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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Big Daddy Don Garlits King Of Drag Racing

Big Daddy King of Drag Racing
                Learn the history of Swamp Rat-I dragster.        
                Big Daddy is Don Garlits nickname. He's 
            world famous, and was also the King of Drag
            Racing. 
                Don Garlits passed away almost a year ago, 
             on March 16, 2021
                Don Glenn Garlits was born January 12, 1932.
                After World War II, they used the aircraft pilot
            fields for alternate use, including drag racing.
                Don Garlits first dragster, was a built at home,
            in 1954, under his oak tree a 1927 Model T type
            roadster. He used, an electric welder, gas torch, 
            to modify the body, to accept, a Mercury block,
            and 1939 transmission, and mesh with a 1948 
            Ford differential. It had a E.T. (elapse time) of 
            13.5 seconds at 93 miles.
                However, he could increase the E.T. by having
            the body removed, moving the engine back, and
            moving the seat behind the rear end, now making
            into a rail dragster. The results were, a E.T. of 
            12.1 at 108 MPH. This slingshot dragster won the
            first NHRA when NHRA Safety Safari came to the
            city of Lake City in Florida.
               Then three years later Don Garlits went pro. 
            His first meet was held on airfield near the city
            of Great Bend Kansas in 1955.
               Many people made fun of Don Garlits calling
            him Floridian, until Don Garlit's stopped this, by 
            calling his dragsters Swamp Rats, which Don is
            from the swampy Florida state, he is proud of
            this. It also represented his different, dragster
            engineering styles he would use. Swamp Rat
            means he gets the Cheese. 
               My personal favorite is Swamp Rat-I. I love
            this pretty dragster he built. The engine is a 
            392 Hemi came from a wrecking yard. It was 
            first for his own 1940 Ford. Don Garlits was 
            looking for a Cadillac mill, to put in his car.
            However, he found this beautiful Hemi 392 to 
            stuffed into his 1940 Ford, that only had 10,000
            miles on it. He then had the idea, of pulling out 
            that Hemi, and stuff it into his first new car, he
            called his dragster Swamp Rat-I. This was built
            in 1957, with six carbs, and at times changed to
            eight carbs. It had big wild zoomy chrome long
            headers, that went passed the white wall pie
            crust slicks, with the slotted mags. In the front
            were motorcycle chrome wire wheels and tires.
            It even had an air box on top of the carbs to 
            have them match the blue dragster body, with
            fogged white and blue flames. Modification was
            necessary, to run on powerful nitromethane, and
            also, benzene. 
                The car was built originally with two-speed 
            transmission, with full rear end. It had a E.T.    
            best of 10.5 seconds at 145 MPH.
                While at the ATAA World Series of Drag
            Racing in Cordova, IL, August 1957, Don had
            met Emory Cook, and Cliff Bedwell. Emory 
            gave Don Garlits some pointers, to improve
            performance, and helped Don tune his new
            dragster closer, to what he needed to run 
            nitro. The result was Don's best E.T. was 
            9.60 seconds at 155 MPH, beating Cook,
           and Bedwell. But in the finals, he lost to
           Serop"Seth"Postoia.
                Don then redid the car, lowered the front
           end, and engine location, and removed the
           transmission. He had a narrowed Oldsmobile
           rear end. Don had built wire wheels for the
           front, added a new nose piece.
                So, when November 10, 1957, came, the
          Big Daddy Garlits, blasted the drag racers
          E.T. with an 8.79 at 176.40 MPH. Big Daddy 
          made both the world records for E.T. and 
          MPH. It was the fastest dragster at this 
          time period. Look at the black and white 
          picture of Swamp Rat-I below. The famous
          World's Fastest Dragster in the sixth picture
          below. It covers everything about the real
          car, Big Daddy Don Garlits Swamp Rat-I in 
          detail. 
                September 1958 in Great Bends, Kansas
          Big Daddy won the famous AHRA National
          Championships.
                Up to 1959 the Swamp Rat-I toured all
          over unchanged. The picture with close view
          of engine and people at Bakersfield, California.
          The picture with the Swamp Rat-I with the
          silver dragster in the back is Setto Pastoian's.
          The cover over the engine, of Don's dragster,
          Swamp Rat-I is the last time it would fit. This
          is the week before the first Smokers March 
          Meet at the same city Bakersfield, California.
          After this March Meet Big Daddy would stick
          a blower under his carburetor set up with nitro,
          to match the other drag racing competitors. This
          would be at Bear at Kingdom Dragstrip, where
          he would blast his competition.
               Don Garlit received incurring burn, while
          racing in Chester South Carolina, in 1959 
          Don asked Art Malone to drive for him. The
          car now had a new two-port Hilborn Injection
          with a competition scoop. The Hilborn Injection
          performance was much better, then the eight
          carbs, that were used before. Malone behind
          the wheel, had turned the Swamp Rat-I into
          another victory. On August 23,1959 at 
          Sanford, ME, the car set a new record of 
          183.66 MPH. It was a happy day for Don
          and Art.
                In September Don and Art had attended
          ARHA Nationals in Great Bend Kansas and
          set a E.T. record of 8.23 seconds. This record
          lasted for quite a while. When a new Chicago
         Team shows up to do battle, made up of Chris-
          Karamesines and his team partner Dan -
          Maynard with their beautiful dragster called
          the Chizler, Big Daddy and Art lost to this 
          Chicago Team. However, it started a good 
          friendship, along with competitions with both
          Don Garlits and Chris Karamesines. 
                As for Don Garlits and Art Melone their
          partnership lasted under a year, but they were
          friends. Both Big Daddy, and Art Melone were
          feared on the drag strip, and set many track 
          records as well as many multiple National top
          speed and elapse times records.
                Swamp Rat-I gets a new look, black body,
          gold flames, black scoop, with graphics to 
          match the flames. Don's Speed Shop is now in
          gold.
          The pie crust slicks are thinner on Torque new
          Thrust Mags, with stubby headers.       
               West Coast December '59, Art and Don
           won beating, Art Chrisman in his dragster
          Hustler-I in the final. The top speed in E.T.
          was 8.51 seconds at 181.81 MPH, that had
          went to Don Garlits and Art Malone.
               Don Garlits was back at the March Meet
          with Malone driving in 1960.Their record
          was broke with a speed of 185.56 MPH,
          compared to their former record speed made
          in August 1959 with a speed of 183.66.
              A week later in Fremont they beat Ted
          "Curly" Cyr with a E.T. of 8.42 seconds at
          184.04 MPH for Top Eliminator. They won
          many numerous times, which lead to a new
          top speed of 187.10. This Swamp Rat-I B was
          in Drag News Weekly. They also had a red
          new scoop on the car, with the thin pie crust
          slicks with American Torque Thrusts Mags.
          However, Big Daddy Don Garlits would go
          back to a competition scoop and Hali brands
          slotted mags with his pie crust slicks.
               On Memorial Day weekend 1960 both Don
           and Art attended the event in Union Grove.
           while Bod Metzer brought as many dragsters 
           as possible, that could be assembled. 
              Remember, the Chicago Team that defeated
           Don, and Art? It's payback time with a healthy
           type of Don Garlits and Art Malone wanted 
           revenge for Chris Karamesines and Dan 
           Maynard for defeated them, at Great Bend,
           Kansas in 1959, of September, with their 
           beautiful Chizler. The picture down below,
           with two dragsters racing side by side, shows
           the story. Art Malone had blasted Chris
           Karamesines twice that day. He did it for Class
           and also, for Top Eliminator.
           Big Daddy took home the Cheese. 
              The black Swamp Rat-I B on the Memorial
           Day event at Union Grove had a grey small
           competition scoop, and slotted Hali brands,
               Now that Big Daddy was in competition
           mode, both Art Malone, and Big Daddy had
           toured extensively, from late 1959 through
           July 1960, to drag race full competitions, and
           also be involved as many match races as
           possible. Art Malone July 17,1960, at the
           Minnesota Drag way driving Don's dragster
           Swamp Rat-I B is the black and white pic of
           the dragster the third one down from the two
           matched dragsters. After this they departed.
               Big Daddy returns home, and modifies his
           roll cage for a better fit in the driver seat.
               Now Don Garlits has a close friend come
           to visited him? Who is he? This man was a
           big giant in stock car racing. His name is 
           Mr. Smoky Yunick, who come to find out,
           using a passenger car Don Garlits is 
           pushing his dragster. Now for a surprise,
           Don Garlits gets a call from the local
           Chevrolet dealer to pick up a 1959 GMC
           Carry All, with compliments of Smoky.
           Mr. Smoky Yunick, who purchased this
           former Sheriff's Department vehicle,
           with a black and white color scheme.
           Don left this color, and the GMC that is
           pushing his Swamp Rat-I B is the gift that
           Mr. Smoky Yunick paid for, to Don.
               Again, there is a change in Swamp Rat-I B.
           The front carries Hali brand 12 Spoke wheels.
            Also, for the second time there is a black and
            white picture of Swap Rat-I B. It said this for
            the second time: World's Fastest Dragster. 
               The last picture at the bottom with the man
           with the flag, is the last run for Swamp Rat-I B,
           before retiring the car in early 1961. It was to
           be replaced with an all-new dragster, that has a
           Connie Swingle built chrome molly tubing 
           chassis, known as Swamp Rat-3.