Indholdsfortegnelse for March 1984 i Hot Rod

Gm Spilt General Motors has just announced plans for the consolidation of their five car divisions into two groups for the production of large and small cars. In a meeting of the board of directors, current Buick general manager Lloyd E. Reuss was chosen to head the small car division and current Chevrolet chief Robert C. Stempel was selected to head the big car division. Under the new arrangement, Chevrolet and Pontiac will produce all the small cars while Olds, Buick, and Cadillac will handle production of the big cars. The plan was suggested by GM president Rogei Smith after a long period of investigation and consultation regarding ways to firm up and improve GM's share of the market. This consolidation of strength could possibly eliminate much of the corporate…

Within days of the “Last Drag Race” at Orange County International Raceway, we watched them-cart away the timing lights and pull down the guardrails. By the end of this month, all of the grandstands will be gone. Former track operator Charlie Allen has moved much of the equipment to his new Firebird International Raceway motorsports complex in Phoenix, Arizona, and says that the OCIR property is already sold, piece by piece, for a “Silicone Valley-type high-tech” complex. Official word from landholders The Irvine Company is that the property is slated for “industrial development; construction to. begin in late 1984.” As for rumors about a new strip in the L.A. area, take your pick—we've heard dozens … none substantiated (though Charlie Allen vows to build one, somewhere “as close as OCIR,”…

There’s lot’s in store for Indy ’84! As the HOT ROD Super Nationals moves to Indianapolis and welcomes all types of hot rods (2000 pre-’49 rods and 2000 post-’48 machines) for the first time, we are already planning to make it the best Super Nats ever. Even in these early stages we are lining up tons of super giveaway prizes for participants and spectators alike. On the top of the list of giveaways are two Grand Prizes: our ’57 Chevy project, introduced in last month’s issue (“Flashback ’57”), and a new Ford F-250 pickup and matching Chaparral trailer. We can also tell you, at this point, that both Chrysler and Ford will be awarding complete engines; B.F. Goodrich and Goodyear will be giving away sets of tires; and Kenwood Electronics…

Sal Nepa has always loved fine automobiles, especially '57 Chevys. The transplanted Detroit native (he presently calls San Pedro, California, home) started attending auto shows when he was 14. At 15 he bought his first '57. His second car was yet another '57—the eventual award-winner that he still owns today. Sal says he built it “to prove to myself that I could do it; it's like a dream come true.” After three complete paint jobs and 11 years of blood, toil, sweat, and tears (not to mention $14,000 big ones), Sal came up with the right combination to be competitive: jet black Ditzler lacquer overlaid by 30 coats of clear (by Tom Holden) to highlight the straight, stock body-along with flames to lend the necessary wildness. Of course, to make…

Porschevs aren't exactly new … nor are conversion kits designed to Chev-a-Porsche all that unusual. It's just that Porschevs generally torque off the Porsche purists who fail to appreciate what 350 inches of mildly manipulated mouse can do to upgrade the performance potential of Dr. Porsche's underpowered offsprings. Unfortunately, these same purists generally view these hybrids with a mixture of disdain and downright hostility. The disdain we can handle … like keeping the bloodlines purist pure. But Mike Houser (owner of Renegade Hybrids, 1220-B Whittier Blvd., Whittier, CA 90602, 213/6961344) handled this hostility in his own way. When asked by a purist how he like his “VW,” Mike answered by enveloping this arrogant acre in 400 feet of tire smoke. By the time the smoke had cleared out, so had…

Bob Daul originally picked up this '56 Chevy Bel Air for $500 back in 1981. Within one week it had been completely stripped down to the bare frame. Gary's Rod & Restoration Shop added a trans crossmember to the now-bare frame, which itself was narrowed 6 1/2 inches per side to accommodate the 15x33 McCrearys and 15x14 Center Lines. All holes were welded shut, and the seams puttied before a coat of brown Imron was laid on. Next it was time for the suspension. Up front, Bob added station wagon coils, 72 Monte Carlo disc brakes and 72 Camaro master cylinder, and a modified sway bar out of a 72 Buick Riviera, which also contributed the tilt steering column and wheel, among many other “little things.” Meanwhile, the car was…

Tool Crib Try to stuff your average flashlight down a lifter bore some time. Not easy, right? Try using a flashlight to check points, or work under the dashboard … next to impossible. Here's the fix for those “I just need a little light” or “I don't have three hands” blues. With a 10-inch flexible shaft that can be bent into the most amazing contortions again and again, this diagnostic light (a spinoff from medical technology) will fit almost anywhere, and produces enough light for inspections or wiring work under the dash. The light itself is only 1/8-inch in diameter, and will easily fit into oil galleys or bolt holes for inspection tours of your engine. For more information, contact MDS, Inc., P.O. Box 1441, Brandon, FL 34299-1441, (813) 685-1727.…

“Dem Words Asin” Do you have a publication for the weekend mechanic who does the job once or twice a year, then forgets how things were done? I'm referring to a “dictionary” type book that describes the abbreviations used in manuals, where to make adjustments, and what parts look like. Valve adjustments and timing seem to be the most confusing things. Edwin Michalski Glass Port, Pennsylvania No, we don't have books for people who only look under the hood once a year; we like to think most of Petersen's readership is more interested than that. But as for a glossary of terms, most real, live factory shop manuals are written in fairly plain English and are littered with photographs, illustrations, and tables. Some have glossaries in the back, but most…

New Line in Town Fel-Pro Inc. has introduced their new “Performance” line of gaskets. These gaskets provide superior sealing capability under the most demanding conditions of today's hotter-running engines. For complete information about the new Performance gaskets, write Fel-Pro Inc., Dept. HR-03, 7450 N. McCormick Blvd., Box C 1103, Skokie, IL 60076. Center Attraction Center Line Racing Wheels has designed a new lightweight aluminum wheel specifically for Modified Stock Cars. This 15xl0-inch wheel, forged from aerospace-quality aluminum, is durable, lightweight, and easy to install. Center Line Racing Wheels, Dept. HR-03, 13521 Freeway Dr., Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670. Mr. Gasket's Grommets New from Mr. Gasket is a heavy-duty grommet set, which includes 30 of the most popular grommets used in automotive sheetmetal applications. The grommets feature an extra-thick wall section…

It is a story of numbers. Staggering numbers. Numbers so amazing you need to assume the perspective that no other type of racing vehicle pushes the limits of physics to the extent these do. Today's Funny Cars are sublimely beautiful, violent, and expensive, and we're going to show you the inner workings of a contemporary nitromethane-powered AA Funny Car and its crew. A good running Funny Car goes 0-60 in about a second; it will accomplish that in 50 feet. The drivers are subjected to about 4G initially, settling down to about 3G on the average trip through the lights. The car would drain the typical Ford gas tank in less than a minute, given the opportunity. Where a Formula One car, generally accepted to be a glowing example of…

Much of the new low-compression racing technology is applicable to today's street motors. As a sort of demonstration project, Bo Laws recently built a 406-inch smallblock street engine for H&H Corvette. He used an overbored Chevy bow tie block, Hank the Crank 5140 forged steel crank, and 5.7-inch Carillo rods, the longest that would fit on the 3.75-inch 400 crank without decreasing piston ring package durability. Flat-top JE pistons, mildly massaged Brodix aluminum street heads with 67cc chambers and 168cc intake runners, and Manley 2.02-intake/1.60-exhaust valves brought the compression in at 10.73:1. With 34-35 degrees total timing, the engine was able to tolerate that high a ratio on 93 octane pump gas due to the aluminum heads' superior heat rejection capabilities, proving that so-called “high-tech” parts definitely have a place…

Gary Conley approaches hot rodding on a small scale—one-quarter scale to be exact. His miniature small-block engines are the world's smallest, running production V8s. Based on a small-block Chevy V8, these amazing little engines are designed for the serious hobbiest. They are used chiefly in radio-controlled model race cars and hydroplanes, and there are even a few enthusiasts who have them just so they can fire them up on the coffee table for the amusement of their guests. But as Gary quickly points out, these are thoroughly engineered scale performance engines, not toys. The fact that he's selling a lot of them at nearly $1700 apiece indicates the level of quality and performance they offer for people knowledgeable in such matters. And they are trick! With a total displacement of…

The 1984 Monte Carlo SS gets our vote for “Sleeper of the Year.’’ It satisfies all essential performance requirements and delivers them at a remarkably competitive price compared to contemporary performance cars. The Monte Carlo is just plain fun to drive, and with a reasonably healthy small-block under the hood, it gives that same good feeling you used to get from earlier intermediate performance cars like the ’66 Chevelle. While not quite as quick as some of its ancestors, with the F41 suspension option and 180 hp under the hood, the SS provides five-passenger comfort with stable handling and straight-line performance only a few tenths slower than the quickest cars available today. Chevy’s Sleeper of the Year The new Monte Carlo represents one of the most attractive performance car alternatives…

Suzuki was mad. All last year, when other brands were toppling the 10s with regularity, their two big guns did nothing but clock one 11-flat after another. Neither the mighty 1100 Katana nor the sleek GS1100ES clearly broke into the celebrated, hallowed, and necessary realm of the 10-second quarter-mile. Necessary? Absolutely necessary because performance sells motorcycles. If a model is supposed to be a superbike and it won't run 10s, you lose sales like Tampa Bay loses football games. Suzuki went back to the drawing board, fuming and bristling. Engineers broke pencils. Testers broke pistons. Photography: Dale Boiler, Paul Gordon Executives broke necks. And Suzuki broke the 10s with this, the biggest superbike ever—an 1150cc monster which set a new superbike record with a mad dash of 10.61 seconds at…

Lone Star Skate You might remember Eddie Hill's twin Poncho dragster, or you might have seem him pilot the world's longest digger, the Texan 2, to a blistering 205 mph @ 7.67 in 1966, but have you seen him trying to break into the fours lately? On November 13, 1983, Eddie made back to back 5.16 and 5.17 passes at Firebird Lake. Top speed on the 5.17 trip was 222.22 mph. Is this guy determined or what? By the time you read this, Eddie will have a new, lighter hull under the KB high-port fuel burner, giving him the reigning (still) seat in the annals of AA/Fuel Drag Boats. In addition to being the guickest man on water, the Wichita Falls resident has some interesting toys: a Lola T-70 Mk…

A few months ago (Aug. '83) we introduced the topic of backyard bodywork and discussed several of the tools and procedures you could use to accomplish basic sheetmetal straightening, as well as mild customizing, at home. This month we continue that subject, using our Flashback '57 project car as a perfect example of a vehicle that was relatively straight, yet needed plenty of minor massaging to prepare it for a first-class paint job. Although the operations shown here were performed by body and paint experts Ron Merando and Rob Marchese at California Street Rods (17091 Palmdale, Huntington Beach, CA 92647), any of them can be done at home with a hammer and dolly, hand sanding boards, and a gas welding outfit. Rust Removal Metalworking Fixing Large Panels Custom Touches…

What we have here is an exercise in inertia. It’s something rodders learned way back when these Model Ts were nearly new. If all you’ve got to power one of these cars is a little 4-banger or a 221-cubic-inch flathead V8. then the way to make a Model T scoot on the street is to make it light. Of course today’s T-buckets, with their fiberglass bodies, kit frames, and tube axles, are considerably lighter—. and easier to assemble—than their Grabowski-built forebears. And if you stuff one of these short, light, plastic roadsters with a modern, healthy, huffed V8 (like many of today’s rodders do), the result is awesome, if not downright terrifying. I don’t know about you, but white knuckle terror is not my idea of street rod fun. Throughout…

Pontiac has this keen-looking, aluminum small-block Chevy cylinder head with Pontiac logos cast all over it. It's actually a Brodix-8 aluminum racing head, so what's Pontiac doing with it? It's a long story that's been developing for the last six months or so. Without all the intricate details, it goes something like this: Point: The heat is on. Now that Ford is competitive in NASCAR again, GM racers have more to contend with than just a handful of bodies running the same engine. Point: Regardless of what we all know to be true, the small-block Chevy engine is no longer a small-block Chevy, it's a GM 5.7L V8, and it's legal in Chevys, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, and Buicks. Anyone not running a Thunderbird body can run the 350 cubicinch GM V8.…

In corners, it had the handling characteristics of a refrigerator/freezer. To parallel park, you needed a forklift. A trip across country to the HOT ROD Super Nationals was in the planning, and for it to be any fun at all, the '37 Chevy's front geometry would need a major revamp, to say the least. Chuck Lombardo, owner of California Street Rods (17091 Palmdale, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, 714/847-4404), was consulted for suggestions. His solution was to junk the stock-style suspension and steering totally, and convert the car to a Mustang independent with rack-and-pinion-a process he had pioneered and perfected, along with Jimmy Arroyo, in 30 or 40 cars before mine ever darkened his shop door. Gray Baskerville's article, “Old/New Smoothies: Part 3” (HOT ROD, April '83), laid out some of…

To the average car enthusiast a pace car is another decal-laden special edition that carries with it a couple of extra grand on the sticker price and the hope “someday it'll be worth a lot of money.” This proliferation of pace cars from. NASCAR, CART, and USAC causes plenty of confusion about which car is the pace car. Undoubtedly, the most prestigious pace car is the one chosen to lead the pack at Indy. Automakers lobby for the distinction about 21/2 years in advance. The qualifications usually stipulate the car be a new (interesting) model and capable of running 125 mph and stopping from 125 mph in 500 feet in modified condition. And while some cars are natural contenders for the pace car chores, like the Fiero, some are not,…

SELL—'79 Corvette, polished 6-71 GMC supercharger, black lacquer, 350 4-speed, p.s./p.b., a.c., dual Holleys, otherwise stock. Fast street car. Asking only $16,000. Contact Dave at (714) 7868733 or 786-3066. WANTED—'70 Chevelle SS. Looking for original car, no restorations. Will travel. Send photo and description. Pete Schneider, P.O. Box 476, Milledgeville, GA 31061. SELL—Back issue car magazine collection, most titles, 1950 to present. Looking for a specific road test? I can help! $1 for giant list and research details. D. Fisher, P.O. Box 170243, Arlington, TX 76016. SELL—1934 Ford roadster, concourse condition, 350 Chevy, blueprinted and balanced. Auto trans, AM/FM stereo with cassette, Carson top, rumble seat. Maroon with tan interior. P.B. Rothschild, (213) 944-6111. SELL—1954 Studebaker Coupe, 273 MoPar Formula S engine and 4-speed, original drivetrain included. $2700. G. Vogel,…