Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2007 i Hot Rod

LIFE-GIVING ADVENTURE Have you seen the show called Long Way Round? Man, you gotta check it out. I had never heard of it until Netflix recommended it to me. It’s sort of a reality show but really more of an adventure travelogue. It stars Ewan McGregor and his pal Charley Boorman and originally appeared in seven parts on Bravo TV. So far this sounds like it could swing a bit dorky, but, wow. These guys hopped on a couple of BMW R1150GS Adventure motorcycles and drove around the world—like literally, nearly 19,000 miles from London through 12 countries—places like Slovakia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia—all the way to New York City. The level of human suffering was really good. I’m so envious. Not that I could ride a motorcycle 13 feet…

SALT FEVER Thank you for your yearly coverage of Speed Weeks. I was first introduced to Bonneville through the pages of HOT ROD more than 46 years ago. The article thank the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) and the Bonneville National Inc. (BNI) and all their volunteers for the great job they do each year. I would also like to thank Ron Main for allowing my son Mark and me to be a part of his team for the last four years. With salt in my shoes, speed in my heart, and 10W50 racing oil in my veins, I truly have Salt fever. John D. Hannsz Houston, TX John, check out page 66 of this issue for your yearly HOT ROD Salt fix.…

1982 THE SHIRLEY MOVIE The Force girls may be leading the current pack of women racers feeding the PR machine, but it's doubtful any of them will surpass the importance to the sport of Shirley Muldowney. Other females had success concurrent with Shirley (Judy Lilly, Shirley Shahan, and Judi Boertman, to name the obvious examples),but Muldowney was the first to have a Fuel license and the first to score a Pro-class event win. With three Top Fuel championships and 18 NHRA national wins, Shirley Muldowney's accomplishments needn't be viewed on a scale of achievements by women but in the context of the greatest pure drag racers ever. Nevertheless, her gender brought press attention and an adaptation of her life story as the 1983 movie Heart Like a Wheel. It was…

BUGATTI HOT ROD Mark DeLong told us one of the happiest days of his life was when he picked up the July '98 issue of HOT ROD and saw Lynwood Woods' GTO on the cover. He had helped Willie Rells and Richard Green build it the previous August. Of course, he also said it pushed him over the edge into radical car building. One of his latest is a rare '37 Bugatti four-door (above). The rough shell has had all the original internal wood support structure removed and replaced with stainless tubing and sheetmetal, the A-pillar has been laid back 12 degrees, and a metal roof has been welded in. For a better full-fendered effect, the original fenders have been widened and running boards have been grafted in. Of course,…

JAY BROWN, ROGERS, MN, '05 FORD GT We were really looking forward to drooling on Jay Brown's '69 Mach 1 again this year [it also was part of the HOT ROD Top 10 cars for 2006), but he gave up on it when he had hideous traction problems after stepping up the power. His backup car was nothing to sneeze at: a brandnew Ford GT with less than 1,000 miles on the clock. Jay made a ton of passes that ranged from 12.20s to 11.90s, but when his timeslips were averaged, it came out to a perfect 12.00000 seconds. Man, how do you do that? By making a ton of passes on the last day in search of the perfect number. Guys said we should have given Jay a lap-time…

KURT URBAN, MADISON HEIGHTS, MI, '72 CHEVY NOVA The feature on Wheel to Wheel's Nova in the Nov. '06 issue said and showed it all, but Urban drove the point home by being one of the most popular cars at Drag Week™. It has also been to Power Tour™ and Pump Gas Drags™. Urban helped guys with their cars the whole time, including one road-side stop that may have saved the lives of two competitors. When he killed a lifter in Martin, he held the new lifter up in its sleeve with a paper towel to make the drive, then pushed it back down onto the cam for the final death passes at Cordova. Power combo:This is a radical 402-cube LS2 with a pair of Rotrex superchargers and air-to-water intercoolers.…

RAY HERRING, DOTHAN, AL, '55 CHEVY BEL AIR Everyone called it the Two Lane Blacktop car, and that's how Ray built his '55, complete with Lexan side windows and flip frontend. He's owned the car for 20 years and hasn't done much more than putt around his local cruise scenes, but after buddies Keith Turk and Bruce Hall got done with him, he'd made the decision to bring it out to Drag Week™. It certainly wasn't the fastest car of the event and should have gotten killed in the Unlimited class, but the '55 was the only Unlimited car to make it past the first day. Power combo: It's a bone-stock L88 427 crate motor that Ray bought years ago. There's a 100-shot of nitrous, but he never turned the…

Ahhh, the homecoming. It's happened nearly every year since 1949 at the Bonneville Salt Flats where racers of disparate equipment and like minds have gathered with a singular goal: to go as fast as the fickle finger will allow. Speed Week remains universally accepted as hot rodding's purest time warp, a place where tradition is held in the highest esteem and where racing really hasn't changed that much in 57 years. But in truth, there's always change—it's often guarded, subtle, and carefully planned, but it's change nonetheless. This year, it was brought on by a throng the size of which has never been seen at Speed Week: a spectator crowd of nearly double anything seen even by the graybeards, many attributing the draw to last year's World's Fastest Indian movie.…

BRODIX IK200 SMALL CHEVY HEADS The thought behind the Iron Killer heads from Brodix is simple: make them bolt right up, make them perform, and make them the best bang-for-the-buck small-block Chevy aluminum heads on the market. Hence the name Iron Killer: aluminum heads at the price of iron heads. They're available with intake runners of 180 cc or 200 cc and chambers of 64 cc or 70 cc or CNC-shaped up to 74 cc—all with 2.02/1.60 valves and straight plugs. They use standard intake and exhaust patterns, stock-style valvetrains, stock head bolts, and they've got stock valve locations for compatibility with any pistons. You can get them bare or completely assembled with flat-tappet-style or hydraulic roller springs, both with lift limits of 0.575 inch. An assembled pair of either…

HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE?? After years of being scolded by corner workers about where he can and cannot go, photographer Rich Chenet finally got revenge via his Canon camera. This shot was taken at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama, which Chenet called “by far the best-kept race track in the country—and maybe the world. Owner George Barber has made this a place you would want to take your family. It is not only a great race track; Barber is also a groat lover of artwork and has many huge sculptures around the track.” He probably won't be too happy to see one of his corner workers using the Coke-bottle sculpture in this manner, though.…

LOSING THE SUPER BOWL Racing is really hard for a magazine editor to do. When we actually find the time to get to a track, we’re covering the event that’s going on, testing a project car, or shooting a car feature. There’s no time to actually strap on a helmet and worry about beating the other guy. Our own junk never runs long enough or well enough to bother trying to enter a local bracket race or, God forbid, a real heads-up event, either. For all the reporting we do on racing, there’s precious little of it actually done. Freiburger’s figured out the genius scam with the Bonneville Camaro, and he’s having the time of his life while he’s in it, but it still sucks time that he pays dearly…

AT THE LOCAL DINER? Ken Echols Sierra Vista, AZ Most car guys have their favorite diner or spot they love to drop in at when they’re cruising. Ken and his buddies, the Hot-Rod Thugs, prefer this establishment known simply as The Diner. The eclectic mix of rides from left to right are: Dave Williams’ ’60 El Camino, Jeff Prevatte’s ’62 Galaxie, Ken Echols’ ’59 Chevy Biscayne, Dane Meyer’s ’01 Saleen Mustang, John Sutte’s ’61 Dodge Phoenix, Frank & Judy Winborn’s ’69 Buick Wagon, and Maria Prevatte’s ’71 Olds Cutlass. FASTBACK ON A BUDGET ’66 Ford Mustang fastback Phillip Tripp Austin, TX Phillip’s sharp, black fastback started out as a basic 289ci, C4 auto cruiser with typical, scary, four-wheel drum brakes. Thanks to thorough, budget-minded scrounging in local junkyards and good…

PROFILE: MOMMY FASTEST “I've been around automobiles my whole life,” Susan Roush McClenaghan said. “I was raised at the dragstrip.” Well, of course—she was proudly watching her dad, Jack Roush, as he and then-partner Wayne Gapp cut a wide swath through the Pro Stock fields of the 70s. Before he collected all those Trans-Am, IMSA, and NASCAR titles, her father was terrorizing the NHRA ranks with cars like the trick little four-door Maverick known as the Tijuana Taxi. Susan soaked it in. “It was pretty cool stuff. Of course, it wasn't like this at the track back then,” she said, waving her arm across the living room of the family's comfortable motor coach parked in the paddock of Milan Dragway for a Wednesday night test session. “When we went to…

THE NHRA U.S. NATIONALS IN 369WORDS Today's assignment: Let the pictures tell the story of the biggest race of 2006. Tony Schumacher.[1]owns Indy Raceway Park. After beating David Grubnic [who had a big fire while trying to stay close) in the second round, the U.S. Army-backed, Alan Johnson-tuned monster went on to humble Brandon Bernstein in the finale for Schumacher's fifth Indy victory. Last year's Road to the Future award winner, Robert Hight, is used to being surrounded by cameras.[2], but that future is now for him and his AAA Ford, which is owned by his father-in-law, John Force. “Dad” debuted a Silver Anniversary Mustang.[3] for the Skoal Showdown, which the irrepressible one won for the sixth time before acknowledging the future belongs to the likes of final-round opponent Tommy…

JIM NEUENFELDT, OMAHA, NE, '03 CHEVY SILVERADO Jim Neuenfeldt won the Power Adder Small-Block class in 2005, and over the winter, he redid his 4x4 Silverado with a pair of turbos replacing the single from 2005. The truck ran 10.0s last year, but he dialed it back for 2006, running in the Daily Driver 11.0 class, and took his second consecutive Class Winner jacket with an average e.t. of 11.0004, which was one-thousandth of a second closer to 11-flat than the Second Place finisher. And he did it all on street radials. Next, Jim qualified for the Daily Driver bracket race and won that, too. Jim's girlfriend, Melissa Lee, did a really good photo-video of their adventures. Check it out atwww.1320video.com. Power combo:The full-tilt, 408ci LS1 has a Comp Cams…

“I tried to drink the piston better last night, but it didn't work.”—Bill Beasley JOHN HUGHES, AMITE, LA, '69 CHEVY NOVA The most important prize we give at Drag Week™ is the jacket for the one racer whom we feel most embodies the true Spirit of Drag Week™. It would be easy to say that it's for the guy who breaks down most often, but it's most important that he also keep on going, pushing hard to the end while keeping a great attitude about the adventure. Not only that, but helping other racers is a big part of our decision. This year, John Hughes helped a ton of guys. He also had to change his trans at Indy, then he got locked into the track before he was done.…

“Everyone at home is in meltdown, but I'm having the time of my life.”—Dr. James McEntire DR. JAMES MCENTIRE, LEE'S SUMMIT, MO, '68 CHEVY CAMARO Dr. James McEntire hadn't had a week off from his podiatry practice in something like 10 years, but he made time for Drag Week™ and brought his very clean '68 Camaro Pro Streeter out to play with the big dogs. Pulling a small trailer loaded with tools, parts, and slicks [and wisely an EZ-Up tent), the fat-tire Camaro seemed to have no problems navigating through the rain on the new M/T Sportsman S/R Radials, and it ran very consistent passes to average 9.69 at 139 mph for an Eighth Place finish in Pro Street. Power combo:An all-motor 555 big-block built by Sonny Leonard has Brodix/SAR…

Location: Alan Mest Early Automobile Restoration and Repair, Gardena, CA ALL ABOUT AIR SUSPENSION PG.80 Everything you ever wanted to know (and in some cases didn't think you needed to know) about air suspension. PAINT & BODY PG.94 All the post-paint stuff you may not have thought about—like trim, window fuzzies, and that sort of stuff. KILLER NEW PARTS FOR 2007 PG.98 You haven't seen these parts before because we got them out of the manufacturers before they debuted at SEMA. TEST AND TUNE PG.120 An inside look at Brodix' affordable new small-block Chevy heads—and more new parts. MARLAN DAVIS' PIT STOP PG.124 We've all had problems with brakes that don't work right. Marlan tackles that one this month.…

The SEMA show, held every year at the Las Vegas Convention Center in early November, is a semiprivate party that every car guy wants access to. There are usually 100,000 industry types from more than 100 countries and 50,000 consumers packed into the almost two million square feet of exhibits all geared toward the automotive aftermarket. Often, companies use the show as a stage for unveiling their latest parts, and the New Products Showcase will have literally thousands of the coolest widgets, speed parts, tools, and all kinds of other goodies. Thing is, manufacturers closely hold their latest introductions and rarely release them to magazines before the show. This year, HOT ROD got on the phone and ramrodded as many of them as possible for early info on stuff that…

I was reading the Nov. ’06 issue when I came across the Where It All Began column about Burt Munro, and I was reminded of an awesome story I have about my dad and Burt. One day, I picked up the World’s Fastest Indian DVD and took it home and told my dad we were going to watch it that night. I told him what the movie was about, and when I had finished, he looked at me with a look of pure astonishment. He then proceeded to tell me that when he was 12 years old, he and his younger brother shared a cabin on a ship from New Zealand with an old man who was on his way to the Salt Flats to race his motorcycle. Upon hearing…

AMERICAN RACING BUYS WELD WHEELS At the end of September 2006, Greg Weld sold his company, Weld Wheels Industries, to American Racing Equipment, but the Weld name, styles, and forged-wheel construction aren't going anywhere. According to the press release, “Weld's operations will be integrated with American Racing, which will continue manufacturing wheels under the Weld brand at facilities in Kansas City and elsewhere. The acquisition will increase American Racing's market share in the automotive aftermarket wheels industry and add important capabilities in the manufacture and distribution of high-performance forged wheels." —ROB KINNAN HOW THEY MAKE IT:ACCUFAB THROTTLE BODIES Modern electronic fuel-injection systems all require a throttle body or air meter to supply air to the engine. Just as a stock carburetor may not supply enough air to keep up with…

“Man, y'all are having the time of your life. My wife would never let me do this.”—Dude at Burger King These people flogged their junk hard, trust us. They drove 1,500 miles in five days and drag raced balls-out along the way, proving that you really can have a bigpower street/strip car and drive it an anywhere at any time. That's the premise of HOT ROD's Drag Week™, and the winners are the cars with the quickest average e.t.'s at the end of the week. It's a grand scheme to push as many readers as we can into actually backing up the smack, driving their overpowered cars the entire distance with no support vehicles of any kind, and fixing them along the way no matter how much punishment it takes.…

BRIAN ROCK, SANTA MARIA, CA, '65 PONTIAC GTO Brian Rock's GTO was horribly outclassed in Power Adder Big-Block in 2005 thanks to his nitrous'd 428 that put him over the cubic-inch limit for a small-block class, but rules revisions for 2006 put the cubic-inch break at 430. Brian yanked off the nitrous solenoids to run Naturally Aspirated Small-Block, and he won it with a 10.67 at 123 mph average. The car picked up a tenth after Brian taped off the front end with lots of cardboard and Comp Cams and TCI stickers, a tip he learned from fellow competitor Dustin Haase last year. Brian made it a father-and-son experience again with his boy Dean along for the ride. Check out the May '06 issue for a full feature on the…

BILL FOWLER, CORONA DEL MAR, CA, '71 FORD MUSTANG Bill Fowler DNF'd with a broken lifter and wasted cam on the first day of Drag Week™ '05, but he came back for revenge and got it. For the second year in a row, he shipped his '71 Mustang convertible from California to the start of Drag Week™, this time in Cordova, Illinois, but for the first year, the car finished. It also won the Naturally Aspirated Big-Block class with a 10.88 average e.t. The trip home must have been much better this year. Power combo:At 580 ci, Fowler's Ford was the biggest engine on Drag Week™. It makes 820 hp (at 6,400 rpm) and 725 lb-ft (at 4,900) with TFS A460 heads and intake, a 1,090-cfm King Demon carb, and…

“I still thinkthe car had an easy F in it if it had a real set ofrings.”—Eddie Miller EDDIE MILLER PORT ST. LUCIE, FL '73 PLYMOUTH DUSTER He talked a lot of smack [and we mean a lot) on the HOTROD.com message board before both the Pump Gas Drags™ and Drag Week™ events, but Eddie Miller backed up his boasts—his runner-up at the PGDs was avenged with the overall win at Drag Week™. He kept the big ET Streets on it for the drive, even through pouring rain, and only had one genuine panic moment because of it. And while the drives and on-track action were not uneventful, we never saw a full-court thrash in the Miller pits. He didn't even haul a trailer. The Duster fired off its first…

A sea-change in hot-rod suspensions is sweeping across the scene: replacing conventional metal suspension springs with air springs, often controlled by sophisticated air compressors and self-leveling electronics. Whether it's for looks, easy rideheight alterations on the fly, handling improvements, or better load-carrying ability, air suspensions combined with huge wheels and tires are more mainstream than ever. To get the lowdown on air suspension, HOT ROD consulted leading air suspension specialists, including Air Ride Technologies' Bret Voelkel and Total Cost Involved's (TCI) Sal Solorzano. These outfits are among the leaders in bringing practical, bolt-on air-suspension technology to the hot-rodding mainstream. They shared their expertise on what it takes to install a first-rate air suspension on your hot rod. WHAT IT IS An air suspension replaces conventional springs with air springs similar…

FUEL FOR CARBED FORCEDINDUCTION ENGINES RacePumps 336/476-9583 www.racepumps.com To tackle the fuel-supply issues inherent in both draw-through-and blow-through-style carbureted forced-induction systems, RacePumps VR-VD reciprocating-piston fuel pump for small-block and big-block Chevys (small-block Ford available soon) provides more than 200 gph at an unregulated pressure of 50 psi at any rpm. That should be more than enough pressure to offset high levels of boost and still have plenty remaining to fuel the carburetor. RacePumps' adjustable fuel-pressure regulator with optional boost reference increases fuel pressure at a 1:1 ratio with boost, ensuring the carburetor receives the proper fuel pressure at any boost level. Both the pump and regulator housings are constructed of hard-anodized billet 6061-T6 aluminum, have stainless steel internal components, and are designed for use with gas or methanol. Price: $279.95-$359.95…

HOT ROD POWER TOUR™ HHR GIVEAWAY Joe Wilkerson of Clearwater, Florida, is an employee at Maher Chevrolet in St. Petersburg, Florida, and wrote in to tell us that he had the distinct pleasure of handing over the keys to a brand-new Chevrolet HHR LS to Daniel P. Ellie of St. Petersburg, Florida. In case you missed the announcement last month, Daniel was the winner of our giveaway HHR on the '06 Power Tour™ and now has no excuse to miss any future tours with us. See ya in 2007, Daniel! POWER TOUR™ PREREGISTRATION PHONE NUMBER We owe apologies to quite a few of you who couldn't get through on the Power Tour™ information phone number we printed in the Nov. '06 and Dec. '06 issues, since we printed the incorrect…