One-Liners
Now that Jeff Smith is editor of Car Craft, should we refer to it as Chevelle Craft rather than Camaro Craft?
Ed "Engine" Tapper
Brooklyn, NY
If you have a bottle of Fast Orange in your shower... you might be a gearhead.
Ben Wantland
Coralville, IA
Wholesomeness Incarnate
Please tell me Henry De Los Santos was mocking the import crowd with his reference to "noss" under the small-block Ford section in the Aug. '03 issue's aftermarket block buyer's guide.
You guys are my favorite car magazine and represent everything I stand for as a hot rodder, from picking on imports to featuring realistic low-buck engine builds. You are my last hope-I'm running out of wholesome car magazines to read!
Jeremy Helmsing
Connersville, IN
Remain calm, Jeremy. Henry's middle name is "wholesome."
Burnout Of The Month Club
So I'm flipping through the pages of the August '03 Car Craft and I see the "Crude Burnout Photo of the Month" and all I see is a big boat of a car blowing smoke like there is no tomorrow. That looked like fun, so I decided to throw the spare (it was almost dead anyway) on my bone-stock '90 Grand Marquis with a open diff. She also blew smoke like there was no tomorrow. The longest one was 250 feet and went up over a speed bump. I would just like to thank you for feeding my addiction. Aren't burnouts fun?
Jeff Bough
via e-mail
Max'd Out
Hopefully someone has already caught this little boo-boo on page 78 of the Oct. '03 issue. At the top of the page is a picture of a beautiful '62 Dodge. The caption states it is a Max Wedge. MWs didn't come with in-line four-barrels. As you'll recall, the '62s were the first year for the short cross-ram. Two other versions of the 413 did come with the type of induction pictured-one was 385 hp and the other was 394 hp. Both versions had cylinder heads with 2.08/1.74-inch valves that are comparable to the closed-chamber type used in the '67. They shared the same AFB carburetors as the 343hp 383. Are your eyes glazing over yet?
The lightest 413 Dodge that year was (by the NHRA numbers) a 385hp two-seat Dart wagon (3,226 pounds). The lightest 394hp version was a four-door Dart sedan (3,274 pounds). The lightest M-W was a four-door Dart (3,397 pounds).
Don Morris
via e-mail
We'll admit it, Don-you know more about Max Wedges than we do.
Music News
First things first. Car Craft is the best magazine ever! Unable to sleep the other night, I went channel-surfing and saw the coolest video on VH1. A band named Audioslave used clips of the '71 classic movie Vanishing Point.
Instead of Kowalski in the Challenger, the band was ripping through the desert. The name of the song is "Show Me How to Live." Just thought you should check it out. Keep up the great work!
Heavy Chevy JB
via e-mail
Shootout-Again
I love the engine shootouts you guys have done over the years. I have an idea for one covering an area not directly addressed by prior shootouts: Spotlight factory-produced engines right around 400 ci, built for street/strip use. This would include the Chevy 396 big-block, Chevy 400 small-block, Olds 403, Olds 400, Pontiac and Buick 400s, Chrysler 400, and I guess the Ford 400 or 406 FE motor. I'd probably rule out strokers, no matter how cheaply they can be built, as this might turn into a battle between the Chevy 406, Chrysler 408 and Ford 408.