Don behind the wheel of the ’63 Max Wedge. Note the time slips under the visor.
60 Years and Not Counting
Words: Roger Meiners
Do you have what it takes to beat “Big Daddy” Don Garlits? Want to run against Don Garlits in actual competition this season? It can happen soon. Next year is the 60th anniversary of “Big Daddy” Don Garlits’ first year in drag racing. He achieved enduring fame in dragsters, but, not surprisingly, his first drag race was in a door car (wasn’t everybody’s?).
He will return to the stock ranks in 2009, driving the first production Dodge Challenger Drag Pak vehicle in selected NHRA Division 2 events (see photos of the car in development on page 15). He will also take part in exhibitions whenever possible. Big Daddy—along with fellow legendary drag racer Judy Lilly—helped Mopar® unveil this impressive new car at last year’s Mopar Mile-High Nationals race outside of Denver. So it seems only fitting that Garlits will take delivery of the first production car and go racing. Lucky racers in the Southeast will have a chance at Big Daddy. Beat him and the prize is a lifetime of bragging rights.
Garlits started his legendary career at Zephyrhills, Fla., in 1950, driving his 1940 Ford Convertible powered by a Mercury engine. He did not win the event, but took a few rounds. There were no classes or Top Eliminators in those days. Everybody just raced everybody else. The fastest car there was that of Charlie Hogan, with his cut down 1934 Ford ‘Hot Rod’ (his son Richard Hogan was Gary Scelzi’s crew chief last year).
Everybody knows about Don Garlits’ 60-year history in drag racing, but few know much about his exploits with Mopar doorslammers. We thought you might like to hear about that from Big Daddy himself. A decade after his first race, Garlits was a big name—and he had a close and valued relationship with Chrysler. Here’s how he remembers his brief career in the stock classes directly from the pages of his upcoming book, entitled “Don Garlits and His Cars.”
—Roger Meiners
By Don Garlits
Early in 1962, I got a call from Frank Wylie, who was the Director of Dodge Public Relations; Frank wanted me to fly to Detroit for a meeting with him and his staff about sponsoring me in 1962 in a new car they had just developed for drag racing. The vehicle was a factory steel car, taken off the assembly line. Several modifications had been made so it would be a killer in the NHRA class—Super Stock/A Automatic. The vehicle would be powered by a 413 cid Max-Wedge Dodge engine with two four-barrel carburetors on a cross-ram manifold, producing 413 horsepower! I could not believe my ears; Dodge/Chrysler wanted me to go to work for the factory! To get ready for the trip, my wife, Pat, and I visited Wolf Brothers, a fine clothing store in Tampa, to purchase a nice new suit, overcoat and hat for the trip up north into the ice and snow.
I got to meet a lot of really nice people in Detroit. Frank put his assistant, Moon Mullins, in charge of a tour of the factory. Several other racers were in attendance, such as Bill Golden and Lou Furlong. Of course the Ramchargers were also there. We got a close look at the new SS/AA Dodge, which had been made from a stripped down 1962 steel Dodge Dart, 2-door.
I returned to Tampa, eagerly awaiting the delivery of my new Dodge to Massey Motors in Tampa. About two weeks later I got the call to pick up the car, so I got all dressed up in my new suit and drove down to Florida Avenue—“car lot row”—to get my new ride. We took pictures and drove the new Dodge back to my shop on Nebraska Avenue.
The very next weekend, we heard that there was going to be a big Super Stock race in Green Valley Texas, near Fort Worth. It was one of my favorite tracks, so Pat and I loaded up the little red Super Stock Dodge and drove it to Texas for the event. I figured this would be the perfect “break in” for the engine!
Late one afternoon during the trip, while we traveled along one of those long Texas four-lane divided highways, a Ford pulled up beside me. I was traveling about 75 miles per hour at the time. The guy in the Ford just kept egging me on to go faster and so I did. As my speedometer passed the 110 mph mark the Ford was still there! I just stepped down on the accelerator, putting it “on wood,” so to speak, and the Dodge moved quickly past the Ford, even though he was trying to keep up.
I looked in my rear view mirror and I could see two distinct black tire marks following my car. The 413 put that much power on the road, even though I was running a 3.31 to 1 rear ratio rear. My wife asked me “real nice” to slow the car down before we all got killed, so I backed off.
Upon my arrival in Fort Worth, I proceeded to the Dodge Dealership and had them install a posi-traction rear with a 4.89:1 ratio before I went to the track.
I didn’t win the event as I was still running the cast iron exhaust system, which made the car a little heavy and lost some of the Max-Wedge’s power. I met Tommy Grove though, and I liked the headers I saw on his Super Stock. Pat and I had the rear changed back to the high ratio and returned to Tampa Florida, a bit smarter.
We built our own headers then, as none were available, and in fact, we built quite a few sets for customers.
I raced the little red Super Stock all over the Southeast and at the U.S. Nationals in Indy that year. Beating Don Nicholson at his home track in Georgia was one of my best days with the ‘62 Dodge and I also beat him in Tampa at Tampa Dragway in front of all my fans. The Dodge was “flat towed” most of the time, but I remember one time my friend, George Roberts hurt the engine in his Dodge while following us doing filming. We attached the tow bar to his car and hauled it back to Tampa while I drove the little red Dodge behind them with the open headers! I was deaf for a week and it’s no wonder I’m so hard of hearing today.
A little side note: Pat drove the 62 Super Stock in the “Powder Puff” races and she won a lot with that automatic transmission. That was when women weren’t allowed to compete with the men! Boy, how times have changed!
I don’t really know what ever happened to the red Dodge, but several years ago it was rumored that a Doctor had it, un-restored, in his garage in the Carolinas. I was never able to confirm this information. Several years ago, during one of our Mopar Meets here at the Museum, a man from Texas showed a solid rust free 1962 Dodge Tudor. I purchased the car and built a clone of my original car. I have taken it to several events and it’s always a hit with the fansTowards the end of 1962, Dodge had already up-graded the Super Stock package with an aluminum front end 1963 Dodge Dart and a 426 Max Wedge engine. This new lightweight Dodge would be much faster than its predecessor, so I turned in the little red ’62 Dodge to my friends at Massey Motors and received my new 1963 SS/AA car.
The new car was never as pretty and eye catching as the 1962 red car, but it was definitely faster. It had to be, it was lighter, had more power (426 horsepower) and the factory had a year of input from the factory teams to make the ’63 model even faster than the ’62.
However I didn’t win as much with the new car as I did with the ’62 because the other teams, Ford and Chevrolet were heavy into the Super Stock racing by now while I was busy winning NHRA races with my Fuel Dragster. In fact I had just won the NHRA Winternationals and set a new NHRA Top Speed record. I had Jim Edwards take the ‘63 car to Pomona and Bakersfield, but only went a couple of rounds. Most of the races that I won were at the Golden Triangle strip, at Tampa Dragway and around Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Dodge wanted the car on National Tour but I had a dragster to run and that is what paid the real money. I could only get a couple hundred dollars to appear with the Super Stock car, whereas the dragster was now commanding one thousand dollars plus per appearance! Winning the prestigious NHRA Winternationals had just upped the ante.
I had a young man in the shop, Fred Smith who wanted me to turn the 1963 car, truck and trailer over to him, but I refused, as I enjoyed driving the car on my off weekends locally.
Finally, Frank called me and had me turn in the ’63 Super Stock to Massey Motors. He then sent me a brand new 1963 Dodge station wagon to tow the fuel dragster. Frank wasn’t mad, it was just that they had only built so many of the “lightweights” in 1963 and wanted the maximum exposure from each car. I have no idea where the car is today, but I sure wish I knew, it was one honey of a Super Stock and I loved driving it with the push button automatic transmission.
Editor’s Note: “Big Daddy’s” new book entitled “Don Garlits and His Cars” will be available through the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing this fall. For more information contact the museum at (877) 271-3278.
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Reply #1 on : Wed April 22, 2009, 11:57:52
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Reply #2 on : Wed April 22, 2009, 12:17:46