RESPECTED racer John Kerr has successfully finished every five-day Street Machine Drag Challenge event so far in his tough, home-built, 364ci-powered ’64 Mercury Comet Caliente. The Comet’s straightforward aspirated set-up is proof that you can score several Drag Challenge Dial Your Own Top 10 finishes and an ANDRA gold Christmas tree while sticking to a tight budget.
And it’s quick. Last year John easily ripped a 10.6-second pass on Day One of DC – a surprise for the drag racing veteran. “On my first run at Calder, a crosswind hit me before the finish line, so I backed off and then got back on it. I was a bit upset at myself, thinking that I stuffed up the run,” John says. “I got the timeslip and had run a 10.61@126mph – the quickest it’s ever been!”
Going into DC 2019, John’s plan to fix a windscreen and hood lining snowballed into a bare-metal rotisserie job, and while he was at it, he added a roll cage and a new fibreglass bonnet that allows for a three-inch carby spacer with a larger air cleaner. Next, he did a little maintenance to the 346ci-stroked Dart block. It copped new rings, bearings, valve springs, lifters and a fresh oil pump. “I gave it a hone too; the bores were shinier than my paint!” John laughs. “The lifters had done 50,000 miles, but nothing was badly worn and the valves were still good.”
Esta historia es de la edición Yearbook 2020 de Street Machine Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Yearbook 2020 de Street Machine Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
ANIKA HODGES
THE CAR DROVE INTO OUR SHED AS A CREAM 202CI VC AND DROVE OUT AS A SILVER CAR WITH A 355 V8
STAGE FRIGHT
IT TOOK OWEN SCOTT MORE THAN 20 YEARS TO BUILD A TROPHY-WINING, 600HP EH HOLDEN UTE THAT WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME
THE Ummmal SUSPECT
FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT MINI-TRUCKS. THIS SUMMERNATS TOP 60 HILUX IS A PROPER STREET MACHINE
FULLY UTILISED
HARDWOOD ROD & CUSTOM TURNS DARREN ISON'S HAND-ME-DOWN HT INTO A SMOOTH OPERATOR
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
ARBY’S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HIS VG VALIANT’S 60-FOOT TIMES YIELD PROMISING RESULTS IN THE RUN-UP TO STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE
PEOPLE POWER
WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT 36 YEARS OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS - AND MOST DEMOCRATICALLY AWARDED - HONOUR IN OUR SPORT: STREET MACHINE OF THE YEAR
OUT-AND-OUT MAYHEM
STREET MACHINE DRAG CHALLENGE IS ALREADY A ROLLICKING GOOD TIME, BUT WHAT CAR EVENT CAN'T BE MADE EVEN BETTER BY ADDING A BURNOUT COMP? INTRODUCING OUR INAUGURAL RODS OUT!
BAD TO THE BONE
THANKS TO HIS SON, ANDY, THE LATE MARIO COLALILLO’S 39 PLYMOUTH COUPE IS BACK ON THE ROAD AND STILL ONE OF THE BADDEST HOT RODS IN THE COUNTRY
THE CHALLENGE IS REAL
FROM TRACK DRAMAS TO SOARING TEMPERATURES, DRAG CHALLENGE 2024 THREW US SOME OF ITS TOUGHEST TESTS YET, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT SOME OF THE QUICKEST TIMES THE EVENT HAS EVER SEEN