SC Rambler Hurst and Mustangs

SVO block
early C3 heads
ported by Jon
Kaase
Jack Roush intake
Titanium valves
Over .75 inch lift
roller
Dry sump
Wide power band
~8800 RPM shift
Ran 8’s with Lenco
transmission, 9’s
at 146 MPH with C6
automatic, no power adder

SVO Ford C3 heads Roush Intake

C3 Heads with titanium valves

C3 heads with titanium valves

Installed in car, still marginally streetable. My intention was to run SS/GT or
SS/X classes of 10 pounds per cubic inch, single four barrel. The car had a full
interior and stock front suspension, but tubs and narrowed 9″ rear end with four
link was allowed.

1983 Mustang GT super stock

Early
Mustang

I
went through an
early Mustang craze
also. I rebuilt two
1966 Mustang coupes
from body shell up.

Midnight blue K code
1966 GT with front
factory disc brakes,
fast steering, 9
inch 4.11 locker,
4-speed. Blue
interior, no extra
features other than
GT, optional 4.11
locker, and 271 HP
engine package. With
the factory K-code
motor it the car ran
15’s in the 1/4
mile. This was
typical of K code
cars, they are not
as fast as people
remember. I built a
late model HO motor
up with a mechanical
roller cam and World
Products heads, and
ran low 12’s with
the same car. This car eventually went to someone in Atlanta.

Tahoe Turquoise 66
coupe with factory
wire wheel hubcaps.
This six-cylinder car had many special features including
an 8-track player,
console, automatic,
and air. In 1994, the 1966 Mustang below was traded to a Conyers Ford dealer for a new 1994 Cobra.

1966 Mustang coupe

1969
SC Hurst Rambler (Scrambler SC/ Rambler)

My first brand new car was a 1969 SC Hurst Rambler purchased
from Valiton Motors on Monroe Street in Toledo, Ohio. I
set a quarter mile D/S record in my 1969
SC Rambler at 12.54
seconds. This was on
wide oval tires
through factory
Thrush mufflers.
American Motors
helped me with a
special factory cast
iron intake
manifold, legal head
modifications, and
other parts. Oversized red line radial tires with less-hard compound, six-cylinder front
springs with 90/10
shocks, revised wider ratio T-10 transmission gearing, and 4.44
rear end gearing helped
get the Rambler out
of the hole in stock
classes. The stock close ratio in the transmission and factory 3.54 gearing
resulted in too high a gear (lower numerical ratio) when leaving the line.
Steeper gearing, through a wider ratio transmission gear set and 4.44 rear end
gearing allowed a near off-idle launch without lighting the tires off.

On the street, the
factory 315-horsepower 390
AMC engine (which is
nothing at all like
a Ford 390) made the
light Rambler Rogue
coupe run with 427
Vets and other cars.
The scrambler’s primary
limitation, like all cars of that era, was
traction. We did not have the tires available back then as we have available
today. Compare the SC Hurst Rambler’s advertised 14.3 ET, typical “as
manufactured” track ET’s of 14.1 or less reported by many magazines, to a list
of other muscle cars of that era:

Vehicle	Tested Date	CID	adv HP	Trans	Rear end	1/4 mile ET	Top speed	Braking G’s	Brake ref	MPG	Price
Corvette	Jun-68	427	425	4sp M	3.55	13.41	142	0.8125		9-13	$6,142
Hemi Charger	Apr-69	426	425	4sp M	3.55	13.68	134	0.875		13-14	$5,261
Mustang Mach I	Mar-69	428	335	3sp A	3.5	13.9	121	0.90625		9-12	$4,139
Hemi Charger	Apr-69	426	425	3sp A	3.23	13.92	136	0.875		12-14	$5,026
SC Rambler	May-69	390	310	4sp M	3.54	14.2	108	1		12-14	$2,998
Mercury Cyclone	Jul-68	428	335	3sp A	3.91	14.4	117	0.9375		10-13	$3,875
The Judge GTO	Mar-69	400	350	4sp M	3.55	14.45	124	0.84375		9-11	$4,439
Pontiac GTO	May-68	400	350	4sp M	3.9	14.53	112	0.875		9-12	$4,595
AMX	Apr-68	390	310	3sp A	3.54	14.59	107	0.8125		10-15	$3,741
Plymouth GTX	Feb-68	440	390	3sp A	3.23