Up front, we find Shell Valley tubular control arms, Mustang II spindles, a Mustang II rack, another pair of Quick Silver coilovers-only this time they have 450-pound coils-and a Speedway Engineering hollow-tube antiroll bar. The brakes in this case are large-diameter GM and are activated by a Howe Racing master cylinder and aluminum Shell Valley pedal assembly. Then, to properly finish off the pure race car look, a full set of Trigo knockoffs were attached to each corner and wrapped in Hosier DOT racing slicks.
With the body and chassis chores completely under control, it was time to introduce a bit of raw power into the equation. In keeping with the true Daytona theme, a '67 Ford 289 blends into the formula. Of course this is no ordinary 289; this one has been treated to a plethora of speed techniques and tuning tricks. First of all, it's been stretched to 350 cid via enlarging the bore and inserting a Scat forged steel stroker crank and a set of H-beam forged steel rods with 7/16-inch bolts. The compression has been boosted a bit, and a serious Competition Cam (300-plus-degrees duration and .600-inch lift) roller assembly was selected to send pulses to the roller rocker arms that actuate the stainless valves. The Ford Motorsport SVT iron heads were ported and polished by Miller to increase their flow capabilities. An Edelbrock Victor manifold / Holley 750 double-pumper combination is used to feed the required volumes of air and fuel to the stroker. Naturally the oiling, cooling, and ignition systems were all upgraded.
MSD and Mallory handle the ignition chores, while oil capacity and flow rate are increased by using an 8-quart Canton road race pan in conjunction with a high-volume pump. The cooling system makes use of an aluminum radiator, under-driven pulleys, an aluminum water pump, and a 14-inch electric cooling fan. The only thing remaining is to provide an exit for the spent combustion byproducts, so a pair of headers with 2-inch primary tubes, feeding into 3-inch collectors that feed dual side pipes exiting each side of the car, completes the engine package.
The final link in the drivetrain is filled by a very traditional '67 Ford top loader four-speed manual transmission with an owner-modified Hurst Competition Plus shifter attached to it. Of course, for safety reasons there is a Lakewood scatter shield surrounding the Hays 11-inch clutch components and a very sturdy foot-long-by-4-inch-diameter, owner-fabricated driveshaft connecting the transmission to the rearend.
With all the body modifications complete, and the engine, drivetrain, and chassis wrapped up, it was time to dress out the interior. Owner-installed Stewart-Warner gauges fill the instrument panel. A Painless Wiring kit activates the entire project and a bit of upholstery work by Undercover Canvas in Denver adds to the Spartan surroundings. This interior is a little sparse by common street car standards, but one must remember that in its original configuration this was a pure race-only vehicle and there was nothing on the car that didn't enhance its ability to go faster, brake better, or corner flatter-so that's the way Miller put this one together too.
The finished project turned out to be all that he could have hoped for. It's fast (145 mph so far), agile on the track, and seems to stick better the faster he goes; the interior has a purposeful coziness, and the exterior's aerodynamic lines are reminiscent of vintage European race cars.
Miller may have some more things up his sleeve, and we can't wait to see what his Shell Valley Daytona Series 1 can do on the track...maybe at this year's Run and Gun. He should put on quite a show.