Al Crane has been working on a dream car for 18 months now and this past Sunday his 1965 Falcon Sprint made its Sunshine Coast debut at the August Inferno Drag Race at the Sechelt Airport.
The Falcon arrived at the Airport Saturday afternoon by car trailer from a location in Roberts Creek. With the trailer locked, Crane seemed a bit apprehensive to remove the big locks at the back. Finally, the rear ramp lowered and below the car cover were fat slicks and the impressive Strange Nodular 9” Ford rear end. The proud owner was beaming as he explained the details to those gathered.
Historically this car spent many years drag racing on Vancouver Island at Port Alberni, Port McNeil, Mission on the Lower Mainland and other Pacific Northwest drag strips. Crane found the Falcon in Courtenay and purchased the car in April 2017.
Crane smirked when asked if he’d had a chance to do any burnouts. Maybe, just maybe there’s a long paved driveway in the Creek with numerous fresh black strips from some Friday night shenanigans.
The motor is a low compression 520 cubic inch displacement, running on 94 octane pump gas and was proudly built on the Coast in Pender Harbour by Jim Obalek Enterprises. Currently detuned to 800+HP and at 2,700 pounds, there’s no comparison to Crane’s former car, a 1970 Camaro.
His first runs Sunday at the airport produced traction problems and a lot of sideways motion. The only issue of the day was late in the afternoon when the alternator belt flew off in a race against Will McLennan of Gibsons.
Crane is learning to tame this little beast which in its previous life regularly ran the 1/4 mile in the low nine seconds at over 140 mph. One-eighth-mile runs were under six seconds at above 120 mph. He’s confident at the next Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) event in May of 2019 he’ll be achieving sub six-second runs in the 1/8 mile at about 115 mph.
A large gathering of just over 1,000 fans, volunteers and racers enjoyed a good day at the August Inferno drag race. The weather was perfect but some challenges with timing electronics resulted in more down time than racers and fans would prefer.
Transport Canada regulations and prior arrangements with the SCDRA required the track be clear by 5 p.m. and available for general aviation. Time extensions are not an option. Unfortunately, race directors and club volunteers were unable to get all the cars through in time and suspended the race. Racers who hadn’t been eliminated have been invited to attend the Sept. 9 test ‘n’ tune and finish the race.
For more information about the SCDRA sponsorship opportunities, contact Richard at [email protected] or 604-230-5067.
