Every person will leave his or her legacy in one way or another. Some will do it in the form of a wing added to a university building. A gold Rolex will serve as a final remembrance for other people. Richard Furgeson, who died in 2008, left his mark on the world and his family’s memories with the 509ci Rat motor and TH400 transmission that he built.
The fact that both pieces of hardware have lasted long enough to go into his nephew Richard Terry’s 1999 Chevrolet Camaro is a testament to the quality of Furgeson’s work. Terry has coupled the engine and tranny with a slew of drag-ready goodies. “Take a 4.500-bore Bow Tie block, stuff it with an Eagle crank and rods and 13:1-compression pistons, drop in a little mechanical mayhem with a Comp roller cam, bolt a set of off-the-shelf Brodix -2X heads (‘We just took ’em out of the box and bolted ’em on’), and then top it all off with a Dominator carburetor, a plate, and a Fogger.” There’s also a four-barrel Weiand Team G single plane and a 1,050-cfm Dominator carburetor converted to handle methanol.
A Ford nine-inch rear-end, 4.10 gears and Mickey Thompson tires have to process 780 horsepower from just the motor. When the NOS Fogger kicks in, it boosts the total system to 1,100 horsepower. This memorial monster has hit 134 mph in 9.68 seconds on its engine alone. “The Camaro’s best [time] so far is a stout 5.60 in the eighth-mile and an 8.84 at 153 mph on a single stage with the big Rat feeding on a high-octane cocktail of methanol through the carburetor chased with a shot of nitrous and gasoline.”
I’m sure Terry has honored his late uncle’s memory several times by leaving his own mark: a pair of rubber strips on the tarmac.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
