I was thinking about this and decided to ask you guys on the HAMB. Were there any altered wheelbase wagons drag racing back in the 60's? I have heard that tire technology was lacking and that was the reason for racing wagons- for their extra weight on the rear tires, which was also the reason for altering the wheelbase on those early "funny" cars. I don't remember seeing any, I know it would be hard because most wagons were 4 doors. Another question- would it look cool or awkward to make one now? I'm trying to imagine what one would look like.... A 65 Coronet? 64 Chevelle- OH WAIT 64 Chevelle 2 door wagon !!! How about a 63 Falcon wagon altered wheelbase?? What you say??
Spend a few hours looking at this web page, lots of pics. http://georgeklass.net/fx.html Several wagons were raced, but only one is slightly AWB, that I could see. Maybe a few inches on this Comet? Whatever you want to build, I expect it would be fun and attention getting. Even if it's something that they never did back then. there definitely aren't enough AWB cars around these days.
I can't say for sure there was or wasn't an altered wheelbase wagon when the first funny car s came on the scene. That shouldn't stop you from building one if you want one. I say go for it.
I was thinking Arnie Beswick had one, but it was a 4 door and so not an altered wheel base (2-doors better for that as you could treat them like a 2-door sedan). Sorry.
Most of the wagons that I saw raced over the years were run in stock classes or Gas class. Stock because the weight often got you into a slightly softer class with the same engine setup. Cal and Mary Ann Method had a fleet of Chevys at their place that they would switch engines around in to go after a record and I think there were a couple of wagons in the mix. Word was that the minute the new issue of National Dragster hit their mail box they were studying the records to decide what combination they would run the next week. Gas class you could manage to run in a lower class with a bigger engine say a 396 in a 55 Chevy wagon where you could run a couple of classes lower than if you were running a two door post with the same engine.
Thanks for that link, Jim. I looked thru them all- lots of pics! But didn't see any wagons with rear axle moved forward as your cars are. Thanks for the explanation of why wagons were used, MR48. That may explain why it wasn't a common thing to see altered wheelbase wagons, plus the added fabrication of working with the rear door...
My Chevy II ended up with 50/50 weight balance front/rear. I moved the rear axle forward 8" and the front 4". I also did a lot of lightening of the all steel body, and added a sort of heavy engine/transmission. There was a lot of thought put into how to make the cars work...they didn't make an AWB out of just any car, for the most part.
All that back glass helped in the traction department also. Plus you could carry parts/tools/slicks to the track without a trailer. Just unload in the pits and you were good to go.
I can fit all the stuff I need to race in the (enlarged due to AWB) trunk of my Chevy II. But I lost the back seat, in the process. So with a wagon, you can bring all your buddies, along with all the racing stuff
The rear wheel well may have been trimmed some to accommodate the slicks, but I don't think the wheelbase has been altered. Since most wagons have four doors, altering the wheelbase is going to be a lot more work.