Indholdsfortegnelse for December 1982 i Hot Rod

Shelby Charger GT Widely respected sports car designer Carroll Shelby has teamed with Chrysler Corporation to develop special Shelby versions of the Dodge Charger. Several different versions of the stylized Chargers will be released early in 1983, and they will all feature 110 hp engines with additional camshaft timing and a compression-ratio boost. The cars will include special suspension packages and performance gear ratios. Styling considerations will involve spoilers, air dams, and special Shelby graphics treatment. Bow Tie Parts What does it all mean when Chevrolet’s high-performance parts division sold more high-deck, marine big-blocks than Bow Tie small-blocks this year? It means that the big-block is making a comeback in a variety of circles and that it will remain a viable racing powerplant for a long time to come. Chevrolet…

If you’re tired of reindeer sweaters, argyle socks, and paisley neckties under the Christmas tree, HOT ROD has a sure-fire solution for you. Place this issue, conveniently opened to this section (our gift buyer’s guide), where your spouse, friends, or parents cannot help but find it. Buried somewhere in the following five pages is the "perfect" gift for some lucky hot rodder. We’ve really made it easy on you by breaking the gifts down into three sections. The first section is hard core—you know, parts for your car’s suspension, body, or drivetrain. The second section is comprised of bolt-on dress-up items. And our third category includes car-related products from wearing apparel to car care products. So there you have it, a most intense shopping list. Shame on you if you…

Street machiners and rodders spend mega-bucks on ultra-built, super-chromed engines and incur the national debt having their cars painted and customized, but then they ignore the underside of the car. Improving your vehicle’s appearance should extend to undercarriage detailing, which can be as simple as cleaning and painting or as elaborate as chrome plating, gold iriditing, or powder coating. With some time and effort, detailing the underside of your vehicle will definitely set it apart from the masses. Street rod builders have an advantage since they can detail their chassis while the car is being built. Street machines seldom start with the body removed, however, so they have to work with an assembled car, which is obviously inconvenient. Most cars that are more than a couple years old will require…

Pontiac’s old Super Duty performance program used to be one of the best in the business. High-performance parts for Pontiac racers and street heroes were available across the counter, but things are a little different these days. There are few high-performance cars, and high-performance parts programs rate absolutely zero with corporate accountants. Even so, it’s amazing how much gets done in the face of such high-level adversity. Pontiac’s 4-cylinder “Iron Duke” has been around for nearly five years now, and it has always held enormous potential as a high-performance engine. It is a base engine throughout much of the Pontiac line, and with the new “P-car” scheduled to come on line in 1984, they’ll have the perfect place to put a little high-output 4-cylinder engine. So are they letting the…

Steven Sidran’s screaming yellow ’64 Falcon is the type of car that represents street machining at Its basic level. Beginning with an $800 beater, Steve has slowly transformed the Future framework into a street machine that stands out proudly in the usual crowd of Chevys and MoPars. Steve’s engine is based on a ’66 289 with Crane valve gear and a Carter carburetor puffing through a 4-71 GMC blower, ignition is by Mallory, with Hedman headers and a Hurst-shifted top loader backing the small-block Ford. On his own, Steve added a 2x3-inch rear sub-frame with a 9-inch Ford rearend equipped with Detroit Locker and 4.11 gears. The front suspension was left stock with the exception of ‘70 Mercury Cyclone springs, brakes, and spindles. The car holds with the tough street…

Tool Crib This month we’ll take a look at two new handy tool kits that feature a variety of interchangeable driver blades and handles. The first is a 15-piece kit (Vacombo Kit No. 90015) based on a ratcheting driver handle which eases the loosening and fastening of screws. Blade selection includes four Phillips, nine nut drivers, and a 5-inch extension blade. All 15 interchangeable components come in a handy roll-up pouch for easy carrying or storing. A second kit (Vacombo Kit No. 90MP) contains 38 pieces and features a ratcheting T-handle and a regular driver handle. The following blades are included: four slotted and three Phillips screwdriver blades, nine nut driver blades, one magnetic nut driver blade, nine Allen hex blades, nine bristol-type fluted spline blades, and a 5-inch extension…

Beat a Cop; Don’t Go to Prison Yessir … back in Portage, Indiana, they have a race where the local cops all race each other and the clock in one of the Solo II series of races. This particular one was held right on the main street in Portage, too. It was all part of the Portage Grand Prix Jamboree, a 10-day event featuring 225 cars from the area, other states, and even Canada. The Portage event is now in its fourth year. If you would like to see or compete in one of these races contact the SCCA at 6750 S. Emporia St., Englewood, CO 80112 (303)770-1044. Tunnel-Tested T-bird No, this isn’t a magician making a new Thunderbird appear from a wisp of smoke. It is a new Thunder-bird…

Since its inception in 1903, the Renault-invented centrifugal supercharger has lead a colorful, controversial (if not a somewhat checkered) career. Explaining the colorful part is easy. Centrifugal blowers were standard operating procedure on everything from Millers, Offys, and Novis to Allisons and Rolls Royce Merlins. Turbochargers, which are nothing more than exhaust-driven centrifugal superchargers, continue to rule at Indy. Remember the Paxton-puffed T-Birds and Avantis of the 50s and ’60s? They, too, were centrifugally supercharged. The controversial/checkered part is a little harder to explain. Over the years, centrifugal superchargers have suffered from bearing and sealing problems because they build a great deal of boost at extremely high rpms. They also suffer the inability to quickly make the transition from normally aspirated (unblown) to supercharged, hence the term “throttle lag.” And…

After years in the NASCAR wilderness, Ford fans kmay once again find themselves First On Race Day, thanks to Dearborn’s sleek, bullet-shaped ’83 Thunderbird, along with a whole new line-up of heavy-duty performance parts (see article on page 43). Reportedly, the slippery new sheetmetal is worth from 2 to 4 mph on the super speedways over the ’82 Thunderbird currently being campaigned. Such swoopy sheetmetal would definitely give Ford a big advantage on the long track, so as this goes to print NASCAR still has not given the sheetmetal their final approval, although Ford does not anticipate any problems. 1983: NASCAR’s Year of the ’Bird? Assuming NASCAR says “Go,” one of the first of the new T-birds will be fielded by long-time Ford stalwart Bud Moore (Spartanburg, South Carolina), who…

For those who think rodders would rather rub on their rods than race them, think again. If the Street Rod Unlimited’s 8th annual ‘Yesterday Drags and Rod Run” did one thing, it proved today’s street rods go. Yet the regulars at OCIR still must have thought they were in a time warp when the gates were open ed last August 8th. There, peeking at them from behind the barrier, were 487 pre-’58 entries, a flashback to the days of Santa Ana, San Gabe, and the legendary Lions dragstrips. Meanwhile, the fast time of the event was turned in by "Jet Car" Bob Smith at the wheel of Tom Prufer’s "Power King Special." Based on one of Scotty Fenn’s K-88 muffler moly and frames and powered by a 6-71 huffed early…

Did you ever wonder what imaginative Detroit engineers might come up with if left to their own devices? Suppose their talents were unrestrained and they didn’t have to conform to the tangled nest of bureaucratic legislation decreed by people who haven’t the foggiest notion about automotive enthusiasm. The hot rodding spirit that lives deep within many of these engineers surfaces easily, and when given the opportunity they work magic with the cars in their charge. The cars pictured here are perfect examples of engineering expertise as applied to the factory hot rod. They are both Chevrolet experimental projects, with neither planned for production in the future. The important thing is that Chevrolet engineers are keeping abreast of contemporary trends and the sort of package it might take to remain competitive…

When you’re only 20 years old and have already traveled and raced with world champions like Bob Glidden and Bill Jenkins, what else is there? The question was elementary for Darren Davis, one of a dwindling breed of enthusiastic young drag racers who still clings to the notion that the little guy can make it in class legal racing. You take your best shot, and everything else you can beg, borrow, or steal—and go for it. An econo dragster seemed an attractive candidate for an effort of meager means, but Darren quickly discovered that econo cars are no less expensive to build or operate than any other type of race car. When the car was built it was set up to accept a Buick V6, but a lack of heavy-duty…

We Know it’s beginning of December. We realize Jackson Frost is here and that those ’48-and-earliers are headed for the garage to be taken apart and readied for next year’s cruise-a-thon. And that’s what we’re getting at… next year—1983—a new rod-related season that wouldn’t be complete unless all of you hot rodders and lead sledders plan to attend HOT ROD Magazine’s 5th Annual Super Nationals. The date is June 17-18-19, 1983; the place is Berea, Ohio; the time will be the best of your life. True, we’re asking you to spend some money like a $25 pre-entry fee (or $35 at the gate), but look what you get for your hard-earned bucks: FIRST: A door prize to end all door prizes. We got Little John Buttera to build us a…

A Hot Performer Edelbrock has introduced a line of manifolds that is designed to be used with its mate—the Performer-Plus camshafts. The manifolds and camshafts are available for several engines, including the Chevy big-block, Ford small-block, Ford 351-400W, and MoPar small-block engines. For details contact Edelbrock Corp., Dept. HR-12, 411 Coral Circle, El Segundo, CA 90245, (213) 322-7310. Ultra Thane Bushings Ultra Cars an’ Components has released a new line of bushings for street rods. Each bushing is hand-cast (not injected) for a high-gloss finish. The bushings are available in red, yellow, blue, gray, and black to set off your 4-bar and frame. For more information contact Ultra Cars an’ Components, Dept. HR-12, 9212 Alondra Blvd., Bellflower, CA 90706. Hi and Bye Weiand has just introduced the most versatile Hi-Ram…

Automotive wiring has always been perceived as a sort of ‘‘black art" that only a few high priests of hot rodding knew much about. And the wiring harnesses and various devices installed by the car manufacturers do little to change this notion. Yet, as difficult as wiring may be, it can also be one of your most rewarding projects when you do it right. If your late-model iron needs extensive wiring (maybe it has been in a fire or vandalized), the hot tip is to replace it with a complete harness assembly from a wrecking yard. On the other hand, if you intend to build a harness for a roadster, race car, or custom, the following discussion on wire sizes, fusing, how to tie it all together, and even how…

Obviously, Greg Rea, a mechanic from Beloit, Wisconsin, is into neat, new stuff. His cleaner-than-most ’68 Camaro proves it. Not only has the car been completely disassembled, it’s also been rebuilt using all new sheetmetal with brazed-in body seams, all new suspension components, new sub-frame members, and interior. Rea has upgraded the Camaro’s act with a series of modifications, which include a Dyer 6-71-blown 305-inch Chevy tied into a ’72 Muncie 4-speed trans. The front suspension, lowered a good 3 inches, features Monroe shocks, Moroso springs, and 69 Camaro disc brakes. Additional details run the gamut from Center Line wheels (3½-inch front, 8½-inch rear), which support both 5.60-15 Atlas and LR60-15 B.F. Goodrich tires, to a gray velvet/velour interior augmented with a Moroso tach, Stewart-Warner gauges, and a black Vega…

Craig John McCaughey’s 72 Demon is the product of lots of hard work, long hours, and moral support from the home front. The silver and blue 394-inch-powered Dodge is raced twice weekly around Savannah, Illinois. The acid-dipped sheetmetal is accompanied by ’glass panels on the front end, bumpers, and rear deck. The B-engined bomber uses all the neat pieces, coordinated by a Racer Brown cam and lifters. The MoPar muscle gets to the ground via a Turbo Action-prepared Torqueflite controlled with a Winters shifter, and flowing to the rear through a 44-inch Dana equipped with Strange axles and 5.14 gearing. This Demon rolls on Cragar Super Tricks wrapped with Moroso 5.50-15s up front and ’Stones on the rear. Craig and his wife, Verna, built the car with a little help…

Address all questions to Talking Tech, HOT ROD Magazine, 8490 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Please restrict inquiries to one question per letter. All letters must be signed and contain a return address. Due to the large number of questions received each month, personal replies are not possible. Questions will be answered only in this column, so please, no tech questions by phone. Like Father, Unlike Son I am currently driving a ’70 Plymouth Cuda with a warmed-over 383 that to date has run as fast as 13.20 @ 104 mph in the quarter. But my plans with this 383 are soon to end, since I just picked up a complete Chrysler 392 Hemi. Here’s where I need help: Who can tell me what parts, if any, are interchangeable…

Torque and Horsepower (Continued) Last month we defined Torque as the turning or twisting effort exerted on an object (whether or not that object actually is moved by such effort), and that Horsepower is a measure of the rate at which torque is exerted on (in automotive applications) a camshaft or wheel through a definite distance in a given time. The higher the horsepower rating, the greater the rate or speed at which work (which can be equated to torque) is performed. But: How can a larger amount of horsepower be developed with less torque? The answer is the factor of speed. To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at a 427 Chevrolet that peaks out at 460 lbs./ft. of torque @ 4000 rpm, and 435 hp @ 5800…

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