This insane race car has come back from the dead to show the world the power of a man and his hands.
Old Drag racers are some of the most respected people in the car community for their incredible courage, willingness to do almost anything to go faster, and ability to piece together race cars from little more than a pile of scrap metal and some spare engine parts. The sheer ingenuity and intelligent design that made these guys famous in their day have shaped car culture in a significant way. Many enthusiasts still look up to these industry legends and want to document their insane lives to understand further how they did what they did. This is precisely what led the new owner of this wicked custom dragster to purchase this ridiculous vehicle.
Check out a Lego dragster here.
Initially, the car was driven by a man named Jim Smith, who lived in Dayton, Tennessee, at the time. He had always wanted to be a legendary drag racer but thought he would never be able to afford some of the super high-tech custom-built dragsters that guys in the same class were using. So, rather than giving up, he set out to build his car and show everyone that he could lay down some incredible times without having to spend an arm and a leg. It was time to make a car that would outshine the rest of the competition.
Jim started his project by creating an entirely custom chassis from 1⅝ tube, which he put together using nothing but his two hands and a blow-torch. One genuinely innovative piece of "modern" tech that he was able to equip his car with was a front torsion bar which was a big step up from the leaf springs that most professionals were using at the time. Another cool thing about the car's front is the motorcycle wheels and tires, which give the car an aerodynamic advantage.
Powering the beast was a massive 354 ci Hemi V8 engine which also ran nitrous. Needless to say, that incredible powerhouse pushed this sub-1000 lbs car down the drag strip at great speeds. According to Jim, the fastest that he even went in the car was an astonishing 150mph. After years of rotting away in the woods, the new owner of this fantastic machine has finally pulled the vehicle from the clutches of an overgrown forest to be featured In Hot Rod Magazine, one of Jim's favorites.
