began to build demonstration vehicles, showcasing the interchangability of GM powertrain components and off-the-shelf GM Performance Parts. A variety of these vehicles have been featured on the cover of Hot Rod, Car Craft, Chevy High Performance. Muscle Car Review, Hot Truck and Sport Truck magazines.

McPhail was release engineer for a variety of crate engines and components designed to help auto enthusiasts enhance performance of their street vehicles with GM Performance Parts. His most notable contributions in this area include the ZZ3 and ZZ4 5.7-liter 454 and 502 HO crate engines, the HOT cam kit and LT4 rocker arms, Quik-cam composite lifter guide for the small-block Chevy V8, 4L60 torque converter clutch wiring harness for retrofit into non-computer controlled vehicles, the first 4L60 crate transmission in 1993 and later 4L65E, first fuel injected LS1/4L60E crate motor powertrain conversion kit with computer and wiring harness for past-model GM products and the first electronic transmission controller and wiring harness for 4L60#/4L80E.

McPhail served as GM's spokesperson, project and technical manager for seven Hot Rod Magazine Power Tours, 10-day, cross-country treks of more than 500 high performance automobiles. He was a co-creator of the GM Performance Parts Motor Medics, a corps of GM engineers, travelling with the tour who volunteered their services to help enthusiasts diagnose and resolve mechanical issues that arose with their vehicles during the tours.

Innovations

A pioneer in green high performance, McPhail developed a ZZ4 crate engine conversion package for 1982-1987 Chevy Camaros that increased performance. The package was granted a California Air Resources Board exemption, making it one of the first complete engine conversion kits to be emission-compliant in all 50 states.

He spearheaded a team that made slight modifications to the LS1 engine so it would be competitive in the race environment, radically changing the face of short-track competition. The American Speed Association designated this engine as the powerplant for all of its competitors in 2000. Race teams previously used as many as three hand-built engines annually, costing $30,000 apiece. McPhail's modified LS1 engine cost just $12,000, and lasted more than an entire race season.

McPhail retrofitted the LS1 engine for use in older muscle cars, engineering a wiring harness, calibration and electronic transmission that made it possible to put the new engine in any of the 70 million vehicles originally equipped with Chevrolet's small-block engine.

Alternative Energy

In 2004, McPhail left General Motors, serving as a high performance consultant to a variety of automotive aftermarket manufacturers, and expanding his interests to include alternative energy structures. He was certified as a Zero Energy Consultant by the Passiv Haus Institute and completed the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association's training program in photovoltaic design and installation.

McPhail Performance

After returning to southern California in 2009, he formed McPhail Performance, encompassing high performance in automobiles and housing. The company makes and installs performance enhancement PowerPaks for the Cadillac Escalade, GMC Danali, Chevy Corvette, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, Pontiac G8, Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac CTS and CTS-V and Pontiac Solstice. McPhail Performance also offers custom performance tuning services.

Awards and Acknowledgements

Road and Track Magazine - selected to choose the top five high performance vehicles of the century.

Hot Rod Magazine - Profiled hotrodding in the 21st Century for the December 1999 issue.

Woodward Dream Cruise Most Valuable Player, presented by GM Performance Parts