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Power Tour

The Tour Kick Off Returns to Arlington

2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_001 Much like the Mexican food I devoured a few hours ago, the Hot Rod Power Tour is back, and bigger and badder than ever. Although, unlike the Mexican food I ate, the Power Tour is even better the second time around. This was the second time in as many years that the Power Tour returned to Arlington, TX having ended last year’s edition in this very city. And Mothers is back, ready to show you everything that goes down on the world’s wildest road trip party. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_002 According to our resident walking Wiki-Super Salesman, Forrest Tosie, our Big Rig, Pete was manufactured in nearby Denton. It appears that Arlington is a bit of a homecoming for Pete. Maybe that’s why so many Power Tourers stopped by today during the Kick Off Party. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_003 Or it could have been our free giveaways, product demos and Power Tour t-shirts. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_004 Yes, our t-shirts are that cool. Look at how excited our events manager, Jonathan Stone is. These shirts made him show us his “O face.” Now that I’ve seen it, I’ll never be the same again. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_005 Of course, our Mothers presence is nothing without our cool cars. We brought our ZR14MOM again this year. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_006 Joining it for the first time is our ever-controversial, love-it-or-hate-it Mustang RTR Spec 3 (sans carbon fiber splitter to improve upon its Power Touring agility). 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_007 Our friend, champion drifter, Vaughn Gittin Jr. let us borrow one of his Mustang RTR Spec 2s again this year. Last year our own Shane Christman drove this for a couple days and it left quite the impression on him, much like the impressions he left on the seat. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_008 With a pair of blue ovals we needed another bowtie to join our ZR1 and what better choice than another Corvette. This one is a very special Grand Sport built by Brian Thompson. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_009 This Grand Sport makes 750hp to the wheels with absolutely no power adders.   2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_010 Here’s our pair of Power Tour twins at rest. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_011 Our own Jim Holloway is on Tour again and he always takes the time to talk to a fellow Power Tourer. As much as he likes to listen he looks like his mind is elsewhere here, perhaps he’s already dreaming about driving the Grand Sport. This will not end well. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_012 To give Jim some company way, way, way up ahead on the road our dear friend Charlie Lillard is back on Tour. This year Charlie brought his ’67 Camaro that Mark Stielow built and drove to the overall win at last year’s Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. Somewhere tucked perfectly under the skin of that ’67 is a complete ZR-1 powertrain! 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_013 This clean Chevelle SS joined us again as one of our Mothers Polish display vehicles. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_014 Our support vehicles for this year are two rather executive looking and quite formidable Chevy SUVs. They can’t be formidable enough for my taste since I’ll be riding with Ken “Krashy” Holland. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_015 If I gotta go, why not go in style? I suggested that if we must ride in a four-door GM product, why can’t it be something like this? If my life must flash before my eyes (as any road trip with Ken demands), this would make for a great projector. Total thug life gangster. Sadly, my request was denied. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_016 My request to have Shane push me around in this Radio Flyer Higher was also denied. After which Ken and Shane strongly suggested that I go take some pictures… 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_017 Which I totally did! Check me out, I’m so artsy. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_018 Our friend Rich Waitas from Magnaflow helped create the “Revolver” here. The individual mufflers actually revolve, like the chambers in a handgun. Insano! Don’t bogart whatever it was that you were on when you came up with this concept, Rich. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_019 Tim “Skyskrape” Katz of Tap Out is on Tour this year and he brought his ’66 Nova wagon to display at the Magnaflow rig. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_020 Skyskrape’s Nova is stuffed all full of LS3 that gets 850hp worth of grunt courtesy of a Turbonetics 76mm GT-K turbo. May I please tap out now?   2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_021 I need to go to my happy place after seeing that scary Nova. Fortunately for me, Miss Magnaflow, Amanda Landry awaits me in my happy place. Every. Single. Night (that wasn’t creepy at all, was it?). 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_022 This Camaro is called “Showbread” and it’s owned by Keith Echols. Pratt & Miller Restorations and Specialty Vehicles (yes, the same crew that campaigns the infamous ALMS Corvettes and Cadillacs) built this ‘73 and it features a 630hp ZR1 engine mated to a 4L80E auto box. The wheels are Formula 43 customs and the rubber is BFG gForce KDW. Browny’s Customs did the bodywork and paint. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_023 Our friend Murray Pfaff of Pfaff Designs brought his 1959 Chrysler Imperial Speedster, which looks unlike any Imperial I’ve ever seen. It took some 10,000 man-hours over three years for Murray to complete the radical transformation and the end result is positively stunning. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_024 Even something as simple as a wheel is re-envisioned by Murray. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_025 Sydney Weaver’s 1950 Chevy is named “Boost” and it is another Murray Pfaff vision. This one features a roadster profile, one-off speedster-style windshield, modified grille, splitter-style front pan, custom rear-end treatment, quarter ducts and more. A supercharged 383 powers the Chevy while an Airlift Performance Suspension controls the ride height. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_026 Pratt & Miller also built Tim DeFoor’s ’69 Camaro. The supercharged LSA makes 630hp and our friends at HRE supplied the wheels. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_027 Albeit a very clean example, this BMW E30 M3 looked somewhat out of place on the Power Tour… 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_028 Until you got a glimpse of the LS3 that replaced the high-revving, two-liter S14. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_029 Fram brought what looked like a relatively innocuous ’71 Dart... 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_030 That becomes so much more scandalous when you see the turbocharged 2JZ-GTE inline six from a Supra. It’s blasphemy! Sweet, sexy blasphemy. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_031 This ’73 Trans Am is pumped up with Year One flares and coated in Brewster Green paint. The 18-inch Year One wheels are mounted with BFGoodrich KDW tires. The fancy footwork is rounded out with the addition of a DSE suspension with Koni coilovers and Eibach springs and Baer 6S six-piston calipers and 14-rotors. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_032 The Trans Am also received a Chevrolet Performance LS7 crate engine stuffed with 8.5:1 Mahle pistons, which are all the better to handle the custom-fabricated Turbonetics twin-turbo system designed by Year One and Ghostworks Garage. Our friends at Bowler Performance provided the 4L80E transmission that helps this TA put down 780hp to the wheels! 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_033 Year One always features the cleanest cars and this ’69 Mustang was another fine example. The exterior was treated to Year One custom front and rear valance panels and Year One custom aluminum front and rear bumpers. Flush mounted side scoops, extended rocker panels, shaved drip rails, modified quarter panel extensions and a ’67 Mustang tail panel. The custom hood scoop covers the Ford Racing 5.4L supercharged SVT crate engine that makes 550hp and 510 lb-ft of torque. The stainless steel headers are Year One custom jobbers with two-inch primaries and three-inch collectors that lead to a custom 2.5-inch Magnaflow exhaust. The transmission is a Promotion Powertrain Tremec TR-600. The Griggs Racing GR350 Track Suspension features Koni coilovers and Billet spindles with a torque arm, panhard bar and subframe connectors The Baer six-piston brakes bite down on 14-inch rotors and the Forgeline DE3P wheels are wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport rubber. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_034 Lots of Lingenfelter love on display with our friends from Bowler Performance. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_035 Our friends at Bowler are also holding a drawing to award a custom Mothers/Bowler collabo detail bag. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_036 Holley brought this silver stunner on Tour. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_037 Complete with one of their finest Holley carbs on top. Just like the lemon to the lime and the cherry on a sundae. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_038 I don’t think it gets any better than American Racing’s classic Torq Thrust II. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_039 I stand corrected. It doesn’t get any better than American Racing’s classic Torq Thrust II delivered by this young lady. With a beer and a tuna fish sandwich. Hey, this is my fantasy. Don’t judge me. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_040 George Toscano Jr. and his wife Karen brought out this blue ’41 Plymouth Sedan. The tribute to the King, Richard Petty is evident by the color and the door number, but purists may decry his choice of powerplant. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_041 It’s a Ford 502 with a Tremec TKO five-speed. George said he didn’t want to fuss with the funky fuel pump on the ’41 and he adds that King Richard drove a Ford in addition to his Mopar. Whatever helps you sleep at night, George.   2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_042 Speaking of the King Richard Petty, he brought out this Challenger convertible coated in his signature blue. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_043 While I’m on the subject of NASCAR royalty, check this one out. The GM Design Center built this ’70 Chevelle for Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was the first of it’s kind to use a reproduction body (which means it looks original only with less rust and wrinkles). Wheels are Camaro Track Pack numbers, wrapped with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires, and the re-skinned front buckets also came from the Camaro. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_044 Junior’s Chevrolet Performance LSA 6.2L mill makes 556hp and 551lb-ft of torque and it even comes with a Chevy part number (19211708 if you care to know). 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_045 This is truly life imitating art. Forty-four years after Hot Wheels produced it’s first “Custom Camaro” Chevrolet Performance created this full-sized version. While the Spectraflame-inspired Kinetic Blue paint and custom 18-inch wheels with redline accents might recall the classic Camaro Hot Wheeler, the powerplant is a different beast altogether. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_046 The all-new, emissions-compliant LS3 E-Rod Connect and Cruise crate powertrain system is cutting edge with its 430hp LS engine and 4L65 four-speed automatic. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_047 Also appearing in the Chevy Performance area were the legendary Miss Linda Vaughn and TV personality (and supreme hottie) Courtney Hansen. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_048 The Lucas Oil dyno rollers were spinning all day long. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_049 The Edelbrock rig was packed all day. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_050 Probably because the aftermarket powerhouse is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_051 And also because the man himself, Vic Edelbrock Jr. was in the house. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_052 This year’s MSD Power Tour entry is a bit on the minimalistic side. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_053 Casey Currie brought his short course off road race truck to this year’s Power Tour. Yes, the air cleaner is on the dash. Mid engine much? 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_054 Currie Enterprises has some of the sweetest rear ends this side of Ken Holland’s firm apple of a hiney. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_055 The Chevy Performance Motor Medics were busy before the Tour even started! 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_056 Today I met my new heroes from the Budapest Speed Shop in Houston, TX of all places. They imported this Trabant 601 S from Budapest, Hungary in order to do what they call the “Low Power Tour.” The little East German that could was built up for rally racing with a modified engine, suspension and full roll cage. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_057 According to the BSS website (unsaferacing.com) the Trabant has an “air cooled, two cylinder, two stroke engine with a 650cc displacement and makes 26hp. The six-gallon tank is under the hood, and it's gravity fed. No fuel pump, no water pump, no camshaft, no radiator, no timing belt, or timing chain. Has two coils, and you need to mix the gas when refueling.” Seems legit. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_058 This is the previous owner, Barna Kovary. Apparently he’s like the Rutledge Wood of Hungary. At the Trabant’s final rally, the Monte Carlo Historique race Barna was running well and passing all manner of exotic hardware when the tiny carb froze in the chilly temps. Barna manned up and urinated on the carb to thaw it out and get it working again. I want to party with these guys on the Power Tour. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_059 This 1955 Morris Minor Series II Traveller is owned and built by Zach and Libby Merrill of Greenville, SC. The car was wrecked and stored in a Missouri barn in 1968 until they saved it in 1999. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_060 The Morris woodie still retains its original engine. All 803cc of it. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_061 It just so happens that Zach Merrill works in Michelin’s Tweel Technology department. Tweels are currently only made for skid steer loaders but Michelin will make them available for other applications in the very near future and he obtained special permission to adapt them to his little British woodie for the Power Tour long haul. Yes, Zach and Libby are going all the way on these Tweels! 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_062 Bob and Linda Corbitt’s 1940 Chevy two-passenger business coupe with a 235ci engine and three-speed transmission. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_063 Two hundred and thirty five cubic inches of Chevy awesomeness. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_064 With a sled and a surfboard this one looks ready for any sort of weather the Tour will throw at us this year. I think Child Protective Services might take issue with the hood prop though. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_065 This blown ’67 Nova can be yours for the buy-it-now price of $64,500. 2013_HRPT_6_1_Full_066ur returned to Arlington, TX having ended last year’s edition in this very city. And Mothers is back, ready to show you everything that goes down on the world’s wildest road trip party.

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