Words & Photos: Tommy Parry

Aaron Brown might’ve spent the majority of his career building stock cars, but rather than letting that hold him back in the straight-line game, he’s used all his knowledge from oval racing to make one of the most incredible land speed trucks seen around. Though there are some stunning machines built to duel with the salt flats, with a host of NASCAR parts making up a serious, tube-framed race car underneath a classic shell with patina to spare, this ‘39 Ford takes the cake, both in the style and performance departments.

After a good time spent engineering some of the world’s fastest oval racers in NASCAR, Brown found another calling and started his own vintage restoration shop. Since hot rods and drag racing go hand-in-hand, it’s not hard to see how land speed racing appeared on his radar and captured his imagination. Still, it took some time for him to see his epic land speed project through.

With a vague idea of what he wanted to do, he went searching for a classic Ford that would serve his interests. After finding a ‘39 truck found rusting in the Texan wilderness, he had his platform. The truck sat on an S-10 frame and already boasted a 9” axle housing – not a bad place to start for some, but remember, Brown has worked intimately with racing cars at the highest level for much of his life.

Not content with a mere truck frame, he built a tube-frame chassis to meet his lofty standards. It’s not a massive task when you’ve got your own shop and years of experience, but it’s still a far cry from the typical rat rod build. Custom cantilevered shocks sit up front, and they complement the NASCAR truck-arm style suspension in the rear. It also uses a panhard bar setup to minimize side-to-side roll. No shortage of top tech was used for the frame, and the powerplant was no different.

The centerpiece of the build is, predictably, NASCAR: a used, mid-nineties, 358ci Ford Sprint Cup motor. With Yates-style C3 cylinder heads, a NASCAR-spec 750 cfm carburetor and an impressive set of Sprint Cup inconel headers flipped upside down, the entire package hucks out 715 horsepower. Able to rev to 10,200 rpm without breaking a sweat, it’s fair to assume this high-speed monster has one mean top end.

Delivering that power to the Detroit Locker differential out back is a C&R four-speed with a 1:1 final drive. Traction is delivered through a set of Cup-standard steel wheels and Goodyear drag tires. He’s able to hit 197 mph in the Ohio Mile – though he intends to go even faster. However, as this is a truck, it’s a challenge to put all 715 horsepower to the ground without much wheelspin.

Massive power plays a part in brushing 200 mph, but the aerodynamic shape is just as important. While the exterior might not be much to look at, there’s a lot of subtle magic at work to keep the car both slippery and stable, and speedy. For instance, the grille is taken from a ‘32 Ford truck for a slightly slimmer profile, and to keep frontal area small and drag to a minimum, six inches have been trimmed off the haunches. Even the roof has been given a five-inch haircut.

While those modifications might help it punch through the air at speed, it is a truck and, therefore, lacks a little needed weight over the driven wheels. Even with 10.5” tires in the rear, Brown felt it would be wise to stick on a wing for certainty and stability at high-speed. However, it turned out the car does run wingless with some stability, and so when chasing top speed, Brown removes the wing to reduce drag even further. Perhaps that super-stiff tube frame gives it a little more composure than expected.

As one might guess based on the age of the truck, its North Carolina roots and that striking name, this car was built as a tribute to the great bootleggers of the ’30s and ’40s. With the right sort of boozy logos adorning the hood, doors and bed, and the rusted, patinaed exterior, there’s no denying the time and events to which this truck harkens back. It’s a callback to a time when things were radically simpler, but that only means they focused on making those few ingredients as high-quality as they could be.