Re: March 2006 Feature Car
To answer a couple of questions.
The crossram was installed just after the Bristol SpringNationals, which occurred on June 6-7 of 1968. Herb told me the set-up was received before that, and the shipping documents have an early May date, but they had the car running so well (just set several records at Detroit) that they did not want to change anything until after the big meet at Bristol. Helen was generous to give me her original shipping invoice to document that "Little Hoss" may have been the first car to run this set-up on a national points circuit. AHRA allowed and had multiple carburation rules for the stock classes.
The engine I have installed is not the original, which was destroyed in 1982. The original engine set around 33 world records, at least 11 under Gibb ownership, and 22 when owned by Lloyd Kirchoff, who bought the car from Fred in November of 1968, and renamed the car "Mighty Mouse". Lloyd won Stock Eliminator at the Bristol SpringNationals in 1971, running GS/A (with the 302 crossram and a turbo-350).
The current engine is one of the few factory prepared counter exchange CE 302 shortblocks made in 1967. I bought it still in the crate NOS, and it is still OE spec, running 359 HP on the dyno after I installed OE heads and an OE crossram. It is standard bore, stroke and compression. The factory pad was painted after we assembled the motor, but it came without paint on it when taken from the crate.
|