DonsDeals Blog: Roadkill’s General Mayhem Hellcat Engine Swap and the Race at Roadkill Nights with "Those unmentionable Reality TV Show guys"

I read an article, on http://hackaday.com today. One of my favorite, Web Sites. The article was called, Worlds Collide: Hot Rodders and Hackers. Normally, hackaday.com has, allot of good info. On Electronics and Software "Hacking". And a few other subjects, as well. But, today. Those, "Hackers" and "Script Kiddies". Really got it Wrong! The article, supposed. That Hot Rodders. Are woefully, behind the times. In Electronics and "Hacking Skills". And that my Favorite Car Show, of all Time! RoadKill, Hosted by the Editor of Hot Rod Magazine. David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan, his trusty side kick and Co Host. Unwisely, taunted and goaded. The Host of another TV Car Show. Into a Car Build Challange and Race. That the RoadKill guys. Basically, bit off more than they could chew. See this page, for more more info, Secrets of Roadkill's General Mayhem Hellcat Engine Swap. Well, that just goes to show Ya... They don't know RoadKill! In the first place. It was all, just good natured kidding. With perhaps a little bit of healthy rivalry and competition, in there too. After all. Car Racing, is what Hot Rodding is all about! These guys, all know each other. Their the Pro's, of the Hot Rodding World. They are putting on Show's... Remember? And as for Experience and "Street Cred". David Freiburge, for instance. Holds several Land Speed Records, at Bonneville Salt Flats. Here's a RoadKill Video, about there latest attempt, Chasing a Landspeed Record at Bonneville with a 1100hp Camaro! - Roadkill Ep. 20 - YouTube. But, these guys, Freiburger and Finnegan. Never take them selves, too Seriously. They are always the first to make fun of them selves. And always admit it. When the FAIL. It's pretty much the Mantra of the Show. RoadKill and Fail. Go hand in hand...

If you've ever built your self, your own Hot Rod. Then, you know. That Failing, is the way we learn. How to make it better. The next time. Not giving up, because of a few Failures and Broken Parts. This is how, Real Hot Rodders, do it. Like, competing in Hot Rod Drag Week. Driving over 1200 Miles in their Race Cars. And Racing at different Race Tracks, along the Way. Just to see, who has the Fastest Street Legal Car, in America. And the only Prize, is a Leather Jacket! Here's a Video, Drag Week 2015 - Freiburger's Favorites & Day 5 Highlights! It's not for Show. It's just to Blow The Doors Off, of the Car in the Other Lane, 2015 HOT ROD Drag Week. But, hopefully, not your own... Drag Week 2013 VIDEO: Tom Bailey is So Fast He Blew is Door Off - Literally - Hot Rod Magazine Blog. Here's a Video, with the whole thing, including the Run, FASTEST STREET CAR IN AMERICA - Tom Bailey's 217 MPH '69 Camaro! That was in 2013. 2015 Drag Week, is in the links, below. So, I think, these guys. Know a thing or two, about ECU's and Tuning...

But, the Hackaday Article said, this, about a typical Hot Rodder.. "But their knowledge of electric circuits doesn't go beyond wiring up a 12 volt DC tail light." And "Today's cars and trucks use highly sophisticated electronic controls to keep them running at optimal performance. Without a solid background in computer electronics, a hot rodder will be faced with a near impossible challenge when trying to make any substantial modifications to a modern motor vehicle. This is one of the reasons why they stick with older vehicles. As a general rule, a hot rodder wants nothing to do with a car or truck made after the year 1980." I'll get back to this later...

The Premise, of the RoadKill Show. From the beginning. Was that... They would find an old Car or Truck. Somewhere, around the USA. And go buy it. Make it run and drive it back to California. Or maybe drive it down to a Drag Strip, somewhere in Texas and Race it. Junkyard 'Cuda Rescue, With Nitrous Oxide! - Roadkill Episode 11. They change the show's escapades, up a bit in each episode. So, as to not get too boring. Sometimes, they get one of their "Old Junk" Cars or Trucks. Up and running and drive it on a Roadkill Road Trip, The Ranchero Returns! Alaska or Bust: The Sequel - Roadkill Episode 13. I immediately liked the show. Because, it reminded me, so much of things I use to do. Back in the 70's. When I was younger. We would, just drive around in old neighborhoods. Looking for old cars, in someones yard. And if we found one, we liked. We would, go knock on the door. And offer to buy the car. Hoping to find an cool car to fix up, for about $50. Then there was, all the time I spent under the Hood and working on the Driver Train. Of my, 62 Buick Invicta, 64 Chevelle, 70 SS Chevelle, 64 Chevy Panel Truck, 54 Chevy Belair, 88 Toyota Pickup. A Junk Dog that I bought. Which turned out to have a Blown Head Gasket. So, I traded it to a guy. To get the Tranny rebuilt on my Blazer. And few others, along the way... I spent allot of years. Fixing, what I broke. Or doing and Engine and Transmission Swaps. Then Hot Rodding them, on the Street. Then, after that. There was my 4x4 Off Roading Days. And all of the wonderful time. I spent, getting to know the under side of my 76 Blazer... Fixing what I broke and Playing Off Road.

These guys, Dave and Mike. Are the Real Deal. As, close to "Reality TV", as I have ever seen. And I seen other Car Show guys. Testify to that, as well. I actually, really never got into watching Car Shows. Until I found RoadKill, in it's first year on YouTube. Partially, because, I never have had Cable or Satellite TV Service. To be able to watch those shows. But, mostly. Because, I would rather, do the work my self. Than, just watch. Some guys, with endless Pockets Full of money. And Professional Level Garages and Tools. Doing things. That I could never afford to be able to do. It's like rubbing it in our faces... We, can do this and you guys can't...

Anyway... I had never heard of "That Reality TV Show". Until, this Episode of RoadKill, General Mayhem: 707HP Hellcat Engine in a 1968 Charger! Roadkill Ep. 43. I can't say, whether or not. I would like "That Reality Show" or not. Since, I have never seen it. But, seeing, the way it all went down. With all of the TV Shows Corporate BS and Lawyers. Stopping RoadKill from Broadcasting the Race. At their own Event. Which Hot Rod Magazine - Motor Trend and their Sponsors, Dodge, etc. Spent their time and money putting together. Not to mention. Dodge, Sponsors. "That Reality TV Show" as well. That is actually, who got the TV Show guys, to answer the Challenge. They were ignoring, RoadKill guys, at first. They wouldn't even answer them... So, all that. Really did make me... Not want to ever watch "That Show". Not only is RoadKill and many other Web Shows. Free to Watch, Online. Which is where I watch 99.9% of my TV - Video. For the last several years, anyway. But, they are very entertaining and contain allot of good How To and Educational info as well. So, I'm not missing a thing... Now, I know. Motor Trend has started a Pay Per View Channel, on the Web. But, all of their YouTube Show Content. Is not, Going Away.... Freiburger Answers You About Motor Trend OnDemand! All of these Companies, are trying to find ways to Monetize their Content, these days. Personally, I think that Non Intrusive Advertising. Is the best way to go. Hey, it seems to work for Google and FB... We all need to make a living... Just don't be Evil, about it;)

Now, back to the issue of Hot Rodders. Not knowing anything about Electronics. Well, as for me. Electronics. Was my first Love. Back in the 1960's. When I saw inside my first Tube Radio. And then, when I got my first Transistor Radio. A new and wondrous invention! Imagine... A Radio, that cold fit in your Pocket. And play music pretty much anywhere! It was only, as I got older. And after my love affair. With Trail - Street (TS) Dirt Bikes. Motorcycles, not Bicycles (kiddies). And when I learned to Drive a Car. That, I went full on, into Hot Rodding. I wanted to become the next. Big Daddy Don Garlits. I had dreams of running my own Hot Rod and Custom Car Building Shop. Ya, those were the days;) Sure, I personally prefer Corroborators. To those new Fangeled Computer Controlled Electronic Fuel injections Systems. I love Computers and Electronics. I spend all day, every day on my Computer, these days. I love Open Source Software. Linux OS's and Building a System, her and there. But, Computers and all of those Sensors, in Cars. Stuck, in every nook and cranny. So far. Just give the machine. Too many more things to Break. And the ECU's and PCM's are purposely made. Unnecessarily, Complicated. By the Manufacturers. So, as to try and discourage. Car owners, from working on their own Cars. It literally took, an Act of Congress. And a new Law. To get the Software and Hardware Tools, made available to the general public. So, that we could work on our Own Vehicles. That are Equipped, with these Computers and Sensor Systems. And today. there are Great Projects, like this one, Autos - rusEfi Frankenstein The Open Source Engine Control Unit and OpenECU. I'm actually very late to the Car Electronics Party. I've purposely stayed away from Electronics in Cars. And believed. That there was not enough of a Real Performance Gain. To make it worth, all of the head aches. That come with dealing with ECU's and PCM equipped Cars. I got this opinion. From working on my Mom's 96 Saturn. And few others, over the years. Without any CAN Readers to help me out. CAN Devices were very expensive. Until the last few years. And from watching others. Struggle with diagnosing. The Problems, that come with a 10 year old "Modern" Vehicle... My 1976 Blazer, requires very little maintenance, on the Engine and Transmission. And will Start, even when I let it set for several months, without starting the motor. Now, the Rest of the Drive Train. That's a bit of a different story... U-Joints and Front Wheel Bearings can be an issue, on a 4x4 with Big Tires. And especially, if you go Off Road allot. I've Twisted my Drive Shaft into a Pretzel. And broke many U-Joints. Four Wheeling, over the years. Then, there was the time. I was trying to impress a girl. By doing a Burn Out on very New and Rough Asphalt Pavement. With 35 inch BFG Mud Terrain Tires on the Rig. That Snapped my Rear U-Joint. And when all of the Torque was suddenly let loose, on the Transfer Case. It destroyed it too. That Cost me $750 Bucks. To get that Transfer Case Rebuilt. With a new - used Case. Mine was cracked. And that was back in about 1992. Today, who knows, what it would cost. All of that Damage. Was done by my Trusty 350 Chevy Motor. With a Holey 650 Carb, Edelbrock Intake, 195 lift Cam and Headers... And ya, I'm lucky to get, about 10 miles to the Gallon. Even if I drive it right. Now, my 70 SS Chevelle. Got 20mpg, at 70mph, all day long. As long as I stayed out of the Four Barrel. It had 402 Big Block Motor. From the Factory. The car was marked 396. But, they were actually 402's. They had a Longer Stroke. This and the Quadrajet 4bbl Carb. Was a great Combo. For both Performance and Gas Milage...

But, after watching. All of the Episodes of Roadkill and their Sister Show, Hot Rod Garage. See, Low-Buck Speed Project! LS Swapped 1979 Camaro! #Bonemaro - Hot Rod Garage Ep. 37. For their latest How To Episode. I'm finally convinced. That I could get both better Performance and Gas Mileage. On my 76 Blazer and my 83 Dodge Ram, Good Times Van. If I went to an LS1 or newer Motor. Or I could convert my 350 Motor, to EFI. But, then... There is the high cost of all of these Trick Holley EFI Conversing Kits and other Addons. That are needed, to make it all work. And or then, there's the LS Engine Swap. That's not cheap, either. If I ever do an LS Engine Swap. It will most likely, be with an older Stock LS1. Or something, that that doesn't cost a small fortune. And use all of the Electronics, that goes with the Engine. You, know. Like the RoadKill guys did. So, are you getting the Point. Hot Rodders. Have been doing Car Electronics Work and Computer - Engine Swaps. Since, the darn things were invented! Sure, many of us old guys. May prefer to stay with a Carb and a 350 or 454 Engine. But, were not the norm. Were the old hold outs... These Hot Rodding Kids and "Tuners". Came up with the Term, "Tuner". And have been "Tuning" for many years now. There have been Open Source ECU Tuning Software Projects around for at least 10 years. That I know of. See, the links below...

Now, back to the Great Race. If you really want to know, what went down. And see the other side of the Story. You know... A Story sounds good. Till you hear the other Side... General Mayhem: 707HP Hellcat Engine in a 1968 Charger! Roadkill Ep. 43...

Watch the Gas Monkey Garage Dart Beat Roadkill's General Mayhem Charger. Ya, the RoadKill Car. Lost the Race, Gas Monkey vs. ROADKILL Drag Race. But, that's ok. As David and Mike would say... "That's RoadKill"...

Check out More RoadKill other Hot Rod Videos in the links below...

Don