MTFCA Forum

$39,500. Claims it will go 100 mph. Rajo head, etc. Discounting whether that is wise or not (sounds dangerous to me) is that true on the 100 mph claim with a Rajo head?

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/ho ... 13851.html

I guess it all depends on the slope of the hill you are racing down.

I don't think Jim would haul it that fast on the hwy either! I know what a Bosch magneto is but I didn't know Bosch made Magnets? Were they stronger?

Note the difference in tire sizes front vs rear.

Fronts look like balloon tires while rears look like 30 x 3 or 30 x 3.5 clinchers.

Must go fast enough to burst the fan belt into two pieces.

It’s been repaired with Pop rivets

It’s been sitting for a while. The brass looks dulled out if that makes any difference. I like T’s and have 3 black era cars but if I wanted to spend that kind of money I’d buy a car in the 60’s that’s been restored that would go ‘around’ 100 mph for sure.
The T speedster is a 15-18,000 car at the most. Maybe.

You would never get that power out of that Rajo head, not enough fuel flow to the valves.

I had a BBR head Winfield cam and Stromberg MB 1 it would 100. I have the 27 barber Warnock indy car and yes 100 mph

I built a flathead T speedster (Sherman head, Stromberg 97 carb) that does 100 mph. No fenders though and I think that is a serious factor!!

Some cross-flow B series (like the BB) can be made to do a hundred. I know of a couple that could do it for sure, and one that has been clocked at 95 (NOT a guess!) a few times! But this is a C series (I don't know which one?) I won't say it COULDN'T be done? But I would have doubts that any likely usual build-up of a C series could exceed much above 90 Nothing about that engine looks like it was built up to that level. Add in the full fenders? I doubt it would do much over 80 tops.
I had an original era heavily modified flat-head T block. Biggest valves that could be put into a T block (edges of the valve touched edge of cylinder! Tiny amount of head gasket between cylinders!). Huge intake and exhaust ports. Big carburetor. Shortened lowered chassis, open wheel, lightweight body. I drove it over 80 once. That was fast enough. I also used to pass C Rajos and T Frontys going uphill on the Endurance Runs.
Many years ago, Vic Sala had a Sherman head race car. He did just about all one could do to a flat-head T to make that thing GO! Fairly sure it could have done about 100 mph. There is a great story about that car, and Vic, racing against a modern sprint racing car!

100 mph with in a T no thanks $39500. For a T speedster no thanks

All you’ve got to to is turn 4000 rpm with stock gearing... and if I remember correctly bout 3200 with 3:1 gears. Not impossible to do mechanically... but GUTS is a whole nother story!!

I have a feelin the real secret to doin 100 mph is in these “Bosch Magnets”...

For that kind of money I could buy a complete T, with a body.

Yea,I was thinking "guts" or something along that line would be more of a requirement for a 100 mph in a T.

The dynamics of air resistance are fascinating. It is an exponential progression. Up to about 30 mph, the air resistance is negligible, and actual wind direction has as much or more effect that the actual road speed does. At 40 mph, road speed begins to have a much more significant effect. Even a tailwind can begin to resist forward motion as long as the tailwind is less than the road speed (this is due to the three dimensional pressures that cause the wind in the first place). Around fifty mph, air resistance begins to drain away horsepower. Nearly every ten mph above that drains almost twice as much horsepower as the ten mph below it. Anything above 60 mph, the body, fenders, anything that can catch the air and increase resistance becomes very important. Every vehicle will have its own set of factors resulting in a specific figure unique to THAT vehicle. If, say, a given speedster with its particular fenders, seats, and every other part of the body AND DRIVER had say a five horsepower drain at fifty mph, it would have about a 40 horsepower drain at 80 mph. It would take about 80 hp to reach 90 mph, and 160 hp to break 100 mph!
Definitely a tough nut to crack.
Think that speedster could do 100 mph? I don't.

Disclaimers. All numbers are approximate, rule of thumb, as well as some guesswork, and vary considerably due to numerous conditions including humidity and other weather and road conditions. We used to have to design commercial satellite dishes to withstand 120 mph winds. One we built took a 100 mph wind (according to the US weather service) and didn't even blink when the carport next door landed two blocks away! (True story!)

No way. It's got good bones, but 100 MPH? Too many flat surfaces, the fenders themselves would cost you MPH, not to mention being in the wind - the driver would be like a big sail. And that's a C35 head - nice, but it's neither a crossflow nor a racing head. The truly fast speedsters are shaped the way they are for a reason... the higher speed gear was designed to give power and speed, and well...

It's a pretty car, but it's got a ways to go to make it a serious competitor.

wayne sheldon wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:22 pm

Many years ago, Vic Sala had a Sherman head race car. He did just about all one could do to a flat-head T to make that thing GO! Fairly sure it could have done about 100 mph. There is a great story about that car, and Vic, racing against a modern sprint racing car!

#8 was a 90+ MPH car (easily), Vic knew how to build 'em and make them roar. Between him and #4's dad, they probably did more to get me into fast 4 bangers...

I have a customer (modern car) that swears he had a ROJO speedster a few years back that would do 100 mph plus !!
He sold it shortly after he got it because it scared him !
He claimed he road with the fellow he bought it from beforehand and he was scared then. The guy had it going way faster than my friend said he had ever tried.

All I can say is, you better have improved braking !!

Note single port intake. That is on the low end of RAJO heads. I have a RAJO on my speedster that has the 2 port intake. Also the top end RAJO head would have exhaust on the opposite side. Not questioning the 100 mph claim, but think it is possible. I feed my RAJO with a Rayfield UF carb and run a distributor. Open wheel car and have had it going scary fast for a T, but no where near a 100.