Cotton Perry

[ShadowLands]

Originally Posted by REGGIE WINKLES

Those cars were fast but, so were the Fords with the 300 inline six in those days. I remember those old modified days very well. It was exciting...hope this helps.

My Dad ran one of those Fords in Division 4 against Glen Self in '71 and '72. 1965 Falcon Sprint. Damn engines would just shake themselves apart. He'd pull the transmission between runs to tighten the flywheel bolts. If I recall correctly he ran the 300 block and crank with 240 rods (longer rod) and a custom JE piston with three rings and nylon buttons because the pins were into the oil ring groove. He hand ported the head and used a Clifford intake with three Weber 48 IDA downdrafts. Muncie four speed and a Dana rear end. It was an animal. Broke my heart when he finally had to hang it up and sell the Falcon. Just couldn't keep up with the costs due to a family.

My uncle would try to keep him focused on each round but Dad would outrun the "Mad Maverick" from Dallas or one of the other H/MP cars and say, "Where's Self? I want that Camaro." I also recall what he said when Cotton showed up in '73 or '74 I think it was and proceeded to blow the bottom out of the records. His words: "That's one fast pile of Chevrolet right there."