To earn a point, tell us approximately when this car was built, who built it, what car it was based upon, and what powered it.
Up!
Do the Pro's already recognize this one?
10 days with no response?
Nobody recognizes this American car? Not interested in playing 20 questions?
Was it built by a company or by a man?
Built by a man
This car was built into this form before 1960
The obvious engine information shown in the image, is probably incorrect
Made in USA ?
Yes, made in USA
Was it meant to be some kind of dragster ?
Built for competition, but not drag racing on a 1/4 or 1/8th mile track.
Black Hole soon?
Engine has more than 4 cylinders.
Built for oval racing ?
I'd say that was a lakester. And I assume it's a V8, although only 4 pipes are visible?
Not a V8, not built for oval racing.
Lakester is correct, if you mean it was built for high-speed runs on a dried out lake bed. (Although "lakester" normally implies the involvement of a Drop Tank, which was not used here)
Quote from: sixtee5cuda on February 06, 2015, 05:59:49 PM
Not a V8, not built for oval racing.
Lakester is correct, if you mean it was built for high-speed runs on a dried out lake bed. (Although "lakester" normally implies the involvement of a Drop Tank, which was not used here)
Yes, that's what I meant, but I agree I was wrong to call it a lakester. It's a long time since I was a kid and used to buy old copies of Hot Rod and Road & Track. I also misunderstood your reference to the engine layout - I thought maybe you had snipped out the other 4 exhaust pipes!
This car is quite "different". It's an American vehicle of the 1940s/50s but not V8 powered. That in itself is unusual.
Straight 6 motor?
Straight 6 is correct.
Engine from a General Motors brand ?
Correct, it is a General Motors engine
Chevrolet engine ?
Yes, it is a Chevy 6
Was it built between 1955 and 1959 ?
Yes, this vehicle was created between 1955 and 1959
Did it run at Bonneville ?
A previous incarnation of this car ran at Bonneville. This car was designed to run at Bonneville, but sources do not mention it actually arriving there. It did run on a 1/4 mile race track more than once, but that was not the intended competition venue.
(I indicated earlier that the car was constructed by one man, instead of a company. It was actually built by a man and his car club.)
SoCal hot rodder no doubt. Iskenderian?
It was owned by Bill Hofer of Ft. Worth, Tx. Bill and his club the "Squires" built it.
Engine is a '54 Chevy six with: Spalding can, McGurk pistons, Harker manifold, Holley carbs, and reworked GMC rocker arms.
The body color is a bright red with a '32 Ford chassis painted that's painted white. Much of the front suspension is chromed and the wheels are white.
The car ran at the 1957 Nationals in OKC. The article gives a top speed of 132mph, but no elapsed time. Jay Williams was the driver.
Other pictures.
Rats - still no pix of those 6-into-4 zoomies -- that 's unique! Should have figured this was on "that" site, just didn't look hard enough. A few more details from the builder's son:
"The rear engined dragster was built from my father's 32-5 window coupe. He drove the '32 at Bonneville in 1955. It was severly chopped and ran on 20% nitro. Lessons learned from that experience told him that aerodynamics were the key to going fast. The result was the rear engined car you see in those articles. The 32-5 window did 120 mph in a 1/4 at Caddo Mills dragstrip in 1954/5 on 20% nitro. The rear engine car was a high gear only car, the clutch being connected directly to the quick change. The car was designed to try for 200 mph at Bonneville. On a "shake down" run at Fort Worth driver Jimmy Williams reported a tachometer reading indicating a speed of 170 mph+ with "lots of throttle left" on gasoline. ... The color of the both cars was "Insignia Red", an Air Force color that was painted on the tails of the B-36 bombers for recognition in the event of a crash."
And the point goes to oko94 for the correct answer.
Great looking little car.