Indholdsfortegnelse for May 1996 i Hot Rod

PROWLER GOES ON POWER TOUR HOT ROD POWER tour Just before press time, we got word that the Plymouth Prowler, Chrysler’s two-seat, hot-rod-like ragtop, will be taking part in HOT ROD’s second annual Power Tour from Los Angeles to the Power Festival in Norwalk, Ohio. A team of Chrysler engineers (as well as an 18-wheel support rig) will accompany the vehicle as it makes its way across the country. Chrysler views the trip as a test for the car’s durability, as well as a 2900-mile promotional tour for the ’97 Plymouth. While Mopar folks will do most of the driving, we understand that HOT ROD publisher Jim Savas has the inside track for wheel time when the engineers need a break. We have also heard that high-level Chrysler executives—even up…

The end of the Power Tour is only the beginning, since there’s a full weekend of hot happenings in Norwalk, Ohio, at the Power Festival. From set-up day on Friday, May 17, to Sunday, May 19, Norwalk Raceway Park will play host to an onslaught of street machines, street rods, motorcycles and race cars. The awards will be structured and voted on much the same as last year (except that participants now get a voice in each category—see below for more information), and this year the dragstrip will be the scene of serious racing. We’ve got the bad-dog racers from the Pro Street and Super Street classes set to run heads-up eliminations in the eighth-mile, as well as a Real Street Eliminator class for DOT-tired cars and traditional bracket racing.…

California PWR TOUR Dual purpose cars are a laundry list of compromises, but ultimately they have to serve both callings in life. For Pavement Pounder that means trotting down the quarter-mile in nine-seconds while still being tolerable and dependable on a cross-country trip—namely, Power Tour. This isn’t an easy combination, because the drivetrain required to propel a 3700-pound (or heavier) car to nine-second e.t.’s does not easily lend itself to streetable manners. The chassis required to get that kind of power to the ground through 10.5-inch tires doesn’t offer a Cadillac-quality ride either. And NHRA requires cars running 9.99 or quicker to have a certified rollcage. The final concern for this ’57 was that it had to be finished in time for Power Tour, which limited total testing time to…

We all know that hot rods are never finished, but some seem to look especially incomplete for a long time. Most people classify those cars as beaters—and usually their owners gladly accept that moniker without insult because they know their cars are far from done, and that’s just fine. Beat is neat, and the following cars are some of the neater beaters we received from our readers. WOODLY NOT A BEATER Fred Weideman doesn’t have the final coat of paint on the sheetmetal of his ’40 Ford woody because he’s been driving it since he got the drivetrain and the suspension dialed in. The drivetrain consists of a 345hp 350 Chevy, a Muncie M21 four-speed (with a Tilton hydraulic-release bearing) and a 3.73-geared 9-inch Ford rearend. The smooth ride comes…

To the casual observer, it looks all too easy. Roll in with your brand-new race car, spin a few wrenches, set low e.t. and break for lunch. The real story is less glamorous and not nearly that simple. This is the world of Pro Stock drag racing, and it attracts the most talented horsepower alchemists to practice the art of tuning carburetors and gasoline. The owner of the big white No. 1 on the side of his GM Performance Parts Pontiac race car is Warren Johnson, the man known as “The Professor.” We took advantage of a three-day apprenticeship with WJ during the Wintenationals and learned an object lesson in Pro Stock technology. It should come as no surprise that motorsports, and Pro Stock in particular, has evolved into a…

Todd Peppard has always “fixed up” everything he owns, whether it’s a bike, a car or a truck. So the first day he owned this ’87 FXR, he started detailing it. After entering and winning quite a few shows with only a little work invested in the bike, Todd caught the fever. Over the next six months, he went through the entire bike, customizing nearly everything to take it as far as he could without sacrificing ridability. The engine is mostly stock. Todd added S&S rods, an Andrews cam, lifters and pushrods, a Screamin’ Eagle carburetor, a Dyna ignition and an owner-modified Custom Chrome exhaust system. The distinctive air cleaner is from L.A. Customs. The stock transmission was retained, but a Barnett Kevlar clutch was installed. Stance is everything, so…

WHAT’S WRONG WITH FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE? I am outraged by your statement in the rear-wheel-drive Monte Carlo story (“Exclusive: Chevy’s 460hp V8 Monte Carlo,” February ’96) that front-wheel-drive cars are pretenders. I have built a ’90 Caddy Sedan DeVille with a 485hp V8 that is street legal and has beat some very fast cars (Mustangs, Corvettes and so on). I am confident my Caddy could compete quite well with your rear-wheel-drive Monte Carlo. Jay VrecsicsAllentown, Pennsylvania ALL FIRED UP Have Jon Moss and the publicity department of HOT ROD magazine changed the future of American performance cars? I and many other enthusiasts sure hope so! We want real cars—with V8s, manual transmissions and rearends. Ding live rear-wheel drive! Allen StewartJacksonville, Oregon 130 HORSEPOWER PER CYLINDER?! After all that has been said…

If you thought it safe to bet the 1995 Winston World Champions in the top three pro classes would do it again at the Winternationals, you would not be a happy camper now. Scott Kalitta, John Force and Warren Johnson share the distinction of displaying the envied No. 1 on the side of their Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock racers, respectively. Unfortunately, having the number and retaining that dominance are two different things. Blaine Johnson’s shoestring Top Fuel operation showed just how strong its tuning skills are by blasting the Top Fuel field with an outrageous 4.66 in qualifying. He then took on Scott’s dad Connie Kalitta in the final. Longtime fans wanted to see the veteran take the win, but Kalitta couldn’t catch Anderson’s winning 4.736/299.70 pass.…

Fastest Street Car (FSC) racing is one of the hottest forms of heads-up drag racing in the country. The Pro Street boys and girls get most of the attention, but Super Street has quickly become the place to go racing because its rules make it more accessible to the true street car enthusiast. While the big guns in Super Street are running as quick as 8.60 seconds, the majority of the Super Street field usually pulls down 8.80s to 9.50s. Few everyday drivers run mid-nines, and attaining these quick times Bb is no easy feat. Most of the competitors have broken their share of parts in search of low-nine-second times on skinny rear tires. Whether your goal is a killer timeslip or just shaving off another tenth, the road to…

After a run down the 1320, you’ll usually find Nick Scavo’s black ’65 Impala surrounded by very large men with big rolls of cash in their pockets—that is, if you can actually get to see the car, in a rare moment when it’s not obscured by potential buyers working the deal and competitors crawling over it to find out how in the world it does what it does. You see, the stock-looking Chevy featured here weighs a legit 4000 pounds, has a stock bench seat interior, a column shifter, a single-four-barrel big-block and mere 10.5-inch slicks, yet it destroys all notions of common sense with eight-second passes. And that’s not in the eighth-mile, pal, that’s in the quarter! This Imp is the definition of the word “sleeper.” While it’s inconceivable…

Photography: Jim Brown & Bob D’Olivo/PPC Photographic RRRRIIINNGG! “HOTROD.” “Will?” “Yeah.” “Wouldyou like to drive the worlds largest hot rod?” “Well, what is the worl…. Yes, I would.” “Good.” Click. That was my notice to test HOT ROD’S custom ’91 Kenworth tractor-trailer, which we use to haul magazine cars and special displays to various shows around the country. Considering that any hot rodder loves to drive, determining what was the world’s largest hot rod quickly became less important than getting a chance to drive something fun. Having no prior experience driving one of these behemoths didn’t seem like such a big deal until the realization hit that it’s about 50 feet longer than anything else HOT ROD has ever tested, it weighs more than 15 Chevelles piled together, its transmission…

The first step in building a hot rod is to buy one. This can be difficult and may be the most expensive part of a buildup. There is plenty to consider before even picking up the first used-car trader magazine, and even more once you find yourself staring at a pile of metal with tires. If you’re looking to purchase your first hot rod, it’s also very likely that this will be your first car. If you don’t have much money to invest in the car after the initial purchase and it will be your only car, consider complete, running vehicles that don’t require much work. That doesn’t mean you have to settle for a hunk of junk or try to make an Escort cool (it’s not possible, so don’t…

Is your dresser all dolled up with more lights than a Christmas tree and a stereo loud enough to drown out your straight pipes? If so, do your lights dim when you cruise main street at night? Well, Harley-Davidson has the fix for you: the new Super High-Output 38-amp Charging System Kit (part No. 29921-95, suggested retail price$399.95), which comes with a special alternator rotor and stator, a voltage regulator assembly, heavy-duty wiring, hardware and installation instructions. The kit fits ’91-’96 FLT and FLHR (except for the ’95 and later fuel-injected bikes) and ’91-’94 FXR model bikes. We are installing the kit on a ’94 FLT that has as many lights as most Vegas casinos. To do this installation correctly you will need the appropriate service manual for your bike…

HOT ROD POWER tour The whole idea behind the Power Tour is for the HOT ROD staff to practice what it preaches driving our project and personal cars cross-country with all our readers. This year there will be three staff cars going as well as project cars from several advertisers and sponsors. Will Handzel’s Mode A roadster and Jeff Smith’s ’65 Chevelle will be familiar faces from last year, and they’ll be joined by the cars below. Ol’ Dad Baskerville (left) will be shoulder-to-shoulder with Boyd Coddington (right) in this ’54 Corvette. Yes, it is a real ’54, and a nice one at that. Purists will hate it when they hear that Boyd is modifying it in true hot rod fashion by dropping in a late-model drivetrain. Two of Gray’s…

As much as we wish we could drive our cars everywhere, there conies a time when it is mote practical to ship them. Many of you may face this reality when you join us on Power Tour and can’t afford the time to drive your hot rod home after spending a week on the road with us. Last year we used Reliable Carriers, which handled the chore of returning all the staff cars to California in pampered style. Reliable was also called upon this year to relocate the Pavement Pounder ’57 from sunny SoCal to snowy Michigan, where most of the work on the car has been done. Reliable has three offices nationwide, so you can conveniently coordinate your car’s trip home or wherever it needs to go. Reliable Carriers,…

Regular HOT ROD readers are no doubt familiar with “Speedy” Pete Walsh. The Indianapolis resident’s Pro Street ’72 Nova appeared on the cover of the February ’95 issue and has been a frequent player in National Muscle Car Association action. Additionally, Walsh showed some style (and some masochism) by driving the tubbed Chevy from Los Angeles to Norwalk, Ohio, last year on HOT ROD’s inaugural Power Tour. Although Pete’s Nova is cool, it is highly likely that the eight-second Fastest Street Car competitor is a little beyond the capabilities and budgets of many of you who populate the street/strip scene. And so we present this practical, budget-oriented alternative. Over the next three months, HOT ROD will chronicle Walsh’s efforts to put together another ’72 Nova—this time a small-tire car that…

Boy, when we put the word out that we wanted letters and photos for a special Readers’ Rides issue, you really responded. Over the past couple of months we’ve received more than 1000 entries! It has been nearly a full-time job opening all the letters, but everyone here loves the response, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed checking out all your hot rods. The bad news is that we have only six pages for this section. At roughly five cars per page, that means only 30 cars made the pick, a very small percentage of what we received. So don’t feel bad if your car didn’t make it into this issue. We chose the cars based on quality, cleanliness and style, but the quality of the photo had a lot to do…

The concept of Nifty Fifties is to keep things simple and inexpensive, but it can also encompass a pro-quality car such as Waterford, Michigan, residents Bill and Jodi Hallett’s ’55 Ford Customline. The key is to build a car from the ’50s that isn’t mainstream and make use of the shape and trim of less common body styles. The Hallett’s ’55 fell into Bill’s hands in 1983 when he traded his ’78 Mustang II for it. He says that the ’55 was from Arizona, where it had been drag raced, and it came complete with flames and a hoodscoop. This look wasn’t quite his style, so he ditched the scoop and painted the car candy apple red. This was fine until 1990, when Bill decided he needed some meat under…

Mopar leaf-spring suspensions are renowned for tail-tale traction and excessive simplicity. From the Hustle Parts years through Direct Connection and into today’s Mopar Performance, the factory-offered Super Stock springs have been the byword of traction for bench racing nationwide. But is a Mopar chassis setup as simple as hanging a set of springs in the car and wrinkling the slicks? If you’re running 11s or slower, it probably is. But if your goal is to make the most out of an all-new Mopar Performance Hemi that makes 750 horsepower (see “Hemi Lives,” December ’95, and “Street Hemi ’96,” January ’96), then there’s more to it—so much more that the ’70 B-body we’re highlighting in the Operation Rumble Bee stories has been in the works for more than two years, thanks…

SWAPPING MOUNTS Q For the past five years I’ve been working on a ’67 Buick Riviera. Something I haven’t seen in your magazine is how to replace body mounts without distorting or damaging the car’s body. Paul VlietstraDorr, Michigan Suspend the car’s frame on jackstands in four places to give you plenty of room to work under the car. It’s best to unbolt and lift one side of the body at a time to replace body mounts. First, remove all the body bolts on one side. Then starting at the front or rear of the car, use a floor jack and a piece of wood at least 8 inches long to lift the body without causing damage to the area you are lifting. Lift the body only high enough to…