A Richmond six-speed gearbox and a Schiefer single-plate clutch backed up this powerhouse. I slipped the clutch to get rolling and found it pleasantly weighted and direct. The gearbox shifted smoothly and the gears were easy to find, except for fifth, which was very close to reverse and easy to overshoot.
It was time to head south on Highway 81 and hammer down once I was out of town. The route to Lincoln is fast and straight, layered with majestic fields of lush green crops swaying in the breeze. This is Gasohol country; the small, rustic towns that dot the landscape look like they could use the business. The cool morning air whipped into the cockpit and made it necessary to switch on the Vintage Air heater. By juggling the two switches, I managed to get warm air flowing into the cockpit, making for pleasant driving. Water temp hovered around 150 degrees. I was soon cruising at 70-75 mph. That was when I discovered a problem with this particular engine and gearbox combo.
Cruising at an indicated 75 mph, the engine was turning around 2,700 rpm in sixth, which would normally be a reasonable rpm range. But for this cammy engine, it was not enough rpm to keep the plugs clean. It was better in fifth, where the engine was kept in its power range without loading up. If you crave muscular engines that must be kept in a high rpm range, you would be better off with either a five-speed or a lower final drive. I would have preferred a less radical engine (maybe a 300-375hp 302 or 351W) that would work better with the six-speed gearing. The occasional miss provided a good excuse to stand on it from time to time (just to clean the plugs, of course).
Worked hard, the engine sounded great blasting through the mildly muffled side pipes. The four-wheel 11-inch disc brakes were effective, but like all manual brakes, it required extra leg muscle to burn off speed. The steering was light, direct, and reasonably well weighted.
At the Highway 92 turnoff, I slid the Coupe into the ramp turn to see how it handled. It exhibited moderate lean, a function of not having sway bars. The frame under the coupe is similar to the ones under the Shell Valley roadsters, featuring a live 9-inch Ford rear axle (packing 3.50 gears, Moser axles, and a Power Track limited slip differential) with four-link suspension and a Panhard bar. The Cooper Cobra rubber (235/60 front and 295/50 rear) was mounted on American Salt Flats 15-inch mags (resembling the old Halibrand "kidney bean" rims) that were 7 inches wide in front and 10 inches in back.
As I cruised through rural neighborhoods crowned with towering grain silos, people stared, slack-jawed, as the svelte Coupe glided past. It looks good from any angle, particularly in the striking Viper blue and white paint scheme.
Speedway TourAfter about an hour and a half, Lincoln appeared on the horizon. My objective was Speedway Motors, one of the major American retailers of performance parts, street rod equipment, and hot rod kits. Their shipping plant is huge, with 520,000 square feet of buildings plopped down on 42 acres near downtown Lincoln. Founded by "Speedy Bill" Smith in 1952, Speedway is the oldest speed parts dealer still in continuous operation.
The legendary Mr. Smith himself gave me the tour of the Smith Collection, a museum housed in an ultra-modern three-story building on one corner of the headquarters' complex. Smith is particularly fond of rare engines, and hundreds of them were arranged in artistic displays-from Ardun-topped flathead Fords to fabulous Miller Indy mills. Speedway has been building fiberglass kit cars and bodies since the 1950s. A number of them were featured in the museum, including a Track-T hot rod kit that once graced the cover of KIT CAR. Finally, I watched as Speedway's new, all-steel '32 roadster rods were assembled into rolling chassis. What a great museum it was. (For more info, check out the January '07 KIT CAR, "A Kit Car Museum Tour.")
Heading For HomeBy the time I boarded the Coupe for my flight back to Columbus, the temperature outside had shot up to over 85 degrees, with high humidity that made the climate seem even more oppressive. Once underway, I reached for the air conditioning switch only to hear a loud screech, signaling a gremlin was lurking either in the compressor or the belt assembly. The return trip would be sans cooling air. Gulp.
OK, it was plenty hot, but not as bad as it could have been, since Shell Valley has provided good ventilation to the cockpit via the curved rear quarter glass (actually, plexi- glass). And the headers are kept far enough away from the foot boxes to keep your feet from roasting.
On the way back, I couldn't resist stopping off at Shelby, Nebraska, just to take a snap of the Shell Valley Coupe in front of the city road sign (yeah, Carroll, we know it's not an original). In slow traffic, the water temperature rose to 210 degrees and the engine began to miss again.
Upon my return to Columbus, I delivered the Coupe to a local hot rod show, where it instantly attracted a crowd of admirers. At least one had never heard of a Daytona Coupe, but said he could tell it was a Cobra variation by the traditional paint job! The Shell Valley crew was NOT happy with the A/C failure and immediately diagnosed the problem, which turned out to be an incorrect installation of the Vintage Air pulley set. It was quickly set to right.
The Shell Valley 1964 Daytona Coupe Series II Replica is reasonably priced at $12,200 for a basic body and frame package, or $24,400 with everything needed to complete a rolling chassis. Shell Valley President Rich Anderson says a prospective buyer of our test car has requested the stroker motor be swapped for a medium-hot 1970s Boss 302 that Anderson has stashed in his personal demonstrator. This mill should be ideal for cruising and still provide plenty of performance without the temperament of the highly tuned 347 (which would be right at home in a track car). With judiciously chosen running gear, you can fine-tune this Coupe into either a stoplight bandit, a track-day terror, or a reasonably refined cruiser. The choice is yours.