History Cortopassi & Butler "Glass Slipper"

http://theamazoeffect.blogspot.com/2011/07/drag-racing-history-glass-slipper.html

 

At Fremont Drag Strip

 

I forgot to add these. What a killer car!

 

Excellent.I have that magazine too.

 

Yeah, I just bought it and one from 1955. It is funny to read through these mags because stuff people are having such a hard time finding (sp 97 scott tops, spalding flamethrower, champion heads, ect.) are listed in this mag for just a couple of dollars. Don't you wish you could go back and buy some of this stuff?

 

I love reading the Ad's and the Classifieds in the back.Show Cars for $1500-$3000

 

I know right? Like...

 

Yep! $675 for a Hot Rod 32 Coupe! You cant buy a grille for that now!

 

The HRM article does say that the carbs on the flathead Merc have been converted to run fuel.

Jerome

 

Remember seeing it run at Half Moon Bay and can still see it .......... some things you don't forget...........

 

does anyone remember seeing a picture of a 1953 Mercury being used as a push car for the Glass Slipper at Bonneville? it was in a magazine within the last few years. maybe the picture was from 1955?

 

Hot Rod Magazine, January 1973 has an article " The Return of the Glass Slipper".
Article states that in the car had been parked since 1961 in Ed's garage. Said when flathead powered it was capable of running 181mph at Bonneville (no mention of nitro). JD & crew outfitted the car with an Edelbrock built chevy and made a bunch of passes at OCIR

 

I used to work Saturdays at Bruce Alexander's and Jack Dill's tire shop up near Mac Aurther and High Street in Oakland.
My father got me the gig cause they were Masonoic Lodge Brothers,
long story short.
Bruce and Jack said " we are going to show you how to change out tire sets on dragsters, be careful these mag rims cost 80 bucks each !"
They showed me how to bust down the beads and not crack the Halibrands
first ride through was the Melrose Missile, next up was the glass Slipper.
I have some pics I took. Did em all Booze Bros, SWC, anybody that ran
Bite by Bruce's drag slicks, they all did then, the next day I was in the pits at Fremont standing by the water box watching my handy work put to the test.
Great way for a kid to earn $1.25 per hour and then to spend the day at Fremont. Wow.
Like I said I have some old Kodak brownie shots, they don't scan well.
I'll try later.

 

I can shed a lot of light on the Glass Slipper for everyone. My dad built and still owns the car. It now resides in the NHRA Museum in Pomona. The car was retired in 1963 and restored in 1982, although we started running nostalgia meets in 1980. The car was partially destroyed at Kingdon Drag Strip in Lodi, Ca. in the late 50's.
I will find out who the talented fiberglass man was who fixed the side of the car that burned. I am unclear if it ever ran nitro in the flathead, but will find out straight from the source. Interestingly, people remember the car the most with the flathead, although they switched to the Chevy small block after only a couple of years. An interesting fact is that they ran at the 2nd NHRA Nationals and used both the flathead and chevy in qualifying. Opting to go with the flathead in eliminations since it was more consistent. They were the fastest with a flathead and chevy at the meet and they won a small block chevy as their prize. Any questions, post and I can get the info.

 

I watched it run lots of times at Fremont, also remember when it came to Seattle back in the 80's, quite a car !

 

Great story and picture's !!!

 

Awesome picture my friend and fellow Satan's Angels Member Arnold Moniz posted.Said this picture is hanging on the wall of Bruce's Tires in San Jose.I've determined it's from the 1957 Oakland Roadster Show.Up close in the foreground we see the famous Cortopassi and Butler's "Glass Slipper" Dragster.In the background, hanging from the rafters we see the "Satan's Angels" Banner.The "Glass Slipper" Dragster won Most Beautiful Competition Car in 1957.

 

Great pic!

 

When this car first showed at LADS in the mid fifties it really got the attention of the locals. Uniformed crew, fast SBC 265 Chevy and it ran very well. Nicest folks in the crew too. I still marvel at the workmanship and design ideas of the day over 55 years ago. It stole the show!
Normbc9

 

in the late 50's The Slipper was at a shop in Hayward Cal on Western next to the RR tracks'
I remember seeing it make pass up the street there. At about the same time Al& Vic Hubbard built a2 engine car, 1 in front and 1 behind the driver, Les,Lived across the st from them and we pushed to start and then chased it around the same neighborhood,on the streets, as the Slipper.

 

Thats bitchin Tom.That part of Hayward is pretty shitty now days.

 

Here are couple pictures that I took of the car at the 1988 Hot Rod Reunion at Fremont.

 

Very Kool.Thanks for the pics!

 

Years ago some where I saw the Slipper running a blower, what stuck in my memory was the BRIGHT YELLOW blower with single 4BBL. atop the purple & lavender sleek body. Fast forword a few years in the bay area I visited with one of the crew members dressed in dark purple shirt and white pants and asked him if dragster had ever run a blower and was NO... What a timeless stunning race car and a snappy dressed in purple crew, but a blue pickup, come on... Dyno Dave

 

Pat Ganahl (sp?) had something to do with the Glass Slipper. He was or is the owner or owner/partner in the car. I have a book someplace that details them running a straight 6 in it.If I remember right it's in one of Pats books on high performance 6 cylinders. Perhaps he could add more info on it . I remember reading that the frame had taken a beating from so many different engines being mounted in it.

 

I think I read where the Slipper was the inspiration for another great streamlined digger, the Syndicate Scuderia from Vancouver BC.

 

I don't beleive Pat ever had anything to do with the Glass Slipper, He owns and restored the Ike Iaconno Dragster. Ike was famous for his fast GMC sixes in his roadster, altered & dragster, although the dragster had several engines including V-8s.

Mick

 

mick your right I'm mixing my cars up here neen a long time since reading those articles.

 

the slipper had a fire at Lodi in '58/9? which injured teh driver but it was rebuilt and ru\nning again very soon, they never brought the car to thetrack if it wasn't 100% finished.u

 

it burned at Lodi in /58 it was rebuilt and run ning in a few weeks.