When you are looking at open exhaust headers on a dragster, the Olds engines usually show four pipes on each side like the dragster above , whereas the Caddy has only three pipes on each side. The one common denominator for dragsters from the 1950's and early 1960's was that there was no common denominator. This dragster used two nitro powered flathead Ford engines, each driving into their own rear-ends, one for each engine. And go out and see it in action when the season starts up again. Eddie went on to be one of the kings of Top Fuel drag racing, and was the first racer to run under 4-seconds in the quarter mile 4. This car was almost un-beatable in the later half of 1960 and in 1961 in the SoCal area. The car was run by the Spaghetti Benders and had Cadillac power.
This was because the early dragsters were not much more than a car with an engine mounted on the frame rails. Whether it's Ford, Chevy, Plymouth, or even Studebaker, there's a drag racing model for all builders. I don't know how the water circulated since there is no water pump. It is believed to be the first vehicle in the state of Indiana built specifically for drag racing. He was the first to attain 180 mph driving a modified Indy Car blown Chrysler for power at the Daytona International Speedway.
The chassis was built by Frank Huzar and the aluminum body was hammered out by Bob Sorrell. I somras fick jag erbjudandet att köpa detta vrålåk. This was not always the case. Some of the dragsters had four wheel drive. A perfect example of a home-built race car. The flathead Ford engines became the defacto standard power plant for hot rodders, for the street, the dry lake beds, Bonneville, and the drag strips. The late 1950's and early 1960's were ruled as much by the Oldsmobile engines in gas classes Gasser, Street Roadster, Altereds and Dragsters as the hemi and it wasn't until the fuel ban was rescinded that the hemi engines started to pull away.
It's the time win winning on Sunday sold cars on Monday. Det visade sig att dessa satt endast på 67 års model och hade 2 krets system. And of course, the rear chain sprocket or two sprockets in this case are connected to the axle with flanges welded to the axle. There are many other Dragmaster cars sprinkeld into the Dragster Section on this website. He raced Exhibition cars, Match Race cars, Funny Cars, and of course, Dragsters and was successful with all of them. He was among the first to engineer a dragster to run on nitromethane fuel. At some point in the evolution, Eddie decided to add some stiffness to the front of the chassis with the addition of tubes attached to the front of the frame and then bolted to the front of the engine.
The 18cc piston dome is contoured to the combustion chamber. This double rail frame makes for a very tough chassis. The engine is either a Cadillac or a Packard V8. Smooth ride, better handling, minimal weight and greater axle control are just the beginning. Tom tried several fixes but in the end, it was just one more design that didn't make the final cut. He designed and built several land speed record cars that ran on the dry lakes and Salt Flats.
The only difference between these 2018 F-150 pickups is the engine. This particular engine punched out to 403-inches was once in a Gasser before being transplanted into the dragster. The car was built in late 1955 and eventually crashed in 1958, do to a tire failure with one of the slicks. It was a different time, but it was our roots and it is our heritage. .
This is at the end of the shut-off area where the diggers pull off to re-pack their 'chutes and push back toward the pits. The engine was built by Joe Maillard and Jack Chrisman drove the car. A cross between a dragster and a tractor. The fuel injected flathead powered dragster above was built in 1960 and raced from 1960 through 1963, in the D-Dragster class. Vance got his driver's license at age 14, and most likely started drag racing that very day. Racers were trying new ideas, all aimed at getting more traction in a period when drag slicks were not very effective.
You might think of this set-up as a Go-Kart on steroids. This was one of those times. His preferred mix was 50% nitro to 50% methanol. Many or most of the early drag slicks were re-caps. Maybe the throttle stuck and he panicked, who knows? Available with either 4-link or ladder bar rear suspension.
One of my favorite drag strips in SoCal was San Fernando Raceway. That's Bob sitting on top of the front of the tandem axle trailer in the white shirt. It's all part of the evolution of the dragster. A couple of neat things to notice on this race car. Any spectator in the background watching these two cars race that was at least 21 years old at the time this photo was taken would be over 90 years old today assuming they were still alive.
Based on the cars in the background, I'm guessing about 1960. This flathead Ford powered digger has a radiator laying flat between the frame rails, parallel to the ground. He built the cars and built the engines. Then multiple checks were made with the head on and off to double check piston to valve clearance, quench height and valve train geometry. When it came to nitromethane fuel, the Hemi was at the top of the league. A lot of people believe that the first rear engine dragster was built by Don Garlits. But this is the first one I have ever seen that used a tow-bar to get to and from the track.