This body was actually used for Ford TV ads. It was hoisted atop a giant rock in the desert via helicopter. It was built to look like real LTD from afar. The car was replaced by his Jaguar XKE of the same name.
I read where by simply replacing the this heavy shell with a thinner, lighter Maverick body, new found performance was discovered.
This reminds me of the "64 Funny Cars" at Seattle International Raceway, although it might be a bit later than these gems (mid to late seventies maybe?). I can't remember, too many beers probably... Damn, that was fun! Thanks for the great pictures.
This one was outlawed by NHRA the same time that they outlawed Nitro. Big Al. Allison powered flopper bodied 34 Ford.
Post # 45 Also get yourself a copy of Funny Car Summer.... http://www.amazon.com/Funny-Car-Summer-Jim-Dunn/dp/6305989435
This rear engine vega was run by Don Casto. He was one of the few racers from WV to run nitro. He was burned pretty bad in a FED fire(at Gainsville I think) and switched to the rear engine funny. Looks like it paid off on this run.
Is a Jeep Funny Car offbeat enough for you? ... I was just a wee lad back in 1967-68 ... but I have fond memories of watching the "DESTROYER" Jeep Funny Car run @ Fremont Raceway: ... I even spelled out the word D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-E-R on the side of my bicycle's banana seat (in those "wacky monster letter" stickers that came with a stick of gum): Here's a little history of the DESTROYER by Danny White (from DragList.com): In 1966, Gene Ciambella was known as a superb racing transmission builder and a top racer in the blown supercharged gasser wars in Southern California. He then did an about face and went funny car racing. He was so serious about this that he even changed his last name in trying to lure potential sponsors. He chose the Jeep to be unique and to stand out from the crowd. Ciambella chose the last name Conway from Tim Conway who was in the television show McHale's Navy to try to lure non automotive sponsorship. The car looked more like a Jeep than the {other Jeep Funny Cars of the day}. The all-silver Destroyer had a stock back end and a stretched front end with an open engine for all the god fearing world to see. The Destroyer {...} was home built with a roll bar that would be hard pressed to pass tech for a Super Pro car today. Conway drove the car out in the open wind in a ram rod straight driving position, and drive he did. The car was a major player in 1967 when it ran consistently. The car would wheelstand sometimes and act up due to bad aerodynamics. It also had the usual automatic transmission problems of the day. The car was the most successful Jeep funny car of all time. The Destroyer won many match races and open races over the best that Southern California had to offer. But the Jeep was just a flash in the pan. Conway soon had a new Firebird in 1968. He got rid of the Jeep but the new last name stayed. Conway would later go to fight the Corvette Curse in the early seventies while gathering more wins. The Destroyer was sold to SoCal racer Ken Coleman in 1968. Coleman ran the car under his own name in local funny car match races, mostly at Irwindale and Orange County. He got the car to run 8.20's before money constraints got the best of him. Ken Coleman went bracket racing for much of the next decade, winning consistently in local Super Pro/Bracket 1 action. He won way more money with the Jeep than he paid for it!
Nothing but red x's... Can someone convert those to "click on's"??? I can't do it with my ol' school web box.. Thanks a millon!!!
Worked on Diamond Dave Millers 55 T bird Funny car and I kick myself for selling the cheeta funny car, although it went ervrywhere BUT straight, Tim Jones
The Jalopy Journal
