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Danny Eames became one of the "suits" the day he joined driver Jerry Kugel for this advertising shot at Bonneville. When Ford acquired Autolite, Danny became manager of product performance. He created an engineering exercise in 1969, the "Lead Wedge" that used 20 Autolite high-performance batteries. The Baker Torpedo held the electric car land speed record on Daytona Beach of 104 mph, which stood for 65 years. That is until Danny showcased Ford's commitment to electric-powered cars. He called on his fellow hot rodders to help with the project, including Larry "Chopstick" Shinoda, who designed the wedge; Jerry Eisert built the monocoque body and Kugel drove. "Ford didn't want me driving that thing, so we asked Jerry to drive it. The team upped the record considerably to 134 mph," Danny says. Remember the 427 in the Andretti's Ranger pickup? For Kugel's effort, he was given the cammer motor. View Related Article
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