Who Built the First Narrow Chassis Funny Car..?

Larry T, shouldn't you be working on the Anglia? ..........

 

Pete,
Yep, or the FXR or the 55 or ........................................
Ok, ya shamed me into it.
Later,
Larry T

BTW Pete, I know there must be something over at Roberts house that needs working on......and it's roadster weather out there today. So?? (G)

 

FC was first recognized a an Eliminator class @ the '69 Winternationals. Jungle owned the car and Clare Sanders drove it. Now we have it and are finishing its resotoration for the 50th Winternats in Feb. Yes it will run on 95% and although I tried Gibbs said I can't do any burnouts there.

As for the first narrow FC chassis I think it was the SWC 1968 Mustang built by Ronnie Scrima. Could be wrong but that was about 8 inches narrower than the Logghe, Woody or Hardy cars of the same time. Not quite like the style still in use today but narrow. Buttera is credited with the style that is still in use today(3 rail excluded). 'Shoes '70 Barracuda as stated earlier. Debuted at Tuscon in late 1970 I belive.

Tikiman

 

I honked twice as I drove by.....twice!

 

I'm no expert on this. I was a young teenager in the late 60's, and a big drag racing fan. I would guess the red and blue '69 Mustang Mach 1's of Mickey Thompson were first. If not the first, the first to be successful with the narrow chassis design. I recall they had many wins that year in NHRA racing. In those days the funny cars and Pro Stocks looked like cars on the street. Now they all look nothing like a street car. One of the reasons I lost interest in drag racing around the mid 80's.
I included a pic of me from the year 1972, at Dragway Park at Cayuga Ontario.

 

Ok..the pics should be on this one...

 

I don't know about the Mustangs being narrow rail funnies. Stop at around 1.36.
Larry T

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJU3M-T0TXI

 

People assume that because the M/T cars of Ongias and Foster had three point cages they were narrow chassis design. As you can see in the you tube clip they are wide rail design. The rail width is around 28-30". The Buttera narrow rail has a shoulder hoop width of 19"
Tikiman

 

Nice snoop work guy's..!

That You Tuber Vid was excellent.

I would say the 69 M/T Flopper in that vid was ( narrow'ER ) but not the one I'm lookin for.

The headers are still ( under rail ).

I will look for the SWC 1968 Mustang built by Ronnie Scrima.

( Did you see how crazy that car was when the chures hit )...!

What a Ride...!!!

 

(The Buttera narrow rail has a shoulder hoop width of 19")

Do you measure Inside the hoop...?

I think they average about 21.5 on the C/L With 1.500 dia tubes ( widest point )

 

austin grassi funny car mid 60s top fuel dragster with cuda body sweet

 

I would think around 65/66.........

 

buttera built the first real deal narrow chassis, garlits dart was just a dragster chassis with emery driving.

 

What Rich was asking about was the first of the cars with the frame narrow enough that the headers ran outside the top rails not under them like the Logghe style frame in your picture of Mal Durham's car

Roo

 

Jim Kirby

 

Definitely the first.

This is correct, although he doesn't mention that the one piece fiberglass body was the other key component. Some may have been narrower, but the Logghe cars were the first tube chassis/flopper body configuration and that was the revelation. I was at early races at Lions and Indy and watched as they came on line '65'66-ish. Garlits was before, but as others stated, it was just a dragster chassis. Which Buttera came before?

 

thanks for that info. re-read the post. guess I suffered an old guy moment.

 

Logghe Comets were innovative, but they were not narrow chassis (for this discussion, headers over the frame rails.)
Larry T

 

first narrowed chassis and body was the RAMCHARGERS dart.

 

Who built the Ramchargers chassis'?
Like I said in an earlier post, just surfing the web the Ramchargers was the earliest I found (April 70)
Larry T

 

Foster built beach city corvette , bob sullivan pandemonium camaro roadster,marv eldridge's corvette roadster

 

can't say I know who built the ramchargers chassis,but it was not the 70 that was narrowed first.I think it was the 66 or 67 dart that had at least 6" taken out of middle.Since most of RAMCHARGERS work was all DETROIT stuff,possibly Dick Branster shop,I'm just guessing

 

Looks like Jay Howell built the chassis. And the frame is kind of in between (headers through the framerails)

I can't pull the picture, but here's a link to it.

http://www.allpar.com/reviews/other/ramchargers-book.html

Also a picture of the 70 Challanger that is a true narrow framed car, Woody Gilmore car.

Larry T

 

Rich, what have you benn working on lately? Always was interesting stuff....

 

In 1967 Stone Woods and Cook built a Mustang that had a lengthened front end, and glass body. It was a true funny car and used for match racing. No "funny car" class then, but that was a true funny car. It ran under the name Darhorse II.

 

Evolved from stretched out Altereds and Roadsters, and Woody Gilmore came in there with the Ramchargers Cuda narrow car built on the coast as he was building their dragster chassis....They were all square frames before this including Shartmans and Nicholson's Logghe cars.....Actually 'Al Turner using a Mercury Comet 'roadster' with a wide frame went to the Winter Nationals with this car and Jack Christman was the driver and exploded the engine.... Al burned the car at the track and that was the end of Roadster Funny cars.....But I would have to put Ron and Gene Logghe at the front however utlizing there Altered/Roadster chassis just stretching it out.... and I still have one....

 

I was in Alburquerque, NM in the mid sizties, there was a guy named Leneir, don;t remember his first name, but was told he the man behind Funny Cars! Anyone out there remember him? Was killed racing, when I was in Vietnam.

 

Years ago I briefly talked to Roger Lindamood at two or three different races. When he was running a wide Logghe chassis I asked him about it's construction and suggested an improvement. Shortly after that Logghe switched to the narrow chassis and so did Lindamood. Whether by coincidence or due to me suggestion, the narrow cars incorporated my idea.

 

Jeeez. The Garlits car along with the Grassi-Austin car weren't really funny cars. They were dragsters with bodies. The Mickey Thompson 69 Mustangs built by Pat Foster were the ones that changed FC chassis. First came the Logghe style ladder frames, then the Foster style. The blue M/T Mustang dominated FC in 69, everyone copied the chassis style. It was DEFINETLY Foster's chassis that ushered in the "narrow" modern type FC chassis. Case closed!

 

Like this? I took this pic in 67.