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EDITOR’S RANT GASSER WARS LIVING LEGEND “OHIO GEORGE” MONTGOMERY TO DEBUT NEW BOOK “KING OF THE GASSERS”
AT PRI 2017 WITH RPM
T
MAG!
he Legend returns: Ohio George Montgom- of the National Hot Rod Association’s most prestiery is making a special appearance ONLY gious awards, including the Lifetime Achievement at the RPM MAGAZINE booth # 4805 Award, and is listed as one of drag racing’s top 50 all during the Performance & Racing Industry time drivers. show December 7th-9th 2017 in IndianapoOne of the most colorful chapters in drag raclis to share his new book with fans young and old. ing history is the saga of the AA/Gas Supercharged George will have coupes that created a limited amount of some of NHRA’s most books available to intense rivalries from be personalized and the late 1950s through signed by Ohio George! the early 1970s. Come talk with the The combination of legend himself. Wanna supercharged engines know what it was like in full-bodied cars to drive a bottom presented a readily 8-second straight axle identifiable package for 1,800hp fuel injected the race fans, and the twin turbo Boss 429 AA/GS entries were, in monster back in the essence, the forerunearly seventies? Ask ners of funny car and Ohio George, he’ll tell pro stock. In its heyday, “Ohio George” Montgomery’s Mr. Gasket Gasser you straight up! from the collection of Bob Perkins (yes that’s Ohio’s the class boasted such I have said it many original Gasser suit!) Pete Ores photo talent as “Big John” times in the past: to Mazmanian, Stonehave a clear vision of where we are going, we have Woods-Cook, K.S. Pittman, Jr. Thompson, and, of understand where we’ve been. We have to respect course, “Ohio George” Montgomery. No racer in and pay tribute to our past in fast cars and drag the gasser ranks could match Montgomery’s record racing—those who made this sport what it is today in national event competition. The class winner on and those outside-the-box innovators—and Ohio many occasions at the U.S. Nationals, Montgomery George is one them. George was on the cutting-edge drove his AA/GS machines to major Eliminator of technology in chassis tuning and making big victories at Indy on four different occasions and horsepower during the heyday of the gassers and also claimed an additional three Eliminator titles early days of funny cars, what an honor to again at other events. Montgomery’s domination of Indy have him at the RPM MAG booth at PRI. To put was especially significant because it was the only things into perspective for our hot rodders of today, national event on the NHRA schedule for many Ohio George ran a twin turbocharged fuel injected years—hence the biggest race in terms of bragging Boss 429 Mustang over 40 years ago! rights. Ohio George’s book, King of the Gassers is a Montgomery quickly established his reputation tell-all of how a young man growing up during the as the top racer in his chosen area of competition by very roots of ultimate horsepower drag racing made driving his supercharged/injected A/Gas entry to a name for himself through hard work, determinastrong 11-second times for back-to-back class and Little Eliminator victories at the U.S. Nationals in tion, and innovation. 1959 and 1960 when the event was held in Detroit. George Montgomery came of age in the classic era of the hot rod and he lived for cars. Read how he After the race relocated to its permanent home in opened George’s Speed Shop in a suburb of Dayton, Indianapolis in 1961, Montgomery won his third consecutive class title. Soon after the establishment Ohio, where he built and raced cars to become one of the AA/Gas supercharged class, Montgomery of the pioneers of the sport of drag racing. It was switched to a blown small-block Chevy engine and during the era of the Gasser Wars of the 1960s that won both class and Middle Eliminator honors at the George earned the moniker “Ohio George.” He de1963 Nationals with low 10-second performances, veloped and drove the iconic 1933 World’s Wildest and he followed with still another class win in Indy Willys™, the groundbreaking Malco Gasser Musin 1964. tang, and the Mr. Gasket turbocharged Mustang to “Ohio George” has earned a number of honors victory for his career accomplishments. In 1983 he was after inducted into the NHRA North Central Division’s victory. Hall of Fame. In 1992, he was selected for memberAfter retiring ship in the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame from and also inducted into the Don Garlits’ Internationracing al Drag Racing Hall of Fame. He was named Grand in 1985, Marshal for the 1998 Midwest Hot Rod Reunion George and in September 1998 presented with the NHRA became Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1999, George and one of many of his fellow AA/Gas supercharged racers the most joined together for a special reunion at the NHRA sucMotorsports Museum in Pomona, California. MEET OHIO GEORGE: At the RPM MAGAcessful engine ZINE Booth # 4805 PRI Show 2017 Ohio George Montgomery with RPM Editor builders In Chief Chris Biro during George’s first in the Thursday, December 7, 2017; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm appearance at the RPM booth during the country. Friday, December 8, 2017; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm 2013 PRI show where he signed copies of He is the Saturday, December 9, 2017; 10:00 am – 12:00 noon RPM with his story. recipient
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Be sure to check out our Performance Directory on page 68!
HOT
Often Imitated, Never Duplicated—For 18 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!
EVENTS
THE SO Much Horsepower Packed Into One Place... That Place IS RPM Magazine!
RIDES 2017 Yellow Bullet Nats: Locked and Loaded.....
Down with the Sickness.............. 54 Two-time Drag Week champion Tom Bailey reloads with a fresh dose of street-driven pro mod 4,000-horsepower ’69 Camaro
Big Girl............................................................................ 20 There’s a whole lot to love with this ’72 Chevelle!
UN REHL (REAL)......................................................... 8
Memories last a lifetime. This 1963 Plymouth Savoy Max Wedge was just meant to be.
THE
PROJECTS & TECH Shop Talk.............................................................. 34 The old-school gearhead: A lost breed or evolving organism?
You Can CNC Me Now...............................................94 A quality home CNC setup for cutting billet parts for under a grand? You can do it with a MillRight desktop CNC router system!
Extreme Weight Loss Challenge: Episode 2..............98
Different is Good................................................. 40
Dominic Palazzolo’s homebuilt flat-hood ’64 Comet is unique to say the least
The Thug is still counting calories and moving onto cardio with the help of Harwood
Chipping Away....................................................108
Braddy Custom Paint inches our project car ever-closer to trick paint and graphics with some custom body mods
READ COMPLETE ISSUES OF RPM MAG ONLINE AT WWW.RPM-MAG.COM 6
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The 8th annual end-of-summer get-down at Cecil County Dragway does not disappoint!
november2017 | RPM Magazine
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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M
ike Rehl was in the seventh grade when his father, Charlie, raced a 409 Chevy. From that point in his life, there was little doubt that the son would follow in the father’s footsteps and become attracted to those early muscle cars. This story is as much about that inspiring force as
it is about the car to which it led. “I will never forget the day a new, off-the-showroomfloor 1962 Dodge 413 Max Wedge pulled into Hyde Park Drag Strip in Heath, Ohio. Everyone had heard about these new from the factory super stock race cars but few had seen them,” told Mike. “The car drew a crowd as the owner uncapped the factory
exhaust and put on his slicks.” Tagging along with his father and a group of other racers, Rehl found the perfect spot along the fence to watch the Dodge make its first pass. While he doesn’t recall the elapsed time of that run, he does recall his father turning around to the crowd and saying “boys, it’s all over”. The following year, Rehl’s dad
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www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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UN REHL
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE The look and stance of the car appear stock, but this Mopar is anything but. Big 295 Mickey Thompson radials are tucked within the confines of the Savoy’s wheelwells. Normally, given the low narrow stock wheelwell, this would not be possible.
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ordered and purchased a new 1963 Plymouth Savoy 426 Max Wedge from a local Plymouth Dealer, Whites Motor Service, in Newark, Ohio. Now in the eighth grade and really starting to get into fast cars and racing, Rehl recalls going out to his father’s shop behind their house where he had his repair business, so that he could tinker around the cars and hang out on Saturdays. “I would sweep the floors, wipe off all the tools and put them away for $2.00, plus eat potato chips and drink pop as much as I could sneak,” he remembered fondly. It was mid-November when the new Savoy arrived and the elder Rehl immediately pulled the engine out to blueprint it to the super stock
class specs. With a race-cation planned to Florida with his family, time was of the essence for Charlie but he got the job done in time to head south with his new car in tow behind the family tow rig; a new 1963 383 powered Plymouth Station wagon. “Getting ready for the trip was crazy, loading and stuffing the race car trunk with tires, tools and parts. Then, what we couldn’t fit in the race car, we stuffed in the wagon along with clothes, my parents, my brother Gary and me,” Mike laughed. The family actually had no idea of what was to come during this trip. Mike recalled the very first time in Florida when his dad stood on the gas a bit while driving around the pits. “The car would miss, backfire and barely run. Dad
pulled back up to our pit and I ran up to the driver’s door in a panic and asked what was wrong. He never said a word, just got out of the car and went to the tool box where he pulled out a new set of plugs; problem solved.” Charlie won that day and took home $600, a lot of money in the early sixties. Apparently, though, the southern based racers were not very happy that some northerner with a fancy new Plymouth came down and took the money, so collecting the winnings was a bit unnerving. Winning that race got the attention of a promoter who set Charlie up for match races in Daytona and St. Petersburg. “In Daytona, we had a best of three match race with the Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick. They had no
BEEFY OUT BACK A Ford 9-inch rearend is fortified with a Strange center section, spool and 35 spline axles.
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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UN REHL Christmas Tree, only a flagman.” Each racer took a win and in the final bout Charlie won, but not without a brouhaha taking place afterwards. “All hell broke loose,” said Mike. “The starting line people said my father jumped at the line and had to rerun the race. We again had a lot of racer friends there for
backup, including a well-known AA Gas Dragster World Champion, Dick Padar. Dick, along with a small mob rushed to the starting line and after a heated discussion, they had to rerun the race and Beswick won.” During this now-whirlwind dream race vacation, the Rehls headed to St. Pe-
tersburg to match race another Max Wedge car and a 409 Chevy. While he can’t recall the drivers of those cars, Mike recalls that the 409 Chevy had “Joie Chitwood” in big letters all over the car. Nonetheless, his dad handedly beat both challengers and took home the winnings. Ironically, before leaving for their vacation, Mike’s parents didn’t know if they had enough money to pay for
the trip, but when they returned home they had more money than they left with! As spring sprung back in Ohio, the local race tracks opened and Charlie continued to show off his racing prowess, taking wins at the local tracks; Hyde Park Drag Strip in Heath, Ohio and Pacemakers Drag Strip in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The elite new track in the area, Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio, was now the
premier track in the midwest and Charlie took more than a few wins there. “The one race I remember the most,” said Mike, “was a big championship event that drew in some of the biggest names in Super Stock Racing; The Ramchargers, Golden Commandos, Arlen Vanke in a Pontiac Tempest Wagon, Bill Maverick Golden in a 1963 Max Wedge, plus some of the country’s fastest lightweight
BLING BLING The front trim on the Savoy is large and in charge! Gone for 1963 were the heavy side bodylines and new for ’63 were the large marker/signal lights on each side.
RULE THE
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STRIP
RARE FIND. RARE. FINE! 1963 Plymouth Savoy 2-door post cars are not exactly commonplace and Mike Rehl completely stumbled onto this one. A fitting tribute to the person who greatly influenced his life, Mike’s father, Charlie Rehl. Charlie brought home a brand new true 1963 Plymouth Savoy 426 Max Wedge car and experienced a whirlwind of attention after winning some races. As the front suspension shows, the car is clean enough to eat off of everywhere!
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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UN REHL
GOT THE BLUES? The interior has been expertly restored to factory styling with some added bonuses. A Super Stock-legal roll bar has been added to the Savoy. The completed car saw the show circuit in 2017 and plans are to hit various Nostalgia Super Stock classes on the drag strip with it starting next year. Elsewhere, the rear seat is gone in favor of weight savings and making room for rear tires. An array of aftermarket gauges and switches has been added alongside the factory gauge cluster. The custom 426 Super Stock headrests are a nice touch. Fords and 409 Chevys.” Charlie did well, whittling through the field of independents, but just couldn’t outrun the factory-supported race teams. “Mostly,” added Mike, “I remember that race so well because what took place in
the pits changed my father’s racing career.” Charlie was close friends with the Rader family who would eventually build National Trail Raceway. In fact, Clark Rader, Jr. and Rehl were old street racing buddies. That day
THE
in the pits Mike heard Clark tell his dad about a plan to build a drag strip. “I immediately went up to them so I wouldn’t miss a word of the conversation,” said Mike. Rader went on to explain the plan and location in Hebron on ST
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
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Some parts are not legal for sale or use on any pollution-controlled motor vehicles.
UN REHL RT 40 which is known as Old National Trail. “They spoke for some time about how the Rader family would build the track to NHRA specs and make it a first-class facility that could attract major events. My father was extremely enthused about it. Then out of nowhere Clark asked Dad if he would like to be involved in some way, and how he wanted someone with a race background to be the event director. My father agreed to the offer.” While Mike truly hated to see racing the Max Wedge go away, he understood that you can’t race and work at a race track on the same weekend. Mike was just getting his driver’s license as the car would be sold, but the upside was that he had a job working at the track all through school. “It was really an exciting experience for me as well—seeing the big match races, wheelstanders and personalities that raced during that era,” added Mike. “But at the same time, I loved and missed the Savoy my father sold, and hoped and believed that someday I would have one of my own.” Mike would soon follow his dad’s lead and began racing Chevrolets, mostly because of the easy access he had to Chevys, since his dad was now the Sales Manager at Walters Chevrolet, just two miles from the track. Mike too, saw success in the sport he loved but never
forgot that 1963 Plymouth Max Wedge car. Now follow along as we track the sequence of events that led to the find of a lifetime for Mike. A friend of Mike’s, also a hardcore car guy, Dick Worly, talked Mike into heading to the Charlotte Auto Fair at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dick’s brother Jim lives in Piedmont, SC so they decided to visit him for a couple of days before the event. Jim was having a 1970 Roadrunner restored by a friend of his, Larry Leaphart. The group visited Leaphart’s shop to see the Roadrunner in progress firsthand. “Larry is a Mopar guy and that is all he pretty much works on,” explained Mike. After looking around Leaphart’s shop and talking to him for a while, Rehl could tell he knew his Mopars, so he thought this might be the person to ask about a 1963 Savoy 2-door post car. “To my surprise, Larry told me that he had one in the back, behind his shop. I thought he was kidding when he told me to go outside to look for myself.” Sure enough, parked around the back of Leaphart’s shop was a light blue 1963 Plymouth Savoy, 2-door post sitting in the weeds. And even more amazing was that it was a complete unmolested car, although a base slant six model, everything was there. Despite the sun-faded paint, cracked steering wheel,
rotted dash pad and interior, there were no missing parts and the car had very little rust. Getting his hopes up, Rehl asked for a price on the find, only to be told it was already sold, or at least “almost sold.” The deal with the would-be buyer was made on the condition that his work panned out to allow him to afford it. After two days on pins and needles, Rehl learned that the previous deal fell through and that the car was his. “We discussed the price and I wrote him a check on the spot,” said Mike. Armed with such fond memories, the next step was to decide how to build the car. Rehl based his decision on two main things: his love of nostalgia super stock cars (as they reminded of the old super stock days of footbrake racing with no electronics) and how the popularity of these cars was growing once again. And, of course, last but certainly not least, Mike wanted to replicate his father’s 1963 Max Wedge. So his plan was to build a car for nostalgia super stock racing but at the same time make it a show-quality piece. While he knew the project would be a long one, Rehl had no idea it would take 13 years to complete. “I was so busy racing and maintaining two race cars, running my auto sales business full time, and spending time with my wife and family that it didn’t leave a lot
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
Packin’ a cross ram intake, back in ’63, the new 426 Max Wedge mill was said to be capable of mid 12-second quarter-mile runs. Regardless, everyone knew these were built for the quarter!
MIKE REHL’S 1963 PLYMOUTH SAVOY MAX WEDGE GIVE ’EM A WEDGIE Mike painstakingly sought out as much original style 426 Max Wedge/Super Stock related items as possible to use on the engine during the build. But there have been a number of major upgrades that you can’t easily identify, like the INDY aluminum heads. MSD ignition products have been used to keep the fire in the wedge burning clean. Twin Edelbrock 750 carbs sit atop the Mopar cross ram intake.
Chassis Type & Mods: Chassis and roll bar completed by Pat and Andy Kronenbitter at PK Race & Rods Millersport, OH. Suspension & Brakes: Custom ladder bar rear with Strange adjustable shocks front and rear, Strange 4-wheel disc brakes. Body & Paint: Wayne Campbell Nashport, OH. Glass done by Larry & Dustin Goodin/Goodin Auto Repair and Performance. Engine: Engine machine work by Bob Beach Performance, New Albany, Ohio. 540-inch World wedge block with Eagle 4.5 stoke crank and rods, Diamond 4.370 flat top pistons (10.5 compression), aftermarket Indy aluminum Max Wedge heads with 310 cc intake port and 110 exhaust port, T&D 1.5 rocker arms, COMP cams 620 lift solid roller cam and Smith Brothers pushrods. All machine work done by Bob Beach Perfomance in New Albany, Ohio. Max Wedge aluminum oil pump and billet aluminum swinging pick-up with Earls aluminum oil pan. ATI damper, Meziere water pump and starter, Holley HP 150 fuel pump billet filters and regulator, Be Cool radiator and fans. Induction & Power Adder: Mopar Max Wedge Cross-ram intake manifold with dual Edelbrock 750 cfm carbs,. Electronics & Ignition: MSD distributor, coil, box and wires. Transmission: Cope Racing Transmissions reverse manual shift 727 Torqueflight, 4500 Quick Draw torque converter, CSR trans shield, Dynotech aluminum driveshaft, stock Plymouth push button shifter. Differential: 9-inch Ford with aluminum center with 35-spline axles, spool and 4.10 gear. Exhaust: TTI step headers. Wheels and Tires: Custom-painted and polished Torque Thrust wheels (15x4.5 front, 15x10 rear), Mickey Thompson Sportsman Radial tires with 295/65R-15 rears.
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
UN REHL
SO FRESH The ladder bar with coilover Rear suspension was built by PK Race & Rods. PK also handled all of the chassis bracing and large diameter full X-pipe exhaust system shown here. The trunk is just as squeaky clean as the rest of the build.
of time for my Plymouth. Plus, it’s surprising how time consuming it is to send the car to different shops during the restoration and fabrication process.” Step one was to get the body and miscellaneous parts ready for acid dipping. A year later the Plymouth made its way to good friend and restoration pro Wayne Campbell, to start massaging the body which included some floor replacement and two small quarter patch panels, the rest is all factory steel. Once the car was in primer it was sent to PK Race N Rods for chassis work where Pat and Andy Kronenbitter expertly handled the mini tub, rear end fabrication work and roll bar.
The car headed back to Rehl’s shop for an engine and trans trial fit following which it was sent back to PK for final chassis work. “I had been collecting my Max Wedge engine parts while the other steps were being done and took them to another friend, Bob Beach, at Bob Beach Performance, to have him check everything and assemble the short block.” With a new short block completed Mike went to work assembling the rest of the engine. The result was a World Products block based mill measuring a roomy 540-inches topped by INDY aftermarket aluminum Wedge heads and a Mopar cross ram intake with twin 750 Edelbrock carbs. A tricked out Cope Racing Transmissions reverse manual shift 727 Torqueflight transfers
power rearward to the beefed up 9-inch with ladder bar/coilover suspension set up. Once the engine, trans and rear were installed, the car was once again sent back to PK Race N Rods for some more chassis work and a custom exhaust system. The car made another trek home where it was completely disassembled to enable Campbell to finish the body and paint. Once back at the body shop, Campbell bolted it on to the rotisserie and went to work. “The years added up with the car gone for months at a time, from shop to shop, assembling and disassembling several times,” explained Rehl. When Mike got the call that the car had been completed he couldn’t wait to get it back to his shop one last time to start the final assembly. “With a little help from
some more friends, Jeff Fisher, from Reliable Upholstering, and Larry and Dustin Goodin, of Goodin Auto Repair & Performance, we started the final step. There is nothing like working on a newly finished project car that needs to be assembled from the ground up. Every part you touch is brand new with no grease or dirt and as you install each part, you stand back and look at your work and have a feeling of accomplishment.” With the car only recently completed, Rehl decided to show it off for the summer of 2017 before he hits the track to race it in various Nostalgia Super Stock classes next year. And as for Mike’s dad Charlie Rehl, “By the way, my father is now 88 years old and he absolutely loves the car!” he added proudly.
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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myself restored into a street rod.” Jeremy drove the ’39 pick-up during his senior year of high school, until his dad bought him a 1964 Chevy II for a graduation present. The lil’ Chevy II was
eventually sold, however, when this 1972 Chevelle came into the picture. Jeremy’s Chevelle offers a whole lot to love, considering she’s not necessarily on the petite side. Tipping
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t the ripe young age of seven, Indiana native, Jeremy Elrod was first introduced to cars and racing. Thanks to his dad and his godfather,
story and photos by
Tabitha Sizemore
www.rpm-mag.com | november2017
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BIG GIRL
LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP Jeremy Elrod and the BIG GIRL have been a pair for nearly 23 years, and there’s no end in sight! Slowing this heavy Chevy down after another 5.80 pass in the eighth requires more than just good brakes, as Elrod is seen dropping the laundry here.
the scales at over 3,600 pounds, a well-known tune by the infamous AC/DC quickly comes to mind, “Whole Lotta Rosie,” and at over a ton and a half, Big Girl is a whole lotta car to be slinging around, too. Jeremy has had a long relationship with the ’72, going back nearly 23 years to be exact. “I’ve always had a love for the Chevelle platform, from the 1964 model up to the ’72 version year that
22
I own. I searched for a 1966 Chevelle for a while because it was my favorite year, but I was unable to find one that was affordable to me at the time.” A bit more financially friendly, Elrod set out on his second choice of body styles, which was the ’72, and his search finally came to fruition after about six months of hunting. The Chevrolet Chevelle covered three generations during the years of
november2017 | RPM Magazine
1964 to 1978 and was one of Chevy’s more popular nameplates. Part of the General Motors A-Body platform, the Chevelle was ultimately succeeded by the Malibu. The 1972s were on the up-and-up of popularity and were one of the best-selling cars in America at the time. “I bought the car when I was 17 years old for a daily driver for $3000 and found it just two miles down the road from my house,” Elrod
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www.rpm-mag.com | november2017
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THAT’S SHOCKING Look closely. No coilovers! shared. The car saw a restoration that had been completed about two years prior, which meant it was still in really good condition. “I daily drove the car and messed around on the street with it for about three years before I got serious with making it faster.” Jeremy’s first engine was built to be a naturally aspirated small block with a substantial camshaft. After about a year of driving and a little fun
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
on the street, Elrod really started to get the itch to go faster, and the engine was pulled and underwent a rebuild. “The new engine was built with high (13:1) compression, as it would see a 300-shot nitrous kit. Then we were really having some fun,” he said with a smile. Elrod went about six years with the nitrous-assisted setup until he got the urge to try out forced
induction. “I changed the pistons and bought a ProCharger F1C and blow-thru carburetor. That set-up netted a fun street car that was in the high 5s consistently in the eighthmile, and was still pretty street-friendly.” Elrod used that combination for about five years until the stock block finally gave up. That equipment failure ultimately led Jeremy down the
BIG GIRL
JEREMY ELROD’S STREET/STRIP 1972 CHEVROLET CHEVELLE
www.rpm-mag.com | november2017
SPOOLER SPORT
You can see the S484 Borg Warner turbo peeking behind the grille. The 1972 marked the last year of this popular Chevy.
Chassis: 10-point chromoly cage with funny car style halo built by Vern House Race Cars. Suspension: FRONT: Stock style front suspension. Triangulated suspension with adjustable upper and lower control arms. 10-inch 240lb coil-over springs in factory spring pockets. REAR: QA1 single adjustable rear shocks. VHR anti-roll bar set-up. VHR upper and lower control arms. Moroso drag springs. QA1 single adjustable shocks. Body & Paint: All steel body with Fiberglass 6-inch cowl hood. 2000 model Silver Metallic paint with Charcoal Mist stripes. Body work was last done in 2004 at Jeff’s Rod & Restoration. Engine: 2005 5.3L stock bottom end LS1, 241 casting heads with Brian Tooley Racing Springs, Bullet Camshaft .246/.246 @ .050 .625/.625 lift on a 114 lobe separation. COMP Cams 7.400 .080 push rods, stock GM truck lifters, LS9 head gaskets, and GM Performance timing chain. ARP head studs, factory truck-style intake, 75mm throttle body, and 6.0L truck manifolds reversed. Induction, Power Adder, and Fuel Delivery: Magna Fuel MP 750 EFI fuel pump. VMS Racing billet aluminum fuel rails. Holley Performance 160-pound injectors with low impedance resistors. Tuned on pump E85. S484 billet twin scroll Borg Warner turbo. 0.96 exhaust/1.32 ar. turbo built by Jose Zayas at Forced Inductions. Electronics: Megasquirt MS3 Gold Box from EFI Source. Fully adjustable EFI Tuning. Transmission & Driveline: Powerglide with billet 1.76 planetary. 10-clutch forward drum, hardened turbo spline input shaft, SFI bellhousing and roller tailshaft. 9.5-inch 4,500 RPM stall converter by Bradco Engineering. Differential: 9-inch rear end with 4.10 Richmond gears, 33-spline Moser axles and full spool. Tires & Wheels: Mickey Thompson 15 X 4 fronts with 195/15 street tire. Weld Racing Aluma Star 15 x 9 rears with Mickey Thompson Gen 1 295/65 drag radials. Performance: 5.80 at 120 miles per hour at 3,750 pounds with driver.
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
BIG GIRL CLEAR FOR TAKEOFF Elrod makes a wheels-up launch at US60 Dragway in Hardinsburg, Kentucky. The ‘72 had been a personal best of 5.80 at 120 miles per hour, all while tipping the scales at over 3700 pounds with driver, all while looking fresh with a gorgeous silver paint job and metallic charcoal rally stripes on the 6-inch fiberglass cowl hood.
path to where he’s at today: a two year build of an LS turbocharged combo. “Choosing the turbo LS set-up was a no-brainer for me. I wanted
a fast, yet very streetable car that I could drive anytime, anywhere. The goal is to be able to drive it 45 miles to the track, bust off some 5.50’s in the eighth mile,
and then drive it to the local ice cream parlor and enjoy it with the family.” BIG GIRL maintains an all steel body with the exception of the 6-inch cowl
www.rpm-mag.com | november2017
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hood. After all those years, the body work was revisited in 2004 at Jeff’s Rod & Restoration, and the 2000 model Silver Metallic is highlighted by Charcoal Mist stripes. The ’72 is a stock frame car with a 10-point chro-
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
moly roll cage by Vern House Race Cars. The current engine configuration is a 2005 5.3L stock bottom end LS1 with an S484 billet twin scroll Borg Warner turbo from Forced Inductions. Sitting atop the LS is
a pair of 241 casting heads with Brian Tooley Racing springs. Elrod utilized a pair of 6.0L truck manifolds and a factory truck style intake with 75mm throttle body. A Megasquirt MS3 Gold Box from EFI Source
BIG GIRL
LS? ELLL YESS! The Chevelle’s turbocharged 5.3L makes some serious steam. Jeremy used a whole bunch of stock parts with great success, which he can prove on the strip. Check out the four remote-mount coil packs on each side of the firewall.
www.rpm-mag.com | november2017
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BIG GIRL
provides the fully adjustable EFI tuning as well as tech and tuning support. The Chevelle is tuned on the recognizably aromatic E85 with a Magna Fuel MP EFI fuel pump, VMS Racing billet aluminum fuel rails and Holley Performance
160-pound injectors. Power gets to the ground by way of a Powerglide and Bradco Engineering 9.5-inch converter. The 9-inch rear holds a Moser full spool and 33-spline axles and 4.10 Richmond
CAGED BEAST The 10-point chromoly cage with funny car-style halo was built by Vern House Race Cars. Devoid of high tech instrumentation, this car was built to have fun with family on the street and strip.
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
BIG GIRL gear set. For suspension Jeremy maintains the factory rear triangulated suspension with adjustable VHR upper and lower control arms and QA1 single adjustable shocks. Also out back is a VHR anti-roll bar and the Chevy sits on a pair of Aluma Star 15 X 9 wheels with Mickey Thompson Gen 1 drag radials. The ’72 has made some serious headway in the speed department under the guidance of Elrod’s ownership, and Jeremy says he looks forward to many more years with the BIG GIRL.
JEREMY THANKS: His wife Brittany and his kids for sup-
porting him in racing and with cars in general. Also, his father Mike Elrod for teaching him everything he knows and reminding Jeremy to have lots of patience and it will all work out the way it’s supposed to! Jeremy also sends thanks out to: EFI Source - Mopar Mike is hands down the best in the business. Motion Raceworks; Doug Cook for all the first time questions answered and getting me hooked up with Jose Zayas at Forced Inductions; Bradco Engineering/Brad Ector for always being there to help with adjustments with the converter and making trick parts for the transmission. Jeff’s Rod & Restoration - Jeff Luther for being my body and paint guy and my #1 crew member. Mockstang Boys Racing - Josh Castle and Jordan Castle for the dyno tuning and teaching me how to tune an EFI car, since I was strictly a carb guy. Shawn Sadler - Last but definitely not least, my best friend Shawn for constantly pushing me to do the best I can whether it be with cars or life in general. Shawn and I have built many cars together and each one gets better with the knowledge we gain during each prior build.
The Elrod Family (from left to right) Jeremy, Kinley, wife Brittany, and Chase.
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
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www.rpm-mag.com | november2017
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SHOP TALK
THE OLD-SCHOOL GEARHEAD:
A LOST BREED... JT OR EVOLVING ORGANISM? story and photos by
I
I was watching TV recently and suddenly found myself sucked into a threepart documentary entitled “The Cars That
Made America.” It was an incredible and entertaining history lesson on the automobile and the automotive industry. The show hit me hard in ways that it was
probably not intended to. I was inspired and highly motivated by the stories of our pioneers that created this madness we are highly addicted to: men like
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
Henry Ford, John & Horace Dodge, Henry Chrysler, Alfred Sloan Jr., Lee Iococca, and John DeLorean. They are the founding fathers of the high horsepower,
extreme rides we build and enjoy today. I really wanted the sub-title of this month’s story to be called “Ivy League-Schooled En-
2 1
gineers” or “Bloody Knuckled School Of Hard Knocks Engineers.” Instead, “A Lost Breed” or “An Evolving Organism” seemed to have a better sound to it. Let’s look at it this way: the combustion engine was brand new and evolving every day. There was no college course you could take to learn about this. You were either a part of the evolving organism or you weren’t. It was the mixture of people who had a sound background in engineering and drafting that took these homemade, barn born (no garages yet) ideas and backed them with science. The Dodge brothers actually supplied Henry Ford with a complete chassis, engine, and transmission. They were so ahead of their time and were the only two men in the world
2: Looking back on history, the Dodge brothers were true gearheads that were way ahead of their time. It was a tragedy that they died so young. I can’t imagine how much further the auto industry would be today if they lived a mere 10 years longer.
1: It may have taken the auto industry over 100 years, but carbon fiber is the ultimate in strength and weight reduction. It sure is a lot safer than drilling holes in every available piece of steel. This is one of the times that a scientist was able to top the old school gearhead.
Gaschwald/Shutterstock.com photo
who were able to do this. Stop for one moment and think about that. There were no car magazines, car TV shows, hot rods, technical schools, or anything car-related in the early days. Fast forward only 114 years later and engines are being built by gearheads in one-car home garages all over the world. The Dodge brothers became multi-millionaires for their expertise during their short life span. Sadly, both brothers died in 1920 from the Spanish flu that spread across America. While their legacy may have been passed on through the products that they built, how much further would we be today if they lived just 10 more years?
3 Another part of the show that resonated strong with me was when a young engineer convinced the President of GM, Alfred Sloan, Jr. at the time, to go for a ride in his Chevrolet. Sloan was confused by the request and asked, “where and why?” The response was very unique for the time. It was a simple “just for fun!” Intrigued by the engineer’s request, he sat in the passenger seat and went for a ride. After a few miles, they pulled over and Mr. Sloan was very impressed with how fast and responsive the
3: The video game as entertaining as it may be, could very well be the #1 reason so many children of today have minimal social skills, minimal mechanical skills, clean fingernails, and frequent the emergency room a lot less. It concerns me that this modern evolved child will be responsible for the cars of tomorrow. Chevrolet was. The engineer jumped outside and opened the hood to reveal a Ford Flathead V8 powering the Chevrolet. Sloan yelled in disgust, “who puts a Ford engine in a Chevrolet?” The engineer replied, “I did and so will a lot of other kids if we don’t make an engine that is faster than this!” My friends, this was perhaps the first hot rodder ever! Look how far we’ve come since that epic day in hot rodding. Shortly after that, Chevrolet came out with the “Turbo Fire”
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
35
SHOP TALK
ACCURATE GROUND SPEED REGARDLESS OF WHEEL SPIN OR WHEEL STAND
4
4: Personally, most times, I’ll take the old school gearhead over an Ivy-schooled engineer. The exception to that would be if that old school gearhead actually went to engineering school and was able to graduate. Case in point, my dear friend Shawn. He is as old school gearhead as it gets and graduated college with a degree in engineering. He is a very handy guy to have around. Why did you have to move to Florida?
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
engine, and Chrysler revealed its “Firepower” engine. Today, we know them as the small block Chevy and the Hemi. With this “arms race” or “power war,” drag racing was born. Once again it was not the Ivy-schooled engineer who took a stock production car to the next level; it was the bloody-knuckled gearhead who had the need for speed. Necessity is the mother of invention, and it was that generation who pushed the envelope of available technology. Men like Keith Black, Ed Pink, and Bill Jenkins emerged as pioneers in big power, taking simple designs and turning them into fire-breathing beasts. For comparison sake, look what Frank and Don Yenko did to stock production cars in the 1960s. They took the best of the muscle car wars and made them full-blown
drag racing machines. Modern gearheads like Tom Bailey, Jeff Lutz, and Larry Larson have taken the liberty of re-creating some of the finest cars from the ’50s and ’60s and making them completely custom, street-driven, 5- and 6-second quarter-mile race cars. When I was a kid, that was what the top fuel cars were doing! Backyard gearhead ingenuity will never cease to amaze and inspire me. Today, there is much more than simply the “Big 3”—Ford, GM, and Chrysler— on an engine level. We have all sorts of aftermarket block manufacturers for cast iron all the way to billet aluminum blocks, 572, 632, 700, 900, and 1000 cubic inch mountain motors, all at our disposal. We have superchargers, turbochargers, nitrous oxide, E-85, nitro methane, methanol, and alcohol. Heck, I’m
sure there is someone running straight up moonshine somewhere. The quest for less weight and more power continues to drive gearheads around the world crazy. Think of how far we’ve come from the wooden chassis. The evolution from wood to steel, to mild steel, to chromoly, to aluminum, to titanium, to fiberglass, and to carbon fiber has all been in the quest for strength and/or weight reduction. It took us 100 years, but we’ve been able to find both strength and weight reduction all in the same material. Who can remember the days when weight reduction meant to gut the interior and drill holes in anything that you could fit a drill bit into? Guess what? That plan worked for thousands of people. Was that the workings of an Ivy
5
5: Please do not get me wrong while I praise the old school gearhead. The graduate of an Ivy League school has a set of skills that the gearhead can’t possibly imagine. Intellect on that level is very impressive and we owe much of our technology to the men and women who dedicated their lives to academic studies. If Tony Stark was a real person this would be the ULTIMATE combination of gearhead and PhD.
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6
6: It is hard to believe that the original intention for the automobile had absolutely nothing to do with fun. It was designed to replace the horse and was more of a tool than a toy. Thank God things have evolved over the years. League engineer or the bloody-knuckled gearhead? I can’t even count how many tools I’ve made in my own shop. Whether it was because there was simply not a tool like it or that I didn’t have the money to buy a new one, the fact remains that in a state of gearheadious
insomnia (that is the medical term for a sleepless night in the shop), I was able to fabricate something in order to fix something. I’ve always said that WE are the best and most important tools in the shop. Remember, it was Henry Ford who went from making one car every
12 hours, to inventing the first assembly line and making 1000 cars a day. So where does this leave us here in 2017? The car has been around for 114 years. Top fuel dragsters and fuel funny cars are making 11,000 horsepower compared to the modest
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
SHOP TALK 20 horses that the Model T had. Carbon fiber is making things stronger and lighter than ever. There is a small group of gearheads in my generation that never went to college. We never had any formal education in auto mechanics, but we still push the envelope every year in our small shops. I was a child of the ’60s and a mullet-wearing Pro Street junkie in the ’80s, yet I open up my laptop after each pass to go over data and make any necessary adjustments just like the kids of today. Can those computer kids adjust a set of points with a dwell meter? Or even with a matchbook? Do they still even make matchbooks? Can the computer kids of today sweat lead into a fender? Can they make their own motor mounts from scratch or do they just buy them on Amazon? Looking toward the future, who will be responsible for making the cars our grandchildren will drive? The world has evolved dramatically and there’s a good chance the engineers of the future will have never played outside when they were kids or taken risks on their “souped up” bicycles. They probably never took apart a perfectly-running dirt bike so they could make
their own go-cart from the parts. They probably never got reprimanded for taking apart the family lawnmower and leaving pieces scattered all over the basement. And worse yet, they probably never once picked up a wrench. But on a positive note, they will have played and mastered every video game on the market and know everything there is about computers and cell phones. These are the highly paid executives of tomorrow and the future of the automotive industry. Since the time of Henry Ford and The Dodge brothers, the fact remains that all we’ve done is improve on their developments. Who will be the next pioneer to think outside the box and create something new? It would be extremely refreshing if every year the major car companies held auditions – much like an open NFL tryout – for true gearheads and non-formally educated mechanics like myself. I am willing to bet that behind the next automotive advancement, there will be a bloody knuckled gearhead inspiring an Ivy League schooled engineer, just like it was 100 years ago. Until next month, keep wrenching!
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7: Imagine for a moment a time when there were no garages and no shops. The Dodge brothers were putting together complete drivetrains in a barn. 100 years later and people all over the world are putting together complete drivetrains in one-car garages. The meek 20 horsepower engine that powered the first Fords has enabled gearheads to evolve into building 11,000 horsepower fire-breathing monsters.
8: I am personally grateful for every gearhead who has dared to think outside of the box. It is amazing the type of machine that is actually considered a street car today. Just look at the amazing cars this magazine is committed to bring to you. I challenge the major automobile companies to think outside of the box and hold open auditions once a year for an old school gearhead and see what they can offer. They may be pleasantly surprised.
www.rpm-mag.com | november2017
39
story by
George Pich
photos by
M att Trombley
With Pro Line Racing Engines and Diamond pistons, Q80 Racing team resets quarter-mile doorslammer record at 5.46 seconds and 272mph “Diamond’s contributions have been invaluable.” Doug Patton, Pro Line Racing Engines
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
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rowing up in the heart of Ford country, Warren Michigan, Dominic Palazzolo was pretty much born into the right of Ford owner-
ship. From a very young age, while visiting the various car shows and racetracks nearby, he was molded into a Ford man as his father and uncles were all hard-core
Ford muscle car fanatics. So complete was this exposure that when the time came for Dominic to get a driver’s license and find his own car, only
a classic Ford would cut it. “My taste in cars had been influenced by the great Ford muscle cars from the Total Perfor-
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
41
DIFFERENT IS GOOD FLAT OUT AWESOME The flat hood on Dominic Palazzolo’s ’64 Comet has to be the biggest reason why unsuspecting prey would misjudge its capabilities. A closer look reveals some larger-than-factory meats out back and a full cage, though, suggesting this classic Mercury is more than just a well-preserved stocker.
mance years, such as the Fairlane, Thunderbolt and Boss 429 Mustang,” said Palazzolo. “So at age 15 I began my quest, looking for either a ’64 Fairlane or Falcon.” As a high school student, though, Dominic wasn’t exactly rolling in dough,
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but he did manage to get together $2,500 to put down toward a driveable project. As many of us know, even 15 years ago, $2,500 was not going to buy much when it comes to anything with two-doors from the sixties and seventies
november2017 | RPM Magazine
HOME BUILT Palazzolo takes great pride in knowing he did most of the work on his Mercury himself in his own shop with help from friends.
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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DIFFERENT IS GOOD FEED THE BEAST The single turbo picks up air through the inner headlight openings, just like those factory drag cars of the Total Performance era that Dominic loves so much.
era, let alone a classic Ford midsized muscle car. Remarkably, the right deal came along in of all places, the local newspaper. Dominic’s dad noticed a 1964 Mercury Comet for sale in the classified section and the pair went to look at the car that same night. What they found was a near-perfect original-condition, six-cylinder, two-door sedan with minimal rust and no collision damage. “I had hoped to find a hardtop for this first car,” he said. But it didn’t take Dominic long to warm up
to the sedan or “post” body style. “The factory called it the 404, and even to this day, the car has a sturdy and business-like look to it that many classic Ford fans seem to appreciate,” he added. “And the post body is also a good choice for racers, because the added strength of the solid B-pillar makes it more resistant to flexing than either a convertible or hardtop.” With only 27,774 miles showing on the odometer, and knowing that the car was in his price range, the lit-
tle Merc’ was just too sweet to pass up. Finally, after a bit of haggling, a purchase price of $2,650 was agreed to, with the extra 150 bucks coming courtesy of mom and dad. “Little did the three of us know
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2017 45
DIFFERENT IS GOOD
YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, COMET TOP LEFT: The Comet as purchased by Palazzolo over 15 years ago after his dad found it in a local newspaper classified ad. TOP RIGHT: As well as street and strip, Dominic with his dad, run the Comet in the Michigan Gumball Rally. The car looks cool all stickered up! “I drive the car everywhere and drive it hard!” said Palazzolo. that an adventure had begun!” laughs Palazzolo. Dominic knew going into the project that finding parts for a Mercury Comet of this vintage might be difficult, however, with the base car being in such great shape, the hard-to-find body and chassis parts were not really needed. Through the years, the Comet would see many transformations, with version one being the install of a
1990 5.0 engine and trans followed by a 347 stroker and built T-5 transmission. Then a supercharged 408 Windsor based mill that Dominic found an incredible deal on would follow. “I still wasn’t happy,” said Palazzolo. “I always wanted the Comet to be a turbo car.” Once again, the car came apart to start the task of researching and then designing the turbo system. After over a year of work, the
turbo was complete and the first time the boost came in during a test drive Dominic was smiling from ear to ear. Back when he was old enough to work, Dominic’s first real job was at an auto parts store, and in 2005 he received an offer to build the Ford GT, which was an amazing honor. Today, he is at TRW automotive, so not surprisingly, he has built almost everything on the car, from the en-
BIG BUNS OUT BACK The Comet sits on sizeable 345/35-18 Mickey Thompson SS drag radials out back. Dominic wouldn’t say whether the license plate is a dig on Ford’s with Chevy motors in them or a warning to unsuspecting competitors.
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
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Mounting Kits ....................From 34.95 Filler Necks ...........................From 49.95 Roll Over Valves ........................From 24.95 Sending Units...................................From 39.95 Anti Slosh Foam .................................From 14.99
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www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
All sheet, plate, and tubing costs do not include any applicable shipping charges. Please contact one of our sales representatives for a shipping quote. Due to flucuations in material costs, pricing may vary without notice. ALL PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
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DIFFERENT IS GOOD
548 cubic inch big-block ario, California dyno tested a Vrbancic Brothers Racing in Ont ched with an Edelbrock or 24° CNC cylinder heads mat Chevy with Edelbrock/Musi Vict r 1,550 horsepower ove in . This combination resulted Super Victor II intake manifold and 1,100 ft-lbs. of torque! Manley dual-spring valve ds feature an extra thick deck, Edelbrock/Musi Victor 24° hea ilable bare or complete. ava are y The for up to .880” lift. springs and titanium retainers 270 tor intake manifold #29 The Edelbrock Super Vic e larg tch ma to ts por the features a 3/4”radius in oval port cylinder heads. CNC’d for a variety of custom This manifold is suitable er, ow sep hor for modern high cylinder heads required HP. + 950 g s makin large displacment engine FOLLOW US ON:
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november2017 | RPM Magazine
ALL PARTS FOR USE ON RACING VEHICLES ONLY.
DOMINIC PALAZZOLO’S 1964 MERCURY COMET 404 STREET/STRIP Chassis: Stock Uni-Body car. 10 point owner-built roll cage. Owner altered shock towers to fit the 408W. Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Owner-built custom mounts to fit the QA1 10-way adjustable coil-overs in stock location. Custom brake brackets to fit 2015 Mustang GT Premium 4-piston calipers on 14-inch rotors. REAR: Crites leaf relocation kit, owner-reworked rear frame rails one full width inward and custom tub work to trunk. Shelby-style reverse eye leaf springs with QA1 10-way adjustable shocks. Shelby-style fabricated adjustable traction bars. 2015 Mustang GT rear brakes on 13-inch rotors. Body & Paint: Oxford White with a matte black Mach 1-style black out on hood. Engine: 351 Windsor based 408-inch stroker. Sportsman 351R Block 4.035 bore, 4.00 stroker 4340 forged steel crankshaft, Forged 6.200 H-Beam Connecting Rods, ARP rod bolts, Clevite tri-metal rod and main bearings. Diamond pistons. COMP Cams custom grind cam with .608 intake and .620 exhaust lift, 240 int./.250 exh duration at .50 and 115 lobe separation. Trickflow twisted wedge heads with stage 2 port, Ferrea titanium valves (2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust). COMP Cams low travel hydraulic lifters (5.0 style) and Crane Gold 1.6 roller rockers. Induction, Power Adder, and Fuel Delivery: Edelbrock Victor Jr. single plane intake setup for EFI, custom 90-degree intake elbow with 86mm Ford Racing throttle body. Fuel is 100% E85 through dual Weldon 2015 fuel pumps, secondary pump comes on at 5 psi. 80mm Garret Turbo off a 12v92 marine engine. Compressor, 5-inch inlet with 3-inch outlet. 1.16 AR T6 Turbine housing. 60mm wastegate to a 4.5 dump valve. Waterto-air intercooled. Electronics: DIY Auto Tune MS3- Pro ECU running 160 pound injectors, cam sensor for sequential injection with coil on plug with LS coils. Transmission: Tremec 3550 5 speed, McLeod RXT dual disc clutch and Quick Time bell housing. Differential: 8.8 rear axle from 2001 Explorer narrowed 3 inches with C-clip eliminator, 3.73 gears and Auburn posi. Tires & Wheels: Rear wheels have been widened from 18x9 to 18x12 and the car sits on 345/35-18 Mickey Thompson SS drag radials.
NEVERMIND THAT LICENSE PLATE All Ford here. Palazzolo built a Windsor-based 408 stroker for the Comet and added an 80mm turbo from a marine engine with a complex owner-built turbo piping system. The combo is fuel injected and managed by a DIY Auto Tune MS3- Pro ECU. A DEI hot side titanium T6 turbo blanket and titanium wrap help keep underhood temps down for cruising and race track duty. gine to the roll cage, himself. “I’ve always had the attitude that if I can do it myself, I will. I’m always very motivated to learn, it’s what makes it fun for me.” And learn he did as evidenced by the mechanical and fabrication work completed by Palazzolo. After widening the shock towers for the wider 351 Windsor based engine, an owner-built 408-inch stroker was installed. Starting with
a Sportsman 351R block with a 4.035 bore, a stroker 4340 forged steel crankshaft was installed with Clevite tri metal bearings and 4340 forged 6.200 long H-Beam connecting rods pinned to Diamond pistons with hard anodized and coated skirts. A billet custom ground Comp Cam camshaft with .608 intake /.620 exhaust lift, .240 intake and .250 exhaust duration (at .50) and
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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DIFFERENT IS GOOD
CRUISIN’ MISSILE Palazzolo ran with the idea of using as much of the stock interior as possible and made subtle enhancements like the seat centers reupholstered in gray suede. Small touches like the aftermarket gauges inset into the factory dash and carbon fiber strip across the dash front are very well done while the 10-point cage is owner-built and painted to match the interior. The Comet is a stick car and Dominic rows the boat via a Tremec 3550 5-speed.
a lobe separation angle of 115 degrees was slid into place. Comp Cams low travel Hydraulic lifters command a set of Crane Gold 1.6 roller rockers installed on Trick Flow Twisted Wedge stage 2 ported cylinder heads with Ferrea titanium 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves.
An Edelbrock Victor Jr. single plane intake was setup for EFI and a custom 90 degree intake elbow was mated to an 86mm Ford Racing throttle body. Boost comes courtesy an 80mm turbocharger off a 12v92 marine engine. The combination is water to air intercooled and runs
on 100% E85 through dual Weldon 2015 fuel pumps. Transmission wise, Dominic is still rowin’ the boat through a Tremec 3550 5 speed with dual disc clutch residing in a Quick Time bell housing. A 2001 Explorer 8.8 rear diff has been narrowed 3-inches and c-clip eliminators were
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DIFFERENT IS GOOD
Palazzolo can say with confidence that his owner-built 1000-plus hp street/strip Comet is different, and that’s exactly the way he wanted it!
NICELY DONE An 8.8-inch Ford Explorer rearend has been beefed up for street, dragstrip and road course duty. Dominic did all the work to mini-tub and tie the frame together on the Comet, not to mention install the custom rear fuel tank.
installed along with an Auburn posi and 3.73 gears. Prior to the turbo, the Comet ran 10.00 in the quarter, so expect deep 9-second runs for this full-weight flat hooded sleeper once Dominic gets it back to the strip. “As a family we try to
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go to the drag strip 4-5 times a year,” said Palazzolo. “It’s nice to have a wife that shares my passion with me, and my daughter and son enjoy rides in the ‘white car’ as they call it.” While simply seeing a 1964 Comet these days is
rare, the fact that Dominic Palazzolo can say that he built his 1,000-plus horsepower turbocharged street car himself, puts an extra twist on just how different his car is from the pack. And as we said, different is good.
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story by
Toby B rooks
photos by
M att Trombley
SICK 2.0
H
old on a second. Re-read that article subtitle on page 55 again. We’ll wait here. Did you see it? It’s no typo. 4,000 horsepower. It seems like only yesterday that in order to crank out 4,000 horsepower, you needed a drum full of nitromethane and a last name like Garlits, Prudhomme, or Bernstein. Not today, kids. Two-time Drag Week champ Tom Bailey is running that gaudy number on the street. With cup holders. The Lake Orion, Michigan native’s obsession with drag racing has been simmering and growing for a quarter-century. The fire and security systems expert initially cut his teeth watching friends and relatives test their mettle and their metal week in and week out on local strips. However, it was the grueling and growing Drag Week phenomenon of the 2000s that firmly set the hook in a unique cross-country drag racing endurance-fest that has led to a series of increasingly complex, powerful, and downright wicked 1969 Camaros that got him to this point: Sick 2.0.
“My first experience with Drag Week was in 2008, when I bought a ’69 Camaro on eBay and started trying to figure out what to do,” Bailey recalled. To the uninitiated, Drag Week consists of five tracks in five days with 200+ mile drives between them. While competitors can pull a trailer with their car, they can’t use one to haul it. It is a unique if not punishing test of the limits of stamina and engineering to try and run sub 6-second cars on the track but yet still be able to cruise them for hours on the interstate. That first ride took two years to complete, but ended up with a 1,200HP F2-ProCharged 540 ci Steve Morris Engines (SME) bullet between the frame rails. As Bailey tells it, his “Indian Burial Ground” first-gen Chevy was prone to problems and he started thinking hard about building a purpose-built car better equipped for the rigors of the event. As a result, Bailey acquired a solid starting point, a roller 1969 Camaro from long-time Drag Week participant Denny Terzich in 2011. By 2012, a new twin turbo 615 ci SME engine
had been built but the combo was largely untested. With time to sort the bugs, Bailey finally captured the elusive Drag Week title in 2013, becoming the first competitor to run all-6-second passes in the event’s near decade of existence, not to mention the only 6-second average over five days. Looking to snag backto-back titles in 2014, the car started strong, posting a historic event best-ever ET and speed of 6.52 at 226 mph during testing on registration day before registering a 6.54/203 on day 1 and 6.61/220 on day 2. Unfortunately, that was all “Sick Seconds” could muster, as a cracked head and block ended his title defense prematurely. Undeterred, Bailey went back to the drawing board. The result that you see here is his attempt to average five days of competition in the fives and a standing mile speed in excess of 300 mph. For all the success “Sick 1.0” garnered, it was largely a traditional doorslammer drag car with a fiberglass body based on original GM dimensions. On the other hand, Sick 2.0 is an animal of a whole different sort.
STREET OR STRIP? YEP.
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As the LED taillights and “SICKEST” license plate will attest, Bailey’s wild pro-mod-on-the-street is kosher to cruise around town or down the interstate. That doesn’t mean it won’t command a crowd wherever it goes, OR blast a sub-6-second pass on the track, though.
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Bailey actually captured his second Drag Week title (won in 2015) with this car, Sick 2.0, on it’s first year out when it was equipped the “mule motor” – the cast motor built with the spare parts from Sick 1.0’s engine, but on alcohol. Although plans were to run the all-billet engine from the start, delays resulted in a “Plan B” and a second Drag Week title (some Plan B!). To begin, Bailey commissioned Skinny Kid Race Cars to build the all chromoly pro mod chassis. Up front, a pair of Santhuff struts work with a Pro Werks Stiletto billet rack and pinion setup to maintain the killer stance necessary for sub 6-second runs— not to mention jaw-dropping good looks. Out back, a nearly indestructible Strange 10-inch third member with 3.89 gears was popped into a Skinny Kid chromoly fabbed
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
SEE THROUGH STUNNER With the removable one-piece carbon fiber nose and decklid made transparent, you can see just how well SKRC squeezed everything within the car’s sleek envelope.
SICK 2.0
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SICK 2.0 housing before being suspended via a nearly infinitely adjustable Skinny Kid 4-link and dampened with a pair of Santhuff canister shocks. Lightweight Strange discs (front) and carbon fiber disc brakes provide the cutting-edge stopping power. The bare chassis was on hand for display at the 2014 PRI show in Indy, and even then, it
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COOL CUSTOMER was an incredible work of art. Covering the car’s strong but lightweight skeletal underpinnings is a wildly modified and insanely lightweight John Van Overbeek carbon fiber body that holds a passing resemblance to a classic Camaro. The long and low 115-inch wheelbase has been skinned with a 55-pound shell that
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
sports a 40-inch overhang while being a full six inches narrower and two inches shorter than a factory ’69, dramatically reducing drag and helping Bailey pierce the atmosphere—and darn near the sound barrier—with ease. The shell is further adorned with Pro Glass Lexan windows and a lightweight custom vinyl wrap by WrapTek.
The massive front-mounted radiator ensures the car stays happily under 200-degrees during the long Drag Week drives, while the all-billet 615 ci Steve Morris Engine is a jaw-dropping piece of billet engineering.
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SICK 2.0
HOOK IT UP
TOM BAILEY’S 1969 MOD STREET CHEVY CAMARO
The 10-inch Strange third member and SKRC chromoly housing could survive nuclear winter, and should be up to the task of hooking up 4,000 horsepower.
Chassis Type & Mods: Skinny Kid Race Cars (SKRC) chromoly pro mod chassis. Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Santhuff front struts with Pro Werks Stiletto rack and pinion steering. Strange disc brakes. REAR: SKRC 4-link with Santhuff rear canister shocks and Strange carbon fiber disc brakes. Body & Wrap: John Van Overbeek carbon fiber body. Pro Glass Lexan windows. Custom pearl white vinyl wrap by WrapTek. Engine: Steve Morris Engines 615 ci. Dart billet water jacketed 5-inch bore space block for thicker sleeve and material between cylinders. Crower 4.625 billet crank. Crower titanium ProMod rods. Diamond/ SME pistons with hard anodizing. Jesel belt drive with custom SME T7 tool steel cam. Custom tie bar style Crower lifters with Trend one-piece pushrods. Williams dry sump oil pan and Peterson 5-stage oil pump with Aeromotive fuel pump mounted on front of oil pump. Innovators West balancer. CFE billet water jacketed 5-inch cylinder heads loaded with Victory valves, retainers and keepers with PSI dual springs. Jesel rocker arms with one-piece stands. SME billet valve covers. Induction & Power Adders: Twin Precision Turbo 88mm turbos. Dual TurboSmart wastegates & blow-off valves. Custom SME billet intake manifold with twin 550 injectors for methanol and a third set of 35-pound injectors hidden under the runners for pump gas street driving. Twin 105mm Wilson throttle bodies. Transmission & Driveline: Rossler Turbo400 with Pro Torque billet stall converter. Gear Vendors overdrive.. Differential: Strange 10-inch third member. SKRC custom fabricated chromoly housing. Tires & Wheels: FRONT: 15x3.5 wheels with 25x3.5-15 tires. REAR: 16x16 Weld Racing liner wheels with Hoosier Quick Time Pro 36x22-16 tires. Performance (quarter-mile): 6.01 at 255 mph.
Billet
You know things have gotten crazy when you start considering how much your paint weighs, but such is the modern Drag Week event. The car rolls on a variety of tire and wheel combos depending on the application, but currently
sports a set of Weld Racing wheels with Hoosier tires (15x3.5s with 25x3.5-15s up front and 16x16s with 36x22-16s in rear). Bailey has even rocked a set of crazy-small radials for a few events, and notes that they’ve found good success recently
with non-beadlocked rear wheels. While the entire car is as cutting-edge as cutting-edge gets, nowhere is this more true than under the one-piece removable front clip, where an all-billet Steve Morris Engines mill sits and glistens. However, as
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SICK 2.0
gorgeous as it is to look at, it is no beauty queen. With the push of a button, Bailey can bring 4,000-plus angry horses to life, ready to punish an unsuspecting track. Or idle down the street to grab a couple of ice cream cones. Your call. Engine guru Morris personally oversaw the build, starting with a 615-cubic inch Dart billet block complete with water jackets for proper cooling. The 5-inch bore space provides room for thicker sleeves and more material between the cylinders, dramatically enhancing service life. The rotating assembly consists of a Crower 4.625 billet
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crank, Crower titanium pro mod rods, and Diamond custom SME hard anodized pistons with Total Seal rings. A Jesel belt drive keeps the valvetrain happy while cutting down on damaging harmonics, and the custom SME T7 tool steel roller camshaft articulates with custom Crower tie-bar-style lifters and Trend one-piece pushrods. A Williams dry sump oil pan has been paired with a Peterson five-stage dry sump oiling system to keep things lubricated while reducing wind-
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
age. An Aeromotive mechanical drive fuel pump has been custom mounted on the front of the oil pump to supply the massive quantities of fuel for on-track
FUELISH PLEASURE The all-billet SME intake is a work of art, sporting a pair of 550-pound injectors on each cylinder for race fuel plus an additional 35-pound injector on each runner hidden under the plenum for street driving. It takes a pair of Aeromotive in-tank pumps PLUS a belt-driven Aeromotive mechanical pump to keep them all fed.
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use, while a twin in-tank Aeromotive electric setup is more than up to the task for the street. Up top, a pair of ultra-trick CFE billet water jacketed heads have been stuffed full of massive Victory valves, retainers, and keepers while PSI dual springs enhance lifespan on the road. Jesel rocker arms with one-piece stands hide under trick billet valve covers, while a matching SME billet intake has been equipped with twin 550-pound injectors for methanol and a third set of 35-pound injectors have been hidden under
the runners for pump gas street driving. A pair of twin 105 mm Wilson throttle bodies manage to keep pace with the highly compressed atmosphere that makes its way through the custom hood ducts and through the massive 88 mm Precision Turbos, while a Holley coil-onplug ignition system and Holley EFI make the whole incredible combo docile on the street or wild on the strip. The interior of the car is no-nonsense, although Bailey is quick to point out the fact that it has cup holders, USB charging
ROAD TRIPPIN’ Sick 2.0 features a minimalistic interior that consists mostly of Skinny Kid fabbed cagework, carbon fiber panels, and gobs of high-tech electronics. Although if you look closely, you’ll see a quartet of cupholders and USB charging ports and a DCE electric power steering unit. Bailey wanted to add all the options in this fully-loaded street/strip animal.
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SICK 2.0
continued on page 76
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Page 68
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SICK 2.0
ports, and power windows. A Racepak dash displays the vitals viewable from the snug-fitting carbon fiber seat. The car runs on a 14.5-volt system for the street with 17 volts for the track. A DCE electric power steering system can be disabled at the push of a button for on-track use, too. Other trick items like a Racepak
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VS500 data acquisition system, a Hyperactive boost controller, a Davis traction control, full LED lighting, and DCE custom wiring harness give Sick 2.0 more high tech electronics than the International Space Station, while Scroth harnesses ensure safety. With Drag Week 2017 now complete, Bailey was again
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
bitten by the bad luck bug. A freak steering wheel incident in July resulted in the car tagging the wall during testing, but a massive thrash got the car there in time for the start of the event anyhow. After posting a day 1 best of 6.51 and leading the event after his first pass, Bailey blasted a 6.31 but hurt the engine in
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BUILT TO PERFORM. WIRED TO WIN.
SICK 2.0
the process. Post mortem inspection in the pits revealed a fragged piston and rod with significant scarring to the crank, promptly putting an end to the crew’s efforts for the week. Undeterred, Bailey and engine master Steve Morris are already making plans for next year. “All the parts are there to reach all my goals. We just have to put it all together,” he said confidently. Beyond that, your guess is as good as Tom’s.
Although things didn’t go according to plan this year for Drag Week 2017, the two-time champ is confident he will get things squared away to make another run at the title in 2018.
“We want to run fives every day, that’s for sure. We’d also like to drive to an NHRA event, qualify, win some legitimate rounds, and drive home. But whether or not I build a new car later on really just depends on the rules and how, when, or if the current format changes,” he added. And whether that day comes or not, one thing is for certain: it will be hard to be sicker than Sick 2.0.
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
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HOT EVENTS
2017 YELLOW BULLET NATIONALS:
L O D A E DED K C O L AND
>>The 8th annual end-of-summer get-down at Cecil County Dragway does not disappoint!
I
story & photos by
t’s somewhat bittersweet that we have come to this point in the Northeast Racing season when we celebrate the 8th year running of the Yellow Bullet Nationals
M ark
at go D rag R acing . org
(YB Nats), as it also marks the “unofficial” end of summer. Following this Labor Day weekend event, racing in this neck of the woods tends to wind down quickly, although so far weather wise, at the time
of this writing, September has been better in the Northeast than July and August combined. The 2016 YB Nats attendance was over 575 cars and 12,000 spectators on a beautiful weekend at
Cecil County Dragway. This year, the volume was pumped up even more through the availability of outstanding social media now used to really connect people to events. YB Nats frontman Monty Mikho
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himself even created a Facebook account (having said he would never do so). Monty succumbed to the pressures of becoming a “Facebook Promoter,” and with the help of his wife Maria and brother
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
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1 1: Jim Halsey was sporting the Yellow Bullet Nationals banner on his gorgeous new Pro Mod. He recently acquired this body, added his powerplant, and immediately set his best times ever, qualifying #1 with the only .70 of the weekend 3.741 at 200mph. 2: Always a racer and showman, Chris Rini runs a 3.807 at 197 with the torches lit on the 940+ cubic inch mill, qualifying the ATI Transmissions Camaro in number two spot.
2 3: Putting the heat out of the big bullhorns, Joe Dunne’s 3.813 at 193 captured the #3 spot, pushing the 903 cubic inches of nitrous-injected big block to its max. 4: Taking the win over last year’s champion Kevin McCurdy by a mere .0045 seconds in the final was Canadian Paolo Guist charging hard in his wicked “Fine & Fast Motorsports” supercharged Corvette with a 3.890 at 195 mph.
4 3
4
David Mikho, the daily updates were in full effect, plastering everyone’s feeds daily. The somewhat brash nature of the Yellow Bullet Forums style was a concern on a Facebook page, but to everyone’s surprise, Monty didn’t get banned once. Instead, the anticipation grew as he began calling out high-stakes racers against each other openly in a grudgestyle to add the flair of match races for money to the event, some worth more than $25,000! Meanwhile, hurricane Harvey had just hit Texas,
and of course the projected path of associated rain had a possible stop at the Yellow Bullet Nationals over the long weekend. The weather forecasts were changing hourly, however, this really didn’t faze the staff at Cecil County Dragway – Jim Halsey and his team of traction pros, Anthony Frassetto, Chad Porter, and Dave O’Donnell were prepared for anything, especially since they would have to prep for two types of tires, radials and slicks. Traffic into the track had begun as
early as Wednesday with a line of trailers as far as you could see and the bevy of vendors beginning to set up for opening day on Friday, which included an open testing followed by first round of Pro qualifying. The rain came in to hamper Friday’s activities and kept up through Saturday, completely cancelling two days of racing. Now faced with a major dilemma, it was decided to carry the race into Monday—a good decision, as both Sunday and Monday provided just
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YB NATIONALS
OUTLAW 10.5 5: Fan favorite and entertaining driver, Mo Hall in his wild Corvette was the only one to see a three second pass in Outlaw 10.5 (a 3.990 at 185mph) putting him in the number one spot. The 2017 Mickey Thompson Tires points leader would not stop until he took the title against Mike Decker Jr. who was shut down for an oil leak in the final.
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
6: Canadian John Carcini running 4.034 at 202 is always a turbo favorite. The slick Vette is as quick as it looks taking the #2 spot in qualifying.
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8: Mike “Hollywood” Decker III in “Betsy” the record holding Camaro out of Deckers Salvage team. Mike just turned 21 and in his first rounds of competition he managed to lay down some solid low 4-second times. Look for him to grow and start making waves in the Outlaw 10.5 world soon. enough good weather to finish the event. At first call Sunday, the horde of media descended to the pavement of Cecil County Dragway—photographers (RPM Magazine included), Facebook live-streamers, and the
staff at Motormania TV all took their place primed for action. No one was going to miss anything this weekend— including those who packed the grandstands. When all qualifying was finished (much of
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9
10 11: Standout X275 Drag Radial and Cecil County regular Ron Rhodes ran 4.442 at 158 to qualify #2 right behind Phil Hines. A favorite to win this race, Rhodes was caught sleeping on the tree and was eliminated in round one unfortunately.
9 & 10: Philadelphia Eagles Defensive lineman Fletcher Cox is an avid drag racing fan and gets involved with his own race car projects. He’s one of the friendliest team captains you could ever want to speak with. Driver of “Goldust” Shawn Ayers couldn’t manage to get the Mustang (one of the few on Drag Radials in Outlaw 10.5) to hook and work at the YB Nats, though.
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X 275
11
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
12
YB NATIONALS 12: Vinny Palazzolo qualified with a 4.506 at 159 mph and would shine at the YB Nats. The bright yellow Mustang was a crowd pleaser as well as being quick enough to outlast this pack of racers for the X275 title.
13: Andrew DeMarco’s losing 4.538 at 158 in the finals was still quite the accomplishment as the X275 field was explosive in laying down stellar ETs.
13
14 14: Ace tuning marvels the Bruder Brothers were the talk of the internet just a couple weeks before the race because of this combination being banned from competition. That ruling was reversed and although they failed to qualify, they were busy all weekend with countless customer cars.
racers are really good at what they do and were nailing it all weekend in eliminations. The top class of this year’s Yellow Bullet Nationals had to be the recently-included Pro Modified. Track manager Jim Halsey drives his own nitrous car in this class and surely made his presence known, getting the number one spot with 3.741 at 200 mph followed by fellow nitrous
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YB NATIONALS 15: You may remember the “Calypso Kid” featured ride in RPM Magazine. The car has been warmed over a little more and simply laid a “Detroit” beatdown on the competition barely wavering in many different climates that would normally affect an all-motor car. Team DHR was on their game with the number one qualifying spot of 4.691 at 144, all the way through to the final against Joel Greathouse with an amazing 4.773.
ULTRA 275
16: Last year’s dominant champion Shawn Pevlor qualified #2 with a 4.817 @ 147 in this class and was trying to repeat.
15
16 racer and ATI Performance Products-supported Chris Rini at 3.807 at 197 and Joe Dunne’s 3.813 at 193 (also on nitrous) leading the top three of 24 entrants. Every power adder was acknowledged in this class: high-winding screw blowers, Roots blowers, ProChargers, and turbos were all accounted for. It seemed from qualifying that the nitrous racers had a big edge, but that would soon be proven wrong as
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throughout the rounds, almost every N2O car was eliminated, leaving the Roots-blown entries of 2016 YB Nats Pro Mod Champion Kevin McCurdy in the supercharged Hard Racing ’68 Camaro facing off with Canadian Paolo Guist in the supercharged 2015 C7 Vette of Fine & Fast Motorsports. McCurdy’s .072 light on a 3.892 at 194 mph run in the final was bested by Guist’s .070 3.890 at 195. Both racers
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
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made this a final to remember with the total winning margin of victory (MOV) being just .0045 at a speed of over 194 mph, which would equal about three inches at the stripe! …..”Oh Canada!” One of the largest monthly gatherings of Outlaw 10.5 racers happens right here at Cecil County’s Strange Engineering Saturday Street Car Shootout Series so it would be easy to
infer that this class would be FULL, which it was. 32 cars made it and the Cecil County regular and Mickey Thompson Points Championship Leader, Mo Hall, was at the top of the field and the only one in the three second zone. Hall drove his 2007 nitrous ’Vette to 3.990 at 185 mph in the eighth-mile! Canada’s John Carcini followed in his 2004 turbocharged ’Vette with a 4.034 at
TOP SPORTSM AN 17: Joel Greathouse qualified #3 with a 4.836 at 148 and went to the final round but couldn’t hold off Hays’ all-motor Mustang.
18: Chris Krajewski plowed through the field in his gorgeous 1970 Camaro for his first YB Nats Top Sportsman win.
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YB NATIONALS 202 mph, and last year’s Champion Joe Albrecht qualified third with a 4.037 at 190. It would take a ton of effort trying to get through this ladder, and one of the standouts in doing so would be the father/ son Decker’s Salvage team entering two cars with Mike Decker Jr. handling the new C7 screwcharged Hemi C7 ’Vette while his son Mike “Hollywood” Decker III would pilot the record-holding 2002 screwcharged Hemi Camaro to his first rounds of victories while running confidently into the 4-second zone on numerous passes. Hall showed no signs of letting up on his pursuit of the win as he faced Mike Decker Jr. in the final, though. Decker would scream through the burnout only to back up to stage and begin leaking oil where he was immediately shut down, sending Hall on a single run for the Championship. There’s little doubt that X275 is alive and kicking in Maryland. The big hitters know
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this track will be right and the 37 entries proved that rivalries among these small tire warriors remain strong. It’s usually Ron Rhodes, the Bruder Brothers, or Dean Marinis with a target on their back; however, 2017 saw Phil Hines awarded the top spot in the ladder with a blistering 4.416 at 160 mph. Ron Rhodes would follow him in second 4.442 at 158, and Vinny Palazzolo 4.524 at 159 came in at #3 qualifier. Track prep was on point just as it needed to be for these finicky tires, and it was Vinny Palazzolo trying to hold back the efforts of Andrew DeMarco in the final round. Both racers being close in ET throughout eliminations made for an exciting final. Palazzolo would become the victor with another solid 4.506 at 159 to DeMarco’s losing 4.538 at 158. You could honestly call Cecil County home of Ultra 275, another brainchild of John Sears. Big car counts prevail in this class—34 to be exact for the YB
8.50 INDEX
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
19 19: Mike Pyott of Pyott Racing was the only Index racer to capture the elusive 8.5000 in qualifying with his small block Camaro on nitrous.
20: Winner of the 8.50 Index, Louis Martinez in the outrageous Reigel Racing Engines Chevy-powered RX7 put an unbeatable .000 light and 8.591 on opponent John Goss. This little red RX7’s roots can be traced back to the beginnings of Outlaw 10.5 and the even earlier “Quick 8’s” where it was one of the founding rides.
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YB NATIONALS 21
21: Index runner-up John Goss couldn’t get past the holeshot laid on him by Louis Martinez, but his great performance was one of his finest as a Cecil County regular.
Y A L P S D I K
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24 22 & 23: As always, Sunday morning would be just for the kids. A “Toy Store” is also always part of the children’s games. Monty and Maria put their hearts into this as do Patty Comparato DeMichele and Seth Cohen. 24: Monty & Maria
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Nats. Alex Hayes would put a HUGE number up for first place. You may recall RPM Magazine featuring Alex and his Fox body Mustang. Well, it’s been a little more “warmed over” since then and was capable of taking the #1 spot with a blistering 4.691 at 144 mph on motor alone. Last year’s champion Shawn Pevlor would follow in number two (4.817 at 147) and Joel Greathouse would see third with a 4.836 at 148. Hays would run a string of 4.70s throughout eliminations eventually meeting Greathouse in the finals. The screaming all-motor Mustang again stuck the tires
and just flat out “got it” as Hays slammed down a 4.773 to put away Greathouse with a 4.831. Top Sportsman cars are quick and qualify by ET and the class always sees a wide variety of vehicle types. John Prime, a standout from last year, laid down a strong 4.112 at 173 mph for the top spot of a whopping 55 cars. In the end though, one of the track favorites and a steady competitor at Cecil County, Chris Krajewski plowed through the field in his gorgeous ’70 Camaro for his first YB Nats win. One last class in the Pro categories is the 8.50 Index. It’s
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YB NATIONALS 25
25: Cars and fans lined everywhere this weekend, the parade of rides and the lack of standing room in many areas is what this type of racing is all about, big crowds, big car counts, big fun! an incredible class and part of the Northeast Index Racers Association, a group of classes that run at many of the area tracks on a regular basis. One of the biggest classes, 8.50 had 73 cars vying for a spot. Mike Pyott would be the only one to put a perfect 8.500 on the boards for #1 qualifier.
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These cars run fast and hard with wheelstands and big burnouts exicting fans. Louis Martinez in the Chevy-powered RX7 with a long history of drag racing behind it as one of the cars to start the Quick 8s and Outlaw 10.5 racing in the Mid-Atlantic states would win on a holeshot with a perfect .000 light
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
and 8.591 to John Goss’ 8.512. There was more than enough action in the remaining classes, as well. 10.0 Index featured 45 entrants and Paul Reviatis winning in his 2007 Mustang. Pro Dial had an enormous 127 cars file in for the action with Shane Colburn in his low-11-sec-
26: Shane Colburn took his Plymouth Duster to the win in Pro Dial against 126 other competitors in the class!
ond ’73 Plymouth Duster plowing through a huge number of rounds for a big win. Super Street, another dial-in class, stood strong with 76 cars trying to get to the winner’s circle, and it was Bandon McMillan who came out the winner. Though the weekend was marred with unfavorable and uncontrollable
weather, the amount of cars and passes made down this track and the fact that every class ran to a final is impressive to say the least. If you didn’t make it this year, remember for 2018, a great way to spend Labor Day weekend is at Cecil County Dragway for the Yellow Bullet Nationals.
www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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RPM COOL TOOLS 1
1: There was a time not long ago that a custommilled plate like our RPM Mag logo was only possible on a massive, crazy-expensive industrial CNC mill. However, it’s now possible in your own shop with a MillRight desktop CNC.
You Can CNC Me Now
>>A quality home CNC setup for cutting billet parts for under a grand? You can do it with a MillRight desktop CNC router system!
by
Toby Brooks
I
n the interest of full disclosure, I’m a billet aluminum junkie. Although billet parts have been around for decades, they still look hightech and cutting-edge to me. And the only thing better than a billet part is a one-off custom billet part. In the not-so-distant past, the only options for billet parts was to make them by hand on a manual mill like a Bridgeport or a manual lathe (both still
viable options for many pieces) or seek out someone with a computer numeric controlled (CNC) mill to cut your custom parts. And while simple pieces like brackets and such lend themselves well to manual fabrication, if you want to really trick out your piece with a custom logo or other milled design, there’s nothing better than CNC. The problem, however, has been access, as many typical industrial CNC units cost six-figures or more and are usually busy cutting pro-
duction work with no time for short-run parts like you probably want or need. Enter the home CNC industry. Like everything in technology, what was once untouchable in terms of price one day becomes affordable the next as advancements are made. While originally built around the woodworking hobbiest industry, desktop CNC routers have come down in price, gone up in quality and features, and also started to spill over into other industries. Equipped with
the proper router, spindle, or even laser, a readily available desktop CNC unit can be used to successfully mill ABS plastic, carbon fiber, and 6061 billet aluminum provided the operator knows how to program appropriately. We started our search for a desktop CNC system over a year ago, and we eventually discovered MillRight CNC. MillRight machines are quality USA-made units designed and improved by actual CNC users, meaning that if you have a question,
MillRight has probably already encountered it and is ready with a solution right away. MillRight currently offers their entry-level M3 machine with a 10.25-inch x 10.25-inch x 2-inch working area starting at $299, and their more robust Carve King model with a 17-inch x 17-inch x 4-inch working area for $699. With the addition of a router, spindle, laser, mounts, end mills, and other options, you can probably expect another $300, but for $1000 or less you can
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No need to fight getting ice into your intercooler again! With PRP’s new billet machined extra-large filler caps it is not a problem at all. These one of kind extra-large caps offer almost a 7” opening and are sealed with a Buna-N O-ring for a water tight seal. All kits are completed with an anodized finish in either clear, red, blue, or black. Two available styles complete with stainless steel hardware in either a weld on version, or bolt on version. ei
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november 2017 | RPM Magazine
刀椀瘀攀琀 ⬀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 一甀琀 ⬀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 匀琀甀搀
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2 & 3: The new MillRight Carve King model is shown with the available moisture-resistant black starboard ST finish perfect for protecting the machine bed from liquid coolants useful for machining aluminum. Also shown is a low-profile vise that easily clamps into the slot rails and a DeWalt router and clamp.
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䄀嘀䄀䬀 䴀愀砀䐀甀琀礀 䘀氀攀砀 吀漀漀氀 䬀椀琀 ∠ ㌀ⴀ椀渀ⴀ㨀 刀椀瘀攀琀Ⰰ 刀椀瘀攀琀 一甀琀 ⬀ 刀椀瘀攀琀 匀琀甀搀 ∠ 䘀氀攀砀椀戀氀攀 栀愀渀搀氀攀猀 昀漀爀 攀愀猀礀 猀琀漀爀愀最攀 眀椀琀栀漀甀琀 氀漀漀猀椀渀最 愀渀礀 氀攀瘀攀爀愀最攀⸀ ∠ 唀渀椀焀甀攀 儀甀椀挀欀匀眀椀琀挀栀 昀攀愀琀甀爀攀 昀漀爀 爀愀瀀椀搀 昀甀渀挀琀椀漀渀愀氀 挀栀愀渀最攀 ∠ 䠀攀愀瘀礀 搀甀琀礀 猀甀瀀瀀漀爀琀椀渀最 猀琀愀椀渀氀攀猀猀 昀愀猀琀攀渀攀爀猀 愀渀搀 猀琀爀甀挀琀甀爀愀氀 昀愀猀琀攀渀攀爀猀 昀愀猀
4, 5, & 6: Starting with a vector file (.eps) of the RPM logo, we used Autodesk Fusion 360 to create the CAM file the MillRight machine would need to cut our billet plate from T-6061 aluminum.
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5
6
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easily find yourself fully equipped to start CNC machining in your own garage. One huge hurdle for entering the CNC realm has always been programming. You basically have two options here: hire someone else who is comfortable in computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided machining (CAM) programming, or learn it yourself. In years past, commercial CAD/CAM software packages could cost $10,000 or more alone. However, with the advent of Autodesk Fusion360 (that MillRight suggests), hobbiests and students can actually ac-
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刀一䐀ⴀ
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刀䤀䐀䜀䔀䜀䄀吀䔀 吀伀伀䰀匀 ☀ 吀䔀䌀䠀
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RPM COOL TOOLS cess a commercial-quality CAD/CAM software system for free. Even better, the cloud-based software can store your finished files for you and you can share with other users easily, too. With a computer and internet connection, you’re good to go. By far and away the hardest part surrounding cutting custom CNC parts is the programming skills necessary to make it happen. Determined to learn the process and be able to do it ourselves, we have started working through a number of tutorials from the “Titans of CNC: Academy” website. Like any skill, learning something new is a process, but the free tutorials taught by CNC machinist Titan Gilroy allows the learner to work through at his or her own pace, going back as needed to ensure mastery. With literally hundreds of available tutorials on the site, your skills are only
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limited by the time you choose to invest. Once our RPM Magazine logo was imported and the plate was designed, it is then little more than the click of a mouse to put the MillRight CNC machine into action. Using slower feed rate and taking shallow cut depths to protect the tooling from heat, the unit produced a perfect finished piece in a matter of minutes. While we are still learning the software side of the CAD/CAM puzzle, the good news is that our MillRight CNC machine is more than up to the task of carving out whatever we can come up with. And the machine could be used for doing more than just logos or aesthetic designs, too. One look at the MillRight forums is all it will take to show you that owners are already using their Carve Kings to cut custom brackets
7: The Dewalt router does just fine in billet as long as you stay conservative on cut depth and feed rate. and structural parts, too. And while it is certainly somewhat limited compared to industrial 5-axis machines in marking complex 3D parts, there is no question that it is still a valuable addition to your tools and skill set just the
way it is. Whether you choose to have someone else handle the design side or do it yourself, a tool like the MillRight CNC can dramatically improve and increase the capability of your shop.
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8: The finished piece with some paint added in for contrast shows you a quick and easy project that could be completed from start to finish in about an hour, but similar operations could be completed in 30 minutes or less.
SOURCES MillRight CNC www.millrightcnc.com
Autodesk Fusion360 www.autodesk.com
Titans of CNC: Academy academy.titansofcnc.com
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RPM PROJECT CAR 1: The new Harwood fiberglass clip showed up in a couple days by truck freight in a huge box. We immediately dug it out and set it on the car. With a little tape, shims and blocks, it was put into position and squared up with the doors and hood with very little trimming needed. There were, of course, no holes in the headlight buckets for access to bulbs or wiring and no holes for the headlight mounting studs. With some eyeball measuring and a few oblong holes later, that was all taken care of. The wheel opening lip area had extra material that was trimmed off to make sure our tires wouldn’t rub and the same was done in a couple of areas at the door edge to keep them from getting hung up. There was nothing that required special auto body skills to take care of—just handy use of a body saw and soft grinding disc.
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EXTREME WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE
EPISOD E TWO
story and photo by
Chuck Scott
>>The Thug is still counting calories and moving onto cardio with the help of Harwood
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ast month we started a mad dash to get 300 pounds of fat off the 2939-pound RPM Magazine mule. We cut a bunch of metal off the front end and
replaced the full-size radiator with a custom Pro-Stock radiator from Be Cool. Now, with the front end stripped down, we didn’t want to put the factory bumper assembly and steel fenders back on.
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We called up Harwood Industries and ordered one of their one-piece fiberglass front clips and a scratch-resistant polycarbonate Mustang windshield. After trimming off the excess material in
the fender opening inner lips, in the headlight pockets, and a little on the inside where it meets the doors, the new Harwood clip tipped the scales right under 30 pounds. That is close to the weight of
2 & 3: For a cleaner look, we used black Quik-Latch Minis when possible. The bottom near the rockers worked great as did the area at the rear corners of the windshield. On the inside rail area where the hood covers, regular quarter turn Dzus fasteners were used.
2 the stock factory bumper with the header panel. You basically save the weight of your fenders. Of course, ours was already lightened up as much as we could get it and had a smooth fiberglass valance molded on. The OEM fenders weigh about 12 pounds each not including the liners and baffles (if you still have them). At $1024, the Har-
wood front clip is a real bargain and looks killer. The 3/16-inch polycarbonate windshield is about 10 pounds lighter than the factory glass and adds a margin of safety in the event of a crash or if a part of another race car gets hurled into your windshield. Polycarbonate is very impact resistant and won’t give you a face full of glass if it does give
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way in a crash. It can get ripped away or punctured, but it won’t break. You may remember a few years back when we made a carb scoop with it. We actually bent it cold with a sheet metal brake to make the box shape. To get our 90° bends, it had to be bent way past 90° due to the spring-back in the polycarbonate. It sounds like polycarbonate
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www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017
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RPM PROJECT CAR 4
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4: Once the Harwood clip was mostly secured, the corners of the valance area were cut out to allow the front exit exhaust to poke through.
5, 6, & 7: We still needed a few more attachment points so we trimmed a few Summit Racing quarter turn plates and added them to the strut tower support tubes. You may recall the ones already in place were installed last issue as the tops of the support tree assemblies on each side.
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JE_BBC_RPM_2015_Layout 1 8/11/15 2:29 PM Page 1
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is the ultimate window material, doesn’t it? Well, it has one major flaw. Polycarbonate is really easy to scratch. Regular polycarbonate will scratch from simply wiping it with a paper towel. Harwood’s windshields are a scratch-resistant Margard-coated version that holds up
much better than standard polycarbonate. Even with scratch-resistant Margard, the Harwood windshield is an affordable $285 in the thicker, more rigid 3/16-inch thick version, or you can save $50 and a couple pounds if you go with the thinner 1/8-inch thick version.
8 & 9: And finally, we bent and welded a few more mounting plates on the bumper tube to secure the front. If we attach the other fasteners first, the two front quarter-turn fasteners will already be lined up when reinstalling the front clip. Doing it this way eliminated the need for a traditional fork-style front end mount, which requires plates, supports, and a bar to be attached and bonded to the inside of the composite bumper section.
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RPM PROJECT CAR 10
11 11 & 12: The Harwood polycarbonate windshield comes a few inches oversize so it needs to be trimmed to fit. We laid the factory windshield on it and simply traced around it for a perfect fit. Aaron cut it out using a jig saw with a blade intended for plastics. Yes we used the car for a cutting table…something we would never do if we had a nice paint job.
10: I would have liked to have shown you the removal of the factory windshield but the guys that came to take it out from a local mobile glass service, beat me there by 10 minutes and had it out before I arrived. The $50 they charged to pull the glass was well worth it. It probably would have taken me a couple hours and it wouldn’t have been in one piece.
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8 & 9: Ok, what do you do as an encore after raising a Roush 59 1/2” Length, 15” Wide X 14” Tall. This is Mustang 15 feet in the air in 2015? Simple, go big or go a universal design dash that can be trimmed to fit. It’s perfect for many drag racing applications. home! Once again, PowerFest sponsor Ken’s Towing flexed $295 their towing#4104 and recovery prowess as #4114 they raised this massive#4116 cement mixer truck to the delight of all. -Brian Milne photos POLYCARBONATE
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RPM-NOV/2017 www.rpm-mag.com | november 2017 103
Tinted not available for Windshields
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14
13 & 14: The Harwood windshield comes with a protective wrap on both sides that can prevent damage during cutting or drilling. We trimmed it on the inside around the perimeter exposing a couple inches on the outside. We then taped off a nice straight border to be painted. A light scuff with a Scotch-Brite pad or some fine wet-sand paper is all that’s needed to prepare it for some paint. Using a few very light coats will keep the paint from beading up on the polycarbonate.
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RPM PROJECT CAR 15
16
15: With the windshield in place, Aaron secured it with a few screws then drilled pilot holes every few inches around the entire frame. We are lucky that convertibles have a wide aluminum molding that covers the edges on the top and sides. By keeping the panhead sheetmetal screws right at the edge, we will be able to hide them. The large washer-size heads will keep them from pulling through the windshield under stress.
16: After all the holes were drilled, the few screws holding the windshield in place were removed and it was pulled back out. Once any burrs or shavings were cleaned up, Aaron applied the double-sided adhesive foam weather seal around the windshield frame. This is just common stuff from the local home improvement store for sealing around doors and windows. It not only will help seal out air and water, it spaces the polycarbonate windshield out to sit in the factory position.
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RPM PROJECT CAR 17
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HIGH PERFORMANCE RACE PISTONS! 17: Once the windshield was set back in place, Nick and Aaron peeled the protective wrap off both the outside and inside. The Margard coating ensures that our lightweight replacement windshield will remain clear and relatively scratch-free in the future.
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310.536.0100 WWW.ROSSPISTONS.COM
november 2017 | RPM Magazine
19 18
19: The new Harwood front clip not only knocked weight off the car, it makes maintenance at the track easier not to mention loading and strapping down the car. As soon as the season ends, we will put some satin black on it to match the rest of the car, or who knows, I might get civilized and have Aaron to put some gloss on the whole thing! -Jason Young, KOTS photo
18: Once the windshield molding was reinstalled, no screws were visible. Unless you tap on it, you can’t tell it’s not factory glass. Stay tuned for the next installment in our weight loss series as the pounds keep falling away like magic. A few pounds here and a few there add up quick on our way to reaching the 300 pound loss goal.
SOURCES Harwood
Summit Racing
Quik Latch
800.822.3392 www.eharwood.com
800.230.3030 summitracing.com
247.808.2692 quik-latch.com
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RPM PROJECT CAR
1: After spending some time planning out their attack, Tim Braddy of Braddy’s Custom Paint and George Norovich of Norovich’s Pro Street Customs got busy this month knocking out a host of body modifications on the Mustang. Seen here, the custom stretched Hairy Glass fiberglass ground effects have been modified and mounted up.
PART 41
CHIPPINGAWAY
>>Braddy Custom Paint inches our project car ever-closer to trick paint and graphics with some custom body mods
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1
story by
I
t has often been said that the difference between a great build and everything else is all in the details. And the truth is, that after four long years, we were cer-
november2017 | RPM Magazine
tainly tempted to rush across the finish line just to say that our pro street 2005 Mustang was done. But then we thought a bit more and realized that after such a long and challenging uphill battle,
it would be a real shame to fall short just for the sake of a month or two. With that idea in mind, Tim Braddy and his crew at Braddy Custom Paint, along with the help of pal George Norovich of
Toby Brooks
Norovich’s Pro Street Customs (both of West Frankfort, Illinois), got to work on a number of details that needed attention. First up, we wanted to do something to trick
2: We considered several options for door handles, ranging from the factory pulls to clean shaven, to aftermarket custom, but in the end we opted for these cool Fiat Barchetta units. The good news is that they are smooth and cool-looking. The bad news is that that Fiat model was never sold in North America. Never fear: eBay to the rescue! We found a pair along with the donor sheet metal from a salvage yard in Poland. 3: Once the handles and donor metal made their way halfway across the globe, Tim got to work flushing them into the ‘Stang’s doors. Beginning with the passenger side, he cut the Fiat factory metal to size and tacked it in using a MIG welder. Although Fiat installed them with the button facing forward, we opted to swap them around to more closely mimic the look of a classic Mustang handle. out the boring factory Ford door pulls. Although they were fine as-is, we wanted something sleeker and frankly more
custom without the hassle of shaved handles and without the garish look of some of the aftermarket custom
2
3 handles on the market. After some serious Google searching, we stumbled across a cool- looking Fiat factory handle. The flush-mounted factory Barchetta handle is small
and inconspicuous while also sharing a passing resemblance to a ’67 Mustang handle. Since they were fairly uncommon, we set out to find some. Problem is, the Fiat Barchetta was never sold in North America. As a result, US salvage
4: With the donor metal welded in all the way around, Braddy then smoothed the custom panel in place. Welding sheet metal requires patience, as too much heat will warp the factory steel. We still need to fabricate the mechanism to make the handles functional, but the sheet metal fab work is half the battle.
4
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RPM PROJECT CAR yards were no help. We turned to eBay, eventually finding a pair just outside of Warsaw, Poland. While Braddy could have fabricated the flush mounting flange from scratch, it would be far easier to use a portion of the factory door sheetmetal. Luckily, our source also had a pair of pristine doors available for sale, too. After we agreed to buy both doors complete, he cut the 10x3-inch pieces of
metal we needed and shipped everything out to us. Once the package cleared customs, Braddy received it and promptly went to work integrating the new handles into our doors. Norovich first made the filler panels to cover the factory recesses, then Braddy methodically welded them into place. After the initial welding was complete, he dressed the welds and applied a small amount of filler for a
factory look, except with the cool twist of a sleek European door handle. Elsewhere, Braddy and crew members Brian Podschweit and Derrick Webber tackled the fiberglass ground effects. Due to the 5-inch stretched nose, the factory urethane units no longer fit, and since urethane is both heavy and hard to modify, we opted to order a pair of factory reproductions from Hairy
6
7 5
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5: With the passenger side done, Braddy turned his attention to the driver’s side.
8
9
10 6: Urethane mounting buckets from a 2014 Mustang bumper were grafted in to make way for the custom Oracle LED marker lights. 7 & 8: Braddy and fellow crew member Brian Podschweit clearanceD the rear center section of the bumper to make way for the S&W Race Cars wheelie bar.
12
11
9, 10, & 11: Braddy (left) and Norovich (right) stretched the Hairy Glass ground effects, then Tim and Derrick Webber trialfit them to the car. 12: Norovich fabricated several brackets to mount the ground effects without exposed fasteners.
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RPM PROJECT CAR Glass. Thankfully, the friendly folks at Hairy Glass also sent us a pair of 10-inch end caps that could be grafted in in order to accommodate the stretch. While that solved the problem of replacing the factory pieces that wouldn’t fit, it didn’t solve the problem of how to mount the custom ’glass units. To tackle that challenge, Norovich crafted a series of small brackets that were screwed to the factory rockers. Meanwhile, Braddy used panel bond adhesive to glue corresponding concealed “fingers” that hang the fiberglass piece into position without any exposed fasteners. Once the car returns from paint and body, we will tie the bottom of the ground effects into the belly pans with some custom tinwork. After the ground effects were completed, Braddy moved his attention rearward, where the custom rear fascia
needed some additional fitment and attention prior to final block and prime. The S&W Race Cars single rear wheelie bar was too low to clear the factory bumper lip with the car completely aired out on the Ride Tech Shockwaves. Braddy first clearanced the center of the fascia using an air saw. The opening was smoothed and clearance was double checked. At the same time, we managed to source a pair of cool Oracle LED rear marker lights for 2012-2014 Mustangs. Unfortunately, a similar style was not available for the 2005-2009 bumper. Never fear: we sourced a beat up 2014 Mustang rear bumper and Braddy sectioned the necessary pieces out before bonding them into our bumper cover. Like the ground effects, we will tidy the whole install in with finishing tinwork on the rear bumper, but for now the completed piece already looks darn cool.
13
14
13 & 14: The factory Boss heat extractors had been trial fit to the fiberglass hood, but due to the thin structure, the plastic factory pieces were riding on top. Norovich cut some insert from billet aluminum to bond to the underside, thus allowing the piece to be flush mounted for a smoother appearance.
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RPM PROJECT CAR 15
15 & 16: With the billet flanges bonded to the undersurface of the hood, Braddy opened up the mounting holes in the fiberglass hood, allowing the factory Boss heat extractors to drop right in. The flush mount makes them look just like the factory did it.
Yet another issue that needed taken care of was up front. Braddy and Norovich turned their attention to the front clip of the car, where the trick custom fiberglass hood needed a little further refinement. While the factory Boss heat extractors already looked pretty
cool flanking the Sunoco-style bulge, the thin fiberglass made it impossible to flush them in for a factory-installed look. To solve that problem, Norovich cut a pair of billet aluminum rings that were bonded into the under-surface of the hood. Then Braddy increased the size of
the hood opening, leaving the aluminum mounting flange exposed and allowing for a cool flush and finished look. The car is now blocked and primed from the firewall rearward, but the custom stretched front end is still a ways away from being ready for paint.
e rear suspension is all Calvert Racing and even includes their etary 9-way adjustable CR series rear shocks (not shown).
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16
Braddy and Norovich plan to add some additional chromoly tubing to add rigidity, and there’s still quite a bit of finish welding to be completed. However, with a bit of luck, we may just be ready to start spraying some color next month. Stay tuned!
SOURCES Braddy Custom Paint West Frankfort, Illinois 618.937.1936
Norovich’s Pro Street Customs West Frankfort, Illinois 618.923.3555
Hairy Glass www.hairyglass.com 904.751.3459
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