F.A.S.T. Hill Climb Rules (Revised 10/2024)
The rules and requirements detailed below are drawn primarily from the most recent evolution of the Fast A Speed Technologies (F.A.S.T.) organization’s Hill Climb Rules. We intend to continue the original concept of F.A.S.T. for offering hill climbs designed to be fun, sporting events, in the tradition of hill climbs that were popular in the early days of the automobile. As in previous years, these hill climbs are for street legal/registered vehicles (except noted). Therefore, dragster style cars, rear-engine cars, multi-tube frames, narrowed axles, etc., are NOT ALLOWED. If it doesn’t say you can do it in these rules, YOU CAN’T! If you have any questions, call someone involved in the hill climbs before you build a car or bring one to a hill climb and find you can’t run it.
General Requirements & Safety
Classification & Safety: The Hill Climb Committee must inspect any and all cars for safety and classification before they may be driven in the Hill Climb competition.
Seat Belts: All vehicles competing in this hill climb will require seat belts (DOT/SFI approved). Belt requirements will vary according to vehicle classes (common sense dictates the FASTER you go, your safety equipment should be upgraded accordingly). We STRONGLY recommend that open, modified and speedster vehicles use shoulder harness and arm restraint equipment in conjunction with seat belts and roll bars.
Helmets: All drivers are required to have adequate head protection (DOT/SFI approved) in all vehicles. Full-face helmets are required in open cars, and are recommended in all others. Eye protection is required for any car with no windshield.
Components: All major vehicle components shall be American automotive production items: frames (no multi-tube frames), front axle, rear end, transmission, steering gears, springs and brakes. The exception to this rule is quick-change rear ends in some classes.
Throttle Linkage: All throttle/carburetor linkage must be designed to operate freely with no binding or sticking.
Wheels: Any metal wheel is permitted, stock or aftermarket, as long as it is in a safe condition.*
Tires: Only street-type tires with DOT markings are allowed. Maximum width of the rear tread may not exceed 7-½” per side. Slicks, cheater slicks, or tires with special rubber compounds are NOT ALLOWED. Dual rear wheel configurations are allowed if they were available through the factory for these vehicles; each tire’s width cannot exceed 7-½”.
Brakes: All cars must have 4-wheel brakes in good operating order. Any vehicle running in stock configuration from the factory with only 2-wheel brakes is okay.*
Suspension: Each wheel must be fully spring and dampened with a shock absorber/dampener.*
Fuel: Pump gasoline only (96 Octane and lower) may be used: no exotic fuels, supplements or nitrous oxide will be allowed. Injectors and/or electronic management systems are not allowed.
Superchargers or Turbochargers: Are not allowed.
Safety Items: We recommend that all cars carry fire extinguishers. We further STRONGLY recommend that cars in MODIFIED, SPEEDSTER, and HISTORIC classes have adequate rolls bars, clutch scatter-shields, seat belts with shoulder harness, and safety hubs on early Ford-style rear ends. Cars with open drivelines MUST be equipped with a 360-degree metal sling (¼” thick X 1” min. width) attached securely and mounted within the front 25% of the shaft, to prevent dropping or whipping in the event of the drive shaft or U-joint breakage. Also cars with open drivelines will require similar retaining devices or slings at or near the forward 25% of the split rear wishbones, rear radius rods, traction bars and/or 4-bar setups intended to control the axle twist on acceleration. ¼”-diameter steel wire cable can be acceptable.
* Model T’s (with T engine, transmission & rear end) and generally exempted from the metal wheel, shocks and brake rules. Exception: if they are faster than 50 MPH, they must have “Rocky Mountain” or equal brakes, and metal wheels.
Class Rules
Stock Classes
STOCK classes S-1, S-2, and S-3 are for roadworthy cars with completely stock full-fendered production bodies, factory-original engines, transmissions, rear ends, wheels and tires. STOCK classes T-1 and T-2 are for otherwise STOCK class cars with minor performance changes made for enhanced touring capabilities. Safety upgrades are permissible, such as steering and brakes. Safety items per General Requirements & Safety above.
Modified Classes
These classes are for basically stock cars or replicas that have been modified for performance and safety, and may include minor custom treatment. A full production body mounted on an original appearing frame is required (no stepping or zee-ing allowed) but the frame may be boxed; body may be chopped and/or channeled, fenders may be removed, aftermarket lights, different year radiator shell and/or other modifications as long as the car remains easily identifiable as a Model T, A or B Ford. Cars competing in these classes must retain seats for the number of passengers the cars were originally designed for, and all structural components (door metal, wood etc.) must be intact. These must be roadworthy cars: no gutted interiors, radically chopped tops or engine set-back. Cars in these classes must be designed, equipped, and able to be driven on the street for an extended period of time: e.g., with full radiator, lights, charging system, etc.
A & B blocks, Burtz blocks, diamond blocks and/or G-28 blocks will be considered the same in these classes. Burtz-engined cars may not compete for the “King of the Hill” award, but may compete against factory-built A & B blocks for class fast time at the discretion of the local hill climb committee. Please check with them.
Engines must utilize the Model T, A, or B Ford block, but may use any aftermarket cylinder head designed for or adapted to the Ford block, and may use any manifold as well as any number and type of carburetor(s). These classes may utilize any automotive production standard-shift transmission and/or rear end, regardless of year. The transmission must be complete with all forward speeds and reverse. The Mithcell transmission is in this class. Automatic transmissions and quick-change rear ends are allowed in classes M-5 and M-6 only. Overdrives may be utilized (shifted). There will be six MODIFIED classes (M-1 through M-6) each for Model T’s and Model A’s and B’s.
Speedster Classes
A SPEEDSTER may use any aftermarket speedster body, special-built body or modified production body, mounted on a factory production frame or replacement copy (no multi-tube frames), with wheelbase no shorter than 84”. The frame may be boxed, reinforced, zee’d or aligned slightly at the rear to follow body contour. Any body/engine combination not as original (e.g., a T body with A or B engine) will be classed as a SPEEDSTER.
All major components, radiator, engine, transmissions, and seating for two (or more) must remain in their relatively stock location, and a full-size fuel tank of 8-gallon capacity or more must be used. Cars competing in the SPEEDSTER CLASSES must be designed, equipped, and able to be driven on the street for an extended period of time, i.e., with full radiator, lights, charging system, etc.
Mechanically, SPEEDSTERS must comply with the rules for STOCK and MODIFIED class cars as spelled out above. Quick-change rear ends and/or automatic transmissions are allowed in classes SP-3, SP-4, SP-6, and SP-7.
We STRONGLY recommend that all cars in these classes have roll bars large enough and strong enough to protect the driver in case of roll-over. See General Requirements and Safety section.
There will be eight SPEEDSTER classes: four (SP-1, SP-2, SP-3 and SP-4) for flathead-equipped cars; three (SP-5, SP-6, and SP-7) for OHV-equipped cars; and one Unlimited class (SP-X) for Speedsters not registered or street legal.
Historic Classes
Other vintage pre-1935 4-cylinder cars (i.e., vintage race cars) that do not fall into any of the above categories, may be allowed to run provided they meet all the safety requirements and sufficient space is available for any special consideration (e.g., tow starts and/or enough shut-off area). Contact the Hill Climb Technical Committee Chairperson to see if you will be allowed to run your car. HISTORIC-classed cars are exempt from the 4-wheel brake rule, and are not required to be street legal/registered. There will be two HISTORIC classes: one (FHD/H) for flathead-equipped engines, and one (OHV/H) for OHV-equipped engines.
Note: This class is not eligible for King of the Hill.
Other Classes
For vintage 4-cylinder cars powered by non Ford-built blocks (e.g. Chevy, Essex, etc), and those that do not fall into any of the above classes but meet the safety requirements. Hill climb organizers will make any decisions that may be necessary. Pre-1935 only, 4-cylinder engines only. There will be two OTHER classes: one (FHD/O) for flathead-equipped engines, and one (OHV/O) for OHV-equipped engines.
Note: This class is not eligible for King of the Hill.
ANY CAR EXHIBITING ILL-HANDLING TRAITS, IN THE OPINION OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE, WILL BE BARRED FROM FURTHER PARTICIPATION.
Rules cannot be written to cover every situation that may arise, therefore with safety as the prime ruling factor: ANY DECISION OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WILL BE FINAL.
| F.A.S.T. HILL CLIMB -- CLASSES (Revised 10/2023) | ||
| Model T | STOCK CLASSES | Models A & B |
| T/S-1 | Any stock, as original, open-body style Model T, A or B (Roadster, Touring, Cabriolet, Roadster Pickup). | A/S-1 |
| T/S-2 | Any stock, as original, closed-body Model T, A or B style (coupe, sedan, pickup) | A/S-2 |
| T/S-3 | Any Commercial, as original, TT, AA, BB truck | A/S-3 |
| T/T-1 | Any open body style, as in S-1, with minor performance changes for touring type of cars. Only T, A or B blocks allowed: engine modifications are limited to a single carburetor of any type, a stock-looking head (no Winfield, etc.) exhaust modifications okay, a stock or replacement battery ignition (no magnetos) and a stock or touring cam. Wheels can be stock Ford, any 16” aftermarket or General Jumbo’s. Any manual transmission and/or overdrive is allowed. | A/T-1 |
| T/T-2 | Any closed body Model T, A, B with minor touring performance modifications (same equipment as T-1) | A/T-2 |
| MODIFIED CLASSES | ||
| T/M-1 | Flathead light, open body cars (Roadster, Toring, Cabriolet and Roadster Pickup) | A/M-1 |
| T/M-2 | Flathead heavy, closed body Model T, A or B style (coupe, sedan, pickup) | A/M-2 |
| T/M-3 | OHV-equipped light, open body (Roadster, Touring, Cabriolet, Roadster Pickup) | A/M-3 |
| T/M-4 | OHV-equipped heavy, closed body cars (coupe, sedan, pickup) | A/M-4 |
| T/M-5 | Flathead, equipped modified cars with automatic transmission and/or quick-change rear end. Any T, A, B block with matching production-style body. | A/M-5 |
| T/M-6 | OHV-equipped modified cars with automatic transmission and/or quick-change rear end. Any T, A, B block with matching production-style body. | A/M-6 |
| SPEEDSTER CLASSES | ||
| T/SP-1 | All-stock flathead T, A, B driveline (engine, transmission & rear end). | A/SP-1 |
| T/SP-2 | Modified flathead with matching driveline (engine, transmission & rear end). | A/SP-2 |
| T/SP-3 | Flathead T, A or B block with any manual-shift transmission not matching the engine block; any rear end. | A/SP-3 |
| T/SP-4 | Flathead with automatic transmission, any rear end; Q/C is allowed. | A/SP-4 |
| T/SP-5 | OHV-equipped T, A, B with transmission and rear end matching the engine block | A/SP-5 |
| T/SP-6 | OHV-equipped T, A, B with any manual transmission and any rear end; Q/C is allowed. | A/SP-6 |
| T/SP-7 | OHV-equipped T, A, B with automatic transmission and any rear end; Q/C is allowed. | A/SP-7 |
| T/SP-X | Unlimited: Any flathead- or OHV-powered Speedster not required to be registered or street legal; must still meet all general and safety requirements. May not compete for King of the Hill. | A/SP-X |
| ADDITIONAL CLASSES | ||
| FHD/H | Historic: Vintage racecars (including replicas), pre-1935 American production 4-cylinder engines | OHV/H |
| FHD/O | Time Only: Cars powered with pre-1935 4-cylinder non-Ford built blocks | OHV/O |