Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2008 i Hot Rod

FUN STORY ABOUT RICK That was a great piece on Rickman. I always felt he was an unsung shooter for Petersen and somewhat of a mystery (E. Rick Mann?). Here’s a fun story about him: When I started with Petersen (late 1989), I sat in a cube next to Rickman’s. He wasn’t around much, but when he was, it was always interesting. I remember once he was telling me about a Corvette he had for a while and he stopped and said, “Look at this” as he pulled out a thick three-ring binder. It was a cross-referenced, alphabetically organized list of everything he had ever shot! He found the reference to a photo he shot of the car, then walked over to one of the six or seven file cabinets…

410CI FAIRLANE ’66 Ford Fairlane GT Jim Hamill Thompson Falls, MT Trying to figure out what a 410 is? For Jim, it was a fairly simple recipe that consisted of a 390 infused with a 428CJ crank and heads, just like Ford did in ’66-’67 Mercurys. The fuel for the 450hp FE comes via Hilborn fuel injection on a Blue Thunder manifold that purportedly has great street manners paired with the close-ratio Top Loader and 3:73 gears. So far the suspension is stock, but a four-link and a coilover upgrade are in the works. FACE-LIFT ’67 Chevrolet Chevelle Eric Nyquist Elizabeth City, NC This ’67 Chevelle started out bone stock with a 250ci six that needed a serious makeover. Eric dropped in a 454 that he and his dad rebuilt,…

ED ELBROCK SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORTS SHOP CLASS When budgets get tight, high schools usually look at their auto shop class as the first to cut. Edelbrock is trying to help, at least in its own community, with the Vic and Nancy Edelbrock Employee Scholarship Fund. The funding comes from the employees of Edelbrock and is matched by the company to “support high school students with an automotive passion in local communities.” The 2008 recipients are Torrance (California) High School students Anthony Peterson and Angel Sanchez. Anthony and Angel were announced by Edelbrock CEO Vic Edelbrock, along with daughter Christi Edelbrock and granddaughter Courtney Isom. Torrance Education Foundation members Pat Furey and Kevin O’Brien, Torrance Superintendent George Mannon, Principal John O’Brien, and auto shop program instructor Adam Drace were all on hand…

Remember when Funny Cars looked like real cars instead of Easter eggs? If so, you’ve already discovered the new playground for your old favorites. If not, nostalgia Funny Cars offer an unexpected opportunity to relive the Big Four battles your dad and granddad have been babbling about all these years. Better hurry, though; at the rate these new/old combinations are evolving, the classic Camaros, Mustangs, Barracudas, Chargers, Challengers, Vegas, Firebirds, Arrows, and AMCs may go the way of NHRA and NASCAR spec cars. Alas, in the four seasons since Goodguys opened its gates to a handful of fledgling floppers, eligible pre-’82 bodies have been chopped, narrowed, lengthened, and smoothed in ways that builders of the ’60s and ’70s never imagined possible. In 1984, one NHRA team did look ahead and…

Jud Buchanan of Ontario, Canada, assembled this one-of-a-kind hot rod. Chances are unless you grew up in Canada or near the border, you’ve never seen a car like this in your life. And unless you follow the whole wide and wacky world of motorsports, you’ve probably never even heard of the unusual event Jud and his car compete in every year. This is such a unique story, and such a great one, that it’s hard to know where to begin. We’ll start with the car you see here, which looks like a ’66/’67 Chevy Nova—but it’s not. This is a tasty example of the Nova’s badge-engineered Canadian cousin, a ’67 Acadian Canso. Acadians were marketed by Pontiac dealers in Canada. Technically, they were not Pontiacs but a separate brand, though…

540 CHEVY BUILDUP PG.88 Check out the third and final (for the most part) installment in our ongoing test of cylinder heads, camshafts, intake manifolds, and carburetors on a 540ci big-block Chevy. This time it made 793 hp with a big roller and Brodix rectangular-port heads. NEW STREET BLOCK PG.98 Tired of scrounging through junkyards for a good small-block Chevy block? Dart has brand-new 4.125-bore iron blocks, and they’re affordable. 4.6 FORD TEST PG.106Several months ago, we built a 4.6L, two-valve mod motor Junkyard Jewel–style, with a progression of bolt-on parts. We always thought there was power to be found in the intake manifold, so we ported the wee out of it to see if we were right, and then tuned it to within an inch of its life. THE…

We don’t usually do updates or two-part features on our Junkyard Jewels, but we walked away a little dissatisfied with the first round of testing on our $400, 117,000-mile Crown Vic refugee in the Apr. ’08 issue. We just didn’t have enough dyno time to get to know the MSD 6 MOD ignition better and find the tune our mod motor was most happy with. We knew we’d left power on the table, so we went back to Dyno-Motive in Placentia, California, with a few different parts to try, along with master tuner Harvey St. Mary of HMS Performance in Whittier, California, as our secret weapon. We have a slightly revised parts list, but we won’t be cracking a single seal on our long-block from the last round. Everything will…

BOLT GAUGE Not a human bolt gauge yet? Don’t worry—it’ll come with the continuous wrenching on your project. In the meantime, Boltstix can save a few walks back and forth to the bolt bin. To find the size of the bolt needed, just insert the gauges in one at a time until you find the Boltstix that fits the hole. Note the diameter of the gauge and the depth on the ruler side and you now know the ideal bolt size and length. Don’t forget to allow for the thickness of whatever you’re bolting on, though. Also, when you’re staring at all those random spare bolts you’ve accumulated from past projects you can use the circle at the top of the Boltstix gauge to verify the sizes. Boltstix are available…

KIDS WISH NETWORK GIVEAWAY The Corvette Dream Giveaway is a nationwide sweepstakes to benefit children’s hospitals. In cooperation with sponsors, including Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, Summit Racing, Moroso Performance, Corvette Central, Paragon Corvettes, Zip Products, and others, Kids Wish Network will be giving away a beautifully restored ’67 Corvette 427/435hp Tri-power roadster and a matching new ’08 427/570hp Lingenfelter Corvette convertible to one lucky winner on December 25, 2008. Lingenfelter Performance Engineering intends to create a one-off rolling tribute to legendary racer, mentor, and founder John Lingenfelter, making this unique supercar an instant classic. Arrangements have been made to pay the winners’ federal tax liability up to $75,000. At $3 a ticket, this one’s a no-brainer. Go to www.winthevettes.com or call 1-866-WIN-BOTH (946-2684). PRESENTED BY EXCLUSIVELY ON SPONSORED BY HOT ROD…

THE CHALLENGE A few years back, I was at a local L.A. cruise night, chatting with an old-timer about his fenderless Model A. It was a real gennie hot rod, one he built himself back in the ’50s and had the good sense to hang on to through thick and thin. There’s no shortage of vintage tin in SoCal, but I’d been particularly attracted to this five-window coupe, not just because of its obvious vintage pedigree but because of what was under the hood. Rather than the customary flattie or small-block Chev, this A still had its original L-headed four-banger between the rails. Well, it at least had the original block. The owner gladly shared the A’s hot rod evolution, starting with the cheapest home-brewed mods, such as cutting and…

WORTH THE PRICE The article on the Murray Bros. Special is worth the price of my sub-scription. Great car and a great job by Andrew Murray. Thanks—you really got my blood pumping. Rich NearyPerrineville, NJ MOST WRONGEDEST I loved the Dare To Be Different rods. If Cadzilla is the best-looking rod ever, surely the Squashed Bug is the most wrongedest (sic) car ever. It’s wrong from any angle. Even the steering wheel is on the wrong side. What it needs is suicide doors with exposed hinges and a pearlescent candy Chameleon Purple paint job with a big Jolly Roger splashed across the front panel. After that, slap on a set of wire stoneguards for the headlights. It must be a hoot to drive. What does he use for wind-shield wipers,…

1971 Starting on page 36 of this issue is Dave Wallace’s excellent cover story about the current state of Vintage Funny Car racing, following up the piece he did last month on one of the most popular stars of the scene, Mendy Fry. The vintage drag racing scene has always been cool, and the March Meet is a must-see event every year, but the Funnies are really heating things up. For many people, myself included, nothing has the visceral, sentimental appeal of the old floppers. The Fuel Altereds come close, but the Funnies are even better. There were 30 of them at this year’s 50th Anniversary March Meet, and it was awesome to see. It was just like the early ’70s all over again, as shown by this Bob D’Olivo…

DODGE515GTB For this project being put together for Purposebuilt.com, Steve Strope at Pure Vision wants you to imagine that a talented young European race mechanic fell in love with a ’69 Dodge Charger and had one shipped over to Italy. While building the ultimate touring car, his eye would lean toward vintage European race car aesthetics and details from Ferrari (obviously), Lola, and Jaguar. Cool idea. Back to reality: For handling, the stock suspension and steering will be tossed for AlterKtion tubular control arms and a Flaming River electric rack up front and a custom triangulated four-link with adjustable coilovers in back. Tall, skinny tires and narrow rims with drum brakes will give way to Lola T-70–inspired wheels from Bonspeed and 14-inch Wilwood discs. Underhood, three sets of Weber 48…

Today’s NHRA National Event–level drag racing scene is a marvel of organization, promotion, and competition, with big money involved and huge shows. But getting to that point took more than 50 years of hard work by dedicated and underfunded people who went racing for the excitement of building a fast car and beating the other guy. One of the names at the top of any conversation revolving around the influencers of the early days of drag racing is Tommy Ivo, known better as TV Tommy. Before he was a drag racer, Tommy was a well-known radio, stage, movie, and television actor who worked with some of the industry’s greats. But the German in his blood always had him tinkering with mechanical things, and by the time he was old enough…

Riding shotgun in Gary Powell’s ’69 Dart is pure sensory overload your brain can hardly handle. At 7,000 rpm, the 528-inch Hemi spits out an indignant rasp of sonic booms through the tailpipes, as if challenging Satan to a duel. In the background, the staccato clack-clack-clack of the Lenco summons subtle changes in the motor’s pitch, as a series of billet shift levers, activation rods, and Heim joints clutchlessly engage successive cogs. Mean-while, the Hemi’s 900-plus horses pull tremendously, the Dart’s back end skates precariously at triple-digit speeds, and the fading spec in the mirror is a 9-second Camaro. It all goes down in a matter of seconds, and this sort of intensity is what over-the-top hot rodding is all about. Upon first glance, it’s difficult to accurately assess the…

In our last episode, Godzilla, HOT ROD’s 540ci big-block Chevy pump-gas engine, reached a high of 695 hp equipped with Brodix BB-2 Plus rectangularport heads, an Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake with a 1-inch open spacer, a Holley HP Ultra 950-cfm carburetor, a Lunati solid roller cam (255/263 degrees at 0.050), and Hooker headers with 2 ⅛-inch primary tubes into 3 ½-inch collectors. Using a Performer RPM Air-Gap and 2-inch primary-tube Hookers, the engine made 691 lb-ft but was down 17 hp. To fully utilize the top-end potential of the big rectangular ports would require an induction system upgrade. And with improved induction, the engine could support an even larger cam. With a bigger cam, we wanted to try even larger heads. And with larger heads, we could jump up yet…

Ford’s three-valve 4.6L Mod motor is no slouch, with the later ones making 325 hp out of the box and powering a stock Mustang GT to mid-13s in the quarter. But, of course, that’s not nearly quick enough, and guys are bolting parts on them to go way faster than that. Blowers, gears, and more serious parts have a ton of street Mustangs regularly running deep into the 10s—faster when you go inside the engine with camshafts and other stuff to take full advantage of the blowers and boltons. While a cam (cams in this case, since the 4.6L has two) swap is still considered a bolt-on, a 4.6L Mod motor makes it a pretty intensive ordeal that requires a few special tools and some knowledge of the engine architecture.…

CUTAWAY Remember back when we were little gearheads and cutaways were the coolest things in the world? We stared at cars for hours, trying to imagine we had X-ray vision so we could see all the miracles unfolding inside the machinery. Then at auto shows we discovered real-life cutaways and our dreams were realized. The more elaborate examples are genuine works of art: production engines painstakingly cut apart with jeweler’s saws to reveal all the internal details, every last component finished to perfection. Recently, we found this vintage cutaway on display at Floyd Garrett’s Muscle Car Museum in Tennessee. Originally created for the Motorama, the fabulous GM dream-car show that toured America from 1949 to 1961, here is a ’55 Chevy 265ci V-8 done up in lavender and ivory porcelain…

This is the September issue but you’re most likely reading it during the hottest part of summer, so go inside, sit down with a cool drink, and relax while perusing it. If there’s something here that lights your candle, feel free to tell us about it. The addresses at the top of this page are where you can be heard, either by licking a stamp or clicking the send key on your e-mail system. We’re here to listen, so let it rip, and if it’s a thought-provoking, funny, or just overall well-written missive, there’s a chance we’ll print it in the magazine. Send photos and information on your hot rods, too, for possible inclusion in this section as one of the Readers’ Rides. We’re waiting. PUTTING WOMEN IN THEIR PLACE…

GRANDMA’SOLDSMOBILE Eighteen-year-old Phil Johnson of Spring field, Oregon, scored this all-original, 60,000-mile hidden treasure that he happened across in his girlfriend’s grandmother’s backyard. Under the moss-laden hood, the ’68 Cutlass S packs the pokey but reliable 250ci six-cylinder and a Powerglide. Grandma was the original owner and was happy to pass it on to Phil as a project for a mere $300. Phil’s already got it running and plans on swapping on disc brakes, a 700-R4 transmission, and maybe even a turbo once the six is freshened up.…

TRACK TEST: SHELBY GT500KR What do you get a car that already has everything? That’s what the Ford SVT (Special Vehicle Team) and Shelby people had to be pondering when they set out to formulate a performance upgrade for the Mustang-based Shelby GT500. Hmm. Well, how about another 40 hp? Sure, why not? We could always use more power, right? Maybe not. Though we at HOT ROD hate to admit it, more isn’t always better. With 500 hp on tap, it’s possible the GT500 was already at the end of its leash. The additional output could upset the sensitive balance of the iron-block, live-axle Mustang. Or maybe the extra 40 hp comes only at the expense of drive-ability and response. However, we have good news: Recently, we tracktested the GT500KR…

REAR-ENGINE DRAGSTERS Not long ago (Feb. ’08), we ran a close-up photo of Don Garlits in his first rear-engine dragster (Swamp Rat 14, 1971), calling it revolutionary, most significant, or some such. Of course, we immediately got the usual passel of mail from readers pointing out that this was certainly not the first R.E. digger, nor necessarily the most successful one. John O’Brien, in particular, pointed to Paul Shapiro’s Israeli Rocket, which won numerous East Coast events from 1963 to 1966. Well, how about Tony Nancy’s semistreamlined Wedge dragster that not only graced our full Aug. ’64 cover, but also won drag races in England, Italy, and Australia, as well as all over the U.S.? Yes, we know. But the facts (as O’Brien questioned) are that S.R. 14 was Garlits’…

Whether you call it bush whiskey, white lightning, bathtub gin, mountain dew, corn liquor, hillbilly pop, stumphole, or just plain old ’shine, when you’re down in Habersham County, Georgia, you’re deep into Appalachian moonshine country. And when you’re talking about moonshine country, you’re talking about more than just corn squeezin’s; it was a way of life. When the young U.S. government took control of the alcohol trade and levied excise taxes to help recoup the expense of the Revolutionary War, it inadvertently fueled an underground culture that revolved around the production and sale of illegal liquor. Once those farmers ground their corn mash and distilled their spirits—often under the cover of night with only the shine of the moon to see by (Get it?)—if they didn’t have a buyer, it…

This was the fourth year that HOT ROD ventured east to the woods outside Charlotte, North Carolina, to present jackets to the winners of the two street classes at the Maxton Mile. If you haven’t read it here or otherwise heard, the East Coast Timing Association (ECTA) hosts a standing-mile event on a WWII airport runway, where nearly anything (so long as it passes tech) can run wide open from a standing start for a mile. Think of it as a paved El Mirage or Bonne-ville light but without all the dirt in your face and salt corrosion. There are a variety of classes, so you can literally race anything, but the two most applicable to HOT ROD’s readers are the street classes, appropriately named Real Street and Super Street.…

The first thing Richard Maskin wants you to know about his latest Dart cylinder block, a cast-iron piece for the Gen I small-block Chevy, is this: It was not designed for hard-core racing. If you were looking to bolt on a blower or pipe up some nitrous and pound 800 hp through a Stovebolt V-8, this is not the block for you. Keep walking. Sure it will work, certainly better than a production block anyway. But if extreme use is what you had in mind, Maskin would rather have you torture one of his Iron Eagle or Little M castings. After all, they were designed for that kind of punishment. For this newest piece, Maskin has an entirely different mission mapped out. “This is not a racing block,” Maskin says.“This…

THE RODDLER Kid Kustoms 514/591-3333 www.kidkustoms.com These classy deco strollers from Kid Kustoms borrow design cues from the glitzy grandeur of classic American cars of the ’50s. The rocket fins feature functional lights that are illuminated by applying the disc brakes. Yup, disc brakes. Custom graphics, chrome trim packages, and chrome badges are available to further personalize your ride. The Roddler in butternut on white features the traditional ’59 fender package, chrome badges, trim, and 52-spoke chrome wheels and whitewall tires. The powder-blue-on-white Roddler features teardrop fenders, chrome badges, trim, and the chrome spokes with hot rod tires. Price: Starting at $2,500.00 BIG FLAKES PPG Automotive Refinish 440/572-2800 www.ppgrefinish.com Automotive Refinish recently introduced Ditzler Big Flake to its Vibrance Collection brand of custom colors and special effect finishes. Ditzler Big…