At the rear, premium components that won't deflect under the initial torque hit enable smooth and even bite. (Bill) Hickock Race Cars planted a stout, extra-legal rollcage, notched the frame, and did the wheel tubs. Willie and pal Darryll fashioned the motor plates and anointed the altar for the influx of grunt. With the car going straight and with minimum bind in the suspension system, it doesn't need a completely redesigned chassis to work correctly.
Yo Willy, how long you gonna keep makin' that big noise out on Priceless Road? The West Coast Hot Rod and PSCA dudes are curious. Long time, right?
Drivetrain
Willy's of the mind that experts are the best thing that ever happened to a time-challenged hot rodder, so he happily turned over the machine work and bullet-building chores to Kevin Schmidt in Mira Loma. The Dart Big M block features CNC finishing and stepped (91/416- to 11/42- to 71/416-inch) oil galleries. With a 4.530 bore and 4.00-inch stroke, the Rat works 516 ci off a Scat forged arm, Scat connecting rods, and 14.0:1 JE pistons and pins. Lubrication is the key. Schmidt prompted the system with a Williams (Lake Elsinore) oil pan and pump. About that Isky camshaft, Willy declined on specification but said: "It came out of a 406ci big-block that had a four-speed manual behind it. We built the motor in four days." How's that for a non sequitur?
Manley valvesprings, 2.25/1.88-inch valves, guideplates, retainers, and locks are entwined with Manton 31/48-inch pushrods and a T&D shaft rocker-arm system. The engine's front is covered by a Comp Cams beltdrive. Up top, AFR Magnum aluminum castings feature as-delivered 315cc intake runners and a complete porting job by the hands at Flow Tech (Garden Grove). The Edelbrock Victor is paired up with a 1,150-cfm Holley Dominator that works with an NX 100-shot plate. To combat the high cylinder pressure created by the nitrous explosion, a strong, vibrant spark is invaluable to the whole, hence the MSD-equipped HEI ignition set at 36 degrees total advance.
Products of combustion are eliminated by Lemons Headers (231/48-inch primaries) that terminate in 4-inch Lemons collector mufflers. Engine cooling is realized through a Meziere electric pump and a Ron Davis single-row aluminum core.
Willy eschewed the usual Powerglide variant and stuck with three forward speeds from the Mike's Transmission-tweaked Turbo 400. It's fitted with a hairy 5,500-stall speed Munzinger (Chino) torque converter and a B&M fluid cooler. A 4-inch-diameter Inland Driveline 'shaft carries torque to 4.56:1 gears. Willy applies the brakes, pins the throttle, and flat disappears into the swarming engine music.