Table Of Content500 HP ON SPRAY: FORD 302 VS. CHEVY 305 SHOOTOUT PG. 12
495-INCH
PONTIAC
MAKES
600 LB-FT!
LOUD.FAST.REAL.
2017 DRAG RACING •AUTOCROSS •AWARDS •AWESOME CARS
PLUS:
MIDNIGHT
DRAGS
COVERAGE
8T-ASKEEC OOVNEDR S BTEREECEHT CBAENRDS
RACEWAY
HANDS ON:
HIGH-TECH HEAT INSULATION INSTALLED
THE SCIENCE BEHIND DRIVELINE ANGLES
CarCraft.com
DECEMBER 2017
CONTENTS
DECEMBER 2017
➔UP FRONT ➔ON THE COVER
04 SHOP TALK Midnight Drags and Summer 500 HP ON SPRAY:F ORD 302 VS. CHEVY 305 SHOOTOUT PG. 12
Nationals coverage by Wes
College isn’t for everyone.
Allison and Dominick Damato.
➔HANDS ON 495-INCH
PONTIAC
M60A0K LEBS- FT!
08 HORSEPOWER! ➔FEATURES LOUD.FAST.REAL.
8495-inch Pontiac that delivers 594 lb-ft of torque. 58 KRASS & BERNIE 2017 DRAG RACING •AUTOCROSS •AWARDS •AWESOME CARS
A new kind of barn find.
64 CAR CRAFT SUMMER
NATIONALS 2017
Showdown at Beech Bend. MC8TO-ADISKPEDEVC ROOLNNVREUDAEAR CSIR ESBTGGWREEEA:ACEYSHTH G CB AET NRESD
72 CCSN MIDNIGHT DRAGS HHTAHIGNEH SD-TCESIEC NHOC HNEE B:AETH ININSDU DLARTIVIOENLI NINES ATNALGLLEEDS
Action and results!
$5.99 CarCraft.com DECEMBER 2017
➔BACK OF BOOK
78 WHERE’S THE FUN?
Check out the restored Ford tractor.
10 SPEED PARTS 82 REAR VIEW
New parts for your ride, plus a product gets tested. Pontiac Bonneville at Bonneville.
12 THE 5.0 FISTFIGHT
Part 3: Carb and nitrous combos.
22 DRIVELINE ALIGNMENT
Eliminating driveshaft vibration failures.
28 ASK ANYTHING
Are bigger lifters better?
➔PROJECT CAR
34 THIS GUY’S GARAGE
The Bennett family has a pretty great garage. 64
38 BEAT THE HEAT!
Make more power with better heat control.
72
48 PROJECT CC UNDERBIRD
Cutting, welding, and melting together parts.
12
DECEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 3
SHOP TALK
COLLEGE ISN’T FOR EVERYONE
I
recently spent a week in Butler workload. I asked if this was special- College isn’t for everyone, and for
County, Pennsylvania, covering the ized work like electrical or driveability people who like to work with their
build of Jeff Lutz’s new race car. repairs, but was shocked to hear much hands fixing or building things, a col-
Located about 45 minutes north of Pitts- of the work was routine maintenance: lege degree is probably a huge waste
burgh, Butler County is a mixture of sub- oil changes and brake jobs. of time and money. While it’s true and
urbia and small-town Americana, and Absolutely floored, I joked that I unfortunate that this country has lost a
apparently, an area in desperate need of should fly to Pittsburgh once a month lot of manufacturing jobs to the global
skilled labor. While there, I met at least to do oil changes for a week. I’d prob- market, there are still high-quality jobs
a dozen people who told me that their ably come home with some extra going unfilled, and the U.S. still excels
businesses either couldn’t find enough money in my pocket, even considering in CNC manufacturing. There is a huge
help or couldn’t retain employees. flight and hotel costs, and all the guys demand for people to fill those posi-
Jeff Thompson runs Pro 1 Automo- there encouraged me to do just that. tions. Automotive repair is a highly
tive, the shop that painted Jeff Lutz’s This was alarming to me, because technical job now that computers
car. He has one employee in his 20s I believe it’s the leading edge of a monitor or control nearly everything
and just hired his 70-year-old uncle, problem yet to reveal its full impact on your car does. Some of the most tal-
Harvey, to work three days a week our society. Lots of people are quick ented chassis and engine builders I’ve
because Uncle Harv is more produc- to blame technology. I heard words to met in my time with Car Craft don’t
tive and reliable than any of the other the effect of, “All kids want to do these have college degrees. They started by
20-somethings he’s hired. Several of days is stare at their damn phones,” all changing oil or sanding primer. If you
Jeff’s friends stopped by to see the week long. While I think this is some- think you want to work on cars, get
car being painted and all had similar what true, it’s a superficial assessment training (either through a program or
stories about their jobs. One friend of the problem. I believe the bigger as an apprentice), learn your craft, and
said the body shop he worked at had problem is a lack of training programs the work will come to you.
a six-week backup due to a lack of for skilled labor jobs. —John McGann
help. A second friend told me dealer- Fewer high schools and community
ships and independent shops from colleges offer shop classes and technol-
around the county have been trying ogy programs. The ones that remain [email protected]
to send him work on a freelance basis are woefully underfunded, and our Facebook.com/carcraftmag
because they’re short on help. He was culture seems to have embraced the CarCraft.com
so busy that he had to turn down half pedantic and misguided notion that you Car Craft Mag
the work and sent it to a third friend’s need a college degree to get a good job. 831 S. Douglas St.
shop, which also can’t keep up with its Nothing could be further from the truth. El Segundo, CA 90245
4 CAR CRAFT DECEMBER 2017
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CARCRAFT.COM
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HORSEPOWER!
495-INCH PONTIAC THAT DELIVERS A recurved Pontiac HEI provides 22 degrees
594 LB-FT OF TORQUE of mechanical advance by 3,200 rpm. With
a base setting of 10 degrees, the 32 degrees
Lou Rotella / Omaha, NE of total spark advance perfectly comple-
This month’s installment of Horsepower! might be better ments the fast-burn combustion chambers
of the Edelbrock cylinder heads.
served to be called “Torque!” Lou Rotella of Omaha, Nebraska,
owns a 1967 Firebird 400, and he recently enlisted T&M
Automotive to repair and/or upgrade several areas. Taking the
tired 400’s output well above its original 325hp rating was
among them. Rather than bastardize the original engine,
Willard Auto Machine (also in Omaha) assembled for T&M a
potent 455-based stroker combination designed to operate
on pump gas and provide Lou with the stellar driveability and
plenty of tire-spinning torque. The result: How does 474 hp at
5,000 rpm and 594 lb-ft at 3,700 rpm grab you?
By Rocky Rotella / Photos: Rocky Rotella
A custom-ground Howards Cams hydraulic-
roller camshaft was designed to maintain
good idle and superb low-rpm street man-
ners. The specs are 219/229 degrees dura-
tion at 0.050 inch, 112-degree
lobe-separation angle, and an intake center-
line degreed at 108.5. Valve lift when com-
bined with Crower’s cast-alloy, 1.6:1-ratio,
roller rocker arms is more than 0.550 inch.
Manifold vacuum at idle is 19 inches!
Edelbrock’s cast-aluminum, D-port cylinder
heads ( PN 61595) were treated to a multi-
angle valve job and the bowls were blended
to increase airflow above the peak values of
260 cfm (intake) and 160 cfm (exhaust) at
0.600-inch lift at 28 inches of pressure that
Edelbrock boasts in as-cast form. Combus-
tion-chamber volume measures 72 cc. The
custom pistons feature a 25cc dish, which Four-tube Dynomax headers feature 1.625-inch
effectively reduces rotating-assembly primary tubes and 3-inch collectors. A custom-
weight and yields a compression ratio of bent, 2.5-inch exhaust system featuring a trans-
10.5:1. verse-mounted Flowmaster muffler completes it.
8 CAR CRAFT DECEMBER 2017
FAST’s EZ-EFI provides precise fuel control in all operating conditions.
Its ability to continually learn and adjust for optimum performance An Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold
ensures the 495 is always operating at peak efficiency, regardless of distributes the combustible cocktail. Its runners
load or rpm. The throttle-body system is capable of delivering were checked to ensure a smooth transition into
1,000 cfm and is rated for all applications up to 500 ci, pulling at the cylinder-head intake ports. The water cross-
least 8 inches of vacuum and producing up to 600 hp. Because the over was separated from the manifold body for
EFI system was previously installed, WAM used its 650-cfm easy removal, if required.
HP-series Holley for the dyno pulls. The additional airflow associated
with the EZ-EFI system could increase peak horsepower by as much
as 15 units with peak torque remaining much the same.
A 1970 455 block with two-bolt main caps and ARP main studs
serves as the foundation. The cylinders had previously been bored
0.030 inch. They were taken an additional 0.005 inch to a total of
4.185 during this rebuild. Custom forged-aluminum pistons from
Diamond Pistons fill the cylinders. A forged-steel crankshaft
boasting 4.5-inch stroke length and 6.8-inch forged-steel connect-
ing rods from Eagle Specialty Products complete the short-block.
Total displacement measures 495 ci.
DECEMBER 2017 CARCRAFT.COM 9
SPEED PARTS
COMPACT,
REMOTE-MOUNT TPS
What it is: Adjustable, remote-mount
throttle position sensor (TPS) from
TCI Automotive.
Why you care: TCI Automotive recently
updated its remote-mount TPS to keep
moving parts from malfunction or dam-
age. Available now in a compact, fully
enclosed housing to fit a wide range of
applications with 4L60E or 4L80E trans-
missions, it can be installed on the carbu-
retor or mounted directly to the firewall.
How much: $149.95, available from
TCI Automotive.
Learn more: TCI Automotive,
888/776-9824; TCIauto.com
BIG-BLOCK CHEVY OIL-PUMP PICKUPS
What it is: Moroso’s oil-pump pickup designed for big-block Chevrolet oil pans.
Why you care: Designed for
specific use with a Moroso
small-block Chevy wet-sump
Sprint Car oil pan (PN 21330),
this oil-pump pickup for big-
block Chevy oil pans (PN
PERFORMANCE
24325) accommodates Moroso
BATTERY CHARGER AND
PN 22149, 22159, 22150, 22160,
MAINTAINER
and 22162. In addition, it is
compatible with Melling What it is: The Optima Digital 1200
77/77HV-style oil pumps. 12V performance battery charger and
How much: maintainer.
Approximately $50, available Why you care: The new Digital 1200
on Moroso.com. charger from Optima Batteries
Learn more: Moroso Performance Products; 203/453-6571; Moroso.com enhances the performance and life of
12V Optima and other high-performance
AGM batteries, can enhance and condi-
PERFORMER RPM CYLINDER HEAD FOR GEN III
tion all lead-acid batteries, and revive life
HEMIS
into deeply discharged batteries. Offer-
What it is: Edelbrock Performer RPM cylinder head for Gen III Hemi ing one of the best user interfaces on
powerplants. the market, advanced features of the
Why you care: The Performer RPM cylinder head is cast from A356 aluminum Digital 1200 charger include a USB
and heat-treated to T6 specs, reinforced rocker bosses deliver improved stability changing port, onboard storage for
and strength, and CNC-machined combustion chambers provide optimal air flow. cords, and a convenient handle and hook
The Eagle intake- and exhaust-port location allows for compatibility with the 5.7L that enhance its portability. The LCD
Eagle and later stock intake manifolds, exhaust mani- display has a convenient fuel-gauge-
folds, valve covers, rockers, spark plugs and style meter that displays analytics and
accessories, and Dodge Hellcat alerts users to the status of voltage,
components. amps, fill rate, mode settings, and
How much: $1,095.87 for the fault messages. An extended battery
bare unit (PN 61199) or warranty is offered with charger
$1,299.87 for the complete purchase. (See “Tested,” right.)
unit (PN 61109), available How much: $199.99, available direct
from authorized retailers like from Optima Batteries or authorized
Summit Racing. retailers.
Learn more: Edelbrock; Learn more: Optima Batteries,
310/791-2222; Edelbrock.com 888/867-8463; OptimaBatteries.com
10 CAR CRAFT DECEMBER 2017
