FordBoy:
Here's an amusing little story about a big name magazine trying to take the record set by an unlikely Ford.
I've always liked it, because Jack Dolan is one of my heroes. The kicker for you, perhaps, is the last three paragraphs.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/not-so-fast-there-bud
Jack's comment some years after the article:
The 83 "Far and Wider" article generated quite a bit of interest.
They missed more than a few things , including the fact that between El Mirage and Bonneville.
We set 21 class records with 2 EXP/LN7 based cars and were sandbagging about 10%.
I was offered an S-2000 by Honda but didn't need to go to work for them and had faster cars already.
" Life is tough enough, even without wasting it."
Mike
Hi 4-barrel Mike,
Thanks for the link, REALLY enjoyed the read. No big surprise to me which engine they ended up using on the Ford.............
I've been around racing (of various types) most of my life. (Age 14 to age 50, when I walked away...) One thing I have seen repeatedly is: Smart, experienced folks getting hung out on something because of an "estimate" of whatever. Why guess, when you could KNOW?!? A lifetime of experience allows one to shortcut the process "somewhat", but MOST situations are DIFFERENT ENOUGH to warrant at least the formality of checking. Presuming that because such and so was effective on one engine type, that this would transfer effectively to another engine type, (even within the same engine family), is just foolish or wishful thinking.
Engine development is specific enough that it NO LONGER moves forward using a "Monkey see, Monkey do" formulation. Way back when, in my jaded youth, many engine types were so poorly developed as racing powerplants, large gains could be made by following the lead of what the front runners were using or doing. But that only worked if you used a popular engine type, ie, Chevy or Chrysler. If you had a Ford or anything else, good luck to ya'. And if you raced an orphan whatever, (Humber "Super Snipe" perhaps), you'd better know what you are doing or again, good luck to ya'. Racing history of the mid-century is filled with examples of racing series where outsiders came along, and kicked a**, took names, records and ALL THE PRIZE MONEY.
And of course, as my buddy Milwaukee Midget & others have pointed out, the engine is only part of the equation for any racecar. In the words of the immortal Carroll Smith: "Tune your chassis and find 100 horsepower." Regardless of how sexy anyone thinks engines are, development of powerful, AND RELIABLE, racing powerplants is the kind of work that requires a certain type of individual. Over the course of my career, I've had more than a couple of competitors accuse me of being: "The luckiest ba***rd around". And while I freely admit to the latter, I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT LUCK DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT. I simply worked harder and was better at it than some of the others.
"Knowledge is not only knowing what 'works'. More often, knowledge is knowing what doesn't 'work'." Think about how much time and effort that takes......................
Fordboy
Topic: Milwaukee Midget (Read 3297524 times)