Bolt On Power For The Track

[ nitrous hissing ]

(Chuck)>> Hey how'd you like to bolt on a couple of hundred horsepower in just one afternoon in your driveway? Hi I'm Chuck Hansen, and I'm Joe Elmore. Stick around we'll show you how on today's Horsepower TV. [ music ]

(Joe)>> It's perhaps the most powerful bolt on in hot rodding today. A one stage nitrous kit we'll install on our project pony and we'll take it to the track for the ultimate payoff. We'll use an old '39 Buick chassis to show you how to bring a street rod into the '90's with a new front end kit. Plus we'll take you to Orlando for the world's ultimate street car shootout, The Real World Street Nationals. ( )>> Run what you brung and hope you brought enough. The fastest car win.

(Joe)>> So hang on for Horsepower TV. [ music ]

(Joe)>> Hi, welcome to the shop. In that never ending hunt for horsepower everybody's looking for something that's simple, effective, and economical. Now when you weigh all those factors, nitrous always tops the list. Maybe you've heard that nitrous oxide is hard on engine parts, but the kits available today are well engineered to give you that blast of power without any component carnage.

(Chuck)>> That's right, now today we're going to be putting a single stage setup on our project pony over there. Now this is the most basic kit and ours is tunable from 50 to 175 horsepower. We got ours from Nitrous Works. The kit comes with a bottle, brackets, hoses, and solenoids, plus, check this out. The spray plate has adjustable jets. Now, finally, if your fuel system doesn't already have one, well you're going to need an electrical fuel pump like this one. Now for under $500 bucks, man it's a heck of a way to pump up your performance without deflating your wallet.

(Joe)>> And for a bigger boost, this Camaro's loaded with a Hitman System that gives you up to 400 extra horsepower for some serious racing. Now of course they also make two-stage systems. Let me get his massive carb off and I'll show you how it works. You've got two solenoids each for nitrous and for fuel. Now typically, you launch on the first stage, and once you're planted and headed down the track, you bring in the second stage. If that's not enough well they even have three-stage systems for those bad Pro Mod racers.

(Chuck)>> Now our old project Pony here already has a healthy five liter engine under the hood. In fact, the last time we took it to the track, well it ran in the fourteens. Since then though we've added a nine-inch rear end with 3.73 gears, plus a set of power pulleys and a computer chip. Plus once we start spraying this thing man we're gonna run deep into the thirteens.

(Joe)>> We'll make it partner and we'll show you later on. But before we start bolting on hardware let's talk about how this stuff makes more power. Nitrous under pressure cools down to less than 100 degrees below zero when it's released into the atmosphere. [ nitrous hissing ] Now that denser charge alone means more power.

(Chuck)>> We'll begin by getting some of the old parts out of the way. Now after disconnecting the battery we'll remove the air duct hose and the four bolts that attach the throttle body to the manifold. Then we remove the throttle body as well as the EGR spacer. Finally we'll install the longer studs that are supplied in the kit. We'll need an additional fuel supply for this installation so we're gonna tap into the Schrader valve behind the alternator. Before installing this fitting give it a dab of thread sealant to prevent any leaks.

(Joe)>> Now while Chuck's been getting things ready under the hood over there, I've been test fitting our plate and solenoid setup. Looks like everything's going to fit. Now as always with a nitrous kit, red is for fuel, blue, well that's for nitrous. Now let's see if we can get this plate on. Now the orientation of this plate is pretty critical. We want to make sure this red fuel inlet is facing forward. Now we're ready to put back our EGR spacer, one more gasket, and we're ready for the throttle body.

(Chuck)>> Once Joe finishes with that throttle body we'll be ready for this micro switch. Now this thing mounts so it comes in contact with the throttle arm and it activates the system under wide open throttle.

(Joe)>> And it mounts right here on this lower front stud.

(Chuck)>> Well the solenoids are next but remember what I told you about this being a tunable system? Well here's the secret. These little slip-in jets here allow us to tune for the horsepower level that we want.

(Joe)>> We jetted ours to 125 because we want a lot. Now that ought to to put the spurs to our pony. What do you think?

(Chuck)>> Oh you bet. Now don't you go away. We're going to finish up that installation and take our bottle baby to the track right after this. (Joe off camera)>> Later in the show we'll go to Orlando for the ultimate street car shoot out, the Real World Street Nationals. Then a cool street rod mod as we update the front end on a '39 Buick, stay tuned.

[ music ]

(Joe)>> Hey welcome back to the shop and to our nitrous installation. It won't be long before we start squeezing this pony. We've got our solenoids mounted, fuel lines connected, and we'll we've finished the wiring. Hey Chuck, how you coming with that bottle back there?

(Chuck)>> We're doing great back here. Now when you get ready to mount your tank, make sure to find a solid place back here in the trunk that will allow you to drill without punching into that gas tank, and, of course, you want to make sure you stay away from the fuel and brake lines underneath. Here's another thing to check out. Make sure you've got plenty of room to operate this valve here and keep it in the uppermost position so the syphon tube in the tank can empty it completely. Well, that's good and solid. Tell you what, I'm gonna go get the lift ready.

(Joe)>> Good deal, 'cause now we want to run this feed line. And guess what? We lucked out 'cause there's already a factory-made hole here that'll do the trick. Of course, you may have to drill your own. But in any case make sure you use a grommet so the braided line doesn't chafe on the hole. [ mechanical buzzing ]

(Chuck)>> I'm gonna run our Nitrous line down the frame rail and alongside our subframe connector here. Now we also want to make sure we that we keep it secure so we use these little nylon ties. Another thing to keep in mind, is keep it away from all this heat and moving suspension parts. Here you go, Joe.

(Joe)>> Okay. Well from the frame connector it looks like we could run it in through here, then up into the engine compartment. Now we're gonna keep a little bit of slack in this line so we can absorb any engine to chassis movement.

(Chuck)>> Now you're going to need extra fuel to go along with that nitrous so now's a good time to mount a high capacity electric fuel pump like this one. Now our Mustang already has one in the tank from a previous modification. Now when you mount yours, mount it up close to the tank so that it's pushing the fuel rather than pulling it.

(Joe)>> Okay. Well after connecting that line to the solenoid, we double checked the wiring, fuel, and nitrous connection, so, well I guess it's time for that live systems check.

(Chuck)>> That's right. Now you want to make sure that the valve on your bottle is completely closed before you turn on the ignition switch, then you go ahead and activate the marker switch down here by the throttle arm, and you should hear those solenoids click. [ clicking sound ] Well that's it. What do you say we take it to the track? [ engine revving ] [ tires squealing ] [ engine revving ] [ music ]

(Joe)>> Hey man, 8.71, if I did my math right that's a 13.40 in the quarter.

(Chuck)>> Man, that's stout. A whole lot better than it was the last time. This will really pin your ears back.

(Joe)>> That's a good base line. Let's put the squeeze to it.

(Chuck)>> I'm ready.

(Joe)>> To get the best performance out of your nitrous, keep the bottle pressure between 900 and 1,000 PSI. [ tires squealing ] [ engine revving ] [ music ]

(Joe)>> Wow! Man, that 7.80 would be a 12 flat on the quarter mile. Not bad.

(Chuck)>> Right! I even clicked it early down there.

(Joe)>> Yeah I noticed.

(Chuck)>> Man, I tell you what, that was a strong run. Now I know why they call it giggle gas.

(Joe)>> Alright. Well you hang with us. We'll back with more Horsepower TV right after this.

(Chuck)>> Hey man you're gonna love it. Get in there. (Joe off camera)>> Coming up, some hit the tree hard, some hit the wall. It's the wild Real World Street Nationals next.

[ music ]

(Joe)>> Hey, got a need for some speed? Welcome back to the show and to Speed World in Orlando. Better buckle up! We're here for the ultimate fastest street car shootout. [ engine revving ] [ music ] [ engine revving ] [ music ] (Joe off camera)>> What happens when you dangle a fat purse of prizes before some of the nation's top street fighters in a no holds barred competition before a jam-packed crowd? Well you've got an annual power party called World Street Nationals. ( )>> It's gonna be a dogfight but it's gonna be fun. (Joe off camera)>> You've got that right. Now three classes encompass this festival of fast car muscle. Pure Street - mostly small blocks on ten and 10.5 inch DOT street tires; Pro Street with all the power you can put on DOTs, and Super Pro street with all the nitrous you want or the baddest blower you've got on any size slick.

(Billy)>> Certainly a lot of different types of combinations out here. So we're just gonna come out here and run our own race and hope that we'll make the right guesses.

(Jeff)>> It's got a ton of power. We really don't use everything we've got in the car because, not so much the car won't take it, it's just the DOT tires really put, I call it a limit on it, what you can put to the track.

(Brian)>> The cars all run pretty fast and they're definitely a lot easier to run on the slicks than they are on the DOTs and everybody's definitely making plenty of power so it's going to be real interesting to see. (Joe off camera)>> This Florida festival of horsepower attracted some old friends like NMCA champ Tony Christian, the exalted one himself, his top rival Mike Moran, and Randy Adler and his blown alcohol GTO. Both are eager to unleash all that power on slicks in the Super Pro class. Drag racing's hot here in central Florida but so's the heat especially today on the track. Too many times racers put too much power on the strip. Fortunately no one was hurt, only some pride and parts. Then, as the sun began to set and the temperature went down along with ETs. One highlight of the qualifying night was this battle of the '55 Chevy shoeboxes, as Jim Hunt edged out Scott Long. Then the matchup that all had hoped for. A qualifying run with more excitement than most finals Christian and his nitrous Firebird versus Adler and his supercharged Goat. And the old fox fired away a 6.92 at 203 mph.

(Christian)>> Adler didn't want to race me, I wanted to race him so I pulled over and let somebody go around me and then just kind of went after him. We leaned on it, I mean the tread just got better tonight. I definitely won't be able to duplicate that tomorrow. I mean there's no way. [ music ]

(Joe)>> With qualifying competition that hot, imagine what today's finals are gonna be like with baddest streetcar honors and over $60,000 in prizes on the line. Jeff Miller and his Camaro powered by a 526 pro mod motor headed into eliminations as the top qualifier in Pro Street DOT. Trying to keep his winning combination on a track that was quickly heating up in the Florida sun.

(Jeff)>> We just go ahead and adjust the car accordingly and hopefully we're smart enough to make the car go down a greasy track. We've done it before, hopefully we can do it again this weekend. (Joe off camera)>> Well Miller did it alright, methodically making his way towards the finals, and winning with a 7.55 solo trip. Mike Hill took Pure street honors at this nail bitter final with an 8.29. Meanwhile, Christian had been working his way through the super pro qualifiers sometimes with a hole shot, sometimes with another run in the sixes. Now in the final race for the forth time in a row, it was Christian versus Moran, the veteran against the hapless challenger. Christian runs an amazing 6.95 at 203 to end his season with a bang and some big bucks.

(Christian)>> I'm gonna go home and spend about a week at home with the wife and my daughters, the little one here and my daughter over there, and my son. Maybe for about a week and then I'm going back to work. (Joe off camera)>> What a year for Tony Christian and what a finish for this annual festival of horsepower, hot cars, and the ultimate in street car competition. [ music ] Just ahead, a street rod how-to you can use as we build a new front end on a classic from the 30's.

[ music ]

(Joe)>> Hi and welcome back. How many times have you dreamed of hitting the highway in a cool ride like this '49 Chevy Fastback. Now the owner, Brent Vandervort, has added some personal touches like door handles from a Mazda Miata. Hey, get a load of this, portholes from a '36 Plymouth of all things.

(Chuck)>> Yeah, but some of the coolest parts are the ones that aren't so obvious like this late model Mustang front suspansion and check out the Cadillac engine - there's a 500 cubic incher. Course it's got air, steering, and brakes, and well it's a mechanical medley of both the old and the new. But, you know, before you can have something like this.

(Joe)>> You've gotta start with something like this. It's a '39 Buick that needs, just about everything. We thought it'd make a great platform for showing you some modifications and updates from time to time that you can apply to your own street rod project.

(Chuck)>> And the first thing we're gonna do is replace this old fashioned front end here with a Fat Man front end kit. That way we'll have better ride, handling, and braking. Plus when we need any replacement parts, well we'll be able to get them just about anywhere.

(Joe)>> The heart of this system is this frame stub that's gonna replace the front part of the original frame. Now this basic kit accepts Mustang II suspension and steering pieces and we've upgraded ours to stage two status with these tubular control arms and larger eleven inch disc brakes.

(Chuck)>> All right. Well I've got the Buick in the air and the chassis all leveled. Once Joe gets some measurements made, well we're gonna be ready to make that cut. Now the basic kit costs under $700 and you can plan on spending the better part of the day to do that job right.

(Joe)>> The key to success in this swap is to locate the core support properly. Now we do this by using the plum bob to mark the location of the core support hole. Then take our tape measure and determine the height of that hole. Make sure you mark that down. Now over here we measured sixteen inches from this body mount hole and that's where we'll make the first cut. [ saw buzzing ]

(Chuck)>> Hey, cutting metal with fire's a lot of fun but for a cleaner appearance we're gonna use this Sawzall. [ saw buzzing ]

(Joe)>> Man, you are a cut above the rest. That was easier than I thought it would be.

(Chuck)>> Thanks a lot for all your help there Mr. Clean.

(Joe)>> Okay, now we're ready for this stub.

(Chuck)>> All right. You in?

(Joe)>> Yep, you?

(Chuck)>> Yep. Let's check that measurement.

(Joe)>> Let's do it. A little to the passenger side.

(Chuck)>> All right.

(Joe)>> That's it right there.

(Chuck)>> All right. How we doing on the vertical height?

(Joe)>> Twenty and a half. We're right on, man, let's tack.

(Chuck)>> We removed this rust here to give us a better welding surface and we've cut out this pie shaped piece to help the inner frame rail fit up better against our stub. Now once we get everything tacked in place we'll go ahead and recheck our measurements. [ welder crackling ]

(Joe)>> Okay with our tacks done, some more measurements. Still on the money. Weld away there, partner. [ welder crackling ]

(Chuck)>> Of course, now that the welding is done we can start hanging that hardware.

(Joe)>> First to get bolted on are the upper control arms. Then using a jack for support we install the lower control arms and springs. We're using shortened springs for ride height mock up since the engine and trans aren't installed yet. Then we bolt up the shocks and the spindles. Finally, the rotors and the caliper assemblies.

(Chuck)>> Now the final piece we're gonna bolt on is this steering rack to complete our street rod suspension upgrade.

(Joe)>> Of course in coming weeks we'll show you more modifications that you can apply to your own street rod projects. But, hey, don't go away, Hot Parts is next.

(Narrator)>> Now Horsepower's Hot Parts, brought to you by Summit Racing Equipment. Your source for high performance parts for 30 years.

(Chuck)>> Now here's something that'll light your fire and the one in your engine. It's the new Comp 9000 billet distributor from Mallory. Now it's made especially for high rpm, high compression applications. And, check this out, it's got dual magnetic pickups, a fully adjustable advance, and a cap with special ribbing in here to help prevent cross firing, plus this cool retench ring to keep those plug wires firmly in place. Now it's also got an adjustable distributor ring here to help establish proper distributor depth and cam shaft engagement in those special racing blocks. Now here's the real shocker. This thing's only gonna jolt your wallet for a little over $200 bucks.

(Joe)>> Now here's some straight talk about air. If you can straighten it out and reduce turbulence, you can get some extra horsepower in your late model GM tuned port application. Now this air charger from Hypertech allows you to do just that and it easily installs on the inlet side of your throttle body. It's made from lightweight aluminum and it lets you keep your stock inlet ducting and it's smog legal. Best part is, it won't blow your budget, you can pick one up for less than $50.

(Chuck)>> You know I like the sound of power. Unfortunately my neighbors don't. So finding that perfect compromise is tough. You know one that will help keep the performance levels up while keeping the noise levels down. That's why Flowmaster's come out with this 70 series muffler here. Now it features the same welded steel construction as the race pieces but with improved baffling for increased noise suppression.

(Joe)>> So if you like the strong, silent type, we're still talking mufflers here, you can pick up one of these for less than $100.

(Chuck)>> Alright now what do you say we make a little noise about next week's show?

(Joe)>> We'll kick off our crate motor build up on Project Blue Thunder with a 502 cube engine that makes 502 horses. We'll head to West Palm Beach for a Ford lovers paradise where the blue oval boys do battle on the strip. Plus we've got a cool tip on how to use weather stripping to make your hot rod a real show stopper.

(Chuck)>> And remember high performance fun is what this show's all about.

(Joe)>> Hey bow tie bubba, let's go for a cruise.

(Chuck)>> You gonna let me drive?

(Joe)>> Let's flip for it.

(Chuck)>> No I'm closer to the driver's door.

(Joe)>> Man you do that every time.

(Chuck)>> You know me, I like to drive man.

(Joe)>> I know you like to drive. You love Chevys too.

(Joe)>> Oh man, listen to those 500 cubes.

(Chuck)>> Caddy!

(Joe)>> Where we going first?

(Chuck)>> What about hitting the drive in down here. See if we can profile through there at little bit.

(Joe)>> Do some serious profiling. Here we go!

(Chuck)>> Alright. I've got to call home and tell them not to wait up for me.

(Joe)>> Alright.

(Chuck)>> What color is this thing anyway?

(Joe)>> Pretty!

(Chuck)>> It' sure is. Pretty, pretty. What about the steering wheel, that's sharp. [ music ]

(Narrator)>> Horsepower TV is an RTM Production.