Indholdsfortegnelse for January 1991 i Hot Rod

It all started with a phone call. John Lingenfelter called to tell me he was going to enter the Silver State Classic Challenge time trial. He’d built a 560-horsepower 406 for his ’86 Corvette that was capable of running well over 200 mph. “Meet me in Ely, Nevada, on Saturday, and you can ride shotgun!” The temptation was too much to resist, and on the morning of the race, I was buttoned up in my Bell driving suit watching the rain beat down on the windshield of John’s Corvette. By 9:30 a.m., the rain had stopped, and the officials were staging cars at the starting line to begin, even though roughly the first third of the course was still wet. We were the sixth car in line when the starter…

FLAT EARTH RACING! On October 1, 1990, in Wendover, Utah, HOT ROD Magazine’s Executive Editor John Baechtel (J.B.), driving a ’91 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, established two new FIA land speed records (certification pending) for Category A, Group 2, Class 10, nonsupercharged vehicles, bringing Pontiac its first FIA record in nearly 30 years and its first-ever record for a stock-bodied sedan. Competing in the 4th-Annual US-FRA (Utah Salt Flat Racers Association) World of Speed Competition on his own time, J.B.’s Flat Earth Racers team Firebird established a two-way average of 221.51 1 mph in the flying mile and 221.505 mph in the kilometer The 221.511-mph record also established a new C/Gas Coupe class record for the USFRA. The new mark eclipsed the 217.268-mph record set by the same car only…

With the overwhelming popularity of Ford s late-model 5.0L Mustang. interest in Ford performance has reached an all-time high. More and more manufacturers are introducing parts for all types of Ford products, with the late-model Mustang leading the charge. With all this interest, we thought It was worth a closer look, so we’ve assembled an entire section devoted to Ford performance Since the pipeline is overflowing with hot, new bolt-on parts tor high-performance Mustangs, this story is a great place to start. It’s a sample of mostly late-model stuff for the car that is quickly becoming a performance standard There are also some items for the older Mustangs, as well. Included here are many of the latest pieces from Ford Motorsport. Note that most of the Mustang specialty companies also…

In a past review of the Mustang, we said that Ford had built the ’55 Chevy of the ’80s and ’90s. The Fox chassis-based Mustang is a versatile, focused, and lightweight platform rigged with heavy-duty running gear and growing factory and aftermarket support. In addition to its desirability as a performance platform, the Mustang has been produced in substantial numbers, making it an affordable vehicle for those inclined to tinker with its power. Of course, this isn’t any secret; just look at what some of your fellow hot rodders have done with their Mustangs The enthusiasm the Mustang inspires is almost boundless, as are the performance gains of the Mustang in all its various forms. The versatility of the Mustang and the “ingenuity in action” of its owners and fans…

For 30 years, Cliff Hansen has dreamt of this car. In that time, he’s enjoyed a long career of racing Formula 3, Formula 2, and Group C2 prototypes around the globe. More recently, he’s driven a ’50 Mercury custom, a ’47 Buick convertible, and a 289 Cobra. Now, he’s driving his life-long dream car, brought to life by Roy Brizio Street Rods. An original ’33 Ford three-window coupe was chopped three inches and channeled another three inches. The body was then placed over a custom chassis that joins the rear rails of a ’34 Ford to the front rails of a ’32 with 1¼-inch tubular crossmembers. A Super Bell 5-inch dropped axle was fitted with Posies springs, tube shocks, and Vega steering. JFZ disc brakes stop the rare and delicate…

When the Pontiac Grand Am was first introduced, it quickly became a favorite with drag racers, who used it to build everything from Pro Stockers to Super Gas cars. The Grand Am took longer to filter down to the street machine ranks. But now people are starting to build radical street Grand Ams designed to emulate the cars' popular race-bred siblings. Pontiac deafer Bob Morris built this classy Pro Street Grand Am for fun and as a traffic builder and conversation piece for his dealership in North Ridgeville, Ohio. According to Bob, he and his mechanics at the dealership actually campaigned a three-car Winston Cup team during the 1984-87 race seasons, using cars built right in their own Pontiac garage. “We're always involved in building some kind of car and…

Rick Cox says he’s never had so much fun in his entire life. Driving his bright-red, small-block-powered ’89 Cavalier Z/24 would be enough to brighten anyone’s outlook, and with a ripsnortin’ powerhouse under the hood, this Cavalier is ready to cook at a moment’s notice. Rick began the project with a brand-new stripper Cavalier. He tore it apart, sold off the drivetrain pieces, and Gebhardt’s Pro Street Cars in Jacksonville, Illinois, began mounting the body on an Alston tube chassis. It was fitted with a GM 12-bolt rearend holding 5.14 gears, a chromed four-link rear suspension, and coil-over shocks. A set of 15x14 milled Center Line wheels with 33x19.5 Mickey Thompson street tires holds up the rear, while 185R-15 Michelins on 15x3 Center Lines support the front, which is sprung…

We sympathize with Gene Wood, a paint and body man from New Albany, Ohio. After ' he spent 13 months restoring his ’40 two-door Chevrolet sedan, he got caught in a freak snowstorm. Now, stuff like that happens, but some j brain-dead stroke added “injury to insult.” The stroke’s salt truck managed to throw its contents all over Gene’s newly minted, all-metal chopped, sectioned, channeled, and molded metallicred runner. Then, a brake drum, which had fallen off an 18-wheeler on the local freeway, found the underside of Gene’s front fender to its liking and gave it a series of “oil cans.” But those things are sure to occur when Gene and his wife, Jan, hop into their round pounder. Their Rubenesque runner houses a nubile mix of components including a…

GIVE YOUR INTERMEDIATE A BRAKE TODAY Because they are abundant, relatively cheap, and have a conventional rearwheel-drive chassis, perimeter frame, and upper and lower front A-arms, the ’78-up GM intermediate Malibu (A) and Monte Carlo (G) chassis and their sister-division ‘‘clones” have become popular swap candidates for the installation of high-performance drivetrains. Unfortunately, with only 10-inch front-disc-brake rotors, the cars tend to be ‘‘under-braked” when subjected to high-performance mods. Backyard hot rodders have attempted to rectify the situation by swapping on the 11-inch spindle and disc from the ’70-'81 Camaro/Firebird, 73-76 A-car, 75-79 X-car/Nova, and 77-up passenger car, or even the humongous 12-inch spindle and disc found on some station wagons and police cars. Because all these cars used the same upper and lower ball joints and brake caliper, the…

EIGHTH-MILE ELCO Here is a photo of my brother’s wheel-pulling ’81 El Camino. It’s powered by a 400 small-block with TRW flattop pistons, a 280 cam, 041 heads, and a Weiand intake topped off with a Holley 750. Power is transmitted through a TH350 with an 11-inch TCI converter to a 3.31-geared 12-bolt. Its best eighth-mile time is an 8.37. A big-block is on the drawing board, and we’ve already started rebuilding the rear half of the truck with 15x14 Pro Stars and a Dana 60 on Chassis Engineering ladder bars. Jerry Smith Cowpens, South Carolina DESERT RODDERS We’re writing from the “Crisis in the Middle East.” We are stationed aboard the USS Portland in the Gulf of Oman, which is right outside the Persian Gulf. We’d like the staff…

Consummate hot rodder Tony Nancy is nearing completion of his latest effort, a highly modifies '39 Ford convertible with a custom “Carson”-type removable top. The radical new ride is high-tech all the way, with a genuine 32-valve ZR-1 Corvette engine and all-late-model-Corvette engine and all-late-model-Corvette running gear from the A-arms through the rearend. A specially modified GM Hydramatic transmission connects the engine to the rear wheels, and all the instrumentation is from a new Corvette. Watch for a full report in HOT ROD Magazine.…

During the last two years while Mercury marketed its new supercharged XR7 Cougars. Terry L’Espgrance built a version ot his own in Windsor. Ontario. Canada. The only difference is that Terry’s cat is based on a 73 Cougar and is fitted with a 435 “Side-oiler” Ford. The original steel body is intact, with the exception of a fabricated steel hood. Jamie Harris painted the exterior bright orange. which is complemented by the blue velour upholstery and interior paint. Thirteen Auto Meter gauges an Alpine stereo system, a Topaz steering wheel, a B&M MegaShifter, and a full chrome roll cage are a few of Terry’s amenities. Tubs were also added to accommodate the fat rear rubber. At the other end of the gas pedal is a full-on big-block Ford with enough…

The Geibs, Wes and Mari, have at least one thing in common: Both their parents owned '57 Fords. Now they own one, too. Said Wes, “It was a California car with 28,000 miles on the odometer when I bought it. The black paint was original, so nothing was pieced together from other cars, which is why I kept it as stock as possible … although we’ve stretched the V8 part a little.” You see, fellow “Ford-atics,” wicked Wes replaced the old Y-block with one of the 54 original ’69 Boss 429 NASCAR motors produced by Ford 22 years ago. Not content with this Boss trade, he augmented the Shotgun swap by installing an equally rare 8-barrel intake manifold (Wes claims it’s one of 25 cast by FoMoCo) and equipped it…

It’s 3 a.m., September 23, 1990. With less than six hours before the scheduled start of the third running of the Silver State Classic Challenge, a storm front pushes through Alamo, Nevada, which is located about 90 miles north of Las Vegas. Jagged strands of light rip open the blackness as lightening claws the air and sends its fury screaming and rumbling through the valley. In frenzied repetition, an electric stiletto shreds the dark ether that falls in a wall of rain. I’m leaning against the windowsill, watching coffee-cup-size orbs briefly sparkle against the light of the mercury-vapor streetlight before shattering on the pavement. I’m in a town a few miles out of Hiko, about 20 miles north of Alamo in the only motel room within a 100-mile radius of…

The chain of events that led Steven Lrtle to build a '33 Ford woodie wagon began with all the ceremony of a failed fuel pump. Steven and a few pals were cruising through the Four Corners area when the fuel pump in his car failed. He asked his friend, who lived in the area (and also happened to have a fuel pump), if he knew of any derelict woodies. “As a matter of fact,” came his pal’s reply, “my son, who’s a ranger, was looking through some bin-oculars at the Mesa Verde National Park and saw a ’33 woodie, a ’32 phaeton, and a sedan delivery.” It took three days to clear a road to get the cars out and four years for Steven to complete his hardwood hot rod.…

Engine coolant fans are necessary evils tor street cars. When driven at low speeds in town, towing heavy loads on the highway, or climbing long grades, they’re required to keep engine temperatures under control. But on a dual-purpose street/strip car, that same fan is literally a drag al the drags, where there is ample time to cool the engine between rounds. The best compromise is to go with the tan type that robs the least horsepower. However, the ’experts” otter conflicting advice; depending on what you read, either a flex fan or a stock clutch-driven fan is the hot ticket. We decided there was only one way to dear up all the confusion: Run a fan dyno test! We contacted Flex-a-lite Consolidated to supply a range of flex and stock-replacement-style…

The '91 Dodge Spirit R/T is a hot rod in commuter-car camouflage. With mid-15-second e.t.’s and 0-to-60 times of approximately 6.5 seconds, this four-door screamer is one heck of a SHO stopper that leaves other multivalve DOHC four-door 4-bangers (and some sixes, too) either rattling in the wind or lagging behind. Hiding beneath the otherwise understated K-car sheetmetal are 2.2-liters’ worth (135 cid) of the smoothest, most responsive inline 4-cylinder power we’ve experienced. The four-valve-percylinder, aluminum-head, sequential multiport-electronic-fuel-injected, intercooled, turbocharged motor with Mitsubishi-licensed twin-rotating counterbalance shafts conjures up 224 ponies at 6000 rpm and a healthy 217 lbs.-ft. of torque at a very streetable 2800 rpm. Backing up the motor is a high-performance version of the Getrag 5-speed manual transaxle. It features heavy-duty parts, including a four-pinion differential, to handle…

One of the unsung rivalries in all of motorsports has been the nearly 10-year battle between Al Teague and Nolan White for supremacy in land speed racing. While Teague has received his fair share of the ink—first by driving the famed 268-mph Sadd, Teague & Bentley A/Fuel Roadster, and later in his own Speed-O-Motive A/ Fuel Streamliner—White has operated in near obscurity, even though he was the first to be officially timed at over 200, 300, and now 400 mph in a Chevy-powered vehicle. Four years ago, the Utah Salt Flat Racers Associatior (USFRA) started what has become the World of Speed (WOS). The idea behind the 4-day invitational (held approximately one month afte Speed Week), was predicated on raw speed. Only cars that were capable of 200-mph runs or…

Designer Liner Choo Choo Customs, Inc., has introduced a trick new bedliner. The Designer Liner offers Chevy and GMC truck owners a custom aero-styled bedliner. The five-piece hand-laid fiberglass liner includes weatherproof carpet and mounting hardware. Contact Choo Choo Customs Specialty Parts, Dept. HR-01, 7801 Lee Hwy., Chattanooga, TN 37421, (615) 8994473. Cold Oil Treatment Winter Start is an additive that prevents motor oil from becoming thick and heavy when cold, yet it has no effect on oil viscosity at normal operation temperatures. Winter Start manufacturers report a 27-percent-easier engine turnover, plus 36-percent-better oil flow to engine parts to minimize friction and wear during warm-up, even in the coldest weather. Look for Winter Start at your favorite auto parts store. Heavy Chevy Catalog Danchuk Manufacturing, Inc.’s 1990 ’55-'57 Chevy catalog…

Meanwhile, veteran Bonneville pilot and record holder Don Stringfellow was seen practicing for the as-yet-unannounced return of the Gale Banks Engineering Trans Am, which will be used for record attempts at Bonneville. As the current holder of the AA/GC record and purposefully built to pursue the 300-mph barrier, the Banks Firebird has been noticeably absent from the Salt in recent years. And while racers like John Lingenfelter and Mike Cook are knocking on the 300-mph door, Don is impatiently cooling his heels in this underpowered Banks replica. In October of 1990, Don sharpened his skills a bit by setting a new FIA Class 9 record at 204 mph in a GMC S-15 pickup.…

Assembled engine packages have become popular items among hot rodders in the last few years. While most sources for these engines are in the aftermarket, new-car manufacturers are also interested in these engine packages, as evidenced by Chevrolet’s 350 H.O. engine package While Ford continues to develop its 351 Windsor H.O. response. Ford Authorized Remanufacturers (FAR) are already in the hunt with a late-model Remanufactured High Output (RHO) 5.0-liter engine that’s available through a number of sources, including select Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealerships and Ford Motorsport dealerships. As the RHO 5.0-liter name suggests, this engine is not new. but a remanufactured small-block that features a number of power-producing modifications. The RHO 5 0 comes as a complete, assembled long-block with heads, all the valvetrain components (including the timing chain and…

The art-deco chrome monsters of the ’50s; the groundpounding musclecars of the ’60s—these are the cars we grew up with. It seems hard to believe, but they’re well on their way to becoming classics. Now, traditional collectors and repro parts houses have begun catering to restorers of late-’50s through ’70s cars, while dedicated musclecar-only companies have sprung up across the nation. The ubiquitous T-Birds and Mustangs naturally remain the most popular of collectible Fords (and hence have the most parts-makers catering to them), but somewhere in this country there are Falcon, Fairlane, Crown Vic—even Edsel, dare we say it—fanatics waiting in the wings to supply your needs. There are radio freaks, steering wheel addicts, even gas cap hoarders. If you need it, chances are 99.9 percent certain that somewhere in…

The topside loudspeaker blares over the high-pitched whine of the F/A-18 attack fighter rolling toward the aircraft carrier’s steam catapult. “Prepare for flight operations. Clear flight deck of all but flight-deck personnel.” The deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier is an incredible place to be in the middle of flight operations. Dozens of young men, many just out of high school, dart about on deck in different colored jerseys. They are engrossed in the outrageous task of catapulting a 50,000-pound aircraft off the rolling deck of an aircraft carrier, something they often do in less than ideal weather conditions. In spite of the violence, noise, and even the physical danger, this is a normal day in the life of a U.S. Navy carrier. It’s the heat, thrust, torque, and…

Now, here’s the scene: Jim Seibert, a diesel mechanic from Ollawa, Illinois, worked on his ’70 Pontiac GTO for over five years. During that period, he transformed the gutted (no motor, trans, or wheels), $150 goat, which he bought at the thentender age of 16, into a 35-grand masterpiece. Along the way, Jim, with the help of Jerry “Chopper” Miller, added a 4130 chrome-moly Alston pro gas chassis. “Then,” as Jim said, “one thing led to another. We started adding parts: a ’72 Pinto front end, Ford rear drum brakes, rack and pinion steering, and a 9-inch rearend; Chassis Engineering front and rear shocks and fiberglass racing seats Auto Meter gauges; a pair of Pontiac spindles and disc brakes, as well as 455-plus inches of BDS-, Carrillo-, Enderle-, Isky-, Mallory-,…

A hot rod, by our definition, is an automobile that has had its body and engine rebuilt in the quest for better performance and appearance. Over the years, HOT ROD Magazine has done a pretty fair job of covering the “better performance” part of hot rodding. Now it’s time ta explore the “appearance” part as well. As you may have guessed, what really separates one rod from another isn’t how much time, money and energy have been lavishes on a car-rebuilding project, but how well or how thoughtfully those same elements have been employed during its construction. In othprwords, it doesn’t mean a thing if an owner/builder spends a smart fortune on parts, pieces, paint, and plating if he or she drops thp visual ball before, during, or after the…

In the early ’70s, automotive interest across the Pacific began to expand, and by the end of the decade, American manufacturers were faced with an economic need to keep up with new technology. Before long, the Big Three automakers were headed straight for the future. In 1979, Ford acquired 25 percent of Mazda, and in 1982, the companies’ first combined effort was envisioned in the Probe. Meanwhile, Ford’s Escort, introduced on October 3, 1980, was well on its way to becoming the world’s best-selling car—an honor it held from 1983 to 1990! Ford and Mazda also collaborated on the design of the second-generation Escort chassis in May of 1983. Seven years later, production of the next-generation ’91 Escort began in Wayne, Michigan. It was well worth the wait! In July,…

GRUNDY INDIAN Q My ’71 Pontiac has a rebuilt 400-inch engine with almost 25,000 miles on it. It leaks oil from behind the harmonic balancer. The old engine it replaced leaked oil from the same place. Is there any particular oil-seal problem with Pontiac V8s? Second, on occasion when I crank over the engine and push on the gas pedal, the engine backfires through the carb. I’m using a rebuilt Accel distributor with a Mallory electronicignition conversion kit. What could be causing this? Third, the car’s TH350 trans was rebuilt three years ago with a shift kit and other heavyduty parts. Now it seems to be losing Drive—at certain speeds below 40 mph, it slips out of Drive; when I shift to Neutral and then back to Drive, it grabs…

CARS & TRUCKS '69 BMW PICKUP. One of a kind. Yellow. Black interior. Original engine, 4-speed. $7500 neg., trade. Roberto Diaz, 1111 Queens #72, Pasadena, TX 77502, (713) 943-9789. '87 BUICK GRAND NATIONAL. Mint condition. Extras. $14,990. Dave Thorsen, Valdosta, Georgia, (912) 242-6487. '87 BUICK GRAND NATIONAL. Immaculate car, T-tops, only 8,000 miles. $13,500 o.b.o. Kent Young, P.O. Box 341, Leitchfield, KY 42754. '72 BUICK SKYLARK FOR SALE. 100,000 miles, still being used. Needs a little body work. Get in touch quickly. All original parts. Joseph Serotsky, S.W. 134th Way, Pembroke Pines, FL 33027, (305) 431-5313. '76 CHEVROLET BLAZER. 2-wheel drive. 350 with automatic, Tru-Spoke rims, lowered, electric doors, double sunroof, louvered hood. $8500 o.b.o. (916) 842-6605 or (916) 842-6522. ’67 CHEVROLET CAMARO CONVERTIBLE. First place at New York Coliseum…