This Guy’s Garage – Dave Huber

Sometimes we get photos for This Guy’s Garage that are just plain cool. Imagine visiting a friend’s shop only to discover he has one of Mickey Thompson’s old front-engined dragsters. This particular car, according to Dave, “started life as Mickey Thompson’s X/Dragster with the four-cylinder Poncho engine in 1960.” We did a little digging and found Thompson won Middle Eliminator with that combination at the inaugural ’61 NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California. Dave says, “The Cissell family bought the car from Thompson in 1961. Cissell pulled the engine and sold it to Jim Williams of Louisville, Kentucky. The Cissells then put a small-block in the Dragmaster and raced it in 1963. Rollyn Blankenbeker bought the car in 1964 and raced it for two years as an A/Dragster.” According to Dave, Rollyn last raced the car in 1965, then Dave bought it in 1985, performing a complete restoration. Since then, Dave has attended several NHRA National Hot Rod Reunions in Bowling Green with the car. The only thing better than owning one historic, slingshot car would be owning two. Alongside the ex-M/T car is the original Tom Sievert and Bill Thornberry Chassis Research K88 Dragster. Dave says, “It was raced in the 1960s. Eventually, it was purchased by Porter Shrader, who kept it in storage until 2001. Porter restored the dragster for the first NHRR event in Bowling Green. After Porter’s death in 2012, Dave purchased it from his estate.”

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Photo Gallery: This Guy’s Garage – Dave Huber – Car Craft Magazine