Innehållsförteckning för June 1951 från Hot Rod

“Road test a hot rod? Sure, we’re ready! Especially if it’s someone else’s hot rod.” This whole idea came up after we had been discussing various articles describing road trials conducted with new model cars. Believing that our readers might be interested in the results of such tests, we took advantage of the good nature of our friend Dave Mitchell, owner of Mitchell’s Muffler Shop in Pasadena, and arranged to use his pickup as our first “guinea pig.” We invited Walter Woron, Editor of Motor Trend magazine, to be our guest on the trip and his experience, gained from his own magazine’s Motor Trials, proved to be of good advantage as we put the pickup through its paces. We also found that Walt is quite adept at “hot rodding” a…

It’s a far cry from herding a big oil tanker and trailer to buzzing around in the little T roadster shown on these pages, but that’s what Johnny Cunningham does every week. Johnny built this tricky little car just for the fun of it. Although his original intention was that it should be used on the track, he soon altered his plans and converted it into a street machine. It is strictly a one-man car, having only a single seat which is in the center. Johnny has found that his little black T arouses many fond memories among old timers who “used to play with Model T’s themselves.” However, once the hood is lifted, the resemblance ends.…

You’ve heard of derby races, of course ⃛ who hasn’t? But this is the story of one that is new and different, the “Cheese Cake Derby.” The idea was first conceived by Mickey Moore, past president, and Renee Wallace, vice president-secretary, and with the assistance of Tom Haines. Steve Gardner and Joe Woody, officials at Culver City Stadium, Calif., the idea became a reality on July 15, 1950 when the first “Cheese Cake Derby” was run. To most of the girls, driving a race car was a new experience. And appearing before the television cameras at the same time proved to be quite an exciting ordeal. However, once in the jalopy and “off to the races” all was forgotten except trying to catch and pass the car ahead. With experience,…

A HOMESICK G.I. Sirs: Your article on “Bell Auto Parts” in your April issue really pleased me, although I got homesick over it. Having lived all my life just a few blocks away from Bell Auto Parts, I feel that I practically grew up in one of the nation’s best “speed shops.” You asked for photos from us “race-hungry G.I’s.” Enclosed you’ll find a shot of me in my “Bell Auto Parts Special” T.Q. midget, built for me before I was recalled to active duty. All of your interesting articles bring back a lot of pleasant memories of my civilian life, and really make me look forward to the future when this world conflict is over, and we can get back again to the sport we love so much. Pfc.…

The compression ratio of the engine in your automobile can be increased to gain two desired results. The first of these—more power and a higher standard of performance—is probably more popular than the second—economical operation. Regardless of the result you are after, the principles and operations involved in actually increasing the compression ratio are the same. Certain clearances in the combustion chambers must be maintained and the head must not be weakened by removing excessive amounts of material. The compression ratio of an engine is found mathematically by dividing the total volume of the cylinder and combustion chamber by the combustion chamber volume. The combustion chamber area in the head gasket must be included in the combustion chamber volume. For example, suppose an engine has a 3 inch bore, 4…

Members of two hot rod clubs in Hayward, California, have proven that nobody needs to be left out of this fast growing sport’s activity. The clubs referred to are the Rod Benders and the Rod Benderettes. Unique part about the whole arrangement is that one club is for males, following the usual pattern for hot rod groups of this type, and the other is an all girls club. Although the two groups operate as separate organizations, they do present occasional social events which are planned jointly, each group sharing an equal part in the presentation. Joint club meetings are held only on occasions when such planning is to take place or when guest speakers are scheduled to appear. The Hayward Rod Benders have been organized since 1947, when ten local…

Hot rods are by no means exclusively earth-bound vehicles. There are also hot rods of the air, as ingenious and spectacular as their unwinged four-wheeled counterparts. These midget planes, of varied design and construction, engage in thrill-laden competition which attracts increasingly large throngs of spectators wherever they are flown. Such competition is not merely a sport with no enduring or constructive aspects. Many substantial contributions to aviation progress have come about as a result of this activity just as regular hot rods have contributed knowledge to the automotive field. Advancements in engine cooling, cowling and streamlining have been developed through midget plane racing. The entire industry has learned much about delicate power balance in engines, wings and fuselage, with steadily increased speeds being gained as a result. Steve Wittman, of…

The April and May HRM engine conversion articles concerned an all out, full race competition engine based on a 270 GMC block equipped with a Horning 12 port cylinder head. This conversion also concerns the 270 GMC, but in a more conservative manner. The engine to be described was built for everyday use with dependability, long life, and performance receiving equal consideration. The 270 engine is particularly adaptable to Chevrolet chassis and many 270 and Chevrolet engine parts and accessories are interchangeable. The 270 block bolts to the Chevrolet bell housing without alterations. A Chevrolet starting motor can be used with either a 270 or 1939 Chevrolet flywheel (1940 and later Chevrolet flywheels cannot be used with 270 crankshafts as they are designed for a smaller crankshaft flange and mounting…

LOW SPEED PERFORMANCE Sirs: We shade tree mechanics hereabouts have the yen to soup up our Fords and Mercs but all we have to go by is $1.98 manuals, which don’t tell us all we need to know. My questions are three which should be easy for you methanol merchants but tough for me back here in the woods. 1. How good (or poor) would my Merc perform at low speeds with 8.5 to 1 heads, semi cam, and dual intake manifold. Say 20-25 mph in high? 2. What does a high speed ignition act like at such a speed? Does the two coil, two point set up without vacuum advance have a dead spot on pickup? 3. What size carburetor jets do you use in a dual setup on…