RPM Magazine January 2021 Teaser

2

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.

ADVERTISING SALES For advertising information contact

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

Special Events Manager: Chris Biro events@rpmmag.com Special Events Sales: Trish Biro: 519-752-3705 trish@rpmmag.com Subscriptions/Address Changes: Circulation circulation@rpmmag.com

MEET THE RPM TEAM

PRODUCTION STAFF

RPM Magazine is a REGISTERED TRADEMARK of Revolution Publishing & Media Inc. RPM Magazine is a worldwide motorsports publication distributed online.

To subscribe to RPM go to www.rpmmag.com or email Trish Biro at trish@rpmmag.com, or call 519752-3705.

The focus of RPM is to bring a diverse mix of high performance street and race automobiles to life within its pages including race cars, musclecars, hot rods and street legal machines with an emphasis on the “EXTREME,” including fast doorslammer and outlaw forms of drag racing. Not familiar with these types of cars? They are considered to be the topshelf of the industry and are on the edge with regard to design, performance, and power!

RPM Magazine does not sell its mailing list or share any of the confidential information regarding its subscribers.

WANT YOUR CAR IN RPM?

RPM Magazine has been a world leader in motorsports publishing for 22 years and has support locations in Ontario, Canada, Alabama, Texas, and Virginia, along with contributing writers and photojournalists worldwide.

If you have a story that may fit within the focus and scope of RPM Magazine’s coverage, please email our Editor In Chief at editor@rpmmag.com.

Submission of an article does not guarantee that it will be published.

Revolution Publishing & Media Inc. (RPM) / RPM Magazine IS NOT responsible for errors or omissions in ANY advertisement or article.

Advertisements may be rearranged or altered at the sole discretion of RPM to allow the ad to fit in the space purchased by the advertiser.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY ADVERTISING WHICH WE CONSIDER TO CONTAIN MISLEADING, OFFENSIVE OR FALSE INFORMATION. REPRODUCTION OF ANY INFORMATION HEREIN IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.

General Inquiries: 519.752.3705 info@rpmmag.com

www.rpmmag.com

|

january 2021

3

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

4

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

ADVERTISER INDEX AED Competition.............. 77

Meziere Enterprises .......... 32

AFR:

Misener Motorsports....... 103

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

Moser Engineering ........... 62 Neal Chance Converters ..... 23

Aurora Bearing ................ 77

Northern Radiator ............ 60

AVAK/Ridgegate Tools ....... 50

Parts Pro/Total

Baer Brakes ............... 31,52

Truck Centers.... 59,102,110

BES Racing Engines........... 66 Billet Specialties .............. 66

PBM Products.................. 13

Bill Mitchell Products ... 12,73

Piston Racing Engines ....... 89

BoulandMotorsUSA.com .... 96

Profiler .......................... 63

Bullseye Turbo ................. 35

PRW-USA ....................... 96

C & S Specialties............... 36 Callies Performance Prod.... 21 Calvert Racing Suspensions 45

Race Part Solutions...... 47,73 Racequip........................ 63

Canton Racing Products ..... 26

Racetronix ...................... 18

CFE Racing Products ......... 62

Rage Wraps .................... 63

Chassis Engineering .......... 66

RAM Clutches .................. 51

Clearshot Customs .......... 103 Delta Performance Auto Grp.20 Design Engineering .......... 39

RCD .............................. 88 RM Racing Lubricants ... 21,71

Dynotech Engineering ....... 11

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

ECAM .......................... 102

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

Energy Suspension/NPW.... 52

RPM Magazine

Erson Cams ................... 101 GoDragRacing.org .......... 102

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

Granatelli Motorsports ...... 61

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

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

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

Harland Sharp ................. 38

Summit Midwest Drags ..... 97

Hitman Hotrods ............... 57 Hughes Performance ...........7 Icon Forged Pistons........... 88

Summit Racing Equip. .............. 78,86,109

Induction Solutions .......... 49

Taylor Cable Products ...... 100

Jesel ............................. 48

T & D Machine ................. 71

Joe Van O ....................... 57

The Supercharger Store...... 71

JW Racing Transmissions .......5 Karbelt .......................... 77 Kinsler Fuel Injection.... 13,63

Ti64 .............................. 99 Tom’s Upholstery.............. 48

LenTech Automatics ..... 38,70

Total Seal Rings ............... 10

Liberty’s Gears ................ 70

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

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

Trick Flow .................. 15,78 Tuned By Shane T ............. 65

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

Ultimate Headers ............. 77

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

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

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

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

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

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

www.rpmmag.com

|

january 2021

5

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

78

98

Building cars and raising a daughter...

Taking Shape

104

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

+

CUSTOM IN STOCK PISTONS

TRUSTED BY THE FASTEST RACERS, ELITE ENGINE BUILDERS AND HIGHEST HORSEPOWER MACHINES ON THE PLANET, FOR OVER 40 YEARS!

WWW.ROSSPISTONS.COM | 310.536.0100 SALES@ROSSPISTONS.COM ONLINE

FACEBOOK.COM/ROSSPISTONS @ROSSPISTONS

www.rpmmag.com

|

january 2021

7

8

january 2021 | RPM Magazine

www.rpmmag.com

|

january 2021

9

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.

10

january 2021 | RPM Magazine

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

www.rpmmag.com

|

january 2021

11

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

12

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!

www.rpmmag.com

|

january 2021

13

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

www.rpmmag.com

|

january 2021

15