Innehållsförteckning för March 2009 från Hot Rod

BOW TIE BRIGADE? I just read Dave Wallace's Second Opinion column “In Appreciation of American Iron” (Dec. '08) and decided to share with you our Lempert family fleet, affectionately nicknamed the Bow Tie Brigade, as not just any American car but only a quality Chevrolet will be found in our driveway. I have to agree with you on the classic American car being without comparison in terms of comfort, sound, power, and pure pleasure to drive. My brown, daily-driver, '74 Chevy Impala sedan, fresh out of a dormant 20 years in the Dodge City, Kansas, sun has only 21,000 miles and not a speck of rust. I bought it to save my 41,000mile '63 Bel Air sedan from winter road salt. I got the car bug from my parents. Dad…

EL DEMON ’71 Dodge Demon James Little Via email James is currently stationed in Guam, but when he retires from the United States Air Force after 24 years of service in September 2010, this unique ute will be one of his first projects. The Dodge was originally built in the early ’70s by a true “Mopar or no car” fanatic who wanted a Pentastar version of a Ranchero or El Camino, and James tells us the work was top-notch and appears factory, right down to the extra bracing in the chassis. For now, a 318 has replaced the original 340, but a hot RB small-block and a four-speed are in its future. 31ST ANNIVERSARY* ’74 Chevrolet Nova SS Scott Amberson Scott made a long-term commitment to his Nova, and they’re…

BORLA EXPANSION The economy may be down, but the exhaust business is booming for Borla. With its recent expansion into a 330,000-square-foot facility in Johnson City, Tennessee, Borla is setting up one of the performance exhaust industry’s largest manufacturing and distribution facilities. Situated on 100 acres in Smoky Mountain country, Borla’s eastern facility will work with the company’s West Coast headquarters and overseas offices to meet rising global demands. “Combined with a steady stream of product releases for new applications and a full stable of exciting innovations currently in R&D, the Tennessee expansion will put Borla in position to bring exciting fuelsaving and performance technology to millions more drivers,” said founder and CEO, Alex Borla. As the company’s new primary manufacturing and distribution center, Borla’s Tennessee facility is nearly 100…

“People tell me every time they look at it, they see more subtle changes they missed before.” —Erv Woller A project usually starts with a dream, a vision of what the builders want to create from the particular tub of steel they've chosen. But no matter how set in stone those plans may seem at first, they almost always expand as the project progresses. The deeper into the build we go, the more ways we find to make the car better. Sometimes it's just a little deviation, and sometimes the project goes from a bolt-on, parts-oriented driver to a Goodguys Street Machine of the Year (SMOTY) contender. That's how Erv Woller's Camaro came to be. The genesis of this project was a crate engine—Erv had coveted one of the 200…

“I had reluctantly dragged my dad from Indianapolis to share the experience, and to find myself running for a record with him there was a Life magazine moment.” —Pete Hendrickson The Fast Four Special fishtailed across the Bonneville Salt Flats as Pedro balanced the throttle against tire spin. He had no idea he was about to qualify for a record as he worked to keep the car between the black lines marking the course. It was his and the car's first ever Bonneville pass, almost a shakedown run. The black roadster's engine had only fired up for the first time 72 hours before. Pete “Pedro” Hendrickson, a Bozeman, Montana, restaurateur (the Montana Ale Works) built the Fast Four Special in one year on a $100 bet. He was looking for…

Mini-tubbing is the act of widening a car's rear wheelwells, moving the inner halves inboard to the location of the stock framerails to achieve maximum tire clearance without major frame hacking. It's a mod that dates back to the early '60s and has mostly been used for drag racing, but it's being revisited and reinvented these days for use with the max-handling trend, so we figured it was a good time to have a fresh look at the process. Some mini-tub jobs involve removing the stock inner and outer wheelhouses entirely and replacing them with fabricated semicircular tubs. The upside of doing that is it gives the most possible rubber room, but the downside is the tub-to-quarter-panel seam usually can't be welded without quarter tweaking problems, so the tubs are…

RETURN OF THE SLOT CAR CARRERA www.carreratoys.com Remember slot car racing on those big Carrera tracks? Carrera has been producing some of the world's best scale race cars for the past 40 years, and it's revitalizing the slot car with realistic racing action in a new lineup of digital 1:32- and 1:24-scale car and track systems. Sure, slot car racing is nostalgic, but new technology has made the cars far faster and more controllable than ever before. Best of all, they look better than most models we've built. The Digital 132 set can accommodate up to six drivers simultaneously, while the Digital 124 can hold four contenders. Price: Individual cars start at $45.00; kits vary by options. STEALTH FUEL SYSTEMS Aeromotive Inc. 913/647-7300 www.aeromotiveinc.com Need a sump but don't want…

CAR SHOWS FOR THE REST OF US The oldest memories of my aunt’s mother’s Plymouth are not my fondest. In 1962, I spent Sundays at San Fernando (California) Raceway, collecting 50 cent pieces for pit passes and watching endless 413 Mopars, 409 Chevys, and 406 Fords spew 100-octane dinosaur deposits from uncorked fenderwell collectors. A 12-year-old Valley guy bombarded by all that factory horsepower on the street and strip could not understand why Wally Gillette would buy something slow or ugly for his wife, Helen, to drive. Even a dumb kid could see that a four-door ’61 Belvedere saddled with a Slant Six gave new meaning to the words slow and ugly. Luckily, it was only during transportation emergencies that I was dragged inside. (“Uh, no thanks, Mrs. Gillette; I…

UBER-RARE This '33 Dodge five-window coupe has been sitting tucked away in a garage in Billings, Montana, since the '50s. It was originally purchased at a used car lot in Shoshone, Wyoming, in the '50s, where a little old lady had traded it in. Mike Rist goes on to say it's all steel, in good shape, and still runs. How does he know all that? Because it's his pop who has ensconced it under boxes and rubbish. No excuses, Mike—we'll bet the old man will be happy to supervise while you wrench.…

1964 HOT ROD DRAGS The NHRA was born from HOT ROD magazine and the two entities have been continuously linked, most notably with the HOT ROD Drags that took place annually at Riverside (California) International Raceway. It was a hotbed of factory-supported muscle and featured the kings of the door-slammers back then. This shot, from the inaugural HOT ROD Drags in 1964, is of Dyno Don Nicholson and his Atlanta District Mercury Dealers Comet lined up against the 1964 Mr. Stock Eliminator, Tom Grove and the Melrose Missile VI. While the HOT ROD Drags had a great run at Riverside, they were all done by 1970. But we thought the event was such a good idea, we're bringing it back. With the advent of new muscle cars from all three…

BIG 'OL BISCAYNE Lee Sherrill wanted to relive the cars of his youth but incorporate today's driveability, so he's enlisting Michael Astamendi at Protech Performance [818/953-9300] to build his perfect car out of a '58 Chevy Biscay ne. Once all the floors were hacked away, the body was dropped on an Art Morrison chassis fitted with a 9-inch rearend equipped with Strange axles and four-wheel Wilwood discs. Underhood will be a brawny but reliable GMPP 572ci crate engine, and we're glad to hear Lee opted for a Tremec five-speed transmission in his large luxury cruiser. Creature comforts will consist of A/C, a custom dash and center console, leather upholstery, power windows, and power bucket seats. So far it's tentatively slated for some shade of dark green. —CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL SICK SECONDS…

It’s an idea the HOT ROD staff has had for a couple of years but never followed through on: invite a bunch of high-end muscle cars (with a definite Pro Touring vibe) to a road racetrack, make their owners actually drive them hard, and then report on how they worked. Our suspicion was that many of them would fall flat on their 335-wide tires, victims of trying to do too much with too many trick parts and not enough actual tuning. Again, we had the idea but never did anything with it. That is, until Optima Batteries’ Jimi Day gave us a call. His plan was to rent a road course outside Las Vegas and invite some of the newly finished cars from the prior week’s SEMA show out for…

There are a number of popular options for setting up the front blower drive and accessories. The basic setup (used for these tests) is the standard six-rib micro-V belt and extra crankshaft pulley included in the TFS kit. It works with the original conventional V-belt that drives the accessories (see this article's lead shot). The supplied 49 ½-inch belt (Gates PN K060490 or equivalent) supports the kit's 3.4-inch pulley, as well as 3.6- and 3.3-inch pulleys. Use a 48 5/4-inch belt for 2.9-, 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2-inch pulleys (Gates PN K060480). Another solution is GM Performance Parts' everything in-one-box front-drive setup. Based on a late pickup truck drive serpentine-belt setup, the kit (PN 12497698) includes a reverse-rotation water pump, an alternator, a power steering pump, an A/C compressor, and all…

Mini-tubbing has a lot of trickle-down effects you should consider before you perform the work. Here's a checklist of stuff to know before you go. •Wheeltub enlargement might not give you more rubber clearance if suspension components are still in the way. Leaf springs may need to be relocated inboard, shock mounts may need to be altered, and on coil spring cars, custom-notched or bent control arms may be needed. Perhaps it's a good time to swap to coilovers? •If you move your leaf springs inboard, it might create the need for a narrowed gas tank. •Look at your car carefully to figure out how you will hinge and spring the decklid if the tub work gets in the way of the stock system. •Consider if you want to retain…

It's winter and your hot rod is likely snuggled away in a warm garage for a few months. You're probably more than ready for another season of racing or cruising … but is your ride? We're here to help with your parts questions, tuning problems, and combination conundrums. We'll answer as many questions in the pages of Pit Stop as space permits. If you have quality digital photos of the car, engine, or part in question (no smaller than 1,600 by 1,200 pixels, but larger is always better), we may throw them in as well. When emailing, don't forget to include Pit Stop in the subject line and put your real full name and hometown or military unit, base, or ship in the message. —MARIAN DAVIS FE HEAD SWAP I…

END OF THE SEASON “Into the Deep End” in the Oct. '08 issue reported on HOT ROD teaming up with Raybestos and Kaufmann Racing to campaign a new Mustang FR500S in the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup, a new road racing class run within Grand Am. That first story reported on our learning curve at the first three races of the year—and we couldn't make it out to another race until the doubleheader finale in September at Larry Miller's spectacular new track outside Salt bake City. In the off time, Chris Kaufmann treated our No. 60 Mustang with a very cool wrap that celebrated the magazine's 60th birthday, and it was my job to not tear it up too badly, since the car was going to be…

It's the job of the HOT ROD staff to entertain and educate the readers, but also to occasionally rile them up and get them thinking. The stories that are most fun to do are usually the ones that generate the most mail (both good and bad). If we get a lot of responses to a story, that tells us it struck a nerve, and we relish the feedback. Have you seen something in the pages of HOT ROD that got you thinking, made you lust for a car or part, or made you angry enough to spit? We want to hear it. Send an email or a regular letter to the addresses at the top of this page, but don't forget to put your name and where you're from. —ROB…

On a cold, rainy day in November 2005, I happened to catch Glen Volz working in the shop area of his Salem Speed Shop in Salem, Oregon. I had heard about the place from a few readers and also from Mike Eddy at Edelbrock, who all said I needed to check it out. They weren't kidding. If you've grown up in these online shopping days and have never been in a real speed shop, you owe it to yourself to check out this place, or others like it. They're still out there—for how long is hard to tell. —ROB KINNAN KNEW ALL THE PART NUMBERS When I saw the article on the Salem Speed Shop, my first thought ran to a place I found in Milton, Florida, when on the…

FORD LAUNCHES F-150 SVT RAPTOR, 6.2L V-8 ON THE WAY At the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Ford unveiled the ’10 F-150 SVT Raptor, which the company describes as “a purpose-built, high-performance off-road truck versatile enough to take on the most challenging desert adventures as well as the everyday commute.” The Raptor features an all-new performance suspension system engineered by Ford SVT with specially developed internal-bypass Fox dampers. Sounds like a trick piece for off-roading in earnest, but what really caught our attention was buried a bit deeper in the Blue Oval’s press materials: At some point after Raptor production begins, the new 6.2L big-block V-8 will become available. In previous editions of Inside the OEs [HOT ROD, Oct. ’07, Mar. ’08), we filled you in on Ford’s newest Hurricane…

2ND ANNUAL GM PERFORMANCE PARTS LSX SHOOTOUT When the first GM Performance Parts LSX Shootout was held in conjunction with the NMCA World Finals in October 2008, it was a happening event that was talked about all year. With $60,000 up for grabs, four different classes gave it all they had on the track. The fun continued pitside with a killer LSX-only car show, a manufacturers’ midway, and a dyno shootout. All the big names were there. In LSX Drag Radial, Steven Fereday led the 10 power-adder entries with a 7663 best at 185.79 mph, which was more than a tenth quicker than last year’s winner, Tom Kempf. Paul Major, Jim Filipowski, and Steve Turley were also deep into the 7s during qualifying. After a stunning 7.592 at 190-plus mph…

BLOWN ZZ4 PG.88 No, we didn't blow up a crate engine. Rather, we took the ZZ4 from last month's upgrade story and threw an affordable supercharger on it for a real kick-in-the-pants power increase. BLOWN CHALLENGER PG.94 It's blowers and more blowers this month, as Vortech straps a centrifugal supercharger on a new SRT8 Challenger and lets us dyno-test and track-flog it. HOW TO MINI-TUB PG.102 We show how to mini-tub a Mopar's rear wheelwells for much more tire clearance. TESTANDTUNE PG.115 Edelbrock's new supercharger for late model Mustangs, plus fuel system trickery and some model cars. PIT STOP PG.118 Ford FE head swaps, building a dual-fuel engine, and bronze distributor gear durability.…

What’s the easiest way to make more power with a late-model car? When it comes to bang for the buck and ease of installation, there are two answers: nitrous oxide and supercharging. The merits of one versus the other have been debated forever, and like abortion and evolution, there will never be a consensus. However, the most hassle-free (though initially more expensive) of the two is a supercharger. When we first drove the new SRT8 Challenger a little less than a year ago, initial impressions were that it is a very nice, damn quick muscle car. It ran 8.30s in the eighth-mile (13 flat) with just a few minor bolt-ons and was a hoot to blast around town in. But no matter how fast a car is, it can always…

While many of the muscle car-era cars can gain tire room by widening the stock wheeltubs, others are more complicated, and the job can be simplified and tire room maximized by using custom kits with new sheetmetal stampings. For example, if you have a '68 to '72 Nova or a '70 to '81 Camaro or Firebird, look into the Deep Tub kits from Detroit Speed & Engineering (www.detroitspeed.com). For '79 to '04 Mustangs, the wheel arches are not a perfect semicircle, so many manufacturers offer perfect-fit tubs in the correct shape. Try DMC Racing (www.dmcracing.com), Team Z Motorsports (www.teamzmotorsports.com), Auto Weld (www.autoweldchassis.com), or Wolfe Racecraft (www.wolferacecraft.com), among many others. Wolfe also makes a kit for fourth-gen Camaros and Firebirds. If you have a C5 or C6 Corvette, you're not out…