Innehållsförteckning för April 1986 från Hot Rod

A turbo is a blower, like a GMC, a B&M, or, more similarly, a Paxton. It gives the engine more power by delivering a supercharge of air (to which you add proportionate extra fuel) on the intake stroke. The blower pumps more air into the motor than normal atmospheric pressure—about 14.5 psi—can push in. Remember, an engine runs on air—the expansion of air. Air expands when it is heated. Combustion in the cylinder heats the air. The expanding air pushes (creates pressure) on the piston. This pressure is converted to work by the engine; we like to call it power. The more air you get in each cylinder on the intake stroke, the more it will try to expand—that is, the more pressure it will exert on the piston—and, consequently,…

With the possible exception of Buddy Ingersoll and his amazing “tur-blowed” Buick Regal, the fine art of turbocharging at the digs has been about as successful as the NHRA’s ill-fated nitro ban or its equally unimpressive move toward 1000-foot drags. Throttle lag, lack of control, expense, fear of the unknown, “stand-patism,” and the sanctioning body’s own discriminatory indexing practices have combined to ensure that the exhaust-driven centrifugal superchargers continue to remain in a virtual no-win situation—which could well end in the near future if both Gale Banks and Ron Hodgson succeed in their quiet revolution. Banks, our choice for the mayor of Irwindale, California, that famed garden spot located at the foot of the majestic San Gabriel mountains, has wanted to develop a turbocharged Top Fueler for years. In fact,…

Since HOT ROD Magazine became involved with rod evaluation tests throughout the years, there appears to be a common string which ties them all together. It happens to be the fact that no self-respecting hot rod is ever finished: rodneys are constantly being rebuilt, reworked, refinished, and refinanced. So it shouldn’t come as a real surprise that Mike Maris’ “hot-tech” hauler bares little resemblance to what it was the instant before the front end fell off on his way to work. SPEC SHEET/’32 FORD THREE-WINDOW COUPE ENGINE: Engine Type ’70 Chevy V8 Displacement 302 cubic inches Bore & Stroke 4.00 x 3.00 inches Carburetion Holley 800 DP modified by Gale Banks Enterprises Compression Ratio 8.0:1 Fuel Type Pump gas DRIVELINE: Transmission Doug Nash 5-speed Rearend ’70 Ford 9-inch narrowed 10…

They laughed pretty hard in the spring of 1965 when the doors of the Shelby American transporter swung open to reveal a racing Mustang. By the fall of that same year they were cheering. Once again, the Shelby group had waved its highly talented magic wand and produced a winner. In the wake of the Mustang’s victory march to the Sports Car Club of America’s B/production championship were the likes of Porsche, Corvette, Jaguar, and a bunch of unwitting Cobras (unintended victims of the Mustang’s kick). Ford’s little grocery-getter was no longer just setting records in America’s new car showrooms, it was now a national road racing title holder. The Mustang’s transformation from streetwise ponycar to track-savvy racer was no small achievement. It took the engineering wizardry of Chuck Cantwell,…

Pro Stockers Unite We all know it takes money to make money, it pays to advertise, and any publicity is good publicity. But for professional drag racers, especially in the super competitive Pro Stock category, just keeping the car together, getting it to the track, and making the field can take more hours than a calendar week has. Well, Albert Clark, Warren Johnson, Gil Clark (Rod Shop), and Buddy Morrison (Reher-Morrison) figured the best way to make Pro Stock look more professional (to fans, to the press, and to potential sponsors) was to join forces, pool resources, and hire some public relations assistance. Consequently, they have helped launch a new Pro Stock Owners’ Association (P.O. Box 159015, Columbus, OH 43215) which has employed Joe Sherk and Rick Voegelin to produce…

A supercharger—such as a turbo—compresses air. Compressing air heats it. Heating air makes it expand. This is a Catch 22 inherent in supercharging. Here’s another approach. You put a blower on a motor to pump more air into it. But what is more air: more volume, more pressure, or what? Remember, air is elastic. You can measure it in cubic feet or cubic inches (volume), as we often do when playing with automotive engines. However, one cubic foot of air can have more air in it than another. This is basic physics. It’s not simple, but it’s basic. Consider a fixed volume of air, say a one-cubic-foot closed container with an inlet valve. There are two ways to increase the amount of air this container holds, above the amount that…

Turbocharging is old stuff. It was being used as a power booster on internal combustion engines before the first hot rodder ever turned a wheel on a dry lakebed. But it was a rare and expensive way to achieve the same end as the traditional and considerably less costly methods of punching out more cubic inches and adding on carburetors. It took the combined power of OPEC and the U.S. government to turn that economic equation around. Federal mileage standards pretty much put the big-inch monster motor out to pasture as far as the car manufacturers were concerned. But potential customers with cash in their hands and performance on their minds were all the incentive the world’s automakers needed to find another way to skin this particular cat. The turbocharger…

Spurred by the numerous factory production turbo cars of recent years and the advent of sophisticated automotive electronic devices, the turbo industry has finally “grown up.” And, as has been the case with virtually every other maturing industry, this actually means there are fewer turbocharger component businesses around today than just a few years ago. The weak sisters have fallen by the wayside, while those relatively few competent companies that gave customers their money’s worth—by producing turbo parts that really work—have grown strong and prospered. Today’s kits run the gamut from diesel hop-up pieces to 2500-hp Top Fuel components. They incorporate all the hard-won accumulated knowledge of the pioneers, turbo durability advances developed to meet O.E.M. producers’ reliability needs, and modern computer technology. Currently, industry leaders are gravitating towards blow-through…

Plans are really taking shape for the ’86 Super Nationals—June 13, 14, and 15 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The layout for the fairgrounds has been revised to take advantage of all the grass, shade, and cruise lanes, which puts you right at the center of the action. Remember, all types of hot rods are welcome, including street rods, street machines, customs, restored musclecars, and of course, hot rodded trucks. In keeping with our pledge to put on the best event of 1986, here is what we already have scheduled. The headquarters hotel will be the Holiday Inn Speedway, 6330 Debonair Lane, Indianapolis, IN 46224, (317) 293-3220. The Super Nationals room rate is $45 per night. On Friday night (the 13th) five separate poker runs will end at…

Ford’s third-generation Mustang has been around since 1979—long enough to make used, second-hand ponies oaffordably available. The 3000-pound lightweight chassis is prime hop-up material, and since the serious rodder will most likely swap the late smog drivetrain for earlier bulletproof components anyway, a less popular (and therefore cheaper) 4-cylinder ‘Stang can be used as the starting point for a trick, personalized street machine of the ‘80s. That’s exactly what Mustang performance guru Bill Maier had in mind when he decided to build a trend-setting Mustang to showcase his Maier Racing Products’ (22215 Meekland Ave., Hayward, CA 94541, 415/581-7600) performance, handling, and styling components. Bill began by rescuing a derelict 4-cylinder ‘82 model from the local “previously owned vehicle” lot, then swapped the weak 2300 drivetrain for a healthy 351W motor…

PINNED DOWN Q Many production engine designs minimize piston slap by offsetting the piston pin relative to the piston centerline. Balancing piston side thrust loads to reduce piston rocking forces during combustion seems like a common-sense approach to good engine design. Why do performance engine builders prefer zero offset? John SerkaianNorthville, Michigan A Offsetting the pin is done not for engine longevity, but to reduce audible “piston slap” on cold start-up. The pin is offset towards the piston’s major thrust face—that is, the side of the piston that bears most heavily against the cylinder wall during the power stroke. Such an offset does not really “balance” the thrust loads; it merely prevents sudden and abrupt side thrust load reversal from the piston’s minor thrust face as the piston transitions from…

When we initiated the Floyd Lippencotte Memorial Photo Contest in these pages several months back, we were hoping for the definitive, knock-your-socks-off, great motorsports photograph. Something creative, something really dynamic. We haven’t seen it yet. In lieu of this, however, we are awarding a Tentative Grand Prize to Don Figler of St. Louis for being at the right place at the right time, having his camera loaded, focused, and set on the right f-stop—and having the presence of mind to shoot off a string of motor-drive frames when something dramatic and ultimately very important happened. It could have been cool skill, or it might have been pure luck. We can say the same about Danny Sullivan, the subject of this celebrated 360-degree spin at Indy last year. Some Irish luck…

Hot Tips Buick has a new “tip” for enthusiasts who want to beef up their 3.8 and 4.1-liter V6’s equipped with stock heads. T&D Machine Products now offers aluminum rocker arms with Torrington needle bearings and hardened steel roller tips, like those found on Buick V6 racing engines. They come in standard 1.5:1 and high-lift 1.65:1 ratios. Hardened lock nuts make valve lash changes easy. For more information, contact T&D Machine Products, Dept. HR-04, 3457 S. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016, (213) 836-1353. Decals, Pins, and Patches American DP offers a huge selection of Mustang and Ford hat pins, patches, and decals. But even if you’re not a Ford fan, you’ll still want to browse through their latest catalog to see the complete line. While supplies last, American…

So you thought Carroll Shelby was out of it, reduced to the second-fiddle role of keeping all the performance car promises Lee laccoca was making about Chrysler products. Perhaps you even figured the O? Master was talking out of the side of his mouth when he spoke (HRM June ‘85) of low-cost, four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive mini cars that can go out and beat up on the big stuff. Well, don’t feel bad, so did we. Till now. Carroll Shelby is back, and he’s just fired the first bullet in his battle with the performance car world—the Shelby GLHS. Seems Shelby is setting up shop again. It’s back in the trenches for the man who’s been busy consulting with Chrysler Corporation for the past three years. Though his plans haven’t changed on…

Performance booster kits for factory turbocharged cars offer enthusiasts a reliable and reasonably priced means of increasing their car’s performance without going inside the engine. Commonly referred to as turbo “Bump-Up” kits (after the original kits offered by Callaway Turbosystems), these booster systems are designed to greatly improve performance by enhancing and supplementing existing factory turbo equipment. Most kits offer a multi-level approach that stresses modifications in four or five separate areas, and they are designed so the average enthusiast can install a kit at home with ordinary hand tools. Moreover, they are engineered to retain all factory emissions controls to ensure your continued compliance with state and federal statutes. Factory bump-up kits are also being made available by Ford and Chrysler, and their application normally complies with all original…

Many people see the possibility of Ingersoll’s entry into Pro Stock as a bad sign. Because he is perceived as having the ability to turn the screw (increase the boost) whenever necessary, many competitors feel he will be at a decided advantage. The consensus is that factoring would once again be required in Pro Stock. When Buddy Ingersoll pulls his turbocharged V6 Buick Regal to the line at a national event, the whole dragstrip comes to attention: the crowd knows they’re about to witness something awesome. Watching Ingersoll’s full-bodied Regal lay down a pass is damn near a religious experience, and while no one’s ever come away proclaiming salvation, very few people leave with anything less than the impression that they’ve just witnessed the impossible. Buddy’s 2400-pound Regal is powered…

We know what you’re thinking: “Great, just what the world needed. Another bone-jarring aftermarket nightmare loaded with decals and enough fiberglass bolt-ons to float a yacht club.” Well, usually we’d be forced to agree with you. But don’t turn the page yet—this one really is worth knowing about. If you don’t know who Steve Saleen is, you will soon. He’s a road racer with an extensive background in race car design and preparation who Ford Motor Company takes very seriously. He’s doing what a great many would love to do. Under the name of Saleen Autosport (313 N. Lake St. Burbank, CA 91502, 213/849-1017), he’s assembled a small team of automotive experts who are building a car very much in Saleen’s own image. And even more significant, he’s managed to…

When Fatty’s big-block Ford failed to get finished in time (a complete buildup will appear in a near-future issue of HRM), Editor Lenny sweet-talked George “Honker” Striegel into letting Fat Jack use one of George’s “Mr. Horsepower” motors. Built by Striegel, the 500-plus-inch big-block features a Clay Smith Engineering roller cam, Velasco crank, Carrillo rods, J&E pistons, Littlefield (8-71) supercharger, Enderle injector, and a Hunt-prepared Vertex mag. Striegel’s Rat had enough attack to allow driver Al Ventura to ease the 3000-pound, 1946 Ford club coupe through Bayland’s quarter in just 9.44 seconds at 149 mph… and to let Jack take home the “World’s Fastest” street rod trophy. Because “Fatness” chose to keep the coupe’s body virtually stock—with the exception of minute trim removal, the reworking of the bumpers, and a…

DRAG RACING April 5-6—AMA 6th Annual Dixie Cyclenationals, Atlanta, Georgia April 11-13—IHRA Bayou Nationals, Louisiana International Raceway, Eunice, Louisiana April 18-20—NHRA 6th Annual Nationwise/Castrol Southern Nationals, Atlanta, Georgia ROAD RACING April 6—IMSA Camel GT Atlanta Journal/Constitution Grand Prix Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia April 13—CART Toyota Grand Prix, Long Beach, California April 27—IMSA Camel GT Los Angeles Times/Nissan Grand Prix, Riverside, California CIRCLE TRACK RACING April 6—CART Dana 200, Phoenix, Arizona April 6—NASCAR Valleydale Meats 500, Bristol, Tennessee April 13—NASCAR Transouth 500, Darlington, South Carolina April 20—NASCAR Northwestern Bank 400, N. Wilkesboro, North Carolina April 27—NASCAR Sovran Bank 500, Martinsville, Virginia OFF ROAD RACING April 4-6—SCORE/HDRA Great Mojave 250, Lucerne Valley, California April 20—District 38’s 125 Classes 3rd Annual Buzz Bomb 100, Plaster City East, Imperial County, California April 26—Mickey Thompson’s…