I am working on bringing the Dragmaster Dart Six back to life and have tracked down and own several of the original engine parts including the original Hilborn unit. I talked to Dode before he passed and he said they only ran it for about a year and half (63-64) and he thought that the chassis ended up with a big block after they pulled the slant and that it was as he said "lost to history". He was going to pass my number onto the driver (Steve Layton) but I don't think it ever happened. I am hoping that someone on here might recognize a small detail on the chassis or on the body and know what happened to it or where it currently is. I don't expect that even if I did find it the current owner would let it go so I'm planning on building a new chassis. It would just be cool to find out what happened to it. Updated info... "Built out of .090" wall 1½" tube. All gussets were 1/4" plate Halabrand quick change shield was 1/2" plate and chrome. Frame was painted red. Does this chassis ring any bells? I'm not holding my breath and am going to eventually build a new chassis but finding the original one would be cool."
This is an interesting project. Indeed, the author of the article predicted the adoption of auto trans dragsters, which are almost universal in bracket racing dragsters. Neutral starts are no longer permitted. I wonder if this car was responsible for getting that procedure banned? subscribed
Plan is to be able to run it as well. It ran mid 10's in 63-64 with an Isky 505a cam (I have both of the Isky 505 cams they ran). The Isky 505s aren't that aggressive. I think that with modern cam, torque converter and tire technology I can keep the original look of the rail but maybe get it into the mid 9's.
A bump and some more info on it.... Dragmaster Dart chassis built out of .090" wall 1½" tube. All gussets were 1/4" plate Halabrand quick change shield was 1/2" plate and chrome. Frame was painted red. Dode told me that after they pulled the slant 6 out it got a big block and was lost to history. Does this chassis ring any bells? I'm not holding my breath and am going to eventually build a new chassis but finding the original one would be cool.
I'm sure you could use 4130 chrome moly tubing and downsize the wall thickness of the tubing and make it look exactly the same as the original .095" wall mild steel chassis but stronger, lighter and safer too. Will you be trying to duplicate the original chassis design exactly or will you have it updated to today's safety standards so you can race it? Replicating the original engine modifications will be quite the challenge too.
I am planning on building a new (and up to modern safety standards) chassis based off of my copy of original Jim Nelson plans. I want to be able to actually run it and not just waste fuel in a parkinglot. Tracking down the original chassis is more of a personal goaljust to see where it ended up. Just tracking down the original engine block took me through so many interesting conversations with a few different people from Dode Martin, Ed Iskenderian, land speed record holder Wilford Day to Hamish Hamilton (director of the super bowl halftime show). They all owned or had something to do with the engine after it was pulled from the chassis. I actually already own most of the important engine parts as my dads s.c.c.a. team in Seattle knew someone on the Dragmaster team. And when they pulled the slant in mid 64 they did some trading and ended up with the Hilborn unit, Isky 505 and 505A cams, Jahns 14.5 to 1 pistons, modified rods, custom oil pan and dry sump system, head with chevy valves and a few other parts. My dads team ran it all in another slant block in a 56 alfa giulietta spider at the S.I.R. road course from November 64 until they sold the car to a local s.c.c.a. racer. After I got into slant six engines my dad told me about the Hilborn unit so I started searching. It took about 12 years but I tracked it down and bought the engine that was in my dads teams alfa and a bunch of other parts. Turns out the Hilborn unit was actually the prototype (unit #101). Wilford Day actually installed the Dragmaster engine block into his white Aston-Martin and drove it all over before he sold the car to a broker who pulled the engine and sold the car to Hamish Hamilton. The car was shipped to England to be restored and the engine block (as of a while ago) was sitting in a warehouse in LA. I talked to Ed Iskenderian to see about getting new lifters and a cam. He was surprised I had two 505's for a slant and didn't think he even still had one. Unfortunately it looks like someone used the cams as a hammer but I did take them both to our local cam shop and had them profiled. Originally the rail ran a manual trans but it was later the first one to run an automatic transmission.
Bump. I have located an original Dart chassis that will work for me but I would still love to atleast know where the original one is. I'm hoping that the thicker plates on the original chassis will help locate it.
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