Note: Former HOT ROD editor Ro McGonegal's compilation and description of six historic Funny Cars from the first decade of FC competition originally appeared in Elapsed Times magazine.—HRM
During this era, drag racing became a theater of the fantastic. Funny Cars still held very close to the original form, completely recognizable as the street machines from whence they came. Indeed, the normally aspirated pioneers especially engendered the deception. Though they might have appeared unmolested, leading technology seethed beneath a mild-mannered exterior. But that changed irrevocably when the hammer went down, the pipes burned red, and the still-exploding nitro spewing from them overpowered the senses and seized the lungs. That was the physical phenomenon. Was anything ever the same after experiencing this primal scream?
Dick Harrell's 1967 Camaro
In the fall of 1966, at his metal works in Floydada, Texas, Don Hardy built two 1967 body-in-white Camaros, the first one for Kelly "The Professor" Chadwick, and the other for Dick "Mr. Chevrolet" Harrell. Dick's car was finished in time for an initial outing in late March or early April under the Yenko Chevrolet banner, a partnership that was instrumental in Harrell's early success. Hardy based the build on a 2x3-inch rectangular tube chassis. He retained the production rear clip, moved the wheels forward 8 inches, and extended the front end by approximately 15 inches to yield a wheelbase of 115 inches. The doors and trunklid were fiberglass and with an iron big-block Chevrolet engine, a Turbo 400 transmission, and an Olds/Pontiac axle, it weighed about 2,300 pounds. Though a standard at AHRA events, the Camaro raced nationwide and was the car that brought Dick's name to prominence in the racing community, as trademarked by its tarpaper roof, short injector stacks, and long wheelbase. It ran in the AHRA X/S class.
Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick's 1964 Pontiac GTO
That's Farmer Arnie, not Don Gay, at the 1966 Winternationals. Promoters loved his GTO because it was a voracious GM product in the time of no GM racing. In the face of Mopar and Ford factory support, Arnie was the underdog and one of the few competitive GM cars on the match match-race circuit. In the search for reliable and repeatable torque transfer, Beswick first put a four-speed B&M Hydramatic behind the supercharged 421 Super Duty, but it would often slip and consequently over-rev the motor. This prompted a switch to GM's new Turbo 400, but it had weakness in the sprags and clutch packs. Inevitably, the overweight (3,450 pounds) Mystery Tornado became obsolete, but as usual, Beswick countered successfully—with the Tameless Tiger Tempest.
Vel Miletich/Parnelli Jones' 1973 Ford Mustang
Indy Car and off-road racing tough guy Parnelli Jones once celebrated a partnership with Vel Miletich's Ford dealership. PJ bought Big John Mazmanian's slick 'Cuda and put Danny Ongais in the driver's seat, Danny coming off a sensational season in Mickey's blue Mustang. After the 'Cuda's 'glass got singed in 1974, Vel and PJ switched to the Mustang overcoat, ostensibly for use as a Firestone (a longtime Jones supporter) test car. Danny "On the Gas" drove it. When he left the straight-line life for Indy racing later that year, PJ and Vel parked the 'Stang. By the following year, it was obsolete and became a curbside attraction at a Firestone dealership in Huntington Beach, California.
Barry Setzer's 1971 Chevy Vega
Blame it on those double-knit pants, dudes. North Carolina textile magnate Barry Setzer was right on top of that phenomenon in the early 1970s. He loved drag racing and had a war chest bigger than a Madagascar cockroach. His blue and red Vegas marched hard and became the most feared Funny Car in the nation, built and driven (mostly) by Pat Foster with an Ed Pink elephant bellowing between his knees. Since the sun is out at The County, this iteration is likely getting some shakedown time as Patty pins the pedal.
Twig Ziegler's & Kenney Goodell's 1971 Plymouth Dusters
In the formative Funny Car years, the Northwest was aptly represented by many name drivers, with stand-up guys Kenney Goodell (Wynn's Stormer Duster #604) and Twig Ziegler (Pizza Haven-sponsored Duster #605) among them. Ziegler's car was founded on pipe that had burned to the floorboards in the Whipple & McCulloch trailer. It ran a 6.72 at the 1971 OCIR Manufacturers Meet. Goodell ran the hardest in 1973 and 1974, winning the Stardust National Open in Las Vegas and the Northwest National Open in Seattle. As a kid, Kenney was notorious for hot rodding his cars around town. The cops knew him well. Though this image looks ominous, the Action Man bailed out unscathed.
What is a Funny Car?
The evolution of Funny Cars is much like that famous drawing of a monkey evolving into a man. The changes have been dramatic, but not everybody agrees where that monkey came from. It is generally agreed that the earliest versions of what quickly became called "Funny Cars" grew out of the Super Stock and Factory Experimental drag racing classes of the early '60s. By 1966, when NHRA included a Funny Car class at the World Finals in Tulsa, they were already familiar. The earliest Funny Cars were distinguished by production bodies, supercharged engines running nitromethane fuel (like Top Fuel dragsters), and altered wheelbases to shift the center of gravity rearward.
What's So Funny About a Funny Car?
When the term was first coined, it had nothing to do with hilarity, but with the peculiar appearance that resulted from altering the wheelbase of the cars. In the 55 years since Tulsa, Funny Cars have evolved, in appearance and performance, light-years from their peculiar-looking ancestors.
April 07, 2021 at 05:00AM
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Six Historic Funny Cars From Their Early (Possibly Greatest) Years - Hot Rod Network
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