Super Nova Fire Up

Welcome again to horsepower. The show. That's all about looking good and going fast. In fact, later we take you to the fastest and wildest event in the country for serious street car racers.

It's the world street nationals in Orlando where top competitors come to fight it out in a drag strip brawl where winners take home a truck full of cash

and a helmet full of bragging rights.

Of course. First, we've got to get our own race car ready for the track. Our 69 project supernova.

Yeah. And with a 572 crate motor,

we're hoping to get this all steel beauty deep into the nines, but we'll never do it if we can't get powered at our nine inch rear end.

Last time we showed you how to measure for a custom drive shaft and our specked out at 55.5 inches.

And here it is now, after we called in those numbers to Carl at the drive line shop,

he went ahead and fed up this bulletproof four inch aluminum piece for us. Check this out.

It uses 1350 heavy duty U joints at each end

and a steel slip yoke to fit that power glide output shaft. Now, here's something that's pretty important, whether you're building a race car or not, make sure you have your drive shaft balance. That's what this little weight is for. And that's gonna help you prevent any unwanted vibrations. And of course, the drive line shop does that to every shaft they build.

We're about ready to hang our clip back on the Nova. But first, I'm removing these inner fender liners for, well, a couple of good reasons first to take some weight off and secondly,

it'll give the clearance. We need to get past those front strut tubes on our roll cage.

After removing the front wheels for even more clearance,

we applied some masking tape to the front doors to keep us from chipping the paint when we install the clip.

But now with all the sheet metal back in place, the next trick is to get it all to line back up again. Now, when we first removed the front clip, I carefully removed all of the body shims, check this out, then I wrapped them with tape and marked them for their locations. Now, when we put them all back in the right places, hey, this is all gonna line up perfectly

well with our clip back in place and these bumpers hung, this Nova is looking like a car again. By the way, you never know how heavy these things are until you handle them. So

in a few weeks or so. We'll get us some fiberglass bumpers to take some weight off for racing. And now that's a great idea. You know what they say for every 100 pounds you take off your car, you lose 1/10 of your time slip. Now, as easy that bumper was, let's see how easy our electrical is gonna be here. We're gonna start with our cooling fan first.

By the way,

the fan that we first installed created a clearance problem between it and the water pump. So we replaced it with this thin unit from flex light. Now, the wiring remains the same. However,

the white wire connects to a 12 volt source from the relay

and the black wire just goes to the ground

with the water pump. The gray wire goes to a ground.

There we go.

And the pink wire connects to a switch 12 volt source

from the painless panel inside the car

and finally the alternator. Now this is a one wire hook up that we've already connected to the battery terminal on the starter.

Finally, we reinstall all our hoses so we could top the radiator with coolant. We're getting mighty close to firing up our supernova. In fact, as soon as I top off the cell with racing fuel, we can check the system for leaks and

if everything checks out,

we'll be right here. This 572 make some noise.

Most leaks occur around the fittings,

but you can also find them around the carbs fuel bows and even the regulator.

All right, let's cross our fingers and see what we got here.

The engine's getting fuel but it still doesn't fire. Check the ignition

again. Start by bringing the number one piston to top dead center.

There it is. And with the distributor cap off, make sure the rotors pointing to the number one plug wire

if that checks out, use a test light to check the connections to the ignition box and that it's wired correctly.

Well, I think I figured out why the engine won't start

when uh somebody did the wiring here. Well, they forgot to hook this 12 volt wire from the box to a switch, 12 volt wire

make that connection. Now, let's see what we got.

Uh Yes, the sound of success and you know what

ours is the 1st 572 to fire up outside the factory. That's really cool.

But now it's time to put a lid on this 572. And if you recall, it's a tall deck motor with a lot of intake and a lot of carbon

man, there's no way that that thing's gonna fit under a stock hood. So let me show you what we've got.

We ordered this four inch cow induction fiberglass hood from Harwood. Now, not only is this thing a lot lighter than that steel piece, but it bolts right up to the factory hinges and it uses the stock hood latch

and this Nova is looking good. Now, of course, soon we'll take it to the strip for some testing. Meanwhile, you stay tuned. We're taking you to the Super Bowl of street car drag racing. Next.

This is the prestige race.

Everybody comes to see who's the baddest man in the plane.

It's the hottest event of street car racing at one of the hottest tracks in America.

It's even hot enough for this week's horsepower and a snow cone.

Mm

That's good.

It's an end of the season brawl where racers let it all hang out for pride and piles of cash in four classes

ready

tire,

Mickey Thompson, 10.5

heavy streak

and the baddest of the bad super pro streak.

Saturday's qualifying day is a heart pounding crowd losing spectacle in itself

as racers push to the limits to make a 32 car field in each class.

Chris Little last year's radial tire champ knows the pressure just to make the cut here in Orlando.

It's getting a lot tougher this year. Um

A

lot of fast cars.

We're having trouble with our Nitro system today so hopefully we can get it figured out here and

get up in the field a little farther right now. We're down by and about the 10th or 11th position,

defending

heavy

streak champ John Schroeder was having better luck posting a number one qualifying spot early in the weekend in this fuel injected Nitrous fed Camaro, I

guess they're gunning for him. So,

but, uh,

yeah, like I said, you know, we're here to have fun and stuff too and we

try and do our best to win it. What do you do? Just take it one round at a time? That's it. That's all you can do, you know,

and hopefully just keep winning

them.

You never know what you'll see at this incredible clash of street car racers. Even Pat

Nie's famous foe retired from the sport was here driving Pat's Super Pro Street Camaro. What am I doing with

Nie's car?

That's like not having a woman for six months. You get desperate, you'll take any ride.

Tony took his new ride on this 684 pass, good enough for a number 10 qualifying spot.

But just making the cut here at the Super Bowl of Speed was a thrill of a lifetime to this racer.

Geneva Williams from Columbia Maryland. Racing in heavy street was only the second female racer ever to qualify

in the event's 11 year history.

I am in race heaven. I have just been telling everybody they better tie me down because I've never been happier. It's just,

it's wonderful here. I can't believe all the people I've met from Sweden

England,

Canada. They come from the truly all over the world to be here. And it's just a wonderful experience for me,

an inspiration to other up and coming lady racers. You bet

if you have the desire to do it, you can do it. Yes, I hope to inspire them all

because of a rain delay, qualifying continued into the night

and the crowd hung in for every thrilling minute as racers fought for a spot on Sunday's big show.

The finals of this ultimate street car, shoot out the world Street Nationals. You'll be track side when we come back.

Welcome back to eliminations here at the World Street Nationals. Can you imagine what it's like to be a three time defending champion in Super Pro Street? Well, nobody knows that. Like Mark

d'antoni,

how are you feeling today?

I feel real good today, Joe. Thanks guys. Thanks for being here. Thanks for watching us today.

Um Got a lot more people here this year. A lot more heavy competitors.

Now you qualified seven and you're happy with that, right?

Yeah, we uh we try to qualify in the top half of the top side of the field, which is anything less than eight

by, by doing that. We're in the, the better half of the ladder. We got a better shot at everybody

in first round eliminations. Mark was paired with number 26 qualifier, John Gullet

Mark was quicker out of the hole but Gullet catches up to win by a 10.

Meanwhile, Josh Schroeder was earning his way into the finals while also taking top speed and et honors.

Oh, remember Geneva Williams? Well, after a first round by, she was eliminated but still elated over making it to the final eight of this world class event

in Christian's first round. He was late at the line but strong enough to catch Ricky Wilson with a 68

and long time rival, Bussey was glad he recruited Tony for the team

and he was taking up basket weaving

and I just, I had to go get him out of there. I promised to bring him back Monday morning. I got a return. I felt sorry for him. I felt sorry for him. I had to go get him. He was basket weaving, doing a pretty good job. He's doing good.

Yeah,

we're having fun. We really are. I wouldn't put anybody in my car that can't do it. It's good or better than I can. That's all I could say.

A 661 et earned Ron Hugs

and his 63 bet low et honors worth the celebration itself here in Orlando.

Yeah,

but celebrating the top winners will have to wait as rain, delayed final runs to the following morning

on Monday. A small crowd showed up for the unfinished business of the 11th world streak nationals

and in the Mickey Thompson 10 5 blast. It was Chevy versus Ford as Steve Kirk's 706 cube. Camaro Rose past Mike Hill's Bus Day

capturing the win line

in heavy streaks. Schroeder made it two years in a row

as Robbie Hudlow fell out of the groove giving John a 752 win

at 100 87 miles an hour.

Now

at

radio tire yet another Chevy win as Bobby Fry runs an impressive 848 be Scott Hodges tire spinning Pony,

a

first ever west coast winner of this race.

Finally, the veteran Christian makes it to the final two against Tony Gilling,

but even a whole shot in the 707 cube. Camaro was not good enough as Gillings Blow Mustang gets their first meeting Christian by 10.

It was tough. It was

uh um you know, a lot of heavy hitters out here

and uh Tony

didn't want them in the final. That was a good drag race there. Well, here they are the proud winners of this year's ultimate street car shootout,

enjoying the spoils of victory and a bounty of bragging rights

till next year.

Horsepower T V's Quick Tech is brought to you by

Wyotech

last week. We took you to school, so to speak on how to shave the door handles off your car using of all things, Matt harris' latest project, a 1960 Buick Invicta.

Now, Matt took us through the paces of things like grinding away the primer

using a plasma cutter to cut away the old mounting surface,

making a steel patch panel

and of course welding it into place.

Well, this week, as promised, Matt's gonna show us how to install one of those remote door poppers. So we can get in that big bad buick without jumping through the windows. Like the Dukes of Hazzard. You don't wanna do that? I don't think so. So, what do you have here? Actually, it's a shave door handle kit for Molock.

What it features is a solenoid, the associated mounting hardware, the control module, a pair of remote transmitters,

a few relays,

the wiring harness and some very detailed instructions.

Well, obviously an old pro like you has no need for these. How does it work? Actually, it's pretty simple, Joe,

with the push of a button,

the control module will send a low current signal

to our relay.

The relay in turn

will send a high current

to our solenoid. The solenoid will then move this movement will actually

move our latch and open it.

This is the original latch from the buick

and the solenoid

will recreate this motion

to install the cable. I first drill a hole in the latch.

After running the pool cable through the latch, I installed the crimper.

It is important to find a mounting location for the solenoid that gives you a straight pull from the latch,

then mount the solenoid inside the door.

Of course, all this is happening inside the car door where you can't see but show them what's happening next.

What we're going to be using is a pulley to redirect the motion so that the cable pulls straight down with the

solenoid.

A variety of different kits are available and many will use the remaining wires to control a variety of different functions. But we're only concerned with those that control the solenoids. Right now,

the blue wire with the white stripe and the green wire with the white stripe will control those.

The fused red wire goes to a positive 12 volt source

and the black wire to a good chassis ground.

All right, it works. Absolutely. Even though these kits are quite reliable, it's always a good idea to install a mechanical backup just in case of a power failure. Hey, that's a good point. And he's not talking about a rock through the window.

You need a manual cable that you install in a hidden location. Absolutely.

In case you're working on a street rub, it's always a good idea to install one of these late model bear claw latches for a little additional safety. Good point

could catch

if you want race proven performance and reliability from your vintage muscle car, then check out MS D's ready to run distributor.

The housing is machined from billet aluminum

and all the electronics are hidden right inside the cap. Now, this thing comes with their high performance cap and rotor, but check it out, you can swap them out for stock pieces for that totally original look pretty sneaky. Huh? Now, this thing uses a simple three wire hook up. But if you have upgrades planned for later on, well, this thing is also compatible with any of their control boxes. Now, the price, well, it's pretty compatible with most budgets too at under 250 bucks.

Competition puts special demands on the car's oiling system, especially the filter.

So Fram meets those demands with its new racing filter that uses a heavy duty case that's wrapped around a low restriction media that filters out contaminants.

Even with high viscosity, ras

oils. It also features this heavy gauge tapping plate that will hold up even under the extreme oil pressures generated by racing engines while even the gasket is extra thick for positive ceiling and all you have to do to seal the deal. And one of these is visit your local parts store.

Well, here's a pretty slick product for you guys with high mileage motors in your cars. In fact, if the clock in your ride reads over 75,000, well, you might want to consider switching to Castrol GTX high mileage at your next oil change. Now, this stuff contains special seal conditions to help produce leaks and special base oils for extra protection against oil burn off. Plus you can get it in just about any multi vis

costs to help you meet your car manufacturers specifications.

Time to go. But if you're like us, you wanna hear this thing roar one more time. See you next week.