62-65 Superstock Mopars picture thread..

In the early 80's, the car was listed for sale in NHRA's National Dragster newspaper. It caught the eye of a racer in the Hoffman Heights, Illinois area and a deal was stuck to sell the car to him.

After a season or two of racing, disaster stuck the original "Texas Rattler"

At the big end of the strip, something went wrong... perhaps a fire started. The bulkhead connector that feeds the engine wiring harness through the firewall to the under dash harness appears to be melted from a great deal of heat. My suspicion is that an electrical short in the fusible link started an electrical fire. In any event, the story goes that the driver tried to bring the car to a panic stop, flat spotting both of the front tires when the brakes locked up and the car went off the end of the drag strip into a field. The car rolled and flipped, with only the NHRA-required roll bar preventing more serious damage to the car and injury to the driver.

Not long after the incident, the remains of the famed "Texas Rattler" were sold on a Bill of Sale, including all the previous Titlework, to another 1965 Hemi racer in Kansas. That fall, the bare shell, stripped and gutted of all the unique parts only used on the 1965 Plymouth R0 cars and without a front or rear suspension, was again sold, dropped onto a flatbed trailer and taken to eastern Ohio. Sadly, the "Texas Rattler" sat on the ground, in the dirt, unprotected from the weather for the next 24 years until Gordon Garland finally located it and brought it to Colorado for a full restoration in November of 2006.

The rest of the photos below detail the process of finding, then bringing the 1965 Plymouth Belvedere I Lightweight Super Stock Race Hemi "Texas Rattler" back from the edge of the grave and reintroducing it to the Mopar collector's world at the All Hemi Reunion in Salem Ohio over the weekend of August 22, 23 and 23, 2008.

 

Finally found some time to peruse this,my favorite thread more thoroughly and saw this pic. Casey;that's the car I once had. My avatar shows it sitting in my driveway at an old residence. Wasn't as rough as the "Texas Rattler" when it was in my possession,but needed lots of work. Ah,what could have been...

Kudos to the guys who restored the "Texas Rattler" above;that is one incredible car.

 

caseyajones, hell of a story thanks for posting it. BTW car looks good.

 

The Tx.Rattler was rebodied nothing more the a clone,no were worth the asking price in my opinion.

 

Here's mine.

 

Texas Rattler kind of reminds me of my Grandpa's axe:

The handle's been replaced three times, and the head only twice.

 

2:03 was my favorite part. Watching that guy shift was magical.

 

Thank you;fantastic video. Those AWB cars looked like an absolute handful to drive. Back when men were men and cars were dangerous. In some ways,they still are. Wish I had been there!

 

Any pics of Roy Clark's "Hee Haw Hemi " or "Superpicker" ???

 

Kearny Nb. last weekend

 

#1 cars on my list to wish to ever have. never happen cuz im young and they are crazy expensive when you find them.

 

Here's a few more.

 

Here's one

 

My favorite thread is back!!

 

more

 

nuther batch

 

sum more

 

In a way,it's a bit sad to think of all the A-864 and A-990 cars,along with the MW cars, that became altered wheelbase cars,and then...? I'm sure there's still a few out there awaiting discovery;does make me wonder how difficult it would be to return one to its original state. Not that preserving one in its "altered" state wouldn't be cool as well,it's just my opinion that I like 'em original-jeez,is that a sign of "getting older",or worse yet,"growing up"?

 

I always look at it as natural progression of a race car and the quest to go faster.That and I'm partial to the altered wheelbase cars.

 

AHRA Winternationals Beeline Raceway, Phoenix AZ 65 I think. I have the page out of the mag that has it as an ad for Dodge, its with my collection of stuff for my 65 Dodge A 990 car.

 

That's driver Jim Thornton under the hood. Can't identify the others. Can you?

 

Sergio Marchionne with the bag of donuts, Bob Nardelli and Jim Press?

 

You'd think that with his "bailout" money,Nardelli could've sprung for the donuts. Nice hats as well.

 

pics of our MW 63 fury conv. it has stage II 11to 1 coded TMP 12-62. we enjoy it all summer. buy 110 octane from a local engine builder and mix with 92 pump gas. we just have fun.....Don/Barb W DSM,IA

 

Hendricks' '62 Plymouth Belvedere

 

VERY KOOL!! I am one of the "love the '62 MoPar style" people!

Marty

 

Now the S&M tribute car in VA. Possibly the last race car Ronnie Sox ever drove.