J.Ukrop submitted a new blog post: The Best Model A Drag Sedan Ever Built Continue reading the Original Blog Post
Are those early Michelin "X" Radials on the front wheels? Sure looks that way from the first image, but the resolution is just a wee bit too grainy for me to be sure.
Don’t know if there’s a”best” , but it’s a wicked one! I would have had to mention the real Covico steering wheel and the BIG ol’ mag torque thrusts.
Lions Dragstrip 59-60 Hey JU, The above comments were from another "evolution of...." thread and posts. You will be getting a lot of comments about this nice looking sedan as "the best." Since we all know there is no..."The Best" in anything at anytime, let's just say it is "one of the best" altered sedans. Here in So Cal, the locals would look at the Reath Automotive white sedan and call it the best... results at Lions and other local strips would prove it correct. The Altered sedan just made people notice when it was sitting in the pits or waiting for that green light. Jnaki We were fortunate enough to see this Reath Automotive sedan almost weekly at Lions. It made quite an impression on these two local teenagers, as it did for most racers in the pits and spectators in the stands. When it fired up... heads turned. When it raced, it was definitely a fan favorite. So..."one of the best..."
I knew it would be this car before I even opened the post.Yes, it sure looks right.Really right. I wonder how it ran though. Anyone?
I wonder if there was a firewall...It would have been complicated to build but there must have been one. I like to think that's a Joe Hunt vertex magneto on the back of the engine.
Jeff's 'Den' was the inspiration for my car. I really wanted a 28-29 but this body was just too good. The car runs a Buick. Came from the stand in the 'Den'. Jeff's rendition of my car Warren
Pete Sukalac, great name from the past and the subject matter is A right too. There were other cars of this nature in the mags of the day that shared some of the details used on this sedan. Attention to detail is the name of the game, no matter what, always dug the zolotone that was used back then. Does the article describe the color?
Yeah, that one's cool, but the personal favorite here is still Roy Berger's earlier full-fendered example of pure bad-assedness....
Casey, thanks for the action shot. The Sedan in your avatar is one that I remember and was one that came to mind after reading Joey's post.
My avatar is of the famed Wilbur-Massie "Destroyer" model A, also a Spokane, WA car. It ran from 1963-1967. E.T. 8.64 @ 165.391 mph (267 c.i. Chevy). Excerpt from an article: "The Destroyer, as it was called, would do its name a lot of justice over the five years it terrorized drag strips up and down the West Coast. In a sport that was dominated at the time by the traditional dragster, the short-wheel based racecar, might just have been the predecessor of the modern funny car. Wilbur and Massie set eight national records in two different cars. “We ran all the best (drivers) in the country,” Wilbur said. They won a National Hot Rod Association divisional championship winning 18 of 20 races."
I remember it as being quite the runner, is the last photo a recent one? I know I have a mag with a write up on this car. Thanks for stirring the memories, Carp
I don't know the exact date of that last photo but it was a later one, for sure. Circa 1966 or 1967 would be my guess. In April of 1967 the "Detroyer" was racing a best two-of-three match race against Cecil Yother's "Melrose Missile" when the "Destroyer" went off the end of the track after the throttle jammed and the parachute failed as it was hitting about 175 mph. After leaving the drag strip and shearing off a tree it came to rest in a tangled heap. That day marked the end of the Destroyer's legacy and, to my knowledge, was beyond any repair and thus scrapped.
@caseyajones ... that car is one of the main reasons that I had to say best Model A drag sedan. Between the featured car and the "Destroyer," it'd be too hard to pick a favorite. Good thing the later is a Vicky!
I like that one! Here are some other "pretty good" ones. Roothawg's Drag N Fly Circle City Hot Rods / Jimmy White 409 Vicky I don't know who built this one, but it's rad! Big Al (same car... kinda)
Terry Frost's Spokane model A may be the BEST...if not the vote should go to the Spokane based Massie-Wilbur's DESTROYER.
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