[jim_howard_pdx]

pkrwud,

I wish you could have seen the stretched Ford "fatbody" we built with a rolls royce Merlin engine. 2,000 horsepower and a world record at Bonneville.

I got to help with the bodywork and under body pan to cut wind resistance and improve downforce at 250 mph.

I did not get to wrench on the aircraft engine, I was only allowed to stand and admire it.

This was a good thing for sure, because I can break anything ever built. Just ask anyone who knows me well. I break stuff all the time.

On a historical note, these same engines were used on P 51 Mustangs and British Spitfire fighters during WWII. They were the only prop aircraft that could break the sound barrier during a dive. P 47's did this with the 2,000 hp Pratt & Whitney rotary piston engines, but they had to be nose to the deck, and you did not always get a chance to pull out of a dive like this when you lost all aerodynamic lift.

Have a great weekend.