In the era before John Force and Gary Scelzi, the Blue Max, or even the Snake and Mongoose Hot Wheels cars, Funny Cars were even "funnier." The evolution from match-race stocker to flip-top flopper was chaotic to say the least, a case of mechanical evolution run amuck with only the strongest surviving. Examples of the breed took on all sorts of formats, from its door-slammer beginnings in the Southeast in the early '60s to the advent of the fairly generic, front-engined dragster cloaked in doorless fiberglass that made up most of the entries when NHRA recognized AA/FC as a standalone division in 1970.
But it was probably the years from mid-1964 to mid-1966 that saw the most outrageous possibilities in the development process. C.J. "Pappy" Hart and the folks at the late Lions Drag Strip captured that era quite completely with calliope music and starting-line antics when the Long Beach, California, track hosted the Match Bash Circus in late 1965. Tall injectors, altered wheelbases, stripped-off body parts, nitro and hydrazine, and other outrages were all part of the action; wild experimentation could turn you into a hero in one weekend if it went right, or make you a newspaper headliner if it went wrong. Regardless, these stockers on steroids took the nation's drag racing fans by storm.
Prior to all this insanity, the reigning kings of the sport were always dragsters, with an occasional Altered or Gasser thrown in for good measure. NHRA's ill-fated nitro ban from 1957 to 1963 encouraged many independent racers and sanctioning bodies to go elsewhere, and digger guys like Don Garlits, Maynard Rupp, and Bob Sullivan made lucrative money match-racing their homebuilt contraptions.
Nonetheless, even the die-hards knew that the new breed of door cars was getting both attention and cold hard cash. Well-versed in building and tuning blown fuel motors, Garlits built some Darts with help from Dodge, Rupp went with a mid-engine Chevelle, and Sullivan swapped the 392 Hemi driveline from his 195-mph digger into a '65 Plymouth Barracuda.
Like the 427 Comet that Jack Chrisman had built with assistance from Mercury in 1964, Sullivan's newest Pandemonium featured a direct-drive layout that kept the tires on broil for much of its quarter-mile jaunt. At a glance, the Kansas City-based monster looked almost stock except for a set of American mags, a bubble in the hood, and the fat Enderle Bugcatcher on a blower visible behind the bubble. Viewed head-on, builder Rod Stuckey's straight-axle front suspension became evident. Traction was aided by a set of long ladder bars attached to a narrowed Olds rear.
According to a story in the July '65 issue of Drag Racing magazine, all the lights and signals and even the windshield wipers still worked. Noted car builder Stuckey received credit for most of the handiwork, but it was actually Bob Sullivan's friend Ralph Suman who did a majority of the construction and fitment on this car. Sullivan was soon barnstorming this little fish to blistering 150-mph times (with no spoilers or aero changes!), culminating in a memorable appearance at Indy that year as an exhibition car. The best for the car was a 9.78 at 160 mph by the end of the year.
In 1966, tired of fighting the original 106-inch wheelbase and its attendant handling miseries, Sullivan and Stuckey made serious changes to the car. The front end was lengthened 18 inches and a '66-era fiberglass front end and doors were added. This dropped the static weight from 3,700 to 3,195 pounds. Sullivan also decided the car could benefit from a couple of gear changes, and a TorqueFlite now separated the engine and differential. With a little better handle on the track and combination, Sullivan ran a best time of 177 mph at 9.43 seconds. He spent a lot of time match racing and running in Jim Tice's Kansas City-based AHRA sanction.
Times change, and the Barracuda was superseded in 1967 by a topless Camaro fitted with a 392 Hemi. The '65/'66 combo was parked at the Sullivan home until Bob's widow sold it minus the engine. It was raced briefly after that, then ended up in the collection of Bill Blair in the early '90s in pretty close to original condition.
Greg Sullivan is no relation to the late Bob Sullivan, but he has become the most influential person involved in the car since Bob owned it. The chance to buy it came in 2000, and Greg-a car guy who works in the aerospace industry-decided it would be a great way to enjoy drag racing. He remembered seeing the car in magazines back in the '60s and had been something of a Mopar fan since the days of his parents' push-button '64 Valiant, the model the first Barracudas were derived from.
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