Rat Packer vs. real drag car questions

[Bucket T]

I did a quick  search but couldn't find an answer.  Would the Rat Packer Chevy 2 AWB in real life have:

1. windshield wipers

2. a radiator

The thought occurred to me as I was filling in the sink holes on the radiator.  Then I noticed that it didn't have radiator hoses.

[crazyjim]

I believe radiators were not always used in the gas coupe classes.  However, I would think that Chevy would have run in the FX class and I don't have enough knowledge to answer with authority.

[Daddyfink]

Well, that kit is supposed to be an early version of a Funny Car, so some of the items you mentioned are no longer necessary. At this point in the history of Drag Racing, there was no funny car class and most of these cars where built as "Match Racers" and pretty much anything went. 

 

[Snake45]

Wipers, probably not.

Some of the '65-'66 match racers had radiators, some didn't. I think you could safely go either way on that.

[gtx6970]

Best thing is try to gather as much info on the  car your trying replicate...then  copy that particular at that particular time

[crazyjim]

Aha.  No wipers or radiator in those pics.

[Mark]

The radiator, side pipes, and passenger seat were added to some of the AWB funny car kits in the mid-Seventies, so AMT could issue them as "street machines".  A lot of kits didn't include radiator hoses back then.  For street, you'd still need a water pump and an alternator, and you'd have to work up a different arrangement for the traction bars among other things.

The 1:1 drag cars almost always had the wiper arms left off.  The kit manufacturers sometimes took them off for drag versions, but not often, because it wasn't easy to do after the fact.  Most of the pro stock kits issued in the Seventies had windshield wiper detail on the bodies.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Mark
Clarity

[1972coronet]

I'm pretty certain that items such as wiper(s) were only required in Stock classes , and perhaps Factory eXperimental. 

[Lizard Racing]

I think I built one of these back in the day.  A car like the Rat Packer was a transition from A/FX to funny cars as we know them today.  When running in a class they were in the Altered category.  For match racing, it was "anything goes."  Thus as stated before, it's up to you as to whether you add this equipment.  It depends on what you are replicating.

[lysleder]

I do not know much of anything when it comes to drag racing, but I seem to remember from another kit. I believe it was the MPC '53 Ford Flipnose pickup , but it could have been something else. This one also had a standalone radiator with no hoses, and the instruction sheet identified the part as "gas tank". I guess for a car doing part-time duty on the show circuit a radiator (which is designed to hold liquid), cold make a fancy gas tank.. Or maybe not. What do I know?

[Bucket T]

Thanks for the info members.