A few days back we showed you a teaser image of a new carburetor Barry Grant and Demon had in the works. Well, they’ve now taken the wraps off and given us the full details.
Demon is calling it the 625 Street Demon, and it is designed expressly for street vehicles and hot rods with stock to mildly modified motors. The Street Demon’s most striking characteristic is its unique look for a carb, but Demon says it has plenty of other unique features.
Demon says this new carb is a clean-sheet design utilizing two 1 3/8 inch primary throttle bores. Most interesting is the fact that the fuel is fed through, what Demon calls, “triple-stack” boost venturii. Two of the boosters are suspended across the bores in a conventional manner, while the third is actually integrated into the throttle bore’s walls. The idea is to create a better fuel/air mix for good throttle response, improved driveability and better fuel economy.
To create the unique “box” look, Demon has integrated the fuel bowl into the main body. The bodies can be either aluminum or a polymer that is said to reduce heat transfer into the fuel.
This new innovation definitely looks interesting. For more information, you can check out Demon’s website.
No matter how qualified you are as an engine assembler, it is impossible to build a quality engine without good machine work. Properly machining the block and heads provides the foundation for everything else.
But unfortunately, good machine work is also where you will often tie up a large portion of your engine-building budget. Machinists can charge the big bucks for their work because it requires a specialized set of skills and lots of equipment (usually). But there are a few operations normally handled by machine shops that can actually be done quite adequately in your own garage. One is installing cam bearings–the only thing required is investing a couple hundred bucks or so in a cam bearing installation tool. Another area that most do-it-yourself gearheads can take advantage of but rarely do is cutting their own spring seats when going with a larger set of springs. If you are doing a major rework, it’s probably best to leave the heavy lifting to your trusted machine shop, but for light touch-up work, you can actually do a surprisingly good job all by yourself.
Comp Cams recently released a video touching on the subject that contains a lot of great tech info. Granted, this may not be for everybody, but for those of you looking to do all the work yourself that you can, this video is definitely worth checking out.
The Grand National Roadster Show is one event I’ve always wanted to attend but never have (yet).
Every year there are lots of cars eligible to receive the “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster” award that feature jaw-dropping build quality and attention to detail. The 2012 edition of the show was obviously no different, with some outstanding cars. The winner is the “Indy Speedster,” owned by Bill Lindig and built by SoCal Speed Shop. The car features a hand-made Sprint-style aluminum body.
We also especially like the “29 A Lakes Modified” you can see on the right. In the photo the flat paint may look black, but it is actually BMW Oxford Green. And, of course, there is no missing the Flathead providing the motivation.
After going out of business in 2011, a brand new Demon Carburetion is reforming this year. That’s good new all by itself, but the new powers-that-be at Demon are also teasing us with new products that look quite outside the norm.
For example, check out the teaser image we just received from them. This, apparently, will be a brand new carburetor called the Street Demon. It certainly looks a lot different than anything else out there.
Right now, that little picture is all we know, but it certainly has piqued our interest. How about yours? We’ll let you know more as soon as we hear anything.
We’ve always liked Darts cylinder heads, but the real eye opener came when we tested a set of cast Iron Eagles on the dyno. The heads made great power and you can dust off a new pair right out of the box for less than it takes to refurbish a practically free set of stock heads. You can check out that test for yourself.
So when Dart announced it is offering a new SHP aluminum head, it definitely got our attention. These heads not only offer the light weight and performance advantage of aluminum, they also arrive from the factory with a multi-angle valve job, hardened exhaust seats and bronze valve guides. You also get your choice between valvespring pockets to fit either 1.250 or 1.437 springs. Dart says they will bolt right up to any Chevy 23-degree small block configuration, and best of all, they will sell complete for $1,050 for a pair complete.
We’re looking forward to trying these bad boys out on a future engine build.
File this one under: Definitely don’t try this as home.
This driver got the ride of a lifetime during a track day at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California when something broke on his Cobra’s suspension while doing 130 miles per hour heading into a turn. Thankfully, the driver received only minor injuries, including a bruised knee and ribs.
Less important but no less amazing is the fact that the GoPro camera he was using also emerged from the wreck intact and ready to display this incredible video.
Sometimes you run across something that just makes too much sense. The new SURE-Lox by KRAMM-Lox is exactly such a thing.
I first ran across KRAMM-Lox at the PRI tradeshow in December. The idea is to replace the usual spiral lock or round wire lock with a unique wire lock that has a curved “tail” on the end. The tail locks into a detent cut into the pistons pin lock groove to keep the lock from rotating in the groove. The problem with a steel lock rotating is that the sharp edge on the ends can cut into the soft aluminum of the piston and deepen the lock groove. When this happens the lock can sit deeper in the groove and eventually allow the wrist pin to move past it and scrub against the cylinder wall. And if that happens you’ve got big (and expensive) problems.
But the unique “tail” on the locks also has another interesting use. Inventor Karl Ramm has come up with a simple and inexpensive tool that slides over the tail to install and remove the locks quickly and easily. We’re talking seconds to install a lock safely and securely. Plus, it also eliminates the annoying tendency of a lock to spring out of the pin bore and go flying across your shop and hide in the farthest corner. If you have assembled any number of engines, you’ve probably had this happen to you and know how annoying this is.
We are so impressed by the new SURE-Lox design we asked KRAMM-Lox to come on board as an advertiser. We plan to use them on some upcoming engine builds so you can see them at work for yourselves, but we’ve also posted a video you can check out below. Currently, CP offers SURE-Lox as an option with new pistons and we’re told more manufacturers will be coming onboard soon.
Fifty years is a major milestone no matter who you are, and performance car builder Shelby is celebrating it in a big way.
As you are probably aware, Carrol Shelby’s first car was the Ford 289 powered Cobra that has gained fame and infamy world-wide. Since then he’s built a number of different cars, but he’s most often associated with the Mustang. So for Shelby American’s 50th anniversary, the company is building three different Mustangs to celebrate its achievement.
Based on 2012 Mustangs, Shelby will be producing a special edition GT500 Super Snake, a GT350 and a GTS. And if you want one, you had better get in line quick. Only 100 of each will be made and those will be limited to 50 in black and 50 in white. Gold stripes will also mark these cars for their special heritage.
The GT350 will be the most desirable of the three cars. It will be availlable with as much as 800 horsepower and can be had as either a coupe or convertible. Other upgrades will be improved brakes, a new suspension package and a special VIN number to mark it as a real Shelby American vehicle. Of course, you will also pay for that horsepower and exclusivity: the car will sell for $59,995 on top of the cost for the base Mustang.
Performance brake system manufacturer is giving away a brand new Ford F150 pickup (a 4×4 Lariat even!) that has been upgraded with one of the manufacturer’s better brake packages. We haven’t seen this promotion getting a lot of visibility, so we thought we’d share it since you might have a better-than-usual chance of winning. Performance friction doesn’t require a purchase, but they do have a few short questions you have to answer.
The truck will be given away March 31, and the contest only runs for three months so there shouldn’t be too many registrants to compete with. To register for the contest, you can click here.
If any readers of The Horsepower Monster does win, please let us know!
A few days back we showed you a teaser image of a new carburetor Barry Grant and Demon had in the works. Well, they’ve now taken the wraps off and given us the full details.
Demon says this new carb is a clean-sheet design utilizing two 1 3/8 inch primary throttle bores. Most interesting is the fact that the fuel is fed through, what Demon calls, “triple-stack” boost venturii. Two of the boosters are suspended across the bores in a conventional manner, while the third is actually integrated into the throttle bore’s walls. The idea is to create a better fuel/air mix for good throttle response, improved driveability and better fuel economy.
To create the unique “box” look, Demon has integrated the fuel bowl into the main body. The bodies can be either aluminum or a polymer that is said to reduce heat transfer into the fuel.
Fifty years is a major milestone no matter who you are, and performance car builder Shelby is celebrating it in a big way.
