This guy has a really cool approach to going fast: Leave the engine stock and hop up everything around it. His formula has delivered an 11.62 e.t. at 117 mph from an untouched LS1 in a ’99 Camaro. How? Traction, gears, and weight reduction. It reminds us a lot of how Hot Rod used to test muscle cars back in the ’60s. The dude is Steven Mashburn of Independence, Missouri, and this SS is his first street/strip car. He got it for $11,000 two and a half years ago, scoring the hard-to-find, one-year-only Hugger Orange paint. This stripper also had perks like manual windows, no T-tops, and a stick. Drag-wise, it’s the perfect fourth-gen F-body. When he got it, all it took was Mickey Thompson sticky rubber to get it running 12.85 in the quarter, though a previous owner had installed an aftermarket airbox and a 12-bolt rear with 4.30 gears. It was impressive for a near-stocker but not quick enough, so Steven installed his only horsepower parts, beginning with headers from American Racing (AmericanRacing Headers.com) and 3-inch Dynatech exhaust (DynatechHeaders.com), eliminating the catalytic converters and placing the turndowns ahead of the axle. With a computer tune, Steven says that change made the car about 0.400 quicker in the quarter-mile. Another 0.400 was trimmed with an LS6 intake and another retune, pushing the rev limiter to 6,800 rpm and adding LS6 valvesprings to the stock cam and rockers. The engine makes 317 hp and 350 lb-ft at the wheels at Revline Motors in Kansas City, Missouri.
Photo Gallery: Steven Mashburn’s 11-second running 1999 Chevy Camaro – Hot Rod Magazine
Photo Gallery: Steven Mashburn’s 11-second running 1999 Chevy Camaro – Hot Rod Magazine
This weekend on PowerBlock Courtney features two Nissan Leaf all electric race cars! Ron Stukenberg, Senior Manager for Nissan Motorsports, brings the Nissan Leaf that won its division at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and a NISMO Leaf RC. The RC stands for racing competition and it could be the future of racing. It goes zero to 60 in 6.8 seconds and only weighs 2000lbs. It’s 100% electric so there’s no emissions, no CO2 gases or noisy exhaust. The other Leaf is completely stock except for a rollcage, fire extinguisher and more aggressive tires and wheels. Off road driver Chad Hord drove it up the 12 mile, 156 turn course in a time of 14:33. The race finishes at 14,110 feet and higher altitude means less performance for an internal combustion car. But the electric Leaf had no loss of power. Check it out on PowerBlock January 28 & 29. For more go to NissanUSA.com/Performance
This weekend on PowerBlock Royal Purple’s Mark McFann and Ken Lingenfelter, CEO of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, join Courtney with an update on the auction of the 1969 Royal Bird. Royal Purple wanted to give back so they put their ’69 Firebird on the auction block and Ken was the highest bidder with all the proceeds going to benefit Hot Rodders Children’s Charity. Plus Mark will announce a sweepstakes in conjunction with the release of “Real Steel” on Blu-ray combo pack and DVD Tuesday January 24th. Royal Purple and FunJet Vacations are giving away a V.I.P. trip for four to California to visit Legacy Effects; the effects team that made all the robots for the movie. Catch it all on PowerBlock January 21 & 22, plus we’ll have a gorgeous ’70 Super Bee too! For more go to RoyalPurple.com and for more on Ken’s car collection: thelingenfeltercollection.com
Putting your hot rod on a diet is an easy way to increase its performance (âCaddy Hackâ in Feb. â87 and âVette Hackâ in Nov. â10 proved it). But once youâve removed every ounce of excess sheetmetal in your car, lightened the engine with aluminum pieces, and gutted the interior, whatâs left? How about shedding 30 pounds or more from the engine compartment or trunk with a super-lightweight battery? The Lithium Pros brochure describes the companyâs lithium-ion batteries as Godâs gift to electrical systems: safe, powerful, ultralight, and with a shorter recharge time than a standard lead-acid or dry-cell battery. It sounds like the perfect battery, so of course we must test it. With a price tag of more than $1,395 for the battery and a dedicated charger, itâs a product aimed at racers and weight-conscious heavy hitters in the street car worldâyou know, the ones who have hot rods with a lot of onboard electronics to power.
Photo Gallery: Lightweight Lithium Ion Batteries – Pint-Size Power – Hot Rod Magazine
