Yellow Fang (dragster)
| Yellow Fang | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Production | 1963 |
| Designer | Steve Swaja (chassis) Tom Hanna (body) |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Top Fuel |
| Body style | Front-engined streamliner dragster |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Blown 398 cu in (6,520 cc) Chrysler hemi |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 153 in (3,900 mm) |
Yellow Fang is a streamliner slingshot dragster.[1]
Designed by Steve Swaja (with some tweaking by owner George Schreiber and his boss, "Big Daddy" Roth[2]) and built by Jim Davis in 1963, the car had a 153 in (3,900 mm) wheelbase. The aluminum body, hammered by Tom Hanna for US$5000,[1] had a very pointed nose, canopied cockpit, and V-shaped "claw" tail, and was painted Diamond T yellow[1] with red lettering (hence the name). The straight front axle had bicycle wheels and wing-like fairings.[3] The engine, a blown Chrysler hemi (bored 0.030 in (0.76 mm) over,[1] for a total displacement of 398.6 cu in (6,532 cc)) prepared by Bill Demerest (but maintained by owner-driver Schreiber),[1] was exposed, as were the wheels.[3]
Early trial passes revealed problems with the cockpit canopy, and when Schreiber took over the driving chores, it was removed.[1] He raced in Australia and the U.S. on an exhibition tour during 1967 and 1968.[1]
The car now resides in the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing in Ocala, Florida.[1]
Notes[edit]
Sources[edit]
- Taylor, Thom. "Beauty Beyond the Twilight Zone" in Hot Rod, April 2017, pp. 30–43.
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