February 26: Wild Horses

One of my favorite things, the modern day fuel Funny Car and in this case a rip snorting 11,000 hp Mustang, that can blow ear drums in a heartbeat. Propelled by a motor, that at full song has a life expectancy of well under ten seconds. No manufacturer's warranty here, folks. But how did this all get started?

With the help of the famous Car Modeling Cat (CMC), how about we look at a little bit of Mustang history?

Here's my adorable little co-modeller checking over our build of one of the earliest Mustang drag cars. One that evolved into one of the very first "funny cars", so named because the altered wheelbase made them look "funny". This car was piloted by Dick Brannan, well known to us oldsters, as a name we revered when growing up. Revered at least by the Ford fans.

Want to go fast? Simple strategy. Shoehorn a huge motor, in this case a 427, in a light weight body, like this Mustang. Make it even lighter by using aluminum body panels and bumpers. That's the reason those bumpers aren't shiny chrome. To get better traction, move the front and rear wheels further forward. Voila! A much better drag car, that looks kinda funny, not quite like a showroom piece.

The CMC and my version, shows a later change, when some bright soul decided that too much power wasn't nearly enough, hence, why not throw on some injectors?

 

Sure why not, rear tires are cheap.

How times change though, since even with all that power, this car couldn't crack 10 seconds in the quarter mile. Compare that to these days, when you or I can walk into a dealership and off the showroom floor buy a race ready Dodge Challenger, that will easily crack that formerly magical time.

Everything evolves, so did these almost stock cars,. From the lighter body parts to the altered wheelbases to the nitro fueled blown engines and finally to the million dollar plus techno wonders that assault our ears today.

A little bit of nostalgia and history brought to you courtesy of myself and the Car Modeling Cat.

Until next time.....