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itsworn · 5 years

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1969 Ford Torino: Talladega Nights (and Days)

When it comes to NASCAR’s “aero warriors,” the Plymouth Superbird is more famous, but Tom Bailey isn’t a Mopar guy. Actually, he isn’t a Ford guy either. Bailey’s most well-known for building Camaros. Fast ones, with streamlined composite bodies and multiple HOT ROD Drag Week wins. So what’s a bowtie drag racer doing with a corner-turning Ford Talladega? Well, you won’t be too surprised to hear it started with a Camaro.

“I was working on my first Drag Week car- an orange ’69 Camaro called “Indian Burial Ground”- at a shop in Wisconsin, and my friend Jim Plimpton [a well-known Ford racer] pulled up in this white ’69 Talladega,” says Bailey. “I’d never really liked a Ford before, but that thing was cool, and I wanted it.” Bailey told Plimpton that if he ever wanted to sell the Talladega to give him a call, and about five years later, that’s what happened. “I really didn’t need it, but I knew how rare it was, so I said I’d take it. Figured it would just be a basic six-month build.” We all know how that goes. Bailey started work on the Talladega in 2015 and unveiled it mostly-done at SEMA 2018. In fairness, it was a six-month build, just several times over.

Ironically, the 1969 Ford Torino Talladega did not win the 1969 Talladega 500—that was won by Richard Brickhouse in the newly introduced Dodge Daytona. The Talladega did win 26 races that season, as well as the manufacturer and driver’s championship with David Pearson. Oh, LeeRoy Yarbrough also won in the Talladega…at Daytona. It’s a good enough story that Camaro-loyalist Tom Bailey decided to build his own version of the famous Ford aero-warrior.

The Talladega was originally designed in the late 1960s to beat Chrysler in NASCAR racing, and is the first car built for stock car racing to consider aerodynamics to the extent that it radically affected the body design. In 1967, Ford was struggling for wins. Dodge and Plymouth had the 426 Hemi in their oval track cars, and even heavily restricted, the elephant engine was stomping the competition. Ford engineers redesigned both Mercury and Ford midsize cars into slippery fastbacks, and then in ’69, they went one step further. Working with the Holman and Moody race team they took the fastback Torino and extended the nose, tucked in the fenders, and reworked the rocker panels around a NASCAR tech rule so that the stock Talladega would measure high, and could be “legally” lower in race trim. The resulting Ford Torino Talladegas (and subsequent Mercury Cyclone Spoiler IIs) were slick and fast but needed to be homologated before NASCAR would let them race.

In 1969, the deal was that Ford had to build 500 Talladegas, and 100 had to be complete before they would be legal for NASCAR racing. According to interviews with Ralph Moody, the first cars went straight to the track, and Bill France got suspicious that there were so many in race shops and so few on dealer floors, and he paid a visit to the assembly line in Atlanta, GA, to snoop around. In move straight out of the Shelby playbook, Holman and Moody’s team offered to drive each Talladega past France so he could count them. Since the Talladega was only available in three different colors and one trim spec, Ol’ Bill never realized he was counting the same few cars over and over. In the end, Ford did build the requisite number of Talladegas, and while an exact count isn’t documented, Talladega experts believe 750 cars were made, including prototypes and pilot cars.

No changes were made to the stock Ford Performance crate 5.0 Coyote, but Tom Bailey says he may do a cam change now that he’s driven the car. “It doesn’t matter what gear you’re in, when you hit 5500 rpm, it smokes the tires. I think I’d like that to come in a little sooner.”

The backstory on the Talladega, as well as its rarity and good looks appealed to Bailey’s love of motorsports and muscle car history. Plimpton’s car was in decent shape, and initially Bailey was just going to put a modernized powerplant in it and call it good, but like all projects, it grew. After a consultation with designer Murray Pfaff for a rendering, Bailey met Matt Gurjack of Sled Alley in Clinton Township, MI. “Tom originally came by about a different car, but a few weeks later he called asking about the Talladega. He wanted the car lowered with better brakes and a Coyote motor and manual trans,” says Gurjack. “There aren’t any aftermarket bolt-on chassis parts that would give Tom the stance and handling he was looking for, so I gave him the option of putting the full chassis under it, and the car kinda took off from there.”

Folks unfamiliar with the Talladega may expect to hear a laundry list of body modifications to give the car the radical, windblown look you see now, but not only did they leave the exterior sheetmetal untouched, Bailey and Gurjack didn’t even repaint it. “That’s how it came to me,” says Bailey. “I didn’t want to mess with the body because of the heritage of it, how it was made, with the fenders grafted on after the main assembly line work.” Underneath was fair game. The Talladega sits on a modified version of a Roadster Shop Fast Track Torino chassis and Gurjack says he worked closely with Phil from RS to customize the undercarriage to the Talladega. “They designed around what we were doing. They left the motor mounts just tacked in place so we could move them back and forth to position the crate engine, and that was the main work we had to do on the chassis.” To fit on its new frame, the body was channeled, the rear section of the floor was raised to clear the kickup in the back, and the stock wheel tubs were removed, stretched, and reinstalled to give it a factory look when you open the trunk. The transmission tunnel was raised and rebuilt to clear the new Tremec 6-speed, and brackets and exhaust were all tucked up tight against the floorpan to allow for the lower ride height.

Holley EFI gauges provide the important info behind a Sparco steering wheel, and Vintage Air helps Bailey keep his cool, but the overall look of the dash is close to stock. Talladegas didn’t come with badges on the exterior, only the interior, and Bailey says that little chrome callout might be the rarest piece on the car.

Bailey is known for twin-turbo cars, and the Talledega is no different. In fact, that’s where it gets its name, “Talladega TT.” Pop that loooooong hood and gaze in wonder at a perfectly symmetrical forced induction set-up on a Ford Performance crate 5.0. Twin 66mm Bullseye Power turbos feed Wiley E. Coyote to the tune of 1,000 hp. “Crate Coyotes can’t handle more than that,” says Bailey, with the blasé tone of a man whose cars normally boast three times as much. Holley EFI handles the fuel part of feeding the beast, and in the back, a Strange rear axle with 3.70 gears sends the power out to 335/30-19 Nitto Nt05 tires on Forgeline Flush-Loc wheels. It shouldn’t be hard to spin the hides with the combo as is, but just to make sure he can use all the boost at will, Bailey included a line lock, the red button of which was the first thing we noticed inside the car. The second thing was a proper handbrake. Like Bill France, we’re starting to suspect shenanigans in the works.

“Yeah, I just want to have a good time with it,” says Bailey when asked about the homebuilt drift-mode and NSFW custom printing on the shift ball—the pattern shows “1,2,3,4,5,R and ‘F****n Fast.’”

“I’m not one of those McLaren or Ferrari people. I want to take this out like a modern NASCAR and run roadcourses with the foreign cars.” Bailey plans to spend the summer shaking out the new-build bugs, and then join other Talladega, Superbird, Spoiler II, and Daytona owners at the Aero Car Reunion later in 2019. “You know, when I started this, I thought I would get a lot of grief from the Talladega guys for not staying stock, but they’ve been super supportive. They keep saying, ‘If they’re all the same, it would be boring.’” Bailey’s Talladega TT could be described as terrific, and possibly terrifying, but it’s definitely not boring.

Forgeline wheels wrapped in Nitto rubber cover Brembo carbon ceramic brakes.

All stock Talladegas came with 428 Cobra-Jets backed by automatic transmissions, and all were bench-seat cars. To make room for the Tremec 6-speed, Bailey replaced the bench with TMI buckets and had covers made by SPC interiors to match on the rear.

Pop the trunk and you’re greeted by a 20-gallon stainless cell made by Rick’s Tanks. Gurjack made the formerly decorative rear filler cap work with the new tank, a neat bit of fabrication that most viewers would never even notice.

Because loud is better, a button on the console opens twin cut-outs in the 3-inch stainless exhaust, making the Hooker Blackheart mufflers superfluous.

The gorgeous turbo piping and headers are the work of Skinny Kid Race Cars, but the most challenging part of the tubing wasn’t in the engine bay, but rather the headlight inlet bezel. Bailey originally planned to do an LED/inlet combo like on a modern Hellcat Challenger, but decided it would be too modern, choosing instead to have a local machine shop cut the intake hoop to size.

The post 1969 Ford Torino: Talladega Nights (and Days) appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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jesusvasser · 6 years

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The 700 Horsepower Club

BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky — Nashville is no stranger to spectacle, a place that serves as a mecca to rhinestone-gilt pop-country singers and outlaws alike. The town, and its neon-laced Broadway District in particular, has seen everything but this: three of the most powerful production cars for sale today, all in a tidy row.

There’s nearly three-quarters of a million dollars’ worth of carbon fiber and forced induction between us, better than 2,100 horsepower split among the three. The Broadway crowd couldn’t get enough of them, taking photos and video, cheering and begging for any one of us to be delinquent enough to snap a throttle open and let our miracle engines shriek above the blaring honky-tonks. When we inevitably obliged, all eyes for two blocks were on us, the cheers nearly as loud as the drums and guitars spilling from every open bar. Behold the mad, reality-distorting power of these three goliaths of automotive engineering: the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and McLaren 720S.

These are the standard bearers for the new frontier of performance. There are more machines surpassing 700 horsepower for sale today than ever before, even now, as electrification and regulation conspire to snuff out piston-driven automobiles altogether. But a handful of manufacturers are committed to pressing the internal combustion engine relentlessly forward in a heroic and dumb and perfectly human gesture. None of these machines will give your mind the half second it takes to send a curse to your lips. Each has a way of consuming mental bandwidth and asphalt in equal proportion, gathering them until you’re forced to choose between remembering to breathe or brake. That’s what happens when there’s 700 or more horsepower tethered to your big toe, when the bolt to 60 mph takes less than 3 seconds, and when 150 mph snaps past in a blink.

We spent three days in these cars. Three days ripping around the gorgeous and twisting asphalt south of Nashville, hunting out perfect, lonely two-lane apexes and ragged ridge sides trying to wrap our minds around these machines. At times they didn’t seem real, but rather a fantasy dreamt of across decades, an unrealistic vision of performance not long ago reserved for true racing sports cars. Performance levels and experiences that for most of the automobile’s history were off limits to all but officially licensed professional race drivers, those talented men and women who were at times left grasping for ways to explain to the rest of us just what true speed is all about.

The GT2 RS is the sharpest point of the model’s history, the notion of a 911 drawn out to its wildest fulfillment.

To that end we stopped at the National Corvette Museum’s Motorsports Park (MSP) in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It’s not a track that forgives transgressions. The full course shoves 23 turns into 3.15 miles, the asphalt a rippling ribbon that works its way up and over the rolling countryside. Blind crests and close barriers mean a mistake might cost you more than some body panels. But where else can you get to know the upper capabilities of cars like these? Their limits are so far beyond the bounds of public-road legality that to explore even some small fraction of them requires the freedom only an open track provides.

We added water to the 911’s reservoir as needed then hit Broadway and felt plenty cool ourselves.

It was 80 degrees at 8 a.m., the midsummer humidity a heavy exhale on our skin. Aesthetically, the cars could not be more different. The 911 GT2 RS might be the sleeper of the bunch despite its wild, exposed carbon-fiber wing, fender vents, and NACA ducts. The car is gorgeous, but only in the way that all 911s are. To anyone unfamiliar with the smattering of letters and numbers stuck to the doors and tail, it might simply look like another Porsche. That’s a shame, because as of this moment, it is the sharpest point of the model’s history, the notion of a 911 drawn out to its wildest fulfillment.

The GT2 RS is more than that blistering engine, a modified version of the 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six found in the 911 Turbo S. Larger turbos, more boost, a unique intake, and new pistons help produce 700 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, but less obvious tricks borrowed from Porsche’s motorsports arm make the car a functional weapon. Steel ball joints in place of the usual rubber suspension bushings throughout, dynamic engine mounts, and control arms robbed from the 911 GT3 RS help make all that power usable. And massive Michelin Sport Cup 2 R tires, essentially the same compound as the Corvette wore. The rears are 325/30-R21, the exact size as found on Porsche’s hyper 918 Spyder.

If the GT2 RS appears familiar, the 720S looks and sounds like the future. Low and tidy with beautiful, organic curves, it is not ostentatious or brash in the way so many supercars are. Dipped in our tester’s dark blue paint, it reeks instead of quiet competence, an impression that’s only underscored by its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 with 710 hp and 568 lb-ft, numbers that help give it the best power-to-weight ratio of the three. It is a machine that has nothing to prove— until it’s time to prove it.

The ZR1 is a shout by comparison, its tall, vented hood hiding a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 good for 755 hp and 715 lb-ft. In this group of hammers, this is the sledge. And with its wild, canard-laden fascia and towering rear wing, it wants everyone within a city block to know it. It needs the power. At 3,560 pounds, the ZR1 weighs 319 pounds more than the Porsche and is heavier than the McLaren by 432. The fact it is here at all is a marvel. Chevrolet has made a habit of punching above its weight with the Corvette, but this car takes that American notion to a new plane. As equipped, it costs less than half of either of its more svelte rivals.

As we watched from the flag tower, Pilgrim lit the Chevy’s fuse, the V-8 snapping at the sky like glory as he ran out the half-mile straight. By Turn 10, the car’s hazard lights were flashing. It wasn’t until he returned to the pits that we figured out why. The repeated, abrupt change in lateral g force was enough to trick the car’s OnStar system into thinking Pilgrim had collided with something. He spent the lap yelling over the screaming exhaust, trying to convince the nice lady on the other end of the line that he was just fine, all while on his way to a lap of 2:08.77. The time was still exceptionally fast considering the ambient temperature was now in the 90s, and it landed the ZR1 smack between the GT2 RS and 720S. Pilgrim had, weeks before, set MSP’s official production car track record of 2:05.59 in a different ZR1; he put the time difference on this run down to seeing lower speeds on the straights, most likely due to the temperature being 35 degrees hotter, and this test car’s automatic transmission not always giving him the lower gears he wanted. (He set the lap record in a manual-gearbox car.)

The Porsche recorded the fastest time, an impressive 2:05.92, just more than 0.3 second off the lap record. The GT2 RS’ power was seemingly unaffected by the brutally hot conditions, thanks in part to its system that sprays the intercoolers with cooling water.

Three cars, and three philosophies—front engine, mid engine, and rear engine—prove equally thrilling at speed.

On this day, the McLaren set the slowest lap of the three, for several reasons. First, Pilgrim only had a chance to do one timed lap, 2:12.06, before a thunder cell rolled over the horizon, the only thing more powerful for miles. Additionally, in the 720S Pilgrim felt a lack of aerodynamic downforce compared to both the Chevrolet and the Porsche, which are similar to each other in terms of their downforce-to-speed ratio. The 720S also sports narrower wheels and tires, which result in almost 20 percent less rubber on the road. Plus, this particular car’s tires were the less sticky Pirelli P Zero Corsas, not the optional Pirelli Trofeo R tire. The harder tires alone probably gave away 2 seconds or so to its playmates, especially at a place like MSP, which features numerous long, sweeping turns. Pilgrim believed the 720S would run close to the ZR1’s time with the stickier tires; even on the Corsas, he would have probably clocked a 2:10 if he’d had a chance to run a second hot lap.

The lap times, though, are irrelevant to the fun. With the three cars clawing and ripping their way around corners, it was hard to tell what was lightning and what was a downshift, the bark of both echoing off of the buildings behind us.

These cars are the mechanical deep end, and with that in mind, I belted into the ZR1. From the driver’s seat, the only indication you’re in something other than a standard C7 Corvette is the towering hood rising up from the cowl and turning the windshield into a thin slit. It’s like looking at the scenery from between the folds of a bandanna—the outlaw’s view. On the track, Turn 3 opens up into a long straight, followed by an easy right, and the sight of that wide road was too much temptation. I planted the throttle, the supercharger got busy cramming Kentucky air into those eight eager cylinders, and the world cracked wide.

These aren’t wild rabid dogs. They are playful big cats, happy to have their bellies rubbed, but with fangs as long as your middle finger.

The thrust was eye-widening and lung-arresting, a brief moment of traction loss followed by an eruption. I was upon the right-hander in a blink, positive I’d overcooked the thing. I tucked in anyway, and by the grace of General Motors, the car obliged. That’s the real miracle of the ZR1. It’s not some knuckle-dragging hot rod. It’s simply more Corvette in every way. There’s more power. More grip. The massive carbon-ceramic brake rotors have no problem bringing the machine back to sane speeds after dipping a toe into the car’s ludicrous acceleration. But there’s the sense that this is the Corvette pulled taut, all of the performance Chevy can possibly squeeze from the platform. This tester’s optional eight-speed automatic transmission delivers quick shifts, but they sometimes lack the immediacy this engine deserves, and the gearbox, as Pilgrim noted, doesn’t always yield the requested shift, especially when temperatures are blazing hot. Both the 720S and the GT2 RS benefit from seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes.

Extracting maximum performance requires a maximum driver, seen here getting ready to engage the afterburners.

Wherever you might choose to uncork these devils, the downforce levels—until relatively recently not something significant when discussing road cars—are a more important variable to consider. The GT2 RS arrived in its most aggressive aerodynamic configuration, the same one it used to blister the Nürburgring on its way to the production car lap record (a lap of 6:47.3, bested just weeks ago by a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ at 6:44.9), and at 124 mph it generates 313 pounds of downforce. That’s more than double what the present 911 GT3 manages, and on a quick layout, it matters. Like a race car, the faster the GT2 RS goes, the stickier it gets.

It was a strange thing to step from the Corvette to the 911. The ZR1 is fast around a track, but it requires a certain amount of daring from the gambling end of your lizard brain. The GT2 RS is a wicked enabler, effortlessly quick. Swinging the car through NCM’s decreasing-radius, off-camber challenge of Turn 6 at what I thought was the upper limit of adhesion, the Porsche strolled through without so much as a twitch of its wide hips. Given the lack of an engine over its front axle, the steering is delicious and immediate. The brakes, also carbon ceramics, have near-perfect pedal feel. The power is one long, zealous pull, free of the peak and twitch that earned this car’s old 930 predecessor its dark nickname: Witwenmacher. Widow maker. It all combines to create the most confidence-inspiring machine of the litter, whether you drive it on a public road or a closed course. Whoever imagined saying such a thing about a 700-hp, rear-drive 911?

Gorgeous in green, the new Porsche 911 GT2 RS is one of the world’s most devastating road cars.

The only thing that could pry me from the German’s seat throughout our three days of Kentucky and Tennessee touring and raging was the promise of the 720S. Of all the brazenly capable cars on hand, the McLaren is the least orthodox. Its cockpit is open and airy, and the windscreen wraps around you like a bubble that sits as far to the center of the vehicle as possible. As for the track, Pilgrim offered a word of advice: “It doesn’t have the grip of the other two.”

Nor should it, due to the less gooey rubber and lower downforce. But these tires are perfect for this car. Of the three, none executes the sense of speed as well as the 720S. The world wraps past the big, open windshield in a blur, the gasp and thrust of the engine in your ear. And it’s playful because it isn’t welded to the pavement, sliding and dancing around its perfect center, a gift of that mid-engine layout. Turn 19 is a nail-biter, an off-camber drop into what’s affectionately called The Sinkhole. The road simply falls away. It’s a tricky bit to manage for any car, but the 720S made it the most hilarious part of the track. Simply point the nose with your toe, dive down, and ride up the other side. If roller coasters were this fun, Disney World would have a line all the way to Georgia.

Once upon a time, cars like these were at home only on the track. Not so nowadays.

Most astounding is how quickly the cars coaxed us into real speed. These aren’t wild hares or rabid dogs. They are playful big cats, happy to have their bellies rubbed but with fangs as long as your middle finger and jaws strong enough to crush your skull. It’s incredible. As much as purists love to rant and rail against the heedless press of technology, the microprocessor is a godsend in these cars. Exquisite traction and stability control not only make each of them wieldable but also make them faster. There might be no better display of just what can be accomplished by the marriage of man and machine.

That’s why none of us thought twice about pointing the cars south for a run to Nashville and a day of romping around the winding two-lanes south of town. There, gunning down Natchez Trace or winding our way out toward the small town of Franklin, Kentucky, the cars showed themselves ever more impressive. Even with its buckboard spring rates, thin glass, and lightweight carpeting, the GT2 RS proved acceptably civil, thanks in part to its active dampers and switchable sport exhaust. There are compromises to be made, for sure, starting with the front trunk. Porsche hides the reservoir for the intercooler water sprayer up there, and on our hot day, there was enough condensation up front to soak one of our bags. Such is the price of dominance.

This trio should feel underwhelmed by legal speeds, but that’s not what we found whatsoever. Each is a joy to spit through traffic or waltz up a country byway. Out there, the 720S came into its own. If it is a good and fun track car, it is a blissful street car. Light and playful even at posted speed limits, it feels like real progress, how those of a certain age hoped cars would be when they gazed toward 2018 from the dim horizon of childhood. The car is also occasionally infuriating, with cabin controls that seem to have been designed by someone who has never seen or interacted with a human form. Basics like adjusting a from Performance Junk WP Feed 4 https://ift.tt/2oqd4kP via IFTTT

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jonathanbelloblog · 6 years

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The 700 Horsepower Club

The GT2 RS is the sharpest point of the model’s history, the notion of a 911 drawn out to its wildest fulfillment.

We added water to the 911’s reservoir as needed then hit Broadway and felt plenty cool ourselves.

Three cars, and three philosophies—front engine, mid engine, and rear engine—prove equally thrilling at speed.

These aren’t wild rabid dogs. They are playful big cats, happy to have their bellies rubbed, but with fangs as long as your middle finger.

Extracting maximum performance requires a maximum driver, seen here getting ready to engage the afterburners.

Gorgeous in green, the new Porsche 911 GT2 RS is one of the world’s most devastating road cars.

Once upon a time, cars like these were at home only on the track. Not so nowadays.

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4

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eddiejpoplar · 6 years

Text

The 700 Horsepower Club

The GT2 RS is the sharpest point of the model’s history, the notion of a 911 drawn out to its wildest fulfillment.

We added water to the 911’s reservoir as needed then hit Broadway and felt plenty cool ourselves.

Three cars, and three philosophies—front engine, mid engine, and rear engine—prove equally thrilling at speed.

These aren’t wild rabid dogs. They are playful big cats, happy to have their bellies rubbed, but with fangs as long as your middle finger.

Extracting maximum performance requires a maximum driver, seen here getting ready to engage the afterburners.

Gorgeous in green, the new Porsche 911 GT2 RS is one of the world’s most devastating road cars.

Once upon a time, cars like these were at home only on the track. Not so nowadays.

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger 6

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olivereliott · 5 years

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Silver Dream Machine: 2LOUD’s Honda CB1100

Based in Taipei City in northern Taiwan, 2LOUD Custom is a one-man show run by Ma ‘Max’ Yicheng. Despite emerging onto the scene only a few years ago, Max has quickly carved out an exceptional reputation.

He creates finely crafted, one-off machines with classic Japanese style and unparalleled levels of detail. And the latest stepping-stone on his ever-shortening path to legendary status is this total stunner of a Honda CB1100.

The project began its life as a 2014 Honda CB1100 EX, and marks the shop’s first-ever four-cylinder build. The donor’s air-cooled DOHC four—modeled after the engine in the iconic 1983 CB1100F—was kept mostly stock, with a few exceptions.

K&N filtration connects to an adapter above the throttle valve that was designed and built in-house at 2LOUD, and a Dynojet Power Commander V handles fuel management duties.

The stock headers now culminate in a pair of slip-on reverse cone mufflers, complete with shop badges. Marrying the engine to the frame is a polished set of one-off brackets.

The stock subframe was hacked off of the steel chassis and replaced with a shorter, upswept hooped unit. Perched atop the new framework is a custom leather saddle, while a chopped rear fender hangs off the back.

Helping to hide the electronics under the seat is a pair of handmade side panels, shaped like telephone handsets. The ignition was relocated to the right side of the engine, below the air filter.

The tank is a custom aluminum piece that was hand formed by Max, and the CB1100’s instrumentation takes the form of a Motogadget Motoscope Mini nestled in a cavity in the tank just ahead of the fuel-cap. Installing the new tank also required 2LOUD to relocate the fuel-pump to a custom box positioned just under the fuel-cell.

To achieve his classic trademark aesthetic, Max had to find a way to conceal the CB’s slew of sensors and modern electronics. The cockpit’s wiring was internally routed through the handlebars, with the majority of the remaining lines now running through the frame tubes.

The ABS and speedometer chip have been discreetly tucked beneath the seat, the tilt sensor was relocated to behind the air filter, the rectifier was repositioned to the lower side of the intake, and a Shorai Lithium-ion battery is now housed just in front of the swing-arm.

The CB1100 retains the EX-spec’s 18-inch spoked wheels, though they’re now shod in Adlert Classic rubber from local Taiwanese tire purveyor, Duro. Like the donor bike itself, the tires look vintage but are actually contemporary offerings using a modern compound decorated in an old-school sawtooth tread pattern. The retro-themed rubber wouldn’t fit into the stock swing-arm, so Max widened the metalwork it by a few centimeters to make it work.

Damping the lightly modified swing-arm is a set of high-end shocks from Gears Racing with Hyperpro springs, bolstering performance while keeping in line with the aft suspension’s original appearance.

The braking system has been overhauled via KustomTech brake and clutch master cylinders, and the stock four-pot Nissin calipers have been thoroughly polished. An oversize Active oil-cooler with polished connectors was also brought into the equation, and next-door to the up-specc’d cooling system are 2LOUD’s signature frame-mounted front indicators.

Brimming with one-off parts, the Japanese four-banger continues Max’s grand tradition of sweating the details. The taillight, drilled rear-sets, and brushed aluminum triple clamps are all CNC’d pieces, designed and crafted by 2LOUD.

The brackets supporting the headlight, taillight, and turn signals were also done in house, as was the build’s wispy stainless steel chain guard.

Strengthening the tight and cohesive visual theme are the ornate exhaust and front fender support brackets, both of which are drilled out and polished, matching the punched frame gussets.

The paintwork on the CB1100 is another low-key victory. Adorning the bespoke bodywork is an elegant gloss black livery with metallic silver and gold foil striping. Meanwhile, the double-cradle frame’s been hit with a coat of high-temp metallic enamel, and all the exposed aluminum pieces were polished to hell and back.

2LOUD’s trajectory continues with yet another calculated showstopper, adding to an already impressive body of work. The shop’s exploits are all the more impressive considering the breakneck speed at which Max churns out finished projects.

Having previously worked on everything from small Japanese commuter bikes to big-bore American V-Twins, it’s hard to know what Max has in store for his next build.

But going by this breathtaking CB1100, whatever it is, we’re in for a treat.

2LOUD Facebook | Instagram

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itsworn · 5 years

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Purists Beware: This LS-Swapped Corvette LT-1 was Built to Carve Corners

Over the years, the Chevrolet Corvette somehow became affiliated with a phenomenon known as a midlife crisis, but back when it was introduced in 1953, these sporty coupes appealed to a much younger demographic. The Corvette’s performance capabilities increased rapidly in its early years, and the endorsement of the second generation of this machine by some of our nation’s famous astronauts helped rocket the vehicle’s popularity to stratospheric levels. By the time the third generation rolled off the factory floor—with its sharp, angular styling resembling a mako shark—Chevrolet’s halo performance offering had arguably become one of the most collected cars in automotive history.

The car earned the nickname “Rambo” because it’s big and wide and looks like it means business. Notice the grille on the right side is a little crooked after an altercation with a cone.

Enter Garrett Randall, who sports flannels and flat-bill hats, rather than jean shorts and white tennis shoes. At age 29, Garrett brings a wrinkle-free complexion to the Corvette owner’s club of Simi Valley, California. He grew up being heavily influenced by the flourishing car culture around him, a sentiment that was reinforced by his father’s 1972 Pantera in their garage. He was hooked on classic cars at any early age. By just 14, he had restored his first car, a 1967 Camaro, with the help of his father, Lefty Randall, and family friend Mike Fennel. A few years later, after seeing a couple magazine stories about Optima’s search for the Ultimate Street Car, he attended an event to see what it was all about. He was hooked and immediately wanted to build a car to autocross. Like most people, road-course racing was intimidating to someone who didn’t have much experience on a racetrack, but autocross really intrigued him because of the sport’s accessibility and minimal risk of damage to the car.

Garrett Randall wheels Rambo around autocross courses like it’s a rented mule and not a car that would look equally at home in the show-and-shine section at Holley’s LS Fest West.

So Garrett built his (at the time) El Camino to start carving the cones, but found that without fully reworking the car, it really wasn’t suited for the small constraints of most autocross courses. He then hatched a plan to build a different car that would allow him to be more competitive. While buying a late-model performance car would have probably been the most financially responsible and quickest way to get a car that would perform well, the idea didn’t sit right with Garrett, who told us, “I can appreciate new cars, but I’m really just not that into them. There’s some really cool, newer stuff out there, but I really like the vintage stuff.” That ideology ultimately led to the thought of buying a C3 Corvette due to their extensive racing heritage, lightweight fiberglass body, and having an independent rear suspension that provides a solid foundation to create a vintage car that can handle.

Look at how wide the rear of this car is with 335 tires tucked inside the massive fender flares designed and built by Cris Gonzales at JCG Restorations and Customs.

After some time searching for the proper candidate on Craigslist, Garrett found a 1971 C3 in Austin, Texas. A few phone calls and a video chat tour of the car later, he bought it sight unseen and shipped it to California. Garrett had noticed some noteworthy cars at the Optima events coming out of Cris Gonzales’ shop, JCG Restorations and Customs in Oxnard, California, so he decided to take the Corvette to him to be built into the track-ready machine he imagined. As fate would have it, Cris actually had a Pro Touring 1970 C3 of his own that he was planning to rework into an even more serious track machine. Randall started negotiations to buy most of the old parts off that car, and after sitting down together to run the numbers, Cris explained that, with all the labor, it would probably make more sense for Garrett to buy his car and sell the other one. They struck a deal and got started turning the much-further-along project into the machine Garrett had envisioned.

This thing looks so killer rolling down the road with a stance that most would consider too low. Sure, the exhaust might scrape from time to time, but it’s a small price to pay to look this good.

Fair warning: If you’re a dedicated member of the National Corvette Restorers Society, you may want to skip over the next few sentences. The car Garrett purchased from Cris happened to be a real-deal LT-1 car complete with the Protect-O-Plate and the numbers-matching engine and transmission still hanging around, though not installed. If the thought of modifying this car at all offends your sensibilities, take solace in knowing the original owners flared the fenders and raced it in the early 1970s, so any perceived blasphemy was committed a long time ago.

The custom flares flow so nicely with the body lines, unlike so many of the aftermarket units people buy to slap on their cars, and the custom rocker panels ties the front and back together so well.

With his background being focused more on restoration than customization, Cris had never intended to cut the car up because of the relatively rare set of factory options. Garrett agreed with the notion, so the frame was left original but upgraded with Van Steel control arms up front, a quick-ratio ARG steering box, custom JCG sway bars front and rear, and JRi coilover shocks on all four corners. For stopping power, they went with Wilwood Superlite six-piston calipers with 13-inch rotors in the front and four-piston calipers with 12.88-inch rotors in the rear, all being worked by a manual Wilwood master cylinder. Included with the car was a set of wheels Garrett never expected to be able to afford: GA3R Forgelines. The front runners were 11.5 inches wide wrapped in 315 series BFGoodrich G-Force Rival S rubber with 335 series tires mounted on a 12.5-inch-wide wheels out back.

Everything about this car is just right, especially the way the BFGoodrich Rival S tires wrapped around the Forgeline GA3R wheels fill the wheelwells of this classic ride.

For power, Garrett took a practical approach, forgoing excessive horsepower for driveability. An LS6 built by Mullinex Racing Engines was already under the hood, sporting a mild cam and an upgraded valvetrain to help it live at higher rpm. To it, they added a T56 six-speed manual transmission, which sends power through a custom aluminum driveshaft to the original rear end that was stuffed with an Eaton posi unit and 3.73:1 gears. To keep the fluids happy during flogging sessions at the track, a custom Ron Davis radiator was fitted, a Moroso oil accumulator was added along with a baffled C5 ZO6 oil pan, power steering and engine oil coolers were put in place, and some custom Trackspec-inspired hood vents were dropped in the factory hood. JCG built a custom aluminum fuel cell that prevents fuel starvation when cornering and installed a factory ZL1 Camaro fuel-pump assembly before plumbing the car with VaporWorx lines and fittings. The engine breathes through a K&N cold-air intake and exhales through a set of Kooks headers and into a stainless exhaust built by JCG with custom Borla mufflers. Keeping with the simplistic approach, a factory ECU was used to control the engine and HP Tuners software was utilized to maintain a reliable 450 hp.

Under the hood is a mildly built LS6 with an upgraded cam and heads assembled by Mullinex Racing Engines, putting out a reliable and snappy 450 hp.

Inside the car, the original interior was in surprisingly good shape, so there wasn’t much done to update it other than putting in a Kirkey seat on the driver side with an RCI harness, an aftermarket steering column capped off with a Sparco steering wheel, a stock gas pedal modified to make heel-and-toe braking easier, and AutoMeter gauges inserted in the factory locations. Prior to Garrett purchasing the car, Cris had cut out a rollcage that made getting in and out of the car much too difficult. In its place, he fabricated a rollbar that doubled as a harness attachment point behind the seats.

Inside the car really doesn’t look all that different from stock, with only the driver seat, a custom column and steering wheel, and AutoMeter gauges differing from what Chevy put in at the factory in 1970.

To complete the car’s exterior, JCG finished installing of the one-off flares that Cris designed to flow with the body lines. Everyone seems to put side pipes on these cars, but the thought of burning his legs and the drone of the exhaust on the road made Garrett scrap the set that was installed. Instead, Cris made custom rocker panels to fill the void where the side pipes used to be. He also made an aluminum rear diffuser to clean up air under the car at speed and cover up the area that used to house the spare tire. At this point, the car went to Ed Palmer at Kundensport, a shop normally known for turning out quality Porsche restorations. Ed sprayed the custom color based on Dodge F8 Green that Garrett spotted on a new Challenger at the Los Angeles Auto Show. With some gold pearl in the mix, the dynamic finish highlights the angular surfaces of the car. Aided by his years of experience with curvy Porsche fenders, Ed expertly laid down a show-quality paint job that turned out so nice that Garrett had Brian Vaccaro at Impression Auto Salon wrap nearly the entire car in SunTek protective film to preserve the paint during the thrashing that was sure to come.

Unless you look at the car closely, you would have no way of knowing the entire car has been wrapped in a protective film to preserve the high-quality paint job laid down by Ed Palmer at Kundensport.

Despite building this beautiful Corvette on a relatively limited budget, it turned out far nicer than Garrett ever anticipated. Even though he’s a little more careful with it than his other cars, he drives this Corvette regularly, because that was his plan from the start. Many Vette owners keep their cars tucked away in their garages like a collectible baseball card stuck inside a plastic sleeve, but Garrett believes stock is boring and cars are meant to be driven—and driven hard.

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The Wilwood Superlite six-piston brakes and 13-inch rotors tucked behind those beautiful Forgeline wheels are a perfect match that really enhances the overall look and performance of this machine.

It’s all business under the hood, with little done in the way of aesthetics just like most cars that are built to be driven. Hiding in front of the serpentine-belt system is a Moroso oil accumulator to help the engine maintain oil pressure under heavy cornering.

The addition of gold pearl in the Dodge F8 Green makes this a really unique car to photograph. In various different lights, it seems to change color.

The post Purists Beware: This LS-Swapped Corvette LT-1 was Built to Carve Corners appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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jesusvasser · 6 years

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The 700 Horsepower Club

The GT2 RS is the sharpest point of the model’s history, the notion of a 911 drawn out to its wildest fulfillment.

We added water to the 911’s reservoir as needed then hit Broadway and felt plenty cool ourselves.

Three cars, and three philosophies—front engine, mid engine, and rear engine—prove equally thrilling at speed.

These aren’t wild rabid dogs. They are playful big cats, happy to have their bellies rubbed, but with fangs as long as your middle finger.

Extracting maximum performance requires a maximum driver, seen here getting ready to engage the afterburners.

Gorgeous in green, the new Porsche 911 GT2 RS is one of the world’s most devastating road cars.

Once upon a time, cars like these were at home only on the track. Not so nowadays.

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jonathanbelloblog · 6 years

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The 700 Horsepower Club

The GT2 RS is the sharpest point of the model’s history, the notion of a 911 drawn out to its wildest fulfillment.

We added water to the 911’s reservoir as needed then hit Broadway and felt plenty cool ourselves.

Three cars, and three philosophies—front engine, mid engine, and rear engine—prove equally thrilling at speed.

These aren’t wild rabid dogs. They are playful big cats, happy to have their bellies rubbed, but with fangs as long as your middle finger.

Extracting maximum performance requires a maximum driver, seen here getting ready to engage the afterburners.

Gorgeous in green, the new Porsche 911 GT2 RS is one of the world’s most devastating road cars.

Once upon a time, cars like these were at home only on the track. Not so nowadays.

#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger Feed 4

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olivereliott · 6 years

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Custom Bikes Of The Week: 18 February, 2018

A millimeter-perfect W650 from Wreckless, a barnstorming Kawasaki Zephyr from Australia, a Triumph Thruxton with the Barbour touch, and a killer Ducati Sport 1000 from WalzWerk. It’s all about craft and style this week.

Kawasaki Zephyr by DNA and RB Racing It’s pretty amazing what can happen on a project once the ball begins rolling. Bryan had originally turned his 500-buck Zephyr into a Wrenchmonkees inspired brat cafe, but when it needed mechanical TLC, an overhaul of epic proportions began.

Bryan wanted his Z(ephyr) to pay homage to the Z1 racers of yore: like those tuned by Mamoru Moriwaki, but with a bit of Bol d’Or sprinkled in for good measure. A project manager by trade, he also knew he’d need to outsource some of the trickier bits. So to get things just right, he tapped the lads at DNA Custom Cycles and a friend at RB Racing.

DNA tackled the bodywork and many of the more intricate details on the build, with Bryan researching and sourcing the parts and pieces he wanted. The headlights alone became a topic of obsession, but we’d say the stress was worth it.

The engine was completely rebuilt and overbored, and cranks out 90 healthy ponies. Much of the running gear arrived via cannibalization: the rear end, including the wheel, brake and swingarm are from a ZRX1200, the forks were poached from a ZXR750, and the front twin discs used to clamp down on a Gixxer. We figure the package would have Mamoru-san smiling—and apparently it’s a riot to ride too. [More]

Kawasaki W650 by Wreckless Carving out a niche in the custom world is no easy feat. Especially when you’d rather stand out than merely blend in. That was the drive that fueled Rick Geal and his spanner-spinning partner when they snagged a Kwaka W650 out of a friend’s nearby shop to begin their first build.

Rather than go off-the-wall, the lads from Wreckless decided to focus on fit, finish and quality details, which is never a bad idea in our books. The engine has been torn down, cleaned up and buttoned up tighter than ever before. The finish on the casing is clean enough to eat off, thanks to a vapor blast and fresh lacquer. And behind the slatted side pods, the refreshed motor now breathes through a set of rebuilt CV carbs and howls into the custom 2-into-1 exhaust.

The braking has been upgraded in the front with a Beringer Aerotec caliper, while the rear drum has had a thorough rebuild. The stock forks have been rebuilt too, and the factory shocks have been replaced with a set of Öhlins’ Black Series. Continental TKC 80 rubber has been fitted to new wheels and, in revelatory fashion, a proper set of fenders has been fabricated to keep the mud from flinging all over that impeccable paint. [More]

Honda TLR200 Reflex by Ask If your eyes are growing weary of tried-and-tested, old school lines this weekend, then this Honda TLR from Rad Yamamoto of Ask Motorcycle should dilate pupils. One of two bikes that Rad prepared for the 2017 Mooneyes show in Tokyo, this former trials bike showcases expert levels of fabrication and craftsmanship.

Barely 40% of the Reflex’s original frame remains. The single tube spine is gone, because Rad has welded up a twin flanked unit that now holds a custom fuel cell. The rear subframe is new as well, but is much, much more than your standard chop-and-hoop job. The rear suspension has been swapped over to a monoshock set-up and the front end is a road-ready kit that’s also leveled the bike’s stance.

The party-piece here is the flowing, hinged bodywork. It’s a raw alloy unibody unit that lifts to expose the reworked frame, and Rad undoubtedly pinched a finger or two while rolling the aluminum for hours on his English wheel. The futuristic vibe may not be for everyone, but you cannot deny the skill required for such a flawless finished. [More]

Triumph Thruxton R by Untitled Chances are, if you have a Triumph in your garage there’s a Barbour jacket in your closet. The two British marques are so intertwined, it made perfect sense to combine them on a cafe racer build. Dubbed ‘the ultimate gentleman’s motorcycle,’ this reworked Thruxton R was commissioned by GQ in the UK to win the ‘Best Custom Motorbike We Built Ourselves’ prize at the 2018 GQ Car Awards.

Self-congratulatory humor aside, there’s a lot to like about this mash up of heritage and speed. Taking just over a month to build, Adam Kay and his team at Untitled created plenty of tasteful details. Take the top yoke, for instance. The one that Hinckley built was already a stunner, but this newly machined unit with integrated tach is even prettier. And the rider will no doubt get up close and personal with it, as the new clip-ons sit extra low. They’re adorned with a fresh set of grips and bar-end signals from Motogadget.

On the performance side, there’s little to improve upon with the 1200cc twin. Except, of course, creating a more raucous exhaust. To that end a custom set of drag pipes now heats the rear rubber and announces arrival. On the Barbour side of things, no gentleman racer would be complete without a set of bespoke, leather saddlebags: the ones attached to this Thruxton double as briefcases and detach in a pinch, when you roll up to the office. [More]

Nolan Ducati Sport 1000 by WalzWerk Although not usually his go-to donor marque, Marcus Walz is no stranger to having a Ducati on his bench. And let’s face it, the man is an icon in this community, with enough skill and vision to make anything work. Which is exactly why helmet makers Nolan dialed Herr Walz’s number when they were looking for a showpiece build.

A Ducati Sport 1000 is the base for this tasteful British Racing Green cafe racer, but much of the Bologna-built original is long gone. The suspension is now top shelf stuff from Öhlins, both front and back, and the rear subframe has been reworked—not only to look good, but also to function with the single piggyback shock.

The rearsets are from Ducati specialists Ducabike, and LSL bits now feature prominently at the controls. The exhaust is a completely handmade unit from the experts at SC Project, and super sticky Pirelli Supercorsa rubber glues the racer to the road.

But the real showpiece is the bodywork. Hand beaten two-millimeter sheets of aluminum received the loving touch from Mr. Walz, who delivered a beautiful, flowing, go-fast aesthetic. Everything, from the height of the humped tail to the deeply scalloped tank and the tiny flares that give the seat extra girth, is spot on. [More]

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itsworn · 6 years

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The First IROC Chevrolet Camaros Built by Roger Penske and Mark Donohue in 1974

“There were no regulations for us to follow—we made up our own rules.”

That was Jay Signori, Roger Penske’s project foreman, talking to Car Craft magazine’s Rick Voegelin about the birth of the original IROC Camaro in 1974.

A full 10 years before Chevrolet introduced a production version, Penske’s shop, with assistance from Mark Donohue, was tasked with building race Camaros for the second International Race of Champions season. In its first year, the IROC series used a fleet of identically prepared Porsche Carreras to test the driving skill of a multinational group of racers from various competition disciplines. While the series was a hit, and Donohue its inaugural champion, the Porsches proved expensive to maintain. As a more cost-effective alternative (and more relatable, at least to American racing fans), a bunch of Camaros were delivered to his Pennsylvania shop.

“The object here wasn’t to produce the world’s greatest race car,” Donohue told Voegelin. “It was to build 15 race cars with equal potential.” Cost was definitely a factor, Donohue pointed out. “Our concept here is inexpensiveness—what we can do to make the car least expensive and easiest to assemble.” So, for example, instead of narrowing the rear subframe to fit big racing slicks, Penske’s team simply pop-riveted big fender flares over the giant Goodyears. All of the Camaro’s steel body panels were left in place; even hood and trunklid springs remained on the cars. At the end of the day, the IROC Camaros weighed 3,200 pounds dry, “distributed almost equally on the front and rear ends,” Voegelin said.

The LT-1 engines were built by Traco Engineering with a mix of factory and aftermarket speed parts, including 850-cfm Holley carburetors on Edelbrock Scorpion manifolds, Chevy racing cams bumping Crane rocker arms, and Chevy forged pistons fixed to Carrillo connecting rods. The small-blocks were then dyno tuned so they all produced 440 hp, plus or minus 5 hp, and engine speeds were governed to 7,200 rpm.

“The cars’ suspensions have been the beneficiaries of the Penske/Donohue frolics of the late Sixties,” Voegelin wrote. Rubber bushings gave way to Delrin replacements, “cheaper and easier to machine than Teflon.” The cross-shafts were replaced with sleeves and shims “to gain more play with caster and camber.” Corvette hubs and spindles were mounted, and several versions of front coil and rear leaf springs were available, as was a selection of sway bars of different thicknesses, for the different types of race courses on which the IROC would run.

Brakes proved to be the Camaro’s weak spot, even when the factory binders were replaced by four-wheel Corvette discs. “Donohue’s latest ploy was to install a double-diaphragm power-assist unit (a refugee from some 454ci station wagon) and a Lincoln brake proportioning valve to help haul the cars down from speed,” said Voegelin.

One place the Penske engineers didn’t skimp was on racer safety. Signori called the rollcages “a ‘cheater’ NASCAR design which stiffens the car without becoming a full squirrel cage,” Voegelin said. That these cars were equipped with Ford rearends was because they were the only ones Holman & Moody could supply with full-floating axles. Fuel tanks were replaced with Simpson fuel cells, and Simpson fire bottles were located in the driveshaft tunnels.

“The single addition which shouts ‘Race Car!’ the loudest is the front spoiler,” Voegelin said, noting how much easier it was to bolt these air dams to the Camaro front bumpers than “buying a Carrera to obtain a swoopy automobile.

“Indeed, with the IROC drama being played out on national television, it shouldn’t be long before a horde of ersatz Penskemobiles are unleashed on the streets, bedecked with bulges and air dams,” he wrote. True enough, though it would take the factory a while to catch on.

The post The First IROC Chevrolet Camaros Built by Roger Penske and Mark Donohue in 1974 appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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itsworn · 7 years

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How Water can Calm the Detonation Blues

War is hell kids, but it’s undeniable that many world-changing technological advances were derived from armed conflict. War-related research brought us the moon landing, jet powered airliners, hemispherical combustion chambers, super glue, synthetic oil, and the cell phones in our pockets.

Way back in WWII, the German Focke-Wulf FW 190 fighter plane needed a horsepower boost to give it an edge during aerial combat against U.S. Air Force P51 Mustangs. The FW190’s 1,677 horsepower, 14-cylinder BMW radial engine was already supercharged so adding a huffer was off the menu. Instead, the so-called MW 50 system was devised. As the name implies, a 50/50 spray of methanol and water was administered for short bursts and output jumped to 1,973. Though the MW 50 units were only used experimentally, the idea took root and has been exploited by horsepower seekers looking for minimal hardware investment ever since.

So what exactly does methanol – water injection do? The core objective is to prevent abnormal combustion. Usually identified with words like detonation, ping, and knock, the audible sounds are caused by a fuel/air mixture that’s started to burn too soon. The resulting “death rattle” is just that. The uneven cylinder pressure hammers the chambers, pistons, rings, ring lands, pins, bearings, and block without mercy. In extreme cases, the vibration can be so extreme as to cause flex plate and header flange bolts to loosen.

Beyond its threat to mechanical systems, detonation also kills power. The uneven power pulses, which are clearly visible on a printed dyno curve, disturb intact tract function, ignition system efficiency, and vehicle acceleration. While detonation is a problem with naturally aspirated engines, when you add an exhaust-driven turbo or belt driven supercharger and forcibly cram the air molecules together, even more detonation-making heat is the result. Something must be done.

That something is water-methanol liquid injection, which aims to cool the intake charge before it enters the combustion chambers. Back in the ‘70s when the federal mandate for reduced octane, unleaded fuel first hit, and entire crop of aftermarket water injection kits emerged to help drivers of pre-1971 cars run on the lower-octane gasoline. These cars typically had compression ratios north of the critical 10:1 threshold and rattle-prone iron cylinder heads.

Grab a late seventies copy of Car Craft and you’ll see advertisements for water injection kits from outfits like Spearco and Roto-Master. These early kits generally introduced straight atomized water into the fuel/air charge. Since water doesn’t burn and expand during combustion, the water molecules took up a certain amount of space, so less fuel was present and power wasn’t necessarily enhanced. Rather, these systems simply helped the engine “be all it could be”, to borrow a recruiting phrase from the mighty U.S. Army. However, straight water begins to freeze at 32-deg. F, so makers of those water injection kits told users to add various amounts of windshield washer fluid (which contains alcohol to prevent freezing) to ensure their systems would function in the winter time. As victims of cracked engine blocks can attest, confined water takes up seven percent more volume when it freezes into ice. So following the lead of the Focke-Wulf engineers in 1942, many aftermarket water injection system makers incorporated methanol into the equation. Well whaddaya know, alky is combustible and can add power while the water component curbs detonation; it’s a win – win.

Its’ been over four decades since those first water-methanol injection kits hit the aftermarket, and since the best pump gasoline available is still a mere 91 to 93 octane, detonation remains a problem for naturally aspirated engines with more than 9.9:1 compression. With today’s massive surge toward add-on turbo and supercharger kits, the need for water-methanol injection systems has never been greater.

Lets’ watch as the Buzzell brothers of NextGen Performance install and test a Snow Performance Boost Cooler on a Vortec blown 1965 Mustang 2+2. The entire process took just a few hours but added nearly 41 horsepower and 29 lb/ft of torque while calming all signs of detonation.

NextGen’s Josh Buzzell says the Snow Performance Boost Cooler is just as effective as an intercooler – but without the plumbing hassles. What’s more, while forward vehicle movement is needed to push air through the aluminum core, water-meth’s full benefits are available while standing still, like on the starting line or chassis dyno. The Stage 2 kit used here will support 250 to 550 horsepower applications with boost levels no higher than 20 psi, which is still a bunch.

Car owner Jamie Fournier built this raw but solid ’65 2+2 to be a fun, worry-free daily driver. A disc brake conversion system from Mustang Steve employs 2003 Mustang Cobra front discs and Explorer rear discs mated to the 9 incher’s axle tubes. The 2001 Explorer-sourced 302 has the good GT40P heads, a Ford Racing E-303 hydraulic roller cam, Trick Flow valve springs, stock intake manifold and Holley HP EFI with LS1 style coil-on-plug ignition. The Vortec SC1 delivers 6 psi boost, routed through a T5 stick shift.

The Stage 2 Boost Cooler kit (PN 20010) includes everything needed for installation, including a 300 psi electric pump, 3-quart fluid reservoir, two spray nozzles, thread sealant, check valve, ¼-inch nylon feed tubing with easy to use compression couplers, mounting hardware, and complete instructions. Not shown here – but included – is the critical control box.

The VC20 control box connects to a boost source via a supplied rubber hose. It has an internal MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor. The twin rotary dials regulate electrical current flow to the pump to ramp up fluid delivery rate and duration. The Start dial is set to 1/3 to ½ of the total boost. Typical start points are between 3 and 10 psi. The Full dial is set to the maximum boost level. This Vortec SC1 blown Mustang was set at 3 and 6. There are no micro switches or hokey “go baby go” buttons to press. It all happens automatically.

To position the reservoir and pump under hood, Eric Buzzell makes paper drill guide templates of each component’s footprint to locate fastener holes. For enhanced accuracy in transferring hole locations by pen, the inner ink cartridge is removed before marking.

To help isolate vibrations from the electric pump drive motor, Snow Performance uses rubber bushings on the feet of the mount. The pump must be mounted at or below the lowest part of the fluid reservoir to assure automatic and instant priming. Take time and seek out the optimal location for each component under your hood.

The electric pump finds a nice home ahead of the driver-side spring tower. Eric uses a Unibit to cut four 9/32-inch holes. The reservoir fits well behind the radiator wall on the passenger-side of the engine bay. The 90-degree pneumatic drill motor is great for tight spaces like this.

Though the kit includes self-tapping screws to mount the pump, the guys switched to Marson’s Ribbed Klik-Nuts rivet nuts for a more finished result and easier serviceability. The Marson system employs a rivet gun-like tool that permanently expands the female rivet nuts in place. Then, 10-32 machine screws hold the pump in position. The fluid reservoir is secured via the same system.

The feed pump and controller nestle between the 302 and driver-side fender wall with the rotary switches facing up for easy access.

The 3-quart reservoir mounts next to the radiator on the passenger side and comes with a low-level LED warning lamp. Though Snow Performance sells its proprietary Boost Juice with a 51/49-percent methanol/water mix for maximum benefits, ordinary blue windshield washer fluid is an acceptable substitute. Snow says the blue stuff is usually 30 to 40 percent alky but spiking it with Gold Eagle brand “Heet” gas line antifreeze (36 ounces per gallon) brings it closer to 50/50.

The spray nozzle holder must be mounted six inches ahead of the throttle body. Before drilling an 11/32 hole and cutting 1/8-27 (National) pipe threads to secure the nozzle holder, remove the air tube to prevent debris from entering the manifold. In rare instances, if the nozzle is located below the lowest point of the fluid reservoir, unwanted siphoning can occur. For this, Snow offers a flow control solenoid (PN 40060).

Several spray nozzle tips are available with flow ratings of 60, 100, 175, 225, 375 and 625 milliliters per minute. For this 1hp-per-cu.in. 302, we used the 175 ml/min unit. Only active when under boost (as determined by the Start and Full dial settings), a typical 250 to 550 horsepower engine will drain the 96 ounce jug with each 15 gallon tank of gas.

With everything in place, the Snow Performance Boost Cooler pretty much hides in plain sight.

Dave Brady at ESP in Sterling, MA (in car) operates one of the few all-wheel-drive dynos in Massachusetts, which attracts tuning business from Jeep Wrangler SRT8, Subaru WRX, and high-end Porsche owners. Without the Boost Cooler activated, our 2+2’s rear wheels delivered a respectable 322.7 horsepower at 5,852 rpm and 323.5 lb/ft at 4,656 rpm. That’s with 92 octane unleaded premium in the tank. NextGen’s Eric Buzzell looks on.

With the Boost Cooler activated, the increased octane value and cooler, denser intake charge took the 302 from 322.7 hp and 323.5 lb/ft to 363.4 hp and 352 lb/ft of torque. That’s an extra 40.7 horsepower and 28.5 lb/ft for under five hundred bucks. Better yet, the system stands ready to support further increases in output as mechanical upgrades are made to other areas of the engine and / or more aggressive boost and ignition timing thresholds are explored.

Snow’s Boost Juice retails for under ten bucks a gallon, and at 51 percent alcohol is more potent than washer fluid.

Turbo Rocket Fluid: Don’t Leave Home Without It

Way back in 1962 and ’63, the compact Oldsmobile F85 Jetfire added an AiResearch exhaust-driven turbocharger to its 215 cube, aluminum block V8. The turbo was mounted to pull air through a sidedraft 1-barrel carburetor. With Chevrolet’s same-year Corvair Monza turbo, these were America’s first mass-produced, post-war turbo cars.

To solve the persistent turbo lag issue, Olds engineers equipped the little 215 with a sky high 10.25:1 compression ratio. It increased low speed cylinder pressure until the turbo’s 5-psi boost came on strong at 2,200 rpm.

To tame low-rpm / high-load detonation tendencies, Olds resorted to – you guessed it – water-methanol injection. A 50/50 mix of distilled water and methanol, Olds dealers sold the fluid in specially marked metal cans and rigged a sensor to bypass the turbo if the underhood reservoir was empty.

Though a brave effort, the system was hampered by overly conservative tuning to protect against careless users. Under boost, the Jetfire’s Turbo-Rocket 215 delivered 215 horsepower at 4600 rpm and a stout 300 lb/ft at 3200 rpm. For comparison, Corvair’s 164-inch flat six turbo made 150 hp and 210 lb/ft.

Though a 3-speed manual was standard in the 1962 Jetfire (a four-speed became optional in ’63), most got a sloppy three-speed Hydramatic and mild 3.36:1 gears out back. The September 1962 issue of Motor Trend magazine tested an automatic turbo car and recorded 0-60 in 10.2 seconds, only 2.5 seconds quicker than the non-turbo 215 V8 with its single 2 barrel and 155 horsepower rating. The turbo’ed Jetfire cranked the quarter mile in a pretty mild 18.7 seconds and 80 mph.

Sold only in the Jetfire two-door hardtop (a specific model with style code 3147), the complex turbo V8 forced the sticker price over $3,700, only $300 less than a stripped Corvette. Production reached 3,765 in 1962 and 5,842 in 1963 before the idea was dropped. But as a pioneering mini muscle car, the Jetfire deserves recognition.

Part of GM’s ground breaking senior compact lineup which included the Buick Special and Pontiac Tempest, the Jetfire shares its basic platform with the rear-engine Chevy Corvair. Creative cut-and-paste chassis, suspension and driveline design enabled these front engine spin-offs.

Turbocharging brought the all-aluminum 215 V8 to one horse per cubic inch. Olds and Buick shared the 215 short block but with different heads. Only Oldsmobile’s Jetfire 215 got the turbo.

This factory schematic depicts the complex Turbo Rocket Fluid delivery system. GM was innovating madly with this family of cars. Beyond the Corvair’s exotic air cooled flat six, other wildness included Pontiac’s half-a-V8 Trophy “slant four” and Buick’s odd-fire V6. In 1978 Buick added a turbo to the revived V6 and made more history.

Every Jetfire came with this handy turbo boost indicator. The “fluid injection” marking reminded owners to keep the reservoir filled with Turbo Rocket Fluid.

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Sneak Peek at 27 Project Cars for 2017

What’s in the Works at Some of the Country’s Top Shops

Each year we anxiously await the biggest shows of the year—especially the SEMA Show—because they tend to be the places where shops both big and small will pull the wraps off their latest and most ambitious builds. We picked up the phone and called some of the regulars to see what they have in store for SEMA 2017 and beyond. Granted, our sampling is a bit biased, but it looks muscle cars and 1930s hot rods will dominate—as usual. If you need some inspiration to get your project off the ground or if it just needs some direction, let these trendsetters be an inspiration. Without any further ado, here’s what we uncovered, or at least what the shops were willing to share!

(Photos: Robert McGaffin)

1929 Ford Tudor Sedan

Rad Rides by Troy

Owner: Mark and Dennis Mariani

Powertrain: Bob Panella Motorsports 377 Dart/Chevy small-block and a five-speed from Bowler Transmissions.

Chassis: Rad Rides 1932 American Stamping rails with 10-inch kick up for Halibrand quick-change rear, with dropped I-beam front end.

The changes to the 1929 Model A body are substantial, besides the chopped top and raised rear fenderwells. The cowl has been heavily reworked and the windshield was laid back, incorporating a unique visor much better integrated than Ford’s original attempt. The cowl steering features a unique reverse-link arrangement with billet-aluminum arms helping to correct the traditionally bad geometry of cowl steering in these early cars. There are lots of billet bits scattered throughout the build and a ton of unique sheetmetal surgery. This should be one stunning and totally new take on Ford’s Model A.

1949 Cadillac Sedanette

Roy Brizio Street Rods

Powertrain: LS3 engine and 4L65E automatic transmission.

Chassis: Art Morrison independent front and rear.

Though Brizio is known primarily for its 1932 Ford buildups, the shop has also been getting more and more into these later (by Brizio standards) restomods. Basically, they look fairly stock on the outside, but are completely modern underneath. This one is running an Art Morrison completely independent suspension chassis, with an LS3 and 4L65E automatic transmission for go. Color is undecided at this time, but we know the interior will be some sort of leather by Sid Chavers. Sitting lower than stock, Brizios is having wheels that mimic the Caddy “Sombrero” hubcaps done in 17-inch for a better stance. You know this Cad will get driven.

1932 Ford Coupe

Roy Brizio Street Rods

Powertrain: Edelbrock crate small-block Chevy and Tremec five-speed transmission.

Chassis: Brizio with Kugel independent front and rear suspension.

A very similar build to one done for Eric Clapton a couple of years ago, this is a fairly typical build for Brizios, with its chassis featuring Kugel independent front and rear suspension. A reproduction steel Brookville three-window body was chopped 2-1/2 inches and the roof was filled. The 350 Edelbrock Chevy crate motor is hooked to a Tremec five-speed. While painted identically to the Clapton coupe in Ferrari Titanium, this car’s interior will run oxblood leather rather than the Ferrari-beige of the Clapton car. Craftsmanship and detail are show-car quality, but this little coupe will see plenty of highway miles.

(Photo: Robert McGaffin)

Third-Gen Camaro

Rad Rides By Troy

Owner: Joe Lendway

Powertrain: 1,000hp twin-turbo 409 Chevy small-block and 4L80E automatic transmission.

Chassis: Fabricated in-house with independent front and Mark Williams Pro-9 four-link rear.

We always expect the unexpected from Rad Rides, and this third-gen is no exception. The design is an in-house collaboration influenced by IMSA-style road racers of the 1980s—taken a couple notches further. Owner Joe Lendway is a robotics engineer for GM and was able to snag a GM-built, 409-inch, twin-turbo small-block for his Camaro. The plastic front end has been replaced with a fabricated aluminum copy modified extensively from stock. One of the most unique features is found inside with the chrome-moly sheetmetal cage forming a more organic assembly than traditional chrome-moly tubing. Billet-aluminum bits include hood louvers and the fuel-cell cover. Rad Rides will be whittling unique wheels by SEMA time, with those shown being rollers.

(Rendering by E. Black Design)

1935 Chevrolet Standard Coupe

Ironworks Speed & Kustom

Owner: Greg Heinrich

Chassis: Ironworks Speed & Kustom.

Powertrain: Stack-injected small-block Chevrolet with five-speed trans.

Built on an Ironworks custom chassis with suspension parts from Perfection Hot Rod parts, the body is wedge-sectioned, chopped, lengthened in the rear and will feature a machined aluminum firewall. Newly cast Indy-style magnesium wheels are mounted to a quick-change rear end with custom split wishbones front and rear. Sid Chavers is on deck for the upholstery, and the project’s completion date is set for 2018.

(Ragle Design)

1969 Chevrolet Chevelle

Ironworks Speed & Kustom

Owner: Andrew Lezotte

Powertrain: 700hp LSA with a T56 Magnum.

Chassis: Speedtech chassis with Ridetech coilovers.

A subtle 1-inch widebody and minitubs will hide 335 rear rubber and widened front inner fenders will house 305s front tire. Expect an Ironworks signature interior with custom-machined aluminum bits. Rodger Lee tells us, “This is the modern version of the badass Chevelle Chevrolet never made.”

1967 Chevrolet Camaro

Ironworks Speed & Kustom

Owner: Greg Heinrich

Powertrain: Dry-sump LT4/T56 Magnum.

Chassis: Speedtech front subframe and rear torque arm.

Riding on 11-inch- and 12-inch-wide 19-inch Forgeline wheels and painted PPG Corvette white, this Bow Tie will feature Ironworks custom billet parts, including the rear spoiler and gauge cluster. A complete stainless exhaust uses Flowmaster mufflers with quarter-panel exit exhaust tips.

(Photos: Brandan Gillogly)

1967 Buick Skylark

Pure Vision

Owner: Steve Strope

Powertrain: 6-71 blown 426 Hemi with 727 transmission.

Chassis: Fabricated front clip using a highly modified Pete & Jake’s four-bar/dropped-axle front suspension.

For Steve Strope, owner of Pure Vision, this car is just perfect. The front wheels are pushed forward 4 inches with the wheel openings moved 3 inches to match. The rear factory framerails have been moved inboard, and the early 1960s Pontiac Super Duty rear axle uses leaf springs instead of the factory A-body coils. Inside is a custom quilted-stainless dash insert and a driver seat moved back to the rear-seat floorboard area in front of a custom Flaming River column. The custom tach uses a Porsche 356 tach body, a Mercedes chrome bezel, and a custom SW-styled face by Redline Gauge Works. On the outside, a custom Moon tank was countersunk into the license-plate area of the front bumper. As Steve says, “Its got M&H slicks, a blown Hemi, and zoomie headers—what more do you want?”

(Photos: Brandan Gillogly)

1969 Chevy Nova

Pure Vision

Owner: Joe Rogan

Powertrain: Chevrolet Performance LT4/T56 six-speed, bellhousing, accessory drive, and ECU.

Chassis: Art Morrison front clip and Art Morrison IRS.

Featuring a custom chassis using Art Morrison components and subframes that will be integrated into the floorpan, this Nova will use Camaro cues, including a 1970 Z-28–styled rear spoiler and 1969 Camaro wheelwell openings.

(Photos: Robert McGaffin)

1972 AMC Javelin

Ringbrothers

Owner: Prestone

Powertrain: Whipple-supercharged 6.2L Hemi Hellcat/Bowler 4L80E

Chassis: Detroit Speed & Engineering front subframe and rear four-link.

This Javelin is a hometown favorite for the Rings; they recently purchased it knowing it would make a great project. Stored in a basement for decades, the car was last registered in the 1970s and its vintage custom paint was checked but remarkably intact prior to restoration. Prestone will use the Javelin to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

(Alberto Hernandez)

1967 Chevrolet Nova

Alloy Motors

Owner: Geoff Gates

Powertrain: Chevrolet Performance LSA/five-speed manual, Moser 9-inch with nodular third member.

Chassis: Schwartz Engineering chassis with Alloy’s own aluminum tub/monocoque and rollcage.

For clearance, the side-character line and wheelwells will be raised to fit a modern wheel and tire package without tucking the wheels inboard, and there’s extensive front and rear sheetmetal work. Alloy Motors from Oakland, California, is returning to SEMA with an LSA-powered Nova build for 2017. The Schwartz chassis will tie into a stressed-aluminum tub and makes up the exterior rocker box seen below the riveted bodyline.

(Photos: Phillip Thomas)

1969 Chevrolet Camaro

Big Red Camaro

Owner: RJ Gottlieb

Powertrain: 555ci Chevrolet big-block, five-speed, and 9-inch.

Chassis: Bill Osborne stock-car chassis.

Reconfigurable between land-speed and road-race engine, transmission, and suspension combinations, Big Red will be back and better than ever as it sets its sights on Pikes Peak this year. The Camaro has been rebuilt and rethought (even before the fire in 2016) with a three-link/four-link rear suspension that can be swapped, depending on what RJ intends to race.

(Chris Horton/Cars by Chris)

1967 Chevrolet Camaro

GAP Racing

Owner: David Snell

Chassis: Roadster Shop.

Powertrain: Chevrolet Performance LT4/Bowler T56 transmission.

This drop-top will ride on a Roadster Shop Spec chassis with HRE wheels and 15-inch Baer brakes. For the hot Houston summers, with the top up, Vintage Air and Thermo-Tec insulation will keep cruising cool. Speak Easy Speed is the paint shop of choice for this build.

1955 Ford T-Bird Roadster

Squeek’s Metal Works

Owner: Dave Kipp

Powertrain: 427ci Ford SOHC Cammer with six-speed Tremec transmission.

Chassis: Art Morrison reconfigured by Mike Chrisman at CARS, Kugel independent suspension front and rear.

Long in the works, Kipp’s T-bird has so many subtle mods you’ll never catch them all. The eyebrows were fabricated by Squeek and tied into the front fenders, eliminating the cast pieces, and the windshield posts and door tops have been modified for what is now a roadster. The area behind the seat has been moved back into the trunk area and the seat was moved back for more interior space, the design line running into the front fender is now functional, and the rear wheel openings now mimic the fronts. The car will be House of Kolor red with a pewter interior. Jim Green in Seattle gets the credit for building the rare Cammer engine.

1933 Hot Rod Pickup

Factory Five

Chassis: Tubular steel space frame with IFS.

Showcasing Factory Five’s latest in its product line, the pickup uses the race-proven 1933 Hot Rod frame and a new steel bed. Factory Five’s 1933 Hot Rod truck will debut at SEMA 2017, and it will be in production by January 2018.

1970 Ford Mustang

Timeless Kustoms

Powertrain: Supercharged 5.0L Coyote with six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

Chassis: Custom-built by Timeless Kustoms to incorporate Nissan GT-R AWD drivetrain.

“Sabotage” will debut at SEMA 2017 and features a 2013 Nissan GT-R’s AWD drivetrain underneath a widened 1970 Mustang body.

1968 Chevy Caprice

Weaver Customs

Owner: Keith Echols

Powertrain: LSA supercharged 6.2L V8/4L85E four-speed automatic.

Chassis: RideTech tubular upper and lower arms/Ford 9-inch with four-link.

The big cruiser will feature subtly restyled sheetmetal and bumpers front and rear, a custom dash, hand-fabricated console, and one-off gauges.

1941 Dodge Power Wagon

Weaver Customs

Randy & Sydney Weaver

Powertrain: 4bt Cummins with HX-35 turbo and GM TH350 automatic.

Chassis: Custom four-link with Fox 2.0 shocks, Danas axles, and Detroit lockers front and rear.

Like Weaver Customs’ unibody Ford HOT ROD featured in 2016, this truck will sport a full custom interior featuring WWII-appropriate Colt 1911 pistols in leather floorboards, a smoothed body, and a custom bed.

1969 Camaro

Weaver Customs

Owner: Brian & Michelle Klein

Engine: Stroked and supercharged small-block Chevy with a TKO 600.

Chassis: Custom frame with four-link and FAB 9 rear axle with 4.30 gears.

Among its many modifications, this subtle custom will have narrowed and tucked bumpers and a one-off grille.

1965 Pontiac LeMans

Coybilt Inc

Powertrain: 489ci Pontiac.

Chassis: Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis with IRS.

Instead of doing the usual GTO clone route, this Pontiac will honor its namesake and be focused on road racing with a fire-suppression system, 16-point cage, custom-built floors, mini-tubs, rear diffuser, aero work, belly pans, channeled body, and custom 19-inch, FIA-style, true knock-off wheels. The engine is the current focus and is at DCI motorsports being built to produce in excess of 1,800 hp by way of DCI Ram Air 5 heads with twin Paxton superchargers, dual four barrels, and an air-to-water intercooler in the intake.

1971 Chevrolet Camaro

Roadster Shop

Powertrain: 1,300hp, NRE-built, twin-turbo small-block Chevy.

Chassis: Roadster Shop Fast Track.

With 1,300 hp under the long-and-low hood, you can understand why Roadster Shop added some extra grille acreage to the Camaro to ensure the twin-turbo small-block can get all the air it needs. A Roadster Shop chassis has a low, 4-inch ride height, with the bulged fenders tucking massive meats.

1969 Dodge Charger

Roadster Shop

Powertrain: 6.4L Hemi.

Chassis: Roadster Shop Fast Track IRS.

Ever since Roadster Shop built “Slicer”—a radical, twin-turbo Viper V10-powered Charger—we haven’t been able to look at a ’68 the same way. While this newly built 1968 is toned down, it still carries the obsessive attention to detail that Roadster Shop is known for. A 6.4L Hemi will churn an independent rear Roadster Shop Fast Track chassis, and the body will be equally impressive. An all-new nose has been fabricated, including bumper, valance, spoiler, grille and surround, as well as the tail of the car that has a fabricated rear valance, diffuser, and spoiler.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro

Roadster Shop

Powertrain: Chevrolet Performance LT4 and six-speed manual.

Chassis: Roadster Shop Fast Track.

This 1969 Camaro features Roadster Shop’s Fast Track chassis, which provides the foundation for a healthy, supercharged LT4 crate engine with a six-speed manual. The Camaro has extensive sheetmetal work on the rockers, valences, and side scoops, while several pieces will be machined from billet aluminum, including the grille, headlight doors, taillights, and interior knobs/switches.

1968 Chevrolet Camaro

Roadster Shop

Powertrain: Aluminum ZL1 big-block Chevy.

Chassis: Roadster Shop Fast Track IRS chassis with machined billet control arms and spindles.

We can’t get ourselves to pull our eyes from this subtly old-school build from RS, complete with an all-aluminum ZL1 427 big-block fed by eight individual throttle-bodies and Stinger hood! To go with the road-race look, an independent-rear RS Fast Track chassis was utilized.

The Magic Bus

Randy Grubb

Powetrain: Oldsmobile 455.

Chassis: FWD GMC motorhome.

Like his amazing Decoliner, Randy Grubb’s latest project—started on January 1, 2017—will be a double-decker cabover. While his previous RV project used a White cabover, an iconic Divco delivery truck was selected for the fascia of “The Magic Bus.” For the upper deck, VW Type II Samba serves as an airy cupola, with lots of window glass, skylights, and sunroof. We expect even more windows by the time he’s done transitioning the VW body to the rest of the cab. If it were any taller, it wouldn’t be able to roll out of Randy’s garage!

1932 Ford Roadster Pickup

Goolsby Customs

Owner: Matthew Gordon

Powertrain: Olds Rocket 88 and Bowler T-5 trans.

Chassis: Goolsby Customs with RideTech shocks and Currie rear axle.

All but wrapped up, this classic beauty wears a custom mix BASF paint and brightwork by Advanced Plating. The vintage-styled interior uses a one-off Olds gauge cluster by Classic Intruments, Goolsby Edition by Lokar shifter and pedals, and upholstery by M&M Hotrod Interiors.

1940 Ford Convertible

Goolsby Customs

Owner: Debbie Walls

Powertrain: Borla induction small-block and Bowler automatic.

Chassis: Roadster Shop Chassis with Currie rear end.

Mixing and matching trim, this 1940 Ford will use a 1948 Ford top and 1946 Chevy bumpers chromed by Advanced Plating. Painted with a custom BASF paint, this Goolsby creation will also use Lokar custom trim, shifter, and pedals.

1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda

CAL Creations

Owner: Kent Matranga

Powertrain: Hellcat 6.2L V8/Tremec 6-speed

Chassis: CAL Creations custom

This ‘Cuda has plenty of custom sheetmetal work including shaved door handles, tucked bumpers, and a one-off spoiler. Inside is a custom interior and a rollcage.

1953 Chevrolet Pickup

CAL Creations

Owner: John Harman

Powertrain: Chevrolet LS3

Chassis: Stock rails with Art Morrison crossmember

Vintage trucks are always in style, and this CAL Creations built keeps it clean and simple with the dropped Advanced Design truck

1968 Chevrolet Camaro

East Bay Muscle Cars

Powertrain: Chevrolet LT4

Chassis: Chris Alston G-Street with cantilevered IRS

Set to debut at the Chris Alston Chassisworks booth, this Camaro has custom rockers and lower facia, and a new Rally Sport-style grille.

1970 Chevrolet Chevelle

East Bay Muscle Cars

Powertrain: Chevrolet Performance LSA

Chassis: Art Morrison

This drop-top Chevelle features a two-seat custom interior with modern style inspired by C7 Corvette.

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Rick Vrankin’s 1948 Chevy Truck is Wicked, Evil, Mean & Nasty

If there’s one thing in our hobby that poses the ultimate challenge it’s the basket case. You never know what you’re going to find when you answer the ad offering a partial truck or car for sale till you arrive at the site and see it firsthand. Sometimes you win and the vehicle was carefully taken apart with all of its parts bagged “n” tagged, while at other times it’s a downright disaster resembling a jigsaw puzzle that’s been flipped over and stepped on with a few hundred pieces missing. Taking on a project like this isn’t for the faint at heart, but perseverance and determination will often yield positive results.

Rick Vrankin of Glenville, Pennsylvania, is no stranger to hot rods and custom cars, having grown up in a family that had plenty of them being worked on in the family driveway. His older brother, Dave, and friends gave him plenty of incentive to tag along as they cruised countless strips in the Baltimore area where he grew up. Frequenting all the notorious street racer hangouts, as well as spending plenty of weekends at Cecil County Dragway watching all of his hot rod heroes battle it out on the quarter-mile for the big wins. His first car, a 1974 Chevy Nova with a hopped-up small-block, gave him plenty of memorable nights on the scene and helped get him involved in the hobby.

As the years passed he found himself as more of a spectator while still hanging out with the guys, especially at the region’s hottest event, Cruisin’ Ocean City, Maryland, where thousands of the coolest rides would attend the weekend horsepower fest. It was a place that he would use to study the various build styles and trends while finally making a decision to start the search for a 1948 Chevy pickup. Having always been a fan of Pro Street trucks, he envisioned a radical slammed hauler that would easily make itself known on the street. He started canvassing the local papers and for sale ads till he finally found a listing for a 1948 Chevy truck project. Upon inspection the owner had purchased the truck with high hopes to build it but the old hauler wound up on the boulevard of broken dreams wishing for someone to come along and rescue it. Ready for the challenge Rick made the deal and hauled the pile home to evaluate and set a game plan.

After sorting everything out it was clear that he would have to get started by building a rock-solid spine to act as a base for the truck. He blasted the original frame clean and prepared it for updates. Out back he added an S&W Race Cars Chevy S-10 rear frame kit that was fabbed from rectangular steel, jig-welded and ready to accommodate the massive rear Pro Street tires for the project. A Ford 9-inch rear was then hung in place packed with Strange Engineering 31-spline axles turning 4.86:1 gears supported by S&W 32-inch ladder bars, combined with Watts linkage and matching coilover shocks. To get the truck low and add sharp handling he grafted in a 1977 Camaro IFS, complemented by Belltech 2-inch dropped spindles, stock shocks and springs, and antiroll bar. To add plenty of stopping power an SSBC dual master moves juice through steel lines to Wilwood Engineering 11-inch drilled and vented discs with four-piston calipers in front and matching 10-inch units out back. To give the truck a wicked look, a set of Billet Specialties Street Lite 15-inch wheels wear Mickey Thompson Sportsman front tires and massive Hoosier Quick Time rubber out back.

If you’re going to build a Pro-Street truck you’d better incorporate attitude when it comes time to filling the engine bay. To handle the task Rick went to Racing Parts & Machine in Baltimore to assemble a wicked mouse, starting with a Chevy block massaged to 383 ci. The team packed it full of go-fast goods, starting with a Scat forged steel crank linked to matching H-beam rods capped with Keith Black hypereutectic pistons while an Isky stick sets the beat. Up top a pair of Brodix aluminum heads make plenty of serious power while a Holley Strip Dominator intake breathes through a matching 850-cfm Holley Classic HP carb urged by a NOS Sniper nitrous system all topped by a Billet Specialties air cleaner. An MSD ignition lights the fire while spent gases dump through Hooker headers to a custom 3-inch stainless exhaust with MagnaFlow mufflers. Added details include a March Performance serpentine system, Aeroquip plumbing, and Moroso valve covers. To move the goods rearward an ATI Performance Products TH400 links to a custom steel driveshaft.

When you start with a pile of sheetmetal minted in 1948 you had better be prepared to spend the time needed to make it perfect. Rick mapped out the path, starting with repairing all of the areas suffering from years of abuse, including the lower portions of the cab, fenders, and bed while also replacing the floors. He then methodically followed to address the custom updates, including shaved bumpers and door handles, nosed hood, frenched headlights, smooth running boards with exhaust cut-outs, smooth tailgate, custom roll pan with taillights, and one-piece windshield. Bodywork sometimes seems like it takes a lifetime to get through all the blocking and sanding but time spent will yield an amazing final product. Once everything was gapped and finished, while working alongside his brother Dave, it was time to decide on a color. Wanting a dramatic hue he selected an Axalta black cherry vibe. Dave then loaded his spray gun and laid down a 10-mile-deep coating, bringing the project to life. To complete the look the bed floor was finished in a warm red oak.

Inside the original dash was reworked to incorporate a bevy of dials from Auto Meter to monitor the vitals as well as anchor all necessary switches. Steering moves through a Billet Specialties steering wheel linked to an ididit tilt column while shifts click through a unit from B&M. To add plenty of style a call was made to Bux Customs of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, to masterfully stitch up a winning combination of cinnamon leather and brown and white loop carpeting. Bux covered a pair of Chevy Spectrum buckets with a classic pattern, as well as treating the side panels, headliner, console, and four-point rollbar to an equal amount of detail. An American Autowire harness installed by Rick completed the interior. This is one former jigsaw puzzle that now rules the streets of Pennsylvania leaving its calling card with whoever sees it.

Facts & Figures

1948 Chevy | Rick Vrankin

CHASSIS Frame: Custom 2×4 rectangular steel with S&W Race Cars rear half Rearend / Ratio: Ford 9-inch / 4.86:1 Rear suspension: Custom ladder bars, S&W Race Cars springs and shocks, Watts linkage Rear brakes: Wilwood Engineering 10-inch drilled and vented disc with four-piston calipers Front suspension: 1977 Camaro IFS, Summit Racing 2-inch drop spindles, tube shock Front brakes: Wilwood Engineering 11-inch drilled and vented disc with four-piston caliper Steering box: Vega Front wheels: Billet Specialties Street Lite 15×4 Rear wheels: Billet Specialties Street Lite 15×15 Front tires: Mickey Thompson 28×7.50-15 Rear tires: Hoosier 33×22.50-15 Gas tank: 15-gallon aluminum fuel cell

DRIVETRAIN Engine: Chevrolet 383 ci Heads: Brodix aluminum Valve covers: Moroso / customized Manifold / Induction: Holley Strip Dominator / Holley Classic HP 850 cfm, NOS Sniper Ignition: MSD Headers: Hooker Exhaust / Mufflers: Stainless 3-inch / MagnaFlow Transmission: ATI Performance Products TH400 Shifter: B&M

BODY Style: Pickup Modifications: Shaved bumpers and door handles, nosed, frenched headlights, smooth running boards with exhaust cutouts, smooth tailgate, custom roll pan with taillights, one-piece windshield Fenders front / rear: Stock / Stock Hood: Stock / nosed Grille: Stock Bodywork and paint by: Rick and Dave Vrankin / Dave Vrankin Paint type / Color: Axalta / Black Cherry Headlights / Taillights: LED / LED Outside mirrors: Billet Specialties Bumpers: None

INTERIOR Dashboard: Stock / Modified Gauges: Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultralite Air conditioning: None Stereo: None Steering wheel: Billet Specialties Vintec Steering column: ididit tilt Seats: Chevy Spectrum buckets Upholstery by: Bux Customs, Pottstown, PA Material / Color: Leather / cinnamon Carpet: Brown / white loop

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Timeless Kustoms Built a Supercharged, Turbocharged, Widebody Mustang

Like the current crop of ponycars and sports cars coming from Detroit, Pro Touring cars are in the midst of an arms race. The battle to put the most power down has seen the proliferation of forced induction V8s and tires as wide as original, 1960s wheels were tall. That goes for both the factory’s efforts and the vintage iron that’s built to keep up with them. The latest barrage of horsepower and handling from Timeless Kustoms in Camarillo, California, is evidenced in the Vicious Mustang, a 1965 fastback bulging with muscle and stuck to the tarmac with the very same rubber as the track-slaying Viper ACR.

Several paint schemes were envisioned on paper before the final plan became clear. The resulting finish uses flat black stripes and red pinstriping over a flat silver that has hints of pewter.

There’s at least 1,002 horsepower right here.

The Mustang came to be in early 2016 when owner Chris Marechal wanted a unique track car that could keep up with some of the best sports cars on the market and also survive on the street. Not only did Marechal want an engine with tremendous power on tap, he wanted it to be as interesting as it was durable. The team at Timeless schemed up a twin-charged Coyote V8 with a fortified long block and potent top end inside of a custom widebody. Despite the scale of the project, they decided they’d debut the build at the 2016 SEMA show, just 10 months away.

Timeless Kustoms built a rear diffuser inspired by a Ferrari F430

Don’t let the flat-plane crank hysteria fool you, the real magic in the GT350’s 5.2L engine is the airflow provided by its cylinder heads. This 5.1L uses those very heads, CNC-ported by Ford Performance and topped with custom-ground Comp cams.

The foundation for the engine began with a Ford Aluminator 5.0L block machined to fit 3.7-inch sleeves from QMP Racing. A Ford Performance 5.0L forged crank was bolted in with ARP studs along with Manley Pro-Series I-beam connecting rods and custom Manley pistons forged from 2618 alloy. Combined with Cometic MLS head gaskets and 57cc combustion chambers from the ported Voodoo cylinder heads from Ford’s GT350’s 5.2L V8, and the 314ci V8 was ready for boost with a 9.25:1 compression ratio. The long block was then mated to a Magnuson MP2300 supercharger with its own air-to-water charge cooler to supply off-idle boost. For even more top-end power, a pair of Precision turbochargers were squeezed into the engine bay and plumbed into the exhaust using tubing bends and mufflers from Magnaflow. Once they were mounted and welded in place, the headers were wrapped with DEI insulation for improved efficiency and a cooler engine bay.

Dyno tuning of the twin-charged V8 was tasked to Tunedbyn8 in Huntington Beach, California. Nathan Tasukon is well versed in tuning cars, particularly using MoTeC ECUs, and was able to coax more than 1,000hp to the wheels at 7,800rpm.

First-generation Mustangs are not large cars, at least not the early ones. Packaging a pair of turbochargers and a supercharger in an engine bay already filled with a DOHC Coyote was no easy task. Timeless Kustoms carefully routed exhaust primaries around the suspension and tucked one turbo into each fender, just ahead of the firewall. There’s no finding them except from beneath, and even then they’re tough to spot.

Because this wasn’t a simple 289 with 300hp, a more serious drivetrain was in order. The angry V8 is linked to an air-shifted EMCO Gears CG46 sequential six-speed manual transmission with a Centerforce DYAD clutch. Power moves on to an independent rear with a Strange 9.75-inch center section. It uses an Art Morrison multi-link suspension with triple-adjustable RideTech coilovers and four-piston Brembo brakes. Art Morrison also supplied the front subframe, this time with C6 Corvette control arms and spindles and even bigger Brembo six-piston calipers and 15.5-inch carbon ceramic rotors.

Huge, 15.5-inch Brembo carbon ceramic brakes and six-piston calipers are located out front at the end of cast aluminum Corvette C6 control arms and spindles.

Airflow was of utmost importance, so a Fluidyne radiator was installed with air ducted to the vent in the hood.

Fluidyne intercoolers are mounted in the front valence.

Helping package the twin-charged Coyote under the Mustang’s hood is an Aviaid dry sump system. Aside from providing reliable oil pressure under all track situations, the dry sump allowed the engine to be mounted low without sacrificing ground clearance.

Unless your goal is to win a burnout contest, power without traction isn’t much use. Timeless Kustoms would need to widen the stock body considerably in order to fit enough rubber to make 1,000hp useful. Starting with a 1965 Mustang coupe shell and their renderings, Timeless added a Dynacorn fastback roof before flares in the fenders and quarterpanels widened the track by two inches on each side. The independent Art Morrison suspension was then complemented with a set of Forgeline GT3C centerlock wheels. The 19×11-inch fronts wear more rubber than most cars do on the rear with 305/30ZR19 Kumho ECSTA V720 tires, the same found on the front of the Viper ACR. The rears are matching 355/30ZR19s mounted on 19×13-inch Forgelines.

To grow the performance envelope of the narrow Mustang, some real contact patches were necessary. That meant custom flares for the fenders and quarterpanels.

A bright crimson belies an interior that is actually rather utilitarian. There’s not much for luxury, just a focus on keeping the driver and passenger safe via five-point DJ harnesses, Sparco seats, and a sturdy cage, and keeping the driver in tune with the car through a Racep ak IQ3 gauge cluster and paddle shifters. There’s a bit of leather upholstery on the dash, but the door panels are simple and there’s no carpet, just textured undercoating and dimple-die aluminum where the floor mats would be. The only real convenience, the Vintage Air A/C system, is hidden under the dash. With the exception of the gauge cluster and the switches, virtually everything looks like it was dipped in red. There are no back seats, and that’s fine because the cage prevents anyone from climbing back there anyway. In its place is a DJ Safety fire system.

Shift paddles just behind the Sparco steering wheel trigger air-powered solenoids to shift the sequential six-speed.

A MoTeC C127 dash displays all of the engine vitals and doubles as a data logger.

There’s nothing behind the front seats but bead-rolled sheet metal, a rollcage, and a fire system

With more than enough power and plenty of tire, the Vicious Mustang has incredible potential for speed. Thanks to its independent suspension, ample flares, and realistic ground clearance, it also has usable wheel travel to actually put the power down on track. If you happen to be at an open track day in Southern California’s Willow Springs or Buttonwillow you just might see Vicious laying down some laps.

Inside the truck you’ll find the fuel cell with dual Aeromotive fuel pumps, the dry sump tank, and a 1-gallon tank and compressor for the air-shifter.

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