| My friend Sam Woodard has his 55 on your tri-fives
page and he asked me to send you a little about my car. I will attach
a few pictures too. I hope you like my car... Ron. I call this car, “GODZILLA” because like its namesake, sometimes also known as “The Terror of Tokyo,” it too has a particular dislike for anything made in Japan. Tripping down the “Extension” it is always looking for something oriental to stomp on. This GODZILLA has big feet too, 489 cubic inches of GM iron feed by two Racing Carter carbs on a Weiand tunnel ram. Its internals are forged, balanced, clearanced, h-beamed and rollerized. Nothing has been spared to make this beast back up its roar when needed. Between the power plant and the drive axle is a full manual-only Turbo 400 treated to TCI, TRANSGO and Kevlar parts, shifted by a Hurst pistol grip shifter. A Super Street Fighter Converter helps this stroker get into its torque band quick when its time to muscle up and put the bad guy down. Ford provided the rear 8.8 axle and 3:55 gears originally destined for a new 95 Explorer. Inside is a mini-spool turning 31 spline heat-treated axles and the standard 11” rear disc brakes help everything stop when needed. “Gasser” wheels are run up front with VW tires and 200S’s with 11.5” MT ET’s are out back. The rear suspension is made up of home made ladder bars and a CE coil over kit. A 15 gallon aluminum gas tank is buried half in and out of a fabricated trunk floor, and the battery is tucked in the rear for weight distribution. Up front, the underpinnings include a wide variety of parts from Speedy Bill in Nebraska. It starts with a fabricated 2X3” square tubing frame, 4” dropped axle kit with Mustang II disc brakes mounted on early Chevy spindles. A ‘62’ Impala gear box unit has been set up for a front cross steer. Starting with only a shell, everything added was either fiberglass or Lexan, making this one lean monster. The black roll and pleated interior includes two light-weight early Chevy van seats and red 5 point Simpson cam-lock belts for safety. The roll bar is a classic 6 point style and helps to tie the extensively modified frame together, front to rear. The dash is covered with hand formed brushed aluminum panels and an Auto Meter tachometer is mounted on top. Additional Auto Meter gauges were mounted below the dash to monitor oil and water. GODZILLA started out as a bare body taken to Woodard Racing and Hot Rods in Mustang Oklahoma. Over 14 months of weekends my friend Sam and I each created our own monster of a 55, the way we had always wanted one. There is just nothing like sharing the car building experience with a friend for fun. GODZILLA lives in Oklahoma City where it has to travel only 40 miles to do battle with its next challenger on the drag strip. He does battle as a member of the Central State Gasser Association. The only problem experienced with the new-car so far has been its impact on my wife’s Toyota. Her car now shutters when it reaches our street, begins to drip oil and refuses to turn into the driveway. Ron Nye |
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