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The
Falcon and The Fireman |
I
recently met Mt. Vernon, NY’s Mike St. John
and his girlfriend Leamona White at Old
Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. We were
pit neighbors and quickly struck up a conversation about
Mike’s ride, a 1967 Ford Falcon.
The first thing that struck me was the car’s electric
blue paint. The second thing was how warm and friendly Mike
and Leamona were, even after making the nearly two-hour
tow from New York during rush-hour to shake the Falcon out
on the Raceway Park quarter-mile. You could tell that they
both loved being at the track, being with each other and
being with the car. |
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By
trade, Mike is a firefighter and custodian, but his heart
also lies with building and restoring cars. The Falcon is
one of the results of Mike’s handiwork. Mike built
the Ford himself, and competes with it in Super ET. Mike’s
bird is powered by a 514” Ford big-block which he
built himself and said pushes 800 hp. A Holley Dominator
sits atop an Edelbrock Victor high-rise
intake. Mike chose Manley valves for use
in the Edelbrock aluminum heads. The short-block
features Eagle rods and JE
pistons squeezing at 13:1. Ignition is MSD,
and those headers you see were home-made by Mike.
The trans is
a C-6 with an 8” Dynamic converter,
and the rear is a Ford 9” with 4.56 gears. Suspension
is strut in the front and 4-link in the rear; wheels are
Weld and tires are Goodyear.
So far the best ET and MPH are 9.56 @ 140 mph, at a race
weight of 2,800 lbs.
By
the way, not only is Mike creative with his hands, he’s
pretty creative with the words, too. He came up with the
headline for this piece (inspired by the movie title The
Falcon and the Snowman), and it was just too good
to pass up. Thanks, Mike!
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Jungle
Love |
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I met Brian Freels,
a carpenter from Baltimore MD, at Island Dragway earlier
this year. Having a fondness for old-school fuel funny cars,
I was drawn to his 1966 Chevy II SS, a
rolling tribute to one of the pioneers of the class, “Jungle”
Jim Liberman.
Brian’s
Chevy II is a faithful visual recreation of “Jungle”
Jim’s 1966 Chevy II funny car, and as you can see
from the photo of her autograph on the hood, Brian’s
tribute is “Jungle” Pam-approved. Brian’s
car, however, is substantially toned-down from the original’s
blown, nitro-burning incarnation. .Power
comes from a |
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350”
small-block Chevy built by J.B. Auto Machine Shop
in Baltimore. Carburetion is a Barry Grant
920 atop an Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake
manifold. The manifold feeds a set of Brodix
heads. 13.5:1 pistons and Eagle rods ride
on a GM steel crankshaft. Ignition is MSD 7AL2;
headers are Doug’s.
The
B&M-shifted Turbo 350 was built by
TCI, and includes an ATI
4500 stall converter. Out back is a 9” Ford rearend
with 5.38 gears and Mark Williams axles.
Suspension is stock in front, and 4-link in the rear. Wheels
are Cragar on all corners, with Moroso
rubber up front and Hoosier 32 x 13 in
the rear. With rear-wheel horsepower in the 500 range, Brian
needs those big meats to get the little Chevy hooked. Best
ET and MPH so far is 10.48 @ 128.
According
to Brian, his Chevy II has an interesting history: it was
built by Gene Fulton and owned and had been regularly campaigned
by Marshall Tucker Band lead singer Doug Gray. Now Brian
races it with the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Drag Racers’
Association (MANDRA).
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Screaming
Yellow Nomad |
This
head-turner belongs to Victor Javinett,
a diesel mechanic from Marlboro, NY. It's a 2-door 1955
Chevrolet Nomad that's spent a good part of its
life drag racing.
Victor
told me that the car used to run in F Modified Production
at Connecticut Dragway and Dover Dragstrip. BTW, that's
a 25-year old paint job you're looking at, too!
Power
comes from a 323" small block using
a Bow-Tie block with Buick Dart
heads. Compression is 14:1, and the lower end is beefed
to handle it with JE Pistons, Miller
Rods, and a Crankshaft Specialties
crank.
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Up
top is a
set of DaVinci
Holleys on a sheet metal aluminum intake.
Ignition is MSD and exhaust is a set of
Dawson step headers. Shifting comes from
a Scott McClay GM metric 200 3-speed. The
rear is a Ford 9" with Strange
axles and 6.50 gears. Suspension in front is stock with
Moroso springs; the rear is a Competition
Engineering ladder-bar set-up. Wheels and tires
are Centerline and Goodyear.
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Galaxy
On Fire |
Bruce
C. Thomas
of Philadelphia,
PA knows all
about hot. As
a firefighter
with Squad 47
in South Philly,
he uses the
tools of the
trade to turn down the heat. When
he’s at the dragstrip, Bruce turns up the heat with
a different tool of the trade: his drop-dead gorgeous 1963½
Ford Galaxy 500 XL.
Bruce
bought this
beauty back
in high school,
and he even
took it to
his prom (I
notice a trend
here: see the
Readers' Ride
below on Jamey
Horton). The
color is Firemist
Gold (you can’t
make this stuff
up) with tasteful airbrushed accents,
and it’s
powered by a
497” big-block
that puts out
725 horsepower.
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Heads
are Super
Cobra Jets
built by John Kaase
using Ford Motorsport 2.25 intake / 1.90
exhaust valves. I have a feeling the “Pump
Gas” license plate doesn’t apply anymore, as
the motor is squeezed 14:1 with Venolia
pistons on Eagle rods and an Eagle
crank. Up top is a big 1150 Holley Dominator
on an Edelbrock Victor Jr. single-plane
intake. Headers are Crites and ignition
is MSD.
Bruce
built the C6 3-speed transmission himself, and he chose
an 8” 4,200 stall converter from ATI
to launch the beast. Out back is a Fab 9 rear with Strange
35-spline axles and 4.56 gears. The Galaxy has a stock front
suspension with Weld 3½”
Alumastars and Moroso tires. Rear
suspension is an S&W ladder bar with
12” Alumastars and Mickey
Thompson 31 x 12.5 slicks. The best pass to date
for the 3,600 lb. heavyweight is 9.70 @ 136 mph.
Bruce
routinely races his Galaxy in Footbrake and Nostalgia classes.
He told me he loves to race, but he does have other interests
as well. When I asked him what those other interests are,
he didn’t miss a beat: “fighting fires and saving
lives.” |
The
Quiet Man |
This
ultra-clean 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS
belongs to Ronnie Baker of Frenchtown,
NJ. I came across Ronnie and his beautiful hot rod on a
recent Sunday at Island Dragway.
One
of the first things I noticed about Ronnie's Chevelle
is how quiet it is. Ronnie is an excavating contractor
by trade and is no doubt bombarded by tons of noise on
the job. It's no surprise that he'd want some peace and
quiet at the dragstrip, so he chose a full 4" exhaust
system...all the way to the back bumper! That makes it
pretty sneaky on the track, too; you'll never hear him
coming.
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The
second thing that caught my eye was the hand-fabricated
interior, complete with flamework. This full tube-chassis
showpiece is powered by a 496" big-block that puts
out 600 hp at the rear. The 13:1 powerplant spins a set
of Eagle H-beam rods on an Eagle
stroker crank. Heads are Pro Topline with
Jesel 1.7 rockers, and are fed by a Holley
1050 Dominator on an Edelbrock Victor
intake. An MSD ignition supplies the heat,
and a Meziere electric water pump supplies
the cool. Hooker 2 1/8" headers flow
into the 4" exhaust.
Transmission
Specialties built the 10" 3,500 stall converter
as well as the Powerglide transmission, which is shifted
via a Turbo-Action SCS Cheetah shifter.
The rear is a 12-Bolt with 4.88 gears and Moser
axles. Front suspension is a rack, and rear is ladder bars.
Tires are Hoosier front and rear.
Quiet
or not, Ronnie's Chevelle is both show and go: his best
pass so far is a 9.88 @ 136 mph. |
Jamey's
Flyin' |
This
beautiful 1966 Pontiac Tempest was submitted to Readers’
Rides by Jamey Horton of New City, NY.
Jamey owns an auto repair business and no doubt did much
of the work on the Tempest himself.
Jamey’s
had a long-term relationship with his Pontiac: “It's
the first car I ever bought in high school. I took it
to the prom and my date was so mad that I didn't get a
limo that she wouldn't kiss me at the end of the night!”
Well, we don’t know whatever became of the date,
but we can see from the photos what became of Jamey’s
high-school crush.
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This
beast is powered by a 630 horsepower 455” big-block
Pontiac built by Atlantic Motorsports.
The engine features Iron D-Port #62 heads by Dave Jack with
2.11” intake / 1.77” exhaust valves. Much of
the steam the motor puts out is thanks to the stout 13.3:1
compression, so Crower billet steel rods
were in order; they ride on a Pontiac 4.210 crank. The cam
is a Nunzi solid lifter unit with 280/288
duration and .585”/.600” lift. Up top is a Carb
Shop 850 on a Torker II intake
and an MSD ignition system. Breathing is
through Nunzi 2” headers into a 3
½” exhaust with Dynomax mufflers.
A
4,500-stall Dynamic converter sends the
power through a Powerglide transmission built by Steve's
Transmission Repair of Stillwater, NJ; it’s
a trick piece that features a 2-piece Reid
case and billet 1.87 straight-cut planetary gear set. The
next stop on the power train is the 4.33-geared 12 Bolt
Chevy rearend by Richie Hoffman that rides on a ladder bar
suspension. QA1 shocks are found front
and rear. Front tires are 27" Hoosiers
on 15” x 3.5” Monocoque rims;
seeing how much time the fronts spend in the air, my guess
is that Jamey doesn’t have to change them too often.
Rears are Mickey Thompson 28” x 10.5”
on Monocoque 15” x 10” rims.
Jamey
has owned his Tempest for 23 years and has been racing it
for 17. He recently restored and repainted the body for
the second time, and the level of detail both inside and
out is extraordinary. The color is Artisian Turquoise with
a white painted top, but don’t let the pristine looks
fool you: this is a serious race machine, and Jamey races
it hard. “My home track is Englishtown, where I compete
in Pro and Top Street; I also compete in all Pontiac race
events within a 10 hour drive. The best ET is 10.05 @ 129.78;
that’s at 3,590 lbs.” |
Un-Fuelish
Pleasure |
Tom
and Denise Pohorilla of Broomall, PA sent
in their 1994 Spitzer ’23 T Altered to Readers’
Rides. It’s a beauty, but the hood scoop sure seems
funny...it’s all the way over to one side. And wait
a minute – where are the passenger-side headers!?
No worries, Tom’s got it under control. This T-Bucket
is just your average, run-of-the-mill altered powered by
an INLINE SIX! It’s fast, it’s
fun, and it’s eco-friendly! Good for the environment
and a blast to drive; what more could you ask for? |
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Tom
works for S&W Race Cars in Tech/Sales
and has been racing since 1967; he and Denise have owned
this gas-sipper for 4 years. The 125” wheelbase altered
is built on a chromoly chassis and has a 4-link fab rear.
Power comes from a 1968 Chevrolet 255c.i. I-6 with a solid
cam and MSD ignition. The trans is a Coan
T-350 w/brake and an 8” Transmission Specialties
converter. Wheels are American Racing Trackstar
and tires are Mickey Thompson.
The
best run so far for the car with the little engine that
could is 11.22 @ 118 mph. Tom’s affiliations are MANDRA,
The Gunslingers Altered Match Racers Group,
NHRA, and IHRA. |
North
Salem's Lot |
Chris
Baum, an aquarium sales and service technician
from North Salem, NY, submitted his 1963 Plymouth
Savoy Max Wedge to Readers Rides. It features a
500” Megablock with OE Max Wedge crossram intake,
two Carter 750 carbs, Indy 440-1 heads, a Comp.Cams roller
cam, and TTI headers with collectors. The trans is a pushbutton
727 Torqueflite with a low gear set; in the rear is a set
of 4.10s. This is a true NSS car with 10.5 Hoosier slicks,
trunk mounted battery, aluminum fuel cell with MagnaFuel
electric fuel pump and regulator, and a full interior with
front and back seats and chromoly rollcage certified to
8.50. Best run is 10.37 @ 129.87. |
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This
New England Plymouth Rocks |
Wallingford,
CT racer Angelo Sclafani submitted this
photo of his 1967 Plymouth Belvedere, shown
here on a pass at Island Dragway in October 2008. It features
a full interior with factory glass and tips the scales at
a race-weight of 3,750 lbs. Power comes from a stroked Mega
Block with dual 4-bbls and a roller cam. Trans is a 727
Torqueflite with a tight Ultimate Converter Concepts converter.
It also includes an 8 ¾” rear with 4:30 gears
and Calvert monoleaf suspension. Best run is a 10.67
@ 129.33 mph. |
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