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Mark Ison photo
(This article was first published in the July 1970 edition of Custom Car magazine)
Ever wondered what the innards of 3.4 Jag powerplant look like after the throttle has jammed open at about two-million rpm? Ask the Ison brothers of Sinfin, Derby, who acquired themselves a rebuild when they bought George Gillet's "George is Draggin" competition-altered at the end of last year. In this case it was the bearings and piston rings that had suffered, but Chris and John had gotten their hands on the basics of a competitive car which would cost much less to wheel to the drags than the V4-powered Pop they had started putting together.
"We bought the car on the drip feed 'cos we didn't have the ready green," says Chris, "And the rebuild operation was like completing an Airfix kit without the plans."
But like all good things, it came to an end and by Easter the boys were at Santa Pod pushing their new baby to 14.5-second and 88mph passes. This year they swear they're going places, even if it is with an almighty bang.
After carting the rig up from Somerset, Chris and John did a complete tear-down of the ex-Mark VII Jag mill, Wade blower and beefed Borg & Beck clutch. The balanced Jag has short-skirt pistons, polished head and a much lightened flywheel less starter ring. A push car provides fire-up power. The big Wade huffer is driven by four V-belts and fertilised with pressure-fed methanol courtesy of a bank of four 1¾in SUs. Pressurising of the front-mounted Moon tank is done to 10psi prior to a run and the system is primed by driver Chris on the start line. Autolite AG603 plugs were selected for ignition.
Wild Honey's cogbox is a stock Jaguar unit mated to a 4.7-to-1 narrowed rear end via two universal joints acting as a propshaft.
To allow a little more tyre slip to develop and therefore save shafts and gearbox, the original rear wheels were replaced by slightly narrower rims from a Jag and shod with 5.5OM Dunlop racers. Out front the Ison special has a chromed axle with tie bars holding Ford 100E hubs ' n' wheels wrapped with Goodyear G8 rubber. It's those coil springs mounted over dampers that give Wild Honey that unconventional, weight transferring, jacked-up stance.
Wild Honey's steel Austin Ruby shell - sprayed lemon chrome with red shadow wording - sits on a ladder frame that sports an integral roll cage. Flooring and firewall are sheet aluminium, trimmed with black PVC quilt, while windows - including the blue roof light - are Perspex.
Instrumentation is basic; tach, temp gauge and oil pressure. Steering, operated through an ex-100E box, connects to an 8in diameter wheel.
Though rejigging a car is not as rewarding as building from the wheels up the Ison brothers at least have a distinctive car (how many Pop altereds are there now on the strips?) and a flying start free of many bugs that normally hit all-new machines. A couple of good meets and they'll be able to cut off that drip feed.
Mike Lintern
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