This is too cool! Fuel injectors of Renault's F1 engine is spraying fuel in at an INSANE rate.  Even on the dyno, they're banging through the gears.  Must watch!...

It's no wonder RM Auction is celebrating their 10th year in Arizona with "Automobiles of Arizona" at the Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona. Accepting my invitation to their Media breakfast I arrived slightly more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed then the next writer and photographer because this was my first time to look behind the scenes. Tucked in a small ballroom with other friends from the Phoenix Automotive Press Association (PAPA) I got to meet the kind folks running RM and hear what Rob Myers founder and former president ( Ian Kelleher was recently promoted to President) had to say about the state of the Collector Car Market. "At least if it's in my garage, I can't get Ponzi'd out of it!." Mr. RM took the podium with a smooth stride and turned to show a friendly smile. Here's a man that enjoys what he does. Reflecting back to 1976, Myers remembered his first trip to Barret Jackson. Back then, he says, "It was a hobby." He remembered buying a Mustang for about $1000 and driving it back to the RM home base back in Canada. Now, Meyers estimated that nearly a...

It's about time I update everyone on the interior upholster on my 27 Ford Roadster. Now that the interior is done, is it a rat rod? I didn't really think it was before, but who really cares. Now it's got car carpet, a full seat and even sound insulation! The interior was done by Todd over at "The interior Shop" in Phoenix. Todd was challenged by the inside of the modified roadster because there isn't really much to secure the interior to and there's also some funny compound curves. In the end, I think it came out great! It looks like leather, but it's not. It's a distressed looking vinyl that's perfect. When I put paint on, it's gonna be cool and not your every day blood red. Below are the rest of the shots. Thanks to everyone that voted for "option B" as drawn by Jimmy Smith from Jimmyshotroddesign.com. Here's the link to that story if you missed it: 27 Roadster Interior you chose...

Story Submitted by John C. Hill or MoparMagic Old Fuelers Never Die!! (They just become "killer" bracket cars) Many of you that were spectators at drag races during the late 60's, the 70's and early 80's probably remember a lot of the fantastic Top Fuel and Funny Cars that used to compete. Some of these cars may have been favorites of yours, but have you ever wondered what became of these ultimate drag race machines? It's not like you could take the pink slip and sell it to your neighbor after the racing season was over. These were special built cars with only one purpose in mind: go fast and do it quickly! A lot of these cars ended up out behind the garage as scrap, or perhaps pushed over in the corner of the garage and covered with a tarp, never to be raced again. Some of them ended up in museums such as Don Garlit's Drag Race Museum in Ocala, Florida. If you have ever been to his museum you would be amazed at the number and quality of Top Fuelers and Funny Cars on display there....

RM Auction Press Release: Preeminent international auction house, RM Auctions, will celebrate a decade of excellence in Phoenix, Arizona in January with their 10th anniversary ‘Automobiles of Arizona’ event. Returning to the luxurious Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa, the highly anticipated event will kick off the 2009 collector car season in grand style as 125 magnificent vintage motor cars cross the block before an international audience. When the focus of the collector car world returns to Phoenix, Arizona, in January, all eyes will once again be on Canadian-based RM Auctions and their eagerly awaited Automobiles of Arizona auction event. Long regarded as the most prestigious event of Arizona’s famed auto week, the annual multi-million dollar RM sale brings together some of the world’s finest vintage automobiles with some of the world’s most discerning collectors. The grand tradition is set to continue in 2009 as RM celebrates their 10th anniversary sale in Phoenix, January 16th. “We are thrilled to be returning to Phoenix for our 10th anniversary sale and look forward to again welcoming collectors and enthusiasts from around the world to Arizona for what is shaping up to be...

I caught up with Faith Granger the lady behind the Hot Rod movie, "Deuce of Spades". Not long ago, I told you more about her in this Blog, but I left out some critical details to the readers at MyRideisMe.com: She owns a really cool vintage styled 32 hot rod herself and it's the star of Deuce of Spades and more importantly... Damn! She's good-lookin too! Faith wrapped-up the shooting of the painstakingly accurate 40 nostalgia scenes for the movie back in December. Don't forget this is an independent film done almost entirely by Faith. Any major film company who can make period correct 1950 come alive deserves credit and this is practically a one woman show. Now, Faith is shooting the scenes when the movie's back in present time. The first of the 2008 scenes featured hot rod and custom builder Gene Winfield as fictional character "El Mirage George"!! This was filmed live at the last SCTA meet and features quite a few cool race cars. Faith's been whispering so many great things about what's to come including a SoCal drive-in movie premier and hopefully a chance at...

Don Garlits' Bad Drag Pack Challenger Story Submitted by John C. Hill or MoparMagic Don Garlits to compete in 2009! Don Garlits has planned a comeback to drag racing for 2009, his 60th anniversary competing on the nation's drag strips. Is he going to run a new Top Fuel car? The answer is no. Neither his doctor nor his wife will ever let him run an NHRA competitive Top Fuel car again. After countless thousands of parachute stops at the end of 300mph runs, the retinas in Don's eyes had become detached. Further racing of this type could have caused permanent blindness. So, what is Don going to run this year? Well, as a long time Mopar representative, Mopar stepped up and has allowed Don to purchase the first Dodge Challenger equipped with the Drag Pak. For those of you thinking a factory backed "Drag Pak" was a dream, it ain't! Based on the 6.1L equipped hot rod SRT8, the drag pak Challenger will be eligible to run in NHRA's Super Stock, Stock, and Comp Eliminator. Garlits will run his Drag Pak Challenger in NHRA Division 2, but right...

The Hot Rod Art book: Masters of chicken scratch is a book of 13 highly respected and talented artists from the industry. While I am fairly new to the art and design scene in the Hot Rod world, I know many people in the industry from my years working as a designer for Hot Wheels. (Dwayne designed one of my favorite hot wheels) I now have my own design company and still do design work for Hot Wheels as well as several other companies. I design things from snowmobiles to concepts for video games. I started doing Hot Rod art about a year and a half ago and it only fueled my passion for the automobile. My fascination with cars began at a very early age. I grew up around cars and rebuilt my first muscle car at the age of 16 with my dad. I attended the Art Center College of design and received my degree in transportation design. My professional design career started with Troy Lee Designs in Corona, California, as a designer of high-end motocross protective gear. I then became a senior designer for Mattel, Hot...

Brandon over at AmericanTorque.com sent over some info about a fun game that tests your knowledge of American V8 Engines. Here's how the idea got started: One night when I was a kid my Dad and I were at a dirt track watching the Sprint Cars racing, and he pointed out which cars had Chevy engines and which had Fords. How could he tell from the bleachers? He explained that you could tell by the spacing of the header tubes. The Fords were evenly spaced and the Chevys were not (the middle two exhaust ports are right next to each other on the Chevy small-block). Years later, I'm thinking of ideas for an automotive trivia game, and it hits me - make a game where you identify an engine from a photo. Soon after my first engine ID game was born. After hearing feedback from players of that game I made another engine ID game, and more games are on the way. You can check them out at: http://www.americantorque.com/game/ This one pictured's too easy. AmericanTorque.com's get tougher... much tougher! If you can't figure this one out, don't bother! Please...

Story Submitted by John C. Hill or MoparMagic Jungle Jim vs. Joe Jacono, April 1972 Those of you who are drag race fans, especially from the 60's and 70's probably fondly remember certain races. Maybe you remember a national event, or a local "class racing" show, or the "Coca Cola Calvacade of Stars", or even a booked in Funny Car match race. For me, one of my most memorable experiences was a nostalgia funny car match race between "Jungle Jim" Lieberman and Joe Jacono and his "Brief Encounter". Now let me set the stage for you as to why this particular race was so memorable to me... My family lived in New Castle, Delaware and my brother and I loved cars and drag racing. Now lucky for us, our grandmother had a farm in Conowingo, Maryland and to get there, we had to travel down Theodore Road near Rising Sun, which is the road that Cecil County Dragway is on! We literally had to travel by the "Traction Capitol of the World" every weekend when we were growing up visiting our grandmother's farm. On a cold April day in...

I've always liked my car... Good thing, right? I guess I always wanted a hot rod. Bonnie, as in Bonneville, sure has changed since I bought her at a Goodguys show. The 3 pictures shown here are the 3 evolutionary changes of the car. Step 1: As I bought her: I was thinking of buying a Zipper bodied Lakes Modified until I found out there's a 6 month wait to get one. I felt pretty lucky to grab this when I did. You'll see the long split wishbones hooked to a 3 inch dropped axle. The rear axle is a old school banjo. The wheels are the 1935 style wires with some hard as hell bias ply or tractor style tires. I'm not sure what kind of paint the original owner used, but that yellow is tough as NAILS!! The engine block hasn't never changed, but it did get updated. I've got the original header on it too. The quarter elliptical spring suspension front and back is there, but there's friction shocks (only better then nothing at all!) in the front and nothing in the rear. Step 2: My...

Story Submitted by John C. Hill or MoparMagic Virtually everyone who has an interest in automobiles knows who Richard Petty is. "The King" is considered the very best NASCAR driver fomr the early era, about the early 60s through the late 70s. Richard went on to win hundreds of NASCAR races, and multiple NASCAR Championships until his retirement from active driving in the early 90s. But, did you know for a very brief period in the mid-60's, King Richard was a drag racer? It's true, and not only was he a drag racer, but Petty Enterprises created and built one of the earliest "F/X" cars, which could arguably be considered the first Hemi powered funny car. It's also quite possible that without this particular car, the Chrysler 426 Hemi as we know it may have been eliminated from production in early 1965, never to be produced again! If this doesn't peak your interest, nothing will! So read on about "43 jr" and find out how a Plymouth Barracuda with Richard Petty at the wheel, saved the 426 Hemi from extinction. "NASCAR, If you can't outrun 'em, outlaw 'em." On...