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Minnesota Motorhead is a blog spotlighting classic and high-performance vehicles in Minnesota.
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Featured Rides
1955 Chevy Del Ray
Owners: Marlo and Kim Sander
Location: Belview, MN
Want to see your ride on Minnesota Motorhead? Send a photo with the make, model and year of your vehicle to jake@mnmotorhead.com. Include your full name, the city you live in and a few details about your car.
Photo: It might not look like much, but this budget-built small block makes respectable power using mostly second-hand parts.
It’s easy to go broke building an engine, especially if you’re starting from scratch. But with a little patience and a lot of searching, affordable performance is not out of reach.
My first engine build is a testament to that. It’s not as cheap as it possibly could be, but it is a budget-built mill that manages to crank out 417 hp at 6,100 rpm and 386 lb-ft of torque at 4,300 rpm using mostly second-hand parts.
The engine, which I’ve dubbed the Thrifty 350, has been six years in the making. It was finally completed this month and it will soon replace the stock 305 in my ‘84 Monte Carlo SS. Check back for details on the build and the swap and visit the multimedia page to see a video of the 350 roaring on the engine Dyno.
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Car Craft gets political
A chat with Car Craft and Hot Rod Publisher Jerry Pitt at this year’s Summer Nationals.
The Car Craft Summer Nationals returned to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds July 17-19, this time with a political agenda.
Time Warp
In the real world, U.S. automakers were still in trouble June 19-21. Bailouts and bankruptcy were still the buzz words. A big question mark still hung over the future of American automobile production.
Hot rodding in heaven
Minnesota’s car culture took a big hit early June 21, when longtime Minnesota Street Rod Association member Gib Sagdalen, better known as Gibby, died in his sleep from what his family believes was a heart attack. He was 64.