This was pretty cool. Dean, the owner, sent over these pages from the August 1973 copy of rod and custom magazine that featured coverage from that years antique nationals. That year saw Charlie trailer the dragster from Cincinnati to California to compete. A journey that took him 3 days and which bagged him a $25 prize for the ‘longest tow’. Whilst there he also set low et of the meet with a 10.65 which should have seen him take home a further $100 except there was a rule that this needed to be set before 12 noon. Unfortunately he also went out out in round 2 with a slow reaction time. Pretty incredible that he was lifting the wheels and running those times with all early Ford running gear. Most of the other flathead dragsters were already fitted with more modern trans and rear ends. The car ran a bigger motor than it does now at 306ci. Exact details are a little sketchy but Dean believes it ran 450 thou lift on radiused lifters and a ‘special’ Isky ground cam. Apparently he also preferred to run 21A rods, fairly low compression at around 8 to 1 and swore by 48 carbs. Whatever his speed secrets were yet certainly worked.
So here is an update on the Charlie Bang Special Dean, the owner, is getting a kick out of us racing the car and people having a chance to see it so agreed to us having another year of fun! To this end, earlier this year, I went over and pulled the trans to confirm if the clutch was the culprit of our slower e.t's Not every day that you get to wrench on an original 60's digger sat next to a 50's Indy car! Safe to say the clutch had seen better days! The car uses a stock 10 inch flatty clutch so a new kit was ordered from Rock Auto and I had the flywheel skimmed. While I was at it I deleted the radiator and fitted a smaller battery in order to lose the unsightly box up front. We also picked up a pair of Hurst recap slicks as the whitewalls we were running were rock hard. These were a smaller diameter so time would tell if they would help or hinder. With the car back together we entered the Dragstalgia event in July and had decided to up our game so had T shirts designed and printed. These have proved very popular. The car went well although now running a clutch that had some bite getting it off the line took some getting used to but we were excited to see a little air under the front wheels on launch. As suspected the smaller slicks resulted in sacrificing some top end speed but it was made up with quicker 60 foot times. Best e.t was an 11.8 by Pete so comparable with our previous best. We also had Pete's killer sport coupe as tow car which resulted in us winning best appearing car of the event. Damon had now caught the racing bug and has plans to build a car along with Pete. Race transport was now handled by the box van he had bought. With the car in one piece after the event thoughts turned to the next one which would be the Hot Rod Drags again in September. The only work carried out prior was to replace the HT leads as they were pretty old and brittle. I also put together an info board detailing the car's spec and history as people are often intrigued by it. Pete had also decided that tow cars aren't cool enough and wanted to push the car instead. He knocked up a push bar and fitted a board to the front of his model T modified which just so happens to run a blown, overhead converted, dry sumped etc etc 4 banger! Needless to say the combo drew plenty of attention over the weekend! We had a busy weekend as not only were we competing in our usual Wild Bunch class which runs a dial in format but we also decided Damon should get some seat time and race in the resurrected Flathead Meltdown. The car ran well again with me and Pete both running 11.8's and Damon, getting used to the car, eventually ran a 12.8. Unfortunately half way through Sunday the clutch once again threw in the towel and started slipping BAD. Damon managed to nurse it through to the win in the meltdown final slowing to a 14.9 but we had to retire the car from further competition. All in a great weekend though as we collected our trophy for best appearing from the previous event, won the Meltdown competition class and also set fastest flathead e.t of the event. Plans now are to look at a better alternative to stock Ford clutch parts and fit these over winter and have some more fun next year. The subject of methanol has been discussed!
Now this is about as cool and as much fun as you can get. I want to play in your sandbox! Thanks for sharing. That engine wound up sounds amazing.
For a clutch recommendation. I went through A couple of store stock clutches in a couple cars that just seemed to be junk or chattered. Ended up getting one from fort wayne clutch And it's awesome.
Be safe on the clutch! The thread on clutches explains why. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/clutch-evolution.1323078/#post-15357876 That said, the car, team and shirt all look great!
Absolutely love this thread. See isn't this better than cackle cars, and just think of all the memories you guys are getting!! Wish you guys can make it over the pond to Eagle Field the Flathead V8/6 Cylinder Clash is a great fit for you!!! Course I'd love to get over there and run with ya but that probably won't happen anyway "Keep em between the Whites" and enjoy. Oh and I'm going to steal some pics ok......
Try putting a stainless steel sleeve in the calipers to stop them leaking. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/f...caliper-with-a-stainless-sleeve/182206/page1/ Here are some links to the 2024 Antique Nationals. Maybe you can make the 2025 event.......
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