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Topic starter
17/10/2025 2:28 pm
I love those one year only Coronet and Belvedere platforms. I would die to get back the 383 4 speed Satellite convertible that my wife sold off when I was in the service to pay for her airfare to Thailand to be with me. I still remember the feel and sound when the mechanical secondaries would kick in. I thought the body lines were just perfect. What really got my heart racing was the look of the Altered Wheelbase conversions on those S/FX-1 drag cars. I started drawing pictures of cars in AWB form in my class notebooks... to hell with those boring lectures. LOL This Coronet coupe is one of Mr. Norm's AWB Hemis from Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago and driven by Gary Dyer. I love the paint scheme with the charging Dodge Ram on the doors. An interesting feature on the deck facia are the names of 8 competing drivers. I assume the cross through the left column meant that they were defeated. The right list appears to be more daunting featuring "Ohio George" Montgomery, Arnie "Farmer" Beswick and the Ramcharger team either still to be beat or perhaps victorious.
17/10/2025 2:54 pm
What's not to love? They're beautiful 1:1 cars and these 1/18 HW61 / Supercars-1 AWB versions - hardtop & sedan - are among some of the best 1/18 ever crafted. I have several. 😎 😎 😎
But it's impossible to look at them at NOT think of Marlowe; he educated me on the basic back-stories. Prior to knowing anything about them I liked AWB cars because they looked so cool. 😉 😉
PS
Rich, you can always buy another '65. 😏
Marty Johnson and Rich Sufficool reacted
Topic starter
17/10/2025 4:19 pm
18/10/2025 12:04 am
Yes, without a doubt, this era in drag racing was definitely my "thing." And staying consistent, I do have a bit of historical information to add.But it's impossible to look at them and NOT think of Marlowe; he educated me on the basic back-stories.
This red sedan version of Mr. Norm's car was an in-house effort. When Norm Krauss (Mr. Norm) acquired the Roger Lindamood hardtop "Color Me Gone" car, it was painted blue and had fuel injection, not a supercharger. The prevailing rumor was that Chrysler snatched the car away from Lindamood because he defied their orders to stop doing wheelstands. Chrysler gave strict orders to the teams not to beat up the cars in that fashion.
Back to the car, I think Mr. Norm and Gary Dyer, in the fuel injection configuration, competed in only one meet, that being the Super Stock Magazine Nationals in York, Pennsylvania. The team soon pulled the blown motor from the existing red sedan Grand Spaulding car (The red car didn't have the full altered wheelbase configuration. That came later) and used it to replace the injected engine initially in the Color Me Gone car. It's important to note that the Lindamood Color Me Gone car was one of the original chemical-milled cars that was built by Amblewagon. Although the acid-dipping weakened the unibody structure, causing it to become twisted out of shape, it made the car super lightweight. The lightweight benefited the factory AWB Mopars, albeit ultimately, due to the weakness of the structure, they all started showing signs of being twisted like a pretzel.
Mr. Norm's car, with Gary Dyer at the helm, performed astoundingly! It quickly began running in the high 8-second bracket when, at the time, all of the other funny cars were still running in the low 9s. Indeed, many drivers were quite cynical of the times being "allegedly" recorded, scoffed at the low E.T. times, and believed the 8-second clocks were being "cooked." When Mr. Norm planned a trip for a West Coast match race circuit swing, the drivers on the West Coast told them to be sure to bring those 8-second clocks with them. When Mr. Norm and Gary Dyer ran on the West Coast Match Race circuit, they repeated the high 8-second runs and made believers of the funny car community.
In those days, supercharged cars, due to the increased horsepower, routinely had trouble transferring the extra power to the ground without breaking traction. As a result, they were notorious for not being as quick as the fuel-injected cars. The blown recorded higher speeds at the end of the 1/4 mile, but the fuel-injected cars, with the greater ability to control wheelspin, usually had elapsed times that were quicker. Mr. Norm and Dyer were one of the very few teams that managed to be competitive with a blown car. I suspect they did it by scaling back the horsepower of the engine. It took a couple of years before the funny car community transitioned from mostly fuel-injection configuration to being blown.
This model, done by Supercar Collectibles, is the first Mr. Norm's funny car, and after Mr. Norm's team did the full altered wheelbase conversion in-house. Supercar also produced the blue car, in fuel-injected form, as it was acquired from Roger Lindamood. I did a custom modification on the blue fuel-injected, and transformed it into a copy of the blown car. Obviously, I added a blower to the HEMI, removed the hood scoop, cut a hole in the hood, removed the rear and side glass, and fabricated a tonneau for the interior. I also swapped out the wheels for Cragars and fabricated individual exhaust headers.
18/10/2025 10:37 am
Gee Marlowe, these cars look funny!Yes, without a doubt, this era in drag racing was definitely my "thing." And staying consistent, I do have a bit of historical information to add.But it's impossible to look at them and NOT think of Marlowe; he educated me on the basic back-stories.
This red sedan version of Mr. Norm's car was an in-house effort. When Norm Krauss (Mr. Norm) acquired the Roger Lindamood hardtop "Color Me Gone" car, it was painted blue and had fuel injection, not a supercharger. The prevailing rumor was that Chrysler snatched the car away from Lindamood because he defied their orders to stop doing wheelstands. Chrysler gave strict orders to the teams not to beat up the cars in that fashion.
Back to the car, I think Mr. Norm and Gary Dyer, in the fuel injection configuration, competed in only one meet, that being the Super Stock Magazine Nationals in York, Pennsylvania. The team soon pulled the blown motor from the existing red sedan Grand Spaulding car (The red car didn't have the full altered wheelbase configuration. That came later) and used it to replace the injected engine initially in the Color Me Gone car. It's important to note that the Lindamood Color Me Gone car was one of the original chemical-milled cars that was built by Amblewagon. Although the acid-dipping weakened the unibody structure, causing it to become twisted out of shape, it made the car super lightweight. The lightweight benefited the factory AWB Mopars, albeit ultimately, due to the weakness of the structure, they all started showing signs of being twisted like a pretzel.
Mr. Norm's car, with Gary Dyer at the helm, performed astoundingly! It quickly began running in the high 8-second bracket when, at the time, all of the other funny cars were still running in the low 9s. Indeed, many drivers were quite cynical of the times being "allegedly" recorded, scoffed at the low E.T. times, and believed the 8-second clocks were being "cooked." When Mr. Norm planned a trip for a West Coast match race circuit swing, the drivers on the West Coast told them to be sure to bring those 8-second clocks with them. When Mr. Norm and Gary Dyer ran on the West Coast Match Race circuit, they repeated the high 8-second runs and made believers of the funny car community.
In those days, supercharged cars, due to the increased horsepower, routinely had trouble transferring the extra power to the ground without breaking traction. As a result, they were notorious for not being as quick as the fuel-injected cars. The blown recorded higher speeds at the end of the 1/4 mile, but the fuel-injected cars, with the greater ability to control wheelspin, usually had elapsed times that were quicker. Mr. Norm and Dyer were one of the very few teams that managed to be competitive with a blown car. I suspect they did it by scaling back the horsepower of the engine. It took a couple of years before the funny car community transitioned from mostly fuel-injection configuration to being blown.
This model, done by Supercar Collectibles, is the first Mr. Norm's funny car, and after Mr. Norm's team did the full altered wheelbase conversion in-house. Supercar also produced the blue car, in fuel-injected form, as it was acquired from Roger Lindamood. I did a custom modification on the blue fuel-injected, and transformed it into a copy of the blown car. Obviously, I added a blower to the HEMI, removed the hood scoop, cut a hole in the hood, removed the rear and side glass, and fabricated a tonneau for the interior. I also swapped out the wheels for Cragars and fabricated individual exhaust headers.
John Bono
North Jersey
18/10/2025 11:55 am
@chris - And the Western Telegram (Yeah, we're all old enough to remember them) from Chrysler brass instructing drivers to stop doing wheelstands!
John Bono and Christopher Moroni reacted
18/10/2025 12:19 pm
@marty-johnson Dude! You do realize that the term "fan" is a derivative of the word "fanatic," right? 🙄 😮 🙄
Marty Johnson and John Bono reacted
Topic starter
18/10/2025 1:12 pm
@marty-johnson That blue on blue Mr Norm is just gorgeous!
Marty Johnson and Christopher Moroni reacted
18/10/2025 7:06 pm
For any who might be interested - I thought this is kind of cool - Dave Strickler's personal driver, a 1964 Dodge Polara, is for sale. It features a roll bar, 426 max wedge, and slick black paint. 😎 😎 😎 $150K
Marty Johnson reacted
19/10/2025 11:00 am
I made note of the two '65 Pochos and the '63 Cadillac ambulance with the rear suicide doors. Could it be that the ambulance was built by the same Amblewagon company that built the AWB Mopars in the photo?! LOL!
Christopher Moroni reacted