Trans Am Tribute Engines: Building a Maximum Chevy DZ302
I’ll tell you right up front—I’m a diehard Ford enthusiast and have been for more than 50 years. That was pretty challenging in high school back in Maryland with a […]
Author: Jim Smart
Jim Smart is a veteran automotive journalist, technical editor, and historian with hundreds of how-to and feature articles to his credit. Jim's also an enthusiast, and has owned and restored many classic vehicles, including an impressive mix of vintage Ford Mustangs.
Build a Killer Small Block Ford with a Ford Performance Parts BOSS Short Block Assembly
Back in the olden times, we built engines from used stuff. We searched for good used blocks and heads, dropped them off at the machine shop, and waited weeks or […]
The First Holley Four-Barrel: The 4000/2140 Series “Teapot” Carburetor
Story Overview *** The Holley 4150 and 4160 series four-barrel carburetors came out in the 1950s. The 4150 was introduced on the 312 CID V8 in the 1957 Ford Thunderbird, […]
How to Build a 357 CID Small Block Chevy Road Race Screamer!
Back in the Before Times, Jeff Latimer of JGM Engineering in Southern California wanted to do some road racing and built a 357 cubic inch small block Chevy for a […]
Ford’s Game-Changing Post-War Engines: The 144-170-200-250 Inline Sixes
At the beginning of the 1960s every Detroit automaker was a player in the compact car game. That meant smaller, more economical engines, usually of the six-cylinder variety. Chrysler had […]
How to Fix the Cam Timing System in Ford’s Troublesome Modular 3-Valve V8
My wife and I have a 2011 Ford Expedition with the 5.4L 3V engine. At 165,000 miles, it was beginning to show signs of trouble (valvetrain noise), which prompted me […]
Ford’s Game-Changing Postwar Engines Part 3: The 429/460 Big Blocks
In Part 1 of our Ford’s Game-Changing Postwar Engines Series, we covered Ford’s first overhead valve V8s—the Y-Block, FE, and MEL Series. In Part 2, we took a deep dive […]
Ford’s Game-Changing Postwar Engines Part 2: The Fabulous Windsor Small Block V8s
In Part 1 of our Ford postwar engines series, we covered the first of Ford’s overhead-valve V8s—the Y-block—and well as the famous FE and MEL series engines. In this story, […]
Ford’s Game-Changing Postwar V8 Engines: Y-Block, FE, and MEL
When founder Henry Ford handed control of Ford to his grandson Henry Ford II in 1945, the company was in shambles. Although Ford enjoyed great success with the all-new 1949 […]
Learn How to Install Muscle Car Stripes
We won’t lie to you—adding stripes and graphics to a muscle car is not for the faint of heart. You must be methodical and have plenty of patience or you’ll […]