Edit: Sorry the picture doesn't work. Please go to this link for the real Doug King:
http://www.goldengatev8.org/gallery/pictures/XXF-FMR.jpg
Alan
This message was edited by ford38v8 on 9-16-11 @ 9:21 PM
100 horse running wild
Alan, my condolences to you as well, as I know he played a early role in your EFV8 Club involvement. No one made a stronger center main cap than Doug. He will be badly missed by the racing community in general, and the Bonneville/Ardun Ford brotherhood in particular.
Doug's roadster "King's Ransome" is now with his son Brian, who is running a Desoto Hemi.
Alan
I was unaware of the Iowa City connection. As an Ardun owner and enthusiast, I was aware of Doug's contributions to this small, esoteric clan of weird folk, including me.
The Dodge and Desoto Hemi's were of course a more modern solution, and I've often heard that if you liked hemi's it made a lot more sense to run a small MoPar "purpose-built" motor, than a flathead conversion. Still....some of us, Doug included, would argue that the Ardun was the first, and therefor was "sacred ground". Ardun's came out in the mid-forties, and Chrysler Corp didn't offer their "clone" until 1951, so we claim that flathead/Ardun's were the first.
History will prove us wrong, as Chrysler built a prototype pushrod hemi aircraft engine in the early forties, but the "Hemi" idea really caught on with Ardun-Merc's in the 50's.
One of my Bonneville buddies had a beautiful 40 Ford standard in the mid 50's. He stuffed a
270 cu-inch Dodge hemi in it in 1957, and it was one of the nicest rides I've ever experienced.
As an Ardun person, I am grateful for the contributions and hardware that Doug made.
We're kind of like the "Fronty Ford" model T faction, or the 2-Port Reilly model A and B faction. It's all about trying to get the most out of what Henry gave us as a starting point.