Memory Lane
It started about the time I got my drivers license. My neighborhood was full of hotrodders and I had been waiting for the day I could join them. By mowing grass and collecting aluminum cans, I had saved enough money to pay half on a car.
| THE CAR.......a 1965 Mercury Comet........was purchased from my grandmother for the enormous sum of $350.00. It had a 289 engine, but it wasn't long before I had it souped up. During my high school years we did a lot of street racing around Columbia. That is all my friend JJ and I lived for. We outran a lot of cars with that little 289, and the Comet was so happy to finally see some ACTION and have some FUN. But you always NEED to go faster so before long we had stuffed a 351w in the comet. It ran a 13:19 on muscle right off the bat. That was fast in 1989. Then came nitrous, and it ran a 11:11 @124. Oh what I would have given to run a 10 second pass then. |  |
| Mustangs had become very popular at the track and my favorite 2 cars were Robert Pounds 83 & Ed Crosby's 90 Mustangs. It didn't take long for Mustang fever to attack and the search began for my own "stang". I found a 1983 GT Mustang 4cyl Turbo Hatchback. With the help of Cynmco Racing, my TFS heads were sent to Fox Lake, and an order placed for a 408 stroker kit. The motor was built with Robert Pounds help. After gutting the car, it was taken to John Pedersen to have a NHRA certifiable cage built. A 9 inch rear was installed and the front and rear suspension remained stock. While my car was being built, Robert Pound's 83 mustang became the test machine for my motor. With a top loader 4spd and stock suspension, Robert drove the car to a 10:49-131mph first pass. "Unbelievable" we said as we smiled. I got to drive once myself, (having trouble with 3rd) and still managed to run a low 11 @ 128mph. Finally, with my car finished, we installed the motor and added some nitrous. Before the block gave up the ghost, we ran a 9.65 @ 140 on nitrous & 10.34 @ 129 on muscle. This car was making history for me and because you always NEED to go faster, I decided it was time to build an SVO motor. |  |
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It was an SVO block with a Steel crank and Aluminum rods. I said "this is an indestructible motor". Eighteen passes later I was eating my words. It looked like a grenade went off inside that $10,000 motor. I learned an expensive lesson. Never underestimate Detonation. Finally my luck was changing. Me and my good friend Tim Shealy went to Bristol TN. to win Ford Ford Weekend Pro 5.0. By taking some timing out of the car we ran a 9.15 @147mph. Then off to Darlington to run a 9.06. What would it have been like to run an 8 second pass @ the time. Pulling my car with an 87 Ford Bronco and open trailer, me and my two best friends, Tim Shealy & Calvin Gunter, decided to take on the world. That we did. Never really won a big event, but made a lot of noise with my car because it was still stock suspension and we were running right along with the big name 5.0's and beating a few of them here & there. We showed up at the Ford Motorsport Nationals only to be surrounded by big enclosed car trailers being pulled by 4dr duallies. Here we are, the South Carolina poor folk. We qualified 4th and won our 2 out of 3 bout. The fans knew I was there but the photographers never even looked over. I guess we didn't look like we were in debt enough. Oh well. Off to Canada in August 96 for the J & P shootout. It was there we broke into the 8's (8.92 & 8.97). As far as I'm concerned we were the first to break the 8 second barrier with a completely stock suspension car. No aftermarket pieces of any kind, only a 9 inch rearend & 28 x 10.5 MT slicks.
As the 96 & 97 seasons went by, we made a few changes here and there. A few burned pistons was about the only problem we had. We ran some more 8 second passes in stock suspension before we decided it was time to tub. In January of 1998 Me, Tim & Calvin, with the help of John Pedersen cut the whole back of the car and installed a 4-link rear. No changes to the motor. With Compucar nitrous on board we tuned the car to a 8.67 @ 157mph. As the competition was growing and the ET's were dropping faster that we were. We decided to build a smaller motor and try running Hot Street. After running a best of a 9.58 @ 140, we realized it takes just as much money to run Hot Street as it did Super Street, so back to nitrous we went. Once we put the nitrous back on the smaller motor our 4-link suspension wasn't ready for all this extra power. We decided to run some local Shootouts. Off to Savannah we went. We hit the wall on our first Qualifying pass. After accessing the damage, we beat the fender out and kept racing. We made 2nd round Qualifying & we made it to the 2nd round before losing. Two weeks later, with the car still all banged up, we WON the race. Then, at Silver we won the 10 inch tire shootout. The car had been winning since I wrecked it so I was beginning to wonder if I should repair it or not. Keith Tison & his friend Pat, found a nose piece. Tim & Calvin primered it and put it on the car to finish out the 1999 season. Before closing 1999 we had run a best 1/8 mile of 5.41 @ 132mph with only one stage of Compucar, and we believe there is more lurking in the smaller motor.
Tim is planning to paint the car in February. There are no future plans for competition nor any engine changes. I plan to drive the car on the street more often and we can be found at Darlington trying to improve our times. We race for fun now. I will always have racing in my blood and I have a few customers' cars that will keep my plenty busy on and off the track. Chasing the world can be fun, but just too expensive. To run in the tops of any class you better have some serious money. Good luck to anyone who tries. I have no regrets about chasing my dream. It's better to have Run With The Big Dogs for a brief time than to always wonder how it is in The Fast Lane.
Happy Burnouts, See Ya at the Track
Tim Shealy
Calvin Gunter
John Pedersen
Ed Crosby:
CYNMCO Racing
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