Gale Banks is no stranger to speeding across the dust of El Mirage and the Bonneville Salt Flats. He’s been pushing the limits on land speed cars since the late 1950s, campaigning at least 13 land speed cars and trucks and racking up dozens of records in the process. In this special episode of the Bonneville Up To Speed Podcast, Banks shares time and stories with Kevin Oeste about how land speed racing, and turbocharging, have changed his life.
Lingenfelter is more than turning innovative engineering into winning performance; they like to get involved, and this time, they are helping children with critical illnesses make their life-changing wishes come true through the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Priceless wishes are granted for children, plus the winner takes home a $30,000 Lingenfelter Performance Engineering Eliminator Spec Engine built to the same specifications used to build the engines for the 1953 Kindig-It CF1 Roadster for Dave Kindig at Kindig-It-Design.
The Lingenfelter Performance Engineering’s Eliminator Spec Engine Program of custom-built engines are “ENGINEERED FOR THE TRACK, BRED FOR THE STREET.” All Lingenfelter Eliminator Spec S, R, and X Engines represent the ultimate in street or track performance and are designed to the highest standard of durability and reliability.
To add to the excitement, the winning raffle ticket will be randomly drawn by Dave Kindig, owner of Kindig-It-Design and the star of the hit TV show “Bitchin’ Rides” at the Lingenfelter 21st Annual Blue Suede Cruise on July 30th, 2022.
The winner does not need to be present to win, but all are welcome to join the fun and meet our celebrity guests, Dave Kindig and Kevin Schiele “KevDogg,” for three days of 1978 and older hot rods, customs, classics, muscle cars & trick trucks. It is a great event for the entire family with a car show; fun runs, drag racing, manufacturers midway, great food, live music, fireworks, and a coloring contest for all ages judged by Dave Kindig and Kevin Schiele! It all happens July 29th-31st at the Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke and Kevin Oeste chat about the upcoming V8 Speed and Resto Shop Drive In Cruise event and the possible film to be shown. And then they switch over to Kevin’s early days of racing, and writing about motorsports. And we mean early days! You’ll find all this, plus Automotive Trivia and a whole lot more on this episode of the V8 Radio Podcast!
V8 Radio Podcast
2022 Drive In Cruise Preview, Racing Stories, and the Undie Grundy of Automobiles on the V8 Radio Podcast
We’ve recently completed a 1970 Ford Mustang convertible restoration here at the V8 Speed and Resto Shop. This is a cool Mustang Restomod with a rich history, and has been in the same family since the summer of 1972! The V8 Speed team completely disassembled the car for rust repairs and suspension upgrades, fixed the rusty and damaged body, and repainted the Mustang in a nearly-original color.
It’s powered by a Ford 302 V8 backed by a C4 automatic transmission, and was equipped from the factory with air conditioning. Our customer drove the car often, as it was her first car back in 1972. Over the years, the ‘70 Mustang was driven by the next generation in the family, until it was wrecked in 1993 and subsequently parked. It had not been driven since then, and we were happy to return it to the road once completed.
The Restoration Process
The V8 Speed and Resto Shop team disassembled the entire car, and stripped all the paint to reveal previous damage and rust repairs. The convertible Mustang was mounted on a fixture in our fabrication shop to keep the body structure supported and true, and sheet metal repairs began. The quarter panels, rear tail panel, doors and floors were all replaced with new steel.
While this car is restored to appear original, we modified a few aspects of the car for better drivability, reliability, performance, and more enjoyment. For example, we installed an upgraded front suspension system from Rod and Custom Motorsports, which provides a tubular upper and lower control arm assembly based on the later Mustang II geometry. It also features an oversized sway bar and a rack and pinion steering unit for more precise control and modern Mustang Road feel. Improved front disc brakes are also installed, along with all new plumbing and brake lines to help the Mustang stop better. Familiar but upsized 17” Magnum 500 wheels from Scott Drake are wrapped in Bridgestone tires.
Watch The 1970 Ford Mustang Restoration Videos
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Adding Complimentary Technology That Fits The Theme
The 302 small block Ford V8 was rebuilt, and is now topped with a FiTech fuel injection system for modern-day reliability, which is also controlling the electronic distributor and ignition timing. This car came from the Ford factory with air conditioning, but we elected to install a more efficient A/C system from Vintage Air, which uses current refrigerant to cool the air. The front accessory drive is a black serpentine system from CVF Racing, complete with a high-flow water pump and higher output alternator.
The color is very close to the original Ford Medium Bright Blue, but it’s been tweaked a bit as preferred by the owner for a bit more… pop! And where the original paint was a single-stage blue, today’s urethane 2-stage basecoat / clearcoat shines far more than the original finish ever did.
New Interior With A Familiar Look
The V8 Speed and Resto Shop interior shop rebuilt the bucket seats and rear seat, upholstering them in the original white / parchment hue, and a new black carpet covers the sound-deadened floor. The top frame and hydraulic system was restored, and we installed a new white convertible top. Fresh glass looks crisp and clean, Dozens of new trim pieces from Classic Industries were installed to make things new again inside.
This family heirloom 1970 Mustang Convertible is nicer looking, and nicer to drive, than it was when it rolled off the assembly line brand new. We at the V8 Speed and Resto Shop are honored to have the opportunity to bring it to a new level for many more years of family enjoyment.
Weather It’s a stock original restoration, a mild restomod, a road-hugging pro-touring machine, a fiery hot rod, or a full-out custom, the V8 Team has what it takes to bring your dream car to life. Contact us anytime to chat about your desires and how we can create a one-of-a-kind ride just for you!
Author: Miguel Pujols Content: Great job, she’s better than new, hope the family enjoys for many smile per mile of years ahead! The classic always appeal to me its like stepping in a time machine, but a RestoMod where it counts makes it so much sweeter…
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Author: James Hutchins Content: Absolutely beautiful! Love the very sensible upgrades making her a sweet daily driver or a show car. A true win win.
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Author: Jason Hull Content: Looks so sharp and clean. You guys sure do good work. I would be honored to build classic’s with you guys ! Keep em coming. We can’t get enough of them. I’d love to see what you could do to My 1970 Camaro too. Lol
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Author: Rick Read Content: Absolutely gorgeous! I like every thing that was upgraded to modernize the car, I’m loving it!
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Author: JSR Roadrash Content: Your team does outstanding work. Beautiful Mustang with a great history.
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Author: Annatar the Maia Content: What comes out of your workshops isn’t work, it’s art.
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Author: Trip Reviews Content: Although I like an all original mustang this is a fantastic updated 1970 Mustang. The classic look has been maintained and yet it is new. Nice. 👍
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Author: GPLIPP Content: Another home run guys. Well done!!
Author: Charles Dalton Content: There are so many things well done on this car but I kept coming back to the panel gaps. They look like they were cut with a laser – holy mackerel!
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Author: KFH Content: More great work… A Real Beauty!!!
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Author: Codename C.A.R.S Content: Nice car!
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Author: John R Smith Content: I had the identical car, except mine had the deluxe interior, which included a console. Absolutely the worst car I ever owned, because of a complete lack of quality control during assembly. Virtually everything was wrong with the car, and I only owned it for 3500 miles. Sad, because it was a neat little car.
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Author: Kenan Turkiye Content: There’s something about metallic blue and chrome on a good car.
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Author: echoi Content: This restomod is the gold standard on what a restomod should be. Compared to cars with chrome air cleaners, chrome valve covers, Obnoxious 20″ rims, those generic jeep LED units, and obnoxiously loud speakers in the back. Eeewww
There are many things to consider when planning a custom mandrel-bent exhaust system for your Classic, Muscle Car, or Hot Rod. Here at the V8 Speed and Resto Shop, we bring up a whole list of question to the customer as we plan a system. Here are some of the high points:
What is the purpose of the car? Street driving, drag racing, road course racing, etc?
What kind of exhaust system is on the car now?
Do you have headers?
Do you have catalytic converters?
Do you want stainless or mild steel?
Do you want any type of coating? Ceramic? Color?
Do you prefer MIG or TIG welding?
Do you want an X or H Pipe?
Do you prefer Tucked tightly to floor or right out of the box fitment?
What kind of tips do you prefer? Where?
What size pipe diameter? 2.5″ is most common, but 3″ can often be accommodated.
Round or oval pipe?
Do you have a brand of mufflers you prefer?
What sound level do you want? Stock / quiet, loud, etc?
What type of tone? Mellow, deep, raspy, etc.?
Do you want cutouts?
Is there a preference for clamps? Standard pipe clamps, welded-on V-Band, etc?
Once these questions are answered, our techs can go to work designing a system that delivers on all requests.
Closing out the summer car events and racing into the fall!
Kevin Oeste and Mike Clarke have been wringing out the summer car event season as much as possible, and on this episode of the V8 Radio Podcast, they chat about the Off Road Expo, the 40th Annual O’Rielly Auto Parts Fall 4 Wheel Jamboree, the GTOAA car show in Pontiac, IL, and preview the 2021 SEMA Show in Las Vegas! And if that’s not enough, more trivia questions are shared along the way. It’s a big episode!
V8 Radio Podcast
SEMA 2021 Preview, 40th 4 Wheel Jamboree, Cruising Route 66, Auto Trivia, and More on the V8 Radio Podcast
Wheels and tires can make the look of a car, but there are some steps to take to properly measure, order, test, mount, and balance them to avoid issues down the road.
The first challenge is how to properly measure the wheels to fit your car. The following video uses a FORGELINE wheel to demonstrate how to measure Custom wheels are built to order, so it’s important to get the measurements right. In this video, we use a FORGELINE custom racing wheel to demonstrate the techniques used to measure wheel width, backspace, and frontspace, as well as offset. These dimensions are not hard to measure and calculate, and this video will help you get them right.shows what’s involved.
Proper tire clearance is just as important as wheel fitment, and we use some special tools to simulate a wheel and check tire fitment before wheels are ordered. This allows us to turn the steering wheels from lock-to-lock and check for any potential interference.
Once the wheels arrive, DO NOT simply take them out of the box and mount your tires. ALWAYS to a “dry fit”, were you test the wheel on the car without the tire mounted to double check the fitment. If you mount the tires, the wheels will be yours to keep, and most wheel companies will not swap them out for a different set. Custom wheels are generally yours to keep as soon as they are built, but an unmounted wheel is better than one that has tire mounting damage should something need to change.
Once you’re certain the fit is correct, you can mount your tires and balance the wheel and tire combination. We do this in-house to ensure the wheels are handled with proper care, and prefer to dynamic balance wheels and tires in our shop, and we do this in-house to ensure the wheels are handled with proper care.
Only after all these steps are taken are the wheels and tires mounted finally on the car. We prefer to check and correct any alignment issues at this time, to ensure the new rubber does not wear prematurely and the suspension system delivers optimal performance. Our in-house Hunter digital alignment rack allows us to dial-in our preferred settings as needed.
We have a comprehensive alignment questionnaire for our customers to fill out ahead of time, so that we know what type of suspension modifications and driving styles they will be doing. This allows us to tailor the alignment to the car and driver. See the form here: V8 Speed & Resto Shop Vehicle Alignment Questionnaire
Only after all these steps are complete is the car ready to go out and show off the new wheels and tires to the world! Contact us today for a wheel and tire upgrade on your ride, we’re happy to help!
We recap our trip to the 2021 Bonneville Speed Week on the salt flats outside of Wendover, Utah. The SCTA put on another great event, the salt condition was great for racing, and we’re already planning the return trip in 2022. Who knows, maybe even with a race car? Land Speed Racing is surely addictive. Hear all the stories from the trip, along with the Overselling Adjective, Automotive Trivia, and more on this speedy episode of the V8 Radio Podcast!
V8 Radio Podcast
Salt Fever! 2021 Bonneville Speed Week Recap, Automotive Trivia, and more on the V8 Radio Podcast!
The goal of this 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon build is to add modern car handling with barely-streetable power from a Ford 427 legendary Single Overhead Cam (SOHC) V8, all while keeping a stock (ish) sleeper appearance.
A Modern Twist on a Legendary Engine
The elements include a 700+ HP John Kaase built 540-cube SOHC engine, 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission, a Roadster Shop chassis and suspension, and great brakes. The wagon will ride on 17” steel wheels – or Halibrand kidney-bean style wheels, depending on the mood. The chassis will deliver a slightly lowered, but usable stance.
A Stock 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon. Or is it?
One of the goals of this custom hot rod 1957 Ford is to make it look unassuming. No racing bucket seats for this one, as it will feature the original style bench seat and steering column mounted shifter. The Ranch will wear an original Starmist Blue and Colonial White color scheme, with a coordinating restored interior. New Old Stock or restored original trim will be used in all the original and correct locations on the car. The V8 Speed and Resto Shop is handling the build, and it’s going to be an amazing ride!
Follow The Build
The V8 Speed and Resto Shop Team is chronicling the build of the 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon in thousands of photos and videos, and you can follow them all right here. And if you’re inspired, we encourage you to contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop to chat about your Classic or Muscle Car dream ride today!
Join Kevin Oeste as he announces the winners of the New Products Awards for the SEMA360. These awards recognize outstanding achievements in the development of products that enhance the performance, styling, comfort, convenience and safety of cars, trucks and SUVs. This year, the products and awards are presented online through SEMA360, the online event that is making it possible for auto parts manufacturers to connect with professional buyers from throughout the world.
Products are judged in 16 award categories, with one winner and two runners-up in each category. The top products are:
Engineered New Product Winner: AEM Performance Electronics, VCU300 EV Control Unit Runner Up: QA1, New 3″ MOD Series Shocks
Exterior Accessory Product Winner: Curt Group, Tri-ball Universal Coupler Lock Runner Up: Go Rhino Big Country Truck Accessories, SRM 500 Roof Rack Runner Up: TrailFX, Roof Rack for JEEP(R) JL
Interior Accessory Product Winner: Speedway Motors, Omega Avant 6 Gauge Set Electric Runner Up: T.V.K. Industries, Inc., SURESHIFTER Runner Up: Dometic, Dometic CCF-T Center Console Refrigerator
Merchandising Display Winner: Go Rhino Big Country Truck Accessories, Go Rhino Point of Purchase Display Rack Runner Up: Quadratec, Inc., Quadratec Merchandising Promo Kit Runner Up: RaceDeck, RaceDeck Charred Oak Showroom & Garage Flooring
Mobile Electronics Product Winner: Cedar Electronics – ESCORT/Cobra, ESCORT Redline 360c Runner Up: AutoMeter, DashLink 2.0 with late model Ford enhanced PIDs Runner Up: Energizer Holdings, Energizer Arc3 Lithium-iron Phosphate 300Wh, 350W Portable Power Station
Off-Road/4-Wheel Drive Product Winner: Warn Industries, Inc., HUB Wireless Receiver & App Runner Up: ARB 4×4 Accessories, Air Compressor – Pressure Control Unit Runner Up: Westin/Superwinch, Overland Cargo Rack
