Muscle car and restoration fans, rejoice. The Emmy-nominated program (they’re up against Martha Stewart) Chop Cut Rebuild is back for its eighth season, and the show on Speed invited Hooniverse into its garage for a sneak peek at a build that will take all year. Host Dan Woods and his team are holed up not far from our Huntington Beach HQ (one of our three HQs around the country, not counting our Canada and Finland facilities). The filming takes place at the Classic Industries Tech Center, and we knew we were in the right location thanks to the various pilfered parts cars covered up in the back of the lot.

The main focus in season eight is turning bits of metal into a showstopping 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible. The team found a donor car, but quickly realized it wouldn’t fit the bill after it started to bend in half when they picked it up. They didn’t have to look very far for their next option, however, because Classic Industries sells a ’56 Bel Air body right out of their catalog.

Pair that fresh skin with the an Art Morrison chassis, and you have a package that’s ripe for a serious powertrain. Enter the dragon, err, the LSA. That’s right, these Hoon-minded folks are taking the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine that’s usually found under the hood of the Cadillac CTS-V (and now the Camaro ZL1) and using it to bring Project OpenAir to fire-breathing life. That mighty mill will be paired with the slick-shifting six-speed gearbox it’s so often found bolted to.

Stay tuned, because we’ve been invited to come back and take a look at the build as it progresses. For now, hop past the break for more photos from our trip to the set, and a rendering of what the finished product will look like.

[Images copyright 2012 Hooniverse.com/Jeff Glucker | Rendering of OpenAir courtesy of Chop Cut Rebuild]