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PHOTOS: VAN ABERNETHY, FLOYD FAMILY ARCHIVES |
KENNY FLOYD
Since the sporty‘ Vette didn’ t have a trunk large enough to tote slicks, he’ d show up with street tires and race the car just as it was.“ I had a lot of fun and won some races,” he says. Soon after Kenny graduated high school he took his beloved Corvette off the street, electing to make a full-fledged drag car out it. He swapped the factory 327 and 3-speed transmission for a 355 small block and 4-speed transmission.“ It’ s always been a small block car, but I’ ve had a variety of engines in it over the years. In addition to the 355, I eventually stroked that engine to 383, and at some point, I had Gene Fulton build a 302 bored to 305. I’ ve also had a 406 in it,” says Floyd.
Whenever the block became completely worn out, he would get a new one and begin putting together his next race engine. The car has also had a litany of transmissions over the year – everything from a Lenco to a Powerglide and 5-speed, to the aforementioned 3- and 4-speed transmissions. He finally settled on a 400 cid small block with a Powerglide as his current combination. The engine features 3.750 stroke with 4.125 bore. Kenny relies on 6-inch Carrillo rods, Manley pistons, 18-degree Trick Flow heads with an 18-degree Chevrolet intake.
Impressively, he does almost all of the work on the car himself. He built the chassis, maintains all the paint and body work and even hand-made the
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4-link brackets. He outsourced the roll cage and front snout, but that’ s pretty much it. Amazingly, the last time he painted the car was in 1985. The‘ Vette stays safely tucked away in the trailer, and just as important cosmetically, out of the sunlight. It’ s a true head-turner wherever Kenny takes it.
Although the car has been driven almost exclusively at the drag strip since 1970, there was the exception of a three-year stint when Floyd became disenchanted with drag racing and actually put the Corvette back on the street in the early 1980s.“ When everybody started bracket racing, I said to heck with it!” he laughingly remembers, and elected to convert the Corvette back to a street cruiser. He returned to the drag strip when index racing lured him back a few years later.“ I like racing heads-up, so that was enough to bring me back to the drag strip.”
Floyd routinely competes in the IHRA Summit Sportsman National Championship series, while racing in the 6.40 index class of Super Rod. One time while throttling on the full quarter mile, the car clocked a best of 9.23 at 143 mph with one of his previous engine combinations, although he mainly sticks to eighth-mile events these days. Local to the southeast is a popular series called the Pro Tree Racers Association, which is the perfect application for the style of racing Floyd loves most. He’ s enjoyed success over the years while competing in this touring series, capturing four PTRA Championships in the 6.00 class.
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Additionally, he’ s won a pair of track championships( 2012 and 2015) at Shadyside Dragway while competing in the 5.99 category. His driving ability actually seems to improve with age, and he’ s even picked up a pair of wins this year during the month of May at Pageland Dragway in South Carolina.
Recently retired from the automotive upholstery trade, Floyd says he now has more time to race and collect and restore vintage Corvettes. He enjoys the relaxing place he and Linda have reached in their lives. Oftentimes, their daughter, Michelle, accompanies them to the track for many of the local races.
So, with no particular place to be and no one really depending on them for much of anything, the Floyds have been able to take their newfound freedom to new heights! To kick off the 2017 race season they loaded up the race car and headed to Florida in January with the intentions of staying gone for no less than three weeks. They joined up with friends from Canada who also compete in some of the same circuits and together they raced, traveled and camped in their motorhomes and enjoyed life with few restrictions. You’ d be hardpressed to conjure up anything more genuinely blissful than the life these two are currently living.“ It’ s the first time in our lives that we have been able to leave home and stay gone for weeks at a time. We’ re loving it and intend to do more of it,” he smiles with satisfaction. DI
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June 2017 |
DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 63 |