"Hellzapoppin " FOUND & History

[dinoKeymaster]

New photo Collections in ODF …More Keep ‘poppin” up

---

Attachments:

[masoParticipant]

Is that Paul Gommi’s dragster in the background of the first picture of the posting above this one…? The Grady – Gommi and Kennedy car…? ❓

[dinoKeymaster]

Think you’re right…Olds push car with Ct.plate -tip-off

[dinoKeymaster]

Here’s more from Dave Iwanicki…

Dino,
These three photos, taken by Charlie Milikin, show the car as it was raced in about 1969. Willy Strickland owned it at the time. He told me he bought it from Ron Abbott. Willy owned a speed shop in Waterford CT and always ran good looking cars (after this car, he got one of Tony Nancy’s last front engine cars and campaigned it in Top Gas with a 430″ BBC, named “Easy Rider”). When I purchased the Fuller car from Warren Dickenson, I would pick Willy’s brain about the car. Unfortunately, Willy passed away in 1981 or 1982. Warren died just this year. Dave

---

Attachments:

[dinoKeymaster]

Dave Continues the story…………………The two pictures of the car in red paint show how it looked when I got it from Warren in 1974. One shows me at Connecticut Dragway, waiting on the apron, just prior to making my first licence run. We ran the car with zoomies at first but switched to collector headers later. The picture of the car in Black paint was taken by Clay Taylor in 1976 and may be the last pass I ever made in the car (probably the last pass anyone made in it). Here, Bob Salemi’s D/D is getting out on a handicap start, thats about how we crossed the line too. Best I ever ran with it was 9.61.

---

Attachments:

[dinoKeymaster]

Lost …Then Found Again……More of Daves story:
. . .I got these pictures from Charlie. This is how the car looked when found somewhere in Rhode Island. No question in my mind that this was my old car. Numerous details I see that point to it.

---

Attachments:

[dinoKeymaster]

Could this Be the same car?…Dave Mentioned previously-
“THEN it shows up at the ’06 or ’07 Bakersfield Reunion ,now owned by the Anderson Family ,who are restoring it as a Jimmy Nix car. Ron said he let Jimmy run it once way back…..and the stories continue”…….
Dave ends his Story with this;
Charlie sent me a link to these images. If it is the same car, some work has been done to the chassis and the cross rod for the steering has been flipped under. Can’t say for certain. I tried looking for it a few years ago. I had the crazy idea of restoring it into an injected nitro “cackler” and lettering the cowl with past owner’s names. Sort of like “Abbott, Strickland Dickenson & Iwanicki”, but…………..

---

Attachments:

[dinoKeymaster]

Just Got this From Bob Swanson Post at Hamb.

---

Attachments:

[dinoKeymaster]

Found this for ’63 Indy Nationals at http://www.50th-usnationals.com
AA/D

Round five and the final
Round five went quickly, with Nancy fouling out to Garlits and Abbott recording a 9.24, 157.06 on the bye. In the moment of truth in AA/D, Garlits faced Abbott for the final class honors and the important right to sit out the Top Eliminator preliminaries.
Abbott, 25, from Albany, N.Y., and a plant superintendent for American Glass Co., had been drag racing for seven years and built three dragsters. His 1963 entry, Hellzappon, was powered by a blown, 364-cid Chevy built by John Foley. The total car weight with a Dragmaster chassis was 1,080 pounds.
Based on previous elapsed times in eliminations, Abbott did not appear to be much of a threat with passes of 8.91, 9.09, 8.93, 9.03, and 9.24. Garlits had runs of 8.73, 8.67, 8.64, 8.70, and 8.72.
Abbott arrived at the starting line first, followed shortly by Garlits. The lights started down, and on green, both drivers were gone. Abbott came within inches of winning, but Garlits’ 8.74, 174.08 made him a winner as for the umpteenth time in the 1963 Nationals the Chrondek electronic judge called an otherwise impossible race decision. Abbott recorded an 8.83, 171.10

[masoParticipant]

That was Don Garlits driving for Cassidy and Winward in a car that Garlits built for them. It was not with the Number 5 Swamp Rat. MoPar came out with the 413 C.I. wedge motor and they wanted Big Daddy to make some noise with it. Otherwise, Garlits was not much interested in racing with pump gasoline.

[dinoKeymaster]

Bobby could add to this…I count a total of almost 5 differant versions of “Hellzapoppin” through the years …four differant chassis, confirmed by Abbott. ( first one -injected-then blown…Bobby HAS that one)

[bucksnort]

This is an interesting read.
So Muldowneys’ rail was a Ron Abbott ride and a Kent Fuller.
Got pics of the car at SGF when Shirley first showed with it.
Got pics in 1966 with Ron match racing Big at SGF.When did he go hemi?

Give me some time and I will get pics up.

Bob

[dinoKeymaster]

Bucky…”Interesting Read”…Yup…we have SO MUCH here,I encourage everyone to go back in each Forum catagory heading and search All the pages…you’ll be amazed what you find…click on those little blue page boxes ….bottom & top right.

[bucksnort]

I took this pic May 1,1966 at SGF.
So this was a “Hellzapoppin”?

[bucksnort]

These pics I took Sept 11,1966.
Match race at SGF
Don Garlits vs Ron Abbott

[Author]

Posts