Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2019 i Hot Rod

Network Content Director @douglas.glad This is my 20th year as an automotive journalist. In that time, I have learned a lot about people, how to interview both car guys and company executives, how to listen, and how to translate the jargon used by engineers for someone in another line of work. I’ve been lied to, misinformed, or just plain asked the wrong guy when looking for accurate information. Buried deep in the noise are guys I listen to. BILLY GODBOLD Billy is a camshaft engineer at Comp Cams in Memphis, Tennessee. He’s also a physicist with a bit of experience with military submarines and supercolliders. When there is a complex question about what cam to use, Billy can condense reams of data into a part number, usually in about two…

The name Original Venice Crew (OVC) refers to a small group of fabricators, race-car drivers, and builders who set out to change the automotive world. They won championships and numerous races, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unlike many of the brilliant mechanics and fabricators who worked in near-anonymity during the 1960s and 1970s, the names of the OVC crew have become synonymous with automotive design and motorsports performance. They were Carroll Shelby’s original employees at his first race shop in Venice, California, which was in operation from 1962 to 1967. They are names you will recognize, a team of talented drivers, Ken Miles and Bob Bondurant; aerodynamicist Peter Brock, designer of the Daytona Coupe; and world-class race-car fabricator Phil Remington. Apprenticing underneath these greats were 17- and…

Bill Carlton from Texas Metal might be known for creating trucks that you want, but he also knows how to get muscle cars right. Carlton and the guys from Ekstensive Metal Works took this original-paint 1965 Belvedere and dropped in a 6.4L Hemi and a four-speed transmission, then slammed it down. The body and paint of the car is original, so instead of building the car around the drivetrain and wheels, Carlton color-sanded the body, painted the engine compartment, de-arched the springs, and built the wheels to fit the new profile. The firewall was smoothed and color-matched to the rest of the car. The bumpers were welded and re-chromed before being brushed to match the rest of the aluminum and stainless on the car. The interior is what you could…

Compared with the exotic-looking cantilever shock front suspension we covered in the April 2019 issue of HRM, a solid rear-axle suspension in the back of our Factory Five 1935 Hot Rod Truck build may seem a bit underwhelming. Don’t be fooled, though—this little truck’s rear suspension packs a lot of technology. As with any pickup, achieving an ultra-low ride height always comes with a reduction in bed space. “The bed depth versus rear suspension is always a trade-off,” explained Jim Schenck, director of R&D at Factory Five. “We didn’t want to compromise the ride or handling of the truck, so we left room for the suspension geometry to operate as it should. This space also allows us to place the fuel tank behind the axle and below the bed, which…

With the combustion chamber being the root of all horsepower, it only makes sense that you start spec’ing an engine build there. One of the key variables in engine building is compression ratio, or the ratio between the swept volume at bottom dead center (BDC) and the clearance volume at top dead center (TDC). This ratio tells you how much the fuel/air mixture is being compressed before ignition, and it’s ultimately dictated by your needs and application. In theory, the more pressure a fuel/air mixture is put under before ignition, the more potential energy it can release during the power stroke, which translates to more horsepower. How do you calculate a static compression ratio, and what’s the ideal number for your build? To find out, we found ourselves with CPR…

Phillip Thomas Staff Editor @texasthomas The Unintended Countercultures of Cars It’s no surprise we see spats between politicians and car culture occasionally. In fact, this tension is the genesis of HRM; Robert E. Petersen and Wally Parks crafted our mission to give hot rodding a responsible voice for what was being labeled as a public menace. The unintended consequences of the regulations and laws that have evolved from this tension have created entirely new car cultures, and few demonstrate this better than lowriding. In the 1950s, lowriding lay closely with the kustoms of the time. Hispanic communities had their own twist on the lead sled, but it was the 1957 California Motor Vehicle Code that pushed the culture onto its own unique tangent. Spurred in part by the habit of…

Executive Editor @john.mcgann Compared to my neighbors, my shop space is immaculate—something they say they aspire to. I look at it and cringe, however, because I just see a mess. My 1,200–square-foot shop comfortably holds two cars, all my tools, parts for various projects, and a random collection of stuff I know I’ll never use. I’m not a neat freak, but the clutter does bother me. It’s a creeping frustration that can become distracting, and I definitely have some mental threshold that, once crossed, forces me to stop what I’m doing and clean. I’ll dedicate a weekend to do nothing but going through accumulated parts and pitching or recycling as necessary. I’ll also attack the place with a vacuum cleaner or mop if it’s especially dusty. Sometimes, I’ll do this…

The Ford GT’s relationship with the 24 Hours of Le Mans has waxed and waned through its three generations. The Ford GT40 was a tool borne from Henry Ford II’s desire to shove the trophy from the world’s most prestigious endurance race right up Enzo Ferrari’s tailpipe. “The Duce” earned that pleasure when Ford won Le Mans in 1966. The GT followed that up with wins in 1967, 1968, and 1969. While a few examples were built for the road, those chassis were merely sold to satisfy production requirements needed to race the GT40. Ford’s latest GT has returned to its competitive roots. From the project’s genesis in 2015, it was built to win its class at Le Mans, which it did in 2016, finishing first and third. Ford’s historical…

The early years of Trans-Am were filled with maniacal engineers and fearless drivers who piloted early ponycars in the U.S.’s premier road-racing series. Homologation rules meant the showrooms were full of hard-core packages like the Z/28, AAR, Boss 302, T/A, and AMX, as manufacturers poured money into the series between its inaugural 1966 season and the eventual malaise era of the 1970s. HOT ROD has hundreds of images in its archives from the peak of Trans-Am racing at Riverside International Raceway and Laguna Seca Raceway, many never-before-seen, which show the on-track violence and energy that could only come out of lead-burning, fat-slick ponycars being driven on the ragged edge.…

When it comes to Kustoms, fender skirts are a must. Whether it’s a prewar, coach-built ride or a 1950s shoebox, closing up the rear fenders adds a special kind of sleekness. Many times, the original skirts are missing or damaged beyond basic repair. The original latching mechanism can be anything from a simple hook to a complex locking system that probably doesn’t work anymore, if it ever did. The beauty and smooth styling of a fender skirt is often shrouded in frustration for a builder. Building new fender skirts might seem like a difficult endeavor, but the reality is that with a few tools, you can get the job done in a day. If you have a factory skirt that you’re replicating or rebuilding, it’s even easier. The trick is…

Q: This question might be considered a little off target, but I think it’s pure hot rodding. I’m trying to find a company that can make up a custom engine/tranny adapter plate for my project car: a 1989 Ford Probe with a 1961 Oldsmobile 215ci aluminum V8 engine. The Olds 215 engine is about the same length and weight as the [Probe’s] Ford/Mazda 2.2L four-banger. What really seals the deal is that the stock horsepower and torque ratings for the 1961 215 Olds engine—with 140 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque—are almost an exact match for the 1989–1991 Ford Probe GT turbo, intercooled engine with 140 hp and 195 lb-ft. The automatic transmission in the Ford Probe GT is stronger than the base 2.2L unit and is a bolt-in replacement.…

Roadkill @davidfreiburger One of my favorite activities in life is flying out of town, buying a clapped-out vehicle, and road-tripping it back home. There are many bits of nuance in making this a winning process, and one is the acquisition of tools that may or may not be required to get from point A to B or thereabouts. The most practical solution is shipping a traveling toolbox along with you. Boring. Another answer is to hit the auto-parts store and buy the 319-piece imported toolkit for $32.99—you know, the one loaded with useless sockets like 13/23rds and 26/34ths, and with one screwdriver handle that uses 30 bits designed for fasteners you’ve never seen in your life. Those are the kits that fall to disarray in the plastic case, guaranteeing you’ll…

Teenage summers spent scaring tourists in the bus he’d slide up this 12.42-mile Colorado road several times a day later paid off with consecutive 1960–1961 Pikes Peak Hill Climb wins for Louis J. Unser. After qualifying a distant last for the 1961 event in this 409 Bel Air, then watching low-qualifier Curtis Turner’s factory Ford break the course record on race day, a repeat seemed impossible. As the slowest stock car, the Chevy’s turn came last—just as Louie planned. In “The Unbelievable Unsers,” future HOT ROD staffer Joe Scalzo’s 1971 book, Unser explained that he was counting on quicker qualifiers to sweep the unpaved road clear of loose gravel. “During the qualifying run, Louie had purposely stopped his car, parked, and chatted with some spectators along the side of the…

After graduating from high school in 1989, a young lad named Jeff knew he wanted a muscle car, and near his home sat a 1974 AMC Javelin AMX. Its young owner was selling it for $1,500 because he had too many points on his license. Jeff didn’t have the money at the time, but knew he wanted the car. Going back with all the cash he had, $950, the owner’s father said, “Sold!” Jeff’s dad pulled the AMX out of the driveway and promptly did a twin-grip burnout. After cruising that summer, they put the car away. Years passed, and Jeff wanted to fix the AMX up. Some rust had formed, so he blew the car apart to repair and replace, and that’s as far as it got. Jeff reports…

No one could’ve predicted the explosion of heads-up, outlaw-style racing nearly 30 years ago when HOT ROD kicked off its Fastest Street Car in America challenge. Those early years of Pro Street and Super Street helped spawn a racing genre that is still going strong today. The street-legal–style, drag-racing market is far bigger than just the big-tire and small-tire classes that were run in 1992, and one of the wildest categories is the Radial vs. The World phenomenon that takes place at Duck X Productions events dubbed Lights Out, Sweet 16, and No Mercy. This past February marked the 10th running of the Lights Out race at South Georgia Motorsports Park, and the winner of the headlining Radial vs. The World class walked away with a cool $50,000 prize. The…

Dual quads or Tri-Power induction setups on high-performance engine options were part of the appeal of older muscle cars. Six Pack Mopars or Tri-Power GTOs are iconic showstoppers that never fail to draw a crowd when the hood is raised. But what do you do if you want to combine the convenience of modern fuel injection with the classic look of your 3x2 carburetor intake? FiTech’s Go EFI Tri-Power 600hp system is the solution. It’s a complete system with three 500-cfm throttle-bodies; a wiring harness; an ECU; a programmer; and a myriad of sensors, including MAP, idle air control, throttle positioning, wideband O2, and coolant temp. It’s clear that FiTech has tried to make the most complete Six Pack system possible for $1,995. FiTech’s throttle-bodies fit underneath the stock air…

Bolt-On GT Sport Chassis for 1963–1967 Corvettes Art Morrison Enterprises // 800.929.7188 // ArtMorrison.com More than ever, owners of classic cars want to improve the ride quality, stance, and handling of their rides, but sometimes they’re limited by the architecture and original design of the car. The engineers at Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) have been solving this conundrum for years from their headquarters in Fife, Washington. Now, all early model Sting Ray owners can enjoy an awesome ride with AME’s new GT Sport Chassis. The car’s rear suspension is replaced by AME’s Multi-Link independent rear suspension system, which is complemented by its Sport IFS up front. The overall track width is slightly narrower than factory to allow for lower ride height (1¾- to 3-inch drop) and wider wheel fitment. The…