Everett-Morrison cars have earned a reputation in the kit and replicar industry for their solid chassis engineering and well-crafted body components. In layman's terms, that means the cars look good, the body panels fit right, and the engineering under that beautiful skin is well thought out and totally functional.
Everett-Morrison has been in this business for 21 years and has continued to advance both the cosmetics and functionality of their product with each successive upgrade (they now offer a Generation IV). Everett-Morrison was formed in 1983 by Beaufort Everett, his sons Bruce and Brett, and Dean J. Morrison. Morrison had formerly owned Allied Industries in Nebraska where he had been a major producer of dune buggy bodies in the '60s, thus making him familiar with the day-to-day grind of the kit business. According to Brett Everett, the 1983 kit was a bare-bones economy model priced just under a reasonable $5,000.
Over the years they made many improvements and configured the kit for several different (Mustang II with straight axle, Jaguar, C4 Corvette, and Ford independent) suspensions in an attempt to improve the all-around performance of the car, yet retain some semblance of economic feasibility. During that time, they also tested the fitment of various engine and transmission combinations from Ford, GM, and Chrysler.
So what has the Generation IV car to offer? Though the frame is constructed of 4-inch tubing (as it has been in the past), now it's made from stainless-steel tubing. It also features a removable transmission crossmember, a driveshaft safety loop, and the seat and seat-belt mounts are attached directly to the frame rather than to the body. The wheelbase was stretched to 93 inches in order to provide a better entry, egress, and seating situation for the less-than-petite souls.
The body is hand-laid for accurate control over panel thickness, the foot boxes are widened by 2 inches (again for those with less-than-petite soles), the doors have better side beams, and every body is cured at 210 degrees for six hours as a final quality assurance. For suspension, the car uses a streamlined version of the Ford-based, four-wheel independent suspension, and now features stainless-steel control arms. Brakes rotors are 13 inches up front while 11.65-inch rear power disc units put the stopping power to the rear.
The two most common engines offered in the Generation IV replica are the 400hp 390 engine and the killer 500hp 427 package that seem to turn stationary objects into flashes of light. Both are backed to a Tremec five-speed equipped with a Centerforce clutch.
So it should come as no surprise that a guy with a background in serious automotive racing would be attracted to the basic E-M package no matter what generation of vehicle your dealing with, which brings us to Scott Johnson, the owner of the car featured here. An ex-motocross racer, pure automotive enthusiast, exuberant dirt-track racer, Scott is no stranger to cars that hurl themselves around the dry, slick, short-track bullrings. This is a sport where the name of the game is getting a 2,800lb car, powered by an 800hp engine, to move forward with the least amount of wasted motion (or, as they call it, "forward bite"), which were the same attributes Scott was looking for in his street car.
After a considerable amount of spec-checking, tire kicking, and finally, a trip to the 1999 Run & Gun event where he could see the cars in action, Scott settled on the Everett-Morrison package as the absolute best starting point for his personal project, though it was only an initial step. For the next four years, Scott would build each and every part of the car.