Hot Rod Magazine

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I must be getting  old or paranoid ( or both).  All the current tech stuff is something I am geting bothered by in my daily drivers.

None of my hotrods will have late - current tech in them.  EFI  may be about it.

Drive  by wire drives me crazy  for some reason.  I want a direct mechanical connection  between my foot and the engine.  I do not want a computer program decide what amount of throttle to give the engine.

The programing  in daily driver stuff, cuts engine power during WOT shifts, cuts main pressure in the trans during a WOT shift.  Of course this stuff can be programed out with various devices

[Okiedokie]

I am ready to test fire the new motor in my 40 and break in the cam. A few years ago when I started this build I happened on a great deal on a Tuned Port Injection motor, so I used it. Now I am apprehensive about the injection, wish I had stayed with a carb. I remind myself that the TPI is over 20 years old, and simple in comparison to todays stuff, but I still yearn for simple. Oh well. I was listening to an old Tom T Hall song on the radio today, Watermellon Wine. In it he is talking to this OLD guy who just turned 65. I turn 65 next week. Hell, I guess I am old. Bad thing is, if I get fed up with the TPI and go back to carb, probably nobody will want the TPI. Obsolete. Joe

[taxpyer]

For what it's worth,,,, I couldn't care less what is and isn't in vogue with hot rodding. :?  I spent 2 years scrounging up a tri-power set up for my car years before you could buy them at Walmart and loved every minute of it.  For me it's the thrill of the chase and to hell with the trends.  Thats why I'm on this forum because of the "let's do it" attitude that one finds here.  It's all for the love of the hobby. I'm getting over the hill  and I can't stop it.  If it wasn't for this great hobby I'd sure as hell be getting there a hell of alot faster.
I count on that "there's got to be a way" attitude that all of you have on this forum. Old or not it's great that we can all share our interests. Ya, time marches on for sure, but I cant think of a better hobby to spend that time on.

[brucer]

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0310htp_lt1_ignition_system_understanding_modifying/index.html

http://www.bailey-eng.com/

$400 plus buying another 8 coils.  :?

thats it, find a wrecked ls truck engine and get the coils off of it..  with optisparks going for $250-$400 a pop, i think it would be worth it.

[Carnut]

Sure do wish I had something wise and useful to say on this subject, but I don't.

My first car was my Model A Coupe with a 49 Ford Flathead V8 in it, which at the time, wasn't all that old. Heh, heh, actually at the time I was a essentially a rat rodder, a flathead V8, a 28 Grill Shell on a 31 Ford Coupe and the original model a headlights with sealed beams.



Then in 67 I wanted something 'modern' and a mopar B engine and drivetrain became available to me and so I upgraded the Coupe with a 1958 DeSoto V8.



Wow a really modern V8 complete with Dual 4's, heh, heh, now that engine is an antique in an antique.

Heh, heh, when I was going to college in 70's I also had an original 31 Model A Tudor sedan that I frequently drove to school. I always thought it was all the car anyone needed except for the braking effort it required and the lack of pickup in modern traffic. One of the reasons I sold that car was because I thought it deserved restoration more than the Hot Rodding I would do to it.

Back in 89 I put the rebuilt 70 model 350 Chevy out of my 65 El Camino into my 40 and really thought I was modernizing my 40. Now even that 70 Model Chevy is an antique engine.

Oh well they can take my carburetors from my cold dead fingers I guess.

Heck not long ago I put a MSD electronic ignition box and distributer on my 40 and now it don't want to run and I'm wary that I'll even be able to figure out what's wrong with it once it gets warm enough for me to check it out.

I've been working with computers since the mid 70's and most folks are quite surprised at my total fear of messing with modern computerized vehicles and engines.

Not real sure if I've ever officially 'checked a code'. Had my brother help check a code on my 89 Suburban when the 'CE light' was on, read what it said and couldn't figure out what it really meant so I just taped over the light with electrical tape, definitely fixed the situation.

Bout all I know about these govmt mandated Smog and CAFE things is they just messed life up for me and made things more expensive.

Heck I bought a 77 Chevy Silverado Heavy Half SWB pickup new because that was the last model available without a cat on it.

Then several years later when I wanted to have a muffler shop put a dual exhaust on it, they refused because 76 was the cutoff date in their books and I guess I looked like a Gman to them.

So, not sure where this is going, but I did think there were laws about modifications on the 'Package' in newer vehicles.

Course just like the barter/cash economy I'm a bit of a scofflaw on the car thing, just lying low and trying not to get caught by Big Brother.

Heh, heh, guess since my 40 ain't running right now it will keep me from trying to ebay it anytime soon.

Oh on the topic of this tread, more power to the youngsters who can figure out the new stuff and the oldsters who can pay a youngster to figure it out for them.

[WZ JUNK]

Be patient.  If we live long enough, what is old becomes new again.  Example HAMB.

John

[57larry]

if it doesn't have a carb on it, I will not deal with it !

[Carps]

Interesting responses.

I'm in agreenace with frank that now is truly the time for us all.

There's more available to support us and more options to keep us on the road.

The cars =being built are beyond the wildest dreams of my youth.

Just got through the best Hot Rod Show we;ve ever had, mostly all new cars with quality, presentation, variety and everything at a level we've never known here.

Of course not everybody sees it the same way, but that's part of what makes hot rodding such fun..

[Danimal]

I guess I'm in the middle. I'm 40, so I'm in the middle as far as age goes. I grew up with computers and use them all the time. I don't care for how stupid they are on cars when they set a code that could be 1 of 500 items and it usually is the gas cap.

On the other hand, I work in the OE exhaust business. Cats don't scare me. I've seen them evolve from the big pellet piles of crap that plugged up to the honeycomb substratest that they are today. 900 cells per square inch is pretty dense. It acts like an laminar flow element and really can help the back pressure problem. The computer controlled injection I like because we aren't dumping a boat load of fuel into the car that is just getting spat out the back. Spark plugs last 100k or more and cars aren't "worn out" at 75-80k. I've got 258k on a Trailblazer that keeps going. It makes me mad that I've got a stupid part that is sticking that keeps my 4x4 from going in but it pops loose if I back up (which is what I always had to do with my first car, a 78 CJ5!)

Court, Eli and I put a new intake on his '93 C1500 305 this weekend. Still a SBC but it really wasn't so bad to work on. Better than I thought compared to the fears of the late 80s that 'computers will prevent us from working on our cars' brought. And yep, that motor is obsolete as well.

Just like what was said above, you get the motor, find out the weak points, update those, and get some kid to flash you an EPROM along with an ACME wiring harness you ordered on line and you'll be fine. They know how to delete what needs deleted and what it needs to run so off you can go.