Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i Hot Rod

It’s no secret that Dodge is building fast cars. Deep inside the Auburn Hills, Michigan, HQ are some hard-core engineers who like to build performance cars. The former president of Dodge, Tim Kuniskis, was happy to let them. The result was the 2018 Dodge Demon, a Viper-like Challenger that dared you to drive it. In the place of hard parts like a manual valvebody transmission and a roll control plumbed into the front brake lines, electronics made the car act like a drag racer from the factory. It also had butt heaters, hand warmers, and A/C that blows into the seats. Pretty nice when you are suited up in the staging lanes. As advertised, the car math says mid-9s, according to power-to-weight, mph, and 60-foot times. I drove one to…

20 YEARS AGO December 1998 (164 pages, $3.50): It’s one of our coolest covers ever, but the Holland Communications photo studio was far from cool. Asked recently about the session, then-Editor Ro McGonegal and host Bill Holland each recalled the irony and agony of staging a Christmas cover in August. Scott Killeen shot the dual scene as a single image and ran the smoke machine. A genuine RS/SS396 was volunteered by Bob Florine, who’s still got it. Unjustly buried near the back of the book is Gray Baskerville’s warm introduction to the young Burbank Choppers (“Riding the New Old Wave”). 40 YEARS AGO December 1978 (108 pages, $1.25): This package was so packed that a Mickey Thompson retrospective and interview didn’t get a cover blurb. Bruce Caldwell’s comprehensive Mustang Market…

There’s a new player in muscle-car wars. This one is more suited for the budget-minded and entry-level weekend warrior drag racer who likes a performance vehicle devoid of frivolous things and is more interested in making a fast pass at the local dragstrip. The 2019 Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320 is the newest member of Dodge’s “Brotherhood of Muscle.” The 1320 name is a clever play on the length of the quarter-mile and, thus, the intent of this machine. At the heart of this car is the stump-pulling 392 HEMI V8 that makes 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. The only transmission choice is the super-quick-shifting 8HP70 Torqueflite eight-speed automatic. That power is sent downstream to the Performance-tuned limited-slip differential with 3.09 final drive and extreme-duty 41-spline rear axleshafts…

Covering the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is like trying to tell someone about a crazy dream. It made sense to you at the time, but now it’s fuzzy around the edges. “No, see, it was a race in Colorado, and I was wearing many pairs of pants, but so was everyone, and the team I was with was running a Hellcat Challenger, but it was better than a normal Hellcat. It was part Viper and part Demon, and we were on top of a mountain so tall that the trees refused to climb it, and Travis Pastrana threw a snowball at me, and we were so fast, until we weren’t.” The surreal nature of this race comes in part from the hours. Because the…

Maintaining idle stability as cam duration increases mandates progressively more carburetor throttle-blade opening (via the idle mixture screws) to compensate for the reduction in cylinder pressure induced by the larger cam’s later-closing intake valve. Eventually, the at-idle throttle-blade angle increases to the point that it uncovers the transition slot, thereby activating the main circuit and rendering the mixture control ineffective. One solution is to raise cylinder pressure by running more base (initial) timing. With cylinder pressure restored, less carburetor throttle-blade opening is needed, so the idle mixture screws should again become effective. At this point, you would want to shorten the centrifugal curve so overall total timing remains optimal for the particular engine combination. HOTROD.COM/Marlan-Davis Contact TCI AUTOMOTIVE; Ashland, MS; 888.776.9824 or 662.224.8972; TCIauto.com…

Stage 3+ Coilover Suspension for 1970–1981 Camaro Performance Online, Inc. // 866.631.7480 // PerformanceOnline.com Performance Online’s tubular upper and lower control arms strengthen and tighten up the car by reducing deflection, making for rail-like handling. The all-new, single-adjustable Phantom series coilovers from Aldan American help improve the ride quality and increase adjustability. The spring is designed to fit in the standard spring pockets and allow for up to 2 inches of ride-height adjustment. This powdercoated kit is made in the USA and doesn’t require cutting, drilling, or fabricating and can be installed with basic handtools. Price: $1,265.99 Prevent Heat-Induced Starter Failure Heatshield Products 844.723.2665 HeatshieldProducts.com Thermal control is a very big component of any vehicle. The cooler components are, the longer they last and more reliable they are. If starters…

I’ve been frequenting the self-service junkyards in Los Angeles County for the better part of a dozen years. Over that time, I’ve seen a slow but profound shift in the variety of parts available in them. Years ago, you could always count of finding older American cars. It was never a surprise to find second-generation F-cars, Novas, Vegas, Ramblers, Galaxies, or any fullsized car from any of the Big Three. You could always count of finding 454s and 460s in pickups, 472- or 500-inch Cadillacs, and Pontiac and Olds 350s amid the sea of small-block Chevys. I’ve even come across AMC 401s in a few Grand Cherokees over the years. Currently, things are a lot different-looking in the junkyards. It’s mostly newer, front-wheel-drive cars. That’s to be expected, of course,…

It’s been a while, but we’re just now getting over the Power Tour® hangover. That means the sunburn has finally stopped peeling, the ears have stopped ringing, and all of the rubber freckles have been washed away. It’s also time to remember some of the cool stuff we saw along the way. Every year, Chevrolet Performance brings a small army of employees to operate a convoy of special vehicles that were built in the legendary Building 32 at the Milford Proving Grounds in Detroit. These cars are hosed with Chevrolet Performance Parts just to show you what is possible with each variant. This year, the team brought a particularly brutal Corvette, an open-track Camaro, and some sleeper trucks, including an unseen C10 build. Check out the works.…

We like analogies, so let’s hit you with one right off the top. As good as the BigStuff3 GEN3 EFI control system is, the step up to the new GEN4 will be like stepping out of a P-51 Mustang and climbing straight into the U.S. arsenal’s current F-35 Lightning fighter. As good as the P-51 once was, it is just not on the same page as something as awesome and impressive as the F-35. The BigStuff3 GEN4 ECU is a technological leap that will never make you nostalgic for even your best aftermarket ECU. It’s that good. Let’s take a moment and look closely at state-of-the-art high-performance and racing engines from the big-picture side of things. Precise control over spark, fuel, and nearly every other facet of making power (like…

THE COMBO In 2010, Thomas Eyeington bought a derelict 1981 Pontiac Trans Am (TA) with a tired Poncho 301 and TH350. His plan: Build a modern high-tech hot rod for his son Alexander’s 16th birthday. Tom swapped in a 0.030-over, 6.0L LS truck engine with a custom hydraulic-roller cam (222/230 degrees at 0.050, 0.580/0.590-inch valve-lift, 112-degree lobe-separation angle) that actuates the valves in GM L92 rectangular-port aluminum heads. Fuel and spark management is via MSD’s Atomic EFI port fuel injection, MSD ignition coils, a 90mm throttle-body, and 42-pound injectors. Billed as “plug-and-play,” Atomic EFI can theoretically construct and refine its own fuel and spark curves using self-learning algorithms. A handheld tuning device allows monitoring and some user-initiated changes. MSD’s separate handheld controller manages a rebuilt 4L80E electronic overdrive automatic trans…

Andre Young once wrote, “There’s three types of people in the world: those who don’t know what happened; those who wonder what happened; and those like us, from the streets, that make things happen.” Hot rodders, assuredly, are in the latter group, and few races display that better than the SCTA/BNI Bonneville Speed Week. There’s so much to learn out on the salt when there are miles to run with the throttle welded wide open, from the unending pursuit of aerodynamics and horsepower to the seemingly unstoppable capability of the human body and mind. Despite my job of translating experiences into words, I still struggle to find any that accurately describe Bonneville—it’s a requirement on any bucket list to truly fathom. Since 1949, we’ve passed the HOT ROD Trophy from…

There’s something to be said about going into a project will all of your ducks in a row. In my own experience of owning a project car that’s been sitting for more than 6 years, I can’t stress how important a plan is. I’m not talking about a “let’s get the engine and trans in today and get the driveshaft ordered” kind of plan. I’m talking about a complete, detailed list about all of the minutia that needs to get done every time you work on the project. Being as thorough as possible can only help you out in the long run by bringing your stress level down and leaving room in your brain to be creative and enjoy your project. My 1968 Mustang was running and driving when I…

Wheelstands were so new and controversial in 1958 that pioneer promoter C.J. Hart supposedly disqualified Tommy Ivo for failure to maintain steering control of his first rail at Santa Ana, California. Sixty years later, we popped the question to the movie-and-television actor who became one of drag racing’s earliest stars and greatest showmen. “It happened first at San Fernando, not long after Kent Fuller built the car,” explains Ivo, now 81. “Fuller said it pulled the front end a couple of inches, but I couldn’t tell in the driver’s compartment. Word got around the pits, and when I went up to make the next run, there must’ve been 50 people laying on the dirt along the starting line. I don’t recollect anyone doing that before. I was running Bruce [recapped]…

Most people have never heard of the Oldsmobile Jetfire. It was released just a few weeks after its more famous corporate twin, the Corvair Turbo. Unlike the Corvair, Jetfires came with the 215ci, aluminum V8. Only produced for two years, they are all but forgotten. In the Feb. 2016 issue of HOT ROD, we documented the rescue of a garage-find 1962 Jetfire. The gentleman who bought that car had its exact twin—with an automatic transmission. That wasn’t the end, though; the new owner started collecting more of them, and as of February 2018, he had the largest collection of Jetfire cars, parts, and even complete drop-out engines! His most recent acquisition was another spare engine and two more cars. One is in nice condition, but the other is pretty rough,…

Some of Marty Quadland’s earliest memories involve sitting in the family’s 1935 Ford cabriolet with both hands tightly gripping the steering wheel as he belched out a four-year-old’s version of a V8 exhaust note. Later on, as a way of dealing with his motion sickness in the car, his father usually had him on his lap, where he could help “steer.” At age 12, he bought his first car, a 1939 Chevy for $15, and immediately began modifying it. Over the next few years, while negotiating high school and then college, he had, in succession, a chopped and channeled 1931 Ford, a 1954 Ford convertible, a Triumph TR3, and a 1936 Ford cabriolet powered by a 283-cid Chevy engine. Quadland had a dry decade following college, as far as interesting…

Brand loyalty in engine choices is becoming less of a concern as time goes on. Largely driven by a pursuit of boost, three of the most-swapped engine platforms we see in drag racing, drifting, and time attack are the LS, JZ, and RB engine families—they’re the do-all powerhouses for their respective brands. While we’re deeply familiar with the LS family, the RB and JZ engines are new territory for many. These Japanese straight-sixes came out of Japan’s real muscle-car era, the 1980s to 1990s, and share a lot of similarities with the LS in their respective roles as budget-friendly solutions for 1,000 hp. NISSAN RB SERIES If you’ve played Gran Turismo, you’re already familiar with the RB26 and its brethren. The heart and soul of the early Nissan Skylines, the…

Q: I have a 1990 C4 (fourth-generation Corvette) with a stock 350 L98 TPI/4L60 combo. I want to increase performance and efficiency, but I don’t want to go the LS route. I’m considering a 383-stroker build, but I still want to maintain a stock appearance. I understand the batch-fired Tuned Port Injection (TPI) is a large weakness for these engines. How can I improve that on the intake and EFI system? I would like to convert to a sequential EFI, a larger throttle-body, and improve airflow. I also plan on running long-tube headers with an X-pipe and cat-back. Where I live, the car is emissions-exempt, so I can delete the AIR (smog) pump and catalytic converter. What do you suggest? A: Converting from batch-fired port fuel injection (half of the…

How many times have we featured a 1932 Ford roadster or a Tri-Five Chevrolet coupe? I’m not sure anyone actually knows, because after 70 years of HOT ROD, the count is innumerable. I’m not saying we should stop featuring any particular car—I actually really like both aforementioned machines—but maybe, just maybe, we should start looking at what the future generation of hot rodders have taken a liking to. Many young individuals can’t afford the more iconic hot rods because the provenance has caused their prices to skyrocket. This has resulted in some simply buying four-doors and longbeds of their favorite vehicles and building them instead to save some cash. Others are turning toward lesser-known makes and models to get into a classic more practically, and even more audacious young whippersnappers…

By now, you’ve pegged me as a sentimentalist and a disciple of nostalgia. That predilection influences my every road trip as I seek the ghost towns, abandoned garages and old cars, and historic spots all over America. I’ll gladly stay in vintage hotels and always hunt the local greasy spoons rather than the chain eateries. Perhaps the best of finds is a derelict building in the style of those early Standard, Mobilgas, or Flying A gas stations, but I’ve discovered a surprising truth about myself: I think the modern fueling/convenience emporiums might be better than the service stations of yore. In the disco days of Carter’s gas lines, the stations I visited in the family’s woodside 1972 Chevelle wagon were the last remnants of the old-school formula for a service…