Hot Rods The ALTERED thread

"A fuel altered driver with narcolepsy? Yes, Ol' Willie could fall asleep anywhere, anytime. When he suited up and crawled
in the race car, the crew would check to see if he was sleeping in the car while waiting in the staging lanes. Also, did
you know Borsch drove a top fuel dragster in the mid-1960's? Yes, Willie made a few runs in the Muse, Crafton and Oaks top
fuel car. After a couple of runs, Borsch decided he didn't like the view or lack of one from the cockpit. Willie retreated to the roadster and an unknown driver got his first topfuel ride, that driver was Steve "The Mandrill" Carbone."



Good read
Here:
https://www.dragracecentral.com/drcstoryprint.asp?ID=275120

 

Willie and Leon Fitzgerald both tried funny cars, neither liked being enclosed and bailed. Oddly enough, I know where that mask is.

 

Looks like Boyd Pennington vs the 554 coupe. Wish I’d been there for that, a classic if there ever was one.

 

Pontiac power and a competition number to match….
Diggin the Ford in the background too.

 

@flamedabone, right up your alley Jeff.

 

So was that the Olympia beer sponsor?

 

fuel altereds are the only cars that the modern funny car drivers stop what they are doing to go watch

 

Wonder if this one handled a bit better. Longer wheelbase than the Fiats typically had, had to help

 

You would be amazed at the difference between a 98" car and a 112" car.

 

Under 105" and every fraction becomes noticeable. If you're not right on the money, things can go to shit quickly.

 

Holy pipe organ Batman!

 

Also, remember that the old cars were solid rear ends, straight axles, no tire technology to speak of, iron cranks, iron heads, and in/out boxes. The gifted guys like Guasco, Howard Haight, Fitzgerald, Henry Harrison, and Leroy Chadderton relied on clutch adjustment from experience based on experimentation.

 

Also - very importantly - note the trend to move the engine further forward. This makes a BIG DIFFERENCE.

 

I agree that it may have helped keep the car in control but the longer w/b did necessitate moving the engine forward to stay within the allowable 25% setback per Altered class rules.

 

In an Altered, engine location is pivotal!

 

My old "The Last Logghe" altered, was a 110" wb. It used to wheelstand like crazy. At the time I ran a 4-speed toploader and often had to make the 1 - 2 shift with wheels in the air. I have several photos of it doing wheelies and will post them if there are no objections to the disc type O/Tsolid wheels.. Another aspect of handling in addition to wb and engine placement was the fact that my Logghe car (and many others) came with ladder bars which placed the instant center way to high and too far rearward. After I crashed the car in 2000 at the Norwalk Halloween Classic - a week long drag racing "festival" - I rebuilt the car 11 years later. This time I added seven inches to the wb, moved the engine up, added an alternator and radiator, and added another bung in the frame rails to convert the rear suspension to a 4-link which made the car much less violent.
So the combination of short(er) wheelbase, engine placement, and suspension all were addressed to keep up with the times (pun intended).

.https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...e-altered-restore-it-or-race-it.352899/page-6

I probably will run the risk of having that build thread deleted but it is the real last Logghe car built and as such, becomes historically significant.
If you want to jump to page 6, post #157 there is a great pic of me down track with the front wheels in the air, probably making an upshift. Note the 3-point cage, later replaced with a 5-point, later replaced with a 6-point, even later with mandated helmet bars.

'scuse me a second... musta got something in my eye...

 

Wow. Conaway and Woodhouse in living color. I’ve only ever seen their car in postage stamp ad photos and in B&W. That was a slick car….

 

Can you imagine this run? Prehistoric fire suits, open face helmets, WW2 type goggles attached to a sort of face shield, nothing in between the blower and the driver, and what? 98% nitro? And a really short wheelbase. What can go wrong?