___ Mopar Max Magazine ___ Volume V, Issue 6

Volume V Issue 6 - June 2010
You could win this Challenger
[06/02/10]
Busch Triumphant in Coca-Cola 600
[06/02/10]
Roy Johnson Breaks In Mopar Dodge
Challenger Drag Pak at Bristol 06/02/10]
LEAD STORY
MOPARS AT THE STREET
MACHINE NATIONALS
DOWN UNDER
Read more Mopar Memos »
COLUMNS
Mopar To Ya with Chris Barnes
The Ugly, the Bad and the Good
[06/02/10]
[06/02/10]
Steve Mags Speaks with Steve Magnante
The Fiery Finger of God [06/02/10]
Mopar Musings with Geoff Stunkard
Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap [06/02/10]
Basement Garage with Kevin Thomson
How to find Port Costa [04/01/10]
More Columns »
RACING AND CAR SHOWS
MOPARS AT THE ROCK
Barrett-Jackson at Scottsdale
Mopars at the Strip
[05/03/10]
TECH SECTION
[04/01/10]
ADDING NITROUS
TO A HEMI
[04/01/10]
More Racing and Car Shows »
[05/03/10]
FEATURES
Project Fighting Fish: Homestretch
DICK LANDY
More Tech »
PHOTOS FOUND IN A TRUNK!
[05/03/10]
How one man’s love for a car conquered death
It's a new Challenge(r) for Jeggie
[04/01/10]
[06/01/10]
[04/01/10]
More Features »
COVER: Andrew Christou's VH Chrysler Valiant Charger, photo by Jon Van Daal
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
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The Fiery Finger of God
on’t know if you’re religious or not, but if you know how to weld, you easily understand the
almighty wonder of fusing metal with heat. Mere mortals wanting to join separate pieces of
metal are restricted to earthbound means – nuts, bolts, screws, hot rivets, cold rivets,
clamps, etc. But as soon as you fire up that welder, it’s as if you have the hand of God at your
disposal. Want two hunks of metal joined forever? Simply but them together, squeeze the trigger and
activate the arc! It truly is a miraculous thing. It isn’t hard to imagine God doing the same thing with
the tip of his index finger (minus the welder, of course).
I’ve been fiddling with Mopars for 30 of my 45 years and until a few months ago, was welder-less. I’ve
owned and built dozens of cars but always felt a tinge of shame and inadequacy when I had to have
other folks handle my welding needs. Beyond that, waiting for somebody else to do critical work can
bring progress to a screeching halt. So I bit the bullet and purchased a Millermatic AutoSet 140 MIG
welder.
It’s a funny thing. As soon as it showed up in my shop, visiting
pals asked if I had plans to enroll in a welding class. There
seemed to be way too much neurosis over the welding process,
like it was an art, to be mastered only after years of humble
servitude as an understudy. I had one buddy tell me “If you have
to grind the beads after you’re done, you shouldn’t be welding in
the first place”. On the other hand, fellow altered wheelbase
fanatic, Seattle’s Richard “Performance King” LeFebvre offered
this advice: “If you can hit the weld with a hammer and it doesn’t
break, it’s just fine. It doesn’t matter what it looks like”. Since I am
not building a supersonic aircraft headed for the moon, I prefer the
latter advice.
So after staring at the shiny new welder for several weeks, I
cracked open the bottle and just got to it. Some bits of scrap
metal were my first victims and at first I admit the results were
crummy. The biggest challenge was seeing the work. If you can’t
see what you are doing, you’ll never be able to target the bead
along the joint and fuse the metal. So I learned to set up some
work lamps to help with visibility.
Another key element is having a good helmet. I bought one that
has an auto-dark feature. These things are virtually clear and
easy to see out of – until you strike an arc. Then they instantly go
new motor mounts, installing longer front leaf springs, relocating the front wheel openings,
dark and allow you to observe the molten puddle as you apply it.
and building my own headers.
And it is true, you MUST wear a mask. I cheated on a few welds
and left the helmet on the bench. Big mistake. It only took a few
unprotected glimpses of the arc for the pain to arrive. At first, you’ll see spots but the real fun comes the next day. When you wake up, you’ll swear
somebody threw a fistful of sand in your eyes. Yes, it passed after several hours, but prolonged exposure delivers really bad – permanent – harm to the
eyeballs.
Yes, it’s a Furd but it pays tribute to the fact that Chrysler invented the altered wheelbase
Funny Car. The welder opened the door to many fun fabrication projects including making
Steve Mags Speaks - The Fiery Finger of God - Page 1 of 5 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
Other safety gear is needed: leather welding gloves are a must and a burn-proof welding jacket is a nice plus. I
got mine after a stray bit of molten slag burned through a polyester sweater, cotton shirt and then my forearm. It is
amazing how the blob just kept melting everything in its path until finally stopped by the second or third layer of my
skin. Though initially painful, I view the resulting scar as badge of honor. But one is enough. I now wear the jacket
whenever I weld.
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Beyond all the safety stuff, choosing the proper welder was
a major ingredient in my “success”. The “AutoSet” part of
the Millermatic AutoSet name stems from its ability to preselect wire feed speed and temperature (the two critical
elements of successful welding) so you don’t have to. Just
dial in what gauge metal you are welding (a handy thickness
gauge is included) and that’s about it. It made me look
good. Before the end of the day, I was able to weld. Am I an
expert? No way. That’ll take years of effort. But I can say
with certainty that if I can do it, so can you.
While my heart loves Mopars best and most of the cars in
my fleet are Mopars (’54 Plymouth Savoy, Rampage altered
wheelbase ’63 Dart, ’65 Dart GT 273 hi-po, ’66 Barracuda,
’67 Dart Hemi sedan and ’76 Dodge D100 pickup), I’ll admit
to having a few Brand X machines as well. One car in
particular was the prime reason for getting started with welding in the first place.
It’s an ’81 Ford Fairmont. Now wait, before you skip the rest of this article hear me out for a moment. I am
completely obsessed with Super Stock and Factory Experimental drag racing from the 1962 – 1966 timeframe. It’s
my reason for living. We all know that Chrysler got the whole altered wheelbase game started, but let’s remember
that those original Mopar “funny cars” influenced the efforts of hundreds of Brand X racers almost immediately.
This Fairmont has a radically altered wheelbase and is my take on what a factory-backed Ford FX car would look
like if the Factory Experimental movement blossomed in 1980 instead of 1965. Remember, I already have a Mopar
altered wheelbase car (the Rampage ’63 Dart – go to the MoparMax archives and see the many how-to stories
showing how it was built). And yes, I also have a Chevy altered wheelbase car (the Wilshire Shaker Nova – look it
up on YouTube for some wheelie and burnout action). But I need a Ford to round out the stash.
Thanks to the AutoSet function, the 4-inch
wheel opening relocation on the Fairmont’s
thin 20-gauge front fenders was easier than I
expected. The key is making accurate and
straight markings in the fender skin and
cutting them in a neat fashion. Then you set
the welder to 20-gauge metal and begin spot
welding the loose panels back into their new
positions. To avoid warpage caused by
concentrated heat, you need to keep moving
around the perimeter of the areas to be
welded. This fender (as seen from the back
side) took about 3-hours to modify. The
Millermatic 140 has enough oomph to weld
metal as thick as 3/16-inch.
A friend of mine back in California (Dale
Snoke) handled the installation of the
tube front axle and slide the entire rear suspension 10-inches forward, giving this Fairmont the full funny car
treatment. Incidentally, Dale is also the guy who handled all of the welding on my Rampage ’63 Dart. But since the
Fairmont was initially built in California, the stock 200-cube six banger and automatic tranny had to stay put. That’s
because engine swaps on any car built after 1975 are really difficult to get through California’s bi-annual smog test
game. But now that I live in Massachusetts, there are no laws preventing an engine swap on this car.
Steve Mags Speaks - The Fiery Finger of God - Page 2 of 5 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
Sooo, I bought a Mustang Mach 1 4.6 liter DOHC “Cammer” crate engine from Ford
Racing along with a Tremec TKO-600 5-speed stick. Yep, I’m honing my welding
skills on the engine swap and upgrading the car. While Chrysler really got it right with
the Gen III 5.7, 6.1 (and rumored 6.3) Hemi engine family, Ford kind of screwed up
with its Modular engine family. Rather than design for healthy cubic inch displacement
and a cam-in-block configuration with pushrod activated valves (like the Gen III Hemi
– and GM’s excellent LS engine) Ford elected to go with limited displacement – a
mere 281 cubic inches - but bolster the displacement deficiency with overhead cams
and (presumably) better breathing for power.
Making your own fender wall headers is easy once you get a welder.
Just score a pair of flanges for your engine type, a pair of collectors
and a bunch of J-bends from a mail order outfit like Jegs. Then put
your brain in 3-D and get to it. By cutting, rotating and re-welding the
tubes, I transformed a bunch of 1-5/8 J-bends into this header in 5
hours. You tack weld the sections together on the car then do the final
seam welding on the work bench later. This allows much better access
to the unions and better welds.
Since its introduction in 1991, the 4.6 “Mod motor” has been offered in a mind
boggling array of configurations. They come with two cams (SOHC) or four cams
(DOHC) and with 2-valves, 3 valves or 4 valves per cylinder. I don’t like to bash on
factory engineers, but Ford has always made things so complicated. Even back in the
sixties and seventies, while Chrysler offered a logical selection of LA, B and RB
series V8 engines, Ford produced a confusing bouquet of engines – many with the
same displacement. Remember the 427, 428, 429 and 430? Each was a distinctly
separate creature from its same-size siblings.
And let’s not get started with the Ford 351 V8 engine family. You’ve got Windsors,
canted-valve Clevelands and oddball M-series thingies, all of which are fairly decent
engines, but we have to ask WHY with all the crazy variations on the same theme?
Yes, there are solid marketing, manufacturing and engineering answers to the
question, but then and now, it sure makes life difficult for hot rodders.
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And yes, the Modular 4.6 engine family
maintains Ford’s crazy “one-size-fits-too-many”
legacy. Truth be told, (excluding the brilliant
new 2011 “Coyote” 5.0 Mustang mill) the only
Mod motor worth caring about is the 4-valve.
Used in the Mustang Cobra, Mustang Mach 1,
Mercury Marauder, Lincoln Navigator and
Lincoln Mark VIII, it has excellent breathing and
really comes to life with forced induction. For
my purposes, I like the 4-valve because it’s a
spiritual descendant of the mighty 1965 Ford
SOHC 427 – the one Detroit engine able to
match the Chrysler 426 Hemi on the strip.
Taken from my recent book “How to Build Altered
Wheelbase Cars” (available from CarTech books
or Jegs), this photo shows the size of the Ford
4.6 DOHC Cammer (on left) versus a 426 Hemi
(actually a stroker 520). The 281-inch Cammer
prompts the question; “How can something so
big…be so small”? Regardless, it looks tough
and is the perfect choice for my nutty Fairmont
project. With an estimated 340 horsepower, it
should push the 2800 pound Fairmont into the
high twelve second zone.
Steve Mags Speaks - The Fiery Finger of God - Page 3 of 5 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
The crazy thing about the 4.6 4-valve DOHC Cammer is its sheer size, it is huge. With two camshafts atop each
head and 4-valves per chamber, these things are ½ inch wider than a 426 Hemi. So they look intimidating. While
the Mustang Mach 1 crate engine I bought has a modest 305 horsepower – reached at 5800 rpm and 320 ft/lbs of
torque at 4200 rpm, I’m after the look. I’m scrapping the factory EFI and replacing it with an 8-stack EFI from Sean
Hyland Racing. I’ll slice the hood so the stacks protrude in classic funny car style. The factory cast iron exhaust
manifolds are also going away in favor of a set of groovy fender wall headers I’m making by myself, which brings
us back to the new welder.
I’m thrilled whenever I crank up the
welder and make progress on this
crazy little Fairmont. I have included
some photographs so you can see
what me and my welder have been up
to. And remember, if I can do this, so
can you. Thanks to the welder, I’m
already toying with ideas for my next
altered wheelbase project – which I
plan to build entirely by myself – for
once.
Rather than head down previouslycharted roads with a sixties Mopar
(think ‘65 Coronet, Barracuda, Dart,
etc.), why not build another what-if
time-warp contraption like the
Fairmont? And with prices of good
sixties donor cars starting at 5-grand,
cheap to buy late model rigs are all the
sweeter.
I am tempted to find a clean rust-free
’76 – ’80 Volare or Aspen. Up front I’d
replace the transverse torsion bar
The Cammer is transformed into a Match Bash superstar with the simple addition
setup with a straight axle and parallel
of an 8-stack fuel injection. Shown here as a mock-up, the actual unit is
leaf springs. Under the hood, I’d go
manufactured by Sean Hyland Motorsport of Canada. Kinsler also offers 8-stack
with a Gen III Hemi. I’d start with the
injectors for Cammers…and Gen III Mopar Hemis for that altered wheelbase
new Mopar Performance aluminum
Volare project I’m conjuring up!
block, stroke it for as many cubes as I
could and then top it off with an 8-stack
EFI unit from Kinsler. Naturally the ram tubes will poke through the hood at least a foot for the right funny car vibe.
The only hassle with the Volare / Aspen is the fact there isn’t
much room to move the rear axle forward. That’s because
the distance between the door cut line and the rear wheel
opening is minimal. Without at least a foot of real estate in
this critical area, you can’t move the rear axle much. On the
Volare / Aspen platform, you can only get about 3-inches of
axle movement. Back in ’65, Chrysler slid the rear axle a
whopping 15-inches! On the Volare / Aspen, it really isn’t
worth the effort since the 3-inch result is too subtle to be
noticed right away. Complicating matters is the fact there
aren’t any other late seventies Mopar 2-door sedans to
choose from. The Volare / Aspen is the only candidate.
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But how about a K-car? It may sound nuts, but I would find
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a 1980-ish Dodge Aries-K stripper. No A/C, no radio, just a
base level two-door sedan. Then I’d scrap the 2.2 four
popper and front wheel drive (aka wrong wheel drive) setup. Then I’d do a rear wheel drive conversion on the
chassis with the all-important wheelbase alteration of about 6-inches. I’d steer away from making it look like a
slammed eighties Pro Street machine and try to incorporate factory floor and chassis stampings (fire wall,
transmission tunnel, etc) from a rear wheel drive Mopar. It’d sit tall and proud with a tube front axle and parallel
leaf springs. An 8 ¾ and Super Stock leaf springs would be used out back. I’d bet a 3-inch forward shift of the
front axle centerline and a 6-inch shift of the rear axle centerline would be about right.
Steve Mags Speaks - The Fiery Finger of God - Page 4 of 5 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
The correct rolling stock is critical to the success of any Match Bash car so I’d go with traditional 15x4 zero-offset
5-spoke mags from Vintage Engineering with skinny bias-ply tires up front and 15x7 steel wheels with pie-crust
slicks from Radir, Coker, Towel City or Hurst out back. One key aspect would be to narrow the front and rear axle
track-width enough so the tires don’t stick out beyond the narrow K-car body. And if the 15-inch wheel / tire combo
makes the small K-car look too much like a roller skate, I’d be open to 14 or even 13-inch rims (with harmonious
tires) to maintain the right proportions. All components need to be in scale with the overall package. Too-big tires
could screw up the visual balance in a hurry.
Under the hood, there are many choices.
Since authentic Factory Experimental
cars featured the latest exotic hardware,
a carbureted 360 or 440 would be too
mundane and predictable. A Max Wedge
wouldn’t be wrong and a Hilborn injected
426 Hemi would be a good (but
expensive) choice. But why not think
outside the box? A Gen III Hemi with 8stack injection would be perfect. Then
again, on a small platform like the K-car,
why not try a smaller engine? I’m no big
fan of the sport compact craze and
frankly have little to no interest in engines
with less than 8 cylinders.
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But…if you yanked the turbocharged
Maserati DOHC 2.2 mill out of an ’89 –
‘91 Chrysler TC, you’d be on the right
track. Mount it longitudinally to suit the
rear wheel drive conversion and make up
an adapter to connect it to a 5-speed
stick and you’d be onto something good.
The only down side is that these turbo
mills (including the Chrysler SOHC 2.2
Turbo family) are not suited to exotic
through-the-hood ram tubes. So you’d
need to scale down a ’65 Race Hemi
hood scoop to spice things up in the
absence of a forest of ram tubes.
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Another option would be to build a naturally aspirated Chrysler V6 – with looong ram tubes poking through the Kcar hood. Chrysler produced a large variety of SOHC, DOHC and pushrod V6 mills starting in the eighties so there
is plenty of material to choose from. Yes, you’d need to rig up an adapter to suit the rear wheel drive conversion
but where there is a will there is a way. How about a Mitsubishi 3.0 liter? It’s got nice wide cam covers that would
look bitchin’ with Street Hemi-inspired black crackle paint. Again, foot-long vertical ram tubes on a fabricated EFI
manifold would be a must to bring it all home.
And what about a 24 valve 3.5 liter SOHC V6 from a ’99 – ’04 Chrysler 300M? It’s 255 horsepower can be
boosted to 280 with hotter cams and the (mandatory) 6-stack ram tube injection would likely add another 25
versus the factory-issue EFI plenum and single throttle body. In a lightweight altered wheelbase K-car you’d get an
easy 300 horsepower and have an excellent combination of power and “what-if” factory exotica without defaulting
to a ho-hum carbureted 360 or 440.
Granted, these are all flights of fancy. But with a welder, virtually anything is possible! Get yours soon and start
arc’in!
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Steve Mags Speaks - The Fiery Finger of God - Page 5 of 5 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
The ugly, the bad and the good
'm sorry that I didn't turn in a story last month. I was a bit depressed.
The problem was that every time I sat down to write I couldn't help but
think about my wounded Max Wedge. You see, we went to a test and
tune at our local track and what should have been a casual day turned into a
catastrophe when a valve broke and did terrible damage to our most precious
bullet.
I've done worse but never to a motor as
expensive as this. We were able to load
it up and head for home without tipping
our hand but we knew that there was
something drastically wrong.
Fortunately, we were close to home so
we didn't have to spend a long road trip
wondering what we were going to find
when we opened it up.
Eeew! This is a custom piston (top left)
from CP. It cost a couple hundred bucks
and now it's on the way to the beer can
factory. What you can't see here is the
cylinder wall, which is damaged enough
to require a sleeve. Just looking at it
makes me want to throw up in a trash
can. We were supposed to be racing
with this thing and now we have to
dump a bunch more money and time
into it.
This might be even more heart breaking.
This head (bottom left) is junk. Mopar
has made three generations of Stage III
heads. The first were made in '64 then
around ten years ago they got NHRA
approval to manufacture a fresh run of
them because the supply was drying up
from the demands of collectors and
racers. That run was somewhat
disappointing because they didn't use
the best castings. None the less, that's
what we have because that's what was
available at the time we started this
engine build. They have since come out with a new and improved version. Fortunately, our engine builder has a
spare head of the correct generation for us.
Mopar to Ya - The Ugly, the Bad and the Good - Page 1 of 2 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
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Weekend racing preview: The Chase
gets closer
IndyCar adds Baltimore race to
2011 schedule
F1: McLaren on the rise, Hamilton
says
That's enough bad news. Here is a shot of "Brutus", our latest Stock Eliminator heating up the tires
at Pacific Raceways a couple of weeks ago. He is running high elevens with motivation from our
"courtesy" 440 while we science out the suspension, fuel, electrical, safety, et-cetera, et-cetera, etcetera. As you've heard me complain before, the list of things to buy and do to get a Stock Eliminator
race car ready to play is huge. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever get to the end of it! It's nice to get to
the stage where we can actually run the car and show it off to our peers a little bit.
Click for more AutoWeek stories
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The NHRA legal 383 four barrel that Dan
Dvorak is building for Brutus is nearing
completion. It's a 1970 block bored .040"
over and completely blue printed. The lifter
bores have been bushed and corrected.
Pistons come from CP, rods from Manley.
The heads are "516" castings that have
been given a valve job and cc'd. There is no
porting or polishing allowed in Stock
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Eliminator. Rocker gear and push rods will
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be the same NASCAR spec stuff that we
have in the Savoy. The cam will be some
exotic piece with lots of duration and no more
than .424" lift. A close reading of the rules
revealed that we are allowed to run a later
1971 intake manifold so we found one. They are significantly better than the 1966 unit. We are
still required to run the rare 500 cfm Carter from '66. Luckily we were able to find one in
rebuildable condition. Dvorak is working on it for us. The cool thing about this motor is that it is
also legal for our Savoy Wagon. The combination is classified as K,L or M/SA. It's more than a second slower than our usual A,B or C/SA but still good
enough to save my NHRA National Event season while we fix the wounded 426.
Here's a very recent shot of the Mighty Josephine II getting close to completion. Our buddies at Wagons of Steel North
( http://wagonsofsteelnorth.blogspot.com /) issued a challenge to us for Friday, June 18 at Bremerton Raceway. It will be a best of five old school match
race deal. They have a '66 Polara wagon we sold them years ago that they turned into a cool black racer with a tunnel rammed 440. Well that isn't a
baloney sandwich sticking out of the hood of Josie, it's a Holley Dominator baby! It should be a great race and you should show up for it if you're in the
neighborhood.
It's fun to work race cars! It's fun to hang out with your friends! Drag racing Mopars is a big party! Sometimes things break but there's no use in letting
that get in the way of a good time. I feel better already...
Mopar to Ya - The Ugly, the Bad and the Good - Page 2 of 2 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap
Grease. Not that campy play (and later movie with Olivia Newton John) from the 1970s, but real grimy gunk stuck
on everything. Frankly, it was something I never took a liking to. When I got my first car, a ‘68 Charger with big
miles and northeast rot, my father wanted to show me how to change the oil. I wanted no part of all that slime on
my hands and clothes. I was never a ‘neat freak,’ but I was never a mudpie kid, either; that black muck was
yucky…
OK, so my inner child might have needed a good butt-whuppin’ at the time. I was not a car guy yet, but that
Charger was the turning point. The cool kids at school were soon asking me questions like, “Is it an R/T?” or telling
me, “you need a 440 Magnum.” Hey, this car thing was a whole new world, and like most other things I’ve ever
obsessed about (and there’s been a few of them), I began reading everything I could.
The local speed shops, which were Harry Tilman’s old place in Aston, Pa., and Steve Kanuika’s up on Route 202
just over the Del./Pa. border, were more Chevy-oriented than anything else, but they helped me with things like
DC catalogs and parts over the counter.
So I did learn to get under there and get messy. I learned how
to bend tranny lines, handle a torque wrench, and swap out 8 ¾
center sections. After the first real serious engine rebuild on the
Charger, with a worked over small-block, headers, and shiftkitted A727 ‘Flite, I found out that I was much happier. All that
old road grime was washed away, and if I kept it cleaned up, it
stayed that way. That was coolest!
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Then came arrests for street racing, traffic tickets, misery, a
growing interest in shooting photos, redemption, and eventually
a career behind the keyboard without wrenches. I was OK with
that; I would help out an occasional Super Stock or Alcohol
racer when I was at the track, getting to work on minor stuff
that, unless something catastrophic occurred, rarely got very
dirty. My kids grew older, and my sons (John and Joel) both
sort of ended up with the ‘car bug.’ Seeing pristine iron at places
like the York Reunion, the Forge, and the Year One Experience
got them hooked on it. John turned 17 just as I took over the
editorship of Mopar Enthusiast, and we began looking for a
project car.
That ended up being a ’71 Dart Swinger with low miles and
minor rust but nothing like the cavernous metal problems up
north. The car is a factory 318/A904/8 ¾ open end combo with
factory front disc brakes, which gave us a great starting point.
We decided on a plan of doing small things to start with – clean
up, bulb and wiring fixes (with some great replacement from
Tony’s Parts up in my old home state of Delaware), vinyl top
and rust removal using a new product called Rust Dissolver Gel
from Eastwood, 14” 4.0-bolt circle Rallye wheels from Specialty Wheel and BF Goodrich tires from Coker, and
Energy Suspension parts courtesy Mancini Racing in Detroit.
Mopar Musings - Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap - Page 1 of 2 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
But the big stuff was lurking; at SEMA and PRI, I had formulated a plan of doing things a little less conventional. Brilliant for a guy like me, who had not
torn into an engine for over 20 years, eh? From the top down, we sourced a K&N Filter Charger air cleaner and Edelbrock RPM intake (both again,
Mancini), Quick Fuel Technologies newest 680-cfm Hot Rod Series carb (right from QFT, whose expertise I had come to respect while working for IHRA
years ago), associated Mopar-oriented linkages for the throttle and transmission position changes (yep, those Mancini guys again), Cometic gaskets,
and tti headers and a Magnaflow Hot Rod universal exhaust outfit. MSD came through with their killer 8504 Pro-Billet distributor and associated pieces,
which is now slated to go on when the headers do.
So John laid out our cover photo for September’s Mopar Enthusiast showing all of the goodies. We have a dirt-floored garage, but managed to, over
the course of three weeks, get the top end stuff done. Sounds like a long time, right? Well, we had to take off the AC unit (the frantic call to Delaware
went, “Hey, Tony, I just found out I need some correct pulleys for this thing,” which arrived within 72 hours), I stripped out one of the carb feeds,
managed to totally kink one of the tight tranny lines off the radiator, and had to redo the fuel system from the new Carter-type mechanical pump
(another Mancini exclusive) to use a regulator and pressure gauge for safety.
We thought it was all together until John noticed the intake was not level; yep, off
it came again. A trip to Sears got us a new tap-and-die outfit and we ran all the
intake threads. The problem was one hole at the rear of the intake not being
exactly lined up to the bolt opening; after we honed that out slightly with a drill bit,
the intake was on. After trying a couple of feed lines, we ended up with a
customized multi-piece design from Spectre from a local AutoZone with a Mr.
Gasket regulator from Advance Auto Parts, brass fittings and high-pressure line
from a local speed shop named Super Auto Parts, and some flaring tools and
advise from Mr. B’s Auto Parts (do you get the picture on how some of our
afternoons were being spent?).
You know that adage about how after a baby is born, the mother is not so aware
of all the pain associated with the birth? Well, having that thing run up to
operating temperature after three weeks of trial-and-error was the same feeling.
No fuel leaks, good idle characteristics; Johnny smiling as he drove it up and down the street made it worthwhile.
John working on the Swinger on a day we got the vinyl roof stripped off.
Will I do again? Well, new Magnum-type heads from AAEQ are here, and we have made arrangements to get a cam to put in it; it’ll be good to add a
new timing chain to it while it is apart. Electric fan and water pump? Maybe even more. Regardless, I’m getting dirty again, but this time I think I really
appreciate the effort involved in doing this stuff. And the kid’s not a neat freak…
An outtake from the
Mopar Enthusiast
cover shoot. We went from this…
…to this. And it runs! Next up are the headers and ignition, but we were on deadline and
getting ready to travel to Minnesota, so it’ll be more downtime when we get back.
Mopar Musings - Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap - Page 2 of 2 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
Words and photos by Jon Van Daal
These two Chrysler Chargers are probably the two
extremes of performance. Tony Luci has the V8 Hemi
Charger... except it doesn’t have a V8 Hemi, but a six
cylinder Hemi 245 cube engine. Joe Di Graziano, on the
other hand, has a blown combination that was obviously a
hit with the fans.
Over the years the street machine phenomenon has been just as strong in
Australia as it has been in America and while the body styles might be a little
different, the passion for the sport is exactly the same.
A short history lesson: I was lucky enough to attend the first Australian Street
Machine Nationals in 1975, and while there were only 26 cars, it was hailed a
success and certainly sowed the seeds for the future of the event. The event
was initially run by the 55-56-57 Chev Club of New South Wales, but the
Australian Street Machine Federation ended up steering the Nationals through
the eighties.
Australia celebrated its bicentennial in 1988, coinciding with the peak of the
street machine scene and with disarray in the four year old Federation. This
saw the Federation’s Chic Henry leave to start his own event that year, the
Summernats in our nation’s capital, Canberra. Some 2,000 street machines
descended on the city and its future was assured: twenty-two years later it is
still the number one modified car event down under.
It turns out that the business name “Street Machine Nationals“ had lapsed and
one Paul Beck, founder of the Extreme Magazine series registered it and made it
his own. Beck had built some wild street machines himself, including an
awesome ’53 Studebaker, and had run a series of regional shows on the coast
south of Sydney.
“A couple of years ago I was doing some research on doing a show in Sydney
and found that the registration for the Street Machine Nationals had lapsed so I
went for it,” he said.
For a venue he chose Rosehill Racecourse. This is a horse racing facility with
beautifully manicured lawns within spitting distance of the Sydney Olympic site
right in the centre of Sydney. With large areas under cover, as well as exhibition
halls, it was a perfect place for such an event. There was also a separate car
park that was roped off for the driving events with the normal go-whoa and
burnout competitions joined with the first Australian running of Autocross.
With the rising interest in import cars, many future street machiners were drawn
Due to a clash with another event I had to attend, I only saw the burnout
competition, however, from what I could ascertain, the rest of the driving events
to this aspect of the modified car scene, and thus cracks started to appear in
traditional V8 street machines. By the turn of the new century, road registration
laws had tightened and fuel had become more expensive and despite
appearances at traditional hot rod shows, the street machine scene was
were well received. In fact, with a good roll up of entries and solid crowds Beck
has confirmed that this will now become an annual event. “We are in the process
of setting up the Australian Street Car Association to run this event and several
others - along the same vein as the Goodguys in the USA – there are exciting
becoming a shadow of its former self.
times ahead,” he concluded.
Mopars at the Street Machine Nationals Down Under - Page 1 of 6 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
As is the case with the number of Chryslers sold in Australia, they lagged behind the likes of Ford and GM-Holden so too the number of entries at the
event. Still the was certainly quality over quantity when it came to Mopars and this was reflected in the fact that the top participating club at the event
was the Regals Mopar Car Club.
Andrew Christou from the seaside town of Wollongong gave his stroked (393 cubes from a 318 block) VH Chrysler Valiant Charger a thrash around the
burnout track.
James Anthony’s 1970 VG 770 Valiant two door is powered by a stroked 360 Chrysler engine that has been taken out to 408 cubic inches. It is joined
by the similar model of Michelle Griffiths. This hard top currently has a 318 engine but plans are to shoehorn a 528 Wedge motor in between the shock
towers – it will then have show and go.
Mopars at the Street Machine Nationals Down Under - Page 2 of 6 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
This bright lime Dodge Superbee is owned by former V8 Supercar (our version of NASCAR road racing) driver,
Rodney Forbes. I couldn’t get too much detail on this car but it would be safe to say that it is one of only a handful
in Australia.
ADVERTISEMENT
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Mopars at the Street Machine Nationals Down Under - Page 3 of 6 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
The brown 1970 360ci VG Regal 770 Hardtop of Chris Mede is a great example of one of the biggest coupes to
be made in Australia. Mede is the president of the Regals Mopar Car Club, a group dedicated to keeping the
Mopar dream alive down under.
Quite a rare car down under, this 1968 Dodge Dart GTS is owned by George Tatus. It has a 383 four-barrel, a 727
Torgueflite and eight and half inch rear end. At the moment it is still left hook but obviously there has been an
upgrade in the wheel department.
What’s a big car event with fifties and sixties without a rock and roll band? The band “No Brakes” played cool rock
and roll over the weekend.
Mopars at the Street Machine Nationals Down Under - Page 4 of 6 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
There were a number of late model Chrysler 300Cs in the car park – most wearing bigger shoes, aftermarket upgrades and lowered suspensions – this
silver example got our attention.
Andrew Christou’s engine bay is one hell of a clean zone. His 318 Chrysler has been stroked to 393 cubes and has many upgrades including an
Edelbrock manifold, aftermarket aluminium radiator and K&N filter.
Mopars at the Street Machine Nationals Down Under - Page 5 of 6 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
ADVERTISEMENT
Some sixty trophies were up for grabs at the Australian Street Machine Nationals - these were awarded for the best of body styles, best aspect of a car
and for the driving events.
Mopars at the Street Machine Nationals Down Under - Page 6 of 6 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
TIE DOWN YOUR MUSCLE OR CLASSIC CAR WITH A MAC'S ULTRA PACK
Whether you tow a pro-touring muscle car, an original classic or a freshly painted project car, it's
critical that your vehicle is safe and secure when you tow it down the road. Many people risk
damaging their vehicle every time they tow it by using old or poorly-made tie down equipment.
Mac's Custom Tie-Downs is proud to offer a new solution: the Ultra Pack. By combining the
premium quality parts in a pre-engineered system, the Mac's Ultra Pack includes everything you
need to tie your car or truck down safely and securely while protecting it from damage during
transport.
The Ultra Pack includes four 6- or 8-foot ratchet straps (or a combination of both), four axle straps, four strap wraps and a free duffle bag to stow the
gear when not in use. Straps are available in red, blue, black or yellow. The hardware on a Mac's axle strap is shaped to allow for tight clearance
applications. Each full length sleeve is designed to stay in place (unlike competitive sliding products) and is made from the thickest material available. All
straps in this pack have more than twice the number of stitches than most competitor's straps. Simply wrap the axle straps, secure them over the rear
axle tubes or through a front control arm and tie everything down. The Ultra Pack is rated with a 10,000 pound capacity. Overall it's the fastest, easiest
and most secure way to transport a vehicle down the open road - and like all Mac's products, the Ultra Pack is Made in the USA.
Check them out online at www.macstiedowns.com , or call them at 1-866-386-5992.
JUSTICE BROTHERS ENGINE TUNE-UP NOW WITH ZINC/ZDDP ENGINE PROTECTION
Whether you’re driving a vintage vehicle or a new high-tech cruiser, your internal engine parts need constant protection. Formerly, the
Zinc or ZDDP in motor oil provided part of that protection, but now it has been all but removed from consumer oil products by the EPA.
Justice Brothers ENGINE TUNE-UP provides a beneficial detergent action, which helps clean, lubricate and protect sticky valves and
lifters, as well as replacing the lubrication qualities of ZDDP.
Automotive metal surfaces contain microscopic saw tooth projections. Normal motor oils provide a paper-thin lubrication surface, which
reduces but not eliminates, the clashing of these projections. To combat this wear, ENGINE TUNE-UP also contains Justice Brothers
Metal Conditioner®, which penetrates the micro pores of the metal, allowing your engine oil to do a better job of lubrication. ENGINE
TUNE-UP actually treats the metal surfaces, not the engine oil!
If your engine is making internal noises, or you just want to extend the life of your engine, add a bottle of ENGINE TUNE-UP at each oil change. It’s
inexpensive insurance against internal engine wear or failure.
FAST EZ-EFI DUAL QUAD UPGRADE KIT
The original FAST EZ-EFI featured patent pending technology with the most advanced self
tuning control strategy available anywhere today. You could simply hook up the necessary
wires, answer the basic setup Wizard questions on the included hand-held display and the
system tuned itself as you drove. But now there is an EZ-EFI Dual Quad Self Tuning Fuel
Injection System that features all of this same technology and is capable of supporting up
to 1000+ horsepower engines and has the ability to double your fuel capacity!
This new system is offered as an upgrade kit to the existing EZ-EFI kits* and
adds several additional parts, including a second unique throttle body for use with
existing dual quad carburetor-type manifolds, injectors and a basic linkage kit necessary to hook the two throttle bodies together (works with
most inline manifolds).
The original EZ-EFI Self Tuning Fuel Injection System is a complete kit that includes the ECU, wide-band oxygen sensor, wiring harness, fuel
injectors, optional fuel pump kit and other assorted components, including the innovative 4150 Throttle Body. The FAST 4150 Throttle Body delivers the
total package approach for anyone with an existing 4150-type intake manifold. Everything comes with the kit, including appropriate fuel injectors and fuel
rails. In addition, it works with the original carb-style throttle linkage and is ready to accept all OEM sensors.
Mo Products - Page 1 of 2 - MoparMax.com
Volume V, Issue 6
June 2, 2010
STREET/STRIP DUAL VALVE SPRINGS
Since the beginning of the GM LS1 engine, aftermarket performance has consistently
improved for this impressive powerplant. And with the ever increasing aggressiveness
of LS1 cam profiles being used by builders today, engineers at COMP Cams decided to
design a valve spring that could both reduce stress and increase valve train stability in
these applications. After intensive R&D, rigorous Spintron and dyno testing and
exclusive development processes, the Street/Strip Dual Valve Spring came to life.
This spring is engineered for street/strip hydraulic roller and some solid roller LS1
camshafts and features a 1.320" outside diameter and a .660" maximum lift. It has a
seat load of 141 @ 1.810", an open load of 405 @ 1.150" and a spring rate of 400
lbs./in. This lightweight, high lift dual spring is also polish finished to actually help with
the reduction of stress in the valve train. In addition, the small diameter of these springs
increases harmonic frequency, enabling much better valve train control at higher rpm.
With a host of other specialized features, these springs were created for unmatched
performance and durability in performance street/strip LS1 engines.
Although engineered with GM LS1 engines in mind, these springs can also be used
with many other popular engine applications.
CUSTOM CHRYSLER DASH PAD WITH GAUGES BY JUST DASHES
Sixties Chrysler cars, with huge amounts of chrome and stylish fins, have become very popular with
custom car and street machine enthusiasts. JUST DASHES has been restoring stock interiors and dash
pads for these cars for years, and now has that perfect custom touch available. Built-in gauge pods,
like those shown installed in this ’65 New Yorker dash, can accommodate any three 2 1/16-inch gauges
of your choice.
JUST DASHES will take your original core, install the gauge pods which are angled toward the driver,
and restore the rest of the pad in the correct vinyl grain and factory or custom color. Forget the original
idiot lights and under dash gauges, now you can monitor temperature, oil pressure or Amps with a simple glance. Additional gauge pods can also be
added if required. JUST DASHES also has late Sixties Chrysler A and B-body dash pod applications available.
Turn your Chrysler cruiser dash into a functional engine monitoring system with this unique custom modification pioneered by JUST DASHES. For
additional information on all their interior restoration products and services visit www.justdashes.com.
For an over the phone quote on your custom dash, contact the vinyl restoration experts at JUST DASHES, 5941 Lemona Avenue, Van Nuys, CA
91411, 800-247-3274, Fax: 818-780-9014.
C&R RACING INTRODUCES 12 VOLT VERSION OF THE CHILLER
C&R Racing is proud to announce its new version of The Chiller. Designed specifically for the drag race market, this
new version utilizes a self-contained 12v power supply making it totally portable and independent from a generator. In
addition to the 12v power supply The Chiller also includes:
Integrated charger to replenish 12v power supply - Odyssey battery - approximately two hours runtime on one
charge
Cools complete cooling system to under 60° in 15 minutes
Jiffy-Tite Quick Connect Fluid Fittings connect hose to radiator speeding the cool down time between runs and
rebuilds
Ten gallon plastic tank with 8 vented cap
Meziere universal inline 12v water pump
Four wheels
Tank drain
In addition to this, C&R Racing also offers a 110v version. C & R Racing also provides a complete line of top quality
performance products for every need. They also have a complete line of other C&R designed parts, have complete
engineering, prototype, machining and fabrication capabilities, along with transmission, rear end and rear gear sales
and service. Check their website for more information www.crracing.com .
Mo Products - Page 2 of 2 - MoparMax.com