Dernières Nouvelles

The project resulted in a custom 1934 Ford with a total length of 199-inches, a wheelbase of 135-inches, and a height of 55-inches. The car has also been lowered 6-inches.

The story begins back in 2010 when Ruben Contreras, a resident of Fontana, California, and a fabricator with K&N Engineering, manufacturer of air and oil filters and air intake systems in Riverside, California, wanted a different look for his 1995 Lincoln Town Car Cartier.

Spacers were added to the rear of the car, which produced a width of 77-inches.

Powered by a Ford Modular 4.6-liter SOHC V8 engine that generated 210 horsepower and 274 lb-ft of torque at 3,250 rpm and included a 4-speed Ford AOD-E automatic transmission, the original car's measurements were an exterior length of 218.9-inches, a wheelbase of 117.4-inches, a width of 76.9-inches and height of 56.7-inches.

In 2010 Contreras drove the car 1,600 miles to Vaca Limousine, a car customizing shop in Guadalajara, Mexico, and asked the staff to create a custom car that had the look of a 1934 Ford. The shop had already built a reputation for making wild customizations and also customizing cars for celebrities including former boxer Julio Chavez.

The front has a width of 75-inches. Suicide doors were added for a custom touch.

"The shop has about 70 to 80 employees and it has several departments," explained Contreras. "One department takes the car a part, another department stretches the frame, a third makes the fiberglass body, and the fourth puts everything together."

Wire wheels were replaced with Mach 1 17-inch wheels.

According to Contreras, Vaca cut off the front and rear portions and part of the frame of the Lincoln Town Car, but salvaged the engine, transmission, chassis, axles, suspension, front driver and passenger door panels, steering column, instrument panel, air conditioning system, four-wheel disc brakes, battery, the oil and air filters, and wiring.

The front of the car was lowered and angled out somewhat so that it could accommodate a grille that resembles one from a '34 Ford that was custom-made. The rear of the car was widened somewhat about 1-inch using spacers to better accommodate the wheels. The instrument panel and electronics controls were removed from the dashboard and settled into a specially constructed panel above the head of the driver. Only the radio remains on the dashboard.

The steering column from the Lincoln Town Car Cartier was retained, but a new bench with molded seats was added. Out of the shot, the instrument panel is on the roof above the driver's seat.

The air filter has been relocated to a position below the fan in the front of the engine compartment due to space issues and the air conditioner is tucked under the dash.

There are no door handles. Instead, a conventional alarm system with remote control was added and integrated into the doors so that Contreras can open them by tapping a button on the remote.

The Ford Modular 4.6-liter SOHC V8 engine from the Lincoln Town Car Cartier was shoehorned into the engine bay of the new car.

It took Vaca about two months to convert the car and it remained at the Vaca plant for two years and displayed at car shows in Mexico.

Contreras went back to Guadalajara to fetch the car in 2012. Since its return, the car has appeared in shows around Fontana, said Contreras. He drives it to work about once a week, usually on Fridays, and he uses it to perform errands and to show it off to neighbors on the weekends.

"I put maybe 1,000 miles on the car a year," he said. There is a total of about 133,000 miles on the car, he added.

He noted that the car has been registered with the California Highway Patrol as a specially customized 1934 Ford and it doesn't require smog testing because of a computer that controls the functions of the car including emissions.

Contreras volunteered that the car does not carry a spare tire. "I still have to open up space behind the back seat to accommodate the spare," he said.

Robert Byrd, together with Will Baty, of Centerforce Performance Clutches presenting Michael Morrow of K&N with Sundays Spirit of the Event Award.

Ask anyone who has ever been to this event, The Racing Byrds, put on one heck of a race. The entertainment Robert Byrd provides makes even the hottest of days nothing short of uber cool! He and wife Trish, have the ability to create a very chill environment.

Mike Morrow pushing that newly updated Fox Body Mustang to the limits in the heat. It's clear he's enjoying the Father's Day surprise presented to him by his daughter, Brandy and son-in-law Rob Phillips.

Not even record breaking heat kept the drivers away from this past weekend's event. In fact, the heat didn't stop the race warriors from laying down some seriously fast times and having fun in the pits.

The Racing Byrds made a special exception due to demand and allowed for an additional 6 participants rounding out the total number of registered entrants to a whopping 81. Participants could choose from racing either Saturday or Sunday or both which makes them eligible for the Hotchkis Cup.

The Hotchkis Cup is an award that recognizes speed, clean driving, and consistency across the entire weekend. The winner of the Cup will be the driver with the lowest combined average lap time for the weekend (average for Saturday + average for Sunday), so the winner may not be the person with the fastest single lap time of the day.

Hotchkis Engineer, Aaron Ogawa, laying down the fastest lap times on Saturday to earn him a first place finish in the Sports Car Class in his race ready FRS.

12 time SCCA Champ Autocrosser Mary Pozzi picks up a solid second place finish and the award for "Fastest Lady" with her lap time 34.771 just 2/10th's of a second off Aaron Ogawa's super-fast lap time of 34.509!

Mary Pozzi in her Corvette, affectionately named "Trouble".

Temperatures on the tarmac and in the cars reached well over 100 degrees. The usual suspects were in the house and the most notable rivalry would be that of 5th gen Camaro driver, Don Gonzales and C6 driver, Ryan Thacker. Their rivalry began at the inaugural Hotchkis event. Of course all in good fun because that's what this community is about. Going fast and having fun.

All lined up and rearing to go. Greg Thurmond in his 1965 Candy Tangerine Corvette with Richard Trujillo in his Deliciously Lime '69 Mustang nipping at his heals.

Robert Byrd, getting as many tips as he can from the weekends fastest guy, Caesar Martinez. Caesar is all smiles as he accepts his awards for first place in the Sports Car Class on Sunday and his award for fastest lap time for the weekend.

Jake Rozelle spending quality time with dad, Roy and little sis, Mallory. Jake earned a second place finish with a lap time of 34.005 just 2/10th's of a second behind Caesar.

Saturday morning started off with an incredible surprise at the driver's meeting. Fellow racers Brandy Phillips and her hubby Rob, had been keeping a secret from dad, Michael Morrow. Turns out that over the past month they had been working on his old SCCA Mustang to get it running again for this event. As a special gift for Father's Day, the kids along with the Racing Byrds, presented him with his race ready ride. To really put the pressure on ole dad, long-time family friend, Matt Briggs, purchased a two-day entry to the event. Mike may have been reluctant to start but by the end of the first run group he appeared to be having the time of his life. Ironically, he received The Spirit of the Event Award sponsored by Centerforce Performance Clutches, an award customarily sponsored by K&N! Happy Father's Day Mike and thank you Rob and Brandy for letting all of us be a part of the surprise!

Jordan Priestley with the hammer down trying to stay out front.

Matt Alcala making certain that he pulls out all the stops to be on top in the Modern Muscle class.

Greg Nelson putting his demon to the test with Jordan and Matt. Watching these guys run, swapping 1st, 2nd and 3rd was epic.

In the end Greg Nelson would be the victor with a lap time of 35.686. But not by much. Matt Alcala put down a lap time of 35.703. That's only 17/1000th's of a second behind Greg Nelson. But Greg proved he's a consistent driver. He took home a first for both days even with the 110 degree temps.

Casey Cronin piloting his 1972 Corvette nicknamed RIF RAFT.

Casey seen here with Trish Byrd accepting his award for his first place finish in Classic Muscle.

Caesar Martinez and his 2005 Nissan 350Z. This boosted beast complete with Centerforce Dyad Clutch, burned up the track with a scorching fast lap time of 33.723, the fastest lap time of the weekend.

The super-fast and very sweet Brandy Phillips led the truck class all weekend long.

Support from the sponsors goes beyond your typical customer service as evidenced by Will Baty from Centerforce Performance Clutches. Here he is providing much needed shade for Jane Thurmond as she sits waiting to take on her adversaries.

Marc Lewis of Hedman Hedders, another fantastic sponsor of the Hotchkis Cup Autocross Challenge takes a different approach. He pushes his little white 2014 Ford Focus in to beast mode on the track and earned himself a first place finish on Saturday and Sunday.

One of the ladies in the event, Kerry Ann Adams, driving her 2014 Ford Fiesta came away Saturday with a second place finish. And Mark Allison in his 2013 Fiat 500 took second place on Sunday.

Sunday would prove to be Greg Thurmond's day in Classic Muscle. With a lap time of 34.065 he came in first just 9/10th's of a second ahead of wife Jane, whose lap time of 34.926 garnered her a solid second place finish and the award for "Fastest Lady".

Brandy Phillips slithering around the cones, quick and nimble.

Don ate a little crow at the end of the day when Ryan's fastest time was 2/10th's of a second ahead of Don.

Ryan gave it all he had but in the end, after a hot weekend of fun and challenges, he lost by less than 2/10ths of a second. Competition is tough, but these guys know, there'll be a next time.

What Does a Cold Air Intake Do?

What Does a Cold Air Intake Do?
In 1969, K&N introduced the very first reusable, high-flow cotton gauze air filter. This revolutionary performance air filter was initially designed for racing, but soon found its way onto countless street cars and custom built hotrods. By the late 80's, fuel injection was becoming the industry standard, so K&N introduced the idea of bolt-on performance air intakes. Like its first high-volume air filter, their new cold air intake systems were proven to significantly increase horsepower and torque, and they quickly became the gold standard for custom car builders, off-roaders, racers, and performance enthusiasts across the globe.

Today, K&N cold air intake systems are the go-to performance upgrade for anybody wanting to get the most horsepower and efficiency from an engine. These bolt-on performance kits are easy to install, and the reusable cotton gauze air filters are warrantied for up to one million miles. But let's look at how they work.

How a Cold Air Intake System Works
The best way to explain a cold air intake system is to think of your car's engine like a pair of lungs. In order to make power, the cylinders have to inhale air to create the explosion that produces wheel-turning horsepower and torque. Since cold air contains more oxygen molecules than warm air, injecting a higher volume of oxygen-rich air into the cylinders allows the engine to burn fuel more completely during the combustion cycle. This "combustion efficiency" results in an increase of horsepower and torque, using roughly the same amount of fuel. Put simply, if you add oxygen to a fire, you get a stronger fire. K&N cold air intake systems are designed to deliver more oxygen-rich cold air into the engine than a stock air intake system. This results in a stronger 'explosion', which contains more force to push the piston down and turn the crankshaft. That extra energy/power is then transferred to the transmission and out to the wheels.

Cold Air Intake 69-8619TS Installed

O2 = HP
The resulting horsepower gain varies by product and application, but each K&N cold air intake system has been designed to increase airflow efficiency for specific vehicles and their engines. Each of our performance air intake kits undergo thousands of hours of testing to ensure that the high-flow K&N air filter and intake tube is perfectly positioned to collect and deliver the coldest air possible. An engine bay is filled with low-performing warm air, and if the air filter placement is less than ideal (usually due to space limitations), our cold air intake systems will use high temperature heat shields to prevent warm air from entering the system.

Breathing in More Power
Clean air is vital to the performance of not only the engine, but a cold air intake system as well. That's why each K&N performance intake system comes with one of our high-flow cotton gauze air filters. These legendary K&N air filters are made from 4-6 layers of our proprietary cotton gauze material, sandwiched between 2 layers of rugged aluminum mesh. When combined with the unique FilterCharger oil, the cotton fibers are able to attract contaminants that are smaller in diameter than a human hair. This type of filtration is called "depth loading", and it keeps dirt particles trapped within the matrix of cotton fibers, while more air flows through to the engine. K&N air filters typically score 97%-99% filtration efficiency on the ISO 5011 Air Filter Test, which means more air gets into the cylinders, and more contaminants get removed from that air.

Installing a K&N Cold Air Intake System
Thanks to extensive Research & Development, K&N engineers are able to create cold air intake systems that are extremely effective, yet easy to install. Many of our performance intakes can be installed using the factory mounting points, so you typically won't need more than two wrenches and a screwdriver. But regardless of which system you choose, it will come with a step-by-step instruction guide, complete with color photos of each step, and a tool list. Plus, our Technical Support team is just a phone call away.

Cold Air Intake on Dyno

Dependability is Guaranteed
Besides increasing horsepower and torque, a K&N cold air intake system will save you time and money. Every K&N air filter can be washed and reused over and over again. So, you won't have to buy a new air filter every 10,000-15,000 thousand miles. Just wash out your K&N filter every 100,000 miles (depending on driving conditions), then re-install it. And, the entire system is backed by the K&N 10-year/Million Mile Limited Warranty, so you get guaranteed performance and guaranteed quality.

Street Legal in All 50 States
Many of the K&N cold air intake systems are completely street legal in all 50 states, and will come with a California Air Resource Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO) number which guarantees that particular air intake kit has been tested to comply with the current emissions standards. EO numbers apply to the kit, as well as to the year, make and model of vehicle that it is being installed on. Intake systems without an EO number are street legal in most states, but cannot be installed on emissions controlled vehicles in the state of California, or other states that have adopted California emission standards. You can use K&N's search by part tool to learn which cold air intakes are CARB exempt, and for which vehicles.

Discover How Much Power You're Missing
We can't guarantee that you will get XX.X more horsepower and foot-pounds of torque, because things like the mileage, modifications and condition of your exact vehicle will factor into the final number. But we can show you the dyno results for a vehicle just like yours, that's been fitted with one of our many K&N cold air intake systems. Plus, we also manufacture lots of other racing and automotive performance parts like high-volume fuel pumps, oil filters, and carbon fiber hood scoops. So to check out what's available for your vehicle, use the K&N search by vehicle tool. Or, you can use the K&N dealer locator to find a K&N dealer near you.

Cold Air Intake Systems 101

Cold Air Intake System 101
If you have even a casual interest in cars, then you've probably heard that installing a cold air intake system will give your car more power. And that's largely true, but the performance gains ultimately depend on the vehicle, and the type of performance intake system that's being used. A traditional type of performance intake uses a heat shield to prevent the air filter from ingesting warm engine bay air. This type of system can increase performance, by simply changing the quality of air going into the engine. But there's nothing 'simple' about engineering one of these cold air intake systems.

Why cold air is so important?
Fire can't exist in a vacuum, because it needs oxygen to fuel itself. So before the spark plugs can ignite the gasoline, the valves have to allow air into each cylinder. This oxygen is fed to the throttle body through an air intake system, which pulls air from a high-pressure zone, typically located at the front of the hot engine bay. Although this air is usually fairly cool, it can heat up as it travels through the intake tube. This reduces its potency, and causes power to be lost during each combustion cycle.

If you think back to 7th grade science class, you may remember that cold air has a higher density than warm air, because it contains more oxygen molecules. And since horsepower comes from the intensity of each fuel detonation, increasing the volume of oxygen in the fuel/air mixture will cause the fuel to burn more intensely. In laymen's terms, adding more cold air/oxygen will make the gas burn hotter, which will create more power. Following that simple horsepower formula has allowed K&N cold air intake systems to become one of the most popular performance upgrades on the market today.

Factory air intake systems
When car company engineers develop an air intake system, they have to factor in things like noise suppression, emission regulations, and the amount of room they have to work with (often referred to as 'packaging'). To meet the performance objectives for a particular model, they'll study the air temperature and air pressure zones under the hood. The air box is then placed in a low temperature zone, and the air box inlet is positioned in a high-pressure area, so it can collect cool outside air as flows through the bodywork. And finally, a sealed lid is used to keep the air filter from ingesting hot air coming off the engine. Factory air intakes might limit engine performance, but a lot of science goes into choosing that air box location.

K&N Cold air intake system installed

Classic cold air intake systems
Since the OEM air box is usually located in a low-temperature, high-pressure zone. Cold air intake systems can increase horsepower by replacing the restrictive stock intake, with components that are designed to handle a much larger volume of air. To ensure all that extra oxygen is cold, a low-restriction K&N performance air filter is positioned where the stock air box used to be. A rugged heat shield is then placed around the oversized air filter, to prevent hot engine air from getting into the system. The shape of the heat shield is specifically engineered to funnel cold air from that high pressure zone, directly into the air filter. While the outer edges of the K&N heat shield are often fitted with a special gasket, thus sealing against the underside of the hood to control the temperature and pressure of the air entering the system. This allows a K&N cold air intake system to boost performance, by simply improving on the factory design.

Choosing the right cold air intake system
Besides the performance benefits, legality is something that you need to consider. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has very strict rules about performance intake systems. Many high performance cold air intake systems are not street legal in California, or any other state that has adopted California Emissions Standards. The K&N 57-Series FIPK performance intake systems on the other hand, is completely street legal in all 50 states, and it even comes with a CARB EO (executive order) number to comply with smog inspection.

K&N cold air intake systems mount the air cleaner high above the road surface. So engine performance won't be effected by the weather, or environmental conditions. But if you are concerned about those type of issues, K&N offers a water repellant DryCharger filter wrap. To find out which K&N cold air intake systems will fit your ride, use the search by vehicle tool, or use the dealer search tool to find a K&N dealer near you.

Do cold air intake systems work?

Cold air intake systems have long been considered one of the easiest ways to "bolt-on extra horsepower". All you have to do is unbolt the restrictive factory intake system, and replace it with a free-flowing cold air intake system. This will theoretically give you lots of additional horsepower, so you can become a Fast & Furious stoplight hero. However, installing a K&N cold air intake isn't going to turn you into Paul Walker. But it will definitely make your ride a lot more powerful. So let's take a look at how, and why a cold air intake system works...

How an engine makes power
An internal combustion engine works by burning a mixture of fuel and air inside of the cylinders. The fuel injectors spray in a precise amount of fuel, which gets mixed with air delivered by the air intake system. A spark plug then ignites this volatile cocktail, causing an explosion that forces the piston downward, turning the crankshaft, and ultimately the wheels. The piston-moving force that's created during the combustion cycle is where horsepower comes from. And you can actually increase that force/horsepower by adding a K&N cold air intake system.

K&N cold air intake system installed

Why cold air is so important
When you were in school, you learned that cold air is denser than warm air, because it contains additional oxygen molecules. When you feed a fire/explosion with oxygen-rich cold air, the resulting fire/explosion will be much more intense. A factory air intake tends to feed less-potent warm air to the cylinders, which means less energy/horsepower gets extracted from the fuel. A cold air intake system on the other hand, gives the engine more oxygen to work with. So those explosions become more intense, and the engine effectively makes more horsepower, from the same amount of fuel.

How a factory air intake works
In order to get to the cylinders, air has to first enter a tiny hole at the bottom of the stock airbox, then it has to pass through a thick paper air filter. As dirt collects on the OEM air filter, less air can pass through, which causes the engine to work harder to make the same amount of horsepower. Once the air has cleared this hurdle, it gets forced through a series of narrow plastic tubes with tight bends and uneven surfaces. This causes the air to swirl around and become turbulent, and that makes it heat up and become less effective.

How a cold air intake system works
On a cold air intake system, air first passes through a much larger performance air filter, which allows more air into the system. Filters like the K&N performance air filter, use a 'depth loading' design to remove more dirt from the air, then keep it trapped inside a matrix of sticky cotton fibers, which allows a high volume of air to always be able to pass through. Once the air has been cleaned, it flows into a wider intake tube that typically has completely smooth interior surfaces, and less restrictive curves. K&N aluminum intake tubes use mandrel-bent curves to virtually eliminate air turbulence, while K&N roto-molded intake tubes do the same thing with molded high density polyethylene.

Air intake systems installed

By reducing airflow restrictions, a cold air intake system can always feed the engine a high volume of turbulence-free air. And to make sure the air is cold, the air filter is situated so that it can collect the coldest air. Which often requires a special heat shield to prevent warm engine bay air from entering the system. However, a front mounted ram air intake will relocate the air filter to a high-pressure zone outside of the engine compartment (usually behind the front bumper, or inside the fender well). This allows it to collect the coldest air possible, and the increased air pressure forces more air into the system as the speed increases. Thanks to the improved airflow dynamics, a front mounted cold air intake system is able to deliver more horsepower than a conventional performance intake.

So does a cold air intake system really work?
When you introduce a high volume of cold air to the combustion process, the engine is able to burn the fuel more completely, and that results in additional horsepower. So yes, a cold air intake system does work. But the actual amount of extra horsepower that you'll get from a K&N cold air intake, will depend on the type of system, as well as the condition of your specific vehicle and engine. You can however, check out the dyno test results for different K&N intake systems that are installed on a vehicle just like yours.

To find out the estimated horsepower gain for your vehicle, use K&N's Search by Vehicle tool.