That does remind me of another pet peeve of mine: "The OEMs spent millions and millions ..." and the implicit notion that automotive technology is a form of arcane magic beyond the ken of mere mortals.
Yeah when I mention that many modern things on cars today were invented by goofball hot rodders like us they don't believe me. Lol
Yes, and the perfect example of this is the rearview mirror, first used on Ray Harroun's 1911 Indy 500 winning racecar.
Wellll.... Nicolaus Otto used coal gas as the fuel in his early engines, and the fuel was injected under slight pressure into the inlet track. So technically... And diesel engines had direct fuel injection long before Hilborn and Travers came up with their constant flow system. And aircraft engines used fuel injection in some. So a better statement would be that hotrodders were the first to make an affordable system. I know just call me any names you want! I love the history of internal combustion engines.
Naw I actually just came across another pet peeve on FB. People posting wrong info and getting bent out of shape saying they don't care about your "opinion" when you correct them and provide proof. Guy was claiming that an sbc had the same bellhousing as a 216/235. Started bashing me saying I didn't know what I was talking about even though I had already said I had a 53 Bel Air I personally did the 235 to sbc swap on. I even went out and took this pic lol. Dude still claims I don't know what I'm talking about lol
What about one of the oldest : Idiots that don't know or care that the LEFT lane is NOT the "LIFT" lane, especially after they pass you at a high rate of speed , pull in front of you, then drop back to 55mph !! Yes, it's been a rough day on the freeway today!!!
My pet peeve guys that want there 60s style power train to run @ 1500 rpm at 70 MPH. Examples high stall converters that are non lockup, new systems have computers and knock sensers to keep you out of trouble. What is wrong with RPM I drove a 64 Chevy 327 150,000 miles with 4.11 gears with highway speeds at 70 MPH A 1956 235 Chevy 3 speed most got a 3.70 gear. That meant a 3.94 inch stroke engine was running over 3000 rpm at 70 MPH which was the day time speed limit in the 60s in Kansas. I remember the saying what kills engines is high loads at low RPM and no loads at high RPM.
Having picked up the one item that is not marked at the DOLLAR store and having to wait at the register for a price check! WTF???
That's a good one. 62 was the last year of the 235. When I put a SBC in my 62 Bel Air I had to change out the powerglide because it had the wrong bellhousing and wouldn't mate to the SBC. Aren't those guys funny? Once they've identified themselves I like to mess with them a bit. It's funny how much trouble people to go through to reduce RPM of their engine when if they didn't have a tach they wouldn't know any different. All my stuff has 3 speed transmissions and runs higher RPM and lives just fine with high rpm highway driving.
I deliberately changed complete rear ends to get a higher gear to lower my rpm at freeway speeds in my 56 Ford. There were very few open interstate roads in 56 and for the most part the speed limit were 55 and that’s the speed most drove on the 2 and sometimes 4 lanes between towns on not very good roads. Now at 70 mph my rpm is 2200 which is perfect for the most part and a kick down (passing gear) with run an easily 85 if needed. I didn’t want an overdrive but did replace the original transmission with a true 3 speed automatic. My engine is still the basic 292 it was from the factory and it performs to my expectations for the driving I do. When I’m on the road I drive with traffic 70-75 and I’m sure some think how is that “old car” keeping up…. Little do they realize that 200+ hp will run on the road just fine.
It's not that you can't drive on the highway without OD, it's just that it's better with it. First, with a tight car with good steering and brakes, 70 mph is slow nowadays, especially on open road. I have no desire to constantly foot a engine to 3300 rpm, sucking down loads of fuel, for hours on end when I could just shift into a higher gear, and put less load on the engine and go faster more comfortably. If it's done properly, it's not just lowering RPM, but properly matching engine powerband to converter, transmission, rear ratio, tire size, etc., to achieve optimal performance.
Back on the rust or not discussion, after building shiny cars for most of my life I had acquired quite a few parts that were the cool stuff but not anywhere near good enough to use on a nice car so I decided to build a rust-rod sticking with what is cool on a real hot rod but saving old crusty junk in the process. I started with a 32 frame that happened to be under a very rusty old model A hotrod that I bought a couple years ago off of Ebay for $234. I didn't even know there was a frame until I got there to pick it up. Fortunately I just happened to have a 32 Frame jig borrowed so we decided to force the frame into the jig and reinforce it and boxed it. Isn't this where rat rods got their start back in the late 80's or early 90's?
My pet peeve is dudes that don't read the ads they post...like the guy who posted about his "hot rod" Plymouth that had all kinds of cool stuff complete with an Idiot Steering Column....he should of also mentioned the "loose nut behind the wheel"....
The Jalopy Journal
