Car 59 - A TAD Modified Outlaws car

Originally built to be used as a DYO Modified Eliminator car for ANDRA competition it is identical to Car 58 so much so that while we were finishing car 58 a few months ago we used this car (car59) to make the body on and then put the body on car 58 then went back and made another body on car 59 for use on this car.

Our TAD car is car 62 which we built in 21 days for the Grand Finals a few years ago in Sydney. The chassis on 62 was everything we wanted but the pedals and the controls were right off the shelf and were done in a bit of a hurry to make the race and we have been taking our time refurbishing car 62 up to where I am happy with it.

Car 62 was not ready and car 59 was so we put the TAD engine with a clutch and B&J three speed in car 59 just for the Winternationals because we knew there as a small field and we saw the chance to make a few dollars and have some fun as well. We stuck it together as a TAD car with a Funny Car clutch, borrowed blower and the wrong rear gear. Didn't matter, we qualified and made money had fun and did not hurt a single part. I bet we made more money than the guy that won the race, probably had more fun too. The car ran 6.51 / 209 on its third pass. I expected a 6.30 out of it but I had the Funny Car triple disk clutch all the way down to 40 grams but it was still too much for the combo and it pulled the engine down, slowing the blower, killing the boost and all that stuff. We knew we needed a 4.56 gear but all we had was a 4.30 and it got us to the finish line and we still we made money.

Well here sat car 59 a DYO car with a TAD combo and a clutch. We pulled the TAD combo out and put a normally aspirated combo in identical to car 58 so we had a twin set of cars. We race it for several races as a DYO Modified car running in the mid 8'swith a Powerglide with all the standard stuff.

Then the race track at Mackay put up $10,000 to win a Supercharged Outlaws DYO race. Now that got our attention. The TAD combo engine would make the power but we felt the B&J and clutch deal was not the right package. We knew the TAD engine would make enough power to kill the Powerglide and we did not have the good gears in the back of the glide. Our solution was to use the Powerglide, slow the blower down to kill some power and since the cam in the TAD engine only made a lot of power up high we put the car in high gear at 6400 rpm. This is way before the engine has a chance to make much power thus saving the trans gears. After the the trans is in high gear it is just a straight drive and we jacked up the trans line pressure some to squeeze the high gear clutch pack to insure it did not slip. We were so busy with customer work before the race we pushed the car in the trailer for the race having never started it. When we got there we had to sort our the fuel system as well as now it did not want nearly as much fuel as the TAD deal. It took us three passes to sort it out and qualify the car in third place. We did not win the $10,000 but we did win the "B" Main feature of the race. Didn't pay as much but even after all expenses were done we were still in the BLACK. Not bad for a new combo.

Now here the car sat as a Outlaws car that has a full Group One Tech standard and we take the car to the Nationals with the intention of racing the car as a Outlaws car. Outlaws pays $1500.00 to win. As we are sitting in the tech line I realize that they are one car short of a full field in TAD so I change the entry to TAD and race in the Group One Eliminator of Top Alcohol. I know I am cannon fodder (no chance of winning) but we qualify and lose first round. See the smile on my face as I put the first round lose money of $2200.00 in the bank. Discresion is the better part of valor.

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Tight wad Ken doing a burn out in Car59 as a TAD car and trying not to kill the tires. Someday I will take the time to paint the car.

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Burn out for the first round at the Winternationals. This was the first race for me as a driver of a TAD car since 1988. I cut .455, .462 in qualifying and went .440 for first round. Not bad for an old fart! I drive one of the Drag Race School cars in DYO when I get a chance and they are not rented out. It keeps me in the seat and my head in gear. But is sure is different than heads up.

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Ken at Mackay (Palmyra Dragway). This is the first qualifying run and we are sorting out the fuel system. We don't have an on board computer so I have some temp gauges inside the car and that is what I am looking at as I roll forward to stage.

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Knock the dust off - lets go racing..... Sad isn't it, some of these fuel fitting I had on my TAD car when I race in the USA back in the mid 80's. Some call me tight, I like to think I am just frugal.

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Here is a Drag Race School graduate Tony Panetta driving the car as an Outlaws car at Willowbank. That is me (Ken) in the sun glasses next to the car giving Tony a hand. My good friend and race associate Bob Shaw is in the black shirt and blue hat out there giving a hand as well.

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Winternationals. Car 59 is on the right competing as a TAD car. Car 50 is in the middle as a DYO Modified Eliminator car with Jodanna Pullen driving it. The car on the far left is car 58 competing as a DYO Modified Eliminator car with Melissa Thompson driving.

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Melissa Thompson driving car 58. wpe51.jpg (39610 bytes)
Jodanna Pullen driving car 50. Here she is helping pack her parachute getting ready for the next round. That is her dad David Pullen in the background in the plaid shirt.

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Car 59 going together as a TAD car. The TAD car combo has two chutes and the outlaws combo uses one chute. Now I just leave two chutes on in case I can slip into TAD at a National event.

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This Bob Shaw helping by finishing off the body on car59. Remember we used car 59 to make the body for car 58 and then put it on car 58 so we had to finish a body for car 59 as you see here in the photo. On the floor next to car 59 is the primary DRS car car 50. If you look in the rack above car 59 you will see car 62 awaiting time for us to finish the rework of the levers. We made a new body for it as well. The green Falcon in the back ground is a customers car.

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Another shot of Bob working on the tin for car 59. You can see the original body of the LANDA car I raced in the USA up on the wall behind him. Bob is wearing a Drag Race School shirt today. You too can have one. Just go here and ask us for one. They are only $25.00

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Very first run on the car, we had not even pulled the plastic covering off the aluminum panels yet.

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Evening photo as the car is nearing ready to race for the first time.

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We just arrived at Mackay for the 10K shoot out. We have yet to start the car for the first time with the new combination. We are making final adjustments to everything before we start.

The trip back from Mackay was very interesting. Before the race I put four new tires on the trailer. Bear in mind the trailer has 16.5 tires on it. This is a normal deal in the USA but that size tire here in Oz is a rare a rocking horse poop. I have had the trailer since I purchased it new in 78. Have I mentioned that I am frugal. The tires that were on the trailer were put on new in 88 and have good tread but are looking very dodgy so I found four new ones and put them on the trailer for this trip as it is 14 hours from the Gold Coast to Mackay (for us anyway). I took three of the old tires as spares just in case. Why would you need that may spares if you have new tires?? Well we lost two of the new Bridgestones on the way up to Mackay (scary). Now we are down to one spare. On the way back to the Gold Coast we are driving our normal pace (slow). After about an hour and a half Bob and I stop for a pee and I feel the tires on the trailer. Everything is fine. Get back in and then 10 k's down the road a third one blows. We get out to fix the tire only to walk around the other side and see that the fourth one will not go another 10 foot!!!!

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Want to see a photo of a new Bridgestone with about 800 miles on it?? Do you think they would warranty it or any of the four tires we lost.... NOPE!!!! This does not make Ken very happy. But Ken will remember the next time he purchases tires - for the rest of his life.

Well here we sit on the side of the road between Sarina and Rockhampton. wpe4B.jpg (25662 bytes)
It is hard to describe how desolate this area is. This part of the road is called the Marlborough Stretch. For over 200k's in either direction there is NOTHING. Jodanna Pullen had leased car 50 and her dad, David Pullen towed the car on our open trailer to the race. I called the workshop and got some tires that were out back taken to the bus station at the Gold Coast and put on a bus for Rockhampton and David drove there and picked them up. We sat here for 30 hours waiting for the tires. It was kinda neat though. You cannot believe how dark it was at night. The sky was filled with a billion stars like I had never seen it. Bob and I had plenty to eat and drink so we had a barby and went to sleep with full stomachs. Bob slept in the trailer and I slept in the truck. I got up in the middle of the night to go pee and fell into a briar patch. I think I was pulling sickers out of my ass for days. wpe4C.jpg (73094 bytes)
Drag racers over here all help each other heaps. Everyone heading south from the race would stop to see if they could help.

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Rush hour on the Marlborough Stretch.

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It was warm and dry.

After we got the tires mounted and we were back on the road then we broke a valve spring on the truck. Good thing we carry spare parts.

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Foreground to background is car 59, 58, 50