The 426 Comes
Of Age!
It was 1963 when
“Big Daddy” Don Garlits first got a look at the 426
Hemi engine. “I knew right away that this was a special
engine,” Don said. Still, it was two years before the first
426 found it’s way into one of Don’s car, but when
it did, it changed drag racing history forever.
As good as “Swamp
Rat 8” would eventually be it wasn’t an instant success.
Initially it was short and heavy and that’s not a great
combination for a wining car. After building it Don enlisted
his good friend Connie Swingle to drive the car when it debuted
at the Bakersfield Fuel and Gas Championships in 1965. And while
the car did make it to the final round it was the final round
of the consolation race which Connie won while Don won the main
event when he beat Marvin Schwartz and Don did it with the old,
trusty 392 motor. Several months of trail and error followed
and Don was just about to “blow that thing up” when
he decided to make a couple of changes. Don heard that Connie
Kalitta had stretched his car out to an amazing 175 inches in
order to handle all the power from his OHC Ford engine. That
theory made sense to "Big" so he added 25 inches to
the chassis on his car and it paid immediate dividends. So did
the changes he made in the magneto that went to forty degrees
and then to fifty degrees which resulted in speeds of 213 and
219 miles per hour respectively. "I knew right then that
the 392 engine was history and that this 426 was the way to go,"
Don said. The runs were so impressive that Bruce Crower immediately
made T-shirt honoring the feats.
"Swamp Rat
8" was the first of Don’s 426 cars and he certainly
got his money’s worth from it. After he stretched the wheelbase
he took the car to California for a showdown with one of the
sport’s hottest drivers, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme.
The race was held at the legendary Half Moon Bay Drag Strip and
it was for the #1 spot in the Drag News Top Ten. "Big Daddy"
won the race and was surprised to find that the track had already
put “Snake’s” name on the winning trophy. “They
didn’t think I had a chance to beat Prudhomme with this
new car. I guess I showed them.” Indeed he did! "Swamp
Rat 8" would eventually be painted with the Wynn’s
Jammer logo and later see life as "Swamp Rat 10" but
whatever it was called, this new 426 was another revolutionary
car from the mind of "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. - Bob
Frey
The Swamp Rat VIII dragster includes
such details as:
- Aerodynamic die-cast 184-inch
wheelbase design
- Removable Hanna upper body panel exposes detailed interior
-
- 426 Chrysler hemi engine that's fully wired
with ignition wires and flexible fuel lines
-
Hollow simulated Goodyear slicks on five spoke Halibrand mag
wheels
- Detailed tubular framework and fuel tank
detail
- Fabric seat belts and shoulder harness
with photoetched buckles
- Color scheme detailed
from actual vintage racing pictures and reference data from Don
Garlits and WDIFL.com.
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Only
1500 of this car were produced. |
SOLD OUT
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