Re: Coming Soon.....
 

Bret, I really don't disagree with the inclusion of this car. It's a representation of an actual street vehicle...Something the DragPaks. et al. are not
Or the fact that you took the initiative to work through the proper channels to fight for the inclusion of a combination you found appealing. Though in the current climate that's probably a lost cause and will never happen again.
.
My only beef is the manner of inclusion and style of execution that makes it seem beyond the reaches of the "normal" racer. Not to mention the extremely vague and potentially misleading answers offered on the process. Sure there is a Supra fan base out there, but those who participate there would find NHRA...Stock Eliminator...unpalatable.
It's sad, when there are many interesting late model combinations that will never find the same inclusion, thus disenfranchising potential new class racers (customers).
Maybe I'm wrong, and this is a genuine shift in the representation of Import vehicles into Stock Eliminator, and Toyota will submit cars from say 1974 onward into the guide But I would take bets that there will be only one single Toyota vehicle in the guide.

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OK, I'll bite. How big is the bet and who holds the money?

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Ha!....I cant afford the oil to put in that car.....you can afford to build it on spec, you're beyond my league. Besides, you seem to have the upper hand on foreknowledge..I'd be betting against the house.


I'll put $5 on it though. Come look me up.

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OK. Deal. I'll put up $500.00 to your $5.00. I will expect you to pay. If I fail, I will pay you $500.00.

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Hey GUMP, genuine question:

If a fellow Supra enthusiast wanted to build another Supra to run in stock eliminator, Could he do the front suspension strut bolt in stuff but leave the IRS and stock rear end in it? Or would that guy also have to put a 9 inch in it to be stock legal? I think it makes sense from your side of the equation to put a 9 inch in it and copy the 4 link from the COPOs since that's what you are familiar with, it works, and it's already legal. But if a guy just wanted to do minor fab work with the cage and bolt in front suspension, is there a path for running the car with the OEM transmission and rear end? I feel like just because the rule book says you can put a 9 inch in the car if it was built after 2008, you shouldn't be forced to if you don't want to.

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That's where you miscalculated, GUMP is not a normal racer, and I'm glad he isn't.

The normal racer (me) would build the same old beat-up sh!t box that's already had it's hp dinged many times and that there has been 500 iterations of already. He would build something unremarkable but affordable.

GUMP is a man of means and connections that he fostered over decades, giving him the ability to build something completely different and new. Something that I now get to admire from the bench seat of my station wagon. This car is built to the rulebook NHRA provided, but maybe not quite in the spirit of the class. Maybe it's time the spirit of the class changed. I'm hoping that this ushers in a new era of performance oriented class racing and the introduction of many new combinations.

You may not like that this combo GUMP is building isn't attainable for the average guy (not that much of class racing is anyway) but you'd better be glad men like him exist. I know I am. I work at Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation building RV chassis for million dollar motorhomes and coaches. Can I afford to buy the product I help produce? Hell no. But I sure am glad there people out there who can, otherwise I'd be looking for work.

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Yes, you can run the totally stock car as delivered by Toyota. That is, as long as you install all required safety items.

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THIS!!! I've spent enough to run the 11's for my 14.85 combo!! Really questioning my sanity!

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Yes, very familiar. I have owned and raced 5 several factory 428 Cobra Jet Mustangs and Fairlane Cobras, of which over 20,000 428 Cobra Jet powered cars were produced, over 3 years , and anybody of the street could walk into any Ford or Mercury dealership, and order one. And by the way, the 428 Cobra Jet engine has had it`s Factory Horsepower "factored" upwards, probably by more than virtually any other REAL (non fabricated "paper" combination). Is THAT the 428 Cobra Jet that you are referring to?
Of course, Ford was not the "Official Car of the NHRA", so it wasn`t afforded some of the liberties that some of the later "official" cars have, like being allowed to use engines, and other components that were not available in certain years of such vehicles,

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The Cobra Jet was originally a "paper car" assembled by Tasca Ford and presented to Ford. It's whole purpose was to give Ford a competitive combination in the very popular drag racing classes of that time. It's low HP rating was not accidental.

Even though you don't seem to like the Supra, it is not a "paper car". It runs the production motor. Everything else is what the current rule book allows.

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Yeah, they even had Canadian heads on the first 50 "135" cars that had bigger ports than the standard CJ heads that Ford and NHRA approved. My uncle had 5 sets and cherished them. LOL




Bret Velde
2003 I/SA
Coming soon

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Let's not forget that a Corvette can swap out to a solid rear axle which is obviously a long way from the way they came from the factory, no one seems to be concerned about that deviating from original. NHRA approved that a long time ago, how is this any different? On that same subject, a Corvette legally be run with the original IRS if they so choose but I doubt anyone would.

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But years ago Corvette had to run IRS in stock but if same car went to bracket race and ran quicker than 10.99 was not legal.

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Jim, I think you forgot to mention that the Corvette can be swapped out to a GENERAL MOTORS solid rear axle, but not a Ford, Mopar, Toyota, or any other manufacturers solid rear end. That was done more for safety than anything else, as the half shafts of the IRS were key to help keep the wheels positioned properly, as the older Corvette IRS system did not have upper control arms. So, if the axle or an axle U Joint was to break, the wheel was free to flop around, and likely cause a crash.

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Gump, I hope this new car hauls A $ $... you aren't going to please the masses.

Rock on..

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Just to add a somewhat minor point to your version of "the story".....
Those first cars may have been conceived by Tasca Ford, but they were actually "assembled at Holman-Moody/Stroppe in California. They were then passed on to specific racers who were deemed to be the bast options for a successful debut. The actual production cars came at a later date.
They showed up at the AHRA Winternationals where they were allowed to race in Stock Eliminator.
But when they arrived in Pomona, NHRA deemed the potential production numbers were too low, and placed them in Super Stock....Kinda' like those pesky Hemi cars.
...But we should never allow the facts to get in the way of a good story...Should we???

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What he's referring to are not the production Cobra Jet cars, but the factory sponsored and supplied cars that ran Super Stock..Cough, cough...at the 1968 Winternationals.

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Thanks for adding to the story of how the PRODUCTION Cobra Jet came to market.

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Not being a Toyota guy what older Toyota cars or trucks (like the C10 that was at Indy ) would make a good stocker if they got put in the guide ?