Indholdsfortegnelse for October 1984 i Hot Rod

What you've got your hands on here is the “new” HOT ROD Magazine. Look at the cover. Obviously, our logo has been changed—more accurately, it has been updated. I think that this degree of change is also reflected on the inside. We didn't throw the “old HOT ROD away, we just made the commitment to be the performance car magazine for the next 35 years. We did a pretty good job for the last 35. Another look at the cover will reveal more about the “new” HOT ROD than anything else. It's called commitment. Maybe you've noticed it creeping into the magazine over the last year or so. Our product evaluations, interviews, and many of our projects are examples of our commitment to the performance industry. It's probably not a…

Most hot rodders regard laws the way stock car drivers regard NASCAR rules—the challenge is to use your ingenuity to see how much you can do without breaking the letter of the law. Assuming that a “worst case” l/M Program (i.e., one like California's) is invoked in your state, what kind of hot rods can you still legally build and drive? • Put your modified motor into a body over 20 years old. Cars from the '50s are plentiful and cheap, and make great street machines. If you don't want to take apart your '66 Mustang or '67 Camaro, you might put it on blocks’ for a couple of years. Maybe it's time to build an early street rod. • Build a musclecar copy. Even into the '70s Detroit produced…

In your hands is another issue of HOT ROD Magazine, packed as usual with North America's top, state-of-the-art, high-tech, automotive exotica. Also as usual, many of the cars showcased in this issue cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 and up to build. And as a statement of what hot rodders aspire to, what we'd all like to build and own, there's nothing wrong with that. Just as there's nothing wrong with Lynda Carter, Raquel Welch, or Loni Anderson. But for many of us, such mega-buck perfection is as much a mirage as these Hollywood playmates. They are merely dreams, distant idealized illusions that seem totally removed from the day-to-day realities of the 9-to-5 timeclock, a family with 2 ½ kids, and the inevitable mortgage. In the past, HOT ROD has…

This closeup (A) illustrates NOS/Nitrous Oxide Systems’ (5930 Lakeshore Dr., Cypress, CA 90630, 213/598-2995) new fog nozzle, compared to the traditional individual nozzle in the foreground. The new design allows nitrous and fuel to be pre-mixed for better atomization, and is included in the new over-manifold kit (B). The fog system, as well as the Nitrous Charger” 6-71 blower plate (top right) both feature replaceable nozzle jets so the “amount of fuel injected can be varied. The Shelby-Charger kit (bottom right) is also fully adjustable, but will produce a 60 hp gain out of the box.…

This is an Alsip (Illinois) fable—for that's where “Barbarian” owner Louie Trench rode south from whence he came to sack the Car Craft Nats. The Chryslers had been weak in the Pro Street wars for years when Louie prepared to fight the Chevys and Fords with his '70 Duster. Amborn & Janota Race Cars tied the frame, welded all factory holes shut, and added a full chrome-moly roll cage. Meanwhile, a bad A motor displacing 340 cubic inches was going together at C-T Engineering, topped by two 650-cfm Holley carbs force-feeding the gas into an Edelbrock tunnel-ram staked to fully ported and polished heads sporting valves actuated by a Direct Connection (DC) cam. DC also supplied the ignition; Hooker, the headers; and Brooks, the pistons and rods. A Milodon oiling…

CAMARO. 10 Best Camaros Ever; High-Tech Suspension, Engine, Ignition Section; Great Camaro Racers; Rare Camaros; High-Speed Handling Kit. ORDER: HR Camaro, Vol. 1, No. 4, 2298. $3.50 ppd. CHEVY CAMARO. Wild Camaros, Vettes, 'SB'S? Chevys; Engine Swaps for the '80s; 100-hp Bolt-On: Build a 12-Second Sleeper; How to Build a Winning Camaro. ORDER: CC Chevy Camaro No. 4, 2328. $3.25 ppd. CHEVROLET. Build a 650-hp Big Block; More '55-'57s, Vettes, Camaros; History of the Chevy Small Block; Super Street Camaro Buildup; Bill Jenkin's Pro Stock Camaro. ORDER: HR Chevrolet No. 3, 2140. $3.00 ppd. CHEVROLET. Wild Chevy Cruisers; 70-hp Z28 Bolt-Ons; V6-V8 Engine Swaps; Giant Chevy Parts Guides; The '57 Chevy: A 25-Year Love Affair ORDER: HR Chevrolet, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2291. $3.00 ppd. CHEVY CLASSICS. Chevy Parts Guide;…

CARS AUTOS FOR SALE '58 Corvette 90-percent restored, streetable, (Offers over $8000); '69 Corvette, 427, 4-speed, 64,000 actual miles, all original, new paint, both tops, 390 hp (Offers over $10,000); Three Mustangs ('65, '66, '67); '50 Olds two-door, runs; '50 Ford shortbed; '55 Chevy 4-door body; '64 Jeep Honcho, new engine; '30 roadster. Offers. For pictures send SASE. Rich Fairbanks, Instructor, Emery County High School, Castle Dale, UT 84513. (801) 381-2689. After 5 p.m. (801) 748-2138. '67 CAMARO RS 327 engine, 8-cylinder, automatic, power steering & brakes, 28,000 miles. Excellent! V. Rudert, 51 Spectalle Ave., Warwick, Rl 02888. (401) 941-0915. 71 CAMARO RALLY SPORT, magazine cover car, 350 4-barrel, 4-speed, Hugger Orange, black interior, Center Line Champ 500 wheels, B.F.G. tires, trick suspension, fiberglass hood, whale tail trunk lid, much…

SCHITZOID Some like it high and some like it low! For those who like it high, I have a 1969 four-wheel-drive Camaro that's 4 feet off the ground. For those who like it low, my 1966 Nova Super Sport sits inches from the ground. The '69 Camaro was installed on a '69 Wagoneer chassis with a 6-inch lift kit and mounts of my design. Under the fiberglass hood resides a 350 LT-1 teamed with a Turbo 400 transmission. The car rides on 14x36-inch Grand Prix tires mounted on American racing rims, providing great traction on hills and sand. The finishing touch was painting the car myself, using Rally Yellow Glasso lacquer paint and adding the graphic stripes. The interior is black button-tuft with a full roll cage. Watching the expressions…

Performance-minded shoppers are in for a treat when the new crop of domestic high-performance cars hit the streets, and Ford and Chevrolet are leading the way with bona fide modern-day musclecars that step aside for no one. Chevrolet sweetened the pot by offering a genuine 150 mph Corvette with 230 hp and revised suspension components that retain the car's world-class handling characteristics without the gut-busting ride qualities associated with j the initial '84 models. Their new IROC Z28 is a 215 hp, 140 mph piece that shadows the Corvette so closely you won't believe it, and the Monte Carlo SS has come into its own as a performance sedan. Ford introduces the German-built Merkur, a high-tech Euro-style performance sedan based on their highly successful Sierra. Mustang and Capri head their…

How To Build a Contemporary Street Machine Last month we promised to show you some coverage of the drivetrain being built for the Mr. Gasket Camaro. In keeping with the theme of this car, the Performance People at Mr. Gasket wanted to keep things as simple as possible, using either parts available from catalogs, over the counter at GM dealerships, or at local speed shops. The engine is a good place to start. In addition to a thriving race engine business, John Lingenfelter Racing (1557 Winchester Rd., Decatur, IN 46733, 219/724-2552) builds some fine engines for sale via mail order. The choice for the Camaro is a combination of 350 and 400 parts to make a 383, using a 350 block, 400 crank with 350-sized mains, 400 rods, and 440x…

Today's superbikes can singe a straightaway at 155 mph and blister a dragstrip in 10.5 seconds. They can pump out 120 horsepower from 65 cubic inches. But for a hot rodder, it still isn't enough. Our psyche cannot comprehend “too much power.” That's why a dozen accessory companies sell thousands of aftermarket exhaust systems every year. A pipe is the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to improve a motorcycle's performance. There are, in fact, many reasons why a pipe can give you a better bike: THE PROMISE OF A PIPE • More horsepower. Usually 8-10 percent. • Less weight. Often 30 to 50 percent. • Better styling • More ground clearance. However, before you dash to the nearest bike shop, take a moment to consider the possibility that The…

Saddle Up Dick Royer has just introduced a chassis which should wow the high-horse-pressure hot rodders… a chassis fitted with dual-mounted saddle gas tanks. In fact, he's in the process of building three new frames (Model A) which are wider in the front because his customers are switching to bigblocks or blown small-blocks. Royer's chassis employ Deuce Factory, TCI, Super Bell, and Posie components. Meanwhile, Dick Royer can be contacted at 48 Church St., Slatersville, Rl 02876, or call (401) 766-8591, if you're in the market for a real cruiser. Rod Top Hard-core roadster lovers tend to quiver at the thought of putting tops on their road dusters because most “stock-type” tops don't look right on highboys or hammer rods. Now Dick “Magoo” Megugorac has that problem covered. According to…

Some of you younger readers probably don't recognize the name John Bradley, but to anybody who drag raced in the '50s and '60s, John was known as “Mr. Flathead,” the guy who knew how to make the underhead-valve V8 scream. When everybody else began switching to big Olds or Chrysler overheads, John kept the flathead tradition alive, using up gallons of 100proof nitro in the process and nailing down dozens of D/Dragster records and Little Eliminator titles. At age 59 Bradley is still going strong, and is still storming in the flathead ranks, as he proved by winning Top Eliminator at the Antique Nationals, which was held at Los Angeles County Raceway (Palmdale, California) last Memorial Day. Not only did he best a field of about 10 other flathead dragsters,…

Old time readers of HOT ROD Magazine will recall when the name Chrisman was synonymous with drag racing, Bonneville, and beautiful record-holding hot rods. In 1953 the brothers Chrisman (Art and Lloyd) put together one of the most unusual coupes of all time: a rear-engined, radically chopped and channeled '30 A five-window fitted with a nose fashioned from a pair of '40 Ford hoods and powered by an array of engines-304-inch flatheads, 250-inch Arduns, plus Dodges, DeSotos and Chryslers-that defied description. The coupe, which competed in three classes at Bonneville (B, C, and D) during '53 to '55, ultimately wound up in the hands of George Barris before being obtained earlier this year by car show king Bob Larivee, Sr., who returned it to Chrisman for a full restoration. Art…

We heard of an interesting l/M test and decided to watch. John Dahl of Riverside, California, was taking his 70 Chevy Nova to Jim Meyer's (former MoPar Pro Stock racer) R.V. Specialties tune-up/repair/smog check shop for certification. The clean orange “weekend cruiser” has a '65 396 with J.E. 8.4:1 pistons, Total Seal gapless rings, a Schneider 290 degree/.480 lift/112 degree lobe center hydraulic cam, a Hampton 6-71 blower, and two 750 Holley #4779 carbs. The car came with an EVAP canister, and this is hooked up. along with closed crankcase and PCV on the motor. In cases of engine swaps, the BAR has ruled that motors installed before March 1984 must retain all smog equipment that came on the motor; those swapped after March '84 must be fitted with all…

Texan Don Smith, the guy who has yet to uncrate his “Termite Delight,” a Boyd Coddington-built ‘32 Ford Woodie, may have said it best when he casually mentioned over the phone that “your event will make people disappointed in every-thing else from now on and will influence all future rod runs including our own!” Why? Because HOT ROD Magazine’s right on rod-in—featuring every-thing from pavement-pounding pro-pellers.to a polished ‘38 projectile—has become motorsports’ latest attitude adjustment. Yes, fellow hot rodders, despite rumors to the contrary and what the nay sayers have sayeth, mixing hot rodding’s various elements under one tent, or rather, as in the case of HRM’s Super Nationals, within one fairground (the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds), proved to be an instant winner. And despite what the doomsday delegation had to…

In the following pages, you will see more than 100 new products that are scheduled for introduction at this year's SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show. The performance industry is enjoying its best days since the halcyon '60s. The phenomenal success of the new breed of supercars like the Mustang GT, Camaro, Firebird, Daytona, Laser, and a totally new V6 and 4-cylinder minicar-performance market laced with turbos and superchargers, have sparked that high-performance urge in many consumers, young and old. There is a place for everyone in this new high-efficiency hot rodding. There are revised computers to make your new car perform better, and more handling kits and components so that suspension tuning is as much an art form as engine tuning. Turbocharging has opened up a whole new area…

Tilton Engineering (McMurray Rd. & Easy St., P.O. Box 1787, Buellton, CA 93427, 805/688-2353) always has trick hard-core items. This time, they'll show their multiplate clutch redesigned for improved cooling. You can actuate it with this neat annular self-contained hydraulic release bearing (B), which requires no external linkage. Tilton's self-contained pedal assemblies (A), are one “race” part that rodders might find useful. Another such crossover part are these high-torque miniature Hitachi starters, (C), modified to bolt to Chevy (note the “universal” 4-bolt nose), Buick, Olds, Pontiac, or Chrysler blocks in the stock location; they provide increased clearance with big oil pans or tight chassis, produce 3 hp of cranking power and are completely sealed against moisture.…

Forget what you've heard about the hot rodder's good dream; you know, the thought of meeting an over-sexed “10” whose father owns a liquor store and runs a chrome shop. St. Louis, Missouri's Bob Rothenberg has gone this famed fantasy one further. Only his “reverie” has taken on the form of a '33 Willys Model 77 coupe. And by combining three diverse elements—high horsepower, semi-customized, and incredible finish—into one car, the St. Louie “brewee” has put some heat back into street rodding. It all started in 71 when Bob, on the way back from a skiing trip in Colorado, spotted a familiar shape from the road. “All that was there was the body, doors, and a rumble seat, and I actually bought it ($250) for the rumble seat. But the…

BALANCING APPROACH Q Do you recommend balancing an engine and why? What are the benefits to expect from balancing an engine? Michael C. Allman Powell, Tennessee A I recommend rebalancing an engine if the reciprocating assembly's weight is changed to any great extent. Examples of major weight changes include turning the crank undersize or stroking it, rod replacement or rebuilding of the existing rods, and the substitution of non-stock-type pistons and/or pins. If the flywheel is resurfaced, it should be rebalanced, too. The need for rebalancing is more critical if the reciprocating assembly's weight is increased over stock, than if the weight is reduced (in fact, a little overbalancing may be beneficial on all-out high-rpm racing engines). Why rebalance? The obvious answer is that the engine will run smoother, thus…

Last March I/M cracked down suddenly in all major urban areas of California. After a couple of false starts and lots of threats and rumors over the last decade, we didn't believe it was really going to happen … but it is. Here's how it works. Every other year, when your registration comes due, you must take your car to any of hundreds of independently-operated “smog check” stations to take the I/M test and get a “compliance” certificate. Most any tune-up or repair shop can become a “smog station” by taking a one-day course and buying any of several approved computer test machines. The cost of the test is unregulated; it averages $18-$20 here. Cost of the certificate is another $6. All gasoline or dual-fuel powered vehicles, 20 years old…