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28/11/2025 12:23 pm
Don Garlits Swamp Rat VI by GMP
28/11/2025 12:55 pm
I heard that Don Garlits' story with the promoter, 392 versus 426 HEMI engine, but I kind of forgot about it. Cool model. But why not? It's a GMP. Everything they did was really good! Like the Ivo rails.
Christopher Moroni and Tony Perrone reacted
28/11/2025 1:16 pm
Great video and info John! Great pics Marty! I enjoyed watching TV Tommy race back in the day. Funny to see where he got the name. We watch the Lobe Ranger on TV for lunch once in a while. Who played the 'kid' in one of them? TV Tommy Ivo.
My fuel dragsters are all 1/24th scale and made by either 1320 Inc. or Action Models.
Don Garlits Swamp Rat X:
US Army AA/F and the Budweiser AA/F:
Christopher Moroni and Marty Johnson reacted
28/11/2025 1:29 pm
Seeing all of these AA/FD rails reminds me of the most dramatic cacklefest I've ever seen. To get the effect, you gotta turn up your sound volume! You will literally SMELL the nitro fumes!!! LOL!
This post was modified 5 months ago 2 times by Marty Johnson
Tony Perrone and Christopher Moroni reacted
28/11/2025 1:33 pm
GMP did a fine job with these - and of course their greatest feature, IMO, are those aluminum bodies. Now that's cool! 😎 😎 I couldn't imagine ever driving one though - way too scary for me, especially those L O N G creations Tony posted. 😬 😬 😬
Tony Perrone and Marty Johnson reacted
28/11/2025 1:44 pm
@chris - Yeah, it takes BIG ONES to drive one of these monsters! Here is some interesting information about top fuel engines.
- One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (11,000 HP) than the first 5 rows at the V8 Supercars field.
- Under full throttle, the Hydraulink Top Fueler engine consumes 4.54 to 5.67 litres of nitromethane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.
- A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to merely drive the dragster's supercharger.
- With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle!
- At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitromethane, the flame front temperature measures 3899 degrees Celsius.
- Nitromethane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
- Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
- Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 760 degrees Celsius. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.
- If the spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.
- Dragsters reach over 500 KPH (310 MPH) before you have completed reading this sentence.
- In order to exceed 310 MPH in 4.0 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 320 KPH well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8 G's.
- Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!
- Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.
- The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.
- THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, & for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000 per second at least!
- 0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet of the run)
- 0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (the first 350 feet of the run)
- 6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing accelerates faster on land)
- 6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin chutes at 500 KPH in Australian Top Fuel
- Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth, quicker than a jet fighter plane . . . quicker than the space shuttle.
Check out this demonstration of a top fuel engine cylinder burning fuel.
This post was modified 5 months ago 2 times by Marty Johnson
28/11/2025 2:02 pm
@marty-johnson Holy crap! I was scared before but now I'm terrified! 
I had no idea! #7 is just nuts!
Marty Johnson and Tony Perrone reacted
28/11/2025 4:43 pm
Home - Group Tour Prices - Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing
Been here a few times...Great car collection.
John Bono
North Jersey