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Round
6: The Misfits!
By
Bill Duke and Danny White
The
"Bronco Buster" was a loosely aligned Ford project for Doug Nash. Nash
had previously raced an A/FX Comet for Mercury. The wild "Bronco
Buster" featured a scary thin aluminum tube chassis that enabled the car
and driver to weigh in the 1700-pound range. An injected 289 Ford small block
was run at first in 1966. A supercharger was added by the end of 1966 season.
The "Bronco Buster" was sometimes erratic, but it did run a few low
8-second runs. In fact Draglist.com records show that the car ran 8.68 with
injectors, but 8.33 181.45 with the supercharger. In 1967, Doug Nash received a
death notice for the "Bronco Buster" from NHRA, which outlawed both
pickup truck funny cars and aluminum frames. Doug left the driver’s seat to
build his famed 5-speed transmission used by many sportsman racers. (Photo
courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag Racing Memories)
Dave
Zachary dared to be different with his Cadillac Eldorado funny car. Zachary
built the chassis for the car and transformed the heavy body into a one-piece
flip top shell. The chassis was built out of square tubing. Zachary himself
built an injected Chevrolet engine for the car. The Eldo was not a great winner
nor did it put up big numbers. Draglist.com files show that the heavy car ran
9.71 at 144.51. Zachary was later killed when the car rolled and the cage
failed. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag Racing Memories)
The
"Stinger" was the product of Adkins and Hardcastle. Pat Adkins had
previously raced fuelers and he used that experience on the "Stinger.”
The "Stinger" was based on a Kellison kit, which featured a dragster
drive train with a direct drive 392 Chrysler Hemi. The team used the trick of
splashing gas on the tires and igniting them as the car left the line, giving
the appearance of raw horsepower. There were two separate "Stinger"
funny cars. The first was destroyed in a crash. Famed driver-for-hire Gary
Southern was the car’s pilot of choice. Southern ran low 8’s at 190 plus on
a good day. He ran an 8.50 in Stinger I, but an 8.21 at 192.50 in Stinger II.
The problem with the "Stinger" was that it was a kit car. The other
teams did not like to race the little car. Many times, it was banned from open
fields and relegated to match races. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag
Racing Memories)
Ron
Pellegrini started off with an altered wheelbased 392 Chrysler Mustang, then
built a couple of Buicks. The "Beware" Buick Rivera featured a wild
narrowed body made by Pellegrini that lifted from the back. Romeo Palamides
built the car’s chassis with several other tricks. It was a dragster style
chassis, so it lacked connecting uprights. This problem led to excessive chassis
flexing and made the steering basically useless! The "Beware" Buick
met its end at the famed Rockford Dragway, but a few scant years later, all
funny cars were built similar to the "Beware.” Ron Pellegrini did run
7.70 at 190 before the accident. (Photo and info courtesy of Ron Pellegrini)
The
"AMX-1" of Walker & Geary was another former altered converted for
funny car racing. The short wheelbased "AMX-1" ran OK every now and
then, but acted exactly like what it was: an ill tempered altered with a car
body. The car began life as a Fiat Topolino, but Walker & Geary saw that
more money could be made in funny car racing. Several drivers fought the mean
little funny car, which eventually ran best times in the sevens at 190 plus.
Fuel altered veteran Tom Ferraro did the best in the "AMX-1" with a
7.35 at 193. Walker later partnered with Gary Densham on a Pinto in 72-73.
(Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
The
"Psycho" was another funny car with an altered past. The team of
Snodgrass and Mahnken had raced a 427 SOHC powered Fiat Topolino as an A/FA. The
team got a sponsorship from Tom Sherlock Ford that enabled them to jump on the
funny car bandwagon. A 1966 Ford Mustang body replaced the Fiat shell and a 427
Ford wedge replaced the Cammer. The "Psycho" ran mid 8’s at best.
Driver Larry Barker garnered a win in Comp Eliminator at the 1967 Hot Rod
Magazine Championships, entering the car as an AA/FA. The team later bought the
Gas Ronda Mustang, but liked the old car better and brought it out of
retirement. The "Psycho" Mustang was later sold to an Australian
racer, and Pat Mahnken eventually bracket raced the old Gas Ronda Mustang.
(Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
Eddie
Pauling was never afraid to try something different. His first two funny cars
were both of the rear-engine variety. Pauling experimented with wing placement
and even drove a rear engine sidewinder dragster. But we are here to cover the
first Dodge Dart funny car. The "Ol’ Whine Maker," as Pauling called
it, was powered by a 392 Chrysler Hemi. The little Dart ran better than most
rear engine funny cars of the day with best times in the mid-8s in the 180 mph
range. Those times were not bad for 1966 and 1967. (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer
and Drag Racing Memories)
The
Jeep funny cars all were one of a kind. Roger Wolford’s "Secret
Weapon" Jeep was hit or miss when it came to performance. It either beat
all the other racers, broke, or had handling problems. Wolford’s fortunes
varied with the stretched Jeep, but there was never a dull moment with this car.
Roger drove the car to a known best of 8.03 with a 392 Chrysler Hemi/Torqueflite
combination. Rules eventually outlawed the Jeeps from sanctioned drag racing
meets, but they could be seen at open races and match races until the turn of
the decade. Wolford went on to fight the "Corvette Curse" with the
"Mako Shark.” (Photo courtesy of Bob Plumer and Drag Race Memories)
Sheldon
Konblatt’s funny cars were never the normal run of the mill machines. The
first one had to be the strangest. The "Peanuts" Galaxie was unique at
best. Konblatt built the chassis himself at the famed Service Center. The body
had an interesting story behind it. The Ford Motor Company built the body out of
fiberglass for a commercial shoot atop a mountain peak. Konblatt bought the body
and built the chassis to fit the car. The car never ran great numbers, but famed
drivers like Gary Cochran took turns behind the wheel. (Photo courtesy of Bob
Plumer and Drag Race Memories)
Junior
Brogdon’s "Phony Pony" ran under various guises, including single
engines and twin engines, both blown and unblown. The unruly car ran its best
times of 8.36 at 165 with a single blown 289 Ford small block. Brogdon’s
machine was met with general indifference from fans, other racers, and drag
strip operators. Like the other dragsters with funny car bodies, the "Phony
Pony" was culled from open drag meets. Junior was forced for the most part
to race one-off match races, which he often lost due to frequent breakage.
Brogdon replaced the little car with a normal funny by 1970. He later left funny
car racing all together and joined the Pro Stock ranks with a Cleveland powered
Ford Pinto. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ditty)
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