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Posted

.... Kelly Chadwick's first match race A/XS car ...... chassis modified by Floydada's Don Hardy ............ powered by a dual carbureted 427 big block Chevrolet from Gipson Automotive in Amarillo ...... this car lasted less than a year and was quickly replaced by an altered wheelbase '65 Chevelle, also built by Don Hardy

KC01.jpg

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KC06.jpg

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KC08.jpg

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Excellent scratch build, I've never seen one like this.

Question:  What was the thinking back then about the ride height?  I assume this was one of the beginning Match Race cars of the era, just after the '65  A/FX  beginning.

Did the guys first do the radical motor, then saw they could do big frame and wheelbase mods?

Thanks again for showing a piece of your outstanding collection.

 

Posted

The tires could be easily overpowered by the motors. The raised nose was to transfer weight to the rear to help the tires maintain traction. NHRA had a rule the crankshaft center line could not be over 24 inches above ground. Numerous fuel altereds ran right on this limit.

Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, 10thumbs said:

Excellent scratch build, I've never seen one like this.

Question:  What was the thinking back then about the ride height?  

 

As iBorg stated, the raised suspensions were all about weight transfer, to help get traction to the rear tires. The altered wheelbase car that followed this one relied on the modified wheelbase configuration to aid the traction so it was slightly lower than this car. Kelly often stated that this car would hook up like a monster, but was light and squirrelly on the top end and hard to handle at speed. The altered wheelbase car was much more stable.

Here's a picture of the altered wheelbase car for comparison.

 

Chadwick65.jpg

Edited by Old Coyote

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