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Did you see the working cowl vent? That is quite unusual in
a 'glass car. The headlamps are original '32 items, on a
dropped headlight bar.
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Greg's first registered rod was a '28 A-bucket that he bought mostly
finished from Ken Isaacs. The Model A started life with a 272
Y-block, which was then swapped for a lighter and more powerful 283,
and Greg drove that from '73 to '76, taking in some of the first
major interstate runs.
Greg raced the bucket, and it ran 12.3 at 109 mph - then progressed
to a 12 second 327 Monaro bracket car, a 10 second 454 powered 105-E
Anglia, then, with Col Dunn, a blown 350 powered 24 ounce Datsun
that ran 9s in BB\Gas. The pretty VK Calais followed, getting them
into the low 8's, which was followed by a steel bodied blown 454 '55
Chev that ran low sevens at 190 mph.
The 240Z,
Calais, and steel '55 all competed in
the original Wild Bunch bracket, and the new glass '55 was built to
compete in the inaugural Top Doorslammer
bracket. It got them down the
quarter in a best of 6.66 at 210 mph! Other early Wild Bunch
competitors were Victor Bray, John Payne, and Rods Inc's own Les
Winter in his '55 Chev. Greg, Col, Anita and Dawn retired from drag racing in '97, and at
about the same time took
Superformance in a new direction, concentrating on Hot Rod and
truck parts, and getting out of the engine reconditioning business.
While that
was happening, Greg bought Bob Scott's completed '28 Model A Tourer
in '94 and began participating in runs again - he and Anita have
been to the last 12 Yamba runs, and they also maintain a healthy
range of interests outside Hot Rodding - they are part of a group
who go camping at spots all over Australia.
Greg then
had Darryl Kuhnemann start on a 'glass '32 Roadster that appealed to
the boy racer in him - it had a 400 horsepower 350 screamer with
Edelbrock alloy heads. Greg had that on the road in '99, and sold it
to a bloke in Melbourne in 2001. Darryl Kuhnemann began work on a
more sedate sedan, a 'glass '32 Tudor, in 2001, but Greg sold it to
Sydney in 2003, determined to have a steel '32.
The
Roadster pictured here is not that much different from the other
Darryl Kuhnemann built cars of Greg's - you see, Darryl built this
one too. It started as a pair of American Stamping chassis rails,
and uses a Pete's Rod & Restorations body, which Greg selected
because it had a working cowl vent, stock door hinges and a smooth
floor.
Pete's Rod
& Restoration also made the running boards, while Deuce Customs laid
up the fenders. The engine hood is a Rootleib, which is hard to go
past in terms of quality. It uses the stock style '32 Ford clips to
hold the bonnet (hood) down. The paint is called Burnt Orange, and
comes from a Volvo truck. It was applied
in
Toowoomba by Brad Gosney at
Fastlane Custom Refinishing.
The
car also uses a 4" dropped Magnum I-beam axle with transverse leaf
spring and 4 bar suspension - Falcon discs with polished Holden
calipers do the bulk of the stopping, up front.
The engine is
a stockish 305 Chevy, with a Dynatek hydraulic cam with .465" lift,
and slightly raised compression courtesy of the small chambered 283
Power Pack heads. The top of the unit has an Edelbrock 500 carb and
manifold, and a stock, points style, reconditioned distributor.
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