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An Eye for Detail Sets Kenny Hauk Apart

Written by Charleen

Performance From Paper to Real Life is Kenny Hauk’s Specialty

 

Jamie Gibson|

Kenny Hauk has built a solid reputation as a premier vehicle builder by virtue of not just doing a job, but doing it well and getting it right.

That keen attention to detail has launched a career that started in construction and has culminated in an impressive portfolio of high-end custom vehicles unlike any others. His work speaks for itself and lends new meaning to the term “performance-driven.”

Check out his trademark 1947 Dodge Power Wagon.

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Watch it all go down on “Hauk Machines”

Hauk’s latest build is sure to reset the bar for performance. As dramatized in the season-three premier of “Hauk Machines,” Hauk’s crew tackles a rebuild of a 1974 Unimog for his clients at Bilstein Shocks. Check it out here.

 

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Kenny Hauk visits AMSOIL for the Hellephant

While you’re at it, watch the previous two seasons of “Hauk Machines.”

Episode 11 of season two documents the trip Kenny Hauk and his crew made to AMSOIL headquarters here in Superior, Wis., to test out their Hellephant crate engine in the AMSOIL dyno.

It was an exciting time for our mechanical lab team to work alongside Hauk as they pushed the engine toward their goal of 1,000 hp. It did not go without incident.

Check out our behind-the-scenes look at how it all went down.

Hauk never fails to disappoint with the quality of his builds and his attention to detail. Learn more about how Kenny Hauk came to be a force to be reckoned with in the competitive world of off-road builds.

 

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Take a Walk Around the “Scraptona” Daytona Scrap Car

Written by Charleen

Take a Walk Around the “Scraptona”

Lindsay Premo|

“Every good build should start with a story; it should tell a tale.” That’s the goal of Tred Wear’s Michael Hunt with every vehicle he builds. Cue the Scraptona, one of his most notable builds ever.

Take a gander below as Hunt shows us this one-of-a-kind vehicle.

Daytona 500 racer built from scrap

Literally made from scraps

The Scraptona earned its moniker for a reason – it’s literally built from the scraps of other vehicles.

“The tale here is, what if good ‘ol boys had run Le Mans back in 1972. What would they have brought? The Scraptona is the answer,” said Hunt.

Its shell comes from a 1969 Daytona Charger 500 that was left for dead in the Alabama backwoods. It had no glass, no rear end, no floor…not even doors. It had been cut apart for another project and couldn’t be restored, but worked perfectly for Hunt’s vision.

Continuing the theme, the Scraptona has a Superbird front end, Coronet fenders and Kawasaki motorcycle tanks for hood pods.

Its unique design tells the story of all the different parts that brought the project together. “We started to dig the different colors of all the different parts we brought together to make this creation happen,” said Hunt, “so we thought, ‘let’s just leave it as natural as possible.’” Thus the Scraptona’s eclectic look was born.

The Scraptona has the heart of a race car

Initially a skin sitting on a tube chassis, the Scraptona is actually a street-legal car that was made for the race track. It’s armed with a Petty R5P7 Mopar engine that revs to 8,000 rpm, makes 740 horsepower and turns the car into an “animal.”

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The Scraptona relies on AMSOIL products to keep its high-performance parts running. It debuted at SEMA and has appeared at shows across the country. We found it while hanging out at the Hot Rod Power Tour.

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Keep your eyes peeled for the Scraptona on the streets!

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Team Hybrid Sets the Import Standard

Written by Charleen

Team Hybrid Sets the Import Standard

Jamie Gibson|

It’s no small feat to organize a group of tuner enthusiasts and turn it into a well-respected car club. Never mind one that is capable of steady accolades, awards and reverence in a highly-competitive scene.

That’s exactly what James Lin, Team Hybrid Founder and President, did 24 years ago. He’s steered his crew to unrivaled success ever since. In fact, Team Hybrid now resides at the top of an unspoken hierarchy in the import tuner world. Team members consistently reach heights that fellow enthusiasts may pursue, but rarely achieve.

Team Hybrid strives to be the best

That’s why James Lin and Team Hybrid were selected as participants in the AMSOIL 2019 Company of Enthusiasts campaign. They stake their reputation on the principle of being the best, much like AMSOIL. They don’t want to just look the best, they want to be the best.

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That principle is seen in the professionalism and passion on display at every show, event and in every magazine feature they land.

It’s not enough to have an impressive show-worthy car to be part of Team Hybrid. One must also demonstrate the ability to be part of a team, lead by example and share the common goal of representing the hybrid tuner scene with utmost respect and “Hybrid Luv,” the team’s motto.

Check out the video below for a glimpse into the world of Team Hybrid. You can catch their latest feature in PASMAG’supcoming Special Edition Tuner Handbook, where San Diego chapter’s Romel has the first-ever wide-body FK7 with a fully built L15B7 SI motor swap. There is no other vehicle like it in the world. Also noteworthy is this PASMAG online article featuring Nevada chapter’s Anthony Morfin’s 2011 Dodge Challenger, which recently captured the top award in PASMAG’s Tuner Battlegrounds Elite Tuner category. These are not out-of-the-ordinary occurrences; just more evidence of success in Team Hybrid’s never-ending quest to make history.

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AAA TESTING AFFIRMS SUPERIORITY OF SYNTHETIC MOTOR OILS

Written by Charleen
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AAA AFFIRMS SUPERIORITY OF SYNTHETIC MOTOR OILS

AMSOIL introduced the world to synthetic motor oil in 1972, and we’ve been extolling the benefits ever since. While we’ve been joined by many vehicle and equipment manufacturers and competing motor oil companies over the years, the American Automobile Association (AAA) is the most recent company to promote the benefits of using synthetics. The popular club recently conducted in-depth testing to determine if it’s worth paying more for synthetic oil over conventional oil.

The answer is a resounding “yes.”

“Oil protects critical engine components from damage and AAA found that synthetic engine oils performed an average of 47 percent better than conventional oils in a variety of industry-standard tests,” said John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair. “With its superior resistance to deterioration, AAA’s findings indicate that synthetic oil is particularly beneficial to newer vehicles with turbo-charged engines and for vehicles that frequently drive in stop-and-go traffic, tow heavy loads or operate in extreme hot or cold conditions.

“It’s understandable that drivers may be skeptical of any service that is nearly twice the cost of the alternative. While a manufacturer-approved conventional oil will not harm a vehicle’s engine, the extra $30 per oil change could actually save money in the long run by protecting critical engine components over time.”

AAA Testing

AAA’s research included eight industrystandard ASTM tests focusing on shear stability, deposit formation, volatility, cold-temperature pumpability, oxidation resistance and oxidation-induced rheological changes. Each test was performed on five synthetic and five conventional oils. The results of this study by a reputable, thirdparty organization reaffirm what we’ve been saying for more than 45 years and give you one more reference point to back up your claims in the buy-sell process.

NOACK Volatility Test

The NOACK Volatility Test (ASTM D5800) determines the evaporation loss of lubricants in high-temperature service. The more motor oils vaporize, the thicker and heavier they become, contributing to poor circulation, reduced fuel economy and increased oil consumption, wear and emissions. The lower the number, the better the resistance to vaporization.

Thermo-Oxidation Engine Oil Simulation Test (TEOST)

The Thermo-Oxidation Engine Oil Simulation Test (ASTM D6335) determines the deposit-resisting properties of lubricants in high-temperature service. Motor oils can form deposits when exposed to increased heat, reducing efficiency and contributing to poor overall performance. The lower the number, the better the resistance to deposit formation.

AAA testing indicates synthetic motor oils more effectively resist hightemperature vaporization and deposit formation, helping maintain peak fuel efficiency and reducing wear, oil consumption and emissions.

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What to Do When Your Car is Underwater

Written by Charleen
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What to Do When Your Car is Underwater

Ed Newman|

Ohio Flood, July '06

 

Hurricane Harvey hit Houston hard.

Tragically, reports say the hurricane claimed the lives of at least 60 people. It has also wrought devastation to countless communities and households.

It seems meaningless by comparison to the lives lost, but some reports say that one million cars were destroyed. Images of submerged vehicles quickly circulated the Twittersphere in Harvey’s wake. Floods of all kinds are merciless and heartbreaking, but especially so on a scale this massive.

I remember when I was growing up in New Jersey we had a torrential rainfall one year and the creek below our next-door neighbor’s house went from five feet wide and one foot deep to 100 yards wide and 10 feet deep, filling the neighbor’s basement with water. When the water receded, the change in the water’s velocity as it went through the house left behind a couple feet of silt in the basement. The appliances were ruined and it was a heckuva mess to clean just this one house. I can’t imagine a whole city being taken out like this.

Or a million cars.

Speaking of which, a dozen years ago I had a friend who dabbled in automobile auctions. He drove to Chicago or Minneapolis, bought a few cars at auction, towed them back north to repair them and finally sold them. On one occasion I was looking at cars with him and I saw a brand-new Jaguar. I had always thought it would be cool to have a Jaguar, and this one was only $100. The reason it was so cheap? It had been underwater. That car had seen its best days.

What to do if your vehicle floods

If you Google this issue, there are several websites with advice on dealing with cars caught in floodwaters. Here are a handful of tips extracted from this Popular Mechanics article.

  1. “How high’s the water, mama?” –Johnny Cash
    First, try to identify the high-water line. Usually there will be leaves, debris or silt that indicates how high up your vehicle the water reached, sort of like a bathtub ring. If the water line goes partway up the windshield, scrap the vehicle.
  2. Disconnect the battery ground strap before tinkering.
  3. Do not start the engine to see if it still runs. As the saying goes, oil and water do not mix. If there is water in the engine and transmission, starting the car will turn that oil/water mix into a gooey mess, thereby making it that much more difficult to clean.
  4. Get as much water out of the vehicle as quickly as you can as soon as you can. The best tool is a wet/dry shop vac. Soak up all you can with towels and run fans to dry the vehicle. Some people recommend baking soda or some other moisture-absorbent product to reduce the chance of mold taking over.
  5. Change the oil, drivetrain fluids and filters. If this is beyond the scope of your auto maintenance skills – yes, the tranny fluid can be a pain – have your car towed to a place where the work can be done for you. That’s why people like me pay for AAA coverage. It’s a lot cheaper than a new car. (Note: Don’t tow the vehicle with the wheels on the ground; that defeats the purpose. Instead, use a flat-bed truck.)

I hope this is helpful. And don’t forget – try to park on high ground.

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