Truckin’ through the Goodguys Del Mar show this year we were surprised at how many trucks made it down to the surf and turf event. We came back Saturday to get more shots of the amazing amount of trucks, vans, and other commercial gems. Bagged or Gasser-style, the styles and mods run the gamut, but the overriding fact is that there was an invasion of all things truck-like, so check out this gallery with 100 images. If you want to see more from the show, we have two other posts of pre-war and post-war galleries, as well as some Facebook Live interviews so check them out on HOT ROD’s Facebook page.
Francis Nathaniel “Nat” Quick Jr., known for his 1960s and 1970s drag racing graphics, who continued pinstriping throughout his life while also doing sought after fine art, has died. Nat came to prominence as drag racing exploded in the mid-1960s. He developed graphics and lettering, as well as airbrush painting necessary for grilles, headlights, etc., for Fuelers and Funny Cars. In the early 1970s when painter Don Kirby decided to create a one stop Funny Car supermarket at his Bellflower, California, shop where a turnkey Funny Car could be created in-house, the artist known for his long hair and Fu-Man-Chu mustache became part of the plan. Nat painted so many of the dragsters and Funny Cars in the 1970s it’s a who’s-who of drag racing including cars for Mickey Thompson, Don Garlits, Raymond Beadle, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudhome, and Kenny Bernstein, to name just a few. Nat relished in the details necessary to mimic headlights and grilles, and created slick graphics and lettering, in spite of his creations sometimes being short lived, as racecars can be. Over the decades he did a wide range of art for concerts, corporate-related graphics, signs, uniforms, and more. He had a love of WWII aircraft and history and his fine art, created at his apartment studio in Petaluma, California, centered on accurate WWII aircraft depictions of mid-air battles, and he applied his racing graphics mastery to nose art of vintage WWII planes. Nat was 75.
The founder of AMSOIL, Al Amatuzio, has died. Amatuzio capitalized on his early career as a pilot, understanding that jet engines worldwide used synthetic oil exclusively, to first research, develop, and then formulate the first synthetic motor oils for automotive use in 1966. Reasoning that if jet engines could survive only using synthetics, then those same qualities could be applied to cars. At the time motor oils were not as refined as they are now, and breakdown from heat was a common problem, shortening engine life and in some cases worse. By 1972 AMSOIL synthetic oil became the world’s first synthetic to meet American Petroleum Institute requirements. Unfortunately many in the automotive industry considered synthetic oil as nothing more than snake oil. Big Oil companies filed suits to stop the marketing and advertising of what they considered “fake” oil. But Amatuzio persevered, and today AMSOIL is one of the technological leaders in the field. He went on to be awarded numerous honors from industry associations. AMSOIL continues catering to the “little guy” of which is no more apparent than with their support for HOT ROD’s Engine Masters Challenge. Amatuzio was almost 93, and remained Chairman of the Board for AMSOIL.
Let’s all agree that these 1970s Buicks can use the customizing touch. OK, now let’s also agree that all hot rodders’ and customizers’ goal is to improve their car in both performance and looks. So we all agree? Good. Whether this particular attempt is an improvement or not we will leave to the viewer. Most of the customizing would fall into the add-on category, such as the extended grille, flares, visor, zoomy fins and skirts. Oh, and the running boards, we can’t forget the running boards since they offer up a functional aspect to the customizing—making entry and exit much easier. Looking into the interior it appears added bolstering and other improvements make this a completely customized effort, even down to the suede paint that is all the rage with new Mercedes and Audis these days. In the end if the goal of hot rodding is to show off your ride and get noticed, then this particular attempt is spot-on as we’re sure it attracts attention wherever it rolls.
How fortunate we are to have two hot rod industry titans release new books featuring their unique perspectives on the history of hot rodding. We’ll start with Isky’s since he’s the senior veteran at 95 years young! Isky by Matt Stone, covers the life and times of the “Camfather” Ed Iskenderian. From his early forays in pre-WWII hot rodding through his early years building racecars and his research and development into camshaft design and manufacturing, to his later business successes, it’s a great dive into early hot rodding and the building of an automotive aftermarket pillar and empire. Lot’s of images from Isky’s files never seen before are just part of the unique nuggets found in Isky, from CarTech Books.
Hot Rod Detroit Pictorial by Bob Larivee, Sr. gives you straight-from-the-source hot rod car show perspectives from the man who produced hundreds of shows throughout the United States for decades. As Detroit is Larivee’s hometown, still host to his signature show the Detroit Autorama, he brings an amazing collection of images and memories to the over 350-page, 1000-image book. Both his knowledge and photo collection of everything both hot rod and Detroit is at the forefront of this historically important publication from Vinsetta Garage. Included is a special section on the sometimes crazy feature cars seen yearly at the shows, a retrospective of the many racing venues within Detroit’s proximity, and the more recent Autorama basement rat rod congregations held at Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit. In all it’s an extensive plunge into a hot rod and custom car scene taking place in the automobile capital of the world.
This is one of the longest continually run dragsters of all time; the infamous Ike Iacono rail, originally featured on HOT ROD’s January 1959 cover. That’s one of its HOT ROD connections, but a more important one is that former HOT ROD editor Pat Ganahl restored and owns this magnificent piece of history. What started as an 11-year-old boy’s attraction to the orange dragster in HOT ROD led to him ultimately acquiring the still-running rail almost 30 years later, then putting it on hold for another 20 before bringing it back to its 1959 cover status, with help from some amazing friends and craftsmen.
Acquired from former owner Tom Taros in 1988, Pat had been after it for years. Built for a stab at the very first Bonneville meet in 1949 by Laird “Lefty” Pierce, with Ford flathead power and an aluminum streamline body, it was a homebuilt effort from the remnants of a Miller Indy racecar back when such provenance meant nothing. Purchased by 17-year-old Raul “Sonny” Balcaen in 1953, he configured it to its unique identity by swapping out the Ford for a 302ci GMC straight-6, also banging out a new body from magnesium with a hand-formed aluminum nose. The body featured doubled, riveted edges, and was young Balcaen’s first attempt at gas-welded metal fab.
Ike Iacono in his Jimmy-6 dragster sitting at the almost unrecognizable Pomona Fairgrounds drag strip, from July 1958. Notice the unusual multi-piece steering linkage hooked to the Franklin steering box. Also note how clean and tidy the rail is. Iacono was interested in safety way before racing organizations started requiring things like scatter shields and chrome-moly roll bars, all of which can be seen here.
The Mercedes silver dragster ran both stock and 12-port heads with three or five-carb induction. On gas, its best times were low 10s at 136mph.But the rail was known to have set 4-banger records in 1955 fielded by Ed Donovan and Frank Startup running a Fargo four-port head topping a Model B Ford block. Pat says around this same time it was seen with a Hilborn-injected small block Chevy V8, establishing its versatile pass-around workhorse status. Also at this time it received the first Donovan double-disc clutch. After shattering its Model A Halibrand quickchange, Balcaen upgraded the rail with Hilborn injection, a 1937 LaSalle transmission, and V8 Halibrand quickchange rounding out the drivetrain. In 1957 at Colton the dragster hit 151mph at 9.6-seconds. Also during this period Iacono was having much success running his 1933 Ford coupe, helping to develop the first Wayne 12-port head ever made in the process. He was consistently hitting over 130mph in quarter-mile blasts, but slowly feeling the need to go even faster.
By 1957 Balcaen was working for Jim Hall in Culver City, with the dragster collecting dust in a far corner of the shop. Hearing the car was for sale, Iacono paid $1500 for the engine-less rail, spending the next six months filling over 120 holes in the chassis and reconfiguring the roll cage. It also received its George Boskoff aluminum tail. Refinement and an exceptional display of craftsmanship and detail marked Iacono’s ownership, with aircraft fasteners and scattershields for both the bellhousing and rear being just some of the attention paid to both safety and craftsmanship. Resplendent in the bright orange and black the coupe was known for, and with the coupe’s GMC-6 now housed in the rail’s rails, Iacono was rewarded with “Best Appearing” and also Top Eliminator awards in its first showing at Pomona, with a 10.83 et at 126.93mph fastest run of the meet.
Top Eliminator awards were given for the fastest car at each meet, regardless of class. Competing against the stout V8s and twin-engine cars of the day, Iacono was piling up Top Eliminator awards from virtually every meet he attended. And then in late-1958, it was recognized as significant enough for HOT ROD to feature it and place it on the cover.
Pat has always had an affinity for Chevy straight-6 engines and variants forever, so it was serendipitous for him to end up restoring and owning one of the most famous racecars featuring the GMC version of the Chevy-6. This 320ci Jimmy features a 4 1/8 Bore and 4-inch stroke, with 10 ¼:1 compression. Bob McKray in Mission Viejo, California, gets the nod for building the engine. The valve and side covers are Don Ferguson castings from the Wayne original patterns.
By the end of 1959, the stronger Hemis and lighter Olds and Chevy V8s were gaining on the Jimmy, and so in 1960 Iacono parked the dragster to dive into his new tune up and brake service business located near the LA Harbor in San Pedro, California.
A young Tom Taros started working at Iacono’s shop in 1961, and soon convinced his boss to take the old rail to Lions Drag Strip, tip some nitro, and let Tom see what he could do with it. Hitting almost 160mph in the low-9.7s that first race, it would become a consistent 10.50 winner, which was timely as e.t. bracket racing was just unfolding in southern California. It wasn’t long before Tom was racing the digger every weekend, presenting Iacono with a winners check on Monday.
It took a few years to finally convince Tom Taros to swap my dragster for his straight across” – Pat Ganahl
Within a year Iacono got an offer for the GMC 12-port he couldn’t refuse, and so the dragster was again idle until a friend of Taros’ loaned him his small block Chevy engine. Back on the strip, the LaSalle trans and quickchange could not withstand the launches and higher rpms of the V8, and so Taros installed a narrowed Pontiac rear end and 4-speed he massaged. A new pickle green color and Taros-fabb’d fuel injection system, along with Iacono retiring and handing ownership of the rail to Taros, it was the beginning of a whole new chapter in the dragster’s storied life.
Taros built an ever-faster series of small block Chevys, improving his fuel injection system while experimenting with nitro. He ran the “Green Pickle” across the Southland at Irwindale, Lions, Orange County, and Palmdale for the next 25 years. With nostalgia racing taking place at Fremont in the mid-1980s, Taros still had an outlet to continue experimenting to see how much faster he could go as one strip after another closed down operations.
After building a Fuel Altered for a series in HOT ROD in the early 1980s, Pat had gotten the nostalgia race bug and commenced building an A/Fuel dragster teamed with iconic engine builder Gene Adams and Hilborn master Don Enriquez to reincarnate the old Adams and Enriquez A/Fuel dragster. Reconfiguring an old Woody Gilmore 180-inch chassis, Gene supplied the Hemi, and Don drove and helped tune. They even won back-to-back March Meets proving to be an unbeatable combo. As the nostalgia zeitgeist multiplied, Pat continued to chase the ever-escalating safety rules changes instituted by various nostalgia overlords. While Taros continued to race, he fell behind the safety changes, hitting speeds of 200mph with virtually 100-percent pop in the antiquated and outdated dragster. He was running a fine line between getting caught and getting hurt, or worse.
From HOT ROD’s 1958 photo shoot for the January 1959 issue, Iacono and neighbor friend roll the iconic rail into the sun for Eric Rickman at Ike’s dad’s home garage. By the end of 1959 Iacono was seeing less success with the six as V8s, and in some cases twin-V8s were taking over. He parked the dragster in 1960.
Eventually Pat ran out of both time to devote to the A/Fueler, and money. Pat’s desire to give up racing, and Taros’ desire for quicker times finally converged, resulted in them swapping dragsters. It took a while for Taros to see the merits in giving up his old digger, but to continue his addiction to drag racing and love of chasing ever-increasing speeds he needed a better vessel.
About to embark on a re-launch of Rod & Custom magazine, Pat had no time to build anything other than an audience. He knew he wanted to restore the old dragster to its HOT ROD cover status, but for the next 20 years he did little more than score various pieces to put it back to 1959.
Pat preparing to fire up the dragster for the first time in front of his Glendale, California house before teardown for final paint and assembly. He finished the restoration in 2012 after 20 years of on-again, off-again spurts of activity. Pete Eastwood had new rails bent after determining the originals were too warped and damaged to repair, but the rear kickups, front crossmember and body attachment hoops are all original.
In a strange occurrence we’ve seen over and over with vintage dragster restorations, slowly the parts used on the car originally that have scattered over the decades slowly found a home back with the car they came from. And so the first ever 12-port Wayne head, the original Hilborn injection components, and other small pieces ended up right where they started. Big items like the one-year-only 1937 LaSalle transmission, NOS government surplus 302ci GMC short block, new Vertex magneto, quickchange, and countless small parts slowly came together as the years progressed.
Eventually Pete Eastwood in Pasadena, was contacted to replace part of the wasted frame, engine, and trans mounts; make an adaptor motor plate and motor mounts, narrow and mount the rear end, and other fabb’d pieces needed to make it a roller. Bob McKray refurbished the Wayne head, making custom valves and seats, and then assembled the Jimmy. Don Enriquez rebuilt the fuel injections system including the pump originally on the car in 1959, and a batch of small stuff came from Keith Young that included the original Chet Herbert cam used in the car, the original Iacono handmade water neck, and he loaned Pat the original Wayne front cover to have copies made since finding another one was impossible. Joe Umphenour, Bill Jenks, Bill Akin, Doug Robinson, and Derek Bower all contributed either un-obtainium parts or invaluable services in the restoration.
By 2006 it was completed, with Pat finding places few and far between to be able to run it, which he does as often as possible. On 50-percent nitro he’s hovering at the 150mph mark.
So after all of these decades—almost seven, this singular example of what drag racing is and where it came from still plies the quarter mile, a lasting tribute to all of those involved both with the dragster itself but also all of those participants that created these racing machines from scratch in an effort to have some fun and thrills racing in a straight line.
Among the safety enhancements are a bellhousing and rear end scattershields, visible where the handbrake is attached. Pete Eastwood made the “ball protector”, shifter and linkage from photos, while Derek Bower fabb’d the pedal and steering mounts; and also the mounts for the 1920s Franklin steering box. Pat says he made few accommodation concessions for his 6-foot 5-inch frame, but the steering wheel has been raised from its original location. Upholstery by Gabe’s in San Bernardino.AN hoses are as Iacono originally built the car. That Wayne water pump is a casting from the original on this car, now owned by collector Keith Young. Pat had a few extras cast up, machined them, and also fabb’d the idler pulley. The Hilborn pump was a prototype with no serial numbers purchased from Al Teague, who ran it on his12-port GMC dragster in the 1960s. He had purchased the pump from Iacono back in the day. The degreed crank pulley is also a genie Wayne part.Other than the hood sides all of the body panels are original, though while the historical record indicated everything but the nose was magnesium, only the belly pan is actually mag. All paint is by Pat, including black frame. The front end including crossmember and tapered Model A spring was fabb’d by Balcaen in the 1940s. Iacono made the aluminum friction shocks.Doug Robinson at Horsepower Engineering in Pasadena, recreated the headers, surrounding a Ronco Vertex magneto. The aluminum Wayne Horning head is the first ever 12-port he cast. A McGurk roller cam and lifters bump stock GMC steel rocker arms and Isky V8 valve springs and retainers on stainless steel valves. Cam drive is a Cloyes aluminum gear set. A stock GMC oil pump hides inside the 228 GMC “Flat” oil pan, with trap doors fabb’d by Pat.The cast aluminum Moon pedal was drilled and polished by Pat to recreate Iacono’s original go pedal, with Derek Bower recreating the mounts and linkage.The new Moon vertical water and fuel spun aluminum tanks recreate the originals seen in vintage images, with the drilled mounts by Bower. Hidden behind the water tank is a vintage fuel filter that took a bit to track down.
Pat was also lucky to get Ike Iacono’s original racing helmet, but it was so beat up that he chose to restore it to the same condition as the car, with Von Dutch striping recreated by Lil’ Louie in San Bernardino.A great shot from 1966 at Lions in Long Beach of the Green Pickle version of the Iacono dragster, as owned and driven by Tom Taros. At this stage a Taros modified 4-speed and Pontiac rear end back the Taros built small block Chevy. Taros ran a succession of small blocks for the next 25 years featuring his own fuel injection setup made from a tunnel ram and two flow-through 4-bbl. carbs. The wire wheels and magnesium rears were the last ones Iacono ran in 1960. Taros worked at Iacono’s shop until 1972, which explains the lettering.
This shot from 1957 is of one of the kings of customizing Dean Jeffries, pinstriping Rod & Custom magazine editor Spence Murray’s R&C Dream Truck. Jeffries was more than a pinstriper, figuring prominently in the 1950s rise of the youth culture with his airbrushed shirts, as seen here, art, and kool kustom lifestyle. The in-house striper for George Barris, he would branch off on his own and ultimately do automotive stunt work and also build TV and movie cars including the Monkees’ Monkeemobile and Green Hornet Imperial. Spence’s Dream Truck was an ongoing custom project for R&C, making it one of the most famous customs ever; with the amount of ink and promotion it received. In 1958 it was all but destroyed in a flat towing accident outside of Des Moines, Iowa. Incredibly it survives today having been restored back to its 1958 configuration in the 1980s.
While all of the incredible performance, elapsed times, systems and drag racing-specific components are beyond anything offered by any manufacturer in a production car, what might be the most miraculous aspect of the Dodge Demon is all of this drag race-goodness comes with a manufacturer’s warranty. Think about that for a moment. This car is engineered for brutal assaults, where breakage comes with the quarter mile. Yet every throttle stab and launch jolt is covered by Dodge. From the stabilizer bars to the rear end, the transmission, even the tires are all engineered with the expected harsh conditions and harsher treatment we expect from our racecars. Want more? How about a 9.6-second, 800hp car that’s smog legal, street legal, and can be driven to the track and back with the compliant ride and manners of a 250hp sedan. So while we’re geeked about everything over-the-top that that is Demon, all of the support and convenience is as with your typical grocery getter, and that just might be the most amazing aspect of this amazing Dodge.
In its 15th year, the Lonestar Roundup is the yearly confab of (mostly) traditional hot rods, with a sprinkling of trucks and customs, too. It’s situated about 1300-miles from Los Angeles, and 1300-miles from Detroit in Austin, Texas, so it has become the opportunity for those intrepid west coast and Midwest rodders alike looking for more than a day-trip to mark the Roundup on their calendars. Let’s face it, for those having built a rod or custom that can handle a 1000-2000-mile trip, the Roundup provides the bragging rights for the sheer fun of driving and making it. We’ve got three different galleries of some of the best traditional hot rods and customs, trucks, and rat rods from the 15th annual Lonestar Roundup.
In its 15th year, the Lonestar Roundup is the yearly confab of (mostly) traditional hot rods, with a sprinkling of trucks and customs, too. It’s situated about 1300-miles from Los Angeles, and 1300-miles from Detroit in Austin, Texas, so it has become the opportunity for those intrepid west coast and Midwest rodders alike looking for more than a day-trip to mark the Roundup on their calendars. Let’s face it, for those having built a rod or custom that can handle a 1000-2000-mile trip, the Roundup provides the bragging rights for the sheer fun of driving and making it. We’ve got three different galleries of some of the best traditional hot rods and customs, trucks, and rat rods from the 15th annual Lonestar Roundup.
In its 15th year, the Lonestar Roundup is the yearly confab of (mostly) traditional hot rods, with a sprinkling of trucks and customs, too. It’s situated about 1300-miles from Los Angeles, and 1300-miles from Detroit in Austin, Texas, so it has become the opportunity for those intrepid west coast and Midwest rodders alike looking for more than a day-trip to mark the Roundup on their calendars. Let’s face it, for those having built a rod or custom that can handle a 1000-2000-mile trip, the Roundup provides the bragging rights for the sheer fun of driving and making it. We’ve got three different galleries of some of the best traditional hot rods and customs, trucks, and rat rods from the 15th annual Lonestar Roundup.
In the golden age of drag racing the variety of surrealistic machines was challenged only by one’s ability to process the cornucopia of crazy contraptions and beautiful blitzers unleashed on the quarter mile. It was a mind game for builders, but also for fans. Of all the crazy configurations and ideas flirted with and doubled down on across drag strips nationwide, the sidewinder dragster seemed like an incredible idea that could revolutionize quarter-mile racing.
With a mid-engine location, but placed sideways in the frame, the engine’s natural torque increased traction rather than pulling to one side. With both rear tires equally loaded there would conceivably be less control problems. It also eliminated driveshaft failures because there wasn’t one; and you could build a dragster more compact to lessen weight. It was also a solution for seeing around a blower and scoop, and the obvious catastrophic results of clutch explosions and blasts of burning oil and engine shrapnel, an all too familiar scenario.
But there were downsides. Disappointing results far outweighing any perceived advantage. Broken axles were common because the hit was instant. There was no clutch slip or driveshaft flex to cushion the rear end for its inevitable absorption of horsepower. Plus wheel hop could snap a keyway axle instantly. A broken chain, used to transfer power from the engine to rear axle in most cases, could kill a run before it started. And slinging a big fat chain had its own medieval consequences.
That said; the biggest issue stymying the sidewinder onslaught was not anything mechanical. Sidewinders handled otherworldly and unpredictably. Whether due to their short wheelbase, the driver’s inability to react quickly enough, or something like a curse, sidewinders were wickedly uncontrollable. Noble drivers and also owners in most cases gave up, failing to tame these unwieldy beasts.
That’s not to say there were no winners, because there were glorious moments. But in many instances a fast, clean run was followed by an unholy terror of whipsaw fury on the next pass, requiring even veterans like Jack Chrisman to take time for reflection on what they just survived.
We should mention one of the earliest sidewinders and an outlier was Creighton Hunter’s 1955 “Slice of Pie” which was the only front engine sidewinder we are aware of. In an overhead view it had the shape of a wedge, thus the name. But aside from Pie, we’ve assembled a solid representation of sidewinders starting from 1955 to the 1980s, including a Funny Car and even a motorcycle; hopefully piquing your brain to imagine the wondrous possibilities and unique solutions for conquering the quarter mile.
1956: Bert Kessler and Dean Gammill of Mattoon, Ill, used a diminutive Crosley sedan body to house their gear-driven sidewinder. Most sidewinders favored chains to transfer power to the axle, so gear drive was somewhat novel. This was configured by removing the tail-shaft of a Borg-Warner transmission and in its place welding a gear onto the shaft. The shifting was handled by a hydraulic shifting mechanism. Power was from a 6-carb 324ci Olds appearing rather stock except for twin-coils. The Crosley competed at the NHRA Nationals in Kansas City in 1956.
1957: Paul Nicolini and Harry Duncan out of Orange County, California, originally built this car, set up with a small block Chevy engine. Bent axles and flinging chains became a common occurrence leading them to sell the evil machine to Joe Mailliard. The Long Beach machine shop owner teamed with house mover Wayne Reed and graphic artist Chuck Jones, who raced a Fuel coupe before taking the reins of the “Automotive Engineering” dragster. This became the first of three sidewinder dragsters the team would campaign. Gone was the Chevy, replaced with a 550hp blown Chrysler Hemi, driving a solid axle by a stout double-row chain. A double-row chain also drove the supercharger. 70-percent of the weight was said to be biased to the rear. On gas it ran a best of 9.05 at 151.51 with Jack Chrisman at the wheel. By 1959 it was reworked with a lengthened chassis and new bodywork incorporating a zoomy tail similar to their new “5 Cycle” car. 5 Cycle was a marketing term referring to a particular type of Isky cam.
Eventually rechristened “Me Too” it would have an afterlife at the hands of Jeep and Ronnie Hampshire in 1960. They purchased the freshened car for $450 and installed George Bolthoff’s 340ci blown, Algon-injected Chevy engine into the chassis, running in B/GD. In later years Ronnie Hampshire said finesse slipping the clutch was the best antidote for the spooky handling, netting a best 9.09 at 168mph, before retiring the car at the end of the year.
1957: Lowell Lister’s clean “Crossfire” dragster from Pennsylvania. Lister’s gas-powered sidewinder ran a best of 9.7 at 156mph. In the early 1960s it changed hands with Bill Miller, also from Pennsylvania, giving the short slingshot a try.
1958: Oscar Taylor’s small block Chevy-powered sideways dragster from Drumright, Oklahoma, seen here at the 1958 NHRA Nationals, ran in the A/Gas dragster class. Weight was stated as 1050-pounds.
1959: The second sidewinder product of Jones, Reed and Mailliard was the 100-inch “5 Cycle Special”, a more refined and sexier progression of the first sidewinder. Again powered by a blown Chrysler Hemi, this time with a Gilmer belt spinning the 6-71 blower, the short dragster was still chain-driven. This was a consistent 9-second car running over 160mph. With Jack Chrisman at the wheel both team’s sidewinders competed at the 1959 NHRA Nationals at Detroit Dragway, with this car going all of the way before losing in the final round.
1959: Though not technically a sidewinder, we couldn’t help including Fontana, California’s Ed Rannberg with his lightweight “No-Cam Special”. Powered by four-cylinder, opposed two-stroke, 100ci McCulloch drone engine, the gearbox was from an Ariel motorcycle. Running in the X class, it was driven by GR Hardin at the 1959 NHRA Nationals.
1960: Still chasing the perfect sidewinder, Chuck Jones ventured out to create the “Magwinder” with this Kent Fuller 113-inch magnesium chassis featuring a Wayne Ewing magnesium body. Total weight was 1443-pounds. Supposedly NHRA VP Jack Hart signed off on the lack of a steel rollcage.
One side note about this car is a pit mishap landed Chrisman in the hospital when the push bar broke, causing the push car’s bumper to catch the rear tires and catapult over the dragster landing on top of it. In the ensuing action the underside of the push car also caught the back of Jack’s head, scalping him from the rear forward. Finished in late-1960, the Magwinder competed in both 1961 and 1962. It is speculated that the extreme light weight combined with the rigidity of the mag chassis created launch and handling problems. Jones later owned a series of Formula 5000 racecars, and eventually raced in Formula 1. The Magwinder was later sold to Bill Mann who campaigned it with Iskenderian livery and without the rear cover.
1960: The original “Michigan Madman” was EJ Potter, known for his Harley sidewinder small block Chevy drag bike. He once famously said, “Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right times, usually even surpassing knowledge.” With no clutch, Potter would engage the center stand, rev the engine, and at the green light an assistant pushed him off. Extreme vibration, unpredictable steering, and wheelies were some of the issues EJ sorted out on his terror trek. His per-diem for exhibition runs easily netted him over $400 for three runs a night. He was limited to three runs as that was how long the tires held up before blowing out. During the course of running the Harley at over 170mph he experienced major injuries from an exhibition run in England. Eventually he switched to a rocket-powered trike he called Widow Maker, which exceeded 200mph, also resulting in a serious injury in 1971 after he jumped from his bike when the chute failed to open. He quit motorcycle exhibition runs in 1973, switching to competitive tractor pulling. He died in 2012.
1962: Lee Titus, proprietor of Lee’s Speed Shop in Santa Monica, California, would have had the most exotic sidewinder ever had he completed it. The chassis was set up for TWO gear-driven sidewinders, one in front and one in the rear. Two gears were attached to machined axles with special bearings. The back of each small block Chevy engine had a gear and idler assembly tied to the main axle gears, driven by two B&M Torque Master converters. Ron Hier was slated to shoe the twin, when Titus unexpectedly pulled the plug. It hung in the rafters of his shop for years before slipping into the ether.
1962: The Sidewinder Plus 1 from the team of Hammel, Cullinan and Mulvey from Lancaster, California, ran between 1962 and 1964 off and on, seen here at the 1964 March Meet at Bakersfield. Best times were 8s at 170mph.
1964: Jim Sivenpiper, from Buffalo, NY, and money buddy brother Dan fashioned this slick sidewinder. The S&M Speed Shop product was Chrysler Hemi-powered, featuring very clean construction. At the 1964 Nationals, where these images were taken, it bogged at the starting line and failed to qualify. The chain-drive hauler ultimately ran low 9s at 170mph.
1970: Art Malone’s novel dragster graced our November 1970 cover. 426 Hemi-powered with a 6-71 blower, weighing in at 1380-pounds, weight bias was said to be 95-percent rear, and only 5-percent at the front, for the long 265-inch wheelbase dragster. The low relationship of the rear axle centerline to the chassis was from the live axle being placed above the crank centerline and running through the engine. A Morse-link chain tied the crank to the 3-inch axle by way of a large gear attached to the specially made multi-disc Crower clutch. On the other side of the Hemi was a blower drive using a Gilmer belt, but Malone also experimented with compressed air forced-induction. Roots-type blowers are parasitic, with Don Garlits positing they strip 2000hp from an engine, so having a source for spinning the blower without the parasitic downside would theoretically add 2000hp. Also, if the compressed air was regulated, engine boost could be staged so less was used at the beginning of a run, coming on strong at mid-track where it was needed. Interestingly in this pre-rear engine dragster period, Malone installed mirrors to see how the tires were reacting, which he missed from driving with a traditional front engine viewpoint. Another problem was his inability to sense the dragster getting out of shape until it’s too late. Though used for testing, Malone’s engineering marvel was unsuccessful in actual competition. It resides in Garlits’ museum today.
1972: The Jack Chrisman “Funnywinder” Mustang made a big splash including landing on our November 1972 cover. Experiencing a fair amount of success with earlier sidewinder efforts Chrisman drove, this new Funny Car must have seemed like a chance worth taking. Curiously, it ran Ford’s 427ci SOHC for power at a time when those engines had fallen out of favor in Top Fuel. Unfortunately it never ran well, and would have evaporated into history were it not for John Force. John and his brother Louie purchased the Funnywinder—their first Funny Car effort. It became the “Night Stalker” in Force’s hands. Evil handling prevented Force from achieving any success, and it was sold and then modified to a conventional front engine setup for an Econo small block Chevy/Powerglide combo, making a few runs at Irwindale Raceway before disappearing. The Night Stalker body surfaces for sale from time to time.
1964: There were a number of Pontiac Tempest 4-banger sidewinder dragsters built, including Norm Leonard’s 262ci example from the 1964 Bakersfield March Meet. The Tempest engine featured an Isky cam, Hilborn injection, and Scott fuel pump; and was chain-driven. Best time was 10.87.
1961: Ted Cyr and Emery Cook were staples of drag racing, winning the 1958 NHRA Nationals. For 1961 they concocted this strange-even-for-sidewinders dragster. Former NHRA Director of Competition Steve Gibbs has described it as an “evil handling experiment.” The nitro small block Chevy spun a direct-drive setup incorporating a driveshaft geared off of a V-drive into the odd side-slung quickchange, in an obvious attempt to experiment with gear ratios. Transferring torque from the quickchange to the right side slick must have created some twist, creating potential spooky runs.
1961: The Stu’s AE Transmission sidewinder from Long Beach, California. One of the only automatic trans sidewinders we are aware of, the small block Chevy runs a 4-speed Hydro sliced in the middle of its case, with a fab’d case aft of the slice for adapting the chain-driven output shaft. Interestingly it accepts a complete stock Hydro pan. A larger gear attached to the rear wheel completes the complicated drive system. As there are no other images of this rig we assume the old handling gremlins kept this effort from making any dent in the sidewinder attempts continuing to trickle into drag racing around this time.
1982: One of the last of the sidewinder dragster attempts came from one of drag racing’s greatest; Big Daddy Don Garlits. Neither discouraged by friend Art Malone’s 1970 attempt, nor the crash of JT Stewart’s “Arizona Sidewinder” dragster over ten years before, which driver Dennis Wiery survived; Big Daddy unleashed this Sage Brothers creation. Chuck and Mike Sage were into tractor pulling, creating gear sets at their company SCS Geardrives in Bellevue, Ohio. They built this stunner based on experiments with a Pro Comp dragster they owned. Convinced of its merits, they contacted Garlits, who liked the concept enough to agree to run a 240-inch dragster they were building for Top Fuel competition. Using one of Garlits’ 484ci nitro Hemis, power was transferred through a complex set of gears to the rear end. At Orange County Raceway in early 1982 for its maiden voyage, Garlits lost three match race rounds to Shirley Muldowney partially due to gear damage. By spring the brothers had refined the gearbox, but in numerous match race competitions the car did not perform to Garlits’ expectations. Calling upon an engineer-friend at South Florida University, he calculated that Garlits was losing over 20-percent of the Hemi’s available power due to the gears. With that, Garlits returned Swamp Rat 27 to the Sage brothers, who continued testing for another two years before donating it to Garlits’ museum where it rests today.
Doug “Kookie” Cook and the Stone, Woods and Cook Mustang Funny Car
A happy Doug Cook wrenching on the Stone, Woods and Cook (SWC) Mustang Funny Car. Having transitioned from their iconic Gassers into Funny Car territory with their “Dark Horse II” Mustang in 1967, the SWC team continued their winning ways and match race money dreams. Receiving a blown Chrysler Hemi in the tube chassis featuring a stock body in the days before flip top fiberglass, driver Cook barnstormed the country match racing the beautiful racecar. Unfortunately match race success met reality when in September at Alton Dragway in Illinois, Cook was involved in a serious accident when the Mustang flipped at over 180mph. Cook broke 49 bones, and had to quit driving. He would go on to handle wrenching for rival Big John Mazmanian, and help son Mike with his Bonneville efforts. Grandson Mike Jr. campaigns a Mustang Funny Car in the Nostalgia Drag Racing ranks. Mike Sr. is completing a clone of the Dark Horse II.
In a surprising announcement 42 year old Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of NASCAR’s most endearing personalities, and son of the late legend Dale Earnhardt, will retire after the 2017 NASCAR season closes November 19.
Missing 18 races in the 2016 season from a severe concussion gave him time to consider that when he did decide to retire he wanted it to be his decision and not have it made for him due to injuries or lack of being competitive, he told ESPN. While he’s had quite a successful driving career as well as winning 14 consecutive NASCAR Sprint Most Popular Driver awards, he lacks winning a Cup Championship, which his father did seven times. The closest he came to winning was a 3rd in points in 2003. This season he’s had one top-10 finish and currently sits in 24th place. In all he’s snagged 26 victories in 603 starts, with Daytona 500 wins in both 2004 and 2014.
For his own Xfinity team he plans on running two races next year, so he’s not entirely out of racing. It’s interesting to note that within the last year we’ve now seen three 1990s superstar NASCAR drivers retire with Tony Stewart and Robbie Gordon, as well as popular driver Carl Edwards abruptly announcing his retirement just a couple of months ago.
John Healy and driver Bill Lawton with their Tasca Ford-sponsored 1966 Mustang A/FX Funny Car at the NHRA Pomona Winternationals in February1966. Ford’s drag racing big hitters like Bill Lawton received these fiberglass wonders, with an additional 16-inches added ahead of the windshield, with a 15-inch engine setback for the 427 SOHC Cammer/C-6 automatic combo. There were six crafted in all from out of the Holman-Moody shop in Long Beach, California. Because there was no Funny Car class, NHRA slotted them into the C/Fuel class where they completely dominated. These would be the last factory-sponsored drag racing entries until the Cobra Jet Mustangs debuted in 1968.
Early drag cars get too few chances to show their stuff, especially in sunny So Cal. Barona Drag Strip on the Indian reservation east of San Diego has a great 1/8th-mile strip, which was used to its fullest hosting the 2017 Antique Drags. Pre-1970 cars and trucks were in abundance as this was a chance to actually race your old door slammer. The pits were full and there were a surprising amount of spectators taking in the action during this picture perfect weather event. We’ve got a gallery of 100 images that gives you an idea of the diversity and jam-packed Barona facility welcoming all oldies with goodies.
Some of us like those outlandish 1950s fins with rocket ship taillights. Some like 1960s black vinyl tops. Some like the disco-era fake spare tires and fake add-on chrome, while others yearn for that 1980s ground effects hugger look. And there are some who like that pastel color phase from the 1990s. This Ford Cortina combines them all. We have all of the elements from five decades right here. Whether they were meant to go together is up to conjecture. If you only have one car and a limited budget, but want to do some era swapping to harken back to those favorite elements of cars past, this is one solution for you dilemma. Whether you like this gumbo of styles, it was all done with craftsmanship and attention to detail; just look at the nice relief around the antenna on the add-on fin. The owner obviously wanted to maintain the factory body holes and components like his antenna for his outrageous conversion and we applaud his for that. You must admit it is not a forgettable project!
We know the Chevy LS gets maligned for its popularity in everything-even being stabbed into Fords and Mopars with great results. But when so much comes in such a manageable, abundant, and responsive platform, it’s hard to argue against it. Because we know you can get numb to the same ole, same ole, we’ve put together a gallery of LS engines that really stand out at the LS Fest West. Mods as well as many different approaches to making an LS both run fast and look good doing it, are presented here. Everything Chevy LS was spotlighted at the First ever LS Fest West hosted by Holley, so there were plenty of innovative ways to LS. Check out some of the insane mods and find new ways to sex up an LS for your next project.
Three-Ring Circus of Drag Racing, Slalom, Dirt Jumps, and Lots More
For the first time ever Holley has bestowed upon us the LS Fest West at Las Vegas Motor Speedway just outside of Vegas. It has already been such a big success on its first day that Holley has already announced there will be a Second Annual LS Fest West. So if you missed this one, keep your eyes open for one coming next year. As for this one, it was a three-ring circus of quarter-mile racing, a slalom course, dirt jump track for off road LS-powered machines, a burnout contest, and drifting this evening. Plus the requisite car shows with everything LS. This first day was a scorcher, as it can be in Vegas this time of the year, but it didn’t deter participants and spectators; with tomorrow looking to be even larger and a lot cooler and cloudy, but thankfully no rain. Things wrap up on Sunday, so stick around for more galleries and happenings from the first but not last LS Fest West.
With so much happening at the first LS Fest West at the Las Vegas Speedway, we thought we would stray just a bit from HOT ROD’s normal fare to include coverage of the off road dirt launch set up as one of the spectacles. With the three-ring circus aspect of LS Fest, which holds quarter-mile racing, drifting, a slalom, and burnout contest among its many highlights, it’s only natural that another segment of LS utilization would also be included. Check out our gallery of launches, jumps and landings from the LS Fest Dirt Launch from the 2017 LS Fest West.
