Indholdsfortegnelse for September 1954 i Hot Rod

Anyone who has any doubts as to whether the hot rod sport is progressing or not should take a fast look at the list of active Drag Strips around the country. Where the field of amateur competition once limited itself to areas where there were dry lakes and flat beaches, the sport now enjoys the advantage of having quarter-mile drag strips in the majority of states. We've gone in pretty heavily with our support of the drag strip as an outlet for speed enthusiasm and as an active Safety program. We've seen the drag races mature from an illegal “street race” stage to their present position of respect as an “off the street” activity. The wide acceptance of organized drag racing as an amateur sport, by both police and public,…

The best way to find out what is going on in other parts of the country is to go there yourself and find out. That's exactly what we're doing—the crew of NHRA's first annual Drag Safari and myself. We left Los Angeles on June io, headed for parts South. East and North. Bud Coons. Field Director of the National Hot Rod Association, is the Crew Chief and a 1954 Dodge V8 station wagon provides the motive power to transport the NHRA trailer and its cargo of timing equipment, p.a. system, phones, wire, power plant, trophies, and other paraphernalia needed for conducting first-class Regional Championship Drag Meets. Members of the NHRA Drag Strip Crew include Bob Huff. Chic Cannon and Don Cox, all experienced hands at setting up drag events. Fuel…

Within a mere matter of days now the exclusively famous Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah will come under fire for the sixth annual running of the National Speed Trials. August 29th to September 5th. Always a thrilling spectacle, this year's struggle for speed supremacy by America's top builders, tuners and drivers will be especially critical in lieu of the further refinement in classes. As an example, you will notice that the most popular class, “C” Coupe and Sedan, as shown in the listing of records (next page), suddenly turns up as being “open.” While full credit must be given last year's champion of the class, Quinton and Joehnck, who carried off top honors with a speed average of 136.158 mph, current modifications now outdate the car, thus the Open classification.…

You see them scooting around town every now and again, and occasionally you'll find someone who, like Mr. and Mrs. Del Bostic of Los Angeles, California, realizes the car's possibilities—witness their '38 Fiat coupe with a V8-60 engine. The weight element in itself is a mighty big enticement, but when the classic Fiat lines are thrown in for good measure, the little foreign critter becomes a bargain on any continent. The Bostics' combination, using a Model T chassis and the small '37 Ford mill, checks in at about 1,728 pounds and could very easily be pared down to California's maximum weight fenderless limit of 1,500 pounds. To accommodate the comparatively large powerplant, it was necessary to lengthen the engine compartment between firewall and radiator, giving the coupe an even more…

LOOK WHAT WE STARTED! Sirs: Some of the points brought out on the Bourke two-stroke engine in the July issue are incorrect. For instance, it was stated that all inertia forces developed by piston, rod and crank motion were put to work in some new way to aid cylinder filling and compression. Actually, the Bourke layout is quite similar to a conventional engine in regard to the inertia forces. Technically, it will behave as if it had a connecting rod of infinite length. With equal stroke. RPM, and reciprocating weight the maximum inertia force over the cycle will be about Vo less than on a conventional engine … that is, say at 5000 rpm. inch stroke, and with 3 lbs. reciprocating weight, the reciprocating inertia force at top center would…

In 1940 it was sheer magic—today the Hydra-Matic transmission is about as much a novelty as a pair of Caddy fins. Derived from the words “hydraulic” and “automatic,” today's ratio robot resembles its prewar ancestor in basic principle only, having been steadily refined to keep pace with the tremendous advances in engine power and changes in chassis and body design. A popular move nowadays by a large number of power-seeking addicts is to buy, new or used, a large displacement, late model overhead valve engine such as Cadillac, Oldsmobile or Lincoln and install it in a Ford, Chevrolet, or other relatively lightweight chassis. The three engines mentioned are usually equipped with Hydra-Matic transmissions in their own chassis, so it is an easy matter to bolt one to them when making…

It's a big jump from a small group's discussion over a grease rack to a full fledged NHRA regional championship on their own drag strip, but the Dragons of Santa Maria, Calif, made the jump, and things are still jumping for them. The Dragons didn't just fall heir to their strip, which occupies a section of the Santa Maria Municipal Airport, they worked hard for it. For a club with some thirty active members, their accomplishments are amazing. They have their own combination clubhouse and concession stand at the strip, where wives and gals take over at week-end events. Their strip operation program is one of the most cooperative, efficient arrangements seen to date. Each member contributes his share and none is afraid to pitch in and work. When the…

The other day I was stuck in tearing down my micro-midget by having the 5/8-inch bolt that holds the rear radius rod cut fast in its socket after turning out only about two turns. The bolt was too big to try to drill out to its minor diameter with a hand drill and, being fast to the frame, I could not put the frame on the drill press and line it up as you would a small object. Also, with a drill that big, if you get off center ever so little you are cutting half of your threads away at one shot and the hole is spoiled. I solved my problem of removing the bolt by drilling a series of small holes that all intersect each other in a…

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 description, 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. Send to Hot Rod Mart, 5959 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles 28, Calif. SELL—'51 Barris Kustom Mercury, chopped and channeled, custom upholstery, plastic knobs, chromed '53 Cad engine, featured in March…

HYDRA-MATIC TOOL BOOKLET A new 12-page booklet describes and illustrates the entire line of Hydra-Matic transmission service tools produced by Kent-Moore. The tools are classified in the booklet by car make application and are presented in two functional groups: (1) Making adjustments without removal and (2) disassembly and overhaul. All the special tools required for factory recommended service are contained. Write Kent-Moore Organizations, Inc., 5-105 General Motors Building, Detroit 2, Michigan. FIBERGLAS ROADSTER Two companies, Triplex Industries and Morgan and Ketcham's Automotive Corporation are working in conjunction to market this frame and body combination. Although designed for '42-'48 Ford and Merc running gear, most V8 engines can be adapted. It has a wheelbase of 100 inches, ground clearance of 8 inches, 50/50 weight distribution. Total weight of car with Merc…

Mmmm BOY—what a little jewel! And you might know it'd be a glossy jet black … natural garb for a '25 'T. Wally Olson, Fresno, California, automotive machinist, is the lucky owner and builder. Duane Taylor was called in for the body work, and it's obvious that he took the call in all sincerity. Perhaps the unusual inspiration behind Wally's 'T' accounts for its outstanding craftsmanship—he built it as a lure for his two sons, Gary and Danny, ages nine and twelve. What with so much current upheaval in the teen-age ranks, Wally figured that a sure-fire way to eliminate those free-time, nothing-to-do troubles would be to interest them in a rod. And so, while the roadster would appear to be complete to the smallest detail, Wally makes a point…

Being an official and charter member of Racing Roadsters, Inc., of Oakland. California, Doug Shaw took off in the accepted direction when he started work on a '25 'T' roadster. Then, somewhere along the line. Doug must have gone to the road races, for he scrapped his plans for a track roadster and placed an order with Jack Hageman for a super-light aluminum competition body. In the meantime, Doug was busy modifying the superstructure of his single rail tube frame, stiffening it to withstand the rigors of racing. Four chrome-moly body formers were arched from side to side of the frame while another horizontal tube boxed the three main body cockpit formers for extra torsional strength. Basic elements, such as Ford suspension units and general running gear, were retained along…

HIGH ALTITUDE FORD Dear Racer: I have a '54 Ford with overdrive and I would like to increase the compression ratio to 8.25 to 1. This increase is not necessarily for higher top speed, but to restore the power loss due to operating at an altitude of 5400 feet and also to improve my gas mileage. I have figured that it will be necessary to mill the heads.065 of an inch. Will it be necessary to shorten the push rods or will the rocker arm adjustment take care of it? After the heads are milled, do you think it advisable to mill the intake manifold or would it be OK to dress the ports with a grinder for proper alignment? What should this modification do for horsepower and torque outputs?…

IN APPRECIATION of their contribution toward bringing out the true status of the term ''hot rod,” and for depicting car club and association activities in a beneficial vein on their NBC radio program DRAGNET, Jack Webb and writer John Robinson were recently awarded Honorary Memberships in NHRA and were established as charter members of the exclusive “Dragnetters Club,” a 100-percent NHRA affiliate. At present they are busy soliciting the membership of one Ben Alexander, who's having more fun playing hard-to-get. NHRA'S “SAFARI,” coast-to-coast Drag Sanctioning tour, is rambling through the wilds of the Midwest about this time. Stops at major points such as Linden, N.J.; Pennellville, N.Y.; Akron, Ohio (Aug. 8) have given them a good cross-section of the accomplishments and problems of affiliate groups in all areas. At this…