How to Build Altered Wheelbase Cars

Author: Steve Magnante
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1934709263
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 146

Book Description
In How to Build Altered Wheelbase Cars, renowned writer Steve Magnante first walks readers through the colorful history of the altered wheelbase period and then shows them how to perform these radical modifications themselves. Magnante's fun and colorful style makes for entertaining reading, and the coverage of floorpan mods, chassis alterations, and both front and rear suspension upgrades are covered in great detail on three different chassis types. After reading this book, the basic technical tenets of altering vehicle wheelbase will be understood and the almost mythical legend surrounding such cars will be fully realized. What were once considered "race only" modifications can now be civilized for street use, and Magnante carefully reviews all of the relevant points for optimal appearance, performance, and safety.

How to Build Max-Performance Buick Engines

Author: Jefferson Bryant
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1934709875
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
The photos in this edition are black and white. Skylarks, GSXs, Grand Nationals, Rivieras, Gran Sports; the list of formidable performance Buicks is impressive. From the torque monsters of the 1960s to the high-flying Turbo models of the '80s, Buicks have a unique place in performance history. During the 1960s, when word of the mountains of torque supplied by the big-inch Buicks hit the street, nobody wanted to mess with them. Later, big-inch Buicks and the Hemi Chryslers went at it hammer and tongs in stock drag shootouts and in the pages of the popular musclecar magazines of the day. The wars between the Turbo Buicks and Mustang GTs in the 1980s were also legendary, as both cars responded so well to modifications. How to Build Max-Performance Buick Engines is the first performance engine book ever published on the Buick family of engines. This book covers everything from the Nailheads of the '50s and early '60s, to the later evolutions of the Buick V-8 through the '60s and '70s, through to the turbo V-6 models of the '70s and '80s. Veteran magazine writer and Buick owner Jefferson Bryant supplies the most up-to-date information on heads, blocks, cams, rotating assemblies, interchangeability, and oiling-system improvements and modifications, along with details on the best performance options available, avenues for aftermarket support, and so much more. Finally, the Buick camp gets the information they have been waiting for, and it's all right here in How to Build Max-Performance Buick Engines.

Maximum Performance

Author: Jim Schild
Publisher: Motorbooks International
ISBN: 0760355657
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 163

Book Description
"Since the early days or racing, Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth have dominated drag strips and race tracks. During 1955 alone, Chrysler 300s won 37 major stock car races and clinched both the NASCAR and AAA stock car championships. Although the impressive engine options of 1950s consistently out-performed the competition, they were a mere opening act for the extremes of performance that would be unleashed throughout the 1960s--the golden era of drag racing and factory super-performance cars.Maximum Performance: Super Stock Drag Racing 1962-1969 details Chrysler's amazing dominance in this era. Its drivers were among drag racing's first paid professional racers, and this book covers the complete story of Mopar drag racing accompanied by historical imagery as well as contemporary photos. This is the real story behind Super Stock and Factory Experimental drag racing as told the people who lived it!"--Publisher's description.

Lost Muscle Car Dealerships

Author: Duncan Brown
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613254512
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 190

Book Description
An entire volume dedicated to detailing and preserving the iconic muscle car dealerships of the 1960s and early 1970s, many whose doors are now closed. Text is supported with more than 350 historic photos and illustrations. Muscle car historian Duncan Brown revisits this glorious automotive era when Nickey 427 Camaros and supercharged Dodge Demons by Grand Spaulding Dodge terrorized the streets. Drag sponsored cars from Reynolds Buick, Yeakel Chrysler-Plymouth, and Mel Burns Ford informed buyers that if you came to their dealership, you too could have a screaming fast muscle car just like the ones you saw at the dragstrip. It was these dealerships that created the lasting muscle car legacy through their innovative advertising and over-the-top performance. The majority of these dealerships floundered, unable to re-attract the customers they had prior to the muscle car. Thankfully, a volume has been dedicated to preserving the history of those less fortunate and revisiting the past success of these Lost Muscle Car Dealerships.

Jeep, Dana and Chrysler Differentials

Author: Larry Shepard
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613250495
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Book Description
Focuses on the disassembly, inspection and step-by-step rebuild of the most popular high-performance differentials. Axles and differentials are not incredibly complex components, but there are some specific steps to follow for rebuilding, upgrading, and setting them up properly, and this book demystifies the process and explains it in detail.

Early Funny Cars

Author: Lou Hart
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613256981
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
Blast through the evolving early years of Funny Car drag racing when doorslammers morphed into flip-top rail monsters. The era features historic mounts from Arnie "the Farmer" Beswick, Al “the Flying Dutchman” Vanderwoude, "Jungle" Jim Liberman, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, and many more! The metamorphosis from doorslammers to fiberglass flip-top dragsters wasn’t ever a cut and dry plan. As drag racers pushed the envelope for more speed, a series of innovations quickly evolved and refined the genre. Funny Cars cut their teeth in the A/Factory Experimental (A/FX) and Experimental Stock (X/S) classes in 1964 with the 2-percent Mopars that looked funny with their axles moved forward. However, it was Jack Chrisman’s supercharged, nitro-fueled 427 Supercharged Factory Experimental (S/FX) Comet Caliente that trailblazed the class on which the NHRA turned its back and the AHRA fully accepted. Showmanship became the draw in the dawn of Funny Car with half-track burnouts and flame-throwing headers that packed fans five deep at the fence. By 1969, the NHRA had no choice but to create a class for these nitro-breathing, flip-top-sporting rail bruisers, indoctrinating the Funny Car (F/C) class at the Winternationals with 40 cars vying for 16 places in the field. The rest, as they say, is history!

Hubert Platt

Author: Allen Platt
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613253974
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
Webster's Dictionary lists the term showman as "a notably spectacular, dramatic, or effective performer." In the art of drag racing, Hubert Platt checked all boxes. Known as the "Georgia Shaker," Platt cut his motoring teeth on the long straightaways and twisty back roads of South Carolina while bootlegging moonshine. After a run-in with the law in 1958, Platt transferred his driving skills from illegal activity to sanctioned drag racing and began one of the most dominant runs in drag racing history until his retirement in 1977. After stints in 1957, 1938, and 1962 Chevrolets, Platt's next ride was a Z11 Impala, which carried his first "Georgia Shaker" moniker. Once Chevrolet pulled out of sanctioned racing, Platt found a new home with Ford for 1964 and remained there until he hung up his helmet. Some of the cars he campaigned became icons in their own right. His factory-backed and personal machines included a 1963 Z11 Impala, 1964 Thunderbolt, 1965 Falcon, 1966 Mustang Funny Car, 1967 Fairlane 427, 1968-1/2 Cobra Jet, 1969 CJ Mustang, 1970 427 SOHC Mustang, and 1970 Boss 429 Maverick. A 1986 NHRA Hall of Fame member, Platt's lasting legacy on the sport can’t be denied. Whether he was launching his Falcon with the door open, conducting a Ford Drag Team seminar, or posting low E.T. at the 1967 US Nationals in his Fairlane, Platt's imprint on drag racing was all-encompassing. His son and biggest fan, Allen Platt, shares his dad's iconic career in, Hubert Platt: Fast Fords of the "Georgia Shaker"!

Quarter-Mile Mustangs

Author: Doug Boyce
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 1613255985
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
Blast down the quarter mile in the first two generations of Ford’s legendary pony car across all drag racing classes in Quarter-Mile Mustangs! Since first becoming a mass-market success in mid-1964, the Ford Mustang has made millions of passes down the quarter mile on sanctioned drag strips. With styling flared toward the youth, aftermarket parts manufacturers saw an enormous opportunity to produce go-fast components to aid in propelling Ford’s pony car down the 1320. The success of these cars was immediate. In the hands of successful and seasoned pros, such as Gas Ronda, Bill Lawton, and Dick Brannan, Ford unleashed the devastatingly potent 1965 A/FX Mustang fastback, which was built by Blue Oval stalwarts Holman & Moody with the 427 SOHC (Cammer) engine that unleashed havoc on mother Mopar. From those very first factory drag cars through the fabled 1968-1/2 Cobra Jets, drag racing historian Doug Boyce highlights the many successes of pioneers, such as “Dyno” Don Nicholson, Les Ritchey, Phil Bonner, Hubert Platt, and Al Joniec. However, it’s not just all doorslammers. As A/FX transitioned into Funny Car, a whole new chapter in Mustang drag racing was written with Mickey Thompson taking the reins and steering Mustangs to success throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. The muscle car-era Mustangs joined the Mustang II and soldiered on the best they could as ever-changing rules hampered Ford’s new pony body, with drivers Bob Glidden and Nicholson trying to squeeze every bit of performance out of the diminutive pony. Quarter-Mile Mustangs: The History of Ford’s Pony Car at the Drag Strip 1964-1/2-1978 brings forth the most in-depth coverage of these cars at the drag strip. Don’t get caught sleeping at the light!

Drag Racing's Rebels

Author: Doug Boyce
Publisher: CarTech Inc
ISBN: 161325766X
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
Learn the entire fascinating story of the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) in this wonderfully illustrated color history. When the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) was formed in 1951 by Wally Parks, the reasoning for the formation was to "create order from chaos" by instituting safety rules and performance standards that helped legitimize the sport of drag racing. Some organization was certainly necessary. A postwar boom in automotive enthusiasm was reaching new heights, and Hot Rod magazine and the NHRA were right in the thick of it. The NHRA hosted its first drag racing event in 1953, and in 1955, the organization staged its first national event, which was simply called "The Nationals." The AHRA formed in 1956 as an alternative to the NHRA, where the drivers voted on the rules (rather than sanctioning bodies and tracks), and their influence on the sport was felt almost immediately. When the NHRA denied the use of nitromethane in 1957, the AHRA approved it. When the NHRA banned aircraft-powered dragsters in 1961, the AHRA welcomed them. When the NHRA said no to the emerging Funny Car in 1965, the AHRA said yes. When fans and racers screamed for a heads-up Super Stock category in 1968, the AHRA delivered. The AHRA was called a rebel association. Some say that it was more of an association that got things done—to the delight of fans and racers. The AHRA was on equal ground with the NHRA by the 1970s, drawing enormous crowds and racer entries.

In this fascinating history, veteran author Doug Boyce tells the story of the AHRA, the rise, the competition, the events, and the eventual downfall of the organization. After AHRA President Jim Tice passed away in 1982, internal fighting for control of the association resulted in its doom. Get the whole story here, and add this wonderful volume to your drag racing library.

We Were The Ramchargers

Author: David G. Rockwell
Publisher: SAE International
ISBN: 1468605755
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 396

Book Description
With over 200 new images, the new edition of We Were the Ramchargers is perfect for drag racing enthusiasts. This book takes readers behind the scenes with the group of Chrysler engineers who, from the 1950s through the 1970s, became one of the most successful and influential drag racing teams of all time. The only team of engineers from an automobile manufacturer to drag race successfully, the Ramchargers broke the most time barriers in drag racing history and earned the most National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Super Stock titles during the sport’s golden era of factory competition. Author Dave Rockwell, a Ramcharger himself, interviewed more than 40 team members, competitors, and track operators for We Were the Ramchargers, making it the first and only book to provide inside details on all elements of the Ramchargers story. In addition to chronicling the races they won and legendary cars they developed (including the High and Mighty, 426 Hemi, and first Funny Car), Rockwell opens corporate and personal files to take readers behind the doors at Chrysler (showing, among other things, how the Ramchargers helped pioneer the platform team concept), while revealing the personalities of the men who made it all happen. (Second Edition, ISBN: 9781468605754, ISBN: 9781468605761, ISBN: 9781468605778, DOI: 10.4271/9781468605761)