One-Liners
Man, if the engine you broke is what you guys call a junkyard motor, I would love to have some of your junk because my stuff isn't even worth taking to the boneyard!
Steve NicholVia e-mail
"It's only 2 a.m. Your neighbors won't care if we break in this cam."
Peter UlrichBelgrade, MT
Break-In
Being an auto mechanic has its ups and downs, especially in the area of customer relations. I would like to thank y'all, particularly Terry McGean, for the "Simmer Until Ready" article. As a mechanic (and assistant manager), I have to explain over and over (and over ...) proper break-in procedures to my customers. Maybe if I tape this article to the counter someone might read it and understand I'm not talking to hear my own voice.
Rob H.San Angelo, TX
Gratuitous Burnout Photos Of The Month
I read Car Craft magazine and so does my boy and our racing team. Just wanted to let you know it's all good, except I am usually disappointed by the burnout of the month picture, so I figured I would send you a couple of real burnouts and maybe challenge some of the readers out there will start sending some "worthy" pictures for your magazine.
Let the games begin ...We are based out of Fort St. John, BC, Canada. We have a local track, Northern Lights Raceway. The first photo shows a Piston Broke style burnout of the Northern Light Raceway President Foji Dhansaw in his '86 Camaro with its 496ci big-block. The second photo is Foji in his late-model Camaro and Vern Heinrich (also of Piston Broke Racing) in his street-legal '67 Camaro.
Rachel DuriezFort St. John, BC, Canada
Cheap Street Chevelle
I'm completely devastated. I happened across www.hotrod.com and what did I find on their homepage? None other than the beloved Cheap Street Chevelle! How is it that Hot Rod has not only acquired Car Craft's greatest project car, but is now restoring it (which was promised to us several months ago ...) to take on the Power Tour, and then give it away? Were you guys gonna let us in on it? I guess Freiburger and King must be powerful people around there to flat out steal your car.
Jared JohnsonLake Jackson, TX
We'll go over this one more time for the benefit of those who somehow missed the July issue where we first addressed this topic. It works like this: When you work for a big company that owns all the magazines, and someone much higher up than our esteemed colleagues Freiburger and King decide to appropriate your car, the wise move is to accept the idea and move on. We like to think that when Hot Rod decided to look for a real car to give away, they came to Car Craft to find it! The rest of the story that you don't know is that the builder, Steve Strope, called Editor Smith when it came time to fine-tune the carburetor and ignition so that Cheap Street would run its best for the Tour.
Project Jake
Hey guys. Thanks for writing your series on the TBI pickup. There are a ton of TBI engines out there in trucks and F-bodies alike. I'm curious to see what kind of power can be developed. To my knowledge, no one has truly explored the potential of these engines.
Don't neglect proven mods like a throttle-body spacer. Also, a set of underdrive pulleys really helped my '89 Formula w/TBI 305. Advancing the timing 4 degrees dropped three-tenths off the quarter-mile e.t. This can be done without purchasing a chip, and is a great entry-level mod. Consider using an adjustable regulator to richen the mixture. Also, since your truck originally came with a 305, you are probably still running the 305 throttle-body complete with small injectors. Switching to the correct 350 injectors might be a big help, especially in curing a lean condition.
Al DeMentVia e-mail