January 2021 - RPM Magazine

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january 2021 | RPM Magazine

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.............................................................. CHRIS BIRO editor@rpmmag.com V.P. MARKETING/CUSTOMER RELATIONS.................. TRISH BIRO trish@rpmmag.com EVENT MEDIA.................................................. events@rpmmag.com EVENT SUBSCRIPTIONS COORDINATOR........... SHERRIE WEBER sherrie@rpmmag.com ART DIRECTOR............................................................

JIM McHARG

Photographic Contributions: TIM LEWIS, MARK goDragRacing. org, GEORGE PICH, TOBY BROOKS, MATT WOODS, TABITHA SIZEMORE, MATT TROMBLEY, LOUIS FRONKIER, BART CEPEK, PATRICK “RED” WILLIAMS, BLAKE FARNAN, JERRY GARRISON, NEIL ZIMBALDI, STEVEN TAYLOR, and EDDIE MALONEY. Editorial Contributions: TIM LEWIS, CHUCK SCOTT, MARK goDragRacing.org, TOBY BROOKS, JAMES WILLIAMS, TIM BIRO, STAN SMITH, JT, GEORGE PICH, JAY MISENER, and EDDIE MALONEY. Technical Writing Contribution: CHUCK SCOTT, SHANE TECKLENBURG, TOBY BROOKS, and TIM BIRO.

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TRISH BIRO...........................519.752.3705....... trish@rpmmag.com

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editor’s

RANT

by

Chris Biro

It’s safe to say that re-running my CONGRATULATIONS! Editor’s Rant has now become tradition in RPM in the first issue of every year.

CONGRATULATIONS! You Made it!

Before you read on, just to be clear, I am all for progress, innovation, advances in safety, science, better health and moving forward, however, some things– read “some” things, just might make more sense the way we used to do them. The point is, learning how to deal with responsibility and challenges as well as success and failure at a young can go a long way in life as years pass. With that being said, I hope you enjoy this with the spirit in which it was written.

In 2021, more than ever we need good humour.

It is interesting, though, with having more insight into the spread of infectious diseases things like sharing a soft drink now seem a bit weirder than just 10 months ago.

Congratulations! CONGRATULATIONS to all of our 40+ year old readers.

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, white bread and tuna from a can. Then, after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproofed medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking!

Mom didn’t have to go to work to help dad make ends meet, she worked only if she wanted to.

We would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags, and riding in the back of a pick-up on a warm spring day was always a special treat, not a crime.

If someone cut us off while driving we’d flip them the bird, and they would return the favor, without getting out a bat, knife or gun at the next light.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. Take-out food was limited to hot dogs, fish and chips and pizza. You didn’t line up at the drive-thru for your morning coffee but got up earlier and made it yourself.

Even though all the stores closed at 6:00pm and didn’t open on Sundays, somehow we didn’t starve to death. We shared one soft drink with four friends from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We could collect bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy a whole bag of penny candy, sports cards, bubble gum and some fire crackers.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in them, but we weren’t overweight because... WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! We’d leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us, yet we were somehow O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes, which consisted of a wooden stick on a screw that scraped the ground to slow us down! We’d hop-up our bikes with banana seats and long forks and didn’t need some slick dude on a TV reality show of the month to tell us how to do it.

We built tree houses and played in river beds

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with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. We did not have any video games at all, and when we did finally get them it was for occasional entertainment with the whole family. No on-demand TV or 200 channels on satellite, no DVD movies, no surround sound, no personal computers, no internet, internet message boards and forums or social media, no cell phones or other handheld devices and no texting... we did have friends though, and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits. We were given pellet guns, jack knives and slingshots for our 10th birthdays. We played with toy guns that looked like real guns, only because it was cool, not because we wanted to be a gangsta. And every young boy wanted to be a policeman or fireman!

At 13 we learned to drive the family car at the empty mall parking lot on Sunday. Christmas was Christmas not Xmas, no really it was! We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled out for them.

Football, baseball and hockey had tryouts and not everyone made the team. And those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that! Getting on the team was a privilege based on ability and merit, and not due to special rules, threats, fear or guilt... There were very few football, hockey or soccer moms and dads who cared more about their kids becoming the next superstar over just letting them play and have fun. I know this all sounds strange, but it’s true!

If a company we bought something from made a mistake, we gave them the benefit of the doubt and simply called them about it. And they either fixed it or they didn’t, and they would live with the word of mouth (good or bad) AFTER we gave them a shot at fixing it. We didn’t go on social media (because there was none) and smear the company’s name first.

We did not talk back to our parents or we’d get spanked, and knowing that kept us in line… most of the time. Our teachers used to belt us with rulers or leather straps, and knowing that kept us in line… most of the time. Grade school bullys didn’t have guns. The idea of a mom or dad bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 70 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we LEARNED how to deal with it all! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! You were allowed to grow up as kids, before the lawyers, governments and big businesses regulated our lives “for our own good”. You may want to let your kids read this so they will know how brave their parents truly are.

january 2021 | RPM Magazine

Once again, have a fantastic 2021!

Chris Biro, Editor In Chief

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Air Flow Research ..... 5,56,57 AJE Racing...................... 77 American Racing Headers... 56

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Ross Racing Pistons ....... 7,30

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RPM Magazine ................ 86

Energy Suspension/NPW.... 52

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Subscribe! ...............62,103

Granatelli Motorsports ...... 61

SM Racecars.................... 78

GRP Connecting Rods ........ 67

Steve Morris Engines ............2

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LenTech Automatics ..... 38,70

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Trailer Alarms.com............ 88

Lokar Performance ........... 66 Lutz Race Cars ................. 89 Magnaflow ..................... 96

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MagnaFuel ..................... 16

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Manton Pushrods ........... 100

VFN Fiberglass Inc. ........... 62

Mark Williams ................. 89

Weinle Motorsports .......... 17

Metal Products ................ 63

World Products ................ 67

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January

2021

Often Imitated, Never Duplicated—For 22 STRAIGHT YEARS RPM Magazine has been the ORIGINAL Voice Of Wild Street Machines and Extreme Drag Cars WORLDWIDE! Don’t Settle For Less! We DELIVER Insane Fast Cars and Bring You NO POLITICS... JUST ACTION! Your ONLY “Real Time” “Real World” Car Mag...PERIOD!

No Cake Walk ................................................... 54 Building the Murder Vette was no easy ride for Dave Mianowski!

The Bully ................................................................................. 8 West Coast heavy hitter Norman Chang and his menacing small tire 2005 Mustang.

Real TealThis.............................................................

42 ultra clean Cobra runs bottom 8s while looking like a stock daily driver!

Tooth Jerker................................................................ 28

Junkyard Find................................................. 84 Steve Schussler’s Pro Street Impala packs a boosted punch, but it certainly didn’t start out that way!

This big power Mopar will yank the pearly whites right out of your mouth!

72 The newest RPM garage is plumbed for compressed air

By Chuck Scott

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Building cars and raising a daughter...

Taking Shape

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A retrospective look at a few of the cars that graced the pages of RPM Magazine in 2020

READ COMPLETE ISSUES OF RPM MAG ONLINE AT WWW.RPMMAG.COM 6

january 2021 | RPM Magazine

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N

o matter what the situation is, I think it’s safe to say that everyone enjoys a good underdog story. However, if you know where Norman Chang came from, he’s been anything but that. California has been long known for its generally mild weather and picturesque beaches. Drag racing was born on the backroads of America just after World War II, and its west coast roots go back to the dry lake beds of California as early as the 1930’s.

Drag racing grew in popularity over the decades and really hit its strong point in the early 90s. Growing up in the heydays of drag racing, Norman Chang was hooked at an early age and his car of choice was the Ford Mustang. He started his racing journey in 1996 with a turbocharged small block, Mustang; “After a 10.68 pass on the first outing, the addiction to turbocharged boost began,” tells Chang. His Mimosa Yellow notchback eventually went a best of 9.39 at 140mph in 1998 on a stock block, stock crank 306 ci sbf.

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Norman Chang’s Mustang started out as an actual production line 2005 V6 car, a far cry from what it is now!

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•RPM: 2700-7500 •Overall Height: 7.500” •9.5” Deck Applications •Bosses for Nitrous System •Made In America

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january 2021 | RPM Magazine

A Bryant billet crank, GRP rods and Ross pistons rotate inside a “well-seasoned” RDI aluminum block SBF that is topped with Edelbrock SC-1 heads and fed by a single set of injectors in a cast intake. A simple combination that has been extremely reliable for Chang.

When the front end comes off, the secret’s out that Norman Chang’s Mustang is capable of some serious numbers; how about 4.0 in the 1/8th!

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What’s significant about Chang’s accomplishments is that his car is still a true factory firewall/front end car and he regularly competes against full chassis all out race cars, some of which come with twice the price tag, or more!

After taking a few years away from racing, Norman purchased a black Fox body in 2012, with big plans in store for it. He took his time with this car, developing different strategies for power and efficiency. “This twin turbo, small block combination was developed over several years, going from 4.50’s down to a best of 4.12 at 180mph in 2019. I qualified number 3 and made it to the semifinals of a very large event.” This was very gratifying for Chang and his West Coast brethren to know that a local guy could compete in a small block car and run with the fastest cars in the country.

Things were going great for Norman early on in 2019 with plans and changes on the horizon for the car, unfortunately though, life had other plans for his Mustang, and he had a mishap while testing. Knowing there was still some unfinished business, he purchased his current 2005 Mustang in June of 2019 and went to work on the changeover. The new car had been successfully campaigned for years in Outlaw 10.5 competition under Turbos Direct as the R&D vehicle for Gar14

january 2021 | RPM Magazine

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rett Turbo. It was retired in 2014 and put in storage until Chang had the opportunity to pick up the rolling chassis with plans to set it up for Limited Drag Radial.

Months of wrench turning and knuckle busting culminated in the car being finished just days before traveling to Las Vegas in November for the first passes of the totally revamped car at SCSN 15. The totally untested car qualified number 6 and he ended his weekend with a runner up finish after driveline breakage in the semi-final. The 2020 racing season started with Lights Out 11. In the weather shortened race, the Mustang was

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The ’05 boasts a Smith Racecraft 25.1 stock firewall backhalf chassis with updates by Mike Bolla at Enterprise Motorsports and Differentials (EMD), and Fuller Fabrications.

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Norman considers this the “old school look”, referring to the intercooler in the passenger seat.

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january 2021 | RPM Magazine

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Norman’s Mustang is a wolf in sheep’s clothing... able to lead the field with the number 1 qualifying position with a career best of 4.066 at 182.45mph and going 3 rounds of competition. Racing for the remainder of 2020 was fairly limited but Norman plans to run both the West Coast Hot Rod Association events and the annual Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas in 2021.

What started out originally as a stock production line V6 2005 Ford Mustang has transferred into one of the baddest cars in small tire racing. When Norman purchased this car from the previous www.rpmmag.com

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owner, he knew it needed some work, but it had lots of potential. This car is not a Pro Mod though, it’s a stock location firewall backhalf 25.1 chassis originally build by Smith Racecraft with updates by Enterprise Motorsports and Differentials (EMD), and Fuller Fabrications.

Norman went with a simple, yet efficient engine combination that has proven its worth. While some of his competitors 20

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spend in excess of 100k on their powerplants, Norman kept it conservative.

The Mustang is running a Pettis built, 434 cubic inch small block Ford powerplant backed by twin Turbos Direct Garrett 88mm turbochargers. A custom air to water intercooler was designed by Ken Moitoza and built by EMD. The small but muscular Ford mill consists of a cast RDI aluminum block topped by the recent ad-

dition of a pair of Edelbrock SC-1-cylinder heads. Rotating inside the stroked small bock is a Bryant billet crankshaft spinning GRP connecting rods pinned to Ross Racing pistons. For induction, the Ford utilizes a cast single 4500 flange intake manifold with a conservative 90mm throttle body. “While a simple combination, the engine has been extremely reliable in service,�

Chang said.

Fuel delivery is provided by a FuelTech FT600 ECU

through a set of Siemens 225 injectors. Power is transferred through the Proformance TH400 transmission via the bolt together Pro Torque converter. A custom floater 9.5-inch rear differential with Strange Ultra center section setup by EMD takes anything

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28x10.5x15 inch Mickey T Pro Bracket Radials get the job done for Chang.

Norman Chang’s Drag Radial 2005 Ford Mustang Chassis Type & Mods:

Smith Racecraft 25.1 stock firewall backhalf chassis with updates by Mike Bolla at Enterprise Motorsports and Differentials (EMD), and Fuller Fabrications.

Suspension:

Menscer Motorsports Struts and Shocks. Updated 4-link and backhalf by EMD.

Engine:

The engine combo started life in 2012, originally built with a well seasoned RDI aluminum block and Brodix Neal heads. After a few updates to the all-Ford powerplant, it still features the same cast RDI block, now sporting Edelbrock SC-1 heads. Built and assembled

by Pettis Performance, the latest iteration displaces 434 cubic inches.

Rotating Assembly:

Bryant billet crankshaft, GRP connecting rods, Ross Racing pistons.

Induction:

Cast single 4500 flange intake manifold with 90mm throttle body. Custom air to water intercooler designed by Ken Moitoza and built by EMD. Fueled by Q16 and a single set of Siemens 225 injectors.

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Power Adder:

Turbos Direct twin Garrett GTX5533R 88mm turbos.

Electronics:

FuelTech FT600

Transmission & Converter:

Proformance TH400 with Pro Torque converter.

Rear Differential:

Custom floater 9.5-inch with Strange Ultra center section setup by Enterprise Motorsports and Differential.

Recent Racing History: 2014 SCSN XDR #1 Qualifier 2016 SCSN XDR Race Winner 2017 SCSN XDR #1 Qualifier and Race Winner 2019 SCSN XDR Runner up (first outing with 2005 Mustang) 2020 Lights Out 11 Limited Drag Radial #1 qualifier

Best ET & MPH: 4.066 at 182.45 How Many Years Racing? 20 years Division/Class Run: Limited Drag Radial Xtreme Drag Radial

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Chang can throw at it, and a pair of Mickey Thompson 28 x 10.5 x 15 Pro Bracket Radials put the power to the ground.

The cockpit is as simple as it gets, with the exception of the custom designed and fabricated turbo cooler that takes up the lion’s share of what was once the passenger area. Aside from that, you’re greeted by the maze of bars that make up the rollcage, while a VFN dash face houses just one instrument; the ultra-cool FT600 FuelTech digital dashboard. A Hurst pistol grip billet 24

january 2021 | RPM Magazine

shifter controls gear changes and oversized (for the 10.5-inch radial tires) carbon fiber tubs take up the bulk of the rear.

To look at Chang’s Mustang, with the front end in place, you’d be hard pressed to figure out how this car could possibly run low 4.0-second 1/8th-mile ETs that just a few years back were reserved for Pro Mods. The almost flat hood, stock looking body and small rear tires are more than a bit deceiving. Then the front end comes off and the picture becomes a whole lot clear-

Norman just loves to race, no matter where, he will be there. You will most definitely find him competing in the WCHRA events and Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas.

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er. It’s hard to believe a small block can look so, well, big! The twin turbos and associated piping, not to mention the tall intake system work to “bulk it up”. In our opinion, if Chang plans to hit an event with any element of surprise whatsoever, he best keep the motor under wraps in the pits and let the shock and awe of his first pass speak for itself as his competitors scatter to go put the “big tune” in their rides.

We could honestly say that Norman’s Mustang is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In the short amount of time he’s been running it, it’s been nothing short of impressive. “I take pride being able to run and compete against the top names in racing with a conventional powered car,” added Chang.

RPM www.rpmmag.com

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Story & Photos: Wes Taylor

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W

ith all the technology poured into today’s drag racing world, why would anyone even think about using technology dating back many decades, if not back to the horse and buggy?

Jason Digby, founder of Leafspring Nations, that’s who! When it comes to clocking up wins, Jason just enjoys gettin’ things done old school!

Owned by Digby and driven by Lyle Barnett, the “Tooth Jerker” 1969 Dodge Dart mixes high tech turbocharged power with some solid leaf spring technology. Jason also runs a prominent company in the industry, Mag’s Fab Worx, which performed a larger portion of the Dart’s build.

Many RPM readers along with drag racers worldwide have heard the name Lyle Barnett.

He’s known as a competitive drag racer who has run in several top tier classes. Most will also know the riveting story of how Lyle almost lost his life in a very severe crash that resulted in a fire that burned most of his body. Barnett didn’t give up, though, and when he wanted to get back

Chris and Trish Biro

118mm of Precision turbo goodness peers its way from the center of the carbon front end.

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out on the dragstrip, Jason had to have him onboard with the Tooth Jerker Dart.

Digby originally bought the Dart as a streetcar and he kept it relatively mild, but the time came when he wanted more, and the Dart was a more than willing candidate.

The reputation of Dodge’s big block wedge motor speaks for itself, however, in more recent years builders and tuners have found that not only do they make power and hold together when built with the right parts, but they love boost!

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The reputation of Dodge’s big block wedge motor speaks for itself...

With the front end off, the symmetrical tube work gives the Dart an almost humanlike look, as if it has a moustache.

The 440 block that came in the car remains, but pretty much everything else has been replaced. All machine work was done at Harrell Engine and Dyno (HED) and the rotating assembly consists of a HED machined forged crank, R&R rods, and custom Ross pistons pushing the cubic inches to 547ci. Pete Harrell has many tricks up his sleeve when it comes to engine building and, due to the competitive nature of racing,

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much of that knowledge is closely guarded, including the exact compression ratio and cam specs for this mill.

Harrell ported a set of RMC billet cylinder heads, fitted them with Victory valves and studded them in place. A set of 1.8 ratio T&D steel roller rockers were also used and the intake manifold is a custom one-off de-

sign made in-house, as well.

The owner of Customs by Bigun, Eric Yost, built the entire turbo system, including the massive 2 ¾ inch headers, hot and cold side, plumbing for the wastegate and the downpipe. The design is based on a 118mm Precision Turbo and Engine turbocharger paired with a JGS wastegate. Bigun also

Eric “Bigun” Yost has his signature work in all areas of the car; all of the turbo system fabrication work is from Customs by Bigun.

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“G Spot� sensors paired with Rife sensors help keep the nose of the Dart planted.

TBM Brakes sport their signature lightweight rotor design on all four corners.

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worked with Digby’s shop, Mags Fab Worx, to build the custom certified cage. Two sets of Billet Atomizer injectors, the first set being 850’s, while the second set is 225lb/min, and Aeromotive pumps supply them. A Holley EFI system controls everything with precision thanks to tuning by, you guessed it, Pete Harrell.

Backing the wicked wedge is a tried and true Turbo 400 transmission built by Proformance Racing Transmissions and a Greg Slack converter pairs the two together. A custom carbon fiber driveshaft connects power to a complete

The one-off fabricated intake manifold pairs nicely with HED machined valve covers

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fabricated Moser rear end stuffed with Strange Engineering axles. Suspending the rear diff is, of course, leaf springs! Sure, we know the setup is based on tech from 1969, but why mess with success. With the help of race quality springs, Smith Racecraft Assassin traction bars, a pair of Menscer Motorsports shocks along with chassis and suspension tuning guru Eric Yost, they have no reason to change it, mostly because they continue to run at the front of the pack. Up front, tubular control arms with Santhuff struts and rack and pinion steering keep things low and straight.

All of the electronics are neatly placed on a fabricated panel to the right of the driver.

A Large Holley LCD dash sits behind a Motion Raceworks steering wheel. www.rpmmag.com

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Moser’s M9 rear end provides a near indestructible link between the horsepower and the tires

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Beadlocked RC Components rear wheels keep the Mickey Thompson radials from turning on them under the punishing power the boosted wedge dishes out.

The Dart has decals all over it, but the trunk showcases everyone who is involved with the car.

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Jason Digby/Lyle Barnett 1969 Dodge Dart Radial Tire Grudge/Outlaw Car

Engine:

Chrysler Wedge 440, now 547 inches.

Bore/Stroke: 4.500/4.125 Crankshaft: HED custom grind Pistons: Ross custom Connecting rods: R&R Compression ratio: top secret Engine built by: Pete Harrell. Harrell Engine & Dyno (HED) Mooresville, NC Camshaft make: HED custom grind solid.

Duration @ .050 in/ex: top secret Lift @ .050 in/ex: top secret LSA: top secret Cylinder heads make/type: Custom RMC billet heads, Machine work: finish machining done in house at HED Intake valves make/size: Victory, top secret Exhaust valves make/size: Victory, top secret Rocker arms: T&D, steel 1.8 ratio.

Air & Fuel:

VCM: Holley EFI Engine tuner: Pete Harrell Injector size: Billet Atomizer 850’s and 225’s Pump(s): Aeromotive Intake manifold: Custom Throttle body make/size: Wilson, big Mass air meter/Map Sensor: Holley Ignition box: Holley

Power Adder:

Turbocharger System: Customs by Bigun Turbocharger Model: PTE 118mm Blow Off Valve: PTE Wastegate: JGS Boost: All of it Intercooler: none Hot side piping size: 5” Cold side piping size: 4” Downpipe: 2.75

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Transmission:

Type: Turbo 400 Converter: Greg Slack, Converter Design Specialities Shifter: M&M Driveshaft: Carbon Fiber Trans built by: Proformance Racing Transmissions

Chassis:

Back half rear, tube chassis front.

Front upper/lower control arms: Custom tubular Front shocks/struts: Santhuff Rear: Leaf Springs Smith Racecraft Assassin Bars, Menscer shocks.

Performance:

Best 1/8 mile ET: 4.10 MPH: 186 60ft. time: 1.09 Horsepower: 3000ish

Miscellaneous:

Coil: MSD Distributor: none Wires: Scott Wires Plugs: NGK Headers: Customs by Bigun, 2.75” Roll bar/cage: MAG’s Fab Worx/ Customs by Bigun Gauges: Holley EFI Dash Carbon fiber front end and doors TBM Brakes RC Components wheels, Mickey Thompson tires.

Thanks to all of our friends, partners, and sponsors who’ve spent countless hours helping us achieve what we have thus far. With Lyle driving, we plan to break into the 3s in 2021 while doin’ it old school, on leafspings!

Driver Lyle Barnett with Jason Digby’s Tooth Jerker Dart.

As you might expect, the Digby Dart looks much more menacing than it’s fairly mild mannered offthe-showroom-floor look. Originally it was Canary yellow, but after installing a carbon fiber front end and doors, the color was swapped out for the much more intimidating black. The Dart sticks to its original roots, though, with a “GT Sport” rally stripe on the rear and GTS badges on the front fenders.

Polishing off its low stance, the Tooth Jerker sits on 15 inch RC Components wheels, sporting Mickey Thompson 26 inch front runners and Mickey 275 radials to meet class

rules outback. TBM brakes stare back at you through the wheels with their signature lightweight rotor design while a Stroud parachute hangs off the rear, making sure things get slowed up in a hurry after a pass.

Inside the cockpit, through the maze of cage bars, Spartan best describes what you see. All the essentials are there and not much more. A Holley dash sits in front of a Motion Raceworks steering wheel. Where the passenger side of the dash pad used to be, Eric fabbed up an entire electronics panel to ensure they could quickly get to things for maintenance and parts swaps between

rounds. Jason is adamant about safety gear; a Firerade suppression system was installed along with the SFI approved harnesses and seat. Rife Sensors help control tunable actions the Dart experiences while on a pass, So far, at full tilt, the estimated power to the ground is approximately 3000whp on “all the boost”. At class weight, the Dart punished the 8th mile cutting a 1.09 sixty-foot while coming out the back door at 186mph in 4.10 seconds, and watch for them to break into the 3-second range this season. That’s insane, don’t ya think?

Especially for a car riding on horse and buggy technology!

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Story & Photos: Wes Taylor

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T

here are many reasons car owners are attracted to racing their cars; for Wesley Evans, it came from family.

Growing up, both his mom and dad had hot rods when American muscle ruled the streets. Throughout Wes’ childhood he vividly remembers his mom driving a 1967 RS SS Camaro while his dad had too many to keep track of. All of their friends had hot rods and they all hung out and were one big happy family. This family tradition has carried over to his eight-year-old daughter, who became interested in cars at an early age just as Wes did. Even his wife is not the “soccer mom” SUV type and would rather drive a sports car with three pedals.

Wes, a 39-year-old aircraft mechanic from Georgia, has owned a few mustangs over the years, from a Fox Body coupe to a “Terminator” Cobra and then on to a 2014

GT. He found his 1993 Cobra on Craig’s list back in 2013 in excellent shape and over 7 years slowly transformed it into a venerable street / strip car. At first glance it may not look like it’s all that fast; after all, other than some weld wheels, the car sits and looks fairly tame, but that is exactly the first impression that Evans wants you to have. Over the years, he’s had many visions of where he wanted to take his Cobra, and the one that stuck was to go as fast as possible, but look stock.

Since this car is a real 1993 Cobra, which is quite rare, he wanted to maintain the Cobra-specific look as best as possible throughout the vehicle. In today’s world where many opt for stuffing a GM LS platform and automatic transmission in a Fox Stang, Evans wanted to keep his Mustang all Ford and even keep rowing through the gears on his way to low 8-second quarter

Finding a less than 100,000 mile 1993 Cobra Mustang is difficult enough, but finding one in the Cobra-specific Teal Metallic color is near impossible!

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mile ETs. Yep, we said low 8-seconds!

Eventually, the factory 302 just wouldn’t cut it for the direction Wes was heading, so he opted for a 1974 351 Windsor iron block to use as a base for a new engine build. From the beginning, Wes knew nitrous would be part of the equation, so the Windsor was built to handle it. Nitrous and cubes go together like bread and butter; the block was bored .040 over, clearanced, and line honed to accept a Scat stroker crank. Diamond 4.040 pistons and Eagle 4-inch stroker rods bringing the new short block cubic inch total to 410ci, with 12.8 compression ratio. After decking the block, aluminum AFR 225cc 20 degree inline valve heads stuffed with oversized 2.08” exhaust and 1.60” intake valves and topped with 1.7 roller rockers found their away atop the fresh bottom end. To assist the high flowing heads, Wes called up Vincent Performance to spec him a custom grind cam, while a Melling M68 oil pump and a Canton pan keep everything adequately lubricated. Wes completed all the machine work at his buddies machine shop and he assembled the engine himself.

Finishing off the mill is an Edelbrock 2828 intake manifold ported by Coupe Performance with an Accufab 4500 throttle body. To feed the small block, Evans chose Holley 120lb fuel injectors running off two Aeromotive 340 pumps with a constant 60psi going to them. There are many options for stand-alone computer control systems for EFI, and once again Evans went with Holley, using their HP EFI system.

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Wes likes to kid around, playing off like he has a set of GT40 heads on the built AFR 225-headed Windsor.

The stock block 351W based mill now boasts 410 cubes and 1000whp.

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well while maintaining a relatively “quiet” tone when compared to many.

The fun part comes from a custom plumbed nitrous system that Evans put together using Induction Solutions solenoids and a single, dry, Nitrous Express direct port setup with 36 jets. With technology moving at a constant pace, it takes a mastermind to tune a combination to reach its maximum potential. While Wes tackled some of this on his own, he then turned tuning duties over to Ryan McCain of RMtuned at McCain Racing. It was the right move as with Ryan behind the keyboard Wes has logged his quickest/fastest passes ever.

Sure, with an engine like this an automatic trans would be an easy choice, but where’s the fun in that?

Since there were already three pedals in the Cobra, Evans stuck with his roots and chose to go stick racing. To take the abuse of the new nitroused stroker small block, he chose a G-Force transmissions g101a four-

The interior of the Real Teal Mustang is about as factory appearing as you can get aside from the seats and cage.

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Still a stick car, Evans relies on a G-Force g101a trans for transferring the nitroused ponies rearward to the fortified factory 8.8 rearend.

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This Cobra still sports its original Cobra-only Teal Metallic paint speed and Long H-pattern shifter.

With racers trying to throw more and more power at the track, especially on smaller tires, driveline companies have to keep up and Evans went with a Black Magic clutch and built the factory Ford 8.8 rearend with strange 35 spline axles and spool, along with a 3.55 gear set.

Suspension wise, it’s no secret that the choices are endless for a Fox Body Stang. Evans installed chromoly upper and lower control arms front and rear as well as an anti-roll bar out back and subframe connectors to stiffen the chassis. Strange Engineering 10-way adjustable shocks control the ride up front while Menscer Motorsports units hang out back. Strange also handle braking duties with their two-piston lightweight drag brakes up front and a four-piston setup out back.

It’s rare to see a Fox Body these days with factory paint, but this Cobra still sports its original Cobra-only Teal Metallic paint; and as if finding a clean 1993 isn’t rare enough, a Teal one is like a needle in a haystack. With that in mind, the only change made to the body is the 3-inch Kaenen cowl hood. The car rides on Weld Racing 17” Alumastars wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street skinnies up front, while 15x10 Weld RTS wheels wrapped in 275/60/15 ET Street Pros keep the Cobra planted to the pavement and also provide that “slightly more than a stock Mustang” look Wes was shooting for.

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Keeping the Cobra heritage alive, all the stock badges and even the rear wing are intact.

Video by Justin Bryant

Before and during races, Wes always goes over everything, including the spark plugs, which are a significant component in a nitrous fed engine.

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The left front tire just tickles the dragstrip as Wes heads down Broadway on another low 8-second pass!

Inside, Holley’s 3.5 inch digital dash display monitors all of the vitals while black Corbeau F1X Pro seats replace the factory Cobra units to allow installation of RJS safety harnesses. The custom cage built by SOB Built Motorsports is about the only other noticeable change to the factory Cobra interior, well at least the front portion of it anyway! Open the hatch and you’ll notice not one,

but two 10lb Nitrous Outlet bottles ready to go at any time.

Wes’s Cobra is truly the total package – a clean factory-looking Cobra packing a nitrous fed 1000-horse mill that can run the number, and that number to date is 8.20 at 168 mph in the quarter-mile with a solid sixty-foot of 1.21 seconds! Evans is committed to turn 7s in 2021, and someday hopes to put his daugh-

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Lots of Nitrous equals big purges.

ter in the driver seat. His wife and daughter love the Cobra as much if not more than he does, calling it the “Rocket,� and that’s what drives Wes the most.

So, if you happen to find yourself next to a stock appearing 1993 Teal Cobra with Welds and a slight rake to the stance, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s a 12-second ride‌ because it isn’t!

RPM

Wesley Evan’s 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra Engine:

Make/year: Ford 1974 351W block Current cid: 410 Bore/Stroke: 4.040”, 4.000” Crankshaft: Scat Pistons: Diamond Connecting rods: Eagle Compression ratio: 12.8:1 Engine built by: Wesley Evans. .040” over bore, clearanced, line bored and decked.

Name of shop: Extreme Engines Macon, GA.

Oil Pan: Canton

Oil Pump: Melling M68 Other Modifications: Windage tray was clearanced for rod bolts. Also done by myself. ARP main bolts.

ARP rod bolts.

Camshaft Make: Vincent Performance custom grind solid.

Cylinder Heads Make/Type: AFR 225’s 20 degree inline valve.

Material: Aluminum Intake Valves Make/Size: /2.08” Exhaust Valves Make/Size: /1.60” Rocker Arms: LGM Rocker Ratio: 1.7

Air & Fuel

VCM: Holley HP EFI Engine tuner: Ryan McCain RMtuned of McCain Racing Huntersville, NC Injector size: Holley 120lb Pump(s): Twin Aeromotive 340’s Regulator: Aeromotive Pressure: 60psi Intake manifold: Edelbrock 2828 Air filter: K&N Throttle body make/size: Accufab 4500 Mass air meter/Map Sensor: MAP Holley Other induction modifications: Intake was ported by Coupe Performance.

Coil: LS 5.3 stock coils Wires: Custom Moroso Ultra 40’s Plugs: NGK

Exhaust:

Headers: Long tube H/Xpipe: Custom made by SOB Built Motorsports Mufflers: Custom Aluminum Pipe Size: 3”

Power Adders:

Nitrous Oxide System: Induction Solutions solenoids. NX direct port.

Jet size(s): 36 Single or multiple stage kit: single

Transmission:

Type: G-Force g101a Clutch / Converter: Black Magic single 10” disc Flexplate / Flywheel : Black Magic Aluminum 157 tooth.

Shifter: Long H pattern Driveshaft size / material: Aluminum 3.5” Safety loop: Custom

Rear End:

Type: Ford 8.8 Gears: 3.55 Axles: Strange Engineering 35 spline 9” Spool: Strange Engineering

Chassis:

Front upper/lower control arms: Chromoly Front shocks/struts: Strange 10 way Front springs: UPR 14” 150lb Rear upper/lower control arms: UPR Products adjustable.

Rear shocks: Menscer Rear springs: 110lb Sway bar: Anti roll bar Subframe connectors

Wheels:

Front: 17x3.5 Weld Racing Alumastars Rear: 15x10.25” Weld Racing RTS Tires, front Mickey Thompson 26x4 Tires, rear (street/strip): Mickey Thompson ET Street Pro 275/60/15

Brakes:

Front: Strange 2 Caliper Rear: Strange 4 caliper

Body:

Current original mileage: 118,000 Original/Current color: Original Teal Metallic Body modifications: None Hood: Kaenen 3” Spoiler: Stock 93 Cobra Ground effects: Stock 93 Cobra

Interior:

Upholstery, color, material: Black Corbeau FX1Pro Roll bar/cage: Custom built by SOB Built Motorsports.

Other safety equipment: RJS seat harness Gauges: Holley EFI 3.5” screen

Performance:

Best quarter mile ET: 8.20 MPH:168.3 60ft. time:1.21 Horsepower: 1000whp

Thanks To:

I’d like to thank the following: - My wife Elisa. She helped in many ways whether it be hold a flashlight, pump the brakes, or just listen to me when I talk about a plan or issue.

- My biggest fan; my daughter Kimber. Her support and love for the car is genuine.

- My dad for showing me I can do anything if I try and for giving me this passion for cars.

- My mom for supporting it.

- All the social media followers and friends that show support.

- UPR Products for helping me all these years. Black Magic for the best clutches on earth.

- Lastly the best tuner on the planet, Ryan McCain RMtuned at McCain Racing.

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Getting by with a little help from my friends‌

Building the Murder Vette was no easy ride for Dave Mianowski!

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Photos by Blake Farnan Story By George Pich

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O

h yeah, we’ve all said or heard that before.

Those were the famous words of Dave Mianowski in 2003 after he brought home the almost new (it only had 20 miles on it) 1999 Corvette that his wife just gave him the blessing to go out to buy. “But that lasted all of 2 weeks,” laughed Mianowski. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Starting off as a street racer with Mustangs and a Camaro, Dave had always dreamed of owning a Corvette, especially a C5, and found this one which was actually a silver convertible, sitting in

the showroom of an area dealer. “I had a really good year in 2003 with my industrial painting business so the wife gave me the blessing to buy the Corvette,” he said, “And before long, actually within 2 weeks, I put a Borla exhaust on it and polished the rims.”

It wasn’t too long after those first small mods when Mianowski was approached by a drag racer friend, Kari Salo, who convinced him to go a bit further and put on a set of heads, headers, intake and later a YSI blower. Those modifications took Dave back on the street looking for races.

Parachute and wing, both useful tools when running a car of this caliber.

Takin’ it to the streets...

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Murder Vette was actually a practically new 1999 silver convertible purchased off the lot in 2003. Dave would have a hardtop built for it years later.

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A ProCharger F1X on a custom built cog system designed and built by Mike Pizzuti provides the boost.

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“My buddy Rob has a highly modified GTR which probably has the most work done to one of those cars I’ve ever seen,” he explained. “So we raced and he blew me away like I was standing still.”

Mianowski wanted to go faster and the first order of business was to put an automatic in the car, a Turbo 400 and torque tube he bought from Champion Motors. After consulting with Rob Ing and good friend Sante Perciballi, he decided to build an RHS motor with Trick Flow heads so he could try his luck against his buddy’s GTR again, and the car didn’t disappoint. “I took him on the first race and he made me race him again the following weekend, and the same result, I got him by at least 4 car lengths! That was one of the best times with the car, but there was more to come.”

From there, Dave, along with Perciballi and Champion Motors, took the Corvette to the track to see just how fast this street car was, and when he laid down an 8.69 @ 162mph he was thrilled. Now that the Vette was running some good numbers and doing business on the street, it was time to give

The interior of Murder Vette is pretty basic with a cage, B&M shifter, a carbon dash holding a handful of aftermarket gauges and a Holley display, and a pair of bucket seats with race harnesses.

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The Murder Vette 427-inch mill consists of an RHS LX block, a Callies crankshaft and rods pinned to Wiseco pistons. Steve Morris Engines prepared a set of Mast Black Label heads and spec’d the solid roller camshaft. Mianowski was tight-lipped on most other details.

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it a new look. “I named the car after the TV show Street Outlaws because Murder Nova was and is my favorite racer on the show,” Mianowski said.

After running the 8.69, Dave started having issues, one of which was scattering the rear differential. Rob and Peter at Champion found an aftermarket IRS 9-inch and a Powerglide for the Corvette and allowed Dave to pay for it in installments.

Having the new rear diff and trans installed would make way for increasing the power again and that was done by upping boost in the form of a ProCharger F1X. This also proved to be a stepping stone for Mianowski to hone his own skills and he soon bought a hoist for his home garage and started doing a large part of the wrenching himself.

Another friend, Mike Pizzuti designed the brackets to put a cog belt on the blower after the 10-rib belt kept blowing off and he also had Alex Tadic of 2Precise fabricate all of the custom brackets, hub balancer and plumb the fuel cell. By now, tuning was becoming a big part of the car reaching the next level and Dave enlisted the help of his buddy Steve along with Vito DePasquale.

In 2018 Dave was invited by Paul Norris of Ontario Street Outlaws (OSO) to go down to Oklahoma to appear on the TV show Street Outlaws and race Murder Nova. “The intake pipe came off the Corvette during the burnout and we lost, but it was still a great experience,” he said. Unfortunately,

There is a surprising amount of factory parts on the Corvette. The factory rear diff became a problem, though, and was replaced with an aftermarket unit.

Adjustable coilovers have been added up front.

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I was down and out, depressed and thinking of packing it in... a string of bad luck would follow, ending the season with a trashed cylinder head and two damaged pistons. Then, to make things worse, Mianowski’s car trailer with all his gear in it was stolen. “My wife had just bought me a new race suit for our 25th anniversary and it was in the trailer, plus, I had a loan on the trailer so the insurance just covered the loan,” he explained.

“I was down and out, depressed and thinking of packing it in because I had a bad year in business, as well.” It was at this point that Dave’s close friend and fellow racer, Jim Dimou, called on FaceTime while he was in his garage with his friends and crew. “Jim asked us what the game plan was and I explained to him that I was out of money and done, his reply was ‘No you’re not done, how much do you guys need?’ Steve figured 8k for a used trailer and at least 20k for the motor I wanted build. Jim said ‘Consider it 64

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Murder ‘Vette on the Dyno

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done, I will sponsor the car and you can paint my office building as well.’

I agreed and told Jim how much I loved him. That night, Jim passed away from a heart attack.” Crushed by the loss of his close friend, Dave called everyone with the bad news, and the Corvette was shelved once again.

A few months down the road, Mianowski received a call from his friend Rob with the GTR that he used to street race with. “It was strange as Rob was telling me that

he had heard I just bought heads and a cam from Steve Morris Engines. I told him that nothing could be further from the truth and that something like that was just not in the budget.” Dave then immediately called his buddy Steve and told him the story. “Steve just laughed and fessed up. As it turns out, he, along with Mike and Vito wanted to help me get the car back out and ordered the parts from Morris.”

With a new set up Dave and his friends started having some fun

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Dave Mianowski with Murder Vette, building the car to where it is today was no easy ride!

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Track pass at Grand Bend MotorplexÂ

Dave Mianowski’s 1999 Chevrolet Corvette No Time/Grudge Drag Car Chassis Type & Mods: Factory Suspension:

Factory Corvette front and IRS rear suspension with adjustable coil overs front and rear.

Body & Paint:

Custom paint by Champion Motors, Sunoco cowl hood, custom wing from Eaglecrest Painting. It is actually a convertible but I had a hard top made for it.

Induction:

Holley high ram intake, 102mm throttle body cable driven.

Power Adder:

Pro Charger F1X on a custom built cog system designed and built by Mike Pizzuti.

Electronics:

Holley HP management system, Holley dash screen.

Engine:

Transmission & Converter:

Rotating Assembly:

Other Important Vehicle Information: Best ET & MPH:

RHS LS 427 block, Mast Black Label heads by Steve Morris Engines, solid roller camshaft custom grind by Steve Morris.

Callies crankshaft, Callies rods, Wiseco pistons.

Reid Powerglide, Pro Torque converter.

Rear Differential: RPM IRS Ford 9-inch center.

The best ET is always top secret in No Time Racing!

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The Corvette makes a solid run with perfect weight transfer. Wonder how long it took Dave to come up with the cool vanity license plate?

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again! Late in 2020 they ran 5.33 to the 1/8 and let off for an 8.33 @ 144mph in the 1/4.

The motor made 35.5 pounds of boost with only 18 degrees of timing. “This year we will lean on it and see what it can do as we plan on continuing to race in the OSO and No Prep scene as much as possible,� he added.

This story is a hard reminder of just how tough building a car can be, but that with perseverance, and a little help, it will pay off in the end. So next time you see Dave Mianowski slamming down a wicked run in the Murder Vette, just remember, it was no cakewalk!

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techextra

Works Well Under Pressure

The newest RPM garage is plumbed for compressed air

By Chuck Scott

I

1

spend every free minute and some long nights trading sleep for progress to make it to the race on the weekend.

When I built my first garage many moons ago, I just cared about shelter, a little light and at least one outlet to plug tools into. I didn’t care that it had a gravel floor, poor lighting and no insulation. Back then a small portable air compressor wheeled out when needed barely ran the few tools I had but I made it work.

Spending money on anything other than car parts was considered only when I couldn’t possibly get the job done without. That was a long time ago. With age and experience comes understanding that clean adequate workspace and having the proper tools for the job is one (or should be one) of your top of priorities. With a well set up comfortable shop, organization and good lighting makes any task easier and more enjoyable.

These days I enjoy the project just as much if not more than race day.

After moving out of the old shop of 18 years, I didn’t realize how much work there would be to get a new one set up for use. What happened over a long period of time with many gradual changes at the old place, would take more than a couple minutes to get set up again from scratch. The old shop was plumbed for compressed air with black iron pipe. It didn’t cost a lot when it was just one outlet, but when I expanded it to 4 outlets with condensation drains I realized it ac-

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Each M7500 ¾” MaxLine master kit comes with 100’ of tubing, 3 aluminum outlet blocks, 3 quarter turn ball valve drains, 3 pipe plugs, 2 tee fittings, three ½”NPT tube compression fittings, one ¾”NPT tube compression fitting, a bag of wall mount tubing clips, a tube beveling tool, a tubing cutter and instructions.

2 One of the best parts of the RapidAir system is the aluminum mounting blocks. They give you a solid way to mount the quick disconnect coupler of your choice right on the wall. The blocks that come with the ¾” kit have a ½”NPT outlet on the front, a 3/8”NPT on the bottom to accept the included quarter turn ball valve drain and two ½”NPT inlets. One inlet is on top and one in the back. Pipe plugs are included in the kit to block off the unused inlet.

With our 2 master kits, we got 6 blocks. Three will be used the easy way with the tubing exposed and feeding the tops, two will feed the back of the blocks with the tubing hidden and running behind the wall. One other will be fed through the wall from the back of another to outside of the building.

3 RapidAir has a handy system designer on their website ( https://www.rapidairproducts.com/draw-it ) that lets you design your custom system and then will provide you with a parts list of everything you will need. Just plug in your building measurements and which RapidAir series and tubing size you want to use. The designer lets you drag and drop components wherever you want. Don’t know which product will best suit your shop’s needs?

RapidAir also has a product recommender/calculator https://www.rapidairproducts.com/product-configurator that uses the distance from your furthest outlet to your compressor, compressor size, and requirements calculate the minimum pipe diameter that will handle your needs. RapidAir has products from ½” to 6” diameter. I wanted to use 6” diameter pipe but my wife made me use the calculator and it said ¾” was enough.

tually was a bit pricey and a chore to install. A while afterwards, I came across the RapidAir system and realized that it was actually more cost effective than plumbing it again with pipe, easier to install and looks nicer with their outlet blocks. I told myself, “Self, if I ever have to do that again, this will be the way I’ll go”.

When setting up the new shop, I built a compressor shed out back to shelter the compressor and I ordered two of the ¾” RapidAir MaxLine master kits. Each kit comes with 100’ of the ¾” MaxLine semi-rigid tubing and most of the components needed. For my install, I only had to add two additional T-fittings and a few 1/2” plumbing fittings to allow easy behind-wall routing on 2 outlets and a piece of straight pipe for the through-wall hook up of an outdoor outlet. The MaxLine tubing is constructed of 2 layers of HDPE plastic (high density polyethylene) with a layer of aluminum sandwiched between. It’s rated at 200psi max which easily handles residential or most commercial compressors. I usually regulate my system after the compressor at 115psi and set the compressor pressure switch at about 145psi.

Follow along as I take the older/ wiser route to plumbing air into my shop. What I spent in a bit of extra money, I saved in install time and headaches, plus the appearance speaks for itself.

RPM

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techextra 4

Separating an air compressor from the work area not only frees up valuable garage space but also keeps the noise outside too. A new 12x24’ compressor shed and storage area was added to the back of the shop and the compressor was piped through the wall to a shut off valve, regulator and filter water traps. A standard tee fitting sends air to a single air coupler for the back room work bench and a RapidAir tubing to NPT fitting that will connect to the full loop around the building, feeding each of the 6 drops.

Instead of building a deadhead sys- 5 tem, we decided to go with a complete loop instead. The loop goes all the way around the top of the building including up in the loft storage/ junk area. Each outlet is fed with a drop from a tee fitting in the loop.

To cut the tubing at the exact right length, I marked the cut location from the tee fitting with the nuts and compression rings removed.

6 RapidAir supplies one of their beveling 7 tools in each master kit that is used to put a chamfer on the inside of the cut end of the tube. The tool has ½”, ¾” and 1” sizes on the same tool. Simply pick the size for your tubing and work it into the end of the tube. Twist it for several rotations while pushing it in as far as it will go. The cutters at the base of the tool will shave off the inner edge making a nice bevel.

8 The tube on the left shows a beveled end after

using the supplied tool and the one on the right is not beveled. You can see the RapidAir tubing cutter does a nice job of making a clean cut but leaves a square sharp edge. If you try installing it on a fitting without the beveling step, that sharp square edge will grab the small O-rings on the RapidAir fittings and roll them out of their grooves. If that happens you will have a leak.

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Chuck Scott RapidAir MaxAir 3/4” Master Kit Garage Install

10 To finish the install of the RapidAir tee (or any ½”-1” MaxLine series fitting), slide on the tube nut and then the split ring ferrule. Push the beveled tube over the O-ringed portion of the fitting, seating it completely against the inside of the threaded part. Screw the nut onto the fitting hand tight. Tighten further with a wrench a minimum of ¾ turn or until tight. Just don’t he-man body slam tighten it and strip the threads!

I figured an air hook up outside 11 the front of the building would be handier than an automatic taco machine. To get that done, I drilled a hole from the inside wall panel, all the way through the outside wall. I used a straight threaded pipe that was the same length as the thickness of the wall plus threads. I first mounted the outside mounting block to the metal siding with the pipe running inside the building. The inside block was then screwed onto the pipe and then attached to the inside wall board. I estimated the pipe length dead on. Spinning the inside block onto the straight pipe until it was full tight just barely hit the inside wall board scuffing the paint. The inside block is fed topside from the main loop above. www.rpmmag.com

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techextra 12 I decided to run the tubing inside the wall on the two drops on the long walls. Before using a spade bit to drill holes through the wall board for the backside of the aluminum blocks, I took off the wall board to make sure nothing was in the way like electrical wires or furring strips. The ¾” semi rigid tubing bends easily but will only make a 6-8” radius bend without kinking. That means you would need at least a 10” deep wall cavity to make the turn. Our walls are only about 4” deep so some digging in the plumbing parts box was needed to put together a combination of fittings to make the turn. RapidAir sells a kit to do the same thing with one less fitting than I used but I used what I had and still had to run out and get one more of the shortest pipe nipples. If starting from scratch you could just get a 90° elbow coupler with both ends female, then use the appropriate length pipe nipple that will space it out where you want it.

13

14

15 The block is secured to the wall

panel with some short pan head screws and the MaxLine fitting is screwed into the black iron elbow. With every pipe thread connection in the system and everything on the aluminum blocks, RapidAir recommends two wraps with Teflon tape and then coating with Teflon paste or plumbers paste. I’m not a fan of Teflon The MSD Power tape Grid on anything and just used thread Wideband O2 Module. sealer. It worked great with zero air leaks.

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To take the main loop all the way

16 around the building, the tubing had

to be ran up in the loft storage area.

The feed from the regulator and filters to the loop and one of the drops had to go through the back room ceiling. The tubing for the drops was cut a little long and pushed through the holes in the ceiling and up through the loft floor. They were then cut to length and tied into the main loop with tee fittings. Now all that’s left is to turn the compressor on and put about 50psi in the lines to check for leaks then let ‘er rip, tater chip.

17

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The ž� MaxLine master kit can be purchased at Summit Racing for $199.99 https://www.summitracing. com/parts/raa-m7500 And other size kits and parts at https://www.summitracing. com/search/brand/rapidair?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending Be sure to check out their tubing straightener. I wish I would have seen it before I did mine by hand, knee and belly.

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Building cars and raising a daughter; all I ever wanted was to be a dad.

Story and Photos: JT

Hello once again my fellow gearheads. Every month for the past six years I have shared my passion for motorsports, tools, and the technical side of many of my projects. I have even shared my opinion and philosophy on many different topics. This month please allow me to get serious and share what’s in my heart about being a gearhead and being a dad.

I have aspired to become many things in my 54 years of life and also dreamt of accomplishing many things. I never really knew how bad I wanted to be a father, until I found out we were blessed to be having a baby girl fifteen years ago. That day my life changed overnight, and I became obsessed with becoming the best dad possible.

Ever since my daughter was born, we’ve been inseparable. I was the

My daughter is actually 100% responsible for us building this car.

only one who could calm her down when she was a baby. I was the one who comforted her when she was sick or injured. Now don’t get me wrong, I have an amazing wife who is an amazing mom, but my daughter and I just had a thing from birth.

I never wanted to force her into learning how to wrench or being handy in general, but the first time she asked if she could help me, I was all over it. I made learning fun. Besides working on projects with me, we had a weekly “shop class” where I taught her everything from A to Z. I remember our first series of classes was all about fasteners. Yes fasteners! I made sure she knew the

Vasylyy Lukivskyy on his GSXR 1000 based grudge bike.

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difference between a bolt, screw, nut, washer, cotter pin, c-clip, keyway, set screw, and the list goes on. She even knew how to tell what grade a bolt was. As you would have guessed, she even knew the corresponding tool that each unique piece of hardware needed to install and remove it.

She also knew and was tested where every one of these tools and pieces of hardware lived in our shop.

There it is, “OUR SHOP!” For the loyal readers of this magazine you may even remember that she was responsible for us building our latest race car. I have some amazing memories teaching her how to make our own custom wiring harness. To

At this point she is a seasoned passenger in Big Red. My wife told her to hold on as we prepared to do a burnout. The look says it all. “Mom, I got this! Relax!�

This is the first time we took Big Red for ice cream. I made my wife follow us just in case something happened along the way. The people in that ice cream shop got a non-dairy treat as we left that parking lot at 5000 rpm off the trans brake. www.rpmmag.com

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make learning fun for her, I had her make a multi-colored necklace that day out of wire and shrink tube. She soldered every wire together with perfect joints and protected them with another colored shrink tube. I also have fond memories of her welding on the chassis, build the rear, the 4-link, making all of our brake lines, and even all of the AN fittings on the fuel system. I remember how excited she was when I explained to her that we were in the final assembly stage of the build.

I remember when she was around nine years old, we were waiting in line at a speed shop, and there was a group of guys behind us debating over which power adder is the best.

They were talking about turbochargers verse superchargers, alcohol or fuel, nitrous versus naturally aspirated. I enjoyed listening to them as it made the waiting time entertaining. Without any prompting from me, my little nine-year old gearhead girl jumped into that conversation with attitude and swagger. “My dad and I believe that turbos will become the thing of the future, but right now the boost is way too hard to manage.� She also went on to lecture

Besides her 4 wheeler, this was by far her favorite toy. I told her that if anything ever broke on it that she would have to fix it. Here she is doing a pre-ride checklist and changing the oil.

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This is an old picture of Big Red in its first stage. My buddy’s daughter (right) had a sleepover at our house and the girls wanted to pretend they were hard at work getting the car ready for a race.

She loves fast cars and is impressed if a woman drives it. She freaked out over this Pro Mod when she saw a woman not only wrenching on it in the pits, but driving it as well.

I taught her how to change a tire on this Chevrolet Equinox which is also the first car she ever drove by herself.

them about the benefits of nitrous. Something like, “with the right tune, the power is much more manageable. The first 60 foot is all that matters in our books.” My initial reaction was to apologize and silence her for eavesdropping and chiming in, but I was so damn proud of her for speaking up and educating those boys that I let her do her thing. They were so cool that they kept her involved in that conversation for the entire time we were in that store.

She was so proud the first time we took Big Red for the first test hit on the street.

I strapped her into the 5-point safety harness, put a helmet on her, and told her to get ready. She said, “ready for what Dad?” My reply was, “your life will never be the same!” (1000 horsepower has a way of doing that) I released the trans brake at a mild 3000 RPM and hammered the throttle through a squirrely and smokey launch.

Big Red pulled extremely hard into a 2nd gear shift from our Rossler Turbo 400. Before I lifted off of the throttle, my daughter was midway through her best Bo Duke Yee-haw yell. That moment was priceless.

I was so proud of my little princess. I was proud of her helping me build what we call her “big sister” and was proud that she was proud of that. I extended our first test hit to a five-mile ice cream run that probably cost me one hundred bucks in 112 octane!

The look on everyone’s faces in that parking lot when my daughter powered down all of the switches and climbed out of the www.rpmmag.com

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She had a great time talking with NHRA world champion Megan Meyer about racing, hunting, cheerleading, and how to deal with dads. Megan is a great role model for young aspiring racers.

roll cage was another awesome moment. My daughter saw how people reacted to our car that day and she liked it!

Of course I set a bad example and launched Big Red really hard as we exited the ice cream shop. This time I was smart enough to turn the data logger on and record the fun. She asked me why it felt more intense that time.

I told her that she passed the big girl test and needed to experience the converter flash in all of its glory. When we got back home to our shop, and I was confident we weren’t leaking anything, I told her that we needed to name her big sister. Without any hesitation she said, “well Dad, she has a big block, big tires, and is red. I say we call her Big Red!� From that day on Big Red was more than just something I built from the ground up at home. It was something we built! It was our family race car that helped make memories with my daughter that I will cherish forever.

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Getting to meet the one and only Shirley Muldowney was a high point in her racing life. Shirley was extremely gracious and shared many stories and lessons with her that day.

we finished building Big Red. She now chooses to spend the day with my wife at the mall over time in the shop or getting muddy on the 4 wheelers. She may even prefer to have my wife comfort her when she is sick or injured. But when we show up at a race or an event with Big Red, she becomes my little crew chief again and gets right back into business getting her fingers greasy.

The other day we were at an event and there was a huge crowd gathered around our pit getting a closer look. I watched my daughter grab our duster and give the car a thorough cleaning just so she could let everyone know that this was her car. She is great with the people and answers all of the questions they fire at her. I love seeing how proud she is when she talks about the car.

I have to admit that I miss not having a “little girl” anymore who goes everywhere with me, but I am proud and blessed of the strong and independent young woman she has matured into.

Besides being a teenage girl, excelling in high school, and crushing cheer, she still enjoys the race car and hunting and fishing with me. She may not like me intimidating the boys that come around, but I think deep down inside she appreciates the love and knowing that no matter how old she gets, she will always be my little greasy fingered princess. Friends, cherish your children, they grow up way too fast.

There is no doubt that one day soon she will take the helm of this beast and cut a way better light than me. Only time will tell if she keeps the interest for horsepower after a long stretch at school.

One thing is for certain – Racing will not be the same without her.

Until Next Time Keep Wrenching,

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T

he place where Blue Springs, Missouri resident Steve Schussler found his 1962 Impala looked more like the back lot of an appliance store.

“The car was in a dump and had a washer and dryer on the deck lid and tires on the roof!” he exclaimed. It seems the car and appliances’ next trip was most likely to the metal recycling plant, but Schussler had a different plan, for the Impala anyway.

Starting his car habits at the tender age of 14, the now retired Schussler has been building hot rods ever since. “I have three sons and we built each one their first car (S10 Blazers with V8’s lowered and painted similar) and the year of each matches their birth year. I have also built a number of cars for myself and others along the way,” Schussler explained.

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The Impala is different, and looks fast standing still! Two of Steve Schussler’s main goals in the build.

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Steamroller-fat rear meats, slick modern wing, a fabricated 9-inch and wheelie bars, all part of the modern day Pro Street recipe for success.

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At some point, however, Steve developed a love for Pro Street builds and always wanted to do one, but he wanted something different, and finding the Impala gave him that chance on all counts.

He stumbled across it a few years back in the junkyard mostly hidden by those appliances and other scrap metal. With further investigation Schussler found out that the car had been there a long time, since 1974 actually. Apparently it had been in a pretty bad crash that demolished the front end and had been sitting there ever since.

Once he got the big Chevy home, he went to work, cutting out the floors and most everything else in order to lay out the new chassis and build.

He kept buying parts as the build progressed in his garage and fabricated and installed all of the sheet metal floors, trans tunnel and wheel tubs himself.

An S&W Race Cars 12 point roll bar kit was purchased and Steve fit all the bars as close to the roof as possible. Of course, considering the front end damage, the car needed some attention to the body and most everything for the front end. He scoured

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Designed for cruising, the interior of the Impala is equipped with twin comfy Corbeau Forza cloth bucket seats, a Grant tilt steering wheel and cup holders.

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junkyards far and wide for body parts and mouldings damaged or missing. The body is mostly original steel with a fiberglass cowl hood. Body prep and paint in Dupont White was completed by McDonalds Auto Body while Steve handled fabbing up the rear wing.

Building power for the Impala was the next challenge, and one thing was for sure, it would be far from the factory 6 banger that came between the frame rails.

It had to be in line with the Pro Street genre, yet street mannered, as there were no plans to race the car. Still though, it had to look fast,

sound mean and have some decent power to back up those looks.

And having a large piece of hardware poking through the hood was most likely going to be part of the equation. “I wanted to build a car that looked fast sitting still but not be the normal pro street car,� he added.

Under the fiberglass cowl hood most everything is polished aluminum. An owner-built 468 big block Chevy started with a 60over bored iron block with Chevy Performance steel crank, rods and forged pistons. Initial compression is 8.6:1. A Howard’s hydraulic roll-

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Steve did an outstanding job bending and tucking the cage tubing to blend right in.

A cool set of Kilduff Lightning Rod shifters sit center stage inside the car

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An ownerbuilt blown 468 big block Chevy now sits between the custom ownerbuilt tube chassis.

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Steve Schussler’s Pro Street 1962 Chevrolet Impala Body & Paint:

Original steel body with fiberglass hood.

Prepped and painted by McDonalds Auto Body using Dupont products. Owner fabricated rear aluminum wing.

Chassis & Suspension:

Owner built full tube chassis with S&W 12 point roll cage kit installed by owner. Rear suspension is tubular 4 bar ladder bar setup with QA1 coilovers and front is tubular upper and lower control arms with QA1 coilover shocks and rack and pinion steering.

Engine:

Supercharger:

Mooneyham 871 blower ran at 9lbs of boost.

Transmission:

GM 4180E modified and assembled by Don Lobner Transmission.

Rearend:

Chassis Engineering Fab 9. Quick Performance 35 spline axles with 4.33 gears.

Brakes:

Front Wilwood 4 piston, rear Wilwood dual piston.

Wheels:

Owner assembled 468 big block Chevy. 60 over American Racing Wheels 17 x 7 front, Champion iron block with Chevy Performance crank rods Racing Wheels 15 x 15 with Mickey Thompson and pistons. Initial compression is 8.6:1. Howards 33 22x15 radials. hydraulic roller 635 lift camshaft. GM Oval Port Interior: heads with Howards roller lifters, COMP Completed by owner. Corbeau Forza cloth chromoly roller rockers and COMP pushrods. bucket seats, Grant steering wheel and Kilduff Heads are ARP studded in place Lightning Rod shifters.

Intake/Carburetion:

Weiand intake with twin Edelbrock 600S carburetors.

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Original Impala trim graces most of the exterior.

Steve added original Impala SS emblems and air brushed cubic inch graphics as well.

er 635 lift camshaft with Howard’s roller lifters was used and reworked GM Oval Port heads were studded in place. COMP pushords actuate a set of COMP chromoly roller rockers.

The huffer is a Mooneyham 871 ran at a conservative 9 lbs of boost. And, while at a respectable tick under 800whp, the heavyweight Bowtie won’t be ripping up the dragstrip in record time, and that’s just fine with Schussler, he built the car to drive and that’s exactly what he enjoys doing most.

Steve kept factory wheel wells up front to keep things clean and painted them, along with his chassis work, gloss black.

The owner-built interior is clean and designed for cruising with twin comfy Corbeau Forza cloth bucket seats, a Grant steering wheel, a cool set of Kilduff Lightning Rod shifters and, of course, cup holders for those longer outings. Factory dash and door panels remain and Steve did an outstanding job bending and tucking the cage tubing to blend right in.

About 9 months after starting work the car was ready to drive, and Schussler says it wouldn’t have even taken that long, but he had to wait on the paint. When asked if there is anything about the build he would change, Steve said; “Not much, I kinda like it.”

So next time you’re wandering around the junkyard, remember to have a look under those old appliances, you just never know what could be hiding there.

RPM

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The Red Bull

Article and Photos: Dave Diehl

T

he year of Covid-19 has found many people working from home in their pajamas.

Unfortunately, Jay “The Chassis Doctor” Grieshop has found himself working in his flannels, but not due to any pandemic, but from a fall from a ladder fracturing his wrist and shattering his heel. Chassis building is not something one can do over Zoom, but with directives to be quarantined to the wheelchair for the next three months, Jay was presented with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to continue the build on Shannon Poole’s Red Bull and other projects in the shop.

Enter the professionals of the local car building community – hearing of Jay’s dilemma, near-by fabricators and friends of Jay jumped into action, giving up their free time and weekends to work under Jay’s direction to keep the lights on and the work progressing. While work slowed on Shannon’s Corvette for several weeks, the build has resumed forward progress with the tedious precision work of getting the engine and driveline alignment established and custom

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Roll cage and 4-link set-up taking shape.

Taking shape – the engine mock-up finds a home.

Harnessing the Competitive Edge

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Red Bull Restoration

Jay discussing drive line alignment with his crew.

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Getting everything level and square for the motor

Jay doing what he can!

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mounting fabricated.

The backbone of the entire build has taken shape. The frame, cage and rear 4-link suspension mounting is in place. The day we stopped in to check on the build status found Jay and crew setting the engine and transmission mock-up in place, working on the mounting plating and support structure to hold the big block beast inplace. Taking the time to assure the driveline and pinion angles are properly configured and everything is perfectly square and aligned will assure Shannon that when he releases the Bull, everything will respond as designed and will launch straight and hard.

The parts and pieces continue to trickle into

the shop as well. The replacement for the lost door has finally arrived, and more of the suspension parts are filling the shelves in preparation for the next phases of the build. The Covid pandemic has certainly affected the availability and ease of acquiring components and materials. Throw in some physical limitations (or “bumps in the road� as Jay calls them) and one wonders if the Red Bull will see the track in time for the Spring. But rest assured, the strange year that was 2020 is soon to be well in the rear-view.

Shannon’s nervous anticipation has not diminished nor has the effort to get his beloved Corvette back under his reins. A new dawn, a new year, a new animal to be released!

RPM

Computing the cage and support bends.

We thought we would add this static photo of Red Bull from October 2018 as a teaser.

Performance Centers Throughout Eastern Canada

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F

Get in where you fit in!

or the longest time in my racing career (if you want to call it that), I’ve operated with the idea of being the biggest and baddest ever.

Looking back, it was more like a dream rather than a reality. From mixing it up with the baddest small tire radial guys to arguing all night long with the fastest street racing teams in the world, I am humbled. Both of these were very difficult and draining. I worked my ass off every day of the week for about 15 years and never seemed to make any progress. It was a long hard road. The best of the best must have one of the two following things: 1.

A huge amount of luck and be willing to sacrifice a hell of a lot of family time, an everyday job and basically your regular life or 2. Money. The guys you see on TV that look at all of us from the top of the hill didn’t get up there over night. Most of those folks sacrifice more than you can imagine. The endless nights testing and maintenance alone will consume you. The so called reality you see on TV is missing the most important component, the behind the scenes reality called “sacrifice”!

There are all different sorts of racing in our great country. Bracket, street, radial, grudge and even no prep.

Each title has its sublets. Bracket racing has foot brake, index and pro racing. Radial guys can choose between several different classes including Ultra Street, RVW, leaf

spring, X275 or Pro 275. Street racing and grudge racing can break down into True Street, big and small tire.

Pick your poison. All of these can be very competitive and push the regular guy to his limit. You really have to love this sport to get deep into it. The moral to my short rant this month is just as the title says, get in where you fit in. Don’t get in over your head, or your budget for that matter. Don’t get into something that will take away your family time or affect your income earning capacity by sucking up all your time, and don’t burn yourself out struggling to be the best straight out of the gate. Find a group you like, start your program slow and work your way up. Remember, being the fastest isn’t always fun in the sun.

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2020THE YEAR IN REVIEW L

ooking back on 2020, you’d be hard put to find anything positive about a year of Covid-19, weather extremes, political upheaval and financial disruption; the list seems endless.

Despite the hardships and persistent challenges, there was at least one bright spot which could give lovers of extreme horsepower hope that some things didn’t change for the worse; RPM Magazine rolled with punches and continued a 21 year tradition of covering some of the finest craftsmanship, automotive artistry and technical knowhow in North America. As we all feel our way cautiously into the new year, we thought we would offer this retrospective look at a few of the cars that graced the pages of RPM Magazine in 2020. In the meantime, stay safe, remain positive and keep that automotive dream alive.

JANUARY 2020

MORE COWBELL Ed McGuinn ’s 1999 Pontiac Trans Am Photo by Blake Farnan FEBRUARY 2020

STREET HEAT

Mark Masone’s Pro Street 1951 Ford F1Pickup Photo by Neil Zimbaldi 104

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MARCH 2020

SPROCKET’S ROCKET Hal Lockett’s 1966 Chevy Nova Drag Car Photo by Jerry Garrison APRIL 2020

OUTTA CONTROL

Steve & Karin Wojcik’s Street/Strip 1969 Chevy Camaro Photo by Matt Trombley www.rpmmag.com

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JUNE 2020

BIG SHOT

Tony Harlin’s Pro Street 1968 Dodge Dart GTS Convertible Photo by Louis Fronkier JULY 2020

Y X A T Y M a Javier Chavez’s 2004 Mustang Cobr Photo by Eddie Maloney 106

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AUGUST 2020

UNINTENTIONAL

Mark Todd’s Street/Strip Aston Martin V8 Van tage Photo by Matt Woods SEPTEMBER 2020

SEXY SALLY

Shawn Robert White’s Pro Street 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS Photo by Eddie Maloney OCTOBER 2020

OPEN ROAD RAGTOP

Paul Simpson’s 1963 Chevy II convertible Street /Strip Photo by Neil Zimbaldi www.rpmmag.com

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NOVEMBER 2020

TURBOCHARGED TERROR

Derrol Hubbard’s 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Pro Mod Photo by Matt Trombley DECEMBER 2020

NO “I” IN TEAM

James & Crystal Smith & Leonard Long’s 2000 Ford Mustang Outlaw Drag car Photo by David Gates 108

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