New Hot Rodding Products

This will be the industry's... 

   

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This will be the industry's first 5.300-inch bore center engine.

Power Brokers:
When "Freakin' Huge" Just Isn't Big Enough ...So you think your 496 BBC is big? Or maybe your 514-inch BBF is the bomb? That 500-inch Wedge under the hood of your 'Cuda got you swaggerin' down the road? You guys are all chumps, because Sonny's Racing Engines has just come out with its new 5.300-inch bore center big-block Chevy engine. Here's the breakdown: Factory big-block Chevys have a bore spacing of 4.84 inches, which is big, but there is a limit to how large the bore can go. Move the cylinders away from each other, and, voil, you can increase the bore, and go big on the cubes. That's why 4.9- and 5.0-inch bore center blocks were invented. The down side is that when you increase the bore centers, everything changes. Camshafts, cylinder heads, intakes, cranks, gaskets, headers-you name it, it's all dimensionally different. In fact, other than a passing visual resemblance to a big-block Chevy, it isn't a Chevy at all. (Ford and Mopar guys take note-feel free to put the brand logo of your choice on the valve covers ...) The bottom line is a big-bore center block is an expensive proposition, so you might as well go as big as you can. The cost is astronomical, so a big-bore center block is almost always a race-only piece, like you'd find in IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock. Nonetheless, there's always the chance that one of you might have won the lottery. If that's you, then listen up. This Sonny Leonard block typically displaces 864 ci, and most of his engines built with this chunk will make an easy 1,800 hp on motor, and 2,400 hp with a modest three-stage nitrous tune-up. Big-bore, long-stroke versions will approach 1,000 ci. The only question is, are you man enough to order one?

'70-81 Camaro Suspension
DSE Lower Control Arms
If you've wondered why so many front suspension parts exist for early '67-69 F-bodies, but relatively few exist for later '70-81 Camaros and Firebirds, it's because the earlier cars have far worse suspension geometry. It's like hospital triage: the guy with the heart attack gets served before the kid with the sprained ankle. That's not to say the later cars aren't without fault, or that there's no room for improvement. The engineering team at Detroit Speed & Engineering took a hard look at the second-gen front suspension, and wanted to effect the greatest improvement for the least amount of money. What it came up with is its new bolt-on lower control arm kit for $615. The specs: Tubular DOM construction with gussets and crossbrace, new ball joints and jounce bumpers, Delrin bushings with steel housings and crush tube, and an attractive black powdercoat finish. DSE endowed the new arms with increased positive camber, and a dropped spring pocket. The benefits are better mid-corner steering response, a lower stance, de-coupled roll bind, and less flex under cornering load.

Breakthrough Tech:
Barry Grant Mighty Sportsman
You might think that with more demons than Dante's Inferno, Barry Grant would pretty much have the market covered. For that matter, you'd think all the big carb manufacturers have the market covered. But if you're a racer, you know otherwise. All the fast guys are tweaking their own box-stock carbs, or calling up boutique carb tuners for application-specific pieces. And it costs a fortune. Drag racing, circle track, and road racing all have peculiar needs relating to metering, float bowls, jetting, and power valves. On top of that, you need a carb with full adjustability in the emulsion bleeds and idle feed restrictors. By the time you trick out a $500 box-stock carb with stuff like special floats, jet extensions, billet metering plates, and the rest, you've spent $700, and all you've got to show for it is a box of parts-not a tuned, ready-to-rock carburetor.

Barry Grant saw the gaping hole in the product line, realized that not everybody could afford a full-tilt Race Demon or Race Demon RS, and came up with the Mighty Sportsman. This race-only lineup comes in three flavors: drag race, road race, and circle track. For our purposes, we're addressing only the first two. For your $574.99 (typical street price), you get all the serious tuning stuff you'd expect, like large fuel bowls, sight glasses, billet metering plates, billet baseplate, interchangeable air bleeds and idle feed restrictors, four-corner idle adjustment, and ridge-free concentric venturi bores. Then, depending on what type of racing you do, Barry Grant will outfit your carb with the special options typically demanded by such racers, such as special power valve tuning, special floats, and jet extensions. Think of it as a custom race carb for the entry-level racer, but at a mail-order price.

Timberland Thermal Force
Win These Boots!
Winter's coming, and there's a lot of unpleasant crap to do out in the cold, like raking leaves, shoveling snow, splitting wood, and slaughtering hogs. When Timberland sent us pictures and specs of its new steel-toe Thermal Force boot, we knew it was time for another silly contest, but first, the specs. These things are designed first and foremost to keep your tootsies warm. To do that, Timberland invented the Aerogel insulated toe-cap, to keep the steel toe of the boot from freezing you stupid. The other steel-toe boots out there don't have it, so you'll freeze in exchange for being safe. Secondly, the Thermal Force has 3M Thinsulate Zone insulation. We think that means it's lightweight and warm. Then there's the Cold Formula Ice Trax rubber outsole, which doesn't freeze in the cold, and provides super grip while you're pushing the wife's car out of that snow bank. We're giving a pair of these puppies to the guy who needs 'em the most. Just send a close-up digital photo of your worn-out boots, and also send a picture of you posing with your hot rod, wearing your worn-out boots. The dude with the scariest old boots wins. Just email your two photos by December 1, to john.hunkins@primedia.com, and include your full name, mailing address, daytime phone number, shoe size, and car information. We'll announce the winner in our April 2008 issue!

Cool Tools:
Snap-on Race Edition Box
Women love jewelry, and men love, well, Snap-on tools. At least the stuff we like is useful. The best thing about Snap-on stuff is that the quality is just like fine jewelry, and it holds its value, too. So believe us when we tell you we've fallen in love with Snap-on's new Race Edition roll cab and chest. We fancy the 40-inch wide setup shown here, and we're saving our duckets because it doesn't come cheap. The top chest is PN KRA2208APMN, and costs $1,355. The roll cab is PN KRA2212APMN, and will set us back $1,675. To get yours, visit www.snap-on.com, or call 877-762-7662.

XRP Fuel Filter
Whether you're building a ground-pounding street fighter, or a serious Super Pro bracket racer, you don't want to cut any corners after building an expensive engine. Residue can accumulate over time in your fuel system, and eventually it's going to get pumped into your engine, where it could cause you to lose a race at best, or trash your motor at worst. You can take some simple precautions to prevent it, including XRP's new in-line fuel filter. Unlike other single-use filters, the XRP can be reused, and it's easy to inspect, clean, and replace the internal element. You've got a choice of 10-, 20-, or 40-micron filters, and each XRP fuel filter comes with both EPR and Viton O-rings for use with either alcohol or gasoline.

Short Cuts:
Kills Rust Dead
If what they say is true, Orison Marketing's Rust Bomb is a minor miracle. It's not quite as cool as Jesus appearing on a grilled cheese sandwich, but it's up there. Basically, you wipe the Rust Bomb gel on a rusty area, and it disappears in front of you. The rust, not the part. (Orison says for really large areas, soak the part in its Evapo-Rust product.) Rust Bomb uses modified chelators (isn't that a Mexican beer?) and rust inhibitors to attack the rust where it lives. Your rusty part needs to be free of dirt, oil, and loose rust, then coated with Rust Bomb using a brush or putty knife. The rust removal process takes as little as 5 minutes, and up to 24 hours. The ironic part? When you're done, just wash it off with water.

Ford FE Billet Distributor
PerTronix Plug & Play Flame-ThrowerFord's "other" big-block hasn't traditionally gotten the attention it deserves from the aftermarket, but things are changing fast. We've now got better cylinder heads and intake manifolds, which means a lot more air and fuel to light off. As such, the old points-style distributors just aren't going to hack it anymore. FE fans now have a new choice with the PerTronix Flame-Thrower distributor. It's got a points-style cap (red or black) for those wanting to retain the classic appearance. The billet aluminum plug-and-play unit comes with PerTronix's super reliable Ignitor II electronic ignition module, which means you can use it as is, or in conjunction with an external CD ignition, such as the PerTronix Second Strike box. You can also specify vacuum or mechanical advance. Any ignition coil is compatible, but for maximum performance and reliability, PerTronix recommends its Flame-Thrower II coil. We checked for the best price online, and found the FE-spec Flame-Thrower starting at just $212.99 (Jeg's price).