Part 4 Drag Racing History Rod Authority Rewind - Diary of a dragster
When they found an identical NOS Chassis Research frame about five years ago, the family Lazaris stumbled upon an idea. They had an identical frame, why not build a replica of the dragster as it was outfitted in the late ’50s?Dimitri explains further. “We’re building the new dragster to be a recreation of the Scrima-Adams-Smith rail. Having a side-by-side comparison of how the dragster evolved over the years. Starting out as a down and dirty blown Top Eliminator dragster to a mini-flake panel paint job with a flathead.”
How they found a Chassis Research frame identical to the Scrima-Adams-Rail dragster is interesting.The story on the matching chassis goes like this: Some kids got out of the Navy and decided to go drag racing. They bought the chassis from Scotty Fenn’s shop and got as far as kingpins. One of the friends bought the wrong size kingpins and forcefully tried to install them. They had a huge falling out and the chassis ended up sitting in one of the friends mothers garage.
The chassis was purchased by Joel from Powder Coating (clarify) and ended up in the NHRA museum in Pomona, California, Steve Gibbs, the director at the time, wanted the chassis in their museum because Scotty Fenn did not like the NHRA. He did not believe there should be so many enforced rules. So having his chassis on display was a great way to show the legacy of the golden era of drag racing.
Dimitri continues, “We’ve got the dragster to the point of a roller with an engine. We have Romeo Palamides 12-spoke magnesium front wheels, a 394ci Olds with Weiand timing cover, and manifold, a Cyclone In-Out box, and an original Chassis Research steering wheel. We are continuing to source period-correct, or reproduced parts to complete a finished and running dragster.”The dragster in it’s mocked up stage has already been to shows, such as the “Nitro Reunion,” Steve Gibbs put on, and will tag along whenever we show and race the Antique Doll.
