Innehållsförteckning för June 2015 från Hot Rod

Flat-plane cranks, direct injection, carbon-ceramic brakes, mid-engine layouts, and twin turbos—the recipe for the perfect hot rod? Or just the buzzwords of the day? There are a ton of new names and technologies being written about in our world, many of them showing up on the pages of HOT ROD after years of relative stability in our hi-po dictionary. Most of us are cool with the old hot rod buzzwords: blown, billet, hemi, injected, and so on. The new terms take some time to grasp—and to figure out if the technologies they represent are really any better than what we had. I take buzzwords seriously because as a product of HOT ROD, much of what I first learned about cars came from the ink on pages like this. Not growing…

Lacquer paint, chrome, wiring, and tuning to get just the right sound are just some of the things electric guitars have in common with hot rods, and guitars are customized every bit as frequently. Take, for example, this custom Gibson Les Paul that was built in-house by Gibson for Scott Whitaker, owner of Dynamat. The guitar matches his 1932 highboy and connects the two builds by way of musical instruments, as the coupe uses a bass-drum pedal for the throttle pedal. DRAG WEEK CARS AND GUITARS The top-three cars with the fastest average times at the end of Drag Week™ each get a custom Fender guitar chosen and presented by Rick Johnson of Gear Vendors. GUITARS MIMIC HOT RODS, AND VISE VERSA There are dozens of songs—from blues to rock…

Carroll Shelby’s involvement with the GT40 program started in 1964 and its first Le Mans win in 1966 changed everything about how American racing efforts were viewed by the rest of the motoring world. Ford reinvigorated the GT40 legend in 2005 when it introduced the Ford GT, a street supercar inspired by the race car. It was only around for two years, though, and prices on those cars today are well into the “doesn’t matter, can’t aford it” range. We’ve been hearing rumors for months that Ford would be bringing the GT back, and at the 2015 North America International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford finally pulled the cover of its well-kept secret. The sleek blue GT—with its mid-engine layout, flying buttress rear pillars, and turbine-engine-styled taillights—was instantly surrounded by…

Kyle Newman’s Highland Green 1957 Chevy station wagon is a huge-handling hauler, belying both its heft and pedestrian origins. Some would ask, “Why would you build a big, old Chevy wagon for fogging and flinging around a track?” A valid point, for sure, but this 2-ton 210 wagon didn’t start out to be what it has become. Kyle Newman is part of Newman Car Creations, the Templeton (near Paso Robles), California, shop where many a first-gen Corvette or Tri-Five Chevy has seen its bones converted to ride on a 1984–1996 Corvette C4 suspension, and in many cases a completely fabbed modern chassis. His father, Paul, has been doing this for at least a couple of decades and has done some fantastical builds, even creating things like his…

Our tale of the Rat Tub picks up midstream, at a local hot rod gathering in northern New Jersey back in 1995. “Midnight” Mario Colasuonno had just arrived when a slick, jade-green 1923 chopped-T touring rod entered the show playing a big-block Chevy symphony. Mario sidled up and looked over the brilliant T. He tried to play it cool and walked away for a while—you know the drill of a man pretending not to be in love. As Mario was pulling himself together for another peek, he heard the big-block start up and watched as the tub headed for the exit. “I bolted back and stopped Dave [Hanley, the owner], just to get his phone number,” Mario says. He nearly drew blood while “engraving” Dave’s digits on his…

We barely scratched the surface of turbine car history, and the best part is, it’s still unfolding around us. One of the problems with using turbines in cars is that they aren’t terribly efficient in on/of throttle applications like street driving. A happy turbine is one that’s spooled up and running at a constant rpm. This makes them ideal for hybrid applications, charging the battery for an electric motor. FedEx is trying a pilot diesel turbine/electric hybrid truck program in its feet right now. The vehicles are retroftted by northern California company Wrightspeed, using Capstone turbines built just around the corner from HOT ROD. Now if they would only paint them Turbine Bronze.…

Headers are one of the first bolt-ons that many hot rodders turn to in the quest for more power. In the case of late-model engine swaps, however, a set of factory manifolds may not be as restrictive as you’d think. After all, cast-iron manifolds are installed on vehicles that make more than 500 hp. For applications with mild camshafts, they aren’t a bad call. We found these two sets of manifolds to be the most common on crate LS engines, and therefore the most likely to get replaced before ever seeing use. A] Part numbers 12611640 and 12611641 (the two on the left) have a rear-exit design that looks a lot like 1998–2002 fourth-generation Camaro LS1 manifolds. You can find these in 2010–2015 fifth-generation Camaro SS models with both automatic…

Elwood Engel took over for Virgil Exner as Chrysler styling chief in 1961, right around the time plans were in the works for the Chrysler Turbine cars, as mentioned in our turbine engine story on page 64. Engel came from Ford, having been passed over as head of design for Eugene Bordinat after George W. Walker retired. Whether intentional or not, if you look at the front of the Turbine car, which was a combined styling effort of Engel and Bill Mashigan, you can’t help but notice the striking similarity to the back end of the 1961–1963 Ford Thunderbird. It’s too close not to be some sort of inside joke or statement. Interestingly, Engel was involved in the design for the 1958 Ford Thunderbird. When a competing design was chosen,…

In April 2015, I received recognition that’s the most important thing to me in all my years at HOT ROD: I’ve been inducted into the Dry Lakes Racing Hall of Fame. Land-speed racing and rodding history are the interests I’ve held most closely for more than 20 years, making it unfathomable to be added to a list that includes Alex Xydias, Mickey Thompson, Craig Breedlove, Al Teague, and dozens more. I’m equally humbled to join the HOT ROD staffers in the Hall of Fame, including Wally Parks, Eric Rickman, Tom Medley, Ray Brock, Tex Smith, Don Francisco, Louise Ann Noeth, and Gray Baskerville. My first impressions of dry-lakes racing were formed by Gray, and I attended my first Speed Week with him in 1992. That rainy week I was captivated…

In spite of almost 50 years passing since the 1-2-3 win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, the Ford GT40 remains one of the most legendary race cars. Ever. After six years of Ferrari dominance, the GT40 would go on to win Le Mans four consecutive times from 1966–1969, in 1967 becoming the only all-American effort to win the prestigious race. Behind the wheel were luminary drivers of the era as Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Jacky Ickx, Bruce McLaren, and Ken Miles. Here Chris Amon, who co-drove with Bruce McLaren, exits the winning 485hp, 427ci, V8-powered MK II for publicity shots after the race. The No. 1 GT40 driven by Ken Miles and Denny Hulme led the last few hours of the race. When it became apparent…

Wisconsin is a great state for barn finds. It’s populated with just enough people that its borders are filled with cool cars, but the towns and cities are spaced far enough apart that all the good stuff hasn’t been picked over—yet. I find that taking the indirect route usually brings me past some really interesting relics, like this 1965 Pontiac GTO I spotted in a garage. The door was wide open, but I drove past the garage twice just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. The car’s owner told me he still drives the 389 Tri-Power GTO every now and then. It had been done-up in the 1980s with side pipes, but otherwise was really clean. The Pontiac wasn’t the only interesting find on the property; over in a…

Rear-Wheel Horsepower: 449.2 at 5,800 rpm Rear-Wheel Torque: 436.1 at 4,500 rpm Time on HOT ROD Road Course: 1 minute, 37.72 seconds 420-Foot Slalom: 42.54 mph Skidpad: 0.86 lateral g Quarter-Mile: 13.102 seconds at 111.66 mph HRM STAFF AVERAGE RANKING ON A SCALE OF 1-10, 10 BEING BEST: Competence vs. Purpose: Built as both a showcase for Newman Car Creation’s fabrication and products, as well as to be a unique, attention-getting, practical, and easy-to-maintain daily driver that can carve corners seems to cover just about every function a purposeful project can achieve. Are we out of line to give Kyle’s wagon the highest ranking? Ranking: 10 Performance vs. Potential: The performance and handling are of the charts for a big, old 1950s wagon, but had Kyle done the same to…

In January 2015, Barrett-Jackson set up its automotive candy store in Scottsdale, Arizona, and sold more than $131 million worth of classic, muscle, and specialty cars. Of the vehicles that rolled across the block, nearly 100 of them were from the private collection of Phoenix-based real-estate developer Ron Pratte. As a result, this gathering of cars and people was the highlight of the year for automotive collectors, and the prices the cars commanded will effect the transaction prices of everyone who owns—or wants to buy—a car like the ones sold at auction this year. Here’s a look at some of the stars, and the prices they went for. This 1934 pickup truck hot rod was a shining bare-metal example of unbridled imagination and enthusiasm. Chosen by Billy Gibbons…

Roy Brizio Street Rods has built more 1932 roadsters than Henry Ford. Or at least it seems that way in the almost 40 years the South San Francisco, California, shop has been cranking out Henry’s finest. This latest execution was debuted at the 2015 Grand National Roadster Show and is owned by Dickie Michaels. We followed along to get an overview of the gestation of this latest Brizio build. GOT PICS? If you’ve built or restored your car and have documented it in pictures every step of the way, we might be able to use your story in HOT ROD. Contact us to find out. Mail: HOT ROD Start To Finish, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245. Email: HOTROD@HotRod.com.…

Wheel bolt-circle diameter is the diameter of a circle drawn through the centers of the wheel’s mounting-bolt holes. Whether shopping for new wheels or scrounging wrecking yards for good used ones, knowing the bolt circle is crucial for determining which wheels might interchange. That’s easy if there’s an even number of mounting bolts: Just measure from the center of the stud hole directly across the center of the wheel to the center of the opposite stud hole (diagram A). That won’t work if there’s an odd number of mounting bolts. With five-lug wheels, measure from the center of one stud hole to the center of the farthest stud hole, skipping the adjacent hole (diagram B). The resulting measurement is slightly smaller than the actual bolt-circle diameter, but we’ve provided a…

Q: I’m building a 331ci stroker based on a Ford 302 short-block from DSS Racing. The paperwork that came with the short-block said the engine was internally balanced to 28.2 oz-in. I know the Ford 302 imbalance is 50 oz-in and the Ford 351 is 28.2 oz-in, so why is my 302-based stroker balanced to 28.2 oz-in? Should I get a zero-balanced flywheel and harmonic balancer or use the 28.2 oz-in flywheel and harmonic balancer from the 351? Thomas FedorkaVia email I am working with a 1978 Mustang 302 (small-diameter flexplate). I had a local machine shop rebalance the 1978 flexplate for a 1985 302 engine that I want to use so it matches the changed flexplate balance weight Ford switched to. Anyway, either it was balanced incorrectly or…

SEND YOUR PHOTOS To be included in Scene by Readers, send low-rez photos and some information about them to HOTROD@HotRod.com. If we elect to use your photo, we will email back with instructions on how to send us a high-rez photo for publication.…

On February 13, 2015, the NHRA sent letters to a select group of racers who had been seen on the Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws reality cable show, warning they would be ineligible for future racing at events if they continued to appear on the program. These letters created lively discussions everywhere, and as you can imagine, Facebook went wild—including the NHRA’s own Facebook page—with comments ranging from slanderous slams to supporters who applauded the NHRA’s stand. We contacted Geno Effler, vice president of public relations and communications for the NHRA, about why the NHRA sent the letters and what it expected in return. Effler told HOT ROD that NHRA officials saw numerous NHRA-licensed drivers and some cars with NHRA logos or competition numbers appearing on the show, and felt that…

Drag Week™ 2014 proved to be the most exciting running of the event in its memorable 10-year history. The big guns in Unlimited returned, and new challengers in the Street Race and Super Street classes were punching above their weight and accomplishing e.t.’s that were nothing short of astounding (George Gallimore in the Monte Carlo, we’re looking at you for 2015). Naturally, the Unlimited class, where nearly anything goes, tends to draw the most attention due to the absurdly low elapsed times and 200-mph trap speeds, and 2014 brought even more impressive timeslips from new cars built specifically to take home the Drag Week™ championship. Jeff Lutz brought a virtual clone of the car he’d campaigned in the Unlimited class in 2012 that nearly took the championship—missing by…

There have always been options and alternatives to the great V8. Turbine engines enjoyed quite a bit of fame in the 1960s. Concept cars whirred and whooshed around auto shows, and even the Indy 500 felt the hot breath of turbine-powered roadsters. On the salt fats and dragstrips, turbine cars broke records and caused arguments about the place of thrust in motorsports. Ten it all settled down and we agreed to power everything with piston engines forever onward. Or did we? Without requiring us all to take advanced aeronautical engineering, let’s do a quick review of gas turbines, starting with what’s so great about turbines in the first place. Turbine engines have a high power-to-weight ratio and only a few moving parts, which makes them low-maintenance—although the maintenance…

HOT ROD’s taking parts testing to the next level. With the introduction of our HOT ROD Garage show on YouTube in 2014, we have yet another outlet for expanding performance testing of speed parts. In Episode 4 we checked out parts for high-performance braking. Everyone is switching to the biggest brakes they can find these days, either for stylistic reasons, improved stopping power, or both. We get it. Factory muscle-car brakes were designed to function during your daily commute and the occasional panic stop. They weren’t meant to slow your ride down after a quarter-mile pass or repeated trips around cones in a parking lot. Plus, the diameter of aftermarket wheels has exploded to the point where a set of factory 10.5-inch discs from the 1960s look puny…

All fart jokes aside, getting gas in an older car can be a pain—and not just in the wallet. I wasn’t pumping gas in the 1960s, but the hoses must have been longer than at today’s stations. Filling up my 1969 Dodge Polara means unlocking the gas cap, running my card, and finding the hose a few feet short, which means getting back in the car and inching up until the guy in the SUV at the forward pump gets nervous. The difficulties don’t end once I have the nozzle in place behind the license plate. You can’t just lock the trigger and walk away. You have to hold the handle the whole time, and it’s a very awkward angle. Some people rest against the trunk and bend over, others…

THE COMBO Back in 1985, Rob Van Vleet bought his 1966 Olds Cutlass 4-4-2 for $350 from its original owner, his father-in-law. It still had the factory drivetrain—an early short-stroke 400ci Olds big-block, Muncie M21 close-ratio four-speed trans, and the spindly 8.25-inch Olds 10-bolt rearend—but overall Rob says, “It was in serious need of work.” Rob fixed what was broken, restored what needed restoring, added Weld wheels, and (as befitting a Valspar Paints employee) repainted the car in its original Ocean Mist color. Through it all, the car’s powerplants were seemingly cursed. “I’ve been through seven Olds engine variations: a 350, three 455s, and three short-stroke 400s. At first, I did my own engines, and they held up fair. I just kind of slapped them together, but seven…

New Nova Gauges Classic Industries // 855.357.2787 // ClassicIndustries.com Two gauges for 1965 Chevy IIs, a speedometer and a fuel gauge, have both been manufactured to duplicate the original parts in every detail. The speedometer includes a 120-mph readout as original, and the fuel gauge features the correct temperature, generator, and oil warning lights. Both gauges have silkscreen-printed faces with the correct numerals, lettering, and coloration, and both come precalibrated and ready to install. Price: Starting at $240 each Crate Powertrains Silver Sport Transmissions 800.609.0076 //ShiftSST.com Silver Sport Transmissions has teamed up with EngineFactory.com to offer crate engines matched with ready-to-run transmissions. These crate powertrains are available using Ford, Chevy, or Mopar engines and are built to order with a two-to four-week lead-time. Engines are run for 45 minutes of…