GMP Don Garlits Swamp Rat VIII Dragster (Photos)

This is Don Garlits Swamp Rat VIII, it was the first Swamp Rat powered by the Chrysler 426 Hemi, Don was using the same tuning on the new 426 Hemi that he had used on the old no longer in production 392 Hemi and the 426 Hemi was not responding to the tunes. Don was at the point where he did not think the 426 was going to be as good as the old 392 Hemi was so he decided to blow up the 426 Hemi and switch back to the 392 Hemi, Don advanced the timing to 40 degrees and the 426 really responded with a 214 MPH run, they pulled the oil pan and everything looked great so they buttoned it back up and advanced the timing to 50 degrees and the car ran 219 MPH. That is when Don Garlits found out the 426 Hemi on Nitro likes a lot more timing than the old 392 Hemi could handle. 

The last photo is the Don Garlits Exhibit showing Swamp Rat 1, Swamp Rat III, Swamp Rat VII and Swamp Rat VIII.