RPM Magazine March 2021

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.............................................................. CHRIS BIRO editor@rpmmag.com V.P. MARKETING/CUSTOMER RELATIONS.................. TRISH BIRO trish@rpmmag.com EVENT MEDIA.................................................. events@rpmmag.com EVENT SUBSCRIPTIONS COORDINATOR........... SHERRIE WEBER sherrie@rpmmag.com ART DIRECTOR............................................................

JIM McHARG

Photographic Contributions: TIM LEWIS, MARK goDragRacing. org, GEORGE PICH, TOBY BROOKS, MATT WOODS, TABITHA SIZEMORE, MATT TROMBLEY, LOUIS FRONKIER, BART CEPEK, PATRICK “RED” WILLIAMS, BLAKE FARNAN, JERRY GARRISON, NEIL ZIMBALDI, STEVEN TAYLOR, and EDDIE MALONEY. Editorial Contributions: TIM LEWIS, CHUCK SCOTT, MARK goDragRacing.org, TOBY BROOKS, JAMES WILLIAMS, TIM BIRO, STAN SMITH, JT, GEORGE PICH, JAY MISENER, and EDDIE MALONEY. Technical Writing Contribution: CHUCK SCOTT, SHANE TECKLENBURG, TOBY BROOKS, and TIM BIRO.

ADVERTISING SALES For advertising information contact

TRISH BIRO...........................519.752.3705....... trish@rpmmag.com

Special Events Manager: Chris Biro events@rpmmag.com Special Events Sales: Trish Biro: 519-752-3705 trish@rpmmag.com Subscriptions/Address Changes: Circulation circulation@rpmmag.com

MEET THE RPM TEAM

PRODUCTION STAFF

RPM Magazine is a REGISTERED TRADEMARK of Revolution Publishing & Media Inc. RPM Magazine is a worldwide motorsports publication distributed online.

To subscribe to RPM go to www.rpmmag.com or email Trish Biro at trish@rpmmag.com, or call 519752-3705.

The focus of RPM is to bring a diverse mix of high performance street and race automobiles to life within its pages including race cars, musclecars, hot rods and street legal machines with an emphasis on the “EXTREME,” including fast doorslammer and outlaw forms of drag racing. Not familiar with these types of cars? They are considered to be the topshelf of the industry and are on the edge with regard to design, performance, and power!

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Submission of an article does not guarantee that it will be published.

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Chris Biro

editor’spix

Videos that are too hot to keep hidden

ADVERTISER INDEX AED Competition .......................77 AFR:

Shannon “Big Dookie” Poole Crash Video by Hugo Nievas

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American Racing Headers .. 56

Mark Williams ................. 103

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Metal Products ................... 63

AVAK/Ridgegate Tools ....... 50

Misener Motorsports .......... 32

BES Racing Engines............ 66

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Bill Mitchell Products ...12,73

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BoulandMotorsUSA.com ..... 96

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Calvert Racing Suspensions 45

Profiler ................................ 63

Canton Racing Products ..... 26

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CFE Racing Products .......... 62

Race Part Solutions ......47,73

Chassis Engineering............ 66

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Delta Performance Auto Grp. ............................ 20 Design Engineering ............ 39 ECAM ............................... 102 Energy Suspension/NPW ... 52 Erson Cams ...................... 101 GoDragRacing.org ............... 94 Granatelli Motorsports ....... 51 GRP Connecting Rods......... 67 Harland Sharp .................... 38 Hitman Hotrods .................. 57 Hughes Performance ............. 7

Jamond Haug Arm Drop Race (see p.42-53 this issue)

RPM Engine Project 489 Big Block Brawler 1180 HP

Ian Hill Racing Productions ...................11,97 Icon Forged Pistons............ 77 Induction Solutions ............ 18 Jesel .................................... 48 Joe Van O ........................... 57 JW Racing Transmissions ...... 5 Karbelt ................................ 77 King of The Mountain No Prep .............................. 27

Clay Forrester Mustang at Wildhorse Pass in Phoenix, AZ

Wesley Evans Calypso Green Mustang – by Justin Bryant

Submit your video for the Editor’s Pix: videos@rpmmag.com 4

march 2021 | RPM Magazine

Truck Centers ...59,102,110

C & S Specialties ................. 14

Deez Performance ........... 103

Glen Bolz Chevy II at Wildhorse Pass in Phoenix, AZ

Meziere Enterprises ......... 103

Baer Brakes ...............31,110

Clearshot Customs .............. 93

Jamie Pipher Blow Boss Nine Torino - Street Driven

Magnaflow.......................... 93

Air Flow Research .... 5,56,57

Bullseye Turbo .................... 35

Dave Mianowski’s MurderVette Street Race... he gone!

Lutz Race Cars .................... 17

Kinsler Fuel Injection ...13,63 LenTech Automatics ......38,70 Liberty’s Gears .................... 70 Lokar Performance ............. 66

Racetronix ........................... 49 Rage Wraps ........................ 63 RAM Clutches ..................... 61 RCD .................................. 102 RM Racing Lubricants ..21,71 Ross Racing Pistons ....... 7,30 RPM Magazine ..........47,101 RPM Magazine Subscribe! .....................63,93 SM Racecars ....................... 78 Smackdown Event ................. 2 Summit Racing Equip. ..................78,88,111 Taylor Cable Products...... 100 T & D Machine .................... 71 The Supercharger Store...... 71 Thermo-Tec ........................ 16 Ti64 ..................................... 60 Tom’s Upholstery ................ 48 Total Seal Rings ................. 10 Trailer Alarms.com.............. 77 Trick Flow .....................15,78 Tuned By Shane T .............. 65 Ultimate Headers ............... 36 VFN Fiberglass Inc. ............. 62 Weinle Motorsports ............ 17 World Domination:RPM ..... 95 World Products ................... 67

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March

2021

Often Imitated, Never Duplicated—For 22 STRAIGHT YEARS RPM Magazine has been the ORIGINAL Voice Of Wild Street Machines and Extreme Drag Cars WORLDWIDE! Don’t Settle For Less! We DELIVER Insane Fast Cars and Bring You NO POLITICS... JUST ACTION! Your ONLY “Real Time” “Real World” Car Mag...PERIOD!

WildWhenBill ............................................................... 54 Bill Devine slides into his twin turbo ’01 Mustang Cobra, the gloves are off!

Gone SuperNova ........................................................... 8 This nitroused big block ’70 Nova is not just another pretty face!

HomewreckerThis.................................................

42 original steel 1st Gen Camaro street car is like an old friend!

Rippin’ Roush ........................................................... 28

Small But Ferocious .....................................

74 This S2000 Honda has big teeth!

When fast, just isn’t fast enough…

88

New Cars, New Shop, New Tools, New Way Of Life

94 The final chapter in our budget engine build

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Choosing a Machine Shop and running with it!

READ COMPLETE ISSUES OF RPM MAG ONLINE AT WWW.RPMMAG.COM 6

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Story by George Pich Photos by David Gates

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B

ack in 1999, with little to no cash in his pocket, Michael Naumann went out on a limb and paid $1,500 bucks for an x-bracket raced stripped down Nova. Needless to say, it spent the next several years in his garage while he earned some extra cash to do something with it.

Today, that same 1970 Nova could easily be mistaken for a show car, but that would be at least third on the list, after badass street car and completely off the wall radial drag car.

“At the time of purchase the car was yellow, had no motor or trans, no interior, other than a stock dash (which was important), a 12 bolt rear and the body was in good shape,” explained Naumann. He would slowly pick away at the car, first building a 406 small block and installing the factory interior, and then having a local chassis shop do a ladder bar setup out back. By 2010, the car became a pretty nice piece and was running solid low 9s in the quarter in various bracket class events.

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In the interest of some form of weight savings, the front and rear bumpers are chromed composite pieces and the rear wing carbon fiber.

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The Nova maintains its original steel body (except hood and trunk) and a complete OEM chrome and stainless trim package helping it keep that original muscle car look.

LESS WEIGHT = PERFORMANCE Bill Mitchell Products creates nothing but the best blocks from 357-T6 Aluminum as our standard.

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march 2021 | RPM Magazine

During most of 2011, racing the Nova took a back seat to opening a family business, but late in the year Michael had the inkling to try his hand at heads-up racing at the local track’s monthly Friday night

deal. “I knew the car needed to be changed to go faster and that meant it had to go to the chassis shop and get updated, and it was also going to need more power,” he added.

To meet the class rules of the

Click here to watch the daytime pass video

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The 632 incher sports a Brodix block, Bryant crank, MGP rods, Gibtec pistons, and Jesel belt drive. Profiler 12-degree heads, an HRE billet runner intake manifold and AED carbs round out the top end.

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This series of shots shows what hides under the Nova hood….

A Nesbitt built nitroused 632 inch big block!

time, the Nova was sent to a local chassis shop to be backhalved while keeping the factory firewall and front frame intact. A 588-inch big block was acquired and sent to the engine shop for refreshing, 16

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however, the car itself ended up in chassis shop hell for the next 3 years before Naumann pulled it out and sent it to Precision Chassis in PA. “Doug and his staff at Precision Chassis jumped right on

5)& 803-% 0' &953&.& )034& 108&3 *4 " $-*$, "8":

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A single Induction Solutions direct port system is plumbed into the mix, giving the big block the extra ponies to produce near 3-second eighth-mile times on the track.

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Click here to watch the night pass video

it and were able to have the car completed within a few months, which also included a motor change from the 588 to a 632 Nesbitt engine.”

It was now 2016 and on the motor the Nova was turning 5.10 in the 1/8th and an 8.03 in the ¼-mile, which lead to joining the PDRA Outlaw 632 class the following year, and meant that Naumann would finally need to turn on the nitrous to compete. “We attended our first PDRA race in March of 2017, which was also our first time on nitrous, and the car went 4.60’s in the 1/8th and what a blast it was!” Naumann exclaimed “and then we went 7.03 in the ¼ later in the year!”

Most folks would be completely satisfied with this level of performance, after all, Michael was knocking on the 6-second quarter-mile door with a car that, for all intents and purposes, could still be street driven. Not Naumann though, in fact, not too long after that 7.03 pass, the car went back to Precision Chassis for yet anwww.rpmmag.com

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other transformation where it was stripped down to the bare chassis and completely updated yet again to run the now popular radial tire. With changing times, for the direction Michael was going with the Nova in heads-up radial drags, the stock front frame and firewall were no longer required, so a completely custom bolt-in strut front end and titanium firewall were constructed. By March of 2018, the Nova was back out running mid to low 4.40s in the 1/8th and 6.80s in the 1/4.

“It’s taken 20 years and it’s still not done,” Naumann said with a smile.

So here is what we do know about this drop dead gorgeous 1970 Nova as it stands today.

Body wise, one look is all it takes, and go ahead, look closely because you’ll be hard pressed to find a cleaner,

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Michael Naumann’s 1970 Chevy Nova 632 Radial Car Chassis Type & Mods:

Precision Chassis built Chromoly from the firewall back. Titanium fire wall, complete one-off Precision Chassis bolt-in strut front sub frame. 6.0 certified at 3000lbs.

Suspension:

Menscer front struts, Menscer rear shocks, 4-link rear suspension.

Body & Paint:

Car is all steel other than the hood, deck lid and bumpers, carbon tubs etc. Painted by Wes’s Customs (paint is 6 years old).

Engine:

Nesbitt 4.84 632, Brodix block, Bryant crank, MGP rods, Gibtec pistons, Peterson dry sump, Jesel belt drive. Profiler 12-degree heads, Jesel Stainless rockers, Bam lifters, Comp cam. HRE billet runner intake manifold, AED carbs.

Power Adder:

Induction Solutions direct port (single system) with the FT600 controller.

Electronics:

Fuel Tech FT 600, Speedwire switch panel, Race Pak.

Transmission & Converter:

M&M lock up 3 speed trans, lock up convertor and shifter.

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Rear Differential:

Carmack Engineering billet center section and a Precision Chassis built Fab 9, Strange axles and floater ends.

Best ET & MPH: 4.18 @ 172 at 2940lbs How Many Years Racing: 30 years Division/Class Run: PDRA Outlaw 632/ Pro 632/ LDR Thanks To: First and foremost my wife, Tina Naumann, although she refers to this car as the other woman and it’s been the topic of some rather heated discussions, she supports it. My oldest son Jake Naumann, I don’t race without him, he’s involved in every step of the way and in every decision made. Doug Kline (Precision Chassis) he’s with us at every race we attend, he tunes the car and makes sure it’s ready to go every time we leave the trailer. Joe Rivera (718 Motorsports), the entire staff at Precision Chassis, Ken Quartuccio Jr, his entire family and his entire team, Jamie Miller (the red hat mafia) a tuning genius , Nesbitt Racing Eng ines (Brett, Jared, John and Mr. Jeff), Mark Menscer (Menscer Shocks), Justin Carmack (Carmack Engineering) and Stu and Lindy Herman.

1970s factory look meets badass racecar

more well detailed car in the feature room at any car show, let alone at the drag strip. The nearly all steel body (except for hood, trunk lid and bumpers) is covered with 6-year old (that looks like it was sprayed yesterday) silver gray metallic paint applied by Wes’s Customs and is accented by a towering dual-scooped hood. Additional bling includes the complete

package of gleaming factory chrome and stainless trim, plus a the polished bullhorn pipes existing the front fenders and chrome 10-spoke wheels.

Inside, Naumann chose to continue with keeping an assortment of factory goodies in place, including the dash panel, door panels and headliner which includes the OEM dome light.

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If you think we were exaggerating about the Nova being show quality, check out the trunk and underbody.

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The high gloss wood steering wheel is about where the 1970’s factory look meets badass racecar, as it is attached to a lightweight quick-release column. From there, Naumann is protected by a maze of bars that make up

the Precision Chassis-built 6.0 certified chromoly cage, and monitors and controls the massive amounts power afforded by the 632 mill via various components from Fuel Tech, Race Pak and M&M Transmissions.

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Now about that 632… Nesbitt Performance Engines built the 4.84 bore space mill using a Brodix block.

Inside, a Bryant crank spins MGP rods partnered with Gibtec pistons while a Jesel belt drive synchronizes the rotation with a Comp cam that bumps BAM lifters. Profiler 12-degree heads are equipped with Jesel stainless rockers and an HRE sheet metal billet runner intake manifold is topped by twin AED Carbs. Nitrous oxide is the power adder of choice for Naumann and a single

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Induction Solutions direct port system supplies the charge.

A lock-up 3-speed M&M transmission transfers power rearward to the billet center section fabricated 9 inch rearend with Strange axles and floater ends. All-in, the Nova weighs-in at a healthy 2940lbs and has clocked a best elapsed time of 4.18 at 172mph in the eighth, gaining ground and consistency with every outing.

It might come as a surprise, though, that with a machine like

this at your beck and call, that the most memorable experience with the Nova has nothing to do with Michael driving the car. Naumann explains; “While every time we take this car out, whether highest of highs or lowest of lows, is memorable, if I had to choose one favorite, it would be the 2019 Shakedown race where my son Jake drove the car for the first time. He went a 4.30 on his first hit, now that was a super proud Dad moment!”

RPM

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Story & Photos: Wes Taylor

WHEN FAST, JUST ISN’T FAST ENOUGH… www.rpmmag.com

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There’s no denying that Roush’s design team got the front fascia right!

O

ur world of performance and racing is filled with Fox era and up Mustangs, and it’s getting harder and harder to stand out in the crowd.

2015 brought the newest platform of Ford’s legendary Pony car, the S550, and while Morgan Young had a few cars over the years, he chose a 2015 Ford Mustang Roush to achieve his goals in the wild world of performance street/strip cars.

The Roush comes as a decent performer, but Young

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wanted to make his a serious contender.

Growing up, Morgan tinkered with hot rods, helping his father play in the garage.

He lived for the days when his dad would take him and his brother to the track. Although Morgan enjoys being around cars, the thought of building one never really crossed his mind. So when he bought his Roush, Morgan wasn’t looking for a car at all, it just sort of happened. A 65-year-old coworker mentioned several

Big exhaust exits the rear of the Stang, but it’s the sizeable Mickey T meats tucked nicely inside the wheelwells that beg extra attention.

times how much he enjoyed his 2015 Mustang Roush edition and how he was toying with the idea of selling it. One day not so long after, Young approached his fellow worker and jokingly said, “for the right price, I’d take it off your hands.” Sure enough, the potential seller bit, and Morgan drove his Mustang home.

Ford, and the companies they are affiliated with, offer a solid assortment of cars and shoppers can find something from fairly tame,

to “better hold onto your hat” fast. Everything from Ford’s own SVT builds, to Shelbys, Saleens, and of course Roush prepared cars.

Based on a GT, this particular Mustang has some minor performance modifications and a great deal of exterior aesthetics along with interior updates, but that wasn’t enough for Morgan, so down it went for the transformation.

The first round of enhancements came from Anthony Ballard, owner and www.rpmmag.com

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What’s

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s not to love about horsepower with luxury!

The only real change inside the well optioned interior is an auto shifter and rear seat delete

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Watch the Rippin’ Roush in action!

SNEAKY SNEAKY...

The cooler for the ginormous 3.0L huffer is mounted in the spare tire area out back.

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operator of Signature Speed, and included a Whipple Supercharger Gen 5 3.0L blower, along with 1-7/8 headers and a 3” exhaust to the back. That 3-liter supercharger requires tons of air, so a Cobra Jet 150mm throttle body and cold air intake was added to take care of breathing it in. Fueling comes from a Fore Innovations dual in-tank pump setup that supplies Injector Dynamics 1700X injectors. Keeping that big blower cool requires an ice tank, found in the trunk, mounted in the factory spare tire location. This relatively simple combination resulted in impressive dyno numbers, making 800whp on E85 fuel. While the factory Ford Gen 2 Coyote short block is quite strong, 800whp is pushing it, and sure enough, Young blew it up and decided to go for something more robust and dependable at higher power levels.

Kevin Mullins and the TKM Performance team took care of the engine build starting with a factory bore

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That big 3.0 liter Whipple is practically the only thing you see under the hood. Converted to 10 rib and by using a smaller 2.75 upper pulley and an ATI 20% overdrive balancer the beast pushes a whopping 25psi!

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Incoming air is handled by a Cobra Jet 150mm throttle body and cold air intake. The entire install looks factory, an important element in today’s high tech builds.

sized Modular Motorsports Racing sleeved block that TKM did their prep work on for the build. The rotating assembly consists of a Ford Racing Boss forged crank, Molnar Power Adder connecting rods, and Diamond Mod2k pistons with ceramic dome coating. Total Seal piston rings, and King XP rod and main bearings complete the short block.

Coyote head castings flow very well from the factory and typically go untouched until 1500whp or more. The same goes for the cams, but Morgan chose to replace them with Comp Cams Stage 2 blower cams while the heads were off. Aside from a set of Trick Flow valve springs, the rest of the valve train remains factory. After some debate, that big Whipple ended up back in the engine bay, but it www.rpmmag.com

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Custom Roush badges on the front fenders let people know from the side this is no ordinary Mustang.

didn’t stay quite the same; Morgan chose to convert to 10 rib, use a smaller 2.75 upper pulley and an ATI 20% overdrive balancer, creating a whopping 25psi!

The Roush cars stick to the Mustang roots and come with a 6-speed manual transmission, but unfortunately the transmission is prone to failures at this power level and ultimately Morgan chose to go auto and had Signature Speed build a 6r80 6-speed auto to replace

it. That swap is straightforward, of course, because a GT comes with one. A Shaftmasters 4” aluminum driveshaft connects power to the factory rear diff., and transfers it to the ground via Ford Performance 2000hp rated half shafts.

To further improve on the pony’s stance, it sits on BMR drag springs and uses solid drag racing oriented bushings replacing the factory poly units. A stiffer sway bar and adjustable shocks help www.rpmmag.com

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Morgan Young’s 2015 Ford Mustang GT Roush Body & Paint:

Factory Roush, Magnetic Metallic grey, SB3 ceramic coated, custom tinted headlights by Team Nayon.

Chassis & suspension/modifications:

BMR drag spring, Ford Performance axles, Steeda rear sway bar, BMR toe links, camber links and cradle lock outs, Viking adjustable shocks, solid bushings throughout rear end.

Engine:

MMR GEN 2 5.0 Sleeved Coyote block. FRPP BOSS 302 forged crankshaft, Molnar power adder connecting rods, Diamond Mod2K pistons. Comp Cams Stage 2 blower cams.

Cylinder Heads:

Stock heads with Trick Flow springs.

Induction & fuel delivery:

Fore Innovations double pump fuel system and ID 1700X Injectors.

Power Adder:

Whipple Gen 5 3.0L 2.75 10 rib pulley, 20% overdrive balancer, 25psi, Cobra Jet 150mm cold air intake, PNR Welding trunk mount ice tank.

Transmission:

Upgraded 6R80 with Circle D 2c convertor.

Rear:

OEM rear diff with 3.31 gears and Ford Performance 2000 hp axles.

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Brakes:

Factory Brembo 6 piston brakes.

Tires & wheels:

Front 18x4.5 Billet Specialties Win-lite and MT 18x6 front runners. Rears 17x10 billet Specialties single bead-lock Win-lite and MT ET Street R 305/45/17

Interior:

Stock with Recaro seats and UPR shifter, Shrader Performance rear seat delete.

ET & MPH – Race only:

Personal best on 12 psi 9.67 at 143 with 1.3x 60’ at full weight! Untested with new engine, 25PSI lightened combo.

How long did it take to build the car?

18 months

Thanks To:

Thanks to the companies involved in the build; Anthony Ballard with Signature Speed, Kevin Mullins and the crew at TKM Performance, and longtime friend Donnie Nay for transforming my Roush into what it is today.

Morgan Young with his dream come true 1000 horsepower Roush Mustang. keep it planted while making runs at the strip. Putting the power to the pavement never looked so good; Morgan went with 18x4.5 Billet Specialties Win-lites up front wrapped in Mickey Thompson front runners and 17x10 bead-locked Win-lites aft, wrapped with Mickey ET Street R tires. Stopping the Roush is made easy by way of the factory 6-piston Brembo brakes front and rear, a nice upgrade that Roush added.

The Ford Mustang GT starts out as an impressive factory piece, but Roush takes things a few steps further with their upgrades. The “Roush” name is found in most every area of the car and Morgan decided not to change any of the car’s aesthetics and really digs the Magnetic Metallic Grey R7 body kit as it is. However, he did have the headlights and windows

The Roush name is found in most every area of the car... tinted by Donnie Nay of Team Nayon, followed by a fresh SB3 ceramic coat for protection. The interior has all of the extra Roush amenities such as Recaro seats, emblems, and overlays. An aftermarket automatic shifter protrudes from the console where the manual stick once was, and a Shrader Performance rear seat delete replaces the factory seats; everything else is how it came from Roush.

This Mustang is Morgan’s dream come true; now, with 1000whp, this fully loaded street car begs attention

both on and off the track. Unfortunately, a track day with the new motor and 25psi just hasn’t been able to happen yet, but Morgan’s personal best with the old combo (on just 12psi boost and at the factory heavy 3800lbs) is 9.67 at 143, getting to the sixty-foot mark in 1.33 seconds.

We think it’s safe to say that Young will hit the bottom 9-second zone if not squeak into the 8s with the new mill sporting 25lbs boost and lighter weight, which is extremely impressive for such a straightforward build that still affords all of the amenities of a modern muscle car.

“The best time I have had with the car has to be when I took the old owner for a drive,” said Young with a smile, “I gave him a wide open throttle pull and his reaction was priceless!”

RPM

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This original st steel 1 Gen. Camaro street car is like an old friend!

Story: Mark Smith Photos: Stephen Taylor

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SO

you own a cool fast car then sell it. The minute it leaves your hands you experience seller’s remorse and knew inside that you probably should have kept it. You eventually buy it back, then wreck it and rebuild it. Typical story right, not really, but it’s what makes Jamond Haug’s 1969 Camaro so special.

That, and the fact that it’s a blown Hemi on alcohol that is actually street legal, street driven and raced regularly! Hell yeah, we’d say that’s pretty special, too.

Jamond started racing in 1989 when his father took him to Topeka to see a friend of a friend’s car race, it was the “double vision”, a twin engine top alcohol dragster. Allen Hartley, Mike and Louie Cavalieri saw his interest and invited him back. “To make a long story short, they took a dumb kid all over the country with them racing,” Haug explained. The team moved into an A/Fuel combination and then into the big show; Top Fuel racing. Jamond eventually landed in Memphis working for a startup team lead by Mike Kloeber and the driver was Clay Millican. “I worked on his car through the IHRA years and many championships,” he added.

During all this, Haug always had a car at home that he would race (mostly on the street) any chance he got and soon progressed as a driver from street to Pro Street, then Pro Mod and now as a Top Fuel Pro Mod driver. But this Camaro always had a special place in his life, “It was a childhood dream to have this car built like this, I’ve had it built so many times in my head it was just time to do it,” he added.

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Wings, wheelie bars and twin chutes are for race cars, right?

Nope, that license plate is the real deal and is well used.

Arm drop! Click here to watch the video

He bought the car as an unfinished ladder bar big tire car in 1994, and, with the help of his brother Todd, and buddies Sam Pleas and Randy Brungardt they raced the car for a while until it needed some serious attention. “We ran it with a junk 396, and then in the late 90’s Sam and I re-backhalfed the car with a 4-link, finished the cage and put in a 502 big block with a PILE of nitrous in it!

Back then it ran 9.90s and later, with a 632 and three guns, the car went 8.30s,” he added.

Then it all changed for Jamond when he was introduced to forced induction. He was working on Millican’s Top Fuel car when he offered Haug a 14/71 off the dragster that was beat up but still useable. “With help from Scott Palmer, we took the sheet metal intake off the 632, took some compression out, used a grinder to cut the second key in the crank and we now had a blown alcohol 632!” Haug and his buddies raced that combo for a number of years in Pro Street and on the street, but back then they had no timing or fuel control, so were limited to running 4.90s.

At the World Street Nationals in 2006 they would qualify mid field with an 8.01 at 183 mph in Heavy Street, with

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That Indy based 526 is not one bit for show. Don’t believe us?

Then put your money where your mouth is!

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Night-time Arm Drop!

Click here to watch the video

Following the wreck, Jamond decided that the car needed to be updated...

Jamond Haug with his “old friend” after the rebuild following a wreck during a street race when the car was powered by a turbo’d LS.

a car that weighed 3650lbs!

Jamond sold the car after the Orlando gig to fund a new Pro Mod, but years later he approached the owner to buy it back. “I begged the fella that bought the Camaro to sell it back to me, and he finally did in 2017.” The car would see a second debut under Haug’s ownership as a twin turbo LS ride built for street racing and the odd track hit where it knocked off 4.80s in the 1/8th. Not too long afterwards, though, he wrecked the car during a street race.

Following the wreck, Jamond decided that the car needed to be updated for what he wanted to do next, so he reached out to Billy Johnston at Tim McAmis Race Cars and made a deal on a complete chassis. “Those guys built me a complete chassis without ever seeing my body, and it fit perfect!”

Once the chassis was home, Haug and some friends pulled the body off

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The Indy Maxx block is filled with goodies from Callies, MGP, Diamond Pistons, Total Seal and Crane. An Indy intake holds a 14/71 Littlefield Helix retro supercharger with Chuck Ford hat and a Rage spray bar.

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A full race interior is accented by all that remains of the 1969 Camaro interior, the door panels. Power windows and the fully functional cup holder are owner installed options!

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Original chrome and trim just set off such a badass street/strip car, and for non-believers, the body is stamped GM authentic! the old mild steel chassis and set it on the new one. He had Jason Lansdown Race Cars finish the body mounts and do the carbon work, after which he wired, plumbed and tied up all the remaining odds and ends on the new build.

He considered the turbo LS to power it, but went with his gut feeling and instead set the blown Hemi between the rails. “Blown alcohol is what I know and it’s what we have in almost every other Homewrecker team car, so it was a natural fit for 50

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me,” he said.

That alcohol sipping Hemi is based on an Indy Maxx block with Callies crankshaft, MGP rods and Diamond Pistons with Total Seal rings rotating inside. A Crane cam was used and Mopar Performance heads are “worked over” while Ray Barton covered the valvetrain system. An Indy intake is topped by a monster 14/71 Littlefield Helix retro supercharger with carbon Chuck Ford hat and Rage spray bar.

A 2-speed Proformance Transmis-

The McAmis chassis was built without ever seeing the body, and fit perfectly when Jason Lansdown connected the two.

Night-time Street Race!

Click here to watch the video

A Proformance Transmissions 2 Speed 400 is equipped with a Reid case and a Browell bulletproof bellhousing that contains the Neal Chance billet converter.

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sion TH400 trans houses a billet aluminum Neal Chance converter and out back hangs a 9.5-inch fabricated housing with 3.90 gear by Quick Performance.

Like we said, the body is OEM 1969 Camaro steel except for the hood and trunk lid, and by the way, all lights including hazzards, turns, high/low beam and markers work.

Inside, there’s not much ’69 Camaro left aside from a few panels. Instead, it’s all about beating the car in the other lane.

In our books Jamond Haug’s Camaro is as true as you can get to the original crazy days of when Pro Stock and Pro Mod influenced street builds. It may have been labeled Pro Street, but for the hardcore folk, there was more

race than street. We’re not talking about the trailer queens or fairgound cruisers. No sir. We mean the badass, big tire, crazy overpowered machines that roamed the streets looking for their next victim. And they were driven by the guy (or girl) behind the wheel, not the idiot behind the keyboard. This car takes us back to those wild west days of street car mayhem, and we like it!

Jamond continued, “The Camaro has always been there, from racing on the street in the 90s in Omaha NE, to racing on season 1 of No Prep Kings, and then I drove it to lunch when we got home. It’s just always been there for whatever I wanted to do. There is a lifetime of memories with this car, it’s like an old friend.”

RPM

It’s all about the street for Jamond Haug and his Camaro, so this Powermaster 205 AMP alternator is a must.

The mechanical Waterman fuel pump uses a 4 stage fuel control for street/strip friendliness.

Jamond Haug’s 1969 Camaro Z28 Chassis & Suspension /Modifications:

2020 Tim McAmis double framerail Pro Mod chassis. McAmis built the rolling chassis and the owner mounted the body and did the carbon work with the help of Jason Lansdown.

Suspension:

Struts up front with adjustable cups, they are HD Strange that have been re-valved for the car by Kinetic Engineering. Rear 4-link, wishbone, anti-roll, and floater housing is

by McAmis, rear coilovers are built by Kinetic Engineering.

Transmission & Converter:

2 speed 400 built by Proformance Transmissions. Billet aluminum converter is a Neal Chance piece.

Rear Differential:

9.5” full floater with 3.90 gear by Quick Performance.

Wheels & Tires:

17” Weld Magnum wheels up front, rear wheels are 16x16 Weld Delta wrapped with 33 17r16 tires.

Body & Paint:

Other Important Vehicle Information:

Engine:

Vehicle Owner/Driver Info/History:

Body and Paint were done by Buck David.

Body is 100% OEM steel minus the hood and decklid. All the glass is real and the doors have power windows.

526 Hemi. Indy Maxx block, Callies crankshaft, MGP rods, Diamond Pistons, Total Seal rings. Camshaft is from Crane, heads are worked-over Mopar Performance and the valve train is a Ray Barton system.

Induction:

Indy Intake, 14/71 Littlefield Helix retro supercharger.

Waterman fuel pump, carbon Chuck Ford hat with a Rage spray bar, 4 Stage fuel control.

Electronics:

Spark is made by an MSD 600 Pro CDI and controlled by an MSD Grid and Arc Module.

All lights, hazzard, turns, high low etc work. Engine cooling is by a pair of 1992 Honda Civic radiators. 205 amp alternator is by Powermaster.

Original build was 1994 and has progressed over the years.

The car was a 632 with up to 4 guns in the 90s and then we put a blower on it in 2003.

Best ET & MPH: Grudge guys don’t talk about that!

Thanks to:

Buck David painted the car (and every other Homewrecker car). Sam Pleas and Randy Brungardt who have helped me from day one on it. Scooter for the countless times he’s been here day and night. Bill Johnston and Tim McAmis for the rolling chassis and Jason Lansdown for the body mount and carbon work.

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When Bill Devine slides into his twin turbo ’01 Mustang Cobra, the gloves are off!

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Story: George Pich Photos: Matt Trombley

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Bill Devine; mild mannered businessman by day, but when the weekend comes, meet Wild Bill Devine, hardcore heads-up drag racer!

Wild Bill

The nickname Wild Bill, made famous by the Wild West stories and legends of Wild Bill Hickok, is a natural fit for this full of personality, hardcore, heads-up drag racer whose weapon of choice is his big horsepower twin turbo 2001 Mustang Cobra. Now, add in “Devine”, and you have a cross between gunslinger, pro wrestler and most any other tough guy persona that you can think

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The exterior of the Mustang is eye catching to say the least. It’s an original PRO 5.0 car and the body starts with an OEM steel roof and door jambs. From there, carbon fiber parts fill things out in order to keep weight in check.

The Bullseye Power graphics are a full body wrap.

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of, which is most likely why Wild Bill Devine has become a favorite with the target on his back in Brian Bossone’s All Out Live program and Ian Hill Racing Production’s No-Time 10.5. But really, he’s a nice guy with a cool, wicked fast car that works hard to make his sport the best it can be and attract as many enthusiasts, racers and fans as possible to it.

Young Gun From the age of 18, Devine has been racing. Working in his Grandfather’s auto store as a teenager built his passion for cars and he would eventually work as a mechanic out of high school and then at a few car dealers before moving into his career in performance parts in 58

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This 2001 Cobra, originally built as an NMRA PRO 5.0 car, sits on a Chromoly chassis built by Mark Wilkerson, the original Racecraft owner. The chassis was already made for a small block Ford/stick combination so it was a perfect fit. The wheelbase was stretched 2-inches and runs a 4-link with Penske coilovers out back that suspends a fabricated rear diff with aluminum center section, 10-inch gear set and 40 spline axles. Tubular lower control arms work with Lamb struts and rack and pinion steering up front. The car is set up so Devine can run both big tires and small 10.5 buns on the back when needed. Also note the many points to add ballast (weight) to the car as required.

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the late 90s. And it was during those crazy 90s that Bill would get wild with cars and build a name for himself in the world of fast Mustangs, with a big tire twin turbo PRO 5.0 ’89 GT.

The Bullseye Mustang Is Born With changing times and class rules, by 2003 Devine would sell the ’89 and move into his 2001 Cobra that had been built for NMRA PRO 5.0. It was purchased as a rolling tube chassis car set up for a small block Ford/ manual trans. “This car was built by the original Racecraft owner Mark Wilkerson. It started life as a clutch car which made the choice easy, since my former car was also a clutch car and I planned to put the drivetrain in this newer style roller to be competitive,” Devine explained. The Mustang would go back to Racecraft to have most of the major work done before Bill and his crew finished it up back at his garage.

Win LIghts!

With the NMRA 2004 Columbus weekend just days away, Devine and his gang were not even close to having the new car ready. “We still had some wiring and lots of plumbing to do, plus the engine was not broke in yet, nor had we hit the scales to get any sort of idea of corner weights. Hell, we had no idea what it even weighed at all. We were joking in my garage as my brother and good friend Tom Petrovich helped assemble the puzzle, when somebody said ‘Gee, too bad we need 2 more weeks to finish this car, Columbus is only 450 miles away… bummer’. Sure enough, my phone

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Large carbon tubs were used out back and carbon panel work is consistent throughout the interior of the Mustang. Aside from that you might notice the preexisting gauge holes. Devine chose to tech-up to interactive digital displays to get his data in both real time, and to download after the run, and is one of few who uses two state of the art dashes, one from Racepak and another from FuelTech. The interior is extremely clutter-free with parachute and fire system activation along with a switch panel within easy reach of the driver.

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rang Thursday and its Mike Galimi, asking me to be at Columbus. I explained the situation; that we didn’t even have legal belts, the engine hadn’t been fired, the 4-link wasn’t set up and so on, but he wanted us there.” That request, mixed with Devine’s desire to be there saw them work all day, pack up the Mustang and drive through the night. They arrived to rain, which this time was good thing as it bought them time to scale, set up the 4-link and suspension, fire and break-in the engine! “We even made a few trips to the local Summit store for belts, gloves, helmet etc. and went on to win the event!” exclaimed Devine. But that’s not quite where this story ends, as Bill was set to move with his family to Florida the very day he returned! The car was packed in the trailer and not even looked at until he left for NMRA’s Maple Grove event a month later. “I had no more seat time, no test or tuning, no nothing and really only very little knowledge about the new ride, but we went on to win that event as well!”

Turbo Guy Being a turbo guy from the start (before turbos were all the rage), a certain company had captured Devine’s attention, and by 2009 he joined ranks with Bullseye Power Turbochargers as a consultant,

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working from his home in Florida. “I realized the capabilities they had to manufacture auto, diesel components and turbochargers in-house,” Devine said of his life changing experience with Bullseye. “They had the means and knowledge but did not understand our market and lacked the field guy/racer/salesman/connections which I had. This made us a perfect fit.” By 2013, success with the company lead to Devine being offered a partnership (which meant a move to the company headquarters in Michigan), and today he serves as Opera-

tions Manager.

The car is wild too!

The car would soon become an R&D instrument for Bullseye and see NMRA, NOPI and ADRL action through 2012, all with the little 8.200 deck motor. Along the way, in 2011, it set (and re-set) an 1/8th-mile record on 10.5 tires. “We took this little weed wacker engine to 4.14 at 180!” Bill said with a smile.

In 2014, Devine would swap to the 9.5 deck Windsor style 400-plus inch engine, and from 2016 through 2018

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Watch yet another winning pass!

After getting hit by a gust of wind at 208mph at the top end, this car was backwards three times in one of the 2 lanes...

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While Devine won and set records with the twin turbo 8.2 deck Ford motor between the rails, in 2014 he swapped up to a 9.5 deck Windsor based mill. The current builder is Billy Briggs but Devine also credits Steve Morris for his help and support. The SBF 427 started with a Disomma/Weston billet 351W block. A Callies 4-inch billet crank swings 6.200 billet rods pinned to Diamond pistons. Visner billet heads are filled with Manley valves and springs and Jesel rockers. 16 Billet Atomizer injectors on twin rails are used in conjunction with a Visner intake. Boost comes into the equation via, you guessed it, twin Bullseye Power 88mm NLX mid frame turbochargers! Power is transferred through a Liberty Extreme T transmission with Ram 10-inch dual clutch.

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he ran in Canada with NAPA Ultimate Showdowns in their 10.5 class. By 2019, Wild Bill was racing regularly in two countries, becoming involved with Ian Hill Racing Productions (IHRP) events in the States and Canada in their no-time 10.5 class, and in Brian Bossone’s All Out Live program as well as Cecil County’s Outlaw 10.5 series.

2020 would see select events covered, with plans to return to a full roster as things open up in 21.

Nothing comes easy Along with those first few event wins and many more to follow, Wild Bill has seen a few close calls with the Mustang, but it’s the wind, axle and oil experiences that he recalls best. “After getting hit by a gust of wind at 208MPH at the top end, this car was backwards three times in one of the 2 lanes. I managed to fight it, get it stopped and never even

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As a Grudge and No Time racer, Wild Bill is somewhat tightlipped about the car’s actual potential when the clocks are off, but we did get this out of him; “… class legal on 10.5 slicks we’ve run 4.10 @ 178mph…”

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“Wild” Bill Devine’s 2001 Twin Turbo Ford Mustang Cobra

Chassis Type & Mods:

Chromoly 4-link, 2-inch stretched wheelbase. Car can run big tire or small tire.

Suspension:

Lamb front struts, Penske rear shocks.

Body & Paint:

Carbon body parts with steel roof and door jambs, wrapped not painted.

Engine:

SBF 427, Disomma/Weston billet 351W block, standard deck and standard bore space. Visner billet heads and intake. Manley Valves and springs, Jesel rockers and lifters. Billet Atomizer, 16 injectors and burns methanol. Billy Briggs is the current engine builder, but I have received enormous help from Steve Morris as well.

Rotating Assembly:

Callies 4-inch billet crank, 6.200 billet rods, Diamond pistons and pins.

Power Adder:

Bullseye Power 88mm NLX mid frame turbochargers.

Electronics:

Fueltech, Racepak

Transmission & Converter:

Liberty Extreme T with Ram 10-inch dual clutch.

Rear Differential:

Alum center section w/10 inch gear set, 40 spline axles

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Best ET & MPH:

Racing No Time occasionally where there are no rules so ET is quicker and hush hush, but class legal on 10.5 slicks we’ve ran 4.10 @ 178mph.

Division/Class Run (Race Only):

Recently N/T events, ALL OUT LIVE, match races, Outlaw 10.5 for 2020 with new combination.

Thanks to:

Over the last handful of years and for the most current combination I would like to extend special thanks first and foremost to the crew at Bullseye Power and my partners David, Mark and John.

Thanks also to the following folks for their support and putting up with me: Craig and Mike at Liberty Gears, all the folks at Fueltech, the crew at Mickey Thompson Tires, JC at Strange Engineering, Tito Chassis, Billy Briggs Engines, Brandon Furches, Steve Morris Engines, New Era Racecraft, Anthony Dissoma, Jerry and Tyler Morgano, Baker Engineering, Keith and the guys at Skinny Kid Race cars. Marty at Turbosmart and Jack at Billet Atomizer.

Most importantly, thanks to my crew and best friends.

My wife Cheryl, my brother Steve Flanagan and Tony Gentile, David Hall, Hector Menendez, Jack Warners and Cal Hayward… I’m in your debt.

Watch a wild By-Run!

blew out a tire much less hit anything.” The next Wild ride would be in 2017, while testing in Bradenton.

“I lost an axle on the driver’s side at 160 or so mph, the tire went up into the cage behind me blowing out the back window and partial quarter panel and taking out the brakes.

After briefly seeing stars, I managed to stay in my lane and get it stopped at the 1320 cone, again not hitting a retaining wall…WHEW!” The most

One final word

recent event for Wild Bill was in 2019 during eliminations at an Ian Hill Racing Productions event. “After some tire shake, I lost an oil line from the pump to the oil filter, putting the car into two spins. I crossed the center line for the first time in my career after the 8th-mile stripe, but since the other car red-lit I was given the win. Unfortunately, not knowing the oil line had caused my loss of traction, I started the car up

and drove it off the track.”

ONE FINAL WORD “This car has been very good to me,” Devine continued. “…was it Luck? Hell yes! Skill? I think so too.

My rule is to never panic and always drive the car from the moment you leave and until you arrive back in your pit…that’s when the run ends!”

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Story & Photos By Wes Taylor

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T

he Honda brand is known for soccer mom vans and small front-wheel-drive cars that parents buy for their college kids, but not so much all out performance cars.

Sure, there’s been the NSX and some Civic type R variants over the years, but nothing “mind-blowing” so to speak. It’s a similar take on the Honda S2000; a small, sporty four-cylinder convertible with just enough power to make some twists and turns fun, but like the others, you generally couldn’t take it to the Friday night drags and win some money with it. For the diehard Honda crowd, though, that is about all you had to work with, unless you wanted to spend some major bucks modding the Honda engine, and then spend some more after you explode it a few times during your learning curve.

Longtime friend and car guy Isaac Stringer sought to change that, and of course he knew his plan would piss off a few purists while he was at it.

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This might be the only hint that something other than factory power is tucked under the low flat S2000 hood line.

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Vasylyy Lukivskyy on his GSXR 1000 based grudge bike.

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A USPS Automotive Technician by day, over the years Isaac has become known as a tuner car guy; building turbo swapped Hondas both front and rear wheel drive. He owned another S2000 in the past, but it used the factory four-banger that he turbocharged and used that as leverage to trade for his Berlina black 2000 S2000. His intention was to be different, very different, and change the outcome of those Friday night drag bets!

The Honda roadster comes factory with a 237hp high revving 2.2 four-cylinder, a far cry from being a powerhouse in this day and age. Isaac built his first one, turbocharging it, and although it was fun, it wouldn’t be enough for his second swing at it.

Enter the popular LS swap, the conventional design allows it to fit into tight spaces between the Honda’s shock towers, and with the help of friend Les Rodriguez of LRworks, the challenge was set.

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Drag radials look like they belong on an S2000, but on this particular car they are a necessity.

A few companies cater to this very swap, but none of them factor in turbocharging, especially twins! Multiple variables came in to the mix, including weight. With this in mind, Isaac sourced an all-aluminum 5.7 LS1.

The only thing that was replaced in the new mill was the cam, going with a stage 2 turbo cam from Tick Performance. Factory cast 799 heads got Tick’s professional touch as well. Doesn’t sound that impressive right?

Wrong, remember, the factory 2.2 four-cylinder

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makes 237hp, while even just with a simple cam swap the LS makes north of 400whp.

If shoehorning a V8 where it was never intended to be wasn’t hard enough, let’s throw two turbos, an intercooler, and all the piping into the mix.

That’s where Les came in; using his knowledge and welding skills, they put in place a plan for the system to work while retaining the Hondas factory appearance.

Starting with modified and flipped CTS-V exhaust manifolds and Ma-

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The 5.7 LS1 motor is mostly factory except for the cam.

Twin turbos, flipped CTS-V exhaust manifolds and a Holley intake were used in the build. We’d say Stringer came as close as possible to executing his goal of a factory-appearing install.

As if shoehorning a V8 where it was never intended to be wasn’t hard enough, throw two turbos, an intercooler, and all the piping into the mix!

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The custom-designed Autism awareness logo atop the Reggie Built radiator and intercooler speaks volumes about why Isaac built his S2000.

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The almost 100% factory interior helps Isaac’s story at the local burger joint when he tells the guy in the Mustang “…no really, it’s pretty much a stock Honda”.

ven Performance turbo mounts, Les designed the kit so that both Borg Warner S366 turbos faced forward. To retain stock appearance, forward-facing turbos means both downpipes need to snake back through the small-bodied Honda, where they converge into one “factory style” exhaust outlet at the back of the car. Atop the LS1 sits a Holley Performance Sniper intake, it works perfectly in this situation, offering a straight shot from the intercooler to intake, meaning Isaac didn’t have to cut up his hood. Another impressive feat is how the accessories are run. With the help of a Dirty Dingo high mount accessory bracket, Isaac has heat and power steering but no air conditioning. Who needs it when the top comes down, anyway? They used a stout fuel system and chose a FullBlown Motorsports dual pump setup with twin Aeromotive 340lph fuel pumps, supplying Bosch 210lph injectors. Using HP Tuners software, Tick

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Isaac Stringer’s 2000 Street/Strip Honda S2000

Chassis Type & Mods: Body:

Stock Berlina Black 2000 Honda S2000

Suspension:

Import Drag Solutions rear coilovers. Strange Engineering front coilovers.

Engine:

Stock bottom end 5.7L LS1. Stock aluminum block and reworked 799 cylinder heads.

Tick Performance stage 2 turbo cam and head package.

Fuel Delivery & Intake:

Full Blown Motorsports dual pump setup: Dual Aeromotive 340lph pumps, Bosch 210lb injectors , Vibrant -8 feed and return, Aeromotive -8 inline filter.

Holley Sniper intake manifold, Holley 92mm Sniper throttle body.

Power Adder:

Twin Borg Warner S366 turbos, Tial 38mm wastegates, Tial 50mm blow off valves, Maven turbo mounts, Modified CTS-V Manifolds flipped.

Transmission:

F-body Tremec T-56 6 speed with Monster lt1-sc twin disc clutch kit.

Rear End:

Inline Pro 8.8 independent differential kit, 2007 Ford Explorer differential, 3.55 gear w/ tracloc diff, Drive Shaft Shop 5.9 axles, Taylor’s Driveline custom driveshaft with 3150 joints.

Wheels & Brakes:

Weld RTS 15x9.5 rears with Mickey Thompson ET Street R 275-50-15, 15 x3.5 skinny fronts with 26-4.5-15.0. Stock S2000 brake package.

Interior & Electronics:

Complete stock interior w/fully functioning instrument panel cluster. GReddy Profec electronic boost controller, Innovate MTX-l wideband.

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Miscellaneous:

F-body accessory spacing.

Dirty Dingo passenger side high mount alternator relocation and idler setup Reggie built custom radiator combo.

Power:

809 whp @ 15 psi tuned by Jonathan Atkins at Tick Performance (HP Tuners)

Thanks to:

Most importantly Oliver Stringer for being the best son ever and absolutely loving the car.

Without Les and LRworx and The Archdale Street Crew (Ryan Hardin, Robbie Royall, Jason Freeman, Morgan Young, Dustin Huffman, Zach Hunt, Noel Billings, Steven Walker, Aaron Lineberry, Brandon Wright, Alex Graf, Andy Hildreth and Eric Lawson) helping me spend countless hours and long nights wrenching, this build wouldn’t have happened. Thanks also to Tick Performance, where Jonathan Atkins and crew are there to help with whatever they can. A shoutout to Dirty Dingo Motorsports, Jon Rogers with Import Drag Solutions, Chris Kaziah with Rev Limit Fab, and the Honda S2000 V8 group for all answered questions. And to the countless number of friends and family keeping me motivated on the build.

Isaac Stringer set out to be different with his Honda S2000 and looks forward to every minute of topdown cruising in his 800+ horsepower lightweight sleeper to show off his handy work.

Inline Pros Ford Explorer differential upgrade fits cleanly under the small body.

Performance shop owner Jonathan Atkins mustered 809whp on 15psi out of this setup. That’s almost four times the factory output boys and girls!

Shifting duties go through a Tremec T-56 six-speed and a Monster Clutch twin-disc clutch makes controllable gear changes. With all this power and a transmission to handle it, how would Isaac get it to the ground? A Honda S2000 comes with an independent rear sus-

pension; the factory differential and half shafts just would not cut it. Inline Pro has a solution, which is swapping to a beefier 8.8 Ford Explorer diff, and providing Driveshaft Shops 5.9 half-shafts as a kit. To link the trans to rearend, Taylor’s Driveline fabbed Isaac up a custom driveshaft with 3150 joints to take the torcher.

The end goal for Stringer was to have his S2k look good and perform on the drag strip,

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To keep the front wheels planted on the ground, even the battery didn’t make it to the tiny trunk of the Honda.

Honda could have never imagined this!

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something this platform rarely sees.

Thankfully Jon Rodgers, owner of Import Drag Solutions, answered the call with their coilovers made especially for drag racing. Another big name in drag racing, Strange Engineering, took care of the front with coilovers to accommodate all that extra weight over the nose.

Drag racing-oriented suspension is nothing without the shoes to get the power to the track. Big and littles are a rare find on an S2000, but man, does it look good. Isaac chose Weld Racing 15x3.5 S71 skinnies for the front wrapped in 26/4.5/15 tires and 15x9.5 rears with 275/50/15 Mickey Thompson ET Street Rs to connect to the pavement. Peering through

...the big motivation behind the build was his son Oliver... the welds are the factory S2000 big brake package; after all, the S2000 typically corner carves quite well.

The interior remains factory; Isaac wanted a streetcar, so he kept the plush leather seating and retained the factory gauge cluster that works as it should. He uses a Greddy Profec

Boost controller and an Innovative MTX-1 wideband to keep an eye on other vitals. A short-shifting MGW shifter allows him to feel confident with the new 6-speed transmission.

While Stringer wanted a streetcar that stood out in the crowd, the big motivation behind the build was his son Oliver, who loves to ride with daddy, top up or down, and that makes all the money and build time well worth it. Oliver is autistic, and Isaac wants to use their love for Honda to promote awareness about the disorder. Considering how different this S2000 is, the plan is to have the car wrapped to raise Autism awareness.

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New Cars, New Shop, New Tools, New Way Of Life Story and Photos: JT

Hello my fellow gearheads. I pray this finds everyone happy, healthy and prosperous. We are certainly living in strange and tough times. The pandemic has changed the way we live and has affected many of us in ways we never thought would happen. As most of you are aware, my custom shop finances my hunger for racing and keeping Big Red in one piece. However, my main source of income is derived from my 30-year-old thriving martial arts business. Besides being an avid gearhead, I am a lifelong martial artist that was blessed to be able to parlay that passion into a highly successful and fulfilling career.

When the pandemic originally swept through the U.S. last year, we were forced to close for six months and teach virtually from our home. The only problem was that 100% of my business bills were still coming in, and we were making a fraction of our income.

We stayed in the fight and hemorrhaged money trying to keep our doors open. When we were finally able to open legally, we were forced to operate at

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Questions?

Complete details available in the Customer Service section of SummitRacing.com, talk via Live Chat, or Call.

1-800-230-3030

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This is my new home away from home. It is bare bones at this point but I am adding tools each week. Thankfully my bench mate Joe (the tech next to me) is extremely generous with both lending me tools and sharing his knowledge. He also doesn’t mind me blasting my 80’s heavy metal while we work.

So, I know nothing at all about diesels but I was thrown into the trial by fire way of learning. The second one in the same week was a much better experience for me. I learned what tools to use and I pioneered a little trick by tapering a bolt to get it to thread easier.

25% capacity. This was still unacceptable as 100% of the bills were still coming in. Now I am known for being a super positive guy and an extreme optimist, so enough of the negative back story, and let’s get to the title of this article.

In a last-ditch effort to keep our business going, we made the extremely tough decision to not take personal payroll from our business and look for work somewhere else. This absolutely crushed my heart as I loved my life, and the way I was able to provide for my family. Like a piece of wood that we break in the martial arts during a black belt test, this too was just an obstacle I needed to conquer in order to move forward.

My wife stepped up to the plate and used her degree in teaching to become a substitute teacher. She also worked in a friend’s car dealership part-time as a receptionist and helped him out as he was going through a crisis of his own with staff and the pandemic. I put the word out and took in as much work as I could in my shop. I even branched out and used my skills to fix boilers, plumbing and electric. I was doing my best to keep income coming in, but work was not steady enough.

During this crisis, a few good people stepped up and offered me job opportunities. My dear friend Shawn put in a good word at an engineering company that specializes in robotic surgery. Unfortunately, it would require me to relocate, and I just couldn’t do that to my teenage daughter. (Plus, I love our home, property and MY SHOP.) So a major hug and heartfelt thank you must go to Shawn for being the first person to take a risk and help me and my family.

I welcomed this challenge as I am the guy who finds a way when there seems there is no way. I broke out the shop MIG welder and ran a bead on the tip of that broken stud and after heating that flange up, I used a set of vice grips to extract that little nightmare. I was able to do the same trick to a few broken exhaust manifold bolts that week as well.

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When my racing buddy Tommy got wind of my financial situation, he got upset at me for not telling him about it.

(I mean it’s not something you are proud of and tell people.) Out of the kindness of his heart, he offered me a job at his company. At the same time, my wife was telling our friend Marty, who runs a car dealership, about the struggles we were facing, and he too was upset that we didn’t reach out to him sooner. He offered my wife an immediate full-time job as everyone loved her at the dealership. She had to decline, though, as she made more money subbing and needed to be free to teach our virtual martial arts classes each day. He told her to have me call him to discuss a job opportunity, working as a technician for him. He was willing to train me in their computer-based diagnostics and new car technology, if I was willing to take the position. Taking on a full-time job would mean I’d no longer be able to help my wife teach our martial arts classes, but it would guarantee bringing home a steady paycheck to provide for my family. The dealership is only 14 miles from my home, as compared to the 52-mile commute to our academy, and I get to work on cars and trucks every day.

The next big decision I faced involved my tools. As you all know, I am a tool junkie and have written about it numerous times. My 40 years of collecting tools has truly made my shop a sanctuary for me. I have every tool I need for the work I do. Being OCD did not help this decision at all. How could I remove my tools and completely disrupt the serenity and feng shui of my shop and bring them to the dealership? The answer was there is absolutely no way. I would still need my shop to supplement income for us and needed my tools to be intact. I told my wife that like anything in life, you have to spend money to make money. So, we 90

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It was rare that first week, but I actually got a job that I was at home with. A completely worn out axle bearing needed replacing and tore up the axle in the process. New axle, new bearings, new seals, and running a fresh bead of RTV on the differential cover made me forget about the stress of the day.

I decorated my tool cart with pictures that make me happy, my daughter, my wife and of course a bunch of shots of our race car.

Thankfully, that axle job stayed on my lift overnight while we waited for the parts to come in. I was sure to bring in my bearing and seal install kit the next day.

This new challenge is really testing my resolve and my ability to remain humble while asking simple questions.

I am really enjoying learning about new technology. There are always software updates and improvements to the different computer modules coming into my bay. Thankfully the program we use walks you through every step of the process.

Having Joe next to me is a major plus. He is really a big help to me during the day.

This is my comfort zone of programming.

I am completely at home with my Power Grid and programming all of the sensors for my data logger.

Making tweaks on the tune between rounds is just another day in my shop. If only the techs in the dealership knew I actually know my way around a car.

sold a few things and invested in my new career as a factory technician. I purchased a new 72” rolling toolbox, a tool cart, and filled them with the basic tools I would need on a daily basis. I would “borrow” special tools from my home shop until I would be able to purchase another one for my dealership box. It was an absolute crazy three weeks trying to get to know the computer systems they operate on, the new car technology, the dynamics of working with other techs and something as simple as which drawer are my screwdrivers in?

I was immersed into the world of ECMs, PCMs, BCMs and the 50 other modules there are in new cars. I learned how to re-flash them with updates and how to perform recalls to software and safety features. Modern cars are a far cry from the custom wiring harnesses and power boards I make and design for my customers. The techs that work with me have no idea that I could take a shell of a car and turn it into a full-blown high level build. They have no idea that in my world you don’t buy all of your parts, you make them. All they know at this point is I don’t know where the oil filter is on some of the cars that come into my bay.

Or even worse yet, something as simple as how to open a hood. This new challenge is really testing my resolve and my ability to remain humble while asking simple questions.

The other day was a good one for me as the lead tech (who also happened to be the best welder in the shop) had relocated. There were three broken exhaust manifold studs in a truck that came in, www.rpmmag.com

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I couldn’t believe that I actually had to take an intake off to change spark plugs. It was a fun process and enabled me to go another layer into modern cars. I was happy that everything went back together with no extra parts.

and they asked if I could fix it. Without a moment’s hesitation I said, “yes sir, no problem!” I broke out their MIG welder and extended those broken studs with a beautiful bead just long enough to get a set of vice grips clamped on to it. Later that same day, another pickup truck came in with a noise in the rear. I opened up the differential, removed the axles, old bearings and seals and refreshed that rear with absolute precision. It

was good to be able to complete jobs like that and show my worth, after not knowing how to open a hood or reset an oil life monitor.

As with anything in life there are things we excel at and things we know very little about. Some of us run away and fear the things we don’t know. Being the consummate student, I tend to run toward those things with excitement. This is how I will choose to look at this new chapAfter testing each coil, changing the spark plugs, and even swapping coils, a misfire in cylinder 1 still popped up on my computer. This car made me dig really deep and use a bore scope to find a cracked exhaust valve top.

ter in life. As we say in the martial arts, you must empty your cup in order to fill it with something new.

There is without a doubt a lot of new things for me; new cars, new shop, new tools and a new way of life. My heart goes out to all of you who are also feeling the pain of this pandemic. The only advice I have to offer is to remind yourself that this was not your fault. Remind yourself that your family needs you to step up to the plate. And most importantly, learn to realize that you are capable of great things. Living in the comfort zone has a way of stopping us from reaching our full potential. While I may not be able to predict the future and tell you how this will turn out, I can with absolute certainty tell you that I will remain in this fight, embrace the new challenges, provide for my family and will become a better man for it.

Until Next Time Keep Wrenching,

5)& 803-% 0' &953&.& )034& 108&3 *4 " $-*$, "8":

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#8

The final chapter in our budget engine build

Over the past 22 years, in RPM MAG we have approached our projects and installs differently. We never throw out the “build a small block for 500 bucks in your garage” bait, and we always try to make our projects and installs, at any level, be repeatable by readers. In other words, you should be able to do what we do and get similar results. Hopefully, though, by sharing our experiences with you, you can avoid some of the challenges we run into, because in RPM we give you the good, the bad, and the ugly of a project, and do it in real time!

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That being said, it has been a pleasure to work with RPM readers on Project Pace Car Race Car’s budget engine build. We made it work through a pandemic, which is an accomplishment in itself. Thanks to all those who supported the project and be sure to check out our Source Box at the end of this article for some of the best companies in the business of go fast parts and service.

A few weeks back we were able to book a day at Misener Motorsports AKA the Dynocologist. It is finally time to get some dyno pulls in on the Pace Car Race Car. I remember years back, we needed to go to the track, often on race weekend, to test and along the way acquire data. When you’re on a budget it is hard to stick to the golden rule; don’t test on race day. Nowadays, we can go to Jay’s and

Story & Photos:

Tim Biro

test and acquire data in a warm shop, even while it’s snowing outside. Oh how times have changed!

Anyway, last month we applied spark and fuel to the stock block SBF, TFS Twisted Wedge R headed bullet in our RPM PCRC project. She fired up flawlessly, attributing to our old motto - double and triple check each system to make sure our team wins.

Click here to watch us Adjust the Valve Train on the Pace Car Race Car

We needed fuel for the dyno session. I have personally used VP Racing Fuels for as many years as I can recall. It has been my standard for all my drag cars and it was my choice to stick with what we knew worked.

Here we are on a cold winters day at Misener Motorsports Dyno room.

We are ready to get some solid data for the eventual first run down the track with our stock block Pace Car Race Car project! Once the engine and driveline have heat in them, we will do a light motor hit or two on the dyno first, as mostly we want nitrous system tune data…..note that we’ll just be adding a little nitrous this time, baby steps.

Since the early seventies, Steve Burns, the founder of VP Fuels, has kept his passion for drag racing as the driving force to create fuels for all levels of performance machines.

We used VP Fuels C-10 for the PCRC startup and took some to the dyno session so we could double check everything by heating up the engine and drivetrain a good couple times on it. The Misener dyno session

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is mainly a chance for us to tune the fuel system and the nitrous hit to arrive at a safe base tune-up. As drag racers, we know nothing substitutes the data acquired at the track, and that testing will come in spring. For the nitrous oxide tune, we needed to use VP Fuels C-16. With the high compression and 200 - 300hp hit of nitrous oxide, the PCRC bullet will run best on the VP C-16 fuel. VP has a great website and excellent tech support system. If you need fuel for your machine of any performance level, VP can supply an off-the-shelf fuel or make a custom fuel for your requirements.

I have been using nitrous oxide as a successful power adder for many years. What we need to understand when using any power adder, (boost or nitrous), the engine package must follow certain rules. Rules like parts selection, clearances, compression, camshaft events, and tune-up. The power comes from the amount of fuel you can burn efficiently - fuel needs the air to burn and make the power.

Today, we use the wideband oxygen sensor to monitor fuel/air ratios. No more seat of the pants driving down a track to tell your buddies, yeah, she feels a little fat! To compliment the data we gain from the widebands, another classic method to check tune-up is reading spark plugs. We visually see what kind of burn we have in the chamber, through spark plug reading. Try to learn this skill as you can detect oil migration, timing issues, excessive heat depending on the fuel you are using and so on. All

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After some motor runs, the valves are set, carb jetted, timing is programmed, all we need to do is set the fuel pressure for the nitrous hit.

Click here to watch us start the Pace Car Race Car for the first fire up!

A shameless plug for RPM swag; be sure to visit our Shopify store: rpm-mag.myshopify.com this said, try to resist the temptation to reach ultimate power numbers and go to the edge on your tune-up. Always have a plan for a bit more power, and these days, with many types of no prep racing, you need to know how to back the power off as well.

After checking all systems and a couple heat cycles on Misener’s Dyno, we were ready to make the first dyno pull. After the first pull, air/fuel trim looked lean at the top of the rpm cycle. After discussion, we decided to add more jet and a few more minor tweaks to our new carburetor. The ending jet on our 1050cfm 4150 style

carburetor is 89 squared. Our timing was a very safe 30 degrees total.

With my experience, we could probably make a bit more power by playing with the timing, but I resisted the temptation, as we are here primarily to make some nitrous hits. After these fuel changes, we found that the engine sounded strong and the A/F ratio came right into line. Next step

PROJECT PACE CAR RACE CAR - ENGINE FINAL COSTING SHEET

(Right) Check out our Project Costing Sheet.

We came in at a very respectable budget for this build (Left) Here we use a high quality large face gauge to check and set our flowing fuel pressure. Nitrous bottle pressure to 1000 psi and we are ready for the nitrous dyno pull. was to check all systems of the nitrous kit.

As mentioned early on in the Pace Car Race Car series, with budget in mind, we assembled this nitrous oxide kit with many different used components we had on the shelf. That is not to say that we didn’t triple check every part, as knowing that solenoids are opening and staying open is very important.

Just as important is the ratio of nitrous to fuel. Nitrous oxide is an oxygen rich liquid that gives your internal combustion engine the abil-

Part

Part Number

Cost

Total Cost

Used OEM 9.500 deck / 4.030 inch bore Windsor Block

XXXXX

$100.00

$100.00

Bore .040 oversize and hone

XXXXX

300

300

Used Steel Crank 3.750 inch stroke

XXXXX

200

200

Balance Service

XXXXX

300

300

Trick Flow Specialties Cylinder Heads TW R

5241T805-C01

1550

3100

Wiseco Piston and ring set

WD-10185

1650

1650

Comp Cams Camshaft

35-782-9

406

406

Comp Cams Lifters Solid Roller

96838B-16

935

935

Comp Cams Valve Springs / Retainers

947-16/ 722-16

385+ 325

710

Comp Cams Cam Timing Kit

3135KT

220

220

Comp Cams Push Rods

7778-16

160

160

Comp Cams Locators /Shims / Locks /Seals

4708/4756/611-16/506-16

33+27+27+38

125

Harland Sharp Roller Rocker Arm Kit

S4403

380

380

Harland Sharp Rocker Arm Stud Girdle

G4404

250

250

Used oil pan, timing cover and water pump

XXXXX

75+20+50

145

Eagle Rods

CRS6250B3D2000

550

550

Damper

XXXXX

120

120

Bearings- rod and main

XXXXX

100

100

Gasket Kit

XXXXX

300

300

Used flexplate

XXXXX

75

75

Valve Covers

XXXXX

100

100

Intake Manifold

2924

440

440

Headers

XXXXX

600

600

Carburetor

FSC4150B

850

850

Silicone and oils

XXXXX

50

50

Hardware

ARP and Misc. used

200

200

Total

$12,366.00

ity to burn more fuel. Burn more fuel and you make more power! That power comes at a price in the form of high cylinder pressures and heat, though, so there are certain rules you need to follow when using nitrous.

If you use over a 100hp jet, you should start to use colder plugs. Fuel/air ratios, as well as timing, are some of the most important tuning issues. If your combination is hurt or broken in any way, you cannot make it better with more nitrous oxide, this type of thinking leads www.rpmmag.com

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Setting up the micro switch for wide open nitrous activation is a must.

Before you engage the nitrous, the engine should be rolling past 3000 rpm and only activated at wide open throttle. This helps if you lose traction and need to get off the gas during a run.

Check out the info screens for our Motor and Nitrous dyno runs at Misener’s. The motor pull was fairly light as we only tuned to get a max of 200hp on juice. to catastrophic failure. Most nitrous companies have safe tune-ups - this is a good place to start. If you have a chance to talk to one of the greats in this field, you will be rewarded with a wealth of information. Today, there are many companies, but buy a trusted name kit and parts designed for your application, or have one designed for it, and go have some fun.

Our kit is a plate system with 2 fuel jets and 2 nitrous oxide jets. The 4 jets limit the amount of fuel and nitrous mixing in the plate spray bars.

Before our first nitrous hit on the dyno, I always flow our fuel pressure as it is relative to the quantity of fuel in the tune-up. If you plan on tuning your kit with precision, buy a quality fuel pressure gauge. I have a large face high quality NX gauge that has led us to many successful tune-ups.

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the same voltage when the nitrous kit is activated. My experience has shown that you will not flow as much fuel at 11 volts as you would at 14 volts. Your tune-up can get pretty fat with 3 extra volts, not to mention what would happen with less voltage.

Our tune-up starts at 6.5 flowing psi of fuel pressure. With that done, we need to get our bottle pressure correct, as bottle pressure also relates to flow. The minimum I like to see with this tune-up is 950psi at the solenoid, 1000psi at the bottle is great. Invest in a purge valve to help get this pressure correct, right at the solenoid.

In our case, it was a pretty cold day and I left our bottle warmer at the shop. Next best thing is to pop the bottle into the truck with the heater on full blast. About an hour later, we saw 1000 psi in the bottle. While the bottle was warming, we double checked the wide open throttle ni-

Click here to watch us Dyno the Pace Car Race Car with Nitrous

trous activation switch mounted on our carb. It was set up to activate at about 95% full sweep, all good. The last check was our golf tee to verify our distributor was phased to our retarded timing. A little turn of the distributor and we were ready. As for the retarded timing, the MSD Grid made this very easy to adjust with a stroke of a key. With the 200hp jets in our nitrous plate, I pulled a full 10 degrees from our total timing to keep the tune-up super safe. All systems are a go!

Scotty sparked the engine of the Pace Car and drove it through low gear, shifted into high gear and mashed the accelerator! WOW! I love that sound of a well-tuned engine making power at rpm. The first 2 nitrous pulls were a little too aggressive - we spun the tire when the nitrous oxide hit. After tightening all the chassis straps and activating

Mission Accomplished!

Ah, not so distant memories of warmer weather. All that’s left is testing how our new budget motor performs on track! Of course, we’ll need to go through the car and tweak the chassis so we can make the best use of our power. We’ll start with this base tune and work forward from there. We’re very confident that making 777whp on this conservative base that we will easily achieve our goal of 800whp.

the system at a little higher SOURCE BOX rpm, we went for another hit.

Comp Cams Again, the engine roared to www.compcams.com life, sounding like full traction 901-795-2400 this time, YES! We should get Harland Sharp some good data. If you recall, www.harlandsharp.com our goal was 800hp on nitrous 440-238-3260 so we were very happy as we made 777.48hp and 615.33 ft/ Misener Motorsports lb of torque at the tire. All this www.misenermotorsports.com 519-757-1201 with a very safe tune-up under 7000rpm. Doing a little math, MSD if our weight is where it should www.holley.com be, the car should go low 9’s, 1-866-464-6553 maybe into the 8 second zone Trick Flow Specialities in the ¼-mile. www.trickflow.com After a good day at the dyno, 330-630-1555 the only thing left was to check VP Fuels the plugs, check the valve lash, www.vpracingfuels.com a couple chassis modifications 210-635-7744 and then to the track! Come on, spring!

Wiseco www.wiseco.com RPM

440-951-6600 www.rpmmag.com

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The Red Bull

By Shannon Poole

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W

hen this Corvette was purchased by my father, it was 75 % complete and built to race NHRA Super Gas. Years later, I bought it from my dad and began to build the car for a different purpose, Discovery Channels Street Outlaw Noprep Kings. It was all mild steel and needed some updates to perform where and how I wanted it to.

The four-link was short, the wheelbase was 101 inches and the front to rear percentage was 50/50. I’m not a pro-

The rear body section is now mounted and will now be removable for ease of maintenance.

Jay used a Matukas motorsports four-link setup. This will give the car more adjustments and with proper placement, the car will see a drastic change in 60ft. times.

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Red Bull Restoration fessional chassis builder, but I knew I was going to have issues and be limited as to what I would be able to do with the car. At the time I figured I could make adjustments to the setup as problems occurred. This car was literally a backyard build and I had no experience with a four-link and did the best I could with limited time and knowledge, so I worked with what I had. I knew the car wouldn’t handle the power I needed to throw at it to be able to compete with the caliber of cars I would be up against. On the show, I couldn’t ever get the car to leave well.

After a few years of trying to figure out the combination of power management and four-link angles, it seemed that it was just not going to ever happen, and I was ready to throw in the towel. That’s when I met Steve Matukas of Matukas Motorsports. He urged me to put a small tire on the car, make some four link changes and give it another shot. I was asked to attend Brian Bossone’s All Out Live Event in Canada and with the new tire and suspension setup, off I went.

Matukas had the car on a rail within 3 passes on the 28 inch tire. That just goes to show you what a professional chassis tuner like Matukas and Jay The Chassis Doctor can do and how valuable their services can be.

We won 34 straight races on a 28 inch slick! In fact, Keen Parts offered a $1000 bounty for anybody that could beat us on the slick. Protecting that $1000 bounty for 2 years was

The Chassis Doctor changed up the rear structure to compliment the Matukas four-link. More strength out back provides a lot more safety and functionality. The four-link bars have been lengthened to compliment motor placement and wheelbase.

The inner floor was redesigned and strengthened. Jay used chromoly 1 5/8 tubing where mild steel was used before. This will make the car stronger in the center of it and lighter, as well.

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The motor was moved forward about 7 inches. Motor placement is extremely important in relation to the rear four-link to allow the car to work properly. Front end weight and four-link placement are a critical factors to ensure how the car handles the power. very stressful, but Matukas never turned the car up or down. We made small adjustments along the way but both agreed to one simple fact; we had a 4.60 car and that was the end of it.

For months after the wreck I pondered what made the car do what it did, but all I can do is speculate about what happened. Before that day at Gulfport, I found that the anti-roll bar was hitting the rearend. The four-link was plotted to make the car squat and really dig on the top end because of limited four-link adjustments, and I had noticed for a long time that the car would get stupid sometimes before the finishline. Well it made sense that if the anti-roll

bar was bottoming out on the chassis, that was the problem. I made the adjustments on the car and went to Gulfport. Round 1, I drew the fastest small tire car on the property, so naturally I jetted up the nitrous and just sent it! After I shoved the car in high gear, it started to wheelie a little and down track it got worse and worse. I didn’t realize it was starting to wheelie until it was too late. Looking at the pictures and videos it looks to me like the car was digging so hard that the rear end of the car was only about one inch off it the ground. I think this wouldn’t allow the air that was getting under the car to escape causing a horrible wreck.

The motor and struts are now mounted. Jay moved the front struts forward to lengthen the wheelbase because C-2 Corvettes are short from the factory. This will make the car work better and improve handling at high speeds.

This time around The Chassis Doctor is going to correct all of the bad geometry and outdated ideas that haunted the car (and me) before. He has stretched the wheelbase and lengthened the fourlink bars. He used a Matukas Motorsports designed four-link and placed it in the perfect position related to engine height. The car will still have the factory

body, doors and convertible top that Keen Parts and Tom Keen supplied us with and also a new factory replacement front end. I feel like this will be one of the best looking C-2 Corvette race cars on the planet when The Chassis Doctor hands it over to me to finish and as you are reading this we should be well on our way to doing just that.

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Story & Photos

by Tim Biro

Choosing a Machine Shop and running with it!

As we rock through the winter months, I lament about last summer and how almost all the races were cancelled, parts became tough to get, we were limited in working with a group of people in our shops, and we barely made it out to the local tracks.

I try to think about this coming summer in a more positive way, hoping we can get back to the way life once was. These past few weeks have been energizing, though, as I have been busy preparing some of the RPM projects I am involved in for the upcoming race season.

As you know, when you build your own projects, you become immersed in all aspects of the plan, even the parts that you farm out to others.

Since the inception of Project RPM World Domination, I have had to lean on a few good friends in the business and am grateful for their support. Planning and building this custom engine takes many experienced people. If you endeavor into a custom engine project of your own, I hope you have a good group of people to draw from, as I do. Several years in this business has led to having a like-minded group of professionals and friends (many are both) as support, just as I would support their 104

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■ I arrived for the first time at Kraushaar Machine Services on a snowy day, but then most of North America has seen more than its share of snow this winter. This will be my RPM shop for the next couple months as we machine and assemble the RPM World Domination engine project.

efforts. Their work ethic and level of dedication to strive for perfection must be the same as your own. That is not saying that we always do things to perfection, but how you deal with less than perfection is also a very important aspect in planning and building. Having a great team leads to great experiences, and in the case of a race car, wins!

My amazing team starts at home with RPM: Scott, Jay, and the RPM

staff. We are fortunate to live in North America with top manufacturers like those involved in Project World Domination; World Products, Bill Mitchell Products, PBM, Erson Cams, Ross Racing Pistons and Jesel. With the high quality parts these manufacturers produce and the plan I have, I needed to trust a custom machine shop close to me to handle machining duties. We have a gamut of fine machine shops in our area

■ Weighing all the rods on the big and the small

ends to get them all within our specification. We all teamed up on the balance duties, here Chad is taking a touch of weight off the big end at the grinder.

■ All the PBM rods are very close from the manufac-

turer, needing just a little work to get them perfect.

and I have had great experiences with all. Some points to consider when choosing your machine shop are: What is their reputation?

Does the machine shop do what you require in-house?

Always be very specific with what you require from your machine shop, stay in contact during the process and always agree on your budget and time frame before moving forward.

The machine shop we will be using for the World Domination project is Kraushaar

Machine Services. They have been around the industry for many years and have been machining and assembling custom engine packages from mild to wild from their beginning. All the machines at Kraushaar are quality Sunnen machines, operated by certified machinists. I approached Mick and the boys to accomplish our project in a few segments, so we are able to keep it fresh in Real Time for our readers as the process actually occurs. I dropped by

■ Cody installed the crank on the balancing machine.

Our bob weight is 1880 grams.

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with all the parts and met with Cody and Chad. Cody (the shop Founder Mick’s son) will be measuring and machining the block and reciprocating parts. Chad will be measuring and assembling the cylinder heads. I will be assisting where needed and completing the final long block assembly. Mick will be in the background ensuring our quality standards are met, which we already know will not be a problem, but having that assurance gives added peace of mind.

Our first meeting was to balance the parts swinging in the block. By balancing the crankshaft, we are effectively offsetting the rotating and reciprocating weights spinning on the crankshaft by adding or removing weight from the crankshaft throw area.

So we are trying to stop vibration due to off-balance rotation inside the engine block.

There are internally and externally balanced engines. Internally balanced, meaning, all balance is done internally at the crankshaft throw area. Externally balanced, meaning, balancing can be done at the crank and additionally at the engine damper and at the flywheel or flexplate, which are mounted externally outside the block. I have found that internal balancing your race engine is optimum for high rpm low vibration operation.

It may not be the most cost effective way, as adding Mallory Metal is expensive, but there is less confusion if dampers and flexplates ever need replacing. Either way, take good notes.

This brings to mind a quick story of the “unknown short block”. I purchased a short

Click here to watch us balance the PBM Crankshaft

■ After setting up the imitated bob weights on each crankshaft rod

journal, the machine is programmed and then the crank is spun up in the machine.

■ We now know

the exact amount of weight to install on the crankshaft balance throw area.

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■ All eight of our Ross Racing Pistons

weighed and are ready for measurement.

■ Cody installs the crank into a fixture and takes a high quality drill bit to make a hole to install our heavy weight Mallory Metal slug.

■ With a 4-5” micrometer Cody is measuring each piston’s skirt in the exact area recommended by Ross Racing Pistons. The final bore diameter minus the piston measurement is piston to wall clearance. For our application, we determined .0065” to be desirable.

block online from a private seller. It was an OEM externally balanced engine that came with no paperwork. It was evident that everything was new and fresh, but I didn’t know its balance and there was no Mallory Metal in the crank. Never assume, because if the correct damper and flexplate are not installed, you are in for vibration issues.

The engine will start, it may idle with no vibration, but when you take it off idle on the street, it will shake the teeth out of your gums. After many phone calls and emails, I found the original builder who answered my question starting with “I think….?” Oh no! Eventually, after many calls, I found out it was internally balanced, so I installed a neutral balanced (zero balance) damper and flywheel, with no issues.

First step is to weigh the mass of each part.

The quality machine work is evident as our Ross Racing Pistons are identical in weight from one to another. The PBM rods were very close as well, just requiring a little material removed from the big end, bringing all eight into spec. After we weigh each piece of the rotating and reciprocating parts, which include the rod bearings, piston rings, piston pins and locs, we can arrive at a total bob weight. This bob weight will be imitated on the balancing machine and the counter weight throw of the crank will be modified by removing or adding weight. Because we are building this engine for a power adder, the rotating and reciprocating weights are a little more than the cranks designed bob weight, thus I assume we will need to add weight. Removing weight is quite simply done by drilling out the crank throw, which is effectively taking metal weight out by mawww.rpmmag.com

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■ Preparing the newly made torque plate for the bore and hone

procedure, we must imitate the cylinder head and have a true surface. Here we are taking a cut off the gasket surface of our torque plate on the KMS Sunnen surfacing machine.

■ Our 9.200” deck

World Products block is installed in the Sunnen boring machine, head gasket in place, ready for the torque plate.

■ Cody sets up the honing stones for the bore bar. Ensure you torque your hardware with a quality torque wrench in the correct recorded sequence.

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■ Cody sets up

his bore gauge to make every cylinder the correct bore diameter for each piston. This gauge has increments for .00001 inch, you can imagine how touchy it is!

■ With how close our cylinders are to final bore size, we basical-

ly started honing the block with 500 series- 220 grit stones and brought in the final stages with the 800 series- 400 grit stones. Using Lexhone 50E fluid the honing is process started. This procedure takes quite a bit of experience with the machine as Cody was able to spot where the bore gets tighter and reacts to keep the hole as straight as an arrow.

■ Here we are, the finished hone to correct size, what a beautiful finish for our rings to seat into.

terial removal. The only way to add weight to the crankshaft is by drilling out material and adding heavier material. This is done with Mallory Metal. Mallory Metal is a dense metal weighing almost double that of steel.

Our total bob weight was 1880.0 grams, we added 227 grams of Mallory Metal to correct the balance 127 grams. The required Mallory was installed on our PBM crankshaft, so we should have no issues with vibration all the way through our desired operating RPM range.

Next, Cody and I moved our attention to the World Products 9.200 Deck 6 Bolt Iron Man O’War Block, man I love saying that!

We are going to set our piston to wall clearance. This is done by measuring each piston.

Ross Racing Pistons has a great online presence with lots of useful information, so we printed the Ross Racing Piston Installation Guide and Ross Racing Piston Ring Installation Guide. Away we go! Each piston was very close at the desired piston measuring point, ranging from 4.1187” to 4.1189”.

As I stated last month, the World Products blocks are CNC machined in-house. Wow, now I can say firsthand that the bore is deadon with what World Products states. For our application, we only needed to increase the bore .0065”. Cody and I installed the dowels, head gasket and the newly made torque plate (thanks again Ryan Chatterson of Chatterson Machine & Tool) with our ARP studs on www.rpmmag.com

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■ After torquing all our main

caps to specification, Cody sets up the bore gauge to the required main bore diameter, then measures each main bore for any variance. This is where the World Products CNC machine shop shines once again as we found closer than factory specifications.

■ Click here to watch Cody

running the boring bar in the World Products cylinder block

the Man O’War block. The Torque Plate is installed to simulate the cylinder head on the block and is torqued in place with the same correct procedure and specification as final assembly. Doing this will ensure your bore is straight and now, ours is!

The World Products Man O’War 9.200” block is bangon as advertised once again.

Cody checked the main register ID and it falls in better than the OEM standards for 351 Cleveland size. All that 110

is left is to see how square the block is to the crankshaft centerline. For this, we will need to mock-up the short block by installing the crank, rods and pistons. This will give us the remaining information required for any additional machining processes and final assembly.

Until then, have a great time enjoying the snow or sun wherever you may be in the world, and keep building the projects that make you smile!

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SOURCES

Kraushaar Machine Services 519-688-3508 www.facebook.com/KraushaarMachineServices/

World Products

www.pbm-erson.com 1-877-630-6651

Ross Racing Pistons www.rosspistons.com 310-536-0100

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