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WOW! Gassers, Alterds, Funnys, Fuel Coupes, Dyno Don Nicholson, Don Garlits, Bill Grumpy Jenkins, Sox and Martin, the Hell On Wheels wheelstander, panel painted Corvettes, Linda Vaughn, and much more. I think I need a cigarette now.

Thanks for posting Don.
 
Wheelies!

Thanks Don,
Wow... what I thought was incredible was how the gassers & altereds in the 1st vid were pulling wheelies every time they shifted gears!!! Now that's power!!!

BoB
 
Yeah Bob, and they shifted those 4 speeds so they sounded like automatics.

In the mid '60's I used to go to a local dragstrip, Pittsburgh International Dragway (we called it "Bridgeville", and there was a green, full fendered '32 Ford 5 window that ran (I think) D gas class. It was owned by Harry Luzader, ran a 292 CI injected Chevy, 4 speed, typical gasser stance...........high in the front end, and was painted a beautiful green. It was showcar quality, immaculate and everything underneath was chromed.

Anyway, he would pull the front wheels in every gear, and not one person was sitting in their seat when he pulled to the line. He went to the Nationals a few times, I believe. The car is now listed as one of the 75 most influential '32 Fords of all time.

In about 1972 or so a buddy told me about a '32 Ford that was for sale. I called the guy, and it turned out to be Harry. He was building another drag car and was selling the '32. Asking price $ 6000.00. I got off the phone and thought he was nuts, that was like $ 100,000.00 now, and there was no way I could afford something like that. I bet now that car is worth a fortune, especially after being inducted into the top 75 Deuces of all time. :(:(

That was one of the times I really regret being poor. :mad:


Don
 
WOW! Gassers, Alterds, Funnys, Fuel Coupes, Dyno Don Nicholson, Don Garlits, Bill Grumpy Jenkins, Sox and Martin, the Hell On Wheels wheelstander, panel painted Corvettes, Linda Vaughn, and much more. I think I need a cigarette now.

Thanks for posting Don.

Great videos! Awesome watching the Hell On Wheels tank ... Speaking of, by the way .... Forgive me, I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but y'all may find this interesting.

For several years, there was a custom tank sitting on the side of the I-10 freeway going through Tucson, AZ, on top of a storage container in a military surplus yard. The yard was owned by the late Bob Perry, and the tank, while not the original Hell On Wheels, is actually "Hell On Wheels II," a full-on custom car-crushing "monster tank" designed and built by Bob as a follow-up to the original HOW. While many people believe HOW II was an M-1 Abrams, which the aircraft-grade aluminum body was patterned after, in actuality it was a 1970 M-548 Lance mobile rocket launcher (basic chassis, suspension, running gear, and tracks designated M-113) destined for the scrap yard after gunnery practice destroyed a good portion of the tank and almost all of the running gear.

Motive power was/is provided by a supercharged 540-cubic-inch Chevrolet big-block with a custom 17-quart oil pan. The transmission is a specially-modified Allison AT 540 4-speed industrial automatic with a B&M torque converter and shifter. Various other pieces from military aircraft have been used in the build, including cutting brakes from an F-4 Phantom jet, a transmission cooler and radiator from a military helicoptor, and a hydraulic driveline brake from military helicoptor rotor brakes, with the master cylinder for that coming out of a T-33 navy trainer aircraft.

As for other vehicles Bob Perry has built, he is credited with The Fugitive I & II (I - 1964 Chevy Greenbriar van, II - 1968 Corvette, the first of many Fugitive Corvettes), Hell On Wheels, the original wheelstanding replica M-60 tank (1971), Hell's Fire (self-propelled howitzer cannon wheelstander, 1974), Galaxy II and Starship (both later 1976), and finally, Hell On Wheels II (1989). Current whereabouts of all except HOW II is unknown.

(In case any of you are wondering how I can be so precise on this, I'm reading the original 1990 press kit release on the HOW II tank, given to me by Anita Perry, Bob's widow. She lives less than a mile from my house, and the hot rod tank makes an amazing yard conversation piece! Yes, HOW II is still around, and in remarkably well-preserved condition.)
 
I'm happy to say that I was there. I don't remember exactly the year (probably 72 or 73 cause I know I ws 16 or 17), but in addition to a bunch of door slammers, the funny cars were the main draw, and the wheel stander tank was there. Kind of remember a couple of rocket cars doing a pass or two also during the day. Somewhere buried in a box are a coouple of old grainy pics.....I should go see if I can find them
 

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