STRAIGHT-WEIGHT PERFORMANCE MURDER NOVA
Maxima Racing Oils
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
Made in the USA
MaximaUSA.com
RPM Magazine is a REGISTERED TRADEMARK of Revolution Publishing & Media Inc. RPM Magazine is a worldwide motorsports publication distributed online.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF.............................................................. CHRIS BIRO EDITOR@RPMMAG.COM V.P. MARKETING/CUSTOMER RELATIONS..................TRISH BIRO TRISH@RPMMAG.COM EVENT MEDIA..................................................EVENTS@RPMMAG.COM EVENT 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
FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CONTACT TRISH BIRO...........................519.752.3705....... TRISH@RPMMAG.COM
SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGER: CHRIS BIRO EVENTS@RPMMAG.COM SPECIAL EVENTS SALES: TRISH BIRO: 519-752-3705 TRISH@RPMMAG.COM SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADDRESS CHANGES: CIRCULATION CIRCULATION@RPMMAG.COM GENERAL INQUIRIES: 519.752.3705 INFO@RPMMAG.COM
To subscribe to RPM go to www.rpmmag.com or email Trish Biro at trish@rpmmag.com, or call 519752-3705. The focus of RPM is to bring a diverse mix of high performance street and race automobiles to life within its pages including race cars, muscle cars, hot rods and street legal machines with an emphasis on the “EXTREME,” including fast doorslammer and outlaw forms of drag racing. Not familiar with these types of cars? They are considered to be the top-shelf of the industry and are on the edge with regard to design, performance, and power! RPM Magazine does not sell its mailing list or share any of the confidential information regarding its subscribers.
RPM Magazine has been a world leader in motorsports publishing for 24 years and has support locations in Ontario, Canada, Alabama, Texas, and Virginia, along with contributing writers and photojournalists worldwide. If you have a story that may fit within the focus and scope of RPM Magazine’s coverage, please email our Editor In Chief at editor@rpmmag.com. Submission of an article does not guarantee that it will be published. Revolution Publishing & Media Inc. (RPM) / RPM Magazine IS NOT responsible for errors or omissions in ANY advertisement or article. Advertisements may be rearranged or altered at the sole discretion of RPM to allow the ad to fit in the space purchased by the advertiser. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY ADVERTISING WHICH WE CONSIDER TO CONTAIN MISLEADING, OFFENSIVE OR FALSE INFORMATION. REPRODUCTION OF ANY INFORMATION HEREIN IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT.
www.rpmmag.com | February 2024
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editor’s
RANT
by
Chris Biro
YOU ARE RPM! We’ve been here 25 years to serve you, the performance and race industry, and in case you haven’t noticed, just like the first issue of RPM, we still believe that every car has a story of both the car and it’s owner. We still believe that horsepower is something you build within your budget...and your budget is constantly changing and growing. We still believe that RPM is about you, not us. Listen, I don’t have a very big ego that needs to be constantly massaged, I care about giving you the exposure and press you deserve and strive to make you proud of what you have accomplished by showing your car off to the world and telling your story. At RPM, you are the stars! Hundreds of people ask me every single year if I watched this IH or that NH race etc. and I give them all the same answer; badass street and strip doorslammers are what gets me going. That is what I grew up with, that is what I know and that is what I and RPM readers identify with. Sure, we’ll throw some Pro Mod and Nitro eye candy in RPM MAG now and then, because they are supercool and great to read about, but we have done our homework and listen to our readers around the world, and they want wild, big power door-cars that run the strip, street or both, plain and simple. We are still owned and operated by the SAME hardcore horsepower lovin’ family! We still do not support one single race organization, group, track or brand but rather try to include cars from them all. We still do not let our own likes or dislikes dictate what goes in the pag-
4
es of RPM MAG...because it’s your magazine. The level of a build or a persons name does not secure a feature in RPM, we carefully consider each RPM feature car on an individual basis. RPM MAG was in print for 22 years straight with print subscribers in 36 countries and 7,000 newsstands in the US alone carrying it until Covid shut down our printers, made it difficult to get paper and caused 65% of advertisers to pull their ads. Because we’d been online since 2008, we poured enormous resources into the digital platforms for RPM and we can proudly say that our digital magazine subscriptions have exceeded precovid print and digital subscriptions numbers combined! We also still do print a limited number of magazines each month that can be special ordered by contacting RPM directly, and we continue to work with our industry partners to host their ads in RPM and help our industry sustain itself well in to the future. RPM has been copied by numerous people and magazines over the years and most are gone, and those that are still kickin’ are a shell of their former selves or have moved towards what they think gets them attention and dollars. That said, I am sure many more will come and go....but as long as I am at the helm RPM Mag will remain your magazine! We truly appreciate you all! Chris Biro RPM MAG Editor In Chief for 25 Years of Smoke & Gears!
February 2024 | 25 Years Of RPM Magazine
ACC Performance............. 97 AED Competition............. 68 AFR: Air Flow Research.............. 5,25,79 AJE Racing....................... 86 American Racing Headers........................... 24 Baer Brakes............10,103 BES Racing Engines......... 19 Billet Specialties.............. 60 Bill Mitchell Products................... 11,66 Browell Bellhousings...... 53 Burns Stainless................ 96 Callies Performance Products.......................... 68 Calvert Racing Suspensions.................... 99 Canton Racing Products.......................... 56 Chassis Engineering........ 81 Clearshot Customs........... 94 C & S Specialties.............. 84 Deez Performance........... 18 Derale............................. 61 Design Engineering......... 57 E3 Spark Plugs................. 70 ECAM Racing Engines...... 19 Engineered Racing Services..................21,100 Erson Cams...................... 80 Flex-A-Lite...................... 27 GoDragRacing.org.........112 GRP Connecting Rods...... 77 Harland Sharp................. 12 Hitman Hot Rods...........110 Holeshot Performance Wheels............................ 46 Hughes Performance.......... 7 Ian Hill Racing........71,112 Induction Solutions......... 51 Jesel..............................114 Joe Van O......................... 78 JW Racing Transmissions..................... 5 Kinsler Fuel Injection................... 13,70 Lentech Automatics.............43,102 Liberty's Gears................ 46
Lokar Performance Products.......................... 79 Lutz Race Cars................. 79 Magnaflow...................... 53 Magnafuel....................110 Manton Pushrods..........114 Maxima Racing Oils............ 2 Meziere Enterprises......... 76 Misener Motorsports....... 85 Moroso............................ 83 Moser Engineering.17,109 Neal Chance Converters....................... 64 Parts Pro................73,116 Paul Silva Performance.................109 PBM Performance Products.......................... 70 PowerTubeTV.................. 55 Pro-Filer Performance..... 43 PRW - USA...................... 78 Rage Wraps..................... 19 RAM Clutches.................. 33 RCD Engineering............. 78 RM Racing Lubricants...... 43 Ross Racing Pistons..... 7,84 RPM Subscribe ................26,52,94,115 RPM Video Extra.............. 49 Summit Racing Equipment......18,29,107 T&D Machine................... 83 Thermo-Tec..................... 18 The Supercharger Store.............................111 Ti64.com......................... 60 Total Seal Rings.............109 Trailer Alarms.com.......... 52 TREMEC........................... 25 Trick Flow................. 15,52 Ultimate Headers............ 86 VFN Fiberglass Inc........... 53 Vortech.................... 67,85 VP Racing Fuels............... 59 World Products............... 86 Advertising Info: Contact Trish Biro 519.752.3705 trish@rpmmag.co
AFR: Air Flow Research
JW Racing Transmissions
www.rpmmag.com | February 2024
5
February
2024
Often Imitated, Never Duplicated—For 25 STRAIGHT YEARS RPM Magazine has been the ORIGINAL Voice Of Wild Street Machines and Extreme Drag Cars WORLDWIDE! Don’t Settle For Less! We DELIVER Insane Fast Cars and Bring You NO POLITICS... JUST ACTION! Your ONLY “Real Time” “Real World” Car Mag...PERIOD!
Long Haul............................................................... 62 Roy Greenawalt’s wicked blown Chevelle is a lifelong build!
Double The Fun......................................................................................... 8
Rob Horton’s Turbo/Nitrous Camaro WILL get the drop on you!
Sublime Cat........................................................................................... 92
This wild blown Hellcat is a true 8-second street driven warrior
RPM EXTRAS
34
............................................................................................................................. From February 2014: Pat Spangenberg’s “Alley Cat”- it’s rough, tough and one potent Poncho!
Thunder..................................................................................................... 40 Welding Exhaust Systems - Pt. 5.................................... 90 Don Erwin’s Glidden Tribute T-Bird packs a big block nitrous’d punch!
Welding Your Header
Read COMPLETE ISSUES OF RPM MAG online at www.rpmmag.com 6
February 2024 | 25 Years Of RPM Magazine
+
CUSTOM IN STOCK PISTONS
Ross Racing Pistons
TRUSTED BY THE FASTEST RACERS, ELITE ENGINE BUILDERS AND HIGHEST HORSEPOWER MACHINES ON THE PLANET, FOR OVER 40 YEARS!
WWW.ROSSPISTONS.COM | 310.536.0100 SALES@ROSSPISTONS.COM ONLINE
FACEBOOK.COM/ROSSPISTONS @ROSSPISTONS
Hughes Performance
www.rpmmag.com | February 2024
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As a Mechanic by trade, Rob Horton knows cars very well, but we all know that making one go fast and stay together is another whole ball game, and Horton is very good at that, too!
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Story: Jack Dubois Photos: James Cummins
“It all started with this car…” says Rob, referring to his love of horsepower. “When my dad purchased this car it was totally original and it was built the same month and year as I was born.” So as you can see, this particular 1998 Chevy Camaro SS has a whole bunch of sentimental value to Horton, along with being crazy-fast! The Camaro is a legit numbered SLP car signed by Scott Settlemire (the GM Camaro Product Manager known as Fbodfather), which is pretty cool.
Baer Brakes
10
February 2024 | 25 Years Of RPM Magazine
■ If we showed you a picture of Rob Horton’s Camaro and told you it is a legit drive-tothe-track 7-second hitter, would you believe us? If not... mission accomplished!
Bill Mitchell Products
www.rpmmag.com | February 2024
11
Harland Sharp
12
February 2024 | 25 Years Of RPM Magazine
■ Rob’s Camaro is a legit numbered SLP car signed by Scott Settlemire (the GM Camaro Product Manager known as Fbodfather). On top of that, it was built the same month and year as Rob was born.
Kinsler Fuel Injection
As a kid, Rob has fond memories of starting to customize the Camaro with his father and the pair just kept going, at one point building it into a “talking” show car that they took to various events, complete with TV monitors and huge audio system. Eventually, the feel of adding horsepower overtook everything else, and they found themselves starting to worry about things like making the car lighter in order to go faster.
Out came all the subwoofers, 4 TV monitors, mobile satellite system and everything else associated with the audio and show scene and the pair concentrated on building power. They did, however, keep the power locks and windows and even the air conditioning until the car hit the 9-second zone and then some of that had to go, too. If we showed you a picture of Rob Horton’s Camaro and told you it is a legit drive-to-the-track 7-second hitter, would you believe us? If not, mission accomplished! Make no mistake though, this car is still street driven and it does run sevens!
■ It’s very considerate of Rob to let other drivers know he’s running a nitroused LSX…yes it sure is…bahahaha, if they only knew! Horton chose to mount the rad and cooling fans under the rear of the car which are just visible in this shot.
14 February 2024 | 25 Years Of RPM Magazine
Yesterday’s Looks, Today’s Horsepower. Trick Flow’s DHC™ 200 aluminum cylinder heads for small block Chevy feature exterior touches like straight spark plug holes and raised markings on the ends just like the legendary OE double hump heads. On the inside though, it’s all modern CNC-ported goodness. New 64cc CNC-profiled combustion chambers and 2.055" intake valves combined with Trick Flow’s CNC Street Porting process deliver big increases in high-RPM power and torque. You even get to choose if you want drilled accessory holes or not for the correct classic Chevy look!
Airflow Results
Dyno Results DHC 200
Test Engine: 10.2:1 compression 384 c.i.d. with Trick Flow DHC™ 200 cylinder heads (TFS-30210003-C00), Trick Flow Track Max™ hydraulic roller camshaft (TFS-31402002), 1.6 ratio roller rocker arms, Trick Flow chromoly pushrods, Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold, 750 cfm carburetor, Hooker Super Competition headers with 1¾" primaries, 3" dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. Trick Flow
DHC 200
Lift Value
Intake Flow CFM
Exhaust Flow CFM
.100"
68
56
.200"
140
109
.300"
200
148
.400"
244
180
.500"
275
204
.600"
286
217
.700"
290
227
Tests conducted at 28" of water (pressure). Bore size: 4.030"; exhaust with 17⁄8" pipe.
Your Formula for Small Block Chevy Performance!
New heads are just one element of the horsepower formula. To make it complete, you’re going to need some other components.
Track Max® Camshafts Give your small Chevy an even bigger power boost with a Track Max camshaft. Available in several flat tappet and roller designs up to 246°/254° duration and .555"/.555" of lift, they are dyno proven to produce significant power increases over the entire RPM range.
Retro-Fit Hydraulic Roller Lifters These affordable retro-fit roller lifters permit roller camshaft conversions to be made in engines originally equipped with hydraulic flat tappet cams. The lifters are manufactured to factory tolerances for an exact fit and to provide precise oil control to keep your engine running smoothly. Sold in sets of 16.
Roller Rocker Arms Finish off the horsepower recipe with aluminum roller rocker arms. Each set includes lightweight aluminum CNC machined rocker arm bodies with premium needle-bearing fulcrums and roller tips to reduce valvetrain weight and friction.
TrickFlow.com • 1-330-630-1555 2402RPCT
Some parts are not legal for sale or use on any pollution-controlled motor vehicles.