Always look forward to the updates. Its coming together nicely. It will be interesting to hear how a completely different chassis feels, and ET's with the same Horsepower.....
When Dennis originally got the coupe it started out with a 322 cu.in. Buick Nailhead. Here is another picture we found the day the coupe was traded straight across for the T-Bucket.
So after the Buick there was a series of small block Chevrolet engines. This is the last one before the current Scott Shafiroff motor was put in. Blown up at the line in Irwindale. This was about 5-7 years ago. Here is the track guy cleaning up, and then the guys pushing out the staging lanes.
The coupe has had a couple of mis-haps in the past. Here is Dennis Son Brandon pointing out the damage to the door when it flew open on a pass at Bakersfield. I don't know exactly when this was, but since Brandon was pushing his dad's coupe off the track in the previous photo, I would assume this to be about 20 years. 1995 or so at a vintage drag race in Bakersfield. There were two guys there running a car that were bodymen. They saw what happened walked over with a couple of hammers and some 2x4's and just started pounding out the door. When they were done it was straight again. Pretty amazing, same door that are on the coupe now.
Ok so here are some update pictures from today. Grill and radiator set, with Hood fitted. Hey, that coupe in the background looks pretty good! Fenders trial fitted.
Ok, todays update...... All plumbing complete. Radiator and water pump all plumbed and ready. Fuel lines and NOS all completed front to rear. The coupe will get wired this weekend. Tunnel Ram with duel 660CFM Holleys This is not a progressive linkage, and does not have two barrels blocked off for highway mpg. This is tuned at about 2ooorpm at idle, and when he hits it all eight barrels open at once, for instant throttle response. Oh, and a small shot of NOS....gets him 800HP at the Flywheel.
Oh, you mean this Roadster tucked away in the corner, with the Blown Chrysler Hemi. Yes, years after Dennis got his 32 3-window coupe, he picked up his other favorite car of all time, this 32 Roadster, the then stepped to the blown Chrysler Hemi. I can hear this car pull up a block or two away. Everyone knows when Dennis has arrived in this machine.
Yea, that's the ticket!! I also wanted to answer the question about what caused the crash. Sure wasn't the driver.
Well, no one knows exactly what caused the crash, but if you watch the opening video of the pass, you will see just before the lights, while Dennis was still pulling hard, he starts to get loose. As he puts, "I was just driving through it like I normally do", and then on about the third swing, the rear slick rolled over the bead on the rim. It just headed for the wall at that point. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, he has been racing this coupe for close to 40 years, and never put it into the wall before or had a major crash. Just the door fly open on a couple of passes, and blown a few motors.
Ok, it has been a while since my last update. I have been busy...but still needed to stop by and say hi to the coupe. So back to the Dennis Wile Coupe.... Hood, fenders, grill, headlight bar, etc. all mounted and looking good. New stance is about 2" lower all around. Looks good. Rear decklid, and body all straightened and rear fenders mounted. Wiring was delayed, but should be completed soon. Car is whole again, for the most part. Once wiring is complete, they will fire her up. Were getting close to making another pass, in record time I might add.
Engine Specs...enough people have asked, and I cornered Dennis and asked him to write down the specs so that everyone could see what is going on. No more second guessing that SBC though. SCOTT SHAFIROFF built Small Block Chevy... 434 Cu. In. 15:to1: compression Brodix Heads (11x) Comp Roller Cam .681 Lift .282 Duration @ 50 Deg. World Products Motown Block Eagle 4340 4" stroke Crankshaft Eagle 4340 6" 385 H-Beam 3 D steel rods JE/SRP 15:1 forged pistons 720 HP at flywheel at 7200rpm (with single 4-barrell carburetor 800 HP at flywheel with Tunnel Ram and 2 660CFM Holleys and small shot of NOS. Mikes "350" turbo trans 8" 5000 stall converter 9" Ford rear-end with 4.10 gears Summers Bros. 35 spline axles Mark William's spool 1350 u-joints
Thanks for the specs. Seeing those horsepower figures really causes me to wonder how the old, un boxed, frame worked as well as it did for as long as it did. Low 10's are not easy on equipment, and a testament to Dennis' driving ability. I'm anxious to see how the numbers compare with a new state of the art chassis.
Here is this weeks update photo. Wiring is being completed this week, heavy duty stuff built by Dennis' son Scott. No pre-fab wire harness. They are moving along and really want to fire up and run some passes. Hood, grill, and fenders all one color now.
It's ALIVE! Ok, today Dennis and his son Scott fired up the coupe after wiring it the last couple of days. The wiring is not 100% complete, but enough to fire the engine. All internals working fine, no leaks, no loud bangs, or broken metal sounds, no rods through the side of the block. A few pops, but this will be solved with a new set of plugs. The background noise is the large circulation fan to get the exhaust fumes out. Enjoy!
Oh what a pain to load videos. So here are some photos...easier to load but they don't sound like much.
There is another piece of history on the Dennis Wile Coupe that I wanted to post here and share. There was a book published about oh, say eight years ago called DEUCE, 75 years of the '32 Ford, by Robert Genat. Some of you may remember this book. Well Robert had no idea who owned the '32, and published the photo with the caption below. Well, Dennis started to get word from some friends that his car was in the book. So, when he met Robert Genat at one of the car shows, selling his book, he introduced himself, and said how much he liked the book, especially since his Coupe was on this page. Robert told Dennis that he never knew owned this coupe, but he had to put it in his book as it was the hardest running '32 Ford that he knew of, and had seen it running for years. The picture is from Carlsbad Raceway, probably early 90's I believe. Dennis said that he was running 9.90's with a Small Block 440, tunnel ram, and a little bit of nitrious. So, I don't think that he made it into the 75 most significant 32 Fords, but making into this book does make his coupe pretty famous.
Dennis made some runs last Thursday in the coupe. All went well. He was real happy with how straight it ran. I will post some videos and photos a little later. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Dennis called me last Tuesday to tell me he was taking the coupe to Irwindale Thursday for some test runs. He was pretty excited. I'm glad it went well. Hard to believe the car was crashed in June, and it's already back on the track!
I've never liked that car ..... I've loved it !! Now knowing that the chassis basically consisted of a barely modified set of unboxed Henry rails ... I can't find the word greater then "love". It's nothing short of amazing, the evolution of these cars from their born on dates. Who would have ever thought that these parts could withstand years and years, of unadulterated twisting/hard charging ? ! Unreal. Nice to see it ready to do so again. Greatness times twelve.
Have always love this car...But dam there is a lot of bondo in that door. photo that most of us would have never, I say never passed inspection for most5 of us.
Full on race car that looks like a hot rod, COOL! Sounds beastly! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The Jalopy Journal
