Indholdsfortegnelse for March 1985 i Hot Rod

There has been a large number of individuals who have contributed tremendously to the high-performance after-market. Some carved the way, others fine-tuned, but because of their a highly successful industry exists today Although the small speed shops are being suppressed by the rise of the mega-dollar mass merchandisers, hot rod trends of yesteryear are once again regaining popularity. Lil’ John Butter a fits that trend. No, John doesn’t own a multi-million dollar parts manufacturing facility, nor does he have a parts-filled warehouse. He’s content to wing it out of Lil’ John’s Place, a shop he thinks of as his second home. To me that shop is Lil’s canvas, his tools and machines, his brushes and oils. As with any artist, a medium is necessary in order to translate ideas to…

$50,000 OF JUNK! Racers are used to blowing up engines—and having to replace all sorts of components after an engine failure. But here’s an example of serious magnitude. This Packard V12 with a ventilated crankcase and oil sump recently powered the “Dago Red” P51X World Champion air racer shown in our “Hot Pursuit” feature on page 50. Now normally a racer might oil-down the track, and maybe spin into the wall, but the car doesn’t suffer too much. In this case, “Dago Red” pilot Rick Bricked was lapping the pylons at Reno in the neighborhood of 450 mph when the motor gave it up. When you’re only 75 feet off the ground you don’t have many options—or much time to think of any. Rick used the plane’s speed to zoom…

In the brightly lit recesses of Buick Engineering in Flint, Michigan, we recently got a glimpse of something that has a very good chance of showing up on ’86 models: a turbo-charged, sequential. port-fuel-injected, computer-controlled, intercooled 3.8L V6. Shown here on an ’84 Regal that the development engineers were using for hot laps, the prototype package uses a new two-piece intake manifold with improved a runners, a turbo of “significantly higher flow” capacity on the compressor side, and a 10-tube air-to-air Garrette AiResearch intercooler On the prototype Regal the intercooler mounts between the radiator and the engine (arrow), picking up cold air with a duct from under the car. A small fan on the engine draws air through the unit, while the radiator uses an electric fan. Also seen on…

Every auto enthusiast should know how to paint, for several reasons. First and foremost, a high-quality and polished paint job—more than anything else—sets a special-interest vehicle apart from the average motoring crowd. Many of you may feel that a hot engine is more important than a flashy exterior, but you’d have to admit that a polished and plated, blown and injected motor surrounded by dingy or primered sheetmetal just doesn’t add up. The best race cars wear some of the prettiest paint jobs. Conversely, all it really takes to make a looker out of an otherwise stock vehicle is a set of custom wheels and tires, perhaps a little lowering, and a high-quality paint job. Second, as you follow our how-to-paint series, we hope it will become uncomfortably obvious that…

Mustangs are hot—and HOT ROD’S got the two hottest thoroughbreds you’re likely to find in 1985. We’re talking about the ’85 Ford Mustang GT and its high flying counterpart, Dago Red, the world’s fastest piston driven aircraft. From the extreme ends of the performance spectrum they reflect a common purpose: the pursuit of speed and excellence with no excuses offered. They like to run up front, and muscling in on performance heavyweights is their favorite game. You couldn’t ask for a better air and ground assault team—with the Mustang gobbling up the competition and Dago Red flying high cover. Ford’s 5-liter GT is the premier example of a Detroit performance car built with hot rod components. Its strength builds on the thoughtful combination of proven hot rod parts and factory…

Last month we introduced the Papile Performance Computer, a complete replacement microprocessor that swaps for the stock ECM in GM cars, promising a 10 to 15 percent improvement in performance and economy. Is it true? As several of you suggested in letters, the only way to find out is to test it. So we did. We borrowed two low-mileage demonstrators off the lot at MacPherson Chevrolet in Irvine, California: an ’84 LG4 305 V8, 4-barrel, automatic, Z28 Camaro, and an ’85 V6, automatic, S-10 Blazer. We drove these vehicles up to Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale (about 150 miles), and made five baseline runs with each. Then Joe Papile dropped the ECM from under the dash in each car, plugged in his unit (leaving it lying on the floor…

FASTENER IDENTIFICATION Like it or not, Detroit’s going metric. New-design engines, chassis, and drivetrains are in most instances entirely metric. Older engines and chassis may have a combination of both standard (English) and metric fasteners. Correct identification of these new fasteners is vital in order to replace damaged parts with correct and safe new parts. Standard fastener strength properties are easy to identify: Most fasteners used on cars have either three lines or six lines on their heads, corresponding to SAE Grades 5 and 8, respectively. In other words, the greater the number of lines on the head of a standard fastener, the greater its strength. Standard fastener diameter, length, and thread type terminology are also well understood: “½-20x1,” for example, refers to a ½-inch (shank) diameter bolt, with 20…

WANNA DRAGSTRIP? Last month we announced Riverside International Raceway’s plans to move to a new location in a flood control basin near Corona, California. At this time those plans remain tentative, and it appears the red tape may get lengthy before they’re approved. Meanwhile, San Bernardino County, which had been vigorously courting R.I.R. to build in its territory, has announced that they are “totally committed” to establishing a multi-use motor vehicle racing facility on a large parcel of county land next to Glen Helen Park (site of the US Festivals, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles). The County Parks and Recreation Department has had a Raceway Steering Committee working on the project for nearly a year, and in January they began accepting proposals for raceway development plans. There were…

During last year’s SEMA/APAA Show in Las Vegas, Chevrolet’s Herb Fishel and Robert Burger presented a set of awards to individuals who they feel have helped shape the high-performance industry through the years. Named as “’Legends of Performance’ were: (front row, left to right) Wally Parks our own Robert E, Petersen, Vince Piggins, Tom “Stroker McGurk Medley Smokey Yunick, back row, left to right) Ed Iskenderian, Zora Arkus-Duntov, Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, Mrs. Vic Edelbrock, Sr (accepted the honor for her late husband), and Junior Johnson.…

As you must know, most kit-type cars arrive in—how would you say?—knocked-down form. But not Magoo’s new Kit-A. Dick “Magoo” Megugorac is selling his all-new “Twenty-nine-on-Deuce-rails” highboy kit in fully assembled form. All the prospective buyer has to do is add his own powerplant and drivetrain, wheels and tires, paint and upholstery … and he’s got a driver. But that’s all we’re going to say. A near-future issue of HOT ROD Magazine will contain complete how- to details and a by-the-clock buildup of Magoo’s topless turney.…

1 The One-Day Special: Once over with degreaser; scuff it down with 320 paper; mask off everything you don’t want painted; shoot the car with enamel. 2 The Sand-and-Paint: First take off bumpers, emblems, and all other trim. Wet-sand the car carefully with 320 or 360. Primer any bare spots. Scuff down door jams, under hood and trunk with 320 dry paper. Mask off interior, engine, etc., and shoot door jams, under-hood, firewall, and under-trunk with lacquer. Let sit overnight. Close doors, hoods, and trunk, and spray car on second day. 3 Bodywork and Paint: Similar to above, except you spend a few days taking dents and dings out of the body once it’s stripped of chrome and trim. Start by grinding any dented areas to bare metal. Hammer out…

“Mother hen to blue leader; come in blue” leader. We have you at 35 thousand over Dearborn and are currently monitoring a flight of Turbo Lasers moving past the Ren Center; heading 270 degrees. Can you intercept?” “Ah, that’s a roger, mother hen, we copy six bogies moving west in full turbo thrust; request vector for intercept.” “Roger blue leader, come right to course 137; target is three minutes at 29 thousand feet, over.” “Roger, mother hen; blue leader steering 137. We just took on a flight of Mustangs south of Dearborn. All bogies destroyed, but one of our Z51 Corvettes took some ground fire from a missile complex in Ann Arbor. He augered in at Ford headquarters: looks like he took out the whole place. Can you confirm?” The…

Unlimited, heads-up confrontation is the hallmark of man’s competitive nature, yet true speed freaks have only a few select venues in which to pursue such lofty goals. In this respect, top flyers like the men who fly the “Dago Red” unlimited air racer are naturally drawn to the frontiers of excess, and Top Fuel racing is the perfect foil for their low flying, high-speed style. Not content with being the nation’s fastest air racers, Frank Taylor and the zany crew at Rudolph’s Flying Circus are determined to excell in all forms of high-speed mechanical combat. Their record-holding Top Fuel dragster complements air racing’s classiest act to the highest degree, and together they represent knights in shining alloy jousting for the ultimate prize: a standard of performance and excellence few men…

It seems that every township in the New England area has one claim to fame. Boston had its tea party. Philadelphia had Ben Franklin. And wherever George Washington slept, there’s a town to tell you where, when, and with whom. But Oswego, New York—a semi-sleepy upstate port which faces Canada from across Lake Ontario—isn’t interested in the past, just the fast… superfast! For Oswego proudly boasts about being the home of the “Super Modifieds,” the most incredible collection of left-turning roadsters in the universe. Yet maybe the word “incredible” is too sedate to adequately describe these tube-framed, 1800-pound, 467-inch, alky-burning, big-block, Chevy-powered topless terrors. Perhaps awful-awesome would be a better description—like Oswego Speedway itself. The Speedway, on which these beasts-from-the-East do battle, is equally as impressive as the “Supers” themselves.…

Rod-storing semi-classic luxury cars built in the ’30s isn’t exactly new. Steve DeMaeyer’s ’33 Buick five-passenger Victoria coupe and Illustrator Larry Wood’s battleship ’32 Nash Brougham acted as the seeds which eventually germinated into today’s avalanche of rod-stored non-Fords. Consequently, I felt right at home when I heard that HOT ROD Magazine had become involved with Earl’s Supply’s Bob Fouts and his right-hand steer, ’39 La-Salle convertible coupe—which Bob had brought back more dead than alive. In fact, he bought his LaSalle while on a business trip to Australia—the lone survivor of 26 like ragtops which were shipped by Cadillac to Aussieland in 1939—and had it air-freighted back to Los Angeles. Bob’s first inclination was to have the convertible coupe fully restored. But two events changed his mind. First, a…

Chop Shop In rain or sleet, rodneys are reet, especially in the comfortable confines of a chopped '34 coupe. The problem is that chopping a three-window (or any closed car for that matter) is, or can be, a pain in the 'glass. With that in mind, the boys at Total Performance are now offering a pain-killing 'glass '34 body complete with a 3-inch chop top, doors (right, left, and glovebox), dash, deck lid, cowl vent and regulator, garnish moldings, latches, dovetails, wood kit, windshield frame, hinges (hidden hinges are also available), headliner, and header panel. For more info on the vast array of rod-related kits and components carried by Total Performance, contact the Mickey and Jerry show at Dept. HR-2, 406 S. Orchard St., Wallingford, CT 06492, (203) 2655667, and…

UNANIMOUS DECISION In response to a request on page 15 of the October HOT ROD, I have a caption to be submitted for the “Oh Fudge” article on Dick Vineyard’s 1927-T, which is sliding sideways. The caption is “You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel!” and can be sung to the tune of Kenny Rogers’ song “Lucille.” Looking forward to many more years of automotive coverage. Keep up the good work. Bruce BeckerFort Wayne, Indiana Bruce, your caption was just one of the hundreds playing off Kenny Rogers’ “Lucille.” Kenny must have a ton of hot rodders in his fan club. OLDS GOLD I am writing to thank you for the two-part article “Junkyard Dog” that appeared in your October and November ’84 issues. As a member…

PHASE 3 Black Fog, the hot rod street roadster of the ’80s, is nearing completion! In the first and second installments (January and February ’85) we covered the chassis construction and the body building stages. In this phase the engine’s been run on the dyno, the electrical work is 95 percent complete, the final body preparation is ready, and the finishing coats of Nitrocellulose Black Lacquer are on most of the body panels. It’s now time to spend countless hours putting all the finishing touches to the car. As soon as our heroes at Snow-White Ltd. in Fresno, California, are finished making sure the roadster will start, stop, steer, and stab? It’ll be taken to Jerry Morris of Selma, California, for a bunch of threads befitting this black, bad, back-motored…

Sleek Sleevings Give your car or bike that professionally plumbed appearance while protecting the hoses from chafing, abrasion, and damage. Colorflex, a new line of protective sleevings from Russell Performance Products, is now available in a wide variety of colors. Bright, anodized Colorflex clamps finish off the look, adding some high-tech sizzle. For further details, write to: Russell Performance Products, Dept. HR-03, 20420 S. Susana, P.O. Box 6253, Carson, CA 90745. Snazzy Snubber Energy Suspension has just released their urethane traction bar snubber. This new compound allows the traction bar to perform under heavy loads created by 500-plus hp without compressing like conventional rubber. This retains the pinion at its correct angle throughout the power range. This new design also features 1/4-inch steps for accurate trimming to fine-tune your system,…

PART 2: COMPUTING THE ROLLING CHASSIS Last month a large delivery truck dropped off our Speedway Motors ’32 Lo-Boy. We inventoried the parts in the kit, went on a junkyard shopping spree—then bolted the front and rear suspension to the frame and prepped all the chassis and frame parts for painting. The order of construction that we are showcasing each month is following the Speedway assembly manual, with changes as we see fit. Remember, these steps are only one of several ways in which you can construct your own project. For instance, we chose to paint the frame now to avoid disassembling it later. In this second installment we’ll cover the painting of the frame, the installation of the brake system, fuel tank, radiator, etc. In addition, we’ll show you…

Have you priced a Chevy aluminum small-block lately? Whether procured from factory or after-market sources, expect to pay some-where in the neighborhood of $2500 to $3000. And that merely gets you a bare block. No crank, rods, pistons, camshaft, or valvegear. Not to mention the aluminum cylinder heads, which’ll run around $1000, bare. No wonder most of us make do with the old “iron horses.” It doesn’t have to be that way. For well under the purchase price of the Chevy bare block, you can build an affordable aluminum V8 with displacements up to 305 cubic inches. Unbelievable? Not really. We’re speaking of the 1961-’63 Buick/Olds 215 aluminum motor, an often overlooked granddaddy of the Buick V6 that unfortunately was about 15 years ahead of its time. With over ¾…

Traction. Whether you’re talking about gumball road race meats or heated slicks, without traction you aren’t going anywhere. When Chevy dropped the LS6 (a 454 rated at 450 horsepower, although it was identical to the Corvette LS6 rated at 460) into their newly styled Chevelle SS, they created a challenge for the tire makers that wasn’t answered until years later. At nearly any speed, under any road conditions, at will, you could literally incinerate any available street tire. No jive, just fact…. Uncle Sam had me touring the Orient at the time GM’s engineers decided to give the musclecar era a fitting encore. They knew that the legislators were drooling, the insurance industry was laughing all the way to Tiffany’s, and that they would more than likely produce the last…

CARS ’69 BUICK GRAN SPORT. 12-bolt rearend. New, very fast muscle motor. Asking $2200 for motor, car with mags/extra fee. Paul Muoio, 1975 Ramona Dr., Camarillo, CA 93010, (805) 482-6133. ’68 CAMARO RS. Professional built 427, 4-speed, 12-bolt posi. Over $7500 invested in receipts. Need money. $6600. Dave Huyghe, Rt. 3, Box 381, Conrad, MT 59425, (406) 2783313. 69 Z28 CAMARO, factory window sticker and I.D. plate. 72,000 miles on original drivetrain. $8750. James Shipley, 6701 Ridge Rd., Sykesville, MD 21784, (301) 795-8962. ’70 CHALLENGER TA. Stock 440, automatic slapstick. Blue interior and exterior. Excellent condition. Asking $4500. Jim Hentry, Lot 10 Krusics Tr. Ct., Manistique, Ml 49854, (906) 644-2456. ’70 CHEVELLE SS, 454, B&M-equipped 400 Turbo, 4.56 12-bolt, custom paint under hood, Russell hoses, lots of chrome. $5500. Dean…