PROJECTSO FINE 409 CAR Testing the Factory Five Racing Hot Rod The Race Rod By Rob Kinnan Photography: Wes Allison and Rob Kinnan It’s done, and as we said last drivetrain parts, and it’s been The Hot Rod (we’re going to entire car, from a pile of boxes to with the idea, Kris Horton with hydraulic roller cam, 9.7:1 com- model Rushforth Wheels were the car is very stable with equal- month, it’s fast—on the dragstrip very successful with that. Nearly call this one the Race Rod from a running, driving hot rod, in the design, and Jeff “Batman” pression, and Ford Racing Z black powdercoated to continue size tires on all four. and around corners. But let’s two years ago, FFR engineer Jim here on out) looked all the part only five days. This month, we Miller with the execution. Every- heads. The transmission is a the sinister attitude, and they Once the Race Rod was done, back up and recap the first two Schenck envisioned a similar of a road-race ’33 Ford from the beat it like a rented mule. where the car goes, the first thing Tremec TKO-600 five-speed. mount 275-40 Nitto NT-05 tires it went on Power Tour® as an installments in the Race Rod type of kit but based on a street get-go, and HOT ROD wanted you hear is, “Man, that thing With 3.73:1 gears in the 8.8 rear- on all four corners. The NT-05 is FFR display vehicle because it project buildup. rod. Only this wouldn’t be a typi- to see what was involved in looks mean.” end, it’s a combination we knew stickier than its 200 treadwear hadn’t been titled or registered Part one in the Nov. ’09 issue cal, evil-handling, straight-axle building one—and how fast it NO. 13 The Race Rod was built with a would make this lightweight rod rating would have you believe. yet (though we did drive it a little introduced Factory Five Racing’s rod. No, this one would use would be—so we did. That first The car we built is, in our opin- three-link rear suspension for haul the mail like a Pony Express There’s room to go bigger all and made three passes on the (FFR) latest component car, a ’33 modern suspension to actually story in November introduced ion (and also in FFR owner Dave the best handling arrangement, horse on methamphetamine. around, especially in the rear, but dragstrip at Bristol—more on Ford–looking car the company handle well. And true to FFR’s the car and showed the body- Smith’s opinion), the baddest and we also went for the optional The front suspension on the in the haste to build the car, we that later). After the Tour it simply calls The Hot Rod. FFR theme, it would be created in work necessary to get it ready for one done yet, and most of that (and big) Alcon brakes. The FFR car is race car trick with had issues getting the right com- stayed in the truck and went to has made its bread and butter on such a way that a real-world hot paint. Last month, in part two, has to do with the flat- and gloss- engine is a Ford Racing Boss 347 double control arms actuating bination of wheel and tire size. FFR’s shop in Massachusetts Cobra-style kits that use late- rodder could assemble it in his we showed how a group of peo- black paint scheme. Credit that makes 450 hp at 6,000 rpm inboard-mounted, adjustable Perhaps in the future we’ll play where Schenck dialed in the sus- model Mustang suspension and home garage. ple came together and built the Editor-In-Chief Freiburger and 400 lb-ft at 4,900 with a Koni coilovers. The Rated X– around with sizes, but for now pension and checked out our > Pro Touring can kiss our butt. The Race Rod is all business with the orange cones. ELECTRONICALLY REPRINTED FROM JANUARY 2010 HOT ROD APRIL 2008 87 THE RACE ROD handiwork. The alignment was 60-foot time was a lousy 1.90 set at 7 degrees of caster, 1.25 seconds, and the car ran 11.80 at 1 degrees negative camber, and ⁄16- 121 mph. That speed shows low- inch toe-in. On the corner scales 11-second potential, and the and with a full load of fluids (but carb was tuned stinky fat. without a driver), it showed a Schenck did click off a 1.79 curb weight of 2,320 pounds and 60-foot, but as he says, “It figures a freakish balance of 50.1 percent that was the only time I missed a front, 49.9 percent rear. shift. I think with a good set of drag rear tires and someone who can tune the carb, it will be very DRAG TESTING close to the 10s as it sits.” If it isn’t, During Power Tour® we stole the we’ll spray it. keys from Nate Johnson at the FFR truck and headed out to the dragstrip. This was the first real HANDLING drive of the car for anything Here’s where she really shined. more than putting around the Schenck took the car to display block, so it naturally revealed a at the Goodguys show in few teething problems (what, Columbus, Ohio. This is the you mean all magazine project same event that determines the cars aren’t perfect from the get- Goodguys Street Machine of the go?). On the first pass we learned Year (SMOTY, see the feature on that our homemade throttle stop the winner on page 26 of this > The Freiburger/Horton/Miller paint scheme is bad to the bone. actually contacted the throttle issue), and part of the judging is cable and not the pedal, and it an autocross. So guess where the knocked the cable off the pedal car ended up? when we went wide open. So in Schenck registered it at the last front of the big crowd in the minute and therefore only got stands, we went wide open in three runs, compared with the Second, sputtered to a stop, and five or six that most of the other had to be towed off the track. cars took, but he burned up the Embarrassing. The next two short autocross course with a runs were filled with missed time of 31.36 seconds. Five of the shifts from the brand-new vendors’ cars were faster (Detroit Tremec—they require some Speed’s ’70 Camaro with a street driving to break in. 30.438, FFR’s ’66 Cobra, Detroit > You can get fenders for The Hot Rod in two different styles. This While in Massachusetts after Speed’s ’69 Camaro, Hotchkis’ also shows what it looks like without the roof. A bolt-on windshield is the Tour, Schenck put some ’70 Challenger, and the Roadster included in the base roadster kit. miles on the car to break in the Shop’s ’70 Chevelle). Incidentally, trans, then took it to New Eng- ol’ No. 13 was quicker than all land Dragway. The Nittos are the SMOTY contenders, besting great handling tires, but they the winning Roadster Shop Cor- don’t take kindly to a hard vette’s time of 32.222 by nearly a launch in a light car, so the second. > The first time we got to drive the car in anger was at Bristol Dragway at the end of Power Tour®. Though the runs weren’t impressive, the car showed its potential. Later on at New England Dragway, it ran 11.80 at 121. There’s more in it. > We really dig the Millerspeed > The black Rushforth wheels add 1-inch beltdrive. You can just to the bad boy attitude, and the barely hear it, and if you want it Nitto NT-05 rubber is sticky. louder, Millerspeed has a 2-inch drive that makes pretty good noise. > The FFR Hot Rod kit comes with a side-exit exhaust, but we like Langley Kersenboom’s show car with its rear-exit system. LK > Just for grins, FFR’s Jim Schenck put the Race Rod on the and Bassani exhaust autocross at the Goodguys show in Columbus. It ruled. whipped up this one for the Race Rod, and LK sells them now. THE RACE ROD > The Ford Racing 347 makes great torque, especially for a light car, and barks like a pack of rabid dogs. With no choke on the Holley, it’s a little cold-blooded but livable. The red things between the engine and the fan are the tops of the Koni coilovers. > To continue the racy feel of the car, we eschewed the included Auto Meter gauges and went with a Racepak UDX dash. It provides all the usual gauge functions and has four screens with 20 pro- > Schenck swapped the driver seat for a low-back Kirkey aluminum seat covered in matching vinyl, and it’s grammable displays. hRM not only supersupportive, but surprisingly comfy. It makes it a little harder to get out of the car, though. SOURCES ANplumbing.coM; Lawndale, CA; 310/542-0856; www.anplumbing.com Nitto TirE; Cypress, CA; www.nittotire.com AUTO restorations; 310/739-1957 Optima Batteries; Aurora, CO; 888/8OPTIMA; www.optimabatteries.com Factory FIve Racing; Wareham, MA; 508/291-3443; www.factoryfive.com RacEPak Data Systems; Rancho Santa Margarita, CA; 949/709-5555; www.racepak.com Ford Racing; Dearborn, MI; 800/367-3788; www.fordracingparts.com Rushforth Wheels; Tacoma, WA; 253/306-3215; www.rushforthwheels.com J.