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By PF Arcand - 6 Years Ago
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Michael wasn't a member of this forum, but was a contributer & advertiser in Y-block magazine. I'm not aware of his actual age, but he definately wasn't a youngster. He passed some time this year, as reported in Y.B.M. His contributions always got my interest, because he was about the only one that was involved in Oval Short Track racing, using a Ford Y-block.. For many years I followed that type of racing, although up here in the N. West most of it was on pavement. Micheal raced on dirt tracks, mostly in East central Calif at Merced.. Oval (I refuse to refer to it as "circle" track) especially in the intense 100 degree heat of mid Calif in the afternoon & evenings, is a different "kettle of fish" than street performance or Drag racing. Intense heat buildup is always a major problem. I recall Micheal posting that his car required an over 20 lb. Rad cap & his engine heat gauge was often up to or over 240 deg. F.. His last car was based on an early Comet coup body. HIs engines were 312" based, without stroker kits, & because of the rules, he ran modified factory heads.. Regardles of where he raced nearly all of the competion ran variations of that dreaded 350" engine.. & according to Micheal some were cheating by using disguised aftermarket heads & blocks. Apparently, the rules were not well enforced. As you can imagine, with a limited budget & running an engine that was 30 + inches smaller than the competion, it was a real challenge. One of his last contributions to Y.B.M. was in issue #125, of 2014. Despite the odds, he had recently, after competing in all 12 race dates, won the Main event & seasons points championship in the Sportsman class, in the last race of the season.. I'll miss his letters.. Further, I'll post related information in our forums Classifieds..
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