History Drag cars in motion.......picture thread.

Chuck Jones "Magwinder," driven by Jack Chrisman. The tubes were magnesium, a substance that Kent Fuller (at front of car) had never welded before this effort. He quickly learned that he needed heli-arc welding (invented by Northrop Aviation to weld the magnesium XP-56). The car ran both a blown Pontiac and a blown Chrysler, but even with Jack's driving skills, the car was not really competitive. It is now in the Don Garlits museum in modified form.

 

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Is the 'old' Sidewinder still around somewhere? One of my all time favorites. One of the reasons why we decided to build our first dragster (17 & 18 yrs. old). We wanted to make as much noise as that thing did. We didn't.

 

Jim Travis got a hold of one of the original Chuck Jones sidewinders. He hauled it out to one of the NHRA Museum cruise nights. He claimed he had not done anything to restore it, looks all original. If Jim is right, the car must have sat in a nice warm garage for 50 years. It looked just like it had just made a pass at LIONS.

 

I don't know if the Sidewinder that showed up at the Bakersfield nostalgia meet this year was the original restored or if it was a reproduction...anyone else?

 

Just thinking back on the ' Magwinder ' it was really neat looking painted in pearl white & candy red and blue plus they polished the Mag frame

Its a shame that it did not work like they thought it was gunna after all that work and bucks too

 

Wow , did it spend any time in Hartford City?

 

Lynchburg VA.

 

The one that Travis has/had? was Sidewinder II, the second Jones built car. It looked like a copy of the first one, but with a few maroon paint highlights. Has script lettering on the nose that says Ole'.

 

NED in Epping, no?

 

Looks more like Pittsburgh's Keystone Raceway Park and that would gel with the fact that it is a Truby shot as that is where his best work was done.

Roo

 

Then and now.

 

Stan Antocot? Super Duty aluminum car before being lettered. John O'Hare photo.