Quote:
Originally Posted by zoegrant
If the weight is only a problem at 105 mph.....why did you add a 100lbs of weight ? ........just curious......
|
According to the info that Alex Tremlis shared with us regarding the design problem that the '56 Bird had.. i.e., at "curb weight" the '55 Bird had something like 1,300 lb's on the rear tires... Speed above 105 mph reversed the tire loading to a "LIFT" factor of 1,400 lb's... No weight on the rear axle/tires..That is why the '55 Bird came off of the track @Daytona.
I put the spare tire in the trunk, added 100 lb's to the rear of the frame, thereby negating the lift factor..
My .56 Bird has a 302 SBF that use to have a Paxton blower on it.. The trans is a C-4. Many years ago the car was raced on some of the better known race tracts in So. Cal. by a very well known man from the early days of performance cars and Hot Rods..
As an added feature... The car has the export chassis which was only available by special order in '55... Ford used up the excess export chassis, they had by feeding them into the early production '56 Birds on a random basis.. The export chassis does not show up on the build sheet of my car.
I found out about the export chassis when I had the car surveyed and appraised by a well known T-Bird expert.
Alex T's redesign of the trunk area, lengthening it and redesigning the 'Fins" created a "foil" which kept the airflow onto the deck lid, creating a downward force which kept the weight on the rear axle/tires...
Both of the Bird's shown in the attached pix are mine...
I have owned the '57 since '73 and the '56 since '82..