Innehållsförteckning för December 1999 från Hot Rod

You can all stop wondering whether you’ve won our giveaway Interstate Batteries ’98 Firebird. You haven’t. Unless, of course, you’re Sharon Gregg of Houston, Texas, who actually did win it and had it turn up in her driveway one day. We gave her a call recently to see if she liked it. And she just laughed. And laughed. And wouldn’t stop. Frankly it got a little uncomfortable on the other end of the phone waiting for Sharon to compose herself once we’d asked the question. “Yeah … it’s a little bit of a car,” she jokes, still somewhat incredulous that she was nicked out of billions of entries received here at Hot Rod World Headquarters. “Around here they call me the Hot Rod Nanny now.” Confirmation that being a speed…

MUSIC King of the Road There are road albums, and there are roadkill albums. The thunderous SoCal quartet Fu Manchu has crafted the greatest example of the latter in music history. And while it’s Manchu’s first album in two years, their sound has been left untweaked. Riff-driven, Sabbathy guitars, lumbering, subsonic bass, and Bonham-style power drumming are pushed to capacity for a steamrollin, ’70s-style fuzz clamor that’s heavier than your right foot, bub. And with song titles like “Hell On Wheels,” “Hotdoggin’,” and the title track (very much unrelated to the Roger Miller tune of the same name), you know we ain’t talking Lilith Fair lyrical fare, either. If there is a spiritual predecessor to Manchu’s “King of the Road,” it’s probably Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”—proto-metal from a time before…

What a prissy, finicky little bitch this thing is. Leave it be for an hour in the Motel 6 parking lot, no one near it, and the alarm goes off, honking plaintively, as if to say “Look at me! Pay attention to me! I’m pretty! See?” No manuals in the car, no phone calls to experts returned. So I have to wake up (2 p.m. or 2 a.m., no matter) walk across the parking lot, burn my feet, open it, and put the key in the ignition to hush up its attention cravings (no remote key fob to cheat with on this one). And it acted like that from the second I picked it up from Sands Chevrolet in Phoenix. Trouble was, its whiny behavior was almost justified. It drew…

BOOKS Written & published by E.J. Potter, 1999 “Every disaster involving machinery starts with a simple defect. Don’t forget that the defect can be between your ears.” Truer words are seldom spoken. Especially when they come from a guy who crossed an injected Chevy small-block with a Harley Davidson motorcycle frame… on purpose. Contrary to hot rodding lore (and mathematical probability), EJ Potter is still among us and has written an amazing autobiography detailing his years as a horsepower junkie and automotive exhibitionist. Written with subtle wit and a down-home sensibility, Potter’s book is a masterpiece. Its 200 pages (with 30 B&W photos) are filled with anecdotes that will leave you roaring with laughter while shaking your head at how the guy survived it all. Trivia freaks will want to…

John Baechtel Former HRM staffer, owner of Westech Performance “Emission requirements on cars that are over 25 years old are being relaxed in many states (including California), which makes cars manufactured in the ’60s and early ’70s prime material for modifying. The problem is that many young men don’t seem to be interested in modifying these or any cars for that matter. Those who are interested happen to be the sons of old hot rodders. Their dads have made a pile and are now teaming up with their kids to build hot cars, boats, or trucks. CompCam’s biggest sellers are its flat tappet hydraulic series that are finding homes in street-driven or bracket-style cars, especially those powered by single four-barrel-equipped 350 Chevys. The fact that they aren’t using EFI tells…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Initially renowned for camshafts, Lunati has evolved into a world-class provider for engine hard parts. But Lunati doesn’t simply sell these items, it manufactures them in-house. Serious equipment like crankshafts made from cast iron, nodular iron, or forged steel, forged steel connecting rods, and forged aluminum pistons. Handling its own manufacturing allows Lunati to maintain a strict control on quality control, which is how it has managed to forge something else: a sterling reputation among racers. Components can be purchased separately or in kit form, to create the short block of your choice, and many of Lunati’s kits include stroker cranks for maximum displacement-there’s even a kit to make a 382-inch LS1.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Just over fifteen years ago in 1983, Flowmaster was born in a small barn, where founder Ray Flugger worked on his creative ideas to develop his famous racing mufflers. Through continuous product testing and development, the Flowmaster product line has expanded rapidly from its roots in racing to include exhaust products that include over 400 different muffler models and 140 exhaust systems for a wide variety’ of vehicles. One of the latest innovations is the new Delta-Flow design, which offers increased scavenging for improved horsepower, torque, and fuel economy along with decreased interior noise levels. Flowmaster offers you the choice of sound to fit your specific needs.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com As fuel system experts, Holley offers a full line of mechanical and electric fuel pumps, as well as fuel pressure regulators. One of the latest additions to the fuel pump line is the Volumax, available in two versions: 160gph or 250gph. Both are available for gasoline or alcohol and feature gerotor pump design that provides extremely efficient and quiet operation. Fuel pressure is pre-set at 15psi and both a pressure regulator and a 3/8-inch return line are required. Speaking of fuel pressure regulators, the billet Volumax is as durable and precise as it is attractive, and it’s adjustable from 4.5 to 9 psi.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Flowtech is more than just headers and mufflers, it’s a full line of innovative exhaust products. Start with the standard-series header, which features high-quality mandrel-bent tubing, precision die-cut flanges, and four-into-one mandrel-formed collectors. The Terminator-series header offers fully-welded 16-gauge construction for greater durability, but the really trick piece is the Afterburner header. This design routes the out-of-sequence cylinder to a secondary collector, improving scavenging and allowing for smaller-diameter tubes which keep velocity up. Similarly trick is the Warlock line of mufflers, which provide excellent power and tone on the street, but remove three wing nuts and you’re uncorked for straight-through track performance.…

As technology advances, another bastion of hot rodling has fallen by the wayside: the art of recurving an ignition with a distributor machine. In the early days of this hobby, the first modification was always a trick advance curve setup by one of the many ignition gurus. Today, trying to find a speed shop or engine builder that has or knows how to use a distributor tester is like trying to find tubes for your vintage radio. It is a lost art that will soon be completely gone. Street engines are factory-equipped with very mild rates of advance, and the magic that a good tuner could perform will not only unlock power, but fuel economy and driveability, too. One of the last men familiar with reworking a distributor is Fred…

Once Again, the Tour I’ve done five NSRA Nationals, two Americruises, and countless other rod runs. Power Tour is the best and least expensive rod run I’ve ever been on. Count me in for next year. Pete AardemaSan Diego, CA Just wanted to tell you what a great time I had on Power Tour. I joined up in Louisville and cruised to Nashville. It was a thrill going down 1-65 with all the awesome cars in attendance—especially that Superbird! I’ve always loved them. What did you think of Nashville? Did we treat you right? I sure hope so. We loved having y’all! Jeff BurnsWhites Creek, TN Thanks to you guys and all the sponsors. If it were not for Flowmaster, we could not have been the original Mo Faster team.…

A bad, black, flamed Dodge Dakota Quad Cab bearing the HOT ROD name will debut at the annual SEMA trade show/new parts orgy in early November. HOT ROD enlisted the services of Troy Trepanier (Rad Rides by Troy) to build this one-off truck which featured the following outrageous modifications: digitally fuel-injected 528ci Mopar Performance Hemi 727 TorqueFlite with a Gear Vendors under/overdrive Billet Specialties 20-inch rims on BFGoodrich rubber Full Hotchkis suspension one-off Flowmaster exhaust Bob Thrash-designed flame job And tons more! If you don’t make it to SEMA, have no fear: You can see it on Power Tour West 2000! Watch for pictures in Power Tour News soon!…

Polar Lights Long anticipated by model builders from coast to coast, the Polar Lights Mr. Norm’s Supercharger Funny Car kit is finally here. We were curious to see how Polar Lights’ first attempt at a plastic model kit would stack up, so we built one without paint to get an idea of how well it goes together. Here’s the verdict; this kit is an outstanding effort but is very challenging to assemble because the instruction sheet doesn’t outline the assembly sequence—rather it is merely an exploded view of subassemblies. Also, some parts simply wouldn’t fit without being reworked—the steering linkage in particular needs to be shortened for a proper fit. But with patience and a little fiddling, this kit turns into a beautiful replica of the fullsize prototype, and is…

Pollution control and hot rodding are not traditionally items that go hand-in-hand. Hot rodders rolled their eyes and laughed heartily when the EPA announced a year and a half ago that catalytic converters actually increase noxious NOx gas (nitrogen oxide) into the atmosphere, worsening smog, acid rain, and global warming conditions. These, of course, were the very problems we sought to avoid by installing cats in the first place. In fact, automobile emissions currently account for more than 60 percent of the world’s air pollution. But what if you could make your car so clean, pass a sniffer test so far beneath the current smog limits, that you could actually bolt on more and more power and still not significantly increase your emissions? And what if you could do this…

PONTIAC’S SLAMMED ’99 GRAND PRIX COUPE? The Scorché features a worked supercharged 3.8L V-6 engine, 18-inch Budnik rims, a 2-inch roof chop, a pillarless hardtop conversion, and super-heated Santini-applied paint. Such is the power of the Tour that we get the country’s top cars mere weeks before the annual SEMA extravaganza. Watch for a story on this car’s amazing transformation in an upcoming issue of HOT ROD! THE GUMOUT PROJECT ’66 GIVEAWAY EL CAMINO? The fuel-injected, big-block powered Elky, covered in intimate detail over the past half year’s worth of HOT ROD issues, made quite the sensation as it boogied on down the coast. It will have been given away by the time you read this; watch the February issue for a full-color feature and more details about this amazing…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Since 1938, Edelbrock has been providing performance enthusiasts quality speed equipment, and today the Edelbrock Corporation maintains the philosophy of its founder Vic Sr.: Proven performance. Look to Edelbrock for a vast array of aluminum intake manifolds, aluminum cylinder heads, fuel delivery systems, exhaust systems, and even shock absorbers. One of the latest innovations is the RPM Air-Gap intake manifold. The Air-Gap name comes from the open space that separates the plenum and runners from the floor of the manifold. This keeps heat from splashing engine oil away from the intake charge, keeping it cooler and more dense for increased power.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Annihilator fever is catching on as racers of all types are replacing their old analog ignition systems with the state-of-the-art Annihilator family of high performance, microprocessor-controlled ignition systems. That’s because they like the consistency, like that offered by the Strip Annihilator kit. This system uses a digital control module, which can be adjusted with the included Quickshot Programmer from the driver’s seat. It’s compatible with all ignitions, including points, HEI, or magnetic pickup. The processor provides capacitive discharge and multiple sparks, and can be programmed for three separate rev limiters, two rpm-activated switches, and timing retard. It’s just one of the many Annihilator offerings.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Perhaps one of the most popular pieces of speed equipment, the Holley 4-barrel carburetor is a hot rodding classic, as popular as it was 30 years ago, and perhaps even more effective thanks to updated technology. Street machines are right at home with a vacuum secondary while higher-performance street/strip cars favor the infamous double-pumper. For the serious racer, there’s the unmistakable Dominator, offering up to 1250 cfm of flow. Of course, there’s also a complete line of accessories and service parts available to keep your Holley carb dialed and fresh. As a bonus, some models are now offered with a bright polished finish.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com For about the price of an assembled cast-iron head, Trick Flow’s 23-degree head for small Chevy gives you more power, the weight savings of aluminum, and fewer chances to mismatch components. The heads are direct replacements for most original equipment factory heads and feature 64cc combustion chambers, big 2.02/1.60-inch stainless steel valves, premium valve springs, locks, retainers, studs, and guideplates. They also have hardened exhaust valve seats for use with unleaded pump gas. Summit also offers Trick Flow Twisted Wedge aluminum heads small Chevy, as well as small-block Ford. Another recent addition to its aluminum heads offerings is the 429/460 Ford application.…

Jim McCraw and I received invitations to the big-time headquarters that Sox & Martin had just completed near Burlington, North Carolina. It was the consummate racing den, an establishment so new that business had not yet been conducted there. Gotta have a big cocktail party first. Heap o’ food. Foxy hostess belles. BS. Lotsa BS. Yaa, it was a media event before there was such an onus. The PR wanks were going to wring all they could out of this episode, and, yeah, McCraw and I loved being right in the middle of it. The enticement was substantial to terminally weird gearheads like us, and of course, there was one stipulation. When it was all over, we had to be… awake. Then we’d get keys to a prototype 440 6…

I always thought those who caught the “flathead forever” bug were doomed to a life of cracked blocks, three main bearings, three exhaust ports, and a starter that sounded funny. Nonetheless, Speedy Bill Smith, the founder of Speedway Motors, claims the golden era of the flathead is here—and who am I to disagree, especially now? Ron Main’s 301-inch superlative side valve has beamed up 560-plus horsepower on Dick Landy Industries’ ultra-conservative dyno. Five hundred and sixty-plus ponies from an engine Ford stopped producing in 1953 may seem like weak tea to those conditioned to the current huge-inch, high-boost, humongous-horse V-8s. By the same token, I grew up with owner-modified, L-head Fords. The thought of that much oomph from a flat motor would have signalled the need for some serious couch…

Parry, dude! Grand Systems of Pompano Beach, Florida, is throwing the ultimate New Millennium bash for auto buffs of every stripe. Autofest 2000 is being held in tropical South Florida at Moroso Motorsports Park in Palm Beach Gardens over the Y2K New Year’s holiday and promises guests four action-packed days of championship drag racing, car and bike shows, contests, concerts, and parties. A crowd of 100,000-plus motorsports fans will take in a racing spectacular that will feature the best Funny Car and top fuel dragster teams and drivers from both the NHRA and IHRA. HOT ROD magazine, NuTrend Apparel, Race Rock Cafe, Checkers Hamburgers, Fox 29 TV, Corvette Fever, Nitrofish, The Winners Circle, and The Palm Beach Post have joined with Grand Systems and Moroso Motorsports Park to host this…

December is widely known for holiday parties, and on Hot Rod Magazine TV this month, we will be partying in our own wav. We recovering the Hot Rod Deluxe bash at the L.A. County Fair. As you may or may not recall, Hot Rod Deluxe was a special section of HOT ROD magazine, and a separate newsstand magazine that profiled the ever-strong hot rod subculture, which thrives on all things cool and simple. The Deluxe set runs on flat heads, suede, steelies, rockabilly, D.A. cuts, flames, T-shirts, and tattoos. Emap Petersen threw a 12-band party/car show, including HRM art director Todd Westover’s own band Doorslammer, to ignite it all. Tune in to see what happened. Also in December, we’ll be covering more NMCA action from Memphis. where we riled up…

Jay Stockbridge’s ’59 Chevy wagon is a great example of how to blend new parts with an older car to obtain best-of-both-world results. Jay (left) and his pal Clayton Edstrom joined Power Tour for several hundred miles, a task made easier by the 700-R4 Overdrive transmission behind the 406 small-block. The 0.70:1 Overdrive reduced the 3.73:1 gearing to a mere 2.60:1, allowing the mildly reworked Mouse to loaf at 2,500 rpm while Power Touring at 75 mph. Jay, a self-employed architect from Burlington, Illinois, bought the wagon as a bare-bones Brookwood stripper. Jay deemed it a bit too plain and applied spiffier Parkwood trim and two-tone paint. The original 135 hp 235 six and three-on-the-tree were donated to a buddy who was restoring an early Chevy pickup truck. When new,…

Lookee here, we all know that the end of a year—or decade, century, or millennium—is just another day. The dawning of January 1, 2000, will not differ that radically from December 31, 1999, save for the odd computer error. We will not awaken, look out the window, and discover that things have changed radically. The 60s didn’t end at the end of 1969; the attitudes and situations carried over into the new year and eventually drew to a close a couple of years into the ’70s. Year 2000, once a sci-fi fantasy world of flying cars and personal robots, has suddenly become something a lot more tangible. The changes have been coming for some time… slowly, sometimes imperceptibly, and right there under our noses. Its only when looking back that…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Through years of involvement with all forms of high performance racing, NOS has evolved into the world’s largest manufacturer of performance nitrous oxide injection systems. NOS designs and engineers nitrous systems for virtually anything with an internal combustion engine from stock to highly modified cars. Automotive performance enthusiasts can choose from Cheater and Big Shot plate systems, Fogger direct-port systems, or “dry” nitrous systems for EFI cars. Along with the injection systems, NOS offers a full line of accessories, including bottle warmers, purge systems, remote valves, and nitrous gauges.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com World-famous for its revolutionary air filters, K&N offers increased filtration and more power through improved technology. By using a surgical-grade cotton gauze sandwiched between aluminum screens and impregnated with oil, the K&N Filtercharger provides increased filtration, increased airflow, and even extended service intervals. When it does come time to service the Filtercharger, simply wash it, respray it with K&N oil and reinstall-it’s warranted for one million miles or 10 years. K&N offers filters for a wide variety of OE applications, plus many custom designs. Many kits are also available to re-duct your incoming air, for further airflow and air quality enhancement.…

Toll-free order line: 1-800-230-3030 Order online: www.summitracing.com Another veteran of the automotive performance world is Weiand, perhaps best known for its aluminum intake manifolds. Today, the range of offerings includes dual-plane designs in low-, medium-, and high-rise configurations under the Action-Plus banner, while the Stealth line provides the ulitimate dual-plane design, good to 6800-rpm. For single-plane manifolds, there’s the X-CELerator line. But Weiand isn’t limited to intakes, it also manufactures premium aluminum water pumps. The Action-Plus line of aluminum engine-driven pumps offers 30-50% weight savings over stock cast-iron pumps for street machines, while Team G pumps handle severe-duty racing applications. Electric water pumps are also avaialble for Chevy V-8s.…

A $3,914.05 sticker reflected the option-heavy days Detroit got fat on. Virtually anything other than the basic stripper ($2,945) cost extra. Aside from the A12 440 engine package ($462.80), the most expensive option on the Road Runner was power steering ($100). The Sure-Grip differential in the Dana 60 axle cost $42.95. Interest you in a foam front-seat cushion? That’ll be $8.30, please. The car had undercoating ($16.60) along with the A01 light package ($29.60) and A87 Road Runner decor group ($81.50). Further options included three-speed windshield wipers ($5.80), cooling package ($10.80), torque-drive fan ($14.45), tachometer ($50.15), and a solid-state AM radio ($61.55). Air conditioning was not available. One of the overt reasons the 440 responded so well was its direct association with cool and smooth incoming air. The mammoth boundary-layer…