Innehållsförteckning för March 1986 från Hot Rod

Among the different modifications that can enhance performance as well as make a car look good are aerodynamic treatments like spoilers, wings, and air dams. Now that the “aero-look” is the “In” thing, almost every type of car made has some sort of factory-optional aero package available as well as a large variety of high-quality aero components that can be easily installed on some cars or adapted to other cars with similar lines. A lot of aftermarket manufacturers make aero-panels for popular models; sometimes a factory program will select one of these manufacturers to make their special pieces and racing bodies. Such is the case with Diversified Glass Products in Pontiac, Michigan. They were involved with factory stylists on Pontiac’s Trans Am and Fiero race cars, and also made the…

While it’s certainly possible to put a lot of money into a well-detailed engine compartment, it’s still one of the most visually rewarding modifications you can make. And there are ways to keep the cost down. If you’re into looks instead of performance, it can actually be exceptionally cost-effective—because most of your modifications won’t wear out. The first step in any engine detailing effort is a thorough cleaning of the engine compartment. Steam-cleaning gets the nod if the engine is really dirty, but spray degreasers and commercial cleaning solvents applied with a brush will always perform well if steaming equipment is unavailable. Don’t stop until every nook and cranny is squeaky-clean and devoid of grease, oil, excess sealant, paint overspray, and undercoating. Once you’ve got it clean it will be…

Performance augmentation systems are typically more expensive, complicated, and potentially illegal, but as a final step they remain some of the most popular modifications in the hot rodder’s handbook. If we had to rank them in order—based on cost (power per dollar), complication, and ease of installation—nitrous oxide injection would be the overwhelming favorite. This system, which uses nitrous oxide to release enormous amounts of additional oxygen in your engine’s cylinders, is unquestionably the best dollar value for performance applications, chiefly because nitrous kits are relatively inexpensive. They’re tuneable in stages for greater power increases, they’re easy to install, and they’re easily transferred from one car to another. Nitrous oxide is definitely a plus for cars for which little or no speed equipment is available, and it is the only…

350 IROC CAMARO I The battle for supremacy between Camaro and Mustang has raged off and on ever since 1967, when the Camaro was introduced to cash in on that incredible, youthful performance market which the Mustang had created. This battle has spawned some outrageous machinery over the years, like ZL-1 Camaros and Boss 429 Mustangs. Now the stakes are high once again, and Camaro and Mustang are fighting it out against the timing clocks. HOT ROD has nurtured this “healthy” controversy with our comparison test/shootouts we call “Title Bout I, II, & III.” For the first comparison in 1982 we compared two highly modified cars to find out just how much potential was locked within. The results were pretty much a draw, with both cars breaking into the 12’s…

A couple of years ago, Larry Pacini—a larger-than-life native of ^Newport Beach, California, with impeccable street racing credentials—decided what he really needed was an all-American Ferrari-eater. But Pacini also has style. He’s not one of those guys whose tastes lie in big-baloney Banzai bandits or street hero-ized pavement-pounders with 6-71 pumps protruding through the hood and “Adios Enzo” stenciled on the deck lid. No, lovers of the subtle stroke, Larry’s move was elegantly simple. He merely commissioned Randy Richey, son of the late Ford racer Les Richey, to build what Randy would have built if he had the inclination and financial wherewithal to stick it to the worshipers of the “prancing stallions.” Randy, a total “Fordnatic” like his famed father, had an instant answer. “I told Larry to go out…

VAPORIZED I have a ’69 Chevelle with a hot 396 engine fed by the big Holley electric fuel pump and pressure regulator. The fuel pump is mounted across from the fuel tank, in the lower part of the rearend tunnel. I’m running ⅜-inch fuel line from the tank to the carbs. The fuel filters are regular ⅜-inch inline metal cannister types. My problem is low fuel pressure (below 3 psi). On a long distance drive, the fuel pressure is normal (7 psi); then just over halfway there, the pressure drops to near zero. My first engine has already been trashed because of this problem. The next motor will not go back in the car until I find out what the problem is. David LanierEustis, Florida A You either have a…

The ’86 Hot Rod Super Nationals has just one objective: Be the best event of 1986. The Super Nationals is receiving a complete makeover for ’86. But don’t panic, much will remain familiar. The place is the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The dates are June 13, 14, and 15. And 2000 pre-’48 vehicles and 2000 ’49 and newer vehicles are being invited. But that is where any similarity ends. For ’86 there will be a totally new fairground layout catering to the needs of the participants. There will also be a new “affordable” headquarters hotel from which coordinated night activities and parking lot conversation can continue. Of course there will be the usual array of door prizes, awards, and even a giveaway car, but the major commodity for Super…

Sometimes the little things you do really set a car apart from the others. Subtle changes that may go largely unnoticed often spell the difference between just another run-of-the-mill street machine and a first-class piece. Depending on the type of car, commonly practiced guidelines suggest that less is more and more is less. If your car already has chrome and graphics, take them off; if your car is plain, put them on. This rule of thumb is easily guided by your personal taste, and in most cases the modifications are simple and relatively inexpensive. Dechroming is a practice that applies chiefly to earlier model cars, since most late-model cars have very little chrome. It involves the removal of all ornaments, trim, factory identification, and nameplates to achieve a cleaner, more…

The most popular transmission modifications for cars equipped with automatics are valve body reprogramming kits and torque converters. Valve body kits are generally called upon to increase shift firmness and initiate upshifts at a more desirable point in the engine’s power band. They normally contain a selection of gaskets, springs, check balls, and an intermediate plate that is sandwiched between the valve body and the transmission to re-route the flow of fluid. They are relatively inexpensive and can be installed in your driveway if you’re patient and work carefully. Valve body kits often feature various performance levels by including extra components that allow you to tailor your transmission’s performance to your particular combination. This can mean anything form changing the governor to altering shift points to installing an adjustable vacuum…

Literally, the term “promoter” has a very positive ar meaning: someone who furthers, betters, raises public awareness of something. In the world of hot rodding, however, “promoter” has an almost derogatory connotation. Unfortunately, far too many unscrupulous, self-serving, flamboyant, careless, or just plain inept car show and drag race promoters have sullied the name over the years. You’ve all heard tales of the car show front man who disappeared with the gate receipts before the trophies were handed out (and bills were paid); or the dragstrip huckster who endangered the lives of drivers and spectators with outlandish stunts. Consequently, the term “promoter,” in our field, often conjures up the image of (1) a rip-off artist, or (2) a P.T. Barnum hawking a carnival of angel hair, colored lights, wet T-shirts,…

Oldsmobile has always represented luxury and quality with a healthy measure of performance, but they haven’t really wowed us with anything awesome since the W30 and W31 packages of the late Sixties. Quite frankly, we had pretty much written them off as performance car people, even though a lot of performance enthusiasts still lurk within their Lansing lair. A few years ago we brought you news of their aluminum cylinder head and iron block for big-block Chevy Pro Stockers, and we’ve taken a brief look at their small-block NASCAR engine; but none of these programs ever spawned any real-world hardware that Olds enthusiasts could get their hands on. When it came to genuine street performance equipment, Oldsmobile just wasn’t interested; but that’s all changing now that performance has become fashionable,…

Sacramento Raceway Park was recently the scene of informal graduation ceremonies for the 50 students of Alston Race Car Engineering’s fourth annual Chassis Dealer School. This year the participants were divided equally between commercial chassis builders applying for factory-authorized Alston-dealerships and individual drag racers seeking a cram course in suspension science. For the 25 newly appointed Alston dealers, a Saturday of “real-world” dragstrip testing followed five exhaustive days of indoor classroom instruction. Their distinguished teaching staff included Frank Airheart, the famous racing brake engineer, plus Alston Industries co-founders Tom and Chris Alston. A separate group of 25 interested drag racers, enrolled in a special two-day Racers School, joined the professional chassis builders in the classroom on Friday, and again at Sacramento Raceway on Saturday. Students Steve Bowers (C/Modified Production Corvette)…

Wheels and tires are often the first modification a rodder makes because they can have a dramatic effect on a car’s appearance and performance. Unfortunately, they tend to be one of the most costly. A typical selection of aftermarket wheels and performance radial tires can set you back between $800 and $2000 by the time you get them mounted and balanced, and purchase all the necessary hardware like lug nuts, valve stems, and center caps. Still, wheels and tires are among the most popular modifications. The advantages of custom wheels may include lighter weight, which promotes increased performance because it reduces the unsprung weight acting on a car’s suspension and lessens the inertia effect required to start and stop a car (heavy wheels and tires require more engine torque to…

For those of you who may not think “Oldsmobile” and “performance” are synonymous terms, Oldsmobile’s performance heritage dates all the way back to 1903, when an Olds-built “Flyer” established the world’s lightweight speed record of 54 mph. In conjunction with Cadillac, Olds later introduced the first modern overhead V8 engines in 1949. NASCAR’s 160-mile Grand National stock car race at Daytona was won in 1953 by a Bill Blair-driven Olds at a new record average speed of 89.5 mph. Later in the decade, buyers of 1957 and 1958 Olds models could opt for a 371-inch, triple deuce “J-2 Rocket” rated at 300 hp. The early ’60s saw the introduction of an all-aluminum 215-cubic-inch V8, some of which came with factory turbochargers. In 1964 the first modern Olds V8 debuted as…

Two months ago our resident nitro-head, Gray B-Ville, gave you a fond—nay, passionate look back at the fire-breathing, guardrail-leaping days of Fuel Altereds gone by. There was nothing quite like them, to be sure. But there’s something close. Don’t for a minute think that blown Altereds no longer exist. It’s a rare, hardy, all-but-vanishing breed. In fact, it’s the only Comp class left in which you can still run a real, live, rowdy Roots blower. We’re talking about the AA/A and BB/A categories. In my biased opinion, and that of a handful of Altered-minded competitors, these are the last vestiges of real race cars at the amateur level. Dave Dudley, builder/driver of the nasty Fiat coupe shown here, put it bluntly: “I’ve never run anything but blown cars. They’re the…

CARS & TRUCKS BERRY MINI-T PHAETON ROADSTER. Metallic-red over black, new 1835cc engine, tires, and brakes, lots of chrome, garaged and covered since new. $3500 firm. Glendale, California. (818) 248-1210 or (818) 500-1996 ’70 CHALLENGER R/T CONVERTIBLE. Plum Crazy! P/S, P/DB, A/T, A/C, 440 Six-Pak, Dana 60 with Magnum hood and Magnum 500’s, heavily optioned, $6500/4-speed ’Vette trade. R.S. Bowden, 655 W. Hwy. 36, Apt. 203, Roseville, MN 55113, (612) 481-9876. ’56 CHEVY CONVERTIBLE. Dusk plum and ivory, automatic, power brakes, push-button radio, wide whites, skirts. $12,000. Dick Kincaid, P.O. Box 234, Canton, OH 44701, (216) 484-4126. ’69 CORVETTE. 435-hp, 427-cid, automatic, radio delete, 19,000 miles, red, bone-stock, $15,000. Tom Watson, South Bend, Indiana, (219) 272-5522. ’75 COURIER. Red, blown 400 small-block, 9-inch Mustang rearend, plus a lot more. Show…