Ray Paquet

[JERICOGTX]

Mr Paquet wins ss/a at indy with a real thunder bolt l think its number 30 class wins sure makes hemi and rat look bad. He sure knows how to build a fe.

Ahh, you do know that the HEMI Darts, and Barracuda's have their own class right? The winning car ran 8.30's @ 160mph. The FE isn't going to touch that.

Most stick cars in SS run a Liberty 4 speed. Ray has been running a Jerico with a 5th gear delete. He's had it so long, and it works, so why change?

Only the 1968 Hemi Darts & Cuda’s have their own class, there are other Hemi cars that could run SS/A , correct?

The only cars that can bump from SS/B to SS/A, are the 64 light weight B body HEMI's. Most just don't run the class since it cost the same to run a AH car as it does a A or B car.

[mbrunson427]

Ahh, you do know that the HEMI Darts, and Barracuda's have their own class right? The winning car ran 8.30's @ 160mph. The FE isn't going to touch that.

Makes me wish that Ford would have continued on the Thunderbolt program. Imagine a batch of 100 1968 Fairlane's that had the Tunnelport in them, or even a batch of 68 Mustangs. This certainly would be a contender. "SS/AT"

[e philpott]

Mr Paquet wins ss/a at indy with a real thunder bolt l think its number 30 class wins sure makes hemi and rat look bad. He sure knows how to build a fe.

Ahh, you do know that the HEMI Darts, and Barracuda's have their own class right? The winning car ran 8.30's @ 160mph. The FE isn't going to touch that.

What was the bubble on the AH cars ? trying to figure out where a T Bolt ( Rays) would fall into this class

[mike7570]

Mr Paquet wins ss/a at indy with a real thunder bolt l think its number 30 class wins sure makes hemi and rat look bad. He sure knows how to build a fe.

Ahh, you do know that the HEMI Darts, and Barracuda's have their own class right? The winning car ran 8.30's @ 160mph. The FE isn't going to touch that.

What was the bubble on the AH cars ? trying to figure out where a T Bolt ( Rays) would fall into this class

 1 1968 Steve Comella, Webster NY, '68 Baraacuda        8.431  159.04  159.04
  2 2198 Stephen Yantus, Charleston SC, '68 Barracuda    8.480  156.64  156.64
  3 1058 James Daniels, Yardley PA, '68 Dart             8.503  155.83  155.83
  4 1426 Bucky Hess, Bunker Hill WV, '68 Barracuda       8.525  155.78  155.78
  5  350 Jim Pancake, Cardington OH, '68 Dart            8.565  155.22  155.22
  6 1979 Eldon Baum, Wellsville PA, '68 Dart             8.582  155.13  155.13
  7 7405 Eric Bell, Chandler AZ, '64 Barracuda           8.626  152.14  152.14
  8  364 Tony DePillo, Dayton OH, '68 Barracuda          8.654  154.26  154.26
  9 1945 Gary Wolkwitz, Whitehouse Station NJ, '68 Dart  8.660  152.23  152.23
 10  452 Steve Kent, Belle Rose LA, '68 Barracuda        8.679  154.32  154.32
 11 7077 Richard Locker, North Royalton OH, '68 Barracu  8.684  151.66  151.66
 12 5651 Rick Johnson, Wayzata MN, '68 Baracuda          8.702  152.38  152.38
 13 5529 Russ Campbell, Springfield MO, '68 Barracuda    8.730  153.49  153.49
 14 403H Stephen Hebert, Westlake LA, '68 Barracuda      8.743  155.17  155.17
 15 5748 Marlin Bogner, Kearney NE, '68 Barracuda        8.933  146.81  146.81
 16 5122 Jack Peterson, Hartford SD, '68 Barrcuda        9.242  145.27  145.27
 17 498Z Benny Kimberly, Springfield LA, '68 Barracuda  11.787   96.58   96.58
 18  342 Harold Leiter, Troy OH, '68 Barracuda          12.064  121.23  121.23

[Stangman]

i thought i saw him run a 8.54 that would put him up near the top. He cuts good lights so he might be able to squeek up alittle

[mike7570]

The Hemi's are on a whole different level. NHRA looks the other way on engine modifications that put the cost out of reach for most people. 


Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 1968 Steve Comella                        1058 James Daniels               
E5   ****WINNER****  0.079  8.364 161.17                     0.040  8.423 158.02
 Prior rounds:
E4    (S Yantus    ) 0.001  8.386 160.59                     -0.068  8.413 158.35
E3    (B Hess      ) 0.069  8.525 158.71      (J Pancake   ) 0.050  8.400 158.89
E2    (Bye         ) 0.054  8.588 157.19      (E Bell      ) 0.077  8.412 158.09
E1    (S Kent      ) 0.045  8.399 161.21      (R Johnson   ) 0.044  8.380 159.38
 Qualified:             #1  8.431 159.04                        #3  8.503 155.83

[JERICOGTX]

The Hemi's are on a whole different level. NHRA looks the other way on engine modifications that put the cost out of reach for most people. 

Super Stock in general is on a whole different level than Stock, or your average bracket car. If you think Ray's FE is closer to stock, than a AH HEMI, you are dead wrong.

Don't get me wrong, what Ray has done is nothing short of amazing, and he is one of the nicest guy's you could ever meet.

[GerryP]

...
Super Stock in general is on a whole different level than Stock, or your average bracket car. ...

I am reminded of a quote from an SS racer:  (paraphrasing) A top fuel hemi head is more like an original 426 hemi head than is a super stock hemi head.

[1968galaxie]

[e philpott]

I'm assuming the vein in the roof is what used to be the old height of the roof ? ... 426 Hemi is my favorite Mopar engine

[machoneman]

Hey, way cool pics!

Long ago, we saw Pro Stock hemi runners (Landy, Sox & Martin, etc.) literally change little blocks of aluminum/wood inside Rat Roaster intakes in the pits! Screws, Loctite and other methods to keep channeling pieces that re-directed air flow in place. Geez, now seeing these highly modified intake ports on 426 heads makes me wonder how far even SS rules have gone crazy.

Still, love to see those Hemi cars runs in the 8:30s!

[GerryP]

...

Still, love to see those Hemi cars runs in the 8:30s!

While ETs have dropped with every class, it is astonish to think that in Pro Stock's debut year, 1970, they were running low 10s at 140MPH.

[SJohnson]

About the only hemi car that gave ray a run was the honkin hemi, and that car was sold and has an auto in it... I doubt you will see another hemi run A or B ... The next car to give ray some competition could be Brandon Wilkinson... He has been 8.60s .. Ray is the man in the Fe  world and A class.. There is a nice video interview by Evan smith on YouTube

[Nightmist66]

Nice interview with Mr. Paquet:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V7_kZyMoagk

[CaptCobrajet]

No doubt Ray is a heck of a guy, and he is no doubt the king of the Thunderbolts in Super Stock.  His whole car is a product of years of hard work by an extremely smart individual.

There are no 64-65 Hemi cars with OE style hoods and longer wheelbase that can touch Ray in SS/A trim.  The AH Darts and Cudas do take advantage of some creative rules interpretations.  NHRA has kinda let things slide with them because they only race each other.

Last point.......all approved FE High Riser heads retain the same valve locations and angles as original.  The approved Hemi heads are not the same as original.  If they had to retain the OE valve location and angle, the valves touching each other would limit camshafts, and the FE High Riser would be much faster........even with the short wheelbase and mailbox on the hood that the '68 Hemi cars have.  No telling how fast a '67 Mustang with a Tunnelport and 50 years of massaging those pushrod tubes would be.