Vince Ciganik and Jim Smith's Roadster

The V.J. Special was a homemade Y-Block powered roadster that Vince Ciganik and his best friend Jim Smith campaigned from 1960 thru 1964.

After he graduated from high school, Vince installed a race-prepped Y-block in his 1953 Ford Convertible. It didn't take long before he figured out that he wasn't going to go very fast in the heavy convertible, so he teamed up with his best friend Jim Smith and built the roadster for the engine. "Now we were fast!"

The motor was a balanced 292 Y Block that had been ported. The heads were polished, and it ran an Isky cam, Jahns pistons, a Schiefer aluminum flywheel and clutch, a Mallory Mag-Spark distributor and coil, and a custom-made Edelbrock log manifold that ran four Stromberg 97s. "We hade aluminum air scoops on our 97s, which Smitty painted red on the inside and then painted a word in each scoop, "FEED ME A CHEVY."

The roadster had a 1932 Ford frame, a 1929 Ford cowl that was made wider with a Jerry's Curb Service food tray, which held our tach, and a 1930 Ford sedan rear section. Smitty painted a big yellow bird on the rear section with a guy pulling Chevy parts out of his mouth. It had a 1957 Oldsmobile rear with the spider gears welded up and a three-speed tranny. The floor shift was made from a column shift, and they used only second and third gear. Their slicks were Englewood 6" or 7" recaps. The headers were turned. According to Vince, the roadster was so rigid that one time when they forgot to tighten the lug nuts on one of the rear tow tires it came off and it stayed balanced on three wheels. "We retrieved the tire, took one lug nut from each remaining wheel, put the tire back on, and motored home." Vince and Smitty were so light, they were never beat off the line. Their class was B/Roadster, and they ran 12:30 at 108 mph.

Vince and Smitty lived close to the Ohio line, and they used to race at Quaker City near Salem, Ohio. "We flat towed our cars and raced on Friday nights and Sunday. I had to convince my mom and dad to let me go racing instead of going to church on Sunday." If you went over 100 mph you earned five dollars.

Vince and Mitty were the only Ford guys in the Rev-Masters club. The other members cars were powered by 283 ci small block scrubs punched out to 301 ci. "They were Chevy coupes, 1933, 1938, 1940 and a 1952 Henry J. We were the fastest, and we held that record for many years."

According to Vince, their biggest thrill was when they beat a blown Chevy B/Gasser. "If you won your class, then the Little, Middle, and Top Eliminators would have a run off. Smitty and I both drove and it was now my turn. I left first and just as I crossed the finish line, all I could hear was this high whining sound as he blew by me. He was not a happy racer and to add insult to his injury, he lost to our Ford."