BTW, my math heading into the challenge last year said I would need to beat Andrew Nelson by 4 seconds in the autocross in order to try for a top finish. When he came within 1 second of me, I knew how it would end. I took a lesson from Mr. Nelson and decided I didn't need to waste my motor, so we never pulled the trigger on the nitrous. That's racing.
I did mean an unlimited budget where Roadkill built the car, not one where they simply drove over a brand new Hellcat. But I remember a year with a pair of Mustang Boss 302s attending that would probably not have placed in the top 3. Our car bested the regular Boss 302 at the autocross, but got edged out by the Laguna Seca edition.
I'm not sure I agree with the F-Bomb placement at the Challenge. Under the new regime, Hot Rod now recognizes turning and stopping as something cars often do.
Don't worry, there will be a new regime at Hot Rod in about six weeks. For a magazine about drag racing, it sure has a lot of changes in direction.
Drag racing? I think we're confusing Hotrod for Car Craft.
The F-Bomb was built to be a drag missile that could cruise around town all day. There where no pretentious that it was a handling car.
I had a subscription to Hot Rod for 3-4 years. Mostly it was high-buck SEMA specials and "look at how awesome we used to be" articles, interspersed with changes in editor and editorials that proclaimed the dawn of a new era. Has it finally improved enough to warrant the $10/year and waste of paper?
Car Craft was all about drag racing, but they were technical and they didn't try to be anything else. I kept my subscription to that one a lot longer, especially once they discovered EFI and turbos a few years ago.
Funny to hear all this about Hot Rod. I'm a long term subscriber and am not currently thrilled with the publication, but they are the oldest car mag in existence, and they will be for a long time, so I'm thinking that over the long haul they must be doing something right.
Car Craft used to be my bible. From around 1998-2005 or so, they ruled. They were all about junkyard builds, DIY stuff, and how to go fast for cheap. Basically, it was like GRM but for drag racing. They had two editors that had a profound impact on me: Matt King and David Freiburger. You all know Freiburger from Roadkill, but Matt King was THE MAN. I remember an article they ran on how to harvest junkyard engines where they showed up to a yard with nothing but a screwdriver, a pair of vise grips, and a cordless sawzall (that they dubbed The Tool, and they even made shirts for it!) and plucked an engine in under an hour. When I did my first ever engine pull, I used a cordless sawzall to cut the front of a GMC Vandura off to drag the motor out the front!
Later on, Freiburger went to Hot Rod, and that's when it got really good. I subscribed for years until he left again. Now, he's doing the whole Roadkill thing, and from what I understand, it's not really affiliated with Hot Rod. Not sure what happened, but the regime there is all different than it used to be, and content has definitely suffered. Now, they are basically all those scripted reality car shows, but in paper form. A shell of the former product, continuing to lumber about just on brand name recognition. It's pretty sad.
I'd love to see Roadkill at the Challenge. 
petegossett wrote: In reply to Woody: Two shirts, or two 911s?
He wishes two 911s but sadly option number 1
T.J. wrote: I secretly believe that we sometimes tend to over estimate things.
Now that's just taking things too far.
In reply to fireball123:
Lol. It just seemed like we were ready to proclaim we could win an F1 race and then beat a top fuel dragster in a 1/4 mile and then win pebble beach all with one challenge car.
Keith Tanner wrote: I had a subscription to Hot Rod for 3-4 years. Mostly it was high-buck SEMA specials and "look at how awesome we used to be" articles, interspersed with changes in editor and editorials that proclaimed the dawn of a new era. Has it finally improved enough to warrant the $10/year and waste of paper? Car Craft was all about drag racing, but they were technical and they didn't try to be anything else. I kept my subscription to that one a lot longer, especially once they discovered EFI and turbos a few years ago.
I remember in the late 80s/early 90s they invited some hot street cars to a drag race/autocross/something else event.
I also remember quite a few articles about turbo Dodges. When they were new, CC took a turbo Charger and got it into the 13s with alignment tweaks and other chassis refinements, not so much "add boost until we get there".
Of course, CC was mostly how to hotrod your junk for cheap and one-page stories about street cars/Pro Street show cars that they found.
I believe...everyone here has a project in mind that would be the coolest ever and wonder why no one has done it.
Bruce
egnorant wrote: I believe...everyone here has a project in mind that would be the coolest ever and wonder why no one has done it. Bruce
But if anyone actually did it, it would be played out and no longer interesting.
Actually, that's more prevalent in the general automotive internet than here.
So... daily driver E46 wagon with passe LS/manual swap, big brakes, suspension and fatter rubber... go/no-go?
I want a hot rod wagon but can't love the caddy for some reason.
If it's the car you want, build it! Who cares what a forum thinks!
But it would be cool. Even cooler if it was an E39 wagon.
I believe this is the only place on earth where folks would be more impressed with my 323 than the last new press car I drove.
Lesley wrote: I believe this is the only place on earth where folks would be more impressed with my 323 than the last new press car I drove.
I believe I can safely blame Lesley for the GTX craigslist search that's going to start in 3... 2.... 1...
If given the chance to spend a day with any famous Hollywood personality or Emile Leray, many of us would choose Leray and be horribly disappointed at the end because we didn't have enough time.
In reply to Brett_Murphy:
Who?
Brett_Murphy wrote: If given the chance to spend a day with any famous Hollywood personality or Emile Leray, many of us would choose Leray and be horribly disappointed at the end because we didn't have enough time.
I had to look up who that is. Sorry, my pic would be Tim Allen...Or Mila Kunis. I'd have to give that more thought.
I believe that if I'm able to get the abandoned europa I spotted today, this forum would help me figure out how to cram a fwd v6 and transaxle in it and make it to the challenge.
Leray built a working motorcycle out of his broken car when he got stranded in the desert.
http://www.odditycentral.com/news/real-life-macgyver-builds-working-motorcycle-out-of-car-that-broke-down-in-the-desert.html
egnorant wrote: I believe...everyone here has a project in mind that would be the coolest ever and wonder why no one has done it. Bruce
Yup. Smallmouth Triumph TR3 widened roughly 10", largemouth grill installed to maintain the front "look", engine / suspension fron NC Miata (Hey, purists, it's still a 2.0L inline 4!).
The need for cubic $ and time prevent this. But it would be very cool.
Huckleberry wrote: So... daily driver E46 wagon with passe LS/manual swap, big brakes, suspension and fatter rubber... go/no-go? I want a hot rod wagon but can't love the caddy for some reason.
I'd hit that! Can you add it to the (new) Coolest project thread over here:
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