That reminds me, a certain Boss Mustang running a Jerico from Tauranga had to sit behind a dirty old Mercury Comet with a Big shaft Toploader that took 1st place. Mind you I wasn't invited back again, haaaa
That reminds me, a certain Boss Mustang running a Jerico from Tauranga had to sit behind a dirty old Mercury Comet with a Big shaft Toploader that took 1st place. Mind you I wasn't invited back again, haaaa
Barry Search will probably pop up now and say he broke it/replaced it and ruin the story George.Yes I share the same thoughts re Super T10 & later versions, in the TL sedans they like them due to weight, but you can see how the case twists and causes taper wear on the teeth.
I still have the original USA case with broken lugs, its now serving as a drilling/machining jig for the T44, never ending story.
Have to agree re Top loaders , we had a wide ratio in mustang & Roly fitted a close ratio built by Derek at Puke , I must have had it in there four years & it did some miles but never punished it....my only concern it was SSoooooo heavy ...Originally Posted by George Sheweiry
Well that's right Grant and that's why a lot of people shy away from them, but while they are slotting in another box between race 1 and race 2 I am sitting there cool calm and collected ready to go, and when you get home there is enough maintenance to do on the race car as it is !! (especially when you have 28 of them)
That would be a huge up keep George ....good on you for that , I find 2 are taking up so much time but really enjoying that challenge infact love it as time etc allows, having 3 young daughters takes up time etc etc ...as well ....getting back to what I need to do is great we are blessed
We can learn lots from photos some will say not , car in front is fast in a straight line but suffers understeer & positive camber 3 seconds at least in reading this car , mind you I still try & correct my own car .[not judging ].& a bit of caster ...
...but photos tell a story
Last edited by Grant Sprague; 12-07-2016 at 07:55 AM. Reason: adding
Three seconds!!!, that would get George relegated to starting from pit lane if he wanted to race those hot rods!!
28 cars has been fun alright, too many really but its time to downgrade so 4 have gone and another 2 soon. Yes the Comet does suffer from understeer and I have slowly been working on getting it better. I spent too much time trying to get it to hook up with dumb rules that don't allow a LSD and of course I spread myself too thin with too many cars, but I didn't have to be the world champion and not ever having any major sponsors I didn't have to go to every round if I didn't want to so it always kept the fun factor high. I always liked to run something different to and I have always done everything myself which as an electrician gave me some problems as well. haaaa The Comet had huge potential and guys like you Grant were always fun to race against. That first race I debuted the comet at you and I had a ding dong battle from the back of the grid and I would pull 12 car lengths on you going down the shute but because I had just finished building it the night before the brakes weren't right, the handling wasn't right and you would gobble me up under braking and then after battling to the front with you hounding me the whole way the cast iron crankshaft on the beginning of the last lap let itself be known that unlike the Clevelands it wasn't up to the job and it took me 2 more failures of that part before I cured it with a $$$$$$ original steel crank. Luckilly having all the different cars I had and after not succeeding to get her to hook up without a LSD I just concentrated on the other classes I was running in and told the pre 65 guys that when they changed the LSD rule I would go back. Here's the funny thing they just found out that the car that won the series last year was running a LSD, how dumb, but I bet they still wont change the rule. Go figure??
Grants probably right Jac, handling has never been my strong point and everything was so secretive as well. The mustang boys were able to get their cars to hook up with a bar off the top of the diff on the rhs going on an angle to the front leafspring bolt position but my old girl when I tried it with 200hp more and more importantly 200ftlbs of torque would just spin that rh wheel. I tried a torque arm that utilised the bolts on the diff head (in case it didn't work) that went right up to the gearbox. Then I shortened it to half the length, still didn't work. Rightly or wrongly I have always been a stickler for the rules (probably naively too) so after a big effort to build the car, finally sort the engine and try all that BS I just concentrated on other stuff. I felt it was a bit of a shame as the car was so different from everything else that was running and there were so many people who loved the car and wanted me to keep running it but after hauling it all the way to Manfield and seeing Tony Jeffs big Galaxie and the 426 Plymouth from the South Island leaving 2 thick black lines as they accelerated out of the corners I knew I would never be able to get the old girl to do that, and even though I had a way better engine than those 2 cars they still smoked me good. But there ya go, sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't so the Comet has spent most of the time since I built it in 97 just sitting in the garage. Nevermind!
George there is a good photo some where of you & I going through railway , yes remember the race well , I could see you were really struggling over the top of the hill etc I could gobble yr car up once yr tyre & brakes were going off , I was lucky as had some good people behind me and a terrific sponsor the package was perfect........now we are trying to get a little pinto to go like you say different classes bring a different energy , no pressure in my new class but sure is fun getting back into it & moving forwards trying different things we all have our ups & downs though for sure , not having so many cars to focus on to look after makes it a bit easier, we always want to go faster lol have a great xmas buddy
Hey Popey, here's a picture of your Coupe. Do you have a picture of it in XAGT guise?. Note there are 4 Coupes in this image.
There are 4 Falcon hardtops in this photo! Its extremely rare to see even one of these in modern day historic racing. I guess they were a more affordable options back then?
Hey Popey, here's a picture of your Coupe. Do you have a picture of it in XAGT guise?. Note there are 4 Coupes in this image.
Here is an older one taken on the old Taupo track turn one.
Popey- can you please tell us the history of your car and how it developed into its final form- think I may have run with you and the Verns in early 90s
That Falcon is stunning! Where is it now?
I purchased it as a road car off a dealer in Auckland with the intention of club racing it. Traded a Mercury Cougar in on it, which I had swapped a Ducati motorbike for. It was a genuine XA GT but it was a bit scruffy, had some rust issues that were largely resolved and was informed the previously owner had drag raced it in a production based class.
The first time I raced it was at Pukekohi and it still had bulky superstock tyres on the back. The car evolved slowly over the years as the budget would allow and the rules and classes I raced in changed. I would mainly buy second hand parts and had good mates that would help work on the car and any sponsorship I could get was greatly appreciated and needed.
I got the front off an XC panel van I had and sold the original GT front for good money. I liked the spoiler set up of the XC better. For classic meetings I would have to change the grille back to XB as they wouldn’t allow the later XC model to run.
The car got badly crashed at Whenapai in 1992, I got hit in the driver’s door (it’s now hanging on the wall in my garage) by the out of control Brian Peace 930 turbo Porsche. The car had the RH rear quarter almost ripped completely off and the chasses got bent, but we managed to get it fixed. I found a Falcon panel van door and door pillar to replace the destroyed ones and reattached the original rear quarter with a few patches and a large amount of filler. I remember it cost me around $1,300. I heard the Brain Peace car cost over 20,000 to fix.
When it came time to sell it no one wanted to buy it so I sold it in parts and the body was purchased (buy a guy who owned a garage in Thames I think it was) to be converted back to a road car. I had still kept it registered as I did drive it on the road on occasion.
The original GT engine ended up in a T Bucket. I swapped the good roller cam motor for a twin cam Datsun 120Y race car and the motor ended up in a speedway saloon. Ray Cheba brought anything I had that was a GT part. John Alley brought the ex Allan Moffit GTHO gearbox for his pre 65 Mustang.
What a cool history.
Thanks, some pics of the damage, after repairs and as purchased
Last edited by Popey; 12-24-2016 at 01:23 AM.
When it was street legal, I remember some good times in that car before you committed the GT to a full time race car.
Wayne
Yes fond memories, but stretching it legs on the track was where it needed to be, otherwise I think I would have got into to much trouble.
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