Okay Guys,
This is the "Dump Truck" guy, only I think of it as my "Garbage Truck"
motor - especially when one or two of those main caps end up in the bottom
of the pan! And yes, the rods do exit the sides of the block, and yes, the
heads do crack. But I still love to run these things. And besides, I'm
just too old to switch.
It took me 31 years to get my car to Bonneville. I started the car in
1967, and went to Bonneville for the first time last year in September.
The car was far from finished, but I ran with too-tall gears and injection
that was so far off we couldm't fix it there, but we still had a ball! On
wet salt, on the two-mile course, I went through the lights at 4,700 in
second gear. 116 - 120 - 122 - 125...you'd have thought I went 300 mph.
But I never had so much fun in all my life, and I've raced Altereds,
Dragsters, been in Indy cars, and all kinds. They don't hold a candle to
Land Speed racing.
We went to El Mirage in November of last year and ran 130 - 136 - 138.
I've got the neatest brass timing tag I've ever seen from there.
We went to the Muroc Reunion last month and went 150 and change on gas and
on alcohol. We did four runs in two days, and set records for both Gas and
Fuel. I'm still ten feet off the ground!
The car is still far from being finished but I've never had so much fun
racing as I have in these last two years.
This garbage truck motor started its racing life in 1964, in a friend of
mine's '51 Chevy I/Gas Coupe. Ran from '64 to '68, set some NHRA records
in 1968, and then the car was retired and they got into motorcycles. I got
the engine and finally got the car I race now to where I could drag race
it. But it takes a lot more to build a Land Speed car than a drag race
car. Put 174 passes on the car, ran 10s at 125. Lots of fun. Grenaded
three blocks. Lots of fun welding cracked heads and other things.
Then it was time to pull the car off the strip and get it ready for
Bonneville. It's taken another five years, and now it's what I'd call a
real race car.
I'm also very fortunate to have Marlo Treit as one of my good friends and
crew chief, with his thirty-plus years of experience on the salt.
Guess I'll sign off now. See you at Bonneville.
- Russ Meeks
Finishline Coatings / RM Engineering #902 Gas & #1902 Fuel XO/MR
http://www.finishlinecoatings.com/
(503) 659-4278
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