I consulted with Roger and he agreed to watch and listen to my car as I made another blistering 11 second run. He suggested that my $650, 8 in., anti-balloon plated, double throw-down G.E.R. torque converter was not doing its job. It wasn't locking up. How could that be? It cost a lot, stalled at 5500 rpm's and was ordered custom for the car. It was toward the end of the season and I was not having any fun or success, so I decided to try another converter. All I had available was a 10 in. B&M Holeshot street/strip converter out of a car I had bought.

The next weekend I went to trusty ole' CFR and got in line for a time run. The car I lined up against had always kicked my butt, usually running in the mid 10.60's with a small block Ford in a tube chassis Probe. I knew better than to use the trans. brake with the street converter, so I foot braked it to around 2000 rpm. The 4-wheel drum brakes wouldn't hold much more; the lights came down and we were off! The Probe ate my lunch for the first 100 feet and then I hit second and, wam! I had never felt a shift that hard. Half-track was next; third gear followed and then came another hard shift. I couldn't believe that I was catching him. We crossed the finish line almost even; he had run a 10.72 @ 123 mph. I crossed the line at, 10.71 @ 129 mph! I went from a best ever 118 mph with my trick converter to almost 130 mph on the first pass. Not too long after that weekend I carded a 10.49 @ 131 mph with the B&M and the season was over. I decided something different was needed. I sold the Mustang II and decided I was going to learn how to build cars. My buddy Jim had finally talked me into it. Thanks, Jim. And, thanks Roger Knudsen, may he RACE in peace.

That brings us to the future Project Muscrate, the car I built in 1992 and have raced ever since. It is a 1989 Mustang LX with the 302 HO fuel-injected engine and a automatic trans. Originally I raced it with a stock T-5 manual trans and quickly realized that trans. was not going to cut it in the world of Stock Eliminator. Jerrico's and adjustable clutches are the norm in stock if you run a stick, and that was beyond my fiscal capacity at the time. I converted to an automatic class designation and built my own C-4 trans. with parts from a regular rebuild kit, turbo action valve body, and an ATI treemaster

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converter. I knew better than to scrimp on a converter, and ATI has served me very well over the years.

After 11 years of running low 12's and a best of 11.94 @ 110 mph, I need a change. So, let me introduce you to, Project "Muscrate". I'm going to convert my national record holder into an IHRA only, "crate motor-class stocker".

The plan is to convert from a fuel injected iron head 302 to a carbureted, aluminum head 320 hp / 302 Ford crate motor. I will be building the engine from scratch according to IHRA legal specs and I will show some of the details that make a stocker engine different from a no rules type endeavor.

The goal is to eventually run a 10 sec. pass, and set the national record in my chosen category. Trust me, it won't be easy!

www.roederperformancemachine.com