The Ford, four-cylinder “Banger” engine of hot rod lore has established quite a following over the years. With hundreds of aftermarket speed parts and over-head valve conversions produced over the engine’s 90-plus-year existence, the little engine is no joke. The Ford ‘A’ Speed Technology club (F.A.S.T.) has focused on improving the safety and performance of the little engine and have held speed and hill climb events all around the country since 1994.
The historic Santa Margarita Ranch in Santa Margarita, California played host to this year’s F.A.S.T. time trials. The competitors race one at a time on a 1/10th of a mile course to see who has the quickest time. There were a variety of banger- powered vehicles competing in the trials, from stock Model A’s to early “teens” Fords. There were also several purpose-built and historic race cars as well. With 27 cars in total competing the racers were grouped into several classes, depending on what modifications were done to either the engine or the car itself.
Aside from the racing, there was also a small car show during the event where participants parked alongside of the runway so they could watch the racing from their cars. The winner of the car show was Art Cerna with his 1931 Model A roadster, which was built in an early 1950s style.
As the day went the temperature reached a scortching 108 degrees, causing officials to stop the event early to protect racers, spectators, and cars which were getting slower as the temperature increased. The overall winner of the event with the fastest time and speed was Wesley Eisenga, driving a 1930 Model A speedster owned by Bob Miller to an 8.56 second lap at 71.7 miles per hour.
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