History Don Garlits Drag Racing Museum Photos

Went to Florida on business a few weeks ago; had about an hour and a half at Big Daddy's place. Could have easily spent several days there! I took a couple hundred quick shots, here's a few highlights:

 

ummm where?

 

First couple are from the classic car building; not hot rods, but you could still spend a day in there alone.






Some neat Crosleys:




Brush(What year???):

I get a hard time for driving a car just like this for years, still have her.

 

Now the hot rods.


How'd you like thin in an A roadster?


Don's first "race car"



Don's first Dragster. "Too ugly for Hot Rod Magazine."

 

The Bug!






Bustle Bomb.

 

"Tom Thumb Go-Kart"




First Swamp Rat!




Early Chassis Research car.

 

Cook and Bedwell.



"Dill Pickle" Twin Rocket V-8s!!!

 

"Old Noisy"



Pandemonium III.

 

Scorpion III





Not your Father's Oldsmobile, unless he was a badass in 1959.

 

Jocko Johnson's streamliner.


Little Liz.


Mooneyes.

 

"Big Al II and Pollutionizer" Allison Aircraft V-12s. Somewhere, a tree hugger is crying to sleep on a bio-degradeable pillow.

 

One of my all-time favorites, "T.V." Tommy Ivo. This was a rather limp-wristed effort, only two injected Nailhead engines. I didn't see the later four engine car.

 

Connie Kalitta the "Bounty Hunter"

 

All Magnesium Mag-Winder.


This one one of many incredible model cars on display.



Could have looked at this an hour and still missed something.

 

Mooneyham streamliner.

 

"Large Father" Ed Roth's rail job.


Golden Greek.

 

First Funny.



Later Connie Kalitta car.

 

I stopped by there in December.....awesome place, great history...I took way too many photos....I liked the engine room. In the other building he had a flathead block still in the crate from Ford...the full size dodge 4 door with a 426 Hemi special ordered by the FBI and in the main building he had the pieces of the clutch from the famous clutch explosion in a cabinet next to the slingshot...those were a few of the many highlights for me.

 

Art Malone Sidewinder. Check the trick stored-air supercharger. High tech forty years ago.

 

Cool early Zora motor. I hear these "Ardun" heads are somewhat valuable.


Camera battery died before I could get all the intakes in this one display.

Just some random cool shit, of which there was A LOT!

 

For the gasser fans:

 

Still got some left. I was in such a rush, I didn't get to really look at anything, so I snapped shots of the boards to read later and the cars that really jumped out at me; there is so much more there, it is really amazing. I can't wait to go back this summer.

 

I forgot to post the awesome drawings of this car. As a draftsman who grew up drawing cars instead of doing my schoolwork, these fascinated me.

 

Richard D.........THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Some late model stuff.

 

Since I work for Siemens Gas Turbine division, and they sent me down there, this photo makes it a tax write-off!

 

Shirley Muldowney.



Damn flash screwd up this one.

 

I love that place, I plan on taking another trip down that way this fall

 

"Wood"nt like this in the garage?

 

Pocket Rocket. Tried like Hell to get a good shot of the engine, no luck.