THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
GENUINE FORD
When Honolulu, Hawaii, nightclub owner Fred “Scruples” Piluso was growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he read an issue of Rod & Custom magazine that showed readers how to install a ’59 Ford Thunderbird front bumper onto either a ’55 or a ’56 Ford. “Man, I thought that was really a cool idea! I went right out and installed one of those setups on my ’55 Ford Crown Victoria. It really looked great with that ‘Dago Rake,’ that set of ’57 Mercury fender skirts and the ’55 Mercury station wagon taillights I had already installed.” For being built on a budget, it was definitely one of the most popular customs in the neighborhood for its time!
HOLLEY CARB TUNING
Holley carburetors have long been a staple in the go-fast world of high-performance motoring, whether it’s NASCAR, drag racing or on the street. Much like other performance-oriented products—perhaps even more so with a carburetor—a carburetor requires a fundamental setup and a degree of maintenance, and that’s considering you have chosen the correct-size carburetor for your application, at least to get it in the ballpark. Knowing how to adjust, maintain and even repair your Holley carburetor goes a long way toward helping to ensure that your carburetor will make optimum horsepower for a long time. Because of this, we decided to compile a few troubleshooting and repair tips for the popular 4150-series Holley carburetor, which is the series designation for Holley’s street/strip and racing carburetors.
IN WITH THE GOOD AIR
When a B16A-equipped CRX EF came into the Rage Performance shop for a Skunk2 intake manifold install, the crew dove into the job with a fury. With cameras at hand to document the swap (’88-’91 CRX) for your personal pleasure, the job took no time at all and the owner of this Honda is deliriously happy with the results.
Spotlighter
THE YORK BEFORE YORK
The Central Pennsylvania Street Rod Association Filled Memorial Hall
Author
Gerry Burger
Story & Photography
Central Pennsylvania has long been a hot bed for traditional hot rods. When the N.S.R.A. moved the Nats East from Timonium, Maryland to the York County Fairgrounds in 1975, the town of York, and the associated York County Fairgrounds became synonymous with the NSRA Nats East. But wait, there was a good show in York before that happened.
Hot Rodding in Central Pennsylvania
Of course long before that big event came to town there was plenty of hot rodding, drag racing and oval track action in and around York. The Central Pennsylvania Street Rod Association was one of many hot rod clubs in the area and they produced a great local indoor car show. Similar events were produced across the country by regional hot rod clubs. We like to think of them as “Armory Shows” since the local armory often provided the perfect venue for that mid-winter Rod & Custom show.
Traditional Rods, Customs and Horsepower
My memories of early Pennsylvania hot rodding was a strong presence of traditional rods and customs. There was also an obvious love of horsepower, judging by the large number of blowers and big blocks. Of course Posies was cranking out his world class hot rods and customs not far away in Hummelstown, adding to the central PA mystique.
The 12th Annual Rod & Custom Show
We are fairly certain this 12th Annual Rod & Custom Show was held in 1986 and it filled Memorial Hall right there on the York County Fairgrounds. Rodder’s Digest Magazine was a sponsor of the show that year and we were proud to have the RD logo on the Roy Wetzel produced poster that has been hanging on my shop wall for over 45-years. Admission was five bucks, kids twelve and under-12 half-price. The show ran for three days… March 28-30. It was a blast.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Gerry Burger
Gerry Burger has been immersed in hot rodding since the early 1960s, building his first hot rods as a teenager after being inspired by local racer Bob Zorn. A chance meeting with Tom Medley in 1972 launched a distinguished career as an automotive photojournalist, leading to freelance work for dozens of magazines, the founding of Rodder's Digest, and editorial leadership roles at Street Rod Builder and American Rodder. Today, Burger continues to write, photograph, and build hot rods, remaining one of the hobby's most respected voices.
