No, it is not Friday so this is not the traditional Parting Shift blog item that you all know and love. Instead this is a fantastic video featuring a Fox-body car with a 347 stroker getting the gears hammed right down to the finish line at the strip. The driver is actually running the car for a buddy and he shows himself to be super quick and capable in the car. The sound of the little 347ci stroker spinning to 8,000 RPM are also worth the price of admission if you are a Ford fan…or even if you aren’t! You know us, if it is fast we think it is pretty cool.
The car is naturally aspirated, as a top loader transmission, and on this run it goes into the high 10.50s at nearly 130mph. That is greatness and as we mentioned above it sounds like a buzz saw going down the track.
One of the subtle things we liked about the video was the dude grabbing a rag and drying off his hands before staging the car. That dry hand gave him a good grip on the t-handle shifter that’s connected to the Toploader below. Having recently spent a couple of days with Herb “Mr. 4-Speed” McCandless at the 2020 US Nationals, I can tell you that there is a lot more going on with driving a stick shift than meets the eye. From the adjustment to the clutch linkage to potential flex in the firewall and other areas, there’s mechanics galore at platy before that pedal comes up.
This car is awesome and very well dialed in. The driver has mad skills as well.
