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

Thanks Chase...dad ran with those guys in a North East Gas Circuit.

 

Fantasia was a fuel altered, 12 spoke Americans with no front brakes, no headlights or grille and the engine was set back more than 10%.

 

https://www.motortrend.com/news/the-first-drag-racers-to-ever-use-nitrous-oxide/

 

heybuickfunnycar I recall reading about it in PHR It stuck with me that a fan commented to the driver that Fantasia in Greek means Insanity.

The crazy part of the car was, that in an attempt to keep the front on the ground, the body, and front axle was hinged to the chassis at the rear. Under launch the engine and cock pit would rise for weight transfer.
This required a dual set of frame rails
The steers were meant to stay on the track, but did not always work that way... Fantasia

 

Nice straight axle setup....

 

Early Lions.

 

From Indiana if I remember right - picture might be a repost.

 

Interesting, I didn't know about the suspension/frame.
And while mostly useless as a AA/FA, being big and heavy as compared to the featherweight roadsters and little Fiats, it was ALWAYS a show stopper. I liked watching it at Irwindale when it showed up there, doing their 1000ft burnouts, um or actual runs.



Mike

 

No front brakes were common back then on dragsters, altereds and even early years of hinged body Funny Cars. None I ran from late ‘60s thru late ‘70s had front brakes, but did have dual calipers on each side of rear and of course a chute to do the heavy stopping.

 

Caspary, Stokey, and Hampshire...Fuller car. Glen Stokey leaning on the front of the Ford truck.

 

I just posted these above...

 

The crew finally had Chuck Finders built a gasser suspension for it, and replaced the direct drive with a hydro. It performed much better and actually won a fuel altered meet.

 

Yes @old flopper , I realize front brakes were not run on the cars you mentioned, I was describing some of the things that were required in Gas class to emphasize it was an altered and in this case a fuel car.
I think it was in 1967 that Gas class rules permitted eliminating a lot of the street equipment that had been requirements before.

 

I deleted my post. Got them off another site.

 

in action

Hello,

As the drag racing cars were developed over time from the start of drag racing in So Cal, the power of the industry was showcased by the “factory” cars from 1964 and continued to extinction later.

“For the 1964 season, Mercury racing boss Fran Hernandez arranged for Chrisman to obtain one of the 22 Comet lightweight hardtops built by Dearborn Steel Tubing with 427 V8 power to run in the NHRA’s A/Factory Experimental class. But after years of driving 180 mph blown dragsters, Chrisman found the 120-mph Comet a bit too tame for his liking. Leaning heavily on his rail experience, he swapped a complete fuel dragster drivetrain into the Comet body shell, and a legend was born.”

“Much of the Comet’s spectator appeal was in its almost-stock appearance. As a mashup of a supercharged nitro dragster and a Detroit factory hardtop, the Comet was a poor fit for any of the established categories in sanctioned drag racing.”

Jnaki

The old idea of drag racing hot rods appealed to the spectators in the audience was the association with racing Fords vs Chevy cars. Their own street cars may have been mild daily drivers, but the association was exciting. Now, in 1964, a factory bodied, similar in looks, full drag race build, now looked like the neighborhood sedan going to the grocery store for supplies, with a little more power. HA!

This chapter in drag racing led to the full modified funny car category and the racing took on a completely oddball look. YRMV

In 2017, when I was walking around the newly created Lion’s Dragstrip Museum complex, it was the “Jack Chrisman Corner” that was a timeline of sorts. It went from his early history Model A sedan to the T Bird award, to the National Champion Twin Bear FED dragster on display. To top it off, the 64 Comet, stood proudly in its place in drag racing history. It was a walk in these displays for all to see and enjoy those old moments.

At rest:
2017 original Lion’s Dragstrip Museum "The Jack Chrisman Corner"

 

Is this a 55?

 

It is a "55". In several magazines back then.

 

Agreed. Chevy. I was trying to see if it mighta been a Buick. I would say it's a 55 and a half.

 

Jim Seaton's Barris built 55 Chev.

Mick