Lucky me! or am I? I get to restore the body to "Big John" Mazmanian's the "football car" Drag Austin. I have saved some cars that should have been crushed but this Bad boy has been driven and put away wet! The owner told me it was in rough shape but i figured "yah well I can fix anything" And I still know I can but there are some spots that need more time then I thought. the nose piece fits Ok and the pass door is the best fitting fiberglass panel on the car the drivers side door has never fit properly since the day this monster jumped off the starting line for the first time. (I.E. see original photo) the deck lid has an uneven ill fitting gap but I can live with it and well......thats just the way race cars are I guess, Guys that want to go FAST don"t pay much attention to silly show car stuff like door gaps, LOL but "I DO" and I am determined to make this car dreamy! enjoy the pics and I'll keep ya updated FRITZ
It'll be beautiful Mr. Fritz! I've got faith in you! Do you get to do all of the painting and lettering too?
HAHA...yea, "the drivers door doesn't fit right"...with a twisted frame! That's awesome you have the opportunity to bring it back. Whats the story with the chassis, etc? Keep us updated on the progress you make...please!
Nice!.......and is that heater from Ryan's garage when he lived in KC? That sucker would melt snow. Chris
it was chopped by Gil Ayala...he and John Mazmanian were good friends, long before John got into drag racing, Gil customized a '40 Merc convertible for him.
Sodbuster> LOL yah I bought that heater from the home depot, and yah it gets so dang hot in the garage I work in a T-shirt all winter! Steves32> I have no Idea, all I do is make 'em shine! LeadSledMerc> A guy named Eric from Liberty Perf. in MN. built the rolling stock for it. and Yes it was chopped by Ayala! its tuff. not the way work is done today I can tell you that but how often do we get to walk in the footsteps of our hero's? FRITZ
Hey cool maybe you could do one side as Big John built it and the other side as it was when K.S.Pittman had it. I remember the first time I saw it was at a little car show we had a Gardena H.S. back in '67 or so. Later when I was working with Goeske in '69 we were at US 30 in Gary Ind. and I helped K.S. for a minute on the starting line and got burned when the traction liquid caught fire I have lots of memories of that car, I have seen it on Gasser Madness for a long time, glad it is finally being restored. What's the plan for a chassis, I heard the original went under Pittman's Opel
It did go under the Opel. a brand new chassis and running gear was all built by a shop called Liberty Performance in MN. FRITZ
LeadSledMerc> A guy named Eric from Liberty Perf. in MN. built the rolling stock for it. FRITZ[/QUOTE] The chassis for the Football was built by Jeff Kirkpatrick (me) in Muncie Indiana. anyone else laying claim to that fact would be a liar.
The chassis for the Football was built by Jeff Kirkpatrick (me) in Muncie Indiana. anyone else laying claim to that fact would be a liar.[/QUOTE] Hey thanks for chiming in. I'm glad you posted 'cause I have no idea who did what on the car, all I did was pick it up from liberty. don't blame Eric, Blame me for not having my facts straight. And now they are. Thanks, Fritz
Mercy that's a great car from my past. Never saw it run but I stared at the Hot Rod feature on it for at least two years. I'm thrilled its being restored. Mike
See there is my problem. I have no good looks, I drink Dr. Pepper and I like payday bars! I doubt the fact I have a small penis has anything to do with it.
Hey every now & then I have a payday bar, Love 'em and Von Franco is a Dr. Pepper fan! there's hope in the world, LOL FRITZ
Ya cant beat a Dr.Pepper and a Moonpie to get things rollin in the shop.........dig the matchin trailer with whitewalls........