Two Small Block Chevys On Nitro And Eyeball Aero: The Story Of The Pulsator Top Fuel Dragster

The missing ingredient to all of the early streamline and twin engine nitro efforts of the day, was a lack of understanding of the effects of load. Liners went quicker without their bodywork because the engines were more effectively loaded when they had to push through the wind. Nancy's liner worked because it was a gasser. The same thing applied to twin engine cars. During the run, the combination of engines would drop cylinders until their output matched load. The thing that made this exceeding difficult to tune around, is that the engines themselves would decide which cylinders were going to be used and which ones were going to float on any given run...at any given spot during the run. Jr. Brogden went through the same issues during the same era. Adams and Enriquez tried the unblown twin fueler concept again around 1970 with the Double Eagle car, and had identical problems. They played with engine phasing to overcome it, but the knowledge of tuning for load just wasn't there yet, and didn't really become accepted science until around 1973. The failure of the Jocko/Garlits liner can also be directly attributed to this. Funnycars worked at that wheelbase and weight, but they worked because they fought the wind, which kept the engines loaded. The liner was too slippery for its own good. Had they run mostly alcohol through it, the concept may have actually worked. Somebody...and I think it was Ed Pink figured this out at around this same time, and started overdriving the pumps on their Funny Car combinations to take advantage of the bad aero, and at that point F/C's started to match the mph of the diggers, and suddenly the answers were apparent, but still not completely understood. The next phase didn't begin until Dale Armstrong, in an effort to "calm down" the ride to suit Kenny Bernstein's driving, started running fat and taking away gear, and inadvertently went faster. This led to the double pumps, double (and even triple) mags and lock up clutches that brought everything into the modern era. Ha! Sorry if I wrote a book here, but I spent a bunch of years with my head buried in this shit. Great video as always, Brian.

This channel has unlimited potential…. Especially with the best story teller in the business on the mic

Bobby Davids here. Nye & I built the body in his PlayaDelRey home garage, we used urethane foam to shape the body on the chassis. Nye built a ‘spit’ so I could shape the underside. I was a car design student at the famous Art Center College of Design; we built the body in 90 days starting June 1964. We both worked on both Spirit of America cars. Surprised to see my pic with Nye in this video. The history is accurate…Bobby

Brian Lohnes is fast becoming THE voice of drag racing, and his banter with David Freiburger during Drag Week is just priceless.

Brian you are certainly the caretaker of the coolest era in automotive history. Thanks, always enjoy your work. 👍👍

I would like to see a story of the introduction of the trans brake and how it changed drag racing Thanks for all you content

This video needs to be longer. One of your best Brian!

In the late 1950s, there was a unique shaped car. It was built by the Cortopassi brothers in Sacramento CA. It was called the Glass Slipper, a fiberglass bodied slingshot style car. They ran it in the drag races and at Bonneville. I think it may have been the first streamlined fully enclosed dragster and definitely one of the first fiberglass bodies. It was awesome to see run. I think it was built in 1957.

The influence of drag racing’s historic innovations are timeless stories, as well as lessons, that will always hold relevance with modern racing. The significance of which cannot be understated.

I can only imagine the volume of sound coming from that thing on fuel like that lol awesome

Awesome! Brian you bring unique drag racing content I never knew existed. There really was ingenuity back then!

LOVE those 60’s streamliners! Beautiful, but too heavy to be competitive. Thanks Brian!!

In the 60's on TV, I immediately realized and LOVED the "Freight train". I reined s a 9 yr old what I Saw was unpatched in all aspects.

I had the honor of not only getting to know but learning many things from Nye Frank (he was married to Lee at this point) my younger brother ended up marrying Lee’s Grandaughter so I ended up spending much more time with him! I also got to work with Woody Gilmore and Pat Foster! I have been very fortunate in my Racing career!

The car at 1:25 has a fantastic history, prestigious builders and was as well finished as I've seen.

All i can say is awesome Brian your story ttelling is second to none keep them comming Happy holidays to u and yours❤

Man!…sitting way out back and the rear lifting through the traps at 200mph, what a ride! Another great video mate👍

Very few YouTubers that I will switch over to in the middle of watching another video. You've become one. These stories are true treasures, Brian.

Another great video. I could watch this channel all day. Being born in the early 80s and not getting into drag racing until i was a teenager, I obviously missed the beginnings of drag racing and as it goes most drag racing content be it TV or other sources are understandably focused on current drag racing happenings. That being said, as a person who thoroughly appreciates the history of anything I'm interested in, this channel has become priceless as far as my ability to learn the history of my favorite sport. Thank you for that and for your great work.

BRIAN...you are THE BEST !!! Thanks for bringing up Roy steen..chet herbert...and nye frank. All true pioneers in auto racing. NHRA should be very glad to have you.