BEL AIR BIG BLOCK, ROW-EPPING

Hey, we're gonna turn my old Bel Air here into a big block bracket racer. So stay with us

today on Horsepower TV.

We'll drop a 502 cubic inch big block into Chuck's Bel Air bracket racer backed up with an automatic overdrive trance. We'll also install a new radiator, a set of power police and high performance shifter.

We'll take you to a new England dragway to discover the story of a crew chief who refused to let blindness dim his dreams of competition racing.

So hang on for horsepower TV.

Hi and welcome to Horsepower TV.

You know, there's nothing like breathing new life into an old muscle car. Well, like we did with our Mustang here a few weeks ago.

Well, now it's Chuck's turn. In fact, he's got a perfect candidate for this 502 that we built up here in the shop recently.

Yeah. Now I've got something that's been just languishing in my backyard begging for a new drive train. It's an original 4 27 4 speed 66 Bel Air. And, hey, this thing is gonna make a great bracket racer for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's got an engine compartment that's big enough to hold the biggest, big block. Plus it's a two door sedan that's a, a lot lighter than the more popular heart tops. And finally,

hey, this thing's got enough rear overhang to help us really plant the power. Yeah, with its plain white wrapper there, that thing ought to make the perfect sleeper. That's right. Plus it's gonna be pulling dual duty too, both on the drag strip and on the street. Of course, the cornerstone for this whole build up is this +502 right here.

We started with a GM performance part short block,

then added a comp cams roller valve train

and capped it off with Edelbrock heads

intake

and 800 CFM carb.

Now we figure this thing is gonna crank out about 550 horsepower or more. And of course, once we get the old Bel air built, we're gonna take it to the track and see what kind of numbers it'll lay down. Well, if you'll quit laying down on the job and help me get this hood off, we get started.

Now, before we drop in this 502, we need to remove the carb distributor cap and wires plus the headers.

Then we can install our lifting plate.

Finally,

the motor mounts.

Now the motor mounts come from energy suspension and they're made with urethane right in here to resist the effects of gas, oil and chemicals. Plus, here's something else. I like. They've got a positive locking device inside of them to help keep the motor in place even if we should have a motor mount failure.

Now, before we drop our engine in, we wanna go ahead and get these headers in place and wanna do it now because squeezing these big tube hookers in later could be a real pain in the butt. We also want to use bungee cord here to help hold the headers in place

there.

Ok. Bring her on

here.

Let me straighten it up a little bit clear. This radiator support here a little more. It looks pretty straight

out

there,

man. I wish we had this kind of room for my mustangs motor.

Drop her

on down. That was tight, wasn't it?

All right. How are we looking on those motor mounts? There

looks like we're gonna be pretty good. Come on. Ok.

Watch your fingers.

Got it.

Oh, hit it the first time.

Adding under drive pulleys is a great way to slow down your accessories, like your water pump and your alternator and pick up a few extra horses at the same time. Now, we ordered these from Moroso and here's how they work. This is the crank shaft pulley and it's smaller than stock while the water pump and the alternator pulleys are larger than stock. Now, together they combine to slow the whole system down

by about 20%.

That big 502 is gonna put off a lot of heat. So we need a radiator that's gonna keep it cool and maybe shave off a few pounds. At the same time, this aluminum radiator we got from Griffin boats right up in place of the original

and

it even accepts the factory shroud.

Now, here's what it looks like inside.

It has two big rows of cooling tubes instead of four for more contact with the cooling fence. Speaking of which these main fins here even have their own fence that increases the area that the air passes through.

Hey, how's it going?

Great timing, man. I just finished with the fan. All right, let me give you a hand with this.

There we go.

Your boat started over here. All right,

we first showed you our MS D digital six ignition back when we first built the motor and well, now it's time to hook everything up.

Now, the first step though is to find a suitable mounting location for the control box and the coil and to keep everything modular,

I've already gone ahead and fed up a mounting plate out of some sheet aluminum.

Now, it looks to me

like there's plenty of room right here above the heater box.

Well, now with the coil and the control box already attached to the mounting plate, we'll just position on the firewall here

and we can start wiring everything up.

Well, I'm all wired up for that, but right now we need to take a break. We'll be back with more of our bel air build up right after this.

I'm not as fast as other people,

but

they may not be able to do it with their eyes closed either

later on horsepower TV. The amazing story of a crew chief who sees with his hands and follows his dream of I hr a drag race competition.

Hi. Welcome back to the horsepower shop and our build up on Chuck's Bel air bracket racer.

Well, so far today we've managed to drop in our GM performance parts 502 big block. We've installed some moroso under drive pulleys, this Griffin radiator and, well, our MS D ignition. So now I guess we're ready for something to harness all this horse power.

Well, what we've got here is a four L ad E electronic overdrive transmission. Now, this one comes from jet performance products and it uses heavy duty bands and clutches plus a 34 element frag inside here to help harness that +50 twos torque. Of

course, the valve body has been modified too for firmer up shifts and it's got an internal gear reduction between the one and two shift and the two and three shift to help keep that motor in its main power band.

Now, according to my math, that makes that thing a six speed automatic. Well, right. You are Mr calculator. Why'd you call me that? Well, because I can always count on you. I hope I can count on you for a straight answer. Why did you choose this thing over? Say a turbo 400. Hey, well, you know, automatic overdrives are a popular swap these days. And here's why most of the automatic overdrives like this one here have a deep first gear, which means we're gonna get a good launch even with that 350 rear

that we plan on installing later on. On the other hand, a turbo 400 is a three speed automatic with a tall first gear. And well, hey, we'd probably have to run a 410 rear end to get the same kind of launch. I get it with a 410. You'd be buzzing up the motor pretty good at highway speeds. But with the overdriving 350 gear, you could cruise all day at 70 get decent mileage. Well, as good as the mileage could get when you're feeding 550 horsepower. Hey, I'll tell you what, let's get this thing on the jack. Let's do it

after lubing the converter snap with trans fluid

slip it in place, making sure it's fully seated in the pump.

Next, install a dipstick tube

and after positioning the transmission,

you're ready to bolt it in place,

then bolt the torque converter to the flex plate

and finally attach the mount to the transmission.

But now the four LAE is a lot longer transmission than anything that they offered in 66. So we're gonna have to move the cross member back and fab up some new frame supports.

Now, I've already gone ahead and bolted up the cross member to the transmission to help establish that new location.

Then using some angle iron for the new frame supports,

we attach them to the cross member and mark their location on the frame.

Then after grinding down to bare metal, we can weld them in place

as you know, older cars don't have on board computers. So we ordered this conversion kit from Jet and the software inside

has been custom calibrated for the bel air to control shift points, shift quality and torque converter lock up.

Now, we want to mount this box away from any extreme heat or vibration. So

as soon as I remove the seat and the carpet,

we can mount it on the floor here, that way we can pass the harness through this original shifter opening.

All right, this Velcro should keep the box secure. Now we'll connect the harness to the transmission once we install the shifter.

Speaking of shifters, we're gonna use B and M's New Street Bandit shifter to control our automatic. Now check this out. It's made from billet aluminum and it has a rear outlet for the cable plus a positive reverse lockout to help meet those drag racing safety requirements.

After mounting it in a suitable location past the cable through the floor opening,

attach the cable mounting bracket to the trans pan

and the shift or arm to the transmission,

then connect the cable to the shift or arm.

Oh, by the way, now is a good time to connect the computer

to the transmission.

Now, the final step is to adjust your cable, then check your shifter to make sure that you've got all your gears.

Well, right now it's time for us to shift gears and take a short break. We'll bring this Bel Air back in a couple of weeks to finish our build up. Meanwhile, stay with us. More horsepower TV is ahead.

Make

next we travel to the I hr a competition at New England Dragway for the amazing story of the Blake Brothers. Stay with us

horsepower TV. S race of the week. Trackside reports from America's best grass roots drag racing events

like all of these events. This one's about the challenges racers and machines face in that contest for quickness.

But our story is about one racer's challenge

and the contest of life,

top speed,

something every racer dreams of

and something racer harry J Blake will never see again.

Jay used to work as a mechanic but one day on the job, he was busy at work on a big rigs, wheel and tire assembly much like this one

when the whole thing exploded in his face. The accident left him without a sense of taste, smell

and worst of all his vision.

But as you're about to see Jay Blake never lost sight of his goal. People don't

conceive it could happen. They don't understand. Blind people can work on engines or blind people can do a lot of things.

So you,

I knew going into it that I had to prove to him I could and I actually figured there may be one or two people out there that would believe in me.

And that's all I needed. When I had my accident, I lost my sight, my smell and my pace, your sight and your smell are two huge pieces of drag racing.

And I gained it all through feeling the ground and hearing it.

It's an incredible rush when

the car is a great launch and we make a great run.

You know, there's,

there's nothing better. I started drag racing, um,

in the, in the seventies. Um,

actually the first car I drag race was a Cadillac. My father had and, uh, we took it for the day when we were in high school and came up here and, uh, ended up winning and I had to tell him I got the trophy for working as a pit crew on a friend's car.

Like five years later, we gave it to him at Christmas told him it was for his car.

He said, no wonder it never ran right.

He makes the decisions. I take some of the blame. He works on doing the tune up and things and I concentrate on driving, you know, if I get good lights and things, he's gonna keep me behind the wheel

if I screw up. Uh, then I'm in trouble. But he's, uh,

it's, it's actually been a good, good partnership. It's,

and it's fun. Um,

he's really worked hard to put this together. I'm really grateful to be able to be part of the whole program.

You know, I watched Jay this winter. This car was completely disassembled, reassembled the new transmission engine, everything was all completely gone through

and Jay did it all in his garage. He asked me to come down

and double check everything that he'd done

everything.

It was just right.

And, you know, that helped me build my confidence in what he's doing

because that's what it is. It's a, it's a process of learning about this whole thing for both of us. You know, being blind, it's, it's only been three years. It's still something new.

I have learned using my hands that I can see

incredible amounts more than I thought I could.

And I just, I take my time and the more I do something,

the more I can,

I know it and I see it and, and the quicker I get, I'm not as fast as other people,

but

they may not be able to do it with their eyes closed either

when you go in the burnout

in the park hit it hard. Get them hot.

Communication is the key with the Blake brothers. Jay rides along with the help of radios. Ok, I'm up,

I'm gonna get ready, uh, tightening all my belts, pulling it in,

making sure we're in gear.

I'm moving forward, putting my visor on prestage. Here we go.

Not

worry.

So,

better

than

better

racing is a big part of the Blake's lives, but it's not the most important part.

Jake co-founded. Follow a dream incorporated,

a nonprofit organization taking the power of positive thinking

to those like himself who have experienced a catastrophic event in their lives. The racetrack is fun but you can have a bad day real easy when you go out and do a presentation

and you make a difference in somebody's life or you make somebody smile who doesn't normally smile.

It's, it's an incredible

um failing and

very rewarding.

The Blake brothers truly exhibit the attitude to not only win at the track

but also to win in life. Life is what life is. So you're gonna make the best of it

next on Quick Tech. A look at cams and how to pick the right bump, stick for your street machine.

Oh,

today on Quick Tech, we're gonna talk about camshaft design and, well, which one might be best for your application. Now, basically, there are two types of camshafts roller and flat tapping.

Well, we've got examples of each from our friends at comp cams.

The most common cam shaft is the flat tap it and it's easily identified by the lobe shape.

Now, the nose is a lot more pointed than the one on the roller cam.

Now the flat tap at cam has been around just about as long as the internal combustion engine itself and well, it comes in two different styles, hydraulic and solid. Now, both designs are simple, economical and effective up to a point. Now, the fact that the lifter uses a flat face and by the way, that's how it got its name imposes certain restrictions on the rate of lift and how long it'll hold the valve at maximum lift,

high performance cams use a more aggressive opening rate to help increase horsepower. But as you increase the angle of the lobe, you also increase the possibility of the lifter gouging that lobe and causing damage. Now, that's not to mention the horsepower that's lost through the extra friction and the heat that it causes.

On the other hand, the roller cam uses a tap it with a roller eye base to help address those problems. Now, obviously, it's gonna reduce friction, but just as importantly, it allows the camshaft to snap the valves open, quickly, hold them at max lift longer, then snap them shut smoothly.

A flat tap at cam just might be the right choice for you if you're building a street machine or a mild bracket racer, but you need to be aware of its limitations. Oh, and here's something else for you to consider if you choose a solid lifter version. It'll allow you to rev your engine just a little bit tighter. Hey, good point there, Professor Quick Tech.

You know, I remember the time when these roller cams were only found in race applications, but, hey, nowadays you find them under the hoods of all kinds of new cars as well. You bet. I guess the manufacturers are starting to recognize the benefits too. Well, right now it's time for us to recognize some of our sponsors. Stay with us though. Hot parts is next.

Horsepower TV S Hot parts. A close up. Look at the latest in high performance hardware.

Say, have you got a 62 to 67 Nova? And you're tired of saying, hey, I could have had a V8. Well, now you can give it more juice with this small block swap kit from Chevy two only. Now, it includes the frame mounts and of course the necessary front up oil pan. It's also available for late model blocks with the one piece re remain. Now, the cost for this conversion kit is about 200 bucks.

Hey, if you'd like to convert your old steering wheel into a cool color coordinate one, then check out this signature series wheel from Grant.

Now it features interchangeable thumb rest in an assortment of colors including chrome and carbon fiber. Now, this thing's wrapped in a leather like vinyl and well, you can wrap your hands around one of these for about 100 and 20 bucks. The extra inserts are another 20.

So when's the last time somebody busted your ball joint? Well, now you can do it yourself with this heavy duty ball joint service set from harbor freight. Now, the kit includes the C frame press and an assortment of adapters that allow you to remove and reinstall ball joints in virtually any vehicle. Now, you'll have to press your wallet for about 55 bucks. Well, hey man, we're pressed for time. You can bust your ball joints later on right now. Here's a look at next week's show.

We'll see how much new horsepower we can make on this late model Camaro first by swapping injectors.

Then the throttle body

B

on performance pulleys and a new computer control module.

Also, Chuck and I will take you to Las Vegas to check out the hot hardware and other attractions of the annual SMA

show.

And remember high performance fun is what this show is all about

for information about the products used in today's show and more. Check us out online at horsepower tv.com

Horsepower TV is an RTM production.