Install Day: '71 Chevelle Gets Its 502 Big Block, Transmission and Exhaust

(Chuck)>> Today Blue Thunder gets ready to rumble as we drop in our 502 big block. So, stay where you are. It's time for Horsepower TV. [ music ]

(Joe)>> Today on horsepower TV, we'll drop our 502 big block into project Blue Thunder. Plus, install a high performance trany, headers, and exhaust. We'll get some pin striping from a pro as he puts 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. ( )>> felt kinda scary, felt good.

(Joe)>> So hang on for horsepower TV! [ music ]

(Chuck)>> Hey welcome to the horsepower shop. No doubt our '32 that we built on last year's show earned its stripes, but today we're gonna highlight our hi-boy with the latest pinstriping style.

(Joe)>> That's right, but don't worry. He may be good with a wrench in his hand but we're not about to trust Chuck with a brush on this car.

(Chuck)>> Wait a minute, wait a minute. Now my wife let's me paint the house anytime she wants to, and I brought my own brush.

(Joe)>> Well this takes a little more technique than that so we're bringing in a pinstriping expert to show us how it's done. Hey but right now why don't we do what we do best and get that 502 dropped into Blue Thunder.

(Chuck)>> Good idea.

(Joe)>> A couple of weeks ago we started with a GM performance parts 502 horse 502, installed a Crane cam, added a special Moroso oil pan, an Accel super ram fuel injection system and an MSD ignition.

(Chuck)>> Before we drop in that big block we've got a couple of one and five-eighths holes that we need to drill in the fire wall here. That's for the fuel injection wiring harness. Before you start drilling make sure there's nothing on the other side that might get damaged. [ drill spinning ] Well now we can feed through the holes. Make sure the gromets are fully seated to protect the wires.

(Joe)>> Now as you can probably tell, the rest of our wiring needs some help too so we had M&H electrical fabricators make up this harness for us. This one's got a special disconnect for our MSD box that we'll install later.

(Chuck)>> I've installed this Edelbrock high flow water pump and this serpentine drive system. Now we're using it for several reasons. First of all it's gonna eliminate throwing belts, plus it'll reduce the accessory drive speed and drag. Course that's gonna free up a few more horsepower. This good looking set up came from March Performance.

(Joe)>> That monster's gonna make a lot of torque so we wanted to make sure it stays put. We're using these mounts from Energy Suspension that use urethane to isolate vibration and as you see in this cutaway here they have an interlock design for increased safety. Now on top of that it'll last a lot longer than rubber mounts.

(Chuck)>> Well now's a great time to lay in the headers before we install the engine. We're using these street headers from Hedman, use a one and three-quarter inch primary with a three-inch collector. Now we also sent 'em out to Jet Hot for their cool coating. I like to hold 'em place with this bungee cord.

(Joe)>> Easy now.

(Chuck)>> How we looking over there?

(Joe)>> Pretty good. Go on down. Bit more.

(Chuck)>> Just rotate her a little bit.

(Joe)>> There we go.

(Chuck)>> Oh man, it just fell right off.

(Joe)>> Hey man you've got this under control. I'm gonna say hello to our guest. Hey Rick looks like you already got started. I want you to meet somebody. This is a friend of ours, Rick Harris, who's been pinstriping hotrods for 30 years. What do you have planned for our '32 here?

(Rick)>> Joe, we're gonna put a triple line on here in three different colors. We're gonna use purple to go with the interior, down the middle. The other two stripes are gonna be vermillion (orange), and apple green. We're gonna have three stripes a sixteenth of an inch wide in three colors.

(Joe)>> Looks like a cool color combination. Hey, share a secret of the trade here. What do you do next after you clean the surface?

(Rick)>> To find the middle of the reveal what we need to do is run a tape guide on the car. This will enable us to run the first two stripes, one above and one below the tape. Once we get the first two on I'm gonna pull this tape off and we're gonna run the last stripe right down the middle.

(Joe)>> That's how it's done. We'll let you get started and check on you later. And finish up our work on project Blue Thunder right after this. (Joe off camera)>> Later on Horsepower TV how the forces and Amatos of tomorrow have high performance fun at a track near you.

(Kelly)>> It's fun and you get to go fast, and you get to be the driver.

(Joe)>> We'll join these junior Drag racers and we'll put one of these diminutive dragsters together, stay tuned.

[ music ]

(Chuck)>> Welcome back to the shop. We'll we got the engine installed and the header cinched down. I guess the next step is to go underneath and install the transmission. But what do you say we first take a look at what we've got.

(Joe)>> now what I've got here is a cool cutaway prepared by the folks at Wyoming Tech for us that shows us the inside story of a tranny. Now this one's a 350 but serves the purpose. Here's the converter. It sends power to the tranny through a fluid coupling. And, under here, this yellow part, well that's the valve body. It controls shift ports, firmness and gear selection. Now it sends fluid, under pressure, to these clutch packs, and they drive the bearing's gears.

(Chuck)>> The transmission we're using in Blue Thunder is a turbo 400 street strip piece from B&M. Now the torque converter's got a little more stall than stock for a better launch and the valve body's been modified for firmer shifts. Now back here, the governor and the vacuum modulator work hand in hand to determine where those shift points occur.

(Joe)>> Alright professor, we could go on all day about that, but it's not getting our trany installed. Let's get that car up in the air.

(Chuck)>> Good idea. Hey, I know we cover this every time we install an automatic transmission, but it's a very important part. Just go ahead and lube the snout of the converter with a little bit of fluid before you slide it up into place. Then push it and rotate it at the same time to make sure you're locked in to that pump. There we go.

(Joe)>> With that 502 big block and this turbo 400 our Chevelle's gonna be a real tire scorcher.

(Chuck)>> You bet it will. What'd you say we get it up in there?

(Joe)>> I'm pumping.

(Chuck)>> Jack 'er up. You lined up over there?

(Joe)>> Yeah. [ drill spinning ] We're attaching our torque converter to our flex plate using these special grade eight bolts and locking nuts. Once we get 'em all up here we'll torque 'em down to 35 foot pounds.

(Chuck)>> Alright, the cross member's next. Once we get it bolted in we'll start on the tran's cooler. Even though we've got this finned aluminum pan to help out, we're gonna rely on the main cooler up front to handle most of the heat from the transmission. Now we're gonna begin plumbing it using these hardlines that I've already bent to fit.

(Joe)>> For our Chevelle, we wanted an exhaust that sounds good. You know, just enough rumble. And one that flow's freely to take advantage of all that horsepower we've built into the 502. So we picked this American Thunder system from Flowmaster. It's got two and a half inch mandrell-bent pipes, all the way back. We'll get started by putting this head pipe in place.

(Chuck)>> Fits good up here. Looks good. I'll just finish with this last hanger and then we'll be ready for those mufflers.

(Joe)>> I guess you're ready for this now?

(Chuck)>> Great timing. Let's see how it's gonna fit. Man, these three-chambered Flowmasters are just what we're looking for. They feel like a race muffler and they're really gonna let that 502 talk to us. [ welder crackling ]

(Joe)>> Well now that we've got everything in place, we're welding all the pieces together. Back here, around the collector we'll weld the bung for our O-2 sensor.

(Chuck)>> Alright, that ought do it. You know, a lot horsepower generates a lot of heat. So we decided to use this aluminum radiator. Not only is it gonna save us a few pounds but it's also 30 percent more efficient in transferring the heat than a copper/brass cooler. This one happens to be from Griffin. But before we bolt it in, we're gonna go ahead and install a couple of these of spal electric fans. They're lightweight, they move a lot of air, and I gotta tell ya, they're really gonna clean up that front end of the engine compartment so we can check out all that pretty jewlery on the engine.

(Joe)>> Pretty fantastic work there, partner.

(Chuck)>> Well you did a pretty decent job yourself there, sparky. What do you say we drop this in?

(Joe)>> Why don't we get the car off the lift first? Might help.

(Chuck)>> Good idea.

(Joe)>> Hey those fans and radiator look pretty cool there. And speaking of that how about this cover I got from OPG.

(Chuck)>> Man, that's cool, too, I tell you what. You're just in time to crawl under the dash and install this fuel injection computer.

(Joe)>> You know I could, but, oh, I need to check on the pinstripe job.

(Chuck)>> How does he always find something else to do when there's real work to be done.

(Joe)>> Meanwhile back at the roadster, how's it going with the masterpiece here, Rick?

(Rick)>> we've got the first two colors on, Joe. Looks like we're ready for that purple stripe right down the middle.

(Joe)>> Alright man, go for it. Rick, I've got to ask. How in the world can you paint a straight line like that?

(Rick)>> Well Joe I've got the first two stripes on there as a guide for the third stripe. Plus, we've got the reveal as a finger guide.

(Joe)>> And, of course, years of practice helps, too. Rick, I know this never happens, but what if you messed up?

(Rick)>> Joe, you get to wash it off and start over.

(Joe)>> Uh-oh. Well we'll check the finished results later. But, hey, Chuck, how you doing over there?

(Chuck)>> No thanks to you, I've got the computer mounted up here behind the glove box where it'll stay nice and dry. Right now I think I need to go see my chiropractor. But don't you go away. We'll be back. (Joe off camera)>> Next a fast and fun way to keep kids on the straight and narrow. Then we'll shed some light on how racers of all ages can get better reaction time. Don't go away.

[ music ]

(Joe)>> Hey, welcome back. Guess what? Chuck and I are about to assemble our own dragster on the show. I know what you're thinking. Neither one of us have been able to fit into something like this for long time.

(Chuck)>> You can say that again. Now, in a way, those diminutive dragsters are the whole future of drag racing. And it's a trend that you may have noticed in your own neighborhood. Recently, Joe and I caught up with some junior Dragsters in our neighborhood.

(Joe)>> Yeah, we discovered that what these kids lack in size and experience, they make up with a passion for power and a quest for quickness. There was a time in America when the mere idea of kids racing in cars conjured up thoughts of delinquents on a one-way road to reform school. [ music ]

(Joe)>> Well, today junior Dragsters have taken youthful racing off the backroads and into a new level of character- building competition. Sure it keeps 'em on the right track, so to speak. But the kids love it cause it's just a blast to go fast.

(Kelly)>> It's fun and you get to go fast, and you get to be the driver.

(Joe)>> Now the boys, oh, and girls who race these junior Dragsters range in age from eight to 17, and while they come from all kinds of backgrounds, one thing's in common. The family that runs together, has fun together. Through several generations.

(Joe)>> Mike Jones races regularly at Music City Raceway in Nashville in his dragster. That is, after he serves as crew chief for daughter Kelly, in hers.

(Kelly)>> After my sister got into it, I got really excited and wanted to do it.

(Joe)>> What'd it feel like the first time you went down that track?

(Kelly)>> I was really excited and I was kinda nervous, because I didn't know what was gonna happen.

(Joe)>> What happened? Did you have fun?

(Kelly)>> Uh-huh.

(Mike)>> We get pretty excited about it. It's a lot of fun for us too. I enjoy it probably more than she does, just watching her race.

(Chuck)>> Hey, don't let these diminutive dragsters fool you. They deliver full-size performance. In fact, what they all start with is a five-horse Briggs and Stratton engine. But from there, get some serious horsepower hardware - everything from billet heads to tRick clutches.

(Bo)>> Once you make your basic horsepower, most of the addtional ET will come from the clutch. There are different weights, springs, ramps. It effectively is the combination clutch and transmission all in one unit. You can actually change gears with it.

(Joe)>> Junior Drag racing has been around since 1992 and it's certified by the NHRA. It's growing in popularity among young racers and their parents.

(Ronnie)>> My dad raced up here in the 50's and 60's. Ran super stock cars. I came up here a lot as a child. There just wasn't anyting this neat for us when I was nine or ten years old. [ music ] ( )>> Let it go! Hit it!

(Chuck)>> The rules for these youthful eighth-mile bracket racers are the same as for their older counterparts. And the techniques of winning apparently are too.

(Adrian)>> You can't be nervous or anyting. You don't have to be nervous. That's how you win and stuff. Just don't be nervous.

(Thomas)>> have a good reaction time and run dead on.

(Joe)>> Who makes the best drag racers, girls or boys?

(Adrian)>> Girls.

(Chuck)>> Why?

(Adrian)>> Because we're much better. They don't say they're gonna win. They're just gonna try to do their best.

(Chuck)>> We'll stay out of that argument. But there's no dispute about the fun these kids have and the motivation most have to stay in it.

(Thomas)>> I gotta keep most of my grades A's and maybe slip under an a once or twice on my report card. And then I take all my grades and average them together. If they come out 93 or above I get to race.

(Joe)>> While getting good grades and building their driving skills, these junior Drag racers also learn sportsmanship and teamwork. Only problem is racing gets in your blood. So what comes after this?

(Kelly)>> I don't know. I guess I'll get a bigger car.

(Joe)>> You wanna drive an alcohol car? They go a little bit faster.

(Kelly)>> I can handle it.

(Adrian)>> I'm trying to keep on racing and racing and trying again.

(Joe)>> Now a Horsepower TV performance tip for drag racers of all ages.

(Frank)>> Clearly motorsports and especially drag racing is far more mental than it is physical. And that's a great equalizer because you don't have to be a great athlete to come out here and enjoy the sport and be very good at it.

(Joe)>> Whether you pilot a Ford, Chevy, Mopar or a vintage Willys, winning on the strip is just as much mental as it is mechanical. Especially when it comes to cutting good lights consistently. Veteran NHRA racer and instructor Frank Hawley gives his students this advice.

(Frank)>> You can't think your way to a better reaction time. That's why they call it reaction time and not thinking time. The first thing you do is work on calming down. And then everything else will start to fit into place.

(Joe)>> Okay, you're cool, you're calm, and after a great burnout you're ready to race. Well even in bracket racing if you wait for a green to go, you'll come in a distant second place.

(Jeff)>> Good bracket racers will tell you that they can see three stages to each individual light. In other words, it starts to come on, it's on, and then it starts to go off. Then somewhere in there is where you're gonna leave.

(Joe)>> Consistency is everything in bracket racing and with patience and practice you too can nail the right light every time you stay in pursuit of a weekend of winning. [ music ]

[ music ]

(Chuck)>> Welcome back. As you saw earlier these junior Dragsters are a lot of fun and it's a great way to keep kids on the straight and narrow.

(Joe)>> Yeah, in more ways than one. Now the dragsters themselves range from home-made hot rods all the way up to factory built kits. The kits can be bare bones chassis all the way up to turnkey racers. And the hardware is very hi-tech.

(Chuck)>> Yeah, they've got those skinny tires up front and drag slicks out back. Why they've even got the butterfly wheel just like the big fuelers do. Course those young racers are well protected. Check out the five point harness and they've got this great roll cage.

(Joe)>> Good point. Now they have competition classes these days for kids eight years old on up to sixteen.

(Chuck)>> The engines range from a stock five-horse all the way up to - well like any good racer - they ain't telling. Man, bolting up this five-horse briggs is a whole lot easier than our 502 big block. Just four bolts attach it to the motor plate. Now this one here runs on gasoline. But the heavy hitters, they're tipping the bottle, we're talking alcohol here.

(Joe)>> Hey, Chuck check this out, man. What do you think?

(Chuck)>> Man, you look good behind bars. What do you think, you're sixteen again?

(Joe)>> Not exactly. I don't know how I got into this thing but I sure need a hand getting out.

(Chuck)>> I don't think so. I just remembered it's my turn to check on the pinstriper.

(Joe)>> Hey wait up, wait up.

(Chuck)>> Man this thing looks great but what are you doing?

(Rick)>> Chuck, I'm signing it. All artists sign their masterpieces.

(Chuck)>> That's true, but I gotta tell ya, these stripes really set this thing off.

(Rick)>> Chuck, this car was begging for a pinstripe.

(Chuck)>> It really was. Now I wish we could take it for a ride but we've got more Horsepower TV coming up, so don't you go away.

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

(Joe)>> Well here's a part that may have appeal to you guys with low riders, off-roaders and even custom street rods. All those vehicles have oil pans that are likely to take a hit once in a while. Well TD Performance has this new slam guard pan with a thick steel plate that protects it from perforations and other damages from bottoming out. It's got this cool chrome finish, and will only slam your budget for about a c-note and a half.

(Chuck)>> Great product. Now, if you're having a hard time getting a handle on your tools, here's something you'll be interested in. It's plastidip rubber coating from Eastwood. It'll protect your tools, cushion your grip, and even insulate you from electrical shock. Now you just dip the handle of your tool in here like this and pull it out and let it cure. Now they come in different colors and you'll only have to dip into your wallet for about eight bucks a can.

(Joe)>> No doubt, some of you guys out there running pro streeters have had a close encounter with a clip joint. Of course, we're talking rear clips here. Now you can back half your own car with this pre-welded clip from Competition Engineering.

(Chuck)>> That's right. It comes with either ladder bar or four-link configurations and it'll fit a wide variety of popular applications. Now here's the best part, though. It sure beats trying to figure out this tangle of tubing. Now, the rearend housing is not included with the kit, but for under a grand, quicker time slips are.

(Joe)>> Speaking of time we're about out of it but let's take a few seconds to look at next week's show. [ music ]

(Joe)>> We'll tackle some more street rod mods as we bolt on a new rear end, suspension, and brakes to a classic '39 Buick. We'll take you from the pits to the starting line of a red hot pro mod shootout, and a special visit to Las Vegas for a sneak peek at what's coming from the high performance aftermarket. And remember high performance fun is what this show is all about. Hey man, what are you doing?

(Chuck)>> I'm gonna dyno this thing. Here help me get it strapped down.

(Joe)>> You're crazy!

(Chuck)>> Let me get it up on the roller here.

(Joe)>> You'll dyno anything. Never done a junior dragster before.

(Chuck)>> This'll be fun. Hey you've got to get back in there again.

(Joe)>> You ain't getting me back in there again. Oh there it goes. Get it back on the drums.

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