Fuel Coupe

So, What are the specs on the motor, Cam specs at .050 compression, etc. who built the heads and what did they flow on the bench. What are your expectations from the car 1/4 times etc. I'm definitely interested in the cars performance...

heard about this the other day. What a Shame..

very nice replica John. Great work....

Absolutely beautiful.

OK guys heres a small update on the car. Built the body, fuel tank and seat pan out sheet styrene added a few more tubes to the chassis and wound up using the cowl from a old cobbled garlits FE rail. Building the frontend and wheels next. Thanks for looking

Im talking with one of the surfers, Roger lost his wife a few weeks ago. I wont be bothering him on this build...

I would like to hear your take on running aluminum rods in a street car. Ive built plenty of race cars and street cars but never ran aluminum rods in a street motor due to stretch and fatgue. Just curious on your opinion...

Hot Rod Feb 65 issue has some good build shots of the car. you can find it on ebay. I would shoot you copies but I dont have a scanner..... If you cant find one shoot me your addy and I'll snail mail it to you....

YES!!!!! MORE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice work John. You really have a talent I wish I had half of. Great work....

looks good Chuck...

Actually that was my fault. I got a bit Dyslexic. the chassis is correct. My typing skills are off.... welcome to the board by the way....

Nice work Peter. Great stuff....

Beautiful John. REALLY NICE.....

Hey Thanks guys, Really appreciate the comments. Steve, Yes I have recieved a large amount of info from Tom on there car and plan to build it as they ran it. These guys were low buck racers but took a scientific approach and were able to run higher % of nitro and yet still conserve parts.. Real pioneers.....

Heres a side shot of the original car and the good side shot Chuck posted Personally I dont think the body is that far off from the kit but you make your own call... from what ive read the tribute car uses an original body. can someone confirm that?

Ben, I know the two amt kits were the same but I don't know about the spirit kit. Have you looked into Competition resins, They offer two wedge bodies but I'm not sure how close it is to what you are wanting to build and my interests revolve around F/E diggers. You can buy the bodies through Slixx... http://www.slixx.com/cr3001.htm?id=1751 and http://www.slixx.com/cr3002.htm?id=2656 Hope this helps

right off the top of my head there was the AMT flying wedge and Steve McGee's Black beauty. I wish round2 would bring these back

Beautiful John...

heres what I have so far. the chassis is 157" which is what Tom has told me the length. Built from evergreen rod and tubing... Its a small start but as things go I'll post more...

I recently put out a request for info on the surfers dragster team I was contacted by a member of the straightliners group with some info and and within about an hour I was talking with Tom Jobe one of the the surfers.Needless to say I was completely blown away by his eagerness to tell me about the car. He has been more than generous with pictures and info on the car. I have cleared my bench of all projects and went right to work First Back story: As written by Dan Himmel and borrowed from Draglist.com Any student of fuel drag racing history will tell you that the ‘60s were the pinnacle of the sport. The height of this "frenzy" was the years 1965, 1966, and 1967. Over one hundred fuel dragster teams ran two or three nights a week in southern California alone. One of the best loved, and most successful, was a team called The Surfers. Bob Skinner and Tom Jobe had been racing together for a period of years prior to being joined by Mike Sorokin. Together the three, students at Santa Monica City College, turned the collective heads of the drag racing community, and changed the course of fuel racing history. Skinner and Jobe began building their dragster in a garage space at the Red Apple Motel where they collected parts for their car. In Jobe's words, "Every day after work we'd hit all the garages…ask some questions ‘til they'd throw us out and then we'd go down to the next one. We (finally) found out enough stuff because we had to build the whole thing ourselves; we didn't have any money to buy anything." (Coonce, Cole. The Epic Saga of the Surfers. Petersen Publications Fifty Years of Drag Racing, 1999). Upon completion of the car, they began their search for a driver. Their early efforts were not successful, and the team became the object of scorn by other local racers. After a succession of drivers, Mike Sorokin was tabbed, thus "The Surfers" was born. Sorokin showed no fear in the cockpit, and soon the team began to enjoy success on the track. Mike had no interest in the mechanical operations, a fact the competition found unnerving, which was heightened by the team's ability to ready the car quickly, then spend their time amusing themselves in the pits riding skateboards. Fans and the media, however, loved their antics, and The Surfers gained a following. Tom Jobe didn't like that the hydrometers used to measure the specific gravity of the fuel mixture were inaccurate, leading him to discover ways to run a fuel mixture of nearly 100% nitromethane, thus increasing horsepower. "Our mixture of choice ended up being 96% nitro and 4% toluene (with a drop of blue food dye just to mess with the folks)." (Jobe, Tom. "Running that 98% Part 2". 30 Jan.1999. Online posting. Header Flames. 30 Jan. 1999 http://www.nitronic.com/headerflames/). Such high percentages of nitro were generally used only in last-ditch efforts to increase power, often resulting in destroyed parts. For example, prolific match racer "TV" Tommy Ivo normally ran nitro content as low as forty percent. Parts attrition was a problem that rarely plagued The Surfers. The culmination of their efforts came in March of 1966 in Bakersfield, California, when Sorokin drove through a sixty-four car field, including such notable racers as Don Garlits, Connie Kalitta, and Art Malone. He ran an all time low 7.34 second elapsed time, and defeated James Warren in the final, thus The Surfers became the first independent team to win the prestigious "March Meet". On Labor Day weekend, 1967, they stunned the drag race world, suddenly selling their entire operation. Skinner and Jobe turned away from the sport and never campaigned a dragster again. Sorokin continued to drive for a variety of owners until, on December 30, 1967, he was killed when his clutch exploded, cutting the car in two, slamming him into the unforgiving track surface. Briefly, a team of "bucks down" racers was the brightest star in drag racing's sky. Their technological insight was responsible for a shift in the paradigm. Soon after their discovery, methods of running high "loads" became the norm, and the course of drag racing's history was forever changed. Dan Himmel is also a member here on this site as well as custodian of the straightliners website. Dan Please contact me if dont want me to use this story. I dont want to step on any toes. Your story is by far the best one Ive found. The Surfers Dragster until I get permission from Tom to post the pics he has sent me I can only post pics from the web and of the recreation

Great work Chuck. Much better. quick question Chuck, where did you get those plexi glass blocks. I know there was a guy selling those on ebay but cant find them.....

Agreed Ken, Revell has made a huge investment not capitolize on it. JJ cars would be a sure choice. Im really excited about this endevor and ready to see whats on the horizon......

My name is TxRat and I approve of this thread. Got mine on the way...

nice as always John. One question though, is the "American" missing on the right side or is it not on the 1:1 ?