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Roger Phillips photo
(This article was first published in the June 1970 edition of Custom Car magazine)
Here's Santa Pod's new resident screamer. A 7-litre Capri funny out to top 160mph in the quarter. Name of Gloworm. Don't laugh anybody!
When such well-known names in drag racing as Bob and Roy Phelps, Peter Billinton and Tony Densham put their heads together and mumble about Ford Capris, 7-litre Holman and Moody mills and how light plastic is, then it's for sure there's a pretty diabolical plot on the boil. It all started last year when the Phelps boys, who run Santa Pod Raceway, decided it was about time the race fans saw a real funny car in action and promised they'd do something about it.
Following the appearance of Tony Densham's rail Commuter on the Ford stand at the Paris Motor show the guys at Ford got interested in the new project and it wasn't long before Bob, Roy, Peter and Tony wound up with the bodyshell they'd always promised them selves.
Ford co-operation in the loaning of a Capri body enabled Bob and Roy to produce a plastic replica at their Bromley Fibre Glass Repairs bodyshop. In traditional funny car style the new body is a stretched version of the original - a 14-inch extension just forward of the scuttle accentuates Ford's 'long hood short deck' look, and at 130lb it's only a fraction of the original body weight. Custom paint jobs are a FGR speciality and the super-deep blue and white metalflake finish - scolloped, pinstriped, speckled with metal dust and lacquered out of this world - represents 35 coats of ultra craftsmanship. Windows, mildly smoked, are in 4mm Plexidur acrylic plastic.
Should you fancy a plastic Capri body, FGR will sell you a stock-wheelbase shell for £160. Stretched versions come out at around £185 or £190 with opening bonnet lid. One or two have already been sold for street use and another 'long' version has gone to a Sewdish drag racer.
Chassis for Gloworm was constructed box-style in 16g steel, plated for strength with 8in-thickness sections at strategic points. Tubular cross supports are in 17g hi-tensile steel and up front where the weight is there's a 16g box section cross-member.
Traditional tube front axle (1¾in diameter, ¼in thick) holds E93A hubs on Reliant three-wheeler stub axles. Reliant parts - this time Supervan rear cart springs - form the front suspension, which is kept in check with Reliant dampers. The steering box (Reliant again, you better believe) uses an extended drop arm to clear the chassis frame and mates (is that ll we think about?) with a link rod from an Austin/Morris 1100 thing.
There are no binders out front with the whirling Rostyles and 13in Cintsbut FGR have grafted Jaguar Mark IX 11in discs and FoMoCo calipers to the Olds rear axle flanges. An integral push bar/chute box holds the laundry required for panic shutdowns.
What's with the Holman and Moody bit? The bit (or large lump) in question is actually a 427 cube wedge-head Ford mill prepared for powerboat use by H & M. There it was laying in the yard of a boat breaker, or whatever they call themselves. Having secured the plot for an undisclosed sum the FGR boys sent it to Ambica Engineering at Hackbridge, Surrey, for prepping.
The engine's innards duly got checked-out or chucked-out ready to take replacement parts from Mickey Thompson Enterprises, who supplied M/T forged ally rods and pistons, an Isky cam and an ally flywheel to go with the original hi-performance steel crank. Fuel injection by Hilborn stuffs a nitro cocktail through with a little help from one of those massive GMC 6/71 elephant huffers. The eight little flints are Autolites.
Putting power to the ground is the worry of a Schiefer clutch rigged direct drive to a 3.11 rear end from a well-matured ('55) Oldsmobile and if the Editor changes that to 'slushmobile' I'll ****** in his coffee. (Promise, promises - Ed.)
The sticky bits at the back are M & H Racemasters, with 9in Yul Brynner treads, wrapped around 15in Cragar mags. Anti-wheelie castors protruding out back are less glamorous - they started life as standard equipment on a fully-homologated British Rail station trolley!
Like we say this package is designed for 160mph in about 9 seconds, with the existing engine. And that's really honking for a Capri. But if the Santa Pod Team's prayers are answered and a Boss 428 mill happens to come from the direction of Ford then we're gonna see some real action. C'mon Henry, you know it makes sense . . .
Mike Lintern
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