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Round 4: Featuring
Billy Graham, Durachrome Bug, Boston Shaker, Nichols & Oxner,
Hawaiian, Philadelphia Flyer, Flying Dutchman, Hounddog Duster
(UK), Mr. Norm, Twig Zeigler, Frantic Ford, Roy Harris, and Frantic
Fred Bickford.
Manhattan
(no, not THAT Manhattan!) Kansas' Billy Graham (no, not THAT Billy
Graham!) campaigned this Monza flopper in the late 70s which is
pictured at the 78 AHRA Winternationals at Tucson. At the NHRA
Nationals in 1978, Graham pitched the body off the car in qualifying
after a wheelstand, thrashed
all night, then made it into
the program 10th with a then career best 6.17. Previous efforts
included a T/F car in the mid-70s (75 AHRA Drag Nationals champ).
Graham did well with the pictured car in AHRA competition; won
the 77 Springnationals and 79 Gateway Nationals. Graham later went on
to campaign a swoopy Mustang
bodied Million Dollar Baby in the early 80s. (JW Last Photo)
 From
a rare early 70s handout comes the Warren Gunther owned/driven
Durachrome Bug circa 1970. According to Warren "Durachrome
was a Volkswagen accessory company in So Cal. I somehow got hold
of their advertising honcho and took the car (brand new and unlettered)
to their corporate offices. They went nuts!" Co-sponsored
by Don Burns Volkswagen in Garden Grove, CA., the short wheelbase
Chevy powered flopper is rumored to never have made a straight
pass. Little remembered is that the car actually won a F/C show
at Las Vegas in Nov 70 and runner upped to "Jungle"
at a 32 car 5 rounder at New England in 71. Car later burned to
the ground while on tour back east. Rumor has it Bug may have
been first "computer" car; G-meter was installed which
could develop strip chart of G's at any point on track. (Handout
courtesy of the Greenberg Collection.)
 Kosty
Ivanof's Don Roberts shoed Boston Shaker during a parade lap at
New England Dragway in October 73. Ivanof had previously driven
the Tuff Enuff F/Cs, teamed with Terry Hedrick on the "Super
Shaker" Vega in 72 and adopted the Boston Shaker handle after
the team split. Ivanof was a Div 1 regular, ran Chevy bodied floppers
(with one Satellite bodied car in the mid-70s) from the late 60s
through the mid-80s. Career highlight was runner-up finish at
79 NHRA Nationals to Gordie Bonin with the ultimate jinx car,
a green Corvette bodied Shaker. Note the airplane in the background... apparently
some folks flew into NED for races, used the track as a runway,
turned off at the mid-track turnoff, and used the return road
as a parking area! (Photo courtesy of Don Roberts, photographer
unknown)
 Nichols
& Oxner's, Wayne Oxner driven, ex-Custom Body Mini-Charger,
1971. Car carried Phil Castronovo to inaugural Division 1 F/C
championship in 1970 before being sold to N & O. Interestingly,
right side of car was green rather than red on the billboard.
Sept 71 Super Stock and Funny Cars magazine article described
the paint scheme as "... the most original paint scheme ever seen... mind-boggling no matter where you begin to describe it
on the car." N & O ran several more Charger bodied floppers
in Div 1 before calling it quits in the mid-70s. (JW Last Photo)
 A funny
car stalwart
throughout the entire decade
of the 70s was Roland Leong and the "Hawaiian" pictured
at OCIR in the mid-70s. Leong was famous for the long list of
drivers who drove his floppers including Larry Reyes, Pat Foster,
Butch Maas, Bobby Rowe, Leroy Chadderton (shown here), Gordie
Bonin, Mike Van Sant, Denny Savage, Norm Wilcox, Larry Arnold
and Ron Colson. Colson was the longest employed, drove for Leong
from 76 to 81 and recorded two NHRA event victories. Bright green
Monza body later replaced Mopar shell, Corvette body followed
in 79 before return to Dodge flopper in the 80s shoed by a young
Mike Dunn. (Photo courtesy of Dave Milcarek)
 The
"Philadelphia Flyer" was originally built as an Alcohol
Monza flopper for Joe Siti of PA which was later upgraded to AA/FC
standards. Named by Franklin Amiano (AKA Franko) for the 2X Stanley
Cup champs of the same era, Circus in Jersey did the paint from
a Youngblood design. Monza was shoed by JJ's right-hand man,
"Jungle" Joey Oster. Following a fire at Epping NH,
Monza was mothballed for a couple seasons... reemerged as pictured
79 Challenger driven by Arnie Swensen of Swensen & Lani fame.
Car was later driven by ex-Wombat shoe George Johnson before Siti
sold the act in the early 80s to Frank Kramberger who continued
to campaign this car's namesakes into the late-80s. BTW, Siti
reportedly charged $1,000 extra just for the name at the time
of sale! (Info courtesy of Franko and Charles Hoopes, photo courtesy
of Welsh Media Productions)
 Al
Vanderwoude ran some truly strange creations during his reign
as the "Flying Dutchman." From his 66 Dart F/C with
a 132 wheelbase, open cockpit and quarter roof, to this Charger
III concept car (Chrysler's late 60s unbuilt answer to the Corvette)
that looked like something out of Star Trek that he campaigned
in 1970, his cars were often unconventional to say the least!
However, by 1971 Woody had seen the light and joined the rest
of the flopper crowd in conventionality dropping a Maverick shell
on the Charger III chassis. Mustang followed the Maverick and
a Mustang II took the "Dutchman" into the mid-70s. A
legend in the sport, Woody's cars often end up on drag racing's
"strangest" lists. Rumor has it this Charger III body
still exists somewhere in the mid-west. ( Al Vanderwoude handout
courtesy of Dave Fortenberry)
 Some funny cars were
shipped to Europe after their stints in the US were up. Ex-Paula
Murphy STP Duster at Santa Pod Raceway in England in the mid-70s.
Among the others shipped to England were the Stardust Cuda, Gene
Snow's Monza and Arrow, Keeling & Clayton's "California
Charger" Firebird and the Blue Max Mustang which became the
Stardust Mustang (paint scheme patterned after the Cuda) in the
early 80s. (Photo by Nick)
 From Mr. Norm's Grand-Spaulding Dodge in Chicago came the Kenny Safford
driven "Super Charger" shown at Amarillo in 1976. Through
the mid-70s Safford and Gary Dyer swapped driving chores in the Mr. Norm cars...
in the late 70s crew member John Pott took over
the reigns of an Arrow bodied flopper. By 1980 car was known as
"Mr. Norm's Sport Center" and the "Super Charger"
moniker disappeared. Once the nation's largest performance car
dealership, Mr. Norm relied heavily on the "Win on Sunday,
sell on Monday" philosophy. "Everything must go..."
sale ad featuring Mr. Norm's entire flopper inventory (car, truck,
spares, etc) was featured in late 1980 National Dragster. (Photo
by John Pattison)
 Twig
Zeigler from the Pacific NW bought the burned out hulk of the
Whipple and McCulloch Duster after a disastrous trailer fire and
turned it into this beauty! Zeigler, a strong runner, is probably
best remembered for his line of Pizza Haven sponsored floppers
in the mid-70s. Car is pictured at OCIR in 71 at the Manufacturers
Championship where ironically Zeigler qualified for the show,
ex-owners W & McC didn't! Additionally, Zeigler was third
quickest car at the event with a 6.72 ET. (Photo courtesy of Drag
Racing Memories)
 Sarge
Arciero lines up against the Hemi Hunter T/F
entry at Maple Grove in the short lived early 71 version of the
K & G Speed Associates Frantic Ford. Car burned to the ground
while the paint was still wet, was replaced by ex-Blue Max Mustang
with Roy Harris driving. Frantic Ford was descended from the Frantic
Four T/F entry of the 60s, team made the switch to floppers in
69 with a Ron Rivero driven Mach 1. In the mid-70s, East Coast
T/F shoe Dodger Glenn took over the reins of a Mustang II based
Frantic Ford. Cars where always Mustang bodied, always carried
the sanitary yellow and black paint scheme. Although the car never
won a national event, it was a popular, strong east coast performer.
(JW Last Photo)
 Roy
Harris' version of the "Brutus" Mustang, circa 1978.
Harris drove the Frantic Ford in the early 70s, ran JJ's #2 car
for a couple years, then in 75 resurrected the "Brutus"
name which he had purchased from Lew Arrington. First Harris owned
Brutus Mustang II was destroyed at New England Dragway in 76,
and later Harris returned with this car. In 79 Harris received
the first Budweiser sponsorship and toured with the "Bud Man"
T/A and later Arrow. After losing the "whole sponsorship
enchilada" to Kenny Bernstein in 81, Harris return with a
"Rapid Roy" Arrow flopper, later readopted the Brutus
name on the Arrow and career closing Thunderbird. (Don Eckert
Photo)
 Mid-70s New England
regular Fred Bickford begins a burnout at New England Dragway
in his "Quarter Duster" flopper. Bickford's career began
in gas dragsters, ran an injected Duster flopper, then graduated
to this car. Never one to lift, Bickford is remembered for a tall
starting line wheelstand one afternoon at NED which shed the body.
Giving the crowd a thumbs up while still towing the body behind
the car, he stabbed the throttle (which separated body & chassis),
then legged the bodiless chassis through the lights! (Photos courtesy
Fred Bickford, Jr.)
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