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PAGE 4
Annual Staffers
See Holmon-Moody
Two photographers from the
Rogues ‘n Rascals embarked last
Thursday on a venture undertaken
by very few. One in which Richard
Petty or Bobby Isaic would have
given their eyeteeth to go on.
The story began at the Pan Am
races of 1952. Lincoln Mercury
ran away with first place, leading
to the doubling of next year’s
Mercury sales. After seeing this
development, Ford Motor Company
decided to invest a little money
and get a race car program of
their own in full swing. The re
sult of their efforts has led them
to be the first Americans to win
at Le Mans.
The trip taken by the two pho
tographers was not psychadelic,
but they described itas “well worth
the class time they cut.”
Gary Sanford and Richard Al-
sop got the opportunity to visit
•Holman-Moody, Inc. when Mr. John
Gager of that company gave them
permission to view the cars that
they are building for the National
500. The two cars being built
will be driven by Dave Pierson,
No. 17, and Mario Andretti, No.
11. Mr. Ed Black met the photo
graphers at the gate and accom
panied them on the tour. First
they saw the engine test room
where a specially tuned 427 cu.
in. engine was being run on the
performance block. A regular
production engine will turn 4800
R.P.M. if its really pushed. The
engine on the block was turning
5000 R.P.M., and has a capacity
of 7800 R.P.M.
As witnessed by the photograph
ers, no special engine is used
in the competition stock car. An
ordinary 427 directly off the
assembly line, with rebalanced
rods, pistons, and a repolished
block.
Next on the tour was the torque
conversion equipment. A car is
backed up on this platform and the
engine drive shaft is connected to
the unit. There the engine torque
is gauged. Torque may be des
cribed as the force that produces
the rotation of the engine. It also
causes the engine to twist, or in
versely, for one side of the car
to raise.
When the engines are throttled
up, the noise can be heard inside
the airport terminal, which is
about a half mile cross country,
as though they were right outside
the door. Mr. Black said that
“This is the only place in the
world where the airport complains
about residential noise.”
The next step was the area where
engine blocks are reworked. A
standard production engine has
most of its parts balanced within
3 or 4 oz. of each other. The
eight rods are rebalanced here
within 1/2 gram of each other.
This complete operation boosts
horsepower by as much as 40%.
Such work requires very high spe
cialization. It may take five years
of work in order to perfect the art
of polishing and rebalancing engine
parts for a 427 engine. As Mr.
Black, stated about these special
ists “they can’t put a car together,
but they can build the best damn
engines.”
Holmon Moody has quite a supply
of reworked engines on hand. In
fact there are racks some 50 feet
high and almost twice as long,
stacked with nothing but reworked
427’s.
Holmon Moody hasquitea si^jply
of reworked 427’s. HolmonMoody
This is the Ford-built GT that won at Le Mans France in 1967.
It now resides in the Holmon Moody Junk Yard here in Charlotte.
has the world’s si^jply of single
overhead cam 427’s at their plant
now. These engines can’t be used
in race cars because they were
not sanctioned by NASCAR for
stock car racing. They wiii pro
bably be used for drag races to
be built in the spring. Presently
most of these engines are being
employed as boat engines after
being slightiy modified.
The Grand finale of the tour was
a look at two cars being built at
the Holmon Moody Plant for the
National 500 which was run on
October 15. Dave Pierson’s #17
was having new manifolds in
stalled, and brake linings mounted.
Mario Andretti’s #19 was having
work done on the electrical system.
What is really surprising is the
fact that each drive has four cars
and not just one. The Brown #17
the fans saw in the World 600, is
not the same car as that run in
the National 500. The engines
used in these cars are scraped
entirely after a race, no part is
ever used again. For a car
requiring an engine costing $2800,
the expenses involved can be quite
fantastical.
The “junk yard” was quite a
surprise to the two photographers.
Instead of the pile of used i>arts
they expected, the yard contained
the Mark IV Ford GT that won at
Le Mans in 1967, and five other
GT’s—Mark IV’s & IPs that had
also run in previous years at Le
Mans. The engines had been re
moved, but otherwise the cars were
unchanged. Each of these GT’s
is about 45 inches high and between
8 and 10 feet long. In order for a
car of this type to qualify to run
in a race it must be able to seat
2 people, and carry one suitbase.
(Continued on page 8)
Founding Patrons Honored
By Elegant Plaque in Union
1
am.
COHNCR
Simply
Wonderjul
Sportswear
128 N. Tryon St.,
Downtown Charlotte
3730 E.Independence
Each patron of ex
cellence was given an
individual plaque at the
dinner on Oct. 9 mat
ching the large plaque uriU
placed in the Union NtW
lounge.
Coliseum Shopping
Center
FIND
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Addison Reese, master of ceremonies at the
dinner, shows the elegant plaque bearing the
names of the 100 Founding Patrons.
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