Indholdsfortegnelse for April 1953 i Hot Rod

Late model Fords with rocker arm Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Chrysler V8 engines under their hoods have become commonplace lately, but 1934 Fords with rocker arm engines are still a little startling. The particular ’34 we have reference to is the property of Dean Moon, of Pico. Calif. Dean has been a staunch Ford and Mercury man for many years—he earns his living as a mechanic in a Lincoln-Mercury agency in Whittier, Calif.—but he recently “saw the light” and deserted the old faithful flat-heads for a more modern Studebaker V8 powerplant for his coupe. The engine of a wrecked 1951 Commander was purchased for this conversion for the pleasingly low price of $200.00. The engine was complete, with the exception of the generator and distributor cap, and had been run only…

• • • • The chassis of this beautifully constructed modified roadster was started several years ago by Jim Nairn who, when his available cash supply ran dry. started cutting lightening holes. When he had finished, there were over 360 such holes that had been cut in the body and chassis. More recently, the present owner, Paul Sylva, finished the car in time to compete in the 1952 Bonneville Nationals. Paul went along with Nairn’s original idea and added a few lightening holes of his own. Ready to run. the jewel weighs 1600 lbs. At Bonneville, the car’s fastest time was 157.61 mph. which was good for second place in the “B” modified roadster division. The power came from a Mercury engine equipped with an Ardun overhead valve conversion. The…

BACKFIRING Dear Don: We’re hoping you can solve a gréât controversy that is taking place between several hot rod fans here at school. It concerns backfiring: I contend that backfiring is caused by a sudden increase in manifold vacuum when the throttle is closed at high speed, which in turn causes the vacuum advance on the distributor to snap back to idling advance. This causes the spark plug to fire while the exhaust valve is still open, blowing the whole works out the exhaust manifold. A couple of my buddies, on the other hand, say that it is just unburned gas mixture in the exhaust manifold which is ignited by the heat. I can’t quite see this. Why is it that the backfiring only occurs1 when the throttle is closed…

Shown here are a few of the car’s unusual and eye-catching features. Note boxed and filled frame, sturdy bumper and headlight mounting brackets. SOME of our West Coast readers may recognize this fine ’32 roadster as one built by the Grant Piston Ring Co. several years ago. After its completion, it was purchased by midget driver Ray Jannelle, of Pawtucket, R. I. The car was driven all over the country and timed at the Bonneville and Daytona Beach speed trials. To date, the fastest speed has been 121.9 mph. The car is now owned by Harvey Lister, of East Providence, R. L, who takes justifiable pride in exhibiting it in East Coast automotive shows. The engine is a ’46 Merc bored to 3 5/16 inches and is equipped with Edelbrock…

THE modified roadster shown here belongs to Tom Kelly and John Junkin. At the 1952 Bonneville Nationals, the car was referred to as the “Needlenose Special” by virtue of the aircraft-style pitot tube that extends from the nose. This device was part of an experiment to record the indicated airspeed of the car and compare this speed with the clocked time. What this experiment proved is anybody’s guess, but the fact remains that the car itself is a very good example of a competition roadster. Johnny built the chassis and Tom supplied the 292 cu. in. GMC engine, which produced 290 bhp using straight methanol. A top speed of 155.54 mph was reached at the Bonneville trials for fifth place in “C” modified roadster class. All the more impressive since…

After a car has been given the “custom treatment,” which usually involves “dechroming,” the owner may find that the stock door and deck lid handles are out of place and distracting. In order to properly carry out the custom theme, the door and deck lid handles should be removed. Through the years, various types of remote mechanical latching devices have been tried without much success. So far, the best method of remotely operating the door and deck lid latches is the installation of an electro-mechanical system. This type has several distinct advantages over a purely mechanical arrangement. Specifically, an electro-mechanical system is more compact, the necessary latch operation merely requires the push of a button. Common sense should limit the use of such a system to doors and deck lids.…

(Editor’s note: Eric Rickman, top-notch MOTOR TREND photographer, is a familiar figure in the pits, in the shops, at the tracks … wherever there’s motor action. Rick knows cars, likes cars. He is the TRENDER who first discovered the McRay Protecto Rod, tried it … well, let him tell it …) CRIMINY—it works! That’s pretty good for a starter. What is it and how does it work? It’s a series of zinc and copper plates on a stainless steel spring core, with rubber bumpers at each end to prevent noisy contact with the radiator tank walls and damage to the radiator. You just insert the Rod through the neck of the radiator into the tank; it’s held in place by an expansion ring attached to a brass chain which fastens…

Howard Johanson is famous all over the countryside for his ability to extract “ vast sums of horsepower from an engine. Time and again he has proven this ability with Ford. Mercury, Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac engines. Howard, incidentally, is the man who grinds Howard’s cams, in Los Angeles, Calif. More recently, his inventive attentions have been focused on the possibilities of the new DeSoto overhead valve V8 engine. In Howard’s mind, this and other Chrysler Corporation V8 engines present potentialities far in excess of any of the present crop of production engines. Primarily, Howard’s interest in the DeSoto V8 centers around its use as a power plant for his ’266’ Class hydroplane. First, he experimented with a stock DeSoto engine. Then he added his own cam and valve gear.…

Buzzing over Southern California’s Angeles Crest Highway, a few miles out of Los Angeles, C. L. Munding’s two-seater is not the least unusual car on the road. Powered by two war surplus, air-cooled Ranger generator engines, the little car was built in Munding’s Glendale machine shop and, when completed, will be enclosed with a fiberglas sports-type body. In its present stage the car cruises comfortably at 65 miles per hour with two passengers. However, at an earlier stage in its development the front end had a tendency to lift off the ground under power, due to the extreme lightness of construction. To offset this somewhat unsettling trait, a large circular lead weight was secured on crossmembers located ahead of the front axle. The result is absolute stability. Even in its…

To his many friends in Southern California. there was nothing unusual about the fact that Lt. j.g. Harvey Haller scraped together enough materials and spare-time hours to construct a lakester while serving with the Navy in Hawaii. Although Haller’s “working hours” were devoted to piloting a plane for the Navy, he still managed to keep himself abreast of his favorite hobby, hot rods. During the time he was stationed in Hawaii. Harvey became one of the guiding lights to other hot rod enthusiasts of the area, helping them with their mechanical and construction problems and aiding them in organizing clubs and setting up their activities. Most of the parts which went into Haller’s lakester were shipped to him from the mainland; which is where his partner, Frank Breene, fits into…

At the 1952 Bonneville Nationals, the California boys were shocked into realizing that they didn’t have a monopoly on fast cars. Bill Waddill’s enterprising crew from Flint, Mich., helped to prove this point. They worked frantically during the week-long event trying to persuade their modified 1950 Cadillac V8 engine to function on more than six cylinders. Eventually, the trouble was found to be two exhaust valves that were sticking open. The heads were rushed into Salt Lake City where the offending valve guides were reamed to the proper size. The engine was reassembled and a run taken through the course at 150.50 mph. fast enough for first place. In a record attempt, the engine was too tired to stay together. In spite of a siege of trouble and a blown-up…

Requirements of “Hot Rod Mart” are: limit of 25 words per ad, not including name and address. Ads will be placed in this column on a first come, first served basis. We reserve the right to edit ads when necessary. We are not responsible for the accuracy of descriptions, but we will reject any obviously misleading statements. No ads will be knowingly accepted from commercial firms. A charge of $2.00 per ad will be made and must accompany each ad. Only one car may be listed in any one ad. This limitation will not apply to parts or equipment, however. Address all ads to Hot Rod Mart, 5959 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles 28, Calif. SELL OR TRADE—Customized ’50 Ford club coupe with souped ’50 Mercury engine, extra instruments and equipment.…