That was so damn kool ! Yea the camera person was a little excited but hell would wouldn't be if you were there ! To me there is nothing better than a front engine dragster ! I have always loved them and always wanted one but just couldn't afford to have a frame built . Maybe one day ...who know . Hope to see a video coming real soon seeing the FED smoking down the track ! Retro Jim
ACK! Great video, but the combination of my toothy grin and the twisted viewing angle just gave me a helluva neck cramp. Totally worth it.
Very Kool........ Did Norm build the hemi as suggested above ? That would be better yet ! Steve, you will be in for great ride very soon at the drags like no other, you will be forever addicted...... Congrats....
Interesting positioning of the "94s". As the digger comes out of the hole (leaves) the fuel moves toward the rear of the float bowl starving the main jets and giving a very lean condition to an engine demanding more fuel, not less! As Edd Byrnes would say, "But what do I know?" Anyway, nicely executed FED.
Um, yaaaaaaa I feel like I need a cigarette - and I don't even smoke!!!!!! TOTAL BAD-ASS. Can't wait to see more
I can't believe this is up already & the shitty video to boot. I want a do over on the video and will do that soon. After hanging out at Rancho de Tardel for 4 days burning the candle at both ends following a two day bonzai run from Austin to Santa Rosa w/ the engine and other car parts, we fired off the engine at 8 pm on Saturday night I was so excited, I wasnt much of a videographer. Just too excited. Don't worry I'm not going to quit my day job. There are a number of people that helped me along the way but there are two in particular that made this dream come true. First off Keith Tardel @ Rex Rod & Chassis for not only scratch building the most beautiful period perfect chassis based off an early 60's chassis research model 442 but also did all the body panel & paint work too. My week here with him has been nothing short of spectacular watching him work and make things come together. He's a freaking genius. This whole idea was hatched after Keith came to the DOTD event that we put on at Little River Dragway back a year ago. This was followed up by a night in a bar in January at the GNRS and it was on. We collaborated on this long distance and I started gathering all the parts w/ Keith's expert advice while he started to put together the chassis and assemble the parts I was sending him. It was great to watch this thing unfold even though I was 1800 miles away. Secondly I would like to thank Norm Jones who is "Hemi-riffic" ( if you know Norm you know in his opinion the only way to power anything correctly is w/ a hemi) and he rebuilt this '56 DeSoto for me top to bottom. It was Norm's influence that had me go buy a junked '56 DeSoto just so I could get the motor and have him school me on it and try and find something to put it in once he was done w/ the rebuild. Well it sat for a year rebuilt in my garage on a stand and we had all kind of crazy ideas what car to swap it into, but it wasn't until the Digger Dream took hold that we knew where its home would ultimately wind up. I was on the phone with Norm all week as this week progressed getting advice from him all along the way making sure I didn't screw anything up. Norm knows hemis and I know he knew everything was gonna be fine. Well 8 pm came on Saturday night we hooked up the last wire to the mag, prime the carbs & hit the starter and boom we were on the business end of it. Norm was on the phone listening to every crank and then fire. So heartfelt thanks to both Keith & Norm for making this happen. Also wanted to thank Gene Gilmore out here for the help w/ a few spare Hemi parts we didn't have and Wade at Buffy's Stainless & Polishing in Austin for the beautiful job on the solid magnesium halibrand rear wheels and David at centex plating in austin for all the great chrome, also Brendan Murray for the great job on the 40 spoke 18" front wheels and last but not least Cody at Hurst for the meats out back. I'm gonna do a full post w/ the build w pics when I get back home and get it organized. I'm having to do this post on my phone cuz my laptop took a dump and its a pain. Stay tuned and I will see you at a dragstrip near you soon.
Very Kool Steve..... Yes the Tardel's, not that I know them because I don't, however; it was very interesting seeing all the legends hang out in their pit during Bonneville Speed Week this past August.... Can't wait to see the build pic's !!!!
Yeah saw the frame on FB ...and would hang it in my living room....so beautiful.....what Drag Racing used to be....cool and raw.....love it!
hey that was level! my brain could process what it was seeing! who ever "shot" the first one, well just don't let him or her touch the camera again!
If only Keith had a skirt on.... LOVE the. rear wheel and tire combo, love the sun tach and where it's mounted, love the color choices on the parts....and I'm in love with that big nasty engine.
Anyone who drove a TE-440 (or, in this case, a 442) (see avatar) gets goose bumps whenever someone restores or recreates one...on the one had, they were dangerous -- squirrel cage roll bar did not give much protection in the event of a bad crash, but they went pretty straight (at least mine did). The SoCal tracks ultimately banned most of them because of thin-wall tubing (or so Jim Tice told me), and more advanced chassis designs replaced them....but they were a solid part of drag racing and so it is really great to see this video.......engine noise alone is worth the price of admission!!!
The car you are thinking of at the Deerborn museum is the one that belonged to Dick Smith here in Phoenix. That's the one with the perfect cut outs for the Hemi... His buddy Beeno was responsible for the near twin that was chevy powered that is otherwise identical. Dick has been responsible for lots of cool hot rod stuff and the launch of the careers of allot of our greybeards here in Phoenix since the early fifties. Happy to say that I was talking with him the other day at an event, and he's still crankin' along just fine.
Lookin good Steve. You should be proud. Now I think I'll go to the neck doctor. Can't wait to see it.
The Jalopy Journal
