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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 |