90-Degree Dreams and Quarter Mile Sideshow
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.
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