Projects The Original "Purple People Eater" dragster 1957

it keeps getting better nice save Mark

 

Mark

Are they still running the ONDR Annual Hot Rod Reunion next weekend (12-13th) in Sparta and will the Purple People Eater be there ?
Are spectators allowed to go...I am in a bad way for needing a racing fix.
Pretty soon I will end up going to the park to watch squirrels race up trees for live racing

 

Hello John..... yes the annual ONDR "Hot Rod Reunion" is still on at St. Thomas Dragway for next weekend. In regards to the PPE dragster being there ? I may try to pop in with the dragster for a short visit but the Strokers C.C. (original builders) have invited me and the dragster out that same day to their annual gathering in Cambridge plus a few of the original drivers of other dragsters from that time period (Doug Woodly 87 and Larry Rooke 86) want me to stop by in Branford on the way to the Strokers gathering for some pictures of them with the dragster. So you can see my day is filling up....lol...... and I'm still trying to get the dragster ready for the trip. If I do make it down to the drags John it'll be good to see you there....... thanks again.

 

The body panels are now all cleared and getting ready for little more buffing....... should have them on the dragster by the weekend....... I think they turned out pretty good.

 

Car looks great! - a true resurrection from the dead. I have a hunch the car is better today than it ever was ...

 

Lol......Asphalt Angel that was the comment to day at the Strokers Reunion from the original guys that built a drove this old rail back then ....... thanks again brother....... it was a good day finally getting the dragster out in the natural light.

 

@Fast Elvis...You're knocking it out of the park!...by a 1/4 mile...absolutely stunning...

 

That last shot is KILLER and a keeper.

 

Love this, all that time and effort has really paid off. PPE is super kool. Take care all the very best.

Sent from my KOB-L09 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Do I spy the 'ole '55 in there? One of my favorite cars ever!

 

Thanks Pete....that's my old 55 and here's another picture from about 5 years back of the dragster in the lane way.... it certainly looks pretty rough then.....lol..... where do the years go ....lol.

 

Already thinking about 2021 and cruising down the freeway with my old 55 Chevy towing the "Purple People Eater " streamliner while following my pal Rich's very cool combo... his 1956 Chevy towing his sweet comp coupe rail job.

 

now thats way way cool

 

That will be classic.

 

And using single axle trailers just like the old days.

 

ok bud your on! were going to do this! now we have to get read of this covid crap! so i can get over the border!

 

Can’t wait to see both the purple people eater and the orange comp coupe running next year also hope to have my dragster back running next year as well


Chrome don’t get ya home

 

me too wrench bender! havent been on here much, been on the run chasin down stuff!

 

I got the old dragster over to Doug Woodleys place .....Doug ran against the Purple People Eater back in the day. Doug may be 88 but I would swear he was 25 again just walking around the old dragster and telling stories of those golden years at Kohler Dragway. The other picture is of one of Doug's early B dragsters from around 1957. Doug also qualified for the NHRA Nationals in 1959 and 1960 in Detroit.

 

I believe 96 is Mike Smith's car from Stoney Creek. Galvin Sweet was the driver.

 

Mellenbacher was the owner of the Kohler drag strip. I think he had a dairy farm there.

 

You are a master of the Go Fast History in Southern Ontario with plenty of pics to prove it @Fast Elvis...

The moving reunions are I am sure quite emotional and memory jogging for the Older Guard...I do believe that to be Doug with his Dragster in that vintage pic...I can see the resemblance...

Such a great Thread...Thanks always for your contributions around here...2021 the year of Purple...People Eater!!...I have to ask...are there pipes to exit those portholes on the side or were they used but swapped out for a reroute?

I just went back to page 1 and saw a shotgun style sweeping aft of the ports but I'm still curious what you have in mind...

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Mellenbacker Sr. wasn't the owner of the Kohler AirStrip track at that time...... he owned the property that the old WW2 commonwealth training strip was built on but it was the O.T.A. (Ontario Timing Association that ran and operated the track. OTA was basically a group of the Ontario car clubs that took turns operating the drag events on the Saturdays...not Sundays due to the old "Lord Act" in Ontario at the time. Mellenbacker did run the concession stand and at one time he rented out go karts at the races until people complained of getting run over by them ...lol. By 1963 the track was then run by Larry Rooke and Donny Douglas from Brantford who still rented it from the Mellenbacker family. The Mellenbacker's did run the track but it was no longer Kohler Dragway...it was then known as Cayuga Dragway Park.

 

Stogy...as I'm still working on the dragster...the pipes haven't been created yet but they will exit straight out the side as they did in 1958 and through those port holes in the original aluminum belly pan.

 

...Polished Aluminum is a Beautiful thing...All ports are Covered...The Roaring Thunder...That bump on the cowl may be the Flying Eye of the Purple People Eater...

 

@Fast Elvis hows the PPE coming along...no pressure just curious...its been a tough year and still kinda $2 steak out there...the Garage is the safest place to be sometimes...BUT there is a flickering light at the end of the tunnel...hope all is well your way...

 

Just been picking up a few other parts for the old dragster but with the Spring around the corner I should be back on the dragster...... hoping to have her "walking and talking" .

 

That is quite a stunning Colour on the Ole Dragster...it looks fantastic...I love the vintage black and white images but one truly doesn't feel or realize the vividness that was the Yesteryear...it sure was...

 

That color is Luscious!

 

very Cool