Indholdsfortegnelse for June 1958 i Hot Rod

Without calling: names, this column has long been a campaigner against irresponsible people who capitalize on obviously questionable performance records by playing them up as “official.” In last month’s issue one of our advertisers chose to editorialize in his purchased space, which is alright with us as long as he sticks to the facts. The ad-editorial criticized the recent world kilometer records in which HRM actively participated. It questioned the selection of cars that were allowed to compete and openly ridiculed their accomplishments. Since the jibes were directed at an operation in which this magazine and this editor had important roles, we think it is only fair to our readers, our fellow participants, and ourselves that we set the record straight. The international acceleration runs began as a project in…

Editor’s note: Bob Russo, well-known automotive writer, relieves HRM Tech Editor Ray Brock at the wheel of this month’s road test, for good reason, too; Ray busily preparing to compete in the annual Mobilgas Economy Run. Here’s what Bob has to say about the new Thunderbird. More than anything else, the all-new 1958 Thunderbird is an attention grabber! It took less than fifteen minutes and in “equal number of miles at the beginning of our Performance and Evaluation test to determine as much, while the ensuing time and miles spent with this new four-passenger T-Bird served to settle the issue for good. We found in our travels, which included a trip from Los Angeles to historic Tombstone. Arizona, that Ford’s answer to a roomier sports-type luxury car has caught the…

The obvious success of the log manifold and multi-carburetor setups in drag racing led to the development of this new isolated, direct-from-carburetor-to-port system. The principle is not new, as it has been used on many of the hottest single-cylinder motorcycle engines with great success. The theory is to provide a column of air between the intake valve and the top of the carburetor stack that has enough volume to affect the amount of air taken into the cylinder. As the rpm increase and a demand for power is made with wide-open throttle, pulsation of the air fuel mixture in the column causes a ram effect that adds considerably to the charge taken into the engine. Engine dynamometer tests have shown the horsepower peak to cover an extremely wide range of…

SELL—’39-’48 Cad Edelbrock 8½ heads, new Weber ¾ cam and solid tappets, dual manifold, new ’53 carbs, would like to sell complete for $125. Bob Drake, 1272 W. 116th St., Cleveland 2, Ohio. WANTED—For ’32 Ford roadster, new left hand running board, will pay premium for this item, also sport light spot light that mounts on windshield. J. P. Noel, Box 650, New Johnsonville, Tenn. SELL OR TRADE—’55 Plymouth V8 complete with all accessories including Powerflite. Trade for full flathead 3⅜ x 4, must be good. 302 GMC generator and belt new S10. Have blower for Cad and Chev, need ’55-’56 Olds crank rods and pistons. Bob Rose, Cawker City, Kansas. Phone Ionia 1909. SELL—’35 standard Chevy 4-door. In good mechanical and running condition—good tires, $125. Bobby Whitlock, Rt. 2,…

DAD GAVE ME THE WILLYS Dear Sirs: Enclosed are pictures of my Dad’s ’50 Willys pickup. Since I have a garage and welding shop. I decided to build this haulin’ half-tonner. The engine is a 200-hp ’58 Chevy, with an 11-inch B and B clutch, turning a ’37 Packard gearbox. I also changed the tire size from 16 to 15 by using ’51 Chrysler and Mercury rims. The truck is stock in appearance except for lake pipes protruding in front of the rear wheels. Because the truck is used daily, the engine was left completely stock, but it still is a fooler to the unsuspecting person at the stop light. I am a member of the Wabash Valley Timing Association, which is the first hot rod club in Terre Haute.…

If present rumors winging around the good old 48 have any foundation, the 1958 National Championships — the World Series of Drag Racing—will be one of the most outstanding automotive events in the world. NHRA super sleuths in all parts of the country are reporting highly irregular activities in garages everywhere. Ever see a 3 engined dragster? One is reputed to be in the making out in California for the Big Go. Down in Texas (everybody come to attention) there is a giant killer named Jack who has been sneakily building a WILD streamliner. Although the Nationals is an all-gas event, the Southerners have been reported working with a gas additive called White Lightning. Yankees and Midwesterners have cloaked themselves in super-secrecy but we have found out that many clubs…

LOW-COST FUEL INJECTOR Here is an injector ideal for drags, track, straightaway and boats. Designed to use regular Ford Stromberg jets. Made for fuel pressures from 2 to 7 psi. A pressure pump may also be used. Manufacturer claims this injector gives rich mixture for acceleration and has better volumetric displacement. For further information write: Scott Engineering, P. O. Box 944, Santa Monica, California. THREE-CARB MANIFOLDS Available for immediate delivery are three-carburetor manifolds for ’58 Ford and Edsel. Available in both 3- and 4-bolt carburetor flange patterns. Specify which when ordering. Manifold $125. Progressive linkage kits also available for this installation. For further information write: Edelbrock Equipment Company, 4921 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles 16, California. NEW MODEL TACHOMETERS Two new precision tachometers have recently been announced, one a portable…

Yearly preparations for the 500-mile brickyard classic reach a frantic tempo during the spring months as old and new cars are made ready for the world’s richest race The World's fastest closed course race cars, as proved at Monza, Italy last year, are the low-slung roadsters that compete each year in the 500-mile race Memorial Day at Indianapolis, Indiana. Nearly all of these special creations take shape during the winter months after the summer and fall championship racing season is over. The mechanics and car owners then have a chance to make plans for the following season which is usually kicked off each year with the Indy 500-miler. From the months of November to May, men named Kurds. Kuzma. Epperly. Les-ovsky, Salih. Watson and a few others start out with…

NOW HE TELLS ME! Dear Don: After doing a valve job on my ’57 Rambler V8, the rockers won’t oil. I’ve checked everything I can think of to no avail. What have I done wrong? Art Smith Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania Check the rear head bolts that hold the rocker stands down. They are the hollow ones which feed oil to the rockers. You’ve probably played “switch” with the similar solid bolts. …WELL? CAN I? Dear Don: 1 have a ’48-’49 Dodge pickup engine. Since the Dodge truck six engine was also used in DeSoto and Chrysler cars, is it possible to use the Windsor six crank, rods and pistons in the Dodge block? Bill Ware Eldorado. Arkansas This makes a very nice installation resulting in a neatly fitting ½-inch stroker.…