Indholdsfortegnelse for January 1993 i Hot Rod

Hot rodders are a masochistic Bes: We must be. Why else would we take a perfectly good automobile and tear it apart, beat on it, rub on it, and sweat and bleed all over it, all in the name of a good time? As with any human endeavor, there are certain inherent facts that align the stars and contribute to how things work. These unavoidable bits of wisdom are etched in stone, probably in some cave where Trog first mashed his toe with a stone wheel. All hot rodders secretly understand these truths, but choose to ignore them. They must, of course, and the reason is also simple. If we acknowledge these truths, no one would tempt fate and challenge the odds. It is as equally tempting of fate to…

HITCHING A RIDE MULTI-FIT RECEIVER HITCH Valley Industries announces the first receiver-style hitch that accurately fits over 25 vehicles from ’67 to present. The hitch can be installed with hand tools and some drilling, but welding is not required. For more information, contact Valley Industries, Dept. HR01, 1313 S. Stockton. Lodi, CA 95240, 209/368-8881. BONDED BRUTE FORCE KILLER CRATE MOTOR Bonded Motors, builder of quality remanufactured engines since 1958, is now offering an awesome deal on its 460hp, 406ci small-block Chevrolet crate motor. The engine comes complete with 750 Holley carburetor. Edelbrock manifold. Dart II heads, Competition Cams roller valvetrain, and includes the oil pan and valve covers. All this for 84500! Bonded also offers a 350 hp, 350 ci long-block for $1600. “For more information on either of these…

In our never-ending quest to encourage show cars to come off the trailer, we enticed Mike Lloyd to bring his Pro GTO (“True Believer” October ’92) to Memphis for some exhibition rims at the HOT ROD Fastest Street Car in America Shootout. With Mike’s dad Wayne at the wheel, the Poncho was pushin’ 10.50s at 103 mph off the nitrous, and obviously lifting at half-track. They couldn’t make a full pass due to the ’glass hood bowing because the cavernous scoop wasn’t affixed to the carbs. Still, it’s the kind of effort we like to see, and flogging it is what helped earn Mike the HOT ROD Top Ten honors in the December ’92 issue. Thanks also to car-builder Rich Gebhardt for the week-long thrash to get the car ready.…

Twenty years ago, Gene Adams and Don Enriquez were the bad boys of the unblown fueler class. And now they’re back and badder than ever. During a West Coast Winston Drag Racing Series points meet, featuring Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars, Enriquez initiated the team’s comeback with a top-speedrecord-shattering run of 239.51 mph in just 5.97 seconds on Los Angeles County Raceway’s high-altitude pavement. Later in the day (during first-round eliminations), he backed up the first 239 with another 239.32 (at 6.07 seconds). Enriquez’s pair of 239s broke Tom Conway’s old mark of 234.13 mph by 5.28 mph. No telling what this beast will do at Pomona come World Finals time.…

Those of you who followed Jeff Smith’s articles, “The Emissions Mouse (parts 1 and 2)” in the December ’91 and January ’92 issues of HOT ROD, will be happy to know that the kit is now available through GM dealerships as part No. 10185077. For those of you who didn’t catch the articles, the kit is an honest 300hp system that includes a 350 H.O. engine, dual-snorkel air cleaner assembly, fuel system, ECM, exhaust system, rear lower control arms, and various transmission parts for the TH700R4. There are 50 separate parts to this kit! When everything in the kit is installed on an ’82-’87 Camaro originally equipped with the LG4 or L69 carbureted 305 engines, it converts the slug into a high-13-second car and is 50-state emissions-legal. Perhaps the best…

Construction of the Petersen Automotive Museum is already underway after Robert E. “Pete” Petersen led off with a gift of $15,000,000 to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The Petersen Automotive Museum—located in a renovated 300,000-square-foot building on the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue—will focus its attention on the ways in which the automobile has shaped and is continuing to shape history, culture, and life in the United States, and especially Southern California. It is Petersen’s idea to build an institution where both the automobile enthusiast and general public can experience the world of the automobile from its inception to the present time. The permanent exhibits on the first floor will allow visitors to see automobiles in their actual historical settings, while the second floor…

Goodguys Rod and Custom Association, the same dudes and dudettes that give the readers of HOT ROD all those neat rod-related events, are now ensconced in their new headquarters. The location of Goodguys’ double-throw-down, triplewhammy digs is now 32 Alamo Square, Alamo, CA 94507. Their mailing address (P.O. Box 424) and phone number (510/838-9876) will remain the same so readers of HOT ROD won’t have to change their records if, as Meadors says, “they plan on sending gifts or pre-entry fees.” Speaking of fees, Meadors’ original husband-and-wife operation has grown into a 13-employee, 26-event extravaganza, and their new 3000-square-foot office building will enable them to stretch out a bit.…

Doug Thorley walked through our office the other day claiming that every header in his catalog is now smog-legal. We said, “Sure, Doug. That’d be cool.” Recently, though, Thorley’s 15th CARB E.O. number, D-200-14, cleared oil the Thorley headers for closed-loop small-block Chevys, some big-block Chevy motorhomes, small-block Chryslers, V8 AMC Jeeps, and all Ford V8 cars, trucks, and motorhomes. After a grueling lesson in smog laws and testing, Doug Thorley has our 64 listings for smog-legal headers. Contact Doug Thorley Headers, Dept. HR01, 1561 Commerce St., Corona, CA 91720, 714/735-7280. We’ve seen a bunch of 10- or 11-second Grand Nationals, but ore they really street-legal? Now they can be! If you’ve got a GN Buick, then you’ll be interested in Turbonetics’ new E.O. numbers D-99-2 A, B, and C,…

Hot rodding never achieves a position of repose. What was bitchin’ five or 15 years ago is considered passe today. Many related and unrelated factors—the economy, new products, differing opinions—contribute to these directional moves. So we thought it would be both fun and informative to share with HRM’s ever-changing readership what we consider the cool moves for ’93. FAST STREET CARS This is a part of hot rodding that had to happen. In the ’70s, rod runs or machine boogies were geared toward participatory events. Rod-related games included street-khanas, poker runs, go ’n’ whoas, spear the spud, street sweeper, and blindfold driving contests; all were important parts of the haps. With few exceptions, most current runs and boogies have evolved into nothing more that open-air car shows. Thanks to nostalgia…

By the time you’ve read this sentence, Max Carter has blasted the Carter Cars Nova from a dead stop to 160 mph—and he’s probably even pulled the ’chute! If you were Max, here’s what you’d go through during those 8 seconds of glory: First, you put on your firesuit, crawl through the rollcage, and latch the window net while putting on your helmet and cinching into the five-point harness. Next, you fire the motor, pull into the burnout box, and engage the roll control. Once you get the starter’s okay, you bring the tires to an easy smolder, roll out of the box in Second with the slicks still roasting, and pull straight to the line so the tires don’t cool off. With the prestage and stage bulbs lit, engage…

At last we’ve come full circle. GM’s original gear-banging, high-rewing, serious-performance four-seater is back! We lived through the smog-control-choked ’70s and the computer-controlled cars of the early ’80s. But for ’93, GM has unleashed the new Camaro and Firebird with outrageous styling, the potent LT1 350 engine, and a manual transmission worthy of its LT-1 heritage. A little throttle and side-stepping the clutch sends these cars down the road with an argument ensuing between the front and rear concerning which one should be in the lead. Before you settle that dispute, it’s time for second gear and a less heated, yet still impressive battle for traction continues. Even third gear produces a small bark of the rear tires, convincing you that this is not the mild-mannered drivetrain GM might lead…

Historically, roadsters and customs are the fraternal twins of hot rodding. And, as is expected among siblings, a rivalry has ensued. Roadsters were and are the racers, the clutch-popping, bang-shifting, tire-frying part of hot rodding. On the other hand, customs were the original sin bins, where looks dazzled the damsels. So after a series of hotties—including a ’32 Plymouth coupe, a ’40 coupe, and a ’55 Chevy three-door—Johnny and Sue Londagin decided to cool out and switch to the quintessence of all tail draggers, a ’51 Merc. Another historical fact is that most early customs were so crudely constructed that only pots full of lead could smooth the seams.. hence the term lead sled. Obviously the Londagins’ straight-arrow sled isn’t one of them. Their 4 ½-inch-chopped, shaved, nosed, decked, dechromed,…

Its finally happened. Youve broken that aluminum-case Muncie four-speed. This time it’s terminal. The case is split, the input shaft teeth are cleaned off, and the cluster’s history—and none of these parts are available new. Now what? Sure, you could probably find another used Muncie, but maybe it’s time for a better transmission. Before you bolt in another Muncie, consider the possibilites of a brand new transmission like the Richmond Gear T10. If the Richmond T10 looks suspiciously like the old Borg-Warner Super T-10 transmission, that’s because this transmission is built from the original Borg-Warner design prints. These are not remanufactured junkyard boxes, rather brand new transmissions built in Richmond Gear’s own facility. True, the price for a new Richmond T10 is higher than a rebuilt Muncie, but there are…

LOWEY-DOWN STUPE I read the story of Acmo’s ’53 Studebaker (“The Old Man and the Streets,” August ’92) with great interest and nostalgia, and was saddened to hear of his passing away. I still have and use my 1975 Petersen’s Guide to Engine Swapping. The big-block swap into Acmo’s Stude is my favorite article and has inspired me many times to continue with my ’54 Stude. I’ve had mine for 21 years and I like to keep the classic Bonneville look. Thank you for remembering Acmo. Sal DePaolaSacramento, California Acmo’s Stude appeared again in the “Hot Rodders’ Heaven” story last month, but now it’s been painted nearly the same aqua color as your ’54! Did you know that B’ville also had a stewed Stude? It was a ’53 Starliner Coupe…

Way back in January 1948, Robert E. Petersen struck gold. Living in Southern California, he witnessed the birth of hot rodding and realized that there needed to be a magazine devoted to all those car crazies running their jalopies at the dry lakes. Thus, HOT ROD Magazine was created. This issue marks the 45th anniversary of that first prophetic publishing endeavor, so BFGoodrich felt a fitting celebration was in order to honor not just the magazine, but all of the readers who have remained passionate about fast and bitchin’ cars over all these years. And what better way to reward the readers than to give them a chance to win a bitchin’ hot rod? How about two bitchin’ hot rods? BFGoodrich has comissioned California Street Rods to build these two…

In this issue you’ll see the introduction of the fourth generation Chevy Camaro. To kick off the inauguration of the new Z/28, Jim Perkins, Chevy’s general manager and 1990 Indy pace car driver, has announced that the ’93 Camaro Z/28 will be pacing the 77th running of the Indianapolis 500 next Memorial Day. The 275hp LT1 350 engine will power three pace-prepped cars, with no modifications beyond the USAC safety package required for the Camaros, to guide 33 of the world’s most ruthless race cars. Chevy’s involvement at Indy began with Louis Chevrolet when the Brickyard was brick, and the ’93 Z/28 marks the fourth Camaro and the ninth Chevy to pace the 500. No make or model has paced the race as often! Also, the Bow-Tie division’s Indy V8…

A couple of years ago we did a piece on the sand drags at Glen Helen Regional Park located near San Bernardino, California. Of special interest was Team Newman, consisting of SoCal Edison retiree George, his wife Barbara, and their son Dave. They all drive rod-bodied sand stabbers. The other day, George sent me a letter in which he wrote, “Since you were here, the ’Haul in the Family’ Fords are now three. Dave’s mom no longer shares driving the ’32 with ol’ dad; she now has her own little ’23 T-bucket with a 302-inch Ford and C-4 trans. Best time so far for the standing 100-yard course has been 5.40-seconds…not bad for a woman with six grandkids.” Pure fun. Pure “In-Sand-Ah-Tee!”…

Last’ month we talked about Sweden’s “Street Car Shootout.” As it turns out, the event held at Mantorp Park during September was actually called the Power magazine Scandinavian Street Finals. Ronnie Bergstrom won the race, and Swedish correspondent Anders Odeholm sent us the info on what makes Ronnie’s ’67 Camaro tick. In addition to the mandated “street car” parts, including that cool Swedish license plate and the over-the-axle exhaust with four mufflers, the Camaro carries some serious raceware. Its weight is 1350 kilos (3000 pounds) and features a fiberglass hood, fenders, and decklid with Lexan side and rear windows. The engine is a nitrous’d 594-inch Chevy with Dart Olds heads and a sheetmetal intake with dual 1150 Dominators. Ronnie’s drivetrain consists of an A-l Powerglide with a 10-inch converter and…

Larry Cheffer, owner of Cheffer Paint and Body in Kankakee, Indiana, has been a fan of NASCAR longer than he’s been a hot rodder. So when he decided to build a street car that was different from the standard Pro Street car, it’s no surprise that the chassis took the form of a down and dirty corner burner. He assures us, however, that the body will leave most street cars envious of its style and execution, and given his trade, we believe him. His good friend and talented artist, Bob Thrash, whipped out a rendering and has helped Larry transform ink into metal. Major body mods include chopping the top, laying the windshield back, and grafting in functional air ducts for the rear brakes. The suspension consists of an AFCO…

The other day a recent landspeed racing convert called to suggest that I provide the readers with a concise overview of how the Bonneville Speed Trials are conducted. I agreed, even though we touched on that approach in 1987 when we contrasted Speed Week with the National Hot Rod Association’s U.S. Nationals. A number of changes have occurred, including a lot of new readers and a nostalgia-fueled renewal of interest in land-speed racing, which makes it time to again speak of speed. The one aspect that never changes is Mother Nature. On Sunday night of the ’92 Bonneville Nats she conjured up enough wind and water to give a whole new meaning to speed trials…and tribulations. So the first rule that typifies Bonneville’s mystique happens to be the flat’s continually…

Top Fuel racing is full of incongruities. It is unlimited racing with rules—a sport where overkill is the norm, like killing flies with a howitzer. These monstrous machines crank out over 5000 bone-rattling horsepower that at wide-open throttle rumble like a small earthquake. Yet despite their enormous power, they require the tuning finesse of a bomb-disposal expert to consistently put that power to the ground. The game is not only to make power, although power is critical to success. No, the trick is to be the one that gets to the finish line first. And that takes skill. Many racers say they’d rather be lucky than good, but that’s a shuck. Kenny Bernstein’s win percentage owes little to luck. He wins because he’s smart. Long ago he discovered what it…

If pressing your brake pedal feels like you’re stepping on a soggy sponge or if it’s a roll of the dice whether or not the car will dart to the side with each application of the brakes, then you’re a prime candidate for a high-performance drum brake rebuild. While “high-performance drum brakes” may sound like a contradiction in terms, you probably have drum brakes on the back of your car, if not all the way around, and you might as well make them perform as best they can. The first step is to inspect your brakes. You can often improve the performance just by making sure everything is functioning properly. It’s also an excellent idea to replace all the hardware and wheel cylinders. Hardware components become weak and brittle due…

When Boss-man Mike Blower isn’t sharing driving duties behind the wheel of his ’41 Willys four-door nostalgia racer with his three sons and two pals, he’s pounding pavement in his own style of pickup, a thunder-stated ’50 Ford F-100. For Blower, a fun-loving entrepreneur from Newport Beach, California, Hemifying an F-100 was as natural as going to the Santa Ana drags during the early ’50s. “I’ve loved Hemi Chryslers since those Santa Ana days,” Blower recalls, “and these F-100s have lots of room, enough to fit in my baby 436-inch ’58 Chrysler with no major modifications to the engine compartment.” Somehow Blower located the old F-100 resting under a tarp in a local orange grove. But making room for big baby was left up to Art and Mike Chrisman, the…

WARP SPEED QMy father owns a ’71 Pontiac Acadian with a 250 six-cylinder engine and a two-speed automatic transmission. Recently, I installed a turbo muffler, but a local mechanic said this muffler will cause the engine to need a valve job. Why would this be true? Paul MowNaponee, Ontario, Canada A The exhaust valve damage the mechanic is referring to could occur due to a leaner air/fuel ratio. Adding a more efficient muffler could cause the engine to run leaner due to reduced exhaust backpressure. The chances of this happening are remote. The simple fix, If the engine is running leaner, is to find out what jetting is in the carburetor and increase the jetting one or two steps and evaluate the change. Our guess is that this would be…

COMPENSATING POLAR PLANIMETER? I would like to offer some additional information to supplement your excellent article “Runner Marathon” (August ’92). As you indicated, the best measure of a manifold’s performance is “the area under the (torque) curve.” However, you did not offer any qualitative comparison of curve areas since few people have the means to do this accurately. Being consumed with curiosity, I took the article to work and dusted off the trusty compensating polar planimeter, a 19th-century instrument use to measure the area of any closed figure by tracing its perimeter. The results of these measurements are as follows: It should be noted that these numbers are for relative comparison only and not indicative of a specific power level. The area under the curve can best be described as…

Hot off the press, the NSRA has announced its exciting new schedule for 1993! April 30-May 2—Street Rod Nationals South, Tennessee Valley Fair-Chilhowee Park, Knoxville, Tennessee. Information: Nats South, 1844 Corey, Longmont, CO 80501, 303/776-7841. May 21-23—-Western Street Rod Nationals, Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield, California. Information: Western Nats, 232 Independence, Palm Harbor, FL 34684,813/786-2348. June 4-6—Street Rod Nationals East, York Interstate Fairgrounds, York, Pennsylvania. Information: Nats East, 1844 Corey, Longmont, CO 80501, 303/776-7841. June 11-13—Northwest Street Rod Nationals, Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, Spokane, Washington. Information: Northwest Nats, P.O. Box 326, Alto, NM 88312, 505/336-4741. June 25-27—Rocky Mountain Street Rod Nationals, Colorado State Fairgrounds, Pueblo, Colorado. Information: Rocky Mountain Nats, P.O. Box 326, Alto, NM 88312, 505/336-4741. July 15-18—Street Rod Nationals, Ohio Exposition Center, Columbus, Ohio. Information: National Street Rod Association, 4030…

Come race at the HOT ROD Fastest Street Car In America Shootout and you could become a star! Not only will you be in the world’s largest performance car magazine, but a number of camera crews taped the 1992 event for TV. Ken Anderson and his 8-second Malibu were on the local Memphis news shows, Wild About Wheels shot a video for cable TV, and Simitar Video is producing a two-hour video that you can buy through the National Muscle Car Association (Dept. HR01, 2404 Democrat Rd., Memphis, TN 38118, 901/365-3779) for around $25 bucks. Every driver was interviewed on camera! The crowd must have had an idea about the growing celebrity status of the HOT ROD drivers since one guy in the pits collected racers’ autographs on his September…

“As anticipated,” writes Frank Mormillo, “the 1992 Unlimited Championship Gold Air Race turned out to be a battle between Lyle Shelton’s Wright R-3350 powered ’Rare Bear,’ based on what’s left of an F8F Bearcat, and Bill ’Tiger’ Destefani’s Merlin-motored ’Streta,’ an equally massaged P-51 Mustang. Rare was loaded for bear, setting a new qualifying record of 482.892 mph banking around the telephone poles (with cans on the top) that mark the course. However, mechanical ills forced the sixtime winner out of The Unlimited Gold Race when the big radial seized as Shelton seemed ready to pass Destefani, allowing the Streta to streak to its first victory since 1987. “Meanwhile, the much-publicized Electromotive VG-30-powered Pond Racer finished a final race this year, although engine computer bugs kept the Burt Ruton-designed, twin-boom…

Kenneth Howard, better known to four generations of hot rodders as Von Dutch, recently died of liver disease. “Dutch,” who achieved world-"wild” acclaim for his free-form pinstriping and unforgettable flying-eyeball signature, first acquired notoriety during the early ’50s when he was shown in HOT ROD (February ’55) pinstriping a ’34 Phaeton. Legend has it that Dutch literally covered the entire tub with stripes during his three-day stint in Petersen’s booth at the ’54 Motorama. His later interests included handmade guns, knives, and his “Kenford,” an RUV (Raunchy Utility Vehicle) that he constructed in 1972 starting with ’56 F-100 pickup parts. Howard also befriended actor Steve McQueen and built the yellow Winton Flyer that appeared in McQueen’s film. The Revivers. Howard, at the time of his death, was living in Santa…

One man’s definition of wretched excess is another man’s idea of the perfect hot rod, as evidenced by Edgewater, Florida, resident Glenn Smith and his ’66 Corvette, or what’s left of it. Smith bought the 425-horse 427 Roadster new in ’66 (with radio delete and off-road exhaust) and drove it hard from day one. A heart attack in 1986 made him decide to “do those things we always say we’re going to do ’someday’,” and one of those things was to get crazy with the car. Smith jotted down some ideas and drew up some plans for the car during his recovery and, once he was healthy, started transferring those plans into real life by way of fiberglass, steel tubing, and enough details to make a Space Shuttle engineer go…

Our buddies at Mopar Performance were pretty jazzed about their participation in the 12th Annual Mopar Nationals at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, held August 14 to 16, 1992. With over 3300 Mopars profiling and quarter-miling, the show broke its previous attendance records. The musclecar thing was in full swing, with a one-of-nine 70 HemiCuda convertible and a one-of-seven 71 Hemi-fish ragtop in attendance, and the race-car contingent was also well represented. Rabid Mopar fanatics aren’t known for subtlety. Eric Brockman wrote us about the sanctioned burnout contest that was won by “a deranged individual (complete with cowboy hat and sunglasses) in a replica of Richard Petty’s NASCAR Superbird.” Let’s see some smoke from those rock-hard Polyglas meats!…

Of the thousands of automotive events held across the nation every year, there’s one that stands apart from all the rest. Nestled deep in the Smoky Mountains, the small town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, plays host to the Shades Of The Past car club rod run, and this, their 10th year, was the best ever. Fantastic weather and a new 50-acre, grass-covered facility provided the perfect background for more than 2300 street rods from across the United States. Each evening the streets were jammed with hot rods, and by Saturday’s awards ceremonies everyone was smiling. As in years past, many participants walked away with $100 gifts, while two lucky folks drove out in new Outlaw-bodied, RHS-powered, Boyd-wheeled street rods—a ’34 Chevy and a ’32 Ford three-window coupe. So next year,…

It’s every car guy’s dream an open road with the license to go as fast as you want. The only boundaries (other than safety gear) are the guts to go fast and your car’s performance limits. Twice c year this dream comes true for an intrepid few at the Silver State Open Road Races. And there’s nothing like it left in the world of motorsports. Once in May and again in September the powers that be allow the race organizers to close a 100-mile section of Highway 318 in Nevada. The cars that have registered and passed safety and driver requirements are then sent down the course in one-minute intervals. Up ahead is a timed 90-mile stretch of pure adrenaline. The course is sprinkled with a few long, sweeping turns…

While wandering through the Street Machine Nationals a couple years back, John Carter spotted a clean Pro Street ’66 Chevy II. With a Chevy resto-parts business back home, he’d already noticed that his competitors sponsor some Pro Mod cars. Twenty years of drag racing experience and the need to promote a business made him slip into a commitment and he bought the car. It would prove to be a fateful decision. The Nova already had the interior, body, and chassis work done, along with a little 454 under the hood. John offered to let his son Max drive the car, and a racing venture was ignited. With a 15-year hiatus from blown-and-injected alcohol Funny Cars, John knew that 8 seconds on gas and nitrous would take some figuring out. The…

Forget the politicos. Shine on the movers and shakers. Ignore the news media and electronic pontificators. They’ve got it all wrong. This isn’t family values time, but the year of the driver…with CheZoom heading the highway jam. For those HRM readers who draw a blank when the name CheZoom is used, just think of this radically reshaped ’57 Bel k. Air hardtop as the step beyond CadZZilla. Said automotive stylist Idiom Taylor, who conceptualized CheZoom two years ago, “I pretended that I was commissioned to restyle a ’57 Bel Air hardtop and give it a ’90s look. The thought was to do a flashback, a contemporary version…yet still retain the classic ’57 flavor…recognizable…like CadZZilla…something to relate to that’s cool.” In essence, CheZoom would bridge the gap between a hot rod…

How things have changed in the last 20 years! In 1972, you could still buy a big-block-powered Camaro. Today you have to pay a premium just to purchase a Camaro with a weak-kneed 350. But no one said you can’t recreate the past, especially if you have the creative talents of an architect. Jeff Carter has this gift. The architect from Springfield, Illinois, decided to add some roll to his IROC, and commissioned Gebhardt’s Pro Street Cars to make the necessary changes. The first order of business was to build the supporting cast. Rich Gebhardt beefed up the front end by constructing a new and totally painted and detailed 2x3-inch rectangular mild steel front clip that incorporates the factory-stock suspension components. Gebhardt also stuck together an altered rear frame section…

The king always has rioting subjects. A captain will always have a mutiny. It’s the result of that perpetual band of “little guys” who think they can do it better. In the domain of General Motors, the ’70 LS-6 Chevelle is the prevailing monarch. The subversives? Call them the Knights of Torque, the Dukes of Displacement, crusaders for the Buick, Olds, and Pontiac cause. All three factions are planning to overthrow Lord Bow-Tie A-body, Earl of Horsepower. We’ve infiltrated the ranks of the Buick, Olds, and Pontiac (aka B.O.P.) uprising and uncovered their plots of insurrection with the HOT ROD Cubic-Inch Inquisition. JIM TURNER’S ’70 BUICK: 10.64/124 Buick zealots are willing to flog their pristine and valuable cars to prove what Buick torque can do. The self-proclaimed leader of the…

Okay, okay, we know this is really fundamental tech. But the fundamentals make up the foundation upon which success is built. And when it comes to assembing a hot rodded engine, the most fundamental technique is finding precisely where top dead center (TDC) is located. TDC is the primary reference point on which you base cam timing, ignition timing, and piston-to-valve clearance. In other words, you can’t really fine tune your engine to achieve maximum power and reliability without knowing how to find TDC. Finding TDC is not as easy as it sounds since there are some subtleties involved that may confuse you. But at the same time, the procedure is very straightforward and simple to learn. You’ll need a degree wheel, a piston stop, and an indicator of some…