Indholdsfortegnelse for June 1993 i Hot Rod

This is the third year Jerry Ferris has submitted his ride to our annual Readers’ Rides section. Each year, hundreds of proud owners send us photos of their creations. However, out of all the readers’ rides that we receive—and there are many great rods that would deserve a second look in any town in America—we don’t have enough space to put every one of them into the pages of our August issue. Well, clever as we are, we’ve found a solution to that problem. From this month forth, our readers will see a Readers’ Rides section in each and every issue of HOT ROD. So if you’re like Jerry and have a fine example of a hot rod that you’ve been trying to get into HOT ROD year after year…

NSRA SUPER PRIZE PROGRAM Everyone loves taking free goodies home from a rod run. But the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) has stepped up big time to assure that this year’s prize packages will make Ross Perot jealous. Just bring your rod to one of the 10 1993 NSRA events listed in Roddin at Random, January ’93. You could win goodies from a random drawing that will give away $72,000 in rod parts from 59 manufacturers at each event. That’s a total of $720,000 in toys! And this is good stuff, too—no cheesy trash bags or dingle balls. This is the sixth time NSRA has put together a Super Prize Program, and the total value of free goodies put into the hands of the participants is $3,728,000. It pays to…

EDDIE’S SPORT TRUCK If you’re not a Van Halen fan, you may not be a hot rodder. Sorry, but for those of you who are new at this, ifs practically a law in our world to own at least one worn-out Van Halen cassette, and it must be played at level 11 or greater at some time during the nightly cruise. Why Van Halen? Because the band’s tunes are bitchin’, and Eddie Van Halen happens to be a real car guy who owns such cool rides as a Pro Street ’56 Chevy, a shoebox Nomad, a GMC Sydone, and a pair of Lamborghinis. That dreamy stable of machines will soon get an addition in the form of this slammed Chevy pickup, outfitted with new Corvette components (including the front and…

THE GREAT AMERICAN RACE We thought we were cool driving Pro Street ’55 Chevys and street rods halfway across the country—until we saw the itinerary for the 11th Annual Interstate Batteries Great American race. The Great Race is a 75-mile-long caravan of stock cars, trucks, and motorcycles built from 1911 to 1943 that will cover 4250 miles between Huntington Beach, California, and Norfolk, Virginia, in 14 days. They’ll begin June 27th and will be in a town near you for a patriotic welcome. For more information, contact Greatrace Ltd., Dept. HR06, 12790 Merit Dr., Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75251, 214/788-2323.…

SOURCES Jacobs Electronics Dept. HR06, 500 N. Baird St. Midland. ’IX 79071, 800/627-8800 MSD Ignition Dept. HR06.1490 Henry Brennan Dr. El Paso, TX 79936,915/857-5200…

Since hot rodders usually prefer older cars, many of the components in a stock-bodied car suffer from the wear and tear of time. While the body, paint, interior, and drivetrain usually receive plenty of attention, think about the last time you considered the candition of your body mounts. Virtually all cars, with the exception of late-model Camaros and Mustangs, come with some type of rubber bushing that separates the body from the frame. Age and high mileage tend to distort and crush those mounts, allowing the body to move in relation to the frame. Since that is unacceptable in any performance car, we thought we’d look at what it takes to replace aging mounts. The job is not difficult, and it can be easily accomplished in your driveway in three…

From March ’85 to January ’86, Pat Ganahl wrote an expansive 10-part essay in HOT ROD covering every step necessary to paint your car. If you read Pat’s very thorough series, you probably thought “I could do that!” Of course, there’s a big difference between thinking you can do something and actually doing it, and that goes double when it comes to painting a car. After spending the better part of three months painting a ’69 Camaro, we’ve learned that even a first-timer can pull off a great paint job, but one other fact became excruciatingly obvious: Painting a car is a pain. There’s no way around it. It’s a messy, time-consuming, money-eating affair, and your neighbors will probably hate you by the time it’s all done. But, man, is…

Alicense plate frame that made the rounds a few years ago said: “Watch my rear end, not hers!” Hot rodders could take a cue from that bit of whimsy when it comes to performance third members. While engines, fuel systems, and the art of making power are the glamour side of hot rodding, broken differentials become a real pain in the rear when it comes down to pure acceleration. Frankly, most hot rodders ignore their rearends until they break. It usually doesn’t take more than a couple of late nights with 90-weight dripping in your hair as you change an abused ring and pinion to realize that maybe you need something that can take the punishment. To make the search for a stronger rear a little easier, we’ve compiled a…

Let’s face it: Anyone can build an early Ford. It doesn’t take any imagination. Sure, a ’34 Ford makes a bitchin’ ride, but how different can it possibly be from the rest found at nearly all the car shows? That’s what helps Paul Friedman’s ’34 Chevy stand out from the crowd. While a novice rodder will probably have a difficult time telling a ’34 Chevy from a Ford, an early-iron aficionado can write a book on the dissimilarities. First, the grille shell is much wider on a Chevy; Paul filled his with a fine-toothed, aluminum grille. Also, the hood is quite a bit shorter than a Ford’s, and the hood sides normally have large vents. Of course, in true hot rodder “smoothie” fashion, Paul removed and filled his Chevy’s vents.…

SAUCE PAN SPORTSMAN OIL PAN The new Sportsman oil pan from Hamburger’s offers excellent oil control for dry- and wet-sump oil systems with budget in mind. The pans use all-new components and are block-fitted and leak-checked. For more information, contact Hamburger’s Oil Pans, Dept. HR06, 1501 Industrial Way N., Toms River, NJ 08755, 908/2403888. HIGH VOLTAGE HI-AMP ALTERNATORS South West Auto Parts Sales offers a line of heavy-duty, high-capacity alternators. They provide up to 120 amps to help keep up with the heavy demands that ignitions, stereos, alarms, and auxiliary lighting put on the electrical systems. The alternators are brand new and are available in O.E.M. finish or chrome. For more information, contact South West Auto Parts Sales (SWAPS), Dept. HR06, 119 Dallas N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87108, 505/266-9040. MORE POWER…

SOAR SPOT I read with interest your story about the Reno Air Races (“Wingin’ It,” Roddin at Random, January ’93). You say Lyle Shelton’s Rare Bear is powered by a 3350ci, 28-cylinder engine. I spent four years working on the 3350 in the Air Force during the ’60s. The 3350 is an 18-cylinder engine; the 4360 is a 28-cylinder engine. Raymand Allen Jr.San Antonio, Texas We got several letters about this, including one from Paul LeClercq of Evergreen, Colorado, who sent a copy of the Navy aircraft-engine training manual. The book explains that the Wright R-3350 engine is an air-cooled, 18-cylinder, twin-row radial engine with a two-speed centrifugal supercharger. The 28-cylinder would be the Pratt & Whitney R-4360, as Raymand described. MURPHY WAS A HOT RODDER Regarding “Simple Truths” in…

ROD RUN MIDWINTER CARNIVAL Since 1969, the Early Times car club has held a midwinter rod run. The last eight have been staged in the quaint Olde Towne portion of Temecula, California. “The midwinter rod run is our way of building participant interest,” explained Early Times vet Del Austin, “and the nominal S5 spectator fee is there to defray the cost of policing, portable restrooms, and fencing.” While Southern Californio’s drought-ending soggy winter hampered out-of-state visitors (normally Temecula attracts 1500 rods from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Northern California, and Arizona), more than 900 pre-’58 entries lined Front Street over the weekend of February 27-28. The only bummer was a Sunday afternoon thunder squall—but then again, chilly midwinter outings and Mother Nature have a way of making you realize why Detroit quit…

POSIE’S PICK In the March issue, we began a new feature called Posie’s Pick. In it, street-rod builder Ken “Posie” Fenical selects a car each month that he thinks represents the current trend with the 25-year-old-and-younger rodders. Now B&M Automotive Products has stepped into the action and will be giving away a S50 gift certificate to each of the young guns that Posie picks! Ken’s pick for June—and the first to score the free B&M goodies—is a 23-year-old rodder who did the work himself. Jason Slover is the son of Jerry Slover, owner of Pete & Jakes street-rod shop in Grandview, Missouri. Since the weather in the big Mo gets a bit chilly, Jason’s choice of rides is a handsome ’77 Chevy Blazer that he slammed 7 inches in the…

DIRTY SCHOOL Off-road racing is one of the most exciting forms of competition available on four wheels. A properly prepared Class-4 (four-wheel-drive) truck has over 700 horsepower under the hood, more than 20 inches of suspension travel at each corner, and is capable of running faster than 100 mph through the desert. In addition to knowing how to approach jumps, corners, and more difficult obstacles, a driver must also be able to read the terrain to receive early warning of coming problems. To help give people a taste of what off-road racing is all about and prepare them for those things and more, Josh Hall (son of Class-4 racer Rod Hall) operates Level II Racing School. The three-day school gives students a taste of suspension theory and driving technique, and…

CUTTING COSTS AT THE BRICKYARD While it’s hardly likely that the words IndyCar and budget will ever be used in the same sentence, IndyCar and CART have adopted rules in the hopes of keeping costs from escalating any higher than they already are. A list of 21 prohibitions was adopted (such as a limit on electronic controls, pneumatic valves, and similar high-tech and expensive components), and the testing time was limited to a maximum of 10 days per team after June 1. How serious are they? Violating the testing rule will cost a team $50,000, and they’re talking about a $250,000 penalty for using illegal technology. Part of the scare no doubt comes from the interest Handa and Nissan are showing in IndyCar racing. In the past, an engine manufacturer…

WIN A TRUCK WITH AN ATTITUDE Purolator is giving away a whole mess of Ford trucks, and you could win one. The grand prize will be a trick Ford Ranger super truck that’s being customized along the lines of the Thom Taylor rendering shown here. Sport Truck, our sister publication, is handling the modifications, which will include Progressive wheels, ground effects by A&A, Trailmaster suspension, Recaro seats, Flowmaster exhaust, custom paint, a killer stereo, and more. But there are also 14 other stock Rangers with standard equipment in the drawing pool, and any one of them could be yours for the price of the entry—which is free! To enter the sweepstakes, register at any participating Purolator retailer, or you can send for an entry form and product part number. Sent…

When applied properly, nitrous oxide is the easiest, least-expensive way to make power, and it’s relatively easy to install. To show how easy it can be to add a couple hundred horses by bolting on a bottle, we installed a Nitrous Works adjustable plate system. The 75-225hp kit is one of The Nitrous Works’ most popular because of its ease of installation and adjustability. If you get greedy for more power later, you can swap out a few components (solenoids and plate) to bring the system up to a 325hp maximum. That’s potentially doubling the power of a mild small-block with the hit of a button! Of course, at higher power levers me engine must be configured to take the added horsepower, and an excellent fuel and ignition system is…

If your car is fast, it needs a rollbar. If it’s really fast, it should have a six-point-or-better rollcage. In fact, if you plan on doing some racing with the car, be it bracket or pro racing, the NHRA mandates a rollbar in any car running 11.99 seconds or quicker, or 13.99 and quicker in a convertible. Even if you’re not racing the car, you still should have at least a four-point setup. And while there’s no debating the safety afforded by a well-designed rollbar, there’s another good reason to have one: It looks cool! Unfortunately, a custom-bent, welded-in cage can get expensive, and some of the generic race-car-oriented cage kits require a lot of work to trim and install, not to mention the fact that you need a welder.…

Wanna make a quick trip to the dump? Gotta move some bulky stuff in a hurry? We’ve got just the truck for you. Swing by Eaton, Indiana, and ask Gale Pitman to help you out with his swift El Camino. He can get you where you want to go in about 12.40 seconds—as long as it’s a quarter-mile away. The motivation comes from a 468ci Rat motor. The fuel and air are mixed in a Holley 750 double-pumper carb and whirl through an Edelbrock Torker manifold to the combustion chambers, and the exhaust is vented through Hedman headers. The ins and outs are controlled by a Competition Cams bumpstick that works stainless-steel valves in rectangle-port heads. The engine’s estimated 450 horses are routed through a TCI TH400 tranny that carries…

The need for speed is nearly its old as the automobile itself and is documented in racing history as early as 1894. At that time, of course, blistering speed was around 15 mph, and the era’s single-cylinder engines produced approximately 4 horsepower. By the early 1900s, however, horsepower figures were up to 70, and top speeds were approaching 90 mph. A high-speed racetrack was desperately needed. In order to provide a combination race and test track, four automotive industry leaders purchased 320 acres of Indiana farmland northwest of Indianapolis (then the U.S. auto capital). A 2.5-mile track was built with 9.25-degree banked corners. The course was originally covered with a mixture of tar and crushed stone, but it deteriorated quickly during the first exhibition race held there in 1909. Later…

Last month we introduced you to our new workhorse, toy, and stylin’ runabout ’93 Chevy Extended-Cab Dualie. The odometer hadn’t hit 100 miles before we dropped the truck off at Trader’s Truck Accessories and had the craftsmen there slam our big-block beast to the ground and give it the full-on sporttruck treatment. The body-matching paint on the mirrors and door handles wasn’t even dry when two members of the HOT ROD staff took the truck on a road trip to Reno, Nevada, putting it and the Trader’s hardware to the test. Everything looked and worked great, nothing broke, and the truck didn’t get stuck in the February snow, but there were still two complaints. One, the factory stereo is less than the best. Two, tie-downs are a must in the…

Steel wheels are making a stylish come-back. Everyone knows that aluminum wheels are the hot setup for going fast because they are lighter and offer less rolling resistance. But steel wheels are fine for those who don’t necessarily care about that last. 05-second e.t. improvement, and they’re prime sleeper material for those who figure a street race is easier to get on “stock” wheels than flashy aluminum. Of course, steel wheels often don’t have the correct backspacing or aren’t wide enough to fit a fat tire. That’s where Stockton Wheel comes into the picture. Owner Frank Mauro Jr. is into wheels and handles new and used rollers. He also straightens bent steel and aluminum wheels. The company’s been in the wheel business since 1883 (guess you could say it’s been…

WIN EDELBROCK’S STREET-LEGAL CHEVY PICKUP You’re going to be seeing o lot more of this truck. Beginning next month, we’ll show you buildup details of this ’80 Chevrolet Silverado. It’ll receive a new, emissions-legal Edelbrock small-block V8, state-of-the-art suspension, a killer stereo, bucket seats in a custom interior, lots of billet bangles, and the Thom Taylor-inspired paint scheme you see here. And you can win it. Entry forms for the Edelbrock sweepstakes will also be included in HOT ROD during the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled for them. The truck will be displayed at several rod and truck events, including the 1993 Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas. The actual giveaway will be held at the NHRA Winternationals to be held in January 1994. In the…

FASTEST STREET ROD SHOOTOUT ANNOUNCED It was bound to happen. If the street machine guys can do it, why not the street rod guys as well? The Goodguys are going to find out who has the baddest street rod in the land at Indianapolis Raceway Park on June 12 and 13 when they will stage the “Fastest Street Rod Shootout.” This race will be in conjunction with the Goodguys Indy Hot Rod Happenin’ and the Goodguys plan to have the quickest street rod in the country, Steve Castelli’s low 8-second ’41 Willys, at Indy to defend its title against anybody with a quick street rod. And HOT ROD will be there to cover it. The Goodguys “Fastest Street Rod Shootout” format is similar to the extremely popular “Fastest Street Car…

EARNHARDT MAKES THE MOST OF LOSING After the Goodwrench 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt led Dale Jarrett in the money list even though Jarrett outdid him at the season-opening Daytona 500. Earnhardt’s second consecutive second-place finish—behind Rusty Wallace at the Goodwrench race—gave him 355 points and 5289,410 in winnings compared to Jarrett’s 330 points and $260,085. Wallace collected better than $40,000 for the win at North Carolina, but his spectacular multipleflip crash at Daytona kept him back in eighth place in the points chase. Rookie Jeff Gordon didn’t fare as well at North Carolina as he had at Daytona. A front-runner in the Florida race, Gordon settled into the 28th starting position in the Goodwrench run and failed to finish when his engine went away. Perhaps the…

YES, WE’RE POSITIVE Did you know that on engine will run with the ignition coil wired backward? It will, however, reduce spark energy and make the engine run sluggishly. So remember, unless you have on aftermarket ignition, the positive side of the coil goes to the ignition switch (usually through a ballast resistor or resistor wire), and the negative side goes to either the contort points or the Electronic Control Unit. Also, we’ve seen some cheap import coils that have the positive and negative terminals marked wrong. Test for that with an oscilloscope; a coil that is hooked up bockword will cause the ’scope display to appear upside down. BOXING MATCH Here’s a money-saving tip from Dr. Chris Jacobs of Jacobs Electronics for anyone who wants electronic ignition but can’t…

Interior tune-ups can be very intimidating to someone who has never picked up a pair of hog-ring pliers. But in reality, a set of pre-sewn seat covers isn’t difficult to install. To put our money where our mouth is, or in this case, where our rump and back usually sit, we took it upon ourselves to install a pair of factory-reproduction seat covers from C.A.R.S., Inc. The endeavor took the better part of a weekend and didn’t cause a large loss of blood. We simply couldn’t find a car that cried out for interior attention more than the ’68 Nova we used last month in our “Custom Interiors” article as a “not” example. The car had suffered a south-of-the-border sewing extravaganza, and even that was in poor repair. C.A.R.S., Inc.,…

If it wasn’t for a car show back in 1947, there wouldn’t be a HOT ROD magazine. And if it wasn’t for a guy by the name of Al Slonaker, there wouldn’t be 43 consecutive years of America’s Most Beautiful Roadsters (AMBR). Since 1950, Slonaker’s Oakland Roadster Show has been the Superbowl of hot rod car shows, and the tradition of staging the four-wheel detailing extravaganzas has been continued by Harold “Baggy” Bagdasarian and now Don Tognotti, an AMBR winner himself in 1964. But the 44th edition (there were two shows one year) of the Oakland Roadster show is more than a paean to ragtops; it’s really a study in minutia that involves anything with wheels. The exhibition now caters to rods, customs, racers, bikes, sports cars, wheel standers, pedal…

Andy Jensen has a favorite saying: “You’ll never beat the other guy if you copy him.” That isn’t just lip service. If you scrutinize the current crop of Fastest Street Car in America contenders, most are products of the over-3000-pound, 550-cubic-inch-or-larger mold. Andy took the path less travelled, which led him to this awesome 2200-pound, 434-cubic-inch small-block Camaro that has run a best e.t. of 8.49 and a best mph of 160.31. While the numbers are impressive, how he got there is an even better story. As Andy puts it: “The idea was to build a car that would compete with the big-cubic-inch street cars, but use a small-block to keep it affordable. The only way to do that was to make the car light and do as much of…

Whether you’ve bought a mail-order engine kit or had your own engine machined at a local shop, it’s your responsibility to make sure all the specs are correct before the final assembly. We visited with Lauren Arana, shop foreman at Performance Automotive Wholesale (PAW), to show you the right way to check the specs on a fresh-from-the-machine-shop short-block using nothing but simple home tools. We used a 302 small-block Ford, but the principles apply to any engine. PAW engines come with all the machine work done, the threads cleaned, the block painted, the freeze plugs installed, and the cam bearings pressed in. We’ll assume that you’ve had all that done, and that the block and all the parts are well dried after a good scrubbing with bottle brushes, warm water,…

Ford lovers seethe. Chevy buffs gripe. And Walter Colson’s ’65 Mustang screams. What’s the uproar all about? Look closely: This Ford gives equal opportunity to a big-block Chevy. The Bow-Tie bigots say it’s a waste of a Rat, and the Dearborn supremacists can’t figure out why anyone would “butcher” a ’Stang by using an off-brand powerplant. The rage over the Ford/Chevy integration isn’t enough to start a race riot, but the Mustang sure is a riot at the races. It runs 9.29 at 147 mph in the quarter. The tale of the half-breed began in 1978 when Walter bought the Mustang as his first car. A 289 with a four-gear tranny and nitrous served street duty until a wreck during a “let’s go best-two-out-of-three” challenge rendered the Ford into phone-pole…

In our April ’93 issue, we presented the first installment of Project Porky-Eights, a multipart series that features two ’48 coupes being built by BFGoodrich to celebrate HOT ROD’s 45th anniversary. The fatfender Chevy and Ford were originally produced in 1948—the same year that HOT ROD hit the newsstands—and are currently being rejuvenated by California Street Rods (CSR) using components manufactured by Chevrolet, Ford, and a host of aftermarket suppliers. Both street rods will be given away by BFGoodrich later this year, and you could be one of the lucky rodders to drive one home. To give yourself a chance, fill out the entry blank included at the end of this installment. Although there are a number of ways to build a street rod, two of the more common approaches…

CARS & TRUCKS ’59 Corvette. 327 four-speed, many new parts, 98 percent complete. Disassembled tor painting. Best offer over $16,000. For color pictures and complete information, send SASE to Doug Rhodes, P.O. Box 754, Elberton, GA 30635-0754; or call 706/ 283-2612. ’65 Corvette Pro Street coupe. 427, 400 transmission, Ford 9-inch, 3.89 gears, rollcage through dash. You can drive this car with Mickey Thompson tires. $26,000. Bill, 617/767-4430 (Tuesday-Saturday). ’69 El Camino SS 396. 78,000 miles, new GM body from front to back, Turbo 400, posi, A/C, tilt. $9,000. Rich, 618/466-6849. ’34 Ford five-window coupe. Steel, black, and chromed, show and go, 376 cid, 400 four-bolt, direct-port nitrous. Venolia pistons, indexed Black steel crank, gear drive, MSD, 675 hp. $38,000. 509/848-2475. Block V8 trike. ’87 Ford H.O. 302, C4 auto,…