Before today’s online bench racing, know-it-all message board experts, and mail order madness, local hot rodders gathered at the local speed shop to thumb through parts catalogs and see the latest and greatest from the aftermarket manufacturers. There were speed shops in almost every town and that’s where enthusiasts gathered to get first hand tech help, buy parts, or just hang out and learn about cars. The guys at the counter were typically racers or seasoned engine builders who knew their cam specs and bore sizes and provided great customer service.

The serious speed shops had machine shops, filled with lathes, mills, and other machines that in the hands of a real craftsman, produced some great engines and engine parts. The hand assembled engines typically ran like finely tuned clocks for years and years.

Today, real speed shops are hard to find and some folks have labeled them a dying industry. If you ask around and do some research, you’ll find that there are a handful of local shops still selling speed parts and building quality performance engines.

Booth-Arons Racing Enterprises is a bit of a throwback to Detroit’s glory days when local machine shops built engines, sold speed parts, and even campaigned competitive race cars. The shop is located in Berkley, Michigan, a stone’s throw from Woodward Avenue, and we recently stopped by to see what the shop was up to.

Photo Credit: NHRA

Booth-Arons Racing Enterprises was founded by Pro Stock legends Wally Booth and Dick Arons. Perhaps the most visible example of Booth-Arons partnership was the red, white and blue AMC Pro Stock entries that Wally Booth drove during the mid-1970’s. Though Booth had earned a reputation as one of Chevrolet’s most successful Super Stock and Pro Stock racers in the ’60s and ’70s, his greatest success came under the AMC banner. Despite the fact that there were no aftermarket engine parts for AMC engines when Booth agreed to head American Motors drag racing effort in the fall of 1971, he and Dick Arons transformed the brand’s “square” reputation into that of a performance powerhouse. Booth scored five Pro Stock wins and a pair of runner-up finishes between 1974 and 1976 running an AMC.

Today the Booth-Arons shop is run by Sam Eidy, who in the past worked as an engineer on Ford’s Boss 429 engine program. In addition to his engineering background, Sam raced a supercharged BOSS 429 powered altered in NHRA’s Sportsman ranks . The Booth-Arons machine shop is managed by Denny Hummel, who in his spare time campaigns an NHRA Alcohol Dragster in the Midwest. Denny also owns one of the most radical Plymouth Belvedere Super Stock cars in Detroit (see below).

When we visited the Booth-Arons shop, the engine assembly room was full of interesting engine projects, including a supercharged Boss 429 that was being prepped for a customer’s ’32 Ford street rod – call it the ultimate Ford in a Ford. The shop is also working with several nostalgia racers on motor programs for the popular nostalgia series.

If you’re not a hard core racer, Booth-Arons has a crate motor program for customers who are on a budget and don’t need a custom engine build. They carry a complete line of crate engines for Ford, Chevrolet or Chrysler powered vehicles. These crate engines are designed and targeted for the street rod and street machine market and feature premium components like aluminum cylinder heads, forged crankshafts and H-beam connecting rods.

In addition to engines, Booth-Arons is also a Bear’s Performance Products chassis parts dealer and Outlaw Performance street rod parts dealer.

When you’ve been racing Alcohol dragsters for most of you racing career, you tend to build an appreciation for the engines, not to mention a ton of spare parts. While you can’t mimic a 250 mph pass or mid-5 second run, no law prohibits you from running a detuned version of the motor on the street. With its dual plug heads and twin distributors, a dual plug Hemi sure makes a great conversation piece when you pop the hood.

NHRA alcohol dragster pilot and Booth-Arons Engine builder Denny Hummel owns this white Plymouth Belvedere, a first class example of an updated 1965 Plymouth Super Stock Car. This car is a period correct piece, a perfect and pristine example of mid-1960’s Super Stock Racing.

The most impressive piece on this car is the engine. It’s powered by a 605 C.I. siamesed bore Hemi with 16-plug aluminum race heads. This engine is a retired alcohol dragster motor minus the supercharger and produces 805 horsepower and 800 ft/lb of torque. Only the best of everything is in this balanced and blueprinted monster. Sonny Bryant Billet Stroker Crankshaft, J.E. Pistons and Eagle H- Beam Rods. Moroso Aluminum Oil Pan and Oiling System, Trend Heavy Wall Push Rods, CrowerCustom Grind Roller Camshaft with Severe Duty Roller Lifters. Roller Rocker Arms and to top it all off, dual Mallory Distributors and Ignition boxes.

To feed fuel to this motor, induction is handled through a port-matched magnesium Cross-Ram Dual Quad Intake with Matched and Flowed Quick Fuel 850 CFM Carburetors. Exhaust gasses are spent through TTI Custom Built Headers into Flowmaster Mufflers with 3.5” exhaust tubes.

To handle all this power, the drivetrain features a Pro Built Hemi 4-speed with Hurst Shifter. A Dynotech 4130 Chrome Moly Drive Shaft transfers the power from the transmission to the fabricated Ford 9-Inch Rear End withStrange Racing Axles and 3:70 Gear.

Wrapped around all this power is a complete roll bar system, tying the front and rear of the vehicle together. The rear suspension is made up of Super Stock Rear Springs, 50/50 Rear Drag Shocks and a Pinion Snubber to help this traction limited beast. Up front, 90/10 Drag Shocks help with front suspension weight transfer.