Chuck Soloman's Sum Fun....is about the most Professional car out there...
I took a whole role of film of it for my Racing Partner..... Why he goes
fast isn't a shock.... What a motor and suspension set up...
The Rear end is a work of art...cantilevered shocks and track bars going in
some real unusual directions..
Plus the car is a 34 as I recall.... and is slick as it can possibly be...
I also spent some time with Butch Salter.. who was running a very pretty
32...(Kentz and Leslie) and had Tons and Tons of Horsepower... that he
couldn't seem to get to the salt.... the car had several spins to it's
credit... most right at Record speeds ( 190's as I recall)...
Aerodynamically the cars had nothing in common.... the 34 seemed to stick
the nose to the track... and the 32 was such a Box that it seemed to
Float...
(Butch had weight in both Frame rails as I recall)
These are amateur observations
Keith
----------
> From: ardunbill@webtv.net
> To: land-speed@autox.team.net
> Subject: High-Speed Stability of Roadsters
> Date: Tuesday, June 15, 1999 5:36 AM
>
> Hi Folks. Have enjoyed the recent discussion on ballasting, wings, and
> stability. As the owner of a new XXF-GR '32 Ford HiBoy, would
> appreciate 'the veterans' revealing the body of knowledge regarding best
> practice for ballasting and weight distribution of Roadsters.
>
> The first Ardun '32 Ford HiBoy at Bonneville was C&T Automotive in '51
> which did 162 on 25% nitro. This was excellent, but period articles
> tell that the car had trouble with spins before it set this mark.
>
> Some roadsters like the Sum Fun '34 seem to make run after run at 250
> 'on rails' with never a bit of trouble. Other people have problems with
> fishtailing, traction, spins, etc. at much lower speeds. What makes the
> difference???
>
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