It's actually a '33. Different grill and a lower front roof line. Cool car. I like the Comet Cyclone too. Dave
I cant believe that the collective historical knowledge on the HAMB doesn't have any information about this cool race car?! Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It looks like a 426. I'm wondering if this is where it ended up? Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It's hard to see the engine. The equal distance between the injector stacks points to a hemi. In pic two the plug wires can barely be seen. They are going to the rear of the engine. That would make it a 354 or 392.
It looks to me like theres a dizzy up front which would make it a "late model" Hemi of the 426 variety. And that badge on the hood looks like it says 426 which may be another clue that its a second gen hemi.
Pic four is clearly a 426. The other three I can't be sure. It could have had a gen 1 then updated to a gen 2.
Ok, I'm slowly finding more information. It was raced in the 60's by George Freymuth and Jim Picket from Munith, Michigan. Apparently it held the B/Gas record for quite a while. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Apparently it was featured in January 1968 Rodder & Super Stock magazine. Anybody have a copy?! Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Sonny Benson built and Raced the PF Flyer with George Fryemuth. My dad raced with them in the 70's he has a 64 Max Wedge car. Sonny was a Chrysler transmission engineer and was on the team that developed the Torqflite
This car was built by sonny Benson, George freymuth, and Jim picket. It initially started with a 413 max wedge from the Onondaga dragway 62 Plymouth. The front fenders, hood and grill were made by Danny Smith of munith. I was one several that helped sand to prepare for paint, etc. It was later updated to a hemi and a clutchflite. Fastest I recall was 9.80's. the clutch came out and sawed the car nearly in half. The 69 cuda was a body in white on a square tube chassis. Also a record holder and it's class many times. It was list for n a shop fire. Sonny, George and Jim are all gone now.
Sonny Benson was a very good friend, I was employed by Chrysler Corp. at the New York office and knew Sonny from his work at the Proving Grounds in Mich. He was an honest, sincere person and we had many good times at his house and mine. We shared Drag racing and Hot Rods in common. In the Nineties he had a hemi Desoto V8 powered Plymouth coupe which I believe was the original B/G NHRA 426 Hemi powered record holder P - F Flyer! I believe his daughter has the car since his death in 2016. I think of him often Bruce Hertel
The car as you know was built by Sonny Benson, George Freymuth and Jim Picket. My uncle John Suttliff is second to right in the first picture. My father had a chance to buy the 1933 plymouth coupe at one point but it had been wrecked and he said it was way to far gone to do anything with. I’ll ask him tonight if he knows where it went after that. The next two pictures are of the side windows from one of the PF Flyers that I purchased at George’s sale before he went into a home. I also purchased the George’s Auto Service sign at that sale and a few other items. George lived across the road from my grandparents. George opened George’s Auto Service after his parents closed down H&F. They sold Chrysler/Dodge and farm equipment. When the hardware closed down that was once H&F I was given one of the only known H&F signs that hung in the windows. I would love to find the big H&F that was on top of the building.
Bruce, Sonny was all that and a pretty great brother as well. He built a 33 coupe at about the same time they built the Flyer. I think it existed when you would have been around him. Subsequently, after he retired he built a second one, which I have. Here is a picture. Diana does have the first one. They look a lot the same but hers carries the original 426 and mine a 318. If you knew him well you know that the 426 was his thing. It was nice to bump into this thread.
Rod, Bruce Hertel here, just came across your post ! Sonny and I traded a lot of parts, I still have a clutchflite he built for me. I ran a 426 Hemi B/G Dragster with a shortened (16in. total length) full automatic Torqueflite. It is great you & your sister still have the cars. BRUCE, [email protected]