Diggers, dragsters, slingshots, rail jobs—by any name, these homebuilt race cars were the stars of early drag racing. Here are a half-dozen colorful examples.
Today, drag racing is an exact science, driven by advanced and refined technology. But when the sport began back in the 1950s, it was pure art: Creativity and imagination ruled the day. Builders were only beginning to explore the secrets of weight distribution, load transfer, and traction coefficient, and it shows in the designs. The race cars from these early days display great variety—and, dare we say it, style. Take these six, for example.
As always, if you can provide more info about the cars, their owners and crews, and the photographers, please let us know.
In early dragsters, we admire the cigar school of body construction, which provides the cars with square yards of personality. This full-bodied rail job, spotted at the 1956 national drags in Kansas City, sports a Cadillac OHV V8 and recapped racing slicks. Note the color-keyed upholstery and the hand pump mounted alongside the cockpit to supply fuel pressure. (Addendum: A knowledgeable reader on Facebook informs us that this car later became Bobby Langley’s famed Scorpion I.)
We’ve featured this wild machine before, but we’re showing it again in the hope of collecting more info. The venue is the Detroit Autorama circa 1960, and the display card lists the owners as Jim Frost and Jerry Salt of Findlay, Ohio. Billed as the world’s lightest dragster at the time, the three-wheeler employed a flathead Ford V8 as a stressed frame member and an early Ford rear axle.
In 1957, the Lee’s Body Shop Special of Reno, Nevada pulled double duty as a rolling billboard for the half-mile drags on the 8,000-ft. runway at Douglas-Tahoe Airport. The Chrysler Hemi-powered dragster also turned in top speed of the meet at over 156 mph.
This professional-looking machine, the state of the art in 1954, was campaigned by the Choppers car club and the Pomona Valley Timing Association, a predecessor organization of NHRA, the National Hot Rod Association. A 331 CID Chrysler filled the engine house, while drivers included Chuck Branham and Chuck Griffith.
We don’t know much about this bare-bones rail job from the mid-to-late ’50s except that the track could be Six Flags Raceway in Texas, and the powerplant is definitely a Chrysler Hemi V8, fitted out with multiple carburetors and a sheet-metal flame arrestor. The butterfly steering wheel is a military surplus item, we’re guessing. The steering link looks plenty sturdy but the roll bar offers minimal protection at best.
Eddie Hill of Wichita Falls, Texas enjoyed two colorful careers in drag racing. His first race car began in the late ’50s as a stubby, homemade dragster with a single Pontiac V8. But by 1962, the rig had sprouted a second engine, twin GMC superchargers, and dualie-style rear slicks, as shown here. Hill then turned his attention to boats, but returned to land-based drag racing in the ’80s to record the first four-second elapsed time in history.
I really love these features but they are also a sad reminder of how much innocent fun drag racing used to be.
Exactly how I feel about it, too. It’s a rich man’s game now, which makes it an old man’s game. And the technology has pushed out all the crazy, fascinating experiments. But then, this is the story throughout motorsports.
Awsome photos. I actually saw Hills twin poncho rail run at Vance AFB in Enid OK. Yes I am that old.
I always wondered why the dually slick concept wasn’t common. Tire widths were limited to about 9″ or 9.5″, so dualies certainly would have helped?
My dad drove the Choppers car and was killed in ’63 at Pomona . His name was Chuck BRANHAM not Brannon
Thank you for the correction, very much appreciated. Correction made.