Dick,
What I didn't tell you in that story was that the engine was basically
junk, but still was whipping up on the Chevys of the day at the 1/4 mile
on top speed, but I had to catch everything I beat and many times I
couldn't catch them. Our ETs were nothing to write home about since we
spotted the Chevy roughly 150 engine pounds. I won so many races coming
from behind that I was accused of sandbagging, which is just not in my
genes. It was all-out all the time, that is why I could never get turned
on by bracket racing. At the San Gabriel Drags there was a Flathead
powered roadster whose driver would just not believe that I wasn't
sandbagging. Of course, he came off the line like gangbusters and ran
about 113 MPH at the end. We ran in the low 120s, so when I came by it
was impressive to him.
Back to the engine. As I said I ported the heads myself. I ran an Isky
cam, W&H dual coil ignition, and Jahns 12:1 cast pistons. The heads
were eventually milled .060 and the block milled .040. As I increased
the amount shaved off the cylinders the valves kept moving outward in
the valve pockets of the pistons, I continued to grind on the pockets
for clearance, but the valves continued to hit. (The engine like
compression so much that I could pick up MPH by changing from the
sandwich to the shim steel head gaskets.) Finally, a coupe of pistons
had about an inch of exposed top ring where the piston had broken away.
At the time Taylor Engines (Nellie Taylor and John Ryan) in Whittier CA
was doing some of my engine work. They continually tried to sell me new
pistons, but I just couldn't find the money, so we ran that way for a
year or more, until I retired the motor.
We held the National Record (a list maintained by Drag News) two or
three times. I am not really sure why, ( I suspect that they were not
revving them high enough, we were turning the Desoto in the low 7000
range.) but most of the Chevy powered roadsters were running around 116
MPH in the 1/4, (the "Rolling Stone" out of Texas ran 120 MPH with an
Engle Cam.) we regularly ran 122+ MPH. When we finally retired the
Desoto and put the Chevy in, we went to Fontana Drags and ran 116, the
next week we ran 129, just by dropping down in gear. This surpassed the
National Record, but the Pacers from Petaluma CA also ran 129 the same
weekend and backed up their speed at another strip before I did, so they
ended up with the record. I'm still partial to the hemi and would like
to build another Desoto, applying what I have learned and a bit more
money, but it probably will never happen.
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/GCC
Dick J wrote:
> I sure enjoyed reading the Desoto part of your
> story. We had talked about your early hemi days
> before, but it's just nice to hear more about it.
>
> Dick J
> (who just loves old Dodge, Desoto and Chrysler hemis.)
>
> =====
> Dick J
> In East Texas
> Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
> http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
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