Nova Art
Who: Louis Bouchard
Where: Anywhere he can find a backdrop of graffiti
What: 1965 Chevrolet Nova
Why: Louis took nice pictures of his car, plus we like the deep candy-red paint. Under the hood, you’ll find a 355 with Edelbrock heads and a Holley 750 Double Pumper. A TCI TH700-R4 sends power to the ground, and CPP’s suspension keeps him in line.
Crafty Pedal Cars
Who: Ken Bergren
Where: Peoria, AZ
What: A/FX and dirt-track pedal cars
Why: Not everything in Car Craft needs to run on gasoline, and Ken’s pedal cars really struck a chord with us. He says he grew up watching the races at Great Lakes Dragaway and the now-defunct Hales Corners dirt track. He built these vintage pedal cars as a tribute to the cars he loved watching as a kid.
Then and Now
Who: Jim McCracken
Where: St. James, MO
What: 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass S
Why: This was Jim’s first car that he sold long ago. He bought it back a few years ago, but several things had changed. The car had been painted black, the vinyl top had been removed, and an automatic transmission had been installed in place of the original four-speed. He and his son spent nearly five years restoring it back to original condition, with a few performance parts thrown in for fun. The Olds 350 is once again backed by a Muncie four-speed, and Farris Customs sprayed the original color and applied the vinyl roof treatment.
Pulling the Wheels
Who: Kelly Caldwell
Where: Pocahontas, IL
What: 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass
Why: A-bodies doing wheelies are always cool. Well, just about any car doing a wheelie is cool, so thanks for the picture, Kelly. This Olds runs 11.30s with a 403 Olds engine and looks pretty awesome in the process.
Letters
On the Right Path
As a 17-year-old junior in high school, I want to thank you guys for having a Jobs in Cars column. I just read the article in the Feb. 2017 issue with Don Dial, the chassis builder. I am currently working two jobs, one as a mechanic and one as a welder, and building a 1974 Nova in my spare time, so articles like these help me to think about what my future career in the automotive industry just might end up being. Thanks again, I love the magazine.
—Joshua Hollingshead, via email
Response:
Thanks for the feedback, Josh. One of the reasons behind the Jobs in Cars series is to highlight different career paths to people your age. Good luck, and send us pictures of your Nova.
Favors V8 Hybrids
By the same logic that 1980s G-bodies make sense, so do V8/import hybrids. These cars are plentiful and cheap, light, well balanced, and tend to have IRS. Cars like Porsche 944s, Mazda RX-7s, Datsun and Nissan Zs are now running V8s. The light and compact GM LS engines have spawned a cottage industry of parts and systems to adapt these engines to several popular sports-car platforms, especially for those of us who prefer autocross and road-course events. It is much more cost effective to give V8 power to a great-handling sports car than it is to make an American V8 car with a live rear axle handle. I fully support your idea of covering these types of swaps. I’m working on a 1991 300ZX/LS3 hybrid myself.
—Mo Moscovitz, Santa Cruz, CA
Blown Up Parts!
Greg Tolman sent a picture of what’s left of the small-block Chevy from his son’s 1997 S-10. The thing came apart during a nitrous pull on the chassis dyno.
The post Where’s the Fun? January 2017 appeared first on Hot Rod Network.