Indholdsfortegnelse for April 1996 i Hot Rod

WHAT IS A HOT ROD? It sounds like a simple question, doesn’t it? A hot rod is… well, you know, a cool car, a fast car, a bitchin’ car, to paraphrase Gray Baskerville. You know a hot rod when you see one. A ’32 Ford highboy is the epitome of a hot rod. Ponycars like ’69 Camaros or ’67 Mustangs can definitely be hot rods, if they’re done right. So can former family cars, like certain sedans (Impalas, Polaras) and even some station wagons. What brings up the question is the car you see here: the Plymouth Prowler. A concept car three years ago, the Prowler will be produced in limited numbers in 1997 and will sell for an estimated $35,000. The general press has already labeled the Prowler a…

ROD RUN IRVINE INVITATIONAL The Outriders, one of the nation’s oldest and hardest of hardcore hot rod clubs, stages an annual one-day picnic. Unlike most rod runs, it’s an invitational, so the public isn’t part of the action. For the last few years the Outrider’s Invitational has been held near Newport Beach, California. But the site was so crowded and full of restrictions that the event was moved to Irvine Lake last year. “Haulalooyah!” Although the Pacific Ocean was five miles west of Irvine Lake, it was still a beaching event. Why? Let these flicks do the trick.…

RESTORED INDY RACER In the January ’95 Roddin column, we told you about hot rodders Matt and Debbie Hay, who had purchased the unrestored Carroll Shelby Turbine car entered in the 1968 Indy 500 and driven by Bruce McLaren. The car did not run in the race and was subsequently retired. Matt and Debbie have spent the last year restoring the body and interior back to 1968 specs. The car is currently without an engine, which was originally a General Electric T-58 helicopter turbine engine. According to Matt, the engine is only 59 inches long and weighs barely 200 pounds, yet is rated at 1100 horsepower. Matt recently purchased a completely rebuilt engine from Tim Arfons that will be displayed outside the car for now. Eventually Matt plans to install…

MORE POWER TOUR NEWS HOT ROD POWER tour The 1996 Power Tour is almost here! If you’d like to join us on our cross-country hot rod trek, check out the Power Tour ad elsewhere in this issue, which contains the route map, itinerary and all the details you need to be a part of the Tour. As we ready ourselves for the 2900-mile drive, we want to thank our Power Tour sponsors, the companies who will help make the Tour happen in ’96. OVERALL SPONSORS BFGoodrich Tires Genuine Chevrolet CRUISE NIGHT SPONSORS Kicker Orion Super Shops Edelbrock Torque Tech SplitFire Summit TOUR SPONSORS Exotic Tire International Crane Cams S&W Race Cars Universal Technical Institute MSD Ignition Vintage Air Lunati Cams BG Fuel Systems C.A.R.S., Inc. T. A. Performance Products Optima…

FOR RODDERS UNDER 25 Young rodders usually have much more time than money, and that’s true for 19-year-old Yuba City, California, resident John Mallen as well. A freshman at the University of California, Davis, John has been working on his ’55 Ford panel truck since he was 14 years old. John discovered the truck abandoned under a tree and spent months just cleaning out old leaves and rust. Rather than modify the existing frame, John and his father yanked the body off a ’72 Grand Sport Torino, shortened the frame 4 inches and modified it to fit the truck body. Next came a 351 Cleveland and a C6 automatic, then it was off to the paint shop where the door handles were shaved and a fuel door and rollpans were…

Face it: Real engines have roller cams (and we’re not talking about factory hydraulic rollers). If you think your flat-tappet mill can make some ponies, then you’re in for a real surprise. Cost is definitely a hindrance to pitching the old bumpstick for a roller, but often it’s a matter of not knowing what’s really needed that keeps people from stepping up to a roller camshaft. If an engine has a good high-performance combination of intake and exhaust components, then a roller cam with very similar duration and lift specs to a flat-tappet cam can make more power. That’s because a flat-tappet limits the cam profile’s rate of lift, so the lobes have a gentle curve and a pointy nose. (See the “Best of How It Works” special section in…

No other component plays a more crucial role in engine performance than the camshaft. Unfortunately, too many hot rodders choose a cam that’s either too big or too small instead of getting the correct bumpstick for their needs. By carefully combining the specs of lift, duration, overlap and so on, you can design anything from a massive torque monster to a high-revving screamer. Many of today’s cam manufacturers offer cams for specific applications as well as custom grinds for those shade-tree engineers out there. If you don’t see exactly what you want in this buyers’ guide, call the companies for more information. ALL REVVED UP HydraREV is a new system from Air Flow Research that can effectively add up to 1000 rpm to a hydraulic-cam engine’s operating range. The system…

The all-aluminum ZL-1 big-block occupies an exalted position in the pantheon of Chevrolet engines. Introduced in 1969, the ZL-1 was available in very limited numbers in Corvettes and Camaros. It’s true purpose, however, was to dominate the unlimited SCCA Can-Am road racing series. The ZL-1 aluminum block featured dry cylinder liners, provisions for a dry-sump oiling system, and four-bolt main bearing caps. The light alloy block tipped the scales at a scant 98 pounds—more than 100 pounds less than its cast-iron counterpart. By 1972 special linerless versions of the ZL-1 aluminum big-block had grown to a prodigious 510 cubic inches. But when the Can-Am series went into decline, so did the oll-aluminum Rat motor. The tooling was sold, and the ZL-1 became a footnote in Chevrolet history. Two decades later,…

Rebuilding a classic these days is as easy as picking up the phone, especially in the case of a ’55-’57 Chevrolet. All the replacement sheetmetal was ordered through C.A.R.S., Inc., and the list included here shows the pieces used. The company offers much more for these cars than what was attached to this ’57, and it also carries reproduction sheetmetal and interior parts for ’53-’72 Chevrolets, ’67-’76 Camaros, ’64-’77 Chevelles, ’70-’73 Monte Carlos, ’62-’76 Novas and ’55-’77 Chevy trucks. On some cars it can take less time (which directly equates to money in body-shop labor rates) to replace a panel than it would to fix it. That was the case with both quarter-panels on Pavement Pounder. The passenger side had some rust and a considerable dent, which a previous body…

An engine is made up of a series of simple mechanical parts that work in combination to create power. When you’re discussing simple components, it doesn’t get much simpler than a rocker arm. The classic comparison is to a child’s teeter-totter, where a lever moves on either end of a fulcrum or pivot. Actually, that analogy is a bit oversimplified since the typical automotive rocker arm actually multiplies lift by applying a ratio increase to the valve from the vertical movement of the pushrod. Since hot rodders deal mostly with pushrod engines for performance, we’ll concentrate on that type of engine. But some overhead-cam (OHC) engines still use a modified version of the typical pushrod rocker arm to actuate the valves and increase valve lift. Virtually all dual-overhead-cam (DOHC) engines,…

There is an “upgrade” path that continually defines hot rodding. Most rodders begin their street-reet involvement at an early age by modifying some sort of low-buck late-model. As their skills in car building and cash generating improves, they upgrade to more difficult venues until they reach the pinnacle in the form of a shag-nasty street rod. Jack Morris’ history mirrors this progression. “I always had musclecars—’56, ’58, ’63 Chevys and a ’67 Nova,” said Morris, a 57-year-old construction superintendent from Middletown, Delaware, “but I always wanted a street rod.” So the now-confident Morris set out to find something that said “heavy Chevy” to him—like a ’38 coupe. As luck would have it, Morris located such an animal in December 1992, near the old 75-80 quarter-mile strip and, as they say,…

Joe Martin has owned plenty of hot rods and collector cars in his life, but not one has really represented him. So for the last few years, he’s been planning his car and gathering parts—such as a body, leather pelts for the interior, drivetrain and suspension pieces, and even a shifter knob made from a rock from the Grand Canyon—to build it. The sweet-as-pie Deuce you see here is the pleasant result of all that thinking and gathering. Joe wanted the car to look as if it could have been sitting in his high school parking lot in the ’50s, but he also wanted it to drive like a new vehicle. So he went to Larry Griffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville, Tennessee, to have this all-steel time-warped coupe…

Call it an addiction, but if you’re anything like me you can’t imagine even a short road trip without the comforting pleasure of a 44- ounce soda to slurp, preferably one in the familiar red, white and green Super Big Gulp (SBG) cup of 7-Eleven. For 96 cents you get a bladder buster of refreshing soda guaranteed to make the drive more pleasant and stops more frequent. Ahh, the thought of enough Diet Coke to last a journey and ruin a colon…. But there’s a problem with being a Gulpaholic—how to handle the cup when hammering through the gears. After all, a fast car is only fun when it’s driven aggressively, and the Gulp can present a problem. Well, we’re here to offer some advice on this pressing matter. GULP…

LETTERS OF THE MONTH Editor’s note: In the January issue, we asked what readers wanted in a Fastest Street Car (FSC), more “fast” or more “street. “Here is a sample of your replies. DIDN’T MEAN TO CONFUSE YOU I just finished reading the editorial in the January ’96 issue of HOT ROD in which Drew Hardin expressed concern about the trend toward tube chassis, composite bodies and other race car components on FSC competitors at Memphis. Mr. Hardin then noted that “…thinly disguised, dedicated racecars ruled the eliminations, and the pits were teeming with professional engine builders, chassis builders and even professional drivers.” Then, as I always do, 1 thumbed through HOT ROD to see the feature cars (I get the magazine for the pictures). Let’s see, you featured four…

SHOP STUFF NASCAR and drag racing fans are so pumped about their favorite drivers that it seems there’s no end to the promotional opportunities. This brings us to these shop rags that now feature the likenesses of Winston Cup drivers Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte and Darrell and Michael Waltrip, along with drag racers John Force and Joe Amato. These Racing Rags will soon be available in the normal red-shop-rag style as well as a white, soft “wax-off’ version. You can expect many other racers will soon join the stable. For more information, contact Racing Rags, Dept. HR04, 524 N. Broadway, Joshua, TX 76058, 800/589-1919.…

TAKING TURNS The perception has always been that any kind of racing is expensive, especially road racing. And while driving for Roger Penske may be a bit unrealistic for most of us, there are alternatives. You can drive your street car on a real road course with the Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs (MCSCC). We’re talking about a full 2.1-mile road course at Blackhawk Farms near Rockton, Illinois, for a mere $85! Rockton is located at the extreme northern edge of Illinois, just south of the Wisconsin border. All you need is a street car that will pass the MCSCC’s tech inspection, a Snell-approved helmet and the ability to pass the MCSCC’s autocross school to experience first-hand the thrill of road racing. The MCSCC’s autocross school teaches the basics…

When choosing a roller cam for the street, you’re first faced with the decision of using a hydraulic- or mechanical-roller lifter. The hydraulic-roller lifter is virtually maintenance free once the preload is set properly. These lifters are also quieter than mechanical rollers. They do have some limitations on the amount of duration and lift they can tolerate, much like a hydraulic flat-tappet lifter compared to a solid flat tappet. Mechanical-roller lifters allow you to move the powerband slightly by adjusting the lash, and they boast better valve-timing accuracy. They also cause valvetrain noise and require periodic adjustment. The frequency of such adjustments depends on the driver’s right foot. A race-only engine will require regular checks, while a street engine may not ever need to be adjusted once the lash is…

No Dzus fasteners, no wings, no spoilers, no decals, no Lenco, no Pro Mod parts—it’s just a real ’59 ‘Vette with a kick-butt drivetrain. I believe in building cars with parts that are installed only because you need them, like wheelie bars. If it looks fast, it better be fast. And I don’t believe in dial-ins or breakouts.” That’s Brent Jarvis describing his ’59 Corvette, which had a lot of admirers at the 1995 Fastest Street Car Shootout in Memphis. Jarvis’ ‘Vette isn’t your run-of-the-mill fast car. Its appearance is good enough to clean house at car shows, yet it’s knocking on the seven-second door in the quarter and sees occasional street duty—not a common combination. There are no frilly doodads or gadgets to impress the wannabes, only what’s required…

Last month we began our in-depth examination of the new generation of GM performance engines with stories on three new small-block V8s—the new SB2 racing engine, the carbureted H.O.T. LT4 and a short-deck small-block designed for high-rpm racing. This month we conclude the series by coverting the latest hi-po big-block and an exotic race motor from the Oldsmobile stable. GEN VI H.O. BIG-BLOCK: FACTORY ROLLERS FOR RAT MOTORS The next generation Chevy big-block V8 will have a new name (Gen VI), a new hydraulic-roller camshaft and a revised block casting. All of these changes will be incorporated in the brawny H.O. 454 and H.O. 502 crate motors later this year. New part numbers will be forthcoming after final validation. For an engine that many considered dead in the ’80s, the…

California POUR TOUR Last month we showed you the humble beginnings of the Pavement Pounder ’57. The majority of what we show you over the next few months will explain what it takes to put a 3600-pound street car down the quarter-mile in nine seconds and across 2900 miles of highway on Power Tour. But this month’s energies were spent getting the body straight, smooth and ready for paint. The Pavement Pounder’s exterior will remain nearly stock, with only a few pieces deleted to clean up the appearance. The cosmetic goal is to build a show-quality car that will be as cool 10 years from now as it is today, and the best way to do that is to skip trendy body modifications and avoid graphics. A ’57 Chevrolet has…

If you took part in our first Power Tour or read our coverage in the September ’95 issue, you may remember this ’70 Plymouth GTX. It was one of the HOT ROD Tour vehicles that couldn’t complete the 2900-mile trip. While the Ford and Chevy guys might get a kick out of that, it should be noted that the car’s demise was caused by a cracked aftermarket torque converter—the only non-Mopar part of its drivetrain. While the obvious fix would be to simply replace the lame torque converter with a Mopar unit, 1500 miles of high-rpm Power Tour driving before the breakdown suggested there might be a better alternative. Why not install one of Chrysler’s new four-speed overdrive automatics in place of the original 727 Torqueflite? The reduced engine noise…

As we stated in the introduction, the camshaft opens and closes the valves. It is in the altering of both the timing and the amount of these events that allows one camshaft to increase the horsepower an engine produces. Lift opening and closing points are part of a cam lobe’s profile, while the timing of these parameters in relation to the crank can be changed by degreeing the cam. The most common and overused measure of a camshaft is duration. It is the measure of how long the valve is open. Mild increases in duration over stock are a win/win situation, as they produce more power and slightly extend the rpm range with no decrease in idle quality. As duration increases further, however, peak horsepower is made at higher rpm,…

You’ve learned how the rocker arms transfer lifting motion from the camshaft and lifters to the valves. Now we’ll show you how the valves come back home and return to their seats. The cam, lifter, pushrod and rocker arm all work to open the valve, but since they’re not positively connected to the valve, there’s nothing to forcefully close it. Therefore, a positive means of valve closure is necessary so that the valve closes at the right time (before the piston hits it) and so the lifter stays in constant contact with the camshaft. A camshaft lobe’s closing ramp is an important aspect of the lobe design, and the lifter, pushrod, rocker arm and valve all must follow it for best performance and durability. This is especially critical with high-performance…

In simplest terms, a valve is a device that controls flow through a passage. The valves that control the flow of the intake and exhaust charges in most engines are of the poppet type, which means that they move up and down to open and close the passage. In past “How It Works” stories, we have explained how the cam lifts the tappets, lifting the pushrods and actuating the rocker arms, which push down on the tips of the valves. When this happens, the valves are lifted off their seats and allow either intake or exhaust gases in or out of the combustion chamber. The greatest challenge the valves meet is dealing with the extreme heat generated in the cylinder. The intake valves are cooled by the incoming air/fuel mixture,…

SET THE PACE TAKE THE KAT BACK PaceSetter Exhaust Products announces the availability of the TFX Performance Kat-Back exhaust system for late-model pickups, sport/utilities and performance cars. The TFX system is a complete exhaust system that replaces the O.E.M. version from behind the catalytic converter. The TFX offers the durability of complete 16-gauge aluminized, mandrel-bent, larger-diameter tubing for low-restriction performance. The TFX system in the photo is designed for ’82-’95 Camaros. For more information, contact PaceSetter Exhaust Products, Dept. HR04, 4433 W. Van Buren, Unit 3, Phoenix, AZ 85043, 602/233-1818. STREET TOUGH STRANGE BUT TRUE Strange Engineering has long been known for its excellent line of race axles and driveline products. Strange now applies that same expertise to its new line of Strange S/S Street axles. These axles are CNC-machined…

SUBTLE CHEVY Steve Jarvis of Sardis, Ohio, says his ’37 Chevy coupe is “highly used.” That doesn’t mean it’s beat, but rather used as a street rod should be, on the street under its own power. A 350/350 drivetrain, suspension from a Mustang II, Wheel Vintiques rally wheels, a mint green tweed interior from Fred Landers and Pioneer tunes make the cruise cool, and Steve says the girls love the tasty white paint and subtle green and peach graphics. LOW-BUCK ’58 One of the best ways to build a cool street car is to start with a cool race car. Gresham, Oregon’s Kelly Carroll and his 11-year-old son Kelly Jr. bought this ’58 Ford from a friend who drag raced it, and then they detuned it a bit for street…

HAUL ART NHRA-style drag racing is more than nonstop quarter-mile action. There are interludes featuring wheelstanders, street rod and musclecar parades, opening and award ceremonies and, best of all, one of the most unusual flag-waving exhibitions known to man. Famed hot rod artist Kenny Youngblood has captured that special moment when skydiver Mark Schlatter descends from a mere speck above the ancient Pomona dragstrip to its crusty surface carrying a huge 2000-square-foot American flag. Entitled “Proud To Be An American” and available in a limited edition of 750 full-color I9x26-inch lithographs, the latest in ‘Blood’s long line of superb illustrations can be obtained by contacting Youngblood Motorsport Gallery, Dept. HR04, 1030 N. Main St., Unit D, Orange, CA 92668, 714/532-5077. (And yes, that’s our o? Dad in the corner of…

Find the flaw in the following combination: a ’67 Impala running a 327 small-block with stock heads, 8.5:1 compression, a 305-degree-duration cam, a two-barrel carb, stock exhaust manifolds, a Powerglide automatic, a stock converter and 2.73:1 rear gears. If you identified the camshaft as the component that doesn’t fit with the rest, give yourself a gold star. If you didn’t figure it out or did but still aren’t sure exactly why the cam is wrong, you need to read the following. A car that idles rough, stalls in gear, is a bear to drive in traffic and gets abysmal gas mileage is still cool if it rocks when you floor the loud pedal. An engine that suffers these driveability headaches and still gets blown away by a Chevette is the…

It’s a ’55 Chevy, but that’s where the similarity between this classic shoebox and its production cousins ends. Look closely, and you’ll begin to see why. More items have been tweaked on this ’55 than not. Westminster, Colorado’s Tom and Charlene Barr are like all hot rodders: They want something different. Their ’55 Chevy started as an everyday driver, but the reanimation project took the car to Lee Bumgardner’s Zoomers hot rod shop, where the napkin plan began to take shape. Bumgardner started by fabricating a double-rail 1½-inch round-tube chassis fitted with a Heidt’s front suspension and pneumatic-adjustable ride height. The rear is fitted with a 9-inch Ford with 4.30 gears and a stainless-steel four-link, coil-over shocks and Corvette four-wheel discs. Dropped into the chassis are a transplanted TPI ’Vette…

Reiter’s Metal Craft performs a few body modifications that have become its trademarks on almost all the cars it builds. One of these mods is to smooth the firewall and drench it in the same color as the body. Each car demands a slightly different approach to smoothing the firewall. On Pavement Pounder, the original heater will be replaced with an air conditioning and heating system from Vintage Air, so the passenger side of the firewall will no longer need to house the healer box or the blower motor. The nightmarish ’57 windshield wiper mechanism will also be converted to a revised, simpler and more dependable Raingear system from Western Pacific Design. This system mounts inside the car so the hole in the firewall for the wiper motor can also…

Riding on the previous How It Works topic (cams) is this one: lifters. These cylindrically shaped components contact the lobes of the cam to convert the eccentric shape of the lobe into lifting action. That sounds pretty simple, but how these tubular chunks of metal manage this conversion can have an effect on engine power and reliability. In addition, the lifters transport lubrication from the engine block to the valvetrain via the pushrods. Lifters fall into one of two types: solid or hydraulic. Solid lifters require valve lash, which generates valvetrain noise that’s noticeable at idle and low rpm. Solid lifters also necessitate periodic valve adjustments. Hydraulic lifters absorb the expansion and shocks of the valvetrain with zero lash, providing quiet and relatively maintenance-free operation. But that’s certainly not the…

It figures that R.E. “Pete” Petersen, the founder of Petersen Publishing Company, would support an automotive museum. After all, HOT ROD’s first associate editor has been an influential part of the Southern California “hotomotive seen” since 1947, when the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) hired Pete to put out the anti-hot rod fire that the local yahoos had started by illicit street racing. Pete helped extinguish the blaze by staging a “Hot Rod Exposition,” a public relations coup that both mollified the city fathers and gave birth to HOT ROD magazine. Forty-eight years later, Pete’s still at it with another hot rod exhibition—only this one is much better. Instead of being at the National Guard Armory near the Los Angeles Coliseum, the exhibition is housed in a once-famous department store…

Footpegs don’t get much respect. Think about it, you walk through oil, gas, mud and then hang your boot on the peg. Rarely do we hear about someone spending the day polishing his pegs. But footpegs often receive even worse treatment: Many riders use the pegs as feeler gauges for how far the bike can lean over. So in an attempt to show footpegs some respect, we will feature some cool custom pegs and describe how to replace your stock peg covers. Not only will changing the stock rubber peg cover look better (and be a great upgrade for would-be bike sellers), it can reduce the amount of vibration your feet feel.…

SEARCHING THE GALAXY Q I own a ’65 Galaxy 500 two-door hardtop. The car has a 289 with a column-shifted three-speed transmission. What would it take to put a new five- or six-speed tranny into this chassis and still retain the small-block? I might install a 390 in the future; should I switch to a four-speed Top Loader instead of the five-speed? Are there any reproduction parts available for mid- to late-’60s Ford big cars? Finally, the car has an AM radio. Does anyone make at least an AM/FM stereo that will fit in the dash? Staff Sgt. Eric RichAPO, AP A To answer your first question, we contacted Robert Gordon at Total Performance (Dept. HR04, 44050 N. Groesbeck Hwy., Clinton Township, MI 48036-1108, 810/468-3673). Total Performance offers a T5…

TECH TIP Because we’ve all broken off bolts and fittings in important places such as this timing cover bolt, we thought it would be good to tell you how simple it can be to remove the remains of the fastener, even if it is flush with the surface. Available at most hardware and Sears stores, these bolt extractors can save you from serious headaches. Drill a hole straight into the offending fastener, tap the extractor into the remains with a hammer and then twist it counterclockwise. The “threads” on the extractor are reversed from the standard direction, so it grips the fastener more firmly as you apply pressure to remove the remains of the broken bolt. We’ve used them on a variety of fasteners and even an oil passage adapter…

CARS & TRUCKS Harlette, handbuilt, one of a kind, 88 FLH w/aluminum Corvette rear, beltdrive, electric tilt adjustment for crown of road, modified frame for easy steering. Asking $29,900, 203/745-9654. ’87 Bigfoot Cruiser by Ford. As is, 351ci 32-valve high-output. Loaded, power everything, 4x4. Good condition, $19,500, 814/235-9328. PARTS High performance Ford 9- or 8-inch third member. New gears, minispool, bearings and seal, $369. Shipping available. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. 409/935-6164. MISC. Magazines: Over 10,000 back issues, HOT ROD, Car Craft, Motor Trend, etc. Send S.A.S.E. with specific requests. Jeff Johnson, 4421 Aldrich Pl., Columbus, OH 43214, 614/268-1181, FAX 614/268-1141. Ultimate Car and Truck Collectors Directory! Locate any part, car, truck, service or club nationwide with this complete reference source for everything imaginable, $5. Schulman, P.O. Box 5002, Palm…