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The team spent last year racing with the Texas Outlaw Top Sportsman Association where at their first race they ran an off the trailer 4.71 on the 4.70 index. As Benham told me, “We had it dialed in to run a 4.70 down a dirt road.”
The Corvair actually is a unique piece. The engine is a 471 c.i. big block built using a Dart Big M cast iron block and a pair of billet Fred Mandoline-designed Bacman Chevy cylinder heads. A Mooneyham 14-71 blower and an MSD Digital-7 ignition help the little big block make power. A Lenco three-speed backed by a Crower triple disc sends the horsepower to a Dana 60 rear end with 5:13 gears. Remember, this is an eighth-mile-only car. Weld Wheels with 17X34 Goodyears take care of getting the power to the pavement.
The car weighs just 2350 lbs without the driver -- not too hefty considering the car body is about 80 percent original Corvair tin. The wheelbase measures out at 114 inches, which I believe is about stock wheelbase for a Corvair. Lamb brakes and Santhuff shocks and struts round out the package.
Although the car was built to run as a Top Sportsman, they have also raced it as a Pro Mod on the eighth-mile. One of the team’s goals is to have the quickest and fastest Corvair in history and, while they have yet to accomplish that on a quarter mile, they certainly have that title for eighth-mile competition. At the Houston event they recorded a best of 4.471/151.06 which no less an authority than Bret Kepner said was a best ever for a Corvair.
The next step for the Corvair, driver Jeff Benham and owner/builder Neal Bergin is a 526-inch Alan Johnson motor that they hope will make them competitive with the hitters in Pro Mod. We’ll keep you informed of their progress.
Damn right it’s a Corvair!
