The LAST LOGGHE ALTERED - restore it or race it?

In 1978 I had the famed Logghe Stamping Company build me an altered roadster. Chuck Kurzawa, noted Top Fuel race car fabricator was working for the Logghe brothers at the time and welded up the ch***is. Al Bergler did the tin. I wanted the best car my budget would allow. I raced it for the next two decades, mostly as a bracket racer. In 2000 I crashed it head-on into a concrete guardrail. I recovered and built a new car but I couldn't bear to part out my old Logghe car so I put it in a shed. I have been collecting parts needed to rebuild it but now I am faced with a dilema on which I would value your opinion.

Should I:

A) Restore it like it was on the last day I raced it? That would mean making it 110" wheelbase and a torsion bar front end. In this configuration it would be mostly a static display car.

OR

B) Update the car to a more compe***ive longer wheelbase, say 120", and coil-over shocks in front, and race it a couple of times a year with a Nostalgia altered racing group such as The Gunslingers?
Since I am the original owner and have updated the car several times in its life (240 six > 300 six, Clutchflite > Toploader > Powerglide, 3 pt cage > 5 pt cage > 6 pt cage) maybe further changes would just add to the cars provenance and not detract too much.

What do you think?

View attachment 5018866

 

I vote for upgrades and race it.

 

Race it, though we need more pics of it

 

Update and Race it.

 

If you had not crashed it ,what would you have done with it now?
That's how I would be thinking.
Fred

 

May as well race it, if you want you can always put it back to original later, it will just be more work than doing it now.

 

Crashing it was somewhat of a blessing in disguise. I would probably have still been racing it. Instead I built a state-of-the-art Advanced Ch***is (Antwerp OH) 125" car that drives easier and is more compe***ive (see avatar photo).

I'll post some "after" photos of what I have to work with soon.

6RE6

 

Just update it and race it. A display race car would get boring fast and be less fun than a trailered rod.

 

I say restore it, you already have a modern day race car. just my 2 cents. I just met Mike Logghe today, he's a cousin to Ron and Gene, he is the LT. Cmdr. for The Ann Arbor City Police Dept. Hell of a nice guy.

 

I agree. Once the old car is all updated, it will be close to what your new car is anyway, so what's the use? If you really have to run it, restore the ch***is and use a mild mill that would be safe for the short wheelbase and just run it occasionally at the HAMB drags and such.

 

Restore it to a point where they will let you run it now , keeping it as close as possible to what it was when you first built it. If you already have a modern car , a restored oldie would be neat to have...Garlits has a ton of his old cars, and most, if not all, are like they were when he put them together. Either way, you can't lose...

 

The car was built to race; so rebuild it, race it, and let the fans experience some history.
PK

 

Why would it be just a display car? Nostalgia racing is mostly brackets anyway. And Yes I know there are index cl***es too. Is it nhra tech? If it is I would go for no more than what they ask and race the car. car is too cool to change to much. FEDER

 

If it were mine, I'd restore it to the first time I raced it, not the last. And, I'd continue to run it for exhibitions and vintage racing.

 

I don't see any reason a 110" wheelbase and torsion bar suspension would keep you from racing it. Lots of cars out there running 9s, 8s and faster with the same set up. How fast were you planning to go?

 

I agree with the guys who are questioning why you'd update it, since you already have a modern race car.

I don't have any experience with this, but I've always heard guys say it's more fun to drive a slow car fast, then drive a fast car slow.

Restore the car to what it was when you first bought it. Drop in a mild engine, and enjoy it that way. You've already got a full, modern comp car.

-Brad

 

Restore it back to as close to original as you can......the car & you have a history to share with people!

 

I'm restoriung a Lyndwood rail to its 1962 specs, so I think I have a valid opinion. Very few people have their original race car, lucky you. If you upgraded it would it still be competive? If not I'd restore it to the best or favorite year/look it had. Only you know what features are correct for a given year. Make it safe and race it.

 

Ditto - Especially if you still have the clutchflite. If not, you can fake it.

Show of hands - how many people here have never seen a clutchflite? I can't remember how long it's been since I saw one myself.

 

Let me see,
It will never be a show car...
You can't drive it on the street...
Updating it to todays safety spec's would be real expensive...
I'd say restore it to it's original splender and maybe do some Cackle Fests...
I know...that's a curse for a race car! If you still want to race,build a newer version of it.

 

Here is what's left of it:





Everything north of the mid plate mounts is mangled and needs replacing. Surprisingly, everything behind the block plate, even the gl*** body, is intact except for a bent front seat bucket crossmember when my body slammed into it (fractured two vertabrae). So I don't think I can bring myself to hack off the 6-pt cage and put the 3-pt back on. I no longer have the Clutchflite or toploader/slider clutches but I do have another 'glide. Originally I ran 15" Funny Car wheels / tires up front but switched to T/F wheels. I have another set of the T/F type to use. Finances would seem to dictate just front-halfing it. Ron gave me a set of Monroe coil-overs when I bought the car and I was thinking of putting them on to make it similar to the Ron Ellis "Trick T" AA/A Logghe car. I have the engine to go back in there and thought about de-tuning it a little so it could only run a 10-flat @ 135, making ch***is re-cert unnecessary.

My newer car is not really "welcomed" at nostalgia races, what with the delay boxes and timers and air shifters and such. The Logghe car would be perfect for nostalgia drags but I have to face the reality that I'm not getting younger and could be 70-something by the time I get some seat time in this thing again. That's why I think I'd like to make it a little longer and less violent if I am to race it. If I go static display car then "yes" I will make it as close to pre-crash state as possible.

I gather from all of your replies that this car is worth saving in some reincarnation and I thank you all for your thoughts.

As I ponder this rebuild I am remindedd of the joke, "The head has been replaced twice and the handle has been replaced three times but, YEP, that's George Washington's hatchet alright."

 

I, like the 37kid, have some experience at this. See my Avitar. Restore it as it was and race it where you can. Screw NHRA and their "be like us or else" at***ude. However, make damn sure it is safe.

 

Greg, When you picture that car in your MIND - what do you see????

 

restore it (no updates that aren't required by current rules) then race it. If it gets crashed, restore it agian,

 

Add me to the list to restore it to it's original specs.

 

Greg do like I have been asking you top for years, sell it to me so I can restore it!! Just kidding. You know what to do. Restore it and race it!!

Steve

 

Greg, Maybe you can set it up for a little less traction - restore it as it was origionally I mean heck - it IS a piece of history) and BLAZE the tries for the full length of the track at the Nostalgia Events - of course you'd probably want to rename it the "Frenchtown Fryer"

 

You have the right idea per your last post: Front-half it and run a de-tuned motor to keep it above 10 flat. Of course, while you're fixing it, you might shorten it to 105" wheelbase so it really looks cool.

That's what I did.

 

Restore it back to when you first raced it, these old cars need to stay as they were built, just the history of these old cars carry is remarkable to the young race fans and racers of today. I still have my Ch***is Research Dragster that I raced in the '70s, it is just as I last ran it, people see it and say man you raced that! I wanted to update it a few years back and race it again my two sons said why do want to ruin a part of your life, and trash a piece of drag racing history, you wouldn't be happy after you done it. We show it a lot and I still drive it around the neighborhood, just had it out last sunday, feels good just to cruise around in it, glad I listen to my sons.
Fred C.

 

Jacin,
I see an intense young kid having the time of his life. But that young kid is gone even though the enthusiasm remains. I've got pictures of him on every combination of two wheels possible. And that's just it. If I were to race it again I would want to win every round but I'm not sure I would be up to the task of manhandling that car in its original state as I did in years gone by. It always wanted to pull the wheels. When I had the Liberty 4-speed in there I remember having to make the 1 - 2 shift with the wheels still in the air. Sometimes I actually had to drive it to keep it in the groove. With a hand brake and no line lock or air shifters, well, things were busy in there. To get it to handle the motor needs to come forward about eight inches. Most of the Comp E/A (later I/A, J/A) Cars of the 70s figured that out eventually too and engines and wheelbases inched forward. So I could restore it as original, much to the delight of nostalgia purists, but I do not think I could race it and win like that. Or I could change it again and pick up a few more trophies along the way.
That's the crux of my dilema - I want it all. Maybe instead of going to a 120" wheelbase I'll just go to 115" and move the engine 5" out, do a 'glide w/ brake and hope the change is subtle enough to keep it from looking like a new 125" altered but stable enough to make it easier to drive. That's the way I'm leaning tonight but I don't want to rush into this so I am going to think about a lot before I move on it.