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#1
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A few days ago I had a post "camshaft problems". The problem has been fixed, thanks for the comments. Since then, I have received several e-mails asking who we were, what do we race and several questions about our aluminum engine. So I am going to post this response. If you are interested, great. First, I have been around racing for 40 years. Saw my first drag race in 57, on a dirt strip. Raced front motor flathead Ford and Jr. fueler rails in the 60s. Lost contact after that. Got into street rods in the 70s and 80s. Still got a 40 Ford sedan and truck. Rebuilding might start some day. Got into dirt track racing about 12 years ago when my son (who is now 25) announced he wanted to be a driver. I thought "that will last until some young lady comes along", but we are still here. We live in Shelbyville, TN, 50 miles south of Nashville. Race primarily within a 200 mile radius but do travel some. Last year, we ran in 7 different states. Back to the race car, we race dirt super late models. There are about 4000 in the country, 3500 are GM, 490 are Ford and about 10 are Mopar (no kidding). They are aluminum bodied, tube framed (4130), coil over sprung, basically "run what you brung" engines. Oh there are some engine rules- one 4 barrel, two valves per cylinder, one spark plug per cylinder, that's about all.
We first started in limited late model, 340 block w/ W2 heads. Did pretty good, my son and I were learning. Spent more money the next year, built an X block w/modified W2s. Went faster, won a few races. Thought we knew what we doing, bought a set of Arrington heads from a Nascar truck team, went super late model racing, found out how deep the water was. Next, we chased all over the Carolinas and Kentucky getting parts for an R block, W7 headed engine. Ran good but had too much front end weight(all our competitors are aluminum motored), water keeps getting deeper. Got an aluminum engine together last summer. It is the new(99 lb.) Mopar block, cross bolted mains, looks sort of like a small hemi. Bought a set of W8 heads, Chapman ported, flows 379 cfm @ .700" lift@28". We use a 3.335" Bryant crank (40 lbs.), 4.125" Miller pistons, and 6.25" Lentz rods. It uses .828" roller lifters, oils through the pushrods to the Jessel rockers. The 358" engine pulls 735 HP, loves to turn RPM (8500 to 9000 if necessary) and weighs 372 lbs complete w/ carb. We want to build a back up if we can get the $ ( anyone interested in sponsorship?). That's about it, we are just plain folks that keeps trying to get better each year. If you want to see the car, go to rpmnet.com, click on the Racer Web Pages, click on Jeff Sanborn and you are there. I really enjoy Mopar Chat. If I can ever be of help to anyone, don't hesitate to contact me at sanborn@cafes.net . Regards to everyone. [This message has been edited by sanborn (edited March 11, 2000).] |
#2
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Wow, I am Impressed. Good luck to you.
Do you know anybody from North Dakota? ------------------ http://www.revsearch.com |
#3
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Ahh, just great. Good luck, keep on winning those GMs and Fords! Here´s the link to see Sanborn´s race car:
http://www.rpmnet.com/racerpages/rac...m?DriverID=361 Keep up the good work ; |
#4
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Do I know anyone from North Dakota? Not really, I did spend some time in Devil's Lake helping Dakota Tribal Industries get set up to produce Chemical Warfare Suits. Then the gulf war ended. Did some ice fishing. Found out what cold really meant! Beautiful state!
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#5
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DAD!I'm your long lost son and I want to be a driver.Well...maybe at least you can help me get my real dad to become a major sponser/crew chief.
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#6
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Thanks for the post Sanborn, it's always nice to see a Mopar racing in mostly bow tie world such as dirt track racing. Don't be afraid to post on how you are doing from time to time.
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#7
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Dear T748:
I will shout to the world that every penny I and the BW have spent on racing is worth it! It has kept us involved with our son while he was growing up. We knew where he was and kept me from running the streets ( I'm still a teen at heart). Parents must become involved in the kid's interest not the other way around. For you married folks, BW stands for Beautiful Wife, remember to tell them that, they are far more pleasant when you want them to write the BIG CHECK! HA! |
#8
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Who ran the 777 car with the big block from tn? Was it you?
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#9
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I have dealt with a lot of racers in this world. One thing I know is that most of the top racers have had parental or sibling support. One look at NASCAR, NHRA, WOO, Wissota and IMCA will tell you that families run faster. My father does not have anything to do with my racing and even scorns me for doing it (with all my money). It hurts when you have to justify your favorite hobby to your own flesh and blood. One thing that is also true is that those families that race together realize just what they have.
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#10
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To A Friend:
We ran the old yellow 777 with the big block. Ronnie Robbins drove it. Had a ball. People couldn't believe that 451 would run like it did. Just had too much front weight. That was back in 89-90. Where did you see us run? To 340 King: I understand what you are going through. The same thing happened to me in the 60s. My parents came through the depression and they believed racing and me were both crazy. I loved it then and I love it today. I am very fortunate to have a very understanding wife. |
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