James Hill of Georgia had...
James Hill of Georgia had this sweet-looking '64 Comet Wagon ripping up the track with its original 289 motivation still underhood. Working within the rules of his class, he's been able to get the wagon to run a respectable 12.41 at 106 mph.
The 5th Annual Bassani Xhaust NMRA Ford Nationals at Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, Georgia, is the second stop on the NMRA's '06 schedule. The event often brings out the best classic Fords, for both the drag race and car show venues, that the southern states have to offer. Owners from Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and the Carolinas all come to Georgia for the action at Reynolds.
Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to the event ourselves, so we strapped freelancer Paul Rosner onto the trunk of a Chevy, pointed it south (he's from the St. Louis area) and sent him on his way to cover the details. From the NMRA-Denso sponsored drag racing to the Laurel Mountain-sponsored All-Ford Auto Show 'n' Shine, there was plenty to keep Paul busy. Check out the action yourself, and maybe we'll see you at an upcoming NMRA event.
Editor's Choice
Steven McCarley found his '66 Mustang coupe in the original owner's yard. It had been repainted in 1980, but otherwise needed a complete restoration. Steven completed the restoration himself in his own garage. He aimed for the period look of a Trans-Am racer and put the hardware into it to match. Underhood resides a hotted-up 289 with Edelbrock aluminum heads and a Comp Cams valvetrain. A Barry Grant Speed Demon 625-cfm carb squirts the fuel into an Edelbrock Air-Gap intake. After the engine gets done with the combustion process, it feeds the spent gasses to Shelby Tri-Y headers and on to a pair of 40 Series Flowmasters.
The Trans-Am theme is more prevalent in the suspension and brakes where Steven opted for Total Control tubular control arms up front (with the Shelby drop), KYB shocks all around, 620-pound front springs, Mustangs Plus rear springs, and big sway bars front and rear. Vintage Wheel Works 16x8 Vintage 45s wrapped in BFG rubber do their best to keep traction and aid the four-wheel disc brakes (12 inches front, 11 inches rear) in hauling down the car for the corners.
The car's office is complete with a custom, two-tone, deluxe interior motif, a Custom Autosound stereo, speakers, and headrests, M-Detail white face gauges, and a LeCarra black leather-wrapped wheel.
Driven to cruise nights, shows, and for "therapy," Steven has a blast in his Raven Black ride. On Saturday, he garnered the Top 20, Best Classic Mustang, Best Stance, and Mustang & Fords Editor's Choice trophies, while on Sunday he also walked away with the Top 20, Best '64-'70 Mustang, and Best of Show Second-Place awards as well.
See www.nmraracing.com for more event coverage photos, NMRA TV, racing, and car show user forums, as well as a full schedule of events.
How's this for a pair of interesting...
How's this for a pair of interesting rides? What your eyes are focusing on is a '58 Edsel station wagon. It's owned by Kathy Maddox of Griffin, Georgia, and took a Top 20 award and the Directors Choice award on Sunday of the show. The '56 Ford behind it is owned by Roger Maddox and he, too, took home a Top 20 award on Sunday as well as the trophy for Best Fullsize '49-Up.
Chris Stratton, another Georgia...
Chris Stratton, another Georgia racer, was on the property, making passes in his way clean '73 Mav two-door. The Mav sports the original 302 engine topped with AFR 205 heads and a wicked Comp bumpstick. Induction chores are handled by an Edelbrock Victor Jr. and a 650-cfm Mighty Demon. All that speed-part goodness puts Chris into the mid-11s at 118 mph on a regular basis. He even took home the win in the Superchips-sponsored Super Ford Eliminator bracket class at Reynolds.
Kevin and Brian Meine came...
Kevin and Brian Meine came all the way from Missouri to show the crowd how it's done, with both big-block and small-block power (the '69 is an original 428CJ R-code). Kevin's '69 runs 11.60s with the help of a Holley 1050 Dominator and built C6 using a 4,500 stall. Brian's '66 fastback is no slouch either, with a 408 Windsor and Canfield heads putting down 10.40s at 125 mph.
A real surprise was spotting...
A real surprise was spotting Hugh Windham's '66 Mercury Cyclone GT. The Lizella, Georgia, resident took home Top 20, Best Ford Muscle Classic, and People's Choice awards on Saturday and Sunday.
It's nice to see a show with...
It's nice to see a show with awards for more than just certain classes. Awards for things like farthest distance traveled, hard luck, under construction, and so on promote the hobby and get people out who don't have 100-point, trailered, show cars. Case in point is Sammy Cook's '68 Mustang coupe. This sharp ride from Covington, Georgia, took home the Under Construction trophy on Saturday. It looks like Sammy just added those Cragars last week.