Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2007 i Hot Rod

THE NEXT BIG THING? For a magazine with a mission statement anchored on the concept of being there first and delivering content for a broad automotive audience, it’s odd that we’ve got staff that’s repulsed by trendiness. It’s even more ironic that we, with a traditional bent, constantly chase the answer to the question we hear so often: What’s the next big thing? That query resurfaced recently during the first staff meeting we’d ever had with the entirety of our current edit staff in one place at the same time, and we sought the answer at the latest SEMA show, held the first week of November 2006 in Las Vegas. A couple years ago, we spotted that musclecars were hot again as sort of a bounce-back after the death rattle…

A few years ago, I entered my mother’s garage to look for a few things I had left there after I got married. On the wall was a calendar turned to November 1973. That was the month and year my dad died of cancer. Gone was his ’65 425ci Oldsmobile Delta 88 (you could eat off of its engine), yet his ’53 Olds Super 88 sat in the backyard rusting away. As I looked into a corner of the garage, among old oil cans and some tools, I saw a huge stack of car brochures and magazines. Some titles I had long forgotten, like Speed Age, Hop Up, and Motor World. The pile also included dozens of HOT ROD magazines, dated 1949 through 1973. Some car brochures went back to…

FORD FAMILY TO BE GIVEN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Presented at the Hotrod & Restoration trade show in March, the ’07 Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to the Ford family. Petersen (who started HOT ROD magazine and whose name is still atop our Wilshire office building) put it this way: “[This] year marks the 75th anniversary of Ford’s breakthrough 1932 vehicles. The most popular models, the three-and five-window coupes and the roadster, have become true hot-rod icons. An entire industry, all represented at the business-to-business level at the Hotrod & Restoration trade show, has grown from the personalization of those vehicles. There couldn’t be a more appropriate time or a more appropriate place to honor the Ford family. The 1932 Ford roadster remains the most popular body…

Has it been 75 years already? My how the time flies, especially when we’re having fun. This year, the ’32 Ford celebrates its 75th anniversary. But when we look at the latest ’32 Ford hot rods—why, they don’t look a day over yesterday. When the Deuce first became the hot-rod builder’s car of choice, it wasn’t an icon or a legend. It wasn’t special or even particularly rare. It was just another old car to haul out of the junk-yard or tow off the back row of the used-car lot, tear apart, and build into something fast and sharp. But for hot rodders of the era, the ’32 Ford became the new black. Everything seemed right about it, and everyone had to have one. That’s what made it special and…

If We could get it to hook enough to launch at 5,000 rpm, we’d probably already be in the 9s.” —Fred Cook, Evolution Motorsports Everyone knew that as soon as the new Shelby GT500 Mustangs hit the streets, tuners and racers would be tearing into them the same way they did the new Cobras in 2003. Modified versions of those cars ran 11s almost in the first week, and it wasn’t long before a handful were deep in the 10s. The same thing is happening with the GT500s but with greater results because of the bigger engine and killer heads. So far, it looks like Fred Cook is the first man to put one in the 10s. Fred, who owns Evolution Motorsports in Aston, Pennsylvania (www.evoperform.com), a company that specializes…

Location: Alan Mest Early Automobile Restoration and Repair Gardena, CA FORD 400M BUILDUP PG.82 Our Junkyard Jewel is an oddball engine, the Ford lU. 400M, that has not been all that popular with hot rodders. That means you can get one for basically free, and we show how to make respectable power on a budget. PAINT CARE PG.92 The paint, trim, and everything else is on the car, and you’re driving it. Here’s how to take care of fresh paint to keep it looking great for a long time. GARAGE FLOOR BEAUTIFICATION PG.98 Nobody likes spending hours on his back lying on a. greasy, grimy garage floor. UCoat It’s trick epoxy coatings are the hot ticket for shiny, easy-to-clean floors. TEST AND TUNE PG.114 Kooks long-tubes for C5 Corvettes are…

This issue celebrates the anniversaries of three vehicles that are icons to the hot-rodding world. But there was another, less heralded anniversary in 2006, and it involves yet another icon: Corvette’s 50th year in international road racing. It’s fitting then that Corvette Racing swept the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) manufacturer’s, driver’s, and team championships at the series’ finale at Mazda Racewarj Laguna Scca in Salmas, California, in mid-Octobcr. A runner-up finish by Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette CGR wrapped up Chevrolet’s sixth consecutive manufacturer’s title and gave the pair its second straight driver’s championship. Freelance shutterbug Rich Chenet caught No. 4 in the awe-mspiringsunset light at Laguna Seca. —Rue. Kiirisi…

HISTORY LESSON The people of Los Angeles, a town with an incredibly rich history in the 20th century, don’t care about anything historical. It’s all about right now, right here, what have you done for me lately, and it’s frustrating to those of us who treasure artifacts of where we came from and how we got here. Only a few miles down Wilshire Blvd. from HOT ROD’s office is a vacant field where the Ambassador Hotel used to stand. Never heard of the Ambassador? Built in 1921, it’s where the legendary Cocoanut Grove nightclub used to be. It’s where Howard Hughes and every major movie star from the ’30s to the ’60s hung out. Seven presidents stayed there and it’s where Robert Kennedy was shot. Lord knows what else went…

GARLITS VS THE NAVY We were devastated when we found the file of photos from the May ’80 story in which Don Garlits did the burnout on the aircraft carrier. The outtakes revealed the truth: There was no burnout from the Swamp Rat XXII. A smoke bomb and some sketchy photo retouching made it look legit. It wasn’t the first time that drag racers, the Navy, and HOT ROD had conspired on a story. Big Daddy, who controversially visited troops in Vietnam in 1971 (HRM, Apr.’72), posed for Navy posters on the deck of the USS Lexington in 1972. Next, in the Sept. ’75 issue, Terry Cook wrote of Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen in his Duster Funny Car racing a Navy F-14 Tomcat at the Naval Air Test Center in…

NEMESIS Precision Rodware (www.precisionrodware.com) in Glendale, California, has aspirations of bringing a Bonneville-ready ride to the streets with this ’73 Dodge Challenger called Nemesis that is being built for Dany Alsheich. The powerplant will be a 420ci Chrysler small-block with intercooled twin turbos. The goals are 1,100 hp and a 200-mph-plus top speed. A custom TorqueFlite with a Gear Vendors overdrive will channel the power to a prototype Precision Rodware independent-rea r-suspension system, while the front suspension will be a modified Kugel Komponents IFS with Bilstein coilovers on all four corners. The body modifications were done with an eye on aero and style with the quarter-panels and fenders widened 6 inches in back and 2 inches in front to tuck huge Budnik Gasser wheels and serious Michelin rubber measuring 265/35ZR18…

Our Ol’ Dad, the late Gray Baskerville, lived for Bonneville Speed Week. With salt between his toes, standing some-where near the three-mile mark, maniacally rubbing his hands together as a streamliner thundered by at 350-plus, Gray was in heaven. He’s probably standing there right now in an endless running of Speed Week somewhere in the afterlife. “It’s soooooo bitchin’!” For years, Gray tried to persuade his pal and fellow hot rodder George Poteet to experience life on the salt. Eventually, George relented, and his life was never the same. “Twelve years ago, I went to Bonneville as a spectator. After a while, I built a Modified Roadster with a flathead just so I could see the other end of the course as a participant,” George said. That roadster only ran…

POWERTRAIN Engine: From the blower down, it’s factory stock. Outside of a few custom-fabricated bolt-ons, up top is where the magic takes place. The factory Eaton blower has been thoroughly ported and wears a 2.5-inch pulley that makes 13.5 psi of boost [compared with the factory’s 9 psi). Other than that, it’s just a cold-air intake, a custom tank for the air-to-water intercooler, and a nice street-car exhaust. Power: As of this writing, the GT500 was putting 596 hp and 602 lb-ft of torque to the wheels. Transmission: The stock TR6060 six-speed transmission and clutch assembly have lived up to the relentless quarter-mile thrash sessions without a single hiccup, according to Evolution. Rearend: The factory 8.8-inch solid axle received a Detroit Locker centersection with a set of 4.10 gears swapped…

Engine designs can be a lot like politics: Sometimes the results are inspired—like Chevy’s small-block or the classic Chrysler Hemi—but quite often the finished product is a big, fat compromise that nobody particularly loves. That second scenario was the case when Ford debuted the 400 in 1971. The 400 was intended as a replacement for Ford’s aging big-block designs. The block’s architecture borrowed heavily from the Cleveland, including the bore spacing, but 1.09 inches of additional deck height were added to allow a 4.00-inch stroke and the potential for plenty of torque. Unfortunately, this engine’s debut was also horrifically timed. The confluence of increasingly harsh government pollution standards and the disappearance of high-octane leaded fuels left the 400 castrated in terms of its performance potential. A retarded camshaft, low compression,…

PRO ACTION SBC HEADS RHS 877/776-4323 www.racingheadservice.com. RHS’ Pro Action 23-degree SBC cylinder heads, available in 50cc, 64cc, and 72cc volumes, use RHS’ unique manufacturing process called Clean Cast Technology to result in smoother surfaces that eliminate the need for extensive porting. The heads also have a revised water jacket design that improves flow and heat dissipation. Valve guide material is also improved to yield tighter tolerances and longer durability. Available in aluminum or iron and straight or angled spark-plug configurations, Pro Action small Chevy heads accept 1.550-inch-diameter springs and standard-style rockers and valvetrain. Price: $361.13-$579.04 REPRO RAM AIR Air Inlet Systems 905/549-6135 www.ramairbox.com Air Inlet Systems now produces a ram-air kit that emulates the factory Camaro Z28 and Trans Am air-cleaner system found on the ’84-’86 H.O. cars. The…

You’re likely reading this in late December or early January, when half the country is cold and snowy. That means for many of you, there’s not much to do with your car short of working on it, so you’re probably curled up next to the fireplace reading your favorite car magazine, HOT ROD. When you’re done, feel free to fire off an e-mail or a good old-fashioned letter to tell us what you think. Maybe even slip in a few photos of your hot rod for consideration for Readers’ Rides. Overall, though, we want to know what you think of the magazine, the hot-rodding scene, or life in general. Send e-mails and letters to the addresses at the top of the first page of Bench Racing, and know that we…

SPECIAL DELIVERY Throw down that TIG welder: Chevrolet is coming with the version of the HHR you wanted in the first place—a cute little panel truck. The HHR Panel has rear side doors like the standard HHR but with no windows or outside handles—the side doors open via a release button on the dash. There are no quarter-windows either, just an expanse of nice, clean sheetmetal. “The continuous ’canvas’ created by the windowless cargo doors and rear panels provides a large area for business logos, advertising, or personalization,” Chevrolet said. Meanwhile, the long, flat load deck inside provides more than 57 cubic feet of cargo volume with 6 more cubic feet of storage available in two secure floor hatches. Powertrain choices for the sedan delivery are identical to the HHR…

OUTLAW FUEL ALTEREDS There are few things more fun to watch than the header-flaming, nitro-fuming drag racing of nostalgic Fuel Altereds. With nearly 30 member cars stretched from the southern tip of Texas to as far north as Iowa, the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association (OFAA) has grown tremendously in the past few years and is keeping the heartbeat of the nostalgic match-race scene alive in the Southwest. Many of the current pilots are former Fuel drivers from the early days of drag racing. Running the show is circuit president and former Pro Stock racer Bobby Marriott and his wife, Nancy. Marriott’s idea for the OFAA came in 1995, and after two years of tossing out ideas and spreading the word, the OFAA held its inaugural event at Texas Raceway in…

The smack talk started more than two decades ago, centered around a controversial article in the Nov. ’84 issue of Muscle Car Review on the 50 fastest musclecars of all time. For a multitude of reasons, that’s an impossible list to compile, especially roughly 15 years after the traditional musclecars became used cars. MCR used road-test data from old issues of Motor Trend, Car & Driver, and other magazines to ensure as much accuracy as possible, but it still bit them. As expected, the magazine was deluged with letters and phone calls from irate musclecar loyalists, the loudest group being the Chrysler Hemi lovers. See, MCR said the ’70 Buick GS Stage 1 was the third fastest (with a 13.38 quarter-mile e.t.) and the fastest Hemi-powered musclecar, a 13.50-second ’68…

How’d you like to come to our little hoedown? With every last screamin’ horsepower you’ve got to spare, that’s how, cuz the HOT ROD Pump Gas Drags(tm) invitational is on again at Comp Cams and Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday, May 12,2007. Send an application now, and you could be invited to race. In 2004, HOT ROD fired up the Pump Gas Drags(tm), a shootout of real street cars hand-selected by the magazine staff to compete in this one-of-a-kind event where every car gets loaded with Rockett Brand street gasoline, makes the drive from Comp Cams to the dragstrip, and shoots it out. For the first two years, the winner was the car with the lowest average e.t. over three dragstrip passes. Last year was the first time the PGD(tm)…