Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Here's where we go to kick back after the races with our pals. Pour a tall one, punch a few buttons on the jukebox, and relax...
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WildcatOne
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:09 pm

My pick for Racer of the week is Ron Morris, from Salem, Ohio. Ron’s ’61 Ford Falcon Street Legal racer caught my eye while I was browsing through the DADs Old-Fashioned Drag Racing page. It’s an outstanding hot rod, and I am proud to feature Ron and his race car tonight.

The car runs in the DADs street legal class. Ron told me he’s just a normal guy that does all his own junk ‘cuz he can't afford to buy good stuff.

The engine in the Falcon is a small block Chevy 406 with a powerglide transmission and a Ford 9-inch. With nitrous it makes over a thousand horsepower. He’s been runner-up three times and He’s been number one qualifier in the DADs series.

Ron taught himself how to do his own fiberglass work. He built the hood, bumpers, doors and trunk lid. He did an outstanding job on that. He told me the car can now run low 8s in the mid-150s.

He’s considering selling it. He said he’s thinking about buying a 4-seater side by side. He’s taking the family camping and trail riding.

Ron also has a1960 Falcon two-door wagon. He said it's not souped-up; it's a cruiser. 1960 was the first year for the Ford Falcon, and this is an extremely rare car. He plans on keeping the wagon and turning it into something to play with. and seeing what he’s done with the coupe, I have no doubt it will be an excellent hot rod!

Ron, we wish you good luck, safe racing, and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby Wheelzman » Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:43 pm

Now that is one cool ride. :D :D :D

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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon May 06, 2019 7:40 pm

Yes, Wheelz! Ron has good taste in hot rods!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Glenn Yahiku, from Pearl City, Hawaii. Glenn was recommended to me by our friend and the admin of the 808_FUEL page, Michael Baba Balbarino. Thanks, Michael!

Glenn has two of the finest hot rods in Hawaii. He is also one of the most well-liked and respected racers in the state. He goes first-class all the way. His buggy is a gorgeous street rod that has won car shows and races every year, and his red Funny Car is not only a rarity in Hawaii, but an outstanding example of engineering and creativity.

Glenn lives on the island of Oahu but ships his rides to the beautiful big island of Hawaii, to the track at Hilo to race, being that Oahu has no drag strip. The track at Hilo is a great facility, and it’s the most popular one in the Garden State.

The buggy is a legal street car with a turbocharged 2276cc VW engine that Glenn runs at the Hilo Bug-In Drags, and he cruises across the islands with it when he’s not winning races. The Funny Car is a Nostalgia McCracken Covette with a 505 cubic inch cast-iron supercharged Big-Block Chevy engine. Glenn and his team are in the process of testing and shaking down this car, and they hope to someday do this car justice with a respectable ET. It’s brand-new. The beautiful red paint is still hardly dry yet, but we expect great performances in the future, as Glenn’s history as a top-notch hot rodder backs up that prediction.

Glenn told me that all of this would not be possible without the support and help from his wife Marina and the Big Island racing family.

Glenn, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon May 13, 2019 7:02 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week today, May 13th, is Jeff Richmond, Jr., from Alexandria, Kentucky. I found Jeff on Facebook from having browsed through the Southeast Gassers Association page. Jeff’s D/Gasser, “The Warlord”, is a classic example of grass-roots hot rodding on a budget, yielding outstanding results.

The Warlord is a 1946 ford Super Deluxe coupe. It’s powered by a 355 cubic inch Chevy engine that had 14.5:1 compression with a .700 lift solid roller cam and a very tricked out set of camel humps. It’s backed by a Doug Nash 4+1 magnesium trans and a 9” ford rear end with a 600 gear and a spool. The motor has been moved rearward the full allowed 10% according to the rule book as well.

Jeff and his brother Adam McGrath built the Warlord. It was 90% done before they found The Southeast Gassers, but great minds think alike and the car already passed all the strict rules by the time they joined. Jeff grew up with period-correctness being a household term, so it wasn’t a far stretch for the brothers to build the car according to standards.

They did it the way guys did it back in the day too…they built every bit of it themselves. They made everything from scratch (they are both machinists and fabricators by trade) and they did it in an apartment complex parking lot where they lived. Jeff said “haha they hated us.” It was just a body when they got it and they built everything…they even painted and lettered it in the apartment complex parking lot.

They are on a very very tight budget…to acquire a lot of the parts like the transmission for example, they had to put quarters panels and fix a lot of rust on a ’70 Chevelle for a friend, but they ended up with the Warlord transmission! There was lots of trading and wheeling and dealing and working for people involved in getting their project done over the year or so they spent building this hot rod. The brothers definitely were burning the candle at both ends…It was a ton of work for sure, but the results have been very satisfying!

The “Little boy” dragster is a replica of a 1958 chassis research TE440. It’s a model A front axle and a ’55 Chevy rear axle with a Hilborn-injected 331 small block Chevy backed by a modified GM Saginaw 3 speed. It looks great with the Warlord in tow behind the ’62 Ford tow truck!

The Southeast Gassers Association has been Jeff’s home for 3 years now. He told me if he races at all, it’s with them. He’s planning on running this year but he doesn’t get to make as many races as some do, but he told me he’ll be out there at a few events in 2019.

Great job on all of it, Jeff! Today’s his wedding anniversary! Happy anniversary! We wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon May 20, 2019 1:44 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Joel Kerr, from Hartlepool, United Kingdom. Joel was approved and recommended to me by our friend and the admin of the Supercharged Outlaws UK group, Andy Fadster. Thanks, Andy!

The “Stiff Shifter” is a 1957 Pontiac Super Chief. It was started to become a race car 25 years ago at Houser Race Cars by John Webster and it sat up in a garage unfinished until Joel got it 5 years ago, then it sat in his garage for another two years. They pulled the car apart and Joel and Dave set away rebuilding it. They had an engine from EDA.
The car weighs 3200 lbs. It had a 540 cubic inch Big-Block Chevy engine topped by a 14/71 Littlefield blower with 15 lbs of boost. It was running 2000 Horsepower on methanol. The best mph was 183, and the best ET was a 7.56.

They now have a new Alloy block and a 14/71 Kobelco Supercharger with 25 pounds of boost, so it’s going to be lighter, stronger and faster…hopefully they will run some 6s this year!

They have painted the car for the 2019 season as well. The new look is done by Dave at McCallan Automotive.

Joel said they are hoping to race in France,Holland,Germany and Malta this year as well. He said he would love to race in the USA and call out the 405! We’d love to see the Stiff Shifter over here, too, Joel!

The team has made some mods on the car over the winter. In addition to the new engine block and blower, they put an anti-roll bar on it, and they got a new 20amp magneto. Joel has been running 7.60, 7.59, 7.61, 7.60, 7.56, and 7.61 like a 7 second bracket car. They were thinking that the car would run a 7.40, but that was before they got the new Alloy block, which is half the engine weight that the iron block was. He told me that he may run a 7.10 or even a Happy 6 with this new combination!

Joel sends a big thank you to Dave, Ben, Kenny, Ian, Andy and the wife!

Joel, we wish you and your team good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby Wheelzman » Mon May 20, 2019 6:45 pm

Cool Indian with a new heart. :shock: :shock: :shock:

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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Jun 03, 2019 6:38 pm

Yes, Wheelz! I love that car. Thanks!

My pick for Racer of the Week is Simon Boot, from Manchester, England. Simon was recommended to me by our friend and the admin of the Supercharged Outlaws UK group, Andy Fadster. Thanks, Andy!

I discovered Simon’s 1971 Z-28 Camaro, “The Bootlegger”, last year when I came across the Supercharged Outlaws group. I bookmarked the page and saved it for future contacts. As it turned out, Andy got in touch last month and recommended Simon to me, so life is good!

Simon Boot is an extremely dedicated racer and he is an all-around great guy, one of the most popular and well-liked racers in the UK. Andy told me that Simon’s presence and competing is a major credit to the group. I chatted with him last week and he gave me great information about the car and his goals.

Simon acquired the car in 2005 and he said it’s been an ongoing project with no end in sight. It’s all-steel, street-legal and is built for speed as well as comfort. It is powered by a 540 cubic-inch Dart-M Block, with a 14-71 Littlefield supercharger, topped by 2 Holley Dominators. It has a TH-400 gearbox and a Ford 9” rear end. Wildwood brakes bring the monster to a stop. It has a totally wicked stance, and the solid black skin has the awesome “Bootlegger” lettering setting it off and providing perfect contrast. It’s one car that is striking to see and amazing to watch. It goes to show you that “Simple is Good”. It’s one of my favorite paint schemes.

The name “Bootlegger” comes from Simon owning a Pub and having the name of Boot. Makes perfect sense to name the car after his name and his business!

The car is running 9.1 second ETs at 154 mph, with a personal best 1.1 second 60-foot time. He is a top competitor at Supercharged Outlaw and Top Sportsman events, and is looking forward to the new season and hopefully to get the car into the 8s this year.

Simon, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Jun 10, 2019 6:16 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Denny Duquette, from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Denny was recommended to me by our friend and the admin of the 808_FUEL page, Michael Baba Balbarino. Thanks, Michael!

Denny owns and operates Island Performance and Offroad, Inc., in Kailua-Kona. He’s been at it for several years and has gained a reputation as the best high performance and offload conversion shop in Hawaii. I chatted with him last week and he gave me great information about the shop and his cars.

His gorgeous Dodge Hellcat is a totally badass hot rod; a few weeks ago he clocked a 9.76 ET with it and it’s a street-legal car. Another of Denny’s hot rods won the Annual 808_FEUL Nostalgia Drags 4-speed Shootout and that is his vintage metallic green Dodge Dart. Denny also has a 14-second sleeper, his 4-door Polaris.

But Denny isn’t just a drag racer. He builds and maintains several jaw-dropping offload vehicles that run high-performance equipment and can handle anything you throw at them. He has a big, lifted Jeep 4-wheel drive car that is known as the baddest Jeep in Hawaii. I watched some videos of this car and one of his offroad hot rods running the quarter-mile and these are fantastic performers on the drag strip as well as on the sand dunes and wilderness areas. I’m used to seeing them run through mud bogs, but they run like the devil on the drag strip, too!

Last week I watched a video of Denny’s most recent conversion, which is a black 2018 Chevy Suburban that is absolutely fantastic. His video covered the entire car, showing the outstanding work that he did on the chassis, drivetrain and suspension on it. It’s a one-of-a-kind dual-purpose vehicle now, and it didn’t lose one bit of its showroom class.

My hat’s off to Island Performance and the versatile and talented Denny Duquette, and to Mike Balbarino for sending these outstanding recommendations to me!

Denny, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby WildcatOne » Mon Jun 17, 2019 6:50 pm

My pick for Racer of the Week is Tamara Silk, from Wellington, New Zealand. Tamara was recommended to me by our friend and the owner of SV Photography, Stephen Virtue. Thanks, Stephen! Tamara is the 23rd Racer from New Zealand that I have featured since 2014. Her still-new Top Alcohol Dragster is an excellent machine and she is looking forward to competing in the upcoming NZDRA season.

Drag racing is in Tamara's genes; her Dad Robin is a well-known Drag Racer and Hot Rod builder who spends a lot of time working in the USA, but he has helped his daughter’s racing efforts from the beginning…Tamara started racing in Junior Dragsters at the age of nine. After returning from living in America, Tamara returned to racing Juniors in New Zealand until stepping up to a comp dragster. From there she went Top Alcohol Dragster racing. That’s making a long story very short!

Her dragster’s engine is a Big Block Chevy Dart, with 509 cubic inches. It has Big Chief heads, a screw-type blower, running on methanol. The chassis is a USA top fuel unit by McKinney. The transmission is a Powergilde. Tamara has run a best Et of 6.0 at 232mph. The car is sponsored by Lucas Oil, Auto Trans, Otaihanga Speed Shop and Powder Surfaces.

Tamara said “Our goals are to get into the 5s. We are so close, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed for next season. We also just want to learn more of the ins and outs of the car. We are still all very new to the Top Alcohol Dragster business, so we’re learning something new all the time.”

Before taking on this challenge, Tamara raced a junior and then a comp dragster. Her brother Cory just hopped in to the comp dragster, which runs in the low-8s at over 160 mph, and her daughter in a few years will drive the junior. She said it’s nice to keep it in the family.

She sends thanks to her crew: Vicky Silk, Cory Silk, Her partner Nick Clark, Brett Hemi, Olivia Eckersley, and Mitch King.

Tamara, we wish you good luck, safe racing and the best of times in the future!
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Re: Racin' and Rockin'..."JB's Take"

Postby Wheelzman » Mon Jun 17, 2019 7:23 pm

What a name... Brett Hemi. I bet his dad was a Mopar fan????
Then two Silks so smooth as Silk and a King. What a crew!!!!


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