This is the Demonstration Dragster

With a week filled with immaculate early customs, I figured I’d change up the pace this Friday with a sanitary machine for the strip — Chuck Blanchard’s slingshot from the Pacific Northwest.

Blanchard was a tried and true hot rodder from Beaverton, Ore. with a diverse skillset. An upholsterer by day, he spent his weekends with a clipboard and coveralls as a NHRA Technical Inspector. When Blanchard caught the competition bug, he decided to build a rail to alternate between the A and B/Dragster ranks.

Due to his tech background, a large emphasis was placed on safety. The slingshot chassis was constructed from 1½ inch electro-weld tubing and boasted heafty gussets at the rear of the cage. According to the Feburary 1961 issue of Hot Rod, the roll bar bracing was planned to distribute the impact load in the event of an accident.

Power came from a bored smallblock Chevy, equipped with an Isky 5 Cycle cam and a thirsty sextuplet of Stromberg 97s. In his quest for quicker time slips, Blanchard installed a supercharger atop the mill and swapped the widened Chevy steelies for mag wheels.

As a complete package, Blanchard’s “Demonstration Dragster�? was well designed and cleanly built. The craftsmanship — especially in the small details like the ladder-esque drag link and copper plumbing — was excellent. As an observer in the 21^st century, however, it’s baffling to believe Hot Rod praised this car’s safety 43 years ago. In its supercharged form, the 1385-pound slingshot ripped down the strip in 9.5 seconds at 155 mph with Blanchard rattling between the wheelbarrow handles. That was commonplace for the era, no questions asked.

This car was quick. This car was homemade. This car demonstrates the way it really was. And for this, I am thankful.

-Joey Ukrop

Photos by Peter Sukalac, Feb. 1961 HRM. Color photo from H.A.M.B.er Marty Strode.