Rich,
I never heard the story about the GMC vs Flathead garbage truck
drivers, but, it might have been.
There was a good reason for separating the GMC from the Flathead. The
Flathead couldn't compete. In the early days, when the only GM inliner was
the "babbit-beater" 215-235 ci, the 239 ci Flathead could more than hold its
own. When the 270-302 GMC came out, the Flathead Ford V8 was, as had been the
case with the Model T & A, on the back side of the power curve, resting on
their laurels.
We can come close to the GMC guys at the drags by using blowers and
the Ardun, but, few Flatheads can really compete with an equal sized Jimmy.
For years the 12-Port GMC, blown Flathead, and the Ardun were in the
XX class together. Some Arduns actually went faster than the GMC's, but, it
was usually a case of a well prepped Ardun or blown Flathead against a ragged
12-port. I took Zeke Zachersons 137 12-port with the Ardun in 1988 at 143,
only because George Campbell and his 151mph GMC holed a piston on the first
leg of his record run. I also got Bud Morrill's 174 El Mirage 12-port XX
record with a 180, but, his GMC was capable of far more than my Ardun. Hell,
Bud ran a 2-way 180 average in his XX/GR that has stood for about 10 years.
Nobody ever took away one of Fergusons 12-port XX or XXO records by using an
Ardun or blown Flathead.
When Lattin and Gillette were on the SCTA/BNI board they got the XX
class divided up into XXO & XXF, and while the move was self-serving, it did
encourage those of us racing the Arduns to keep running them. Last time I
checked, the reason for having the old-engine classes was to encourage people
to keep running them and preserving the SCTA roots with antique
engines................Doug
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