Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2000 i Hot Rod

IN COUNTRY As I’ve grown and bumped up against maturity, I’ve been able to uncover my real self… or my perpetrated self. I’m not sure which. The experience began when I was teenager, a fresh-faced adolescent at a time when patriotism and self-sacrifice in America were at once at their highest and their lowest points. I began hearing and reading reports of my high school buddies who were killed in Southeast Asia on a sweaty strip of beachfront called Vietnam. I watched with detached interest the carnage and heard the nightly recitals on the evening news—body counts, bomb tonnage, blood, burning—yet I remained untouched by all of it. What did I care? It was happening a world away from my safe, white upper middle class enclave. I was quite content…

You Better Keep Still T-Model Ford I was and remain a Model T guy, more comfortable with imperfection than its opposite, cherishing the ability to discern and shore up a latent weakness. That excerpt from a Jim Thompson novel, printed on the inside cover, is doubly appropriate. The two artists evoke the same world-a rural South of oppressive heat and nonchalant violence. I wish I had the space to list T-Model Ford’s barfights, murders, and other miscellaneous scrapes with the law. These backstories put the music in context. Who could listen to the Beatles without thinking of them mobbed at the airport, or the Stones without visions of Altamont? Similarly, I doubt I’ll ever put on You Better Keep Still without imagining Ford pinning his cheatin’ third wife to the…

Don Theune is an artist, and his canvas is the 1:25 scale model kit. The latest in his renowned historical drag-race display series is the “Super Stock Wars.” Mix and match your favorite drivers and cars for your own dream pairing! Pair up any two or four of your favorite dragstrip heroes-Sox and Martin’s ’67 GTX, Grumpy’s Toy Camaro (both shown), plus the Stiles & Stahl Belvedere, the Drag-On Lady Coronet, Dick Landy's Dodge, or Don Grotheer's Cable Car Plymouth. These are more than assembled model kits-each is covered in absolutely correct graphics and includes all of the engine wires and hoses. It’s almost an insult to call these creations model kits; the results are museum-quality. Just 25 pairs will be made, each custom-ordered, and pricing ain’t cheap (nearly four…

art is a curious thing. It can be whatever you or the artist wants it to be. It can recall the fantasies of youth, the realities of our past, or some intriguing combinations thereof. Art can take us places we never were, places we wish we had been, or places we remember clear as yesterday. It triggers the senses enough to bring all of it rushing forth: the smell of the burning bias-plies, the sounds of anger as eight cylinders ring out the red-line, the taste of the burgers and fries from the local diner or track that now weigh heavy on our waistlines, or that tight feeling in your gut as you pop the clutch and stomp on the gas. Good art can make you wax nostalgic. It will…

“Bruce Crower,” says the loquacious Little John Buttera, “gets up every morning, plugs his brain into a 440-am? socket, then goes to work. He’s the quiet, thoughtful, decent center of high-performance information—the kind of guy who will never talk down to you, who will always take the time to ask you probing questions, give you a series of unvarnished answers, and then let you make the decisions on how to proceed.” The 70-year-old Crower is one of hot rodding’s original thinkers, a man who continues to champion and explore the dynamics of the internal combustion engine—be it finishing a handbuilt OHV conversion for his unrestored ’46 Cushman or finding a home for the radical, two-cycle, five-cylinder, 75-mpg engine that he’s currently developing at his Jamul, California, shop. Being far out…

Mike Daurity’s Super Street Hemi ’Cuda Since its inception, the NMCA Super Street category has been dominated by nitrous-guzzling big-block Chevys, and more recently, by blown or nitrous oxide small-block Mustangs. What about the once-mighty Hemi? Despite its legendary domination of everything from NASCAR to Top Fuel, the Hemi seems to have lost its edge these days. Nobody has seriously considered running an elephant in Super Street, saying “it can’t be done.” Mike Daurity—a Sanford, North Carolina, garage owner—made his Super Street debutin nothing less than a Nitrous Works fortified 484-inch H-E-M-I. Knowing that variety is the spice of life, we decided to do a story on Mike’s unlikely combination and see what makes it tick. We even called ahead so he’d know we were interested. But a freak mishap…

THE REAL FUN WAS ON THE STREET It is one of the great ironies of the musclecar era that Pontiac’s Trans Am never gained notoriety in the race series that it was named for. While the factory efforts of Bud Moore’s Boss Mustangs, Sam Posey and Dan Gurney’s small-block E-body Mopars, and Roger Penske’s 304ci Javelins sliced and diced on the SCCA sanctioned road courses of America, Pontiac’s bespoke Trans Ams looked sharp but were perennial also-rans. When the most successful Pontiac of the era was Herb Adams’ Grey Ghost, a privateer ’64 Tempest outfitted to do battle, you know something ain’t right. Out on the street, however, it was another matter entirely. Javelin? ’Cuda? Challenger? All dead by the end of ’74. Mustang lives on, but the high-strung Boss…

What does it take to rip up MSD Super Street? Some claim that to run well you’ve gotta bring a blown Mustang to the party. Certainly, jimmy Keen and his supercharged ’87 Mustang nailed the top qualifying spot for the second round of the NMCA-Comp Cams Super Street championship with 7.751/182.28. Certainly, Joel Greathouse won this event in his blown ’91 Mustang and set both ends (7.618/185.18) of the Super Street record as well. But check this out: Nick Scavo and his juiced Camaro wound up in the final round, while Jim Huber, in his nitrous S-10, qualified third fastest. Ray Sanchez, in his newly supercharged ’67 Camaro, qualified fifth. Elias DeLaTorre he qualified second in his blown Mustang (7.770/183.07), and Greathouse was right behind Huber with a 7.881. A…

Headin’ Your Way? Headers By Ed One of the few header manufacturers to offer true equal-length primary pipes, “Ed” has been doing this stuff for years. In an eight-way dyno test shootout, Ed’s headers revealed “massive torque increases of as much as 51 lb-ft over typical four tube headers…” Header kits and parts are available for hundreds of different Four, Six, V-6, V-8, and V-12 engines. Information: Headers By Ed, Dept. HR07, 2710-VZ 16th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407; 612/729-2802; www.headersbyed.com. Free Flowin’ Vortech Engineering Vortech announces its Maxflow Fuel System for ’86-’93 500L Mustangs. The system is complete from the custom fuel tank pickup to the fuel rails, and it’s capable of flowing as much as 90 gph at 45 psi. Designed for continuous operation, Vortech’s T-Rex pumps can…

Lebanese Lightning Lebanon isn’t exactly a hotbed of automotive performance, so you can imagine that Manuel Bedoyan’s ’72 Challenger stands out all the more as he cruises Ainjar-Bekaa. Two years ago it was a $400 wreck; now it sports a ’71 front clip, a 383 Magnum, 15-inch rims and white-letter tires, new red paint, and tons more. At least gas is really cheap out there! Turkish Terror Ekrem Vardar of Cankay, Ankara, Turkey, sent us shots of his Rat-infested ’70 Camaro RS. The 502 sports 12.5:1 compression, and without the three-stage 250-horse nitrous shot, it dynos out at 750 hp and 680 lb-ft of torque. Awesome Aussie They built Mopars differently down in Australia; this ’72 Australian Valiant is proof of that. Jeff Rubin of Garden Grove, California, brought this…

Engine swaps for more cylinders and power aren’t just an American phenomenon. Better power and torque show themselves well in a lighter platform, where even small gains become more noticeable. Volkswagen’s New Beetle (a Mexico assembly facility and the joys of NAFTA more or less make it an American car) is no different. It shares a chassis with the VW Golf/Jetta and Audi TT (also the Europe-only Audi A3, Seat Toledo, and Skoda Octavia… but who’s counting?), which means any engine (and even optional all-wheel-drive powertrain bits) will bolt into any of these chassis. Thus, the VR6 Beetle was born, spawned by Doctor Boltz of Hermosa Beach, California. This car started out as a 1.9L turbo-diesel pumping out a pathetic 115 horsepower. No more. The spec sheet is more comprehensive…

Think you’ve got it rough rebuilding your car? Picture this: 1) You’re a high school kid. 2) You’re building a Mercury that doesn’t have a ton of parts available. 3) You live in Kodiak, Alaska. Three strikes you’re out, right? Not so fast. Where there’s desire and an aching need for speed, there will be cool cars. Such was the case with the students of Kodiak Island Borough High School. They Testified a ’67 Cougar over this past school year. They dropped in a fuel-injected 5.0L Ford backed by an AOD, converted to disc brakes, fabricated a custom leather interior, and sprayed the chromatic flip-flop paint over the Cougar’s comely flanks. These enthusiasts, 15 to 18 years old, spent eight solid months, including weekends and evenings, getting it ready. It…

The chopped windshield neatly bisects your line of sight, but at least there is no roof to obscure the traffic light hovering above you. It is red, this ride you command; it matches your face after a day of bashing about under ol’ Sol’s evil eye. Power brake at the light—because you can, because it pays off eventually—and there’s almost enough low-end grunt to push forward, and it’s not because the brakes are bad. The power under your right foot is that healthy. At the green, the massive 20-inch tires won’t (or can’t) break loose, but you are thrown back hard in your bucket seat nonetheless. No wasted time in tire smoke. Wind noise, supercharger whine, and the mellifluous exhaust fight for control of your auditory canal as the tach…

Most aspects of a cylinder head are relatively straightforward and easy to grasp. Valve size, deck thickness, and combustion chamber volume are often discussed as indicators of the design’s efficiency. But there is much more to consider. The combustion chamber dictates the power the engine can produce as well as its octane tolerance and its brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC). Basic Combustion The flame from a candle maintains a key element of combustion related to that of an engine (although inside an engine, the gas exchange process takes place at higher-than-atmospheric pressure). A flame can have two distinct regions: pre-mixed and diffusion. A burning candle experiences a diffusion flame because it occurs at the interface between the fuel and the oxidant. With a candle, the fuel is melted and evaporated by…

CADDY 500 JUNKYARD JEWEL: 450 HP, 580 LB-FT FOR LESS THAN $2,000 The Thin Green Line While the vast majority of HRM readers support our Junkyard Jewel engine series, a few individuals (mostly advertisers) asked, “What’s up with all the junkyard crap? This kind of stuff is irresponsible.” To these dissenters, we submit that a thin line separates participants from spectators. Very few novice hot rodders can afford an engine buildup based on new parts and razor sharp machine tolerances. If the low cost of a boneyard core and budget bolt-on parts get a rodder through the door, then later, as skills and interest grow, that same rodder will assume more costly projects. Without these humble beginnings, the grandstands will be full, but the racetrack will be empty. Big cubic…

Around the power centers of American business, there is a word that is whispered from behind closed doors and from the important people’s offices, all hush-hush and top secret: Culture. Now, they’re not talking about whether you know which fork to use while eating your salad, whether you attend the ballet, or even some sly yogurt reference. Culture refers to corporate culture, and worker bees like you and me are quietly ranked by management according to whether were into it or not. See, you can’t just accept whatever direction the company is headed: You have to believe in it. If you disagree with what the bosses are up to, or even if you simply want to plug along, keep your head down, and just plain ol’ do your job, then…

YOUR POWER TOUR RIDES! Power Tour 2000 Sponsors SPONSORED BY OFFICIAL SPONSORS CRUISE-IN SPONSORS EVENT SPONSORS BAER RACING, CENTERFORCE CLUTCHES, CURRIE ENTERPRISES, DAIMLERCHRYSLER, DUPLICOLOR, GPT 300, INC., MSD IGNITION, NEXT GENERATION BY YEAR ONE, MICKEY THOMPSON TIRES, ROL MFG. OF AMERICA, UNION 76, VINTAGE AIR, VORTECH ENGINEERING…

The hearty Carolina crowd would not be stopped by 50 degree weather and threats or monsoon-style rains approaching; we still had 100-plus cars turn out to show off and the fastest racing the NMCA has ever seen. Lots of bright colors, clean paint schemes, and boatloads of power and attitude were everywhere you looked. See for yourself. And in case you weren’t sure the Power Fest was the place to see and be seen, you can ask Duck Holder of Randleman, North Carolina: his ’39 Ford, running fuelie 351 power, will become a feature car in an upcoming issue. Watch for it! PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS SIGNATURE TOUCH AWARDS Power Festival 2000 Sponsors FEATURING SPONSORED BY CLASS SPONSORS OFFICIAL PRODUCTS CONTINGENCY SPONSORS ATI, AUTOMETER, BG FUELS, BORLA PERFORMANCE, COMPETITION CAMS,…

Nomad to Come As Well? If you’ve been worried that the Camaro name will die after 2002, fear not: Chevrolet will build an all-new car for the 2004 model year. It’ll feature a completely fresh platform, the first since the ‘.82 Camaro debuted nearly 20 years ago. The new charge will ride a 100-inch wheelbase and should weigh in the neighborhood of 3,400 pounds; it will utilize V-6 and V-8 powerplants and incorporate four-wheel independent suspension as standard equipment. Word is that it will draw styling and proportion cues from the classic ’67-69 Camaros, but obviously with a more modern flair. The performance engine option will likely be the LS1-based overhead cam motor that we’ve talked about (HR 10/98). Flagging sales, especially in the face of the 150,000-plus Mustangs per…

Chevy’s stunning SSR pickup is said to be a go for the 2003 model year. The concept was shown at the North American International Auto Show last January and featured a 6.0L 300hp version of the LSI V-8. The roadster pickup, the first factory open-top truck since Dodge’s ill-fated 1991 Dakota soft tops, is said to use the mechanical folding retractable hardtop seen on the show vehicle, a la ’59 Ford Skyliner, though a cloth top is under consideration. The stylists based their renderings on a ’53 Chevy pickup. They’ll attach the body to the new-for-2002 Blazer/S-10 chassis and will share that vehicles major suspension components. Expect styling to emulate that of the show vehicle, including the 19/20-inch wheel combo. (It’s not clear whether an independent rear suspension will be…

Count Mother Mopar’s LA series 318/360ci engines out of future product plans: Within two years, they will have been superseded by the SOHC 4.7L V-8 current in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Dakota. A high-output version, likely to produce in the neighborhood of 265hp and 290 lb-ft of torque, is slated to assume the LA-series’ engine duties in performance models like the Dakota R/T and Durango R/T in ’02. There have been some development hiccups, but nothing that won’t be solved by the introduction date. A mild variant, possibly similar in spec to its present 225hp form, will be the base V-8 in the 2003/4 Intrepid, 300, and Charger, with the hopped-up 4.7L and the all-new 5.7L Hemi as the performance options in the RWD sedans. The H.O. 4.7…

Arguably, hot rodding was spawned the moment someone tweaked a one-cylinder popper (which was likely strapped to a bicycle) to make more power. No doubt the earliest tinkerers messed around with whatever engine they had until it became obvious that further efforts were futile. But this experience was probably not the result of squeezing every last drop of power from the existing plant; more likely it was abetted by the introduction of something newer and better. Once something better exists, many of us can’t continue with the original plan. We must upgrade. But it is against the hot rodder’s instincts to buy a ready-made machine; we need to have our hand in it. So when rodders got tired of overhead valve conversions for their four-banger A motors, they scrounged together…

Of all the carburetors available for high performance, the Rochester Quadra-Jet is perhaps the most flexible in its ability to deliver that rare combination of excellent fuel economy, durability, high power output, and low emissions. Airflow ratings for this expandable item include 630, 735, 750, 800, and 840cfm. The all-metal spread-bore design utilizes small 1⅜-diameter primary butterflies for economical cruising along with massive 2-inch secondaries for balls-out work. It is almost like having two carburetors in one. Because of the significant difference in the airflow capacity of the primary and secondary barrels, the opening of the secondaries must be slowed lest the motor ingest a large gulp of air, creating a momentary lean condition and a bog. Rochester engineers put a spring-loaded air door over the inlet to the secondary…

Your heart is a muscle, pumping life and activity through your arteries, feeding a hungry body with life-giving oxygen and sustenance. Similarly, Detroit is the heart of the American motor industry, its factories pumping automotive lifeblood onto interstate arteries and back-road capillaries of America, providing motorheads nationwide with something to chew on and get them breathing heavy. Even still, in the collective heart of Detroit’s carmakers and general populace, at the heart of the heart, muscle is what the Motor City is all about. Even if the factory cannot provide, there are plenty of ways to get around the government-mandated shortcomings, both legally and in ways less so. Take, for example, the mid-’80s Ford Thunderbird—a car which, incidentally, we’d like to see a lot more people do good things with.…

You don’t have to win the race to be a winner. It’s an old saying, but it holds true in the fascinating and technically diverse world of NMCA/Comp Cams drag racing. The Rockingham, North Carolina, event played host to several teams who pushed the envelope with different powertrain combinations in an effort to gain an edge over the competition. We followed three race teams as they experienced their share of trials and tribulations before being eliminated. Even though these Buys failed to grab the gold, each one succeeded in learning more about his race car so it can be more competitive the next time out. For that, they’re all winners. Scott Merkel Goes Turbo in Super Street During the 1999 season, a certain black Mustang driven by a member of…

Edelbrock Real Street contender Bruce LaGory wanted to debut a new, smaller engine for his ’69 ’Cuda that would enable him to run just as strongly as ever, but at a lighter weight. He didn’t have it, but he still ran well enough to qualify quickest (9.131/152.19) in the 15-car field; Jeff Chandler, in his ’68 Chevelle, qualified second 9.167/147.09. Eventually, LaGory put his name in the Real Street book with a top speed record of 152.80 mph. After troubles during qualifying, Dan Paolini got the 409ci Mopar engine his in his ’94 Camaro working to perfection, but not until later in the race. Though he won the season opener at Moroso, he qualified 14th at the Rock with an uncharacteristic 12.07. Even with last year’s combination, LaGory was in…

You’ve copped a hot chip for your late-model ride and can’t wait to feel the extra power from the aggressive parameters it provides. You throw on an old cotton sweatshirt, knowing the ECM is tucked up under the dash, out of harm’s way, but where there’s plenty of dust. The soft velour seat provides only minor comfort as you scrunch down for a better look under the dashboard. You shift this way and that, and finally gain access to the ECM. When you touch it, your fingertips feel a small pop, but nothing else seems out of the ordinary and you keep working. Following the manufacturer’s instructions closely, you complete the chip swap, return the ECM to its mounting bracket, and after a quick cleanup, you twist the key. Zero.…