Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2014 i Hot Rod

Quick, make a list of all the parts you have in your garage, basement, or living room that you intend to use on your next project. If you’re like me, you’ll find that amongst all the hardware and prized speed parts you’ll probably have things you know you’re never going to use—or even pieces of vehicles you don’t own anymore. You may also find you have two (or three) of something you’d already purchased without realizing it. It’s OK, I won’t tell anybody if you don’t. I bring this up because there’s a growing movement in society to capitalize on unused resources. Now that we all have smartphones, email addresses, and credit card numbers, sharing our stuff with strangers has become viable. Have a spare bedroom you don’t need this…

The Aussies have this thing about New Zealanders, and vice-versa. They seem to be in perpetual mutual-dissing and one-upmanship competitions. So when Aussie David Burden, CEO of Whitlands Engineering (SuperAxe.com.au), which specializes in firewood equipment (meaning chainsaws), saw a V8-powered chainsaw requiring two hefty dudes to handle the beast in an exhibition in New Zealand, he decided he could do the same—but better. His better mousetrap—or chainsaw, rather—would require only one smallish Aussie. He found a 253ci Holden V8, similar to our Chevy smallblock, and over several months created his better chainsaw. His biggest challenge was finding a suitable gearbox, which he finally sourced in Germany. All of the other components were made by David or sourced through suppliers Whitlands uses in the manufacturing of its firewood docking saws. “My…

Saleen is teasing its upcoming ’15 302 Mustang with this head-on rendering. Styled by Saleen Design Director Sean Smith, the aggressive new look is a big departure from the’15 Mustang GT and, frankly, makes the Mustang look tame. The ’15 Saleen 302 Mustang will sport a new front fascia that gives the car a wider, meaner look and puts it in line with the rest of the ponycars on the market by using a full-width grille that’s not interrupted by any body-colored bits between the headlights. No doubt it was influenced by the ’69 Boss 302, and that’s all right by us. By the looks of the rendering, the Saleen package will include a new hood with a wide, shallow scoop that continues the lines from the Mustang’s factory hood…

While driving through Wisconsin, I saw a shop with some muscle cars stored behind it—completely enveloped by vines. I approached the property’s owner and introduced myself. He said I could take a look around and that the cars in the vines were being stored for a friend. There was a ’68 Pontiac GTO convertible with a 400 and a four-speed (1 of 3,116 built). Next to it was a ’64 Impala SS, and near that was a basic ’68 Firebird 400 (1 of 7,563 built). There were two additional cars in the shop, a ’69 Firebird and a ’65 GTO. Both are long-term projects the owner is working on.…

PERFORMANCE AS TESTED Rear-Wheel Horsepower: 557 at 5,800 rpm Rear-Wheel Torque: 570 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm Time on Streets of Willow: 1 minute, 35.13 seconds Quarter-Mile: 12.56 at 115.49 mph HRM Staff Average Ranking on a Scale of 1-10, 10 Being Best: Competence in Its Intended Purpose: This is supposed to be a driver, and it’s ferried Rick back and forth between Bakersfeld and Vegas flawlessly. Ranking: 10 Performance vs. Potential: Track performance was impressive, although there’s a lot to be had in the quarter-mile times with a set of drag radials. Ranking: 8 Dares to Be Different: They did hack up a real LS6 454 SS. Ranking: 8 Fabricated vs. Bolted Together: A laser-cut, TIGwelded chassis and full-custom seats and interior outweigh the crate engine and factory sheetmetal. Ranking:…

It was the worst crash in motorsports history. Only a couple of hours after the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, tragedy struck. French driver Pierre Levegh, running more than 125 mph in a silver Mercedes, was unable to avoid a swerving Austin Healy, and the resulting explosion sent faming magnesium wreckage through the tightly packed crowd of spectators. The deaths were nightmarish, and numerous. Including Levegh, at least 84 people were killed that day. Fans of Chaos Theory—and bad scift movies—may have heard of an idea called The Butterfly Effect, which posits that a small change in one system may eventually cause a large change in another, seemingly unrelated area. While nobody familiar with the 1955 crash at Le Mans would call it small,…

The year was 1967. Chevrolet just introduced the Camaro, China detonated its first hydrogen bomb, an upstart magazine called Rolling Stone landed on the newsstands, and the controversy over the Vietnam confict was nearing the boiling point. While a political tornado was spinning north of the border, a small group of motorheads, of-roaders, and adventurers lined up their steeds near the bullring in Tijuana, Mexico, for a 1,000-mile of-road race. On that cool November morning in 1967, the coastal breeze was challenging the searing climes of the inland deserts of the Baja Peninsula. A guy named Ed Pearlman—president of the newly formed National Of-Road Racing Association (NORRA)—picked up a green fag, waved the first vehicle of the starting line, and launched what would become known as the birth…

SUMMIT RACING//SUMMITRACING.COM PULSAR Mail-order giant Summit Racing has its own line of wheels for the budget-minded hot rodder. We think the Pulsar is the coolest of the lot, sort of a modern take on an early Halibrand mag wheel. Sizes are limited, from 15x4 to 15x10. Price: $104.97 (15x7) BILLET SPECIALTIES//BILLETSPECIALTIES.COM LEMANS From Billet’s Pro Touring Series, the LeMans wheel is available in 18-, 19-, 20-, 22-, and 24-inch diameters. It is a two-piece wheel with a forged-aluminum center that is available in a polished fnish, matte black, gloss black, gunmetal, clear over satin, clear over polished/satin, and clear over polished. It comes with a maximum dish for high-offset applications and fts over monster brakes. Street Price: $685 (18x7) SPLINE Also from Billet’s Pro Touring Series, the Spline…

In case you need an excuse to rummage through the local boneyard, we’ve found these items are often in short supply in the garage and can be scooped up for pennies on the dollar, especially if you’re a regular at your Pick-Your-Part. Plus, most of these parts can be pulled using tools that will fit into your pocket, so you can leave the toolbox in the car and travel light unless something really interesting catches your eye, like an early Ford 9-inch axle, big-block Mopar, or a perfectly weathered fender that matches your car’s patina. PACKARD’S WEATHER PACK CONNECTION Before there was a Packard Motor Car Company, there was the Packard Electric Company. Founded in 1890, the Packard Electric Company became a part of the GM fold in 1932 when…

Contacts CHEMSPEC USA; Orrville, OH; 800.328.4892; ChemSpecPaint.com EASTWOOD; Pottstown, PA; 800.343.9353; Eastwood.com NORTON ABRASIVES; Worcester, MA; 888.295.5148; NortonAbrasives.com WILD WES PAINTWORKS; Dover, OH; 330.323.4949; WildWesPaintworks.com…

I’m loath to come right out and say it, but I’m jaded. Too many years and miles in too many cars with too much legacy and horsepower have left me hard to impress. It’s said that familiarity breeds contempt, so it’s unlikely I’ll be blown away by a car that’s one of the most familiar icons of performance in the gearhead world—yet this is a story of a life-altering experience for me in a car that’s been a hot rodding mainstay since 1962. In May of 2014 I was invited to a press event with Ford Racing that was truly memorable, including visits to Penske Racing, Roush-Fenway Racing, Roush-Yates Engines, and Jack Roush’s personal hangar; rides with driffer Vaughn Gitten Jr. and NASCAR’s Joey Logano at zMAX Dragway; private tours…

The March Meet was considered the pinnacle of Top Fuel drag racing, arguably reaching its zenith in 1966. Sixty-four dragsters were featured that year; with so many cars, eliminations spanned two days, with the winner Saturday sitting out competition on Sunday to ultimately run against Sunday’s fastest qualifier for the $6,650 prize money. Mike Sorokin driving the infamous Surfers Top Fueler of Bob Skinner and Tom Jobe sawed through a mighty pack of fuelers, including Gary Cassidy, Zane Shubert, Dave Beebe, James Warren, Greg Maher, and Jim Dunn to sit out Sunday’s action, running a 7.34 time with the fastest speed of 210.76 mph. When Sunday’s eliminations were over, the team of Warren-Coburn—known as the Ridge Route Terrors—had the honor of facing Sorokin for the crown. Up for the challenge,…

We dug deep into the lost stories and also learned a few secrets about the man who started HOT ROD from his longtime administrative assistant, Gigi Carlton. • Mr. Petersen’s career began when he was a 12-year-old during the Great Depression. He was a dishwasher, fry cook, and gas jockey (what they called attendants at service stations back then). He grew up to become a hunting enthusiast, but in those days he shot rabbits to sell to housewives. He figured out how to be a good shot early on; bullets were spendy. • He entered the Army Air Force toward the end of World War II because…he loved the uniform. That arm of the military wore a leather bomber jacket, white silk scarf, leather helmet, and fancy gabardine pants with…

With the announcement of a 707hp rating for the ’15 Challenger Hellcat (see page 24), Dodge joins the elite list of production cars that ofter more than 700 hp from the factory. 700HP PRODUCTION CARS Lamborghini Aventador LP 720-4 50 Anniversario: 6.5L V12, 710 hp Pagani Huayra: 6.0L AMG V12, 720 hp Ferrari F12 Berlinetta: 6.3L V12, 731 hp Lamborghini Veneno: 6.3L V12, 740 hp Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG: Four 185hp electric motors, 740 hp Porsche 918 Spyder: 4.6L V8 and two electric motors, 887 hp McLaren P1: 3.8L V8 and an electric motor, 904 hp Ferrari LaFerrari: 6.3L V12 and an electric motor, 950 hp Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse: 8.0L W-16, 1,184 hp…

I’m flying. The apexes probably think I’m Dan Gurney. Up over the rise, a blind turn, steady, steady, hold it and, “You should probably wave those guys by,” said my instructor, and I sheepishly pulled to the side to let the faster cars pass. It was my very first track day, and I was not exactly the quickest driver in Group A—but it didn’t bother me much, because I had driven a ’14 SRT (now Dodge) Viper 500 miles to take the carousel at turn 6 of Sonoma Raceway’s tricky road course, and I was totally snake-bit, loving every second behind the wheel. The trip hadn’t begun with a lot of confidence. Perusing the great wisdom of the Internet showed that every expert seemed to feel that the…

There are very few new ideas in the world of high performance. But with modern technology, we can often revisit a clumsy, old idea and make it more efcient. Such is the case with compressed-air supercharging. The idea is simple enough. Compress and store a large volume of air into a high-pressure tank. Use a pressure regulator to control the air coming out of the tank, and step it down to a traditional boost pressure. Introduce the air on demand, and you have a killer supercharger that doesn’t create parasitic losses because the engine is not using power to drive it. Sounds simple enough, so what’s the catch? Dale Vaznaian and Karl Staggemeir have been working to perfect the concept of compressed-air supercharging to make ridiculous amounts of…

When it comes to transferring power or motion, the less deffection a system has, the cleaner the delivery. Solid camshafs and lifers are the key to optimizing the power output of an engine and achieving sustained high-rpm stability; we like them so much, we use them a lot in our aggressive street-engine builds. Tat level of precision comes with higher maintenance requirements, however. Hydraulic lifers, the ones found most commonly in OEM applications and milder street engines, feature an internal mechanism that automatically and continuously adjusts to maintain zero valve lash. Tat’s ideal for creating a very quiet and completely maintenancefree valvetrain. Tat same setup is perfect for even moderately aggressive engines that operate in lower-rpm ranges, but when peak or sustained rpm begin to encroach on 7,000…

When you’re trying to squeeze the most out of a factory-sized turbo or class rules limit the inducer diameter of your turbo’s inlet, a CNC-machined, billet-aluminum compressor wheel will help get the most performance out of a turbo. Machining a compressor wheel out of a strong aluminum forging allows for more aggressive geometry that gives the turbo greater efficiency over a wider operating range and allows for higher compressor speeds before it’s in danger of flying apart. Here’s how to tell the difference between billet and a less expensive cast-aluminum compressor wheel. WHY BILLET? Even the best methods of casting aluminum can create a part with porosity—tiny air bubbles in the part that leave a void. The hotter the compressor wheel gets and the faster it spins, the greater the…

On Sunday, June 1, 2014, Mike Finnegan and I set out on a 2,325-mile trip to get Finnegan’s gasser to the kickoff party for Power Tour® 2014. We would need to cover 387.5 miles per day, which wouldn’t have been a big deal if we hadn’t just spent the past week plumbing and wiring the car in a mad thrash. The 700hp, 535ci Mopar Hemi was finally roadworthy just hours before we were set to depart. The journey was documented on HOTROD.com. When Finnegan bought his ’55 Chevy in September 2012, it was just a shell and was the focus of Roadkill Episode 8. A little work got done on the car here and there in the subsequent year and a half (mostly new sheetmetal), but basically it was a…

What you’re looking at is what’s left of a turbo compressor wheel after a burst test that BorgWarner conducted at its Asheville, North Carolina, test facility back in 2007. The carnage took place in a specially designed dyno cell where BorgWarner tests compressor housings and compressor wheels by spinning them until they fail. The goal of the test is to confirm that, among other things, the compressor housing can contain the shrapnel of the wheel coming apart at tremendous speed. For this test, the turbo’s compressor wheel was drilled at a 45-degree angle to weaken it in the critical hub area before it was spun to a terminal speed. A special chain-mail shielding surrounds the turbo compressor housing to catch the bits in case it fails. As you can…

Q: As a lifetime reader of HOT ROD, Car Craft, and many other automotive magazines, I have noticed that engine horsepower and torque always reach a crossover point where the two are nearly identical. This occurs between 5,000 and 5,300 rpm, and it does not matter whether the build is stock or all-out race, or who manufactured or built the engine. Since every engine has far different variables, why is this rpm range the “sweet spot” for horsepower and torque to most closely match? A: Not “nearly identical”—always identical—at 5, 252 rpm. It has to do with the symbiotic mathematical relationships between power, torque, work, time, force, and distance. The math is universal, constant, and unchanging—and it applies to all conventional engines and motors that produce measurable torque around…

Kenny Cox is a Detroit native. He’s a Ford warranty service engineer and was born and raised in the suburbs of the Motor City. His dad had a ’70 Plymouth GTX in the garage when he was growing up, and the car bug stuck. He got hooked on car photography during the ’09 HOT ROD Power Tour®, and he’s been developing his skills and upgrading his equipment ever since. We came across his shots from this year’s Power Tour® when we searched #powertour, and we liked them enough to share. “The majority of the photos I take are of friend’s vehicles,” Kenny told us. “The Detroit auto scene is so rich in distinct vehicles, places, and individuals. The majority of my photos are taken of cars I come across cruising…

After hiding under camouflage for months, the ’15 Challenger SRT and its Hellcat engine were finally unveiled. The 707hp supercharged 6.2L Hellcat is the most powerful V8 engine ever produced by Chrysler and helps transform the already potent Challenger into what Dodge President and CEO Tim Kuniskis calls, “the ultimate performance muscle car.” That sounds about right. POWERTRAIN The Hellcat uses a forged-steel crankshaft with induction-hardened bearing surfaces. According to Chrysler, the result is a crankshaft that can withstand cylinder pressures of 1,595 psi. For you race guys, an SFI approval is sure to happen as the crankshaft damper has been tested to 13,000 rpm. Inside, high-strength forged pistons connect to powder-forged connecting rods with high-load-capacity bushings and carbon-coated piston pins. Like all modern Hemis, the supercharged 6.2L…

Over the years, the legends of their straight-line speed have turned ’60s and ’70s muscle cars into the stuff of fable, with tales of incredibly—often impossibly—low e.t.’s being swapped wherever car guys congregate. Of course, the truth is that modern performance cars have evolved so that they’re more balanced, more powerful, and more efficient. None of those lessons were lost on Greg Heinrich, whose family has operated a Chevrolet dealership for nearly 50 years. He knows exactly how much cars have improved over the decades since the muscle cars ruled the showroom floor. He is amassing a collection of ’67 Corvettes and has racked up plenty of miles in restored muscle cars, yet he’s no stickler for a numbers-matching build. Rodger Lee of Ironworks Speed & Kustom (IronworksSpeedandKustom.com)…

How did we cook up this crazy stew of racing, high performance, modifications, and speed lust called hot rodding? How did we become so connected with our vehicles and so passionate about their function and form? It’s human nature to seek a singular answer to complex questions like these. Tough we’ll never find just one explanation, by simply asking the questions we will gain understanding about what we truly are as hot rodders and what comes next for us. There have been countless actions and events that have defined hot rodding. Some were glorious successes filled with horsepower and heroes. Others came with tragedy, or looked as though they might kill hot rodding before they helped it. There were also a multitude of rules, imposed not by a sanctioning…

The Mustang Club of America (MCA) was eager to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mustang in two cities, Charlotte and Las Vegas. With help from Dearborn, the MCA would host several unique pieces of Mustang history by way of concept cars and rare production models. Ford planned to unveil the 50th Anniversary Edition Mustang at venues in both cities, and Shelby was hosting an open house at its new production facility in Las Vegas—all over the course of one weekend. We just had to go. The question was what to drive through the 300 miles of desert between our office in Los Angeles and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The only pony car among the current HOT ROD stafers is a Challenger, and we couldn’t very well bring…

This is a bit of a personal story, so forgive the momentary lapse in the editorial “we” as I tell you of my second foray into self-tuning EFI. See, I’m unusual in that 90 percent of my tuning experience is with carburetors—and I’m pretty good at it, if I do say so myself—and 10 percent is with advanced aftermarket EFI like the FAST XFI and Holley Dominator systems. My carburetor and ignition-tuning knowledge made me a fast learner on the laptop-based EFI setups, enough so that I kinda never want to go back to the old jugs. The hole in my knowledge is with the so-called “self-learning” EFI systems, and they seemed like a middle ground where I didn’t need to tread—yet they are the best sellers in…

Heat is the number-one cause of failure for all automatic transmissions. If your transmission fuild smells burnt and it’s no longer a clearish red color, it’s likely that your transmission is overheating. At the very least, you’ll need to change the fuild. Keep your tranny fuild cool, and your transmission will last nearly forever. Let it overheat frequently, and you’ll be lucky to go a few hundred miles before you fry the internals. Increasing transmission cooling capacity is easy and cheap insurance to protect an expensive transmission. But, like anything, there is a right and many wrong ways to do it. We’ve compiled a list of questions you should be asking and the answers to them. IS IT REALLY OVERHEATING? If your transmission is purging smoky, boiling fuild…

One must prepare. Staying hydrated is crucial in the oven-like heat you’ll experience, so pack plenty of water. There are no cupholders, so you’ll have to shove the bottles down between the shifter console and the edge of the seat to keep them from rolling into the back where you can no longer reach them, resulting in certain death. Be vigilant about sunscreen. The windshield acts as a magnifying glass. The world is a cruel child. You are the ant. You will develop an uneven tan, most noticeable on your left shoulder, but subtly visible on your neck and cheekbone as well. Do this for too long and you’ll become a Batman villain. Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from debris flying in through the open windows. You will notice…

In February 2012, Roy and Ondrea Hanson paid $5,000 for an ’08 Mustang equipped with a 4.0L V6, a T5 manual trans, and a 7.5-inch Ford rearend. The plan was for Ondrea to use it as a daily driver as well as a hands-on training tool to gain experience to compete in National Auto Sport Association Time Trial (NASA TT) road-racing events. Roy explains, “It’s big, safe, and slow enough so Ondrea won’t get into trouble while she learns how to drive competitively. The body parts are everywhere and cheap in scrapyards. S-197 fifth-generation Mustangs require very little R&D to make them competitive. I wasn’t looking for a First Place car, but rather a training tool, a stepping stone to help her learn the ropes. Eventually, when Ondrea has…

Early Mustang Suspension Detroit Speed, Inc.//704.662.3272//DetroitSpeed.com Detroit Speed’s new Aluma-Frame is an all-aluminum front suspension system for ’641 ⁄2–’70 Mustangs and features DSE’s unique suspension geometry with 6 inches of suspension travel for performance with a good ride. The Aluma-Frame features a unique cast-aluminum cradle and mounting components, resulting in a high strength-to-weight ratio and precise ft. It comes complete with tubular upper and lower control arms, a Detroit Tuned rack- and -pinion steering, a Detroit Speed forged spindle, DSE/JRi aluminum coilover shocks with Detroit Tuned valving, and a splined antiroll bar with composite bushings. The Aluma-Frame also incorporates DSE’s Speed-LIGN caster/camber adjusters to allow for a wide range of adjustability to be made without additional shims. When installed, the Aluma-Frame can ft up to P265/35R18 tires on a 9-inch…