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[ engine revving ]
(Joe)>> How would you like to bolt an extra 100 horsepower onto your grocery getter? We'll show you how right now on Horsepower TV. Today on Horsepower TV we'll pack some power into Chuck's wagon with a new supercharger. Then put her on the chassis dyno to discover how many extra horses this grocery getter gets. We'll show you the inside story on intakes and help you find the manifold for your machine. Plus we'll take you to the annual Super Bowl for high powered Harleys on the fast quarter mile track in Kentucky. ( )>> We like fast.
(Joe)>> So hang on for Horsepower TV. [ music ]
(Joe)>> Hi, glad you joined us. You know the hunt for horsepower is relentless whether sitting astride a two-wheel hot rod like one of these we'll play with later or even the 1970 Chevelle grocery getter like Chuck's.
(Chuck)>> Yeah, that's right. That 454 makes plenty of power, in fact, it cranked out about 220 rear wheel horsepower on that last run. But I tell you what, there were a couple of times this summer when I just about didn't make it home before the ice cream melted.
(Joe)>> No we can't have that.
(Chuck)>> Now today we're gonna fix that though. We're gonna bolt on one of those sneaky superchargers.
(Joe)>> Yeah, I like the idea of that hidden horsepower, especially when it only takes a few hours at home and it's about as simple as swapping out an intake manifold.
(Chuck)>> It really is. Now you will have to add a couple of drive pulleys, but you get to keep all your stock accessories and brackets. Tell you what, I'm gonna start by draining the radiator.
(Joe)>> I'll check our parts. The kit we ordered from b&m is their 174 power charger for big block Chevys and it's a roots type blower with rotors that are Teflon-tipped for maximum boost efficiency. The kit also includes this intake, pulleys, idler, and a serpentine drive belt system.
(Chuck)>> Now that blower is flanged for a single four-barrel. Hey we could of used the stock quadrajet back there. But we're looking for even more performance, so we're gonna use this 750 cfm, vacuum secondary piece from Holley.
(Joe)>> Well let's get that hood out of the way then we can start unbolting the old intake. [ music ] [ drill spinning ] [ music ] Now before you can bolt anything up, you need to make sure the mating surfaces are perfectly clean, then you drop on those gaskets. [ grinder buzzing ]
(Chuck)>> Now the blower kit comes with these cool Fel-Pro high performance gaskets. And check this out, they've already got this silicone sealant in place. Now, make sure you run a bead of silcone on each end of the block, then you're ready to drop the intake in place.
Now, before we bolt up the blower, we've got a couple of things to take care of like installing that blower drive pulley. Now b&m offers an assortment that allows you to vary the boost level. We're gonna start with this one that'll give us five to seven psi. Of course, the smaller ones will spin the blower faster and give you even more boost. Put a little thread lock on the bolt here to keep it from backing out.
(Joe)>> Here's a tip. Stuff a clean rag in the carb opening so the rotors won't turn while you torque it down.
(Chuck)>> Now we're gonna torque it down to about 30 pounds.
(Joe)>> With the gasket on our intake, we're ready to drop on the blower. There she goes. Then we'll keep 'er in place with these four retaining bolts that came with our kit. This thing might look small but it delivers big power. In fact, we're looking for an extra one hundred horsepower once we're finished with this project.
(Chuck)>> That's right. And, we're gonna do it for under $2,000 dollars. Now I see you've been busy. You've got the fan and the shroud out of the way so we can put these bottom drive pulleys on. Tell you what, i'll show you it all goes together. Now, we're using this display engine to give you a little bit better look. But you want to remove the stock retaining bolts, then you add the spacers to this lip that's inside your stock pulley. The drive pulley goes on next. And it's all secured with the longer bolts that are supplied in the kit. Torque 'em to 35 foot pounds and don't forget a little thread lock. Now, we're ready for the idler pulley. It installs under the blower snout with this bracket and it's spring loaded to keep tension on the belt.
(Joe)>> We're getting close to putting some fire in the hole, but we can't do it without the distributor. So with number one cylinder at top dead center, we drop the distributor in making sure the rotor lines up with the number one plug position using this mark we put on the body. Then we put back the hold down clamp, wires and the cap.
(Chuck)>> Now, check out this neat little bracket we found in the B&M catalog. It mounts both the throttle cable and the kick-down cable. Just bolts right up between the blower and the carb.
(Joe)>> We also ordered this Cool fuel line kit which goes on next. Now we'll plumb it to the fuel pump using Russell a/n fittings and braided steel line.
(Chuck)>> I've already gone ahead and installed the blower drive belt and that showed us a clearance problem we had between it and the stock fan. So we're gonna upgrade our cooling system with this low profile, dual fan unit from Flex-ALite. Now, it's got an adjustable thermostat for automatic temperature control. And, with these ties well, it attaches to the back of the radiator.
(Joe)>> That puts the wraps on our wrenching for now. Go ahead and fire 'er up Chuck. [ engine starting & revving ] All right, sounds good. But the big question is how much more horsepower do we get from our grocery getter? Go ahead and back 'er in. We'll see what the Dynojet has to say about that when we come back. Stay with us. Later in the show some fast hauling Harleys as we take you to the ADBA finals in Kentucky. Plus we'll take a close look at the latest in high performance intakes. Don't go away.
[ music ] [ engine revving ]
(Joe)>> Welcome back to Horsepower TV. And speaking of which, we've got our blower bolted to this 454 Chevelle and our Dynojet's all set for another run. How 'bout the driver?
(Chuck)>> Man, I'm ready. Let's see what it'll do. [ engine revving ]
(Joe)>> Check the graph, man. We got just over 330 horsepower at the rear wheel.
(Chuck)>> Man, that B&M blower sure did its job. Now that's over 110 horsepower more than we got on the baseline. Plus, I won't have to worry about my ice cream melting anymore. And just think what it's gonna do for my e-e-t.
(Joe)>> EET?
(Chuck)>> That's right. Elapsed eating time.
(Joe)>> Man, I should've known. Here's something else to put on your plate today. We've got to dummy up the drive train on our '39 Buick here.
(Chuck)>> Well, I hope we haven't bitten off more than we can chew. Even though we're using our '39 Buick as an example, setting up the drive train is about the same for any street rod. We've got this thing secured on jack stands with pretty much the same rake it'll have once it's finished.
(Joe)>> You might recall a couple of weeks ago when we welded on this Fatman Mustang front end kit. Today, we gonna use their universal engine mount kit to properly position our drivetrain. Now it comes with these stands and gussets. And we also ordered this universal cross member for our transmission.
(Chuck)>> Now, before we bring our engine in, there are a few things that we need to get out of the way first. We're gonna get rid of this pedal assembly, master cylinder, and this old cross member. [ drill spinning ] [ torch hissing ] [ hammer banging ]
(Joe)>> Now that we've got a nice open area for our powertrain combo, let's get it into place here. We're using plastic replica's of our engine and tranny from Pyar products. This'll give us the dimensions we need without breaking our backs. As you'll notice, we've got a level here on the carb flange. When that bubble is centered up, which it is now, it's just about the three degree engine angle we want.
(Chuck)>> Yep, it's level alright. Now we're ready to determine our fore, aft and vertical positions of our powertrain. We've already marked the firewall location here on the frame. And we'll want the back of the engine about three inches in front of that. That's gonna put the majority of the engine weight behind the center line of the front spindle and it's also gonna give us the radiator clearance we need.
(Joe)>> Now, before we lower the engine, we need to establish our crank centerline. Give it the old mark there, Charles. Atta boy. Now this'll help keep the engine centered side to side.
(Chuck)>> Now you want to lower the engine making sure we get it down as far as possible in the chassis. Now we've got plenty of cross member clearance but you might want to check your's just to be safe. You also want to check your ground clearance. After all you don't want to smash that oil pan every time you pull out of your driveway.
(Joe)>> Okay, using our mark, let's see if we're centered up. Thirteen and three quarters over here. And over here. We're good.
(Chuck)>> Well now that we've got the engine where we want it, I've gone ahead and taped it to the cross member to keep it from moving around. I'm gonna take this frame mount, bolt it up, and do some trial fitting here. We're gonna make that first cut from there to there. Now I've finished making my mark here and I'm cutting the inside of it so we can sneak up on that final fit. [ welder crackling ]
That looks pretty good. Now we're ready for the gusset. Just put our gusset here against the main mount and we'll mark it. That's where we'll begin our vertical cut.
(Joe)>> Of course you just duplicate everything on the other side here. Now while Chuck finishes tacking 'em up, I'll bolt this cross member to tranny mount.
(Chuck)>> Alright. Now we're ready to measure from the cross member to the bottom of the frame. You want to make sure the distance is the same on both sides. Then we can go ahead and add this vertical support that we made. Alright, now we've welded our vertical supports in place and built a couple of holes here through the frame. Now we've got a removable cross member.
(Joe)>> good job there. Now here are those engine mounts with our gussets all tacked in. All you have to do now is finish welding and you can drop in your real powertrain. Hang with us. We've got more Horsepower TV ahead. [ music ] [ )>> Light'em! [ engine revving ]
(Joe)>> Next it's all Harley and all American two wheel thrills. We'll take you to the bash in Bowling Green, stay with us.
[ music ]
(Chuck)>> Hey we like anything that makes horsepower from cool cars to, well, hot rods with handlebars. Check this one out. Now, it can't make up its mind whether it's a '57 Chevy or a Harley Davidson. Actually it's a little bit of both. It's a one-off creation by Paul Herman from Hendersonville, Tennessee and it's hand-fabed from original sheet metal including the head light bezel and louvers, the hood bullet, and well, even the dash is built in. So much for the beauty.
(Joe)>> Now for the beast. This is a Harley pro dragster owned by John and Cindy Miller of Nashville, and it's built with one purpose in mind - going fast in a straight line. It's got two world records for ET, and mile and hour. And the place where it happened? The annual superbowl of speed for fast hauling Harleys. [ music ] ( )>> Once you've got it in your blood, you just can't get rid of it.
(Chaz)>> Right now Harley's is where it's at.
(Linda)>> I've raced for years, so I should be used to it, but I feel a rush every time. (Joe off camera)>> Who wouldn't get a rush riding a Harley down the quarter mile at 200 or more in less than seven seconds. It's a thrill just to watch these fast hauling Harleys especially here at the American Drag Bike Association's world finals. ( )>> They're fast, they're fantastic, and they never stop. (Joe off camera)>> In addition to amateur divisions, the all Harley drags feature some serious contenders in classes like top fuel, pro drag, and pro stock in which Chaz O'neill is rookie of the year.
(Chaz)>> It's like getting shot out of a cannon, you know. You don't have much time to think. But it's wonderful. When you get down to the end your ole heart's pumping and you feel good and you're going, yeah, good run, you know. (Joe off camera)>> Veteran rider Linda Jackson just graduated to the pro stock ranks after years of competition in top gas.
(Linda)>> I think the pro stock is everybody's dream. If you've raced in the gas classes, ultimately you want to get to pro stock. You're looking for the big tire and the bigger motor. I'm just a horsepower nut. Always have been. Got the opportunity to do this and am forever grateful for that. (Joe off camera)>> Tennessean Red Rhea's class of choice is pro fuel. He's got a bike with a fuel-injected motor locked in high gear.
(Red)>> It feels kinda lazy leaving but boy in the middle of the race track does it pull hard. I mean it really drills you back and you can tell by the eighth mile whether you're on a good pass or not. (Joe off camera)>> This weekend the man to watch is the ADBA's king of the hill, top fueler Johnny Mancuso. Already this year's IHRA champ, he's gunning for another title with his nitro powered Harley with a 157 cubic inch overkill engine. ( )>> He's the man!
(Johnny)>> It's a big motor. It uses a side by side connecting rod, the same type of connecting rod that's used in the top fuel cars. This motor develops about 625 horsepower and will propel the bike over 207 miles an hour in 6.6 seconds. (Joe off camera)>> So what's it like to rocket down the strip on a six-second, nitro burning boss hog like this?
(Johnny)>> Actually the quicker and faster it goes, the better off it is, the easier it is to handle. When the bike is making a good run, it'll leave real hard, it'll jump up on the wheelie bars, and it'll carry the front tire anywhere from 800 to a thousand feet. [ engine revving ] [ music ] (Joe off camera)>> With qualifying runs way into the night, the scene was set for a red-hot Harley drag elimination on sunday. [ engine revving ]
(Linda)>> I'm qualified fourth. Pretty darn good for the little motor we've got. We have to work awfully hard to stay in the hunt. (Joe off camera)>> Linda lost in round one of eliminations, as did Chaz O'neill. But let's fast forward to the finals. Dirk Higgins from upper Sandusky, Ohio powered his '96 Buell to an 8.24 at 153 an hour to win pro stock. Bob Totty from Murfreesboro, Tennessee took pro drag honors with a 7.50 at 173. And, Mike Romaine from Sturgis, Michigan was the winner in pro fuel with a 7.10 at 149. Then the big moment. The finals of top fuel. Johnny Mancuso, already with enough points to win the championship, against Steve Moore from Spartanburg, South Carolina. There goes moore, but where's John? In a freak accident, a cylinder base bolt flies loose, breaking two ribs and bruising Mancuso's heart.
(Steve)>> John's a good friend of mine. We've been racing together all year long. It's heartbreaking, man. I don't like winning 'em like that. But what do you do? Grin, bear it, pray he's okay, and keep on getting it. (Joe off camera)>> Mancuso was okay all right. And after a brief hospital visit, he went on to race a few weekends later. You can bet he'll be back in the hunt for another ADBA championship next year. In this wild, fast-growing sport, that's all Harley and all American horsepower fun.
[ music ]
(Joe)>> Hi, welcome back to the shop. It takes an efficient intake to make power. And right now we thought we'd look at some induction basics to help with your performance goals. As we look at this engine cutaway made for us by the folks at Wyoming Tech, the air and gas mixture travels through runners like this one before it's combusted. The more efficient the flow, the more power you make.
(Chuck)>> we've cut apart a couple of Edelbrock intakes to show you the difference and to help you make the right choice. Now this is a dual plane design that feeds one side of the engine from one side of the carburetor. Now, generally the runners are fairly small for good port velocity, and that translates to good low-to-mid range power. If you run an drag car with plenty of gear, cam and compression, well the single plane intake is the right choice for you. It pulls from a common plenum and the runners are considerably shorter with a lot more volume. This intake works best in the mid-to-upper rpm ranges. And remember the bigger the engine and the higher the rpm range, more port and plenum volume you'll need.
(Joe)>> now the next step up is the tunnel ram. Like the single plane, it uses a common plenum, but as you can see, it's much larger and so are the runners. These are used a lot for racing, usually mounting a pair of competition carbs. However, we've seen some on some serious street machines, but don't consider one of these monsters unless you have extensive head work, and, again lots of cam and gear.
(Chuck)>> Now this is the ultimate intake. It's a hand-fabricated sheet metal piece from Hogan's Racing Manifolds. Racers use them when they've optimized the flow of their heads by relocating the intake port. This intake allows you to match that relocated intake port and precisely tune the runner and plenum volume to the engine's specific bore/ stroke ratio and power band.
(Joe)>> Ooh, gee, professor power. Pretty impressive hardware there. Can I get one of these for my wife's Lumina?
(Chuck)>> I don't think so. But I hope you and your machine will breathe a little bit easier thanks to our inductive reasoning.
(Joe)>> Ooh they should deduct some of your salary for that one. Stay with us, Hot Parts is next.
[ music ]
(Narrator)>> Now Horsepower's Hot Parts brought to you by Summit Racing Equipment. Your source for high performance parts for 30 years.
(Chuck)>> We've all heard the old saying, "a shift in time saves nine." of course, we're talking about tenths of a second on the dragstrip here. If you run a 700 r-4 trans, you'll probably be interested in this shift recalibration kit from SLP Engineering. Now, not only does it tighten up your shifts for improved performance, but it also adds to your transmission's durability. You can install one of these in about three hours without removing the transmission. Course if you want one of these, it will be necessary to remove about a hundred bucks from your wallet.
(Joe)>> If you'd like an easy and accurate way to measure your vehicle's performance, how 'bout this GTech Pro Performance meter. This thing attaches to your windshield just like a radar detector. And it'll give you zero to 60 and quarter mile numbers, plus horsepower and GForces. Now, it uses a precision accelerometer and other high tech electronics to give information you can use to fine tune your vehicle. Of course, you'll have to tune up your budget to about $140 dollars.
(Chuck)>> Hey, nobody likes to work in a sloppy shop, and whether you're at home or the race track, here's an easy way to get organized. These trick tool trays and convenient cabinets from Pit Pal Products have hundreds of uses, whether it's keeping things organized between rounds or just keeping things off the garage floor between projects.
(Joe)>> you see a lot of those hanging on trailers at the track. And check this out. It's a handy table that puts your work surface where you need it. Here's something we need you to watch, next week's Horsepower TV. [ music ]
(Joe)>> We'll drop our 502 big block into Project Blue Thunder. Plus install a high performance tranny, headers, and exhaust. We'll get some pin stripping tips from a pro as he put the paint to our '32 Roadster. Plus we'll take you to the track and follow some drag racing stars of tomorrow as they pursue their own passion for power and speed. ( )>> Fled kinda scarry. Felt good!
(Chuck)>> And remember, high performance fun is what this show's all about.
(Joe)>> Need me to give you a hand with this hood? Let's sling it on this supercharged station wagon. I'm taking bets again.
(Joe)>> No bets today.
(Chuck)>> Set it down in there. We're ready for thos bolts. [ music ]
(Narrator)>> Horsepower TV is an RTM Production.
Show Full Transcript
(Joe)>> How would you like to bolt an extra 100 horsepower onto your grocery getter? We'll show you how right now on Horsepower TV. Today on Horsepower TV we'll pack some power into Chuck's wagon with a new supercharger. Then put her on the chassis dyno to discover how many extra horses this grocery getter gets. We'll show you the inside story on intakes and help you find the manifold for your machine. Plus we'll take you to the annual Super Bowl for high powered Harleys on the fast quarter mile track in Kentucky. ( )>> We like fast.
(Joe)>> So hang on for Horsepower TV. [ music ]
(Joe)>> Hi, glad you joined us. You know the hunt for horsepower is relentless whether sitting astride a two-wheel hot rod like one of these we'll play with later or even the 1970 Chevelle grocery getter like Chuck's.
(Chuck)>> Yeah, that's right. That 454 makes plenty of power, in fact, it cranked out about 220 rear wheel horsepower on that last run. But I tell you what, there were a couple of times this summer when I just about didn't make it home before the ice cream melted.
(Joe)>> No we can't have that.
(Chuck)>> Now today we're gonna fix that though. We're gonna bolt on one of those sneaky superchargers.
(Joe)>> Yeah, I like the idea of that hidden horsepower, especially when it only takes a few hours at home and it's about as simple as swapping out an intake manifold.
(Chuck)>> It really is. Now you will have to add a couple of drive pulleys, but you get to keep all your stock accessories and brackets. Tell you what, I'm gonna start by draining the radiator.
(Joe)>> I'll check our parts. The kit we ordered from b&m is their 174 power charger for big block Chevys and it's a roots type blower with rotors that are Teflon-tipped for maximum boost efficiency. The kit also includes this intake, pulleys, idler, and a serpentine drive belt system.
(Chuck)>> Now that blower is flanged for a single four-barrel. Hey we could of used the stock quadrajet back there. But we're looking for even more performance, so we're gonna use this 750 cfm, vacuum secondary piece from Holley.
(Joe)>> Well let's get that hood out of the way then we can start unbolting the old intake. [ music ] [ drill spinning ] [ music ] Now before you can bolt anything up, you need to make sure the mating surfaces are perfectly clean, then you drop on those gaskets. [ grinder buzzing ]
(Chuck)>> Now the blower kit comes with these cool Fel-Pro high performance gaskets. And check this out, they've already got this silicone sealant in place. Now, make sure you run a bead of silcone on each end of the block, then you're ready to drop the intake in place.
Now, before we bolt up the blower, we've got a couple of things to take care of like installing that blower drive pulley. Now b&m offers an assortment that allows you to vary the boost level. We're gonna start with this one that'll give us five to seven psi. Of course, the smaller ones will spin the blower faster and give you even more boost. Put a little thread lock on the bolt here to keep it from backing out.
(Joe)>> Here's a tip. Stuff a clean rag in the carb opening so the rotors won't turn while you torque it down.
(Chuck)>> Now we're gonna torque it down to about 30 pounds.
(Joe)>> With the gasket on our intake, we're ready to drop on the blower. There she goes. Then we'll keep 'er in place with these four retaining bolts that came with our kit. This thing might look small but it delivers big power. In fact, we're looking for an extra one hundred horsepower once we're finished with this project.
(Chuck)>> That's right. And, we're gonna do it for under $2,000 dollars. Now I see you've been busy. You've got the fan and the shroud out of the way so we can put these bottom drive pulleys on. Tell you what, i'll show you it all goes together. Now, we're using this display engine to give you a little bit better look. But you want to remove the stock retaining bolts, then you add the spacers to this lip that's inside your stock pulley. The drive pulley goes on next. And it's all secured with the longer bolts that are supplied in the kit. Torque 'em to 35 foot pounds and don't forget a little thread lock. Now, we're ready for the idler pulley. It installs under the blower snout with this bracket and it's spring loaded to keep tension on the belt.
(Joe)>> We're getting close to putting some fire in the hole, but we can't do it without the distributor. So with number one cylinder at top dead center, we drop the distributor in making sure the rotor lines up with the number one plug position using this mark we put on the body. Then we put back the hold down clamp, wires and the cap.
(Chuck)>> Now, check out this neat little bracket we found in the B&M catalog. It mounts both the throttle cable and the kick-down cable. Just bolts right up between the blower and the carb.
(Joe)>> We also ordered this Cool fuel line kit which goes on next. Now we'll plumb it to the fuel pump using Russell a/n fittings and braided steel line.
(Chuck)>> I've already gone ahead and installed the blower drive belt and that showed us a clearance problem we had between it and the stock fan. So we're gonna upgrade our cooling system with this low profile, dual fan unit from Flex-ALite. Now, it's got an adjustable thermostat for automatic temperature control. And, with these ties well, it attaches to the back of the radiator.
(Joe)>> That puts the wraps on our wrenching for now. Go ahead and fire 'er up Chuck. [ engine starting & revving ] All right, sounds good. But the big question is how much more horsepower do we get from our grocery getter? Go ahead and back 'er in. We'll see what the Dynojet has to say about that when we come back. Stay with us. Later in the show some fast hauling Harleys as we take you to the ADBA finals in Kentucky. Plus we'll take a close look at the latest in high performance intakes. Don't go away.
[ music ] [ engine revving ]
(Joe)>> Welcome back to Horsepower TV. And speaking of which, we've got our blower bolted to this 454 Chevelle and our Dynojet's all set for another run. How 'bout the driver?
(Chuck)>> Man, I'm ready. Let's see what it'll do. [ engine revving ]
(Joe)>> Check the graph, man. We got just over 330 horsepower at the rear wheel.
(Chuck)>> Man, that B&M blower sure did its job. Now that's over 110 horsepower more than we got on the baseline. Plus, I won't have to worry about my ice cream melting anymore. And just think what it's gonna do for my e-e-t.
(Joe)>> EET?
(Chuck)>> That's right. Elapsed eating time.
(Joe)>> Man, I should've known. Here's something else to put on your plate today. We've got to dummy up the drive train on our '39 Buick here.
(Chuck)>> Well, I hope we haven't bitten off more than we can chew. Even though we're using our '39 Buick as an example, setting up the drive train is about the same for any street rod. We've got this thing secured on jack stands with pretty much the same rake it'll have once it's finished.
(Joe)>> You might recall a couple of weeks ago when we welded on this Fatman Mustang front end kit. Today, we gonna use their universal engine mount kit to properly position our drivetrain. Now it comes with these stands and gussets. And we also ordered this universal cross member for our transmission.
(Chuck)>> Now, before we bring our engine in, there are a few things that we need to get out of the way first. We're gonna get rid of this pedal assembly, master cylinder, and this old cross member. [ drill spinning ] [ torch hissing ] [ hammer banging ]
(Joe)>> Now that we've got a nice open area for our powertrain combo, let's get it into place here. We're using plastic replica's of our engine and tranny from Pyar products. This'll give us the dimensions we need without breaking our backs. As you'll notice, we've got a level here on the carb flange. When that bubble is centered up, which it is now, it's just about the three degree engine angle we want.
(Chuck)>> Yep, it's level alright. Now we're ready to determine our fore, aft and vertical positions of our powertrain. We've already marked the firewall location here on the frame. And we'll want the back of the engine about three inches in front of that. That's gonna put the majority of the engine weight behind the center line of the front spindle and it's also gonna give us the radiator clearance we need.
(Joe)>> Now, before we lower the engine, we need to establish our crank centerline. Give it the old mark there, Charles. Atta boy. Now this'll help keep the engine centered side to side.
(Chuck)>> Now you want to lower the engine making sure we get it down as far as possible in the chassis. Now we've got plenty of cross member clearance but you might want to check your's just to be safe. You also want to check your ground clearance. After all you don't want to smash that oil pan every time you pull out of your driveway.
(Joe)>> Okay, using our mark, let's see if we're centered up. Thirteen and three quarters over here. And over here. We're good.
(Chuck)>> Well now that we've got the engine where we want it, I've gone ahead and taped it to the cross member to keep it from moving around. I'm gonna take this frame mount, bolt it up, and do some trial fitting here. We're gonna make that first cut from there to there. Now I've finished making my mark here and I'm cutting the inside of it so we can sneak up on that final fit. [ welder crackling ]
That looks pretty good. Now we're ready for the gusset. Just put our gusset here against the main mount and we'll mark it. That's where we'll begin our vertical cut.
(Joe)>> Of course you just duplicate everything on the other side here. Now while Chuck finishes tacking 'em up, I'll bolt this cross member to tranny mount.
(Chuck)>> Alright. Now we're ready to measure from the cross member to the bottom of the frame. You want to make sure the distance is the same on both sides. Then we can go ahead and add this vertical support that we made. Alright, now we've welded our vertical supports in place and built a couple of holes here through the frame. Now we've got a removable cross member.
(Joe)>> good job there. Now here are those engine mounts with our gussets all tacked in. All you have to do now is finish welding and you can drop in your real powertrain. Hang with us. We've got more Horsepower TV ahead. [ music ] [ )>> Light'em! [ engine revving ]
(Joe)>> Next it's all Harley and all American two wheel thrills. We'll take you to the bash in Bowling Green, stay with us.
[ music ]
(Chuck)>> Hey we like anything that makes horsepower from cool cars to, well, hot rods with handlebars. Check this one out. Now, it can't make up its mind whether it's a '57 Chevy or a Harley Davidson. Actually it's a little bit of both. It's a one-off creation by Paul Herman from Hendersonville, Tennessee and it's hand-fabed from original sheet metal including the head light bezel and louvers, the hood bullet, and well, even the dash is built in. So much for the beauty.
(Joe)>> Now for the beast. This is a Harley pro dragster owned by John and Cindy Miller of Nashville, and it's built with one purpose in mind - going fast in a straight line. It's got two world records for ET, and mile and hour. And the place where it happened? The annual superbowl of speed for fast hauling Harleys. [ music ] ( )>> Once you've got it in your blood, you just can't get rid of it.
(Chaz)>> Right now Harley's is where it's at.
(Linda)>> I've raced for years, so I should be used to it, but I feel a rush every time. (Joe off camera)>> Who wouldn't get a rush riding a Harley down the quarter mile at 200 or more in less than seven seconds. It's a thrill just to watch these fast hauling Harleys especially here at the American Drag Bike Association's world finals. ( )>> They're fast, they're fantastic, and they never stop. (Joe off camera)>> In addition to amateur divisions, the all Harley drags feature some serious contenders in classes like top fuel, pro drag, and pro stock in which Chaz O'neill is rookie of the year.
(Chaz)>> It's like getting shot out of a cannon, you know. You don't have much time to think. But it's wonderful. When you get down to the end your ole heart's pumping and you feel good and you're going, yeah, good run, you know. (Joe off camera)>> Veteran rider Linda Jackson just graduated to the pro stock ranks after years of competition in top gas.
(Linda)>> I think the pro stock is everybody's dream. If you've raced in the gas classes, ultimately you want to get to pro stock. You're looking for the big tire and the bigger motor. I'm just a horsepower nut. Always have been. Got the opportunity to do this and am forever grateful for that. (Joe off camera)>> Tennessean Red Rhea's class of choice is pro fuel. He's got a bike with a fuel-injected motor locked in high gear.
(Red)>> It feels kinda lazy leaving but boy in the middle of the race track does it pull hard. I mean it really drills you back and you can tell by the eighth mile whether you're on a good pass or not. (Joe off camera)>> This weekend the man to watch is the ADBA's king of the hill, top fueler Johnny Mancuso. Already this year's IHRA champ, he's gunning for another title with his nitro powered Harley with a 157 cubic inch overkill engine. ( )>> He's the man!
(Johnny)>> It's a big motor. It uses a side by side connecting rod, the same type of connecting rod that's used in the top fuel cars. This motor develops about 625 horsepower and will propel the bike over 207 miles an hour in 6.6 seconds. (Joe off camera)>> So what's it like to rocket down the strip on a six-second, nitro burning boss hog like this?
(Johnny)>> Actually the quicker and faster it goes, the better off it is, the easier it is to handle. When the bike is making a good run, it'll leave real hard, it'll jump up on the wheelie bars, and it'll carry the front tire anywhere from 800 to a thousand feet. [ engine revving ] [ music ] (Joe off camera)>> With qualifying runs way into the night, the scene was set for a red-hot Harley drag elimination on sunday. [ engine revving ]
(Linda)>> I'm qualified fourth. Pretty darn good for the little motor we've got. We have to work awfully hard to stay in the hunt. (Joe off camera)>> Linda lost in round one of eliminations, as did Chaz O'neill. But let's fast forward to the finals. Dirk Higgins from upper Sandusky, Ohio powered his '96 Buell to an 8.24 at 153 an hour to win pro stock. Bob Totty from Murfreesboro, Tennessee took pro drag honors with a 7.50 at 173. And, Mike Romaine from Sturgis, Michigan was the winner in pro fuel with a 7.10 at 149. Then the big moment. The finals of top fuel. Johnny Mancuso, already with enough points to win the championship, against Steve Moore from Spartanburg, South Carolina. There goes moore, but where's John? In a freak accident, a cylinder base bolt flies loose, breaking two ribs and bruising Mancuso's heart.
(Steve)>> John's a good friend of mine. We've been racing together all year long. It's heartbreaking, man. I don't like winning 'em like that. But what do you do? Grin, bear it, pray he's okay, and keep on getting it. (Joe off camera)>> Mancuso was okay all right. And after a brief hospital visit, he went on to race a few weekends later. You can bet he'll be back in the hunt for another ADBA championship next year. In this wild, fast-growing sport, that's all Harley and all American horsepower fun.
[ music ]
(Joe)>> Hi, welcome back to the shop. It takes an efficient intake to make power. And right now we thought we'd look at some induction basics to help with your performance goals. As we look at this engine cutaway made for us by the folks at Wyoming Tech, the air and gas mixture travels through runners like this one before it's combusted. The more efficient the flow, the more power you make.
(Chuck)>> we've cut apart a couple of Edelbrock intakes to show you the difference and to help you make the right choice. Now this is a dual plane design that feeds one side of the engine from one side of the carburetor. Now, generally the runners are fairly small for good port velocity, and that translates to good low-to-mid range power. If you run an drag car with plenty of gear, cam and compression, well the single plane intake is the right choice for you. It pulls from a common plenum and the runners are considerably shorter with a lot more volume. This intake works best in the mid-to-upper rpm ranges. And remember the bigger the engine and the higher the rpm range, more port and plenum volume you'll need.
(Joe)>> now the next step up is the tunnel ram. Like the single plane, it uses a common plenum, but as you can see, it's much larger and so are the runners. These are used a lot for racing, usually mounting a pair of competition carbs. However, we've seen some on some serious street machines, but don't consider one of these monsters unless you have extensive head work, and, again lots of cam and gear.
(Chuck)>> Now this is the ultimate intake. It's a hand-fabricated sheet metal piece from Hogan's Racing Manifolds. Racers use them when they've optimized the flow of their heads by relocating the intake port. This intake allows you to match that relocated intake port and precisely tune the runner and plenum volume to the engine's specific bore/ stroke ratio and power band.
(Joe)>> Ooh, gee, professor power. Pretty impressive hardware there. Can I get one of these for my wife's Lumina?
(Chuck)>> I don't think so. But I hope you and your machine will breathe a little bit easier thanks to our inductive reasoning.
(Joe)>> Ooh they should deduct some of your salary for that one. Stay with us, Hot Parts is next.
[ music ]
(Narrator)>> Now Horsepower's Hot Parts brought to you by Summit Racing Equipment. Your source for high performance parts for 30 years.
(Chuck)>> We've all heard the old saying, "a shift in time saves nine." of course, we're talking about tenths of a second on the dragstrip here. If you run a 700 r-4 trans, you'll probably be interested in this shift recalibration kit from SLP Engineering. Now, not only does it tighten up your shifts for improved performance, but it also adds to your transmission's durability. You can install one of these in about three hours without removing the transmission. Course if you want one of these, it will be necessary to remove about a hundred bucks from your wallet.
(Joe)>> If you'd like an easy and accurate way to measure your vehicle's performance, how 'bout this GTech Pro Performance meter. This thing attaches to your windshield just like a radar detector. And it'll give you zero to 60 and quarter mile numbers, plus horsepower and GForces. Now, it uses a precision accelerometer and other high tech electronics to give information you can use to fine tune your vehicle. Of course, you'll have to tune up your budget to about $140 dollars.
(Chuck)>> Hey, nobody likes to work in a sloppy shop, and whether you're at home or the race track, here's an easy way to get organized. These trick tool trays and convenient cabinets from Pit Pal Products have hundreds of uses, whether it's keeping things organized between rounds or just keeping things off the garage floor between projects.
(Joe)>> you see a lot of those hanging on trailers at the track. And check this out. It's a handy table that puts your work surface where you need it. Here's something we need you to watch, next week's Horsepower TV. [ music ]
(Joe)>> We'll drop our 502 big block into Project Blue Thunder. Plus install a high performance tranny, headers, and exhaust. We'll get some pin stripping tips from a pro as he put the paint to our '32 Roadster. Plus we'll take you to the track and follow some drag racing stars of tomorrow as they pursue their own passion for power and speed. ( )>> Fled kinda scarry. Felt good!
(Chuck)>> And remember, high performance fun is what this show's all about.
(Joe)>> Need me to give you a hand with this hood? Let's sling it on this supercharged station wagon. I'm taking bets again.
(Joe)>> No bets today.
(Chuck)>> Set it down in there. We're ready for thos bolts. [ music ]
(Narrator)>> Horsepower TV is an RTM Production.
