7dfvdfdvf

NO-PREP MADNESS FROM TEXAS MOTORPLEX! PG. 8

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE 840HP

DODGE DEMON

LOUD.FAST.REAL.

A BUDGET HOW TO MAKE POWER ON

➔ Q16 RACE GAS: YES, IT DOES MAKE MORE POWER! ➔ CHEAP 5.7L HEMI STROKER MAKES 440 HP

PLUS:

HOW TO FIT RACING SEATS

PG. 52

CarCraft.com NOVEMBER 2017

CONTENTS NOVEMBER 2017 ➔ON THE COVER

➔UP FRONT

Engine testing at Westech for the 302/305 showdown!

Photo by John McGann.

04 SHOP TALK All in the family.

08 ACTION! Redemption No Prep 7 at the Texas Motorplex.

➔PROJECT CAR

44 THIS GUY’S GARAGE How did it take us this long to find Brauns Motorsports in Lomita, California?

46 BUDGET HEMI STROKER Swap a 6.1L crank into a 5.7L Hemi for 440 hp.

➔HANDS ON

08

12 HORSEPOWER! 6.2L Dodge Hemi in the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.

14 SPEED PARTS Buy yourself something fun this month, because you’re worth it!

16 Q16 RACE GAS + 514-INCH MOPAR = 900 HP BLP shows us how to modify our 1250 Dominator to run Q16.

24 THE 5.0 FIST FIGHT 302 Ford vs. 305 Chevy! Part 2: Bolt-on upgrades.

38 ASK ANYTHING Tech Guru Steve Magnante really digs in about pickups.

16

52 PROJECT ZEDSLED: NEW SEATS We install four-point harnesses and lightweight seats.

➔FEATURES

58 KRASS & BERNIE Bernie’s obsession starts to become a bit…much.

64 YOO HOO TOO II Elapsed Times: Geoff Stunkard tells the story of Wayne Jesel recreating his legendary chocolate Junior Stocker.

72 ROCKET’S REVENGE Lifelong Oldsmobile enthusiast John Trial builds his dream car.

➔BACK OF BOOK

78 WHERE’S THE FUN? Car Craft’s readers’ section is now brought to you by Motor Trend OnDemand and the ad index!

82 REAR VIEW Bill Fredericks’ 427 Ford SOHC-powered slingshot.

72

24

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 3

SHOP TALK

ALL IN THE FAMILY

G

ood and bad news to report this month: My 1999 Subaru Legacy, a car I’ve owned since it was new, expired recently on an assignment in San Francisco. I realize most Car Craft readers won’t get excited about a nearly 20-year-old Japanese car, but it was my rock: my reliable means of transportation that allowed me own and maintain less-reliable (to varying degrees) project cars for the magazine.

I knew it was getting long in the tooth; it was starting to burn some oil and would struggle to pass California’s biannual emissions tests. I just needed it to hang in there a bit longer until I felt confident one of the other cars could stand in for it while I gave the Subaru a refreshing—it needed new tires, struts, power-steering pump, and a brake job in addition to the engine rebuild.

Ironically, it wasn’t a lack of maintenance that brought the engine’s demise. The crankshaft pulley broke, shooting the alternator and air-conditioning belts off in the process. The A/C belt got pulled across the crankshaft timing gear sprocket, causing the timing belt to slip a few teeth. If you know anything about these DOHC flat-fours, you know they are interference engines. If the valve timing is off, the pistons smack into the valves, potentially bending all 16 of them. In my case, there was little fanfare; the engine abruptly stopped running, and the free cranking noise the starter motor made indicated an utter lack of engine compression.

4 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

I bear responsibility for the catastrophe, unfortunately. After replacing a timing-belt tensioner a year ago, I left the plastic timing covers off the front of the engine because I thought it was cool to see the mile-long timing belt travel across the pulleys and tensioners with the engine running. I meant to put it back after a few days, but that never happened.

Here’s where I must thank Jeff Westafer of J&D Automotive in Concord, California. He agreed to take the car in and price out some options, while I booked a flight home. No matter what, the prospects were going to be expensive. Used engines are available, of course, but prudence requires at least a timing-belt change and probably myriad other little things that conspire to drive up the cost. Rebuilt engines are available, too, but are more than I can afford right now. In the interim, I’d been driving Truck Norris to the tune of nearly $100 per week just in fuel costs (I often have to drive a lot of places for work). I even pondered buying a motorcycle to offset the cost of keeping my thirsty pickup running.

Ultimately, I bought Jeff Smith’s 1993 GMC Sierra. Longtime readers will remember it as Project Jake from 2004. It’s one of a pair of former 1⁄2-ton Cal-Trans pickups Jeff and Tim Moore bought at an auction and did a series of articles on: Project Jake in Car Craft and Project Elwood in Chevy High Performance. Jeff recently bought a 2008 Silverado and offered me a great

deal on Jake, probably about the same amount as what I would have into an engine rebuild for my Subaru. This is cool on a number of levels. First, Jake stays in the Car Craft family. Though it hasn’t been an official project car since 2004, the pickup has been in dozens of pictures, and on a few covers, too—in the background or with just portions of the bed or tailgate visible in the picture. Second, I’d driven the truck a lot throughout the years. Jeff was extremely generous with it, loaning it to me when I needed to haul things my Subaru wouldn’t carry. One of those occasions happened to be an early date with my wife. We had just started dating and drove the pickup to have dinner together before I left town in it with a bunch of engine parts in the bed. As a bonus, one of my favorite pictures of Culver, my German shepherd who died last year, was taken in the GMC. You can see I already have a history with Jake, so how could I pass it up?

The fate of my Subaru is still to be determined, but at least I don’t feel backed into a corner anymore. I may scrap the car or I may bring it home and rebuild the engine in my spare time. I’ve even considered swapping in the drivetrain from a WRX STi. Let me know what you’d do with a 1999 Legacy wagon, and Google Car Craft Project Jake to see what Jeff did to this pickup more than a dozen years ago.

Who knew, then, these Chevy pickups would make such cool hot rods today?

—John McGann CarCraft@CarCraft.com Facebook.com/carcraftmag CarCraft.com Car Craft Mag 831 S. Douglas St. El Segundo, CA 90245

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CARCRAFT.COM EDITORIAL Network Content Director Douglas R. Glad Editor John McGann Managing Editor Phil McRae Contributors Andy Finkbeiner, Chris Graves, Tera Graves, Richard Holdener, Steve Magnante, Richard Prince, Wes Ramsey, Jeff Smith, Geoff Stunkard, Kevin Tetz, George Trosley, Tina Vervoorn ART DIRECTION & DESIGN Art Director Roberta Conroy ON THE WEB CarCraft.com CircleTrack.com HotRod.com MoparMuscleMagazine.com SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Email carcraft@emailcustomerservice.com, call 800/800-4681 (386/447-6385, international), or write to Car Craft, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Please include name, address, and phone number on any inquiries. For change of address, six weeks’ notice required. Send old as well as new address to Car Craft, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235.

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ACTION!

By Chris Graves / Photos: Chris Graves, Tera Graves, and nd Wes Ramsey

TexasMotorplex

T

he new and highly anticipated format for the Redemption No Prep Series kicked off at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Series Director Shannon Morgan announced that Redemption will be a four-race points series in 2017, and for the first time, it will crown champions from among the 14-class lineup at the end of the season. A new feature for Redemption this year is the addition of

8 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

a 5.80- and 6.50-index class as well as a junior dragster program in an effort showcase the sport’s future generation.

The rules were simple: This was an eighth-mile contest, no times shown, with an instant green light at the starting line once both cars were properly staged. Burnouts were not permitted past the starting line and any contact with the wall or crossing of the centerline resulted in disqualification.

True Street welcomed Jason Doisher to the winner’s circle by defeating Rick Hilton. The biggest payday in Friday’s action went to Tony Thorn, who claimed $8,000 in his winning effort over Kenjo Kelley in Small Tire. Tony Foulks wheeled his twin-turbo Camaro from Oklahoma to a matching purse of $8,000 for his win in Old School Outlaw over Street Outlaws star Chuck Seitsinger in his Death Trap Mustang. Ray Garcia put his

REDEMPTION 7 NO PREP 10 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

Camaro in the Sportsman class winner’s circle by taking out Scott Lassiter. Factory Street and Factory Truck were combined, and Chris Dearmond took home $2,500 in his win over Brent Baker.

Finally, the first ever Jr. Dragster winner in the Redemption No Prep Series was Addyson Owen, who took out Ashton Meggison to win $300.

Fans were treated to great side-byside drag racing with the occasional bumper-dragging wheelstand on Saturday as more than 30 cars in the Big Tire and Small Tire classes wowed the crowd.

In the Small Tire final round, Eric Stubbs from Beach City, Texas, met Keith Szabo, who made the tow all the way from Gainesville, Georgia. Szabo lost traction at the 330-foot mark, and that’s all Stubbs needed to streak ahead for the victory. Stubbs’ 2003 Ford Mustang, packing a 440ci Ford small-block boosted by twin 88mm turbos, scored its second no-prep win.

Big Tire action welcomed Jerry Bird and “The Probe” to the line against local favorite Spencer “Cornbread”

Johnson for the final round, Bird’s nitrous-assisted Probe took the win light by a slim margin. Outlaw Street dwindled down to Tim Oswalt’s Mustang against Duane Biddle’s Mustang from Pflugerville, Texas. Off the line, Biddle’s machine reached for the sky, while Oswalt went straight and true, right into the winner’s circle and scoring $7,000. King of the Tailgate honors went to John Dittmer, who put his Chevy Luv in the winner’s circle by defeating Ray Espericueta’s Chevy S-10. Espericueta didn’t leave emptyhanded, however, as his team won Best Appearing Crew and some gas money for the trip home to south Texas.

The finals concluded with the 5.80 and 6.50 index classes, which provided some great side-by-side racing between feature rounds. It may be index, but with no times show and no track prep, it was anyone’s game at the starting line. Ryan Jock took the 5.80 win, defeating local favorite Rylan McClaskey, while Jesse Garza scored the 6.50 win in his first-gen Camaro by defeating Cody Lange.

SEPT. 10

Registration •Test & Tune Cordova International Raceway Cordova, IL

SEPT. 11

Day 1 Racing Cordova International Raceway Cordova, IL

SEPT. 12 Day 2 Racing Gateway Motorsports Park Madison, IL

SEPT. 13

SEPT. 14

Byron, IL

Union Grove, WI

Day 3 Racing Byron Dragway

Day 4 Racing Great Lakes Dragaway

SEPT. 15

Final Day Racing Cordova International Raceway Cordova, IL

CHECK OUT THE HOTTEST DRAG RACING EVENT IN PERSON OR FOLLOW ALONG: HOTROD.COM/EVENTS

HORSEPOWER! FUEL The Demon is the first production car designed to run on 100-octane gasoline. Even with tepid 91-octane, the engine will still make 808 hp and 717 lb-ft of torque and run 9.90s. A full tank of undiluted 100-octane unleashes the full 840 hp and 770 lb-ft, which is good for a 9.65-second quarter-mile pass.

ROTATING ASSEMBLY More than just a Hellcat with a bigger supercharger, SRT engineers took pains to point out that more than 65 percent of the engine’s components are changed or upgraded. The crankshaft, connecting rods, and pistons are better a stronger alloy than Hellcat. The engine block was modified to provide 50-percent greater volume of oil to the piston oil squirters, and the connecting rods are reinforced around the pin bosses.

The main bearings and piston-ring clearances are optimized for greater boost and higher engine speeds, high-tensile rod and main cap bolts are used, and the engine blocks are torque-plate honed before assembly.

INDUCTION AND BOOST Where your ordinary Hellcat makes due with a 2.4L supercharger, the Demon ups the ante with a 2.7L twin-screw supercharger, and maximum boost was increased from 11.6 to 14.5 psi. During a full-throttle quarter-mile pass, the Demon’s engine will ingest 173 cubic feet of air, so to meet that demand, the induction system draws outside air from the Air Grabber hoodscoop, the driver-side headlamp, and a third inlet near the driver-side wheel liner. Combined, the induction system can flow 1,150 cubic feet of air per minute, and it does so while still passing stringent drive-by, noiselevel requirements.

12 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

840HP, 6.2L DODGE HEMI The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon was officially released to the public in a highly anticipated media event in New York City, and news of the new car—the first production car ever to do a wheelie—was all the automotive media could talk about in the weeks that followed. Since then, we’ve been learning more about the car as Dodge has released more detailed information it in carefully timed press conferences.

Car Craft was invited to a recent one: a technical discussion about the Demon’s powertrain, and we were impressed by how passionate the SRT engineers are about this vehicle. One of the main goals was to build a car that ran 9s off the showroom floor and could pull the wheels while doing it. They met that goal, of course, and photos of wheelie heard ’round the world crisscrossed web servers on a global scale.

Getting a car to do a wheelie is a relatively simple exercise of torque and weight transfer. Doing a wheelie in a car with a full factory warranty that passes federal emissions is a much more daunting challenge. Here’s a little about how Dodge did it.

John McGann / Photos: FCA America and John McGann

VALVETRAIN To accommodate the maximum engine speed increase to 6,500 rpm, the valves were redesigned with single-groove keepers for greater high-rpm stability. The valvespring rate is increased and the oiling system delivers 30 percent more oil to the springs to keep them cool at sustained high-rpm operation.

TRANSMISSION The 8HP90 automatic is the only transmission offered for the Demon and sees several improvements over the Hellcat version of that gearbox, namely a higher-stall torque converter and the incorporation of a transbrake feature in the transmissions programming. When activated, the transbrake essentially holds the driveline stationary, loading the torque converter and allowing the engine to build boost. Once underway, each gear change is accomplished in only 400 milliseconds, so there is very little interruption of power.

DRIVELINE The driveshaft, differential, and axles are under a tremendous amount of load, as the 4,250-pound Demon is capable of generating 1.8 g from a standing start. Therefore, everything aft of the transmission has been strengthened or reinforced. The driveshaft is made of high-strength steel and sees a 20-percent increase in wall thickness over the Hellcat. The 41-spline axleshafts are also thicker and incorporate eight-ball CV joints, while the ring-and-pinion and differential housing are made with heat-treated upgraded alloys. The standard-equipment 315/40R-18 Nitto drag radials are also a first for a production car, and their sticky compound and soft sidewalls also help enable the insane, wheels-up launches and 9-second e.t.’s. It’s an amazing time to be a muscle-car enthusiast.

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 13

SPEED PARTS ELITE SERIES POWER-STEERING PUMPS What it is: KRC Elite Series adjustable power-steering pumps.

Why you care: KRC Power Steering has been designing and manufacturing advanced power-steering and serpentine-pulley systems since 1997, spending countless hours researching and developing its products. The newest offering is the Elite Series adjustable power-steering pump (PN ESP 10096100), specifically engineered to work with crate engines. KRC understands that custom spindles, offset wheels, and soft compounds can all impact the feel of a newly built hot rod, which is why it offers nine adjustable flow valves that can be changed in minutes to further enhance the driving experience.

How much: $399.98 Learn more: KRC Power Steering; 800/451-1074; KRCpower.com

NEW UPGRADED CHEVY DIFFERENTIAL COVERS What it is: Proform Chevy Bow Tie differential covers.

Why you care: Proform’s rear differential covers in its signature wrinkle black finish are receiving an upgrade for Chevrolet vehicles. Now featuring a raised and milled Bow Tie logo, the cover is available in three configurations that are easy to install with simple tools, including 7.5 or 8.2/8.5 GM (10-bolt) and 12-volt passenger cars. These not only look great but offer a few key performance enhancements, working to stiffen the main-cap area for housing flex reduction, extend gear life, and decrease ring deflection. Each kit comes with two bearing main-cap stabilizing bolts, fluid-capacity and magnetic drain plugs, and additional mounting hardware.

How much: From $162.99 on Jegs.com Learn more: Proform Parts; 586/774.2500; ProformParts.com

14 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

PARKING-LAMP ASSEMBLIES FOR CHEVY & GMC TRUCKS What it is: Classic Industries park-lamp assemblies.

Why you care: Classic Industries is now offering officially licensed GM restoration replacement park-lamp assemblies for 1981–1988 GM C/K and R/V truck models. With restoration for these model years in high demand, period-correct lamp components can be a challenge to find when replacing cracked, broken, or missing factory parts. Clear lenses and injection-molded housings of the single rectangular sealedbeam headlamps are produced to exact General Motors specifications, rendering an identical duplicate of the original park-lamp lens that GM installed on its 1981 and 1982 Chevrolet and GMC truck, Blazer, Jimmy, and Suburban models. The authentic appearance is further enhanced with correct DOT markings.

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NEW PRO BRACKET TIRE SIZES RELEASED What it is: New sizes for the Mickey Thompson Pro Bracket Radial line.

Why you care: Mickey Thompson added two new sizes to its Pro Bracket Radial product line— 31.0/13.5R15 (PN 3373R) and 32.0/14.0R15 (PN 3374R)— to address the demanding needs for larger tires in high-horsepower vehicles running on a modified chassis. These affordable, tubeless radials were designed for weekend bracket racers to maintain zero growth, achieve consistent and quick e.t.’s, provide enhanced handling at the tree, and offer low rolling resistance with no rollout contrast, meaning you don’t need to match the tires.

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HANDS ON

Q16 RACE GAS + 514INCH MOPAR = 900 HP BLP Shows Us How to Modify Our 1250 Dominator to Run Q16

By Andy Finkbeiner / Photos: Andy Finkbeiner

➔

Q16 race gas has earned its reputation as the fuel to use when looking for extra power. When we tried running Q16 a while back, our carb wasn’t set up properly and we hurt some parts, so this time we went looking for professional help. When it comes to carburetors, it doesn’t get any better than the folks at BLP Racing. BLP is a key player in the carb business, with the ability to build complete carburetors, as well as most any related component. We described our past experience to the BLP tech team, and they quickly set us straight on what we needed to do to run a highly oxygenated fuel like Q16.

The stoichiometric ratio for Q16 is

13.6:1, as compared to the more typical 14.7:1 figure used for pump gas. If you divide 14.7 by 13.6, you get 1.08, which means you need 8-percent more Q16 flowing through the carb to maintain the correct air/fuel ratio. On the surface, it seems that just jetting your carb up by 8 percent will work, but in reality, there are limits inside the carburetor that may likely prevent that from working in all situations.

The tech guys at BLP explained that the main jet in a Holley carb is not always what limits the fuel flow.

Behind the jets are the angle channels that carry the fuel mixture up to the boosters. Inside the boosters are tubes, which carry fuel from the metering

We used VP Racing Fuels’ 116-octane X16 gasoline as our base-level race fuel and changed over to oxygenated Q16 for a 3 percent increase in power. We also tried C45, but didn’t have time to get it sorted out.

ENGINE DETAILS • Mopar race block with 4.440 bore and 4.150 stroke.

Our 514-inch Mopar engine uses a heavy-duty race block and a set of Indy EZ heads.

The engine also has a dry-sump oiling system and a Wilson modified intake.

• Kevko dry-sump pan.

• Indy EZ heads ported by Modern Cylinder Head.

• Crane solid roller cam, 282/288 duration with 0.481 lobe lift.

• Jesel front drive and rocker arms.

• Machine work, engine assembly, and dyno testing performed by Gray’s Automotive in McMinnville, OR. block to the discharge ports. If these passages after the main jet are not large enough, then a larger main jet will not flow additional fuel.

After some discussion with the BLP team, we decided to run our 1250 Dominator as a two-circuit carb on race gas and switch to a three-circuit for Q16. The addition of a third—or intermediate—circuit would allow us to add enough extra fuel to keep the air/fuel ratio safe. We might have been able to pull the required fuel through the main jets, but BLP felt it was safer to add the extra fuel with the intermediate circuit.

Since our Dominator was originally a two-circuit carb, we sent it to BLP to perform the necessary machining operations. BLP added the intermediate circuit to the main body and threaded the upper booster tubes. The new intermediate circuit required a thicker, three-circuit metering block, which required modified accelerator-pump

The five-stage oil pump was dry so it needed to be filled with oil before priming the system.

Running a pump dry can cause serious damage.

The dry-sump tank has a clear sight glass to watch the oil level. It also has a heater to keep the oil hot between tests.

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 17

HANDS ON

linkages, so we got a second set of fuel bowls to make the swap easier. Once we had all of the parts in hand, we lined up some dyno time at Gray’s Automotive in McMinnville, Oregon, so we could put it to the test.

Our dyno mule for these tests is a 514-inch big-block Mopar engine with 15:1 compression. Since our engine has fairly high compression, we used VP Racing Fuels’ X16 as the baseline race gas. X16 is rated at 116 octane and is designed as a sportsman-type fuel for naturally aspirated engines up to 16:1 compression. The stoichiometric ratio for X16 is 14.96:1, which is 10-percent leaner than Q16. The weather on our test day was fairly cold, with air temps in the low 40s. The cold air is good for power, but might have tilted the odds in favor of the Q16 since Q16 vaporizes very well in cold weather. The dyno correction factor was 0.98 for these tests, meaning the corrected value was less than the raw power figure. In other words, had we been at the track, we would’ve been making 926 hp at the

The Indy EZ heads have been modi fied to accept Jesel rocker arms, and we used 1.85:1 rockers on the intake and 1.70:1 on the exhaust. Gross valve lift with the 0.481-inch cam lobe is 0.890 and 0.818 inch.

Our 1250 Dominator carb is topped with an airflow sensor so we can record how much air the engine is using.

Changing the carb over to a threecircuit required swapping metering blocks and fuel bowls. Achieving the proper air/ fuel ratio with Q16 requires more than just a jet swap. In our case, BLP added an intermediate circuit to flow 10 percent more fuel.

When changing between fuels, the air bleeds needed to be changed. BLP sorted out the carb for us, so we followed the instruction sheets.

18 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

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HANDS ON The intermediate circuit feeds fuel into the main body through small jets on each side of the main jet. For Q16, we used 42 intermediate jets with 108 main jets with 80 jets in the power-valve circuit.

l diameter pin shows how the A small-diam s fuel in the intermediate circuit enter e the the main body and then exits abov throttle blade through a dump tube.

crank rather than the 907 hp recorded by the dyno.

Our dyno testing went very smoothly since BLP had provided us with setup sheets for each fuel. All we had to do was change the metering blocks, jets, and bleeds per their instructions. We also reduced ignition timing from 34 to 33 degrees after changing fuels. Q16 burns a little faster than X16, so the ignition timing typically needs to be reduced a small amount. VP claims that Q16 will increase power by 3 to 5 percent, which is in line with the 24hp gain we saw. At the end of the day, we found a nice increase in power by changing fuel and learned a lot about carb tuning while we were at it.

The intermediate circuit is located next to the idle circuit in the Dominator main body.

BLP sells different size upper jets as an additional tuning device. The upper jet, angle channel, and main jet all need to be properly sized to work together.

BLP also added removable upper jets to our Dominator’s main body. The upper jets control the amount of fuel flowing to the booster from the metering block. We used 165 upper jets with X16 race gas and 180 upper jets with Q16.

20 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

The size of the angle channel can be measured with a pin gauge. Our metering blocks had 0.144-inch angle channels for X16 and 0.160-inch channels for Q16.

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HANDS ON The BLP three-circuit metering blocks are thicker than standard Holley blocks, so the fuel bowl screws need to be longer and the accelerator pump arms need to have a Z shape.

Wilson Manifolds did a huge amount of work on our Edelbrock Super Victor intake. They lengthened and ported the runners, fully ported the plenum, and did a full port match.

On the dyno, the oxygenated Q16 made more power. With it, peak power increased from 884 to 907, an increase of 2.6 percent or 23 hp. Fuel consumption also increased accordingly, and we consumed 10 percent more Q16 than we did X16.

➔SOURCES

Good news!

We checked the pre-filter in the dry-sump tank after each set of runs and never saw any trash.

22 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

BLP Racing Products; 407/422-0394; BLP.com Gray’s Automotive; 503/620-4353; GraysEngines.com Indy Cylinder Heads; 317/862-3724; Indyheads.com Jesel Inc; 732/901-1800; Jesel.com VP Racing Fuels; 210/635-7744; VPracingfuels.com Wilson Manifolds; 954/771-6216; WilsonManifolds.com

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HANDS ON

THE 5.0 FIST FIGHT 302 Ford vs. 305 Chevy! Part 2: Bolt-On Upgrades

By Richard Holdener / Photos: Richard Holdener

➔

If you missed Part 1 of Car Craft’s 5.0 Fistfight, we pitted these two 5.0L heroes of yesteryear against one another in stock trim. The 5.0L H.O. Ford, with its 4-inch bore and 3-inch stroke, was sent into battle with the LB9 5.0L TPI Chevy. The Chevy offered 3 extra inches of displacement (despite the identical 5.0L designation) and a bore and stroke of 3.736x3.48 inches.

Despite a sizable difference in bore and stroke, the two engines produced very similar power numbers. In fact, the difference can be attributed more to the mileage and overall condition of the motors than the actual components. The high-mileage 5.0L Ford

was at somewhat of a disadvantage compared with the factory-fresh 305, which had been pulled from the assembly line back in the early 1990s for use by the Chevy race shop. The little 305 was stuck in a corner and never used, eventually finding a home at Westech Performance. Upon disassembly, the engine was found to be in pristine condition, with all the factory gaskets, sealer, and even crosshatch.

It might be the lowest-actual-mileage TPI 305 in the country—or even the world. What we won’t do for our readers!

To demonstrate how well the respective 5.0Ls responded to performance upgrades, we decided to treat the pair

to new heads, cams, and intakes. We opted to keep things as even as possible by selecting a comparable trio of performance components. Obviously, there are endless combinations that can be created, but we selected parts based on a combination of power potential, driveability, and visual appeal.

Off came the stock heads, cams, and intakes to make room for products from TFS and Comp Cams. The one area the 5.0L Ford has a definite advantage over the Chevy is parts availability. What? How does a Ford have more parts available than a small-block Chevy? Well, the small bore used on the 305 Chevy eliminates almost every cylinder head made for the small-block.

The best thing about the 5.0L Ford is how well it responds to aftermarket modifications.

Can the same be said of the small-bore Chevy?

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HANDS ON Starting with the 5.0L Ford, we stripped it down to the short-block by removing the stock intake and cylinder heads. Note the double-eyebrow pistons and use of Fel Pro 1011-2 head gaskets.

By contrast, the 4-inch bore on the 302 Ford allows use of every available aftermarket Ford cylinder head, something we take full advantage of in Part 3.

For now, we kept things even between both engines. The best head for the Chevy was the Super 23-degree aluminum heads from Trick Flow Specialties (TFS), so we chose the similarly sized TFS Twisted Wedge 170 heads for the Ford. The Twisted Wedge heads all but revolutionized the Ford market when introduced, and they remain a top contender today. They feature 170cc intake ports, a 2.02/1.60 valve package, and 61cc chambers. Even better, they offered an additional 80 cfm of flow per runner compared with the stock E7TE iron heads.

On the Ford, we installed the Track Heat upper and lower intake manifold.

Designed for street/strip use on a

The stock E7TE heads were replaced by a set of TFS Twisted Wedge 170 Ford heads that flow 80 cfm more than the stock E7TE heads. We used ARP head bolts for both engines.

The Twisted Wedge heads were topped with a matching Trick Flow Specialties Track Heat intake. The lower intake was installed with a set of 65-pound injectors and the stock 5.0L fuel rail.

26 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

The first thing to go was the wimpy, stock 5.0L camshaft, replaced by a healthy Xtreme Energy grind from Comp Cams.

The XE274HR has 224/232-degree duration, 0.555/0.565-inch lift, and a 112-degree LSA.

The Track Heat manifold’s upper and lower halves combine to form 12.2-inch runners that offered exceptional torque production without limiting peak power. Style-conscience engine builders will appreciate the matching, cast-aluminum valve covers.

HANDS ON

We used Accufab’s 75mm throttle-body to feed the engine.

modified 5.0L, the Track Heat features 12.2-inch runners, which position this intake solidly between the (longer) Street Burner and (shorter) R-series intakes. We fed the intake with a 75mm Accufab throttle-body and 65-pound injectors. All testing was run using a Holley HP management system. The final modification was upgrading the factory 5.0L cam with an Xtreme Energy grind from Comp

Cams. The XE274HR has been a 5.0L favorite for decades now and offers 224/232 degrees duration, 0.555/0.565-inch lift, and a 112-degree lobe-separation angle (LSA).

With everything installed, we were rewarded with peak numbers of 376 hp at 6,000 rpm and 355 lb-ft of torque at 5,300 rpm—an improvement of 115 hp! With the Ford finalized, it was time for the Bow Tie boys.

Equipped with the TFS Twisted Wedge heads, upper and lower Track Heat intake, and Comp XE274HR cam, the modified Ford 302 produced 376 hp at 6,000 rpm and 355 lb-ft of torque at 5,300 rpm—an improvement of 115 hp.

5.0L FORD-STOCK VS. MODIFIED Run in stock trim, the 5.0L Ford produced 261 hp and 322 lb-ft of torque. The stock cam, heads, and longrunner intake limited power production beyond 5,100 rpm. But things changed for the better once we modified it with a set of TFS Twisted Wedge heads, a Comp XE274HR cam, and a Street Heat intake, with the power output jumping to 376 hp and 355 lb-ft of torque.

The combination bumped the power output by 115 hp and 333 lb-ft of torque, and allowed the 5.0L to pull strongly to 6,500 rpm.

28 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

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The 305 TPI Chevy was given the same treatment as the Ford, starting with a complete disassembly down to the short-block. Opening up the LB9 was like stepping into the WABAC machine with Peabody and Sherman.

We almost hated violating the sanctity of the time-warp TPI engine—almost!

Like the Ford, the Chevy received a Comp camshaft XR276HR that offered a nearly identical 224/230 degrees of duration, though the lift was a tad less, measuring 0.502/0.510 inch. The Chevy cam also offered a tighter 110-degree LSA. The cam was combined with TFS Super 23 175cc heads designed for the small-bore application.

These heads feature 175cc intake ports, 1.94/1.50-inch valves, and 56cc combustion chambers. Like the Ford heads, the Super 23 heads from TFS offered sizable flow gains over the stock TPI heads and were capable of supporting nearly 500 hp on the right application.

As with the Ford, we requested valvesprings suitable for our hydraulic-roller cam profile.

Choosing the right intake for the 305 was slightly more difficult, as we wanted to maintain the TPI style without limiting power production. Rather than choosing an aftermarket version of the long-runner TPI manifold, we decided to go with Holley’s Stealth Ram. Basically a tunnelram lower with a boxy upper intake,

Next up on the dyno was our TPI 305 Chevy, probably the most wellpreserved example of this engine family.

Right: Like the Ford, the LB9 Chevy was stripped of its induction, heads, and camshaft, then treated to Fel Pro head gaskets. The Chevy shared the foureyebrow piston design with the Ford. This little TPI Chevy was in pristine condition.

Below: The Chevy also received a set of TFS aluminum heads to replace the stock iron heads. TFS’ Super 23 175 heads were designed for the 305’s small bores. They offer exceptional flow and 56cc combustion chambers to maintain compression on the 305.

We replaced the stock cam with one from Comp that closely matched the one we installed in the Ford. Comp’s XR276HR cam has 224/230 degrees of duration, 0.502/0.510 lift, and a 110-degree LSA. Short of a custom cam, this was as close as we could get to the cam in the Ford.

30 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

HANDS ON Like the Ford, the Chevy received aluminum roller rockers to maintain accurate valvetrain geometry. Lunati supplied this set of 1.5:1 rollers for the Chevy.

Aware of TPI’s long-runner intake manifold’s limited power, we replaced it with Holley’s Stealth Ram, starting with the lower intake. We reused the same 65-pound injectors run on the Ford. We used the same Holley HP EFI system as the Ford, and the settings for the 302 were almost perfect for the 305 Chevy.

The upper intake was installed using the supplied hardware, and we fed the Stealth Ram with Holley’s dual 58mm throttle-body. Note our drive-by (bailing) wire-throttle actuation!

5.0L CHEVY STOCK VS. MODIFIED The modifications to the TPI 305 offered similar results. Run in stock trim, it produced 267 hp at 4,700 rpm and 333 lb-ft of torque at 3,700 rpm.

These numbers jumped to 370 hp at 6,100 rpm and 349 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm once we installed the TFS Super 23 heads, Comp cam, and Holley Stealth Ram intake.

32 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

the Stealth Ram offered plenty of power potential while maintaining the look and feel of the TPI. The Stealth Ram was combined with a dual 58mm throttle-body from Holley and an MSD distributor (like the Ford) and was run on Westech’s Superflow dyno using the Holley HP management system.

Once dialed in, the modified 305 produced peak numbers of 370 hp at 6,100 rpm and 349 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. Though this round went to the Ford, it’s amazing how close the two were in modified form, despite the obvious difference in performance components. Ford and Chevy guys can argue all they want, but the fact is that both 5.0Ls have plenty of power potential. Check back with us next time when we replace the fuel injection with carburetion and throw the Chevy guys under the bus with a head swap on the Ford.

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HANDS ON

Run on the dyno with the TFS heads, Comp cam, and Holley Stealth ram, the little 305 Chevy pumped out 370 hp at 6,100 rpm and 349 lb-ft of torque at 4,800 rpm. Round 2 goes to the Ford, but not by much!

MODIFIED 5.0L FISTFIGHT: FORD

VS.

CHEVY

Comparing the modified 5.0L Ford with the TPI Chevy, we see the Ford had the slight edge in power. In the big picture, a difference of 5 to 6 hp is hardly a clear win, but Ford guys won’t let that stop them from celebrating. What is more important here is that, even after the mods, our fabulous 5.0s were still running neck and neck in terms of power production. Things will change in Part 3 when we upgrade them once again and replace the fuel injection with carburetion.

➔SOURCES

Accufab; 909/930-1751; AccufabRacing.com Comp Cams; 901/795-2400; CompCams.com Holley/Hooker/NOS; 270/782-2900; Holley.com

34 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

Lunati; 662/892-1500; LunatiPower.com MSD; 915/857-5200; MSDIgnition.com Trick Flow Specialties; 330/630-1555; TrickFlow.com

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ASK ANYTHING S-10 + LSV8 = smoke!

DO-ALL, MUSCLE-MACHINE RECIPE Doug Fox; via CarCraft@carcraft. com: Did Chevrolet ever offer a V8-powered S-10 pickup truck? If so, what years and which engines were installed? I’m seeing more and more V8 S-10s in magazines and am thinking I need one. If the factory never offered it, how big a hassle is it to homebrew a healthy, compact pickup with V8 power?

Steve Magnante: The Chevy S-10 pickup arrived in 1982 as a domestically produced replacement for the Isuzu-based Chevy LUV (light utility vehicle). Interestingly, Chevy offered the LUV and S-10 side by side through the 1983 model run, undoubtedly challenging salesmen’s ability to sway buyers into one or the other of these very similar offerings.

To stir overall interest in Chevy trucks over the years, several V8-powered S-10 show vehicles were built by

38 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

Chevrolet’s engineering department.

Usually shepherded to fruition by GM show-vehicle honcho Jon Moss’ socalled Toy Box, these fun machines were often featured in car magazines and spurred speculation that a benteight-powered S-10 muscle truck was just around the corner. Alas, none made it to the showroom floor.

The S-10 has always been powered by either an inline-four or a V6. In the sad days of the early 1980s, the base S-10 powerplant was a 1.9L four-banger with 82 hp and 101 lb-ft of torque. An extra $215 brought the strange 2.8L V6 with 110 hp and 148 lb-ft. This engine also served in everything from Camaros to Citations and is odd because of its narrow, 60-degree block angle. Many times, the availability of this V6 was the deciding factor in S-10/LUV buying decisions; the LUV was a strictly fourcylinder proposition from beginning to end (some were diesels).

1985 brought a glimmer of V8 hope to the S-10 when the 305 was chopped down to V6 dimensions and became the 4.3L (262-cube) Vortec with 155 horses and 230 lb-ft. With traditional Chevy small-block V8 genes—and its 90-degree block configuration—this engine joined the S-10 option list in 1988, but was as close as things got to a factory V8 installation. That leaves it up to car crafters to build V8 S-10s ourselves. The good news is the S-10 engine bay is pretty big and easily accepts everything from a traditional 350 to a Chevrolet Performance talldeck 572 crate engine with minimal hassles. In between, the hot-topic swap has been the Gen III LS family. And why not? With its excellent aluminum heads, cross-bolted bottom end, beefy rotating assembly, and easy junkyard availability in pickup trucks and vans, legions of LS motivated S-10s have invaded the street over the last few years.

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ASK ANYTHING The following rundown should get you started, but remember, most V8 swappers reading Car Craft are working with twowheel-drive vehicles. The 4x4 stuff is more complicated and doesn’t fall readily into Car Craft’s wheelhouse. It all begins with engine mounts. Though fullsize pickup/SUV engine mounts don’t fall into place on the S-10 frame, several outfits like Current Performance and Dirty Dingo offer well-engineered LS engine mounts that don’t require firewall or radiator massaging.

As for the transmission crossmember and mount, later (late1990s) S-10s with factory 4L60E automatics (with a shift kit) are good to go just as they are. Happily, their mounting-bolt locations are slotted and allow easy sliding adjustment to accept the slightly longer LS V8 engine. In these later S-10s, the 4L60 transmission was used behind the 4.3L V6 and everything behind it can be left alone—though we’ll address suggested upgrades in a moment. The same goes for earlier automatic-equipped S-10s that used the analog (non-computer-controlled) TH 700 R4.

Manual-transmission S-10s are more complicated, and their factory gearboxes might not stand the gaff of a healthy 4.8, 5.3, 5.7, or 6.0. Check the Current Performance website for helpful information if a clutch pedal and stick shift are in your plans.

Exhaust-system solutions are easy. Kooks, Sanderson, and others offer LS/S-10 headers, while Hooker offers quieter cast-iron, block-hugger manifolds that flow well, last forever, and give a more factory stock appearance.

Beyond the headers, the S-10 ladder frame offers plenty of space for the dual-exhaust tract best suited to your displacement and power level.

As with all modern vehicles, a computer is involved in any EFIequipped LS swap. You can go with aftermarket kits from Current Performance, but there’s also a junkyard solution. In 2001, GM standardized the S-10 computer and it was the same one found in fullsize Silverado pick-

ups. That means the 2001-andlater donor vehicle can also provide its brain, as well as its heart, to newer S-10 V8 swaps.

In this mode, the computer allows easy merging with the S-10’s A/C, cruise control, gauges, and other onboard systems. S-10s built before 2001 are not as easily merged with OE big-truck computers and must rely on aftermarket adapter harnesses from Current Performance and the like. These wiring-harness kits are true plug-and-play units that eliminate the hassle of doing it yourself. Cave dwellers (like your author) always have the option of running an old-school, carbureted engine with only the bare essentials and mechanical gauges. There’s room for everyone in the V8 S-10 world.

Connecting the LS engine to the accelerator pedal is another area where the hard work has already been done. Though all factory S-10s were drive-bycable (mechanical), it’s possible to retrofit the drive-by-wire (electronic) gas pedal from a newer vehicle to the S-10 floorpan. In instances where the drive-by-wire LS engine is removed from a newer (2002-and-later) donor truck, you can also grab the “rheostatstyle” gas-pedal unit and swap it into the S-10. For earlier cable-operated throttle-bodies, Lokar also offers cable kits that merge with the stock S-10 gas pedal. The LS engine family is noted for its highly efficient internal cooling capability. The S-10’s large, cross-flow radiator is also known for its surplus of heat-dissipating capacity. Add them together, and a top-notch (as-new) V6 radiator and fan module will easily cool any naturally aspirated LS engine. The base-level, four-cylinder radiators were single-row and can be marginal, but if factoryoptional A/C was in the mix, chances are even a four-cylinder radiator and fan package will cool a naturally aspirated LS if you’re on a strict budget.

But again, this only applies to as-new S-10 cooling systems.

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Behind the engine and transmission, the stock driveshaft will suffice with a stock or mildly hopped LS, as long as rust hasn’t reduced wall thickness and degraded strength. The rear axle is something of a sore point. While comparable Ford Ranger and Dodge Dakota compact pickups offered 8.8

(Ford) and 81⁄4 or 91⁄4 rear axles (Dodge), the S-10 stuck with the 7.5and 7.62-inch Salisbury-type axle first seen in the mid-1970s Chevy Monza.

With its C-clips, marginal axleshaft diameters, and small ring-and-pinion, there isn’t much surplus capacity.

However, thanks to the S-10’s simple leaf-spring rear suspension, we’ve seen Ford 9-inchers, Mopar 83⁄4s, and even Ford Ranger 8.8s swapped under

S-10s. As long as the track width is fine-tuned to match the stock dimension, the driveshaft is tailored to match the pinion yoke, and you can live with keeping two spare tires on board (the S-10’s 5-on-4.75-inch wheel-hub bolt pattern differs from the axle swaps discussed here). Then again, as the Gen 4 Camaro Z28 and SS demonstrated, the 7.62 differential can survive LS1 power. The guys at NextGen Performance (Spencer, MA, 774/745-0405) built a 5.3/4L60E-powered S-10 (picture, page 38) and replaced the stock S-10 axle guts with a centersection snatched from a 2002 Camaro SS. With its 3.42:1 ratio and Torsen-type differential, it’s a great boneyard alternative to a custom-tailored third member.

In the suspension department, since the two-wheel-drive S-10 uses Chevy G-body passenger-car front suspension (Monte Carlo, Malibu, El Camino), brake, spring, and sway-bar upgrades are readily available. One hot tip is to grab the two-piston front disc-brake calipers and spindles from certain two-wheel-drive Blazers as a replacement for the stock singlepiston pucks. And surprise of surprises, the stock S-10 front springs can be left alone. Thanks to its aluminum heads and plastic induction, the total mass of a naturally aspirated Gen III V8 is about equal to an all-iron 4.3L V6. Many Gen III S-10s retain the stock front springs with zero ride-height changes.

Suspension-tuning components are readily available. Pro Touring types can opt to lower the body for a reduction in the center of gravity, or if you’re more inclined to drag racing and general street fun, loose front shocks will allow more rapid rearward weight transfer for better launches. With an empty cargo bed, the S-10 suffers from the same traction blues as any other pickup. Mild wheel hop can also be expected from a bonestock layout. Remedies include bolt-on traction bars, an airbag positioned between the right spring and frame, and urethane bushings. One quick trick that often cures hop is the simple addition of bolt-on leaf-spring clamps ahead of the axle center line. This

stiffens the spring and makes it act like a traction bar. Yes, the ride will become stiffer, but axle hop is often tamed.

Your interest in V8-powered S-10 pickups is solid. With a mild 5.3 or 6.0 ripped from a rusty Silverado or van, the S-10 becomes a great muscle machine, work rig, and daily driver— all rolled into one.

Kooks Headers; 866/586-5665; KooksHeaders.com Sanderson Headers; 800/669-2430; SandersonHeaders.com Lokar; 877/469-7440; Lokar.com

MORE INFO

CarCraft@CarCraft.com CarCraft.com Car Craft Mag 831 S. Douglas St. El Segundo, CA 90245

Current Performance; 727/844-7570; CurrentPerformance.com Dirty Dingo Motorsports; 480/824-1968; DirtyDingo.com

ASK ANYTHING— WE’VE GOT SOLUTIONS!

DIDJA KNOW? In more extreme cases, rod-bearing failure leads to such intense heat buildup that things begin to melt.

When this happens, the connectingrod big end can weld itself to the crankshaft-rod journal so firmly the beam snaps, but in less extreme cases, the heat merely discolors the big end. The conventional wisdom says any discoloration of the rod is grounds for disposal. After all, the color shift indicates a molecular change in the rod, rendering it weaker and prone to future failure.

But didja know certain stains are nothing more than burnt oil residue? In this picture, muriatic acid has completely removed the stain and the rod looks as good as new. So what’s the fine line between trashing good (but stained) rods out of fear and reusing sure-death, cooked rods? Beyond your particular budget, if the stain comes off with the acid wipe (and isn’t bent or deformed), chances are it’ll live to fight again. But if the heat was so extreme as to cause a permanent blue tone anywhere on the rod, scrap it!

THIS GUY’S GARAGE

BRAUNS MOTORSPORTS / Lomita, CA Sometimes we run across a cool shop located practically in our backyard that’s been doing high-performance automotive work for more than 30 years, and we never knew they were there. Chris Braun started his drag-racing career in AHRA Hot Rod class with a big-block, four-speed 1966 Chevelle. From there, he decided to make money instead of just spending it, so he opened a shop to do high-performance work.

We were invited to take in his latest adventure, which is the 1966 Chevelle in the photo, but along the way, we learned Chris likes the older hot rods, too. At one point in our tour, he opened a wooden box full of odd-shaped carburetors. “Do you know what these are,” he asked. We discovered that Brauns is also a nationally recognized Winfield carburetor expert rebuilder. If you know your early rodding history, Ed Winfield is considered to be one of the sharpest hot rodders from the 1930s and 1940s.

He created camshafts and carburetors that won the Indianapolis 500 and designed the legendary Novi V8 Indy engine. Chris is an interesting guy because his shop can handle everything from a 1920s flathead all the way up through current electronically controlled, supercharged cars. Where else will you find a near-100-year spread in cars in one shop with antique carburetors sprinkled in for flavor?

By Jeff Smith / Photos: Jeff Smith

44 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

The main focus of our trip was to see the shop’s big project: a 1966 Chevelle in name only. It’s sitting on a custom rectangular-tube chassis with a complete C6 Corvette drivetrain and front/rear suspension with IRS. The torque tube has been lengthened to accommodate the Chevelle’s longer wheelbase, while the track was narrowed slightly to stuff that wide Corvette rubber under the stock sheetmetal. The engine will be a twin-turbocharged RHS block 427 with RHS heads— because they can. The car is perhaps a year or two out, but has all the makings of an awesome machine.

The 2014 Cadillac CTS-V sits on top of Brauns’ chassis dyno, where power tuning is a popular attraction. The supercharged Caddy LSA is getting a Lingenfelter 630hp upgrade with a smaller pulley, upgrades to the induction systems, and a tune.

You can just see the top of the radiator shell on Brauns’ personal 1932 Model A five-window coupe. The car will be powered by a rare Hal overhead-cam conversion on a Donovan aluminum four-cylinder block using a forged crank, BME forged pistons, and a Jones 8mm beltdrive for the overhead cams. The induction part is played by an original SCoT supercharger and, of course, a pair of Winfield side-draft carburetors.

In a blend of old and new, the engine will drive through a Compu-Shifted 4L60E automatic and ride on Kugel suspension.

There are several other projects at Brauns currently in process, including a nicely detailed black 1966 big-block automatic Chevelle and a customer’s 1962 Impala that will soon get an LS3 and a 4L880E so he can keep up with his buddy’s 0.060-over 455ci 1965 Le Mans that’s pretty quick.

This is a customer’s 1966 Chevy II stuffed with an iron-headed, big-block Chevy and a Muncie four-speed. It rides on a Heidt’s Pro G front clip, while a Jones Racing serpentine beltdrive system is squeezed in behind where the aluminum radiator will fit. You can just see the top of the electric highpower master cylinder that uses a separate electric motor to generate additional force on the master cylinder’s piston. With a Ratmotored Chevy II, it’s important the brakes work to the best of their ability!

This is one of Brauns’ stash of Winfield carburetors that has a 90-degree adapter to convert it from an up- or down-draft to sidedraft configuration for hood clearance. Brauns told us these carburetors allow simple adjustment with a screwdriver to idle, low-speed, and high-speed tuning. Those are some impressive tuning capabilities with a carburetor that began life in 1924.

Ed Winfield started working in legendary engine-builder Harry Miller’s shop at the age of 14. Do yourself a favor and read up on Ed Winfield—he’s an amazing part of hot rodding history.

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 45

HANDS ON

BUDGET HEMI STROKER Swap a 6.1L Crank Into a 5.7L Hemi For 440 HP

By Douglas R. Glad / Photos: Douglas R. Glad

➔

Here’s the recipe: buy a 5.7L Hemi from a crashed Ram truck, swap in a factory forged 6.1L crank from eBay, add a “drop-in” forged piston and rod combo from Wiseco, fix the heads, slap in a mellow cam for your EFI, and you have a 440hp, bulletproof, street Hemi for not a lot of cash. It’s perfect for that Dart swap or late-model bottomend upgrade, right? Later, you can port the heads and bomb the thing with nitrous because now you have forged internals.

Want in? Here are the vitals.

The basis for this build is the 5.7L Hemi found in 2003– 2008 vehicles. We found this complete core on eBay for $1,400 about five years ago.

We used a swap-meet carb and intake for dyno testing to avoid the cost of a standalone EFI box, but this combo will work using the existing intake and ECU on your late-model 5.7L Challenger, Charger, or Ram.

46 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

Hemi haters talk about the pistons being the weak link in this engine series, but the reality is the intake valve seats will likely fail first, detonating your piston and shifting the blame. Fix that.

Wiseco’s piston and rod combo gives you a flattop with a zero deck using a 5.7L block. Depending on the cylinder head cc, it yields a compression ratio between 9.0:1 (85cc) and 11.3:1 (65cc).

Lower compression allows for cheap fuel and room for copious boost from cheap turbos later.

The real secret: The factory 6.1L crankshaft is a forged version of the 5.7L crank. It’s like Clark Kent and Superman for purposes of metaphor. Spot one using the four-bolt reluctor wheel with 32 teeth as a guide—the 5.7L has only three bolts.

The cam is a Crane roller with 210/216 degrees of duration at 0.050 with 0.550-inch lift. Note the timing marks line up on opposite ends of the timing chain and the exhaust lifter is first on cylinder No. 1 when degreeing the cam.

Stock, non-Eagle 5.7L Hemi heads flow 280 intake/183 exhaust cfm at 0.550 lift from the factory. It’s a respectable number for a small Hemi head.

At a minimum, repair the valve seats, or go all out and port the heads.

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 47

HANDS ON

We bought a 6.1L balancer and flexplate and had the entire rotator balanced at Revco Precision in Long Beach, California. Prepare to shell out about $185 for that. Joe Jill at Superior Automotive helped with Hemi specific tools and advice.

For some reason, the only thing that prevents the factory rocker arms from sliding laterally off the valve tip is a spring wrapped around the rocker shaft. These rocker-arm spacers from Superior Automotive Engineering solve that problem and are good protection against crazy nitrous over-revs that are likely going to occur later.

ON THE DYNO RPM 4,000 4,200 4,400 4,600 4,800 5,000 5,200 5,400 5,600 5,800 6,000 6,200 6,400 6,600

TQ 384 388 391 393 389 389 392 393 391 384 379 370 356 346

HP 293 310 328 344 355 370 388 404 416 424 432 437 434 434

If you were wondering, the oil pump on the late-model Hemi is driven by the crankshaft because there’s no distributor.

48 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

Another trick is using a 6.1L timing chain on the 5.7L engine. It requires the timing-chain cover to be clearanced to fit.

This was a non-VVT engine equipped with MDS only. Mopar sells the delete kit for the solenoids and you must change to non-MDS lifters to get this to work.

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HANDS ON

PARTS LIST DESCRIPTION 32-tooth reluctor ARP crank bolt Balancer 6.1L Crane hydraulic roller cam eBay 6.1L cranks Gaskets set Holley Ultra XP carb Head gaskets Intake manifold Main bearings Melling oil pump Milodon oil pan MSD HEMI-6 Rod bearings Roller lifters Spark plugs Shaft rocker system Take Out HEMI Trick Flow pushrods Timing chain (5.7L) Valve springs Wiseco H-beam rods Wiseco forged pistons

PN TR-32 ARP-147-2501 594-325 1989501 2008 CS 26284-1 80803HBX HS 26284 PT1 MOPAR MS 2220H MEL-M342 31002 120-6013 CB 1808HN P53021720AE LZTR5A(16) Superior Automotive 2006 TFS-21457000 TC-CLO-9-0704S 99831-16/1989501 DH6243ANLB8-A K466XS

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How is this better than a 5.7L crate engine? It makes 60 hp more, it has forged guts instead of nodular iron castings, and best of all, you built it yourself.

50 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

JBA builds a nice set of shorty headers for the Gen III Hemi. It has a ball flange already, making us think of how that will fit the new ball-flange turbos we’re seeing on the internet.

➔SOURCES

Holley; 270/781-9741; Holley.com Milodon; 805/577-5950; Milodon.com MSD; 888/258-3835; MSDperformance.com Mopar; Mopar.com Superior Automotive Engineering; 714/503-1880; SuperiorAutomotive.com Westech Performance Group; 951/685-4767; WestechPerformance.com Wiseco; 800/321-1364; Wiseco.com

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PROJECT ZEDSLED:

NEW SEATS

We Install Four-Point Harnesses and Lightweight Seats

By Kevin Tetz / Photos: Kevin Tetz

➔

High-backed bucket seats were a big deal in the 1970s, adding comfort and style to muscle cars. However, the materials were spongy and generally don’t do a very good job holding the driver in place at the levels of performance cars are now capable of. In 1978, when our project ZedSled was made, the anemic 175hp engine and GR-70 15 radial tires weren’t capable of generating high

52 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

cornering forces. Fast-forward to today and ZedSled is outfitted with Z-rated BFG Rival tires, lightweight Forgeline hoops, and a couple of palates full of race-tuned suspension from Pro-Touring F-body, not to mention 700 hp under the hood (more on that later!), and it’s obvious that the demands of a seat design change drastically as the power numbers and chassis are upgraded.

1 1. ZedSled’s factory seats were toast in every way. The upholstery was rotten and the frames were rusty. We had to go to the internet to get replacement frames and tracks.

2. We loved the TMI

2 Autocrossing A t i iin a slippery li seatt iis no fun, and for obvious reasons we need to be firmly planted in the optimum driver seating position for spirited driving. TMI Products has been providing race-inspired seating solutions for several years, and although our first fi t ZedSled’s Z dSl d’ prior i iinterior t i upgrade g d

interior kit, complete with Sport XR front and rear seats, console, door cards, and quarter-panel ttrim. The seats were perfect with the factory s shoulder belts, and the b bigger side bolsters did a great job holding us iin the twisties and on tthe slalom courses we ttested.

iincluded l d d TMI Sport S XR seats, restoration certainly helped keep us planted, but it’s time to change to a setup that easily incorporates a safety harness: TMI’s Pro-Viper Jr. These Complete bolt-in seats feature bolstered back and bottom cushions, lightweight fframes, ffully lly adjustable dj t bl seatbacks, tb k

4

6 Assemblyy was 6. simple, l and d the h kit k contained d everything h g we needed for installation. installation The track-adjust wire came with pre-installed locks, so the wire simply gets looped into the adjuster lever and clipped in place.

8. Due to the floor design in the late second-gen F-body cars, the rear mounts on the factory seat tracks are higher in the rear, with almost 3 inches in elevation difference from the front.

3. Our only complaint had nothing to do with TMI and everything to do with the Camaro high-back seat design—there’s simply no way to incorporate a four-or fivepoint harness system with the shoulder design of the high-back seats. and two seat mounting solutions for our second-gen F-body that allows us to either bolt in seats in the factory position or do a custom fit with their universal frames, We liked the idea of a custom fit, so we chose the universal frames. Check out how we iinstalled t ll d everything. ythi g 4. To the rescue come the Pro Viper Jr. seats from TMI Products. They are a highly bolstered race seat with a fully adjustable back, fiberglass supports, and lightweight space frames.

You can have them made with your choice of several colors, stitching designs, and grommets. TMI matched the styling cues throughout the rest of the interior.

5 We 5.

W installed TMI’s ’ u l sliders ld h the h universal with p provided d d spacers and d h hardware to do a test-fit f i the car to ffine-tune in th seating position.. the

7. Comparing both seats, the universal brackets are symmetrical and obviously taller than the OE tracks, which is what gives you the versatility of unlimited seating position.

3

7

5 6

8

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 53

HANDS ON

10. This got us closer to the mark, but the front was still kicked up a tad. We eventually trimmed another rung off the frame.

11. With the seat height decided, we used the frames to lock in the seat’s location.

Using a level and the provided shims, we marked the center of the tracks in the middle of the seat-travel range. This way we can offer the most useful travel range to account for different-sized people.

12. We used a step bit to drill holes at four

9 9. We took baby steps to dial-in the perfect seating position, trimming one rung of adjusting holes of the front of the seat frame stands with a cutoff wheel.

corners of the bracket for the new seat mounts. Before drilling, check the underside of the floor to make sure there aren’t any conflicting parts in the way. It sounds stupid, but we’ve seen people drill into wiring harnesses and transmission cooler lines doing work like this.

10 11

12 13

13. TMI supplies new Grade 8 hardware with the seats, but we needed longer bolts than what came in our kit. We went to Industrial Depot for longer grade 8 bolts, large washers, and Nylok nuts to secure the seats safely to the floor.

54 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

14

15

14. With the seat brackets bolted in, you

15. Here you can see the rather drastic angle

can see the factory seat-track holes in front of the bracket, which we’ve filled with stainless button-head screws from Industrial Depot for a clean look and a leak-free cabin. The rear OE holes were also plugged with bolts and are covered by TMI’s brackets.

of the factory floor in these second-gen Camaros. The beauty of using TMI’s universal brackets is that it allows us to mount these seats in any car exactly where we want them.

However, TMI also offers OE-style seat-track kits for a variety of cars if you’re happy with the stock location and height of the seats.

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16

18 16. The seats attach to the brackets with these button-head cap screws The fasteners come with thread locker pre-installed, making this a clean and simple job.

17. We did one last check to make sure we had access to the adjusters and make sure the seats felt good.

18. Next, we threaded the four-point race harness through the seatbacks and made sure our floor-mounted belts and cam lock were centered in the seat at a comfortable height.

19. Driver’s seat location is crucial, and ours is now perfect!

Between the adjustable steering column and location of the ProViper seats in the Sled, we’re locked and loaded, ready to throw this bullet into some corners and experience the newfound forcedinduction power and race-capable suspension without any worries of shifting butts in old-school seats! Stay tuned for that.

➔SOURCES 17

Industrial Depot Hardware; 678/904-5000; TheIndustrialDepot.com TMI Products; 888/460-0640; TMIproducts.com

19

56 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

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62 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

By Geoff Stunkard / Photos: Geoff Stunkard and Courtesy of the Jesel Family

Wayne Jesel Recreates His Legendary Chocolate Junior Stocker

Photo: TEN Archives nd and nn an Danny b ght Da brig and bright, worl was fresh and the world h n the whe days when h days th IIn the Wayne (in the driver seat) Jesel helped formulate a crucial moment in Junior Stock with the Yoo Hoo Too four-speed Hydro sedan delivery.

64 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

J “W “ When we got done, [it] had cost us $2,200 to build the original car, rread eady to rrace. ace. Yo ou u kn now, ow, I end ende ed du up p payi paying payi aying more more ore than than an that tth hat at jus just jju ust to us to get get tthe he llettering ettering d done one o on n tthis his o one.” ne.”

—Wayne — Wayne JJesel esel

unior Stock was the place for the little guys in the heyday of the mid1960s, and while the costs of everything has gone up since, few who have seen this sedan-delivery tribute would disagree that Wayne Jesel’s “Yoo Hoo Too” is breathtaking in its execution.

Jesel, who is well known in the motorsports aftermarket for working with Danny’s valvetrain development company and racing at Bonneville, remembers his youth fondly when he and his older brother were among the tough guys in the NHRA Northeast Division 1.

The Jesels helped stoke the hotbed of Atlantic coast action out of New Jersey, where Atco, Englishtown, and Great Meadows roared to life every weekend. Long before Danny had created Competition Machine Service in Freehold, New Jersey, he and partner Dave Smith were running a machine shop in the back room of Bob Duffy’s Performance Specialties in Red Bank.

Teenager Wayne hung out and got a chronic dose of speed spirochetes.

“We would see guys like Jere Stahl and Jenkins/Spanakos in these cars, and I liked the Junior Stocks. I could not afford a blown Gasser. We were over at Stahl’s shop in York one afternoon. Me, my brother, and a racer from our area he did some work for, Tony Massari, who raced a heavy ’62 Impala convertible in G/SA,” Wayne said. “We told Stahl we wanted a purpose-built ’56 body, with the 265/225hp, dual-four setup, also for G/SA. Back then, we used the current NADA book to get the factory shipping weights, to find the best combination for the class. After checking on it, I said, ‘What about a sedan delivery?’ Well, we couldn’t find it in the NADA book under cars, but it was under trucks. That fact made all the difference in the world.”

As a truck, the racer could be fitted with GM’s unique, four-speed Hydro automatic. As a passenger car, the Powerglide (or three-speed manual) was the legal box behind a 1956 engine, but with the rules allowing any factory-produced engine/any transmission option for the given model, that unique automatic could drop into the delivery as an equivalent of a 1956 station wagon.

Immediately, Stahl called Bill Dismuke at NHRA headquarters and asked

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 65

YOO HOO TOO II After setting the national record at Sanford Dragway, Yoo Hoo Too, complete with steelies and possibly the most sponsor logos ever seen on a Junior Stock, samples the bite at Cecil County.

if the 1956 sedan delivery/225hp/ Hydro combination was legal. Farmer referred to his NADA book and NHRA classification sheets and said that, yes, it was. Soon afterward, Wayne and Danny went to a junkyard and bought a 1956 station wagon and began building the car from scratch, which would be classified in G/SA. Nobody else had figured this combination out.

“We had to rebuild it all. We sandblasted the body, had to buy all the body parts it was missing, paid someone to redo an interior for it, do it all from scratch,” Wayne said. Tony Massari was involved as well, and sealed the car’s legacy: his dad was on the board of the Yogi Berra–owned Yoo Hoo Chocolate Drink company (as a result, Tony’s ’62 had been called “Yoo Hoo”). The young men approached the company, explained how and where they were racing, and asked for a sponsorship. The $2,500 they received covered everything they had spent to get the car built and running. Wayne dubbed it Yoo Hoo Too, even as the lettering was going on.

John Blackstock held the G/SA record at the time at 14.46, and Stahl, who was very seasoned in the class, was not sure if the delivery could match that. Danny put a legal blueprinted engine together, while Brooklyn, New York’s Vinnie Tarantola at Vitar Transmissions built the Hydro up. By the third test run at Englishtown, there was a frantic call to Vitar on changing shift pressure: “Take off that big nut on the side, pull out the metal spring, and cut a quarter-loop off of it.” The car clocked a

66 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

The effort expended by all Junior Stocker racers was primarily to get one of these: a record certificate complete with Jack Hart’s signature. If you wanted cash money, well, match racing on the Connecting Highway up in Queens, New York, may have proved more lucrative if you could get away with it.

IIn this thi case, the th sponsors p paid p id the th bills. bill .

Car and extended crew back in the day. Ironically, the NHRA would soon rule that the four-speed automatics were only legal in Corvettes, thus killing the advantage of the sedan delivery. To move down in the class structure, the car was converted back to a station wagon.

Danny Jesel’s twin-WCFB four-barrel Mouse was not shiny on purpose; the hot little engine was tuned to record-winning times. Stahl’s Pan pipes push straight out to the fenders, but the tricks inside were the result of careful blueprinting.

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YOO HOO TOO II Here is the four-speed Hydro in the original body. As the details illustrate, stock meant stock back then. Check out that deep-sump pan.

Jere Stahl’s handiwork flowed from the cavernous wheelwells. Many Division 1 racers swore by his total-tuned pipes.

The fabricated shifter was certainly refined enough to warrant attention when these images were shot; note the forward-motion shift pattern.

Right: Division 1 Junior Stockers were colorful; with complementing red stripes on a mocha base, Wayne’s was one of the most highly sponsored examples during the era.

The iconic Mr. J did the lettering on this version as well as the original

68 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

fast 14.40 that first day. The following spring at Sanford Dragway in Maine, it set the NHRA record at 14.33 seconds.

“The thing was, that tranny had a 3.90 First gear,” Wayne said. “I mean, you would leave the line and shift almost instantly. Still, the car was very inconsistent. So [Danny] thought we should go from the M&H ‘automatic tire’ to their ‘stick-shift tire’; we had a 5.13 gear in it. Immediately, it went steady 14.20s, but the speed fell off. So we put a 5.38 in it, and that woke it up.

It left the line harder and clocked good mile-per-hour; soon it was running 20s and teens like it was nothing.”

Though the NHRA was shifting the ground underneath the class with rule changes (inviting advantageous classjumping to H/SA and I/SA) , the truck would eventually run in the 13.5/103 range. Eventually, the NHRA outlawed the Hydro in that model. One reason was because a number of ’57-bodied entries had been running the fourspeed automatic since it had been optional in Corvette that year, but the NHRA subsequently ruled that only Corvettes could use the four-gear Hydro and tossed everything else out.

However, by moving down to a heavier station wagon, the weight was

actually favorable with the Powerglide.

So Wayne and visiting California racer Tom Neja went to the boneyard, found an intact 1956 wagon, and pulled off all the glass and parts to convert the delivery to more pedestrian origins.

With the changing times, this car was run one more season and was sold to fellow racer George Supinski. All Wayne knows today is that it probably ended up in Canada.

“The idea of redoing that car had been in my mind for a while. So I was in Hendersonville, North Carolina, for the East Coast Drag Times reunion and I saw this beautiful unrestored ’56 delivery on display. It would be perfect.

After looking it over, I asked the owner if he would be interested in selling. He replied, ‘Hey, everything has a price.’

Meanwhile, I had a completely done ’32 Ford and we made a trade. A week later, I went down and dropped off the Ford and picked the delivery. It was a lot nicer than the one I had gotten back in ’66!”

Obviously, there was the desire to make the tribute as period-correct as possible. Building a legal 265/225hp engine was not difficult, but finding a Hydro was. Through author Doug Boyce, Wayne heard about a man in

Though the tribute car looks and sounds correct, Wayne has only done mild track testing. No detail was overlooked in making it turn the clock back.

YOO HOO TOO II

While the reunion is no longer held at the York Fairgrounds, it continues at the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing in York Springs, Pennsylvania.

70 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

Workhorse Deliveries might never have garnered the level of interest they did had the Jesels not discovered the Hydromatic possibilities during a visit with Jere Stahl.

At 225 factory-rated horsepower, the 26 65ci sm mall-block was one of the earliest Detroit “power pack” comb bination ns and was derived from the Corvette. According to AMA pa aperwo ork, it was also available in any body design. Legendary y engin g ne man Tommy Kling built it to period specs.

upstate New York who had one vy amongst a conglomeration of Chevy parts. Wayne could not believe his luckk when three things happened in rapid succession: the transmission had been from a Corvette but had neveer been reinstalled after being rebuilt in the 1970s by Tarantola. The current owner, who’d had the transmission sssion e it for 40 years, told Wayne that since u uld was going into a tribute car, he would not take any money. r Key personalities helping in the restoration included Tommy Kling of Truppi-Kling racing fame and for many m y n. He years of Jesel Valvetrain Innovation built the engine using a correct cylinder block and heads. Ed Alessi at Select Performance in Brooklyn went through the rusty transmission and refreshed the still-new internals. Mike Bavaro of Bodymotion in Ocean Township, New Jersey, did the transformation on the shell and repainted the clean tin. The lettering was redone by Mr. J of Paterson, New Jersey, who had penned the original version all those years ago. Finally, Jere Stahl was closing his business and was unable to build new headers; instead, he gave Wayne the pipes from his Junior Stock wagon.

Wayne could not have been happier with the result, which made its debut at one of former NHRA Division 1 director Darwin Doll’s York US30 Reunions.

The delivery is scheduled to tour for a couple of noted companies later in 2016, but the real big deal is that Wayne has gotten a couple of pieces updated so he can lap the 1,320 again.

That is the saga of Yoo Hoo Too II and, yes, it is still that cool.

The long lines of the Chevy wagon roof made it seem like these red stripes extended off the map. Paint is by Mike Bavaro at Bodymotion in Ocean Township, New Jersey.

The car made use of minor speed upgrades, but little else was seriously changed due to the class rules of the era. A high ride height and narrow tires added to its innocence.

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 71

By Richard Prince / Photos: Richard Prince

Lifelong Oldsmobile Enthusiast John Trial Builds His Dream Car

J

ohn Trial’s passion for Oldsmobile traces back to earliest childhood.

“My father was an Olds man,” he explains. “His first new car was a 1961 Dynamic 88. I was hooked on Oldsmobiles early on, and there was no turning back.” Though Trial had owned several Olds 88s and 98s over the years, he never had what he really wanted: a 442. One day a friend who knew close to nothing about cars called to tell him about a really clean blue car for sale in the neighborhood that he would love. Trial wasn’t looking for another car and didn’t put much faith in his pal’s judgment, so he disregarded the advice. Two weeks later he was running errands with his wife when they drove past a super-clean blue Cutlass convertible. Both were impressed, and Trial realized this was probably the same car his friend told him about. It was, and it belonged to him the next day.

The Cutlass was as honest as they come, with nice paint over all original sheetmetal, no rust anywhere, and a smooth-running, L73, 330ci, 310hp Jetfire Rocket V8. Factory options included Strato Bucket seats, power steering, Super Stock wheels, seatbelts, and

72 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

tinted glass. “As clean and fun to drive as it was,” Trial says, “I knew that bigger plans lay ahead.” As often happens, those bigger plans evolved over time and had more than a few twists.

The first order of business was upping the car’s performance. Trial had JA Performance rebuild a Rocket 455 he happened to have sitting around.

They stuffed the big-block full of good parts from Speed-Pro, Mondello, Edelbrock, Com Cams, and Crower. Moonlight Garage took care of the drivetrain, rebuilding the car’s Muncie four-speed and building a super-strong rear end using a Moser 12-bolt and Eaton Top Spec Posi carrier featuring 3.55:1 gears.

Trial then turned his attention to the underside. The stock chassis was sandblasted and painted, and the suspension was upgraded with The Right Stuff Detailing drop spindles and custom springs. Oversize front and rear sway bars, boxed lower control arms, and traction-assist rear frame supports from OPGI completed the suspension transformation. A four-wheel discbrake system from The Right Stuff Detailing gave the car stopping power to match its newfound speed.

After the engine, drivetrain, and chassis work were completed, Trial drove the car regularly for a year without touching the body or interior. The body was straight, the paint was nice, and the original interior was decent, but he wanted to add some custom touches and bring all of the cosmetics up to a whole new level. “While I was driving the car, I must have imagined it in every color combination possible— from black on black to silver with a red interior—but I couldn’t make up my mind. One night while sitting with my best friend and fellow Oldsmobile connoisseur, Angelo, we were kicking around color ideas when his wife, along with mine, chimed in to our conversation and said, ‘How can you not leave that car blue? You never see blue hot rods.’ That sparked the idea to stay with blue, but do it with a ‘Foose Style’ two-tone paint scheme.”

Around the same time, Trial read an article extolling the virtues of doing a rendering of a project car before actually painting it. The article listed 10 automotive artists, and Trial called one of them, Ben Hermance of Hermance Design. Hermance expertly translated

Trial’s ideas onto paper and helped him focus on what he really wanted. “Having that blueprint made the build a lot easier and saved a lot of what ifs throughout the project,” Trial explains.

He turned his Olds over to the craftsman at North Point Restorations for a lot of the general restoration work and all of the paint and body refinishing.

They took the car completely apart and mounted the body sans its front end to a rotisserie for easy underside access.

Custom work included smoothing the firewall, relocating a Detroit Speed wiper motor under one of the fenders, frenching the door handles, and hiding all of the underhood wiring. They also did an excellent job of hiding all of the hoses for the Vintage Air Gen IV airconditioning kit that was added using factory ducts.

Trial turned to Dr. Oldsmobile for a fiberglass OAI shroud that is unique to model year 1967 442s. Then he obtained upper and lower intakes from Ken Dennison to further along the W30 conversion.

North Point Restorations laid down the two-tone blue paint scheme, with 2013 Bentley colors that Trial chose

NOVEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 73

ROCKET’S REVENGE

simply because he likes them. After applying Dark Sapphire Blue over Silverlake Blue using Spies Hecker waterborne paint, master pinstriper Don “Figgy” Figilozzi added a triple stripe where the two blues meet using the same shades of red/orange Oldsmobile used for the 442 emblem. Three more coats of clear were then added to bury the stripes and give the overall finish even more depth.

When the body and paint restoration was completed, the car shipped off to R&R Seats for its new high-end canvas convertible-top interior makeover. Trial worked with R&R to design custom upholstery patterns that include cues from 1966 and 1967 Oldsmobiles. In addition to wrapping the seats, highquality light- and dark-blue leather also cover the door panels, console, kick panels, and seatbacks. Trial located a Rally Pack gauge cluster he had restored and upgraded by Instrument Specialties, which modernized the tach, converted the amp meter to a voltage meter, and converted the clock to a quartz movement.

In keeping with the overall plan to keep the car mostly stock looking with a cleaner-than-factory appearance, controls for the Vintage Air system consist of micro switches hidden behind stock controls. Stereo controls, power-window switches, LED lighting controls, and the power trunk release are all hidden inside the console. A pushbutton start, borrowed from a late-model Lexus, is the only non-stock-looking item on the dash. A custom steering wheel—produced by CON2r from a design that Trial’s daughter, Caitlin, created and was given by his always-supportive wife, Laurie, as a Christmas gift—provided the interior’s finishing touch.

Before the car was completed, Trial sought an entry for it at the 2015 Detroit Autorama show. The unusual Olds was accepted and chosen as a Ridler contender. That really put the pressure on to not only finish the car

74 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

but get every detail as close to perfect as possible. It was finished in time and was a huge hit in Detroit, particularly with the Oldsmobile crowd. Trial didn’t win the Ridler Award, but he earned First Place in the convertible class.

Since Autorama, he’s shown the car at numerous events around the country and won a lot of top honors, including a Builder’s Choice Award at the Goodguys East Coast Nationals.

While Trial certainly appreciates all of the accolades, in the end, the car is its own reward. The relationships it has created and strengthened are worth far more to him than all of the trophies combined. “I consider myself

blessed to have been able to do this project,” he explains. “I would have not been able to do it without the support of the shops and my friends, especially Laurie and our two children, Nicholas and Caitlin. They have all helped out tremendously; the time I spent with my son over the five years of this build has turned him into a complete motorhead, and even though we are restoring a Camaro for him, I know he is an Oldsmobile connoisseur at heart. I call the car “Rocket’s Revenge” because you rarely see a 442 chosen for this kind of build, especially on Long Island where almost every car is a Chevelle or a Camaro. The Journey I have been on with my Oldsmobile has been one wild ride and is far from over.”

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TECH NOTES Who: John Trial What: 1967 Olds 442 Where: Long Island, NY Body and Paint: Trial turned to North Point Restoration and Collision in Westbury, NY, for the body and paintwork.

“The sheetmetal remains all original,” Trial says, “including the trunk and floor, which saved a ton of work and allowed time and funds to be spent on customizing and detail work!” The techs at North Point completely disassembled the car and mounted the body on a rotisserie. Frenched door handles from Kindig It Design were installed “for a clean and custom look while maintaining an almost stock illusion from the sideview.” The trunk lock and emblem were replaced with a third brake light that’s actually a side-marker light from a 1968 Cutlass. The firewall was reworked to be completely smooth and devoid of anything except the brake booster and master. After a lot of debate, Trial chose to go with 2013 Bentley colors: Dark Sapphire Blue for the upper surfaces and Silverlake Blue on the lower panels and undercarriage. The waterborne Spies Hecker paint was sourced from Axalta Coating Systems. The company’s local rep, Erik Turner, happens to be an Olds enthusiast and helped with the paint process. After the underside and inner workings of the body were painted. it was reassembled for application of the outer coats. Don “Figgy” Figilozzi laid down a tricolor pinstripe where the two shades of blue meet using the three colors of the 442 emblem.

Chassis: The car still retains its original chassis, which was sandblasted and painted with POR15 chassis black for a clean look and lasting corrosion protection.

Suspension: The A-body sits 3 inches lower than stock, thanks to The Right Stuff Detailing drop spindles and custom springs. Oversize front and rear sway bars, boxed lower control arms, and traction-assist rear frame supports from OPGI complete the suspension modifications.

Steering: Trial upgraded his Oldsmobile’s steering with an Ididit billet column mated to an OPGI steering box.

The box features a quicker-than-stock ratio requiring three turns lock-to-lock.

Brakes: The Right Stuff Detailing was called upon to supply a four-wheel disc-brake conversion kit featuring slotted and drilled rotors for improved cooling. A 9-inch booster and

76 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

stock-style master cylinder complete the system.

Wheels and Tires: Trial turned to Centerline for modern wheels with a vintage look. The Sundance Series Boulevard wheels were rotary forged from T-6061 aluminum and sized at 18x9.5 inches for the rear and 18x8 inches up front. They wear Nitto 555 tires measuring 295/45-18 in the rear and 245/45-18 in the front.

Engine: Like any true Olds fanatic, Trial had a Rocket 455 engine sitting around.

“It came out of a 1968 Olds 98, and I was saving it for a rainy day.” He brought it to JA Performance in Lynbrook, NY, for a complete teardown and rebuild. After Magnafluxing, the block was bored 0.030-inch over. Speed-Pro hypereutectic pistons were anchored to the stock crankshaft. Mondello Oil restrictors were used with a high-volume pump and 7-quart oil pan. Edelbrock heads were fitted with Crower roller rockers and a Comp Hydro Roller cam. After experimenting with several different carburetors, a FAST EZ-EFI 2.0 carb replacement system sits atop an Edelbrock performer manifold. Spark comes from a FAST Dual-Sync distributor and E6/E92 ignition system kit.

Spent gases exit through American Racing headers and polished 3-inch Pypes Performance Exhaust stainless exhaust.

Transmission: The car was originally equipped with a column-shifted M14 three-speed manual gearbox, but a previous owner replaced it with an M20 wide-ratio four-speed. Trial decided to retain the four-speed Muncie “because it’s a lot cooler to go screaming past someone at 3,500 rpm than 1,800 rpm when cruising down the highway.” He turned to Moonlight Garage in New Hyde Park for a comprehensive rebuild.

Rear End: To ensure trouble-free cruising and occasional quarter-mile blasts, Trial bought a new Moser Engineering

12-bolt housing with Moser axles and an Eaton Top Spec carrier. He chose 3.55:1 gears for good off-the-line performance and high-speed cruising.

Interior: R&R Seats in Plainview, NY, handled the interior restoration. “I always liked the look of the 1966 Oldsmobile interior, so we decided to blend the ’66 and ’67 together,” Trial says. “The seat patterns are all custom designed and have three different stitch patterns, bringing the light-blue ultra-leather together. The door panels are custom designed and covered in two-tone light- and dark-blue ultraleather. The console, kick panels, and seatbacks are also covered in ultraleather. The design of the door panels is continued in the trunk, and the convertible top is dark-blue canvas.”

Electronics: Trial moved the car’s battery to its trunk to make room for W-30 air-intake ducts under the hood.

To ensure trouble-free cruising, he replaced stock wiring with new harnesses and related parts from American Autowire Highway 22. Virtually all wiring is hidden underneath or behind something, making for a very clean appearance throughout the car. All lighting throughout was converted to LED, including the sequential taillamps and halo headlamps.

Thanks: North Point Restoration and Collision in Westbury, NY; R&R Seats in Plainview, NY; Moonlight Garage in New Hyde Park, NY; JA Performance in Lynbrook, NY; Axalta Coating Systems; S-K Speed in Lindenhurst, NY; wife Laurie; son Nick; and daughter Caitlin.

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➔LETTERS LET You never know what to expect when opening email or envelopes from readers.

Anthony Pittari sent us this poem you may enjoy: HOT ROD HEAVEN There’s a place Way up in the sky That I would like to go to When it’s my time There’s gonna be All my friends All the ones I knew Way back when.

In this place I call Hot Rod Heaven.

We’ll talk about The good ole days And the memories That we made.

We’ll sing those Old time tunes The ones we once knew.

Then we’ll hop on our bikes And in our cars And take a ride Down a miracle mile boulevard.

So to all my friends I would like to say When it comes time And I pass away Please don’t cry Don’t shed a tear Cause where I’ll be I’ll be doing fine Way up here In the sky In Hot Rod Heaven.

And late at night If you should hear Thunder in the sky No need to worry It will be me passing by In Hot Rod Heaven.

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN VETTE Who: Jan Zubeck What: 1966 Corvette Where: El Paso, TX Why: Jan says it took him 37 years to complete his dream 1966 Corvette.

“There are trials and tribulations with every car project, but I seem to have found more than most, which is partly why it took so long to complete.” He did all the fiberglass work, except for the speedbumps on the rear deck. The engine is a 355 small-block with aluminum cylinder heads and a B&M street blower backed by a TH700R4 transmission.

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BURNOUT!!

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The ad index is published as a service to our readers. Due to last-minute changes, we cannot guarantee correct page numbers or accuracy of listings.

1956 “This is my dad, Troy LaRue, and his Chevy. He bought the car when he was into it only 18 and has put his whole heart throughout the years.”

—Morgan LaRue, Ionia, IA

HOMEMADE PAINT STAND Reader Bradford Sewart sent us pictures of this cheap stand he uses for painting parts. It’s made from electrical conduit and a tripod base that was “retrieved from a dumpster.” Like we’ve said before, car guys are consummate recyclers.

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MEAT & THE STREET

82 CAR CRAFT NOVEMBER 2017

Photo: Bob D’Olivo

By Thomas Voehringer /

“Dragsters for the Street” was the big cover blurb on the Mar. 1968 issue of Car Craft. Bill Fredericks, owner of a meat market in SoCal’s San Fernando Valley, built that issue’s cover car. Business was good and allowed him to spend leisure time feeding his fascination for speed. Five years after a fruitless adventure with a radical jet car at Bonneville, Fredericks was again testing the limits of speed—and insurance coverage—with his 427 Ford SOHCpowered slingshot transmogrified for street cruising. Highlighting the crimson livery and chrome was a handcarved and -polished walnut dash and steering wheel. But CC focuses on the unique technical bits. If you look closely, you’ll find all the necessities for a “100-percent legal” street car designed by Fredericks: a modified Corvette swing-axle suspension out back and twin supine-mounted radiators under the cab. Coolant is plumbed through the frame. Slicks added excitement to the photo shoot, but the car normally ran Wide Ovals. For all his other design achievements, the CC story credits Fredericks’ superior front suspension for making the rail roadworthy. As he gets fueled at the local Standard station in Northridge (with regular??), it looks like a real-life cousin to Grampa Munster’s “Drag-U-La.” You’re not likely to see anything like this on those streets today—or those gas prices, either (27.9, 30.9, and 39.9 cents per gallon).

WEIV RAER

CAR CRAFT (ISSN 0008-6010); November 2017, Vol. 65, No. 11. Copyright 2017 by TEN: The Enthusiast Network Magazines, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Published monthly by TEN: The Enthusiast Network, LLC, 261 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Car Craft, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Subscription rates for 1 year (12 issues): U.S., APO, FPO and U.S. Possessions $20.00. Canada $32.00. All other countries $44.00 (for surface mail postage). Payment in advance, U.S. funds only. For subscription inquiries please email carcraft@emailcustomerservice.com, call 800/800-7697 (386/447-6385, international), or write to Car Craft, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Six weeks’ notice is required to change a subscriber’s address. Please give both old and new addresses and label.

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