List,
Keep in mind that when the Two-Club was started the available so-called
performance engines consisted of the Flatty Ford V8, the GMC truck engine, the
331 & 354 Chrysler hemi V8 (with limited speed equipment available), the Olds
& Cad Kettering V8 (also with limited speed equipment available), and the
Studebaker V8 to name a few. The SBC was still several years from being
introduced
by GM.
The Two-Club in those days was about as elusive and hard to attain as the
Three-Club is today, (check the number of Three-Club members today compared
to Two-Club members in the 50's).
The coming of the SBC as well as quantum leaps in racing engine industry
technology over the past 30 years has greatly contributed to bringing speeds
to what they are today. While many racers buy ready-made crate engines or have
theirs professionally built, many still do everything from chassis design and
fabrication to bodywork and engine building themselves, especially in the
Vintage Engine classes. The availability of tuning and engine building
information
as drastically "raised-the-bar" regards speeds at Bonneville.
The Two-Club is an exclusive organization, completely separate from
SCTA/BNI. They have their established rules and membership entry is regulated
by
those rules. With the exception of Jack most members, once they get into the
Two-Club, have a better appreciation for and support of those entry rules,
including the published minimums.
Even with the minimums the Two-Club members number several hundred. If
all that was required for admission was a one-way timing slip showing a trap
speed of over 200 MPH the list would be several times longer and its
exclusiveness would be greatly diminished.
The El Mirage Dirty Two Club, by comparison, has a roster of a couple
hundred members or less. To achieve 200 MPH in the dirt takes some doing, not
just horsepower and balls. If you want a challenge try to go 200 MPH in the
dirt
with a vintage engine, especially a "Banger" like our Prez Roy Creel did a
decade ago.
Just my $.02 worth.......Ardun Doug King
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