How could you not see this thing on the salt and think, “I GOTTA talk to the guy that races this!” Visually arresting, the car proved to be cooler than even we could have imagined.

What’s interesting about the car in these photos is that it has a torsion bar suspension up front and a four link out back with coil overs. This was a departure from the solid suspension the car had for years and Roger didn’t like it. He is going back to solid suspension for next year.

The first tell-tale that something interesting was happening in the engine department was when we spotted the zoomie header on one side and nothing on the other.

Our curiosity piqued with the tiny blower and seemingly odd layout. We knew this wasn’t a dedicated LSR car because it was running class only. Learning that it kicked ass at the sand drags, runs 8s in the quarter mile, and is nearly at 200mph on the great white dyno blew us away.

While the front end may resemble a Jeep somewhat, the only Jeep parts on this thing are two chunks of CJ6 frame rails. Those were there when the car was built for the sand drags as class rules demanded their presence. Now they are just along for the ride.

The quick change rear and coil overs looked cool hanging out there in the breeze at the rear of the car. As mentioned, Roger is going back to solid mounting the axle in the car for 2014. He said the ride was rough with the solid mounted axle but he felt more in control than with the four link back there.

Certainly more important on the strip than on the salt, these healthy disc brakes doa good job of hauling the car down from the 150s on the asphalt and the 190s on the salt.

We dig the digits on the rear end housing reminding everyone what ratio should be in there depending on the scenario. You wouldn’t think this would be the case but Rapid Fire is one of the only cars we saw on the salt that also competes on the drag strip. The two disciplines are different despite the fact that they both take place in a straight line.

Roger told us that the CAE quick change is an old piece, but it is trusty and is thoroughly braced up for strength.

This little logo had a lot of people wondering what was under the shiny body. When the car is all buttoned up you cannot see the motor, just the nice blower hanging out in the breeze.

See, we told you.

So the engine is certainly one of the focal points of this car and rightfully so. It is the only 4-71 blown, Hilborn alcohol injected, solid roller cammed, aluminum headed, 600hp four cylinder Pontiac engine we have ever seen. Guys like Mickey Thompson and Smokey Yunick messed with these mills back in the day but they are certainly not considered a mainstream racing engine. Roger said that he never wanted to have a belly button motor…and he doesn’t! We LOVE this engine. From the factory it made about 120hp and made it at 3,800 RPM. Roger has his making 600+ and spinning to 8,000 RPM!

The Hilborn injector on top of the blower really lets you know that this combo means business.

This single zoomie produces a sound unlike any other zoomie at Bonneville. We’re not sure how many other guys were running Pontiac fours on the salt but we know we didn’t see any!

The salt sticks to virtually everything. Roger reports that the aluminum is so soft on the car that instead of rubbing all the salt off, they basically douse the car in WD40 and let it all melt away as to prevent scratching the heck out of it.

The radiator, like the rest of the cat is neatly packaged in the body.

Roger is Canadian, living way out in the western part of the country and racing at places like Mission Raceway, Woodburn, Oregon, and Seattle. This breather isn’t Canadian though!

The Rapid fire name came about because Roger was using the name Rapid Transit moniker until it became overplayed and he decided to switch it up a bit. At 8,000 RPM that Poncho four is rapidly firing, we agree with that!

While a blunt Jeep like nose would be cool to see, we totally understand and agree with the addition of the more aero nose cone on the car. The car is not a streamliner by any means, but anything that helps cheat the air is a good move on the salt, assuming it does not lessen the driver’s ability to control the car.

Look at how clean the front suspension is. Roger’s motto is, “My race starts in the garage.” That means that prepping your stuff as best you can and making sure it is right before you head to the track is the best course of action. The amazingly well cared for state of that car showed us that Manson’s statement was not lip service. It is amazing to think that he has raced this car in various forms of motor sports since 1985.

The three coolest stickers you will find on any race car. After 2014, it will be four.

The driver’s area is spartan. It contains a tach and a couple of gauges, a basic seat and the belts/restraints that keep Manson in the car in case of emergency. Like its owner, the car isn’t overly flashy or complicated. It was built to be simple and very fast.

Here’s the heart of the machine. Roger has used up 50 of these Pontiac four cylinders of the year racing. He knows them like the back of his hand. He has found their absolute limits in virtually every direction you can think of. He prefers pre-1963 blocks because they are a heavier, beefier casting. He runs stock Armasteel cranks in the engines, aluminum rods, a solid roller cam, and in these photos an o-ringed Edelbrock head. He has made all of his major performance marks with a factory Ram Air II head on the engine which he says is better for maintaining head gasket seal than the aluminum. Moving up, there is a custom built Hogan’s sheetmetal intake and the 4-71 blower. All of this makes up one bad ass, 600hp four cylinder Pontiac shaker!

Maintenance on the engine is easily accomplished with the body panels removed. Even here, with the side panel on, access is still good.

It is always kind of weird to see a blower hanging off a mill without four more intake runners under it. Weird in the cool kind of way in this case.

Roger’s 2013 Speedweek was cut short when this happened. Long story short the engine had suffered a high speed lean backfire on the run before this happened, which Roger believes caused some trauma to the connecting rod. On the next pass at the two mile mark…BOOM. The rod broke, blasted this picture window in the block and then the piston and crank counterweight ran into each other like elevendy hundred times, destroying ’em both. Not to worry. Roger has 5-6 early blocks prepped and ready to go. 200mph will be his!

A convenient way to check oil level, but not really what anyone wants to see. This was the 50th Pontiac four cylinder that has died with its boots on in Roger’s care. As he said, “The good thing is that I picked an engine no one wants so I can still get them cheap.” The engine is unique in that he runs a very long (almost as long as a Hemi) connecting rod in it. Those rods are aluminum pieces from Venolia and his pistons are custom made Ross units. The cam is a big (.730 lift!) solid roller that was custom ground for him by Don Howard. He runs a rev kit to pick up some RPM but also to hold onto the lifters in the event of an engine failure. Good solid lifters are not cheap so we get that totally.

Aluminum and cast iron pixie dust! Coming soon to a salt flats near you!

The whole setup is very neat and tidy. Roger pays a lot of attention to detail and the more you look at the car the more you realize how clean and well laid out it is.

This flipping rules.

Note the aluminum head here. Roger runs 25 psi of boost on the drag strip and can only get about 16 out of the blower on the salt due to altitude and other factors. He is spinning the blower 16% over.

While the Edelbrock aluminum head is a good performer, Roger said that his old stand by which is a Pontiac Ram Air II iron head will be heading back on the engine because it is more beefy and holds head gasket seal better under boost than the aluminum piece.

The Hogan’s intake has us drooling. The welding on it is art.

It is cool when the only stuff you really have to worry about driving with a belt is a fuel pump and a blower. That’s living right.

That swiss cheese looking plate it there to help support the weight of the blower so that the intake manifold is not carrying it all.

A legit, old school hot rodder, Roger is a member of the Injectors car club. We’re thinking that he’s got the fastest piece in the club.

Roger told us that he was attracted to Bonneville because he sees it as the ultimate acid test. “You can get away with a lot on the drag strip,” he laughed. “When you are leaning on things for the amount of time you do on the salt, you find out what your weak links are.”

Roger doesn’t know if he is stubborn or dedicated. We’re going with dedicated because he’s way too cool to be stubborn. He lists guys like Mickey Thompson as his inspiration for this car and sticking to his four banger guns and that says alot about him too. The man respects history. A couple of shots at 200 with this combo have fallen short. There are guys who have been trying to 200 in their cars for decades before doing it. Roger knows he’s not even at a point to complain yet! (Plus, he is not the complaining type). We’re super glad that Roger dragged the car into a clear area for us to shoot on the salt. He, his wife Marlene and the crew guys were all fantastic. We look forward to seeing this car again and celebrating its cresting of the two century mark on the salt. There’s daring to be different and daring to kick ass your own way. Roger Manson is going both of those at once with Rapid Fire.