Indholdsfortegnelse for February 1960 i Hot Rod

We cannot promise that you will win every race if you drive our Challenger Racing Karts… We can promise you that if you race a Simplex you will have every mechanical and engineering advantage that a Racing Kart can provide, including two shoe automotive internal expanding brakes and the finest steering mechanism of any Kart in the world. You’ll be proud to race this Kart. For the non-racing driver the Challenger provides all the thrills of FUN DRIVING a Kart with the added satisfaction of knowing you are driving the finest Kart that money can buy… Single or Dual Engines, or without Engines. Prices range from $139.00 to $269.00. Send for free literature. SIMPLEX MANUFACTURING CORP., 540 N. Carrollton Ave., Dept. HR., New Orleans 19, La. WE HAVE THE BEST…

Hot times and hospitality—that was the theme at Inyokern when the Dust Devils of Ridgecrest hosted the first annual Texas vs. California drag races recently. Topranking draggers from all over the Lone Star State made the long trek to the Mojave desert drag strip site, then dug in to earn their share of the meet’s trophies and records. Californians were a match for them—tally at day’s end showed Texans in possession of 8 class wins, 7 strip records. Top Speed and Middle Eliminator honors, while Californians bagged 10 class wins, plus all the Stock and Sports class firsts, 5 strip records. Best Elapsed Time, Little Eliminator and Top Eliminator honors. Anyone who was there will readily admit that this was one of the finest, “neighborliest” drag meets ever held. Inyokern,…

Long Beach. California’s famed Marine I Stadium, was recently the site of a meet that could easily qualify as both “the first and the last.” Final meet of the Long Beach Boat and Ski Club’s competition season at the Stadium, it was also the first aquatic acceleration event conducted under the official sanction of the American Power Boat Association. Organized in 1903, the APBA’s original reason for existence was the betterment of marine competition; although the scope of the Association’s activities has broadened considerably during the intervening half-century, the original purpose still receives its rightful priority. Racing members of the APBA competed in over 400 regattas last year, and the Association currently lists more than five thousand racing “outfits” on its roster. Democratic in organization, individual racing members have an…

Portland, Oregon…

SANCTIONED NHRA DRAG STRIP TAFT, CALIFORNIA West coast rodders felt that an era had passed that could never be duplicated when the founder of the Santa Ana Drags, C.J. Hart, lost his Orange County Airport location due to expansion of the field’s aeronautical activities. How wrong they were was pointed out when, just before the close of the ’59 season, Mr. Hart re-opened his strip on the spacious runway at Taft, California, approximately 125 miles northwest of his former site. Although it’s physically impossible to pick up an entire community and move it bodily such a distance, the turn-out of “Santa Ana Regulars” at the inaugural Taft event was more than heart-warming —it was downright amazing. With a strip 800 feet wide and 3/4 of a mile long to charge…

The road to organized hot rodding has always been an especially tough way to go. invariably beset by hurdles of community disbelief, shoestring financing, and a viciously maligned past. To challenge such rigid opposition takes fortitude. determination and genuine goodness, a verbal portrait of the Nomads of Evansville. Indiana. In the beginning. 1954, opposition stemmed from the local police, who interpreted their organization to mean organized street racing; from an already established Evansville rod club, who thought there should be only one club in their town; and from the public, who hardly thought about it at all. Six years later the Nomads are in team with the police department, lending a helping hand to seven other new Evansville rod clubs and doing a herculean task of bettering their city through…

Sanford, Maine— Don Garlits’s dragster, driven by Art Malone, broke the world’s speed record, fuel class, here with a new high of 183.66 mph. In addition to scoring the top time of the day, Garlits’s dragster, powered with a 1958 supercharged Chrysler engine, also accounted for the fastest elapsed time for the course of 9.26 seconds to carry off a $300 bond. Like so many dragsters, here and around the country, the team of Garlits and Malone depends on the richest, most complete motor oil in the world—Pennzoil Z-7— for the full-time lubrication protection expensive racing engines demand. Pennzoil Z-7 is a unique combination of 100% pure Pennsylvania oil—the richest natural oil ever discovered —and Z-7, a special ingredient developed by Pennzoil scientists. Pennzoil Z-7 is the world’s richest motor…

“I guess flying gliders has made me extra touchy about smoothness and sure handling. Which is why I never met a car I felt at home in — until I put in a few minutes with a new Chevrolet. And when I got a look at Chevy’s tremendous list of options and custom features — well, here’s what I came up with: “An Impala convertible, to let the sun splash in. Then a Super Turbo-Fire V8* teamed up with the Overdrive transmission* for the ultimate in effortless travel. It cruises almost as easy as any sailplane. (And it’s almost as light on gas!) “Seat belts,* naturally, and who ever heard of a pilot without his compass?* That push-button radio* comes in loud and clear out at the airfield, and Chevy’s…

On November 29, 1959, Athol Graham of Salt Lake City became the fourth fastest man in automotive history. He turned 308 mph with a casualness that verged on sheer abandon. His performance came as an astonishing jolt to all those who didn’t happen to share the young Mormon’s faith in himself and in. as he put it, ’ Living by laws that are common to many faiths and that contain their own rewards.” Graham is 35. was born in Salt Lake City and grew up with the local achievements of Jenkins. Campbell. Eyston and Cobb ringing in his ears. As a child he didn’t want to be a cowboy or a cop but just the fastest man on earth. This picture of himself didn’t change as he went through high…

General Motors’ Hydra-matic transmission will become of | age in 1960: it will be twenty-one years old. During its lifetime this self-shifter and others that came after it have obsoleted manually shifted gear transmissions for passenger cars and Hydra-matics have replaced stick-shift boxes in other types of vehicles ranging from light trucks to military tanks. The automatic shifting of Hydra-matics has made life easier for all classes of drivers and their smooth, oil-damped method of transmitting torque has increased the life of engines and drivelines in the vehicles in which they have been used. Now. and this is the most important of all to hot rodders, it is possible for Hydra-matics to obsolete stickshift synchromesh transmissions for drag racing cars. Inherent advantages a Hydra-matic possesses for drag racing are many.…

Pressed-in piston pins were the least of the hot rodders’ worries until the Chevrolet V8 came along. With its immediate acceptance as the Chrysler’s leading contender for the standard hot rod engine, the Chev’s acquired a lot more than the title Texas Flathead.” They also fell heir to the situation that’s licked more potential record breakers than any other single drawback—the average rodders’ chronic lack of proper tools and facilities. In the case of the Chevy, with its 2-ton pressure requirement when fitting piston pins, this lack got downright serious. Even if the budding young competition engine builder could find someone who could furnish the use of a press with the necessary push, what were they to push against? Full-circumference solid-skirt type racing pistons lacked the fiat face at a…

…"GET IN THERE YOU…” Dear Don: I have a ’59 Pontiac V8 with the single quad setup and would like to install triple carburetion if possible. Will the ’58 TriPower equipment fit? Les Bryant White Oaks. Xew Mexico Fortunately, the ’58 will fit with minor modifications. The generator bracket must be changed or new holes must be tapped in the manifold. Minor linkage modifications are required and a longer upper radiator hose must be used. You should change your fuel pump over to the Tri-Power fuel pump if you use the factory carburetor setup. "GOODBYE OLD PAL!” Dear Don: Since ’49 Mercs with stock engines aren’t exactly the rage anymore. I’ve decided to install a ’54 Buick Century. I’ve just about had my fill of shifting gears all the time…

GOT A MILLION IDEAS Gentlemen: Enclosed with my subscription to Hot Rod is a picture of my pride and joy for the last two years. It is a ’32 Ford 5-window coupe, containing a ’55 Buick Century engine, running through a set of 26-tooth Zephyrs, to the ’34 Ford 4.11 rear end. With the engine stock, we squeezed an e.t. of 14.36 seconds. All the work and $1000 was put out by myself and my buddies. This includes partially the engine, running gear, suicide front end, ’59 Olds steering wheel, and beautiful custom dashboard. A hitch in the Army forced me to sell my coupe before finishing it, but through the material in your swell magazine and our own desires, we have been able to fully finish one and start…

THE CAB is a bushed place, with all but the glass areas deeply padded. Instrument cluster is from a Cadillac, supplemented by a Sun tach. Electric doors and windows are features of 6-in.-cut cab upholstered in Quince and white Naugahyde. Junkin adaptor couples DeSoto V8 to Ford gearbox. THE MILL, mild but plentiful: 276-inch DeSoto sports Iskenderian cam, adjustable pushrods, an Edelbrock single quad intake manifold and a Mallory Magspark ignition. THE BED is now paneled in etched wood and is further enhanced by neat nerf bar and ’39 Ford lights in a special tailpan. 4.11 rear end should give plenty of scat.…

One of the highlights of the recent drag racing season at Grand Junction, Colorado. was the presentation of their 1959 Benefit Drags, held in late November, with proceeds going to the Saint Marys’ Hospital Fund. A good sized crowd was on hand to witness the day’s activity, and contestants showed their usual enthusiasm as they stormed down the li-mile drag strip. Sponsors of the meet were the Dragins and Runabouts, two local car clubs who comprise the membership of the Grand Junction Hot Rod Council. In addition to local contestants, entries came from Durango. Colo., and from Delta and Farmington, N.M. The long-distance trophy went to Bill Chamberlain from Kenosha. Wise. Class wins were fairly equally divided between the Dragins and the Dukes of Durango. Joe Yeaman. in the Yeaman-Kenosha…

For a fellow as ambitious and full of ideas as Chuck Balsiger there’s only one kind of kart—a tailor-made; half the fun in building, the other half in driving. And those who saw the ’59 Kart Nationals at Irwindale. California, can testify to Chuck’s skill in both instances. His chrome-moly framed lightweight scales in at 170 pounds, runs like a scalded cat and is especially smooth looking. Powered by two 5.3-cubic inch McCulloch engines, this special has several features worthy of attention and shows what can be accomplished with the wide variety of kart components now available.…

WESTERN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS-March 4, 5 & 6 Sponsoring Club: GKCA National and Escalon Region, GKCA. Location: Escalon (near Modesto) California. Track: Asphalt road circuit; .3 miles. An extremely fast circuit considered by many to be one of the finest kart courses in the country. Entries: Open to GKCA members from California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Contact: Mr. Thomas Bailey, Valley Kart Club, Inc., Escalon, California. SOUTHERN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS-April 1, 2 & 3 Sponsoring Club: GKCA National and New Orleans Region, GKCA. Location: New Orleans, Louisiana. Track: Asphalt road circuit. This course still in construction stage, but looks exciting on paper. Entries: Open to GKCA members in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma. Contact: Mr. Paul Treen, Simplex Corp., Challenger Kart,…