Expensive Vehicles

NHRA Editorial Director Phil Burgess and NHRAonFOX Analyst Tony Pedregon join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The conversation ranges over the course of the episode but the crux of it is looking into those racers who are performing up to expectations, some who are exceeding, and a few others who are not making the cut at this early part of the season. There’s also a look into the Las Vegas 4-wide nationals which are coming up this weekend. It has been a hot minute since we have had any four wide competition in NHRA so it will be interesting to see who can deal with the extra confusion and tension that comes in this format. Rumors are discussed, personnel is a large topic of conversation and while no guesses are made on who the latest crew chief shuffle involves, the anticipation of the news is pretty high. This is a fun episode with two guys who really know the inner workings of the sport and the personalities involved. Hit the image below to listen to

(By Tom Lohnes) –  When you think of an SUV, chances are a Jeep Wrangler or Chevrolet Suburban pop into your head. These vehicles are responsible for the huge uprise in SUV sales, and will have a role forever cemented in pop culture as the family cars of the time. When you think of sports cars, chances are a Lotus is somewhere in there. Well, today is kind of a sad day. Meet the Lotus Eletre, an all-electric Lotus SUV. That’s right folks, we live in a world where financially unstable sports car manufacturers have to make an SUV to survive. It already happened to Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati, and Ferrari is soon to be the next victim. I can live with all of those, but a Lotus SUV? That just doesn’t sound right. The Eletre is probably going to be an excellent vehicle, but the idea of a Lotus without the “Add lightness and simplicity” theory the company is so known for just seems wrong. There wasn’t even a mansion of weight in the press release, so it seems clear Lotus is leavin

Lee Iacocca didn’t miss much over the course of his career, but no one’s perfect. The dude battled for the Mustang, implemented the mini-van concept, championed the K-car that saved Chrysler, and still stands as one of the great auto executives of all time. And yet, here we are. The introduction of the 1989 Chryster TC by Maserati was supposed to be another of his triumphant ideas. Combining a solid platform with the prestige and reputation of a legendary Italian automaker was going to produce a sporty, luxurious car that rich dudes at the country clubs wanted to buy. What it ended up producing was an expensive, underwhelming car that very few people wanted. Now, the Chrysler TC by Maserati is one of THOSE cars. Meaning, there is a rabid, small, and dedicated fan base for these things and they don’t take kindly to negative speak about these machines. Hell, I knew one of them who used to come race their stock example at the Ohio Mile years ago. I have nothing against the cars but they

There’s something really neat and tidy about a well-built naturally aspirated engine. This time we’re going to Australia to see a 383ci bored and stroked Aussie Holden V8. The engine makes nearly 700hp on pump gas and even more on race gas. Built to be a good street engine that doesn’t require pro stock style maintenance and care, the engine is not the most powerful little Holden ever built but it’s just an awesome study in doing the right things in the right places to maximize a package to get the results the customer wanted. When we hear about what makes this thing tick, it’s way less about fancy pants technology and more about doing all the little things right. An off-the-shelf COMP cam opens the valves, the cylinder heads have been worked by a dude who sounds like the air flow whisperer, the main caps are billet, the intake and carb package is sweet, and it makes all this power at a usable RPM that will be riotous in a street machine. Four digit boosted power obviously steals the

Let’s be kids again, shall we? This trip back to 1992 is great because we don’t just see the biggest names of the monster truck world engaged in battle, we see the top pullers, and the top mud boggers as well. The defining feature of this video may be the wreckage or it may be the whammy bar ripping over-the-top sound track that is 100% early 1990s. A few things were about to change drastically in the world at the time this video was made and no one likely knew it at the time. The first would be the landscape of monster truck racing. The trucks we see in this video were in a transition period with (many of them employing) advanced suspension systems and steel bodies. It would not be long until trucks like Snake Bite would provide the foundation for monster truck racing rather than the tried and true steel bodied rigs that had been the mainstay of the sport. The there’s the music. What we have here is a soundtrack of late inning hair metal. That program would come to a screeching halt

Today is a great date because while most of the world sees it as March 31st, us gearheads know it as Cadillac 331 and Chrysler 331 hemi day. These two engines were both developed just past WWII and they were integral in the development of the hot rodding world that we live in today. These engines hastened the end of the dominance of the flathead in the hot rodding culture. Overhead valves and hemispherical combustion chambers are things that we take for granted today but back in the late 1940s and the early 1950s this was revolutionary stuff and it really changed the automotive landscape. Here’s a look at these two engines that really helped to form the hot rodding world with videos and all!   In 1949 Cadillac rolled out their 331ci V8 engine and really wowed the world with its performance and hot rodders being what they were immediately saw the potential in this design over the flatheads that dominated their world to that point. Now, it should be noted that it was not exactly comm

Admittedly, the latest Redline Rebuild from Hagerty has not been the most wildly exciting or off the beaten project ever executed on the internet, but it has a lot of value. Why? Basically because you can stroke one of these things without actually buying any “high performance” parts. The crank and rods are factory pieces, albeit out of another Jeep engine variant but still. The vast majority of, if not all the stuff to do this engine was garnered at Rock Auto, a place that most of of think about as supplier of replacement parts for a daily driver and not a source for projects like this. Even the cam is a reground unit from Delta and there are other little upgrades. The addition of 24 lb-hr injectors up from the factory original 18 lb-hr jobs is neat and will add a little more snap to the mill. Is it as cool as some seldom seen engine from the 1940s or 1950s? No. Is it more educational and practical? Hell yes. We’re hoping some enterprising kids have seen this and want to make a 4.6L

In recent years Steve Magnante has become known for his amazing automotive knowledge on stage at Barrett-Jackson auctions where he is part off the television broadcast team on stage. If you know him from pre-Barret-Jackson days then you know that he has a storied career in the pages of Hot Rod, Car Craft, Muscle Car Review and many more. I first met Steve on Hot Rod Power Tour in 2001 I think and can tell you that he’s as hardcore as anyone, quirky, a little weird, and just the kind of guy you want to rummage through a junkyard or car collection with. His friends refer to him as Magneto, which is appropriate since most people can’t properly pronounce his last name anyway. In this video, he is perusing a local wrecking yard and finds this cool old tow truck. The story behind it is kinda cool, as is the history of the towing company, and in typical Steve fashion, he’ll give us some info we otherwise might not have know. Check it out, you’ll dig it we promise. Video Description: Where

How did Emily and Aaron end up picking up Tri-Five Chevys with Newbern and Brandon? Well here’s the back story. When Finnegan and Newbern stopped in Texas last year to look at some roadside Tri-5 Chevys, where Newbern ended up buying his ’57, they had no idea what the end result would be from that trip. After some recent developments, Newbern needed to go back to visit and to get a couple more cars. Like any good hot rodder, the decision was made to bring Brandon’s bagged Cummin’s swapped dually and a three-car hauler. Of course, they invited Aaron and Emily who brought their truck and a gooseneck as well, so there were some pretty exciting reactions once everyone saw what was really sitting at this spot. IF YOU MISSED THE FINNEGANS GARAGE VIDEO FROM THIS VISIT CLICK HERE In this video, you will see the adventures from Aaron and Emily, aka Flying Sparks Garage. Enjoy the view through their camera lens along with their adventures in trying to decide which car to take home themselves.

Everyone around here knows I love tools and projects and making tools in the shop is always fun. But is it worth the time and effort to build your own tools? Clearly it isn’t always worth it, but sometimes it is and especially when you can’t actually buy what you want. I’ve made lots of tools over the years because customizing something readily available wouldn’t give me what I really needed, or because I just couldn’t afford the high dollar prices of the tool companies. In today’s world tools have never been more readily available at a variety of prices, but I still think that building tools for your own garage can be a worthwhile project, and some great fabrication practice. In this video from Meanwhile In The Garage, you are going to see one hell of a shop press go together. It is a 20 ton hydraulic press with a frame capable of supporting any load you could want, and with some features, you just might not have thought of. It isn’t air over hydraulic in the sense that you can put a

Good old 3/30, a fine day to be chatting about engines, wouldn’t you say? Other than the big block displacement days (oh, they are coming!) there are not that many days with multiple engines from multiple companies stacked up on top of each other. Today we have for you the Olds 330, the DeSoto 330 hemi, and the 5.4L modular Ford that displaces 330ci in all of their glory. The 330ci Olds engine was cool because when introduced in 1964 it represented the first “small block” that Oldsmobile produced. The engine itself was all new and included complete redesigns of just about all facets of an engine. The cylinder heads were new along with the block which had a bore of 3.398″ and a forged steel crank that swung a stroke of 3.385″. The reason the engine was considered a small block was because of the deck height which measured out at 9.33 inches. At the top of the performance chain was the 4bbl version of the engine rated at 315hp in the 1965 442 model. The engine’s shelf life was 1964-1967

(Words and Photos by Joe Grippo) Long live the indoor car show, especially when it’s 30 degrees outside like it was the other weekend here in my home state of Pennsylvania. We got warmed up in the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa while attending the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Nationals Custom Car and Truck Show. Recently fellow BangShifter Scott Liggett shared some indoor show stuff from the mid-west, now I am bringing you some northeast flavor. This show was heavy on muscle cars and street machines, add in a few hot rods, motorcycles, plus lifted and slammed trucks, and much more, so there was something for everyone. Some build trends are going strong like Pro Touring and perfect chalk mark and paint dab restorations. Period correct builds are gaining in popularity, the 60’s and 70’s Day 2 look (I hate that term) is strong and even some styles from the 80’s are making a resurgence. Furthermore, I can happily report Rat Rods seemed in short supply and that Pro Street is absolutel

Blowing up an engine in one of your hot rods sucks, but it might even be worse to get a replacement engine that you expect to be good only to find out it is also junk. Unfortunately for the gang at Iron Trap, that’s exactly the scenario with the “Beautiful” Ford Coupe which overheated bad and needed a new engine. Check it out. Video Description: Recently when driving the 1934 Ford Coupe “Beautiful”, Matt overheated the stock engine and set the radiator cap into orbit. Beautiful is a standard model so there is no coolant temperature gauge from factory, but we plan to add one ASAP. Fast forward a few weeks and we were offered a 59ab flathead and two side shift transmissions for a pair of 1937 Ford bumpers. The lifter valley looked extremely clean and the gentleman’s father had it rebuilt and never run. The engine did sit a number of years since rebuilding so Matt and Steve pull the heads and intake to look everything over before starting and things just seem to get worse from there….

Well the driver featured in the video had to be sore as hell the day after he competed in this race! As you’ll see, he crashes violently not once, but twice into the same section of the wall on the oval track. The first time is a pretty good shot, but the second one looks like an outtake from the old “Super Dave Osborne” show. We assume the guy is ok, making this footage funny as hell. By OK, we mean that while his spleen is probably liquid by the end, he currently leads a happy life…unless he continued his karting career. If that is the case, all bets are off. See, the problem with crashing a go kart is the lack of a body, roll bar, seat belt, or anything else to prevent your being wouded badly. As you’ll see, there was great potential for this driver to have been mangled, or possibly killed if events went a little differently. We’re not saying that because we’re taking a shot at karting or think something was blatantly unsafe, it just is what it is. The driver knew the risks when he

In terms of jobs that have some historically romantic appeal, the idea of being an airline pilot in the 1960s is pretty high on the list. Snappy uniforms, three guys in the nose of the plane, a far more exclusive flying experience than the lighter than air buses of today, and the lack of inescapable internet access make this whole scene sound pretty awesome. Today’s airline pilots are hard working, well trained, and highly skilled technicians in control of some of the most advanced transportation technology mankind has ever come up with. This film is all about the crew and the methods of flying the DC-8 which was what United’s fleet was built around back then. The idea here was to show someone what the experience was like being a pilot for the airline. The idea of training, of seeing the world, of constantly working to get better, and being part of a then thriving organization like United Airlines. Of course most of these guys were former military pilots and they came in with a pilot’

Go easy on me motorcycle guys. I honestly had no idea that this machine ever existed before just a couple of days ago. I don’t even really know how I found the videos that inspired me to look into the historic creation deeper, either. What I do know is that I certainly have a new favorite sounding motorcycle ever. The Moto Guzzi V8 was not called that to be crafty, it was called that because it was powered by an actual 500cc V8 engine that made nearly 80hp and it was raced between 1955 and 1957 on the Grand Prix circuit where it achieved top speeds of 172mph….a mark that would not be touched for 20 years again after this motorcycle did it. Incredibly fast but based on a rather rudimentary chassis, it was not a dominating race winner and it was nearly more of a widowmaker than anything else but it stands as an incredible engineering achievement from an era when shoebox Chevrolets were flooding American highways. The videos below show and most importantly audibly broadcast the awesome so

Today we celebrate a true worker, an engine that was not designed to make headlines with horsepower or torque but one that was designed to fire up every morning and put in an honest day’s effort for the guy behind the wheel. The John Deere 329ci diesel inline six was an 80hp naturally aspirated engine that could be found in tractors like the 4030 and others. It was around in the 1970s and was replaced by larger engines like the 404ci model but while it is not an all-star in terms of headline grabbing performances there are still loads of them out there today either working for a living still or leading a more pampered existence as part of someone’s tractor collection, etc. So the basic facts about the 329 are as follows. The engine uses a 4.02″ bore and a 4.33″ stroke. It has 16.2:1 compression and it was rated to make it’s peak power at about 2,500rpm. The coolant system held about 22 quarts of fluid and the mill was responsible for dragging around about 10,000lbs of tractor in the f

Normally the dude on the Hand Tool Restoration channel of YouTube works silently. We get to revel in the work and the sounds of his tools. That said, he has dropped a couple of narrated videos over the course of the years and this one, focusing on the work he does to bring an antique jewelry lathe back to life, is awesome. The lathe is a pretty simple piece, very small and actually meant to be driven with either a foot powered or otherwise motivated belt. As you will see, the piece requires a little more work than you might be expecting to be made perfect again. Hell, at one point there is a bad ass CNC lathe employed to make replacement parts! The neatest thing about these videos for us is that he’s always got something pretty mechanically interesting. When the device he is working on is coming apart and being reassembled it is fun to kind of look over the ideas that engineers and designers employed with the technology they had 100 years back. Maybe we’re weird but stuff like this i

(Photos from the Detroit Library Digital Collection) –  I love this stuff. So my addiction to crawling the digital stacks of the Detroit Public Library has hit a fever pitch and today I found some neat and varied stuff for you to gawk at and admire. From a milling machine at the Willys factory to fire trucks, P-38s, and freighters we have a little something for everyone. It is kind of funny that these images which really depict some pretty mundane stuff are so interesting to look at now. We’re wondering if people will be doing the same stuff with photos taken today 100 years from now. The shots of manufacturing plants and people at work are perhaps the most fascinating because it really shows just how much the world has changed and how technology and standards have evolved over the years. As cool as the photos are, we’re not sure we’d want to change places with any of the workers in the images. Would you? We would like to own some of the cars and trucks and a ride in a P-38 would be

The 1960 Cadillac Coupe De Ville is coming along with more and more progress. In these two episodes the chassis is out of the barn and getting the hydraulic suspension all sorted out and installed. This isn’t going to be some hopping lowrider, but rather a lift and drive hot rod, so this thing still needs to ride like a Cadillac when it is done. Ultimately this car is going to be on hydraulics with the rockers sitting on the ground when laid all the way out, and that means that besides restoring rusted sheet metal there is also plenty of filler and floor panel construction going on. This means there is some flexibility in how things are being done and you’ll see that as we go along. Here Karl makes the rear hydraulic suspension a reality, and explains the difference between the two ways that hydraulic suspensions work along with coil springs. You’ll see one system out back and one out front so you can see how both work. On this episode of Make It Kustom, we are back on the 1960 Cad

We’ve highlighted plent of TRARS here on BANGshift.com, where someone takes a car and puts it on a truck chassis. Sometimes they are super smooth and look right, sometimes they require surprising little work to make into a reality, and sometimes they just look like crap and clearly don’t work. This Chevelle station wagon right here actually looks right and seems to work, with a few exceptions. Looking at it from underneath shows that the Chevelle chassis is still in place in the middle of the car and then the K10 truck chassis is grafted on the front and rear for the suspension. It all seems to “work” underneath, and it can be yours if you are so inclined. One thing we’d change in the first hour would be the Escalade seats that have been installed up front. They are way to high, almost touch the headliner, and look like hell in my opinion. I’d rather see a stock bench or buckets up front, or maybe a low profile set of suspension buckets. Check it out below, and use the link if you w

This one is truly something unique. When Jason at Fireball tools puts his mind to it he is capable of making things at a totally different level from mere mortals. It may not be possible for me to make things at his level, but I sure do find his videos and projects inspiring and I know that they make me better at creating my own things as well. In this video Jason has decided to build something for his truck. A jack of sorts, but more. More, because it is combining multiple types of jacks, AND a vise all in one build. As he puts it, this is the most overly complicated and over-engineered jack ever. Here’s what Jason had to say in the video description: I challenge myself to combine a hydraulic jack, a scissor jack, a trailer jack, and a high lift jack all into one. Oh and I want to add a vise to it. I fabricate this king of jacks and put it to the test to see if it fails! The post Here’s What Happens When Jason At Fireball Tools Decides To Build A New Jack For His Truck, That Do

Call me a downer, but I believe we are seeing the end of the Second Musclecar Era. It was a good run, and as gearheads we should feel blessed that we have so much to choose from for builds. Look at the engine selections: 840-horse V8s, 500-horsepower plus V6s, four-bangers that would stomp any V8 from the 1980s…feel lucky to have been a part of this. Junkyards are a veritable farm, and it’s harvest season, folks. So, with that on the mind, I want to offer up a potential build. One on the cheap. One that wouldn’t take much, if any, work to bolt in and nothing more than the usual ECU tweaking or replacement to make feasible. Are you game? The subject of this experiment is a derelict 1996 Ford Thunderbird LX. Yeah, these don’t have much of a following past die-hards, do they? After the Thunderbird line abandoned just about all sporting pretense in the mid-1960s, it never really got the swagger of the original cars back. It is kind of hard to go from Corvette fighter to “sporting limo” t

There are an insane number of intake manifolds available for LS engines, but the most common are for fuel injection systems since that is what they came with from the factory. Conversely, the number of intake manifolds available for a small-block Chevrolet favor the carburetor setup more than EFI. But just because an engine came with a carb from the factory doesn’t mean it can’t have fuel injection installed, and just because an LS engine came with EFI doesn’t mean you can’t bolt a carburetor on one and have it work great. I know, it seems weird, but it is true. But which intake is best? Single plane? Dual plane? How about the trick Holley two-piece intakes? Richard has the answers. Video Description: WHICH ONE MAKES MORE POWER, A SINGLE PLANE OR DUAL-PLANE INTAKE? WHICH INTAKE MAKES MORE TORQUE? WHICH INTAKE IS BETTER FOR A STREET/STRIP APPLICATION? DOES A 4.8L NEED A DIFFERENT INTAKE THAN A 5.3L OR 6.0L? HOW WELL DOES THE HOLLEY 2-PIECE, SINGLE-PLANE INTAKE WORK? IS A HIGH-RISE I

I’ve seen my fair share of interesting Cadillacs, including a bunch of hearses and flower cars, but this one here is pretty special. Weird, but special. For those that don’t know, a flower car is one that has a pickup bed on it like an El Camino for carrying all the flowers to the gravesite from the funeral home. A hearse of course needs no introduction. This however is something truly special because it has been made into a station wagon. According to the seller it is one of just two made in 1975, has just 56,000 miles on it, and is in great running condition. There is a lot of history and information on this one and because it started out life as an El Dorado I guarantee it will do some great front wheel drive burnouts! Seller’s Description: CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE ORIGINAL AD 1 of 2 made that year. 1975 Cadillac Eldorado station wagon. Runs great, gets more attention everywhere I drive it than any other vehicle I’ve ever owned. 56,000 original miles odometer not rolled over. Ver

I’m not at all opposed to doing chassis swaps on old cars, I did a Caprice chassis swap on my 1956 Chevy way back in 2005 before anyone else had done that particular combo, and I love it. But there are some of these swaps that I just don’t dig because there are wheelbase issues, width issues and because people sometimes try to keep weird parts of the chassis donor, like the windshield. Then you end up with an old car with a modern windshield that is laid back too far and doesn’t match. I don’t think this is going to be one of those kind of projects, but we’ll just have to see. I’m intrigued. For those of you out there who have never seen something like this, let me give you the quick and dirty on what has to happen. The donor chassis car, in this case the late model Mustang, will have all the body removed from the “chassis” leaving only the floors, firewall, structural supports, etc. The “body” car on the other hand has to have the chassis, floors, and most of the inner structures rem

Everyone knows Derek at Vice Grip Garage is all about seeing if he can make things run and drive that have been sitting forever. In fact, he buys random vehicles sometimes just to see if it’s possible. But usually his stuff looks like crap, and this time it doesn’t. This time he’s gone out and bought a Model A Tudor Sedan, which is the Model A I’d love to build FYI, and is going to see if he can drive it from Iowa down to Tennessee. Is he crazy? I mean this thing won’t do 75 mph on a modern highway. And is it reliable enough to make that kind of trip anyway? In typical Vice Grip Garage fashion, there are some laughs, some adventure, and a few surprises and while I want to let you know all the stuff that is going to happen, that would be no fun at all for you! But I will say that this is a really special trip and one of my favorite VGG episodes ever. It was so cool to watch this go down and I’m so happy for Derek. Watch, and you’ll know why. Watch, enjoy, and tell us whether you’d do

So last year we screwed up and did not give the appropriate amount of recognition and love to the AMC 327ci V8 engine. Some people think that AMC used Chevy engines, they did not. The 327 AMC engine was the largest of the first generation of V8 engines produced by the American Motors Company. Starting with a 250ci version and then steadily growing, the 327 hadod guts. There was a forged crank and forged rods as well as a deep skirt block. Weirdly the 327 was going to get the failed Bendix “electrojection” EFI that some Chrysler engines got before it was basically pulled from the market and set into obscurity. This being said, there’s more to the story than that. Born in the late 1950s and initially rolled out as a specialty engine, the AMC 250 V8, 287 V8, and 327 V8 share the same block and the same stroke but not the same bore. Kind of like the Pontiac engines we talked about yesterday, the three mills used an identical “case”. There’s not a lot of aftermarket support for these thing