NEWS

Stay up-to-date with our progress.

First Start-Up

I'm delighted to announce that we have successfully started both of the Challenger II's engines. The initial run-throughs used methanol and sounded fantastic. After a few function tests, we switched over to 50% nitro, and the combined 4000hp roar shook the ground. It was a terrific feeling, and one that my team and I have been waiting a very long time for. Full credit belongs to our engine specialists Jerry Darien and Richard "RC" Catton. They made this happen, and I am extremely grateful for their dedication and hard work. 

Looking ahead, we'll be doing a few more shop starts before our first shakedown run at a local drag strip. We've added a calendar section to the top of the website with more information about the dates and times of our testing events. Most will be open to the public if you'd like to attend. As per usual, the startup process has revealed some problems and inefficiencies, so we'll be working hard to correct and overcome those in the weeks ahead. Below you'll find a photo gallery and some videos of the startup. Every time I watch them, I feel overwhelmingly excited. I hope you feel the same. 


February 2014 Photo Update

Just a few quick snapshots this month. Don't worry though. We're prepping for March, when we expect to to reach two huge milestones. First, our new aluminum wheels arrive. Second...we're starting her up!  See you then. 

January 2014 Photo Update

We've taken delivery of the Hadley Boxes and are laying out the plumbing and electrical pathways. Our ongoing packaging issues have necessitated some aero modifications that we're still playing around with. Additionally, I had the privilege of presenting the Mickey Thompson Award of Excellence to Dr. John “Doc” Bodnar at this year's Supercross opener in Anaheim. 

Grand National Roadster Show 2014 Photos

We made it! The show was a big success, and I'm personally grateful to our loyal team members, volunteers, patrons, and sponsors for sticking with us and making sure that we arrived on time and in style. Thank you! 

RACER.com Diary 20: Moving Air

One of the biggest stumbling blocks on a car like the Challenger II is maintaining aerodynamic slipperiness while simultaneously providing the engines with sufficient air to properly ignite the fuel. To feed the front engine, we have a center-mounted flush duct that sits on top of the vehicle, roughly where the hood would be on a normal car. When the car is in motion, it directs plenty of air to the front engine with minimal aerodynamic impact. 

The rear engine is more challenging because it is situated behind the driver’s canopy. As air travels over the canopy, it is directed upwards, creating a null space in the area a top mounted intake would normally be located. To get around that problem, my dad and his crew added NACA ducts to both sides of the vehicle adjacent to the the rear engine. But to be frank, they were one of the few parts of the original vehicle that didn’t work well. The ducts directed oncoming air into a squirrel cage, where it had to spin 180 degrees before reaching the throttle bodies. The air tended to stall within the cage, which eventually necessitated the addition of small ears to the NACA ducts. This improved their function, but had significant aerodynamic disadvantages. 

My original plan was to replace the NACA ducts with a rear air scoop, which is the most common solution utilized by other streamliners. I mocked it up in cardboard, but when Tim Gibson, my engineer and aerodynamicist, saw the result he deemed it aerodynamically unacceptable. Tim’s a ridiculously smart guy, so after gathering and calculating all of the necessary data, he presented me with a solution that provided sufficient air intake without significant aerodynamic disadvantages. 

His solution was a set of side-mounted straight intakes with specific veins that funnel air directly to the throttle bodies. While this superficially resembles the NACA duct solution, it is simpler, more efficient, and actually works. The master metal shaper Terry Hegman took Tim’s drawings and spent the next three weeks hand shaping the intakes into the car’s aluminum skin. I’m glad we have Terry, because there simply aren’t that many people who can do that anymore. The end result, as you can see in the pictures, is gorgeous. 

See you next week. 

 

December Photo Update

We're really had our heads down this month prepping the Challenger II for it's public debut at the Grand National Roadster Show in January. Fingers crossed. 

ThyssenKrupp Materials N.A. Joins The Team

When our engineer Tim Gibson sat down to design a new set of wheels for the Challenger II, he knew that we needed material of the highest possible quality much faster than most companies could deliver it. To solve our problem, we turned to ThyssenKrupp Material N.A. They were able to supply us with the 4,000lbs of 2024-T3 aerospace grade aluminum we needed to build just 16 wheels for the streamliner. We'll update this entry with pictures of the manufacturing process and the final product as our friends at SK Specialities shape the raw aluminum into some of the fastest wheels on the planet. Thanks TKMNA!

RACER.com Diary 19: The Beginning

I just got back from Speed Week, so I thought I’d take a break from talking about the changes we’ve made to the car and elaborate a little bit on how the Challenger II project got started back in 1968. 

The catalyst, believe it or not, was a Mustang. Ford, then under the control of a newly appointed Bunkie Knudsen, was looking for a way to promote the new Mach I. Bunkie had worked together with Mickey while he was heading up Pontiac, and they started bouncing marketing ideas off of each other. Eventually, they came up with a campaign that would emphasize not only the performance of the Mach I, but Ford’s new 427 SOHC engine as well. 

To promote the Mustangs, my dad and Danny Ongais took three of the new models up to Bonneville with the intention of breaking as many new and existing speed and endurance records as possible. It ended up being a tremendous success, and they were able to deliver more than 250 records to the Ford marketing department. Simultaneously, the new 427 was being promoted as the power plant in both Mickey’s Funny Cars and the new Challenger II. 

In exchange for assisting in Ford’s Mustang and Funny Car efforts, M/T got significant support for his speed record project. Ford and Autolite (which was owned by Ford at the time) agreed to be the primary financial sponsors, but they also gave Mickey access to their skunk works Kar Kraft division, which helped to design the car. My dad’s liaison at Kar Kraft was Ed Hull, who was also involved with the creation of the GT40 Mark IV.  

Once Ed’s team had finished the engineering, Mickey recruited a handful of California’s most talented hot rodders to complete the actual construction. He somehow managed to get names like Frank, Jobe, Epperly, and Buttera all on the same crew, and they were able to finish the car in an absolutely astonishing 6 months (I’ve been working on the restoration for two years). After that, it was off to Bonneville. 

I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about the history of the car. See you next week.