Indholdsfortegnelse for October 1992 i Hot Rod

I was driving along one of Los Angeles’ perpetually clogged freeways the other day when I spotted a clean ’69 Camaro SS cruising in an adjacent lane. It was a very nice Camaro and I could envision myself behind the wheel of that sweetheart. I had just returned from the Street Machine Nationals and it was ironic, in a later discussion with the HOT ROD staff, that few, if any, of us would have given this car a second glance at the show. It’s unfortunate but true that at these big shows it’s the upscale, high-profile cars that always garner all the attention. But let’s not forget the little guy. Maybe I’m aware of this inequitable fact of rodding reality because I’m a little guy too. I don’t own a…

BETTER BODIES TH350 VALVE BODIES TCI’s full-manual valve body provides positive shifts and will hold each gear until you shift, unlike stock units that override shifter input. The TCI valve body also reduces slippage and is offered with standard or reverse shift patterns. For more information, contact TCI, Dept. HR10,1 TCI Dr., Ashland, MS 38603, 601/224-8972. HOT STUFF SHOP HEATER Just in time for the changing of the seasons, Mr. Heater introduces its new garage and workshop heater. It heats up to 500 square feet (average 2 Lear garage) using natural gas or propane cleanly, quietly, and without odor. For more information, contact Mr. Heater Corp., Dept. HR10, P.O. Box 6660, Cleveland, OH 44101, 800/251-0001. SHINING YOU ON DETAILING VIDEO Meguiar’s long involvement with quality finish-care products now includes Mirror…

And now, live from Southern California’s high desert, HOT ROD magazine brings you a high-performance “three-for-all” that’s going to rock your world. In the next nine pages, we invite you to witness the spectacle of a head-to-head confrontation of the Big Three’s best small-block crate motors contested on the field of honor at Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR) in Palmdale, California. Welcome to ringside, where the contestants are in their respective camps, warming up and exchanging verbal taunts. Ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be a brutal show. The accusations of hidden nitrous bottles, illegal cam profiles, repositioned motors, and advantageous ballasting are punctuating the highly competitive nature of the combatants. In spite of the turmoil in the pits, the technical referees are being very thorough in keeping the…

Moparphiles will realize that the HOT ROD three-way shootout was a gift to the Pentastar camp from the beginning. How could we not win? After all, the Mopar 360 crate motor (“Crate Expectations,"’ April ’92) is a better package both on paper and on asphalt. Before you Chevy and Ford lovers scream, consider the facts. Stock A-motor heads have an 18-degree valve angle that centers the valves in the cylinder, allowing larger valves per bore size and superior flow. You need to buy trick Bow-Tie heads to get that for your Chevy! Sure, some 23-degree Chevy heads may flow more cfm on the bench, but stuff that valve .030 inch from a cylinder wall and see what happens! The 360 Mopar shares a 4-inch bore with the 350 Chevy and…

Hot rod creativity is alive and well! Just ask anyone who made it to the 1992 BFGoodrich Street Machine Nationals. The quality and variety of new, innovative cars and trucks kept people staring, talking, and planning for their next project. They began pulling in midweek, and by Friday it looked to be a cranker! The weather was just warm enough with fair humidity, and it stayed that way for most of the weekend. Everything was right for one of the biggest events of the year. By two o’clock on Saturday, there were 3583 cars and over 55,000 spectators roaming DuQuoin’s huge, tree-lined fairgrounds; in all, 110,000 people took part in the three-day celebration. Everywhere you looked there were vendors, some selling brilliant hardware, others cooking up spicy delights that could…

Imagine this: Every time you get in your car and turn the key, you feel like you're rolling the dice. Sometimes it runs badly, sometimes it doesn't run at all. Let's face it, you're upset and you don't know what to do about it! First of all, don't beat your car into submission or drive it off a cliff. Instead, take a few minutes, cool off, and rest assured that the solution could be just a few simple diagnostic steps away. The secret to the solution to your problems comes in properly “troubleshooting” the problem before you begin tearing your car apart. To more fully understand this process, we contacted Dave Megugorac at Magoo's Quality Inspection Network. His firm inspects between 2000 and 3000 cars a year in over 40…

I can’t remember when our trip to Indy—featuring Boyd Coddington’s Cosmic Coupe and Dennis Varni’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster—was a done deal. It could have been the instant that Andy Brizio, the T-shirt king, challenged those present at a roast during the 1992 Oakland Roadster Show to drive their rods—not trailer them. It might have happened when Varni promised himself that if his totally rebuilt ’29 on Deuce-like rails won the Oakland Roadster Show trophy, it would never see a trailer again. But perhaps it was the day that Boyd Coddington—the guy who was supposed to be the last man on earth to subject one of his creations to the travails of interstate travel—told Varni that all bets were covered. It seems that some of the Bay Area Roadster Club…

The gearheads at Ford have certainly been busy. They’re introducing a new engine, a new transmission, and a great new car. And you know what? It’s all really neat stuff! The highlight of all this newness is the ’93 Ford Probe GT. This is truly one of the finest designs on the market, and if you didn’t know better, you might guess it was Italian. Its sleek nose sweeps cleanly back to a large greenhouse riding low in the body, almost disappearing from certain angles. Circular fenders cut into contoured side panels lead back to an extremely clean rear panel. And the same modem look carries inside where swoopy bucket seats join a driver-oriented “cockpit” dash standing alone in black. Turning the key brings Ford’s all-new 2.5-liter 24-valve DOHC V6…

It’s a very scary thought that very few people take the privilege of driving seriously. Take a written test, spend 10 minutes with an instructor, and you have all you need to become a road hazard. Hands-on vehicle training rarely enters the picture. Not surprisingly, somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 people die in the United States every year in traffic accidents! More often than not, the cars we drive are of greater concern than the skills needed to handle them properly. If you doubt this, just look around. If drivers aren’t reading the paper or shaving behind the wheel, they’re entrenched in a 60-mph three-way conference call 15 feet from the car in front of them. One sure way to gain a better understanding of vehicle control is to…

Most of us would like to claim that we spend the majority of our time behind the wheel of our hot rod. In reality, we probably spend the bulk of our free time either bent over the fender or sprawled on the floor under these precious mechanical extensions of our egos. Which brings us to the working environment, or lack of one as the case may be. The most successful and respected car fabricators will agree that a well-organized and equipped shop makes working on a car more enjoyable and easier. And, even though most of us dream about a 12-car garage with every conceivable tool, whatever workspace we have can be organized wisely to produce a quality environment. In this three-part “Build A Dream Shop” series, we will cover…

IMPROVING A CADDY’S DRIVE Q I own a mint-condition ’76 Cadillac Coupe De Ville with about 22,000 miles on the clock. Nestled under the hood is a completely stock 8.2L (500ci) engine that I would like to “wake up” a little. The transmission is a TH400, also without any modifications. Can you suggest any companies that manufacture performance products for Cadillacs with these monster motors? John BuxtonChesterfield, Maryland A The 500ci Cadillac engines have enjoyed increasing popularity for quite some time because of their large displacement and ease in making power. Larry Kruzick of The Cad Co. 8.2L Performance Parts (Dept. HR10, 30 S. Main St., Otterbein. IN 47970, 317/5833188) has numerous upgrade programs for both the 472 and 500ci engines, ranging from wild to mild. To begin with, the…

HAUL ’N’ HAUL I’ve learned so much from your magazine that I wanted to say thank you! I’m restoring my 78 Chevy Big 10 truck and I’d like to see more articles on trucks to help me with my project. I use your past magazines to help with any and every problem, and if I need an answer it’s always in there. Keep up the good work! Kevin WilsonBrazil, Indiana Rods with beds are hot! Most of our tech stories can also apply to trucks, and be sure to check out the truck sections in our June and July issues, IVait a minute—Kevin Wilson? Don’t you write for Sport Truck magazine across the hall? No wonder that magazine’s so good—their staff must be covertly stealing our ideas! Sorry, Kevin, we’re…

UPDATE CHEZOOM SHAPING UP What was once a figment of Thom Taylor’s imagination is now an all-steel reality and will be finished by Coddington’s crew in time for the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association’s (SEMA) trade show in Las Vegas later this year. For the reader’s information, Chezoom—owned by Mr. Gasket’s Joe Hrudka, designed by Taylor, and built by Coddington—is essentially a dual-concept classic. Mechanically, Chezoom is all LT1 ’92 Corvette. Its rectangular-tube frame is supported by Chevrolet original equipment manufacturer (O.E.M.) forged-aluminum suspension components, disc brakes, and steering components. Its powerplant is a box-stock LT1 EFI ’Vette motor torquing through an equally stock 700-R4 automatic trans. On the other hand, its radical body transformation is the “zoom” part of Chezoom. Although its fenders, top, hood, and decklid have been drastically…

Long before amber lights flashed to green, the BowTie guys knew what they were up against. Their ’69 Camaro had at least 200 pounds on the Mustang and Duster, so the others carried additional weight to keep things even, and they were able to put it where it did the most good. As if that wasn’t enough, both were making somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 40 additional horsepower! Oh, and let’s not forget who would be driving those worthy opponents. Famed Pro Stock and road-racing champ Chris Kaufmann would be slamming his best foot forward in a blue ’87 Mustang being prepared at Kaufmann Products. About the same time, a blue ’73 Duster would be shadowed beneath the cigar of drag racing great Dick Landy. As he applied…

Welcome bock hot rodders, where we ore broodcasting live coverage of HOT ROD Magazine’s Crate Motor Shootout at Los Angeles County Raceway. All the contestants have made it through tech, they’ve been weighed in, and are now awaiting word from the officials before entering the staging lanes. If the hard-core mood in the pits is any indication, this Motown showdown is going to be a bruising ordeal. Each competitor is thoroughly convinced he has the right stuff, has tuned it better, and ultimately has the quickest machine. Of course that will be decided momentarily. When we first proposed the idea of a factory crate-motor shootout, we had in mind a “friendly” contest designed to show the comparative performances of the Big Three’s crate motors. By installing the engines in a…

Since race one, street cars have imitated honest-to-go-fast drag cars and road racers in style and, in some cases, function. For the last 10 years. Pro Stockers have been expanding the hoodscoops and wheel tubs through Pro Street imagination, and now, a new division is heating the streets. With outrageous looks, incredible power, and awesome performance, six-second Pro Modifieds have accelerated past the limits of Pro Stock racing to create “Street Modifieds.” Mike Lloyd’s “Pro Modification” of his 72 Pontiac GTO is a good example of how nasty this new generation of hot rods can be. Based on an original 455 H.O. GTO, which Mike has owned and raced since his eighteenth birthday, there is little left of the stacker he once knew. Mike looked to Gebhardt’s Pro Street Cars…

Here's the scene: you, your late-model fuel-injected Mustang, a driveway, the right tools, and just 48 hours. You've got just one weekend to pump up your pony car. Now whatcha gonna do? If you're smart [and we know that you are), you'll follow this low-buck weekend workout that'll have your Mustang sitting pretty, cornering quickly, shifting swiftly, and making more power. The only tricky part of this weekend tweak is working with the springs on the McPherson struts. You can rent a spring careful and give these spring-loaded mechanisms plenty of respect. You'll also need a couple of floor jacks to help align the rear axle. If you have a compressor and air tools, your job will be that much easier. Well, you only have 47 hours, 55 minutes, and…

With only a couple of exceptions, Chrysler Corporation has chosen to improve upon their present high-performance lineup rattier than tool-up for extensive changes. The biggest news is both a completely new line of cars (code named LH) that is designed to offer more interior room, better handling, and a superior ride, as well as that the Viper will be offered in three new colors for ’93. Let’s dive right into the good stuff. DODGE Because Dodge has been and continues to be the performance flagship for Chrysler, it will fill the majority of our space. Starting with any other car than the Viper just wouldn’t be right, so the news is that the topless snake will be available in a few new colors for ’93. Black will be introduced in…

When sirens are blaring and red lights flashing at 70 miles per hour, things happen real fast. Policemen are people, too, affected by the adrenaline rush of the chase when the heart beats faster and judgment sometimes is clouded by the fact that the good guys should always win the race! Fellow staffer David Freiburger and I learned this first hand at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s $2,000,000 EVOC training center. Following our DriveTech course, we joined 18 police officers from the Southern California area for a three-day operational training course in road-going law enforcement. Under the guidance of Lieutenant Forrest Billington’s hand-picked staff of former police officers, we were taught to maintain both vehicle and mental control across a broad range of situations. This culminated in a high-speed Code…

The foundation for an excellent shop is a dean and durable floor surface. As hot rodders, we seem to spend considerable time on our backs under our pride and joy. Quite often this brings us in contact with the floor, and the better the surface, the more we will enjoy wrenching on our hot rods. One of the best floors we’ve seen is by Precision Epoxy Products. It is a multilayer epoxy floor that is easy to install yourself, has low maintenance, looks great, and is extremely durable. We say install because, as Precision Epoxy Products owners Mike and Dianna Ramy are quick to point out, this is a system, not a paint, and it actually bonds with the concrete and builds upon it. The first coat provides a thermal…

Nitrous oxide has always been one of the most economical ways to add massive amounts of horsepower to most power combinations. Nitrous has reached large levels of acceptance both on the street and at the race track. It has played a major role in Pro Modifieds creating amazing e.t.’s and speeds that-would otherwise be unobtainable. Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS) has devised a method that progressively adds nitrous in accordance with the throttle position. This allows a gradual increase in nitrous rather than a spontaneous burst of nitrous in the conventional “all-or-none” technology. This progressive system greatly reduces stress on drivetrain components that is created by the often violent addition of 100 to 300 horsepower or more. Further gains are realized in e.t.’s because the tires are no longer hit as…

We wouldn’t say that the Chrysler is a tried-and-true race car, or that the Chevrolet had a four-speed, or that we were penalized by having to ballast the Mustang beyond the weight of any stock Mustang. We just wouldn’t say that. After all, we had to make the Chevrolet and Chrysler competitive somehow. To demonstrate the potential of the Ford Motorsport 351 Windsor crate motor (see ’Windsor Dynasty,” Sept. ’91), we enlisted the help of Chris Kaufmann of Kaufmann Products. He suggested we plant the engine in his general manager’s ’87 Mustang that was being used for developmental work. The original 8.8-inch rearend was retained, but upgraded to withstand the power of the crate motor with parts from Auburn, Moser, T/A Performance, and Kaufmann. The original AOD transmission was removed…

The husband-and-wife team of Al and Dee Hinds has been building hot Pro Street cars for several years. The Hinds’ latest ultra-tech effort is their best yet, featuring trademark touches such as the dual Funny Car-style cage, as well as exploring the outer limits of Pro Street machinery. This extreme machine rock ’n’ rolls with 510 inches of fat Rat Row-Tip block fbat’s blown and iniectpd A Cranp rollerized valvetrain teams up with the Littlefield 8-71 blower on a Cragar intake to deliver a Holley Projection-controlled mix to the ported and polished aluminum heads. An Accel distributor and Crane ignition box explode the charge which sets the motor spinning. Hedman, headers exhaust the gases / of this Moroso-dry sumped, Russell-plumbed, Pro One-buttoned-up, Fowler Engine-machined bad boy engine. A Hurst Quarter…

It's easy to build a nice car, but to build a car that stands out from the crowd requires some custom touches. Something to make people look past every other car around. This means deleting anything that detracts from the pleasing qualities of your car, whether that is door handles or brake boosters. As resident cool custom dude Gray Baskerville points out, the idea is to downplay the accessories and necessities wherever possible and draw attention to those things you want noticed such as the engine or paint scheme. Most of these ideas apply to every hot rod. Some are free, while others can be expensive to produce. Just remember that they are all ideas and can be applied in one way or another to make your rod stand out…

If you're looking for a little something extra that will heat up your hot rod, consider installing a tachometer. A tach is not only functional, but watching that big red needle spin around the face is fun, too. And why not add to the fun with a model that incorporates a rev limiter and a shift indicator. A prime example is the new Mallory Pro Tach 1 that features “proportional rev control.” This function increasingly removes selected ignition pulses as the engine exceeds red-line, incrementally reducing power rather that cutting it out all at once. Whether you install a Mallory tach or one of the other brands, you're sure to achieve good results by following these tips. So get your tach together and dial it in! SOURCE Mallory Electric Dept.…

Jerry Farmer of Nashport, Ohio, has a need for speed that he satisfies by flying low in his Pro Street Corvette. The thrust for this muscle-bound missile is generated by a balanced-and-blueprinted, Crane-cammed, ’78 454 Chevy big-block punched out .060 to displace 468 cubic inches. Crower rods with TRW “blower” 7.5:1 pistons swing on the stock-stroke crank. The stock heads have a three-angle valve job, are cc’d, ported and polished, and support a Weiand 6-71 supercharger pulling through a pair of 600-cfm Holley carburetors. An MSD ignition system lights the fire and Hooker headers exhaust the gasses. Behind the motor is a ’78 TH400 with a Darrel Young 3200-rpm stall converter and B&M cooler and shift kit. The Corvette fiberglass is supported by a Farmer-built 2x3-inch boxtube frame. A 4.56-geared…

The big news at GM from a hot rodder’s perspective is the redesign of the Camaro and Firebird. Unfortunately, those cars are scheduled to be released later this year. So as soon as we have the info, you’ll have the info. In general, the models from GM continue to be refined, air bag and anti-lock brakes are available in more cars, and Cadillac expands the use of the Northstar V8 in several models. With that said, here’s what the General is offering for performance car enthusiasts. CHEVROLET Corvette continues to be the performance and technical flagship at GM. This year the model reached two milestones. First, the one-millionth Corvette was built this year, and second, the Corvette is now 40 years old. The millionth Corvette was built on July 2,1992,…

PIPE WRENCH Rich Mickelson, a 48-year-old pipe fitter from Kokomo, Indiana, is a quintessential o-it-yourselfer. His dream was to self-construct something different—a ’50s-style custom on the outside with a full-tilt drag racer on the inside. When you can paint, fabricate (like building your own sheetmetal a brake and bead roller), and Wes “motorvate,” you don’t have (essa to be the baddest boy on the block. “Although | have put all the drag goodies on my ’50 Chevy, | haven’t raced it,” writes Rich, “but its 4.56 gears and 8.5-gallon fuel tank make trips any further than the local car shows a bit impractical.” Of course, when you’re pushing that ’50 Chevy with 355 inches of 6-71—blown Mouse motor, you don’t have to prove yourself at every stoplight either. According to…

While a true restoration entails returning a vehicle to the way it was delivered from the manufacturer, hot rodders typically just borrow selected components from the restoration industry. These can range from something as mild as trim parts to full-on interiors and usually include body parts to reconstruct the classic. That doesn’t rule out the ground-up restoration on those rare cars that are truly deserving of total reconstruction. As with most aspects of life, this can be as involved and detailed as you want to make it. JUST THE FACTS There are usually codes and markings that will help you determine what your car originally came with (options, engine, and drivetrain equipment) and what parts you’ll need to find. For example, GM stamped axlehousings with a two- or three-letter code…

Testing NOS’ progressive nitrous system was performed on a ’66 El Camino at Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale, California. The El Camino uses a 355 small-block with Dart II cast-iron heads, Crower rods and crank, Crower valvetrain and cam with 236/244 degrees duration at .050 tappet lift and .504/.493-inch valve lift, and Speed-Pro flattop pistons. The transmission is an Art Carr TH400 with a 10-inch converter; the rearend is a stock limited slip 12-bolt with 3.73 gears. With M&H tires, the El Camino was able to run a 14.40 e.t. at 98 mph. With a standard NOS Cheater plate system installed without the progressive nitrous system, the El Camino became much more difficult to drive because wheelspin occurred as soon as the nitrous was introduced. Despite the traction problems,…