When did dragsters go to rear engine?

By 1972, most of the Top Fuel field had switched to rear-engine designs. A year later, all of them had. Garlits only ever built one more front-engine dragster: Swamp Rat XV, a backup in case Swamp Rat XIV failed to perform.

What engines are in dragsters?

Top Alcohol Dragster Whereas Top Fuelers use supercharged, nitro-burning engines, Top Alcohol Dragsters may use a supercharged methanol-burning engine or an injected nitromethane combination. The injected nitro cars do not use a transmission, and the supercharged cars have three forward speeds.

How long is a front-engine dragster?

Front-engine dragster minimum 150 inches, maximum 300 inches.

What size engines are in dragsters?

500 cubic inches
NHRA competition rules limit the engine displacement to 500 cubic inches (8.19 l). A 4.1875-inch (106.36 mm) bore with a 4.5-inch (114.30 mm) stroke are customary dimensions. Larger bores have been shown to weaken the cylinder block.

What engine did Don Garlits use?

Rear engine dragsters have since become mainstream in drag racing. In 1977, Ed Donovan persuaded Garlits to switch from the 426 hemi he had been using for the last thirteen years to the Donovan 417 cu in (6,830 cc), offering (in Garlits’ words) “an engine deal I couldn’t refuse”.

Who had the first rear engine dragster?

Historic cars 1954 — Smokin’ White Owl, built by George “Ollie” Morris, first purpose-built rear-engined dragster and first car to use a Chevrolet V8 engine. 1962 — the Greer-Black–Prudhomme digger, with the best win record in NHRA history.

How much is a dragster worth?

Answer provided by. While a pro mod drag car will run anywhere from $275,000 to $350,000, a Top Fuel dragster costs about $500,000. Top Fuel engines that displace 496 cubic inches are most common, and these cars can weigh about 1,000 kilograms. Top Fuel dragsters can produce over 6,000 horsepower.

Why are dragsters called rails?

The design of dragsters evolved from the front-engined rail (named for the exposed frame rails) of the earliest days of drag racing, into the “slingshot” (with the driver between or behind the rear tires, or “slicks”) of the early to middle 1960s, to the “modern” type common in the 1970s.

What is the fastest Top Fuel dragster speed?

338.17 mph
The fastest speed on record is 338.17 mph (Top Fuel) at 1,000 feet. A Top Alcohol Dragster can travel as fast as 285 mph in the quarter-mile.

What RPM does a Top Fuel dragster turn?

A Top Fuel dragster reaches more than 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence. With a redline that can be as high as 9500 rpm, Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light. Including the burnout, the engine needs to survive only 900 revolutions under load.

How much does a NHRA Top Fuel engine cost?

about $500,000
Answer provided by. While a pro mod drag car will run anywhere from $275,000 to $350,000, a Top Fuel dragster costs about $500,000. Top Fuel engines that displace 496 cubic inches are most common, and these cars can weigh about 1,000 kilograms. Top Fuel dragsters can produce over 6,000 horsepower.