Indholdsfortegnelse for March 1958 i Hot Rod

Here are some quick facts on Plymouth’s sensational new Golden Commando V-3−optional on any Plymouth at slight extra cost. Advanced new rugged design−a deep-breathing 305 hp oversquare mill, with 4.06 bore and 3.38 stroke. 350 cu. in. disp. New deep-skirt block extends 3” below crankshaft axis for extra clutch and xscrank housing support. Every engine dynamically balanced after assembly! Exceptionally cool running. Dual 4-barrel carbs, dual exhausts, special high-performance camshaft and distributor. All standard equipment. See your Plymouth dealer for a demonstration ride you won’t forget! Star of the Forward Look.…Plymouth…

Brand new … and bred for action! This is a very special car for special people with very particular requirements. We’ll grant you it is as sleekly handsome a machine as ever whispered down a boulevard, with an individual flair that is shared by no other. And we’ll also concede that its road manners are impeccable, that it moves with a glove-leather suppleness that is obedience personified. But the real difference between the 1958 Corvette and any other American car is this: It is an authentic sports car. Under that wind-sculptured shape is a superb sports car chassis with almost incredible road-holding and balance; under that low-raked hood is a sports car V8 with almost incredible urge and capacity. You think “incredible” is too strong a word? … Try it…

Gene Adams of Los Angeles is the proud owner of one of the most rapid and deceptive sedans to be found anywhere. Running in B Gas Class by virtue of a supercharger, and two manhole covers securely bolted to the trunk floor, this car holds the ’57 Nationals record at 111.24 and the Santa Ana, California. Heavy Gas record at 112.77. Power is supplied by a ’57 Olds engine of stock dimensions. The crank has been balanced by bolting copper plates to the counterweights. 1957 Olds crank, flywheel and harmonic damper are balanced as a unit at the factory so balancing the crank with copper weights permits flywheel changes without changing engine balance. The block assembly uses stock rods, Forgedtrue pistons and Grant rings. The Siamese center exhaust ports on…

6ooo spectators, 130 competitors and perfect weather combined to make the 2nd Annual Florida Championship Drags a terrific success. Amelia Earhart Field near Miami was the scene of this year’s campaign with the Orange Bowl Committee placing the event on the list of festivities for ’57. South Florida Timing Association handled the organization. The mostly-Gas go was a real thriller with Chevys dominating the Stock classes. Two dead heats in C Gas and one in the Sports Cars merely heightened the excitement. Best time of the day was posted by DuPont-Allbritton in their Olds dragster at 131.24 mph. Big surprise of the day was Panttey and Brasfield’s Chevy powered Henry J winning B Gas with a top time of 105.88 mph. The sportsmanship award went to Paul Newell of…

TAKE A LITTLE bit of chrome-moly tubing, a set of wheels, the engine from a power Iswnmower, and set a seat on it ” what do you have?, you’ve got a Go Kart. A brand new sports interest has sprung up on the west coast recently; one in which the whole family can take part. Reasonably purchased and easy to assemble, these little goers have caught the fancy of countless Southern Californians and they’re to be seen buzzing around available paved parking lots and school yards in several communities. Kids fit inside, oldsters hang on the outside, they’re simple to operate and have proven themselves exceptionally safe for all ages of users. So much interest has been evidenced that a Go Kart Club of America has been fonned, setting down…

With flathead engines often going for a slight monetary token and the almost unlimited selection of new or used, foreign or domestic chassis parts available, the auto hobbyist today enjoys the opportunity of being able to assemble a brilliant road machine with nominal expenditure. Not that Bob Smith’s ’27 T is fully within this realm−for much of his investment lies in the lavishly chromed chassis and engine components−but the basic elements are readily available, limited primarily by the builders imagination and free time. Most popular among the frames because of its versatile application is the ’32 Ford unit. Its sculptured side rails give an unusual appearance when exposed on roadsters and its immediate adaptability to later and huskier transmissions and rear ends accounts for much of its general acceptance. In…

If all young American car owners were satisfied to leave their cars just like Detroit built them there would be no hot rod magazines and no hot rod business. In other words, bless your hearts for insisting on wielding that wrench and torch! Sometimes, however, when we have amateur engineers trying to improve on the work of professionals we get a bum deal now and then. Occasional swaying bodies with long spring shackles, drive shaft vibration on engine swaps, etc., are common examples. One of the latest problems concerns the changes in car handling caused by excessive “rake” of the body, either in the low nose attitude or the low tail setup. This rake business seems to be getting more popular as a custom styling gimmick, and the increased emphasis…

Congratulations to Playboys of ENID, OKLAHOMA, for a terrific year of progress in their area. Topping the year, the club has come up with an idea that will catch on like wildfire. An “Outstanding Member” perpetual trophy was awarded recently to club president Leroy Roberts for his efforts on behalf of the club in 1956, while Ronnie Janzen, club treasurer, received the beautiful trophy for 1957 To really put fire into the program, the club also awards annual trophies to the members having the best custom car, the best hot rod and the best engine conversion. Man, this is wild. All you rodders in the Southeastern part of Uncle take note: The SOUTH FLORIDA TIMING ASSOCIATION, of Miami, has switched its drag dates. They now run the rst and 3rd…

Take a good look around you wherever you go. In town, up in the mountains, out at the lake, in any American farmyard or at the drag strip. There is one piece of rolling stock that you’ll find to be common to all of these places−the pickup truck. Whether for business, hunting, fishing, farm work or to haul spare car parts, there is nothing that will do the job as well or as cheaply as the ½-ton pickup. They don’t ride quite like a limousine or handle like a sports car but they will haul a load or pull a trailer quite efficiently and keep up with traffic while doing so. We have had inquiries by mail and in person asking which is the best pickup buy of the big…

Healeys have hustled, but this one positively hurtles. In the ’57 Glen meeting’s Seneca Cup race, famed as a slugging match among the most all-out and grotesque equipment that can be coaxed into the arena, not only George Weaver’s venerable “Poison Lib” R1 Maserati but also the finest 4 litre Masers known had their respective ears tacked back by this blue and white automobile of admittedly humdrum ancestry. Its measure was taken only by the money laden ex-Goldschmidt JR Allard, with an engine one third bigger. Where did Dick Matthews’ mongrel Chev-Healey acquire a pedigree? From hours of hard work and planning multiplied by a brand of sincere enthusiasm rarely encountered in racing these days. It all started when the floor of Dick’s body shop in Red Bank, New Jersey…

Tube frame construction Torsion bar suspension Big-bore Olds powerplant…

To overcome increased brake pedal pressures required to stop our heavier and faster modern cars, all American manufacturers now offer power brakes. Fortunately practically any car can have power brakes added. The installation can be completed in something over an hour’s time. The cost is in the neighborhood of $60−a small price to pay for the mental and physical relief that power brakes bring to present-day driving. Whether power brakes are on a new car or an older model, a little understanding of what they cannot do is good life insurance. First of all they are not a cure-all for bad brakes. While the addition of a power brake system is in itself quite simple, the job should begin with a check of the car's regular brake system. If the…

• Stock car associations ban blowers and injectors • National Safety Council vindicates horsepower All major stock car associations have unified on prohibiting the use of superchargers and fuel injection systems in stock car racing for 1958. Generally, optional equipment will be permitted, providing it is available to the public and approved by the associations. The blowers and injectors have been banned because of their high cost, an added burden on the independent car owners, and because the equipment was not always easily obtainable. The USAC (United States Auto Club) stock car season was set to open at Phoenix. Ariz., February 9 and at Pomona, Calif., February 23, both 100-mile races. Stock car racing has been blamed many times for the horsepower race of the factories and for the terrific…