Indholdsfortegnelse for January 1989 i Hot Rod

JR. BIRDHAN If that don’t beat all! NASCAR legend Junior Johnson has opted to trade in his Chevy Thunder for a booming bit of FoMo-Co thunder in the form of an ’89 Ford Thunderbird. Apparently Junior’s relationship with GM wasn’t as satisfactory as it used to be, hence the decision to switch to a Ford. Budweiser is still the sponsor and Terry Labonte is still the driver, but Junior’s shop is working overtime to make ready for the ’89 season. Among other things, Junior is said to be getting more wind-tunnel time and more access to parts and information than was made available to him by GM. SHO Ranger Ford has recently been showing off this special Ranger pickup equipped with the 220-hp high-tech V6 from the ’89 SHO Taurus.…

Innovation has long been a by word within the high-performance auto-motive community. Now, however, it may be one of the biggest “what if's” we've experienced. With a focus on net combustion efficiency, the pecking order of technology flowing in-to the performance industry seems to have been from (1) off-shore development of small, multivalve, swirl/turbulent combustion engines (some artificially aspirated), (2) the absorption of lead times required of domestic O.E.M.to evolve similar powerplant development (albeit some of this has involved contractural arrangements with the off-shore companies for engine purchases), and (3) a general reaction by the more creative aftermarket specialty parts companies to benefit from some of this technology. What is interesting to note is the entry of smaller, less traditional organizations into the specialty industry. This appears particularly true of…

Is this article's opening illustration just another Star Wars fantasy? Don't bet on it. Like it or not, in the '90s, electronics will do for suspensions what they've already done for engines in the '80s. Already, antiskid brakes and the first “primitive” computer-controlled shocks have begun to appear on production cars. Traction-control, all-wheel-drive, fully active sus-pensions and electric steering have all been successfully tested. The only remaining questions are affordability and possible legal ramifications. In theory, the ultimate suspension is virtually no suspension at all. The “active suspension” in its purest form re-places springs, shocks, and antisway bars with computer-controlled hydraulic actuators at each wheel. Sensors are used to monitor road surface conditions and steering wheel angle, providing a computer with near real-time in-put. The computer can be programmed to…

“We're bad, we're nationwide.”—ZZ Top “Do you think there are snakes out there?”—Scott Sullivan, 1 a.m. in the Utah desert. Thursday: Eureka, Utah It was like a bad script for an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” It was one o'clock in the morning, and I was trying to get some sleep in the back seat of Scott Sullivan's Pro Street '55. We'd just spent the better part of two days trying to leave Utah on our way from Dayton, Ohio, to Los Angeles, California, but all we'd managed to accomplish in those 48 hours was a cracked front wheel and now a blown tire in the middle of West Desolation, Utah. It seemed we were never going to be able to escape Utah. We decided to sleep since there wasn't…

Wild rods are nothing new to the pages of this magazine. Over the years we have shown you things as zany and fun as a Pro Street’55 Buick police car (May ’88), an all-wood T roadster (December ’86), a chopped and fenderless DeSoto Air-flow four-door (November ’84), and even a stripped and hacked Cadillac(February ’87), just to name a few. Gray Baskerville has told you repeatedly that safe, belly-button cars are for those (as he’d put it) who would register a weak reading on a vacuum gauge. I, for one, have been heard to pro-claim, “You can make a hot rod out of anything.” That’s a fact. And don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that there aren’t any “mistakes” in…

Who is better qualified to comment on the merits of the new ZR1 Corvette than a couple of U.S. Navy fighter jocks? No one on four wheels has gone faster or pulled more g’s than these guys. No mere automobile has ever executed the gut-wrenching turns and sky-piercing maneuvers that they routinely perform in their multimillion-dollar Tomcats. No amount of internal combustion horsepower can beat their cat-launched F-14 to the end of the flight deck; disc brakes the size of card tables won’t stop you any faster than the aircraft carrier cable-arresting system that snatches these birds out of the sky in the most awesomely controlled crashes you’ll ever witness. These are men who ride shotgun with hell’s own fury day in and day out, and there’s probably not a…

Prior to and since his 18-year stint at the head of his Canoga Park, California, rod shop, Dick “Magoo” Megugorac has built nearly every kind of rod. But among his many fine creations, open-air cars have often prevailed, and Model A roadsters have repeatedly been his favorite. Now Magoo’s latest ride confirms his open-air affair. Although traditional in concept—a ’29 body on Deuce rails—Magoo’s newest car is highly innovative inside and out. Based on recontoured Just a Hobby frame rails that perfectly match the Gibbon A-bone body, the chassis is strengthened by tubular crossmembers. The front suspension consists of a TCI axle guided by Magoo’s own extra-long four-link and suspended by Sprint Car-type torsion bars that run through the frame rails. Wil-wood/Magoo disc brakes, Vega steering, and 14x6 Boyd wheels…

Back in April 1958, when HOT ROD Magazine was only 10 years old, Fords dominated the editorial pages and we featured cars such as Bob Marchese’s three-window coupe in what we called our “Roto” section. Thirty years later, Chevys rule the roost, and the Roto section has been re-placed by 24 pages of color, but Io and behold, the same Bob Marchese still has his “Four Year Deuce"—only it’s now his 34-year Deuce. Bob sent us a set of the original prints that appeared in HRM 30 years ago, as well as a second set of prints of the car as it appears today. So we thought it would be fun to contrast then and now in the hope of better illustrating that many a rod project is, as in…

Monte Widdison’s ’86 Lincoln Mark VII LSC luxo-cruise ship was originally a diesel/automatic coupe that had fallen victim to an engine fire. After purchasing it, Monte—a 34-year-old West Bountiful, Utah, office manager—totally stripped the body shell and repainted it Guards Red (including 86 formerly chromed pieces and a Car & Concepts body kit) prior to installing a 5.0L HO V8 and 5-speed transmission he had pirated from a rolled LSC. With help from Ken Foster, Monte stuffed the V8 with a polished and balanced crank assembly, fly-cut forged pistons, a Kaufmann Products Stage III hydraulic roller cam, a Ford Motorsport timing chain set, a high-volume oil pump, and a windage tray. A pair of mildly prepped ’69 351W heads, featuring 1.94-inch intake and 1.60-inch exhaust valves, top the short-block. Monte…

STUDE UP! Boy, was I pleasantly surprised when I turned to page seven of the November issue of HOT ROD today and saw the drawing of the '50 Studebaker. I bought a stone-stock '51 two-door Stude about two years ago and have been working on it ever since. I just got it baby-blue primered and flamed in time for the Beach Street Revival this year. The old Stude was definitely the undisputed hit of the Beach Street cruise. Like it or hate it, everybody had something to say. I have a 400 small-block Chevy, a 4-speed, and a 9-inch to drop in if I get the time and money this winter. Other plans are to leave the body stock, cherry it out, louver the hood, and add tires and wheels.…

Taken on the surface, it appears that the Mickey Thompson front tires on Scott's '55 didn't fare too well on the cross-country drive. But if you look closer, you'll discover that Scott made a simple yet expensive error in choosing the front rolling stock. While the smaller M/T tire and wheel combo looked good, you must take into account its load rating if you are going to subject it to the rigors of long-distance driving. The M/T tires Scott chose were a four-ply construction with a load rating of only 935 pounds per tire. Multiplied times two, the total front-end weight they are designed to support is 1870 pounds. However, the front-end weight of Scott's '55 exceeded 2500 pounds, with 4200 pounds total weight and a 60-percent weight bias on…

Tom “I’ve driven everything there is to drive at the drags” McEwen is himself a self-described “out-of-work driver.” After 35 years behind the wheel—a stint starting in 1953 at Santa Ana, California, driving his mother’s ’53 Olds and ending in 1987, still behind the wheel but now in his Coors Corvette Funny Car—the famed Mongoose was rendered rideless. Coors told the ’Goose that they didn’t have the grease, so McEwen’s ’88 deal was totally brewed. Fortunately, Tom’s misfortune has been a blessing for hot rodding. Instead of crying a keg over his weak-suds situation, the ’Goose used his imagination … and did what came naturally: He built the first old-time, Chevy-bodied Funny Car in history. But that figures. After all, ’Goose’s first car was a McCulloch-blown ’55. “It was the…

In late 1967, Chrysler Corporation’s Road Runner packaging concept was viewed as a bold approach to musclecar marketing. Considering the upscale directions that other Detroit supercars were taking, Plymouth’s un-commonly informal Road Runner did not impress the rest of the auto industry as being in synch. But when it came to delivering affordable performance and a canny image to the motoring public, the bare-bones Belvedere fit right in. Mechanically, the idea of combining a healthy V8 engine with a stripped-down sedan was a go-faster plan that many Detroit car factories had already established. Chevrolet, for example, had offered small-blocks in basic two-door models as far back as the late ’50s but did little to promote the combos. Chrysler Corporation refined this same subtle supercar scheme in 1962 when its first…

We keep hearing about racing technology improving the vehicles we can buy for the street, but for cars the connections are often tenuous ones. We’d love to have Formula 1 or Indy-car cornering in our commuter cars, but none of us would actually be willing to put up with their brutal spring rates or microscopic ground clearance. It sounds like fun to drive Kenny Bernstein’s Funny Car out to the burger bar, but there’s no room inside for a burger, let alone someone to hold it while you put the car in gear. Motorcycles, however, can come much closer to their all-out racing partners, because with rare exceptions what works on the track also works on the street. The links between all-out road racers and street bikes are getting shorter…

Passing of a Pioneer Howard Johansen—the legendary cam grinder, injector, aluminum rod, and cylinder head manufacturer (Howard Cams, Rods, Injectors, and Heads), engine builder, as well as drag, Bonneville, and Sprint Car racer, and self-taught automotive innovator—passed away at the age of 78. Born in Nebraska, Howard got his first taste of hot rodding when he upped the compression ratio on his dad’s T by adding lead to the top of the pistons. “It worked,” recalled Howard, “but the lead sure painted the inside of that T’s tailpipe.” Johansen eventually settled in Los Angeles, founded Howard Cams along the way, and created some of the most remarkable racing cars in hot rodding during the ’50s and early ’60s. Among his creations were a catamaran-like, twin-belly-tank streamliner; a ferocious, chopped ’36…

Grabbing News This innovative oil filter wrench allows you to reach and rapidly tighten/loosen any filter, thanks to its infinite ratchet action and its sure-grip power that tightens the wrench as you turn it. Made in the USA of heat-treated steel with oil-resistant handles, the Grrabber can easily be stored away. The Grrabber is available for $3.95 (specify small or large) or $7 postpaid for both sizes, from Pine Valley “Grrabber,” Dept. HR-01, P.O. Box 269, Magnolia, OH 44643. It's A Wrap Thermo-Tec's header insulating material comes in 2-inch-wide, 100-foot-long rolls and easily wraps around header tubes to prevent the heat dissipation that results in power loss and increased fuel consumption. It also helps prevent header-related fires, driver and underhood-components fatigue from soaring heat, and burns during maintenance. For more…

Despite the fact that most ProStreet cars have trouble making it around the block under their own power, the Pro Street movement has achieved a high status in American street machining. Many knowledgeable people we talk to think that it's here to stay, and we suspect they're right, but that doesn't mean that Pro Street is necessarily the pinnacle of automotive expressionism as it relates to hot rod-ding. It is certainly a distinctive genre, but one that is, in fact, seriously flawed and widely oversold. The basic premise has always been sound, but the execution often fails. Building a radical-looking street car that emulates the ProStock look as closely as possible is a worthy goal for any self-respecting hot rodder, but ending up with a controversial work of art that…

It's hard to believe, but we're rapidly closing in on the unofficial target date for introduction of the next-generation Camaros and Firebirds. Second-generation F-bodies were with us for all of 12 years, and the current third-generation cars are tentatively scheduled for replacement in 1992. GM has been working on the fourth generation almost from the moment the '82 models hit the streets, but de-lays and indecision have hampered the cars' development to the point that they might not make it before 1993 or even 1994. As hot rodders we have no problem waiting that long, provided we get what we want. Thankfully, the original GM80 project, which would have delivered a lame front-wheel-drive, pseudo-performance car like so many others we're seeing today, was scrapped. We get the impression that Detroit…

Maybe we are seeing the great ’40 Ford turn-around. After spending years at HOT ROD Magazine, whizzing and moaning about the total lack of macadam-munching Fortys in hot/street rodding, lookee what’s happened. First it’s Mario Olgiati’s turquoise tush thumper, and now it’s Larry Cartwright-Zion, Illinois’ fastest gas station owner—and his culo-kicking coupe. As the reader can see, Wright’s cart is a colorful combination of old-timey tin mixed with new-wave construction techniques. For instance, the Forty is supported by one of Dave Krozell’s full-on 4130 chrome-moly tube-frame and roll-cage packages featuring a drag-racing-inspired front suspension consisting of lightweight A-arms, Strange Engineering shocks, coil springs, spindles, and disc brakes—and a rear suspension system made up of a narrowed 9-inch Ford, Chassis Craft shocks and coil springs, plus Strange rear brakes. Although the…

Bob Northrop is a Fordnatic who knew exactly what to do ID when he spied a crashed ’87 Ford Tempo slowly returning to its base elements. He took the tempo-metal Ford straight to Gebhardt Pro Street Cars in Jacksonville, Illinois, for the full Pro Street rejuvenation program. Rich Gebhardt in turn fabricated the full tube chassis out of. 125-inch mild steel and added a four-link rear suspension with Aldan coil-over shocks, and Alston tubular control arms and coil-overs at the front. The rear suspension anchors a 9-inch Ford rearend, while the front wheels ride on ’72 Pinto spindles. Cragar ProStar wheels of the 15x4 and 15x15 variety carry Mickey Thompson rubber with 26x15 tires up front and 31x18.50s on the rear. With 466 cubic inches in a 2550-pound car, you…

Louisville, Kentucky, is an effervescent city that bubbles with hot rods. One possible explanation for this abundance of colorful machinery is the influence that Danny Tay-lor has on the local rodding crowd. The pinstriper/painter extraordinaire has often been credited for creating some of the best graphics worldwide and initiating the Louisville pickup truck craze—followed by a similar Malibu (and other GM late-models) frenzy that’s making waves in “Derby town.” Mike Sturgeon and Scott Steiden, who both belong to the Kentuckiana Street Machines of Louisville, were under this influence when they had the same vision of customizing a sedate GM sedan. Mike chose a ’79 Chevy Malibu, while Scott opted for ’79 Pontiac Le Mans. Mike’s two-week project Malibu involved a $4000 total budget, thanks to the help contributed by his…

Offered as the ’68 Road Runner’s only powerplant option, Chrysler’s 426-cubic-inch Hemi engine was the most potent motor ever fitted to a mass-produced domestic automobile. Introduced in ’66 as a de-tuned version of the corporation’s notorious ’64 and ’65 hemi-head race engines, the ’68 426 Street Hemi (shown here beneath its huge, unsilenced, low-restriction, chrome-dome air cleaner) was conservatively rated at 425 horsepower. The key to this motor’s high specific output was its deep-breathing ability. The fully machined hemispherical combustion chambers in the 426’s cast-iron cylinder heads allowed larger unshrouded valves (2.25-inch intakes and 1.94-inch exhausts) than other chamber designs. In addition, the valves’ laterally inclined angles and the centrally located spark plugs permitted generous port proportions for maximum airflow and efficient flame travel. To complement the motor’s capacity for…

CARS & TRUCKS ’ 48 ANGLIA. “Ratified Mouser.” Serious hot rod, ex-AA/Gasser. Won at the Hot Rod Street Nats. Big-block Chevy, Muncie 4-speed, 9-inch Ford, tube chassis, Enkei wheels, T/A radials, parachute, etc. $30,000. Phil Skinner, 221 Wilder-wood Dr., Guilford, CT 06437, (203) 453-4271, evenings. A ’ 68 CAMARO RS Z/28. 302, rare, 4-speed Muncie, 12-bolt Posi, multileaf suspension. Lacquer paint, chromed engine, 63,000 miles. Console with gauges, tic-toc-tach, show winner. $12,500 o.b.o. Steve Egan, 2877 Newport, Omaha, NE 68112, (402) 455-3103. ’ 82 CORVETTE DRAGSTER. B&M blower, injected, NOS, 454, 1150 Holleys. $39,000 invested. Best offer, car stored in New York. Robb Michaels Schaumburg, (312) 397-5834, Illinois. ’ 70 DATSUN PICKUP. 400 small-block Chevy, tunnel ram with two fours, TH350, Ford 9-inch 4 111, primer black. Street legal, great…