While drag racing is a sport of personalities, cars can also be the stars. And we tend to get emotional when the car’s been in the family for decades.
To Kenny Robinson of Greentown, Indiana, his ’67 Ford Fairlane is a car that means the world. Yeah, it sounds amazing, does big wheelies and rumbles with big-block power—but the goodness in this Ford runs much deeper than paint or quick timeslips.
“My father built this car when I was 10 years old in 1972—so it’s been a drag car for 53 years,” Robinson said. “When he first got it, it had a small block and a three speed on the tree and no options. He converted it into a Super Stocker with a 427 and a 4-speed stick shift and raced it for years like that,” he added. “It had no radio, no power brakes, and no power steering, either. I never was very good with a stick shift like my father, so around 1995 we switched it to a C6 (automatic).”
Today, Robinson and his wife Kelley campaign the beautiful Ford, which has been subject to many upgrades. It’s been a Super Stocker with a stick, and now it serves duty as a bracket racer with a healthy Blue Oval powerplant.
“It’s got a basic bracket engine that is pretty much maintenance free,” said Robinson. “The mill is a Ford 385-Series V8 that’s been enlarged to 466 cubic inches. It has a four-bolt-main block, Eagle rotating assembly, a small flat tappet camshaft and it burns methanol. Induction is a Dominator carb that feeds the Trick Flow intake and Trick Flow aluminum cylinder heads. Robinson relied on Quinlin Automotive in Indianapolis for the machining of the parts, but he built the engine himself.
While it’s never been on a dyno, he estimates it makes 650 hp at a modest 6,500 rpm. Backing the stroker engine is a JW Transmissions two-speed Powerglide with a torque converter and transbrake from Coan Engineering.
Robinson loves heritage of the little Ford, so his office reflects the originality and simplicity. It sports the original ’67 Fairlane steering wheel with woodgrain grips, along with a single lightweight seat, a Turbo Action shifter, delay timer, and a lean-out for the methanol fuel and other parts and pieces from Summit Racing Equipment.
“We used to run a 10.00 index class and when it got hot, I couldn’t run quicker than 10.04-10.05 so we switched to methanol. Now, I can run 9.80s and the car doesn’t slow down much, even in the heat.”
Legality and safety come by way of a full cage that was bent and welded by Bill Carter of Two-Lane Performance, and he added a fuel cell, as well. The Fairlane also has twin batteries, Magnafuel fuel pumps and he uses custom weight bars to adjust for track conditions. As you’d expect, Robinson chose a Ford 9-inch rear end with a 4.56 gear, and there’s a four-link suspension with Koni coil over shocks to aid traction. Up front are a pair of Santhuff shocks with Aerospace Components brakes to keep the package light.
Looking to modernize the look, Robinson went with 3030 Autosport wheels that wear Goodyear Eagle tires. All in, the Ford weighs 3,230 pounds with driver. And while it’s not superfly light, it can rip to 1.35-second 60-foot times and 9.80s in the quarter.
Robinson told us the Fairlane was painted Electric Current Red in 1998, but it looks like it could have been sprayed last week. More recently, he wrapped the roof in white to closely resemble its factory appearance.
We caught up With Kenny and Kelley Robinson at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, and it was fun watching them go wheels-up. They turned on win lights too, taking home the trophy for the day. The Robinson’s routine was solid, with Kenny driving and his wife looking after tire pressure and helping pick the all-important dial in. They have it down to a science, so be careful if you look over and see this rocket of a Ford in the other lane.
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