mark williams dragster

[ts39256]

I have an update my mark Williams dragster I bought a couple of years ago out of Minnesota. I`ve finally have the sbc  and shorty powerglide in, and plumbed and wired. I got it to fire-up and roll under it`s own power. My only outing with it was at the local summer car show. It`s fun to see the young kids reactions to seeing and hearing this 24 foot long vintage race car. It`s not quite race worthy yet, but someday it will be on the track again. , Thanks Glenn !

[GlennLever]

more pictures

[sknopp]

Great photos.  I have the sister to that car, 1969 214".  Couple of things I'll share with you. 

First, it looks like you have the original front steering "L" link on it.  I ran with mine for several years before it broke (170 MPH at half track), fortunately I was headed straight and the chute & brakes did their job.  Think about what it is, a thin chrome-moly flat plate, drilled, then chrome plated.  Likely has hydrogen embrittlement, plus 40 years of stress.

Second, it looks like you still have a lot of caster in it, mine was 45° when I got it and I had a tough time getting off on the return road.  I went to 30° and it was better, and now have 25° and it works well. 

Do you have the SEMA tag?  Is it a three or four digit number?

You will be amazed at how many guys will recognize that it's a MW car.

Thanks,
Steve K.   

[ts39256]

Thanks sknopp for the info.  Mine is a 210 inch wheelbase. I`m only guessing it`s a 1971 due to the side wings and billboards. I have the sema tag under right side rollbar uprite, a small 1/2 inch square numbered 18 with sema underneath it. Pretty scary about the "L" link! I`ll take it off and have it checked for stress cracks before it gets back on the track. The front caster is at 45 degrees now, but I`d like to change it to something closer to 20. It looks like I`ll run out of adjustment on the clevis ends, and don`t want to change the radius rods. Did you have to make some kind of spacer? I really don`t want to cut and reweld the brackets. Thanks, Tommy

[sknopp]

Tommy,  as I recall I could get to 30° by adjusting the ends.  Eventually I replaced the axle (found a crack) and radius rods.  I have what is supposed to be the original Mark Williams manufacturing tag for my car, and it looks to match up pretty well with the for weld tacks on the right side rear upright where a tag was, but the SEMA number stamped on the tag is four digits and I'm told nobody had four.

Steve K.

[ts39256]

I was told the SEMA style of tagging was changed sometime in the mid seventies, but don`t know the details. I don`t know  if they changed the manufactures ID numbers or what ?

[Roger]

This site has a list of SEMA chassis builders and their numbers. Don't know about 4 digit #s but Mark Williams is certainly #18.

http://www.darkside.ca/node/199

[janjon]

Nice car? What radiator do you have on it? I need to replace mine and tha looks like it would fit.

[ts39256]

It was an ebay find, don`t know what it was for. Haven`t tried it yet, hope it works.

[Reebs]

Looks great. I need to ask you about 4000 questions.

[GlennLever]

More pictures received from ts39256

"prior history" or "as found"

[ts39256]

I am hoping someone might remember this car from back in the day. The strip photos were taken about 5 years ago at Thunder Valley, Marion, South Dakota, when it had the BBC in it. I`d love to find out about its original owners and crew, and how it did in the Top Fuel wars.

[ts39256]

Here is a photo I found on the Web of the Otis Campbell Sugar Cane car out of Boulder Colorado. Draglist shows a Sugar Cane car from 1969 to 1972, with Howard Ditzel as crew chief. Also states the chassis builder as unknown. Looks pretty close to my car, I`d say! Does anybody know more about this car ? It would have been a NHRA division 5 car. Photo by Steve Reyes from his Slingshot Spectacular, the front-engine dragster era book. Thanks, Tommy

[Mr Froggy]

Hi Tommy, Maybe give Glenn Rapp a call at 605-336-1515.   He Built (in 1967) and still owns and operates Thunder Valley.  He had a fueler back in the day and for years Thunder Valley had a Div. 5 points meet and until the early 80s ran 3 or 4 Fuel shows each summer besides the points meet.  He knows alot of Div. 5 history!

[ts39256]

Thanks Mr. Froggy. I`ll give him a call. I wish I was going to the CHRR at Bakersfield this year, surely someone there would remember this car.