Indholdsfortegnelse for September 1998 i Hot Rod

Just let your imagination wander tor a minute and dream about a special kind of club…a club just for hot rodders. A club with powerful benefits like free tickets to Petersen and other events, discounts on parts and accessories, emergency roadside service, travel accommodations, hot rod insurance and even special financing for building the hot rod of your dreams. When I built my first rod in the late sixties, it was something I had been dreaming about since early in high school. Remember when you were sitting in geometry class, and they’re talking about the hypotenuse of a triangle when all you were dreaming about was figuring how to get those extra 50 horses out of your small block? Well, your geometry teacher was on the right track talking about…

When did HOT ROD change its name to “The 100 percent correct, frame-off, numbers-matching, hermetically sealed, concourse-quality, 100-point restoration handbook for the disciiminating Pontiac enthusiast?” Right: never. So what does Conrad Smith (Reaction Time, June ‘98) have up his butt (besides his head)? Production errors can and do happen, I’m on my sixth first-generation Firebird, and I’ve seen it. Ask my neighbor with his standard-not-deluxe-interior early Trans Am. As a production supervisor, I see this firsthand: Delays cost money, so if you can substitute a similar part without compromising the quality of the product, you may have to do that. That’s business. And in 1969 the Judge was just another car to most people—albeit a damn fast one. So who is the bigger fool: the guy who swaps in non-stock…

Whereas on this day, May 17,1998, the following people have completed the HOT ROD Magazine 1998 Power Tour West in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, hereby let it be known that these fine driving stalwarts have earned the right to call themselves members of the family that is the Long Haul Gang. JIM DAVID SMITH DAN and TIM CUTTING HARRY and CINDY HUTCHERSON CRAIG and REBECCA HULL MELANIE L. MARTIN GEORGE and CATHY POTEET JACK and JUDY TREPANIER ROBERT LEVERS KEN and LINDA FENICAL STEPHEN CAPP and LANA EDMOND TED and TEDDY MALES DAMON and MARK CAMPBELL SCOTT FARRELL and KEN KLAUS JERRY KYLE ERIC HOYT RUSS L and MIKE HOGAN DANNY BURRDW TROY and ANGIE TREPANIER KYLE and WENDY BARNETT MICHAEL. PAM. and OLIVE COX WALT AST DUAINE WESTON and JIM…

In the 6s, for Real! Rieger Sets the Pace, Christian Claims the Win Indianapolis: a town known for speed. The history here is as palpable as the desire to win. The need to be first hangs thick in the air and refuses to break. We’re talking about the NMCA/Comp Cams World’s Fastest Street Car series invading Indianapolis Raceway Park. An unusual amount of breakage in some classes made for excellent and unexpected final runs: Mike Moran versus Tony Christian in Pro Street, Steve Rennick versus Bruce Kimmen in Outlaw Street, and more. Four records were also set the weekend of June 6-7: Bob Rieger made a 6.976-second blast into nistory. Outlaw Streeter Kimmen reset the mph record at 200.66. Super Streeter Jimmy Keen sniffed around for 7s with his 8.022-second…

Desert Goat I have a warm spot in my heart for Indians of tin, so when I spotted John Tolerico’s ‘65 GTO across a crowded fuel stop, I was drawn to it I was surprised to find that Tolerico was no baby boomer, but a 20-something real estate agent from San Diego. Opening the hood on the Goat revealed the usual fare: a triple-carb Pontiac V-8, factory chrome valve covers, and three-tube headers. Only well-versed Poncho people would be able to detect that this was no 389, but a 428 with ‘67 400 heads. Cruising at desert speeds was no problem, even with 3.55s and a four-speed. No doubt the 18-inch wheel/tire combo helped. The engine provided the background music through a pair of Flowmasters as Tolerico and I bench-raced…

Scrambled Rambler Curt Stechert (left) and his buddy Louie Albergato took several weeks off from work and drove Stechert’s extremely rare 71 Hornet SC/360 four-speed from Hope, New Jersey, to Southern California, where they visited local attractions before heading off on Power Tour. I was surprised by the Hornet’s power, and even though it was pulling 3.91:1 gears, I marveled at how relaxed it felt. Stechert got interested in the one-year-only Hornet SC/360 because his dad bought one new back in 1971, thanks in part to a drag test he saw in the December 1970 issue of HOT ROD. John Dianna shoed the hot compact, and when Stechert saw Dianna (now president of Petersen’s Automotive Perfor mance Group) at one of the Power Tour stops, he asked him to re-create…

Earth Mover Having had little exposure to prewar street rods, I eagerly accepted Kenny Foster’s invitation to spend an afternoon aboard his 392 Hemi-powered ’32 Plymouth coupe. Foster built the car himself with a Mustang II front suspension and a Camaro 10-bolt rear axle, but the best part was the seamless power that flowed from the dual-quad ’92 when Foster mashed the skinny pedal into oblivion. A driver of giant dump trucks in the hometown of Chanute, Kansas, Foster has been into hot rodding ever since he bought a brand-new four-speed Cobra Jet Mustang in 1968. Listening to Foster openly describe his life and work, as if we had known each other for years, underscored the fact that cars bring people together like few other things in life. And therein…

Yenko Motion As a devout first-generation Camaro freak, the chance to ride in a ‘69 Yenko was enough to make me froth at the mouth. Larry Christensen’s pristine specimen had 27,000 original miles at the start of the tour—and that was after he drove to Pomona from his home in Wheat Ridge. Colorado. Most of those who inquired about the Rally Green ‘69 were amazed to learn that it was so original, and flat-out astounded to hear that Christensen was doing the distance in it. In preparation for the trek, he swapped the original 4.11:1 12-bolt for another fitted with 3.31s, You might expect one of these legendary strip-stormers to make a lousy road car, but that’s not so. The 427 Camaro was well-mannered and has to be the tightest,…

We’re going to demonstrate how to build a cheap 406ci Ford that runs on pump gasoline. We’ll also show you how to save money by skipping steps that aren’t critical to the success of a 5,200-rpm street thumper. Our scratchy ol’ 406 makes 380 horse power and at least 450 lb-ft of torque—for less than $2,000. First, the Basics A 406-inch Windsor, based on the 351ci Ford, is light for its displacement but costs a lot of money to build and involves a stroker crankshaft assembly. For our thumper, we used a 400M block. The 351M/400 engine is nothing like a 351 Windsor. The bellhousing bolt pattern is the same as that in a 429/460 big-block, while the engine design is basically a Cleveland small-block. These…

Run for cover, it’s a Rocket attack! Thundering from concrete bunkers across the nation and raining down upon unsuspecting Ford, Mopar, and yes, even Chevy racers, the Oldsmobile V-8 is poised for a comeback that’s guaranteed to recall the virtues of big cubic inches, low peak engine speed, and mountainous torque. The force behind the rocket renaissance is the recently introduced #6051 Performer RPM aluminum cylinder head from Edelbrock. We have to give the people at Edelbrock a great big pat on the back for having the guts to design, tool, and manufacture exotic heads for the not-so-mainstream Olds big-block. But hey, this is the same outfit that recently introduced lightalloy castings for underdog motors such as the Ford FE and the Pontiac V-8 (our spooks…

This may very well be the golden age of collectibles. Thanks to our ever-increasing desire to return to yesteryear, a bewildering array of popular and obscure manufacturers are making more cool die-cast and collectible cars than was thought possible even 10 years ago. The following guide describes what’s available in all levels of affordability. It’s all new—there’s so much cool old stuff that we couldn’t possibly begin to delve into it here. We’ll also attempt to answer some of the most-often-asked questions about collecting. We hope collecting veterans will find some pointers here, too.…

Just about anything is collectible, from buttons to bottle caps to Buicks. If you like it, have a bunch of it, and want more, it qualifies. New, old, plastic, metal—it matters not. There will always be a contingency that says “new collectible” is an oxymoron. We don’t necessarily disagree, but you must start somewhere, and the quality and detail of many current pieces are so fine that for three bucks you can get something that wasn’t thought possible not so long ago. Today’s “instant collectible” can be tomorrow’s, too. In fact, when you look at percentages, new collectibles can outperform vintage ones in the short term. When the Hot Wheels ‘70 Road Runner came out this summer, selected cases of 72 cars had just one mini-Plymouth in them. They are…

After spending 15 highly successful seasons as a NASCAR Winston Cup Series mechanic and crewchief, Gary Nelson took on a new challenge when he was named NASCAR Winston Cup Series Director prior to the 92 campaign. NASCAR Technology Transfer Caught up with Nelson during a rare break in his busy schedule to find out how he has adjusted to the official side of the fence and what his priorities are for NASCAR’s top division. Q: What are the responsibilities of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Director? A: My job really involves just about everything logistically. We show up to a track on Thursday, race on Sunday, and we are at another track the following Thursday, with all of our equipment and people. Aside from the travel and moving all the…

Roddin’ Over Russia Saying Nyet to Ladas You think parts are hard to find for your car? Try getting street rod stuff in Moscow. Yes, hot rodding lias taken over the world, and this one-time American phenomenon has spread to the farthest corners of Earth. The ‘34 Ford you see before you was built by Tiny Eglit of Tiny’s Outlaw Performance in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is featured in Snap-On’s 1998 calendar. Eglit takes up the story: “It’s a ‘34 Ford that was built right—434-cube small-block with Brodix heads, big tires, the works. It was a $42,000 car. We had it advertised in Special Interest Autos, and a couple of Russian fellas came by with a translator and bought it. Eight weeks later, I got a call from an American…

Poncho Driver Goes Match-Racing Famed Pontiac racing legend Jess Tyree, remembered for driving Tempest and Firebird fuel funny cars, has returned to the strip for a series of match-race engagements. Tyree will run a replica ‘63 Tempest coupe powered by a fuel-injected, alcohol-burning Pontiac engine built by Rock & Roll Performance Engineering. Out on the circuit, he will match-race D-Mac Automotive’s ‘64 GTO and Bruce Fulper’s ‘63 Tempest wagon. You can check out Tyree’s invasion of the Midwest at Kil-Kare Raceway In Xenia, Ohio, on Saturday, August 29. The race is being held in conjunction with the 14th annual Trans Am Nationals in Dayton. Call 909/370-0389 for further information, or visit the events listing at www.pontiacpower.com.…

Kids, Coloring, and Cars Want to teach your car-crazy kids the importance of recycling? Then dig on United Recyclers Group’s new coloring book, What happens to cars after they are wrecked? The trip starts when the car is loaded onto a flatbed truck and ends as the cycle begins anew, with recycled materials making up a new Cavalier. Besides being fun for the spuds, it’s also a valuable teaching aid, with a glossary and recycling tips for everyday life. Best of all, it’s free. Gratis. No cost to you. You can e-mail for a copy at monica@U-R-G.com or you can call 303/292-6555 and ask for yours. Corrections and Clarifications In June’s Roddin’, we jumbled some of our facts in “Firebird Dies, Mopar Ascends.” The WS6 and Firehawk are, of course,…

On September 5-6, HOT ROD TV co-hosts Joe Elmore and Chuck Hanson will install a mammoth roots-type blower and a brace of 750 carbs on a ‘65 Chevelle. We’ll also have our regular coverage of HOT ROD’S Street Car Drag Racing Series and feature a quick tip on how to mend an ailing thermostat housing. The September 12-13 show finds Elmore and Hanson installing a new drivetrain on their ‘67 Camaro project car. The buildup will include a TCI transmission, high-stall converter, driveshaft, and crossmember. They’ll also put a dual-exhaust system on their F-body project. September 19-20 is the kick-off of the ‘32 Ford roadster replica project-chassis construction, suspension, brakes, wheels, and tires. Of course, there will be plenty more highlights from HOT ROD’s World’s Fastest Street Cars series as…

The HOT ROD staff wishes to express its heartfelt thanks to the Power Tour host clubs in each city, many of whom stepped up at the last minute to take charge of parking tour participants and spectators alike. We could not have made this year’s tour the success that it was without the invaluable assistance of the following organizations: Pomona, CA: Southern California Viper Club, 310/784-5823 Mesquite, NV: Classic Thunderbird Club of Las Vegas, 702/396-2703 Grand Junction, CO: Mopars Unlimited of Colorado, 970/241-1815 Morrison, CO: Viper Club of Denver, 303/969-7807 Goodland, KS: Northwest Kansas Vocational Technical School, 785/899-3641 Kansas City, MO: Camaro Club of Kansas City, 816/254-4227 St. Louis, MO: Jersey County Street Machines, 618/498-2492 Indianapolis, IN: Indy Hi-Winders, 317/422-9494 Tinley Park, IL: North Shore Street Rods, 815/436-5408 Mt. Clemens,…

Car Pool Camaro With the look of a vintage Trans Am racer, Marc Moore’s ‘69 Camaro went the distance. I rode with Moore from Green Giver, Utah, to Grand Junction, Colorado, a 112-mile stretch that gave me plenty of time to get acquainted with this four-speed, big-block-powered road racer. Moore commutes daily from West Hollywood, California, to San Diego (a trek of 105 miles); all I can say is his kidneys must be tough as nails. The Camaro's ultrastiff suspension transmits every imperfection in the road to the fully buttressed racing seats. But when Moore opened the Holley 850 and the 462 instantly threw us down 1-70 at more than 130 mph, the surefooted suspension came into its own. Moore's understated yet brutally effective Camaro gets my vote for Best…

Camaro Cruise Your ol’ dad had to have his “roots rides.” I had to cruise in the old HOT HOD Camaro project car. Although I was not a part of the magazine’s staff in 1967, when then-editor Jim McFarland secured a testbed Camaro, I joined Petersen a year later, while the car was still being raced. It received a host of engine transplants—including a Bill Thomas-prepared 480-plus-inch big-block—and ran at Pomona and Bakersfield, Cal-ifornia. McFarland eventually bought the car from GM, raced it occasionally, then garaged it in the Los Angeles area during the latter part of 1968, with only 12,600 miles showing on the odometer. Last year, Vic Edelbrock bought the car from McFarland, gave it a shave and a haircut, and then brought it to Power Tour 1998.…

Sniper Scoop In essence, Sniper (Savoy plus Viper) started life as a near-mint ’54 Savoy convertible. But Chip Foose’s drawing envisioned a hardtop. Steel replaced canvas, and the resulting carcass received most of the engine, drivetrain, and suspension from a Viper donor. Troy Trepanier has produced an extraordinary triple-threat treat—a show-car-quality piece that made the 2,200-mile trip with nary a problem. Somewhere between Frisco and Golden, Colorado, a Smokey caught Trepanier chatting along at better than 130 mph. Thanks in part to our coverage of the car in HOT ROD, Trepanier was let off with a warning of, “I caught you at 131, and that’s a little excessive here.” After learning Trepanier’s identity, the officer handed back the license with, “Have a nice day.” About 25 miles east of Kansas…

ITEM/SERVICE PRICE Holley carburetor $280.00 MSD ignition and coil $175.00 Intake manifold $154.00 Cam and kit $215.00 Stainless-steel valves $148.00 Pistons $98.00 Rings $29.00 Clevite bearings (mains, rods, and camshaft) $63.00 ARP rod bolts $35.00 Fastener set $125.00 Gasket set $48.00 Oil pump $25.00 Deep oil pan and pickup $118.00 Abrasive rolls $12.00 Core plugs (brass for water jackets) $21.00 Bore and hone to 0.030-inch over $155.00 Install cast-iron valve guides $100.00 Three-angle valve job (seats and valves) $145.00 Surface heads $95.00 Install cam bearings $47.00 Deck block $55.00 Clean, inspect, and mag heads $35.00 Clean and inspect block and rotating assembly $85.00 Machine and polish crank to 0.010 inch/0.010 inch $76.00 Press-fit pins $60.00 Resize rods $85.00 Our Total $2,484.00 Maximum Savings $763.00 Maximum Low-Buck Deal $1,721.00 *Note: Prices…

When Chrysler Corporation acquired American Motors in late 1987, it absorbed some of its employees, facilities, and manufacturing techniques. So when Jeep Truck Engineering convened to convert Chrysler’s small-block engines to Magnum form, AMC thinking influenced the redesign. This is most evident in the truck motors’ rocker gear, where cost considerations prevailed over time-honored technology. And instead of retaining Chrysler’s proven shaft-pivot rocker arm system (and the stability, durability, and precise action it delivers), engineers formulated a more cost-conscious ball-stud pivot arrangement to work the Magnum’s valves. Compared with a shaft system, a ball-stud rocker train is noisier and requires pushrod guideplates, and the arms rock with more wasted motion. The studs work better if the valves don’t have to be lifted too fast or too far. (For extreme performance,…

CarTech Auto Books and Manuals Will it fit?” Ed Staffel’s new book, the Chevrolet Small Block Parts Interchange Manual answers the question once and for all. Did you know that standard-production pushrods for non-roller factory cams are 7.794 inches long, while pushrods for factory hydraulic roller cams are 0.630 inch shorter to accommodate longer roller lifters? It’s an obscure detail, but just one of hundreds of potential snags faced by the small-block Chevy enthusiast. This valuable resource arms you with more than 300 black-and-white photos and 128 info-packed pages. Numerous charts list casting numbers to help identify swap-meettrea-sure…or trash. If you’re build ing a Mouse motor, you need this book. Contact: CarTech, 11481 Kost Dam Rd., North Branch, MN 55056, or call 800/551-4754.…

The term “on-board diagnostics” (OBD) has become a household word among automotive performance enthusiasts interested in modern-day hot rods. You can bet that aftermarket manufacturers are familiar with the concept as well, because in one way or another, OBD affects their business. In this installment of the on-board diagnostics series, we’ll look at how the development of OBD has influenced (and will continue to influence) the speed equipment industry, and how these effects trickle down to you. In the ‘96 model year, OBD became OBD-II. The system’s evolution (particularly the leap in 1996) has encompassed both greater complexity and greater diagnostic power—for example, the ability to monitor more sensors (and outputs) in order to really get a handle on the information the computer receives. It is this increased capability that…

Watch for detailed route information for our first-ever East Coast Power Tour! If you’re joining us, or even if you want to come and visit, this will be the where, when, and how. We’ve already got more than 500 cars preregistered, so it could rival our annual cross-country trek in terms of sheer size. Come on out and see how Power Tour works, East Coast-style! Our cruise nights will be as follows: Saturday, October 17: Fitchburg, MA, at Ft. Devens (Route 2 West at exit 37Bk Sponsored by Flowmaster. Sunday, October 18: Suffern, NY, at Rockland Community College (I-87/I-287 at exit 14B). Monday, October 19: Gaithersburg, MD, at Montgomery County Agricultural Center (I-270 at exit 11). Sponsored by the HOT ROD Power Club. Tuesday, October 20: Mooresville, NC, at Race…

Pure Hoot When Dave Rentsman and his double-A Pure Funn Altered made the cold-A run from Michigan to Bakersfield, California, last March, I knew my chance had come. Still, I waited for the last leg of the tour, the one from Dexter, Michigan, to Mt. Clemens, to finally realize my dream. And I wasn’t disappointed, no indeedy! Pure Funn really pulls from 120 mph on up. With no windshield to speak of, it gets a little breezio, but I’m a roadster dude, and I’ve got ringing ears to prove it. Rentsman is what you call pure squirrel. No matter how hard he tried, nobody wanted to bounce off with him. And no tunnel escaped his love of full-throttle noise. Moreover, I love Rentsman’s method of douching his Bantam. Get out…

Modern Vintage Despite my growing interest in mid-year (’63-’67) Vettes, I had never been in one until Power Tour. That’s when I got a ride in Robert Wright’s ’65 coupe, which he had driven to California from his home in Kansas for the tour. At first, I thought it was just a clean resto with Weld wheels, but I soon found that it was much more than that. Under the hood was a ‘90s-style LT1 from a recent Corvette, coupled to a 4L60E automatic transmission. Riding in Wright’s car was pure pleasure. Although it breathed through an open conical air filter and full length headers, there was little engine noise beyond the soothing purr. The suspension was supple enough to absorb minor road imperfections; the original buckets provided surprising comfort;…

Thundering on 80 I remember Jerry Kugel describing Frank Curie’s ersatz ’32 Ford roadster as a car you hear before it appears—which was made abundantly clear on Power Tour. I caught up with Currie at Golden, Colorado, as he was getting ready to head out to Goodland, Kansas. The electronics governing the fuel injector and the transmission weren’t talking to each other, so Currie was in limphome mode. But with 705 cubic inches of Shotgun Ford on board, even a computer glitch wasn’t all that evil, At 2,200 rpm—a mere burble from the exhaust pipes—we were running well beyond the 70-mph speed limit, and as Currie reminded me, at 5,000 rpm we would exceed 200 mph…and it doesn't take very long to get there. The. only thing that failed was…

Widely regarded as one of the world’s best Mopar engine men, Ray Barton is famous for his NHRA record-setting Super Stock Hemis. The fact is, he and the crew at Ray Barton Racing Engines (RBRE) also work wonders with wedge-head Mopars. The stroked 451 low-deck motor outlined here sports a mere 10.5:1 compression, a streetable flat-tappet camshaft, and mildly reworked aluminum Indy heads, yet it produces an astounding 673 hp at 6,900 rpm and 527 lb-ft of torque at 5,400 rpm. RBRE assembled this tail-torque heavy for a well-heeled street performance enthusiast, and the tab came to about 11 grand. But that’s because the customer insisted on the ultimate in reliability, hence the inclusion of premium parts. Similar performance can be achieved for significantly less money…

Producing one horsepower per cubic inch has long been an ideal in the performance world. Remember Chevy crowing about its 283 fuelie motors making a like amount of horsepower in 1957? The more cubes you have, the easier it generally is to make torque and horsepower. So what better way to make power than with one of the biggest production-car engines of the modern era: the 500-inch Cadillac of the ‘70s. What better way, indeed. Larry Kruzick of Cadillac Motorsport Development (CMD) in Lakeland, Florida—”the originator of performance Cadillac applications”—posed that same question in the mid-’80s. Since then, Kruzick has become the Lux leader, making possible the swapping of hundreds of big-cube Cadoos into everything from street rods to musclecars to tow vehicles using a conversion…

It is feasible to use a pre-Magnum cylinder case in a Magnum engine assembly. The differences between the two are molded into the Magnum’s taller tappet bosses and tappet-retainer attachment provisions. The short tappet bores in an early block can be extended by overboring the bosses and press-fitting bronze bushings that are 0.400 inch taller (and honed to the stock 0.9055-inch inside diameter). But because the bushings will block oil feed to the tappets, they have to be drilled or reamed longitudinally to restore the flow. And although the unsupported upper segments of tall bushings may have a hard time handling high pushrod side loads, they could be made to work in an OE-type application. The other snag in a potential block swap is the missing holes for the roller…

Cover Your Box Corvette America Glovebox Covers When it’s time for the finishing touches, use an ABS Glove Box Door Cover to complete the restoration or repair of the dash on your ‘78-’82 Corvette. The covers are available in original colors for an exact match, and they install directly over your glovebox door. Information: Corvette America, Dept. HRO9, Rt. 322, Box 427, Boalsburg, PA 16827, 800/458-3475. Fierce Fords Hypertech Reprogramming Hyper-tech’s new Power Module optimizes spark advance and air/fuel ratios to boost overall power and driveability in Ford cars and trucks. Vehicles also benefit from automatic-shift firmness that increases with throttle opening, as well as higher limits for shift rpm (where applicable). Information: Hypertech, Dept. HRO9, 1910 Thomas Rd., Memphis, TN 38134-6315, 901/382-8888. Running Cool Perma-Cool Coolers You can never…

Welcome to the second installment of Petersen’s NASCAR Technology Transfer. In this series, we continue to take you inside the world of NASCAR racing and show you how that world relates to the real world where you and I drive. Last time, we talked about brakes and intake manifolds, and how lessons learned in the heat of battle on the track translate to improving the breed on the freeway. In this issue, we discuss two more areas of critical importance to racers and consumers alike: gasoline and high-tech materials. You probably don’t think about gasoline all that much, unless the price jumps or you find yourself staring at an empty fuel gauge at oh-dark-thirty in a strange neighborhood. Truth be told, racers don’t either, unless the fuel pressure meter starts…

The official racing gasoline of NASCAR is 76 Racing Gasoline. The association started in 1951, when the Pure Oil Company, later to merge with Union Oil, began supplying gasoline to NASCAR. At that time, the gasoline was just normal service-station premium. In the mid-‘50s, Pure Oil started a contingency program that paid racers to use its gas. The first sponsor decals used on a race car were Pure Oil’s. When Detroit started the horsepower race and engine compression ratios began to rise, vaporlocking became a problem. A new gasoline formulation, with a lower Reid Vapor Pressure, was introduced in 1955. This was the first “racing gasoline.” It had 2 grams of lead per gallon of gasoline. If we use today’s formula for octane, research octane number (RON) plus motor octane…