History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Hmm...that first image:

looks a lot like Bob Sullivan's car:

Anyone know if Stuckey, a Wichita guy, built the Kansas City-based car?

 

I never made that connection until you mentioned it...looks like the answer is "yes," found this on a Pandemonium website dedicated to the Sullivans:

Bob & Shirley Sullivan's Legacy

"Robert S. Sullivan (Bob) and Shirley K. Sullivan were a dynamic professional drag racing team out of Kansas City, Kansas - a pioneering race team. They raced and set records for 32 years between 1941-1973. With their Pandemonium racecars they blazed a winning trail from coast to coast.

Bob was the racecar driver, chief mechanic and technical expert while Shirley, his wife, was the pit crew and business manager. Bob was known advocate of safety, appearance and workmanship of their racing cars. As the sole member of the pit crew, Shirley cleaned the plugs, packed the parachute, helped with refueling, staged the racecar and served as the push car driver.

Shirley christened the racecars the "Pandemonium" and chose a humorous red devil as the logo for the Pandemonium enterprise. Over the years one roadster, one Rod Stuckey first concept rail dragster and nine record setting Pandemonium racecars, initiated new designs and contributed to improving mechanical and racing standards."

Note the "Stuckey first concept rail dragster" in the last paragraph...looks like Stuckey was in the dragster chassis business since the late '50s.....

 

This one sure looks a lot like the stuckey. My late buddy that passed raced this car flat powered at good guys Indy back in the 90s

 

And just for completeness, here's Sullivan's roadster...

 

Loved the jr fuelers.

 

I often wonder how many early Chrysler valve covers Ed Donovan sold ?

 

Nitrobro, the last photo below is the same car and this looks like it could be Stuckey driving.

The middle shot is the Stuckey-built Chizler before the nosepiece. Rod in the middle, with the Greek to his left.

I took the first shot in the winter of '64 at Lions (ignore the '66 date...that's when I reprinted it from the original neg). The pink '56 Ford wagon was Rod's pushcar. The low cowl was unique with Stuckey cars. The clone of this car currently making the rounds captures none of the stance, grittiness, proportion nor general badness of the original,as seen here.

By the way, you show John Kinston's car. I'm pretty sure that Rod was John's nephew.

Bottom line, whether or not he built GBP, he was a bonefide fuel hero in his own right based upon undisputed facts like the Chizler and others where there is no controversy. He was burned badly before firesuits and he died very young while piloting his own plane. One of my favorite memories is when I was at Mokan Raceway......they stopped the racing so Rod could land his plane on the track!

 

I am assuming that, like many others, you are conflating Dave Stuckey from Wichita with Rod Stuckey who lived in Kansas City along with Sullivan and Kingston.

Dave Stuckey was a protege of custom car builder Darryl Starbird. Dave wasn't even a drag racer, although his name was attached to a wild blown Chrysler coupe with a nosepiece...can't think of the name....but it was pretty well known, very short wheelbase. Dave did the bodywork on this coupe, his name was on the nose, that's all.

 

Tom - have you seen the changes made to the ChiZler re-pop?

 

Better known back in the day as Mr Gasket Company. Jimbo

 

Yes, thank you....damn CRS. As soon as I typed Wichita I had the feeling that it wasn't right, but couldn't get that brain cell to cooperate.

 

Dave Stuckey did the body and the paint for Bill Traylor's "Animal" Bantam-bodied competition coupe...I have a picture of it somewhere, will post when I find it.

 

I believe that Bill Traylor was from Kansas (forgot exactly where), he towed out to California in the early '60s with this aluminum-framed coupe with bodywork by Dave Stuckey. It says "Stuckey Customs" right in front of the engine. I had made a run at San Gabriel and was getting ready to push back to the pits when Bill made his first run....on and off the track (no guard rails then), but set the 1320 record for fuel competition coupes -- I think he bumped the record from 172 to 178, but, again, forgot the exact numbers. He pitted next to us, and when my goggle strap broke, he was kind enough to loan us a pair that he had...."keep 'em," he said....first class racer with a first-class car....his son is still looking for the "Animal," as Bill sold it to go top-fuel racing...there is a picture of it with the same body but an unblown Chevy...

 

No, I have not.

 

Dave Stuckey's main claim to fame was that he designed and built the iconic Lil' Coffin showrod while working at Starbird's custom shop.

 

Lil' Coffin pix from the HAMB

 

I've enjoyed the Rod Stuckey discussion, my Dad worked part time for John Kingston in the mid to late '50's he was indeed Rods uncle. Kingston owned an automotive repair buisness in Kansas City and my Dad was one of his mechanics, Rod would stop in often . During the time that my Dad worked there, Kingston owned a 1938 standard Ford coupe with a 331 Cadillac that they ran in A/gas, my dad was the wrench on that car, a third person was the driver.

 

For some reason Larry Watson had a sequence of stills of that crash and showed them to me one morning.... Pretty gruesome.... But a story of a true fighter. He never gave up!

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That very car now resides in Wisconsin and I'll be marketing it very soon.

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Any more info on this Jerauld's racer? year? engine?

 

Here's my roadster in late 1954.
(Yes, I know there's a 55 Ford in the shot.)