Dragonsnakes now??

[THE UNDEFEATED]

As a Competitor against Gus during the 1966 season , I am proud to state that "I AM ONE OF THOSE 50% WHO PUT HIS BEAST ON THE TRAILER". I do believe I am one of a very small number to do this. I was part of the pit crew at the 1966 Spring Nationals at the second years competition at "Thunder Valley" better known then as Bristol Drag Way in Tennessee. I was with the D/Sp GT-350 "Snoopy" owned by Walter and Robert Walls from Worcester , Ma. We had a Motel off the beaten path and "DA Grump Jenkins" was tuning his Chevy Nova at 3:30 A.M. muck to everyone's displeasure. I grabbed a six pack and started talking with him and Ronny Sox who was awakened also. To make a long story short , Grump told me how to get 7,000 plus out of my 350 H.P. 327 in my new 1966 vet that was at home. Mr. Sox also contributed to my future success by explaining the value of grinding every other tooth off of the Brass Energiser Ring's in the Syncros so shifting could be accomplished without using the clutch much easier and reliably.
I took all that information back home with me along with some nice HO-3 Champion Spark Plugs that were given to me by the Champion sales Rep. Those plugs sold for $3.50 each back then , a steep price for an 18 year old who was working to pay for his $4,441.00 new Corvette. My Father had to pay for the insurance because Loyds of London were the only ones insuring a kid my age with a car like that.
I put 4:88 Gears in , M/T Headers (SHORT UNITS FOR NOVA) , Jacked the front with coil springs from an Impala , Rear Leaf spring up against the frame as close to dead X as possible , many other changes to Distributor and Holly Carb , along with the trans suggestions and shortening the throw on the shifter. M & H 15" X 29" X 8" "Wrinkle Walls" and took my baby to Lebanon Valley New York for it's first outing. Managed low 12's in D/Sp on at that time a 12:30 record. I managed to beat Shirly Muldowney in the finals for "Street Eliminator" , she was running her B/G dragster back then before she took over the "Bounty Huntress" from Kalitta Flying Services.

I noticed when I checked the car over at home that I was scraping the inside section of the wheel well in spite of the fact that the spring was jacked up to the frame as much as possible. I also noted the nice collection of brass in the bottom of the Muncie case from my "too slow shifting between gears". It took me a Month of constant work to adjust everything including redesign of the inner wheel well and realignment of the rear end.

In 1966 , Snoopy and I "TONKA TOY" were both running D/Sp and Gus was running A/Sp with # CXS3198 . We had a Gentleman's agreement to stay away from each other so we could all do our thing. The arrangement for Snoopy was to stay at Lebanon Valley N.Y. , I would go to the newest track in Epping New Hampshire (New England Drag Way) , and Gus would go to Connecticut Drag Way and other National Events that Harr Ford wanted him to participate in.

I went Undefeated from the second week in August (unofficial track running before grand opening in September 11) and continued beating up on everything that was thrown at me in Street Eliminator. Debb's Speed Shop C/Mp National Record Holder , The Hayseed running B or C/Ms National Record Holder , The "Paperboy" 1953 vet with a 427 Ford Side Oiler in A/Ms , Pete Tropiano in his A/G Anglia , and so many more I can't remember them. It got the point that "EVERYONE IN STREET ELIMINATOR" took up a colection to bring Gus and Harr Fords Cobra in just to knock me down. I could run at 11:78 all day long with no fatigue to the car. I could push it to 11:30 by changing the timing and tire pressure if needed. Gus was running some nice 10:20's and with my "Hole Shot" abilities I could have beaten him but it would be closer then I wanted. I pulled up to Gus in the staging lanes for the final time trial of the day and everyone was standing to watch this race because I was touted by the Announcer as the "King of The Hole Shots" and Gus was "The Monster" ( he did a cute trick by bringing the revs up to 4,500 and letting the clutch out at the max grab on tires without spinning so it would actually leap forward with all four tires off the ground). I plaid a sort of dirty trick on him "YOU BE THE JUDGE" . I knew the Akiles Heal of the car was the rear end "Stripping the Ring and Pinion" under extreme circumstances. So I pulled up to line first and put on both pre and staged lights (not a problem back then). Gus did as I expected , pulled right in behind me without taking the slack out of his drive train "as I had already done to mine". I realy streached my limit on the light and was surprised I did not turn on the red as I was intending to do just to make sure I was out in front. Well it worked , "he machined his rear end gears" and did not have enough time to replace the rear end. I went on to winn Street Eliminator till November 06 and went into Uncle Sam's Brotherhood on November 09 , 1966 till May 17 , 1970 . The car was given back to the Bank because on my Privates pay of $67.20 per Month I could not afford it. My Cousin Pulled the Motor and replaced it with his 300 H.P. 327 . I lost all interest in racing when I returned from the Service. I stayed like that for several years just trying to get my head on straight. Never went back , but proud to say I went "UNDEFEATED FOR 1966 IN STREET ELIMINATOR" taking down the baddest of the bad in those days. I feel real good about being one of the 50% that got by Gus and his Monster , "treachery works when pushed to the wall".

Originally Posted by computerworks

Here's the essence of Cal's prior post on the Harr Ford car...

"Ah...yes..CSX 3198. Purchased through Harr Motor Co. in Worcester, Mass. for their own use. Car came without color from AC and was later painted cranberry. With hard top and accessories the car ran over $10,000.

It had "shorty sidepipes", M & H slicks, 4.50 gears, Konis, etc.

Gus Zuidema, who was the Harr's performance service manager, drove the car in A/Sports/Modified with a 10.02 @ 146 mph.

A big controversy erupted between Carroll Shelby and Harr Ford when SAI would not back the 427 when it blew up in a subsequent race. Harr blamed SAI for not installing heavy duty connecting rods. Harr Ford must have had some clout as the controversy reached the office of Lee Iacocca. Harr threatened to sign off with his sales agreement with SAI. Larson Ford also said they would back Harr and also sign off.

It was later found out that Harr Ford had blown up a transmission and the engine had overwound. In a subsequent race, Zuidema missed three gears at the NHRA Winternationals and overwound the motor. Ford's rods were built for road racing and not drag racing.

Harr didn't care and said regardless of the incidents just mentioned, SAI was responsible for the motor. SAI agreed to pay $1,200 to Harr, although in the final analysis, Harr admitted they had been misinformed by their service people regarding the motor. As such, payment was held up and the funds were never sent to Harr Ford at that time; although, it was able to recoup the $1,200 because of the incentives SAI gave to Dragonsnakes that won national events.

Car was put for sale by Harr Ford in l966. Part of sales pitch was: Car hold both ends of National Record (A/SP, NHRA) Has won A/SP class everytime out. Won Street Eliminator 50% of total attempts.

Car has unusual history. Someone attempted to build a fake of it and peddle it in Japan. Based on a fiberglass kit car, no less. Supposedly rebuilt following a "wreck". "