I'm Ken Sheffer
Since the family car was a '53 Merc when I learned to drive, you can easily guess that I've been a Ford fan for a long time. I managed to treat that car to a complete header exhaust, Mallory diz, etc, 3 Strombergs on an Offie manifold and get my first ticket, for drag-racing, while on Woodward at about Square Lake Rd going south. And my Mother drove it to work as a schoolteacher every day.
Next car was a '34 five window, channeled eleven inches and sectioned, running, when I got it, a 59A configuration that was too rough for street driving. I sold that powerplant and put in the engine from the '53 Merc.
Next I got a '54 Customline, and installed first a 292, and then a 312. I built headers, converted it to a stick-shift, put on dual quads and finally a Paxton blower.
KS
In November of '63 I went to work at T&C Livonia and in February of '64 I bought a new 'R' Custom Ford. The only option was an AM radio. Every other checkmark had to do with going fast. It had the 'T' ignition and a 4.11 gear to go with the mandatory four-speed (a T-10---changed to a pre-production top-loader that took a bunch of talking at work to acquire.) In addition it had the big brakes and HD suspension and 15" tires. Daily driving and getting married took first place and meant that the best the car ran that season was 13.27 at 107.
I sold the '64 to Brother Lon and bought a new '65 1/2 Mustang GT fastback that I quickly converted to a GT-350 clone complete with a Paxton blower and a deck exchange for the back seat. Shortly thereafter I finally got an AB in Chemistry and became a metallurgical process engineer in QC at Livonia Trans.
Before long I got a '67 XR7GT Cougar and assembled a 427 to replace the 390. And during that same time frame, I was working with Brother Lon on his '67 Mustang/TP and racing with the Corrunker Brothers with their T-Bolt and the Romy-Hammes-sourced CJ Mustang with which we held the Super E Automatic MPH record for most of that season.
Other projects have included a chopped-top, full-frame-and-cage '72 Pinto with a 385 SCJ-based 466, several bottle-fed Ford Turbo cars, the '63 F-100 ICB short-bed with a succession of FE engines and a Volare front suspension that I've owned for more than 20 years, and my latest project, an '02 Lincoln LS, bought new, and now with roll-cage and fire-suppression system and belly pan Maxton E/F CC record holder.
And finally, a more serious Land Speed car that'll be FE powered. The goal is to better 300 MPH with a car you can drive to the store. It's wonderful what a pair of hair-dryers, a bottle, and overhead cams can do.
