Innehållsförteckning för August 1963 från Hot Rod

It all started with a 'phone call. We were quietly puttering around in the garage on our '34 roadster when a member of the L. A. Roadster Club telephoned. Would we like to run up to the lakes that weekend for the SCTA opener? A check to see if our sleeping bags were still in one piece and we agreed to go. Saturday night we left on the labour trip that took us approximately 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. We met our buddy, Tom McMullen, at a small cafe in the town (?) of El Mirage, bordering the El Mirage dry lake. All this was after midnight. A bite to eat and we were off, the entourage including a VW bus, our Chevy wagon, a chopped '34 sedan and…

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Do you own a '63 Ford that has one of the new high performance 427 engines, or do you plan to buy one? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, the following facts, figures and ideas from Les Ritchey may be of help to you. They could make the difference between your car's being a success or a failure in the type of driving for which you use it. Les Ritchey is well known in drag racing as a Super Stock car and engine builder, tuner, and driver; in stock car track racing as an engine builder and tuner. He owns and operates a shop in Covina, Calif., that has the name of Performance Associates. The shop specializes in preparing Fords for drag racing, and this means…

A couple of issues ago we started an article with the cliché, “A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing!” Now we wish we had saved the gambit for our present subject—jet propelled vehicles. Hot rodding has made great and outstanding strides in the realm of automotive engineering, but let's face it, we've been working with a fairly constant and known quantity. We had grown up around and come to be quite intimate with the reciprocating internal combustion engine and along came a bombshell—the jet engine. It captured the imagination and made the senses reel. What tremendous power potential. Only two questions came to mind, where can I get one and how can I make it work in a car? It was only natural that sooner or later these engines…

BAKING SODA USES Baking soda can be used in two ways … in solution, strictly as an emulsifier of grease... and dry, where a scouring as well as an emulsifying action is needed. It's a scratchless scourer, however, that can be used safely on any surface, since baking soda dissolves completely when water hits it. Its other advantage in car care is that it's an antacid which will neutralize the acids that accumulate around batteries and terminals, eating into adjacent metals. SAL SODA USES Sal soda concentrated, a stronger alkali than baking soda, is primarily a heavy-duty cleaner. It, too, can be used in two ways … in solution, or dry as a scourer. Since it contains no grit or sediment, and dissolves completely in water, it can't scratch. 1)…

WHAT'S THIS TOP ELIMINATOR IN THE PACIFIC NONSENSE!! Sir: In view of the widespread claims and publicity USS Ranger has taken credit for lately, and upon viewing a letter appearing on these pages from Ranger personnel concerning a “drag race” in the Pacific, a few facts should be brought to light. Messrs. Robinson and Bradley of “Top Eliminator in the Pacific” fame are to be commended for their exceptional version of the race in their letter. The two budding Ranger novelists neglected to tell the entire truth of the matter, however. It was predetermined that the race would cover a prescribed course for twenty minutes duration, the winner being that vessel which was ahead at that time. Ranger failed to comply with the stipulations of the race and quit after…

Ever had a car you didn't really know what to do with? Hugh Tucker of Ventura, California had such a problem. He solved the dilemma simply by turning the white elephant into the goingest, most fearsome street roadster in the United States. A few years ago Hugh was wandering around a junk yard in Ojai, a small community near his home. He happened to spot a 1928 Chevrolet roadster that showed its age, but like so many rodders, just couldn't resist the urge to take the oldtimer home. In the light of day the awful truth arose—now what? The obvious answer was to transform the ol' Stovebolt ragtop into something more suitable for the street. This came through the use of a normally aspirated (six Stromberg 97 carburetors, that is)…

It's done! In the spring of 1962, we announced a series of articles on a new street roadster that was being developed to investigate the uses of modern ideas in hot rod design. We feel that we have accomplished our purpose. Except for the minor de-bugging which comes only through prolonged use of a car, the XR-6 experimental street roadster was completed and in its final form just prior to the Miami Custom Auto Fair in April, where it won the Street Rod Sweepstakes trophy. But we're ahead of our story. Back in the early fall of '62 when we made the decision to go all-out on a new body design that Steve Swaja had submitted, it was necessary to change from our original Cal Automotive fiberglass shell to one…

Early-bird entries for this year's National Championship Drag Races had reached an all time high at midJune, according to an official report from headquarters of the sponsoring National Hot Rod Association in Los Angeles. Although the five-day event is scheduled for August 29 through September 2, Labor Day, early June entries had been accepted from some 22 states and Canada. Announcement that entries would again be closed when the total reached the 1,000 mark (400 Stocks and 600 Hot competition cars) prompted experienced contestants to file early. Previous years have seen a hundred or more late-comer applicants left out when the final Nationals entry list was completed. Ohio was leading in total entries at June 10, with 16 recorded. California was a close second with 15, with Illinois and Indiana…

HOT ROD MART Requirements: 25 word limit per ad, not including name and address. We reserve right to edit copy or refuse ads. While not responsible for accuracy of description, we will reject misleading statements. No ads from commercial firms. Only one car may be listed in any one ad; this limitation not to apply to parts or equipment, however. $5 per ad must accompany each insertion. When photo is included, the rate will be increased to $8 per each insertion. Due to normal publication schedule, allow at least two months from time ad is received until it is printed. SELL—World's fastest SK boat engine. Turned 188.90 in a dragster, 152.90 in Hydro Impulse IV. 392 Chrysler. Rebuilt with new block. $3,000. Complete, ready to run. Todd Rawleigh, 919 S.…

CORVETTE CONSOLE Add the look of a '63 Sting Ray to your '58-'62 Corvette with a new interior console by Rod's Engineering. Complete with shift boot and anodized aluminum top plate, console has sturdy fiberglass frame supports; is furnished with all hardware necessary for simple installation. Priced at $37.50, f.o.b. Rod's Equipment Co., 11562 Norma Lane, Garden Grove, Calif. FOXCRAFT FENDER SKIRTS Here's the new “Madeira” fender skirt on striped stainless steel. Stripes are “rolled in” with alternate mirror-finish and brushed surfaces. Available for '63 Chevys (except Chevy II and Station Wagon), all '63 Fords (except Fairlane) and '63 Mercurys. Other styles are available for most popular models. Write: Foxcraft Products Corp., Huntingdon Valley, Calif. LATEST GOODYEAR TIRES Here's the newest tire from Goodyear. Flat, wide and low and reported…

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Few people outside of the Air Force have had more experience at the controls of a jet engine than Akron, Ohio's, Walt Arfons. His latest creation is a jet car which many people believe will be the first to break the old world record of 394 miles per hour set by the late John Cobb of England in 1947. Walt didn't just get a bright idea one day and start putting this latest creation together. He started experimenting with jet cars in the spring of 1959. His seventeen previous racing cars have been only stepping stones toward this newest World Land Speed Record contender. In December, 1961, during a showing of his Green Monster jet car in an auto show in Chicago, Walt met Tom Green, an engineer working for…

If you've ever worked on a project requiring the use of tubing, such as a tube chassis, you are well aware of one of the most madenning jobs there is—fitting the various pieces of tubing together in order to get a perfect fit and ensure an even weld all the way around the joint. Whatever method of making such joints is employed, the general strength and life of the frame are largely dependent upon the cleanliness of the parts to be joined and the preparation which is carried out before each stage of the work is undertaken. A simple and easy method of making uniform joints where tubes are to be welded is to make a pattern first from cardboard, thin tin or aluminum. First, roll the piece of material…