Garlits' Rear Engine Swamp Rat
Print #DR-26
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Though Garlits Swamp Rat 1-R was by no means the first rear-engine dragster, his was the first one that “worked.” While recuperating from a horrific crash in 1970, Garlits couldn’t get it out of his head that there must be a way of making a rear-engine dragster go straight. Many had tried before, and nearly all had crashed or were so hard to drive that they were never raced again.
When his friends found out that Garlits was actually building a rear engine car, they all thought that Big Daddy had REALLY lost it. And like previous rear-engine dragsters, his was very hard to drive. He actually called it, “The Evil Little Witch!” But somehow, Don had the insight that maybe the steering gear was too fast, causing the car to over-steer at high speed. Garlits changed the steering gear to a slower ratio and the car drove arrow straight!
When Garlits took the car to its first race, the track owners had him pit all the way at the end of the pits so that no one would notice his folly. But after his first run and eventual win, EVERYONE switched to the rear-engine layout. Once again, “Big Daddy” made drag racing history.
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Garlits' Rear Engine Swamp Rat
Print #DR-27
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Retrospect: Drag Racing History
Garlits' Rear Engine Swamp Rat
Print #DRH7
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This was originally published in Super Stock & Drag Illustrated" magazine in the late '80s.
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Garlits' 1964 Wynns Jammer
Print DR8
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At the 1964 Nationals, Don Garlits, in his Dodge powered “Wynns Jammer” took the Top Fuel Eliminator win and set low e.t. of the event in a final run effort of 7.67 @198.22 m.p.h.! Althought the car looks amazingly short by today’s standards, Garlits’ car was state-of-the-art for 1964.
Hot Rod Magazine ran a cover story with a headline that said, “Big Daddy’s 200 MPH Speed Secrets.” Inside there was an impressive photo showing the car completely unassembled, with all the parts neatly laid out. The story was full of technical details and information that certainly seemed to be “giving the farm away.” Ah, but putting it all together and making it run was all safely inside Big Daddy’s head.
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Large Father Line Portrait
Print #DR13
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Big Daddy Don Garlits has the distinction and honor of having his 1987 Swamp Rat XXX on permanent loan to the Smithsonian Institute! The Smithsonian is also the home of Lindbergh Spirit of St. Louis, and the first manned space capsule.
The story has it that the night before the car was to be donated to the Smithsonian, and after all the fan-fair had gone away, Garlits and his crew fired up the Swamp Rat and let it RAP-RAP-RAP-RAP a little in the October Washington evening. The Regans must have wondered what was all the racket was about!
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Big Daddy's Nose
Print #DR2
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Top Fuel drag racer Eddie Hill started a trend that lasted a few years and resulted in several of the most unusual crashes in all of drag racing... the infamous “blow-overs.” Hill, a mechanical engineer took a minimalist view on what was needed to the front end of a dragster. Hill started using small diameter front tires and was the first to run into the 4’s with a 4.99. Everyone noticed and started using tiny front tires.
The next step was to create an aerodynamic faring to cover the small front tires. Several designs were used, this being Garlits’ version of cutting edge streamlining. The design worked fine, until.... just the right amount of air got up under the faring causing the front end to begin to lift up. VERY quickly, the car was at 45-degrees and in Eddie Hill’s case, the car simply BLEW OVER in a crash that stunned even seasoned racers.
At the ‘87 Summer Nationals, Big Daddy’s car stood STRAIGHT UP, did a gentle 180-degree spin on the rear slicks, and flopped down, RIGHT-SIDE UP, AND POINTING BACK AT THE STARTING LINE. Garlits DROVE THE CAR back to the starting line to a thunderous applause! He was obviously disqualified, but EVERYONE was talking about Big Daddy’s wheel stand-up!
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Retrospect: Drag Racing History
Jim Bucher's Chevy Top Fueler
Print #DRH2
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In 1972 Jim Bucher set the Top Fuel class on it's ear with his Chevrolet-powered Top Fueler. The all-aluminum ZL-1 big-block Chevrolet had a serious weight advantage over the cast iron Chrysler Hemis.
This was Chevrolet's last, brief shining moment in Top Fuel racing. It had been years since a Chevrolet-powered Top Fuel dragster held the NHRA National Record.
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Jim Butcher's
Chevy-Powered Top Fueler
Prints #DR3
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