Why the eternal flame keeps burning......

A Prius driving grad student asked me the other day why anyone "needs" a musclecar. I had to give him the answer that Harley riders have been giving for years-"If I have to explain, then you won't understand." "No, I want to understand,I have to understand, I'm writing an article for a psychology magazine."  He replied. "I'll do my best to help." I said. We sat down, and I talked and he took notes. "The first misconception is gender." I said. Stephen King said cars were all girls in his classic Horror novel "Christine" about a possesed '58 Plymouth Fury, and you see old farmers calling their truck "Betsy" and such." Cars being female may be cute for some people, but musclecars are all male. It's all about testosterone. And their not male in the good father-know-best kind of way, or the John Wayne, truth justice and the american way, no, their Jules from "Pulp Fiction". My I.D. says "Bad Mofo" on it, "I'm sorry Ringo, but this isn't the first time, some fool has challenged me to a fight." "I will strike down with great vengenance and furious anger anyone who threatens the righteous man who happens to be my driver." "Though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I fear no evil, for I am the meanest mother in the valley!" That's what a musclecar says. You can't drive one slow. The rumble of the exhaust, the Hurst shifter in your hand, feeling the power like a Rotweiler tugging on his leash, eager to run. Come on, you candy ass. It taunts. There's no men in blue around, open me up. Like the kid in "Christmas Story" it "Triple-Dog Dares" you. God help you if there's a pretender near-a BMW or Mercedes or Jap car that tries to pass you or looks at you disdainfully at a light. Like Denis Leary on cocaine-your subconcious taunts you-"You gonna take that shit?"  "You gonna let this arrogant yuppie scum disrespect us like that?" "Please trade me in for a Honda Civic, you pussy."  You have to put your right foot down, and then it's on. As the rest of society succumbs to political correctness and frontal lobe massaging and the ever-expanding limits of freedom of the nanny state, at the last stop before oblivion stands the archaic, throwback American Musclecar. The Camaro SS, the Boss 302 Mustang, the Hemi Challenger-and their brethren from the past that simply won't go away-stand Janus-faced, giving the finger to tweed-cap wearing,pipe-smoking, journalists and engineers that deride solid axles and pushrod V8s while singing the praise of front-and all-wheel drive, overhead cam technological wonders that can't touch the performance of an american musclecar at two or three times the price. And now their selling in record numbers. How did this happen? It happened back in the 1990's when every 40 or 50 year old stockbroker or dot.com rich guy decided that the one thing missing from his life was a badass American Musclecar. Didn't matter if he already had a Porsche or a Ferarri. He was up late one night watching Kowalski's last Ride in "Vanishing Point", or the chases in "Bullitt" or "Smokey and the Bandit" or "Two-Lane Blacktop" and decided then and there that he HAD to have a Challenger, or a Charger, or a Trans-Am, or a GTO or whatever, and he didn't care how much it cost. And his competitive buddies got in on it, and remembered their big brother's 'Cuda or Camaro or Mustang from high school, and decided if Bob so and so, could spend 40 grand on the 30 year old car of his dreams, then by God, so could they. And the renaissance caught on. And the automakers thought hey-"If horsepower makes that much money, let's rock and roll and bring back the '60s." "WE can promote Hybrids, and saving the planet, but these cars will sell themselves." Brock Yates said it about Harleys a few years ago, but it applies to musclecars as well-"If that rumble, that roar, that ultimate symbol of freedom and American brashness, that death threat to collectivism and political correctness ever goes away, then it will truly be time to turn out the lights in America." That's why the eternal flame of the Musclecar keeps burning. Mastermind        

If you want to drive it like you stole it....Crate it!!....or get a "Junkyard Jewel"

I speak to a lot of people that want to race their musclecars but are afraid of blowing a rod out the side of a rare, numbers-matching block. If that's the case, I offer two viable solutions. # 1. Get a Crate engine. GM Performance, Mopar Performance, and Ford Racing all offer awesome high-performance crate engines at reasonable prices, as do companies like Edelbrock, Smeding, and Blueprint engines. If you have say an SS396 Chevelle-GMPP's 454HO may be just the ticket. At 425 hp and 500 lbs ft of torque, that's way more power than even the vaunted solid-lifter L78 396 had ( They were rated at 375hp ). With the right style air cleaner and valve covers it would look stock, and with forged crank, rods and pistons, could even withstand a big shot of nitrous. Want to be King Kong? How about 572 inches of Chevrolet and 720 hp?!!  Don't want to risk the 440 in your Charger or Road Runner? Mopar performance offers a 505 inch ( 440 based ) wedge engine with 500 hp. Ford racing offers 351W crate motors with 385 hp-a big step up from the 290 hp that a stock '69 Mustang carries. 429 SCJ Torino? They offer a 460 based 514 stroker with 600 hp. These hi-po crate engines often come with a 3 year 50,000 mile warranty!!  # 2. The other solution is to find a similar engine in a junkyard. I wouldn't want to risk grenading a for-real Ram Air III or Ram Air IV Pontiac in my Judge or Trans-Am if I had one. However, since the 400 was used in practically every Pontiac model made from 1967-78, finding a rebuildable core shouldn't be like finding a moon rock. Take this junkyard motor from a '74 Bonneville or whatever and put a stroker crank in it to make it a 455, add some Edelbrock heads, a hot cam and some headers, and you'll have even more power than your stock engine, and you won't have an anxiety attack every time you run it over 5,000 rpm!!  If you've got an AMX you may not be able to find a 390 or 401 AMC engine to play with, but their are millions of 360s in junkyards in Jeep Grand Waggoneers.  You might not find a 327 for your '60s Corvette or Impala, but 350s are a dime a dozen, you could stroke it to 383, and really have a rockin' small-block. Having a 2nd engine isn't cheap, but if you want to race your car without the fear of grenading an irreplaceable block, it's really the only solution. And you can "downgrade" and still have racing fun. If you've got a Hemi 'Cuda, you might not want to spend another $15,000 on a Mopar Performance Crate Hemi to play at the drags, but you could build a pretty strong 360 or 383 / 400 for a couple grand that would be big fun at the track, and you wouldn't care if you missed a shift and blew it all to hell!! Ditto for a Boss 302 Mustang. You can buy or build a 302 based 347 stroker with 400 hp pretty cheap,go faster than you would have with the original engine, and keep the "Moon Rock" in a plastic bag in your garage to re-install for concours shows or when you sell it. The 455 out of my Hurst /Olds is on an engine stand right now, while I abuse the hell out of the GMPP ZZ4 crate 350 Chevy that's in the car. Changing it back to Olds power would only take about 8 hours. So stop lamenting that you can't race, and go buy or build a second motor that you don't care about blowing up!!  Mastermind      

The history of the Charger....

Since Car and Driver said the 2011 Hemi Charger R/T was one of the best performance buys out there, I thought I'd go over the car's heritage. The Charger was introduced in 1966. It had wild fastback styling, hidden headlights, and a unique 4-bucket seat interior. The standard engine was the "Old" 318 which has nothing in common with the later "LA" or "Magnum" engines. The 383 and the 426 Hemi were optional with a 4-speed or the excellent Torqueflite 3-speed automatic. 1967 models were the same. Although these years have a bit of "Cult" following now, they didn't sell very good when they were new. 1968 brought an all-new bodystyle-and Dodge engineers hit it out of the park. We all know what a hit this bodystyle was. Charger sales increased something like 300% that year, and that was before "Bullitt" was released with the epic chase through the streets of San Francisco with Steve McQueen driving a Mustang and stuntman Bill Hickman driving an ominous black Charger. The standard engine was the "LA" 318, but options included the 383 and 440 4bbl V8s and the vaunted 426 Hemi. The new Charger, especially the R/T, was, to paraphrase George Thorogood- "Bad to the Bone". It looked mean as hell just sitting still, and it had the power to back up the image. A big 440 inch Charger had little to fear from a 396 Chevelle or a 400 GTO. 1969 brought minot changes-a split front grille, and two elongated taillights instead of four round ones, but otherwise the sexy body remained unchanged. Engine choices were the same except for a big midyear introduction-the 440 Six-Pack. Engineers simply took the 440 Magnum, added a bigger cam, and an Edelbrock aluminum manifold with 3 2bbl; Holleys. This was one of the great street engines of all time; driveability was excellent and even with the automatic, the car launched cleanly on the center 2bbl. When the end carbs kicked in, look out! The buff magazines raved, and the Six-Pack actually outran the vaunted Hemi in drag testing, with the stock 3.23 or 3.54 gearing.. However, we all know running a Hemi with a slushbox and 3.23 gears is like running with one flat tire; give the Hemi a stall converter or a 4-speed and some 4.30 gears, and it's a different story. People don't realize the Hemi was designed to win NASCAR races on long tracks like Daytona and Talledega. The "Wedge" style 383 and 440s made much better STREET engines. Which, coupled with the high price, is why not many Hemis were built. ( A 440 Magnum was like a $200 option, the Hemi was like a $1300 option ). This year NASCAR also influenced two rare special editions the Charger "500" had a flush grille, exposed headlamps, and a flush rear window. The Charger Daytona had an Aero nose and a tall rear wing. Chrysler had to sell 500 of them to race them, which they did, but survivors are rare, and often bring six figures. 1970 saw no changes to the engine line-up, but they went back to an unsplit grille and put a chrome bumper around it. In my opinion, Chrysler really blew it in 1971 when they changed the bodystyle. Why? Chargers had been selling in record numbers since the body debuted in '68, so why mess with success? GM didn't- the 2nd generation Camaro / Firebird lasted 11 years-1970-81, and the C3 Corvette-which was based on the 1965 Mako Shark show car lasted from 1968-1982. The Porsche 911 was basically the same from it's 1963 introduction to well into the 1990's. After a string of hits-besides the Charger, Chrysler also had the Road Runner-which outsold the Pontiac GTO in 1969, the Super Bee, the Duster and the Challenger / Cuda line, they stepped on their dick big-time changing the Charger after just 3 years. It wasn't that the car was ugly-far from it-in fact-the new body was so aerodynamic that Richard Petty won races with it clear up until 1979 when it was outlawed for the 1980 season. ( NASCAR rules stated that bodystyles could be no more than 5 years old, and the last Charger of this style was built in 1974. ) It's just that people couldn't beleive they'd changed from the beloved 68-70 style so quickly. The 383, 440 4bbl, 440 six-pack and 426 Hemi were still available, and to combat high insurance rates on big-inch musclecars, for the first time the high-winding 340 V8 that was previously onlu available in the Dart and the Challenger was optional in the Charger. For this one-year only, the Super Bee package was offered on the Charger instead of the Coronet. It was basically a graphics package, but the 383 Magnum was still standard, with both 440s and the Hemi optional. 1972 was when things really took a dive. Compression ratios were lowered and emissions standards tightened, and this was the year that the SAE switched from gross to net horsepower ratings, so it looked like power had dropped off more than it actually had. The Hemi and 440 Six-Pack were gone, leaving a 440 4bbl with 280 net hp the top engine option. 1973 and 1974 were basically the same, although the 340 was dropped after 1973 and replaced with the 360 for 1974. In 1975, Chrysler really shot their foot off as far as the Charger nameplate went. The racy 71-74 style was gone, you couldn't get a manual transmission anymore, and the body was a re-badged Chrysler Cordoba!! Yuk!!  Further, the advent of catylitc converters really took a bite out of performance, and the 400 V8 wheezed out about 175 hp, the 440 barely 200. Chryslers "Lean Burn" electronically controlled ignition / carburator setup caused the emasculated engines to run even worse. In comparing "Personal Luxury Coupes" Motor Trend wisecracked that a 400 Pontiac Gran Prix could tow a 400 Charger faster than it would run. From 1979 through the mid-1980's Chrysler really added insult to injury by putting the legendary name on various front-wheel drive, 4-cylinder Omni versions. Mercifully, they dropped it until 2005 when it returned with a vengenance. Some purists griped that it was a 4-door with no coupe option, but with 340 snarling Hemi horses under the hood and a Mercedes E-class chassis-( Courtesy of the merger with Daimler-Benz) enthusiasts had car that not only kicked butt in a striaght line-5 second 0-60 and low 14 second 1/4 mile times, they also handled good enough that drivers didn't have to take crap from BMW owners on twisty roads either. Soon the SRT8 option was introduced that included a 425 hp Hemi, Brembo brakes, and a more upgraded suspension. Mopar Muscle was no longer something spoke of in the past tense. The buff magazines raved-touting BMW 5 series performance for half the price. A Super Bee graphics package that copied the '60's style was revived. They remained basically unchanged through 2010. For 2011 the body was made swoopier, the base Hemi pumped up to 370 hp, and the SRT8 to a whopping 465!!.  Long live the Charger!! Let's hope Chrysler doesn't kill it again or do something stupid like make it a front-wheel drive or a diesel or a hybrid.  Mastermind          

The E-rod '55 Chevy.....Why?

I just got a GM Performance Parts Catalog that has a '55 Chevy on the cover and a big article inside about the new "E-Rod" perfoirmance package. It's basically a complete 2011 Camaro SS powertrain. The article went on and on about how you could have high performance and be emissions-legal. In a "55 Chevy?!!  Hello?!!  In most of the 50 states only vehicles 30 years old or newer-1981 and later-are required to have smog tests prior to registration. Some states still require it for vehicles 1978 and newer, and California, the strictest, requires it for 1975 and newer. So nowhere in the country would you have to "Smog" a '55 Chevy!! If you want to run a 327 with a 6-71 Blower and Nitrous, or a 12.5:1 compression 454 with a Tunnel Ram and dual 660 Holleys, you could. Even in smog-Nazi California you could put a 528 Hemi in your 74 Charger or an SVT 514 stroker in your 71 Mustang with impunity. The reason it offended me so much is three-fold. # 1. They should have used an '80's IROC-Z, or Monte Carlo SS, or C4 'Vette as a test mule. These are the vehicles that drivers have trouble registering if their modified at all, and would most benefit from this package. # 2. Why would anyone spend the time and money installing Catalytic Converters, Oxygen sensors,throttle position sensors, crankshaft position sensors, etc, etc, on a vehicle that didn't require it?  # 3. Spare me the rap about cold-weather starting, fuel economy and driveability. It's a documented fact that a restored musclecar is usually the fourth or fifth car in a household. No one is driving these cars to school or work on a daily basis, or even in the rain, much less freezing weather. Let's face it-90% of the cars that show up at "Hot August Nights" or go on the "Hot Rod Power Tour" do it on a trailer so the driveability argument doesn't hold water. Don't get me wrong-I love the new GM LS motors-if I can financially swing it, I'm going to be one of the first people in line for a ZL1 Camaro when they come out. But, if I want a 1965 GTO, like the song says-I want 3 deuces and a 4-speed and a 389, not an LS3 and a 4L80E!!!. You buy an old car because it's different from what's new. I've said it before-If you were a gun collector would you buy a WWII vintage Colt .45 and put Laser Sights on it?  If you were a motorcycle enthusiast would you buy a 1957 Harley Davidson and install the fuel-injected Twin-Cam engine out of a 2010 Softail?  Probably not!!  I just thought it was stupid that since even 45 years ago in 1966 when the California Air Resources Board started inplementing emission controls, a '55 Chevy was exempt!!  There's enough people out there with more money than brains that have to have the newest, and biggest, and best of everything, so I'm sure the package will sell well, but that doesn't mean it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.  That's all I'm saying. Mastermind   

Other awesome cars that were killed before they were born......

General Motors wasn't the only automaker that killed cool stuff because the bean counters said they wouldn't sell, or that building them wouldn't be cost-effective. Here's a few that would have been way cool, if  Ford , AMC and Mopar hadn't killed them.  # 1. 1971 "Boss 429" Mustang. The larger and wider 1971 Mustang offered the "regular" 429 as an option, so dropping in the Boss-9 wouldn't have been too hard. Further, the cars could have been built at Ford plants, reducing costs. ( The 1969-70 Boss 429s were 428 CJ models that were farmed out to Kar Kraft for the conversion, and Ford lost money on every one.)  The engineers felt this one could turn a profit, and upstage the big-block ponycars from GM.  Chevrolet was still considering offering the LS6 454 in the Camaro as well as the Chevelle, and Pontiac had the 455HO as the Trans-Am's standard engine. Sadly, the brass caved in to pressure from insurance companies, and safety advocates and the project was scrapped.  # 2. 1971 Charger Daytona / Plymouth Superbird. Chrysler considered putting the bullet front end and huge wings on the restyled '71 models, but ultimately decided it wasn't cost effective.  Too bad, they would have been cool.  # 3. 1972 429 / 460 Cougar. Since you could get a 455 in a Pontiac Gran Prix, and a 454 in a Monte Carlo, Ford thought they should offer a big-block in the personal luxury Cougar. ( A 351C was the largest engine available). The bean counters decided that the GP and Monte were competitiors of the T-Bird not the Cougar. Hello? The '72 and later T-Bird was based on the Lincoln MKIV platform, and in a drag race or "Stoplight Gran Prix" would only see the taillights of  a 455 engined mid-size "A" body GP or 454 Monte Carlo!!  The big-block Cougar might have sold quite a few units if it had been offered.  # 4. 1975 AMC Javelin / AMX.  Since the Challenger and Cuda were no more, and the '74 Mustang was basically a Pinto / Capri hybrid, and the Z/28 was on hiatus,  AMC brass thought that with less ponycar competition out there, Javelin sales might massively rebound like the Pontiac Trans-Am had in 1973-74. ( Up 400%  over 71-72 )  Instead, they killed the Javelin and introduced the re-designed Matador and the Pacer. Bad Move.  # 5.  1977 AMX. Even before "Smokey and the Bandit" came out Pontiac was selling T/A's in record numbers-almost 50,000 in 1976 alone-this caused Chevy to hastily re-introduce the Z/28 option on the Camaro-and every other automaker was scrambling to build a Trans-Am fighter. AMC engineers had an idea that might have changed history. They came up with a handling and graphics package for the compact Hornet, and since AMC V8's are all externally identical, suggested using the 360 or 401 V8s out of the big car/ truck line. The T/A had 400 cubes, but weighed about 3,800 lbs. At just over 3,000 lbs, a 401 powered Hornet based AMX might not have been sexy, but it would have ate the T/A's lunch in a drag race, and like the 1968 Road Runner, would have a bare-bones, badass, street fighter image. The brass thought the public was stupid, and didn't care about performance anymore, only looks. They ok'd the graphics and suspension options, but nixed the engine swap. ( Which would have been a bolt-in ) as too costly. The only engines available were a 258 inch six-cylinder, or a 304 V8 with a two-barrel that wheezed out about 120 hp. The bean counters were shocked when they didn't sell.  Decisions like this are why AMC went bankrupt.  Mastermind                   

Badass rides that GM killed for no good reason...

There are a lot of "Cars that never were" but here's a few that I think the public would have loved and bought if they'd ever made production. # 1. 1970 LS6 Nova and Camaro. Originally, the mighty LS6 454 was going to be offered in the Camaro SS and the Nova SS as well as the Chevelle line. It wouldn't have been hard to do-the 396 was already an option so the 454 would have been a bolt-in. Cheverolet was so serious about it, that the intake manifold design lost 15 hp over the 1969 427 design because the carb pad was lowered to clear the low hoodlines of the Nova and Camaro. For whatever reason, the GM brass killed them at the last minute. # 2. 1974 GTO. Originally, Pontiac was going to keep the GTO nameplate on the LeMans platform and offer the SD-455 that had only been available in Firebirds in 1973 because of emissions certification problems. That would have given sales a shot in the arm. The other plan, after the decision to downsize it to the X body Nova / Ventura platform was to offer it with a 400 and revive the "Judge" nameplate. How cool would that have been? Pontiac engines are externally identical from a 326 to a 455, so it would have been a drop-in. However, since the X body Ventura was about 600 lbs lighter than a Trans-Am, a 400 Ventura / GTO would have blown the doors off even the SD-455 Trans-Am which was now the flagship. The brass didn't think that would be good, so the downsized Goat got a 350 with 7.6:1 compression that wheezed out 200 hp. # 3. 1977 Hurst / Olds. Hurst built a prototype with a 403 V8, a W31 cam and intake,a TH350 with a 2,400 rpm converter and a shift kit, and a 3.42 posi rear end. It was black and silver and featured a special suspension with a fast-ratio Trans-Am steering box, and T/A sway bars. In early testing it was faster than both the L82 Corvette and a WS6 Trans-Am. The buff magazines raved and public interest was high, but it never made production. Once again, the bean counters over-ruled the gearheads, and enthusiasts and the public lost out. Mastermind 

Advice on building a Bonneville Salt-Flats musclecar.....

I had a client ask my advice on building a musclecar for all out top-speed runs like at Bonneville or in the Silver State Classic. There was a couple guys featured in Hot Rod a few years ago who were attempting to go 200 mph in a 440 powered 1968 Charger. They failed, going "only" 185.  They vowed to return the following year with a Hemi powered '69 Road Runner and break the 200 mph barrier. While this is an admirable pursuit, we have to face the facts: a heavy, square, '60's Mopar B-body is not very aerodynamic, they don't handle very good, and "Dukes of Hazzard" fantasies aside, I wouldn't want to try to control one at 200 mph.  What these Mopar fanatics were missing is the secret to blazing top-end speed isn't just about horsepower. The guy I was talking to was a GM guy, and although he knew it would be a sizable investment, he wanted to know what car to buy, and which engine to build that would offer the most "bang for the buck" i.e. go the fastest, for the least amount of money. I told him the best choice would be a 1982-90 Pontiac Trans Am for the body, and the only engine choice is a big-block Chevy. He said if he was going to do a T/A he'd want to do a '70's model, and use a 455 Pontiac engine, or use a late '90s F-body with an LS motor. I told him he was being sentimental and dreaming, and setting himself up for failure and disappoinment just like the guys with the B-body Mopars. When I laid out the facts, he came around to my way of thinking. Here's why: # 1. Aerodynamics is a huge part of high speed. Ask any Nascar or Formula 1 racer. A 1970's T/A  has a drag co-efficient of .048. While that's way better than a '60s B-body Mopar and really good considering the design is over 40 years old, it's not good enough to make a run at the mythical 200 mph barrier. The 3rd generation T/A when it was introduced in 1982 had a drag co-efficient of .032. That's substantially lower than the old T/A, and better than many modern sports cars including some Porsches and Audis. In 1984 when the "Aero" package was introduced, this reduced the already spectacularly low drag co-effiecint to .028!!  What this means in plain english, is the newer car requires less power to move it through the air. Thus it will go much faster with the same amount of power. And even in a car as slippery as a 3rd gen T/A-your going to need at least 600 hp to make a run at 200 mph.  # 2. Horsepower per dollar. Like it or not, nothing makes more power for less money than a Big-Block Chevy. Yes there are Fords, Pontiacs, Mopars, and Oldsmobiles with 600+ horsepower in magazines all the time. But they often cost twice as much to build as the hated Chevys. Again, it's not about sentiment, it's about horsepower per dollar. The 4th gen Camaros and Firebirds are just as aerodynamic as the 3rd gen, and the modern LS motors can certainly generate tons of power, but again-at a much higher price and a lot more work.. It's a lot easier and cheaper to build a 700 hp 454 with a distributor and a carburator than it is to do it with an electronically controlled fuelie LS engine. Remember- this is an all-out race car-it doesn't have to pass smog or be emissions-legal, we don't care about idle quality, and we don't care about fuel economy. I'm not going to spend a lot of time arguing this-the 638hp ZR1 'Vette engine is available as a crate motor from GMPP-at a price of $22,000!!!  And then you'd have to buy and hook up all the electronics to make it run, which puts the tab at more like 25 large. If we go Apples to apples and compare crate engines the 620 hp 572 sells for $13,000 through Scoggin-Dickey, and you can buy an Edelbrock/Musi built 555 inc Rat with 650 hp and 650 lbs of torque for $15,000. Either of these will bolt in a car with virtually no wiring hassles.  A savings of anywhere from 10-12 grand!! And that's if your a guy that just writes checks. If you can build it your self-you can build a KILLER Rat Motor for less than 10 grand. Now that we agree on the bodystyle and powerplant, let's get down to what's really needed to go 200 mph cheaply, and safely. # 1. Body prep. First off, you need a car without t-tops. They have much more structural integrity than the T-top models. Your going to need an 8 or 10 point roll cage, which is no problem, Summit Racing sells thse kits for a few hundred bucks, and even if your not a mechanic, it's not a big job for most shops. I'd also install subframe connectors. Again, Summit racing sells the bolt-on and weld-on type. The stock rear axle will be ok-you don't need to spend 4 grand on a custom 9 inch Ford housing. Here's why-were not drag racing-your not going to be launching at 5 grand on wrinklewall slicks, so you won't be putting undue strain on the driveline, even though your passing a lot of power through it. It's not power that breaks things, it's the sudden jolt of massive amounts of torque coupled with too much traction. Some of these races start from a rolling 50 mph, so you wan't have that problem. If you do start from a dead stop, again, your not running slicks, or a stall converter with a trans-brake, so you won't have a brutal launch that would break anything. I would  however definitely get a c-clip eliminator kit. What this does is prevents the wheel from coming off if you do break an axle. You'll also need a driveshaft safety loop. This way if, you do break a u-joint, the driveshaft doesn't stick in the ground and flip the car at 150+ mph!!.  Many of these races have a "Spec" tire that they make everybody run, so I won't make a recommendation on tires. On wheels you'll need wheel studs that protrude through the lug nuts. Again Summit can help you with these. I would run 15 inch 1982-84 T/A "Aero" wheels ( Often called "Bowling Balls") because their the right offset and their cheap and very aerodynamic. Or I would run Center Line Auto/Drags, or steel Nascar type wheels with Moon Disc hubcaps. # 2. Engine and transmission. If you've got the money-by all means the 650 hp Edelbrock / Musi 555 or the 720 hp GMPP 572 Rat motors would be an easy way to get the needed power. If your a do it yourself kind of guy or need to build the motor for say $7,500 instead of 15 grand- then I'd invest in a GMPP 454HO short block. You can buy these often for less than 3 grand, and they have 4-bolt mains, a forged crank, forged heavy-duty rods, and forged pistons. Bulletproof. For Heads I would use aluminum Edelbrocks either the oval-port Performer RPMs or the rectangular-port Victors with 110cc chambers. This will give you about 9.7:1 compression, which with aluminum heads will allow you to run all the timing you want even if the gas isn't the highest quality. Compression over 10:1 with iron heads may show more power on the dyno, with 114 octane racing gas, but in the real world Iron doesn't dissipate heat nearly as well as aluminum, and if your running flat-out for an extended period-five miles-you don't need your motor pinging itself to death or losing power under load when you need it most. Plus, these heads will accomodate cams up to .700 lift, and the weight savings will make the car handle better. For cam selection, I'd consult Competition Cams or Lunati-they can give you advice on the specs you need for what your trying to achieve. For an intake I'd run an Edelbrock or Dart single-plane with a Dominator flange, and an 1150 cfm Dominator style-carb. I'd run an MSD distributor and a 6A-L or even a 7a or 8a box to make sure you had proper spark. Hooker sells motor mount kits and headers to put Rat motors in 1982-92 F-bodys. I'd use at least 3 inch exhaust pipes with an x-pipe. For a tranny the T-5 stick or 700R4 won't stand up to this kind of power. I'd use either a T10 4-speed or a TH400 automatic. Summit sells crossmembers to install these trannys in these F-bodys. I'd use a Centerforce clutch with a stick, and I'd use a tight,  lock-up type converter with the automatic-you don't want slippage at high-speed. I'd use a Gear vendors overdrive behind either of these trannys, which would allow you to play with axle ratios to suit the track length. ( People use them in 1,500 hp Top Fuel dragsters, they won't break). With this setup you should break 200 mph easily. Gale Banks did it about 20 years ago in a Rat-motored 1982 T/A, so I know it can be done. Good luck to our friend who is attempting this, and we'll do this on other combos for drag racing, auto crossing, street, etc. Mastermind                          

A "Moldy" 'Doba or a Magnum might make a great sleeper.....

In the mid to late '70's musclecar sales were declining, but the sales of "Personal Luxury" cars were skyrocketing. GM was making a mint off the Pontiac Gran Prix, Olds Cutlass Salon and Chevy Monte Carlo. Ford responded by making the Cougar biggger and more luxurious, and introducing the Torino "Elite".Mother Mopar responded with the Chrysler Cordoba. ( "Rich Corinthian Leather"). Up until 1978 you could get a 400 or 440 in them. They were nice cars, but they ran like crap. The 400 wheezed out 175 hp, and the 440 barely topped 200!. A 400 powered Pontiac Gran Prix would tow a Cordoba faster than they'd run. The problem was the "Lean Burn" emissions systems and Thermoquad carburators. The sluggish performance and poor reliability doomed sales. Dodge dropped the Charger nameplate off their version in 1978 and re-named it the "Magnum" and gave it a swoopy front end. This body actually had moderate success in Nascar races. However the largest engine available was a 360. In 1979 Chrysler put the "300" nameplate on the Cordoba and gave it a special white paint job, trick wheels, and a 360 V8. The 1980-83 models were downsized, and not as nice. What makes them cool now, is they are cheaper than dirt, and that engine bay will swallow a 440 or even a crate Hemi like it grew there. With a powerful engine, they'd make a great sleeper. Mastermind   

GM's "Other" El Camino

We all know that the El Camino line got all the cool Chevelle options-SS packages, cowl induction hoods, etc, etc. Maybe Pontiac / GMC dealers thought they were losing sales-whatever the reason-in 1971 GMC introduced a re-badged El Camino named the "Sprint". All engine options including the mighty 454 were available. It was a moderate hit-although I think most of the sales were to people who wanted an Elky anyway and maybe got a better price on one than at the Chevy dealer, or just liked the "GMC" badging and trim. It was the same in 1972, with most being 350 powered, but the 402 and 454 Rats were optional. When the "A" bodies were restyled for 1973, so were the El Camino / Sprint. The 402 was dropped, and the 454 lost 25 hp ( Down to 245 from 270 net ) but they got cool options like swivel bucket seats. Styling remained the same through 1977 although the 454 wasn't available after 1975. For a few years-1974-77 you could get a 400 small-block as an upgrade over the 350. In 1978 they were downsized and re-styled again, and the name was changed from "Sprint" to "Caballero". The standard engine was now a 3.8 liter V6.  About 400 lbs lighter than the 73-77 models that preceded them, these were pretty good performers if you ordered the 350 V8. After 1981, the largest engine you could get was a 305. The line soldiered on until 1987, and although Chevy El Camino models got the sales boost of offereing the Monte Carlo SS front end and trim on 84 and later models, no one seemed to care about the GMC cousins. When the Malibu, Cutlass, etc went front drive in 1988, the car / truck hybrid that had been a favorite of hot rodders since 1964 died an uneventful death.  The GMC models aren't really worth anything other than the fact that you might find a deal on a low-mileage "Sprint / Caballero" simply because not many people know they even made a GMC model, and the GMC models seemed to have been sold to older people who kept really good care of them, rather than the "Real" Elkys that have been butchered with Grand /Auto sunroofs, drag raced, and generally abused by their mullet-wearing owners and trailer-park Barbie girlfriends that couldn't afford a screaming-chicken Firebird or Z/28 Camaro!.  Mastermind    

The "Other" Nomad!

The 1955-57 2 dr "Nomad" wagons are already classics among collectors and hot-rodders, and are priced in the stratosphere, if you can find one for sale at all. However, if your a Chevy fan and want to build something unique, from 1964-70 there was a 2 dr Chevelle wagon. A neighbor had a 1970 model back in the early '70's. He used it to deliver newspapers. Their pretty rare, but their not worth anything because they never had any special options, and most were sold to commercial delivery servicess that did'nt' need or want trucks. However, because of their long wheelbase and excellent weight distribution a wagon actually makes a good drag racer-they get surprisingly good traction. Further-any suspension or brake upgrades that fit other GM "A" bodies fit these, and that engine bay will swallow anything from a 283 small-block to a 572 Rat. With the help of Year One and other restoration companies you could build a one-off  "SS454 " Nomad-Cowl Induction hood, bucket front seats, etc, etc. Even if it was wrecked in the front-you could make it a "GTO" or "442" Nomad by using a Pontiac or Olds front clip and powertrain. Might be fun for some people, and definitely something something you don't see every day. Mastermind  

Thunderbirds with actual Thunder!!!

While the '60's and '70's Pontiac Gran Prix's have always been considered  great luxury / performance cars, one that's largely overlooked is the Ford Thunderbird. Here's the best ones in my opinion. # 1. 1961-63 models-often called the "Bullet Bird" because of the shape of the rear fenders and taillights. The ultimate in early '60s cool. I can see Elvis or Frank Sinatra driving one. With 390 cubes under the hood, they move pretty good too. And there is a ton of aftermarket equipment available for the "FE" engine. The 1964-66 "Thelma and Louise" model has the 390 V8, but I think their ugly. However, if you like them, there's nothing wrong with them other than the quirky styling.  # 2. 1967-69 models have the cool hidden headlight styling and either 390,428 or 429 cubes under the hood. I personally prefer the 2 dr models, but a lot of people like the 4 dr models with the "Suicide" doors. In addition to the big motors, these models also usually have cool options like factory Air, front disc brakes, power windows, etc.  # 3. 1970-71 models are my personal favorites. They have racy, NASCAR-inspired styling that makes them look badass sitting still. They also have 429 cubes under that long hood, and the early '70's was when american automakers started to care about handling, so these also ride and handle a lot better than earlier models. If the factory's 375 hp isn't enough for you, I see one of these Jet-Black with a Ford Racing 514 stroker stuffed in it. ( The 514 is based on the "385" series-i.e.-429 / 460-so the accessories should all bolt up and the bellhousing bolt-pattern is the same. 1972-76 models have lower compression ratios and more smog gear, so even though their 460 cubes, they are really down on power compared to the earlier models, and to add insult to injury, they are based on the much heavier, and uglier Lincoln MKIV platform. This is a lot cheaper way to get Ford Muscle than fighting with machetes for a same-year Torino or Mustang. Mastermind

My Ride for sale....

After 17 years of fun,I am selling my 1973 Hurst / Olds 442. It's Cameo white with gold stripes and black interior.  It has swivel bucket seats, A/c, the Hurst Dual / Gate shifter,and the rare digital tach. It's one of 1,097 made. Right now it has a 355 hp ZZ4 GMPP Chevy crate engine in it backed by a Turbo 400. The car was featured in the August 2009 issue of Popular Hot Rodding. I also have the original numbers-matching 455 Olds engine ( with a spun main bearing, but complete from carb to oil pan) and the BOP bolt pattern TH400. It has 4.10:1 gears in the 10 bolt rear end and Center-Line style wheels. I have the original owner's manual. I'm asking $12,000 for it with both powertrains, or $8,000 without the crate motor. Interested parties can contact me through the comment function on this site, and if you leave an email address or a phone number I will get back to you.  Mastermind  

Going on Vacation!

I'm taking a Christmas vacation this year. I'll try to post once or twice a week with relevant subjects. But don't worry, I'm not quitting just taking some time off. After my mini-vacation I'll be back to posting daily or every other day.  Happy Holidays to everyone!  Mastermind

What's cool and what isn't!!

I hate to be like Mr. Blackwell on Oscar night, but just like millionaire movie stars make major fashion gaffes in what they wear, enthusiasts do this with how they build their cars. Here's some guidelines on what works in the car-guy world and what doesn't.  # 1. A '55 Chevy with a snarling 327, a 4-speed, a straight axle and radiused fenderwells and big slicks is just as cool now as it was in 1965.  # 2. A '55 Chevy with a TPI 350, a 700R4 automatic, air ride suspension and 20 inch wheels and 30 series tires is not cool, and never will be.  # 3. A 1967 Mustang with a solid-lifter 289 and a 4-speed, done up like a Trans-Am racer is way cool.  # 4.  A '67 Mustang with a fuel-injected "5.0" and a T5 out of a late '80's or early '90's Mustang is so passe' that I want to vomit day-glo. # 5. A '69 Corvette with a solid-lifter, snarling 427, headers and un-muffled chrome sidepipes and Rock-crusher is a death threat to collectivism and political correctness, and the nanny state, a glorious celebration of rugged indivualism and macho american power overkill at it's finest.  # 6. A '69 'Vette with a supercharged LS9,an electronic six-speed auto and all the electronics to make it work is a microcosm of what's wrong with our society- Too damn many people with more money than brains. # 7 A '70's Camaro that's been "Pro Streeted" -a homage to Pro Stock drag cars-i.e.- narrowed rear end, monster meats, and a snarling 454 with a tunnel-ram and dual 660 Holleys says what Jule's wallet in "Pulp Fiction" said.  # 8. A '70's Camaro with a modern LS3 and a six-speed is like an opinion or other body part-everybody has one.  See the difference?  Mastermind   

Stuff "Experts" and "Researchers" will never know....

I get tired of self-proclaimed experts being belligerent and belittling anyone who disagrees with them. Just because you read it in a book or on the internet doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Legendary shootist Elmer Keith-who helped Smith&Wesson develop the .44 Magnum-said it best with the title of his autobiography. "Hell, I was There!"  Well I was for the majority of the muscle car era. My dad was a gearhead, and I could swap valvesprings in a small-block Chevy cylinder head before I could ride a two-wheel bike. My dad worked for GM, Ford and Chrysler, and I spent my life in car dealerships, speed shops and race tracks. So it really irritates me when some "Know it all" tells me that somkething wasn't available on a certain car, or that I'm lying. A couple examples- I was talking fondly about the "Rock Crusher" in one of the 77-78 Trans-Ams my dad and I owned. This idiot tells me I'm wrong because after 1974 all T/A's had BW T10 4-speeds. He continued to argue even after I said that I went to to the dealer with my dad to order it, and watched the salesman put "M21" in the transmission box, and that when we got the car six weeks later we put it up on the rack, and it did in fact have a Muncie M21! Other customers of ours had same-year T/A's. Some of them had T10s, and some had Muncies. Car and Driver even wrote it in one of their  1977 road test articles about how the T/A was the last "Real Man's car" and that the "blonde in the Corvette" "Couldn't handle the Rock-Crusher" and wouldn't dream of blowing chickens out of barnyards on country roads. He also argued that the T10 was the only four-speed used in Camaros of that vintage. Again-Wrong! The T10 was the only 4-speed used in the Z/28 from 1977-82. However 1970-74 Z/28s had Muncies. Further, from 1970-79 you could get a base-model Camaro or a Rally Sport Camaro with a 350 and a 4-speed. These cars used a Saginaw 4-speed. I know because my best friend bought one brand-new when we were in high-school, and my wife's sister did the same-I saw both of these cars when they had less than 10 miles on them , saw the window stickers and build sheets, and serviced them! NO one swapped the trannys on these cars!. Guess what? what some researcher puts in a book 30 or 40 years after the fact isn't always accurate!  Another fool argued with me when I said a guy I knew put a brand-new LS6 454 in his 1980 Camaro as soon as he got it. This jerk went on and on about how only 4 thousand LS6 Chevelles were built, and there was no way he could have a brand-new LS6 in 1980. When I commented that the LS6 was sold by GM as a crate engine until 1991, he called me a liar. When I produced an old, 1989 GM Performance Parts catalog that clearly listed the LS6 engine assembly-he said they weren't "the same thing" and refused to admit defeat. The all-time best was the Olds "Expert" that argued with me that Oldsmobile never had a Tri-Power option on the 442. When a friend showed up with his rare, pristine, Tri-power L69, 1966 442, this genius said my friend had used a 1950s J-2 setup off a Rocket 88. When we said that 1965 and later Olds 400 and 425 engines have different heads and a different bank angle than the old 394 engines and that the intakes don't interchange he said we had "Adapted" a Pontiac setup! When we pointed out that Pontiac and Olds intakes do not interchange now way no how, he says-"I don't know what you did-but that car's not original!!." Talk about not giving up in the face of irrefutable facts!  So do some checking before you start arguing with someone about what their own car did or didn't have!!  Mastermind             

You could build a Muscle "Sport Wagon"!

I talked to someone the other day who wanted to argue about whether or not there was ever a GTO wagon. ( There wasn't. See the post on "Area 51" cars that don't exist and why.)  However if you wanted to build a hot-rod wagon that looked cool and went wicked fast, you could do it relatievlely cheap. Since almost every manufacturer had intermediate-based wagons, finding raw material is easier than you think.   # 1. GM Intermediate Wagons.  Obviously, the most popular ones are the 1968-72 models. Your best bets are going to be the Pontiac and Olds models. The reason is the most of the LeMans wagons had 400 or 455 cubes under the hood, Turbo 400 trannys, front disc brakes, and heavy-duty radiators and suspensions. Ditto for the Olds models. The Cutlass "Vista Cruiser" models were usually loaded as well-which again, meant the 400 or 455 big-blocks, TH400, etc. There are a lot of Chevy Malibu wagons made in this period, but most of them are small-block models. If you find one with a 396 or 454, great, but they are not as plentiful as the big-block Olds and Pontiac versions.  However if you decide to build one, with the help of Year One, and other companies, you could make a "Judge" wagon, or an "SS396"  or "442" or "Hurst /Olds" wagon. And because of their long wheelbase and excellent weight distribution, a wagon actually makes a good drag racer. There's not a lot of them, but if you find one, a 455 Buick Skylark wagon could be a cool "GS455" or "GSX" wagon.  # 2. Mopar Wagons. For some reason Chrysler didn't sell nearly as many wagons in the '60s and '70's as GM and Ford did. However, most of them did have 383 or 440 power under the hood, and it wouldn't be hard to make a "Super Bee" wagon out of a Coronet, or a "Road Runner" or GTX wagon out of a Satellite.  # 3. 1969-76 Ford Wagons. A Torino or Fairlane wagon could be cool. A lot may have 351 / 400C engines, which can be hopped up easily, and there are enough 429 /460 models out there. This also includes Mercury Montego wagons as well. How cool would a NASCAR themed- "Wood Brothers" wagon be?  # 4. 1963-69 GM Full-size wagons. Again, it would be easy to build an "Impala SS" wagon or a Pontiac "2+2" wagon out of one of these. The Pontiacs would all have 389,400 or 428 cubes under their long hoods, and a lot of the Chevys would have 396's. How cool would a Tri-Power, 4-speed Catalina wagon be? Chevy built some 427 wagons, but most of these were kept by collectors, or are junk and have had the engine pilfered by Corvette restorers. Still, that engine bay will swallow anything up to a GMPP 572, so your only limited by your imagination and your wallet. If you have kids, or need to pull a trailer, wouldn't one of  these be more fun than a modern SUV?  Mastermind