Innehållsförteckning för April 2021 från Hot Rod

Editor-in-Chief @john.mcgann It’s early January as I write this, and the pages of the calendar have finally flipped on 2020. Good riddance, in my opinion. I’d imagine a lot of folks reading this feel similarly. This was an unprecedented year for all of us personally, as well as professionally for your humble author and my colleagues at MotorTrend Group. Though it’s very tempting to leave 2020 in the rearview mirror where it belongs, I believe there are things to learn amid the difficult times. As a staff, we have had to learn to make a lot of online content with very few resources. Cost saving measures, as well as company restrictions on travel, meant we turned to our archives or hyperfocused on local assets for fodder to write about. That’s…

Chrysler has always been clever with the branding of their performance vehicles. You’re likely familiar with the Hellcat and the Demon as examples that stir the soul. If you’re into old-school Mopar iron, you have the Superbird, Road Runner, Super Bee, and Rampage as examples from the era. Yeah… we couldn’t resist putting that last one in there to see if you were paying attention. By definition, the word “rampage” describes violent or excited behavior that is reckless, uncontrolled, or destructive. Originally powered by a 2.2-liter inline-four rated at 97 hp spinning the front wheels, the last thing that Dodge’s mid ’80s mini pickup ever managed to do was excite anyone to the point of violence. Taking any Mopar from the malaise era and doing something meaningful with it requires…

Although owners of the various iterations of LS engines might argue the merits of each, one thing they all have in common is confusion about the workings of an intake manifold. Specifics get cloudy when it comes time to upgrade from the factory. Naturally, the plethora of available intakes differ widely in design and construction, but for this simple test, we will focus primarily on the effect of a change in runner length. Although some like to point to maximum airflow, the reality is that runner length offers much more of a change in the power curve than even drastic changes in total flow. More than any other single design element, runner length determines the effective operating range of the manifold. This is from what we call the reflected wave,…

Automatic transmissions have come a long way from the non-overdrive, slow-shifting slushboxes of the past. And while we can appreciate how good they are, many of us still prefer a manual transmission. Why? Why do we desperately cling to what some call antiquated? For the same reason Porsche dropped manual transmissions and then brought them back for many of their performance models, performance enthusiasts generally think manual transmissions are more fun. Automatics are great for the daily driver, or even a cruiser, but for high-performance driving, off track or on, nothing beats the feeling of rowing gears and trying to nail that perfect heel-toe downshift. With a manual transmission you become more integrated with the car. And we don’t care if you show us data that a modern automatic can…

Plymouth decisively shed the Barracuda’s economy car roots with the introduction of the nameplate’s third generation in 1970. The completely redesigned car was built on the sportier E-body platform, and its crisp lines, high haunches, and stunning proportions combined to give the new model a beautifully aggressive stance. Though buyers could still configure a Barracuda for low initial cost by sticking with the base 198ci six-cylinder engine and few options, those with deeper pockets could also go to the other extremes, with a luxury-laden grand tourer or fire-breathing performer. Power-hungry enthusiasts could pony up for the Six Barrel 440 or 426 Hemi-powered ’Cudas, but those interested in more balanced performance had another choice: the now legendary AAR ’Cuda. In a six-week window, from March 11th through April 20th of 1970,…

Between co-hosting Engine Masters and running Westech Performance Group, Steve Brule is one busy guy. But even with a constant flow of engines through his dyno facilities, there are still a few that catch his eye. A perfect example is this 511-inch all-aluminum Ford FE. What goes into making big power from a (relatively) lightweight big-displacement Ford? Read on to find out. Sources Carroll Shelby Engine Company; 877.836.1534; shelbyengines.com Comp Cams; 800.999.0853; compcams.com Holley; 866.464.6553; holley.com Lucas Oil; 800.342.2512; lucasoil.com Oliver Racing Parts; 231.237.4515; oliverracingparts.com Survival Motorsports; 248.366.3309; survivalmotorsports.com Westech Performance Group; 951.685.4767; westechperformance.com…

Your performance camshaft is the brain of your engine. Assuming your engine is otherwise sound and correctly tuned—but doesn’t perform as expected—it may be because that cam is mismatched to the overall engine and drivetrain combination. The experts at Comp Cams developed this handy troubleshooting list. Based on typical engine symptoms, it includes the probable cause, as well as how to choose a camshaft to fix the problem. At a minimum, it should help you describe the symptoms better when consulting with your engine builder or Comp Cams’ expert profilers so they can help you pick the right cam for your engine. Source Comp Cams; 800.999.0853 or 901.795.2400; compcams.com…

Roadkill@davidfreiburger I’ve finally embraced my midlife role as the curmudgeonly gearhead who complains about how the kids these days just don’t get it. I started out as one of those kids, then was fortunate to live under the tutelage of the likes of Wally Parks, Gray Baskerville, Pat Ganahl, Jeff Smith, and beyond. Many of my mentors continue to school me—some even from the grave as their written word survives. Yet now it’s my time to perhaps ameliorate these whippersnappers. Recently, I was triggered when I discovered that the definition of Pro Street has been lost to time. More on that in a moment, first let’s discuss the labels. On one hand, guys like me who want definitions and clarity are a nuisance to those who say, “car building can’t…

“There were no regulations for us to follow—we made up our own rules.” That was Jay Signori, Roger Penske’s project foreman, talking to Car Craft magazine’s Rick Voegelin about the birth of the original IROC Camaro in 1974. A full 10 years before Chevrolet introduced a production version, Penske’s shop, with assistance from Mark Donohue, was tasked with building race Camaros for the second International Race of Champions (IROC) season. In its first year, the IROC series used a fleet of identically prepared Porsche Carreras to test the driving skill of a multinational group of racers from various competition disciplines. While the series was a hit, and Donohue its inaugural champion, the Porsches proved expensive to maintain. As a more cost-effective alternative (and more relatable, at least to American racing…

This story starts about 10 years ago, when Jeff Thompson got the urge to build a simple hot rod. “Nothing flashy,” he told us. “Just a really nice ’32 three-window coupe in the style of the late ’50s/early ’60s. Something with three pedals and minimal creature comforts.” The starting point for the project was a Brookville body he located in the Phoenix area. At the time, his brother, John, had a winter residence just outside Phoenix, as well as a large personal shop, where the body ended up. When John started to take an interest in the project, the brothers struck a deal. Jeff would provide the parts and the management of the project; John would provide the shop space and the services of Billy Cartwright, the talented fabricator who…

Automotive sheetmetal and rust repairs can be intimidating. But with some practice, the work is pretty easy to get the hang of. Replacing a doorskin is a good job for the beginner to start with. Doors are perhaps one of the most vulnerable parts on any car, and therefore, they are often in need of repair. They are susceptible to parking lot damage, and rain and wash water can slip past the glass to collect at the bottom, making the area a breeding ground for rust to form. If dealt with early enough, it will be just the outer skins that will need to be replaced, and that’s the case with a pair of doors on a ’Cuda that showed up at Muscle Car Restorations (MCR) in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.…

When Steve Brule and the crew at Westech Performance Group aren’t busy knocking out fresh episodes of Engine Masters, they spend their time testing out myriad different engines on their pair of Superflow 902 engine dynos. This time around, it’s a stroker small-block Chevy that was tested and tuned prior to being stuffed between the fenders of a 1970 Chevy Nova. While it’s a small-block, stroking the engine out to 416 inches and using top-shelf parts helped give this small-block some big-block power numbers. One of the key components used was this pair of high-flowing AFR 210 (65 cc) cylinder heads. Let’s take a more detailed look at the recipe used to make 644 hp from a small-block Chevy. Sources Air Flow Research (AFR); 661.257.8124; airflowresearch.com Edelbrock; 800.416.8628; edelbrock.com Holley;…