Innehållsförteckning för March 1990 från Hot Rod

In order for Dick Jones Racing Cams to design a profile for your particular application, there is some important information it must obtain in order for the cam to work properly. First of all, your application is all-important. Is this an all-out race engine or a mild boulevard cruiser? Honesty is the best policy here and will go a long way toward an optimized cam. Bore, stroke, rod length, compression ratio, cylinder-head design (is it a Brodix aluminum or a production iron head?), and intake and exhaust port flow numbers are also important, if you have them. The intake manifold, carburetor, header-pipe diameter and length, and the exhaust system efficiency are also critical to the camshaft profile. Cylinder-head flow numbers generated on a flow bench are extremely valuable to the…

There was a time not long ago when a real engine was thought of in cubic inches! We’re not talking low-vacuum, 3.0-liter V6s or Turbo 1.8s, but beefy V8s with 500 cubic inches! Picture eight oil cans for pistons and you’ll get the idea. Engines like these often produced more torque than horsepower because low-speed grunt was the real goal. With these babies, redline was never a concern, with over 500 pounds of torque at only 2800 rpm! Maximum horsepower usually came in at around 4500 rpm, and by 5000, these engines were usually all through. So with all of the recent fuss over newly developed V8s, VIOs, and V12s, we felt that the time had come to look back at the true torque monsters from Motor City. CADILLAC 500…

In the first two segments of our Showroom Stomper series (January and February ’89), we explored the acceleration limits of Ford’s 25th-anniversary Mustang. In stock form, we managed a 14.51-e.t./94.91-mph quarter-mile, and with Kaufmann Products, Inc. improvements to the exhaust system, pulleys, shifter, tires, and lubricants, we bested our baseline with a respectable 13.67/99.46-mph run. KPI “beefed” the motor with its trick TFS aluminum heads, Stage III Hydraulic Street Roller camshaft kit, and a fully ported induction system for sizable gains in horsepower and performance. The resulting 375 ponies returned an impressive best of 12.26/111.65 mph on small Goodyear racing slicks. If there’d been room for a slightly wider tire, the Mustang could have run 11.70s. Yet the real world consists of more than lengthy strips of two-lane. For every…

When Jim and Mary Kelly decided to build their latest hot rod, their thinking was identical in every area but one—the color! While Jim was looking for something new and different, Mary was still entranced by the ever-popular luster of red. In the months that followed, various parts and pieces were joined together while the color remained in question. A frame from Hot Rods By Boyd was fitted with an ’84 Corvette independent suspension utilizing coil-over shocks and JFZ disc-brake calipers. Up front, a pair of coil-over shocks supports a dropped tube axle complete with Boyd’s spindles, JFZ disc brakes, and rack-and-pinion steering. For power, Jim decided on the ever-popular small-block Chevy transplanted from an ’85 IROC Camaro complete with Street and Performance’s Tuned Port Injection, HEI ignition, and enough…

The name Chauvin Emmons is a familiar one to long-time readers of HOT ROD Magazine. Five of Chauvin’s T-bodied roadsters have graced the pages of HRM. But ol’ Chauvin is getting up there in age and 1 the elements have taken their toll on the master machinist from Phoenix, Arizona. In other words, Chauvin took the closed-car route a few years back and bought himself a ’32 Ford Victoria. Now for those who don’t know what a “Vicky” is all about, think of it as a Tudor sedan with a stylish little bustle in the back. I mean, leave it to Chauvin to go stylin’ even in a rod with a top. And leave it to the master machinist to trick it out to the max. For instance, he sat…

Today’s high-performance sporting motorcycles are very impressive pieces of technology. In terms of acceleration, they are the quickest and fastest street-legal vehicles ever produced. But can the newest, wildest street cars take them in overall performance? We know bikes are hot at the strips but how do they compare in the more balanced world of the skidpad and the road-race course? Outrageous cars like the ZR-1 Corvette with its Lotus-designed, all-aluminum, 32-valve engine and foot-wide rear Goodyear Eagles are made to stop and turn as well as inhale sheer distance. The question is: Which actually delivers more overall speed in more situations—the under-$8000 Yamaha or the mega-moola $60,000 ’Vette? We teamed up with the guys from Motor Trend to find the answer. The vehicles were to be stock, with only…

CARS & TRUCKS ’65 BUICK RIVIERA. Extra nice, loaded, silver with black interior. $6000. (801) 266-0523 or (801) 649-6492, Utah. ’68 CAMARO. .060-over 350, Tunnel Ram 2x4, 12.5:1, Bow-Tie, all-Crower roller, stainless valves, NOS Fogger II, trans brake, 6000-rpm Fairbanks converter, 14-inch slicks, 5.57 gear. Leon Teague, P.O. Box 1896, Deming, NM 88031, (505) 546-6515. ’66 CHEVELLE PRO STREET. 396 hp, Muncie 4-speed, 4.88s, red, white, and blue. Finished show car, send for more info. No collect calls, serious inquiries. $11,000. Jeffery Walker, 8036 N. Watterson Trl., Louisville, KY 40291, (502) 491-4862. ’29 CHEVROLET LANDAU AX. INTERNATIONAL CONVERTIBLE. Very rare street rod, 400 engine and trans, disc and drum, tilt wheel, mohair interior, Firemist Blue. $14,900. Larry Fougerousse, 8841 W. Trayis Rd., Pocatello, ID 83201, (208) 232-2132. ’75 CHEW LUV.…

UPDATED CAPRI The more I read your magazine, the more I itched to do something … and I did. To those early Mustang and Capri owners, there is hope. Here is a photo of my ’80 Capri turbo. I retrofitted it with an ’86 Mustang 302 H.O. fuel-injected engine and 5-speed. If anyone is interested in this swap and the work involved, they can send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope, and I will give them the details. John Zito37 William St. Copiague, NY 11726 CLOSED-MINDED I am writing to you because a few of your readers made me so mad that I felt compelled to write in. I have a problem with Kevin Hill (Reaction Time, July ’89), who thinks you should only have Chevys in your magazine. I hope…

The 1990 General Tire Special Events calendar includes a full schedule of hot-rod and street-machine events, including the 12th-annual HOT ROD Super Nationals and the 14th-annual Street Machine Nationals. Don’t be left out this year. Get your entry in early to ensure your part in these prestigious automotive events next summer. Entry details can be obtained from Special Events, (317) 236-6522. 1990 Street Machine Spring Nationals April 7 & 8, 1990 Central Florida Fairgrounds Orlando, Florida 5th-annual 4-Wheel and Off-Road Jamboree Spring Nationals May 4, 5 & 6, 1990 Winnebago County Fairgrounds Rockford, Illinois 1990 Street Machine Motor City Nationals May 12 & 13, 1990 Monroe County Fairgrounds Monroe, Michigan 12th-annual HOT ROD Super Nationals June 1, 2 & 3, 1990 Canfield Fairgrounds Canfield (Youngstown), Ohio 14th-annual Street Machine Nationals…

For some time now, Gary Vahling has owned and operated Masterpiece Rodding and Color Design in Baulden, Colorado. In that time, he’s built numerous high-quality hot rods, from woodies to roadsters, but never anything like this ’48. While his previous cars have been based on existing models, this fat Ford roadster pickup is the truck that never was. It all started with a scale model built by Dave Hill in California. Next came sketches by illustrator Darrell Mayabb, who brought Hill’s ideas to a workable medium, and soon Gary was lighting the torch. Before long, the remains of a derelict ’48 Ford convertible and pickup had been cut, grafted, welded, and reshaped by Rod Hoover to create this beautiful phantom version. The lower rear panel of the pickup cab was…

Deep in the heart of Texas is a group of car fanatics whose number-one joy is modifying cars to fold space and travel at warp speed. Though the chief engineer doesn’t have a Scottish accent, the firm’s business is making more power. And, of course, the crew doesn’t cultivate the powers of “dilithium crystals”; it concentrates on the finer points of turbocharging the internal-combustion engine. If you follow the pages of some of the sporty car books, you’ve probably heard of Cartech, located in Dallas, Texas. The company has been putting fires under the hoods of many a ’Bahn burner, Italian stallion, as well as several low-flying redesigns from the land of the rising sun. Recently the folks at Cartech have focused their expertise on some of the domestics. Their…

Thank the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA)—because it encouraged its Top Sportsman class to evolve into a group of the most incredible door-slammers ever assembled in the annals of organized drag racing. However, what began as a regional phenomenon—a modern-day offshoot of the Southern-style, run-what-you-brung match-race type of stockers—could have been confined to the Southeastern states except for the organizational efforts of Duane Nichols and his newly created (fall ’88) United States Super Circuit (USSC) show. The USSC stages booked-in match races throughout the country, which feature the likes of the cars you see on these three pages. Now, if you’ve ever contemplated going to a USSC show, be prepared for an onslaught of the most outrageous-looking, performing, and humorous collection of charismatic closed cars this side of the salt…

Five years ago this article would have been unthinkable, or premature, at best. Why? Because five years ago, a coterie of drag-racing pundits was predicting the demise of Top Fuel. You see, five years ago “da flops” were the stars of the strip. Kenny Bernstein was in the process of winning the first of four consecutive Funny Car titles, and the performance gap between Top Fuel and Top Flop was a mere 2/10-second and a few miles per hour. Recalls Dale Armstrong, Bernstein’s crewchief, “That was when Top Fuel was running 3.40 rearend gears and a 15-percent tranny. We gave Darrell Gwynn our ‘consistent’ combo… same lead, fuel pressure, but 6-percent less nitro, and it surprised us how well it worked in a moderately heavy car.” Yet 60 months, 294…

Neil Jacobs, a self-employed mechanic from Utica, New York, is a self-described “Mopurist” from the old ’60s school of Chrysler performance. Included in his history is a ’62 Plymouth, a ’63 Plymouth, a ’64 Dodge, and a ’65 Plymouth. His brother Fred also shares his love of the marque de Pentastar, so about 15 years ago, Fred bought a factory lightweight Belvedere. It sat for six years in Fred’s garage before he sold it to a mutual friend. Meanwhile, Neil began to conjure up visions of the ultimate Pro Streeter, which became so intense that he bought the car back five years ago and promptly went berserk. "You see,” said Neil, “everybody we knew, and that included professional mechanics, told me that I couldn’t make a 1500-horsepower, blown, injected, gas-burning,…

FLAT COOKIN’ Long-of-tooth geezers still wheeze out the expression, “Flatheads Forever." Yet ironic as it may seem, a relatively beardless youth by the name of H. Bob McKray may have built the quickest and potentially the fastest flathead digger of all time. McKray’s old chassis, old engine, and somewhat new driveline dragster—a rail he originally stuck together in 75 before selling it to its present owner, Mickey George of Dinuba, California, in 1985—made an 8.96-second, 144-mph pass at Sacramento Raceway during a recent nostalgia drag race. Mickey’s 8-second run may have been the first “eight" ever recorded by a flathead Fueler in drag racing history. Specs of the 1075-pound, front-engine rail include an old “junior gas" chassis fitted with one of H. Bob’s mighty flatmotors—a 317-inch side valve running a…

Camaro In The Bare There is more to life than stiff collars and polo shirts. So the next time you find yourself in the bare, pull on one of ScottDesigns’ custom T-shirts and you’ll be wearing some of the hottest graphics around. ScottDesigns would like to introduce you to the line of motorsports apparel. The silkscreening company handles major accounts, such as Chevrolet, Budweiser, STP—and now this new apparel line is available to you. To receive a catalog, contact ScottDesigns, Dept. HR-03, R.D. No, 3 Mahr Rd., Pottstown, PA 19464, (215) 362-8600. Fast Orange Wash-up time is made easy with Fast Orange natural citrus hand cleaner. Fast Orange is made by the folks at Loctite Corp., so you know it’s good. Fast Orange removes dirt, grease, paint, and rubbery adhesives,…

We live in an age of specialization. What was yesterday’s ultimate and outrageous race-engine combination is merely today’s warmed-over street engine. In this never-ending search for the last ounce of power from street and race engines, most hot rodders focus on two critical components: the cylinder heads and the camshaft. Matching these two components to the rest of the engine is becoming the science of the ’90s and the hot tip for more efficient and powerful engines. There are a number of individuals and race facilities that are working on computer-model programs that will define extremely accurate camshaft profiles for a particular bore, stroke, rod length, and cylinder-head flow combination. Most of these programs have evolved over a number of years and most of the people behind them are understandably…

Without getting into a long-winded dissertation about torque, we’re going to suggest that you dig through your old copies of HOT ROD Magazine and familiarize yourself with the relationship between torque and horsepower as described by former Editor Pat Ganahl in the April ’88 and May ’88 issues ("Max Torque For High Horsepower”). Very simply, torque is the ability to do work, and power is how fast you can do it. Further, for the purposes of this discussion, we’re going to assume that you understand the basic premise: Torque is the force that moves the car. And since the primary task of a strong street engine is to accelerate the mass of the car as quickly as possible, it seems reasonable to plan engine modifications that will build as much…

One look and you know this one’s a winner—but it’s not what you think! It may look like one of Henry’s ’32s, but this is actually one of Marcel’s wonders. It was back in 1986 that Gary Gillette first contacted Marcel de Ley at Custom Metal Shaping about reworking his original ’32 Ford body. Gary spoke of sectioning it an inch, channeling it two inches, chopping the top 2½ inches, and leaning the cowl back an inch. In his next breath, he mentioned decreasing the radius of the rear wheel arches, rounding off the deck lid corners, and fabricating a rolled rear pan. But other than that, he wanted to keep it stock! As Marcel listened and laughed, it came to mind that for the price of making all these…

To say that Jodi and Jerry Thompson are Camaro lovers would be a gross understatement. They’ve owned two ’68 models, two ’69s, and two ’72 Camaros, all of which laid the foundation for their latest endeavor—a Candy Wine-berry ’82 Z/28 with wall-to-wall rubber under the fenders and a blown small-block making all the right moves under the hood. Over a period of six months, they’ve funneled nearly 15 grand into this new effort, and were rewarded with a car that has already won its share of best-engineered awards. The car is based on a home-built, mild steel, Pro Street chassis fabricated by Jerry. A 9-inch Ford axle housing supports the rear with Morrison coil-over shocks, while the front suspension was left basically stock. Weld wheels fitted with Michelin 165-15s carry…

Years ago, during an “Indy Nationals” bench-racing session, Dale Armstrong opined that if he were to build a Top Fuel dragster for Kenny Bernstein it would be a Funny Car-style digger fitted with a fireproof, fully encapsulated driver’s compartment. Vet, five years later, it’s been lean Gene (Adams), not the Bud King and his court, that has fielded drag racing’s first Funny Fueler. As a point of reference, Gene Adams is one of drag racing’s true haulers of fame. His blown and/or injected, gas and fuel dragsters—driven by the likes of Leonard Harris, Tom McEwen, John Mulligan, Jimmy Scott, Rick Stewart, and leaver Don Enriquez—were forces to be reckoned with during the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. As a long-time employee of Stu Hilborn, Adams’ intimate knowledge of fuel injection ultimately…

With the mid-priced, front-wheel-drive (FWD) performance-coupe wars heating up, Chevy has switched tactics with its ’90 Beretta line. Chevy is using an engine developed by another GM division, and this is one of the few times it’s done so. The Oldsmobile Quad 4, dual-overhead-cam (DOHC) engine motivates the ’90 Beretta GTZ. The decision to use the high-revving Quad 4 is most likely a response to the offerings from the “Oriental Coalitions” of Ford and Mazda with the Probe, Plymouth and Mitsubishi with the Laser, and, of course, Honda’s CRX, as well as the Teutonic threat of the supercharged VW Corrado—not to mention the Dodge Shelby VNT turbo or the Olds Calais in this market segment. In terms of performance numbers, the ’89 Beretta GT—with the 2.8L V6, 130 hp, and…