I'm going to
slowly but surely update this section with as much
information as I have regarding the history of the Winkel,
Trapp, Fuller "Magicar". So please bare with me.
Thanks.
Drawing of the
business end of the "Magicar" by Don Tubbs in 1964.
Photo taken when
the "Magicar's" driveline was reconnected in 2000.
Sometime
during the summer of 1964, three men joined forces to race
what turned out to be one of the most "newsworthy"
dragsters of the mid-'60's. Kent Fuller, arguably the
premier dragster chassis builder of the early '60's,
decided to take a bold step. He would mount ladder bars
within the frame rails of his next fuel dragster. These
ladder bars would hold the entire drive train--engine,
clutch, driveline, and rearend. A dynamic load that would
pivot within the frame, cushioned by "die cutter" springs
just behind the rear axles.
The purpose for this configuration covered more than one of
the inhertant problems faced by dragster drivers of the
day. For one thing, tire technology was not up to the
horsepower being produced at the time. The rather hard and
relatively narrow slicks, needed all the help they could
get when it came to weight transfer. The more weight you
got over the slicks the more traction you acquired. But
that presented a fundamental problem. In order to obtain
major weight transfer in a front motor dragster, the only
practical option was to launch hard enough to lift the
front end, but that meant losing the ability to steer the
charging beast. A "wheelie" certainly was spectacular for
the crowd, and moved available weight to the rear slicks,
but unless the car was perfectly balanced, and the traction
was uniform, a straight line pass was a low percentage
shot. But with Fuller's latest creation, when launched, the
motor would come up and the slicks would plant, while the
driver would come up and the front end would plant--a kind
of "scissor effect". But the concept was just that--a
concept, yet to be proven in the class of top eliminator.
So Fuller, whose business was booming at the time, decided
to bring the "concept" to life in the form of a 140 inch
wheelbased double "A" fuel dragster.
But Fuller needed a team to take this new design to war. A
team headed by someone with a proven reputation for making
lots of power. And that person materialized in the form of
Ron Winkel, ex-motor man for the "Black Beauty". The
Winkel/Wenderski "Black Beauty" catapulted Winkel and John
Wenderski into the spotlight with wild smokie passes that
landed the fueler in many publications and on the cover of
an L. P. vinyl record. Drag racing fans nationwide flocked
to the record stores and bought the stereo sound track of
drag racing performance runs. But tragedy struck the team
in early 1964, when Wenderski veered off course at "San
Diego Raceway" and lost his life in a terrible crash.
Winkel, who wasn't there on that fateful day, had to move
on and looked for a new car and team. That's when Fuller
offered up the suspended chassis for his use. Fuller would
get his trial runs and Winkel would get the very latest
Fuller creation.
The Winkel/Wenderski "Black
Beauty", shown at the bottom.
The third member of
the "Magicar" team was Kaye Trapp. He was an established
drag racing photographer for "Drag News" a weekly drag
racing periodical. Trapp possessed the ability to not only
take "track shots" of the car and then offer them up to
"Drag News", but also conduct full on "photo shoots", using
models that would produce feature articles on the car. Now
for a driver--Gary Casady was a proven local dragster
"shoe" who would be the "Magicar's" test pilot.
So all the necessary components were in place to field a
truly outstanding performer, but for reasons that could
only be described as "fate", when the publicity spotlight
was on,
there was no giant leap forward in performance-- just
"competitive" results. Is that a bad thing? You make the
call....
Kaye Trapp waisted
no time capitalizing on his ability to acquire "ink" for
the car. The combination of "Miss San Fernando" and great
publicity for "Drag News" was a sure bet to make the paper
even before the car was fully assembled. Usually an
untested dragster earned its publicity by performing well.
But for the "Magicar", its right to publicity was
preordained simply because it was a Fuller chassis. And
whether the team wanted it or not, the "Magicar" would make
its debut at the top of drag racing's publicity
ladder.
Filled with
anticipation and promise, the "Magicar" team holds for a
photo by Kaye Trapp. From left to right are: Kent Fuller,
Ron Winkel, (unidentified lady), Dennis Winkel, and Gary
Casady. Of note in this photo are some missing upper blower
pulley bolts and the lack of chrome plating on the front
axle components. The car had been quickly assembled in
order to make a scheduled appearance. So the car is now in
the publicity spotlight and all are anxiously awaiting its
performance debut.
Drag News article
of the appearance:
More "Drag News"
quotes raised the stakes even higher for the team as the
big showdown drew near. "Gentleman Joe" Schubeck also
created a dragster with rear suspension at his Lakewood
Chassis Company, back East. And it seemed like a natural
matchup to see which car would emerge victorious in a two
out of three match race to be held on haloed ground--"The
Beach". This nationally publicized race would have 14 year
old guys like me combing through the neighborhood news
stand hoping to find the results.
With one week to go before the big match race, the team
makes it out to "Lion's" for some initial shakedown runs.
Initial driver Gary
Casady gets strapped in for another shakedown run. Although
he was very competitive in other dragsters, Casady was
uneasy about this car and never really settled in to its
unique characteristics.
One week later, on
November 7, 1964, the "Magicar" comes to a stop after
another afternoon shakedown run. Later that evening the
battle of the "sprung dragsters" would take place. The
following week in "Drag News", just the first few
paragraphs tell the story of how rapidly dragster
technology was evolving during the fall of 1964. And the
drag racing media did a great job of hyping the very latest
innovations to come out of the west coast chassis
shops.
To
be continued..
The beautiful cowl
art of Tom Kelly. Recreated by Roy Potter of Escondido, Ca.
Paint by Tom Morris.
"Magicar" and crew
at the "Winternationals" at Pomona. Jeep Hampshire at the
wheel. Tom Morris at the wheel of the "Green Weenie" push
car making major lateral corrections. (g) Light, you
Bit__!!
John Ewald Photo.
Rick MacDonald is
the man behind the "Pop". Rick has spent many hours getting
to know this particular "Hemi" and it has paid off with
many trouble free starts. Thanks, Rick, for all your help
over the years! John Ewald Photo.
Don Ewald and Larry
Ofria of Valley Head Service, in the eye of the hurricane.
Crewman Steve Powers with a death grip on the
Magibrake. John Ewald Photo.
Here is another
fine moment that I can't adequately put into words. From
left to right: Original partners Ron and Dennis Winkel,
Rick MacDonald, Don Ewald, Steve Roberts, Rick LeMay, Bill
Pitts, and Steve Powers. And in the seat of his original
ride from 1965, Mr. Jeep Hampshire. What a moment! Photo by
John Ewald.
"Cat in the Hat" Dennis Prater looking happy as a cat in a
laundry basket.
I can't begin to
express how lucky I feel, when I think about having Jumpin'
Jeep Hampshire as the driver of the "Magicar". Jeep is a
grand individual who delights in being remembered,
respected, and enjoyed, whenever we make an appearance.
Jeep will drive hundreds of miles just to be in the car for
an event. He knows these moments won't last forever. And
above all he shares his history freely, as long as it is
treated with respect. I always try and remember that---but
then there's my eleven year old daughter, Kiersten, who
just has to throw a little hip into her best impression of
a dancing Jeep Hampshire. I'm a lucky vintage dragster
owner in more ways than you or I will ever know.