NHRA Funny Car racer Paul Lee has enjoyed his best season to date.
Lee returns to the site of his first step of significant momentum, the In-N-Out NHRA Finals and does so with a new look, thanks to Mainline Sales Inc. The company, a full-service manufacturer’s representative based in Southern California, will integrate Lee’s team into its operations, showcasing brands like Zurn Elkay Water Solutions.
Paul Lee has never claimed victory in the professional categories of the NHRA.
He’s been close, having visited the final round at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle just three races ago in an agonizing loss to Austin Prock. But the veteran driver has never officially hoisted a trophy in his 152 starts behind the wheel of a nitro-powered Funny Car.
That changed Sunday at the prestigious Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals – sort of.
An easy way to make any vehicle a whole lot of fun to drive, is to stick a manual transmission in it. Unfortunately, manual transmission options have been slowly phased out of the OEM market, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a man pedal in your ride. In this article, we’re going to look at what goes into a six-speed transmission swap.
Our 1994 Volvo Project Swedish Meatball didn’t come with a manual transmission from the factory. After some research, we found that people have six-speed swapped these cars with an LS engine combo like we’re putting in the Meatball. We wanted to make this process as painless as possible, so we reached out to Silver Sport Transmissions to get everything we needed for a six-speed swap.
So imagine this. A father in this story, Rick Lehn, and his son, Ian Lehn, are being festive while shooting the bull around the table after Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family. The pair started discussing classic cars versus modern cars. After a drink or two, maybe three, Ian mouthed off, saying he was the better driver by far, and could beat his “old man” any day of the week in an old classic. At this point, there was a lot of chest-beating, and Rick replied, “Ok, put your money where your mouth is.” Ian obliged, and the two decided to settle the somewhat restless exchange of words at the Battle of Big Bend Open Road Race in Texas. Ian would race a 1969 Mustang, and his father would drive his 2002 Ferrari Modena. A modern-day Ford V. Ferarri was born.
Vehicles that have been modified are going to make some interesting noises versus unmodified rides. Some of these noises can be a sign of trouble, while others are just a part of what you deal with when you drive a custom vehicle. Gear rollover is something that might pop up if you install an aftermarket manual transmission, and it’s not as serious as it sounds.
There’s a lot of work that goes into bolting a new aftermarket manual transmission into your vehicle. After you complete the installation, new noises might be heard coming from under the vehicle that might sound like big problems. Numerous things like a part of the driveline touching the transmission tunnel, unbalanced parts, the type of bushings used, or other items could be generating strange noises or vibrations.
There was a time when any “respectable” hot street car had a four-speed and at least a set of 4.10 gears with a high-revving engine under the hood. Troy Hudson lived in that era. His previous streetable rides included a 9,000-plus-rpm, dual-four-barrel, 327 cubic-inch small-block in a ’57 Chevy with a four-speed and 6.50 rear gears. Next came a 1960 283 cubic-inch, dual-four-barrel, four-speed Corvette with 4.10s. Times and technology change, and where four-speeds were once dominant, five-speed transmissions featuring overdrive are now the norm.
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