While on the 2011 Hot Rod Power Tour at the last stop (Detroit) I was walking around, and low and behold, there sits the '65 Dodge "Hemi Honker" altered wheelbase car! I get to see it in person! I sopke with the owner (Jim Kramer) a bit, then he asked if I would help get the hood off with him. Of course! I then asked if I could possibly sit in it. The answer was... One more closer up, to be sure I had a photo! THAT was a very good day for me...
I bet it was ! Just these pics make the memories come back like an avalanche. I wonder what would happen if I were to sit in there, or was around with the motor running. : ) Tom S.
Hopefully you got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Faubel too. They're great down to earth people, and I really dig the way they tend to dress up when they go out.
No question, he's a gentleman (Faubel). I was so surprised, reading "We were the Ramchargers" by Dave Rockwell, to learn that, when new, Bud DROVE that altered wheelbase FX car home from Detroit to Pennsylvania, open headers and all!!! God, I MISS the old days!
I'm already rolling into the next altered wheelbase to come out of the Metal Shed. Its going to be the '65 Barracuda, all A-100 suspension, applying all the tricks from previous builds to make this one the best yet. All I can say is it will be uniquely powered (ALL MOPAR), and we're sending the folks at Chrysler some renderings for their keen eyes! This eco-friendly build-up should really stand out in the automotive aftermarket with coolness! Dale
Here's a really cool Comet that was at the RoseCityRoundup.Nice fellow from Kelso Wa. He told me he followed the factory plans from the '60's on building an altered wheelbase car. Brandon
I met Dick Landy when i was a kid. He said, "Kid, touch that car again and I'll pull your nuts off." Words to live by indeed.
Thats the last donor van for altered parts for a bit! Had dinner with Magnante last night, while he is out on the West Coast for a week. He directed me to some recent pictures from his latest bash on the track with the Wilshire Shaker. Always nice to see the Mickey Thompson piecrusts biting like this, much to the disbelief of some who say they are worthless for traction. Waddya mean!! http://photosbyjim.smugmug.com/Competitions/2011-05-29/17292506_ww47tH#1313548224_zTNTXWW-L-LB
What a great thread !!! One of the best on here IMO. I know some of you guys & dig the Novas gassers !!! I've met SmokinBill, his Nova is awesome, Dale I met in Pleasanton last year at the Nova Mini Nats. Very cool, what a great bunch of guys. Aloha, Ric
#1108; " Always nice to see the Mickey Thompson piecrusts biting like this, much to the disbelief of some who say they are worthless for traction. Waddya mean!! " Anything would hook on heated VHT coke syrup whatever on rough concrete. You ought to have used those hard tread, hard sidewall, sometimes recapped slicks back in the day on dust covered pea gravel asphalt. Less driveline breakage I suppose, but I will always remember the first touring pro who brought a box of gymnasium/dance floor resin and took the time to clean the track and sweep it in with a broom. A real game changer for everyone who saw it. Your friend Steve Magnante does a heck of a job historically with Southern Style Match racers......... the ORIGINAL Funny Cars back when they were actually made from real cars from guys with imagination. Takes me way back.
I'm with you, Tom! I asked Carl Blanton (Mo-Kan owner) if he sprayed the track with glue for the HAMB drags. He told me he had to because he got tired of replacing gaurdrails. The guys today just can't drive a car, even in a straight line unless the track is sticky enough to pull your shoes off! Pathetic! It's also why I'm not bothering to alter the rear wheels of my Dart. Why? Even with pie crust Mickey's it'll probably stand on its bumper...
Glory be to the good old days........ On Sunday, I'm getting together in the morning with another friend who runs an altered Nova on the street. Our two smallblocks (one a Ford, the other a 327 Chevy) should make for some "spirited" driving. Try to see if someone can videotape the fun... Dale
Don't know if this has been posted on this thread before but it has some great footage of Dick Landy and The Little Red Wagon. <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tWDprSdH2xQ" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="510" width="640"></iframe>
And good old days indeed they were. I went to the Fair at Franklin, Tn a couple years back and totally unexpected I came upon this jewel in a parking lot car show they were having. It took me days to get over recalling all the memory of running these things from Saturday till the sun came up on Sunday.
I've seen this one before, and it makes me want to pick back up on my first, full size altered wheelbase conversion, that was put on the backburner for the Comet. This shot moticvates me to get 'er done!!! http://public.fotki.com/bowtie0069/shop-projects-1/dales-64-polara-awb-/64awb.html