Old Coyote Posted October 10, 2019 Posted October 10, 2019 (edited) .... don't know how many of you can remember the early '70's ....... short wheelbase top fuelers ....... and shock, some of them were powered by big block Chevrolets ......... and some were a "legs under" design which raised the rear end so the drivers legs could go under the axles ...... that also caused the engines to sit in a very "nose down" attitude ....... not many drivers liked that configuration, but some of those cars were very competitive I built this "phantom" BBC Chevrolet fueler from a Ramchargers kit ....... used the 427 Chevy from an AMT '37 Chevy which was perfect for the "legs under" configuration ....... Painted the car Testors gloss black with a Testors Orange chassis ...... details from Pro Tech ..... and a set of Slixx decals designed for use on Graeme Cowin's funny car ..... and of course the cowl had to sport a Chevrolet "Bow Tie" and "Taz" wreaking a little havoc Edited October 13, 2019 by Old Coyote
GaryR Posted October 10, 2019 Posted October 10, 2019 Nice! I was just thinking last night how that Garlits chassis isn't used much for non Swamp Rat configurations. It was sold by Garlits , he was a chassis builder then and it was used by a lot of guys in several classes! I do think you mean 60's though, and not 70's, that chassis is from 64, remember too the BB Chevy really was introduced in 66! I LOVE THE CAR, creative, nice work! BRAVO!
Hmann68 Posted October 10, 2019 Posted October 10, 2019 Very cool! Clean work. Neat to see something other than a hemi in there, for a change of pace!
Old Coyote Posted October 10, 2019 Author Posted October 10, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, GaryR said: Nice! I was just thinking last night how that Garlits chassis isn't used much for non Swamp Rat configurations. It was sold by Garlits , he was a chassis builder then and it was used by a lot of guys in several classes! I do think you mean 60's though, and not 70's, that chassis is from 64, remember too the BB Chevy really was introduced in 66! I LOVE THE CAR, creative, nice work! BRAVO! Gary, I'm sure there were more of those short wheelbased Chevy powered fuelers out there in the late '60's, but I was getting to see the world courtesy of the U.S. Air Force during those years (I have a hole in my drag racing memories from July 1967 to July 1971) ..... the first of those rigs I have pictures of was at Amarillo Dragway in October 1971 just after I got out of the service. That's why I related them to the early '70's. Besides, we were always 5-10 years behind California when I lived in the Texas Panhandle? Edited October 10, 2019 by Old Coyote
Old Coyote Posted October 10, 2019 Author Posted October 10, 2019 (edited) Just to show you that "legs under" fuelers with their nose down engines really did exist, here is a picture of "Terrible" Ted Gotelli's gorgeous Chrysler powered unit. and here's a picture of the last Chevy powered top fueler I saw at Amarillo Dragway in June of 1972. Edited October 10, 2019 by Old Coyote
GaryR Posted October 11, 2019 Posted October 11, 2019 36 minutes ago, Old Coyote said: Gary, I'm sure there were more of those short wheelbased Chevy powered fuelers out there in the late '60's, but I was getting to see the world courtesy of the U.S. Air Force during those years (I have a hole in my drag racing memories from July 1967 to July 1971) ..... the first of those rigs I have pictures of was at Amarillo Dragway in October 1971 just after I got out of the service. That's why I related them to the early '70's. Besides, we were always 5-10 years behind California when I lived in the Texas Panhandle? I don't mean it a criticism at all, just some history....AND I am wrong, I thought that was the Wynns Jammer kit, not the Ramchargers! MY MISTAKE! No reason in the world it couldn't be the real thing. Sorry if I was not clear, I love your model!
TarheelRick Posted October 11, 2019 Posted October 11, 2019 Great looking build. Those drivers were sitting on a pair the size of softballs. As an aside, my drag racing hole lasted pretty much from Sept '68 - Dec '81. Did get to go to a couple of races then, the Rockingham Pro-Am in '75 stands out in what memory I have left of those days. MSGT, USAF retired.
Old Coyote Posted October 11, 2019 Author Posted October 11, 2019 14 hours ago, GaryR said: I don't mean it a criticism at all, just some history....AND I am wrong, I thought that was the Wynns Jammer kit, not the Ramchargers! MY MISTAKE! No reason in the world it couldn't be the real thing. Sorry if I was not clear, I love your model! No offense taken Gary. I just wanted to explain my reasoning when I posted the original in this thread. I do admire your sense of history when it comes to this sport.
Old Coyote Posted October 11, 2019 Author Posted October 11, 2019 5 hours ago, TarheelRick said: MSGT, USAF retired. I knew there was something about you that I really like ! SSGT, USAF escaped after 1,461 days active (but who counts) ?
TooOld Posted October 17, 2019 Posted October 17, 2019 Cool little dragster ! And yes I remember these from the late 60's , seems I even saw some with small block Chevys .
Old Coyote Posted October 18, 2019 Author Posted October 18, 2019 21 hours ago, TooOld said: seems I even saw some with small block Chevys . Yep, one of the quickest and fastest was the Shubert & Herbert car driven by Zane Shubert ..... it was powered by a mouse motor Chevrolet on a big gulp of nitro
alan barton Posted October 20, 2019 Posted October 20, 2019 John, I've always wanted to do one of these nose-down fuelers and yours looks awesome. Tell me, did you raise the rear axle mounts and then use taller tyres to make this happen or were you able to just 'tweak" what was already there. P.S., love the Aussie references! I have that same set of decals earmarked for a salt car. There's a spare Ramchargers chassis and a spare 37 Chevy rat in my stash so this might happen sooner than later! Cheers Alan
Old Coyote Posted October 21, 2019 Author Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) 13 hours ago, alan barton said: John, I've always wanted to do one of these nose-down fuelers and yours looks awesome. Tell me, did you raise the rear axle mounts and then use taller tyres to make this happen or were you able to just 'tweak" what was already there. P.S., love the Aussie references! I have that same set of decals earmarked for a salt car. There's a spare Ramchargers chassis and a spare 37 Chevy rat in my stash so this might happen sooner than later! Cheers Alan Alan, The basic chassis and rear slicks are straight out of the Ramchargers kit. The only "tweaking" I did was to the oil pan on the Chevy engine. I used the pan from a Revell funny car (which is much taller at the rear than in the front). When placed in the chassis (which has a full floor under the engine) it created the nose down attitude I was looking for. Hope to see your nose-down legs under dragster soon. John And just to show you these legs under dragsters did in fact exist, look at the accompying photo of one being built ..... look at the position of the driver's legs in comparison to the axle placement and the offset steering needed to clear the position of the rear end. Edited October 21, 2019 by Old Coyote
TarheelRick Posted October 21, 2019 Posted October 21, 2019 That is just scary. I can envision both legs broken, complete lack of reproductive ability, and many other injuries. I have always liked the look of the FED, that is what I grew up watching. The wheelstands, 1/4 mile tires smoking, it was all glorious. Those drivers kept many brass companies in business.
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