Historical TECH: Mooneyham & Sharp 554 Fuel Coupe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNo1U3rSnLg NOTHING SOUNDED LIKE THIS ONE

 

THAT.........is one of the greatest hot rods of all time! The center steer, the engine setback.......it could easily be looked at as possibly the first true Funny Car. To dip into the 8's back then, with a mostly full bodied car, INCREDIBLE! Now tell me, how'd you like to have a similar, heavily influenced version for the street? Now that would be tough!

 

Wow - running in the 8.30's well in the the 1970's!!

 

fantastic

 

I first saw 554 at Bakersfield in '60...was painted silver then, never forgot the exhaust note...also remember when Mooneyham ran it the last time at Irwindale, mid-60s...it was after the meet and we were all loading up to go home...Gene said "can't afford to run it anymore," and we knew we had seen the last of a legend...he was a legendary racer, so thanks for the post.

 

Hi my name is Albert C Freeman Jr. I loved that can it was the car we owned wish we never got rid of it. Here is a cute story Tom The mongoose in top fuel wanted my brother to burn in a set of tires for him. My brother went to the starting line and was going to smokem but they was a new tire compound and they didn't smoke at all, but he did go 200 mph. I've gathered all the picture i can and if you have any new one let me know.
I have a site at 554.ne1.net emaile at nvfatman@charter.net or info I'm missing?

 

Jimmy: Hey, why not post more stories and ruin our lives as well ? Saw the car this past year in BG... Amazing fuel coupe.....

 

Someone may have already answered this...it was actually Alex Xydias' brother-in-law, Dave DeLangdon, who died in the car, early '50s at Pomona...the clutch blew, and fragments pierced the fuel tank, which was next to the driver, and car caught fire...Dave bailed out, seemed to be recovering, but died around 2 weeks after the accident...I think that it was then that Alex quit racing.

 

I also adore this car, but it's interesting to see the way the car evolves over its active life. Point of interest/curiosity, when did the steering arrangement change, similarly, when did the front bones change to hairpins?

Cheers,

Drewfus

 

I fell in love with the 554 car when I used to see it run at the Nostalgia drags... I was always hanging on the fence... and the sound from the weedburners was awesome!

Sam

 

Heres a video of a full quarter pass

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At one time the car had the K&G speed shop name on it.Which was a well know speed shop in Havertown PA.I through at the time K&G owned it.

 

I don't remember someone dieing from the car, when my dad got the car it had been in a fire and he had to have it repainted. If you watch the videos it does sound mean, but you had to be right their to really hear the sound, it was unlike any other car. It weighed 2300 pounds. My brother said that they sold the car to K&G speed shop.

Al

 

I crewed for Gerry Steiner and helped with the first restoration back in the mid 1980s when Brian Burnett found the car back east. I was mounting a fire extingusher inside the coupe and was looking for a good spot to put it. I couldn't believe what I was looking at, the roll cage was GALVINIZED PIPE ! Gene Mooneyham comfirmed it. The 7 gallon aluminum fuel tank came from Gerry's Vega BB/FC and the 8 port Crower Fuel Injectors came from the Keith Black motor Steiner bought from Ron Attebury which was in the Jungle Jim/Ron Attebury Rear Engine Top Fueler in the mid/late 1970s. A BITCHIN COUPE !

 

WATCH THE WHOLE THING---MORELANDS FORTY ,FAT JACK AND THE 554 CAR AT BAKERSFIELD WHEN BRIAN OWNED IT AND STIENER DROVE IT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWGkim_BsTM

 

THIS ONE IS ALSO A CLASSIC--554 COUPE VS CHAMPION SPEED SHOP AA/F DRAGSTER AT BAKERSFIEL--MID 80'S http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PRDGRGrcZs

 

Actually that video is at Baylands a.k.a. Fremont Drag Strip, but its no less awe inspiring to watch.

http://youtu.be/HDam-fHtc8A

God bless Brian Burnette for his Worlds Fastest Street Rod series back in the 80's. Because of him, I got to watch the 554 coupe duke it out with the Stone, Woods, and Cook Willys coupe. Talk about a trip back in time!

 

Does any one know who manufactured the heads in the second photo of this thread?Obvious that they are early hemi, but thats before the donovan heads etc. I have also seen some photos of the 554 that show what looks to be donovan heads - but with stock rockers and the heads look to be more square than the donvan heads I have .Still one of the best- they hit it right - every time with all the different changes- stll looks great.
Mitch

 

I believe that Al Sharp built the heads himself.

 

Wow, cool! Truly my favorite drag car of all time, and I think probably I'm one of those weirdos that prefers 5 windows over 3 windows because of this car. I hadn't seen this thread before now.

I can add a couple of things to this thread, if I may. I don't think anyone ever died in this car. The incedent described actaully happened in the So-Cal coupe around '53 or '54 or so. Without looking the facts up, I can't remember if the driver killed was Alex's brother in law or son in law, and dave DeLangton sounds correct. Ha! had TRJ #24 sitting on top of the pile, and I got the name correct, and he was Alex's brother in law. Different car.

Now the other bit of business where maybe I can add to this thread a bit is this... About a year and a half ago, an older guy that I had seen around town for the last twenty years or so but never really got to know, aproached me about building a street legal Bantam coupe for him. As we got the wheels rolling on the Bantam, it became apparent that Roy loved to tell stories, almost to the point of distraction. I hate to admit it, but first I kinda wrote him off as being a bit "squirrelly", 'cause these stories involved stuff that was way to cool to be really true, yet if someone had a really good knowledge of the L.A. hot rod and racing scene in the early sixties, could be fabricated. Lots of these stories centered around working at Lions drag strip on the weekends and Moonyham and at some point Mickey Thompson during the week. Ya, sure. One included damn near loos of job for making a clandestine, although very slow pass in this very car.

I was at a local racers get together here in Phoenix about a year ago now, and someone who I know to have "been there, done that", Top Fueler pilot Albert Eschenbaugh and I were talking, and I asked a question... His reaction was, "Ask Roy. ya know he worked at Lions, and at Moonyham's" GGGAAAA?! So all this stuff was true?! I'm proud to say that 99% percent of what I have asked has been corroberated by those that know. I'm off to his place to finish up a couple of things on the Bantam as soon as I hit "post". I'll ask him a bit more about this car and the circumstances behind this ride, and post what I have. Sorry for the rambling story.

 

One of my all time favorites! Screw hookin' up. Light them all the way!!

 

He was referring to the SoCal coupe, not 554.

 

I was talking to Gerry Steiner at a Bakersfield CHHR, he had recovered from his horrible crash in his Top Fueler. He told me he one of his big regrets was not buying the 554 coupe when Brian Burnett had offered it to him for $12 thousand. It was offered on an easy payment plan! I met Gerry at Fremont in 1986, he put on quite show with that car. We were pitted close together, he was gracious with advice and driving lessons to me, a rookie driver in a nostalgia T/F car. Thanks again Gerry.

 

Great thread, an a lot of talk of this car
Lately..