We love all things 1970s drag racing; the wild paint schemes, the unique hand-lettering, the in-your-face hood scoops, the droves of attendees (where did they all go?), and the mechanical cackle of those nitro-burning high-compression HEMI-headed big blocks.
Kevin Shaw Editor
Kevin Shaw is powerTV's resident self-proclaimed "muscle car purist," preferring solid-lifter camshafts and mechanical double-pumpers over computer-controlled fuel injection and force-feeding power-adders. If you like dirt-under-your-fingernails tech and real street driven content, this is your guy.
Hump Day Holeshot: Vintage ’70s Stockers, Floppers And Dragsters
Posted by
Kevin Shaw
on 05/25/11
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Meet Melissa Hayes; a bit of tom boy and girly girl mixed into a sweet and sassy package, Melissa was an absolute kick to have on our photoshoot. That’s probably because she was nice enough to laugh at our jokes.
With the help of Mr. Rocky Nash and his brilliantly custom ’37 Ford two-door sedan and his amazingly clean ’32 Ford roadster built by Bobby Alloway for the “Shades of The Past” show, we had a great afternoon photographing this month’s model, Bree de Encio.
A local terror around Upstate New York, this Chevy is known for an all-time best ET of 8.68-seconds at 156mph with a 5.55-second eight mile! That adds up to a wild 0-to-60 time of 2.5-seconds.
Driven by Larry Quinn, this Nostalgia Super Stock ’62 Pontiac (titled “Blast From The Past”), this heavy-hitting Poncho definitely packs one heck of a punch. Quinn drove the Pontiac to a huge win with a 8.95-second pass at 147.8 miles per hour.
Spotted over on Craigslist.com, current owner, Derrick Allbritton has also got a Facebook page documenting the Sharkdragster as well as plenty of other unique creations – all of which are for sale to the highest bidder! What a steal!
Think building a hard-hitting Mopar is just too expensive? Watch as we take a 9 3/4 rear from junkyard scrap to a bad ass in just a day! Thanks to Currie Enterprises, Killer Kong’s budget Dana 60 is transformed into a tire-burning rear worthy of 1,000-horsepower!
A 13-flat time slip is a heck of an accomplishment for any car, from 1967 to today. The legend of these blacked-out mini-trucks spurred a renewed trend in performance trucks that continues to today. We spotted these videos over on YouTube and had to share ‘em. Enjoy!
Hump Day Holeshot: 8-Sec. ’67 Chevelle On Stock Suspension, 9″ Tires
Posted by
Kevin Shaw
on 03/16/11
Paul Tadin’s ’67 Chevelle rides on the same suspension that the engineers at GM originally designed. Yup, stock suspension. Oh, and there’s no monster-sized meats rolling behind the driver. Nope, you’re looking at 9-inch slicks spinning inside of the factory wheelwells. And don’t expect to see a Ford 9″ either.
Larson made his record pass after driving all 1,200 miles of the tour over highways and on country roads, through the rain, and only 20 minutes after maiking a 7.005-second pass. If that doesn’t prove that this is the Fastest Street Car ever, we don’t know what will!
The 18th of September of last year, was simply a bad day to be Mathis as he was going to drive the Camaro that night, but broke his collar bone earlier. But there is some good news. Amazingly, the powertrain survived unscathed. The motor and trans are now in a different car and readying for the track.
Hump Day Holeshot: 12-Second ’70 Cougar Eliminator 428 Runs Brackets
Posted by
Kevin Shaw
on 02/23/11
Whatever it may be, we had to smile when we watched this awesomely orange ’70 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Cobra Jet 428-powered feral cat took out a pair of some of muscle car lore’s most lauded machines including a ’71 LS6-powered Corvette and a ’70 Buick GS 455 Stage 1.
There are street cars, and there are gods. Featured during one of Hot Rod Magazine’s legendary Pump Gas Drags competitions, Jim Pranis’ all-black ’68 Dodge Charger has earned its fair share of ink in the press, and rightfully so.
Assembling your own hose is not as complicated as it might seem, and thanks to this video and Earl’s online catalog on their website, all the right tips and tricks are there at your fingertips.
We’re all for DIY (doing it yourself) when it comes to building our cars. I mean seriously, who wants to drop all that money on a shop when you can benefit for learning a new skill all the while earning that great sense of accomplishment of having done a job by yourself?
First posted on a “sleeper” thread over on drag racing forum Yellowbullet.com, this pale blue Ramcharger yanks the front wheels and trips the 60 foot lights with the back tires. We think all you folks complaining the new Camaro and Challenger are too heavy might want to take a look.
Filmed at Heathcore Speedway in Australia, this seriously boosted ‘Stang erupts quickly, blowing the back tires out from beneath it with each pass. Obviously, next on John’s list is some serious hook up improvements. This orange ’65 with a lifted 6-banger from a Ford Falcon will continue to wow audiences.
For those growing up around drag racing and the big performers of the 1960′s and 70′s, the Hurst HEMI Under Glass is as much a celebrity as say Linda Vaughn, the Don Garlits and his Swamp Rat, Ronnie Sox or good ol’ Grumpy Jenkins. In fact, those grandstanding exhibition machines are like the halftime shows.
Titled “Times Up!” this Dodge is a true, original ’69 R/T car. While the owner says that it wasn’t an original HEMI car, the numbers-verifying VIN and fender tag speak to the B-Body’s authenticity.
The devil’s in the details, they say. And nowhere is that more true that with the addition of what could be considered the most innocuous performance-enhancing part out there, a K&N Filter. It’s hard to tell by just looking at your cold air kit, but there’s a whole lot of technology, research and development.
The devil’s in the details, they say. And nowhere is that more true that with the addition of what could be considered the most innocuous performance-enhancing part out there, a K&N Filter. It’s hard to tell by just looking at your cold air kit, but there’s a whole lot of technology, research and development.
The devil’s in the details, they say. And nowhere is that more true that with the addition of what could be considered the most innocuous performance-enhancing part out there, a K&N Filter. It’s hard to tell by just looking at your cold air kit, but there’s a whole lot of technology, research and development.
Scheduled as a one day only race, there was little time to spare as everybody who attended came out for one reason: to simply “lay it down.” And did they ever. This past Halloween weekend, MIR delivered with nearly everybody who attended setting a new personal best.
Alston’s got some seriously cool stuff to check out. Developing a four-way adjustable Varishock, the coil-over features independent valving for high and low speed bump and rebound. Moreover, the coil-over is also available with a remote reservoir.
There’s little argument that Auto Meter is one of the industry’s leading manufacturers of precision automotive instrumentation. So when enough enthusiasts voice interest in a particular style, you can surely bet that Auto Meter will not only deliver, but do so in spades.
Coined as the “Ultimate Online Car Show Community” contest, the winner of the Winning Ride will have his or her hand-built machine at Auto Meter’s booth at SEMA in 2011. Be it a custom sled, a hot rod, a classic muscle car, a truck, an import, a sportscar or a van (gasp!), all entries are welcomed.
The crew at Ididit have engineered a keyless entry and push-button ignition system that makes you feel like your rod was manufactured yesterday (instead of 60 years ago)!
The biggest news at Fesler is its recent licensing agreement with General Motors. Is that a big deal, you ask? Yes, it is. Fesler Built’s entire catalog of Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Buick products are officially licensed by GM Restoration Parts.
The days of offering a brake kit without the appropriate mounting and plumbing hardware are long gone, and smart companies like Classic Performance Products are here to provide not only stellar performance equipment, but darn-near everything else to get the job done.
What really got us excited what Coker’s line of Phoenix Drag Race Tires. These brand-new radials are available in a variety of stiffness and width, allowing the competitive hot rodder or muscle car enthusiast or racer to perform to their very best.
Running on 10.5-inch Hoosier radials, this gnarly ’69 Chevelle gets up and snaps off 9-second 1320 passes with the greatest of ease. As the owner attests, it’s a simple package but gets it done.
With its psychedelic editing, groovy music, cute girls in go-go boots and miniskirts and gnarly nitro-burning front-engine dragsters, Super Stock muscle cars and wicked hot rods, this’ll pull you in. These were the days of experimentation, rife with cartoon-character drivers, and bigger-than-life muscle machines.
Street Legal TV was there and not only covered the entire weekend’s worth of racing, but we also compiled a whole lot of video coverage, as seen below. Make sure to scroll through them all see all the action!
We wanted to take a quick minute and showcase some of our favorite examples of tribute gassers, modern machines made by today’s enthusiasts recreating the spirit and tradition of one of the coolest and most compelling periods in our long love affair with the mod rod and dragster.
We all know Vipers are fast cars. C’mon, it’s got a 8.4-liter V10 in it. But how about a twin-turbo version of a 2002 Viper? Yeah, we can imagine it being a real powerhouse. Well, Heffner Performance was out to prove that the stock Viper with only a few modifications (although pretty impressive as they [...]
Watch as this Ford Capri snaps its wheelie bar on its way up towards the stratosphere. Building so much low-end torque, this little racer launches itself high into the air, lifting its entire body skyward, lifting all four wheels flying into the air for a second.
Watch as we completely replace our 44-year-old factory front clip with Chris Alston’s Chevy II g-Machine Subframe System and see how it saved us some weight while drastically improving front end rigidity, suspension geometry and durability; transforming our stock unibody into a true street/strip machine.
Pat Spangenberg’s outrageous ’66 Impala Super Sport, a massive 4,000 pound Impala rides on stock suspension, 10-inch wide tires, and is propelled by a 540 cubic inch big block Chevy making 1,400 and runs 8.77 passes!
Completely replacing our 44-year-old factory front clip with Chris Alston’s Chevy II g-Machine Subframe System saved us some weight while drastically improving front end rigidity, suspension geometry and durability. In other words, our Chassisworks front end kit literally transformed our stock unibody.
The 2006 NHRA Pro Stock champion laid down an 11.03-second/124.40 mph pass in his 4,500 pound 1968 Chevy Biscayne station wagon. Jason bought the wagon as a project vehicle in 2009, gave it a frame-off restoration and stuffed a 557 cubic inch big block under the hood.
