Innehållsförteckning för May 1961 från Hot Rod

METALFLAKE SPEEDSTER Dear Sir: We have just finished an article on Metalflake in your February ’61 issue of HOT ROD. Enclosed is a small snapshot of a finished product. The midget racer and driver’s helmet were done in Metalflake in August of 1960. This is probably one of the rare finishes on the Eastern coast. The men standing behind the car are the owners of Colonial Auto Body Shop of Closter, New Jersey. Seated in the car is Tony Ronilt, popular driver in the ARDC. Bob Backmann Chas. Estelle Closter, New Jersey CORRECTION PLEASE! Dear Sirs: In your April roto section you portray a car feature on the Dwarfs modified roadster from Santa Paula, California. Being of the fairer sex, objectively speaking, I wish to point out that the action…

The front wheels never touch the track for the first 100 yards! That’s how fast this speedster gets away—and, reportedly, it’s never been outpaced. Driver Dave Skeans has recorded an E.T. of 9.70 to 9.90 seconds, an average time of 148 MPH, and a maximum of 155 MPH! His 46 trophies include 10 Top Eliminators and the Class A Modified Roadster Championship of the entire Northwest. Like many other top dragsters, owner J. L. Skeans depends on Pennzoil Z-7 to get his record-breaking performance. He explains, “This engine turns 8500 to 9000 RPMs. Naturally, valve train pressures, bearing and crankshaft loads are abnormally high at 16-to-1 compression ratio. Safe and dependable lubrication is a must, and Pennzoil Z-7 fulfills this tough lubrication assignment. Pennzoil stands up—and to prove it, we’ve…

Dan Gurney averages a record 89.54 miles an hour, wins the International Nassau Trophy Race, his first major solo victory in six years. Dan’s reward: some $10,000—more than $1.00 per second of driving time. His car: a flame-colored 2½-liter rear-engine Lotus. His spark plugs: Autolite. Lesson for the day? Makes no difference if you own a Lotus or your name is Dan, Autolite Spark Plugs can’t be beat. There’s a set made especially for the car you drive. As Gurney and the Lotus well prove, you’re always right with Autolite. AUTOLITE ® SPARK PLUG DIVISION • TOLEDO 1, OHIO…

Back in the days when the 20th century was just beginning to get its feet on the ground and barber shop quartets were the living rage, the fledgling automotive industry was engaged in the throes of a magnificent battle with itself. Not yet had it been determined just exactly what future vehicles would be powered by, or what they would look like, or how they would perform. Almost stumbling, half-steps were being made by countless designers, mechanics, engineers, and dreamers. The horse and buggy at the general store hitching rack was a contemporary of snorting cars running gasoline, quiet little machines propelling themselves with battery powered electric motors, great huge monsters having six wheels etc. Everyone had ideas about cars. But perhaps one of the strangest ideas (and yet, not…

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In Central California, the Visalia Vapor Trailers are known not only as a highly competitive hot rod club, but also as a charitable community service organization. This 60-member club has donated over $6,000 to various charities and now turns all the proceeds of its annual charity drag race over to the Lions Club Sight Conservation program. But the main interest that has kept most of the 15 charter members active in the club is the mechanics of automotive engineering and acceleration performance. Many of the members wear the 100-mile-an-hour-plus emblem. In order to use the city’s airport for a drag strip, the club was taken under the wing of the municipal recreation department. Now, throughout the racing season, it holds monthly drags on a taxiway. Thousands come out to watch…

Paradoxically, the most exciting motorcycle competition, hillclimbing, is also the safest phase of two wheel sporting activities. Machines are highly specialized, riders are skilled and speeds are relatively low. The feats these men and machines accomplish are incredible, but for reasons unknown the major climbs are confined to the East, Middle East and North West states. The exceptionally sharp looking rig shown here is a Class A machine built up by Red Bryan, former national champ, and his brother Darrell, BSA dealers in Groveport, Ohio. Basically it is a fuel burning 40 cubic inch vertical twin in a modified BSA frame, but look more closely and you will see many modifications that brand this bike as a thorobred slope shooter. One of the most interesting things about Red’s job is…

Take any one of Chevy’s five ’61 Impalas, add either the new 409-cubic-inch V8 or the 348-cubic-inch job and a four-speed floor-mounted stick, wrap the whole thing in special trim that sets it apart from any other car on the street, and man, you have an Impala Super Sport! Every detail of this new Chevrolet package is custom made for young men on the move. This is the kind of car the insiders mean when they say Chevy, the kind that can only be appreciated by a man who understands, wants, and won’t settle for less than REAL driving excitement. Here are the ingredients of the Impala Super Sport kit* • Special Super Sport trim, inside and out • Instrument Panel Pad • Special wheel covers • Power brakes and…

(Only new-size wagon balanced, sprung and powered to move like a big one!) Wide seats (58½” in front, 58¼” in rear). 44 inches of legroom in front—37½ inches in the back. Even the middle man can stretch his legs. The big front floor hump is gone—the rear tunnel is low. Chalk this benefit up to the rear transmission. Front engine/rear transmission puts equal weight on front and rear wheels. Wagons need that balance. Full load or solo driver, the back end of this one takes a solid grip on the road. Doesn’t skip or jounce. Less weight on the front wheels. A cinch to steer and handle. Fill the Tempest Safari with passengers and gear. The 110 to 155 horsepower ratings of the gas-saving 4-cylinder engine will scoot the car…

“I’m on the big two-mile dirt test track at Kingman where they torture Fords… getting ready to take a bath in a Galaxie at 80 mph. I come out of the turn and down the long chute and then sight the water -- a mean-looking pool just ahead. Then whoosh! I’m in it -- and through it -- as water blasts at the suspension, and rough desert sand tears at the ball joints. I brake down to a stop and we hoist the Ford. Everything’s like it was. The sealed ball joints are intact -- the moly grease is still there even after a sand and water blasting that would wash most front ends dry. No wonder this one goes 30,000 miles between lube jobs!” THE ’61 FORD! BEAUTIFULLY BUILT…

The first year we attended NASCAR’s Speedweeks in Daytona Beach, Florida, was 1956. At that time, all of the activities were held on the world famous sands of the beach itself with flying mile, acceleration, modified and stock car events starting when the tide was near its low ebb and ending when the water came back in far enough to cover the strip of sand being used. Some days you had to be on the beach at dawn to witness runs while a few days later tide changes would see the competition taking place just before dusk. On still other days, participants and spectators would congregate on the beach at the designated hour only to find that the tide or wind had swept the beach from the wrong angle and…

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After a session of test driving E & F Industries’ new Eliminator, the best simile to describe the kart is the word “quarterhorse.” For those unacquainted with this western product, it is a horse originally bred primarily as a cowboy’s workhorse featuring ruggedness and stamina, as well as a quick sprint racing ability. The Eliminator with its square tube Heli-arced chassis will seldom win blue ribbons for beauty, but on the other hand it won’t leave you looking for a welder after every tangle with errant hay bales, or unscheduled detours through the boondocks. This kart is a shade on the heavy side, weighing in at 125 pounds dry. A good deal of this can be attributed to the two big AH 82 Power Products engines. We were pleasantly surprised…

Activity around the NHRA Head-quarters in Los Angeles has been at a feverish pitch for weeks, what with the necessary planning, checking, replanning, and rechecking all aspects of the recent Winternationals drags and car show. Many top-flight members of NHRA’s field crew were on hand to provide the required supervision for the affair, and the western get-together proved an ideal time for NHRA’s staff to complete final arrangements for drag racing’s fast approaching official points competition season. Just in the remote case you haven’t heard, the 1961 race for the World Points Championship kicks off for the season on the 7th of May, then continues hot and heavy until the 20th of August. Unlike last year, the season ends prior to the Nationals, with double bonus points to be…

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Revolutionary New R-l Racing Kart with detachable shock-mounted rear axle unit Again McCulloch has pioneered one of the greatest advances in karting! It has combined two great engineering advantages into one amazing kart. 1) Now you can race one kart in several classes simply by switching axle/power units. The entire power/axle comes off in minutes—including engines, axle, sprockets, wheels and engine mounts. 2) Annoying engine vibration has been isolated from the kart frame and steering wheel by eight sturdy rubber shock-mounts! They soak up jolts—prevent driver fatigue and frame failure—eliminate metal-to-metal contact and make the McCulloch R-1 a pleasure to drive. New-type Tubular Steel Frame of Indianapolis web-tube design. All frame sections are contour-fitted before welding for strength, resulting in a solid long-lasting unit. Accurately Engineered Ackermann Steering designed for…

This question faces every career-minded young man. Ronald Satterfield answered his question last year by joining the Aerospace Team—the U.S. Air Force. This year about 100,000 young men will also choose this highroad to the future. In less time than you might think, many of these men will become expert technicians in such vital fields as airplane and missile maintenance, radio, radar, communications. The near future will find others in supervisory positions that involve the important support specialties: administration, supply, air police work. These men are part of what may well be the most important organization in the world—the United States Air Force, our first line of defense. Of course, there are numerous personal benefits that go with service in the Air Force. Steady advancement, the opportunity for furthering your…

In 1960, the Ford Motor Company answered the complaints of dyed-in-the-wool Ford enthusiasts who were tired of watching the competition disappear in the distance by introducing a 352-inch, 360 horsepower high performance V8. For 1961, they stepped up the tempo a little bit more with a 390-inch V8 that was rated 375 horsepower. Now here a few months later is another shot in the arm for Ford owners in the form of a triple intake manifold. The triple intake, which Ford refers to as a 6V system, is presently available only from Ford parts departments but may soon be released as a regular production option on the high performance 390-inch V8. This increase in breathing area and fuel distribution increases the rating of the high performance engine to 401 horsepower…

.....however, for the performance minded a few minor changes have been incorporated…

Being as close to the field of automotive testing and evaluating as we are, buying a personal car is not always as easy as it may at first seem. When it came time for the purchase of a new car, we decided to look into the facts and figures regarding compacts very closely before making any hasty decisions. Our final choice of a Comet wagon was greatly influenced by the tremendous potential of the little Falcon engine. Designed as an economy engine, it has racked up some pretty impressive performances in the hands of local hop-up experts. Bill Burke’s Falcon (modified by Bill Stroppe) turned 205-plus mph at Bonneville in a tiny streamliner. This engine was injected and bored to 156 cubic inches. With increased compression, a cam and an…

And on gasoline, too! It’s an achievement that’s still the talk of Daytona Speed Week! Andy Granatelli’s astounding runs against the NASCAR clock averaged 172.2 MPH with a one-way mile officially recorded at 179.4 MPH. His stock-bodied 300 with twin Paxton superchargers shattered the previous record of 160.4 MPH. Only land-speed record vehicles, developed after millions of research dollars had been spent, have ever officially exceeded this speed on the Beach. Amazingly enough, the Granatelli 300 is a completely equipped street model with full-power accessories to match the fantastic 813 horses under the hood. He drives the 5600-pound bomb to the office, finds it idles like a family sedan. Premium fuel is the standard diet even during record attempts and is delivered to the 300 V-8 under 17 pounds of…