Expensive Vehicles

Here’s our third gallery from the Virginia Nationals! Nothing but Nitro baby! If you missed any of our previous photos, use the link below to see them all. (Photos by David Whealon) It has been a wet year for NHRA Drag Racing and the Virginia Nationals were no different. Leading up to the race there was a lot of doubt as to whether or not they would even be able to get the event in and the weather forecast looked like racers would go straight into eliminations on Sunday based on points instead of qualifying. Luckily a break in the weather got most classes qualified and the event had more racing action than was expected. Thanks to our friend David Whealon, who stayed throughout the weekend waiting for breaks in the rain, we’ve got some cool photos to share of all the nitro action, door cars, and even some motorcycles! Remember to click on any photo to make it big so you can swipe through them all. CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR OTHER PHOTOS FROM THE VIRGINIA NATIONALS The post NHRA Virginia

(Words by Jim McIlvaine) OPTIMA’s 2022 Search for the Ultimate Street Car, presented by Advance Auto Parts, is now running in conjunction with Speed Tour, highlighted by the vintage cars of SVRA. “Vintage” is a broadly-accepted term in motorsports these days and as a result, it’s not unusual to see many SVRA entries that were professionally-campaigned within the last ten years. The flipside of that, is that SVRA competitors and fans are still acclimating to the sight of street cars with full interiors tearing around the race track and then motoring into town with them at the end of the day. Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin is the longest-tenured track in this street car series, so even though they may be relative-newcomers to the Speed Tour scene, this track is old hat for most behind the wheel. GT Class competitor, Jonathan Blevins knows Road America very well and picked up his 20 th class win in the series in his 2008 Shelby GT500. Mike Gallagher has also visited this tr

There’s something about the intensity of in-car road racing videos that I love. While you cannot see driver Steve Soper’s face in this film because of his helmet, you can pretty well bet what his facial expressions were when his car left the racing surface, allowed the whole field to pass, and then started reeling them all back in again. We’re guessing a mixture of laser focus, jaw clenching anger, and eyebrow furrowed determination filled that brain bucket of his. Yes, we are about to watch a dude in a screaming Lotus Cortina go from first to last to fourth again in less than five minutes at Goodwood. This is awesome. I have always secretly and then no-so-secretly wanted a Lotus Cortina. Precious few of them made it to the USA and the ones here hardly ever come up for sale and when they do, the cars do not exactly fit my ham and egger budget. They were awesome pieces and one of the first examples of a manufacturer teaming up with a racing company to further develop a “small car”. Lot

Before the Doble Steam Car company closed their doors in 1931 they had established themselves as the premier makers of steam cars in the world. Unfortunately it was a world that did not want to buy steam cars. Abner Doble was the major operator of the company along with his brothers and between the early 1920s and the early 1930s they produced about 60 cars. Yeah, not too good. Thankfully their family was rich as their dad was also really smart and had kind of invented the power generating turbine and that paid the Doble family bills for many years. The Doble steam cars were so good because Abner was really, really smart. An MIT educated engineer, he applied so many interesting and revolutionary ideas to steam cars that if he had been at little bit better at business, the company could have made a run. Unfortunately he wasn’t and they did not. The primary reason? Price. To buy a chassis was $9,500 and then you had to pay for a body and that was basically the same amount. You were $20

This could be the most relaxing and cool engine build video we have seen in a long, long time. Why? There is no music, there is no talking, there is only the sounds of the work being done. Personally, there is something really satisfying about working on something either in the shop or on a little workbench in the quiet that I love. When I am wrenching on the tractor and it is just me, my garage, and the sounds of the work I am completing, I am at my most relaxed. In this case we watch a Subaru four banger get assembled with all kinds of nice parts. There are Manley pistons and rods most notably but as you will watch, the build is done with skill and care with just the noise of ratchets clicking, wrenches being fitted onto nuts and bolts, and the occasional hammer tap. Press play and relax. Some people like to watch nature videos. For us? This wins. Press play below to see this zen-like Subaru engine build with nothing but shop sounds! The post Engine Building Zen: This ASMR Vide

The United States Hot Rod Association was at its peak in the 1980s. Putting on the indoor monster truck shows, pulling events, mud bogs, and more they were drawing massive crowds in cities big and small each week. There was TV coverage, merchandise galore, and frankly they made it possible for guys who owned monster trucks to not just run them every now and again by their homes but to travel the nation much in the way that 1960s drag racers did to perform and race. This promotional video was made by the USHRA for their sponsor Cam 2 racing fuel and oil. We’re guessing that it was run on the big screen at the different arenas that the performances would take place or it was made for a year end celebration and as a good will gesture between the company and a large sponsor. Either way, it’s pretty great because we see the coolest trucks, tractors, and people getting it down by crushing cars, slogging through the mud, and hooked to the pulling sled. If you were a kid in the 1980s or just

When we look at hot rodding on a global scale, it’s mind-boggling, right? Here in the USA we have had a primarily V8 fixation since Henry Ford dropped the Flathead in our laps nearly 100 years ago now and that makes sense. We have them by the millions and the access is easier than easy. This said, most of the world has not been so V8 focused in their pursuits of speed and frankly the internet has showed us that better than anything else ever could have. Take the Aussies. These guys and girls have been killing it with inline six engines from a multitude of manufacturers for decades and they continue to today. You are about to watch a truly nasty Holden Commodore which is powered by a Nissan RB30 engine make 1,700+ horsepower on the hub dyno and the thing ain’t done yet. The engine is stroked to 3.2L with a long arm crank from Nitto and uses a Precision 8891 turbocharger to produce some 50psi of boost. Fed with a mechanical fuel pump that’s sending the fuel to the injectors which are th

When we talk about NASCAR history, the name Curtis Turner looms large. One of the first true superstars of the sport, Turner was fast and loose in all aspects of his life. He made and lost millions. He drove like a maniac on the track, winning and wrecking with impunity.He took on Bill France head-on by trying to unionize the drivers, was thrown out of the sport, and fought his way back in. Turner was a magante in the timber industry at the time of his NASCAR antics and like any good wild magnate is was either totally flush with cash or teetering on the brink of bankruptcy at any given moment of his life. Turner was not a moonshiner, probably, but instead he was a guy that lived the NASCAR lifestyle wide open and the fans loved him. When people knew he was going to race, the stands would be packed. Between the partying, the huge ideas, and the constant pressure he kept on fellow racers and NASCAR management, few people, if anyone have had as large a presence in the sport as Curtis Tu

While the Oldsmobiles of the late 1980s and into the 1990s made awesome looking drag cars (and still do!) they didn’t exactly come out of the gate flying in 1988, especially the Cutlass. Sales were down in 1988 and the company was rolling out the new front drivers to replace the classic RWD offerings that had defined the brand forever in an effort to capture younger buyers looking for more modern cars. The “International” variants of these cars were the more sport/driver centric intended versions and the 1988 Cutlass had many of the things that would appeal on that front. A little more body cladding for looks, manual transmissions for fun, and suspension systems designed to favor handling more than they had in the past were good but th power was the problem, especially for the Cutlass Supreme International. Rather than have the rowdy Quad4 or the more torquey and powerful 3.8L V6 in the nose, this car has the weak-kneed corporate 2.8L V6 engine and that was no bueno. You’ll see and he

One of the first motorized vehicles I can ever remember steering and then driving is a forklift. My dad has been in the pallet and box business for about 40 years and it was always a highlight as a kid to visit the shop and sit on his lap while moved bundles of wood around. When I got old enough to reach the pedals I as allowed to cruise the yard and move stuff around. It was great fun and I earned my junior forklift operator badge. The guy in this video has his pro-level forklift operator badge and he earned it! Flipping a coin onto the forks of the machine as it is laying on the ground has been a staple party trick for forklift operators for years but this guy takes it up about 52 notches. For starters he does the job with a massive machine that is used to lift steel shipping containers up. Secondly he not only flips the coin but the also loads that sucker into the neck of a plastic bottle. For me it isn’t so much the physical nature of doing the job but the skill it takes to do al

It’s Memorial Day today, and I hope that this year it holds a little more meaning and that we all realize a little more appreciation is in order. Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor those people who gave their lives in order to defend our way of life here in America. It is important to remember that this is a different holiday than Veteran’s Day and that this distinction has perhaps never been more important to realize. As the world watches teachers, accountants, plumbers, software developers, and other regular folks in Ukraine defending their country, we are reminded that throughout our own history there have been many many people who have helped to defend it, many with and many without a military uniform. We must honor them all on this day. We have long honored veterans here at BANGshift and realize that there are many of you out there who are fellow racing and automotive enthusiasts, who have served, know someone who has, or know someone who never came home. We appreciate t

When we think about California motorcycle cops we cannot help but go back to Ponch and John from the famed television series CHiPs Patrol. Ever wonder how long California has been running guys around on motorcycles to protect the public and scare up cash? As it turns out, a long time and this video proves it! Made in the late 1940s in post WWII California, you are going to see some killer old motorcycles and some guys who have been trained to ride them for a living. This is listed as a recruitment film so it is designed to entice people to enter the fun and exciting world of being a motorcycle cop. We have never ridden a motorcycle of the age shown here. It is awesome to see the foot clutch, hand shift, and general layout of the thing. We’re thinking that it must take some time to become as smooth with it as the instructor in the video is. Obviously the late 1940s and into the 50s were an interesting time for motorcycle culture. Many returning GIs who had experience on bikes in the w

3D printing is one of those “future technologies today” type things that we are a planet are just starting to see the beginnings of. With the machines now accessible to people who aren’t very wealthy, the amount of interesting stuff and jaw dropping creations that have been made in 3D printing machines are on a dramatic rise. In what can only be described as its infancy, 3D printing will eventually morph, evolve, grow, and develop into areas that we cannot even consider right now. Think about the video below for a minute. This clever guy spend 48 hours using a 3D printer to make all the parts necessary to recreate a Toyota/Aisin W56 five speed transmission and hook it to the back of the Toyota four cylinder he had already made. Here, you will see him remove and inspection panel and shift the thing through all five gears like butter. Watch the output flange to see the difference in speeds at the tail of the transmission. While this is something that gearheads and car guys can fawn over

Some videos will be cool until the end of time. I happened upon this magical four minutes of 1971 top fuel footage completely by accident and boy am I happy that I did. This clip is from the seldom heard of and the less seen 1971 low buck movie called  Drag Racer.  This film was the story of a kid trying to work his way into a top fuel car, apparently. The movie was filmed in various places across the country and lots of good racing footage was used in its production. This clip was shot at the old Irwindale Raceway. The track you see in this video is now either under or on the property of a large by huge beer brewery. What’s so good about this video? First off we get to ride in a unique position on the runs. Most of the film was taken from the perspective of someone essentially standing on the chassis rails and looking back at the driver. This is exceptionally cool during the fire up, burnout, and down course action. This is pretty “pure” footage. It is not screwed up with bad dialog,

There are a ton of ways to make horsepower nowadays, and it has never been easier than it is in 2022, but with so many options and so much information it can be intimidating when trying to decide on a combo for your hot rod, driver, tow rig, or race car. That’s why Richard put together this entire video series on Big Block Chevrolet combos that can get you anything from 400 horsepower to over 1,000! We know that some of these aren’t going to be appropriate for what you are building, but one of them will be for sure which is why we have put them all together in one place right here. Use the links below to watch each video where you will see at least three combinations for each power level. We’re talking about something for every budget so you are going to want to check them out for sure. One of our favorites is the turbocharged junkyard 8.1 that makes almost 850 lb ft of torque! We are planning to build something like this for our dually! CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE 400 HORSEPOWER COMB

I’ve been watching the build of this cool Unimog from the beginning, and have shared some of the videos here on BANGshift, but here is a complete walk-around of it in its current state. This thing is a beast, is very capable, and they have been living in it and having a great time with it. I’ve always wanted a Unimog, although I always thought about a smaller unit than this, but, this one sure is cool. Who doesn’t like ex-military vehicles? Check it out. It has recovery gear, plenty of lighting, a good running stock drivetrain because it is bulletproof, some comforts in the cab, and a big custom-built box full of all the stuff you need to live and enjoy time on the trail away from civilization, which is exactly where they like to be. The post DIY EX-ARMY UNIMOG WALKAROUND – Self-built 4×4 EXPEDITION TRUCK appeared first on BangShift.com . https://ift.tt/9fVimpH from BangShift.com https://ift.tt/juK2xlZ

Bit holders suck!!! Or at least they do if you really put them through their paces. I’ve tried a bunch of different brands and can tell you that the bits themselves and the holders for them, can vary wildly on quality and durability. I have my own favorites, but I saw this cool test from Project Farm and decided we should see what they found! Video Description: Bit Holder Brands Tested: Wiha, Wera, Milwaukee, Crescent Vortex, Norske, DeWalt, Neiko, Hilti, Irwin, Makita Gold, Bosch, Ryobi, Makita ImpactX, Yakamoz, Tomoto Palace, Horusdy. Bit holders compared for maximum torque before failure, magnetic bit retention holding strength, magnetic hold on fasteners, speed of driving in fasteners, and wear resistance. All bits tested until failure. I purchased all of the bit holders to ensure an unbiased review. So, thank you for supporting the channel. The post Best Bit Holder? Milwaukee vs DeWalt, Makita, Hilti, Irwin, Ryobi, Bosch, Neiko, Wera, Wiha appeared first on BangShift.com .

It’s the 24th year of the Bernie Mann Memorial drag race they call the No Delay Nationals and we’re excited to be bringing them to you live right here thanks to our friends at MotorManiaTV. Check out all the action below! Video Description: Over 2 decades ago, the sport of drag racing lost one of its best ambassadors and fierce competitors, Bernie Mann. The memory of the Terre Haute native remains very much alive for those fortunate to have known and competed against the racing standout. Now in its 24th year, the Bernie Mann No Delay Nationals is a testament to his impact on the drag racing community. With a gamblers race on Friday, 2 additional shootouts during the weekend, and classes for jr dragsters and no box competitors, this race will be action-packed. The post The Bernie Mann No Delay Nationals LIVE From Wabash Valley Dragway In Indiana! appeared first on BangShift.com . https://ift.tt/fSsD9V1 from BangShift.com https://ift.tt/83WYMmt

Carolina Dragway is home to this weekend’s SFG World Series of Bracket Racing and it promises to be a great event. The weather is looking good, the cars have shown up for big money, and SFG is happy to be back with this great event. The past couple years have been tough for several promoters and SFG had this one on hold, but it’s back and it is looking strong. If you want to watch great bracket racing all weekend, this is one to watch! Video Description: It’s been a while since SFG last hosted the World Series of Bracket Racing. Between the pandemic and other forces outside of their control, the race has been on hold for 2 years. SFG was determined to bring this race back in 2022. Hosted at Carolina Dragway ‘The House of Hook’ and adding Schooled by Scotty for the Jr Dragster class, this race is certain to please everyone! The post The World Series Of Bracket Racing LIVE From Carolina Dragway! appeared first on BangShift.com . https://ift.tt/fSsD9V1 from BangShift.com https://

  This 1960 film made by the US Air Force is a review of all the stuff that they had going on that year. It is astonishing and incredible to see everything that was happening. From the X-15 rocket plane setting records to Joe Kittinger parachuting from 102,000ft in the air, to rocket launches and more. Beyond the experiments and technological pushes, there’s also the combat readiness element of the Air Force that is also on display here. You’ll see amazing airplanes and pilots in competitions to see who can do stuff like master in-air refueling and traits like that. Of course the wildest part of this film is that the US and Russia were really ramping up the Cold War, almost by the day and all of the technology, exercises, and training you see are basically being done to thwart them. Russia is not directly named here but we all know how things escalated in the early 1960s nearly coming to an atomic head with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Dig the planes, the people, and the amazing footag

This might be our favorite kind of dyno video. This is the style of dyno video that shows us something we know nothing about, explains some of its most awesome features, and then we get to see the thing live and roar on the dyno as it makes horsepower. The name Shane Tecklenburg should be familiar to BangShifters out there and regular readers of this site. Along with the work he does on stuff like this Cosworth XB engine, he also has tuned cars to some of the most impressive runs in drag racing history. The guy always has his hands on something cool and this time it’s a 1990s era IndyCar engine that Jaques Villeneuve drove to within an inch of its life back in the day. The engine and the car are going to be put back on the track for vintage racing and the team needed to make it work correctly. Ditching what was likely some sort of mandated 1990s system from the series, they have swapped it all over to MoTec control and that’s where Shane comes in. It is one thing to hear this engine

This is one of those situations that can be viewed a couple of different ways. Listen, none of those ways is that great but you can take this situation, you know, the one where your big pulling tractor engine literally barfs a rod through the block down a few paths. You can freak out and blame the engine builder, which is all good, unless you are the engine builder. You can look at it like it was an inevitability and the fact that it happened on the dyno and not after the engine was loaded in the tractor, hauled to a pull, and prepared to hook, or you can silently load up your mangled engine and drink until your eyes bleed. That’s the big three that we can consider. When we are talking about Hot Farm class pulling, the tractors have to keep their factory look to them, meaning the sheetmetal and frame have to be stock appearing. The engines have to use a factory head and a factory block and are limited to around 600ci. (Some of these rules do vary from organization to organization). Di

While others may forget this day or think it is just like the other 364 in the year, we here at BangShift know better. We know that 5/28 is the international day of celebration for the 528ci hemi and we’re going to recognize this romping, stomping engine with some dyno videos below. With the advent of the after market and more meaty 426-style hemi block displacements of these engines can be found up to and over 600ci but the 528 is probably the best known as there are a few places that sell this combo as a crate package. Making huge power and big torque on only gasoline and air, it is a nice package for anyone with the need (and the room in the engine bay!) for it. These two engines are good lookers with their orange block paint and yes, those valve covers do say “Ray Barton Racing Engines” on them so you know that power is not going to be lacking here. One of them makes something like 750hp and it is all in by about 6,500rpm so that’s pretty awesome. Lots of power at a usable level a

This is some gold right here. Between the cool tractors, the basic and awesome old sleds, and the footage of them both working together, this is about 10-minutes of gearhead heaven. The name of this Allis-Chalmers film is called The Roar of Power and it is a promotional piece made to show off the sport of NTPA tractor pulling as well as the clear involvement of Allis-Chalmers in said activity. From the interviews with successful pullers, NTPA officials, and the history shown, it’s a really awesome deal. Hell, the footage of Barney Oldfield participating in a wildly old school “tractor race” at a claimed 60mph, it’s fantastic! Just like the drag racing films of the day, the connection between motorsport and machine is drawn back to the benefits of the data collected by a manufacturer. We’re thinking the data collected by getting their machines in front of thousands and thousands of farmers ever year was the real value, but you’ll hear about how some of these guys are making 300% more t

Here’s our final gallery of photos from last weekend’s C10 Nationals in Texas. If you missed any of our previous galleries, click the link below to check them out. (Words and Photos by Chad Reynolds) The 2022 C10 Nationals at Texas Motor Speedway were HUGE this year. We had a race to go to on Saturday, so we visited the show Friday and shot a bunch of photos to share. We also got to look at some cool parts, talked to some friends, and just enjoyed the great collection of rides that were on site. We’re going to have photos for you for the next week, so check back often to see them all. And if you miss any, don’t worry we’ll have a link to any galleries you miss. The C10 Nationals is an all GM truck show that welcomes not only C10s but also any other GM truck from 1947 to current. The vast majority of trucks that we saw on Friday afternoon were in fact 1960s through 1980s models, but there were a handful of the others as well. OBS trucks were of course hot, and Saturday’s crowd include

If you are a first-gen Camaro aficionado then you know that the RPO JL8 brake upgrade was a 4-wheel disc brake upgrade available from your Chevrolet dealership in 1968 and as an actual RPO option you could add to your new 1969 Camaro order form. There were only a few hundred cars ever equipped with the JL8 package, but Rekudo is now offering the parts so you can add a JL8 brake system to your Second-Gen Camaro as well. Check out all the info below. REKUDO JL8 4-Wheel Disc Brake System For 1970-1981 Camaro and Firebird The 4-wheel disc brake upgrade (with Corvette style 4-piston calipers for both front and rear) was offered for the 1968 Camaro as a “Heavy Duty Service” package sold through the parts counter at Chevrolet car dealers. In 1969, the 4-piston disc brakes could be ordered as a Regular Production Option (RPO) JL8 package on production vehicles. With only about 200 vehicles optioned with the JL8 package, finding parts is hard to come by. The complete JL8 brake system is now

If you love racing, race cars, and the performance world as much as we do then this is big new for all! Dr. Jaime Meyer and the team at  PRI have just opened one hell of a facility. It’s home to racers, racing fans, and performance companies’ biggest advocates and is the new Membership Headquarters located in Speedway Indiana. Check out all the information below, because this is big news for all racers and enthusiasts. If you want to visit this new facility, read all the info below and come on over!   PRI ESTABLISHES ROOTS IN SPEEDWAY, IN Performance Racing Industry strengthens commitment to motorsports and welcomes racers and race fans in racing capital of the world SPEEDWAY, Ind. (May 27, 2022) – Racers and dignitaries joined hundreds of motorsports professionals for the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Membership Headquarters in Speedway, Ind., on May 26. Located at 1255 Main St. along the pathway directly to the Indianapol

American Powertrain is celebrating Memorial Day with its biggest sale of the year! Save big money and at the same time take advantage of 0% interest on your purchase! This is a deal you just can’t pass up. Make the call and start getting your kit put together, their entire team is on hand and ready to help. Our biggest sale yet!! Get $300 off any 5 or 6 speed Pro-Fit kit with transmission* now till June 20th 2022! We also have discounts for veterans. Phone in orders only. Give us a call at 931-646-4836 or fill out our Request for quote below to get a quick custom quote for your project. Starting now through June 20th get $300 off any 5 or 6-speed Pro-Fit kit with transmission! Call in orders only 931-646-4836 or hit this  link  to get a quick quote. Are you ready for Hot Rod Power Tour 2022? Just a few weeks to go! We are proud to return as a sponsor this year. We will be set up in the midway with Tremec Transmissions. Fuel prices

Anything goes big tire vs small tire cash days? This never happens, but if it is going to then the track is where it needs to be. At least that way the small-tire guys have more rubber that will go down that will help them out. But can one of them take the win? Watch the latest from 1320Video and find out! Video Description: A Cash Days without any tire rules? Now that’s something we don’t see often throughout the racing season. When we caught wind that our local track was hosting this race and Beater Bomb would be entered with small tires.. we knew it would be a good time! The post Big Tire vs Small Tire Track CASH DAYS with NO TIRE RULE?? Anything goes! appeared first on BangShift.com . https://ift.tt/dVQz2lX from BangShift.com https://ift.tt/IM2un3W

So the abandoned race track rehab has been going on for almost a year now, and there was plenty of work going on even though the winter was rolling in. I didn’t share all those videos with you because I was behind myself, but there is a link below if you want to see some of the stuff going on just before the snow started and when the white stuff was everywhere. There are new videos coming now that the defrosted season has started, but here is the video from just when the spring thaw was ready to become reality so that things could happen on track. And things are happening on track. Like big things. In fact there is another new video we’ll be sharing this week with all kinds of good news and some fun racing action. This place is going to be awesome and there are going to be ways for all of us to come have some fun there too! I love this series of videos because I feel like if I had the money and the right opportunity I’d be the guy to buy something like this and bring it back to life.