Arizona Model T Streamliner Destroys a Record!

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I was thrilled to find Tom Brawner of Scottsdale as a member at MyRideisMe.com.  Not only does Tom have a killer 1956 Chevy with perfect looking Real Rodder wheels with the Dow 7 coating, but he’s also got pictures of the the Corsair 3 T land speed racing streamliner powered by a turbocharge 4 cylinder!

Tom crew’s on the Corsair owned by Joel Young of Phoenix, Arizona.  He set a new world speed record for 4 cylinder flathead engine under 220 cubic inches with a speed of 130 mph. An amazing feat considering he was running on a 99.448 mph record set in 2004. Even more amazing, due to problems with the transmission shifter this record was set using only 1st and 2nd gear!

With the shifter problem resolved Corsair 3T bumped its previous record to 166 mph on its third run and backed it up the next day with a run of 154 mph for an average of 160mph. The slower speed on the forth run was due to a bad start and slick track.

The photo above was taken on the salt and features from left to right,  Brad Taylor – crew member, Joel Young – driver and owner, Tom Brawner – crew member,  and Dennis Cling – crew member.

Here’s some powertrain details: 196 cu. in. Ford T flathead

Engine modifications? Special crank, rods, pistons and aluminum head. Turbo charged

Transmission: Jack Knight 2 speed trans axle with overdrive attachment for 4 forward speeds.

Class details: V4F/BFS, Vintage four cylinder flathead under 220 cu in. Blown fuel streamliner.

History of the car: The car was run as the Thermo King Diesel in the 70s, then the car was totally rebuilt to conform to current rules, but was repainted with the original Thermo King paint scheme.

For more pictures and a bunch of build pics of this really slick looking streamliner, check out Hawk’s custom garage here at MyRideisMe.com.

Thanks for the info Tom! I can’t believe with only 20 or so square miles to cover, I didn’t even see you out on the salt! All land speed racers are all welcome at MyRideisMe.com a community for car lovers of all kinds. 1300+ members can’t be wrong so why not sign up today by entering your member name and email, that’s it!

Check out more Bonneville Land Speed Racers in the Picture Gallery links below:

Bonneville Land Speed racing Roadsters Picture Gallery

Bonneville Salt Flats Streamliners and Lakesters Picture Gallery

Twin Huffers on a sick Model T

Ron Ginn from Albuquerque, New Mexico ain’t playin’ when it comes to building ridiculous horsepower Model T’s. I asked Ron, “Why two blowers?” and he kindly expanded on the theorem: “Injection is nice… but blown once is twice as nice!” I take that to mean, why the hell not?

Like so many folks at the 2008 Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ, you’re gawking at 572 cubic inches of Chevy power in this highly detailed Model T. I won’t call it a “Ford” because from looking at Ron’s garage here at MyRideisMe.com, I think Ron’s more of a Chevy guy. Twin Blown

Stepping back, the ride Ron calls, “Nas T Too” was a 4 year build with everything but the paint and interior done by Ron in his home shop. That includes milling or turning several custom pieces on the car. Ron said that “dipping” into the hot rod fund to buy a mill and lathe was essential. He made alot of chips (scrap!) before he made any parts, but you might have guessed that there aren’t many off-the-shelf pieces available for twin blown big blocks! Looking closely, there are alot of custom-made, one-off pieces.

Ron’s an engine builder by hobby which is why he likes to go over the top with the engine. What’s “Over the top” mean? How about 1348 HP at 5800 rpm with 985 ft-lbs of torque. Ron was quick to explain that there was a little more in it but the tires started slipping on the dyno rollers. (Big deal Ron, that happens to me in my T too… NOT!) There’s a total of 12 lbs of boost from both blowers, so they’re seriously under driven.

Any time you’ve got over 1000 ponies in a car that only weighs 1885 pounds, you’re in for a wild ride! Hanging out with Ron for only a few minutes, we heard the common question, “How fast is it?” To which Ron politely answered, “I don’t know!” I think Ron’s years have given him the wisdom to give respect where it’s due. That’s alot of power! Consider that the 425 hp in the SRT8 Challenger represents a HP to weight ratio of 9.8 lbs/HP. Ron’s at 1.4 lbs/HP!! I could see that Ron’s not afraid to lite’m up here and there, but a wide open run on a back road didn’t seem to interest him much.

Ron does like his entrance. The stares and sideways glances of folks wondering, “What is that!?” really get Ron going. It’s good that people know that yea, it does run, and it sounds wicked. Lopey. That’s a word now, add it to your vocabulary. Blower surge could maybe be tuned out of this thing a bit, but I’d vote against it. In fact, It’s beautiful. This video gives you a taste of what it’s like, but doesn’t show how at each surge, the T’s looking to break those huge rear tires loose. Awesome.

In the days, or 4 bucks a gallon, I’m sure Ron heard it more, but he said he always gets the, “What kind of mileage do you get?” I think I’d be more likely to ask, “Do you change your shorts after every ride?” His show card says, it all when it says simply, “MPG: Not real good”. Yep. To be more specific, he gets about 35-40 miles from his 15 gallon tank or about 2.3 miles per gallon.

After my 30 second video, Ron’s hand was out. “That’ll be seven dollars.”

Model T Hot Rods and Typewriters

It was my pleasure to meet Kirk Wright of Scottsdale, AZ at the Scottsdale Pavilion’s show. We started talking about my car, a 27 Ford Roadster and the the 2.3L Pinto motor I run. Then Kirk started telling me about some of his cars. After hearing about the Model T ‘banger motors he was building, I set up a meeting at his house to see what he’s up to. His card says AAA Typewriter Service on it, so I didn’t know what I was getting into. I got into this:

If you’re into nostalgia racing or old-OLD time hot rodding, or just really into Model T’s, then you just spilled your beer. You’re looking at a one of kind Hemi headed model T engine. The valve cover is also a unique piece.

It’s a modified original Ardun valve cover. Kirk added extra room to clear the custom made aluminum roller rockers. Displacing 190 cu. in, Kirk expects this engine to put out about 320Hp. Don’t believe it? Kirk’s basing that number on another T engine he’s built and dyno’d. That’s in another T pickup that Kirk’s owned since 1951 when he was 11, bought with $50 saved from 3 years of picking cotton. The whole story’s told in a book Kirk wrote himself called “Me and the T”. It’s on old trapper’s truck used in Young, AZ.

At first glance, you might see this truck as an unusual, but not extraordinary rat rod. You’d be mistaken. Looking past another 4 cylinder bad-ass, you’ll find 4 wheel, power assisted disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and a cleverly hidden alternator mounted on the rear axle near the wheel. Too cool.

This ‘banger makes 278Hp. I asked if that’s dyno proven and Kirk honestly told me that this engine’s an exact copy of one that did dyno at 278. How can an engine designed almost 100 years ago take that much power? Even Kirk thinks Henry would, “Shit his pants” if he saw what’s being done to his engine. I thought for sure it’d run hot, but thanks to an external oil pump from a Subaru and an entirely new oiling system and cooler, it hold 12 quarts of oil. It never gets hot and never stops turning heads. What could be better? Kirk drives the truck all the time and runs it hard! He just got a speeding ticket on the highway a few days before we met. GO KIRK!

I couldn’t be happier with what I’d seen so far, then I saw this vintage Hill Climb racer and record holder from 1976:

Then, walking past the Dodge SRT-10 Ram (naturally, it’s way beyond stock) I saw this speedster in progress:

And then this 1911 Ford Model Torpedo that belongs in a museum but is plugged into a battery tender, just in case Kirk want to go for a spin:

I plan to write more about another T motor in Kirk’s garage, the T parts he’s got, the custom race T parts he designed and made, his plans for the hill climb racer and even the vintage racing pictures he’s got on the wall. I’d do it now but I can’t remember everything Kirk said! I left amazed and anxious to write this story but had to wait almost a week until Sunday’s paper came out. Seems the local paper found Kirk pretty amazing, too. Look for more info and details about everything soon. It’ll be a good excuse to go back and see the soft spoken gentleman who repairs typewriters.

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