Does anyone have any pics/information of Jocko's tank engine streamliner? Dunno what brought up that thought in my head! Thanks in advance.
You might try WDIFL.com . . I did see the remains of the first "liner at Jocko's shop in Long Beach years ago . The first car was fiberglass and a side panel made a dandy sign. Between porting jobs ,he was hand forming an alum. body ,he built one for Garlits also.
Thanks snaptwo. Checked the site but could not find a search function. Really cannot browse 300,000+ photos! I'm gonna try to Google it.
Yes Jocko was quite a free thinker . At that time in drag racing the inventive and innovators ruled , records and speeds seemed to change weekly , it was a wonderful time . The Jocko 'liner was rear engined and used floatless 97s ( a crude fuel injector ). Garlits was rumored to say the liner was supposed to go over 200 mph but flew at 180 ! Back to the drawing board .
The Power Ring engine never ran. Jocko needed a ton of money from a sponsor that never came. When his first streamliner, with Emery Cook driving, ran 8.35 at Riverside with the clutch slipping from a worn out disc, it got everybody thinking maybe spinning the tires for a 1/4 mile might not be the best way to go quick. One of those thinkers was Paul Scheifer. He went to work and developed the multiple disc slider clutch. Even when he made a mistake, Jocko was an innovator!
I recall that sometime in the early '60s, Drag News ran a headline that Jocko's streamliner had run an e.t. or a speed that was unprecedented (e.t., I think). I met him years later and asked him about it, and as I recall he said they put six runs on the car and parked it. He said the body was too flimsy, and flapped around a lot, and he didn't have the money or the commitment to develop the car properly, so he just turned his attention to other things. Apparently he found the challenge of trying out a new concept more interesting than refining it.
Go to the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing website, there is a car that either is the original or a reproduction. I saw the original run at Riverside, maybe '61? It was quick and straight, ran something like an 8.35 when no other fueler was even close, this with the unblown Chrysler. It was really well engineered.
I've seen the one in Australia. Saw it have a little crash at the track too. But it's all fixed again.
My pop was friends with Jocko, I Got to see his engine one time and he explained how it worked. I hit up my uncle to see if he had any pics of any of Jockos things.
@khead47 - Here's a few pics of Jocko's V-12 Allison (AIRPLANE engine) powered 'liner (which was originally built to accommodate a TANK engine): In 1964, Dean Moon (of MOON Equipment fame) purchased the V-12 Allison powered streamliner and swapped the V-12 out in favor of a BBC ... Dean's "MOONLINER" is currently on display in the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum (Pomona, CA): Also ... Be sure to checkout these other TJJ Blogs / HAMB threads about Jocko and his streamliners: 5... 5... 5... (Blog with cigarette ad video) 5... 5... 5... (resultant thread) Drinking & Driving… At Bonneville! (Blog with Budweiser ad video) Drinking & Driving… At Bonneville! (resultant thread) Robert "Jocko" Johnson..RIP (thread) The Guerilla Renaissance is Now! (Blog) NOTE: As already mentioned, the circa 1959 "Jocko's Porting Service" 'liner (driven by Jim 'Jazzy' Nelson) and the circa 1972-73 "WYNNS 'LINER" (SWAMP RAT 17) 'liner were/are both on display in the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing (Ocala, FL) ... and another Jocko streamliner body is on a "Cackle Car" in Australia.
Thanks for all the replies- but if my necktop computer is still functioning there was a rendition of the car with a TANK engine in it. Does anyone remember that, or have I burned out my memory circuit?
I took this at the recent Billetproof held at Garlits' museum. Is this the same car? Sorry for the crappy pic.
Thats prob the mold for the Garlits version that Jocko built. Very un-successful dragster that both Garlits and Jocko blame each other for. Aerodynamic bennifit in dragraceing is overshadowed by weight and short distance traveled
I've seen 2 or 3 race engines including Garlits rail just prior to switching to injection that had a setup like that with two hoses to each bowl and am still scratching my head over it. Was one line only dumped in at speed? Needle and seat deleted and bowl sealed with one in one out? Never enough pictures to get some idea.
@khead47 - From what I've read, Jocko's "TANK engine" powered streamliner never actually came to fruition ... and he eventually opted for "AIRPLANE engine" (Allison V-12) power:
www.sonicwind.com/jocko2.html 3 pages that may be of interest. The man himself and some of his ideas.
It's the mold, as noted earlier; go to the Garlits museum website: http://www.garlits.com/museum.htm the pictures of the museum flash by, one of them is original Jocko's liner (or a reproduction), still says "Jocko's Porting Service" on body, it is right in front of the Garlits 'liner that Jocko designed.
Those carb based high flow fuel systems were pressurized with an on board hand pump, like the ones used on circle track cars back in the day. I believe the second line was a return line that sent un used fuel back to the tank at lower RPMs. When the throttle went WFO, the system returned less to the tank, and the engine didn't lean out.
I posted a thread several years ago, scanned some pages out of an old rod magazine, let me try and find it.
That is the reproduction car Jocko made in about 1987.The picture was taken a few days before Garlits transport picked it up
I do believe the comment about Jockos' 'liner flying at ~180 is disingenuous at best, & wrong to boot, except in a very literally-technical-only way. From what I've read, which is everything I could find over ~45+ yrs, in an interview Jocko said after the 8.35 et shocker, the 'liner was run on a very rough strip, resulting in the front wheels bouncing to the point of punching holes in the 'glass front fenders, which allowed air pressure to lift the body off the chassis, setting a new altitude record for the time, , which, of course, was emulated by the funny cars, many times over in the 70s. He also set trends, it seems... . He said the body was blown into postage-stamp-sized pieces. He picked up & kept one of them for a memory, & went to build an aluminum version, which was to be the tank engine one. Wish I could've met & talked w/him. I do love the free-thinkers... . RIP Jocko. I didn't know you, but haven't forgotten you, either. Respect... FWIW. OBTW, Hemi32. Many thanks for the pics, as I haven't seen all of those. . Marcus...
Whew! Thanks all. Good to know My mind still (kinda) works. Now- where can I find a Ford tank engine? Would be cool in a T Bucket!
One of my treasured slide photos ..... My wife and Jocko's car at Riverside Raceway in 1958 or 1959.
Anyone have info about how to clean slides? The photo I posted above has a lot of little spots on it but I'm afraid if I try to clean it, it may get messed up.
The Jalopy Journal
