I took it once to the track once in supercharged form. After many years of not being prepared and just taking it to shows I decided heck with it I'm going to Milan. First pass, I granny shifted and let off a little early to a 11.40 @ 110 Knowing the lack of prep, timed by ear, blower boost unknown, fuel pressure unknown, tach not functional etc, I knew it was time to go home and start work again. It went really straight with the power (I made the ladder bars and did the frame) so I was ready to start work on it again. A friend of mine convinced me to go for another pass. Held the shifts out longer (by ear) and on the high gear charge the ass end got loose, so I lifted, did some fancy driving and went through at 11.34 @ 103. Some fellow racers though I was going over or hitting rail for sure. The head gaskets leaked and it blew out a core plug. 1 3/8" hoosing of coolant. Put the entire contents on the track under my tires. The root cause was a head gasket problem caused by a moving block deck (and lack of prep he he) So I set about doing another engine with Hilborn injection 6-71........but the guy who was after the car hit the money number in my head before that was done. Casey remembers me having it at his house open headerd doing WOT high gear launches on Wabash........oh yea at 1:00 am. Oops. All sound and fury in 98" of wheelbase fun......maybe I do miss that car. :grin:
Love those old deathmobiles! My highboy 61 Valiant B/MP had a similar occurrence at Milan in 1967 when I power shifted second and put the pinion snubber through the floor. Had borrowed a pair of slicks to "see what it'd do" and they hung out a little past the wheel openings with the big car rear end in it. Rear body came down, cut the RR slick in half, and spun out doing donuts down the track at the 330 point. Didn't hit anything (Whew!), and was the end of its racing career on the track. Tree fell on my mint 61 Catalina convertible about that time, so the Valiant became a street car....a very fun street car. Tres cool car, Brian. Neighbor thinks he has a blower like that in his pole barn here....and also a 66 L69 system. :Brow: :Brow: :Brow:
The car was so bad when I got it the cowl could not support a glass door. The floor was aluminum pop riveted to the body. Then it was a death mobile. I had to do the car myself...after two shops screwed it up worse, but those are complete other stories :af: After I was done it was a pretty well constructed car that still runs today.
What are those things on the side of the engine? HEADERS? On a Stefinamobile? Is there no shame....................... :ball:
Why can't I run too? Yes headers......many of my cars have had headers. The '54 Ford, the '57 Chev etc etc. I still have a couple of sets for future projects. I draw the line though at the folks who want to run P/S or FAST but refuse to remove the headers. Especially when their car is SLOWER than comparable cars currently running! :laugh: :laugh:
Headers, slowly I turn...step by step And that is not directed at you Dave. I know your P/S car does not have headers and when you put them on just to see what they would do, you did not refuse to take them off. :TU: The "I'd never take off my headers" seems to be really rampant in the Ford ranks......and sometimes in the Olds ranks. :laugh: :laugh:
