Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2006 i Hot Rod

ROUSH STAGE 3 MUSTANG The average buyer will be hard-pressed to get an ’07 Shelby GT500 Mustang thanks to ridiculous (though understandable) dealer markups and a buying frenzy that has already started. As reported last month, eBay auctions are already cranking the price tag for the new ultimate Mustang to $15,000 and more over sticker. Don’t want to deal with that mumbo jumbo? Call Roush Racing and order a Stage 3 Roush Mustang. For about 20 grand over the base price of a Mustang GT (so, about $50,000 and change), you can get a Roush car with a blower and calibration that makes 415 hp and will spank a lesser GT that has a mere 300 hp. Suspension parts are included and are claimed to deliver more than 1 g…

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CAR? We hope there’s an exceptionally hot spot saved in hell for car thieves, especially the scumbags who ripped off Chocolate Thunder, the $450,000 custom ’37 Ford convertible built by Rad Rides by Troy that graced the Eaton booth and won the Mothers Shine Award at the ’05 SEMA show. The car, along with its truck and trailer, was stolen around 6 a.m. on April 6 from a parking lot in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, and was one of three classic cars stolen that week in Brockville. The car was touring car shows throughout North America and was being transported in a 32-foot trailer sponsored by Eaton. Police have no leads, and there are fears that the vehicle is headed out of North America and destined to…

The white cinder-block building where Craig Naff crafts his metal masterpieces sits beside a two-lane country road that slices below Little North Mountain on the western edge of the Shenandoah Valley just outside Woodstock, Virginia. The shop is spacious enough for six or more employees and contains an assortment of freestanding metal-shaping machines for them to work on. What’s missing is the employees. There are none. Craig works by himself, his two hands alone shaping and crafting flat sheets of steel into swooping fenders, sleek decklids, hoods, and perfectly fitted doors. He’s in his shop for 11 to 12 hours a day and sometimes on Saturday if work is pressing. Moses, the family cat, is usually his only companion. Sometimes his wife, Kathy, will stop by and help, strolling over…

DO-IT-YOURSELF RUST REPAIR PG.98 Nothing is worse than finding out that cream puff you just bought is full of rust. This month’s installment of HOT ROD’s Ultimate Guide to Paint & Body shows how to get rid of the cancer, both in small areas and in whole chunks of the car. HOW TO FIX RUSTY FLOORPANS PG. 108 We put our money where our mouth is and try to fix rusty floorpans ourselves with a $440 welder and absolutely no prior experience. Witness the butchery. BADASS BULLDOG OLDS BUILDUP PG. 114 Dick Miller builds a 500ci Oldsmobile with the new Bull dog cylinder heads and makes big power in a package that doesn’t have a Bow Tie on the valve covers. Hooray! CARBURETOR VS EFI PG. 126 Using the same…

Adopting modern technology to old-school niche engines, such as the big-block Oldsmobile, is a hot trend. Think of it as the ultimate manifestation of Dare to be Different thought, a melding of the best of old—huge big-block engines—with the best of new — modern cylinder-head design fed by electronic fuel injection (EFI). In the process, correct any inherent deficiencies of the original engine and the end result is a reanimated classic that’s ready to stand against any of the late-model cookie-cutter mills. The advantages of EFI for a street engine in terms of driveability, mileage, and reliability are a no-brainer; but for racing EFI remains somewhat controversial. Olds specialist Dick Miller believes that once dialed-in, EFI should deliver greater consistency and less maintenance than a typical carbureted setup, which requires…

Even for experienced engine builders like West-ech’s Steve Abbruzzese, changing the cam on a small-block Chevy has been a laborious, time-consuming process because the intake manifold and timing cover must be removed first, thereby usually destroying the intake and oil-pan gaskets. However, we recently evaluated several aftermarket products that together can shave nearly 40 percent off Chevy cam-swap times. GM LS-style engines have lifter-guide gloves that allow cam removal without pulling the intake and lifters. GM Performance Parts sells a similar glove for classic Chevy small-blocks using factory-type hydraulic roller lifters. GM PN 88958652 ($11.63) does one bank of lifters, so two are needed for a V-8 (total price, $23.26). We used the gloves with Comp Cams’ three-piece aluminum timing cover (Comp PN 310), which permits pulling the cam out…

E-MAIL: HOTROD@PRIMEDIA.COM • MAIL: HOT ROD PIT STOP, 6420 WILSHIRE BLVD., LOS ANGELES, CA 90048 • FAX: 323/782-2223 • MESSAGE BOARD: HOTROD.COM Humanity and hot rodding evolve by building on the shoulders of those who came before. We use our predecessors’ experience and accumulated knowledge to push the state of the art even further. In a sense, that’s what this column is all about. Rather than wasting time reinventing the wheel, what you really want is the knowledge needed to build a better wheel. So whether you need a clear explanation of the basics, some theoretical musings, or just some plain, nuts-and-bolts common sense, don’t be afraid to send in your questions. When e-mailing, include “Pit Stop” in the subject line, as well as your real full name and hometown…

So there we were on a Route 66 road trip a few months ago when we came across a super-concentrated acre of all the Mother Road signage and Americana that you wish was still littered on all the abandoned structures of the fabled highway. Alas, it’s all been heisted and displayed in rich-guy garages. Except here, at Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, Arizona, where we spent two hours rummaging the perfectly patina’d, fabulously displayed, openly accessible signs, cars, engines, and parts assembled by purveyor John Pritchard. The least interesting of it all is a restored ’57 Corvette; it’s the seeming detritus that fascinates, not to mention the men’s room plastered to the edges with every shot from all the HOT ROD swimsuit issues. It was a shame to look up…

QUALITY SEAT TIME Having fantasized about being a race car driver since about birth, I was shocked to feel claustrophobic in the Z06. The car was a ’caged but otherwise stock ’05 Z06 Corvette, my passenger was GM engineer Mark Stielow, and the place was GM’s Milford Proving Grounds. Last month’s story on the HOT ROD Solstice (“American Badass,” page 92) provided all the performance numbers and some driving impressions, but I hadn’t gotten any real seat time in the car. Most of the time was spent testing, shooting the photos for the magazine, and filming the whole deal for a future episode of HOT ROD TV. My seat time was limited to a few 30-mph rolls for the cameras and a few throttle bursts, but no real hard-core driving.…

MEMORIES ’68 Ford Mustang Scott & Deb Flickinger Andover, MN Scott got this junkyard-rescued Mustang back in 1982 as his first car, and he’s been through a lot with it, including his first date with his wife, his senior prom, and his vo-tech training years. In 1987 it was parked in his grandma’s garage. In 2003 Scott brought the ’Stang out of retirement and treated it to a full restoration, including cool new paint, a 400hp 351W, an AOD trans, and disc-brake conversion. Everything was completed just in time for Deb’s 20th class reunion, where Scott got to show it off to his old classmates. RACE BRED The Stock Car vibe John Cottrell Via e-mail So you think you have an intimidating-looking street machine? Maybe, but it’s hard to outdo…

SURVIVAL MOTORSPORTS Barry Rabotnick has been a longtime friend of HOT ROD via his positions at Holley and Speed-Pro and also through his participation at the first Pump Gas Drags(tm) in his ’69 Torino coupe, a veteran of many late nights around Detroit. Barry’s a nut for Ford FEs, and his EFI 505-incher was built in the story, “675HP Dinosaur” in the July ’04 HRM. That same engine was later rehashed and entered in Popular Hot Rodding’s Engine Masters Challenge, though it was “like bringing a butter knife to a gunfight,” in Barry’s words. Even so, the guy’s efforts have pegged him as a champion for the FE. So you’d think Rabotnick’s new mail-order company would be FE-centric. Not. “I actually sell budget speed parts to anyone with a functional…

We’re all subject to our own peculiar obsessions. Go on eBay and you’ll find literally hundreds of subcategories under the general Collectibles. There are people who collect feed sacks and others who just have to have all the Buffy the Vampire Slayer trading cards. And there are probably some who want both feed sacks and Buffy cards. But in a world of collectors, none are more committed or obsessive than those who gather and hoard car stuff. And Don Schlag of Green Bay, Wisconsin, was among the most committed and obsessive car hoarders ever. When Don died unexpectedly in June of last year at 67, he left behind 21 semitrailers stuffed with parts and cars. Since Don stuffed those locked trailers himself and parked them tail-to-tail on flattened tires to…

The Pro Touring thing came from a desire for fewer compromises in the traditional musclecar. If you built a car to run a 10-second quarter-mile, that usually meant it couldn’t turn a corner at anything over 10 mph and the gears made it horrible to drive on the highway. If you wanted it to handle like a new Corvette, it knocked your fillings out over potholes, and the tight suspension kept it from hooking up at the dragstrip. And in both cases, the car was loud, rough, and hot. Part of the Pro Touring movement came from a desire to build a car that could do everything well. It should be fast in both a straight line and on the top end. It should stop and handle well. And it…

Comparing rust to cancer may be cliché, but it fits. Both start as tiny, largely unseen conditions that, if left untreated, will certainly spread. Depending on the severity of the case, both can be terminal. And while there’s no cure for either condition, if caught early enough, both can be treated, sometimes eradicating the problem altogether. The typical plan of attack for both consists of chemical treatment, surgery, or a combination of the two. While science is still getting a handle on where cancer comes from, the origins of rust are no mystery: Metal corrodes. Iron, the basic building block of our cars, undergoes a chemical reaction called oxidation when it comes in contact with air and water. Rust is the crusty result of that process. Preventing the formation of…

Everyone has fought with cheap Taiwan chrome thermostat housings that refuse to seal no matter how many tubes of RTV you throw at them. We made the same mistake, and as a result, the homely stock housing darkened our Edelbrock intake until Performance Stainless Steel released its new 304-grade stainless steel water neck with 360-degree swivel. If you run enough water and coolant through a steel or aluminum water neck, you’ll eventually get corrosion—ours had a healthy bit of interior rust — but using stainless pretty much eliminates those problems. Performance Stainless’ water neck uses an O-ring to seal it to the intake, so we’ll never need to goop it. It’s a finely machined and polished piece, and the swivel allows you to point the radiator hose in any direction…

E-MAIL: HOTROD@PRIMEDIA.COM • MAIL: HOT ROD BENCH RACING, 6420 WILSHIRE BLVD., LOS ANGELES, CA 90048 • FAX: 323/782-2223 • MESSAGE BOARD: HOTROD.COM We’ve all heard the story from a friend of your friend’s second cousin who found a big-block Corvette or a Hemi ’Cuda under a tarp in a garage somewher and buys it for a song after hearing it was originally bought by the seller’s son right before he shipped out to Nam. We’d say that those stories are nothing but urban legend, but we’ve got a legit one in this very issue, on page 48. And while the ultra-rare finds are still one in a million, you readers are doing a good job of sending us your Hidden Treasure finds and we love ’em, so keep ’em coming.…

1969 POWERSHIFT “There are no absolutes in life, but the claim that Ronnie Sox was the greatest four-speed driver that ever lived comes pretty close.” That’s how John Jodauga introduced Sox into his number 15 slot on NHRA’s 2001 list of 50 Top Drivers, long before life’s one absolute caught up with this legendary drag racer. Ronnie Sox left us to cancer on April 22 at 67 years old. The good news is that, by all accounts, Sox spent his last year marveling at the input from his fans nationwide, seemingly having been previously unaware of the truly deep impact that his drag racing career had on people. Ronnie spent his early years running Oldsmobiles before his 13-year Sox & Martin partnership with Buddy Martin began with a ’63 Z-11…

THE RETURN OF ENGLE & NOWACZEK One of my all-time top ten cars is the NASCAR-style Charger of Dave Engle and Steve Nowaczek. We featured it back in the Aug. ’95 issue and still occasionally get mail on the car. It ran a legit 180 mph in the Pony Express and even carried yours truly for a short time on the Power Tour(tm). As you can see here, the guys still have the car, but they’re building a more hard-core twin to it, this time with a full Nextel Cup NASCAR-spec chassis and lots of power courtesy of a low-deck, high-rpm Indy Hemi. The goal is to have a very fast race car that can still be driven on the street. The body will be aluminum with a target vehicle…

The Detroit Autorama, held for the past umpteen years downtown next to the river in venerable Cobo Hall is undisputedly one of the granddaddies of custom car shows in America—which means anywhere. I heard the 50th-anniversary show in 2002 was an extravaganza not to be missed, but I missed it, as I have all other Detroit Autoramas. Something about flying from sunny Southern California to downtown Detroit in the middle of winter, no matter the magnitude of the show, could not compel me to visit—until this year. It’s not that this year’s 54th-annual show was special in itself. It did host some 900 vehicles that covered all available Cobo Hall floor space, both upstairs and down. That included a fresh batch of over-the-top show cars vying for the prestigious Ridler…

“I was a schoolteacher at the time, and I didn’t have much. I’d even use spark plugs the other guys threw away if they were anywhere in the right heat range.”— Tea Harbit With the exception of occasional sightings at Bonneville and El Mirage, you don’t often see a fast Studebaker, let alone one that still has an original Studie engine in it. Seeing one at the dragstrip is nearly as rare as watching Halley’s comet light up the sky. But unlike most, Ted Harbit saw the potential in the Studebaker V-8s. They say persistence pays off, and it appears to be true in this case, as Ted’s 44-year Studebaker obsession has led him to consistent class wins and eventually created what we think is the quickest Studebaker-powered Studebaker ever.…

PERFECT HI-RPM ENGINE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Painless Performance 888/350-6588 www.painlessperformance.com Tricking late-model ECMs into accepting engine mods often involves getting a laptop and programming in all-new fuel and ignition curves. An alternative is Painless Performance’s new Perfect Hi-RPM package. Each application combines a custom-programmed Perfect engine-control module, a complete plug-in wiring harness, and a Comp Cams roller cam. The kits have been subjected to hours of dyno testing to produce fuel z and spark curves so you don’t have to. Perfect Hi-RPM Engine Management Systems are now available for Ford 5.0Land GM LSI engines with LT1, LS2, and 4.6L Ford applications coming soon. MSRP: $1,499-$1,599 ALCOHOL AND NITRO RACING OIL Royal Purple 281/354-8600 www.royalpurple.com Royal Purple’s new Nitro Plus racing oils are straight-grade, nonfoaming, synthetic oils specifically formulated for use in…

COOL STUFF FROM ARTE HOUSE We’ve shown a few of the vintage photographs and posters you can order from the HOT ROD Arte House Web site, and here are a few more neat little trinkets for sale—magnets and note cards. Consumers can select a variety of images from the HOT ROD archives including classic rods, sexy pinups, and vintage racing. The magnets are $3.99 each, and the note cards (they’re blank on the inside) with envelopes are $2.99. Shipping within the United States is free. Go to www.hotrod.com and click on Hot Rod Store (on the left side). DRAG WEEK(tm) ROCKS THE HOUSE! Last year’s inaugural HOT ROD Drag Week(tm) was killer, and there were only 41 cars entered, but this year’s event is going to be off the hook.…