Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Tell Me More... Ray Harrelson's "Motor Reco Special" Continue reading the Original Blog Post
It looks like member @fossilfish was looking to recreate it at one time. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...reco-belly-tank-drag-car-from-the-50s.982627/
This is the text uploaded with the 1957 (with the hemi) pic. Ray Harrelson's "The Belly Tank" dragster. "The dragster in the photo belonged to Ray Harrelson. He owned a business called Motor Reconditioning in downtown Houston. A.J. (Foyt) was the driver of this vehicle even though he was not the owner. A.J. was driving midget cars and half mile dirt tracts at the same time. This dragster was made from the belly of a airplane. Therefore that is where the name of "The Belly Tank" dragster came from. My dad Ollie (Henry) and Frank (Thomas) both worked on this vehicle for Ray. They also took their motors to Ray's for creative enhancements. The best I can remember is that 57 was the last year Dad and Frank raced together. After that they had their team." Melba Stiefel Motor Reconditioning Co. Inc looks to be an active business. Jewell Harrelson shows as the owner. Motor Reconditioning Co Inc 5834 Ledbetter St Houston, TX 77087 Contact: Jewel R Harrelson Title: President Phone: (713) 659-3891
Wow, what a great old racer. Never seen anything about that one before. What the hell happened to it? Please let us see some more on this story. Please
I have to wonder if it saw Bonneville service after 1957? It's distinct shape would be easy to I.D. in old salt photos. Then again, we have to remember that many old drag cars ended up getting parted out or the "go" parts (Hemi, drivetrain, wheels/tires) got yanked and dropped into another race chassis... That makes me wonder if that chassis/body sits somewhere in a Texas out building waiting to be discovered........?
The Jalopy Journal
