Category Archives: Featured

Rebuilding a Classic “Nailhead”

Rebuilding a Classic “Nailhead”
Identifying a classic Buick "Nailhead" engine is easy because of the vertical valve covers. The engines don't typically make a ton of power, at least in stock form, but they doo have a lot of cool factor for hot rodders because they are relatively rare and look neat. Buick first began producing the Nailhead in…
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Building an AMC 390 to go into a restored 1969 AMX

Building an AMC 390 to go into a restored 1969 AMX
When the American Motors Company debuted the AMX as a mid-year 1968 model, it became the only steel-bodied two-seat vehicle being made in the States--or maybe anywhere, but we didn't research it that far. The AMX, which stands for American Motors eXperimental, was supposed to be AMC's halo car, similar to Chevrolet's Corvette. That may…
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Race Car Carburetor Tuning with Innovate’s Wideband Air/Fuel Gauge

Race Car Carburetor Tuning with Innovate’s Wideband Air/Fuel Gauge
Jason Gulledge races a Street Stock on dirt tracks in the Southeast. Like most racers running out of their own pockets, he'd already maxed out the budget on the race car. So when he blew an engine unexpectedly, it was a big hit to his racing program. Gulledge was able to scrape together enough dough to…
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The World’s Only 1,000 Horsepower, 260 Cubic Inch Chevy SB2

The World’s Only 1,000 Horsepower, 260 Cubic Inch Chevy SB2
Here at The Horsepower Monster, we love unique engine builds--and this one definitely qualifies. We always enjoy visiting the shops of Keith Dorton, owner of Automotive Specialists in Concord, NC, because he's always building something cool. This particular engine came about when the Hotrod Hoodlums land speed racing team out of Texas asked Keith to…
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Building Ford Race Engines for the Daytona 500

Building Ford Race Engines for the Daytona 500
Here's a fun video I had the opportunity to produce for my friends at Roush Yates Engines a few months back. They wanted something to celebrate the beginning of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup racing season, so we came up with this concept about building a Ford FR9 race engine that will go into one…
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One of a Kind V12 Ford

One of a Kind V12 Ford
Jan Baker had an idea. A longtime racing fan, he always felt like Ford should have built a V12 engine to compete with the likes of Ferrari at LeMans back in the '60s. Of course, Ford never built a V12 for racing, so Baker took matters into his own hands and built one himself. Baker…
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Easy Rev Limiter Tuning with a PerTronix Flamethrower

Easy Rev Limiter Tuning with a PerTronix Flamethrower
One of the pleasant surprises when working on The Horsepower Monster's 427 Stroker Engine project (if you haven't seen it, check it out here) was the built-in rev limiter on the PerTronix Flame-Thrower distributor we used. The PertTronix unit is a really nice piece because it puts out a nice strong spark, the mechanical advance…
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Great Racing Action from Lancaster (SC) Motor Speedway

Great Racing Action from Lancaster (SC) Motor Speedway
  We love heading off to the dirt track for a Saturday night of dirty racing action. Lancaster Motor Speedway is our local dirt track in Lancaster, SC. The Late Models are usually the headlining class, but the lower levels can really mix it up too. One of our favorites is the Vintage class. The…
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