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Riding in a 1927 Ford Model T Roadster

Land Speed Thrills at the Maxton Monster Mile
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A) Fire System: A yank on this T-handle fills the cockpit and engine compartment with flame-extinguishing foam. Brett once tested it in the safety of his own garage, so the handle is locked in place with a pit pin until just before takeoff. B) Removable Steering Wheel: You can’t get in or out without removing the quick-release wheel. Before going down the track you make dead certain the lock-ring on the wheel is snapped firmly into place. C) Nitrous Button: Brett just added a 150-horse NOS unit, but sadly, the transmission wasn’t in the mood for the extra power this weekend. D) Gauges: Auto Meter units reveal temp, oil pressure, and rpm. All you really pay attention to is the tach. E) Switch Panel: From front to back are switches for the ignition, starter button, electric fuel pump, electric fan, nitrous system, and main battery disconnect. F) Shifter: The gear selector is a B&M Quicksilver, perhaps our least favorite shifter for a race car. Only Regan knows how to work it properly, and she looks down at it for every shift. Yikes! We sent the Yates a ratcheting Quarter Stick. G) Go-Pedal: A driver’s tendency is to try and cram the accelerator pedal clear through the firewall for every degree of throttle-blade opening. Good for a leg cramp. This setup is best actuated with your heel rather than toe. H) Steel Floorboards: These act as a scattershield and transfer every bump in the road right to your tailbone. I) Arm Restraints: These are required on open cars to prevent your arms from flinging wildly as you tumble off into the weeds at 100-plus. We were not able to test their effectiveness.

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Pulling the parachute proved futile on most of the roadster’s runs, as it either didn’t open at all or it was a “whirlybird,” flying in a tangled bundle with no discernable slowing effect.

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Our ride was powered by a 360ci small Chevy based on a Bow Tie block. The Brownfield 220 spread-port aluminum heads still have the bosses for the injection down-nozzles for a Sprint Car. The valvetrain includes titanium valves and retainers and the cam is a 0.630-inch lift Chet Herbert grind. The Lunati pistons squeeze 13.0:1 compression and the rods are 6.2-inch Carillos leftover from a NASCAR team. The carb is a 1050 Holley Dominator and the nitrous is an NOS Cheater.

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Brett’s best run to date in the roadster has been 173, so he added an NOS nitrous system to run in the Fuel classes. Alas, tranny trouble kept our finger off the button, but at the next race they had a new trans and Regan ran 178.962 on nitrous.

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The steering box is a standard Vega unit, and the top bolt also serves to affix the hood sides. The shocks are MG knee-action units; you change the damping rate by changing the fluid inside them.

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The Ford 9-inch rearend carries an open diff and 3.00:1 gears. It’s suspended by coilovers and located by homemade radius rods. Note the very limited uptravel in the suspension, good for a few jarring bangs on the rough part of the track.


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