Dusty corners of the NHRA Classification Guide

[Rusty Gillis]

Originally Posted by Dave Gantz

Is this the combo that Kip Martin ran in SS? I never met him, but became a fan from seeing him in Dragster and doing well with the car. (In the 80's?)

Yes and I believe Blair Patrick has it now.

[Rory McNeil]

Jerry Pruitt had his 64 352/250 hp 4 speed car out at a combo in Yakima Washington late last year for the first time in 30 years. Hopefully he will get to run it some more in 2021.

[Mike Schwartz]

It's hard to consider a Ford Mustang as "dusty", but some of them have been particularly weak, before the recent performance resurgence. What we have here is the Mustang in the NHRA Classification Guide with the worse performance factor of any year:


The 1987 Ford Mustang LX 140/88 I-4

This car has a whopping 30.38 factor in Stock, putting it in W/S or W/SA (At -561lb from shipping weight)

In Super Stock, the engine is re-rated to 100hp with a factor of 26.73. That puts it into SS/P or SS/PA (At -973lb from shipping weight)

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Mike Schwartz

It's hard to consider a Ford Mustang as "dusty", but some of them have been particularly weak, before the recent performance resurgence. What we have here is the Mustang in the NHRA Classification Guide with the worse performance factor of any year:


The 1987 Ford Mustang LX 140/88 I-4

This car has a whopping 30.38 factor in Stock, putting it in W/S or W/SA (At -561lb from shipping weight)

In Super Stock, the engine is re-rated to 100hp with a factor of 26.73. That puts it into SS/P or SS/PA (At -973lb from shipping weight)

Looks like a great candidate for " X/Stock" to me ;-)

I think you could get it within 200 lbs. It would still run under the index.
I had to put over 400 # in my 80 HB to make 3000.

[qwiked]

Originally Posted by 427FE

There was another fella with a 64 galaxie running n/ss back in the 80s with a 352. Jerry Pruit. Cars is coming back out of hibernation for some ss action.

Kip Martin ran a 352 4v 1964 Galaxie 2door hardtop.

[Mike Schwartz]

Continuing the Ford theme, here's another small Ford:


This is the 1962 Ford Falcon Deluxe 2-Door Wagon.

With a 144/85(85) inline-6, its factors are even higher than the previous Mustang. The manual factor is 30.40 (V/S only, at 2040 w/driver), while the Auto factor is 31.06 (V/SA only) If anyone wants to try building one for Super Stock, the only classes are SS/P & SS/PA and you'd have to find a way to drop the weight w/driver down to 1615 lbs!

The other engine is the optional 170/101(101) inline-6 [25.58/26.13]. All the classes are the same, but less weight removal would be needed.

Source: www.classracerinfo.com

[Mike Schwartz]

Quick editorial note: If you know of anyone who still fields a car found in this thread, or have old pictures of any in action, I'm sure that we'd be glad to see them.

Keeping the Wagon theme, but moving from the sublime to the ridiculous, this entry is the ...


1964 Dodge Custom 880 Station Wagon

With the 361/265(265) it fits into N-O-P/Stock & SS/M-N-O
With the 383/305(305) it fits into K-L-M/Stock & SS/K-L-M
With the 413/360(360) it fits into G-H-I/Stock & SS/I-J-K

Fantasy combo: 2021 Chrysler 700 HP 378 V8 in FGT/A (8.80 index )

Data Source: ClassRacerInfo.com

[Mike Schwartz]

Chevrolet El Caminos are still seen in Stock. Here's a less common, but still beautiful example of a 1960 model:



There are a good number of engine combinations for this car. There is also sometimes a difference between the manual and automatic classes due to a large difference in factors..

235/135(135): V/S,V/SA
283/170(175): T~U/S,T~U/SA
283/230(215): O~Q/S, P~R/SA
348/250(250): M~O/S, N~P/SA
348/280(280): J~L/S, K~M/SA
348/305(305): H~J/SA auto only
348/320(320): G~I/S manual only

Source: http://www.classracerinfo.com/

[Mike Schwartz]

Continuing the theme of classic utes, here is a jump to 28 years later, the 1978 Ford Ranchero. (The classes are the same for the Squire, 500 or GT trim levels.)


Image: Mecum Auctions

Engine Choices:
302/134(139) U/SA, SS/PA
351/144(230) O-P-Q/SA, SS/NA-OA-PA
351/152(230) O-P-Q/SA, SS/NA-OA-PA
400/160(240) O-P-Q/SA, SS/NA-OA-PA

Source: Class Racer Info

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by Mike Schwartz

Continuing the theme of classic utes, here is a jump to 28 years later, the 1978 Ford Ranchero. (The classes are the same for the Squire, 500 or GT trim levels.)


Image: Mecum Auctions

Engine Choices:
302/134(139) U/SA, SS/PA
351/144(230) O-P-Q/SA, SS/NA-OA-PA
351/152(230) O-P-Q/SA, SS/NA-OA-PA
400/160(240) O-P-Q/SA, SS/NA-OA-PA

Source: Class Racer Info

I think the 351 and 400s, which are all 2 barrels are way to high HP rated, 302 is good in many combos, doubt you could get the Ranchero anywhere near light enough for the top of U.
Considering the 1974 460/300HP combo is very good in S/S, I have to wonder how that would work in Stock. Maybe a Starsky & Hutch Torino, likely the lightest platform for that engine.