Garlits Swamp Rats (1 Viewer)

[jimbo]

Saw that Big is bring some former cars to the Gators for display. A interesting item caught my eye.

· Swamp Rat 14: Considered the first successful rear-engine dragster ever built, this Swamp Rat had a huge impact in Top Fuel. Garlits won the Winternationals in 1971 in the car and later the championship.
· Swamp Rat 22: This Swamp Rat went into the record books in a major way, as Garlits ran a monstrous 5.63 at the World Finals in 1975, making the first official 250-mph run in the sport.

This means, the way I interpet is, there were 8 different cars between 71 and 75. IMHO thats a whole lot. Does anyone remember the differences in these cars that he built so many of them?

 

[Sherman, Sherm, & Sherm Gun]

15 was a backup FED if 14 didn't work.

16 for 1972.

17 was the Jockoliner that failed.

18 was a test chassis for 17 while 17 was being finished.

19 for 1973/4

20 for 1975-1980

21 for 1975

22 for 1975

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotter-s-guide-part-1

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotter-s-guide-part-2

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotters-guide-part-3

https://www.moparwiki.com/index.php?title=Swamp_Rat

 

[jimbo]

15 was a backup FED is 14 didn't work.

16 for 1972.

17 was the Jockoliner that failed.

18 was a test chassis for 17 while 17 was being finished.

19 for 1973/4

20 for 1975-1980

21 for 1975

22 for 1975

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotter-s-guide-part-1

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotter-s-guide-part-2

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotters-guide-part-3

https://www.moparwiki.com/index.php?title=Swamp_Rat

Thats a pretty good answer, hank You!

 

[Dennis]

This means, the way I interpet is, there were 8 different cars between 71 and 75. IMHO thats a whole lot. Does anyone remember the differences in these cars that he built so many of them?

Big has 'em all listed on his website: https://garlits.com/swamp-rat-gallery/

 

[jimbo]

15 was a backup FED if 14 didn't work.

16 for 1972.

17 was the Jockoliner that failed.

18 was a test chassis for 17 while 17 was being finished.

19 for 1973/4

20 for 1975-1980

21 for 1975

22 for 1975

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotter-s-guide-part-1

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotter-s-guide-part-2

https://www.nhra.com/news/2011/swamp-rat-spotters-guide-part-3

https://www.moparwiki.com/index.php?title=Swamp_Rat

I always forget just how informative Phil's "Insider" column can be. If you have the time and patience to search and read his articles you can relive our sports history! Love it!

 

[junglevsbrutus]

Saw that Big is bring some former cars to the Gators for display. A interesting item caught my eye.

· Swamp Rat 14: Considered the first successful rear-engine dragster ever built, this Swamp Rat had a huge impact in Top Fuel. Garlits won the Winternationals in 1971 in the car and later the championship.
· Swamp Rat 22: This Swamp Rat went into the record books in a major way, as Garlits ran a monstrous 5.63 at the World Finals in 1975, making the first official 250-mph run in the sport.

This means, the way I interpet is, there were 8 different cars between 71 and 75. IMHO thats a whole lot. Does anyone remember the differences in these cars that he built so many of them?—

NHRA.com made an incorrect statement about Swamp Rat 14. While Garlits did win the '71 Winternationals and Springnationals—he did not win the championship that year. Until '74 the NHRA World Championship was decided by the winner of a single race, the World Finals. Garlits debuted SW-16 at the Amarillo World Finals. There, he got to the final but RL to Gerry Glenn in the Schulz & Glenn front engined dragster. Thus, Glenn became the '71 TF World Champion.

Garlits' first NHRA World Championship came in '75 at Ontario Motor Speedway, arguably his all time greatest national event performance. Besides wrestling away the title from Gary Beck he nabbed both ends of the TF record, 5.63 at 250.69, the first 250 MPH run!

 

[Cliff]

Thanks James. Great info. I always remember 2 things about Ontario. One was Don Moody running that 5.91 in 1972 and the other was Garlits 5.63 - 250. He was so far ahead of everyone that day, he;'d just drive away from his opponets. Wow, still remember that. One thing people do forget is that Gary Beck ran 5.69 in Q on Friday and is the first to run 5.60's.

BTW my fav Garlits car was the sidewinder. Never ran like it should and what I read was that it had "parasetic power loss" thru the gear drive and that's what killed it. If it had worked we'd all have sidewinder cars today.

 

[Prestaged]

I always forget just how informative Phil's "Insider" column can be. If you have the time and patience to search and read his articles you can relive our sports history! Love it!

Dragster Insider column archive

The Dragster Insider column was launched in July 2007 and, to date, has nearly 900 columns dedicated to the people and history of NHRA Drag Racing. To search the archive, simply press the Ctrl and F buttons on your keyboard (Apple symbol + F on Macs) and type in your search term. iPhone and iPad...

www.nhra.com

 

[jimbo]

NHRA.com made an incorrect statement about Swamp Rat 14. While Garlits did win the '71 Winternationals and Springnationals—he did not win the championship that year. Until '74 the NHRA World Championship was decided by the winner of a single race, the World Finals. Garlits debuted SW-16 at the Amarillo World Finals. There, he got to the final but RL to Gerry Glenn in the Schulz & Glenn front engined dragster. Thus, Glenn became the '71 TF World Champion.

Garlits' first NHRA World Championship came in '75 at Ontario Motor Speedway, arguably his all time greatest national event performance. Besides wrestling away the title from Gary Beck he nabbed both ends of the TF record, 5.63 at 250.69, the first 250 MPH run!

Good catch James! Have loved your artwork through the years!