September 1st, 2010
Installing a B&B Serpentine Belt System and a U.S. Radiator Aluminum Radiator
Text and Photos by Matt Emery
It’s been said that it’s better to look good than to feel good, but what if you want to have both? That analogy especially works with how your engine looks. Everyone wants to have their mill looking good, but it has to work well, too. And as if that weren’t enough, nobody wants to spend all weekend bolting on new parts when they could be out cruisin’. That’s why for our first installment of “Weekend Update,” we are featuring the installation of a B&B Street Rods serpentine belt system and an aluminum radiator from U.S. Radiator.
We wanted to showcase easy-to-install items that have a big impact, and there may be no better place to start than with the engine. The highly polished B&B Street Rods serpentine belt system is a thing of beauty. It’s fully CAD designed and CAD machined, and is very easy to install. If you have the mechanical ability to bolt on a water pump, then you can install this unit. The system incorporates an A/C pump, one-wire alternator, power steering pump, water pump and belt tensioner into a package that’s a snap to install. Though it appears to be one piece, the A/C pump and alternator are housed in the main frame, while the water pump, P/S pump and tensioner are separate. That makes it easy for those not intending to use the P/S pump, as was the case with this engine. The design keeps everything close together and tidy, and thanks to the polished finish, it looks great, too. And the best part is that Ken Biggs builds every one of them in the USA.
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Tags: 283, aluminum radiator, B&B Street Rods, Chevy, Chevy Nova, Painless Wiring, The 401K Club, U.S.Radiator
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August 4th, 2010
The man of the hour: the one and only Carroll Shelby.
Carroll Shelby Gets His Due
Text and Photos by Matt Emery
A legend is defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary as, “A story coming down from the past; a person or thing that inspires legends.”
On March 26-28, 2010, the Legends of Riverside II Film Festival and Legends Gala took place at the Riverside International Automotive Museum in Riverside, California. This year’s honoree was racer, team owner, car builder and certifiable legend, Carroll Shelby. Surrounded by friends, racers and former competitors, Shelby held court, answering questions about his winning days at Le Mans, SCCA and designing and building his iconic Cobra cars.
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Tags: Carroll Shelby, Dan Gurney, Ed Justice Jr, Film festival, Legends of Riverside, Parnelli Jones, Riverside International Raceway, Shelby
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August 2nd, 2010
A Full Weekend of Fun
Text and Photos by Matt Emery
Billing itself as the “Largest Mopar show and parts exchange west of the Mississippi,” the Spring Fling XXIV returned to Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California, on April 17-18, 2010. When the cars finally settled at Woodley, there were over 500 of them—523, to be exact—with 41 exhibitors and a whopping 272 swap meet vendors selling everything from HEMIs to hot dogs.
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Tags: Challenger, Chrysler Performance West, Dodge, Fling, Hemi, Mopar, San Fernando Valley, Southern California Mopar car club, Spring Fling, Van Nuys, Woodley Park
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August 2nd, 2010
The Goodguys 28th All-American Get-Together
Text and Photos by David Fetherston
It’s amazing how smoothly the Goodguys shows do run! Walk in or drive in, and the place is organized and well set out, even though it’s packed with over 3,000 hot rods, customs and trucks. The two-day All-American Get-Together, held this year on March 27-28, is one of the few shows that mix virtually any form of modified, custom or stock vehicle.
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Tags: customs, David Fetherston, Goodguys, Goodguys 28th All-American Get Together, hot rods, Matt Emery, Pleasanton, rat rods, show
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July 28th, 2010
Installing a Crank and Rods the JMC Way
Text and Photos by Matt Emery
We have all heard that engine builders are a breed apart. They’re guys who lock themselves away in “clean rooms” with a multitude of parts and tools and wear lab coats; they build the mysterious apparatus known as the internal combustion engine.
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July 23rd, 2010
Clay Smith Cams installs the Dart SS Heads
In a previous issue, we showed you how the performance pros at Clay Smith Cams (Buena Park, California), prepped a set of Dart Iron Eagle S/S cast iron heads (and installed Manley valves and Clay Smith springs), which were going on a 283ci Chevy V-8. This month, we visit the shop again to watch Chad Langdon and Evan Speilman install the new heads in the Nova, with some help and sage advice from the cam doctor himself, George “Honker” Striegel, owner of Clay Smith Cams. Also, not ones to leave well enough alone, Dave Lange of Lange Performance then installed a set of Comp Cams Ultra Pro-Magnum roller rockers and their associated pieces.
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Tags: 283, Chevy, Chevy Nova, Clay Smith, Clay Smith Cams, Comp, Comp Cams, Dart, Dart heads, Dave Lange, Dave Lange Performance, Fuel Curve West, Iron Eagles, Manley, Manley valves, Nova, V8, Westech, Westech Performance
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July 16th, 2010
Prepping a Set of Dart SS Heads
There are many ways to extract more horsepower out of an engine without resorting to massive internal modifications. By getting the most out of the induction system, an engine will work to its max. One piece of the induction system that many overlook is the heads and valve train. But it is these components that can have the largest effect on not only overall horsepower, but in what RPM ranges that power is produced.
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July 13th, 2010
When is a woodie not a woodie? When instead of wood, it has artisan applied paint that looks like wood.
When Brian Vanzant of Paducah, Kentucky brought his 1950 Chevrolet to the crew at Brad Starks Rod & Custom, also of Paducah, Ky., It was painted solid white, had 4 doors, was running but un-restored and as Starks deadpanned, “it needed brakes.”
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Tags: 2009 Custom of the Year, 502ci, Air Ride Technologies ShockWaves, Budnik, Budnik Gassers, Chevrolet, Currie, Currie 9-Inch rearend, custom, DuPont HotHues, Frenched, Front Runner, Gearstar, Gearstar 700R4 transmission, Goodguys, Hilborn, holborn injectors, Leather, Magnaflow, MSD, Mustang II IFS, Nitto, Recovery Room, ShockWaves, Sony stereo, Street and Performance, Vintage Air, Vintage Air Front Runner, Wilwood, Wilwood disc brakes, Woodie
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April 16th, 2010
Industry Greats Gather For the Holidays
There is something very special about visiting Art Chrisman’s shop in Santa Ana, California. In size, it is about as large as most garages and the equipment is standard. But it is not buildings and tools that draw people to this site, but the man himself and the heritage of the Chrisman family. The Chrismans have been involved in motorsports for over 60 years. They set high standards for their work on cars and in developing driving performance that have inspired others. No question they are the team to beat, the absolute best to pit your skills against. The Christmas Party is equally popular and looked forward to by fans and friends. You never know whom you will meet at Chrismans’ garage. Stu Hilborn, Ed Iskenderian, Jerry Kugel, Phil Remington, Roy Fjastad, Jim Dunn, Jack Underwood, “TV” Tommy Ivo, and many others drop by to visit and relive the golden age of motorsports.
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April 16th, 2010
The Goodguys 2009 Street Machine of the Year
Vintage American cars have a style all of their own. They have bold lines, larger-than-life features and big horsepower. They have all that and more. But sleek? Read the rest of this entry »
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