Indholdsfortegnelse for July 1969 i Hot Rod

DATSUN RACING PISTONS This forged aluminum piston is designed for use in the Datsun 2000 U-20 series OHC sports cars. Both flat-top and dome models are available in .040-inch oversize only. No milling or cylinder work is necessary, but combustion chamber reworking is required. The units come with a taper-ground 4340 alloy piston pin. Set of four, with pins, rings, and balancing, retails for $144.70. Contact Brock Racing Enterprises, Dept. HR, 137 Oregon Street, El Segundo, California. JAVELIN/AMX HEADERS Doug Thorley has added a new model to his already extensive line of headers. Model D-713 is designed especially for the 390-engine Javelin and AMX, and it is said to produce maximum horsepower and engine efficiency throughout a wide rpm range. These headers are shipped complete with gaskets, collectors, and bolts.…

“Speed may be the primary objective that motivates the nation’s hot rod groups to pursue their sport, but members of the Southern California Timing Association have demonstrated that they are as much concerned with the welfare and safety of their sport as they are in setting fast speeds.” The above words were written in the January 1952 issue of HRM by Wally Parks, then HRM’s Editor, on the occasion of SCTA’s transfer of their weekend meets from El Mirage to another, smaller dry lake 75 miles beyond in their search for a better and safer surface on which to run. Seventeen years later, the SCTA is still holding meets at El Mirage, when surface conditions permit, but another search is on because a new hazard has reared its ugly head.…

It’s not too easy for someone to come up with a manifold system that is entirely new to the automotive world. On occasion it does happen, and over the years we’ve witnessed everything from Y-adapters to logs in an attempt to stack as many carbs on an engine as possible. Some of the manifolds have featured extra-long runners stretched out across the heads in an attempt to get the most out of that high-revvin’ mill. Of late, many manifolds have been designed with vertical runners rather than horizontal ones, achieving the same ram effect but going about it in a different direction. In addition to necessitating a hood scoop in many applications, the main drawback to some of these systems has been the fact that fuel can build up in…

Call it what you will — research and development, engineering exercises, or just plain diversification. Whatever the terminology, Oldsmobile is doing it. Since the introduction of their prestige car, the Toronado, Olds has satisfied their desire to capture a fair share of the prestige market. Naturally, not content to rest on their laurels, these performance-minded Motown moguls have sought out other avenues of sales appeal. Oldsmobile’s newly appointed General Manager, John Beltz, has opened the heavily guarded door, revealing the corporation’s latest entry into “the unknown.” The performance-oriented public had better believe that Oldsmobile’s performance image is on the move. Olds’ way of thinking in the performance vein is that “nothing is lost in developing an engine which may never be mass-produced.” Something is always learned from these engineering exercises,…

At first glance, the 1969 issue of the limited production Hurst/Olds appears to be a put-on. The hood scoops and tail-end spoiler look too bold, almost as if they were there to generate a feeling of “too much.” The brilliant white paint with Fire Frost Gold accenting practically gets “electric” when hit by sunlight. It isn’t a put-on, and Hurst and Oldsmobile have sold every car they’ve built. They were sold before production began in the special assembly plant set up separate from Oldsmobile’s facility in Lansing. The car presents a departure in appearance from its 1968 counterpart, which had rather subtle silver and black paint, with no scoop or spoiler. Almost everything else has been carried over for the new model, including the “Executive Hot Rod” connotation received as…

Gurney-Eagle cylinder heads have earned a name for themselves in the racing game during the past few years by proving they have what it takes to wring every last bit of horsepower from Ford’s small-block engines. Whether it’s an Indy car win at Riverside or Mosport, a second-place finish in the Indy 500, capturing the 1968 World Manufacturer’s Championship by dominating five major road races on the International scene, or setting drag strip records, these aluminum heads are doing the job they were designed to do. They are right at home on the 289 and 302 Ford engines. While these heads have been tested extensively with fuel injection systems and Weber carbs, it has only been recently that standard four-barrel carbs have been tried for size. In fact you have…

You’ve heard about the mail carrier who goes hiking on his day off, so it shouldn’t surprise you to find that Bob Munroe is a welder who just loves to draw a bead — on hot rods. Bob used 1⅝-inch tubing to fabricate the triangulated digger-type frame and front end. At the rear is a’50 Poncho rear axle that twists 10.90 M&H slicks wrapped around Halibrand mags. Front skins are by Goodyear. The bored and stroked 58 Chevy mill now boasts 301 cubes and sits well back in the chassis. Bob made use of M/T pistons and rods, PC rings, Snyder cam, and Corvette ignition. The GMC 6-71 blower rests on a Cragar manifold and compresses the mix fed by two Carter AFB’s. Schiefer aluminum flywheel and 10½-inch clutch are…

Every man should have a hobby, right? Well, Anthony “Pancho” Martinez agrees, ‘cause his ’29 Model A roadster has been a continuing hobby of his for more than a dozen years. Pancho began typically, with Deuce rails and a flathead; changing times caused a switch to Olds power, thence to the present ’67 Chevy 396 mill. The rat motor is stock, save for Offenhauser manifold, dual Carter AFB’s, Cal Custom valve covers, and chrome goodie The owner-built exhaust system uses cutouts to channel exhaust gases through blooey pipes or underneath through Porter mufflers. Remembering the harsh ride offered by the old ’48 Merc rear end, Anthony installed a’65 Corvette rear suspension setup by grafting the rear part of the Vette frame to the Deuce rails. Thus, alignment problems were virtually…

Recognizing the fact that a lot of guys running 396 and 427 Chevy engines have been blowing head gaskets, Larry Ofria of Valley Head Service, Tarzana, California, set out to solve the problem. It takes a lot of work to do it, and unless you’re really plagued with gasket trouble, it really can’t be recommended. If you want to keep running your rat motor, and you have this problem, then you can try this method of keeping your cool. Due to the design of these cylinder heads, two chambers are ringed with only five cap screws, rather than six as found encircling the other two. On the right bank, the first and third cylinders are the ones ringed with five bolts. On the left bank, it’s the second and fourth.…

The Inland Empire Racing Association is a product of Riverside International Raceway’s getting involved with people, especially those around this sprawling racing plant. Some determined minds and hard work brought the Association to life, and the group now has a tightly knit board of directors and runs itself exceptionally well. The IE.R.A. is made up of car clubs from the Inland Empire, which is delineated in this instance by a 22½-mile radius around the race track. Members conduct very amateur racing on Sundays, when the Riverside circuit is not in use and when the track can open the gate for them. In return for this, I.E.R.A. members contribute their services to the track by working at scheduled events, carrying out a variety of chores. Riverside Raceway always seems involved with…

BANDSTAND TO GRANDSTAND … Chairman of the Board of International Raceway Park, believe it or not, is personable Dick Clark, who made his name a household word with the TV show “American Bandstand.” The facility, located in the Charleston-Huntington, West Virginia, area, is one of the major raceways on the East Coast. The plant now consists of a banked asphalt oval track with permanent bleachers. The initial race was held last May, when USAC sprint cars and championship super-midgets featuring many Indy drivers competed. The yearlong program will feature top NASCAR and USAC events, along with weekly late-model stock car races. Clark reports that in addition to their fine paved oval, they will soon begin construction of a 4000-foot-long, 60-foot-wide drag strip right down the middle of their 300-acre park.…

One night a frail 97-lb., 15-year-old youth was making his way home through the tough waterfront section of New York City. Suddenly, without warning, a brutal hoodlum loomed up out of the dark, and beat him senseless. That night the young man made a solemn vow: “Never will I let any man hurt me again.” The years ahead were to prove how well he kept that vow! For the name of that skinny youth was Charles Atlas — and he lived to become internationally famous as “The World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man,” performing feats of strength that amazed the whole world! The day after that beating, Charles Atlas began trying every exercise he had ever heard of. Then one day, visiting New York’s famed Bronx Zoo, he asked himself: “How…

In the Southern California area there is a group of racers interested in bugs. And we don’t mean the insect type; we mean the European kind that are being shipped to this country at the rate of thousands per week. This group’s interest is so keyed up that they have these imports cranking through the quarter-mile in just over twelve seconds flat. One of the main reasons for the phenomenal performance of these machines is Dean Lowry. Dean was the man behind the EMPI “Inch Pincher,” and he started the whole thing with this original VW sedan in the fourteen-second bracket. Since then, he and the “Inch Pincher” have enjoyed a great amount of respect from other Street Eliminator competitors; the car consistently runs in the low twelves (as a…

People say life begins at 40, but if one were to ask Mickey Thompson if it does, he would likely come back with, “Which life?” or, “I’m already in round two. Quick, sound the bell.” The whole story of his life is one that would drive the average guy crazy. Those who are familiar with his ways know he’s a person who’s always on the go; it’s hard to turn him off. It all began about 28 years ago when he was only 12. While the rest of the kids on the block were playing marbles, Mick was dragging home, in his wagon, a battered old ’27 Chevy, piece by piece. Ever since, cars have been his hobby, as well as his stepping stones to success. In fact, they have…

On the two preceding pages we have taken a brief look at some of Oldsmobile’s experimental engines, and now we are about to learn a little more on one of the more current projects involving Olds engineers. Admittedly, this newly developed race engine was basically designed to power a totally new concept in Can-Am cars. The engineers at Oldsmobile, Armco Steel, McKee Engineering, and Cro-Sal (Gene Crowe and Ralph Salyer) are all directly responsible for this endeavor. The car itself is of monocoque design, incorporating mainly stainless steel components. In addition to this unique design, an automatic two-speed transmission (and we don’t mean Powerglide), coupled to a Ferguson four-wheel-drive unit, will also be employed. This basic idea is relatively new, but if it works as well as expected, you may…

Without a doubt, the modular fittings illustrated here will soon make most “standard” fittings currently found on racing cars obsolete. Their design is so simple that more than one person will say, “Now why didn’t I think of that?” Possible applications for these products are virtually unlimited and their advantages are likewise numerous. Developed by Gra-Tec, Inc., of Los Altos, California, these modular fittings were first used in a robot specially designed for the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA). When confronted with a lack of working space (elbow room), the designers were forced to come up with something in the way of compact hydropneumatic fittings. The Gra-Tec modular fitting solved the problem. The male Gra-Tec fitting sports two grooves. The outer one is filled by a special O-ring, while…

The Holden Hurricane from Australia isn’t the first research vehicle to make the scene, but it’s one of the sharpest looking. Loaded with experimental features, the Hurricane is a product of General Motors, Holden’s R&D Department. Standing only 39.2 inches in height, and based on a 96-inch wheelbase, this swinger is a mid-engined rear wheel drive vehicle. Power comes from a new V8 engine, driving through a full-synchro four-speed transaxle. A few of the finer features include oil-cooled multiple disc brakes with separate oil cooling radiators in the nose of the car, an integral rollbar behind the two "astronaut" type form-fitting seats, and a rear vision TV screen, with picture provided by a closed-circuit TV camera located in the rear. Three-link parallelogram (don’t stutter) steering linkage is mounted forward of…

There are many theories among racers on the proper method (or materials) for cylinder bore finishing. Of course, we can’t list them all here, but we can give you the basic fundamentals that should be followed, regardless of the approach taken, as well as let you in on a new product that should aid in removing glaze from the cylinder walls. First off, you must remember never to hone a cylinder without using some type of lubricant. A high-quality commercial solvent or a good grade kerosene should do; either of these fluids will saturate the cutting stone and help remove particles during the operation, as well as diminish the number of scratches on the cylinder walls. Engine builders have gone to almost any length to avoid possible cylinder wall scratches,…

Smitty’s ’57 Chevy sedan delivery is the third attempt to acquire the ultimate combination for a successful racing venture. Marv Smith, of Farmington, Delaware, has been a Jr. Stock competitor for the past four years. With help from engine man Alex Jarrell, Smith produced this strong - running K/S trophy winner. The engine is a 283 block, bored .060-inch for a total of 292 cubic inches. Basic engine blueprinting was performed in Alex’s Hockessin, Delaware, garage. Allied pistons and Grant rings were hung on reconditioned Chevy rods, and the 098 camshaft is of the Jenkins/Stahl grind. Ross Gilbert of York, Penn., did the balance work on the engine and clutch assembly. A Weber clutch and T-10 4-speed hook up to the Stahl & Associates heat-treated 5.13 rear end gears. Rear…

The term “crash wall” is a misnomer. Fences and walls placed around race tracks aren’t for crash purposes; they’re protective devices to prevent cars from going over embankments or entering spectator areas if they get out of control. The fact that cars crash into them is an unfortunate side effect. Control walls generally crunch up a car pretty well and can cause a vehicle to reenter the course and get in the midst of traffic. That’s a real danger: a disabled car in the path of oncoming cars. It takes a pretty stout barrier to stop a moving car, particularly a stocker; and the harder the blow, the more damage there’ll be. A thorough research and development procedure was recently completed at Riverside International Raceway, and the result is a…

Every month, we seem to be telling you about new boats, so for a change this time we’re going to show you a boat that is one year old — but what a year! “How Bout That” has just reached its first birthday; it’s led more Enduro races and won more money than any other boat involved in the sport — a total of $23,100 in winnings for the year has got to be some sort of record for boat racing. For the hull, owners Howard and Don McCormack of Oklahoma City went to Howard Brown, of Howard’s Custom Boats in Bellflower, California, and had him install a Keith Black 473-cubic-inch late-model Chrysler hemi engine to complete the package. Don McCormack and Dick Freek codrive the boat at all events.…

SAFE STOPPING Dear Sirs: This is in response to the letter of Raymond A. Wojtysiak in your May issue. Some safety “experts” say that in certain situations using the left foot can stop you faster, but when I was taking behind-the-wheel driver training, we were taught not to use the left foot on the brake, except when starting from a stop on a hill or such. I can’t understand how the professor can ask anyone to push on the gas when trying to stop as fast as he can. It is logical to release the gas (even downshift, if there is time) and let the compression of the engine help slow you down. In my personal opinion, that professor should have his lessons and reference materials checked for correctness and…

How to Get Tanked…I own a ’68 Thunderbird boat with 160 h.p., 250-cubic inch Mer Cruiser Inboard/Out-board engine. I use it 12 months a year. Sometimes the boat sits for 2 to 3 weeks without use. and I’m afraid that condensation or gum may form in the tank or fuel line, especially in the winter. Is it better to let it sit with the gas tank full or empty? J. F. Z., Hewlett Bay Park, N.Y. It’s best to keep the tank full when the engine is going to set idle for any length of time. This leaves little room for condensation. Stock Question … I drive an old stock car on the dirt track. The car is a ’57 Chevy with a ’68 302 engine in it. Most of…

What’s this, a mastodon-motored mini-brute? Yep, Junior Thompson decided to show the troops some class with an unreal AA/GS Opel. For muscle, Junior selected a ’57 Chrysler block with Mondello-modified heads, MIT rods and pistons, PC rings, Isky 590 cam and pushrods, Donovan valves and rockers, and Doug headers. A Hilborn 4-port injector mounts to a Hampton huffer which sits on an M/T manifold. Fire for the 440-cubic-inch mill is supplied by a Bomar-modified Vertex mag. Chuck Finders of Cleveland, Ohio, chopped the top on the ’glass coupe 3V2 inches, and takes credit for reworking the suspension and making the traction bars. Power routed through the C&O trans spins Henry’s axles at 4.30:1. A set of 13.00 x 16 M&H slicks on American mags grab the track and sometimes send…

There is a mystique to the Mexican races, a grimness and sense of futility in battling the terrain around Las Vegas. But the excitement reaches a fever pitch at Brian Chuchua’s annual Four-Wheel-Drive Grand Prix, which sets the meet apart from all other off-road events. This fifth running of the soggy event in the bed of the Santa Ana River had to be the best ever, despite an early morning rain and chilling breeze on Sunday that was blamed for the sparse crowd. Vic Hickey’s Chevy-powered Baja Boot walked off with the largest sack of marbles by winning Class F Non-Production, Four-Wheel-Drive Top Eliminator and the top title of the meet—National Four-Wheel-Drive Grand Prix Top Eliminator. With round-edge tires, a near-even weight bias, smooth torque application with the TurboHydro, and…

As both off-the-road and street buggies have increased in popularity, the demand for suitable engines has created a scarcity. The great variety and simplicity of the Volkswagen engine make it the center of interest. The compact power unit is easy to adapt to almost any installation, and since the VW is air-cooled, there is no need for water hoses, fans, and radiators, and their resulting problems. High prices are being paid for these engines in any condition. Salvage yard operators are acutely aware of the strong demand, and have driven prices up 100 percent in the last year. As a result, many enthusiasts are now using the Corvair engine. These engines are easy to find, and prices range from $100 for a 1962 102-hp engine to $250 for the 1965…

The very heart and core of a modern engine is the crankshaft. This single component must be capable of withstanding all of the “horse pressure,” torque, and rpm that the modern performance enthusiast can squeeze from the rest of the engine. The tires get better, the clutches are improved in order to launch the car from a greater rpm—and the crank must be able to take the increased loading. Thus, one of the questions always asked of an engine builder regarding any project is, “What was done to the crank?” And, more often than not, the answer will be, “Oh, just the usual trick stuff—nothing special.” After hearing this often enough, one could be deluded into thinking the crank was checked for clearances all around and dropped into place. Such…

Charlie Allen is only 24 years old, but he’s been making the drag scene for quite a while. Our all-American boy got his start before he reached licensing age when he hauled home a ’37 Ford coupe, which was soon converted into a competitive F/Gasser. In ’63 he switched to a stock Dodge and more serious racing, and it was in ’64 that he earned his first sponsorship. After a few more Dodges, we find him in the saddle, very appropriately, of the Saddleback Dodge, out of Santa Ana, California. A regular flip-top Dodge Dart, the body is a product of Contemporary Fiberglass, shrouding a tube chassis. The engine started life as a 426-inch Dodge hemi, but is now outfitted with an Engle cam and kit, M/T aluminum rods, pistons,…

Folks around Wilkes County take their racing seriously. North Carolina has 12 of the 54 current NASCAR stock car races within its boundaries, which is more than any other state. The Tarheels seem proud of this. A lot of stock car drivers come from the red clay hills of the Carolinas, and it would seem there’s a future crop practicing now on every two-lane road in the Yadkin Valley. When you throw your rent-a-car down a gear and move out to pass, the overtaken driver might not take to it, and you’ve got a run going, with you being in the wrong lane. First gas stop and you order premium instead of regular and bump the timing forward. When you’ve mastered the art of passing a local Richard Petty-cum-high-school-senior, you…

Sidelights, or running lights as the Navy calls ’em, are now required on all 1968 and later cars. European cars have been equipped with these “Nader” lights for a number of years, but until 1968 they couldn’t be imported into this country with this sidelight system because such lights were illegal. Another example of our archaic lighting laws was brought to light with the really great little item I installed several years ago, for which I promptly received a ticket from one of California’s finest. This was a miniature traffic light that was mounted in the rear window. Green showed motorists when your foot was on the gas, yellow signaled you were off the gas, and red indicated you were braking. It was a great safety factor in high-speed, bumper-chasing…

Unbelievable! That’s the only way to describe this latest in a long line of show creations by Carl Cosper. The entire body is of walnut trimmed in brass, comes complete with a vent in top for heat from popcorn popper and peanut roaster. Casper built the body and did both the paint and the red velvet upholstery work. Canopy is of Naugahyde, velvet. Chassis is of 1½-x 3-inch box tube, has been plated, and mounts a ’67 ’Vette rear end. Tube axle sports a leaf spring and Jolar coil shocks. Don Broyles built both chassis and engine, which is a 427-inch Ford running on Isky 505 magnum corn, Cragar blower drive, and "stacked" GMC blowers. Trans is a Ford C-6. Cragar mags ore set up with Goodyeor rubber. In addition…

AUTO TECHNICAL SERIES BASIC BODYWORK & PAINTING— Basic bodywork fundamentals; nature of auto body construction; basic tools; welding; fillers; panel replacement; alignment; special techniques of working with aluminum and fiberglass; painting basics; color tinting; “why” of paint failure & remedies; special finishes. Undercoats, metallics. Illustrated, 192 Pages .............................. $2.00 BASIC IGNITION & ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS — Complete analysis of automotive ignition and electrical system. Spark plugs, wires, coils, distributors, magnetos, batteries, starters, solenoids, switches, generators, alternators, regulators. Instruments, wiring, accessories. How to build and how to tune your ignition. Easy-to-follow text, many diagrams and detailed drawings simplify this complex but important segment of your car 192 pages, “illustrated .............................. $2.00 BASIC CAMS, VALVES, EXHAUST SYSTEMS — The engine and how it breathes. Camshafts — designs, drives, timing and how to install;…

Evidence is mounting that more and more promoters are jumping on this off-road-racing bandwagon. This was to be expected. Off-road racing is new and exciting, and the growth prospects appear healthy. However, don’t count on all promoters to invest in the future of the sport, and don’t be misled into thinking all of them have an interest in the racer or the long-term prospects for success. If this is unfortunate, it is also true; for in the next 24 months or so, off-road racing will be going through what drag racing went through from about 1948 to the mid-fifties. In those days, racers were often faced with a great frequency of events which ran large numbers of classes offering little return from any viewpoint. Safety rules were often lax, and…

Competition is traditionally a daytime thing: lots of summer sunshine, warmth, and good vision. It’s only logical. But sometimes the easy, logical way to go loses its challenge, and for this hardy minority the Crotona Motorcycle Club of New York offers an unusual form of nocturnal fun and games known as the Midnight Road Run. At first one might wonder where the competition comes in — after all, everyone knows how to ride the highway — until he considers the time of the year, the third weekend in January, and the time of night… bitter. Cold and fog and a 30-mph average are all that keep this annual road enduro from becoming a bore — or a pushover. Now in its 52nd year, the Crotona Midnight Run offers a refreshing…