Tommy Ivo's *Honest Charlie's Dragster*

 

Formerly part of the private collection of world champion Bruce Larson , it was purchased  in 2001 and restored it in 2007.

This Top Fuel Dragster was raced by TV Tommy Ivo, It debuted at the '74 NHRA Winter Nationals  and sponsored by Honest Charley's Speed Shop.

Ivo's Digger was one of the first Top Fuel cars to go 250 MPH in the 1/4 mile , It features the original chassis built by Larry Sikora in fall of 1973 . The Stream-liner body was designed by the legendary Nye Frank .

 

In an attempt to create better aerodynamics the front wheels were enclosed with what looked like rudders from an airplane . They were referred too as wheel pants.

 The body work also extended below the lower frame rails and wrapped around the bottom giving it the look of a Monocoque Indy car .

Ivo was quoted as a saying - "It was a brand-spankin' new car on my fourth run in the 1974 Winternationals. The engine exploded so fiercely that it turned into a fireball and punched a hole in the wing. I was running 240 (mph) upside down & backwards,I hit the guardrail, and the car came apart like a two-dollar watch. It was worth the price of admission.  I thought it was curtains, and when I felt that, I became euphoric-the scare went away. I was mad at myself because I'd closed my eyes and missed the show." 

Amazingly he was uninjured in the accident.

 

The NHRA felt as tho the wheel pants could help attain higher speeds but that they also could be contributing to more high-speed crashes. They thought the pants were causing a rudder effect and causing the cars to pull left or right causing the loss of driver control .

It seems that all the Dragsters that were running the wheel pants at that time all seen to have suffered the same fate. And shortly after this accident the NHRA banned the use of the front wheel pants.

The power plant in this retro ride is a 484 CI Keith Black nitro-burning aluminum alloy V-8. A Bowers 8-71 supercharger supplies the boost & it's supported by an Enderle mechanical fuel injection system . The bottom end is filled with a who's who of famous parts,An Oliver crank, BME aluminum Rods,Milodon oil system pan & pump. And it eats 90 percent nitro-methane.

This T.V. Tommy Ivo Dragster could be yours , it's for sale , I hope someone buys it and shows it off so every Gearhead can enjoy it , don't hide this in a private collection !

                                                                                                                   T.V. Tommy with the Rod Shop team !