Thank god the kid shut her down...I had a similiar problem with mine but it happened as I was going through the traps at the end of the 1/4 mile. Crank was junk and bearings were trashed. You should of heard the noise that thing made. I hated to start it to drive it back on the trailer, made the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
Anyway, looks like an opportunity to just supervise this one and let the boy turn the wrenches, it will give him a new appreciation when he pushes that throttle to the floor boards
Good Luck!
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fordgasm
CLICK HERE to see my 87 GT