One thing I did notice today as I was looking at the pics, if you look at the first shot of the white car, notice the slight flat spot at the uppermost part of the rear wheelwell radius. Then look at the shot of my car with the top on. It's partly in a slight shadow there & isn't as noticeable as in person, but that same flat spot is evident in my car.
I hope that you are able to make a connection. Also are there any names on the Title to help you trace it back?
Yes I talked to the gentleman in Oklahoma that bought it in Los Angeles almost 30 years ago & owned it for some 28 years. He said he saw it run in the LA area with a straight axle & he bought it at a swap meet (I'm guessing late '80's/early '90's) & it had the stock front end under it then, less motor & trans. He still has the roll bar he took out of it lying in his back yard. I'm gonna go by & get it this summer when I go visit my Son that is stationed in Wichita (Air Force).
That is a good start, hopefully you are able to find out more. I guess that there are no names on the title from California because the car was retitled in Oklahoma and Texas.
Changing gears slightly but I found this pic of a mid-year as a latter day Gasser & thought it was really cool. As the traction technology advanced & aerodynamics improved the front end came down I guess. Not the traditional Gasser look, but pretty cool anyway.
The Red Light Bandit got the T Bird off of the line but got beat to the finish line by the 427 Cammer.
Those SOHC Fords were BAD! Got to hear one run once upon a time in Gene Wilson' Shop...like putting on a set of headphones with stereo compared to a transistor portable LOL.
I think that is why I bought a new hub.......Screws were completely rusted, and looked like a misery job...... Good luck.
A question for you guys. I need to buy front wheels since mine are 14" x 7"& aren't necessarily "gasser friendly" LOL. Should I run 6" wide front wheels or the smaller 4"? Seems like a 6" was the smallest that was commonly available back in the 60's-70's. Is that correct or is my brain as rusty as Baron said his steering hub was?
The ones on the Red Light Bandit look like 15x4's, they are perfect as is (unpolished). Anything but the new gen. Americans, not that you would.
I remember this one from the magazines. First version was 427 Ford powered (!!!), then came the Hemi.
The 4.5 inch wide Magnesium wheels were available back in the 60s and were often seen on gassers and sports modified cars. They can still be found but are much cheaper to buy in the 6" width. They are also reproducing them in Magnesium ( not cheap) and in aluminum. If you are thinking about budget friendly reproduction aluminum wheels, the options that I know of are the Torque Thrust 5 spoke style and the Kidney Bean style.
I am pretty certain the 4. 5 -5 inch wheels were quite common at that time. I just happen to have a real nice pair of 15 x 4 Cragar SS that would be perfect for your car ( with brand new M/T 26/7.50-15 frt runners all mtd and balanced) . I was going to run them on mine, but where I run Cragars on my 55 Chevy, I'd thought I'd mix it up a bit. Plus I can swap wheels and tires from one to the other to change them up.
Who can give this the full late 40s taildragger treatment,, chopped, lowered in rear, nice hubcaps, skirts and some nice paint
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