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Art Arfons pioneered the use of World War II aircraft powerplants in race cars, boats and tractor pullers. In 1953, Art stunned the visiting Californians with a world-record speed of 144 mph from his 6-wheeled, 12-cylinder, rearengined Allison dragster. Arfons built a dozen Monsters in the 50's, all powered by Allison, Ranger or Roll-Royce piston engines including drag racing's first "sidewinder" (1955). It was during this innovative era that Art contributed two important safety devices since made mandatory for drag cars: the overhead roll cage (1954) and the parachute (early 1959). He also set Top Speed at the National Championships three years in a row, climaxed by blazing runs of 172 and 170 mph at the '59 event after which NHRA permanently banned aircraft powerplants. Art is was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991.
Now this dragster is not one of Arts creations. It's a "What If" type build that model building is so great for (let your imagination run wild). It started off with Tony Nancy's Revell Double Dragster set. I used the 22JR Roadster kit and lengthened it 1.75 inches to accept the V12. The V12 came from an AMT Parts Pack kit.
Other modifications include..................
Exhaust. I was tempted to just go with straight pipes (All 24 of them, 2 per cylinder) but decided to get a little freaky. I flipped the exhaust around (pointing them forward), filled in the holes in the bottom of them and bent a "U" shape with styrene. I then cut up and old set of side pipes from the Rat Packer Chevy II kit that I didn't use. LOTS of smoothing and shaping later I came up with a very dramatic set of pipes.
I added an over flow can on the right side of the frame to catch any water when expanding.
Ran fuel line to the fuel pump,Throttle cable and linkage,Parachute straps,Release cable and handle. Hooked up the clutch linkage to the bell housing and made a drive shaft. I had bigger tires on the front but the spokes (Even though might not be strong enough) had to stay. I also added bigger back tires from my parts bin to hold the Horse Power. I did a bit of research on these engines and there are a few different types. They range from 750HP to 1000HP from what I found. I wonder if Art "Tweaked" them as well?
