At the time that the original car was raced front suspension was mandatory under NHRA rules. In later years the requirement was dropped and most modern altereds have rigid front ends (usually funny car style). This car is another example of a "restoration" where some liberties have been taken with the configuration of the car rather than an exact period correct rebuild. Roo
i believe the rule is if shorter than 125 in wheel base must have front suspension. of course that is a racing car not a cackle car.
I think that it wasn't until the "transformer" Altereds came about that some went to a "non-suspension" suspension. Then with the 125 w.b. cars, they are just Funny Cars with altered bodies. All "real" Fuel Altereds have some sort of suspension per the "book". Mike
The break for rigid front ends in the NHRA rules is 120" wheelbase. The rule also calls for "one hydraulic shock absorber per sprung wheel" so strictly speaking the friction damped torsion bar common to most fuel altereds is not legal. Roo
Thx guys. I checked my local rules, but they are not very clear. And it seems like the opposite of yours...(but i suspect something is lost in translation, as i guess most is taken from NHRA rulebook). Here it says: Rigid front is legal if shorter than 120" wb OR lighter than 2350lbs.
Special edition I got a message from member mach7zero and he had an encounter with the ORIGINAL 15 OZ altered in 2016. Here is his story and PHOTOS. Sorry for the modern photos but the are of a historically important HAMB ERA vehicle. Today I was reading one of your archived posts and you had an original picture of the famous 15oz. altered coupe. It made me remember a very special car that I saw June 4th of 2016 in a little town in southeast Washington state called Spangle. There is a car show there every year and 2016 was my first and last year to attend. In an era of fake patina, and copycat nostalgia builds, a car showed up that caught my eye, and I knew it was something special. His photos A "Hats off" to mach7zero
Photos working fine on my PC ??? I checked and they are just regular jpeg images nothing weird they should show up on everything if you can see others???? Edit: tried posting a different way. Can everybody see them now??
Another message from mach7zero with this fiat. I am including another pic of a B/Altered from a friend of mine. His dad, a machine shop owner, built the car in Seattle in 1959. His last name is Burdge. (Hard to make out, but on the car the lettering says " The Burdge ____" [shop maybe?], I'll ask Rod and get back to you) The car was powered by a stroked Oldsmobile with a LaSalle/Cadillac trans. He is looking for more pics and is seeking to locate the car to see if he can purchase it. Any info would help if you run across any. Photo
The Jalopy Journal
