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VAN L E N A P S E M A H T 8 4 9 1 ’S GARY CLINTON IS A OTS O R G IN C A R IS H O T E T U TRIB
STREET DRIVEN
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story by b
GEORGE PICH photos by
M
ost hot rodded cars and tru trucks enjoyed pre previous fame as production vehicles. The Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger, or even the fifties and sixties big bodies, were all popular before they ended up in the hands of somebody with a more sinister plan for them. Some vehicles, however, just plain fell flat on their face as production
MATT TROMBLEY vehicles, but somehow, somewhere somebody saw something in them that would make them a good candidate to “hop up.” And the 1948 Thames panel, like Gary Clinton’s blown big block Mopar ride, certainly falls into the latter category. In the early 1930s Ford began production of complete cars in Britain. Their models were definitely geared towards the European market with smaller
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ALL KINDS OF CUSTOM Clinton’s Thames panel features a body that was lengthened 10 inches with the roof chopped 3.5 inches, giving it a completely different look than the original tall short wheelbase production version. The overhead gives you an idea of space available in the cargo portion after the body stretch.
engines and very basic amenities, and they experienced impressive sales in Europe. Ford expanded the lineup by the late thirties and in 1940 introduced the Ford Anglia. While production was interrupted during the Second World War, it resumed again in 1945.
By 1948 Ford of Britain decided to export vehicles to the United States and Canada and projected substantial sales, sales that never happened. The Anglia, Prefect and Thames Van were offered, but less than 4,000 vehicles sold, and even with a substantial price drop, the very basic, smaller, thir-
ties-looking models just never caught on. By this time North American car buyers wanted, big, lots of chrome and more power. By the sixties, though, these models caught the attention of American hot rodders and racers and became very popular, especially during the Gasser wars. Even
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HOME BUILT Owner-fabricated wheelie bars and parachute were originally installed during the race build but kept in place for the re-tool to a wicked street machine.
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the legendary “Ohio” George Montgomery campaigned Hurst’s Gasser Passer. Today, although not something you see at every dragstrip or cruise night, there are still many examples of Ford’s offerings from overseas, including the Clinton Clan Racing panel van. Hailing from Prescott Arizona, Gary Clinton is the mastermind of the over-thetop build and is supported by
his son Joshua. “My dad built this car to go Top Sportsman racing, but a heart condition prevented him from relicensing with the NHRA,” Joshua explained. “So he re-tooled it into a street car.” If you think this is just some guy with no real world experience who threw together a cool car, um, you would be 100% wrong. Clinton drag raced Anglias in brackets and NHRA Super Gas for 30
IT’S LEGIT It IS the real thing! This car was built for the strip including the 15% overdriven blown 512-inch big block Mopar mill. Nothing was changed in the engine for the street car, so let’s just say you can hear Gary coming from miles away...and when he cracks the throttle you know it!
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years. His last Anglia was flipped and destroyed at the top end during a run in Super Gas when a rear tire went flat just as he went through the finish line beams. With an obvious affection for Ford’s British designs, Clin-
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ton sought out to find another worthy candidate. With aftermarket body and chassis offerings now available, the decision was made to build his own 1948 Thames Panel. For the record, the name “Thames” was originally
made famous for being the longest river entirely in England. It’s that river in all the movies showing the London Bridge and Tower Bridge. “This was my dream car,” the elder Clinton said. “A modern build of an old school
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...NOT BOUGHT The panel was built almost entirely by Gary in his home garage.
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GARY CLINTON’S PRO STREET 1948 FORD THAMES PANEL (ANGLIA VAN) Chassis Type & Mods: Art Morrison chrome moly frame and cage for Anglia coupe extended 10” to fit the extended body. Some of the driver’s compartment roll bars were altered when the car was put onto the street. Suspension & Brakes: Art Morrison front struts with Aldan front coilover shocks. Wilwood front brakes. Aldan rear coil over shocks and Ford brakes on rear. Body & Paint: Fiberglass Trends fiberglass body. Front end is stretched 4 inches. Anglia coupe doors are 6 inches longer than Thames Panel doors, so the body was stretched 6 inches to fit the coupe doors. The entire car was stretched a total of 10 inches. The body also has a 3.5 inch chopped top. Rear doors were also modified to fit the body. Paint is from 4th Dimension. Hi-lite Blue Pearl main color with midnight blue stripes and accents. Entire body work, and complete paint job done by owner in 3 car garage. Engine: Dodge wedge head 512cu. inches of MOPAR power. 440 with .060 overbore 4.38 bore size. American Custom Cams roller cam custom ground intake .665 lift, exhaust .650 lift, duration intake 316, exhaust 276. Lobe centerline 114 degrees. 440source.com Stealth aluminum wedge heads custom ported. Large valves. Zoomie headers by Good Vibrations and custom header inserts for mufflers for street driving built by owner. 440source forged crankshaft. Ross 9.5:1 forged pistons and forged rods. Power Adder & Induction: BDS 8-71 blower with Enderle Big and Ugly injector hat. Blower has 15% overdrive. Runs on 110 octane VP fuel or Alcohol. With Alcohol pills, approx. 1200 - 1300 horsepower. Motor completely built by owner in home garage. Electronics & Ignition: MSD 7A ignition box with MSD distributor. Autometer gauges. Painless wiring kit throughout car. Transmission & Driveline: 727 Torqueflite racing transmission by TCI with 4000 stall converter Differential: Ford 9 inch built by Currie Enterprises. Strange aluminum center section. 4.30 gears with Strange spool. Currie axles.
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A AA/gasser. So we built it to run in fast bracket ets and Top Sportsman st style events.” Gary built th the panel, “Ol’ Blue,” in h his three-car garage at h home. The motor, trans, m most of the assembly and p paint are all his work. An Art Morrison ch chromoly frame and cage fo for an Anglia coupe was u used and extended 10 in inches to fit the extended
Panel body. Art Morrison front struts with Aldan front coilover shocks were installed along with front disc brakes. Moving rearward, a Ford 9-inch built by Currie Enterprises boasts Currie axles, a Strange aluminum center section, 4.30 gears and Strange spool. A 4-link with Aldan rear coilovers suspends the rear diff.
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SUBTLE IT AIN’T The towering presence of the injection hat is well hidden by the body until you lift the tilt off front end. You would be hard pressed to find many enthusiasts hard core enough to run a real race style injection system on the street. Gary Clinton is one of them.
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A Fiberglass Trends fiberglass body with 4-inch front end stretch was set in place and, since Anglia coupe doors are 6 inches longer than Thames Panel doors, the body was stretched 6 inches to fit the coupe doors. The body also has a 3.5 inch chopped top.
But what would any cool, low slung nostalgia build be without a blown big block to back it up? For this task Clinton chose a Mopar wedge to the tune of 512 cubic inches. Ross forged blower pistons pinned to forged rods are spun by a 440source forged crankshaft.
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UPDATED INSIDES The Thames was built to race, however Clinton removed some bars for access requirements and added some door panels and other aesthetics for street appeal.
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SAY WHAT?? Zoomie race headers were equipped with owner-fabricated baffles for street driving. The sound is still unmistakably blown big block, though.
An American Custom Cams custom grind roller cam was slid into place and 440source. com Stealth aluminum wedge heads were custom ported. Base compression ratio is 9.5:1 to accommodate the BDS 8-71 blower that runs 15% overdriven and an Enderle Big and Ugly injector hat completes the package. The motor is satisfied with VP 100 octane, but has a soft spot for the occasional alcohol buzz. A 727 Torqueflite racing transmission by TCI with TCI 4000 stall converter backs the wicked wedge and shifts are commanded by a B&M ratchet shifter. The original race Zoomie headers are by Good Vibrations but when switching from race to street duty Gary fabbed up some header inserts for mufflers for street driving. Additional mods for street
duty, aside from adding full-functioning equipment to make the car street legal, included modifications to some of the cage bars “for ease of access for an old guy” as Gary put it. While it’s not on the track, Gary’s build commands attention wherever it goes, if not for the wild chopped top and low ride look, then definitely for the ear and earth shattering lumpy rolling idle of a 1,200-plus HP blown big block. “He has offered to let me to race it,” said son Joshua, “but I have always refused in fear of hurting the car. Now he and wife Karen use it for car shows and street driving and I tell my own two boys that Ol’ Blue keeps p their grandad young.”
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