FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => FE Technical Forum => Topic started by: jayb on April 26, 2019, 06:44:06 PM
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Rained all day, no racing, but lots of people anyway and a lot of fun stories. The area under the FE Power canopies was a mud pit by the end of the day LOL! Tomorrow is supposed to be dry, so hopefully there will be some good racing tomorrow, and better weather for everyone, although its supposed to be a bit on the chilly side. Hope to see more forum members tomorrow!
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I'll be leaving at midnight, after a stop for breakfast I should be there by 9am.
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Saw today was to be a washout, plan on getting there between 11 and noon tomorrow. Looking forward to it, haven't been since 2015
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Keith and Len, hope you stop by and say hello tomorrow. Len, I got you mixed up with Bill (hvywrench) today. Ugh, I hate it when I do that. Hopefully I'll get at least a few runs in tomorrow, but I know there will only be enough time for one or two practice runs. I don't expect to make it far after that..lol
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I am not glad I didn't go. A wet day in FE nirvana is still better than a dry day anywhere else.
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I know the feeling Doug, I'm one of those guys who'd screw up names with a scorecard. Looking forward to seeing some live passes from the Mustang and to seeing/meeting others from the forum. A great afternoon at the strip complete with competition, car show, vendors and everywhere you look, FE everything! Gonna be a great day!
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Boy I hope you guys have a great day today. I can smell the fuel and rubber already.
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Please post a link if someone is live streaming.
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The sun is out today, but there’s a 20+ mph headwind. Let’s hope for a good day on the track for everyone.
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The sun is out today, but there’s a 20+ mph headwind. Let’s hope for a good day on the track for everyone.
Headwinds are bad for those old 1960s bricks.
Here is a Gonkulator of Chilly's big 63 Merc:
9.03 at 81.2 1/8 mi
13.86 at 102.8 (match to previous timeslip)
With 20mph headwind:
9.11 at 79.3 1/8 mi
14.08 at 99.1
Almost 4mph down & 0.2 sec slower with that wind, so be prepared.
Here's another from the Gonkulator
Joe Stasiak, 66 Fairlane ragtop 482cid:
7.62 at 91.5 1/8 mi
11.89 at 116.8 Gonkulator match to timeslip, 6mph tailwind (guess)
7.71 at 89.2 1/8 m
12.13 at 111.8 Gonkulator at 20mph headwind, wow. .24 sec and 5mph slower.
(Edit after learning Saturday was 1/8 mile only):
The 20mph headwind is even worth about a tenth and 2mph or so in the 1/8 mile.
Weather at beaver today turns out to be about "average", DA=625 ft, power down just over 3% from "SAE Gross" air.
Same weather as I typically use in the Gonkulator, a lot more typical air than "SAE Gross" air.
Good luck to all.
If I can make it next year I guarantee dry weather.
I love rain but I chase it away everywhere I go.
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What happened with the crash on the drag strip? Is there any video of it? Sad to see that happen.
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Saw a video on facebook it sudenly turned right in to the guardrail
and spun and flipped a few times
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Anybody we know Heo. What kind of car
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Black and white -58 Tudor Sedan, saw an earlier video he had problem keeing it straight at that run to
Driver walked away from it Larry is his name i think
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The one that runs high 8s. That car is usually a very straight driver, obviously something went wrong .Boy hate to here that stuff.
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Was it Randy Spohn and hope he is okay?
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Sorry wrong by me Randy not Larry. Clock is 3.56 at night here so not
so sharpminded right now
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Saw a video on facebook it sudenly turned right in to the guardrail
and spun and flipped a few times
Found it, group is
Fe Race & Reunion
on Facebook.
One comment showed the car's previous run, got loose on that run but saved it.
Were the winds a steady headwind or crosswinds? Those are scary especially going that fast.
I gather the races were 1/8 mile only because of the winds. Just as well, headwinds would mess up the trap speeds so you'd think you were down 50hp but really not so.
Pretty close conversions, to get 1/4 mile ET-MPH from 1/8 mile:
1/4 ET = 1/8 ET x 1.5 + 0.56 sec
1/4 MPH = 1/8 MPH x 5 / 4
So if you ran 80 MPH in the 1/8 mile:
100 MPH = 1/4 MPH = 80 x 5 / 4
I hope to make it next year & bring the Gonkulator with me.
I'll need a dedicated B-29 Superfort to fly it out. LOL.
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The wind was direct headwind.
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It was Randy Spohn and his wicked fast '58. Randy is ok, but the car was pretty much destroyed. He had been fighting the car with it getting squirrely on him all day. The car flipped end over backwards and landed on its top. This was the fastest FE at the Reunion for the last 2 years. Really bummed and feel bad for Randy; it was an awesome car, but I'm really glad he was ok.
The wind was horrible today with nearly head-on gusts of over 40-45 mph, so they limited runs to 1/8 mile. I don't think it played a roll in the wreck though.
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I spoke briefly with Randy Spohn after the crash. He had some back pain but thought it was muscle pain, nothing serious. He said his throttle stuck open and that caused the problem. He was surprised by that because he'd never had that issue before. Thankfully he walked away from the crash and seemed to be alright.
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The wind sure was blowing. Too bad Randy had troubles, but everything is fixable IMO.
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Glad to hear he is okay, a great die hard Ford guy. He recently had unexpected engine trouble as well and went back through it and now this. Did he have his new car there, a 63 Falcon?
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The wind sure was blowing. Too bad Randy had troubles, but everything is fixable IMO.
If I recall correctly he went with dual four barrels this year vs. previous years when he ran a single four barrel? Maybe that attributed to the issue? Really a shame to see such an iconic car in the FE world get beat up like that. I hope Randy doesn't have too much residual pain. It was a hell of a shot and roll.
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Glad to hear Randy is OK, a true shame about the '58. Anyone who's been close enough to it or seen it run knows it was a work of art from bumper to bumper and wicked fast. On a lighter note: Hey Turbohunter, there was a tribute car there for you, a white '66 country squire, pretty quick too. Or was that you?
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This ‘67 came in second in cool FE. The father/son team just this week put the engine in and had a blast. From central Ma. Great sportsmanship in that final. A ‘64 Gal was lined up and there was a snafu with the tree. The wagon left and appeared to red light. The Gal did not leave but backed up and waited for the wagon to return and re-run. Perhaps it was karma but the Galaxie won. I felt it was very classy of the Galaxie driver.
http://i.postimg.cc/NFSRC9FG/5-C7-C1-A65-F1-EF-4-B6-A-9-D2-D-104-ABE947581.jpg
Edit: I would believe Shady,( below), on this. Bob kinda had things a little confused at times it seemed, or at least I was!
JB
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that wagon was out in the 1st round in cool fe. It was probably the FE Bird race that he took second.
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The wagon’s owner was Dennis Towle. The engine that was in it was the 540 hp Trick Flow headed 390 that I built last year.
The Thunderbolt clone that it was destined for wasn’t ready so he dropped it in the wagon in front of a close ratio Toploader and a 3.91 gear and brought it to drag race. Dennis had a ball with it and got lots of attention because of the unique combo. He made it to the last round and lost by .001.
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Hey Turbohunter, there was a tribute car there for you, a white '66 country squire, pretty quick too. Or was that you?
I wish it was me Len.
I have a show every year that coincides with the Reunion so I can’t go. But when this SOB gets cancelled I’ll be there.
Be fun to bring a wagon back. I know where there’s another 428 wagon with the engine still in it. I’m slowly trying to ply it from the owners hands but he knows what he has and I don’t want to offend.
I’m glad Mr. Spahn/Spohn is ok and sorry for the car.
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There was some talk from the tower that maybe the Reunion could/should be moved to a later date. At least that is what I heard over the PA.
JB
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Something was wrong in the 58's chassis. Car was squirrelly on the previous passes.
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Yes, Randy was having issues all day with the car. Sad what happened, but glad he walked away.
I stopped and talked quickly with the owner of the wagon that won the Bird race. Pretty cool piece. I asked him if the pedals were in it, he said no. I told him I was lucky mine were!
Since NO ONE has mentioned we have a real CELEBRITY in our midst. Our own Doug Smith!!
Doug won COOL FE!! I heard the final race announcement and his name came up in the winning lane. That's awesome!! With all the work he's done to the car and to show up and take the money home....is great to see! Make sure to give him a pat on the back!
I did okay. It took a few passes during TnT to get the clutch seated and adjusted up. Made it through first round of eliminations with .032 light and dumped off for a 7.15 on my 7.09 dial. Next round was .014 light and with my opponent red lighting I took the chance to run it out. Went 7.092. Guess I picked a pretty close number. The car was all over due to traction and bad head winds. That .014 light got me the bye in third round. I swapped to the right lane and took a hit. Stood it right up, which it hadn't all day. Went 7.058. I dialed 7.06 for 4th round and gave it away. Went -.021 RED. Ugh. I ran it out and went 7.060.............dead on with a zero!! Oh man. It was the black 422 motorsport Fairlane. The driver came over to congratulate me on a great run. I told him I "missed it by THAT much". That was down to the final 5 cars. Two more rounds to win it! So close.
Had a good weekend overall. Yes, the wind was BRUTAL!!!! Like every year for the most part. It was rainy Friday, but no wind and just on the edge of pleasant to walk around(when not raining).
Red's Brats were awesome(as always).
Glad to meet you Lenz, along with seeing all the other FE regulars. I'm not sure if I'm more tired of talking or walking? Both?
Thanks again to Doug and Jody for an awesome event(along with all the sponsors).
The whole "make it later" deal. I'm torn. Rain can hit any time, but it's the brutal wind/cold that needs to moved to another day!!
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Here is a pic of the Cool FE Champ. I was looking for Doug throughout the day to say hello. I thought I knew his car and would wait for Bob to announce the drivers to confirm it and without fail Bob would start talking about something else and not say Doug’s name. Finally I figured that blue 69 that was pitting close to the staging lanes must be Doug so I went and introduced myself and wished him well in the final.
I have a video of an elimination run but don’t know how to post videos with Postimage.
http://i.postimg.cc/tJYhztXm/F92-EBA80-0-FC6-4-A55-8225-0-E3-FD3-D39-D4-D.jpg
Congrats Doug!
JB
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That’s great Doug, Congratulations.
All that work was worth it.
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I guess Doug got used to that shifter ASAP. Congrat Doug. Just a walk in the park. :)
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Congrats to Doug. Sorry to hear about the 58 crashing. That was a cool car.
We had brutal wind out west here yesterday too. Lots of downed trees.
Mind you it was not raining Friday and warmer that PA so I propose keeping it 4-27 and 4-28 weekend and moving it to .... Mission Raceway. Pretty handy for most of us.... OK a few of us!
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Celebrity...lol Just a guy who got lucky at the right times. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. ;D
I made it to the semi-finals in Cobra Jet class, but got pretty lucky in Cool FE. It paid for my gas back home and was enough left over to cover a dinner for everyone at Texas Roadhouse. And yes Joe, I got used to that Jerico and Long shifter the first time I drove it. I absolutely love the set-up, and I had a blast all day Saturday!
To start the weekend, I was surprised by my Son and 3 year old Grandson (who loves race cars, by the way), who came up from North Carolina just to see us old guys run our old junk. That just made my whole weekend! I made a total of 12 runs Saturday and the car ran good the whole time, even hot-lapping several times between the Cobra Jet class and Cool FE....straight from the return road and back to the staging lanes. Man, I barely had a few minutes to chat with anyone the whole day, let alone walk around to look at cars!
It was good experience for me, finally getting a chance at some real seat time to start working on cutting a decent light, which I managed to whittle down to a .027, which is great for me. Still working on the timing of that last amber. The car seemed to be hooking better and not bogging, which I mostly attribute to the 3.19 first in the Jerico. It shifted great, so I was happy with everything about the car. It sure earned a rest at the end of the day!
I was really glad about the talk about moving the date. I know rain can hit any time, but they don't say "April showers bring May flowers" for nothing. Coupled with the cold and wind every year, it just gets brutal at times.
And yes, Thank You to Doug and Jody and all the sponsors for their work in putting on the event every year!
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Well done Doug......
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The wagon’s owner was Dennis Towle. The engine that was in it was the 540 hp Trick Flow headed 390 that I built last year.
The Thunderbolt clone that it was destined for wasn’t ready so he dropped it in the wagon in front of a close ratio Toploader and a 3.91 gear and brought it to drag race. Dennis had a ball with it and got lots of attention because of the unique combo. He made it to the last round and lost by .001.
Brent,
Do you remember what times that big 67 wagon of Dennis T with your 395cid was running?
It looks like a street car, guessing as such I'm gonkulating:
No wind:
1.95
5.29
8.13 at 86.4
12.63 at 109.8
20mph headwind:
1.96
5.36
8.26 at 83.5
12.96 at 104.2
The wind hits that big brick pretty hard.
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Hey Doug
It was great as always to see you and Trish again and meet your son and grand son. What a day it was. Great job you did with the 69 Mustang. Hope ever thing went as smooth going home as it did at the track.
Later Bud
Dan
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Celebrity...lol Just a guy who got lucky at the right times. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. ;D
I made it to the semi-finals in Cobra Jet class, but got pretty lucky in Cool FE. It paid for my gas back home and was enough left over to cover a dinner for everyone at Texas Roadhouse. And yes Joe, I got used to that Jerico and Long shifter the first time I drove it. I absolutely love the set-up, and I had a blast all day Saturday!
To start the weekend, I was surprised by my Son and 3 year old Grandson (who loves race cars, by the way), who came up from North Carolina just to see us old guys run our old junk. That just made my whole weekend! I made a total of 12 runs Saturday and the car ran good the whole time, even hot-lapping several times between the Cobra Jet class and Cool FE....straight from the return road and back to the staging lanes. Man, I barely had a few minutes to chat with anyone the whole day, let alone walk around to look at cars!
It was good experience for me, finally getting a chance at some real seat time to start working on cutting a decent light, which I managed to whittle down to a .027, which is great for me. Still working on the timing of that last amber. The car seemed to be hooking better and not bogging, which I mostly attribute to the 3.19 first in the Jerico. It shifted great, so I was happy with everything about the car. It sure earned a rest at the end of the day!
I was really glad about the talk about moving the date. I know rain can hit any time, but they don't say "April showers bring May flowers" for nothing. Coupled with the cold and wind every year, it just gets brutal at times.
And yes, Thank You to Doug and Jody and all the sponsors for their work in putting on the event every year!
Big congrats to Doug indeed. Nice win and great to see that the drag race bug that caught ya is also rewarding you for the efforts!
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and was enough left over to cover a dinner for everyone at Texas Roadhouse.
Dang gone, I knew I shoulda hung around and followed ya home!! ;D
I was glad to get home about 11:30 Sat night and I pushed it pretty hard with no stops other then fuel before I got on 322.
Werby, wish I could remember what was written on that wagon? I know it was not real fast, it had tiny tires on it and don't think he was pushing it very hard on the launch.
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I had a decent time again this year although I was pretty rushed with getting off work Friday evening and driving all night to get there. I hung around as long as I could but had to leave by 5 and made it home around 2am. I'd much rather be there both days but was lucky to make it there for Saturday. It's always a great time. My biggest complaint was there were no FE Reunion hats for sale this year and I couldnt get a FE Reunion sticker anywhere. Normaly they gave those out at the gate. My 5th year going and I have a hat and sticker from every other year cept this one. Bummer.
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I had a decent time again this year although I was pretty rushed with getting off work Friday evening and driving all night to get there. I hung around as long as I could but had to leave by 5 and made it home around 2am. I'd much rather be there both days but was lucky to make it there for Saturday. It's always a great time. My biggest complaint was there were no FE Reunion hats for sale this year and I couldnt get a FE Reunion sticker anywhere. Normaly they gave those out at the gate. My 5th year going and I have a hat and sticker from every other year cept this one. Bummer.
Keith, I don’t know if you’re on Facebook, but Mike McCracken posted today he still has stickers left, maybe try calling him.
(https://i.postimg.cc/7Y9Q53zB/9-E98798-B-F83-A-4528-A6-F7-1-B219076-F003.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/LnqV7ZNf)
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Congratulations to the win Doug 8)
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Congrats on the win Doug!
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Doug’s car ran as good as it looked all weekend! It was great to finally meet him at the event.
Incidentally, it was my 64 Galaxie, driven by my buddy Ed, that won the bird race against the 67 wagon.
The wagons numbers on the final round were as follows:
Dial In: 9.20
Reaction: .2661
60 ft: 2.1950
330 ft: 5.7989
1/8 ET: 8.7903
1/8 MPH: 83.38
Steve D.
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Yep, I'll add my congratulations on the win Doug! I had to leave around 4:00, missed the end. Know I've got at least one of your passes on video.
It was great to meet and talk with Forum and reunion regulars and my impression is that the reunion grew again this time around. Picked up a set of our administrator's clear valve covers, turned out I was the 10,000th customer of FE Power so they were gifted to me ;D (ok, the gifting part's a lie, good to meet you Jay). Anyone who's never been, when you get to one of these reunions you will find yourself trying to figure out how to get your car there.
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Boy I wish I was there sounds like a great time had by all.
And congrats to you Steve on the bird race win. I’m glad that the car ran good for you.
Steve’s kid just got out of the navy and came with him this year to watch him win the bird race.
Ed congrats to you too you guys make a great team!!!!. And I can vouch that both are great guys.
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The wagon’s owner was Dennis Towle. The engine that was in it was the 540 hp Trick Flow headed 390 that I built last year.
The Thunderbolt clone that it was destined for wasn’t ready so he dropped it in the wagon in front of a close ratio Toploader and a 3.91 gear and brought it to drag race. Dennis had a ball with it and got lots of attention because of the unique combo. He made it to the last round and lost by .001.
Brent,
Do you remember what times that big 67 wagon of Dennis T with your 395cid was running?
It looks like a street car, guessing as such I'm gonkulating:
No wind:
1.95
5.29
8.13 at 86.4
12.63 at 109.8
20mph headwind:
1.96
5.36
8.26 at 83.5
12.96 at 104.2
The wind hits that big brick pretty hard.
Dennis goes by Towd56 on here, I'm sure he'll post when he gets settled in.
I know that he told me Saturday that he was running "low 8's" at around 83 mph I think.
He was scrambling to get the car ready to go and his current throttle linkage doesn't open the carb all the way up. Combined with a 4000 lb weight, a close ratio Toploader, and street tires, I don't think that's too shabby. He was also having trouble launching the car, it was either smoking the tires or bogging. I have one video that shows the tires light up around 200' off the line.
I have to hand it to him.....he basically had everything against him, including an engine that's not conducive for a heavy car, and he made it to runner up.
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Congrats Doug! I tried all day to get by to speak to you, but between you racing, and other things, I just didn't get to speak to you. I did see your wife at the line a few times. Glad to see you doing good!
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Hey Doug
It was great as always to see you and Trish again and meet your son and grand son. What a day it was. Great job you did with the 69 Mustang. Hope ever thing went as smooth going home as it did at the track.
Later Bud
Dan
Dan, no issues going home. I didn't even lose one collector bolt on the truck, but I had those suckers cranked down tight before leaving!!..lol It was great as always to see you and Mary. And congrats to both of you on your 40th anniversary!
Nice win and great to see that the drag race bug that caught ya is also rewarding you for the efforts!
Barry, you bring up a good point there....to anyone who has no desire to drag race their car, I would highly suggest NOT going to the Reunion! ;D
On another note, the truck (also FE powered) ran great all the way there and back. Fuel mileage seemed to pick up a bit as it only took 3/4 of a tank to get there, and 3/4 of a tank to get home. That's 9 hours of driving time each way! I suppose the fact that it was a 100 gallon tank may have had something to do with it, but whatever..lol My "auxiliary" tank worked great, and it was nice not having to stop for fuel every 1 1/2 hours with the puny stock in-cab tank. That alone cut over an hour of road time off the trip. Now I just need to get on the ball and start fixing up the truck with all the NOS parts I've collected over the years.
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Congrats Doug! I tried all day to get by to speak to you, but between you racing, and other things, I just didn't get to speak to you. I did see your wife at the line a few times. Glad to see you doing good!
Blair, I had every intention of tracking you down to chat with you, but it was literally non-stop all day. I barely had enough time at one point to eat half a sandwich before heading back to the lanes. I'll give you a call one day this week after I get everything unloaded.
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Dennis says his lowest time was 8.34 at 83.
It trapped the same speed pretty much whatever ET he ran.
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Sure was a shame that Randy rolled the '58. I hated to see such a good car get mangled. The only good part of it was that he got out and walked away.
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Dennis had dialed a 9.20 for cool fe, but was kind of all over the place trying to figure out the launch. Very cool car. First round I did a 10.84 on a 10.84 dial with an .05 light, so that was an easy win. Second round I went red with a -.008 light (staged a little deep) giving Doug an easy win. After that I took the ole 352 home and didn't stick around for the bird race. That wind just beat me down plus I drive the car there. And you really do have to race. Doesn't matter what you bring or how slow it is, nobody cares, it's just a really good time. What are you waiting for Brent?
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Congrats Doug..... Plus congrats to all the participants....!!!!
Wow...way to kool to see all those FE really run..impressive..!!!!
First time reunion for me and had a fantastic time short of the weather.....
I will be back........Mike
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This was my fourth time attending, always impressed by the quality of the cars you see running up there, very clean. I intended to run the Merc but when they cut it down to 1/8mi I bailed, still running a weenie 4.10 open rear on street tires so 1/8mi isn't too impressive.
Jay's heads were very interesting to see, I guess it didn't register how small the ports are until I saw them in person, great efficient flow out of a MR port opening.
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Looking for video of one of my runs....
Despite the crappy weather I did enjoy going again this year. Met new FE friends in our pit area!! If I don't get to say Hello it's because I'm just a quiet guy and listen more than talk. The video I'm looking for is in round one of Hot FE. I was running John Pregitzer with a baby blue 66 Fairlane hardtop. My car is the 67 White Fairlane 500 Hardtop plain jane no lettering #1053 on the window. I need to see what went wrong on that run. I have never been so crossed up in that car in the 20 years I've run it. I had to get out of it on at least 2 runs on Saturday. I know the wind was some of the issue but just would like to see what the heck happened. Appreciate any help or photo's. JOHN
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Dennis says his lowest time was 8.34 at 83.
It trapped the same speed pretty much whatever ET he ran.
Hi guys - I own the 67 Country Squire Wagon. As Brent stated - last Saturday my son and I decided to swap the original 390 out of the car and replace it with the motor Brent had built me last year. The swap fought us on nearly every angle and we finally finished it up on Thursday night. We drove the car about 10 miles and loaded it on the trailer to depart Friday am.
On the track it would either spin like crazy with a high rpm launch or was very lazy out of the hole. The motor definitely likes high rpm's and that heavy car didn't help things. We were running street tires with about 30 psi. Our times ranged from a 10.1 to an 8.3 with everything in between. We were not even paying attention really and were just having fun . It ran the best times when I would just let her go and try to feather the gas once it was moving to control wheel spin. We opted for a dial in of 9.20 as it seemed to be in the middle somewhere. We ended up breaking out of that # several times once we figured how to launch it.
Next year we will return with a different gear, slicks, and maybe a little more knowledge. It was great to meet people and even better that we didn't break anything . My 17 year old son is still smiling ear to ear this morning and laughing about how our "old ugly wagon" ran. I will try to have him post a video of the last run in FE bird class.
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Looking for video of one of my runs....
Despite the crappy weather I did enjoy going again this year. Met new FE friends in our pit area!! If I don't get to say Hello it's because I'm just a quiet guy and listen more than talk. The video I'm looking for is in round one of Hot FE. I was running John Pregitzer with a baby blue 66 Fairlane hardtop. My car is the 67 White Fairlane 500 Hardtop plain jane no lettering #1053 on the window. I need to see what went wrong on that run. I have never been so crossed up in that car in the 20 years I've run it. I had to get out of it on at least 2 runs on Saturday. I know the wind was some of the issue but just would like to see what the heck happened. Appreciate any help or photo's. JOHN
John,
I don't have video of that run, but I am sure something will surface once everyone gets their stuff posted somewhere. I remember the run and was surprised that you got the win light, only because your Fairlane was really dancing on that pass. Your car is impressive to watch on a normal pass with it picking up the front wheels on the gear changes, but that pass you are asking about was scary to watch.
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Dennis,
If these are the dual 600's I built for that engine (I think that is the engine)
The trunnions are set up for medium riser linkage.
If you needed a spare trunnion I can ship it to you and help you figure out where and how to drill the hole, etc.
Obviously it'd be easier to just swap the linkage.
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Dennis says his lowest time was 8.34 at 83.
It trapped the same speed pretty much whatever ET he ran.
Hi guys - I own the 67 Country Squire Wagon. As Brent stated - last Saturday my son and I decided to swap the original 390 out of the car and replace it with the motor Brent had built me last year. The swap fought us on nearly every angle and we finally finished it up on Thursday night. We drove the car about 10 miles and loaded it on the trailer to depart Friday am.
On the track it would either spin like crazy with a high rpm launch or was very lazy out of the hole. The motor definitely likes high rpm's and that heavy car didn't help things. We were running street tires with about 30 psi. Our times ranged from a 10.1 to an 8.3 with everything in between. We were not even paying attention really and were just having fun . It ran the best times when I would just let her go and try to feather the gas once it was moving to control wheel spin. We opted for a dial in of 9.20 as it seemed to be in the middle somewhere. We ended up breaking out of that # several times once we figured how to launch it.
Next year we will return with a different gear, slicks, and maybe a little more knowledge. It was great to meet people and even better that we didn't break anything . My 17 year old son is still smiling ear to ear this morning and laughing about how our "old ugly wagon" ran. I will try to have him post a video of the last run in FE bird class.
Dennis / Towd:
Thanks for chiming in!
I had made that Gonkulator prediction based on my 64 wagon, 4450 curb all-iron, so I guessed your 67 wagon w aluminum top about 100 lb lighter at 4350 curb or 4550 lb down the track. Does that sound about right?
I remember from back in the day, our 63-64 Gals got a lot better traction than our 69 Gal even though weight was similar. Maybe the rear ends got lighter, or the leaf springs hooked better or something.
In any case, yours fully hooked on 28" slicks, 4.30 gears gonkulates to
1.89
6.24
8.15 at 84.2
12.83 at 104.4
That's with power steering, fan, and 3" mufflers. A 4.56 goes about 12.80 but makes it rougher on the freeway.
I didn't make FERR but hoping to see a youtube video soon to see all the cars fighting that wind.
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Drew, this was a single carb engine.
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Dennis says his lowest time was 8.34 at 83.
It trapped the same speed pretty much whatever ET he ran.
Hi guys - I own the 67 Country Squire Wagon. As Brent stated - last Saturday my son and I decided to swap the original 390 out of the car and replace it with the motor Brent had built me last year. The swap fought us on nearly every angle and we finally finished it up on Thursday night. We drove the car about 10 miles and loaded it on the trailer to depart Friday am.
On the track it would either spin like crazy with a high rpm launch or was very lazy out of the hole. The motor definitely likes high rpm's and that heavy car didn't help things. We were running street tires with about 30 psi. Our times ranged from a 10.1 to an 8.3 with everything in between. We were not even paying attention really and were just having fun . It ran the best times when I would just let her go and try to feather the gas once it was moving to control wheel spin. We opted for a dial in of 9.20 as it seemed to be in the middle somewhere. We ended up breaking out of that # several times once we figured how to launch it.
Next year we will return with a different gear, slicks, and maybe a little more knowledge. It was great to meet people and even better that we didn't break anything . My 17 year old son is still smiling ear to ear this morning and laughing about how our "old ugly wagon" ran. I will try to have him post a video of the last run in FE bird class.
Dennis / Towd:
Thanks for chiming in!
I had made that Gonkulator prediction based on my 64 wagon, 4450 curb all-iron, so I guessed your 67 wagon w aluminum top about 100 lb lighter at 4350 curb or 4550 lb down the track. Does that sound about right?
I remember from back in the day, our 63-64 Gals got a lot better traction than our 69 Gal even though weight was similar. Maybe the rear ends got lighter, or the leaf springs hooked better or something.
In any case, yours fully hooked on 28" slicks, 4.30 gears gonkulates to
1.89
6.24
8.15 at 84.2
12.83 at 104.4
That's with power steering, fan, and 3" mufflers. A 4.56 goes about 12.80 but makes it rougher on the freeway.
I didn't make FERR but hoping to see a youtube video soon to see all the cars fighting that wind.
Werb,
Your dead on with the weight. It's a 9 passenger so its a little heavier than the average wagon due to the rear seats. Its about 4300lbs without a driver. I should also mention that we could only get about 3/4's of the throttle to open due to a short cable. I will try to get the video posted.
thanks
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Drew, this was a single carb engine.
Ahhh very good, I didn't know if it was that tunnel wedge 2x4 engine you built awhile back.
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Looking for video of one of my runs....
Despite the crappy weather I did enjoy going again this year. Met new FE friends in our pit area!! If I don't get to say Hello it's because I'm just a quiet guy and listen more than talk. The video I'm looking for is in round one of Hot FE. I was running John Pregitzer with a baby blue 66 Fairlane hardtop. My car is the 67 White Fairlane 500 Hardtop plain jane no lettering #1053 on the window. I need to see what went wrong on that run. I have never been so crossed up in that car in the 20 years I've run it. I had to get out of it on at least 2 runs on Saturday. I know the wind was some of the issue but just would like to see what the heck happened. Appreciate any help or photo's. JOHN
John- I have video of that run, looked rock solid and then just went away. Great job on hanging on to the car. I'm no techie but I'm sure I can email it to you. Not set up to post anywhere- Len
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Hey Len, that would be great!!!
Email- jjn38d@gmail.com
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I'll send now. I've watched it several times, check the flags. The wind was howling on this run.
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Well, couldn't upload, hope some one else has the run. Slow and stop motion shows daylight under the steers on the upshift long enough for the gale force winds to take effect.
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Would love to see some pix of the Squire doin’ it’s thing.
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John Nagoda, I have a video of that pass you are looking for. Car gets squirrelly quite far down the track. On many of your passes the wheels lift slightly after the third gear shift. The video does not show that but I was on opposite side of track for one pass and it was plainly seen. I mentioned in the pits that I often see that out of your car.
I doubt the video can be emailed. If you supply a cell number I will try that.
JB
Jim Wysocki
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Drew, this was a single carb engine.
I was pitted next to Dennis and watched some runs, I think he could really benefit from a vac secondary carb instead of the double pumper.
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Drew, this was a single carb engine.
I was pitted next to Dennis and watched some runs, I think he could really benefit from a vac secondary carb instead of the double pumper.
It may help slightly with the launch, but he was smoking the tires half way down the track, so I don't know how much of a difference it would make in the big picture.
He thought he was losing the clutch but it turned out he was just driving on ice.
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Cobrajet2..........Very impressed with your wagon seeing a 7.09 dial and wheels up launch.
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John Nagoda vs John Pregitzer in Hot FE.
http://youtu.be/Lfo-wigOuxg
If there is a better way to link this please advise.
JB
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Who ended up winning pro fe (quick 8 ) . I had to leave before it was all done.
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Cobrajet2..........Very impressed with your wagon seeing a 7.09 dial and wheels up launch.
Thanks, that was me. Not Cobrajet2 ;)
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Jim,
Thanks for the video. I ran John twice, once in Time trials and 1st round. The first round run is the one that I got all crossed up. If it will send 412-651-0544.
PS - it was nice to talk to you on Saturday!
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Who ended up winning pro fe (quick 8 ) . I had to leave before it was all done.
Vernon Grizzle
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Cobrajet2..........Very impressed with your wagon seeing a 7.09 dial and wheels up launch.
Thanks, Mr. Lima Bean. The Wagon ran well. Made 5 passes: 2 open practice runs, 2 qualifying passes and first round.
7.11, 7.11, 7.10, 7.12 and 7.11 respectively. Driver needs some work, though.
Also, Congrats to Doug. Way to bang gears! Very cool that the final came down to 2 stick cars in Cool FE.
Mike
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Not sure if this is someone's video that is on this site, but it popped up on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aSy9hu2Gas
At the very end, you can see the pass that John Nagoda was asking about.
Mike
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Mike...oops, didn't realize you were dialed in the same as me! I saw a picture on FB and it was leaving pretty hard also.
I dialed 7.09 first two rounds. Second round it ran 7.092 flat out. It picked up .03 3 rd round, dialed it 7.06 and went 7.060 flat out 4th round on my -.02 redlight.
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Congrats to my good friend Chris Teeling and his 68.5 CJ on winning class.
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Mike...oops, didn't realize you were dialed in the same as me! I saw a picture on FB and it was leaving pretty hard also.
I dialed 7.09 first two rounds. Second round it ran 7.092 flat out. It picked up .03 3 rd round, dialed it 7.06 and went 7.060 flat out 4th round on my -.02 redlight.
We will have to run heads up next year! Gotta love the weight transfer of those old wagons.
Mike
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Mike, your car is really cool. I took several pictures of it but didn't get a chance to see you run. I wish I would have. Sure looks like you were consistent!
When I ran the right lane, it was the only time I had traction issues. That run by John looked pretty sketchy, and so was the run after that one. Maybe just coincidence, but I didn't like the right lane so tried to avoid it.
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We will have to run heads up next year! Gotta love the weight transfer of those old wagons.
Mike
Sure Mike.
Few years back Brant Kelly(Long Shot) and I were going to make runs, but never got around to it. We ran similar numbers.
Doug:
I had similar 60 fts between lanes for the most part during time trials. I took my bye in the right lane and it stood way up for some reason. I came back to the left lane for 4th round and was back to normal.
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Doug I thought you did a great job driving and staying focused in your route to winning at this Great FERR Race....Shifting was precise, I noticed Larry did a great job driving his car too!........Al
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Larry, I was on that side of the track when you took the bye run and it was like whoa! Did not see that sort of air on the other passes. Nice that you got some in this year after last years short adventure.
JB
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Dennis ran some 12.40's this weekend racing the wagon with the TFS headed 390.
He had changed clutches as apparently the RAM Powergrip wasn't up to 5000 rpm launches with a 4500 lb car. He kept noticing sparks hitting the ground in the photos of him launching the car....ROFL I stepped him up to a RAM Powergrip HD and it significantly helped.
Dennis will be down for a few months as he's having shoulder surgery today. Everyone keep him in your thoughts please.
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Is this Dennis's wagon at Musclepalooza? 3:02 in the Youtube link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s7lbokx_o4
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Yep, that’s him. Haven’t seen that video, looks like he got a little greasy half way down.
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That looks like some real top end excitement, wonder what happened there? Cool car, runs real strong
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That looks like some real top end excitement, wonder what happened there? Cool car, runs real strong
It was right at the shift, so maybe something to do with unloading the suspension? If it's all stock stuff, I might look for a busted leaf or flexing hangars maybe? Looked a little scary to me!
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This one is from earlier in day I believe. The crowd would cheer whenever he ran and cheer when he came back down the return road. Dennis mentioned changing the rev limiter after this run.
JB
https://youtu.be/DBY4SuPDSh8
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He's knocked about a full second off his ET since the FER&R.
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Looking good.
Looks like maybe he drove it out of the groove a bit to the left? Then shifting it really got it loose?
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Looks like really low pressure in the tires
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Looks like really low pressure in the tires
What he said.
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In the Musclepalozza video the 68.5 Rye Ford Mustang is at the reunion.
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That looks like some real top end excitement, wonder what happened there? Cool car, runs real strong
It was right at the shift, so maybe something to do with unloading the suspension? If it's all stock stuff, I might look for a busted leaf or flexing hangars maybe? Looked a little scary to me!
Hi guys. Dennis here. You're not going to believe this but I did that on purpose :). Of course I'd never convince you of that .... nor can I seem to convince people that “ it's just a 390”. Either way the car is a blast. Here's the true story though - earlier in the day I was playing with tire pressures. I had knocked it down to about 10 psi . At the same time I had spoken to Brent and told him that I was running in the low 13’s. He suggested that a “ good hard launch” may get me into the 12’s......
So on his advice I left the line hard and the right rear slick spun on the steel rim. It moved about an inch. While doing so it must have lost some air because when I checked it after the run it was at about 7 lbs. Ya - it was a little scary. But that's the reason for the sideways action.
Anyway - I aired them up to about 15 psi for the next run and was able to pull a 13.10. I noticed the clutch slipping earlier in the day as Brent had mentioned.
I was able to change it out and have run it multiple times since and I'm in the mid 12’s. This is all new to me as I haven't formally drag raced . I think the car has a little more left in it . At the end of the day I am thrilled with how it's going and my son and I are having the time of our lives. And really - it's just a 390”.
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We're gonna get 'er in the 11's.
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Dennis ,
Do yourself a favor and start a drivetrain fund because the faster you go the more parts you're going to break in the drivetrain. Congrats on the great ETs , you are moving allot of weight there!
Randy
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Hmm, magic calculators say 11.80-11.90@113mph, they would be pretty sweet for the big wagon
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I have a REAL soft spot for wagons! The biggest bracket race I've ever won was in my '66 Fairlane wagon. Pulled the wheels on L60 Goodyear Polyglas street tires almost 40 years ago. Now I have a "no traction" '67 Ranchero. Need to get another wagon!
Randy
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I was able to change it out and have run it multiple times since and I'm in the mid 12’s. This is all new to me as I haven't formally drag raced . I think the car has a little more left in it . At the end of the day I am thrilled with how it's going and my son and I are having the time of our lives. And really - it's just a 390”.
That is awesome! All of it... :)