/ MAGZUS.COM / Car craft april 2015

WE FLOG THE NEW DODGE CHARGER HELLCAT: IT RUNS 11S!

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APRIL 2015

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CLASSIC PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, INC. 378 E. Orangethorpe Avenue Placentia, California 92870

Worldmags.net CONTENTS APRIL 2015 ➔UP FRONT

06 SHOP TALK Priorities and obligations.

10 ACTION! The Engine Swap Challenge at Holley’s LS Fest.

30

➔HANDS ON

12 HORSEPOWER! Danney Meyer’s 975hp Mopar.

14 SPEED PARTS Things you gotta have!

18 SHEETMETAL REPAIR Project ZedSled loses its rust.

30 SPRAY AND PEEL Eastwood’s ElastiWrap: What is it? How does it work?

60

38 ASK ANYTHING Jeff Smith talks LS cam swaps.

72

➔PROJECT CAR

44 THIS GUY’S GARAGE T&A Restorations is a hidden treasure in Wilmington, California.

46 PROJECT CAR UPDATE Checking in on our 1972 Chevelle and 1980 Cutlass.

18

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 3

Worldmags.net CONTENTS APRIL 2015 ➔FEATURES

56 KRASS & BERNIE Bernie starts hearing things in his barn-find Galaxie.

60 TALLER, BIGGER Tim and Cindy Arkebauer’s 1969 Camaro.

66 ARE YOU SERIOUS? John Dodson’s 1960 Parkwood wagon.

72 CRAZY LIKE A FOX Brian Mimken’s 1974 Plymouth Duster.

76 QUICK CAR Hellcat Charger first drive!

➔ON THE COVER Sparks fly at Mascar.

Photo by Wes Allison.

➔BACK OF BOOK

78 JUNKYARD BUILDER How to swap an 8.8-inch Ford rear into a GM G-body.

76

66

4 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

84 WHERE’S THE FUN? Cheers to our readers in 2015!

90 REAR VIEW Early twin-turbo setup.

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SHOP TALK

CLIMBING OUT

I

’ve been doing a lot of this lately: “Yeah, I’m working on that.”

“OK, that’s next on my list.”

“Wait—what day is it today?”

I admit I’m feeling overwhelmed, and it’s been catching up to me. Only about half of my time is spent writing or taking pictures. The remainder is spent ordering parts for all our project cars, copy-editing articles, dealing with our online workflow system, staying on top of the production schedule, planning and scheduling photo shoots, researching and assigning upcoming articles, and communicating with our sales staff. These are all critical functions to the daily routine at Car Craft, and it’s difficult to prioritize when you’re short on time—they all need to be done. Personal emails have gone unanswered, hanging out with friends and family has been postponed, and my dog spends a lot more time watching me with big, sad eyes as I tap away on the laptop. I’m not at all opposed to hard work and long hours, I just can’t let it affect the quality of work that goes into the magazine, and that’s what’s been stressing me out. It’s not just me, either—Phil, our Managing Editor, Roberta, our Art Director, and Douglas are working just as hard—and I’d like to personally acknowledge and

6 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

thank them for all their help and support the last several months. You guys are invaluable!

This time of year (it’s mid-December as I write this) generally consists of long hours, anyway; we have to cram a lot of work around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, because printing presses and Web servers don’t take time off. We’re also running more articles online than we ever have in the past. Just about a month ago, we made significant changes to our website, basically gaining our own corner on HotRod.com. The website is cleaner and easier to navigate. Plus, HotRod.com now draws content from our entire group of muscle-car magazines, so you’ll find articles from Mopar Muscle, Street Rodder, Classic Trucks, Engine Masters, and Muscle Car Review.

If you haven’t visited yet, please do and let us know what you think.

Though it’s felt insurmountable at times, the extra workload is temporary.

The software changes being implemented will streamline our system and allow me to get ahead again. I’ll be able to ditch the keyboard for some wrenches and get back under the hood of our C10 and Olds Cutlass, both of which need significant engine and drivetrain work—that’s the fun part of my job.

I’m also really excited about 2015.

The Car Craft Summer Nationals has moved to a new location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the Milwaukee Mile, we will have more room for the autocross and speed-stop challenge, yet still have plenty of real estate for cruising and power parking alike. We’re also closer to a dragstrip, so we’re looking into running Midnight Drags that same weekend at Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin. We know there are lots of fast cars in Chicago, which will make that event bigger, faster, and crazier.

In addition to our new events, there are lots of cool, hard-core articles in the works. Crazy engine builds, fast cars, bulletproof drivetrains, expert paint and autobody articles—look for all this and more within these pages and online at CarCraft.com. I just gotta get off this keyboard, first.

—John McGann

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

Fixing a classic is a ritual a rite of passage and a way of life.

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You see potential in rusted metal and greasy parts.

You see treasure in junkyards and the only computer you need is your brain.

Time with dad isn’t a drag and the best sound you ever heard is finally getting the darn thing started.

You’re not just fixing a car you’re keeping something great alive.

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Worldmags.net CARCRAFT.COM

All AFR heads come standard with: Lightweight bead lock 8mm valves that reduce valve float (Big Block Chevy has conventional 11/32 hardware), Premium Pacaloy racing valve springs, 100% Fully 5 axis CNC ported, 3/4” thick head deck, Viton oil seals (not cheap Poly Acrylic) and hardened Chrome Moly spring seats, not just shims. Includes adjustable guide plates for perfect rocker arm alignment.

Call for details. AFR heads only.

4220cc SBF Flows 340 CFM 4245cc LSX Flows 360 CFM 4245cc SBC Flows 350 CFM 4385cc BBC Flows 456 CFM

20° SB-FORD

185cc 185cc 95HP 95HP Gain Gain Over Over GT-40X GT-40X Windsor Windsor Head Head

EDITORIAL Content Director, Muscle Car Group Douglas R. Glad Editor John McGann Managing Editor Phil McRae Contributors Jeff Smith, Wes Allison, Stephen Kim, Barry Kluczyk Scott Parker, Dave Rushen, Jason Sands Tori Tellem, Kevin Tetz, George Trosley ART DIRECTION & DESIGN Creative Director Edwin Alpanian Art Director Roberta Conroy ON THE WEB CarCraft.com CircleTrack.com HotRod.com MoparMuscleMagazine.com

ADVERTISING General Manager, Hot Rod Network Tim Foss General Manager, Muscle Car Group Ed Zinke Advertising Coordinator Janette Lopez General Manager’s Asst./ Event Coordinator Yasmin Fajatin To advertise on this magazine’s website, or any of TEN: The Enthusiast Network’s other enthusiast sites, please contact us at AM-advertising@enthusiastnetwork.com

WEST Los Angeles: 831 S. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA 90245, 310/531-9900 EAST New York: 260 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016, 212/726-4300 NORTH

MANUFACTURING & PRODUCTION OPERATIONS VP, Manufacturing & Ad Operations Greg Parnell Sr. Director, Ad Operations Pauline Atwood Archivist Thomas Voehringer

23° SB-CHEVY 180cc 180cc 80HP 80HP Gain Gain Over Over L-98 L-98 Head Head

Detroit: 4327 Delemere Court, Royal Oak, MI 48073, 248/594-5999 MIDWEST Chicago: 312/396-0620 SOUTHEAST Tampa: 813/675-3479

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.

15° SB-CHEVY 285cc 285cc Flows Flows 400 400 CFM CFM

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Occasionally our subscriber list is made available to reputable frms offering goods and services we believe would be of interest to our readers. If you prefer to be excluded, please send your current address label and a note requesting to be excluded from these promotions to TEN: The Enthusiast Network, LLC, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245 Attn.: Privacy Coordinator.

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Reprints: Contact Wright’s Media at 877/652-5295 (281/419-5725 outside the U.S. and Canada) to purchase quality custom reprints or e-prints of articles appearing in this publication. Back issues: To order back issues, visit https://www.circsource.com/ store/storeBackIssues.html.

Any submissions or contributions from readers shall be subject to and governed by TEN: The Enthusiast Network’s User Content Submission Terms and Conditions, which are posted at: http://www.enthusiastnetwork. com/submissions/.

ADVERTISING INFORMATION Please call Car Craft Advertising Department at 310/531-9183. Related publications include Circle Track, Classic Trucks, Engine Masters, Hot Rod, Hot Rod Deluxe, Mopar Muscle, Muscle Car Review, and Street Rodder.

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Visit our website for a free catalog & decals MADE IN USA

Copyright 2015 by TEN: The Enthusiast Network Magazines, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

TEN: THE ENTHUSIAST NETWORK, LLC Chairman Peter Englehart Chief Executive Officer Scott P. Dickey EVP, Chief Financial Officer Bill Sutman EVP, Chief Creative Officer Alan Alpanian EVP, Sports & Entertainment Norb Garrett EVP, Chief Content Officer Angus MacKenzie EVP, Operations Kevin Mullan SVP, Enterprises Tyler Schulze EVP, Sales & Marketing Eric Schwab SVP, Digital Operations Dan Bednar VP, Sales Operations Matt Boice SVP, Financial Planning Mike Cummings SVP, Automotive Digital Geoff DeFrance VP, Editorial Operations Amy Diamond EVP, Aftermarket Automotive Doug Evans SVP, Content Strategy, Automotive David Freiburger SVP, Digital, Sports & Entertainment Greg Morrow VP, Digital Monetization Elisabeth Murray SVP, Marketing Ryan Payne EVP, Mind Over Eye Bill Wadsworth CONSUMER MARKETING, ENTHUSIAST MEDIA SUBSCRIPTION COMPANY, INC. SVP, Circulation Tom Slater VP, Retention & Donald T. Operations Fulfillment Robinson III

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The Engine Swap Challenge at Holley’s LS Fest

By John McGann / Photos: John McGann

This is the fourth year we’ve covered the Engine Swap Challenge at Holley’s LS Fest, and the competition gets more exciting and intense each year. LS Fest, of course, is Holley’s celebration of all things LS-engine based. The event is held over a weekend in September at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it’s so jam-packed with events, it’s like automotive overload. There’s a manufacturer’s midway, drag racing, a big autocross, drifting demonstrations, a chassis dyno competition, and a big car show. In the middle of all that is the Engine Swap Challenge, which is held on Saturday morning. The competition pits a pair of two-man teams in a race against each other to see who can remove a

10 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

fully functional small-block Chevy and replace it with an LS engine. Holley provides the engines and the cars—identically prepared Chevrolet Malibu wagons—while the teams bring tools, teamwork, and expertise. Only handtools are allowed, mind you, and the winning team of Mike Edwards and Tyler Lauters of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, edged out competitors Will Meyst and Martin DeGumbia of Middletown, Connecticut, with a time of two hours and nine seconds. For their effort, Mike and Tyler were allowed to keep Holley’s LS engine— they just had to remove it from the Malibu and reinstall the small-block first. Check out the blood, sweat, and sweat that went into this year’s competition.

➔The end! Now can we get some potpourri in here—PRONTO!

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APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 11

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HORSEPOWER! 975HP, 798–LB-FT, 597-CID MOPAR

Danney Meyer / Chico, CA Twenty years ago, Danney started to build himself an 11-second bracket car. He got a little carried away and ended up with his 1968 Charger running 10.0 with a stroked, 400-block Mopar.

That wasn’t enough, and soon the car worked its way through the 9s. Now, his new 597-inch engine, based on a 20-year-old Mopar Mega Block, has nudged the Charger toward the 8s, with a 9.08 at 149-mph pass and a 1.29 60-foot time on 10.5-inch tires. At 3,675 pounds with no fiberglass, other than the hood, the Charger isn’t a lightweight, either—although Danney is currently in the process of converting to Lexan windows and an aluminum block, hoping to dip into the 8s.

Believe it or not, the Charger is still a bracket car, too, and recently took on all comers—including dragster and index cars—walking away with a victory at a recent Redding, California, race. With no bottle pressure to mess with or turbos to spool, Danney has proven there is a replacement for forced induction—and it’s displacement.

By Jason Sands / Photo: Jason Sands

INDUCTION

B&M Tune Up built the interesting air-filter setup specifically for the Charger’s cowl hood. It incorporates a UNI foam air filter.

Underneath are the twin 1050 Holley Dominators, which are box-stock other than a jetting change. A Hogan sheetmetal intake manifold connects the carbs to the heads.

EXHAUST

The strut front suspension leaves lots of room for headers, so Danney’s shop, B&M Tune Up, built a set of custom headers to take advantage of the space. The stepped tube design starts at 2 1⁄8-inch at the exhaust port, then lead into to 2 1⁄4-inch tubes before dumping into 4 1⁄2-inch collectors. Danney is old school and likes to hear the engine, so he doesn’t run mufflers.

IGNITION

The Ignition system is your basic performance MSD setup, with a Pro Billet distributor, Pro Power HVC coil, 7AL Box, 8.8mm wires, and Champion spark plugs. Danney said a lot of lead isn’t needed on a motor this big, so he only runs 30 degrees of total timing.

12 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

FUEL SYSTEM

Sunoco 116-octane fuel is sent from a 16-gallon fuel cell to the engine via a Barry Grant 400-gph fuel pump. Pressure is regulated at 8 psi to the Dominator carbs.

Worldmags.net VALVETRAIN WORK

In a quest for reliability in the top end, Danney selected Smith Brothers HD pushrods, T&D’s 1.7:1 ratio rocker system, Stealth titanium valves, and Manley NexTek valvesprings. Danney shifts the big Mopar at a surprisingly low 6,500 rpm, so years of life can be expected out of the valvetrain.

PORTED B1 HEADS

Nope, it’s not a Hemi—the B1 wedge heads are no lightweights, though.

Ported by Mopar Engines West (which also assembled the engine), the 2.40inch intake valves allow a whopping 438 cfm of air through the intake ports, while the exhaust valves measure 1.78 inches and flow 329 cfm. The heads were also O-ringed and installed with copper gaskets from SCE, so a blown head gasket should never be an issue.

STOUT SHORT-BLOCK

CAM AND TIMING

For naturally aspirated engines, a whole lot of duration and lift is needed to make power. Comp Cams supplied a solid roller with 281 degrees intake and 288 degrees exhaust duration at 0.050inch tappet lift and 0.824/0.801-valve lift, respectively. It’s driven by a Jesel belt system. For longevity reasons, 50mm roller cam bearings were installed in the block after the engine kept wiping out the factory-style bearings.

The Mopar Performance Mega Block is old enough to be considered a classic, yet it is so solid that no other reinforcements, other than ARP main and head studs, were needed. A custom Callies crank is the foundation, and 4.53-inch bore, 15.1:1 gas-ported Diamond Pistons attached to Crower Rods complete the rotating assembly.

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 13

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SPEED PARTS

NEW GAUGE OPTIONS

What it is: Analog gauge faces from Dakota Digital.

Why you care: Dakota Digital recently announced its new VHX lineup of gauges. All systems feature a speedometer and tachometer, oil pressure, coolant temperature, fuel level, and volt gauges. Solid-state sensors are supplied, and OBD-II integration is also available. The needles are operated by very precise stepper motors, and backlighting through the gauge face ensures visibility in all conditions. There are many direct-fit applications available, along with numerous universal options for custom dash layouts. Choose from black or silver alloy as well as carbonfiber face styling, and blue, red, or white LED illumination.

How much: Pricing varies by application, but most we looked at on Dakota’s website were around $700.

Learn more: Dakota Digital; 800/5934160; DakotaDigital.com

SOLIDIFY YOUR DRIVETRAIN

I CAN SEE!

What it is: Engine and Transmission mounts for small-block Fords.

Why you care: Energy Suspension now offers replacement polyurethane engine and transmission mounts for smallblock Fords. They are available in red or black with a rust-resistant, zinc-plated, metal-backing plates and reinforcements. By now, your mounts are likely worn out and winter is a good time to do jobs like that anyway.

How much: About $160 per kit.

Learn more: Energy Suspension; 949/361-3940; EnergySuspension.com

What it is: Pyrex cups for TIG torches.

Why you care: If you spend even a small amount of time TIG welding, you will appreciate these see-through Pyrex cups. Usually made from ceramic, shielding cups direct flow of Argon over the weld puddle to shield it from outside air, which would contaminate the weld. Problems can arise, however, because the tungsten electrode can’t protrude very far from the opening of the shielding cup, so to see where you’re welding, you may have to position your body in an uncomfortable position, and when you’re uncomfortable, your weld quality can suffer. See-through shielding cups like these from USA Weld help by making your work that much easier.

How much: Prices start at $35.95 Learn more: USA Weld; USAWeld.com

14 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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SHEETMETAL REPAIR

Project ZedSled Loses Its Rust

By Kevin Tetz / Photos: Kevin Tetz

➔

It’s a really good idea to buy a parts car with major projects that you undertake. The trouble shows itself when your project vehicle turns out to be not much more than a parts car itself—rust, missing pieces, and anything that’s left over needs to be refurbished or replaced.

That’s just the way it’s been with ZedSled. Whether it’s rose-colored glasses or just plain dumb optimism, we’re trudging forward with this car, and the

18 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

sheetmetal is probably the most serious challenge. Since we’re on a shoestring budget, we’ll turn the tide on this build by replacing the rusted metal using scraps as well as carefully chosen, high-quality replacement panels.

Unibody vehicles, including F-Body Camaros, are prone to rust. We found an ally in National Parts Depot, which offers almost every part and piece for first- and second-gen Camaros, and with the company’s strategically

placed warehouses, parts are never out of stock and never far away.

You’ll need some handtools to do this job right; we worked with Eastwood because it had everything we needed: spot-weld cutters, a welder, shears, and coatings are among the items we ordered, and the rest is up to creativity and hard work. Follow us as we tame the tinworm the same way we’re building the rest of the car—on a budget.

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National Parts Depot offers a full floor replacement panel for our 1978 Z, but the left and right partial panels are more affordable. The stampings are accurate, and they’re more than adequate for typical floorpan rust.

With the pans set into the car, a Sharpie traced around the edge gives us an outline to guide the first of many cuts and trimming that is required to fit the new metal.

Sheetmetal without black EDP coatings are shipped with a protective goo that needs to be wiped off for welding and painting.

Eastwood’s Pre Painting Prep is perfect for this step.

A spot-weld cutter is something you’ll become very familiar with using during sheetmetal replacement. Using a low speed is important to keep your cutter sharp.

We’ve cut the floors around the braces from the bottom side first, which reveals the edges that are spot-welded from the factory. This made it easier to find the welds for drilling, then finally separating, from the mating panel.

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 19

HANDS ON

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The NPD pans are stamped like the factory panel. We’re saving time by removing this flange at the edge and welding the outside of the floor to metal from the original that’s still solid. Thinking your way through these repairs will show you ways to save time without compromising the repair.

We trace around the braces and edges from the bottom with a marker so we know where to drill holes for rosette welds, which are sometimes referred to as plug welds. Here you can see the strategy for the flange we removed from the NPD pan and what we’re going to weld the outside edge of our pan to.

Now we can mark where holes will be drilled for welding. Spacing isn’t critical, but three fingers between welds are close to factory specs and easy to remember.

but it that will sit in your drawer a lot, A pneumatic panel punch is a tool s flanges on one form tool This it. need you when sure is nice to have one ct 3⁄8-inch holes on the other side. side of the head and punches perfe

20 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

A 3⁄8-inch bit works great where the panel punch can’t reach.

Remember that this is a unibody car and that the body is the frame. Don’t skimp on plug welds. They’re important for safety and to help your car stay rigid in corners.

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To prep the floor braces, we used a wire brush to remove the surface rust and Eastwood’s Rust Encapsulator to seal and stop the remaining surface rust from growing.

Weld-through primer contains zinc, which protects metal from rust and allows you to weld through it. It’s great insurance for a professional repair.

22 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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The pans are held in with sheetmetal screws while welding takes place. Eastwood’s MIG 175 can easily handle this task and has infinite voltage and wire feet control knobs (instead of notches) for fine-tuning your welds.

Our passenger lock pillar was rotted completely from leaks around the 1980s-era sunroof.

We’ve cut out the rust, wire-brushed the surface rust from the inner structure, and coated anything we could reach with POR15 rust-preventative paint.

24 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

Replacement lock pillar panels aren’t available separately—as of now, they only come with a full quarter-panel stamping— so we rounded up a used lock pillar for cheap. After blasting the edges, we found out why it was cheap: it had quite a bit of rot itself! There was still enough useful metal to make the repair, however, so we stuck with the budget plan.

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Cutting the panel out to match our cut on the car gives us a flange to weld and also to locate the panel to the correct spot for doorlatch alignment.

With some weld-through primer on the backside and a small patch panel welded in at the top to get rid of tinworm, we’re ready to install the new lock pillar.

Tack-welding the panel is straightforward and is a pretty basic process for most panel replacement. Running beads warp sheetmetal, so use patience and get used to spacing your tackwelds until they become a continuous weld around your panel joint.

A 40-grit flap wheel surfaces the excess weld material while keeping your metal as cool as possible.

After grinding the welds flush, wiping with Fast Etch converts any flash rusting to phosphate. It then gets wiped off with acetone or Pre Painting Prep to remove any excess coating. This stops flash rusting in its tracks and preps the metal for fillers or primers.

26 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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The driver-side rocker was bashed in from some kind of Banzai ditch stunt, so rather than fill it full of mud, we decided to just skin it with a new NPD panel since they’re quite affordable.

The junk inside is a time bomb, so it’s good that we can clean this out before welding in the new panel.

The new rocker skin is tacked in place the same way the rest of the metal is welded—spacing the welds and letting them cool between tacks.

The roof needs a skin, no question about it. Not only do we need to eliminate the horrible aftermarket sunroof but also the rust and stress cracks at the corners. An electric shear makes quick work of removing most of the outer panel.

The sunroof took its toll on the inner structure, so we rebuilt the rotted sections using scraps from the rocker skin, as well as some random 18-gauge scrap metal we had saved from a previous repair.

The inner roof panel was patched using the original outer panel, giving it back some strength, sealing out moisture, and, most importantly, it was a free patch!

28 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

After drilling another 40 or so spot-welds, we used a panelseparator knife and hammer to remove the rest of the outer skin, leaving the inner panel to mate the new roof to.

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With all the prep taken care of, the outer roof skin can be clamped down for welding at the windshield, quarter-panel, and backlight flanges.

The sides of the skin fold over much like a doorskin and are slowly and carefully worked with a low-crown body hammer and dolly.

The trunk floor was Swiss cheese as well, so we made our own panels from scrap 20-gauge and welded them to the braces, which were still in good condition.

➔SOURCES

The Eastwood Company; 800/343-9353; Eastwood.com National Parts Depot; 800/874-7595; NPDLink.com

With the metalwork on ZedSled finally done, we can focus on suspension mockup and bodywork. Notice the DSE subframe connectors poking through the floor?

Yes, we’re building this one to perform and handle!

ZedSled is a laborintensive project, no doubt about it, but the rewards will be worth it.

END

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 29

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SPRAY AND PEEL

Eastwood’s ElastiWrap: What Is It? How Does it Work?

By John McGann / Photos: John McGann

30 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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➔

Spray-on rubberized coatings are a popular alternative to paint, and it’s no surprise why—they’re versatile, easy-to-use, and are easy to remove (relative to paint). Several companies make similar coatings: Performix Brand Adhesives

makes Plasti Dip, the brand most often associated with this type of coating, and others are available from RustOleum and Duplicolor. This month, we tried ElastiWrap, one of the newest peel-off coatings on the market, and we’re happy with the results so far.

We were jazzed to get started using this stuff, so Eastwood sent a gallon of its Burn Out Black, which dries to a semi-gloss finish. After stirring, ElastiWrap is ready to spray straight from the can—no reducing is needed.

ElastiWrap works best when sprayed from a gun set up with a 1.6- or 1.8-fluid tip. You can use your primer gun or try Eastwood’s Turbine Paint gun system (shown here). At about $60, it’s very economical. It puts out a lot of air, but it’s quiet. Unlike airless sprayers, which sound like tattoo needles on steroids, this thing is quieter than a vacuum cleaner. Plus, there’s no air compressor cycling on and off.

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 31

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The Turbine paint gun comes with a 1.8-fluid tip. The fluid tip and air cap are not precise enough for spraying an automotive base- or clearcoat, though the gun is affordable and convenient enough that you may be tempted to do so. Designed to spray thick coatings like high-build primer or ElastiWrap, the Turbine did its job perfectly.

Gun set-up was simple: pour the coating in the reservoir and you’re ready to spray. Even with a full reservoir, the Turbine gun is light and maneuverable. Author’s note: Time for new gloves! We only had one of each color left.

We decided to try the Burn Out Black on our Project Cutlass drag car’s quarter-panel, a spot where real tire rubber would accumulate. Ideally, we would use clear ElastiWrap here and just peel off the layer after a weekend of racing, if we were so inclined. Eastwood’s directions recommend applying ElastiWrap to a clean, smooth surface with a light coating of wax on it. This makes it easier to peel off the coating later. We fogged the area with some spray wax and wiped it clean with a terry-cloth towel.

Next, we masked the upper half of the quarter-panel, leaving a hard tape line.

The hard edge will also make the product easier to peel off than if we had let the coating fade into the upper half of the panel.

32 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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ElastiWap is easy to spray. Though it looks thick and textured just out of the gun, the material flows out to a smooth surface as it dries.

The instructions specifically recommend two medium coats, with 15 to 20 minutes of drying time each, as the ideal foundation. After that, spray at least four to six more coats. This gives you enough buildup of the material to make it easier to remove later.

Dry times between coats are longer than we are used to with paint, but ElastiWrap is definitely easier and more forgiving to spray. A simple charcoal respirator is recommended, but the chemical smell is far less than with traditional paints and primers.

If you did any masking, Eastwood recommends removing the tape as the last coat is still drying because the tape will be easier to pull with less risk of taking chunks of the coating with it.

So here’s our Burn Out Black tire-rubber barrier. As mentioned before, this was an experiment.

If we really wanted a chip and rubber guard, we’d use clear ElastiWrap instead. Either way, we were pleased with the coating’s appearance once it dried. It’s worth noting that we had trouble getting our cheap, old roll of masking tape to stick to the quarter-panel, and that’s why the tape line is not straight. In the future, we would prep the panel with a wax and grease remover, apply the tape and masking material, then spray the surface to be coated with wax. Doing so would ensure the masking tape stays were we want it to.

34 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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WHAT IS IT?

ElastiWrap is formulated and sold by The Eastwood Company; product manager John Robinson describes it as a “hightech coating made from rubber, flexible agents, and VOC-compliant carrier solvents.” That last bit about being VOC-compliant is key. Because it conforms to current pollution standards, Eastwood can ship gallon-sized containers of ElastiWrap to all 50 states. Non-VOC-compliant products are

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only available in smaller aerosol cans in regions with tight pollution controls. Being able to buy a large quantity is advantageous when coating something big like a car—a couple gallon cans will do the job, whereas you may need a couple dozen aerosol cans of a non-VOC-compliant product.

We also spoke with regular CC contributor and autobody specialist Kevin Tetz about rubberized coatings in general, and he told us these products evolved from coatings used to make non-slip, cushioned tool handle grips. The tool handle was literally dipped into (or sprayed with) the coating.

Repeated applications cause the coating to build a thick film, similar to how wax candles are made. “Somewhere, someone must have thought, ‘If it works for my tool handle, maybe it will work on my car,’” Tetz posited. He’s a fan of the coatings, saying, “They are less expensive than paint, and they are extremely versatile. They have the appearance and aesthetic of paint, and they can act as protective coatings like a chip and rock guard on rocker panels and around wheel openings.” He cautioned that they’re not a replacement for paint. “You can’t buff it. If the coating is damaged, it will need to be removed and reapplied. Think of it as a temporary coating.”

From that perspective, peel-off coatings are well suited for race cars that may see color or graphics changes from season-to-season. It’s a lot less expensive than repainting the car. “Different colors are available, as well as metalflake and clearcoatings,” Tetz added. “You can mix the colors, too, and create a custom color. That gives the owner lots of room for creativity.” As this is written, Tetz is working on coating an entire car with custom-mixed ElastiWrap. We will cover that “paint job” in an upcoming issue.

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Worldmags.net We were curious about how ElastiWrap would cover an unprepped surface, so we also sprayed a swath across a replacement tailgate for our C10. We were surprised to find ElastiWrap covers and hides more flaws than we imagined—more than some filler-primers we’ve used in the past, so the surface doesn’t need to be prepped as if for paint prior to spraying ElastiWrap. You could probably get away with a final prep with 400-grit sandpaper and still get good coverage. It will, however, be more difficult to peel off the coating with so many dips and valleys in the panel, so be aware that better prep from the outset will save you work later.

ElastiWrap can be cleaned with mineral spirits if you happen to spill any or get some where you don’t want it. We’ve also read users online recommending Goo Gone or similar cleaners. END

PARTS LIST DESCRIPTION Turbine Paint Gun System Burn Out Black (gallon)

PN 14878 55615049ZP

SOURCE Eastwood Eastwood

PRICE 57.99 99.99

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ASK ANYTHING

This is the swap of a Chevrolet Performance LS3 E-ROD engine into Holley’s 1986 El Camino. Swapping cams between different generations of LS engines will require some minor changes.

LS CAM SWAP

Michael Barone; via CarCraft.com: I have a 2002 5.3 LS motor (LM7) that I got for cheap, and it is going into a cheap first-gen RX-7. I would like to do a cheap (catching the theme yet?) camshaft swap with used parts from a different LS motor. The problem I am running into is there are so many variations on everything, and I am not sure where to start. I looked at your mega camshaft article online, which had me leaning toward the LS2 cam, but I am not sure if that is a direct swap. I am trying to do this on the cheap, so I don’t want to buy an adapter for a three- to one-bolt cam, front timing sensors, or anything else needed. I just want to buy the cam, springs, pushrods (if needed and what length), and lifters (if needed) from an LS1/2/3/6— whatever will fit. I am not too worried about torque loss down low, as even with 50 lb-ft of torque lost the engine will still have almost three times the

38 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

torque as the stock engine I got rid of.

Can you help me?

Jeff Smith: Your assessment of the LS2 cam in this article is right on the money, Michael. Your LM7 and most of the LS2 cams are three-bolt cams, so that won’t be a problem. Since you will be looking for a used take-out cam, you can make sure it’s a three-bolt before you purchase it. Because all LS engines use hydraulic rollers, swapping cams and reusing the original lifters is no problem. In the story, author Richard Holdener noted that the LS2 did require the front cam sensor since there is no trigger at the rear of the LS2 version cam. This will mean adding an LS2-style front cover. You didn’t mention it, but I’ll assume you are going to run the stock factory ECU with this engine, which is why you are concerned about the front cover and drive.

My take is that you want to retain as

much of the stock equipment as you can, but this cam swap will involve some changes. As you’ve probably figured out, you will have to run an LS2style cover that moves the cam sensor to the front of the engine. This is unavoidable. This will also require an LS2 sensor and an LS2 front cam gear with the appropriate sensor notches on the gear. These components can all be obtained rather inexpensively through RockAuto.com. I found a new Dorman LS2 front cover with the gaskets (PN 635515, $48.79). The required cam sensor is an AC Delco unit (PN 2133826, $30.79). So for less than $80, you have the two major components you need to do the conversion.

There are two different LS2 front cam sensors: one is just the sensor (that I listed) and a second that comes with a pigtail that extends the connector down toward the bottom of the cover.

Either will work but the connectors for these two sensors are different.

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This is a photo of the LS2-style cam gear with a single 180-degree trigger “bump” (arrow).

The later LS3 style will have the 180-degree bump split into two segments with two additional smaller bumps. These will all be three-bolt camshafts.

The reason this is important is because a company called Racetronix sells an LS1-to-LS2 adapter harness that extends the rear-mounted LS1 cam-sensor harness to the front LS2 sensor. There are two part numbers, one for each of the different LS2 sensors. The LS2-CSAH-2 is for the short sensor connection, while the LS2CSAH is intended for the long pigtail sensor. Either of these extender harnesses are $19 from Racetronix.com.

These rather inexpensive parts will allow you to use the LS2 cam and get you where you want to go.

Unfortunately, the LS2 cam was also the only cam in the test that experienced valve float when the power dropped off above 6,200 rpm. This

indicates the cam is a bit more aggressive in terms of valve-opening acceleration since it sports 0.525-inch lift for both its 204 intake and 211 exhaust degrees at 0.050 duration numbers.

I’d recommend a better set of valvesprings and pushrods for this conversion. As mentioned, the LS2 was the only one that experienced valvetrain distress. Generally, this can be rectified with stronger valvesprings and more rigid pushrods that do not bend under these higher loads. A good spring would be the Comp Cams’ beehive (PN 26918, $180.97, Summit Racing). This spring is designed for the LS-series engines with 125 pounds of load on the seat, more than 300 pounds at 0.500-inch lift, and can

Worldmags.net accommodate as much as 0.650-inch lift. It will require its own retainer (PN 761, $54.97, Summit Racing) and new locks (PN 623-16, $32.97) but these are excellent investments. The PN 7955-16 ($127.97, Summit Racing) Hi-Tech pushrod is also a good choice. This is a 0.080-inch-thick wall, one-piece pushrod that will not deflect under load, which helps with stability and helps to minimize valvetrain load spikes. There’s no sense in adding a better cam if you are going to cheap out on the valvetrain and not take advantage of the power the cam can deliver. I know you mentioned this conversion was on the cheap. The only parts you really need are the timing cover, sensor, and wiring harness adapter. The other parts can be converted later. At the very least, I would swap to better valvesprings. The money you spend now will be rewarded many times over.

MORE INFO

Comp Cams; 800/999-0853; CompCams.com Rock Auto; 866/762-5288; RockAuto.com

STROKER QUESTIONS

John Raia; via CarCraft@ carcraft.com: I have several questions. What is the maximum displacement (bore and stroke) that you can get out of a big-block Chevy? What is the 502’s bore and stroke? What is the displacement of the Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car engine?

What kind of horsepower are they putting out? I have heard 8,000 hp. Is it now more than that? I know there are a lot of factors in this, but approximately how much horsepower does it take to get a car to go 200 mph in the quarter-mile?

Jeff Smith: I like a guy who gets right to the questions! So we won’t waste any time getting to the answers, John. For the maximum bore and stroke on a big-block Chevy, we first

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Worldmags.net ASK ANYTHING have to establish deck height. Without getting into custom-height blocks, there are basically two deck heights for the big-block Chevy. The standard deck height is 9.800, while the talldeck version reaches 0.400-inch higher at 10.200. A taller deck height allows the engine builder to add a longer stroke crankshaft while retaining a decent-length connecting rod. So let’s start with a standard deck big-block. A common upgrade for a 454 big-block (4.125-inch bore and a 4.00-inch stroke) is to add a 4.250-inch stroke and a 0.060-inch overbore. This will produce a 496ci Rat that used to be a big dog on the street. Today, Rat displacements have radically escalated. If you are going to build a big-inch motor, it’s best to start with a good block like a solid performance block from Dart, for example. The Big M blocks push the bores out to 4.50 (versus the 454’s 4.155-inch bore). The larger bore allows good heads to flow much better by unshrouding the valves. Aftermarket blocks are not cheap, as a Dart Big M standard-deck block (PN 31273444) will cost around $2,300.

But these blocks can handle upward of 2,000 hp, so they are incredibly durable. You mentioned the 502 Chevrolet block. This is a standard-deck-height block with a 4.470-inch bore and a 4.00-inch stroke. If you take the block out to 4.50 inches with a 4.25-inch stroker crank, this instantly puts the engine at 540 ci. These blocks are generally not as strong as the Dart Big M’s, but if you can find one in decent shape, they can be built into a big-inch engine.

Even with a 540ci big-block Chevy, guys are pushing these Rats far bigger.

Scott Shafiroff Racing Engines, for example (there are tons of engine builders out there doing the same thing), builds a 598ci standard-deck Rat with a 4.60-inch bore with a 4.50inch stroke to create a 598ci big-block.

This is pushing everything right out to the edge, but imagine a standard deck Rat that looks like a 454 (which also doesn’t look that much different from a 396) that is pushing 600 ci!

Tall-deck engines allow the displacement to reach for the stars, but a typical, tall-deck, big-inch combination is a 632ci motor with a 4.60-inch bore and a 4.75-inch stroke. Shafiroff offers a Big Dawg combo that makes 945 hp on pump gas with Brodix BB3x rectangle-port heads and a monster mechan-

ical roller camshaft. It’s also $17,000, but you asked, so we pushed it right out there to the edge.

Question 2: Top Fuel and Funny Car engines are limited to 500ci by NHRA rules, but that doesn’t’ stop them from making an absurd amount of power.

No one has a dyno that can accurately load or measure the power of a Top Fuel engine, but estimates range from your 8,000—which is 1,000 hp per cylinder—to upward of 10,000 hp. The best way to estimate a power number in this case is by looking at the amount of fuel the engine burns in a given amount of time. Remember that the NHRA has limited the percentage of nitromethane to 90 percent. The reason nitro works is because it is an oxygen-bearing fuel with a chemical makeup of CH3NO4—it’s that O4 part that really makes this stuff work. Air/ fuel ratios for best power are right around 1:1, and these engines need monstrous ignition current and voltage to light that fire, as roughly 90 percent of the fuel in the cylinder at ignition is liquid. That’s why those engines need so much ignition timing—they need that extra time to vaporize the fuel.

This is also one reason why you will see flames shooting out of the exhaust pipes even during daylight. The excess fuel is still burning as it exits the rather short primary pipes.

Question 3: This question is a little more involved, John, because the issue of acceleration (and its resultant trap speed) in the quarter-mile really has two major components: power and weight. We also have to give a minor nod to aerodynamics as a third contributor. The first two are the most important. If we’re talking about a relatively light drag-race car—let’s say a car at 2,200 pounds—our dragstrip simulation tells us that around 1,200 hp will just do the trick, as long as the car has decent aero numbers with an aerodynamic envelope. Larry Larson just recently ran an astonishing 5.95 at 244.43 in Las Vegas with his amazing twin-turbocharged S-10 drag pickup.

It’s powered by a 5.00-inch-bore-spacing, 620ci, all-aluminum big-block loosely based on a big-block Chevy that probably makes 2,400 hp. Larry’s S-10 isn’t light; it weighs roughly 2,800 pounds on the track, but compensates for the weight with ridiculous Pro Mod–style, alcohol-fed power.

To accelerate up to 200 mph in just 1,320 feet in a street car, let’s estimate

Worldmags.net its weight at 3,000 pounds. The Quarter, Pro dragstrip simulation program says you can just squeak past 200 mph in the lights with about 1,650 to 1,700 hp running in exactly 7 seconds.

Of course, much of this depends upon the engine’s torque curve.

We used an old, normally aspirated Pro Stock simulation, but there are hundreds of ways to get there. With a big motor and a pair of turbos, you could do this probably with a lot less horsepower and big torque, but it would take finesse to get the car down the track. Excess horsepower probably up around 1,800 or so would ensure you could make 200 mph.

At this point in the discussion, it’s important to note that running this fast probably has less to do with horsepower and more to do with how good you are at tuning the suspension and the driveline, because this acceleration rate will demand laying down a 1.1-second 60-foot time and an eighth-mile effort of no slower than 4.5 seconds. That, friends, is not an easy feat. Traction is your best friend and also, not surprisingly, the lack of it is your worst enemy. The quick guys like Larry Larson are the racers who have figured out how to put the power down to get the car (or in Larry’s case, a truck) down the track without spinning the tires.

Everybody wants to talk about horsepower, but it’s really managing the power and working the suspension that is the key to running quickly.

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THIS GUY’S GARAGE A 1947 Chrysler Town and Country is parked under the lift. Tony also bought that car two months ago with the intention of restoring the body to stock appearance, but dropping it on an Art Morrison chassis and utilizing a newgeneration Hemi engine for power. A second Town and Country is parked out of sight next to it.

The black 1935 Dodge Brothers Sedan belongs to a friend of the family who inherited this car from her father. The car had been sitting in a Louisiana carport for decades, and in spite of that, it’s complete and in remarkably good condition. It will be fully restored to stock appearance.

On the lifts are a 1955 Chevrolet Series 1 pickup, a 1940 Pontiac Woodie, and a 1940 Ford Deluxe, left to right. These are Tony’s cars, which get worked on as time permits.

The Chevy is a relatively new purchase. He bought it two months ago, adding, “I’m not sure what the plan is for it yet.” They’re all for sale, too, for the right price.

T&A RESTORATIONS / Wilmington, CA Somehow, we don’t think Tony Amalfitano had double entendre in mind when he opened this shop 13 years ago. He’s one half of the duo who owns this business, hidden in a 3,000-square-foot Wilmington, California, warehouse so generic looking, you’d drive past it for years and never guess the caliber of work that was going on inside. They have a reputation for working on woodies, cars from the 1930s and 1940s with wood paneling, rather than steel, generally for the doors and decklids, but Tony says they’ll work on just about any old car. Approximately half the cars are paying customers, while the others are personal projects and cars belonging to friends and relatives, so this is sort of a hybrid hobby shop/restoration business. It’s a small operation, too, consisting of Tony, mechanic Donald Galaz, and Camillo, the painter, who prefers to work undisturbed in a smaller workspace behind the building. If you’re into Bombs and Kustoms, you’ll feel right at home here.

By John McGann / Photo: John McGann

44 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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This is a 1954 Chevrolet “Tin Woodie” street rod. Tony explained that, as wood body construction became cost prohibitive, some manufacturers painted a woodgrain motif on steel bodies. This maintains the allure of a woodie wagon in an easier-to-manufacture, all-steel body, thus the term, Tin Woodie. The paint job on this car is so good, you have to look really close to discern that the woodgrain is actually paint, not wood.

The restoration on this 1951 Ford pickup is nearly complete. The entire chassis was powdercoated gloss black, the brakes were upgraded to more modern discs, and the engine and transmission came from a 1960 Corvette. Purists don’t hate: the Corvette was wrecked in 1960 and the drivetrain was installed in the truck way back then. Tony and his crew are just restoring it to the way the current owner’s father had built it that many years ago.

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 45

PROJECT CAR

Worldmags.net

PROJECT CAR UPDATE

Checking in on Our 1972 Chevelle and 1980 Cutlass

By John McGann / Photos: John McGann

➔

In the interest of full disclosure, we actually didn’t get to any grinding on our 1972 Chevelle this month. That’s Adam Stankus of Mascar Autobody & Paint working on a steel plate affixed to the quarter-panel with sheetmetal screws.

Why? Because it makes a dramatic

46 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

picture, of course! Well, we also needed a picture for this month’s cover. By the time you read this, however, plenty of real sparks will have flown off the Chevelle in the process of replacing the quarter-panels, but both Mascar’s schedule and ours prevented it from happening in time for

this issue. Don’t take that to mean we got nothing done on the Chevelle, though. We made a great deal of progress just giving it a rigorous cleaning with the help of Dr. Detail in Costa Mesa, California.

Who thinks of steam-cleaning a car as part of a necessary step in

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OK, so there’s nothing earth-shattering about steam-cleaning a car; the crew at Dr. Detail basically rolled it onto their lift and got busy. Darren was actually upset that our Chevelle wasn’t as dirty as he had hoped. That way, the difference would have been more dramatic.

restoration or repair? We certainly didn’t until meeting Darren McKendry, owner of Dr. Detail. In summary, his pitch went something like this: “What’s easier to work on: a clean car or a dirty one?” After absorbing his inescapable logic, we asked him to blast the years of grime off our 1972 Chevelle before Kenny Maisano and his crew at Mascar dive into the panel replacement and metal finishing our car needs.

Dr. Detail employs this massive Landa VNG natural-gas-heated, hot-water pressure washer.

Interesting specs include the ability to heat up to 10 gallons of water per minute at 2,000 psi.

A must for any home garage, right?

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 47

PROJECT CAR

Worldmags.net

All kidding aside, the process is very useful. Darren told us just hot water and high pressure will remove most automotive-related crud. As an example, he showed off this vintage Mercedes-Benz. Typical for older diesel-powered cars, what had been an oily mess cleaned up nicely just with hot water. Really tough stuff, like heavy undercoating, may require the use of a chemical degreaser, and the worst offenders get a dousing of kerosene or gasoline and have to be scraped off.

Darren said his customers cut a wide swath of the automotive community. Some business comes from dealerships and repair shops.

“Technicians like working on a clean car, and oftentimes, that helps them diagnose leaks or other problems,” he said. “It can also save the shop time and money to have us clean the car. We can get it done faster than a technician with a can of brake cleaner could.” Others are customers who just purchased a car and want it to look as nice as possible, as is the case with this Ferrari.

48 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

Worldmags.net • Clears all 4-bolt main caps including 4-bolt rear • Fully fabricated steel with Billet Steel End Caps for greater sealings

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PROJECT CAR

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After its steam-cleaning session, the difference is striking. Anyone who’s worked on cars for even a short amount of time knows how grimy these areas in the accompanying pictures get. Where decades of dirt and grease had been, clean, bare steel remains.

We even uncovered some additional rust damage we hadn’t seen before. It’s worth noting Darren’s business is environmentally friendly, too. Runoff from the spray pad drains into an underground water separator that catches hazardous waste, which is picked up by a reclamation company.

We quipped to Darren that our Chevelle probably caused his property value to plummet, but he said all kinds of cars come through his shop, not just exotics and foreign luxury cars. He specializes in Concours d’Elegance–quality detailing, but also does paintless dent repair, wet sanding and buffing, and interior restoration.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE CHEVELLE?

Currently, the Chevelle is back at Mascar waiting for us to start tearing into the quarter-panels and replacing the rotted-out section of the floor. Sparks will be flying in its next update.

➔SOURCES

Dr. Detail; 949/650-0204; DoctorDetail.com Mascar Modern & Classic Autobody Paint & Repair; 949/631-5201; MascarAuto.com

50 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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Yeah! Check out that launch. Our 1980 Cutlass leaves much harder than the 12-second time slips say it should.

We suspect there’s a bit of daylight underneath the left front tire.

THE CC/CUTLASS

When we last checked in with our 1980s-era drag car, it was sputtering its way to a 16-second pass at Barona 1/8 Mile Drag Strip. Instead of committing hari-kari in disgrace, we were highfiving each other, elated that the car even made it down the track. This is a car that hasn’t run in years. We had to soak the seized fuel pump in WD-40 and change the carburetor, but we got it fired up. Enthusiasm got the better of us, and we dared to make a pass at the track.

In hindsight, this wasn’t the smartest plan—the crusty slicks and decade-old seat belts were way out of spec, and the sloppy brake master

52 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

cylinder really should have been replaced before attempting any sort of speed other than creeping onto and off of the trailer. Then there were the fuel and transmission cooler leaks.

Well, we fixed most of those issues and took the Cutlass back to the track, where it posted far more respectable mid-12-second quarter-mile times at California Speedway. Installing a new MSD ignition system cured the popping and banging misfires we experienced at Barona. While we were pleased with our progress, we now suspect more problems are lurking in the drivetrain.

We know the car ran 11.00s in the past; in fact, the former owner’s widow said she had personally dipped into the high 10s driving the car years ago. So what’s wrong with it now?

We believe a slipping transmission is the culprit; the engine sounds strong, the car’s just not pulling the way it should. Also, a comparison of the latest time slips indicates a some sort of driveline loss: we have the very similar trap speeds, but our e.t.’s are varied by several tenths of a second from pass to pass.

We will continue updating the Cutlass as the saga unfolds. Our goal is to break into the 10s on a budget.

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CC120114

PROJECT CAR

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Fiery fuel leak!

Life-threatening transmission cooler leak

Cracked tires waiting to explode We fixed a number of issues since the car was last at the track. Chief among our fixes were items necessary to pass the track’s tech inspection. We replaced the old safety harnesses with new G-Force harnesses from Summit Racing. We saved the old ones and will have them recertified and ready to use when this set is out of date. Our fuel leak turned out to be nothing more than a missing O-ring in the filter spin-on adapter. We replaced the filter while we were at it. Loose fittings were to blame for our transmission-fluid leak, and a fresh pair of Mickey Thompson 28.0/9.5-15 ET Drag slicks replaced the dry-rotted Hoosiers that almost got us kicked out of the premises by track safety inspectors the last time we ran the car.

The biggest change in performance came when we updated the ignition system to MSD’s 6AL. Racer friend “King Donnie” Hughett helped us with the install, mounting the ignition box under the dash on the passenger side.

Under the hood, you’ll find MSD’s Blaster HVC II coil and billet distributor. Donnie re-curved the distributor with his secret tune-up and set the timing to 38 degrees of total advance.

54 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

After dropping into the mid-12s, we changed carburetor carburetors at the track, switching from a 750-cfm Double Pumper to an 800. Our goal was to get into the 11s, but we never ran faster than 12.36.

We suspect a problem in the driveline, like a slipping transmission, because forward momentum seemed to wane mid-track. Our elapsed times should be lower, based on trap speed. The engine feels strong, the car just isn’t pulling like is should.

Worldmags.net PARTS LIST DESCRIPTION Programmable 6AL2 Distributor hold-down Wire separators HVC II coil Pro-Billet distributor ET Drag slicks G Force Latch and Link harness

P/N 6530 8110 8843 8253 85551 3054 6000BK

SOURCE MSD MSD MSD MSD MSD Mickey Thompson Summit Racing

PRICE 365.97 27.97 18.97 185.97 239.97 190.67 (ea.)

69.99 (ea.)

➔SOURCES

Mickey Thompson; 330/928-9092; MickeyThompsonTires.com MSD; 915/857-5200; MSDPerformance.com RockAuto; RockAuto.com Summit Racing Equipment; 800/230-3030; SummitRacing.com

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE CUTLASS?

The Cutlass is parked at our Gardena, California, warehome while we decide whether or not to just rebuild the transmission, or if we should also pull the engine and freshen the whole drivetrain in one swift stroke. In addition, we need to replace the tired master cylinder, but we just got a replacement from RockAuto. It’s for a manual brake system and will eliminate the vacuum booster, which is ineffective anyway because the cam has so much overlap, the engine makes less than 10 inches of vacuum at idle. Keep reading Car Craft to see how it all unfolds. END

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 55

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otos: Wes

By Douglas R. Glad / Ph

Allison

Tim and Cindy Arkebauer’s 1969 Camaro

I

s that fake? That’s one of those Thermo King V-800 compressors with a standard swash plate and Smart Reefer controller. Right? No? Then what is it?

As we stood staring at Tim Arkebauer’s 1969 Camaro in the middle of a moist, buzzing field in southern Illinois, we overheard some absurd declarative statements from the local Camaro cognoscente. No one had seen this. No one

60 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

knew what to do. In a world of 1969 Camaros, this one was truly different.

“My neighbor had a Cortez Silver Camaro,” Tim explained.

“I heard that car start every morning when I was young.”

With the echoes of a 1960s big-block rattling around in his head, Tim had to go through life with a fuzzy vision of what kind of Camaro he needed to build. His dad didn’t help. “My

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dad was in the body and fender trade, so we hung out with [him] and fixed cars. No sports or anything like that.” He tried to quiet the voices with a Chevelle wagon that he drag raced, “But I always wanted a Camaro.”

Years later, Tim found a Camaro body in Tipton, California, for $1,500 and began a 12-year build that included about every life-changing experience possible. “My dad died, and

then my mom, then I had a heart attack and needed a pacemaker,” Tim said. “But I kept on going. The project was my motivation to recover from [the] heart attack and losing over 100 pounds.”

Tim had been heavily influenced by a drag racer from the early 1970s that campaigned a 10-second 1967 Nova with an inline-six-cylinder engine with three 500-cfm 4-bbl

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TALLER, BIGGER

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carburetors. “I remember it like it was yesterday, his name was Cotton Perry from Ringgold, Georgia, and he ran in H Modified Production with a 305-inch six. I still had the vision that the [Camaro] should have a Lenco and an inline-six, all the levers, and a great big transmission. When that didn’t pan out, we went for the big-block Chevy.”

Tim looked at a 14-71 from the Blower Shop and soon realized he was building the vanilla Chevy that he was trying to avoid. “I decided that everyone has a roots-style, blower so I called Rodger from PSI blowers and he helped me create the manifold and pulleys and brackets to make [a PSI supercharger] fit. Typically, these are used for offshore twin-engine boats or IHRA Pro Mod racers.”

Tim runs the engine on E85 with 80 percent overdrive and guesses with the 300 shot of nitrous and 25 psi it makes 1,800 hp, give or take a few hundred.

The car is primarily for fairgrounds cruising and car shows so you are not going to see it at any racetracks. Pacemaker, remember?

62 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

“It gets about 1.5 miles to the gallon.

It’s not a Power Tour car.” —Tim Arkebauer

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TALLER, BIGGER 64 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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TECH NOTES

Who: Tim and Cindy Arkebauer What: 1969 Camaro The Blower: The PSI 206B supercharger is screw-style, so it compresses air in the case instead of just pumping air into the engine. As a result, the supercharger is more efficient than other designs with the same displacement. It’s also huge. All the lines and fittings are for the 300-shot, plate-style NOS fogger.

Engine: The Dart block has a 4.530 bore and 4.500 stroke for a total of 580 inches. The billet crank is from Crower, the billet rods are from Oliver, the billet cam is from Isky. The compression ratio is 9.0:1, so Tim can get away with the relatively low 105-octane E85 pump gas and run 25 psi of boost on the street. The heads are massive Dart 380s with a CNC port job and a T&D shaft rocker system. It ain’t low-buck, but it makes 2,000 hp look easy.

Drivetrain: To get a “great big transmission,” Tim turned to a Lenco CS2 with five-speeds and a reverser. The bellhousing is from Lakewood and the clutch is from Titan. In the rear is a Fab 9 housing with Strange gears and Mark Williams 40-spline axles.

Paint: “I saw an all-black Camaro with gold wheels a long time ago,” Tim said.

“So I got with the guys who do all the anodizing for Earl’s and had them make a custom color for the wheels.”

For the record, the company is Colors Inc. in Indianapolis. The front end and the hood are fiberglass, and the wheeltubs are carbon fiber. The paint was sprayed by Josh Lester at Rocket in Monmouth, IL. Chassis: The car is certified to go 7.50, but Tim assured us that it is 100 percent street car with working lights, blinkers, and a horn. For Tim, street cars include Heim joints instead of bushings, Art Morrison struts, Afco Big Dog coilovers and a four-link, and Wilwood brakes. Most of the suspension pieces were nickel-plated or polished

by Jefferson County Metal Polishing.

Interior: Inside is a 25.2 SFI Funny Car cage made from chromoly tubes. The dash is aftermarket fiberglass designed for a Pro Stock car. The gauges are from Auto Meter and the flamed shift knobs were made by the guys at SpeedDawg.com. After staring at this for a while, yes, it does like the interior from a Pro Stock car. Yet, the black vinyl seat covers with houndstooth inlays on the aluminum seats say, “Let’s go get a taco.”

Wheels/Tires: This would be considered a “big-tire” car. The rears are

33x22.50-15LT Hoosier Quick Time Pros on 15x17-inch Weld Magnum 2.0s.

The fronts are 15x3s with a 26.0 Hoosier.

Thanks: Josh Lester at Rocket; Metal Crafters; Joe Miller; Jay Hobson; Legends Racing; and his wife, Cindy. END

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 65

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meslips Say Hello to 11-Second Ti Blasts in a and 164-MPH Freeway 4,300-Pound Wagon!

n Kim

By Stephen Kim / Photos: Stephe

66 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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R

in a turbo LS-powiddle me this: How fast can you go its ridiculous drag re befo on ered 1960 Parkwood wag ws for sure, but kno one No fun? the ls spoi coefficient of a number I big how see to it’s at least 164 mph. “I wanted rear window the had I ot forg I en. scre GPS could put on the down and d pulle got liner open, and at 164 mph the head son says with Dod John ” ere, ywh ever nd arou started flapping and didn’t k boo a ing read a laugh. “My wife was in the car and put over d pulle We . fast that g goin e even know we wer window the out see ld cou we the headliner bows back up so crafter, and this car nary ordi r you isn’t this ly, again.” Obvious isn’t your ordinary hot rod.

he’s had a hankering for As long as John can remember, ons over the years, and wag d weir wagons. “I’ve had several ly sought after. I used to they’re usually ones that aren’t high LS swap that ran lowan with on race an old Fairmont wag it on Power Tour one 10s at the track,” John says. “I took nded on my door pou e eon som k year, and after I got bac I did. Not long after that, and said they needed it more than an early 1950s woodie at look to p I went out to a guy’s sho work. The owner just hapwagon, but it needed too much was next door, and he had that pened to own the junkyard the state had a deal in to unload a bunch of cars because h of an X-frame fan muc n’t was I . place to buy his property

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 67

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

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before, but when I saw this car it had the perfect amount of patina and really stood out.”

The thing is, you can’t fake patina.

Try to, and you’ll fail miserably every time. Recognizing that the Parkwood had just the right amount dings, bruises, and surface rust in just the right places, John cleaned up the body panels and sprayed it in clear to preserve the patina. “I didn’t want a rat rod. Just like some people like clean, rustic furniture, I wanted an old car with a nice motor, suspension, and interior that I could really enjoy,” he explains. “Since I have three kids that play outside a lot, getting a nice paint job would mean I’d freak out every time they got near the car. The way it sits, they can climb all over it and really enjoy it too.”

From the get-go, John was on a tight deadline since he planned on attending the Lonestar Roundup show, which was just eight weeks away. Fortunately for John, he works at a dealership service department and his wife, Rachel, is every car guy’s dream. “She said to do whatever I had to do to get the car done for the show, so I took it to work and wrenched on it until 4 a.m. every day. I showered up at my in-laws house down the road and was back at work by 7 a.m.,” he recalls. “A couple of weeks into the project, one of my friends needed some money fast, so he sold me a 5.3L Gen IV small-block and a 4L60E trans for $900. I swapped it in, and got the car finished in time for the show. Two months later, I built the turbo kit for it and finished up the interior.”

With the Master Power 76mm turbo cranking out 10 psi of boost, the 5.3L laid down 591 rwhp. Since John didn’t

68 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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have a dedicated race car at the time, he ran the wagon hard and he ran it often. Despite its 4,300 pounds of heft, the wagon ran a best of 11.51 at 120 mph. Perhaps most impressive is the wagon’s 1.66-second 60-foot times on plain-Jane 20-inch street tires. After one too many fun-runs at the track, the 5.3L threw a rod. Consequently, John scored a sweet deal on a semi-injured LS2 and swapped over the rotating assembly and cylinder heads from an LQ9 truck motor to lower the compression ratio. The end product is essentially an LQ9 in an LS2 aluminum block.

Although the new combo only runs a hair quicker at the track, it’s proven more reliable thus far.

In an era where blister packs and mail-order parts have become the norm, it’s so refreshing to see good, old-fashioned, blue-collar rodding at work. John Dodson is no ordinary car crafter, and his 1960 Parkwood is no ordinary hot rod. Now if he’d only remember to roll up the rear window and go for broke at the Texas Mile, we might be able to answer that riddle someday.

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ARE YOU SERIOUS?

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TECH NOTES

Who: John Dodson What: 1960 Chevy Parkwood Where: Lake Dallas, TX Engine: Starting with a stock LS2 longblock, John raided the GM parts bin to prep it for boost. He swapped in a set of LQ9 pistons, rods, and cylinder heads to lower the compression ratio to 10.0:1, and sealed it all up with multilayer steel LS9 head gaskets. A Comp Cams 220/234-at-0.050 hydraulic roller with 0.581/0.598-inch lift (117-degree LSA) manages the valve events. The stock LS2 intake manifold has been exchanged for a freer-flowing LS6 unit, the fuel supply is provided by a Bosch in-tank pump, and delivered by Siemens 60-lb/hr injectors. The homebuilt turbo system utilizes a stock driver-side exhaust manifold, a custom passengerside header, and a crossover pipe that connects them both to a Master Power 76mm turbo. It channels boost through a front-mount intercooler before pressurizing the LS2 to 10 psi. LSTuner.com tweaked the stock computer on the

70 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

chassis dyno until the combo laid down 591 hp and 628 lb-ft of torque.

Transmission: The wagon has seen 30,000 miles of street duty in just a few short years, so the turbo LS2 has been paired with a 4L60E to minimize the sting at the gas pump. A Yank 3,400-stall converter gets the turbo up on the powerband in a hurry.

Rearend: The Moser 9-inch rearend houses 33-spline axles, a 3.50:1 ringand-pinion set, and a Detroit Truetrac limited-slip differential. It hooks up to the trans through an Inland Empire aluminum driveshaft.

Suspension: The front suspension features a mix of Global West control arms, a Hotchkis sway bar, Classic Performance Parts spindles, KYB shocks, and Ridetech air springs. Suspending the back are Ridetech control arms and air springs, Belltech shocks, and a Classic Performance Parts sway bar.

Brakes: At more than two tons, the wagon needs as much braking help as it can get. It’s been upgraded with CPP

12-inch discs and twin-piston calipers.

The Wilwood master cylinder and proportioning valve get a helping hand from a Hydratech booster.

Wheels/Tires: Although they measure 18x8 up front and 20x10 in the rear, the Raceline Scoundrel wheels maintain the wagon’s old-school vibe.

The Captial tires check in at 245/45-18 (front) and 275/40-20 (rear).

Paint/Body: To preserve the Parkwood’s perfectly patina’d panels, John removed the surface rust with CLR, and then scuffed it up to prep it for clearcoat. Pea green has never looked so bad ass. The trunk floor has been raised 3 inches to accommodate a more aggressive stance. Custom hood louvers add an extra dash of character.

Interior: The wagon’s insides have been tastefully enhanced with a shoulder-height Lokar shifter and an Auto Meter boost gauge neatly integrated into the stock instrument panel. Preston’s Upholstery recovered the seats in green houndstooth. END

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Brian Mimken’s 1974 Plymouth Duster

I

f Mopar guys are a different breed, then the ones fixated on the Slant Six “tower of power” might just as well be from another planet. So when we found out about a wacko Slant Six Duster with rear-mount turbo system prowling the backroads of North Carolina, we figured the owner would come off something like Brad Pitt’s character

72 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

in 12 Monkeys, and that we’d have to make sure he took his meds before meeting us.

Fortunately, owner Brian Mimken wasn’t mumbling to himself or gesturing wildly when we caught up with him. He wasn’t adjusting a tinfoil hat, either, and his wife even let him wear shoes with laces for our photo shoot.

All in all, he seemed perfectly normal.

Then again, how normal is it to channel one’s energy into a hair-dried Slant Six? Just to be safe, we kept our arms low, in a non-threatening manner, and didn’t mention a word about those satellites watching our every move.

Brian says the vision for building the car didn’t come from the voices in his

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By Barry Kluczyk / Photos: Barry Kluczyk head, but the experiences of fellow Slant Six nut jobs—enthusiasts who built dual-purpose street/strip cars. So he went out and found a $500 project car that, in his words, barely ran or stopped. It was a start.

“The Slant Six is a great engine, and I wanted to keep the six in the car,” he says. “I also wanted to do something

other than just swapping in a V8.

That’s been done before, and an intercooled turbo system seemed like a great way to make a statement.”

Although we’re not qualified or licensed to stamp “sane” on Brian’s papers, we have to admit that pressurizing the 225ci Slant Six isn’t necessarily the craziest idea we’ve ever heard. It

was never an outright powerhouse in regular-production form, but the 30-degree slant of its cylinder case— designed to enable a lower hood line in Chrysler’s original compact cars— enabled uncompromised intake and exhaust systems. In fact, the manifolds’ bends had large radii with no airflowkilling corners, and the intake and

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CRAZY LIKE A FOX

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exhaust tubes were nearly equal in length. That ensured excellent, equalized mixture delivery to the combustion chambers and basically tuned exhaust.

Not bad for an entry-level engine.

Time has also proved the Slant Six to be durable as all get-out, and its allcast-iron construction and low compression ratio make it an ideal candidate for forced induction. For that, Brian kept true to the project’s unconventional nature and consulted Squires Turbo Systems, the company known for unorthodox rear-mount designs.

Mounting the turbocharger out of the engine compartment drastically reduces underhood temperatures, which allows for lower intake aircharge temps and makes changing jets and tuning changes on the carb much easier on a hot engine. It also made the project more attainable and practical, because a custom exhaust manifold wasn’t required. In the Duster, the turbocharger is mounted just behind the rear axle, and the stock fuel tank was replaced with an offset fuel cell to make room for it.

“Make no mistake, the plumbing and routing wasn’t easy,” he says. “There’s no kit, so it was something we just had to figure out by trial and error.”

The exhaust tubing had to be reconfigured several times during the build due to inadequate planning for things such as the driveshaft loop and the need to relocate the intercooler and turbocharger more than once. Brian also had to run oil supply and return lines for the turbo, using braided stainless hoses for durability. There were front-end mods to support the intercooler system, too, and

74 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

countless hours were spent on a chassis dyno to nail the tuning and ignition system. After all, who do you call about the intricacies of a blow-through turbo system on a Slant Six? After more than three years’ work, Brian says the turbo Duster matches his original vision perfectly. He also made good on the plan to run it on the strip, where it has delivered a best e.t. of 15.40 at 90 mph—with a race weight (including driver) of 3,600 pounds. In an era of 1,000hp, LS-powered street cars, that’s hardly an impressive quarter-mile time, but when it comes to originality and ingenuity, the Duster has them beat by a country mile.

“I knew from the very start it wasn’t going to be the fastest car at the track, but that wasn’t the point,”

he says. “Building something original and seeing my idea through to completion was. This car gets tons of attention, and it’s a blast to drive.

There’s a real kick to the turbo system, too, and I can take nearly 15 psi with minor changes. It’s fun in every sense of the word.”

Insanity and inspiration are simply different sides of the same coin. Building a 1974 Slant Six–powered Duster may not seem rational to many, but everyone reading this understands that another car guy’s affinity for certain cars and engines has little to do with logic and everything to do with emotion. Instead of a conventional V8 ’Cuda, this guy built a turbo Slant Six. In that regard, Brian Mimken might just be crazy.

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TECH NOTES

Who: Brian Mimken What: 1974 Plymouth Duster—aka “Sixy Beast” Where: Etowah, NC Engine: The original tried-and-true, 225ci Slant Six features 0.030-over pistons, a stock forged crankshaft and stock rods. Compression is kept to a boost-friendly 8.4:1, and the stock cylinder head was treated to a three-angle valve job and fitted with 1.70/1.44-inch stainless valves. The camshaft is a Mopar Performance “244” stick, with 244 degrees of duration and 0.436/0.436-inch lift. Squires Turbo Systems supplied the GT35 turbocharger, which is mounted behind the rear axle and blows about 7 pounds of boost through a Holley 390-cfm 4-bbl, modified for forced induction, into an Offenhauser aluminum intake manifold.

A pair of Clifford Slant Six shorty exhaust headers feeds a 2.5-inch flow tube to the turbo, with exhaust routed to a 3-inch outlet. An air-to-air intercooler adapted from a late-model Nissan 350Z helps cool the intake charge.

The engine also uses the stock distributor, along with an upgraded coil and a timing retard controller. All told, the turbocharged tower of power produces 250 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque. Don’t

snicker—that’s a 240 percent increase in horsepower and a nearly 185 percent jump in torque over the stock 105hp/180–lb-ft output.

Transmission: The stock slushbox probably wouldn’t have been capable of handling the high-pressure Slant Six, so Cope Racing Transmission built a street/strip version of the A904 threespeed automatic and fitted it with a 2,500-stall PTC torque converter, which helps the Duster get off the line quickly.

Rearend: Nothing trick here—just proven, durable components, including a Mopar 83⁄4-inch axle fitted with a Sure Grip limited-slip differential and 3.23 gears.

Suspension: Who knew Hotchkis made handling parts for Dusters? This car’s got ’em, including front adjustable upper control arms and a thick, 1.25inch sway bar. There’s also QA1 shocks up front, along with the stock torsion bars. In the rear, it’s the stock leaf springs, QA1 shocks, and a Hotchkis 1-inch sway bar.

Brakes: Factory-style 11-inch disc brakes up front and simple 10-inch drums in the rear.

Wheels/Tires: One of the car’s best features is its set of reproduction

15-inch Keystone Klassic wheels, which look period-perfect. They’re wrapped with 215/60R15 Firestone tires in front and 235/60R15 Goodyear rubber in the rear.

Paint/Body: Eagle-eye Mopar fans will notice the owner had the Duster’s original taillight panel replaced with the sleeker-looking panel from a Dodge Demon—a subtle but laborintensive modification. The sidemarker lights were shaved, too, while the chrome bumpers were painted black—along with the hood and Mopar Performance hoodscoop. And that bitchin’ rear spoiler? It’s a superrare Mopar piece originally offered in the Direct Connection catalog more than 30 years ago. The Winning Collection, in Asheville, NC, did much of the bodywork, including changing the car’s original drab brown color to bright red.

Interior: It’s pretty much stock black vinyl, except for a custom gauge cluster insert with a full complement of Auto Meter instruments. Just Dashes also created the custom dashpad that incorporates a nicely integrated gauge pod. It’s filled with an air/fuel meter, fuel-pressure gauge, and boost gauge.

END

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 75

QUICK CARS

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By Douglas R. Glad / Photos: Courtesy of Chrysler

76 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

I

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t’s easy to make a car go fast. Car guys know this. Hang a big Whipple or twin turbos on your V8 and drag that bumper. The hard part is the compromise.

A really fast car won’t get you to school, it can’t drive 500 miles straight without eating its own lifters or boiling the fuel, it’s too low, it’s too loud, and it’s not for the street. If it rains, you’ll die.

We know the new Hellcat is fast.

That’s why we skipped the lead-and-follow laps (most of them, anyway) on the Chrysler sanctioned racetrack and snuck the new 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat off the racetrack grounds to see if it was both a quick and usable car.

But first: acceleration. By now, you know the SRT Hellcat series has the 6.2L Hemi with an ITI 2,380 twin-screw supercharger that delivers 11.6 psi. The rotors are coated with a mixture of Teflon and what Chrysler calls “a proprietary formula of polyamide and other resins.” To fight heat, the supercharger uses two air-to-water heat exchangers to keep inlet air temps below 140 degrees Fahrenheit in 100-degree air for 20 minutes of hard driving on a road course. Combined with the monster 4.71:1 First-gear ratio in the 8HP90 eightspeed transmission and a final drive of 2.62:1, the car can run the quarter-mile in 11-flat on its street tires.

Inside, it’s comfy and snug and armed with paddle shifters. When we stomped it open from a dead idle, it was like riding a 4,000-pound bottle rocket complete with a booming report at the end of each pull of the paddle. After a shrieking whine and long whistle, BOOM, as the eightspeed goes for the next ratio. Shriek, boom, shriek, boom. Because all of the gear ratio is in the transmission, the car can hit a top speed of 204 mph. And they didn’t just creep there; the tailwind run was reported to be 214 mph.

STREET DRIVE

Is it a street car? Yes. To drill the point home, the press car had baby seats, leather, navigation goodies, a comfortable seating position, and a good sound system that didn’t have to fight the exhaust note. In the default street mode, it’s just like driving a nice sedan. Click it into Track mode, and you get abrupt 160-millisecond shifts. Near the redline, the interrupter creates a shotgun blast from the exhaust as you upshift, all the while the computers keep the car glued to the ground and going straight.

Does it handle? With 275s on 20s all the way around, we couldn’t push it far

enough to over or understeer on the street, there simply wasn’t enough room. We didn’t care because for us, a Dodge like this is for the quarter-mile.

DRAG RACING

The new 6.2L has all the parts you are comfortable seeing on a fast-car spec sheet, like a forged rotator with a modified cast-iron block, and carbon-coated pistons. But the engineers at Chrysler went beyond the standard spec sheet and added custom go-fast electronics as a mind-blower to every kind of car geek there is.

For the drag racer, it starts with the fact that the Hellcat was subjected to 100 consecutive drag starts to see if anything came loose. The transmission has an extra pinion gear in the First and Third gearset and five more discs in each clutch pack. The ratio is a mega-deep 4.71:1 in First so it hits pretty hard, even on street tires. The new eight-speed is 30 percent stronger than its predecessor.

There is a button near the radio marked Launch that activates one of the best features on the car: the Launch Control.

Using the touchscreen, the Launch Control can be set to a specific rpm in the Launch Setup menu. Once the Launch Control is activated, either using the menu or the button described earlier, simply push the brake and floor the gas pedal. The engine will rev to the preset limit and wait for you to release the brake.

When the brake is released, the engine goes to the high limit, so you’d better be ready to shift to Second. For safety, it won’t let you go with the wheel turned.

The Hellcat also has a built-in reaction timer so you can practice against the tree and the computer records incrementals on time slips that can be viewed on the touchscreen after each run. The shift light can be set for each individual gear ratio and lights the entire backlight on the gauge cluster so you really can’t miss it.

To sum it up, in the drag-racing world, this car runs 11-flat on street tires, makes 707 hp and 650 lb-ft with factory longevity, has onboard drag electronics so you can text your fastest timeslip to your friends, has a intercooled supercharger, and on top of it all, can get you, your kid, and three of your friends to the dragstrip and back without your wife having any idea what is in the driveway. Unless you tell her, that is. END

FUN FACTS

• There really are two key fobs: the red one unlocks the fun.

• The gold wheel color is called Brass Monkey.

• The non-Hellcat SRT Charger has a 6.4L Hemi.

• The 6.2L Hellcat engine uses 91 percent new components compared with the 6.4L Hemi.

• Chrysler press used the word “brawny” when referring to the TorqueFlite in the release.

• The Hellcat 6.2L block is powdercoated Hemi Orange.

• The 707 hp was made with 58-lb/hr injectors, proving your injectors are too big.

• Chrysler also used the word “hellacious” in the same press release.

• Gear ratios: First: 4.71 Second: 3.14 Third: 2.10 Fourth: 1.67 Fifth: 1.29 Sixth: 1.00 Seventh: 0.85 Eighth: 0.67 Reverse: 3.30

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 77

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JUNKYARD BUILDER

How to Swap an 8.8-Inch Ford Rear into a GM G-Body

By Scott Parker / Photos: Scott Parker, Dave Rushen, and Courtesy of the Manufacturers

F

or years, the supply of G-body 8.5-inch rearends seemed endless, making them a cost-effective and easy replacement for the maligned 7.5- or 7.625-inch 10-bolt. Now those days are behind us, so your choices are: continue breaking 10-bolt ring gears or pony up some serious coin for an aftermarket housing. There is a road less traveled, though, and that involves salvaging a Ford 8.8-inch rear from a junkyard.

Before we walk you through the process of swapping an 8.8-inch rear into a G-body, let’s start with a little

78 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

background. The Olds 442, Buick Grand National, and later T-types (as well as Turbo T Limited) were the only G-bodies that came from the factory with an 8.5-inch 10-bolt rearend (RPO GU6 and GT4). Even the mighty Chevy Monte Carlo SS was relegated to the smaller ring gear. Though some impressive feats have been pulled off with the diminutive 7.5, more often than not, it is a source of a failure with sticky tires or numerically higher ratio gears—even on the road course.

Since no other rear matches the G-body’s suspension and mounting

points, an aftermarket housing (12-bolt, 9-inch, or S60) is the only bolt-in rearend. But with a little elbow grease, you can make the Ford 8.8-inch rear a viable solution for the G-body at a fraction of the cost. Step one is to locate a solid rearend. Thankfully, 8.8s are plentiful in the boneyard, and often you can pick one up cheaply from a Mustang buddy who is swapping to a 9-inch. Keep in mind, though, that width, gear ratio, differential type, brakes, and bolt pattern will vary per application. We have included an incomplete list of 8.8-inch rears to choose from.

Worldmags.net MODEL YEAR 1986–1993 1990–1997 1994–2003 1990–1995 1979–2002 1987–1988 1984–1992 1994–1998 1999–2004

MODEL Mustang V8 Ranger Explorer Aerostar Crown Victoria Thunderbird Turbo Coupe Lincoln Mark VII Mustang Mustang

AXLE WIDTH 58.75 58.750 59.750 59.750 62.800 61.500 61.500 60.250 61.625

BRAKES Drum Drum Drum or disc Drum Drum or disc Disc Disc Disc Disc

Unless you plan to cut and narrow the rear, the Fox-body rear is by far the best choice of the bunch, since it is the closest to the factory G-body width (57.25 inches). Though the Ranger rearend is the same width and comes with 5-lug axles, as well as 3.73:1 or 4.11:1 gears, you will want to steer clear.

The differential is offset in the Ranger, making driveshaft alignment impossible with a 200-4R, TH350, T56, or other GM transmissions of your choosing. In addition, most have an open differential, which is no good for a performance application. The Mustang’s Traction-Lok is a clutch-based limitedslip differential that is rebuildable and

sturdy. However, hardcore drag racers may want a spool, while road racers can use the FRPP carbon rebuild kit or go with a gear-based limited slip (such as a Truetrac). Unlike the smaller 10-bolts, there are plenty of aftermarket options for the 8.8-inch from the differential to gear ratios, axles, and C-clip eliminators. And let’s face it, if you break the ring gear in a properly built 8.8, you deserve a medal.

Before you lay down some dough on an 8.8, it’s important to make a game plan. At the very least, retrofitting the rearend in a G-body will require: 1) a new driveshaft to match the flat-flange-style pinion yoke, 2)

STREET/STRIP ON THE CHEAP

If you plan on sidestepping the clutch or dumping the transbrake with a set of slicks, then you’ll need something stronger than the factory 28-spline axles. We’d recommend stepping up to Strange Engineering’s 35-spline axle package, which includes a lightweight chrome-moly spool and C-clip eliminators. This is the safest and most reliable option for going fast at the dragstrip— no more one-wheel peels or ejecting axles. Remember, the NHRA requires C-clip eliminators to go 10.99 or faster.

Best of all, we’ve seen these packages

HARDCORE DRAG RACER

BOLT PATTERN 4x4.25 5x4.50 5x4.50 5x4.50 5x4.50 4x4.25 5x4.50 5x4.50 5x4.50

cutting off the old spring perches and welding on a G-body set, 3) Mustang adjustable upper control arms with conversion brackets to mount to the frame, 4) Mustang spherical housing bearings, 5) adjustable G-body lower control arms, and 6) new brake lines.

If you plan on driving your G-body on the street, an aftermarket emergency brake cable kit would also be a good idea. Last, but not least, you will need to rectify the incompatibility of the bolt pattern. This is where things can get complicated. Depending on your goals and application, the preferred methods will vary. The following are our suggestions.

on sale for less than $450. You can take the opportunity to switch to a GM bolt pattern (5x4.75), stick with factory GM drum brakes, and possibly even trim a little of the width off the axletube. This makes wheel selection quite a bit easier and gives you a near bulletproof setup. The only downside is that it is the least street-friendly of all options.

Thankfully, Strange’s tapered-style bearing (cone-type roller) handles side loads better than a traditional C-clip eliminator, but the spool can be a dealbreaker for most.

The easiest and simplest way to pull off this swap is to use the complete Fox-body rearend, including the axles and drum brakes. Purchase a set of 15-inch drag wheels with a Ford (4-lug) bolt-pattern and a half-inch less backspacing to account for the difference in width. Weld Racing’s S71 wheels start at $285, but you might be able to pick up a used set of Draglites for cheap. We have seen some people drill the Mustang axles for the GM bolt pattern (and use the factory G-body brakes), but this is not recommended since it weakens the axle and will most likely break at the most inopportune moment.

APRIL 2015 CARCRAFT.COM 79

JUNKYARD BUILDER

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AUTOCROSS CRUISER

If your G-body sees mostly street duty and the occasional autocross, we’d recommend starting with the Fox-body rear and purchasing a 5-lug rear disc conversion kit. Late Model Restoration makes a complete kit with everything you need (down to the gear oil and brake fluid) for just under $1,650. That may seem steep, but it really is allinclusive. The SVE rear brakes are 1994–2004 Cobra spec, so they are fairly stout. The rotors and pads come from StopTech, and the brake lines are braided stainless steel. It also comes with an SSBC proportioning valve,

which is key to getting the bias right.

Otherwise, you could be locking up the rear brakes every time you touch the pedal. And you can sell the 1993 Cobra master cylinder that is included in the kit to invest in a C5 front brake conversion. The only catch is that you will

need wheels for the Mustang bolt pattern in the rear and GM in the front.

These Rocket Booster Hyper Shot wheels from Rocket Racing are around $250–$300 per wheel, which is quite a bit cheaper than any custom wheel and will look right at home on a G-body.

18-inch wheels. And since you saved a grand on the housing, you can afford 31-spline axles and a Detroit Truetrac diff to eliminate any weak links. All in with the brakes, axles, diff, and housing ends, you can expect to pay around $2,200. Note: For an appropriate ride

height (for Pro Touring), coilovers or shorter shocks are recommended since the shock mounts may be slightly higher on the 8.8-inch housing. Traditional lowering springs may fall out at full extension of standard G-body shocks.

PRO TOURING

If you anticipate putting extreme lateral loads on your G-body, the best option is to cut the axlehousing, weld on Strange’s Late Big Ford 9-inch ends (PN H1137), and install custom axles. This requires more skill than the other three options, but it gives you the most optimum bearings, regular GM bolt pattern wheels, and negates the C-clips. If you plan on using a set of large rear brakes with a fixed caliper, this is the only option, otherwise you run the risk of pad knock-back. Wilwood has a bolt-on set of set of four-piston brakes (PN 1409219) that will provide all the clamping force you need, while stuffing under

80 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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The Fox-body Mustang rear is the closest in width to the G-body and is highly recommended. It comes with a posi differential, 28-spline axles with a 4x4.25-inch bolt pattern, drum brakes, and any one of a several underwhelming gear ratios. You’ll need to remove the “quad shocks” and remove the brackets that mount them. A Mustang sway bar isn’t needed because you can use standard U-bolts and brackets with a G-body sway bar. However, you will need to weld on G-body spring perches. Call DTS if the stockers are too rusted to remove.

Instead of the GM-style U-joint, the 8.8-inch rear comes with a flatflange-style pinion yoke. This will need to be rectified with a new driveshaft, which you should replace anyway if you plan on making enough power to break a stock 10-bolt. Some have gotten away with simply changing to a Moser 1350 pinion flange. Note that the upper control arm bushings are retained in the housing, which is another significant difference from the GM rear.

The 8.8’s rubber housing bushings will need to be replaced by spherical bearings to provide enough articulation to accommodate the altered geometry.

These are from TRZ Motorsports and cost $105 for the pair.

There are a couple 8.8 G-body conversion kits out there; this one is from Baseline Suspensions and costs $320. It includes a Zincplate bracket that bolts to the frame to alter the upper control arm mounting position, and an adjustable Mustang style upper control arm. Extended-length, adjustable lower control arms are also available. You will need to drill a hole in the torque box to mount the upper control arm bracket, and a small bead of weld wouldn’t hurt either. You can also consider a kit from Trick Chassis or making your own with Fox-body brackets and upper control arms from TRZ.

The Fox-body rear comes with 4-lug drum brakes, but there are kits to convert to 5-lug axles and drums for around $400.

You can purchase custom C-clip 28-spline axles from Moser if you want a GM bolt pattern and brakes, but this could prove problematic. New brake (hard) lines and a Lokar emergency-brake cable kit are also needed to complete the swap.

Here is a build in progress using the Baseline Suspensions kit with Detroit Speed lower control arms, springs, shocks, and sway bar. The adjustable lower control arms are key to providing the added length needed, along with some spacers to make them snug in the bracket. In retrospect, the owner believes coilovers would have been a better alternative to purchasing new spring perches and welding them on since the shocks appear to be too long. The attraction of attempting this swap, you might say, is the fun of solving problems like this.

82 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

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WTF? (WHERE’S THE FUN?)

RESTIFIED 442

Who: Mark Tonazzi What: 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 Where: Southern Illinois Why: After a several-year restoration,

Mark’s 442 is finally back on the road. He dropped a 1971 Olds 350 engine in place of the car’s original 307, upgraded the suspension with stiffer Moog springs, Bilstein shocks, an IROC steering box, and

fender braces from a Grand Prix to mitigate some of the chassis flex inherent with T-top cars. The paint is original, and he had been hanging on to those Goodyear Eagle GT tires since the early 1990s.

ENTHUSIAST REBORN

Who: Andy Norton What: 1978 Dodge Lil’ Red Express Where: Burtchville, MI Why: We nearly broke into an emotion that results in tears when we read that Andy had given up cars as a hobby for about 10 years following a car accident.

Thankfully, this Dodge crossed his path and brought him back. He scored, too— it has only 26,000 original miles. He’s been collecting all the articles he can find on this model and is back in the hobby with a vengeance

84 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

Worldmags.net RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES

This car is a custom built Chevy El Camino using various parts from the year 1957.

Photo: Courtesy of GM

CADILLAC RACE CAR?

Cadillac has introduced the ATSV.R., which will race at Circuit of Americas in 2015. It meets FIA GT3 specs and has a twin-turbo 3.6L V6—that’s two Borg-Warner turbochargers, as well as a lightweight aluminum block, intercoolers with more capacity, and side-exit exhaust. Cadillac is calling it up to 600 horses.

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WTF?

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THE RETURN OF THE SHELBY GT350

You better sit down for this. No, you better stand up. There’s an all-new Shelby GT350. Just a few highlights of this iteration of the Mustang include a new 5.2L, with the first production V8 from Ford with a flat-plane crankshaft, allowing cylinder firing order that alternates between cylinder banks, meaning less overlap of exhaust pressure pulses. And you’re looking at more than 500 ponies, with torque peak more than 400 lb-ft. It’s mated to a six-speed manual trans. Ford went a little nuts in the brakes department, giving the Mustang 394mm rotors in front and 380mm at the rear. The rubber has GT350specific sidewall construction and compound for the grippiest of grips. Body-wise, there’s a new aluminum hood—more lowered and sloped if you compare it to a base Mustang.

Additionally, there’s a new driver-control system with six modes for making the ABS, traction control, steering effort, exhaust settings, throttle mapping, and other things work for you and your driving needs.

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Worldmags.net ➔LETTERS NEW CARS? YES

Yes, take on a new car as a project, specifically a new Camaro.

Show what they really run in stock trim and go from there. My experience with a 2013 SS has been it’s a 13.70 13.80 car. Same with my friend’s Hot Wheels LS3/Stick combo. This is using stock rubber and running in competitive mode. Why don’t you flog one of these cars and do some bolt-ons and give us the best bang for the buck.

I also liked the idea of a story on running 91 or 93 octane. I’m building a TPI 383 for my 1988 Firebird.

The pistons I got from Summit are advertised as 9.7:1 compression flat tops with a 64cc chamber. I will try to run 0.030- to 0.035inch piston-to-head clearance. It would be great to hear other ideas and issues about running pump gas. The price difference over a season makes pump gas attractive. And while we’re talking about pump gas, how can we make it live for more than 30 days?

Where is the best place to buy it and what kind? Is race gas better, and does it have less alcohol in it?

—Brian Schuetta, via email

HERE’S ANOTHER IDEA

In talking about the SS/1LE, you asked if you should do a late model. The answer: Only if you make it interesting! Test it stock, then modified, versus the performance of the base SS or GT. Start with bolt-on items only: a cold-air intake and after-cat, pulleys, programmer, and possibly boost, but only if it comes in a complete kit.

Then swap shocks, sway bars and bushings; brake upgrades limited to new pads and rotors only; and reasonable rims and tires. Maybe ring and pinion, if a professional install is reasonable. Test it with 0–60, quarter-mile, 0–100–0, autocross or road-course lap times, standard g-force tests, and of a full documentation of cost and installation times.

—Jeff Hines, via email

MOPAR DODGE CHARGER R/T FUNNY CAR

Meet the new race car from Mopar and Dodge, the 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T. It’s headed for Funny Car competition, starting with the Winternationals seasonopener in February 2015. The current Charger R/T Funny Car debuted in 2006.

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BLOWN-UP PARTS

“Too much boost on a blown 383, and this is what was left. Time for an LS3 in my 1976 Corvette.”

—J Hanson, Atlanta, GA

BURNOUT!!

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a 1977 Trans Am with a “Here’s my dad’s and my race car. It’s 8.19 at 170 mph a few was 470 Pontiac engine. Its fastest pass nes build it a 540 for Engi ng Raci BES ng havi weeks ago. We are next season.”

—Brad Cox, via email

88 CAR CRAFT APRIL 2015

Send any of your compliments, complaints, random musings, or pet pictures to us. Here’s how: email: CarCraft@carcraft.com online: CarCraft.com social media: Facebook.com/ CarCraftMag mail: 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245 disclaimer: If you can’t write a complete sentence, don’t worry, we will make your work comprehensible.

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By Douglas R. Glad / Photos: Car Craft Archives

EARLY TWIN-TURBO SETUP

WEIV RAER

Car Craft’s Dodge Demon just ran a 9.72 at 137 mph on its third quarter-mile pass. If you remember, it is using a K1-stroked, JMS-built 5.7 Hemi out of a Ram truck. The secret is a 2,950-pound race weight and two 67mm Comp Turbos. Goodies like Holley EFI and big fuel pumps make this look easy, but we have to give a nod to pioneers like the one pictured above with what looks to be an early Gale Banks blow-through with a carburetor box. It’s the greybeards who came before us that make 9.70s in a street car a possibility. Go to a track and thank one.

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CAR CRAFT (ISSN 0008-6010); April 2015, Vol. 63, No. 04. Copyright 2015 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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