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The very low stance means this car handles very well. The 4"
chop means it looks the part too. |
This coupe body became available, and John
immediately set to work having the San Francisco Ford plant built
body 'blasted, and prepared for its new life. The chassis was boxed
by John, and includes a 3" (75mm) Z in the back to allow the back to
sit lower, while retaining sufficient suspension travel. A
4-bar trailing link suspension tracks the LSD, 3.55 ratio narrowed
9" Ford diff, and Rod-Tech coil over shock absorbers provide the
rear suspension. The front suspension has a 4" dropped forged steel
I-beam, and the transverse leaf spring rides on swivel perches; a
4-bar set up keeps the axle in place.
Interestingly, John used a Camira rack & pinion steering unit, and
it connects to a Nissan column, which has a Grant wheel fitted. The
brake setup is also intersting, not so much because it uses a Gemini
booster and HQ master cylinder, but because it uses Gemini calipers
on the rear which pucker up on rotors off an independent rear
suspension equipped Commodore. The Commodore parking brake system
was retained, and the rear brakes never lock up. We saw an example
of a panic stop, and this little blue coupe pulls up brilliantly.
The engine that this former GM man chose for his
Ford, is a 302 Ford, bored .030", fitted with forged pistons, and
fully balanced. Crane roller rockers, porting & polishing of the
heads, the fitting of stainless steel valves and seats, and Crane
valve springs ensure the little sausage will breathe. As you
probably already knew, dear reader, a 351 Windsor cam has a
different firing order
(1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8) to a
289/302 (1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8), but
John went ahead and used the 351 cam anyway, with 2 degrees of
initial advance. This little modification improves low end response,
but don't try it at home. For all
other responses, a GMC 6-53 supercharger was fitted, and Patterson
Performance cast up an adaptor for the 600 Holley carb, machined a
blower drive snout, and the rest of the 20% overdriven Gilmer belted
blower drive. These models didn't come with a suitable intake
manifold, so an Edelbrock Torker was milled to suit the
supercharger. The distributor then had to clear the blower, so a
Bosch unit was adapted, and fitted with a Mallory crab style
cap. A Mallory 6AL system ups the ante in the spark department, and
provides the security of a rev limiter.
There is also a milled T6 alloy combination alternator drive and
idler\tensioner on the driver's side and the toothed wheel drives
the alternator. HPC coated block hugger headers clean the spent
gases up, sending them out the back through a 2½" system that John
built. This stout little engine is in front of a
Pat Laub modified C4 three speed auto,
and the pair of 11" electric fans keep the coolant temperature at a
constant 85° C. Peter Farmer, brother of
Bill, did the panel beating, including the 4" top chop and the
filled roof. The entire car is file finished, and the result is a
spectacularly straight body. John's old mate Greg Heilbronn took
over then, and prepped the body for the Isuzu Marina Blue paint,
which he then applied to the body and chassis.
The seat is from a Torana, and hidden away behind it
is another fuel tank, a 45 litre Corolla unit that helps out on
those long trips. Insulation covered the interior of the body before
the upholstery was stitched up and installed by Wilf Skerman. Wilf
also fitted the Mercedes fabric cover to the filled roof.
The wheels and tyres reflect John's passion for
applied taste, he feels that this style of car should have 14"
wheels up front and 15's at the back, and so it does. The American
Racing Torq-Thrust D's suit the car impeccably.
John wishes to acknowledge the valued assistance
provided him by the late Pat Mahoney, Brett McClarn from Powell's
Body Works, Les Duncan for the electrics, Bruce Draheim for the
sandblasting, and Brent Oldridge.◄
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Here is John, racing his FX at the Leyburn sprint circuit. |
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Accreditation: The Editor, and material supplied by
the owner.
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