Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2008 i Hot Rod

LUCKIEST KID IN THE WORLD? I am a huge fan of nostalgia drag racing, and I recently got a gift that very few 13-year-olds get: a ‘70 Ford Maverick Pro Street. I saw it for sale on the Internet and was disappointed when my father told me it was sold. The next day, my father surprised me when he opened the garage door and I saw it with the reflection of the sun glaring off the bumper. My jaw dropped in joy that I was now in possession of this awesome car—and at only 13 years of age. He said it was sold, but he didn’t say who the owner had sold it to. It is going to be a father/son project and is currently a roller. It has a…

MR. 600 The students in the Custom Cars and Concepts Program at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan, are building a modern ‘64 409 Impala SS for Ken Griffey Jr. to commemorate his 600th home run (he’s up to 608 currently). Griffey requested a ‘64 Impala convertible and left the rest up to them. We assume he also dropped off a blank check, since the donor car is a 17,000-original-mile, one-owner car that had previously undergone a reported $100,000 restoration. Guess that’s project fodder to bazillionaires. The red-on-red car will go all black with black paint, black interior, a black top, black 17-and 18-inch Dayton wires with wide whites, and all brightwork will be plated with carbon nickel, giving it a black chrome appearance. To pay homage to the…

Once there were giants. Our sport was conceived and wrestled into existence by men who thought bigger thoughts and dreamed bigger dreams than ordinary people. The pioneers, men such as Wally Parks, who founded the National Hot Rod Association, or Robert E. Petersen, the creator of this magazine, not only excelled in this industry—they had to invent it from scratch as they went. Their extraordinary vision made them bigger than life, legends in their own time. But for sheer imagination and energy, none of them ever quite topped Mickey Thompson. He operated on his own grand scale. It is said that in the first 20 years of HOT ROD’s existence, nobody got as much ink in the magazine as Mickey, which he accomplished by being perpetually and irresistibly newsworthy. He…

1,100HP MOPAR PG.84 Bob Vrbancic puts together a combination we’ve seen before, but not on a Mopar engine. With a ProCharger blower and good parts, this is a four-digit Pentastar that’ll make waves. OVERDRIVES FOR ANY CAR PG.92 The most effective way to increase an engine’s life and fuel mileage is to lower the rpm it spins on the highway, and an overdrive is the best way to do that. Here’s a guide to what’s available in bolt-on overdrives and overdrive transmission swaps. NEW HEMI BOLT-ONS PG.106 Following up on the engine bolt-ons we did to our project ‘05 Magnum a few months ago, this time we go into the suspension, rearend, and interior with the rest of Mopar Performance’s parts for the new Hemicars. TEST AND TUNE PG.116 American…

Overdrive kits are available for most every application, provided you are willing to swap in a modern transmission. But what if you’d really like to keep the original parts in your restored classic? Or maybe you’ve already installed a tough TH400, C4, or other nonoverdrive trans that you’re not willing to trade in. In either case, there are options that won’t make you compromise on any fronts. Known as auxiliary transmissions, these overdrive conversions simply add an additional two-speed transmission to the rear of the original. Instead of overdrive for any car, it’s overdrive for any transmission. The benefit here is twofold: A standard overdrive top gear is gained, but so is the ability to split gears. Since these units can be activated in any of the original transmission gears,…

TORQ-THRUST DRAG WHEELS American Racing Motorsports 866/ARE-RACE www.americanracing.com Now the boys with big power can have Torq Thrusts too, with American Racing’s dedicated, S.F.I. 15.1-tested, double beadlock, drag racing wheel. The rear race wheel is a forged three piece modular design, available in sizes from 15x8 to 16x16 with popular race backspacings. Available bolt circles include 5x4.5, 5x4.75, and 5x5.0 inches. The matching front wheel is available as a spindle mount for Anglia, Lamb, or Strange spindles or as a bolt-on wheel for 5x4.5 or 5x4.75-inch bolt circles. Price: $699.00 to $904.00 each front, $806.00 to $870.00 each rear ’79-’81 CAMARO INSTRUMENT CLUSTER Covan’s Classic Automotive Specialties 866/882-3525 or 770/667-7684 www.covansclassic.com Covan’s Classic Automotive Specialties has a new molded ABS composite dash to liven up ‘79 to ‘81 Camaro interiors.…

HOT ROD RETRO GARAGE ART NOW AVAILABLE Mightylmage Collectibles, along with HOT ROD magazine, is excited to release the first of its metal Retro Garage Art products. Inspired by the 60-year history of HOT ROD, these Americanmade collectibles are a must for any true HOT ROD enthusiast and include license plates, cover reproductions, and high-quality wall hangers, clocks, and thermometers. From the retro appearance of the signs to their American-made quality, these items will give your garage the finishing touch. The full product line of HOT ROD-themed items is available now in time for the holidays. Prices start at $12.00 for the 6-inch by 12-inch license plate. Contact Mightylmage Collectibles [a division of Vintage Sign Co.); El Cajon, CA; 619/562-5264; www.pasttimesigns.com. VIDEO HOW-TOS FROM HOT ROD HOT ROD’s Dream •…

IN APPRECIATION OF AMERICAN IRON I’m really gonna miss FoMoCo’s Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis. The line is now available only to fleet buyers, so the end is near. The Crown Vic has been my rental car of choice ever since the Thunderbird/Cougar bit the dust. One of the last fun things about air travel was searching the Hertz lot upon arrival for my premium-size sedan. Yes, it’s still a thrill to slide behind the wheel of a V-8-powered, rear-wheel-drive, body-on-frame American car—the type of vehicle my blue-collar parents always drove, and one kind of car Detroit still builds best. I immediately switch off the traction control and lay a patch exiting each airport. Crown Vics are on my mind for a couple of reasons: I’m driving a near-new ‘08 rental right…

The massive “Crate Motor Shootout” cover story in the Oct. ‘08 issue was something we couldn’t have done without the help of GM Performance Division. Testing eight different crate engines in the same car, at the same track, all in three days requires more resources than the HOT ROD staff has to pull off, so we conned the GMPD and GMPP guys into doing it for us, after we set the parameters. The result was an all-time tech story, and (most) readers loved it. Here’s what some of you thought. JUST CURIOUS Just a quick question or observation about the latest crate engine test: When you apply the vehicle’s weight to mph or even e.t., the horsepower figures are way above the listed figures. Are these hopped versions or are…

THE SIX-SPEED CHALLENGER IS HERE! We just got back from a ride and drive on the full line of ‘09 Challengers, from the base model V-6 car to the SRT8 hot rod with, finally, a six-speed Tremec TR-6060 transmission. The event began in Manhattan, New York, and we drove the cars to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey (just call it E-Town), where, surprisingly, we couldn’t make any passes down the dragstrip. What they did allow us to do was thrash the cars on E-Town’s tight road course. First off, the six-speed makes this a much more fun car to drive, and that’s saying something, since the automatic SRT8 is no slouch. But it especially wakes up the 5.7L R/T. As much as we liked the SRT8…

NOSTALGIA ON NITRO N DAHO: 37TH PEPSI NIGHTFIRE NATIONALS Anyone who whined about faraway Firebird Raceway’s selection to host the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series should’ve attended the 37th annual Nightfire Nationals. Formerly a true national event within AHRA’s Grand American Series, the biggest and best annual nostalgia meet outside of Bakersfield delivered 33 Fuel dragsters, Fuel floppers, and Fuel Altereds for as little as $11 per day, along with Pro Mods, jet cars, wheelstanders, and hundreds of bracket cars, bikes, and snowmobiles. No wonder the relatively small city of Boise, Idaho, supports this show as if it were still a national event. Approximately 25,000 tickets were sold, according to Firebird founder Bill New, and everyone seemed to go home happy. Not smiling, however, were the few diehard fans,…

DENNY TERZICH • ’67 CAMARO MARCH ISSUE MIKE WARN • FERRAMBO JULY ISSUE RICK HAMILTON *’65 FORD RANCHERO JANUARY ISSUE Every year at this time, HOT ROD chooses the 10 best hot rods of the year and rewards them here. Each HOT ROD staffer flips through all 12 issues for the year and chooses what he feels are the 10 best or most significant vehicles that have appeared in those issues. It’s not limited to vehicles that had six-page car features done on them; as long as there was a photo and some kind of mention about the car, no matter how small, it’s eligible. Editor Kinnan then compiles everyone’s votes into a list and herds the staff into a room where each person fights for his choices. The hot…

A 1,000-plus-horsepower street engine is not such an uncommon thing anymore. Years ago, you would have been locked up in a padded room for even daydreaming about such a thing, but thanks to the world of heads-up drag racing and the incredible advancement of supercharger and turbocharger technology and knowledge, it’s no longer unthinkable to make four-digit horsepower and torque with a package that can run around on the street. But we’ve rarely seen anyone do it with a Mopar, so when Bob Vrbancic called and said that’s what he was building, we had to check it out. The goal was 1,000 hp with a 451ci engine using a low-deck 400 block and “no real exotic parts,” according to Vrbancic. Though there are some trick pieces, and you certainly can’t…

A few months ago (June ‘08 issue), we bolted a bunch of Mopar Performance parts on to your author’s ‘05 Dodge Magnum and did a before and after evaluation. The effects of adding a cold-air kit, headers and full exhaust, a camshaft, a torque converter, and engine and transmission controllers were impressive, showing a bump of 65 hp and a 0.67-second improvement in the quarter-mile e.t. But here’s the behind-the-scenes story we didn’t tell you last time. It started with the cover story we did back in the Sept. ‘07 issue, where we outlined the state of bolt-on performance parts for new cars, using a GTO, a Mustang, and a Charger as examples. The Dodge camp got short shrift because there really wasn’t anything for them other than a coldair…

What’s in your Christmas stocking? Is it a new doublepumper carb, a set of raspy big-tube headers, that roller cam you’ve always wanted, or even a brand-new crate engine? Whatever it is, we’re here to help get that gift out of the stocking, onto your ride, and properly working. Here at Pit Stop, we’ll answer as many of your hot rod-related tech questions as we have space for in these pages. When e-mailing, don’t forget to include “Pit Stop” in the subject line, as well as your real full name and hometown or military unit, base, or ship in the message. If you have quality digital photos of the car or problem, and if they’re at least 1,600 by 1,200 pixels or larger in size (bigger is always better), send…

FREEWAY FLOPPER INFERNO? Blower builder Don Hampton was quick to call us on a photo caption misidentifying the Beach City Corvette’s driver on the night it burned to the ground ["Plastic Fantastic,” Sept. ‘08). Don should know; he was in the other lane when Ronnie Goodsell ran off the end of OCIR and right up onto the Santa Ana Freeway [I-5). “I drove that car for three months before Goodsell,” adds Hampton, now 73 and still manufacturing superchargers. “It ran hard when it was properly maintained. I made [owner] Don Kirby change the oil before every run. Kirby ‘was a neat guy and very talented, but he was one lazy sucker. [Gary] Gabelich was his first driver. Pat Foster drove it, and Steve Bovan made a few runs.” This wasn’t…

We have quite a diverse selection of readers’ letters this month and on a wide range of topics. That’s a very good thing since it shows that you are reading every part of the magazine and what we’re doing is provoking thought. Even if you vehemently disagree with an editor’s column or a story elsewhere in the magazine, at least we’ve ignited a spark that started a dialogue that can provide more thought on the matter at hand. This place in the magazine, Bench Racing, is where that conversation can continue. Send your missives via email or snail mail to the addresses above, and we’ll listen. Photos are good, too. OH, NOT AGAIN The magazine is turning, once again, into an advertisement for Chevrolet. It’s the reason I let my…

’70s NASCAR? ’71 Chevrolet Impala Rob Turner Peekskill, NY As a self-proclaimed NASCAR lunatic, Rob could see only one destiny for the ‘71 Impala his grandfather bought new—an homage to ‘70s NASCAR warriors. Of course, he blames us for giving him the evil inspiration. To get the appropriate sound and acceleration, Rob dropped in a 425hp Dart-headed 355 with an Auto Gear wide-ratio M22 and 4.10 gears. He then rounded up set of used Aero wheels from musclemotorsports.com for $50, which will look just right when he finishes the radiused wheelwells. Next on the list is a full ‘cage, safety equipment, and side exit exhaust. There are plenty of cheap ‘70s fullsize cars out there. What’s stopping you? HAVE A NICE DAY ’93 Ford Thunderbird Bruce Richards Clarksville, TN An…

HOT RODDING IN CHINA It’s no secret that there’s a huge trade imbalance between the U.S. and China. A great deal of our manufacturing has been outsourced to China, where it’s a lot cheaper (sometimes in both respects) to have things made, yet the Chinese government has up until now made it exceptionally difficult, if not impossible, for trade to go the other way. But SEMA just reported that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has passed new laws that enable SEMA-member companies to sell products in China legally. The news was presented during a recent meeting at SEMA headquarters in Diamond Bar, California. “Legal uncertainties have been a major deterrent to our members’ participation in the growing Chinese automotive market,” said SEMA Chairman Jim Cozzie. “This pro-industry amendment sends an…

“These two cars took the same path. The original car was purpose-built for NASCAR, the FR500C was built for road racing, and both were converted for the Salt.”—Brent Hajek In July 1968, Mickey Thompson and his crew ventured to the Bonneville Salt Flats to set records. Only this time they didn’t bring along multiengined streamliners; they brought three Mach 1 Mustangs. As you’ll read in Bill McGuire’s fantastic story on the man right after this feature, Mickey was the epitome of a goal-oriented person, and one of those goals was to set a slew of national and international endurance records in a production car. Ford gave him its blessing, along with three cars and engines, and Mickey set up a 10-mile oval course on the Salt Flats for his attempt.…

We’ve all read those ads in the classifieds that give a brief account of how the car has gotta go cause a baby’s on the way and the wife says so. Christian Prusia almost found himself in that situation. In the garage rested his perfectly impractical and flawlessly fun ‘32 Ford three-window, while in the house was his wife, pregnant with their second child. The writing was on the wall for the little two-seater, but the good news is that Christian didn’t have a hard time getting the green light to replace it, as long as the new project could hold the whole family comfortably. Suddenly things weren’t looking so glum. Of course, seating four comfortably and hauling scads of baby paraphernalia knocked a few options off the list, but…

ANDREW MURRAY INDY/STREET RAODSTER JULY ISSUE From some angles, our number one pick for the year might seem like a dark horse, but in the editorial voting, it was surprisingly close to a landslide. Among a field of stellar and stunning cars constructed by some of the top rod shops in the country, if not the world, our winner is—surprise—a chalkmark special with slightly shambolic bodywork and a timed-out motor from a Chevy van. Why do we like Andrew Murray’s home-brew Indy-slash-street roadster so much? Let us count the ways. First, Andrew’s car evokes the fabulous Indy roadsters of the ‘50s, in the minds of many [like ours, for instance) the coolest race cars ever built. Next, this hot rod was born to run: Andrew not only drives his laydown…

If an overdrive transmission swap is in your future, there’s an abundance of companies that offer modern automatic and five and six speed manual overdrives for your application. Just ask any Long Hauler who’s completed Power Tour(r) and he’ll either sing the praises of his overdrive trans or tell you it’s the next part he’s saving for. Here are 17 companies with kits to swap your transmission to an overdrive. BOWTIE OVERDRIVES Who are you? Bowtie Overdrives has been remanufacturing and installing 700-R4 and 200-4R transmissions for 15 years. The company also installs 4L60/65Es and 4L80/85Es. What kits are available? Complete kits are available for almost all GM cars and trucks from ‘55 through the late ‘80s and street rods and trucks prior to ‘55. Three levels of 700-R4/ 4L60E…

When it comes to late-model cars, shopping [and buying) performance wheels and tires is soooooo much easier than it used to be, thanks to companies such as the Tire Rack. Log on to www.tirerack.com, follow the menus to tell them what kind of car you have, then start daydreaming about what style of wheel looks best on your ride. You can even see what they look like on your car, in your color. Call me a traditionalist, but I felt the only wheel that would go perfectly with the Magnum’s retro, muscle wagon look would be the classic American Racing Torq-Thrust. While I’m not a fan of dubs, the boring stock wheels that came with the car are already 18s and the wheel openings are pretty huge, so this one…