RPM Magazine April 2023 Mini Issue

STRAIGHT-WEIGHT PERFORMANCE

HIGH PERFORMANCE MINERAL DRAG RACING OIL

Mineral based engine oil designed to enable maximum power while providing ultimate protection under the most severe race conditions.

• Unique friction modifier system enables maximum power output

• “Stay-in-place” chemistry and 2X Zinc anti-wear system provide lasting protection

• High quality base stocks enable effective ring seal

• Advanced, proprietary additive system keeps your engine clean

• Designed to prevent separation caused by fuel dilution

• Available in 50WT, 60WT & 70WT

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.............................................................. CHRIS BIRO EDITOR@RPMMAG.COM

V.P. MARKETING/CUSTOMER RELATIONS TRISH BIRO TRISH@RPMMAG.COM

E VENT MEDIA ..................................................EVENTS@RPMMAG.COM

E VENT SUBSCRIPTIONS COORDINATOR SHERRIE WEBER SHERRIE@RPMMAG.COM

ART DIRECTOR ............................................................ JIM MCHARG

PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTRIBUTIONS: MARK GODRAGRACING. ORG, GEORGE PICH, MATT WOODS, LOUIS FRONKIER, BLAKE FARNAN, JERRY GARRISON, NEIL ZIMBALDI, EDDIE MALONEY, WES TAYLOR, STEVEN TAYLOR, DAVID GATES, AND ANDREW RADIOTIS

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: CHUCK SCOTT, MARK GODRAGRACING.ORG, TIM BIRO, STAN SMITH, GEORGE PICH, JAY MISENER, EDDIE MALONEY, WES TAYLOR, AND SCOTT FORBES

TECHNICAL WRITING CONTRIBUTION: CHUCK SCOTT, SHANE TECKLENBURG, TIM BIRO AND JAY MISENER

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Story:George Pich

Photos:James Cummins

It may look similar, but this wicked street fighter has undergone some serious retooling, and while we’re not in the in the practice of featuring the same car twice in RPM Mag, Jason Nolan’s Chevelle was just too cool to turn down.

Nolan entered an over 4-year rebuild of an already capable street/ strip car for one reason, he explains; “This was a running, driving car and probably the quickest it had ever been when we got beat one night during a big street race. After that night I felt that if I had just a little more power or another nitrous kit I likely could have caught the guy.” Yes, just as many hardcore horsepower junkies might have guessed, it took a lost race to inspire Jason to go bigger…and not go home! “That following Monday I started looking for a bigger engine to buy or build.

The Chevelle looked great and ran strong before Jason Nolan’s “Blitzkrieg”, now with well over 600-inches and 4 stages of nitrous at his disposal, this bad bowtie can be considered a weapon of mass destruction.

It only took one loss where Nolan figured that “with just a little more” he could have won. That set in motion over 4 years of work and a parts list as long as your arm to bring the Chevelle to what it is today.

My idea was to do a 632 or something similar, something that wouldn't require too much modification so that I could get right back out there. I stumbled onto an engine that a friend had for sale, although it was quite a bit larger than I was looking for, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.” As it turns out, that prerequisite of doing very few mods to get back in the game quick never materialized, but something much much

bigger did. Backing up for a few minutes to how this all started, it was the very first street race that Nolan ran while in his teens that got him hooked on the more un derground area of fast cars. Let’s face it though, the roots of drag racing and fast cars started on the streets for most of us and some chose to keep it there; the grudge and no-time drag racing of today provides a way to do that on a dragstrip as well.

...the roots of drag racing and fast cars started on the streets for most of us...

Jason bought this exact car in the 1990s, and although his original plan was to restore it into more of an original street cruiser piece, once he experienced the street racing scene, he quickly changed direction. “I saw cars similar to mine out there tearing up the street and having a good time doing it,” Nolan explained. “These guys would work all week and use their Friday paycheck to buy parts for the following week’s racing, each week coming out with a little more and being a little faster. Some weeks would be major setbacks, at least for those days. A detonated piston, lifted head or some other parts failure would usually lead to a badder, faster hot rod the next time out.

This Chevelle has a bunch of factory equipment left in the mix including the original steel body tub and doors along with factory roll up windows, OEM front frame and even the factory lights with original high beam switch!

Ultra-High Power Approved.

Trick Flow’s potent PowerPort® A460 340 and 360 cylinder heads for Ford 429/460 are ideal for drag racing, monster trucks, tractor pulling, and other ultra-high power, large cubic inch engine combos. Big Chevy-style exhaust port openings get the spent gasses out efficiently; standard or heavy-duty 18-bolt mounting patterns available. Choose PowerPort 340 heads with Fast As Cast® runners for near-CNC power at cast-head prices, or PowerPort 360 heads with CNC Competition Ported runners for maximum airflow and performance. Trick Flow built in several other performance upgrades too, like bronze alloy valve guides, ductile iron valve seats, multiple valve options, multiangle valve seat machining, and PAC Racing valve springs.

Your Recipe for Ford 429/460 Performance!

New heads are just one component of the horsepower recipe. To make it complete, you’re going to need some more ingredients.

Rocker Stud Girdles

CNC-machined stud girdles help control valve lift and timing changes due to stud flex, allowing more consistent high-RPM performance. Each girdle is anodized blue and comes with high-quality mounting hardware and hardened adjusting nuts. Tall-style valve covers are required, which Trick Flow also offers. Look for them at TrickFlow.com!

Roller Rocker Arms

These excellent aluminum roller rockers feature heat-treated CNC-machined bodies, premium needle-bearing fulcrums, roller tips, and a machined relief for valve spring clearance. They slide onto all 7/16" rocker studs and have a 1.73 ratio to increase valve lift. Sold in sets of 16 with polylocks.

Main Stud Girdle

Ford’s factory two-bolt main cap assembly is fine for mildly built 429/460 engines, but if you’re shooting for big power, you need this Main Stud Girdle. The girdle ties the main bearing caps and bulkheads together to significantly stiffen the lower-end of the block and provide proper crankshaft support. Each girdle is made from black oxide-coated tool steel, and includes ARP main cap bolts and a provision for an oil pump pickup tube hold down.