Well, gang. It's time for a short update on the status of "Wild" Bill Devine's car, as promised. Bill's car is at Racecraft Inc., in Streator, Illinois. Mark Wilkinson's Racecraft crew have been working their magic to update the chassis. There are some new tricks that have been learned since it was originally constructed for Brandon Switzer, back in 2001.  Racecraft has also retrofitting the car for Bill's signature turbo. "Wild" Bill installed the engine in his garage, and the car left for Racecraft.

The car needs some major retrofitting to make the turbo work, and Racecraft is just the place to do it.  Mounting the turbo is a tedious task, but Doug Schmidt of Racecraft has both the skill and the technology to do it.  Measurements for the headers have been taken, and are being constructed by Pro Turbo Kits as we speak.   If you remember from my last article, the powertrain setup has run as fast as 7.26 @ 197 in Bill's old chassis, so I expect to see Bill become a serious player next season.

Racecraft's signature sheetmetal rearend housing and wheelie bars remain intact, and Mark has been hard at work installing the cooling water tanks. The new fuel cell, water pump brackets, and fuel pump brackets have also been constructed.  Bill has updated the motor plate and midplate to fit the new chassis, as the old parts from the '89 did not fit the current car. Once the headers arrive back at Racecraft, look for another complete update, along with buildup pictures detailing the craftsmanship.

Bill's debut at the Fords of Englishtown race in late October will show off all the performance this car is built for. Stay tuned!!

Jason