This California Bill classic will help you hot rod Chevrolet inline six-cylinder 216 & 235 CID engines, GMC 228, 248, 256, 270 & 302 CID engines, and Buick straight-eight 248 & 320 CID engines. Includes construction drawings, photos, and valuable easy-to-read and understand technical data. Reprinted from the original 1954 edition which sold for $2! A classic guide for any auto buff's library featuring California hot rods, track jobs, fast road cars, lakes cars, and GMC engines in Chevrolet cars.
Chevrolet, GMC & Buick Speed Manual Bill Fisher.Reprint of original 1954 edition. How to hotrod Chevrolet inline six-cylinder 216 and 235 cid engines, plus GMC 228, 248, 256, 27 and 32 cid engines, and the Buick straight-eight 248 and 32 cid engines. Includes construction drawings, photos, and easy-to-read and understand technical data. Sftbd., 51/2"x 8 1/2", 128 pgs., 125 b&w ill.
Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.
Follow the history of hot rodding through this nostalgic look at vintage speed equipment. When most people think of speed parts, they rewind a few decades and think back to the Ford flatheads that were so prevalent in the 1940s and 1950s. However, did you know that the speed parts industry began way back in the Model T era? It's true. As soon as vehicles were mass produced, manufacturers were looking for ways to make them faster. Manufacturers, such as Roof, Rajo, Winfield, Miller, Frontenac, and Holley, made speed parts for 4-cylinder Model T engines and accomplished speeds of up to 100 mph! In Vintage Speed Parts: The Equipment That Fueled the Industry, veteran hot rod historian Tony Thacker looks at the history of hot rodding through the eyes of speed equipment manufacturers. Covered chronologically, the book begins with the early 4-cylinder engines. In 1932, Henry Ford introduced the flathead V-8, which was slow to be adopted as the engine of choice in racing until the parts industry caught up. Once it did, the flathead, although interrupted by the war, was the engine to run until the automobile manufacturers introduced overhead-valve V-8 engines in the late 1940s. Chrysler's early-1950s Hemi and Chevrolet's small-block V-8 in 1955 spelled the end for the flattie. Both mills dominated well into the 1970s, and the speed industry was there to support all platforms in spades. During that period, every auto manufacturer made a V-8 worthy of modification, and the speed industry boomed. Eventually, the speed equipment manufacturers grew to the point of becoming corporate entities, as mergers and acquisitions became the much less interesting story. Parts covered include special cylinder heads, magnetos, camshaft and valvetrain upgrades, downdraft carburetors, headers, multiple-carburetor setups, and even superchargers. Everyone figured out how to make engines more powerful, upgrading with the type of parts that were being produced decades later, even to today. Join in the fun of reviewing the history of speed through this fascinating tale of vintage speed parts.
Learn how to rebuild and upgrade your Buick Nailhead with the first book ever dedicated to the subject! In this all-new book from Nailhead racer and veteran engine builder Gary Weldon, you will learn everything you need to know about how to rebuild and upgrade the venerable Buick Nailhead engine. Weldon takes you through each step, including a review of the birth of the Nailhead, the benefits of its unique design, serial and casting number information to source and identify the best project, and a history of the engine in development. Also covered are the processes of rebuilding, including disassembly, inspection, sourcing the best parts, making critical upgrades, reassembly, and break-in. Of course, all the machine shop work is covered, and practical advice on building engines for competition is provided. The Nailhead was a throwback to the early overhead-valve engine design, and that unique design makes it a popular choice for period-correct hot rod projects. In addition, if your torquey Nailhead resides between the fenders of a Buick Special, LeSabre, Invicta, Roadmaster, Riviera, Century, Skylark, Wildcat, or Electra 225, this book will help you keep that old beauty on the road.
A breed unlike any seen before or since, the powerful, stylish American muscle car defined an era in automotive history. This history traces the rise and fall of these great performance cars from their precursors in the 1950s through the seminal appearance of the Pontiac GTO in 1964 and then year by year to the end in the 1970s. Approachable and nontechnical yet deeply informative, it puts the bygone muscle car in its cultural and aesthetic contexts, describes developments in styling, performance and marketing, and revels in the joys of muscle car ownership in the 21st century.
A driveline expert guides you through each step of the rebuild process for 8.8- and 9-inch axle assemblies, so you can confidently complete the work yourself. He explains in detail limited-slip and open differential disassembly, inspection, assembly, final calibration, and break-in. He also shows you how to identify worn ring-and-pinion gears, rebuild clutch packs, set the correct contact pattern for pinion and ring gears as well as the backlash, and much more.
Renowned engine builder and technical writer David Vizard turns his attention to extracting serious horsepower from small-block Chevy engines while doing it on a budget. Included are details of the desirable factory part numbers, easy do-it-yourself cylinder head modifications, inexpensive but effective aftermarket parts, the best blocks, rotating assembly (cranks, rods, and pistons), camshaft selection, lubrication, induction, ignition, exhaust systems, and more.
The Muncie 4-speeds, M20, M21, and M22 are some of the most popular manual transmissions ever made and continue to be incredibly popular. The Muncie was the top high-performance manual transmission GM offered in its muscle cars of the 60s and early 70s. It was installed in the Camaro, Chevelle, Buick GS, Pontiac GTO, Olds Cutlass, and many other classic cars. Many owners want to retain the original transmission in their classic cars to maintain its value. Transmission expert and veteran author Paul Cangialosi has created an indispensible reference to Muncie 4-speeds that guides you through each crucial stage of the rebuild process. Comprehensive ID information is provided, so you can positively identify the cases, shafts, and related parts. It discusses available models, parts options, and gearbox cases. Most important, it shows how to completely disassemble the gearbox, identify wear and damage, select the best parts, and complete the rebuild. It also explains how to choose the ideal gear ratio for a particular application. Various high-performance and racing setups are also shown, including essential modifications, gun drilling the shafts, cutting down the gears to remove weight, and achieving race-specific clearances. Muncie 4-speeds need rebuilding after many miles of service and extreme use. In addition, when a muscle car owner builds a high-performance engine that far exceeds stock horsepower, a stronger high-performance transmission must be built to accommodate this torque and horsepower increase. No other book goes into this much detail on the identification of the Muncie 4-speed, available parts, selection of gear ratios, and the rebuild process.
Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.
