4 problem-solving products to help you and your project
While walking through the halls of the 2021 SEMA show, we found tons of amazing new products, some which were new to us and worth sharing. We’ve already detailed some interesting innovations from SEMA this year, but these particular items struck a chord because we’ve witnessed first-hand some projects that could really use them. Here are four products that you may not know about that could help you get your stalled project out of the garage and onto the road.
Edelbrock VRS-4150 Race & Performance Carburetor
Edelbrock has been known for making street and race engine parts for all sorts of V-8 engines since Vic Sr. made his first parts for the flathead Ford. While the company is working hard on late-model muscle and fuel injection, it also knows that carburetors work great in plenty of applications, including race cars and restomods. The VRS-4150 Race & Performance Carburetor is not like Edelbrock’s other carbs, and the model name should tell you it has a lot in common with a Holley 4150. What sets this carb apart are larger fuel bowls, with drains, billet metering blocks, and, interestingly, a provision to mount a throttle position sensor. For street applications, that makes it easier to use an electronically controlled transmission, and for racing applications, it allows for a solenoid that takes throttle position into consideration, like nitrous. It’s available with a main body that flows 650, 750, 850, or 950CFM to fit a wide range of engines and will bolt to any intake that would normally accept a 4150- or 4500-style carb.
Kaizen Relays
These solid-state relays retail for about $100 apiece and use a programmable $125 module to control any electrical accessory in your vehicle that would use a standard relay. Up to three can be connected together using Kaizen’s patented interlock design and the control module can take up to three sensor inputs in addition to an input from the vehicle CAN. The throttle position sensor we mentioned above on the Edelbrock carb could act as one input, and vehicle speed could be another. Using those inputs, plus a switch, a nitrous system could be programmed to only be applied at wide-open-throttle and at a pre-set minimum vehicle speed. The possibilities for a system like this are nearly endless, and the price point is impressive.
Plastex Plastic Repair Kits
While it’s now easier than ever to restore some popular makes, there are still hundreds of models of cars and trucks that don’t have a robust aftermarket for supplying restoration parts. Even some popular models have unobtanium parts, like bits of interior trim, that send diehards scrounging junkyards and forums hoping to make their projects whole again. Plastex is helping by making plastic repair kits that can repair or replace mounting tabs and studs using a two-part system. Kits come with a meltable, moldable plastic to use as a form for duplicating broken tabs and promises to adhere to just about anything.
Top Street Performance Ready-to-Run Distributor
Plenty of companies make performance distributors, but we did a double-take when we found out that Top Street Performance now has a ready-to-run distributor for International Harvester V-8s. Scouts have become increasingly more popular as the market for vintage 4x4s has grown, so it’s great to see the aftermarket supplying parts for these workhorse engines to be rebuilt and power the iconic SUVs for another go-round.
